WR Tiers: How Late Can You Find Upside at WR? (07/16 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Summary

Fantasy Football Today: WR Tiers – How Late Can You Find Upside at WR? (Released July 16, 2025)

Hosted by Adam Aizer, along with analysts Dave Richard, Jamey Eisenberg, Heath Cummings, and the CBS Sports Fantasy Football crew, this episode delves deep into the nuances of Wide Receiver (WR) tiers, exploring how late in the draft fantasy managers can find valuable WRs with significant upside.

---

Introduction

Adam Aizer kicks off the episode at [01:00], welcoming listeners and setting the stage for an in-depth analysis of Wide Receiver tiers in fantasy football. The focus is on understanding the depth at the WR position and identifying late-round steals that can provide a competitive edge.

---

Wide Receiver Tier Breakdown

Tier 1: Elite WRs At [14:28], Jamey Eisenberg outlines Tier 1, highlighting the top-tier WRs who are expected to be drafted in the first round. "These are the first-round wide receivers. I think all these guys are going to be selected in round one," Jamey states at [14:51]. The players in this tier include:

• Jamar Chase
• CeeDee Lamb
• Justin Jefferson

Jamey emphasizes their consistent performance and high ceiling, suggesting they are essential picks for any fantasy roster.

Tier 2: High-Caliber WRs with Slightly Lower ADP Heath Cummings adds his perspective at [15:42], supporting Jamie's Tier 1 while introducing Tier 2 players. This tier includes:

• Puka Nacua
• Nico Collins
• Amon-Ra St. Brown
• Brian Thomas Jr.

Heath notes, "These guys are going to compete to be the number one wide receiver this year," underscoring their potential to outperform expectations.

Tier 3 & 4: Reliable WRs with Potential Upside Jamey moves into Tier 3 at [18:43], discussing players like A.J. Brown and Drake London. He mentions, "They are the players that have the chance to compete to be the number one wide receiver this year."

Tier 4 includes:

• Chris Olave
• Amari Cooper
• Rasheed Rice
• Devonte Adams

Jamie comments at [24:00], "This is the Blob for me, you know, so I'm hoping the Tier 5 guys are a little bit more secure."

---

Draft Strategies and Player Comparisons

At [02:04], the panel engages in a spirited discussion about Amon-Ra St. Brown, debating his placement in Tier 1 vs. Tier 2. Jamie humorously states at [02:05], "He wants to put you in jail because you do not have Amon-Ra St. Brown in tier one."

Adam shares his personal draft strategy at [04:15], mentioning his approach of diversifying positions early: "Majoring on three running backs with first four picks," which he contrasts with Heath's balanced early picks.

Heath introduces his research findings at [06:13], noting, "it is much more common to find a wide receiver that finishes top 12 in round seven or later." This insight suggests that savvy fantasy managers can uncover valuable WRs even in the later rounds.

Jamie concurs at [09:29], emphasizing the importance of not limiting team construction solely to WRs, especially considering potential breakout players from other positions.

---

News and Notes

Contract Holds and Player Performance:

• Terry McLaurin: Heath discusses McLaurin's contract holdout, stating at [11:21], "he doesn't sound like you're too concerned about Terry McLaurin right now."
• Jamar Chase: Reviewed at [06:13], highlighting Chase's return from last year's holdout and his subsequent performance.

Player Health Updates:

• Ricky Pierce: Jamie shares his excitement about Pierce's potential, hoping for a breakout performance.
• Devonte Adams: Adam expresses caution regarding Adams' age and team change at [23:46].

---

Mailbag and Listener Engagement

At [07:44], Adam promotes the show's interactive segments, encouraging listeners to participate in the "Draft a Thon" and submit mailbag questions. This engagement not only fosters community interaction but also supports charitable causes like St. Jude.

---

Mock Draft Analysis

Throughout the episode, the analysts reference their "Pick by Pick" series, where they simulate drafts to provide practical insights. At [02:29], Heath describes his unique draft strategy of selecting multiple positions early, fostering diverse team compositions.

Jamie reflects on his own mock drafts at [35:02], discussing the challenges of balancing high-upside WRs with reliable RBs and QBs, noting how different draft positions can influence team strategy.

---

Tier 5 to 12: Deep Dive into Lower-Tier WRs

Tier 5 & 6: Potential Breakouts and Risky Picks

• Layered Discussions: The panel debates players like JSN Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr., DK Metcalf, and Cortland Sutton, weighing their upside against potential risks.
• Heath's Input: At [32:27], Heath challenges the placement of certain players, advocating for a more conservative approach with high-risk picks like Oliver and Odunze Olave.

Tier 7 & 8: Question Marks and Strategic Flexibility

• Jamie Highlights: At [39:44], Jamie discusses the volatility within Tier 7, citing players like Juwan Jennings and Ricky Pierce, whose performance can significantly influence their fantasy value.
• Heath’s Insights: Emphasizing the importance of situational factors, Heath points out at [42:24], "Heath, I think he's going to a problem for him with teams’ offensive strategies."

Tiers 9 to 12: High Upside with Significant Risks

• Late-Round Targets: The analysts cover players like Ricky Piersall, Dylan Mooney, and Christian Kirk, discussing their potential as late-round gambles.
• Injury Concerns: Adam expresses reservations about players recovering from injuries, such as Brandon Ayuk, at [61:51].

---

Final Thoughts and Conclusions

As the episode wraps up, the panel emphasizes the importance of flexibility and research in drafting WRs. They encourage fantasy managers to remain adaptable, leveraging tiers to identify potential value picks without overcommitting to any single strategy.

Heath summarizes at [55:35], "If you can just get Juwan Jennings to sign his deal, I'll probably go back to the way they had it," highlighting the dynamic nature of WR evaluations based on offseason developments.

Jamie concludes with actionable advice, urging listeners to consider their league's specific dynamics and draft tendencies to maximize their team's potential.

---

Key Takeaways

1. Depth at WR Position: There is significant depth in the WR position, with valuable players available even in the later rounds.
2. Tier-Based Drafting: Utilizing tiers helps in making informed decisions and identifying potential sleepers.
3. Flexibility is Crucial: Being adaptable and responsive to draft dynamics can provide a competitive advantage.
4. Monitor News Closely: Player performance and circumstances can shift tiers, making it essential to stay updated on the latest developments.

---

Notable Quotes:

• Jamie on Tier 1 WRs: "These are the first-round wide receivers. I think all these guys are going to be selected in round one." [14:51]
• Heath on WR Upside: "You can find a wide receiver late, look for a guy who can get at least seven targets per game." [07:23]
• Adam on Draft Strategy: "The way that team had started and there were still several running backs that like my favorite players at that point were still running backs." [04:55]
• Jamie on Raw Data: "Heath, I think he's going to a problem for him with teams’ offensive strategies." [42:24]

---

This episode of Fantasy Football Today provides a comprehensive analysis of Wide Receiver tiers, offering fantasy managers valuable insights to enhance their draft strategies. By understanding the depth and potential of each tier, listeners can make informed decisions to build a balanced and competitive fantasy roster.

Transcript

[Commercial Speaker]

Ready to level up? Chumba Casino is your playbook to fun. It's free to play with no purchase necessary. Enjoy hundreds of online social games like blackjack, slots and solitaire anytime, anywhere with fresh releases every week. Whether you are at home or on the go, let Chumba Casino bring the excitement to you. Plus, get free daily login bonuses and a free welcome bonus. Join now for your chance to redeem some serious prizes. Play Chumba Casino today. No purchase necessary VGW Group void board prohibited by law 21 TNCs apply on WhatsApp. No one can see or hear your personal messages. Whether it's a voice call, message or sending a password to WhatsApp, it's all just this. So whether you're sharing the streaming password in the family chat or trading those late night voice messages that could basically become a podcast, your personal messages stay between you, your friends and your family. No one else, not even us. WhatsApp message privately with everyone.

[Adam]

This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports.

[Jamie]

Wanna play? Can you believe this?

[Heath]

No, I can't.

[Adam]

It's time to dominate your fantasy league.

[Heath]

Off to the races and he stays at his feet.

[Jamie]

This is gonna go the distance.

[Adam]

Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie and Heath.

[Heath]

What's up everybody? Keith's getting a big old drink of coffee. Is it coffee you got there?

[Adam]

Yeah, it is coffee.

[Heath]

All right, get your boarding started the right way. Well, for you it's like the afternoon. It's 10 o', clock, 10:12am Eastern here on Wednesday. And we are talking wide receiver tiers tomorrow, tight end tiers Friday. Mailbag still mailbag. Questions to be purchased on our Draft a Thon page, which I'll tell you about in a little bit. Got a comment in the chat. Look at this. Controversial one says morning boys. But then his next one, Amanra Saint Brown falling out of the top tier is criminal. Jamie, he wants to put you in jail because you do not have Amon Ross. And Brown in tier one. You have him in tier two. Heath, you probably have St Brown in tier eight.

[Adam]

I have him tier three.

[Heath]

Okay. I don't think it's criminal at all. He shouldn't be a tier one. Depends how big tier one is for Jamie. It's three players, so we'll look at Jamie's tears. Heath will compare and contrast. How you guys doing? Doing good, Doing great.

[Jamie]

Woke up 6am for some reason today and already knocked out the first story from our pick by pick series which was a fun draft yesterday.

[Heath]

It was. I did a draft. We're Going to be writing this pick by pick series. So that's where each of us drafts two teams in a 12 team league. And we write about how the team came together and what we liked and what we didn't like, and so on and so forth. Different strategies at different spots in the draft. I took a team where I. Not intentionally, I drafted four different positions with my first four picks, which was fun. So I had. I don't remember the running back and the receiver, but I had. Oh, it was McCaffrey, A.J. brown, Josh Allen, George Kittle. Just kind of an interesting way to start. So we'll. We'll talk about that. Hey, Jamie, what was the most interesting way you started in a. In one of your teams yesterday?

[Jamie]

Interesting way that I started. I mean, team T, I had the first pick in the seventh pick. The seventh pick was more interesting just because Jameer gives felt a seven, which is not something that happens all the time. And I was. So you and I picked back to back on both teams. And it felt like you were using my rankings, which I hate.

[Heath]

No, I wasn't using. I was using the consensus ranking.

[Adam]

Thomas. Thomas was using mine. I was cursing him the entire time.

[Jamie]

Yeah, when you took Cortland Sutton, like In the pick 47, I just know that because I wrote pick one. So you took it with the. The second last pick in round four. That pissed me off. And then I was happy when you decided to pass on Isaac Rendo.

[Heath]

Don't even bring that up. Don't even bring that up.

[Jamie]

I was just waiting, like, oh, man, I wanted Garendo. He's gonna take a rando. Then you took Kyle Williams. I was like, oh, this is a gift.

[Heath]

Yeah, that's a big mistake. In fact, I almost asked for the pick back, but then you took Garendo. And I was like, I can't do it now. It was like, I was like, I should have taken Garendo there. And then you took. It was like, I can't ask for it back. Heath.

[Jamie]

Most. The funny thing about that draft is I was actually gonna suggest, like, because we're, we're. We're not competing for anything. We're trying to help people. Like, if anybody wants any picks back, like, they should just say it.

[Heath]

I know, but it was after you took Aendo or I would have.

[Jamie]

I wouldn't have cared.

[Heath]

Just I felt. Felt dirty. Heath, what was the most interesting thing you noticed in the pick by pick yesterday?

[Adam]

One of the problems I've had this summer is I keep drafting three running backs. My first four or five picks. And so I decided with one of my teams I wasn't going to do that and didn't take a running back in the first four rounds and instead started with Malik Neighbors, Brock Bowers, Lamar Jackson and Jackson Smith and Jigba. First time I think I've seen JSN fall to round four. Yeah and so that was, that was a fun start and of course I took DeAndre Swift because I always do. But yeah it was I think the other team I took running back with three of my first four picks.

[Heath]

You did.

[Adam]

So yeah.

[Heath]

HN Taylor McLaren Hubard. I gotta ask you about that McLaren pick after he expressed his frustration yesterday. If that's a mid round three regret.

[Adam]

For you, he's not gonna, he's not gonna sit out.

[Jamie]

So I was having this conversation with some NFL people yesterday like have we seen a holdout recently hold in holdout perform at the level that they were the previous year or better.

[Heath]

Jamar Chase last year. Right. Didn't he was it.

[Jamie]

I don't think he ever sat and.

[Adam]

Terry is not technically said that he's not going to training camp yet. Right. He hasn't decided.

[Jamie]

But I think all of these guys are going to be hold ins now. Like Juwan Jennings is going to take the Brandon Ayuk route of showing up and not participating.

[Heath]

Let's see, I got an article from September 4th Jamar Chase. This is from last year. Yeah. Jamar Chase is back and just in time for the season. I don't think I'm allowed to read this verbatim. Si.com the article is Jamar Chase returns the Bengals practice after a long contract holdout. But there were, there were three guys who held out last year if I recall it was Chase, Lamb and Ayuk. And correct me if I'm wrong, they all got off to slow starts. Chase did end up having an amazing year but he even he got off to slow starts to a slow start. That's the way I remember it.

[Jamie]

And, and look to be fair, Lamb lost his quarterback eight weeks into the season and Ayuk lost his knees six weeks into the season.

[Heath]

So your first two weeks were not good for Jamar Chase. All right. Anyway, we'll get to wide receiver tiers. So I'm looking at some some research from my running back and wide receiver bibles that I put together and one takeaway that I have is that it is much more common to find a wide receiver that finishes top 12 in round seven or later. Just doesn't happen that often at running back and it does. I mean, look, there are more wide receivers that get opportunities, right? You know, so on the field, just in the NFL. And unless there's an injury to a starting running back, it's, it's unlikely to happen. At running back, Chase Brown being an exception last year. But at wide receiver, it happens probably a few times a year. So should that influence. This is not exactly a tears discussion and we'll bring it up. I'll have some more concrete data for you when we do the wide receiver preview in a few weeks. But what I'd like for you to.

[Adam]

Do is look if that's still true. If you just look at maybe weeks 10 through 18 or even the like fantasy playoffs is too small of a sample. But because I do think we like. Bucky Irving may not have been a top 12 running back last year, but Bucky Irving was certainly a top 12 running back when it mattered.

[Heath]

Yeah, but that's 100% true. But you could say the same thing about lad McConkey. I think he was wide receiver 13. So he just missed. He and Bucky Irving just missed the top 12. No, I get what you're saying. You might have to be a little bit more patient maybe with running backs, but wide receivers, you can find steals, especially in the round seven to nine range, you know, and it's usually guys who get at least seven targets per game. That is a common theme. You want to draft a wide receiver late, look for a guy who can get at least seven targets per game. And being on a good offense helps as well. Again, I do have like stats and percentages and all that. I can, I'll put it together in a more concrete, succinct way, but I don't know, does that, does that influence. Do you guys feel like I want to save some picks in the late rounds for wide receivers or I want to focus on them in round seven through nine and get my running backs before that. Does that influence you at all?

[Jamie]

I mean, depending on how you build your team, clearly, you know, I, I don't think you want to limit it to just wide receivers because there's going to be these, you know, we talked about this yesterday. These, these handcuff running backs that are going to have a chance. It may not be for the, the long stretch that you might get for wide receivers, but you might get the Isaac Garando three or four week window. You might get the, you know, guy that steps up because of an injury that could be severely impactful for however long they're the starter. There but yes, you can. You can, you should. You, you know, hopefully get some of these wide receivers. And I think that the, the way like obviously our drafts are going to be a little bit different. Best ball drafts are going to be different, you know, industry drafts, whatever, where these guys, the, the wide receivers get pushed up in such a way like there'll be value for some of these receivers in these other drafts.

[Heath]

I just think once we get to the running backs and say round eight and you've got, you know, Brian Robinson and you've got Jalen Warren in round nine.

[Adam]

ETN's usually in round eight, isn't he?

[Heath]

ETN I've got him in round nine right now on Fantasy Pros, Jordan Mason's in round nine, then Tyrone Tracy's at the end of round nine. You might like the wide receivers better. You might like Jacoby Myers, Ricky Pierce are all Matthew Golden, Khalil Shakir, Jaden Reed, Cooper cup better than them. But anyway, I think that's a topic for another show. Let's we'll get into wide receiver tiers in a little bit. Drop draft a thon. All right, so the two things FFT open I keep telling you about, that's next Monday, 7:00pm Eastern. The spots are available. The two things I want to focus on right now on our Draftathon page, tinyurl.com 2025fft are the mailbag, which is we have five mailbag questions left to be purchased for $50 each. We'll read them on Friday's mailbag show. So you have five left. Please go ahead and donate to St. Jude with $50 and ask your question. And the other thing is the listener mock draft, which is next night at 7pm Eastern, we're going to do a live stream. So you're going to be part of that live stream. You're not going to be on it, but you're going to be drafting and we're going to be looking at your picks. And then so this is with Jamie, I guess. Jamie, you're going to be participating in it. And we've already got one person who bought the featured spot where we do a little recap of your team. But the rest of you, we need people to participate in this mock draft. Again, it is $50 and we have a lot of spots left. Nine spots left. So just go to tinyurl.com/2025fft and purchase a spot for next Tuesday night's mock draft. We'd really appreciate it. We'd love for you to be a part of it. News and notes so Terry McLaurin. He doesn't sound like you're too concerned about Terry McLaurin. Right. Just yet. He's very frustrated. Lack of progress in his contract talks.

[Adam]

He was very clear that he's not asking for a trade. He wants to be in Washington. He doesn't understand why he can't get the money that he wants. But no, I'm not, I'm not discounting Terry McLaurin yet. And part of the problem is, and we'll get to this when we get to tears, Terry McLaurin falls into that group right after the 11 or 12 or 13, how many it is for each of us that we really feel good about. Number one wide receivers or elite number twos. And then there's just so many guys that have, there's something else to worry about. They're either 32 years old or other problems.

[Heath]

So can I ask you a question here? So I'm looking at the team you drafted yesterday in the pick by pick team five, fifth overall pick three receiver PPR league. And this was the team that you took three running backs with your first four picks. You went Achan Taylor, McLaurin Hubbard. I was surprised by the pick. I didn't think you would consider McLaurin. With the fifth pick of round three, did you feel like you were backed into a corner because you already had two running backs? Did you and the tight two tight ends were off the board. Did you consider maybe a quarterback there instead of McLaurin?

[Adam]

I, I thought about it and I didn't end up taking a quarterback with that team until round 11. So my wide receivers are bad now. Can you imagine how bad they would be if I had taken a quarterback there? Like I, I just, I didn't. The way that team had started and there were still several running backs that like my favorite players at that point were still running backs, which has kind of been part of the problem for me drafting so far this summer. So maybe I should have just taken another running back and then taken a wide receiver in round four. But I, no, I didn't really consider. I mean, I thought about it, but I, I wasn't at a quarterback with that start.

[Heath]

So you go H.N. taylor, McLaurin Hubbard. Do you think if you were picking from the fifth spot again and you got hn same same players were available in the second round, would you maybe take a wide receiver instead of Jonathan Taylor?

[Adam]

I don't think I would because I don't think any of the wide receivers who are available Are going to score as many points as Jonathan Taylor.

[Heath]

Tyree Kill. Okay, let's go on.

[Jamie]

There you go.

[Heath]

Yeah, sorry, I had to get his name in there.

[Jamie]

He was gone, though.

[Heath]

No, he. He was. Oh, he was gone. He was. No, no. Yeah, he was there in the second round.

[Jamie]

Yeah. I thought you meant McLaren.

[Heath]

No. Okay, so Kansas City signed guard Trey smith to a four year, $94 million extension. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk thinks that Quinte on Judkins could be placed on paid leave after he signs his contract. Russell Wilson wants to play five or more more NFL seasons. This is a big one. Colston Loveland, Bears tight end, said his shoulder feels 100% entering training camp. And the jets gave Sauce Gardner a four year, $120 million deal. Highest paid cornerback based on average annual salary. All right, Jamie's wide receiver tiers. Let's get to it. Tier 1, Jamar Chase, CD Lamb and Justin Jefferson. And you say clearly in your article, Chase should be the number one overall pick. That's in PPR. Do you think he should be the number one overall pick in half PPR?

[Jamie]

Yes.

[Heath]

Non PPR?

[Jamie]

No.

[Heath]

Who should be?

[Jamie]

Bijan.

[Heath]

Okay, so tier one is Chase, Jefferson and Lamb. Tier two is Puka, neighbors Nico and Amonra St. Brown. No. Brian Thomas Jr. In this. In this group of two tiers. So it's your top seven wide receivers. Take us through it. How do you see it?

[Jamie]

These are the first round wide receivers. I think all these guys are going to be selected in round one. Nico may be the one that slips out of round one based on average opposition, but let's just say they're going to be top 14 or 15 overall picks. The upside is, is amazing for all of these guys. And you know, if you want to throw Brian Thomas in the conversation, I'm not going to fight you based on what he did last year in the addition of Liam Cohen with the healthy Trevor Lawrence. But for me, it's. It's Chase, you know, Jefferson, Lamb, however you want to rank those guys. And then the next four guys are in tier two because I think they're back half of round one options. But I think all of these guys have the chance to compete to be the number one wide receiver this year. I just think a little bit of a separation between the top three and the next four.

[Heath]

Heath, your thoughts? So tier one is Chase, Jefferson, Lamb. Tier two for Jamie, Puka, neighbors Nico St. Brown.

[Adam]

So, I mean, we've talked way too much about how, yes, I'm lower on. I'm on Ross St. Brown and I'm higher on Thomas and A.J. brown. But I mostly agree with this. I, I would have Chase and Lamb. I mean, really, it almost feels like Chase should be in his own tier. If you put together tiers with one or two players too often, then it starts looking goofy. So Jefferson is my third wide receiver. I don't have him as close to Lamb and Chase in my projections as I do the other guys. So I'd probably just say it's a two man tier at the top. But I mean these guys are all going to be in that late round one, early round two in terms of the tier two guys.

[Jamie]

And I will say, just for clerical purposes, I, I screwed with Thomas on an accident this morning because I did change my rankings to put Lamb ahead of Jefferson, which was like, okay, something. I've been on the fence a lot for weeks, so I did it this morning. Sorry, Tom.

[Heath]

So am I to interpret a tier if I'm going here? All right, what's, what's the point of a tier where it's justifiable to take any player in that tier in any order? Because in that case we don't want to get too granular. I guess Chase would be in his own tier because I think we all say definitively he should be number one. After that there's more debate. But is that the general rule of thumb? Like Tier 2 Puka neighbors, Nico St. Brown, you want to take them in any order for Jamie, like he has no qualms. Is that fair?

[Jamie]

Yes.

[Heath]

Okay.

[Jamie]

The way that I view it with the receivers at least is the guys in tier one are top five overall picks and then tier two is like, could be the last four picks in round one.

[Heath]

Would it be crazy for me to say tier one is Jamar Chase, tier two is the next six guys.

[Jamie]

It's fair.

[Adam]

I, I think you have a hard time making an argument for some of the tier 2 guys over CD or. I, I wouldn't be able to make an argument for some of the tier two guys over CD Lamb.

[Heath]

Okay.

[Adam]

I, I think. But yeah, I mean if Deck and Lamb play 17 games, I don't think any of those guys are going to be really close to him.

[Heath]

Over the last three seasons, CD Lamb with a healthy Dak Prescott has averaged at least 18 and a half, 18 and a half PPR fantasy points per game with a healthy DAC and much more than that in 2023. However, of course he never had George Pickens. So you are going to, you at home are going to have to decide how much the pickens things weighs on you. It doesn't really weigh on. On Heath and Jamie, I suppose. All right, so those are tiers one and two. Let's go to tiers three and four. And I guess my first question is, why is Brian Thomas Jr. Not in tier 2? He is in tier 3 with A.J. brown and Drake, London. Tier 3. Is Thomas Jr. Brown in London again for this?

[Jamie]

I sort of separated it by how I would draft these guys. And so I put the tier two guys as the players that I think are going to be drafted in round one. I have Brian Thomas just at the start of round two. So again, it's, you know, we're nitpicking here about where he should go. I think he's certainly in the. In the category of those other guys that are just ahead of him. And the same for A.J. brown. You know, let's not discount what A.J. brown has done in his time with the Eagles. I know it was a little bit of a down season last year from his overall production because he missed some time. He actually had his best points per game in his tenure with the Eagles last season. So I just think that they're just a slight notch behind those guys. So, again, you know, if you want to make it a. A bigger tier 2 and put Thomas and Brown in there, you know, and then we put London at the start of Tier 3 with Higgins and McConkey as the guys, I think are definitely going to go in, in the back half around two. You know, it's just a matter, I think, where you draw the line.

[Heath]

So just to clarify something here, because I think you may have said it both ways. You say the guys you expect to be in round one are in tiers two and one and two, or the.

[Jamie]

Guys that I have ranked.

[Heath]

Okay. Okay. So you have Brian Thomas just outside round one.

[Jamie]

Correct.

[Heath]

Okay, again, tier three is Brian Thomas Jr. AJ Brown, Drake, London. Tier four is Higgins, McConkey, Tyreek Hill, Rashi Rice and Devonte Adams. Again, Higgins, McConkey, Tyree Kill, Rasheed Rice, Devonte Adams. They are in tier 4. This is so fun and so fascinating to think. Where do the tight ends factor in here? Are they in between tiers 3 and 4? Are they within tier 3? Or for Bowers maybe, you know, depending on which analyst you ask, where do guys like Bucky Irving and Chase Brown rank? But again, I think that's a topic for another show. Heath, I think, you know, just.

[Jamie]

Just from a. A reading purpose you're going to see in the pick by Pick how this all unfolds. Yeah. And what I did this year, a little bit different than what we'd usually do last year, is actually made a landing page for this. So you can see the whole draft.

[Heath]

Oh nice.

[Jamie]

As opposed to just every column, you know, I'm trying to piece together so you can see the way the whole puzzle fits. So that'll be along with the 12 stories. So there'll be 13 stories on this. Obviously we do a lot of mock drafts. You're going to see that we have another mock draft today, half PPR. We already did a 12 team mock draft, PPR mock draft last week. And just to tie in something that you asked earlier because I thought Dave did a an interesting job with this. He drafted three receivers early in his team for PPR and then was took like 25 running backs even though it's a 14 round draft. But his last like three or four picks were like these dart throw receivers. And you know, kind of to your point about taking some of these, you know, it was around seven through nine, but it was like rounds 12, 13, 14. I think he did it so you could see the way Dave built his team that way as well.

[Heath]

Okay, I totally forgot about a commercial break. So we're going to do that and then we're going to get a Heath's reaction to tiers three and four after this on Fantasy Football today. Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. Now I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we we made $15 bills. But it turns out that's very illegal.

[Adam]

So there goes my big idea for the commercial.

[Heath]

Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment.

[Commercial Speaker]

Of $45 for 3 month plan equivalent to $15 per month required new customer offer for first 3 months only. Speed slow. After 35gb of networks busy. Taxes and fees extra.

[Heath]

See mintmobile.com the McDonald's snack wrap is back.

[Adam]

You brought it back.

[Heath]

Ranch snack wrap. Spicy snack wrap. You broke the Internet for a snack? Snack wrap is back. Apologies to the YouTube audience for my repetition here. But again I know for the audio audience you're not looking at these. Probably not able to remember all eight names. So Heath, Jamie's third tier is Thomas Jr. AJ Brown and Drake London. Fourth tier is Higgins, McConkey, Tyreek, Rasheed Rice, Devonte Adams. Your thoughts?

[Adam]

So I was more inclusive with my second tier. Two thirds of Jamie's third tier is in my second tier, so it gets a little wonky talking about that. But I've got London, Higgins, Tyreek and Ladd in their own tier and it's kind of the. The last of the wide receiver ones and there's more than 12 there, I think. But you get the point. And then I would. I would. I'm a little bit lower on both Rice and Adams. Again, I think you question Tyreek's like that bridge between the guys that we really don't have any questions about. Like these guys are going to be star wide receivers in fantasy and then after them. There's plenty of things to question about Rashi Rice. There's plenty of. I mean, there's one thing to question about, I guess. Two on Devonte Adams. One, he changed teams. Two, he's 32 years old.

[Heath]

Wait, so are you including t. Higgins and McConkey in the we have no questions are going to be stars group?

[Adam]

Yes.

[Heath]

Oh, wow. I. But are you not worried about just being in a such a run heavy offense for McConkey? I'm not worried about his talents or anything like that, but I think you.

[Adam]

Can be a star in a run heavy offense when there's basically no other competition for targets.

[Jamie]

Okay.

[Adam]

Like there's a. Somebody will get targets there also, but there's nobody that's impacting lad McConkey.

[Heath]

Okay. All right.

[Adam]

And so that I think with. With Rice and with Adams and with several more guys we're going to see in Tier 5 for Jamie, there's just more question marks. I've said it several times this summer. If we get to the first week of training camp and Rushy Rice has no restrictions and there's still been nothing said about a potential court date for him. Then he will move up probably into this tier for me. But I'm waiting.

[Heath]

Okay. So these guys are. I asked this about running backs yesterday. Are you fine with all of these as your sort of anchor wide receiver, as your first wide receiver on your team?

[Adam]

All the way to Lad for sure. And probably Tyreek.

[Jamie]

Yes.

[Heath]

Okay. All right, let's see the separation between guys like Higgins, McConkey, Tyreek, Rasheed Rice and Devonte Adams. And who's in Tier 5 for Jamie? That would be JSN Garrett Wilson, Terry McLaurin and Marvin Harrison Jr. And in my mind we're moving through Round 3 kind of to the 34 turn, and that's probably where most of these guys are going to go. Just checking some quick ADP here. Yeah, I'd say that's fair in a 12 team league. So tier five is JSN Garrett Wilson, Terry McLaurin, Marvin Harrison Jr. Tier six is a big one. We'll come to tier six in a minute here. Do you feel okay with these guys being your number one? Because if you are picking late in a 12 team league, if you have picks 10 through 12 and you take Ashton Genti and Brock Bowers because you're a Raiders fan, or you take Christian McCaffrey and whoever you know, Tyree Kill.

[Adam]

Because you're at a mazer.

[Heath]

Yeah, whoever it is. Two, two non wide receivers.

[Adam]

Oh, very.

[Heath]

Then you could be looking at this group. JSN Garrett Wilson, Terry McLaurin, Marvin Harrison as your wide receiver. 1 Jamie, how would you feel about that?

[Jamie]

I think you have to know how your league is going to sort of play this out if you're going to be quarterbacks mixed into those first three or four rounds, you know, and, and knowing what's going to be available to you. So I would not want to have this as my first wide receiver. But you know, if you're talking about McCaffrey and Genti or McCaffrey and Achan or HN and Genti, you know, if you like, you know, two of those three guys, because I think that's what's going to be available to you at the end of the first round based on adp, then this is what you're looking at. So if you want to go to those running backs and then these two wide receivers, obviously you're getting such a positional advantage in theory at the running back spot. But you know, I'll just reference the last two drafts that I've seen which is the PPR draft that we did where I picked 12th and I took Genti and St. Brown and the pick by pick were Dan schneier had the 12th pick and he took St. Brown and Nico Collins. And so like to me that's a better way to go because the running backs that should be there at the 3, 4 turn are a little bit better than these wide receivers, for example, just based on how you can build your team.

[Heath]

Just a huge point right there that we're going to keep underlying, I think. And Heath, I would love to know if you agree the running backs that you should get at the 3, 4 turn are better, a little bit better, as Jamie said, than the wide receivers. Doesn't mean you can't take a wide receiver here. But that's kind of how Jamie sees it. I second that. Do you feel the same way?

[Adam]

Are we talking about industry adp, Best Ball ADP or CBS adp, because I think those are different.

[Heath]

I keep jumping around to different ADPs, but.

[Adam]

Well, and I say that because like I'm gonna be on Fantasy Pro's podcast this afternoon and they asked me to go through. They sent me a link to a list I go through and pick out your favorite player in the top 12, your favorite player in the next 12 and so on and so forth. And using the list they sent me like the first six rounds, my favorite player was a running back because it was I think probably more influenced by some of the best balladp or expert analysts. And so like who are the, who are the players you're talking about? I don't think it's going to be the same.

[Heath]

Let me give you three running backs that I repeatedly see in available late, you know, at near the 34 turn in different ADPs. James Cook, Ken Walker, Alvin Camara versus the wide receivers we're looking at here. JSN. Yeah, I don't know JSN ADP is a little bit earlier than this, but McLaurin, Marvin Harrison for sure. Garrett Wilson's kind of earlier too. I wish there was a more scientific approach to this. I'm sorry because different ADPs are, are all over the place.

[Adam]

But I just, I don't think that was kind of my pushback, I guess I would say is. I don't know that the. If, if we're talking about best balladp which is really well established right now, then I think the running backs available at the end of round three are much better than the wide receivers that are available. I would agree with what you said exactly. I, I don't know that the people that are listening that are preparing for their redraft league are going to be able to know that going into their draft.

[Jamie]

If that's. That's 100 accurate. I did a best ball draft yesterday where I started at the 11 spot and took McCaffrey and HN to be a little different because everything is generally skewed wide receivers there. So my first receiver was Devonte Adams.

[Heath]

And you just said you'd be okay with that. He's in your fourth tier. So tier five is jsn, but to.

[Jamie]

Heath point like Kyron Williams and James Cook were on the board.

[Heath]

Yeah, Kyron Williams is another guy. Like his ADP is usually mid round three, but he might be there at the end of round three. I guess I'm a little surprised JSN is not in the fourth tier. He's the first guy listed in tier five for you.

[Jamie]

So I, I go back and forth with him a lot based on a. How he finished last year, which I think is a huge positive. You know, the two games without DK Metcalf. But just really his, his overall finish this season was fantastic versus the quarterback change, which could be better, could be significantly worse. I mean, you know, how much do you value the one year of Sam Darnold in this great system versus what his career has been? And then just sort of the push and pull of does Cooper cup have a significant role? How much are the other guys going to be a factor, the run game taking into account and how much they want to maybe make that a little bit more of a focus. So I think sure. Could he be in, in the tier above? Absolutely 100. But I think if Cooper Cup's healthy for the majority of the season, it's gonna be a problem for him.

[Heath]

Okay, that's JSN Tier six. Is. Are we looking at like solid number two wide receivers here? DK Metcalf, Courtland Sutton, DJ Moore, Mike Evans, Xavier Worthy, Travis Hunter. One more time, it's Metcalf Sutton, DJ Moore, Evans, Xavier Worthy, Travis Hunter.

[Jamie]

I think, you know, now with McLaurin, situation, you know, depending on how this plays itself out, but I think from McLaurin in the middle of round tier 5 through the end of tier 6, there's just a lot of questions, you know, so a lot of upside, hopefully minimal downside. I mean, look, McLaurin's contract notwithstanding, he gets an extension. It's easy to draft him as high as he took him in round three. Marvin Harrison, you know, again, disappointing rookie campaign, but can he bounce back and perform better in year two? Again, no. No guarantees that's going to be the case. Metcalf, new team, disappointing finish last year. You know, where is he at in his career? Cortland Sutton, you know, additional competition now for the Broncos, maybe a more run based team, you know, after what they did. DJ Moore, all the questions with the Bears receivers. Mike Evans, 32, you know, stop me when you want to, but Xavier Worthy, you know, with Rashi Riceback, Travis Hunter, what position is going to play? Like, you can see questions everywhere with these guys, but you also see, again, can Marvin Harrison be better in his sophomore season? Can Metcalf be that Aaron Rodgers guy, you know, again and again and again. So I think this is where you start to get a little bit of, okay, am I taking these guys in round four because I need a receiver. I like the upside. Am I going to play it out and see who's available to me in round five, potentially around six. And this is where the Blob is for me, you know, so I'm hoping the Tier 5 guys are a little bit more secure again. You know, Harrison can maybe push back into tier 6 if you're, you know, worried about his sophomore season. But this is where I think the Blob starts to start. It's basically wide receiver 20, you know, so it's, it's what we say a lot. 20 to 40 is like. You could see a number of guys. Yeah. If not more than 20, you know, being, you know, top 20 caliber wide receivers.

[Heath]

And if you don't love this group, Metcalf, Sutton, DJ Moore, Mike Evans, Xavier Worthy, Travis Hunter, you know, you could maybe take Kittle in this range. You could maybe, you could maybe look at quarterback if you want to get the end of the top five. I don't think you're going to get Jackson or I think you're probably looking at Hertzer, Burrow and Ken Walker, maybe James Cook, Alvin.

[Adam]

Those guys should all be gone before these guys.

[Heath]

Not Walker. Walker's ADP is low. Chuba Hubbard available on Ontario.

[Jamie]

If Thomas wants to pull up the pick by pick as a reference, you know, this was. So I had pick 48, last pick around four for the first overall selection, you took Cortland Sutton at 47 overall. DJ Moore was there at 48. At that point all the guys in tier five were gone. Metcalf was gone. And just, you know, to, to what you were talking about, I took D.J. moore at 48 and Alvin Kamara at 49. Like three picks before, I think right before you picked Sutton was Joe Burrow went off the board. You know, so you see how it, how it unfolded there, you know, so Joe Burrow was af. Joe Burrow was the last of the top five quarterbacks. Hertz went a little bit sooner.

[Heath]

Thomas, scroll a little bit to the right because take a look at this. Starting with the DK Metcalf or that's just. Yeah, starting with like the DK Metcalf pick, it goes Metcalf, Hertz, Chuba Hubbard, Amarian Hampton, Joe Burrow, Cortland Sutton, DJ Moore. So within Jamie's sixth tier, which has, which features Metcalf, Sutton and DJ Moore, we also have George Kittle going right before Metcalf. We have Hertz, we have Chuba Hubbard, we have Omari and Hampton. So it's, it's an interesting stretch there, right? It's like, you know, Elite quarterback, number three, tight end. And then you've got this like, you know, close to wide receiver 20, close to RB20. Just kind of an interesting group.

[Jamie]

And you can see just based on how this is, you know, my, my tears unfolding from my draft, this DK Metcalf middle of round four. Coralyn Sutton, who I wanted end of round four, DJ Moore, who I sort of settled for end of round four, you know, and then going into round five, I struggled with the choice of Kamara versus Worthy and Judy and Hunter. You know, I have a Hunter Judy, but those three guys are the next receivers off the board for me. And so I just took the sort of swing for the fence at Camaro and hopefully he's going to be, you know, what he has been in, in age 30 season. But that's kind of just exactly playing out, you know, the way that I wrote it.

[Heath]

Do you guys look at that stretch of Kittle, Metcalf, Hertz, Hubbard, Hampton, a lot of H's, Burrow, Sutton, DJ Moore and think some of these stand out amongst the rest.

[Jamie]

As positives or negatives or both.

[Heath]

Yeah, because in my, I think the two quarterbacks are probably the best picks and then, and then like Hampton and Kittle maybe, but it's all in the eye of the beholder here. I don't really want the wide receivers over Hertz or Burrow. And this, this is six point for passing touchdown league, by the way, that we're looking at this draft. And I, I don't want Metcalf, Sutton and moreover Hertz and Burrow. I'd take Kittle before them and I, and Hunt Hampton, I love that pick, but that's just me. I don't know how you guys feel.

[Jamie]

I mean you can obviously make a, a case for all of them to be worth drafting here. Sorry, Heath. My worst pick, I was the least, the least pick, the pick I like the least is Hubbard. But I, I could see the upside for Hampton if you tell me there's, you know, Naji's not having a big role. Yeah, the quarterbacks are fantastic value, you know, given what they showed last year, their careers. I also think this is where it comes down to knowing your league. Right. And who you're drafting with. And clearly we know all the people in this draft and how they're going to go. Heath mentioned it. He got his quarterback. That. That's the Purdy team you're talking about.

[Adam]

Yep. Purdy and Caleb Williams in 1213 or 1112.

[Jamie]

So you knew you're going to get good Quarterback value late. I knew I was going to get good quarterback. Like, I, I ended up with Dak Prescott in round 10. Bo Nixon. Round 10 is, or round 11. Excuse me, around 12, you know, so that's not going to happen in most drafts. And, and so it's like, yes, the, the value for Burrow and Hertz is even great. But I, I, I knew that the quarterback's gonna fall. I think he's probably played it out the same way.

[Heath]

Yeah, I, I can feel that. All right, so I'm just gonna read. You're gonna throw up the tier 5 and 6 graphics again, tier says, sorry, Thomas, I'm waiting. There it is. Thank you very much. Sorry for throwing you under the bus there. Tier 5, JSN Garrett, Wilson, Terry McLaurin and Marvin Harrison Jr. And Tier 6, Metcalf, Sutton, DJ Moore, Evans, Worthy, Hunter. Get Heath's take on this and we'll get into tier 7 and 8 after this break.

[Adam]

@Blinds.Com it's not just about window treatments.

[Heath]

It's about you.

[Adam]

Your style, your space, your way.

[Heath]

Whether you DIY or want the pros to handle it all, you'll have the.

[Adam]

Confidence of knowing it's done right. From free expert design help to our.

[Heath]

100% satisfaction guarantee, everything we do is made to fit your life and your windows. [e-mail], the only thing we treat better than Windows is you. Visit blinds.com now for up to 50% off with minimum purchase plus a professional measure at no cost.

[Adam]

Rules and restrictions apply. Now streaming on Paramount. Plus, the suspect is trying to evade us.

[Heath]

You're walking into the unknown. We had somebody out there starting fires for the heck of it. It's the dark. There's no road signs. We need the help of Air1. When there's chaos below, he's bailing on foot.

[Adam]

This individual did not want to be caught.

[Heath]

They go high. The helicopter sees you. He never realized we were above watching.

[Adam]

Him the whole time. An all new season of Chopper Cops now streaming on Paramount.

[Heath]

Plus, Heath, was there anything you wanted to add before we moved on?

[Adam]

I, I don't think so. I would just say that JSN Wilson, like, I'm lower on Harrison, Evans, Worthy, and Hunter. I kind of have most of the rest of these guys and Rice and Adams and of course, Jerry Judy in one tier. And then we get to my mega tier, which wouldn't fit on the screen because there's 20 wide receiver, 20, basically 20 wide receivers within, within one fantasy point per game in my projections.

[Heath]

That's your Starts with who and ends.

[Adam]

With who it starts.

[Heath]

Give me. Sorry, give me the first three and the last three.

[Adam]

Godwin, Harris and Evans, Waddle, Tet and Ridley.

[Heath]

All right, it's a. Yeah, grab a couple of them if you want. All right, let's go to tiers seven and eight for Jamie. And we are looking at a Pretty big tier 7. Jerry Judy, Chris Godwin, Jameson Williams, Devonte Smith, Zay Flowers, Teteroa McMillan, Jalen Waddle, and Jordan Addison. That's tier seven. Judy, Chris, Godwin, Jameson Williams, Devonte Smith, zay Flowers, Tea McMillan, Jalen Waddle, Jordan Addison. Question marks here. Right.

[Jamie]

Abound. And just, you know, for, you know. I know, I know. Not something you mentioned in news and notes yesterday was supposed to be Jordan Addison's jury trial. Apparently it was pushed back to Thursday. So we won't know any circumstances there surrounding a potential suspension, but just something to keep an eye on. Yeah, like kind of what Heath was saying, like, this is where the. The blob starts to come in. For me, this is probably the tier that will have a lot of the most moving parts, you know, not just the Addison situation. You know, does. Does Waddle come to camp fully healthy, getting a better opportunity? Does McMillan have the chance to be one of these elite, you know, rookie wide receivers? Jerry Judy can obviously have a huge season if we're guaranteed a. A majority of. Joe Flacco, starting Chris Godwin healthy can. You know. You know, there's just so many different things that can. Can change here. The one guy that I think could probably take not the biggest leap, but. But a big leap for me right now is just sort of reevaluating. It is Calvin Ridley. You know, his. His opportunity is. Is huge. I was. I think it was Dan, if you want to pull up the. The draft again, Tom. Dan took him a little bit sooner than I expected in our pick by pick, and I was like, oh, that's not a bad spot for him, looking at the other receivers that were around him. So he's just somebody that kind of stood out to me a little bit after doing the draft and kind of just to reiterate what we said a few times in the last couple weeks, like, why are rankings changing with nothing happening? It's. It's again, this process of, of doing these drafts and seeing where these players go.

[Heath]

So, yes, so he took Ridley just before Cooper Cup, Jalen Waddle and Ricky Pearsall. It was a bold pick, but, yeah, certainly you can understand it.

[Jamie]

Go ahead. That's.

[Adam]

That seems about right.

[Heath]

I Was gonna ask her. You said you could. You would see yourself moving Ridley up. He was in the next tier, tier 8 of the guys in tier 7, which is a big tier, who do you think could move up from that tier? So that tier again is Judy Godwin, Jameson Williams, Devonte Smith, Zay Flowers, Tettero McMillan, Jalen Waddle and Jordan Addison.

[Adam]

It seems like the two guys at the top could get training camp news. That makes them more attractive. If Chris Godwin's fully healthy, if Joe Flacco's name is a starter, like, boom, those guys are both more attractive.

[Jamie]

Yep.

[Heath]

Yeah, I could see a lot of movement here. I mean, I wonder if people are going to come around on Waddle now that Johnny Smith is gone. Because he's. If he could just do what he did these first three years of his career, he's going to wildly outperform his adp.

[Adam]

Is that. I know that's definitely true for the second year of his career. I think it's true for the third year of his career. If you live in a Azer stat world.

[Heath]

No, even in the. Even in. He was wide receiver 22 per game in 2023. And that's not Azer stating anything. He left two games early. He went over a thousand yards. He had four touchdowns in 14 games.

[Adam]

He was wide receiver 22 with a thousand. Yeah.

[Heath]

Per game because he only played 14 games. I'll double check because it didn't feel right to me either, but. So this is 2,023. Jalen Waddle. Yeah, I got him at 22 per game. He averaged 14.2 fantasy points per game in. In kind of a bad year for him because he wasn't on the field that much. That's why I was so excited about him last year. But that was a horrible call by me.

[Jamie]

But again, everybody, I mean, everybody, like.

[Heath]

Yeah, he wasn't even a top 50 wide receiver per game last year. The first three years of his career, he was 14th per game, 14th per game and 22nd per game in full PPR and 23rd, 10th and 20th per game in non PPR. So again, I mean, if Waddle can just get back to what he was the first two years, he is going to crush his adp.

[Jamie]

Sir.

[Heath]

But Dave always points this out appropriately when Achan has been on the field. Waddle has not been the same player because HN wasn't there the first two years of his career. And then Achan was played, what, six, seven healthy games in that 2023 season. So that's. That's an X factor that's kind of hard to to account for. All right. Tier 8 is Olave, Pickens, Ridley, Odunze Olave, Pickens, Ridley, Odunze, Heath. What are your thoughts on Tier 8?

[Adam]

I think Ridley is the clear best player in this tier for me and would be probably a tier higher and I have more hope for Roma dunesay than I do for the other two.

[Heath]

Guys for a lot interesting I can I don't lobby but Pickens I'm surprised.

[Adam]

I'm terrified about Chris Olave and I don't think I've drafted him yet. Probably the worst offense in football probably the worst quarterback room in football and he also has pretty glaring injury concern so I don't really I mean I've come around a little bit on Pickens and I don't have him too far behind Roma Dunese but I just kind of think that we know who he is and the second fiddle behind 10 targets a game CD Lamb and Jake Ferguson is not just gonna go away. Jake Ferguson's a pretty high target tight end I just don't know that the volumes there I think is a great great great best ball pick.

[Jamie]

You got to show Johnny's I just about to.

[Heath]

Say Johnny airport needs to like just put him on the show already Azer stating is life I recently azer statted my tinder profile and now I sound like a stud so good yeah that's good swipe right I'm trying to compare Olave with and I think you can even go with Calvin Ridley here guy that comes to mind is is Amari Cooper 2022 which Jacoby Brissette as his quarterback until the last six games the.

[Adam]

Saints would kill for Jacoby Brissette but.

[Heath]

At the time Jacobi Brissette was was so bad I called him I remember calling him fantasy poison that's how bad he was for fantasy at that point. And Cooper was I think a pretty late pick and he ended up scoring 15 points per game 14.6 points per game. Pardon me as wide receiver 19 per game and he had 132 targets in 17 games. Remember if you start to get to this range we're almost we're approaching round seven now. You want seven or more targets per game. Almost every wide receiver who has finished top 24 over the last seven or eight years in round seven through nine has averaged seven or more targets per game. I think that's 119 targets per season. So that's what you're looking for. Okay.

[Adam]

It just feels like we're asking Chris Olave for a breakout with the worst situation he's ever been in. Not to justify this. Like I think he could do this and kind of just be what he's been with the worst situation he's ever had.

[Heath]

But to be a great pick to.

[Adam]

Him, to be right for him to really pay off, he's going to have to have the best year of his career with the worst quarterback play he's ever had.

[Jamie]

I had actually that, that choice to make in the pick by pick. When I took. It was around six, seven, turn and I took Pickens, who I have, as you see, ranked right behind him because I had already taken Camaro. I was like, I'm not taking both Saints. There's no way.

[Heath]

Yeah, yeah. That would have been a bad idea. All right, let's go to tiers 9 and 10. After Olave, Pickens, Ridley and Odunze, we've got. Wait, no. Oh, there we go. We've got San Francisco 49ers wide receivers bookending this Pierce All Cooper Cup, Khalil, Shakir, Darnell Mooney, Stefan Diggs, Debo Samuel, Jacoby Myers, Juwan Jennings. That's tier nine Pierasol Cup. Shakir Mooney, Diggs, Debo Samuel, Jacoby Myers, Juwan Jennings.

[Adam]

This is, this is, this is Heath's tier. This is the heat tier. Some of my, my favorite picks at wide receiver after I've taken three running backs in the first four rounds and have an elite quarterback and tight end is Cooper Cup, Debo, Samuel, Jacoby Myers and Juwan Jennings.

[Heath]

Not Pierce All.

[Adam]

I'm not. I, I think this, I have Jennings just a little ahead of Pearsall. So I don't get Pearsall.

[Heath]

Okay, fair.

[Jamie]

So I, I've adjusted my view of the 49ers receivers with the Jennings news. I haven't adjusted the commanders receivers yet. And I mean we talked about this. I think it was on Monday that I just moved Pierce all ahead of Jennings. These guys are very close. I think I have them almost. This is like a whole round for me in my rankings with no other positions mixed in. So yeah, I, I love a lot of the players in this year like this. This is like if you take your three receivers early and you want to get your fourth receiver in this spot, it's a great place to live.

[Heath]

I would. This is something I did this morning last night and this morning I watched some all 22 of the 49ers late in the season. A few games with Brock Purdy, Ricky Piersol and Juwan Jennings. I got nothing bad to say about Juwan Jennings. I think he's a good player to me. Ricky Piersol moves differently. I don't know if that's going to translate on the field but just look at, at their 40 times. One guy moves like he ran a 4, 4, 1. One guy moves like he ran A 4, 7, 2. And that was why Juwan Jennings was a seventh round pick and he's really made the most of it. He's a good player but I just think Pearsall with that speed and I watched him, you know, I watched all of his targets of 20 or more air yards. He can run by people. I think he's poi. I think he's ready and I think we're going to look back and go why didn't we take the guy that they made a first round pick? You know like obviously he was going to break out. I think he's got the talent.

[Jamie]

I think everybody is though.

[Heath]

I think he's going to. I don't think he's going too late. I think he's a great pick where he is. He's. He's the one I'm most excited about by far. This is not my show. I'm sorry. But looking at tier nine for you Pierce all cup Shakir, Mooney, Diggs, Samuel, Myers, Jennings. I love Pierce. I'm like so pumped to get him ahead of the other guys. You got, you've got those guys that you're just like, yeah, I'm fired up about. That's my guy right now.

[Adam]

I, I would. Yeah. And I think that the things you say about the potential upside for Peircel. I think the like Jacob Gibbs talked about this a lot in the middle of last year. The per route data for Juwan Jennings had always been pretty spectacular.

[Heath]

Yep.

[Adam]

And even last year you look at the per route data and Juwan Jennings looks like one of the top 10 wide receivers in the NFL. And Ricky Pierce souls like 65th but he was a rookie and obviously had some very unfortunate circumstances that caused him to get off to a late start to the season. I wish we had just a little larger sample size of him showing an ability to earn targets because he had several like eight games of playing between 50 and 80% of the snapshot where he was seeing 0124 targets a game and then the last two games he gets 18 targets and looks like the guy that should have been drafted in round one.

[Jamie]

It's just so hard to say like where he was from a game plan standpoint what they Were giving him, allowing him to do. And I mean, it wasn't Purdy hurt in a couple of those games too.

[Heath]

I didn't.

[Jamie]

I mean, yeah, we had the snow game, right?

[Heath]

You had the snow game. You had Purdy missed leaving. Leaving late in week 17, missing week 18.

[Jamie]

Jennings was better, which is peircet's best games, too.

[Heath]

Yeah. But you know what's funny about that game is Pearsall didn't really do anything until Juan Jennings got ejected. Jennings was better than Piersall. But let's look at. Let's look at this. You know, per route data, right, Because Ricky Pearsall's yards per route run was 1.32. Not very good. Nothing special. Juwan Jennings was 2.29. But you know what? It was the first three years of his career. 1.41, 1.37, 1.17. Right in line with where Ricky Pearsall was last year. So I'm really putting nothing into that.

[Adam]

Nothing. Well, other than the fact that Jennings was good. Right, Right. No. And the fact that you don't necessarily, by playing 10 games, become the 2.3 guy next year.

[Heath]

Absolutely. Nothing's for granted with Ricky.

[Jamie]

But again, if you're. If you're playing this out based on how it could go, because we have a, A, A game plan that was laid out for Jennings based on what iuk did, like, don't do anything camp and sign whenever you get your contract, which could be late in the. In the process. And then Ayuk was terrible. So it doesn't mean that Jenny's gonna be terrible, but this could be the exact opportunity that Pierce all needs to just soak up targets.

[Heath]

All right, what about.

[Adam]

I think that that's exactly right. And there's a lot. You guys have done a really good job of highlighting the upside for Ricky Pearsall. I'm just trying to highlight the thing you have to overcome. There's basically nine games that they played together, and it started with. With Pierce all's third game. So it's not including any of the time that he missed. It's not including his first two games. It's including actually his third best game of the year, which was Pierce. The game that Jennings came back, they played nine games together. At the end of the year, Juwan Jennings had more than twice the number of targets.

[Heath]

What do you think about that?

[Jamie]

I don't. I don't think there. There's anything to say that's going to dispute the fact that he. Jennings was better last year and should have been Better last year based on the circumstances. It's to me because now you have Debo gone, you have McCaffrey back. It's almost like the way I'm viewing it. And Ayuk we don't know when he's going to be back. It's. It's like a. A reset button. And if you, you told me right now Jennings signs his deal, I'll probably go back to the way they had it which was Jennings slightly ahead of Pearsall. Because I do think that there's an opportunity here for Jennings to be sort of the go to guy. Whether Pearsall has more upside or not. I think Jennings would get more opportunities. And, and I'll just say what I've said at the beginning of this whole thing about the 40. You want one of these two guys, you can get them because there's, there's so much potential here. If I was going to miss four games, six games, we don't know like these guys are going to get like think of in this faction kill like how excited do we always get when one guy was missing?

[Heath]

Well, can I ask you this because if you can pull it off in rounds eight and nine, maybe it's a little harder in seven and eight to justify it but if you can do it in rounds eight and nine, would you take both Piersol and Jennings?

[Adam]

Yes.

[Jamie]

Yes.

[Heath]

Is there anyone else that you guys really love in this group? You find drafting a lot. Tier nine of Pearsall Cup. Shakir, Mooney, Diggs, Debo, Jacoby, Myers and Jennings.

[Adam]

I gave my list.

[Heath]

You said. You said Myers, Debo. Who else? Jennings who own cup.

[Jamie]

I'm probably. And this is not I think where he will be drafted because I think he's going to be drafted after these guys. I'm probably going to have the most exposure on all of my teams to Darnell Mooney.

[Heath]

Michael says Adam be leery of Ricky Pierce. All soft tissue injuries. Yep. I agree it's a concern. He's.

[Adam]

Is he currently healthy?

[Jamie]

They both technically are hurt. I think the Jennings injury may have been a precursor to missing OTAs leading into missing camp or a hold in for camp. So I don't know how much of that was predetermined.

[Heath]

I thought they were both expected to be ready for the start of training camp. Just in terms of their.

[Adam]

And I agree with what Jamie said about Mooney. I think usually I see him going a couple of rounds after all the other guys in this tier.

[Heath]

Fair. Yeah. Yeah.

[Jamie]

And it's too cheap. It's such an Easy stack for best ball to take. London early, Mooney late and Pennix late. As your second quarterback, it's such an easy stack.

[Heath]

I would encourage everyone, if you can try to find some Josh Downs film to go ahead and watch it because Josh Downs gets open as well as just about anyone in football. In fact, ESPN had him, I think, fourth in their open metric. I understand all the buzz around Josh Downs.

[Jamie]

He.

[Heath]

He kills cornerbacks. It is really exciting to watch, but he's got some obstacles and that's why he's all the way down. In tier 10 with. And this one is bookended by Colts tier 10 is Josh Downs, Jaden Reed, Matthew Golden, Keon Coleman, Christian Kirk and Michael Pittman.

[Jamie]

I didn't realize I did that.

[Heath]

Yeah, about that. Josh Downs, Jaden Reed, Matthew Golden, Keon Coleman, Christian Kirk and Michael Pittman. What's your excitement level for drafting wide receivers in this tier?

[Jamie]

I think in the case of the Colts, if Daniel Jones is starting, which is such a crazy thing to say, like, there's more potential for them to be better fantasy options. The same could be the case with Anthony Richardson if the work that he did with Josh Allen's throwing coach pays off and he's just, you know, a better passer, at least to, oh, my God, Daniel Jones level. But, you know, it's a, it's a big ask and then you're throwing Tyler Warren in the mix of, you know, quarterback questions and a run first team with a lot of mouths to feed. Like, just imagine if they could. They could get. If. Imagine they got Aaron Rodgers, like, you know, if that. If that was the quarterback they got. As opposed to. As opposed to Daniel Jones or as Scott White, if it's our Scott White. Suggesting in the chat just kept Joe Flacco. So it just, it's just hard to get excited about those guys. Right. That's the problem.

[Adam]

And I think I was really surprised and irritated with you, Adam, yesterday when you took Matthew golden, because I didn't think that you were as excited about him. I expect golden to be one of my most rostered wide receivers. He and Downs are for me, about 20 picks ahead of anybody else in this range. And when I get to taking the other guys in this range, I usually just take one of the rookies, either A Mecca Buka or Lula Burden, and just hope for the upside. But I love Golden. I love Downs.

[Heath]

I don't even remember taking Matthew golden, but I just did a control F in the document and you're right, I did take Matthew Golden. It was it was. It was a moment for me, that team. I had such bad wide receivers. Is that, you know, but he's my third.

[Adam]

That's horrible.

[Heath]

But the rest of my team's pretty good. Okay. All right. Downs, Jaden Reed, Matthew Golden, Keon Coleman, Christian Kirk, Michael Pittman. I would you say we've got still Upside in this tier?

[Jamie]

Of course.

[Heath]

Yeah. Right. It's. It's pretty good. All right, let's go to tier 11.

[Jamie]

Packers throw more. It's going to be great for, you know, reading Golden. However you view those guys in whatever order. Obviously Christian Kirk has been sort of more of a, I think closer to like a Khalil Shakir type of player, fantasy wise. You know, just not a huge ceiling, but sort of low end number three production, which is fine to get in this range. And then Keon Coleman could clearly take a huge step forward if he's that guy for Josh Allen.

[Heath]

Shoddy airport. Crushing it in the chat. All right, tiers 11 and 12. Cedric Tillman, Luther Burden. A Mecca Buka. Brandon Ayuk, Jack Besh, Trey Harris, Rashid.

[Jamie]

Thank you, Jamie.

[Heath]

You're Besh. Rashid Shahid is in tier 11. So it's Tillman, Burden, Abuka, Ayuk, Besh, Trey Harris, Rashid Shahid. And then tier 12 is J. There's a lot of names. Jalen McMillan, Jaden Higgins, Kyle Williams, Marquis Brown. All right, what are we looking at in tiers 11 and 12?

[Jamie]

Upside. Strictly upside. You know, Heath just said it about a book and. And Burden. I mean, look, they're going to be in what we hope to be for the Bears and what we expect to be for the Bucks. You know, very prolific passing attacks. So if they get prominent roles and it's not hard to see them getting that based on, you know, the circumstances, then they could be top 30 caliber wide receivers. You know, if God was not ready to go and misses any more time, Book is the slot receiver for Baker Mayfield. That's huge. Burden. If he's, you know, the. The big mystery box of who's going to be the best receiver for the Bears. If he's better than DJ Moore and Roma Dunze, you get any steal at the spot. So it's. It's not hard to see them, those two guys. And then for me, Tillman, I just think it's more of a curiosity. Like those three games that we saw without Amari Cooper, you know, if he can be that guy for the majority of the season because he played. He had four, five games after Cooper was traded. The fifth one he Suffered a concussion so he didn't get to finish. So we had three games with Jameis Winston and two of them were elite.

[Heath]

I got a great comment here from Rad. It's a little mean, but still it's good. Whoever put these tiers together are crazy. Grammar there. Brandon Ayuk was around two round three pick last year. How the hell did do you put him in tier 11 this year? I think Brandon Ayuk was actually going more like round four last year because he was holding out like really late. So. But you know, it is a good question to see Brandon Iuk in this group with Tillman, Bird and Abuka.

[Adam]

Yeah, I think it's important to remember he tore his acl. Yeah, he had a knee surgery and PCO and we. Somebody asked me at the Scott Fishbowl live, like what's what. What do you. What's the. The word on Brandon Ayuk? I said it seems like some people are close. They're playing a little bit close to the vest. But my current expectation is I don't expect anything from him week one, and I don't really expect him to be Brandon Iuk until the middle of the season if he's another guy who could move way up. If he's healthier than we think he is.

[Jamie]

He also, before getting injured last year, had one game with double digits in ppr.

[Heath]

Right. But we know he's better than that. I mean, right?

[Jamie]

Oh, I'm not saying he's not, but it's not like he was returning any value of significance before the injury. And again, you got to hit the reset button. There's no Debo, which should be a plus for Iuk. There is potentially no Jennings at some point. If this is a holdout, a true holdout. Again, I don't think so, but that's on the table and you have basically a rebuilt receiving core where Ayuk is the. The clear. I don't know. Maybe clear is the right word because Jennings has been there a long time, but like he's the. He's the proven commodity so there's a lot to like about his situation. I just don't expect him to play until week five at the earliest. Yep.

[Heath]

Expected we the most likely to to end up on the public and miss at least the first four games. Tier 12 Jalen McMillan, Jaden Higgins, Kyle Williams and Marquis Brown. Interesting tier here. You could argue that Kyle Williams has the best path to fantasy relevance of McMillan.

[Adam]

He can beat Matt Collins out. Yeah, like I think that that is a point with Kyle Williams that it. Jamie had digs higher than I do. But if Diggs has looked pretty ready in what we've seen so far, and if Diggs is healthy, they've been very clear that demario Douglas is their slot wide receiver. So Kyle Williams has got to find first snaps and then it might actually not be that easy to get. Like Hunter Henry, we know is going to have a significant role. They're going to throw their running backs a lot. And if Stefan Diggs is healthy and demario Douglas is taking those short targets, there may not actually be as much room for Kyle Williams as maybe we thought.

[Heath]

When was the last time the Patriots drafted a good wide receiver?

[Adam]

I don't think.

[Jamie]

Drafted?

[Adam]

Yeah, I don't think that happened. Did they draft Jacoby Marsh?

[Heath]

I was going to say, did they draft Edelman? Yeah, they drafted Myers.

[Jamie]

Edelman was a quarterback when they drafted him.

[Heath]

They did draft Edelman in the seventh round. Jacoby Myers was a solid pick.

[Adam]

Jacoby Myers was undrafted.

[Heath]

Okay, well, I'll give him credit, though. I'll give him credit for citing him. Yeah, they have a bad track record, man. All right, let's see. So that's all we have for graphics. Tier 13 is Demario Douglas, Wondale Robinson, Marvin. Sorry. Xavier Legate. I'm snoring.

[Adam]

Is boring.

[Heath]

I'm just kidding. Romeo Dobbs, Josh Palmer, Adam Thielen, Rashad Bateman. I don't know how much further you want to go here.

[Adam]

You've gone past that point.

[Heath]

Well, so you know, for. Are these guys.

[Jamie]

There's over 100 guys in the tier story, by the way, are these players.

[Heath]

Being drafted in 14 team leagues or. It has to be even deeper than that. Demario Douglas won.

[Jamie]

Drafted these guys yesterday.

[Heath]

Yeah. Why'd you do 14 rounds?

[Jamie]

Because it's fun.

[Heath]

It's not fun to draft some of these guys.

[Jamie]

Sure it is.

[Heath]

But no, look, demerit GPT say about Wanda Robinson. Oh, yeah, chat GPT said he was going to be what, top 20 or something or I forget.

[Adam]

I. I think that there's a. You have to make a choice here. It depends on how strong your wide receiver room is. Like, Dobbs is probably a little bit underrated, but just because we don't really think he has any upside. Demario Douglas, in terms of his floor might be a little bit underrated, but because we don't know that he has any upside. Like there are some guys that you can plug in on bye weeks as wide receiver threes if you have a weak wide receiver room. And then there's some guys that you can hope actually have upside.

[Heath]

Okay. So I think it's, yeah, it's a, it's somewhat of an underrated tier there. Douglas Rob Wondale, Mims. People are excited a little bit about him. He flashed late in the year. League it Dobbs Palmer, Adam Thielen, Josh Palmer. That is Adam Thielen and Rashad Bateman. Okay, I'm not going to read tier 14 or 15 and Xavier Restrepo is in tier 15. Great stuff. Okay, we will talk to you tomorrow with tight end tiers and then mailbag. Remember, go to tinyurl.com 2025fft purchase a mailbag question. It all goes to St. Jude and vote for us on podcastawards.com sports category fantasy football today is the name of our show and we'll talk to you tomorrow. See ya.

[Commercial Speaker]

Paramount Podcasts Summer on the south side of Chicago is heating up. You planning revenge?

[Heath]

Aren't you?

[Commercial Speaker]

The shy's back on Paramount. It's the season of the women.

[Heath]

Women, this is our chance.

[Commercial Speaker]

It's time to get to work. But the men aren't giving up without a fight.

[Adam]

Street's always gonna have a villain.

[Commercial Speaker]

No one is backing down in the Showtime original series from Emmy award winner Lena Waithe. Why do black women always have to save the day?

[Heath]

If we don't do it, who else will?

[Commercial Speaker]

Don't miss the shy new season now streaming on the Paramount premium plan.