In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Hims:

Stepping Into the Real World … Pickleball?

Hi, fellow degenerates! I recently left my comfy cozy home and entered out into the real world with real human beings who have real reasons for knowing nothing about the current NFL landscape. (None of their reasons made sense. Jobs? Pickleball? FAMILIES?!)

To my surprise, they didn't know anything about the new-ish Aaron Rodgers drama. They couldn't believe how high I am on Baker Mayfield this year, given his insanely stacked WR room with the addition of rookie Emeka Egbuka.

More than anything, they weren't really sure why I wanted to talk about football, like … at all… 

This social outing was the reality check that I needed. In a good way.

Lessons of the Past

It reminded me how we're already ahead of the game and way ahead of our leaguemates. Because we've never unplugged, we're mentally stronger than our peers. We have the patience to wait for patterns to emerge. And we have the mental fortitude to learn from overreactions of the past.

So let’s take a deep breath for eight counts. And as we exhale, we’re going to rid ourselves of any possible overreactions. Winners don’t hold onto that kind of energy.

Let’s learn from the mistakes of the past.

Don't Blow the Preseason Out of Proportion

During 2021, Ja'Marr Chase was downright ridiculed after he dropped 4 out of 5 targets during his first preseason as a rookie. As conversations swirled around his butterfingers, his ADP began to slip. People overreacted, thinking that he didn't have what it took to play in the NFL. 

Annnnnnd then Chase finished the 2021 regular season toward the top of the leaderboards at his position in yards (1455, WR4) and TDs (13, WR3)

Don't Be Like FishBoy

Last season, fantasy managers ran to the waiver wire to drop all (or in Fishboy's case, 75%) of their FAAB on Isaiah Likely after his TE1 performance against KC in Week 1. 

Annnnnd then Likely never reproduced that level of production. He left fantasy managers sad and broke. While Likely finished Week 1 on top of the world, it took several months combined for him to recreate those stats from his first game:

  • Week 1: 9 rec, 111 yards, 1 TD
  • Weeks 2-9: 15 rec, 160 yards, 2 TDs 

To put it into perspective, Mark Andrews finished the 2024 season with 10 total Top-10 TE finishes. Likely? Only 4.

Oof. But it wasn't just Likely who gave fantasy managers Week 1 butterflies.

These things happen all the time. Mid players can have big games, too. That’s why it’s so important for us to remain patient. We're seasoned veterans when it comes to fantasy. We consume content year-round in an attempt to keep ourselves grounded.

We’re doing the work now, to save us from ourselves later. That's why we won't be blowing anything out of proportion in 2025, right?

And surely, we won't be chasing Week 1 outliers like Fishboy…

SEE THE ROOKIE PROJECTION MODEL HERE

The mint that can change your sex life

Please meet Hims, our newest partner here at Fantasy Life. Among the sexual health products that Hims offers access to is their mint—it even comes in a tin!—that can help with erectile dysfunction.

Hims is 100% online, they’re discreet, they’re modern. You fill out an online intake form and a licensed medical provider will determine if a prescription is right for you. If prescribed a tin of mints arrives in the mail.

Learn more (including timing, details, active ingredients, and more) here, and enjoy—well, everything—thanks to Hims.

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Boring Vets or League-Winners?

We’re still picking up the pieces after the NFL Draft. And catching up on the laundry we ignored when we were sweating who the Patriots were going to make Mr. Irrelevant (Kobee Minor).

From a fantasy football perspective, looking at the players who did not get competition should get more than a raised eyebrow as we head toward OTAs and training camp in the months ahead.

In his latest column, Ian Hartitz highlights players who look pretty, pretty, pretty good after the draft—he even updated his rankings! Some takeaways include:

They’re all right here… and then some.👇🏼

KEEP AN EYE ON THIS COWBOYS RB

More NFL Draft Grades … With A Dynasty Angle

We can never have too many ways to measure how we’re doing. Thor did his comprehensive grades right after the NFL Draft—Lions got an F! As we take a harder look at teams to see how their skill players are shaking out for fantasy, it’s time to go a step further and project them for dynasty.

Freedman went 32-for-32, grading each of the NFL teams’ drafts for dynasty. Some teams that ignored the offensive side of the ball—looking at you Cardinals and Falcons—understandably got bad grades. But who is smelling like roses 🌹when it comes to dynasty?

See the grades Professor Freedman handed out ⬇️

9 TEAMS GOT A- OR HIGHER

Around the Watercooler

Happy Cinco de Mayo. Remember, it’s a Monday. Pace yourself. Salud!

👀 Still waiting on Aaron Rodgers, but we can look ahead.

🤖 These are not the droids Matthew’s looking for.

🔮 ICYMI: Take a look at these rookie RBs’ projected workloads.

📈 ICYMI, Pt. 2: Saturday’s newsletter is now dedicated to dynasty

🤷🏼‍♂️ Ian asks: Why not just take the original?

⚡️ The Thor 500 has been updated with UDFA landing spots.

🥳 Could the Colts BE any more happy to take Tyler Warren?