Super Bowl LIX is officially upon us!

ICYMI: Faraz and Zach were at the Senior Bowl this past week in Mobile, Alabama! Tune into the latest episode of the Upper Hand Fantasy Podcast – they cover everything you need to know about this year’s class of players, including interviews, top standouts, and more!

Also, check out our top Senior Bowl standouts post on Instagram if you haven’t yet!

• Jets hire former Lions passing game coordinator Tanner Engstrand as their new offensive coordinator under Aaron Glenn

  • The Lions have now lost the first and only game of their 2024 postseason push, both their offensive and defensive coordinators, and their passing game coordinator over the course of the past month. To say that there are large shoes to fill for new OC John Morton and DC Kelvin Sheppard in Detroit would be putting it lightly, but the important development here is that the Jets have a fresh, new face at offensive coordinator after two years at the gallows with Nathaniel Hackett calling plays. Engstrand was the early favorite to replace now Bears HC Ben Johnson after Chicago poached him from the Lions coaching staff, but instead is taking his services to the Big Apple to help turn things around for the Jets under HC Aaron Glenn. The connections from their time together in Detroit are obvious and the hire is as close to a slam dunk as the Jets could make, especially as far as fantasy football is concerned – the next question to be answered, though, is who will be under center for the team in 2025. Aaron Rodgers has been a shell of himself during his time in New York so far, and the team could very well turn to the draft to get their signal caller of the future regardless of Rodgers’ status on the Jets roster. The good news despite the uncertainty at QB: Engstrand is a marked upgrade over the previous OC situation for the Jets, and players in the passing game like Garrett Wilson, Davante Adams, and co. stand to benefit regardless of who is throwing the ball for the team in 2025. Stocks are all pointing up for New York’s top playmakers.

• Raiders hire former Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly to the same position with the Raiders under Pete Carroll

  • Kelly has spent the past seven years coaching back at the college level, six of which were in a head coaching role at UCLA and one of which was this past year in 2024 with Ohio State as their offensive coordinator. Ohio State won the national championship earlier this year and Kelly likely would have returned to the school if it weren’t for a lucrative contract offer from the Raiders, who tapped the former NFL Eagles and 49ers head coach from 2013-16 as their new playcaller for the 2025 season. Kelly reportedly will triple his earnings in his first year with the Raiders compared to what he was making at Ohio State ($6M salary vs $2M) and be tasked with directing an offense that, as of today, is missing its centerpiece at quarterback. The last time Kelly was on an NFL sideline, he led the 49ers on a disastrous 2-14 campaign in 2016 that saw San Francisco post the 2nd-fewest points, 6th-fewest yards, and fewest passing yards as a team that year. However, that’s easily the biggest blemish on his record with the Eagles fielding a top-5 offense by points scored in two out of three years during his tenure there from 2013-2015. Without a doubt, Kelly’s offenses have been more run-focused than pass-focused, but given the prospect of a rookie quarterback or veteran journeyman likely becoming the guy for the Raiders in 2025, establishing the run will be an important part of building a foundation for Las Vegas’ offense to operate on.

• Saints expected to meet with current Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore about their head coaching vacancy after the Super Bowl

  • Obviously, Moore has been unavailable to interview for the Saints head coaching position with the Eagles set to face the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX this weekend, but there’s reportedly mutual interest between the two parties. The Saints are the only team remaining that has yet to find a new head coach for the 2025 season, and word on the street is that the opening isn’t viewed all too favorably in around the league. Regardless, the Saints have been selective in their hiring process and seem to have Kellen Moore in their sights – after all, they informed all of the other candidates they’ve interviewed with to this point that a decision about who will be hired as the next head coach would be put off until after the Super Bowl. Clearly they’re tipping their cup a bit at their true intentions, and as far as fantasy is concerned, Kellen Moore would be a very good hire for New Orleans as they look to clean up an offense that was racked with injuries in 2024. Former OC Klint Kubiak had things humming through two weeks before the wheels fell off the wagon, so there’s clearly promise with the weapons available in the offense: Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Alvin Kamara and co. should be able to hold things down in 2025. Moore spearheaded an offense with the Eagles this past season that ranked first in rushing offense, 13th in passing offense, and 8th in total offense and would be a much needed upgrade over the previous regime in NO. Barring unforeseen obstacles in the hiring process, however, the writing appears to be on the wall for Moore to become the new head coach of the Saints.

Jalen Hurts ranks 4th among all players since 2019 in total rushing touchdowns (55) behind only Derrick Henry (68), Josh Jacobs (61), and Josh Allen (57). Jalen Hurts was drafted in 2020. Hurts also led all QBs in adjusted completion percentage in 2024.

Among RBs with 100 or more carries last season in New York, Saquon Barkley ranked 33rd out of 49 RBs in yards before contact/att (1.24). This year in Philadelphia, he ranked 1st among 46 qualifying RBs (3.55).

A.J. Brown led all wide receivers in air yards share in 2024, earning 50% of the Eagles’ air yards. He was also one of two wide receivers this year to finish with over 1000 receiving yards despite starting 13 or fewer games, the other being Nico Collins (12).

Despite posting career-highs in single-season target share (25%) and touchdown receptions (8), 2024 marked Devonta Smith’s least productive fantasy season in total PPR points (199.4) since his rookie season (2021 - 185.6).

Despite the Eagles offense ranking top-12 in points scored in five of the past six years since 2019, Dallas Goedert hasn’t finished as a top-10 fantasy TE in PPR formats and has never totaled more than 60 catches or 5 touchdowns in a season in his career.