The Hottest Coach on the Market Heading to Vegas?
In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Underdog:
While we wait for these Divisional Round games to kick off, the NFL coaching hot stove is ramping up.
And there isn’t a hotter name out there right now than Lions OC, Ben Johnson.
He’s been connected to virtually every team with an opening already, although yesterday a new contender entered the mix …
The Las Vegas Bradys.
The smoke is coming from a few different reports. One from Vinny Bonsignore, who said there was “a lot of momentum building” for Johnson to the Raiders.
And then another report from Colton Pouncy confirmed that Johnson spoke with Brady for the first time after the Lions/Packers game.
Let’s set aside the conflict of interest stuff for now and instead marvel at Brady’s pull.
If I were Johnson my first choice wouldn’t necessarily be the team with a very poor QB outlook, which also happens to be in the same division as Patrick Mahomes and a trio of legendary coaches.
My guess? Johnson feels flattered to be in Brady’s crosshairs, and is doing the polite thing in humoring the man’s advances.
But when push comes to shove, Johnson is going to need a better excuse to sell to his family than Brady, Aidan O’Connell, and unlimited king crab legs at the Wynn buffet.
- Guilloteenies are still out there for the chopping.
- Way-Too-Early Fantasy Football Rankings: The QB Tiers
- Guilloteenie Strategy: For the Divisional Round.
- Watercooler: How soon is too soon for BTJ?
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Way-Too-Early 2025 Fantasy Football Rankings: Breaking Down The QB Tiers
by Ian Hartitz
You: It's entirely too early to rank and tier QBs ahead of the 2025 season.
Me: So what?
Presenting: My way-too-early breakdown of the fantasy QB landscape ahead of next season. As always: It's a great day to be great.
Tier 1: Dual-threat aliens
QB1: Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
One cool stat: Lamar is responsible for two of the top-six best fantasy seasons by a QB in NFL history (2019 and 2024).
Offseason storyline to watch: The addition of OC Todd Monken has certainly helped the Ravens' upside through the air, as Jackson managed to rack up the third-most fantasy points from purely passing production behind only Joe Burrow and Baker Mayfield in 2024. The potential departure of Monken during the coaching carousel wouldn't be great news for projecting more of the same aerial success in 2025 and beyond.
QB2: Bills QB Josh Allen
One cool stat: All Allen has done in his short career is average the most fantasy points per game (22.2) by any QB … ever.
Offseason storyline to watch: Like Jackson, Allen owes at least some of his high-end passing success to his offensive coordinator (Joe Brady), who is also widely considered a legit head coaching candidate. Also like Jackson, it's unlikely we'd be making major ranking drops simply due to an OC change, but the added uncertainty wouldn't help.
Guess who is No. 3?
REST OF THE WAY-TOO-EARLY QB TIERS
AROUND THE WATERCOOLER
The latest fantasy nuggets, silliness, and NFL gossip from our merry band of football nerds:
⬆️ How high will BrIan Thomas Jr. be drafted in 2025?
🪓 You can still start a 4-team Guilloteenie. For those who thought they might miss out on all the fun.
👀 2025 NFL Mock Draft. A new No. 1 overall pick.
💕 He might not be beloved everywhere. But his players love him.
🤔 Who you got winning the Super Bowl? Updated odds here.
✈️ The NFL is headed to Germany again next year. But in a new city.
🍋 Would it be too hard for Justin Jefferson to still thrive if the Vikings move to J.J. McCarthy?
Guilloteenie Divisional Round Planner
by Cartis Parks
In a normal Guillotine LeagueTM, if you put up a big number in the first week and feel your team is solid, then you can likely coast for several weeks and save your free agent budget. That is not the case in the Guilloteenie. Instead of going from 18 teams to 17 teams pooling from 32 NFL teams, here, you are going from five teams to four teams, pooling from only eight NFL teams. Not to mention, even if you advanced you probably had some players who were eliminated in the Wild Card round who will need to be replaced.
In a traditional Guillotine League, as a manager is chopped each week, the pool of rostered players becomes smaller, and ergo, each team essentially becomes a bit better. The Guilloteenie is different because although a manager is still getting chopped each week, the pool of available NFL teams is also decreased. The available teams to choose from will drop from 12 to 8 to 4 to 2. That will make the six Flex positions (2 RB / 2 WR / 2 FLEX) harder to come by each week, which means it is time to start constructing your roster for the end of the season.
End Game Players
When deciding between two similar players, longevity should be your tiebreaker. We’ve already discussed Xavier Worthy over Nico Collins and Puka Nacua, but it’s not crazy to pivot from, say, Jayden Daniels to Jared Goff or Patrick Mahomes. Remember, there is no bench in this format, so only four quarterbacks will be rostered this week. Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Jalen Hurts are all probably shoe-ins, so that means any of Daniels, Goff, or Mahomes should be available for free (i.e. don’t go blowing money on a quarterback this week).
