In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Xfinity, a Super Bowl personality test, FanDuel DFS picks for the big game and fantasy football roundtable.
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Xfinity:
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but there’s a pretty big competition coming up. Yes, I’m talking about the annual Cheese Rolling Festival in Gloucestershire, England. A bunch of folks racing down a steep hill … chasing after a giant wheel of cheese. What’s not to like??
Kidding! That’s not happening until May. For now, we’ll have to settle for one of the biggest spectacles in the history of sports.
But we all enjoy the big game in different ways. Take our brief quiz below to find out your Super Bowl personality type …
What are you wearing on Sunday?
Something nice. Watching football is no reason to be uncouth.
Just underpants and cozy socks. You’re probably catching the game in between naps, alone. (Or with people who don’t judge.)
Your favorite jersey, even if that team isn’t playing. (It’s called manifesting and it’s good luck for next season.)
When the halftime show starts you …
Yell at everyone to shut up so you don’t miss a second of “the real show.”
Pray that Bad Bunny starts his performance with “BAILE INoLVIDABLE.”
Doomscroll social media.
Make a beeline to the bathroom and/or snack area, though not necessarily in that order.
When a big play happens you …
Wait for a reaction shot from Cardi B. Or an Affleck … or a Wahlberg. You must know how the celebrities feel about this before rushing to judgment yourself.
Frantically check an app on your phone.
Text your friends a completely unrelated meme.
Shout “LET’S F**KING GOOOO.” (Or if you’re tired of that phrase, maybe “HECK YEAH, GOOD BUDDIES!” I dunno. Let’s all workshop it.)
THE EVERYTHING. THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY OF THE YEAR.
Answer Key: If you answered mostly …
You’re the Pop Culture Junkie. You watch the Super Bowl for the same reason you never miss an awards show … you enjoy the pageantry and the shared experience. You’re welcome at the party as long as you don’t use the word “sportsball.”
You’rethe Uncut Gem. You mostly enjoy the parts of the Super Bowl that make a little green checkmark appear on your preferred app. Please bet responsibly.
You’re the Marshawn Lynch. You’re only watching “so you don’t get fined” aka have something to contribute to conversations the next day. (Maybe you’re still too salty about losing in your fantasy championship to enjoy football right now.)
You’re a Fantasy Life Reader. C’mon, let’s be real. If you’re reading this, you just want to savor one last NFL game before being unplugged from the matrix and thrust back into the harshness of the real world. And if you somehow got anything but D … you are a unique butterfly and honestly we’d love to hear from you about it.
Whatever your personality type, make this Super Bowl Sunday a good one.
What’s not to love about Drake Maye in dynasty? He just finished a spectacular sophomore campaign, finishing as the QB5 in points per game (19.4), and he doesn’t turn 24 until August. He’s just entering his prime! We’re looking at potentially at least a five-year run of consistent greatness. That’s exactly what the Xfinity 5-Year Price Guarantee means for your wallet: one monthly price, set for five full years of reliable WiFi, with no strings attached. No mid-season price hikes. No scrambling to adjust. Just peace of mind knowing your connection, and your cost, will go the distance. Sports can be unpredictable, but your internet price doesn’t have to be. One price. Five years. Guaranteed.
Super Bowl Sunday is one sleep away. It’s time to lock in and catch up on what you may have missed throughout the week in preparation for the big game …
While JSN has the highest salary on the slate, the half-PPR scoring on FanDuel makes Kenneth Walker the clear choice. Not only does he out-project Smith-Njigba in both base and Xfinity best projections (16 to 15.9, 24.1 to 23.3, respectively), but you unlock $2,700 in salary by opting for the Seahawks workhorse.
Over the last two weeks, with Zach Charbonnet going down with a torn ACL, Walker has posted a 62% snap rate with Utilization Scores of 81 and 86. While he’s not a true workhorse in terms of snap percentage (George Holani is getting his fair share), his 66% rush share, 29% targets per route run and 100% rush share inside the five-yard line are workhorse-like utilization numbers.
I’d be shocked if Walker is not the most popular MVP selection on the slate, but this is chalk that would be irresponsible to fade.
2. Drake Maye ($18,900)
Drake Maye is another player who finds himself less expensive than Seattle’s WR1, and those incremental savings have me confidently slotting Maye into the No. 2 spot in the MVP rankings (twice in one week for Maye, oof).
Seattle’s defense has looked elite all season, but as Matt LaMarca broke down, the string of quarterbacks they’ve faced is less than inspiring. The one exception is Matthew Stafford, who absolutely shredded the Seattle secondary in all three games. While Maye doesn’t carry the same passing-game upside that Stafford does, he provides rushing upside that Stafford does not. Maye has posted a 9% designed rush rate in the playoffs, up from 5% in the regular season. With the added rushing upside on top of the already-reliable floor that you get with Maye, there may not be a safer MVP option on the slate.
3. Jaxon Smith-Njigba ($19,500)
I’ve knocked JSN a bit, but it’s more to do with his salary relative to Walker and Maye. When it comes to raw projection, Smith-Njigba falls only 0.1 behind Walker for the highest skill-position projection on the slate, and out-projects every single wide receiver on the slate by at least 7.8 points.
So far in the playoffs, he’s posted a 32% target share, 90 UR Score and 11.1-yard aDOT, continuing to torch secondaries as he has all season. If he continues to operate primarily out of the slot and avoids constant coverage from Christian Gonzalez, we could see another nuclear performance from JSN—you just have to pay for it on FanDuel.
Who doesn’t love a surprise in fantasy football? That player drafted in the last round who becomes an every-week starter. That midseason waiver wire pickup who blows up in the fantasy playoffs. They’re enough to warm a fantasy manager’s heart all winter long.
Ian Hartitz, Matthew Freedman and Dwain McFarland got together to discuss some of their biggest surprises from last season in our latest roundtable. One of Dwain’s choices was Michael Wilson, who had some explosive games down the stretch after not doing much his first couple seasons:
“Wilson finished as the WR66 and WR59 with 7.9 and 8.7 PPR points per game (PPG) in 2024 and 2023, which he drastically improved with 13 PPG last season. Historical fantasy points are the starting point when forecasting future production. However, Wilson's lack of underlying data didn't start there. Despite the Cardinals needing weapons to step up during his first two years, he didn't stand out in any of the underlying data.
YPRR: 1.36, 1.09
Targets: 14%, 15%
“Those numbers align historically with WR5 and WR6 performers. So there was nothing under the hood to suggest that he would break out. However, Wilson helped win fantasy leagues. He delivered 19.7 fantasy points per game from Week 10 to Week 18 with Marvin Harrison Jr. battling injuries.”
