Hey!
With the fantasy season officially wrapped up, I wanted to flip the script and highlight a few calls that did work, and why they worked.
These aren’t victory laps. They’re reminders of what matters when building rankings and draft strategy.
Here are 5 things I got right this year, along with the takeaway from each:
#5 Christian McCaffrey
The entire bet was simple: when healthy, McCaffrey is still in a tier of his own.
The 2024 injuries didn’t change his historical profile, usage, or ceiling. Once reports confirmed he was fully healthy in OTAs and training camp, without missing a single training camp practice, I was all in.
McCaffrey delivered another elite RB1 season and justified being a Top-5 pick in my rankings.
The takeaway: don’t try to predict injuries in fantasy. McCaffrey just played all 17 games in the fantasy season despite being labeled by many as ‘injurt prone’
#4 Chris Olave
The market badly overreacted to an injury-filled 2024 for Olave.
But his efficiency and usage never dipped and the talent was already proven from his previous 2 seasons. Once Kellen Moore arrived, the path to volume became obvious.
Moore was responsible for CeeDee Lamb and Keenan Allen big seasons in the past.
Olave stepped right back into a target-hog role and returned WR1 value at a significant discount in Round 6-7 of drafts.
Once again the takeaway: don’t to try to predict injuries, especially on players who are already heavily discounted AND talented…
#3 George Pickens
This was always about situation catching up to talent.
Pickens downfield role and workload in 2024 screamed breakout, but his environment capped the results. His targets were wildly inaccurate and Pittsburgh threw at a league low rate the past 2 seasons.
That changed when he landed in a pass-heavy Cowboys offense. With real volume and aggressive play-calling, everything unlocked.
Pickens crushed his Round 5-6 ADP and finished as a high-end WR1.
The takeaway: A number 2 receiver in a strong passing offense continues to be one of the better bets in the middle to later rounds of drafts
#2 Chase Brown
This was a bet on his role above all else.
Brown already had workhorse usage, receiving upside, and red-zone involvement coming in 2024. The Bengals added no real competition, giving Brown a clear runway for 2025.
The early season was rocky while the offense struggled and Burrow was hurt, but once Joe Flacco took over everything stabilized and Brown took off.
From Week 6 on, he played like a Top-5 fantasy back and once again became a league winner at his draft cost.
The takeaway: The offseason matters. Not competition was added and the coaches hyped up Brown all training camp.
#1 Drake Maye
Maye always had league-winning upside thanks to his arm talent and rushing ability.
The flashes were there as a rookie, but the environment around him in 2024 was a mess: coaching, protection, and weapons all held him back.
Everything changed heading into 2025. The offensive line was rebuilt, Mike Vrabel and Josh McDaniels came in, and Stefon Diggs arrived as the clear WR1.
The result was an MVP-caliber season and a Top-3 fantasy QB drafted at QB16 pricing.
Takeaway: Late round mobile QBs continue to be one of the biggest cheat codes in fantasy football
Overall it was a great season for myself and members of The Blueprint. I won 75% of my leagues, including the most watched fantasy league in the world (The Flock League).
Let’s run it back in 2026 gang!
— Sal
P.S. If you want to keep up with all my video content this offseason, subscribe to the free YouTube channel here