PodcastFrom Fantasy Football Today
Pros & Cons of Wide Receivers Ranked 10-18! Round 2-3 WR Breakdown! (06/01 Fantasy Football Podcast)
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
1 hr 3 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Jun 1, 2026
Published
Mon, June 1, 2026
12
Player insights
7
Players mentioned
Topics
Chris OlaveZay FlowersA.J. BrownD.J. MooreDeVonta SmithGarrett WilsonRashee Rice
Player analysis
Player insights
A.J. Brown
PositiveDepth Chart0:01
A.J. Brown's potential trade to the Patriots is a topic of discussion, but the situation remains uncertain as the Eagles and Patriots are reportedly not close to a deal.
Insight pagePositiveProjection0:38
A.J. Brown averaged 18.6 PPR fantasy points per game in his last seven games of the 2023 season, indicating he can still be a top performer. However, concerns about the passing volume in the new offense could impact his overall production.
Insight pageChris Olave
NegativeBust0:08
Chris Olave is viewed with skepticism due to concerns about his performance and the offensive situation, with one analyst suggesting he could be a bust this season.
Insight pageNegativeBust0:22
Chris Olave has some bust potential due to increased competition for targets with rookie Jordan Tyson, who is viewed as a better prospect than Rasheed Shaheed. Olave averaged 14.1 PPR points with Shaheed and 20.2 PPR points after Shaheed was traded, raising concerns about his target volume moving forward.
Insight pagePositiveProjection0:24
In his four-year career, Chris Olave has finished as wide receiver 27, 21, 55, and 7 per game, indicating a significant fluctuation in performance. His projected stats for 2023 are 87 catches, 1,123 yards, and five touchdowns.
Insight pageD.J. Moore
PositiveRole0:10
DJ Moore is experiencing growing pains in the new offense with Buffalo but remains optimistic about his future performance.
Insight pageDeVonta Smith
PositiveRole0:04
Devontae Smith's value may increase if A.J. Brown is traded, as he could become the primary target in the Eagles' offense.
Insight pageGarrett Wilson
PositiveProjection0:02
Garrett Wilson is viewed positively in the context of the Jets' offense, with optimism about his potential performance this season.
Insight pageRashee Rice
PositiveRole0:10
Rasheed Rice is expected to be ready for training camp following knee surgery, and Andy Reid has indicated that there will likely be no suspension for him.
Insight pageZay Flowers
PositiveRole0:05
Zay Flowers has shown potential but is not considered a safe pick due to his inconsistent performance in previous seasons.
Insight pagePositiveBreakout0:43
Zay Flowers is projected to have a career-high target share of 30% with the potential for increased passing attempts under the new offensive coordinator. His talent is recognized, but concerns remain about his target volume and red zone usage.
Insight pagePositiveProjection0:43
Zay Flowers is projected for a career-high 130 targets, averaging 7.6 targets per game, which could lead to a top 12 finish among wide receivers.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00Hey, before we jump back into the show, let's take a quick break.
0:04But not just any break, this is a refreshing break with Snapple.
0:08We all know about Snapple's iconic real facts, so let's take a minute to go over some of my faves.
0:15Snapple Real Fact 1-9-8-3, the first player drafted to play pro football never played in the league.
0:20Snapple Real Fact 1-1-1-9, the Grand Canyon could hold about 900 trillion footballs.
0:25Snapple Real Fact 2-0-6-4, the first college football game broadcast on TV was on September 30th, 1939.
0:30Snapple Real Fact 1-8-9-6, the tradition of playing football on Thanksgiving, originated with college football in 1876.
0:36So grab a Snapple, take a second and enjoy the moment because let's be honest, this might be the most refreshing part of your day.
0:44Snapple, make your break more interesting. All right, now let's get back to the show.
0:49This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports. Swat a play!
0:53Can you believe this? Can you believe it? No, I can't.
0:56It's time to dominate your fantasy league. Off to the races, and he stays at his feet.
1:02He's just going to go the distance. Now, here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath.
1:08Welcome to the show. It is Monday, June 1st.
1:11It is maybe A.J. Brown Day. It could be any day, hopefully, that he gets traded.
1:16Welcome to the show as we talk about A.J.
1:19Brown in wide receivers 10 through 18 in our consensus PPR rankings.
1:23That would be Rasheed Rice, T. Higgins, Chris Olave, A.J.
1:26Brown, Emeka Abuka, Zay Flowers, Devante Smith, Tetairoa McMillan, and Malik Neighbors.
1:30Does that mean we're doing an emergency podcast later?
1:33Very possible. Very possible. Be on the lookout. Holy cow!
1:36Can you believe A.J. Brown was traded? How could we have prepared for this?
1:41To the Patriots, no less? Wait, why don't when we talk about A.J.
1:45Brown, like, you pause, you reintroduce the show, you end the show there, and then you clip that as the emergency podcast for later?
1:53Yeah, I don't know. I mean, I guess it has to be an emergency podcast.
1:58Players like A.J. Brown don't get traded every day, but also it may not happen for a while.
2:04We don't know what the compensation is going to be.
2:07The recent report was that they weren't close, the Patriots and the Eagles, and what if it's a different team?
2:14Anyway, Heath, I just read those names, nine wide receivers.
2:17Rasheed Rice, T. Higgins, Olave, A.J. Brown, Abuka, Flowers, Devante Smith, Teddero McMillan, Malik Neighbors.
2:22How would you sum up this group? These wide receivers are what?
2:26A very, very exciting, and in the case of many of them, also a little bit terrifying.
2:32Who are the terrifying ones? Well, obviously, Rasheed Rice.
2:35I think you could be concerned about A.J. Brown.
2:38Emeka Abuka's second half was a disaster. Teddero McMillan's offense might be also.
2:42Malik Neighbors is not healthy. Garrett Wilson is on the Jets.
2:46Like, most of them. Oh, okay, yeah. Garrett Wilson actually is wide receiver 19 in the consensus rankings.
2:52We could talk about him at some point. Oh, he's not supposed to be on the – I'm not supposed to say that name.
3:00No, it's fine. He's on the graphic. Thomas gave us the 10 wide receiver, which makes sense.
3:05Five and five on the graphic here. But I didn't – I'm just saying I didn't say Garrett Wilson, but he is
3:13wide receiver 19, and he is on the Jets, and that is pretty scary.
3:17Dave, how would you characterize this group of receivers?
3:20These are all wide receivers that have the potential to finish top 12 per game in PPR.
3:26They also have potential to finish somewhere between 20th and 99th in PPR points per game.
3:31Like, there are some pretty gross floors for some of these guys.
3:35But these are the bulk of the number two wide receivers that you're going to be drafting in August.
3:41And, Jamie, your thoughts on Rice, Higgins, Olave, A.J.
3:44Brown, Abuka, Flowers, Devontae Smith, Tederell, McMillan, and Neighbors?
3:47I mean, I think they summed it up pretty well, but, you know, welcome to round three and four.
3:54Yeah. And if you hate this list, get ready to prioritize wide receiver and get one, if not two, of those first
4:01nine names that we haven't mentioned, and you probably can figure out who those names are.
4:06You know what? Let's do some impromptu fill-in-the-blank. Impromptu fill-in-the-blank.
4:09The safest wide receiver in this group is blank.
4:12Higgins? Well, hold on. Is Rasheed Rice suspended? So Andy Reid said that the league gave no indication that there will be any suspension.
4:20Andy Reid basically said it's over. If he's playing 17 and he's a part of training camp, I'm okay saying Rice is the safest.
4:28I would probably – I mean, look, Rice and Higgins have such poor injury track records.
4:33It's hard to say they're safe. I'll still say A.J.
4:37Brown. Oh, man. Yeah. That's the thing. Based on my introduction, there's not a lot of guys that I'd say are safe to be top 20 guys.
4:46If A.J. Brown's gone, then it may be Devontae Smith.
4:49So Higgins – That was the question? Top 20?
4:52No, just safe. Just safe. Just safe. He didn't quantify it anymore.
4:56Oh, gotcha. Higgins has been – In the five seasons he's played, just counting the games with Burrow, Chase, Higgins, all playing
5:03normal snapshares, he's been top 15 in four of five.
5:07He's been good enough to be a top 15 wide receiver, actually top 13 in four of those five seasons in terms of his points per game.
5:15Well, if we're just going to do counting the games where they played normal snapshares, then it's Rushy Rice.
5:22Yeah. Unless you feel like recovering from knee injury in jail is not good for safe.
5:27I mean, I think if you're just looking at safe, it's probably Flowers and Smith because you know what their floors are.
5:34Flowers and Smith. I almost said Flowers, but he just doesn't seem safe.
5:39I mean, I don't know that you know what Flowers – He was wide receiver 36 per game in 2024 with the same amount of targets, basically.
5:47Two fewer targets. Right. The floor is 12 PPR points.
5:51You know, so I don't know that we – Yeah, I guess.
5:55What do you think about that, Jamie? Take that at you.
5:58Sure. Well, I mean, it's a good point, isn't it?
6:02He basically – Zay Flowers, two seasons in a row, had basically the same amount of targets.
6:07One year he was wide receiver 36 per game.
6:10Last year I think he was like wide receiver 12 per game.
6:14So that's – I don't think he'll be 36 per game.
6:18But I don't know. That's kind of an interesting stat, isn't it?
6:22Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, next fill in the blank.
6:25The most upside in this group belongs to – And just for the listeners at home that aren't looking at the list, it's Rasheed Rice, Higgins, Olave, A.J.
6:35Brown, Abuka, Flowers, Devontae Smith, Tetairoa McMillan, Malik Neighbors.
6:38Most upside in this group belongs to who? Heath?
6:41Rice. Go ahead, anybody. Jump in there. It's Rice, but I'll say Abuka just for another name.
6:46But if Malik Neighbors is A-okay, he's got the most upside.
6:50That is a big, slow running to first base if.
6:53You look like Adam trying to go to first base.
6:56Yeah, I don't want to overrate that. It's a softball game three months before the season starts.
7:02I bet if you were playing football – I bet other people were running like that at the game, and I bet
7:09others that are healthier would probably – I bet if he was playing football, he would not be playing football.
7:16Oh, right. He would not be playing football if that was the case.
7:20No, he would not be. Luckily, he doesn't have to for like – he doesn't have to practice for two months.
7:27It's June 1st. Yeah. That's Malik Neighbors who played in a – Yeah, that was a great dynasty trade you made, by the way.
7:35Get rid of Malik Neighbors. Yeah, I told you.
7:38Charity softball game. Who did you end up with?
7:41He hasn't made the pig shit, have you? Or was that the – that was the big burger, wasn't it?
7:48Yeah, I made the pig shit. But I ended up with – I don't remember.
7:53Picks 11, 12. Such a good trade. 11, 12, and Michael Wilson and something next year too.
7:58Second rounder next year or something. So he's going to have Michael Wilson, Jeremy Bernard, and Chris Bresel.
8:04Maybe I'll – yeah. Yeah, I'm looking forward to that.
8:08Anyway, last one. Oh, by the way, I think I could make a case for A.J.
8:13Brown having the most upside if he goes to the Patriots.
8:16You can make the case for any of these guys to have the most upside.
8:21I don't know. You think so? I don't think – Maybe not say Flowers.
8:26I don't think Higgins is the most. Everybody else, I think you can.
8:30All right, last one is who has the lowest floor non-injury?
8:34Like these guys, they all play 17 games. Most likely to be a bust if they all play 17 games in this group.
8:42Jamie? If they all play 17 games. Yeah, most likely to be a bust.
8:46Performance bust. I mean, I already made the case for Alave, so I'll say Alave.
8:51What was your case for Alave? His numbers with Rashid Shaheed, without Rashid Shaheed last year.
8:56When did you make that case? On Express, you mean?
9:00Or did you do that today? Yeah. And on the site too, but that was one of the ones we discussed on Express.
9:07Okay. So Alave for Jamie Heath. Most likely to be a bust.
9:11I'll say a Bucca. Okay. Dave? I think Alave is probably the best one for that category.
9:17Okay. Okay. Let's do some news and notes. By the way, we have a lot of other podcasts that you'll find very interesting.
9:24We got some soccer podcasts as we get ready for the World Cup.
9:29And Fantasy Baseball. Fantasy Football today. Dynasty. Beyond the Box Score.
9:32Go to CBSSports.com slash podcast and see the full list.
9:36Can we discuss fantasy baseball for a second? Because you came on here a couple weeks ago, I think it was, and
9:43was like, I have the greatest fantasy baseball team ever.
9:46Did I jinx us? And since then, half our team has gotten hurt.
9:51And we've lost, I think, two of our last three.
9:54Yeah. I have that magic touch even when I'm not paying attention.
9:58But we're still the sixth seed right now. So in the playoffs, it started.
10:02Yeah. Oh, did Ellie got hurt, right? Ellie De La Cruz?
10:06Did he get hurt? He is day-to-day. Yeah, that's a bummer.
10:10All right. You didn't like that pick when I made it also.
10:14I didn't? No. Well, there you go. I knew it.
10:17He's going to get hurt. All right. So your news and notes.
10:21It is June 1st. That means that the Eagles can spread A.J.
10:25Brown's cap hit over two years if they trade him going forward.
10:29So we'll keep an eye on that. DJ Moore says he's having some growing pains in the new offense with Buffalo, but
10:36he says it will be perfect later on. And Rasheed Rice.
10:40We already gave you some news on Rasheed Rice, but he's expected to be ready for training camp.
10:46He's recovering from this cleanup knee surgery. And Andy Reid said he doesn't expect the league to suspend Rice.
10:52Chris Olave gained 10 pounds of muscle. He plans on losing five of those pounds in training camp, but apparently he looks great.
11:00Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur. Here's some tight end news.
11:03Let's see. Four tight end notes for you. Matt LaFleur hopes that Tucker Craft is ready for the beginning of training camp
11:10or at least early in training camp. Brock Bowers is 100% healthy.
11:14He's back to full speed. Sam Laporta. No rush to get him back on the field.
11:20He's still recovering from back surgery. Laporta could be ready for training camp.
11:24We'll see. And Jets rookie tight end Kenyon Sadiq had minor surgery for a hernia.
11:29He's expected to be ready for training camp. The Jets knew about this when they drafted him, but you'd like to see
11:36him have a regular offseason as a rookie. He'll have a little bit of a recovery, Kenyon Sadiq.
11:42More news here. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler thinks Deshaun Watson has a leg up in the quarterback competition for the Browns.
11:49Earlier, I think last month, we saw Mary Kay Cabot say that Watson is ahead in the competition.
11:55Christian McCaffrey, you know, talk about him getting some rest and fewer carries or whatever.
12:00He says that he'll rest during practice. And that's, you know, he'll, I think he seems ready for his workload, his big workload.
12:07Meanwhile, backup running back Isaac Arendo for the Niners.
12:10He tore his pec about a month ago. He should be back sometime in training camp, maybe toward the end of training camp.
12:18Miami wide receiver news. Omar Kelly of the Miami Herald says Malik Washington seems to be grasping the playbook faster than the other receivers.
12:26He also says that tight end Greg Dulcich has been a standout during OTAs.
12:30He also said that Malik Willis hasn't looked good.
12:33Oh, that's early. And it's OTAs. We'll get an idea on him.
12:37I'll see him this week. You going to lunch with him?
12:41If he's if he's up for it. Sure. But otherwise, I'll just watch him practice.
12:46Ben Johnson says he is buying Luther Burden stock right now.
12:50Not the first time he has praised Luther Burden this offseason.
12:53D'Amico Ryans praised second year receiver Jaden Higgins. Malik Neighbors played softball and didn't look good.
12:58Cam Scadaboo did it. It didn't look good running.
13:01Cam Scadaboo did a backflip. The Giants are working out.
13:05Juju Smith-Schuster, Odell Beckham Jr. And Braxton Berrios today.
13:08They're one of their receivers. Andrew Miller. Andrew Miller.
13:11Interesting. Wasn't he a relief pitcher? Yeah, Andrew Miller, the lefty for the Yankees.
13:15Really tall, wasn't he? Yeah. Who's Andrew Miller? I think Anthony Miller is what Anthony Miller is still getting tryouts.
13:22All right. If Gunnar Olszewski, a return man for the Giants and a wide receiver, tore his Achilles, which is what is
13:29feared, he is the third Giants player to tear his Achilles this year.
13:33It's crazy. That turf at MetLife. They're not there yet.
13:37Tennessee quarterback coach Shea Tierney wants Cam Ward to run the ball more this season.
13:42Ward Evers, just 9.3 rushing yards per game if you remove week 18 when he played five snaps.
13:48They seem to be going in a direction where they want him to do more of that.
13:53That was talked about earlier in the offseason. Ward put on weight, I think, to absorb more of that.
14:00And that's something that we've seen Brian Dable lean into ever since he had his hands on Josh Allen back in the day.
14:07And I don't think he's going to turn into the next Josh Allen.
14:11But I wonder if he gets, you know, I think he averaged like 2.3 carries per game.
14:17Yeah. And Cam can run a little bit. Maybe four carries a game.
14:21Yeah, that'd be great. The Vikings hired a new GM.
14:25It's Seattle assistant GM Nolan Teasley. And Garrett Wilson fired up about Frank Reich's offense.
14:30He seems optimistic right now. That's a good thing.
14:33He's not always been so happy with the direction of the Jets.
14:37Yeah. Okay. We're going to take a break. And we have a tweet of the day when we come back.
14:43And then we'll get into wide receivers 10 through 18, including how this group did each of the previous two years.
14:50Was this a productive group? Disappointing group? Somewhere in between?
14:53Yeah, it's somewhere in between. We'll be right back on Fantasy Football today.
14:58Hey, before we jump back into the show, let's take a quick break.
15:02But not just any break. This is a refreshing break with Snapple.
15:06We all know about Snapple's iconic real facts. So let's take a minute to go over some of my faves.
15:13Snapple Real Fact 1983. The first player drafted to play pro football never played in the league.
15:18Snapple Real Fact 1119. The Grand Canyon could hold about 900 trillion footballs.
15:22Snapple Real Fact 2064. The first college football game broadcast on TV was on September 30th, 1939.
15:28Snapple Real Fact 1896. The tradition of playing football on Thanksgiving originated with college football in 1876.
15:34So grab a Snapple, take a second, and enjoy the moment.
15:37Because let's be honest, this might be the most refreshing part of your day.
15:42Snapple, make your break more interesting. All right, now let's get back to the show.
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17:06Okay, it's time for our tweet of the day.
17:09Dave, you know Cousin Ernest. I named him Cousin Ernest.
17:12He's one of our long listeners. He says, Cousin Ernest here in Spurs land, Adam.
17:17Let's make a bet. Your Knicks versus my Spurs.
17:20I win. We co-host the league team. You win.
17:23I heckle Dan at the next tennis match or something else.
17:27I'm game. I'm in because I think we're going to win.
17:31The Knicks are going to win the NBA finals.
17:34It's going to be amazing. And you're on, Ernest.
17:37We'll co-host a team in your league. I don't know if you guys have any ideas when the Knicks win what Cousin Ernest will owe me.
17:45I don't need him to heckle Dan at the next tennis match.
17:49I'm not going to win it anyway. But you think of anything.
17:53This was just my way of saying that I'm picking the Knicks to win the NBA finals.
17:59Knicks in six. Heath, you're muted. Ernest hosts a show if the Spurs win.
18:03Okay. He can come on the show. And you have to be there and you have to watch, but you're on mute the whole time.
18:12Oh, no, no. He's not hosting a full show.
18:15Maybe a segment. Oh, yes. Full show. Do you think that the Knicks are going to be like the underdog?
18:21I mean, they're the underdogs from a betting standpoint, but from like who everybody's cheering for.
18:26I had a really strange experience in South Florida at a Buffalo Wild Wings on Saturday night.
18:32I took my 16-year-old. He was cheering for the Thunder.
18:35I was cheering for the Spurs. And the place was packed.
18:39And there might have been two people in the whole building cheering for the Thunder.
18:44Oh, everyone hates the Thunder. No, the Knicks would be the fan favorite if the Thunder were in.
18:50Because Shea Gilders-Alexander fell like 50 times during the NBA Western Conference Finals.
18:54They are a dirty, cheating, no-good, lousy team. I wanted the Knicks to beat the Thunder, but I don't think they would have.
19:02No, I think the answer to your question is everybody loves Wemby and hates New York.
19:07So the Spurs are going to be the sentimental favorites.
19:10And I'm just glad Jalen Brunson never falls down.
19:13No, he does. And a lot of players do.
19:16Harden does and all that. But I forget which writer it was.
19:20He went back. He watched all the tape. And Shea Gilders-Alexander does it so much more than anyone else.
19:27So much more. It was broken down in an article, I think, on Yahoo.
19:31And not only, like, you saw that play against the Lakers, where I think it was Holmgren acted like he got hit
19:38in the face and he fell down or in the neck or something.
19:43It didn't get hit in the face at all.
19:46They reviewed it. They're just cheaters. They're cheaters. They're no good, lousy cheaters.
19:50I'm glad they're out. Okay, wide receivers 10 through 18.
19:53Here we go. Okay, 2024. This group stunk. Just in terms of ADP.
19:58This is not ADP. This is consensus rankings. But if we look at ADP from fantasy pros, PPR, wide receivers 10 through 18, obviously nine receivers.
20:06Only three of them in 2024 finished in the top 20 overall.
20:10Four finished in the top 24 overall. Five of them finished wide receiver 38 or worse.
20:15On a per-game basis, only four of the nine finished in the top 20.
20:20Five of them finished in the top 24. That year, Olave, Debo, Ayuk, Pittman, and Cooper Cup were complete busts.
20:27Last year, it's a little more fresh on your brain.
20:30Here were the wide receivers that were 10 through 18 in PPR.
20:34AJ Brown, he finished as wide receiver 12 per game.
20:37Lad McConkie, he was a bust. Wide receiver 38.
20:40T. Higgins finished as wide receiver 17 overall, 16 per game.
20:44So he was fine. Tyreek Hill, wide receiver 103 overall, 18th per game.
20:48JSN was wide receiver 2. Terry McLaurin was wide receiver 55 overall, 36th per game.
20:53Mike Evans was 76th overall, 41st per game. Garrett Wilson was 61st overall, 15th per game.
20:58And Devontae Adams was wide receiver 9. So you had Tyreek Hill, Terry McLaurin, Mike Evans, and Garrett Wilson being busts because they were injured.
21:07But six of the nine receivers in this group finished top 18 per game and were drafted as top 18 receivers.
21:14So I think this group was pretty horrible in 2024 and pretty solid in 2025, including JSN as a league winner.
21:21All right. With that said, I already asked you guys how you feel about Rasheed Rice, T.
21:26Higgins, Chris Olave, AJ Brown, Abuka, Zay Flowers, Devontae Smith, McMillan, and neighbors.
21:30So let's put them in groups of three and break them down.
21:34Dave, Rasheed Rice, T. Higgins, and Chris Olave. Do you consider Chris Olave to be not like the others?
21:41Rasheed Rice, T. Higgins, Chris Olave? He's behind Abuka, or I'm sorry.
21:45He's behind Abuka too for me, but also T.
21:48Higgins and Rasheed Rice. As of now, Rice is my favorite of the group.
21:52And Olave, I feel like I need to see it again.
21:56I don't think the situation is going to be the same.
21:59Love the offense. I'm a believer in Tyler Shuck.
22:02I think he can handle it. Can he handle two receivers plus to getting good numbers on a weekly basis?
22:09I don't know. I don't know if Olave is going to see the same type of target volume.
22:15That he saw toward the end of last year.
22:18Or maybe even overall last year. With a rookie like Jordan Tyson on the field in New Orleans.
22:24Jamie, you were not apparently swayed by my... Rasheed Shaheed wasn't really that big of a factor argument on FFT Express.
22:31The target share was basically the same with and without Rasheed Shaheed.
22:35But your concern is he wasn't as good when Rasheed Shaheed was there.
22:39And now they have Jordan Tyson. So elaborate on why you think Chris Olave has some bust potential.
22:45Well, Tyson obviously is a better prospect than Shaheed.
22:48Hopefully he performs better than Shaheed. But in the nine games with Rasheed Shaheed before he was traded, Olave averaged 14.1 PPR points.
22:56Now you could say Tyler Shuck wasn't the quarterback for most of that.
23:00And then just taking hold of Kellen Moore's offense, it's a fair argument.
23:04And he averaged 20.2 PPR points after Shaheed was traded.
23:08So that's a pretty big leap in production. Six points per game.
23:11So can he be closer to that? Or will he be closer to the 14?
23:16And I'm going to guess he's probably somewhere in between if things go right.
23:21I'm just a little concerned that we're looking at a player who's got significant competition.
23:26The run game should be better with the addition of ETN, Achan, Travis, and what he brings.
23:32They added another tight end. That's going to be, I think, a little bit of a playmaker and a factor in Oscar Delp.
23:39But obviously, if Jordan Tyson is as advertised, he could easily push for targets and take targets away from Olave, where he
23:47didn't have that problem after Shaheed was gone because the rest of the receiving core was, for the most part, miserable.
23:53So yes, the target share was the same. So that's encouraging.
23:57But I still think you're looking at an offense that hopefully continues to evolve.
24:02A lot of expectations on Tyler Shuck. So hopefully he lives up to them.
24:06But I think just looking at Olave, and in this group, he definitely belongs in this group.
24:12He should be closer to the top than the bottom.
24:15I just think there should be a little bit cause for concern for what his career has been and for what he
24:23was able to produce last year when there was no competition on the field.
24:27Well, let's talk about what his career has been, just to give some numbers here.
24:32Olave has played 15, 16, 8, and 16 games in his four-year career.
24:36And here's where he has finished per game in full PPR.
24:40And it's not that much different than non- or half PPR.
24:44Rookie year, wide receiver 27 per game. Second season, wide receiver 21 per game.
24:48Third season was just horrible. I think it was wide receiver 55 or 58 per game.
24:54I said it a few minutes ago, but he was one of those busts in this range two years ago.
25:00And then last year, wide receiver 7 per game.
25:03In a down year for wide receivers, typically what he averaged last year would have been around wide receiver 10 per game.
25:10But still a phenomenal year for him. Heath, I look at that 2023 season.
25:1587 catches, 1,123 yards, five touchdowns on 138 targets.
25:18I never know exactly what someone's floor is. But do you think it's fair to say that's probably around the floor for
25:25Olave, which was wide receiver 21 per game that year?
25:29Yeah, I think that's fair to say if we're taking injury concern out of it.
25:34I mean, there is a chance that Jordan Tyson shows up and it's just like, oh, well.
25:39By midseason, they have a 1A and a 1B and we don't even know for sure who it is on a week-to-week basis.
25:47There's also a chance that Tyson, who's already missed some time this summer as they kind of manage a hamstring issue, it
25:54just isn't really that big of a factor. And if you look at Olave, I think Jamie said he averaged 20 fantasy
26:01points per game after Shahid was gone. And it is like almost a perfect split with when Tyler Shuck became the starter and when Rashid Shahid left.
26:10But it was 18.8 fantasy points per game in eight games with Tyler Shuck.
26:15I think that the big thing is going to be where the touchdown spike last year, how much of that is sustainable?
26:22It was he had 10 touchdowns in his first three seasons in the league.
26:27He scored nine last year. But for a very good wide receiver, which we think he is, nine touchdowns on 156 targets isn't crazy at all.
26:35He had a 5.8% touchdown rate. That's really good.
26:38He's good. So if you're looking at what's more statistically normal, it's the touchdown rate last year than the touchdown rate the first three years.
26:47And if he scores eight or nine touchdowns, I think he's going to have 80 catches and 1,100 yards.
26:53He caught almost every touchdown from Tyler Shuck because he was on pace.
26:57Alave was on pace for 13 touchdowns in eight games with Shuck.
27:01And Shuck was only on pace for 19 touchdowns in those games.
27:05So, yeah, they just had a great connection. He got a lot more end zone targets than he ever had.
27:12He caught four touchdowns on deep balls, which was rare for him.
27:16All right. So that's Olave. And then let me bring something up with Higgins.
27:20He just seems like, like I said earlier, when he's on the field with Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase, he's a top
27:2715 wide receiver on a per game basis every year.
27:31Except for 2023, which was just a miserable year for the Bengals offense.
27:35But there have only been two wide receivers over the last four years that have finished top 16 per game in PPR
27:42with a target per outrun rate below 22%. And T.
27:46Higgins is both of them. His targets last year, I mean, like what was his 17 game pace last year?
27:52It was less than 1,000 yards. I think it was something like 110 targets.
27:57I can look it up. But his 17 game pace was 111 targets, 959 yards, 13 touchdowns.
28:02He had a target per outrun rate. I think it was 18.4% or something like that.
28:08That's really, really low. The year before that, it was 24%.
28:11And he was a top five receiver per game.
28:14But that is the big outlier for him. So I just want to bring it up that Higgins feels super safe because he does it every year.
28:23If he gets a target per outrun rate, Dave, in the 18% rate, he's on pace for 111 targets.
28:30Um, that he might, he might actually be a bust, right?
28:33I mean, I mean, especially if the touchdown rate goes down, I think when you're drafting T.
28:39Higgins, you're counting on him to score a boatload of touchdowns.
28:42And I think you cannot rule that out given the offense, given the quarterback, given his role.
28:48I, I, I feel kind of good about T.
28:51Higgins. I feel good about, I'm not in the projections game.
28:55Heath is, I don't know how many touchdowns he's projected for T.
28:59Higgins, but I know to expect a lot of points from the Bengals offense.
29:03And if they're going to score a lot of points, their top two pass catchers are going to come up with a lot of them.
29:12And so he had 11 last year. That's kind of crazy, but it wouldn't surprise me if he matched that number this
29:19year, you're drafting him for the teddies. I've got him projected for 9.3, which is the second highest in this group behind only Rushy Rice.
29:27Yeah. Makes sense. And then obviously if Jamar Chase gets hurt, there's, there's big ups.
29:32Oh gosh. Yes. But even if he just gets the targets up to like 125 or something, you could have a huge year from Higgins.
29:40Um, but it's weird that I don't, I feel like, I feel like he's going late.
29:46Let me look at the ADP. I feel like Higgins is not getting quite the respect that he doesn't feel as exciting
29:53as some of these younger receivers who could take a step like Devante Smith without AJ Brown and Tedderall McMillan.
29:59It's just not that young, but I guess guys who maybe you could project more upside for than T Higgins.
30:06Does that, he tends to fall in drafts. I think, you know, you, you look at it and say, okay, what am I drafting?
30:14Am I drafting guys just gonna score a bunch of touchdowns or am I drafting a guy that could hopefully take a step forward?
30:22And I think we've kind of made the argument for him over the years of, well, what happens if Jamar Chase misses time?
30:29Well, you know, that that's very rare that Jamar Chase misses time.
30:33You know, it's happened a couple of times, but, um, not over a full season, hopefully doesn't happen this year.
30:40So I think when you look at T Higgins, like you kind of just know what you're buying, you know, you're buying
30:47like a discounted George Pickens, you know, the second best receiver on his team, but not maybe the same heights that that
30:55Pickens can get to as we saw last year.
30:58I think just he, that that's why I think Higgins is safe.
31:01You know, he, he gives you the opportunity to score 10 plus touchdowns.
31:06He's done that now in back-to-back seasons. He's on a team that's still, I think, going to throw the ball a lot.
31:13He has one of the best passing quarterbacks in the NFL.
31:17And so there's a lot to love about his situation, but you're just gonna have to understand there's going to be weeks
31:24when he does not score that you're going to be a little frustrated.
31:28But it's interesting to see, like, would you take a Mecca Buka who had five good games in his career over this proven commodity T Higgins?
31:37Would you take Zay Flowers? Because he, Zay Flowers is slightly ahead of Higgins and Fantasy Pro's ADP.
31:43Like those two guys in particular, would you take Higgins or Flowers or a Buka?
31:48Who's your favorite there? It probably depends on how you started your team and what you're looking for.
31:54For me, I have Higgins ranked higher just because I think he's, again, safer.
31:58But the upside certainly favors the other two if they hit.
32:02I'll go Flowers, Higgins, a Buka. I've got the exact opposite order.
32:06A Buka, Higgins, Flowers. Okay. Someone asked what he's done when Joe Burrow has played a full season.
32:12Joe Burrow, three years playing 16 or 17 games, 2021, 2022, and 2024.
32:16In 2021, Higgins averaged 15.7 points per game. In 2024, he averaged 18.7 points per game.
32:21And you'd obviously take either of those in the third round.
32:252022, he averaged only 13.7 points per game. But he left three games very early to kill his per-game averages.
32:32And that does happen with T. Higgins. All right.
32:35Next group of three is A.J. Brown, Emeka Abuka, and Zay Flowers.
32:39A.J. Brown, Emeka Abuka, Zay Flowers. Jamie, how do you rank those three?
32:43Right now, currently, it's Brown Abuka Flowers. Dave? A.J.
32:46Emeka, Zay. Now, Heath, now you have to do their middle names.
32:50I don't know those, but I do have the opposite order, so I'm doing my job there.
32:55Zay Abuka, A.J. Wow. Wow. Okay. Things just got interesting.
32:59I know you're kind of down on the Bucs offense comparatively, but let's talk about why you hate, completely hate, despise A.J.
33:06Brown and Emeka Abuka, which is what you just said.
33:09I think, and I was just writing the Tampa Bay player outlooks this morning, so it's kind of fresh on my mind.
33:17I think just the completely opposite halves of season that Abuka and Baker Mayfield and this offense had last year is a little bit concerning.
33:25I worry about Baker Mayfield's accuracy bouncing back. I worry about another new offensive system and just how pass-heavy it's going to be.
33:32And I think he has, I mean, obvious top 10 upside.
33:36But if somebody from this group, I think, finishes outside of the top 20 and there's no real reason for it, I think it would probably be Abuka.
33:45Okay. This group, again, is A.J. Brown, Emeka Abuka, and Zay Flowers.
33:49What's your issue with A.J. Brown? He was not quite the same guy last year.
33:54And I don't blame all of that on Jalen Hurts because I'm the Jalen Hurts defender.
34:00I don't think that New England's going to be, I'm assuming he's in New England.
34:04I don't think New England's going to be like a pass-heavy offense.
34:08I think it's still probably one of the teams that runs in the top 10 in terms of run plays next year.
34:16And I'm not entirely convinced that they're just going to throw it 10 times per game to A.J.
34:22Brown. Patriots threw for 4,426 yards and 31 touchdowns last year.
34:25That's better than any season the Eagles have had in the last four years.
34:30Yes, sir. Now, I know Heath, you don't think Drake May will be as efficient as he was last year.
34:37I don't think he will average nine yards per pass attempt again, no.
34:41I guess I've made the argument I'll make it again.
34:44I'm sure I'll make it again tonight when there's a bonus podcast.
34:48They're going to lose more games, I think, this year.
34:51They have a tougher schedule. I think they're going to have to throw a little bit more.
34:57Plus, they didn't have A.J. Brown last year. So, shouldn't they throw more if they have A.J.
35:03Brown? Oh, I think they will probably throw more.
35:06Drake May only threw 492 passes last year. Right.
35:09So, they were about 70 below league median. I just wonder if this is finally the year.
35:14He's been on the Titans and the Eagles in his career.
35:18Is this the year that he's finally unleashed? I mean, I feel like A.J.
35:22Brown could be a top three wide receiver. Well, I don't think that's real.
35:27Like, he had 158 targets in 2023. I don't think we can say he wasn't unleashed in Philadelphia.
35:33Okay. He had a 1,450-yard season. But they only threw 25 touchdowns.
35:37He had a 1,496-yard season. But the fact that Jalen Hurts was running for double-digit touchdowns every year, and they only threw
35:4424—they threw 24 to 26 touchdowns all four years in Philadelphia.
35:48So, obviously, I'm not saying Hurts was bad for A.J.
35:51Brown. He gave him some terrific years. But he could have been even better if he threw the ball more instead of running it in the end zone.
36:00Well, this is, on paper, probably the best passing quarterback he's going to play with.
36:05Thank you for summing up my thoughts in one clear, concise sentence.
36:09Thank you. And that's not a knock on Jalen Hurts.
36:13I just think that Drake May may be a better passer.
36:16You know, so— Yes. And it remains to be seen.
36:20I mean, he's obviously still very young in his career.
36:23But I think you're making this move if they're making this move and probably giving up the compensation, whether it's a first-round
36:30pick or multiple twos, however this is going to unfold.
36:33And signing Romeo Dobbs. Like, clearly, they realized their passing game was not as good as it could be last year.
36:40And so, does that change how things look from an offensive standpoint?
36:44Plus, you factor in, like you said, more competitive schedule, probably more opportunities to throw the ball.
36:50You're still looking at a backfield that I think has some questions.
36:54You know, Ramondre was really good last year, but is he a true lead running back?
36:59Is Trevion Henderson that guy? You know, so I would expect more of a 50-50 split, if not maybe a little bit
37:06more leaning toward a—more pass-heavy, you know, to what degree we'll find out.
37:11So, I think this is just the evolution of what you do when you have these young quarterbacks, is you build around
37:18them and then you try to add a piece of significance.
37:22And A.J. Brown is that piece. And so, does that make things better for him?
37:27That's what I'm counting on. You know, I think, again, yes, he didn't have a great season last year.
37:33There was a stretch where he was still a very dominant fantasy option and a very solid wide receiver.
37:39You know, it wasn't what we're used to seeing because we're used to seeing more of it.
37:45And when he was bad, he was really bad.
37:48But I think if you look at it and say, okay, can he still be that guy?
37:53He's still under 30. You know, he's getting closer to the end of his prime, but he's still in it right now at least.
38:01And you have to hope that if he was unmotivated last year and all the things that unfolded, he's got to be hopefully as motivated as he's been.
38:11You know, certainly when he went to Philadelphia at that time.
38:14Again, younger receiver. He was, you know, clearly joining a friend of his and that friendship has fallen apart, which I'm sure factor into all this as well.
38:23The offense coordinator is better than what he had last year.
38:27I think that's easy to say. And so, you know, he's looking at, I think, I don't know how long of a
38:34run this is, but I think for 2026, A.J.
38:37Brown could still be, I don't know, top three, Adam, but I think he's still pushed to be top 10.
38:44All right, I'm going to take a break. By the way, A.J.
38:48Brown averaged 18.6 PPR fantasy points per game, which is phenomenal in his last seven games when he was on pace for 163 targets.
38:56One more, I'll just bring up one more thing with these guys when we come back after this quick break on fantasy football today.
39:04Hey, before we jump back into the show, let's take a quick break, but not just any break.
39:10This is a refreshing break with Snapple. We all know about Snapple's iconic real facts.
39:15So let's take a minute to go over some of my faves.
39:19Snapple real fact, one, nine, eight, three. The first player drafted to play pro football never played in the league.
39:25Snapple real fact, one, one, one, nine. The Grand Canyon could hold about 900 trillion footballs.
39:30Snapple real fact, two, zero, six, four. The first college football game broadcast on TV was on September 30th, 1939.
39:37Snapple real fact, one, eight, nine, six. The tradition of playing football on Thanksgiving originated with college football in 1876.
39:44So grab a Snapple, take a second and enjoy the moment because let's be honest, this might be the most refreshing part of your day.
39:52Snapple, make your break more interesting. All right, now let's get back to the show.
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40:48Get started today. So with Brown and Abuka, you know, A.J.
40:52Brown had a preseason, was it a hamstring? I think it was a hamstring injury in the preseason.
40:58I just saw an article August 25th where he used to practice with a hamstring injury, and people thought he was hurt.
41:05And then Abuka, I'm just going to read directly from ESPN.
41:09ESPN wrote, A week six hamstring injuries for Mecca Abuka.
41:12A week six hamstring injury robbed him of his top speed.
41:16NFL Next Gen stats tracking data had Abuka with 11 routes of at least 18 miles per hour through the first five
41:23weeks of the season, and 11 such routes in the remaining 12 weeks after the hamstring injury.
41:29So just something to keep in mind. That's exactly when the downturn started for Abuka.
41:34He was supposed to miss time, and then he was a surprise active.
41:38And he didn't miss any games. So he tried gutting through what turned out to be a pretty bad hamstring injury.
41:45The highlight from OTAs that everybody's oohing and aahing about, I think his speed looks pretty good in that play.
41:51That's just as impressive to me as catching a ball behind him and making the one-handed grab.
41:57I'm bullish on Abuka. I'd still rather draft A.J.
42:00Brown, but those two to me are like right in that low-end wide receiver one range on draft deck.
42:06Does anybody have anything else to say about Zay Flowers?
42:10We've kind of overlooked him in this group of three.
42:13Yeah, I think part of it is like I'm maybe more high on Flowers than low on the other two guys in
42:20terms of where they are in our consensus rankings.
42:23He comes out of, somebody in the chat said he's going to be a top 10 wide receiver this year.
42:30He actually comes out as wide receiver 10 in my projections.
42:33So I think he's awesome as a player. I'm hopeful for an uptick in passing attempts with the new offensive coordinator there.
42:41And I don't see anybody on that team that's going to challenge his 30% target share.
42:46Okay. Doyle does have a history of working with coaches who love tight ends.
42:51And Doyle himself is a former tight ends coach.
42:54And the Ravens have gotten rid of their fullback.
42:57So I'm expecting them to be one of many teams that see their personnel usage of two plus tight ends go way up.
43:04I don't know if that necessarily means a huge drop off, if any in targets for Zay Flowers and a 30% target
43:11share sounds great, but he's been at 6.9, 6.8 targets per game each of the last two years.
43:17And he's had flashes and certainly streaks of huge fantasy games and also terrible floors where he's getting 10, 11, maybe even less PPR points per game.
43:26I love the talent. I say it every time I talk about Zay Flowers.
43:31Love the talent. Wish he would get eight targets per game.
43:35Wish he'd get used more in the red zone.
43:38He'd be awesome for fantasy if that would happen.
43:40It hasn't happened. And I don't know if it's ever going to happen.
43:45Keith, what are your target projections for Flowers? It's a career high.
43:49I know that. I've got him at 130. Okay.
43:52Well, over 17 games, 7.6 targets per game. That would be a career high.
43:56Yeah, his career high, I think, is 118. Well, and you've talked about how he had the same, basically the same number of targets the last two years.
44:06But two years ago, they threw 50 more, 55 more passes.
44:09So his, he earned a higher share of the targets last year.
44:13If the, if we get 50 more passes, then it might be another 15 targets for him right there.
44:19Yeah. That would put them over seven per game easily on a per game basis.
44:24Last year, we actually had four wide receivers finished top 12 per game with 120 or fewer targets.
44:30That's in the four seasons before that, we had a combined three and last year we had four.
44:36So it's hard. It had been very difficult to be a top 12 wide receiver per game with 120.
44:43Technically is 121 or fewer targets. Somebody did with 121.
44:46So I counted him, um, to be top 12 per game with that target, with that target range.
44:52But four guys did it last year, including flowers.
44:55All right. Next group of three. So this is wide receivers, 16, 17, and 18 in our consensus rankings.
45:01Devante Smith, Tedderall McMillan, Malik neighbors, uh, Jamie, your thoughts on this group?
45:05How do you rank Devante Smith, Tedderall McMillan, Malik neighbors, Smith, McMillan neighbors, Smith, McMillan neighbors, just like that.
45:12Heath, I've got it. McMillan Smith neighbors, but McMillan and Smith are, are separated by 0.17 points in my season long projections.
45:19So it's like they are tied. If I could just have those at the same ranking, that'd be perfect.
45:25Dave, McMillan, Smith, gap, neighbors. Do you have other people ranked ahead of neighbors?
45:30Yes. Who? Alave, Waddle, Gare Wilson, Zay Flowers. Okay.
45:33So a little bit different than the consensus rankings.
45:36All right. So neighbors is last for everyone. And then Devante Smith and Tedderall, Tedderall McMillan appear to be very close.
45:43Heath, uh, give me your thoughts on this group of three.
45:46I think McMillan has, in my opinion, the least amount of upside currently, um, which is saying strange probably to put him first.
45:54If that's the case, I think until AJ Brown's actually gone, McMillan probably has the safest floor of this group.
46:01And if we get to the first day of training camp and Malik neighbors as a full participant, then he's not even,
46:08I'm not even sure if he's on this graphic anymore.
46:11No, he won't be. Oh man. You think he'll be in the top 10?
46:16I think so. He's not on the pup list to start training camp and he's out there almost every day with the giants.
46:23That's first of all, I'd be really surprised if that happened, but second of all, that would be a really good sign.
46:31I guess so. But I just, after all of this, right after a very, you know, serious knee injury with multiple ligaments,
46:38I can't remember exactly what the injury was, but it was, no, it was meniscus.
46:43It was ACL and meniscus. Yes. With multiple surgeries.
46:46Not as LPP? No. Not as OPP. It's TLC.
46:49Multiple surgeries. I just, like, I don't know what to expect.
46:52I just can't sit here and expect Malik neighbors to be himself.
46:56Even when he's quote unquote healthy and on the field.
47:00You know what I mean? Like obviously Brock Bowers didn't have surgery last year.
47:04He came back and he wasn't himself. So he was healthy.
47:08He was ready to play, but he was obviously hampered.
47:11I don't know, man. To me, if Malik neighbors gets drafted as a top 10 wide receiver, I think it would be a mistake.
47:19You gotta be, you gotta be pretty sold on him being his old self.
47:24I, I, I, at this point, he won't be a top 10 receiver for me.
47:29So he might move up a couple of spots, but he'll be in this range for this year.
47:35What do you guys think just based on what you've seen from, you know, the giants offense and what they plan to be.
47:42They, they, they have said the Ravens got rid of their fullback.
47:46Well, he went to the giants. They drafted an interior offensive lineman in the, you know, top of the 10th overall pick.
47:53And they've said repeatedly, they want to run the football.
47:57So let's just say Malik neighbors were healthy. The health wasn't a concern.
48:01What kind of year do you think he would have Dave?
48:05Do you think he'd be able to get a lot of targets and be an awesome fantasy producer in this offense?
48:12I think he'd be around seven and a half to eight targets per game.
48:16If he's his old self, there's no question. I'm sorry.
48:20If he was healthy. So like the injury never happened.
48:23Yeah, basically. Okay. Well, if the injury never happened, then we're talking about a top five overall.
48:28Right. Right. Right. I think so. Because most of those guys are getting, you know, close to 10 targets a game.
48:35You think that's on the table? If he had stayed healthy, he would have been fantastic last year or close to it.
48:43And then you're talking about coming off that year with what Jackson dart did.
48:47Like the, the expectations would have been unrealistic. Yeah.
48:50I don't, if he was completely healthy, I would expect him to get nine targets game.
48:56Okay. I wouldn't. I think it goes down. I did a whole dive on every single new play caller in the league.
49:03And I think the biggest influence on Matt Nagy is going to end up being John Harbaugh.
49:08This is from the story I wrote. You'll see it on CBS sports.com in the next week.
49:14In 18 seasons, the Ravens were above a 60% pass rate three times between 56 and 59%, three other times.
49:21So that means that there were six out of 18 seasons where they were throwing the ball 56 plus percent of the time.
49:28It seems pretty low. Um, the giants last year with Jackson dart through the ball, 51.4% of his plays.
49:35Yes. This, they, they definitely, John Harbaugh does not want to turn into a crazy high volume passing offense.
49:41Even if he's got Malik neighbors there, he's going to ask Matt Nagy to call a lot of runs.
49:47Maybe that changes. If Scadaboo gets hurt early on in the year, Tyrone Tracy is totally ineffective.
49:53Yeah, of course. Then they're going to have to start to throw a little bit more, but even if, even if the
50:00injury had never happened, I would expect at least a small downturn in target volume from Malik neighbors.
50:06And now that he might not be, uh, who, who the hell knows how he's going to be by the time we
50:13get to August 1st, but if he's not practicing and he's not himself, he might average six targets per game all year.
50:20Well, I did want to get your thoughts on that because I know it's hypothetical.
50:25And all, but I just, I wanted to point out that the giants want to go in a different direction offensively.
50:32If they can pull it off, their lead running back is coming off a serious injury too.
50:38And also that Jackson dart didn't really throw that much because he ran the ball so much.
50:44I don't remember. It was 28 ish pass attempts per game, something like that.
50:48And his starts, um, not a lot. All right.
50:51But the other guys, Devante Smith and Tedderall McMillan, Jamie, what, if anything separates Smith for you from McMillan?
50:57I mean, the hope would be is that if AJ Brown does get traded, which is the expectation that the rest of
51:05the receiving core, including a guy that they drafted at 20th overall is nowhere near AJ Brown.
51:10So, you know, Makai Lemon, Dontavian Wicks, Marquise Brown, you know, uh, there's one more guy in there.
51:16Um, you know, that, that they, they just make Devante Smith the number one receiver.
51:21And that's what they've been saying. You know, at least the reports out of Philadelphia have been, they viewed Devante Smith as the number one receiver.
51:30He's takes that step forward. He's been 14.2 PPR points or more in the three games that AJ Brown has missed during their time together.
51:38That's such a small sample size, but you know, it's, it's 14.2, 14.7, like 21 something, you know, so he has the chance to be amazing.
51:47And in all three of those games, it was nine targets or more.
51:51So we're looking at a guy that hopefully we'll get fed.
51:55Uh, that being said, you know, it's a matter of how high you want to have him.
52:00You know, I've seen some of the comments in the chat.
52:04Devante Smith should be where AJ Brown is. Devante Smith should be, you know, where T Higgins is, you know, so I
52:11think a lot of people are excited about the situation.
52:14And again, they should be, uh, but now you're putting in a high profile rookie.
52:19You're bringing in some veteran guys that they really didn't lean on really anybody in the past.
52:25It was just really concentrated to the three main pass catching options of the two receivers in the tight end.
52:32They have a second tight end. Now, you know, I think the new coordinator will throw the ball a little bit more to Saquon Barkley and Sean Mannion.
52:41So, you know, that's something I think that could help Barkley as well.
52:45I just think you're looking at Devante Smith and the runway is pretty clear.
52:50So hopefully that's the case for him going into this.
52:53Dave, your thoughts on, uh, Devante Smith versus Tedro McMillan.
52:56I want to believe it with Devante Smith and Tedro McMillan.
53:00I think it might be easier to actually buy into Devante Smith because we've seen him in the small sample size without AJ Brown.
53:08And frankly, in games when Brown's played and Dallas Goddard's been out that Devante Smith season uptick in targets.
53:14And he does usually really well with them. And that gets me excited about what he could end up being in, in Philly's office.
53:22I think they're going to be coordinated much better.
53:25That's not saying much. They were terrible last year, but I think Sean Mannion is one of these wonderkin type of play callers.
53:33He's only been coaching in the NFL. This is his third season, I think coaching in the national football league.
53:39And he's already an offensive coordinator. I think it's going to be a sharper offense.
53:44Certainly, you know, West coast timing base. Devante Smith knows he's got to be, on this spot at the field in this
53:52many seconds, turning around balls out and it's there.
53:54And he has to make a play after the catch.
53:58And I think he can pull that off. So I'm, I'm kind of excited about Smith in that regard with McMillan.
54:05You're just hoping that he gets not just more targets, but just does more with them.
54:10Last year, he had a bunch of games where he had at least seven, he had 10 games with seven plus targets.
54:17He had 15 plus PPR and four of the 10.
54:21So I'm hoping that he takes a second year jump.
54:24I'm not really discouraged by anything that the Panthers did with their passing game.
54:28And I'm still not sure the Panthers running game is going to be where Carolina wants it to be.
54:35This could be a situation where they, they don't want to be a throwing team, but they might have to be.
54:42And that would obviously benefit McMillan. He could probably have a lot of games this year with a plus targets.
54:48And Heath McMillan versus Smith. You said you have almost exactly even in your projections.
54:53I think, I think they pretty much covered it.
54:56I, I, I just don't have much hope that Bryce young is going to be good enough to make Ted Rowe McMillan a top 12.
55:04Maybe he could be a top 12 wide receiver if it's like last year was.
55:09Um, but I, I think Smith has more upside and just a little, little more downside because we haven't seen him in this role recently.
55:18Okay. I think the thing for McMillan is like, if he does what he did a year ago, you'll be happy about it.
55:25He had some good, I know Dave said, you know, he has to do more with the targets, but I, I, you
55:33know, look, I think some of his production was just boosted.
55:36He had a 33 point game against the Falcons in week 11.
55:40Other than that, he scored 16 or more points in, in five total games out of 17.
55:46So, I mean, this is like the greatest division you get pits against the box and he just goes nuts.
55:52You get McMillan against the Falcons. He goes nuts.
55:55Like it felt, it felt like a really frustrating season where most weeks he was disappointing, but at the end of the
56:03day, he had a thousand yards as a rookie.
56:06Um, he was 26th out of 78 wide receivers with 50 or more targets.
56:10Tedderall McMillan was 26 in yards per outrun 18th in yards per catch.
56:15Um, 28th in yards per target, only 30th in target per outrun rate, but that's not terrible.
56:20Uh, he did have a lot of drops though, 6.7% drop rate.
56:24So he's got to clean that up. Um, but I think a pretty encouraging season.
56:29If you go game by game, it's not that good for McMillan, but just look at the overall numbers.
56:35Finishing his wide receiver, 23 per game granted in a down year for receivers was, was really good.
56:41Well, I mean, again, you, you hope your two is better.
56:45You know, typically rookies you've highlighted this forever. Typically rookies that produce like this tend to get better.
56:51And he obviously was a high profile draft pick.
56:54So it really comes down to, do you buy into Bryce Young?
56:58Do you buy into this offense? And I think that's what for me, holds me back a little bit with McMillan is that you're looking at a quarterback.
57:07He've said it, but I don't think he's going to elevate him to the heights of being a, a top 10 guy, at least right now.
57:16So if you just, I think draft him accordingly as a mid to wide receiver, that's fine.
57:21Does he have the ability to get better? Sure.
57:24He can, he can be a nine to 10 touchdown guy.
57:28It wouldn't shock me. They also added another receiver.
57:31That's getting some buzz, you know, for what it's worth, Xavier will get lost weight, you know, trying to, I think save
57:38whatever he can of his, you know, disappointing first two seasons of his career.
57:43I think Jalen Coker healthy for a full season will matter too.
57:47And then we'll see what this backfield looks like, which may be a plus for McMillan.
57:52If they can't run the ball to the same, uh, same level of success that they had last year.
57:58So I think McMillan is to me appropriately priced, you know, somewhere in, in the late teens is, is where I would be looking to target him.
58:07I probably would not take him until around four, but I just think there's more upside.
58:12Like he said, for Devante Smith as, as we kind of illustrated.
58:16Okay. I'm going to read a few chat comments to end the show from Wisco disco.
58:22Are most of CBS rankings, assuming AJ Brown is traded or will some of you move Devante Smith up even more once the trade happens?
58:30Mine assume AJ Brown has traded. Agreed. Okay. Uh, by the way, you missed Wisco disco 97 best comment in the chat
58:37because Johnny airport said if the Knicks win, I think he said the next one, you have to go clubbing with him for 24 hours straight.
58:46And Wisco disco said, uh, Johnny would not have enough hand sanitizer to take with him or something along those lines.
58:53If the Knicks win, I have to go clubbing.
58:56I'd say if the Spurs, when I have to go clubbing, there's not many things I I'd, I'd like to do less
59:03than go clubbing for even one hour. Gosh, 24.
59:06My goodness. Um, Johnny airport wants to know if we should expect a Zay flowers numbers from Malik neighbors.
59:12And that would be from last year, 86 catches, 1200 yards, five touchdowns on 118 targets.
59:17I have no idea what to, who knows what to expect, but 1200 yards.
59:22You think he'd hit that if he played 17 games, Malik neighbors, I think we're going to see two seasons from Malik
59:29neighbors, a struggling beginning until he gets his legs underneath him and see what this offense looks like.
59:35And then a strong finish. And then Johnny also says, if you're worried about Ted, or McMillan because of Bryce, then Justin Jefferson should scare you even more.
59:45I guess because of Kyler. I have really projected for almost exactly the same fantasy points per game as a flowers last year.
59:52So there you go. You worried about Justin Jefferson with Kyler?
59:56I mean, a little, there are some concerns. Yeah.
59:59Yeah. There's small concerns. I like that. Good. Nice pun to end the show.
60:03Okay. Thanks everybody for, uh, for watching and listening.
60:06Um, Johnny says, I had a feeling that Adam hates clubs and social settings in general.
60:12Uh, I would give you that idea. I like social setting.
60:15Of course I hate clubs, but I like social settings, preferably, preferably involving food, you know, like a dinner.
60:22I like a dinner. What would your be your ideal night out with your friends be?
60:27What would you do? Like just guy friends? Yeah.
60:30Um, while you think about it, mine would be poker and pizza, like play some poker, order pizza, watch the game.
60:37It'd probably be a game thing. I was thinking like sitting at home, waiting for Adam to call me and invite me
60:44to the thing that Dave and Jamie are already gone to.
60:48That, that, that event Heath, by the way, is a help Adam with his player outlooks party.
60:53Yeah. I'll call you for that. He, he called me and like, he gave me some like fake question that he really didn't want to ask.
61:02And then it was, um, he goes, I have two questions for you.
61:06And the first question was like, so stupid. Then the second one was like, so how do I write these player outlooks?
61:13No, I said like, how do I know who to write about?
61:17Didn't you do it last year? Yeah, I did.
61:20I did. Oh, you're an expert. They were great.
61:23I got a lot of great reviews on them.
61:26Lots of positive feedback on those. Yeah. Uh, all right.
61:30Well, Heath and Dave, and if you guys have a, a night out that you'd like to plan with your guy friends, David, go to the casino.
61:39Steaks sports casino. I'm more of a night in kind of guy.
61:42Yeah. Halloween. I guess it'd be. Yeah. Like house party with the porch light turned off.
61:48I sit on the back patio with a fire going meat on the smoker.
61:52Okay. I'd come to that. If I got invited, you would not.
61:56Yeah. I wouldn't cover. I would not get invited.
61:59Yeah. Wait, what's the flip side of this? Has Heath ever invited Dave, uh, Adam anywhere?
62:05No. Yes. Where? Um, uh, Wynwood brewing. I mean, I feel like an actual event that I scheduled and invited you to.
62:12And I came, I went, you did. And I drank a little, a tiny bit.
62:17Wow. Yeah. I had a sip. A few. Yeah.
62:20A few sips. Yeah. Called a flight, by the way, when you get all that beer, those little glasses called a flight.
62:27Yeah. Okay. Thanks for watching and listening. We, by the way, four shows a week now we're in June.
62:33So we'll talk to you either tomorrow or when AJ Brown gets traded, whatever happens first.
62:39See you later. Podcasts. Are you really buying a car online on auto trader right now?
62:44Really? At a playground? Yeah, really? Really? Look at these listings from dealers.
62:48Wow. Your search can really get that specific. Really?
62:51And you just put in your info and boom, cars in your budget.
62:55Mom needs a second, honey. You can really have it delivered?
62:59Really? Or I can pick it up at the dealership.
63:02One sec, sweetie. Mommy's buying a car. Mommy, look.
63:05Uh, I think your kid is walking up the slide.
63:09Kyle, again? Really? Auto trader, buy your car online.
63:12Really?
