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Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football Podcast
Top 10 WR Rankings + What Could Go Wrong? - Fantasy Football Podcast for 8/7
00:56:17
Fantasy Football show for Aug 7, 2025. Preseason is here! Top 10 wide receivers for the 2025 fantasy football season on today’s show! What could go wrong for the elite WRs? Would you rather pick Drake London or A.J. Brown in fantasy football drafts? Plus, what to watch for in preseason. Manage your redraft, keeper, and dynasty fantasy football teams with the #1 fantasy football podcast.
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- [00:00]
Andy Holloway
What's up, Foot Clan? You know the feeling when your fantasy lineup needs a miracle? Maybe you got that big injury. I wish that I could just plug in a backup and keep things rolling. With Progressive, you get a winning combo. Quality coverage you can count on all in one place with a playbook full of customized options for your home and auto so you can have peace of mind that you're covered no matter what life throws your way. Don't get caught without a great backup. Switch to Progressive, Progressive Casualty Insurance company affiliates and third party insurers. Not available in all states or situations. Coverage subject to policy terms, limits and conditions.
- [00:33]
Mike Wright
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- [01:03]
Andy Holloway
What's up, Clan? It's fantasy draft season. Make sure you head over to ultimate draftkit.com and take advantage of all the resources we have for you to dominate on draft day, including the brand new value scout tool and the draft Analyzer. We'll give you a grade. We'll break down the team. Check it out at ultimate draft kit.com.
- [01:21]
Jason Moore
The Fantasy Footballer Studio is sponsored by Walmart. Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.
- [01:49]
Andy Holloway
Welcome in.
- [01:51]
Unknown Speaker
Not gonna do.
- [01:53]
Mike Wright
No, Jason, I just did it quiet. I did it quiet.
- [01:56]
Unknown Speaker
Okay, that's fine.
- [01:57]
Mike Wright
There's gonna be some real players tonight.
- [01:59]
Andy Holloway
Can you speak in lowercase? Is that possible?
- [02:01]
Unknown Speaker
I think he did.
- [02:02]
Mike Wright
Yeah, I definitely did.
- [02:03]
Andy Holloway
Is that a whisper?
- [02:04]
Mike Wright
It wasn't really a whisper. It was. It's more like this. I don't know what this is.
- [02:10]
Andy Holloway
Is that similar to the voice of public opinion?
- [02:13]
Mike Wright
You know, I think they're their own distinct thing, man.
- [02:15]
Andy Holloway
Okay, well, we do have three lowercase football games tonight. Colts, Ravens, Bengals, Eagles, Raiders, Seahawks. So that's fun.
- [02:28]
Mike Wright
Yeah. Yeah. You know what? I'm going to be honest with you. I thought it was just Raider Seahawks tonight. I just got more excited.
- [02:35]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah.
- [02:35]
Andy Holloway
Would you have raised your voice, your little teeny voice to a higher level?
- [02:39]
Mike Wright
Football time. Okay.
- [02:42]
Andy Holloway
All right. Well, thank you.
- [02:43]
Unknown Speaker
That sounds like Gaffigan.
- [02:48]
Andy Holloway
Which you've. You've been. You've gotten the Gaffigan comps before. You guys have similar senses of humor.
- [02:55]
Mike Wright
Yeah.
- [02:55]
Andy Holloway
So similar.
- [02:56]
Mike Wright
Senses of humor, similar builds. You know, there's some, some good, some bad.
- [03:03]
Andy Holloway
Welcome in one and all wide receiver top 10 ranking show today News to talk about. Got some more preseason action going on tonight. We've got Jason Moore over on x@jason ffl. You can follow mike@ff hitman. I'm at Andy Holloway in the show account at the FF Ballers. A lot of good stuff getting posted lately. Our amazing writing staff putting up some path to wide receiver one articles so you can check those out at the FF Ballers over on X. The UDK is available right now at ultimate draft kit.com talk some preseason.
- [03:43]
Jason Moore
Preseason power up.
- [03:50]
Andy Holloway
All right, preseason kicks off tonight. Officially no hall of Fame game. That doesn't count. But the question for today's preseason power up. Quick question of the day. What are you watching for this preseason? We do see a trend right now, teams at least coming out very quickly and saying they're going to play their starters for a certain amount of time. The jets, they came out and said they're doing that. Justin Fields and the starters are going to play Bengals. Traditionally haven't they're playing their guys. A lot of teams we're going to get to see a little bit which is fun. You know, vanilla offense or not, you get to see players out there on the field game speed. Just like it was fun to watch Amari and Hampton in the preseason or in the hall of Fame game. What team situation are you most excited to see?
- [04:35]
Mike Wright
I'll go first. I'm looking forward to seeing the Panthers mostly because there are through this off season, there have been a handful of times where I've really wanted to take a step forward. Like I like Teddy Rollo McMillan quite a bit, you know, as a prospect, his opportunity, his draft count, everything is great and I want to be pretty bullish on him. But I hesitate because it's the Panthers is what Bryce Young. You know, we saw a little bit of Bryce Young where it's like, hey, hey, maybe he, maybe he is going to figure this out. Maybe he is going to be a good quarterback and turn this team around. I really like Jotavian Sanders. We saw Flashes, the rookie tight end last year who's coming into year two. And I want to be like, hey, there's, there's a nice sleeper titan. We talked about him on the Nasty Boys Dynasty show that just came out. Thank you. You know, there's, there's Legget, last year's, you know, first rounder and Adam Thielen was legitimately great for fantasy football the second half of last year, you don't remember it, but it was. But it happened. You've got a running game that matters. But every time that I want to be like, I like this guy, I want to draft this guy, I go, Panthers. I don't know if they've really figured it out yet or not. So I want to. I want to see more before the season, before drafts to hopefully determine, like, okay, the vibes are, you know, the play is continuing from where we left off.
- [05:56]
Andy Holloway
I guess that that begs the question, like, you know, is it a couple good drives from the starters that make that kind of.
- [06:01]
Mike Wright
I think it's.
- [06:01]
Andy Holloway
Bryce Young solidifies things in the preseason, because how much can you.
- [06:04]
Mike Wright
Yeah, you're not going to be able to definitively know one way or the. Or another, but what you can do is you can just see, like, he looks like he's controlling his placement. You know, he's accurate, he's leading passers. Because if you. If you think about how Bryce Young has played and the two versions. We've seen the bad version of Bryce Young, you don't need to be an NFL analyst to be like, that dude sucks. He was so bad. I mean, he. He was so inaccurate with his passes, so flustered in the pocket. So it's like, I know he's going to be getting vanilla defenses and, you know, I just don't want to see bad Bryce, that's all. I just don't want to see him looking inaccurate and looking like rookie Bryce.
- [06:44]
Andy Holloway
That would really solidify doubts.
- [06:46]
Mike Wright
Exactly.
- [06:46]
Andy Holloway
And concerns. I'll go with Jacksonville. I think their running back situation is very interesting. I mean, Tank Bigsby, Travis etn. I'm trying not to let the emotions of a frustrating Jacksonville offense outside of Brian Thomas, you know, really translate all the way into 2025 when you have Liam Cohen, somebody that did amazing things in Tampa Bay. And I want to see Travis Hunter on both sides of the ball. I just want to see him out there. Game speed. He's going to play that. That came out this morning. Bigsby etn, both listed as co starters. Right now, I think Bigsby is the player that I'm. I'm kind of tantalized by the potential. If they really give him a lot of work, I know he's not going to catch the football, but right now, where he's going in drafts, it could be a fairly, you know, a really nice depth piece you could add in your drafts. So I want to see what it looks like and, you know, does the offensive line hold Up a little bit in the preseason. Liam Cohen, the creativity. Do you see any of that? Wow, you really.
- [07:45]
Mike Wright
I didn't even know what. When it started, you really accentuated the.
- [07:48]
Unknown Speaker
Oh, that was an audio drop that was straight from. See, it's pretty much the same thing.
- [07:53]
Andy Holloway
So, Mike, what about you?
- [07:55]
Unknown Speaker
I'm going with the Minnesota Vikings. I want to see J.J. mcCarthy. I want to. And what I'm looking for is just do we get. Does he look sharp? Do we get quick decisions from him and, you know, some accuracy as well? And then do they give us any hint on Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason? I did. That'll be, I think, harder to gleam from just the preseason. Like they might just play like two drives and maybe Aaron Jones gets one drive and then Jordan Mason gets another drive. Or do we see them actually mixing in and out, you know, depending on the situation of the down of the distance. So that I'm fascinated for that. And then another thing I want to bring up because we are wearing wide receivers and so we won't be talking about running backs, but I want to get your guys take on something. As beat reporter for the Denver Broncos, Benjamin Albright was being asked about the Denver backfield because RJ Harvey, second round pick, allegedly the, you know, like the chosen one, the golden child of Sean Payton, when they could have in the first round, you know, taken one of the prolific guys, you know, the Ohio guys. I don't remember if Hampton was there.
- [09:10]
Mike Wright
Yeah, Hampton was there.
- [09:11]
Unknown Speaker
Like they could have gone that direction. And instead what we heard was they identified RJ Harvey and they really want to get him time passes, bunch of time passes. In football terms. They signed J.K. dobbins, who's just out there chilling on the couch, and Albright.
- [09:27]
Mike Wright
For a good amount of money.
- [09:28]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah. And Albright was tweeting because people are like, we want it to be R.J. harvey. And Albright's. Ooh, I don't know, guys. What I'm seeing right now is the split is like J.K. dobbins, 70%. And specifically because RJ Harvey doesn't have the tools for pass protection and that is keeping him off the field. So I'm wondering what you guys are making of that note, because it seems like it should impact something.
- [09:56]
Andy Holloway
I brought the pass protection thing up. When you talk about Sean Payton, he's going to play the players that he thinks give them the best chance to win and it doesn't matter where they're drafted. Reggie Bush was the number two overall pick. He had 155 carries in his rookie season for them. I mean, he was a valuable pass catcher. But I just think that we've seen the committee approach with Sean Payton. I think RJ Harvey will prove himself to be the best talent in the room in terms of making big plays. But that's not always what matters. I mean, Javante Williams was inefficient, ineffective, and still used frequently. There's trust factors that go beyond your yards per carry, that go into pass protection, like you said, or just trust of the offense. So, look, the nice thing is they put RG Harvey at fifth on the depth chart. So, you know, the depth chart doesn't matter because if you, every single rookie.
- [10:50]
Unknown Speaker
Is listed last on the Denver Broncos.
- [10:52]
Andy Holloway
Unofficial depth chart because that's how he rolls. And so he's certainly going to, he's going to give a lot of veteran preference to J.K. dobbins. But we also saw Dobbins start strong and end poorly last year. So he's, he's older, he's got some tread on the, the one leg. And I think over the course of the season, the rookie kind of that role should increase with trust. You got to protect the football. You can't make these dumb mistakes. That's going to be. That's always at a risk for a situation like this. That RJ Harvey goes out there, he makes a couple bad pass protection mistakes, fumbles the football, and you know, that's more volatile. There's certainly not a, it's not like Genty, it's not like Hampton, where you are locked in a huge role. In my opinion. I think Harvey has a lot of variants.
- [11:40]
Unknown Speaker
So then based on that conversation of the belief, you know, like RJ Harvey should improve over the course of the year. Totally makes sense. Then what do you do with the draft? Because right now, you know, on average. So RJ Harvey on sleeper is the 511. You know, that's a pick that's pretty expensive. That's right before Teteroa McMillan. It's just slightly ahead of Isaiah Pacheco. It's in front of my beloved Travion Henderson. You know that if, if he is, if it really starts Dobbins at 70%, how long until Harvey is someone that you actually feel comfortable starting and you, I mean, because you just spent a, a starter pick on him when J.K. dobbins might be the better pick.
- [12:29]
Mike Wright
Right now I, I think JK Dobbins is the clear, better value. Like JK Dobbins is a really good value in drafts. He's going in the double digit rounds. He's not being drafted as a starter. He's going to start the year as the starter. He'll score more fantasy points in the beginning. Now the expectation, I think from most people, myself included, is that by the end of the year, the more valuable fantasy asset will be RJ Harvey. But with that, like that isn't a guarantee. JK Dobbins could because he's going to start in that role. What if he just dominates? What if he's great? They're not going to go away from him. Even if RJ Harvey gets better and gets a little bit more involved. So I think the better approach right now is J.K. dobbins in the double digit rounds. I still think the more valuable asset will be RJ Harvey. I don't even have a problem taking RJ Harvey ahead of JK Dobbins.
- [13:13]
Unknown Speaker
Well, you have multiple rounds, right?
- [13:15]
Mike Wright
But I, I can't justify taking him in the fifth round. Like that's where he's going right now. I won't have a lot of RJ Harvey. So where about probably like the seventh round is where I think his value should end up. Which means I'll end up with no, no RJ Harvey.
- [13:28]
Andy Holloway
I remember when Dobbins was signed and everyone's like, don't worry about it, RJ Harvey's fine. That's not true. It's just not the case. Like Dobbins, obviously a lot of preseason work, the number one spot on the depth chart and then the, you know, Benjamin Albright, somebody you can trust. Yeah, it's a good question to bring up. And it's one that again with the preseason, we got a long way to go until we kick the football off on, on September 4th. So let's talk some more news.
- [13:57]
Jason Moore
News and notes from around the league presented by Progressive Insurance.
- [14:05]
Andy Holloway
Sean McDermott says he believes Khalil Shakir will be ready for week one. That's good. Did you guys adjust him very much with the injury, the high ankle sprain?
- [14:16]
Unknown Speaker
I hadn't yet.
- [14:16]
Mike Wright
I moved his risk meter up. I think that he'll be slightly less efficient. Week one, you're not usually at 100% the first week back, if that is his first week back. But it's, you know, you want him there for week one versus week four.
- [14:30]
Andy Holloway
Okay. All right. It'll be tight for him to get back in time. TJ Hawkinson, Justin Jefferson, they were some Vikings injury situations. Hawkinson returned to practice. Jefferson still sidelined with the hamstring.
- [14:45]
Unknown Speaker
Going to need some practice here. Justin.
- [14:48]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, we got Some time. We'll talk about them on today's show. I don't like seeing this. Malik. Neighbors not at practice. Once again with the toe situation.
- [14:58]
Unknown Speaker
It.
- [14:59]
Andy Holloway
They came out and basically said it's part of the process that he has to follow. This toe injury has followed him for years. Forever, right? Yeah. It's going back to lsu.
- [15:09]
Mike Wright
Just saw it off.
- [15:11]
Unknown Speaker
Just Malik, just.
- [15:13]
Mike Wright
You got to do what you got to do.
- [15:14]
Unknown Speaker
Just get that. You know, like, you got the loose tooth. Sometimes.
- [15:17]
Andy Holloway
I don't know if you can do that with a toe.
- [15:18]
Unknown Speaker
Sometimes you feel the tooth. You know, the kid asks, like, dad, is my tooth ready? You go, I can make it right. I can get it out of there. It's going to hurt, but maybe that's the answer. Maybe the toes not ready.
- [15:31]
Mike Wright
It just depends on which.
- [15:32]
Andy Holloway
Not a doctor, but yeah, it may.
- [15:33]
Unknown Speaker
Not be ready to come off right now, but in the long run, just. Just get it.
- [15:39]
Mike Wright
Eventually it's coming off, it's falling off.
- [15:41]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah.
- [15:42]
Mike Wright
I mean, he played with this all last year.
- [15:44]
Andy Holloway
He's not giving me tooth PTSD over here.
- [15:47]
Mike Wright
It's not something you want to see. You'd hope that he's healthy, but this scares me. Not a lot, to be honest. Simply because he's managed it. The fact that he's not practicing right now and it's part of the process just means they're aware of it. They're not. I would. I want them to not overwork him right now this time. I want him to be overworked in real NFL season games. Not right now.
- [16:10]
Andy Holloway
Didn't it bother him during the season last year?
- [16:12]
Mike Wright
Yeah.
- [16:14]
Unknown Speaker
I'm telling you. One. One Good. You know, put dental floss on there.
- [16:18]
Andy Holloway
I don't know if it's.
- [16:19]
Mike Wright
Slammed door. Yeah.
- [16:20]
Andy Holloway
I don't know if it works.
- [16:20]
Unknown Speaker
It works the same way.
- [16:22]
Mike Wright
If the dental floss is tight enough.
- [16:25]
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
- [16:25]
Mike Wright
Then.
- [16:25]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah, just real tight. Leave it on there for a couple days.
- [16:28]
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
- [16:28]
Mike Wright
We don't need dentist floss right off.
- [16:31]
Andy Holloway
We don't need Matthew Betts at all. We got this medical stuff handled.
- [16:34]
Unknown Speaker
He'd probably say it's a bad idea.
- [16:35]
Andy Holloway
Colcomette back practicing for the Bears. Jaden Reed not practicing on Thursday. Marshawn Lloyd doing rehab work.
- [16:43]
Mike Wright
Good.
- [16:43]
Andy Holloway
The only kind of work he does. Third on the depth chart, by the way, behind. Behind Wilson.
- [16:49]
Unknown Speaker
The Lloyd career is so frustrating and sad for him right now.
- [16:54]
Andy Holloway
And are we mentioning the Breeze Hall? The time will tell. Tweet.
- [16:57]
Mike Wright
We just did. You. You just literally mentioned it. So there's nothing else other than that. That was the entirety of it. He tweeted time will tell.
- [17:10]
Unknown Speaker
It was. It's a very.
- [17:12]
Andy Holloway
Well, breeze.
- [17:13]
Unknown Speaker
It's a very passive aggressive tweet from Breeze Hall. Generally, this type of tweet, you know, per the rules of Denny Carter, this is a wide receiver tweet. I don't know what Breeze hall is doing.
- [17:25]
Andy Holloway
Well, he's been more of a wide receiver than a running back.
- [17:27]
Unknown Speaker
Okay. Maybe that's it.
- [17:29]
Andy Holloway
Anyway, so he can tweet how he wants.
- [17:30]
Mike Wright
I think he's very frustrated with what his workload is going to be. He is, in my opinion, being overdrafted right now. It seems like it's going to be a very big committee. So when you're saying time will tell, he first comes out and says, I'm not their guy. He literally said this at a press conference, said, I'm not their guy.
- [17:45]
Unknown Speaker
He didn't follow it up with like. So I know I need to prove it.
- [17:49]
Mike Wright
Sure. Yeah. But I mean, he's feeling that if you're willing to sit there and say, like, hey, I need to prove it. I'm not their guy. They didn't draft me. And then you come out and you're like, time will tell. What's the timeline he's thinking here? Is this like my next contract you're going to see? I'm really good.
- [18:04]
Andy Holloway
I think this is. Yeah, this is like the rest of this year is an opportunity to prove himself and get out of town. I mean, even before those comments, Jay, he was, you know, he kept saying, I look at myself as a three down back. I don't know how the team sees me. I look at myself this way and like you said, the frustration of, like, hey, you know, maybe. Maybe my role is committee back on this team.
- [18:27]
Unknown Speaker
So how are we feeling about a 13th round, Braylon Allen?
- [18:31]
Andy Holloway
Great. Feel great.
- [18:33]
Unknown Speaker
I think I got to pump him up.
- [18:34]
Andy Holloway
God got Dynasty rejected on a trade for him yesterday.
- [18:38]
Unknown Speaker
I just did a startup over the past couple of days and got Braylon Allen in, like, I don't know, the 16th or something. Like, people are not.
- [18:46]
Andy Holloway
You want Braylon Allen or Ramon Ray Stevenson in a dynasty?
- [18:49]
Unknown Speaker
Oh, Braylon Allen.
- [18:50]
Mike Wright
Oh, man, that's gross.
- [18:53]
Unknown Speaker
One of those guys is for sure not very good and fumbles all the time. The other one's.
- [19:01]
Mike Wright
Not a bad football.
- [19:02]
Unknown Speaker
Ramandre Stevenson is.
- [19:03]
Mike Wright
Ramandrevenson is also under contract. I'm pretty sure he's under contract where this year and next year he's pretty much going to be part of their offense. And this could be an offense with the Patriots. If Drake may is that dude that could actually be good. Whereas the jets offense probably won't be. So. I don't know. I think it's closer than you think. Just because obviously Braylon Allen's younger Ramondre.
- [19:27]
Unknown Speaker
Next year is a 3.2 dead.
- [19:30]
Mike Wright
I'm pretty sure I'm looking at the.
- [19:32]
Andy Holloway
Andre game log when he played like any significant amount of snaps. Like he had like four out of five weeks in the top nine at the position last year to start the year. I mean, the. You're not wrong about any of the stuff about protecting the football, but he, there was a reason he got like paid a bunch of money. He had a really great top 12 season. I think it's a really good question.
- [19:54]
Unknown Speaker
Between those two photographs.
- [19:57]
Andy Holloway
Oh, my gosh.
- [19:59]
Mike Wright
I think this is because of your Travion Henderson.
- [20:01]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, it is.
- [20:02]
Mike Wright
Speaking.
- [20:02]
Andy Holloway
Well, I know it's two years in a row because last year is all about Antonio Gibson.
- [20:06]
Unknown Speaker
So.
- [20:06]
Andy Holloway
No, Ramon Dre sucks. This year it's Trayvon. So Ramandre sucks. He stands in the way. It's like, it's why he hates Zach Ertz. He stands in the way of Ben Senate.
- [20:15]
Mike Wright
Was Ramon Dre one of the players that lost weight?
- [20:18]
Unknown Speaker
Like, I think so.
- [20:19]
Mike Wright
Okay. Because that like some players, that's really important.
- [20:22]
Unknown Speaker
Yes, he's one of them. In his career. It has been an issue.
- [20:27]
Mike Wright
Yeah. That's like Eddie Lacy, you know, he didn't do it.
- [20:30]
Andy Holloway
I think Breeze hall is such a. Such a terrible pick in fantasy.
- [20:35]
Mike Wright
Yeah. For where he's going.
- [20:36]
Andy Holloway
Where he's going.
- [20:37]
Mike Wright
Yeah, absolutely.
- [20:38]
Andy Holloway
We constantly, like, his name comes up all the time around other players in the third round and I'm just like, no, I would not do that right now. I mean, he's going ahead of Hampton, right?
- [20:46]
Mike Wright
Yes, he is.
- [20:46]
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
- [20:47]
Unknown Speaker
I mean, when the real drafts are happening, I can't imagine that happens.
- [20:52]
Mike Wright
Well, yeah, unfortunately, we'll.
- [20:54]
Unknown Speaker
We'll steam Hampton up, will we?
- [20:57]
Andy Holloway
That was today's.
- [20:58]
Unknown Speaker
I think so.
- [20:59]
Andy Holloway
That was today's news and notes sponsored by Progressive Insurance. Quote today@progressive.com Progressive Casualty Insurance Company affiliates and third party insurers not available in all states or situations. Coverage subject to policy terms, limits and conditions. We'll go ahead and take a break and we'll get into our top 10 wide receiver countdown. Unless you have something. You're stopping me from talking.
- [21:20]
Mike Wright
I'm stopping you from talking because I'm just proud of us as, as a whole, as all fantasy community. Breeze hall is now going behind Kyron and Chase Brown, which for the longest time he was being drafted ahead of those two guys. It sucks to be proud of everyone, but also to not be able to take advantage of foolish decisions. Like, I wish Breeze hall was still going ahead of those guys.
- [21:42]
Andy Holloway
He was going ahead of them.
- [21:43]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah.
- [21:44]
Andy Holloway
Oh, wow. Yeah, that. That doesn't make sense. All right, we'll take a break. Be back in a minute. This is an ad by BetterHelp. These days, it feels like there's advice for everything. We talk about this all the time. You look at the reels and all the social media, you got the cold plunges, gratitude journals, screen detoxes. But the problem is you don't know it actually works. And the Internet is full of information overload about mental health, about wellness, and it's hard to know what will actually make a difference, what's true. And so you gotta take action, but you don't know how. You want to use trusted resources. And BetterHelp has live therapists that can get you personalized recommendations and help you break through all of that noise. With over 30,000 therapists worldwide, BetterHelp is the world's largest online therapy platform, having served over 5 million people globally. And it's very convenient. You can join a session with a therapist at the click of a button and you can switch therapists at any time. As the largest online therapy provider in the world, BetterHelp can provide access to mental health professionals with a diverse variety of expertise. Talk it out with BetterHelp, our listeners get 10% off their first month@betterhelp.com footballers. That's betterhelp.com footballers heading back to school.
- [23:06]
Unknown Speaker
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- [23:39]
Andy Holloway
All right, it's time to talk top 10 wideouts.
- [23:46]
Jason Moore
Wide receivers.
- [23:48]
Andy Holloway
On yesterday's show, we counted it down from number 20 in our consensus wide receiver rankings, down to 11. Today we'll get down to number one and we'll start with number 10. Oh, wait, I got one of these.
- [24:04]
Jason Moore
Number 10.
- [24:05]
Andy Holloway
Thank you, Drake London.
- [24:08]
Unknown Speaker
Please say the number before every time you hit the drop.
- [24:10]
Andy Holloway
Oh that'd be good huh? That'd be good. Drake London coming in at number 10, number nine and number nine for me and Jason Mike's got him at 11. Was the wide receiver six last year. You know this, this is, you know it's a bet on, on Michael Pennix Jr. Being competent which I think is fine. You know like we had a very, very small sample size of them playing together last year. It was very good for Drake London but it's also target consolidation in the offense. Like you know Drake London is going to be the show like he's, he's their wide receiver and he deserves to be one. And number two probably. And you know what is a bet against Drake London? It's a bet on Kyle Pitts. What's a bet against Drake London? It's a bet Ron Ray, Ray McLeod.
- [24:56]
Mike Wright
I mean a bet against Michael Pennix.
- [24:59]
Andy Holloway
But yeah, but I still think, I mean our bar of success there. It's like if Justin Fields was the quarterback of Atlanta. Do you feel good about Drake London?
- [25:11]
Mike Wright
Yeah. Okay.
- [25:12]
Andy Holloway
I mean that's as low as it gets on the quarterback meter.
- [25:16]
Mike Wright
No, I agree. This is really just a target Play. He had 157 targets last year and if you look at the very small sample size but the three games with Michael Penix eight targets, 13 targets, 18 targets. He's not afraid that I don't know how great he's going to be.
- [25:34]
Unknown Speaker
He's afraid of throwing at anyone else.
- [25:35]
Mike Wright
Right. He's not afraid at just hyper targeting his wide receiver one. It's probably what has to happen. This team is not projected to be a 10 win team. You know they're going to be throwing the ball a lot and Drake London is, he's entering his prime. He's 24 years old. He looked like an alpha last year. He was already. I mean last year he was the wide receiver 6 in fantasy he's being drafted behind that. His situation is hopefully better. I mean he did have Kirk Cousins for the majority of the year so that could be the big negative change.
- [26:06]
Andy Holloway
If you have to pick a type of wide receiver, an archetype to be more conducive to a quarterback change or somebody acclimating. You pick the bigger body. Contested catch receivers, they're the ones that make it a lot easier on quarterbacks. I mean you got that from DeAndre Hopkins when he had a whole hodgepodge in Houston. Brandon Marshall was like that when he switched teams. To me it's just, I mean that's a bigger Catch radius. That's a bigger opportunity. And nobody was targeting, I guess, Puka, but other than Puka, nobody else was targeted on a higher percentage of his man coverage routes. He wins in man coverage and he's bigger, stronger, faster than the other guys.
- [26:44]
Unknown Speaker
Can he finish top three?
- [26:49]
Mike Wright
Yes. It would take Michael Penix being worthy of where he was picked in last year's NFL draft or the previous season.
- [26:56]
Andy Holloway
Top three. I really was hoping you'd say five because I might get in.
- [26:59]
Unknown Speaker
I might get in on five easy.
- [27:01]
Mike Wright
Yeah, because he was six last year.
- [27:03]
Andy Holloway
That's a good point.
- [27:05]
Mike Wright
I do think he could be four.
- [27:06]
Andy Holloway
I don't know.
- [27:08]
Mike Wright
I, you know, do we anticipate him next year being in that conversation with the elite of the elites? No.
- [27:14]
Unknown Speaker
Right.
- [27:16]
Mike Wright
Presumably that will be because he's not going to have double digit touchdowns. That's all that needs to change. His targets will be there, his receptions will be there and his yards will be there. So if he ends up with 10 touchdowns, he'll be drafted, you know, in the top six seven picks in fantasy next year. I don't think he's being drafted currently at his ceiling, which is great and that's hard to find when you're in those first few rounds.
- [27:39]
Andy Holloway
He also was one of those players when you, you know, we did the the Truth series. He only had 6% of his games be great games. Right. He finished at 6 through stat accumulation over the year but he only had two weekly finishes at or above that number. He was much more consistent. It would be nice to see those boom games. Maybe Michael Pennix Jr. Can air it out. We went through the whole Kirk Cousins experience. Experience last year. So yeah, it's, it's a player that I think is very safe.
- [28:14]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah. For fantasy, you know, I'm whatever, I'm two ranking spots behind but I think his.
- [28:19]
Andy Holloway
You hate him is what you're saying.
- [28:21]
Unknown Speaker
I think his ADP is fine.
- [28:24]
Andy Holloway
All right, moving on.
- [28:26]
Jason Moore
Number nine.
- [28:27]
Andy Holloway
Look at that. I remember. I remember to push the button.
- [28:29]
Unknown Speaker
Otherwise I'm a little disappointed.
- [28:31]
Andy Holloway
They didn't know what number we're on. If I had just said it, A.J. brown comes in at number nine. He's one of my more surprising rankings. I got him up at 7. You guys both have him at 10. I think he's missing a little time right now. He pivoted off the field. Devonte Smith's back on the field with I think a hamstring. Last year was a disappointment. I mean he had finished as the wide receiver seven in Philly in 2023 wide receiver five in Philly in 2022.
- [29:03]
Unknown Speaker
It was a disappointment because the Eagles were too freaking good.
- [29:06]
Andy Holloway
Well and I guess I was going to point out they were too freaking good. But he also missed time points per game wise he was the same guy. I mean he was a 0.2 points per game better than in 2023, despite the fact that they depended on Saquon Barkley so much and they didn't throw it that much. So to me, I'm just so confident that AJ Brown is primed for a bounce back and you find they get him a value that is like probably the floor to me at wide receiver 10 in the second round. So I feel really good about him.
- [29:34]
Mike Wright
Yeah, he's interesting because the how good the Eagles defense is, how good their offensive line and running game are, it's one of Those situations where A.J. brown could be way better than what he did last year, but he could also just be not that needed, not very consistent, have games where oh devonte Smith had his game this game and they didn't need much more in the second half. And so AJ Brown dud it. So like when you compare him and Drake London and I will say this, since this is the top 10 show, there is a massive break to me. Like I don't know if you guys have the exact same top 10 guys, but to me there are 10 great wide receivers that I'm happy with as like even my wide receiver one. And then it's a huge break to the next like T. Higgins. I think it finished our previous episode. That's like a big tear break for me before Higgins. Drake London. Yeah, Drake London, A.J. brown. But I think I would rather have Drake London over AJ Brown for just volume, for consistency, for hopeful step.
- [30:38]
Andy Holloway
I think I'm on the AJ Brown side again like he was AJ Brown's.
- [30:43]
Mike Wright
A better wide receiver.
- [30:44]
Andy Holloway
I feel like last year was as bad as it can get from a passing percentage standpoint. And the defense was so good and Saquon and he was still better points per game than his wide receiver seven years. So I lean the Brown side. I think both are great picks if they're close.
- [30:58]
Mike Wright
Does the hamstring issue even come out of your mind?
- [31:01]
Andy Holloway
No, not right now. It might might later.
- [31:05]
Mike Wright
Yeah.
- [31:05]
Andy Holloway
If he's still ask me later. Mike, where do you stand on A.J. brown and maybe the I'm more on your side?
- [31:12]
Unknown Speaker
Andy? I think A.J. brown is. I'm really happy with him as my wide receiver one the projecting the Eagles defense, I mean they're if you look around. Many places are going to list them as yeah, they, they're going to be the best defense more than likely in football. But part of being the best defense also includes being the luckiest in terms of injuries. They just, they happen and one key injury changes everything for how a defense functions and all of a sudden that, you know, they can be more exploited of now the offense has to kick it into gear. So I, while they. There are, there is definitely there is a chance that they just dominate yet again. I'm still good with A.J. brown because he was so dominant and he just was basically took second halfs.
- [32:00]
Andy Holloway
Off last year just for. I think this is kind of interesting to look at when we talk through the top 10. Last year, A.J. brown was the wide receiver 6 off the board and Drake London was the wide receiver 11 off the board going into the 2024 season. This year, London is being drafted as the wide receiver 9. AJ Brown is the wide receiver 10 on sleeper, but both of them true alphas at 8, it's Brian Thomas Jr. He finished as wide receiver number 8 or there it is, there it is.
- [32:33]
Unknown Speaker
Oh man, oh man.
- [32:35]
Mike Wright
Hosting is hard.
- [32:37]
Andy Holloway
You know what it was, it was yesterday I actually went looking for numbers and then I remember we don't got like, we don't got the budget for numbers. 20, 19, 18.
- [32:46]
Mike Wright
Right.
- [32:46]
Andy Holloway
Well, come on, anything above 10, we can't afford that. So I got really delights of just cruising and thank you Al for I got you for taking care of that. That's going to happen more and more the rest of the show. I was talking about Brian Thomas Jr. You know, he's not even 23 years old. It was an incredible rookie season. I am the lowest of the three of us. I don't know why exactly. I mean I is how the stats ended up, right? Like part of the process. If you're new to the show, if you're coming back for, you know, the first time in a while, we talk about this, we go out, we project players and sometimes the stats surprise you and players end up differently than where you thought they'd be or where you would have wanted them to be in terms of the rankings. And that's why we have risk ratings and upside ratings because players have to go in a certain order. But you know, when you're drafting, maybe you're looking for an upside player because you got a safe player, maybe you're looking for risk aversion because you've got a risky player already. So those things have to differentiate for you for some reason. When I looked at Jacksonville, I just didn't get to where he finished last year. He was very, very productive in a time when Trevor Lawrence wasn't on the field, in a time when Kirk and Ingram were not available for them. I don't. I'm not trying to overemphasize that. I think Travis Hunter is going to play a ton of offensive snaps. I think the latest number from Liam Cohen that he, you know, kind of threw out there to rich Eisen was 80% of the offensive snaps. I mean, Brian Thomas is an alpha. Brian Thomas is dominant. Liam Cohen somebody that you should be able to trust. Yeah, I just thought he really like it. It has happened before where that rookie season is kind of like the peak or the biggest, you know, your kind of most boom season and 10 touchdowns. It's a lot.
- [34:35]
Unknown Speaker
When I'm looking at Brian Thomas, you know, I think there's a couple narratives of which direction are you going to go with him as a player. Not, not on the field, like watch him play. He. He's that dude. But the, you know, like the couple guys being missing at the end of the year, I don't want to almond raw this situation of when you see talent truly on the field. But I think Andy, where, where your feelings can really come into play is the first, you know, the first nine weeks, that's Trevor Lawrence. And in that time, Brian Thomas is good. Like he was. He were all like massively outplayed his ADP. You know, he gave you three top 10 games in that time, but it's a 20% target share in that time with Trevor Lawrence. And then Mac Jones comes in and it goes up to 32. This is not a. Oh, hey, Mac Jones is just. Was feeding the number one guy a little bit more than Trevor Lawrence. That is a substantial difference between the two of them. So will it.
- [35:40]
Mike Wright
Mac Jones figured out how to look like a good quarterback. Yeah, just throw to Brian Thomas.
- [35:44]
Unknown Speaker
Exactly. So can Trevor Lawrence actually look like a good quarterback?
- [35:48]
Mike Wright
Trevor Lawrence is the only issue that I have here with Brian Thomas Jr. But I don't think Trevor Lawrence is so bad as a quarterback that he can't support Brian Thomas being a true alpha. He was a late transition to wide receiver in his NFL career. That was like, why, you know, he only had one big breakout year in college and people were worried, you know, does he have the skills? When you watched this guy last year, this. Sometimes we just forget how good he was. He was great at the line of scrimmage, the screen game. Unbelievable middle of the field just outstanding. So much separation, deep bombs like all three levels of the field. He was awesome.
- [36:29]
Andy Holloway
And red zone. Yeah.
- [36:31]
Mike Wright
So I feel like this is a young guy. Obviously. Maybe he maybe the wide receiver for finish with double digit touchdowns as a rookie. Maybe that's the highest he ever finishes. Regardless, he finished as the wide receiver four as a rookie. They did get rid of Christian Kurt.
- [36:44]
Andy Holloway
They got rid of Evan Ingram away from him.
- [36:47]
Mike Wright
I would say that he just didn't.
- [36:48]
Andy Holloway
End up as high as I thought he would.
- [36:49]
Mike Wright
Of the top 10 wide receivers who are the 10 we're talking about today, in my personal rankings, he is the scariest. Like the. I could see how it goes wrong if Trevor Lawrence isn't that great or if Travis Hunter really eats into it. But I'm not going to overthink a young, unbelievably talented wide receiver who just looked special on, on every, on every play.
- [37:10]
Andy Holloway
Watching him and Neighbors play last year was amazing.
- [37:12]
Jason Moore
Speaking of which, number seven got it.
- [37:16]
Andy Holloway
Malik neighbors comes in at number seven, which is where he finished last year. In just 15 games. He was the entire giants passing offense 170 targets despite missing the two games. The previous rookie record was 147. So it was, it was like from the jump. We're just going to throw it to that guy on every single play.
- [37:36]
Mike Wright
And I'm very confident. Malik Neighbors was disappointed that he only had 170 targets.
- [37:40]
Andy Holloway
I guess I'd be curious where you guys have him projected target wise. Not percentage, but totals for 20.
- [37:50]
Mike Wright
So let's pull that up.
- [37:51]
Andy Holloway
So I. He was at 170 last year. I've got him at 168 this year.
- [37:57]
Unknown Speaker
Really?
- [37:57]
Mike Wright
I have him at 168 targets this year.
- [38:00]
Unknown Speaker
I still got, I got him more. I got him 176. Because he did that in what, 15 games.
- [38:05]
Mike Wright
Correct.
- [38:06]
Andy Holloway
So again, this is a very similar situation to Brian Thomas. A little bit of trepidation around quarterback offense performance, but trying not to overthink the skill and the talent and the fact that this was one of the most dominant rookie performances in history. He was out wide 73% of the time, 27% of the time in the slot.
- [38:29]
Unknown Speaker
We like that. We like a split.
- [38:31]
Andy Holloway
You got to move it around.
- [38:32]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah.
- [38:33]
Andy Holloway
Move your star around. Give him opportunities. Cardinals, please, please give the ball to Marvin. The Giants were trailing OR tied on 90% of every route that Malik Neighbors ran.
- [38:45]
Mike Wright
That's nice.
- [38:47]
Andy Holloway
I do, I brought it up. I do think that the like, if the season goes well for the Giants, it's on the back of a defense that is playing really well in a running game that can slow down the pace of play. So that would be my only, you know. And do we get Russ for a while, Winston for a while, Dart for a while. Those things are really subject to team record a lot of the times. Right. Like, how are you playing? They have a brutal start to the season.
- [39:14]
Unknown Speaker
To remind everyone, we open on the road against Washington, then on the road against Dallas.
- [39:21]
Andy Holloway
Both on the road. Very nice.
- [39:23]
Unknown Speaker
Then Kansas City and then the Chargers. I mean, perhaps Dallas is as stinky Andy as you feel like they could be, but this is looking very much like an 0 and 4 start for the Giants.
- [39:38]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, they're bring me. I don't know. Yeah, maybe they win. Maybe they win. Maybe they win the Dallas game. Their defense is very good. Their front four is very good.
- [39:48]
Mike Wright
Oh, if they're owing for Jamis Week 5 at New Orleans revenge game, Jason.
- [39:56]
Andy Holloway
You might as well get a Jameis tattoo. Oh, the way you love that guy.
- [40:00]
Mike Wright
You haven't seen my back.
- [40:01]
Andy Holloway
Oh, thank goodness for that. So, yeah, it's a tough schedule. I. It'd be hard not to think a quarterback change could happen at some point in the first six, eight weeks of the season. I mean, heck, you could have a head coaching change if it went wrong. But I. But again, I think they're building this team to be a dominant defense.
- [40:20]
Mike Wright
I don't see how he fails. Barring injury, the toe is a concern. I think if the Giants surprise and.
- [40:27]
Unknown Speaker
Are.
- [40:29]
Mike Wright
You know, then he got more touchdowns than we expect. Maybe not quite the volume if they have to keep up with, you know, losing games. He's going to be a target share that, you know, he's going to be approaching 200 targets. There's no one else to throw the ball to.
- [40:45]
Andy Holloway
Can he finish top three?
- [40:46]
Mike Wright
Absolutely.
- [40:46]
Andy Holloway
Okay. Can he finish number one?
- [40:49]
Mike Wright
I doubt it.
- [40:50]
Unknown Speaker
No.
- [40:51]
Andy Holloway
Number six, Nico Collins comes in at number six. Last year it was tough in Houston with C.J. stroud kind of regressing a little bit, the team having injuries. Nico missed five games. But if you look at that breakout campaign in 2023 and you look at last year, it's the same Nico Collins. Same. Same points per game and torching guys on a regular basis. Had some big plays called back, I remember.
- [41:19]
Unknown Speaker
Yep.
- [41:20]
Andy Holloway
And he was. He was on fire. 19 fantasy points a game through the first month last year, you know, Nico's that dude. I mean, he is a. He's a bona fide number one.
- [41:30]
Mike Wright
I think Nico could finish as the wider Superman.
- [41:31]
Andy Holloway
I think he could finish number one. Absolutely.
- [41:33]
Mike Wright
It's just a quarterback issue for Malik Neighbors. In order to be the one you have to usually lap the field. You're a couple points higher. The touchdowns came and they could come here with CJ Stroud.
- [41:43]
Andy Holloway
Yeah. And you don't have Diggs, you don't have Tank Dell. Right now the depth chart shows Jaden Higgins as the wide receiver 2 as.
- [41:49]
Unknown Speaker
A starter who we like as a sleeper.
- [41:51]
Andy Holloway
We do. But I think, you know, it's very obvious that like Nico is that dude for this team and he's being drafted right in between Malik Neighbors and Brian Thomas right now like in on sleeper. So you know, you got to look at him as a, you know, wide receiver. Seven feels fine as a draft price to me. We all got him a spot or two higher. Mike, you've got him the highest.
- [42:18]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah, I just, I love me some Nico Collins. You know, he, the dig route seems just unstoppable, you know, I mean he is, he's on this archetype of later breakout than Mike Evans. Evans was immediate but it's like they remind me of play style of each other. Obviously Nico, I'm talking about the younger version of Mike Evans and so he, if things are rolling, he can be in a truly unstoppable force and he will be force fed targets. I think the Christian Kirk being on this team is. It's good, it's good for the Houston Texans. Christian Kirk is a valuable wide receiver. We may be past the times of Kirk bringing us fantasy relevance but he certainly helps Houston which is going to help help our guy Nico get those touchdowns.
- [43:08]
Andy Holloway
All right, we will take a quick break here and then we will count down our top five.
- [43:16]
Mike Wright
What does possibility mean to you? That's a hard question.
- [43:20]
Jason Moore
Something that you can strive for.
- [43:22]
Andy Holloway
I'm able to do anything I set my mind to. You're confident in yourself and you believe in yourself.
- [43:27]
Unknown Speaker
Stuff that you could achieve.
- [43:29]
Andy Holloway
I feel at Sarah, Eddie Bling is possible when you're more confident. Shoes are a huge part of that.
- [43:34]
Jason Moore
They are the most important part of my style.
- [43:37]
Unknown Speaker
You can like express yourself in the right shoes.
- [43:40]
Andy Holloway
Anything is possible.
- [43:41]
Unknown Speaker
Dsw countless shoes at brag worthy prices. Imagine the possibilities.
- [43:49]
Andy Holloway
All right. One of the best ways to count down the top five is by saying the number.
- [43:55]
Jason Moore
Number five.
- [43:57]
Andy Holloway
And there it is. Number five. Amon Ross, St. Brown. You get to these top tier guys, there's not a lot to say about them. Unless you want to listen to a show where guys just say these guys. He plays Good football. But Amon raw Mike, I mean I guess one of the surprises is you have him.
- [44:15]
Mike Wright
At 8 buried.
- [44:17]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah, he is truly fluctuating around my rankings right now. He it just like you for Andy, for Brian Thomas. Man, I gave Amon Ra the numbers and he just ended up a little bit lower than I wanted to. But Amonra is a dog. Things have improved for him pretty much every year. You know when he started out he was a slot merchant and that the percentage of slot routes and fully out wide like that number just keeps getting more and more balanced. The we talked about Jameson Williams of what could go wrong for him and it's all the defense is really healthy this year where they weren't over the second half. So that's where.
- [45:02]
Andy Holloway
Let me ask you this, that's where I am. Laporta obviously double digit touchdowns as a rookie. Jameson Williams, you talked about him yesterday. I like him as a breakout. You got two talented, you know, running backs. One that's basically a wide receiver. Do you look at, do you see this offense like if Jameson Williams had a breakout season. Does it come at the cost of Almond Ron any regard?
- [45:25]
Unknown Speaker
I believe so, yes.
- [45:26]
Mike Wright
It definitely would because Jameson Williams type of a breakout season are drive enders. You know what I mean? Those are. He has a 60 yard touchdown, he has a 50 yard touchdown. He's you know he a handful of.
- [45:39]
Andy Holloway
Games, 70 yard touchdown.
- [45:41]
Mike Wright
Yeah, I could do this. I could do this forever. But those, those are drive enders. They put the team up and with their running game and their two running backs, you know that, that would, that would definitely come at the expense. You're not going to have Amon Ra be the wide receiver three for the third year in a row while Jameson Williams has a breakout. I don't, I don't think that would be true.
- [46:01]
Andy Holloway
One thing that has been wonderful about Mr. Almond Ross St. Brown 6% bust rate which was tied for the best among all wide receivers. You put him out there, you get production. You can feel really safe. He moves the chains. The offense is good.
- [46:15]
Mike Wright
Safe. You feel so safe every week. He's 70% of his games at half PPR over the 10 and a half point threshold. He's just as reliable as it comes. When you're talking about a guy who is going to catch over 100 passes almost guaranteed. There's really no risk here and now around the red zone. His red zone usage has been great back to back double digit touchdown years. He's just, you know, can he be the wide receiver one I don't think so.
- [46:40]
Andy Holloway
Probably not. And it feels like people have been slow to accept him as their one on a fantasy team. I think that's happened year over year. Like, he has been that guy. He's been completely worthy of it. But every step of the way, even his draft capital for the NFL, it's like we're going to doubt that this guy can go out there and dominate to the level that he does, but he's just. He's kind of a force of, you know, his will on the field. It's all right. This one's more scary right now. Number four, Puka Nukua comes in at number four. He's in that wide receiver prime. 24 years old, 23, 24, 25. Those are the prime years for wide receiver production in fantasy. We've got him at 4. He finished at 4 in 20, 23 as a rookie, which was unbelievable last year. The injuries held him back, but his points per game, they were better.
- [47:29]
Unknown Speaker
So he was so good.
- [47:31]
Andy Holloway
I think injuries are a little bit of the story with Pukinakua. I don't think that's an unreasonable thing. Like, if it was just a blip on the radar.
- [47:39]
Mike Wright
Well, he's had him going back, like, his entire career. Ironically, his rookie season, he played all 17 games. But he. He tends to come out. His play style is. He's too. Too much dog in him. You know what I mean?
- [47:55]
Unknown Speaker
Like, got to turn it down a little bit here.
- [47:57]
Mike Wright
Turn it down a little. He will lay out for any ball. He will crush into people. He is. He plays fearless, and I just wish maybe have a little bit of fear.
- [48:09]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, you talked about it in, you know, last year. It was that busted bursa.
- [48:17]
Mike Wright
The Bursa sack.
- [48:17]
Andy Holloway
The Bursa sack.
- [48:18]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah.
- [48:19]
Andy Holloway
Cost him six games. But you talked about 20, 23, the rookie year. He had knee swelling, shoulder bruise, sprained shoulder, hip soreness. On injury reports for all four of those things. Never missed a game.
- [48:28]
Mike Wright
Yeah.
- [48:29]
Andy Holloway
17 plays, but he puts his body on the line for sure. Which.
- [48:33]
Mike Wright
And then you have the risk of Matthew Stafford.
- [48:35]
Andy Holloway
Yes.
- [48:35]
Unknown Speaker
Which is probably the bigger injury risk to me.
- [48:38]
Andy Holloway
So, you know, if Matthew Stafford's there and he plays 17, you're talking about a guy that could absolutely finish number one overall. He's right in that prime range to do so. It's rare to have, you know, the same guy repeat it, wide receiver year after year. So Puka's in that category.
- [48:52]
Mike Wright
I can tell you, having had him on a roster for most of the last two years, it is a great time. This is a player who is not only consistent like Almond Ross St. Brown, but can actually go out there and have, you know, weak winning performances where, you know, he's just got so many targets, so consistent. I love every single thing about him. And when you've got a quarterback like Matthew Stafford, when he's out there and he's healthy, he is not afraid to go. And I mean he, he made Cooper cup the triple crown. He is fine to go out and take his guy. And even though you've got devonte Adams here, Puka is the number one target. Puka is Stafford's guy.
- [49:32]
Unknown Speaker
How do we get Puka more touchdowns?
- [49:34]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I was gonna say that's the one thing that stands out to me is the touchdowns. It's like if the volume wasn't nine.
- [49:38]
Unknown Speaker
Touchdowns in 28 games, no problem.
- [49:41]
Mike Wright
That doesn't bother me at all. Touchdowns, I mean, bothers me a little.
- [49:46]
Andy Holloway
I mean with devonte Adams who is a touchdown savant.
- [49:49]
Mike Wright
My point is we've seen two years of this NFL wide receiver at the end of his eight year, nine, ten year career, whatever it is, you're going to have double digit touchdown seasons from this good of a player. You always have that. Even these guys who don't score a bunch of touchdowns throughout. You're saying Julio didn't have double digit touchdown seasons.
- [50:09]
Andy Holloway
I'm saying Julio, that was the story every, every single year of his career. We were sitting there going like why, why does Matt Ryan not find Julio Jones?
- [50:16]
Mike Wright
Right? No, it was, it was very, very frustrating. But he had a double digit touchdown season. He had seasons with eight, eight, eight, three times. So four, four different seasons he had. This is the guy that you're bringing.
- [50:28]
Andy Holloway
Double digit touchdowns one time in 12 years though. I was just saying that was the refrain with Julio is that sometimes players, he's a. Sometimes players don't do that. Hall of Fame wide receiver is one, one time and that was the frustration year in and year out. It's not that Puka can't. I'm not saying he can't. I'm saying sometimes it just doesn't come to certain wide receivers. And if I wanted to predict a situation where it would be harder for it to come, it would be a situation where Kyron is that good on the goal line and devonte Adams is double digit every year for the last five years. You have my point being if Stafford misses time and you don't get the volume to Puka, you're not going to get the touchdowns from Garoppolo to Puka.
- [51:05]
Mike Wright
Correct.
- [51:05]
Andy Holloway
And so then that's the negative case. Now, staring down the Stafford decision, what I wanted to ask you is if you were actually in a draft and you're looking at Puka and Nico Collins, even though you have him, Puka ranked higher right now, this moment, if you had to draft today, you don't get more information on Stafford, are you pulling the trigger on Puka for the upside or are you just going to go away from the risk?
- [51:26]
Mike Wright
I think right this second, with what we know and with Stafford being currently not available to play, I would take Nico Collins and Almond Ross St. Brown over Puka.
- [51:39]
Unknown Speaker
Something we didn't bring up for Nico. Four years in the league, four years not playing a complete season for Nico Collins. 14 games, rookie year, 10, the next 15, 12.
- [51:50]
Andy Holloway
It's worth. Worth mentioning.
- [51:52]
Unknown Speaker
So I mean like where the injury differential, Puka, the guy who were like, this guy gets hurt. He has a. His rookie year played every game.
- [52:00]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I wonder.
- [52:02]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah, but I would take, I would take Nico, but I already have Nico ranked higher.
- [52:08]
Andy Holloway
All right, let's get to the big guys.
- [52:10]
Jason Moore
Number three.
- [52:11]
Unknown Speaker
You just list them all real quick.
- [52:13]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, see, well, no, I actually have a. I think it's a conversation about CD Lamb.
- [52:18]
Unknown Speaker
Okay.
- [52:19]
Andy Holloway
Because we know how good it can be because he was, he was the number one overall wide receiver. He was averaging almost 20 points a game the year before. 14.6 finished at wide receiver, 6 last year, 14.2. Dak missed time. But you know, the truth is when Dak played and we brought this up on the quarterback show, like the most recent sample we have of Dak and CD wasn't as good as it was in 2023.
- [52:45]
Unknown Speaker
The line was not as good as that ending, correct?
- [52:48]
Andy Holloway
Well, yeah, I mean almost the whole year. I think it was week four in that year that they turned it on. But what I'm saying is like Dak wasn't that good in that six, seven games. He was active. Fantasy wise. CD Was a disappointment. I remember this. I had him, he was a keeper for me last year. I had him to start the year. I was disappointed big time. I mean, you started off, he came off a number one overall year and you ended up, you know, wide receiver. 24, 15, 51. He had a good week 41, 24. That was not. When you draft a guy number one overall, which is what CD Lamb was worthy of being picked. I was a little bummed. So, you know, I don't think that the 2023 should be the, like the standard 19.7 points per game. No, that seems like a very special year.
- [53:30]
Unknown Speaker
Pretty outrageous.
- [53:31]
Andy Holloway
But we've all got him at 3. We know what this guy.
- [53:33]
Mike Wright
No, we don't.
- [53:34]
Unknown Speaker
Oh. Jason has met two.
- [53:35]
Mike Wright
Thank you.
- [53:37]
Andy Holloway
Okay.
- [53:39]
Mike Wright
Yep. Just wanted to put it out there. I mean, I think CD Lamb has as high a chance as anyone to be the wide receiver one. Overall, he is a dominant alpha wide receiver for a team in the Cowboys that especially if they don't have Micah Parsons. Please go away. Micah Parsons. They're going to have to throw the ball more. They can't run the ball. And Pickens doesn't scare me. Taking coverage away. CDs, you know, target market share is going to be tremendously high. And so, yeah, I mean, I recognize that at the beginning of last year it was a slower start for CD Lam and for Dak Prescott when Dak was healthy. But the previous year.
- [54:21]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah, over that time. And he had to play with Cooper rush from week 10 out, which he still had multiple double digit points scored. And remember his like the shoulder or I don't remember if it's called my shoulder, but every single time CD Lamb hit the ground, he would lay there momentarily and get up and you can see that this guy is not okay.
- [54:44]
Mike Wright
And if Dak gets injured, he gets a quarterback upgrade.
- [54:48]
Unknown Speaker
Oh, my gosh.
- [54:49]
Mike Wright
Joe Milton's at. No, Joe Milton the third. No, he's that dude.
- [54:53]
Unknown Speaker
No, no, I will not. No, not on this show.
- [54:58]
Andy Holloway
I don't. I don't know what drop to hit. No looking for.
- [55:01]
Unknown Speaker
I got you.
- [55:02]
Andy Holloway
There's a loser drop now.
- [55:05]
Mike Wright
Joe Bilton.
- [55:05]
Andy Holloway
There's only one reason. No, he's got him in dynasty. Mike.
- [55:09]
Unknown Speaker
He hasn't a dynasty. Okay, that all makes sense now.
- [55:12]
Mike Wright
Why do I have.
- [55:13]
Unknown Speaker
Joe Milton is an exciting quarterback.
- [55:15]
Andy Holloway
Tried to get me to trade him or Mondre for Joe Milton.
- [55:17]
Unknown Speaker
He would be so he's not. Okay. If you're trying to get crap Ramondre for this great quarterback. You don't actually believe that.
- [55:25]
Mike Wright
No, no.
- [55:27]
Andy Holloway
He's fluffing.
- [55:29]
Jason Moore
Not number two.
- [55:31]
Andy Holloway
Justin Jefferson comes in at number two. Number one, Jamar Chase comes in at number one. Is there a storyline here to talk about?
- [55:41]
Mike Wright
I mean, well, Justin Jefferson certainly. I mean, currently dealing with a hamstring. You've got a change at quarterback coming in with, you know, McCarthy. Is he going to be good enough to support and I mean, that's the story. The story was answered with those type of questions, minus the hamstring issue. Last year it was like, oh, Sam Darnold coming in. I didn't believe Sam Darnold was going to be good enough.
- [56:03]
Unknown Speaker
Does that mean we're. Are we putting a reverse jinx here because we were so out on Darnold and now we're in on J.J. mcCarthy.
- [56:10]
Mike Wright
It's possible. It's possible.
- [56:12]
Andy Holloway
Well, I mean, based on the last refresh of my Twitter feed, McCarthy has been released by the Vikings for poor performance. Wait, hold on.
- [56:21]
Mike Wright
Let me refresh your time.
- [56:23]
Andy Holloway
Big great path.
- [56:25]
Unknown Speaker
Oh, dominating.
- [56:25]
Mike Wright
Yeah.
- [56:26]
Andy Holloway
Yeah. Jamar Chase finished at number one last year. I am having Kyle dig into the last time we got a repeat number one overall, it was probably Antonio Brown. It doesn't happen very often. So, you know, it's the reality. Jamar Chase is the best bet to do it. That's why you draft him or you draft him. But I think Jefferson is in that category too. You know, he is just A Burrow confidence versus a McCarthy confidence.
- [56:53]
Unknown Speaker
And last year, you know, it would. Tyreek was the number one pick. And I bring that up for you. Like, hey, could, like, what could go wrong here for Jamar Chase? Well, Tyree Kill was already older in the end, like Jamar Chase. We listed the ages of the prime to be a fantasy football superstar and Jamar Chase is right in it. So maybe, maybe it's not number one for Jamar Chase, but your best chance of having a top three fantasy wide receiver is Jamar Chase.
- [57:26]
Andy Holloway
Yep. The Last repeat was 2014, 2015, Antonio Brown. So been 10 years. Yeah. One thing I did want to mention too is I think we talked about it before, man. I'm looking at this like CD Lamb. They go on the road to play the Philly defense, then they play the Giants defense, then they play on the road against Chicago defense, then they play Green Bay's defense. So that first four weeks, if it's slow, we know a slow start does not stop CD from dominating from Dak or Dak from dominating either. But both of those guys could look a little.
- [57:55]
Mike Wright
If CD Gets off to a really bad first month, I will be trading for him everywhere I can.
- [58:00]
Andy Holloway
Yeah. I mean, and it kind of like you said it happened last year. It started slow for CD he was, he was a wide receiver 11 through the first four weeks, then through the first nine. He ends up as the wide receiver four in that over that span. So we've got a mock draft episode tomorrow. We got RB rankings episodes on the horizon. Top 10 tips and tricks. Jason's trying to figure out is my guys.
- [58:25]
Mike Wright
Yeah, I've got a couple locked in.
- [58:27]
Unknown Speaker
It's a couple.
- [58:28]
Andy Holloway
Are you locked?
- [58:29]
Mike Wright
I got at least one locked in.
- [58:31]
Andy Holloway
Oh man.
- [58:32]
Unknown Speaker
Do you know, are you sweating at all?
- [58:35]
Mike Wright
I unlocked them. I have the key. So.
- [58:39]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, so my guys episode comes up next week as well. So very, very exciting. Check out the ultimate draft kit at ultimate draft kit.com the community. Join the foot.com if you're an Ultimate Foot Clan, you get the UDK for free every year you get the DFS.
- [58:54]
Unknown Speaker
Pass, you'll be getting a bonus podcast today.
- [58:56]
Andy Holloway
You get everything. Yeah, the footcast. Every week we give a bonus podcast to our supporters@jointhefoot.com that'll do it for today's episode. Thank you so much for joining us. Preseason football. Preseason football.
- [59:11]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah.
- [59:11]
Andy Holloway
Tonight should be fun.
- [59:13]
Unknown Speaker
I'll be watching. Goodbye.
- [59:19]
Jason Moore
Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot. Com and follow us on Twitter at theffballers.