Way Too Early WR and TE Rankings for 2026

Summary

Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry

Episode: Way Too Early WR and TE Rankings for 2026
Date: April 16, 2026
Host: Matthew Berry (NBC Sports), with co-hosts/in-conversation: Lawrence Jackson, Connor Rogers, Jay Croucher

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on Matthew Berry’s “way too early” rankings for wide receivers (WRs) and tight ends (TEs) for the 2026 fantasy football season. The discussion combines sharp analysis with the show’s signature banter, including comparisons with seasons past, team-specific situations, and rookie/prospect analysis, all tied together in Berry’s irreverent, playful style. There are entertaining detours into the hosts’ personal lives, but the bulk is dedicated to deep-dive fantasy insights you need for that early edge.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Host Catch-Up & Banter

• The episode kicks off with stories about Berry’s vacation in Europe, his family, and co-host Connor Rogers expecting a baby boy (02:06–04:06).
• Combo about passing down sports fandoms, the pain of being a Jets fan, and why kids increasingly don’t care about sports (04:06–06:13).

2. Top 10 Wide Receiver Rankings: Early Analysis

• Matthew’s Top 3 WRs for 2026:
  • Puka Nacua
  • Jamar Chase
  • Jackson Smith-Njigba (JSN)
    (08:28)
• Berry notes Justin Jefferson is at #6, reflecting concern with Kyler Murray adjusting to the new offense but bullishness on Jefferson’s multi-role ability.
• Berry on Jefferson’s upside:

  “Kevin O’Connell is going to move him around more than… they’ll know. Kyler knows—get the ball to 18.” (08:56 | Berry)

• Co-hosts compare Jefferson’s situation to the Celtics’ “Big Three” era—with a win-now mentality (10:02–10:51).
• Vikings: The roster is loaded, expectations are huge, and keeping Brian Flores was crucial for Minnesota’s outlook (11:01).

Notable Quote:

“If they miss the playoffs this year, there’s going to be questions.” (10:39 | Jay Croucher)

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3. WRs Making Analysts Nervous & Potential Boom/Busts

• Concern around Puka Nacua’s “Antonio Brown (AB) pathway” and off-field volatility (13:00 | from listener Makoyt).
• Rashee Rice: Good WR in a great system, but worries about injuries, volume, and Mahomes’ health.
• Malik Nabers: Health and adaptation to a new offense are question marks, but his talent and consistency with subpar QBs are lauded (14:08–15:20).
• “Malik Nabers could do it with any quarterback.” (15:16 | Lawrence Jackson)

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4. Second Tier (WRs 11–20): Debates & Deep Dives

• Pickens, Olave, A.J. Brown, Mike Evans, Garrett Wilson, Jaylen Waddle:
  • Chris Olave: Massive bump with QB Tyler Shough. “We won’t be shocked if Olave takes that leap to be a top five or six guy.” (18:31 | Berry)
  • Garrett Wilson: “Geno Smith is going to be the best quarterback Garrett Wilson’s ever played with… Just get the ball to your best player.” (19:30–20:27 | Berry)
  • Zay Flowers: High PPR floor but capped ceiling due to moderate TD totals and competition from returning Mark Andrews. “He’s a rock solid WR2, but just not going to see 8–10 TDs.” (24:50 | Berry)
  • Devonta Smith: If he ever gets an alpha-level target share, could have “Jackson Smith-Njigba type upside” and possibly break top 10 (28:45–29:45).

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5. WRs 21–40: High-Upside Sleepers & Unsettled Rooms

• Lad McConkey: Bounce-back candidate likened to a potential “Cooper Kupp 2021” explosion (26:29–27:13).

• DJ Moore to Buffalo: Increases his value but skepticism persists on whether he’ll “‘break the Bills curse’ or just become a rich man’s Amari Cooper” (30:08–32:26).

• Chicago WRs (Roma Odunze, Luther Burden):

  • Debate over who’s the WR1. “Burden can also get deep on you… but I think they’re even right now.” (33:53 | Lawrence Jackson)
  • Bears’ offense expected to funnel through Odunze, Burden, and Colston Loveland.

• Jacksonville WRs:

  • Parker Washington lauded for role consistency as the “most consistent week-to-week option; worst game is 5 for 56” (35:52).
  • Brian Thomas Jr. is high-upside but the crowding in JAX’s WR room complicates projections.

• Michael Wilson (Cardinals):

  • Surprised last year as a top-20 WR in points/game. “He earned his role; there’s going to be targets there.” (38:45 | Berry)
  • Expect a solid supporting role with Marvin Harrison, Jr. back.

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6. Tight End Rankings: 2026’s New Guard

• Top 3:
  1. Trey McBride
  2. Brock Bowers
  3. Colston Loveland
  • “He’s being used like a big WR… due for a monster year. That’s why I’m at #3.” (41:18 | Berry)
• Tucker Kraft: Injury derailed a monster start (“TE1 in weeks 1–8”) but has a strong rapport with Jordan Love; expected to retain a large role (42:04–43:23).
• Packers’ WR exodus is seen as a vote of confidence in Kraft’s outlook.
• Kenyon Sadiq: Baltimore or Philly could make him a sleeper, but initial top 10 is unlikely unless landing spot is perfect (44:23–45:34).
• Strategic Advice: Drafting upside later TEs to pair with risky/injured stars like George Kittle is “a viable and sometimes optimal strategy” (46:06–47:36).

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7. Fantasy Draft Markets & Noteworthy Bet Recommendations

• First WR drafted market:
  Odds don’t reflect the inside-scout “50/50” split between Carnell Tate and Jordan Tyson atop the class (48:01–49:03).
• Actionable advice:

  “Play both Tate (+330) and Tyson (+150) for 1st/2nd WRs taken. Odds will move after Tyson’s workout.” (49:15 | Lawrence Jackson) “These markets are volatile… easier to beat than the Super Bowl line.” (50:26 | Jay Croucher)

• Berry’s Dynasty League Trade Offers:
  Entertaining closing note on the bad trade offers you’ll get if you hold the 1.01 (51:19–51:46).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Jefferson’s Fantasy Resilience

  “He produced with Nick Mullens. He produced with Carson Wentz. Dobb[s]. So that was how bad, candidly, McCarthy was last year…”
  (12:07 | Berry)

• On the eternal pain of being Jets fans:

  “You are going to subject… he’s going to be a life of misery.”
  (04:06 | Berry)

• On the floor/ceiling of Zay Flowers:

  “He’s a rock solid WR2, but you’re just not going to see the 8 to 10 touchdown game. Especially with Mark Andrews back.”
  (24:50 | Berry)

• On Devonta Smith’s upside:

  “If he ever got the kind of target share that Jackson Smith-Njigba got last year, he could have that kind of massive [season].”
  (28:45 | Berry, referencing Eagles’ internal belief)

• Jordan Tyson vs. Carnell Tate draft odds:

  “I have talked to multiple teams that have Tyson as the best receiver in this draft… I would call this 50/50 right now.”
  (48:37 | Connor Rogers)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:34 — Show proper opens with vacation banter
• 02:06 — Connor announces baby news, sports fandom chat
• 08:28 — Pivot to WR rankings, Top 10 revealed
• 10:51 — Vikings and Jefferson’s outlook, coaching issues, team expectations
• 13:00 — WRs that make analysts “nervous” at cost
• 16:38 — Deep-dive: JSN and second tier WRs
• 17:57 — Chris Olave’s leap with Tyler Shough, Olave’s injury history
• 19:15 — Garrett Wilson & Geno Smith analysis
• 22:16 — Zay Flowers, Ravens passing game, TD ceiling
• 24:46 — “Floor play” WR talk, Flowers vs. upside candidates
• 26:29 — Lad McConkey’s sleeper appeal, Devonta Smith’s alpha case
• 30:08 — DJ Moore to Buffalo, curse and fit
• 32:45 — Chicago WR dynamics, Roma Odunze vs. Luther Burden
• 34:42 — Bearish/Bullish on Bears offense, Caleb Williams outlook
• 35:00 — Jaguars WRs, Parker Washington’s role
• 37:21 — Michael Wilson’s surprising value
• 41:01 — Tight End rankings, Colston Loveland as breakout candidate
• 42:09 — Tucker Kraft, Packers pass-catcher hierarchy
• 44:23 — Kenyon Sadiq landing spot speculation
• 46:06 — Tight End draft/IR strategies
• 48:01 — NFL Draft betting markets discussion (WRs)
• 50:26 — “Draft markets are volatile…” (market betting tips)
• 51:19 — Dynasty trade talk and playful wrap-up banter

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Conclusion

This episode is rich in actionable early fantasy advice, focusing on WR and TE tiers, red flag profiles, and breakout candidates. The crew brings humor, strong chemistry, and sharp strategy tips to their analysis, making this essential listening for fantasy managers seeking to get ahead on the 2026 landscape.

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Catch the show daily on Peacock and NFL on NBC YouTube for more in-depth rankings, waiver advice, and signature banter.

Transcript

[A]

You know, he's one of those guys that. He's got massive arms that you almost wonder sometimes, like, is ball security an issue? I know, it's a weird thing.

[B]

Too slow.

[C]

Jonathan Medici, 7. If price fumbles because his arms are so big, does Barry fumble solo? Cuffs because his arms are so small. Hashtag Diet Coke.

[B]

You go with that.

[A]

Good research, Medici.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Nice job. By our analytics department. What'd you say?

[C]

30 pounds of muscle and 10 pound sack. Matthew Barry sees 10 pounds of muscle on a 30 pound sack.

[D]

Fantasy Football Happy hour with Matthew Berry.

[A]

Welcome to the Fantasy football happy hour. That's what happens when Matthew Berry takes one vacation. Jay Croucher goes right through the soul. My goodness.

[D]

I will say this in fairness to Jay Croucher. You would have said that exact joke if I was here. I wasn't talking behind my back. I'm not offended by. You know, he'll probably double down on it today 1000%. Right? I think you were being generous. I think it's 10 pounds of muscles in like a 50 pound sack. I just, you know.

[C]

Any workout sessions in England at the gym?

[D]

I mean, I like walking. It was England for a weekend and then. And then Paris for a week. And so if you consider this a workout, then yes. Nice lot of bread, a lot of croissants, a lot of wine, Croissant curls.

[C]

Paris, soul. London. Who gets the Paris?

[D]

We. My. We had an amazing time. My wife and my daughters, they'd never been. We'd never been. And so just seeing it through their eyes was very cool and just. And I thought we'd get. I thought people would be rude to us, you know, because we're like dumb Americans and the complete opposite. Every single person was.

[C]

The French are underrated for mine.

[D]

Yeah, they were, they were, they were. Could not be more gracious. We tip, by the way. Like, it's not typical in French culture

[A]

to tip in European.

[D]

In European. But we always do because just that's, you know, and so I think that probably helped.

[A]

Yeah, they were loving you, you know,

[D]

but 30 pound sack, great title for Barry's memoir. Scotty McClory. Well done. Yeah, exactly.

[A]

30 pound sack. The Matthew Berry story. I love it.

[D]

Exactly.

[A]

Who's writing it?

[D]

Ye.

[A]

Not Matthew Von Miller.

[D]

Yeah, exactly. Chat GPT can write that as well.

[A]

All right, so that's all like a

[D]

big vacation return I want to get into, but like. Yeah, so we had a. We had a great time. Paris. Paris was amazing. But one of the things that happened while we were in Paris is that you and your Wife. Kristen went public with the fact that you know, you guys are having a baby.

[A]

Expecting a baby boy.

[D]

Expecting a baby boy. So she's doing the heavy lifting as it were.

[A]

Oh yes.

[D]

There's no question. You're just along for the ride.

[A]

She's having the baby boy.

[D]

I'm spectating 100% Kristen Rogers drink for free. Don't set yourself short.

[B]

Connor. You put in some work to make these happen now.

[D]

We hope you did.

[A]

Yeah, I did. Yes, as I know I did.

[B]

My man Connor put in some work now.

[A]

Incredible drawing by Jimmy, by the way. On the board. Top shelf stuff.

[C]

I think it's strange that you're naming the kid Lawrence but that's what I said.

[A]

There wasn't much debate but he did

[B]

give him his middle name. So it'll be Lawrence Conard.

[D]

There is Connor and Kristen and your soon to be born baby boy.

[A]

That's right. He's in the picture.

[D]

So you said she's 33 weeks.

[A]

33 weeks.

[C]

A lot of weeks.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

So Kristen drinks for free in five, six, seven weeks. Yeah.

[A]

She'll get to celebrate well after but she's a trooper. That was at a wedding in Brooklyn and she's doing really, really great. I give her a lot credit. Still working in the city.

[D]

Amazing.

[A]

Absolute superstar.

[C]

So are you gonna rise the kid a Jets fan?

[A]

So this was actually like a real combo we had.

[D]

Yeah, sure.

[A]

Yeah. Because me and Kristen are big Mets fans so that was an easy no brainer. Her family, big Islanders fans. My family Rangers fans. But I'm the dad so he's gonna be a Rangers fan.

[D]

Right.

[A]

There was a real combo of like do I let him pick his own team with rules like you, you can't pick the Patriots and the Giants and the Dolphins and the Bills. That's like. But you know. But then she looked at me and she's like, are you kidding me? She's like this team is such a big part of your life and work life that he's going to be a Jets fan. Maybe by then it'll turn you were

[D]

going you are going to subject. He's going to be a life of misery. Yeah. Shirtless Ben Johnson says please don't let him be a Jets fan. People are worried about your unborn child.

[A]

I was actually skeptical. Kristen is very, very pro him being a Jets fan. So she makes the decisions.

[D]

Kristen also willingly has sex with you. So I think her judgment's a little bit off. Let's be clear.

[B]

Maybe I'll tell you this, Connor. So my youngest daughter 8 years old. Amani is a Jets fan, weirdly enough. Like, I'm not a Jets.

[A]

Right, right, right.

[B]

Like, she likes the Falcons, mainly because of Kyle Pitts.

[A]

But that's amazing, by the way.

[B]

Yeah, it's the Kyle Pitts song I made a couple years ago.

[A]

That's a night game.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, that's what got her back on board. But the. The jets thing, I don't know where the hell that came from. I think she, like, went to a football game once. Oh, Jets. So at least your son will have a reason. My kid just crazy.

[D]

I know. And Jay, do your kids just change who they root for with you?

[C]

Well, actually, it's kind of a weird, strange thing. So I obviously work in sports. My life is kind of consumed by sports all the time. I have three different children. Three cracks of this. None of them have any interest whatsoever in sports, which I kind of view as maybe a failure and a poor reflection on me because I wanted to do whatever my dad did when I was growing up. He's like, yeah, so we're going to be, you know, big Australian football fans, big Arsenal fans, et cetera. My kids are going, no. The only thing that has registered with my kids in all the sports is that Aaron Judge is really big. When we go to Yankees again, that's the only thing that everything else, everything's kind of boring. But Aaron Judge is cool.

[D]

My daughters like sports. They like being at the games. They are cheerleaders. That's their thing, the competitive cheer. They play lacrosse as well, but they could not tell you the rules. Like, they will go to a football game happily and take a zillion tiktoks and get the film.

[A]

Like the event.

[D]

They like the event. They like the social nature of sports, but they are not sitting there going like, I can't believe we ran off tackle on third down. You know, whatever.

[B]

There's still time. So then it's settled. It's settled then. Jay has the least amount of influence on his kids.

[A]

This just sounds like to me.

[D]

Well, you have to be around influencer kids. Yeah, that's true.

[C]

I'm leaving for England tonight without my family as well, to continue the trip. How does he pull?

[D]

That'll help.

[B]

That'll help a great deal to watch

[D]

a bet in person. That's what Jay's doing, by the way. He is literally. He's got a. He's got a bet on the Arsenal Manu game. Right.

[C]

Man City.

[D]

Man City, sorry.

[C]

Arsenal in the Premier League. So going to Manchester. It's an away game. To see arsenal, who are plus 330 underdogs, likely get stomped and lose the title. But I'd rather see. If I'm gonna die, I'd rather see me die, you know, in person.

[A]

Right?

[D]

A little scrap.

[C]

I hate losing stuff on a tv. It's just so claustrophobic, intense.

[A]

And you're gonna be the opposite.

[C]

And then you got like, walk down, see the kids. I like being outside. I like dying with loud noises. I'm a big fan of.

[A]

Then a long trip back across the pond.

[C]

It will be a long flight.

[D]

Yeah, I get all that. Except for the fact that you're going to be in a section with nothing but Man City fans. So as they're going crazy and high fiving over you, you're just sitting there,

[B]

he going to have to act like

[D]

he enjoying it too.

[B]

Who's that guy? Why? He ain't happy.

[A]

You have like the shirt under the hoodie to play both sides of it.

[D]

Oh, this is a good question from Stuntman Chuck.

[A]

Stuntman Chuck. But Jay, do your kids like Keanu Reeves movies?

[C]

I think they're quite at the age yet where they can watch Knock Knock and all the other great Keanu Reeves movies of recent vintage. Might get the eight year old watching the Matrix and that'll. That'll turn Hardball. Hardball would be a tough one to show kids though, because a lot of

[A]

his catalog, it might be a little too early.

[D]

Ted's excellent adventure. There's some history in there. Yeah, it's. It's upbeat and dumb.

[C]

You know, what a great film, to be fair.

[D]

Oh, I disagree. I love Bill and Ted. It's one of my favorite. Like, you have to enjoy it for what it is. It is, it is. It is not meant to be great cinema. It is meant to be a. A dumb buddy comedy. And it is. It was the first one of those kinds, you know, and then Beavis and Butthead and all the. It was the first one of that kind of two dumb idiots.

[C]

The two dumb Keanu Reeves and I forget the other Alex Winter. Yeah, Alex Winter went to see them on Broadway a few months ago doing Waiting for Godot together. And everyone's there and clapping and laughing. I'm here to tell you, and I'm a huge Keanu Reeves fan. That sucked. It was a terrible production. It was the most unenjoyable, boring thing in the world. And everyone pretends they like it because it's like, you know, literature and art and whatever. No, it was terrible. It was atrocious. I'm okay to Admit it.

[D]

I don't care.

[A]

Believe it or not, it is not a backup producer Pete Day. Steven's just begging me to get to rankings. I get it. We are actually going to do rankings today. Way too early rankings, of course. We continue and we start with the wide receivers. Let's take a look at Matthews top 10 here. Puka, Nakua and Jamar Chase and then Jackson, Smith and Jigba. 1, 2, 3. But I think it gets more interesting after that, Matthew, when trying to project hopefully a bounce back year for Justin Jefferson who has sat atop this list once upon a time.

[D]

Yeah. And you, you know, you feel better about his situation this year than we did last year obviously because just JJ McCarthy kind of tanked his fantasy value last year. Now he's got Kyler Murray, you know who Kyler Murray, we think. I know Kyler Murray is going to be an upgrade over J.J. mcCarthy. The question is, can he get the ball to Justin Jefferson again? You know, Marvin Harrison struggled a little bit with Kyler Murray. Right. As well. But I just feel like Justin Jefferson is so good and more importantly, Kevin o', Connell, friend of the show. Kevin o' Connell is going to move him around more than like Jefferson's a better player than Harrison at this stage of their career and they move him around a lot more. They'll know Kyler knows, you know, get the ball to 18. That's what I think. So again, do I have, you know, is the top three like, you know, Puka, Jamar Chase, Jackson Smith and Jig. But no, because I think they're still, there's still concern about Kyler learning the offense running a little bit more than, you know, the normal quarterbacks that we've seen with Jefferson a little bit more target competition as well. But you know, Addison and, but that's where I am with Jefferson. I'm at 6. I'm more bullish on him than I think some others.

[C]

Yeah, I think we feel like we're two years removed from, you know, Jefferson being right there with Jamar Chase and where JSN and Puka stand currently as being consensus, you know, tier 1A receiver in the NFL. And I'm, I'm just bullish overall in this Vikings team. I think that is where these guys are at in their careers. Jefferson coming off the year from hell with JJ McCarthy, Kyle Omari trying to, you know, reclaim and save his career. Also Kevin o' Connell who won coach of the year two years ago, like Kevin o', Connell, I don't think he's never won a playoff Game in Minnesota. Like, if they miss the playoffs this year, there's going to be questions. Yeah. I just think all these guys are at a point of their career where it's not the same, but it's kind of like when Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett went to the Celtics and they were all at a point of their career with Paul Pierce where it's like, we're okay to slide into the best roles because we just want to win now. All these guys, I think, are going to succeed together.

[D]

The o' Connell point is a really good one because, I mean, they fired the general manager.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

So, like, again, they feel like they have enough talent there. Connor, that, that this should be a. This should be a Super bowl contending team.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

The way they built the team, they were able to retain Brian Flores. I mean, a lot of this roster. Lawrence is the same. Like, there's huge expectations here again in Minnesota.

[B]

We'll go with the question here, right. From Tim Connelly 5301, hoping for Kyler to Jefferson to be like Kyler and D hot back in the day. And that's actually what I was going to bring up. We talk about Kyler, him running the ball, but what he also does is he scrambles to find that open man. And know Justin Jefferson in a scramble drill is elite. Right. Um, I think last season, just Justin Jefferson going over the 1000 yard mark with the quarterback play last year showed us that, hey, I'm still that guy. I could still command these targets. It was just the yards per catch. He had a. He had a career low in that department. Only 12 yards per catch last season. And so when you get a guy like Kyler Murray, who's more confident and can complete his deep ball at a better rate, that bodes well for just Jefferson. Had the Vikings come into this year with that same quarterback room, then, Matthew, you would have had to rank Justin Jefferson outside the top 12.

[D]

Yeah. I mean, look, the reason we talked about this in the preseason, the reason I was high on Jefferson despite the. The switch from Darnold to J.J. mcCarthy, was we're like, he produces another one. He produced with Nick Mullins. He produced with Carson Wentz. Dobbs.

[A]

Right.

[D]

Josh Dobbs. I mean, so like McCarthy. That was how bad, candidly, McCarthy was last year. Is that literally like he averaged over 20 fantasy points per game with Nick Mullens. So I agree with you. I think this will be a lot better. Again, there's still a little bit of a question with Kyler learning the offense, so I'm at 6. I don't think he's in that top elite tier, but I think he's obviously a mid tier wide receiver, one with potential win you the weak upside every single week.

[A]

Here's a comment that kind of brings me to the next topic with this group. This is from Makoyt. There's zero percent chance I draft Puka in the top five wide receivers. The dude is on an AB career pathway in the NFL. Who out of this group does make you nervous at cost.

[D]

I mean that's an amazing thing about ab, but I mean it's been a weird offseason for Puka Nakua, no question about it. But the person that makes me the most nervous on this list I think is two. Right. I think Rasheed Rice is there. Rasheed Rice I think is a very good wide receiver. I don't think he's an elite. I don't think he's Jackson Smith and Jigba or Puka or Jamar Chase where you're just CD Lamb, where you're just. He's this, you know, athletic freak that can win.

[B]

He's.

[D]

Rasheed Rice is a good wide receiver and a great system.

[A]

That's right.

[D]

And so if they're, he's somebody that's been injured, he's somebody that at the moment has no off field issues. But he's, he's, but there's, there's been multiple ones that he's sort of had to get through. And so you know, if for some reason that volume goes down if the Chiefs draft a wide receiver, you know, if Mahomes isn't back healthy for week one, I just think there's more questions around Rasheed Rice. If you're asking me who I'm nervous about on this list and the other one obviously is Malik neighbors guys coming off of the major injury. I think he's played less than 30 snaps with Jackson Dart right. He's run less than 12 routes with him. So. And it's going to be a new offensive system for the entire team. And so that's the other question too.

[A]

There's a world, Lawrence, where the Giants or the Chiefs had a wide receiver in this draft that only crowds their room.

[B]

And I would say in favor of Rasheed Rice. I think that those potential receivers at the top of the draft that could be within Chiefs, I don't think any of those guys will eat into what Rasheed Rice gets because he has a specific role. He plays a lot in that slot and for what it's worth, he does get a Lot of touchdowns. The thing that worries me about Rasheed Rice and why I would prefer Malik Neighbors is that in four of his eight games with Patrick Mahomes last year, double digit targets, right. But he still only had one game over 95 receiving yards. A guy like Malik Neighbors doesn't need those type of targets and to get those type of yards, he was a top. Malik Nabors was a top six receiver with Tommy DeVito, Daniel Jones, Drew Locke at quarterback. So there should be some worry about him with Jackson Dart. But knowing that he in the first two weeks, if you want to throw that in there with Russell Wilson, he was the top, top two receivers into. So we know Malik Neighbors could do it with any quarterback. So I would both should have concerns, but I would give Malik Nabors both

[D]

of them inside the top 10, obviously. So. But you know, the question is which one of these guys makes me the most nervous? I think I agree with you, Lawrence. I don't know if you're with me, but like on a talent level, Malik Nabors is just a better wide receiver, just a better NFL player than Rasheed Rice. It's just you feel a little bit better about the situation. And I think as we get to August, if we see, oh no, Malik Nabors is back to being full Malik and he's fully healthy, then this may, this may change as well. But the other thing on this one, Jay, is that like Travis Kelsey coming back, you know, I mean, again, they run the same routes to, to Lawrence's point. They're both like, you know, and so it's going to open up some stuff for Rishi Rice, but also takes away some red zone equity as well. And what is likely Travis Kelsey's last season, does Mahomes try to, you know, make 87 go out with a bang? Yeah.

[C]

And also like a lot of the areas that Rashid Rice loves to work in that middle of the field, those crossing routes, those are kind of the same. It's the same real estate where Travis Kelsey does a lot of great work as well. Just one name I'll throw out. Not nervous about him per se, but not sure. I think JSN will have a hard time living up to last season because one, he only got to 100 yards twice in his last nine games where the deep bombs really dried up. And I think that just some regression on the deep ball. The fact that to get where he did, he had to have this insane target rate that I don't think will sustain. I think he's got a very High floor. Jason's too good to have a fail, but just not sure, like, number one wide receiver in the sport is going to be the outcome.

[D]

Again, very, very fair, especially when you think about they're going to have a full year of Rashee Shahid. It's a, you know, new offense coordinator, so there's a little bit of adjustment there. We all love jsn, but could you see, he could have a. He could have a. He could have an amazing year next year and still not be wide saver7

[C]

and have an amazing year.

[D]

Right, Exactly. So I think it's fair.

[A]

Let's look at 11 through 20, this group. I think there's even more debate in this group, especially when you see after George Pickens at 11, Chris Alabe at 12. It feels like the sky is the limit with Tyler Schuck in a second, Really a full year with them. We don't know where A.J. brown's going to be playing football. He's at 14. That could be with Philadelphia. That could be somewhere else.

[D]

He is an Eagle. That's the quote, right?

[A]

Right? Yes, he is an Eagle right now. And then you look at, you know, Mike Evans with a new home in San Francisco, that feels weird to say. Garrett Wilson going from Justin Fields and Brady Cook to Gino, who could throw the ball at all three levels. And then Jaylen Waddle with the new home at 20 here. Jay, that's a big move for the Broncos, who. They always have a collection of guys, but Waddle gives them that real threat.

[C]

Yeah. And I think that, you know, Cortland Sutton's always been a little miscast as the number. Jaylen Waddle fits more into that. And having those two as the top two, particularly giving just Bo Nix another deep threat, I think is going to be really key there. But Olave is a fascinating one for me, Lawrence, just because I do think what we saw from Tyler Schuck was real at the end of the season.

[B]

Yeah, it was real. I mean, you look at weeks nine through 18, that's when Tyler Shuck became the start. If you look at Chris Olave over the year, he was wide receiver 8, fantasy points per game with Tyler Schuck, he was wide receiver four. So that sounds like wide receiver one in fantasy to me. Nine targets a game, six catches, 82 yards. And in that time, he had six touchdowns with Tyler Schuck. So from a fantasy perspective, I don't think, like, we won't be shocked if Chris Olave takes that leap to be one of these top five or six Guys, he's.

[D]

He's an. He's an elite wide receiver. It's not like this season came out of nowhere. The. The surprise was that he stayed healthy all year, which has been one of the challenges for him. But like, Olave's been a very good wide receiver ever since he got into the N. NFL. He's one of those. Another. Another great Ohio State wide receiver right in Olave here. And so, you know, with Tyler Schuck as his quarterback, almost a 30% target share over 82 yards per game. And so if you're Kellen Moore and you're trying to build this thing from ground up, like he's an alpha wide receiver on a team that is going to throw. And I think Tyler Schuck showed enough last year where the Saints feel good about him as their quarterback heading into the season. And you feel good about the situation Olave's in where he's going to be the, you know, the main target part. The main target on the offensive side of the ball.

[A]

You look at going back to Garrett Wilson here, guys. You know, you look at Geno's last year in Seattle, he supported an 1100 yard receiver in JSN and then almost 1000 yards from DK Metcalf. That has to be good news for Garrett Wilson. Even if the jets do add somebody here, Matthew, in this NFL draft, I

[D]

would argue Geno Smith is going to be the best quarterback Garrett Wilson's ever played. With all due respect to Aaron Rodgers. What he. But like the bad version.

[A]

No, Gary Wilson was great with.

[D]

Yeah, yeah. Misty, who you say Joe Flacco come back Player of the year Joe Flacco. But, you know, which is fair. But look, last year, over a 33% target share. At least 25% target share. And in every season he's played in the NFL, Gino is somebody that is good enough. I. You have to forget last year in Las Vegas, which was just a disaster, lost cause. But you go back to Seattle where DK Metcalf was a legit, you know, top 20 wide receiver his last two years with Geno. Again, I think Geno coming into the situation understands what I like to call the Josie rule. Get the ball to your best player. Right? Get the ball to your best player. And so that's going to be Garrett Wilson. That's going to be Breece Hall. Have you and Kristen thought about naming your boy either Breece or Garrett

[A]

while

[B]

you guys are playing around? Well, I've actually talked to Connor about this, about naming his son Lawrence. So when it happens because they're behind. You guys are going to be like, oh, damn, he like really did it.

[D]

Matthew is a strong biblical name. I'll just say that it is a strong biblical name.

[B]

So is Lawrence in some type of Bible? Not the one you read in a different Bible.

[A]

Lawrence J. Rogers.

[D]

That's his name.

[A]

Another lj. Another lj.

[D]

Lawrence J. Rogers. Yeah. Another text chain that I'm not a part of. There you go.

[B]

So what happened when you go to London?

[D]

Real talk for a second. Have you and Kristen decided. You don't have to say it publicly, but have you guys decided on a name you already know? It's a boy. So you know what the name is?

[A]

Yeah, we have the name.

[D]

Okay. You guys have the name. All right.

[A]

Top secret.

[D]

Yeah, of course. Of course.

[A]

I already let the cat out of the bag, but it's Lawrence.

[D]

Lawrence J. Yeah, it's Lawrence J.

[C]

It's Memboo Rogers. Big fan of offensive line for Makai. Yeah.

[D]

Makai Rogers.

[A]

There's a lot of options on the table. I can't give it away.

[D]

Something to think about.

[A]

K. Gemma said Lawrence. Jaquan Rogers. That was.

[B]

They love Jaquan.

[D]

That's Matt.

[A]

It's a throwback.

[D]

Exactly.

[B]

Yeah. Garrett Wilson, a guy who's his career bestes. Just over 1100 yards. Just over 100 catches. So I 100 could see a career year. That's. Those aren't crazy numbers. Garrett Wilson has the talent to be a 1500 yard receiver. He just hasn't had the talent at quarterback to do so. And we know Geno could at least still throw the football.

[D]

Every season that he's played at least eight games. He's never finished higher than wide receiver 19 on a points per game basis. So you say career year. All he has to do is be better than wide receiver 19. Garrett Wilson. And I'm at 15, so obviously I think that's going to happen.

[A]

Zay Flowers in the middle of this group at 16. A career year last year, Jay. A career year with receptions. A career year with receiving yards as well, by a pretty good margin. But Todd Monkin out the door. How do you weigh Zay Flowers being priced for what we saw from him last year, not his two previous years?

[C]

Yeah, I think there's a few things to play. One, what are the Ravens going to do at 14? Are they going to draft?

[A]

I've heard a lot of past catcher which puts Sadiq still in that group,

[C]

which would be interesting. But for the time being, there is a huge gap between Zay Flowers And I guess Rashad Bateman as the second option in the passing game for Lamar Jackson. Mark Andrews, I think the main thing outside of just his place in the hierarchy in Baltimore is that it seems like Lamar Jackson is prime for a massive season. The fact that he is, he seems very invested early on with Jesse Minter, the fact that the last we saw Lamar Jackson was the best that he played all season that game against the Steelers. So look, ultimately, Zay Flowers, even though he had that year, that great year with Lamar Jackson largely being injured or not quite himself, I think ultimately his fate is tied to how well Lamar Jackson is going to play. And I think that Lamar will have a great.

[B]

I'll say this too, Jay. You said Lamar's prime for a big year. Well, Lamar had one of the best years ever. In 2024. He threw 41 touchdowns and Zay Flowers caught four of those. So that's his biggest thing when it comes. That's the point to a fantasy perspective. Zay Flowers hasn't had a season with more than five receiving touchdowns in his career. What we do know he could get, he could go get you 8 for 92 and maybe a touchdown, but the 8 for 92 going to be there. And that's the thing. PPR, we love it. If you, if you're depending more on touchdowns, that's where it becomes more iffy.

[D]

Yeah, and I think that's a great point. I think Zay Flowers is much more of a floor play than a ceiling play, if that makes any sense. Like, again, one of, he's one of nine players. Great stat here by producer Damian here. One of nine wide receivers in the NFL over the each last three seasons with at least 200 fantasy points. There have only been nine wide receivers that have had at least 200 fantasy points in PPR each of the last three seasons. Zay Flowers is one of them. So there's, there's always a floor there in terms of. But there's just not a big touchdown equity there. So I think, you know, if we sit here and look at this list, like, could Chris Olavi or T. Higgins, you know, could, could Tedro McMillan, could one of those guys leap into the top 10? Of course they could. Right. Pickens, obviously, could you just feel like with Zay Flowers, like he's just not going to drop out. He's going to.

[B]

All those dudes you just named probably going to have more touchdowns than him.

[D]

Yeah, for sure. But he's, there's a floor play. So he's a, he's a You know, rock solid wide receiver too, but you're just, you know, you're just not going to see the 8 to 10 touchdown game. Especially with Mark Andrews back.

[C]

Yep.

[D]

The year, I mean 8 to 10

[C]

year, that 41 touchdown season for Lamar Jackson. 26 of those touchdowns went to Rashad Bateman, Isaiah Likely and Mark Andrews. Now I understand Mark Andrews is still around, but you suspect some more decline from him as he gets older. Isaiah Likely is gone. I have no idea what Rashad Bateman is. I just don't know what this player is, what to expect from him. Don't know if he's going to be a thousand yard receiver. Don't know if he's going to be out of the league.

[B]

And it's crazy, right? I know you seem like he could get a thousand yards.

[C]

Yeah, he's got the talent.

[D]

But the Ravens are one of those things where you're like, like, oh, it's another touchdown for Nelson Aguilar and you're like wait, he's on the Ravens.

[B]

Right. It's just going to be like Devin

[D]

Duvernay, like he's just like talking DeMarcus

[B]

Robinson, talking the 8 for 92. But the touchdown will be Devonte Walker.

[D]

Right, exactly.

[A]

I was going to say who is it going to be this year? Devonte Walker is definitely at the top of the list. He was. Yeah.

[B]

For a minute. Devontez Walker, all he caught was touchdown passes. So.

[D]

Right, right. You're going to look up and Charlie Kohler's got five touchdowns or something. You know, I mean just. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

All right. Wide receiver 21 through 30 which has some names that disappointed last year starting with lad McConkey at the top of that list. Here's the one right up there.

[D]

He's not McConkey list.

[A]

He was not. Or the Latiator.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

A.J. brown gets traded draft week. Matthew, what happens? Devontae Smith, he was sad.

[D]

McConkie. Come on. Screw you guys. That was better.

[B]

Come on.

[C]

Sad with two Ds obviously.

[D]

Yes, obviously

[C]

the UK spelling given you so. Okay. Accustomed to what they do there. I will say, I think that if there is one player who could really explode out of nowhere and have a Cooper Cup 20, 21 type season a JSN last year. I think Lad McConkey is a pretty good candidate because he had 1149 receiving yards. He's still got his place on the wall even though Lawrence Jackson tried to rip it down after one of his slow weeks. But I just think this guy showed so much in his rookie season and Last year there's just a lot of context to explain why it might have gone bad. They had no offensive line, Herbert was under siege. They had a very strange receiving room. I just think that he's young enough, he has the pedigree and what he put out there statistically and on tape that first year I just think can't be ignored.

[D]

Yeah, I agree with that. You know, last season he got 72 targets, 72 targets in the slot that was fourth most in the NFL. Keenan Allen, still a free agent, you know, he was on a one year deal last year. At the moment they haven't brought him back as well. And you just think about Mike McDaniel, the new offensive coordinator, what he did in Miami with Jalen Waddle, Tyreek hill, both top 10 in yards per route run when they were under McDaniel. And so he's so good at creating a passing game and getting guys in space. And that's what I think you want to do with McConkey is like the middle of the field, try to try to create opportunities for yards after the catch. And so I agree with you, I'm bullish on his talent. The other one, I'll just say where I thought you were going to go with the guy that could just explode out of this list. List is the guy right under him is Devonta Smith.

[B]

I thought that she was going to say.

[A]

I thought you were going to say Luther Burton.

[D]

Well, and Luther. But Devontae Smith. And so Jimmy, Jimmy Kempsky, who covers the Eagles put this out the other day and this was something I was just like, I heard the exact same thing. This was something that was in my combine rumors column, whatever a month ago, which is that the Eagles feel like as good as Devontae Smith has been. There's another gear there that if he were ever to get the kind of target share that Jackson, Smith and Jigba got last year, he could have that kind of season, he could have that kind of massive again. At the moment, AJ Brown is still an Eagle, but the thought process within the Eagles organization, it was interesting that again, Eagles beat reporter heard the exact same thing that I did, which is that they believe, they believe Devontae Smith has Jackson Smith and Jigba type upside. If he could just get that kind of talent.

[B]

I think we'll look at Devonta Smith in a completely different light. And when I say completely different light, not just fantasy, talking about like top 10 fantasy receiver and top 10 real life receiver. We talked about Garrett Wilson's career best Devontae Smith has already. He already had. His numbers are better than Garrett Wilson. Now Gary Wilson don't got the quarterback, but Devontae Smith has always had A.J. brown. So you, you get a guy who already has a 1200 yard season. We're talking something crazy here.

[D]

People forget how highly rated Devontae Smith was out of college.

[A]

One of the highest, man. So.

[D]

I know, I know.

[A]

But no, you're 100% right. The slim reaper. I mean it is. Yeah. I would be fascinated to see him kind of treated as the alpha receiver. Not sharing it or really he felt more 1B.

[B]

That's how I always. Yeah, that's how you should think about it. Like, I mean he was a top 10 overall pick. It's just that they at the time they saw the opportunity to get AJ Brown. Devontae Smith was still on the rookie

[A]

deal and it worked.

[B]

It worked both.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

So it's funny how we talk about the Eagles because it feels so doomer. But this team won the Super Bowl.

[C]

Yeah, it was in the Super Bowl a couple years before that as well. Almost won that one too.

[A]

A team that would love to be and just can't get there, but so close is the Buffalo Bills. That's why they acquired DJ Moore. How much does this move the needle? Because DJ Moore had a really weird year in Chicago.

[D]

Yeah, I think it moves the needle more for DJ Moore than it does necessarily for the Bills, who always seem to get it done. Look, I think he's the best wide receiver Josh Allen has had since Prime Stefon Diggs, but he's not the same guy he was. But I think where he was going to get lost in Chicago with Burden and Odunze and Loveland and all those guys. Now he goes to Buffalo where he will be the best wide receiver in that room. You still have Khalil Shakir and you've got the tight ends that will take up some targets. But DJ Morris had at least a 26% target share four straight years prior to last year as well. I mean I think this is. I think he's going to be the number one wide receiver in Buffalo, but still a. You know, as you can tell by my ranking here, I think he's, you know, a low end wide receiver two, high end wide receiver three.

[C]

Yeah, it's just the filsiest move possible to pay a super high premium for a guy who hasn't really been that good for two years. And I'll say I'm. Look, I'm a man of science, but watching that Broncos, Bills Playoff game. I came to the conclude the Buffalo Bills are cursed. There is a curse at work here.

[A]

They've definitely had some bad draws.

[C]

It's completely insane what is going on. The fumble from Alan before the half. That doesn't happen in normal real life. There's a curse and I think that DJ Moore may well be victim of the curse. I'm sure he'll be fine. He'll be the number one option for Josh Allen, even though that doesn't necessarily meant a time in the past couple of years. But. And you would hope that for whatever reason he was maybe a little bit checked out in Chicago and that maybe Buffalo will revitalize him. But. But I think that this might just end up being a rich man's version of the Amari Cooper thing that we all thought was going to be a big thing mid season a couple years ago.

[A]

I just.

[D]

Doesn't he give them a deep threat though? Like a real deep threat that they. That they hoped with Keon Coleman. They hoped with some of the moves they make, but they just.

[A]

Right. And you're not like betting on upside so much with the Bills pass catchers. Like this is the year for Keon Coleman or Dalton.

[D]

Kincaid's good but you know Josh Palmer's got a big deal.

[A]

Maybe he's going to signing right. So they like the football.

[B]

Josh Allen in those playoffs was as far as a deep ball threat. The person he was depending on, Brandon Cook. So I'm gonna take.

[D]

And that was Jaymore, by the way. That was a reception. I don't know.

[C]

I'm not sure. But what. So what are the expectations? Like 70 catches for 850?

[B]

We don't think you get a thousand. No thousand.

[D]

I think they just spread it around so much. I think it's. I think it's. I think it's tough. I think. But with DJ Moore leaving for Buffalo, suddenly Chicago becomes much more interesting. Connor with. With Luther Burton, Roma, Dunes. I have them right next to each other. I'm back to back. I burden one step higher. But I'm curious how you see this situation.

[A]

So it's easy to fall into the trap because he is so good and the Flashes are great. That burden is far and away the guy you'd rather have than a Dunesay. You don't have it that way, Matthew. You have them back to back, right? I would think by the time we get to draft, Burden is being drafted a little bit ahead of him.

[D]

Around ahead of him where I almost

[A]

wonder, Lawrence, have we officially gone too far for where we're underrating a former top 10 pick in Roma Dunes probably

[B]

and it's crazy because you don't even have to go back far because the first five weeks of the season last year when he's having a few hundred yard games he's scoring the touchdowns realize oh damn this is it didn't it only took Roman doing then he got hurt and so that's the thing. But the thing with Luther Burton and where he'll excel at is getting those receptions in the short area where he could get it quick. And in fantasy PPR that counts as points. All you have to do is catch the ball at the line of scrimmage and do your thing. But the thing about Burden Roma Duzay doesn't do that. But Burden can also get deep on you too. So that's where he might have the edge a little bit. But I think, I think they're it even like how you got him right now. Matthew.

[D]

Yeah, I put Burton one step higher just because I think they're going to manufacture touches for Burden. You know they'll do. They'll do sweeps and quick little screens. So I just, I feel better about his week to week consistency because they'll manufacture those touches. But again 29 career games for Roma Dunes a 27 end zone targets and again no DJ Moore there. You've got Loveland now that defense is going to have to deal with. So back to back I think we feel pretty good about the Bears offense in general.

[A]

I was going to say Jay just reinforces the point. I think you want shares of everything Ben Johnson has.

[C]

Yeah, absolutely. The offense. The scary thing about the Bears offense is that as much it was as it was humming down the stretch, like Caleb Williams is like 58 completion percentage, something like that. Like this offense still has a lot of room to go up and DJ Moore is out. There's no one really coming in that scares you. So I think it's going to be. It's going to be three guys in the passing game. It's going to be a dunes a burden and Colston Loveland.

[A]

All right, let's close out the receiver rankings with 31 through 40 here. A little deeper into this group as we see some of the Jacksonville wide receivers as well. Obviously they got the extension done with Jacoby Myers who is right after Parker Washington, Christian Watson in a way less crowded Green Bay room.

[D]

Matthew.

[A]

I think that makes things a little easier to analyze that offense. And now with the Steelers, Michael Pittman joins DK Metcalf and what we assume will be an offense run by Aaron Rodgers.

[D]

Right.

[A]

Think we think so.

[D]

I ranked it as if that was.

[A]

You have to do that.

[D]

But I think the interesting thing there as we talk about is just sort of what to do with the Jacksonville wide receivers. Look, we think this offense is going to be really, really good. You know, they've come out and now say Travis Hunter is going to play mostly defense.

[B]

Okay.

[D]

So now we know these three guys are there and it doesn't seem like Brian Thomas Jr. Is going anywhere. So I mean, Brian Thomas Jr. Obviously has, you know, massive upside, but I feel Washington has both. It's crazy to think that I have him ranked the highest but like, you know, last year over 22% target share, over 85 yards per game. And he has just a role that's so solid and it just feels like there's a connection there with Trevor Lawrence. My only concern is he scored more touchdowns than I would expect. You know, he's not a big guy.

[A]

Is there a regression there?

[D]

You know, is there a regression there? Especially if you have a full season of Jacoby Myers, a full season of Breton Strange as well. But ultimately again similar to Burden over a dunesday by one spot I have Parker Washington one spot just because of the consistency that I expect week. Like I feel like the worst he's ever going to be is like, you know, whatever 5 for 56 or something like that. Like that'll be a bad Parker Washington game.

[A]

It feels like for all parties involved, we wish BTJ got traded.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Because then it would be more on the plate for Parker Washington, Jacoby Myers and Breton Strange. Travis Hunter obviously going to play more corner. I don't think that's going to happen anymore. So you're just hoping for a bounce back year for btj.

[C]

Yeah, this. I think the scary thing with BTJ is that it wasn't just last year but. But a lot of his success in year one came with Mac Jones.

[A]

Right.

[C]

It's kind of two years where we haven't really seen him thrive with Trevor Lawrence and not sure what the reason for that is.

[B]

You don't like him.

[D]

Yeah,

[C]

whatever the reason is, it just hasn't worked. And Lawrence had a clear rapport with Jacoby Myers and I think there's Parker Washington like so much. That offense is just Lawrence letting it rip into tight windows over the middle of the field and that really plays well to Parker Washington.

[D]

I ranked them this close just to sort of say like, listen, listen, I think you want shares of this offense. I think if you're doing best Ball. I have no problem taking multiple wide receivers in this range from the Jaguars and just sort of see who emerges as well. But I do think it's. I think you want pieces of this offense, but it's hard to plant a flag and say it's definitely this guy versus that guy.

[A]

Maybe the most surprising top 20 wide receiver last year in points per game was Michael Wilson.

[D]

Yeah, sure.

[A]

Because there's so many variables. You couldn't predict that he'd be great with Jacoby Brissett, he'd be great Without Marvin Harrison Jr. Matthew, how do you stack it up now that one of those two things is a lock for this year, but Marv will be back and the targets will be split.

[D]

Yeah. I mean, which is why Michael Wilson is now, you know, inside my top 40.

[A]

Right.

[D]

But not inside my top 10, which is where he, where he was last year, you know, when he was top 20 on a points per game basis. Here just. Look, the connection with Jacoby pressed is very real. He was, you know, he averaged over 16 fantasy points over almost 80 yards a game with Jacoby Brissette, obviously with Marvin Harrison there. Trey McBride, he's going to be the third option. But we expect under LaFleur, this to be a better offense. And I think what Michael Wilson proved is that he can play at this level at an elite, you know, he can play at an elite level in the league. In the, in the National Football League, as you like to say, Jay, as

[C]

well, as they say in England.

[D]

Right. In the organization. So, yeah, I mean, that's, that's where I am. You know, I think there's also. Because Marvin Harrison Jr. Has dealt with injuries throughout his career, there's just some upside there. I mean, whatever. 28 points per game in the, in the five games that MHA missed. Yeah. So, yes, I, I believe in. I don't think last year was a fluke from Michael Wilson. Do I think He's a top 10 wide receiver? No. But do I think he earned. Okay, you're going to be a part of this offense. There's going to be a package for you. There's going to be targets there for you to get.

[C]

Yeah. Also the Cardinals playing a division with the Monstars, like three super teams around there. And so I think they're going to be, you know, that's six games right there where they're going to be a negative game script.

[B]

I think he could get another one yard season, thousand yards. Not that crazy to get remembered way back when. Connor, I know you know, this guy was a third round pick. And what he probably would have went a round higher if he wasn't hurt a lot coming out of Costa. He a good player. It's just that it took this massive passing volume for us to finally see it.

[A]

All right, we're going to take our first break. When we're back, rankings continue. We got the tight ends right after this.

[D]

Foreign.

[A]

Starting this weekend on April 19, the NBA playoffs are on NBC and Peacock. That includes game two of Hawks Knicks on Monday, which Jay will most definitely be locked in on. Don't miss it.

[C]

Love my Hawks.

[A]

You a Hawks man right now?

[D]

Bird up.

[C]

Yes.

[D]

It works for all Atlanta teams.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

But who would you rather seen them play his first round, the Knicks or the Cavs?

[C]

I'll take my chances against the Knicks.

[A]

We'll see how it goes.

[D]

Sure. Well, listen, Connor, you, Congratulations on the upcoming birth of your son. Luckily he wasn't here to see yet

[A]

another runner up Trope.

[D]

Another runner up Trope.

[A]

First against Todd Zeal, then in our NBA league of assholes. I'm actually, I'm not going to lie, pretty proud of a second place finish for a sport that going into the draft I outside of the Knicks, I don't have much knowledge on Medium show the champ, by the way.

[D]

Medium show the champ. Congratulations.

[A]

Great debut year for Medium Show.

[D]

To Zach, our our researcher. Medium show takes home the title. My team was injured the entire year.

[A]

Well, welcome to the NBA.

[D]

Yeah, it was brutal. I had a brutal year.

[C]

Your team was carried by Dyson Daniels, barrier thief. My fellow Victorian.

[A]

This is good drafting by me. You can tell. I draft the players that I hear you ran randomly. I had a guy named Jokic.

[D]

Who's that?

[A]

A little guy named Jalen Brunson.

[D]

And yeah, all those helped. Most important was that like I was rooting for you. I was happy the Medium show won. It was just as long as backup producer Pete didn't win.

[A]

I did my duty.

[D]

Yeah, 100%. 100%.

[A]

That's really what we all strive for. All right, tight end rankings, let's take a look at 1 through 10. A group that does see a lot of movement year to year. Maybe not at the top, but Trey McBride, Brock Bowers. I think number three is the big one here. Matthew, that is Colson Loveland who finished his rookie season on such a high note. Yeah.

[D]

For the five games in which he saw at least a 20% target share, including the playoffs, he scored over 20 fantasy points. Final eight games, including the playoffs, over 25% target share. And I think what's most important and the reason why I have Loveland over Warner fan and some of the other, you know, second year tight ends is that his average depth to target was over nine. He had the second highest among tight ends with at least 50 targets like they were targeting down the field. This wasn't just like Dinkin stuff, you know, short yardage stuff. Like they're using him like as a big wide receiver. You know, you think about the famous play with, you know, Williams against the packers where a little push off in the corner but like they're using them like as a deep, as a deep threat. And so again, second year in the system, no DJ Moore. So there's more target share that's opened up. Think Loveland's due for a monster year. That's why I'm number three.

[A]

Are we slightly overlooking Tucker Kraft who looked like one of the best pass catchers in the NFL before he got hurt?

[B]

I think so. When you get hurt in the first part of the season and you're not like a household name, look, we, we still talk about guys like Mark Andrews in a different way, but we still talk about them. Right. So guys with names like Tucker Craft gets thrown under the bus when he was tight end one in fantasy points per game, game in weeks one through eight. That is no small sample size there. And now that they've cut off, you know, some of the dead weight in the receipt in the past catching room. Romeo Dobbs is gone. You still got Christian Watson there. But Tucker Kraft was the main receiver for Jordan Love that first half of the season. So I expect him to get right back to it. Maybe he won't be tight end one, but tight end five ish is you could expect that.

[C]

There's going to be a lot of, of angst around the packers receiving options again. It's going to be a lot of. This is the year for Matthew Golden. This is the year that Christian Watson stays healthy. It's going to be the tuck wagon again. He's going to be the number one option for Jordan Love. He's got the rapport there. He has the talent. He was a monster in terms of yards after the catch and he's young enough that you feel good about him returning off of this injury to get back to maybe not 100%, but close enough that I think that he will be an elite title.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, not just the red zone work, obviously, but the yards after the catches you mentioned. And I think just the fact that the packers were willing to say Romeo Dobbs and Dontavian Wicks. Let them both go. Tells you the confidence they have that Kraft is going to be back and be a big part of a passing attack that now has a much more narrower target tree. By the way, it was Cole Comet, not Colston Loveland, that caught the touchdown from Caleb Williams. So I got that wrong. So, you know, after being a week on vacation, there was a concern, would I be able to slip right back into my role? Would I be. But I am on Brand. So there you go.

[A]

Officially, no.

[D]

Yeah. The answer is no. The answer is yes. Like, I'm right on Brand. I made a mistake. You know, I'm slipping over words, drinking. I haven't knocked anything over yet, but

[C]

Seahawks won the super bowl, by the way.

[D]

I'm gonna write that one down, actually.

[C]

Bait the pats in the end.

[B]

Oh, crazy.

[A]

Drake Manning went mvp, came close. Very, very polarizing vote.

[D]

Yes. So anyway, I just wanted to clean that up. Apologies. But whatever the point on Loveland still makes the same. They still use him as a deep threat. They still use him, you know, down the field.

[A]

Landing spot dependent. When Kenyon Siddiq gets drafted, does he have a shot to sniff this top 10 if he went to the dream landing spot?

[C]

Baltimore is the dream, right?

[A]

Baltimore or Philly.

[D]

It's hard to. I mean, again. But like, I just feel like, yes, maybe, I suppose. Especially if one of the. But again, like you think of Baltimore, there's still. You're still going to have Mark Andrews. I was surprised that the Eagles brought back Dallas Goddard because I was told he was not coming back. That's what I put in my thing. And then he came back and Philly fans let me know that. Yeah, but he took a after like,

[B]

hey, man, take $20.

[A]

They kept pushing the boy back over and over to get it done.

[D]

I didn't think he would take literally half the salary after the year that he had, but he did either way. So, no, I think we love Sadiq, but I. And you'll see where he lands. But it's hard for me to get him into the top 10.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Maybe I could see him replacing Goddard.

[B]

I. I mean, even with Andrews there, though, like, them, them two, stylistically, those are different players who will be used in different ways. So it will for sure be interesting and is worth a look because he's with Lamar and we've seen what he's done with the tight end. So it would be interesting for him in Baltimore.

[D]

I'll say, say. I'll say there's a chance it's unlikely that he would be in my initial top 10 ranks, but he'll be on sleeper lists depending obviously on where he

[A]

lands 11 through 20.

[D]

This is a good list.

[A]

Yeah. George Kittle at 12 here obviously because of the injury. Otherwise he'd be a lock for the top five to 10, of course. And then it's a lot of upside, guys. Matthew, you have Isaiah likely in a new home with the Giants. Ronde Gadsden looked good when he played last year. Breton Strange missed a lot of last year, but he is one of the better tight ends in the league in terms of being well rounded as well.

[D]

Yeah. And I think when you think about stuff like Gadson who flashed John Harbaugh's coming and say Isaiah likely will get the ball a lot more than he did in Baltimore. He was one of the big first signings that Harbaugh made when he got to his new team and so. And we've seen when likely can get a decent target share. Juwan Johnson has a championship ring with me, of course, always there, I think. But because you have like usable tight ends in this range, I think drafting George Kittle later, you know who's going to be a top five tight end when he comes back and then just using likely a Gadson, a Juwan Johnson, a Brenton Strange, one of those guys to fill in for the first however long he's going to be out, I think is a viable strategy. Especially if you want to punt a tight end at the beginning of your draft.

[B]

That's the play, that's the way you got to do it. If you have George Kittle in mind, that basically means you're taking two late double digit round tight ends and a guy like Isaiah likely kind of fall under the radar. Hey, John Harbaugh said Isaiah likely is going to catch a lot of passes or have big numbers with the Giants or something like that. So if you take John Harbaugh word for it, he should really be ranked number four on your list and not 14.

[D]

Yeah. I'm just saying like if, you know, think about, especially because you think about opportunity cost. Yes, you have to use an extra roster spot, but especially assuming you're in a league that has an IR spot. I would rather have Kittle and one of these guys that we just talked about than say Sam Laporta that I got to take three rounds earlier or whatever. Right. You know, and so. Or two rounds earlier. And so I do think it's a, it's a pretty interesting strategy especially as we get more updates on Kittle's health.

[A]

All right, we're going to take our last break. When we're back, we had some interesting markets to follow. We're looking at the first and second wide receivers drafted on DraftKings for next week's NFL Draft. Right after this, New customers can bet $5 and get $300 in bonus bets if your bet wins down the app and use promo code FFHH when you sign up. Drafting Sportsbook.

[D]

Oh, the crown is yours.

[A]

The crown is yours. Time for last call. Let's take it the take a Look at the first wide receiver drafted odds on DraftKings as well as the second wide receiver odds right next to them. Jay, is there anything interesting on a board that Has Carnell Tate minus 500 to be the first one taken?

[C]

Yes, I think Tate is the most likely player to get drafted first overall among the receivers, but minus 500 implies that he is north of an 80% chance. And I think there might be a bit of scope for Jordan Tyson, your number one wide receiver. Connor, at plus 330 to go first. I know you like that, too.

[A]

I would call this 50. 50 right now. I have talked to multiple teams that have Tyson as the best receiver in this draft. There's obviously the medical hump that they have to get over, but. But he wouldn't be the number one receiver on their board if the medical concerns were a problem at this point. It's. It's close. It's going to be a mixed opinion between him and Carnell Tate, but you're saying over 80% by the odds. I would think it's more 50. 50. I'm surprised. And for that reason, I would play the plus 330 here.

[B]

Lawrence, I'm going to play him getting the second. Being the second receiver taking that plus 150. However, Connor, I'm going to sprinkle that, too.

[D]

Carnell Tate to be the second.

[B]

I'm sorry. Jordan Tyson.

[D]

Jordan Tyson. Got it.

[B]

Jordan Tyson. I'm playing Jordan Tyson to be the second receiver taking. However, today is April 16th. Tomorrow, April 17th, Jordan Tyson will have his private workout and those odds could change. So this plus 330 price for him being taken first might not be plus 330. Yesterday's price may not be today's price. So I would. I would take it like that.

[A]

Yeah, he shouldn't. He shouldn't be behind my Kai Lemon. Kai Lemon's favored to be second. I agree with you, Lawrence. I would play both of them if that's the case.

[D]

And how about Carnell Tate at plus 4? Hundred. Again, you're telling me it's a 50. Fifty. So if somebody, if one of the teams that likes Tyson more, you could easily see a team saying, wait a minute, Carnell Tate's still out there. And whether they trade up to try to get him or. I mean, I know the commanders, the commanders have talked to a lot of wide receivers. I know the commanders really like him. I think he's in play at seven potentially. Or even if as we talked about on, on Stock Exchange, them trading back

[A]

at 7, so 9. I think the bottom line is all of us are reading this the same. It's going to be Tyson Tate or Tate Tyson. And these odds don't indicate that. These odds indicate definitely Tate and then probably Makai Lemon. I don't think that's the case right now. And I think these will move in 48 hours.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

And also with, with great respect to Mr. King, these markets are not that solid and not that liquid.

[A]

They're volatile.

[C]

It's easier to beat draft markets than it is to beat the super bowl line. Whatever. So because they move off of information, they move up and down all the time. You know, C.J. stroud and Bryce Young going first overall. Flip violently Will Levis was like the favorite to go second overall briefly and then went outside the first round.

[A]

That one was.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Speaking of Matthew's debut on NFL Stock Exchange, my draft podcast. Wow. Did you hear his, his latest shenanigans he pulled off?

[C]

Oh, no. What is he, what's he done?

[A]

He.

[D]

Well, no, just I, I got a trade offer in, in my dynasty league and I. So, so my buddy Scott Barrett, who I love, by the way, he's a great sport. My buddy, Scott Barrett, him and his partner sent me a trade of because I had the number one overall pick this year. I've been rebuilding and they sent me tank Dell, the 110, RJ Harvey and somebody else.

[A]

Not great.

[D]

Somebody else.

[B]

Not great.

[D]

Yeah. I'm trying to. Right. For Quentin Johnson. I think for somebody like. Somebody like that. For 101. For the 101.

[B]

Let's send them a lot of stuff. Let's send them a lot of stuff.

[D]

Yeah. And so anyway, we brought it up on the, on the chat and anyway, Connor, your fans are very enthusiastic because they, they let Scott know.

[A]

All right.

[D]

It's close to dime. You don't have to go home, but you can stay here. Connor's got a mock draft on Wednesday. Congratulations, Kristen. Much love, Jay. Connor. May good luck in England. Peace out.