My Guys: Emeka Egbuka, Drake Maye, and The Players I Need To Leave Drafts With

Welcome to "my guys" for 2025 -- players I love, players I can't stop drafting, players I'm banking my title hopes and dreams on. I have a WR, a RB, and a QB for your enjoyment. 

You can find my full set of rankings here. And if you feel compelled to get a one-year sub to FL+ (and you should, it's great), use code Kendall20 for 20% off. 

Now... let's dive in!

Emeka Egbuka, WR, TB

Listen, this is how quickly things can change in fantasy football. Just a few months ago we were talking about how much we didn't like this landing spot for rookie Emeka Egbuka with the Buccaneers. Fast forward a few months and now it seems like he's going to have an immediate role in this offense. Chris Godwin won't be placed on PUP to start the season, but reports are he won't be in line to play until October. Jalen McMillan has a severely strained neck and will be placed on injured reserve. It's been reported that he will miss at least four games and could be out until after the Week 9 bye.

Enter: Emeka Egbuka. This is no longer a "wait and see" situation; Egbuka is looking like he's going to be the No. 2 in this offense to start the season — and after he gets the chance to play, he's not going to be taken off the field.

We also saw Mike Evans go down with a hamstring injury in Week 7 last season, and while he almost always feels inevitable to hit that 1,000-yard mark, there's still a chance of injury, especially as he's turning 32 this month.

No matter what, Egbuka's prices on ESPN (129 ADP), CBS (120), and Yahoo (116) are just too late. I'm taking him every chance I can!

Drake Maye, QB, NE

For everything that the Patriots lacked in 2024, Drake Maye was able to provide some hope for fans and fantasy managers alike. Maye averaged 223 passing yards and 36 rushing yards in 10 complete starts last season and he finished as QB22, averaging 13.6 points per game.

There's a lot of meat left on the bone for Maye. The Patriots came in dead last among NFL teams in supporting cast rankings and his wide receivers ranked dead last in receiving yards (1,723) last season. So, considering that they have not only upgraded their offense, but also hired a more seasoned head coach in Mike Vrabel, things should get better in the passing game.

Then there's the rushing upside. In 2024, Maye averaged 4.9 rushes and 36.3 yards per game, but I'm here to tell you he is an exceptional runner and if he truly gets unleashed this season then we can expect more from him.

Quarterbacks who provide that dual-threat ability are the ones we want to chase in fantasy football (and Guillotine Leagues™, as my friend John Laghezza so astutely pointed out in the Wednesday newsletter), and most of the obvious elite guys go early, but Maye is currently going off the board as QB16 on ESPN. 

There have also been rumors that New England will have more designed runs for Maye in 2025. If I miss out on the top guys I am more than comfortable going with Maye.

Jordan Mason, RB, MIN

Mason was a waiver wire darling for some of us last season (ANNOUNCEMENT: I'm writing the waiver wire column again this year. Get excited) and now in a new environment I really like this 1-2 punch that Vikings have going on. But the prices on Mason? 139 ADP on ESPN, 103 on Sleeper? GET OUT OF HERE PEOPLE THIS MAN HAS STANDALONE VALUE!

Injuries played a big role in Mason's year three breakout, and he finished the season with 789 yards and three touchdowns in 12 games while Christian McCaffrey was sidelined. He also forced a missed tackle on a league-high 37.3% of his carries last season (min. 150 carries), according to Next Gen Stats. In Weeks 1-8 (before McCaffrey's return), Mason also led the NFL with 51 missed tackles forced.

I still believe Aaron Jones has juice left in the tank, but it's never a bad idea to have some insurance behind a running back who's going to be 31 in December.

There also wasn't much production behind Jones in 2024. Cam Akers had 297 yards on the year compared to Jones' 1,138 (the Vikings ranked 19th in rushing overall). Minnesota knew it needed to improve the run game for the new-ish quarterback JJ McCarthy and Mason put them in the right direction.

I like the idea of Mason complementing Jones in this backfield. We can expect Mason to be more of the early-down grinder with Jones getting more of the pass catching work. Mason can handle that physical role and now the Vikings can hope that Jones will stay healthy throughout the entire season. We never want injuries, but right now Mason not only has standalone value in fantasy, and if Jones were to go down then he would have the upside of more touches in a solid offense.