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STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this video and kept the full transcript here for context.
51 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
No date
Published
23
Player insights
22
Players mentioned
Topics
Emari DemercadoAdonai MitchellAntonio WilliamsBucky IrvingChris GodwinCourtland SuttonDalton SchultzDemond ClaiborneJa'Kobi LaneJalen McMillanJavonte WilliamsJordan MasonJosh JacobsKayshon Boutte
Player analysis
Player insights
Adonai Mitchell
PositiveSleeper5:47
Adonai Mitchell is an ideal bench stash and high-upside flex target with a locked-in WR2 role. Despite being mistake-prone, he possesses elite athleticism and draft capital, making him a strong value in the 15th round with an ADP outside the top 70. He is expected to have a hot start and can flip matchups with spike weeks; Kenneth Gai notes he is well-known among fantasy managers compared to deeper sleepers.
Insight pageAntonio Williams
PositiveBreakout29:17
Antonio Williams has been a consistent 'drumbeat guy' throughout Commanders training camp, impressing coaches and teammates. Despite the Stefon Diggs signing, Williams has a clear path to a slot role in three-receiver sets. Kenneth Gai notes that with both Terry McLaurin and Diggs over 30, there is potential for more routes, snaps, and targets than currently projected. Williams is considered a high-upside dynasty pickup who has become significantly cheaper since rookie drafts, with Mike Renner comparing his talent to Ladd McConkey.
Insight pageBucky Irving
PositiveValue4:59
Bucky Irving is considered a superior draft target to MarShawn Lloyd in most fantasy formats, despite the presence of Kenneth Gainwell in the backfield.
Insight pageChris Godwin
NegativeUsage26:51
Kenneth Gai notes that while Chris Godwin is in store for a strong role, he is now 30 years old and has a history of missing time due to injury, raising concerns about his ability to remain healthy throughout the season.
Insight pageCourtland Sutton
NegativeRole38:02
While Courtland Sutton performed well in the preseason, his role is under threat from Pat Bryant. Sutton is aging, and Kenneth Gai notes that Bryant could potentially overtake him as the team's number two receiver, especially if Sutton faces injury or age-related decline.
Insight pageDalton Schultz
NegativeUsage57:01
Dalton Schultz is identified as the likely second-leading target earner for his team, serving as a reliable benchmark for the passing hierarchy.
Insight pageDemond Claiborne
NegativeSleeper22:04
Demond Claiborne is a high-upside, zero-risk flyer currently drafted outside the top 70 RBs (RB73). He has received praise from beat reporters and Aaron Jones, who compared him to Jahmyr Gibbs. He is viewed as a potential lightning-role player who could see an immediate and growing role if the veterans ahead of him falter.
Insight pageEmari Demercado
NegativeDepth Chart13:58
Emari Demercado remains a relevant factor in the backfield depth chart as the primary competition for the backup running back role. The coaching staff has not handed the job to anyone easily, making him a hurdle for any incoming fifth-round picks.
Insight pageNegativeDepth Chart30:36
Amari Demercado has been signed by the Dallas Cowboys and is viewed as a potential committee partner for Malik Davis should the starter miss time.
Insight pageJa'Kobi Lane
PositiveBreakout9:27
Jacobi Lane is a 6'5" red zone threat and summer riser for Baltimore expected to overtake Rashod Bateman for the WR2/3 role. As a high-pedigree day-two pick, he fits a specific goal-line need in a potentially pass-happy offense; he is currently undervalued at WR58 on Underdog.
Insight pageJalen McMillan
PositiveBreakout25:50
Kenneth Gai identifies Jaylen McMillan (WR68 on Underdog) as an underrated sleeper and prime waiver wire target. Despite a training camp injury, he is expected to play and has strong familiarity with Baker Mayfield. His potential for increased usage is tied to the injury status or age-related decline of Chris Godwin and Ameca Egbuka, building on his rookie-year finish as the WR19 from Weeks 14-18.
Insight pageJavonte Williams
NegativeProjection17:32
Kenneth Gai is skeptical of Javonte Williams repeating his high-volume 2023 season, citing inefficiency as a pass catcher and the difficulty of sustaining career-high volume in consecutive years. Williams is viewed as potentially maxed out as a two-down back, despite his current high-usage role in the Dallas offense.
Insight pageJordan Mason
PositiveRole36:44
Jordan Mason is a sleeper candidate in an ambiguous backfield, but Kenneth Gai expresses skepticism regarding his long-term viability, noting that he has not demonstrated the necessary production throughout his career to warrant high confidence.
Insight pageJosh Jacobs
NegativeUsage0:20
Josh Jacobs is currently on the commissioner's exempt list, creating significant uncertainty for his 2024 workload; potential suspension could last up to six games.
Insight pageKayshon Boutte
PositiveSleeper57:31
Kayshon Boutte is a deep sleeper and bench stash who could see a career-high snap share in Houston. He is positioned to potentially challenge Dalton Schultz for the number two target role and fill the void left by Jayden Higgins' injury, building on consistent usage with Drake Maye at the end of the 2024 season.
Insight pageKenneth Walker III
NegativeUsage13:25
Kenneth Walker is the primary early-down back, but his high ADP is suppressing the market for his backups. While he has been durable, his injury history from 2022 and 2023 makes his contingency role significant. The team aims to diversify the backfield and potentially utilize a more traditional third-down back.
Insight pageMalik Davis
PositiveSleeper17:14
Kenneth Gai recommends prioritizing Malik Davis as a high-end handcuff and waiver wire target. Davis is praised by Dallas coaches for his pass-blocking ability and, following the release of Jayden Blue and Phil Mafah, is the clear backup in a high-quality offense. He is expected to step into an early-down role if the starter misses time.
Insight pageMark Andrews
NegativeProjection10:41
Despite expectations for a bounce-back year, there are concerns that Mark Andrews may be 'cooked' and starting to regress due to age, potentially opening up red zone opportunities for teammates like Jacobi Lane.
Insight pageMarShawn Lloyd
PositiveRole2:38
MarShawn Lloyd is viewed as an explosive back who should handle high-value touches in Green Bay's offense. Pat Dougherty projects a baseline of 10-12 touches per game, though he remains cautious due to Lloyd's two-year absence from play, placing him in the 'Kenneth Gainwell zone' of RB30s. Conversely, Theo Gremminger is bullish, suggesting Lloyd could see Aaron Jones-style usage in the LaFleur offense, noting the organization's patience with developing injured players. He is recommended as a 6th or 7th-round target.
Insight pagePat Bryant
PositiveSleeper38:50
Pat Bryant is a high-upside sleeper who has received consistent praise and hype since last summer. Sean Payton has compared him to Michael Thomas, and the coaching staff values his clutch performance in big moments. Bryant has a legitimate chance to overtake the aging Courtland Sutton as the Broncos' number two receiver.
Insight pageRashod Bateman
NegativeDepth Chart10:06
Rashod Bateman is expected to be overtaken by rookie Jacobi Lane for the wide receiver role in the Baltimore offense early in the season.
Insight pageStefon Diggs
NegativeUsage29:12
Kenneth Gai suggests the Commanders may ration Stefon Diggs' snaps to keep him fresh, similar to his usage with the Patriots last season. This approach could open up more opportunities for other receivers like Antonio Williams.
Insight pageTroy Franklin
NegativeDepth Chart38:34
Troy Franklin is currently the number four wide receiver in the Denver offense; despite the team's previous efforts to establish him as the primary wide receiver, he has fallen down the depth chart.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00Breaking down deep fantasy football sleepers you need to know before week one of the NFL season. Theo Gremminger, lead fantasy analyst right here at
0:07RotoWire. Joined today by Pat Dougherty of NBC Sports. This is the first time I've had Pat on a show. I've been aware
0:15of Pat for a long time, but I haven't had him on a podcast, so excited about this one. Pat, we're going to dive into
0:20a bunch of these sleepers, but we've had the massive news dump over the seas over the weekend. Josh Jacobs on the
0:26commissioner's exempt list, and people are sort of trying to figure out where to put Marshawn Lloyd and then a couple of these other running backs like Caleb
0:34Johnson and Chris Brooks in their rankings.
0:37Commissioner's exempt list, it could be a death sentence, it could be six games.
0:41It feels more like the longer one when it comes to Jacobs based on the timing and potential severity seems pretty highly likely. Where are you putting
0:52Marshawn Lloyd in the hierarchy of running backs? Is he officially in the dead zone? Is he in the bottom of the
0:58dead zone? Where is he at sort of for you?
1:01And when we've had a couple of days to sort of think about this one.
1:04>> First off, not to immediately sidetrack us, but great to finally be podcasting.
1:08But I'd say a really rare Roto World Roto Wire meeting of the minds. You know, I don't think I've ever been on a
1:13Roto Wire show. You know, we're friendly competitors, but uh >> Well, we both compete for the name we both compete for the name Roto.
1:21>> They're not just Roto, Roto W.
1:22>> Yeah, that's right. So, if you put it in the old Google, there's going to be some some competition in the SEO for sure.
1:28>> But so much respect for Roto Wire. Thank you for having me.
1:32Marshawn Lloyd, it makes I I can't even decide if Josh Jacobs landing on the exempt list makes Lloyd more vexing or
1:40less vexing. Less vexing in that we were pretty sure before the suspension he was going to be getting work and like steady
1:48like enough work to be 12 team league relevant. We just weren't entirely positive. Now we know for sure like a workload of some magnitude is coming. I
1:58think it's still you got to set the baseline modestly, I think 10 to 12 touches, but I think he's in the dead
2:05zone. I think in particular, he's in like the Kenneth Gainwell zone. Does that make sense to you? Like I view him
2:12as kind of like a similar guy where we know we're not getting like a bell cow workload, but we do know we're going to
2:19hopefully get some high value touches.
2:22Unlike with Kenneth Gainwell, we're hoping for some really explosive plays from MarShawn Lloyd.
2:27MarShawn Lloyd, everyone who like listens to me or reads my stuff knows I'm kind of always a conservative drafter. In managed leagues where I'm
2:35not playing like a large field tournament, he's unfortunately the kind of guy where I think someone's always going to be higher on him than me. I say
2:42unfortunately cuz I really believe in the upside. How could you not believe in the upside?
2:47But I tend to focus like more than other people in the downside and a guy, you know, just hasn't played for 2 years.
2:53There's a lot of risk there. But I don't know if he falls like that Kenneth Gainwell zone, then maybe I'm taking the
3:00upside flyer. I think though he's going to probably be going higher than that.
3:03Kenneth Gainwell is more like the back end of the RB 30s. He's going to probably be going the high end RB 30s,
3:09is he not at this point? Ahead of Tony Pollard, Rico Dowdle, maybe. And that would probably be too rich for me.
3:15If he falls, I'm getting very excited, but I doubt that he's going to be falling at this point cuz why would he?
3:20>> Yeah, I mean, I think it's an interesting take and I'm I'm definitely more bullish on Lloyd than you are. I
3:26think that the 10 to 12 touches seems kind of like the floor and and I think that it's the receiving upside that he
3:32has where could we see some Aaron Jones type usage for him where we saw how successful Jones was in that offense
3:40under LaFleur years ago. They've been waiting for MarShawn Lloyd and I think it's a organization that has patience when it comes to injuries. We saw it
3:48with Christian Watson where Watson goes down, they stick by him, Uh they they renegotiate the contract and then they give him this huge extension. Lloyd, it
3:56feels like it maybe it could be that similar version. Is he going to have the same sort of volume that we saw for
4:01Jacobs in 2024 and 2025? Absolutely not.
4:04I think there's potential value for a guy like Chris Brooks absorbing um potential I don't know 10 touches a game, eight to 10. Um but I think
4:12Lloyd's going to get the high value ones. He's really explosive. He's got the very cool nickname, don't underestimate the Yeat Cannon. Everyone
4:19is calling him the Yeat Cannon. And and and Lloyd I think deserves to be closer to the Brecial Tueton range of guys um
4:28based on, you know, when we talk about the question marks with the offense, we love the play caller in Green Bay, the
4:34opportunity for Lloyd and even without Jacobs, it's an offense that we still expect to score a lot of points. With some of the other guys going in that
4:41range, you mentioned like the Rico Dowdle, Jaylen Warren, those guys are in a potential ugly split. Um we talked about Cam Akers going ahead of him. Um
4:49now we're sort of thinking maybe there's a little tension with him and Harbaugh.
4:53So, when we start picking apart a lot of these running backs, David Montgomery, the Woody Marks threat, um and then you mentioned Kenneth Gainwell,
5:00Bucky Irving should probably go ahead of Lloyd in most of these drafts, but you've got the threat of Kenneth Gainwell there. So, I think he deserves
5:06to be in this sort of that range of of of players. If you're kind of a wait-and-see-at-first guy or you're a
5:12little bit scared about the volume, you could absolutely push him down a little bit, but I think probably in that sixth,
5:17seventh round of drafts, we'll see how it shakes out this week. But let's get us started talking about sleepers. We've got 10 names here and I think a lot of
5:25these names are going undrafted in home leagues and they're going in like the 15th round or later in some competitive formats like FFPC, NFFC. Some of these
5:35names are really, really fun and I also feel like I'm working on a preseason waiver wire article. A lot of these
5:41names are in that. Uh some of these guys are summer risers. So, why don't we get started? Pat, you've got a list of guys
5:47that I thought was really good. Um why don't we get started with Adonai Mitchell? And I was really happy to hear
5:53that you were on Adonai. I have a ton of exposure to him in best ball. I've mixed in some redraft as well.
6:00>> I mean, Adonai is a guy where he's barely going in the top 70, which I was not expecting cuz Adonai, I think a
6:08lot of us industry types were kind of talking about him in like March and April. And he was someone where I
6:13assumed the ADP would just be steadily rising over the summer. And I'm pretty surprised that never happened cuz the hype really never stopped. You get
6:23non-stop uh positive quotes from his teammates and the coaching staff. I think he's been pretty impressive to the assembled Jets media. And I just thought Adonai
6:32Mitchell was someone who would become kind of like a silly season guy because Adonai Mitchell, talk about a guy where we know the downside. We've vividly
6:41witnessed the downside with our own eyes. Like he just might be two mistake-prone to ever be a regular NFL contributor. But when you have a guy
6:48with that explosive of play ability, yeah, I think even on like the sharper formats, he's seriously barely going in the top 70. And you know, which is like
6:56wide receiver six, almost getting close to seven range. I think he's kind of like an ideal wide receiver four or five, more ideal wide receiver five on
7:04your bench. Because when I think of someone off my bench, you either get like the PPR spammer, and those are harder to get now as your wide
7:12receiver five. They've moved just moved up the rankings over the years. Or you get someone like the Marquez Valdes-Scantling type, where they might
7:19not get a ton of targets, but on a limited workload, a limited target total, they could catch two passes, 71 yards, score a touchdown, and flip your
7:27matchup. And so, where a lot of people view that volatility like I don't know, man. Adonai Mitchell is like too great
7:31of a chance he's going to hit me with a zero. I view it as I like having a bench guy who might flip my matchup. And I
7:37don't think the playing time is really a question right now. It seems pretty locked in in the number two role. Uh I'm
7:42just very, very surprised we never got a ADP takeoff for Adonai Mitchell.
7:46>> Yeah, I mean, you look at how the season ended for him last year and just how how good that December was.
7:53Some really, really strong performances.
7:54He had an eight-catch game with 12 targets against Atlanta.
7:58He had a six-catch game with a touchdown against Jacksonville. And it's the continuity he has with this coaching staff where he's
8:07been there now. We can almost throw the Indianapolis time out the window. It was just a bad fit. But you know, when we go back to that draft
8:15class, Xavier Worthy sort of lit up the combine. But if it wasn't Xavier Worthy running that absurd 40-yard dash time, it would have been Adonai Mitchell would
8:24be the wide receiver where like, "Oh, look at how athletic he is." The 40, the vertical, everything about Adonai was fantastic. The draft capital was
8:32terrific. And now he gets this second lease on life in sort of the as a throwaway name in the Sauce Gardner
8:39trade.
8:40So, I really think Adonai is going to get off to a really hot start. Could he end up having a Alec Pierce-esque season
8:47in New York this year? I think maybe that could be the case. And I love how you framed it where we're chasing upside
8:54in the flex position instead of chasing some like low like, you know, floor play PPR scam guy. You're going with Adonai
9:01Mitchell, a player who can get behind any defense and put up a spike week. And I think the presence of Garrett Wilson
9:06will help him. And like you said, he's locked in. Omar Cooper is struggling to win out the wide receiver three job.
9:13He's competing with Isaiah Williams right now. So, Adonai completely locked in. Love that take. And you could still get him in like the 15th round. For me,
9:22I'm going to go with a player who's going a little bit ahead of Adonai Mitchell in recent drafts. And he's been
9:27a summer riser for sure. It's Jacobi Lane for the Baltimore Ravens.
9:32I sent out a trade offer for him in a dynasty league in FFPC dynasty league this week. And some one of my league
9:37mates quoted a bunch of things I've said on a podcast to me and he's like I'm I'm definitely not trading him to you, Theo.
9:43So, I appreciate you listening, but it kind of stinks not to be able to trade for Jacobi. The vibes are immaculate
9:49with Jacobi Lane. He's about 6'5. He's incredibly long and there has this opportunity, I think, to be a real red
9:58zone threat for Baltimore. You talk about the opportunity opposite Zay Flowers where right now Lane is sort of the wide receiver three, but I think he
10:07overtakes Rashod Bateman early on in the season. You had veteran beat reporter Jamison Helmsley saying this was the most impressive rookie wide receiver
10:16he's ever seen while covering the Baltimore Ravens. And Lane, I think, has some big time outcomes in in his range of outcomes right now where if this
10:26offense becomes a little bit more pass-happy, I think he could provide us with some spike weeks. And then we look at Zay Flowers who were all expecting to
10:33take this big step forward under Decklin Doyle, but they've never targeted Zay Flowers in the end zone. Then you have Mark Andrews who a lot of us are kind of
10:42expecting a potential bounce-back year.
10:44He's healthy off the tightrope, but what if Mark Andrews is cooked and starting to regress, getting a little bit older?
10:50So, I think Lane really has an opportunity to be the end zone threat, the red zone threat, and I think it
10:56could be even more than that. If this offense is like the 25th most high highest pass volume team in in the NFL,
11:04still a very low pass volume team, but certainly not like 32nd overall that we saw in the previous years, then I think
11:10Lane could really take off. He feels like a player that was very mispriced by many, including me, who were looking at
11:18Elijah Serratt as the potential winner out of the draft class, but it's been anything but that. Lane, high pedigreed player, day two draft capital, and now
11:27in a huge role right out the jump for Baltimore. Your thoughts on Jacobi Lane and how you're approaching him.
11:34>> Well, you just made so many good points and the most important point I think is the potential red zone role where Zay
11:40Flowers has always had everything but the red zone role. And I think a lot of people think it's going to finally
11:45arrive this year, but this rim finisher type in Jacoby Lane is something this offense has just been painfully missing for years. Like Mark Andrews was just
11:55never quite that guy. Isaiah Likely could have maybe been that guy. It didn't happen for a variety of reasons.
12:01I think they would just love a true goal line receiver. Uh he's been making those plays in training camp. I know there
12:09were questions about he looked a little sluggish at USC at times. Can he really be that much more productive, a different player in the NFL? It just
12:16seems like he's maybe in the right place at the right time with the inventive young play caller we hope in Declan
12:22Doyle, kind of like a re-energized Lamar Jackson, and then just an offense where there's an acute need not only for that
12:28role, but for viable receiver targets of any kind behind Zay Flowers. This is not a good deep receiver core. They they
12:35have all the incentive in the world to give Jacoby Lane opportunities to maybe not just earn the number three role, but
12:41to earn the number two role. I just think he's in the right place at the right time for both the Ravens and maybe
12:45fantasy managers.
12:46>> Wide receiver 58 as of today on Underdog. So he's moved up, but not moved up to the point that I think he
12:52needs to be. Um why don't you talk about your next sleeper here? Let's go with Emitt Johnson. He seems like really one
13:01of the highest contingent upside handcuffs in the NFL at this point.
13:06>> He does. And by the way, I feel like absurd calling some of these guys sleepers. Like most fantasy players know
13:12who Adonai Mitchell is. Emitt Johnson, you know, if you if you're paying attention year round, you know, you've been you've been reading Emitt Johnson
13:18hype since he was drafted in the fifth round, but he's another guy where the ADP just never really took off because
13:25how could it with Kenneth Walker's ADP like so stratospheric, you know, potential three-down role for Kenneth Walker, but I think they want this to be
13:33a two-man backfield. Remaking the backfield was never about just giving it to one guy. Like the Chiefs running game had gotten so unacceptably bad. They
13:41didn't have any good role players even.
13:43It was just sub-replacement level guys in kind of all three downs and every role, the passing game, goal line, whatever you want to name it. And
13:50Kenneth Walker obviously has been the early-down guy. But I think they want someone to be maybe a more traditional third-round back that they've lacked in
13:58recent years. And say what you will about Amari Demercado, you do not take it for granted that a fifth-rounder will just come in and
14:04easily beat out Amari Demercado for that backup role, that potential third-down role. And by all accounts, it wasn't easy victory for Emari Demercado. And
14:13another guy has been getting a really steady drumbeat of coaching staff praise. And he's going to maybe start as a third-down guy, but we know he can be
14:21more than a third-down guy. So I agree with you for the like the contingency handcuff type back. I think he has maybe
14:28some very low-end but potential standalone value. And then the contingency value is just off the charts in this Chiefs offense.
14:34>> Yeah, and I think you framed it really correctly where it it's a player that has some standalone value and I think
14:40he's a viable best ball pick no matter what happens with Kenneth Walker this year. But when you look back at Kenneth
14:47Walker, there hasn't been like a catastrophic season-long injury, but we do look at 2024 where he played only 11 games and then you go back to the
14:57previous two years, 15 games, 15 games.
15:00So last year was the only year of his career that he played in every single game.
15:06So for Kenneth Walker, we love him. I love taking him. And on Kenneth Walker builds, I've tried to prioritize Emari Demercado in builds where I can support
15:16having a handcuff because you're not paying that handcuff premium price tag for him. But certainly in best ball, you framed it really well. And I think if we
15:25see a Kenneth Walker go down with an injury, >> [snorts] >> the the Emitt Johnson pass-catching role could be really good. He had 46 catches
15:33last year at Nebraska to go with 1451 rushing yards. He was like a usage king at like the highest level of college
15:41football last year. So, really, really fun one. Pat, why don't you let everybody know what you have going on maybe the the rest of the off-season,
15:49which is the like dwindling away. The season's right around the corner. And then what is a week in the life look
15:55like when we get to the regular season?
15:56>> Well, it was well-timed sleeper show, cuz my final article of the preseason, I'm I'm doing trying to do a sleeper for
16:02all 32 teams. I know a bit of a contrived um idea for an article, but not every team had someone where I could
16:09even contrive someone. So, I'm calling it sleepers and spoilers. Um it's mostly sleepers, but then some other guys maybe like Najee Harris, who's not at all a
16:16sleeper, but could very much be a spoiler for the New York >> I've never heard I've never heard of him.
16:22>> So, that's my That's my final preseason article. I have a Q&A coming up live Q&A Thursday 1:00 p.m. Eastern. We got the
16:29Rotoworld Football Show going, you know, every day almost every day beginning next week. My weekly rankings article. I have a weekly Sunday recap article. It's
16:38kind of standard industry fare, but stuff I've done for a long time. Stuff I really hope people will read. But of
16:43course, after you're done listening to Theo, check out the Rotoworld Football Show with myself and Danny Carter and Kyle Dvorchak.
16:49>> Yeah, check out uh check out all of Pat's stuff. Really good stuff over there. Um let's keep this one going, and
16:54you went with Emitt Johnson, who sort of has this stand-alone value potentially.
16:59I'm going to go with a player that probably doesn't have a whole lot of stand-alone value, but his role is perfect right now, and he's dirt cheap.
17:06In fact, he's so cheap that he wasn't drafted in a lot of 20-man roster leagues uh for the for the whole summer.
17:14So, if you're doing a preseason waiver wire run, I think you need to prioritize Malik Davis. But if you've also had a
17:20home league draft and you're looking for someone with big-time contingent upside, go grab Malik Davis as well. His handcuff role is very, very solid in
17:32Dallas. Javonte Williams has certainly been a player that looks like he's in store for a massive volume, very high usage role in Dallas. But Davis, we've
17:43also heard Schottenheimer and other Dallas Cowboys coaches just continually praise him, and they praise him on the little things. They love him as a pass
17:52blocker. We saw it last year where he had a couple of strong performances. But when you look at Dallas, it's the
18:00quality of the offense, it's the quality of the offensive line, it's the trust that we have in Dak Prescott. And even
18:06if it was Javonte missing like two or three games, Malik Davis would be a huge waiverwire add. We want to have uh
18:14players on our bench that are no-brainers to go right into our lineup.
18:18And Malik Davis, there's not another running back on Dallas that we were we'd be worried about right now to carve out
18:25another role. I think Davis's role would look very similar to Javonte Williams if Javonte missed time. They waived Jayden Blue. They waived Phil Mafah. All of the
18:36threats to Davis are off the roster. And in fact, they picked up Amari Demercado, who's now going to be on his third team
18:42in in in like six >> It's Malik Davis, and that's it. He needs to be treated like a high-end handcuff, but you're able to get him in
18:50the final rounds of drafts right now. If not, he's completely undrafted and he's on your waiverwire.
18:56>> So these contingency guys, you not only want someone who's going to slide into an obvious role. In Malik Davis's case, it'll be the obvious early down
19:04guy. He could immediately form a committee with Amari Demercado if Javonte Williams goes down. But we know Malik Davis, we know his role. He'll be
19:12the early down guy. So that's always one huge requirement for like a good contingency stash. And the other is just it's a great offense environment. It's a
19:19great offense. You know, even if there's guys with maybe a slightly more straightforward case on a worse offense, I would always tiebreak in favor of
19:27someone like a Cowboys type offense, obviously. And just two I just wonder my offseason line all all spring and summer on Javonte Williams was, "If I were the
19:38Dallas Cowboys, instead of like resigning Javonte Williams for like $24 million over three years, I would have just maybe tried to find the next
19:45Javonte Williams." Cuz it was, by football standards, like a heroic season by Javonte Williams last year, better than he had any right to be, better than
19:52we ever expected. It's just not the kind of season I really would expect to run back for Javonte Williams. And he was so
19:59inefficient and unproductive as a pass catcher. I think he's kind of maxed out as a two-down guy. And I just wouldn't
20:05be surprised if, you know, the regression monster kind of comes for him this year. Uh and then maybe Malik mixes in more than we're expecting on early
20:12downs. So, not to the point where he's going to take away Javonte Williams' starting job or anything like that.
20:18Don't mean to suggest that. But it's that Javonte might not be quite as We're not I don't think we're going to get I'm
20:23not taking it for granted we're getting 2025 Javonte Williams. And then Malik Davis is a really good bench stash.
20:29>> Yeah, I mean, and we we go back to Javonte Williams. We had the the catastrophic injury in 2022. Since then,
20:35he's been really reliable. I think he's got this reputation as a guy who's missed a bunch of games. But you know
20:41and I know when you have your career high volume season, it doesn't always work that way the next year. I mean, the
20:48volume is hard to sustain for back-to-back years. And I think also Dallas views themselves as a contender.
20:54And if it was a a nagging small injury, they have the confidence in Davis to put him in the lineup. Even if you got like
21:01a two-three week run out, it would be a very very valuable one for your fantasy team.
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22:04The next sleeper you're talking about, there's definitely a hive for this guy.
22:09And it's it's it's a perfect kind of target because it's a number three running back, but it's very much an ambiguous backfield where neither player
22:18is giving us a ton of confidence at least in terms of what they've done with Jordan Mason for his whole entire
22:24career and Aaron Jones we're looking at he's getting a little bit older, he's 32 years old to start the year. Demone
22:30Clayborn though, there's some beat reporters there who are over the top with how he's looked and potentially his role as the season moves along.
22:39>> So yeah, the Demone Clayborn hive, there are dozens of us. Let's just get the record straight, there are dozens of us.
22:45And then I'm surprised there aren't more of us cuz outside the top 70 right now running back. I think he's the RB 73
22:52which just you you hit the nail on the head where it's such an uncertain unsettled situation ahead of him. It's not unsettled as in who the top two
22:59backs are, it's Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason like you said, but Aaron Jones I think is just out of gas. Last year
23:06Jordan Mason looked like the kind of guy, not to make a really cringe-worthy pun, but like looked like he never even
23:12filled up the tank. Aaron Jones out of gas. I'm not sure Jordan Mason ever even had it. And Demond Claiborne has been
23:18drawing steady praise. Aaron Jones I think himself actually called Demond Claiborne special. I mean, profiles has maybe compared >> Compared him compared him to Jahmyr
23:26Gibbs. Aaron Jones said the words Yeah, he said Jahmyr Gibbs.
23:29>> I forgot about that. And Demond Claiborne kind of out of the gate maybe a potential lightning role. And does does Mason and Jones I just think don't
23:37have it on early downs. And I think Demond Claiborne could have an immediate role. It's kind of role that could grow
23:43quickly. I'm very very surprised that that ADP just never really went anywhere at all. Where he's essentially undrafted. I've got a lot of Demond
23:50Claiborne and the thing is it's this a very very It's a zero risk flyer. So if I'm totally wrong and say he's like
23:57Jaden Blue like, "Oh, he's healthy scratched week one." All right, that's interesting. I you can cut him with relative relatively little fuss damage
24:04to your team, but I don't think that's going to happen to Demond Claiborne.
24:07>> Yeah, it's it's funny cuz I remember I I had Matt Waldman on when I was at Fantasy Points on on Dynasty Life, my
24:13dynasty show. Matt was all over Claiborne. He was like one of his favorite backs in this whole draft class. And it sort of continued to grow
24:20where there'd be more and more guests who were into Claiborne that I've had on on on both channels.
24:27And I I sort of got into Claiborne. I have a some exposure to him in dynasty and in best ball as well. He he sort of
24:33was the last draftable running back range guy on like Underdog and some of those places. But I made a comparison on
24:41X that he's like rookie year Keeton Mitchell.
24:45And Sigmund Bloom quickly like was offended by that one and said to me, "No, he's Devonta Freeman." And I said, "Whoa, whoa." Like so I need to pay
24:53attention a little bit more. I'd say the only problem with Clayborn is it would hurt terribly if you had him on
25:00your roster and then one of those guys goes down and then you have to spend a ton of fab to go get him. So, it's
25:07almost like he's better for leagues that are deeper than a shallow format. In a shallow format, it's going to be really
25:13difficult to roster him because Pat, you know that week one and week two is going to have a ton of names that maybe you're
25:19off the radar that we're going to want to add off the waiver wire when we see that early usage, but if you're in a
25:23deep format, I love Clayborn and I think when we look at this offense with the mobility of Kyler Murray and the play
25:31calling of Kevin O'Connell, the chance for them to sort of get back to normal this year and be a functional offense is
25:36there and Clayborn could end up having a really good run out if Jones goes down with an injury or if one of these two
25:42guys regresses and he just gets that opportunity for more touches. Really, really fun name there in Demond Clayborn and I'm going to go with a throwback
25:50here for some, but Jaylen McMillan, he gets a little bit banged up in training camp, but then comes back and Todd
25:57Bowles says he sort of expects him to play in week one. Um, they're hopeful that Ameca Egbuka plays in week one, but
26:04I feel like Jaylen McMillan could be like the waiver wire add uh if for many fantasy leagues after week one.
26:11Uh, wide receiver 68 right now on Underdog. We go back to 2024, his rookie year and just how good he was. From
26:19weeks 14 through 18, he was the wide receiver 19 overall in that stretch. He had seven touchdown catches, went nuts as a rookie and then last year had that
26:29incredibly scary injury, was able to come back from it. We thought he'd miss the entire year, but he comes back late.
26:35He had a 100-plus yard receiving game in week 17 last year and McMillan, we have the familiarity with Baker Mayfield.
26:44We've seen him win in this role in this offense and now you have Abuka dealing with a toe injury. You've got Chris
26:51Godwin who's 30 years old. I mean, Godwin's in store for a really strong role to start the year, but could he
26:57break down? You've still got Kate Otten at tight end, sort of a cap ceiling, cap target type player. McMillan feels like
27:05a player that could be a boom-bust flex for many weeks of the season with contingent upside if Ebuka misses time or if Godwin misses time. I really like
27:16drafting Jalen McMillan. I feel like he's incredibly underrated right now.
27:20Not a sleeper, but the market is certainly treating him like a sleeper.
27:24>> What I would say on McMillan, too, like I think the cliché that would apply to him is that anytime he's been given an
27:29opportunity to produce, he has done so.
27:33You can quibble with it like, "Well, it was all touchdown-based as a rookie."
27:36But like, yeah, I mean, that's that's a good thing, of course. Like, it's pretty unusual for a a non-first-round receiver, a day-two receiver to come in
27:44and score eight touchdowns as a rookie.
27:46Maybe there's element of luck, maybe it was a fluke, but that's that's pretty eye-popping for a third-round rookie.
27:52And like you said last year, last season, he still comes in, has the big game at the end. And it we're so used to
27:58treating this Bucs receiver core as one of the deepest in the NFL. It's not shallow this year. I mean, Ted Hust of
28:04course is another name we're monitoring closely in fantasy football, but Chris Godwin, I just don't know how many different times he can do this. I know
28:12he finished last year healthy, quote unquote, but missed a lot of the year with injury. How many different times, especially now on the wrong side of 30,
28:18can he come back healthy? And Jalen McMillan is a guy I have very few shares of. And like when you're talking, yeah,
28:24it sounds like something I could regret.
28:26Because it's just not as good of a receiver core as we give it credit for, and he's a guy who's always produced.
28:30>> Yeah, and I love Ted Hust, but I feel like for me Ted Hust is he's going to have some big games. He's certainly a
28:37best in best ball type, and I think he's more of like a 2027 bet. It's really hard to to to get to the NFL from that
28:46level. Like, historically, those the the coming from a school like Georgia State to make a huge jump, unless you're like Harold Fannin Fannin last year, usually
28:55those guys take a little while to to produce. So, Mcmillan, he has the pedigree, he has the familiarity with Baker, um and I think the confidence
29:04from the coaching staff. I think he's a really really fun click right now in all formats. Uh let's continue this conversation. You've got a a player that
29:12had a ton of steam at the beginning of the off season. Then Stefon Diggs ends up signing with Washington, and a lot of
29:19people sort of had that's all she wrote type uh takes on Antonio Williams, but it's sort of been nothing but positivity
29:27with Antonio Williams really dominating at Washington training camp. Uh talk about Williams and his pathway to potential success this year, uh and just
29:36what you like about the player and the profile.
29:39>> Like you said, he's been a drumbeat guy, and I like too that even with the Stefon Diggs signing, he still has an obvious
29:46role where he could see a lot of time in the slot, Antonio Williams. I guess Stefon Diggs could see time in the slot,
29:50I don't really know. I Sometimes the receiver positions I'm like, yeah, that sounds right to me. Stefon Diggs looks like he could be in the slot, but
29:57I think he's going to be in between Terry McLaurin and Stefon Diggs. Uh the two starters are over the age of 30.
30:04>> Yep.
30:04>> So, you know, you don't need me to tell you like there could be more snaps, more targets, more routes for the taking than
30:09we maybe think heading into week one, but pretty solid draft capital, day two guy.
30:15He's been a drumbeat guy, and not just during training camp, but the whole off season as you alluded to, where he's
30:19been impressing the Commanders coaching staff, Commanders teammates, and just I think the obvious role is there in the middle, in three receiver sets, maybe
30:27occasionally in two receiver sets, and just an offense that I think still just needs quality targets. I don't think they have enough quality targets lined
30:36up. Stefon Diggs too, his success last year with the Patriots, that came as in a role where they kind of rationed his
30:41snaps. They tried to deploy him not as a full-time guy and not at all that he was a part-time guy, but he was not an
30:47every-down player. It seemed like they wanted to keep him fresh. Would stand to reason maybe the Commanders copy that approach. And I just think even with
30:54Stef there, there's probably more routes, snaps, and targets for the taking than people realize um for Antonio Williams.
31:00>> Yeah, Antonio Williams is a really for me I I reference dynasty a lot cuz we're talking about a lot of young players
31:06here, but Williams is like a no-brainer pick up right now in dynasty because he's gotten so much cheaper since the rookie draft season when he was going in
31:16some leagues as like a late first-round pick where he had that clear path to be in sort of the Deebo Samuel role, maybe
31:23Deebo Samuel role plus. Uh the Diggs signing has sort of killed that momentum, but it hasn't done anything to diminish the talent that he has and his
31:32potential big 2027 breakout. And then like you said, when you look at it's the oldest pair of wide receivers in the NFL
31:39right now. Um and it's an offense that with their offensive line injuries is going to have to get the ball out of
31:44Jayden Daniels' hands, I think, uh pretty quickly in some matchups. So, Williams, I remember I had Mike Renner on Dynasty Life, uh and and Renner
31:53compared him to Ladd McConkey in talent and evaluation. So, I mean, there's some people that were very high on him at
31:58Clemson. We saw a huge year from him in 2024 at Clemson. Um and the vibes are really good right now and completely
32:05under the radar free in pretty much every single league.
32:09I'm going to go with Kayshon Boutte, a player that uh is entering his 20 24-year-old season, and it's feels like a guy that could take on a big expanded
32:19role in Houston.
32:21Dalton Schultz is probably the best bet to be the number two target opposite Nico Collins, but I think there's a scenario where Kayshon Boutte plays like
32:30an every-down role, and I think he has the ability to step in and do what the team had in uh planned for Jayden
32:37Higgins. Jayden Higgins was a huge drumbeat guy, a guy where the there was a lot of beat reporters talking about how dominant he was in training camp,
32:46how he's going to have this big year two breakout. He goes down with an injury and then Houston makes this very smart
32:52trade to go get Kayshon Boutte who was sort of boxed out in New England.
32:56And people are sort of dismissing this one because they sent a seventh-round pick for him, but this is a franchise that I think has been able to identify
33:04cheap veterans on the market. We saw how successful the Joe Mixon signing was and certainly we don't think Kayshon Boutte is going to have that level of success,
33:13but I do think he's going to play a career-high snap share. I think he has the ability to get behind the defense
33:19and I think he can challenge Dalton Schultz and become potentially the number two target on this team. We talk about guys like Jalen Noll. Jalen Noll's
33:27going to have a huge special teams role.
33:29I think like what the fantasy community wants for Jalen Noll versus what he's actually going to have in terms of every
33:35week role, there's probably a little bit of a disconnect. I think it's Kayshon Boutte and I think he could come out
33:40there and have a pretty solid year.
33:43How fantasy-relevant can he be? I don't think we know at this point, but I think he's a player that's worth putting on
33:49your bench and seeing if the usage is really good certainly throughout the first month of the season and then you can let him go because he's dirt cheap
33:57right now, doesn't cost you anything.
33:59>> Yeah, Boutte is the kind of guy people don't want to draft because even in the upside outcome, wide receiver three is
34:06probably not terribly relevant. Top 36 guy. Like even in like a a best-case scenario, Kayshon Boutte is probably a wide receiver four. We just kind of tend
34:14to underrate how important that can be.
34:16You want to have good wide receiver fours on your bench and I know Jalen Noll will have something to say about
34:21it. He seems to be the clear-cut number two guy in in the receiver core that is at least. I agree with you, Dalton
34:26Schultz is probably the number two targets earner, but I think he's the number two receiver. He's got an established skill. He's a productive
34:34downfield receiver. He's done it back-to-back years. It's not like a I know you were speaking but it's not like a typo when you said he's only going
34:40into his age 24 season. Unbelievable how young he still is. And he's got an established skill set. Maybe there's a little room to grow. He's going to be
34:49out there a lot.
34:51Again, you don't want to take him you don't really believe in the ultimate upside. I think we're probably not giving the floor enough credit when it
34:57comes to K'Shawn Boutte.
34:58>> Yeah, he's also going to be a free agent next off season. It feels like a huge opportunity for him to sort of
35:04re-establish who he is. He go back to like the profile of the player. There was at one point people thought he was
35:10going to be a first round pick out of LSU. And then he had like a big downfall ended up being a day three guy. But it's
35:17been a slow drip and we did see he had a stretch at the end of the 2024 season where he had pretty consistent
35:25usage with Drake May. Getting four catches, five catches, six catches a game for like a month-long plus period.
35:32So I think he's got a huge opportunity in Houston this year. We'll see how it shakes out. But the the next player I
35:39think could absolutely be fantasy relevant. Your final sleeper Pat Bryant who's had a tremendous summer. They seem to absolutely love him in Denver.
35:49>> They do and we know they've loved him from the start. They compared him to Michael Thomas, you know, kind of
35:53getting his career off to almost a rough start. Like I don't know man, maybe don't compare the day two pick to
35:58Michael Thomas even though Michael Thomas himself was a day two pick. But another guy I feel like they worked pretty hard to get him on the field as a
36:05rookie. Like I said with Jaylen McMillan, different type of player.
36:09Every time he was on the field he produced. Kind of had some crazy injury issues. He was lucky I think to escape
36:14that season without some sort of really long-term injury issue. But he did he didn't get any long-term injury issues.
36:21I wouldn't be stunned. I don't think this is the most likely outcome. I wouldn't be stunned if Pat Bryant ended up being the number two receiver over
36:28Courtland Sutton. Again, I don't think that's most likely. I do not think it's impossible. Like you said, this guy has been getting uh we keep using this
36:36phrase, but a drumbeat of praise, a drumbeat of hype. It started last summer and never really stopped.
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37:40>> We think maybe this is like a rising tides type of Broncos offense where it got incrementally better last year on
37:472024. Maybe it takes a big leap this year with Davis Webb. You know, I'm skeptical of that cuz Davis Webb is
37:53replacing, I feel like one of the greatest play callers in NFL history, and Sean Payton. But then again, it says something of that guy thinks Davis Webb
38:01is better suited to call plays than him where we might be underrating how much better the Broncos offense could look this year. I just don't think it's crazy
38:08for Pat Bryant to emerge as the number two. And then even if he doesn't, I like his profile on my bench cuz he kind of
38:14does it all where I think he could compile a little bit, he could have some big plays, he could score some
38:18touchdowns. So, I really, really like Pat Bryant on my bench.
38:22>> Yeah, and the full Courtland Sutton fade sort of looked silly when you saw how good Sutton looked in that first
38:28preseason game. I think Sutton had like three Yeah. So, like I had that same take. Um but I think when you look at
38:34Sutton and how the team treated him last year, where Troy Franklin, who's now the number four wide receiver in this offense, they did everything they could
38:43to try to establish Franklin as like the new wide receiver one. So, they go out and get Jaylen Waddle. They drafted Pat
38:50Bryant last year. You hear Sean Payton comparing him to Michael Thomas. And they used him down the stretch as well.
38:57So, Bryant it feels like a player that there's a big roadblock with Courtland Sutton. There's not really a threatening tight end. It's still Evan Engram who's
39:07in the tail end of his career. Um I think there's a chance Pat Bryant just simply overtakes Courtland Sutton. And if there was an injury to Courtland
39:14Sutton, who's getting a little bit older, it would be a incredibly clear path. And when we look at the pass volume, Denver it it had was top five in
39:22pass attempts last year. It's an offense we expect to score a lot this year. Um really really a fun name right there.
39:28And the coolest stat for Pat Bryant, I always bring this one up whenever I talk about him, when he was at Illinois, his
39:34last year there, he had three game-winning touchdown catches in Big Ten games, which were either in overtime or like the final two minutes of the
39:42game. He had the craziest touchdown catch ever against Rutgers. Um and then he had two other ones, all Big Ten wins.
39:48So, the guy was clutch. And I think coaching coaching staffs seem to gravitate towards him in big moments. My final sleeper, and it's funny, we've had
39:58this continual rookie tight end success for multiple years now. We had the Sam LaPorta to a tight end one overall year.
40:06Uh we had the Brock Bowers tight end one overall year. And then last year we had all these guys who made fantasy impacts
40:12like Tyler Warren, Harold Fannin, Colston Loveland down the stretch. We get Kanyon Ricks as the 16th overall pick. The guy runs a 43940,
40:22the same as Jamir Gibbs and he's unbelievable athlete. The we talk about like the vertical leap, the guy basically broke the RAS score. And he's
40:32getting left for dead in terms of every single league. Tight end 24 right now, so he's the bottom of the barrel tight
40:39end two. In a lot of leagues he's getting undrafted. In some of these NFFC leagues he's going in like the 17th,
40:4618th round, like completely ignored. And we talked about Adonai Mitchell benefiting from Omar Cooper not firing out the gate and Omar Cooper sort of
40:56being left behind.
40:57Omar Cooper was going to be the YAC guy and I think Siddiq has an opportunity to be sort of a a YAC monster, but he's
41:04doing it at the tight end position. And when we look at his draft capital, 16th overall pick. This is the same and we're
41:11not so I'm not saying he's the same level of player. But it's the same range that we saw Brock Bowers, Tyler Warren
41:18and Colston Loveland drafted in. New York took him at 16 overall over a bunch of wide receivers that they could have
41:24had. And really when you look at Siddiq, people like to poke holes in, you know, the the the key metrics and the
41:31analytics and targets per route run and all that stuff at Oregon, but the guy had 51 catches. So in terms of raw stats
41:37it was right there. The most catches ever by an Oregon tight end in a single season. And Siddiq is just sitting
41:44there. I'm not sure it's going to work out for him this year. But I think he the chances that he's a an absolute zero
41:51with this sort of an opportunity um I I think it's a very low low bet that he doesn't return something this year and
41:58it could end up being he's like a rookie year Chigoziem Okonkwo type bet that really fires off in the second half of
42:05the year in a major way. I think that the coaching staff seems to love him.
42:09The organization seems to love him. We saw how excited Frank Reich was to get him, and Frank Reich has had a long
42:16success with tight ends. I don't think we're getting super excited about Frank Reich the play caller, but if we look at
42:22the success that he's had with tight ends as a coordinator or head coach, it's a really strong one. So, Kanyon Ruke I love grabbing as like my tight
42:29end two. When I grab one of those elite tight ends, I get a Loveland or a Bowers or a McBride or a Warren, I can wait and
42:38get Ruke and just hope that he turns into something. I think it's a it's a really fun bet to make that's incredibly
42:45cheap and he's getting completely disrespected right now by redraft managers.
42:49>> It just seems like every year we have to relearn the lesson, overlook first round draft capital at your own peril. Like
42:56you said, going in like the 17th, 18th round in some of these bigger tournaments, these sharper fields, you know, the round you're going in probably
43:02should not exceed the number overall pick you were. You're the number 16 overall pick, like you said. And I kind of bought into the production arguments,
43:10too. Like he didn't even produce at Oregon. And he was a classic guy where every time I would Google Kanyon Ruke
43:15sports reference, I'm like, "Oh, he actually caught over 50 passes." You know, exactly. I was always in my mind's eye, I was always like 29 catches. No,
43:23it was over 50, like you said, and that even that was overblown. There's so many red flags and question marks, like you
43:29said. But the same was true for Odell Beckham, we know. He's not going to be the next Odell Beckham, of course, but
43:34every year we have to learn relearn this lesson. Like, it's better to find the positives of the first round skill player than it is to fixate on the
43:41negatives.
43:42>> And the athleticism is off the charts, and it's there's no position in fantasy where athleticism matters more than tight end. Historically, if you're a
43:52super athletic tight end, you're going to get an opportunity. It really doesn't matter for running backs and wide receivers. It's sort of a plus, but it
43:58can also be sort of a negative if we want to really go with the fastest guy doesn't always produce. When you're a
44:04tight end who's this fast and this explosive, offensive coordinators are going to try to get the ball in your hands at some point in the year and see
44:11if it works. And if Siddique runs with that opportunity, he could be a player that's in our lineups over the second
44:16half of the year. Uh Pat, really really fun talking sleepers. We got a couple of rapid-fire questions for you. Let's go
44:23with um give us a quarterback for our superflex drafters. I don't do enough superflex uh content here, but when you look at sort of a a quarterback that's
44:32maybe mispriced or a potential really strong target for superflex drafters, who would that be?
44:39>> Well, this is not my official answer, Malik Willis, but pretty rare these days to find a genuine dual threat who goes
44:46outside the top 20 quarterback. I always say maybe he's just a mono threat cuz he we don't even know if he can really
44:51throw. Pretty rare for a dual threat to go outside the top 20. I have a lot of Malik Willis.
44:56I think my more conventional answer is just Jordan Love, where the ADP what in the QB 17-18 range, I think most of the
45:04summer. And we just could be underrating how transformed and different this Packers offense is going to be. You know, Josh Jacobs's suspension kind of
45:12putting a fine point on it finally. But the whole story of their off-season was condensing the target tree, uh maybe getting more explosive, you know, trying
45:20to finish games better, aka score more points, run up the score more.
45:25And now with Josh Jacobs out, they have no choice but to lean on the passing game more. Jordan Love, we we kind of
45:30been fooled by before. Uh nothing has made me question the talent.
45:35I I think Jordan Love just strikes me as as a potential league winner in superflex.
45:40>> I think that's a it's a great call out, and I talked about him as another winner post Josh Jacobs, where even if like no
45:47matter what you think of MarShawn Lloyd, MarShawn Lloyd's a different kind of running back. It's more of an open offense now, and the quality of skill
45:55position talent he's got with Tucker Kraft, Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, and Matthew Golden, all of those guys are potentially really good fantasy
46:03assets at cost.
46:05The last time we saw Jordan Love in a non-Josh Jacobs offense, he had 4,100 passing yards and 32 touchdowns. He was
46:14a top six scorer at the quarterback position. So, I love both of those answers and I rarely talk prop bets, but
46:21Malik Willis, you see a bunch of of sportsbooks have him at 549 rushing yards over under. I think he's going to
46:28smash that. Even if he's bad, he's going to beat that number. So, there we go.
46:32Pat, another question for you. This is a really fun one and an important one. If you want to do two names, go for it. If
46:39you want to do three names, go for it.
46:41But, how about one flag plant player going inside of rounds three through six. A lot of times we find sort of the
46:49league winner in this range of drafts.
46:51Like last year, Jackson Smith-Njigba.
46:53You go couple years back, Derrick Henry in this range. Multiple times we we've seen this. Who's the guy in round three
47:00through six that you're very into?
47:02>> I'm going to I'm going to push the limit on the question, because I think he sneaks in I think he's literally ADP 36
47:07in Underdog, but on more casual formats he's outside of it. Emeka Egbuka. And it's not because I'm such a huge believer in like the I'm not like
47:17pounding the table for Emeka Egbuka. I'm just taking him in almost every draft.
47:21You mentioned JSN. It's not like I think he's the next JSN or it's apples to oranges, but he's got the profile of the
47:29guy who makes the big leap at wide receiver. A former first-round pick. He was immediately productive as a rookie.
47:35We know all about the slow finish, hit the rookie wall, Bucks team-wide offensive catastrophe. It just fell apart. But, I focus more on the he
47:44actually produced in the first half of the season. They cleared the deck, maybe not intentionally so when they don't resign Mike Evans. He's now the number
47:51one. He's got then just enough question marks to keep the ADP in check. Because with the toe, his ADP never really rose.
47:59And I I acknowledge the question marks, but I I've taken a Mecole Hardman in quite literally almost every draft I've done. And he unintentionally maybe has
48:08become my flag flag plant player in rounds three to six.
48:11>> I mean, I love this one. This was the first show that I did here was my my dark horse league winners and it was
48:18Igbuka right there. I I've drafted him a ton of places. I begrudgingly had to move him down my rankings a little bit
48:25because of the toe and just a bunch of wide receivers there that are so appealing, but I still have a ton of
48:30exposure to him. You're such an enthusiast that I'm going to share our nickname for him at RotoWire that you can now bring over to RotoWorld. It's a
48:38Mecole Eggbuka. He's going full on a Mecole Eggbuka this [laughter] year. So so let Kyle know. Give Kyle the memo. He
48:45can start using that one as well. We now share that.
48:48>> Yeah, let's go. Let's get it trending.
48:49Let's hashtag it. Let's hashtag it. And Pat, we'll we'll end the show with this one. It's been a lot of fun talking to you, but I've asked a
48:55number of people this question and I'm curious who your player is for this one.
49:01If you could know the final stats of any player in fantasy football, who would it be?
49:06>> Not to be boring, but it is Abuka. Cuz every time I take this guy, I'm like, man, I feel like I'm staking my entire
49:12draft on this where I considered Amari Hampton cuz I'm a big Hampton fader.
49:17I've been constantly making the negative case for Hampton, but Hampton for better words, I'm kind of confident in my take.
49:23Abuka, I have so much of and I I just fully I acknowledge the downside case. I know that's real. So he's to someone
49:32where I feel like almost every bullet point despite the red flags tells me to take him.
49:37But there's like always this voice in my side of my head like, I don't know if this is right or not. And he every time
49:41I take him, I do really wonder like, man, what is this guy truly going to do?
49:44And so it is a Mecole Hardman for me.
49:46>> I mean, I absolutely love that one.
49:48You're the first person that said that name and I think it's huge because if he has a smash year, it probably means
49:53Baker Mayfield it is a big value and if he has a terrible year, then we're probably drafting a ton of Chris Godwin
50:00and a a ton of Jaylen McMillan.
50:03Um really really fun one and then it's sort of the opportunity cost where there's so many good wide receivers in that range right now.
50:09>> it's crazy. That's why it feels so fateful every time I do it cuz I'm taking him over guys like Teter or
50:14McMillan, Jaylen Waddle, uh T Higgins if you go a little further down. So yeah, that's why every time like man, I really
50:19hope this works.
50:20>> Yeah, absolutely. It's a great answer.
50:22Pat, let everybody know once again what you have coming out.
50:25>> Uh sleepers and spoilers. Again, I'm the only sleepers article you're going to find this week out in the fantasy football community, but I'm putting mine
50:32out on Thursday. Uh doing a live Q&A on Thursday with my guys Denny and Kyle and this is the Rotoworld Football Show.
50:38After you listen to Theo, come check us out. And Rotoworld is full of content this week. We have a free draft guide
50:44this year. Again, not to sorry to say this on a Rotowire show.
50:47Uh but we have a free draft guide this year. A lot of amazing content, please check us out.
50:51>> Awesome. Well, highly recommend Pat's content and stick with us here at Rotowire. We dropped a show a day in the
50:56month of August. We're going to keep it rolling all throughout September. Uh we're so excited for week one to start and if you're drafting this week, go out
51:03and crush your drafts. We'll see you soon.
