We were incredibly spoiled with an incredible WR class last year so it’s understandable that this year would feel like a letdown.

But our guy Dwain McFarland has me fired up again.

Dwain is currently in the lab working on the 2025 Super Model (it will officially go live on the Monday after the NFL Combine) and recently leaked some early nuggets on the 2025 WR prospects.

And based on his comps, I was clearly too low on this group …

He has Travis Hunter and Tetairoa McMillan as the 3rd and 4th best WR prospects since 2022, behind only Malik Nabers and Marvin Harrison. Of course, the model doesn’t know about Hunter’s likelihood to play CB, but it’s still a very bullish signal for his prospects.

His model slots Luther Burden (11th) in the same range as Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Treylon Burks.

It puts Emeka Egbuka (16th) in the Zay Flowers range.

And then it has Matthew Golden (19th) in the Xavier Worthy ballpark.

Obviously the comps in those ranges represent the hits and don’t include the misses (Hey, Jahan Dotson almost scored a TD in the Super Bowl!), but even knowing that those guys are in the range of outcomes gets me excited.

All five of the aforementioned rookie WRs could be found in Thor’s most recent mock draft too, which is very important for their fantasy outlook.

Oh, you want a RB sneak peak, too? Wait until you see where Ashton Jeanty slots in…

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Will Stefon Diggs Be Back In Houston In 2025?

NFL Free Agency is around the corner and while this class may not carry the firepower that last year’s class did, there are still noteworthy names surrounded by question marks.

The first up? Stefon Diggs—a player who seems to have polarized some of our staff:

🐂 The Bull Case For Diggs Re-Signing

Kendall: I think both players here have a good chance to re-sign with their current teams, but Stefon Diggs going back to the Texans makes a lot of sense. The Texans were hit hard by injuries in 2024 and not only lost Diggs for the season, but Nico Collins missed time with a hamstring injury and Tank Dell suffered a dislocated knee as well as a torn ACL, MCL, and LCL in Week 16 against the Chiefs. While head coach DeMeco Ryans has said that Dell is "right on track" in his recovery, it seems very unlikely that he will come back in 2025 at all. 

That leaves a hole that needs to be filled, and letting Diggs go when he already seemed to have a good rapport with quarterback C.J. Stroud seems like it would be a mistake. I say this too because the NFL Draft is not necessarily loaded with wide receivers this year, either.

If Diggs is on the move I could see the New England Patriots trying to snag him. They are working with a ton of cap space and really need to get Drake Maye some weapons over there. 

🐻 The Bear Case For Diggs Re-Signing

Freedman: Diggs has been a diminished version of himself over the past two years (8.7 yards per target in 2015-22, 7.5 yards per target in 2023-24). He has no goodwill built up with the Texans (unlike another FA WR in Chris Godwin in Tampa Bay), who acquired him last year because he had notably worn out his welcome with his previous team. Plus, Diggs is more than two years older than Godwin.

There's almost no accounting for what NFL teams do, but I'd almost be surprised if Diggs ended up back with the Texans after he had just 47-496-3 receiving in eight games for them.

The Next Larry Johnson?

No, it’s not just because he and Kaleb Johnson share a last name—that would be lazy analysis. Is it a factor? Perhaps.

Whether or not Kaleb will be the next Larry remains to be seen, but the similarities are glaring. Just ask Thor Nystrom:

Coming off years of offensive futility, Iowa forced out OC Brian Ferentz in late-October 2023. At the time, sophomore RB Kaleb Johnson was having a very frustrating season. A three-star recruit out of Ohio, Johnson’s 779 rushing yards in 2022 had broken Iowa’s single-season freshman record.

But in Week 2 of 2023, against Iowa State, Johnson suffered an ankle injury. He missed the next three games. Johnson went off in his return, gaining 147 yards on 18 touches with a TD against Purdue. But the next two weeks, Johnson was far quieter, rushing for a total of 53 yards combined.

Something odd happened the game following Brian Ferentz’s ouster: Kaleb Johnson, despite being healthy, did not touch the ball one single time against Northwestern. The Hawkeyes survived an ugly 10-7 win, gaining only 169 yards of offense.

Johnson re-entered the RB rotation the following week, but had a subdued final five games of the season, averaging only 37.0 rushing yards per game. The Hawkeyes hired Tim Lester to replace Brian Ferentz as OC for the 2024 season.

On August 26, Lester told reporters that redshirt freshman Kamari Moulton had won Iowa’s RB1 job. Lester spoke glowingly of Moulton, comparing him to Aaron Jones, with whom he had spent the previous year while on Green Bay’s staff.

The morning of the opener against FCS Illinois State, on August 31, it was reported that Johnson and fellow RB Jaziun Patterson were suspended for the first half due to a violation of team rules. Iowa only led 6-0 at halftime. The Hawkeye offense looked as stale and uninspiring as ever.

But a different Iowa Hawkeye offense emerged from the locker room for the second half, led by a Kaleb Johnson we had never seen before. Johnson ran like a man possessed, with 127 yards and two TDs on 12 touches in the second half (Moulton finished with 65 yards on 19 touches with no TDs).

There was no debate about RB1 after that.

The latest fantasy nuggets, silliness, and NFL gossip from our merry band of football nerds:

🚀 Will Marvin Harrison Jr. bounce back in 2025? 10 second-year breakout candidates.

🤔 Who’s going to play QB for the Steelers next season? Russ? Fields? Other?

👑 Chris Allen remembers the 2015 NFL Draft class, including fantasy royalty.

👀 Do you know the names Tyler Shough and Bhayshul Tuten? You will.

💇 Lamar Jackson’s new haircut?! What do we think?

😆 Oh man, now this is a savage burn. We can’t do this again.

🔒️ The Panthers keep their backup QB. Nice signing.

🤔 Matthew Stafford and Aaron Rodgers? How their futures could impact each other.

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