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Liz Loza, ESPN
Fantasy football is a passion for many. Sometimes that passion pushes fantasy managers to make emotional decisions even when the data suggests otherwise. Each week during the 2024 NFL season, Liz Loza will attempt to strike a balance between what the data states and what the heart wants. This is called Facts vs. Feelings.
Sliding into a pair of broken-in jeans that hugs all the right places. Hearing an anthem from your youth shuffle its way into your wireless speakers. Locking eyes with an ex (you know which one) from across a crowded room.
This is not the setup for a country music song (though, I hear Luke Combs plays fantasy football).
Rather, it’s a comment on the “welcome back” energy that each of these scenarios delivers. There exists a curious combination of comfort, knowing, and thrill when we return to something (or someone) that previously made us feel both at ease and alive. This culmination of sensations creates the space of a reset while encouraging a reimagining. Heck, all three could work in powerful syncopation. I mean, I know exactly which pair of pants I’m wearing and what song I’m blasting before heading out to a gathering where I’m likely to bump into that guy. But I digress.
The point is there’s something invigorating about returning. Boomerangs fascinate for a reason. Nobody wants to go backward, but we all enjoy the tingle of being back. It allows us to lean into that which feels good while remaining hopeful that the sequel might just be better than the original. Who doesn’t like picking up where we left off … especially if we paused at our peaks?
A similar theme has coursed its way through the NFL as of late. A slew of big-name players across various positions and teams — from the Eagles’ top two WRs to the whole of a feisty Lions squad — all dusted off their cleats in Week 6. Many were able to reclaim glory while helping fantasy managers get back on track.
This notion of optimistically beginning again is most palpably felt in the upcoming reunion between Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams. If it were a movie (because it’s already a novella), the posters would read “Breaking Ankles: A Big Apple-sized Bromance.” Yeah, that needs punching up. Still, the vibes are giving “aging buddy cop comedy.”
Whether or not this duo can reassemble for the good of the gridiron remains to be seen. Their return to each other, however, allows for each of them to come back to their previous best selves. That’s a fact that has managers feeling, if not wholly confident, at least intrigued. And what better way to pack the seats. So grab some popcorn and get your rosters ready.
Drake Maye, QB, New England Patriots: While the rookie is charting a new course for himself, fans are hoping he can help reinstall the franchise to its previous factory setting. Maye put together an entertaining debut, passing for three scores while also leading his team in rushing. He registered 19.5 fantasy points and finished as fantasy’s QB12 in Week 6, out-producing Lamar Jackson, C.J. Stroud, and Kyler Murray.
Throwing two picks and taking four sacks, Maye wasn’t perfect. Still, his three passing scores are historic. For context, 210 greenhorn signal-callers have made inaugural starts over the past 30 years. Only 11 of them have managed 3+ TDs during their maiden voyages. Noting the Pats’ impossibly poor O-line play only further highlights Maye’s accomplishment (and potential ceiling).
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New England’s pass block win rate (which measures how often the line sustains a block for at least 2.5 seconds) is 44%, which ranks second worst in the NFL. That’s saying something, considering the trenches are being blitzed at a middling rate (14th most). Understanding this should be key in determining when to stream the rookie, who has undoubtedly climbed into QB2 territory.
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