May 22, 2025
By Daniel Cohen
While it’s only Week 5, the 2025 playoff picture is slowly coming into focus as pre-season favorites are faced with must-win games and early division leaders look to keep momentum going into the middle third of the season. This week’s watchlist features several offensive focal points eager to keep their teams on track.
Lukas Ambrose, Seattle Cascades
After losing a heartbreaker in Oregon last week, Lukas Ambrose will do all he can to help the Cascades bounce back in a tough double header road trip at Salt Lake and Oakland this weekend. Ambrose put on a show in Salt Lake last year, both against the Shred (two games) and in the Championship Weekend semifinal game against Carolina; across the three contests, Ambrose averaged 3.0 goals, 3.0 blocks, and over 225 total yards per game, making countless plays in big moments on both sides of the disc. While the reigning Defensive Player of the Year leads the league in blocks (what else is new) with eight in four games, he’s recorded just one block in two meetings with Oakland this year—like the rest of the team, he’s struggled in those matchups with season-low yardage totals and an overall -1 plus/minus. However, with Oakland missing some key O-liners this week, Ambrose and the Cascades defense will have an opportunity to right the ship on Saturday night as they look to avoid the season sweep.
Hayden Austin-Knab, Atlanta Hustle (pictured)
Alongside Brett Hulsmeyer, Hayden Austin-Knab is the most versatile player on this high powered Atlanta Hustle offense. Need some steady, reliable handler motion in the backfield? Want a huge, game-breaking huck to spark momentum? How about a receiver to burn defenders deep or sky for jump balls? HAK is your guy. He’s on pace to set career highs in scores, total yards, and completions, and he’s already set career highs in assists (16) and huck completions (12) this year. Without Jeremy Langdon in the lineup last week against Carolina, Austin-Knab had a season- and game-high 294 receiving yards; Langdon is out again this week, so we may see more of Austin-Knab downfield as an explosive deep threat in the Game of the Week against San Diego.
Travis Dunn, San Diego Growlers
Week 5 could be a season-defining road trip for the San Diego Growlers, and they’re going to look to their franchise player to lead them into battle. This season has mostly been business as usual for the ever-consistent Travis Dunn, as he’s averaging about six scores per game while leading the team in assists (15) and receiving yards (963) through the first four weeks. The primary playmaker in an offense that has reloaded with talented, Dunn is going to need to find a rhythm early in this cross-country road trip to set the tone for the Growlers’ toughest test yet, and perhaps most importantly, he’s going to have to limit turnovers; Dunn recorded four throwaways two weeks ago against Atlanta, more than he had in the Growlers’ three other games combined. Flyers and Hustle both rank top seven in the league in turnovers per game, so the Growlers may need two of their cleaner games of the season to keep pace with the perennial South Division juggernauts.
Scott Heyman, Philadelphia Phoenix
An MVP favorite through four weeks, Scott Heyman has been the do-everything hybrid for the most surprising team in the league and is a huge reason why the Philadelphia Phoenix are undefeated. Heyman’s been thriving as a deep thrower, downfield playmaker, underrated block-getter, and red zone facilitator, as he’s formed a formidable trio with franchise star Sean Mott and rookie Sam Grossberg to anchor the Philly O-line. Heyman balled out against New York last year—seven scores, just under 600 total yards (including four huck completions), and no turnovers—and if he can show up with another big offensive performance tomorrow night, the Hotbirds will have a great shot at taking down the three-time champs for the first time since 2017. I know we just talked about Week 4 as “Prove It” week, but this is a massive opportunity for the Hotbirds to show they’re legit contenders this year.
Evan Magsig, Oakland Spiders
Leo Gordon and Jason Vallee are out this week, so it looks like it’ll be Evan Magsig’s backfield for Oakland in their third and final regular season meeting with Seattle. Magsig played lights out in their last meeting at home, completing a perfect 60-of-60 throws with four assists and over 500 yards of offense. His load has been lightened this year compared to 2024 thanks to Oakland’s offseason additions, but make no mistake, Magsig is fully capable of commandeering the Spiders attack just as confidently as he was when he led the league in throwing yards last year. This week’s offense will look a little different—Raekwon Adkins is also out of the lineup—but if Magsig can put together another strong performance as the team’s unquestioned QB1, the Spiders will have a great shot at completing the season sweep of last year’s West Division champs.
Jack Williams, New York Empire
New York missed Jack Williams last week particularly in crunch time, as they dropped back-to-back overtime losses to Boston and Montreal. Expected to return this week barring any setback to his hamstring injury, this week’s matchup with Philly feels like a game where Jack could impose his will and remind the league why New York won three titles in four years. When New York played in Philly last year, Williams had arguably his best game of the season with two assists, four goals, and three blocks including a layout Callahan in the 21-20 win. Solomon Rueschemeyer-Bailey is out this week for New York, as is Oliver Chartock, so Jack may need to shoulder even more of the offensive load alongside Calvin Brown, Ben Jagt, and probably John Randolph—if that group can find their rhythm against a feisty Philly defense, they should be able to get their season back on track and build some much-needed confidence.
Chad Yorgason, Salt Lake Shred
While we’ve only seen two games from them thus far, it feels like the Shred’s offensive identity this year has been built around guys like Chad Yorgason, with speed, versatility, and playmaking serving as the central components. The middle Yorgason brother brings a notable explosiveness to the Salt Lake offense as both a thrower and receiver; his speed is an asset whether he’s facilitating the offense with backfield throw-and-gos, or striking downfield for breakaway goals. He’s clearly taken a step forward since his D-line gunslinger days, and it’ll be worth watching his continued development and comfortability on the Shred O-line throughout the season. Will Selfridge, his offensive counterpart that brings a scarily similar skillset, is out again this week for Salt Lake, so Chad should remain a focal point of the offense in this week’s Friday Night Frisbee matchup against Seattle.
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