May 8, 2025
By Daniel Cohen
We’re still in the early stages of the season, which means MVP candidates are already starting to emerge while some players have yet to take the field. Lots to look forward to, as this week’s watchlist features multiple two-way playmakers, notable 2025 debuts, and a handful of guys coming off big Week 2 showings.
Calvin Brown, New York Empire
Calvin Brown is set to make his New York Empire debut tomorrow night against Montreal, and he’ll bring some much-needed firepower to an Empire squad looking to reassert themselves as contenders. While they easily handled business in Vegas, the Empire looked overwhelmed in their season opener against Oakland, particularly down the stretch, and it raised some questions about their overall playmaking ability. Where will the explosive plays come from to keep pace with high-energy teams like Oakland? Who can be the guys in crunch time to step up and reliably close out games? Calvin Brown should hopefully provide some answers. When he’s been available throughout his career, whether he’s been on the O-line or D-line, Brown has showcased a deep bag of throws with game-breaking potential; he’s averaged close to three assists per game for his career, and in 2021 averaged over 300 throwing yards per game in eight appearances. While I still think it could be Max Sheppard—and it could be a bit of both—Brown might be the guy to finally restore New York’s deep game.
Khalif El-Salaam, San Diego Growlers
Revenge game alert, as Khalif El-Salaam and the San Diego Growlers take on the Atlanta Hustle this week in a first ever meeting between the two franchises. Following El-Salaam’s first season with the Growlers in 2021, he decided to take his talents to Atlanta for 2022, but he ended up playing just three games with the Hustle before returning to the West Division. Now thanks to divisional realignment, Khalif is back in the South, and he’s coming off a strong weekend against LA; he tossed six assists, scored two goals, and recorded a block in the San Diego-LA double header. His usage is going to be interesting to follow this season—he played mostly offense in the first game last week, then basically all defense the next day—as the Growlers look to find the ideal fit for their two-way star. Whether he’s leading the counterattack or serving as a cog on the O-line, look for El-Salaam to make himself known to his former team tomorrow night.
Jacob Fairfax, Carolina Flyers (Pictured)
Jacob Fairfax makes his return to the Carolina Flyers lineup on Saturday after missing their half-game last week against Atlanta. Fairfax shined for Carolina at Championship Weekend this past August, racking up a season-high 417 receiving yards and six goals in the Flyers’ 20-16 semifinal win. While he came back down to earth a bit in the championship game, Fairfax made it clear he’s still one of the top receiving threats in the division. It’s hard to find a more consistent downfield cutter in terms of year over year production; Fairfax has recorded 30-plus goals in all seven of his seasons with Carolina (including playoffs), and he’s reached double digit blocks each of the last three years. One of the best in the league at earning the disc back after turnovers, Fairfax will look to give the Flyers consistent two-way production in an early season test against the DC Breeze in Saturday’s Game of the Week.
Walker Frankenberg, Oakland Spiders
Undoubtedly an early season MVP candidate, Walker Frankenberg has been on a tear to start 2025. Through the first two weeks of the season, Frankenberg ranks first in the league in scores (25), receiving yards (933), total yards (1,671), and plus/minus (+20). He’s also pacing the Spiders in individual offensive efficiency—Oakland scores on 63 percent of possessions when Frankenberg is on the field. Capable of facilitating possessions with quick throw-and-gos, burning his defenders deep, or churning out chunk gains underneath, Frankenberg is a do-it-all hybrid for this white hot Oakland offense showing no signs of slowing down. It was only fitting he caught the game-winning score against Seattle last weekend, and he’ll have a chance to impose his will on the Cascades defense once again in this week’s Friday Night Frisbee matchup.
Jacques Nissen, DC Breeze
Without Andrew Roy in the DC Breeze lineup last week against Toronto, Jacques Nissen took full control of the backfield and played a massive role in DC’s one-goal win. Nissen totaled nearly 800 total yards of offense in the QB1 role, more yards than Roy or former Breeze quarterback Jonny Malks ever accumulated in a single game. Nissen is much more of a motion passer than Roy, which gives the offense a bit more flexibility from their central distributor as he can pick his spots to push downfield. Roy is back in the lineup this week, so we’ll see whether Nissen’s role shifts back to his more standard complementary position in the offense, or if he’s carved out some additional responsibility with last week’s performance. Either way, the Breeze backfield will have its work cut out this week against a Flyers defense that finished top five in opponent O-line conversion rate allowed in 2024.
James Pollard, Minnesota Wind Chill
James Pollard suits up for his new team for the first time this weekend, as Minnesota travels to Indy for their 2025 season opener. While it remains to be seen exactly how the Wind Chill plan on using him, he feels like a perfect fit for their quick-strike counterattack on D-line when he’s not providing help over the top or coming down with jump balls in buzzer beater situations. Bringing size, speed, and big throws to any line he’s on, I also wouldn’t be surprised to see him cross over to offense from time to time if the team needs a spark. The AlleyCats hucked a bunch against Pittsburgh last week—17 times, to be exact—so we could see the 6’5” Pollard finish with multiple blocks in his first game with the Wind Chill.
Zeppelin Raunig, Seattle Cascades
Zeppelin Raunig is coming off the best receiving performance we’ve seen this season after torching the Spiders for 10 goals and nearly 500 receiving yards last week. The fourth-year Seattle Cascades cutter ran wild all night, whether he was finding space with ease in the red zone or sprinting past Oakland defenders for huck scores. Of course he’s going to be on this week’s watchlist with another matchup against Oakland—can the Spiders do anything to slow him down this week? Raunig is one of Seattle’s many energy guys, and when he gets hot he’s as difficult a downfield matchup as any player in the league. These Seattle vs. Oakland games tend to have lots of momentum swings, high-energy plays, and countless highlights, and I expect Raunig to again lead the charge for the Cascades tomorrow night in Oakland.
Previous lists:
