2025 Dynasty Rookie Rankings REFRESH! Rookie Tier List and Outliers (05/20 Fantasy Football Dynasty Podcast)

Summary

Fantasy Football Today: 2025 Dynasty Rookie Rankings REFRESH! Rookie Tier List and Outliers

Release Date: May 20, 2025
Hosts: Heath Cummings and Dan
Guests: (None explicitly mentioned)

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Introduction to Rookie Rankings Refresh

In this episode of Fantasy Football Today, host Heath Cummings and analyst Dan delve deep into the 2025 dynasty rookie rankings, offering fresh perspectives and updated tier lists based on the latest OTA reports, mock drafts, and expert analyses. The discussion centers around how recent developments have influenced player valuations and the strategic adjustments fantasy managers might consider when preparing for their drafts.

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Adjusting Player Valuations Post-Draft

Heath kicks off the discussion by addressing the reasons behind recent changes in player rankings despite the draft already being completed. He mentions the influx of new information from OTA reports, mock drafts, and Matt Waldman's post-draft rookie analysis, which have all contributed to reshaping their evaluations of certain rookies.

Heath Cummings [02:23]:
"The draft had already happened. Well, we've had a lot of OTA reports. We've had a lot of rookie mock drafts. I've had time to talk to some really smart you guys have heard these conversations. Some really smart Dynasty analysts."

Dan echoes Heath’s sentiment, emphasizing the value of participating in multiple mock drafts to gain a clearer picture of where players are falling in various formats, which in turn helps in projecting their future performance.

Dan [02:23]:
"Gaining that information through seeing not what others are doing, but just where these players are falling helps kind of build your plan and then you get a better feel for how you really want to project these players moving forward."

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Top Three Rookie Tiers and Notable Moves

Heath outlines his updated top three tiers in the rookie rankings, mentioning plans to publish an extensive top 50 list post-episode. He highlights his excitement about some players moving up and down in the rankings based on their fit within NFL schemes and their demonstrated skills.

Heath Cummings [05:00]:
"We're going to go over my updated top three tiers in the rookie rankings and when we finish this show I'm going to go back to the CMS system and I'm going to publish my updated top 50."

Dan [03:19]:
"I like to always go after the advanced stats and some of the analytics that can shape my opinion."

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Key Rookie Comparisons and Preferences

The hosts engage in a detailed comparison between specific rookies to determine which players offer better value in dynasty leagues.

Colston Loveland vs. Tyler Warren

Heath introduces the first debate between Colston Loveland and Tyler Warren, focusing on why he prefers Loveland despite Tyler’s late breakout before the draft.

Heath Cummings [03:19]:
"We're mostly going to talk about some guys I put on the rundown, but there are some names that I haven't moved as much as everyone thinks I should have after realizing I was an outlier."

Dan explains his preference for Loveland, citing Loveland’s film grade and scheme fit as major factors. He compares Loveland to Nico Collins, highlighting his route-running and potential within his NFL team's offensive system.

Dan [04:43]:
"The reason I lean toward Loveland is because he was the player I had a higher grade on from a film standpoint. And I think he reminds me a lot of Nico Collins..."

Heath expresses his concerns about Tyler Warren’s quarterback situation, especially after the draft, which has influenced his decision to lean towards Loveland.

Heath Cummings [06:27]:
"I was a little concerned about Warren's late breakout before the draft and now I'm a little bit worried about Warren's quarterback play after the draft."

Travis Hunter vs. Tet Toroa McMillan

The second debate centers on evaluating Travis Hunter against Tet Toroa McMillan, with Heath initially considering Tet but Dan advocating for Hunter based on his comprehensive skill set and fit within the Broncos' offense.

Dan [07:00]:
"I think Travis Hunter is the best receiver in this class. He does everything you want as a receiver besides maybe the deep speed, which we haven't seen tested."

Heath points out the early challenges in the Broncos' offense, particularly with quarterbacks, but remains open to adjusting his rankings based on new developments.

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Rookie Tiers Breakdown

Heath presents a tiered list of rookies, primarily focusing on wide receivers and running backs, tailored to different league formats like Super Flex and half PPR.

Heath Cummings [12:24]:
"If you told me it was a half PPR or non-PPR league, then Hampton probably moves up to pick two."

Dan [14:23]:
"The only player that would come across as maybe not belonging for me would be Judkins. I wasn't as high on his film."

Heath emphasizes the importance of positional needs post-tier 1, suggesting that managers tailor their picks based on their specific team requirements rather than sticking rigidly to the rankings.

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Rankings Risers: Players Moving Up

Heath discusses players who have recently moved up in his rankings, indicating unexpected improvements or better fit within their new teams.

Luther Burden

Luther Burden has moved up to WR27 in Heath's rankings, with Dan supporting this move based on Burden's performance in the slot and fit within the Bears' offensive scheme.

Dan [28:03]:
"He’s got a little Debo Samuel in his game. He’s got a thicker build than people realize in the lower half and he's good after contact."

Kyle Williams

Another significant riser is Kyle Williams, now at WR54, thanks to his versatile skill set and excellent fit within the Patriots' offense.

Dan [32:00]:
"He’s a smaller receiver, incredibly loose-hipped, can win at the intermediate and deep levels... He can run those routes as well. There's nothing he can't do in my opinion."

Heath notes that Kyle Williams joins Josh McDaniels’ scheme perfectly, comparable to players like Josh Downs.

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Trade Discussions and Strategy

The conversation shifts to evaluating potential trades and the strategic considerations involved in trading players like Christian McCaffrey for DeAndre Swift.

Christian McCaffrey for DeAndre Swift and a 2026 First

Heath presents a hypothetical trade scenario and seeks Dan's opinion on its viability.

Heath Cummings [46:13]:
"I think it's a very good offer if I'm trying to win this year."

Dan [47:13]:
"Personally, I don't like this deal for the side getting Swift in a first at all. I believe CMAC is likely to get back to being one of the best players in fantasy this year."

Dan advises against trading away McCaffrey for Swift, citing McCaffrey’s potential to be a top performer and Swift’s uncertainties within the Bears' offense.

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Addressing Listener Questions

The hosts address several listener-submitted questions, providing tailored advice based on their expertise.

Question: Trading to Move Up in the Draft

Mike asks about trading from the 103rd pick to the 101st pick to acquire Ashton Genti.

Heath Cummings [56:19]:
"I might trade him for 103 and a 2026 first and a 2027 first and just add two future firsts and take Travis Hunter or Cam Ward and then just keep rebuilding."

Dan responds by expressing the difficulty of justifying moving up for Genti without giving away too much value, emphasizing the importance of strategic depth over minor positional upgrades.

Dan [56:19]:
"I still prefer Genti, I think it's going to be very tough for him to..."

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Rookie Waiver Wire Insights

Lou asks for advice on adding Justin Fields from the waiver wire, considering his performance with the Bears and potential as a fantasy quarterback.

Heath Cummings [53:57]:
"He's one of the best values at the quarterback position because people are so concerned about whether he can actually play quarterback in the NFL that they just give up on his upside."

Dan advises similar, highlighting Fields’ potential and the willingness to invest a significant portion of the budget to secure him if needed.

Dan [54:09]:
"I'm willing to spend 60, 65% in one QB even in one QB."

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Final Thoughts and Conclusions

Heath concludes the episode by reiterating the importance of staying updated with the latest information to make informed decisions in dynasty leagues. Both hosts emphasize adaptability and the need to continuously reassess player values based on evolving team dynamics and player performances.

Heath Cummings [57:01]:
"Ashton Genti is the guy that you have to overpay for. If I was trading down from 101 to 103, it would probably be a rebuild situation where I didn't think I was going to win in the next two years anyways."

Dan [57:00]:
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

They thank listeners for their participation and tease future episodes where they will continue to provide in-depth analysis and updates to help fantasy managers dominate their leagues.

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Notable Quotes

• Heath Cummings [02:23]:
  "There's so much information to consume, Dan. We're never going to get through all of it, but there's been some changes over the last month in terms of our valuations of these players, right?"

• Dan [04:43]:
  "I think Loveland is a longer player with better route running and a better upside in the seam and intermediate area of the field."

• Heath Cummings [05:00]:
  "Ashton Genti is on an island. He's a first-round pick in any format, whether it's dynasty or redraft."

• Dan [47:13]:
  "Personally, I don't like this deal for the side getting Swift in a first at all."

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Conclusion

This episode of Fantasy Football Today offers a comprehensive analysis of the 2025 dynasty rookie class, providing listeners with nuanced insights into player valuations, strategic draft picks, and potential trades. Heath Cummings and Dan leverage their expertise to guide fantasy managers through the complexities of dynasty leagues, ensuring they are well-equipped to dominate their competitions with informed decisions and strategic foresight.

Transcript

[Heath Cummings]

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[Dan]

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[Dan]

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[Heath Cummings]

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[Dan]

Definitely. And I think you can learn information from just doing as many drafts as we have in this last month. I know for you you've done a ton. I feel like I've done a TON I've done 10, I think 11 rookie drafts already. A few of those are mocks and then eight of them were my dynasty leagues that I'm in. Luckily a lot of them best ball. So I feel like gaining that information through seeing not what others are doing, but just where these players are falling helps kind of build your plan and then you get a better feel for how you really want to project these players moving forward in my mind at least. And then like you said, there's all this information you can consume and you should always be changing your opinions. I don't, oh, I don't like to always go just based on my film evaluations, which is primarily what I do in the pre draft process. I like to then go after the advanced stats and some of the analytics that can shape my opinion and even just the projections like I was looking at your projections for a lot of other players that aren't, you know, these rookies. But they're on their team and I can learn a lot through that.

[Heath Cummings]

And I will tell you there's a couple names that I will bring up also in the show we're mostly going to talk about some guys I put on the rundown, but there are some names that I haven't moved as every much as everyone thinks I should have after realizing I was an outlier. So we'll, we'll leave some of those outliers conversations. I will say we're going to go over my updated top three tiers in the rookie rankings and when we finish this show I'm going to go back to the CMS system and I'm going to publish my updated top 50. I believe it's eight tiers rookie rankings and you guys can go through those and find lots of things that you want to argue with. Dan may even have to send me a message and say, Heath, did you mean to have this player at number 38 in your rookie rankings? We'll talk more about him later, but we always start with three questions for our guest. And thankfully my guest Dan has been hard at work over the last couple of months writing about rookies. And most recently, Dan, you've done something really fun. You've kind of paired two similarly valued players and had a little debate with yourself. I don't know if that's the right way to phrase it, but about which one we should prefer. And so that's what our three questions will be about today. And let's just start with one that was seems like it was more of a debate before the draft than it is now but, but Colston Loveland or Tyler Warren and why.

[Dan]

Yeah, this one's really interesting and I've had this, I've had this decision twice already in Dynasty. Both times I did go with Colston Loveland. Now I think they're totally different prospects players and I think they'll be used in totally different ways. The reason I lean toward Loveland is because he was the player I had a higher grade on from a film standpoint. And I think he reminds me a lot of Nico Collins in the sense of both were in systems and situations at the collegiate level where they couldn't have their skill set really shine because of quarterback play and because of the offensive scheme. I think Loveland's joining a perfect scheme for his skill set with obviously, obviously the comparison. Like I don't want to totally draw to the comparison to Sam Laporta because I was going to go there, but I think they are different players. I think Loveland's a longer player with better route running and a better upside in the up the seam and in that intermediate area of the field. But I do see where what Ben Johnson means when he compares those two players, I see that he says in the way that they operate within his scheme and that's kind of what I'm looking at Loveland as a player who will be used within his scheme early and often and will be a key cog in helping them move the ball. Warren, on the other hand, a player whose skill set I also like. I do think Steichen has a plan for him and I think that like I mentioned on I think a previous Dynasty pod with you Heath or at some point I think he's kind of used as a quarterback solver in some ways as that easy button solution for bad quarterback play as I like to call it between Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson. Unfortunately they're just not efficient at keeping a rhythmic passing game going or I haven't proven to be just yet. And I think he can be that outlet. But I think in from a dynasty standpoint, I'd rather go with the player who has a little bit more upside, who's tied to the much better quarterback situation. I still have massive belief in Caleb Williams and whose offensive scheme and coach I trust a little bit more.

[Heath Cummings]

I was a little, I was, you know, I was a little concerned about Warren's late breakout before the draft and now I'm a little bit worried about Warren's quarterback play after the draft. I will say we've already got a question early in the the comments I'VE started that question. Alyssa we will get to that question after the second break. Thank you for the people telling me I had no sound for about 15 seconds there. I have sound now. I assume you can hear me. Let's get to the second question for Dan Travis Hunter or Tet Toroa McMillan and why.

[Dan]

Yeah, so I am not personally going to care about these social media clips flying around of Travis Hunter doing some skills competition or running a route at otas where he doesn't really look the cleanest getting in and out of his break at the top of the stem. Because I watched a lot of tape of Travis Hunter, Heath more tape of Hunter than any receiver in this class besides Trey Harris. Because I was studying Shador Sanders as a potential option for the Giants and I saw plenty of examples of him getting out in and out of his breaks at the top of the route stem better than any receiver in this class. Now some will say some of these route come combination. You know some of the route concepts they used them on were gimmicky. I don't think I totally believe that. I think if you look back at the tape of league neighbors and some of the best receivers in the NFL, even Brian Thomas, you could say that that LSU scheme was gimmicky. The reality is these are high level athletes who have unbelievable hip flexion and and lower half flexibility and the ability from an athletic and lateral agility standpoint to get in and out of their breaks and create separation. Travis Hunter is that player. So I still think he's the best receiver in this class. As I said four months ago on film, I think he does he everything you want as a receiver besides maybe the deep speed which we haven't seen tested. And I don't think it will matter much because he can get vertical and stack defensive backs better than most receivers in this class. So I'm going with the better player. I also personally still believe somehow in Trevor Lawrence as a thrower of the football. Maybe not to the extent I did at first, but I believe enough that his skill set can take advantage of Hunter. Especially if defenses are going to start and they will shading coverage. George Brian Thomas Jr. Because he demands and deserves that. On the flip side, Tet could be the number one for Carolina. He could ultimately be a high target player and Bryce Young took a massive step forward. Jacob Gibbs just did a breakdown. Heath I don't know if you saw this of like all quarterbacks 20 plus air yards and Bryce Young was top 10 and that was despite having the second highest drop rate among his receivers that doesn't drop a lot of passes. That's one thing I like a lot about him and so he could be that immediate player for him. But I trust the situation and the talent more for Hunter.

[Heath Cummings]

Yeah, I think like I even I am open to Trevor Lawrence being okay this year. I did think it was comical that one of the comments we got out of OTAs yesterday was that he overthrew Travis Hunter for interception. Yeah, hopefully we don't have too many more of those. Listen, these practices in May don't mean a whole lot. Although there's one guy that something popped up yesterday that bothered me because it's been a problem his whole collegiate career. But we'll talk about that in just a little bit. Question number three There's a, there's a tier of three wide receivers. You're going to talk about two of them right now, Matthew golden and Emeka Igbuka. I will say golden is still one of my outliers. He I still like a lot of people seem to be doubting his situation or his talent in Green Bay. I still think he has after Tet and Travis Hunter the best chance to go in and be a number one wide receiver for his team in year one or year two. But how did you break down golden?

[Dan]

The net Buga I wanted to go back because I felt like I didn't watch enough golden. So I went back before I did this article and just watched a lot of golden and I went back to even watching some of him at Houston and I kind of came away really impressed with what I saw on the Houston tape and ultimately I came close to saying, suggesting, you know, similar to the Loveland situation, quarterback play really held him back in Texas. Yours was just the player he was supposed to be from a ball placement standpoint and this was the same case with AD Mitchell watching his tape here before. So I became away thinking that there is more and I'm pretty sure this is why the packers drafted him so high. They probably looked at the Houston tape and been like this is a guy who's really good after the catch at Houston. We didn't see that a lot at Texas. So I ultimately think he is going to fit that system because that system, that Matt lafor Shanahan Tree principal system does require receivers to A be good on in breakers and B be good after the catch because there's a lot of space to work with in the middle of the field. So I think the fit is really good. I think the talent is really good. But I Also like Iguka and he was one of my favorite receivers coming into this draft and I have heard some whispers out of Tampa that Godwin's recovery is not going according to schedule and that could take a little bit longer and that could be the opportunity we need to get a going early. But I think ultimately long term from a dynasty standpoint, I prefer golden from a talent standpoint and from a situation.

[Heath Cummings]

Standpoint, I I am taking Golden. I like both. I like the other guy in that tier a lot as well. So we'll talk about him just a little bit later. But I I think man it I've really struggled with the Godwin situation.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Heath Cummings]

Because of the extension that they did with him.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Heath Cummings]

I don't understand why if there was uncertainty about him this year at his age, why you give him that ext maybe I've put too much weight on that. There's certainly been lots of times where we've thought why did they pay this guy this much and kind of based our rankings based on that. And then it turned out well, it didn't mean anything at all. Yeah. So I I do think like Buka was probably the most polished I thought of the trio between Burden, Abuka and Golden and maybe the most ready to contribute immediately, but also has a mountain to climb in terms of target competition. Let's take our first break. When we get back, we'll talk about my top three tiers in the rookie rankings. This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Knowing you could be saving money for.

[Dan]

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[Heath Cummings]

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[Dan]

So for me the only player that would come across as maybe not belonging for me would be Judkins. I wasn't as high on his film, I wasn't as high in his profile. I do like the athletic traits. Obviously that 10 yard split was elite and shows like this could be a guy who could diagnose quick and get across the line of scrimmage if he can diagnose quickly. I just look at some of the other stuff with Judkins. One his production profile. You know he fell off against Power 4 competition. We talked about someone on the other podcast he struggled in past production. Never had a lot of pass production reps at Ole Miss, never had a lot of pass protection reps at Ohio State and ultimately even his avoided tackle rate and yards after contact fell against non power four against power four competition. So I think about him overall. I understand the Browns made a massive draft capital in him but their offensive line while still solid is not what it used to be. That run game has not been as elite as it has in the past and their quarterback situation is really uncertain and will be for some time. Like maybe you can suggest that that will improve next year but it could just be a rookie and that could be a struggle as well for next off season. So I just think it could take some time with Judkins and I'm not a total believer in his talent versus the rest of this group. This is just a very high end group.

[Heath Cummings]

So I've kind of said that like once you get past the first couple players it's really just what position do you need? Like I think taking cam ward at 102 if you need a quarterback makes all the sense in the world. If you need a running back or a wide receiver, take your favorite of that group. But could you see a situation like how many running backs could you see yourself taking over? McMillan. Right now I have four, Henderson, Hampton, Judkins and of course Genti.

[Dan]

Yeah, for me it would be everybody but Judkins and the Henderson one is interesting. I've been in that situation. I wasn't YOLO in our league and you know I'm not a big running back guy typically in Dynasty, but I had to go with Henderson over tet because Henderson is I went into this draft saying this is my RB3 in this class. Why would if he joins a situation like the Patriots where I love Drake May and I like what they're doing. They still have always go on the O line but I like what they're doing there. Why would I not still have him up there? He does everything well. He pass protects well. He's electric in the passing game as a receiver. He can run a wider routery than anyone in this class at the running back position. Besides maybe like I couldn't even think of anybody who could run it so. Plus he's an explosive runner as well and has really good stats to back that up. Avoided tackle rates and yards after contact so he's pretty much a complete back. Just hasn't really been used that way except for his first season with Ohio State. But when he was used that way at Ohio State he was dominant then too from a total production standpoint. So ultimately I would say that those are the three for me. I don't know if anyone else will creep in there though. I am a huge at least if your standard league's a huge Caleb Johnson fan.

[Heath Cummings]

We are going to talk about Caleb Johnson and RJ Harvey, who I know some people have Harvey up in this tier because of the landing spot with with Sean Payton in Tier 3. Let's get to that. I've got Matthew Golden, Luther Burden, Caleb Johnson, Ameka abuka, Colston Loveland, R.J. harvey, Jackson Dart. I know a lot of you play in tight end premium leagues. In a tight end premium league for me, Loveland gets a Boost up into that top a tier two right behind Genty. I think you could take him as early as pick four or pick five depending on what type of bonus you were getting for tight end premium catches. But I want to talk first about Johnson versus Harvey. We won't spend too much time on Burden here because when we get to the rankings risers, that is one of the first guys that I want to talk about that's moved up for me since the NFL draft. But it's golden. Burden, Johnson, Ibuka, Loveland, Harvey and Dart. I think any of those guys you could conceivably take in the second half or last four picks of round one of a rookie draft. How do you separate Johnson and Harvey and say a half PPR league?

[Dan]

So I probably should have mentioned Harvey above as somebody I would actually consider taking over Tet Harvey going into this draft class. Harvey and Cam scatter. Boo. And you could look back just, just so for those who'll be like, oh, he's a giant fan. He's just saying it now. I said it way before the draft. There's receipts to prove it. But those were the two felt like would be the best value picks in this draft class based on my evaluation of them on tape. The reason I liked Harvey so much was he just brought everything to the table. An insane avoided tackle rate and insane yards after contact. That efficiency you want. When you watch him, you understand he understands how to process the, the blocking scheme and find and pick his crease and go for it. So that's the explosive type of talent that I think Sean Payton, who's proven throughout his career he can design running games and offenses for Will utilize. And I feel like, I always felt like watching his film that there was meat left on the bone from his receiver. And then I look at the last two seasons and Javante Williams almost had 100 receptions over the last few seasons. Javante Williams. So for half PPR and ppr I do have to put him ahead of Caleb Johnson. He'd probably be there for me in any format though. I like Caleb Johnson as well and the reason I like Caleb so much is the immediacy for him. I think he ultimately takes over this Naji role like this because he's a perfect fit for Arthur Smith's scheme. Probably why they drafted him. He's great for the outside zone. Arthur scheme ran out. Arthur Smith ran outside zone more than any coach in the NFL last year. And their offensive line has a lot of first and second round talent investments. The Steelers, they start to play really Good football toward the end of the year, specifically in the run game. I think they take another jump this year. So I feel like he's got everything going for him there. A coach who wants to run the football, a scheme that fits his skill set, that he needed. He needed to join an outside zone scheme, Caleb Johnson and then also an offensive line that's on the upward trend. So both of these players really fit well, which is kind of why I think Heath. I've been in a situation where I'm on the board and I'm taking both of these guys over Burden, over Golden and at times over Loveland and Tyler Warren as well.

[Heath Cummings]

You have turned into a running back lover just for this dynasty, just for this class. It is a very good class, and I'm not trying to discount that. And I wouldn't have a problem with taking Harvey that early. I didn't have quite as much of a love for him before the draft, and I think it's almost double counting that. Some people got excited about Harvey because they thought that he might be a day three pick and he was going to be a fantastic value. And then Sean Payton drafts him earlier than anyone anticipated, I think. And so now he gets the boost because, well, look, he got a better draft capital than we expected. And Sean Payton kind of maybe reached for him, but also he was one of my favorite values. Well, he's not a value anymore. Yeah, he's, he's being drafted as if he was one of the top four or five running backs in this class.

[Dan]

Right.

[Heath Cummings]

And I'm just, I, I First off, like, we all have different opinions on how much we value what Sean Payton wants. I think that'll show up in my Pat Bryant ranking as well when you read on the site, because I'm not, I'm not ranking him very high. I do think that what Sean Payton really loves to DO is use 17 different offensive weapons in the same game. He's like, he thinks you get a bonus if eight different players catch a pass in a game and five different players have a rush attempt. So I. What type of volume do you think that Harvey is looking like? Maybe in terms of a year one expectation and then in terms of an upside. Does he have the upside to be like a true workhorse?

[Dan]

I believed he did going into the draft. That was part of why I liked him. I didn't see any area of his game besides maybe pass production, which could stand to improve and I think will and I think he has signs of being able to, that really would hold him back from that opportunity, he was a workhorse at ucf. The question is, does Sean Payton care about that? And there has been times where he's used a back as I don't want to call a workhorse what he did with Alvin Camara. But you know, close to a workhorse. That's the closest it gets for Sean Payton. And so you look at this offense and Payton's already said, you know, he said in OTAs, I don't really see any reason to take Harvey off the field for passing downs because, and this makes sense if you watch Denver's offense or the Saints offense in the past, I'm passing downs a lot of these times, the running backs used in the route. That's how Sean Payton runs his offense. And I know he can do that Harvey. So I look at the depth chart, he's estimate who I like more than most and I liked a lot in last year's class and I was shunned on recent FFT pod. Adam laughed off my take that I like estimate potentially even more than Javante Williams. I took it back, I walked it back. But I could see a case where you where he'll have a better season. But outside of like estimate McLaughlin, like, I don't really see much competition here for Harvey. So I think he could actually be in that role very early in his career with the Broncos.

[Heath Cummings]

Yeah, there's really, I mean, there's two guys left that can move into an offense as the potential hammer in the offense. It's Nick Chubb, who had another social media video out today and looks fantastic. And there's J.K. dobbins, who was really good at times last year for the Chargers. I, I think people are more worried about what they might do in Dallas or Chicago. Nobody's really thinking Denver right now, and that might be right. As of right now, you can just tell me too high, too low or just right. I have Harvey projected for 269 touches as a rookie.

[Dan]

No, I think that's probably just right because we still have to remember that regardless of if it doesn't look like there's a lot of competition on the depth chart. Sean Payton, like you said, likes to use a lot of different backs and receivers and tight ends.

[Heath Cummings]

Now here's the other thing I will say just about Sean Payton's offense the last three seasons with a variety of quarterbacks. He's. His teams have had 30, 28 and 29 passing touchdowns. Running backs have had a total of 18 rushing touchdowns in those three seasons. So I, I also don't have a super high touchdown projection on Harvey. But let's, let's not talk as much about somebody I'm low on. Let's talk about Jackson Dart, who I think is going to find his way. Either if a team at the end of round one needs a quarterback, he's going to go there or he's going to fall to early round two. I know we had a report that came out that Adam referenced on yesterday's pod that Dart could sit his entire rookie season. Listen, this was not a good quarterback class. It was not one that we were. There's a reason that in Super Flex we only have one surefire first round pick at the quarterback position. Where are you at on Dart? I've seen him go everywhere from 105 to 205 in my rookie drifts and.

[Dan]

I think that's a great, you know, indicator of just why it's so fun to play in Super Flex. Because I just saw a trade go down in one of my Super Flex leagues. A first and two seconds for Jared Goff. And that's the state of desperation that it is for quarterbacks. You know, Gino Smith went for, I think, a first in one of my other leagues. When you don't have them, it's very hard to get them. So I can understand why anyone would go up top to get Jackson Dart. I ultimately think that report that he won't play that this year is totally dependent on if the Giants can win football games with Russell Wilson. And that remains to be determined. They have the hardest schedule in football. If you look throughout, there's just game after game where you're like, I don't know if they're going to have any chance to win this game. They're only favored preseason in one game against the Saints. So if they lose enough football games, Heath, we will see Jackson Dart. I mean, I. They could go to Jameis Winston maybe, but there's nothing to really gain for that from a future standpoint. This, of course is as long as the offensive line stays healthy, they're not going to put in mind an injured old line. They'll just sit him. But I think you'll get some Jackson Dart starts this year. There's also the opportunity of him playing earlier than people expect. In 2019, no one expected Daniel Jones to play and he was starting by week four. And that was very unexpected. People are like, ah, maybe he'll play week 10, week 12 teams go to these rookies earlier than you expect. The coaches love them. They draft them for a reason. Brian Dable loves Jackson Dart. That's the reason he's on this team. It's not Joe Shane. You can hear it when the Giants dropped their like post draft video where they were like Jack where Shane was like we got your guy and there was a lot of your to Brian Dable. So Brian Dable could easily put him in earlier than people expect. He's the one making these decisions. So I think it's fine to draft Dart up top. It's with any of these quarterbacks you're really just drafting into the you're drafting with the idea of if they end up starting a lot of football games they'll be well worth passing on Colston Loveland or whoever it may be.

[Heath Cummings]

So I think my my last question with Dart and then we'll move on to some of my biggest risers over the last month is I I would like in a super flex league one of two things out of my quarterback a rock solid floor or a sky high ceiling.

[Dan]

Okay.

[Heath Cummings]

Does Dart have either one of those?

[Dan]

No, I don't think he does.

[Heath Cummings]

So so right. Like we because we really don't know the the big risk and the reason we say he doesn't have a rock solid floor is there is a possibility that maybe he gets to start around week 10 or week 11. The Giants go four and 13.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Heath Cummings]

He's not particularly good in the second half of his rookie year which we really shouldn't expect. And then an entirely new or new GM head coach everything shows up and has a top five pick and Jackson Dart never gets a chance to be a full time starter.

[Dan]

It's possible that if a new staff new regime comes in they could easily draft a quarterback next year and trade Dart for like a three or four or something like that. And then now he's in a situation we'll probably never start in the NFL unless that team really believes in him who trades for him. So that's definitely possible. And it provides that floor that you just mentioned. I do think which and that's a great point I think the the real case for his floor is just that you really didn't see much processing in that offense at Ole Miss. It was a lot of first read stuff. So that's just a guess as far as like how process NFL defenses which provides that huge floor potential low floor situation.

[Heath Cummings]

I'm saving most of the questions for the end of the show. Still plenty of time to get those in there. But whenever we have a timely question Matt asks a very good question. Am I wrong to think that the S in Jackson is a bit redundant or what the X sounds makes in a name.

[Dan]

That's a great question. Yeah, I think so and I had to get used to that as well.

[Heath Cummings]

All right, rankings risers. Luther Burden is Now my wide receiver 27 and dynasty as you can see. As you just saw he's up to 109 in my rookie rankings and I am just intoxicated right now Dan with the possibility and we I mean first we had the rookie camp where everything he did was out of the slot. We know what has happened in the slot and Ben Johnson's offense the last couple years with the Monroe St. Brown and then I read Waldman's and I'm not going to give it away. I'll just say that Matt Waldman's higher on Luther Burden than I am at 109 and it's not one spot and I read his write up and he just flat out assumes that Burden is going to take that ARSB rule in this offense and what Burden skill set after the catch and what he can do in those short area targets. My goodness, I could be way too low at 109 on Luther Burton.

[Dan]

We could be low on him because and it will require that Bears offense to click and they did make crazy improvements on their interior offensive line and obviously with the weapons. And then you just got to hope that Caleb plays better football because he wasn't very good last year. I do believe he can. But you're right because when I watched his tape in Missouri I was like this is the part that no one talks about with Burden and I saw a few people do did talk about him. He's got a little Debo Samuel in his game. He's got a thicker build than people realize in the lower half and he's good after contact and he's good at taking contact and really staying upright. And so that's kind of like we thought about like who's going to play this ARSB role? Is it D.J. moore? Possibly, but he's not the same kind of player. He's. He's a strong player but not like the level of Luther Burden and is it Romo Dunes and that never really made sense to me. He's always been better on the outside. Contested catches situations give him a ball up top and let him use his length and his contested catch ability. So it does make sense that Burden would be this guy and he moved up my rankings as well because before the draft Heath I was like I don't really know what to make of this guy. If The NFL likes him. I'm probably gonna like him more because that means a team really believes in him. And if he falls, it's kind of like, well, the talent we can't pass on, but we don't know how to use him in Year one. I think the Bears will be one of the few teams that do know how to use them in Year one. So I. I do like him a lot.

[Heath Cummings]

Yeah, I think that there's people that are worried that he'll play the Jameson Williams role or the Khalif Raymond role. Yeah, like, there's a risk with Burden because he's not shown a complete skill set on. On tape yet. But man, like, where. Where else do you want him to go?

[Dan]

Like, what I will say is this though. One caveat is this. I do kind of think just from watching his tape and they're probably not going to do this, that Colson Loveland can play that role. I really do believe that. Yeah, he is not a slow player by any means and he's a long player who could really do stuff after the catch and really just in that whole like seam and intermediate area of the field be an absolute weapon. So I would just keep an eye on how Loveland is used in camp.

[Heath Cummings]

Player number two is a guy I was probably. It was definitely too low on. I've moved him up now, but Kyle Williams for the New England Patriots. I had him in round three coming out. He's now wide receiver 54 in dynasty. He's up to round two. Where's what I'd like for you to do, Dan? Because for me it's all about. Yes. You look at that depth chart, there is a clear opportunity to go be the number one wide receiver in this offense with a quarterback and Drake May that we are both very excited about. I have him in the big burger league by the way, if you'd like to try to acquire him. And. And Josh McDaniel's offense, which has been kind of a mixed bag for wide receivers, but there have been some good performances out there. But do you. Is there any reason or anything you can tell me about Kyle Williams that is actually going to get me more excited about the player because this moving him up even and I drafted him in round two and one of my rookie drafts already. It feels for me almost entirely situational based.

[Dan]

Oh, so I. I'm the opposite with Kyle Williams. I think we talked about this maybe on the last pod or maybe off pot or one of the regular FFT episodes. But he was a receiver who I loved Pre draft, well, well before he got drafted situation, which is obviously amazing for him. The is that he fits the prototype of receiver that I think tends to work more in the NFL. Smaller receiver, incredibly loose hipped, gets in and out of his brakes, can win in the intermediate level, can win in the deep level, can win in the short level. 4, 4 speed as well. So this is a player who I think will be a slot in the NFL. It makes more sense. You know who reminds me a lot of actually Josh Downs. A ton like Josh Downs. Just a little bit of a better vertical player than Downs and maybe not as good in that short area, like, like whip route type stuff, but he can run those routes as well. There's not anything he can't do in my opinion. So he was a player I always thought would be, I'd be higher on. And then I was like, will the NFL see it and will the NFL drafted eyes? Because we don't want to draft too high. At least in Dynasty, we don't want to draft these guys who are like round four or five picks. The NFL saw it. And now he joins Josh McDaniels like the best possible fit in my opinion for his skill set. And Drake May and I just referenced Josh Downs, a player he reminds me of who Drake May was unbelievable with at UNC watching their tape together. So for me it sky is the limit. Like I've moved him up even higher than you have him at 210. And it's just a matter of believing in the talent and believing in the situation and the quarterback fit.

[Heath Cummings]

So I want to talk about some other wide receivers that I do have ahead of him and see if you prefer him to all of these guys. Kyle Williams or Trey Harris.

[Dan]

Now you got a guy I really love and Trey Harris.

[Heath Cummings]

I'm going Harris, Kyle Williams or Jack Bish.

[Dan]

I'll go Kyle Williams there.

[Heath Cummings]

And is that more about the situation or the player?

[Dan]

There's such different players. Like if Besh hits his stealing, he's gonna be a freak at the NFL level. Like a Cooper cup puka type animal slot guy who just can't be taken down. But I would say it's more situation based there.

[Heath Cummings]

And just to make sure. Kyle Williams or Jaden Higgins.

[Dan]

No, I just have to go Jaden Higgins there.

[Heath Cummings]

Okay, so you've got him similar to where I do amongst receivers. Yeah, just, just, just ahead of Besh would be the only difference. I've got a couple running backs maybe that are ahead of them that you wouldn't.

[Dan]

Yeah, maybe QBs as well that I don't have there.

[Heath Cummings]

Right. The Jalen Milroe and Super Flex conversation is an impossible one to have. It's just you have to decide when you're ready to throw that lottery ticket out there and see if it caches my the the third big riser was someone I just kind of ignored after the NFL draft. But now we're hearing the Cowboys might be done at running back and Jadon Blue may be competing with Miles Sanders, Javante Williams and Phil Mafa and Deuce Vaughn. Four touches at the running back position. I've seen some really positive things about what Blue can do in space and as a pass catcher. So he is up to 2.12 for me, which is a little higher, I think, than consensus. But right at that 2, 3 turn. Did you have any opinions on Blue as a player before the Cowboys took him and have you? Have you come up with any sense?

[Dan]

No, I did because I watched a lot of Texas tape with between his viewers and the players and I did think he was their best playmaker besides golden and at times a better playmaker in space. He's an explosive player. Obviously the 40 time shows up, but you could just see it on tape in space. And the question just kind of becomes will that body type hold up at the NFL level? Because he was never really used in that role at Texas. He had a lot of backs in front of him that have been drafted into the NFL. I don't necessarily know if he can fit that role with the Cowboys, but I do know that they've done a really good job of these of like kind of maximizing these space players in that offense. So. And specifically in that scheme last year with Schadenheimer, I don't know why I'm blanking on his name. The guy they resigned at Turpin, like they really did a good job maximizing. So I think maybe he's more of that type of player in year one ultimately, like despite the lack of competition at running back. But I definitely have to move them up because I like the fit, I like the offensive line and I just like the situation there with Dak at quarterback.

[Heath Cummings]

We're going to take our second break. I'm going to ask Dan about anybody else who he's changed his opinion on in the last month. I'm gonna highlight a couple of my rank rookie rankings outliers and Dan can tell me if I'm crazy or not. We'll be back right after this.

[Dan]

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[Heath Cummings]

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[Dan]

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[Heath Cummings]

Required int months only then full price.

[Dan]

Plan options available, taxes and fees, extra.

[Heath Cummings]

Fee, full [e-mail] we'll start with you Dan. Who else besides the guys I've talked about here today have you changed? And it could be guys that were in the tiers that we talked about, just not the rankings risers. Who else have you changed your opinion on or moved up or down your rookie draft board?

[Dan]

Sure. So we'll start with Dylan Sampson, player who I just freaking loved watching at Tennessee, but I gotta move him down my board because he joins a Cleveland Browns team that drafted Judkins way ahead of him and I don't like their QB situation. So that is not a good one for me. Harold Fannin Jr. Another guy I absolutely loved watching on tape and thought was insanely underrated from a reduction standpoint. Even at a three cone that was as good as Laporta and Cenote. But I don't like the Brown situation at all at quarterback and I don't understand how it's going to get better. Like like next year I guess they'll draft one again but I just don't want to really be part of that. I think that could be something that also takes a lot of time so I had to move him down my board as well. DJ Giddens was a player I liked watching on tape. Don't love that fit in Indianapolis. He moves down my board. A lot of players moving down but a player who moved up. Trey Harris got a chance to watch a lot more Harris tape after the Giants drafted Jackson Dart and I just have a feeling on Him, Heath. He's not that guy who blows out the combine. He's not that guy that has these crazy athleticism numbers. When you watch his tape, he's such a producer, especially after the catch. I think he understands spatial awareness better than almost all receivers in this class. What I mean by that is when he makes a catch on an in breaker or wherever it is on the field, he understands where the defenders are, where they're going to be closing with and gap and, and, and where to kind of hit that crease and go. Reminds me a lot of watching Terry McLaurin at Ohio State. He was a guy who was much better at the NFL level than people expected. So Trey Harris moved up for me. Looking for more guys who moved up. We went over a few of them already. Caleb Johnson, Harvey Eden Blue, Kyle Williams, one other guy. Let me see if I can add to the mix here that has moved up. No, I think that that would probably.

[Heath Cummings]

That's good. I will say I didn't talk very much about Trey Harris. Adam made the ridiculous claim on yesterday's FFT that he would not be surprised if Trey Harris was the best rookie wide receiver as a rookie.

[Dan]

Wow.

[Heath Cummings]

But Higgins, Besh and Harris are at the top of the tier right after the RJ Harvey Jackson dart tier that we kind of stopped and talked about. So those are solid, solid round two picks. One of the few places in rookie drafts where I think we ought to have a little miniature wide receiver run. Maybe Kyle Williams is a part of that run as well. You did a good job though because you highlighted some of the guys that I remain an outlier on. I feel more confident in one than the other. But it's the two Browns. Yeah, I expect Quinch on Judkins is not going to have a huge role in the passing game and he is going to maybe share some of that outside rushing work. And I think Samson's the perfect type of guy to maybe fill that. It's not going to be Nick Chubb and Cream Hunt, but that that Kareem Hunt pass catching and high efficiency rushing role alongside Judkins. It'd be very interesting. You talk about the quarterback situation in Cleveland and listen, we don't know how many games Joe Flacco is going to start if Joe Flacco starts the whole season. I pretty much like the Pat this quarterback situation for the fast catchers. It's pretty fantastic. Anything else? It's probably a disaster. But the other Brown that I remain high on and I'm still taking at the 2, 3 turn is Harold Fannin simply because David Najoku is either 30 or almost 30 and in the final year of his contract. I think it's a perfect situation for a at a position where generally speaking players are not year one contributors that Fanon could kind of play part time alongside Najoku. They play a lot of two tight end sets in Cleveland and then next year they let Najoku walk and we see Harold Fannin as the tight end one for the Browns. So he is still those are probably my two biggest outliers in terms of guys I'm higher on than consensus guys I'm lower on and we need to talk about facial Tutin. I I really didn't get it when he was drafted and the immediate consensus was that he was just going to go in and take this job away from former first round pick Travis Etienne, an extremely efficient rusher. One of Dan Schneier's favorite calls from last year, Tank Bigsby. It didn't make any sense to me. And one of his biggest problems, two of his biggest problems in college were ball security and dancing too much and not hitting the hole. Well, what did he do on his first carry of OTAs? He fumbles a ball, it gets returned for a touchdown and the coach talks about it in his press conference when he's asked about tooting. Yep, I, I think, I think like there's a lot of upside with him. He's almost a really poor man's Ken Walker in that like he probably dances too much and he has great explosiveness and big playability. I'm just not confident that he's going to have much of a role at all.

[Dan]

Yeah, I think you're spot on with this one. I like I did Tudence profile for CBS and I liked what I saw but I also can't help but but realize two things with him. One, I think too many people are associating Liam Cohen, the former Buccaneers coach, and Bucky Irving what he did last year. But Bucky Irving and Tutin are not nearly close to the same player. First of all, Tutin, it does not have the receiving production that Bucky Irving had. Bucky Irving had almost five receiving yards last season in Oregon. Tootin was not used a lot. The expectation is that he can be used in that way, but I'm not necessarily so sure. He's a much shorter back, lower center of gravity, doesn't have long arms, doesn't have a big wingspan and hasn't really been used in that role. So if he's not really that receiving option that Bucky Irving was and I actually kind of think tank Bigsby can be that that as well as etn. Because Bigsby is an underrated receiver now we're hoping that he has this big role in the run game. But 11 fumbles, nine loss over the last two years at Virginia Tech. That is rough. Like that's our one year attack. That's rough. That's something that is already creeping up in OTAs. We could be looking at like a red shirt season for Tootin potentially. So I'm with you on that. Definitely not as high as others on him.

[Heath Cummings]

I I'm not taking him until late round three, which I know means I'm just not going to have any tooting.

[Dan]

Probably I'm.

[Heath Cummings]

I'm okay with that. Another guy who I'm not taking until late round three that I've seen go as early as round two is Pat Bryant. He is another selection from Sean Payton that was at least around earlier than anybody thought it was going to happen. We got the I think we heard both Marcus Colston and Michael Thomas when the Broncos were talking about him after the draft.

[Dan]

True.

[Heath Cummings]

I, I don't think he has much of a chance at all of having a big impact as long as Cortland Sutton is in Denver.

[Dan]

I would probably agree with that. I was confused at what role he was going to play when he was drafted. Like would he play that, you know, Sean Pit the role Sean Payton made famous, which is what I think on fantasy analysts called the wind sprint role. Like essentially just running clear out routes create space in the middle of the field, which he had. You know, who were those guys, the Saints that he had him for blanking on their names. Henderson was one of them. Debris Henderson, among others.

[Heath Cummings]

Yeah.

[Dan]

But it seems like he's more likely to play at least from expectation that Colston and that that Michael Thomas X role. Can he be that player? I don't necessarily think he's at their level, but I did like Pat Bryant's tape a lot at Illinois. I want to make that clear. He was one of my sleepers in the class when I thought he was going to go in round like 5 or 6 of the NFL draft in 4, 5, 6 range. That doesn't necessarily mean I think he can be an immediate contributor. So when I look at all the talent in this class, specifically at running back, that'll fall into the range you discussed. I probably will be passing on Brian as well. But I did just take him in YOLO because I needed a receiver and I do still like his profile.

[Heath Cummings]

While there are a couple of Chiefs that I moved up in my rankings not because they're Chiefs, it was after the Chiefs took them but just because of the way the Chiefs have talked about them and then what some of the film people have said about how much they like them. Jalen Royals, Brashard Smith if you're on the clock late in round three and Bryant Royals and Smith are all three available. Are you taking Pat Bryant over those guys?

[Dan]

Depending on my build, I probably am taking, taking that out of it, I probably am taking Bryant. But I would go Smith over Royals. I, I like Smith to fit a lot with the Chiefs.

[Heath Cummings]

That's going to do it for the guys I'm outliers on. Let's, let's get to some of your questions. Alyssa had the first question early in the show. I took Loveland over Judkins at 8 in a tight end premium. Thoughts about that? My first thoughts, Dan, are first off, yes, I would take him over Judkins and tight end premium. Second off, 8 is a screaming value in tight end premium. He could go as high as 5. You agree?

[Dan]

Completely agree. I haven't taken him at like 10 and 11 and non tight end premium.

[Heath Cummings]

Yeah, I have 9 and 10. One of those picks is yours in the Baked Burger league.

[Dan]

Yep.

[Heath Cummings]

And I, I'm thinking what will probably happen is he's going to be available at that point and I'm going to trade back because I have Trey McBride on that team also.

[Dan]

True.

[Heath Cummings]

And almost nothing at wide receiver besides Nico Collins. But yeah, he's, he's in that 8, 9, 10 conversation in non tight end premium to get him at 8 in tight end premium. Fantastic job. We got a trade question from Jared Christian McCaffrey in a 2026 second for DeAndre Swift and a 2026 first. I think this is an interesting deal because I do kind of value Swift right around a second round pick and I think it's possible I'm pretty happy if I'm rebuilding to get a 2026 first for McCaffrey who could either be the best running back in fantasy again this year or his career could be over with one more injury. What do you feel about McCaffrey in a second for Swift in a first?

[Dan]

I mean you guys will probably hear this throughout the next four months as I'm gonna definitely be the high man on McCaffrey and FFT. But I, I don't like this deal for this for the side getting swift in the 2026 first at all. Personally, I believe CMAC is likely to get back to being one of the best players in fantasy this year. I'm not a big injury believer. I think they're mostly luck, so we'll see. I could be wrong. He has a lot of injuries in his career, so do a lot of other players and then they've gone on to play full seasons. So I think you're trading away. Unless, I mean, look, if you're rebuilding, I get it. But then I would try to just get something other than Swift in addition that 2026 first, because I don't really think Swift has long term value. So I don't really like it if you're, if you're rebuilding or really.

[Heath Cummings]

So I want to talk about Swift for just a second because like when Ben Johnson originally came to Detroit, everyone's assumption was, well, Ben Johnson's going to go get another running back. We saw that he preferred Jamal Williams in short yardage. DeAndre Swift. Johnson pushed back on that a little bit and seemed to to have some affection for DeAndre Swift. But. But what I'm less interested in is what he said. What I'm more interested in is what they've done. Sure, he came into a situation where DeAndre Swift is his clear top running back and they've added nobody. Does that give you any pause that maybe. I mean we've already seen one top 15 running back season from DeAndre Swift. Is it possible that we're getting a borderline RB one season from in this year?

[Dan]

It's definitely possible in a Ben Johnson offense though that one year he did it, it was in the Eagles offense, the best offside of football. I don't think the Bears are going to get up to that level despite the upgrades they've made. But I really think this is is the prime spot for Nick Chubb design. Like I wouldn't be surprised if we see that soon because he does. I do think he still needs someone for that role. Kyle Manungai is actually one of my favorite sleepers in this class and I love him in Dynasty. Compared to where he goes, you can just get him for free basically at the end of your drafts and free agency. But I don't know if he's going to be ready to play right away for them even though he was the whole work the whole backfield for Rutgers. So it is what it is there. We'll see what happens. But I think this will be a team that signs like Nick Chuck Fab.

[Heath Cummings]

All right. If they don't, then Dan's probably going to get more excited about DeAndre Swift, but that just highlights there's a lot of risk trading for him right now. I had a trade offer in our Baked Burger Dynasty league. It was pick 18, pick 30, DeAndre Swift and J.K. dobbins for my 10th pick overall.

[Dan]

1830, Swift and Dobbins.

[Heath Cummings]

I think it's a very good offer if I'm trying to win this year.

[Dan]

If you're trying. Right.

[Heath Cummings]

I do. And I do not have the players to try to win even with Swift and Dobbins.

[Dan]

Right.

[Heath Cummings]

And man, what a headache that would be if Dobbins is the one who ends up signing with the Bears. Okay. Kevin says, does your approach change at all in drafting in a 16 team league compared to a 12 team league for rookies?

[Dan]

Interesting. We are in a deeper league. I would say with, with, with YOLO for. So that's kind of my, my.

[Heath Cummings]

That's 14 teams and a lot of starters and IDP. I have a 16 team league. I think the general difference is that you need more depth in 16 team leagues, obviously. And it's harder to find depth. The waiver wire is often barren. So I, what I would say is once I get past those top seven picks, which is kind of where I see the difference makers in this draft. If you think there's an eighth or a ninth guy, you think Johnson or Harvey or Burden or Buka needs to be in that top seven. So you say top ten. When I get past that, I'm more willing to trade back.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Heath Cummings]

And accumulate more picks so I can have more depth and more shots at finding starters.

[Dan]

And I think for me, when it gets to these bigger leagues, 14, 16, I am more likely to be playing to win now and trading my picks because I think a lot of the times you acquire these picks, if you're a rebuilding team, they end up being really deep into the first or second round.

[Heath Cummings]

Right.

[Dan]

They're really not valuable at all.

[Heath Cummings]

Very good point. You'd be much more careful about trading for future firsts because if that turns into pick 15 or 16, it's not. It's not going to feel like a first.

[Dan]

Exactly.

[Heath Cummings]

I had another trade offer in the Baked Burger Dynasty. Very active league. Not always good trade offers, but lots of trade offers. I have a bad team. Should I hold Bijan and try to upgrade in other ways or trade him and force a reset? Dan has had a bad team with Bijan on it, so he's uniquely qualified to answer this question. But his team's going to be good this year, so it doesn't count anymore. Anymore. Somebody offered me Bijan for Jonathan Taylor and Nico Collins. I told them I would need a 20, 27 first and Jerry Judy to make that deal because I, I just don't think there's a big enough difference between Bijan and Nico to give up Jonathan Taylor. But if, let's say you've, you've kind of experienced this holding Bijan through the rebuild, is that something that you would advise or are you trying to use Bijan to add a bunch of wide receivers Olympics.

[Dan]

So I still think ultimately in fantasy we can, in Dynasty, I should say we, we have to understand there still are redraft principles to it. For example, when you play out your redraft season in fantasy, do you notice that sometimes those players like Bijan, for example, he may or may not be this basically make or break a championship roster. When you get those few players, there's, there's, you know, there's 10 guys that can really make a difference in fantasy. Brian Thomas was one of them last year. You got him late. Bijan's still one of those 10 guys, those handful or two handful of guys. And he's gonna be that way in my opinion for at least another two, three, four years. It's never worth it to make, to trade these players. That's why I don't really consider off people make offers for Bijan. It never is enough. I don't want these ones and twos that end up being like Colson Loveland at the back end around one because you're never getting them from the teams that are rebuilding. So you're always going to get a late one and a late one. So to me, the only way I would consider trading Bijan is something that, like what Heath off, what he he throughout there you get a really studly receiver and another backer receiver. Two players that are can help you win. Now I wouldn't do it for the draft picks.

[Heath Cummings]

Probably needs to be two starters that are top 12. There's two running running back and wide receiver starters who are top 12 at their position. I mostly agree. I think if you like, if you're looking at it and you're like, I'm heading into a two year rebuild, I'm not going to be good until 2027, then maybe I would consider dealing him, but I think I'd probably try to hold on to him. Lou, we got two more questions. Lo says Justin Fields is on my dynasty waiver wire. And I will just say this doesn't surprise me because Justin Fields for the last year and A half has been one of I think the best values at the quarterback position because people are so concerned about whether he can actually play quarterback in the NFL that they just give up on his upside that he gives you whenever he starts. And I think he's starting all year this year if he stays healthy.

[Dan]

Sure.

[Heath Cummings]

He's in a 1 QB league. He is on the waiver wire waivers run tomorrow. So we get to help help Lou out right now. How much of your budget in one QB are you spending on Justin Fields?

[Dan]

So if I need, if I have a win now team and I need a quarterback and I don't like my quarterback situation, I'm willing to spend 60, 65 in one QB even in one QB.

[Heath Cummings]

Yep.

[Dan]

I don't really believe too much in saving my waiver budget in Dynasty. There's like one or two players I want to get during here with that and I might even go higher than 66. 5. With that said, if I'm looking at this long term, if like if, if Lou is like I kind of want to take a, a shot on a long term option here at quarterback with talent like Fields, which I get to some extent. I'm not willing as willing to go after the player because I think this could be it for Fields, this Jets run. If he wins with the jets, he can extend his career. If he doesn't win with the Jets, I doubt any team is going to take a shot on him as a starter for the rest of his career.

[Heath Cummings]

And I, I, I think you're probably right. I also think, and it's, it's strange to think that a guy has gotten as many chances as him and that's not totally fair. But he's mostly just been on, on disasters. Like he had a couple years on the Bears pre Ben Johnson and he had last year with Arthur Smith at offense when they'd made a promise to Russ allegedly.

[Dan]

Right.

[Heath Cummings]

That he was going to get to start. He, he was very good for fantasy last year year for most of his starts.

[Dan]

Right.

[Heath Cummings]

But I think you could be 100. Right. I, I'd like in a vacuum assuming I don't need a starting quarterback. I was thinking something around 20 or 25%.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Heath Cummings]

But you may have to splurge. And he did say there were a couple people in his league that need quarterbacks. So he may be thinking do I overpay and then try to trade him to one of those teams. That's a risky game but it might work. Last question from Mike. I need help. Who from my team do I Trade with the 103 to get the 101. Now, can you think of any players, Dan, if you had the 101, you're getting ready to take Ashton Genti and you're so excited about it that you would. And I just wrote about this today, like, it would take a lot for me to drop from 101 to 102, but now you're dropping to 103. Is there an individual player that. That makes sense that you'd be like, yeah, I do that.

[Dan]

That Nico Collins was. Somebody made that I might, you know, consider there though even that I'm getting Nico 103. I still prefer Genti, I think. You know, look, if that's like Bijan Robinson, you can dangle in, but that's too much at that point. You know, you're giving away too much there. So I don't, I don't know necessarily what would make me want to do it. I think I'm just keeping Genti almost no matter what. I think it's going to be very tough for him to, For, For Migi to, To get the straight off, have.

[Heath Cummings]

Yeah, I, I think the very next thing he said was without overpaying, obviously.

[Dan]

Okay.

[Heath Cummings]

And I would say if you have concerns about overpaying, you are trying to trade for the wrong person.

[Dan]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Heath Cummings]

Ashton Genti is the guy that you have to overpay for. If I was trading down from 101 to 103, it would probably be a rebuild situation where I didn't think I was going to win in the next two years anyways. And I didn't really want to take a running back. But it's so obvious you're supposed to take the running back deck. So I might trade him for 103 and a 2026 first and a 2027 first and just add two future firsts and take Travis Hunter or Cam Ward and then just keep rebuilding. But even that, I mean, that first off, that's a lot to pay. But I'm pretty sure I tried to make a very similar offer to you three years ago for Bijan Robinson to give you two firsts and the 104.

[Dan]

Or something, and I'm glad I didn't take it because those two first weren't going to be very good players because your team wins every year, so.

[Heath Cummings]

Well, that's one of those years, I think. I was. Yeah, I've been. I was in the championship both games.

[Dan]

It would have been pick 14 or 13.

[Heath Cummings]

Dan, Dan, Dan. Thank you so much for being here today. It's always a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you, Harry, for making everything run smoothly. Thank you to everybody who was active in the chat. We will talk to you on Friday. Paramount Podcasts.