NFL Fantasy Football Podcast: Favorite Year 2 Running Backs and Late-Round Draft Targets
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
31 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 26, 2026
Published
Wed, August 26, 2026
14
Player insights
13
Players mentioned
Topics
Kyle WilliamsA.J. BrownAmon-Ra St. BrownBlake CorumEmmett JohnsonJaxon Smith-NjigbaKyler MurrayMalik NabersMichael WilsonOmarion HamptonQuinshon JudkinsTreVeyon HendersonTucker Kraft
Player analysis
Player insights
A.J. Brown
PositiveProjection13:40
AJ Brown is the preferred target over Nico Collins. Despite a 'down' year with 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns, Brown is expected to thrive in the current offense, which aligns with his vertical, explosive skill set, particularly when paired with Drake Maye.
Insight pageAmon-Ra St. Brown
PositiveValue10:51
Amon-Ra St. Brown is preferred over CeeDee Lamb due to his extreme consistency, having recorded at least 140 targets and 100 catches in each of the last four years. He also holds a higher separation percentage and explosive play rate over a three-year sample size.
Insight pageBlake Corum
PositiveUsage23:45
JJ Zachariason identifies Blake Corum as a high-value late-round target because he is locked into a clear 1-2 committee with Kyron Williams. If Williams misses time, Corum is expected to inherit the bulk of the snaps and opportunities, making him a potential RB2.
Insight pageEmmett Johnson
PositiveSleeper17:25
Emmitt Johnson is a standout fifth-round rookie for the Chiefs who offers a different skill set than the team's recent downhill runners. His ability to create explosive plays and force missed tackles provides the finesse the Chiefs' running game has lacked, making him a strong late-round target.
Insight pageJaxon Smith-Njigba
PositiveValue12:10
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is preferred over Puka Nacua for the upcoming season. While Nacua had a high target percentage, the Rams' shift toward heavier personnel and increased tight end usage may eat into his targets, whereas Smith-Njigba is expected to see increased involvement in both the quick and explosive passing game.
Insight pageKyle Williams
PositiveBreakout18:50
Kyle Williams is a high-upside target who fits perfectly into the Patriots' offense alongside Drake Maye. He has demonstrated consistency with explosive plays in each week of the preseason and is poised to shine as the team's receiver rotation clarifies.
Insight pagePositiveBreakout19:01
JJ Zachariason views Kyle Williams as a strong fit for the Patriots' offense, noting his ability to generate explosive plays in the preseason. With Kayshaun Boutte off the roster, Williams has a path to consistent involvement and could emerge as a fantasy-relevant player.
Insight pageKyler Murray
PositiveValue22:20
JJ Zachariason is bullish on Kyler Murray, citing his rushing upside and the potential for success in KOC's offense. Drawing a comparison to Sam Darnold's rushing production in the same system, Zachariason believes Murray is being undervalued in current drafts.
Insight pageMalik Nabers
PositiveInjury5:35
John Harbaugh has confirmed that Malik Nabers will be ready for Week 1, which is a positive development for his fantasy outlook as a primary target for Jackson Dart.
Insight pageMichael Wilson
PositiveValue25:05
JJ Zachariason argues that Michael Wilson is being severely undervalued at his current ADP (WR40-WR45). Despite some inconsistency in the Cardinals' offense, Wilson's talent and previous usage suggest he is a much better player than his draft position implies.
Insight pageOmarion Hampton
PositiveBreakout8:40
Omarian Hampton is the top-ranked second-year running back, benefiting from Mike McDaniel's scheme with the Chargers. His combination of size, power, and elite athleticism makes him a perfect fit for outside running concepts, with the potential to be a league-winning player.
Insight pageQuinshon Judkins
PositiveProjection7:40
Quinshawn Judkins is a high-upside second-year back who demonstrated efficiency last season with nearly 40% of his carries resulting in rushing yards over expected. His ability to force missed tackles and generate explosive runs makes him a strong producer regardless of the overall Browns offensive performance.
Insight pageTreVeyon Henderson
NegativeInjury3:45
TreVeyon Henderson is dealing with an ankle injury that raises concerns, especially for a player whose primary asset is explosiveness. The injury makes his role in the New England backfield committee uncertain, leading to a downgrade in draft rankings.
Insight pageTucker Kraft
PositiveValue28:22
JJ Zachariason and the host agree that Tucker Kraft is a targetable asset despite his injury history. They view him as an 'X-factor' player who produced at a high level when healthy last season and is currently being drafted lower than his potential output warrants.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
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0:28The entire draft room groans because you just took the guy they wanted.
0:32There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league.
0:35I'm JJ Zachary Eason, host of the award-winning Late-Round Podcast.
0:37Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off.
0:44Listen to the Late-Round Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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1:04Join me and an all-star cast of experts for everything you need to know from around the league.
1:10Get new episodes of the NFL Report Monday through Friday all season long.
1:13Listen to the NFL Report Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:18Let's go. It is a brand new edition of the NFL Fantasy Football Show.
1:22Mike Yam, it is my guy, Trevor Sikkema. And Trevor, I feel like I'm going to owe you a copay at the end of this show.
1:30We just did our own fantasy draft and I feel like I am not exactly thrilled with my team.
1:35Are you feeling the same way that I am?
1:38See, I'm the complete opposite. I'm irrationally confident after every single draft that I do.
1:42I feel like I do so many of these in the pre-draft, you know, set up the planning, everything that every single
1:48draft I do, I'm like, yeah, I mean, this is a league winner.
1:52I got a league winner on my hands and obviously it doesn't work out nearly as much.
1:57But I'm actually, I am actually pretty confident about where we're at in my team in the league that you and I are in.
2:03I'm glad because some of the names that are on my roster are the names that we're going to be talking about today.
2:10I always say I want to mitigate risk when it comes to my fantasy teams.
2:14I feel like I didn't exactly do that. There's a whole lot of upside guys and hopefully I hit on a few of those.
2:21So we'll get to some of those names coming up in just a bit here.
2:25But Trevor, there's some news to get to and it is significant news that is going to affect a whole lot of fantasy owners.
2:32And I want to get your take on a starting quarterback QB one for the Cleveland Browns.
2:37By the way, I got one of the Browns on my roster as well.
2:41But knowing that it's a Sean Watson, how does this really affect how we need to be thinking about this from a fantasy perspective?
2:48To be honest with you, I don't know how much this changes things because it was neck and neck between him and Shadur Sanders anyways.
2:55Right. When you look at both of these guys, you can kind of look at the Sean Watson skill set and where
3:01he's been at his best, whether it was in college at Clemson or even his best when he was with Houston.
3:07But the fact of the matter is we haven't seen that quarterback in a long, long time.
3:12So it's hard to really say, oh, you know, these are to Sean strengths.
3:16How does it lean into these wide receivers? I think for Shadur, that might have leaned a little bit more into the
3:22explosive plays just because we saw a ton more of that when he was at Colorado.
3:27And then we've seen a little bit of that with the Browns, but clearly Munkin just doesn't believe he's there yet.
3:33Although I do believe we will get to Shadur at some point this season.
3:37I think that you're kind of just drafting these Cleveland wide receivers off the talent they have independent of the quarterback situation.
3:43Trivia Henderson's name is also popped up dealing with that ankle injury.
3:46Yeah. So with Trivia Henderson, I'm a little worried about this because I'm a little worried about any running back that has
3:52an ankle injury, especially before the season begins. A lot of times when you get these high ankle sprains, low ankle sprains,
3:59whatever it is, the only thing that makes it better is rest.
4:02And when you're at this point in the season, this is the best time to actually have an ankle injury, I guess.
4:08But man, if that is lingering at all going into the season, that worries me, especially for a player whose calling card is explosiveness.
4:15So I was already a little wary of Trivia on Henderson being sort of that boom or bust running back in that committee in New England.
4:22And with him going through that ankle injury, I'm a little worried here.
4:26I'd knock him down a couple of spots on where I would normally draft them just because that unknown.
4:32Say it ain't so because he is a guy that I drafted.
4:35Meanwhile, I perked up Malik Nabors. He's on your squad.
4:38Oh, actually, Ashton Gentry, one of those names. Also another running back dealing with the ankle injury.
4:43I was going to say Malik Nabors is on my squad, so I can talk about him plenty.
4:48But we'll also we'll talk about Ashton Gentry first because you're right.
4:51It's related here with the ankle injury with him as well.
4:54This one, you know that Ashton Gentry is going to continue to get carries when he comes back, right?
5:00It's not exactly like he's in a full committee type of approach and this is really going to set him back when it comes to those carries.
5:07However, Mike Washington looked pretty good this preseason. So whatever you thought the carries in the share percentage that he was going
5:14to get Mike Washington, you got to think that might go up a little bit here if Ashton Gentry has that ankle
5:20injury going into the regular season at all. So Gentry still going to get his.
5:24But in terms of this lion share type of carries throughout the entire season, maybe it's not quite what you thought previously.
5:30Yeah, by the way, and I know I name checked Malik Nabors just to be abundantly clear.
5:35John Harbaugh saying he's going to be ready for week number one, a huge target for a guy like Jackson Dart.
5:41But I do want to stick with this running back theme here because there's some second year guys where we're expecting an
5:47uptick in terms of some of the production. I want you to take a look at this list and give me a sense.
5:54So Gentry obviously his name is going to pop up.
5:57You touched on Henderson as well. Quinshawn Junkins in that Cleveland roster.
6:00We got you Corey Krosky, Merritt, Kyle Monunga, Omarian Hampton, RJ Harvey and Cam Scadaboo.
6:04A name, all names that I think are going to be taken for a whole lot of fantasy owners that are out there.
6:11Who pops for you on this list? So when we're going through like ranking these players that are on that list, I
6:17didn't really know what to do with Henderson given the injury.
6:20So I don't have him in my top five right now.
6:23Again, I was a little bit wary already of him and that ankle injury.
6:27And it just it makes me uneasy very clearly.
6:30Number five, though, I'm gonna go with Bayshol Toot because I just I have a lot of trust in Liam Cohen's offense.
6:36I think it's going to be explosive. He is going to lean on this player.
6:40I think he's going to use Bayshol Toot in a ton of ways.
6:44You and I have talked already about what he was at Virginia Tech and how we could see even more of that explosiveness in the NFL.
6:51So Bayshol Toot is the guy who I have a number five here on this list.
6:56Cam Scadaboo is who I have at number four.
6:59And Cam Scadaboo to me is just it's a volume thing, to be honest, because I don't know who's really going to
7:05take away a ton of carries from Cam Scadaboo in this lineup.
7:08Tyrone Tracy, you know, he missed a block. He fumbled the football.
7:12It has not been a great preseason for him.
7:14And because of that, I think that he's Scadaboo that is going to get almost all of the carries.
7:20And we already know what Scadaboo can be as a receiver as well.
7:23So this is a three down type of talent who I think is going to also now get three down opportunities.
7:29So things have only trended more in the direction of Cam Scadaboo getting more touches, whether that is carries out of the backfield or targets as well.
7:37Number three, middle of the list. I'm gonna go with Quinshawn Judkins.
7:40So another Brown. We're talking Browns here at the top of the show.
7:44Judkins was really nice last season when he became that full time starter.
7:48Almost 40% of his carries last year contained more rushing yards over expected.
7:51So, you know, the independent of how the offensive line blocked on a singular play, he had a lot of missed tackles force per attempt.
7:58A lot of explosive runs as well. So to me, independent of how the Cleveland Browns offense is doing overall, I think
8:05the Quinshawn Judkins is going to have the opportunity to produce for you.
8:08So that's why I've got him at number three.
8:11I do have Ashen Jenty here at number two.
8:13Like I said, the ankle injury does worry me a little bit with him.
8:17Mike Washington's presence and how good he has looked to this preseason also worries me a little bit in this situation overall for the entire season.
8:25But ultimately, yeah, Gashen Jenty is going to get hits.
8:28He's going to get plenty of carries, going to get plenty of targets.
8:31They're going to lean in him a lot. That is what they drafted him for.
8:36Number one to me of these second year backs though is Omar Ian Hampton.
8:40I think that he landed in the perfect spot there with Mike McDaniel now, or I should say the other way around.
8:46I think Mike McDaniel landed in a perfect spot with the Chargers to continue to take advantage of running backs with elite athleticism out of the backfield.
8:53This is somebody who has great size, great balance, good power to him, but also that explosiveness.
8:58So when you get him in a run game that we're going to see a lot more of those mid and outside
9:05running concepts to get him into space with McDaniel's offense, I think that we're going to reap the rewards here.
9:10There's going to be a lot of explosive plays.
9:13There's going to be some games where Hampton just absolutely goes off for you and can be a weak winner for you almost on his own.
9:20And that's the type of offense that I think that he is in.
9:24So that would be my ranking of five through one of those second year backs, of course, with Hampton at the top,
9:30the guy that I'm most excited about. Yeah, I'm with you on Hampton.
9:34I was watching some of the joint practices with the Chargers and the San Francisco 49ers.
9:38My God, he looked absolutely ridiculously talented and completely healthy.
9:41So that is something that should make a whole lot of fantasy on our smile.
9:45See, see, see, you're you're you're going to you're going to say that because he's on your fantasy team.
9:51So I just want everybody out there to know you knew he was going to throw in a couple extra compliments there
9:57to make sure that he can make himself feel a little better on his face.
10:01I'm not a big like vision board person. I maybe I should be, but I'm trying to speak it into existence is really what this comes down to.
10:09I want to get your take on some wide receivers as well.
10:13We're going to do a little take our take your pick.
10:16But before we get there, some of the guys that are without a doubt the superstars, according to ADP, Jamar Chase, Puka, JSN, Amin Ross, CD.
10:23Those are your top five guys. Justin Jefferson, kind of a fringe player, but he's got his quarterback.
10:28Drake London, I was surprised to see him in the top ten with some of the uncertainty around that quarterback spot.
10:34But I get the production that we expect. Rasheed Rice, AJ Brown and Nico Collins, just to name a few and round out that top ten.
10:42So give me your take here. Let's go through a couple of these players.
10:46Amin Ra or CD. If you had your choice of one of them, which way are you leaning?
10:51They're right next to each other when it comes to that average draft position, but I would be going with Amin Ross St.
10:57Brown. I just think that he is too consistent.
11:00He has not had a season with less than 140 targets and 100 catches in the last four years.
11:05He has a slightly higher separation percentage average than CD Lamb.
11:08Also slightly higher explosive play total than CD Lamb.
11:11Both of those things with a three year sample size.
11:14So not just looking at last year, but a bigger three year sample size.
11:18And I think the Lions offense is going to be cooking again this season.
11:22I think it was a little inconsistent last year, especially on third and fourth down.
11:26After losing Ben Johnson, it kind of being in flux.
11:29Okay, you know, Dan Campbell, he's the play caller.
11:31Okay, then he's not. But I think that they're going to be a well-oiled machine on offense once again this year.
11:37And I think that that machine is going to run through Amin Ra St.
11:41Brown. Yeah, I'm with you there. I think it's for the, you know, the Pickens factor too, from a CD perspective, just
11:47gives me a little bit of pause here. I think there's some fantasy owners and I will say I'm one of them.
11:54If you're in a 12 team PPR league, which is what Trevor and I are playing in this season.
11:59If you are drafting and you got that middle position, I was drafting six.
12:03I had the opportunity Puka or JSN. I was really torn.
12:06So I'll put you on the spot here. Which way would you have gone?
12:10I would go JSN. I would take JSN over Puka Nakua this year.
12:14And I've got some numbers that do go into defending that take there.
12:18So Puka led the league last year with a 36.4% target percentage, which is insane.
12:22However, JSN, not that far behind 33.8% himself. Now, the reason why I would go with JSN is because when you look
12:28at what the Rams have been doing, some of their team building over the last couple of years, they have been stockpiling these tight ends.
12:35And as we know, the league is going more towards heavier personnel stuff.
12:39I think there's going to be more tight ends on the field for the Los Angeles Rams and not the Puka is not going to get his.
12:46He is. But I think those tight ends are going to start to eat into those targets a little bit.
12:52Plus the Seahawks, they're only going to have to get Jack Smith and Jigba involved even more this year with maybe some
12:58uncertainty coming from the run game as well. They're going to get him involved in the quick game as well as the explosive game.
13:05So I would go with JSN over Puka Nakua.
13:08That's exactly what I did. Same exact rationale. And I was able to, at least in my mind, pump the brakes on the lack of Kubiak.
13:15I do. We're there, man. We are. We are there.
13:18We're working together too much, which might be a problem for for both of us at this point.
13:23But AJ Brown and Nico Collins, I almost feel like it's abundantly clear which way to go.
13:28But there's a lot of love. We show the numbers.
13:31Tenth right now for Nico Collins in terms of ADP in most fantasy leagues.
13:35Would you lean his way or AJ's way? All due respect to Nico Collins, who is one of the best receivers in
13:41the NFL, let alone one of the best X receivers in the NFL.
13:45I'd be taking AJ Brown, no question about it.
13:47And we talked about this a little bit last week.
13:50The reason why Drake may led the NFL in average depth of target and average yards per pass last year.
13:56Explosive plays down the field vertical passing game. That is what Drake may does.
14:00That is when AJ Brown was at his best and finishes a top five wide receiver back in 2023 and 2024 when he was with the Philadelphia Eagles.
14:08Now, I think a lot of people go, oh, well, you know, AJ Brown's coming off a down year.
14:13He hit a thousand yards and seven touchdowns. Right.
14:16If a thousand yards and seven touchdowns is a down year for a player.
14:20I think that answers the question right there. I would be taking AJ Brown in this situation.
14:24The offense is perfect for it. I think he fits like a glove with exactly what they wanted to get this offseason
14:31when it came to that receiver position. And AJ Brown's resume.
14:34It's just too good to pass up. It might come with you pairing him up with Drake may who was in that MVP conversation.
14:41I know that there were some concerns about Philadelphia's offense.
14:43What we saw in that relationship between AJ and Jalen hurts, but I'm with you.
14:48If you would have told me a couple of seasons ago, we'd be having questions about CJ Stroud.
14:53I would have said you're crazy, but right now that is absolutely the case.
14:57So the top half of your league. I know we've discussed some of those guys, Trevor still to come.
15:02What do you do late? I don't know. Tenth round or later the players that you should be targeting.
15:08Trevor's got his guys and we'll unveil those coming up next.
15:11You know the feeling you make a pick in your fantasy draft in the entire room groans because they wanted that player
15:17or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right before he goes off in primetime.
15:23There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league.
15:25I'm JJ Zachary, host of the late round fantasy football podcast.
15:29Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off.
15:35We've got data driven analysis, historical trends and the strategies that separate winners from the rest.
15:40And your dominance doesn't stop with the draft. All season long.
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15:49Listen to the late round fantasy football podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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16:38All right, let's take a look at the week three preseason schedule.
16:42If you haven't done your fantasy drafts just yet, another opportunity to target some players that are on your watch list.
16:48A slew of games all kicking off on Thursday.
16:50The game's available on NFL Network as well as ESPN.
16:53You got a little sprinkle in a little CBS there too on Friday with Cincinnati and Philadelphia getting after it.
16:59So we got you covered over the next couple days this week.
17:02Another action packed week three preseason. All right, which players have boosted their preseason stock just based off of I know we
17:08just made reference to some of these preseason games.
17:11But is there a guy that I don't know opened up your eyes based off of what we've seen the last couple weeks Trevor?
17:18Yeah, I think so. I mean, when you look at the guys who are projected to be starters, like they don't get a ton of action.
17:25They haven't got a ton of action yet here in the preseason.
17:29But in Kansas City, their fifth round running back Emmitt Johnson is somebody who has really, really stood out to me because
17:35I think he is what the Chiefs have not had for multiple years now.
17:39The Chiefs way, especially when Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hall were there.
17:42I mean, they just wanted to run downhill. It was get the ball in the gut of these guys.
17:48Let him get downhill as quickly as possible. Let him lower the shoulder break some tackles, but there wasn't enough finesse in the Chiefs running game.
17:55There wasn't enough, you know, make you miss getting to open space create some explosive plays.
17:59That's what Emmitt Johnson could do is what he did when he was at Nebraska.
18:04And I think that's what he's doing right now in the preseason his missed tackles force per attempt.
18:09The total numbers and average is much higher than what they have been in Kansas City over the last couple of seasons.
18:15So to me, I loved this fit on draft day was drafting the fifth rounds of day three.
18:20I love this fit for them because it was somebody different.
18:23And I'm glad that we're showcasing that different style early here in the preseason.
18:27I think it's going to play into the regular season as well.
18:31Yeah, I like to pick here because the last couple of years we've been talking about the this run game and really
18:37lack thereof from a Kansas City perspective. I know they addressed it with Kenneth Walker, but Andy Reid loves some options.
18:43And right now they haven't had many to go to.
18:46So potentially a good one there with Johnson. I love this pick.
18:49I saw this dude play a whole lot of college football.
18:52Kyle Williams was sort of a walking explosive play.
18:55You like them for fantasy owners. Why? Yeah. And that's that's exactly why I'm pointing him out here, because I was a
19:01big fan of his in the draft. I like this landing spot with Drake May, right?
19:06Similar reasons to we just talked about A.J. Brown being a great fit in this offense are the same reasons why I
19:12think Kyle Williams is a great fit in this offense as well.
19:15But there's just been too many mouths to feed at the receiver position in New England, especially last year.
19:21But Kayshaun Booty no longer on the team. OK, you're adding A.J.
19:24Brown. Sure. But to me, that's just going to make the offense similar to the skill set in which Kyle Williams can shine.
19:31He's got two explosive plays this preseason, one each week.
19:33And so the consistency has been there. They have gotten him involved and they've been a little bit different in how they have manifested those explosive plays.
19:41So to me, especially with Kayshaun Booty no longer on the team, Kyle Williams, somebody who could creep into being a fantasy player for you this season.
19:49You know, you got another wide receiver on this list, and I thought it was interesting.
19:53Cincinnati's Colby Young, only because that wide receiver room is arguably the best in the NFL.
19:58I was surprised that you thought, hey, let's dig a little deeper there.
20:01So I think it's really just because his skill set's very similar to that of like a T.
20:07Higgins, right? And T. Higgins is obviously going to be the guy who gets those kinds of contested catch, red zone, money
20:13down, whatever you want to call them, sort of targets as the X receiver there.
20:17But if T. Higgins were to miss time at all whatsoever, I think it's Colby Young who could really stand out.
20:23And especially if he's making that roster, he's somebody who can really take those targets.
20:27You could feel good about it. He had to show good vertical speed, especially for his size on his touchdown that we saw in the preseason.
20:35He was able to get off that press coverage, that tight coverage.
20:38So not even just to contest the catch guys, where's Brett is buttered.
20:42But he's shown you that he can move and he can get vertical a lot better than what you would think for a player of that size.
20:49So somebody just keep an eye on because if he's somebody who makes the team and obviously the team is going to
20:56speak highly of him if he does those kinds of targets.
20:59The T. Higgins gets, I think immediately go to a guy like Colby Young if Higgins were to miss any kind of time.
21:05Yeah. And I'm glad you went down this path because the reality is when you get later in the draft or just
21:12start searching on the waiver wire, just keep the name in mind.
21:15Maybe you don't go and draft him unless it's like super late and you want to take a flyer.
21:20Maybe you lack some depth at that wide receiver spot, but just a name to be familiar with.
21:25Now, the reality is that there's, you know, the studs at the top that are going to drive everything that you do from a fantasy perspective.
21:33And I do want to take a closer look at some of the outstanding performers that we've had from a fantasy perspective here, guys.
21:40Top 10 fantasy scores. Christian McCaffrey, no surprise there.
21:42I know there's been some concerns about his health.
21:45Puka, Bajan, Jameer Kibbs, Josh Allen rounding out your top five.
21:48Jonathan Taylor, JSN, Drake May, Matthew Stafford and Trevor Lawrence.
21:51Six through ten for you. You know that they're going to be gone.
21:54But if I said to you, like, hey, I can't go and get one of those guys.
21:59Tenth round or later, if I need a quarterback, Trevor, which direction are you going?
22:04Yeah, it's kind of tough to be like, hey, if I can't get this guy in the first round, who can I look at in the tenth round?
22:11But but sometimes those are the players that actually win your league for you, right?
22:16And a quarterback, we talked about this, I believe it was a couple of weeks ago.
22:20Kyler Murray, I'm in on it. I'm in on the landing spot with Kyler Murray, especially with him obviously being named the starter.
22:27I think he's in for a really good year.
22:29Now, it's a lot different of an offense. KOC's offense is a lot different than what Kyler Murray has been used to
22:36his entire football career, going back to college football as well.
22:39Everything that Kyler has been done has been so much of shotgun spread it out type of offenses.
22:44KOC, you'll get in their center. It'll be true play action, things like that.
22:48But you look at the rushing success that Sam Darnold had when he was there two years ago.
22:53Sam Darnold had the most rushing first downs. He had the third most rushing yards of his career, the most rushing attempts of his career.
23:00And I think that when you get a player like Kyler Murray, who actually has that rushing ability more so than Sam
23:06Darnold does, all due respect to the athleticism of a Super Bowl champion, Sam Darnold, of course, I think that this could
23:12be a recipe for a ton of success. So if you can get Kyler Murray later in your drafts, because it feels like people are sleeping on him.
23:20I really do think that he could be a key for you moving forward as a starter.
23:25It's fascinating the strategy that fantasy owners will go and implement.
23:28We just had our draft earlier this week, and there were some nice gems late at that quarterback spot as well.
23:34But then when we get into some of these later rounds, and now we're talking like 10th or later, but when I
23:41start thinking about rounds 13, 14, or 15, sometimes I'm looking for the backup just in case.
23:45It's sort of like if the starter goes down, I know that this person is going to be really popular in terms of that waiver wire.
23:53Blake Corum's name, I don't remember exactly where he was drafted, but you like him late.
23:57I do, and the reason why is because right off the bat, he's in a 1-2 committee.
24:02And when I say a 1-2 committee, I quite literally mean a 1-2 committee.
24:06Only 1.67% of the carries and the snaps, well, actually it wasn't even the carries, the snaps that running backs took last
24:12year for the Rams, less than 2% went to players that were not named Blake Corum or Kyron Williams.
24:18Now, Kyron is the top running back on that team.
24:21We know that is the case. He's going to get most of the work because that's his style.
24:26He always wants to be on the field. But again, if Kyron were to miss any time whatsoever, it's not like they
24:32go, all right, well, now we're going to rotate Blake Corum in with these two other backs as well.
24:37It goes to Blake Corum, and he starts to get so many more snaps, so many more opportunities.
24:42And so, look, is he going to pay off for you right away?
24:46Maybe not, although I think that he could be a decent spell to Kyron Williams.
24:50But if Williams misses time at all, you might have a certified RB2 on your hands with Corum and the usage that he would get.
24:57Got a wide receiver name for you, and if I'm not mistaken, he's actually on your fantasy roster because I remember I had him in queue.
25:05I remember watching this kid when he was at Stanford, and some of the moments that he's had as an NFL player are really impressive.
25:12Michael Wilson, I feel like he's almost underutilized. I don't know how great he is from a fantasy perspective.
25:17This was a later round guy that you were able to go and nab, but sell me on the potential here.
25:23Yeah, I am going to be higher on Michael Wilson than I feel like anybody in the world is because I loved
25:30him when he was coming out of Stanford. I love this skill set.
25:33I love the fact that he got the opportunity to showcase that last year.
25:37And to me, I mean, he's getting drafted 9th, 10th, 11th round, and I just think that's disrespectful to the year that he had last year.
25:45Now, look, I understand the Cardinals. You know, Marvin Harrison Jr.
25:48had missed some time, and he had some inconsistencies.
25:50They were down on the scoreboard a lot, so they had to throw a ton.
25:55Like, I understand all that. But this dude was wide receiver 10 last year.
25:58He finished wide receiver 10, and right now he's getting drafted as wide receiver 40, wide receiver 45.
26:04Way too big of a gap. I think Michael Wilson's talent is so much further along than that.
26:09And because of the year he had last year, he's going to be involved in this offense.
26:14And so I think that's way too—even if it's not, you know, the wide receiver 10 type of usage he had last year.
26:20Wide receiver 40, wide receiver 45, something like that.
26:23That's way too low in my opinion. Yeah. Unbelievable value when you're talking about a flex or maybe some guy, like a
26:29stopgap in one of your bye weeks. Wilson's certainly a name to go and target.
26:33From a Seattle Seahawks perspective, A.J. Barner's name, he might even still be available in our league, if I'm not mistaken.
26:39Yeah, he might not be for long because I might have to go snatch him up, although I do have a couple
26:45of tight ends already because I think that the league is really going to lean into that tight end position.
26:51But A.J. Barner is somebody to keep an eye on.
26:54I know that Elijah Arroyo was there, and he might take some targets and, you know, some touchdowns and things like that.
27:00But let me explain why I like this player.
27:03He had one of the higher separation percentages of any of the tight ends that were regular contributors last year.
27:08So that's first and foremost. The guy knows how to get open, so that's good.
27:13Their new offensive coordinator, Brian Flurry, he was the tight ends coach in San Francisco for the last four years.
27:18Not only was George Kittle obviously an incredible talent, but developed guys like Jake Tonjes and Luke Farrell to be contributors into that rotation as well.
27:26Almost half of San Francisco's touchdowns last year, passing touchdowns, went to tight ends.
27:30And I think Brian Flurry's development, his understanding of the offense, and what he wants to bring into that system, it leans
27:36so much into Barner being somebody who is a mainstay for them.
27:39So a lot of changes have happened with that Seattle Seahawks roster from when they were Super Bowl champs to now.
27:45But A.J. Barner is still there, and I think that with his new offensive coordinator, it fits like a glove.
27:51And I really do think that he could be a standout type of a player, even potentially from a fantasy perspective.
27:57So keep an eye on him. Since we're talking about tight ends, can we just go bonus round here for just a moment?
28:03Because I don't think he was a 10th round selection, and I'm not suggesting that, but it is an embarrassment of riches across the NFL.
28:10But from a fantasy perspective, at that tight end spot, the top guys are so darn valuable.
28:15We know the names, the McBride, the Brock Bowers of the world.
28:19Insert those names. Tucker Craft, how would you handle him specifically?
28:22Because this is a guy that was putting up ridiculous numbers from a Green Bay perspective before the injury.
28:27There's got to be at least a little bit of a level of concern, but once again, another upside guy.
28:33I like reaching on those tight ends that can be those top tier types of players.
28:37Like I have Brock Bowers in our league, and I made sure that I got him when I had the opportunity, because
28:44when you can really dominate that tight end part of the matchup every single week, I think it's incredibly valuable, because there's
28:50only so many tight ends that really can get you consistent points to matter every single week.
28:55But Tucker Craft is one of those players, and we saw that seven weeks in, and whatever it was before he got
29:01hurt last year, he was one of those tight ends.
29:04So I know he's drafted a little bit lower this year because he's coming off of the injury, but I'm with you.
29:10I think this is somebody who could be a X factor type of player in fantasy seasons.
29:15Tucker Craft is definitely somebody who I'd probably draft a little bit higher than where he is going right now.
29:21Yeah, he was a guy that I ended up having to take.
29:24I felt a little desperate. There was a run of tight ends, and then I got a little concerned because I thought
29:30there was such a drop off with some of those numbers that we could potentially see.
29:35So once again, at times you go into your drafts, and Trevor, you know this.
29:39I always say like, hey, let's mitigate some risk.
29:42That didn't necessarily happen for me, but the way the draft sometimes falls, you got to take some calculated risks.
29:47Tucker Craft, at least for both of us, one of those guys that we're willing to make a jump on and say,
29:53hey, maybe he can produce like he did when he was healthy last season.
29:57Trevor, you're the best man. Wish you nothing but a best of luck if you've been watching or listening to this show in your fantasy drafts.
30:05We'll talk to you next week. The entire draft room groans because you just took the guy they wanted.
30:10There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league.
30:13I'm JJ Zacharyson, host of the award-winning Late Round Podcast.
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