By Tom Marsh (aka MeggaMen)

 

Again, two new owners this year. At least we only had 1 join at the last minute. Hopefully Will will stick around for awhile, at least long enough to beat his Dad a few times. 

 

The story of last year was Byron's chase to a league record 13 wins. It had never been accomplished before and he was able to make it happen, thanks to a key late-season win over the Lionhearts and by shutting out 3 of his final 4 opponents. Already the owner with the most league titles, Byron continues to cement himself as the team, and owner, to beat. As continued proof that it's better to be lucky than good, even with a 13-1 record, Byron lost to Chris in the first round of the playoffs, marking Byron's second early exit in his last two trips to the post-season. This provided Chris with the opportunity he needed to advance his franchise to their first ever title game. Even when facing the Meggamen, a team that has been to 4 of the last 5 championship games, Chris didn't disappoint. He seized his opportunity on the big stage and beat the MeggaMen 32-16. After 22 long years, the Gallic Warriors are finally in possession of the crappy trophy!

 

In 2025, I blew 6 predictions and nailed 2. That is a slight improvement from last year but I have decided to do a few things moving forward. First, I'm never predicting Byron goes below .500 again and I'm not predicting Mike finishes over .500. I keep getting suckered in by Mike's strong drafts then seeing his team not live up to the hype. 

 

Nailed it - 2 teams

Missed by 1 game - 2 teams

Missed by 2 games - 2 team

Blew it (missed by 3 or more) - 6 teams

 

 

I continued by simulating an AI draft again this year, although I think the model did a MUCH better job this year. I'll again note below the 1st round AI pick for each team this year and examine how their AI pick from last year would have performed. Last year combined, the AI simulated 1st round picks scored 827 total points and all of our actual 1st round picks scored 905 point so, at least last year, we outperformed AI. AI wasn't quite ready to take over managing our teams in 2025 but we'll see how this year plays out.

 

Every year I say I won't spend as much time on this write-up as prior years but, thanks to AI, I spent more time this year than ever because, AI has enabled me to have lots of fun with data! I love playing with data and thanks to AI (and Josh for providing more metrics on the site) I now have a plethora of data to play with! Below is one interesting graph (yes, it's an eye chart), it's every teams total power ranking over the past 5 years, so we can enjoy the beauty of trending!  

 

 

-Crusaders. Almost rock bottom in 2022 but climbing since. Hall is back in action!

-Gallic Warriors. Climbing since 2022.

-Richard's Lionhearts. Climbing steadily since 2020

-Sacks on the Beach. Climbing steadily since 2021.

 

-MeggaMen. Peaked at #1 for both 2022 and 2023 (when they won the title) but dropping steadily since.

-ANJT. Trending down since 2021, except for a small bump in 2024 when Andrew won the title with a lousy power ranking position of #8.

-Omar's Coming. I don't know if you can say dead last in power ranking for 3 straight years is a decline but it sure does suck.

 

Finally, if you want another word on our draft results, you can listen to the podcast!

 

Will moves in to take over the (soon to be re-named) Testudos Revenge this year. With the top RB in the league in Jahmyr Gibbs and a top 3 QB in Jayden Daniels, he's well positioned for early success. Not protecting Ja'Marr Chase seems like a big mistake in a dynasty league but who knows. If Chase get's hurt in week 1, suddenly Will the Prognosticator will be among us!

 

2025 Predicted Finish: 6-8

2025 Actual Finish: 13-1

2025 Results:  Byron just trashed the rest of the league last year. He rode who I called last year a "declining McCaffrey" and Amon-Ra St. Brown to the best season in WMFFL history. Even though he fell flat in the playoffs, the Norsemen were back in a big was and will almost certainly make their way into the playoffs again this year. It's been 10 years since Byron had a sub-.500 season and he's got a pair of strong receivers who should keep him in the hunt for years to come.

 

2025 AI Round 1 Pick: Travis Hunter

2025 Actual Round 1 Pick: Christian McCaffrey

2025 AI Results: No pick comparison highlights how bad AI was at judging talent last year than this one. Travis Hunter went in the 2nd round last year but only scored 16 points all season so this is about as big a bust as you'll see from AI. No surprise, Hunter went undrafted this year.

 

2026:

Best Pick: Laiatu Latu

Worst Pick: Tyler Warren (too high for a TE who averages less than 5 PPG)

AI Round 1 Pick: Jaylen Waddle

Actual Round 1 Pick: Tyler Warren

Draft Grade: C

2026 Predicted Finish: 9-5

Summary: Byron had an odd draft this year. He took a TE in the first round, even though there was much significant (and much-needed for him) RB and WR talent still on the board. He then proceeded to draft a rookie RB in Jadarian Price, which may prove to be a strong pick, but he followed this up by selecting 3 LBs in a row, even though he can only start 2. With his protections though, he'll still be a very dangerous team but he'll have to hope his offensive players can stay health. Byron will field a top QB in Drake Maye, a top RB in McCaffery and maybe a decent second in Jadarian Price. At WR, Malik Nabors and St. Brown should be a top pairing and he'd better get more than 5 PPG from Tyler Warren after spending a first round pick on him. On D, Laiatu Latu is one of the best young DL in the league and he'll have a top LB group with Carson Schwesinger combined with either Jamien Sherwood or Nick Bolton. Finally, his DB pairing of Quentin Lake and Trevon Moehrig will be serviceable but not spectacular. Byron won't win 13 games this year and he'll really need McCaffery to stay healthy and Nabors to return to his rookie form to win double digit games again this year. I think he'll be close but 10 wins may be out of reach this year.

 

2025 Predicted Finish: 8-6

2025 Actual Finish: 9-5

2025 Results: It's time to give Richard his due, he's a strong owner who knows how to manage his team and it's only a matter of time until he takes home the trophy. With a 10-4 finish in 2024, a 9-5 finish in 2025, and 3 straight trips to the playoffs, he's proven that even in a division where he has to contend with Byron twice, he can still hammer out a great season. Last year was no exception. Richard was 4-4 at week 8 and it looked like he was reverting back to his .500 form of prior seasons but the Lionhearts rallied and went 5-1 down the stretch to make the playoffs. Unfortunately he faced the streaking (and very lucky) MeggaMen in the playoffs and went down hard, 37-75. Richard couldn't seal the deal last year but his time is coming.

 

2025 AI Round 1 Pick: Drake London

2025 Actual Round 1 Pick: Joe Burrow

2025 AI Results: For last season anyway, AI wins this one easily. Burrow just can't seem to stay on the field and Drake London (who also had some injuries last season) still finished as the PPG average WR #4. Time may prove otherwise but at least for last season, AI had the upper hand.

 

2026:

Best Pick: Christian Watson

Worst Pick: Bhayshul Tuten

AI Round 1 Pick: Josh Jacobs

Actual Round 1 Pick: Emeka Egbuka

Draft Grade: D

Predicted Finish: 9-5

Summary: I didn't care for Richard's draft this year and thought he reached a few times and will be taking too mant gambles on some of the players he picked this year. At QB, he's set with Burrow and Sam Darnold as a "backup" although with Burrow's injury history, this is a good play. At RB, De'Von Achane is a top player but I question if Bhayshul Tuten (with his 3.7 YPC) or MarShawn Lloyd (who has barely played in 2 years) will be able to put up numbers or last all year. At WR, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a superstar and he'll win at least 4 games by himself. Christian Watson should be a strong #2 but Richard will need a strong year from Emeka Egbuka and have to play lots of 3 WR sets to find success. At TE, Jake Ferguson is strong and will contribute points each week. On D, his DLs are lacking with an aging Trey Hendrickson leading the pack. At LB, he's rolling the dice with rookie CJ Allen and it's downhill from there. Finally at DB, he'll need big improvements from Chamarri Connor and Xavier Watts to have an impact. Richard has the offense to make the playoffs but he'll need his players on defense to step up, or be replaced, if he hopes to bring him the title this year.

 

2025:

Predicted Finish: 4-10

Actual Finish: 2-12

Results: Joshua had (and still does have) a very tough task ahead of him. He didn't come into this league and inherit a team with Jayden Daniels, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Ja'Marr Chase, instead he inherited the Fighting Squirrels. A team that for many years was the lovable loser of the WMFFL. Thanks to 18 years of shitty ownership by Andy, Brian, and briefly Steve, this is a team that has only been to Toilet Bowls since 2005 and sports a rockin 40% winning percentage. Joshua has brought a fresh team name, logo, and attitude but the results were the same last year. The Omar's Coming started the year poorly, going 0-7 out of the gate, and managed to "turn it around" by going 2-5 to end the year. The best part of Joshua's season was killing the Bulldogs in the Toilet Bowl and securing the #1 pick this year. Rome wasn't built in a day and it looks like Joshua may still have another year to go to truly be competitive.

 

2025 AI Round 1 Pick: Omarion Hampton

2025 Actual Round 1 Pick: Omarion Hampton

2025 AI Results: We have a wash. Now he just needs Hampton to stay on the field. 34 points in a season from a RB won't cut it.

 

2026:

Best Pick: Ja'Marr Chase (duh)

Worst Pick: Marvin Harrison Jr.

AI Round 1 Pick: Ja'Marr Chase

Actual Round 1 Pick: Ja'Marr Chase

Draft Grade: B-

2026 Predicted Finish: 5-9

Summary: Going 6-8 this year would be a massive improvement for a team that has had seven 2-win, and 3-win seasons combined over the years but Joshua is starting to make the right moves. The first right move he made was not doing something dopey with the #1 pick (e.g. all of the Amish Electricians's past #1 picks) and choosing the obvious best player available, Ja'Marr Chase. This pink alone moves him from 2 wins to at least 5. Couple that with a great trade for AJ Brown and suddenly the OC are making moves that win games. The end result was a pretty solid draft overall and a team that will get Joshua close to .500. He'll field a solid Trevor Lawrence at QB but RB is a position of concern. Both Omarion Hampton and TreVeyon Henderson may be good if they can stay healthy and stay out of RB committees. Rhamondre Stevenson is fine but whom to start when you have paired RBs? His best hope is that one guy gets hurt and the other takes off. WR is a different story and Joshua makes a case for the strongest RB pairing in the league with Chase and AJ Brown. Marvin Harrison Jr still has yet to prove he can live up to the name and the QB play in AZ is lacking. At TE, Kittle and Kincaid are both good options and Kittle could be great again if he stays on the field. On D, he'll field a strong DL in Jeffrey Simmons but all his other defensive players are middle of the pack, at best. If Joshua's defense can outperform their level and one of his RBs can separate themselves, he'll have a real chance to get to .500 and make some noise in a tough division.

 

NASA Tuesdays (formerly Testudos Revenge)

2025:

Predicted Finish: 9-5

Actual Finish: 5-9

Results: Morgan pretty much sat on this team last year and did nothing of note (he didnt even attend the draft), somehow taking the team with the best RB and WR in the league to a 5-9 record. With some halfway decent ownership, this team could easily have been playoff bound. Of the 5 wins by the TR last year, none came against teams with records over .500. Not much else to say here, you have to manage your team to have success.

 

AI Round 1 Pick: Alvin Kamara

Actual Round 1 Pick: Joe Mixon

AI Results: Mixon didn't play last year and Kamara barely played (18 points in total) so I guess AI won this one? Pretty poor either way, quite frankly.

 

2026:

Best Pick: Tony Pollard

Worst Pick: Chase McLaughlin (why protect a kicker then draft one?)

AI Round 1 Pick: Rashee Rice

Actual Round 1 Pick: Davante Adams

Draft Grade: B+

2026 Predicted Finish: 7-7

Summary: Will has the roster to make the playoffs, he just needs a few things to go his way this year. First, he needs Jahmyr Gibbs to ball out! No more RB committee in Detroit so his season hinges on Gibbs. If Gibbs stays healthy and is a true #1 RB in Detroit, the playoffs are within reach. If not, he'll struggle to get to .500. The TR would also benefit tremendously from Jayden Daniels playing like 2024 Jayden, not 2025, but if he doesn't Stafford is still strong enough to carry the load. Will also will need either Cam Skattebo or Tony Pollard to emerge as a viable #2 RB, Davante Adams to get points as a WR #2, and Parker Washington to emerge in JAX. At TE, Will loaded up with 3 TEs but he'll again either need Travis Kelce to play like it's 2022 or Sam LaPorta to play like it's 2023. On D, Will has the top DL pairing in the league with Aidan Hutchinson and Myles Garrett. His LBs are mediocre but he has very strong DBs, with Kyle Hamilton leading the pack. It's really hard to predict Will's season. Usually new owners struggle and not protecting Ja'Marr Chase was a questionable move but Will had a great draft and he has many top players on defense. His offense may let him down though and I think he'll need another year to bolster the team and really compete.

 

After 4 straight divison titles, Warren is finally dethroned as the best team in the Gold division. Will this changing of the guard continue this season or will Warren make a comeback?

 

2025:

Predicted Finish: 5-9

Actual Finish: 8-6

Results: After two of the worst seasons in the long and storied history of this franchise, the Amish bounced back in a big way last year. Josh was 6-1 at the mid point and it looked like he was going to cruise to a playoff berth. Luck was not on his side however and after a very tight, 5 point loss to the Norsemen in week 8, his team appeared to lose their fight and went 2-4 the rest of the year to end at 8-6. Josh went from a 76% chance of winning his division at the end of Nov to just a 42% chance the week thereafter. He then got clobbered in a must-win final game against the eventual champs, putting an end to one of the more promising starts to a season. 

 

AI Round 1 Pick: Ashton Jeanty

Actual Round 1 Pick: Ashton Jeanty

AI Results: Jeanty was the clear #1 pick last year but Josh's lousy luck with #1 picks continued, as Jeanty only gave Josh 2 points all year and plowed his way to a middling 3.7 YPC. 

 

2026:

Best Pick: Rome Odunze

Worst Pick: Jared Goff

AI Round 1 Pick: Javonte Williams

Actual Round 1 Pick: Jeremiyah Love

Draft Grade: D-

Predicted Finish: 5-9

Summary: Summary: Josh put alot of faith in his draft this year in players that need to either step up or compete for more of a starting role. Jeremiyah Love was a no-brainer pick at #8 but he could struggle with poor QB play in ARZ this year. Luckily Josh has 2 top RBs on his team already in Jonathan Taylor and Kyren Williams so this only becomes a big issue if one of those guys is hurt. Some of his other picks were guys who will need to step forward this year, like Rome Odunze and Alec Pierce. Josh will field a QB room of Goff and Nix, who are fine but not exciting, the RBs mentioned before, and a good, not great WR corps behind Chris Olave. On defense, both of Josh's DLs are sub-par but at LB, he has all-world tackling machine Jordyn Brooks paired with Devin Bush. If Bush finds his footing with his new team and doesn't lose tackles to TJ Edwards, this could be a strong pairing. At DB, Marcus Jones put up huge points last year but it seems like every year there is a corner who puts up huge numbers, never to repeat them. If he can, Josh's defense will be good enough to keep him in the race but I see too many question marks at WR, a lack of RB depth, and holes on defense for him to repeat over .500 this year.

 

2025:

Predicted Finish: 7-7

Actual Finish: 7-7 (called it!)

AI Round 1 Pick: Kenneth Walker III
Actual Round 1 Pick: Terry McLaurin
AI Results: Walker (and AI) takes the win in this head-to-head comparison but it's closer than you may think. Walker only put up 47 points last year in his timeshare with Zach Chardonnay but then turned it on in the playoffs. McLaurin was hurt for much of last year but still put up 26 points before all was said and done.

2026:
Best Pick: Nick Cross
Worst Pick: Nick Bosa
AI Round 1 Pick: Jeremiyah Love
Actual Round 1 Pick: DeVonta Smith
Draft Grade: B
Predicted Finish: 10-4
Summary: Hall had a good draft overall and should be in the mix to return to the playoffs this year. He'll start by fielding a top Jalen Hurts at QB, with a strong Baker Mayfield behind him. A top RB in Bijan Robinson, with Bucky Irving and Rico Dowdle. If either of those guys can get their chance and stay healthy, he'll be strong here. At WR Puka Nacua is still in the conversation for best in the league and, when paired with newly minted #1 guy DeVonta Smith will form a formidable pair of wideouts. TE is a real weak spot with no top options here. On D, Hall has the up-and-down (and oft-injured) Nick Bosa paired with top-notch Byron Young, two top LBs in Earnest Jones and Nate Landman, and one of the best DB groupings in the league with Nick Cross, Kam Curl, and Derwin James. Anything can happen in a season but, on paper, Hall easily has the most well-rounded team in the league.

Gallic Warriors
2025:
Predicted Finish: 8-6
Actual Finish: 8-6
Results: The Warriors sport an all-time winning percentage of .387, the lowest in WMFFL history. To be clear, Chris is not entirely responsible for this low mark. He inherited a team from Ira who only managed to clear 5 wins twice in 10 years of ownership. The Warriors winning percentage since Chris took over the team is .403 or about what the Omar's Coming franchise is at so not as bad but still at the bottom of the league. Does any of this matter though? Chris has learned that the way to win in this league is to be good enough to be over .500, then lucky enough to make it through the playoffs. He took care of the first part by going 8-6, thanks to a 4-1 run to end the season and key demolition of the Amish to take the division. Chris then barreled through two of the best teams in league history, the Norsemen and MeggaMen, to take his franchise's first ever title!

AI Round 1 Pick: Christian McCaffrey
Actual Round 1 Pick: TreVeyon Henderson
AI Results: AI clearly wins the day here. Henderson's respectable 78 points doesn't come close to the 203 McCaffery put up last year. 

2026:
Best Pick: Mike Evans
Worst Pick: Tyrel Dodson (cut by the Dolphins and on the Panthers practice squad)
AI Round 1 Pick: D'Andre Swift
Actual Round 1 Pick: Javonte Williams (he still got Swift in round 2 though)
Draft Grade: C
Predicted Finish: 7-7
Summary: Chris loves Cowboys (even though he lives in Houston) and maybe he should! He rode Brandon Aubrey, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens to victory last year so adding Javonte Williams to the mix may be a good call. The only problem with putting all your eggs in one basket is that one injury to Dak Prescott could derail everything. He'll still have Lamar Jackson at QB and Lamar can still put up points. Williams and D'Andre Swift can be a strong 1-2 punch at RB, with Quinshon Judkins who could step in if he comes back strong from his injury. At WR, the the Cowboys reign with Pickens and Lamb leading the way but Chris has great depth with Mike Evans and DK Metcalf as well. If Evans can find his footing in SF, this could easily turn into a 3-WR offense. Chris also has Trey McBride at TE, which is like having another #1 WR in your lineup. Take it from someone who won 3 titles with Antonio Gates back in the day, top TEs can be a game changer. Even with the reduced scoring (thank you very much!), Aubrey will still put up a lot of points and make this offense even stronger. On D, Chris has a strong DL in Tuli Tuipulotu but lacks depth behind him. He has top LB in Jack Campbell but interestingly enough he's going with his teammate Devin White beside him. Hey why not, Chris seems to find success when loading up from one team! At DB, Chris is rolling with Nahshon Wright as the top option but big risk chasing the scoring DBs (see my note in the Amish's writeup above about Marcus Jones). Chris has the talent on offense to repeat but his defense is lacking and he is really rolling the dice with a single team alignment. It could work out for him again, but I don't think so.

Trump Molests Collies
2025:
Predicted Finish: 9-5
Actual Finish: 6-8
Results: I suppose nobody can stay on top forever and this past year was apparently Warren's time to drop off.     After 4 straight Gold division titles, the TMC finished dead last in the divison and posted their worst record in 5 years. It all went south straight out of the gate as Warren went 1-6 in the first half of the year. He actually turned it around well in the second half, by going 5-2 but by then the damage was done. Saquon Barkley has been the engine of his team for years now and 85 total points from him just won't cut it. Warren protected him for yet another year this year so he'd better hope he can bounce back.

AI Round 1 Pick: Rashee Rice
Actual Round 1 Pick: Kenneth Walker III
AI Results: Rice put up 76 points last year to Walker's 46. AI wins again.

2026:
Best Pick: Jaylen Waddle
Worst Pick: Josh Jacobs
AI Round 1 Pick: Breece Hall
Actual Round 1 Pick: Tee Higgins
Draft Grade: C+
Predicted Finish: 7-7
Summary: Warren had an ok draft overall and I thought Jacobs was only a moderate risk as a 3rd round pick. He still has Josh Allen, which means he'll be a threat week-to-week. Allen's always good for at least 2 TDs and you just never know when he's going to explode for a 4+ TD game. The real question mark here is Barkley. 85 points just won't be enough to carry Warren forward and he'll need Barkley to play like one of the best RBs in the league again to find success. Walker could be a beast in KC but you never know how a guy will new in new surroundings and with a new system. Jacobs will probably miss some time, Warren just has to hope it's not when he needs him the most. WR is a genuine area of concern for his team. Higgins is solid and Waddle could be great, depending on how much Sutton eats into his workload. Warren apparently puts way more faith in the Commanders bouncing back than I do because he has all 3 Commanders starting receivers on his team. McLaurin and Diggs will have their days but consistency is a genuine concern. His TEs are solid and will also have their moments. On D, Hines-Allen is good but he's got to hope for a big leap from Abdul Carter. His LB corps of Cashman and Oluokun is quietly strong and his DBs are fine. This team has a depth problem at WR and RB but Allen will continue to keep him in the hunt. 

White Division

The White division used to be a powerhouse in the WMFFL, with The Sacks, MeggaMen, and former division member Testudos Revenge duking it out on a yearly basis. Not so much these days. The White division was the worst of the three based on combined record and combined power ranking postion. Are their glory days over? 

Ain't Nothing But a Jew Thing
2025:
Predicted Finish: 6-8
Actual Finish: 5-9
Results: The year started rough for Andrew, as he went 2-5 to start the season. He didn't improve much from there, limping through a 3-3 record to close out the year. After winning the title in 2023, the ANJT seems more like a fluke than a real powerhouse in the White division.

AI Round 1 Pick: DJ Moore
Actual Round 1 Pick: James Conner
AI Results: 47 points from Moore to 12 from Conner. AI wins again.

2026:
Best Pick: Cedric Gray
Worst Pick: Nakobe Dean
AI Round 1 Pick: DeVonta Smith
Actual Round 1 Pick: Brock Bowers
Draft Grade: B+
Predicted Finish: 4-10
Summary: I liked Andrew's draft overall and his team is definitely improved, on paper, but he'll have to stay on top of the waiver wire to fill the gaps. His QB room is just ok with Jordan Love and Brock Purdy. Maybe Love can improve his TD output this year but he'll need one of these guys to improve. At RB, Derrick Henry is still the engine of his team but he's an aging engine. Behind him, he'll need Jacory Croskey-Merritt or Jaylen Warren to take a leap forward to fill the gap. At WR, Ladd McConkey could step forward but no guarantee. The same goes for the rest of his receiver group. None are stars and most are not #1 guys for their teams. At TE, Brock Bowers was his #1 pick and should be a top option, if he stays on the field. On D, he's got a top player at each position including two potential top 10 DLs in T.J. Watt and Nik Bonitto, Cedric Gray leading his LB core (who could be best in the league this year), and Budda Baker at DB. Second players and depth is lacking severely. Even with the strong draft, this is a team that will contend for the toilet bowl this year.

Rocky Mountain Oysters (formerly British Bulldogs)
2025:
Predicted Finish: 6-8
Actual Finish: 4-10
Results: Adam turned in a dud of a season last year for the Bulldogs, now Rocky Mountain Oysters and he clearly bailed on his team mid-season. The Bulldogs were 3-4 at the midpoint and still in the game but Adam gave up thereafter, going 1-6 the rest of the way and mailed in the second worst loss in Toilet Bowl history, a 73-0 drubbing to the Omar's Coming.

AI Round 1 Pick: RJ Harvey
Actual Round 1 Pick: Patrick Mahomes
AI Results: No contest. Mahomes smokes Harvey any way you look at it.

2026:
Best Pick: Nick Emmanwori
Worst Pick: Luther Burden
AI Round 1 Pick: Ashton Jeanty
Actual Round 1 Pick: Ashton Jeanty
Draft Grade: C+
Predicted Finish: 4-10
Summary: There were some questionable high picks by Bryce in his first draft, including an injured and under-performing Jeanty and a second round WR in Luther Burden who will compete for targets with Rome Odunze. I did like most of his picks on defense however. Bryce will field a strong, and still improving, Caleb Williams at QB but has no depth behind him. At RB, he'll need Ashton Jeanty to stay healthy because he has zero depth behind him, including RJ Harvey in a crowded backfield and backup Tyjae Spears. At WR, Both Brian Thomas Jr and Luther Burden will fight their competition for catches and depth is again missing. He does have a top TE in Colston Loveland. On defense things are brighter, starting with top DL Maxx Crosby and strong seconds with Jared Verse in Cleveland and Micah Parsons coming back from injury. At TE, Roquan Smith is tops and Edgerrin Cooper is a strong second. At DB, Nick Emmanwori is great and getting greater and Brian Branch will slay once he comes back from injury. Bryce's defense will be heads and tails better than his offese, which will compete for worst offense in the league. It won't be enough and he'll have a strong chance at meeting the ANJT in the Toilet Bowl.

MeggaMen
2025:
Predicted Finish: 7-7
Actual Finish: 10-4
Results: Every year there is a team that is not great statistically but they seem to always play other teams on their worst week, and somehow manage to eek out a good record and go to the playoffs, and last year's team for that was the MeggaMen. The MeggaMen were the #3 team by power ranking in 2024 and had been to 3 of the prior 4 championship games but it was looking ugly when they dropped their first 2 games out of the gate. They turned it around from there and won 6 straight to be 6-2 after 8 games. They continued their hot streak by going 4-2 over their remaining games, knocked off the Lionhearts in solid fashion in the first round, but came up short against the Warriors in the title game. On the surface, looked like another strong MeggaMen season but upon closer review, the MeggaMen were VERY lucky. They somehow made it to the title game even though they were 8th in total points, which ties for the second lowest power rank to make the title game (the worst was the power rank #10 Sean Taylor's Ashes that made it to the title game against the Amish Electricians in 2020).

AI Round 1 Pick: Tetairoa McMillan
Actual Round 1 Pick: Drake London
AI Results: 89 points from London vs 64 from McMillan. AI missed on this one.

2026:
Best Pick: Talanoa Hufanga
Worst Pick: Kenyon Sadiq
AI Round 1 Pick: Travis Etienne Jr.
Actual Round 1 Pick: Breece Hall
Draft Grade: B
Predicted Finish: 8-6
Summary: I thought I had an ok draft but I drafted more offensive players early and waited longer than I usually do to start on defense. The result is some serious defensive holes but more depth on offensive. I'll have Justin Herbert at QB and have to hope that one of long-shots Kyler Murray or Malik Willis can workout. At RB, Breece Hall should be solid and I'm hoping David Montgomery can make noise in Houston. At WR, my team's strength is still there and I was able to re-draft Garrett Wilson so I'll move forward with the same 4 WRs as last year, with Justin Jefferson and Drake London leading the way. At TE, I'm hoping Kyle Pitts can continue to build on his strong year. On defense, Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter seem to be a great pair but they may cannibalize each other. LB is an area of concern with rookie Sonny Styles in front and new Panther Devin Lloyd set to start. At DB things look better with emerging Tykee Smith and a solid Talanoa Hufanga leading the way. Overall, the MeggaMen have a couple top 10 players at some positions but, unless Justin Jefferson can return to form, the lack of a true game-winning lead player will hinder this team all year. The MeggaMen will continue to scrap and claw their way through games and they playoffs will be within reach, mainly due to their poor division. 

Sacks on the Beach
2025:
Predicted Finish: 10-4
Actual Finish: 7-7
Results: Mike started strong last year, going 3-0 to start the year. He stumbled thereafter and went 2-7, before winning his last 2 to just barely reach .500. James Cook put up strong numbers throughout the year but Chase Brown stumbled early and regression by CJ Stroud impacted Nico Collins and the SOTB as a result. Mike had the talent, but his offense didn't hold up throughout the year. His defense excelled however and finished as the #1 defense in the league. 

AI Round 1 Pick: Chase Brown
Actual Round 1 Pick: Chase Brown
AI Results: We have a draw!

Best Pick: Jordan Mason (a steal in the 12th!)
Worst Pick: Jakobi Meyers
AI Round 1 Pick: Garrett Wilson
Actual Round 1 Pick: Rashee Rice
Draft Grade: B+
2024 Predicted Finish: 9-5
Summary: Another strong draft for Mike and he's poised to take the lousy White division. He'll field a strong QB in Dak Prescott but depth could be an issue here, with unproven Tyler Slough behind him. At RB, he's stacked with Cook, Brown and then has both Travis Etienne and Jordan Mason for depth. At WR, he's strong with Rashee Rice but it's thinner thereafter, with DJ Moore in new surroundings in Buffalo, Nico Collins dealing with questionable QB play, and a bunch of other guys playing 2nd or 3rd fiddle. At TE, Juwan Johnson is essentially a spot filler. On D, Brian Burns and Andrew Van Ginkel are a formidable pair and his LB pair of Zach Baun and Fred Warner are great. His DB pairing with an aging Kevin Byard and solid Antoine Winfield are just ok. Mike is probably overloaded at RB and, if Etienne or Mason take off this year, he could look to trade one to upgrade his WR core. Either way, he has enough depth on offense to take the White division this year.

 

2026 Season Predictions

Burgundy Division Winner: Norsemen
Gold Division Winner: Crusaders
White Division Winner: Sacks on the Beach
Wild Card: Richard's Lionhearts

Playoff Winners: Crusaders and Sacks on the Beach
League Champ: Crusaders
Final Score: 29-11
 * Again, I was close!  In 2024 I predicted the final score of 61-32 and it ended up being 66-35, so I was off by about 5 points per team. In 2025 I predicted 41-22 and it was 31-16 so not quite as close but pretty good!
 
Comeback Team of the Year: Sacks on the Beach
Manager of the Year: Jon Hall

As always, good luck to everyone (except Warren)!