The Best Fantasy Football Handcuff for 2025?
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Underdog, we're looking at new faces in new places, breakout candidates, and more.
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Underdog:
It feels like we rarely get Earth-shattering NFL news at the beginning of May … okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, but you know what I mean!
George Pickens being traded to the Cowboys made me think back to all the movement we've had so far this offseason. From Deebo Samuel heading to the Commanders to Geno Smith getting ready to cook in Las Vegas, which players have the best shot at fantasy football success with their new teams in 2025?
George Pickens → DAL: We don't have to spend too much time on Pickens, since I know you read all our awesome work on the website yesterday anyway. Let me just say this—The Cowboys needed a WR2 like we need air to breathe, or like we need Kyle Pitts to give us one more good fantasy season.
While Pickens is a winner here, I can't understate how big of a win this is for quarterback Dak Prescott. It's not like we haven't seen him support a wide receiver duo in the past—think CeeDee Lamb/Amari Cooper (2021) and Michael Gallup/Cooper (2019). As the current QB15 in our consensus rankings, it wouldn't be shocking if Prescott pushed for a top-12 finish. Pickens will work in fantasy if we see Dak bounce back from his injury and return to form.
Deebo Samuel → WAS: Listen, I had too many shares of Samuel last season, and it came back to bite me. It was the least productive season of his career. But did the wide receiver age cliff come to bite him, or was it the calf strain, rib injury, and pneumonia (!!!) that really set him back? Samuel averaged 14.1 PPR points per game (WR25) in the first six weeks last season before his injuries started setting him back.
I'm not saying I'm completely back in, but pairing Samuel with Terry McLaurin alongside a superstar quarterback in Jayden Daniels does get me excited about the potential outcome. Right now, he's Fantasy Life's consensus WR39, putting him around Jauan Jennings, Jerry Jeudy, and Jayden Reed.
Jordan Mason → MIN: The Minnesota Vikings agreed to terms back in March with Mason on a two-year, $12M contract that included $7M fully guaranteed. I really like this 1-2 punch that the Vikings have going on.
Injuries played a big role in Mason's year-three breakout, but he finished the season with 789 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games while Christian McCaffrey was sidelined. He also forced a missed tackle on a league-high 37.3% of his carries last season (min. 150 carries), according to Next Gen Stats. In Weeks 1-8 (before McCaffrey's return), Mason also led the NFL with 51 missed tackles forced.
I still believe Aaron Jones has juice left in the tank, but it's never a bad idea to have some insurance behind a running back who's going to be 31 in December. Mason can handle that physical role, and now the Vikings can hope that Jones will stay healthy throughout the entire season as well. If he doesn't? Well, we don't want injuries, but Mason would be plugged into a huge role—don't ignore him in your 2025 drafts.
And speaking of late-round RB targets, read on to see who Pete has his eyes on in early offseason drafts …
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Forget Bucky Irving, Is Sean Tucker The Bucs RB To Target?
OK, OK … let’s slow down. We love Bucky Irving, but there’s something to looking deeper into Sean Tucker’s hyperefficiency last season.
Small sample sizes are a helluva drug in fantasy football, and while it’s smart to proceed with caution when we see hyper-efficient production over a small sample, this can be an indicator of a bigger role and breakout on the horizon.
Tucker embodies this idea, as highlighted in Ian Hartitz’s Small Sample Size All Stars…
“Small sample size of just 50 rush attempts be damned, we're talking about THE most explosive RB in the NFL when it came to percentage of carries to gain 10-plus yards (14%!) last season. The only other RBs to clear 12% in a season since 2023 are De'Von Achane, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Christian McCaffrey. That's really good company! Tucker also demonstrated the ability to make plays as a receiver, easily ranking first in yards per route run (2.6) among 82 qualified backs.
… It remains to be seen if Tucker is really a threat to Rachaad White's RB2 job, and obviously, Bucky Irving isn't going anywhere atop the depth chart. Still, there's enough positivity and proven efficiency on the table here for me to buy in enough to throw last-round darts the 23-year-old's way in best ball land.”
And Ian didn’t stop at Tucker. He went deep in his bag to find six more potential 2025 breakouts you should pay attention to. ⬇️
Late-Round Running Back Draft Strategy
One of the trickiest dynamics in early best ball drafts is how to approach the late-round picks.
On the one hand, we know that we want to take upside swings on rookies with those picks in the hopes that we land on the next league winner like Puka Nacua or Bucky Irving.
On the other hand, we know that late-round rookie selections at RB/WR often have very little job security, and we also know that the biggest risk to the success of our early teams is dead roster spots.
To help you better navigate these dicey waters, Pete Overzet has run through all of the late-round RBs to highlight who he’s prioritizing in early drafts, along with his current exposures …
On top of these being some of the best late-round RBs to target, there’s another group that could emerge based on how the offseason goes.
Wondering who you should monitor in drafts? 👀⬇️
Around the Watercooler
The latest fantasy nuggets, silliness, and NFL gossip from our merry band of football nerds.
👀 This WR is going under the radar … a prime target in rookie drafts.
🚨 ICYMI: Grading every AFC team’s undrafted free agents.
☀️ The only thing capable of stopping the new-look Cowboys. Amazing.
📉 Five massive rankings downgrades. The NFL Draft wasn’t kind …
🤔 Caleb Williams or Baker Mayfield—who has more upside?
🚑 An injury update on Jonathon Brooks … see you in 2026.
🤠 Pistol Pete has a message for fantasy managers: touch some grass.
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