MUST-DRAFT Wide Receiver & Tight End Rookies | Impact Players, Dynasty Holds + Late-Round Sleepers (Ep. 1565) - FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello everybody. Welcome into the Fantasy Pros Football Podcast. I'm
Ryan Warmley, joined today by Andrew Erickson and by Jake
Sealey from the Athletic Guys. We are talking some rookies.
We are sitting here the week after the NFL Draft.
We finally have landing spots forward these guys, so we
can start projecting.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Out what we expect from them, and we're gonna.

Speaker 1 (00:19):
Talk about guys that we think could be instant impact
players as rookies. We're also gonna look at guys that
maybe make more sense as long term investments if you're
in a dynasty league, as a guy you might want
to hold. We'll also hit on some late round sleepers
and deeper league stashes as well. We're gonna split this
up into kind of two different episodes here for the
back of the week. One of them will be wide
receivers and tight Ends. The other one will be quarterbacks
running Backs. You are watching right now, the wide Receiver

(00:41):
and tight end episode. I do want to also let everybody
know that due to some scheduling for my travels, we
are taping this earlier in the week, so I just
say that in case there's been any kind of development
or news update, or you know, the Jags tell everybody
that Travis Hunter is only gonna play defense or something
crazy like that.

Speaker 2 (00:57):
Just so we all know this. We are taping this.

Speaker 1 (01:00):
Earlier in the week, Eric said, how do you feel
in post draft?

Speaker 3 (01:04):
I'm feeling good. I'm excited trying to figure out where
all these rookies go in the rankings. I feel like
I keep second guessing myself and we're not going to
do this guy here, gotta move this guy there. But
and trying to stay someone in line with all the
work we did pre draft and not be totally influenced
by landing spot, but also trying to understand, hey, lanning
spot does matter. Where this guy ended up going in

(01:25):
when they were drafted does matter, but not totally throwing
away all of the work we put in the last
couple of months for the coach to say this guy's
a stud. Oh well, I got to move up ten
spots because the coach loves him, because all the coaches
love everyone they drafted.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Yeah, Jake, for you, like on the pie chart of
evaluating a player, or like what percentage for you is
how you thought about the player before the draft and
what percentage is not only the landing spot, but you
know Draft Capital, what round they went in.

Speaker 4 (01:53):
Say sixty forty. I'm a timeshare, so it really comes
down to sixty percent about what I feel. Somebody even
asked me, like, who's this year Ian Thomas to give
you the example of last year, like that wasn't thought
to be the best landing spot, and I put there
in quotes it was a decent one, but not necessarily
the best. And I was still super high on you afterwards.
Despite that. There are players in this draft and I

(02:14):
don't even know that we were going to talk about them.
Who We don't have Darqus Hunter on the list for
the next show, do we? Anyway, I'll just throw it
as a sidebar just in case that landing spot. I
wasn't super high on Hunter like some people, and that's
a significant landing spot improvement. Pat Bryant was another one,
and we could talk about. I don't think we have
him on today's list, but there is one that to
your point that Erickson has that I really thought long

(02:36):
and hard about putting on my list that I had
higher than his, not even Draft Capital. Look, I'm teasing
our own show, so that's it. I'm interested to see
what Andrews says, because I struggled with wanting to put
him higher because of what I thought before the draft happened.

Speaker 1 (02:51):
Before we dive into the episode, Jake, what kind of
draft stuft do you have going on at the Athletic.

Speaker 4 (02:56):
I finally got to sleep yesterday because I was doing
Pick Pick. I did draft grades for all the teams,
which their current potential value in redraft, and then Dynasty
two different grades, and then I had to update and
I did the rookie rankings, the Dynasty rankings, and the
Redraft rankings. So I finally got a little sleep last night,
but I can tell you it was only half sleep
because I legitimately woke up with a dream thinking about

(03:17):
talking with somebody about the draft and where they rank
and stuff like that. Like it's still in my head.

Speaker 3 (03:22):
We are.

Speaker 1 (03:22):
We are in that really fun week where like it's
post draft, but we're also diving right into I'm into
rookie drafts going on right now already, and it's it's
pretty quick turnaround. We can get the landing spots and
people are excited. They're ready to dive in and start
adding players to their dynasty teams.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
I just want to overmind everybody.

Speaker 1 (03:38):
All of our twenty twenty five consensus rankings and tiers
can be found at fantasypros dot com slash rankings. You
can navigate to our rookie rankings there as well, both
consensus rankings and for our staff rankings.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
Let's start off with the instant impact guys.

Speaker 1 (03:52):
Again, we're hitting on wide receivers and tight ends here
kind of as a general group. Erickson will start with you.
Who's the number one instant impact wide receiver as a.

Speaker 3 (04:00):
Went to the Panthers at eighth overall, Tetuoa McMillan, wide
receiver from Arizona. I love this landing spot for McMillan
when we're looking at a potential rookie wide receiver who
could flirt with the ceiling of one hundred catches. I'm
looking right at to Taro McMillan as that guy who
can be the alpha in this offense. B the Mike
Evans that Dave Canals has been looking for since his

(04:21):
day spent in Tampa Bay. Maybe his DK metcalf would
time spent in Seattle. So you're looking at instant impact,
there's an opportunity for a massive target chair for McMillan
in Carolina. Did they really get first round pick that's
probably not going to fire. Jalen Coker was an undrafted
free agent. They just signed Hunter Renfro, Like, these are
the guys that Tetro McMillan, a top ten overall pick

(04:42):
at wide receiver was taken. And I know that his
draft stock was kind of up and down heading to
the draft, but the fact that he went eighth overall
and the fact that we were talking about him, Oh,
the Jaguars are going to take him at five overall,
Like that's who they're interested in. I know that started
to get some steam as we got closer to draft night.
I think him going top ten to find how the
NFL felt about him, That this guy is an absolute

(05:03):
stud and he would have been the number one wide
receiver in the draft had it not been for Travis
Hunter going second overall to the action of the Jaguars
and they traded up to get him. So I'm really
looking at this as a great spot for him again.
Talked about the connection with Dave Canalis, Bryce Young. We've
seen fuel fantasy production. It hasn't always been pretty, but
Adam Field has been a fantasy monster producer in this

(05:24):
Panthers offense been healthy the last two seasons because what
he's been able to command a very high target share.
So I'm looking at McMillan the accolades he had at
the college level, Specifically, looking at twenty twenty three, he
was just one of three FBS receivers tit thirteen ninety
six yards, ten touchdowns, eighty nine receptions. The other two
guys to do it Malik Neighbors and Romadunes, a other

(05:45):
top ten draft picks. So this kind of reminds me.
The comparison of Hunter versus Tetron McMillan reminds me a
lot of the Bejon Jamiir Gibbs draft where all the
hype was on Bjon Robinson when Jamiir Gibbs also went
in the first round. Yes, I get Travis Hunt went
top five. Well McMillan went top ten, and I don't
think that should be ignored. So I think this is
an instant impact, and he would be if I was

(06:06):
putting my chips on an offensive rookie the year, not
name Ash and Gen d, it'd be Tetrod McMillan.

Speaker 1 (06:11):
So Jake for you, with Ted I think, I mean
in terms of rookie drafts, he's gonna be a top
five pick in every rookie draft obviously, with the talent
and the capitol and the opportunity is going to get
in Carolina. In redraft leagues, how interested are you in
drafting this year, because if we're viewing him as an
instant impact, you would think he can be very helpful
in that format as well.

Speaker 4 (06:31):
I do. And I'll give you right now because I
told you I already had those ready for you. So
I have McMillan actually in my Tier five, which starts
at twenty six with my wide receiver we're talking about
here in a second, goes all the way down to forty.
It's an enormous tier because that's where we live now.
But we're talking about he's in the group of Calvin Ridley.
I have the Chiefs guys there because whatever. But I

(06:52):
have him at twenty nine with Judy Flowers, Doonsay Addison,
Jamison Williams. So some number two, some number ones, the
number one like the Zay Flower and the Jerry Judy
I think is just a little bit of caution. Is
like I love him compared him to Drake London, and
I think it's a great spot. My only hesitancy is
also catching strays get over here from Andrew Like like,

(07:14):
I don't hate leget as much as he does. I
actually think that Legett is better as a two. He
needed to be a two. He needs to be a
true two. I think he's kind of sandwiched between a
DK metcalf for Sheets Shaheed type of wide receiver, which
I think playing alongside McMillan actually gives me some hope
that leget can come through this year. Kind of the
makeup of this team. But my concern is that, yeah,

(07:35):
Coker's undrafted, but there's talent there. Thielan's not gone yet.
Bryce Young's probably not throwing forty four hundred yards and
thirty five touchdowns. So it's just a volume standpoint where
I'm hoping. I'm hoping that Erickson's wright. I do like
McMillan at the fact I have a rookie inside my
top thirty is telling I have two and he's one
of the two. It's just I'm wondering if he does

(07:56):
get to one hundred receptions, just because of how much
this offense might share the ball. If he walks into
the Adam DeLand target volume that we just saw from
two years ago. Thumbs up, But I just have a
little bit more hesitancy that it just might not be
as consistent as everybody believes.

Speaker 1 (08:12):
Erickson, what do you think about that tier five as
a receiver in re draft leagues? I mean rookie receivers
a year at and year out or one of the
best investments you can make. Is McMillan falling into that
category for you?

Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yep? Yeah, so I have him in a similar range,
So I have him at twenty one. But again he's
in a very large tier with the Chiefskies, with another
rookie wide receiver. So that's why we have to tear
these guys out, because you could see making the argument
for this guy or that guy. But yeah, like you said,
I like being aggressive on some of these rookie receivers,
especially when he just has a really clear path of
targets and he profiles as an alpha, so it looks

(08:45):
like an alpha, smells like an alpha. Probably he's going
to be an alpha. So that's why I like me going.

Speaker 2 (08:49):
Did you this? We're gonna talk about running backs in the
other episode.

Speaker 1 (08:52):
Ericson but I just want to ask you, because you
put up this poll, I'm curious what the results were.
You put up a poll asking in rookie drafts, so
Mary and Hampton versus Teed McMillan. I think a lot
of people will have to make this decision. It might
just come down to your positional need. We obviously are
excited about both landing spots. What were the results of
that pole and do you have a strong opinion on it?

Speaker 3 (09:08):
Do you remember what platform the poll was on? Was
that on X right? It was on X?

Speaker 4 (09:13):
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (09:14):
I think I posted or on the Blue Sky. I
about to put it on there too, I don't I
can pull it up when, uh, when Jake's going through
his next player, But I don't know what right now.
I I know I would take McMillan. I know that's
that's where I would stand. And but I do think
that if you were really desperate running back, I'm not
gonna just sway anybody.

Speaker 4 (09:34):
Are you talking about redraft or Dynasty only?

Speaker 2 (09:38):
I think Dynasty drafts, right, Yeah, that's what it was for.

Speaker 3 (09:42):
I think it was pretty close if I remember, But
I would go with Tetro McMillan.

Speaker 4 (09:47):
How long ago. Was this poll? I'm on your profile, right,
That's what.

Speaker 3 (09:51):
I'm not sure if it was on egg am I
to put it on?

Speaker 2 (09:55):
I swear I saw it.

Speaker 3 (09:57):
Discord.

Speaker 4 (09:58):
Oh, here we go, I found it. There you go.
Couple twenty fourth Hampton versus McMillan dynasty. Who you got
sixty three point eight percent to one side of it?
Do you guys want to guess the side it was?

Speaker 1 (10:07):
I'm gonna guess it was Hampton because everybody's so excited
about the Chargers fit.

Speaker 4 (10:11):
It is Hampton.

Speaker 2 (10:12):
Okay, okay, but you disagree with it? Ericson, Yeah, I
think I went with.

Speaker 3 (10:17):
The wide receiver. He's the top ten pick, and I
feel that I'm okay with either.

Speaker 4 (10:22):
But it shouldn't be that much of a landslide.

Speaker 2 (10:24):
It feels like it should be more fifty to fifty
would be.

Speaker 4 (10:26):
There, And if I said fifty five, I would go
to McMillan's side like Ericson.

Speaker 1 (10:30):
Yeah, Yeah, I think that's fair. All right, let's get
to your receiver, Jake.

Speaker 4 (10:35):
Yeah. I mean we kind of gave enough hints that
probably Evermadened goes like, I didn't want to take this
wide receiver as you saw I'm much more friendly than
the people that you put me on guests with because
when you ask for these lists, by the time I
get to it, they take all the good guys, and
then I'm like, well, I guess I'm getting you. Saw
I left quite a few for ericson to kind of
be a more balanced, and I took I took Travis
Hunter left to McMillan. I think that Hunter, you can actually,

(10:58):
you know what, if you wanted to come for me
make the same argument about the target share being slightly
a concern. I could see it because you have Brian Thomas.
But then you look down and the rest of the
depth chart and there's really nobody there that's going to
be even in his realm that Hunter and his realm
of talent. There's nobody except for Brian Thomas that's in
the same conversation, including you know, the fact that Evan
Ingram's gone. And I know people were hoping for Breton

(11:19):
Strange this year tight end to be a breakout, but
this is just going to throw some cold water on that.
This should be a top two target share that we've
seen in the likes of the Eagles, where we're talking
forty possibly even fifty sixty percent going just to these
two guys. So I think that Hunter the only concern
of him We've talked about a time and again in
all these shows. He has DeVante Smith, Jackson Smith and

(11:40):
Jigbo type of upside, and you just worry that while
is going to be used on defense, is he going
to see eighty percent, fifty percent, what's the percentage on offense?
They made it pretty clear that they do see him
as a wide receiver, which I'm going to say ninety
percent of the offensive snaps, and I still feel comfortable
with him a few spots in front of McMillan. I
just he's that good of a wide receiver. The only
concerned we had talent wise, which just is he going

(12:02):
to play a lot of defense? So I think it
was a great spot for him and for those of
us like myself that are hoping that we weren't all
wrong as an industry on Trevor Lawrence, Like, there's no
excuses after this year for Trevor Lawrence. I will say
this is the breakout if he's ever gonna have one.

Speaker 1 (12:17):
Ericson what do you think about Hunter right now? Just
in terms of like how much of a risk do
you think it is to draft him, whether it's rookie
drafts or I guess redraft is probably less of a risk, right,
But in rookie drafts, I'm more thinking in terms of
adding him to your dynasty roster, like to what degree
is at a risk with the added injury risk of
playing more snaps for whatever degree he's gonna be playing

(12:38):
defense if he ends up being better on that side.
I mean, I know the Jags have talked about him
as offense first, but it's really hard to not have
that in the back of your mind, as like there's
an outcome here where you don't really get any value
because he's not playing enough snaps.

Speaker 2 (12:52):
What's your risk tolerance with him right now?

Speaker 3 (12:54):
I think that he does carry a lot of risk,
kind of like you outlined, because I mean, he even
talked about Alvar Tarret they don't let me play but ways, right,
I mean, we'll see. I mean, you could talk a lot,
but that's how he feels like he wants to play
both sides. So if there's an opportunity for him play defense, like,
he's going to play that. And those are snaps that
my player, my fantasy team is taking a risk to

(13:14):
get injured that is not getting any type of fantasy points.
So that's something that I'm kind of keeping back of
my mind. It's less about what his role is on offense.
Like when he's on the field on offense, like he's
going to produce. I have no doubt in my mind
that he's going to be a major producer. You have
Leam Cohen coming from the RAMS system, where what do
they do. They concentrate all the targets on the top
two guys, and those guys eat. So that's what I
would expect when he's on the field. He's going to

(13:36):
get the rock. When he's on the field, Brian Thomas
is going to get the rock. So I think even
looking at the vacated target chair from the Jaguars offense,
this team is sixth in vacated targets from last year
because of Christian Kirk, because of Evan Ingram, Like, these
guys compiled a lot of counting stats in the offense
last year. So if we're really not considering these Breton Strange,
Parker Washington as legitimate threats, then Travis Hunter could play

(13:57):
a limited role and still see one hundred plus targets
he hits one hundred target mark, like he's going to
be a producer for fantasy. So there's reason why his
ADP and rookie drafts leaves. From what I've seen, there's
no consistency. It's all over the place because how much
risk can you tolerate? And I always go back to
what wins fantasy football leagues is upside right. So at

(14:18):
the end of the day, I think that we should
be open to taking a shot on him because he
was drafted second overall, like a team traded an extroverse
round pick to get him, because he is uber talented,
and I think just betting on that is the right approach.
But at the same time, there's obviously a lot of
risk involved.

Speaker 4 (14:33):
I have him a second rookie only I go genty,
and then I go Hunter, I go gent Hunter, McMillan, Hampton,
and then Henderson at five. I understand the risk, but
I think you and I when we had the conversation,
I forget with who's with who is a deepro I
don't know whatever one you asked the question, you said
if he goes to Cleveland, and we talked about the coaching,
and that's the big thing is like he went to

(14:55):
a team where we don't have to worry that next
year there's a new coach who doesn't want to use
him on offense as much, maybe want some more as
a corner. This is a coach that's going to be there,
we would think at least three years. So I think
there's a little bit less risk. I'm not going to
acknowledge and say that there's none, but I'm full in
on Hunter. I would take them with the second. Although
that being said, to talk about our own leagues for

(15:15):
a second, I just traded out of the one oh two.
I have the one on one. I had the one
on one and the one O two, and I traded
out of the one oh two and stockpiled some picks
for next year's draft class just because my team needs.
But to say that, like if I could trade out
of the one O two or one of three drop
down to five or six, I don't think that's a
different tier. I think we're still talking about the same
class of talent in this year's class because of the
running backs where you don't maybe have to make that

(15:36):
decision and you can trade back a few spots and
then if Hunter's still there at one o five or
one oh six. You kind of almost just have to
take them because now the risk is baked in.

Speaker 1 (15:45):
I saw somebody say this on Twitter or x and
I forget who it was, so I'm sorry I can't
credit them, but they said, it feels too scary to
draft Travis Hunter. It also feels too scary to not
draft Travis Hunt.

Speaker 4 (15:57):
I saw that, Yeah, that's those really equal.

Speaker 1 (16:00):
Kind of terrifying, and I do that sums up really well.

Speaker 2 (16:05):
So yeah, those are the Obviously, the.

Speaker 1 (16:06):
First two instant impact guys we're gonna name were the
two receivers who went inside the top ten, So we
got two other names here on the instant impact side.

Speaker 2 (16:13):
Ericson who is your other guy?

Speaker 3 (16:15):
Gotta talk tight ends, and I'm looking at Mason Taylor
for the New York Jets, the first two tight ends
that we will also maybe get into one of them
a little bit later on the show. I don't know
if we necessarily loved the landing spots just based on
the target competition. That's not the case with Mason Taylor.
This guy is coming in and I think that he
can immediately step in and be the tight end one
in the Jets. Offense because it's Jeremy Rutkert, it's stone

(16:38):
smart with two te's, don't forget it. Gotta have those
two te's. And that's why I like Mason Taylor as
a player that can come in and command a decent
target chair in this offense at the LSU who's misreliable.
He has sure hands. He just turned twenty one years old,
and I know that he didn't post any single season
gaudy numbers and he's a amazing yards after the cap.

(17:00):
I don't think that he profiles as that. When I
watched him, he reminded me a lot of Dalton Schultz,
where it's like, Okay, if the offense is good, it's effective,
then this guy can produce in this offense. And that's
what I think Mason Taylor could do, given that his
main competition for targets outside of Garrett Wilson is Alan
Lazard Josh Reynolds, and I think when it comes to
these rookie tight ends sometimes it's just simpil as well.
Can this guy command to target share in this office.

(17:22):
I think Mason Taylor could do that. And I think
that Aaron Glenn talking about after they drafted Mason Taylor
saying that hey can do it all tight end, like
he can block, he can catch passes. So to me,
that's this guy's going to be playing around ninety to
one hundred percent of the snaps. And what do you
see with all the Titans that score fantasy points? That's
usually they're around. They're just on the field a lot.
So I get that Mason Taylor isn't viewed nearly as

(17:45):
talented as the Tyler Warrens or the Colston Lovelins. But
from a fantasy perspective, I think this guy can make
some noise similar to like what we saw with Sam
Laporta his rookie, or maybe not to that extent, because
I Thinklaporta was a much better prospect, especially after the catch.
But Mason Taylor's gonna play a ton and I think
that's all we can ask for when it comes to
some of these tight ends. So Mason Taylor for me,
might be an instant producer for the New York Jets.

Speaker 2 (18:06):
Am I seeing this right? Rickson?

Speaker 1 (18:08):
Or is this a typo that you have him tight
end thirteen in redrafts or is that a typo?

Speaker 3 (18:15):
Hmmm? I don't I'd have to double check on that
that does sound very aggressive.

Speaker 1 (18:20):
Let me well, I was looking at I was looking
at standard. If I look at half PPR, it's it's
tight end twenty one, so maybe the standard one.

Speaker 3 (18:27):
It was like, I was like, thirteen does seem a
little cross.

Speaker 2 (18:31):
I was like, I'm impressed with you planting your flag.

Speaker 3 (18:34):
But yeah, I put him Okay, yeah, he's tight end
twenty one next to Zach Ertz, so okay. Neither of
them will break a tackle, so right, right, right, really
he's supposed to be.

Speaker 1 (18:42):
Yeah, Jake, does tight end twenty one sound too high,
too low or just right for Mason Taylor?

Speaker 4 (18:47):
I want to know why Erickson hates Mason Taylor. I
haven't met tight end fifteen and half point bpr here.
Here's why I don't have either the big names Loveland
or Warren inside my top twenty. But I will take
a shot on Taylor over Ferguson, over Hunter Henry, over
Kate Otten, who's just not a red zone option for them,
over Brenton Strange, who I brought up before. Even Kyle Pitts.

(19:08):
We're done with Kyle Pitts. I don't care that they
didn't draft anybody to be a threat to Darnold Mooney
and the rest, you're just done. Like if you want
to take him at seventeen, that's fine, that's when I'll
finally you go back in. But Erickson's right about everything
when it comes to Mason Taylor, and my common was
like Austin Hooper. It's the same world as Dalton Schultz peak.
Austin Hooper is what we're hoping for in fifteen. Like
if you actually outperformed like Goddard or Kincaid in front

(19:30):
of him, I want to be shocked. It's just walking
into a great situation. He's right, it's not the best
skylistically skill wise, big threat after the cat like he's
just a good tight end, but he fell into a
really great spot. And let's not forget Justin Fields and
Cole Comett hooked up for plenty of touchdowns and opportunities
in twenty twenty two, where like I know, there wasn't

(19:52):
Justin Fields every single game, but a lot of them
were with Cole Comett. And it's not like he's not
somebody who won't use his tight end. He could easily
be his number two behind Garrett Wilson.

Speaker 1 (20:02):
Mason Taylor is my favorite of those like second round
tight ends from the NFL Draft in terms of like
incident impact, just the opportunities. So it's so great we're not,
you know, hitting on those other guys, but just to
mention them briefly, Terrence Ferguson, Elijah or Royo, is there
any interest in those guys, Jake from your perspective, or
do you think Mason Taylor is like very much separated

(20:24):
from them.

Speaker 4 (20:25):
Mason Taylor is very much separate. Like I did, thirty
five tight ends already ranked for this year. I just
told you he's fifteen. Mason Taylor's fifteen. Tier four has
the other two for me and then the only other
one like you've bet Ferguson's at thirty Kats in mind,
who we're gonna talk about later is at twenty seven.
Like they're just they're so far out just because their
opportunities just aren't there this year. Hopefully next year. But

(20:46):
I just don't maybe Ferguson, if a lot of things
break right given this the rams and they do like
their tight ends, but you know, as of today, we're
assuming like is Higbee just done or because he kind
of showed back up, like is it gonna be Ferguson
from day one, So I think it depends on what
that shakes out. If you told me today that we
know right now that we're gonna have Ferguson as the

(21:08):
third option for the Rams and Taylor as the second
for the Jets, I probably almost put him back to back.

Speaker 3 (21:15):
What do you think ericson for Ferguson and yeah, just.

Speaker 1 (21:19):
Those other guys, how wise, I mean, I think it's
clear that Mason Taylor has an obvious path to Fantasy
relevancy or one given the opportunity. How wide a gap
is that for those other guys that went in the
second round.

Speaker 3 (21:30):
I think that he's a tier above just because he
just has There's a reason why he's the clear cut
instant producer. I didn't even consider the other guys because
they have veterans in front of them that may impede
their progression. In a similar way that zach Ertz was
in the way for Dallas Goddard for all those years,
zach Ertz has been in the way for a lot
of young tight ends, and sometimes tight end is a
hard position to learn as a rookie. But the way
that the Jets have just talked about Mason Taylor and

(21:51):
the fact that Aaron Glenn is coming from the Lions
where they didn't have any problems putting a lot on
a second round rookie tight end. He's already seen it
play out, so he's already seen this path of succession
when it comes to a young player. And Mason Taylor. Look,
he's got the NFL blood lines, like he's gonna be
ready to go, like from day one, he's going to
be a guy. It's like Waiver Wire week one, who
were picking up Mason Deler, Like, that's gonna be the
guy because he ran ninety five percent of the routes,

(22:13):
because he's gonna have a ridiculous snap rate. So I
think it's clear cut he is the instant producer. But
I would say to be careful about overvaluing that in
rookie drafts, right, because we fell into this a little bit.
Remember the Greg Dolcic first Trey McBride debate. Oh, Dulsic,
he's so much better because he's producing your one. Trey
McBride was stuck behind Zechertz and now Greg dulcig I
don't even know what team he's on. And Trey McBride
looks like the best title in the NFL not named

(22:35):
Rock Powers.

Speaker 2 (22:36):
Let's go to the last instant impact guy here, Jake.

Speaker 4 (22:39):
Yeah, I'm gonna go over to Houston and letna say
Jaden Higgins. I really had some comparisons before. Was kind
of a mix of Marvin Jones and Dante Montcreef. But like,
I think the good Dante Montcreef, and I think the
big thing that you like about both of them is
potential touchdown opportunities. And you go back to Marvin Jones
talking about somebody that was a wide receiver too for years,
and yes it was only nine hundred one thousand, getting

(23:00):
close to eleven hundred yards, but again that touchdown opportunity,
and this is exactly what Houston needed. And I know
they they got teammates back together, but Noel's a threat
to Kirk, and I don't think he's gonna take Kirk's
job from day one. I think that Higgins will be
the number two from day one. I know some people
drew Nico Collins comparisons. Actually, Dan Bruger were over the athletic.

(23:21):
It was like they drafted the same guy that was
his comp So what if they're the same guy like
if if that's the actual comp cool, I have two
Nico Collins, Okay, give me the sign up every single day.
So I think that Higgins is in play for somebody
that could put in wide receiver three value immediately as
a rookie. It might be more of that and no,
not stylistically at all, but I'm just bringing up the

(23:42):
player for fantasy comparisons. It might be the Deshaun Jackson
where it's one week you get twenty, one week you
get four. One wee could get twenty and then oh
there's a ten mixed in there. It might be a
little bit of a rollercoaster, especially because he's a rookie,
but you'll live with that as your wide receiver three
ericson what do you think about Higgins?

Speaker 3 (23:58):
I think that he was one of the biggest right
after the NFL Draft for me. I moved him ahead
of a lot of the other second round rookie wide
receivers that were taking that I wasn't sure exactly where
they would go because I think that the landing spot
for him in Houston is amazing. CJ. Shroud is going
to be his quarterback. He can be a day one starter,
where as Knowle has to wait behind Christian Kirk at

(24:19):
least for a year, so you have a little bit
of a slower burn with him. And look when Higgins
and No We're on the field the same time, you know,
Higgins was. I mean, they both produced, but Higgins slightly
outproduced at all. And that's just showing how good a
receiver Higgins is in his own right. And the Texans
took Higgins first, you know, they valued him more than
know who they were to get at the end of
the third round. So I think that he's a really

(24:39):
good prospect and I think that this is a great
spot for him. And I think that he might be
undervalued because I know a lot of rankings pre draft
didn't have Higgins ahead of the Luther Burdens necessarily, so
if he just kind of falls because of we're focused
on what we had pre draft and not acknowledging post
draft enough. And I think that he's going to be
a super value and I think that he can be,
yes like Jake outlined, an instant impact player. I mean,

(25:01):
think about how high were we drafting all these textan
wide receivers last year. We had three inside the top
five rounds, right and now, Jayden Higgins is going to
be probably someone that you don't have to take him
a round five. Even though we were drafting Tankedell in
round five. We were drafted Davon Diggs in round four,
Nico Collins in round three, so I think that he's
a good investment.

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Speaker 1 (26:57):
All right, guys, let's go to the dynasty holds and
long term investments. Ericson, you're starting us off with the
tight end here.

Speaker 3 (27:04):
Yep, going to the Chicago Bears, very crowded, very crowded
offense with the tight end Colston Lovelan, who was the
first tight end drafted in this year's draft. And I
think that we just have to remember the capital that
the Bears draft the tenth overall as a tight end
went off the board, and how talented Colston Loveland is
as a prospect, And we just have to keep in
mind Cole Comet has an out in his contract down

(27:24):
to twenty six, so there is a pathway where this
super talented tight end from Michigan who just turned twenty
one years old, broke out at nineteen years old. Yes,
it's very possible that he doesn't hit in year one
because this again the Bears offense is very crowded. Cole
Comet is still on the roster, but there is a
path where we just have to wait another year and
then he's slated to absolutely smash as Ben Johnson's first

(27:47):
pick in this Bears regime, like that was the guy
he wanted. Everyone's saying, hey, we gotta get offensive line
we need a draft the pass rush here, Ben Jon's like, nope,
I want this tight end as part of my offense
for the future. So even benj to tacknowledge in the
presser after the draft where he said tight end is
the second hardest position to learn besides quarterback. So even
he is saying that, yes, we are expecting a lot

(28:09):
from Colston Lovelin, but at the same time, we have
to be realistic with the way that our offense is
set up right now that maybe he doesn't have amazing
numbers out of the gates, but I just don't want
to overreact to his landing spot and get away from
his profile and as a prospect, because this is what
made me mistake with Trey McBride, like going back to
that comparison where it was it sucked that he was

(28:30):
stuck behind a veteran tight end for a year, but
then once that guy was out of the way, he
absolutely smashed. So I could see Colston Loveman potentially on
a similar career trajectory where he's a top ten tight end,
but he even has better draft capital than Trey McBride.
So and I would say too, there's a potential out
here where maybe Ben Jonson says, hey, I'm not going
to value DJ Warre and Roman Dunes. I like those
guys were carry over from the last regime. This is

(28:51):
my team, this is my offense, and I want to
feature Colston Love and Luther Burton, not necessarily saying that's
going to happen, but I think it's in the range
of outcomes where he takes on these new guys as no,
these are the guys I want to feature in my offense.
So there are still a lot of targets up for grabs,
given how many targets Key now and saw last year
ninth and vacated target share from last season. So Colston
Lovin maybe if they're trying to find a number one
check down option for Caleb Williams so he doesn't hold

(29:13):
on to the ball for so long, maybe loveld's that guy.
So I would just say be open to the long
term commitment with Colston Loven which is why I have
him here.

Speaker 1 (29:20):
I don't care about Cole Comette at all in terms
of how it relates to Colson Loveland, Like Colson Lovelin's
success will be determined by Colston Lovelin. You don't take
a guy tenth who has.

Speaker 2 (29:29):
This kind of prospect profile.

Speaker 1 (29:31):
I'm not saying he's guaranteed to hit, but I'm saying
if he doesn't hit, I don't think it'll be because
of the existence of Cole Comette in my opinion. You
know again, I've done a couple of rookie drafts already.
One of them were into the halfway through the second round. Loveland,
he's been drafted, but he wasn't drafted in the first round,
and I found that really surprising. I have black Bauers
in that league, which is why I didn't take him,
because that's like the one guy we're like, Okay, of
course you don't need him, but for any tight and

(29:53):
needy team, I like, I am all over Cleveland in
the back half of rookie drafts. I think it's a
good addition here, Erickson just because of the nature of
the position. People shouldn't look at this and say, Ben Johnson,
this is going to be Sam Laporta like now that
he has a new tight end. So I do see
him more as like a Dynasty investment. But in Dynasty like,

(30:14):
I am zero percent scared off in any respect. I'm
very in on Loveland with the landing spot. So I'm
right there with you, Jake. What do you make of him,
you know, as a tight end, both for long term
and maybe for this year.

Speaker 4 (30:27):
Yeah, so definitely more long term, I mean and long
term starts in twenty twenty six. Let's also not forget
where Ben Johnson came from as a tight ends coach
in multiple spots, including the Lions, and he moved on
as we saw, well, not he is by himself, but
they moved on from TJ. Hockinson, who he was using well,
and then right over the Sam Laporta. So you know,

(30:48):
I see the appeal again. There's nothing I can really
pick holes in because, as you said, you'd spend that
kind of draft capital. This isn't to sit him on
the bench and be like, Okay, maybe we'll figure something
out in three years. The only concert and here that
I have is honestly like, I'm terrified for all those
takes I had about a Roman Dunsay a few weeks
and a month ago, because not look what Andrew says,

(31:10):
like Ben Johnson's coming into a team where the people
that are only his people are the ones he drafted
or signed or maybe did nothing with, like DeAndre swift
like big winner, but we're still like, let's chill out,
like he's a winner, but let's not go crazy. I'm
just kind of tying this into the conversation to say,
like somebody has to take the blows here, and I
think we're all saying it's cole kmment and there could

(31:31):
be a lot of two tight end sets, which is
where I'm going with this as his rookie season. There
could be two tight end sets. Well, that means Roma Dunes,
say DJ Moore, somebody or even Luthor Burden not being
a thing until next year, and I'm a Luther Burd
and guy like somebody's taking the hits. So this is actually,
I think worrisome as a whole, as much as that

(31:51):
I can be like, hey, I'm Ann Lovedin. I think
he's a top ten tight end in twenty twenty six
one hundred percent. But I just wanted to include that
into the conversation because Andrew brought up up that breakout
season for Kayleb Williams. But what I would say is like,
when you have situations like this, buy the cake, not
the icing, the icing, beting the pieces. Buy the cake.
And Caleb Williams just take the equation out of it
and say, I get Kayleb Williams. I'm going to enjoy

(32:13):
that breakout season instead of trying to pick is it
going to be more dunes they are burning and maybe
it's just a mishmash of all three for the entire season.

Speaker 2 (32:20):
Yeah, I strongly agree with that.

Speaker 1 (32:22):
I will be investing heavily in a lot of these
quarterbacks who have kind of crowded pass catcher rooms.

Speaker 2 (32:28):
Now, just just get the.

Speaker 1 (32:29):
Quarterback and then you don't have to worry about where
the ball's going as long as it's caught. All right,
who's your first dynasty hole long term investment, Jake.

Speaker 4 (32:37):
Yeah, let's go back to Ben Johnson's old team and
Isaac not the car. It's testslaw, not Tesla, just so
everybody out there knows. It's actually the harder pronunciations on
the second part. It's testslaw, so teslaw. Now with the Lions,
we saw the rumors that kind of got squashed to
a degree about Jamison Williams potentially being up for a

(32:57):
trade and that just the Lion's kind of like on
him and it got squashed. But they kind of squashed
it in a way of like well, it's not happening
now that there's still the possibility that James and Williams
doesn't come back in free agency, and we are talking
about the Lions, and we're talking about yet now it's
no Ben Johnson, but they're not going to change so much.
So the fact that I kind of drew some comparisons

(33:18):
from Tesla to Darnell Mooney and al Seon Jeffery kind
of mixture. The reason I went with al Seon Jeffrey
to pull into moonies because I don't think he's quite
as fast as Mooney, but kind of that big play
can play big, slot, can play outside, and the opportunity
here is kind of similar to lovelym is like they
made this draft pick. It wasn't super high, but it
was enough enough of a draft pick cost to say, hey,

(33:41):
they see something with him, and they see potential two
for him. Worst case, he's the wide receiver three on
this team, and of course in fantasy that would hurt us.
But if he was the number two wide receiver for
them next year with Jared Golf in this offense, I
think Tesla can be wide receiver three or four. It
would be inconsistent. Just like I would have brought up
with Jayden Higgins before, but I like the landing spot

(34:01):
for the potential on what happens with the roster potentially
for twenty twenty six.

Speaker 1 (34:06):
One thing I want to keep in mind when thinking
about Tesla is I don't want to punish him as
a future fantasy asset for the fact that I think
the Lions overpaid so much giving two thirds to move
up to get him, Like, yes, I think that's telling too,
but it does say something about what they think about
this guy. Even if I thought it was bad process,

(34:28):
and I don't want to say, like, oh, because I
thought it was a bad use of resources in the
NFL draft, that means he's a bad player to invest
in fantasy. Those are not equivalent. I want to like
remind myself of that when looking at him. Ericson what's
your kind of approach to Tesla in let's say dynasty
drafts in general this year?

Speaker 3 (34:45):
To be honest, I don't love going after this type
of player wide receivers that end up going rounds three,
runs four. These guys, again, I've talked about this certain player.
Whenever I reference these kinds of guys, it's Cedric Tillman, right, Like,
what's the difference between this guy and Cedric Tillman. I'm
not saying Cedric Tillman specifically, but he has a couple
of spike weeks here and there. Can you ever flip

(35:07):
him for anything? Is he going to be a top
twelve Fantasy, top twenty four fantasy wide receiver. I don't know.
I'm very skeptical that that's ever going to happen for Tesla.
So for me, it's.

Speaker 4 (35:18):
Gonna happen from very many wide receivers in this draft class.

Speaker 3 (35:21):
I agree, and that's for me. My strategy is give
me running back, give me another running back once we're
out of the first two rounds. For these receivers, very
sure is a wide receiver show I ask you by strategy,
but this is this type of receiver, And I said,
I want a running back instead, Like that's my approach.

Speaker 4 (35:36):
Okay, No, that's no, that's certainly fair. I'm just I'm
just having fun with you. But like, we had to
find wide receivers that are worth holding, and I think
that in the rate, like let's be honest, like late second,
early third in dynasty drafts like that point, how many
of those picks do you hit on anyway. So that's
why I'm like, I'm saying I'll hold them. You're maybe right,
Cedric Tillman at this point. I mean, honestly, that has

(35:59):
a completely bar the fact that the Deon Johnson. I
would just go till much for free now because nobody
wants him now, and I don't. I'm not that worried
about Deontay Johnson. My point being in this is that
maybe in three years you hold him on your bench
and you just move on. He's the guy you cut
as you staff to make rookie picks. But for that cost,
I'm willing to take the chance on his landing spot
that hey, maybe Jamison Williams is not back next year.

Speaker 3 (36:20):
Yeah, yeah, I think that's a good point to the
Jamison Williams thing, Like if he does get dealt, then
you could then just flip Tesla.

Speaker 4 (36:26):
We're just not sign he's been around long enough that
he's going to be a free agent. That's insane.

Speaker 1 (36:34):
Ericson, let's go to your next one, and we can
go pretty quickly on this, because I think it's gonna
check a out of the same boxes as your first
dine to hold long term investment.

Speaker 3 (36:41):
Yeah, because it's Luthor Burden, whide receiver for the Chicago Bears,
who get him as a surprising landing spot. I don't
think a lot of people were pegging the Bears to
go out draft a receiver this high again for the
second straight year, but they took Luther Burden. And the
first comes out of Ben Johnson's mouth when he talks
about Luther Burden. They asked him, but what do you
think about Luther? And he said stud So it's the
first thing that came out of his mouth. Actually, the
coach speaks next tweeted out, so he's a playmaker waiting

(37:02):
to happen. For six foot two hundred plus pounds, it's
better to see someone with his movement skills could stop
at a dime and immediately accelerate. Give him a little
bit of space. He can make big things happen. A
dangerous player and weapon. I see big things in his future.
So going back to Ben Johnson having his hands on
this offense, what if he just decides like, no, I
want Luthor Bird to be my primary slot receiver in
a hybrid Arman Ross, Saint Brown, Jamison Williams Mold where

(37:25):
even last year. You remember when it started getting Jamison
Williams more schemed touches and every time he touched the
ball look like he was gonna break in half because
he's a much smaller when you compare him to Luthor Burden,
He's Jamison Williams is a much more slender than a
Luthor burn More. Luther Burdon is more rapped up, six
foot two hundred pounds and one of the things that
he did best at Missouri was just breaking tackles like

(37:46):
an insane force miss tackle rate at thirty five percent.
So clearly Ben Johnson sees the upside with a Luthor
Burden player. And I know that he has a lot
of issues in terms of how does he run roundes
is he uses a downfield threat. But if Ben Jonson
and decides, well I want to feature this guy and
get him scheme touches seven to eight per week, well
then that's going to score us fantasy points in Right now,

(38:06):
he's kind of being I think written off because well TJ.
Moore and Romans are there. Those guys are locked and loaded,
and maybe they are, but what if they're not, And
Luther Burden is the future that Ben Johnson wants in
his offense to build around. So that's something I'm trying
to keep in mind. And look, I look at Luther
Burn my rankings, I think every single day, and I'm
not sure I should move them up and move them
down because I get all the arguments for him, but

(38:27):
I think that I'm seeing him fall more in rookie
drafts where I'm now more open to potentially taking a
shot on him just because well, Ben Jenson likes this guy,
Well maybe I should too. He's the coach, he's the
offensive play caller, and Burden has upside that we saw
his sophomore year when he was an absolute monster at Missouri.
So Luther Burn for me, I think the Bears are
just a very polarizing team in general. We're looking at
it from a long term perspective.

Speaker 2 (38:48):
Just very quickly, Erickson, how are you ranking?

Speaker 1 (38:50):
Because I see these guys go together in a lot
of rookie drafts, Luther Burd and Matthew Golden and nimekeg Buka.

Speaker 3 (38:55):
So I have Agbuka first and I feel most confident
about that just I feel like he's going to be
a guy that's going to catch one hundred balls every
single year when he's a starter, Like, I don't care
if it doesn't happen this year, but it's gonna happen eventually.
I think he's I mean, he.

Speaker 1 (39:07):
Could have been chosen here as a dynasty hold long
some investment given the situation he's into.

Speaker 4 (39:11):
That's fair.

Speaker 3 (39:11):
Yes, yes, I was contemplating putting him here.

Speaker 4 (39:14):
I forgot that I lay up.

Speaker 3 (39:15):
So that's exactly it was, like multiple commenter Evans goes
like this guy is gonna just absolutely smash. But I
felt like the Bears is just don't be dialed into lockted.
It has to be djmore, has to be Roma Doonzay
because Ben Johnson didn't draft those guys carry overs from
the last regime. You know.

Speaker 4 (39:30):
That's the dudes concern is that, like the donsay not
getting the work out of the slot now like that
that's that's so uh. To kind of answer your question
that he asked him where, I mean, just to move
on quickly, because there's a lot of agreement here, Like
I actually got Buca Higgins Golden Burden, but if you
told me ceiling Burden was in my tier one of
wide receivers with McMillan the Hunter, those were my three,

(39:53):
and I am a huge fan of Burden, Like I
think his ceiling is top fifteen in fantasy and everything
Eric's is saying is the point here is that Ben
Johnson could just be like that was the one I drafted.
The other two guys are fine to be my number
two and number three, Like this is a potential real
Like one of my biggest sliders down in uh post
draft rankings was a Doonsay. I had a Donsay push

(40:14):
in top twenty, figuring he's gonna be number two, and
now like, I think there's a serious risk that he's
not even the number two on this team.

Speaker 1 (40:21):
Yeah, that's interesting that you have Higgins kind of in
there too. I think he's going later than the other three.

Speaker 4 (40:27):
In the rookie drafts, I got one of the highest
on Higgins.

Speaker 3 (40:30):
Yeah, I have Higgins. I move Higgins up to four,
so I have him ahead of Burden and Golden. I'm
sold on and I had and I don't think Jake
o't if you have ranked this way. But I put
burd in one spot ahead of Golden because of the upside,
because I have him.

Speaker 4 (40:45):
Upside, but they're I just it's the uncertainty versus and
there's not that much uncertainty. We don't even have Golden
on our lists, but that I think that Golden steps
in is the one or two, but that's not a
guarantee either with them. I thought to reference a tweet
you said more myself. One of the best ones is
the Packers. I don't need number ones. I just draft
fifteen wide receiver twos, like just that's all they do.

(41:07):
So that's a perfect example.

Speaker 3 (41:09):
And the fact that Matthew Golden's wearing twenty two, Oh god,
I had to just I had to move him down
the ranks.

Speaker 1 (41:15):
You should have dropped him about twenty two spots in
your rankings for that brutal oh terrible. Yeah, I think
it's I think Burden is one of the most fascinating
players in drafts right now. So I had to make
a decision between him and Abuka, and I went with
a Guka.

Speaker 2 (41:29):
But I was like kind of toying with the idea
of like, man, I do love.

Speaker 3 (41:32):
You made the call, do just lock in, dude, he's
gonna be I was.

Speaker 1 (41:35):
Like, the answer is a Guka, But like, boy would
was I enamored with Burden at one point? All right, Jake,
You've got a tight end here for your long term investment.

Speaker 4 (41:43):
I do, but I also I want to caution people
at the same time, because everybody wanted this team to
draft the tight end there, get a tight end, get
a tight end, get a tight end, get it tight end.
And then I'm like, that's cool, and Ronda Gadson ended
up in a good, potential long term opportunity. Who's in
front of him? Will Disley entire conklin If one of
those guys wasn't even on the roster week one, I
wouldn't shock me. It's a bunch of dudes. Talk about twos.

(42:05):
This is a bunch of tight end twos on the Chargers. However,
this is what I keep saying, What did they do
in the draft? First they drafted Hampton after signing Harris,
and then we're not gonna have the conversation Hampton versus Harris.
That's a whole nother show when we talk running backs.
But my point being is it's horriball. This is a
run heavy offense, So let's just chill a little bit

(42:26):
on Justin Herbert in the passing offense. When they also
drafted Trey Harris to get probably finally their answer to
be the downfield threat that's not Quinton Johnson and all
the other slubs. But you're looking at this as is
Lad McConkey, Trey Harris would be my two, and then
potentially Gadson next year after you factor in how much
was running back heavy. So I like Gadson. I think
he's a definitive hold if you need a tight end,

(42:47):
tight end premium even better. I think there's I compared
him to Kellen Winslow junior, like serious sum upside with him. However,
as excited as I can be for the landing spot
in the opportunity, I still wouldn't draft him mid early
second round in Dinas Street draft. I think that if
that's his cost, because everybody's excited, there's one of those
ones where everybody's excited about it, everybody likes the prospect,
everybody locks the opportunity where it might overvalue his draft position.

(43:11):
So I like him, but I just want to throw
that out too that don't do don't throw too crazy
on Gadson. K.

Speaker 2 (43:16):
So what do you think about Gadston?

Speaker 3 (43:17):
I mean, he's one of these tight ends where we
know what is he gonna do when he gets on
the fields catchball like like, that's going to be clearly
that's what his role is and that's what the Chargers
envision him doing. He's not going to be a player
again as a kind of slot wide receiver tight in hybrid.
A lot of times these guys fizzle out and because
they can't find you know, what role fits them best.
But that's the reason why the Chargers drafted him on
Day three, and it's why you shouldn't overvalue him in drafts.

(43:39):
Like Jake said, but hey, take a stab on him.
See how he does his rookie year. Oh he splashes.
Maybe he has a chigacon Quo esque rookie year where
he gains value and then you can just flip them
because then the Charger lose their minds exactly like he
breaks up an eighty r touchdown because he's fast on
all the linebackers and you can just flip them for
for value the next year when the Chargers decide to
draft a real tight end in twenty twenty six. So

(43:59):
that that's the move I would make. So I like
this call here.

Speaker 1 (44:03):
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Speaker 2 (44:24):
We've got four names left. It's the late round sleepers.

Speaker 1 (44:26):
Deep league stashes will go a little quicker on these
because again, they are later round guys, so I don't
need to spend as much time here.

Speaker 2 (44:33):
Ericson who you got to start us off?

Speaker 3 (44:35):
Elick au man Or for the Tennessee Titans wide receiver
that they drafted at the end of the fourth round.
I think that he has an opportunity to earn targets
in this Titans passing game. They have Calvin Ridley. He
is kind of that one established guy in this offense.
They signed veteran Tyler Lockett. It remains to be seen
when he's got left in the tank. He was total
dust last year, so are you man Or? Even though
he wasn't the first receiver that the Titans drafted. I

(44:58):
am taking him ten times out of over Chim ray DK.
I want no part at Chim ray DKA. Like I you,
man Or was someone that I flagged as a rookie
sleeper to target in fantasy drafts. I'm actually surprised that
he fell almost into round five entirely that the Titans
got a really good value with him, and I think
that he's his best football has yet to come. Like really,

(45:18):
he's only had two years where he's really been producing
at Stanford, and he's always been putting up numbers one
hundred and twenty five catches, nearly two thousand yards in
twelve touchdowns and two seasons at Stanford after redshirting his
first year. So he has one of the highest dominator
ratings in the class from the data that I looked
at thirty nine percent. And he's a big body, wide

(45:39):
receiver that can play that X role for cam Ward.
So is it possible cam Ward just doesn't fire and
this offense is terrible. Yeah, that's totally within the range
of outcomes. Then obviously I am Manner is going to
become nothing. But what if cam Ward elevates this offense
like a Jayden Daniels did his rookie year. Well, now
you're getting au man Or as a Day three pick that, Oh,
now we have actually something here. He's he's connecting with

(46:00):
this new quarterback and they grow together. I'm trying to
find that paring like who could be the next Stroud
and Dell type of quarterback rookie connection and I you
man Or to me stands out. And I think the
fact that Jim Ray Dka went before him, I think
it's sour people on I you man Or potentially, and
that it's hitting his draft stock and he's be going
later in rookie drafts. So again I talked about like
not liking the Cedric Tillman archetype of player, and of course,

(46:23):
like that's one of my comparisons for I Mannor. He
was my comp was actually Cedric Tillmans. So I'm basically
talking out about both sides of my mouth. Is that
is that the right?

Speaker 1 (46:31):
Uh?

Speaker 3 (46:31):
Where you say it talking on both sides of your mouth?

Speaker 4 (46:34):
Yeah?

Speaker 3 (46:35):
I know we did a show where I said the
version of that for you.

Speaker 2 (46:38):
I forget what you said wrong, but you did.

Speaker 1 (46:40):
I think you said, like, yeah, I'm talking out of
like the left side of my mouth or something.

Speaker 3 (46:43):
Like I'm talking about on either side of my eyes,
something along those lines. But if I were to take
a dip back into the Cedric Tillman pool of player,
it will be Elick I you man or because of
the opportunity, and I just liked his college prospect profile.

Speaker 1 (46:58):
Uh, Jake, I want to go quickly in this section,
but this is the one guy that I did want
to follow up on because I thought he could have
gone higher than he did in the draft.

Speaker 2 (47:04):
Where are your quick thoughts?

Speaker 4 (47:05):
In a you manner, I'm gonna try and talk there.
You go like I'm talking, I have a middle part
of my mouth. Look, I don't disagree with much of
what you know what was said here. My concern is
because of the draft capital. So my concern about a
Manor was that I'm not sure he has the speed
like the one that my knock for him was his speed.

(47:27):
He doesn't stack DB's well like and for everybody knows
what I'm talking about there, he also doesn't continue his
speed too well out of breaks, and I'm like looking
at that, like okay, but he had some really great performances. Obviously,
everybody knows the game against Travis Hunter has been said
a million times, So Kenny succeeded. He was in my
tier three of wide receivers. That's two tiers in front
of DK. But I watched what the Titans did, and

(47:49):
my confer DK was kind of like that Marteves Bryant
speed deep threat. I just don't know that maybe that's
what they prefer. You know, this is the team that
brought in Van Jefferson and tried to still make him
a thing, and they're kind of you know, they have
Tyra Locke as their slot wide receiver now. But like
you know, looking at the future and with cam Ward,
I could see both hitting. I could see that if

(48:10):
one was going to flam out faster, I actually think
it might be a au Manner if I'm correct about
my concerns. So again it's a tier three wide receiver.
I have him two tiers over DK. I would have
taken au Manner over DK, but because of what happened
with their draft, I just have legitimate concerns. That being said,
we are talking flyers, we are talking about stashes at
this point. I would absolutely stash honestly both if I could.

(48:33):
I just the Tillman comp is actually a good one too,
Like I thought some I'm like, like Michael Gallup, like
I can kind of see that, but I think like
even Michael Gallup had even better stacking ability than au
Manner does. So just concerns of that his type of
wide receiver doesn't hit in the NFL as much as
it used to.

Speaker 2 (48:49):
Let's go to the next sleeper here, Jake.

Speaker 4 (48:51):
Oh yeah, so I'm gonna go to Seattle, and I
don't think a lot of people are looking at but
Tory Hunter or Toy Hunter.

Speaker 6 (48:57):
That would be interesting bring over. Remember that twins that
outfielder passes. Yeah, he can catch a lot of all,
so Toy Horton. So I actually think that.

Speaker 4 (49:10):
So what I said for him is this is what
we all wanted Chase Claypool to be and he wasn't.
So I'm bringing that up to say, like that's also
the downside of him is that big guy who has
the speed. Uh I kind of the UNC guy that
the Ravens is drafted and Devonte's Walker similar. He's at
best for us in fantasy would be that boom er
bust wide receiver four, not even a wide receiver three.

(49:32):
He's gonna be that guy that like man he had
a huge game. Now it's an aguilar on this team,
although I don't think he's completely announce an aguilar, but
that kind of wide receiver. It's like you end up
with fifty catches, but it's eight nine hundred yards and
eight or nine touchdowns. I think that's what Horton could be.
And I think for looking at what the Seahawks are
kind of moving towards and the fact that like they're
shifting there. You know, they traded DK Metcalf and this roster. Now,

(49:54):
I think there's an opening for Horton maybe in year two,
probably more year three, but this is again, at least
they're deep. You're taking flyers in round three or four, Like,
who's somebody worth doing that with. I think Horton's a
fine sleeper. Although Erickson's smirking. I don't know if this
is good or bad the smirk over here.

Speaker 3 (50:11):
No, I love the Tory Horton call because I'm gonna
be emptying the clip better than Tory Hunter could. Cooper
Cup gets hurt again in week three, Tory Hurt is
gonna be stepping in and having a map. Yeah, I
love this. I love his call. Eric, Let's go to
your next sleeper sticking with the Tennessee Titans. Undraft. My
only undrafted guy I'm going to talk about Xavier Ristreppo.
I was the one I was teasing at the beginning

(50:32):
Miami and look, maybe his agent was playing forty chess
when he told him to run his forty yard dash
with the injured handstring. So we'd run a four to
nine and go undrafted. But because he went undrafted, he
was able to sign with the Tennessee Titans, which gives him,
in my opinion, one of the best landing spots for
an undrafted free agent because he's with his former college
quarterback cam Ward. If there's any player that's gonna be

(50:55):
going to bat for Xavier Ristreppo, it's the guy that
is the future franchise of the Tennessee Titans and cam Ward,
so Restreppo dominant the last two years producing at Miami.
I think he's got a really stocky built He's not
a small slot receiver like he's bit two hundred and
nine pounds like. It's stocky built, so I think that
he can take some hits over the middle. Again, the
speed is the big concern, even though I think that

(51:16):
his forty yard dash is more about the fact that
he wasn't healthy and his agents like, oh, let's go
run this forty yard dash, and he was hurt and
it absolutely nuked his draft stock. But we look at
his speed of the NFL Combine eight fastest speed in
the Gauntlet trill, So I don't think that this guy
is so slow that he can't produce to the NFL.
And if he is, then he's gonna get cut from
the Titans and then you can just get rid of
him off your roster. So when we're looking at players

(51:38):
that take that dart throw on with your last rookie
draft pick, I like Restreppo because if he can't make
with the Titans, he's not megan with anybody, right, So
it's just really easy to cut bait with him and
move on. Whereas, oh, he made the roster, like oh,
he's starting in three receiver sets from the slot, Like oh,
Tyler Lockett's missing practice with a veteran rest day. He's
getting the reps in and he knows his quarterback. So

(51:59):
I think from Rostreppo been talking about. Don't love a
lot of the receivers getting late in this class. But
Rastreppo for me, just because he's free and cam Warden
is the quarterback. I think that he's the perfect gut
to go after.

Speaker 2 (52:10):
I like Ristreppo a lot too.

Speaker 1 (52:11):
Actually, we did a five round superflex rookie mock with me,
Fitz and Bogman. We taped it yesterday and we get
we got to a certain point in the fifth round
where it's just like, I don't really love anybody here.
I liked Kastrepo as the prospect that there's an opportunity,
so sure, I.

Speaker 2 (52:28):
Don't care that he went undrafted. I'm right there with
the ericson.

Speaker 4 (52:31):
There's another wide receiver who is his size that was
wide receiver for with the right team for quite a
while as the number three option. I brought Tyler Boyd
in the pre draft and now not one hundred percent
the same kind of wide receiver, but the consistency, fancy
production wise of him or like. And I'm saying this
because I want to say the name of Jameson Crowder,
so I did my mashup for him was Boyd Crowder.
If anybody's a justified fan, you love that. And this

(52:53):
is why we're hoping for Rostreppo is because now I
can talk about Boyd Crowder. But the truth is is
that's why I didn't want to lean into that when
we were talking about your previous one with a a manor.
But if I had to do a pecking order today,
and this is the one I'm struggling with because I
did have Rastreppo over both, And if I was doing
a pecking order who I think succeeds in the NFL,
I would actually go Rastreppo and then the other two,

(53:15):
and I am Manner and DK. So the fact that
he went undrafted, I hope that you're kind of your
joke is right, that like there's something here and they
just ignore the running because it was just he wasn't
that slow. You watch him play, He's not that slow,
but he isn't fast either. So I just hope that
he sticks. But I think that he might be capped
in that wide receiver four for us in fantasy, even

(53:36):
if he does hit.

Speaker 2 (53:37):
Jake, who's the last sleeper I'm.

Speaker 4 (53:40):
Going to You know, we brought up Cooper cuppaready, let's
go to his old team, Cannon a Mumfield. Actually, this
comparison I said for him was sterling shepherd and really
dangerous after the catch not the fastest as well, similar
to we're talking about Rostreppo. But once he has the
ball in his hand, Mullfield after the catch looks really good,
looks like somebody who can see see it in the
NFL and that aspect. And the reason I love this

(54:02):
too is because, oh, a wide receiver who isn't that
fast going to the Rams great after the catch. That's
just their guys. So the fact that the Rams drafted
can out of Mumpfield, and yes, I don't think he's
going to get much of anything behind Nikua and Adams,
but oh, by the way, Nikoua, at this point, are
we heading towards the man? What could his career have

(54:23):
been if he could stay healthy or even Adams at
this point in his career, similar to the Horton situation,
one injury away. I think if you look at this
depth chart, it's not too too at well, it's not
the other answers on this team that Mumpfield could find
his way into starting as a rookie. And I'm not
going to say like, oh, you have to go get him,
but there's a path on this depth chart now to
be starting with just an injury or maybe even two

(54:45):
if it takes it.

Speaker 2 (54:46):
Ericson any quick thoughts.

Speaker 3 (54:48):
I don't always draft receivers that go around seven, but
when I do, they're on the rams. So all right,
we'll get out of here.

Speaker 1 (54:56):
And that that was our must draft wide receivers and
tight end this easy and be sure to keep an
eye out for our next episode where the three of
us will be talking about the same thing for the
running backs.

Speaker 4 (55:06):
And which we're about to do, which is why we're
wearing the same stuff on that show.

Speaker 3 (55:10):
No clar guys will want to get changed.

Speaker 1 (55:13):
Why not, Brandy go Erickson's prepared all right for Jack
and ericson I'm Ryan.

Speaker 2 (55:19):
Thanks everybody for tuning in. We'll see you next time.

Speaker 1 (55:21):
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 or on Spotify.
Follow us on x, Instagram and TikTok at Fantasy Pros,
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MUST-DRAFT Wide Receiver & Tight End Rookies | Impact Players, Dynasty Holds + Late-Round Sleepers (Ep. 1565)

Episode Transcript

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}MUST-DRAFT Wide Receiver & Tight End Rookies | Impact Players, Dynasty Holds + Late-Round Sleepers (Ep. 1565)