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FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast
2026 NFL Draft Special | Senior Bowl Preview: Top WR and TE Prospects Who Can Skyrocket Their Draft Stock (Ep. 1946)
00:52:06
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- [00:00]
A
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
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B
All right, and welcome into the Fantasy Pros NFL Draft show. That's right, we're back to cover the 2026 NFL Draft cycle from start to finish from a fantasy football perspective. And that begins now as we will soon be boarding some of the smallest birds in the sky that'll touch down in Mobile, Alabama for the Panini Senior Bowl. We'll get you set for the occasion in this episod with our wide receivers and tight ends who can skyrocket their draft stock with impressive showings. I'm your host, Seth Wilcock, and as long as I can make it through what some experts are calling the winter storm of the decade, I'll be making my maiden voyage down there to the south to see all the action. And no, I'm not alone. With me as a veteran of both the Senior bowl and the NFL draft scene as a whole, he's downtown. Derrick Brown. Debro. Great to be back with you, my friend. Already in the thick of rookie scouting. Arya, how does it feel to be out of the week, tweak grind of the fancy season and be shifting gears to prospecting?
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A
We are back, baby. We are back. The layoff is over.
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B
We are back. We are back.
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A
Ready for this, Seth? This is my fa and this is not like shading any of the fantasy stuff in the NFL and the week to week and all that kind of stuff. Love it. That you know that that that's what keeps the lights on, pays the bills, all the things and stuff. Love it, love it, love it. This is my favorite time of the year right now. Doing prospects, going to the Senior bowl, going to the combine, doing all of these things, doing this show with you.
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B
It.
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A
This is my favorite time of the year and sitting down and watching all these players and trying to like splice through skill sets and analytics and trying to marry all of this stuff and paint the most complete picture possible that we can with these players skill sets and how that translates to the NFL. Dude, this is my favorite freaking time of year and I'm so excited to be back doing this show with you. I hope everybody's along for the ride. We're gonna have awesome guests throughout the entirety of the process doing mock drafts. We're gonna sit here and preview all the positions, all the things in between. So, dude, I'm ready for it, man. I mean, look, the jumping out of the NFL season week to week grind and immediately into this. I'm not going to say like it's. It's not laborious and it's not intensive and it's not a grind and I'm not fighting burnout and all that kind of stuff. I am. But dude, I'm also excited, man. Like I'm, I'm almost 40 players deep into this draft class and that starts with these Senior bowl rosters. And so there are a ton of players that we're going to get to in these, these two episodes that we're going to, we're doing today where I am just excited to talk about their skill sets, their fits. We got some sleeper guys, we got guys that might go in the first round of the NFL draft. I'm here for it all, Seth. Here for it all.
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B
I couldn't agree more, Derek. And it was one of those days that I had a little more pep in my staff. Right. I was walking out of the house, I was doing some chores before we got going.
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A
Yeah, your better half was like, oh, are you so.
- [03:11]
B
Yeah, absolutely. I'm blaring music in the shower this morning. I'm absolutely ready to go because that's how much I enjoy this process. I've been really in the thick of college football and the NFL season the past, you know, several months and now it's kind of a fun time where all those college players I've been watching, I've been buying their Bowman Chrome first Bowman rookie cards and collecting those and it just all comes together here in one great cycle in the NFL draft. So excited to break it down all with you today. And a reminder, this is a two part series for this first episode. In part one here we will break down our top six widers years and our top two tight ends to watch down in Mobile. And then part two will come your way later this week where we'll be previewing the top quarterback and running backs in the position groups at the Senior Bowl. Also, a quick shout out to all those Dynasty D gents who are rocking and rolling with us in the process. Please do a quick favor, give this video a thumbs up if you're watching right here on the Fancy Pros YouTube channel. Also make sure you're subscribing if you're new. We're trying to get to 300,000 subscribers by the NFL draft and we can only do that with your help. So we'd really appreciate that. And Derek, let's not waste no more time and go ahead and jump right into the top wide receivers to watch at the Senior bowl. Starting with a man named Casey Concepcion, wide receiver for Texas A M. This is a 21 year old player former three star prospect who was named the 2023 ACC Rookie of the Year with 71 receptions, 839 yards and 10 touchdowns when he was up at NC State. Then he goes for a pretty down season in 2024. Derek transfers to College Station where he and quarterback Marcel Reed then linked up for 61 receptions and 919 yards and nine touchdowns. He then led the SEC in both receiving touchdowns and punt return touchdowns as well. A skilled returner with two touchdowns earning All American honors. 511190 so definitely in the bottom third as far as percentile in the size department, but he's shown the ability to play on both the outside and in the slot. Derek, what have you seen from the Charlotte native and what do scouts need to see from him in Mobile to potentially supplant himself to in that first round conversation?
- [05:22]
A
Dude, that's exactly where I was going to start this off with, man. I think I texted you immediately after I got through his film and this is one of those light, you know, it's a blessing or a curse for you unfortunately where you get late night voice messages text for me as I'm going through all these players and stuff. I'm sure you like, you know, because you're more of a pawpaw. You go a little bit to bed earlier than I do but you wake up, talk good lord. Like this barrage of text. But do Casey has got the stuff and that's where I wanted to start this and frame this properly. Casey Concepcion will be a first round pick in the NFL draft lock set. Forget what's going to happen and I have a high second round grade on him but you just look at what he's going to do in the process starting with Senior bowl. He's going to go there. I think he's going to absolutely crush it. Especially when we get to the one on ones that day versus cornerbacks. I think he's going to light it up. I and you just look at how players in previous draft classes have built the hype and gone from being you know a second round pick or what have you and getting into the first round. It's because they build hype. They continue to prove the good parts of their film as like real traits and real parts of the game and build the hype and he's going to run fast. If he tests at the combine, he's going to run fast, he's going to test well and all this starts in Mobile and Concepcion's got the goods dude. Like any shortcomings because the box scores or what have you is a Marcel Reed problem. It is not a Casey Concepcion problem. Marcel Reed is dog water. I just, I can't say it any other way. He's not a good quarterback. He limited a Casey Concepcion his stat line, his productivity. But if you look at Casey's just ledger, in two of the last four three seasons he's been 26th and 33rd in Yak per reception on also what's impressive about that because you look at how these players utilized. When you have a player in 2025 like Casey who had a 12.28 odd and he's still 26th in Yak per reception, that says something because when you're seeing wide receivers utilized deep down the field, a lot of times in those deep downfield throws, you're not getting a lot of Yak. And especially when you talk about the limiting factor of ball placement and quarterback play that can also limit your Yak opportunities. So that's a feather in his cap, dude. And this guy is a stud. You talked about his ability to play at least earlier in his career from the slot in his final season, 65.3% of his snaps from the perimeter. So he has inside outside versatility and that kind of goes into my comp that I'll give here very shortly. But Casey Concepcion, man, I think he enters an NFL depth chart as a wide receiver to a strong high end wide receiver too for an NFL team that that can function as a wide receiver one if called upon and a team could run and funnel the passing attack through him because you look at the skill set, he's got route running chops for freaking days. He's got a varied release package off the line and you talk about the size. I don't care about the size. Whenever a guy can play bigger than his size and both whether that's we're talking about at the catch point and I've seen like people are going to talk about the drop rate. I don't care about his freaking drop rate because we have to give context about those stats. And when you're adjusting to poorly placed balls, difficult throws. I've seen enough on film from him where he is coming down with either splitting safeties and getting hit immediately after the catch or coming down with tough catches in traffic and holding on to the ball. I'm not worried about his freaking hands. This is a guy that can play inside and outside and do it well and he has the size to play bigger than what is listed on the page and beat beatman, beat press coverage. I. Dude, my. My comp for him and we did. I didn't. We didn't share and talk about this beforehand, but I'm curious where you're at with this. My comp for him is lad McConkey. Man, I love him, absolutely love his skill set. He is somebody that I'm going to be targeting everywhere in Dynasty rookie drafts. I love KFC Concepcion.
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I think it's so much. I think it's a very interesting comp. I didn't even think about Ladd, but it definitely is that type of skill set. Right. And the interesting thing about this is, you know, he was very much, I think, a large factor of how they got to the College Football Playoff because there was multiple games there, Derek, and I'm sure you had fun watching that South Carolina game where Marcel Reed looked like not even a high school quarterback in the first half that game.
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They were to play football.
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Yeah, they were down 30 to 3. And then Casey Concepcion, Mario Craver have huge second halfs. Carry them back in the game and you go back to 2024 NC State. He's working with C.J. bailey, who is an up and coming quarterback prospect. But his freshman year when he broke out and won the all ACC Rookie of the Year honors there, Brennan Armstrong was his quarterback. Man, Brennan Armstrong is someone that nobody really wants around any of their programs anymore. Like, he's a guy just kind of a journeyman type of quarterback. Had a really terrible year there for NC State. Eleven touchdowns, seven interceptions, 1700 yards. Like that's what he was working with at quarterback and he was able to do all this despite that. So I'm excited to see what he can do in Mobile now that he's going to have maybe a little bit better quarterback play. He's working down there than he had there. So Casey Concepcion, he's a player you're very high on. I'm very high, Derek, on this next player. Elijah Sarat, wide receiver from Indiana. This is a player who proved that he's going to follow Sig Signetti into battle following his coach from JMU to Indiana. Of course, they win the national championship game in heroic fashion in Miami on Monday night. He was second in the sunbelt and receiving yard nearly 1200 yards as a sophomore. He then showed, hey, I can do this against big level competition right in the Big Ten. Finished six in the conference in receiving yards in 2024. Almost a thousand. Pretty banged up in the middle of this season. Derek, he had some game logs where he was active, but he just stayed on the sidelines. So you're going to see a couple donuts there. But still led the country in receiving touchdowns, 15 of them. Had a streak going into the Natty where he had nine straight games with a touchdown. Man. So he's got that NFL frame 62209. And I said last year, Derek, if you remember that a Mecca Abuka was the most pro ready wide receiver in this class, I think that's the Roth this year. Right. And there are going to be questions about the speed, there's gonna be questions about the yak ability, his bread and butter. More like on the curl route, more on the comeback type of thing. But dbro, it's hard to imagine that he's going to be doing a ton in Mobile, just a week removed from winning the Natty. So what do you expect from him there? And what have you seen when you turn on the tape as well?
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So yeah, he's the guy that at least when I, when I've touched base with a few of the contacts that, that I have in the space. I think we're probably going to get Seurat only going down there for interviews and whiteboard and to talk to teams.
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That makes sense, things like that.
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I don't, I don't, I don't know if we're going to get any on field work from him. And that's fine, man. Like in this part of the process, like the film is the film. And I think one of the biggest misnomers about when people discuss the NFL draft process and honestly one of the things that is just categorically false when people are like he's rising up boards. This player is just, he's zooming a board. Dude. No football is being played between now and the NFL draft. None. None. Just outside of like the Senior bowl and the all star things and things like that. Okay, fine. No football in the terms of like the collegiate season, all that done is put to bed. So your film is your film and your evaluation is your evaluation. And the scouts are going to do their homework and grade players based off of that. Now can your testing and stuff like that maybe raise or lower you a little bit? Sure. But it also goes back to the film and what you did during the collegiate season. So Seurat is a player that my evaluation and projection to the NFL is going to be very, very much tied to to. And you highlighted a lot of really, really good things discussing his game from the intro there. It's going to be what role does he play in the NFL? Because I could see Two definitive paths for Elijah surrounds here. If Surat is put on the perimeter and he's asked to be a full time perimeter player, I'm more worried about the ceiling. I think the floor is incredibly high because what you talked about there is, is his route running ability, his, his ability and the things that he's good at, he's very good at. Like the athletic limitations are very real.
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Right, Exactly.
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The long speed is not there. Asking him to get on the perimeter and run double moves and to stretch the field is not anything an NFL team should be doing. But again, we talk about making the assumption of rational coaching and also looking at a player's skill set and saying what they should be doing versus what an NFL team might ask them them to do are two very, very different conversations. So when you look at Surat, he's a perfect poster boy for this conversation. Like analytically, 34th and 21st in yards per route run. So checking some boxes just based off the analytics. But you look at also, yeah, like okay, 163rd and 103rd in Yak per reception and he doesn't break a lot of tackles. He doesn't offer like this high end ceiling as far as like raw speed, tackle breaking ability, the ability to threaten a defense at all three levels. He's not going to do that. So if a team is asking him to play on the perimeter and asking some of these things out of him that is not like in his wheelhouse or the best of his abilities, is he going to actualize the ceiling of his skill set in the NFL? No. You're going to probably get a player that's more akin to Cedric Tillman where he has moments depending on coverage and matchups and things like that. Now if an NFL team drafts Elijah Surat and does what I hope that they do with him and turn him into a power slot, then yeah, let's go baby. Fire it up. Have at it. Here for it for fantasy. Because the things that he does well, man, he is a quick first step off of the line and that allows him to both separate from off coverage on in breaking routes, outbreaking routes. If you turn him into a power slot, can he get off versus as well with his physical nature versus nickel corners and linebackers? Absolutely, dude. So it really comes down to what role is he going to play in an NFL offense If he's going to be shoved into a perimeter, kind of like possession receiver role? Not that interested. Make him into a power slot or he's got like 40 to 50% of his routes coming from the slot. Absolutely. Here for that man. Because he has the ability to win on those type of routes and with that type of game and that type of usage in an NFL offense where I am very much more akin to believing the ceiling outcome for a player like him. But again, it all comes back to usage, man.
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Do you think there is first round draft capital out there for him? Do you think that's a possibility or do you think maybe it's an early day too?
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I think it's an early. I think he's a, he's a round two player because. And this is what it comes down to. If I was his agent and I was trying to help him get the best draft capital possible, you want him working out at his pro day, you want him maybe working out, doing the on field stuff, the NFL combine, any of the testing stuff? Hell no.
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Okay.
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Like if you know you're. Because the, these guys work out and they, they get mile per hour, they get tested and they know what they're going to run and how they're going to test. It's not like they just roll into Indy and they're like, okay, hope it goes well. Like they know what they're going to do. So to me, he should not be doing any of that testing unless he knows he's going to do well in the vert or the short area stuff. To me, if you're Elijah's rock, what I would be advising him to do, go work out at your pro day with your quarterback and stuff or back up, whatever, somebody that has rapport with you and you're going to look your best at your pro day. Now, whether you run or you don't run, if you're not going to run well on Teswell, don't freaking do it. Because all it's going to do is hurt your draft capital. That's where a second round player becomes a third round player. So no, I think he's a second round player and I think it's where he should go. If he goes in the first round, I would honestly be surprised because he's not going to. Outside of the, the championship pedigree and the counting stats and stuff like that, this is a player that's going to play better than what the testing metrics are. And honestly that kind of stuff, like NFL teams, they say they don't double count speed and all the testing stuff. That's BS dude. They do it every single freaking year. And so. But they also bump guys down. Like we can go through a lot of different guys the Cooper Cups of the world, the Puka, Nakuas of the world and everybody in between and all thereafter that run a 4 6. And the NFL teams are like, oh, well, you know, this is a way where he falls down the board. Like so. No, I, I hope Surat does not. Like if I was, if I was going to build a paint the best case scenario for him and helping his draft capital, it's work out at the NFL combine and the on field stuff. Maybe you do the gauntlet drill and do your pro day workout and that's it.
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Yeah.
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Now you want to make up any kind of BS about, oh, he pulled a hammy so you can't run today or whatever, doesn't freaking matter. That's what I would be advising a player of his skill set and ilk, because that's where it matters, man. The film and, and the on field stuff.
- [18:26]
B
Yeah, I'm in love with this guy right now. I have him as my wide receiver, four in this class. Just because like, I know a lot of people say, hey, that's recency bias because of what he did with Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman winning quarterback. But dude, look what he did the year before at Indiana with Curtis Rourke. Who is the guy who. I don't, I don't know even. Did he even get a cup of coffee in the NFL, right? And then the year before at JMU, he's playing with Jordan McLeod like it's not even Alonzo Barnett III who was sensational this past year for, for the Duke. So he's just played with some not that great quarterbacks before Fernando, he's made them better. I think he made Fernando better as well. But let's keep it moving here, Derek. With the next wide receiver. We've got AZ on down the Senior Bowl. It's Jacoby Lane from usc and he's not the wide receiver everyone's been talking about out of Southern California here. Makai Lemon was that wide receiver. He won the Balintikoff Award, of course, but Jacoby Lane, he became a staple in Lincoln Riley's offense the past two seasons. He had 12 receiving touchdowns as a sophomore, fifth best in the country. And while he certainly regressed in that category as a junior, he took a major step forward in overall production, totaling 49 receptions, 745 yards and four touchdowns. So it really felt like he was always available when quarterback Jaden Maeva was getting into trouble. He's kind of another guy like a Caleb Williams like to extend plays that he would find someone like Jacoby lane, right so he's 642-200-lbs, former four star recruit, but he's a menace in the red zone. Derek, right? Great catch radius. However, the questions remain with him. Route running release package, is that good enough? What are you expecting to take a look at when it comes to Jacoby Lane in Mobile D, bro?
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So those are the things that I love about his game, to be honest.
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Oh really? Okay.
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I think he, I think he has a varied release package. I think he has a really good understanding of leverage and timing, especially when it comes to like setting up corners and taking advantage of when they flip their hits, hips and your timing, your route breaks and what that looks like. So like I like Lane a ton, dude. He's got, he's more of a field stretching downfield, but it's a build up speed kind of guy. So like he's not somebody that you're going to ask to run because his hips are a little bit stiff, a lot of comeback and in breaking routes to where he's got to snap it off at the top of a stem sink his hips. A lot of the strengths of his game is the route running. It is the ability to get downtown and he's got good, good ball skills and stuff. Now you know, you'd like to see the drop rate and the hands improve a little bit more so he can turn some of the 50, 50 balls into more 60, 40 balls. But he does a good job of using his size to his advantage both in routes and at the catch point. I mean the guy that I have him comp to and it's more of like a ceiling comp for him if he lands in a good situation. Good quarterback that's both willing to just, I mean heave it up and give him opportunities because he's not going to be a high level separator at the NFL. But, but there's a lot of ways where we could talk about separation, both how wide receivers earn that, whether that's early separation, early off the line with the release package and stuff or late separation. At the catch point he's more of a late separator and a guy that's going to have to win at the catch point. Now he's got the physicality to do that. So the best way that I can kind of like encapsulate and tie a bow on this for people. If he hits the ceiling part of his outcomes, you're looking at a player that's much akin to like Kenny Golladay if everybody remembers him.
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B
Yeah, yeah. How can you not forget Kenny Gol Holiday, man, he had a couple good seasons for the Lions, got paid with the Giants and said goodbye. I'll take my money and run. So yeah, no, I'm looking forward to Kobe Lane, man. He's someone that I think definitely overshadowed just because he played with arguably the best wide receiver in college football this past season. I say arguably because I of course had money on Jeremiah Smith to win the Valentikov awards. So was not expecting them to come out of nowhere like he did. Let's move forward though, Derek. We have another draft cycle and another wide receiver from Missouri to discuss. It's going to Kevin Coleman. Coleman's another guy who definitely bounced around in the early parts of his collegiate career. He finished second in the SEC and receptions was 74 when he was with Mississippi State. Then he goes to Mizzou for a senior season where he again finished top five in the conference interceptions with 66. He's 511, 180. Very much a slot maven type of player. But I gotta say Derek, I kind of love the skill set for that, right. He's got really nice hands. I think the route running is crisp and he's really clutching those. Gotta have a moment. So he kind of reminds me personally is like a less productive Josh Downs. Because you look at Josh Downs collegiate profile and it was just like crazy numbers, right? Drake May was feeding this guy. So I don't think you'll ever be a team's number one. But I certainly think he could stack up PPR points in a hurry if he is pitch and hold to a slot only role. What are your thoughts on Coleman and what are you excited to see him do down in Mobile next week?
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I mean we're, we're simpatico with, with how we're Viewing Kevin Coleman Jr. My comp for him is Wanda Robinson.
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B
Okay.
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I think that he's, he's going to be a slot restricted player, but that's not a bad thing, man. Like I think like the misnomer when people discuss slot only wide receivers is kind of ridiculous. It's like you have an NFL that runs a lot of 11 personnel. We have, we have a lot of too high coverage. Especially right now in the NFL where teams are playing the two highest safeties, they're taking away the deep ball. So all of these guys that can beat slot, that can beat zone coverage, can win underneath, can produce shak, can do something with the ball in their hands. They're even more important now than even if you were to backtrack four or Five years ago when you were getting more man coverage, when you were getting more single high looks and teams were able to sit here and stretch the field more than they're able to do now. So this skill set is even more in vogue and teams should be looking at like if you're the Giants right now, why are you going to pay Wand Robinson when you can go draft Wand Robinson maybe in the third round this year, there's no reason to freaking do it with Kevin Coleman Jr. And dude, he's really good at the things that he does. So for a player that over the last two seasons has been 17th and fifth in missed tackles forced, he's produced 2.23 and 2.32 yards per route run. So solid numbers especially which some of those numbers especially when you're talking about players that operate closer to the line of scrimmage, the yards per route run is harder to churn out and stuff. So you're not going to see as high numbers depending on conference and the quarterback play and things like that. This dude's a stud, man. I think he's going to test well. He's a zone destroying specialist. And the thing that I really want to highlight about his game too is you don't get this with every slot confined type of player of his archetype. He adds an element of verticality to his game. So that's why and we saw that especially and I'm going to harken back to this NFL season for Wandell Robinson where we hadn't seen that before, Wanda was really just more of a dump it off dump and run. Like close the line of scrimmage guy.
- [25:12]
B
Good point.
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A
We saw that element of verticality from Wanda Robinson's game this year and that's what Kevin Coleman Jr. Brings to an NFL offense. Like he's got good ball tracking downfield, he's got the toughness after the catch. So he can break tackles. So you can do the manufactured touch stuff, you can give him the dump and run stuff. You can use him close to the line of scrimmage, whether it's screens, slants in breakers outbreaking routes, things like that to beat too high end zone coverage. But he can also stretch the field, Seth, and he is tough at the catch point. Like we're also discussing a player of his stature at 511, 180 was what he's listed at, which I think he probably comes in close to that.
- [25:50]
B
Okay.
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A
A player that had an 81.1 or 81.8% contested catch rate last year, Emizzou and 53.7% contested catch rate over his entire collegiate career. Also, when you're teaming that with a 3.4% drop rate, I'll take it. So he's strong at the catch point. He looks like when you put the ball in his freaking hands, he looks like a running back in the open field. Like this dude can weave through traffic, can break tackles and and make something happen with him. And you were talking about Senior Bowl. He's a guy that's going to jump off the page and you're going to see all the social media clips whenever we get to Mobile about what he's doing on one on ones. So when we get to these 1v1 drills with that that are honestly kind of shaded toward the wide receivers in those drills, like the corners are at a little bit of a disadvantage, Coleman Jr. Is going to shine. He's going to shine in those drills.
- [26:44]
B
Okay, well yeah man, I got to say Mizzou was a lot of fun early in the season to watch Bother Biola, former Penn State Indy line at quarterback. Of course they have Brett Norfleet, a talented tight end who will be in next year's class, and then Ahmad Hardy in the backfield. And you know Coleman, Hardy and Norfleet were really that offense and they had a chance to upset Alabama early in the year and that's because Coleman was making some dazzling catches down the stretch in that one fueled by bro. So looking forward to that. We've talked about Kevin Coleman now and I see him more of kind of like in that third round rookie draft discussion. Derek from a fantasy lens. Jacoby Lane maybe in the back half. The second Sarah I would say early second, late first Casey Concepcion in the first round of Dynasty rookie drafts. As it stands now. Let's though go ahead and go down the board further to a couple sleeper players. One of these that is maybe the most under the radar prospect in this entire wide receiver class because Georgia State was 1 in 11. They finished dead last in the Sun Belt this past season. It's Ted Hurst and they have cycled through five different quarterbacks in the past two years did Georgia State. But that did not stop Hurst from becoming one of the conference's premier pass catchers, putting up 127 receptions, nearly 2,000 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns in that two year span. He is very much an X receiver. He was on Bruce Feldman's freak list coming into the season. He was also a Blintikoff Award watch list nominee and eventually earned himself first team all Sunbelt honors. He's listed at 6 3, 185. So certainly a more slender, lankier prospect here. Derek, what are your impressions of Hearst when you turn on the tape and what are you looking to see from him next week?
- [28:21]
A
I freaking love this kid.
- [28:23]
B
Really?
- [28:23]
A
I do, man. Yes, dude, I love this kid. You, you get to certain players and I was, I was texting with friend of the show Thor Nystrom and Brett Whitefield earlier this week and they stole the, the, the name that was on the tip of my tongue with him. I mean he. It's not the comp that I have, but I had so much Jalen Coker vibes.
- [28:46]
B
Oh, okay.
- [28:46]
A
When I was watching Ted Hurst in the sense that small school guy. But the, the difference here is I think Hirsch is going to get a lot more respect in this NFL draft process Jalen Coker ever got. Well, for a lot of reasons. One, he's going to the Senior bowl, so he's going to be able to build hype and stuff like that. So that. And dude, he's going to crush it down at Senior Bowl. I think he's absolutely going to crush it. I think he's probably going to end up probably like a third round pick. Probably third or fourth round pick depending on how things all kind of shake out. Like if I was an NFL gm, I would have him pigeonhole to sit here and select him at the top of the third round. I love this kid's game, man. Like for a player that is, he's listed right now at 63195. So you look at that type of build in that frame, so little more slender build considering the height. He probably comes in somewhere around like that 62 to 64 range just depending somewhere in that 190 to 200 range depending on. Because we always see like measurements and you know, a lot of these listed measurements lie. I think first is close to all that. But you look at his frame and the thing that that jumps off the film immediately is with a more slender frame. This dude is a dog. He plays with a physicality that you don't always see from a player that's listed at 63195 in the sense that he's rocked up, he's muscular. You're not pushing him off of routes. He has not only the speed, but he can break tackles. Like amongst all FBS and FBS wide receivers, at least 50 targets. Last year, Seth, this dude was 24th in miss tackles force. So again, talking about a player that, that also you look at that with a 12.68 dot. You don't see a lot of that when guys are used with that type of a dot down the field where they're still breaking tackles and stuff because of at the catch point. A lot of it depending on the quarterback, your quarterback play, you're not always set up with those deep throws, right? Depending on ball placement, where it's just jump balls or you don't get great yak opportunities or to do something with the ball in your hands after the catch. So giving that to Hurst in the fact that he is a physical player, that dude, he is a refined route runner. You add the speed that jumps off the page and the fact that he's got a varied release package. He invites that type of indecision in the cornerback's head where he sets them up. He's dancing on their blind spot. He sells a vertical push well. And for a player that of his height, he sinks his hip, man. Like he could run the entire tree. You can use him. I, I truly think we're going to probably see this some in Mobile where he's a player where you're looking at not all the guys that are 6 3, 64 where you can ask him to go run a freaking whip route. And it's crisp and he sinks his hips and it's. And it's explosive. I think Hurst can do that, man, as well as threaten a defense downfield. I just love this kid, man. Like he's got the entire package, dude. Like he, he adjusts well to back shoulder balls. He's got a large catch radius. You're looking at some of the red zone stuff. Like he could play above the rim. He shows displays like laid hands.
- [31:47]
B
Okay.
- [31:48]
A
Right now. And I'm going to go in the wayback machine for my comp for him. He reminds me a lot of freaking Sydney Rice, dude. I really, really like his game.
- [31:58]
B
It's interesting because I love the Senior bowl specifically for this type of player. Derek. Because, you know, the G5 conferences are always getting overlooked while they are, you know, over half of, you know, the 136 FBS teams we have, right? I love G5. I'm a part of the G5 media rankings over there at Hero Sports that we do every single week during the college football season. So I watch a lot of G5 and I have to admit, I. Georgia State, their team, I faded. I did not watch their offense much at all because I was betting on the other team and fading the crap out of this team all season long. Derek. So he's a guy I'm not as familiar with as I was with someone like Harold Fannin Jr. Came out of the Mac last year. But he's the type of player Harold Fannin who put himself in position starting with the Senior Bowl. Everyone remembers Mike Green as well at the Senior bowl last year coming out of Marshall there who also got him his talents on display there starting in Mobile. So this is a type of environment that causes these players who have been a little bit under the radar to take a big step forward.
- [32:54]
A
So yeah, I mean go back to yesteryear. Like let's take it further back. You could talk about Jalen Royals. I know he did nothing in his rookie season. He put himself on the map. Coming from a smaller school, you go even further back. Christian freaking Watson.
- [33:06]
B
Yep, exactly.
- [33:06]
A
And I'm not telling you that Ted Hurst has a Watson type of elevation throughout the process. If he does, I'm just going to say this, Seth. If Ted Hurst has that type of elevation in throughout the NFL draft process, I'm telling you right now, I will not be surprised about it though.
- [33:23]
B
Okay, well I have a sleeper I'd also like to bring up here, Derek, and it's a receiver that I've followed for many years. It's Caleb Douglas out of Texas Tech. This guy has been honestly just a stud on my college fantasy football teams for the last few seasons here and NFL mock drafters just aren't really giving him any respect. They have him all the way outside of the top 550 players. So maybe not even on teams draft boards, but wide receiver for Tech the past two seasons he played that X role and largely had some success. Right. Six, four, 210 pounds, used to play quarterback, came from Florida initially and then goes to Texas tech his last two seasons. Averaged about 57 receptions, 860 yards, six and a half touchdowns per season the past two years. And that's while working with some other strong receivers. One of them Reggie Virgil that we're going to talk about I'm sure in this process. Derek and then Koi Eakin. Really good slot man who we'll talk about in the 2027 class. But he can play that traditional X. He can win on comebacks, he can win on goes, but he also can line up as a big slot right. Which I think he's been really effective in because he has a nice really big catch radius. So he's not a true technician. He's not a burner. I do think the lack of athleticism and the upside come could come back to bite him when it comes to moving him up draft boards. But I think he's really a pro ready guy. I think he's another one of these guys who's been around college football long enough, stayed in and he could have. My comp frame was Romeo Dobbs. I see that level of production at his ceiling. It's at a ceiling though. And I guess the issue I have when trying to, and I'm not someone who can break down film as elegantly as you can Derek, but I don't know how to weigh Big 12 defenses, man, because they, they play so much separation. These teams like West Virginia are absolutely dog crap in their secondary. They're just letting this man run wide open down the field. So how do you feel about Douglas and how do you evaluate him removing some of those outside elements like the Big 12 defenses?
- [35:14]
A
A quick aside. So collegiate film and wide receiver evaluation can be tough at times because that's really a college problem altogether where you don't see a lot of teams playing play press man, you don't see a lot of like teams play their coverage structure to where they're playing on the line or three yards within the line and stuff like that, where wide receivers are having to deal with that. So a lot of it they'll, you know, they'll see like a lot of off coverage now, whether that's 3 yards, 5 yards off and stuff like that. So it's allowing them a lot of like free releases and a lot of easy opportunities for screens and comebacks and snapping off routes and getting open where it's not like the players aren't earning separation as much as they're just taking advantage of the exact structure that they're, they're seeing, you know, so it added, it adds a more difficult layer, especially when you're evaluating guys. Now what I'll say going back to Caleb Douglas, I do. The more I've gotten into doing this year after year after year, I appreciate a guy like Caleb Douglas even more to where the sense is like for fantasy purposes. Is he a player that I'm going to tell you to go out and draft and target in every single rookie draft? No, I'm not because I don't see a high end ceiling outcome for him in the NFL. Now is that a detriment or a damning thing for Caleb Douglas? No, dude, like, and this goes back to just prospect evaluation. If you're listening to people and telling you just consistently just giving you this rosy application of a player's skill set and their range of outcomes, they're giving you these bombastic comps for every single guy and things like that. Not every single freaking player that's going to go to the NFL is going to be an all Pro Pro bowler, a top 15 wide receiver and anybody that's packaging and selling that to you about every player in their skill set is ridiculous. And they're honestly talking out their butt. They don't know what they're talking about and what they're seeing. So like, let's be real about it, man. I appreciate a guy about like, like Caleb Douglas even more now getting into the prospect evaluation for multiple years because of what he does bring to the table. I think he's going to settle into an NFL depth chart as a solid wide receiver. Three or four for a team. He is a well rounded wide receiver in the sense that. Are you going to sit here and make a list of the high end alpha traits that Caleb Douglas has?
- [37:45]
B
No, it's pretty sure.
- [37:46]
A
Is that a damning thing? No. He does a ton of things extremely well or average. There's not a ton of glaring, just holes to his game. Can he provide you some run after the catch? Sure. With his upper body strength he can break some loose tackles or bad angles. Is he going to burn it down the field? No. But can he get downfield at times with his route, nuance and his release package depending on the corners? Yes. Is he a ball winner at the catch point specifically every single time?
- [38:16]
B
No.
- [38:16]
A
Can he do that depending on the coverage and the. And the matchup and stuff? Yes. So if you're an NFL team and you're looking at a guy that can fill a depth chart and be a wide receiver for you and play a number of roles and excel in a lot of different areas. But maybe he's not just a king at any one thing or multiple things then yes. Caleb Douglas is going to make a lot of sense for a lot of teams if they're looking to fill out their NFL depth chart. For a player that can play on the perimeter, he can give you some of the big slot stuff if called upon and he can operate as that guy to where if you need him to beat zone coverage, he could do that. He could win in a lot of different ways. And my comp for him kind of goes back to that skill set. And I'm kind of in line with you in a, in a varying degree. Is Xavier Hutchinson.
- [39:05]
B
Oh yeah.
- [39:06]
A
A guy that is not going to sit here and just like wow you on the film or wow you with the box sets. Yeah. But. But if he pops off with like 80 receiving yards in a given week. If he gets elevated because of injury or they're running 10 personnel, he gets on the field more or he has a big game, it. Should you be shocked?
- [39:23]
B
No.
- [39:24]
A
Yeah.
- [39:24]
B
And I, I think these are the type of wide receivers that are pro ready and while their ceiling is lower, I don't mind taking a shot at them, adding them off of free agency once the dynasty rookie draft goes past or a fourth or fifth round pick using it on them because at least I know, hey, they're gonna probably touch the field in the first year or two and then if they, they aren't producing, I can cut them. It's not like a guy that I have to wait three or four years go, you know, go by, and then I cut them and then they start popping off like Parker Washington did. Right. Like, like, like those are, those are the, the biggest heartbreaks or when you drop these guys who, you know, have incredibly high ceilings, but you just can't wait it out in those dynasty leagues.
- [40:01]
A
So he, he's a guy that Caleb Douglas is a player that if you're looking in, in a deep dynasty league and you have a large taxi squad, do you stash him on a taxi squad? Like saying he gets 5th round NFL draft capital and you stash him on a taxi squad and you say, okay, let's see what happens. That that's who Caleb Douglas is for me in fantasy circles.
- [40:24]
B
Completely agreed with you there, Derek. Let's keep it moving to the tight end position. Before we get there, a quick reminder that today's show is brought to you by our presenting sponsors sponsor Hard Rock bet, Florida's sports book. Just because the fantasy season is over doesn't mean the fun has to stop. If you're listening to this podcast, you're probably deep into the stats, injury reports and matchups. On a Hard Rock Bet, you can put all that ball knowledge to the test. Two teams will be punching their tickets to the big game this weekend. And when it comes to these standalone matchups, there's nothing better than a same game parlay. Lock in one game, same stack your picks and build your script. Maybe the quarterback throws for 250, the running back goes for 100 and the tight end, they're gonna have the first payday. The first anytime touchdown of the game. Hard Rock Bet gives you a ton of ways to build your same game parlay, turning game days into paydays. If you make miss kickoff, don't worry. Hard Rock Bet has live in game betting. So you're never too late to start getting in on the action. Find a winner or grab a player prop that you are in on the action with and live bet between snaps is just a few easy taps away. If you haven't tried your first bet on Hard Rock Bet yet, no worries. There's still time to get $150 in extra bonus bets. If you win, just place a $5 bet and if it hits you, not only get your winnings but also an extra $150 in bonus bets even if your team is out of the playoffs. Like my Pittsburgh Steelers. Like Derek's one time fan favorite New Orleans Saints. No worries. That doesn't mean you have to sit on the sidelines between SGPs live betting and can't miss welcome offers, new promos dropping every single day as well. Hard Rock Bet has you covered all postseason long. Download the Hard Rock Bet app now.
- [42:06]
A
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C
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- [42:39]
B
Shift gears to Derek's top tight ends to watch in Mobile and it's going to start at the top of the board here with Tanner Kozil and he's a tight end out of Houston. And if you're like me and you like collegiate production when you're chasing your rookie tight ends, look no further man, because this guy is an absolute menace. He was at ball State in 2024, finished second in the Mac and six in the country in total receptions among all positions. Not tight ends. He had 94 of them and of course in that same conference, only man who was better than him in receptions was former Bowling Green tight end Canton, Ohio native Harold Fannin Jr. As well. So you he got the bag to transfer and boy did he deliver the goods. He led the entire Big 12 this past year, Derek and receptions with 74. He converted them into 727 receiving yards, six touchdowns. He's 6, 7 2, 40, so size should not be in concern when it comes to this player. However, he is still well outside most analysts. Top five tight ends at the position for this class. So Derek, is that because he's a bit limited in pass protection experience or maybe the route runnings holding him back? Like, what is it that people are low on cozy for? And could he be this year's Elijah Arroyo where he just blows up and blows everyone out of the way in Mobile?
- [43:54]
A
I don't think that that's the case. If you're looking at what he could do in Mobile, I think you're probably looking at a middling outcome between what Harold Fannin did last year and Thomas Fadoni who was down there last year, where he has a strong week. Maybe it's not an amazing week. And this is all. And I'm kind of like setting this up. I don't want to be the wet blanket on it. But like I like the kid a lot. I question his NFL upside only because of the athleticism. If you look at the counting stance in the analytics, I mean dude, like he's 8 15th in yards per route run. But again that's kind of where it stops like when you just start about like the counting stats. Like is it fantastic that he had 2.25 and 2.02 yards per out run over the last two seasons? Absolutely. Now here's the drawback. 3.9 and 3.6 Yak per reception, 13 total missed tackles forced, only two last year with the jump in the competition. So in this kind of goes back to, I think he's a very well rounded player. Now honestly, considering his build in his frame being 67 probably he's going to weigh in somewhere in that 240 to like low 2 50s range. And you see it on film. So he's a tall drink of water. He's more of like a thinner tight end. I'm not saying he's rail thin, but if you look at tight end builds, he's more of the thinner side or just really, really freaking tall. He is more that basketball kind of build to him at the tight end position now with that build and you, you team that with his, his athletic traits. I think he's more of a limited athletic player as far as athleticism, like raw athleticism, like talking about his raw speed, his short area agility, like he's not an explosive mover. And when we talk about high end ceiling outcomes for tight ends, this is the most correlated position outside of somebody like a Harold Fanon or you get outliers like Harold Fannin, Zach Ertz, Cal Rudolph, yesteryear, where they come out and they have like standout seasons or standout careers and they kind of buck the trend. That's not the trend that you see. Every single player that you see at the tight end position and we attach high end outcomes of production is tied to athleticism.
- [46:12]
B
Yeah.
- [46:12]
A
And so when you look at you're trying to project those guys like Elijah Arroyo, that dude is a top shelf athlete. Same thing with Terence Ferguson coming out last year or our previous guys like Trey McBride. Top shelf athlete Brock Bowers. The list goes on and on and on and on. George Kittle and so on and so forth. This is not a player where I think we're looking at a high end like he's a future all pro at tight end. What I was surprised to see off of his film is that considering his frame and stuff, he plays like he converts his size to a really good play strength. In terms of he's a dependable blocker right now. Set. Forget going into the NFL in, in all the facts interesting whether it's in line during the run game, in the passing game like they used him to set the edge at Houston and he operated as a lead pulling blocker. He can hold his own and his own like he can hold his own and run blocking and pass protection like he's not giving him a blade of grass. Now can you see some of the limitations because of where he gets speed rushers that can get around him or take advantage of more limited at lateral agility? Absolutely. But if you're asking this guy to inline block both of the run game and the passing games, he can do that right now. And as far as the receiving game, he's probably going to settle into being a tertiary option for NFL passing offense where he's going to, he's able to beat his own coverage. You can put him in the slot, you can put him in line, he can beat linebackers both with his size. The problem that he has is that he's got smooth hips and he has good bend in his routes and he uncur, he uncovers pretty quickly. But the problem is is that whether he. There's just not a lot of upside there after he has the ball in his hands. Both breaking tackles and providing that that dump and run ability with rack and.
- [48:03]
B
Stuff, we love that with toy too.
- [48:05]
A
Yeah, exactly. Like this is where you're getting the mismatch quality of tight ends where you can bump him to the perimeter, you can ask him to beat man coverage on the outside, you can ask him to stretch the seam. I don't look at him as a player that you're going to ask him to stretch the seam. You're asking him probably just being to being an underneath zone beating option in an NFL offense operating as like a third or fourth option. So I just don't see a high ceiling. Now if you're telling me a team drafts him in round three around for the NFL draft and the expectation is that he becomes a mid level NFL starting tight end. Absolutely on board.
- [48:42]
B
Okay.
- [48:43]
A
Absolutely.
- [48:43]
B
Okay, let's go ahead and round out the discussion here with Justin Jolie, tight end out of NC State. And while Jolie never had quite the single season production as we saw there from Cozil, he totaled 166 receptions, nearly 2,000 receiving yards and 15 touchdowns across his two years at UConn and then two at NC State. He's a former two star but he has always been a bit of a tweener. Right. He was allegedly deciding between tight end and receiver when he came into college. Should be up to 250 pounds right now, but certainly doesn't look it at 6:3. So Derek, that frame is probably what's going to hold him back from being anything other than a day three tight end to me. Is there anything that you found on his film study that might say otherwise to you?
- [49:27]
A
I mean I think it's that and it's the athleticism. Like you, you turn on the film and dude, he, he plays nasty, dude. I love his game. Like when you watch his film, he plays with the chip on his shoulder. He plays nasty plays mean. Whether that's as a blocker or after the catch. Like we also discussing a player that over the last two seasons has been 27th and sixth in missed tackles force. So like that nastiness shows up after the catch, dude. But the problem with him is he's got a quick first step. So he's, he gets in and out of his breaks well. But he lacks raw athleticism and raw speed in the sense of once he separates early in a router at the top of his stem, he loses that separation in the route because linebackers and corners catch back up to him at the catch. Okay, but he's a ball winner at the catch point and the play strength shows up. So as a player that you know, can he be a starting tight end in the NFL? Sure. But is he going to be at the top end of that list? Probably not. But he can do a lot of really good things for you. Like he's nasty in the run game, he's a good blocker. The physicality, like I said, shows up. But the athleticism and the limitations there are what's going to cap his ceiling in the NFL where he's probably going to settle in and be like a strong tight end too. For an NFL depth chart that can do a lot of different things for you and play in line, can block, can put him versus own coverage and you can give him the ball in space and can he break a tackle or two, but he's not a player where you're going to ask again as a mismatch option on the perimeter to stretch the scene?
- [50:58]
B
Sure.
- [50:58]
A
So Joey, I just look at like the the raw athleticism caps his upside and I think this is perfectly kind of like with the comp who's actually a little bit more athletic, but there's a lot of like similarities in their game. I see a lot of Cade Stover in his game.
- [51:13]
B
Dude, Cade Stover. Yeah, he certainly made an appearance over the weekend in that divisional round game. Derek love all the information you brought us with on this pilot episode of the NFL Draft show that is going to do it though, for us. Be sure to check out part two where we're going to break down the top running backs and the quarterbacks at the Senior bowl right here on The Fantasy Pros YouTube channel and on the Fantasy Pros Dynasty audio feed. While you're here, please make sure you're smashing that like button and subscribing to the channel. If you're new for Derek Brown, I'm Seth Wilcock. Take care, y'.
- [51:42]
C
All.
- [51:43]
B
Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Dynasty Football podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Follow us on x Instagram and TikTok antasypros and subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube.com fantasypros.
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A
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D
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