One week.
We are ONE. FREAKING. WEEK from real, actual football as the 20th season kickoffs with the Dallas Cowboys visiting the Philadelphia Eagles. I’ll be on the sideline for that game, beginning my fourth season as a cast member of Football Night in America, which will air, along with the game, right here on NBC and Peacock.
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Speaking of NBC, I have to take a moment here. Normally I don’t really do an intro to this column, but since, you know, I announced last week that I was no longer going to write “Love/Hate” I wanted to take a moment to, well, react to the reaction.
First, I was blown away and so appreciative of everyone’s kind words. Whether it was social media, texts, DMs, or emails, I heard from so many people saying incredibly kind things. That they are sad and they’ll really miss the column, which meant a lot to me. Not that I like disappointing folks, but if everyone was a collectible yawn that would have been really depressing. But what was even more meaningful to me was the fact that while everyone was expressing that they’ll miss the column, they also said they got it. Said one person via DM: “Have always loved the column every week but love your reasons for stopping it even more.”
Well.
A version of that sentiment was echoed by so many and words are truly inadequate to let you know how much I appreciated that people not only felt that, but that they took the time to reach out. I read every single one of them and I can’t begin to tell you what your support means to me. I specifically want to publicly thank my bosses here at NBC Sports.
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Look, I have a contract, right? And when I went to them and said, hey, I want to spend more time with my family, I can’t keep pulling all-nighters during the NFL season, I’d like this pre-
season “Love/Hate” to be my last one, they easily could have said… “We hear you, but no. You need to keep writing it.”
They would have been well within their rights to say, “Sorry, but no, we want and need the column.” And I’m grateful that so many of you read it on a weekly basis that losing it does make an impact for NBC. But I’m even more grateful for NBC saying, instead, “Hey, we want to do right by you. We get it, we support you and the decision to stop it, and we thank you for three great years of it.”
Truly incredible and I’ll be forever indebted to NBC for allowing it.
I’m still going to do the weekly “Love/Hate” edition of Fantasy Football Happy Hour (weekdays LIVE at noon ET on YouTube, at 5 p.m. ET on Peacock, and wherever you get your podcasts) and I’ll still do SOME pre-season written content next year. But, I did really want to take a moment to thank Ron Vaccaro and the entire NBC Sports team for their support.
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Now, 10 Lists of 10 is an annual tradition, as is blatant over the top self-promotion. So, I’ll just say that if you’d like to get a free daily email from my team at Fantasy Life that tells you everything you need for the day in fantasy football in a quick five-minute read, you can sign up (FREE) at www.fantasylife.com. Come on, it’s free. What have you got to lose? If you hate it, just unsubscribe.
I’ll tell you that the best deal on the internet is www.RotoPass.com, my fantasy football bundle site that combines the best premium content on the internet, hand picked by me, including a subscription to FantasyLife+ , four other great websites and a code for six months of Peacock all for about a quarter a day.
Finally, I urge everyone to please add one more league to their plate this year and download the app to play in a Guillotine League ™ this year. You can start any week of the season (so, don’t sweat it if you can fit in a draft over the next week), there are both free and paid prize leagues, public leagues, and private ones, so invite friends or make new ones. … It’s only the most fun you can have. You can have any size league you want, from 2 to 18 people. Draft a team like normal and start a lineup like normal. At the end of every single week, the team with the lowest score in the league that week gets cut. Eliminated. Their season is over. The other big twist is that all the players on the eliminated team go back into the free agent pool and you have $1,000 in FAAB to bid on them over the course of the season. It’s a sweat like you’ve never had before.
Fantasy for the Fearless – can you survive the chop? Play with the original inventors of the game on the official www.GuillotineLeagues.com App.
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Which brings us, meandering to, this. Lists. People love lists. So here are 10 Lists. Of 10.
Thanks, as always, to my producer Damian Dabrowski for his help at various points in this column and thanks to you – for your submissions on this column, for the years of reading, for the love and support, and for coming along on the ride. It is far from over yet!
LIST ONE: Ten Preseason Storylines I‘m buying
1. Jacory Croskey-Merritt aka “Bill” will be the best fantasy option in the Commanders’ backfield. Remember, in his pre-NFL DRAFT ranks, my co-host Connor Rogers had Jacory Croskey-Merritt ranked ahead of RJ Harvey. So, we don’t think this is fluke and we’ve been talking about him since early May. Welcome to the bandwagon. Still plenty of room.
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2. Matthew Golden will be the Packers’ clear-cut WR1.
3. Tyler Warren is the real deal. He is not going to come off the field, he will be the focal point of the Colts’ passing attack, and may even get some “tush push” opportunities at the goal line.
4. Emeka Egbuka is the most pro-ready rookie WR and will have a huge role in the Buccaneers’ offense.
5. Jaxson Dart is legit and is going to be a very good fantasy QB as soon as he gets the starting job.
6. TreVeyon Henderson is the real freaking deal and will be a major fantasy star from the get go.
7. Joe Mixon’s injury is very serious. He will be a non-factor this year and there is a very real possibility he does not play this year at all.
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8. Ollie Gordon is the back-up Dolphins running back you want.
9. Travis Hunter is going to play the majority of his snaps on offense and he is going to be a fantasy superstar sooner rather than later.
10. Jameson Williams is going to have a larger role in new Lions OC John Morton’s offense and this is the year he puts it all together.
Also that you are going to be horrified at how much Jonnu Smith and Kenneth Gainwell play for the Steelers this year.
LIST TWO: Ten “Chicken” Players
A few years ago, Jim Harbaugh (at the time the head coach at the University of Michigan) famously told his team not to eat chicken because it’s a “nervous bird.” Although, as I always say, if you could be fried and chopped into something called a nugget, you’d be nervous too. But thus started this list. These are 10 big-name players I am just kind of nervous about. All talented players, all ranked where they should be. But as I’ve been drafting, when it comes time to pick that player, something about them just gives me nervous vibes and I find myself passing on them and drafting a different, similarly-ranked player.
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(For this list and others, I am using the FantasyLife ADP tool, which compares ADP across all the major game platforms along with risers and fallers.)
1. Breece Hall: He’s injury prone and going to lose goal line opportunities to both Braelon Allen and Justin Fields. Plus, Fields has never targeted running backs at a high rate.
2 Puka Nacua: Finishing as the No. 1 WR in fantasy is within the range of outcomes but his injury issues, Matthew Stafford’s back issues, and red zone target competition from Davante Adams makes it a tough click for me when the other WRs going right around him have the same upside but less risk.
3. Ken Walker: He’s an incredible talent, but again, I’m nervous he’s more injured than people are letting on. Plus, the drumbeat of Zach Charbonnet’s incredible camp keeps getting louder and with a new offensive coordinator, there’s no guarantee this doesn’t turn into a RBBC.
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4. Saquon Barkley: He’s coming off a year with 482 touches, will lose goal line work to Jalen Hurts, isn’t heavily involved in the passing game, and I don’t think the Eagles will be AS insanely run heavy as they were last year. Can Barkley sustain all those crazy long runs? He’s a phenomenal player of course, but I just haven’t wound up with a lot of shares of him, given where he normally goes in drafts.
5. Brock Bowers: He’s my TE1 this year, but has a brand new QB, brand new offensive play-caller, and brand new elite running back who will demand massive work in a way that the Raiders didn’t have last year. Where Bowers is being drafted offers no profit. He’s basically being drafted at his ceiling. Again, I love the player and I’ve ranked him first at the position, but I much prefer Trey McBride or George Kittle one to three rounds later, depending on size and style of league.
6. Kaleb Johnson: He had a concerning preseason and could struggle to get on the field if Aaron Rodgers doesn’t trust him, which is a very real possibility. Johnson also won’t contribute much in the pass game, so he really needs rushing volume.
7. Jerry Jeudy: His breakout season was entirely volume based and his splits with and without Jameis Winston were drastic. While I get Joe Flacco has some “YOLO” in him, there’s no guarantee that Flacco gets Jeudy the volume Winston did. Plus, Jeudy has never been a high TD scorer and needs volume.
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8. James Cook: He’s not involved in the passing game and it’s clear that negative touchdown regression is coming. He’ll be fine, but I generally find myself gravitating to the WRs and TEs going in the same range as Cook (George Kittle, Xavier Worthy, George Pickens, etc.).
9. DK Metcalf: I’ve never met an Arthur Smith-led offense that I didn’t hate in fantasy football.
10. RJ Harvey: We know Sean Payton uses multiple running backs and camp reports have been inconsistent. Harvey will also lose goal line work to both J.K. Dobbins and Bo Nix, and given how elite Denver’s defense is, it’s hard to see them in negative game script very often where they’d pass a lot. I much prefer drafting Dobbins multiple rounds later or pieces of the Denver passing game (Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims, Evan Engram) than Harvey.
LIST THREE: Ten “Unsexy” Players
These are players with no hype or buzz. They are snoozy, solid producers and when you draft them, no one will say “Ooooh, great pick” like they will when you draft Omarion Hampton or Jacory Croskey-Merritt. But they will definitely outperform their too-low ADP and help you win. In no order:
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1. James Conner (always and forever)
2. Mike Evans
3. Tony Pollard
4. Dak Prescott
5. Courtland Sutton
6. Calvin Ridley
7. Alvin Kamara
8. D’Andre Swift
9. Evan Engram
10. Jonnu Smith
LIST FOUR: Ten Best Fantasy Team Names (That I Can Print!)
These are from my followers on X/Twitter:
1. Irritable Bowers Syndrome (@bigleaguescoop)
2. America’s Next Top Waddle (@bryanjswain, @Jtotheonathan)
3. Owner of a Lonely Dart (@evanLagasse)
4. Color Me Ladd (@evanLagasse)
5. Achane Reaction (@omarofarabia)
6. Seal Team Nix (@CaseyUrie)
7. Go Shorty, It’s Herbert Day (@chrisrudy777)
8. A$AP Herb (@ayy_huerta)
9. Bed, Bath and Bijan (@TonyP2213)
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10. Finding Nico (@TonyP2213)
LIST FIVE: Ten of My Favorite Late-Round Running Backs
These are RBs who are going in the 10th round or later per the consensus ADP tool on FantasyLife.com.
1. Zach Charbonnet
2. Bhayshul Tuten
3. Braelon Allen
4. Jaydon Blue
5. Ollie Gordon
6. Kyle Monangai
7. Sean Tucker
8. Will Shipley
9. Keaton Mitchell
10. Kenneth Gainwell
LIST SIX – Ten of My Favorite Late-Round Pass-Catchers
These are WRs and TEs who are going in the 10th round or later per the consensus ADP tool on FantasyLife.com.
1. Josh Downs
2. Rashid Shaheed
3. Chris Godwin (not as hurt as you think!)
4. Marvin Mims
5. Keenan Allen
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6. Cedric Tillman
7. Jalen Coker
8. Brenton Strange
9. Mason Taylor
10. Theo Johnson
LIST SEVEN: Ten More of the Best Fantasy Team Names (That I Can Print!)
These are from my followers on X/Twitter and the Bleacher Nation App.
1. Jordan Love/Hate List (@WolinetzLaw) … can make a joke about totally being open to being pandered to.
2. The Man In Jahmyrror (@tweetsbydav)
3. Post-Nabers Drip (@Harry_Hizzle)
4. Bucky Charms (@gelatoboii)
5. All Eyez on Maye (@JeffPeterson34)
6. Catalina Wine Mixon (@cthierjung1)
7. Shough Around and Find Out (@clokeinator)
8. Shakir Groove Thing (@123FantasyJK)
9. Achane Saw Massacre (@got_Joe)
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10. Penix Envy (@JeffBoggis)
LIST EIGHT: Ten Leftover Facts from “100 Facts You Need to Know Before You Draft”
You can read the original column, right here.
1. In games in which he didn’t score a touchdown last year, Mark Andrews averaged 4.4 points per game.
2. There is only one QB in the NFL with at least 4,500 passing yards and at least 30+ touchdown passes each off the last two seasons and his name is… Jared Goff.
3. There is only one RB in the NFL who had at least 70+ total yards in all 17 games last year and his name is… Jahmyr Gibbs.
4. In the 62 games Jalen Hurts has played over the last four years, he has 52 rushing touchdowns.
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5. Since the start of last year, no quarterback has more passing touchdowns than… Baker Mayfield.
6. Over the last two seasons, among all qualified quarterbacks, no one has a lower TD rate than Daniel Jones’ 2%.
7. In the 11 career games where he got a target share of at least 25%, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is averaging 18.7 fantasy points per game.
8. In 2024, Brock Purdy had eight goal-to-go rushes.
9. No tight end had more red zone targets last season than… Travis Kelce. Positive regression coming.
10. Over the last seven seasons, Davante Adams has never had less than a 29.5% target share.
10A. I don’t understand why there is more than a two-round ADP difference between Puka Nacua and Davante Adams.
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LIST NINE: Ten of My Most-Rostered Players
I’ve done about 30 real season-long drafts to this point (not including Best Ball – meaning I am playing out the season) and here are the players that, as the drafts have gone, I have wound up with the most:
1. Jalen Hurts
2. Justin Fields
3. De’Von Achane
4. Chase Brown
5. Omarion Hampton
6. George Pickens
7. Courtland Sutton
8. Travis Hunter
9. George Kittle
10. Tyler Warren
The late-round fliers I wind up with the most include: Trevor Lawrence, Kyle Monangai, Sean Tucker, Kenneth Gainwell, Keenan Allen, Jalen Coker, DeMario Douglas, Jonnu Smith, Mason Taylor, Theo Johnson
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List TEN: Ten More of Best Fantasy Team Names (That I can Print!)
These are from my followers on X/Twitter:
1. The Penix Mightier (@thechrissweet)
2. Monday Night Ra (@DanielClaytonIV)
3. Lights, Camera, Ashton! (@DBdotGrant)
4. McBride’s Maids (@Maudibert)
5. Chuba The Hut (@schmoyer_kayle)
6. TreVeyon My Wayward Son (@sawyerteesmith)
7. Je Ne Saquon (@CWHager)
8. Say Hello To My Kittle Friend (@Eric_tibo)
9. Omarion Comin’ (@gergcon345)
10. Unsolicited Dak Pics (@georgekurtz)
BONUS LIST: Ten MORE Fantasy Team Names (that I can print!)
From my followers on X/Twitter:
1. Bill & Tets Great Adventure (@boomp21)
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2. Brenton Some Strange (@otherkevinhart)
3. Not Another Guillotine Movie (@otherkevinhart)
4. Jeantyth century Knox (@jeffchaffer13)
5. Now U C Me. Najee don’t. (@twitterlessPAT)
6. Always A McBridesmaid… (@amardesai23)
7. The Big Ladd Wolf (@amardesai23)
8. BALL TOO WELL (@slatteryjeffrey)
9. Touchdown Dependent (@johnnyxl)
10. Jonathon Taylor’s Version (@_dannycee)