Rookie Value Wide Receivers You MUST Draft in 2026 Redraft Leagues! (Ep. 2131)
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
23 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 14, 2026
Published
Fri, August 14, 2026
4
Player insights
4
Players mentioned
Topics
Carnell TateHarrison WallaceJordyn TysonMakai Lemon
Player analysis
Player insights
Carnell Tate
PositiveBreakout3:53
Derek Brown views Tate as the Malik Nabers of the Tennessee offense, citing his 10th-ranked yards per route run and 4th-ranked receiving grade in college. Tate profiles as a potential WR1 who can threaten defenses at all three levels, evidenced by a 14.6 aDOT and a 68.8% contested catch rate. While Pat Fitzmaurice is slightly more cautious about his alpha potential, both analysts agree he is a value at his current WR31 ADP and will likely outperform that ranking.
Insight pageHarrison Wallace
PositiveSleeper19:34
Both Derek Brown and Pat Fitzmaurice express a preference for Harrison Wallace III over Dijon Stribling as a deeper sleeper/taxi squad option. Wallace outproduced Stribling at Ole Miss, leading the team in catches and yardage, and the analysts suggest he is the more intriguing prospect despite being an undrafted free agent.
Insight pageJordyn Tyson
PositiveBreakout6:16
Pat Fitzmaurice and Derek Brown are high on Tyson's upside in Kellen Moore's fast-paced Saints offense, which features a skinny target tree. Despite a recent hamstring injury, he is viewed as a top-36 wide receiver who could reach 1,000 yards as a rookie. Fitzmaurice notes that Tyler Shuck's 8.2 aDOT provides a strong downfield passing environment, and if healthy, Tyson is expected to be a primary target alongside Chris Olave.
Insight pageMakai Lemon
PositiveValue12:42
Pat Fitzmaurice and Derek Brown view Lemon as a value at WR44, noting that his ADP has been suppressed by a hamstring injury and general skepticism regarding the Eagles' passing game. A first-round pick and former Biletnikoff winner, Lemon demonstrated elite efficiency in college with over 3 yards per route run. Analysts suggest drafting him for his second-half potential once he is fully acclimated to the offense.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. Call 1-800-GRANGER, click Grainger.com, or stop by.
0:04Grainger, for the ones who get it done. Hello everybody, welcome into the Fantasy Pros Football Podcast.
0:10I'm Ryan Warmly, joined for this short form video by Pat Fitzmaurice and Derek Brown.
0:14Fellas, we are talking some rookies today. The three of us did a lot of talks about rookies throughout spring and summer,
0:21but here we are in redraft season thinking about them not from the dynasty perspective, but from the redraft perspective.
0:28Just a reminder for everybody that all of our 2026 consensus rankings and tiers can be found at FantasyPros.com.
0:34I also just want to reference that we're going to be talking about rankings and ADP on the show.
0:39We're going to be using real-time ADP, which is a really cool tool at Fantasy Pros that shows you where these players
0:46are actually going right now, not just the overall, sometimes outdated ADP.
0:50Derek Brown, can you tell us a little bit more about why real-time ADP is so valuable?
0:55I mean, just for the reasons you stated, Worm, I mean, if you're using real-time ADP, which you can find at FantasyPros.com
1:02slash real ADP, you're getting real updates and stuff and you're able to see, like, one of the most valuable parts of
1:09this is you're able to see the trend lines.
1:12In the last 24 hours in the last week, if you've got drafts coming up or multiple during a week, you get to see where guys are going.
1:21Like, are they trending? Is the guy flying up the board?
1:24So, like, okay, I'm drafting on ESPN or Yahoo or Sleeper, where have you?
1:29You get to see, like, okay, maybe I should take this guy, maybe a few picks before ADP and stuff like that
1:36because this is what is happening currently in drafts.
1:38Yeah, it fits. It's really helpful, too, with, like, if an injury happens, you can see, okay, not what are these ADPs from before.
1:46But in the last 24 hours after this injury news comes out, you know, Ricky Pearsall is out for the year.
1:53Okay, so now where are people drafting Mike Evans and Dijon Stribling and whoever it is you're talking about?
1:58So that real – it is up to the minute.
2:02It's why they call it real-time. Yeah, it does a great job of reflecting the camp news and tracking the changes that
2:09– because the sharpest fantasy managers in every league are right on top of the training camp news.
2:14And ADP, real-time ADP is reflecting that. Yeah, so I just wanted to mention that since I think it's such a great
2:21tool, and we will be talking about ADP today.
2:24That's what we're referring to is real-time ADP. Let's get to the early to mid-round rookies here.
2:29You guys have got one each. Derek Brown, we'll start with you.
2:33Which rookie do you want to talk about? First guy is Carnell Tate, man.
2:37I love him this year. Wide receiver 31, 74th overall in real-time ADP.
2:41There's a runout where he is Malik Nabors of this offense this year, and it's not difficult to see why.
2:48Like, Wando Robinson's going to get his targets. Calvin, really, what do we even get?
2:52Can he stay healthy at this point? But like Carnell Tate, the talent is real.
2:57He went really high in the draft, exactly where I thought he should have gone.
3:0210th in yards per route run, 4th in receiving grade.
3:05A player that was used downfield a whole lot at Ohio State, but he can threaten a defense at all three levels.
3:12Amazing route runner. He's really strong at the catch point.
3:15Like, finished college with an otherworldly 68.8% contested catch rate.
3:18And also for being a downfield receiver in his final season, 14.6 ADOT.
3:22Had zero drops, guys. Like, he truly profiles for me.
3:25And I know this kind of got talked about a lot during the pre-draft process.
3:30Can he be a wide receiver one of an offense?
3:33I think he absolutely can be. Yeah, Derek Brown, you referenced neighbors.
3:37And I know you did that because of Brian Dayball as the play caller.
3:41To me, the rookie that I would compare him to more, though, is last year, Ted O'Reilly and McMillan.
3:47Just in terms of the narrative, I feel—I'm not saying as a player, but just a narrative I feel around him.
3:54And, like, there are some people who are like, maybe he isn't as good as the draft capital would suggest.
4:00I feel like we heard some stuff about that with McMillan a year ago.
4:04Going in similar ranges as a rookie to him.
4:07You know, neighbors, everybody was really certain was a very good player.
4:11I feel like there was maybe a little more uncertainty with both Tate and Tett.
4:16And to me, that's the comp that I really like.
4:19And, by the way, McMillan outplayed where he was going in drafts as a rookie.
4:24To your point. And I would expect similar from Tate.
4:27Fitz, for you, Tate, I mean, wide receiver 30.
4:30Is that too high, too low or just right?
4:32I think it's pretty close to being just right.
4:35I'm a little bit lower just because I want to see him be an alpha receiver for Tennessee.
4:41I just, we don't know if he can be that.
4:44Obviously, he had to play with Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State last year.
4:48So, it's hard to be an alpha receiver when you're playing with maybe the best wide receiver prospect we've seen in the last decade.
4:56But, yeah, I just, I think he's going to be a fantastic big play guy.
5:00We know he is a ball winner. He just comes down with contested catches.
5:05Whether he can be the complete package, that remains to be seen.
5:08So, yeah, to put a bow on the Tate conversation, I would just say, like, I don't know where he will finish this year.
5:16But I just feel pretty confident it will be higher than 30th.
5:20Like, I'm not sure where the right place is to actually rank him.
5:24But it just feels like another one of those, this is the cheapest he's going to be for the next few years in redraft leagues.
5:32And, like I said, maybe he's not going to finish as wide receiver 8.
5:36Or, you know, I think neighbors, to use that reference again, was wide receiver 6 or something in that rookie season.
5:43He's not going to be that. But, like, he'll be better than wide receiver 30.
5:47This feels like a value to me. Fitz, I was going to say, you know, let's go to the next receiver here.
5:54We're actually talking about all receivers today. That wasn't on purpose.
5:58It just happens. I think it's reflective of the class and where the strengths are.
6:02So, every rookie we're talking about actually does happen to be a receiver.
6:06So, who is the next rookie receiver that you're talking about?
6:10It's Jordan Tyson. And just the other day, I moved Jordan Tyson past Colonel Tate in my redraft rankings.
6:16Now I might have to move him right back down since today, on Thursdays we record this, reports that Tyson left the
6:23practice field with some sort of hamstring injury. Maybe an initial report that it's not that serious.
6:28But we know that all hamstring injuries are concerning.
6:31So, as we await further news on that. So, if it's not a major injury and it's something where they just shut
6:38him down for the rest of camp in the preseason.
6:41I guess I just feel a little bit better about Kellen Moore's offense in New Orleans than I do about Brian Dable's offense in Tennessee.
6:49Like, we know that Kellen Moore is going to push the pace.
6:53That means more offensive plays, which means more chances for players to score fantasy points.
6:57We know that Tyler Shuck is willing to push the ball downfield.
7:01Shuck averaged 8.2 air yards per pass attempt last year, according to Pro Football Reference.
7:06That was a greater average depth of throw than Dak Prescott has had in any of his last three seasons.
7:12And we know Dak isn't shy about challenging defenses downfield.
7:15So, it sounds like, at least up until the hamstring injury, Tyson had been having a really good camp, putting on a route running clinic down in Metairie.
7:24Did I pronounce that correctly? No, you did. Metairie?
7:27You landed the plane there, Patty. Love it. Right.
7:29And, you know, the Saints should have a pretty skinny target tree this year.
7:34Chris Alave, Jordan Tyson, Juwan Johnson, probably the only receivers and tight ends who are going to earn meaningful targets.
7:40So, I wouldn't be surprised if he can stay healthy, which kind of an issue for him in college and, unfortunately, kind of an issue for him now.
7:49I wouldn't be surprised if Tyson got to 1,000 yards as a rookie.
7:53I was going to bring that up. D-Bro, are you, like, extra nervous about the hamstring stuff today just because the injury
8:00history was such a big talking point for Tyson during the draft process?
8:04Yeah, I mean, it's been a talking point throughout the entirety of the draft process, but also, like, during rookie camp, during
8:11the early parts of training camp, like, he wasn't participating and stuff.
8:15So, yeah, like, I've got a lot of concerns about Tyson, but, again, pointing back to real-time ADP, if you have drafts coming up, this is updated.
8:23You're able to live see this, like, as he moves down boards and understand, okay, well, this is what's happened over the last 24 hours, the last week.
8:32I have a draft next week or maybe this weekend, so can I wait on Jordan Tyson with this news?
8:38And I understand, like, based off of where you're drafting, he's in the top 40 wide receivers.
8:43Maybe he falls past that, and he's a value for you.
8:47Yeah, it's funny. His trend in the last 24 hours is actually moving up amongst the rankings.
8:52We don't go quite as small as the last 24 minutes.
8:56Otherwise, we might see it go down a little bit.
8:59But, yeah, keep an eye on where that sort of settles with the latest news and just kind of where the news goes from here.
9:07On that, Debra, besides the injury, do you agree, though, with the upside here with Tyson in terms of a year-one impact?
9:14Oh, I absolutely agree with the upside for everything that Fitzy laid out.
9:18Like, I still, even though, like, with this news, I did move him back down a little, like, a few spots versus some other wide receiver threes.
9:26But I've still got him as a top 36 wide receiver.
9:30Now, if this comes out, like, this is going to be a multi-week problem and things like that, then, yes, I will push him further down the ranks.
9:38But right now, as I'm projecting this, like, if he's healthy walking into week one, then I think that looking at how
9:45Fitzy is talking about this offense, just how it's put together, it's going to run through Jordan Tyson and Chris Alave.
9:52And for everything that Fitzy laid out there, like, yeah, I think the Saints are going to be a top 12 passing rate team this year.
10:00So he's a wide receiver three that you could draft.
10:03That could be, when we flip over the cards at the end of the year, a wide receiver two.
10:09D-Bro, let's stick with you for the mid to late rookies we want to talk about.
10:14Who do you have here? Casey Katsepsiung, baby. Wide receiver 50, 137th overall in real-time ADP.
10:19Like, I think I could make you an easy case of draft him or Denzel Boston or just draft both, man.
10:26But, like, Casey, I think he is the favorite when projecting out this passing attack to be the Cleveland Browns wide receiver one.
10:33He's wide receiver 50, so, like, where he's going in drafts is absolutely crazy cheap.
10:38And if we just get league average quarterback play, like, I know that feels like a insane stretch with Deshaun Watson and Shadur Sanders.
10:45But if Shadur takes a step in his year two season, it might not be that crazy.
10:50And the talent is there for Casey Katsepsiung. Like, two of his last three collegiate seasons, top 36 in the FBS and yak per reception.
10:58Oh, wow, he did that. Like, last year his ADOT was over 12.
11:02So, to produce that type of yak, like, all the talking points in pre-draft was, Casey is talented.
11:08He's good, but is he that good? Can he be a number one wide receiver?
11:13I was always convicted that he can be. And everybody's like, oh, but he, people talked about him like he was tragically born without hands, man.
11:21Like, he cannot catch the freaking football. And all he's done in training camp has been highlight reel catch, out, out, away
11:28from his body catch, body control in the air, just clip after clip after clip.
11:32And so, I don't have any worries about that.
11:35So, yes. Like, I love Casey Katsepsiung for where he's going in drafts and the upside that he presents.
11:41Even if it's an offense that, you know, I feel like people are kind of picking and choosing their battles.
11:47They're like, we don't like any of the wide receivers here, but nobody has a problem with Quishon Judkins as a top
11:5424 running back or Harold Fan as a top 12 wide tight end.
11:58But then they're pushing the wide receivers down. It's like, okay, fine.
12:02I'll just take the value. Fitz, do you have a preference between Casey Concepcion, Denzel Boston, neither or both in your drafts?
12:09How are you sort of approaching this rookie receiver room in Cleveland?
12:13I think both might be values in redraft, you know.
12:16So, I would be willing to take either, both getting really good camp buzz.
12:20And the only thing is with the quarterback situation, what it is for Cleveland, I think you're probably better off with the
12:27short area receiver than the downfield ball winner among those two receivers, and that's Concepcion.
12:32Yeah. Fitz, we have talked about sort of the two of the big three rookie receivers in rookie drafts already.
12:38And Tate and Tyson, you've got Lemon as your next pick here.
12:42So, kind of rounding out that top three, just going a little bit later than the other two.
12:48Yeah. And I've got the all hamstring team here with Jordan Tyson.
12:51Oh, I didn't realize that. I. Yeah. And I.
12:54So, right now, Makai Lemon's real-time ADP is wide receiver 44, 115th overall.
12:58I'm pretty well above that wide receiver 39, and that's with a hamstring adjustment.
13:03So, the disrespectful real-time ADP may have something to do with that injury.
13:07And certainly not ideal that a rookie trying to learn and fit into his team's offense is losing these valuable training camp reps.
13:14But I thought I saw that Lemon had been doing some jogging and catching passes from a jugs gun.
13:20So, hopefully, he's close to a return. The Eagles traded up for Makai Lemon in the first round.
13:26The Eagles no longer have A.J. Brown. The Eagles no longer have Kevin Patillo as their offensive coordinator.
13:31So, I'm not sure why there isn't more excitement about the potential upside for a first-round pick who was deemed to be
13:38the best receiver in college football last year. Makai Lemon won the Bolitnikoff Award.
13:43He averaged better than three yards per route run against both man and zone defense last year.
13:48Lemon runs good routes. He has insanely good hands, and I would urge anyone who has questions about his hands, go watch the USC-Iowa film from last year.
13:57He made some insane catches in that game. Lemon is really dangerous after the catch.
14:01And yet, this real-time ADP is two spots lower than the Denver Broncos defense right now.
14:06So, I have a feeling I'm going to be drafting a lot of Makai Lemon in the coming weeks.
14:12Do you think—this is probably a dumb question, Fitz— Do you think that any of his current ranking in ADP is, like,
14:19just thinking about the Eagles and drafting, you know, Jalen Rager?
14:23And, like—because you have mentioned before, like, oh, the best GM in football traded up for this guy.
14:28He has picked poor receivers in this range before.
14:31Do you think that's at all part of this?
14:34Or is it just strictly the injury that's keeping him—his cost down?
14:38I think it might— It's pretty good. Just saying.
14:40Devontae Smith is pretty good. But I also don't know that there's necessarily going to be a huge production gap between, like,
14:47a healthy Makai Lemon and Devontae Smith. Like, Devontae Smith, one of the best route runners in the NFL.
14:53No question about that. But Lemon, really good in his own right.
14:57Did a fantastic Amon Ross St. Brown impersonation at USC last year.
15:01So, yeah, I mean, I think it's probably partly to do with the fact that Tate and Tyson were top 10 picks.
15:08And Lemon was, what, 21st overall outside the top 20?
15:11So a little bit of a gap in draft capital, a little bit the hamstring injury, maybe just a little bit that
15:18people seem kind of down on the Philly passing game in general.
15:22Debra, I was just going to say, you've always been high on Jalen Hurts, the player.
15:27So I assume that Lemon kind of is carried up with that as well.
15:31Oh, yeah, dude. And looking at real-time ADP, to Fitzy's point, I think a lot of this is the hamstring issue.
15:38Because, again, talking about the trend lines over the last week, he's dropped by 10 spots in drafts.
15:43And I've still got him above that. Like, wide receiver 44, like Fitzy said, in real-time ADP.
15:49Like, I've got Lemon at wide receiver 38 right now.
15:52And I think, yeah, is the hamstring concerning about, like, you know, hit the ramp up, like, being there for install, learning the offense?
15:59Sure. When you're drafting a guy as a wide receiver 4 in drafts, you're, like, in a lot of instances, okay, fine.
16:06You play a 3 wide receiver league, then you go 0 RB, then he hits your spot at a flex.
16:12But if you're going balanced approach, running back heavy, what have you, all that kind of stuff, then you're not counting on
16:19that guy to be a starter for you in a lot of different aspects.
16:24And we're not playing for the beginning of the season with a lot of the rookies we draft.
16:29You're playing for what this guy can do down the back half of the season, the stretch, when he's acclimated to the
16:36freaking offense, which all of that upside is still there for Makai Lemon.
16:40You took the words out of my mouth. I was just going to say, you're drafting Lemon for the second half of the season.
16:48Yes. Not week one or two. Yes. All right.
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17:11All right, guys, we decided to have you sort of agree on one late round flyer, although this is definitely more of
17:18a Debro pick than a Fitz pick. Fitz was on board, but this is more Debro's guy of the two.
17:24So Derek Brown, we'll start with you. Why is Dijon stripling the pick here as a late round flyer?
17:30I just think where he's going in drafts, a wide receiver 56, 144th overall in real-time ADP could be a really, really
17:37good value because it's just cheap access to what could be a top five, top 10 scoring offense this year.
17:44And I know, you know, substation be damned, but like all the stuff about like injuries and things of that nature, stripling's already back in practice.
17:52He's practicing, so I'm not worried about his injury risk right now.
17:55Final two collegiate seasons, 2.15, 2.44 yards per outrun.
17:58Do I think that based off of his prospect profile, he should have been drafted as high as he did in the NFL draft?
18:06No. Does it still like, do I still like the landing spot and what he could provide?
18:11Like, because Christian Kirk, I don't think can stay healthy or be effective at this point in his career.
18:17Ricky Pearsall is already out. But Debo also, like, as the volume piles up and he's, like, bouncing off of players in
18:24the second level of defenses this year, can he stay healthy?
18:27Can Mike Evans stay healthy? Although I like Debo and Mike Evans where they're going in drafts.
18:33But again, it's just cheap access to what we still think is going to be an offense that puts up a crap ton on touchdowns.
18:41And even though I didn't like him a ton as a prospect, the upside's not baked into where he goes in drafts.
18:48It's really just more the risk and the downside at wide receiver 56.
18:52And Fitz, you know, I do want to get your opinion on Stribbling and feel free to push back a little.
18:58Obviously, you agreed on this being the flyer here, but I think it's worth mentioning, like, the reasons why you are a little bit lower.
19:06The other point, though, and you made this point when we were planning out the show, is the other names you're talking
19:13about in this range, like Cyrus Allen, Jacoby Lane.
19:16These are guys who went way later in the drafts who are in very different situations.
19:21So it's still easy to point to Stribbling as a flyer, even if you didn't love him so much as a player.
19:28Yeah. Really, my only issue with Stribbling is that he didn't lead Ole Miss in either catches or yardage last season.
19:34Harrison Wallace III did, and Trey Wallace is an undrafted free agent.
19:38I think he's in camp with the Cardinals. So I always just, I'm going to be inherently skeptical of a rookie receiver
19:45who didn't earn a meaty share of the target's receptions or receiving yardage for his college team.
19:50But, like, Stribbling could absolutely win me over in the preseason.
19:54I realize the Ricky Pearsall injury has created a really nice opportunity for Stribbling to contribute in year one, and it probably
20:01isn't a bad thing for Stribbling that most of the other pass catchers in the 49ers offense are pretty old by NFL standards.
20:08Mike Evans, George Kittle, Debo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey. And Stribbling, you know, whether we thought he should have been or not, was an early second-round pick.
20:16And a lot of people feel he was grossly overdrafted, but there was some draft buzz around Stribbling before he was picked that early.
20:23I agree, too, Fitzy. My pre-draft rankings, I actually had Harrison Wallace ranked ahead of him based off of, like, prospect profile, how I liked them.
20:32I was surprised he went undrafted, and I think we were all surprised Stribbling went as high as he did.
20:38So what we're saying is our real flyer is Wallace?
20:41That's what we're settling on, just to be sure.
20:44Sure, yeah. Taxi Squads, Dynasty. Yeah, there we go.
20:47All right, we'll go ahead and wrap things up there, keeping it short today.
20:51Thanks, everybody, for checking out our rookies that the experts are drafting.
20:55For Fitz and Debro, I'm Ryan Warmly. We'll see you again next time.
20:59Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast.
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