- Fantasy Life Newsletter
- Posts
- Plug Your Nose & Draft These 2 RBs
Is this a safe space? Can I admit a blind spot?
I’ve been mostly ignoring the Minnesota Vikings backfield for fantasy purposes.
And the best excuse I can muster is that neither Aaron Jones nor Jordan Mason are very exciting players at this stage in their careers.
But what I’ve realized of late is that I want to buy into a revamped Vikings offense with Kyler Murray at the helm.
And what I want to avoid is making the same mistake I made with the Cowboys last year where I loved the passing game, but faded Javonte Williams simply because he was an older, veteran back whom I perceived to have very little juice.
Of course, when the offense hits, even a dusty RB like Williams can come along for the ride and deliver a smash season at ADP.
I plan to be relatively agnostic with the two Minnesota backs (both are very cheap), but it’s worth mentioning that there’s a lot of positive buzz on Mason right now.
A plugged-in beat reporter thinks Mason is the favorite for touches and our Fantasy Life contributors have been pounding the table for him, as well.
Some fun nuggets:
via Justin Carlucci: “After Week 10 of the regular season last year, among ballcarriers with at least 50 attempts, Mason ranked third in explosive run percentage and 10th in missed tackles forced per attempt. He also ranked ninth in success rate compared to Jones at 37th.”
via Adam Kaufman: “Across 16 contests, Mason averaged more yards per carry and per game than Jones and consistently earned snaps in the red zone. Kevin O’Connell clearly trusted him near the goal line.”
via Ian Hartitz: “We've regularly seen mobile QBs boost their offense's RB rush yards before contact over the years … The average rank in team RB yards before contact per carry in our baller dual-threat QB group: 11.4 … Note that the Vikings have ranked 29th, 13th, 8th and most recently 17th in this metric under KOC. A leap back into the top 10 should lead to better days ahead for … both Jones and Mason?”
My plan is to stop ignoring this backfield, scoop up shares of both, and tilt my exposures in the direction of Mason (for now).
Buy Jahmyr Gibbs, The Future Is Bright
What a runway for Jahmyr Gibbs to continue an incredible runout to his NFL career. In his first three seasons, his total yards never dipped below 1,261, and twice he’s gone over 1,800 yards. In the last two years, he’s combined for 38 TDs. Oh yeah, he just turned 24. The time for forward-thinking fantasy managers to buy in on Gibbs was right after he was selected 12th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. Now he’s vying to be taken as the 1.01 in drafts ahead of this upcoming season. With David Montgomery no longer in Detroit, there is no more sharing the spotlight (or touches) for Gibbs. And savvy managers who invested in him are all smiles.
UNest works the same way. You don't wait until your kid is 16 to start building their financial future. You start now, when time is your single greatest advantage. A tax-advantaged investment account that grows with your child, set up in under 10 minutes. The long game is always the smartest play, on the field and off it.
Fantasy
Around the Watercooler
The latest fantasy and NFL gossip, news, memes and more from your favorite football nerds …
🐟️ Playing in the Scott Fish Bowl? We’ve got you covered.
📈 A speedy WR is seeing a steady ADP bump. Catch him while you can.
🙌 Too early to look at the 2027 WR class? Jeremiah Smith is worth it.
🙈 Five teams that don’t have any players drafted in the top 50. Beware.
🎽 Fading a guy working out with the “Route God?” Couldn’t be me.
🤔 Execs, coaches, scouts rank top NFL running backs for 2026. Who got snubbed?
👀 Find the WR with three straight top-6 finishes. And counting.
🤔 Trading a top-10 WR for a proven vet and unproven, yet talented, kid. Choose a side.
🔮 ADP battle: Who to draft between Jaylen Waddle and Zay Flowers?
🐣 Should an NFL team sign LeBron James to play TE? Crazier ideas have been hatched.
Make-Or-Break Season For These Players In Dynasty
In Year 3, if a player has yet to break out, some would say it’s time to give that player one more chance before moving on in dynasty. Patience may be a virtue, but things can happen pretty fast if a player doesn’t live up to the hype.
With the season coming up fast, Sam Wallace dialed up four players—two QBs and two WRs—from the 2024 draft class who are facing pivotal seasons both in the NFL and fantasy. Will they finally live up to those expectations? ⤵️
Diving Into NFL Scoring Impact on Fantasy Football
We’ve heard so many reasons—excuses—for why NFL scoring is down, and hence, the same with fantasy points. Defenses are selling out to stop the pass. Great QBs retired. RBs are running like it’s 1976. Everything but the alignment of the moon and the sun has been explored.
So we put John Laghezza on the case, and he pulled out a visual representation of what has been happening in the NFL in the past decade-plus. He even provided a draft solution that might surprise some. Please don’t throw tomatoes at him, though. ⤵️
Are We Drafting Or Passing On These Quarterbacks?
With so many fantasy managers focusing on the tough postseason run through some great defenses, have we forgotten that only Josh Allen scored more fantasy points than Drake Maye among QBs last year? Upper Hand Fantasy’s Faraz Siddiqi has not. See which QBs Faraz, Kendall and Pete want to draft or pass on this season. Catch this and all the episodes of the Fantasy Life Show when you subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Our tiered premium product built upon a suite of fantasy football and sports betting tools. The NEW way to take your game to the next level. | Sync your league and get started with customizing all of Fantasy Life's tools, rankings, and projections to your league settings. |