Where to even begin?! Just kidding … Much like my last article where I went through things that I got right in 2024 for fantasy football, we are now going to go through the things that I got wrong. I actually love doing exercises like this because it not only keeps us honest, but the transparency can help us learn to be better for next season.

We're going to be talking through a few rookies that I missed (either drafted too much of or too little) and of course going through some very wrong quarterback evaluations—overall, though, I think my biggest piece of advice for everyone heading into 2025 is to not overreact. It's too easy to look at the top-performing quarterbacks and tell yourself "Well, I'm just going to draft a top-3 guy" or look at how well the early running backs did and throw out your zero-RB draft strategy. Hindsight is 20/20, so while we will learn a lot from the previous season, do not let it change your draft philosophy entirely.

Alright, here we go!

Kyler Murray, QB, Cardinals 

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, Kyler Murray?! We were all rooting for you!!! 

If you can't tell by now, I drafted a lot of Kyler Murray in 2024. There were a few reasons for this, but the biggest two being his ADP (which, at the time, I thought was way too high) and the fact that he is a dual-threat quarterback with a shiny new weapon in Marvin Harrison. But as we all know, things just never looked right for Murray during the season.

We never saw him string two or three good games together, and while he did finish the season as the QB12, expectations were that he was going to drastically outperform his ADP. Coming into the season, Matthew Berry even picked Murray as his Ride or Die for various reasons:

  • Kyler had been a top 5 QB in PPG since he entered the NFL in 2019
  • He was averaging over 20 PPG for his career
  • Murray still put up 17-plus fantasy points in six of his eight games during the 2023 season (after he returned from a torn ACL)
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Jan 5, 2025; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) against the San Francisco 49ers in the first half at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

It was all there, and then it wasn't. Consistency was definitely an issue for Murray—overall he completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 3,851 yards and 21 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. The process felt right in this one, but the results were not there. Maybe if Trey McBride fell into the endzone a few more times or if we saw Murray take off and run a bit more, things would be different in this article.

Ian Hartitz has his way-too-early 2025 quarterback rankings out, and in the first go has Murray as a Tier 5 quarterback at QB12. In weeks 10-18, Murray ranked 37th in EPA per dropback (-0.63), 36th in passer rating (13.7), and 31st in completion rate (41.3%) ... GROSS. There's always next season … 

Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Cardinals

Listen, I'll try to keep this one short, but as frustrating as it was to watch Kyler Murray in 2024 for fantasy football, it was equally as frustrating for the rookie Marvin Harrison. He was routinely going around the Round 1-2 turn depending on what platform you were drafting on, but he unfortunately finished as the WR39 in fantasy points per game.

He finished 2024 with 885 yards, 62 receptions, and eight touchdowns. Yes, we can blame a good bit of this on his quarterback. Maybe they need to take a page out of Matthew Stafford and Puka Nacua's book and start a breakfast club or a book club or whatever the hell is going to get them on the same page.

According to PFF, only 59% of Harrison's targets were deemed catchable, which ranked 129th among 140 qualifying wide receivers (minimum 100 routes). We know that he's is talented, but maybe he has a Kyler Murray problem? We'll have to wait and see if the offseason brings these two better rapport for 2025.

Brock Bowers, TE, Raiders

Not to be dramatic but holy crap?! Brock Bowers, I never really doubted you, but I never truly believed in you either, and for that, I apologize.

Bowers is on this list because while (like I said above) I never really faded him, I definitely was passing on him in many drafts because of his landing spot with the Las Vegas Raiders. I think this is one of the biggest lessons I learned from last season: draft capital matters.

The Raiders spent the 13th overall pick on Bowers, and even though their quarterback situation and overall offense ranked toward the bottom of the league, Bowers still came through with a historic season.

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Jan 5, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders tight end Brock Bowers (89) and Los Angeles Chargers safety Derwin James Jr. (3) reach for a pass during the fourth quarter at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Pick a stat, any stat, and you will probably find Bowers' name next to it now—He has the Raiders' record for most single-season receptions, most receptions and receiving yards by a rookie tight end, and most receptions by a rookie in NFL history. 

In fantasy (Weeks 1-17) he led tight ends with 139 targets, 108 receptions, and 1,144 receiving yards. It did not matter who was throwing him the ball, it did not matter that the Raiders drafted Michael Mayer in the second round the year prior. This is Brock Bowers' world and we are just living in it.

He is the unquestioned TE1 heading into next season, and while the organization will welcome in a new head coach and general manager who will bring along a (hopefully good) franchise quarterback, Bowers will continue to eat and be the focal point of that offense. I just needed to draft more of him last season while I had the chance and the discount. 

The Chargers (yes, the whole damn offense)

I remember writing for the Fantasy Life magazine that I did not like the Chargers this season for fantasy football. Bringing in Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman meant they were going to run the ball and not look back. But Ladd McConkey produced!

McConkey was THE WR1 for this offense and finished the season with 82 receptions off 112 targets for 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns. When we look at this rookie receiver class, McConkey has to be sitting as the third best behind only Malik Nabers and BrIan Thomas. 

He also broke Keenan Allen's Chargers rookie records for receptions and receiving yards during the team's Week 17 win over the Patriots. It was an impressive season for McConkey—the Chargers decided to address the offensive line in the 2024 draft first, but still ended up with a reliable receiver later. McConkey had two fumbles on the year, which gave him a 74.8% reception rate when targeted, according to The Athletic.

The team has a few holes to look at this offseason, including giving Herbert more weapons. J.K. Dobbins lasted longer than I expected, but he is a pending free agent. Quentin Johnston and Joshua Palmer are fine, but we should expect this team to add more receiver help this offseason as well—some big-name free agents will be Tee Higgins and Chris Godwin. Overall, this team outperformed the expectations I had for them and they feel like they're one, maybe even two years ahead of schedule. Let's see them add to this great first year under Harbaugh.

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