It took just four years to win my first league championship. It took 23 more to get the next three. I’m not sure this title will go down as my personal favorite, but it is easily the least expected. And in fantasy football, the least expected outcomes are usually the ones that age best—the opposite of milk left in the sun.
Behind a pair of 500-point performances, I defeated the once-mighty Bob Castrone, 1,925–1,444. Drake Maye, a 13th-round pick and human lottery ticket, scored 504 points—the eighth-most ever by a quarterback in a title game. Bijan Robinson, my lone keeper who actually started for me, posted 578 points, the third-highest total ever by a running back in a championship.
I made exactly four lineup decisions this week. Two of them were catastrophes. Swapping kickers and tight ends cost me 166 points. Thankfully, I also made the correct calls starting Croskey-Merritt over Pollard/Henderson and the Lions D/ST over the 49ers. Those choices netted me 395 extra points. I didn’t need them, but thanks to the digits, I finished this postseason with 5,507 points—the third-most in league history.
Before we dive too deeply into my greatness, let’s acknowledge our runner-up.
BOB CASTRONE
“Is Bob back?” That was the million-dollar question all season after recent playoff misses (2022-2023), while spending much of the last decade inventing new ways to fall short in December. Despite the loss, I think the answer is yes. Bob assembled a monster roster through every avenue available—keepers, draft, trades, free agency—earning his fifth career scoring crown (all since 2014) and reaching the finals for the first time since 2017.
His running backs did their job, as McCaffrey and Williams combined for 682 points. McCaffrey alone dropped 422, the eighth-most ever by a back in a title game. Unfortunately, both wide receivers failed to crack 150 points, and Matt Stafford’s Monday night collapse ended any comeback hopes.
Arguably the best free-agent pickup of the 2025 season, the 37-year-old Stafford entered the game with 40 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Against Atlanta, he managed two touchdowns, three interceptions, and three sacks—finishing with just 178 points.
Still, one loss doesn’t define a season. This could easily be another stepping stone for Bob’s return to dominance. Next year, he’ll likely keep Christian McCaffrey in Round 1 and Jaxon Smith-Njigba in Round 10. If we drafted today with no keepers, both would be top-five picks. The future, annoyingly to the rest of us, looks bright.
Now, on to your champion.
ROBIO MURRAY
There wasn’t a single second after the 2025 draft when I thought I had a title contender. Not one.
Yes, keeping Bijan Robinson in Round 1 and drafting Puka Nacua 18th overall felt great. After that? It was a chaotic collection of rookies, scrubs, and three quarterbacks. I drafted TreVeyon Henderson in Round 3, followed by Ricky Pearsall (best known at the time for getting shot), Calvin Ridley (who would never start), and another rookie back, Jacory Croskey-Merritt.
In the final eight rounds, I grabbed Dak Prescott, Jared Goff, and Drake Maye—because clearly one quarterback wasn’t enough anxiety—along with three more rookies: Matt Golden, Tyler Warren, and Jaydon Blue.
Five of my skill players had never played a single NFL snap, and my WR2 had caught just 31 passes as a rookie in 2024. This roster felt less “win now” and more “interesting in 2029.”
The season opened exactly as expected: a loss to Eric, 1,610–1,431. But behind elite production from Robinson and Nacua, plus solid contributions from Pearsall and Warren, I rattled off three straight wins, including a 1,944-point outburst against Masterson (my first weekly high score).
The next month was chaos—splitting four games thanks to bad quarterback decisions, RB2 inconsistency, and injuries to both Nacua and Pearsall. Week 8 was rock bottom: 740 points in a loss to 1–6 Michael. I stared into the abyss.
I wouldn’t lose another game all season.
Drake Maye finally became my quarterback. Henderson took over in New England once Stevenson went down. Christian Watson held the WR2 spot until I traded for Nico Collins. I closed the regular season on a six-game winning streak, topping 1,500 points four times and adding three more weekly high scores. I finished 11–3, earning my fifth career top seed.
My biggest postseason fear was in the quarterfinals with Rich Calderon, and that fear was justified—Rich scored 1,716 points, enough to beat six other playoff teams. Just not me. Robinson, Henderson, and Nacua combined for 1,200 as I advanced with a 1,980-point performance.
I rolled past Don in the semifinals, 1,602–1,176, and a week later finally took down Bob in the finals to secure my sixth career championship.
I end the season on a nine-game winning streak, tied for the seventh-longest in league history—five shy of the record of 14, held by Bob and me, because of course it is.
Most importantly, this title neatly bookends an impressive seven-year run. Since 2019, my teams are 74–35 (.679), with four double-digit-win seasons and four top-four finishes in points, including two scoring crowns. The lone blemish was four straight quarterfinal exits. This championship delivers my second title since 2019—and finally slams that door shut on those quarterfinals failures.
It also makes me the only person to earn a championship in four different decades (the 1990’s, 2000’s, 2010’s and now the 2020’s).
Looking ahead, Bijan Robinson returns to the draft pool, leaving me to keep either Henderson in Round 3 or Croskey-Merritt in Round 6, along with Maye in Round 13.
With those keepers, plus picks 12/13 in the draft, it will be hard for me to walk into the 2026 season wrongly feeling like a failure again.