I’ve drafted a bunch this year. How many fantasy football teams? Oh, who really counts? Enough that some trends have emerged.
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Let’s get into the “My Guys” portion of the show. These are players I’ve drafted a lot or tried to draft a lot. Conviction plays. Their success (or lack of success) will define my season.
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WR Drake London, Falcons
When Michael Penix Jr. took over for the final three games of 2024, he quickly focused on London as his primary read. London absorbed a ridiculous 39 targets over that period, en route to a 22-352-2 line. Falcons OC Zac Robinson was more comfortable with the play sheet at the end of the year, and Atlanta has a lot of reliable advantages for fantasy managers — an indoor-heavy schedule, narrow concentration of targets. I’ve been gobbling up London shares in the second round of drafts all summer.
RB Tony Pollard and WR Calvin Ridley, Titans
The Tennessee offense wasn’t much fun last year — 27th in points, 26th in yards. But Pollard (RB21) and Ridley (WR27) both gave us useful fantasy seasons, in part because of a concentrated offense. That concentration has returned — Pollard has no competition now that Tyjae Spears is hurt, and the Tennessee receiver room is very thin after Ridley. But the offense could take a nice step forward if rookie Cam Ward is competent in his debut — and it won’t take much for him to be better than last year’s banana convention at quarterback. Looking for veteran value in your draft in the middle rounds? Remember the Titans.
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WR Courtland Sutton, Broncos
Sutton had a nifty WR13 finish last year but the Yahoo market is giving you a buying opportunity all summer — he’s merely the WR29 in ADP. Don’t you love when a player can theoretically regress and still return a profit? Sutton is a smart boundary player who will always be prioritized in the red area, and his game really took off last year when the Broncos finally gave Bo Nix the keys to the offense. Over the last 10 games of the season, Sutton posted a snappy 60-804-6 line, which would pace out to 102-1,366-10 in a full season. No one expects Sutton to maintain that complete pace in 2025, but he’s the No. 1 receiving option on a plus-offense — and for some reason the market isn’t giving him full respect. Fine with me.
WR Jaylen Waddle, Dolphins
The Miami offense has me somewhat spooked after a messy 2024 season, but if I’m going to draft anyone proactively here, it’s Waddle. He’s four years younger than Tyreek Hill — perhaps my strongest fade of the season, given his age and trajectory — and Waddle might gobble up some of those short receptions that Jonnu Smith feasted on last year. And we’ve seen proof of concept with Waddle before — he was the WR7 just three years back. He’s an ideal target for the fifth or sixth round of your draft.
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WR Rashid Shaheed, Saints
If the questionable quarterbacks in New Orleans have you running for cover, I understand. But the Yahoo market is allowing Shaheed to come off the board as the WR47, and that’s a mistake. Shaheed was having a breakout year last season before injury, but it was mostly about clicking on deeper routes. This summer the new coaching staff has worked ardently on getting Shaheed more involved on shorter routes and easier connections, so the expected volume is likely to increase. I’m happy to draft Shaheed as one of my bench players, knowing he could ascend into a solid WR3 spot by the middle of the year. (A similar frame is there for DeMario Douglas, the slot man in New England.)
RB Josh Jacobs, Packers
So many veteran running backs changed teams last year and smashed as a result — Saquon Barkley was the RB1, Derrick Henry the RB3. But where’s the love for Jacobs? He checked in as the RB5, the centerpiece of Matt LaFleur’s high-octane offense in Green Bay. Jacobs is a little younger than you might realize — this is just his age-27 season — and he’s not a zero in the passing game (36 grabs, 9.5 YPC last year). And when the Packers get in close, it’s Jacobs time — 15 rushing touchdowns last year. Jacobs is a first-round talent who’s commonly available in the second round.
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WR DeVonta Smith, Eagles
Here’s another opportunity to draft a player around his floor — Smith averages 83-1,082-7 production for every 17 games played in the NFL. He missed four games last year but was relatively durable in the three seasons prior. The Eagles were unusually run-heavy last year, in part because game flow was almost always in their favor. That’s likely to regress somewhat, and when Jalen Hurts is asked to throw, it’s mostly to his two dynamic wideouts, A.J. Brown and Smith. He occasionally slips to the fifth or sixth round and is gettable in some formats as a delightful WR3. But even if my build has Smith as a WR2, I’m not unhappy.
TE Tucker Kraft, Packers
He’s the spirit animal for Yahoo Fantasy this summer, endorsed by so many of our analysts. And sometimes the wisdom of crowds is spot on. Kraft averaged a juicy 14.1 YPC last year and was also dynamic around the goal line; in short, he does two things we love — score touchdowns and make long receptions. I realize the Green Bay passing game is usually a spread-it-out show, but I can’t imagine Matt LaFleur would ignore the upside from his dynamic tight end. If Kraft sees a similar workload to last year’s haul, he meets his ADP. If the role expands even a little bit, he can crash the top-five at the position.
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QB Dak Prescott, Cowboys
I saved the QB spot for last because we all know that it’s not challenging to find quarterback answers in 2025. But Prescott looks like a perfect marriage between value and upside. He has two dominant wideouts to work with — CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens — and Jake Ferguson isn’t a bad tight end. And consider the rest of the setup in Dallas — the Cowboys have a running game that’s spotty and a defense that shows collapse risk. Maybe the Pokes will be one of those glorious carnival teams in 2025, with Prescott enjoying a monster year of volume and efficiency. We’ve seen it before — he led the NFL in completions and touchdown passes just two years ago. Giddy-up.