FFT Express: Steal These 10 Hidden Gems in Your 2025 Fantasy Football Draft! (07/29 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Summary

FFT Express: Steal These 10 Hidden Gems in Your 2025 Fantasy Football Draft! – Detailed Summary

In the July 30, 2025 episode of Fantasy Football Today, titled "FFT Express: Steal These 10 Hidden Gems in Your 2025 Fantasy Football Draft!", host Adam Azer teams up with analyst Jamie Eisenberg to uncover underrated players poised to make significant impacts in fantasy leagues. Focusing primarily on running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends, the duo delves deep into player potentials, providing actionable insights for fantasy managers looking to gain a competitive edge.

Running Backs

1. Tank Bigsby (Jaguars) Jamie Eisenberg highlights Tank Bigsby as a promising yet overlooked running back. Despite offseason hype tapering off, Bigsby's role as the potential lead back for the Jaguars positions him as a valuable fantasy asset.

“Tank Bigsby is somebody that's certainly earned an opportunity to, you know, see his draft stock rise in fantasy leagues.” [00:54]

Eisenberg discusses the impact of a potential coordinator change, drawing parallels to Ken Walker’s evolution last season. Bigsby's college performance, particularly his prowess in receiving (60 catches over three seasons), suggests he could excel in PPR formats if given consistent opportunities.

2. DJ Giddens (Colts) Adam Azer introduces DJ Giddens as a rookie running back for the Colts, projecting him as the number two behind Taylor unless injuries occur. Giddens' versatility as a pass-catching third-down back and his effective cutback running make him an enticing late-round pick.

“DJ Giddens looks like RB2 right now and seems like a good fit as a pass catching third down back.” [02:09]

Giddens' potential is further emphasized as a solid handcuff option, providing depth and upside for fantasy teams.

3. Braylon Allen (Detroit) Eisenberg brings attention to Braylon Allen, comparing his potential role to that of David Montgomery. With the Detroit offense undergoing changes, Allen possesses a high lottery ticket upside, especially if he can complement or take over from Breeze Hall.

“Braylon Allen's got huge lottery ticket upside if something would happen to Breeze Hall.” [02:44]

Allen is recommended as a late-round pick with the possibility to become a significant contributor early in the season.

4. J.K. Dobbins (Baltimore) Despite being ranked outside the top 100 in Average Draft Position (ADP) at 125th, Adam Azer advocates for drafting J.K. Dobbins sooner rather than later. With a robust offensive line and an improving role, Dobbins is seen as a high-value pick who could outperform his ADP significantly.

“J.K. Dobbins is outside the top 100. And I think if you're looking at it from a running back perspective, Tank Bigsby is somebody that's certainly earned an opportunity...” [03:22]

Eisenberg concurs, emphasizing Dobbins' ease of drafting and potential as a starter if he can stay healthy.

“He’s an injury away from being the full time guy, you know, if that's the way you want to frame it.” [04:35]

Wide Receivers

1. Demario Douglas (Patriots) Jamie Eisenberg identifies Demario Douglas as a steal due to his strong training camp performance and his role in a Josh McDaniels-coordinated offense. Douglas is projected to follow in the footsteps of standout Patriots like Wes Welker and Julian Edelman, making him a valuable late-round target.

“Demario Douglas is somebody that continues to rise up my rankings and I don’t think he's going to crack the top 50.” [05:36]

Douglas is anticipated to break out in his third year, offering significant upside for fantasy managers.

2. Josh Palmer and Keon Coleman (Bills) Eisenberg also spotlights Josh Palmer and Keon Coleman as under-the-radar receivers for the Bills. Palmer, in particular, is praised for his play-making ability within the high-powered Bills offense, while Coleman is noted for his unnoticed contributions during the previous season.

“Keon Coleman ... is a hidden gem just because I think a lot of people forget about him.” [06:31]

Both receivers are expected to see increased targets and production, making them excellent late-round additions.

3. Christian Kirk (Arizona) Adam Azer highlights Christian Kirk as a versatile receiver who could serve as a number three option in PPR leagues. With an ADP around the 140th mark, Kirk offers significant value for his potential role in the Arizona offense.

“I like Christian Kirk. I think he could be a number three receiver in full PPR.” [09:11]

Kirk's ability to create plays and his involvement in the passing game make him a worthy consideration for late-round drafting.

Tight Ends

1. Hunter Henry (Patriots) Hunter Henry is presented as a sleeper tight end who could provide substantial value if the Patriots' passing offense takes a significant step forward. Despite a mid-round ADP, Henry has the potential to secure a reliable streaming option.

“Hunter Henry is a hidden gem and honestly I’m probably going to be on an island here.” [09:05]

Eisenberg adds that Darren Waller could follow a similar trajectory, offering another tight end with high upside.

“Darren Waller is someone I’m at least interested in. I almost buy his time off as a good thing.” [09:53]

2. Brenton Strange and Diami Brown (Jacksonville) Eisenberg introduces Brenton Strange and Diami Brown as additional tight end and receiver options. Strange, in particular, showed promise last season and is expected to take on a more prominent role with the investment from Jacksonville.

“Bren Strange look, he had some good numbers last year... they've invested in Strange as their lead tight end.” [09:53]

Additional Considerations

Dylan Samson and Romeo Dobbs Beyond the primary recommendations, Eisenberg touches on players like Dylan Samson, who could emerge as a versatile back, and Romeo Dobbs, a receiver who might capitalize on opportunities within the Packers' offense despite competition from established players.

Bryce Young (Quarterback) Adam Azer briefly mentions Bryce Young, suggesting that while his rushing upside is limited, his dual-threat capability could still make him a valuable fantasy quarterback option.

Key Takeaways

• Late-Round Value: The episode emphasizes targeting players who are undervalued in drafts but possess the potential to outperform their ADP, such as Tank Bigsby, DJ Giddens, and Braylon Allen.

• Positional Depth: Focus is primarily on running backs and wide receivers, with tight ends like Hunter Henry and Darren Waller also highlighted as high-upside picks.

• Injury Considerations: Players like J.K. Dobbins and Braylon Allen are noted for their potential to step into larger roles, especially if current starters face injuries or performance issues.

• Strategic Streaming: For positions like tight end, the discussion encourages managers to consider streaming options based on performance trends and team dynamics.

Notable Quotes

• “Tank Bigsby is somebody that's certainly earned an opportunity to, you know, see his draft stock rise in fantasy leagues.” – Jamie Eisenberg [00:54]

• “DJ Giddens looks like RB2 right now and seems like a good fit as a pass catching third down back.” – Adam Azer [02:09]

• “Hunter Henry is a hidden gem and honestly I’m probably going to be on an island here.” – Adam Azer [09:05]

• “Braylon Allen's got huge lottery ticket upside if something would happen to Breeze Hall.” – Jamie Eisenberg [02:44]

Conclusion

This episode of Fantasy Football Today serves as a valuable resource for fantasy managers seeking to identify and leverage hidden gems in their drafts. By focusing on under-the-radar players with high upside across key positions, Adam Azer and Jamie Eisenberg provide listeners with strategic insights to enhance their teams and dominate their leagues in the 2025 season.

Transcript

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[Adam Azer]

Get some hidden gems in your fantasy drafts on FFT Express. Well, hello everybody. Welcome to the show. Adam Azer and Jamie Eisenberg. So we're just talking about some players that are not getting enough buzz. Maybe you can get them late in your drafts. Who do you got?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

We talked about one on our full length episode and that's Tank Bigsby. You know, the, the off season hype is sort of carried over to training camp and we'll sort of see how this, you know, plays itself out. But I think, you know, if he has the chance to be the lead running back for the Jaguars on an offense, then I think a lot of people are excited about myself included, then it could be a fun situation and then we're going to see his average job position rise and we'll see his, you know, rankings certainly, you know, follow suit. My last rankings adjustment with Jaguars running backs, I had them closer. I haven't put him ahead of ETN yet. You brought up something which I think is relevant. You know, what will his role, what will it happen in ppr, you know, who's the better of the two in terms of catching passes? I still think that's going to be etn, you know, based on how they use big last year. But as I said coordinator change. We could see Bigsby sort of have that career arc of what Ken Walker did last year of not necessarily being a pass catcher early in his NFL career. And then there was a change in just, you know, what happened to Walker, where he was, you know, on pace for a 50 catch season. I think Bigsby's track record in college, he had 60 catches in three seasons. You know, that's something that he can clearly do. So can he pass protect? That's the question we'll see about Tutin, who is dealing with a hamstring injury in practice, if he's healthy, how much of a role he'll play. But I think if you're looking at it from a running back perspective, Tank Bigsby is somebody that's certainly earned an opportunity to, you know, see his draft stock rise in fantasy leagues.

[Adam Azer]

Somebody I didn't mention on the show, the show that we just recorded, the long one was DJ Giddens, rookie running back for the Colts. Obviously he's not going to have a lot of value if Taylor's healthy, but he appears to be the number two running back there. Just trying to see this from Stephen Holder. Rookie running back D.J. giddens looks like RB2 right now and seems like a good fit as a pass catching third down back. Impressive cutback runner too. So that's just an article that came out on July 28th. Someone to keep in mind. We talk about handcuffs all the time. This could be a really good one in DJ Giddens.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

I give another one Braylon Allen, who's gotten a lot of positive buzz as well and could be the David Montgomery. You know, we, we keep saying, you know, the, the Detroit offense that Ben Johnson's taking to Chicago. Well, offense coordinator for the jets was on that line's coaching staff as well. And he could do something similar with Bray, with Braylon Allen as the Montgomery in the Montgomery role and Breeze hall in the Jameer Gibbs role and it'd be exciting for both. But Braylon Allen's got huge lottery ticket upside if something would happen to Breeze hall and somebody who could maybe play right away in in tandem with Hall. So someone that I'm trying to draft with one of my later picks in almost every league, Braylon Allen.

[Adam Azer]

A little bit of knee soreness miss practice today, but not a big deal. I'm gonna give you one more running back. This one surprises me and you know, I don't know the date range of this adp, but I'm assuming most of it is pretty recent. But J.K. dobbins is still going pretty late. Let me get the exact average draft position on fantasy pros, but he's, he's outside the top 100. And I'll keep bringing this up. Last year Gus Edwards was going ahead of J.K. dobbins. He's 125th. 125th. They've got the arguably the best offensive line in the NFL. And I don't know, am I, am I reading this wrong? I'm not saying you should take him ahead of RJ Harvey, but 125th overall for potentially the starting running back.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

He's easy to draft. And while I hope that Harvey is the better of the two, just based on, you know, my expectations for what I think Harvey can become. You said it, Dobbins may be the starter. Dobbins coming off an amazing season last year, Dobbins may be the better pass protector right away. It's a great situation. He's an injury away from being the full time guy, you know, if that's the way you want to frame it. So why wouldn't you take him with that ADP if that's where he's living?

[Adam Azer]

Yeah, but why? What's the difference between him and Ramandre Stevenson, you know? Yeah, maybe he should. Should J.K. dobbins be a top 100 pick?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Adam Azer]

Okay.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

All right.

[Adam Azer]

Maybe not top 90, but you know, getting there. Okay.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

We get one report that he's dominating touches in camp and it's gonna skyrocket.

[Adam Azer]

All right, we're going to take a break and we're going to come right back and give you some more hidden gems after this on FFT Express.

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[Adam Azer]

Okay, Jamie, we've talked a lot about running backs. Any other hidden gems?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Demario Douglas is easy for me right now, like just having a strong camp and the slot receiver and a Josh McDaniels offense. Well, imagine if I told you before Wes Welker broke out or before Julian Edelman broke out or before Danny Amendola broke out. You had a chance to take one of these guys with late round picks, which is in a lot of cases where they were going like this is now the guy for the Patriots. At least right now it could be where they want to put Diggs back in the slot. We see how that unfolds. But Douglas's situation, like he's just somebody that continues to rise up my, my rankings and I don't think he's going to crack the top 50. I mean, I should say I think he's cracked top 40. But he's, he's getting close, you know, and making some plays downfield too. I'm excited about the Patriots as I think I sort of alluded to in the full length episode. Like I think Drake May's gonna have a good season and I think Douglas is going to be one of these guys that has the third year Breakout. So he's, he's an easy one for me with a late round pick.

[Adam Azer]

Anyone else come to mind?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Josh Palmer. You know, just a guy that's gonna seemingly make some plays for the, for the Bills offense. I hope it's Keon Coleman. He's had a strong camp so far. Coleman I guess you could say is a hidden gem just because I think a lot of people forget about him with how all the rookies performed last year and he did not. But you know, it's easy to sort of say Khalil Shakir auto click when he's up in that range of receivers. Maybe you pass on him and you take Coleman a couple rounds later or even one of your last picks you take Josh Palmer. So it feels like these two guys are making a lot of plays in camp. Maybe that's just because Shakir is doing his thing and don't get a lot of attention, but I think both those guys are going to be relevant at some point this season.

[Adam Azer]

I can fire some more names unless you have some.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Yeah, good.

[Adam Azer]

So we actually also just talked about Bryce Young. Maybe more rushing upside than people realize. He was on pace for 391 rushing yards in his last 10 starts. I'm going to take the under on that. But he at least could still be a plus in rushing. And Ted McMillan, Ted Roll McMillan obviously gives him a weapon that he did not have last year and he's a young, hopefully improving player. So there's Bryce Young. I think you got to consider Dylan Sampson here because Jerome Ford, he's oh sure back. He's almost at full strength. So I'm not, it's not the injury but they just have never really seemed intent on giving Jerome Ford a lot of work and he's probably just the guy and maybe Samson is too. They talked about Samson as more of a third down back but you know if the first and second down back is not getting the job done, sometimes they will throw the third down back into that first and second down role. And Dylan Sampson's ADP right now is 194th. I had a few others but if you want to talk about them while I.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

There's going to be some receivers that matter at some point during the scene. Romeo Dobbs, I know you like him lots. You know he's, he's somebody that is going to get overlooked because of Jaden Reed and the bounce back potential and the addition of Matthew golden and maybe Savion Williams, maybe Don Taming Wicks. Dobbs is not a great player by any means, but he is a relevant player because the packers like him and so he may have some moments. Adam Thielen coming off a strong stretch of games. You mentioned Bryce Young and how he finished the year. Well, a big reason why was Adam Thielen coming back from his hamstring injury and the way that he finished with his final seven games. Jalen McMillan, I know everybody's looking at it. Godwin's back and hopefully healthy and we'll see what happens there. And the addition of a Mecca Abuca. The new offense coordinator Josh Grizzard continues to rave about Jalen McMillan and he's going to have an opportunity to make some plays and if something happens to any of the guys in front of him, Mike Evans included, he could be a league winner as we saw last year, the way he finished in the final five games when Godwin was out. So these guys are not going to be high draft picks by any stretch, but there could be some, some quality playmakers at some point during the season.

[Adam Azer]

I'll just mention a couple of tight ends real quick and let's go back to the Patriots. Hunter Henry, tight end 23 and ADP probably going to be something like tight end 15. But if that pass offense takes a big step, he's going to be a worthwhile streamer. Maybe have a stretch of five or six games where he's a reliable starter. But with guys like Henry, it always goes, you want to buy into them. I know they let you down a little bit, but he's a hidden gem and honestly I, I'm probably going to be on an island here. I think Darren Waller is someone I'm at least interested in. I, I almost buy, I buy his time off as a good thing. I think he's refreshed. Mike McDaniel said he's in great shape and they're taking it slow with him, but I think he could, I think he could be a factor. I think is another guy. He could be like Hunter Henry, a top 15ish tight end and he's pretty much an afterthought in drafts.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

I give you two more, one tight end, one receiver on the same team and it's Brenton Strange and Diami Brown. Brown similar to like a Romeo Dobbs type of player, Adam Thielen type player. Clearly not as much upside as we've seen. But they may have Travis Hunter playing a lot in defense and that could lead to Brown being a big time player from an opportunity standpoint in this Jacksonville offense. And Bren Strange look, he had some good numbers last year when Evan Ingram went down, Mac Jones was the quarterback and now they've invested in Strange as their lead tight end. So that's something to keep an eye. Just one thing about Waller is the Dolphins have brought in Noah Fant for, yeah, a workout. That could either be an indication that Waller may not be ready to go, or they may add no offense, which I think would just make it very messy for both those guys.

[Adam Azer]

One last name. Sorry, I just continue to be, I don't know, not blown away. I think I understand it, but I think Christian Kirk is a, is a really good pick. Yeah, 12 140th overall football guys a little bit later than that on fantasy pros. So I, I like, I like Christian Kirk. I think he could be a number three receiver in full ppr. You could get him as your number five receiver maybe even later. Okay Jamie, thank you so much. These are some hidden gems. We want to thank you all for watching and listening to FFT Express. We will talk to you on Thursday. I believe is our next express, but certainly on FFT tomorrow. See ya Paramount Podcast As a young adult, finding the right path to your future can feel overwhelming. It starts with Europe United's tuition free job training program, Career Pathways. If you're without a bachelor's degree but have a high school diploma or ged, you can get skills first training to succeed in the industries you're passionate about, all while earning a weekly educational stipend to offset basic expenses. From there, you'll have access to internships and hands on experiences with Fortune 500 companies. And with Europe United's job placement services and personalized coaching and mentorship, you can put your knowledge, skills and most importantly, confidence into practice. Apply to Europe United today and take the first step toward achieving the career you want. Visit yearup.org to learn more.