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Field Yates
Close your eyes. Exhale. Feel your body relax. And let go of whatever you're carrying today. Well, I'm letting go of the worry that I wouldn't get my new contacts in time for this class. I got them delivered free from 1-800-contacts. Oh, my gosh, they're so fast. And breathe. Oh, sorry. I almost couldn't breathe when I saw.
Daniel Dopp
The discount they gave me on my first order.
Field Yates
Oh, sorry. Namaste.
Daniel Dopp
Visit 1-800-contacts.com today to save on your first order. 1-800-contacts you in the whole 6010. Hello and welcome into Fantasy Focus Football. My name is Daniel Dopp, joined by Field Minister Yates today.
Field Yates
My bad there, Daniel. I. So we have these things called IFBs. I think that's internal feedback.
Daniel Dopp
I think so.
Field Yates
Could be wrong there. But anyways, new studio and I plugged it in, which I forgot to actually toggle the volume up. So the show started. I had no idea. And all of a sudden I twisted the volume up and I was like. It sounded like you were like Rage against the Machine at a concert, yelling into my ear.
Daniel Dopp
Right in your brain. That's how that works. Hey, listen, that's how it feels right now sometimes. Be excited to be here and have some talk to be able. Yeah, we're going in. We're diving deep. Yesterday we did quarterback tears.
Field Yates
Yeah.
Daniel Dopp
Today we're diving into wide receiver tiers, pass catchers of those quarterbacks. If you missed the very beginning of the week, the field, Stefania and I did a mock draft. Go back and check that out. If you want to see the way that we approach a 10 team mock draft, we're going to do another mock this upcoming Monday. Probably going to be a little bit different than a 10 team or maybe a 12 team. Something a little different. So we'll let you guys know once we get there. But today, obviously, we're going to dive into some more tiers. First and foremost, though, field Jates. How you doing?
Field Yates
I'm doing great, my friend. Great to be on three days in a row here for Fantasy Focus. We're kind of getting back into the swing of things.
Daniel Dopp
Little grooves.
Field Yates
We're getting into shape. On top of that, the studio's coming together nicely. Got this sweet George Kittle graphic is actually. It's a piece of artwork. Yeah. For those on Twitter. And a lot of you are very online. Like Daniel and I are. Rita Oak. She is a huge, huge, gigantic 49ers fan who became like pretty prominent in the space because she was doing a drawing a day. I believe it was of Jimmy Garoppolo, I think that was Jimmy Jean was the first person to get started. And then eventually it became a Brock Purdy drawing until he got a new contract, I think it was. Could you pass that over here, Daniel?
Daniel Dopp
Absolutely, bud.
Field Yates
I wanted to show you something because Rita very kindly did this piece of art for us. We actually had it for a little while. So if we had the four tight ends, TJ Hawkinson may have been a lion at the time this was done, but it's incredible work by Rita, who's so, so talented. And it fits perfectly in the studio. We're talking about tight ends on Friday, I believe.
Daniel Dopp
Confirmed.
Field Yates
Yes. Just wanted to shout out Rita for this awesome, awesome artwork.
Daniel Dopp
Yeah. Heck, yeah, man. This looks sick.
Field Yates
It does look sick. Yeah. I want one for my house.
Daniel Dopp
I'll see what we can make happen. Feel okay.
Field Yates
Thank you.
Daniel Dopp
Behind you. I brought in a JMO poster for what it's worth, too. A nice little poster.
Field Yates
Is that sign? Yeah.
Daniel Dopp
Yeah. Jamo diving into the end zone. It's all black and white. Except for him. It's all color, which is.
Field Yates
Jamo's been moving up in my wide receiver rankings. We'll talk about.
Daniel Dopp
Yeah, we'll talk about him today. Yes, we will. Hey, you know what else I want to talk to you about real quick?
Field Yates
What else?
Daniel Dopp
We're doing a live show next week. New York City. Two great events coming up. Tickets are going fast. Come see us live at the Grand Mercies Theater Aug. 7. On Thursday, fantasyfocuslive.com for information and to purchase tickets. You get free food. You get merch. You get swag, you get drinks. Everyone who attends is going to have a ton of fun. Scan the QR code in order to take you for tickets. In case you are watching on the YouTube stream right now, tickets are only $35.
Field Yates
Steal.
Daniel Dopp
It is a steal. And we're going to have a ton of fun. Obviously, we always take questions from the audience. We do a meet and greet afterwards. So it's going to be a blast. But New York is not the only one. This is your first time listening. We're also going to Philadelphia, my friend. Philadelphia Union transfer. Thursday, August 14th. Those tickets are also going quickly. Scan the QR code you see right now on YouTube or head to fantasyfocuslivephilly.com same deal as new York. You get food field, you get drinks, you get swag. You get the meet and greet. All the good stuff. All for just $35. And Mike Clay is going to be there. It's going to be a hometown show for Michael Lester Clay.
Field Yates
That is gigantic. Mike was there the last time we went to Philly. Yes, he was. I remember that well. Yes, we had a great time there. Mike got this incredible roaring applause that was completely undeserved, but very kind there because it is his hometown. So we can't wait to be there. Some call it the state that Mike Clay built. Others would argue they're more notable people like, I don't know, Taylor Swift or something like that that maybe hail from originally. Yes, as well. But anyways, Mike will be there. And then I think we have one more trip we're taking later on this summer.
Daniel Dopp
Yeah, we're headed back to the Bahamas, my friend.
Field Yates
Let's go.
Daniel Dopp
I am so pumped for this. The ESPN Fantasy Football Ultimate Draft weekend. It is back for the second year in a row from August 21st through the 24th at Baja Mar. Enjoy an oceanfront stay at the luxurious Baja Mar resort and exclusive events like our own one of a kind beach combine. You get to mingle with celebrities like Todd Gurley. Wait, Golden Tate, Kyle Rudolph Field Yates. And then get insights from all your favorite ESPN Fantasy football experts before drafting your squad at our epic live draft day party. The draft party was really fun last year, being able to work the boards. Honestly, the entire weekend was fun. And by the way, I said this yesterday. I'm so sorry. It's going to be even better this year, though.
Field Yates
It will be bigger, better. It's going to be a blast. It's just one of the most beautiful places on earth. The weather, like, even when we had like, quote unquote bad days, it was like, yeah, you guys, it's only going to be 77 with a little bit of rain today for like 10 minutes. Yeah. And then it's going to be 85 and sunny the rest of the time. So it's a great way, at least in our opinion, to wrap up your summer as football is just around the corner, my friend.
Daniel Dopp
The amenities there are absolutely unbelievable. So it's going to be a ton of fun. So go check that out. You don't have to bring your entire league. I want to say this. If you can't get all the other schmucks in your league to be able to come out and pony up, to be able to do this, you just come out yourself. We will put you in a league. We'll have a ton of fun. Still, you don't have to have an entire league's worth of people. So go check that out. App for Baja Mar. Excuse me. All right. What do you want to get into before we talk about tears today?
Field Yates
Also, one piece of news that we'll discuss more during running back tears is the Bengals just released Zach Moss, which means that Chase Brown, who was already cemented as, like, one of the true workhorse running backs in the NFL, has even less competition in a very, very thin backfield. We discussed Zach Moss's uncertainty yesterday. We'll dive into it more tomorrow. But a reminder on sort of just how these things work for Tears for us. Ultimately, people love seeing, you know, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, all the way down to wide receiver 60. Yep. But sometimes the difference between wide receiver 5 and wide receiver 6, which is one spot in rankings, could be very narrow. Meanwhile, the drop off from wide receiver 6 to wide receiver 7 could be a little bit wider. Right. So that's why tiers are helpful to us. You and I have talked about this both on, on the show and offline. Tiers are subjective. Right. Like how we define a tier is different. In some cases, tiers are way more scientific than other tiers. Quarterbacks, I thought were relatively straightforward for me to do. I will concede that wide receivers and running backs, because there's so many of them, become a more difficult challenge. Daniel. But there is a lot of depth this year at wide receiver and some serious star power at the time.
Daniel Dopp
Yes, there absolutely is. I want to ask you before we get started, when you're doing your tears, I think you said yesterday the way that you are doing tears, how you put people in these tiers is based on what criteria, where they would potentially if they had a chance to finish as the number one overall position, that's.
Field Yates
How I'm ranking these players. So when you hear me say, like a guy has is the 38th wide receiver on my board, he is the 38th most likely player to finish as wide receiver one. Okay. Now, there are players who might be ranked 42nd that at a certain point of a draft, I prefer over wide receiver 38. And I'm just going to use this as an example.
Daniel Dopp
Sure.
Field Yates
Right. These are. I'm not, I'm not. This is not actually how I feel. But maybe you're like, hey, I think Jordan Adderson Addison has higher upside than Jacoby Myers. But if you get to a certain point in your draft and you think Jacoby Myers has just like a steadier ship. Right. Addison might miss time at the beginning of the season. Myers is almost always overlooked. Which of those two guys do you think has a better Chance to be like a top 12 wide receiver. The answer is not the one of them is likely, but I think the answer is Addison or the other answer is Jordan Addison. So I look at it as I'm chasing the ultimate upside for these players. My rankings reflected as such.
Daniel Dopp
Okay. I look at it slightly different, which is okay, because when I'm doing this, I look at my tiers based on how I would draft. So when I'm in a draft room, it's like if I have a wide receiver that would fall to me to a certain spot or a running back if I know that I'm about to leave that tier, am I okay with waiting a whole nother round and getting into the second tier specifically for the draft? So we look at it a little bit differently, which is okay.
Field Yates
Yeah.
Daniel Dopp
I want to start with your tier one, and I'll give you my tier one. Who is it that you have in your S tier of wide receivers?
Field Yates
Let me just say something as well. I was trying to do a rankings update yesterday. I don't know that I saved it properly. So you may, if you're watching and you hear me say something a little bit different. What I say is what I mean. Sometimes what's on a graphic might just be a saving update issue on my end. So tier one for me is five, and it's maybe six wide receivers. And candidly, there's a chance that this wide receiver tier deserves to be more like nine players as opposed to five. But let me give you my first five players. It begins with Jamar Chase. No surprise there, of course. The 2024 Triple Crown winner. Receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Other players include Justin Jefferson, CD Lamb, Puka Nukua and Malik Neighbors. And there was one more player that I battled back and forth. Have him wide receiver tier one. Do you not? It's really close. I think you can probably, like, the easy way out is just put Amon Ross, St. Brown in there.
Daniel Dopp
Sure.
Field Yates
But I did think about potentially moving Amon Ra. I did have him ultimately in tier 2. I can get into that in just a little bit. Okay. So these five guys, by the way, to me, all deserved top 10 picks in your fantasy drafts.
Daniel Dopp
So knowing that we look at it slightly different, I think your tears are ridiculous.
Field Yates
Oh, good.
Daniel Dopp
I'm just. I think Jamar Chase is in a tier of his own because again, just the way that I approach it right when I'm in a draft.
Field Yates
Okay.
Daniel Dopp
I wouldn't potentially take Justin Jefferson over Jamar Chase this year. I wouldn't take Malik Neighbors or Puka Nukua. If I'm in the clock and Jamar Chase is on the board and I see him next to any of those guys, he's the clear 101 for me without any question. Okay. And I'm curious what the audience thinks. Do you guys see Ja' Marr Chase? Well, let's put up a YouTube poll. Do you see Ja' Mar Chase being in a tier of his own? Or do you think, like, Field is saying, we have a glute of glut, A glutton.
Field Yates
A glut would be the right word.
Daniel Dopp
Yep. Of unbelievable superstar wide receivers right at the very top of the board. All of these, like you said, have a chance to finish as the number one wide receiver in football.
Field Yates
That's why I landed there. Daniel is. I think that one thing we should all be reminded of every single year is we tend to be a little too stubborn on saying, like, this guy should go number one overall. We did this last year with Christian McCaffrey. We were snake bitten as a result of that. Right. But, like, sometimes we get so focused on one player that we forget the fact that, like, finishing as the best player in fantasy football is really hard to do. Right. I mean, that's just like only one out of thousands of players can get to that level. Or one out of, you know, a few hundred fantasy relevant players can get to that level. I have nothing against Jamar Chase this year. If you told me Ceedee Lamb finished ahead of Jamar Chase this year, I would not be stunned. I would not be surprised. I might be a little surprised, slightly surprised, but nothing more than that. I mean, CD Lamb has 100 or more catches in three straight seasons. Dak Prescott's fully healthy. George Pickens. You can look at it two ways. Someone to take targets away from Ceedee Lamb, or the way that I look at it, someone that takes away a little bit of defensive attention from CD Lamb. Because last year it was CD and that was it in terms of threatening Cowboys offensive players.
Daniel Dopp
Yeah.
Field Yates
Justin Jefferson. I mean, the guy's been the best player in fantasy football before Puka Nukua in nine full games last year. Because remember one time he got hurt against your Lions and one. Remember the second time he punched a Seahawks player who got ejected. So if you just take away those two games and you account for the nine games he played in full, he had 98 targets. Do the math on that. That's 11 a game. That would be 175ish targets for the season, which would have put him second in the NFL last year, but behind only jamar chase and 175 is how many Malik Neighbors had last year. Neighbors by the way left practice yesterday with a shoulder injury. As of right now, no major cause for concern. We're monitoring yet but I look at these five guys as strong bets bets at least to lead the NFL in receptions, targets or both. I will say with major yardage and receiving touchdown upside and upside there.
Daniel Dopp
I'm totally with you. As a reminder, CD Lamb was wide receiver 8 last year. Do you know all the quarterbacks he played with after Deck went down?
Field Yates
I believe, I believe you can correct me if I'm wrong. Vinnie Testaverde was in there. I think Tom Tupa, who was actually a punter for most of his career but played quarterback briefly at Ohio State in college was one of them.
Daniel Dopp
He was Troy Aikman actually suited up, came out of the booth in one game to be able to finish.
Field Yates
Man, I saw like Troy I think.
Daniel Dopp
Could give you could still get out.
Field Yates
There 25 snaps right now.
Daniel Dopp
I love it.
Field Yates
He is in incredible shape.
Daniel Dopp
Well it wasn't just him. Malik Neighbors also wide receiver six as a rookie. He played with Daniel Jones, Drew Locke, Tommy DeVito and Tim Boyle. And he was wide receiver six as a rookie.
Field Yates
Yeah, he was awesome and missed a couple of games last year. So that number if he had just played the full season might have been higher than wide receiver 6. If you get league average quarterback play which I not even that Daniel. If you get not bottom five quarterback play right then you might just get a better version of Malik Neighbors. And by the way, who do they add this offseason that you're saying to yourself damn it. Malik Neighbors now has to compete for targets with.
Daniel Dopp
It's still just Darius Slayton and Wandell Robinson, right? Anyone crazy.
Field Yates
It's not like they made this major wide receiver or tight end investment that has you feeling differently about it. So I think this team's going to play good defense but not be great enough on offense that they're going to be playing from behind a lot. Yeah, ESPN bet I think has him as one of the lowest over under totals on the board right now. So things shape up nicely for Malik Neighbors to, you know, there's. There's no reason why he shouldn't see 10 targets a game.
Daniel Dopp
I'm with you on that one for what it's worth right now. And it's early field jades.
Field Yates
It's early.
Daniel Dopp
55% of the YouTube poll believes that Jamar Chase should Be in a tier of his own away from these other wide receivers. We'll continue to monitor that as we get throughout the show.
Field Yates
All right, last thing. Just. I just got a text from Thirsty Kyle, who's watching the show right now.
Daniel Dopp
No way.
Field Yates
Let you know.
Daniel Dopp
We love you, buddy.
Field Yates
We love you and hope you're having a great start to your. Was it Wednesday?
Daniel Dopp
Yeah, that's right.
Field Yates
Question for you then. Yes. All right. So you are putting Jamar Chase in a tier by himself, which again, I'm not going to like. He's more likely than not number one. Yeah. But in your draft, he's more likely than not going to go number one overall. If you had a second tier of wide receivers. Yep.
Daniel Dopp
Second tier would be the next four guys that you just mentioned.
Field Yates
So you put Jefferson in the next tier down.
Daniel Dopp
I have him in tier 3.
Field Yates
Can we use that as. Let's just segue to tier 2? And I want to have this conversation because it's going to come across as a little bit of a negative towards one of my favorite players you probably love more than I do because I'm.
Daniel Dopp
Wearing his jersey right now.
Field Yates
Yes, you are literally wearing his jersey. But I think it's an interesting conversation. Yeah, let's do tier two for me is four wide receivers. I'm on Ross St. Brown, Nico Collins, Brian Thomas Jr. Who I almost again, this is why tears matter. Remember the conversation a couple of days ago was like these two guys are sort of the same player in terms of outlook. Right. And then A.J. brown for the Philadelphia Eagles. Amon Ra, I think is the most notable in this tier only because last year he was going at the top six pick. Now I think he's more like early round two or late round run, depending if it's 12, 14 or 10 team league. He's amazing. Amon Ra has played four seasons. He's averaged 108 catches. He has 430 catches in four years. His fewest is 90. Back to back to back years with a hundred or more. Over the past two seasons he's had 22 touchdowns. But something changed last year that could continue this year, which is 20, 23. The passing offense was Amon Ra first, Amon Ra second, Amon Ra third. Yep. And some Sam Laporta. Actually last year, even though the season end numbers for Amon Ra still were good, what we didn't see last year was every single week Amon Ra getting peppered with like 10 catches a game.
Daniel Dopp
Agreed.
Field Yates
Not that he would get the 10, but you know what I'm saying. Seven or eight catches a game. He was more touchdown dependent last year and he had more games last year with like call it four or fewer catches than we have seen in years prior. I think the Lions feel really good about the development of Jameson Williams. Talked about like he has been and I get it. It's August or almost August. A lot of stuff is said that you're like really man. Like, like Kyle Pitts gets the August late July bump. The JMO drumbeat is. It's not a drum beat anymore. It's like a gong. Like it's, it's, it's like you know when like church bells ring throughout a neighborhood. Like it's that level of loud right now. Yeah. So between JMO's development, between the continued emergence of Sam Laporta who came on a little bit down the stretch last year, Jameer Gibbs and David Montgomery are going to be a huge factor in the running game. Like Amun Ra when you're breaking to your ties in top five or six receivers, it might be like a 5% downgrade or a 7% downgrade in value. That can be the difference between being a tier one player versus a tier two player.
Daniel Dopp
And I would say I look at Amon Ross similar to the way you do when you're talking about tears because I love the like. He's unbelievable. Right? You mentioned this wide receiver in three in total points last year, 115 catches, 1263 yards, 12 touchdowns. Back to back seasons of double digit touchdowns for Amon Rah. He wasn't a touchdown guy to start his career. He added that to his game. By the way, he has scored 20 or more fantasy points in 15 of his last 33 games. That's 45% of his games. You are getting 20 or more fantasy points. That floor is unbelievable and it might be the best and safest floor in fantasy football.
Field Yates
It's in the discussion at least.
Daniel Dopp
But that ceiling is not as high as those other guys that are ahead of him in that other tier. I don't think he has the chance because of all the things that you just mentioned to finish as wide receiver one because of Sam LaPorta and Jameson Williams and the way that they utilize those two running backs. The ball gets spread around too much in this Lions offense for him to be a tier one or a top tier guy. For me and as much as it hurts to say because I love the dude as a Lions fan and as a fantasy manager, there is a reason why I have him in this tier and I think we look at it Very similarly.
Field Yates
Yeah. So just for the record eight games in 2023 with 100 or more yards, Rahman Rah dropped a three last year. Look at some of the notable performances on the bad side for Amon Rah. 3 for 13 in week one. Remember that game?
Daniel Dopp
I certainly. You guys still won it over against the Rams then.
Field Yates
He had like, he had games where he was saved by a touchdown. 4 for 37 with a touchdown. Touchdown. 2 catches for 7 yards for a touchdown.
Daniel Dopp
Yep.
Field Yates
These are fine, but like 5 for 73, 6 for 62, 5 for 43 with no touchdown. That was back to back to back by the way. So love the player. Absolutely love him. He had those beast mode games against Mario. 14 for 1, 93 and a touchdown against the Bills in that crazy, ridiculous game. He's awesome. We're trying to make differences in tears. The other three guys, he's different than.
Daniel Dopp
The other three guys though because he will get more targets than Nico Collins and A.J. brown as well.
Field Yates
I think the idea is for Nico and Brian Thomas especially to like the leap forward. These are the guys that are like prime leap forward candidates.
Daniel Dopp
Correct.
Field Yates
Brian Thomas Jr. Just a reminder, he had six games to finish the season with 10 or more targets. The biggest argument against Brian Thomas Jr. I think for like the biggest argument against him making this jump forward is that they now have Travis Hunter, which is true. Although I don't believe that Travis Hunter being on the field a lot and Brian Thomas Jr. Making a quantum leap are mutually exclusive. Yeah, right. Like Brian Thomas Jr. Could still feast if Travis Hunter is a 75% of the time wide receiver player.
Daniel Dopp
Absolutely.
Field Yates
It's not like there are lots of good wide receiver duos. T. Higgins and Jamar Chase were both top or I'd have to check this on a per game. Per game basis. But like T. Higgins plays.
Daniel Dopp
I think he was top 12 in on per game last year.
Field Yates
That's two guys who are awesome. Like two top 15 or 20ish wide receivers in the same offense. Like that's definitely possible.
Daniel Dopp
T. Higgins averaged 18 and a half fantasy points per game. That was sixth amongst wide receivers.
Field Yates
And Chase obviously was one or two in the. I think he was one in that category. So yeah, two top six wide receivers. So the argument for Brian Thomas that includes like, well, what if Travis Hunter is more of an offensive player? I don't buy it as much as some do, but that's the end of my tier two. Anybody else in tier two for you?
Daniel Dopp
No.
Field Yates
Well, my tier three.
Daniel Dopp
My tier two. Yeah. My tier three is Amun Ra, Nico Collins and Brian Thomas. I left A.J. brown just given the lack of passing volume in that offense. They literally throw the ball fewer than like less than any other team. They are so run heavy. Yeah but AJ Brown is the guy. I mean his he is in that offense. He is obviously the alpha. No question he missed four games last year but he was second in target share in games played. It's just the fact that he has an offense that just doesn't throw the ball enough.
Field Yates
Yeah the I will say this, he.
Daniel Dopp
Would be Jamar Chase if he was on a Joe Burrow led offense. He would be. He is.
Field Yates
They they do have a very tough schedule. To the victor goes the spoils is the saying. I believe in this case it's to the victor goes the hardest schedule in the NFL. With that as the Eagles do have like they come out of the gates. They play you know they played the Cowboys obviously in week one, Eagles Chiefs in week two. Thank you NFL. That's like having your dessert for the appetizer because week two is not normally when you see a Super bowl rematch. So back to back seasons of 1400 plus yards prior to last year for A.J. brown. But I feel you it is a low volume passing offense. You want my tier three?
Daniel Dopp
Yeah, let's dive into tier three.
Field Yates
You're on to tier four but we'll continue to acknowledge it.
Daniel Dopp
No big deal.
Field Yates
Tier three for me is I've got four players and this one might be misaligned with the graphics. So I apologize to those that are watching. Drake London. Yep, Lad mcconkey, Tyree Kill. This actually worked out devonte Adams. So we are good here once again. So I think there's a pretty fun debate. I've seen a lot of this discourse on Twitter and I totally feel people that are more lad over Drake London. Drake London. The question that I think we're all asking is with Michael Penix Jr. And Drake London having a full off season and then a full season together, are we talking about one of the potentially.
Daniel Dopp
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Field Yates
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Daniel Dopp
Are you feeling more fulfilled now that.
Field Yates
You'Re back to work on August 15th? No. I need a vacation. See the movie that critics are saying is an awesome look at that crowd pleasing fist pumping all out brawl of a film. You're right about that. They're coming after our family. Go fix this. Oh my Nobody 2 rated R polling in theaters Aug 15 Quarterback Wide receiver Due to small sample size theater and I acknowledge that 18 of these targets came in one game. But Drake London in three games with Michael Penix Jr.
Daniel Dopp
It's a good stat.
Field Yates
39 targets. 39. So he had eight in one game and then he had 13 in the next game and then he had 30. He had 18 in the final game. Eight 13 and 18 targets. That's a lot of targets for any player in a three game stretch. They did a really good job to the Falcons of focusing their offense through their best playmakers last year. Bijan was amazing. Sorry. Bijan was excellent. Although someone brought this up. I believe Bijan did a deal with like a Dijon mustard company.
Daniel Dopp
He did I think he leaned into it.
Field Yates
Got it.
Daniel Dopp
I mean, if I said that someone was going to pay you a suitcase of money, would you go filed. Filed something rather than filed.
Field Yates
Real name is filed.
Daniel Dopp
Stop. I actually don't know if your real name is.
Field Yates
I can confirm it actually is, but it's a little too convenient. Some. Some people are very curious. Anyways, Drake London was great last year. Lad McConkey over his last six games, if you include the playoffs, 57 targets. So two guys are going to get peppered with, I believe, obviously very good quarterback play for Ladd McConkey and I think ascending potentially very good quarterback play for Drake London.
Daniel Dopp
Yeah, I'm with you on that. I'll say this because you alluded to it. I just want to give you the fantasy points for context. Last year with Michael Penix and you already mentioned the small sample size, he averaged 23.1 fantasy points per game.
Field Yates
Seems good.
Daniel Dopp
When Kirk Cousins was his quarterback, he averaged 15.1.
Field Yates
That's not bad. But the difference is very notable. And obviously it's a small sample size. So one or two big games or one big game can influence it. But again, eight targets and now three of those games.
Daniel Dopp
He was fourth in the NFL in fantasy points via the slot as well. He's a guy that. He looks. Locks onto him. Lad McConkey, just to put this on it, final eight regular season games, he averaged over 20 fantasy points per game over his final eight games.
Field Yates
He was a beast.
Daniel Dopp
If he can do that as a rookie, then I'm just pumped to be able to see what he can do here in his second year. So I love both of those guys. Tyreek Hill and Devonte Adams are decidedly different than those two just from an age perspective. So it's like you have the two younger guys more ascending while these two are still superstars, but they're obviously on the way down in their careers.
Field Yates
Yeah. So there's a lot of reasons to be curious about what's going to happen with Tyreek Hill this year. Remember his. This is insane to me. He had one catch last year or one game last year. Excuse me, with a catch over 30 yards.
Daniel Dopp
That's impossible for Tyreek Hill.
Field Yates
Week one, it was week one against the Jaguars. He went nuts. And everybody's saying, oh, Tyreek Hill, same player that we've always seen.
Daniel Dopp
Yeah.
Field Yates
The rest of the season. His longest catch was 30 yards. So that's remarkable for a team that has relied upon explosive plays for so long. He had 119 catches exactly in 2022 and 2020. He had a wrist injury last year. I. I don't know, man. Is a wrist injury why a really fast wide receiver who plays as much as he always does goes into the tank? My answer is I don't think so. I think. I think the chemistry sucked last year. It looked like it, and they've sort of talked about it. I mean, Tyree Kill basically, at the end of the season, quit on his team. I think there were some. Some things that need to be sorted through and they're saying the right things right now to us. You know, really, his leadership has really impressed me for a long time, but he's definitely been excellent so far this preseason and addressing these matters head on. So I don't. I think you could talk about the stats for Tyree Kill as much as you want. The question is whether they can keep things sort of kumbaya. And if they do and they run the football more effectively, it'll make teams defend them differently and that should open up some explosive plays. Very wide range outcome player Devonte Adams. I think. I think that, like, the range of outcomes is narrower. The age is a little bit of a. Of a. Of a factor, but the dude was awesome down the stretch. He had 11 or more targets in seven of his last nine games. Yep. And oh, by the way, go check out the wide receiver target share, the collective target share for wide receivers. Every year that Sean McVeigh's been with the Rams, it's consistently in the top five, if not higher in the NFL. Meaning that of the, whatever, let's call it, 600 passes that Matthew Stafford will throw this year, the percentage of them that go to wide receivers will be as high or almost as high as every quarterback in the NFL. It'll be like him, maybe Joe Burrow and a couple of others that are in that elite, elite mix. They do not target the backs very often. In the backfield, out of the backfield. And the tight ends are useful players, but just it's going to be Puka Nakua and Devonte Adams.
Daniel Dopp
I was just going to say if I said to you at the end of the season that both of these wide receivers have like a 28% target share, is that going to shock you?
Field Yates
Not a bit.
Daniel Dopp
And Matthew Stafford will funnel the ball to his two guys. We already know that that's what he did when it was Puka and Cooper cup, right?
Field Yates
Yep.
Daniel Dopp
What's the difference now? It's just adding a new guy.
Field Yates
And like, Devonte looked legit great down the stretch last year. And the Rams are saying all the right things about him. He's saying all the right things. Devontae has a chance to kind of rewrite. Not that he became a bad player, but for a player who's never won at the highest level, this is a cool chance for him to maybe compete for a championship in Los Angeles.
Daniel Dopp
Yeah, absolutely.
Field Yates
Did you have anybody else in there?
Daniel Dopp
I have these guys. Yeah, I do. My. So that's your B tier. My C tier, which is the end of my wide receiver ones. For what it's worth, I think you could draft these guys as a wide receiver one. For your fantasy team, I have A.J. brown, Drake, London lad McConkey, T. Higgins and Tyreek Hill. So we're not too far off. Not too far off. Yeah. I had Devontae in the next one just because he's 32. And the chance that, like, once you start getting to 32, 33, I feel like you really. Even if you were a superstar, it just gets harder.
Field Yates
Yeah, that's. Yeah.
Daniel Dopp
So that's where I am at with my C tier. What do you have for your C tier?
Field Yates
Okay, so this is about to get huge. So it's actually tier 4, C tier for me. And this is a big, long list because as I mentioned earlier, like, as you get. I mentioned this yesterday, the farther you get from one, the harder it is to draw lines in the sand and the more likely you just have a big tear. So let's read them off. And again, I apologize if the graphics don't totally align. Xavier Worthy got a big discount for me. That was a miss save previously. T. Higgins, Jackson Smith and Jigba. Tara McLaurin, D.J. moore, Garrett Wilson, D.K. metcalf, Mike Evans, Marvin Harrison Jr. And Xavier Worthy. So again, I know Worthy is flipped there. That's totally 100% on me.
Daniel Dopp
But it starts so Worthy would just be at the end of that tier, right at the top of it.
Field Yates
And Worthy is an interesting one. A lot of reasons, but this is a big tier here. Daniel and I don't have a catch all to describe these players. It's guys who just a cut below wide receiver 1 status with an opportunity to see massive, massive workloads this year. Like gigantic, Like T. Higgins. The reason why he didn't quite crack the same level as Devonte Adams is that you mentioned sixth in fantasy points last season. Throughout his career, there's been a little. A little bit more of a Jekyll Hyde. Up, down, right? Like, you get this monster T. Higgins game and then you get like a three catch. T Higgins Sunday. It feels like Devonte Adams in this offense specifically should be very, very steady. Jackson, Smith and Jigba had six games with 11 or more targets last year. He was top 10 in catches. Terry McLaurin, who? We got to get him a contract soon.
Daniel Dopp
Yes, please.
Field Yates
The dude's been like maybe the most consistent wide receiver over the past five years. He's had no fewer than 77 and no more than 87 catches in the last five years.
Daniel Dopp
Not his fault, by the way. It's the, that's the guys that are.
Field Yates
In the football, by the way. That's a good number though. Like it's not, but it's good. That's why he's not higher in the list. Terry has never eclipsed 1200 receiving yards. Really never has. So again, the upside has and there is a lot of upside because he's got Jaden Daniels as his quarterback now, but not quite there. I think that. But DJ Moore, Garrett Wilson have comparable profiles. Like there should just be a ton of volume. Wilson through three seasons has plenty of production including 95 or more catches in back to back years. D.J. moore has 93 catches in three of the last four years. Quarterback question mark for me with Garrett Wilson, you know, we haven't seen Justin Fields kind of link up. I mean he said some useful wide receivers for sure, including DJ Moore in Chicago. But I just have, I have more optimism in Caleb Williams as a passing quarterback than I do in Justin Fields. And then the rest of them, I'll just read them quickly. DK Metcalf, Mike Evans, Marvin Harrison Jr. Xavier Worthy. Does anybody there stand out to you?
Daniel Dopp
Yeah, well, one of them stands out to me as just the one I'm probably the most nervous about.
Field Yates
Is it a guy whose last name is Marvin Harrison Jr.
Daniel Dopp
Yes, that is exactly who it is. There is so much concern and mind you, you know, we're in Dynasty league together. I used the number of 4 Overall pick I think last year and we're in a super flex league. So a lot of quarterbacks went off the board. But I used to number four overall pick on Marvin Harrison Jr. And so this is one of those things where like I, I would love to see this second year leap. We expected so much more. As a rookie, it felt like Trey McBride really just soaked up all the targets in that offense. He's the one that probably scares me the most. But the rest of this list and the rest of this tier I'm fully on board with. It's very similar to the tier that I have.
Field Yates
All right. So I will just mention two things here. I think we need to talk about Marvin Harrison Jr. Just a little bit more. It's like you have to remember at some point during the off season, Jonathan Gannon, the head coach, was sort of defending the rookie year of Marvin Harrison. And by the way, this is what head coaches do. I'm not blaming Jonathan Gannon. He's like, I had like 800 yards and eight touchdowns. That's pretty good. You know, it is pretty good. This is what I will come back to. Until. By the way, I keep.
Daniel Dopp
You keep messing with it.
Field Yates
My bad.
Daniel Dopp
That's all right.
Field Yates
My microphone. This is what I will come back to until. Unless hopefully just until we see a dominant Marvin Harrison Jr. Season. There's plenty of. Plenty of time to get there. I want to remind people the Arizona Cardinals are the fourth pick in the draft. Last year, it was going to be in some order. Caleb Williams, Jaden Daniels and Drake May. That proved to be the order going 1, 2, 3. JJ McCarthy, Bo Nix, Michael Penix Jr were all well regarded. Especially, I think a lot of people felt like McCarthy had a chance to go as high as, like a top five pick. The Giants had the sixth pick in the draft. The Cardinals could have taken an offer to move back from four to maybe the Giants at six because the Giants were fearful that somebody could leapfrog ahead of them. Maybe The Vikings at 11, maybe. Maybe the Denver Broncos at 12. Right. The Las Vegas Raiders. There was opportunities for them to move down. They said, uh, not gonna do it. You know why? The reason is there's this guy named Marvin Harrison Jr. That we need to draft.
Daniel Dopp
It's just too good.
Field Yates
So you could have turned four into lots of draft capital. Instead you said, we're taking Marvin Harrison Jr. Because we emphatically believe he's. He's the best wide receiver in this class. Actions and words, or I guess actions and actions did not match up. Right? You take Marv and then you don't make him. And I'm not saying he needs to erase the value of Trey McBride, like McBride's earned the right to be a focal point, if not the focal point of the passing game. But it needs to be like this. If you're watching on the show, it needs to be Trey McBride here and Marvin Harrison Jr. Not far behind. Right. It can't be that Trey McBride is the alpha by far. And then it feels like there are Sundays where Greg Dorch is more involved than Marvin Harrison Jr.
Daniel Dopp
Right.
Field Yates
So that, to me is. So some of this is Marvin Harrison Jr. Like, he's got to prove he can be a better separator and just do more after the catch. But the Cardinals also need to make that concerted effort because there is a two way street nature to this one.
Daniel Dopp
I will and I realize when I say this, this comparison is not. It's not apples to apples. It's more like apples to oranges. Why can't fruit be compared, though? I don't understand.
Field Yates
I don't know.
Daniel Dopp
So I if the Cardinals do with the number four overall pick, Marvin Harrison Jr. What the Atlanta Falcons did with the number four overall pick in Kyle Pitts, I'm going to lose my mind because it feels very similar to me. They're like, yeah, this is a guy. We can't pass up on this generational talent. And you hear it and you see the action during the draft. But then once you get out there on the season, I know that Kyle Pitts actually had a better rookie season than Marvin Harrison Jr did. Which is probably a crazy thing to say.
Field Yates
One of two rookie tight ends to go over 1000 yards. Until Brock Bowers.
Daniel Dopp
Until Brock Bowers. But if, if this is what happens, I'm going to lose it because he needs to be the alpha in this offense. He's probably just the one that gives me the most fear. But also, if you said to me, hey, this guy puts it together and the Cardinals start utilizing him correctly, he could leap one, if not two tiers to be able to move way up this board.
Field Yates
He could be a top 10 option. Like, I mean, we, we have seen. And I'll throw back to a couple of like more distant examples. Like Devonte Adams exploded onto the scene. It was either year two or year three for him. Like, there are examples of guys who don't quite look like they have it as a rookie. And then a year later we're like, remember that time we were worried about this guy? I would love to see it from Marv. I just, he's such a talented guy. I just hope that takes place. So that's the end of my tier 4.
Daniel Dopp
You read about Mike Evans at all, just with like the age and falling off, or do you still feel like he's got like, what he needs?
Field Yates
I just think, you know, with Mike, it's like we're going to look back at the end of the season and he's going to have a thousand yards because he literally always does. And he's going to have 10 touchdowns. And like DK Metcalf, it might be a little more, boom, bust than the rest of these players. But I didn't feel like he could go much lower than that because the next tier to me opens up some question marks.
Daniel Dopp
Okay.
Field Yates
So that's. That's my tier five. Is there anybody.
Daniel Dopp
That's your C tier. Yeah. So that my. This would be my D tier.
Field Yates
Okay.
Daniel Dopp
And that's what I would consider as high end wide receiver. Two options. That's Devonte Adams, Terry McLaurin, Marvin Harrison Jr. Jackson Smith and Jigba and Garrett Wilson. So we talked about all those guys. Again, if I'm drafting those are the guys that I'm looking at as high end wide receiver twos. And then let's get into what would be your D tier. It'd be partially my E tier field. But we'll dive in here on the next group that you have. Starting with Zay Flowers.
Field Yates
Yeah, Zay Flowers. Who trivia after Halloween. How many games did Zay Flowers have at least seven catches in last year?
Daniel Dopp
I'll say 2.
Field Yates
0. So Zay flowers is on a talent issue and he's got a great quarterback as well. It's just. It's going to be like did they utilize him enough? And unlike the Cardinals where like the offense is fine but not great like the Ravens. I'm not going to begrudge the Ravens approach when they're hanging a crap ton of points on people and they have an elite rushing offense. Lamar threw for 41 touchdowns last year.
Daniel Dopp
Right. And. And 4,100 yards. I believe like the dude like he knows how to distribute the football. I do want to say I feel like we just should mention Isaiah. Likely.
Field Yates
Yes.
Daniel Dopp
Unfortunately came out with a broken foot. Seems like he is going to be the team feels like he could return to potentially by week one. But it's something to keep an eye on just as another pass catcher in that offense.
Field Yates
I should probably just read my D tier off.
Daniel Dopp
Yeah. Give it to me. Give me the whole thing.
Field Yates
Here we go. And this will flash on the graphic as well. So I mentioned Zay Flowers, his AFC north running mate, Jerry Judy, Jalen Waddle, Rasheed Rice, Cortland Sutton, Chris Godwin who is an interesting one. Calvin Ridley. I actually have Stefan Diggs in there a little higher. That's But Chris Olave, George Pickens are the names for me cracked this list and let's what I'll try to do Daniel is maybe because in the interest of time I'll sort of give the quick reasons why they're in D tier as opposed to higher. The sort of the good and the bad Jerry Doody. The good is 11 plus targets and six of the last nine games last season.
Daniel Dopp
Can I tell you the bad?
Field Yates
The Browns quarterback but Joe Flacco. You know, I feel better when Joe Flacco's there, which is kind of a scary thought. But I like Joe a lot. But we all do. Just there are question marks about the quarterback room. Beyond that.
Daniel Dopp
Yep.
Field Yates
Jalen Waddle. I don't know. Like the. We talked about some of our concerns for Tyreek Hill, right? Yeah. Jalen Waddle was way less targeted or is going to be way less targeted than Tyree Kill if things play out like last year. But he's such an explosive player that if they get the offense back on track, he'll weigh out, perform this 25th ranking.
Daniel Dopp
Agreed.
Field Yates
Rasheed Rice. It's all about the suspension. I am projecting a suspension of some length. Whether it's two, four, six games. If there was no suspension, he'd be a top 15 player for me.
Daniel Dopp
I agree.
Field Yates
He would be like. It would be a Devonte Adams, T. Higgins, Jackson Smith and Jigba Rasheed Rice sort of debate somewhere in there. So it would be T. Higgins, Jackson Smith and Jig but Rishi Rice, that kind of player. Okay. Cortland Sutton was great last season. He had 135 yards and congratulations to him on a new contract.
Daniel Dopp
Just got the bag.
Field Yates
Yep. Just, you know, how much is there 1500 yard ceilings here? They're going to. They have a lot of players they want to get involved in. Denver.
Daniel Dopp
Right.
Field Yates
Chris Godwin. And if Stefania were here, she might tell me this is way too high. This is one where obviously Chris Godwin is a question mark to begin the season. He has this ankle injury he's still coming back from. I believe he's still on the PUP list right now. But you could also. This sort of. It's almost like when we talk about a player who has a suspension that we know about. Right. You're like, well, you know, if he's. If you get him at wide receiver 28 and then you have him for 12 games, he's a top 20 option. Like that's pretty good value, right? Because I think if Chris Godwin does get back to form, which I think that's the Bucks expectation. Like I understand he's got this ankle injury and they drafted a Mecca Abuka. But. But they gave him 24 million bucks a year. I think 48 million of that's guaranteed. They still see an elite player. The Patriots tried to offer him $90 million. That was the reporting at least. So I think a guy who's awesome when healthy, I just don't know whether it's week one, week four, week eight. I'm hoping it's more weeks one to four, and if so, I think it'd be a good value. Calvin Ridley had 120 targets last year, kind of these next. Excuse me. The next three guys are Calvin Ridley's, Bondex, Chris Olave. For me, I think they're all going to be the wide receiver one in their offense. The question mark is in each case, like, how quickly will the quarterback get up to speed or how healthy is this player. In the case of Stefan Diggs. Yeah.
Daniel Dopp
So I want to talk really quickly about these two guys. I think Rashi Rice and Chris Godwin are the two that are most interesting to me. Rasheed Rice is an interesting one because if you draft Rasheed Rice, you are knowing that you're going to have a dead roster spot for at least a handful of games.
Field Yates
Yes. What we hope, I mean, depends on when we get the information, which could be five minutes from now or. I mean, there's a world in which it happens during the season or after the season.
Daniel Dopp
Sure. And so you don't know. There's a. There's a big amount of uncertainty there. Right. And the, the difference between him and Chris Godwin is that you can't put him on an IR slot and recoup that roster position after the draft because you don't do that with suspensions. Chris Godwin, if you draft him here in these middle rounds, you could throw him on the IR and wait until he returns. The only fear for me is that returning from suspension from like a health and body return to performance standpoint versus what Chris Godwin is returning from. How much ramp up do you think Chris Godwin is going to have? And that's one of the things that when I'm looking at these players, trying to figure that part out, because there's a lot of uncertainty there with those. And we're in this tier. You already said this. All of these wide receivers have uncertainty in their game. That's why they're here.
Field Yates
Yeah.
Daniel Dopp
Chris Olave is probably the one that makes me the most nervous in this group.
Field Yates
Totally. Have you seen the Saints offense?
Daniel Dopp
Yes, and I wish I hadn't. It made me sick.
Field Yates
They. I don't know. I love my New Orleans people. I don't want to rile them up too much, but they, they scream like the likeliest top three pick in next year's draft, unfortunately. And the Browns are The two teams that. That make me like, I don't quite see the pathway this year.
Daniel Dopp
Sure.
Field Yates
I don't personally, maybe I'd love to be proven wrong, but those are a couple of teams that make me very, very nervous this year.
Daniel Dopp
Okay. That's your D tier of wide receiver.
Field Yates
Yeah. George Pickens is not the wide receiver one in this offense, but he's a really talented wide receiver, too. We just know with Pickens that he's up and down.
Daniel Dopp
Sure.
Field Yates
Right. And he's got a corral. He's got to, like, corral all that talent and be consistent. It's going to be harder to do so. Well, it may not be harder to do so. It's the best quarterback I believe he's played with in his career. Agreed. He's not going to be the wide receiver one, but is this a consistent enough player? That's. I'll leave it there.
Daniel Dopp
Last question, and then I'll move on to my tier here. Do you have any stats tucked away in that big old beautiful brain of yours about players after they get the big contract? Like, we obviously know about going into a contract year? There's a lot of motivation. Do you know if there's anything quantifiable that you have and if the answer is no? The answer is no. I'm putting you on the spot.
Field Yates
Have an answer. Did Jamar Chase do his deal before last season?
Daniel Dopp
Every Jamar Chase season has been awesome.
Field Yates
So, like, it doesn't matter for the season. Yeah.
Daniel Dopp
I was just curious.
Field Yates
The one that makes you nervous. Fundigs.
Daniel Dopp
No, no, no. Cortland Sutton. Just the idea of, like, getting the money and then it's like once you get that money.
Field Yates
Yeah. He would be very low on my concern list. Okay. That's a pretty uniquely wired. Impressive. Who I think is. There's a difference between. I love hearing coaches talk about this. Being disciplined and being motivated. I think we all have motivation. Right. But it's the disciplined people who achieve what they set out to achieve and then continue beyond that.
Daniel Dopp
Absolutely.
Field Yates
Hey, guys, It's CD Lamb, wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys. I'm partnering with Abercrombie this season to tell you all about their viral denim. All you need to know is denim should fit like this. My jeans knew to check a lot of boxes. Fit first, trend second. They need to go with whatever I'm feeling, and Abercrombie Denim has it down whether I'm throwing on a tee or putting a whole fit together. Shop Abercrombie Denim in the app, online and in store.
Daniel Dopp
On WhatsApp no one can see or hear your personal messages. Whether it's a voice call message or sending a password to WhatsApp, it's all just this. So whether you're sharing the streaming password in the family chat or trading those late night voice messages that could basically become a podcast, your personal messages stay.
Field Yates
Between you, your friends and your family.
Daniel Dopp
No one else, not even us. WhatsApp message privately with everyone. The Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University helps you go from I know the way to I've arrived with our top 10 ranked online MBA. Gain skills you can learn today and apply tomorrow. Get ready to go from make it happen to made it happen and keep striving. Visit strayer.edu Jack Welchmba to learn more. Strayer University is certified to operate in Virginia by Chevin at many campuses, including at 2121 15th Street north in Arlington, Virginia. Tier F. Yeah, so for me, this is my F tier. When I look at this, these are what I considered wide receiver twos with a boom bust nature to their game. Right. Cortland Sutton, Zay Flowers, Devonte Smith, Calvin Ridley, Jameson Williams and George Pickens. Those are my wide receivers 25 through 30.
Field Yates
The ones that I'm most, I'm most jealous of not having would be Jameson Williams. Yeah.
Daniel Dopp
And he probably falls in the next tier for you, I would assume, is that right?
Field Yates
He is the very top of my next tier. Okay. The first player of my next tier. All the hype is, as I mentioned earlier, it seems like the Lions cannot stop talking about Jameson Williams in a very positive fashion. I remember seeing this on Twitter and I apologize if this wasn't right. I'm almost positive it's Jared Smola who had this. If you don't follow Jared, he does exceptional, exceptional work. Agreed. He's terrific. Smola DS on Twitter, who I think noted that like everybody talks about Jameson Williams having a lot of talent and ability, but I think he hasn't had or he's had like one 25 point game in his career.
Daniel Dopp
JMO.
Field Yates
JMO. Yeah. That being said, still buying some hype here.
Daniel Dopp
So we're in your E tier.
Field Yates
My apologies.
Daniel Dopp
No, no, no, we're on your E tier here. Yeah.
Field Yates
For graphical purposes. But jamo, you know, the word I've heard is a route running has been really good. Like explosiveness is obviously excellent and this I have to be consistent. If I give like a tiny discount on Almond Ross St. Brown, somebody has to rise up as a result of that. So tier E for me would include Jameson Williams, Tettero McMillan, Devonte Smith, Juwan Jennings, Roma, Dunes Debo, Samuel, Cooper Cup, Jordan Addison and then two players that I include in this list after the fact, Jacoby Myers and Darnell Mooney.
Daniel Dopp
I think Cooper cup stands out to me the most is the one that I have question marks in this tier.
Field Yates
I mean, it's fair. The things that I am sort of latching onto is, first of all, we're at wide receiver 39 now. Yeah. We're getting into all of these players. If we put them in, if we were court lawyers, we could argue the pros and the cons of them. Right. Cooper cup is. Here's the reason why I think Cooper cup has a shot to get closer to. I mean, wide receiver 39. What does it need to be? He needs to be a flex to pay off. Wide receiver 39. Consideration is that money was real now. I mean, I thought Cooper cup was going to be like a $10 million per year contract, maybe a one or two year flyer. The three year, $45 million deal from Seattle.
Daniel Dopp
I was bummed because I felt like a lot of that money should have been earmarked for Jake Bobo, to be honest.
Field Yates
Well, you know, Daniel, you're not the only person that thinks that I do as well. But you know Bobo, there's time.
Daniel Dopp
There's still time. That's right.
Field Yates
But this offense I think is suited well for like. So it's the Clint Kubiak scheme, right? He is now the new offensive coordinator. Yes, he is. And I think that this is going to. It's. They got. They're going to want to run the football, but in the passing game, it's going to be predicated upon two things. First of all, they need a deep threat element which they have in the form of Marquez Valdez scantling. Don't laugh. I know you're all laughing, but like the Seahawks did sign him this offseason to a real contract. I think it was one year, four million bucks. And then it's going to be like just timing and rhythm, which is an area where Sam Darnold very good at. Cooper Cup's really good at. The problems are he's older, he looked not great down the stretch last year. And Jackson Smith and Jigba is the wide receiver one there.
Daniel Dopp
Yep.
Field Yates
Can I give it the name that I think I'm most intrigued by in.
Daniel Dopp
This list in your E tier? Give it to me. Like you said, this is wide receivers 33 through 40 for you.
Field Yates
It's Roma Dunes. I and I'm sure fans are going to love this take. I don't like doing busts. I think it sort of sucks and fears the reason why, it's like, hey, here's a guy that I have as a top 20 wide receiver, but I also think he might bust. Right.
Daniel Dopp
It's a tough assignment trying to come up with that.
Field Yates
It just, it always feels weird to me when you're like, yeah, this guy is like, you don't rank bad players in the top 20. Yes. Right. We've, we've had years where it was obvious where it's like a projection of a rookie, where it's. You just haven't seen it yet. Or a player who, you know, like a running back situation that's just so weak that somebody like a couple years ago, Alexander Madison to replace Dalvin Cook. It was like, you know, on paper it's a great role, good offense and he's a starter, but is he any good? Like, how good is Alexander Madison? Right. We don't have as many of those this year, but DJ Moore, I felt the chemistry was, was off last year with he and Justin Fields on top of, excuse me, Caleb Williams on top of that. Robert Usay was a ninth pick in the draft last year. He was the sixth ranked player on my overall big board going into the 2024 NFL Draft. I'm not, I'm not talking fantasy there. I'm talking real draft rankings. The guy was tied with, actually, believe it or not, Luke McCaffrey for the most contested catches in the FBS. He was this great vertical threat and the Ben Johnson leap is potentially real for Caleb Williams. Agreed. I don't know that it's 50% likely. I'm not sure it's 25% likely. It might not even be 15% likely, but I think maybe I'm going to guess like 20% to 25% likely that Roma dunes a end of the year is the Bears wide receiver that has the most value.
Daniel Dopp
I think you and I, we did an article just recently with the guy that's not here today, unfortunately, Mike Clay. We should start finding Mike Clay like the NFL does.
Field Yates
Oh, he's been fined, has he? Okay, he hasn't paid it yet, but.
Daniel Dopp
He'S going to say every single day he's going to keep getting fines and we can't not find him. That's just how it works here, unfortunately. But if you said to me the number one quarterback in last year's draft and Roma Dunz, who came over with that guy and you know that they wanted to be together now get a Ben Johnson led offense. Even if they sputter at the beginning of the year, I still feel like this is a connection that you want to have a piece of.
Field Yates
I think so, too. And like, we talk about this every year during the marathon. I write the piece about, like, how to approach your draft. You're looking for the upside plays here. Right. So there are a lot of people that would say, hey, Cooper cup, maybe he'll get there. But you're so much smarter. Take a swing on a Roma Dunes a. On a Tetaro McMillan, on a Travis Hunter, who we'll talk about in just a moment. Because what's more valuable right now? A guy who maybe he settles in and gets you 12 to 13 fantasy points a week, or a player who has a chance, whether it's strong or weak, to get you 16, 17 fantasy points a week.
Daniel Dopp
Yeah, I. This is. This is interesting because I. And your last tier was like this, too. But we're getting into that standpoint where you're saying to yourself, would I rather have a wide receiver one on maybe a less good team?
Field Yates
Yeah.
Daniel Dopp
Or a couple of these wide receiver twos in better offenses. Tedroa McMillan obviously going to be the wide receiver one in that Panthers offense. I think Juwan Jennings is going to be the wide receiver one. Although I don't think San Francisco is not going to be a good offense. But it feels like. Like this is a spot.
Field Yates
Yeah, no, I agree. But like, they're. I mean, with no Debo Sam, no Debo Samuel and Brandon Ike, they're. They're less scary at the least. Right. Anybody else that, like, stuck out like a sore thumb that you included that? I did not.
Daniel Dopp
Not. I don't think so. My. Because my tier after this, I feel like my G tier is more like your F tier, so I'm gonna save mine and talk about them there.
Field Yates
Okay, so we'll just. We'll do sort of the blended because there's like 17 guys that I haven't yet named, and we'll kind of go through them because again, these sort of blend together, it's not about how big.
Daniel Dopp
The tier is, it's about how you use it in the draft board.
Field Yates
But so this is my F tier here. And the player, to me, that sticks out more than anybody else is obvious. It's Travis Hunter.
Daniel Dopp
Okay, give me the whole F tier.
Field Yates
Again, just so Travis Hunter, Keon Coleman, Rashid Shahid, Michael Pittman Jr. Ricky Piersol, Matthew golden, and again, I mentioned Darn when he got a big bump. So my apologies there. For graphic purposes, It's Travis Hunter. How many of those guys that we just talked about do you sit there and say to yourself, top 15 wide receivers possible.
Daniel Dopp
I don't think Khalil Shakir is. I don't think Jacoby Myers is. I don't think Keon Coleman is. Rashid Shahid. No.
Field Yates
Myers could probably like by the end of the season creep into like top 20 to 25 ish. Because he's just so dependable and overlooked.
Daniel Dopp
If they throw the ball enough. But they still have Brock Bowers, who's going to command a big target share. They want to like force feed Ashton Jenkins.
Field Yates
Right. There's also a way in which he settles in as like wide receiver. 35.
Daniel Dopp
Correct. Correct. I think that Travis Hunter is the one in this.
Field Yates
He's the one. You know why? Because Travis Hunter was the best wide receiver in this class by a lot. He was in the same breath to me as a prospect, as a wide receiver, as the three wide receivers that went early last year.
Daniel Dopp
When we're talking about tiers, would you. So you're saying Travis Hunter tier of his own in like the actual NFL draft and Tedro McMillan clearly in another tier after.
Field Yates
Correct. And if you go back to last year, I would have tiered Malik, Neighbors, Marvin Harrison, Jr. Roma, Dunze, and Travis Hunter all in one big top tier.
Daniel Dopp
Oh, nice.
Field Yates
Okay, so he's this unbelievably talented guy in an offense that I'm very excited about with a quarterback that at his best can be good. He's a $55 million per year quarterback. I just don't know. I just. He's saying all the right things. We want. He wants to play every single snap. It might be that he plays every single snap. It's also possible that Travis Hunter plays 55 or 60% of the snaps. Yeah, and that's just. I have no idea. I'm raising my hand. I have no idea what to do. I have no idea how much he'll play on offense versus how much he'll play on defense. And I think right now, independent of what they say, it's possible the Jaguars don't know either.
Daniel Dopp
I think from. I'd love to talk about this for a minute from a strategy perspective field. If you are going to draft Travis Hunter, I think your early round wide receivers, you have to be secure. Like I can't draft a Rasheed Rice or a potential Chris Godwin when I know I'm going to miss games. And I don't know what Travis Hunter is also going to be. I feel like you really have to have a solid wide receiving core, just given the uncertainty of what that role is going to be.
Field Yates
I think it's likely that Travis Hunter, his ADP is way higher than, like, early 40s for wide receiver. And I think that the justification for that, if you're a believer in taking him that early, is twofold. One, he's awesome. It'd be fun to have him on your roster if things go well.
Daniel Dopp
Of course.
Field Yates
But two, it's like, all right, to your point. Point. Like, going back in my rankings here. Take him over Stefan Diggs and Chris Godwin and Calvin Ridley, guys who are all a little bit older. Right. Like, you know, late 20s or even into their 30s. And Debo Samuel and Cooper Cobb and Jacoby Myers and Darnell Mooney. Khalil Shakir, who's a great player, but he's sort of like Jacoby Myers. Discount.
Daniel Dopp
Yep.
Field Yates
Of Jacoby Myers. Right. 100 targets last year, but he has seven touchdowns in three seasons. Khalil Shakir. So Travis Hunter, I think he'll end up going earlier than where my rankings will have him. I like to have some skin in the game all the time, so I'll probably have a draft where, if you know the first five drafts. I do. Hunter is going way earlier than where I was planning to take him. I'll probably make the aggressive move myself, but, I mean, it's. I don't think it needs to be explained further. He is the hardest player in fantasy football to rank this year.
Daniel Dopp
100% agree.
Field Yates
I feel strongly that he's the hardest player to rank in a long time, as a matter of fact. Effect.
Daniel Dopp
I think your fantasy league should probably have a conversation too, because what happens when, like, def. Like, you don't get defensive scoring right. From a wide receiver? What happens if you score? He gets an interception and now there's a touchdown, and now it's like, well, I should have gotten points for that. Like, I think that the league should be aware and have a. A. I don't know if constitution is the right word, but an understanding of. Yeah, bylaws. With the way that you were going to approach a player. Because this is the first guy since Deion that's really played both sides of the football, and we weren't playing fantasy football back then. Right. That's fair.
Field Yates
Dion did not play full time both ways. Right, Right. I want to say, like, the last player, we were talking about this during the draft process, I want to say it was like Chuck Bednarik or something like that. Like a linebacker and center way back in the day, maybe even earlier than Chuck Bednar.
Daniel Dopp
Yeah.
Field Yates
So anyways.
Daniel Dopp
All right, so that's your E tier. Yeah, I'm gonna give you my G tier and it's gonna kind of bleed into your next tier here a little bit as well. But my G tier, for me, this is starting flex options with potential wide receiver two upside. Okay, that's wide receiver 31 for me. Jerry Judy, Chris Olave, Khalil Shakir, Tetaroa, McMillan, Roma, Dunze Jordan, Addison, Jacoby Myers, Chris Godwin, Debo Samuel, Travis Hunter, Ricky Piersoll, and Juwan Jennings. I think all of those, if I'm drafting them on draft day, I'm likely drafting them as a flex. But there's a number of these guys that in the right situation, with the offense taken off the way it should.
Field Yates
Yep.
Daniel Dopp
They could be a wide receiver, too, for your fantasy squad.
Field Yates
Yeah. Shakir is probably the one that I have, like, a little less optimism on, only because I think the touchdown upside's kind of capped and I think he's. I remember I liked him last year. He's more like. To me, the flex you never think about except for when he's on a buy type player.
Daniel Dopp
You know what?
Field Yates
He's a likely wide receiver, too.
Daniel Dopp
I think he's Evan Ingram, even though he's a complete. He plays wide receiver like he's a chain mover that doesn't really score touchdowns. And that's sort of what Evan Ingram has been as an entire career. He catches a lot of balls.
Field Yates
Yeah. Yep.
Daniel Dopp
But he's not. He's not going to give you a lot of touchdowns.
Field Yates
You want to hit your next tier because.
Daniel Dopp
Yeah, let's do it.
Field Yates
It would bleed into your next tier, final tier as well. So we're kind of down to the last ones.
Daniel Dopp
All right, so this is my H tier.
Field Yates
H. Yep.
Daniel Dopp
H tier. And I consider these flex options, but with more concerns. That's Stefan Diggs, Matthew Golden, Jaden Reed. I don't know how to approach either one of these packers wide receivers. Rashid Shahid, Keon Coleman, Cooper cup, Michael Pitman Jr. Darnell Mooney, Trey Harris and Josh Downs.
Field Yates
Yeah. So it looks like the biggest discrepancies in recent rankings include Stefan Diggs I've given a big bump to. Because he's healthy. Yep. But I understand the concern would be that he's not going to stay healthy or that maybe you're not fully convinced that the Patriots offense is ready for that league.
Daniel Dopp
I. I want to believe in Drake May, but one of the reasons Why I believe in Drake May is because of his legs and he can still hold his own even if his passing game doesn't come along the way that I'm hoping.
Field Yates
Okay, fair enough.
Daniel Dopp
So that's why I have it set up that way. That's my H tier. Like I said, flex options for your squad, but definitely some concerns. I think we get next to your G tier which is a whole nother level of players.
Field Yates
I'm just going to rip the names and you can pick one or two that maybe really stands out to you. Hollywood Brown, Cedric Tillman, Adam Thielen, Jaden reed, Marvin Mims Jr. Jack Besh, Josh Downs, Christian Kirk and A Mecca Buka a little bit for me.
Daniel Dopp
Anybody really like stand out to me? I will say that I have been targeting Christian Kirk a lot, I think as a wide receiver. 3 Especially knowing that the second wide receiver in that offense is just another X in Jaden Higgins. Right there should be hopefully this is I'm prognosticating here. We talked yesterday about CJ Stroud in that offensive line. Don't concern activity for improvement achievement. Okay. So if that offensive line is going to continue to be a problem and Jaden Higgins and Nico Collins need to get the ball 45 yards downfield, who's the guy you get the ball out too quickly?
Field Yates
Christian Kirk. You know I was thinking about that move recently because I had forgotten the exact mechanics of it. Remember the Jaguars are going to release Christian Kirk and then they got a last second trade with Houston. It was late picks just basically swapping because once you've announced you're going to or it's been reported you're going to release a player, it's basically the for sale sign goes up but you're taking pennies.
Daniel Dopp
You'd rather have something than nothing.
Field Yates
Yeah, but the Texans are paying Christian Kirk like $16 million this year. Yep. That's a lot of money. And I only bring that up to note that that I think the team has had hopefully still has some belief that he could still give you something. And Kirk by the way when he played last year was fine. He's still. He's 28. Like he's not 33.
Daniel Dopp
Nope.
Field Yates
So I hear you. It's interesting name but that's what to put a pin in this entire conversation. You can read your last tier as well is there's so much depth at wide receiver. Yes, there is. Like when you if people ask me who's your running back Sleepers, I'm like, dude, if you can find a running back Sleeper, let me know because there's like, like one or two good options for wideouts. There's like 25 awesome sleeper wide receiver.
Daniel Dopp
Names and at any point any of these guys could hit if the right situation plays out. My final tier, I called it my I tier. These are veterans for me and Bench Stash dart throws with upside. That is Adam Thielen, Marvin Mims Jr. Christian Kirk, Jaden Higgins, Ameka Abuka, Jack Besh, Cedric Tillman and Xavier Leggett. So we rounded out with a pretty similar top 60 list overall. Obviously our tiers are a little bit different with the way we approach it.
Field Yates
It.
Daniel Dopp
I think there's a pretty good. A pretty good conversation though feel there's.
Field Yates
A lot of guys. Well, I guess 60ish names a piece and a lot of them crossed over. That's a lot of names to cover right there.
Daniel Dopp
Hey, and you know what? I haven't said one name in particular that I want to mention today.
Field Yates
Who's that?
Daniel Dopp
Happy birthday to mama do I love you mama. Happy birthday to you. I wish I could be there celebrating at home with you. Field also wishes that he could be there. I know he would have brought you a cake if he was in town as well.
Field Yates
But It's a big one. 50 is a big day.
Daniel Dopp
That's right. That's right. The big five. So mama love you so much. I can't wait to be able to see you again whenever I get to get back home.
Field Yates
I'm sure she can't wait as well. I know she make her immensely proud and very good reason to feel that way.
Daniel Dopp
Absolutely.
Field Yates
Happy birthday, Mama dop. Hope it's a wonderful day. And I'm guessing she's probably watching right now. She might be the most loyal fan that we have.
Daniel Dopp
You know what she texted me this morning to say? Ashley who's basically like my. She's like my stepsister. My mom basically adopted her. She was like. Ashley texted me this morning before you just want to let you know because normally it's a race who can text mama.com Happy Birthday the soonest. If I was awake at midnight, I just would have texted her at 12:01. I just couldn't, you know, starting the week off. I gotta get to bed early now.
Field Yates
You know, I'm not gonna lie, Daniel. I love you and you have infinite great qualities. I wouldn't say fast texter is.
Daniel Dopp
Oh, that's not it.
Field Yates
Near the top of your list.
Daniel Dopp
I'm one of those people that feels like I want to go back to the 90s where like just because I have a phone next to me doesn't mean that you just get unlimited access whenever you want it.
Field Yates
Oh, trust me, I admire that. I wish I were better about that. But yeah, you're. You have phone time and you have non phone. I just have an appendage. It is there sitting there waiting for the next whatever.
Daniel Dopp
Well field. This was unbelievably fun. Make sure if you did not check it out, go check out our quarterback tiers. Thanks for doing this wide receiver tier with me. You want to run it back tomorrow and do some running backs? Yeah, run it back tomorrow. Look at that.
Field Yates
Best in the business.
Daniel Dopp
All right. We appreciate you guys. Don't forget to love each other. Be kind to yourself and come hang out with us in New York City, Philly and the Bahamas. We'll see you guys tomorrow.
Field Yates
Sa you've seen the headlines, heard the debates. The three point ball has created a monotonous rhythm to the game. Has the three pointer ruined basketball? And how did we get here? The rise of the three point shot can be partially traced to an eccentric Kansas genius named Martin man, whose story didn't turn out quite the way he imagined.
Daniel Dopp
I decided I wanted to have one.
Field Yates
Of the most organized goodbyes in history. 30 for 30 podcast presents Chasing Basketball Heaven. Available now wherever you get your podcasts.
Podcast Summary: Fantasy Focus Football – Field Yates' 2025 Fantasy Wide Receiver Tiers
Episode: Field Yates' 2025 Fantasy Wide Receiver Tiers | Fantasy Focus 🏈
Release Date: July 30, 2025
Hosts: Field Yates, Daniel Dopp, Stephania Bell, Mike Clay, Daniel Dopp
In this episode of Fantasy Focus Football, ESPN's Fantasy Football experts Field Yates and Daniel Dopp dive deep into the intricacies of wide receiver tiers for the 2025 season. The conversation revolves around their differing approaches to ranking receivers, the significance of tiers in drafting strategies, and an in-depth analysis of various players' potentials.
Field Yates initiates the discussion by explaining the concept of tiers and their subjective nature:
Field Yates (07:29): "Tiers are helpful to us because sometimes the difference between wide receiver 5 and wide receiver 6 could be very narrow, while the drop-off from 6 to 7 might be wider."
He emphasizes that tiers help manage the depth and variability within player performances, making drafting strategies more efficient.
Daniel Dopp complements this by sharing his perspective on how tiers influence his drafting decisions:
Daniel Dopp (08:04): "If I have a wide receiver that would fall to me to a certain spot, am I okay with waiting another round and getting into the second tier?"
This highlights the practical application of tiers in making informed drafting choices.
Field Yates presents his Tier One wide receivers, underscoring their elite status and consistent performance:
Field Yates (10:02): "These five guys all deserved top 10 picks in your fantasy drafts."
He discusses each player's strengths and the reasons they are placed at the top, noting their potential to lead in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns.
Daniel Dopp aligns with the elite status of Jamar Chase but positions Justin Jefferson slightly differently:
Daniel Dopp (10:15): "I would not take Justin Jefferson over Jamar Chase this year."
This indicates a nuanced view where Chase is seen as having a higher immediate impact compared to Jefferson.
Moving to Tier Two, Field Yates includes:
Field Yates (16:27): "Amon Ra is amazing… he has a lot of touchdown dependency."
He elaborates on how offensive strategies, quarterback performance, and target distribution affect these players' rankings.
Daniel Dopp concurs, highlighting Amon Ra's consistency while noting his ceiling is slightly below Tier One players:
Daniel Dopp: "Amon Ra's consistent performance makes him a solid Tier Two option."
Field Yates and Daniel Dopp delve into the complexities of Tier Three and lower tiers, discussing players like:
Field Yates (28:09): "Devonte Adams is a very wide range outcome player."
They explore factors such as player development, team dynamics, and potential breakout opportunities that influence these rankings.
Throughout the episode, the hosts emphasize the importance of flexibility in drafting strategies due to the volatility and potential of many receivers. They discuss:
Field Yates (35:29): "If you're going to draft Travis Hunter, you have to be secure with your wide receiving core."
The episode provides a comprehensive breakdown of wide receiver tiers for the 2025 fantasy football season, offering valuable strategies for both novice and seasoned fantasy managers. Field Yates and Daniel Dopp highlight the importance of understanding player tiers, team dynamics, and strategic flexibility to maximize team performance. Their insights serve as a crucial guide for drafting a competitive fantasy football team.
Note: Timestamps correspond to the conversation segments within the transcript. This summary excludes advertisements, intros, outros, and non-content sections to focus solely on the valuable discussions about wide receiver tiers.