Matthew Berry's 2026 Ride or Die Reveal
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
52 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 20, 2026
Published
Thu, August 20, 2026
31
Player insights
25
Players mentioned
Topics
A.J. BrownChase BrownColston LovelandKyler MurrayLadd McConkeyParker WashingtonBo NixBrock BowersChris OlaveDaniel JonesDarius SlaytonDerrick HenryDeVonta SmithGarrett Wilson
Player analysis
Player insights
A.J. Brown
NegativeValue36:26
Matthew Berry acknowledges AJ Brown as an interesting player but questions the profit potential at his current ADP of WR8, as he is already valued as a high-end WR1.
Insight pagePositiveDepth Chart44:59
Matthew Berry notes that AJ Brown is no longer with the Eagles, which he believes creates 'addition by subtraction' for the Philadelphia offense and specifically for DeVonta Smith's target share.
Insight pageBo Nix
NegativeProjection27:07
Matthew Berry ranks Bo Nix as QB15, citing concerns over his reliance on a single big game for production last year and potential inconsistency. Berry is also worried about the impact of a new play-caller and lingering effects from an ankle injury on Nix's rushing upside.
Insight pageBrock Bowers
NegativeProjection50:43
Matthew Berry ranks Brock Bowers as a top-three tight end, noting that he is part of the consensus tier alongside Trey McBride and Colston Loveland.
Insight pageChase Brown
PositiveValue38:55
Matthew Berry identifies Chase Brown as a finalist for his 'ride or die' pick, noting that since taking over the starting job in 2024, Brown has been the sixth-best running back in fantasy points per game. Berry believes he is undervalued at his current RB13 ADP.
Insight pagePositiveValue43:03
Matthew Berry identifies Chase Brown as one of his five finalists for his 2026 'Ride or Die' selection, indicating he is a player Berry is high on for the upcoming season.
Insight pageChris Olave
NegativeInjury36:56
Matthew Berry is passing on Chris Olave as a 'ride or die' candidate due to injury concerns and the potential for increased defensive focus, despite ranking him as a borderline WR1.
Insight pageColston Loveland
PositiveBreakout29:15
Matthew Berry considers Colston Loveland a top-three tight end and a finalist for his 'ride or die' pick. Berry highlights Loveland's role as a focal point in the Bears' offense, noting his high target share and efficiency when targeted seven or more times.
Insight pagePositiveProjection42:38
Matthew Berry views Loveland as a focal point of one of the NFL's best offenses and a difference-maker at the tight end position. He is ranked as the TE3, consistent with consensus, though Berry has him slightly higher in his overall rankings.
Insight pageDaniel Jones
NegativeBust48:54
Matthew Berry identifies Daniel Jones as a 'massive loss' among his previous 'Ride or Die' selections, specifically citing his 2022 performance.
Insight pageDarius Slayton
NegativeBust48:41
Matthew Berry references Darius Slayton as a past 'Ride or Die' selection from 2018 who failed to return value due to an ACL injury, noting that injuries are unpredictable.
Insight pageDerrick Henry
NegativeValue30:45
Matthew Berry questions the viability of Derrick Henry as a 'ride or die' pick, noting that at 32 years old and without a significant pass-catching role, his best fantasy years are likely in the past.
Insight pageDeVonta Smith
PositiveBreakout43:48
Matthew Berry named DeVonta Smith his 2026 'Ride or Die' player, projecting him as a WR1 with top-five fantasy upside and league-winning potential. With AJ Brown gone, Berry expects Smith to command elite target volume, noting that Smith has historically averaged 17.3 fantasy points per game when AJ Brown is off the field.
Insight pageGarrett Wilson
NegativeValue22:08
Matthew Berry ranks Garrett Wilson as WR20, acknowledging his talent and target share but expressing hesitation due to the Jets' quarterback situation with Geno Smith and the coaching of Frank Reich. Berry notes Wilson has never finished higher than WR19 on a points-per-game basis in his career.
Insight pageGeorge Pickens
NegativeProjection46:04
Matthew Berry uses George Pickens' 2025 production (17.2 fantasy points per game) as a benchmark to illustrate the potential fantasy output for DeVonta Smith in an expanded role.
Insight pageHarold Fannin
NegativeProjection32:21
Matthew Berry is skeptical of Harold Fannin, noting that his 2024 success was driven by unsustainable volume and a poor ADOT. Berry expects increased competition for targets from Denzel Boston and Casey Concepcion, which will likely limit Fannin's production.
Insight pageJared Goff
NegativeProjection30:32
Matthew Berry dismisses Jared Goff as a 'ride or die' candidate primarily because he does not provide rushing production, which Berry views as a critical component for high-end fantasy quarterback value.
Insight pageJaylen Waddle
NegativeProjection31:07
Matthew Berry likes Jalen Waddle as a top-20 play but expresses concern regarding his injury history, the adjustment to a new team and offense, and the potential impact of playing in a high-altitude environment.
Insight pageKenneth Walker III
PositiveValue43:03
Matthew Berry identifies Kenneth Walker as one of his five finalists for his 2026 'Ride or Die' selection, indicating he is a player Berry is high on for the upcoming season.
Insight pageKyler Murray
NegativeProjection11:42
Matthew Berry acknowledges Kyler Murray's high-upside potential with a strong supporting cast including Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison, but ultimately passes on him as a 'Ride or Die' candidate. Berry ranks him as QB14, noting that despite a potentially great season, the depth of the quarterback position makes it difficult for Murray to reach the elite 'league winner' status of players like Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson. Additionally, Berry expresses concern over Murray's rushing volume under Kevin O'Connell and his history of missing games.
Insight pageNegativeBust48:58
Matthew Berry classifies Kyler Murray as a loss among his 'Ride or Die' selections for 2023, noting that while he didn't 'kill' fantasy teams, his performance was clearly not great.
Insight pageLadd McConkey
PositiveBreakout40:00
Matthew Berry names Ladd McConkey as a 'ride or die' finalist, expecting a significant boost in production under Mike McDaniel. Berry notes that the departure of Keenan Allen leaves 122 targets available, which should lead to a larger target share for McConkey.
Insight pagePositiveValue43:03
Matthew Berry identifies Ladd McConkey as one of his five finalists for his 2026 'Ride or Die' selection, indicating he is a player Berry is high on for the upcoming season.
Insight pageLuther Burden
NegativeInjury31:54
Matthew Berry expresses caution regarding Luther Burden due to an injury he is currently dealing with, noting that he prefers Colston Loveland among the Bears' receiving options.
Insight pageParker Washington
NegativeProjection21:30
Matthew Berry views Parker Washington as a WR3, noting it is difficult to see him breaking into the top 10 or becoming a WR1 due to the significant target competition in Jacksonville.
Insight pageNegativeProjection32:15
Matthew Berry likes Parker Washington as his highest-rated Jaguars wide receiver (WR30), but dismisses him as a 'Ride or Die' candidate. Berry notes that Washington's efficiency metrics (ranking 100th out of 108 in yards per route run from 2023-2024) suggest he is a solid WR3 rather than an elite league-winning asset, especially with target competition from Travis Hunter, Jacoby Myers, and Brian Thomas Jr.
Insight pageRome Odunze
PositiveUsage29:59
Matthew Berry ranks Rome Odunze as his WR28 and expresses skepticism about him as a 'Ride or Die' candidate. Berry cites concerns over Odunze's 49% catch rate from last season and the heavy target competition within the Chicago offense, noting he prefers other Bears options like Colston Loveland, Luther Burden, or Deandre Swift for fantasy value.
Insight pageTerry McLaurin
NegativeProjection25:38
Matthew Berry declines to select Terry McLaurin as his 'Ride or Die', citing that despite a strong season with Jayden Daniels, McLaurin has never reached elite wide receiver status, finishing only as a high-end WR2. Berry also points to McLaurin's age (31), his injury history from last season, and the addition of Stefon Diggs as factors that cap his upside.
Insight pageTravis Etienne
NegativeProjection35:46
Matthew Berry is nervous about Travis Etienne Jr., noting that his underlying metrics are not great and that he is overly reliant on volume. Berry also mentions concerns regarding the health of the backfield in New Orleans.
Insight pageTrevor Lawrence
PositiveProjection24:30
Matthew Berry believes Trevor Lawrence's 2026 outlook is difficult to project as a 'ride or die' because his 2024 season was likely his peak. Berry notes that Lawrence's nine rushing touchdowns from last year are unrepeatable and that he would need to reach the elite tier of Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson to be a true league winner.
Insight pageTrey McBride
NegativeProjection50:43
Matthew Berry ranks Trey McBride as a top-three tight end, noting that he is part of the consensus tier alongside Brock Bowers and Colston Loveland.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00It's Ride or Die Day, baby! What's up? It is noon on YouTube, but it is 5 o'clock somewhere.
0:06So welcome to the Happy Hour Bar, Fantasy Football Happy Hour.
0:09I'm your humble bartender, Matthew Berry, and it is a great day today because it's Ride or Die Day.
0:15That's right. It is Ride or Die Day. It is the day that I announce my 2026 Ride or Die.
0:22A lot goes into this. I want to talk a little bit about the history of Ride or Die real quickly before
0:28we get into all of the selections. One thing I'll say here is that, so it started in 2017, and I was
0:35on my old ESPN show, and we were talking about it, and I talked about the fact that at the time, I
0:42liked this rookie for Kansas City, Kareem Hunt. And my co-hosts were pushing back on me.
0:47I think he was going like the 10th or 11th round at that time.
0:52And they're like, you know what? He's just, you know, you've got Spencer Ware there.
0:56I don't know that he's going to have a big role.
1:00And I'm like, I think Spencer Ware is just a guy.
1:03I believe in this kid's talent. I'm very excited about him.
1:07Look, and so we're going back and forth, and I'm like, I'm not giving up Kareem Hunt.
1:12I've drafted a ton of them. Look, he's my Ride or Die.
1:16Right? And so, you know, and so I just sort of stuck with that, and it just continued, obviously.
1:22And then week one, if you remember the first game of the season against New England, I think it was, what was it?
1:29Something like, you know, 246 total yards, three touchdowns for Kareem Hunt.
1:33He burst on the scene. Obviously, Spencer Ware got hurt after I announced him as my Ride or Die, which certainly helped Kareem Hunt.
1:40But still, no one expected what ended up happening, which is that, you know, Kareem Hunt finished as a top four fantasy
1:47running back on a points-per-game basis that year. And it's been, since that time, it's been really good.
1:532018, Darius Geis, he had an ACL tear, didn't play the season, not sure you count it.
1:58But then you think about 2019, 2019, Josh Jacobs' rookie year.
2:01He finished his, like, basically a top 15 fantasy running out, outperformed ADP.
2:052020 was Daniel Jones. We'll talk about that in a second.
2:09That one was just an absolute bomb. Daniel Jones was bad.
2:12There's no, that's my biggest miss by far. But then, just an unbelievable run after Daniel Jones.
2:182021, Austin Eckler finishes RB3. 2022, Jalen Hurts, my first year at NBC, finished his QB1.
2:23Let's see, then Amon Ross St. Brown finished his wide receiver three.
2:26In 2024, it was Kyler Murray. He wasn't great.
2:29He ended up finishing his QB12 on a points-per-game basis.
2:32So he didn't kill you. But, you know, I think I had him at QB5.
2:37So, bit of a loss there on Kyler Murray.
2:40Not a loss that killed you the way Daniel Jones did, but we'll count it as a loss.
2:45And then, last year, Omarian Hampton, who was going about running back 20, finished his running back 13 on a points-per-game basis.
2:52Only played like nine games, so injuries hurt. But when he was out there, he was really good.
2:58So I count him as a win. But the point is, is that six of the eight players that played of my
3:05ride or die have finished well above ADP. And four of the eight, you know, again, Geist didn't play, so he doesn't count.
3:12So of the eight players that played, six of them finished above ADP.
3:16Four of them, 50%, finished top four at their position and just massive, massive hits.
3:21So a lot riding on the ride or die.
3:24It's become a whole thing. And it's become a big thing.
3:27And I'm so excited about how everyone sort of rallied around, rallied around this ride or die.
3:32As Kyle Adams, 8199 says, we ride or die for you, Mr.
3:36Berries. I appreciate, I kind of like Mr. Berries.
3:39I appreciate that. I mean, you know, you know, Chase Hendricks 12, ride or die means standing on business all season long.
3:46That's right. And I appreciate the comment, Chase Hendricks, because there is a lot of confusion sometimes about what ride or die is.
3:53And people are like, well, you should pick like Josh Allen.
3:56He's going to be awesome. He's a superstar. And there's no question.
4:00Josh Allen's going to be awesome. This year is my number one quarterback, proud fantasy life investor, Josh Allen.
4:06But the idea here around ride or die is not somebody that is already awesome.
4:11And it's also not what I ended up doing the very first year with Kareem Hunt, picking like some, you know, mid
4:18round guy that could become fantasy relevant. We ended up, you know, Hunt exceeded all expectations.
4:23But generally speaking, what ride or die has become over the last, you know, call it five or six years is that
4:29not trying to pick somebody, a mid or late round guy that becomes fantasy relevant, not trying to pick a guy that's
4:36just a superstar, but somebody that is a known player, a known entity that I think is undervalued, that I think is
4:43somebody that can take the next step, that can become elite, that can become a league winner, the way that Jalen Hurts and Amon Ross St.
4:51Brown and Austin Eckler all did. All those guys were known, but you know, Amon Ross was going mid second round.
4:58And I was like, this guy's one of the top five wide receivers in the NFL, finished his wide receiver three.
5:05Austin Eckler was going at the end of round two that year.
5:08And I said, this guy is going to score touchdowns.
5:11Everyone said, nah, it's not going to score touchdowns.
5:14It's gonna be all Melvin Gordon. And I said, no, no, this guy's going to score touchdowns.
5:20And he ended up finishing, you know, again, as a top three fantasy running back.
5:24He was going, so that's the idea here is, is trying to find somebody that can be elite, that can be a
5:31league winner, that can take that next step. So that is what we've, we've done here.
5:36And coming up today in the show, I'm going to hear from a lot of you, my fantasy life colleagues, my fantasy
5:43life colleagues, my, you know, other people in the fantasy industry, the regulars, a lot of people have suggested names to me
5:50as to who the 2026 ride or die should be.
5:53And we're going to hear from all of them today.
5:56That's right. There's no guest today. It's just me and you.
6:00Um, and of course, all of your suggestions, uh, as we go there.
6:04And so everyone at fantasy life is very, very excited about ride or die so much.
6:09So by the way, you know, I'm a company man.
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6:28Um, the sale in Sunday at midnight. So got to do it now.
6:32Promo code MB30. It's the only time all year we do this, the flash sale.
6:37So, all right. Um, time now to hear some of these pitches.
6:41I want to hear, um, from everyone. Uh, and, uh, let's, uh, you know, uh, producer Damien, why don't we roll the first one?
6:48I believe, uh, let's see who this, who this suggestion is.
6:52Matthew, I'm out for my evening walk and I've just been thinking about the fact that you need recommendations for the 2026 ride or die.
7:00And I have your answer. And it's Kyler Murray.
7:02We're talking about a guy who in his last three full healthy seasons has finished as a top 12 quarterback and is going as the QB 17.
7:11I get it. We're two years removed from a top 12 finish, but now he's working with Justin Jefferson.
7:17Jordan Mason, Jordan Addison, Aaron Jones, TJ Hawkinson, Jawan Jennings.
7:20The arsenal of weapons at his disposal is ridiculous.
7:23And this is a guy with a QB 17 ADP.
7:26If I'm planting my flag on someone this year, it's Kyler Murray.
7:30He's going to finish as a QB one. And that's why he should be your 2026 ride or die.
7:36All right. All right. Thank you, Beckett. That's Beckett, by the way, who runs social media at fantasy life does a great job for us.
7:43And you know, it'd be hilarious if by the way, that ended up being the case, right?
7:49You know, listen, never wrong just early on Kyler Murray.
7:52Um, I actually agree with the thesis here. I think Kyler Murray is going to have a monster year.
7:58I'm in on Kyler Murray this year. I haven't ranked ahead of consensus.
8:02Um, I agree with all the arguments, uh, by the way, also less pressure on his shoulders because the defense is going
8:09to be so good under Brian Flores. The concern here, big caboose four, three, two, one, as you say, Kyler, run it back.
8:16Murray, the concern on Kyler is twofold. Num. Number one is, will he run?
8:20It's just been a while since he he's run the way he was when he's elite fantasy quarterback.
8:26Will Kevin O'Connell allow him to unlock that? Or because of Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones, he doesn't really need to.
8:32So that's number one. Um, uh, as, uh, 13 super Roy says coming back to Kyler would be ballsy.
8:38It would be ballsy. I'm not going to do that.
8:41Um, because the other issue is, is that again, as I talked about being elite, Kyler Murray could have an awesome year,
8:48just an amazing year for both the Vikings and fantasy and still only finishes like QB 11 quarterback is so deep this year.
8:56There's just so many awesome quarterbacks this year that, um, that it's hard to choose a quarterback because it just, there's, there's,
9:02you know, as again, if I talk about the premise of, uh, ride or die, is it somebody that needs to be
9:09elite and that can help you be a league winner.
9:12And I just, it's hard for me to see Kyler Murray becoming a league winner, being, you know, getting up there in
9:19the, in the burrow, Jaden, Lamar, Josh Allen range.
9:22And so I think he has a very good year, but I think he, you know, I am a QB 14.
9:29He's going, you know, I think he's going like in the QB 17 range.
9:33Um, remember by the way, Kyler's also missed a bunch of games, three of the past four years, at least six mixed
9:40games in three of the past four years. All right.
9:43That's Kyler. Um, it's Matt Ford saying, uh, I bet Kyler comes up short.
9:47I get it. I see what you did there, Matt Ford.
9:51All right. Uh, who's the next one? What's up, Matthew?
9:54It's Alex Cups. I told you on fantasy football happy hour today that I was going to come back with my ride or die pick for 2026.
10:02And it's Ashton Gentry best pick in the first round at value.
10:06In my opinion, best ever running back prospect to come out in the cups model, new coach with Clint Kubiak, improved offensive
10:13line with Tyler Linderbaum at center, underrated pass catching skillset.
10:16Give me Ashton Gentry as my ride or die in 2026.
10:20All right. So listen, cups, great job. One of our great contributors at fantasy life.
10:24He's just joined us. If you saw yesterday's show, you know how good Alex cups is.
10:29He's just doing great work for us over on fantasylife.com.
10:32Um, and I agree with the premise in that Ashton Gentry is going to have a very good year.
10:38I agree with everything he said. And again, the Kubiak system, uh, and we know that there's talent there, uh, trying to touch his last year.
10:47A couple of concerns on Ashton Gentry. Number one is, is like, am I really going to, you know, make my ride or die a Raiders offensive player?
10:55You know, that's potentially quarterbacked by Kirk cousins or a rookie that we think is going to be good, but we don't know.
11:02The other concern on Gentry is I just, where does he go?
11:06I mean, like it's already baked in the price.
11:09I haven't been running back six. Like again, like the year to do Gentry as a ride or die would have been last year.
11:17And Oh, by the way, thank God I didn't because he was a disaster last year.
11:22Um, you know, we talked about him last year as a ride or die, but it was just like, it felt like it was too obvious.
11:30And weirdly, I think that's the case. I am at running back six.
11:34And so for him to quote pay off as a ride or die, I mean, he's already going like towards the end
11:41of the first round in some drafts early second for him to pay off.
11:45Like he has to leapfrog, you know, Chris McCaffrey, you know, Jonathan Taylor, he has to get in that range because he's already going as RB six.
11:53I just don't know that quote, there's enough profit there with Gentry for him to be a ride or die candidate, but I like the call.
12:02Um, who's next? All right, Matthew. I still think that a Mechegbuka should be your ride or die this season.
12:08Wrote about it in the article of fantasylife.com, which everyone should go and check out.
12:12Um, but he averaged what 20.1 fantasy points per game over the first five weeks of the season last year, he had
12:19an insane 23% target share and he's projected for us at fantasy life for 120 targets.
12:24So you've got Mike Evans gone. Sure. Chris Godwin is still there, but, and, and Mechegbuka is dealing with a bit of
12:31an injury right now too, but I still think he should be your ride or die for this season.
12:37Kendall V Kendall Valenzuela, who by the way, just absolutely crushes for us.
12:41She's one of the first people we ever hired at fantasy life.
12:45She is just an absolute rock star. We all love her.
12:48Um, she does a great job. She hosts our, you know, I have to figure out a way to get her on
12:55happy hour because the problem is, is that every single day, Monday through Friday, she's the star of fantasy life radio on
13:02Sirius XM, which is 11 to one Eastern on Sirius XM.
13:06So she's on air when we're on air. So I have to figure out how to get her on beyond just this segment here.
13:13But Kendall does such a good job for us.
13:16She hosts a lot of our other video programs as well, including our fast channel on LG.
13:21But the concern on a Buka, I get the argument, right?
13:25Mike Evans is gone. Young player. He was so elite at the earlier part.
13:29Like we saw the flashes of the talent here.
13:32Um, I get all of that. The concern on a Buka for me, first off already hurt.
13:37Is this turf toe? Is this going to linger into the season?
13:41Secondly, it's another year healthy for Chris Godwin. Does this offense end up going for a Buka as a Brian Burst says,
13:48a Mecca has a big boo boo, big boo boo.
13:51Not bad on his toe though. Brian always give me the hard ones before I've, I'm into the Pino.
13:57You know that come on. There's one of the rules, Brian, this isn't your first time at the rodeo.
14:03Um, but not bad. I admire the effort. The other issue on a Buka is right.
14:08So could this offense go through Chris Godwin? Um, could, uh, does the turf toe linger?
14:13And then, oh, by the way, like it's kind of a new look offense.
14:17Like Jalen McMillan is going to be back healthy.
14:20I'm hearing unbelievable camp reports about Ted Hurst. You know, do they, we, we like Ken Gainwell quite a bit a lot
14:27and him like just, does he get the kind of mark given the depth of the other offensive position players in Tampa Bay?
14:34Does he get the kind of massive target share that you might need to get to that level as where, I mean,
14:41look in the games that Mike Evans last season missed last year, he had a 28% target share.
14:47So I get it, but, um, I don't know that the toe injury makes me nervous, uh, Kendall.
14:52So I admire it. He's my wide receiver 21.
14:55Uh, but I'm going to pass on a Mecca Buka, but it's, I like the suggestion.
15:00I like the suggestion. Um, uh, Damian Vigone says if a Mecca had Mr.
15:04Berry's ankles, this wouldn't be an issue. A very good point, Damian.
15:08It's a very good point. Very few. And look, there's a lot of things that NFL players could look at me and say, huh, I got you.
15:17But ankles, that's me, baby. I'm an, I believe I have NFL quality ankles.
15:21Honestly, I'll put my ankles up against any NFL player.
15:24That's a challenge. You heard me. Um, anyone, uh, a Mecca, if you're watching, let's you and I go ankle to ankle.
15:31All right. Who's next? Matthew, I'm begging you to follow your heart and select Terry McLaurin as your ride or die.
15:38Don't worry about people calling you a Homer. Okay.
15:40This is just a good pick. He's going to score like 16 touchdowns this year.
15:45You're going to be thrilled as a commanders fan.
15:48And if you don't pick them, you'll look back and say, he could have been my ride or die.
15:54I could have had my cake and eaten it too.
15:57I appreciate that. Peter over is that who does such a great job for us.
16:02You know, the concern on McLaurin, first off the Homer pick I should have made, which I'm so annoyed about is the
16:09year I picked Kyler Murray and producer Damian will back me up.
16:12And my friends at NBC will back me up.
16:15I really wanted to pick Jaden Daniels, his rookie year, but I was worried about the Darius case thing.
16:21And I was worried about people calling me a Homer.
16:24This is the rookie quarterback on a, you know, first year head coach and commanders been so bad, blah, blah, blah, blah.
16:31And so I chickened out and I went with Kyler Murray, which ended up being a loss.
16:36And Jaden was the right call that year. And I just didn't make it.
16:41So, um, so I'm not scared of the Homer thing after that.
16:44The concern here is that his best year was Jaden's rookie year.
16:48And even in that year where he had massive, you know, touchdown equity, he still only finished his wide receiver 14, not in his elite wide receiver.
16:57Like his best season was as a high end wide receiver too.
17:00He's never been a big touchdown scorer. He's 31 years old.
17:04Uh, you know, suffered a bunch of injuries last year.
17:07They just added Stefan Diggs, new offense coordinator in Washington.
17:10I hear you Peter, but, uh, I'm going to be rooting for, uh, Terry Mcscoren, but I can't make him my ride or die.
17:18Who's next? What a Matthew. I hear looking for a ride or die for 2026.
17:22Can I interest you in a Chicago bear? I mean, after all, Ben Johnson did say last week that he wanted to
17:29be the highest scoring NFL offense of all time, not just of this season, but of all time.
17:35So let's look at our bears as an option.
17:38Luther burden. He came on great at the end of last season, but maybe a little bit too rich for my blood for a ride or die.
17:46Colson Loveland, the tight end three would not blame me for one second.
17:50If he is your ride or die this season, I think he's going to be amazing, but can I interest you in a little bit of Rome?
17:59Oh, do you say yes. He has a new normal in his foot, but maybe this new normal can propel him back
18:05to weeks one through four of last season before the bears week five by where he was the wide receiver three in fantasy football.
18:13Maybe they returned to Roma duns a with DJ more gone as the wide receiver one in the bears offense.
18:19And maybe he is a wide receiver one in fantasy football, Roma duns a ride or die.
18:25What do you say? I could be fun. Yeah.
18:27All right. All right. I appreciate you, Matt swing.
18:30Matt swing runs all of our video production fantasy life does a great job for us.
18:35But as you noted, he's a bears Homer. Look, I like Roman duns a, am I concerned about the 49% catch rate last season?
18:43Sure. But for me, honestly, it's more about the fact that like, if I'm picking a bear, like he's like the last guy I want to pick.
18:51Like I feel better about Colson Loveland. I feel better about Luther burden.
18:55Honestly, I feel better about Deandre Swift massively outperforming ADP than I do about Roma duns a who I have at wide receiver 28.
19:03I think I have him ranked correctly. I have burden ahead of him.
19:07I just like, it just feel honestly, Caleb Williams, if I was going to pick a quarterback for ride or die, uh,
19:14Caleb Williams or Justin Herbert would probably, it'd be one of those two guys.
19:18But I just, um, I just think there's just too much target competition in Chicago for a duns a specifically to be my ride or die.
19:26But, um, some of the other ones I mentioned are very interesting to me.
19:30Who's next? Hey, Matthew, it's Zane Danani and my ride or die is Parker Washington.
19:35Why Parker? Well, why would you not want the Jaguars wide receiver one, the guy with the incredible metrics last season who
19:42can operate at all three levels of the field, the guy who's not going to come off the field this season per all reports?
19:50Parker Washington, I'm going to ride with it or I'm going to die with it.
19:54Zane, thank you so much. First off, I'm not sure where you just did that.
19:59Were you in a closet? Are you, are you being held hostage?
20:03Was that a hostage video? Did we, what do we, I mean, like, listen, Zane works for us at fantasylife.com.
20:09He does great analysis for us. Data analyst is unbelievable.
20:12Um, follow his coverage and we're going to get him on the show, uh, coming up in the future, but like, like,
20:19do we have him in a closet? Can someone check on that?
20:23Is he okay? Is he alive? Was that a proof of life video?
20:27Um, Grant Oswald saying, I thought the video was going to start with I'm Batman.
20:31Well, fair. I thought so too. The concern on Parker Washington, and you guys know, I love Parker Washington.
20:37He's my highest rated Jaguars wide receiver. Haven't been wide receiver 30.
20:41I'm well ahead of consensus on him. Um, although it seems like the market is starting to catch up.
20:47The concern is, is that, you know, I just with, we don't know what this offense is going to look like with everyone back.
20:55We still are not sure how much Travis, a healthy Travis Hunter is going to play on offense.
21:00Full season of Jacoby Myers there in a full off season there.
21:04Does Brian Thomas jr. Get back to the rookie season?
21:07Uh, Brian Thomas, remember Breton strange middle of the room also missed a lot of time last year.
21:13Again, if there's a Jaguars pass catcher, I want it's Parker Washington, but this is not some elite guy.
21:19Like he sort of burst on the scene last year.
21:22You know, this is somebody who, uh, from 2023 to 2024 ranked a hundred out of 108 qualified wide receivers in yards per route run.
21:30So really like Parker Washington is like a wide receiver three, but hard, hard to see him jumping into the top 10,
21:36being a wide receiver one, given all the target competition for him around in Jacksonville as Ruben two G two says the
21:43boy that lived under the staircase, maybe is, is Zane a modern day Harry Potter.
21:48It's a good question, Ruben. Um, I don't know.
21:51Let's, uh, hopefully, uh, our next video is from somebody in a more lighted area.
21:56There's a lot of people recommending you some good players in good environments for 2026.
22:00Matthew chase Brown with the Bengals Colston Loveland with the bears, Lab McConkie with the chargers challenge yourself a bit, go with the New York jet.
22:08Garrett Wilson was the wide receiver six and a half PPR scoring last year through week five, before he got hurt.
22:15Second in target chair behind only Puka Nakua who goes top four overall.
22:19Gino Smith was top five in completion percentage and yards top 12 in yards per attempt in 2024.
22:25He has a better environment, a healthy off season for Wilson and a juicy round three or four ADP.
22:31Garrett Wilson should be a ride or die for 2026.
22:34All right. Thank you, Joe Metz. Joe Metz, one of our editors does a great job for us at fantasylife.com.
22:40Um, but as one of my editors, you're supposed to make my content better.
22:44Are you really sitting here saying my ride or die should be a jet?
22:49I look, I like Garrett Wilson quite a bit.
22:52I understand the argument. I believe that Gino will be the best quarterback they've had in quite some time.
22:57As Eli germ says, go with a jet famous last words.
23:01Exactly. I mean, think about it. Aaron Rogers, arguably the greatest quarterback of his generation went to the jets and lasted eight seconds.
23:08I mean, like, it just feels like people go to the jets and so who knows, am I really going to make
23:15my ride or die on a jet quarterbacked by Gino Smith?
23:18I get the target share and I get the talent with Garrett Wilson and I get in theory an improved environment, but
23:25in Garrett Wilson's career, he's never finished higher than wide receiver 19 on a points per game basis.
23:31Um, and boy, that's, it's just, you are playing with fire.
23:34If you're like, yeah, give me the guy that's playing for the jets and quarterback by Gino Smith again.
23:40And by the way, and coached by Frank Reich, like we, you know, it didn't end great for Frank in, in Carolina or Indy.
23:48Like is Frank still with it or I boy, Oh boy.
23:51Like I appreciate that. Um, Matt Ford saying producers should be bleeping jets on this show.
23:56That's fair. A lot of people call the jets are considered a curse word by, uh, by many.
24:02So listen, Joe Metz, I, I admire the, um, it certainly would be a gutty call.
24:07Candidly, I'm just not that gutty. I'm not, I'm not hitching my wagon to the jets, uh, on ride or die.
24:13So I have Garrett Wilson at wide receiver 20.
24:16I think that's right. I think he's a wide receiver too with some upside, but he is not my wide receiver.
24:23He's not my ride or die this year. That is for sure.
24:27All right. Let me hear the next one. Who do we got?
24:30Matthew, my amigo, just wanted to share with you my ride or die for 2026.
24:35Trevor Lawrence. Hey, 26 fantasy points last year from week 12 on.
24:39We're going to see a lot more of that out of this year.
24:43We're talking 4,000 plus passing yards, 30 plus touchdowns.
24:46And Hey, you know what? Maybe he doesn't hit nine Russian touchdowns like he did last year, but six, seven, eight.
24:52I can see it. I can see it right now.
24:55He's going off as the QB 10 in ADP going off in the eighth round.
25:00That's way too cheap. We're talking about a top three fantasy football season that from the quarterback position, Josh Allen life.
25:07Vamanos. All right. Jorge Martin, who does such a good job for us.
25:11Another editor at, at fantasy life.com. We love Jorge, but, um, he's a staff favorite, but I'll say this.
25:17Um, the time to do Trevor Lawrence is a ride or die.
25:20I feel like was last year where he legitimately was a league winner, where he was like the number one quarterback in fantasy football down the stretch.
25:29Like, I think there's a theory that Trevor Lawrence could quote unquote, have a better NFL year this year and actually be worse fantasy wise.
25:37Like it's, it's going to be really, really hard for Trevor Lawrence to top what he did last year.
25:43And then you're like, well, if he was ride or die, this, like, it just feels like it's, it's the year after
25:49the year he should have been the breakout year.
25:52The other question is, is like, I was going to bring this up, but you brought it up.
25:58He had nine rushing touchdowns last year. That's so unrepeatable.
26:01Do I think he can get three, four, five?
26:04I do. He's generally been in that area, but nine is, that's a big ask.
26:08Right. And, um, you know, and, and again, for him to be a league winner, for him to be better than he
26:15was last year, he has to get up into the Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson.
26:20You said, you think he can be a top three quarterback.
26:23I don't know about that. I think he can be a QB one.
26:27Um, J woogie six 86 says, uh, sorry, 66 J woogie 66 says, uh, T law would be a good QB ride or die.
26:35I, I see. So I just, again, it's tough for me to get to, uh, a ride or die at the quarterback
26:42position this year because it's so deep. I just don't, I just don't think there's enough room for profit there given how deep the position is.
26:50Um, I would have gone, had I chosen a quarterback, I think Caleb or Justin Herbert probably would have been my choices, but, um, all right, who's next?
26:58Is it another quarterback? I hope it's not another quarterback.
27:02The best ride or die option this season. And the answer is because of one word volume.
27:07He's finished back-to-back seasons, leading the league in attempts while also finishing back-to-back season as the QB seven yet his prices QB
27:1414 or ADPs in the one-on-ones under Davis web, where he's going to be running a more of a high volume, right?
27:21High speed offense, which leads, which runs into his strong suit, even a slightest increase in efficiencies.
27:26We can easily see bonus finishes the top five quarterback this season because of volume.
27:31I get it, Anthony. That's Anthony Rodriguez, who, uh, one of our writers at fantasy life, check out his stuff.
27:37It's really, really smart. But, um, look, the concern on Bo Nix is that so much of his production came from one
27:44big game last year, last year, despite the fact that he finished, um, uh, despite the fact that he finished as a
27:51top 10 fantasy quarterback, Bo Nix was a top 10 fantasy quarterback in only four of 17 weeks last year.
27:57The other thing that you look at is so positive for Bo Nix adds Jalen Waddell.
28:02Okay, great. Negative for Bo Nix, new play caller.
28:05Is Davis Webb going to be running more or less a Sean Payton system?
28:09Sure. But he's also coming off that ankle injury.
28:12Is there any lingering effects there? Will he run as much?
28:15That's part of Bo Nix's fantasy value is the running.
28:19Um, so I'm worried that, um, uh, you know, I'm just worried about the, the rushing upside.
28:24Uh, I'm worried about the inconsistency against so much of his fantasy points last year came from sort of one big game.
28:31I'm a QB 15, just like I said, with Trevor Lawrence and some of the other quarterbacks that have been pitched here, um, Kyler Murray, et cetera.
28:39There's just, I don't think there's enough profit for, uh, quarterbacks to be a ride or die, especially Bo Nix, because like,
28:46I think, I think the best case scenario is Bo Nix goes from QB 15 to like QB 10.
28:52Right. Um, and, uh, you know, that's not like, okay, good.
28:55Like, you know, he was a solid QB one, but that's basically what he's been the last two years.
29:01So, um, uh, yeah, that's a good point. Uh, Joseph Lombardi is that I'm going to drink straight from the Pinot bottle.
29:08If he hears another quarterback, hopefully I don't hear another quarterback.
29:12What do we got? Give me anyone, but another quarterback.
29:15What's up everyone out there in the fantasy life universe.
29:18It's big John with this year's ride or die.
29:21None other than sophomore tight end out of the windy city, Colston Loveland.
29:25When Ben Johnson tells you it's his guy, I'm just listening.
29:28It's not a small sample when we're talking trajectory from his first ever draft pick number 10 overall after week 17, when
29:35the chips were down 11 and a half targets per game, 33.3 target per hour, 2.68 yards per hour, 78% whopper.
29:42And two touchdowns. He can win outside, win inside and dangerous around the goal line.
29:46Give me Colston Loveland as my ride or die this year.
29:50All right. Finally, John Legaza, uh, FSWA award winner, John Legaza.
29:53Thank you so much. Finally, somebody that I would consider Colston Loveland is one of the finalists.
29:59Uh, we're going to talk about him a little bit later.
30:02Um, honestly, but Colston Loveland is one of the finalists, you know, um, uh, I like it.
30:07I mean, I, I, I think I'm at tight end three.
30:11Um, uh, yeah, I'm in on Colston Loveland is potentially, uh, you know, that one, I'm not going to say no to just yet.
30:18Let me think about that one. Let me think about that one.
30:22Um, very quickly, I will tell you, I got some written submissions as well.
30:26People texting me, DMing me very quickly. Uh, my friend Cooter Doodle, uh, suggested Jared Goff, same thing.
30:32Doesn't run. Uh, Cooter doesn't run. Uh, Jared Goff does not run.
30:36And oh, by the way, again, he's another quarterback.
30:39Uh, my buddy, Matthew Friedman, Friedman, who's been on the show, does a lot of work for us at fantasylife.com.
30:45He's suggesting Derek Henry. We love the big dog.
30:48We love King Henry, but am I really going to make my ride or die a 32 year old running back who doesn't catch passes?
30:55So I just, I don't know that there's the time to do Derek Henry's a ride or die was, I don't know, eight other years ago.
31:04Um, Danny Cross, who's one of our writers at fantasylife.com.
31:07He's suggesting Jalen Waddle. Um, and look, the only concern on Waddle, first off, brand new team, new quarterback, new offense that he has to learn.
31:15I expect him to have a very good year.
31:18I like Waddle. I'm as a top 20 play, but he also, I feel like he gets hurt a lot and he leaves games early.
31:25And, you know, is he going to adjust to the, you know, the mile high atmosphere and just, there's a lot of unknowns there with Waddle.
31:34All right. Who else do we got? Um, Owen Oates, Owen Oates, who's, um, uh, one of our writers at fantasylife.com.
31:40Owen is suggesting Luther Burden. Um, same thing with Loveland, but he's already hurt a little bit.
31:45We talked, we talked about on Dunze. I feel like if there's a bear that I'm going to pick, uh, Loveland over
31:52Burden, I love Burden, but I'm just, I'm a nervous a little bit about this injury that he's dealing with.
31:59And then finally, um, Matt Lamarca, one of our writers suggests Harold Fannin.
32:03If you read my a hundred facts, you need to know before you draft, which is up for free on fantasylife.com.
32:09I'm a company man. You already know that there's no chances can be Harold Fannin.
32:14First off, same thing that we talked about with the Raiders and Jets.
32:18Am I really going to tie my ride or die to a Cleveland Brown in that offense?
32:23I think it'll be better than people give it credit for, but it's still not going to be great.
32:29And the concern on Fannin, all of his success last year was volume driven.
32:34His ADOT was not great. Like he just got massive target share, massive amount of volume.
32:39And given the, you know, Denzel Boston and Casey Concepcion, um, being drafted and that Munkin wants to, you know, run, I
32:46think Judkins is going to touch the ball ton.
32:48I just don't see Fannin getting the kind of volume that he needs to have the production that he had last year.
32:55Honestly, Fannin would have been a good pick last year when he finished as a top five fantasy tight end.
33:01Um, so, uh, there's that. Now I will tell you one person that knows me really well, uh, is my friend and
33:08my cohost for four years on this show. My man, Lawrence Jackson, Lord don't lose himself.
33:13He was on the first episode of this season's fantasy football happy hour.
33:17And he made a pitch to me. Who your ride or die was going to be this year.
33:23I would guess Devante Smith. I will tell you that he is my favorite player to draft this year in fantasy.
33:30He's, he's on your list here, but he's my favorite player to draft as well too.
33:35And you talked about those four years with AJ Brown.
33:38He averaged a thousand yards every single year, despite, you know, surrendering the 28, 29% target share to AJ Brown.
33:44He still averaged a thousand, uh, receiving yards. So if I had something like a ride or die, if it was like
33:51Lawrence's big dog at the draft or something, it would be Devante, Devante Smith.
33:55Well, I will tell you that, uh, he is on the short list for ride or die where, uh, the, there's a
34:02number of people and a lot of the people you're hearing us talk about today are all, all under consideration, but he's certainly under consideration.
34:10There you go. He is. And I'm going to let you know that Devante Smith is one of the finalists.
34:16We'll, uh, we'll talk about him a little bit.
34:19Now, if you know anything about this show, about fantasy football, happy hour, the lifeblood of this show, um, is the best
34:26fan base anywhere in the universe, especially in the world of fantasy football.
34:30It's the regulars. And if you're not a member of our discord, you got to join the discord.
34:36It's free to join the fantasy football, happy hour discord.
34:39Um, uh, please check it out. But, um, here are some of the pitches that came from the regulars out of our discord.
34:46Hey everyone. Neck brace nation here. Uh, just want to say my ride or die pick for this year, Travis Etienne jr.
34:53Uh, just remember two years ago, Kellen Moore helped lead Saquon Barkley to a career year for 2000 yards rushing.
34:59Go ahead, draft him. You won't regret it. Neck brace nation out.
35:03Peace. All right. Thanks neck break nation. Uh, you know, I, I get it.
35:07Um, the concern on him is like, if you look at all the underlying metrics, uh, for Travis, like they're not great.
35:14He's volume driven. Now he's probably going to get the volume, um, in new Orleans with Camara, but with, with, uh, Tyson
35:21also banged up, just a little bit nervous about Etienne.
35:24Um, what else do we have? Fix it fire here.
35:27And I think your ride or die this year should be AJ Brown, new wide receiver, 30 chalky Daniels, average of 1300 yards and 13 touchdowns.
35:35I appreciate a fix it fire. Uh, AJ Brown is, is really interesting.
35:39My concern is, is I met wide receiver eight already.
35:42And is there just enough profit there? He's already, you know, I already have him as a wide receiver one.
35:49So I just don't know how much higher AJ Brown can go.
35:52Who's next. Hey everybody. I got three rider dies this year.
35:56All wide receivers. I have fallen in the top 10.
35:59I got Chris Alave at wide receiver number five, Devante Smith at wide receiver number six, and Roman Duse at wide receiver number nine.
36:07I think they're all good choices. Matthew Barry. I know you have a lot of great choices as well.
36:12Choose wisely. Thanks Wolf, John. One of our regulars there.
36:16I've already talked about Smith and Adunze. So I'll just address Alave.
36:19I'm worried about the injury concerns and I'm worried about the, the Tyson injury.
36:24And so is there just too much, uh, defensive focus on Chris Alave, who again, I have as like a borderline wide receiver one this year.
36:32And so I'm just not sure how much profit there could be for Alave.
36:36So, uh, I'm going to pass on him, but again, have him high.
36:40And I think he's going to be very good.
36:43Uh, who's next? What's up fantasy football hobby hour.
36:46Heard you need help picking a ride or die.
36:49Well, here's my 2026 choice. Devante slim Reaper Smith, baby.
36:52All right. Thank you. That is, that's Brandon Garrett.
36:55Thanks Brandon. That's great. Um, I've already talked about Smith.
36:58Yeah. He's a finalist. And, um, uh, with, without further ado, uh, guys, I appreciate it time to get and reveal the finest.
37:05So these are the final five guys. Like, so I've narrowed it down here.
37:09You see it right here. It's five guys, no quarterbacks in there, but these are my final fives.
37:15These are all guys that are legitimate ride or die candidates.
37:18Um, I think all of them are great. And if some of them I might, you know, so just like with the
37:25Oscars, right, you know, or the Emmys, like you have five finalists.
37:29Um, there is one winner ultimately, but all of them are worthy performances.
37:33And so all these guys are people that I have above ADP that I think have monster years.
37:39And, uh, the first guy I'm going to talk about Ken Walker, the third, this is a guy that, you know, in
37:4625 career games where he's had at least 18 touches, including the playoffs over 18 fantasy points per game, 110 yards from scrimmage.
37:53This is a team that under Patrick Mahomes has been top 10 in red zone drives in every season, but one and
38:00if you remember, if you've been watching the show, our friend Dan Graziano, who was at chief's camp interviewed to Andy Reed
38:07and said, Hey, what do we expect with Ken Walker?
38:10He's just like, we're going to use them in a passing game.
38:13So that's the question. The question on Walker is, can he stay healthy?
38:18Can he get a passing game involvement? I believe he can on both cases.
38:22It's going to be a, it's a much better offense where he's going to get all the work and a team that's
38:29going to be in scoring position offense. So look, I have him at running back seven.
38:34He's currently going at running back 11. I have him well ahead of consensus.
38:38And yes, I do believe that number one running back in fantasy football is within the range of outcomes for Ken Walker.
38:45I could easily see him by the way, becoming top three, you know, overtaking McCaffrey, Taylor, Cook, Gente.
38:51So, um, uh, Ken Walker is one of the finalists.
38:54Finalist number two, Chase Brown, another running back. Hey, look, you know, with, with Chase Brown in the eight starts that Joe
39:01Burrow made last year, averaging 19.4 per game. Um, this over the past two seasons, he's ninth among all running backs, uh, as well.
39:08And the other thing I want to say here about Chase Brown is like, he's been an elite fantasy running back for a long time.
39:16People just don't know it since week nine of 2024, when he took over to the starting job.
39:22So 25 games, 25 game sample size week nine of 2024.
39:25Chase Brown is the sixth best running back in fantasy points per game.
39:29He's averaging 95 yards from scrimmage. He's got no touch competition, but he's going, you know, we've seen him going like we
39:36talked about him with the outs cups. He's going like running back 13 on ESPN.
39:41So Chase Brown is one of my nominees. Nominee number three, one of my finalists, I should say not nominee, one of
39:48my finalists, I see it right there. The slim Reaper.
39:51Yes. Devante Smith. Uh, you've heard, uh, you know, a lot of people, including Lawrence, just talk about him, but 28% target
39:58share out the door now with AJ Brown. Um, uh, since 2023, when AJ Brown hasn't been on the field, Devante Smith
40:04has been targeted on 29% of his routes. And when he's gotten a 25% target share, we expect him to get this year.
40:12Um, he's averaging 17.3 fantasy points per game. Now, are there concerns about Devante Smith?
40:16Sure. You know, when you think about, um, new, new offensive system and, you know, can the quarterback get him the ball,
40:23but, um, sky's the limit for Devante Smith. I'm at wide receiver 10.
40:27I was a top 10 play significantly ahead of ADP.
40:30He's going at 35 overall. I'm at 24 overall, and he's going as wide receiver 14.
40:35So I have him around ahead of consensus. And, uh, you know, I have him as a wide receiver one this year
40:42where again, industry happens as kind of a mid tier wide receiver, mid to low tier wide receiver too.
40:48I mean, on, on sleeper, I think he's going in the fourth round.
40:52Um, so Devante Smith, the slim Reaper, one of my ride or die candidates, finalists, I will say my fourth ride or die finalists, Mr.
41:00McConkeyless himself, Ladd McConkey right there over the last two years among wide receivers that have at least 200 targets.
41:06He's top 10 in yards per route run. We expect a big boost this year with, uh, Mike McDaniel calling the plays.
41:13Uh, I think Justin Herbert has the best year of his career.
41:17Uh, we've seen what Waddle and Tyreek Hill did with McDaniel again, and also in terms of being getting loose and being
41:24yards after the catch Keenan Allen, by the way, this is, I think also kind of, uh, that goes, um, uh, underscored,
41:31but there's 122 targets that are gone. Now Keenan Allen had a, had literally a 22% target share and 122 targets last year.
41:38Um, and you know, maybe in joke who gets a few, but like, they didn't really replace that.
41:44And so I think just a much bigger target share for a very talented player and a good offense.
41:49Ladd McConkey is my fourth finalists. And then finally, number five, somebody else that we've talked about Colston Loveland, the tight end,
41:56um, you know, with, with Colston Loveland, like at least 20 fantasy points in four of the five games where he saw
42:03at least a 20% uh, target share. I think he's a, uh, I think he's a phenomenal, uh, uh, player, um, with Colston Loveland.
42:11Uh, I think he's going to have a huge year.
42:14I'm, I'm very much a believer in this bears offense.
42:17And I think Loveland is a big, uh, but Loveland's a big reason why, right?
42:22Um, he is somebody that, uh, that, you know, when in, in all the games last year, when he got seven or
42:29more targets, he averaged 99 receiving yards per game, 99 from a tight end DJ Moore and his 85 targets are out
42:35Luther burden, a little bit banged up Ben Johnson.
42:38The first draft pick he made, uh, when he took over the bears was Colston Loveland.
42:43So again, you saw it in the playoffs last year as well.
42:47I just think Loveland is going to be the center point, uh, uh, uh, one of the focal points of one of the best offense of the NFL.
42:56And he's at a position where you can make a difference.
42:59So those are my five finalists. There you have it right there.
43:03Uh, Ken Walker, Chase Brown, Devante Smith, Lad McConkie and Colston Loveland.
43:07They're all great. They're all great. But ultimately, ultimately my 2026.
43:10Oh, hang on before I, uh, before I'm hearing my ear.
43:14Sorry. I'm sorry. I'm hearing my ear. There's one last pitch, one last pitch from, uh, all right, it's fine.
43:20Yeah. Yeah. We can get to it. Yeah. Yeah.
43:23Go. I have one last pitch apparently from the regulars, uh, before I announce who my ride or die is.
43:29All right, let's see what we got. Hey, Valiant Vincent here.
43:32I just finished the show. Barry, Barry. I said this over two weeks ago in the discord.
43:38It's Devante Smith. I know it's Devante Smith. You know, it's Devante Smith.
43:42You're talking about all these other players. It's Devante Smith.
43:45The answer is Devante Smith. You know what Valiant Vincent?
43:48You're right. It's Devante Smith today. Our ride or die, my 2026 ride or die is the slim reaper Devante Smith.
43:55There's no question about it. I'm in on him as a big way.
43:59I think he is a wide receiver one this year.
44:02I think he's got top five fantasy wide receiver upside.
44:05I think he's got league winning upside. The thing about Devante Smith is I don't need to be a different player.
44:11Like he's already good. He already knows how to win.
44:15He already knows how to be efficient. I just need him to do more of what he's already done.
44:20And only Valiant Vincent, you've been talking for the last two weeks.
44:24Honestly, if you've been paying attention since March of this year, it's been Devante Smith.
44:29When I went to the combine and I talked to, uh, you know, a good Eagles team source.
44:35And this was when AJ Brown was still on the team.
44:38And I wrote this in my 35 rumors. You need to, that I heard at the NFL combine.
44:44The team source is telling me like the Eagles believe that Devante Smith as good as he's been has another gear that
44:50if he could ever get the kind of target share that Jackson Smith and Jigba got last year with Seattle, Devante Smith could have that kind of year.
44:59And what happens? AJ Brown is gone. He's going to get that kind of volume this year.
45:05Sean Mannion, new, new offense coordinator. I get it.
45:07It's a new system, but he's a former NFL quarterback.
45:11What do you think a former NFL quarterback is going to do hand the ball off the way the guy that got fired did?
45:18Absolutely not. They're going to be throwing. And when they throw, they're going to be throwing to the slim reaper.
45:24So again, when, when AJ Brown has been off since 2023, since when AJ Brown has been off the field, Devante Smith
45:31has been targeted on 29% of his routes, 29% of his routes, he's been targeted on with no AJ Brown or context.
45:38Here's the entire list of receivers that were targeted on more than 29% of the routes last season.
45:44Who can Akua Jackson Smith and Jigba? I'm on Ross St.
45:47Brown, Rasheed Rice, and Jamar Chase. That's the kind of company we're talking about here with Devante Smith.
45:53You know, when, when AJ Brown is not on the field, he averages over 17.
45:57He averages 17.3 fantasy points per game. When AJ Brown was off the field, Devante Smith averages 17.3 fantasy points per game.
46:04Just to give you a comparison, 17.3 fantasy points per game last year was what George Pickens basically did.
46:10It was wide receiver five. Pickens was 17.2. So again, that's what we're talking about here with Devante Smith.
46:16He's an elite player and now he's going to get elite wide receiver one volume.
46:21Devante Smith, my 2026 ride or die. I've been in a ton of drafts so far.
46:26I have a ton of Devante Smith. I think if you see, you know, you look at my ranks where I have
46:33my wide receiver 10, I'm 24th overall. He is, it's clear I'm well ahead of consensus on him.
46:38Ride or die, Devante Smith. Um, so thank you.
46:41Um, thank you, Valiant Vincent. You called it. Let's go.
46:44Uh, uh, that FL guy, it's Devante Smith, Pino Matty.
46:47Let's hear it. Easy choice, smart choice, right choice as big caboose four, three, two, one.
46:52I want to hear from the regulars. Uh, you know, PJ big on 11 says there goes his ADP value.
46:59LOL. That is one of the issues I will say is that especially because the sets over the years, um, and you
47:06know, I'm lucky enough to have a, uh, a nice following where a lot of people pay attention to what I say.
47:12Um, the ADP does get affected when I announced the Devante Smith.
47:16So it'll be interesting to see again, like he's going late round, late third on ESPN.
47:21He's going in the fourth on sleeper. It'll be interesting to see where, um, Devante Smith winds up by the time we
47:28get to the start of the season. Dan BDM says, you know, uh, ride or die over Heisman.
47:34We'll see if Devante values it more than his, um, Heisman.
47:37Uh, Malkin asking if players can negotiate their contract based on Barry's ride or die status.
47:42It's a good question. I think they can, if they perform, you know, I'm on raw Eckler.
47:47We should ask friend of the show, Austin Eckler, if he was able to renegotiate a contract based on being my ride
47:54or die and then coming through, uh, in a big way.
47:58So, uh, I want to hear from, uh, everyone here.
48:01By the way, I also thank you so much to everyone's, um, suggestions, uh, people that have engaged with the column, uh,
48:08that have tweeted at me that through that, that sent in videos, both from fantasy life and elsewhere on discord as well.
48:15Thank you to the regulars. Um, it's, uh, it's just, you know, it's fantastic.
48:19I really, uh, really, really appreciate, um, uh, everyone's, um, questions as well.
48:23Um, all right. So, uh, let's see EWIG64 says, so my question is, does this have the same implications of the Madden curse?
48:30It does not! EWIG64, we just talked about it.
48:33Like I, I've done nine ride or dies. Devontae Smith is my 10th, but prior to Devontae Smith, I've done nine ride or dies.
48:41One of them, Darius Geis in 2018, tore his ACL, didn't get to play a snap in the regular season.
48:47He doesn't count. Can't predict injuries. No one can.
48:50But of the eight ride or dies, six of them have outperformed ADP.
48:54Daniel Jones was a massive loss in 2022. That's, that's the worst one.
48:58And, uh, Kyler Murray, you know, again, didn't kill you, but, you know, clearly wasn't great.
49:03So Kyler was a loss in, uh, 2023. But six of eight, 75% have outperformed ADP and four of the eight, Kareem
49:10Hunt, Austin Eckler, uh, Amon Ra, St. Brown, and, um, uh, Jalen Hurts all became top four at their position.
49:16I mean, four of eight, 50% were just massive, massive hits.
49:19So I'm just saying, uh, and you know what, raise the flags, he's saying, raise the flag says, what book do we
49:26think Devontae Smith will be reading on the sideline week 12?
49:30Stop it. Don't you put that into the universe, raise the flags.
49:33How dare you notice you didn't, uh, send in a video.
49:37How dare you raise the flags. That's part of the reason why I'm so excited about Devontae Smith is that we're not
49:44going to have any of the reading a book on a sideline nonsense.
49:48I've talked about this before on the show, a couple of different times, but I believe there's some trick.
49:54There's addition by subtraction with AJ Brown leaving the team, that there was always this pressure to try to get him the ball.
50:01And sometimes Jalen Hurts would force him the ball.
50:04Even when Devontae Smith is open, Devontae Smith is not a diva, um, uh, was absolutely not a diva.
50:10And so I think, uh, the offense will just, there'll be more of a team, less tension, less people from the press asking questions.
50:17Now that AJ Brown is in, uh, New England, fix it.
50:21Fire says, who was the runner up to ride or die?
50:24It's a great question. And the answer is Colston Loveland, Colston Loveland.
50:28Honestly, it was, it came down to between Devontae Smith and Colston Loveland and what ultimately settled it for me on Colston
50:35Loveland, not being ride or die again. I think he's going to have a monster years.
50:40I'm a tight in three, all right? I got Bowers.
50:43I got McBride. I got Colston Loveland a tight at three, which is where everyone has them.
50:48That's the consensus. Now I have Colston Loveland slightly higher in the overall than I do than consensus ADP, but he's tied in three.
50:56And so the, the, the, the thought there is again, when you think about profit, you know, it's hard to sort of calculate in terms of the overall.
51:04Um, and I just couldn't see a scenario where I felt really good about him for him to be a big win.
51:11I felt like, um, he would have had to bypass either McBride or Bowers.
51:16And I just not sure I see that because I like so, so much of that.
51:21So thank you, fix it fire for the question.
51:23By the way, I want to remind you that in celebration of ride or die day, it is a flash sale at fantasy life.com.
51:31You see the graphic right there. You get 30% off.
51:34We've got 37 count them 37 different tools for betting, for DFS, for prediction markets, for fantasy, uh, for guillotine leagues, whatever
51:41waiver tools, trade tools, everything you need, projections, everything you need all 30% off 37 different tools as part of fantasy life plus on fantasy life.com.
51:49You use the promo code MB30, you get 30% off any subscription tier.
51:53Um, and the sale is only good until Sunday at midnight.
51:57And then it's gone. We do this once a year, a flash sale.
52:01We're doing it to celebrate the announcement of ride or die.
52:04So go to fantasy life.com. If you want to support me, if you want to support the company, if you want some
52:11award-winning tools, legitimately, we've won awards at the fantasy sports gaming association for our tools.
52:16So, uh, please check it out at fantasy life.com.
52:18It's closing time, which means you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.
52:23We're back tomorrow with Daniel Dock. He's out.
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