3 Overlooked Fantasy Football Trends That Can Win You The Season
We all love to focus on the skill set of an NFL player. We all do not spend nearly enough time evaluating the team he plays for. Who is calling plays? What scheme do they run? What history do they have of fantasy football success? These are all things that will truly make or break the season of a fantasy football asset. These are also factors that deviate from the common thinking process of a fantasy football manager. This might just be what wins us the season.
Check out the three coaching trends below that will greatly impact the upside of their top-tier players.
Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas Cowboys
Schottenheimer has been calling NFL plays for two decades. However, coaches evolve, so we focus on his last 10 seasons of play-calling, which have greatly benefited the wide receiver position.
The Cowboys run a very pass-heavy offense under Schottenheimer. This philosophy had the Cowboys ranked 9th in pass rate last year. Dallas ranks 3rd in passing yards per game and is only 0.2 yards per game behind the No. 1-ranked Los Angeles Rams.
The greatest success stories have come to Schottenheimer's WR2. In 2025, George Pickens was drafted as the WR29 and finished as the WR5. In 2020, DK Metcalf began the year as the WR22 and finished as the WR9. In 2018, Tyler Lockett began his year as the WR52 and finished as the WR18.
On average, Schottenheimer's preseason WR2 gains 16.6 positions from ADP to End-of-Season Fantasy Points per Game. Best of all, Pickens may be the most talented WR2 that Schottenheimer has had.
Stock up — George Pickens
Dave Canales, Carolina Panthers
Do you want a breakout running back? Look no further than the Carolina Panthers. Specifically, let's take a look at Jonathan Brooks, the RB2.
Dave Canales has been GREAT for Fantasy Football Running Backs.
— Tom Carelli | Fantasy Football (@TCarelliTakes) August 5, 2026
The only mild concern? Chuba Hubbard stands out as a minority FALLER from ADP to End-Season Result (2025).
Jonathan Brooks should be trending upwards.
Chuba Hubbard has high upside, but should NOT be drafted above… pic.twitter.com/0vGnT7MAXz
Over 3 NFL seasons as an offensive play-caller, Canales has led his running backs to an average gain of 12.7 spots from preseason to ADP. The best results feature a 2023 season in which Rachaad White skyrocketed to be RB4 on fantasy points per game. 2025, Rico Dowdle also surged up to RB18. Most importantly, Canales has brought this success to running backs deemed outside the NFL's elite: Rachaad White, Chuba Hubbard, and Rico Dowdle.
The current ADP for Hubbard is RB32. The current ADP for Brooks is RB37. Who should you invest in? Brooks, for now. As he continues to rise, Hubbard does become an ADP value. He is still the listed RB1, and in our projections, Hubbard is a top-25 running back.
Stock Up: Chuba Hubbard, Jonathan Brooks
Drew Petzing, Detroit Lions
The Lions brought in Petzing from the Arizona Cardinals for a needed revamp of this offense which failed in the first year minus Ben Johnson. The early prospects show that Petzing is going to effectively benefit Jahmyr Gibbs and his RB1 overall aspirations.
The sample size is thin, but clear as day, it's what Petzing brings to Detroit. He has a zone-running scheme, and that will help Gibbs in a lot of runs. This will help get Gibbs outside the hashes and into space, where he does his magic.
In Petzing's two full seasons as a play-caller in Arizona, he revitalized the career of James Conner's caree. The average result shows Conner beginning the seasons with an ADP of RB22.5 and ending the seasons with a FPPG rank of RB11.5.
If we really want to double down on this analysis, we can focus on where Petzing comes from—the Kevin Stefanski coaching tree. Petzing coached for 3 years under Stefanski before his promotion in Arizona. As for a Stefanski-run offense, his five seasons as a Browns play-caller had his RB1 with an average gain of 2.2 spots from Preseason ADP to End-of-Season Fantasy Points per Game.
Stock Up: Jahmyr Gibbs
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.