2025 Rookie Class Breakdown & Superflex Rookie-Only Mock Draft (Fantasy Football Dynasty 03/04)

Summary

Fantasy Football Today: 2025 Rookie Class Breakdown & Superflex Rookie-Only Mock Draft

Release Date: March 4, 2025
Host: Heath Cummings
Guest: Aaron, Fantasy Football Analyst ("Fantasy Football Mad Scientist")

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Introduction to the 2025 Rookie Class

Heath Cummings kicks off the episode by introducing a special focus on the 2025 rookie class, emphasizing its significance for dynasty leagues. He welcomes Aaron, a seasoned analyst known as the "Fantasy Football Mad Scientist," to delve deep into the nuances of the incoming rookies and conduct a Superflex Rookie-Only Mock Draft.

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Prospect Evaluation Process

Aaron [04:21]:
"I do not confuse myself with an NFL scout or a GM. I am not a film buff..."

Aaron outlines his methodology for evaluating prospects, highlighting his reliance on data over film analysis. He describes himself as a "spreadsheet warrior," utilizing a comprehensive spreadsheet that factors in size, physical attributes, college performance, combine metrics, draft capital, and landing spots. This quantitative approach allows him to rank players effectively without getting bogged down by the intricacies of film study.

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The Importance of the Combine

Aaron [06:35]:
"The combine's turning into the NBA All Star Game. The guys you want to see don't do the events you want them to do."

Aaron critiques the current state of the NFL Combine, likening it to an All-Star event where players may not perform optimally. He emphasizes the importance of identifying outliers—players whose combine performances don't align with typical expectations. For instance, he mentions Tez Johnson being removed from his draft board due to being "too small and too slow," illustrating how combining metrics can significantly impact player evaluations.

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Analyzing the Wide Receiver Class

Heath expresses concerns about the wide receiver class, questioning its strength compared to previous years. Aaron responds by identifying standout performers from last year's class who would top this year's rankings:

• Marvin Harrison Jr.
• Malik Neighbors
• Brian Thomas Jr.

Aaron [09:31]:
"Going into the season I would have said Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Neighbors. So two after the season... Brian Thomas Jr. and Malik Neighbors. Those are my top two."

He further discusses current top WRs like Ted McMillan and Luther Burden, weighing their potential against newer entrants like Matthew Golden. Aaron positions McMillan and Burden as high-value targets but remains cautious about their long-term viability.

---

Superflex Rookie-Only Mock Draft

Heath and Aaron engage in a dynamic mock draft, each taking turns to select players based on their rankings and league preferences. The draft prioritizes running backs and tight ends, reflecting the duo's strategic focus.

Key Picks and Discussions:

1. Ashton Genty
   Heath selects Genty as a first-round choice, considering him a top-tier running back.

2. Cam Ward
   Heath anticipates Ward to be a primary pick, valuing his potential as a long-term starter with fantasy upside.

3. Ted McMillan & Luther Burden
   Aaron favors these WRs based on size and projected draft capital, debating their placement over other candidates.

4. Trevion Henderson & Marian Hampton
   Both analysts acknowledge their strong performances, with Heath opting for Henderson to capitalize on his PPR potential.

5. Mecca Egbuca & Lad McConkey
   Discussions revolve around their stability and breakout potential, with Aaron positioning Egbuca as a safer pick.

6. Shadour Sanders
   Despite reservations, Heath selects Sanders, reflecting his willingness to gamble on high-upside players.

Notable Insights:

• Running Back Dominance: Both Heath and Aaron emphasize the depth of the running back class, strategizing to secure multiple RBs early in the draft.

• Wide Receiver Uncertainty: Concerns persist about the WR pool's depth, leading to cautious selections and potential trades for higher-value picks.

• Tight End Premium Strategy: With a tight end premium league format, selections like Colston Loveland and Devin Neal are prioritized to ensure positional advantage.

---

The Travis Hunter Debate

A significant portion of the discussion centers on Travis Hunter's dual-role potential as both a cornerback and wide receiver, sparking a debate on his fantasy value.

Heath's Perspective:

Heath [28:44]:
"Travis Hunter is the most valuable player in possibly all of fantasy football. In an IDP league if you don't and you can only pick one or the other, I don't want him like in this draft here offense only with the assumption I think he's going to be cornerback."

Heath advocates for valuing Hunter highly due to his versatility, suggesting that if Hunter can excel on both sides of the ball, he could be a game-changer in fantasy leagues. However, he acknowledges the risks associated with his dual-role uncertainty.

Aaron's Counterpoint:

Aaron [30:35]:
"He's either the most valuable fantasy football asset in an IDP league or he's useless in an IDP league."

Aaron underscores the dichotomy of Hunter's value, highlighting that without clear specialization, Hunter's fantasy worth becomes highly unpredictable. He remains cautious, positioning Hunter as a high-risk, high-reward asset.

---

Final Picks and Strategy Adjustments

As the mock draft progresses into later rounds, both analysts grapple with the diminishing pool of high-impact rookies. Heath considers bolstering his team by acquiring early second-round picks to navigate the tight end premium format, while Aaron contemplates the best strategies to maximize his selections within the available tiers.

Heath's Strategic Moves:

• Devin Neal Selection: Valued for his big-play potential, akin to players like Ken Walker or DeAndre Swift.

• Trade Considerations: Intent on trading up to secure more favorable picks, especially for tight ends.

Aaron's Adjustments:

• Colston Loveland: Prioritized as a top tight end option amidst limited reliable candidates.

• Diverging from Conventional Picks: Emphasizes selecting players like Quinn Ewers and Dylan Gabriel based on potential rather than popularity.

---

Conclusion and Next Steps

Heath wraps up the episode by thanking Aaron for his insights and discussing upcoming content. He mentions plans to publish a comprehensive mock draft list, complete with player positions and college affiliations, to assist listeners in refining their strategies. Aaron highlights his continued work on rookie profiles and content development for platforms like Fantasy Sports Advice Network and Fantasy Pros.

Heath [45:09]:
"We will talk to you on Friday. Paramount Podcast New CBS Saturday..."

The episode concludes with a brief mention of other podcast segments and future discussions, ensuring listeners remain engaged and informed about the evolving rookie landscape.

---

Key Takeaways:

• Data-Driven Evaluation: Aaron’s reliance on spreadsheets and quantitative metrics offers a clear-cut method for assessing rookies, minimizing subjective biases.

• Running Back Strength: The 2025 rookie class is particularly robust at the running back position, providing ample opportunities for dynasty managers to stockpile talent early.

• Wide Receiver Concerns: Despite a few standout performers, the overall wide receiver class may lack depth compared to previous years, necessitating strategic drafting.

• Tight End Premium Advantage: Emphasizing tight end strength in a premium format can provide a competitive edge, with players like Colston Loveland and Devin Neal being pivotal.

• Travis Hunter's Dual Risk: Hunter represents a unique but risky asset, with his potential being immense if he specializes, but his dual-role role posing significant uncertainties.

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Notable Quotes:

• Aaron [04:21]:
  "I am a spreadsheet warrior. I'm a number cruncher."

• Aaron [06:35]:
  "The combine's turning into the NBA All Star Game. The guys you want to see don't do the events you want them to do."

• Heath [28:44]:
  "Travis Hunter is the most valuable player in possibly all of fantasy football."

• Aaron [30:35]:
  "He's either the most valuable fantasy football asset in an IDP league or he's useless in an IDP league."

---

Further Content and Resources:

• Aaron's Platforms:

  • Fantasy Sports Advice Network: Comprehensive rookie profiles and multiverse articles.
  • Player Profiler: IDP combine content and specialized rankings.
  • Fantasy Pros: Weekly sleepers and rankings for the upcoming season.

• Upcoming Episodes:
  Listeners are encouraged to stay tuned for more in-depth analyses, trade grades, waiver wire tips, and myth-busting segments to enhance their fantasy football strategies.

---

Tune in Next Time: Stay updated with Heath Cummings and guest analysts as they continue to dissect the rookie class, navigate the complexities of dynasty leagues, and equip you with the knowledge to dominate your fantasy football season.

Transcript

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[Heath Cummings]

Welcome to Fantasy Football Today Dynasty. I am your host, Heath Cummings and we have got a great rookie centric show for you today. I brought in, I brought back the fantasy football mad scientist, Aaron. Thank you for being here today.

[Aaron]

Thank you for having me. Good morning. Glad to be back. Rookie season. You know that NFL combine gives us something to talk about when there's nothing to talk about for all of us Dynasty degenerates who are still paying attention to this.

[Heath Cummings]

So you, you, you produce content I think still at a variety of places. Tell everybody where they can find your work and what you've been working on.

[Aaron]

Most recently slowly dwindling down, getting more specialized. I'm at Fantasy Sports Advice Network. Fantasy pros and player profiler do a little bit of everything. Player profiler. I'm mostly there the IDP content there. Fantasy pros, it's all my rankings. A lot of just weekly sleepers articles and Fantasy Sports Advice network, that's where.

[Heath Cummings]

Most of my work is there that idp. I love IDP leagues. I've never like people ask, can you give us a little bit of, can you produce a little bit of idp IDP content? And I know what's going to happen if I open that box. So what's that?

[Aaron]

No one watches it.

[Heath Cummings]

Well, it's not just that, but also I'm going to end up spending way too much time like you can't dip your toe. I play in a lot of IDP leagues. I do, I, I, I read a lot of IDP content but you can't dip your toe. I don't feel like into producing that. Like you just like everything else you've got. There's a, so such a learning curve each year with the classes. So I'm glad that you do it. I'm going to look forward to reading what you have to say about this class. This class. And I'm, I'm gonna lean on you guys for that. On today's show we're going to talk about 20, 25 rookies and the way we're going to do it is basically a two man, two round rookie mock draft to be Super Flex. Do you want to be tight end premium? Yes or no? Your call.

[Aaron]

Yeah, that's mostly what I play in.

[Heath Cummings]

Super Flex Tight end premium. We will and that makes it, I think it makes it a little easier to go two rounds also before the draft we can throw some tight ends in there at the end and yeah, they're gonna catch passes and but before we do that, of course we always have three questions for our guest and these will, these will mostly be about the rookies. Also. Aaron, I want, I want to just start with this more general question. Not necessarily about this class, but how would you describe your prospect? Prospect evaluation process.

[Aaron]

I do not confuse myself with an NFL scout or a gm. I am not a film buff. I, you know what, Rick Spielman, you're, what is that for? With the first pick. I love listening to him. I watched, you know, the film. I see some things but there's, I don't get, you know, all the little nuances and I'll listen to him. I didn't even know that. So.

[Heath Cummings]

Right.

[Aaron]

Kind of blend his film aspects with my own. Basically, I'm a spreadsheet warrior. Yeah, I'm the numbers guy. I'm a number cruncher. I can tell you a ton about fantasy football. Kind of my spreadsheet has a mix of, you know, their size and physical attributes, the college production, some of the combine numbers that I think matter. And basically the most important at the end is draft capital and landing spot kind of form it all for one big spreadsheet full of check boxes. And that kind of gives me my rankings from there. And like I said, from there, if I have something that's really glaringly off, I'll consult the experts for film grades, which I am not.

[Heath Cummings]

And we will have over the next two months. Listen, if you've been listening to this show for the last two years, you know, it kind of started during draft season and. And I like to bring in a wide variety of guests. And some people are going to come on here and they're going to be film experts, and some people are going to come on here and they're going to be spreadsheet warriors. I've talked about myself, like, I know that in content, this whole aggregator idea gets a bad name right now because of where the direction that's gone. But I think that is probably how I would describe myself as a prospect analyst is there are so many really smart people doing good things with both spreadsheets and film, and I just want to consume as much of it as I can and then I'll put together my rankings kind of based on that. It's not. It's certainly not a consensus because there's certain guys that I. I'll listen to a little more than others. But I do think that, like, there's. If you want to learn about rookies, I don't know if there's ever been a better time. There's so many good people creating great content. But you said something in that answer that I want to kind of latch on to again, because you said you put a few numbers in there from the combine. The things that you think that matter, what matters, what should people actually care about from the combine?

[Aaron]

We were talking a bit about this before the show. The combine's turning into the NBA All Star Game. The guys you want to see don't do the events you want them to do. In the end, it's something to talk about. I. I look for the outliers, basically. Okay, so we had Bashaw Tootin was Blazing fast. Well, that's great. He's my size. He better be fast. You know, the big guys are going to be slow. The little guys are going to be fast. I don't so much care about that. It's the guys that are outliers that don't make sense. Like the one for me that stood out was really the only player I crossed off my board, Tez Johnson. Too small and too slow. That's the combination I don't want to see. Even in the past like we have, you had the what the. The wonderful combine for Darnell Washington. He was great at the sled drill. Jordan Travis last year could throw the ball a mile.

[Heath Cummings]

It didn't matter, did we? And I don't think you said it, but did people say after last year's combine, Bucky Irving, too small and too slow?

[Aaron]

I don't remember if it was necessarily too, too small. I know for sure it was, oh, he's dead to me. Too small or too slow. And two years before that, it was Rashad White. Oh, he was great. He could be the RB3. Oh, never mind. He's too slow and he was right off the board. So maybe the moral of the story is if your running back runs too slow at the combine, pray Tampa Bay drafts.

[Heath Cummings]

And then I want to talk like we're gonna. As we go through this. Yes, we're going to do a mock draft, but if we just did the mock draft and nothing else, we'd be done in 15 minutes. We're going to talk about a lot of these players. We'll kind of talk about the, the different nuances of this class as a whole. One of the first ones that I will bring up is that when I look at the class, the position where it feels the weakest to me relative to the last five or six years is wide receiver. I wonder how many wide receivers from last year's class would be the number one wide receiver in this class.

[Aaron]

I have an answer for you for that. But I did have one last thing there for your what matters for the combine. You know what was the most interesting to me? I had a tweet here from Austin Abbott ff from Player Profiler. Some of the. The rumors not, you know, you get it during the off season, just the training camp rumors. I don't want the one and done. I want the one that just keeps coming up. And some of those were the best. Like we discussed it. Matthew golden apparently is going to be the first wide receiver off the board. That's what I want to know. Because it doesn't matter to me what happened at the combine. I want to know what the GMs who are actually drafting these players think. It doesn't matter what I think, what they matter or what they think matters.

[Heath Cummings]

And, and I think like first off, that's a good, a good kind of segue because what, what wide receivers from last year's class would you prefer to Matthew Golden? I think it's going to be up as maybe a kind of a long list. But in regards to that, I think what the way Sigmund Bloom says it is the drumbeat. What's like when it's the drum beat of repeated things, then we'll, then we'll listen to that a little bit better. So back to the question, how many wide receivers from last year's class?

[Aaron]

Okay. Going into the season I would have said Marvin Harrison Jr. Malik neighbors. So two after the season. Now I still have two, but it's Brian Thomas Jr. And Malik neighbors. Those are my top two.

[Heath Cummings]

So you would who is your number one wide receiver right now? I'll just ask you.

[Aaron]

I've got Ted McMillan and Luther Burden back to back. So I would have had, I think I had mine ranked here as if it was a top six between the two classes. Blended. I have neighbors BTJ, Ted McMillan, Luther Burden, Mecca Egbuca, and then Lad McConkey. If we had kept going, I would have gone Matthew Golden, Marvin Harrison Jr. Who I am apparently a lot lower on than everybody else, but he looked really slow and not very dynamic. Not a great separator as a rookie. I mean I don't want to quit quit on him after one year, but I have a lot lower than most.

[Heath Cummings]

Okay, let's take our first break and we'll jump into our mock draft.

[Aaron]

Awesome.

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[Heath Cummings]

So we are back and we are going to do basically 24 picks and I'm gonna keep track of this if I can while we go and just kind of some observations, but we're gonna go super flex, we're gonna go tight end premium and of course because you're the guest, I'm going to give you the first pick. It's a mystery who could you once if you.

[Aaron]

Okay, the first pick isn't going to surprise anyone, but if you give me the first pick moving forward, you may get me booed right off the show. My mock draft is not going to be the same as you. I'm going to have the quarterbacks lower, the tight ends higher and where I have Travis Hunter is going to shock you. So be prepared. I'm going to start non controversial and go obviously Ashton Genty, but from here.

[Heath Cummings]

It gets interesting and it like that in itself is a little bit interesting. And I wonder if you think.

[Aaron]

This.

[Heath Cummings]

Will remain the consensus. It's really, really kind of strange for a running back in a super flex rookie draft to be the surefire. Everybody agrees. Number one pick, right?

[Aaron]

Well, we did it with Bijan Robinson.

[Heath Cummings]

Yeah, I guess so.

[Aaron]

Yeah, I get it. Typically I always want the quarterback, which you're going to see. I don't want the quarterback this year, but just I don't have as much faith in this year's quarterbacks and I like a couple of players here. Like that was going to be my first shocker. I'm gonna pick at 1 and 3 and I'll tell you what, neither one of them is going to be a quarterback.

[Heath Cummings]

Well, it's not. Well, part of the reason it's not going to be a quarterback is because I will stick with the crowd a little bit. I'm going to take cam Ward at 102. I feel pretty confident that he's going to be. I mean he should be the number one pick. Maybe he'll go to two or three, but I expect somebody's going to trade up and take him at 101 if Tennessee doesn't want to. And that's going to mean that he's going to get years as a starter and he has some fantasy upside. I, I am disenchanted with the class, but I do think I'm more disenchanted with the wide receivers than I am the quarterbacks. At least when it comes with Ward that There's a clear 101.

[Aaron]

For me, what scares me is the Drumbeat that the 101 he goes to could be a New York team. And I don't mean Buffalo, jets or Giants. That's. I don't really want that. And like I said, there are three players for me. Cam Ward, that's the first shocker. I have him at 4. I would go genty, and I'm going to take Ted McMillan here as my. What are we, 103. I would have also taken Burden over Ward.

[Heath Cummings]

So you talked about having McMillan and Luther burden back to back. Golden may enter that conversation if he's actually the first wide receiver taken. I don't actually believe that's going to happen yet, but if it does, then maybe golden enters that conversation. Is there. I mean, are you basically flipping a coin or is there something for you that really separates Ted McMillan from Luther?

[Aaron]

Burg size for Ted McMillan and projected draft capital. I think Tet goes top 12. I think Luther also goes first round. But at this point, they might be the wide receiver 2 and 3 off the board if you believe the Matthew golden hype. But for me, it's. That's what it is. It's size and projected draft capital. If Burden goes first, significantly higher. Maybe I'll have to revisit this, but for now, it's tech.

[Heath Cummings]

Okay. Yeah, I think I, I am basically at flip a coin stage right now. And if the projected draft capital is right, then I will agree that we've got Tet. Tet should be the, the number one. I will go back to running back and, and I'll ask you this question. I know, like, Amarian Hampton had a fantastic weekend, and I think that's going to push him maybe up ahead of Trevion Henderson in a lot of people's rankings. I'm going to take Henderson here. He was my second favorite running back in the class coming into the combine. And I really feel like in a, in a PPR world, he could be. We'll just say the name because somebody else has already said on the show he could be Jameer Gibbs light or maybe he's just producing like Jameer Gibbs if he lands in the right situation. So I will take Henderson, but this is. Two of the first four picks are running backs. I think we're getting four in the first round, and it's possible we get five or six. Not the NFL draft first round, but first round of rookie drafts. Last year we had zero. Is that just a product of this? Do you agree that this isn't like an Elite running back class and a little weaker class at wide receiver.

[Aaron]

Yeah, I. Well, quarterback class is weaker too. I have four in the first round of rookie drafts as well. If you want to believe the combine drum beat, there could be three of them in the first round of the NFL draft because I had Henderson at 2. I also had Hampton as my RB3 off the board, all above Shitter Sanders. So like I said, I'm way lower on the QBs in this class.

[Heath Cummings]

So we've got two running backs off the board. We've got Cam Ward off the board. We know you're not taking Shore Sanders is. This is it Luther Burden time with the sixth pick?

[Aaron]

It absolutely is. But like I said, I still. I had QBs at 4 and 8 here, so I am. You know, everyone thinks I'm crazy. I'm significantly lower on the quarterbacks. I put Cam Ward as the absolute four. I think is the absolute lowest I could have put him without people calling me absolutely out of my mind. But if you. If I was on the clock and I wasn't qb, absolutely desperate, I could have made a case for Booker, Hampton or Henderson. But in the end, like I said, I left him at 4 because I didn't want to get too spicy.

[Heath Cummings]

Yeah, I'm going to. To kind of lean into this running back idea with my team and like it. It's a. It's a tough, I think, tier of at least three. We'll talk about Travis Hunter probably a little bit later in the show. Could be four. Because if Travis Hunter goes second or third overall and the team says we're playing him 100 of the time at wide receiver, it's going to be a really interesting conversation. But let's forget about that for now. I'm gonna go with Hampton, who did kind of. I had it basically, I think before the combine of. Ashton Genti is in a tier of his own. And then for me, Henderson was in a tier of his own. And then there were four more running backs that I thought had a chance to go first round of rookie drafts and Hampton was kind of at the top of that. Hampton's fantastic performance over the weekend moves him into Henderson's tier for me. So I, I still feel pretty good. I'm not, I'm probably not looking to trade down if I've got this pick because we're getting pretty close to the end of a tier.

[Aaron]

No, I agree. You're right in sync with me as far as running back ranking so far. So you had three. I had in the exact same order.

[Heath Cummings]

So, yeah, go ahead.

[Aaron]

Oh, no, I was gonna say next, I'm taking Egbuca from Ohio State. He's probably the first of the second tier. I don't quite think he's in the same tier as Ted or Burden. I think right now I have a Buka. And who do we have? Matthew golden and possibly Trey Harris. And then from there I think we're falling off a cliff. If you believe in Trey Harris.

[Heath Cummings]

So I, I wonder when you, when you look at the wide receivers here at the top and, and I talked about this a couple of weeks ago, that, like, I don't really have any concerns about Ted McMillan. Except if you are looking at the archetype of the wide receivers who have busted, they look a lot like Ted McMillan. They are. It's the. It's the big. Supposed to be the new Calvin Johnson, who is actually just a bust. And I think there's every reason to wonder, like with Luther Burton to draft him in round one or to draft him this early in a rookie draft, you really have to believe that Missouri underused him and that he has many more skills available to him than what they were able to show due to their quarterback play. Is it possible. Is it possible that Igbuka is actually. Well, maybe doesn't have the upside of those two is actually the safest of these three rookie wide receivers. He's the most likely to be good.

[Aaron]

That's the exact thing I was going to say. I think he's the most likely to be good. He's the safest. Ted McMillan, you said it perfectly. He's either going to be basically a Hall of Famer or he's going to be out of the league in three years. It's. There seems to be no in between for this archetype. They are either awesome or they're just. They're terrible. There's no in between. Egg Booker, like you said, lower. Lower ceiling, I think. But overall pretty solid. It's tough to really gauge some of these Ohio State wide receivers. There's been what, five of them in five years? And every year we say the one that's coming out is the best of the five. And at this point, I don't know who the best of the five is. Is possible. Garrett Wilson. Jsn. I don't know.

[Heath Cummings]

Right. Yeah. No.

[Aaron]

So.

[Heath Cummings]

So we've got the first eight picks now. Ashton Genty, Cam Ward, Ted McMillan, Trevion Henderson, Luther Burden, Marian Hampton Buka and Shadour Sanders will be the eighth pick. I don't want to make Aaron Draft a quarterback. I'm not, I'm. I'm. You're my guest. Thank you for being here. I will take Shador Sanders. Remember, we are tight end premium so we might be moving into that tight end range very, very shortly depending on which one of those you like the most. Is this the point? Like these eight players are gone. Are you happy to trade your first round pick for a 20, 26 first and just hope it's better?

[Aaron]

No.

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[Aaron]

Sanders would have been my pick at 8, but I'm still very content with if I have 9, 10 or even 11. I'd really like. Tyler Warren's going to be my pick here. I'm very happy with that. Matt. 10 I think is where it gets dicey. If Matthew golden goes higher than expected, I'd also be willing to, to, you know, to get in on him. Same can be said with Quinchan Judkins out of Ohio State.

[Heath Cummings]

Right.

[Aaron]

If those two don't make it into high round two, then probably I'd be looking to sell for my 10, 11 or 12. But if they go higher, I'd be happy with like I said, Warren, who I'm taking here or possibly golden or Judkins.

[Heath Cummings]

So one name you didn't mention. We got a question from the chat and we like to answer those when we can. Is Caleb Johnson up there? He. He didn't necessarily have a great weekend. He was one of those four backs in the tier with Hampton and Devin, Neal and Judkins that I thought could jump into the first round of rookie drafts depending on what happens in the NFL draft. Is he, is he falling for you or is he just a clear second round pick?

[Aaron]

Well, I had Genty as the obvious tier one for running back. Then Hampton Henderson. My tier three is actually Judkins, Devin Neal, Caleb Johnson with Ollie Gordon. I didn't like his combine. He's slowly falling out of there. But yeah, he, he. If you look actually if you could see my board, they are. Neil and Caleb Johnson are the first two picks I have of the second round.

[Heath Cummings]

So I, if the, if the tight ends had like there probably could have been a tight end that really excited me and caused me to pick them here right now. But I'm actually going to take a wide receiver. I think Matthew golden probably earned a first round selection and I, I did like the profile a little bit more than most coming into the combine. And so if I get to the end of round one, assuming he's a late first round pick, I'm going to feel pretty good about it yeah absolutely.

[Aaron]

I, I there are two more tight ends I actually still love so yeah you'll see when I get to my round two of the board it's all running backs and tight ends and we'll forget wide receivers of position so it tells you how quickly it falls off. So I think you got the last wide receiver I'd really be clamoring for in Matthew Golden.

[Heath Cummings]

So we are heading into the last two picks of round one who should finish out this draft?

[Aaron]

All right. I have Quinchon Judkins higher on my board. I don't think I've taken a quarterback yet so maybe I'll get a little spicy. I like Jackson Dart here. I think he's closer to Shadur than any than Shadur is to Cam Ward honestly. So I'm gonna take Jackson Dart as my 11 and pass on the running back here. So three of them in a tier.

[Heath Cummings]

When you say that about like talent wise I I could see that it seems like the way people are talking about the way they're going to be drafted though like if Shador is a top five pick and Jackson Dart goes at the end of round one or round two is he still closer?

[Aaron]

Another one of maybe me over buying over believing the hype of the the combine is from what I hear Shedeur seems to be closer to the 10 to 12 range and Jackson Dart like you said it's probably gonna push I think he's gonna end up sec a high second round.

[Heath Cummings]

Yep.

[Aaron]

I'd love it if he went day one. Like I said it's not necessarily that I think Dart is better than Sanders it's that I'm getting him three picks later. If Sanders was available here I'm taking Jackson Dart but right he's not available so Darts I think the solid QB3.

[Heath Cummings]

For me off the board so you did a little table talk earlier in the draft and talked about taking some tight ends with your second round pick and so that's probably going to influence my decision here. There was a lot this past weekend at the combine of well it wasn't good but it wasn't so bad that I have to be out on him which is exactly how I felt about Harold Fannin. Yeah I didn't really like it but it's not that awful I and I, I I don't think you can overvalue his production and assuming the right team takes him and plays him in the right role I think he could absolutely be the best fantasy producing tight end in this class. He's not going to win near as many reps reps as a running block blocker as Warren is, but I do really like Fannin's game and so I will take him at the 112 and tight end premium.

[Aaron]

I essentially had Fanon tied with Colston Loveland and between kind of a bad combine for Fanon and my absolute love for the Michigan Wolverines, I have Colson leveling slightly higher Admitted homer bias there, so I can see you going with Fanon though.

[Heath Cummings]

Listen, no one can understand admitted homer bias than the guy with my current background. It's absolutely okay. Let's take our second break and then we'll get to round two of the rookie draft.

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[Heath Cummings]

All right, we're back. It's round two. Is it time to take Colston Loveland?

[Aaron]

No, it's time to take one of the three running backs I had. And this is where I find maybe, you know, if you haven't, you could trade up to get an early second round pick. Because I think these three, like I said, Judkins, Neil and Caleb Johnson are all probably in the same range for me. I think I want to go Judkins here, even though it's an Ohio State player. So I try not to do it. But I'll take Judkins. Neil was a close second for me.

[Heath Cummings]

Me, yeah, Judkins would have absolutely been my pick there. I. I'll tell you what, the thing that I've recognized is if we're in a tight end premium Super Flex draft, I'm gonna go make some trades for early round two. Picks.

[Aaron]

Absolutely.

[Heath Cummings]

I really like and I know, I mean obviously my. The sense I'm getting since you said you had a hot take about Travis Hunter and he's still on the board is that you're not going to be very high on Travis Hunter. But the idea that we could be an early round two and I am choosing between Colston Loveland and still two running backs that I think are borderline round one guys and Travis Hunter, that's. That's really exciting to me. I'm gonna go see if I can get some 201 through 204 type picks right now. I think I will go ahead because it is tight end premium. No, I can't do it. I'm taking Caleb Johnson.

[Aaron]

Are you. Do you keep mentioning Travis Hunter to try and make an IDP guy's head explode? Is that what you're doing here because.

[Heath Cummings]

You are an IDP guy? I, I want to. To bounce my thoughts about Travis Hunter off of you. I am making it clear to my league, the one dynasty IDP league that I am the commissioner of, that I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that Travis Hunter gets fantasy points for what he does on offense and defense.

[Aaron]

That's the problem. I have messaged several of these sleepers one and haven't gotten a definitive response. In an IDP league if I can get points simultaneously as a cornerback and a wide receiver, he is the most valuable player in possibly all of fantasy football. In an IDP league if you don't and you can only pick one or the other, I don't want him like in this draft here offense only with the assumption I think he's going to be cornerback. I don't have him in my top two. He is my third pick of round three behind Isaiah Bond. I just, I think he's a cornerback at this point. The argument for him being a wide receiver seems to be he could make more money if he's high end. I don't think he's going to be a high end wide receiver. I think he could be the best cornerback in the game. I think what he's. He's going to be an elite shutdown corner who plays maybe 15 of the snaps at wide receiver. And I don't want to use the second round pick on that. I could be absolutely wrong. He could just go after the money, become a wide receiver. But he. I could talk to you about Travis Hunter for hours. He's single handedly making my head explode this offseason. It's so frustrating because it's like when Taysom Hill started being the tight end who played quarterback. Well, you don't know what to do.

[Heath Cummings]

I'll go back further than that because I was a fantasy baseball guy when Shohei Otani came to the league and I and like we had fights and yelling matches about how we should. I think one site made him two players and one site said you can only have this or this. And I was always like, you know what? If he's the most valuable player in the game, why don't we just make him the most valuable player in fantasy? Like how about we just let him have all of his debts?

[Aaron]

He's either the most valuable fantasy football asset in an IDP league or he's useless in an IDP league. There's. I'm not sure. Like I said, it's gonna be. This is going to be one. You're going to have people yelling and screaming.

[Heath Cummings]

But you like we had a question in the chat about where he would rank in that type of league. He's in the conversation for 101. Okay. If you're getting credit for all of his stats.

[Aaron]

If you're getting credit for all of his stats. 100. I don't think he's super flex. He's in the conversation. Single QB. I don't think he is the conversation. He's your 101.

[Heath Cummings]

Okay. Okay. So I just took. We had a couple running backs to start round two. Quinton Judkins, we had Caleb Johnson and you are on the clock with the 15th pick of the draft. And I still feel pretty good about it.

[Aaron]

Give. Yeah, I like these early, about maybe to the middle of the second round here. I still like it and I'm gonna go Colston Loveland. Like I said. I had him kind of even with fan and as far as tight end. So I want to take the last what I think is usable tight end on the board. I have one more as a deep dart throw. Do you remember when Luke Lachey was good when he first started? You remember him out of Iowa?

[Heath Cummings]

Yeah, vaguely.

[Aaron]

Yeah. I still. I'm holding out hope that maybe he can fight through the injuries and be something as a last round dart throw. But I think it's three tight ends here. So I took Loveland and it's basically running backs. You.

[Heath Cummings]

You've made my. My choice really easy. I love Devin Neal. I love his big playability. I'm still pretty interested in Travis Hunter especially at this point in the draft. I know you're not going to take Travis Hunter so I'm going to take Devin Neal.

[Aaron]

That's cheating. This is why you don't table talk in the middle of the draft, guys. Because the other guy uses it against you.

[Heath Cummings]

I'm just.

[Aaron]

I'm trying to do some content here and he's using it against me.

[Heath Cummings]

Do you think Devin Neal is like a. I mean, maybe he's a lesser version, but maybe he's not. Is he like kind of a Ken Walker home run hitter? Maybe even a DeAndre Swift who. Who could frustrate a coaching staff because he doesn't always get the three yards he was supposed to, but he has a bunch of big plays.

[Aaron]

I don't know my comp form. I don't know if you're gonna love it or hate it. I had him as Taije Spears with a little more upside.

[Heath Cummings]

Okay, yeah, I don't like that.

[Aaron]

Love him or hate him, but.

[Heath Cummings]

Well, that doesn't sound near as good as Ken Walker.

[Aaron]

Well, no, I guess maybe the ceiling is Ken Walker and the floor is Taije Spears.

[Heath Cummings]

Sounds great. Okay, I'll take that.

[Aaron]

All right. That puts me on the clock in kind of no man's land where I really start to not like as many. I take Trey Harris here. I guess I don't love it. It's probably the last receiver that's this high up my board. It was either him or Ollie Gordon. I know I shouldn't table talk again, but Trey Harris it is.

[Heath Cummings]

Yeah. And. And he was very popular at the Senior Bowl. Is that right?

[Aaron]

Yes, yes, very much. He was kind of the darling there, but wasn't all that fast. He's got decent size. It's good catching, good ball tracking. He's very physical, but he's just. He's not the most refined. He lacks some explosiveness. His routes aren't. Sorry, my. My child broke my computer chair. And I get shorter as it goes on.

[Heath Cummings]

I love that. That's. Absolutely.

[Aaron]

No, I don't. I'm already short.

[Heath Cummings]

Yeah, well, I mean, obviously I'm cheating, but. The sixth pick of round two, the latest that Travis Hunter will be taken in any mock draft this entire. Unless I guess if you do a one man mock, then he will go later than this. But I. I've not seen him go any later than 18th overall. Travis Hunter. If so, I. I'll ask this question. Try to frame it to where you have to say something positive about Travis Hunter. Like you think he's awesome at football, right?

[Aaron]

Oh, yeah.

[Heath Cummings]

He's really awesome at football. So let's hypothetically, Travis Hunter falls to seven or eight and he's drafted and they say, you know what, we're gonna try to let him do what he wants to do and play both ways. We're gonna try to let him be a full time player. The reason he fell a little bit is because he wouldn't agree to not be a full time player both ways. Travis Hunter is going to be a full time wide receiver. Is this a steal?

[Aaron]

If he's a full time wide receiver it is. So we're assuming in that scenario he's not playing corner at all.

[Heath Cummings]

No, no. They're going to let him do what he says he wants to do. He's going to try to play both.

[Aaron]

Okay. So if he is a full time wide receiver in offense only leagues, he's a steal. He should be much higher. He's probably in the top four or five for me in IDP leagues, he could be the one. There's plenty of scenarios where I love him and think he's a surefire 101. I just don't love his current scenario. Right, I get that value wise. If you can double count stats for him, that's great. It's also double the injury risk and we're already playing dodge the injury for fantasy football all year, so.

[Heath Cummings]

So in a league like we're we're drafting for right now, it's just offense only. Would you. Is it fair to say that his value could literally be the best wide receiver in the class if everything goes right or fantasy irrelevant and droppable if everything goes wrong?

[Aaron]

Absolutely. Like he, yeah, he could be the he. If he's only a wide receiver, he's a first round pick. He shouldn't be going. Where are we middle of the second round? Yeah, he, he's got the wide receiver one potential in this class. It's just there's too much uncertainty and too many concerns. But like I said, you don't have to convince me to say good things. I think he's a 101 overall, potentially in the right, you know, the right scoring format.

[Heath Cummings]

All right, so the first six picks of round two are Judkins, Johnson and Loveland, followed by Neil, Harris and Hunter. I shouldn't be using just last names. We're not that familiar with these guys yet, are we listeners? QUINSHawn Judkins goes first pick of round two. Then Caleb Johnson the running back, Colston Loveland the tight end, Devin Neal the running back, Trey Harris at wide receiver, Travis Hunter at. Can we just put him at athlete for now is his position. We have six picks Left. And now I'll just be honest with you guys who are listening with Aaron, who's here with me. This is the point to where like I've kind of feel like I've gotten to in my rookie research and this is the point where I'm like, I am really not sure there are any good players left. I should probably just draft running backs.

[Aaron]

This is the point where I find they are all heavily flawed and they all do. Maybe one good thing. He's not going to be my pick here and he wouldn't have even been in consideration in the second round. But after the combine, at what point are you starting to consider Bay Shawl too? Is he, is he up here in your consideration right now just based off of that blazing fast 40 time, or have you not bought into the, you know, the combine idea?

[Heath Cummings]

I think I'm probably going to need the NFL to show me. Like, I still feel like he's probably a three pick.

[Aaron]

Oh yeah.

[Heath Cummings]

And maybe a late day three pick. So I, I don't think he would get into my round two unless he gets like he's a fourth round pick or something. Because I think there's, I mean, how many running backs you talked about there could be three in round one of this draft? Yeah, I think there could be six in the first two days, maybe five. But by the end of round five, there might be 15 running backs drafted.

[Aaron]

There are a ton of them. You never know though. That's the problem. Does the overwhelming buyer's market for rookie running backs lead them all to fall? Instead you get Ashton Genti in the first round and then maybe everyone passes until round three and instead of five day two running backs, we have two. Just because there's so many of them.

[Heath Cummings]

Right.

[Aaron]

It's really in an odd place to be. We're not used to having a plentiful running back class. No, this is odd. I don't know what to do.

[Heath Cummings]

What you can do right now is make the 19th pick of the draft.

[Aaron]

Going back to, I guess another one of the running backs here. We'll go Ollie Gordon at Oklahoma State.

[Heath Cummings]

I hate you. Yeah, that's, that's, that's definitely who I would have taken there. I'm gonna take a big swing for the fences here and, and you can laugh at me later, but I'm gonna go with Jalen Milroe.

[Aaron]

That's who's next on my board. So I'm not laughing.

[Heath Cummings]

No laughing then. I, I don't, like, I don't actually believe that he's probably Gonna work out, but the upside's too high. Just in case in a super flex league where we're also talking about his rushing upside. So Jalen Milroe is the 20th pick of the draft and we've got. This is awesome. We're now getting. If Hunter plays 75, 25 split, where should he be picked? Like we're just. We're going to do all of the different potential options for him. I would say 75, 25 split means that he should be picked in the round three.

[Aaron]

I was gonna say do you wanna. Do you want him over Ollie Gordon fan and any of the guys we've taken knowing he's gonna play one out of four snaps on offense? I don't.

[Heath Cummings]

No, I agree.

[Aaron]

That puts me back on the board, doesn't it? Wow, are we in no man's land here. You've taken the last of the quarterbacks I really want outside of the dart throws. I like Isaiah Bond here. He's lightning quick. I just don't know if I like anything else about him. I guess I'm gonna buy into that and hope maybe it's an Xavier worthy type speed demon scenario here. So Isaiah Bond is my guy.

[Heath Cummings]

Well, yeah, I was gonna say, like he's not actually as fast as he acts like he is. But I do like the bravado. Like you need that at the. You need that as a wide receiver position. You need to believe you're faster than everyone else and no one can cover you. And I think I, I think I will go back to the tight end position and go with Mason Taylor. Just hoping that in a tight end premium league he can evolve into somebody who becomes a starter at the position and matters. In fantasy football, it's a low bar, but this is like I was one. I would. I. I know we agree on who the top three tight ends are, but do you like this class outside? Is it a deep class also or is it just a very good top three?

[Aaron]

It's a very good top three. Aside from that, I said I think there was a dart throw in Lucha. I'm trying to. I'm scrolling up to my tight end rankings here. I. I didn't really have anyone with all that much interest for me. Yeah, it's basically the three of them. And unless someone really gets higher draft capital than expected, I don't have any of them in the top three rounds either.

[Heath Cummings]

Well, you are on the clock. What we have, we have two picks left, I believe.

[Aaron]

Two each. And that was. Someone in the chat said it Cam Scatterbo was my next pick. Going back to the running back. Well, again, kind of, kind of slow. Hasn't mattered in the past, I guess. So he's a bigger back. I, I typically find. I know the, the 40 time condemns some running backs. They die quick deaths here. He only ran a 46 2. I find with running backs that are over 200 pounds, I don't so much care how fast they are. He's going to be a, you know, 215 pound back. 511, just under six feet tall. He's a pretty, pretty big back. So I don't so much care that he's not the fastest.

[Heath Cummings]

No, I, I think, I think that was a really good pick and kind of the name that was left. I'm going to ask you after I make the last pick if there's anybody out there that like we didn't draft that maybe we're going to get excited about. I'll. I'll take DJ Giddens, the running back out of Kansas State. Just another running from the class that maybe has 20 of them that would have been drafted last year. Are there any sleepers, anybody that you're hoping like becomes a thing by the NFL draft?

[Aaron]

I've still got. If you go. I could probably almost go another, another full round, just a three or four at each position. That good draft capital or a landing spot could help out. I've still got three quarterbacks I'd like to see. Will Howard, Quinn Ewers, Dylan Gabriel, tight end. I said Luke Lachey. As far as running backs go, the only ones I had really were Dylan Sampson, Tootin. If he gets drafted higher than we thought.

[Heath Cummings]

Right.

[Aaron]

Martinez, Rocket Sanders and Donovan Edwards the Rock.

[Heath Cummings]

I mean how do you, how can you not like Rocket Sanders?

[Aaron]

Yeah, yeah, that's that.

[Heath Cummings]

And if your name is. If your nickname is Rocket, you better be the fastest guy there.

[Aaron]

Yeah, he wasn't actually as fast tight end or tight end. Wide receivers here is, is really where like I said, I had Ted's Johnson on the board. He's small, he's slow. That wasn't a great combination. Other than that I had Jalen Royals, Alec Ao Menor and Jaden Higgins. So like I said, I probably got enough to go three rounds, but the third round is basically speculative guys only that I'm just holding out a hope and a prayer for. I think I feel like the middle of the second round is kind of where we started throwing darts here.

[Heath Cummings]

You guys are really warming Thomas's heart in the chat with your, your complaints about no, no draft board. And I, I hear you. I tell you what I'm gonna do as soon as we get done with this show. Well, first I'm gonna eat some lunch. But then after that, after that I'm gonna go, I'm gonna go do a short write up of this two man mock draft and there will be a full listing of all the players with positions and with what college team they played on because I'm not sure that all you guys are, are quite as up on that quite yet. We're going to know it really well in the next couple of months. And Jordan, we, we did kind of talk about ranking this year's wide receiver class with last year's wide receiver class at the top of the show. Aaron said that the only two wide receivers from last year's class that would be wide receiver one in this year's class are Malik Neighbors And Brian Thomas Jr. He also kind of ranked his top six. So you just rewind, you'll hear that earlier in the show. Aaron, thank you so much for being here. Would you, would you tell everybody what you've got? Coming up next, Whole lot of rookie.

[Aaron]

Profiles and content over at Fantasy Sports Advice Network. Got some multiverse articles, we're calling them kind of each NFL team with three potential scenarios of different levels of out there just to kind of, it's a, you know, fancy spin on the team previews. Other than that, I've got some IDP combine content over at Player Profiler and basically just some, some rankings in that for the off season at Fantasy Pros. It's kind of rookie season right now. Starting to gear up a bit for free agency but nothing, nothing too fancy so far.

[Heath Cummings]

Well, I thank you for being here. It's always good talking to you. We'll do it again soon. Thank you to everybody who was active in the chat. We this will be up in podcast form a little bit later today and then of course I will have the mock draft results available on the site hopefully before the day is over. We will talk to you on Friday. Paramount Podcast New CBS Saturday. A soldier suspected of killing his young wife. He's been trained on how to kill.

[Aaron]

Goes on the run. He just disappeared off the face of.

[Heath Cummings]

The map with his 17 year old girlfriend. If he was willing to kill his own wife, there's no telling what kind of danger Hannah Thompson would have been in. 48 Hours is all news, CBS Saturday, 10, 9 Central and streaming on Paramount.