THERE IS NO OFF-SEASON

Coming out of the Fourth of July weekend, it seems like fantasy football season has really ramped up this week. The Scott Fish Bowl drafts started on Monday and now we are merely five days away from rookies reporting to training camp with the Ravens, Dolphins, Giants, 49ers, and Seahawks! On the cusp of training camps commencing, now may be the last time to buy low on players that you believe will be training camp risers in ADP. Check out DLF's Dynasty Startup ADP and find some players that you think will be more valuable at the start of the season than they are right now. Rachaad White is a player who stands out to me, going at RB42, 131st overall in ADP. I believe White is a player that will earn some buzz in camp and start to climb up draft boards. 

The news around the league is quiet after last week’s shocking Jonnu Smith and Darren Waller trades. Terry McLauren remains unsigned, and he’s reportedly “not happy” with where discussions with Washington are right now. Veterans are expected to report to Commanders training camp on July 22nd, so that could be a deadline to finally get a deal done. If there is no deal, expect a potential hold-out, or at least a hold-in, from Jayden Daniels’ best pass-catching weapon. 

In last week’s newsletter, I wrote about the value of Travis Etienne in dynasty leagues right now. Well, he got another feather in his cap this week when Liam Coen said Bhayshul Tuten needs to improve in pass protection to earn snaps. This is a common issue for rookie running backs. NFL head coaches want their backs to be protectors in the passing game, and Tuten was an underwhelming weapon in that phase of the game in college. Etienne is another player that could see his value rise throughout the month of August. 

Dynasty League Football continues to pump out updated rookie profiles every single day. In the next week, look out for profiles on Matthew Golden, Trevor Etienne and Dillon Gabriel. We’re also going team-by-team, highlighting our picks for ADP risers, fallers and longshots over the 2025 season. Look out for our write up on the Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles coming on Sunday. If you’re heeding our advice and looking to make some buy low trades, the trade analyzer tool on DLF is absolutely your best friend to win your trades over on your leaguemates!

With McLauren feuding with the Commanders front office over a new contract, the threat that he moves on from DC is on the table. He hasn’t demanded a trade yet, but if he does, that would create a massive hole in pass catchers for the Commanders this season. Luckily, they made a trade this off-season, sending a fifth-round pick to San Francisco for Deebo Samuel. Once one of the best wide receivers in dynasty, 2024 was one of the worst seasons of his career. He appeared out of shape and only found paydirt four times. Samuel needed a change of scenery, and he got just that moving to the east coast. The reports coming out of Washington’s off-season program talked up Deebo’s work ethic, but what is his value in dynasty? Is there a chance he could see a massive jump in the near future thanks to this Terry McLaurin contract situation?

Deebos Samuel’s Dynasty ADP, through June 2025.

Samuel is the WR50 in Dynasty ADP, going off the board at 99 overall. At the beginning of the 2024 offseason, he was almost a top 20 pick, and now he’s nearly fallen out of the top 100. The DLF Expert Rankings are higher on him, ranking him at WR45 and 87 overall. It makes sense that the public is more out on Samuel than the experts are after his rough 2024 season. 

Samuel was a roster drag last year. It was really hard to bench him, because you kept waiting for him to turn it back around. Especially in weeks 11 through 15, critical fantasy football weeks, WR55 was his best fantasy football finish. If you were lucky enough to make the semifinal with Samuel on your team, you likely saw him finally score a top WR finish on your bench. The Samuel manager is likely sick of him, and you can take advantage of that in a trade offer. With Terry McLaurin upset with management, Samuel could develop a great playing relationship with Jayden Daniels over the next several weeks. 

DYNASTY LANDSCAPE FUSION: PAT FITXMAURICE – AFC NORTH

Welcome to the Dynasty Landscape Fusion series – bringing you eight unique interview-style articles, providing a dynasty overview of each NFL team and division, through an innovative collaboration with an array of talented content creators in the dynasty community.

The series kicked off by interviewing the brilliant Matt Harmon, who gave us his fantastic dynasty breakdown of the NFC North, which can be found here. Next up I’m delighted to be joined by one of the best in the dynasty community, Pat Fitzmaurice – managing editor and fantasy football analyst over at FantasyPros.

We’ll be reviewing the dynasty landscape of the AFC North, a division with a mixed bag of offensive talent – the elite quarterbacks of Baltimore and Cincinnati, a future Hall of Famer on his last legs in Pittsburgh and Cleveland side trying to find their identity and long-term solution at quarterback.

Cleveland Browns

Kev: First up we have the Browns, a team with solid options at the skill positions but an overall offense likely to be held back by the huge question marks at quarterback. Deshaun Watson is questionable at best for the second half of the season, with veterans Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett the logical options to start the year. The Browns drafted two quarterbacks: Dillon Gabriel (round three) and Shedeur Sanders (fifth round) in the 2025 NFL Draft, with Sanders considered a potential first-round player before sliding due to concerns over leadership, professionalism and the presence of his outspoken father, Deion. With an early third-round rookie average draft position (ADP), do you consider Sanders to be ‘fool’s gold’ or ‘cheap treasure’ in dynasty and why?

Pat: Cheap treasure, as a player I highlighted as a post-draft rookie sleeper. Despite the snub on draft weekend, Sanders could still develop into a solid NFL starter because of his outstanding accuracy and processing ability. He doesn’t have a rocket arm, but he has NFL-caliber velocity and he has a nice, snappy release. He’s good at making pre-snap reads and throws with anticipation and excellent mobility within the pocket. Sanders just needs to make the most of his audition to be the Browns’ starter whenever the time comes.

Kev: I’m calling Sanders ‘fools gold’ on this one, with a contrasting view, highlighting his polarizing nature and wide range of outcomes. I was lower than consensus throughout the draft process, mainly due to the lack of true upside as a traditional pocket passer. The fall to day three of the draft was the nail in the coffin, where I don’t want to play the game of trying to sell for a small profit if he becomes a starter, with a greater preference for a dual-threat player like Jalen Milroe. A rookie with a clearer pathway to playing time and dynasty impact is running back Quinshon Judkins, in the long term do you view him as a dynasty RB1 or RB2 and why?

Pat: I have him ranked as the RB11 for dynasty, so I guess I see him as an RB1. Judkins’ style should translate well to the NFL – he’s a powerful, decisive runner with good contact balance and nifty feet. I’ve been pretty sold on him ever since he had 1,567 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns as a true freshman at Ole Miss.

Kev: Yeah this is a tricky question on Judkins, I lean more of an RB2 in dynasty and I prefer the upside of a player like RJ Harvey, although I wouldn’t be shocked if Judkins has RB1 seasons in his career, on the back of an excellent workload. Another player who is hoping for elite volume again (WR7 in targets in 2024) is wide receiver Jerry Jeudy. After his true breakout as the WR12 in 2024, what would be a realistic expectation for Jeudy in 2025 and beyond?

Pat: I’m hoping he has a multi-year run as a solid WR2 type. The light bulb finally went on for him last year, and he’s still only 25 years old. The route-running ability and after-the-catch skills have always been there. Not sure why it took him five years to put it all together, but I’m buying this new and improved version of Jeudy in dynasty.

Baltimore Ravens