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Top 10 TE Rankings + Most Improved Offenses - Fantasy Football Podcast for 8/5

STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.

1 hr
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 5, 2026
Published
Wed, August 5, 2026
26
Player insights
24
Players mentioned
Topics
Colston LovelandKyle PittsAlvin KamaraBijan RobinsonBo NixBrock BowersChris GodwinDallas GoedertDalton KincaidGeorge KittleGreg DulcichHarold FanninJalen McMillanJaylen Warren
Player analysis

Player insights

26

Alvin Kamara

PositiveUsage9:59

Alvin Kamara is seeing third-down work in camp, which the source highlights as a positive for his fantasy value given that targets are more valuable than rushing attempts.

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Bijan Robinson

NegativeValue2:13

The source is giving away an autographed Bijan Robinson jersey to listeners, noting the promotion is in honor of his new contract.

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Bo Nix

PositiveProjection11:11

The source suggests the Denver offense could be a candidate for a significant touchdown jump, which would be beneficial for Bo Nix's fantasy outlook.

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Brock Bowers

PositiveProjection47:45

Brock Bowers is viewed as the most talented tight end in football and the clear number one target in his offense. The source notes he has the potential to "break" the position, with a range of outcomes that could see him outperform even the top-tier production seen by Trey McBride last year.

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Chris Godwin

NegativeUsage9:24

Chris Godwin was given a maintenance day at training camp.

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Colston Loveland

PositiveUsage41:12

Loveland is considered the best weapon in the Chicago offense and a potential target leader. Despite concerns about target competition with other talented receivers, his 28% target share during the playoffs demonstrates his ability to be a dominant force. He is preferred over Warren due to the strength of the Bears' offensive system.

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PositiveBreakout42:34

Colston Loveland showed dominant potential in the playoffs with a 28% target share, significantly higher than DJ Moore's 17% at the time. He is viewed as a more athletically gifted player than Jaylen Warren with higher ceiling potential to potentially usurp Brock Bowers as the TE1 by season's end.

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Dallas Goedert

PositiveSleeper55:23

Dallas Goedert is highlighted as a sleeper tight end, particularly given the injury concerns surrounding AJ Brown and the lack of depth behind him. With Eli Stowers buried on the depth chart, Goedert is positioned to potentially serve as the primary secondary option in the passing game.

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Dalton Kincaid

PositiveProjection56:04

Dalton Kincaid is currently healthy and expected to build on his efficiency from last year, where he led all tight ends in yards per route run. He remains a high-upside target playing with Josh Allen.

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George Kittle

NegativeInjury35:46

Kittle remains a dominant force when healthy, but his age (33) and recent Achilles injury create significant risk. While his connection with Brock Purdy provides high upside, the source expresses concern about his availability for the first half of the season, suggesting a cautious approach or a draft strategy that pairs him with another reliable tight end.

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Greg Dulcich

PositiveSleeper57:29

Greg Dulcich is an undrafted sleeper with an athletic profile that makes him a candidate to break through as a top-12 tight end. He has shown flashes of efficiency with a 2.38 yards per route run metric and could emerge as a primary target in his offense.

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Harold Fannin

NegativeProjection30:18

Fannin is recognized as an electric talent who was highly productive as a rookie, but there is skepticism regarding his ceiling due to the Cleveland Browns' offensive environment. While he has a high target floor, analysts are concerned about his ability to finish as a top-three tight end given the team's overall offensive outlook.

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Jalen McMillan

NegativeInjury9:19

Jalen McMillan missed practice after banging his knee a couple of days ago.

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Jaylen Warren

PositiveValue43:52

Jaylen Warren is considered a safer, higher-floor pick than Colston Loveland, currently available about one round cheaper in drafts. While Loveland has a higher ceiling, Warren is viewed as a reliable top-five tight end candidate.

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Kyle Pitts

NegativeProjection20:07

The source remains conflicted on Kyle Pitts, noting he will be on the field for 90% of snaps and is the team's second-best pass catcher, but they are hesitant to draft him given his inconsistent performance since his rookie season.

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PositiveValue21:16

Despite a disappointing touchdown total last year, Pitts is viewed as a potential focal point of the Atlanta offense in his sixth season. The source notes he has built-in upside if Drake London were to miss time, and he is being drafted in the same range as Sam LaPorta, with the source preferring Pitts due to his expected role.

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Michael Penix Jr.

NegativeDepth Chart8:39

The source notes that Michael Penix Jr. is further away from the field than Tua Tagovailoa and describes his film from last year as 'very, very not good.'

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Sam LaPorta

PositiveUsage24:04

LaPorta is considered a safe, consistent pick with significant touchdown upside in a high-scoring Detroit offense. While he may not reach the 140-target volume of other elite tight ends, his role as a primary red-zone threat makes him a preferred option over Pitts for those prioritizing touchdown potential.

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Tank Dell

PositiveInjury12:51

Tank Dell is back practicing in pads for the first time in over a year following his significant injuries, which the source views as a major positive for the Texans' offense.

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Travis Etienne

NegativeUsage9:56

The source expresses concern that Travis Etienne is taking early-down reps while Alvin Kamara is taking third-down reps, suggesting Etienne may not be the guaranteed three-down workhorse his ADP implies.

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Travis Kelce

NegativeValue15:14

The source is 'out' on Travis Kelce, noting his age (37) and declining production. While he may still catch 80 passes, the source argues his upside is gone and he is no longer a difference-maker at the position.

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Trey McBride

PositiveProjection46:21

Trey McBride is the clear leader of the Cardinals' offense, having become the first tight end in history to record 100+ catches in back-to-back seasons. Despite a potential quarterback transition to a rookie during the fantasy playoffs, he remains a top-tier fantasy asset.

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Trey Palmer

NegativeInjury9:17

Trey Palmer left practice with a groin injury, which the source notes is unfortunate given his recent buzz as a star of training camp.

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Tua Tagovailoa

NegativeRole7:51

Ian Rapoport believes Tua Tagovailoa will likely start Week 1, though the source notes this is a soft projection and that Tagovailoa is currently banged up.

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Tucker Kraft

PositiveProjection26:25

Ranked as the TE7 (with some analysts ranking him as high as TE5), Kraft is expected to be a key part of the Green Bay offense. Despite an ACL injury, he is reportedly looking great in camp and is expected to be ready for Week 1. His efficiency as a blocker and receiver, combined with a favorable early-season schedule, supports his high ranking.

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Tyler Warren

PositiveRole40:21

Warren is viewed as a reliable option who will benefit from soaking up intermediate targets in the Indianapolis offense. With Michael Pittman gone, Warren is expected to be a focal point in the middle of the field, making him a comfortable start for fantasy managers.

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Full transcript

Episode Transcript

719
0:00Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright.
0:05Welcome in! Not yet, Jason. Not yet. Not yet.
0:08Wednesday, August 5th, the Fantasy Footballers. The. The. The.
0:11What? Tight End Ranking Show, NFL News, talking improved offenses, talking fantasy, insights to help you on draft day.
0:17That's the goal each and every day. Help you prepare for your draft and for the season.
0:22Jason has been smirking for a minute. Maybe longer.
0:25Are you in a good mood? I'm in a great mood.
0:29We golfed this morning. That put you in a good mood.
0:32No, sir. No, sir. I got a new high score.
0:35High score. Yes, which is great. Plus 27 through 9.
0:39No, no. That's real? That is real. That is absolutely real.
0:42You're saying it out loud. No, it's not real.
0:45I am not counting a mulligan. So, technically it would be 28, but I'm going to give myself- Plus 30-ish.
0:51I mean, the Falcon was out there with a camera today.
0:55I'm sure he's got some bad shots in there.
0:58I'm sure he does. Well, he was following you.
1:01Does he have any good ones? Of Andy, yeah.
1:03For sure. No, but I'm fine, man. I will say this.
1:07When I started golfing and I was really, really bad, which I have stayed at least consistent, I was breaking clubs.
1:14I was that guy. That guy on the course.
1:17You're saying this has been a mental change that has happened.
1:20This has been something where it's like, grow up.
1:23Golf's hard. You suck. Yeah. The tumor is not operable.
1:26If you don't want to be out here- Yeah, exactly.
1:29The tumor is unoperable. No, it's not the tumor.
1:32Just deal with it. Okay, so sad. Okay. There's nothing you can do, so just get over it.
1:38Good point, Andy. Yeah, but no, I'm in a good mood.
1:41I'm really, really excited about football. I'm really excited about August being here.
1:46Get the golf off the back screen. Yeah, and me being a horrifically bad golfer will not get in my way.
1:52There's a decent chance that we do some work on that.
1:56You know, we get- Yeah, yeah, I think we're going to genuinely- Get some lessons, you know, get better.
2:02But this is not a golf show. It sometimes feels like it.
2:06We have a giveaway, a big giveaway. That's cool.
2:09What are we giving away, Andy? We are giving away a signed B.
2:13John Robinson jersey in honor of- B. John. B.
2:16John Robinson's new contract. No, we're giving away an autographed B.
2:19John jersey, free to enter, footclangiveaway.com if you're interested in that.
2:23We like giving away some stuff in August. It's always fun.
2:26So we're going to start with, that doesn't mean it'll be the only giveaway in August, but we'll start with a signed B.
2:33John Robinson jersey, footclangiveaway.com for that. You guys know the UDK.
2:37It's available right now at ultimatedraftkit.com if you want to prepare for your draft in the best possible way, check that out.
2:44And yeah, I'm excited too, Jay. It's time to get into it.
2:48Quick question of the day comes in from Billy.
2:51Which bottom 10 offense from 2025 do you believe will outperform their touchdown total by 13 plus?
2:56And the reason he's asking 13 plus is because last year, Mike, on your, on the tips and tricks show, you talked
3:03about anticipating offensive systems and they're, you know, basically them improving because over the last decade, at least three teams.
3:10Uh, mind you, it was six last year, at least three teams every year, jump 13 plus total touchdowns.
3:16Yep. And the total out who it is can really, really help you.
3:20Yeah. I mean, because we've said this about rookies going to bad destinations.
3:24It's not always bad. You think it's bad, but things change in the NFL so quickly.
3:29Just for context, last year's touchdown leaders, the Rams, New England, Seattle, Buffalo, Detroit.
3:33The basement was New Orleans, New York, the Jets.
3:36That is Tennessee, Cleveland, and Las Vegas. Those were, and you're talking the Rams just for, just for like to see the difference.
3:44The Rams scored 65 total touchdowns. The Raiders scored 25 total touchdowns.
3:48Oh man. So, uh, but it happens every year.
3:50Um, most of the time it's more than three, six teams last year.
3:55The Rams jumped more than 13 touchdowns. New England jumped more than 13 Jacksonville, Dallas, New York, and Indianapolis.
4:01So what's the team for this year? Mike, why don't you start?
4:04Uh, the, the amount of chips that I have been pushing into the table on the New Orleans Saints is, uh, we are, we're not approaching inappropriate.
4:13It's no, you're almost all in where we are inappropriate.
4:16And now we're borderline just terrifying of how much I believe in, in what they're about to do.
4:22Uh, so I, I think with, with Shuck and co, uh, down there in New Orleans and with Kellen Moore, you know,
4:29calling, calling the plays, getting everything going for the offense.
4:32I think that they are, they are the team to watch to make, you know, a, a New England style jump.
4:39That is, I mean, I guess one thing I hadn't thought about, I didn't realize how low they were last year.
4:46Cause Shuck did play over a great part of the year.
4:49He didn't have a lot of passing touchdowns. Correct.
4:52Tons of yardage. And, but a, uh, like a average or below average touchdown.
4:56I imagine Kellen Moore is not proud of that number.
5:00That 31 number was nearly the bottom of the NFL.
5:03And he has a re a resume that, you know, he can call plays and get it into the end zone.
5:10They're definitely a great candidate for that. I I'm going to go with the Titans.
5:14I've been kind of in their corner this off season, not to the, I think you believe that the saints can compete
5:21in a big way, make the playoffs winning the division.
5:24I don't, I don't think the Titans can win their division, but I think the difference in their offense, um, could be significant.
5:32I mean, the, the giants last year were one of the teams that jumped up 13 touchdowns just with Jackson dart coming
5:39in and then adding cam Scadaboo, the difference that, you know, some pass catchers are going to make in Tennessee.
5:45The fact that they were at the bottom of the league last year, I think that cam Ward's going to take a step forward.
5:53Uh, I'm pretty excited about Carnell Tate wandales there.
5:56They've got the weapons and they got the play caller, Brian Dable coming in.
6:00So, um, I I'm going to go with the Titans.
6:03Yeah. I think a play caller makes a big impact.
6:07Heck that is probably the number one reason for my team.
6:10They were the bottom of the barrel, the, the lowest scoring team in the league, the Raiders last year, obviously you, you had Brock Bowers injured.
6:18You had a terrible offensive line and genuinely, I think that the biggest issue with the Raiders offense last year was the
6:25Pete Carroll nepotism on the offensive line. You know, the, the, the offensive line coach being his son, everyone said it was
6:32a problem, a mistake when they fired their staff and didn't retain him.
6:37It was like, what's going on here? I think Clint Kubiak coming in, bringing in Rick Denison, a really good offensive line
6:44coach going out and getting Tyler Lindenbaum, a great center.
6:47And then you get Brock back. Now you've got Kirk cousins in and you know, we don't know what Mendoza will do.
6:54Obviously Mendoza rookie quarterbacks don't usually have a high touchdown number, but when you only scored 25 touchdowns last year, like the
7:01bar is pretty easy to step over that 13 more touchdown number.
7:05They could still be in the bottom half of offenses and score 13 more touchdowns than they did last year.
7:11Rick Denison, not being a private investigator. I think I've been, I was trying to figure out what that name, like he's
7:18either a sheriff in a wild west town, Rick Denison on the case or a detective.
7:23Yeah. But you're not talking like current era. Oh, no, no, this is old.
7:28He's like of all the places in all the world.
7:31She had to walk into mine. What a dame.
7:34There's just Rick Denison. There's just like a card of cigarette smoke floating in the air.
7:39Um, it beige trend powerful. It is. All right.
7:42We will jump into the news and notes from around the league.
7:46Okay. Is this news? Uh, NFL networks, Ian Rappaport believes to, uh, will likely start week one.
7:51This is not. Don't be surprised. This is a, this is a thought.
7:55That's a thought that is the, and the thought was, uh, it has a equivocator in it.
8:01Right. It's not even a strong thought. It's just like, I think maybe.
8:05Right. I think, I think maybe the two will start.
8:08What's the line that you're bringing up before? Yeah.
8:11Just the, don't be surprised. Don't be surprised if.
8:14I get it. We, we do these things. Sometimes you're talking and then you're trying to gather your thoughts at the exact same time.
8:21And you're thinking sometimes one of those thoughts comes out and you're like, Ooh, I gotta, I gotta, I gotta soften that one up.
8:29I believe most people's expectation here is that two is going to start.
8:33Yes. Two has banged up right now, but Pennix is even further away from getting on the field.
8:39It was just, and he's better. It to, it was not good, but he was better.
8:44Penix was so, I mean, when I watched the film last year, I was like, I did not remember him being this bad.
8:51He was very, very not good. Eight hours ago to a tongue of yellow on training camp with Michael Pennix quote.
8:58It's definitely a competition. Yeah. Well, this is what you'd say if it wasn't one, but no, I noticed that on sleeper.
9:05One of the most added players in dynasty leagues was their third string quarterback.
9:09Oh my for the Falcons. All right. Bucks wide receivers.
9:13We don't know what's going on. Tess Johnson left with a groin injury.
9:17Jaylen McMillan didn't practice after banging his knee a couple of days ago and Godwin and a book were given a maintenance day.
9:24So they, they were like, nah, it's worth noting.
9:27Tess Johnson has gotten a lot of buzz of being like the star of camp, you know, when it comes to the
9:34star of groin index.com right now, it does stink that he, what about me, Jason?
9:39Yeah. Oh, 1999. Oh, there I am. Oh, that's a Ted Hearst reference.
9:43Yeah, that is a Ted Hearst. Now this Ted Fred Durst.
9:46Ted. Ridiculous. Travis, uh, a chance. Come on. He'll get it.
9:50He'll get an opportunity with Ted's injured has taken most of the early down reps at training camp.
9:56Alvin Kamara getting third down reps. Ruh-roh. Yeah. I mean, we, we say it all the time.
10:01Targets are worth more than a rushing attempt for fantasy football.
10:05If you look at a, then that's what HN is much better at receiving than he is at running.
10:11When you look at where is much better at receiving than a chance is a problem.
10:16That is. That is a problem. That's what I've said since they signed was originally when it was signed, it was like,
10:23Oh, Kamara is not going to be on the team.
10:26He's clearly not only going to be on the team.
10:29He's going to be part of this backfield. And I think right now, ADP says that Travis ETN is like, just, he
10:36is guaranteed to be a three down workhorse back.
10:39I don't think that's happening. It's the name that it's, it's, we're, we're still trying to figure it out.
10:45We're trying our best. We're going to find out real soon.
10:49We have, you know, it's August. So you got people coming back to football and they, they might not have any idea, but We petition him.
10:57I know we need to talk. We need to talk to that.
11:01I think it's Brian in line for a bigger slice of the pie in Denver, which would be good because Denver, um,
11:08they need something different on the offensive side of the ball.
11:11I mean, they were one of the teams like for me, Denver is the team that jumps out as a potential 13 plus touchdown jump.
11:19I mean, Denver only had 45 touchdowns last year.
11:22It was middle of the pack. You know, you had Waddle Bryant being the wide receiver three doesn't make me think there's
11:29going to be any regular fantasy value, but no, but it's great for Bo Nils.
11:34I mean, if he establishes himself as the wide receiver three in camp and it's like not just this committee.
11:40Cause right now I'm projecting the third to be a committee.
11:44You're going to have Mims involved. You're going to have Troy Franklin involved.
11:48You're going to have Pat Bryant, maybe leading the three, but if he fully establishes himself as the third, do you think
11:55there's a chance as a young player, he can usurp Sutton, Portland Sutton this year and, and become the wide receiver two for the offense?
12:03Like, is that in the range of realistic outcomes?
12:06I would, I would, I would say that's not impossible, but this is more of a like, but you wouldn't be surprised.
12:13I actually would. I would be surprised. What I would not be surprised of is if heading into next year, they are
12:20like, we're going to move on from Sutton and it's going to be Jalen Waddle and Pat Bryant.
12:26Yeah. Yeah. I think that that whole offense is going to be very, very interesting to watch this year with Waddle's addition with the ensemble of running backs.
12:35Like seems like Dobbins is the guy. Oh yeah.
12:37But then it seems like Harvey might get third downs and Jonah Coleman is just around.
12:43The, uh, and Goughlin is just around. And a last piece of news real quick, Andy, cause this, cause this is just, this is great.
12:51It's fun. I mean, but then Tank Dell. Yeah.
12:53The Houston Texans is practicing with pads. First time in year.
12:57This is awesome. We haven't seen him in like over a calendar year since the, Oh yeah.
13:02It's been basically two years. Horrific injury. Two seasons ago.
13:06He missed all of last year. Was that the, just correct me.
13:09Cause it's a long time ago. Yeah. That injury.
13:12Was that on the block? Yes. He was, he was in line goal line block.
13:17Yeah. Cause, or was that a previous other injury?
13:20No, no, no. Was that? I don't think it's the same one.
13:24I thought it was on a catch. I thought it was on a catch on the back of the end zone.
13:30Yeah. I thought, I thought it was a touchdown.
13:33Cause he, that was so long ago. Yeah. Cause the year before I had traded for him and he was left in
13:40on a blocking down, went in and then was knocked out for the rest of the year.
13:46And that was, um, I forget that. I mean, he's had injury issues throughout his career, but when he's been on the field, he's been awesome.
13:54It's really tough for, and Stroud was. He's been much better with him.
13:58Yeah. A guy that's 165 pounds. I mean, we, we gave him guff when he was in line block.
14:04Like what is he going to do as a blocker?
14:07He's not really changing things. Yeah. He broke his fibula on that block in 2023, missed five games into his season.
14:14And then the dislocated kneecap was the full season.
14:17So there you go. But he's back. If it, man, if the NFL and the Texans are better, if tank tells playing at a high level.
14:25Yeah, absolutely. We'll take a quick break and then get into the countdown.
14:29And all right, guys, we are jumping into our tight end rankings.
14:33Countdown the top 10 looking at positives, negatives of these players.
14:37Obviously the tight end position is what's a polarizing spot.
14:40I mean, you have these high performers, difference makers at a onesie position.
14:44If you have one of those top guys and somebody else is out there streaming the position, it can be a huge
14:51advantage on a weekend week out basis. Problem is identifying the sleeper ones that can perform out of nowhere and making sure
14:58that your draft, if you're going to spend high draft capital, that guy is an every week start.
15:04So we'll also look at the beginning schedules for these guys a little bit.
15:08So let's start counting it down. Number 10. Number 10, Travis Kelsey going on 37 years old.
15:14I have him ranked the lowest. I've talked about it recently.
15:17Yeah, you're OUT. I'm pretty out on Kelsey. He's just not.
15:21One thing I wanted to do and maybe Kyle, while we're talking about Kelsey briefly, final seasons for some of the greats.
15:28I'm just kind of curious where Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez, Jason Witten, you know, Jimmy Graham, like most of those guys from
15:35my recollection, like I remember Jimmy Graham being pretty irrelevant at the end.
15:39Yeah. I mean, he had the, he came back and had a bunch of touchdowns, right?
15:44In one of those. He had the patella tendon, tendon tear.
15:48That was a different word. Yes. But, but look, it is, you know, whether you believe he can contribute this year or
15:55not, he'll Antonio Gates final year, final two years, he was 37 and 38 years old.
16:00He got 30 passes each year. They were basically irrelevant years.
16:03His last good season, 36 years old, 53 for 5, 48 and seven.
16:07We know the trajectory right now on Kelsey is it's going down.
16:11It's just a matter of how low does it go?
16:14He tends to be out there. I have, but if he gives you, if he gives you six, seven points a game, you're not gonna be happy.
16:23No, no, you won't. The thing is, is right now you've got a tight end who last year had over a hundred targets.
16:30You've got an offense that I think should be better than last year.
16:35Not necessarily a old school, great Kansas city offense, but adding Kenneth Walker, I think really does help the offense in general.
16:42If you have someone that's going to catch 80 passes, they're not going to be bad for where he's being drafted, but the upside is gone.
16:50You're not having a player who's making a difference at the position.
16:54You're just simply trying to say, I think when you draft Kelsey, you're taking your, your, the approach of, I punted the
17:01position, but I don't want to stream. And I'm just going to try to be okay with whatever mediocrity he provides.
17:07And maybe that's the wrong, maybe that's the lazy way and streaming like the, the question should be asked here.
17:14Would it be more valuable? Will you score more fantasy points if you're streaming off the waiver wire this season, or if
17:21you just play Travis Kelsey every game? I think, I think once we establish matchups about halfway through the year, you can stream it better than Kelsey personally.
17:30But I think that's up for debate fair. I mean, it's fairly up for debate.
17:35I think you're going to find yourself thinking this is where I think you're going to end up.
17:40You're going to think you can start him every week.
17:43Cause of the name. Cause you drafted Travis Kelsey.
17:46And I think you're going to not know when to pull the trigger on changing that out.
17:52Now your point about the offense being better. I think that's well within the realm.
17:57I mean, the giant scored seven more touchdowns than the chiefs did last year.
18:01The Pittsburgh Steelers. Did you like that offense? No.
18:04Seven more touchdowns than the Kansas city chiefs last year.
18:07Patrick Mahomes is coming off a serious injury. The identity of this team is going to be the running game.
18:13Rashi rice is coming off a serious injury. And I, I'm not so certain that this offense is going to be significantly better.
18:21I think their defense is outstanding. They spent all of their draft capital and trades on making that defense top in the league.
18:28I'm not sure you're going to have it opened up enough for you to be happy because all of his targets now
18:35are close to the line of scrimmage. And that's why I, I'm still okay with Kelsey as a, if I'm as the
18:42tight end punt of, I, I feel pretty confident that Kelsey will, he will finish in the top 10.
18:48That's not always great for your fantasy team or making a difference, but they, he's going to be the number two target.
18:55He will have a hundred targets again, if he plays in all 17 games and he'll, he'll give you roughly nine points a week.
19:03You think he was the number two target? Cause I think that they're going to have to make a transition at some point in time.
19:11But to, yeah, I mean, whether Cyrus Allen or a Xavier worthy can step up.
19:16I don't know. I just think tight end snaps may come down.
19:20I think you're going to manage him. It's possible.
19:22Yeah. I will say that older players, you know, we've seen this with Keenan Allen recently.
19:27Like sometimes they get off to a decent start to the year.
19:31Sure. The first month of the schedule is, you know, they're favored in all four games.
19:36First week's a little hard at home against Denver, but then Indianapolis, Miami, Las Vegas, those are great matchups.
19:42And then they go on their bye week. So maybe you're right.
19:46The second half of the year, you stream, you grab Kelsey, play him for a month, and then start knowing what the matchups are.
19:54And shout out to Tony Gonzalez who at 37 years old had 121 targets, 83 for eight, 59 and eight.
20:00I think, I think Kelsey, that seems right in the range.
20:04Yeah, it's possible. That's the upper range. Number nine.
20:07It's Kyle Pitts coming in at our consensus. Number nine.
20:10Jason and I have him at eight. This is the man of, what do you possibly do with this?
20:16What do you do with Kyle Pitts? I mean, Kyle Pitts is going to be on the field for 90% of snaps.
20:23Kyle Pitts is the second best pass catcher on the team.
20:27And Kyle Pitts is 25 years old. I don't know where the confidence is in Tua, but I think it's higher than Pennix.
20:34I don't know if it's higher than where you thought Cousins was last year.
20:38It's probably pretty neutral, maybe a little lower. I just, I find myself in a tough spot like all of us forever.
20:45And we will forever be, I think with Kyle Pitts here.
20:49I mean, he was a monster over the final six weeks.
20:52It's been brought up ad nauseum that Drake London wasn't there.
20:56Yeah. I mean, obviously you do have that built in upside.
20:59They said he looks like he's running better than he's ever been before.
21:04I've seen that a lot. This off season, he looks athletically like kind of the player they drafted.
21:09It has been a problem. It absolutely has. Like we've said, like for years when you're watching Kyle Pitts, where the rookie
21:16year, the touchdowns were disappointing, but to have over a thousand yards as a rookie at the tight end position, that's very impressive.
21:24And then kind of since then, we've been watching him saying, this doesn't look like, that doesn't look like the same player.
21:31So maybe he just had, maybe he had long injuries that just were, they wouldn't clear up.
21:36Maybe they're cleared up, but he is. They paid him a lot.
21:40I'm not drafting him. I'm not either. But I think it's worth noting that he does have built in upside of, should Drake London get injured?
21:48We saw him truly dominate when he became the de facto one.
21:52So we know he can do it. And so there is that kind of built in.
21:57That's not built in with everyone else. Like, like right after him is going Sam Laporta.
22:02If, if Jamison Williams goes down, we've seen the splits.
22:05Laporta is the same with and without Jamison Williams.
22:08However, the guys around him like Laporta, better offense, more expected touchdowns, Tucker Kraft, you know, when we've seen him.
22:15Much higher upside. Much higher upside. Harold Fannin. I'm going to say that a lot.
22:19I'm in on Kyle Pitts. I'm in on Kyle Pitts.
22:23They just paid him a ton of money to stick around.
22:26You need the camera? No, I don't need the camera.
22:29Okay, so you're not really. No, no, no, no, no.
22:33Put the camera on Jason. Oh, what? I'm in on Kyle Pitts.
22:36No, that's me. I'm saying it. I just, I don't want the camera.
22:41I mean, Stefanski has given us success at the tight end position.
22:44No, I'm in. I'm going to, I'm going to wipe the slate clean each and every year.
22:50And I'm looking at the contract, the roster, the offense.
22:53Kyle Pitts is going to be a focal point.
22:56Year six breakout. It's happened before the tight end position.
22:59I don't think that's the quote I'd use. Wait, is this year six?
23:03Yeah. Wow. Crazy. Okay. So let me ask you this, because the next tight end we're talking about here is Sam Laporta.
23:10Wait for the number eight. I was, I was putting it on the tee, Mike.
23:15It's pretty good. You can't give the name. No, wait.
23:18You don't normally reveal before the number, but it's fine.
23:21They're going right next to each other in drafts.
23:24So right now the, the, what I'm seeing seven Oh four, seven Oh six.
23:29They're, they're basically, you're picking one of these two players.
23:32So you are picking Kyle Pitts. Yes. Because you are in uncovered.
23:36So you will take him over Laporta. Okay. I just wanted that established.
23:40Yeah, I will. I think that Kyle Pitts is going to be a focal point of the offense on a regular basis.
23:47So I'm not, I'm not proud of it. I'm not, I wouldn't tell anybody else.
23:52We have them ranked identical. We both have them as our tight end eight.
23:56Obviously last year he was the tight end two.
23:59That's a little bit. Here's a real question for you.
24:02Okay. If you think, I mean, are you, are you just drafting crafting Kittle automatically assuming they'll be fine ahead of Kyle Pitts?
24:10I am not. I believe Mike. Yes. So, you know, are you drafting Fannin automatically ahead of Pitts?
24:15Probably. Yes. I, I, if, if the cost was the same, I would much rather have Fannin.
24:21All right. Sam, Sam Laporta is who we're talking about now.
24:24Um, nobody knows this man better than Jason Moore.
24:27Uh, he's been on his team and a bunch of mocks in a row.
24:32I got him at nine, Mike at eight, Jason at seven.
24:35I mean, Sam Laporta, he's a, he's a great tight end.
24:39He's going to be out there every snap for the most part there.
24:43The team has an incredible schedule. They're favored in 14 of the first 15 games.
24:48They also have a ton of weapons. Jameer Gibbs, Alman Ross St.
24:51Brown, Jamison Williams. There will be, I think games are going to end up with the short game.
24:57Short end of the stick. He can make big plays.
25:00He has a chance of double digit touchdowns, but we have seen, you know, I mean, Laporta is a pretty safe pick.
25:07I think. Yeah. I mean, that's what it is.
25:10I don't see Laporta. Like he can't differentiate himself from the other target monsters at the position.
25:16He's never going to have 140 targets the way that a McBride or Bowers or some of these second year tight ends might get to.
25:24But the touchdown upside is clearly there. He's already had double digit touchdowns in his career as a rookie.
25:30He's on a team that is expected to score a ton of points.
25:34And I think this is just a player where you're going to have consistency when he doesn't score a touchdown.
25:40It's not like he just disappears, but you're going to have a lot of touchdowns.
25:45And if you end up with, let's say nine touchdowns this season, very reasonable for him.
25:50That means there's, I mean, when you're tight in scores, a touchdown every other game, at least that week, you have a good chance of winning.
25:58And so I would rather have a guy who can get in the end zone.
26:03Like I think Laporta has way more touchdown opportunities than Pitts.
26:07Pitts might have more targets, but I'll take the touchdowns at the tight end position personally.
26:12Last year in his nine games, you know, Laporta had four of them were over 10 points.
26:17It like, yeah, I would rather, I would rather hitch my wagon to Laporta.
26:22All right. Number seven. Tucker Craft comes in at number seven.
26:25I got him at five. So that's, I thought this was only Mike's dude.
26:30No, I have him ranked at five. All right.
26:33Team Tucker. Which means he is above Fannin in my rankings and below Bowers, McBride, Loveland and Warren right now.
26:39I do think he'll be there from week one.
26:42I think that, look, I think their offense is interesting top to bottom.
26:46I think you have players that we're excited about.
26:49Christian Watson. Yeah. You know, Jaden Reed getting some talk about some two wide receiver sets.
26:54All the, all the feedback. I know we're bitter towards Matthew Golden, but all the camp talk has been very positive around Matthew Golden.
27:02It's an interesting offense, but craft was kind of what made it go last year.
27:06And I do think he's going to be back and healthy.
27:10He was the tight end two and fancy points per game.
27:13So I don't think ranking him at five is insane.
27:17Um, and this is not a one hit wonder either.
27:20You, you have the breakout from last season. That was a, you know, it was a handful of games where he was
27:27upper echelon top tier, but you go back a season.
27:30This was the tight end nine with 8.1 points per game the year before they already knew what they had in, in
27:37Tucker craft and just built him into the offense a little bit more.
27:41He's a complete bully and man to man coverage.
27:44Um, you know, tore the ACL that's the whole storyline, but I think, I think he's going to be good.
27:50They're favored in their first six games of the year.
27:54It's a nice slate for him to come out and get acclimated.
27:57I'm pretty in on Tucker craft consensus wise. We have him at seven Jason.
28:02You are the most bearish. Yeah. So to speak to that, it's really injury and ADP.
28:07So he's coming off of an injury where the expectation early in the off season was he'll start the season on the pup.
28:14Then as time went on, it got more and more positive.
28:18We've seen him at camp. Now he's looking great.
28:21If he's running straight, he looks amazing. He's running straight.
28:24He's looking great. He, you know, he should be there for week one and Tucker craft straight is enough.
28:30Yeah. Just that's all I need people over a in line, run a seam route and then run line feeling fine.
28:37Well, the nice thing is even with that, you've got you.
28:40You have a lot of bars for TK. You have a lot of plays that the Packers set up like play action
28:47where they kind of leak craft out. You don't have to be cutting these amazing routes to catch the little dump off
28:54in the flat and then just go mow guys down.
28:57It's almost unfair to talk about his points per game because his last game, he got injured and wasn't really involved.
29:04He was 14 points per game in the game, you know, full games that he started on pace for 1139 yards.
29:11So I don't blame either of you guys for just taking the shot, the swing of saying if he is healthy, he is going to.
29:19He was truly dominating. However, for me, like he's going right next to Harold Fannin.
29:24If I wanted to take a tight end, he's healthy and looked great and scored more fantasy points last year.
29:30But he's also going next to other guys at other positions like Jordan Tyson.
29:34Are you saying he scored more than the guy who played in eight games?
29:39Availability is the best ability. Oh my gosh. But Jordan Tyson is right next to him.
29:44Okay. Whatever. People do not like that. Do you think...
29:47He scored more than Tank Dell too. Do you think if Tucker Craft plays 17 games that he definitely scores more points than Harold Fannin?
29:55If Tucker Craft plays a full season, yes, he will score more points than Harold Fannin.
30:00Yeah, the difference in that offense is just going to be pretty large.
30:04I mean, Fannin's going to be great, but you did add a couple more weapons in that offense and our quarterback...
30:11You know, that's the differential to me. The quarterback's the offensive system.
30:15I still love Fannin. That's why he comes in at...
30:18Number six. Harold Fannin, 22 years young. And the tight end five last year in Cleveland with shared time with Njoku, with no wide receivers, with no quarterback.
30:27This is only one of two rookie tight ends to go 70 for 706.
30:31So he is an electric player. Harold Fannin is awesome.
30:35And if they were smart, which it seems like Munkin's going to do...
30:39Oh, yeah! He's going to use Fannin a ton.
30:42So if you want to hedge against injury, these guys are back-to-back in my rankings.
30:46I don't blame you at all. If you have a...
30:50This is where I think for you, where you have a tier of superstars, right?
30:54So you've got McBride, Bowers, you've got Warren and Loveland.
30:58Yes. And that's your core four. That is my core four.
31:01And I can kind of see that where it's like, then you can make some really different decisions with like Fannin and Kraft.
31:09Kittle, if he's healthy to start the year. You can throw Laporta or Pitts into that group.
31:14It becomes more muddy. It becomes more plant your flag on the offense that you like a little bit.
31:20You know, you talked about a reason to like Laporta over Pitts is they're going to score a lot more touchdowns in Detroit than they will in Atlanta.
31:29You can make that... That's part of the Kraft call over Fannin, I think, is that I think Green Bay is going
31:36to be a great offense on a great, you know, great team.
31:40I think Cleveland is going to be better than people expect, but offensively not a top, you know, 20 team.
31:46None of us picked them to be the team to score 13 more touchdowns this year.
31:51I did think about it. I mean, they improved their offensive line in the draft.
31:56They've got, you know, an offensive minded head coach now and...
32:00Some good rookie wide receivers. Yeah, I think that they could be a surprisingly, you know, much better offense.
32:06To me, Fannin is the one player I am very fearful of getting wrong because I'm pretty much out on sixth round tight ends.
32:13So like if... And that's what it is for me.
32:16Because I don't have Kraft and Fannin in the tier of the elites, I don't think they are...
32:22Do I think they're better than the other tight ends I'm going to get later?
32:27Absolutely. But I think it's a point a game.
32:30I think it's irrelevant for winning and losing in fantasy.
32:33This was one of my 10 things to remember is that the difference between the tight end two last year and the
32:40tight end 12 was pretty meaningless last year. And so if you're not one of the elites, I would rather have a
32:47fifth round, a sixth round, a seventh round pick of the running backs and wide receivers there, take the shot of those guys.
32:54But Fannin, what he did in college was so productive.
32:58And then to come in rookie year and be that productive is like, oh, maybe he is just that dude.
33:04But on the offense... Can he finish top three?
33:07No. No, I don't think so. No, and I'm...
33:10The argument against Fannin is just the Cleveland Browns.
33:13Like I'm with you guys of... He is an awesome player.
33:16But looking at the competition for Harold Fannin last year was Jerry Judy.
33:20I know he had to, you know, he had to overtake David Njoku, but it's like Judy had a 20% target share.
33:27The next highest wide receiver target share would have been Cedric Tillman, or I'm sorry, Isaiah Bond at 8%, and then Tillman.
33:34Njoku's at 9%. So it's like these, a first round wide receiver, a second round wide receiver.
33:40It's... Let me give you the counter argument there.
33:43It's the pie. Cardinals. Okay. The Cardinals have Michael Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr.
33:47as part of that offense, but Trey McBride is the bonafide number one guaranteed target in that offense.
33:53Yes. I wonder if... Because when I see Fannin, the part I'm worried about getting wrong is that this guy could lead
34:00the league in receptions at tight end. That's my worry is...
34:03Not impossible. From a quantity... I mean, he had 107 targets last year as a rookie.
34:08That's the part I'm worried about getting wrong is that he is the PPR winner of the year.
34:14It's actually better than the 107 targets. If you look at when Shadur took over in week 12 and you take out
34:21the injury game at the very end of the season, he was on pace for 142 targets with Shadur.
34:27So... And McBride, like those guys don't take away from McBride leading the league in receptions at tight end.
34:33Yeah. So rookies are not going to do that.
34:36I'm saying it's... These are... But these are unknowns.
34:39Yeah, for sure. Where it's like Marv and Michael Wilson, there's some unknown about them of where they could end up this
34:46year, but we have no idea how Concepcion and Boston are going to factor into taking away from the target.
34:52If those... Is there any chance he has fewer than 100 targets on this offense though?
34:57I don't think so. I don't think so. Okay.
35:00So at least that's built in as a floor for Harold Fannin, I think.
35:05Yeah. I mean, I love Harold Fannin. When I say I'm not drafting him, it's really just draft price.
35:11If he was in the ninth round and I'm giving up a mediocre sixth, I believe, right now.
35:16Okay. Yeah, that'll be a tough decision, I think, for where people want to tier him mentally because of the Brown situation.
35:23And I'm curious. I'm going to have Kyle pull some data on top three tight ends over the last decade or so.
35:30And how many of them are on sub-500 teams?
35:33Because I'm very curious about that. So I'll give you that information shortly.
35:37Number five. Well, I can tell you, last year he was on a sub-500 team in Trey McBride.
35:43You're talking about the number one type. Yeah. Yep.
35:46George Kittle. Come on, George! Comes in at five.
35:49We all got him right there. Mike at five.
35:52We're at six. This one's been evolving. It's going to continue to evolve over the course of this month.
35:58Major injury. Not a spring chicken. George Kittle almost 33 years old.
36:02Also not as old as Travis Kelsey by any stretch.
36:05And, you know, the touchdowns with Brock Purdy have been there.
36:08That was an early career situation with Kittle where you're like, he's going to catch a bunch of passes.
36:14He can make a big play, but he's probably going to end up with five or six touchdowns.
36:20He's got higher upside now in this offense. And for goodness sakes, they don't have any wide receivers that are healthy.
36:27No, George Kittle is the entire, the entirety of the bet for George Kittle is, is health.
36:32And so it's like, there is no, there is no doubts of, of how dominant George Kittle can be for, for the NFL, for fantasy football.
36:41You know, his, his rookie year wasn't great. Five point seven points per game.
36:45But since then his lowest is 10.7. That's huge.
36:48Like he's, he's a double digit point machine at the tight end position.
36:52And I, and things like the ceiling that the connection he has with Brock Purdy, it raises the stakes even more in, in my opinion.
37:00So everything is just, do you think George could be healthy?
37:04We have him at five, which is way above market.
37:07And like my bet is a season long bet.
37:10It, I think it starts slower for George Kittle, but he, over the course of the season, I think he returns to
37:17form and becomes the true dominator that, that, that we have seen every year.
37:21And it's tight end 10. So if, if you want to protect yourself, you know, if you want to take George Kittle
37:28and then Dallas Goddard or one of the, you know, like likely or Kelsey or, or, or, or even Travis Kelsey.
37:35Cause Kelsey will give you a floor. And that's a draft strategy that is plausible taking Kittle in the ninth or 10th
37:42round and then coming back and taking Travis Kelsey.
37:45It's, I think it's an interesting strategy for this year.
37:48The splits with Brock Purdy over four years. If you spread them out over a season, it would be 81 catches on
37:55106 targets for 1145 yards and 11 touchdowns. That has been the, you know, that's much better than a splits with a different quarterback in San Francisco.
38:04Now, Mike, you did read the tea leaves on CMC's health last year.
38:08Yeah. Would you mind letting us know the exact, it's pretty important situation for George.
38:13I actually would mind. Oh, you would. Yeah. I thought we were going to get the answer.
38:18I know I am. I am much more worried about the injury.
38:22My, my ranking says how I, your ranking says you believe he's going to be there for, for 17 pretty darn healthy games.
38:29I do think second half of the year, he might be good.
38:33He's a human. And while he's unbelievable, he's 33.
38:36He's not Jason. He's a dog. He's a dog.
38:39He's 33 years. He's a man. He's not a human.
38:42He's a man. Old for a football player coming off of a very difficult injury.
38:47And I know it was a better version. Like the, you know, we keep hearing like, oh, it's the Achilles tore at the right spot.
38:55It's like, well, there's no good spot for the Achilles to tear.
38:58There's worse spots. There are worse spots, but he still tore his Achilles and is coming back.
39:04The last video that I saw of him, he's out on the sideline.
39:08He's, he's working, but he looks to me like he's a ways away.
39:12So I'm, I'm a little bit more skeptical that you will like holding onto him for the first half of the year.
39:19All right. We'll take a break and come back with our top four and some sleeper picks.
39:25All right. I do have that information for you before we move on to our top four, which we'll, we'll probably get through them pretty quick.
39:33You guys know the names top three tight ends over the last five years, six of 15 were sub 500 teams.
39:40So it does lower your odds. Certainly you want to be around the end zone, right?
39:45Um, just, I was curious about that. You know, Bowers McBride twice.
39:49Some of that's tough because like Travis Kelsey is every year, you know, pretty much over the last decade, been in the top three.
39:56And he's always going to be on a winning team prior to this year.
40:01Um, I think it's like the, you're either a dominant player at the tight end position, which there's very few of those.
40:08If you're talking, uh, guys who are getting it done in the passing game, the guys who can rise are that's the offense is going to carry them.
40:17Yep. Makes sense. Number four, Tyler Warren comes in at number four.
40:21Uh, Jason just talked extensively about Tyler Warren on our fire and ice episode.
40:25Um, but the TLDR of that is great. It was a great rookie season when Daniel Jones was healthy focal point of the offense.
40:33You lose Michael Pittman beneficiary of those low or, you know, the intermediate targets that Pittman was great at.
40:39And, you know, Alec Pierce, Josh Downs on the outside, you know, Downs is unproven out there.
40:44They want to try him out, give him more opportunities.
40:47Pierce got paid all that money, but he's been a deep threat most of his career.
40:52Warren's going to soak up the middle of the field benefit from Jonathan Taylor pulling up defenses.
40:58So I think we're all very comfortable with Tyler Warren.
41:01Jason's got him at three. Mike and I have four.
41:04That's the only difference. Jason has him ahead of Loveland and we have him behind.
41:09Meaning number three. Number three. Mr. Loveland. It is Mr.
41:12Loveland. Um, 22 years old. Mike and I have him at three.
41:16Jason had four. Finished 11 last year. Came on like gangbusters at the end of the season.
41:21Uh, a chess piece for Ben Johnson in line 56% of the time, but then in the slot 22% of the time
41:28out wide completely 18% of the time. You know, the debates around burden or doing say how valuable are they?
41:35We know Loveland is going to be a focal point.
41:38Yeah. The quote that we have gotten recently and I don't, I don't have this.
41:43Well, it's from an ESPN article. Okay. From ESPN was that Loveland is the son of the bears solar system of receivers.
41:50And that feels like kind of how we anticipate this going.
41:53Um, we, we have the fight of, I love Rome.
41:57You love burden. And I, I've, I've certainly warmed more and more on burden.
42:01I still don't like his draft price, but, um, that's all right.
42:05We universally come to the same agreement. That is the best weapon on this team.
42:10And I think the, I personally have it now as the target leader for this team is Colson Loveland.
42:16The issue is that there are other really good targets.
42:19So if, if Caleb is throwing for sub 4,000 yards and you have three really good options, is the consistency going to be there for Loveland?
42:27And if, oh, Luther burden went off for these four games and, and Rome went off for these three games or whatever.
42:34Um, will we be disappointed in the price of Loveland because of those weapons?
42:39That's my only concern. Cause I think the tape showed and the playoffs showed that he can be a dominant top end force.
42:46Yeah. I think the interesting thing is looking at the, the final three weeks of the year in the playoffs when he
42:53was really a part of the offense, seeing that playoff target share at 28% in an offense that had DJ more at 17% at the time.
43:01I feel like there'll be plenty of weekly upside combined with, I think a good floor for Colson Loveland.
43:07That's why I have him ahead of war. And I just liked that offensive system better.
43:12Um, yeah, I would expect both are good. I would expect the bears just to outscore the Colts.
43:18I mean, when we were preparing for the show and going through our UDK stats and we were looking because free rankings
43:25kind of disagreed with the UDK rankings because one is done by stat projections.
43:30One is just done by linear rank. And we took a look at these two guys, Loveland and Warren.
43:36I don't even know if you know this Andy, cause it was Mike and I looking at it.
43:42I probably don't then. We were almost identical. I mean, the points between Loveland and Warren for all three of us are
43:49like flip a coin as far as total fantasy value.
43:52I do think it's a one round difference. Yeah.
43:55I mean, that's why I like Warren more. It's cheaper.
43:58And I think his floor might be higher, but when we're trying to win his championship, the ceiling is higher on 100%.
44:05Like if both of these guys go off this year, Loveland will be the winner.
44:10I think about it the exact same way. I think Warren is probably a, a safer pick for like, this is going
44:17to be a top five, a tight end. It's just, if, if Loveland hits the way that the, the, all the chatter
44:24is from this, the, from training camp of the off season, he was the number 10 overall pick.
44:29You know, we have the, the anecdotes of phones were ringing off the hook during the NFL draft.
44:35Colston Loveland gets drafted by the bears, which was a little bit of a surprise per the mock drafters.
44:41And then all of a sudden the phone stopped ringing because people were trying to move up to go get Loveland.
44:48He is, I think he will be the focal part of the bears offense.
44:52And then the ceiling is, he's a more athletically gifted player than Warren is.
44:57And Warren's very good. It's just, Loveland is just much more of them.
45:01If you want to break away touchdown, that's not going to be Warren.
45:05Warren's going to break some tackles and get you 20 yards on a cool catch.
45:10Loveland's going to take it to the house. The, the, the, the, the, the chance of Loveland usurping Brock Bowers as the
45:17number one tight end at the end of this season to me is much higher than Warren.
45:22Yeah. I think that's a good way to put it.
45:26Um, what number two? Nope. No more. Let's go to the next floor.
45:30Trey McBride. Did you, if you want to, I can talk Loveland all day.
45:34I was, I was just going to bring up the negative quote of the, the fact that, uh, he's been seen as
45:41a dynamic pass catcher, but he is rapidly improving as a blocker.
45:45And that's, is that scary for fantasy? No. Because you know who's a great blocker?
45:50George Kittle. I got, I think there is some value to, uh, we love our, our tight ends that aren't, you know, the Jimmy Grahams.
45:58They don't actually play the tight end position. They play wide receiver, but there is definitely value of the, I'm in line.
46:05I'm looking like I'm going to block, but I'm just a chip.
46:09And then I leak out for the play action and then hit a big play.
46:13Number two. You sound like strong fat. You're checking out the emails.
46:17Oh. Is that a homestuck? Trey McBride comes in at number two.
46:21Is that disrespectful? This was the first tight end in history to have a hundred plus catches in back-to-back seasons.
46:27He has Jacoby Brissett fresh off of that sweet $15 million check.
46:31They're writing him. Completely, uh, dominant last year with Brissett.
46:34Number one overall fantasy tight end. And yet he comes in at two at our consensus rankings.
46:40That is not an insult to Trey McBride. That is simply a belief in Brock Bowers.
46:45Trey McBride. They're the only negative thing you could possibly say about his outlook is that it is somewhat probable that during
46:52the fantasy playoffs, he has a third round rookie quarterback slinging him the ball.
46:56That's the only fear I have. I mean, Trey McBride is the leader of this offense.
47:02You know, the questions of Will, is Marv good?
47:04Did the Michael Wilson? All that's irrelevant. Those guys are so far behind in the pecking order of McBride.
47:11The offense runs through him. Um, he will be awesome again.
47:14Much better play caller. You know, you talk about the, you know, the situation for Arizona.
47:19Um, I would trust LaFleur to do more with his best player.
47:23Arizona had a ton of yards last year because the defense was bad and the defense is just as bad this year.
47:30But they didn't score a lot of points when you, when you look at like total team scoring, when we were, you
47:37know, looking at who's going to take that jump, they have room to, to really grow.
47:42And you add, uh, love, you know, in the backfield.
47:45Yeah. Is that a positive or a negative? I think it's a positive.
47:49I think having a better offense is always just good.
47:53They just, they had nothing at the running back position last year.
47:56That's why they, their pass rate was so extremely high.
48:00And like, they were running so many plays. Uh, we brought up the stat, uh, earlier of like, he essentially ran multiple
48:07games, multiple games worth more of snaps. Uh, Kyle, correct me if I'm wrong.
48:11I think the most snaps, uh, or most routes run for a tight end ever in the history of the NFL is just those things.
48:19Jacoby Brissett was on pace for 685 passing. Yeah, which is an outrageous number that has to come down.
48:25Number one. It is Brock Bowers coming in at number one, the most talented tight end up there in football with the
48:32fact that he's the clear number one target with Clint Kubiak who called him a football robot from heaven.
48:38What's better? Being the son of the solar system.
48:41Well, heaven is much better. Or a football, but you're a robot.
48:45But you're from heaven. Uh, you know, heaven is above the sun and the stars.
48:50So, I mean, it's clearly, clearly Brock Bowers is better here.
48:53You want, you want to know something? Remember we were having the debate about Gandalf versus, uh, Dumbledore?
48:59Dumbledore? Mm-hmm. I didn't, I talked to somebody with knowledge of the Lord of the Rings universe.
49:04Oh. Gandalf is part angel. I am unaware of this.
49:08This is what they told me. This is. Now, if I'm quoting it, they said from, I think it's in the.
49:14Get Colbert on the phone. Do you know that book?
49:18Talks about that. I think he's. Interesting. It was spitballers.
49:21We were talking about this on spitballers. Um. Hmm.
49:24But when you said heaven, it reminded me of, I wanted to let you guys know I'd done some research.
49:30Yeah. Well, that's. By talking to a stranger. We appreciate that.
49:33You know, we're, we're looking at these top four elite tight ends.
49:37And, and, you know, my argument for Warren is that Downs and Alec Pierce are not as good as the weapons there.
49:44You know, all of these other three guys have at least capable receivers on the roster who might break out.
49:51Marv might break out. Rome might break out. Burden might break out.
49:55Alec Pierce might break out. There ain't none here, brother.
49:58How dare you? No one on the Raiders. They gave Naylor a bunch of money.
50:02Naylor. He has the same risk that McBride has, though, that you mentioned.
50:07Well, it's. Which is that. It's not a third round quarterback.
50:10No, it's not a third round rookie. It's the first overall pick.
50:14It's the first overall pick. But the same risk of quarterback change at the back half of the year.
50:20You would assume it will happen. It's very rare in this day and age for the number one overall pick to not get in.
50:28But that is enough of a difference to me.
50:31Carson Beck versus Mendoza to where, you know, and, you know, Clint Kubiak.
50:35He was. LaFleur might be a good. You know, they're both offensive minded head coaches.
50:40But Kubiak was the prize of this offseason. What's crazy is that this, you know, may seem really obvious to be like,
50:47OK, one, two is McBride and Bowers in some order.
50:50The truth is you're going to put them in the order that you believe.
50:54But they're going directly back to back in drafts.
50:57So this is a like you do have to just pull the trigger on one.
51:02Like if you're if you're going to be there at 205 or 203 or whatever, wherever you're at, you're sacrificing, obviously, a
51:09very high quality wide receiver running back. And you have to make the call here and you don't want to get it
51:16wrong because you're investing so much into a fantasy tight end.
51:19So is it is it possible to get this pick wrong?
51:23Really? No. I mean, injury will get it wrong with.
51:26Oh, you're saying between the two. I think you're going to be.
51:30Can you really get that wrong? So I think you could get it wrong where you will have regrets.
51:36And the only way that you get that wrong outside of injury on the regret front is that what Bowers does is truly break, you know, the position.
51:45I think that is in the range of outcomes last year.
51:48That's in the range of outcomes. That's the funny part.
51:52Yeah. It's like he did it. What did what did what did McBride score last year on?
51:57What was his? He was 15. He was. Four or five points better than the tight end, too.
52:03Yeah. So that's the part where it's hard for me to be like, you know, the Raiders were what?
52:09Dead last in the NFL and touchdown scored. Correct.
52:12And so now you're bringing in Kirk Cousins. I don't I don't.
52:16That's the part where I have more confidence in the in the connection between like I'm going to I'm going to switch these two.
52:23You're moving. I'm sure. All right. I'm sure they're basically.
52:26Yeah, there's three points apart in my rankings. But out of respect for that connection already built, I'm going to make that tweak.
52:34OK, so I mean, I will say right now McBride is going ahead in ADP.
52:39By exactly one pick. Yeah. I mean, that's that's what Andy's doing right here.
52:43He's saying if I'm on the clock, I'm taking.
52:46I'm going to take McBride. And I look at the end of the year.
52:50I think the Cardinals score more touchdowns than the Raiders do.
52:54So, I mean, I think that's good. And now repeating 11 touchdowns.
52:58Is it hard? Yeah. Is he going to do it?
53:01Probably. He'll probably do it. Bowers might do it, too.
53:04These guys are going to be it's going to be a narrow, very close situation.
53:09But it's it's tough. I know you are the most like in the Brock Bowers you've ever been, you know, in terms
53:16of like looking at him as the bona fide number one overall at the position.
53:21Yeah. I mean, it's tough. They're both great players.
53:24I don't I don't think that there's a bad pick here.
53:27And I will say that I would have been wide receiver for last year, by the way.
53:32My strategy this year is get an elite tight end.
53:36And that means only these four. And perhaps even if you want to take the strategy to just like we know Bowers
53:43and McBride are going to be dominant. Warren and Loveland are projections.
53:46You're hoping now they're a little cheaper, but they still cost a lot in drafts.
53:51If you wanted to take the strategy of it's just Bowers and McBride or else punt like I'm I'm fine with that as well.
53:59Bowers and McBride are both. Isn't this around Josh Allen category?
54:02I mean, could yeah. Won't this be your decision between if you're going to go onesie, you go Josh Allen or you go Bowers McBride?
54:10Probably. How do you view that in terms of advantage for your team, Mike?
54:15I I lean the tight end spot of getting one of those two guys.
54:19It's not a lack of confidence in Josh Allen.
54:22It's just a you know, finding quarterback production is you've got guys you like.
54:27It's just easier and and more predictable on a week to week basis than you streaming a quarterback.
54:32Um, if depending on your league and how they handle the waiver wire.
54:37But in terms of just the process of identifying the quarterback that should have a good week compared to the tight end, it's it's easier on the quarterback.
54:46Yeah. So I mean, we started this episode talking about Travis Kelsey.
54:49He's our 10th ranked tight end. And so if you're going to take one late and one early, the difference between Travis
54:56Kelsey is like the tight end 10 versus, you know, Trevor Lawrence right now.
55:01ADP was is the quarterback 10. It's like, is Travis Kelsey does Travis Kelsey have a chance to be another like absolute difference maker at the position?
55:09Probably not. Does does Trevor Lawrence? Sure. Probably does Dak.
55:13Does Jackson Dart? Those guys. Those are all those guys.
55:16Tyler Shuck. Yeah. Bone Knicks. Um, sleeper tight end you're interested in because this is, you know, we have our top 10
55:23by consensus, but throwing out a sleeper tight end for me, it's Goddard.
55:27I've brought him up a couple of times. Um, whenever AJ Brown or Devante Smith is this time, he's been a huge beneficiary on the offense.
55:35AJ Brown is gone. He's going to miss some time for the high lemon has had two hamstring injuries.
55:41We don't right now. It looks like Don Tavian Wicks is the second man up, which to me makes Dallas Goddard the
55:48wide receiver to Eli Stowers has done nothing. He's he's been buried on the depth chart so far in, in camp.
55:55So I, I, I like that him to get it together.
55:59I agree. Uh, mine is the guy I took in our last mock draft, Dalton Kincaid.
56:04The team picked up his fifth year option. He was first round pick.
56:08He was literally the best in the entire league at tight end at, um, sorry, yards per route run.
56:14The problem was he wasn't healthy. He only ran 15 rounds.
56:17How's he doing right now? Very healthy. There was a, uh, a miniature scare where it was like, oh, he, yeah, he went, yeah, he went down.
56:26And so he was interviewed afterwards about like what happened.
56:29I was like, was this the knee again? It was like, no, he got, he got it in the family jewels.
56:36Yeah. Shout out. Yeah. Not enough. Referencing the family jewels.
56:39I feel like I haven't heard that since like early Simpsons, but currently very healthy.
56:44And obviously having Josh Allen as your quarterback doesn't hurt.
56:47And I'm going as I like to do the Senator with the tight end position.
56:52Oh, Jason guys. Like if Benson, it happens where the show, we're just, we're going to close it down.
56:58Don't worry about good news. We ain't going nowhere.
57:01Just saying. Uh, no, I'm going with a, you know, we've talked about a, you need a tight end who can become
57:08the number two or the number one option. The Miami dolphins.
57:11It's gross down there. Uh, Andy is a big believer in Malik Willis.
57:15I'm more on your side of, I think that he is a, uh, more likely to be a good quarterback than not.
57:22Who's the number one option there? I guess it's Malik Washington right now, just de facto, but Greg Dulcich is there.
57:29His, you know, the, the nerd stats, the yards per route run pretty good.
57:342.38, not a huge sample size for him. He's had his moments as a, as an NFL.
57:39He's had moments and he has the, uh, the, he has the athletic profile that we want it.
57:45When you're, when you're just taking a, a random shot at the tight end position, athleticism matters.
57:50This isn't like, you know, like guys at running back and wide receiver, they can be slower.
57:56It's just, it can happen, but, but an athletic tight end, they are more likely to break through.
58:01He could end up as the number one target for this offense.
58:05That doesn't mean I'm saying top five or anything, but it's a player who is right now undrafted that I think he,
58:12like he could be a sneaky top 12 guy at the end of the year.
58:17There's always, there's always nasty tight ends that, that sneak in there.
58:21Yeah. And this is also something where, look, if you might not get drafted, you probably won't get drafted in your league,
58:28but when you're looking at what happens and you get a sign in week one or two, week one, eight targets show up.
58:35Right. And even if he doesn't catch them all or doesn't get in the end zone, look for, I love looking for
58:42tight ends through the target lens when you're looking at the free agency.
58:46Yeah. See who's getting action. Fannin was there last year on the waiver wire this year.
58:52I mean, Isaiah likely might be that. Chig might be there.
58:55Or Sadiq or somebody. Yeah, Sadiq. There's a lot of options.
58:59All right. That'll do it for today's episode. Mock draft episode tomorrow.
59:02And then we'll resume rankings episodes as well. Footclanggiveaway.com for that signed Bijan Robinson jersey.
59:07If you want to check that out in the ultimate draft kit is ultimate draft kit.com.
59:12Thank you for tuning in foot clan. Thank you for coming along for the ride.
59:17It's going to be a fun August because Carson Beck is starting tomorrow guys.
59:22Oh boy. Here we go. Goodbye. Thank you for listening to another episode of the fantasy footballers podcast.
59:27Join our fantasy football community on join the foot.com and follow us on Twitter at the FF ballers.

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