Brand new year. Brand new set of rankings. You know the drill. You’re probably skipping past this text already just to get the #s. I understand.
Last year, the top 6 final standings matched the top 6 regular season standings 1-to-1. Paul was ranked TENTH in 3 of our 4 predictions and ended up in 3rd 
. Alex was predicted 7th, 7th, 8th, and 10th, but finished 4th. And the guy that finished 2nd? No one had Ventura above 5th. Lots of swings and misses last year. Lots of fun chaos.
Looking forward to seeing your predictions, hopes & dreams, or arbitrary/subjective criteria to rank put to the page. Last year 4 teams provided predictions. Would love to see more than half the league put their list out this year.
As for me, this year I’m giving rankings but also kicking it back to the late 80’s and early 90’s with some X-FACTORS for each team.
1 @IanC - I encourage every single one of you to beat me this year for the sake of everyone else’s sanity.
X-FACTORS: 1) No new options - starting lineup is good to go, but everyone is a year older (that’s how time works) and the lack of any 1st AND 2nd round picks in the last two years could be a factor at some point. 2) Updated roles - Achane is seemingly the only player left on offense in Miami. Will that team even score touchdowns? DeVonta Smith finally returns to being his team’s WR1. Is it a 27-year-old breakout season? Lamar and Henry have a whole new coaching staff. What changes will that make to their output? These words end in a period. This sentence ends in a question mark? 3) Lack of creativity - this team is generally uncreative. Honestly that seems like a negative X-FACTOR. Boo this man.
2 @chasenrogers - giving good vibes out for the people’s champion this year. Good dude. Good team. Starting roster of heavy hitters, 3 QBs, cheering for the Chiefs and Cowboys again this year, what’s not to like?
X-FACTORS: 1) Health. CMC’s health is the main X-FACTOR here. But Walker, Olave, Lamb, and Kittle have all dealt with injuries this past year. Team is a bit of a glass cannon so-to-speak. 2) Montgomery/Pollard/Lloyd… this team needs to be able to reliably play 3 RBs in the starting lineup… unless De’Zhaun Stribling truly is the chosen one…
3 @ventura - JSN and Puka. The story almost writes itself with this team. Legit starters in every part of the starting lineup unless…
X-FACTORS: 1) Josh Jacobs having legal trouble or not. 2) Puka Nacua having PR troubles or not. 3) JSN proving last year wasn’t the perfect storm. 4) Whether or not this team’s bench is any kind of factor at all.
4 @awmelman - This team feels like it can land anywhere between 2-5. I gave them extra love last year, so I’m spreading the wealth this year. That’s not to say this squad isn’t dangerous enough to win it all because it ABSOLUTELY IS. Gibbs w/ no Monty? Gonna be like watching Superman 
out there. Etienne (“Ay-Chan”) might be a bell cow in NOLA. Pickens gets Dak for another year and JJ + Wilson have upgrades (hopefully) for their respective QBs. Sky’s the limit with this one.
X-FACTORS: 1) RB play outside of Gibbs. No question on talent for Hall and Etienne, but are they gonna be X-FACTORS week in and week out? 2) Brian Thomas - the dude was broken last year and idk what fixes that bizarre situation. Hopefully it was just a flukey bad year. 3) Egbuka/Godwin - ONE of these dudes needs to be really good. But if they both eat into each other’s work, they each could hinder the ceiling play for the other.
5 @gbhart - RB squad ready to rock again for another year. Now with Joe Burrow in tow, this team is looking dangerous. Young WRs in Tet and Odunze. Hopefully this squad has just opened up a window to rack up wins.
X-FACTORS: 1) Jameson Williams. Guy is a wildcard. Fast and talented and if LaPorta is out for a bit… possibly extra dangerous this year. 2) Kelce… because if he’s washed in 2026, that TE starting spot might not be helping much. 3) Saquon - last 4 years (since '22) he’s been: 6th, 13th, 1st, 13th… so are we back to a top 6 year now??
6 @mikeastock - This team’s twisting ankles two+ weeks out from the regular season 
. Hopefully everyone is alright, but the combo of Jeanty + Love has firepower than can last a while in this league. Anchored with Daniels/Williams and consensus TE1 Bowers and this young squad is going to be competitive for a long, long time. They should be rising up out of the tank zone now. Why only 6th? Mostly ankle stuff. And idk if the WRs are there yet (outside of London).
X-FACTORS: 1) RB’s ankles 2) WR2 and WR3 - is it Scary Terry and Tate? Is it Watson and Concepcion? Big questions there, but not necessarily bad options. 3) NE RB room - when will it be TreV’s turn?
7 @PaulDawg - Omarion and Javonte are ready to rock. Bo Nix is bringing some big nix energy. But are the WRs going to be able to hang? The question hangs with Marv and Rice.
X-FACTORS: 1) Marv and Rice. 2) Brandon Aubrey - why not? If his kicker outscores half his team every week I’m telling you there’s a chance! 3) Team Name - will this team be able to keep “Milroe Baggins” or will they have to abandon it for a new moniker? And if they change, could that be the X-FACTOR of all X-FACTORS when it comes to fantasy wins and losses?
8 @Alex - Possibly the most interesting team in the league. Young pup Maye anchoring looks like a bright future is ahead. McBride and Kyren? Also solid. Middle-aged (for football) Waddle in a new environment? We shall see… and AJ Brown + Davante + Evans as the older dogs on the WR crew. We likely have some entertaining programming ahead.
X-FACTORS: 1) New faces in new places - Waddle in Denver/Brown in New England/Evans in “San Francisco.” Curious to see how it pans out. 2) Father Time - Evans falls on this side of the proverbial Venn diagram too, but this time with Davante Adams. Can these dogs put up another season for the record books? 3) Giants & Cardinals RB rooms - Many experts feel that the playing time for Skattebo and Allgeier are fairly set going into the season, but both rooms have multiple players who could reasonably take snaps.
9 @ianamunrud - (legal) Tank alert. Assets have been shipped and eyes are on the '27 draft class already (probably). But With Chase, Flowers, Burden, Judkins, Swift, Dobbins, and Loveland this team might accidentally win more games that we think they want to. Though starting Cam Ward might actually help the cause.
X-FACTORS: 1) Chase & Loveland: two perceived top players at this position. They could contribute enough to some ‘accidental’ wins. 2) Trades: This team has been acquiring picks and waiting for Stock’s team to stop tanking. Will we see more deals in-season from this team to better solidify its current and future plans? 3) Jon - see below
10 @jonathan - While the team above is actively selling, this team may have walked right into some favorable draft capital in 2027. If we were playing re-draft, Josh Allen would be the only top option in the starting lineup.
X-FACTORS: 1) WRs - If Jayden Reed and Josh Downs turn into the 1’s on their respective teams, we may have a different story here. Makai Lemon also received 1st round draft capital (as did Golden) so… I’m telling you there’s a chance. 2) RB2s - this is NFL RB2s, not fantasy ones. Will the likes of Kamara, Brian Robinson, Gainwell, McGowen, and Jordan James see the field enough to be fantasy relevant? 3) Kyle Pitts - which 4 games will he be scoring 70 points in?
May you have great enjoyment watching football and chatting with the dudes for the 2026 season!