4 BOLD Fantasy Football Predictions for 2026 with JJ Zachariason | Best of the Fest (Ep. 2154)
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
34 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 27, 2026
Published
Thu, August 27, 2026
10
Player insights
9
Players mentioned
Topics
Malik WillisBo NixChase BrownJaylen WaddleJonathan TaylorJustin JeffersonPuka NacuaStefon DiggsTerry McLaurin
Player analysis
Player insights
Bo Nix
PositiveProjection50:27
JJ Zachariason is optimistic about Bo Nix finishing as a top-five quarterback, citing the Broncos' projected high passing volume as a key driver for his success.
Insight pageChase Brown
PositiveProjection49:03
JJ Zachariason ranks Chase Brown as his RB6, noting that a top-five finish is well within his range of outcomes and not a particularly bold prediction for him.
Insight pageJaylen Waddle
PositiveProjection50:46
JJ Zachariason expresses strong enthusiasm for Jalen Waddle, indicating he is very high on the receiver for the upcoming season.
Insight pageJonathan Taylor
NegativeProjection48:28
In a 'buy or sell' segment, the analysts sell the take that Mike Washington will outscore Jonathan Taylor in touchdowns, implying Taylor remains the superior fantasy asset.
Insight pageJustin Jefferson
NegativeBust41:43
Debro predicts Jefferson will finish outside the top 20 wide receivers, citing concerns over Kyler Murray's fit in the Vikings' offense, a potential shift to a more run-heavy scheme, and Jefferson's declining separation and route win rates. JJ Zachariason agrees that a finish outside the WR1 tier is a distinct possibility.
Insight pageMalik Willis
PositiveProjection19:18
JJ Zachariason predicts Malik Willis will finish as a QB1. In three starts with Green Bay, Willis averaged 58 rushing yards and one touchdown per game (11.8 fantasy points via rushing). Even if his rushing production regresses to 7 points per game, historical data shows that quarterbacks who rush for 7+ PPG and throw 300+ times almost always finish as top-10 fantasy QBs.
Insight pagePositiveProjection32:15
JJ Zachariason projects Willis to hit seven or more points per game via rushing, noting that 25 of 28 quarterbacks who hit that mark since 2011 finished as top-10 fantasy QBs. Zachariason views him as a high-end QB2 at worst, similar to Justin Fields, and argues his current QB22 ADP is a massive mispricing given his rushing floor.
Insight pagePuka Nacua
PositiveProjection14:54
D-Bro predicts Puka Nacua could be the first WR since 2013 to average 26 PPR points per game in 2026. When healthy last year (Weeks 1-5 and 8-18), Nacua averaged 24.7 points per game. If he secures a larger red zone role in the Rams' consolidated offense, he has the efficiency—ranking top-five in yards and targets per route run over the last two seasons—to reach the 26 PPG threshold.
Insight pageStefon Diggs
PositiveProjection13:39
JJ Zachariason predicts Stefan Diggs will finish as at least a WR2. Despite concerns about his age or role, Diggs remained elite in efficiency last year, ranking top-10 in yards per route run among receivers with 100+ routes and 90th percentile in targets per route run. His limited production in New England was largely due to low route share and favorable game scripts that didn't require heavy passing, rather than a decline in talent.
Insight pageTerry McLaurin
PositiveProjection13:39
JJ Zachariason predicts Terry McLaurin will finish as at least a WR2. McLaurin is coming off the best yards per route run season of his career and fits well as a vertical threat in Washington's offense. With limited target competition outside of Diggs, McLaurin is positioned for a strong target share and high-impact plays.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
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0:21The 2026 Fantasy Fest is here, right here on Fantasy Pros.
0:24What's up friends? I'm Chris Welsh and we have got hours upon hours.
0:28We're stacking hours on top of each other for all of the fantasy football goodness that you guys could possibly imagine.
0:34We are talking ranks. We're talking draft strategy. We're getting into bold predictions.
0:38We've got live drafts and we've even got an after party.
0:41And we are so excited that you guys are here with us for these four hours of craziness.
0:46And the Fantasy Fest is brought to you by League Base, which we'll be talking about all show long.
0:52So strap in, sit down, enjoy, because we've got so much for you here.
0:56And I've got a couple buddies here at Fantasy Pros joining me for this first segment here.
1:01We've got D-Bro, the king of bros in the house, Seth Wilcock, jumping in here as we are going to be tackling bold predictions.
1:08And friends, here's what I want you to do.
1:10In the comments below, interact throughout the show. You guys can drop your bold predictions.
1:15You can have questions on bold predictions or you could just have questions about anything.
1:19Because at the end of every single segment for this entire show, we're going to be answering your questions.
1:25So fill up the chat feed so we can have more and bigger conversations around what you guys want after we talk about some bold predictions.
1:32So the Fantasy Fest is here. D-Bro, what is up, my man?
1:36What is up? Me and D-Bro in the house.
1:39Seth Wilcox. Gotta love it. What's up, D-Bro? I'm doing good, man.
1:42I'm ready to sling some bold takes, get them out there in the space.
1:46I think we've got some good ones queued up here.
1:49I gave my own bold prediction in the chat here that Seth grows a beard in the year 2026.
1:55I'm here for it, but I'm ready to talk some ball, man.
1:58There's no chance that's going to happen. And you know what?
2:01Even if there's a little bit of craziness behind the scenes, Seth Wilcox is always here to help pick up some of the pieces.
2:09Seth, are you ready to drop some bold predictions?
2:11Because we've got some good ones for the show today.
2:14Yeah, ready for an excuse to when I miss a pick and I'm on the clock just to, you know, be all
2:21right with it because I'm on the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Fest here.
2:24I think I'm on right now in about four different leagues, different platforms.
2:28So I'm going back and forth from my apps.
2:31My screen time's gotta be through the roof right now, but excited to be chatting here with you boys tonight.
2:36Boys, what does the bold, what defines the bold take for you?
2:40This kind of comes back. I'll talk about this a lot where I look and I'm like, you know, everybody is very crabby about sleepers.
2:47Like sleepers become the term that the term that just like creates all the chaos for everybody.
2:52Everybody's like, is it really a sleeper and stuff like that?
2:55And but like bold prediction, we've done lots of bold predictions on these shows.
3:00We've had some that are really huge. Sometimes we even want to be mild about it.
3:04I was joking with Bogman the other day. He did a show because he's become like a bold take machine, especially when we cut up videos here.
3:12But like, where is the definition that truly makes it bold?
3:15Is there a threshold D bro as we're going to tackle into these?
3:19Like what is the threshold where you think like, yeah, I've really nailed that.
3:23This is a bold prediction. For me with bold predictions, there has to be a lane of possibility with it.
3:29And some things like you get constraints of is the quarterback good enough?
3:33Is the play volume enough? Is the target volume enough to get a player to whatever we're talking about?
3:39Like if we're talking about, oh, this guy's gonna be the the wide receiver one of the year, but he's on a
3:45on a team that's gonna run at like a top three clip in the league.
3:49Is the target volume going to be there? Is the quarterback play going to be there?
3:54So for me, even with bold takes, there has to be a lane of possibility to set the bar of like, okay,
4:01even in your mind's eye, can we squint and see it?
4:04Because if I can't squint and see it, it's just ridiculous.
4:07It's not a bold take. It's just something that will not happen.
4:11Seth, real just real quick, and then we're going to jump into your guys at bold takes.
4:16When you're hyper focusing on bold takes, what do you think you lean towards more?
4:20Is it talking about record breaking performances? Is it about a usage type of a stat?
4:25You know where I'm going with it? Like I think people take bold predictions and finishing as bop, bop, bop.
4:31Like what is the lane of bold prediction usually look like for you?
4:34It's a little bit more productivity based and just overall stats is kind of what I'm looking at.
4:40I think finishes are great too. Like for me, I'm looking to get the pop, right?
4:44Like I like to see someone go, oh, that's interesting.
4:47I wasn't considering that. I like being, you know, kind of roasted in the comments in the moment, but then, you know,
4:54maybe we look back six months from now and I get a text from D bro.
4:58Hey, that was, that wasn't such a bad take.
5:01And maybe the YouTube commenters come back around as well.
5:04All right. Well, Kings of bold takes here and bold predictions.
5:07That's, we're going to jump into us again. Reminder, drop your comments below at the end of this segment.
5:13We are going to be bringing up some of your questions.
5:16So we have your fantasy takes and your fantasy questions be as tight and awesome as you can.
5:21And you can also kind of interact with this segment.
5:24If you've got some good stuff, we'll bring it on.
5:27We're excited to talk with you guys for the rest of the show.
5:31So, so let's jump into some bold predictions. And then we are also going to be throwing a little bit of a surprise.
5:38Actually, you know what? We're going to throw a little bit of a surprise at you right now.
5:43Behind the scenes, Seth Wilcock stepped in when there was a little bit of chaos to start.
5:48So Seth, I love you dearly, but I'm going to start the show off with a negative.
5:53You got to get out of here. Get out of here, Seth.
5:56See you back at what? 6.55 after party. We'll be here locked and loaded.
6:01We've got a surprise for you because Seth is a monster and Seth is our G, but the guy that he was filling in for is here.
6:09D bro. Welcome everybody. Get ready. Cause coming to the stage.
6:12Oh my God. It's JJ Zacharyson. How you doing, man?
6:15My gosh. I am so sorry. I thought it was three 30 and not three.
6:19And I, it's my fault. I apologize profusely, but I'm here.
6:22I mean, we love you. We love it. All you gotta do to make up for it.
6:27That East coast dad time, bro. It's undefined. I just want the season to start.
6:32So I have a routine and I know where I'm at.
6:35Like, it's just so wild right now. All you've got to do to make up for it is bring the boldest, most badass predictions.
6:42And that's what we're looking for for you, my man.
6:45So if anyone didn't know behind the scenes, that's what we were just kind of reeling with that.
6:50It's all good. We love Seth. I still feel so bad for literally putting him on the plank and kicking him off the ship.
6:57Sorry. It's my, it's really my fault. It's okay.
7:00I apologize. It's okay. So you know what? Let me ask you this really quick JJ.
7:05Cause I asked these guys that what is the marker when you are putting together bold predictions in that it has to meet a third, a certain threshold.
7:13It has to be maybe statistical based or finish base or a volume base.
7:17What are the kind of two thresholds when you are putting together?
7:20But you know, cause bold predictions are just such a big marker for our industry.
7:25What signifies those and locks in for you when you're ready to put out a bold prediction like you're going to do on this show?
7:32Yeah. Look, I want them to be realistic. You know, I don't want to just throw something out there that I can't
7:39back with data or with some sort of analysis.
7:41So I think that's the biggest thing. And I think that when I say the bold prediction, I want people to say,
7:48Oh, you know, kind of, kind of give like a, like, Oh, I can see it so that they're not just like,
7:54you know, straight face, like, Oh, that's not bold enough to, to be, to warrant a bold prediction.
7:59So I just kind of go through that and I, and I, you know, base it all on, on, you know, the
8:06stuff I typically do with the data and numbers analysis.
8:09All right. Well, you're going to be put on the hot seat because bold prediction number one for fantasy fest and for
8:15the season, JJ, the late round quarterback, your number one bold prediction is what?
8:19I will say that Stefan digs and Terry McLaurin both finish as at least wide receiver twos this year.
8:25Both of them. Yes. Yes. And so the reason for this is number one, Stefan digs.
8:30I don't think it's cooked the way that that folks might think that he's cooked.
8:34He averaged 12.3 PPR points per game last year.
8:37He was a fine pick at cost. He wasn't a league winner.
8:40But with that being said, among, among wide receivers with a hundred or more routes, digs was inside the top 10 and yards per out run.
8:48He was the 90th percentile in targets per out run.
8:51The reason why Stefan digs wasn't better in fantasy football is because his route share.
8:55I mean, his, his route share was alongside guys like Troy Franklin.
8:59And Sterling shepherd. They just weren't using them that much in New England.
9:02Now why they weren't using them that much in New England.
9:06I think number one, he was coming off an ACL.
9:09So that's probably playing a role. Uh, but then also they just face scripts where they didn't need to force it with Stefan digs.
9:16And they were in these, these favorable game environments.
9:18Um, he can play in the slot, but he can play outside still.
9:22I'm actually not that concerned about him. Like people think that he's only like a slot merchant at this point.
9:28He's actually top 10 last year outside the slot in yards per route run.
9:32Um, you know, Terry, I think that the, the fit with McLaurin is also awesome, uh, because he's more vertical in nature.
9:39He can play that X, uh, you know, let Stefan digs playing the outside and also move inside in 11 personnel.
9:45There's not that much competition in Washington outside of these two guys.
9:48I don't mind Chica Conquo, but he's not sitting there like ready to earn a 20% target share necessarily.
9:54And you know, you're looking at trail on Burke's Antonio Williams, but a lot of question marks outside of these two guys.
10:00Uh, and then when it comes to McLaurin, he's not dust either.
10:04Uh, McLaurin had his best per route run, uh, season of his career last year, which is crazy.
10:09Uh, because obviously they weren't playing in this like really great ecosystem.
10:13Um, so I like, you know, McLaurin to be able to make some of those splash plays that we've, we've, we've learned to love from him.
10:20Uh, and if this comes together now, now look, I wish this Larry Tunsell injury didn't happen.
10:25It would make this a bold prediction a lot easier to, to, to say and more and feel more confident in it.
10:32But I do think that both these guys compliment each other really well.
10:35They should be able to see strong target shares.
10:38I think there's a very real chance they could both be top 24 this year.
10:43I am very worried about the offensive line. And I think there's been some reports that have coming, uh, that have come out there.
10:50And we've seen that happen in like the ADP streets.
10:53If you look on like real-time ADP at fantasy pros, we've seen Jayden, we've seen Daniels like move around.
10:58We've seen that adjustment at the quarterback position. We even saw right when the Tunsell injury was happening, him kind of flow around.
11:05So I'm a little bit wonky on just the offense in general.
11:08And that was kind of my fate was maybe not even the other pieces was Daniels, but Debra, what do you think about both Stefan Diggs and McCorn?
11:17I think we can all agree. Like Stefan, Stefan Diggs has been kind of mispriced and most places have not caught up.
11:23Probably the best places. The cheap plug is our real-time ADP fantasy pros, uh, just a fantasy pros, real-time ADP.
11:29You can find it easily. And that's showing like the latest from seven days to, uh, even 24 hours.
11:34That has been the best marker to understand what the real value looks like.
11:39But do you think it is possible, Debra, for both these guys to finish as a top 24 in this offense?
11:45I absolutely think this is possible. I love this take by JJ at just so many parts or pieces.
11:50It's a consolidated passing attack. You have a quarterback that's shown that he can get it done.
11:55Stefan Diggs, like to JJ's point was not dust at all.
11:59He was basically, again, the only reason that, that held out his production is he was the Christian Watson of the New England Patriots.
12:06And a lot of that was because New England was blowing teams out in the first half.
12:11Like you look at the splits between Drake May's numbers, first half, second half.
12:15It reminded me a ton of yesteryear Philadelphia Eagles when they just took their foot off the gas, ran the ball, didn't matter.
12:21And, and they weren't having to throw it a ton.
12:24Stefan Diggs is still really freaking good. And this is what we want.
12:28If the quarterback is good enough to support two top 24 weapons and the target tree can be consolidated enough.
12:34I love this take from JJ. I've had Stefan Diggs as my wide receiver 31 since he signed with Washington.
12:40Top 36 guy. Easy for me. College football will hijack your weekend, ruin your sleep and break your heart.
12:45And that's why we make the summer. College football show.
12:48I'm Ty Hildenbrandt. He's Dan Rubenstein. How's it going?
12:51Every week we preview the games that matter, sort through the biggest storylines and tell you what to watch before kickoff.
12:57There's a lot to keep track of. Who's for real?
13:00Which upset is hiding in plain sight? And which storyline is about to take over your group chat?
13:05And when the games are over, join us in the aftermath too.
13:09We're going to react to what happened, talk about the biggest results.
13:12Of course, we'll cover the playoff picture. And all the little details you might've missed while flipping between like 12 games at once.
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13:27Listen to the Solid Verbal College football show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
13:32You know the feeling. You make a pick in your fantasy draft and the entire room groans because they wanted that player.
13:39Or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right before he goes off in primetime.
13:45There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league.
13:48I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast.
13:51Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off.
13:58We've got data-driven analysis, historical trends, and the strategies that separate winners from the rest.
14:02And your dominance doesn't stop with the draft. All season long, we have our 15 transactions, 10 trends, sleepers, and the mailbag.
14:08Data-driven, quick-hitting episodes to help bring home that league trophy.
14:11Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
14:17Fun thing, this really has not happened since 1991.
14:20I went and looked this up. 1991, at the time, the Redskins had Gary Clark and Art Monk, where Gary Clark had
14:261,340 yards, 70 catches, and 10 touchdowns, where Art Monk had 71, just around like 1050, and 8 touchdowns.
14:32That was the last time you would have, like, a theoretical scene.
14:35Two wide receivers in this offense in Washington be top 24.
14:39So that's a really, really fun one. D-Bro, bold prediction.
14:42Your first one, but it's number two on the episode.
14:45Hit us with what you got, my man. Dude, when I'm looking at these bold predictions, I want to, again, how JJ
14:51kind of framed this, I want to go with the guy that I think could define leagues, and I think Puka Nakua could be the first wide receiver.
14:59And I went all the way back to 2013.
15:02He could be the first wide receiver to average 26 PPR points per game in the year 2026.
15:07Now, how does Puka get to this? First of all, like, I don't think people realize that when he was a full-time
15:14player last year, because in week six, he hurt his ankle.
15:17He missed week seven. If you look at weeks one through five and eight through 18, Puka was averaging 24.7 PPR points per game.
15:24And the simple napkin math of how he gets there is not hard to see, guys.
15:29If he gets the red zone role, if we were to just simply flip the touchdowns and say Puka got the 14
15:35and Devontae Adams got 10 over a whole season, Puka's at 26 PPR points per game.
15:40And if you go all the way back to 2013, there's only two wide receivers that have eclipsed 25 points per game.
15:46It was Devontae Adams in 2020 with 25.6, Cooper Cup and the same Rams offense with 25.9 in 2021.
15:52If Puka takes over the red zone role and Stafford still is chucking it, this is a consolidated offense.
15:57Puka can get there. And if he puts that number up, not only is he the clear wide receiver one in fantasy
16:04this year, probably by a mile, but he's going to be a league and season defining player.
16:09Did you say the week 14 through 18 stat?
16:11What did you say it was? No. So we, or was that your, no one through five and eight through 18.
16:18Okay. Well, cause I have healthy. Well, okay. So you think he's going to average 20, he could average 26 points a game.
16:24We'll check this out. The final five games of the season.
16:28He averaged 26.1 points per game in the final five weeks.
16:31Uh, and seven games, seven or 20 or more through the whole season.
16:35He scored 20 or more points in seven games last year.
16:38The only thing that holds Puka Nakua back is anything he does in the off field.
16:43Is when he's in street clothes. So JJ, what do you think about 26 points per game for Puka Nakua this year is a bold prediction.
16:50I love it. Uh, you know, if you look at, at all wide receiver seasons since 2015, where the wide out had
16:57200 or more routes run Puka Nakua has last two seasons, ranking the top five in both yards and targets per route run.
17:03I mean, the dude, like, I just don't think that people realize how amazing his per route run efficiency has been.
17:10I do like that. You use points per game here because maybe there is like a game suspension or something going on with Puka.
17:17And, you know, there's that there, there could be stuff going on or like, you know, there's an injury or something like that.
17:23But I, I think that it's a, it's in reach because his usage in this offense is really unlike anyone else's usage in fantasy football.
17:31All right. We've got more, more bold predictions coming up.
17:34Both of these guys have got to, which by the way, I gotta say, these are probably my favorite two that are about to come up here.
17:42And I got some interesting stats. I pulled on JJ's, but before we do, we want to remind you guys that fantasy
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18:48All right, ladies and gentlemen, more bold predictions. JJ, this has been a popular, I get screamed at whenever I do a
18:55short on fantasy pros, people on the internet, just yelling at me.
18:58And D bro is done. It's talked about this guy and he gets screamed at.
19:03I don't know. You're very well liked. So maybe you'll get screamed at a lot less, but your bold prediction is a great quarterback.
19:10So I don't know. Maybe you've got some PTSD too of the screaming.
19:14Let's hear your bold prediction on a certain quarterback that we've all been loving.
19:18Yeah. I wouldn't say that I'm well liked. I'm going to go.
19:21Malik Willis is a QB one this year. You know, you, you look at, at what he did in green Bay, average
19:2858 and three starts average 58 rushing yards a game and a touchdown per game.
19:32That's 11.8 fantasy points per game via rushing. Yes.
19:35Small sample size. I get it. All right. So let's take that 11.8.
19:39Let's bump it down to seven. Okay. If you look at quarterback since 2011, who had seven or more points per game
19:45via rushing and threw the ball 300 or more times in the season.
19:49So that's just the 300 or more times, just a qualifier to say that they played that season as a starter, played a lot of games, right?
19:57So seven or more points per game via rushing while throwing the ball 300 or more times.
20:02You have 25 quarterback seasons since 2011 where that quarterback hit those marks.
20:06And I think that comfortably Malik Willis is going to get there on the ground, seven or more points per game via rushing.
20:12Of those 25 seasons, only three of the quarterbacks of those 25 ranked outside the top 10 and quarterback scoring and points per game.
20:19All of the other ones ranked inside the top 20, which obviously Malik Willis is being drafted after that point in time as well.
20:26Not that a QB 18 or QB 17 is going to really help you out in fantasy football.
20:32It will from a super flex perspective to a degree, but not in a single quarterback league.
20:37I'm just viewing Malik Willis this year as at the very worst, it's going to be a Justin Fields situation.
20:43And that's someone that we've drafted historically at like a low end QB one, high end QB two type price tag.
20:49You know, I think the market has gotten a lot sharper in general and understanding regression and touchdown regression while understanding that quarterback mobility matters a whole lot.
20:57Just look at like Matthew Stafford's ADP this year, which I think is more or less, you know, it's decent enough.
21:03Like it's, you know, people are baking in that regression five or six years ago.
21:07Stafford would have been a QB five or QB six, uh, an ADP.
21:11But all this is to say that we still have this mobile guy late.
21:15We still get this guy who could be borderline prolific on the ground.
21:19I know that that seems hyperbolic, but it's true.
21:22Like all we've seen with Malik Willis since college has been an, a phenomenal athlete who brings a whole lot of points
21:28and production to the table with his legs. So, uh, the, the real question is, can he be a good passer?
21:34I mean, look, D bro, like we we've all been doing this.
21:38We've been watching football for a while. I don't remember seeing a wide receiver room.
21:42Look as, as bad as what Miami's does entering the season to be fair.
21:46Um, but at the same time, I just think there's a lot of, we don't have a big enough sample size to
21:53say definitively one way or another that Malik Willis is either really good or really bad as a thrower.
21:59So we're just leaning into the baseline with the rushing.
22:01And if he's a better thrower than we expect and all, and I don't think the offensive line there is that bad.
22:08All of a sudden, if he's a better thrower, uh, than we expect, then, then he could easily be a top 10, top 12 quarterback.
22:15We look like bobbleheads here. Me and D bro.
22:18We're like, we're just bobbleheading everything. So I've got, I got something I'm going to add, and this is going to be a cheap plug.
22:25I actually use coach, which we have here on fantasy pros, which can help you in drafts.
22:30And I helped, I use coach to help me find this.
22:33And this is a little bit in line with what you talked about, but I took a different angle.
22:39I looked at, first off, I looked at our, uh, projected fantasy pros, projected rushing yards.
22:44He's number two in that quarterback for rushing yards.
22:46So I decided to play it down and I typed into coach, which you guys could do on fantasy pros.
22:52I said, give me all of the quarterbacks that have had 500 or more rushing yards in the last 10 years.
22:58And their fantasy finish 28 quarterbacks came up. And to your point, I, when you said there were three that didn't finish
23:05as a top 12, I laugh because I can see them.
23:082018 it's Lamar Jackson, 2020 Cam Newton, and 2023 Daniel Jones.
23:11They were, uh, 18, 15 and 25 respectively. But every other single quarterback that had 500 or more rushing yards on that
23:18list, that is 25 quarterbacks finishes a top 10 quarterback in fantasy or higher.
23:22And I then asked coach, one more thing further.
23:24This is a nice plug for coach here. I said, now I want you to average all of those quarterbacks for me
23:31and give me the average quarterback, uh, finish of a quarterback that rushes for 500 or more yards in a season.
23:37Quarterback five. That's what it ended up being as quarterback five.
23:40So it's not a foolproof system, but what that does show you is if he is capable of being a starting quarterback
23:47for the majority of the season, and he gets to that rushing marker, it's showing you historically in the last 10 years,
23:53they've been a quarterback five and only three have not finished as a top 10 quarterback.
23:58So that is me backing the system there. Debro.
24:01I know you kind of agree with this on Malik Willis.
24:04What are we doing in ADP? Like, I just have to throw this out here.
24:08Like in the year 2026, did the Konami code die?
24:11Like, did I miss the memo? Because for everything we're talking about rushing, it matters.
24:16You're going to be a top 12 or flirting with that type of production.
24:20Real-time ADP Malik Willis is QB 22. Make it make sense.
24:23I do not understand that. JJ, I don't know where you have him ranked, but I've got Willis at QB 14.
24:29I'm absolutely emphatically with you. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, like it's, it's, all right.
24:33Final one here, Debro. We're going to get a little bit less questions in this segment.
24:38We will try to get to a few. I've seen some people with some bold takes into that.
24:43I really like, so we'll, we'll try to burn through this one, but I don't want to burn too quick here.
24:49The last bold prediction is a really high end player.
24:52First round talent that Debro you're thinking he might not finish as high as people are putting him at here.
24:58So talk to us about this wide receiver that might fail this year in your bold prediction.
25:03The real-time ADP wide receiver six right now. I'm telling you that Justin Jefferson will finish outside the top 20 wide receivers again, this season, unfortunately.
25:11And this is somewhat of a Justin Jefferson take.
25:13This is somewhat of a, I do not believe in Kyler Murray kind of take.
25:18But if you look at Justin Jefferson on a per route basis last year, even just taking out like, okay, bad quarterback
25:24play on volume and routes and snaps and arrow, all that kind of stuff.
25:28He was still only the wide receiver 15 and XFP per game.
25:32He was still only the wide receiver 17 and XFP per route.
25:35So still not a wide receiver one, much less a top 10 wide receiver.
25:39So then we get to, okay, what is the Vikings offense look like this year?
25:44I don't think Kyler Murray is a good fit for KOC's offense, asking him to play in structure on time.
25:50He can't even access the middle of the freaking field.
25:53So what are we going to do? Get just like sideline shots.
25:56And this looks like the Eagles offense of yesteryear.
25:59And it's just go balls and stuff with Kyler.
26:01I also think with the Vikings, we could see them become more run heavy because of Kyler.
26:06Like this team last year was 19th in neutral passing rate, 16th in pass rate over expectation.
26:11Both of those numbers could go down this year.
26:14And Jefferson quietly, although nobody wants to talk about it, took a step back amongst 109 qualifying wide receivers.
26:20I don't know if anybody out there would be telling you that Justin Jefferson was outside the top 20, or excuse me,
26:2635 wide receivers in separation score and route win rate.
26:29So if this was okay, maybe the beginning of Justin Jefferson still really good at football, but maybe he's not elite.
26:35This offense goes a little bit more run heavy and Kyler still garbage as a quarterback.
26:40And we see JJ McCarthy at some point this year, Justin Jefferson is not a top 20 wide receiver in fantasy.
26:46Again, this year, this is a hard one for me to back.
26:50I did do a few look in here and a yards per game.
26:53He's averaged over 90 yards per game behind cousins, Winston Darnold, but Mullins and McCarthy became an absolute disaster.
26:59Really interesting. His touchdown rate is the most significant Sam Darnold.
27:02He had a 9.71 touchdown rate per reception that dropped a full percent under Nick Mullins.
27:07Kirk cousins was actually in the eight percentile range, but there was so much volume.
27:11And then under JJ McCarthy, that one under eight.
27:14So if he can be more, if he can be better than if Kyler Murray can be better than obviously JJ McCarthy
27:20and serviceable to what we've seen before, I think it's hard for him not to be based on from touchdowns to volume,
27:27but I know we are going with this JJ.
27:29What do you think? Not top 20 wide receiver for Justin Jefferson.
27:33I mean, look, it's a bold prediction show. It's a bold prediction.
27:37And it's, it's one that is backed in, uh, you know, like I could see it going down.
27:42Like, like what, one of the other parts of this, this KOC offense that I think is important is that one of
27:48the reasons why Sam Darnold was able to thrive and is because arm strength.
27:52And I'm, I am a little bit worried about what Kyler brings to the table from that perspective to, and be able
27:59to push the ball down the field because they're going to want to do that.
28:03And that's why they were able to thrive with, with Darnold the way that they did.
28:08Um, so there is a little bit of fear there.
28:11I mean, I'm, I'm, I'm not going to go as bold as Debro would, but I think that there's at least a
28:17possibility is not a wide receiver one. You know, I don't think that that's out of the question whatsoever.
28:23We're giving away a free one year fantasy pros premium subscription to one lucky viewer in today's stream.
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28:36Subscribe to the fantasy pros YouTube channel, drop a comment below on the stream.
28:40And that's it. We'll be announcing a winner toward the end of fantasy fest.
28:45So stick around, keep those comments going. It is the easiest way to enter a contest.
28:49And the majority of you have already entered yourself.
28:52So rock that in. Uh, we've only got like a minute or two here.
28:56Uh, I want to put a few, this is what we're going to do.
29:00I'm going to put a few of these bold predictions that some of our listeners have put up and I want you to buy or sell them.
29:08Okay. So yeah, strap in bold. Take Mike Washington has more touchdowns than JT JJ.
29:12I mean, I'd only sell if we knew that JT was out for like half the season, but I'm not, I'm, I'm
29:19yeah, I would only buy, I would say I'm so I'm selling.
29:22So, okay. D bro selling. So, uh, is it bold to say stripling will be a wide receiver one from this year's rookie class this season.
29:30D bro. If the substation capsizes the entire receiving depth chart, it's not wild to say, uh, I'm actually going to buy this.
29:37JJ. I'll buy it with the way that things are going for, for the top guys in the class.
29:42All right. Bold take chase Brown finishes as a top five running back this year.
29:47JJ. I mean, I think I have met like RB six or something right now.
29:51So it's got an RB five. So I'm not very bold for me.
29:55Yeah. Uh, by the way, this one just completely, we don't even have to get a take, but Justin Jefferson wide receiver one this year.
30:02So you and timeline are going against it. Uh, here's another stripling one.
30:06Here's a little bit more bold takes stripling top 24 wide receiver this season.
30:10Pierce all out there given the reasons behind it.
30:13So we, we said top from the class, but what do you think about as a wide receiver to happen?
30:19Yep. Yeah. Easy. Okay. Uh, we had this one.
30:21That's okay. Here we go. Here's the last one.
30:24And look at the name of the person. Broncos.
30:27Jake says, Bo Nix is a top five quarterback.
30:29Ooh, I'm going to take Broncos. Jake. Yeah. I could see it happening.
30:33The only reason I would sell is because quarterback is so competitive.
30:37But aside from that, like I can definitely see, you know, Bo Nix having a good year.
30:42Cause the passing, I love it. They're going to be top three, top five and passing.
30:46And I love, I'm so in on Jalen Waddle too.
30:49Oh dude. Oh yes, sir. So well, we don't, we have to do a whole fat, if we want to talk about Jalen Waddle here, Jalen Waddle fest.
30:57Yeah, exactly. Uh, there you go. A shout out to JJ Zacharyson for joining us.
31:02You can find him on X late round QB.
31:05Make sure you check out everything. One of the best in the business, JJ, we appreciate you.
31:10Um, you know, you're just going to have to give some hugs and kisses to Seth, who we had to boot off.
31:16Again, genuinely. I'm so sorry. I don't know how that even happened, but I, I, I'm apologies.
31:21And hopefully the, uh, the fire from the takes made up for it.
31:25You are here. You were here and you gave some fire takes.
31:28We appreciate you. JJ fantasy fest rolls on. Don't go anywhere because Jake Seeley is coming up.
31:33We got a whole bunch more right after this year on the fantasy fest.
31:37Thanks for listening to the fantasy pros, fantasy football podcast.
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32:24The entire draft room groans because you just took the guy they wanted.
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