You know, pretty much anybody can start the fantasy football season by starting their highest-ranking players at every position.

But you CAN be somebody who thinks outside the box. Takes a chance. Uses their giant brain to start a D-lister capable of being an A-list star for Week 1.

Someone like Joe Flacco.

Cleveland’s 40-year-old quarterback could really be forty-something on Sunday. He was great leading the Browns to a surprise playoff berth two years ago, and he could look great, at least for one week, against Cincinnati’s notoriously bad defense.

Here are some other unheralded players who could get off to great starts:

Jerome Ford (Browns RB) — Thanks to weak competition and Quinshon Judkins’ legal troubles, Ford is atop the Cleveland depth chart and liable to have a great game against the Bengals. And he’ll be No. 1 at least until Judkins’ lawyers negotiate his availability.

Cleveland Browns running back Jerome Ford (34) runs after a catch during a pre-season NFL football game, Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Matt Durisko)

Javonte Williams (Cowboys RB) — The depth chart leader in Dallas is likely to get their goal-line opportunities Thursday night in Philadelphia, assuming there are some. This former Bronco will get more chances than rookie Jaydon Blue, though the latter is better long term.

Denver Broncos’ Javonte Williams runs during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday, Dec. 15, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

Emeka Egbuka (Buccaneers WR) — Chris Godwin’s injury gives this former Buckeye an opportunity to feast when future hall of famer Mike Evans is double-covered. Atlanta’s defense will not be an impediment to Egbuka having a strong debut.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka (9) signals during a pre-season NFL football game, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Durisko)

Jerry Jeudy (Browns WR) — Speaking of Flacco, Jeudy is No. 1 among Cleveland receivers who genuflected when the Browns chose their only legitimate QB option to start. Jeudy will post fine numbers until an overmatched rookie takes Old Joe’s place.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Jerry Jeudy (3) carries in the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins in Cleveland, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Matthew Golden (Packers WR) — Someone is going to be No. 1 option for Green Bay in their NFC North shootout against the Lions at Lambeau. We think this former Texas standout will quickly become a favorite of QB Jordan Love.

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Matthew Golden (22) catches the ball in front of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Nehemiah Pritchett (28) during a preseason NFL football game Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps

Sitting stars

New Orleans will struggle all season. So will RB Alvin Kamara, starting Week 1 against Arizona. … Chargers RB Omarion Hampton will have a strong rookie campaign, but he won’t do much against the Chiefs in Brazil on Friday night. … Another rookie to forget for this week: Jacksonville WR Travis Hunter. … Washington QB Jayden Daniels will have difficulty against the Giants’ strong defensive front. … And speaking of quarterbacks: Don’t make yours Aaron Rodgers, trying to impress his old team in the Steelers-Jets yawner.

New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) runs with the ball during an NFL football game against the New York Giants Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

Matchup game

The Vikings’ Jordan Mason, our pick to be their No.1 RB by season’s end, will get off to a strong start in Chicago. … Same goes for New England rookie RB TreVeyon Henderson. … Receivers we expect to shine in Week 1 include Arizona’s Marvin Harrison Jr. against New Orleans, the ‘Niners’ Ricky Pearsall against Seattle and the Colts’ Michael Pittman and Josh Downs vs. the weak Miami secondary.

Minnesota Vikings running back Jordan Mason (27) runs the ball while being tackled by Houston Texans cornerback Jaylin Smith during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Injury watch

Justin Jefferson’s hammy will make its 2025 debut Monday night, and Vikings fans should not be expecting an all-world opener. … Miami RB De’Von Achane is expected to start, but he could be ceding a lot of playing time to rookie Ollie Gordon. … Notables ruled out include Houston RB Joe Mixon, Tampa WR Chris Godwin and San Fran wideout Brandon Aiyuk. … Those of questionable status include Chargers RB Najee Harris, Seattle RB Kenneth Walker III, Baltimore tight end Isaiah Likely and a slew of receivers: the Giants’ Malik Nabers, the Dolphins’ Tyreek Hill, the Niners’ Jauan Jennings, Buffalo’s Khalil Shakir and Carolina rookie Tetairoa McMillan.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson (18) before a preseason NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Aug. 22, 2025, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)

Deepest sleeper

His friends call him Bill, but Washington rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt is set to take the field for his first NFL team after playing for three teams in college (Alabama State, New Mexico, Arizona). Because of the late-August trade of Brian Robinson Jr., there’s a fighting chance JCM (as he may soon be known) will be the goal-line running option for the Commanders.

Washington Commanders running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt (32) celebrates after scoring a touchdown during an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Monday, Aug. 18, 2025, in Landover. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)

The Thursday/Friday picks

Cowboys at Eagles (-6½)
Pick: Eagles by 11

Chiefs at Chargers (+2½)
Pick: Chiefs by 3

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) jumps over the line for a touchdown during an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

You can hear Kevin Cusick on Wednesdays on Bob Sansevere’s “BS Show” podcast on iTunes. You can follow Kevin on X — @theloopnow. He can be reached at kcusick@pioneerpress.com.

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TUOLUMNE COUNTY, Calif. (AP) — A quick-moving wildfire burned homes in a California Gold Rush town settled around 1850 by Chinese miners who were driven out of a nearby camp and the blaze grew without containment on Wednesday.

The fire rapidly expanded to 10 square miles in size, forcing the evacuation Tuesday of the Chinese Camp Town and surrounding highways, according to CalFire, the state’s chief fire agency. There were no immediate reports of injuries or deaths.

It is one of several fires called the TCU September Lighting Complex, which has burned more than 19 square miles in multiple locations in Calaveras and Tuolumne counties as of early Wednesday with no containment.

At least five homes were burning in the rural town, which has a mix of freestanding and mobile homes.

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Outside one house on Tuesday evening, seven people quickly moved large tree branches away from the structure and shoveled sand onto the fire in a desperate attempt to keep the blaze from spreading from the house next door. They worked for about 30 minutes until firefighters arrived. An RV on the property was damaged by the fire.

Fire officials have requested additional resources such as fire engines, dozers and an aircraft.

The blaze, known as the 6-5 Fire, was caused by lightning, according to CalFire. It is one of more than a dozen blazes that erupted Tuesday across California, according to CalFire.

Thousands of Chinese came to California during the Gold Rush and faced persecution that included an exorbitant Foreign Miners Tax designed to drive them away from mining.

Chinese Camp Town, about 57 miles east of Stockton, was settled by Chinese miners after they were driven out of a nearby camp, according to Visit Tuolumne County. Originally called Camp Washington, its name was soon changed to reflect the thousands of people from China who settled there.

By NICHOLAS RICCARDI, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court panel ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump cannot use an 18th-century wartime law to speed the deportations of people his administration accuses of membership in a Venezuelan gang, blocking a signature administration push that is destined for a final showdown at the U.S. Supreme Court.

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, one of the most conservative federal appeals courts in the country, agreed with immigrant rights lawyers and lower court judges who argued the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 was not intended to be used against gangs like Tren de Aragua, the Venezuelan group Trump targeted in his March invocation.

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Lee Gelernt, who argued the case for the ACLU, said Tuesday: “The Trump administration’s use of a wartime statute during peacetime to regulate immigration was rightly shut down by the court. This is a critically important decision reining in the administration’s view that it can simply declare an emergency without any oversight by the courts.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The administration deported people designated as Tren de Aragua members to a notorious prison in El Salvador where, it argued, U.S. courts could not order them freed.

In a deal announced in July, more than 250 of the deported migrants returned to Venezuela.

The Alien Enemies Act was only used three times before in U.S. history, all during declared wars — in the War of 1812 and the two World Wars. The Trump administration unsuccessfully argued that courts cannot second-guess the president’s determination that Tren de Aragua was connected to Venezuela’s government and represented a danger to the United States, meriting use of the act.

In a 2-1 ruling, the judges said they granted the preliminary injunction sought by the plaintiffs because they “found no invasion or predatory incursion” in this case.

The decision bars deportations from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. In the majority were U.S. Circuit Judges Leslie Southwick, a George W. Bush appointee, and Irma Carrillo Ramirez, a Joe Biden appointee. Andrew Oldham, a Trump appointee, dissented.

The majority opinion said Trump’s allegations about Tren de Aragua do not meet the historical levels of national conflict that Congress intended for the act.

“A country’s encouraging its residents and citizens to enter this country illegally is not the modern-day equivalent of sending an armed, organized force to occupy, to disrupt, or to otherwise harm the United States,” the judges wrote.

In a lengthy dissent, Oldham complained his two colleagues were second-guessing Trump’s conduct of foreign affairs and national security, realms where courts usually give the president great deference.

“The majority’s approach to this case is not only unprecedented—it is contrary to more than 200 years of precedent,” Oldham wrote.

The panel did grant the Trump administration one legal victory, finding the procedures it uses to advise detainees under the Alien Enemies Act of their legal rights is appropriate.

The ruling can be appealed to the full 5th Circuit or directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, which is likely to make the ultimate decision on the issue.

Indeed, the ruling and dissent both seemed to acknowledge the judges were weighing in on issues destined to be settled only by the nation’s highest court, repeatedly noting the unprecedented nature of the case and delving into 18th century conflicts and other landmark events in the nation’s early decades as justification.

The Supreme Court has already gotten involved twice before in the tangled history of the Trump administration’s use of the AEA. In the initial weeks after the March declaration, the court ruled that the administration could deport people under the act, but unanimously found that those targeted needed to be given a reasonable chance to argue their case before judges in the areas where they were held.

Then, as the administration moved to rapidly deport more Venezuelans from Texas, the high court stepped in again with an unusual, post-midnight ruling that they couldn’t do so until the 5th Circuit decided whether the administration was providing adequate notice to the immigrants and could weigh in on the broader legal issues of the case. The high court has yet to address whether a gang can be cited as an alien enemy under the AEA.

By PATRICK WHITTLE and HOLLY RAMER, Associated Press

Survivors of Maine’s deadliest mass shooting and relatives of victims are suing the federal government, alleging that the U.S. Army could and should have stopped one of its reservists from carrying out what they call “one of the most preventable mass tragedies in American history.”

Eighteen people were killed in October 2023 when Robert Card opened fire at a bowling alley and a bar and grill. An independent commission appointed by Maine’s governor later concluded that there were numerous opportunities for intervention by both Army officials and civilian law enforcement as Card’s mental health deteriorated. He was found dead by suicide two days after the shootings.

FILE – A woman visits a makeshift memorial outside Sparetime Bowling Alley, the site of a mass shooting, in this Oct. 28, 2023 file photo, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty, File)

The lawsuit, filed in federal court on behalf of more than 100 survivors and victims’ family members, accuses the U.S. government of negligence, saying its conduct “directly and proximately caused the mass shooting.” It alleges that Army officials and others “failed to act reasonably, broke the promises they made to Card’s family and their community, violated mandatory polices, procedures and disregarded directives and orders.”

“By March 2023, the United States and its personnel knew Card was paranoid, delusional, violent, and lacked impulse control. The Army knew he had access to firearms. The Army promised to remove his guns but did not fulfill that promise,” the lawsuit states. “Worse, through its acts and omissions, the Army withheld information and actively misled local law enforcement, thereby preventing others from intervening and separating Card from his weapons.”

Attorneys plan to provide more details Wednesday at a news conference in Lewiston, not far from where the shootings took place.

The attorneys began the process of suing the government a little less than a year ago when they filed notices of claim, saying the Army did not act despite being aware of Card’s mental health decline. Card’s mental health spiral led to his hospitalization and left him paranoid, delusional and expressing homicidal ideations, the claim said. He even produced a “hit list” of those he wanted to attack, attorneys have said.

Family members and fellow reservists said Card had exhibited delusional and paranoid behavior months before the shootings. He was hospitalized by the Army during training in July 2023 in New York, where his unit was training West Point cadets, but Army Reserve officials have acknowledged that no one made sure Card was taking his medication or complying with his follow-up care at home in Bowdoin, Maine.

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The starkest warning came in a September text from a fellow reservist: “I believe he’s going to snap and do a mass shooting.”

“From the start, the Army disregarded its mandatory policies and procedures, and regulations when dealing with Card,” the lawsuit states. “Despite the serious issues Card presented at the company or battalion level, they were not reported up the chain of command to senior military officials with the knowledge, experience, and resources to address them. Instead, low-ranking, part-time personnel mis-managed the risks, resulting in disastrous consequences.”

Army officials conducted their own investigation after the shootings that Lt. Gen. Jody Daniels, then the chief of the Army Reserve, said found “a series of failures by unit leadership.” Three Army Reserve leaders were disciplined for dereliction of duty, according to the report. When the governor’s commission released its final report last August, the Army issued a statement saying it was “committed to reviewing the findings and implementing sound changes to prevent tragedies like this from recurring.”

The Lewiston shootings led to new guns laws in Maine, a state with a long tradition of hunting and gun ownership. The laws prompted legal action on the part of gun rights advocates in the state and remain a contentious topic nearly two years after the shootings.