Fantasy Football Winners and Losers from 2025 NFL Coaching Cycle

The 2025 NFL coaching cycle is winding down. With Kellen Moore recently taking the New Orleans Saints job, every head coaching vacancy has now been filled. Although there are still some coordinator positions yet to be announced, it’s a good time to look ahead and project the impact these hirings will have on the upcoming fantasy football season.

Some of the league’s biggest names will benefit from these coaching staff adjustments. Whether their organization brought in an offensive mastermind or removed a struggling play-caller who seemed to be limiting the team's potential, there are several stars poised to improve in 2025 following some coaching changes.

Other players could be negatively impacted by these staffing shifts. The departure of an elite offensive coordinator or installation of a head coach whose system deprioritizes their position may hinder a top talent’s ability to continue contributing at a high level.

With that in mind, let’s highlight some of the biggest fantasy football winners and losers from the latest coaching cycle.

Winner: QB C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

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C.J. Stroud went into the 2024 season with high hopes of building on an impressive Rookie of the Year campaign. That wouldn’t come to fruition, however, as the No. 2 overall pick in 2023 suffered through a sophomore slump and the Houston Texans’ offense took a noticeable step back.

While the Texans did make the playoffs as champs of a weak AFC South and even won a Wild Card Round matchup for the second successive season, the team stalled out in the Divisional Round yet again. That result, coupled with Houston’s general lack of offensive firepower, resulted in the dismissal of offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik.

Slowik had served as the Texans’ offensive coordinator for each of Stroud’s NFL seasons. While Slowik looked like a shrewd hire at first, Houston fell from No. 12 to No. 22 in total offense this past year. Given Houston also scored fewer points and gave up more sacks year-over-year, it was clearly time to make a change.

Stroud should be the main beneficiary of Houston's split with Slowik.

The Texans' offense stagnated and often seemed out of sync under Slowik’s stewardship, something that his replacement Nick Caley should help fix. Caley appears ready to tailor the team’s plans to Stroud’s strengths, with the new offensive coordinator recently stating that he’s “really excited to have an opportunity to work with” Stroud and heaped praise on the young signal-caller’s ability to throw the ball.

Expect Stroud to make some significant strides in his fantasy metrics under Caley. Stroud was the QB12 in 2023 before regressing to the QB18 last year, but it wouldn’t be a shock to see him finish as a top-10 option in 2025.

Loser: QB Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

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The Detroit Lions were a popular team to poach coaching candidates from this offseason. Both offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn became head coaches, a massive shift that could see the Lions stumble in 2025 following a strong run with the pair supporting head coach Dan Campbell.

The loss of Johnson will be particularly tough for Detroit’s offense to overcome.

Johnson earned a reputation as one of the brightest young minds in the NFL by rapidly propelling Detroit into the upper echelon of offensive attacks. After Johnson accepted the OC role in 2022, Detroit went from ranking No. 22 in total offense all the way up to No. 4 that season. In the two years that followed, the Lions never ranked below No. 3 in yardage.

While every player on Detroit’s roster will feel the departure of their respective coordinators, no player will be negatively impacted more than quarterback Jared Goff.

Goff the best performances of his career under Johnson. The veteran signal-caller finished as fantasy's QB10 or better in all three seasons the pair worked together, including in 2024 when Goff posted a career-best QB6 finish.

With former Denver Broncos assistant John Morton taking over Johnson’s vacated role, Goff and his supporting cast have far less upside. Morton struggled in his last offensive coordinator position, a stint with the New York Jets in 2017 that saw Gang Green finish with the No. 28 total offense.

Although Morton has a more talented squad to work with this time, the Lions are in line for an offensive regression without Johnson calling the shots.

Winner: QB Jayden Daniels, Washington Commanders

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The Washington Commanders were one of the best stories of the 2024 NFL season. The team’s decision to select Jayden Daniels with the No. 2 overall pick last year finally brought some stability to an offense long held back by the never-ending stream of quarterbacks shuffling through the nation’s capital following Kirk Cousins’ departure in 2018.

Daniels immediately assumed the starting role and took the Commanders to places they haven’t reached in decades. Not only did Washington finish with a 12-5 record—the club’s best finish since it’s last Super Bowl-winning campaign 33 years ago—but the Commanders also clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2020, won a postseason game after a 19-year winless drought and appeared in an NFC Championship Game for the first time since 1991.

Washington’s rookie quarterback was the catalyst behind it all. Daniels breezed to an Offensive Rookie of the Year award and earned a Pro Bowl nod for his sterling season. The signal-caller completed an impressive 69 percent of his throws for 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns against a meager nine interceptions. He also set a record for most rushing yards at his position as a rookie with 891 on 148 totes.

Daniels was a resounding fantasy success as well, finishing as the QB5 while averaging over 20 points per game.

There is every reason to believe Daniels is only scratching the surface of his potential. He should build on a strong rookie showing in Year 2—especially with Kliff Kingsbury, the architect of Washington’s potent offensive scheme, remaining in place for the upcoming campaign.

Kingsbury landed in Washington following a disappointing tenure as the Arizona Cardinals head coach. Kingsbury was rejuvenated by taking his current role, revealing that Washington “rekindled” his love for football and stating that he’s not in a rush to become a head coach again.

That’s great news not only for fans in D.C.—who have reason to believe their beloved organization can contend for Super Bowls again—but Daniels as well. The pair got off to a red-hot start and should only improve as Kingsbury adds more layers to Washington’s scheme.

Loser: QB Baker Mayfield, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were burned during one of the more dramatic offseason sagas in recent NFL history when former offensive coordinator Liam Coen reneged on his agreement to become the league’s highest paid assistant.

Coen ultimately elected to take the Jacksonville Jaguars head coaching job, leaving the Bucs to pick up the pieces and promote passing game coordinator Josh Grizzard to the role.

Losing Coen is a big blow to Tampa’s offensive potential. The Bucs found instant success during Coen’s brief stint in Florida, ranking as the No. 3 total and No. 4 scoring offense in the league in 2024—Coen’s lone year with the club after coming over from the University of Kentucky.

The Bucs had their best season in the post-Tom Brady era as well, finishing a respectable 10-7 and winning the NFC South for the fourth consecutive year. With massive year-over-year improvements that saw the team go from averaging 313 yards and 20.5 points in 2023 to 399.5 yards and 29.5 points in 2024, it was clear that Coen had an extremely positive impact on the club and was well worth committing to for the long haul.

Baker Mayfield was the main beneficiary of Coen’s presence last year. The quarterback thrived during his second season in Tampa, earning a Pro Bowl nod and finishing as the QB4 in fantasy after racking up 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns through the air—far and away his best season as a pro.

Considering the signal-caller had almost 500 fewer yards and 13 fewer touchdowns without Coen calling the shots in 2023, it’s hard to envision Mayfield posting a consecutive top-five fantasy season in 2025 after losing his creative coordinator.

Winner: RB Alvin Kamara, New Orleans Saints

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The New Orleans Saints finally found a new head coach in Kellen Moore.

Moore will have to hit the ground running after getting a late start to the offseason, but the newly-crowned Super Bowl winner could be exactly what this beleaguered organization needs to return to respectability.

Moore has been a head coaching candidate for several cycles before finally breaking through in 2025. While he's best known for his work with the Philadelphia Eagles this past season, Moore has also overseen several other impressive offenses during a six-year assistant stint that included stops with the Dallas Cowboys (which boasted the league’s best offense under his watch in 2021) and Los Angeles Chargers.

While the Saints do have a quarterback conundrum to sort out, the team should still be able to compete and win a wide-open NFC South race regardless of who lines up under center. Moore proved that a team doesn't need an elite passing offense to win it all in the modern game, as his Eagles ranked No. 2 in rushing and No. 29 in passing in 2024.

Expect Alvin Kamara to benefit heavily from this schematic shift. Kamara has been the focal point of New Orleans’ backfield since 2017 but hasn’t had a top-five fantasy RB finish since he led the position in points in 2020.

Kamara has long been consistent—never finishing with fewer than 211 fantasy points in any of his eight NFL seasons—and just ranked as the No. 11 RB in 2024. While he’ll be turning 30 this summer, the veteran back should still have plenty left in the tank to thrive in Moore’s system.

He may not have many top-end years left in him, but Kamara can work as an offensive focal point for another season or two while Moore and the Saints work to unearth a franchise quarterback.

Expect Kamara to not only rate amongst the top-10 scorers at his position in 2025, but even potentially earn a top-five placement. The Saints will need to lean heavily on their backfield for offensive production and Kamara should feast with this increase in volume.

Loser: RB Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles

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The Philadelphia Eagles won the 2024 offseason with their high-profile acquisition of Saquon Barkley. Inexplicably allowed to hit the open market by the rival New York Giants, Philadelphia capitalized on Barkley’s availability and brought in the superstar back to lift their offense to new heights.

Credit former offensive Kellen Moore for unlocking the best of Barkley in his lone season as the Eagles offensive coordinator. The creative play-caller knew what he had in the dynamic back and leaned on him throughout a magical season that saw the team finish 14-3 before going on to raise the Lombardi Trophy.

Barkley was a league-winner in fantasy as well, posting a career-best 345-carry, 2,005-yard, 13-touchdown campaign that resulted in a whopping 338.8 points.

While Barkley remains under contract through the 2026 season, it’s hard to envision him repeating these herculean numbers again. Even if Barkley can avoid injury—he’s missed time in every season following one in which he suited up for 16 games—on the heels of earning a career-high 378 touches, he also won’t have Moore in his corner and defenses will be keying in on him every week.

Although Moore’s successor has yet to be named, it would be surprising if the team doesn’t embrace the passing game more when a new offensive coordinator takes over. The Eagles have Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts under center and two elite wideouts in A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, each a candidate to see a major spike in usage rate next season as the opposition focuses on shutting down Barkley.

Winner: Ja’Marr Chase, Cincinnati Bengals

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The Cincinnati Bengals may not have made the playoffs last season due to the team’s defensive ineptitude, but Ja’Marr Chase’s fantasy managers weren’t complaining.

Along with quarterback Joe Burrow, the superstar wideout was the main beneficiary of his team’s propensity to get involved in high-scoring shootouts. These barnburners resulted in a 127-reception, 1,708-yard, 17-touchdown campaign for Chase, one that translated to an eye-popping 339.5 fantasy points.

Chase already rated as the fantasy WR1 and No. 6 overall scorer in 2024 and somehow seems poised to improve upon these otherworldly numbers next season. The team didn’t make any notable changes to a coaching staff that consistently schemes up ways to get Chase the ball, opting to retain both head coach Zac Taylor and offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher for another run.

Cincinnati’s defense may improve slightly following the departure of Lou Anarumo and the installation of Al Golden—who helped lead Notre Dame to the College Football Playoff championship game last season—as a replacement, but there’s still a lot of work to be done to get this unit up to snuff.

Don't forget that No. 2 wideout Tee Higgins is likely to exit in free agency this offseason. His departure would result in Chase earning an even larger target share going forward.

Considering Chase is coming off a season in which he logged a career-most 175 targets—30 more than his previous high—and will have even less competition for looks, only an injury will keep the 24-year-old from repeating as WR1 in 2025.

Loser: WR CeeDee Lamb, Dallas Cowboys

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The Dallas Cowboys caught flak this offseason after allowing incumbent head coach Mike McCarthy’s contract to expire and opting to replace him with journeyman assistant coach Brian Schottenheimer.

The Cowboys clearly needed to make some adjustments in wake of a disappointing 7-10 season and their failure to earn a playoff berth for the first time since 2020, but this wasn’t the coaching change fans were hoping for. Schottenheimer had spent 14 seasons across four different organizations working as an offensive coordinator and only two of those campaigns have resulted in offenses ranking within the top 10 for total and passing yardage.

One of those top performances came in 2023—Schottenheimer’s first with the Cowboys—but the team took a major step back in every major offensive category during his second season as OC.  This should be a big concern for CeeDee Lamb, who projects to regress even more in 2025 now that Schottenheimer is at the reins instead of McCarthy.

Lamb may have started his career red-hot—earning four Pro Bowl in his first five seasons—but he regressed from a 135-catch, 1,749-yard, 12-touchdown All-Pro campaign in 2023 to a 101-reception, 1,194-yard, six-touchdown season in 2024. While injuries to quarterback Dak Prescott and other key offensive talents were largely to blame for this, a Schottenheimer system that has traditionally emphasized the ground game could keep Lamb's numbers down going forward.

The Cowboys have had one of the worst backfields in football over the past few seasons, but a blockbuster free-agent signing or early pick in the upcoming NFL draft could see the squad place a much larger emphasis on the rushing attack during Schottenheimer's first campaign at the helm.

It doesn’t help that Schottenheimer filled the void his promotion created with a relatively unproven candidate in Klayton Adams. Adams spent the last two seasons working as the Arizona Cardinals’ offensive line coach and two seasons before that coaching tight ends for the Indianapolis Colts, a further indication Dallas is leaning toward beefing up the offensive trenches and re-establishing the ground game in 2025.