Coach: Mike McCarthy 5 PPG
QB: Dak Prescott 30 PPG
While Stafford and Maye were soaking in the headlines, Dak Prescott quietly put together one of the best seasons of his career. Despite a transition to the questionable hire of HC Brian Schottenheimer, Prescott more than just kept the ship afloat offensively, posting 268 passing yards per game (3rd in the NFL) and 1.76 passing TDs per game (6th), good for QB4 numbers in our scoring. The offense was still thriving without Lamb for some of the year, which is a testament to the leadership and consistency the 11-year pro provides. Dak has developed into a quality pocket passer as he transitions into his mid-30s, and his game can age gracefully for fantasy. I don’t see a regression occurring in the near term, and he can be confidently started as a borderline top 5 QB.
RB/WR/TE: De’Von Achane 23 PPG, Cam Skattebo 21 PPG, Jaylen Wadde 17 PPG, Colston Loveland 17 PPG, Mike Evans 16 PPG 6th men: Chuba Hubbard 16 PPG, Chris Godwin 15 PPG, DK Metcalf 14 PPG, Brenton Strange 13 PPG, Chris Rodriguez 12 PPG, Brian Robinson 11 PPG
I’m still gobsmacked that we are 4 years into De’Von Achane’s career, and the 190-lb back has received ample workhorse opportunity. Last year was a career high in carries and snap share, notching 238 attempts on a 76%(!) snap percentage. (That percentage was good for 6th among RBs) Last season led to a 4-year $68 million contract extension, making him the third-highest-paid running back in the NFL. (Someone has to put buts in the seats in Miami, right?) HC and offensive mastermind Mike McDaniel is long gone, and in comes retread Bobby Slowik. He was quickly ousted after a disastrous 2024 season with the Texans, but there were questions about whether it was him or the personnel who were the biggest issues during his final season. There isn’t new competition for Achane to lose opportunity to; it’s really a matter of efficiency on an offense that has by far the worst group of weapons around him. I expect a slight regression, but he’s still going to be an engine for championship-aspiring teams.
It was a short, yet exciting 6 full games of Cam Skattebo as a fantasy factor, who backflipped his way into the hearts of fans all around the country. We saw him quickly assert dominance on the snap share, quickly averaging around 65-70% of snaps before the injury. Should that continue under new OC Matt Nagy, he’s gonna rejoin the top 12 at the position, especially if he keeps his workhorse opportunity. Skattebo is a perfect player for IFL scoring, which rewards carries on a .4-per-touch basis. If he can average around 15 carries and get back to 3-4 receptions a game, he’ll be a top 16 option. He just needs to stay healthy. He only missed one game during his time at Arizona State and Sacramento State, so it’s quite likely last year’s ankle issue was a fluke.
It’s been a couple of lost years for Jaylen Waddle, who hasn’t been the same receiver early on in his career. (He had 3 straight 1,000-yard seasons from 2021-2023) Since 2024, he’s been a bye-week filler, despite being coached by “offensive guru” Mike McDaniel. Through the Miami era, there were reports of him coming to camp out of shape and a regression of his talent. That is all supposed to come to an end in Denver, as Waddle is expected to break out again as the featured weapon in Sean Payton’s offense. They did trade their 1st rounder for him after all, and Waddle should provide an upgrade to the underperforming Marvin Mims. Projections are all over the board, and in my lived experience with Sean Payton WRs, they are incredibly frustrating to own. (Select exceptions, like old Saints receiver Michael Thomas) Waddle is certainly not that guy, but if he can get 120 targets and find himself as far and away the target leader of this offense, he can become startable again. It wouldn’t surprise me for a second, however, if he underperforms and the Broncos lit their first-round pick on fire and threw it in a trash can.
After week 7, the Bears put more trust into Colston Loveland, keeping him on the field for the vast majority (2/3rds) of the snaps the rest of the way. He averaged 17 PPG from that point on, including a couple of breakout 30-point games, but there were some sub-10-point games sprinkled in there too. I like Loveland as a prospect, but I think he has more of a Sam LaPorta fringe top 5 ceiling versus a McBride/Bowers target dominator. Especially in Ben Johnson’s offense, which will be spreading the ball around the various playmakers, Loveland profiles as more of the 3rd option in real life versus the 1st or 2nd. That’ll give him some high-variance games, but no one should complain if he can be your elite 4th or 5th starter.
Last year was horrible for Mike Evans, who never stood a chance in posting his 12th straight 1,000-yard season. He suffered one of his trademark hamstring strains, then broke his clavicle and suffered a concussion in Week 7. He elected to move on from the Bucs, which he’s called home since 2014, for the San Francisco 49ers. It’s a great fantasy landing spot, who has an established, quality QB, but no WRs that have the pedigree of the future HOFer. Evans should lead the team in targets, and he’ll most certainly be looking to get over that 1,000-yard hump again. He’s a great back-end starting lineup option.
PK: Charlie Smyth 9 PPG
PN: Rigoberto Sánchez 9 PPG
DT: Jalen Redmond 15 PPG
The hype was strong in the 2025 preseason for 2nd-year UDFA Jalen Redmond, who has quickly developed into one of the finer interior players across the NFL. While he’s not much of a pressure generator (11 pressures in 17 games), he ate up tackles along the line of scrimmage, finishing with 62 stops. As the DT7 last year, he was one of the best bargain bin finds, and if he can somehow replicate his six sacks again, he’ll be back in the top 10. I expect a small regression as 6 sacks on 11 pressures isn’t sustainable, but DTs often eat up tackles in Brian Flores’ scheme.
DE: Aidan Hutchinson 20 PPG, Tuli Tuipulotu 18 PPG (Austin Booker 17 PPG)
While it was Myles Garrett who stole the sack record, Aidan Hutchinson only finished 4 pressures behind, 49 to 53. Hutch only totaled 14.5 sacks, but you won’t find many IDP owners complaining, especially after his brutal injury that prematurely ended his 2024. He is the total package and a DPOY candidate. He’s settled in nicely to a 55-tackle, double-digit sack EDGE and will be a top 5 option through his late 20s.
The breakout season was in full effect for Tuli Tuipulotu, who is now the leader of the Chargers’ EDGE room. He finished 16th in pressures (32) and notched a quality 13 sacks through 16 games. He was routinely playing over 70% of the snaps, solidifying himself as a top 16 EDGE moving forward. He’s got more help coming into LAC as well, after they spent their first-round pick on Ahkeem Mesidor, setting up their pass rush duo into the immediate future. Even Mack is still in town; Tuli will eat up all the snaps he can handle, and let’s hope he can provide an encore in 2026.
LB: Carson Schwesinger 20 PPG, Devin Lloyd 17 PPG, Daiyan Henley 16 PPG, Divine Deablo 15 PPG
The Cleveland Browns keep trying to trot out Bill Cosby to run their offense, but at least fans can root for DRoY Carson Schwesinger on the other side of the ball. He delivered a stellar year one, finishing 6th in total tackles (162), 2 INTs, and 2 sacks. He posted 22 more assists than solos, which stuck out to me as an intriguing stat. Not sure it means anything, but if he can convert more of those into solos, the ceiling can be even higher. Keep an eye on his big plays to see if he can deliver a bit more game-changing ability in 2026 too.
It was a season of highs and lows for Devin Lloyd, but overall it turned into what the NFL thought was his best. Despite missing close to three games due to a calf injury, Lloyd posted a low-end startable season, averaging 15 PPG. Despite his below-average tackle efficiency, he made up for it with 5 INTs, 1 sack, and a TD. Named as a 2nd Team All-Pro, he utilized that recognition to snag a long-term deal with the Panthers. He’s now tasked to lead the defense into a new phase of contention. I like Lloyd’s prospects much more outside of Jacksonville, as he will finally be receiving 100% of the snaps again (he was more of an 85% type player in 2025) and won’t be next to tackle eater extraordinaire Foyesade Oluokun. He’s a high-end LB2.
The tackle efficiency fell off a cliff for Daiyan Henley, who regressed from finishing 8th in the NFL with 147 stops to just 103. The crazy thing is he didn’t miss a game; he just wasn’t in on plays like he was in 2024. There were talks of him being one of the most underrated defenders in the league prior to last season, but those have ceased. Year 4 will be a pivotal year to show whether he can be a top 10 backer again or if he’s more of a mid- to low-end starting-caliber player. On the plus side at least, he pumped his big plays up from 2 in ’24 to 5 in ’25.
Despite being put in a position to succeed in Atlanta (and for the Raiders before that), Divine Deablo has yet to put together a consistent IDP career. He had over 100 tackles once in 2023, but he’s struggled with injuries and effectiveness through five seasons. (including last year when he missed 5 games) Atlanta appears to have him tagged for the green dot role this year, but I have my doubts he’ll be effective. We’re a half decade in, and he’s shown to be an inefficient tackler who lacks big-play upside. On volume alone, he’ll be back-end startable, but the Atlanta linebacker room is a must-watch through training camp.
CB: Tyson Campbell 11 PPG, Jacob Parrish 10 PPG (Justin Walley 10 PPG)
We got an elite CB season from Tyson Campbell, who exploded for 87 tackles, 18 PDs, 2 FFs, and an INT. That was good for a CB3 finish in our league, but as we know, these types of seasons are highly unpredictable. As an outside corner with a DC change, I struggle to project him back as anything more than a top-32 option, but he should be able to post a startable season again for his IDP owners. He has consistently posted over 50 tackles since 2021.
On the whole, it was an impressive rookie season for Jacob Parrish, who played significant snaps as a slot corner for the Bucs. He tallied 76 total tackles, 2 INTs, 2 sacks, and 7 PDs, on his way to a CB18 finish. What concerns me is that the Bucs brought in depth/competition in Keionte Scott, but Scott will have to earn his snaps. I think it puts Parrish in a bit of a precarious position for inconsistent snaps, but overall he should still be a top 32 CB.
S: AJ Haulcy 15 PPG, Jessie Bates 14 PPG (Jaquan Brisker 12 PPG)
AJ Haulcy is in the fortunate position to take on a position that’s been historically good for IDP goodness. Nick Cross left in free agency after back-to-back top 2 safety seasons, opening the door for the rookie to take over. He’ll have to earn it, however, as Hunter Wohler (a 2025 camp darling before a season-ending injury) won’t go quietly into the night. Haulcy was a stat-tracking machine in college, posting over 74 tackles across all 4 years. (12 games per season btw) He also accumulated 10 INTs and 4 forced fumbles, paving the way for a potential future stud. I’m very high on Haulcy’s prospects, and he’s right there with Downs and Thieneman for the best IDP. (if he beats out Wohler)
Jessie Bates has been an IDP mainstay since 2018, and 2025 was no different. He finished as the S14 and now forms one of the best tandems with 2nd-year stud Xavier Watts. Bates provided 98 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 3 INTs, and a TD last year, while playing in all 17 games. They ask Bates to play in the box quite often, so there will be plenty of tackles for him again this season. He’s a consistent IDP play and has the potential to finish first in scoring when the environment is right.
Off: San Francisco 49ers 15 PPG
PPG: 333
X-Factor: Will Achane and Skattebo live up to expectations?
W-L: 10-7
The Super Bowl champion Bears are looking to run it back for another shot at a ring. Offensively, the team is deep and filled with quality, young starters on rookie contracts. Defensively, it’s no different. Complete teams are the name of the game in Chicago, and he’s showcased that he’s one of the best roster builders in the league.
