Welcome to Week 12 of the 2025 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
- Stretch-Run Sleepers
- The New England Patriots Backfield
- The Atlanta Falcons Offense
- Controversial Stances
Let's roll...
Matt Waldman: I shared a controversial view last week on social media. I believe Colston Loveland is TE1 of the 2025 NFL Draft class, much to the amazement of Colts' fans who tout Tyler Warren's production.
I like Warren and value him as a starter. It's not Warren's fault that he has generated a lot of production that's been favorably schemed for him in ways that most tight ends don't see as often.
There have been games where the majority of Warren's production has come from plays schemed to get him open in wide-open space. J.J. Watt even asked Warren what it felt like to catch so many passes when no defender was within 10-15 yards of him.
This is no slight to Warren; it's a compliment to the Colts' scheme. Still, it factors into comparing players' skills on the field beyond the statistical results. It raises questions about whether other top prospects from this rich TE class could have earned similar production in the Colts offense, as it is designed.
I believe Loveland, Mason Taylor, Harold Fannin Jr., and Elijah Arroyo could slide in and do similar work as receivers and blockers. Of course, you can imagine the commentary on social media from Colts fans and Penn State faithful.
This is part of the job every year. I think about reactions from fans and media toward who I thought Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a limited player relative to the early buzz, and the production against a bad Texans defense didn't change my mind, or that Lamar Jackson was not only a legitimate NFL quarterback, but also one of the best pocket passers of his class.
Most fans wouldn't recognize that about Jackson for years until Peyton Manning said it on Monday Night Football.
So I want to know a stance you have that you believe will be controversial to the fantasy community, but you believe will play out long-term.
Matt Montgomery: George Pickens has the talent and ability to be a better receiver than CeeDee Lamb. Everyone is assuming that Pickens is on a one-year rental with Dallas, and he is the Robin to Lamb's Batman.
We are seeing that Picken can not only coexist with Lamb but, at times, trump his production. Lamb did miss three games, which is important to note, but the splits this season are significantly in favor of Pickens as the better Dallas receiver to have.
Pickens has 18 more catches, 351 more receiving yards, and 5 more touchdowns. Not sold yet? In games they've both played, Pickens is targeted less than Lamb and is more efficient in those targets.
In just one game where they both played, Lamb had a better reception-to-target ratio than Pickens. Yes, Ceedee Lamb is the top receiver right now, but we have seen Pickens emerge as a true dominant No. 1 receiver this season, and I don't believe this is a one-year-wonder.
Will Grant: Caleb Williams will be the first Chicago Bears quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a season. Ever. And he'll be a legitimate starting fantasy quarterback in most 12-team fantasy leagues.
That's quite the pivot from just a few weeks ago, when I was ready to write Williams off because of his poor decision-making. I admit it. But I've been watching the Bears closely over the last few weeks, and I've noticed a shift.
Williams still holds the ball too long at times, and I'm not convinced his downfield accuracy is great, but Ben Johnson's impact is starting to show. The Bears are winning ugly, but they are winning.
The key for Williams from a fantasy perspective is that he's not forcing the ball into coverage like he was earlier in the season. He's had just two interceptions since week three and keeps plays alive with his legs, rolling and escaping, and running to the open spots when the passing game isn't there.
He won't put up Josh Allen or Jalen Hurts numbers, but he will get into the end zone a handful of times each year. He'll chip in enough rushing yards every week to flirt with 500 for the season.
Even if he won't throw 40 touchdowns in a season, solid passing, minimal mistakes, and a bump in rushing yards will make him a legitimate fantasy starter. I couldn't see it earlier this year, but now I believe it. Playing for a winning team doesn't hurt, either.
Josh Fahlsing: J.J. McCarthy is not finished. Does this count as controversial?
Waldman: To reasonable human beings, no. To reasonable human fans who become football fans when reason isn't necessary? Yes, it's controversial. Counsel may proceed.
Fahlsing: Thank you, your Honor. It really feels like there are a lot of people rooting for this guy to fail and ready to spike the ball on his career. I am not one of them, though I admit that even I am backing off some from my preseason assertion that McCarthy would be a top-12 dynasty quarterback by the end of this season. That seems unlikely at this point.
It feels like we've been talking about McCarthy as a prospect for a long time now because, well, we've been talking about McCarthy as a prospect for a long time now. So I get the feeling that it's put-up-or-shut-up time with him, I really do, but the kid has only played in five more NFL games than me or Waldman, and he's done it while also nursing a high right ankle sprain and welcoming an infant into his home.
I'll let someone smarter than me tell you what a right high ankle sprain does for the throwing motion of a right-handed quarterback, but I have welcomed a couple of infants home and, well, if you've never had the pleasure, it is kind of like the movie Gremlins which, I admit, I did not understand as allegory until I became a parent.
Anyway.
Those are real things, but please know I mean them as an explanation, not as an excuse. He is completing 52.9 percent of his passes through these five games, and that absolutely has to significantly improve, or he does not have a chance. I'm optimistic he can do that, though, considering he completed 67.4 percent of his college passes, better than classmates Drake Maye, Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, and Michael Penix Jr.
More importantly, I'm just not ready to bury him after five starts. I'm backing off a little on my preseason prediction for him in dynasty leagues, sure, but even though it feels like we've been talking about him forever, our opinions really shouldn't have changed that much after five games.
Maybe it was a little bold to put him in the top 12, but I still it's think it's more likely than not that at this time next year we're talking about him as a superflex starter with upside rather than another guy who could've been.
Andy Hicks: Mac Jones will be a fantasy starter for his next NFL franchise.