2024 showed promise for GM Miller’s Straight Cash Homie squad. In 2023 he scored the second fewest overall points in the league. Last year, his total points improved to the 6th most in the league. That’s the good news. The bad news is he has yet to find the playoffs. But the great thing about fantasy football is there is always next year. Hope springs eternal!
QB: Patrick "F&#king" Mahomes (12)
Having Mahomes as your starting fantasy QB is never a bad thing. Technically, a 12th place QB barely makes him starting material, but he's Patrick F&#king Mahomes. His dip in stats certainly had to do with a bunch of pansy wide receivers who were hurt much or part of the season (Worthy, Rice, Brown, Smith-Schuster). And still the Chiefs made it to the Super Bowl?
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| Pat shows appreciation to his favorite people. |
RB: Chase Brown (10), "Uncle" Rico Dowdle (23), Javonte Williams (30), Tyler Allgeier (43), Jaylen Wright (93)
Brown had a breakout season, despite only rushing the ball 14 times in his first three games! The sky is the limit in his third season and it sounds like he will be a focal point for the Bengals this year. Dowdle looked great the last half of the 2024 season, putting together three consecutive 100 yard games. Then the Jones braintrust let him walk. He signed with the Panthers, which will probably be a step backwards in production as he shares the backfield now with Hubbard. Coincidently, the player the Cowboys signed to take Dowdle’s place also plays for Straight Cash Homie: Williams is only 25 years old, but it feels like he’s 52. Three years removed from a nasty knee injury, he’s got the opportunity to be the alpha again. He now shares the backfield with Miles Sanders, who has disappeared off the face of the football planet and rookie Jaydon Blue, who has been described as "lazy" in training camp. Williams is a fantasy dark horse this year. Allgeier has enormous value if (God forbid) something happens to Bijan Robinson while Wright is buried in a sloppy depth chart in Miami.
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| I know how to get rid of talent when I see it. |
WR: Davante Adams (11), Wan’Dale Robinson (36), Khalil Shakir (37), Jaylen Waddle (46), Xavier Leggette (60), Stefon “It’s Not Cocaine” Diggs (64), Rashee “Guilty Plea” Rice (100)
Kids, this is what “lots of potential” looks like. Adams leads this group and he could be in for a big year now that he’s in competent coaching hands. Robinson was overshadowed by Malik Nabers, but saw 140 targets last year and stayed healthy the entire year. Shakir isn’t going to dazzle anyone; he's basically another Wan'Dale Robinson, but with a great quarterback. Rice scored 64 fantasy points in his first three games, but went down to a season ending knee injury. But that's hardly his main problem in 2025. He’s certainly going to be suspended by the league due to off the field idiocy. If he can get his head screwed on straight, he could be a true fantasy superstar… Former first round pick Leggette did not live up to billing in 2024, but he also has a QB that sucks. Can he kick it up a notch or two in his second year? Another big question is can Diggs, who will turn 32 this fall, come back from a major knee injury? More importantly, can he keep his nose out of "a suspicious pink powder"? Stupid is as stupid does. Meanwhile, Waddle had a very disappointing 2024 campaign; it is frustrating because he's got unlimited potential. This group would give me anxiety.
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| Straight Cash Homie's wide receivers make him look like this on Sundays. |
TE: George Kittle (3)
Kittle is as solid as they come, hauling in over 1,000 yards receiving last season. That’s the fourth time in eight season Kittle has topped the 1,000 yard mark and there’s no reason to think it can’t happen again this year. Not bad for a former fifth round draft pick.
Toxic Traits
GM Kampen secured the fourth overall playoff seed in 2023 and was coming off a 10 win season going into 2024. But last year went to hell in a handbasket and he failed to make the playoffs while chalking up just five wins. Rumor has it that Kampen recently put up a “Help Wanted” sign in front of Toxic Traits headquarters. Obviously he’s looking to get things back on track in 2025.
QB: Justin Herbert (11), CJ "Back to Earth" Stroud (18)
One of the reasons Toxic Traits fell back to earth is because Stroud fell back to earth with a classic sophomore slump. He went from throwing over 4,100 yards in 2023 to throwing for nearly 400 fewer yards and more than doubled his interceptions. He only had two 300-yard games last season, versus six in 2023. That's what happens when defensive coordinators have an off-season to figure you out. Herbert also had the second worst season of his five year career. The one highlight is Herbert only threw three interceptions in 504 attempts. That's an NFL best 0.6% interception percentage and that’s something, right? Ultimately, nothing clicked in Toxic Traits QB room last year. These two players are too good for that happen two years in a row.
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| CJ Stroud was disguised as Superman in 2023. |
RB: Aaron Jones (15), Tyrone "Dick" Tracy (26), Brian "Bulletproof" Robinson (29), Jaylen Warren (39), Devin Singletary (47)
Jones put up consistent numbers last year and even though he’ll be 31 before the end of 2025; right now, he’s the alpha of this bunch. Tracy found his footing as rookie by Week 5 and was solid for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, the Giants added bowling ball Cam Skattebo in the fourth round of the NFL draft which really complicates the Giants backfield. Robinson has been in the league three seasons and has managed to not get shot for two of them. He consistently averages about 750 yards and five touchdowns a season… reliable, but not superstar material. Warren looked poised to take a lead back role after the 2023 season, but his production took a significant step backwards last year and there are a lot of mouths to feed in the Steelers backfield this season. Singletary had a 1,000 yards from scrimmage from ‘21 to ‘23, but he will be 28 by the start of this season and perhaps father time has caught up to him. Last season, he touched the ball six times or less in six different games and was inactive for two more. Those kinds of numbers get you cut from a fantasy roster.
WR: DeVonta Smith (27), Josh Downs (35), Adam "Skecher Slip-Ins" Thielen (52), Keon Coleman (71)
Smith missed four games last season, but still managed to place in the top 30 in WR scoring. He can be lethal downfield; in three games he averaged over 20 yards per reception. Downs had 107 targets last season, but the question is who will his QB be this year? I doubt he will never be a 1,200 yard receiving guy, but he's young and shows promise. Thielen will soon be 35, but he is Old Reliable, thanks to his outstanding work ethic. He missed seven games last year due to injury, but still ended up with 48 catches. He’s clearly near the end of his career, but don’t count him out just yet. Coleman was taken 33rd overall by the Bills last season and his first year as a pro was nothing spectacular although he showed a couple of flashes. He’s a decent prospect and has a fantastic quarterback throwing him the ball.
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| Thielen on a deep post route... with a little help. |
TE: Isaiah Likely (16), TJ Hockenson (34)
Likely is playing second fiddle to Mark Andrews and that won’t change this year. However, when his number is called, Likely delivers. The latest news is he'll be out a few weeks after rolling his ankle at training camp. The focus here is Hockenson. He missed the first half of last season due to injury, but ended up with 41 catches and 455 yards. Double those numbers and you’ve got his potential production (he had 95 catches for 960 yards in 2023). He easily could be a Top 5 fantasy tight end this year.
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