Mike the guard at the Sea Girt Army Camp had his radio tuned to a Fantasy Football broadcast when I drove up to the gate last week. We talked about his Fantasy team and I asked him what it was called. He said, “It’s kind of embarrassing. I have to change it.” When I pressed, he sheepishly said, “Hawk Tuah.” My wife laughed so hard she couldn’t breathe. Good luck this season Mike! May Hawk Tuah spit in the face of adversity.
Here is our last-minute advice:
CHECK OUT THE DEPTH CHARTS
Fantasy rosters are like IKEA furniture: they look stable until one piece goes missing and the whole thing collapses. You might think you have your top running backs handcuff, but do you? Zamir White has outplayed Raheem Mostert to back up Ashton Jeanty for the Raiders. Tahj Brooks of the Bengals looks like the backup to Chase Brown over Samaje Perine. And Dylan Sampson had a terrific camp and may get as much playing time as Jerome Ford in Cleveland.
GET IN THE ZONE
The Red Zone, that is. Opportunity is everything in Fantasy Football. Accumulate players that have the best chance to score. Jacory Croskey-Merritt is the latest lottery ticket at RB, but he’ll only get the ball between the 20-yard lines while backup Chris Rodriguez has been designated the goal-line back. Rodriguez might be more valuable, and he’s not on many rosters.
IT’S NEVER OVER ‘TIL IT’S OVER
A slow start to the season is not a death sentence. 0-3 or 0-4 can be easily overcome, so never throw in the towel. My son started 0-5 with his team PickNRoll last year and still made the playoffs. Fantasy is a long, weird road. One minute you’re winless, the next you’re measuring wall space for a championship plaque.
HISTORY IS OLD NEWS
I often look at past performances when I assemble my weekly lineups, but I do so analytically. For example, last year Jared Goff threw five TDs and for 557 yards in two games against the Bears. Should be a layup at home for Goff in Week 2, right? Well, not so fast. The Lions have a new OC in John Morton, and we don’t know how he’ll use Goff. Trust current trends, not last year’s highlight reels.
DO NOT PRACTICE SAFE SETS
Playing it safe is the quickest way to finish seventh. Fortune favors the bold, or at least the reckless-but-lucky. The team that rolled the dice and took Jayden Daniels last year (again, my son with PickNRoll, this is getting annoying), won the league. The team that ignored “starter” Zack Moss and drafted “backup” Chase Brown instead was rewarded with a top ten RB.
PLAYERS I DON’T WANT IN 2025
QB Jordon Love — Love had more than 2 TDs in a game only four times last year. The Packers are now a ground-and-pound team. Love’s receivers are either hurt, hobbling or held together with KT tape and hope. They give Love a bad name.
QB Matthew Stafford — The man is tough as nails, which is funny because at 37, Stafford moves like his feet have been nailed to the floor. I’d rather have Daniel Jones as my QB. That speaks volumes.
RB Will Shipley — It’s a pipe dream that the 5-11, 209-pound Shipley could step into an injured 235-pound Saquon Barkley’s shoes and the Eagles won’t miss a beat. Shipley is not a handcuff. He’s a powder puff.
RB James Conner — Why would Conner campaign for his backup Trey Benson to get more playing time? Could it be after almost 1,000 touches in the last four seasons that the 30-year-old is exhausted? Remember, 30 is the new 60 in running back years.
WR Chris Olave — Unless the Saints bring back Archie Manning, Bobby Hebert or Drew Brees, I want no part of their passing game. With Spencer Rattler at QB, when the Saints come marching in, I don’t want to be in that number.
WR Tyreek Hill — After a frustrating ’24 season, Hill declared, “I’m out, bro,” to Miami reporters. He has since backtracked on the statement, but you can’t put toothpaste back in the tube. He’s an aging malcontent whose production is directly tied to the health of his fragile QB (Tua Tagovailoa).
Any Bills Receivers — The “everybody eats” campaign continues in Buffalo, meaning there will once again be no true No. 1 WR. Khalil Shakir, Curtis Samuel, Keon Coleman, Joshua Palmer and Elijah Moore are all interchangeable. For Fantasy purposes, these guys are a big “meh.”
TE Darren Waller — Waller has become the Bigfoot of Fantasy: lots of sightings, zero production. He missed the whole preseason and hasn’t caught a single pass from Tua Tagovailoa. At this point, he may not even be real.
Grab the FantasyGuru.com 2025 NFL Draft Guide today! Enter the code NEW30 for 30% off the subscription. It’s the ultimate Fantasy toolkit. And best of all, you’ll get Jeff Mans’ Fantasy Football Draft Plan: The Mansifesto! Bill Reinhard appears weekly on This Week in Pro Football (YouTube), is a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and a columnist for FantasyGuru.com.
