Could Ashton Jeanty Bust? And More Scary Fantasy Football Scenarios

In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by FantasyLife+:

Don’t get me wrong, I love bold predictions.

But if we are being honest, they do provide an easy out. If it doesn’t hit, I can just say, “Hey, I was being BOLD! Cut me some slack!”

That’s why I prefer a “truth serum” take. A truth serum take is something you wouldn’t otherwise have the courage to say publicly unless you were aided by a magical truth juice.

These takes not only require boldness—they inherently go against the grain—but also demand vulnerability because you don’t actually want to say them out loud.

Here are three things that I’m deeply worried will happen in 2025…

🧪 Ashton Jeanty is a fantasy bust. We are less than one year removed from another “can’t miss” rookie prospect with a Round 1/2 turn price tag flopping (I’m looking at you Marvin Harrison) and yet here we are taking Jeanty in the Top 15 picks again. Of course, I can see the vision of Jeanty succeeding in Year 1, but deep down I think Pete Carroll is going to love Raheem Mostert way more than any of us and the TDs will be harder to come by than we’d like to admit (the Raiders have a bottom-6 team total average on the year).

🧪 The Ben Johnson experiment fails. We are all excited for the Bears’ glow up, but what if Ben Johnson is just Josh McDaniels 2.0 and falters away from the Dan Campbell death star? What if Caleb Williams just isn’t that good? What if Rome Odunze is a bust? What if it takes them two months to integrate the exciting rookies into the offense? Look, I’m drunk on Bears hopium like everyone else, but someone needs to admit that this is a very volatile situation that could blow up.

🧪 Travis Hunter is actually a DB. I’ve spent the entire offseason pounding the drum for Hunter and encouraging people not to draft scared. Since then, though, his price has skyrocketed and the team is still non-committal about how he’ll be utilized. The scary thing about Hunter is that two things can be true: 1) he’s a superstar and 2) he doesn’t pay off his ADP because he’s too good on defense.

Well, that was a buzzkill of an exercise. I truly hope I’m wrong …

THESE TEAM NAMES HAVE BOLD OPTIONS, WON’T DISAPPOINT

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A WR With 10-Catch, 100-Yard Upside In Week 1

Fantasy managers want nothing more than their players to get off to scorching starts in Week 1 … and Matthew Freedman has gone position by position to highlight his Freedman’s Favorites—players he believes are in a position to do exactly that.

And speaking of scorching starts, the new WR1 in Seattle looks primed to pop on Sunday …

“I'm skeptical of both QB Sam Darnold and OC Klint Kubiak, but with WRs DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett no longer on the team, Jaxon Smith-Njigba has a real chance to build on last year's 100-1,130-6 receiving breakout campaign.

“The 49ers defense could bounce back this year with the return of DC Robert Saleh, but the secondary could be vulnerable in the first month. This offseason, the 49ers lost CB Charvarius Ward and SS Talanoa Hufanga in free agency, and FS Malik Mustapha (knee, PUP) is also out.

“And that means the 49ers are starting rookie CB Upton Stout in the slot, where for much of the game he'll be tasked with defending Smith-Njigba, whom I expect will repeatedly put the third-rounder in a blender.

“Last year, he had 15-163-0 receiving on 20 targets in two games against the division-rival 49ers.

“A 10-target game with 100+ yards feels well within the range of outcomes.”

For all of Freedman’s favorite wide receivers for Week 1, read on. ⬇️

A PANTHERS WR WITH OPPORTUNITY KNOCKING

Don’t Be Afraid Of Aging Veterans

We get it. The “age curve,” or whatever fantasy football experts use to avoid players over the age of 30, is very real, especially in dynasty leagues. We almost hurt our fingers hitting DECLINE on trade offers involving older players, wanting to keep our rosters as young as possible.

But if you’re in a pinch for a flex play or a second quarterback who could pop for even part of the season, Jake Trowbridge has a few ideas for players to target in trade talks. Yes, age—and in one case, injury—may make these players more readily available in deals. But that also means they won’t cost so much in draft capital. And these players could be the difference in making the playoffs or not.

THIS VETERAN WR STILL HAS PLENTY IN THE TANK