Gentlemen and Riley, the 2025 Dynasty Season is officially upon us. As usual, that means it is time for the “All Too Early but Eerily Accurate Preseason Predictions”.
The draft weekend was full of memorable moments as we initiated Pauly into the fold. From Kyle’s clown car full of roadies (sorry, Mitch. If I had known, I’d have put on that 2nd layer of deodorant), to Riley’s sharp wit, to Finken’s moderate amount of leftover pizza, it was great to get the boys back together Thursday night!
Friday’s agenda was spot on… as always. Kyle was able to seal the deal on at least a dozen RVs throughout the day, no one ended up fighting old people at the pickleball courts, and South did make us all sweat 3 separate times. I slept real well that night and thanks to my CPAP, Riley and Paul had a nice little first date snuggle, and I assume the rest of you dreamt about how amazing my WR lineup is. I know I always do. Saturday delivered on every level; despite Finken's attempt to monopolize the day with Sudoku, Year 2 of challenges was a hit. Since Southy had to spend half the afternoon putting salve on Riley’s roping welt, it’s good Mitch saved him from digging the heavy ball out of the swamp.
Now onto the real analysis…With a clear best and worst team heading into the season, it seems the other 6 members of CNK are planning to see how the first half of the season goes before pulling the ripcord on a rebuild or shoving their chips in to contend down the stretch.
Leading up to the draft, several small trades had CNK teams jockeying for position to “get their guy”. The only big boy trade came from Mitch and Kyle. On the surface, I see why both teams made the trade. Mitch was looking to acquire a few premium pieces in London and the 26 1st made sense, and Kyle is trying to add some much-needed depth with Moore, Worthy and Williams dice rolls. If those guys can navigate their murky situations, Kyle may be looking at back-to-back playoff appearances after 4 years of bottom 2 finishes.
Draft day trades came nowhere near the frenzy we saw last year. Most were subtle maneuvers to move up or back a few spots. For the first time in recent memory, NO PLAYERS were traded on draft day. The only real drama was Kyle learning a valuable lesson not to “just talk about your trades out loud”... this phrase will certainly join “get your guy” as cautionary tales for draft day shenanigans.
Before we look ahead, let’s take a look back at last season's predictions. By tiers, this was spot-on analysis.
McLaurin, Achane, and Cook were nice surprises that launched Riley to his 2nd ever finals appearance.
The down year for Mahomes, Rice, and Godwin put a damper on Seth’s playoff dreams.
Mitch navigated the waiver wire masterfully to acquire (and promptly trade away) any valuable assets while limboing for low points and the privilege of drafting Jeanty.
Now, on to the predictions!
**Editor’s note: I considered rolling these out in order of least volatile rankings, but I thought that might trigger a few people 👀👀👀
TIER 4 - Productive Struggle
We knew Mitch and Pauly were at the bottom of a substantial mountain to climb back into relevance. For the sake of parody and a competitive league, we are all rooting for you guys. Both took significant steps to reshape their future.
#8 - Getting High with Joker (that’s gonna take some getting used to) Power Ranking 63
Trade/Draft Grade: B-
Pauly’s first venture into dynasty has been marked with some highs and lows already.
I graded on a curve, trying to remember all the stupid stuff we did the first few years of the league (looking at you TJ Yeldon and Trent Richardson). I didn’t like the timing of the Tracy trade, and trying to compete too soon may have led to a questionable choice of Ridley over Pittman. Time will tell if the move back from 1.8 (Cam Ward?) to selecting Jaxson Dart was a turning point. History has proven that 2nd round QBs are worth their weight in gold. Don’t Google it. Just trust me.
A month ago, Bech was much higher on my board. It sounds like he is struggling to gain traction in Raider camp; maybe this will be one of those “Ja’Marr Chase can’t catch footballs without the stripes” nonsense that is laughable by midseason. Shough appears to have all the opportunity; we should have an answer on the talent part pretty quickly.
On the bright side, you need guys who can win you weeks by themselves on your roster. It appears that Hampton and Hunter might both fall in that category. While both have some question marks around usage this year, you can’t question the talent. Did anyone tell Paul this isn’t an IDP league?
Roster Analysis
Not surprisingly, there is still plenty of work to do. That said, the “Abel bye” appears to be a thing of the past (assuming Pauly can figure out FAAB and how to set a lineup each week). Lawrence and McCarthy are in promising offenses surrounded by weapons and Chubba and Hampton provide viable RB starters. LaPorta and Addison are locked in as weekly contributors, while Hampton and Hunter should prove to be electric… too bad the rest of the team is running on candlelight.
Wild Cards
Ridley, Shakir, Tracy, and Kirk should all be immediate sell candidates the first time they score over 15 fantasy points. These short-term assets will be the fuel to add long-term value. As for upside, I like Pearsall, Charbonett, and Tillman to increase in value this season. Will they become cornerstones of the roster or will they offer nice trade pieces is yet to be determined. Finding a few gems on the waiver wire to supplement draft capital will be key to rebuilding this roster.
#7 Play it Backwards - Power Ranking 71
Trade/Draft Grade: A+
As much as it pains me, I’ll give a lot of credit to Mitch for completely remaking his roster over the past 12 months. Selling Southy all of the 49ers' backup RBs and flipping waiver wire trash all season is a great playbook for Pauly to follow. While I thought the trade with Kyle was fair, I think Mitch got the best assets in London and the 26 1st. In the draft, I really liked his approach to get both Jeanty and Henderson and take the leftover receiver at 1.5. Ward could be a nice addition to his young QB room. Outside of Burden (a little too much Kaderious Toney for me), the rest of the guys he drafted were on my list of players to target. I’m sure the Warren vs Loveland debate will provide fodder for years to come. That said, what truly bumped the draft from an A to an A+ was that he found a way to smoke his chickens so that he wasn’t 6 hours late to draft weekend.
Roster Analysis
Compared to last year, the top half of his roster has some serious firepower. Unfortunately, you have to start 10 players. If Penix, Fields, Ward, and Williams all hit, two of them will look real nice on his bench each week while he’ll be starting Dallas Goedert in the FLEX. Mitch will likely have to scroll down to the 4 1st round picks for 2026 for any rosterbating material for the immediate future.
Wild Cards
Ward, Williams, Penix, and Fields offer A LOT of upside in the QB slots. All are likely to pop off at some point this season. Unfortunately, it might be hard to predict which starters to roll out until the dust settles. Burden and Hollywood Brown have the talent to command targets this season, but both find themselves in very crowded situations. Ray Davis and Jaydon Blue may have opportunities to emerge this season if they can take advantage.
TIER 3 - Outside looking in
Normally, I would just throw the contenders into a middle tier and call it a day. This year, my iron-clad process has a clear separation in that middle tier, and it looks like 2 teams are outside looking in come December.
#6 Off Suit 10’s - Power Ranking 81.4
Trade/Draft Grade: B-
In typical Kyle fashion, there were a lot of trades to unpack. I like the LaPorta trade that sent away some TE depth for the chance to call his shot on Kaleb Johnson. I’m not sure how much fruit that tree will bear this year, but it should be a solid pick for the future. I liked Mitch’s side of their big trade better, but Kyle did swap London for 3 starters this year. That said, Worthy, Williams and Moore sound like a law firm that specializes in “injury settlements and WR2 projections.”. As for the draft, OS10 added 2nd tier contributors in Johnson and Higgins, but that’s about it. With the only “significant” draft picks left being a 2nd-round and a 3rd-round pick left for the next 2 years, Kyle will need to focus on player development and hope some of those up-and-comers hurry up and arrive (or get ready to package them up for more draft capital ASAP).
Roster Analysis
A year ago, QB looked to be the best unit on this roster… today it looks like OS10 will be counting on a bounce-back season from both Stroud and Murray to push for a playoff repeat. The good news is Bijon, McBride and the ghost of Kamara provide plus matchups most every week. The bad news is that the rest of the squad looks more like a best-ball lineup than guys you can count on week in and week out. With Jonnu, Diggs, and Deebo looking to sub in for injuries and bye weeks, it will take a pretty healthy year and some head-to-head matchup magic again to put Kyle back in the championship bracket.
Wild Cards
JSN and Harrison both have incredible potential and room for growth following last season. JSN is the only show in town and we can hope the Cardinals used the offseason to figure out how to get their best weapon the ball. Realistically, Moore and Worthy need to emerge as the top dawgs for their team and J-Mo needs to ball out like he wants a new contract. Rashee’s impending suspension could give Kyle just enough boost to push one of Mitch’s 1sts to the 4th pick of the draft.
#5 Ah, It’s Early - Power Ranking 81.6
Trade/Draft Grade: C-
Mostly this is a “meh” category for AIE. Hindsight on last year’s draft trades is not kind to Seth. DeVonta and Bigsby for what could have been Caleb, Jayden Daniels, or Brock Bowers doesn’t look great and the trade in October to acquire Hopkins for what became 2.3 hurts almost as much as getting dry humped by his brother-in-law in a musty basement. Seth is hoping to make a little magic with the few picks he actually made this year. I like Harvey and believe he will become “the” valuable back in Denver…at his age, he might be a valuable trade piece to collect more ammo for the impending rebuild. I like Golden’s talent for where he fell in the draft. However, like a Lansink Thanksgiving, there’s a lot of mouths to feed, and I’m not sure if there are enough roller dogs to let him feast. Smith is intriguing and may be able to take advantage of valuable opportunities in the KC backfield.
Roster Analysis
No cap, on God, Seth’s roster would be bussin with mad drip and aura … if it were still 2021. Mahomes, Wilson, Waddle, Godwin, Rice, and Kelce were marquee names 2 years ago. Whether scheme changes (KC), QB play, or injuries, one thing or another has detrailed these talented players the past few years. While I think there will certainly be good weeks for this roster, I think it lacks the star power to compete with the top 4 teams in the league. I think Seth will be in the playoff conversation right up to the end, but will have to make a tough decision to sell off assets as the trade deadline approaches. If he goes that route, he’ll have some good foundational pieces to make it a short turnaround. Editor's Note: there was a great sister joke here that Chris deleted but the editor's can't remember it so feel free to throw extra shame Lazer's way...
Wild Cards
The wild card is the question of if the guys above can reclaim their previous form. It sounds like Kelce’s billionaire girlfriend has Shaken Off some of his dead weight, while Godwin seems to be on pace and Rashee should be out of the joint for the start of the season. All of them will be returning to situations with more/younger competition for targets. Bucky and Baker were bright spots last year but lost their OC. Seth will rely on the hope that Dak be pickin’ Pickens over his love of shepherding Lambs as well as breakouts from RJ Harvey and Keon to really make some noise, much like Seth's bedroom on most weekend nights...there, that kind of makes up for the deleted joke.
TIER 2 - The inside looking out.
This tier feels safe on the playoff side of the line but could be a few injuries away from disaster. These three teams proved last year that they just need a chip and a chair in December and they could bring home a championship.
#4 Smells Low - Power Ranking 86.6
Trade/Draft Grade: C-
It was a quiet offseason for Smells Low. Without any trades to build on or any draft day maneuvering, Riley let the draft come to him … sort of. If I didn’t like Egbuka so much, this draft grade would have been much lower. Riley made use of that huge schnoz to sniff out a way to “get his guys”, although he might have gone a little too far in drafting Neal and Bryant about a round-and-a-half earlier than they were projected to go. I like Neal’s talent, but Riley’s been part of far better threesomes than Neal, Kamara, and former first overall pick, Clyde Edwards-Helaire. Bryant was a good route runner in college, but I’m not confident he will get separation at the next level. Fannin is interesting based on college production, but again, stuck behind Njoku in what projects to be a terrible offense while CLE figures out if they have a real QB. I would have liked to see him sniff out a few trade-downs for value on draft day.
Roster Analysis
Fresh off a championship game appearance, confidence has to be HIGH(pun intended) for Riley. Smells Low rolls out a really solid starting lineup when at full strength. Hurts is a stud and I really like the prospects of Maye and Purdy this season. Achane was a PPR monster and ARSB should stay elite despite losing his OC. That said, I have some serious questions about repeating the career performances from McLaurin, Cook, and Achane. I’m projecting Scary Terry to take a small step back and Cook to take a larger step back (Allen is not going to put up with his running back vulturing 18 rushing TDs again). Hall and Walker will need to stay healthy and Davante is going to need to ward off Father Time to make Smells Low a serious contender in December.
Wild Cards
A Le’veon Bell-like holdout for Cook seems like a possibility while he tries to capitalize on an unreal and unrepeatable 2024 season. Breece Hall is the best back in New York but do they give him the ball enough? Do Sutton, Flowers or Jennings become consistent enough contributors that they force themselves into the starting roster spots? I expect a return to reality for the outlier performances of 2024 and a respectable (but not championship caliber) season for Riley.
#3 Rolling 4 Deep - Power Ranking 87.7
Trade/Draft Grade: B
In typical Finken fashion, there weren’t many splashy trades… just surgical maneuvering to move up a few picks to get his guy. Like the Jayden Daniels move last year, Finken is hoping his eye for talent and opportunity pays dividends. That double deception play on Kyle was colder than the leftover pizza, In what may prove to be the most memorable draft event, advising Pauly to talk trades out loud AND THEN using that to snipe the pick from Kyle (classic Finken). While I like the tier up to Judkins, I’m not as sold on the overall talent. (edit 7/16: This may be moot as Judkins might be opting for the Maurice Clarett career over the Eddie George path) In a similar move, Finken moved up 2 spots to snag Tre Harris at 3.1. I think Harris is more Mike Williams than Keenan Allen, but could be a nice stack with Herbert for weekly upside. Full Disclosure: Hunter and Croskey-Merrit would have been my picks had each fallen to me in each round. Overall, there is something to like in EVERY pick and should prove to be nice holds on his roster.
Roster Analysis
To see the potential in this roster, look no further than the playoff weeks of 2024. I wasn’t disappointed that his hot streak happened in the consolation bracket. He would have provided at least a bead (albeit, a small one) of sweat rolling into championship weekend. Gibbs and Barkley are the best RB 1-2 punch in the league. Daniels, BTJ, and Chase Brown erupted onto the scene last year and balanced out the old reliables in Evans, Herbert, and James Conner. If Olave’s brain isn’t scrambled and if Ben Johnson can turn Rome into the Sun God II, his starting lineup doesn’t miss a beat with bye weeks and injuries.
Wild Cards
I’m betting against a repeat for Saquon…but, there is a good chance that he is just built differently and the laws of physics just don’t apply to him. I just think an insane workload and Super Bowl run make him more susceptible to missing time at the end of the year when R4D and the Eggles want him the most. There are also some serious questions surrounding some of his best contributors: How does Gibbs perform in the new Detroit offense? Is Hunter or BTJ the real #1 in JAX (and can Lawrence support 2 of them)? Are Evans and Conner going to fall off the cliff and will Benson and Judkins be ready to pick up the slack in Finken’s lineup if they do?
#2 F It 3 - Power Ranking 89.4
Trade/Draft Grade: C-
Hard to get a good draft grade with 3 late picks heading into a draft. A little pixie dust and South was able to trade into (and out of) 2.2 and net a few more picks along the way. Jakobi Meyers was a nice depth piece for this roster and if history tells us anything, you know at least 2 of the WR dart throws are going to pan out. Royals and Restrepo are talented WRs who fell in the NFL draft. Royals is buried on KC’s depth chart, but Restrepo has a prime opportunity to build on his chemistry with Cam Ward. Thornton is likely the slot guy in Vegas, and camp buzz has been hotter than Abel blacked out at a blackjack table.
Roster Analysis
Southy better hope there aren’t many games flexed into primetime for his stars; most nursing homes require residents to be back for sponge baths by 8 PM. Maybe they can get the waterboy to swap prune juice in for the Gatorade jugs. While you never want to count Southy out, we may be getting close to the window closing for F It 3. Hill, Mixon, Jacobs, and McCaffrey have been cornerstones but are on the back end of great careers. I see 2 more competitive seasons for this crew, but Southy could look to begin the retool early if things go sideways before the end of 2026. Lamar and JJetta can win a matchup for you almost any week. Personal opinion: I think Nix is due for a sophomore slump, and Kyren can’t keep fooling McVay forever.
Wild Cards
F It 3 has perhaps the widest range of outcomes this year. Tyreek looked washed last year. McCaffrey is a league winner… if he’s healthy. Are Mixon and Pacheco RB1s on their own team after week 6… bet at least one of them isn’t. Jeudy and Downs are legit talents but may not have a QB that can get them the ball. If all of these questions break the right way (*cough* *cough* CMC), Southy is unstoppable. If half goes his way, he is elite. If they break wrong, he is fighting for a playoff spot.
TIER 1 - Creme de la Creme
25-3 in the regular season and took the PF title by over 100 points puts the target squarely on IWUL's back.
#1 If We’re Using Logic - Power Ranking 96.5
Trade/Draft Grade: B
Not gonna complain about the conditional Henry pick turning into a 1st rounder. If he hangs on for one more year, this team is going to be tough to beat. Coming into the draft, this roster had question marks at RB and TE. While top-tier RB talent was out of reach, Chris added a lot of lottery tickets to his roster. If Skattebo can shake the knucklehead rep he had coming out of college, he could become a workhorse 3-down back in NY. Tuten (Toot’n?) is raw but could get some Bucky treatment from the new coaching staff. If he can snag the starting RB spot at any point, value is sure to be there. I’ll be honest, the Loveland/Warren pick was a coin flip. I chose the guy who is 2 years younger and better coaching staff over the guy with a more immediate path to relevance. Also didn’t like that Warren had to wait until he was 22 years old to bully 18 yr olds… or could not beat out the likes of *checks notes* Theo Johnson and Brenton Strange in college. Williams, Noel, and Milroe were luxury picks with high upside outcomes… nice home run swings that could be huge hits or could be this year's Anthony Richardson.
Roster Analysis
One anonymous CNK member recently referred to this roster as the infinity gauntlet of WRs (and it’s inevitable you’re going to keep hearing about it). The QB and WR rooms are the best in the league and the RBs (while older) are still solid tier 2 players. IWUL is currently taking applications for RB Depth and a reliable starting TE. With this year’s draft, there is hope that these shelves can be restocked as well.
Wild Cards
While the WR room looks pretty solid, there are some unanswered questions coming into the season. Is Pickens good or bad for CeeDee? Is McConkey the clear-cut WR1 with Harris coming in? Nico has new blood in the WR room and has struggled to stay healthy. Does Puka continue to get all the targets with Adams in town in LA? And who retires first between the two of them? While I’m not particularly worried about any of those issues having a devastating effect, it is possible that all of them have small impacts across the board. Henry carried the rock A LOT last year, can he come back for one more healthy run? Is Swift fool's gold in Chicago since the coaching staff already traded him away in Detroit?
Sweet baby Jesus, please let me see 4 weeks of Jameis Winston and Malik Nabers… Just to see what happens.
Projected Rosters
Current Redraft Rankings - # Players per round
