Who is your Team's X-Factor?

(I would like to preface this article by saying absolutely nothing in here was created by AI. This makes me better than Yahoo Sports that has laid off employees and is using AI to create their articles.)

Every team has that one player on their roster that completely determines the success for their team. For most teams, their success hinges on their best players playing their best, but in addition there are lesser level players that can greatly affect the level of success a team has. Success for every team in the league will look a little bit different, not every team will be contending for the championship. Success might be just making the playoff for some teams, while another team might just be happy with winning a few more games and their future looking brighter. This difference in success for every team will affect what type of player is the X-Factor for your team.

Rome Wasn't Built in a Day - Rome Odunze

Obviously this team is in the middle of a big rebuild, and a successful season will be different than many other teams in this league. Success for this team looks like competitive in most games, and probably winning around 5 or 6 games this year, but also having some youth players step up and show promise. 2024 1st round pick Rome Odunze is the X-Factor for this roster because current and future success hinges on his development. Rome Odunze was a fantastic prospect coming out of college with a perfect route tree (according to reception perception charting), and had the quality markers of success against man and zone defence. This, partnered with the Caleb Williams draft selection, was the reason why I selected him over Malik Nabers in the rookie draft (bad decision? probably), and why there is still belief in him having a breakout type of season despite the large competition for targets. Rome Odunze, will surely be a reliable target for Caleb next season as he only dropped 3.1% of his targets, and hauled in over 70% of his contested catch opportunities. This is a recipe for being a reliable target for a developing quarterback and breaking out for a rebuilding fantasy team. Rome Odunze is the X-Factor for this team because if he does breakout, then the current year and future for this team looks brighter, but if he fails, then the team will look worse and the future will be quite dim.

Mahomies over Mahoes - Ashton Jeanty

This team is coming off landing the #1 overall pick in the last rookie draft, landing them prized rookie, Ashton Jeanty. Ashton Jeanty joins a talented team with notable players Devonta Smith, Tee Higgins, George Pickens, and Patrick Mahomes will be a solid QB for years to come. Success for this team is to make it into the playoffs for the 1st time since the inception of the league, rather than winning the championship. Ashton Jeanty joins a running back room that is less than ideal, but not in the worst position for someone striving to make the playoffs. Swift is still the clear #1 back in Chicago (although not the most talented RB), Jaylen Warren should see an increase in work but will still share touches with Kaleb Johnson, and Tyjae Spears will be an important handcuff in the event Tony Pollard gets injured. Ashton Jeanty is projected to have a really good rookie season and has a great situation to match those expectations. Jeanty himself being very talented, the offensive line is pretty good (shout out Jackson Powers-Johnson Oregon Duck Legend), and head coach Pete Carroll knows the importance of establishing the run and has no problem with having a workhorse running back (remember Marshawn Lynch?). If Ashton Jeanty matches expectations he will provide a much needed points boost to the RB position giving them a good chance at a successful season and making the playoffs.

CMC Revenge Year - Christian McCaffrey

A very fitting selection for this team. This team burst onto the scene with a huge playoff run getting into the finals before their unfortunate loss to the Njigbas in Paris. Losing McCaffrey early in the year was a huge blow to the team and they ended up only winning 6 games in the regular season and barely snuck into the playoffs. This team benefitted from late season breakouts from Ladd Mcconkey and Brian Thomas Jr, allowing this team to have that deep playoff run. If this team wants to get over the hump and finally win the championship, McCaffrey is the X-Factor for this team. It's quite simple really, if McCaffrey stays healthy and is even 70% as productive as he used to be, this team has a very good shot at winning the championship this year. McCaffrey is the X-Factor because of how high his ceiling is for fantasy points (27.5 points per game in 2023), but also because the running back room after him is a little thin. I am a believer in Alvin Kamara and Jonathan Taylor they are fantastic players, but Najee Harris and RJ Harvey being the next two guys is when things get a little shaky. Najee will be splitting with 1st round pick Omarion Hampton, and Harvey, being a rookie himself, could have a slow start to the year. This team needs CMC to be healthy the whole year even if that means he doesn't provide the same amount of production (70% of 27.5 is 19.25 which is 5th among rbs in 2023 and 10th in 2024).

Tony Dorset - Chris Olave

The reigning champions made a blockbuster trade just before the draft sending away Ceedee Lamb for Chris Olave and multiple 1st round picks. The team is tremendously talented with many top 10 players at their position, giving this team a high floor and still a championship ceiling but how likely they are to win again hinges on Chris Olave. Despite several concussions Olave is still top wide receiver talent. Despite the new role as an X receiver Olave thrived last season in his short stint crushing man and zone coverages with success rates above 75% and 80% respectively (per reception perception).

Even when getting doubled teamed Olave is still successful where most players struggle. The two problems with Olave is his health concerns with the large amounts of concussions he has suffered, and his poor quarterback play. Olave has had to play with Andy Dalton, Derek Carr, Spencer Rattler and even Jake Haener. That list of QBs makes me feel bad for Olave for having to play with these guys, most of whom have put passes into poor spots for him leading to some of his concussions. Tyler Shough was the recent Saints draft selection and there is hope that he will be better than the previously mentioned names. If Olave can stay healthy, and Shough proves to be a decent QB then Olave will be good enough to help this team win the championship once again.

Njigbas In Paris - Sam Darnold

The team that topped the offseason power rankings sits in a good position to win the championship this season with the return of Rashee Rice alongside multiple other talented players like Josh Jacobs, Drake London, Breece Hall and several others. Most notably Jaxon Smith-Njigba had a breakout season with 100 receptions and 1100 yards in just his sophomore season in the NFL. Unfortunately for JSN, Geno Smith was not retained by the Seahawks and they traded him away and signed Sam Darnold instead. JSN I believe is the X-Factor for this roster, but his production is solely based on how Sam Darnold does in his new situation.

Darnold's time in Minnesota came to a disappointing ending as Darnold couldn't handle the pressure the LA Rams were getting and he suffered 9 sacks in that game. Darnold has never been very good at passing through defensive pressure, and signing with the Seahawks does not remedy that problem. In 2024 the Seahawks ranked 24th in pass blocking grade (per PFF), but they added Grey Zabel in the draft who is a fantastic offensive lineman. Unfortunately one player does not fix the O-Line, and Darnold will have to deal with even more pressure than last year, which does not bode well for JSN. This roster has enough depth at WR to get by, but the ceiling of the team will significantly increase if JSN balls out but that completely hinges on how Sam Darnold performs in his new situation.

Skattebeast - Tetairoa McMillan

Due to an egregious tank job this team just barely missed the playoffs, giving them a good shot at landing the 1.01 and Ashton Jeanty. Luckily for the rest of the league that did not happen and after trading down this team selected Tetairoa McMillan with the 1.03, disappointed with missing out on Omarion Hampton. This team has plenty of depth at running back now with top end talent in Derrick Henry and Chuba Hubbard, but the wide receiver group is a little lacking in the depth department. Terry McLaurin is a fantastic WR for a team, but Jameson Williams hasn't yet progressed passed a gadget deep threat for the Lions, Khalil Shakir who has a high floor every week but a low ceiling and the two remaining wide receivers on roster are Tetairoa McMillan and Malik Washington on the taxi squad. Success for this team isn't necessarily winning the championship but making the playoffs confidently and winning a round or two would be a very successful season for this team. The 6'5 receiver out of Arizona drew lofty comparisons to Mike Evans and Drake London in the pre-draft process for his height and ability to get open and make contested catches. McMillan at first projected to be the rare archetype of an X-Receiver that is becoming rarer and rarer in the modern NFL (elite end x-receiver archetype would be Calvin Johnson if that helps). McMillian, despite the height and athletic disadvantage, can create separation on nearly any route you make him run. Is it on the elite end like some of the more dynamic receivers? No it is not, but for a player his size it is more than good enough. McMillan getting drafted 8th overall to a team without a particularly strong WR group bodes well for McMillan but he needs to meet some lofty expectations and build good chemistry with Bryce Young to meet those expectations. With how little depth this team has at the wide receiver position, it is imperative that McMillan reaches those lofty expectations to help this team be successful this year.

PooShiesty9 - Travis Etienne

The 1st champion this league had is currently struggling with some issues in the running back room. Kyren Williams is a good lead back for this team, but after him the group is not ideal to say the least. Travis Etienne headlines the group but after him but Austin Ekeler, Roschon Johnson, Kalel Mullings, and Ray Davis are not an ideal bench mob for a position. For a team of this caliber, a title would constitute a successful season and that completely hinges on Travis Etienne this year. In 2023, Etienne finished as the RB3, a tremendous accomplishment, but had a major drop off in 2024 finishing as the RB35. Etienne effectively missed 3 games this year but was not the same after his injury. Putting up a respectable 13.44 points per game pre-injury, but just a measly 9.3 points per game post-injury. There has been some talk that with the new regime (former Bucs OC Liam Coen is now the Head Coach), recently drafted running back Bayshul Tuten will be this year's Bucky Irving. Unfortunately for those talks, Tuten has not been impressive in camp, struggling with fumbles, pass catching, and even blocking. Etienne is a former 1st round pick and has proven to be an effective running back in both the rushing and receiving game. If Etienne bounces back to even that respectable 13+ points per game, this roster will surely be in contention for another title, but that is all depends on a Travis Etienne bounce back.

The Pollard Express - The Whole QB Room

This team spent a high draft pick on Caleb Williams in the 2024 rookie draft expecting great things from him and contending for the championship. This team was an unfortunate first round exit at the hands of team CMC Revenge Year and their breakout, and part of that was the great let down that was Caleb Williams and the scramble to find a better QB during the season, especially once Justin Fields had lost his starting job to Russell Wilson. This sort of let down at a whole position creates the X-Factor to be the whole position group.

This team looks to have a better season and a trip to the playoffs that lasts longer than 1 round and that will depend on how the quarterback group performs this season. Caleb Williams is looking to have a much improved season with the new coaching staff and new weapons the team drafted for him making him a prime candidate for the starting role on this team.

Justin Fields signed a new contract for the New York Jets and looks to be the starter there with nearly no competition at all. In his best year for the Bears, Fields averaged 19.2 fantasy points with a very impressive 1143 rushing yards (2nd highest in a season for a QB) giving him very high upside for the upcoming year.

The other QB being rostered is Jared Goff who is a good option if you are looking for a high floor but not necessarily the highest ceiling. Goff has been a top 10 fantasy QB for the last 3 seasons but with the departure of Ben Johnson and several other offensive coaches, there are questions about how the offence will look and if Goff will be as effective. This is a very talented team that has some of the best top end talent, but this one position could be holding them back, if any of the 3 QBs mentioned figure it out, this team could be in for a very successful season.

Coker?! I Hardly Know Her - Zay Flowers and DK Metcalf

This team made a 2nd round appearance after making it to the finals the previous year but was not necessarily a unsuccessful season. According to insider reports the ownership believes that any season that results in a playoff appearance is a successful season regardless of what the playoff result is. With that in mind, the X-Factor for this team is the two leading receivers. Zay Flowers and DK Metcalf are both the X-Factors for this team because most of the WR group is either unproven, or do not have the ceiling that these two do.

Zay Flowers has been a solid fantasy wide receiver hovering around the top 20 for the position, but there is another level there that isn't unlocked yet. Zay is a very talented receiver that and dice up any coverage with his shifty-ness, but hasn't made that leap yet because of the system in which he plays in, and the other players on his team. Lamar and Henry create a rushing duo so good it is only rivaled by Hurt and Saquon. Henry, coming off an amazing 1900 yard season, is due for some regression in the rushing game as he continues to age (although he is beating father time at the moment). With that regression the Ravens should be in a position to pass more opening it up for Zay to be a more productive wide receiver.

DK on the other hand is in a WR room with very little competition, but Aaron Rodgers is a question mark. DK is still an above average wide receiver according to his reception perceptions charting, but sometimes he drifts on his routes which allows his defenders to make plays on the ball, and doesn't play with as much aggressiveness as he used to. The biggest problem with him is that despite his 6'4 230 pound frame, he doesn't play like it, and might be better off in the slot a little more often. While that won't happen in Pittsburgh, Arthur Smith likes getting some of his best receivers in better positions by giving them slants, digs, and post routes which DK is well above average in. If DK can build some chemistry with Rodgers, he and Zay could prove to be very important pieces for this team wanting to make the playoffs once again.

Welcome to the Naberhood - Sam LaPorta

The Welcome to the Naberhood franchise took a big step forward this season narrowly missing the playoffs by 1 game, allowing them to make a lottery pick taking Quinshon Judkins. This bolstered their running back group which was looking a little thin after Bijan Robinson. Despite the progress and increase in wins this year, Sam LaPorta was a large disappointment in his sophomore slump season. In 2023, LaPorta had a fantastic 86 catches, 889 yards, and 10 touchdowns for 258 fantasy points. All of those totals dropped in 2024 with the emergence of Jameson Williams in the passing game. Sam LaPorta suffered from having too many talented teammates meaning someone is bound to be left out and unfortunately it was him. Ben Johnson and several other offensive coaches are gone now, but Amon-ra, Jameson Williams, and both running backs are still on the roster meaning LaPorta will have to show out to earn more targets or just get lucky with the possible new scheme. The tight end position on this roster is very thin with only Theo Johnson on the bench, who has shown some promise, but is ultimately unproven, and does not have a reliable quarterback at the moment. This team will be successful due to the large amount of talent they have, but their ceiling will also depend on a bounce back year from Sam LaPorta.