Coach: Ben Johnson/Kyle Shanahan 6 PPG
QB: Joe Burrow 31 PPG
It was another lost season for Joe Burrow and the Bengals, who lost the pillar of the franchise in week 2 due to a grade 3 turf toe. He didn’t rejoin the team til Thanksgiving, and by then their season was about over. His injury-prone ways have been the rub for Burrow as he’s missed significant time in 3 of his 6 seasons. When he’s healthy, he’s going to throw over 4,300 yards and 35+ touchdowns, resulting in at least a top 5 QB finish. We know his skill set posts elite stats when he’s fit. Just cross your fingers and toes that he can get there to the end, and if not, have a good backup.
RB/WR/TE: Christian McCaffrey 32 PPG, Kyren Williams 22 PPG, Davante Adams 17 PPG, Malik Nabers 17 PPG, Deebo Samuel 15 PPG 6th men: Aaron Jones 14 PPG, Brian Thomas Jr. 13 PPG, KC Concepcion 12 PPG, De’Zhaun Stribling 9 PPG, Kenyon Sadiq 9 PPG
30-years-old and still chugging along, Christian McCaffrey is still the favorite to finish as the #1 overall player in our scoring. Despite the constant reduced-workload talk, he still finished 2nd in snap percentage among RBs at 84.16% (Jonathan Taylor is first). CMC has ranked 2nd in carries per game (18.29), 11th in rushing yards per game (70.71), 1st in receiving yards per game (54.35), and 3rd in total TDs per game (1.00). He was still slaying in evaded tackles, finishing 6th among RBs with 4.76 per game.
I always find it funny when the Corum bros go crazy about him taking a step into fantasy startability, because the numbers don’t point to that. Kyren was still dominating the snap share in this offense, and it wasn’t close. Kyren ranked 7th among RBs at 70%, while Corum was at a true backup 29%. Granted, Corum made the most of his touches and saw a small uptick in snap share, but it still doesn’t project as a starter asset. (even in a hyper-efficient offense) Kyren is arguably the most undervalued asset in the league, with another top 20 finish added to his resume. (Finished 11th in the RB/WR/TE rankings in 2025) He finished top 15 in rush attempts (15 per game), rush attempts inside the 5 (1.06), rushing yards (73), and total TDs (.76). His evaded tackles graded out adequately, at a top 20 clip of 2.94 per game. With the Rams all in on another Super Bowl run and the current Vegas favorites, expect Kyren to get plenty of opportunities to close out games and score a boatload of TDs.
I’m a bit nervous about Davante Adams’ fantasy prospects. The 33-year-old is hitting an age cliff that often isn’t kind to receivers, but he finds himself as the secondary receiver on one of the best offenses in the NFL. While his per-game receptions sat 27th in the NFL at 4.29, his targets sat at a respectable 8.14, showing there was a little meat left on the bone for PPR points. He was also the Rams’ preferred redzone weapon, leading the league in per-game redzone targets with 2.29 and averaging 1 TD a game. That is likely to go down a touch, but the receptions have the potential for progression. Adams’ value hinges on the health of Stafford, but so long as everything stays consistent, he’s back on the #3 RB/WR/TE radar in year 13.
Malik Nabers’ season ended before it got started, with a torn ACL in Week 4 at MetLife. It’s been a tough recovery for the 3rd-year pro, who is still questionable to start the season. After a beastly rookie campaign, Nabers positioned himself as one of the next up-and-coming playmakers in the game, making many folks question why we even had the Marvin vs Nabers debate to begin with. Long-term, Nabers appears to be in an improving position. J6 is slated to be their long-term QB, and they have a stabilizing HC presence in Jim Harbaugh. If Nabers can be 100% by week 1, he should flirt with around 20 PPG. For now, we’ll see how the season starts, but it’ll likely come with some consistency issues.
It took a hot minute, but Deebo finally found a landing spot with the Washington Commanders. It’s ideal for him for a couple of reasons. First and most obvious is the lack of a secondary receiving weapon, which he should fit in quite nicely, especially for the short/intermediate areas of the field. Second, he’ll still be able to be used as a rusher, since he’s gotten a fair amount of carries throughout his 8-year career. (Last year he only had 17 carries, but that’s still notable for a WR). I’m not sure we’re at the stage of his career where we’ll get more than some borderline starter numbers, but his volume-eating stats should keep him in the 15-16 PPG range.
PK: Trey Smack 8 PPG
PN: Johnny Hekker 10 PPG
DT: Mason Graham 13 PPG, A’Shawn Robinson 12 PPG
Over the 10+ years we’ve been doing this game, I’ve concluded it’s a risky proposition to draft a defensive tackle with early IFL draft picks. They rarely produce early-career, startable returns. With this in mind, 2025 wasn’t terrible for Mason Graham, posting 10 PPG on a respectable 763 snaps. Graham didn’t wow a soul with his .5 sack and 49 tackles, but a year 2 progression can’t be ruled out. There is a new DC in town, Mike Rutenberg (?), and maybe a change could be good for him, too. For now, he’s a quality lotto ticket, but not someone to trust heading into the season.
We’ve gotten our fair share of A’Shawn Robinson seasons after being a 2nd round pick in 2016, and he’s really always been on the starting borderline. He has consistently averaged around 50 tackles and 1-2 sacks. (he did have a 5-sack 2024 tho) He’s bounced around to 5 different teams, with the Bucs as his current landing spot. He’s expected to be a starter, but in a rotation with Elijah Roberts, Rakeem Nunez-Roches, Calijah Kancey, and Vita Vea. With how the talent currently stands on the interior, we should see him get enough volume to remain viable. His $9 million contract also points to that.
DE: David Bailey 14 PPG, Harold Landry 13 PPG (Joseph Ossai 12 PPG, Kwity Paye 11 PPG, Lukas Van Ness 10 PPG)
The 2nd overall pick in the NFL draft, David Bailey, joins one of the most dysfunctional franchises in professional sports. HC Aaron Glenn is not long for the job, and I fear his rookie season will be difficult to post consistent numbers amid rampant drama around him. That being said, the opportunity will be there for David Bailey to showcase what he can do. In his final year at Texas Tech, he posted 52 tackles, 14.5 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles on his way to an All-American title. Those stats would be amazingggg for IDP, and let’s hope he can keep it up as we head into his professional career. He’s an excellent prospect in a poor situation, particularly for pass rush opportunities. That keeps his ceiling lower, but a good year one goal is to hit the top 32.
It’s red flags galore for Harold Landry, who has been dealing with a lingering knee injury he suffered all the way in week 6 of last year. He’s played through it, but there’s certainly worry that this will impact his play this year. Through 15 games, Landry recorded 8.5 sacks on 23 pressures. He also recorded 48 tackles and a forced fumble. Landry has sustained a good pressure/sack ratio over his career, but there’s been talk that his talent has receded since his early career in Tennessee. He’s not someone I’d trust heading into the season, and would ideally have him as a top bye-week guy until we see sustained, consistent play again.
LB: Quay Walker 17 PPG, Drue Tranquill 15 PPG (Isaiah McDuffie 10 PPG, D’Marco Jackson 8 PPG)
Ejections and frustrating plays marred Quay Walker’s time in Green Bay, but overall he wasn’t a bad linebacker. The Raiders needed to revitalize the position, and they signed him to a 3-year, $40 million contract, giving him top-12 APY at the position. He will certainly be a full-time player, and he’s been a consistent high-end LB2 through his 4 years in the league. He eats up tackles (expect around 140) and contributes 2-4 big plays annually.
We just haven’t seen enough of Drue Tranquill to seriously consider him an IDP starter, but perhaps we’ll see more of him with Leo Chenal in Washington. Tranquill has been mostly a part-time player, but when Chenal missed time to end last year, he played over 90% of the snaps. Will the Chiefs give one of their younger guys the Chenal role, or will they give Tranquill a bit more responsibility? Time will tell, but I’m bumping up his PPG to reflect a low-end starter.
CB: Will Johnson 11 PPG, Keisean Nixon 11 PPG
Will Johnson was the 2025 draft version of Jermod McCoy, who slid because of injury concerns. Those concerns seem warranted, as he missed 5 games his rookie season. Will has the talent to lead a cornerback room, and the Cardinals will be asking him to do so as their lead boundary guy. That should lead to stats and success for our game, and let’s hope he can hit a solid benchmark of 50 tackles, 10 PDs, and 2-3 INTs.
Gone are the heydays of Nixon playing a slot role and being an All-Pro kick/punt returner, but he was still a top 16 option last year. The UDFA from South Carolina has slowly shown signs of decline, and opportunity has decreased too with a new defensive staff and young/new talent at the position in Brandon Cisse and Benjamin St-Juste. We’ll see how it plays out, but if Nixon is a starter, even a boundary one like last year, he should still be started most weeks as a corner who has consistently produced in the tackle department over the last several years.
S: Antoine Winfield 14 PPG, Minkah Fitzpatrick 14 PPG, Dane Belton 11 PPG
Due to his talent and versatility, Antoine Winfield Jr.’s usage has varied wildly from year to year. Even under the same defensive play caller in Todd Bowles, it’s been tough to gauge how he’ll line up on a per-year basis. Since the emergence of Tykee Smith, Winfield plays deep more often, restricting his upside. He still was a low-end S1, totaling 93 tackles, 1 FF, 2 INTs and a sack. There was also talk of a step back in his impact in the game. He should be fine with proper expectations.
It wasn’t too long ago that Minkah Fitzpatrick was regarded as one of the elite safeties in the NFL. That has certainly shifted after being traded from Miami to Pittsburgh, back to Miami, and now to the New York Jets. For IDP purposes, he still has been viable, notching 82 tackles, chipping in with 1 INT, 1 sack, and 1 FF while in Miami last season. I’m not sure how the transition to NYC will affect his stats, but someone has to tackle for a defense that’ll be on the field a lot.
Dane Belton’s role is very much in flux, as he’s currently in a battle with Andre Cisco and Malachi Moore to play alongside Minkah Fitzpatrick. Belton is more of a box safety, so if he wins the job and moves Fitz-y to play deep, his PPG will shoot up. At this time, I think he’ll play more of a part-time role that’ll provide heavy volume of tackles, as he has in recent years with the Giants. That still doesn’t play over the course of the season, but if an injury occurs to one of the starters, Belton is a plug-and-play guy. He’s been notoriously good late into the year in back-to-back seasons.
Off: Cincinnati Bengals 14 PPG
PPG: 317
W-L: 7-10
X-Factor: The defense needs some breakouts.
Offensively, there is a lot to love about Barry’s squad. Burrow and CMC form a dynamic duo, and Malik Nabers is one of the best long-term dynasty assets in the game. Defensively, there are 2-3 players that are comfortable starters. That is obviously a major question mark as we head into the season, and it may need to be addressed before games start in early September.
