0:00Veteran winners and losers after the 2026 NFL Draft. Theo Gramminger, Fantasy Football Daily on the Fantasy Points Podcast Network. A lot of talk about the
0:09rookies this week, but we got to talk about the winners and losers that are going to help you win in 2026.
0:22>> That's him. That's the old chief.
0:34>> The 2026 NFL Draft is officially in the books. We know where players are headed.
0:39We know what teams decided to do, and a ton of the focus on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday is going to be shaking out the
0:46rookies themselves. It's Dynasty Rookie Draft week. It's where do we put these rookies in Best Ball ADP? It's where are these rookies going to factor in for
0:55redraft? But, when you look at it, it's the veterans today. You've got to take a look at the teams and what they did and
1:02what they chose not to do, the players they added and the players they chose not to add, and there's certain veterans
1:09who are now in a much better place that are set to have really strong seasons volume-wise. And on the flip side,
1:16there's a couple of veteran players that 2026 might not look as good as 2025.
1:23Let's break it down. The first player we're going to talk about, and it was probably the biggest fantasy football landmine heading into the 2026 Draft,
1:32basically it was any running back that was going to be associated with Jeremiah Love was going to have major problems.
1:39And we knew that the Giants had the fifth overall pick. Cam Skatabu comes out of the NFL Draft completely unscathed.
1:48This is a player who last year led all rookie running backs in points per game, was on his way to being one of the
1:55steals of the entire season from a dynasty perspective as a second round dynasty pick and from a redraft perspective as a player who was getting
2:06drafted in a range that he was going to really really pay off. Scataboo was fantastic. Averaged over 16 points per game.
2:15Came off that incredible game where the Giants beat the Eagles in prime time and it felt like Cam Scataboo season. Malik
2:23Nabers was done for the year. The focal point of the offense was Scataboo. You had this rookie quarterback Jackson Dart and you had this running back Cam
2:30Scataboo and everybody was thrilled.
2:33Then of course he goes down for the season and we get so worried about Jeremiah Love nuking this situation.
2:39Well, Scataboo's back and what's going to happen at the beginning of the season is Malik Nabers is not going to be there.
2:45Malik Nabers is probably going to be on the pup list. Does he miss three games?
2:49Does he miss six games? We don't know, but he's probably going to miss a little bit of time. I would be surprised if he
2:53doesn't. And the New York Giants went ahead and drafted one of the best run blockers in this entire draft class at
3:01the 10th overall pick with Francis Mauigoa. So, you get improved run blocking situation. You get an improved offense situation with Jackson Dart
3:09getting a little bit older and more experienced and you have Cam Scataboo coming back to lead the Giants beginning of the season. Now, Tyrone Tracy's going
3:17to mix in, but Tyrone Tracy was not as effective as Cam Scataboo was. Scataboo was also hanging out with Joe Schoen and
3:25Harbaugh down at Arizona State Pro Day when the Giants were checking out Jordan Tyson and at his workout. So, Scataboo's been in the mix. There's been some very
3:35positive report from the beat reporters and obviously the front office and the coaches have this connection to Scataboo. He could end up being like a
3:42folk hero and one of the most popular athletes in the tri-state area if he does what he did last year for a full
3:51season. Right now you're able to get him somewhere in the mid RB2 range, and I think that's a really solid best ball
3:57price. And from a dynasty perspective, in the back of your mind, you always worry about the injuries. You always worry about the long term, but for the
4:05short term asset, Kam Scarabott really set to shine in 2026.
4:10He's not the only New York Giant though.
4:13There's a group of quarterbacks from the 2025 draft class, and all of these guys made out very, very well. When you talk
4:22about offensive ecosystems and what their team is attempting to do around them. And we'll throw Jackson Dart into that mix.
4:29Jackson Dart is also going to benefit from the selection of Francis Mauigoa.
4:34Now, would Jackson Dart have really benefited from Jordan Travis at five overall and instead of Mauigoa at 10 overall or maybe both of them? We'll
4:44never know.
4:45Uh but the Cardinals tape was off the board. Were they higher on Tate than they were on Travis? Was it all smoke
4:51screen? We'll never truly know that, but when it comes down to Jackson Dart, there's a lot of trepidation and fear in
4:58the marketplace because of Matt Nagy being the offensive coordinator. But Harbaugh doesn't take this job in New York if Jackson Dart isn't the starting
5:05quarterback there. Was very effective last year as a runner, should continue to be effective as a runner, and now he has a road grader in front of him in
5:13Francis Mauigoa. The Giants should have potentially a top 10 offensive line to work with, and they drafted Malachi Fields in round three, who is not going
5:23to be a guy that's going to be in your fantasy lineup, but he is a player that's going to help the team
5:27stylistically, a huge outside threat athletic wide receiver, was very good at the Senior Bowl. They also signed Isaiah Likely, who can be a chain mover for
5:37this offense in a prominent role at the tight end position. And then of course Scarabott, Tyrone Tracy, and when he comes back, he's got one of the most
5:45talented wide receivers in Malik Nabers.
5:48He's not the only year two quarterback who's in a really good spot today. Got to talk about Cam Ward because Tennessee
5:56showed you exactly what they want to do this season when it comes to getting the off offensive ecosystem stronger for Cam
6:04Ward.
6:05They go out and they sign Wan'Dale Robinson, who three years ago was a little bit of a joke, and the last two
6:11years has made a lot of people delete their takes on him because Wan'Dale Robinson has proven that he is one of
6:17the better target earners in the NFL and the most consistent ones. He's going to be able to play the slot position
6:23effectively for this offense. Uh he's had 140 targets for the last two years under Brian Daboll and his offensive coordinator in Tennessee is Brian
6:32Daboll. Now we talk about Brian Daboll, Brian Daboll was able to oversee a huge season out of Daniel Jones in his first
6:39year in New York. That was Daniel Jones's best fantasy season.
6:44And of course, Josh Allen, I could probably be Josh Allen's offensive coordinator, but Brian Daboll didn't didn't screw that one up either. He did
6:50a very good job of getting Allen to an elite level early from a fantasy football perspective.
6:57Then you look at what Tennessee did in the NFL draft. Tennessee goes out and they spent the fourth overall pick shockingly to some, but not to us on the
7:06stream cuz it made a lot of sense. They take Carnell Tate with the fourth overall pick. And there's some haters out there saying Carnell Tate's not
7:14worthy of a top 10 selection, he's not worthy of a top five pick. Doesn't matter what you think. Tennessee viewed him as an integral piece to their
7:22rebuild process, an integral piece to their offensive passing attack for many years to come. The last time they had a wide receiver one in Tennessee, it was
7:30A.J. Brown. It's been a long time coming and Carnell Tate has the opportunity to become that in Tennessee in this Daboll
7:37Cam Ward offense. So, Cam Ward in tremendous shape with the additions of K'Neal Tate and Wan'Dale Robinson. Day three, the Tennessee Titans drafted Nick
7:48Singleton, a very very athletic running back from Penn State. Does he make a huge impact this year? Not sure. I do
7:54think he's worthy of a rookie draft selection or maybe a late round dart throw type pick when you're drafting in NFFC, FFPC, 18th rounder on Underdog. He
8:04should probably settle in. Tony Pollard will return. There's going to be continuity with Pollard, Tyjae Spears, and now the addition of Singleton, so
8:11they've improved everything. Cam Ward is in a very good spot, better play caller, better weapons, and the team's showing a commitment to him. You go QB at the one
8:21spot in 2025, wide receiver at the fourth spot in 2026, and the off season signing of a target earning slot wide
8:30receiver who stylistically is going to help the offense. The Titans care about Cam Ward. He's not a player you want to
8:36push up in single QB, but in superflex dynasty leagues and also in in best ball drafting, Cam Ward is a player that
8:44we're going to keep our eye on as a value this off season.
8:48I got to talk about Tyler Shuck.
8:50Tyler Shuck, we saw it in in the off season through free agency, where Tyler Shuck the the Saints said all the right things
8:58about him. Heading into the off season, Tyler Shuck was really really strong down the stretch, nearly nearly took down some NFL awards last year.
9:07Offensive Rookie of the Year type numbers, was really strong down the stretch of the season.
9:12And Tyler Shuck, the vibes are immaculate when it comes to the beat reporters in New Orleans, when it comes to the players around him. We knew we
9:20had Chris Olave, we knew we had Juwan Johnson, and what did the Saints go out and do this off season? They signed
9:26Travis Etienne, a very effective running back in a two-way threat, who's now Travis Etienne, I guess. He's He's pronounced his name a little different
9:34now that he's he's back home in in in the state of Louisiana, but I guess I'll still call him Etienne for for old
9:39time's sake. Maybe we'll mix in the Etienne. Uh don't want to confuse everybody, but you get Travis Etienne/Etienne in the off season. And then what did the
9:48Saints do in this draft?
9:50They draft Jordan Tyson with the eighth overall pick.
9:53And it wasn't just Jordan Tyson. Jordan Tyson I mean Jordan Tyson is is awesome.
9:57And Jordan Tyson in a Kellen Moore offense opposite Chris Olave is really really fun. But they go ahead and they also draft a super athletic tight end in
10:09Oscar Delp out of Georgia.
10:11And then they draft Bryce Lance, the wide receiver out of North Dakota State.
10:14So they add speed, speed, and more speed. And an explosive outside threat wide receiver in Jordan Tyson. Tyson and Olave together is really really good.
10:26And they protect themselves from the long term where if Olave in fact does move on in 2027 or so, they will protect themselves with a
10:35player who can slide into the wide receiver one position in Jordan Tyson.
10:38Tyson is going to be very effective this year if he maintains his health.
10:42And then Juwan Johnson was really solid with Shuck last year. But Oscar Delp is a player who could potentially take over. And in two tight end sets, Delp is
10:51going to be really strong. My bet would be Juwan Johnson in 2026, but a good healthy dose of Oscar Delp as well. And
10:59then potential for a takeover. Oscar Delp athletically is nasty. Really really athletic player. And of course Lance. So those all those quarterbacks
11:08are in really good shape when we're looking at the 2025 class.
11:12Talking about a couple of other veteran winners from the NFL draft, we got to talk about my guy Terry McLaurin. And
11:19McLaurin's a player that I wrote about over at fantasypoints.com.
11:23You can read my dynasty dynasty market report article where McLaurin was the one of the players that I had circled heading into the NFL draft. There was a
11:32chance he was going to take a knock in terms of being the offensive focal point of the Washington Commanders attack.
11:40David Blough hired as an offensive coordinator this offseason. Guy's like 30 years old. Uh this is a really really not risky, but I would say inspired hire
11:52from Dan Quinn to go with this younger OC who's never never had that experience in the NFL obviously. But David Blough,
11:59there's a ton of good vibes. The Lions were linked to him potentially for their OC job. We know how uh how much much
12:05that job was probably wanted by many many coaches this offseason. Instead, he gets elevated to the offensive coordinator position in Washington. And
12:14at one of his first press conferences, he comes out and says that the goal is to target Terry McLaurin 10 times a
12:21game. Let's get Terry McLaurin 10 targets a game. And the hype meter goes off.
12:27David Blough cares about my fantasy team. And Terry McLaurin has a chance to bounce back after his worst points per game average of his entire career
12:36in a down 2025 season after he set the world on fire in 2024. Now the Jayden Daniels Terry McLaurin bounce back looks
12:44like it could come into fruition. And it's going to be McLaurin as the focal point of the offense.
12:50Washington not only doesn't get Jeremiah Love at the seventh overall pick, who could have been like a change change agent for the entire offense, a player
12:59that becomes the focal point of let's get him the ball and McLaurin sort of takes a little bit of a backseat. But
13:06McLaurin also avoids Carnell Tate and Jordan Tyson with Washington selecting Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles with the seventh overall pick.
13:15So you have Terry McLaurin when you look at this roster and you look at the skill position players, Washington needs to maximize Terry
13:23McLaurin. He's never had a 140 target season at any point in his career, but this year he could get there. This
13:30year he could be the year where we look up at the end of the year and Terry McLaurin is at near the 150 target
13:37range. I think there's going to be some easy button targets for him. We're going to get him involved effectively and we
13:42know the kind of potential he has as a touchdown scorer in a Jayden Daniels offense cuz we saw it two years ago
13:48where he set the franchise record for the most touchdown catches in a year.
13:51So, Terry McLaurin really, really big winner.
13:54Another big winner is Drake London. And Drake London is sort of a quiet player this off-season, but he's been terrific.
14:03For two straight years he's been in that 15 point per game range. Uh, not quite league winner, but a hey, I'm really
14:09glad I drafted him type production from Drake London. Last year he was on pace to have his best fantasy season and
14:16maybe take that production up a notch.
14:18He had multiple weeks in a row. I think it was three weeks in a row where he finished as the V wide receiver one in
14:24fantasy. Then gets banged up in the middle of the year, sort of settled his season out to a point where it was
14:30really good, but it wasn't like this broke fantasy type good. Now, I don't know if he's a fantasy fantasy season winner, the the league winner type, but
14:39I know Drake London is in a spot where he can be a top five scorer at the wide receiver position and he's going to get
14:45alpha wide receiver one usage. I'm higher on Zachariah Branch than many dynasty and fantasy analysts. There's some people burying Zachariah Branch.
14:55They took him with the 79th overall pick. Atlanta selects Zachariah Branch.
14:59I think he's got a chance to have a really fun role on this offense.
15:02Obviously they stay in state. They drafted Georgia wide receiver who led led the SEC in receptions this past year, but he's a screen merchant. He's a
15:11manufactured touch player. He is no threat to Drake London. The other wide receivers are Olamide Zaccheaus, Jahan Dotson and a few other guys like that.
15:22So, Drake London has some of the worst wide receiver teammate target target competition of any of the wide receiver one overall threats in fantasy football.
15:33Drake London could have a career year this year. If he stays healthy, Drake London is going to absolutely eat. We've also got I don't think anything's going
15:42to happen from it, but there's been some rumors about a Kyle Pitts potential trade. That was maybe smoke to try to
15:48get some some capital during the draft.
15:52But, you never know how these things shake out shake out. Like when there's smoke, there's fire when it comes to trades in the NFL. Sometimes they work
16:00out and the player does get moved. I wouldn't bet on it with Kyle Pitts, but that was out there from some some beat
16:07reporters during the NFL draft. And if Pitts is gone, I mean, how can that target share for for Drake London not be
16:14like otherworldly? It could end up being like Puka Nacua's.
16:18And another big winner from the NFL draft was Puka Nacua.
16:22And this was sort of a low-key one. It's like what is going on with Puka Nacua this off-season? Guy's getting filmed doing
16:29some things off the field we don't like to see. Then we hear Puka Nacua's going to rehab. And you start thinking about
16:36like the worst possible outcomes, especially if you play dynasty.
16:40But, the Rams were sitting and picking at 13 overall.
16:43And they had a chance to add a wide receiver.
16:47Mekhi Lemon was sitting right down there for them to draft. There's been a ton of steam linking Mekhi Lemon to the LA Rams
16:55at 13 overall for like 3 months.
16:58Mekhi Lemon played at USC.
17:00Not too far from SoFi Stadium. And Mekhi Lemon won the Biletnikoff Award. He's a wide receiver that looked like he could
17:07be great in a McVay offense.
17:10Instead, the LA Rams draft Ty Simpson, the quarterback of out of Alabama. So, what does that mean? It means that they're taking a chance on their
17:20quarterback of the future and they're basically saying we're good at wideout.
17:24We don't need another one. We've got Puka Nacua and then we've got 32-year-old Davante Adams. But, the way that the two players were going, Davante
17:32Adams had an unbelievable touchdown scoring success last year.
17:36But, the way these players were picky peaking towards the second half of the year, Davante gets banged up, production goes down a little bit. Puka Nacua
17:44unbelievable production and looks like a player who could be the league winner this year and will compete with players like Ja'Marr Chase for who's the wide
17:53receiver you should and obviously Jaxon Smith-Njigba for which wide receiver should you draft as the wide receiver one in redraft. Dynasty Puka Nacua is a
18:03winner because the Rams passed up on really good wide receivers in a wide receiver heavy draft with their with their first overall pick. And redraft
18:12he's a winner because he's Puka Nacua and the team has shown that they're not worried about him by their inaction.
18:18Second round pick, Max Cleary, tight end, not a target threat from Puka Nacua. Does also mean that the Rams are going to embrace these three tight end
18:27sets, two tight end sets.
18:29They're going to be one of the heaviest package teams in the NFL. They're very effective running the ball out of those
18:34packages, but it also consolidates the targets for Puka Nacua and Davante Adams to have extra tight ends out on the field. So, Puka Nacua is going to be one
18:44of the most efficient and one of the highest scoring wide receivers this year and the Rams are showing you that they're not worried about 2027 either,
18:522028 either. Puka Nacua is here to stay, locked and loaded fantasy asset in all formats. Uh, another player who absolutely won the draft is Brock
19:03Bowers.
19:04And why do we say that? Because Brock Bowers already had strong vibes by the Clint Kubiak hire. You get this really
19:12strong offensive mind. There's been improvements to the offensive line for Vegas through free agency.
19:19Then you say maybe Vegas is going to add a wide receiver in the NFL draft. They only signed Jalen Nailer and guys like
19:25Trey Tucker, Jack Bash, a bunch of those guys are on the roster. Nothing really too scary.
19:31But could they add a wide receiver at the beginning of the second round that at least would take on a prominent role?
19:38They didn't. They passed on all of that.
19:40They went trade on Stoops, the safety out of Arizona beginning of round two and of course they drafted Fernando Mendoza, their new starting quarterback
19:49in round one. They also signed Kirk Cousins. So I think Mendoza's starting week one.
19:55But if Mendoza's not ready to go and he needs a couple weeks to get right, you've got a veteran presence running
20:00the offense in Kirk Cousins who's Cousins who's led to a lot of good fantasy seasons for a lot of players around them. Cousins
20:07looks a little bit cooked, but it under under Clint Kubiak, I have a little bit more trust. If they have to go with him
20:13for two, three weeks, I think he'll be fine.
20:16But Brock Bowers, here's the scenario for Brock Bowers.
20:20The if he stays healthy and let's say he plays 16, 17 games, the low end the low end outcome is going
20:28to be that Brock Bowers finishes as a top three tight end.
20:32Maybe Trey McBride goes nuts, maybe Colston Loveland breaks through, maybe a guy like Tyler Warren ends up having a season.
20:38Maybe he's tight end three if everything goes wrong barring injury. Brock Bowers has averaged over 15 points per game in 29
20:48regular season games and none of them were offenses coached by Clint Kubiak, a guy who we think is really sharp. Okay,
20:55we're all over Clint Kubiak. We liked him in New Orleans, we loved him in Seattle. We're going to like him in
20:59Vegas.
21:00Now the high end outcome for Brock Bowers is he's in the Jaxon Smith-Njigba role.
21:07When you go to target share, when you go to first read rate, when you go to targets per route run, all of the
21:13metrics you can find in the Fantasy Points Data Suite where Jackson Smith and Jigba basically broke it because he was so nasty for so many weeks and put
21:23up this ridiculous season.
21:25We see the exact same usage for Brock Bowers when it comes to this Vegas offense.
21:29Now, that's people are going to say, "Theo, I'm not No tight end's going to average 21 points per game. Get out of
21:35here." But, if you believe in Brock Bowers like I do, it's not out of the realm of possibilities that we're seeing
21:41a 30-plus percent target share.
21:43Brock Bowers, no matter what, in all formats, if you can get him in Dynasty, get him in Dynasty. If you can draft him
21:49in redraft before the price corrects, go get him. Best Ball, Brock Bowers, he's it. He's an edge pick for you this year.
21:58And the the Raiders have shown nothing to to say that they don't think Bowers is the man. He's the number one target
22:04on the team. This could be a Travis Kelce-like runout for him, maybe even better, considering what he did. We already saw him finish as the wide
22:11receiver one overall and set the record for receptions by a rookie tight end uh 2 years ago. Last year, he still
22:20averaged in that 15-point per game range despite sort of a injury-plagued year.
22:24Look for Brock Bowers to smash this year in fantasy football. Absolutely a winner.
22:31Then, let's talk about Jalen Hurts because I even talked about Jalen Hurts in my article where Hurts was a a guy that
22:39I was a little bit concerned about because losing A.J. Brown, in what way would Philly go in the first round? A
22:45lot of the beat reporters in Philly, and they've got a pretty locked-in a group of beat reporters. They're obviously one of the most heavily
22:53covered teams in the NFL. You have a ton of media associated with the team. And some guys who were pretty locked in were
23:00saying it's going to be an edge rusher.
23:02It's going to be an offensive tackle.
23:04They're going to go in that direction.
23:06And we say to ourselves, okay, they lose they're going to probably lose A.J.
23:10Brown. Everybody's reporting on him probably being traded after June 1st.
23:14And they're actually going to replace him with Antoine Wicks and Hollywood Brown. Not so good. Then you look at what Philly did in the draft. They go
23:22ahead and draft McKay Lemon, who I'm going to be higher on than many. I think McKay Lemon is going to thrive in
23:27Philly. I think he's still a player you want to add on your dynasty roster and consider drafting in redraft. I think
23:32he's really good and I think they'll figure out how to use him there.
23:36Awesome, awesome talent. I'll butt heads with a bunch of people on this channel and other channels when it comes to McKay Lemon. I like him. If you want to
23:43take another guy over him, I'm not going to argue with you. I think if but in your dynasty rookie draft, if you're in
23:49my league, I'm probably taking him at the 1.05 in that range.
23:52Uh so, if you want to take him, you got to trade ahead of me or trade me for my pick.
23:56Um and they take McKay Lemon and then they follow up with Eli Stowers. Now, McKay Lemon one makes sense and some
24:04people will say, "Well, Eli Stowers, they already got Dallas Goedert."
24:07Exactly. They've got Dallas Goedert in Philly. Goedert coming off of a career high in terms of touchdown catches, went nuts last year. Uh Philly brings him
24:16back and they draft Eli Stowers. Now, what is Eli Stowers? Eli Stowers, there's some parallels to Harold Varner Jr. last year. Because what do you have?
24:25You have a tight end who's established in fantasy, who's over the age of 30, that is set to start, and they spend day
24:33two draft capital on a big-time pass catcher. Now, there's been three tight ends in the history of the Southeastern Conference. A lot of good football
24:40football players come out of that conference. That's big boy football down south in the SEC. A lot of good players have come out of that conference.
24:47There's only been three tight ends who have ever had 60-plus receptions in a season. It's Brock Bowers, it's Evan Engram, and it's Eli Stowers. Philly drafts him
24:56in the second round.
24:58So, the plan, and I think this is the plan for the team, and should be also how you view it as a dynasty manager.
25:05Eli Stowers is going to mix in two tight end sets. He's going to be really effective. They'll also play him at wide receiver at times this this uh
25:13season. Uh obviously guys like Wix and Hollywood Brown are there. Uh and then of course Devonta Smith and Makai Lemon.
25:20But Stowers is a weapon. They'll use him at wide out. They'll use him at in tight end two tight end sets.
25:25But there's a chance that if Goddert gets banged up, Eli Stowers is going to get fast-tracked cuz he's a really really really good. He's an incredibly
25:34athletic player. 4.51 40-yard dash. Uh incredible broad jump, incredible vertical. You can read the breakdown of Eli Stowers and all these guys over at
25:44Brett Whitefield's prospect guide where I wrote up some fantasy takes in there that guide as well. It's absolutely the most detailed guide you're going to be
25:51able to get. Just go over to fantasypoints.com. It's free over there.
25:55Make sure you download that one and read our thoughts on Eli Stowers. But Philly basically says, "We got Jalen Hurts.
26:01Let's go get him some weapons. If we move off of A.J. Brown, we're now injecting this offense with youth and extreme athleticism with Eli Stowers,
26:10and we're adding one of the best pass-catching tight ends in a single season ever in SEC history, and we're adding the Biletnikoff Award
26:19winner Makai Lemon who dominated the Big Ten last year and dominated college football at the wide receiver position at USC."
26:26Now, there's some guys who say Jeremiah Smith was the best wide receiver in college football last year, but end of the day,
26:32who won the Biletnikoff Award? Makai Lemon. So, Makai Lemon really really good player. Eli Stowers really really talented player. Philly double-tapped it. Howie Roseman knows
26:41what he's doing, and he added two skill position players. Jalen Hurts long-term and short-term gets a boost, and they have an exit plan for A.J. Brown. They
26:51get the two veterans in Wix and Hollywood Brown. They add the youth in Mecole Hardman and Eli Stove. They bring back Dallas Goedert and skinny Batman,
27:00DeVonta Smith, is still there. So, we're we're in good shape if we have Jalen Hurts on our early best ball drafts
27:07where he became like a value in early best ball and also in dynasty, he took a backseat. But, Philly's showing that,
27:14"Hey, we're putting skill position players there."
27:17Another player who really won the NFL draft was David Montgomery.
27:22And David Montgomery, uh obviously, was already an off-season winner because escaped Jahmyr Gibbs and ends up in a situation where he should lead the
27:31backfield.
27:32Montgomery was already in a good spot, but there was always the fear in your back of your head that this could be the
27:38Jahmyr Gibbs price landing spot. And a lot of people told you that Jahmyr Gibbs price was going to fall, that all this
27:44first-round draft pick stuff, this top-40 draft capital stuff was smoke.
27:48I didn't tell you that, though. I was all over Jahmyr Gibbs price and I thought Jahmyr Gibbs price could be a
27:52guy who, if the Houston Texans drafted him, that could end up being a player that hurt David Montgomery a lot because Jahmyr
28:00Gibbs is going to be a high-value touch guy, explosive runs. How many receptions will he get? A lot more than he did in
28:05college. But, David Montgomery avoids any running back in Houston. David Montgomery's the dude in the Houston Texans. There's nothing to worry about
28:14There's nothing to see here.
28:15And David Montgomery basically extended his dynasty shelf life with this move.
28:21We saw how effective Joe Mixon was in this offense two seasons ago, where Joe Mixon basically was providing high-end RB1 production on a points per game
28:31basis after coming over from the Cincinnati Bengals to the Houston Texans. They embraced him. They're going to do the same thing with David
28:39Montgomery. But, with David Montgomery, there's this lack of faith in the fantasy community that he can put up a high upside outcome season. That he can
28:49put up a 16.5 point per game season.
28:52David Montgomery could have a little bit of Josh Jacobs to Green Bay in his outcomes. He could be really good this
28:58year and he's still really, really cheap.
29:01I like David Montgomery a lot this year and he comes out of the NFL draft completely unscathed. And what does Houston do in the first round?
29:09They draft Keion Rutledge, the offensive guard out of Georgia Tech. Now, Brett Whitefield didn't like this pick. We were on the air for this. Big shout-out
29:17to everybody who supported our NFL draft coverage. Big shout-out to Brett Whitefield and Scott Barrett who podcasted basically the whole thing with
29:24me, John Hansen, Andrew Cooper, Ryan Heath, Debro, Derek Brown of Fantasy Pros. We we we basically had a lot of guests in. We crushed it and you guys
29:36really supported it. I think we set the live views record for this channel at 20,000 people watching us cover the first round. Huge shout-out to Trey
29:44Kamperlin and Thomas Tipple behind the scenes.
29:47Awesome, awesome support. But Keion Rutledge pick was one of the more confusing ones in the first round.
29:52There'd been some some NFL draft uh evaluators who had said Rutledge was like a dark horse first round pick.
29:59And in fact, Houston did take him. Now, what's Keion Rutledge though? Keion Rutledge is an offensive guard and he's a mauler. He's a street fighter. He's a
30:09really, really good run blocker and Houston took him about 15 spots ahead of where a lot of people had him projected.
30:16He was going to be a second round pick.
30:18They take him in the first round. So, 26 overall, Houston Texans takes Keion Rutledge and says to me, "Let's not only
30:27keep C.J. Stroud upright and give him the best chance, but let's also set things up to lean on our run game and
30:34make things easier for our quarterback in the playoffs and in the regular season." A lot of it stems on David Montgomery. He's in a fantastic spot
30:42right now. Another player who's a huge winner at the Another player who was a huge winner when it comes to the NFL draft
30:50are the Carolina Panthers running backs.
30:53Carolina Panthers running backs, Chuba Hubbard and Jonathan Jonathan Brooks.
30:59Uh both of those guys are in good shape here where Carolina improves their situation on the offensive line.
31:08They draft Monroe Freeling and Monroe Freeling gives them coverage if Ickey Ekwonu can't come back from injury. And that's something that is really
31:17lingering up in the air where there's a chance that Carolina's without him for the season.
31:22They also add Chris Brazell in round three, a field stretching wide receiver adding speed a speed element on the outside giving Terrace Marshall and
31:33Jonathan Brooks and a lot of Jaylen Coker, I believe as well, uh the targets they need. Terrace Marshall obviously a big winner as well
31:42for this whole off season, but really the focus and emphasis goes on Chuba Hubbard and Jonathan Brooks.
31:49Dave Canales has been a running back whisperer for two straight years.
31:53Bucky Irving crushed his ADP in Tampa.
31:57Then you look at what what uh Dave Canales was able Excuse me. Dave Canales Let's go back. Let's go backwards. I
32:04messed that one up. Dave Canales Rachaad White under Dave Canales absolutely crushed it in Tampa Bay. Uh couple years back, absolutely crushed it. Then in his
32:13first year in Carolina, it was Chuba Hubbard. And Chuba Hubbard crushed it.
32:17Had a an ADP win, like really strong ADP season in terms of where you what you paid for him and what you got. Last
32:25year, Rico Dowdle. Sign him as a free agent, really effective player, had a number of weeks that really helped fantasy managers, big-time waiver wire
32:32pick up.
32:33Then you look at this off season. Dowdle leaves. This says to me that they're very into Jonathan Brooks and his health. So, both those Carolina Panthers
32:41running backs, they're going to benefit from the offensive ecosystem in Carolina.
32:46And both of those guys look set to have at least decent seasons. Now, you want to take Chuba Hubbard, that's fine. But
32:54if you want to bet on Jonathan Brooks as the RB2, that's also more than fine. And if you're a dynasty manager, they're
33:01both cheap enough to double tap and buy this situation. So, looking at Chuba Hubbard, looking at Jonathan Brooks, and then we've also got to mention, because
33:10he's a winner every single off-season, is Chase Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals. And Chase Brown of the Bengals, this is like
33:19it happens every year where Chase Brown, the market thinks Cincinnati's going to add somebody good, and they don't. Chase Brown just survives. And last off-season
33:29was the scary one where they were linked to Trayveon Henderson. They were linked to Quinshon Judkins. They were linked to Cam Akers.
33:37And they don't draft any of them, and Chase Brown has a ridiculous season.
33:41Then this off-season, we say, "Oh, maybe maybe they'll add somebody pretty decent to be a backup running back in Cincy.
33:49They can't really go into the season with Samaje Perine and Taj Brooks again, can they?" Well, they're That's exactly what they're doing. The Bengals are
33:57going to have one of the best offenses in football, and a lot of high usage for Chase Brown. I mean, it's going to be
34:03pretty much the same. Chase Brown in a fantastic spot. And when you look what Chase Brown was able to do, he's had
34:09over 275 touches in consecutive seasons.
34:13That's elite RB1 volume. He's going to see it again this year. Unless the wheels fall off, expect for 270-plus touches again in what could be one of
34:22the best offenses in the NFL. Chase Brown, seemingly always an off-season winner. Uh keeping it going here, it's not all winners, though. Let's talk
34:33about a couple of players who lost a little bit. And the first two I'm going to talk about are controversial, and a
34:38lot of people are going to hate these ones because a lot of times there's an optimistic view, and I've had this view on a lot of
34:44players' landing spots where the pie grows larger, the offense gets better, and therefore this player who was really good last year, despite more tough
34:54competition, can actually excel and do better this year. I mean, and that's been the case with some players. It doesn't always mean when a team adds a
35:03really good player that a really good player's stats are going to go down.
35:06It's just It's It's not like that. It's not an exact science.
35:09But when it comes to Trey McBride, will he have another season like he had last year?
35:15That becomes the question because Trey McBride sets the record for the most receptions by a tight end in NFL history. And now Trey McBride is in a
35:26single season.
35:27And Trey McBride is really, really, really good. Back-to-back years with like 100 catches, 100-plus catches. Trey McBride, one of the highest-paid, if not
35:36the highest-paid tight ends in football, getting wide receiver money at the tight end position. Trey McBride is awesome.
35:42Trey McBride is maybe the next Travis Kelce when you look at what he's been able to do for 2 years and what he'll
35:48continue to be able to do for many, many years, 3 years. And what he'll be able to continue to do for many, many years
35:53to come.
35:55But Arizona drafted Jeremiah Love with the number three overall pick.
35:58And when you look at what Jeremiah Love could become, could he become a Jahmyr Gibbs?
36:03A lot of people made that comp. And the people out there saying, "What a ridiculous comp. He's not as good as
36:08Jahmyr Gibbs." Well, he just went third overall in the NFL draft. So, Arizona seems to view him in that light, if not
36:14a player who could be, dare I say it, just as productive as Jahmyr Gibbs, and shock, could he be better? That's how
36:22Arizona's treating him.
36:23Considering they took him with the number three overall pick. You can agree You can You can argue it was a bad pick,
36:28but it doesn't matter. The pick is in, the pick has been made. That's where they went. Jeremiah Love is a change
36:34agent. This is a player that when you take a running back at three overall, and they took him three overall despite
36:40having Tyler Allgeier, despite having James Conner, despite having at least veteran guys you could get by with, they took Jeremiah Love.
36:51Then you also factor in the Carson Beck selection in round three. Now, I don't like Carson Beck. I don't think Carson Beck's a player I
36:58would have taken in round three, but Arizona did. And Carson Beck started at Georgia.
37:04He started at Miami.
37:06He made a national title game at Miami, nearly beat Indiana at Miami.
37:12Carson Beck, Arizona took him third round. Now, what does this matter for Trey McBride?
37:18Well, you have Jacoby Brissett, and Trey McBride's unbelievable run last season happened with Jacoby Brissett. Now, there's all these Jacoby Brissett
37:28holdout stuff that's going on.
37:31Ultimately, I think Arizona and Jacoby Brissett will come to terms. If you're Jacoby Brissett, uh you got to take advantage of really
37:38this starting opportunity, and his camp just wants a little more money, which he earned last season, to be honest, in terms of starting games, being pretty
37:46effective. But, long-term Brissett is not it. So, does Carson Beck get a look this year?
37:54If Arizona starts out the year, let's say two and five, do we see a switch at midseason to Carson Beck to see what you
38:00have? Last year they were losing game after game after game, but sticking with Jacoby Brissett, having unbelievable pass volume.
38:08You also add LaFleur as the head coach.
38:11So, I get it. I get the the pro-LaFleur arguments for McBride because you're bringing an offensive-minded head coach over, and we know that Sean McVay
38:21absolutely coveted Brock Bowers. So you have to figure that the McVay tree has a plan to basically use this unbelievable tight end at a high level. I get it. I
38:30get it. I love Trey McBride. I'm not telling you to abandon ship Dynasty-wise, and I'm not telling you not to draft him, but I do think there's
38:37an argument that he's being drafted at his ceiling with his current price tag.
38:42And the fact that Brock Bowers is cheaper than he is. When you add in Jeremiah Love, you add in this offensive
38:48coach that has had a propensity from where he's coming from to hyper-target wide receivers. It's just a little bit of variables where Trey McBride, if they
38:58switch over to Beck, you can't like that one if you're a Trey McBride Dynasty manager. You can't like that one if you're a Trey McBride
39:04redraft manager, because we have no clue what Carson Beck's tendencies are going to be. Now, could he have tunnel vision for Trey McBride and just say, "Okay,
39:13I'm going to get the ball to my number one target over and over and over again." A really good tight end can be a
39:17rookie quarterback's friend. I get it.
39:20But you're still talking about a third-round quarterback if he gets his opportunity. Uh and Carson Beck had a really high completion percentage. He
39:27was not inaccurate last year at Miami, okay? So he was up there and the completion percentage was like 70-plus or something like that. I get it. But
39:35you can't like all these variables when it comes to a player you're taking as a tight end one overall.
39:39Last year we saw Brock Bowers uh failed to deliver at ADP as a tight end one overall. I hope history doesn't repeat
39:46itself, and I My bags are packed with Trey McBride in Dynasty. I have a lot of money invested in Trey McBride on my
39:53Dynasty teams. This is not me saying abandon ship in Dynasty, but we're talking about a a ceiling outcome in 2026. I think with the presence of Love
40:03and now the factor of could a rookie quarterback see some time on the field, just a little bit of scary-ness. Another
40:09tight end that I think we got to keep an eye on, Harold Varner Jr.
40:13Now, my bags are also packed with Harold Varner Jr. Okay, I'm not just making content. I'm in the streets. I'm in the
40:19streets earning when it comes to dynasty. I have a lot of money in the game and I have a lot of teams
40:25and Harold Fanin Jr. last year was a player that on the ones I drafted him on, it was like found money because you
40:33got a first round rookie pick production, first round rookie pick trade equity out of a guy you were able to get in the
40:41late second, early third. So, Harold Fanin hit like crazy last year. Comes out of the MAC, out of Bowling Green, 21
40:48years old, one of the youngest tight ends in football, leads the NFL leads the Browns in targets, leads the Browns in receptions,
40:55leads the Browns in receiving yards, all of that stuff. Starter in fantasy and earned being a top five tight end this
41:02year in early best ball, top five tight end in dynasty. Now, can Harold Fanin Jr. still finish as the tight end five
41:09this year, the tight end four?
41:10Absolutely. He absolutely can, but his chances of being the tight end one overall and having himself a Trey McBride-like, Brock Bowers-like 150
41:20targets just went way down because the Browns drafted not one, but two wide receivers inside the top 40 picks. They
41:29draft Casey Concepcion at 24 overall and then early in the second round they double-tap with Denzel Boston. Now, Harold Fanin Jr. could out-target both
41:38of those guys and Harold Fanin Jr. could average more points per game than both of those guys, but the wide receiver
41:44target competition just went up conce- like significantly for the Browns and the investment that they made in both of these guys. So, from a short-term
41:53perspective, Harold Fanin Jr. should still still be a top six-ish tight end in redraft and and in best ball. And he still should be a top six,
42:03top five tight end in in in redraft, but the ceiling outcome is not good. Fanin Jr. is a way, way, way less less of a
42:13threat to be the tight end one overall after these additions than he was 3 days ago. And when you're drafting a tight
42:22end as the tight end four, the tight end five, are you drafting him to be the tight end four or tight end five, or are
42:29you drafting him to be a dark horse tight end one overall candidate? And I think most people drafting guys like Harold Fanning Jr. and Trey McBride in
42:37early best ball are saying, "I got a guy with a shot to be the tight end one overall." And I think that that just
42:43went down significantly. Now, this could be a pie grows larger situation where people are like, "Theo, no, no, no, no, no. Having talented wide receivers
42:51actually helps Harold Fanning Jr.
42:53because he's a target earner, he can get there with YAC, there's a million ways for him to win." But I'll just say,
42:59you had a guy 24, you had a guy in the top 40 in Denzel Boston. It's it's an annoying presence for Harold Fanning Jr.
43:07Who will be the most valuable one in dynasty 24 months from today?
43:12I think it's probably still Harold Fanning Jr., but I could be completely wrong. I think Casey Canseptcion is an electric talent. And Denzel Boston
43:20averaged like a 30% target share in consecutive years at Washington. Big outside presence as well, could be a red zone winner. So he's got competition
43:28when it comes to the long term. Now, other guys to talk about uh Jerry Jeudy, nuked.
43:35He's nuked. See you later. There was a lot of outcomes where Jerry Jeudy could end up having a bounce back year under
43:40Todd Monken, but he's in a worse situation than Fanning by a mile because they just drafted two wide receivers inside the top 40. New offensive coach
43:50in Todd Monken. Jerry Jeudy, if he's healthy, is still going to be on the field a ton. He could still lead the
43:56team you don't lead all wide receivers there in fantasy points per game, but my bet would be on Casey Canseptcion. I
44:02think Casey Canseptcion is really good.
44:04Uh I I he's going to take Jerry Jeudy's wide receiver one mantle away from him.
44:09You've already got the presence of Fanning, then you add in Denzel Boston.
44:12So, really Jerry Jeudy tough one there. Most people weren't betting on Jerry Jeudy, but nuked.
44:20Another player to talk about that kind of nuked, actually in fact very nuked, Mason Taylor. Mason Taylor, obviously Jason Taylor's son, was a player that
44:30people were excited about last year.
44:31Gets drafted in the early in the second round in 2025 in a great tight end class.
44:36Gets drafted ahead of Fair Harold Fanning Jr.
44:39Gets drafted ahead of a bunch of guys.
44:41And ends up going to the beginning of the second round to the New York Jets.
44:44Had some pretty strong fantasy moments, but if anybody saw the reaction offensive coordinator Frank Reich had to the Kenyon Seddik pick in round one,
44:55I mean, that's all she wrote for Mason Taylor. Mason Taylor just got Michael Mayored in this situation. Where Seddik might not end up being Brock Bowers, but
45:04Seddik's going to be a lot more heavily utilized than Mason Taylor. Uh Mason Taylor really really uh a tough run out
45:11for him considering he was a second rounder last year and now is going to be unusable on a weekly basis in fantasy
45:17because Kenyon Seddik's there. Also, they add Omar Cooper Jr. to the New York Jets. So, really tough putt when it comes to any dynasty managers who have
45:26Mason Taylor shares. He was already pretty low ranked for dynasty rankings, but there was still a little bit of a hey, year two could be a breakout year.
45:35Uh that's gone. Seddik is the guy there.
45:37Uh they drafted him in the first round for a reason. Not a not a strong statement when it comes to Mason Taylor.
45:43Uh and really the final loser to talk about today, it's Zach Charbonnet. And Charbonnet has been fantastic from a touchdown department, but Zach Charbonnet now, the
45:55idea being it if it was Emmanuel Wilson and George Holani leading the backfield to start out the 2026 season, you could say, "Okay, as soon as Zach
46:06Charbonnet is fully healthy, maybe mid-season, maybe week nine, he's going to come back, and he's actually going to be in a much better place because
46:15Kenneth Walker's gone, and you got these two sort of journeyman types, no shade to those guys, but journeyman type running backs sort of holding his place
46:24until like until a placeholder running backs until Zach Charbonnet's ready to rock." Now, Charbonnet's had over 20 touchdown runs the last two seasons combined, really in
46:33a good place, but Seattle only had four picks in this draft. Uh heading into the NFL draft, Seattle only had four picks. And they're
46:42sitting on the clock with the 32nd overall pick in the first round, and they go running back. So, instead of trading back, and people say
46:51maybe they tried to trade back, they didn't like what they were being offered, but they didn't certainly didn't take a haircut to try to acquire
46:56more picks. They stuck and pick picked, and they took Judarian Price. So, Judarian Price, what is he? He's Kenneth Walker-like. He's an explosive big play
47:06threat running back with speed to burn.
47:09Seattle's already hyping up their decision to draft him. Charbonnet takes a big hit in dynasty because even if it's committee backfield, he's with a
47:17first-round pedigree running back. And you consider what has Seattle done? They drafted Walker in the second round, they drafted Charbonnet in the second round.
47:24This is the first time they've taken a first-round running back in a long, long time, and it's Judarian Price. And I
47:29know 32nd overall pick, but it's still inside the first round. Then you look at the fact that they had a lack of draft
47:34capital to spend on it, and you look at the fact that Charbonnet's going to be missing the beginning of the season.
47:39He's going to be coming back to a situation where Judarian Price might gain a considerable amount of steam with his strong play on the field. And then
47:47heading into 2027, it makes it far less likely that the Seattle Seahawks will bring back Zach Charbonnet unless it's on some team-friendly deal. So, Zach
47:57Charbonnet significant loser in both redraft, best ball, and dynasty. Those are your guys right there. Make sure you're sticking with Fantasy Football
48:06Daily. We've got you covered all off-season long dropping fire shows, great guests multiple times a week. Make sure you are subscribed to the podcast
48:14if you are listening to the watching this on YouTube. And if you are listening to this podcast, make sure you subscribe to our YouTube channel as
48:21well. We're growing each and every day because we're putting out some of the best free fantasy content around on Fantasy Points YouTube. Make sure you
48:29also subscribe to my dynasty YouTube content over at Fantasy Points Dynasty YouTube. You can find that right here on the channel. Stick with us here at
48:37Fantasy Points. We're going to help you crush your fantasy leagues this season.