RISK VS. REWARD | Should You Draft or Pass on These 12 High-Upside Sleepers? (Ep. 1568) - FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
What's up, friends that welcome in too, Fantasy Pros in FL.
It is the Fantasy Football podcast. I am Chris Welsh
and I got a great show for you today. We
are talking about twelve high upside sleepers draft or paths.
We are going to figure out which side these guys
are taking and where you should go. And these fine
gentlemen joining me today. I have the one and only

(00:22):
Andrew Erickson, the Undertaker, my in season partner. Pretty much,
we're like on a bunch of shows together. And the
first time I've gotten to spend some time Lakewan Jones
from NFL Network. Lake Wan, great to have you on
the show, my friend. How are you?

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Absolutely? Man? Look, it's early over here, but I've been
up for a while, but I'm ready to talk to
some ball man.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Yeah, and not first time on Fantasy Pros, just first time.
Oh amazing, amazing too. Yeah, and amazing too, like the
circles of like what I've done with Joey p forever
that you and I have never really crossed paths. So
it's good to have you on ericson. Are you ready
to draft or pass some of these players?

Speaker 3 (00:55):
One hundred percent? I'm excited about some of these names
that you put on this list, I know is a
collaborative effort. John was putting some names in, You were
putting some names, and we were going back last night
trying to figure out which upside sleepers we need to
make sure that we hit on for today's show. So
very excited, especially with our special guest on.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
That's right, it's going to be amazing. And just so
you guys know, any of the names that are stinky
and you don't like that, was our boss who put
that on. Any of the great names and great debates here,
clearly was me that put that together. So just making
that clear so everybody knows. All right, let's jump into it.
We're going to start with quarterbacks. Draft or pass. This
high upside sleeper currently Fantasy Pros quarterback thirteen. It's been

(01:34):
a lot of conversation all off season long, justin fields,
justin fields with the New York Jets. Really interesting too,
you know, looking at overall finishes on the year. We
had some top ten finishes last year. He's going in
with a bunch of great weapons, but there's still a
discussion of like how high can he go? Some believing
it is going to be vaulting up into a QB one.

(01:55):
He is outside a QB one in the top twelve.
Lakewon let's start with you draft or pass on Justin Fields.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
I'm gonna be drafting and I say that because we
draft him because his best weapon is his legs. Like,
I'm not gonna be the guy that's arguing in the
fantasy streets on the timeline about, oh, he's a good passer,
he could do this the deep. I don't care anymore
because at the end of the day, we know he
is a rusher and he has that upside to have
that ceiling as a top five quarterback, and it's just
based on what he could do on the ground. You

(02:23):
look at the Jets move this offseason. They added to
the trenches. He's back with Garrett Wilson. He had that
connection he had in college, so therefore there's some familiarity there.
Then you get Mason Taylor, which was a really good
pick for honestly, because everybody's saying he's gonna get Tyler
Warren and all this other stuff. But you get a
really good tight end that has the football IQ. I mean,
Jason Taylor's his father. I mean, honestly, the guy knows ball.
That's all he knows. So you look at a guy

(02:44):
that can be a security blanket that just knows where
to be on the field, and that's what justin fields need.
He need a security blanket, need the one how he
treated Dj Moore. But honestly, I could say Garrett Wilson's
the best wide receiver he's had, and with this development
into his career right now. He got cut short with
the Steelers and we were seeing all the upside that
we were liking from him as a quarterback. But I'm

(03:05):
just going to take the chances on him being that
you have Tanner or Strange heavily was leaned on by
Ben Johnson when he was over there in Detroit. So
we get in some creative offense out of the Jets,
which is not something that we've seen in a very
long time. So someone that's been in house in Detroit
that knows how to operate an offense, a high power offense,
I really feel optimistic about this Jets offense in twenty

(03:25):
twenty five, and.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
That upside that you were talking about. In the first
six games last year, he had three top twelve finishes
at QB of those six games and then it kind
of fell apart at the end. And I also like
what you said too that we're not going to try
to pretend and start to be like, all right, well,
Justin Fields could be this really great passwords, Like we
know he does a lot with his legs, He's got
some incredible running backs, one of which we're going to

(03:47):
talk about in a little bit, and you've got a
great receiving course. So the upside is there, but it's
really going to be about like is it worth it?
So ericson draft or pass on Justin Fields for you
this year.

Speaker 3 (03:58):
I'm also co signing herefting Justin Fields. I think that
he should be ranked inside the top ten fantasy quarterbacks.
That's where I have him ranked. So getting him outside
the top twelve I think is a great value. Talked
about what he did last year when the Steelers weren't
really unleashing him. He was QB six overall, QB seven
points per game, fourth and fantasy points per dropback. And

(04:18):
why is that? Because of the rushing that he adds
with his legs and the value that he adds. So
Aaron Glenn, the new Jets head coach, he's seen Justin
Fields in action against his Lions defense. Five times he
was with the Bears facing the Lions one hundred plus
rushing yards in three of those contests. So Aaron Glenn's
no dummy, like he knows, Hey, I'm gonna utilize Justin
Fields to the highest level, and that means we need

(04:40):
to use his legs. So yes, unless the price gets
out of control of the fields where it becomes an
Anthony Richardson conversation where we're just we're hyper focused on
the upside and not about Okay, well what if he
fails as a passer, like this is an issue. But
that's not the case with Justin Fields because he's been
around for so long. I think that his price will
stay relatively in this range and be someone that I'm
gonna be drafting a lot of.

Speaker 1 (05:02):
What a perfect transition when we go to number two
with our last quarterback. How about that quarterback that was
he's five on the list with a big question, Well,
he's not five this year. Anthony Richardson is the second
player that we're going to talk about. He is all
the way down at QB twenty six on the Fantasy
Pros list. And it's kind of crazy too because there's
some still similarities of what's going on in his game

(05:24):
versus what you see with justin Fields. The pluses, he
did finish the season four of his last five games
top fifteen QB finishes, which is pretty solid. The negatives,
they're pretty in our face. They are definitely in our
face of what those negatives are. But he has spent
the off season trying to work on being a little
bit more of a pocket passer and trusting his arm

(05:45):
a little bit more. But we know he's now in
a competition, so this creates kind of a weird situation.
So Ericson, let's start with you on this one. This
is a much further down quarterback. The draft or passness
of it might make a little bit more sense because
there's a lot less of an equity and what you're
putting into him. But still, are you drafting or passing
on Anthony Richardson for this season.

Speaker 3 (06:06):
As the QB twenty six I am one hundred percent
drafting Anthony Richardson because this is not a big investment
that you have to make, and if he loses out
on the job, Daniel Jones, you just got him and
you move on. But if he hits if he gets
that starting role in the Colts offense, if the time
in the offseason where he's working with Chris hess the
guy who worked with Josh Allen, biomechanics expert that helped

(06:28):
Josh Allen improve his accuracy after the first couple of
years of his NFL career. Anthony Richardson is still super young.
He's twenty two years old. He's younger than km Ward,
who just got drafted number one overall. So Anthony Richardson
last year entered the start of the season with a
shoulder injury like he was rehabbing an injury. He's not
injured this offseason, so he has been full go Hey,

(06:49):
the coaches lit a candle under my butt because I
need to play better. I can't be tapping out. I
don't have that type of pedigree so far as an
unproven player in the NFL. So I think the upside
case is of that's why we were drafting so aggressively
last year. And I think all that upside is still there.
And oh, you add Tyler Warren to the offense. Maybe
having a checkdown option at the tightan position can help

(07:10):
Anthony Richardson develop In his third season, the guy just
needs reps. I think, honestly, one of the biggest things
with him is he's just been injured. Like that's been
one of the biggest things with him. He's missed more
than half of his games two years into the NFL,
fifteen games played thirty four games that he could have played.
So that's the other issue too with him is if
he gets hurt, well, then I think Daniel Jones could
win this job by default if he gets banged up.

(07:32):
So I still think that though at this price QB
twenty six, I'm still very much in on drafting Richardson one.

Speaker 1 (07:37):
Follow up on that real quick before we go to
Lake one. So okay, let's I think what you said
kind of lays out pretty good super flex you know,
two quarterbacks. He's his good second quarterback, probably no brainer. Upside,
you start comparing him to like, you know, like Bryce
Young is in there JJ McCarthy, like he could belong
in there with his legs. But let's lay out where
you say you're a buy in on him, and I
told you he had what was it, four of his

(07:58):
last five or four of us last six games last season.
We're top fifteen finishes if we put him up against
QB fifteen, who's Jordan Love? Is there even a discussion
for you because we can buy on him, but is
that by moving him up aboard or is it just
buying the upside of a low QB two And like
a super flex.

Speaker 3 (08:16):
I think in a superflex, I think I probac stuly
prefer him less in a super flex because the way
that he scores points. And this is kind of true
with a lot of mobile quarterbacks in the games where
they just don't run, then they leave a dutting your lineup,
and then you're immediately looking for alternative options. Like I
can't tell you how many time you did this last
year with Kyler right where he doesn't run for one
week and now all right, I gotta replace it with

(08:37):
somebody else, and then he runs the next week, like
he never had any consecutive games where he was a
strong producer. Now if that happens with Richardson, well then
you're running into more issues. So I think, especially in
super flex at that QB two spot, I almost prefer stability,
Like I know I'm gonna get from this guy every
single week. Athie Richardson. We don't know if he's gonna
start every single game. We don't know if he's gonna

(08:58):
finish every game every single Whereas in a one quarterback league,
I'm willing to be more aggressive with the ebbs and
flows because if it doesn't work out, while I can
go to the waiver wire and add another player, but
athink Richardson is in a super flex, doesn't my QB two.
He needs to be available for me all year long
or else I'm back to the waiver wire and I'm
playing really bad quarterbacks like Cleveland Brown's quarterbacks potentially in

(09:19):
my life instead of Richardson. So that's how I would
actually approach it, Welsh, when I'm looking at Richardson, I
think he's better in the one quarterback format. It's even
a best ball format where you don't have to worry
about what we started. You just capture all of the
upside and not as much as the downside, which I
think you're committed more in a super flex for.

Speaker 1 (09:36):
The phenomenal best ball option. Okay, so like when obviously
the question is going to be draft or pass, But
I'm also curious because your eyes kind of perked when
I when I threw and did the test of like, hey, well,
Jordan Love is QB fifteen on Fantasy pros ECR right now.
So if we like him, and you're saying, and even
to Erickson's saying, like we like him maybe more in
a single quarterback type of risk situation, what level are

(09:57):
you passing on Drake May Jordan Love? This down the
list is Love May Stroud Prescott, that's fifteen through eighteen.
Does that love and want of drafting of him push
him up to that level or are you just a
straight pass?

Speaker 2 (10:09):
I'm a straight pass and I say that because of
Daniel Jones' presence, and honestly, I think he left Minnesota
with the confidence that he could take the job. And
you don't make that decision other than the coaching staff
basically hyping your head up, like, hey, this job is
basically yours. And I say that because we would probably
see the turn very early if Anthony Richardson doesn't come

(10:29):
out that first month of football to be anything to
what the expectations are for him. And honestly, I feel
like Daniel Jones can do everything that Anthony Riches can do,
because in twenty twenty two, when we look at that season,
it was a top five deep passer. He had seven
hundred yards rushing. He finished as QB nine. Like we've
seen the ceiling of what Daniel Jones can be with
limited turnovers. He had five interceptions that year. So we're

(10:52):
looking at Daniel Jones as a guy. He suffered injury,
played six games that year, and then the Giants were
just god awful. That Old Lions just god awful. So
we see Daniel Jones on these last two seasons on
a complete decline, but more so that twenty two season happened.
That happened, we know what he can be and what
he can have that ceiling. So if you're looking for
a guy to kind of fit that mold of what

(11:12):
the Colts are trying to do on offense, it could
definitely be Daniel Jones to have more games on his belt,
rather than you have Anthony Richardson the project that we're
trying to see go out there to have a full
season productive. It just hasn't happened yet. So instead of
taking that risk on Anthony Richison, where I can honestly
see Daniel Jones being light years away from where Anthony

(11:32):
Richardson's going ADP by the time this summer comes around,
even with reports are saying Anthony richards getting a little
bit better in his technique he trained with Josh Allen overs.
I do not care about any of that because I
need Fantasy points right now. I'm not winning every single
week with just hopes and dreams and some type of
confidence I need right now in production, especially if I'm
going to be taking a risk on a guy that

(11:53):
we just seen two seasons in a row can't stay healthy.

Speaker 1 (11:57):
Quarterbacks in the books. Here for our draft PA, you
guys can drop in the comments below draft or pass
justin fields Anthony Richardson really want to see the Anthony
Richards inside because we did not have a unanimous decision.
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Speaker 1 (13:48):
Gentlemen, let's jump to some running backs. Now, this is
a very interesting name here, and I might I'm going
to open up the table to actually make this a
drafter pass either or because the name is Travis Eten.
We're gonna start with who is running back thirty six? So,
like right on the cusp of a flexed option running

(14:09):
back at thirty six. Poor Year didn't have the job
the entirety of the season. But the upside here we're
talking about upside is that, like if he were to
regain the job, the offense is starting to jam in again,
where obviously the two wide receivers are spreading the field.
There's so much upside, but Tank Bigsby. Tank Bigsby is
out there and he could end up being the guy.

(14:29):
There was a little bit of a time share that
takes more of that role, gets maybe more touchdown equity.
So obviously this is built around Travis Eten. But lake one,
let's start with you, I will allow a drafter pass
to either Tank Bigsby or Travis Etn. So what say
you on the Jags running back situation, you pass both.

Speaker 2 (14:48):
I'm not great one of them. Man, I'm not doing
it because we saw everything we need to see from
this running back duo last season, and honestly, each of
them ball security issues. They both have six fumbles in
both their careers. Right now. Efficiency level for Traves Etn
has dropped significantly since his rookie year. It's just going
lower and lower. It's embarrassing. It's at three point seven

(15:08):
yards per carry right now. So overall, just looking at
Bixby kind of fumbling his way out of that opportunity.
You look at pshol Tuoton, you look them late in drafts.
I mean when folks start coming outside, when these re
draft leaves come outside, they don't even know who Touton is.
They don't even know that he was the fastest running
back in this draft class. So you're looking at a
guy that is going to be a complete steal for you.
And we got to remember who's on the sticks. It's

(15:28):
Liam Cohen. And we have Rashad White over there in Tampa.
You know he was the guy, you know, he kind
of shared the backfield and Liam Cohen came in like
I need Bucky Irvin and everybody's like, oh, this guy's
small and no, no, no, no, no, listen. He wants
guys that are elusive. He needs guys that are going
to speed and have the size to candle that rock
to be able to take twenty touches the game, if
that has to be said. So, looking at these two

(15:51):
running backs, they kind of split the share last season
with fifty three percent that tank Bixby, and I really
feel like, more so looking at this backfield, you don't
want any parts of anything you saw in the past.
You want that new shiny toy.

Speaker 1 (16:02):
In this situation, I like the shiny toys. It's a
squirrel pup up up for me ericson. Let's make it simpler.
Travis Etn draft or pass, and then if you want
to pass, you can move on to Bigsby and you
can give us a draft pass, or you can just
get rid of both of them.

Speaker 3 (16:18):
As much as I have loved Travis Etn in the
past and gone to battle in the tank, Bigsby Travis
Etn wars for the last two seasons, I'm one and
one though, because it did not work out last year.
Worked out two years ago when ETN was a monster,
But we just really haven't seen that monster side of ETN,
and I think over a year and a half, really
the second half of twenty twenty three. He fell off.

(16:39):
Last year, the offense was a mess, he was banged up,
and like Kwant said, both running backs carved out fifty
to fifty time splits and it was just bad overall.
So I love Michelle Tuban. I loved him as a prospect,
loved him at the combine when I got to meet
him and talk to him. This guy's all ball so fast.
And then when I saw him get drafted by Jacksonville

(16:59):
in the fourth round, top the fourth round, I was
tug boat Baby, tug Boat two in season is ready
to go. And that's the guy that I've circled on.
Who I want from Jacksonville is this guy who again
I think it's slow hanging for you to say, who
could be this year's Bucky Irving. Well, clearly could be
Beachelle tune right, the same head coach combination, A day

(17:19):
three running back who's entering a backfield with guys that
are already there, but we're not super excited about I
think that the Rashad White Travis Etn comp is spawn on.
I think that maybe this could be a committee to
start where you have ETN working on passing downs and
because that's not really Tank Bigsby's expertise of anything that
you don't want to throw the ball to Tank Bigsby

(17:40):
and Trevor Lawrence to Travis, Etn go way back to Clemson, right,
So that's his guy. But until they find someone better,
which could be Beachelle Tuton, based on how explosive he
is in the open field, I think that's the value
I want to play with. And he's going to go
after ETN and Tank Bigsby, and I think even right now,
I don't know if the coaching staff with Leam Cohen
has even decided who is going to be their lead back.

(18:01):
I think we're just putting Etn Tank Bigsby there because well,
those were the guys last year. Bigsby had his flashes.
ETN was good two years ago. But I think we're
just gonna see, like Lakwan said, when people come out
of their caves and they see two in these highlights,
they're going to be Oh man, this guy's going to
continue to climb up draft boards and draft rankings. So yeah,

(18:22):
I think I'm going to pass on the top two
guys that were bad last year and just take the
shiny new toy. So I'm co signing with Lakwana as
a double pass on the ETN and Tank Bigsby.

Speaker 1 (18:31):
Oh, double pass RB thirty six for ETN Bigsby RB
thirty eight, tutin RB fifty. That is our draft, not
our pass. Yeah, let's speaking of rookie running backs. Let's
talk about the best. Uh, the most fun is not
the best, obviously, but the the one I'm most excited
to talk about because Fantasy Pros was littered with conversations

(18:51):
around this guy for draft season and cause lots of
fervor on these podcasts of where he was ranked. Thank you, Bogman.
But now we've got a spot Cam Skataboo who my
neck of the woods. By the way, Arizona Asu comes
in at RB thirty nine for the Giants, so we
don't have to speculate where he could be. We know
where he is and the situation is quite enticing. But

(19:13):
is it enough to take on some of the upside
risk that's going to end up happening as he starts
to move up and up in draft ranks, as people
are selling themselves on more workload. We know what the
positives are. We know there's some inefficiencies out there, but Ericson,
let's start with you, Cam Scataboo, rookie. All rookies tend
to move up as far as usage goes once preseason

(19:33):
starts up RB thirty nine. Right now, it's pretty doable
draft or pass at this current cost, and if it
even moves up a little bit.

Speaker 3 (19:40):
More, I'm one hundred percent drafting Cam Scataboo here in
this spot. I'm not sure how high I am for
him dynasty purposes, but for this year, I think that
he's set up really well just based on what we
have in the Giants backfield. Devin Singletary, we know is
a very replaceable level running back. He does enough, but
not enough to keep the job from other talented players
like last year and Tyrone Tracy. How many fumbles is

(20:03):
gonna take before they decide, Okay, we're just gonna get
Scataboo in the game. Because last year Tyron Tracy had
won the job and then he fumbled it away and
they went back to Devin Singletary. It's the same coaching
staff that did it last year, so if they did
it once, they can do it again. So I think
Skataboo again. Three down skill set, built like a truck,
two twenty pounds, five foot nine, stocky build, and something

(20:25):
I want to point out. He was drafted just three
slots short of going in round three, so if he
had been drafted on Day two, he basically would have
fit into a certain threshold of running backs to average
at least thirty receiving arts per game in their final
college season. Those running backs Sam Quon Barkley, David Johnson,
Joe Mixon, Antonio Gibson, Nagie Harris, Travis etn Sean White,
Zach Charboney, Jamier Gibbs, and Omarian Hampton guys that have

(20:48):
produced very early on in their NFL careers for fantasy
football purposes. So Kim's kataboo again. If the Giants had
just traded their fourth round pick instead of their third
round pick to the Texans, they could have drafted in
round three and then we would be looking at him.
His ADP would be even higher. But ah, No, he's
a Day Day three pick round four.

Speaker 2 (21:08):
Yeah two at well in the second round. What are
we still doing?

Speaker 3 (21:13):
Yeah? So drafting Scataboo, Yes, I am interesting too.

Speaker 1 (21:17):
On the ranks, we will have these tiers. You can
check it out over on Fantasy Pros. You can check
out all the redraft rankings, Dynasty rankings, whatever it is,
and half PPR the Tier four, big old collection of
running backs. But there's that's where a lot of the
rookies are. You've got Amaron Hampton who's kind of near
the top, You've got Caleib Johnson who's near the bottom,
and then you get into Tier five and that's roughly
like eleven running backs. It's just it's like the Etans

(21:39):
and the Bigsbies and then Kim's Catabou And actually, I'm
just looking at this, looks like Skataboo readjusted. He's now
thirty seven on the list, oh row and he's moving
up a little bit. But he's in this grouping of
just like you know, the Charbonnais and the Naje Harris
is just behind all these guys. There's a lot of
potential upside in there. Lake one, Kim's Kataboo Ericson kind
of brought up one interesting point where it's like when
will they that they want to give all those downs

(22:03):
to camp Scataboo. And I'm be curious, like in if
he's a draft or a pass how long is it
going to take for him to end up getting volume?
If he sees solid volume this year with that little
mini stable running backs that they have.

Speaker 2 (22:14):
It might be like towards I would say, towards the
fantasy playoffs. That's why you will be happy that you
drafted him. Because more so with Tyrone Tracy, like even
how he finished the season, you know, like he just
wasn't efficient on the ground those last six games. He
kind of fell off the planet, but he still was
able to find receiving work. Now you've got a guy
like Cam Scattaboo who could really do both, because look,

(22:35):
Tyrone Tracy used to be a wide receiver, but you
could kind of see him when he adjusted to being
a running back. He's still kind of learning on the job.
So there was times where it's just like, man, I mean, look,
this guy got forty yards you know on the ground.
I don't see that beginning any better. Because the Giants
are terrible and this is still a bad Giants team, Like,
don't get it messed up, Like this is still a
team that needs to score more points, and we have
yet to see that. So I don't know if there's

(22:56):
gonna be scoring opportunities for me to hold on and
be like, hey, Tyrone Tracy or camp scattabuo, you know
we're gonna have like these big RB two games where
I'm just drafting these guys hoping that they can fill
a spot with some of these bye weeks. But the
one thing that I find interesting is that Russell Wilson,
is he going to be the starter for the rest
of the season or at any point we're gonna see
Jackson Darra, at any point we're gonna see James Winston, which

(23:17):
I hope not. At least with Russell Wilson, we can
bank on him dumping it off to these running backs.
I mean, since twenty twenty two he has the highest
running back target share, so we already know that running
back that's going to be on the field for third
down or who's going to be on the field for
those early downs are going to get some opportunities in
that passing game. And that's what worries me a little
bit about how Tyrone Tracy isn't just going to go

(23:37):
away in camp Scattabu. He's going to be that nagging
guy that's going like, look, I'm in the game now,
don't get this guy back on the field because I'm
killing it.

Speaker 1 (23:45):
Do you think at all, just last thing on this,
do you think if the cost or maybe I should
ask you, what's the level of cost where this draft
becomes a little bit of a pass. Like I was
saying at the top, a lot of these rookies, as
you know, preseason goes on, we see a little bit volume,
We get major excitement, even when it's not warranted. Jonathan
Brooks really last year it didn't feel super warranted. He

(24:05):
came up and up and obviously that exploded in our face.
What's the level of cost? He's what is he RB
thirty seven right now? What's the number that makes you
say pass?

Speaker 2 (24:16):
So it's more so the rounds, Like my roster at
the running back position, at least how I've been drafting
recently in these Best Ball leagues is like my two
running back spots are already filled up by round five.
So therefore, if he starts creeping up into that round
six and five, and then we start getting that just
came outside. It's August Baby Reed drafts and he's in
that fourth round. Yeah, I'm completely out of those first

(24:39):
five rounds because you're taking a risk on a guy
on a bad offense that we still don't even know
how that running back rotation is going to be well.

Speaker 1 (24:47):
You guys can play around and figure out where you
like and where you don't like. Cam skataboo. With our
draft simulator, you can finish a full mock draft against
realistic opponents in minutes. There's no waiting for picks. You
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can test different strategies and see how your team grades instantly.
Try it now for free fantasypros dot Com slash mock.

(25:09):
That's Fantasypros dot Com slash mock. Experiment with all these
high buzzy upside players and what you like, which you
don't like, and see how Cam scataboo looks on that roster.
We've got some other running backs. Let's jump down to
former San Francisco forty nine, a running back we love
Jordan Mason. Now with the Minnesota Vikings, there's a lot
of buzz because how much can Aaron Jones hold up?

(25:30):
And how good have we seen Jordan Mason. He's RB forty.
He actually moved up a little bit from the time
that I'd put the sheet together going on the show.
As far as rank goes, nothing else, so RB forty.
Still it's we're looking at, you know, running backs outside
the top thirty six in this range, and you're playing upside,
so lack one, let's jump to you. Jordan Mason draft
or pass is a guy that doesn't have like this

(25:53):
solidified major role, but the equities relatively low.

Speaker 2 (25:57):
Drafter pass, I am drafting one hundred percent for a
couple of reasons. One, Jordan Mason's my guy. I feel
like I was the only guy in the Fancy Street
screaming his name in twenty twenty two. But I'm just
happy that he has arrived and the whole world caught
up that this dude is an absolute dog. This is
the biggest threat that Aaron Jones had to his production,
to his touches. This may be the last season, last
season that just passed that we see Aaron Jones with

(26:19):
three hundred touches. Because one, there's a couple of things
being that you know, I'm at the NFL network. He's
doing you know, the talent boot camp. Like he's like,
when you start seeing these guys start doing podcasts and
doing other things and starting to get media and get
on TV, you already know there's almost out the door.
So just seeing that this is the biggest threat that
he's had in his entire career. Going back to Green Bay,

(26:39):
AJ Dillon never a threat ty Chanlor. They tried to
sprinkle him in those first three weeks. You know, they
were splitting carries here and there, and then it was
just clear like ty Tanlor ain't that good. He's not
that guy. But you give Jordan Mason, you give him
ten touches, boy, you're gonna be like, how did he
just put up one hundred and twenty yards on those
ten touches, Because honestly, that's the type of running back
he is. He could run through you, he could jump
over you, he could bulldoze you, he can catch the ball.

(27:02):
He could do everything you need as a running back.
I think we're way too low on Jordan Mason and
the expectations that we have for this season.

Speaker 1 (27:09):
Ericson what do you think are we too low on it?
Draft or pass Jordan Mason. You know I love him
as a forty nine er fan. Hated to see him go.
You want to see him right, Oh, hardcore forty nine
er fans.

Speaker 2 (27:19):
I gotta go bro so oh Cowboys right no Ram
oh Rams Okay.

Speaker 1 (27:23):
I always assume that hate is going to come starting
at Cowboys. But Rams makes sense, Cardinals, Rams exactly ericson.
But what do you think though, drafter pass on Jordan Mason.

Speaker 3 (27:32):
Love Jordan Mason. I think that he's vastly undervalued outside
the top forty running backs. I have him RB thirty
three in my early rankings, and I think that m'kwan
did a great job outlining his expectation of Mason in
this offense. Why can't he be the one a to
Aaron Jones' one? Be the thing that they talked about
when they traded for Jordan Mason. What the Vikings coaches

(27:53):
and GM we're talking about. They were outlining how bad
Aaron Jones was at the goal line last year. And
I remember it because I kept putting my best touchdown
bets on Aaron Jones. The regression it's finally gonna hit
this week, and I think it was one game against
the Packers where he got I don't know, like ten
carries at the goal and it didn't score once because
they were trying to hit the revenge narrative. They wanted

(28:14):
him to score so bad that he could not find the
end zone. So he was the worst running back in
terms of rushing EPA. In terms of gold to goal situations,
Aaron Jones was last year. So when we're looking at
projecting roles, well, Jordan Mason, I think they view him. Okay,
how do we upgrade our red zone rushing attack with
Jordan Mason? And then you factor how good he was
before he got injured last year? Second and total rushing

(28:36):
arts before his injury in Week eight and overall in
the year, fourth yards over expected per attempt, seventh and
rushing yards after contact last season. So although his numbers
also weren't nice and Welsh correct if I'm wrong, the
forty nine ers had a bunch of red zone issues
last year too, so Jordan Mason his numbers in the
red zone don't pop off last year as well, but

(28:57):
they were still better than Aaron Jones. And what of
the Vikings done this offseason. They've just bolstered the terior
offensive line Ryan Kelly, will Fries Donovan Jackson in the
NFL draft. So they're telling us they're setting the signal
out with JJ McCarthy as he comes back from this
knee injury. We're gonna pound the rock with Jordan Mason
Aaron Jones. I won't be surprised if they're seeing very

(29:17):
similar carry totals. Maybe Jones works more in the passing game,
but at the goal line, I think it's going to
be more Jordan Mason. So I think that he is
a great pick here and definitely undervalue him, definitely drafting him.

Speaker 1 (29:28):
An interesting thing to do would be also to sparse out, like,
let's say Jordan Mason's first four or five games when
he was kind of the sole back when McCaffrey was out.
Because as the season went on, Niners used a little
bit more grendo. You know, you saw your games of Debo,
but like early on, like Mason looked like a league winner,
you know, So like if you were to sparse out
what the goal line usage was in that early on set,

(29:49):
I think you might even get like a bigger perspective
of like how good he can be and hopefully he
will be one more running back and we've kind of
alluded with this team, we don't need to make this
like a dual RB situation. But there is a running
back potential problem with the New York Jets because it
doesn't look like it's going to be just brace Hall,
and there were trade rumors that were going out there.

(30:09):
Obviously Fields is going to take some equity around, but
also it opens up this opportunity that at this point
doesn't look like it'll happen, but like if Briece were
to be traded, Braylan Allen would jump into this like
really phenomenal situation. But also that they want to use
more of a committee, it opens up some more red
zone opportunities. So Braylan Allen Fantasy pros RB fifty two

(30:30):
currently on the list. Ericson what say you draft or
pass very late Braylan Allen for your fantasy team.

Speaker 3 (30:38):
I think you've got a draft Braylan Allen because I
would not be surprised if he carves out a big
role alongside Brece Hall. We've heard it all offseason since
Aaron Glenn showed up in New York that yeah, I
want to use a one, two three punch with running
backs that we have on the roster. He comes from
the Detroit Lions that obviously use Jamier Gibbs and Dave
Montgomery as a one to two punch show. This isn't

(30:58):
an offense that you could look the coaching staffs to project,
Oh yeah, definitely gonna use a workhorse bel cow back.
Not really the case here with Breeze Hall. So I'm
concerned about him and we were just playing the value game.
Well that's why you just take Braylan Allen going outside
the top fifty running backs. Maybe this offense really hits
another level with Justin Fields using his mobility opening up
rushing lanes for our guys like a Braylen Allen, who

(31:20):
they're not the fastest guys. He doesn't have the Breeze
Hall speed from the jump, but once this guy gets going,
oh he's a freight train coming down the sideline. And
that's where you can see Fields's impact on Braylon Allen
specifically being massive. Whereas with Breecee Hall, well, the more
Fields runs, the less opportunities he has for targets. And
that's what a Breese Hall's his best skills. Part of

(31:41):
his skill set is catching pass out of the back,
which I don't project to nearly as much with Justin
Fields as the quarterback for the Jets. And the other
thing too with Braylon Allen. And this is what I
think got him on the field last year. Again, he
got on the field with a healthy Breeze Hall immediately
from the jump last year under it was a different
coaching staff, But I think it's just shows the talent
of a player that was twenty years old and turning

(32:03):
the NFL Brightley Allen just turned twenty one, so a
super young and career. Yeah. I mean this guy was
getting reps with Aaron Rodgers, Like Aaron Rodgers saw enough
in Brayling Allen to get him on the field. So
I think that's telling about the type of talent Allen is.
And the thing that stood out to me looking back
at how he was used very efficient on third downs.
So this was from Jets dot Com. Converted eleven of

(32:26):
his twelve carries on third down rushing attempts ninety one
point seven percent rate. That was the best among all
NFL running backs this past year, but the best by
any running back from twenty twenty one through twenty twenty four.
He gets the yards that the team needs. Coaches love that.
And you know who doesn't do that. You know who's
kind of sometimes always bouncing it outside. It's Brees Hall.

(32:46):
I love the expulsiveness that priest Hall has, but too
often he's trying to hit the home run when you
just need a single baby. And Raylan out at least
as a rookie, showed that, hey, I'm just gonna get
on base. And I think that this new coaching staff
might value that a lot more. And that has me
concerned about Breese Hall and has me very much into
drafting Braylan Allen as a bet against Breese Hall and

(33:06):
him being the bell cow, especially when he's going outside
the top fifty running backs.

Speaker 1 (33:10):
Lakwank can can Bradlan Allen hit a home run for
your fantasy team? Though drafter pass, I'm a draft them.

Speaker 2 (33:18):
Though I'm a draft them because of the handcuff situations.
I loveft drafting these handcuffs that have the potential to
take on some notable you know, roles and be fantasy relevant.
And honestly, I think the Breese Hall, you know, the experience,
it might be come to an end. Like these trade
rumors don't come out of nowhere. Sometimes when you have insiders,
when you have guys that are actually putting this information out,

(33:38):
there's something there. And honestly, I mean, look, Erison hit
the nail on the head man. Once you get that
co signed from Aaron Rodgers and you start getting these
opportunities and you start showing up in practice and then
translate to the game, there's no way you keep this
guy off the field. So I definitely think, you know,
you draft him with the expectations that this may be
a change of a guard or this is going to
be a situation where it will be a one to

(33:59):
two punch. We had that Sonic and Knuckles because you
have it basically the offensive coordinator in Tanner Strain and
Aaron Glenn. You have the Detroit Lions blueprint right there
for you where you have this one two punch that
could exist. It's a matter who's going to be the
Sonic and who's going to be the Knuckles and who's
going to be getting that goal line work. So that's
one of those things that I definitely am interested in
if I'm going to be able to get him this

(34:19):
late and drafts like I'm going to go all over.
You know, the one two punch combo that's honestly getting everywhere.
It's getting copied everywhere that we're seeing when we look around,
look at look at Cleveland right now with Quinchon Jenkins
and Dylan Sampson. This is an underrated duo right there.
And then you have Atlanta with Jon Robson Tyler Algier.
This can honestly be with the Jets are forming right
now too.

Speaker 1 (34:40):
Me and Erickson were just smiling because Erickson knows. Erickson
schooled me. He's if you don't know this, Erickson's a
big sonic guy. He schooled me on like all the
sonic lore of the last movie with the kiandaves like
big sonic guy. So shout out all.

Speaker 2 (34:56):
The Knuckles series man. That's on Fairmount Man. I heard
good about I like it.

Speaker 3 (35:00):
It's got a killer soundtrack if you like throwbacks.

Speaker 2 (35:03):
I love soundtracks.

Speaker 1 (35:06):
Well, Erickson's not just sonic, He's also best ball. So
we talked about Anthony Richardson is a great best ball option.
I would say Bylan Allen's probably a pretty good best
ball option. And guess what you can catch ericson and
my boy Tom Strachan, who I did a bunch of
shows with last year that you can catch them on
our twitch, helping you dominate your best ball drafts all
summer long. You're gonna learn about strategies, stacks, sleepers, and

(35:29):
a ton more. Every couple of weeks, we are performing
these live drafts and breaking down their picks in real
time on our twitch Twitch dot tv slash Fantasy Pros.
Tune in every Monday at four pm Eastern on Twitch
Twitch dot tv Slash Fantasy Pros. To get more practical
best ball advice on the web, just make sure you're subscribed.
You'll get notified when we're live. You can also pick

(35:51):
up a sub with an Amazon Prime account for absolutely free,
gets rid of ads. Just get you in the game
and make sure you're checking it out. Hang with Tom
and er Perkson for some best ball strategy. Gentlemen, Let's
go to some wide receivers. Let's start with the cults
we talked about Anthony Richardson. We've got some pairings here
which are interesting, and let's go with Josh Downs. Josh
Downs just want to love him playing in a slot role.

(36:14):
Give him all the targets. You're now adding Tyler Warnan,
which makes it interesting, and we've got QB twenty six
or Daniel Jones, which one is going to benefit? But
Josh Downs there's a ton of upside, but is it
worth it? Wide receiver forty six on Fantasy pros LaQuan
Why don't you kick it off here? Draft or pass
mister Josh Downs.

Speaker 2 (36:35):
As much as I'm gonna draft Jordan Mason is as
much as I'm gonna draft Josh Downs the absolute dog.
And you, honestly, you watch the table and you turn
it on and you see the things that he do.
He's a slot guy, but he consistently does the right things.
He knows where to be at the time, and he
knows how to consistently get separation, and he makes those
big boy catches. There were some throws at Joe Flacco
and even Anthony Richardson at times where Josh Downs is

(36:56):
going up there, You're like, yo, was that Captain Johnson?
Who the heck was that like? And you're like, not, Like,
I'm just completely mind blowing up some of the catches
he was making. But that's just untapped potential where he
needs that consistency and where, honestly, I hate to say it,
I'm actually hoping that Daniel Jones takes this job because

(37:17):
we need Josh Downs to be that guy. He could
literally be a wide receiver two that can flash those
wide receiver one weeks for you. Man, because fifty seven
percent of his games last season were fourteen plus fantasy points.
I'll take that all day long, especially if we can
get a consistent quarterback back there and for him to
be that guy that you're getting this late in drafts.

(37:38):
People just need to wake up when you have a
talented slot wide receiver that can produce. We look at
Khlo Shakier. He's another guy that gets underrated, but he
is a guy that you will perfectly put in your
flex every single week knowing all I need is ten
points from this guy and he will overperform every single time.

Speaker 3 (37:53):
Man.

Speaker 1 (37:53):
And he's the type of guy too where it's just like,
just get him targets, just get me some volume with
Josh Downs to do it. Yeah, it was. It was
a battle between you know, you've got you got Pittman
and they're just stretching the ball deep and they're only
passing so many times. To your point, with Daniel Jones,
very interesting ericson drafts or pass Josh Downs wide receiver
forty six is pretty enticing. That's on half PPR in ECR.

Speaker 3 (38:15):
What say you, I think I'm gonna be drafting Josh Downs,
and I think it's just because the talent. I think
at this point in drafts, I think it's okay to
try to maybe take away the situations that we all
think that we know are gonna happen no matter what.
We don't like a lot of situations can change. We
don't know, we don't know who the quarback is going
to be for the Colts. Then that's a big question

(38:36):
mark about projecting Josh Down's twenty twenty five stats.

Speaker 1 (38:41):
Which way do you think it goes up if it's
Jones or if it's Richardson.

Speaker 3 (38:46):
I think it's probably safer with with Daniel Jones. I
would agree with Quhan where Daniel Jones has shown. I mean,
could Josh Down just be Wondale Robinson. I think that works.
I mean, yeah, he's gonna be. We want the yards,
though we wouldn't have pepperd with targets from the slot.
You know that Daniel Jones can at least do that,
just just target his slot receiver like we know he

(39:07):
can do that. In Richardson again, it's way more boom
or bust. I do think though, that what we saw
from John Downs last year, and despite the fact that
he entered the year or that entered the season with
an ankle spring and he was still uber productive. I
know that I looked at some of his stuff on
the betting pros app O Welsh where I was looking
at Josh Downs and how often he beat his receiving

(39:28):
arts prop. When Joe Flacca was the quarterback, he beat
his receiving arts prop and eighty eight percent of his
games he had sixty or more receiving yards in seven
of those eight games. And the infamous TapouT game for
Anthony Richardson that was his one game with one hundred
yards for Josh Allens with two different quarterbacks, he got
it done. So a player that continues to rise to
the occasion, I think that this is an appropriate spot

(39:51):
for him at the end of that wide receiver four
territory and just bent on, Hey, maybe the situation is
not as bad. Maybe Daniel Jones or Anthony Richardson, maybe
we get a better version of Richardson's passing, or we
just get Daniel Jones from the Giants and Josh Downs
compared to what we've seen over Michael Pittman, where he's
kind of fallen off. I do have some concerns about
Michael Pittman last year. Where was it just related to

(40:11):
his back injury. I don't know how healthy he was
last year, but Joshdawns was also a little bit banged up.
So I think that when push comes to shove, I
think Downs is probably going to be the most productive
receiver on this team regardless. I know Michael Pittman might
have something to say with that if he's fully healthy,
But right now, I do think that Josh Down's just
good bet on the talent, and I agree with think

(40:32):
with Petman. Pittman too goes in a similar range. I
don't think that he's undraftable at his price, either as
a wide receiver for or just betting on the talent.

Speaker 1 (40:39):
Another really exciting wide receiver that just did not live
up to expectations last season was Keon Coleman. Kean Coleman
ended the season solidly from a target perspective. He had
I think ten targets in his last game with only
two catches, but he had seventeen targets over his last
two games, so that was a big plus. He only
finished the season three times with they finish inside the

(41:01):
top thirty wide receivers, and two of those were like
inside the top twenty eight. He just didn't have any
big performances. We didn't see volume. We know we can
stretch the field, we know we can catch some touchdowns,
but was it just not last year? And is it
all about this year? The cost is super low. It's
a wide receiver fifty three draft or pass ericson Keon Coleman.

Speaker 3 (41:23):
Good draft Keon Coleman because I think that what we
saw before his risk injury is a good indication of
the potential upside he could have attached to Josh Allen. Right,
we're talking about the Colts. We don't like the situation.
How could you not love the situation with Josh Allen
as his quarterback? This is an elite passer and Keyon
Coleman weeks one, three, eight before his risk injury, averaging

(41:44):
over two yards per route run and then according to
NFL next Gen Stats, Coleman had over one hundred and
thirty six receiving yards over expectation. That was the third
most by any rookie wide receiver to the first eight
weeks of a season since twenty eighteen, trailing only Jamar
Chase and Justin Jefferson. Good company to be a part of.
So I think that what happened in the second half

(42:05):
of the year where Mark Cooper was like on the
team but like not really playing that much, but they
were putting snaps in taken away from Ken Coleman. He
was also banged up. They were relying a lot on
the run game. They just weren't using their receivers that much.
I don't want to forget about what he did again,
still a relatively young player entering his second season, the
Bills haven't added a ton of wide receiver because Brandy
Bean vomits just like the Packers at the Idea have

(42:26):
a number one wide receiver. Even though he caved and
immediately signed Elijah Moore after after basically going on a
rant on Buffalo radio about we don't need to add
more wide receivers, immediately signs Elijhmore in the next day.
I still think that Kean Coleman has a lot of
upside attached to Josh Allen, I think he's going to
be a starter in three wide receiver sets, and we're
not that so far removed from Week seven against Tennessee Titans.

(42:48):
Four catches one hundred and twenty five yards. So I
think that Kean Coleman is a good bye. We know
that Shakira is locked in as mister reliable in this
Bill's passing game, but after that, we don't know who's
going to step up. Is it put me palm? We
know that kN Cave was also dealing with injuries last year.
So does a Keon or a healthy Keon Coleman make
a big leap into your two? I think he can.

Speaker 1 (43:08):
But the interesting thing you did say was the offense, Like,
is the offense going to change enough where it can
feature a guy like him? LaQuan? This is a super
low equity. It's a wide receiver fifty three. But is
he in this offense enough that you want to go
out of your way to make sure he's a part
of your team because of the upside? Or is this
more of a pass because we might still have some

(43:29):
bumps down the road.

Speaker 2 (43:31):
I'm gonna pass. And I'm saying that because like that's
like kind of in the tenth round where I'm looking
for my you know, wide receiver four or fives and
like the flex guys that can be utilized at times
and serviceable for these BIE weeks and injuries. But I'm
not sold on it. Man, the guy plays seventy three
percent in the snaps he was on the field. I
understand you're injured, but we need to identify the cardio
kings very early in a Bill's offense with him kind

(43:52):
of playing like the Gabe Davis role. And I haven't
seen enough from Keon Coleman to really trust him in
my starting lineups as a start and forget or guy
I can rely on with these BIE weeks and injuries.
And we look at last season, he had twenty nine catches.
Why is this his ADP? I mean any other guys.
I mean, look, he had Let's catches, didn't Little Jordan Humphrey.
Let's catches did in great dorch Let's catch us than
Marvin Mims, where Sean Payton doesn't even know who he is.

(44:15):
So we're looking at this It's like I'm not going
to be chasing an upside of potential because we already
know Josh Allen. He's not targeting nowhere else in that
slot and all reliable Khalishak, He's going to be his
number one target because that's been proven to us season
after season now, and even before it was Kalosha, it
was Cole Beasy eating up that slot given fantasy relevance,
because that's just how Josh Allen operates. He needs that

(44:37):
security blank, he needs that slot wide receiver. And then
you talked about it. I mean, no other wide receiver
or pass catcher on that offense had higher fifteen percent
target share. So I'm gonna go with the guy that
has a upside of a twenty percent consistent target share
where I'm just gonna go with comfortability here if I
want any parts of that Bill's offense with Joe Brady
on the sticks a.

Speaker 1 (44:56):
Wide receiver that you want to talk about old, reliable
to end out this season, Jalen McMillan. Jalen McMillan had
five straight top twenty wide receiver finishes and half PPR
to finish the year. He had five straight games to
end the year with at least a touchdown. He was
getting targets, he was getting catches. He was like Chris Carter,
he just catches touchdowns. He was a monster.

Speaker 3 (45:18):
He was a little bit more, you know, a little
bit more.

Speaker 1 (45:21):
Space out there. Obviously Godwin, you know there's more guys
that puts in question. But Jayleen McMillan was awesome and
I mean league winner ish at the at the back.
If you had some wide receiver injuries, so on, let's
go to you, h Jalen McMillan Wide receiver fifty four.
So he's one spot after Kean Coleman in half PPR

(45:42):
draft pass.

Speaker 2 (45:45):
No, I'm kidding, we're going to be drafting Jalen McMillan. Man,
he's a steal here and him to be after Keon
Colan is just crazy to me. And that's all reaction
to the Mechabuka pick. Obviously, I mean people are reacting.
And when people come back outside, like I keep saying,
when these drafts he's in the red season come up,
they're like, oh, I'm gonna go for the new shiny toy. Eh.
That's the wrong move because they are making that pick

(46:05):
in the draft to build for the post Mike Evans role.
And honestly, you got to look at last season from
Week fourteen, including the playoffs, my man went completely off.
He had seven touchdowns. This guy was averaging sixty yards
per game, a seventy four percent catch free, old reliable
there that's still fresh into Bucks' rememory bank here that
this guy can ball out. And even if you add

(46:26):
a Mecca Abuka to that man, these guys played two
separate roles. Man seventy one percent that Jalen McMillan was
lined out wide only an unnoticeable amount of twenty three
percent of the time he spent time in that slot.
If we're going to be thinking about a Mecca Buka
getting sprinkled in anywhere, I can tell you now, it's
probably not gonna be outside. It's probably gonna be in
that slot position. Because Chris Godwin doesn't have the best
history of health, so that's where his opportunities will come.

(46:48):
Jalen McMillan is going to be a full time receiver
in this three wide receiver set, and I'm confident if
he's going this late behind a Keon Coleman, this is
a complete steal because he's flashing. Even with Chris Godwin
and Mike Evan on the field.

Speaker 1 (47:00):
Man Erickson, there's a lot of mouths defeat in Tampa Bay,
but Jayalen McMillan is hungry. So are you drafting are
you passing?

Speaker 3 (47:08):
I am going to pass on Jayla McMillan. I know
that's very sad to hear because we're all so excited
about all the touchdowns he scored. But that's the point, right,
How sustainable is him scoring seven touchdowns over a five
game span heading into next season. That's where I get concerned,
and it reminds me a little bit of the Johan
Dotson rookie year where he scored a bazillion touchdowns and
I was all on board. I was like, oh, this

(47:29):
guy's better than Terry McLaurin, and then that ended up
being a the horrible take age like spoiled milk essentially,
so trying to learn from my mistakes again. He was
a third round pick. Ag Buko was a first round
pick inside the top twenty. Todd Bowles talked about how
they again bring up vomiting again, but he would vomit
at the idea of someone else drafting Amika Agbuka and
him not being a Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So I disagree

(47:52):
with l Kwan. I think they're going to find ways
to get ag Buka on the field in three wide
receiver sets. So I don't know if we're going to
get a rotation of these four guys. How do you
keep the older guys healthy throughout the year, Well, you
rotate him. So do we get a four wide receiver
rotation set. I was concerned about McMillan when Godwin and
Mike Evans were coming back. When they first resigned. Chris
gott was like, man, it's a bummer. Like I thought
McMillan was going to really just go to the moon

(48:13):
and then immediately draft another wide receiver in round one.
And I think that that matters a lot. I think
it's telling they talk about we love Man Gillen, We
think that Mike Evans, Chris Gobbin, these guys are elite
parts of our offense. I just it's a numbers game
at the end of the day, and I just trying
to figure out how McMillan's going to score seven touchdowns
when all these other guys are here and part of
the offense. So for those reasons, I'm just going to

(48:34):
do I'm going to pass.

Speaker 1 (48:35):
I'm McMillan final wide receiver, and then we'll do a
couple of tight ends here on the draft or pass
Jayden Higgins. We're going to play the rookie game here,
FP wide receiver sixty six and half PPR, so some
potential upside there. Digs is out ericson is Higgins in
draft or pass?

Speaker 3 (48:52):
He's a draft for me here. I think this is
way too late for a player that is going to
be I think playing full allotment of snaps attached to
c J stre out. How high were we drafting three
Houston Texas wide receivers last year between Stephan Dikes and
Nigocollins and tanked Ou They were all like in the
top five rounds. And now we're get a guy who
was drafted thirty fourth overall, a fringe first round pick

(49:14):
wide receiver talent from Iowa State. I love Jayden Higgins
at this prize. I wasn't even necessarily the highest on
Higgins as a talent, but I liked what he did
at Iowa State, the fact that he was able to
produce at a high level alongside another NFL caliber wide
receiver in Jalen Nole, who I also really liked. And
I think it's telling how much Iowa State players that

(49:35):
the Texans have drafted. They have Xaber Hutchinson, who they
drafted a couple years ago. They obviously drafted Higgins and
Nol and I looked back at some of the history
with some of his coaches. So the new Texans offensive coordinator,
Nick Kayley was with the Rams twenty three, twenty twenty four.
You know it was also with the Rams in twenty
twenty four. Nathan Schlahaz, I think is the way to
pronounce it twenty twenty one, twenty twenty three, and I

(49:57):
butchered the name Lakwan. Please correct me, R Rams guy.

Speaker 1 (50:03):
Comment said that.

Speaker 2 (50:05):
Guy's name in a year.

Speaker 3 (50:06):
So he was Iowa States wide receiver coach an offensive coordinator,
so he coached Jadan Higgins and Jalen Knowle. So I
think the Texans know what they're getting in a player
like Jayden Higgins, and this team needed more wide receivers
behind Nico Collins because Stefon Diggs is on the Patriots
and Tankdal's probably not going to play this year. So
I think he's an instant starter, instant impact player from
day one, alongside Christian Kirko, I think will be in

(50:28):
that slot role, and I just like that upside. A
ton attached to c J. Stroud, who I'm not going
to forget what he did as a rookie. I still
think that he is an assassin as a passer, and
I'm not going to let the terrible offensive line from
last year, you know, push me in a direction of, oh, well,
Stroud's probably just not that good. No, I think that
he is still legit as an NFL quarterback, and I
think that you're going to see that with Higgins production

(50:49):
in your one LaQuan.

Speaker 1 (50:50):
Are you going to smash this draft with Ericson for
Jayden Higgins, especially at that cost or pass?

Speaker 2 (50:56):
Look, Jayden Higgins was my guy coming into Yeah, definitely,
we're going to smash Higgins at this ADP. And honestly,
like nail on the head that Ericson said, like do
you know who his quarterback was? Like did you see
his rookie season? That still happened? That exists, and obviously
that old line is a problem, but they added some pieces.
So therefore we're just hoping that, you know, we can

(51:17):
have a healthy old line, we can have a healthy
Nico Collins calls in distraction and Daniel Jeremiah had his
comp to Nico Collins. By the way, with Jayden Higgins.
So you're getting two guys that can stretch the field
and be able to operate on all three levels of
the field. You might not be able to get much
yards after to catch with Higgins. He didn't show much
of that in college, but there's still potential there. He's
still lethal across the middle of the field. He can

(51:38):
adjust his body very well. Even if the balls off target,
and the guy six' four runs a four to. Four
how many guys you know are that size to be
able to run that damn. Fast so, therefore the talent
is What i'm banking on, there and the situation that
he has with the. Quarterback this is a clear smash,
Here this is a. Steal what are we? Doing?

Speaker 1 (51:55):
Okay how about this real? Quick then ranked these four
wide receivers we just talked about in your, Order, Downs, coleman, McMillan,
higgins and you're in YOUR i have to draft and
will own and it could even be just on your base.

Speaker 2 (52:06):
Rank, well we could put Keon coleman, last, okay But Josh,
DOWNS i would Go, Higgins jalen, McMillan key On.

Speaker 1 (52:13):
Coleman that's WHAT i thought might. Happen, erickson what's your.

Speaker 3 (52:16):
Order all, Right i'm pulling up my rankings right now
just so THAT i can he's half of the. Dome, no,
NO I i'm. Allegiance i'm a slave to the. Rankings all,
right you do The i'm a company. Man fantasy. Bros
could check out the.

Speaker 1 (52:28):
Rankings downs and, McMillan. Higgins just go to the. Rankings
you can actually Select ericson like he's probably doing right,
now and you can see where he's got.

Speaker 3 (52:35):
Them SO i have them. Ranked SO i Have downs and,
McMillan and Then, coleman and then Who's? Higgins HIGGINS i
have ahead of.

Speaker 1 (52:46):
EVERYBODY i was about to, say why do you Hate?

Speaker 3 (52:48):
Higgins so never? Mind, No, NO i was LIKE i
had to scroll back up on the rankings to find Jaded.
Higgins so so Clearly i'm you, Know i'm talking out
of both sides of my mouth with McMillan and Mister Keon.
Coleman SO i mean need to go back to the
lab to figure out exactly HOW i value those two.
Players but, YEAH i Think i'm might have to Have
Keon coleman up and stick to the analysis that's been

(53:08):
broken down. Today love it all, Right.

Speaker 1 (53:10):
Well let's before you get to the. Lab let's finish
out with these two tight. Ends we'll blast these bad.
Boys there's a contrary to what you might, believe there's
some upside on some tight, ends and maybe you can
wait to draft them a little bit, later and these
two guys might have that upside of later ish tight
ends that you might. Want Evan ingram tightend nine On
fantasy Pros. List, NOW i know that doesn't like. Scream you're, like,
well it's a top twelve, guy but we're talking about

(53:32):
the potential upside being with Bo. Nix, now So Evan ingram,
ericson let's start with you draft or pass in the
weird tight. End the situation of not just the upside
but wanting him as a tight end.

Speaker 3 (53:43):
ONE i Love Evan. INGRAM i have him ranked inside
my top. FIVE i think he can be a top
five fantasy tight end this year if he stays healthy.
Again big question mark With Evan ingram always is that
he's gonna stay. Healthy but he's been a monster producer
whenever he's landed on a new team for the first.
Time first year with The giants tight end, six first
year with The jaguars tight end, six first year with The. Broncos,

(54:06):
guys probably it's probably gonna be tight end. Six so
maybe he won't be top, five he'll be, six And
i'll be, wrong BUT i think that he is still being.
UNDERRATED i know THAT. Rj. Harvey everyone's so, excited Especially Derek,
brown super excited for.

Speaker 2 (54:19):
Him R.

Speaker 3 (54:20):
J harvey going to The Denver. Broncos But Evan ingram
immediately signs with The broncos tweets out the heath ledger
joker ON x On, twitter AND i was convinced this
guy's gonna be a top five tight end because playing
the potential joker role For Sean. Payton Evan ingram when
he was healthy last, year he was still really. Productive
he was averaging more than five receptions per. Game, again

(54:42):
he was tightened sixteen points per game and only nine games.
Played but we're just one year. Removed in twenty twenty,
three one hundred and fourteen, catches nine hundred and sixty three,
yards four. Touchdowns so who is going to be Bon
nicks's primary checkdown. OPTION i think they brought In Evan
ingram for a. Reason it was a very talented tight
end rookie. Class, yes The marco's, Instead, hey we're gonna
Sign Evan ingram to be our main tight, end which

(55:04):
they didn't have really anyone they could rely on last.
Year how do we Get bonicks to the next. Level
we give him a nice target at the short intermediate
level the field with An Evan. Ingram SO i think
that he has a lot of upside to be a
top five, guy especially Bo nicks takes another step in your.
Two he's A ppr. MACHINE i like him even more
in FULL. Ppr Besides Courtland, sutton who is commanding a

(55:24):
high target share in this, OFFENSE i think It's Evan
ingram is the next guy. Up SO i like him a,
lot AND i liked.

Speaker 1 (55:29):
You that it wasn't just about like. Draft you really
dictated the upside. There he actually from a rank. Perspective
as people update their, ranks that's the thing With fantasy
PROS ecr expert consensus, ranks people can be updating. Them
he's actually moved down to ten now and HALF. Ppr
but you laid out a really good story of not
just the, YEAH i want to draft, him but there
is a ton of upside and Why, so like, one

(55:51):
what do you, Say Evan ingram draft or.

Speaker 2 (55:53):
Pass i'm not as high as tight end five or top,
five BUT i might pass on. THIS i might pass
on this because the tight end position is somewhere THAT
i literally want to draft you and forget that you.
Exist i'm gonna start you and just completely forget THAT
i even drafted. You and the health is the issue
here With Evan, ingram AND i think more so when

(56:15):
we look at these tight end, Positions Evan ingram is
definitely going to get pulled. Up it's gonna take a
couple of slow motion, videos a couple of people in
the fantasy streets hyping them, up and he's gonna get
to that area Where i'm, like, yeah this is Where
i'm out on drafting a tight end And i'll just wait.
Later BECAUSE i was able to Get john New smith
off the waiver. Wire he was like tight end thirty
six last year he finished top. Five so it's, Like

(56:36):
i'm more so looking at that When i'm looking at
the tight end. Position And Evan ingram is a great.
TALENT i, mean, Look erison hit the nail on the.
Head he could be a reliable target for Boat. Nicks
we know How Sean payton likes to. Operate he likes
to get these tight ends that are savvy with the route.
Running they could be security. Blankets they have vertical strengths
and that's Everything Evan ingram. Is but it's just the health.

(56:56):
MAN i can't sit here and have the health bug
on a tight, end only gonna draft one of, them
AND i want to forget WHO i drafted and even
exist to start and forget every Single. SUNDAY i like.

Speaker 1 (57:06):
It well, said a draft and a pass their final.
One we're going to tighten twelve on the, list AND
i think this is probably built Around dak coming. Back Jake.
Ferguson is there? Upside, Lakwan let's go to. You is
there upside With? Ferguson and is he a draft or
pass in the same vein of what you just talked,
about just a little bit of a lower.

Speaker 2 (57:24):
Cost i'm gonna, pass and that's because of just the
little rumbles That i'm. Hearing you, Know Isaiah, standback you,
know Former patriots backup quarterback For Tom, brady now working
for The. Cowboys i've been talking with him a. Lot
he's been On Good Morning, football just ringing my ear
off about The. Cowboys AND i think they're up to. Something.
MAN i think there's gonna be another another pivot move

(57:45):
where they're going to bring in another option to be
a passing option For dak because obviously they didn't go
to the draft to address that wide receiver. Too they
Got Dayden blue to be the running back you know
whatever that he is on the depth chart two to.
Three whatever the, case Maybe Miles sanders will be going
By august, hopefully but more so looking at what they
still need and what they need to, ADDRESS i think
they're gonna bring in another option there to take the

(58:05):
attention off the tight end position because we kind of
Seen Jake ferguson show up to be a guy some,
week show up to be a, guy you know when
needed to be a security. Blanket but we need another
passing option in That Dallas cowboys. Offense AND i think it's.
Coming AND i think the target share should be dropping
down on the tight end position being that he's not
going to be better than at wide receiver.

Speaker 1 (58:23):
Too, ackson what do you Think Jake, ferguson draft or?
Pass is there even upside In.

Speaker 3 (58:28):
FERGUSON i think that your best bet is that he
just does what he did in twenty twenty, three which
was tight end, eight, Right so like that's like the
conversation like that's a that's a, win but is it a?
Win like do you feel like a HE i drafted
him tight end, twelve he was tight end, Eight it's, like,
Okay so like he bought a, sandwich he ate a
sandwich and that's what you ended up. Getting so it's

(58:48):
one of these scenarios where he's, fine But i'm not
going out of my way Where Jake ferguson is a top, Five,
LIKE i don't see that upside case with, him especially
if they end up bringing in another body at tight
end or another pass. Catcher we know That ferguson kind
of profiles as. Well he's going to go as far
as This cowboys offense brings. In If Dak prescott throws fifty, touchdowns,
okay Then jake versus is probably gonna have a really good.
Year but If dak, Doesn't dak doesn't stay, healthy THEN

(59:12):
i think that we're looking at. Again he's a fringe
tight end, one and DO i commit to him and
draft him orders wait. LONGER i think that there's just
better values to wait at the tightened position than taking
a guy in this middling, range which more often than,
not these are the guys that kind of. Bust, honestly
at the tightened, position the guys are in the middle
range where they get boosted up because they are viewed, as,

(59:32):
oh he is a path to. Targets but how quickly
does that evaporate if they add somebody? Else so for,
ME i don't see the ton of. Upside maybe he's
a small, hit you, know hitting a, double hitting a,
single bringing some baseball. Terminology it is baseball sciason after.
All but to, ME i don't think that the upside
there is worth the.

Speaker 1 (59:48):
Drafting twelve upside guys draft or Pass quite the? List
quite the list of. Players you guys can drop in
the comments below who you? Drafting who you? Passing love
to hear from you, guys and you guys can also
jump in and put some of your skills uh to
the test with the draft. Simulator you can get those
mock drafts going at fantasypros dot com slash mock and

(01:00:11):
you must go check out The Kwan Jones Real Deal. Fantasy.
Uh it's good, morning, right good? Morning?

Speaker 3 (01:00:17):
Uh what's the?

Speaker 2 (01:00:18):
Show good morning? Football fantasy as. Well i'm doing a
little bit of. Everything. Man you can check out MY rams,
PODCAST Rms. RECAP i Got Cannote monthfield on, today so
you definitely want to check that. Out but, yeah, man
pretty much everywhere on all social media. Platforms that's.

Speaker 1 (01:00:32):
GOOD i was about that was. REAL i was second
guessing myself WHEN i was going to say the, name
AND i was, like let's just let you say.

Speaker 3 (01:00:36):
He does everything but. Sleep we know.

Speaker 1 (01:00:38):
That, yeah we we found that out prior to the.
Show lakwanda's literally does not. Sleep here are the facts
that you got no sleep For lukwan all sonic For.
Ericson you also can check out the Best ball streets
on our Twitch twitch dot tv Slash Fantasy. Pros uh
do you guys have that going next?

Speaker 3 (01:00:53):
Week? ERICSON i believe it's either next week or the week,
after but it's gonna be kicking off On monday's four
Pm eastern and it's gonna a lot of fun getting
back into The bestball. Summer.

Speaker 1 (01:01:02):
GOTT i love it all, Right thank you guys so
much for hanging out with us and all of the
football madness right here On Fantasy. Pros make sure you're
subscribed on the YouTube and the, podcast you don't miss
any of. It Fantasy Football. Podcast we're out of Here Fantasy.
Pros I'm Chris. Welsh goodbye for now.

Speaker 2 (01:01:16):
Friends thanks for listening to The Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football.
Podcast if you love the, show the best freeway to
support us is by leaving a positive review On apple
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RISK VS. REWARD | Should You Draft or Pass on These 12 High-Upside Sleepers? (Ep. 1568)

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;}RISK VS. REWARD | Should You Draft or Pass on These 12 High-Upside Sleepers? (Ep. 1568)