Yahoo Fantasy Forecast artwork

Bust alert?! How each of the 12 first round picks could sink your season

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

1 hr 23 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 7, 2026
Published
Fri, August 7, 2026
26
Player insights
23
Players mentioned
Topics
Amon-Ra St. BrownJustin JeffersonPuka NacuaBijan RobinsonBrian RobinsonCaleb DouglasCeeDee LambChristian McCaffreyDavante AdamsDavid MontgomeryDenzel BostonDrake LondonGeorge PickensIsiah Pacheco
Player analysis

Player insights

26

Amon-Ra St. Brown

NegativeProjection38:09

Amon-Ra St. Brown is viewed as a very safe pick, with the source ranking him as the WR3 and seventh overall player. The only potential negative scenario involves a role change under a new coordinator, though he is considered versatile enough to succeed regardless.

Insight page
PositiveProjection38:26

Amon-Ra St. Brown is considered a safe, high-floor asset with a consistent projection as a top-five receiver. Despite concerns about a new offensive coordinator or potential role changes, the source argues he is insulated from failure due to his high target volume, particularly inside the 10-yard line, and his ability to produce regardless of alignment.

Insight page

Bijan Robinson

NegativeProjection12:23

Bijan Robinson has a lower floor than Jahmyr Gibbs due to a new coaching staff, concerns about the Falcons' offensive line, and potential quarterback instability. The host and Winks note that Robinson has historically not received all goal-line carries, and the team's implied team total (21 points) is significantly lower than the Lions' (26 points).

Insight page

Brian Robinson

PositiveValue15:15

The host and Hayden Winks agree that Brian Robinson is a better player than Isiah Pacheco and note that he is a threat to steal goal-line touchdowns, which could negatively impact Bijan Robinson's fantasy ceiling.

Insight page

Caleb Douglas

PositiveSleeper74:12

The source has been drafting Caleb Douglas in best-ball formats, finding him interesting as a potential contributor while noting that Chris Bell may require a redshirt year. Like other rookie receivers on his team, his redraft value is capped by the team's low projected point total.

Insight page

CeeDee Lamb

NegativeValue42:32

CeeDee Lamb is ranked as a top-12 player, but the source notes he is closer to the field than previous years. Concerns include potential target competition from George Pickens and a possible shift in team defensive performance, which could lead to fewer shootouts and a lower ceiling than his previous 30% target share expectation.

Insight page

Christian McCaffrey

NegativeBust23:36

McCaffrey faces risks due to a potentially weak 49ers offensive line and a high-workload history that historically correlates with injury. While he remains a top pick, the source notes he lacked explosive plays last year (27th in 10+ yard run percentage) and may see a reduction in touches, making him a 'fragile' asset in a potentially regressing offense.

Insight page

Davante Adams

NegativeBust20:24

Davante Adams is viewed as a declining player at age 34. The source expresses nervousness about drafting him at the 4/5 turn, citing concerns that he could lose red-zone work to Puka Nacua and that the offense might struggle if he hits a performance cliff.

Insight page

David Montgomery

NegativeUsage7:22

Hayden Winks suggests the most likely scenario for the Lions' backfield is that David Montgomery's role is cut in half, with that portion split between Isiah Pacheco and Jahmyr Gibbs.

Insight page

Denzel Boston

NegativeSleeper74:12

Denzel Boston is noted as a training camp standout, particularly in contested-catch drills. While the source warns that camp hype for such players can be overblown, Boston is considered one of the few rookie receivers with potential fantasy relevance in deep leagues, though the team's low scoring projection limits his upside.

Insight page

Drake London

NegativeRole20:47

There is concern that Drake London could be moved back to an X-receiver role full-time if the Falcons prioritize getting players like Zachariah Branch on the field in the slot, which would be detrimental to his fantasy value compared to his previous usage in a dynamic Z/slot role.

Insight page

George Pickens

PositiveBreakout42:56

George Pickens is viewed as a high-upside player who could command a significant target share alongside CeeDee Lamb. The source notes that while Pickens played a low percentage of snaps in the slot last year, his potential for increased usage and role expansion makes him a valuable fantasy asset.

Insight page

Isiah Pacheco

NegativeRole5:32

Hayden Winks and the host discuss the possibility of Isiah Pacheco carving out a role in the Lions' offense, potentially taking half of David Montgomery's previous workload. While Winks initially considered him a non-factor, he acknowledges that Pacheco has been productive in the NFL and could impact the backfield distribution.

Insight page

Ja'Marr Chase

PositiveProjection15:51

Ja'Marr Chase is considered a top-three pick with immense upside, potentially capable of a 20-plus touchdown season. Winks finds it nearly impossible to construct a bust case for him, noting that even if the Bengals' offense shifts to include more under-center work, Chase's role is dynamic enough to ensure high production.

Insight page

Jadarian Price

NegativeUsage68:46

The source is skeptical of the 'Hard Knocks' hype surrounding Jadarian Price, noting that the team tried to trade out of his draft spot. While Price is interesting at his ADP (65th-66th overall), the source expects a committee approach involving Holani and Zach Charbonnet, and questions Price's pass-catching role and pass-protection skills.

Insight page

Jahmyr Gibbs

NegativeProjection4:02

Hayden Winks feels as good about Gibbs as the first overall player in half PPR, noting that in the eight games David Montgomery missed or played under 25% of snaps, Gibbs averaged 25 half PPR points. The primary risk is a combination of an inexperienced offensive line, Jared Goff potentially regressing, and Isiah Pacheco potentially taking a larger share of the backfield work, though Winks views the latter as highly unlikely.

Insight page

James Cook

NegativeUsage50:05

James Cook is viewed with some skepticism due to his limited pass-catching volume and potential for goal-line carries to be vultured by Josh Allen. While he is expected to benefit from run-heavy game scripts against division rivals, his smaller frame and high touch count from last season raise concerns about injury risk and consistency.

Insight page

Jonathan Taylor

NegativeBust34:37

Jonathan Taylor's outlook is tied to the health of Daniel Jones and the effectiveness of the Colts' receiving corps. With Alec Pierce dealing with injury and a lack of depth at wide receiver, the offense could become 'tight' and face stacked boxes, potentially leading to a 'slog' of a season for Taylor.

Insight page

Justin Jefferson

NegativeProjection54:06

Justin Jefferson's fantasy outlook has been downgraded due to uncertainty surrounding the Vikings' quarterback situation. The source expresses concern that the lack of a clear starter between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy, combined with the team's vertically-inclined offense, could lead to a rocky season for Jefferson's production.

Insight page
NegativeProjection57:37

The source expresses concern for Justin Jefferson's 2025 outlook, noting that the Vikings' offense is highly volatile and vertically inclined, which can lead to a rocky road for the 11th overall pick. While the source believes Jefferson has a high ceiling, the lack of clarity regarding the offense and the team's reliance on a 'boom-bust' approach creates nervousness for a first-round pick.

Insight page

Kenneth Walker III

PositiveValue67:07

The source is high on Kenneth Walker, ranking him 9th overall—four spots higher than his Yahoo ADP. The source believes the Seahawks' infrastructure is solid and that Walker is a superior football player to Ashton Gentry, even considering the draft capital difference.

Insight page

Malik Benson

NegativeUsage73:32

Malik Benson generated buzz during mini-camp as a 'small, fast' player, but the source admits to needing more evaluation on him as he was not a pre-draft target.

Insight page

Matthew Stafford

NegativeInjury19:29

The source suggests Matthew Stafford is more likely to miss time due to injury compared to other top-tier options, which poses a risk to the Rams' offensive potency and, by extension, the fantasy value of his pass-catchers.

Insight page

Puka Nacua

NegativeProjection18:20

Puka Nacua is viewed as a top-tier receiver, but Winks notes a potential off-field risk regarding a civil case that could theoretically impact his availability. Otherwise, the primary concern is the health of Matthew Stafford and the Rams' offensive line, though Winks remains highly optimistic about the Rams' offense overall.

Insight page
PositiveValue18:55

Despite concerns about the Rams' offense, Puka Nacua is considered 'quarterback-proof' due to his unique role. He is a target monster who could potentially outscore everyone if he secures red-zone work. The source is so high on him that they are considering him as a first-overall pick in full PPR formats.

Insight page

Saquon Barkley

NegativeValue61:56

The source is conflicted on Saquon Barkley, currently ranked as the 11th overall player. While it is difficult to paint a pessimistic picture, risks include the Jalen Hurts-centric offense, potential offensive line injuries, the loss of O-line coach Jeff Stoutland, and Barkley's age and recent injury history. The source suggests he could be considered an early second-round pick rather than a first-rounder.

Insight page
Full transcript

Episode Transcript

1,020
0:00Big show for you here today. It's a show I like doing in August, but it is a difficult one.
0:06How do each of the 12 and actually this year, 13 consensus first round range players not work out in fantasy football this year?
0:13Hayden Winks joins me to break down all 13 of those players and try to paint the negative end of the range of outcomes.
0:20Spoiler alert, it's a lot harder for some of the players than it is for others.
0:24Then we wrap it up with the fantasy hotline, taking some of your questions on the buzziest players.
0:29All that and more coming up on today's show.
0:32Let's get into it. Matt, fresh off his show.
0:35So a guy that's doing a lot of talking about ball today.
0:38It is Hayden Winks. Hayden, what's going on, man?
0:41How you doing? Doing great. Feels like you do shows back to back and you check the timeline and you're just like
0:47seeing who got hurt, who's ahead of who. What is John Shipley tweeted out?
0:51Everything's ramping up now. It really is. Yeah. I locked in for about 40 minutes of a John Shipley podcast this morning.
0:57Thanks to you for putting that one out there.
1:00Yeah. Tilted the Jalen Waddle injury, the brace, whatever.
1:03So yeah. What an absolute treat. It's August, man.
1:05It's that time of year. So we got a big show.
1:08Like I said, ahead of us, we are doing a little mailbag at the end of the show where we're answering your
1:15guys's most pressing question about some of these training camp hype bunnies.
1:18But before we get to that, the subject of today's show is I think it's a fun topic to talk about, even though it is kind of depressing.
1:26It's how each of the 12 and actually 13.
1:29We're going to cheat on the last one. How the 13 first round consensus picks could not work out this year, could
1:35bust, could could ruin your fantasy football season. And Hayden, I like doing the show because I mean, sometimes it's just good
1:42to talk about like how things might not work out for some of these guys that we assume everything is going to be great.
1:49I mean, sometimes you, you, you know, you get roasted on the internet in the middle of the season.
1:54Like one of the hosts of this show did about a thing they said about Pukun Okuo when they're, when his quarterback
2:00was like the immortal chamber last year. Well, you know, what do you want to do so we can get ourselves in
2:07trouble in this episode, but I do think it's a good exercise for the people out there.
2:12Yeah. Some of these players, it's almost impossible to come up with the negative case for them.
2:17And then some of them actually have some, some reasonable ones.
2:20It's definitely helpful with, with the floor here. My goal on this is to not say, well, they could get hurt.
2:26You know, it's, it's every other reason except for they might get hurt.
2:29Uh, cause obviously that's the, the number one. Well, that's going to make it tough for the first three picks here.
2:36Cause it is really difficult to figure out how these guys might not work out, but let's give it a shot anyways.
2:42So the consensus number one overall pick in Yahoo ADP right now is Jameer Gibbs lions running back.
2:47Uh, the only big time running back in the last, you know, a couple of days who hasn't signed a monster extension,
2:53but his is certainly on his way. Hayden, how can Jameer Gibbs bust and not work out in fantasy football this year?
3:00Man, an impossible question here. I'll give it a shot.
3:03Um, they have a first round, right tackle, a new center, and then their guards are pretty inexperienced.
3:08And then you have Penny Sewell switching sides. I think on the whole, it's probably just as good.
3:13If not, there's more upside than last year's offensive line, which was not the best unit out there.
3:18So I think it would be some combination of that.
3:21Goff is feeling a little bit more panicked because of that new coordinator, but I actually liked the new coordinator that they're bringing in here.
3:28Um, so I think it's like some type of combination between that.
3:32I think then the other thing, which I would say is very unlikely would be if like Pacheco does play some version
3:38of the David Montgomery role, I would find all that really, really unlikely.
3:42So I feel, um, about as good as, uh, of him, uh, as the first overall player in half PPR.
3:48And I really struggled here. Yeah, this one is difficult.
3:51Um, the Pacheco factor is like at least worth considering because like when I ran through my initial projections, my initial rankings,
3:57I just had Pacheco completely almost like not a non-factor, but you know, pretty, pretty, pretty close to a non-factor.
4:03Like somebody I'm not even considering drafting as, is like a running back insurance policy in fantasy right, right now.
4:08So I guess we could be underrating that. I mean, this is a guy who has been, it's been useful in the NFL.
4:15It's not downright for a seventh round pick, very productive, but I mean, it's just, he offers not a lot of explosive
4:21ability and isn't, hasn't even really necessarily been like that great of a short yardage guy, which is what would bang Jameer
4:28Gibbs as the first overall pick if it was to happen.
4:31I think just the upside, you have to just take it on here because there was eight games that Montgomery missed or
4:37played under 25% of the snaps and Gibbs averaged 25 half PPR points in them.
4:42So, uh, I think the most likely scenario is David Montgomery's role is, you know, cut in half and that goes to
4:48Pacheco and the other half of it goes to Jameer Gibbs.
4:51So to me, it'd be maybe like just the lions defense was so bad.
4:55The offensive line doesn't materialize. Uh, and then Jared Goff takes a step back and now the lions finished 10th in scoring.
5:02And then at that point, that's the difference where Puka goes crazy.
5:05Jamar chase goes crazy. And then Gibbs, you know, he still finished a top five fantasy running back, but he's not the first overall pick.
5:12That's about as worst case scenarios I can possibly think of.
5:15Yeah, I guess that's, that's the key here is like, we're, we're thinking about even just like a moderately disappointing season for
5:22Jameer Gibbs would be considered a bust at the first overall pick.
5:25But I don't, I think it's really difficult to paint a scenario where he absolutely ruins your fantasy football season, which is
5:32why he's going as the first overall player. Last thing I just wanted to touch on here with Gibbs before we move
5:38off of him, because you, you mentioned drew Petsing.
5:41Um, I kind of want to expand on, on why, cause I, to be transparent, I share this opinion.
5:46Like I am pretty optimistic and I liked the Petsing higher, but he is without a doubt.
5:51One of those like fantasy Twitter boogeymen, you know, that's out there.
5:54Like people hate the drew Petsing offense. Uh, can you kind of expand on why you are a little bit more optimistic
6:01maybe on him as the coordinator here? This was more for the McDaniel offense.
6:05Cause I was starting to see against like too high, uh, defenses who's, uh, running the ball effectively.
6:10And obviously it was like the Devon, H and dolphins, uh, the Raheem Mostert era.
6:14Like that was number one, but number two was the Petsing Cardinals.
6:18And they only had James Connor. I really liked the James Connor stuff, but a lot of that was just, you know,
6:24the lanes were wide open and he kind of runs a different scheme than some of the other offenses that we're seeing.
6:30It's a little bit more smash mouth. And it's a little bit more of a wrinkle into some of these two high shells.
6:37Uh, so we'll see. He just kind of pops up in some of the advanced metrics.
6:42I'm sure that some of the Petsing stuff that people didn't like was just maybe the, the roles of the receivers.
6:48But, uh, in terms of just like focusing on like Jameer Gibbs and stuff, I feel good about that.
6:53Yeah. My theory on Petsing coming in here, and it sounds like we're kind of on the same page is that I,
7:00cause watching the lions receivers are very in close order for reception perception did their profiles.
7:04I felt like when I was immersed in the passing game there for the most part was just what they usually do in the past game.
7:12You know, it felt very similar to the Ben Johnson era.
7:15And I do think Dan Campbell has a pretty strong hand in that.
7:19I think Petsing's here mostly to improve the run game, which, you know, everybody was on Petsing all the time about Kyler Murray and, and Marvin Harrison Jr.
7:27And I I've obviously thrown some of those, uh, stones here, especially with the receiver usage, but pretty much no qualms with the run game.
7:34So I actually think he's a net positive for Gibbs.
7:37Maybe we can come back to that later when we talk about another lions player who is in the first round here
7:43in a little bit, but let's move to the second overall pick here, which is Bijan Robinson, a running back who did
7:50just get a big fat contract extension here pretty recently.
7:52How can it go wrong for Bijan Robinson this year?
7:55So to me, this is where the difference between Gibbs and Bijan.
7:59I do think there's a lower floor with Bijan, uh, just because we have a, uh, new coaching staff.
8:04I don't trust the offensive line nearly as much because the quarterback play can like really fall apart.
8:09If two of fuels pressured and stuff, and it's not the exact offense that they got the most out of them with
8:16the McDaniel era, then that's where I can be like, okay, the, the Falcons, they can finish, you know, bottom five, bottom 10 points this year.
8:23Like, absolutely. And there's just like no chance at the line.
8:26So I think the difference between Gibbs and Bijan to me is more of the floor case.
8:31Uh, and the reason why I've actually been thinking about ranking.
8:35Puka and Jamar chase, even ahead of Bijan is just the combination of like Juwan Taylor's your right tackle.
8:40It's two, uh, who has some level of a back injury and then Penix.
8:44And then with Stefanski, uh, they are, they might be looking for a future quarterback soon.
8:49Plus the defense, both of their first round edge rushers, uh, probably not going to play, uh, this year with Jalen Walker,
8:55just going down with the torn ACL. So I, to me, the Falcons could like, they can pick first overall.
9:01Like, I think they're like in that range of outcome.
9:04Um, and that's where like, okay, Bijan just doesn't get enough goal line touchdowns.
9:08And then he finishes four points behind, uh, Jameer Gibbs on a per week basis.
9:12And that's where, uh, he didn't matter. Here's a despicable question.
9:15Um, which running back do you think is more likely to pop in, you know, five to six, very annoying touchdowns this year, Isaiah Pacheco or Brian Robinson?
9:23I think Brian Robinson's clearly better than Pacheco personally.
9:26Me too. Yeah. Right. Exactly. And then like Bijan for a couple seasons has not gotten all of the goal line carries.
9:32So like there's at least some precedent of that.
9:35Obviously the same thing with Jameer Gibbs, but I just think that Brian Robinson was somebody that I'm pretty sure he's making more money.
9:42I just think that he's a better player. Yeah.
9:44Uh, totally agree with you on that one. And I mean, when you look at my overall rankings right now, I do
9:51actually have Jamar chase over Bijan Robinson for some of the reasons that we've outlined here.
9:55I, and that's why it's going to be tough in a moment when we have to talk about how can it not work out for Jamar chase.
10:03Cause I think there's so many ways that it can work out for Jamar chase this year.
10:08And I mean, even the floor is extremely high there.
10:11Yeah. I don't love taking a running back. And Nate and I are going to do a show on this at some
10:17point later this month, just like we did last year.
10:20Like looking at offensive projections versus ADP and like the guys that are getting taken really high.
10:25The Falcons always show up with this because they always have these two really good players here.
10:30And I think this could be, I mean, I think this offense could really be brutal this year, not just because of
10:36the quarterback situation, which you talked about there and some of the offensive line concerns.
10:41Um, where are you at with, and we just talked about Drew Petsing, like Drew Petsing's former, um, you know, kind of, uh, mentor there, Kevin Stefanski.
10:48Where are you at with the Stefanski experience relative to obviously how it's gone in Cleveland and just where he's at from an offensive play caller standpoint.
10:56For a while there, I probably would have ranked him as a top 10 OC.
11:01Maybe the last couple of years, I haven't found the right answers, but I think him and Deshawn just were like never on the same page.
11:08Uh, I think that two of fits maybe the Stefanski style a little bit more than Michael Penix, but at the same
11:14time, they're going to have to see more Michael Penix before they like firmly move on from both of these guys.
11:21I, which I think is the most likely outcome here.
11:23Uh, I, I liked Stefanski. I think in, in the run game, I think that the quick hitting stuff could all work with him.
11:30I think that Deshawn was just like not willing to kind of play that style.
11:35And I think they really struggled there. Those offensive lines were really bad too.
11:39Um, I think the Falcons offensive line is definitely a tier two above that, but, um, just look at the implied team totals.
11:45The lines are at 26 points. The Falcons are at 21 points.
11:49And if you had to ask me, is that gap can be more than five points per game this year?
11:55I would say yes. Like that feels those two feel too close together to me.
11:59Yeah. Way too close together. Um, yeah, I, I, I wanted to ask you about this to fancy thing just because I
12:05think it has been really difficult for me to, to kind of figure that out as I'm talking about the Falcons here,
12:12because it is a little bit difficult to divorce Stefanski from just how poorly of a fit it was with Deshaun Watson from the beginning.
12:19And then he's got to do things like higher Ken Dorsey to like kind of move them into a spread world.
12:25And then that, and then take like play calling, get play calling back and forth, all that whole thing.
12:30Um, also Stefanski, I guess it's not going to call plays this year.
12:34It's going to be Tommy Reese again. And like, I just don't really know how to judge Tommy Reese based on the
12:40goofball quarterback situation that was in Cleveland. It's just very weird, but I, I think it is still an important variable to
12:47consider even for a guy like Drake London. Like one of the nagging things I can't get out of the back of
12:53my head is just how much I loved the way Drake London was deployed last year.
12:58Uh, in really the last two years and in Zach Robinson's offense.
13:01And like, is there, is there a part of the range of outcomes here where Drake London just gets moved back into X full time?
13:08Especially when the other two guys were like the other two guys were shown on the screen.
13:13It's like, you know, I still got the candle lit for Jahan Dotson, but it's Jahan Dotson and Zachariah branch.
13:19I mean, those guys are not playing X receiver.
13:22Okay. We, we know that for sure. So Drake London in this like dynamic Z, you know, slot heavy role.
13:28And I know we're talking about B. John Robinson, but this is like how the offense just goes really poorly.
13:33And then he's the running back attached to the 31st ranked offense in the NFL.
13:38And last year, Hayden, one of the most bizarre things that maybe only I care about is that they came out in
13:44Cleveland last year and like moved Jerry Judy to X and Cedric Tillman to Z.
13:48And I was like, what? That's so weird. Like that bothers me a little bit when I'm projecting the ceiling for the Atlanta Falcons offense.
13:55I really haven't even thought about that to, to that degree, but I think you, you are spot on there.
14:01Like if they're trying to get branch on the field in a year where they're really tanking, the only way you can
14:08do that is if he's in a slot wide receiver, which is the exact role that we want Drake London to be in.
14:14So I think that, that makes me a little bit nervous here.
14:18I just think that the floor for the Falcons seems really, really bad.
14:21I think offense, some of the aging players, like their left tackle has been around forever.
14:26Juwan Taylor's been so inconsistent. Like all of a sudden, like I do think there's some more downside risk.
14:32And I think separately to Bijan, it's if Puka Naku and Jamar Chase have these seasons, like we're talking about top 10
14:38seasons at receiver of all time, which I fully, fully believe is possible here.
14:42Even if Bijan has like the same season that he had last year, if Puka and Chase just go a tier above
14:48that, which I think is totally possible, then that would be another way where it fails, where you just kind of look stupid drafting second overall.
14:56Yeah. And he has like 95 really scammy to a based receptions that then also evaporate when Michael Penix gets on.
15:02Yeah. There's a lot of ways where it goes really wrong for the Falcons, but I think Bijan's relatively safe, but let's
15:08move to those two receivers and talk about the other end of the range of outcomes here, which is going to be really difficult.
15:15You mentioned the ceiling that's really present for these two guys, but Jamar Chase at the third overall pick, how could it
15:22not work out for Jamar Chase and something beyond Joe Burrow gets hurt?
15:25Matt, I've got nothing. I mean, I really don't, I don't have anything.
15:29What can you possibly say? Uh, I guess like Josh has brought this up on our show.
15:34They're tinkering with like under center stuff this year and maybe they're like just, you know, galaxy braining this.
15:39I think it's worth them trying some of the under center stuff.
15:43And Nate brought this up where that's just like to help, like just chase Brown and have a different wrinkle.
15:49And so they're not just the same exact offense.
15:51And I think because the offensive line has gotten so much better, not multiple tiers better over the last couple of years,
15:58I didn't think it'd have some success doing it.
16:00So I think this is the time that about the off season where I would start throwing in those wrinkles.
16:06Maybe if they just like really start overthinking things and that doesn't work, then maybe the bangles are closer to like, you know, eighth, 10th and scoring.
16:14And it's like, this has a chance to be the highest scoring offense in the league.
16:18And that you want Higgins chase burrow Brown. Like you just want all of them.
16:23Yeah. I mean, we just had the show yesterday with the highest upside picks in each round with Chris Allen and our
16:29pick for the first round was Jamar chase because I mean, this is terrible analysis, but I'll, I'll repeat it again.
16:35That's how much I love this terrible analysis. He's just like the type of talent that's due for a 20 plus touchdown season, literally at any moment.
16:43And that's why it's really difficult to pick him for this exercise.
16:46And because even if the offense for some reason takes a step back because they can't figure out, I'm with you generally
16:53that like, they should be trying to figure out the under center stuff and, you know, add more wrinkles than just Joe
16:59Burrow does the, you know, field general thing. And the whole point and shoot spread offense, it's probably worth it.
17:05But even if it doesn't work out, they still try to force it.
17:09Like Jamar chase is going to eat a bunch of easy catches there because they make his role more and more dynamic every year.
17:15So I do think of the 13 players we're going to talk about here.
17:20I did feel like he was pretty convincingly the hardest one to make a case for how it doesn't work out besides he gets hurt or, or whatever.
17:28Cause he's, he's the best, he's the best receiver in football.
17:31It's really hard for the best receiver in football to bust out in fantasy.
17:35Pretty much. I guess maybe the other things to kind of nitpick would be the, the defense does look a lot better this year than it did previous.
17:43And you just never know about the rest of the division.
17:46You know, the, the Steelers play really slow paced and the Browns are going to be completely pathetic that, you know, maybe
17:52they don't feel as stressed about hanging 30 points as they have in previous seasons.
17:57But they still have a lot to prove on defense.
18:00You're kind of just like hoping that Dexter Lawrence and some of their other free agents kind of take the next step.
18:06But yeah, he's such an automatic pick in the top three.
18:09Totally. I mean, if that happens, like T Higgins is a bad pick where he's going.
18:14Probably not Jamar chase is a bad pick where he's going.
18:17Okay. Fourth overall pick is Pukinokua, Los Angeles Rams receiver.
18:20Um, I guess I have to ask you like, how does this work?
18:24How does this one not work out without again, the hurt dynamic, uh, for, for Puka Nakua or Matthew Stafford.
18:29So how does this one fail for Puka? Yeah, he's just a biter off the field.
18:34I think the civil case like just freaks up, you know?
18:37Don't yeah. Don't mean to be glib about it, but like literally he's in a rehab center by week five.
18:43Who knows? Typically civil cases don't mean suspensions in the NFL, but also if you're in civil cases and you're going to,
18:49to, to rehab, then like obviously there's concerns. We've obviously seen the stream.
18:53So to me, like him versus chase, like who's more likely to have something off the field.
18:58It's obviously Puka because there's some, some evidence of that.
19:01I think still the most likely scenario is that does not impact his playing time whatsoever.
19:05And all the rest of my notes for Puka are just sensational.
19:09Um, and then the other thing that he has is Matthew Stafford's, uh, left tackle also in trouble.
19:14And like, that's kind of how things can kind of spiral where, you know, Matthew Stafford's back in, in the chamber.
19:20Uh, but at the same time, you can say the same things about Joe Burrows health.
19:25So I don't even know which one would be more likely to get injured.
19:29I think that Stafford may be a little bit more likely to, to miss some time, but I mean, there's nothing about
19:35bad to say about Puka individually here. So, like I said, last year, uh, when Scott and I did the show, we,
19:42we painted a pretty gloomy picture at the time for Puka Nakua because it was, it was in the middle of like
19:48the Matthew Stafford hysteria, uh, with the, with the back injury, all that stuff.
19:52So at the risk of, uh, getting smoked again on this, let me, let me, let me actually say that when Nate
19:58and I did the top 10, uh, offenses episode on football 301, we both had the Rams as the number one ranked offense.
20:05So instead of like sitting there, you know, doing the, the typical NFL media thing and talking about how awesome the Rams
20:11are, we're actually like, let's, let's paint how this can go wrong for the Rams.
20:16And there are actually a lot of ways where this offense can fall apart pretty quickly.
20:20And of course, some of them do involve injuries to the quarterback.
20:24Devante Adams is 34 years old and, uh, a declining player, you know, no matter, no matter what, like what level of decline it is.
20:31He is an, I think, objectively, you know, a declining player.
20:34Does he go right off the cliff? Then we're talking about, you know, Jordan Whittington and Kanata Mumfield, not super jacked up
20:40about those guys increasing the offensive potency. Um, you know, do they try to ram their head in the wall of the 13 personnel stuff?
20:48And this year it's just not that cute. You don't catch anybody, anybody I surprise.
20:52You mentioned the Alaric Jackson thing, but then I keep coming back to this Hayden.
20:56And like, this is a theory of mine. Cause we haven't really seen an action yet.
21:01I still think even if all of that happens because of the way Puka Naku is used, he's so like chaos and quarterback, not proof.
21:08Cause nobody's quarterback proof. We watched this last year with Justin Jefferson, but if you can just compare the role of Justin
21:14Jefferson to the role of Puka Nakua, the guy that's going to get away with a scam is definitely the Puka Nakua archetype of the player.
21:22Yeah. I fully agree with that. Like all those negative notes that you're talking about, you're like, okay, that's how Kyron doesn't get home.
21:29That's how Devante Adams doesn't get home. That's how Matthew Stafford doesn't get home.
21:33And I'm like, Puka is still going to leave with 10 targets no matter what it's almost maybe the opposite would be
21:39like if the defense is so good and they're just blowing teams out.
21:43Like, do you have to get Puka? Yeah. The 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th target.
21:47And, and maybe that the Jamar chase, they kind of separate JSN.
21:51Just like, it's overwhelming how many more targets they get, man.
21:54That's, that's just making things up. I mean, this one feels right.
21:57Feels pretty automatic. I feel way worse about those things that you mentioned, which I do agree with are true.
22:03When I'm sitting there, Devante Adams versus DJ Moore at the four or five turn, Devante Adams versus DeAndre Swift.
22:09Those type of things make me nervous. The three tight end stuff, like sometimes Devante Adams would be like the lone wide receiver there at some point.
22:17Like that should just be Puka Nakua. And then the other thing I know we're supposed to talk negative if Puka Nakua
22:23starts getting the red zone, uh, like stuff instead of Devante Adams, it's over.
22:27Like it's, it's over for fantasy. Like he will be outscoring everybody.
22:30Um, and even without that, he was still outscoring everybody.
22:33So to me, I, in full PPR, I'm, I'm actually considering first overall.
22:37That's how I feel about Puka. Yeah. I have, um, Jamar chase is my first overall pick in full PPR.
22:43And yeah, Puka Nakua is, is right up there as well.
22:46I agree. I mean, there's a, there's a range of outcomes where if he seeded red zone work even more so to
22:52Devante Adams, like, and, and the defense does get better.
22:55As you outlined there, he kind of becomes fancy Zay flowers, like a rich man, Zay flowers.
23:00But that's not good. Like that's so unlikely that, that at age 33, 34 for Devante Adams, he's getting more work from,
23:06you know, the ascendant superstar player in his prime, hoping to make big on a contract at this point.
23:12But yeah, tough exercise for the first four players.
23:15These are really good. First four picks. It is going to get a little bit more interesting as we talk through picks
23:21five to eight, which we are going to do right on the other side of this quick break.
23:26All right, we're back. We are continuing to go through the tortured exercise of figuring out how each of the consensus first
23:32round picks could not work out in fantasy football this year.
23:36Let's go to the fifth overall pick here, Hayden, and talk about 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey.
23:40I guess once again, we, we can't say the word hurt.
23:44Like he gets hurt. Does that, does that mean we can't say the word substation?
23:48Um, we can, we, can we show the eye of Sauron, uh, meme again that we showed on the show yesterday.
23:54I would love to see it just because I think it's funny, but how does it not work out for Christian McCaffrey this year?
24:01I mean, if everyone else stays injured and the offensive line doesn't materialize, then the 49ers can finish 16th in scoring this year.
24:08I've never said that about the 49ers with, with Shanahan.
24:11This feels like the most fragile offense that they've had.
24:13Um, just because like they're reliant on all the old players and all the old players are also injured aside from Christian McCaffrey.
24:20So, uh, I think it'd be a combination of this is not a top 10 offense.
24:25The Christian McCaffrey run game numbers still look bad.
24:27I think that's partially a CMC thing, but also partially the offensive line is not very good.
24:32Trent Williams is old as well. Like if he is not part of that offensive line for, for a stretch, like the
24:38offensive line to me looks pretty weak across the board.
24:41Um, so it's just, yeah, like all of a sudden they're projected for 22 points per game instead of currently projected 25.
24:48And if you just like look at the history of the Shanahan offense is typically they're way, way above 25.
24:54I think this is less of a Christian McCaffrey conversation and more like pull the thread on what you just said there
25:00that I think this is on paper. Got to be, I mean, one of the worst Niners offenses in a minute.
25:06There's a, there's a lot of issues with this team right now to the point that like I've, I've made, I've made no bones about this.
25:13I'm, um, I am Cardinals curious this year. I don't know how, I don't know how long it's going to take.
25:19Like, can I get 20, 20 more days, August 26th.
25:22Can I convince myself that the Cardinals are going to finish higher than the 49ers in the, uh, in the NFC West?
25:29It probably involves a lot more injuries, a lot more substation talk, but yeah, it's, it's, it's concerning that that's even, and
25:35obviously my brain's poisoned, but it's concerning that that's even in my mind at any point.
25:40That's just how rough it looks on paper right now for the Niners.
25:43Yeah. And that their defense is still a work in progress coming back from a lot of injuries on that side of the balls.
25:50Like that could be, you know, closer to, to average, to below average, which first stints of the year, they were definitely below average.
25:57Um, and then the schedule, uh, we have to get a boon on the phone real quick to, to hit us with the exact schedule numbers.
26:05Uh, but just looking at the, the rest of the division, it's, it can't be, uh, an easy schedule versus last year
26:11where the talk of the town was always, well, it doesn't.
26:14It didn't matter. The coordinator schedule is just so cake that Christian McCaffrey is going to walk to a number one finish, which he did.
26:22So I still draft McCaffrey with the concerns, but I have more concerns about just, you know, Brock Purdy, George Kittle coming
26:28back from injury, Mike Evans, or I'm like looking around like, man, this team is really fragile.
26:33Like just look at the players that right there.
26:35Like that's not like the most steadily starting 11 there.
26:38And then I think the depth for the most part is pretty weak too.
26:42Right. I mean, Debo Samuel, like still a useful player, but not helping you down the football field whatsoever.
26:48Not helping you guys. He's like just the exaggerated fun house mirrors of version of the player that he's always been.
26:54I don't even think like Matt Mayako doesn't even think Christian Kirk is going to make the team.
26:59He's covered the, the, he's covered the 49ers forever.
27:02I liked stripling as a day to sleeper. And, you know, picking him 33 overall, that's a whole separate conversation, but it
27:08wasn't like, oh yeah, stripling's going to come in here and he's gotta, he's gotta be like the most explosive player on the offense right away.
27:15And he kind of needs to be the most explosive player on the offense right away because Mike Evans will make plays downfield.
27:22But Mike Evans is, is, is old and not moving as well as he used to at this point.
27:28So Christian McCaffrey last year, among running west with 150 plus runs, there was 33 of them.
27:33He ranked 20, he was 27 in percentage of runs that went for 10 plus yards.
27:37Like there was not a lot of explosive plays last year for Christian McCaffrey.
27:41If you just want to talk about like success rate on those runs, obviously that was higher because he would move the
27:48chains, but there just wasn't a ton of juice overall for McCaffrey.
27:51And I don't even know how much that's a him thing 25th in yards before contact per rush attempt for him last
27:57year out of again, 33 qualified runners. I can't get out of my head how he was talking about how it was
28:04the hardest year of my life last year at the end of the season.
28:08Some of that was, you know, his personal life.
28:10He had a child and you know, all that sort of thing.
28:14But, but a lot of it is like he was worked to hell last year.
28:18I mean, fourth most opportunities for any running back targets and rush attempts since the year 2000 regular season playoffs combined.
28:24Again, I know we're not supposed to do the he's going to get hurt thing, but that's the that would be the
28:31concern for how it doesn't work out. Is it like not only is he maybe he stays healthy, but he's just a
28:37severely diminished player than what he was last year.
28:39Yeah, if you're ranking the guys most likely to get hurt, you would have to be at the top of it just
28:46because there's a history of players coming off of that amount of workload missing time.
28:50And plus the guys that get hurt the most are the guys that touch the ball the most.
28:55And he's at the very top of that list at the same time.
28:59He takes care of his body so well. He looks incredible still to me.
29:03Maybe the other thing would be Shanahan's already said that he doesn't want him to have the same workload, which I think is like nice.
29:10They say that so you can keep him fresher.
29:13You lose five touches per game and then he's still not moving the needle as a rusher and like that starts to matter.
29:20But the starting point that we're talking about is I mean, he laughed the field at running back last year.
29:25So like you can start nitpicking some of this stuff and I'm still rolling the dice.
29:30Yeah, and where I talk about like B. Sean can have 90, you know scammy receptions from two or something like he
29:36even if McCaffrey is completely the wheels are falling off where he's going to get, you know, 80 like he's going to
29:43moonwalk to 80 catches like that's that's going to happen.
29:46Basically, I think forever. Yeah, I will believe Shanahan doesn't want to overwork McCaffrey when I freaking see it, bro.
29:51Like he says every year they get some third round running back fourth round running back that it's like, OK, yeah, Garendo.
29:58Maybe that would make sense to take some some and that never happens.
30:01I mean that Kyle Shanahan is your buddy that like wakes up and says I'm never drinking again.
30:07It's like, OK, we'll believe it when we see it.
30:10Yeah, see you next weekend. All right. Six. Yeah.
30:12See you next weekend, buddy. All right. Sixth overall pick Jackson Smith and Jigba.
30:16I actually think this is maybe our first one where I'm like, yep, I could see a scenario here.
30:22I don't know if I believe it, but I could see a scenario.
30:25So what's your scenario for how JSN doesn't work out as a first round pick this year?
30:30So this is the first time in a fantasy podcast.
30:33We haven't said the word regression for 30 minutes to start.
30:36I would say this is the first time where I think you can actually say it with JSN in the fact that
30:43he had a 35 percent target share. The next closest was at 32 percent, which is a Mon Ross St.
30:48Brown. That's just really difficult to repeat. And obviously, when you resign Rashid Shahid, you would have to assume that they want
30:55to get him more involved than he was last year.
30:58I think that they couldn't get Cooper Cup more involved than he was just because he wasn't moving as well.
31:03And then the other thing is just you're just changing coordinators here where maybe that coordinator doesn't feel like he has to
31:10get JSN, you know, the 12th target in of the game.
31:13I still like the new coordinator. They really talked him up.
31:16There was no ties to Mike McDonald, which I kind of like when it's just like all of a sudden it's like
31:23this guy just was awesome on the whiteboards and we just trust his game plan comes from the Shanahan tree.
31:28But at the same time, it's just really hard to do it at 35 percent targets.
31:33And without Kubiak, if they're not hitting these downfield shots as they did last year, I just don't think that they're going
31:39to have to have the same amount of targets to JSN this year where I think that the Bengals and the Rams
31:46are going to keep doing that with with Jamar Chase and Puka.
31:49And JSN's done this for one year where the other guys have done it for multiple years.
31:54Yeah, that's that's a good point that he's only done it the one year now.
31:58I think he's obviously an ascending player. I don't hold the first two seasons that much against him, honestly, at all.
32:04But you mentioned the target share there. Thirty five point eight percent.
32:08Not only is that number one last year, it's number one for any wide receiver since the year 2015.
32:13Now, number two was DeAndre Hopkins in 2017 with thirty three point seven percent.
32:17So there's actually a pretty decent gap between number two and number one.
32:21However, number five after Michael Thomas and Antonio Brown 2019 and 2015 respectively was 2018 DeAndre Hopkins.
32:26So we have seen a guy hold that like thirty three percent in back to back years.
32:31Can JSN dip to like thirty two percent and still pay off ADP?
32:35I think yes, for sure. The question just really is like, what is your level of belief in guys?
32:40You mentioned Rashid Jahid or even, you know, AJ Barner takes another step forward.
32:44Elijah Arroyo gets more involved this year. Torrey Horton, you know, I'm still a hard and fast Torrey Horton truther.
32:50Like, is he somebody that takes a step forward?
32:53You know, Cooper Cup is still there as like kind of a coach on the field at this point.
32:58But yeah, I'm that those were like kind of the things where I could say, do we get then down to a
33:04twenty eight percent target share for JSN? And can he pay off the sixth overall pick in this offense with a twenty eight percent target share?
33:12Yeah, I think that would be close to his floor just because I really like Shahid.
33:17I think that Shahid offers more than what he's been kind of given to throughout his career.
33:21But that's also just me kind of just projecting on some of the underneath stuff that I've seen from him.
33:27I think to me it would still be the downfield stuff was absolute purity last year.
33:32He had 20 yards per game more than he did in the twenty twenty three twenty four years on targets.
33:38Fifteen plus yards down the football field. If you're looking at JSN's yards per target, that was at ten and a half.
33:44Like even the best wide receivers in the NFL typically are in the high nine.
33:48So that comes down a little bit. Completion percentage over expected.
33:51That was at plus ten percent. Those are the type of numbers that tend to decrease, especially when you're running so hot
33:58on the downfield stuff, where to me it's more like, OK, we're at thirty two percent targets.
34:03Now it's at nine point six yards per target.
34:05That's still an incredible player. But by the time you're trying to compete with Jamar Chase and Puka Nakua, things have kind of fallen, fallen apart.
34:13Five hundred and seventy five yards last year on throws of 20 plus air yards.
34:17That was the 16th most for any receiver since 2015.
34:20So there's definitely some regression concerns for JSN, which is why I personally have him ranked as my eighth overall player behind
34:26the next two guys that we are going to talk about here.
34:30So let's try to paint a negative picture on those two gentlemen here, starting with Jonathan Taylor, the consensus seventh overall player off the board.
34:37How can it not work out for the newly highly paid Jonathan Taylor?
34:41To me, this would just be setbacks with Daniel Jones, with Alec Pierce.
34:45And then all of a sudden there's just not enough weaponry here.
34:48They have a new tackle play as well. I still am just such a believer in Shane Steichen and Jonathan Taylor to
34:54me still looks just absolutely incredible in the football field.
34:57So even with with that, I would still view him as a solid player.
35:01But without Alec Pierce or without Daniel Jones over the last couple of years or the backup quarterbacks, I mean, his numbers
35:08do get like cut in half between his wins and losses.
35:11So to me, that's what it is. At the same time, man, it seems like Daniel Jones is moving around well enough.
35:17And there's also this kind of thing where it's like, all right, if Michael Pittman's not involved, if Daniel Jones can't move
35:24quite as well, but he's moving enough to play, it's like, do we just give Jonathan Taylor even more work, more receptions?
35:30And I think that would kind of alleviate some of the concerns.
35:33But to me, it's just like who's most likely for the quarterback to get injured, Daniel Jones in this first round because
35:40he literally is coming back from a torn Achilles.
35:42Like to me, that would be the answer. Yeah, that is definitely the answer.
35:46And I know we are supposed to be negative here, but there's definitely a thought that I have where Taylor catches more
35:53passes this year because as you mentioned, like Daniel Jones isn't moving quite as well.
35:57But at the same time, though, the Alec Pierce injury, it sure would be nice if this guy could get on the practice field at some point.
36:05Like that is a there's there's been 0.0 positive injury news for Alec Pierce.
36:09And then we're talking about like, you know, I think at one point this offseason, I said, you know, Laquan Treadwell, shout out to him.
36:16He's like still hanging around the NFL. He's still hanging around and cashing checks, baby.
36:20And now it's like Laquan Treadwell might play snap for the Colts this year.
36:24Like that's that's a talking point out of training camp.
36:27OK, so then it's like we got Laquan Treadwell on the field.
36:31Yeah, I mean, I love Josh Downs, obviously, 100 percent.
36:34But, you know, Ashton Duel and Nick Westbrook-Kine, their like solution to all this might be let's sign Keenan Allen in the year 2026.
36:41That offense is going to suddenly start to feel really, really tight.
36:44And at that point, are we teams just loading the box?
36:47There's no Alec Pierce or ineffective Alec Pierce. And I don't know that that is definitely we could be in for a
36:54slog of a season for Jonathan Taylor. I can certainly see that playing out.
36:58Yeah, I'm reading Stephen Holder and he says right now it's Josh Downs is one and then it's Ashton Duelen, Laquan Treadwell
37:04and Nick Westbrook-Kine in some order for two to four.
37:07So they need some help at wide receiver there.
37:09Yeah, I'm guessing that Alec Pierce is going to be fine.
37:13Apparently he's moving around better like like when he's rehabbing around.
37:16But, you know, he's very important and he's supposed to be going into a role that he's never necessarily had as somebody
37:22that's going to get probably more in breakers, more quick hitting stuff, which I thought last year.
37:27I'm curious is eventually going to be able to do that.
37:30But if you don't have that presence and then Josh Downs probably not going to be quite as effective when he's, you
37:37know, playing more outside and two wide receiver sets, then, yeah, like you said, this offense just could feel a little, little tighter.
37:43Yeah, they're just one of those teams, the same thing with the Falcons, where there's a little bit of, as Scott likes
37:50to say, look out below potential, where this is just this team really falls apart really quickly, which is certainly that's on.
37:56That's got to be on your radar with the Colts just over the course of any conversation you're having with them in the offseason.
38:03That is definitely true for them. So that would be how it doesn't work out for Jonathan Taylor.
38:08Anytime you're it's kind of funny. Like there's a few running backs in the first round here where I'm like, how good is this team going to be?
38:16You know, when we talk about Atlanta, when we talk about Indianapolis and I don't know about you, man, but I do
38:22not like attaching my fantasy running backs to teams where I have this vibe.
38:26And we're a little bit pushing that here with these two guys we've talked about.
38:31I mean, shoot, even McCaffrey. We had that conversation and there's one more of those discussions to come up later on.
38:37But first, let's talk with the eighth overall pick.
38:39I'm on Ross St. Brown. Honestly, this I think this is this is just as difficult for me to paint a really
38:46negative picture as like Puka Nakua, which is why, again, I have him ranked as my third receiver and seventh overall player coming into the season this year.
38:54I have him seventh overall as well. This to me would just be some type of a new role for Amon Ross St.
39:01Brown with a new coordinator. But even then, at this point, I know you've met you've mentioned it like Amon Ross St.
39:07Brown's kind of just doing it all like he can, aside from just winning go balls down the field.
39:12But you don't have to do that. If he's playing on the inside, outside, like I think that he would be able to survive.
39:19And this is not just like some gimmicky slot wide receiver anymore.
39:23It hasn't been that way in a while, but he just keeps taking the next step.
39:27So it would just be like Petsing is just not in the same or doesn't have him on the same role.
39:33Laporte is flashing. J-Mo is taking the next lead.
39:36They have to get Gibbs involved. And then all of a sudden, they're averaging 25 points per game instead of more than that.
39:43And then it gets squeezed a little bit. Man, even then, I think he would still be a top five or so wide receiver.
39:50Yeah, he just is a guy that is so safe from a projection standpoint, from a floor perspective.
39:55I pretty much think he's going to be ranked as like the fifth receiver in fantasy every year.
40:00And he's going to finish as the third receiver in fantasy pretty much every year until he retires.
40:05You know, normally when coordinators come in, we do the whole like this guy into this role.
40:10This happens obviously with St. Brown all the time.
40:13Yeah, the Amon Ross St. Brown in the Marvin Harrison Jr.
40:16role, that would not be fun. That would be like the opposite of that.
40:20You know, Amon Ross St. Brown in the Amari Cooper, you know, Browns role.
40:24That's not what anyone actually wants to hear. And I don't think that would happen, to be clear.
40:29Like, I have Marv's rookie season 15% on nine routes.
40:32I will go ahead and take the under on Amon Ross St.
40:35Brown, 15% nine routes. I don't think that's going to happen.
40:39He was at 7.8% last year. Like I said, the buck stops with Dan Campbell here.
40:43There's no way Drew Petsing in his interview for the offensive coordinator position was like, Hey, Dan, here's a pitch.
40:49What if we played Amon Rah more at X?
40:52Like, that's not going to happen. Come on. I was looking at Ian Hardis' timeline, and he said that right now, the
40:58number three wide receiver is Greg Dortch, actually ahead of Isaac Tesla.
41:01That's where it's like, okay, Dortch is playing some slot, and now Amon Ross is legitimately playing outside.
41:07But I mean, come on. You don't change the guys that are making you the most potent offense over the last half decade.
41:13I saw that post, you know, and look, Ian's like a Greg Dortch sicko, so that's my first asterisk on that.
41:19My second is, and we're going to come back to this when we do this fantasy hotline segment at the end of
41:26it, the type of receivers that flash in training camp to certain people.
41:29Again, we're going to put a pin in that conversation because I have a lot of thoughts on that, and we're going
41:36to unpack that a little bit later. But to just finish up the conversation here on St.
41:41Brown, I honestly really, really struggle with how this doesn't work out for him.
41:45I guess it's just essentially he runs bad on touchdown luck, but he was the most involved receiver among any receiver on
41:51his team in terms of targets inside the 10-yard line.
41:54So that would just be how it goes wrong for him as he's a four-touchdown player somehow.
41:59Like, he's fancy Zay Flowers, and everybody else scores touchdowns, but what are you going to do?
42:04That would be tough for me to paint that picture.
42:07So even if chaos happens for the Lions, I think he's pretty insulated from that.
42:11So that was our most pathetic attempt to find a way to how it doesn't work out for someone.
42:17So on that note, let's take another quick break.
42:19We come back. We've got more players to talk about how they actually won't work out this year, and we will get into that right after this.
42:27All right, we're back. These two next picks here, Hayden, at number 9 and number 10, I do think are interesting.
42:33And now we're starting to get to the area where it's a little less safe here.
42:38Starting with ninth overall pick, CeeDee Lamb, who I am a couple of spots behind the Yahoo ADP here.
42:43Not significantly. I still have him ranked as a top 12 player for me.
42:47But it's certainly a little bit closer with guys behind him than the guys before him.
42:52So ninth overall pick, CeeDee Lamb, how does it not work out for him?
42:56It's just that the George Pickens kind of just matches him one for one.
43:00And then that means that CeeDee Lamb's not in the 30% target share, which I think that he firmly can be.
43:06But last year is a 26% target share. If you remove the two injured games from CeeDee Lamb, that was 89 yards
43:12per game, which is still plenty enough. But there's a difference between, you know, Jamar Chase could average 110.
43:18Pook and Naku can average 110. And I'm just not sure if CeeDee Lamb's going to get that with George Pickens that involved.
43:24I think most of it last year was just he didn't score as many touchdowns per game that he then he typically does.
43:31But you also could just argue like there's a reason for that.
43:34They have like Javante Williams in the power back role.
43:37A different coordinator that needs a little bit more balanced.
43:40And then George Pickens is kind of awesome in that area.
43:43So I would say that the touchdown difference between him and the rest of the first round wide receivers could be the actual difference.
43:50Yeah, I think that's very well said. It's to me still very possible that CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are both great picks.
43:57And that's kind of how I have it ranked right now.
44:00And I really like taking both those guys where they go.
44:03So I actually but I have them in the same tier.
44:06So I'm kind of hedging my bets about like which one of these guys could have the massive season.
44:12And I go kind of both ways on the Pickens.
44:15Is he going to move around more, you know, this year, which is what they're saying out of training camp and whatever.
44:21And part of part of me is like, well, they said that again.
44:25They said that all last year and then they never did.
44:28He played a historically low percentage of his snaps in the slot relative to his production.
44:337.6 percent. He still averaged 84 yards per game.
44:35And yet that's kind of my point that like what 7.6 percent of his snaps in the slot.
44:41Like he can actually only go up. And even that I think doesn't matter for CeeDee Lamb.
44:45In fact, Hayden, I could argue it the other way that because they now have a real deal third receiver in Ryan Flournoy.
44:52And it's not like Kevante Turpin or whatever. Like CeeDee Lamb, who actually played the lowest percentage of his snaps in the
44:58slot last year, actually could see his slot rate go up.
45:02Yeah, I could definitely see that part. I still think that CeeDee Lamb still would be awesome on the perimeter.
45:07But totally. I'm with you. The Cowboys, like this team can finish first and scoring this year.
45:12Like they return everybody. I think they have very competent coaches, especially on that side of the ball.
45:17As long as they get the left tackle spot figured out there and they got a couple different options to figure that out.
45:24This team is going to put up crazy amount of points there.
45:28And I still don't trust the defense. It's getting definitely better.
45:31And it could be like a fringe top 10 one.
45:34But this team should be in plenty of shootouts.
45:36I still feel very good about the George Pickens side of the equation, too.
45:40Like when you're watching the Cowboys, you can just tell the safeties.
45:44It's just like, OK, which which side is going to have the second safety?
45:48And then the ball attack process just throws the ball to the other side of the field.
45:53And for a couple of the games early on, they were like kind of shading towards Pickens.
45:58And then CeeDee Lamb had nice games and it kind of flipped the other way around.
46:02So it could be maybe just like a little bit less consistent versus what we typically have with CeeDee Lamb.
46:08But man, this is at the margins here. I think that he's still firmly around one player.
46:13Yeah, they're kind of the rich man's bears where like where I've said, which bears player do I want?
46:18Yes. Like I'm comfortable with all of them. They're kind of even more so than that because it's really only two guys.
46:25I mean, I really like Ryan Flannoy. He's a good player.
46:28Good wide receiver three that I think could maybe moonlight as a wide receiver, too.
46:32But he's not going to be commanding, you know, a Roma Dunes, a Luther Burden type target share in this offense.
46:38But speaking of the bears, one of the reasons I've been even more and more bullish on the bears is I think
46:45that defense is going to, absolutely stink this year.
46:47They're in a lot of trouble. Dallas, on the other hand, 32nd in EPA per play last year as defense.
46:53I think that's only going to go up. Like, does that matter for these pass catchers who were going crazy last year as their defense with Matt Eberflus?
47:01More Bears talk. He's just giving it up on the other side of the ball.
47:05Does that move the needle at all from that perspective?
47:08Yeah, it could a little bit. I do think of this.
47:11I mean, like you said, they can go from like dead last in categories to I think a fringe top top 10.
47:18Basically, half of their defense is going to be have new starters and that like you can throw in Quinton Williams to that as well.
47:25And a couple of the their other players are young young players like Donovan Ezra.
47:29Like those types could take another step up. So that is a theory.
47:33I still think that division is you're going to find some shootouts with the commanders.
47:37You're going to find some some tight high scoring games with with the Eagles.
47:41So I still feel really good about it. But I think the difference between Amon Rot and C.D.
47:47Lamb, I think there is a notable difference there just in terms of the exact volume that you're getting.
47:52And then also, like you said, the Lions defense is just a total train wreck.
47:56And I think the Cowboys have graduated past that.
47:59Yeah, there's just no way. Always a famous last words in football.
48:03There's no way that secondary is going to be as much of a disaster as it was last year.
48:08I mean, that was some sometimes when I've been charting receivers against the Cowboys, like, is this even usable?
48:14Like this is this is the success rate adjuster.
48:16Some of the digs reps like he was like saying my fault before the receiver even had caught the pass.
48:22There was like some press. I forget who it was.
48:25It might be like Brian Thomas or somebody were like he tried to press him, like fell over.
48:30And it was just looking at the side of the line being like, sorry, guys.
48:34I'm like, what is this? Sorry about that. Oh, yeah.
48:37And that was probably like his one press coverage rep of the of the entire game, because otherwise just we're just back
48:44in shells and that middle of the field's open.
48:46Technically, this is middle of the field closed coverage.
48:49But let me tell you what. Now, the field is open.
48:52OK, so absolutely brutal stuff. So I think Dallas is not going to be the 32nd ranked defense this year, which might
48:58shave off a little bit of ceiling here where C.D.
49:01Lamb. I definitely think there are a lot of universes where Lamb is, you know, he's not ninth overall pick value, which
49:07is why I haven't, you know, again, we're splitting hairs, but I haven't.
49:11There's the 12th overall pick right now. I think there's like, yeah, he's a mid second rounder as opposed to a first round value in fantasy.
49:19I think the real threat to him is the amount of high upside running backs going directly after him is just overwhelming
49:25that the most likely scenario is half of them just outproduce whatever C.D.
49:29Lamb and Justin Jefferson can do, especially in half PPR.
49:32And there's just a lot of options. We're only get to a couple of them, but even some of the running backs
49:38we're not going to talk about today, like the Kenneth Walker tier of Marion Hampton, who I think is very boom bust.
49:44But like their upsides just clear the threshold that I think a Justin Jefferson and a C.D.
49:49Lamb can get to given the constraints that they have around them.
49:53Yep. I couldn't agree with that more. That's why for me, there are a couple of those running backs that I've got ranked ahead of C.D.
50:00Lamb, including the next guy that we're going to talk about here, which is James Cook.
50:05It's 10th overall pick up the board. I know you've been a little more skeptical of James Cook.
50:10So where are kind of the ways that it can go wrong for him?
50:14I've got him at 13th overall. I think it just kind of depends on how much you're buying the case that he's
50:20going to be more involved in the past game.
50:23I think there's definitely room for improvement. He's 39th in receptions per game last year.
50:27So the most likely scenario that comes up a little bit.
50:31I would just be surprised if that ever approaches the top 10, especially when you're adding D.J.
50:35more to the mix. Like there's a chance to all the Kincaid plays more.
50:40It's like, how many pass attempts are they actually going to throw this year?
50:44And then I think with the James Cook stuff, new offensive line coach, your coordinator gets promoted to head coach.
50:49He's never done that before. You lose a guard.
50:52The other four players return here. It's going to work out for James Cook.
50:56You're talking about somebody that does not catch passes at the same rate as everybody else does.
51:01So to me, you're just like kind of nitpicking that I think some of the other guys behind him in ADP could
51:07just catch more passes and be just as explosive on the ground as James Cook was last year.
51:12Yeah, there's obviously a lot of ways that can be mildly disappointing for Cook, you know, which is why he's in the
51:19same tier as a lot of the names that you mentioned there included for me.
51:23Kenneth Walker, Derrick Henry. I mean, Derrick Henry, as long as he's Derrick Henry, he's going to moonwalk into 10 touchdowns.
51:29Obviously, James Cook scored a bunch of touchdowns last year, but there's always a chance that he just runs.
51:35He's just runs with some bad luck at the goal line and Josh Allen, you know, plunges those things in instead.
51:41If the passing game takes a step forward. I do just wonder, like, I really wonder about this defense, like where the
51:47Bills defense will be this year, too, in terms of game scripts for them.
51:51You know, it's a pretty big system overall there for that team, you know, going from what Sean McDermott has done to
51:57what Jim Leonard is going to do. So as much as like the offense probably should stay relatively the same with Joe
52:04Brady getting the promotion there and obviously was the offensive coordinator play caller.
52:08So that should relatively say the same. The defense is undergoing some pretty significant changes.
52:12So that does make me just kind of wonder about game scripts and everything.
52:16And yet, Hayden, this team has four games on their schedule against the Dolphins and Jets.
52:21Like James Cook might make your fantasy season when they're smoking the Dolphins and Jets and he's in run heavy game scripts in just those four weeks.
52:28Yeah, it's a very good point. Sometimes, though, the Bills are so far ahead in the division.
52:33And we can't say that anymore because the Patriots are involved.
52:36We're like week 17 rolls around. You're like, all right, how many snaps is James Cook actually going to play this week?
52:43But you're in good shape if that's the problem that you have.
52:46I would say the last thing I have with him, 5'11", 190, and he's coming off a bunch of touches, you know,
52:53like smaller running backs coming off that many carries between the tackle carries.
52:56Like that's where, you know, maybe his injury risk is a little bit higher than some of the others.
53:02But we're not allowed to play the injury game here.
53:05I knew as soon as I said that, by the way, about the two games against the Dolphins Jets.
53:10I'm like, guarantee one of them is week 18.
53:13Yeah, the Jets is week 18. So cute joke.
53:15And the Dolphins week 17, by the way. So, yeah, if they've got to do it, which they probably won't have a division wrapped up.
53:23But if they've got it wrapped up by then, maybe it's a Ray Davis show in week 17.
53:28That's my early tilting. If you draft James Cook in the first round of your fantasy draft.
53:33But, yeah, I'm generally pretty optimistic about Cook this year.
53:36But there's certainly he's a guy that just tier wise, there are ways it can go wrong for him that don't even involve an injury.
53:43We are going to talk a little bit about DJ more when we get into the fantasy hotline segment.
53:48So that's a fun discussion that we should have there.
53:51But for now, let's take another quick break. We come back.
53:54We've got two, actually three more consensus first round picks to talk about.
53:58We will do that right after this break. See you guys in a sec.
54:02All right, we're back. And it is time for the 11th overall pick here.
54:06Justin Jefferson and Hayden. I'm still holding the line on Justin Jefferson as a 10th overall player.
54:11But I'm pretty sure this is the exact language I used in the Pukunakua conversation.
54:15Getting nervous by the day that Kyler Murray hasn't just like shut the shut the door on this quarterback competition.
54:21Like it's August 6th, man. How have we not just been like, all right, Kyler Murray's a starter.
54:26We're done with the McCarthy thing. Am I overthinking it?
54:29Am I getting too weirded out by the fact that Kyler has not slammed the door shut on this whole thing yet?
54:36Where are you at with Justin Jefferson 11th overall?
54:38How could it not work out for him as a first round pick?
54:42I just moved him down. We do rankings refreshes every week here at Yahoo.
54:46And this was the week where I did move Justin Jefferson down because Kyler Murray is not running away with it.
54:52I still think the most likely scenario is it is Kyler Murray and Justin Jefferson goes back to being very, very good.
54:58At the same time, I also think because he hasn't ran away with the job, it could be Kyler Murray for 11 weeks, 14 weeks.
55:06And then the fantasy playoffs get here. And then we've got to see McCarthy one last time to make sure he's not the option.
55:13And at that point, I would get really nervous again.
55:15So I broke some ties against Justin Jefferson versus all the running backs that I really like in this most recent update.
55:22If the narrative kind of changes and it's like, oh, yeah, Kyler's obviously way better.
55:26And just took a week to pick up the exact ins and outs of the offense, then I would be willing to move Justin Jefferson back up.
55:34But we just watched how things go wrong. It's like this.
55:37This is the easiest guy that we've done today by far.
55:40Totally. And even if we want to live in the world where Kyler Murray is the starting quarterback for however long it
55:47is this year, I still think it's actually pretty easy to paint the picture of how it doesn't work out for Justin Jefferson.
55:53And that's like with the caveat here that it's August 6th and we got a long way to go in preseason because
56:00it took a long time for the Colts to get to like, OK, we're starting Daniel Jones.
56:05And my whole point in saying that is that about this time last year, my instinct on the Colts quarterback situation was
56:11tell me how both of these guys like it doesn't go exactly like this.
56:15Both these guys make starts this year and everybody gets fired at the end of the year.
56:20But obviously didn't go like that. It was Daniel Jones and he was he was pretty, pretty good for, you know, obviously
56:26very, very good for a long stretch of time here.
56:29My instinct on August 6th is like I'm kind of starting to think the quarterback on the depth chart there.
56:35I would say it's a frightening image. They almost look alike.
56:38If you guys are not, if you guys are just audio listeners right now, it is worth going to the Yahoo Fantasy
56:44YouTube channel, which, by the way, you should be subscribed to like the video to help us out here.
56:50OK, we're building up the channel and just checking out the quarterback.
56:53We have depth charts for every team. And Jason Jung outdid himself on this one with QB.
56:58Who knows? And it's a half face of Kyler Murray, half face of JJ McCarthy.
57:03And yeah, their hairlines and the smiles do line up alarmingly.
57:06Well, for the difference in the races, it's they do look very similar.
57:09We'll see you later. Just height wise, you know, not not not the same either.
57:14Although JJ is not the biggest dude in the world.
57:17I wonder who weighs more. OK, beyond that point.
57:19Got to get back on track. My brain is everywhere now.
57:22OK, so here's here's the thing. I am starting to think like tell me how both quarterbacks and the who knows, you know, conglomerate here does.
57:30Don't make starts this year. And I kind of worry that like everybody's going to get fired at the end of the year.
57:37Kevin O'Connell probably too good for that. But I don't know.
57:40Here's the other thing I would say. Kyler Murray is a very boom bust quarterback.
57:44I think even if you're like a Kyler truther or you're a Kyler hater, you could agree that there is a bust
57:50and a boom aspect to his game. He's not going to throw consistently over the middle of the field where Justin Jefferson
57:57with Sam Darnold was absolutely cooking over the intermediate and deep middle of the field that season.
58:02So whatever. I think I do think Kevin O'Connell's offense is almost like to boom bust to a degree.
58:07I am. I am not like a J.J. McCarthy apologist by any means.
58:11That offense did not really help him out too much last year with just how vertically inclined everything is.
58:16So even if Kyler is the starter for week one and then, you know, let's just go ahead and call it 14 or more games.
58:24I still think that could be like a pretty rocky road for Justin Jefferson as the 11th overall player.
58:29Yeah, I think that the KOC stuff. I love his offense, but it takes like a pretty competent quarterback and someone that's
58:35really willing to hold on to the ball. I remember when Sam Darnold had those back-to-back games where they got eliminated and he took all those sacks.
58:43I remember watching that game back on all 22 and be like, what the heck just happened here?
58:48And if you watch those, there was no outlet underneath.
58:51And that Sam Darnold was waiting, waiting. It's like, okay, we're doing two post routes in a go-go route.
58:57Yeah, you're going to take some sacks. I think KOC, if he was just speaking honest about it, he's like, well, yeah, we're going to get sacked sometimes.
59:05Then we're going to have a 40-yard completion in the hole.
59:08And I think in the aggregate, he is right that that is a more efficient way to play.
59:13But it does require the quarterback to be able to actually eat that.
59:17Darnold was awesome at it. Kirk Cousins was pretty cool at it, too.
59:21I think Kyler Murray can do that. But some of those crossing routes that Justin Jefferson was hitting with Darnold, that's something
59:27where you kind of have to speculate a little bit with the Kyler Murray stuff.
59:31I still feel good that we're back to having a real ceiling with Justin Jefferson.
59:36It's just, you know, so does all the other players being drafted right after him.
59:40Sometimes teams take a third receiver that I think really, it's like a declaration of intent on what they want to be.
59:46And that year in 2025, after the Sam Darnold, because I think Sam Darnold's 2024 season, obviously he just won the Super Bowl Seahawks.
59:53But that season has aged really well. And honestly, I think it was underappreciated at the time.
59:58I mean, it's like more underappreciated in hindsight. And I was probably guilty of underappreciating it, by the way.
60:04But shout out to the Sam Darnold oligarchs. But I think the thing that stuck out in my mind after that season
60:10was in 2025, you know, they signed the late Rondale Moore and they drafted Ty Felton.
60:15These like kind of small spit the ball out and yards after catch type players.
60:19And I think they wanted like that guy, but Ty Felton didn't do anything.
60:23Obviously, Rondale Moore was injured all year, of course.
60:26So it's just like they now their third receivers like Juwan Jennings, which to me indicates like Kevin O'Connell says every year.
60:32He wants to like get the run game going and all that.
60:35Like, I think that's what Juwan Jennings is here for.
60:38And I just don't really know if I buy the run game this year.
60:42So I have a lot. The Vikings were an interesting offseason team to talk about, but I'm still sitting here at the beginning of August.
60:50And I don't feel like I have a lot of answers about how this offense is going to play out this year,
60:56which makes me nervous for a first round fantasy pick.
60:59I still like to play the optimistic angle with KOC and especially the offensive line has a chance to be really good.
61:05Like Daris and O'Neal, those guys have obviously missed some time there.
61:09But when those guys are healthy and the Donovan Jackson going into his second season, I thought that he flashed enough fries
61:15has been around the block as well. So it does feel like this offensive line has, you know, materialized.
61:21They have to stay healthy and prove it. But I do think that there's some semblance of an upside.
61:26Whatever happened to TJ Hawkinson? This is something for the other for another show.
61:30Like this guy was supposed to be awesome. And like nobody talks about TJ Hawkinson ever.
61:35I think there's like reasons for that. It's definitely comes back to the injury.
61:39But that's another one of these guys who in theory should be working over the middle and underneath.
61:44But like he's just not part of the game plan.
61:47Yeah, not been great since the injury. For TJ Hawkinson.
61:50Okay, we have two players to talk about here technically at the 12th overall pick because their ADPs are super, super close.
61:56And they've kind of been flipping back and forth.
61:59It's Ashton Gentry and Saquon Barkley. Let's talk Barkley first because I think it's kind of the...
62:04It's really hard to paint like a super pessimistic picture for Barkley.
62:07But how does it not work out for Saquon Barkley this year?
62:10It's just the Jalen Hurts offense like just turns out to be just the Jalen Hurts offense.
62:15And that wasn't the coordinator last year. Look, I think it was the coordinator last year.
62:20So I don't think that's like the greatest thing we can talk about.
62:24But the other thing would just be like the offensive line has played a lot.
62:28And they've very injured last year. And like you don't know about Dickerson's back.
62:32You don't know about Lane Johnson and his health and like those type of things.
62:36Dallas Goddard was not a good blocker last year for whatever reason.
62:40He's been older. I think they have a good offensive coordinator now.
62:43You lose your Hall of Fame level O-line coach in Jeff Stoutland.
62:47I still... I'm grading towards the positive angle here.
62:49But it's just a similar enough season from last year does make him not worth a first-round pick.
62:55Yeah. Similar season for him last year, which I do think is kind of within the range of outcomes.
63:00I really go back and forth on Barkley, who for me I have right now as the 11th overall player.
63:06And I am also kind of flip-flopping back and forth between like him and Ashton Gentry, who we're going to talk about.
63:12But there's just ways where, yeah, the offensive line...
63:15We're not supposed to play the he gets hurt card.
63:18And I guess we can't also play the offensive line guys all get hurt card and the Jeff Stoutland moving on card.
63:24But that's how it doesn't work out for Barkley.
63:27And also, you know, he's another year older, has taken a ton of punishment.
63:31And, you know, maybe was like a slightly diminished player last year than he was in 2024 when he was like one
63:37of the best backs in the league. So I think there's definitely some risk with Barkley, which is why if you want
63:43to tell me he's an early second-round pick and not a first-round pick, I can totally hear that argument.
63:49How do you weigh him versus a guy like Ashton Gentry, who's the last player we're going to talk about here?
63:55Paint me the pessimistic picture on Ashton Gentry without just telling me to go back and watch the 2024 film.
64:01It's going to be 2025. It's the same thing with Justin Jefferson.
64:04Just like, you know, it's the same old season as last year.
64:08I don't draft much Ashton Gentry at all. I've got him ranked 15th.
64:11But that's a pretty big difference between where he goes and there's a lot of good players in that range.
64:17To me, you have to, first of all, the environment has to improve.
64:21It's going to improve. But it also has to improve multiple tiers to me.
64:25And then I question Ashton, and this is where you get in trouble saying this out loud.
64:30I question if Ashton Gentry really is one of those guys.
64:33And by one of those guys, I mean Saquon, Bijon, Gibbs, Jonathan Taylor.
64:37What if Ashton Gentry is more Josh Jacobs? I think he's a better receiver than Josh Jacobs has ever been.
64:43What if he is closer to Marshawn Lynch, who was awesome, but was not quite as explosive as these guys?
64:48And if he's not going to have the same level of explosiveness, and I do think he dances a little bit and
64:55seeks contact, I do think that's how he just doesn't rip enough explosive plays, even with the environment kind of improving a little bit.
65:02So you just never know. This offensive line, the right side still is brutal to me with Jackson Powers, Johnston, and DJ Glaze.
65:08And then they also have six slot receivers and nobody that can play on the outside.
65:13Could that end up factoring in here? I think that can.
65:16And nobody getting a lot of like pop from camp at this point, you know, actually one of their rookies that we're
65:22going to talk about has maybe been the most interesting one.
65:26When we get to the hotline segment, which will tell you just like is Malik Benson going to play a big role this year?
65:32That's where the Raiders receiver room is right now.
65:35So, yeah, there are ways where the team like they're they're still a bad team.
65:39Again, it feels better because it's a new coach.
65:42And I am a Kubiak fan. I'm a Fernando Mendoza fan, but it's not always immediate.
65:47Like most rookie quarterbacks are bad. You know, people still have a lot of faith in Cam Ward coming out of year one.
65:53And he was a horrible quarterback from a statistical perspective.
65:56And that was not a fruitful offensive environment. Like that can very much be the case with Ashton Gentry.
66:02Two things real quick on Gentry before we before we close the loop on these first round picks.
66:07One, to your point about like, is he not in the Bijan, you know, give tier whatever.
66:12That was generally their scouting report on Ashton Gentry.
66:14I mean, when anytime you ask like a draft value, you'd be like, well, he's not in that Bijan or, you know, that.
66:21But he's the right the next tier down. It's like, OK, well, that tier difference makes a whole hell of a lot of difference.
66:28We're talking about like Bijan can survive the Falcons and can Ashton Gentry survive the Raiders.
66:32Because last year, the answer was no, like a Gentry was generally was a fine fantasy player last year in the aggregate when you look at it.
66:40But it was a real slog based on him being a first round pick for the most part last year.
66:46And now he's first round pick again this year.
66:49And the second thing is, and we'll leave it here on this just to paint the paint the range of outcomes and everything here for Ashton Gentry.
66:56Tell me why Hayden Ashton Gentry is a better fantasy pick than Kenneth Walker this year without telling me where Ashton Gentry
67:03was drafted in the NFL draft last year. I mean, I have no I have no argument against it.
67:08I have Kenneth Walker. I moved him up to ninth overall.
67:11Like, I want to be the highest on Walker of anybody.
67:15I think that the infrastructure is online. He's a good football player.
67:18Like, I can make the case that Kenneth Walker is better than Ashton Gentry straight up.
67:23Just just watching the games. Yeah, I mean, listen, I think that's fair.
67:26I have Walker 15th overall, which is four spots higher than his current Yahoo ADP.
67:31And yeah, I mean, I really want to rank him ahead of Derrick Henry.
67:35I just like I really like Derrick Henry. But again, I also so then it's it's kind of like, well, do I
67:41like these guys better than Ashton Gentry? I really don't know.
67:44I really don't know if I do. And I kind of like the way those run games are set up in Baltimore
67:51and Kansas City a little bit more than what I think the Raiders are.
67:55And I think the Raiders will be better last year.
67:58The problem is that they were 32nd or 31st.
68:00So long way to go for the Las Vegas Raiders.
68:03We're going to take our final break of the show.
68:06We come back. We're introducing our new fantasy hotline segment.
68:09We will get into that right after this. All right.
68:12We are back. And welcome to the fantasy hotline presented by Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL.
68:17Every Thursday, we are taking your most pressing questions for fantasy hotline.
68:21And today we are covering which training camp hype players to buy or sell.
68:25Hayden, we have the people out there send in great questions.
68:28Great questions. And some very interesting, a wide range of names here that we are going to discuss whether we're buying or selling these ones.
68:35First question comes in from come on underscore Levi.
68:38Love that I get to read Twitter handles. I'm so, so bad at this.
68:42Okay. After the first episode of hard knocks, I feel like Jadarian price should be discussed.
68:46Heyden, real quick before I go to the second part of the question.
68:50Are you watching hard knocks? No, I don't watch any TV pretty much.
68:54Okay. I'm not watching hard knocks either. And I also only watch TV when it's raining outside and I have to walk
69:00on the treadmill in the garage in the morning.
69:03That's pretty much my only TV consumption these days.
69:05The diplomat, by the way, on Netflix. Nice show.
69:08Anyways. So I was like, can you clarify this for me, buddy?
69:12Because I don't know what we're talking about with hard knocks.
69:15But anyways, they followed up and said the clips of the episode show that he's extremely agile in space and was dicing through the defense.
69:22Pre pads, mostly the running back coach went to bat for him early on in the coaches meeting that they showed.
69:28Producer Colin, who is a sicko consuming hard knocks, informed me that, quote, they basically made Jadarian price look like a God on the show.
69:35So are you buying Jadarian prices deity level performance and editing here in hard knocks?
69:40I believe that the editing could showcase that he looks really good.
69:43I will say this. There's some sometimes I see Twitter like praising running back clips when the defense is clearly not trying to tackle the player.
69:50They're like, wow, he ripped open another big run.
69:53I'm like, well, do you see how the linebacker like went like he pretended to tackle him?
69:58That would have been an actual tackle. Um, but I think that price is interesting in that we just have to figure
70:04out, is he going to catch passes or not?
70:07Because in college he didn't he didn't have many pass protection reps at all.
70:11I think that's what Holani is going to be doing early on in the season.
70:15Um, but if he's actually gonna get some receptions on early downs, then that's how he can kind of separate from the
70:22committee that Kenneth Walker had when Charbonnet was healthy.
70:24And then the other part, obviously, is just how much longer until we see Charbonnet.
70:29Uh, there's been some reports like he could be back earlier than later.
70:32I mean, he he he tore his ACL so late into the season.
70:36Like he would be complete outlier if we saw him even in October.
70:40That would be an outlier return. Uh, so there's a lot of moving parts here.
70:44I think he's fine. He's not somebody that I want to like chase up.
70:48Uh, just because I do. I do believe that Holani and Zach Charbonnet are going to have a real role here.
70:54Yeah. And like they can talk about how the running back coach and say he went to bat for him early on and the whole deal.
71:02The one thing I keep making the point on is that they were pretty fine.
71:06Nick, not taking Janarian price at the 32nd overall pick.
71:09They were desperately trying to trade out of that pick.
71:12So I think that kind of makes it flimsy when it comes to that part.
71:16But yeah, from a fantasy standpoint, I'm pretty much where you are that he's not somebody I want to chase up.
71:22He's somebody that I do think is really interesting at his ADP, which right now is like a six round pick about 65th, 66th overall.
71:29Um, I've got him maybe in the seventies. So I think just kind of skeptical just about that part of it.
71:36Like the, the true, true ceiling outcome for him.
71:38But I mean, it gets pretty gross pretty quickly at running back, especially relative to some of those guys that are going in the round five area.
71:46I mean, like we're taking, we're taking guys like Quinchon Judkins.
71:49We're taking guys, um, shoot, like, you know, cam Scadaboo.
71:52I didn't realize how behind ADP I am on cam Scadaboo until I like compared my rankings to Yahoo.
71:57And I was like, damn, I didn't, I didn't really know that people were that excited about Scadaboo as a fourth round
72:04pick when like, I'm not sure how good he is.
72:07And I'm not sure how good the giants are.
72:09I I'm guess I'm not sure how good the, that Jadarian price is.
72:13Cause he's, he's a rookie, but I'm pretty convinced that the Seahawks will be good, like from an offensive standpoint.
72:19So that's like a tie in his favor, even if I have him ranked behind those guys.
72:24Yeah. I don't really talk that positively about Jadarian price, but I am right at ADP in my 63rd overall player.
72:30And that's where he goes in both best ball and on Yahoo.
72:33So I'm fine with where he's going. I just think that they do seem pretty committed to having this be a rotation
72:40and they're just not proof that he's going to be catching a bunch of people.
72:44Passes. That's another narrative is like, you'll see a lot of running backs are like, they're getting the ball in practice.
72:50He's catching passes. Like, first of all, every running back in the NFL can catch a football.
72:55Like that's like not the part that's God that we're worried about here.
72:59It's just like having the timing, being on the field, not giving away tendencies.
73:03It's like those types of things where I think they actually make the difference.
73:07So it's one of those narratives where I don't always buy like, Oh, this guy's catching passes.
73:12He's going to do that in, in, uh, when the games are on, you know, you just never know what drills their practicing.
73:18And then you beating a linebacker, 25 yards down the field on one-on-ones, like one thing versus, you know, actually doing that in the games.
73:25I mean, one-on-one reps are just like atrocious for judging anything.
73:29I mean, those, those guys are so slated. They're advantage in a one-on-one situation.
73:33Um, yeah, you mentioned Twitter, like judging the running back reps when a guy's like literally not being tackled.
73:38Um, I'm pretty much out on Twitter's ability to evaluate anything, uh, for, for like, for the most part with all due
73:45respect, with all due respect, my, I do, I do not need anyone telling me like, look at Jalen Waddle's limp here.
73:51I'm like, okay, just, just tell me when he's going to practice or not.
73:55Like whatever. Uh, I say as like the biggest Jalen Waddle bag holder right now.
73:59So maybe I'm revealing my, myself there. Okay. Let's get to the next question.
74:03This one's sack Kings, two, six, one, eight, uh, Sacramento Kings.
74:06Just want to make that clear. What's your take on some of the rookie receiver buzz coming out of camp?
74:12I'm thinking guys like Denzel Boston, Caleb Douglas, Jacoby lane, and Malik Benson.
74:16Do any of these guys have a chance at fantasy relevance in 2026?
74:20Okay. Now I'm going to let you answer, uh, just like pick one of these guys here to talk about.
74:26But before I do, I want to note, um, that one of my theories on like off season receiver buzz in OTAs
74:32and mini camps, it's the small jitter bug, you know, little guys shout out to the late great Chris, Chris Westling.
74:38He always used to talk about like, this is the Paris Campbell corollary.
74:42And I kind of think like Malik Benson's buzz was coming mostly from mini camp.
74:46And I don't really know that much about Benson.
74:49Honestly, I need to do some more work on him.
74:51He's not a guy chartered pre-draft, but like, that's where his buzz came from.
74:56And he's kind of that small fast guy. Denzel Boston.
74:58Then. Okay. So Denzel Boston, Jacoby lane are the next ones, which is training camp to me.
75:03This is where I'm, uh, extending Chris's research here.
75:06The doctorate level research is that in training camp, the contested catch bros always get a ton of love.
75:11And I'm, I'm a Denzel Boston guy, but I just want to note that like, oh yeah, Jacoby lane and Denzel Boston are tearing up.
75:19That's because any idiot, even the idiots on Twitter can be like that contested catch is sick.
75:24Okay. Like stock up for this guy. And that's not to say that either of those guys aren't going to work out.
75:30I just want to note, like these are the guys, especially rookies who usually get hyped, maybe overhyped in training camp.
75:36And then these easily could be like, they practice red zone for the entire day.
75:40And it's like, oh yeah, of course, like Denzel Boston had a couple of contested catches down there.
75:45Like that's when he's going to get used where it's like the other parts of the field that he might not get used.
75:52Um, do these guys have a chance at fantasy relevance?
75:55Of course it chance. Uh, the problem with Denzel Boston and then with Caleb Douglas is like these offenses are projected for
76:01so few points that even if they are on the field, even if they are catching four passes per game, they still
76:08don't matter in redraft league, especially Yahoo. The default settings are only two wide receivers.
76:12Like the bar is so high for, for relevance.
76:15Um, I do think that Denzel Boston, Caleb Douglas and Jacoby Lane, like can be NFL starters for multiple seasons.
76:20Like that we could actually care about them. Um, so in really deep leagues, best ball, I have been drafting some Caleb Douglas now.
76:27Um, and I find him pretty interesting because it does seem like Chris Bell might have to have like an entire redshirt, uh, year.
76:34Um, and then I'm not that surprised that Jacoby Lane and Elijah Strat, I view that as kind of a toss up.
76:41Uh, and I think that we just saw ways to go before who's going to win that job.
76:46Denzel Boston is the one that you could theoretically draft in your standard redraft league though.
76:50Yeah, you can squint at it with Denzel Boston.
76:53Cause like I said, prospect that I liked, I thought it was kind of a shame that he fell where he did.
76:59I think it was a first round receiver. Uh, I mean, listen, I think him and Casey Concepcion are going to be
77:06a great duo long term for this Browns offense and, you know, against all odds, I'm kind of invested in shooter Sanders,
77:12like being a good player for them, at least for this year.
77:15Uh, yeah, we'll see about that, but you know, just, just enough for these guys to flash this year.
77:21So he's the one that's interesting and just quickly on lane.
77:24I mean, listen, could he be a sacrificial X receiver for this team this year?
77:28Definitely don't think that's much him winning a bunch of contested catches in training camp, which has mostly been every highlight I've seen.
77:35Like we knew he could do that. It's Kenny like separate on the NFL field enough to get targets.
77:41And lastly, Caleb Douglas, man. I mean, Caleb Douglas has to be the rookie, the most, the rookie receiver that nobody cares
77:47about the most of all time because, and I say that like, I actually think Caleb Douglas can play a little bit,
77:53but there's been a pretty consistent, positive drum beat on Caleb Douglas.
77:57And I see like zero, zero dynasty bros on my timeline, hyping him up, which maybe means there'll be nothing.
78:03But if you, if you have like a late pick in your rookie draft is still ongoing, like I think there's a
78:09very viable path to him being at least a good system fit in Miami.
78:13And yet again, think about the cornerbacks he's going against in training camp practice for the, for the dolphins.
78:18So maybe that could be part of it. Yeah.
78:21But at the same time, I think there's going to be fourth quarters where there's going to be some free receptions in this offense.
78:28I think a lot of those will go to, uh, Greg Dolcich in Malik Washington at the same time.
78:33We're talking about Greg Dolcich and Malik Washington. If Caleb Douglas can play the, uh, if he can play the guitar, he's
78:40going to be, um, at least on our like waiver wire radar.
78:43So I think that he's, he's pretty interesting. Yeah.
78:46All the reports on him have been actually pretty solid.
78:49So I would not be surprised if like he led the dolphins in receiving this year.
78:53Um, does that mean anything? Uh, probably not, but that would be kind of cool.
78:58Yeah. Be kind of cool. And again, for your dynasty bags, maybe that's something there, uh, breaking news into the show.
79:04Jameer Gibbs, uh, signs a three year, $67.5 million deal, uh, that could be worth up to about 75.75, uh, million dollars.
79:10Uh, so shout out to Jameer Gibbs who heard us saying there's no way he could be a bad pick in fantasy
79:16this year and said, it's time to time to sign the dotted line.
79:20Cause Hayden and Harmon said, so, uh, okay. Final question that we'll get in here before we get out of here.
79:26This is from FF jury. Obviously Cyrus Allen, uh, you know, someone you could talk about, but IMO you've talked about him enough on RP.
79:33Yeah, correct. I, I feel like I do talk about, I'm, I am talking about Cyrus Allen too much.
79:39Just kidding. There's no such thing. Did you hear in Bert Breer's article?
79:43The chiefs think he's the next Stefan digs. That's right.
79:46They need to sign Stefan digs. They've got Steph digs at home, baby.
79:49Okay. We talked about Cyrus. Right. So the other three names mentioned here, Casey conception, DJ more, Bucky Irving.
79:55I actually want to talk about DJ more with you a little bit, because I saw you posted about more earlier this
80:01week and literally we were sharing a brain on, on kind of just some of your thought process with DJ more.
80:07So, um, unpack that one a little bit. Like where are you at DJ more relative to some of the other receivers around his ADP?
80:14Yeah. So I think we have to separate the discussions here.
80:18I thought that the bills trading the capital for him and then extending him was doing too much for what I think DJ more is.
80:25But at the same time, I would not be surprised if DJ more tries harder, cares more now that he's like in
80:31a super bowl contending team where he's definitely the top option, uh, just based off of the investments where you could not
80:38argue that once they had Roma duns, a Luther burden and, uh, Colson Loveland.
80:42So I'm expecting him to play better this year than, than the year prior.
80:46And I think that the target competition is pretty weak considering the bills are second in projected points.
80:51Uh, and all the other teams around them, that's the Rams, the lions, the bangles, uh, the Ravens, both of the, uh, Cowboys wide receivers.
80:58You have to draft their number one wide receivers in the first or the second round only.
81:03And DJ more is now priced way, way, way lower than that.
81:06I have him in the same tier as the Mike Evans, Devante Adams types.
81:10And I would just take the younger guy if I'm, if I am hunting in that tier.
81:15So I moved him up just because he doesn't have to be that great to be very relevant.
81:21I mean, we were drafting Gabe Davis in what round?
81:23I think that was about in this area. I think that DJ more for his words, what is better?
81:29Yes. Like, I mean, we can, we can have DJ more do a Gabe Davis plus season this year.
81:34I think that's totally possible. That is totally possible.
81:37Uh, and I'll just put a bow on it here.
81:40That was really exactly again, my thoughts on, on more relative to some of those other wide outs.
81:45But, um, I had this discussion with Nate on football 301, where if you look at DJ more like the routes that
81:51he runs really well, they're the routes that are going to be run in this offense, uh, in reception perception.
81:57And it was not the routes that were run in Ben Johnson's offense.
82:01So people can go check that out on the AFC East preview.
82:04They want more of a deep dive on it.
82:07But, um, I ended up deep diving myself and playing with the formula for way too long.
82:12Uh, after that discussion to try to quantify like receivers being misused, he was the most the sixth, most misused receiver relative
82:18to like the routes he ran versus the routes he's good on last year among the guys that I charted.
82:24So I think if there's a flip here, he actually will just straight up look better than he did as an individual last year.
82:31In addition to all the other things that you laid out there, but all right, that is going to do it for, uh, our first fantasy hotline here.
82:39Got a lineup dilemma trade debate or league controversy.
82:42The fantasy outline is open all season long. So send us your toughest questions.
82:46We might just feature them on an upcoming episode and that is going to do it for us here today.
82:51Thanks to our friends again, over at Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL who are here all season celebrating the
82:58passion traditions and unforgettable moments that make football America's obsession.
83:01Hayden shout out to you buddy. Great show. We tried to do the best we could to talk down the best players in the NFL.
83:08We will be back on Sunday. Scott Pienowski joins me to kick off position preview week by looking at the quarterbacks this year.
83:15That's going to be live as always right here 4 p.m.
83:18Eastern on Sunday. Until then, we are out.

More episodes from Yahoo Fantasy Forecast

6