Coach: Jim Harbaugh 6 PPG
QB: Drake Maye 31 PPG
There were some skeptics out there who thought Drake Maye would never put it together (especially after his dreadful rookie season), but even the most optimistic Maye fan probably wouldn’t have projected he’d finish 2nd in the MVP race. He took the league by storm with 258 passing yards per game (4th in the NFL), 1.82 passing TDs per game (5th), and finished with a quality 26 rushing yards per game (11th). That led to a QB3 fantasy finish, showing he has what it takes to be an elite fantasy QB. About to turn 24, Drake needs to showcase the consistency many QBs struggle to maintain after a breakout. We saw him struggle mightily against tough defenses in the playoffs, and let’s hope that doesn’t continue into the regular season. With his dual-threat profile in mind, he’s now in the top 5 conversation moving forward.
RB/WR/TE: Kenneth Walker III 22 PPG, David Montgomery 21 PPG, Breece Hall 20 PPG, Stefon Diggs 15 PPG, Dalton Schultz 15 PPG 6th men: Chig Okonkwo 14 PPG, Rachaad White 14 PPG, Hunter Henry 14 PPG, Jayden Higgins 12 PPG, Cooper Kupp 8 PPG
Kenneth Walker, the Super Bowl MVP, quickly left Seattle for another championship contender in Kansas City. For fantasy managers who have watched his potential be subdued by maddening timeshare issues, we’re about to see what he’s capable of. K9 is one of the shiftiest backs in the league, showcasing game-changing ability that looks just like LeSean McCoy in his heyday. Nothing shows this more than K9 receiving only 47% snap share (behind Zach Charbonnet btw), only to finish 7th in evaded tackles per game (4.71) on limited opportunity. The one thing that does keep me up at night and why the Hawks potentially kept him off the field as a workhorse was his litany of calf/ankle injuries through his rookie contract. There is certainly potential for an Achilles tear in the way he plays, but it’s hard to live in fear when it comes to football. If he can finally get a season of workhorse usage, we’ll see him finish in the top 16.
It was regression city for David Montgomery, who got little opportunity in an offense that struggled to field a healthy offensive line. Monty was finally playing second fiddle to Jamyr Gibbs, and Detroit kindly shipped him off to Houston, where aging running backs go to die. (Can we do a wellness check on Joe Mixon???) Thankfully, he signed a 2-year $16.5 million contract and is locked into a starter role through his age-30 season. The Texans profile as a squad that should be very competitive and wants to dominate time of possession with an elite defense. Monty is a violent, road-grading runner and, even behind a mediocre offensive line, should take much of the snap share with very little talent behind him. We can lock him in for a top 32 season, so long as he stays healthy.
While there was consistent shade thrown at Breece Hall for a myriad of reasons, he’s still a stud muffin delux for the IFL. Hall isn’t quite an elite RB, but he falls just outside that workhorse tier, with a 64% snap share (12th among RBs), 15 carries per game (17th), 66 rushing yards per game (15th), 22 receiving yards per game (12th), and a tragic .31 TDs per game (38th among RBs). It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see how he bumps up into the mid-20 PPG mark. I’m not concerned about competition, even in a new offensive environment. What does concern me is the retread playcaller (they hired Frank Reich, who is garbage) and brought in Geno Smith to play QB (also oh so bad). We’ve seen what Breece does in these tragic conditions, and it’s still very good.
It took a good long minute, but Stefon Diggs landed in the spot he was needed. That was in Washington, where he’s projected to be the #2 receiver for #5 Jayden Daniels. Diggs has been quite a journeyman throughout his career, rumored to be a questionable character, as nobody on the Vikings wanted him to date their sister. Through Minny, Buffalo, and New England, he’s posted 1,000-yard seasons, and even at 32 (33 in November), he’s got juice to provide both real-life and fantasy viability. At this stage, trusting Diggs to be more of a back-end starter may be asking too much, as his opportunity will play second fiddle to Terry McLaurin. He should exceed 100 targets and hover around 1,000 yards and 5-6 TDs.
Dalton Schultz quietly finished as a top 50 RB/WR/TE for the IFL. He had some great moments, including 4 games over 20 points, including a 30-pointer in the IFL playoffs. On an offense struggling to find answers at receiver, Schultz provided a stable, consistent option. He finished the year 18th in TE snap share (72%), 6th in receptions per game (4.82), 11th in receiving yards per game (45.71), but he scored just 3 TDs all year (0.18 per game). He’s never been much of a TD scorer, with only one season over 5 TDs, but Schultz has proven he can be reliable for a team that is still figuring out the receiver position. He’ll be back to snagging around 100 targets, good for fringe startability.
PK: Cairo Santos 9 PPG
PN: Jake Bailey 10 PPG
DT: Milton Williams 13 PPG, Gervon Dexter 11 PPG
Milton Williams cashed in as the prize free agent in the 2025 offseason, expected to lead the Patriots defense into its new era under HC Mike Vrabel. Through 10 games, he was posting respectable numbers, but a high ankle sprain ended his regular season. Overall, it wasn’t the season fantasy managers were expecting as he tallied 27 tackles and 3.5 sacks on 12 pressures. Milton wasn’t much of an IDP factor in Philly before transitioning to New England, but it’s possible that was a product of scheme versus talent. I’m holding Milton at 13 PPG, but his ceiling is higher if he can stay healthy.
We got another decent season out of Gervon Dexter, who has turned into a mighty fine role player for the Chicago Bears. Over the past two seasons, he’s profiled as a 45-55 tackle, 5-6 sack DT, which landed him in the fringe starter / bye week player tier. For IFL purposes, that has a role as a back-end bench player who needs to be played in a pinch at DT. Entering year 4, perhaps there is another gear as DTs often take time to season.
DE: Laiatu Latu 15 PPG, Demarcus Lawrence 14 PPG (Boye Mafe 11 PPG)
It wasn’t super flashy or particularly sexy, but Laiatu Latu provided fantasy owners a decent EDGE2 season. It comes with some red flags, though. Last year, he posted just 46 tackles in 16 games (ok, but not great) and hit 8.5 sacks on 26 pressures. Not bad for a year two player, but I doubt he’ll achieve 3 INTs again, pointing to possible regression unless we see him take another step forward in year 3. (extremely possible) I like Latu as more of a mid-range EDGE2 in the short and long term. He’s going to receive all the opportunity he can handle to turn into a defensive force for the Colts.
It was a bit of a rough start to Demarcus Lawrence’s career in Seattle, hitting over 10 points only once through week 5. From that point on, it was wheels up, notching 6 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, and 2 TDs. DLaw has a prestigious pedigree, coming from the confines of Dallas, which asked him to lead their defense for the better part of a decade. Last season, he went ring chasing in Seattle and got the last laugh after Micah Parsons called him a clown for leaving Dallas. With a heavy rotation along the d-line and DLaw almost certainly not scoring twice again, he’s best served as a bye-week EDGE.
LB: Eric Willson 16 PPG, Justin Strnad 13 PPG (Bobby Wagner, waiting in the wings)
There was a flash in 2020, but Eric Wilson has largely been an IDP afterthought since entering the league in 2017. The ‘other’ UDFA from the Cincinnati Bearcats, he’s received less fanfare than Ivan Pace, but Wilson ate up Pace’s opportunity after the Week 6 bye. Wilson was effectively a full-time hybrid LB/EDGE player for the Vikings and was your traditional boom/bust LB you’d love for one of your last lineup spots. Wilson signed a three-year extension, totaling $22.5 million through his age-34 season. He could end up being a thorn in the side of someone like rookie Jake Golday, who projects as a similar hybrid player. Keep an eye on snap share between the two as the season unfolds.
We’re heading into year 5 with Justin Strnad, who has teased us before with a potentially IDP-relevant role. We saw him in a part-time role through weeks 1-8, but his role was relegated after Dre Greenlaw’s return. In that part-time role, he was inconsistent but posted a respectable 13 PPG. That is a fair expectation for a 60-70% snap player who may have the same inconsistencies if he’s usurped by some of the late day 3 backers the Broncos brought in. We’ll see what we get from the 29-year-old, but I’m not trusting him to be anything more than bye week fodder.
CB: Alontae Taylor 12 PPG, Andru Phillips 10 PPG
We saw Alontae Taylor have the ideal usage as a corner. Slot corner snaps in nickel and boundary corner snaps in base. Last year, he posted 83 tackles, 2 INTs, 2 sacks, and 11 PDs. Will he be back in the top 16 again? He’s now cashed in on a long-term deal with the Titans, and it’s TBD if he’ll be back to a similar usage. I think it’ll transcend scheme/team like it did with Paulson Adebo, but time will tell.
It was a stellar start to 2025 for Dru Phillips, who saw his snap counts average around 80% through 7 weeks, only to be relegated to 60% from that point on. That small change didn’t help him exceed 11.50 points the rest of the way, after he did so 4 times in 7 games. His value is a bit up in the air at this point, as we’ve seen him be valuable when given opportunity, but the Giants have a new coaching staff in town. He’s worth a stash, but he could end up being a backup.
S: Tykee Smith 16 PPG, Kamren Curl 15 PPG, Kevin Winston 15 PPG (Dillon Thieneman 14 PPG, Kamren Kinchens 11 PPG)
In just his second season, Tykee Smith has become a significant IDP factor at the safety position. He plays a coveted box role in Todd Bowles’ hyper-aggressive scheme, allowing him to eat up tackles. We’ve seen Antoine Winfield excel in this role in recent years, and now Tykee has taken over the spot to maximize his ability on the field. Smith posted 100 tackles, 1 INT, and 2 sacks, finishing as the S5 on the season. Expect more of the same this year, and Smith could be asked for even more mop-up duty with depleted linebacker play in front of him.
From Washington to LA, Kamren Curl has proven himself as a box safety delux. He finds himself in a perfect environment as well, as the Rammies don’t care for starting two full-time linebackers. Curl is tasked with often helping in the run game. He plays about 50% of his time in the box, but I’m not sure if 122 total tackles are replicable. He did it in 2023, so a regression isn’t guaranteed. He’s certainly a top 10 safety.
It’s Kevin Winston breakout SZN y’all. If you paid attention to the IDP rookie draft process in 2025, then you certainly heard his name pop up. He landed in Tennessee and was slowly brought along by the former coaching staff. Starting in week 11 after their bye, they gave him full-time snaps, and he posted a robust 18 PPG until a season-ending hamstring injury in week 14. Now slated to be a starter in Robert Salah’s scheme, Winston will hopefully continue to play plenty by the line of scrimmage. A top 20 season is in play, and if given a good opportunity, he can become a consistent top 10 guy.
Off: Atlanta Falcons 10 PPG
PPG: 309
W-L: 5-12
X-Factor: Defensive dart throws stepping up.
Wade has built a sneaky team that has a lot to like. Offensively, the RB trio of K9, Monty, and Breese are exciting as hell. Defensively, we see a dynamic group of safeties too, but it lacks depth elsewhere. With Maye leading the team, this squad can do some damage on a weekly basis. It has questionable power toward the back half of the lineup to realistically be a contender unless some players outperform their projections or moves are made.
