Coach: Mike McDaniel 4 PPG
QB: Jayden Daniels 31 PPG (CJ Stroud 25 PPG)
It was an incredible effort by rookie Jayden Daniels, who immediately came in and was a fantasy stud. Daniels finished as QB6 and did it with a below-average receiving corps. His totals tallied to 331 completions (14th in the NFL), 3568 passing yards (16th), with 25 passing TDs (10th) and 9 INTs (19th). Where he paid his rent was on the ground gazelling to 891 rushing yards (2nd) and 6 rushing TDs (tied for 3rd). Moving forward, Daniels will need to continue his efficiency as a passer while adjusting to defenses as they catch onto his strengths. As we saw with CJ Stroud last year, it’s no guarantee he’ll progress or stay the same in terms of PPG. The Commanders brought in washed Deebo Samuel as a secondary piece and Terry McLaurin profiles as a mediocre #1 receiver. On his rushing upside, Daniels remains a top-7 option, but I have concerns about potential regression and injury risk to his slender frame.
RB/WR/TE: Derrick Henry 27 PPG, Christian McCaffrey 23 PPG, David Njoku 18 PPG, Isiah Pacheco 17 PPG, Jayden Reed 15 PPG 6th men: RJ Harvey 15 PPG, Rachaad White 12 PPG, Jordan Mason 11 PPG, Braelon Allen 11 PPG, Brandon Aiyuk 11 PPG, Darren Waller 10 PPG, Chris Brooks 8 PPG, DJ Giddens 8 PPG, Dameon Pierce 8 PPG, Bhayshul Tuten 8 PPG
Derrick Henry went to Baltimore and didn’t miss a beat. He arguably had the best rushing season of his career, playing next to arguably the QB position’s best rusher of all time, Lamar Jackson, and an elite playcaller, Todd Monken. They were not shy about using the now 31-year-old, as he tallied 325 carries (2nd in the NFL), 1921 rushing yards (2nd), 16 rushing TDs (tied for 1st), and an ABSURD 5.91 YPC. On 325 CARRIES!?! At 30!!! Simply incredible. While he’s not much of a pass catcher, he’s not a zero, with 19 receptions for 193 yards in 2024. I’m not predicting a reduction in PPG; even at his age, this guy is too damn special.
When you’re a Christian McCaffrey owner, you’re playing a game of Roulette. If you land on black, you’re in for an enjoyable fantasy season. If you land on red, good luck picking up the pieces when 15% of your total cap is allocated to a nothing burger. Thankfully, we’re trending in a positive direction, as CMC is fully healthy and no longer has Achilles tendonitis. Nope. Won’t hear it. Projecting his usage is a curious game. I don’t see the 9ers utilizing him as an 80-85% usage back anymore and expect him to make it through a full season. A more realistic scenario is he’s still the starter, but gets around 200-220 carries with his 50-60 receptions, along with a dozen TDs. That’ll put him in the Alvin Kamara tier of running backs, and at this stage, that’s probably where he belongs if he’s to remain fit. Tough projection tho, we all know he delivers cheat code type numbers at his best.
If you cover your left eye, squint, and turn your head 20 degrees to the left, you can see Brock Bowers when looking at David Njoku. Yes, there’s hair on Njoku’s head and more melanin, but the receiving profile and situations are pretty similar! Even through an injury-marred campaign and playing with the league’s worst QB situation, the former 1st round pick out of Miami posted a compelling 20 PPG season. He wrapped up with 64 receptions on 97 targets, 505 receiving yards, and 5 TDs, all while missing 6 games. Now 29, Njoku is looking for a new contract and as of this writing hasn’t received it yet, but he has every incentive to post another stellar season along the Erie. With limited target competition to speak up, this man is a stellar option for our league. He costs less than $9 million in both conferences too!
What are we to expect from Isiah Pacheco? The bulldozing runner out of Rutgers showcased he could be the #1 back for Kansas City in 2023, but in 2024, he fractured his fibula in week 2 and missed over half the season. Upon his return, he was not startable and was slotted behind Kareem Hunt, snap-wise. That certainly isn’t poised to happen again at the start of the season, but there is a worry that Pacheco will find himself in a timeshare. Pacheco’s opportunity is a storyline to watch as the regular season gets underway. Kareem Hunt waits in the wings to spell him.
A supremely disappointing year for Jayden Reed, who had an encouraging rookie season, only to regress in opportunity in year two. He didn’t even miss a game, either, AND had a 35-point week 1. The balance of Green Bay’s offense just hasn’t allowed one receiver to ascend into startability. They just brought in a 1st rounder to boot, Matthew Golden. Allllll that being said, I’m still projecting a modest increase in PPG for Reed, who should be the first or second option for this offense. Keep in mind that that role is barely the top 30 in receiving yards and the top 50 in receptions.
PK: Wil Lutz 10 PPG
PN: JK Scott 10 PPG
DT: Jeffery Simmons 18 PPG, Calijah Kancey 16 PPG (Jonathan Allen 13 PPG)
The Titans may have been absolute dog shit, but Jeffery Simmons had himself a career year. While he didn’t have many pressures (15) or many sacks (5), he stepped up in the tackles department, setting a career high 77 stops to go along with 2 forced fumbles. They transitioned to a 20 PPG output and exactly the type of DT to look for in a league that provides 3.5 points per solo tackle. I’m not sure Simmons can produce like this again tackle wise, but it’s good to see he’s capable. I think he’s in line for a small regression, but he’s still an elite asset.
If you want to find a player who has the potential to jump into the upper echelons of IDP stardom, look no further than third-year pro Calijah Kancey. The former first-round pick’s season got off to a bumpy start, missing the first 5 weeks due to a calf issue, but he was a force to be reckoned with from that point forward. He finished with 7.5 sacks, 28 total tackles, and a forced fumble. Hopefully, a fully healthy offseason and training camp can spearhead another leap into the elite tier for DTs. If we see a slight uptick in both his pressure and tackle totals, I’d be comfortable placing him in the tier with Kobie/Zach Allen/Simmons for the indefinite future.
DE: Nick Bosa 20 PPG, Micah Parsons 18 PPG (Byron Young 15 PPG, Montez Sweat 12 PPG)
Nick Bosa was his usual stud muffin self, proving himself an elite EDGE option when healthy. Despite missing three games, he tallied 52 tackles, 9 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 1 INT. He also still ranked 8th in pressures even without a full season played. The younger Bosa is still in the prime of his career and is much less injury-prone than his brother. He’s the type of player to build an IDP squad around.
The Dallas Cowboys were hit big time by the injury bug, losing their QB and star pass rusher Micah Parsons for extended periods of time. Parsons missed 4 games due to a high ankle sprain, but balled out upon his return. Despite missing nearly a quarter of the season, he still finished with more pressures than Myles Garrett, with 46 (3rd in the NFL), and tallied 12 sacks. What keeps Parsons out of the Godly tier of EDGE-dom is his passable tackle numbers, which range from 60-70 over an entire season. We still haven’t seen the truly elite sack season from Micah yet, but at only 26, that is coming. Why not 2025? *UPDATE: We are a week out from the Cowboys’ week 1 tilt versus Philly, and he still hasn’t signed. Will that create an early-season issue with his production as he gets into football shape? Probably not, but something to thing about.
LB: Blake Cashman 18 PPG, Dre Greenlaw 14 PPG, Matt Milano 13 PPG (Payton Wilson 12 PPG)
We’ve seen Blake Cashman thrive as a full-time back for Minnesota the past couple of seasons. It’s perfect, too, as he was a Golden Gopher in college. The knock on Cashman is that he’s an annual injury risk, missing time pretty much every season. When he is healthy, he’s a tackle monster and profiles as a top 20 option. He’s not much of a big-play threat, but he did tally 4.5 sacks for the first time in his career. He’s likely to man the middle of this defense for two more seasons.
It was a brutal year for Dre Greenlaw, who spent much of the season recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered in a freak accident running onto the field during the Super Bowl. He returned last season, but was shut down quickly after experiencing leg tightness and a calf injury. He signed a 1-year prove-it deal with Denver and will be playing alongside the tackle hog Alex Singleton. I’m not bullish on his fantasy upside even if he does play a full-time role, and there’s a very good possibility he misses time as he hasn’t yet played an entirely healthy season. Ideally, he’s your 4th or 5th linebacker.
Matt Milano was one of the earliest IDP gems the IFL found. Selected in the 5th round back in 2017, he ended up being a gem of a find, turning into a full-time starter for an ascending Bills defense. While he struggled with injuries and inefficiency, he still was a back-end starter. Unfortunately, it looks like those days may be coming to an end, as Milano came back to a part-time role after his brutal knee injury recovery. I’m willing to wait out a few weeks to see what his usage and production look like before sending him to the bye-week filler scrap heap, but his value is on life support. For now, he’s a back-end starter.
CB: Marcus Jones 13 PPG, Jarvis Brownlee 11 PPG (Cam Hart 11 PPG)
Marcus Jones is back to provide some IDP goodness at the corner position. He’s slated to be the Pats’ starting nickel corner again and their punt returner, which is fantastic for a small but significant boost to his upside. Jones is famous for recording some offensive snaps for the Pats a couple of years ago, pioneering a path for who Travis Hunter could become. He is still doing his thing as an elite corner option for our game.
It took a few weeks, but Jarvis Brownlee became a fixture in the Titans’ secondary as a rookie. The 5th round pick out of Louisville became a pleasant surprise for a team that desperately needed some youngsters to progress unexpectedly. After the week 5 bye, Jarvis was the CB15 in the IFL, showcasing a competent floor of tackles. If he can take a step forward in the big play category, that could potentially provide him an elite ceiling, too. For now, he’s a boundary corner with an opportunity option projection.
S: Quentin Lake 15 PPG, Jabrill Peppers 14 PPG (Ifeatu Melifonwu 13 PPG, Kamren Curl 13 PPG, Javon Bullard 11 PPG, Andre Cisco 10 PPG, Isaiah Pola-Mao 11 PPG)
Outside of week 18, when the starters were rested, Quentin Lake didn’t miss a snap for the Rams. That’s an incredible feat for any player, especially one who logged 1,207 snaps. Lake’s usage is ideal, with well over 50% of snaps coming in the box and at slot corner. Last year’s 14.6 PPG with these numbers is ripe for progression, as he only delivered 2 sacks for big plays (0 INTs) and only 5 PDs. He’s a dark horse for a top 5 safety finish and a locked-in top 16 option.
Jabrill Peppers faced adversity, ending up on the Commissioner’s Exempt List for seven games due to drug and assault charges, and also missed five games due to foot and hamstring issues. That being said, for the six games he was on the field, he performed just fine, providing a decent tackle floor that we’ve come to expect from the nine-year veteran. We know what to expect from Ol’Pep, which is an S2 providing 70(ish) tackles and 3-5 big plays annually.
Off: Detroit Lions 15 PPG
PPG: 340
W-L: 11-6
X-Factor: CMC staying healthy. (duh)
Three in a row. That’s what is at stake for Titus. An incredible feat that may never be touched for the rest of this league’s existence. His two-in-a-row stands on its own currently, and Titus, for the 4th straight season, has built a championship contender. It’s built off the back of offensive superstars at QB, RB, and EDGE. We all know what Titus is about at this point, and that is greatness, pushing this league’s GMs to another level to compete at his level.
