Welcome to Week 1 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:
- The Players We Wish We Drafted
- The Players We Regret Drafting
- Listening to the Little Voice
- Bold Predictions
Let's roll.
Players We Wish We Drafted
Matt Waldman: Share with the people a player you didn't draft this summer, but you wish you did.
Josh Fahlsing: I am going to regret not drafting more of Omarion Hampton all spring and summer. I whiffed on him almost completely -- me, a running back lover of the first order -- and I am not quite sure how.
Last year, Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman had to work with who was on the roster when they took over, or who they could obtain in the bargain bin of free agency.
This year, they get to plug their chosen running back into an offense that could scheme Matt Waldman to 700 yards rushing. I think Hampton can be really good, but more importantly, I think he's landed in a place where the coaching staff will consistently put him in positions to reward fantasy managers.
Waldman: Back in my day, Josh, I'm certain I could have earned 702 yards, thank you very much. Well, minus the 700 yards and with Larry Allen and John Hannah pulling on Counter Trey.
Andy Hicks: For most of the off-season, I expected improvement from Rome Odunze. No matter which drafts I participated in, he went before I could grab him.
He has slowly moved up my rankings, yet another player was unafraid to take him well above ADP in every draft. As Corey pointed out in our discussion of Bold Predictions, Odunze will be the key focus of the Bears' offense this year.
Many of us were concerned that DJ Moore's presence was an anchor on the upside for Odunze. I now have a firm opinion that it is the opposite. Opposing teams have to account for Moore.
Outside of Moore's 2023 season, a career anomaly, Moore's production has been remarkably consistent. He has ranked between 18th and 21st in every other year since 2019. That is five years versus one.
He is a career WR2 -- a good WR -- but a WR2 nonetheless. The Bears need an alpha, and Odunze is that guy.
Meng Song: Emeka Egbuka is a player I had fair exposure to earlier in the summer, but shied away from as his ADP rose. The thought process was that Tampa Bay sounded optimistic about Chris Godwin, and Jalen McMillan had shown some flashes down the stretch last season.
However, it now sounds like Godwin could miss a few weeks to open the year, and McMillan may not play at all in 2025 after a scary preseason neck injury. Relative to how much I like Egbuka as a player, my exposure to him in best ball formats is too low -- especially with how Egbuka projects to start the season with a significant role.
Corey Spala: Meng noted Egbuka’s situation and role to start the season.
