August 26, 2025 • 28 mins
Read between the lines! Join Ryan Wormeli, Andrew Erickson and guest Greg Brainos (@gregbrainos) of The Coachspeak Index for their top 2025 must-have fantasy football draft targets that coaches are telling you to pick.
Is Cincinnati Bengals RB Chase Brown about to break records? Does Detroit Lions WR Jameson Williams remain involved? Plus, can Green Pay Packers TE Tucker Kraft lead the team in targets?
The Pros sort through the NFL coach speak!
Timestamps: (May be off due to ads)
Intro - 0:00:00
FantasyPros ECR Rankings - 0:01:57
Chase Brown (RB - CIN) - 0:02:25
Tetairoa McMillan (WR - CAR) - 0:08:47
Autographed A.J. Brown Philadelphia Eagles Helmet Giveaway - 0:13:35
Jameson Williams (WR - DET) - 0:13:59
Tyler Warren (TE - IND) - 0:17:57
Tucker Kraft (TE - GB) - 0:20:37
Tight End Draft Strategy - 0:22:15
FantasyPros Draft Kit - 0:25:09
FantasyPros Content Update - 0:25:35
The Coachspeak Index - 0:26:22
Outro - 0:27:39
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, everybody, well committed fantasy pros. I'm Ryan Warmley, joined
by Andrew Erickson and by a guest. We've got Greg Brainos,
the founder and operator of coach Speak Index, which everybody
knows on social media, one of the invaluable social media
resources here for every fantasy football season. Really ericson before
we get to our guest, how are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I'm doing good.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I don't know if you guys heard, but I did
throw at my back early last week, so that's been
something I'm trying to battle through and it's making me consider,
you know, Matthew Stafford, you know again, someone else that's
also dealing with the back over the age of thirty.
I can barely like walk up the stairs without like hurting,
and this guy's gonna play a full season. So I
don't know, I'm getting a little bit more worried about
Matthew Stafford in this back then considering, uh, yeah, these
(00:44):
backagers are not fun.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Not fun guys, man, I was not aware of this.
This is the first time hearing him. I'm sorry to
hear about that. You always hear the saying nobody ever used.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
To have a bad back. So hopefully this doesn't ship.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I just go.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Back.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I'm gonna be I'm gonna be chatting actually with Deepak
show later this week. Are sports med analysis guy who's
going to be on the show this season about some injuries.
So I'll have to ask him about Ericson's back, you know,
injury designation here. When we get to that, Greg, how
are you doing? Thanks for joining us on the show today.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
I'm doing great. I also have a degenerative disc in
my back, but I power through it. Coaches say, I'll
be fine. I'll be ready for Week one pressers.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
I had shoulder surgery this year. You guys, a couple
of bad backs. We're all powered.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Worst case scenario again, stash him on IR week one,
get that out tag.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Good to go. You just add the extra player on
your roster.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Yeah fine, this is this is why we play with
ar slots.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
All right.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
I thought, I don't why I said eric all right,
let's dive in here. Yeah, so that's what must have
been what was off my brain there today we're talking about,
as you might guess, with a guest like Greg on,
players that NFL coaches are telling us to draft this season.
Quick reminder for everybody that all of our twenty twenty
five consensus rankings and tiers can be found at fantasypros
dot com slash rankings. We've got five players that Greg
(02:04):
wants to talk about, just based on some of the
quotes that are coming out from coaches and everything throughout
the summer and off season, and why he is targeting
some of these players in his fantasy drafts. Here just
really one full week left until you know, the big
final weekend and then and then.
Speaker 4 (02:18):
We're in it.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
So this is this is it. This is the weekend
weekend coming up that we will be having fun with
our final draft. So let's dive right in here at
the very top. First name we've got written down here, Greg,
is Chase Brown. Why is he somebody that you're targeting?
Speaker 4 (02:31):
The coaches have been talking about him all summer, all
off season. It's been all Chase Brown when it comes
to this running back room. For a while, people thought, well,
what about Zach Moss. Zach Moss might might eat into
this share. They did not talk about Zach Moss at all.
When they did, they refer to him as you know,
part of the other guys. Zach Moss ends up getting cut.
(02:53):
They draft Taj Brooks in the seventh round. There's no
other competition in this backfield. It's just you know, some
third down snaps for Samaj p Ryan. Samashi p Ryan
a little bit older now. He's not the same back
we saw in Cincinnati a couple of years ago. Did
not look great with the Kansas City Chiefs last year.
Here's a couple quick quotes from the coaching staff on
(03:16):
Chase Brown. This is head coach Zach Taylor on June twelfth, quote,
He's done a great job edging in there with a
ton of great playmakers on offense and making himself a priority.
Like we got to get this guy the ball in
as many ways as possible. And you say that with
all the other weapons we already have, and so that's
just a credit to him to find his niche and
force us to have to give him the ball as
(03:38):
many times as possible. End quote. And then offensive coordinator
Dan Pitcher on July twenty third said quote, I think
Chase Brown is going to by the end of the
season be a household name. End quote. Also said quote,
He's everything that Austin Eckler was. I think that by
the time the season's over, you'll all know who he is.
End quote. Chase Brown last season became their workhorse back
(04:02):
starting in Week nine, averaged twenty four point four opportunities
per game, averaged just under five receptions for them. This
is an offense that is going to be just all
systems go this year. They have a pretty bad defense
on paper, at least should should be one of the
bottom defenses in the league. They're going to have to
(04:24):
chase a lot of points, and Chase Brown is going
to be a part of that.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Greg, do you because a lot of the names that
we're talking about today are guys that were taken in the.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
First round or at least earlier than.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
The fifth round when Chase Brown was drafted the year
he came out, do you find, just in the years
you've been doing coach Speak Index, that you find any
extra kind of added weight in the quotes coming from
coaches for these Day three picks that maybe don't have
the same pedigree coming in the same level of expectation.
Do you evaluate those quotes when you see them differently
(04:54):
depending on you know, if a guy was a first
round pick and kind of high as that higher level.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
Of pedigree, I like to kind of look at it
just relative, right, Like what they're saying about this player
or about this situation. All right, well, let's compare that
to what they've said about, you know, players with the
with a similar pedigree or you know draft capital in
the past, or like a similar situation in the past.
(05:19):
And you know, some of these coaches will will speak
markedly different about guys. Dan Campbell famous for that, and
even guys that are just always praising their players like
Jim Harbaugh, Oh, Jalen Rager looks so good this offseason. Well,
even then there are there are guys that he talks
about differently, right, so he's praising everyone, but then there
(05:41):
are guys that you just you can tell from his words,
from the things he's saying, he has them on a
completely different level. Obviously, Lad mcconkeye is one of those guys.
For Jim Harbaugh of you know, his parents should take
a deep long bow. Like that's a pretty good piece
of coach speak on a player. And even how he
talks about Quentin Johnson and is different than you know,
Jalen Rager or KALs or these other guys saying he
(06:03):
is elite, he has elite traits. So we might not
believe that stuff all the time when coaches are saying
about them, but what a coach believes about his player
is more important than what we believe about that player.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Eric Soon, we were all over Chase Brown when he
was a kind of third round pick, maybe even a
fourth round in some early drafts. It feels like he's
kind of crept up into that back half of the
second round rage given some of these quotes. Are you
still interested in him even if you have to kind
of invest even more draft capital get him?
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (06:30):
I think so because I think that the market was
right by moving him up the board. I think that
he should have been ranked as a top two round
draft pick just because of the upside with Chase Brown
is he's gonna be a top eyed running back. So
we saw the second half of last year RB five
points per game. After Week nine, he's RB one expected
fantasy points. So in terms of his usuage en role
in the Bengals offense, there was no running back that
(06:52):
was better than Chase Brown. So even though he's not
playing every third down, we've already seen it where he's
catching passes on early downs because that's how the Angs
office is going to operate with Joe Burrow at the Helm.
We already talked about the defense and how bad that's
going to be. The Bengals are going to be chasing points,
and I think something to point out not to get
confused with Chase Brown. Chase Bread's not a small running back.
This guy is a built two hundred eleven pounds, just
(07:14):
under five foot ten. And I know Pat fitz Morris
has always brought this up, but Chase Brown last season
at Illinois, he had over three hundred and fifty touches
that final year. So for me, when I'm looking at
past successes that kind of fit maybe the Chase Brown mold.
To me, it's kind of Kyrien Williams, where that second
year for Kien where Sean McVay showed allegiance to Kyrien Willmes.
(07:37):
You really liked Kier Williams, but people were still kind
of like, including myself a little bit, I'm not so
sure he was a Day three pick, isn't really going
to be his backfield And every clear indication has adjusted
to us and Zach Taylor again comes from that Rams
coaching tree that they're ready to invest in Chase Brown
as the guy this year Now, maybe it's a little
bit different come next year and maybe we're talking about
(07:57):
Chase Brown maybe as a fade. But for this particular season,
for twenty twenty five, Chase Brown says healthy, we can
see this guy get three and fifty touches in his
backfield and just totally dominate. So I think that he's
still a value in a great pick at the end
of round two, especially if you start with a wide
receiver in round one. I think Chase Brown to follow
up in a round twoday a great pick.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
Can I say just interrupt real quick and say that
that's a great point about the Chase Brown receiving role
that you pointed out, Because there are some guys that
if they're not playing on third down, like they're not
getting targets on first and second down, like you know,
probably what we can expect from a type of you know,
like Caleb Johnson type player, Chase Brown very much has
(08:38):
pass catching chops and just because he might not be
in on third down doesn't mean that he's not going
to get a lot of targets in this offense.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Greg, Let's go to a guy with some more draft pedigree,
one of his first rounders. I mentioned, and it's a rookie.
Tedaroa McMillan first rounder, obviously top ten pick for the Panthers.
What are the coaches saying about him?
Speaker 4 (08:57):
Start off with this quote right after they drafted him.
This was head coach Dave Canalis on April twenty fourth, said,
he's a baller. There's a simple way to look at it.
When you watch film. The ballers show up and they
make plays in big moments, and they're always looking to
do something special. And Canalis on June third said, he
has a consistent ability to win at the top of
the route. He uses his hands well, he has great
(09:19):
body control for having that kind of frame in size.
He's such a friendly target because he attacks the ball
whenever it's thrown to him. You'll see him come back
towards the ball. And then finally, Canalis on July twenty
fifth said, quote, He's going to get targeted a lot.
He's going to be a big part of what we do.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
End quote.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Also during that NFL draft presser right after they took
Tedrollad McMillan, general manager Dan Morgan, and Dave Canalis multiple times,
we're talking about the red zone threat that tetroa McMillan
provides to them, which is very, very big. We saw
the target from Bryce Young during the preseason game when
(09:58):
they got near the goal line there, and this is
just a really fantastic fit. This is exactly what Carolina
needed in their offense. They thought they had it last
year in Deontay Johnson at that X spot, and we
saw Deontay Johnson put up some really gaudy numbers for
a couple of games there for them, and Dave Canalis
(10:19):
was saying during that offseason, you know, when we snapped
the ball for our passing offense, the very first thing
is where is Deontay Johnson. Now that ended up becoming
the same question later on in the season for different reasons.
But I thought at some point we will get this
kind of quote from Dave Canalis during this training camp
(10:41):
about tedor Rod McMillan, and he gives us that quote
on July twenty fifth. It's just so important to have
this kind of X receiver in that offense. Dave canally
said that we want him. You know, we brought him
here to stretch the field. So that's obviously part of
what he's going to do. Is the downfield contested catch stuff.
We saw him earned Derek Stingley Junior on a double
(11:02):
move in the preseason get open, Andy Dalton gets hit
on the elbow and the ball doesn't make it to McMillan.
If it did, he's going much higher than he is
right now in drafts. But then also all the horizontally
breaking routes, the inbreakers, the outbreakers that Bryce Young is
so good at throwing well, Terroll McMillan is really good
on those routes and turning those catches into big gag stuff.
(11:27):
So this is such a phenomenal fit for the Panthers.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Yeah, Ericson, I don't really have even much to add,
Like you know, I am a huge fan of Tterro McMillan.
Literally every time I look at my rankings, I'm like,
I think I got to move him up another spot
amongst the receivers. I just like, could not be more.
I want to be over my skis on him, honestly, Like,
I just think he's that good. It's a hand and
glove fit in this offense. I love all the quotes
coming out. I just like this is a definite, definite
(11:50):
flag plant.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
For me this year.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
And I know that you are also high on Tterro McMillan.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
Rickson, Yeah, yeah, we've talked. I think he's been the
guy listed in league winners. Must have Tetro mcmill all
the way. So I guess I'll come to the table
with my own quote here, and this is actually from
not the Carolina Panthers, from his head coach at Arizona, Jedfish.
So Jed Fish was the Arizona's head coach twenty twenty three,
which was Tetro McMillan's best year. Like people will look
at McMillan and they say, last year, maybe he fell
(12:17):
off a little bit. A lot of people also said
that he maybe wasn't one hundred percent healthy, but in
twenty twenty three, so Jedfish also has chemistry. He worked
with Dave Canalis back in Seattle in twenty ten, and
when they made that draft selection, Fish called McMillan generational
talent and compared him to a guy that Dave Canalis
knows pretty well, Mike Evans, Like, I really think that
(12:39):
Canalis knew what he was getting when he drafted McMillan.
And despite that, we all labeled every mock drafted or
not everyone I knowly my mock drafts, I had defense
for Carolina Panthers because this defense is so bad, and
what do they do They draft a wide receiver in
round one and everyone knows how bad their defense is.
It doesn't matter because the fit is just so good.
So and yet t mac just and all these home
he's still going to like he goes outside the top
(13:01):
twenty four wide receivers when we look at just top
ten picks, the average that they do at receiver, Like,
at worst, he's gonna finish at the back end of
the wide receiver two conversation.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
So I think it's just an easy pick.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
You're more competitive leagues, he's gonna be going higher. I
just did it kind of like a home league draft
last night. It's a salary cap format, two hundred dollars budget,
twelve teams that got him for seven bucks like that,
because he's a rookie. If you're in some of these
more casual home leagues, I do think there is still
a buying opportunity here that I would highly encourage everybody
(13:33):
listening to take advantage of. I also would encourage everybody
to take advantage of it. Of our AJ Brown helmet
giveaway this month if you want a chance to win
a signed AJ Brown Eagles Salute to Service helmet for free,
courtesy of our friends at Pristine Auction dot com. I
used to do a subscribe to the Fantasy Pros YouTube
channel right now, drop a comment below on any video
and that is it. We will be announcing a winner
right here on the channel, So make sure to turn
(13:54):
on those notifications so you can know when new videos
are up and to claim your prize. Greg, We've got
another whe receiver on this list, Jamison Williams.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
That's right. Let's run down a little bit of this
coach speak here. This is offensive. Coordinator John Morton on
May thirteenth said, Jamison Williams can go from zero to
sixty fast. It's amazing. I haven't been around a guy
like him. I mean, it's two players with him and
jamieer Gibbs. That explosion. I was around Reggie Bush and
that kind of explosion is impressive. Those two guys have
(14:24):
it and said quote, he has been unbelievable, unbelievable. I'm
so excited to see him this year. It's going to
be a breakout year for him, So I can't wait.
I just can't wait, man. And then head coach Dan
Campbell on May thirtieth was talking about Jamison Williams all
everything that they can do with his routes on the outside,
and then we can do things on the inside. And
(14:46):
this correlates with what we've heard from training camp, where
Jamison Williams is getting a bunch of work out of
the slot. Campbell said, with his speed, he's gotten so
much stronger, his ability to stop put his foot in
the ground. When you can run like he could run,
and you can stop on a dime, you're talking about
a hardcover quote, so the sky's the limit for him.
End quote. Campbell also said, quote we expect him to
(15:09):
have a huge season. We really do.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Man.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
He's going to be one of those guys that we're
going to lean on this year and is really going
to be big for us.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
End quote.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
And then we got kind of this bombshell from Dan
Campbell on June fifth that I don't think I really
reported anywhere where. Campbell said, we've tweaked a few things
here and there. On offense, it's about what our offensive
coordinator John Morton really wants, how he sees it, how
he wants things run how he wants to isolate certain players.
(15:40):
A lot of the focal point was Jamison Williams and
Jamier Gibbs and Sam Laporta, among others. And then Morton
on July twenty eighth said, you've seen Jamison Williams skill set.
He's explosive, He's gotten better every year.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Quote.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
I want to take that skill set and isolate him.
I'm very excited where he's at right now. He's going
to help us win some big games. End quote. Dan
Campbell has a ninety percent reliability rating on usage and workload.
Coach speak, so very much believing what he's saying about
a huge year for Jamison Williams, and they're tweaking this
offense to be more concentrated on Jamison Williams and Jamier Gibbs. Now,
(16:18):
I'm and Ross Saint Brown still a very, very, very
good player. But Ben Johnson, we know that he has
said where I've been, the slot receiver has been the
focal point of our offense. He is now gone. A'm
and ro Saint Brown may not be getting all the
slot stuff. We hear Dan Campbell talking about Jamison Williams
playing a little bit more on the inside. We hear
the reports from camp of him playing in the slot.
(16:41):
That's that's a great opportunity for him to get these easy,
little layup crossers and let his speed go to work,
just like John Morton is talking about. So yeah, I'm
very in on Jameis and Williams this year.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Ericson, I'm curious what you think about JMO because I
feel like, for as much as like this is a
guy with a lot of physical gifts, it's been really
high scoring offense the last couple of years. We have
all these great quotes coming out of camp about him.
I don't feel like we've actually discussed Jamison Williams all
that much on the show this summer, at least not
on the shows I've been on. So where do you
come down on him?
Speaker 3 (17:12):
I love him because I think that we saw a
breakout last year, and now the Lions are double downing
jameson Williams again. So it's like, well, we told all
this stuff last year, and they were right because he
did breakout last season, especially once he had the suspension
everything put behind him. But I think it's just all
gas and no breaks when it comes to James Williams again.
He's twenty four years old, former twelfth overall pick that
(17:32):
the Lions traded up to get and he already showed
last year that he could break out in an offense
with Iman Ross, Saint Brown, Samuel Porta, Engineer Gibbs, and
now the new guy that's calling the plays has decided, Hey,
you're gonna have a bigger role in this offense this year.
I think that its wheels up and it would not
surprise me if Jameis Williams outscores I mont Roy Saint Brown.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
When it all comes down to the end, it's gonna
be a lot closer.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
And I think it was last year in traditional years
to the Lions offense got.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
A couple of tight ends here to wrap things up
first and Tyler Warren, greg what are your thoughts on him?
Speaker 4 (18:03):
This might be the guy that has gotten the most
coach speak out of any player this offseason, and it
actually when it comes to that position, goes back further
than just this year. At last year during the offseason
early I think it was the owners meetings, you know,
Shane Steichen was talking about the importance of a bell
cow tight end, talking about how they really want this
(18:25):
wide tight end for their offense. They end up missing
on brock Bauers in the NFL draft, and then this
year they telegraphed that they wanted to take a tight
end in this draft and they end up picking Tyler Warren.
Chris Ballard right after they picked him said he was
an easy pick. There wasn't a lot of discussion. He
can do a lot. He can play multiple spots. He's
(18:46):
got the quarterback background, so he can play in the backfield.
He's a great fifty to fifty ball catcher, violent after
the catch, brings an element of toughness that I thought
we needed to add offensively. Quote. I think Shane will
find unique ways to use him. End quote. Listen, there
are so many quotes on Tyler Warren. I've got them
all and the coach beak index discord. I tweeted out
(19:06):
a thread of them a couple weeks ago. Go check
that out. I think they're building the entire plane out
of Tyler Warren this year. I think he's going to
be a central pillar in this offense. Originally I was singing, Okay,
it's gonna be some Taysom Hilly type stuff, right. I
think we'll get some push push, We'll see some some
carries from him. Maybe they use him as a QB
(19:29):
here and there on trick plays, but expecting a lot
of kind of intermediate stuff they're they're talking about, you know,
Ballard an Steichen talking about just what a matchup nightmare
it is for opponents for the for Tyler Warren to
be going against linebackers and safeties, especially in the intermediate
part of the field. How when he's covered, he's still
(19:50):
open because he has unbelievable hands, which we've seen those
clips during training camp and then in the preseason we
see a lot of that stuff, and we also saw
all manufactured touches for him. We saw we saw a
screen to him, and most bullishly, I was already in
on Tyler Warren. And then we see these deep shots
that they throw to him, where Daniel Jones misses pretty
(20:12):
badly on one, connects on another. Probably be the story
of this entire season for the Colts is Daniel Jones
and Anthony Richardson missing Warren here and there. But I
think he's going to get so much volume and he's
going to touch the ball so much for the Colts
that it won't even matter that much. How inaccurate these
(20:35):
guys are at times.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Ericson, I want to get your opinion on Warren, but
I want to kind of loop into two tight ends
we're talking about together. So first, somebody toss it back
to Greg for Tucker Kraft, because I know you like
him a lot too, Erickson, and then I want to
talk about kind of Warren first Craft a bit for you,
But first Tucker Craft. Greg is somebody that I know
Ericson has talked about as a breakout this season. I
know he's a favorite of the Fantasy Pros team. What
are some quotes that kind of lead us to that
(20:58):
opinion too?
Speaker 4 (21:00):
So Ahead coach Matt Lafleur on January fourteenth was asked
whether there is a possibility that Tucker Craft and Green
Bay's offense could do what George Kittle or Travis Kelcey do.
Lafleur said, quote one hundred percent. And I think that's
on us to make sure that we find him and
feature him. When he gets the ball in his hands,
you feel him. So if there is an area we
(21:20):
got to do a better job on, I would say
featuring the tight end end quote. Offensive coordinator Adam Stenovich
on May twelfth said there's a lot of opportunity for
Tucker Craft going into this year. We spent some time
this offseason on where we can get him to take
the next step quote, just trying to find different ways
to get him the ball. That's going to be the
big thing for us. End quote and then Senovich again
(21:42):
on July thirtieth, said, Tucker Craft is a playmaker. Quote.
Anytime we can get the ball in his hands, good
things happen. And quote Tucker Craft of course led all
tight ends last season in yards after the catch, And yeah,
I think it's a pretty good player. And when you
have a guy that leads all everyone at the position
(22:04):
in yards after the catch, you're probably gonna get him
a little bit more involved. That would be the smart
thing to do. I think Matt Lafleur is a smart coach,
so I think we see a lot more Tucker Craft
this year.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Erickson, I know you love Tucker Craft. I really love
Tyler Warren too. My tight end strategy is really simple.
This year. I would like one of Bowers mcbridor Kittle.
If that doesn't happen because they go too early, I
am waiting for one of Crafter Warren to go. And
then is taking the other guy with the next pick, Like,
I'm not really playing in this tier two range of
tight ends. I think Craft and Ward, who are, by
the way, the tea names at the top of tier
(22:35):
three and our expert consensus rankings are so attractive to
me as later on tight ends that I feel very
confident kind of skipping that middle class. Is that you know,
I know Craft in particular for you kind of falls
into that category. Is Warren also in that conversation, do
you have a strong preference one or the other between
these two?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
I do slightly prefer Craft.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
But the reason why it's like I don't draft Warrens
is because I draft Craft instead, right, Like, but those
guys are neck and neck for me in terms of
when I'm looking to draft my later round tight end.
Now that these aren't going super super late like we
your last pick, but very far past the middle range
of tight ends that we usually try to tell people
to avoid just because those guys don't end up being
good returns on investments, whereas these are the players that
can make the big leaps when we're talking about elite
(23:17):
tight ends next year. Again, this year it's all about
the Big three. The Big three well, maybe it's a
Big five next year, or maybe someone falls out of
the Big three, and I can guarantee Craft or Warn
one or two of these guys are going to be
in that conversation next year because of the skills that
they have, the opportunities are going to have in their
respective offenses.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
I guess I do.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
The only reason I lean Craft just because I just
look at well, who has a quarterback that could throw
thirty touchdowns? It's not on the Colts, like I don't
think it's on the gold So Jordan Love can throw
thirty touchdowns and Tucker Craft should easily leave that team
in red zone targets. So I think that just gives
him a little bit more upside. But I'm gonna be
happy with either of those guys, and I think you
(23:53):
can still draft both. You want to reach around, grab
titdler Warm with the rookie hype, and then grab Tucker Craft.
I think that's more than plausible, and then hey, you've
got trade bait well again, Like, there's nothing wrong with
drafting guys that you know are going to accrue value
throughout the season, And then when someone drafts a tight
end that they're disappointed because they drafted him in the
middle rounds they didn't hit well. Then you can dangle
Tyler Warren Tucker Craft and get a stud running back
(24:15):
and receiver in return. So yes, I think these are
the best later round running tight ends that you can draft.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
We've been mentioning Fantasy Pro's Real Time ADP. It's a
new feature we have on the site. We've mentioned it
on a few shows in the last week, and if
you look at the tight end page on our real
Time ADP, by far the two guys who have moved
up the most in the last seven days at tight
end or Tucker Craft and Tyler Warren. Craft is actually
up to tight end eight in real time ADP, which
is a couple of spots higher than in his expert
(24:42):
consensus ranking. He's about going about a round higher than
Tyler Warren, who's still tight end eleven. So there's a
couple of names kind of in that grouping, but they
have moved up the most by a wide margin amongst
the tight end. So if you are drafting and saying, hey,
I want to go make sure and I actually really
get these guys that you know, the experts are saying,
we really believe in check out real time ADP to
make sure that you are able to really go up
(25:03):
and get your guy, not just based on maybe outdated
rankings who are kind of old looking ADP on other sites.
I want to also remind everybody that winning your fantasy
league starts before draft day, and the Fantasy Pros Draft
Kit gives you the knowledge to do it right. It's
your one stop shot for expert rankings, players to target
or avoid, running back draft strategies, and more. Don't walk
into draft day guessing. Read up, lock in, win your league.
(25:24):
Go to fantasypros dot com slash kit. Get access to
all the premium content in our kit by claiming your
three day trial of Fantasy Pros Premium at Fantasypros dot
com slash Premium. Ericson want to tell us what else
is going on in the site?
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Yeah, I mean everything that's draft related, right, you have,
must have, you have avoid, you have my perfect Draft
Strategy article which is going to be updating up for
the site for anyone else that has their drafts still
upcoming this weekend, and then it's going to have week
one stuff, so making all the roster rous, sitting your lineup,
and I know that. Greg is also going to have
some feature pieces on the site as well, talking about
more in depth of the actual quotes we talked about
(25:58):
today on players to target but so players to fade. Again,
not all coach speak is positive, and because Greg has
experienced doing this, he can kind of read between the
lines a little bit and understand what the coaches are
actually saying, even if it's not verbatim, what they're actually
saying what they mean. And again, as crushing as it
is as a Marvin Min's fan, this may not be
the year for Marvin Man. You're gonna to read the
(26:18):
whole article and check it out. It's gona be on
the site soon. So yeah, and Greg, I know you
have something else to promote as well.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
Yeah, the Coach Speak Index Discord. Listen, the Twitter is great.
It's fun post some fun clips there every once in
a while, just like you know, a really big thing,
maybe like a hot button issue. But as far as
the information from press conferences and all that, what goes
on Twitter is maybe like one two percent of what's
in the Coach Peak Index discord. It's now, you know,
(26:47):
thirty plus hours per week of press conferences and I
watch all those and I curate all the notes from
every head coach, offensive coordinator, general manager of press conference,
put all the important notes into separate team reds, and
the coach Speak Index Index Discord. It is the most
valuable tool in all of fantasy football. I'm not the
only ones saying that. A lot of a lot of
(27:10):
people in the industry saying that, people that you can trust.
And yeah, it's just incredible actionable information for fantasy and
also for NFL betting once you know Week one gets here.
Nobody moved markets last year like Coach Speak Index And
uh yeah, I'll be sending that tweet out as well,
and you can see the proof of that.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Check out Coach Speak Index on Twitter. Somehow you haven't
seen it, check them out on Discord. More importantly, check
them out on the site as well. For Greg and Ericson,
I'm Ryan Warmley. Thanks everybody for tuning in. We'll see
you next time. Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros
Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best
free way to support us is by leaving a positive
review on Apple podcasts at Fantasypros dot com, slash review,
(27:54):
or on Spotify.
Speaker 4 (27:55):
Follow us on x
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Instagram and TikTok At Fantasy pros A subscribe to our
YouTube channel at YouTube dot com Slash Fantasy CROs
Hello, everybody, well committed fantasy pros. I'm Ryan Warmley, joined
by Andrew Erickson and by a guest. We've got Greg Brainos,
the founder and operator of coach Speak Index, which everybody
knows on social media, one of the invaluable social media
resources here for every fantasy football season. Really ericson before
we get to our guest, how are you doing today?
Speaker 2 (00:21):
I'm doing good.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
I don't know if you guys heard, but I did
throw at my back early last week, so that's been
something I'm trying to battle through and it's making me consider,
you know, Matthew Stafford, you know again, someone else that's
also dealing with the back over the age of thirty.
I can barely like walk up the stairs without like hurting,
and this guy's gonna play a full season. So I
don't know, I'm getting a little bit more worried about
Matthew Stafford in this back then considering, uh, yeah, these
(00:44):
backagers are not fun.
Speaker 1 (00:45):
Not fun guys, man, I was not aware of this.
This is the first time hearing him. I'm sorry to
hear about that. You always hear the saying nobody ever used.
Speaker 4 (00:51):
To have a bad back. So hopefully this doesn't ship.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
I just go.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
Back.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
I'm gonna be I'm gonna be chatting actually with Deepak
show later this week. Are sports med analysis guy who's
going to be on the show this season about some injuries.
So I'll have to ask him about Ericson's back, you know,
injury designation here. When we get to that, Greg, how
are you doing? Thanks for joining us on the show today.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
I'm doing great. I also have a degenerative disc in
my back, but I power through it. Coaches say, I'll
be fine. I'll be ready for Week one pressers.
Speaker 1 (01:26):
I had shoulder surgery this year. You guys, a couple
of bad backs. We're all powered.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Worst case scenario again, stash him on IR week one,
get that out tag.
Speaker 2 (01:35):
Good to go. You just add the extra player on
your roster.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Yeah fine, this is this is why we play with
ar slots.
Speaker 4 (01:41):
All right.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
I thought, I don't why I said eric all right,
let's dive in here. Yeah, so that's what must have
been what was off my brain there today we're talking about,
as you might guess, with a guest like Greg on,
players that NFL coaches are telling us to draft this season.
Quick reminder for everybody that all of our twenty twenty
five consensus rankings and tiers can be found at fantasypros
dot com slash rankings. We've got five players that Greg
(02:04):
wants to talk about, just based on some of the
quotes that are coming out from coaches and everything throughout
the summer and off season, and why he is targeting
some of these players in his fantasy drafts. Here just
really one full week left until you know, the big
final weekend and then and then.
Speaker 4 (02:18):
We're in it.
Speaker 1 (02:18):
So this is this is it. This is the weekend
weekend coming up that we will be having fun with
our final draft. So let's dive right in here at
the very top. First name we've got written down here, Greg,
is Chase Brown. Why is he somebody that you're targeting?
Speaker 4 (02:31):
The coaches have been talking about him all summer, all
off season. It's been all Chase Brown when it comes
to this running back room. For a while, people thought, well,
what about Zach Moss. Zach Moss might might eat into
this share. They did not talk about Zach Moss at all.
When they did, they refer to him as you know,
part of the other guys. Zach Moss ends up getting cut.
(02:53):
They draft Taj Brooks in the seventh round. There's no
other competition in this backfield. It's just you know, some
third down snaps for Samaj p Ryan. Samashi p Ryan
a little bit older now. He's not the same back
we saw in Cincinnati a couple of years ago. Did
not look great with the Kansas City Chiefs last year.
Here's a couple quick quotes from the coaching staff on
(03:16):
Chase Brown. This is head coach Zach Taylor on June twelfth, quote,
He's done a great job edging in there with a
ton of great playmakers on offense and making himself a priority.
Like we got to get this guy the ball in
as many ways as possible. And you say that with
all the other weapons we already have, and so that's
just a credit to him to find his niche and
force us to have to give him the ball as
(03:38):
many times as possible. End quote. And then offensive coordinator
Dan Pitcher on July twenty third said quote, I think
Chase Brown is going to by the end of the
season be a household name. End quote. Also said quote,
He's everything that Austin Eckler was. I think that by
the time the season's over, you'll all know who he is.
End quote. Chase Brown last season became their workhorse back
(04:02):
starting in Week nine, averaged twenty four point four opportunities
per game, averaged just under five receptions for them. This
is an offense that is going to be just all
systems go this year. They have a pretty bad defense
on paper, at least should should be one of the
bottom defenses in the league. They're going to have to
(04:24):
chase a lot of points, and Chase Brown is going
to be a part of that.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Greg, do you because a lot of the names that
we're talking about today are guys that were taken in the.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
First round or at least earlier than.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
The fifth round when Chase Brown was drafted the year
he came out, do you find, just in the years
you've been doing coach Speak Index, that you find any
extra kind of added weight in the quotes coming from
coaches for these Day three picks that maybe don't have
the same pedigree coming in the same level of expectation.
Do you evaluate those quotes when you see them differently
(04:54):
depending on you know, if a guy was a first
round pick and kind of high as that higher level.
Speaker 4 (04:58):
Of pedigree, I like to kind of look at it
just relative, right, Like what they're saying about this player
or about this situation. All right, well, let's compare that
to what they've said about, you know, players with the
with a similar pedigree or you know draft capital in
the past, or like a similar situation in the past.
(05:19):
And you know, some of these coaches will will speak
markedly different about guys. Dan Campbell famous for that, and
even guys that are just always praising their players like
Jim Harbaugh, Oh, Jalen Rager looks so good this offseason. Well,
even then there are there are guys that he talks
about differently, right, so he's praising everyone, but then there
(05:41):
are guys that you just you can tell from his words,
from the things he's saying, he has them on a
completely different level. Obviously, Lad mcconkeye is one of those guys.
For Jim Harbaugh of you know, his parents should take
a deep long bow. Like that's a pretty good piece
of coach speak on a player. And even how he
talks about Quentin Johnson and is different than you know,
Jalen Rager or KALs or these other guys saying he
(06:03):
is elite, he has elite traits. So we might not
believe that stuff all the time when coaches are saying
about them, but what a coach believes about his player
is more important than what we believe about that player.
Speaker 1 (06:15):
Eric Soon, we were all over Chase Brown when he
was a kind of third round pick, maybe even a
fourth round in some early drafts. It feels like he's
kind of crept up into that back half of the
second round rage given some of these quotes. Are you
still interested in him even if you have to kind
of invest even more draft capital get him?
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (06:30):
I think so because I think that the market was
right by moving him up the board. I think that
he should have been ranked as a top two round
draft pick just because of the upside with Chase Brown
is he's gonna be a top eyed running back. So
we saw the second half of last year RB five
points per game. After Week nine, he's RB one expected
fantasy points. So in terms of his usuage en role
in the Bengals offense, there was no running back that
(06:52):
was better than Chase Brown. So even though he's not
playing every third down, we've already seen it where he's
catching passes on early downs because that's how the Angs
office is going to operate with Joe Burrow at the Helm.
We already talked about the defense and how bad that's
going to be. The Bengals are going to be chasing points,
and I think something to point out not to get
confused with Chase Brown. Chase Bread's not a small running back.
This guy is a built two hundred eleven pounds, just
(07:14):
under five foot ten. And I know Pat fitz Morris
has always brought this up, but Chase Brown last season
at Illinois, he had over three hundred and fifty touches
that final year. So for me, when I'm looking at
past successes that kind of fit maybe the Chase Brown mold.
To me, it's kind of Kyrien Williams, where that second
year for Kien where Sean McVay showed allegiance to Kyrien Willmes.
(07:37):
You really liked Kier Williams, but people were still kind
of like, including myself a little bit, I'm not so
sure he was a Day three pick, isn't really going
to be his backfield And every clear indication has adjusted
to us and Zach Taylor again comes from that Rams
coaching tree that they're ready to invest in Chase Brown
as the guy this year Now, maybe it's a little
bit different come next year and maybe we're talking about
(07:57):
Chase Brown maybe as a fade. But for this particular season,
for twenty twenty five, Chase Brown says healthy, we can
see this guy get three and fifty touches in his
backfield and just totally dominate. So I think that he's
still a value in a great pick at the end
of round two, especially if you start with a wide
receiver in round one. I think Chase Brown to follow
up in a round twoday a great pick.
Speaker 4 (08:16):
Can I say just interrupt real quick and say that
that's a great point about the Chase Brown receiving role
that you pointed out, Because there are some guys that
if they're not playing on third down, like they're not
getting targets on first and second down, like you know,
probably what we can expect from a type of you know,
like Caleb Johnson type player, Chase Brown very much has
(08:38):
pass catching chops and just because he might not be
in on third down doesn't mean that he's not going
to get a lot of targets in this offense.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
Greg, Let's go to a guy with some more draft pedigree,
one of his first rounders. I mentioned, and it's a rookie.
Tedaroa McMillan first rounder, obviously top ten pick for the Panthers.
What are the coaches saying about him?
Speaker 4 (08:57):
Start off with this quote right after they drafted him.
This was head coach Dave Canalis on April twenty fourth, said,
he's a baller. There's a simple way to look at it.
When you watch film. The ballers show up and they
make plays in big moments, and they're always looking to
do something special. And Canalis on June third said, he
has a consistent ability to win at the top of
the route. He uses his hands well, he has great
(09:19):
body control for having that kind of frame in size.
He's such a friendly target because he attacks the ball
whenever it's thrown to him. You'll see him come back
towards the ball. And then finally, Canalis on July twenty
fifth said, quote, He's going to get targeted a lot.
He's going to be a big part of what we do.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
End quote.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Also during that NFL draft presser right after they took
Tedrollad McMillan, general manager Dan Morgan, and Dave Canalis multiple times,
we're talking about the red zone threat that tetroa McMillan
provides to them, which is very, very big. We saw
the target from Bryce Young during the preseason game when
(09:58):
they got near the goal line there, and this is
just a really fantastic fit. This is exactly what Carolina
needed in their offense. They thought they had it last
year in Deontay Johnson at that X spot, and we
saw Deontay Johnson put up some really gaudy numbers for
a couple of games there for them, and Dave Canalis
(10:19):
was saying during that offseason, you know, when we snapped
the ball for our passing offense, the very first thing
is where is Deontay Johnson. Now that ended up becoming
the same question later on in the season for different reasons.
But I thought at some point we will get this
kind of quote from Dave Canalis during this training camp
(10:41):
about tedor Rod McMillan, and he gives us that quote
on July twenty fifth. It's just so important to have
this kind of X receiver in that offense. Dave canally
said that we want him. You know, we brought him
here to stretch the field. So that's obviously part of
what he's going to do. Is the downfield contested catch stuff.
We saw him earned Derek Stingley Junior on a double
(11:02):
move in the preseason get open, Andy Dalton gets hit
on the elbow and the ball doesn't make it to McMillan.
If it did, he's going much higher than he is
right now in drafts. But then also all the horizontally
breaking routes, the inbreakers, the outbreakers that Bryce Young is
so good at throwing well, Terroll McMillan is really good
on those routes and turning those catches into big gag stuff.
(11:27):
So this is such a phenomenal fit for the Panthers.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Yeah, Ericson, I don't really have even much to add,
Like you know, I am a huge fan of Tterro McMillan.
Literally every time I look at my rankings, I'm like,
I think I got to move him up another spot
amongst the receivers. I just like, could not be more.
I want to be over my skis on him, honestly, Like,
I just think he's that good. It's a hand and
glove fit in this offense. I love all the quotes
coming out. I just like this is a definite, definite
(11:50):
flag plant.
Speaker 4 (11:51):
For me this year.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
And I know that you are also high on Tterro McMillan.
Speaker 3 (11:55):
Rickson, Yeah, yeah, we've talked. I think he's been the
guy listed in league winners. Must have Tetro mcmill all
the way. So I guess I'll come to the table
with my own quote here, and this is actually from
not the Carolina Panthers, from his head coach at Arizona, Jedfish.
So Jed Fish was the Arizona's head coach twenty twenty three,
which was Tetro McMillan's best year. Like people will look
at McMillan and they say, last year, maybe he fell
(12:17):
off a little bit. A lot of people also said
that he maybe wasn't one hundred percent healthy, but in
twenty twenty three, so Jedfish also has chemistry. He worked
with Dave Canalis back in Seattle in twenty ten, and
when they made that draft selection, Fish called McMillan generational
talent and compared him to a guy that Dave Canalis
knows pretty well, Mike Evans, Like, I really think that
(12:39):
Canalis knew what he was getting when he drafted McMillan.
And despite that, we all labeled every mock drafted or
not everyone I knowly my mock drafts, I had defense
for Carolina Panthers because this defense is so bad, and
what do they do They draft a wide receiver in
round one and everyone knows how bad their defense is.
It doesn't matter because the fit is just so good.
So and yet t mac just and all these home
he's still going to like he goes outside the top
(13:01):
twenty four wide receivers when we look at just top
ten picks, the average that they do at receiver, Like,
at worst, he's gonna finish at the back end of
the wide receiver two conversation.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
So I think it's just an easy pick.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
You're more competitive leagues, he's gonna be going higher. I
just did it kind of like a home league draft
last night. It's a salary cap format, two hundred dollars budget,
twelve teams that got him for seven bucks like that,
because he's a rookie. If you're in some of these
more casual home leagues, I do think there is still
a buying opportunity here that I would highly encourage everybody
(13:33):
listening to take advantage of. I also would encourage everybody
to take advantage of it. Of our AJ Brown helmet
giveaway this month if you want a chance to win
a signed AJ Brown Eagles Salute to Service helmet for free,
courtesy of our friends at Pristine Auction dot com. I
used to do a subscribe to the Fantasy Pros YouTube
channel right now, drop a comment below on any video
and that is it. We will be announcing a winner
right here on the channel, So make sure to turn
(13:54):
on those notifications so you can know when new videos
are up and to claim your prize. Greg, We've got
another whe receiver on this list, Jamison Williams.
Speaker 4 (14:02):
That's right. Let's run down a little bit of this
coach speak here. This is offensive. Coordinator John Morton on
May thirteenth said, Jamison Williams can go from zero to
sixty fast. It's amazing. I haven't been around a guy
like him. I mean, it's two players with him and
jamieer Gibbs. That explosion. I was around Reggie Bush and
that kind of explosion is impressive. Those two guys have
(14:24):
it and said quote, he has been unbelievable, unbelievable. I'm
so excited to see him this year. It's going to
be a breakout year for him, So I can't wait.
I just can't wait, man. And then head coach Dan
Campbell on May thirtieth was talking about Jamison Williams all
everything that they can do with his routes on the outside,
and then we can do things on the inside. And
(14:46):
this correlates with what we've heard from training camp, where
Jamison Williams is getting a bunch of work out of
the slot. Campbell said, with his speed, he's gotten so
much stronger, his ability to stop put his foot in
the ground. When you can run like he could run,
and you can stop on a dime, you're talking about
a hardcover quote, so the sky's the limit for him.
End quote. Campbell also said, quote we expect him to
(15:09):
have a huge season. We really do.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
Man.
Speaker 4 (15:12):
He's going to be one of those guys that we're
going to lean on this year and is really going
to be big for us.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
End quote.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
And then we got kind of this bombshell from Dan
Campbell on June fifth that I don't think I really
reported anywhere where. Campbell said, we've tweaked a few things
here and there. On offense, it's about what our offensive
coordinator John Morton really wants, how he sees it, how
he wants things run how he wants to isolate certain players.
(15:40):
A lot of the focal point was Jamison Williams and
Jamier Gibbs and Sam Laporta, among others. And then Morton
on July twenty eighth said, you've seen Jamison Williams skill set.
He's explosive, He's gotten better every year.
Speaker 3 (15:53):
Quote.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
I want to take that skill set and isolate him.
I'm very excited where he's at right now. He's going
to help us win some big games. End quote. Dan
Campbell has a ninety percent reliability rating on usage and workload.
Coach speak, so very much believing what he's saying about
a huge year for Jamison Williams, and they're tweaking this
offense to be more concentrated on Jamison Williams and Jamier Gibbs. Now,
(16:18):
I'm and Ross Saint Brown still a very, very, very
good player. But Ben Johnson, we know that he has
said where I've been, the slot receiver has been the
focal point of our offense. He is now gone. A'm
and ro Saint Brown may not be getting all the
slot stuff. We hear Dan Campbell talking about Jamison Williams
playing a little bit more on the inside. We hear
the reports from camp of him playing in the slot.
(16:41):
That's that's a great opportunity for him to get these easy,
little layup crossers and let his speed go to work,
just like John Morton is talking about. So yeah, I'm
very in on Jameis and Williams this year.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Ericson, I'm curious what you think about JMO because I
feel like, for as much as like this is a
guy with a lot of physical gifts, it's been really
high scoring offense the last couple of years. We have
all these great quotes coming out of camp about him.
I don't feel like we've actually discussed Jamison Williams all
that much on the show this summer, at least not
on the shows I've been on. So where do you
come down on him?
Speaker 3 (17:12):
I love him because I think that we saw a
breakout last year, and now the Lions are double downing
jameson Williams again. So it's like, well, we told all
this stuff last year, and they were right because he
did breakout last season, especially once he had the suspension
everything put behind him. But I think it's just all
gas and no breaks when it comes to James Williams again.
He's twenty four years old, former twelfth overall pick that
(17:32):
the Lions traded up to get and he already showed
last year that he could break out in an offense
with Iman Ross, Saint Brown, Samuel Porta, Engineer Gibbs, and
now the new guy that's calling the plays has decided, Hey,
you're gonna have a bigger role in this offense this year.
I think that its wheels up and it would not
surprise me if Jameis Williams outscores I mont Roy Saint Brown.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
When it all comes down to the end, it's gonna
be a lot closer.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
And I think it was last year in traditional years
to the Lions offense got.
Speaker 1 (17:57):
A couple of tight ends here to wrap things up
first and Tyler Warren, greg what are your thoughts on him?
Speaker 4 (18:03):
This might be the guy that has gotten the most
coach speak out of any player this offseason, and it
actually when it comes to that position, goes back further
than just this year. At last year during the offseason
early I think it was the owners meetings, you know,
Shane Steichen was talking about the importance of a bell
cow tight end, talking about how they really want this
(18:25):
wide tight end for their offense. They end up missing
on brock Bauers in the NFL draft, and then this
year they telegraphed that they wanted to take a tight
end in this draft and they end up picking Tyler Warren.
Chris Ballard right after they picked him said he was
an easy pick. There wasn't a lot of discussion. He
can do a lot. He can play multiple spots. He's
(18:46):
got the quarterback background, so he can play in the backfield.
He's a great fifty to fifty ball catcher, violent after
the catch, brings an element of toughness that I thought
we needed to add offensively. Quote. I think Shane will
find unique ways to use him. End quote. Listen, there
are so many quotes on Tyler Warren. I've got them
all and the coach beak index discord. I tweeted out
(19:06):
a thread of them a couple weeks ago. Go check
that out. I think they're building the entire plane out
of Tyler Warren this year. I think he's going to
be a central pillar in this offense. Originally I was singing, Okay,
it's gonna be some Taysom Hilly type stuff, right. I
think we'll get some push push, We'll see some some
carries from him. Maybe they use him as a QB
(19:29):
here and there on trick plays, but expecting a lot
of kind of intermediate stuff they're they're talking about, you know,
Ballard an Steichen talking about just what a matchup nightmare
it is for opponents for the for Tyler Warren to
be going against linebackers and safeties, especially in the intermediate
part of the field. How when he's covered, he's still
(19:50):
open because he has unbelievable hands, which we've seen those
clips during training camp and then in the preseason we
see a lot of that stuff, and we also saw
all manufactured touches for him. We saw we saw a
screen to him, and most bullishly, I was already in
on Tyler Warren. And then we see these deep shots
that they throw to him, where Daniel Jones misses pretty
(20:12):
badly on one, connects on another. Probably be the story
of this entire season for the Colts is Daniel Jones
and Anthony Richardson missing Warren here and there. But I
think he's going to get so much volume and he's
going to touch the ball so much for the Colts
that it won't even matter that much. How inaccurate these
(20:35):
guys are at times.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
Ericson, I want to get your opinion on Warren, but
I want to kind of loop into two tight ends
we're talking about together. So first, somebody toss it back
to Greg for Tucker Kraft, because I know you like
him a lot too, Erickson, and then I want to
talk about kind of Warren first Craft a bit for you,
But first Tucker Craft. Greg is somebody that I know
Ericson has talked about as a breakout this season. I
know he's a favorite of the Fantasy Pros team. What
are some quotes that kind of lead us to that
(20:58):
opinion too?
Speaker 4 (21:00):
So Ahead coach Matt Lafleur on January fourteenth was asked
whether there is a possibility that Tucker Craft and Green
Bay's offense could do what George Kittle or Travis Kelcey do.
Lafleur said, quote one hundred percent. And I think that's
on us to make sure that we find him and
feature him. When he gets the ball in his hands,
you feel him. So if there is an area we
(21:20):
got to do a better job on, I would say
featuring the tight end end quote. Offensive coordinator Adam Stenovich
on May twelfth said there's a lot of opportunity for
Tucker Craft going into this year. We spent some time
this offseason on where we can get him to take
the next step quote, just trying to find different ways
to get him the ball. That's going to be the
big thing for us. End quote and then Senovich again
(21:42):
on July thirtieth, said, Tucker Craft is a playmaker. Quote.
Anytime we can get the ball in his hands, good
things happen. And quote Tucker Craft of course led all
tight ends last season in yards after the catch, And yeah,
I think it's a pretty good player. And when you
have a guy that leads all everyone at the position
(22:04):
in yards after the catch, you're probably gonna get him
a little bit more involved. That would be the smart
thing to do. I think Matt Lafleur is a smart coach,
so I think we see a lot more Tucker Craft
this year.
Speaker 1 (22:15):
Erickson, I know you love Tucker Craft. I really love
Tyler Warren too. My tight end strategy is really simple.
This year. I would like one of Bowers mcbridor Kittle.
If that doesn't happen because they go too early, I
am waiting for one of Crafter Warren to go. And
then is taking the other guy with the next pick, Like,
I'm not really playing in this tier two range of
tight ends. I think Craft and Ward, who are, by
the way, the tea names at the top of tier
(22:35):
three and our expert consensus rankings are so attractive to
me as later on tight ends that I feel very
confident kind of skipping that middle class. Is that you know,
I know Craft in particular for you kind of falls
into that category. Is Warren also in that conversation, do
you have a strong preference one or the other between
these two?
Speaker 2 (22:53):
I do slightly prefer Craft.
Speaker 3 (22:55):
But the reason why it's like I don't draft Warrens
is because I draft Craft instead, right, Like, but those
guys are neck and neck for me in terms of
when I'm looking to draft my later round tight end.
Now that these aren't going super super late like we
your last pick, but very far past the middle range
of tight ends that we usually try to tell people
to avoid just because those guys don't end up being
good returns on investments, whereas these are the players that
can make the big leaps when we're talking about elite
(23:17):
tight ends next year. Again, this year it's all about
the Big three. The Big three well, maybe it's a
Big five next year, or maybe someone falls out of
the Big three, and I can guarantee Craft or Warn
one or two of these guys are going to be
in that conversation next year because of the skills that
they have, the opportunities are going to have in their
respective offenses.
Speaker 2 (23:32):
I guess I do.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
The only reason I lean Craft just because I just
look at well, who has a quarterback that could throw
thirty touchdowns? It's not on the Colts, like I don't
think it's on the gold So Jordan Love can throw
thirty touchdowns and Tucker Craft should easily leave that team
in red zone targets. So I think that just gives
him a little bit more upside. But I'm gonna be
happy with either of those guys, and I think you
(23:53):
can still draft both. You want to reach around, grab
titdler Warm with the rookie hype, and then grab Tucker Craft.
I think that's more than plausible, and then hey, you've
got trade bait well again, Like, there's nothing wrong with
drafting guys that you know are going to accrue value
throughout the season, And then when someone drafts a tight
end that they're disappointed because they drafted him in the
middle rounds they didn't hit well. Then you can dangle
Tyler Warren Tucker Craft and get a stud running back
(24:15):
and receiver in return. So yes, I think these are
the best later round running tight ends that you can draft.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
We've been mentioning Fantasy Pro's Real Time ADP. It's a
new feature we have on the site. We've mentioned it
on a few shows in the last week, and if
you look at the tight end page on our real
Time ADP, by far the two guys who have moved
up the most in the last seven days at tight
end or Tucker Craft and Tyler Warren. Craft is actually
up to tight end eight in real time ADP, which
is a couple of spots higher than in his expert
(24:42):
consensus ranking. He's about going about a round higher than
Tyler Warren, who's still tight end eleven. So there's a
couple of names kind of in that grouping, but they
have moved up the most by a wide margin amongst
the tight end. So if you are drafting and saying, hey,
I want to go make sure and I actually really
get these guys that you know, the experts are saying,
we really believe in check out real time ADP to
make sure that you are able to really go up
(25:03):
and get your guy, not just based on maybe outdated
rankings who are kind of old looking ADP on other sites.
I want to also remind everybody that winning your fantasy
league starts before draft day, and the Fantasy Pros Draft
Kit gives you the knowledge to do it right. It's
your one stop shot for expert rankings, players to target
or avoid, running back draft strategies, and more. Don't walk
into draft day guessing. Read up, lock in, win your league.
(25:24):
Go to fantasypros dot com slash kit. Get access to
all the premium content in our kit by claiming your
three day trial of Fantasy Pros Premium at Fantasypros dot
com slash Premium. Ericson want to tell us what else
is going on in the site?
Speaker 3 (25:37):
Yeah, I mean everything that's draft related, right, you have,
must have, you have avoid, you have my perfect Draft
Strategy article which is going to be updating up for
the site for anyone else that has their drafts still
upcoming this weekend, and then it's going to have week
one stuff, so making all the roster rous, sitting your lineup,
and I know that. Greg is also going to have
some feature pieces on the site as well, talking about
more in depth of the actual quotes we talked about
(25:58):
today on players to target but so players to fade. Again,
not all coach speak is positive, and because Greg has
experienced doing this, he can kind of read between the
lines a little bit and understand what the coaches are
actually saying, even if it's not verbatim, what they're actually
saying what they mean. And again, as crushing as it
is as a Marvin Min's fan, this may not be
the year for Marvin Man. You're gonna to read the
(26:18):
whole article and check it out. It's gona be on
the site soon. So yeah, and Greg, I know you
have something else to promote as well.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
Yeah, the Coach Speak Index Discord. Listen, the Twitter is great.
It's fun post some fun clips there every once in
a while, just like you know, a really big thing,
maybe like a hot button issue. But as far as
the information from press conferences and all that, what goes
on Twitter is maybe like one two percent of what's
in the Coach Peak Index discord. It's now, you know,
(26:47):
thirty plus hours per week of press conferences and I
watch all those and I curate all the notes from
every head coach, offensive coordinator, general manager of press conference,
put all the important notes into separate team reds, and
the coach Speak Index Index Discord. It is the most
valuable tool in all of fantasy football. I'm not the
only ones saying that. A lot of a lot of
(27:10):
people in the industry saying that, people that you can trust.
And yeah, it's just incredible actionable information for fantasy and
also for NFL betting once you know Week one gets here.
Nobody moved markets last year like Coach Speak Index And
uh yeah, I'll be sending that tweet out as well,
and you can see the proof of that.
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Check out Coach Speak Index on Twitter. Somehow you haven't
seen it, check them out on Discord. More importantly, check
them out on the site as well. For Greg and Ericson,
I'm Ryan Warmley. Thanks everybody for tuning in. We'll see
you next time. Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros
Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best
free way to support us is by leaving a positive
review on Apple podcasts at Fantasypros dot com, slash review,
(27:54):
or on Spotify.
Speaker 4 (27:55):
Follow us on x
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Instagram and TikTok At Fantasy pros A subscribe to our
YouTube channel at YouTube dot com Slash Fantasy CROs
Hosts And Creators
Andrew Erickson
Joe Pisapia
Derek Brown
Thor Nystrom
Ryan Wormeli
Pat Fitzmaurice
Matthew Freedman
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