15 NFL Training Camp Battles Every Fantasy Manager Should Watch
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Jul 28, 2026
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Tue, July 28, 2026
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0:06NFL training camp battles that fantasy managers need to keep an eye on. I'm Theo Griminger, Rotoire, lead fantasy analyst, joined today by Farz Sadiki of
0:14Upperhand Fantasy. We're going to rip through a bunch of these teammate battles. Some are obvious, some are a little bit more low-key, but they're all
0:23going to have an impact on fantasy football one way or another. Some of these guys are going to be sleepers.
0:28Some of these guys could be at the top of the food chain when we get to the end of the season. And let's start off with
0:32one of the most important teammate usage battles in fantasy. And it feels like people are taking strong takes on either side of the fence of this one. [snorts]
0:41Are you on Trayvon Henderson, Raandre Stevenson, or potentially both in this New England backfield?
0:49>> It's funny. I'm actually none of those options, right? I'm I'm I'm neither, right? I think I'm not necessarily going after Trevian's upside, but I'm also not
1:00drafting Raandre Stevenson, right? So, the way I'm looking at it here is obviously a lot of people are assuming that Trevian Henderson is going to just
1:07take this job, right? You know, from Raandre this year and and of course, like he's extremely explosive. You know, we saw what he was capable of when
1:14Ramani missed a couple games last year.
1:16Uh even in some games with Raandre, you know, he was able to rip off some huge chunk gains, right? However, to me, what
1:22it looks like when they were in the playoffs last year, like I do weigh that heavily, right? It was all Raandre in
1:28the playoffs, right? Early downs, passing downs, short yardage, two-minute, you know, like it was everything. Like Henderson barely played um from weeks 15 on, only 35% of snaps.
1:38So, for me, it's really an evidence thing, right? Like there I haven't seen any evidence where the Patriots will want Henderson to have a bigger role.
1:47Now, can it happen here in training camp? Like I obviously like can can he start to move into that further into
1:52that role and it be like super close as that like you know not even a clear one a one beat situation maybe. But I do
2:00think Raandre kind of holds him off a little bit uh for Henderson to not be able to kind of pay off at his ADP. It's
2:08funny one because like I was a noted Trayvon Henderson truther this time last year and I keep trying to quit it
2:16because I feel like I could get burned again but I can't pass up that upside especially like from a high volume
2:21standpoint where he's running back 22.
2:25Um but he's going sometimes at like the end of the fifth round and depending on the structural build I feel like he
2:31could give you a really high upside um type play. you know, you people who are anti-Tayon Henderson, and I've heard some really smart people who are like
2:39completely out. Um, and it sounds like you're kind of leading that direction.
2:42They're calling him like the most expensive handcuff running back in the history of handcuffs kind of cuz you're having to take him before Mandre. And I
2:49get it. But I think if your build can support it structurally, you could end up with, you know, something similar to
2:55last year with Trayvon Henderson where he's dominating the usage at a particular time of the year. Maybe that's taking over from Mandre. Maybe
3:04that's Mandre gets banged up, but we know that Trevon Henderson, I mean, I think he could end up being a 18 19
3:10point per game player if Mandre sort of took a big step back. And then on the flip side, Mandre Stevenson is is also
3:17interesting to me structurally, especially in like a hero RB build where I think you're right for the beginning of the season, I think it's going to be
3:26probably a somewhat of a split and Randre Stevenson's going to have some some like useful like utility to me. I feel like it's priced kind of correctly
3:35where Henderson at running back 22, Raandre Stevenson running back 29, it's it's about it's about correct. But if I'm looking to like get if I'm looking
3:44to like uh structurally build a team and maybe I need to to gain some access to like some early running back two picks
3:50uh points, I look at the guys going around Stevenson like the Chuba Hubards, the RJ Harveys, Rico Dattle, who we'll talk about in a minute, and then you get
3:58down to like the the Blake Cororm types.
4:00and I'd much rather have Raandre Stevenson. So, I would say I'm more into Trayvon Henderson, but I get it if you're in like the late seventh round
4:10and and and Raandre is just sitting there. Um, he could be a guy that you could plug into the flex early. So, if I
4:17could kind of This is I feel like I'm playing both sides of the fence here for us, but if I could if I'm if I'm
4:21drafting like 10 teams, if I end up with four of them with Trayvon Henderson and like two of them with Stevenson, I think
4:29that's fine. I don't think it's a backfield you need to have one of each of. And then you talk about like sort of
4:33the opportunity cost that round. There's other running backs with maybe a little bit more clarity of usage than like a Trayvon. And then there's like some
4:41interesting wide receivers. So I I get it in in a major way.
4:45>> Yeah, there are definitely some safe running backs around that that ADP, right? you're looking at guys like DeAndre Swift and David Montgomery. But,
4:53you know, I think the guy who has, you know, a relatively, you know, higher ceiling potentially and even uh higher chances to hit that higher ceiling is
5:03Basel Tutin, right? Like he's somebody who also showed, you know, some promise in his rookie year, maybe not as much as
5:09Henderson did. Uh but, you know, there was a clear, you know, RB1 RB2 situation in Jacksonville versus, you know, in New
5:16England. And uh you know it's funny because you know we talk about Trebian Henderson's explosiveness right and you look at last year like his explosive run
5:23rate was actually lower than Roandre Stevenson's you know 5.6% compared to 6.9% uh you know which was uh you know Henderson was actually 12th among
5:31qualifying running backs and Stevenson was fifth. Uh you know interesting stuff there right and to me Henderson can absolutely explode. He could be a league
5:41winner if Stevenson goes down. Actually he will be a league winner if Stevenson goes down. Right. But I just like I
5:47think it's a lot of opium there and I totally understand it in best ball type of formats. Uh but you know in you know
5:52reddraft and that sort of thing I you know I might be steering clear a little bit. Let's talk about Pittsburgh because
5:57Pittsburgh you have you have Jaylen Warren uh sort of the incumbent back and a player that I've liked over the years.
6:04Uh you know I really like the talent of Jaylen Warren. Uh and then you got Rico D who last year had a tremendous run. It
6:10was like a month-long period where Rico Dattle was sort of the talk of fantasy.
6:14Dowel reconnects with Mike McCarthy who he had a thousand rushing yard season for in Dallas during McCarthy's last year with the Cowboys. Now it's Warren
6:23and Dowel. They're sort of being drafted side by side here. Essentially, you're looking at a very similar ADP. Recent one on Underdog. Jaylen Warren is
6:34running back 28 and Dowel, I believe, is running back 32. Yeah, running back 32.
6:39So, it's basically a the the ADPs have completely converged. Do you think this is going to be an annoying ugly split or
6:47is this a backfield that fantasy managers should be embracing? Pittsburgh Steelers all feel like they're kind of cheap right now and it's worth taking
6:56some shots on this offense with McCarthy taking over. What are some things you're looking for in training camp and who's the the back to bet on?
7:03>> Yeah, man. I I think you hit on a lot of good points and I think one of the reasons is that like people I don't
7:08know, you know, Arthur Smith kind of like messed this offense up for us a little bit and we're just like we we
7:13don't want to touch it.
7:13>> We're broken. We're broken.
7:14>> Yeah, we're broken. We're Exactly. Mike McCarthy coming in though, like it it should make us a little excited, you know, especially in the receiving game,
7:22right? Especially in the passing game.
7:23So, obviously Aaron Rogers isn't who he used to be, but he could do certain things, right? Right. And I think both
7:29of these guys are going to get a lot of play. And Jaylen Warren, like you mentioned, you know, he has been a
7:35really good running back throughout his career. He never really profiled as that like primary early down guy, even though he's been hyperefficient, you know, in
7:42several years of his career, uh, in the run game, right? You're talking about a really good running back here, like elusiveness after contact. Um, and like
7:50not to mention his pass catching, like a really really great pass catcher. um between the two guys for fantasy. Like I
7:55I I simply want Jaylen Warren because I think he's safer number one and I think he provides more upside. I'm not gonna
8:02lie. Like Rico D I think is a solid rusher. Uh I think his role is going to be kind of that early down grinder. Uh
8:08you know, he has he'll have a little bit of upside, a little bit of big playability. Uh I don't know how
8:12involved he's going to be in the receiving game, right? I do think he's going to be the favorite for that for
8:16those goal line touches. So obviously he'll be favorite there. Uh but I think Warren can get a little bit of that too,
8:22man. And I think he get a little bit of action around the goal line as well. And then Aaron Rogers, we know he's going to
8:26check it down a ton, right? Just like he did for both Gainwell and and uh and uh and Warren, right? So like if if this
8:34was like concentrate if these targets running back targets last year were concentrated towards one guy, like Warren would have had like 100
8:40receptions last year, right? I mean, it would have been insane.
8:43>> You kind of nailed it. I think that with the losing Gainwell, like we're all looking at how Mike McCarthy is going to
8:49influence the offense, but if we see sort of more of the same with Aaron Rogers wanting to check down to a guy,
8:54Warren's going to be the huge beneficiary. And then it's sort of like a like a Mandela effect where you ask people how many uh rushing yards did
9:01Jill Warren have last year just quick.
9:03Somebody's going to say like, oh, maybe 800. He had nearly a,000 rushing yards in in sort of a split situation where
9:09Gainwell was getting a ton of usage at the end. 958 rushing yards for Jaylen Warren last year on 211 carries. Uh
9:17Pittsburgh, it feels like Warren, I agree with you, he's the one that I'm gravitating towards cuz at the end of the day, as much impact as Mike McCarthy
9:25is going to have, it's Aaron Rogers who's calling the shots. And Aaron Rogers ultimately is the one who's going to drive the needle for improving
9:33somebody's fantasy stats. And the familiarity he has with Jaylen Warren, you know, we always could get a rug pull. Like last year, Aaron Rogers had
9:41no history with Kenneth Gainwell and him completely embraced him. But I'm going with Jaylen Warren as well. I think he is the value. Farz, you're crushing it
9:49over at Upperand Fantasy. Um and it and it when when people talk about like, you know, fantasy football companies like Instagram, you guys, you guys really
9:58have it on lock. Um really crushing it over there. Um always enjoyed doing podcasts with you. Let everybody know what you have coming out and where
10:06people can find your work.
10:08>> Yeah. Yeah. No, for sure, man. Um, Upperhand Fantasy over on Instagram. Uh, you can find me there. Actually, you know, you should, uh, shoot me a
10:16message, uh, if you can. Um, because, uh, I actually built a tool for your audience, man. A free tool. Uh, and I I
10:24didn't we didn't talk about this, but, uh, it's a kind of what we're talking about here, right? It's a training camp
10:29battle tool that lists all the battles that we're talking about today with meters signifying like who's winning the battle throughout camp. And that's going
10:37to be updated throughout training camp and preseason. So, it's completely free for your audience. Like, if anyone finds me on Instagram, upperand fantasy. Uh,
10:45just DM me the word Theo and I'll send it over. I mean, look at that.
10:49Unbelievable. Unbelievable stuff from for Oziki over here. Check out Upperand Fantasy. If you're on Instagram, it's like a must follow for you. Also, check
10:57out Roto Wire Instagram. We're dropping some cool stuff over there. But uh yeah, Farz, I've always like we would bump into each other at like the Senior Bowl
11:04that like the content you're putting out, it's it's very easy to watch. It's always actionable. Uh it's definitely something I'm checking out. Highly
11:10recommend Farz. Let's uh keep this one going. We talked about running backs.
11:14Why don't we talk about another backfield? And I feel like I'm I'm like uh I have to talk about this with every
11:19single guest of mine all summer long.
11:21Chuba Hubard or Jonathan Brooks for you?
11:25>> Before I do that, real quick, I just appreciate the kind words, man. It means a lot to me, man. It really does.
11:29>> All day. All day. Um, Jonathan Brooks. It's Jonathan Brooks. I mean, he's coming for Tupa's job, dude.
11:34He's coming like all signs are pointing towards that right now. I'm not worried about the uh I don't think I've ever
11:40called it a double ACL injury, but I guess that's what it is. I almost look at it obviously with the help of other
11:46experts in, you know, medical experts looking at this situation like the second ACL surgery kind of being a fix for the first botched one, right? Uh
11:54clean ACL injury, right? No other ligaments damaged. So, I'm not really worried about the injury itself. He's still super young. He was a great
12:01prospect coming out and now is his chance, man. Like from the beginning of the year this year, like 2026, like as
12:07soon as the season ended, Dave Canal has just been raving about Brooks non-stop and he still is. And now we're getting
12:13reports that they want him to be a real part of this backfield with the potential of him continuing, you know, maybe completely taking over, right? And
12:20I think I'm fully buying into that right now. I'm not going to lie.
12:23>> Yeah. I mean, he's been an early buzz guy. We heard even like yesterday, I think this was Cameron Wolf and uh we're
12:29recording this on Friday. This is dropping early in the week. Um so this is probably a couple days old for the
12:34for the YouTube and podcast audience, but uh Cameron Wolf reported that it's going to be a one-two punch with Chuba Hubard, but if Brooks can stay healthy,
12:43he can be the lead back of this offense and take this offense to another level.
12:47And I really think that's the key. I think Dave Canales, you know, he's always been sort of a Brooks guy. um
12:54talks about how he can have expanded uh like play sets and and also like expanded usage. I think we'll see different wrinkles in this offense just
13:03on Brooks's availability and his ability to offer like a two-way ability as a pass catcher and a runner. And I think
13:10it's the pass catching that makes Brooks so appealing to us in fantasy football.
13:14Like if he's fully healthy, I think we could see 60 receptions from him this year. Tuber's always been sort of a
13:19compiler, so I am all the way on Jonathan Brooks, but it gets more and more expensive every single week. Is there a cut off point for you for Oz?
13:27Like, we're starting to see Brooks steam up to the sixth round in some of these high stakes formats after having access
13:34to him in like the 10th round in the early off season.
13:38>> Yeah, I think around that price makes sense. Like I like he's like where Raandre Stevenson should be, right? like wherever Rodandre Stevenson's being
13:47drafted, like I want to take Brooks over him. Like that's kind of where I'm at because Raandre has that early season,
13:53you know, potential usage and then it might t you might, you know, tinker down a little bit. But Jonathan Brooks is
13:58somebody who's like, you know, might not have as much but then could be a league winner towards the end of the year. So
14:03around that seventh round spot, that's kind of where my limit is to be honest with you. Uh, but listen man, if
14:09training if if we get more smoke out of training camp, like I can totally see myself reaching on someone like Brooks.
14:16I was high on him coming out of college, man. So, like I think that, you know, he still has that ability because he's so
14:21young. Um, you know, that's a real reason why I'm just kind of chasing this a little bit.
14:26>> Yeah, for sure. It's really hard to pass him up at ADP. Let's stay in the NFC South. Let's talk about the Tampa Bay
14:32Buccaneers. Bucky Irving right at like the running back two, running back three line somewhere at running back 24, running back 25 on multiple formats. And
14:41then you've got Kenneth Gainwell who uh Tampa Bay Bucks uh media dropped like a a lifting video of him doing like box
14:49squats with like 500 lb for reps.
14:51Gainwell looks like pretty locked in. Uh you've got Gainwell at running back 37.
14:56So there's a gap between the two, but it's close enough. Call Gainwell somewhere as a low-end RB3. and let's call Bucky Irving a low-end RB2. Who's
15:05the best bet in this backfield? Or could this end up being an annoying split with Gainwell taking on a a larger than
15:11anticipated uh receiving role? I think some of cuz some of the Vegas books have the overunder on receptions for Gainwell at like 50 and a half. A pretty healthy
15:21number for him.
15:22>> Yeah, >> that that's a big number. I didn't realize that. Wow. I saw that this week and it was it was weird because it was
15:28uh the Irving rushing stats overunders where you would say oh that looks pretty good but it was the gain well at 50 and
15:35a half which for a running back I mean Vegas is not giving giving away money there. They don't want to get burned on
15:40another Gainwell big receiving season north of 70 last year.
15:44>> Yeah, insane. Um so I am totally out on Bucky Irving at cost. Um I would be even I would be out even if his price was a
15:51little bit lower even. Um, I think you basically have a role here as the early down guy, but without the goal line
15:59role, without potential two-minute passing down or long down and distance roles. Um, and that's a lot of empty calories as as Zach on my team likes to
16:07say, right? Like you're going to have Kenny Gainwell, who looked great last year, like we mentioned earlier. He was really, really good alongside Jaylen
16:12Warren. And it doesn't it takes a it takes a good amount to take Jaylen Warren off the field. Like we talked
16:17about how good he is, right? And obviously Bucky Irving was hurt last year, so his efficiency numbers took a real dip. I'm guessing he'll bounce back
16:24a little bit from an efficiency standpoint, but from a role standpoint, like you already have Todd BS who who has been called this backfield a 1A1B
16:32situation, you know, between Bucky and Gainball. So that's not good, right? And then you have Shawn Tucker potentially at the goal line here. So that's not
16:39good either. Um, so not sure what you're really getting out of Bucky Irving.
16:43You're really going to be depending on those big plays. Um, and I think he's going to be sharing that early down. I
16:48think Gamewell is going to have the long down and distance two-minute type of role, but he's also going to mix in on
16:53early downs just like he did with Jaylen Warren last year. Uh, and you know, just collecting receptions, uh, you know, running routes on early downs as well.
17:00So, I think he's going to be in too involved for Bucky to really even, you know, he might Can Bucky return on ADP?
17:06Sure. But he doesn't have the upside that I'm that I'm trying to trying to find. So, I like Gainwell at his ADP.
17:11>> Yeah, I I think you nailed it. I think that even like if if Bucky runs pure from a rushing uh perspective, the the
17:19like small threat of Shawn Tucker around the goal line, like I think everybody sort of likes Tucker, the talent. Um could Tucker like vulture four or five
17:28rushing scores this year? Um I think so.
17:32We saw that sort of last year where he was getting some some usage inside the the 10 yard line. Uh and then you on top
17:38of that you've got Kenneth Gainwell the receiver. So Bucky would have to be incredibly efficient and explosive as a runner to really return a ton of value.
17:48Now, could it be like a small win? Could Bucky Irving be running back 21 off a running back 24 price tag? Yeah, for
17:54sure. But I don't think Bucky Irving being like running back 10 is in the cards. And I think we're chasing big
18:00wins when we attack the like the the old school dead zone with some of these running backs available, especially with some of like these year two guys and
18:07guys like David Montgomery also like relatively uh about the same price tag as Bucky. We talked about running back at length. Let's uh pivot over to the
18:16wide receiver position. One of the biggest teammate battles to watch is Marvin Harrison Jr. versus Michael Wilson. Uh we think there's going to be
18:24some value in the number two pass catcher in Arizona. Uh but it's kind of hard to bet on one if they ended up
18:30being the number three target with Trey McBride expected to maintain a high volume target role. Uh these guys are are shifting in different directions.
18:39Michael Wilson all the way down at wide receiver 47 uhish in ADP and then you've got Marvin Harrison Jr. who's wide
18:46receiver 34 and starting to climb. We've seen Marvin Harrison Jr. rise into like the sixth round pretty consistently in formats like the FFPC and NFC. Uh
18:56there's been some analysts coming out really uh in favor of Marv having sort of a post-type sleeper year three breakout year. Are you betting on last
19:06season's production in Wilson or Marvin Harrison Jr. the player who we were really betting on coming out of college?
19:13>> I am a little bit worried about the offense in terms of this potentially being a little bit of a QB carousel,
19:18right? Um you had Jacobe Brassette, you know, back, you know, in camp. I think they're working on a deal right now,
19:23some positive talks or whatever. So, can he be the guy the entire year? I don't know. Maybe. Um, it's also worth
19:30considering the fact that this is going to be a different offense than last year as well, right? Um, so a lot of the
19:35stuff that we saw last year might not be applicable to this year. And I think Marvin Harrison Jr. has the talent, man.
19:40Like, I think if you look at what he's done in a vacuum compared to his offensive environment, um, and the quarterback that's quarterbacks that
19:47have been throwing him the ball, I think he's still a good wide receiver. I think he still has a chance to become an alpha
19:53wide receiver. So, I am on that boat in terms of like he he's not all lost with Marvin Harrison Jr. just yet. I just
20:00need to see the dog in him, man. Like, that's something that I haven't seen in Marvin Harrison Jr. in the pros, right?
20:04So, that's an issue. I think as of right now, Michael Wilson probably has more dog in him than Marvin Harrison Jr., but
20:10I think he has to step it up a little bit now. I think he's super capable. Um, now it's hard to picture Michael Wilson
20:15beating out Marvin Harrison Jr. when they're on the field together because Michael Wilson has was barely able to do anything or even earn targets when
20:21Marvin Harrison Jr. was on the field last year. even past when he started to break to break out a little bit last
20:27year, right? So, between these two guys, I think Marvin Harrison J will be the clear winner here. I think he's going to
20:32be the clear wide receiver one for them this year. Um, obviously, you know, opposite, you know, outside of uh Trey McBride, but Cardinals have a clear
20:39incentive to to make him his guy, man.
20:41And and you know, the other thing that I'm really looking at is this change at OC. Michael Wilson, I don't know if you
20:47saw just a couple, I don't know if it was a day or two ago, but he just came out and bluntly said that the games that
20:52he was killing it, it was because he was playing exce. Now, M and Laflur has just come out and said that, you know, a
21:00while back that he's going to be playing more of a flanker role, right? And then Marv is going to be playing the ex
21:03receiver. So, it's going to be a different role than he played last year when he was killing it. So, it's hard
21:08for me to be excited about Michael Wilson.
21:10>> Lot of question marks in Arizona. Uh, does your concern for the offense extend to Trey McBride? Certainly not a player
21:17we need to keep an eye on in training camp. McBride's pretty locked in, but there's been some McBride fades out there. Um, are you sort of neutral on
21:25him at ADP, avoiding or embracing McBride at his tight end two cost?
21:31>> I'm in between neutral and fading. Um, I was huge on him last year, loved him, but this season I'm all in on Brock
21:38Bowers, you know, around that price, right? So, like it's hard for me to grab Trey when I grab Brock and then if Trey
21:45slides, you know, in some home leagues he's slid into the third round, Trey McBride, but then there's so many good wide receivers in the third round that I
21:52love that I'm attacking, right? Like Chris Olav and Damonte Smith and those type of guys. So, that's why I just haven't had a lot of Trey McBride this
21:58year. Um, and that's probably going to continue throughout. Um, you know, obviously Drew Petting was a big fan of throwing to the tight end, but also you
22:05have to look at the fact that, you know, Trey McBride is somebody who is extremely talented. and he earns every target. Uh, and he's a really good
22:12player. So, you know, he's going to have a great year. Uh, but is it going to be the type of year that he had last year?
22:18Maybe not. He could see a little bit of a regression this year.
22:21>> You had me at Brock Bowers. That's all you needed to say for [laughter] us. Uh, that's all I need to hear on this show.
22:26Uh, let's talk about an under the radar uh, wide receiver camp battle to watch.
22:31Adai Mitchell was very good down the stretch last year and had incredible usage really when it comes down to it.
22:37Obviously Garrett Wilson was not around, but Mitchell was an acquisition uh amid like one of when the Jets were making all the trades. They moved Sas Gardner.
22:47They had Adai Mitchell as sort of a throwin from Indianapolis. Mitchell was a second round pick out of Texas a few
22:53years back. Um and really didn't do much in Indianapolis. Flashed, but sort of never clicked with the coaching staff.
23:00Got this high usage role in New York.
23:02There was some pretty strong vibes for Mitchell heading into the NFL draft. But then the Jets selected Omar Cooper Jr.
23:08who analytically was terrific for the national champion Indiana Hooers. A really fun prospect for us. Another very athletic player with toughness and
23:17yakability. Garrett Wilson's going to be the number one target in New York. But potential for a secondary pass catcher to at least have some fantasy utility I
23:26think is there. Who's the bet to make between Cooper and Adai Mitchell? I think people are really kind of torn on
23:32this one.
23:33>> Yeah, this is this is a great one, man.
23:35I'm glad you brought this one up.
23:36Underrated battle 100%. And this one's actually super interesting to me because, you know, you kind of touched on it. Adie Mitchell was actually a
23:43really good target earner last year. Um, and I don't think that it was simply because they traded for him and he had
23:50that a role that catered to him. I just think simply that he is a good wide receiver. And if you look at a target
23:56per route run perspective, even as a rookie, he didn't get much run because he kind of him and Alec Pierce kind of
24:01have overlapping roles. But 26% targets per route run last year that ranked 12th among all wide receivers with more than 250 routes. So if he ends up winning
24:10this role, I wouldn't count him out in actually earning targets over guys like Omar Cooper Jr. who I think is going to
24:17end up being the slot receiver this year. I think AD Mitchell um you know being that ex receiver with Garrett Wilson running free as a flanker like
24:25that that that seems right to me like in terms of like where these guys should be from a personnel perspective. I really
24:32like Omar Cooper Jr. I think he definitely profiles more as that underneath option kind of similar to Luther Burton a little bit. Um you know
24:38I do think Ad Mitchell is someone people are sleeping on. I think he's actually underrated as a player and as a
24:44separator. Um, so I think if I had to choose one right now, uh, because of the because of the, uh, impact that I think
24:52he's already had in the NFL, that he proved that he could be a target earner, he gets the edge for me just by a hair
24:58before Omar Cooper Jr. ends up breaking out.
25:01>> Yeah, it's really a price thing for me where Adai Mitchell is so so cheap right now. He's wide receiver 69 on underdog.
25:08similar price tag in a couple of these reddraft formats. And in a lot of home leagues, I think that Mitchell is going
25:13to go undrafted. It feels like a guy that it feels like a guy that fantasy managers are going to be like
25:19potentially adding on the waiverwire after week one or week two. You can just see Adam and I Mitchell getting behind a
25:25defense, scoring like a long touchdown and sort of being the number two target to Garrett Wilson. Uh so I'm trying to
25:31mix these guys in. I'm I'm actually have some exposure to Omar Cooper as well in baseball, but I think if one becomes
25:37consistent this year, it's probably going to be Mitchell in year three rather than Cooper in year two. I also think that like the Cooper and Kenyan
25:45Sadi could be a little bit overlapping if they're trying to like find a Yak guy in this offense. So, I agree with you. I
25:51think Mitchell's really fun and again, he's dirt cheap. You can take him in the final round of pretty much any of your
25:56drafts right now. Uh let's keep this one going. Let's go with do we care about Jawan Jennings in Minnesota at all? Like
26:03is this one where you know and again I think people are sort of coming to terms with this could be a big bounceback
26:09season for Justin Jefferson. There's some Jefferson faders out there but Jefferson is the like unquestioned wide receiver one in Minnesota.
26:17If he has the same sort of a first read target love that we saw from Kyler Murray to Trey McBride, then I think
26:24Jefferson could end up being like a 30% target share guy, 18 plus point per game guy again. But there's also sort of a
26:30camp that Jordan Addison could could bounce back this year. Again, it's sort of hard to bet on Kyler supporting a bunch of weapons, but Addison, it's like
26:39a bet on talent bet. He's very very cheap right now. He had 19 touchdown catches his first two seasons as a pro.
26:46Obviously a first round pick, Bullet Nikov award winner, and he's wide receiver 42 um in ADP. Does but does the presence of Jawan Jennings do anything
26:56to sort of tamper Jordan being the clear number two target on this offense enthusiasm at all?
27:03>> No, [laughter] >> I don't think so. I think I think Jordan Addison is the clear number two here.
27:08I'm not worried about Jawan Jennings should be so thankful to Kyle Shanahan like for like, you know, doing anything with him like in his career. Like I
27:18don't think he's more any more of anything than an underneath guy, you know, run blocker type of wide receiver.
27:24Um I think Shanahan was able to just squeeze the most juice out of him possible, right? And like you know, Shanahan's a wide receiver whisperer. He
27:31can scheme up anyone, you know, to be their guy. he chooses who's going to be their number one wide receiver, you
27:36know, on a week- toeek basis, especially last year when they didn't really have anybody for for a lot of stretches. So,
27:42I don't think he's going to be too fantasy relevant or anything. Uh, but I do think that Jordan Addison like, you
27:48know, he he's pretty underrated right now. His ADP is low. Um, he's a touchdown machine, man. And as long as Kyler Murray, I think, can bring some
27:55stability to this offense, just run KOC's offense. Like, that's all you have to do. just run it like just like all
28:01these other quarterbacks have run it except one.
28:05There's only one quarterback who couldn't run this offense, by the way.
28:07Um, and I, you know, I don't I don't really I don't think that this quarterback competition is going to really be a thing. Like the fact that
28:13they're even saying that this is going to run like the length of training camp and preseason sounds insane to me. I
28:18really hope that doesn't happen cuz you want that one quarterback to be that main guy. Anyway, I actually think Jordan Addison can have can have a
28:26bounce back here and I think he can severely outproduce ADP and if he does, I don't think anyone's going to be
28:30really surprised. Yeah, I'm with you. I think it's a non-competition and Jennings, I think stylistically makes sense for them uh as a blocker and some
28:39of the trick plays and stuff he's got in his bag. He's a fun player, but it's not a player that I think will be fantasy
28:45relevant at all. Addison just a very, very talented guy. And again, the ability to get to get behind a defense and wide receiver 42 for him, it feels
28:54right. I understand that there's question marks about Kyler because of historically we haven't had it where he supports multiple guys. But I don't
29:02know, Addison wide receiver 42. It's it's like if I'm chasing an upside flex or an upside wide receiver three at that
29:09price tag, I'm willing to mix him in.
29:11And I think in baseball, it certainly makes a lot of sense. But reddraft, he's live as well. Let's talk about the
29:16Pittsburgh Steelers. Who is going to lead this wide receiver room in fantasy points this year, DK Mechaf or Michael Pitman Jr.?
29:24>> I think it's going to be Michael Pitman Jr. I think he just fits what Aaron Rogers does well at this point of his
29:31career underneath intermediate type of target. DK Metaf playing the ex- receiver role more down the field. We It was a very similar situation last year
29:40where Aaron Rogers just wasn't throwing the ball deep. you know, Mike McCarthy's offense, you want to throw the ball deep, but I don't think Rogers is simply
29:47capable of doing that in a consistent basis right now. So, I think Metaf is going to be the loser here, you know,
29:54you know, with this whole situation.
29:55Michael Pitman coming in, man. Like, this is not going to be the first time where Michael Pitman was drafted super low and all of a sudden he's a top 24
30:01wide receiver like out of nowhere, right? Like, this is not going to be a surprise. He is a target earner, man.
30:0625% target share in like four straight seasons. Like, he is a good wide receiver. He's going to be Aaron Rogers best friend.
30:13I'm with you. I think Michael Pitman leads the team. I I think this is I took a nuanced answer on this. I was on with
30:19uh Garrett Price who came on this channel, went on Garrett's show over on Dynasty Nerds, and I think DK might make
30:25more sense as a best ball selection because I think he could put up some big spike weeks. But if you're looking for a
30:31consistent target earner, a guy who is going to probably put up, I'd say high-end wide receiver three numbers, maybe better. Um I think it's Michael
30:41Pitman Jr. and he's super cheap right now. You're able to get him at at a very reasonable price and there's been this
30:47like great streak in terms of wide receivers who were traded for in the offseason producing in fantasy. Pitman fits that bill. Pittsburgh went out and
30:56got him like right away. As soon as Alec Pierce signed, they went and traded for Michael Pitman. And again, we talked
31:01about the Mike McCarthy offense. I think it lends itself to there being a couple of winners and some guys providing fantasy utility. So, I think Jaylen
31:10Warren and Michael Pitman both are kind of fit that bill. Both of those guys could beat their ADP. So, really, really
31:16fun uh conversation there. Let's pivot over Green Bay. Okay, let's assume that Christian Watson, everybody's [snorts] on Watson this year. He's going off the
31:25board as the wide receiver one in Green Bay. I've talked about him on a million pods. Let's let's remove Christian Watson. Let's say that Christian Watson
31:32is on the field in two wide receiver sets. and let's say he's the wide receiver one in Green Bay. Who scores
31:39more points this year, Jaden Reed or Matthew Golden? And is it uh is there any chance that Green Bay uses Jaden
31:48Reed a little bit more in two wide receiver sets? He's been completely nuked, never is on the field in two wide
31:54sets throughout his career. Do we potentially see a slight wrinkle here or is it all golden in two wide sets? So,
32:02kind of a long question for you for Oz, but take it any way you want, >> man. One can only hope, one can only
32:09wish that Jaden Reed can play at two wide receiver sets, man. Cuz if he does, he will break fantasy, right? Like he
32:16he's been so efficient throughout his career in terms of fantasy points per route run and yards per all the good stuff that we love. And he's just a
32:24really really good wide receiver.
32:26Severely underrated wide receiver. He got paid too. And it's going to suck because I think Matthew Golden's just going to be the guy in two wide receiver
32:34sets this year. Uh because like he just profiles as that guy for them, not for me because I think Jaden Reed can easily
32:42play a flanker role and you know be that guy and opposite Christian Watson playing that exceiver. It could I really would love for that to happen. I'm not a
32:49big Matthew Golden guy even at a lower price. Um, I think Jayen Reed will outscore Matthew Golden this year, even if he only plays in 11 personnel and
32:58three wide receiver sets. Um, but but that's kind of where I'm at here, man.
33:02It really really sucks. Like, it it it's just an unfortunate situation because you want to see the better wide receiver on the field. I I I think that taking
33:11some shots on Jaden Reed makes some sense. He's moved up in ADP. Um, if you want to bet on Matthew Golden, he's
33:18super cheap. He's wide receiver 49. Reed is like ticked up a little bit, but I could see Reed having some really good
33:24utility this year. Uh, you know, it's hard to like go like forget last season, but if you take it last season out of
33:30the equation, his first two seasons as a pro, he had uh over 800 receiving yards in one year and the other he was like
33:37790. So, call it like back-to-back 800 uh receiving yard seasons, 14 touchdowns. And what's interesting about Reed is they love to get him the ball
33:45around the goal line. He had 31 rush attempts in his first two seasons as a pro. So they they get him those sort of
33:52manufactured Debo type touches. Um Reed's good and they extended him. So I think he's worth taking a shot on.
33:59Golden though could end up with a really really good snap share. Um you wonder if he could take a step forward, but I
34:04think it's Reed ultimately scores more fantasy points than Matthew Golden does this year. And I think both of those guys are worth taking shots on because
34:13we've got Christian Watson steaming up so much. And I've made plenty of bull cases for Watson. And I I've had a
34:18number of guests who have as well. But like this this massive gap between Watson and then the wide receiver, too.
34:26It just gets larger and larger seemingly every single week. So I think Reed is sort of a bet on talent situation. Kind
34:32of a post type sleeper here. How about the Cleveland Browns for us? Who scores the most fantasy points at the wide
34:38receiver position this year? Casey Conpsion, Jerry Judy, Denzel Boston. Uh, you can pass on this one if you want.
34:45Um, as well, yeah. Yeah, there we go.
34:47Okay, go for it. I would I would never pass. You kidding me, man? Uh, >> listen, I'm a big Casey Conpsion guy.
34:54Uh, I really am. Like, I think he's just a baller. He like when I watch him, he might be the best route runner from this
35:00draft class. Like, I I think he's the best one of the best separators clearly.
35:04um after the catch. Demon, right? Like just really really good. So if you know Tom Monin was the the the offensive
35:13coordinator when they drafted when the Ravens drafted Zay Flowers, right? And if Casey Conpsion can be that guy, uh that would be absolutely huge. Huge. Um
35:24now I am a Denzel Boston guy too. I am.
35:26So, like I was kind of like not upset that they drafted him too, but the fact that now they have to compete against
35:31each other, like two of my loves have to compete for, you know, for that for that top role. It sucks. Uh, now is Jerry
35:37Judy going to be involved? Probably. But if I had to bet on it, I think Denzel Boston is going to be the exceiver. So,
35:43he's going to have the most snaps, the most rout participation among all these wide receivers. Uh, and then followed by uh either Jerry Judy or Casey Conpsion.
35:51I just hope that Conpsion isn't just limited to the slot in in year one.
35:55>> Yeah, it's funny because I did the NFL draft podcast with Brett Whitefield last year when I was at Fantasy Points and I
36:02made that comparison where I said that Casey KCC reminds me of Z Flowers and Brett was even like more bullish on
36:10Casey Conpsion. Uh Brett had like Casey Conpsion like way way high in last year's draft class like well ahead of like Lemon and a couple of these guys.
36:18So, um I I I think Casey Conpsion is electric. I think he's the one that I'd want to bet on. I think you have to be a
36:25little patient if you draft him on your teams. Like the usage could could tick up. Um and but I think when we get to
36:30the second half of the year, Casey Conpsion is going to have a really strong second half of the year regardless of who's playing quarterback
36:36in Cleveland. Um and I think that the Monkin history with Flowers should be a positive one. Um, you again, we we maybe
36:43wanted a little bit more out of Z Flowers in terms of like end zone targets, in terms of like overall all
36:50target ceiling, but I think KCC profiles well enough. And again, first round pick. I love having access to Denzel Boston in Dynasty and in best ball. Um,
36:59but I think from a reddraft lens, I lean to Casey Conpsion. So, we're sort of locked in on that one. Uh, wide
37:06receiver. Okay, we'll go to the one that I also have to ask every single guest about this one. And I promise for people
37:13tired of hearing me talk about BTJ and Parker Washington, I'm not gonna share any thoughts. There's about 20 podcasts that have my thoughts on this one. So,
37:20okay, Brian Thomas Jr., Parker Washington, and is Jacobe Meyers being slept on a little bit for us? Like, how do you see this
37:29shaking out uh in training camp? Uh are and who are you betting on to score the most fantasy points in this wide
37:34receiver room?
37:36>> I mean, that that's an age-old question, right?
37:39uh you know tail is old time is being slept on probably yes just like he is every single year uh and he always
37:47outperforms uh his ADP always so just bank on that just like just bank on it it's going to happen um now I I I do think you know if
37:57I had to things are going to be a little bit messy I think when it comes to this wide receiver room but it's an offense
38:02we have to target right Liam Cohen into year two with this team Trevor Lawrence going to year two like Lawrence looked
38:08really good towards the end of the year and part of why he looked really good is because a lot of that lined up with
38:13Parker Washington's breakout right towards the end of the year and a lot of debate you know whether Parker Washington is someone we should target
38:20you know for the most part when I see a wide receiver with this type of sample size it was about six games or so right
38:25I think that's about right for me in terms of like just saying like okay this is a guy I want to bet on for next year
38:30right Puka Nakua was the only wide receiver who averaged more yards per route run than Parker Washington during that span so when I see a breakout like
38:38this, like I want to take my shots, especially in normal home leagues, you're drafting him between round six and eight. So, for me, he's the main
38:45wide receiver that I want to target, especially because uh there's a lot of smoke around him potentially being one of the wide receivers in two wide
38:53receiver sets alongside BTJ as the exceiver. So, if he's going to be on the field in 12 personnel and then maybe
39:00kick into the slot in 11 personnel, like that's amazing. That's exactly what you want because BTJ is going to be the one
39:06who's going to be running a lot of those deeper deeper plays. You know, less of a chance of be connecting. Uh, you know,
39:13is it going to be consistent in terms of his target share? Uh, and also we just have we ever really seen him and Trevor
39:20Lawrence click like I don't think we really have, man. Even maybe beginning of the rookie year a little bit, but it
39:25was really Mac. Jones, you know, in the rookie year, you know, when Trevor Lawrence got hurt that really what took Brian Thomas Jr. to that next level. So,
39:32I don't know, man. the proof is in the pudding for me. Uh I I think Parker Washington is the guy that I'm looking
39:36at for a potential breakout year.
39:39>> You know, I think the thing for us to keep an eye on in in training camp, and I'm not sure how upper hand fantasy
39:44could could visualize this one, but uh for training camp battle to watch would be uh the use of 12 and 13 personnel
39:51versus 11 personnel in Jacksonville. I think that's like the one and a shout out to Jacob Gibbs who's like yourself bullish on Parker Washington. Um, but he
40:00brings up the like the apprehension is if we see this like embrace of of heavy in Jacksonville and we see like Liam
40:09Cohen going like full Shawn McVey, does that box Parker Washington out slightly in terms of the snap share and you see a
40:17lot more BTJ and Jacobe Myers in like two wide receiver sets and they go heavy in a lot of these like so that's like
40:24the one thing for me to keep an eye on is looking for media reports and it feels like Jacksonville's team where
40:30there's a lot of beat reporters who cover it well like John Shipley and some of these guys, but I want to keep an eye
40:35on the use of heavy versus the use of like 11. That's like the one thing I think they're all priced right. Uh
40:42that's the one thing about Jacksonville.
40:43But I'm going to cut myself off cuz there are people in the comments who do not want to hear me talk about Parker
40:48Washington anymore. I'm sure I'll deal with it on a bunch more podcasts. But uh wide receivers, we covered a lot of
40:53them. Let's go rapid fire on this next one. Who is your favorite non Brock Bowers uh wide receiver in in Vegas? Or
41:02I guess we could go pass catcher. Non Brock Bowers, assuming like you're high on Ashton Genty, you're high on Brock Bowers. I am. But give me a skill
41:10position player in Vegas. Is there a sleeper here that at some point fantasy managers are going to the waiverwire and saying, "Man, I wish I would have just
41:18taken this guy in the last round. He was free."
41:21If Jack Besh makes a little bit of noise uh in training camp, that's the guy who I would want to go after. Uh otherwise,
41:29I'm probably fading all the wide receivers in Vegas, you know, obviously outside of Rob Bowers. That's fair. And again, Jack Bash, uh day two pick last
41:37year, senior bowl MVP. We were both in Mobile at the time. Jack Bash like tore it up. So, uh that'll be an interesting
41:43one. Trey Tucker as like Rasheed this the like the 2024 version of Rasheed Shahed usage-wise could be interesting.
41:52I'm not sure though. Um I do think that we need to keep an eye on this situation. One of them could be fantasy
41:59relevant uh just based on Bowowers could be a 30% target share guy. Ashton Genty I think will be top five in running back
42:05receptions. But unless we think this team is going to take a big step forward, they could be trailing in some of these games, especially considering
42:12the the difficulty of this division going up against Denver twice, LA twice, Kansas City twice. So, um there might be like a garbage time Vegas uh receiver
42:22who gets there by the end of the year.
42:23So, let's keep an eye on that in training camp. Let's go even uglier.
42:27Let's go non Devon Han Miami Dolphins pass catcher. I mean, Achan is a whole conversation. We could talk about that for an hour. uh Han besides Christian
42:37McAffrey is really one of the o really the only running back in football who could lead his team in catches and
42:43targets uh without a an injury to anyone. And I think Han is should be projected to lead this team in catches
42:48and targets because it's such an ugly group of players here. Chris Bell starting the year out on the pup. So any
42:54of like the hopes and dreams of Chris Bell enthusiasts uh who thought maybe he could just, you know, come back to what
43:00we saw at Louisville, that's going to be a slow drip. I think maybe a 2027 bet.
43:04But when you look at this room, is there any single player that you could see sort of uh coming out of the darkness
43:11into the light and providing fantasy football utility from a team that people are completely passing on?
43:16>> No.
43:17>> Okay, [laughter] there we go.
43:19>> I mean, so I will say like like Malik Washington had a chance last year. I think he had a real chance last year,
43:24you know, with the receivers banged up, you know, to be their potential number two wide receiver. It never happened, right? Um you know, Jaylen Tolbert,
43:31could he be that Romeo Dubs kind of player? And I only say that because, you know, Malik U uh Malik Willis was able
43:37to, you know, play with him in in Green Bay. Uh maybe I don't think the ceiling is that high there either. Um you know,
43:43if I had to pick somebody, it's probably Greg Dulich, right, as the extremely late round tight end. Uh he's had some
43:48spots in his career when he's been relatively efficient. There are some signs that he could do his thing with some opportunity. Not really banking on
43:55it a whole lot. Like I'm not, you know, banking my tight end strategy on him. Uh maybe somebody you can grab late. Um,
44:02but you know, like in for 2026, man, I'm just out. Uh, but I'm kind of interested in these rookie wide receivers, man. You
44:08got like Kevin Coleman, Chris Bell, Caleb Douglas. There's a couple of these guys that, you know, one of these guys could end up uh popping off at some
44:15point. Uh, but, you know, Malik Willis is going to be running the ball a whole lot. You know, I would guess that these
44:21pass, you know, these passing numbers will be relatively low, you know, on a per game basis. So, tough offense to just overall, you know, target in
44:30general. Caleb Douglas is interesting because he's athletically diff athletically gifted and he can get behind a defense and Malik Willis I
44:38think does have a big arm. I think it's Malik Washington but it's probably a better in best guy and like mixing in
44:44like 17th 18th round Malik Washington in best baseball. I think you'll end up with some usable weeks but he's going to
44:51be a very difficult player to sort of like predict for reddraft. Probably a probably a situation best to be avoided.
44:57Let's quickly talk about quarterback.
44:59How many games do you think Fernando Mendoza starts in Vegas this year?
45:05>> Probably I would say I would give it week seven is when he starts going off.
45:10So like probably 10 games or so. That's kind of where I'm going. So I think you know maybe Kurt Cousins gets like maybe
45:15the first six games or so and then they make a switch. When is their bye-week?
45:18That's a that's that's probably one of >> I will I will I will pull that one up right now. I think it's an interesting
45:23conversation. You talk about like it's sort of like the the Drake May coralary where Drake May we kept like fantasy managers sort of wanted him in but they
45:32sort of slow played it and it ended up working out very well. Bye- week 13 for Fernando Mendoza so there's no real like
45:39chance for that.
45:40>> Um I >> I'll take I'll take the over. I'll go he starts maybe 12 games but I don't think we see him at the very beginning. I
45:47think that they um really want to do this right and I think they have enough trust in Kirk Cousins to roll him out
45:54there for five or six weeks. So interesting one to keep an eye on. Let's go Cleveland Browns. Uh who starts the
46:00is this a situation where one of these Cleveland Browns quarterbacks starts let's say 12 games or is this going to be complete musical chairs? I bring this
46:10one up and I think a lot of people dismiss this but Shadur Sanders and Harold Fannon Jr. had some really really
46:17strong consistency last year and I think if you're a Harold Fannon Jr. bull and you are in on Harold Fannon Jr. at ADP
46:25you should be actively rooting for Shadur Sanders. So I think this does have some important value. Deshun Watson sort of left for dead would maybe
46:33provide a little more uh rushing utility and I think Monkin thinks like I think Monkin is like smartest room man in the
46:40room type energy where he thinks he can fix any situation type guy. Um, and I think you're going to see some Watson,
46:46but predict who starts the most games.
46:49>> And is there a single Browns quarterback that you think starts 12 games this year?
46:54>> I think I think you should do a stand starts more games this year than than than Watson. I think I think Watson
47:00coming off the second Achilles at this point, you know, is going to play a little bit of a factor, I would say. I
47:05think, you know, you want somebody who's going to be able to drive the ball down the field. U, I think Sanders showed
47:10that, you know, a little bit. obviously doesn't have the strongest arm in the world, but like he can get it down the
47:14field when he needs to. Um, and he has like someone like Denzel Boston who's like a really good contested catch guy.
47:19Casey Conpsion, him too, like even though like you know, we talk about his drops, but he's actually a really good contested catch player. So, you know, I
47:26think there's a lot more incentive uh to play uh someone like Sanders. Like honestly, like there's no incentive to play either of these guys, but I think
47:33there's less incentive to be able to to want to play B uh want to play Watson from a just an organizational
47:39perspective. Oh, wait. This organization has no idea what it's doing. I forget.
47:42I'm sorry. I forget about that. Uh, but you you you took the words out of my mouth, man. Like Shadu Sanders, like if
47:48you have Harold Fannon Jr., you want Shaduru Sanders to be the guy cuz like he already has a really good rapport and
47:54you know, there's a couple guys coming in here who's going to provide some real target competition for Harold Fanon Jr.
48:00this year. So, you want Sanders to be the guy. So, if I had to guess, I would guess Sanders maybe starts about 11
48:06games this year.
48:07>> Yeah, I think we'll take it. I mean, if you're if you're a a fan in junior dynasty manager or you've been drafting
48:12him, 11 games is probably a decent run out. I think that like the the biggest fear for drafting any of these Browns is
48:20somebody else starts the end of the year where they're like, "We're throwing the towel. We're going to draft a quarterback in 2027. Let's see like uh
48:28you know, Talon Green or something like Gabriel. I don't know. It's a it's a kind of a nightmare situation, but the
48:35best fantasy football situation would be Shadur Sanders winning the job in the preseason, rolling him out there, and I think they could have somewhat of a
48:45functional offense. And when I say functional, all Cleveland needs to do to support the the skill position players based on their ADP price tags is be like
48:54the 25th best offense. As long as they're not like dead last, there's going to be some ADP wins here. though rooting for Shadur Sanders. Let's go
49:03rapid fire and we're going to talk about handcuff running backs and a lot of handcuff running back situations are are completely clear. Like zero reason for
49:13us to talk about the New York Giants.
49:14It's Tyrone Tracy. Zero reason for us to talk about the Arizona Cardinals. We're looking at like Tyler Algier, Tank Bsby.
49:21But then you got this other group of handcuffed running backs who are in good offensive situations where if the starting running back went down, you
49:30could see a potential waiverwire ad of the year situation, but we have a lack of clarity on who the handcuff is. So
49:37let's start off with the Dallas Cowboys, Jaden Blue, Malik Davis, Phil Mafa. Is there a player for you to bet on that if
49:47Javvante Williams were to miss time, you'd say, "Okay, this guy is gonna go into every single lineup I have."
49:53>> It's probably Jaden Blue, right? There's been a lot of smoke around Jaden Blue recently about them trusting him more.
49:58And if you look at his college profile, man, too much pass catching potential.
50:01Like, he has some serious upside when it comes to pass catching. So, uh, similar profile for, you know, as uh Woody Marks
50:08for me, actually. So, you know, somebody who's a good pass catcher who, you know, could have some standalone potential maybe, right? Jaden, uh, Javante
50:16Williams got a lot of targets last year, but he didn't do much with it. So, Jaden Blue could could have a standalone role
50:21to be honest with you.
50:22>> Yeah, it's it we this was like a Todd Archer report. I think ESPN.com um did a report on this one, how all
50:30three are sort of in the mix right now, which makes it so interesting for us.
50:35Blue is the one that I want to bet on though. He has the explosive speed.
50:39There was some hype for Jaden Blue um at this time last year which kept Javvante Williams price tag so low. Malik Davis,
50:47he averaged like like almost 5 yards a carry last year. Had like 50 carries. Uh did some good things, but I think Blue
50:53is the one. And then again, there's going to be some Phil Mafa enthusiasts.
50:57I mean, he had uh at least uh some decent run at Clemson. Um but I think it's Jaden Blue. Jaden Blue is the one
51:03for me. He's small though. Maf's like 220, but we want to keep an eye on this one because we want to be ahead of our
51:09league mates. If we can nail the Dallas Cowboys handcuff running back situation, mix them in as like the 20th round pick,
51:17it could end up saving us a ton of fab money. If something bad happened to Javvante Williams, uh, same question, a
51:24little bit uh, more clarity because we only have two backs here. Miami Dolphins, Devon Chan is the guy, Ali Gordon or Jaylen Wright. You've got Ali
51:34heading into year two, Jaylen heading into year three. Both of them have sort of been a little bit uninspiring based on what we thought they could be sort of
51:42as prospects, at least for me. Who's the one to bet on right now? If Achan were to go down, who would be the running
51:48back to go into our lineups?
51:50>> Probably Ali Gordon. Like that's where I'll go. I think just more upside to be a workhorse, right? Has more that size.
51:56I think Jaylen Wright depends way too much on like outside zone and, you know, having that clear runway. I think Gordon
52:02can do a little bit more in different type of run schemes.
52:05>> Yeah, another this is another one where it's been highly reported that this is an active competition. So, we're going to keep an eye on this one in Miami
52:13throughout NFL training camp. Let's go Green Bay. I will never ever ever quit Marshon Lloyd, but you've also got you've also got Chris Brooks in the mix
52:22and I think the team likes Chris Brooks, but Marshon Lloyds has been a hype guy over the last month and a half. I mean,
52:28The Athletic did a report on him. Um, every they're they're sort of managing his workload to keep him fresh. Um, I'm
52:35Marshon Lloyd on this one. Or am I sort of missing the forest for the trees and Chris Brooks is sort of hiding in plain
52:41sight. Where are you at on this one?
52:44>> I'm with you, man. Marshall Lloyd's my guy, too, man. I just >> don't ever quit for us.
52:48>> Yeah. I I can't I Oh, you know what? I won't. Okay, I won't. There you go. I was almost there. I was almost there,
52:54but you know, you you pushed me back.
52:56Um, I think he's like the most talented running back ever who never sees the field, right? Like he might have bit his
53:01tongue eating breakfast this morning, you know? Like apparently though, maybe we shouldn't be sleeping on Damen Martinez at all. Like maybe like Damen
53:08Martinez might be someone to to draft over Chris Brooks. I don't know.
53:13>> I remember sitting in Mobile and getting hyped about Damen Martinez. Damen Martinez when he fell to the seventh round of the draft. It was just like
53:21sort of a devastating run out for me.
53:24Um, I had hype. I had like, you know, I had plenty of hype for Martinez. I think it's Marshon Lloyd, though. And I I
53:30think it's sort of a case of we weren't wrong, we were just early. Let's be patient. Could there be a situation
53:35where we get a month of Marshon Lloyd?
53:38Like, regardless of the off the- field stuff with Josh Jacobs, you're talking about a 28-year-old who's been in a high volume situation for years and years.
53:46And let's not forget Josh Jacobs came in the league, I believe he, wasn't he like 20 as a rookie? 21. He was very young
53:53rookie. and he and he's always been high volume. So like [snorts] in in like real age, Josh Jacobs is like as a running
53:59back could be like 30. So Marshon Lloyd >> I was going to say Jacobs is over the threshold uh that we like to see when
54:07running backs start to fall off. So in terms of in terms of running back carries. So I think you make a great
54:12point there.
54:13>> Yeah, absolutely. Really interesting one. Let's go uh San Francisco and Christian McCaffrey last year's RB1 overall. Um, but the handcuff job behind
54:22him is very valuable because if McAffrey misses time, it feels like a clear spend a lot of fab, add this guy off the
54:29waiver wire. You've got Jordan James who was a seventh round pick um in 2025. And then you got Kalin Black who was sort of
54:37a surprise third round pick this year in 2026 NFL draft. So, a secondyear guy and a rookie. Who is the player to bet on
54:45here between James and Black?
54:48>> They both stink. [laughter] Okay, there we go.
54:51>> But 49ers backup running backs matter like like you said, right? Um I thought grabbing Kaylin Black in the third round
54:57by then was absolutely insane. But if I had to choose one, it's Jordan James. Um you know, he's going into his second
55:03year, a little bit better after contact, a lot more elusive. Um neither of them are really pass catchers. Um but if I
55:11had to choose one, it's the second year player, not the first year player. Is there any other backfield competition like deep in the weeds here that we
55:18should keep an eye on? You know, Baltimore has Adam Randall sort of trying to compete with Justice Hill. Um, looking down the down the line,
55:27Buffalo's got a couple of guys, probably Ray Davis, but there's a couple of guys there. Is there any like that jumps out
55:33at you and you're like, this is Oh, Kansas City obviously with with Emma Johnson. Is there like a backfield that you're keeping an eye on um that maybe
55:40like an under the radar handcuff situation? Yeah, you know, I'm probably looking at the Chargers, right? I want to like understand that Katon Mitchell
55:46is like that clear RB2. Um because he would absolutely go nuts in in in Mike McDaniel's scheme if Marian Hampton were
55:55to ever get hurt. Um I think that's one that I'm looking at. Um I think the Cardinals one too is interesting to me
56:00just because like yes, I think Tyler Algier is probably the clear RB2 there, but is he going to be a clear handcuff
56:06in terms of is he going to get a huge majority of the work if if Love were to go down, right? like is James Connor
56:13gonna get some work or is Trey Benson gonna get some work? So that that's that's a little bit interesting to me
56:17who their like actual RB3 is going to be especially with T with uh with Connor coming off of injury, right? So that
56:22that's that's another one. The Broncos are another interesting one to me.
56:25>> Oh, that's the one. I mean that yeah, we could have led the show off with that one and I I'll just like I I'll I'll
56:30just bounce this to you. Like I I workshopping sort of another sort of show and like one of the like the
56:37skeleton key players I feel like for NFL training camp. I feel like I'm not being too hyped here. Jonah Coleman feels
56:44almost like a skeleton key guy where you could just see him going up in ADP like two rounds based on training camp hype
56:50and and you'll see more and more people doing like a this year's version of Bucky Irving this year's version of Cam
56:56Scataboo takes with Coleman. Um what but what way were you going with that Denver one?
57:02>> Is JK Dobbins going to hold that 1A early down role the entire year? Like that's what I think about. And there's
57:09the like the word is that it seems to me like Coleman is more of that direct handcuff to Dobbins than R.J. Harvey is.
57:19And it's possible that R.J. Harvey just kind of maintains that passing down role. Maybe gets a little bit more work uh you know if Dobbins were to go down,
57:27which is like at this point it's like it's I hate I'm not an injury-prone guy.
57:31Like I'm not a guy who says like oh like that's an injury-prone player. But like with Dobbins, it's really hard to to say
57:37that he's going to be healthy, right?
57:39Like and that that's that's the thing for me. So if that happens, man, I'm a big Jonah Coleman guy. He was super
57:44efficient in college. You know, he's a thumper. Like he is really good. He moves really well for his size. He's a
57:49great pass catcher, too. And he would be their goal line guy. And if we're expecting the Broncos to be one of the
57:53better offenses in the league, he is 100% somebody that we should be paying attention to when everybody is going to assume that R.J. Harvey is going to just
58:00get more touches like he did last year and was a league winner. However, not efficient at all last year when he got
58:07that role. It was more so like he was just scoring a lot of touchdowns because it was a great offense. I think Coleman
58:12can potentially do a lot with that role if he gets it.
58:14>> Yeah, it's a definitely a team to keep an eye on. Fros, this was awesome today.
58:18Let everybody know again where they could find your work.
58:21>> Upper Fantasy over on Instagram. Uh just shoot me a message. Remember, just DM me the word Theo and I'll send you, you
58:28know, that that free uh training camp battle tool that's going to be updated throughout training camp and preseason uh for free. So, I listen Theo, it's
58:36just a pleasure to be on your show, man.
58:38You know, I think I I highly respect all the work that you do. I think you you're one of the best in the game and uh I
58:43just appreciate it a ton, man. So, so thanks a lot for having me.
58:46>> Yeah, we we'll collab again for sure.
58:47Highly recommend all of Faz's work and stick with us here at Roto Wire. We're dropping daily shows all throughout the month of July and August.
