Draft or Pass on These Rising ADPs? | Fantasy Football Draft Court Debates (Ep. 1671)

Summary

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FantasyPros - Fantasy Football Podcast

Episode: Draft or Pass on These Rising ADPs? | Fantasy Football Draft Court Debates (Ep. 1671)
Date: August 27, 2025
Host/Judge Joey: Joe P. Zapia (“Joey P.”)
Analysts: Pat Fitzmaurice (“Fitzy”), Derrick Brown (“DBro”)
Theme: Fast-rising players in fantasy drafts—should you “Draft or Pass” as their ADP surges? Featuring Draft Court “debates,” with real-time polls and in-depth, comedic analysis.

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Episode Overview

In this Draft Court episode, Joe P. Zapia presides over a series of debates about 2025’s “risers”—fantasy football players whose Average Draft Position (ADP) is climbing rapidly as draft season peaks. Experts Derrick Brown and Pat Fitzmaurice argue for and against drafting these hype-laden players: Jakory Croskey-Merritt (RB, WAS), Khalil Shakir (WR, BUF), Courtland Sutton (WR, DEN), Dak Prescott (QB, DAL), and Mark Andrews (TE, BAL). Lively banter, rapid-fire stats, and audience polling drive the courtroom proceedings, all wrapped in the show’s signature wit.

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Key Draft Court Debates & Analysis

1. Jakory Croskey-Merritt (RB, Washington Commanders)

Segment: 04:00–12:00

The Debate

• DBro’s Argument (Pro-Draft, RB28):

  • Believes his aggressive rank isn’t aggressive enough given draft room trends.
  • Praises 2023 college efficiency: “19th in yards after contact per attempt, 12th in elusive rating... and [Washington] was 1st in NFL rushing attempts inside the 10-yard line.”
  • Dismisses Chris Rodriguez as a real threat, citing his negligible usage last year.
  • Sees Croskey-Merritt's RB3 status with strong upside: “This is the type of upside Bill brings to us.” (05:20)

• Fitzy’s Argument (Pass, RB37):

  • Calls DBro “quick to get caught up in fads” (07:00), and ranks Croskey-Merritt as a committee back.
  • Skeptical due to “three-headed backfield”: “Dan Quinn has already told us that Chris Rodriguez is going to be used in short yardage situations... so we have a seventh-round pick who’s not going to be getting many of the high-value touches.” (07:40)
  • Believes too much hype, not enough role clarity.

• Notable Quote:

  • Dbro: “We’re shading Bill JCM because he was drafted in the seventh round, yet we’re touting players with similar or worse profiles! If he has the goal-line role, takes all the early-down work, and scores 8–10 TDs, he’ll pay off.” (09:20)

Verdict

• Audience vote: 54% in favor of drafting JCM.
• Judge Joey: “This court does not approve that decision... but we are the people’s show. DBro gets a win.” (10:58)

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2. Khalil Shakir (WR, Buffalo Bills)

Segment: 12:42–22:25

The Debate

• DBro’s Argument (Pro-Draft, WR37):

  • Likes the rapport with Josh Allen: “Weeks 7–17... he had a 23% target share, 2.15 yards per route run, and almost a 28% first-read share.” (14:20)
  • Considers Shakir Buffalo's safest WR for targets.
  • Believes the threat from Keon Coleman and others is overblown: “This is a Khalil Shakir argument, not a Keon Coleman argument.” (14:20)

• Fitzy’s Argument (Pass, WR47):

  • Focuses on injury: “Drafting injured players without a substantial discount is never good policy. Shakir is dealing with a high ankle sprain... and his ADP is still in the 10th round.” (16:12)
  • Notes Buffalo’s “everyone eats” approach: “They play five or six receivers, Josh Allen spreads it around.”
  • Only seven TDs in three seasons. (16:12)

• Notable Moments:

  • Judge Joey: “The Bills are the new version of Drew Brees’ Saints—fun for real football, but maddening in fantasy.” (18:50)
  • Chat banter: Emphasis on volatility, and the fun ban on viewers calling the judge names (“Mr. Wumbo, get out of my stream!” at 19:33).

Verdict

• Audience vote: 77% against drafting Shakir.
• Judge Joey: “Get out of my room... you’re going to fantasy jail, Khalil.” (22:25)

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3. Courtland Sutton (WR, Denver Broncos)

Segment: 24:00–37:05

The Debate

• DBro’s Argument (Pro-Draft, WR18):

  • “I apologize for not being high enough on Sutton—he’s up to WR23 in real-time ADP; 12th-highest riser.” (29:14)
  • Lauds role as Bo Nix’s ‘Nico Collins’: “WR20 fantasy points per game after Bo Nix got going; 17th in yards per route run.”
  • See’s WR1 potential: “He could produce top-15 or even top-12 numbers this year.” (30:40)

• Fitzy’s Argument (Pass, WR28):

  • “Cortland Sutton’s never finished better than WR26 in PPR fantasy points per game.” (33:28)
  • Cites Denver’s strong defense, run tendency, and many mouths to feed.
  • “He’s being drafted at his historical ceiling.” (33:28)

• Judge Joey: “Copy-paste season for Sutton... young QBs develop a rapport and lean on one guy.”

• Notable Exchange:

  • Joey objects to bringing up Nathaniel Hackett-era Broncos as precedent: “That was one of the most ill-prepared, underwhelming, frankly unprofessional situations in the NFL!” (33:18)

Verdict

• Audience vote: 82% in favor of drafting Sutton.
• Judge Joey: “That’s a Shaquille O’Neal mid-90s backboard-breaking slam dunk.” (37:03)
  • “This is how you win fantasy leagues: WR3s who play like 2s, 2s who play like 1s.” (37:03)

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4. Dak Prescott (QB, Dallas Cowboys)

Segment: 37:05–50:20

The Debate

• DBro’s Argument (Pro-Draft, QB8):

  • “He could be the NFC counterpoint to Joe Burrow in a high-flying offense with a terrible defense.”
  • “We are one season removed from Dak being QB4 in fantasy points per game.” (41:36)
  • Sees offensive situation as pass-heavy out of necessity.

• Fitzy’s Argument (Pass, QB15):

  • Emphasizes landscape: “QB is deep this year... Dak doesn’t run, so he’d have to go absolutely bonkers with passing numbers.” (42:47)
  • “He has played 12 or fewer games in three of the last five years and is 32.”
  • Prefers upside of rushing QBs (Drake Maye, Caleb Williams, Bo Nix).

• Notable Exchange:

  • Fitzy: “He’d need to stay healthy all season and go nuclear. I just rather bet on guys who add some rushing value.” (42:47)
  • Dbro, on single-QB strategy: “If you want upside like Dak, you may want to pair him with a young, upside QB.” (45:05)

Verdict

• Audience vote: 60% in favor of drafting Dak.
• Judge Joey: “He is guilty of being just too tempting to pass up... especially with this defense and run game.” (46:44)

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5. Mark Andrews (TE, Baltimore Ravens)

Segment: 50:20–58:44

The Debate

• DBro’s Argument (Pro-Draft, TE4):

  • Emphasizes upside: “Once healthy, Weeks 10–18, tight end 5 in points per game, 18% target share, 2.3 Y/RR.” (50:20)
  • Touchdown scorer: “If you want to swing for elite upside at the position, you take Mark Andrews at TE7 price.” (51:46)

• Fitzy’s Argument (Pass, TE10):

  • “He’s coming off a season slathered in touchdown deodorant. He did not have a single game over 70 receiving yards.” (52:46)
  • Andrews hasn’t had more than 80 rec yds in a game since 2023.
  • “He’s now 30; I’d rather swing for upside with younger TEs like Tucker Kraft or Tyler Warren.” (53:59)
  • “He’s a catch and fall-down guy now—he just happened to do it in the end zone a lot last year.” (55:23)

• Judge Joey: “But I like when he catches and falls down in the end zone... you get me six points.” (55:47)

Verdict

• Audience vote: 62% against drafting Andrews.
• Fitzy: “Pretty satisfying—feels like the end of A Few Good Men...” (58:29)

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Notable Quotes & Fun Moments

• DBro: “You almost fell in the route win rate hole, Joey!” (22:25)
• Judge Joey: “This is how you win leagues—find WR3s who play like 2s, 2s who play like 1s. And sometimes 4s that sneak to 2 or 3!” (37:03)
• Fitzy: “Drafting injured players without a discount is never good policy.” (16:12)
• Chat Banter: Timu Hamilton reference, playful judge enforcement, and shenanigans about costumes and judge’s wigs.
• DBro: “I want wide receivers who jump a tier; that’s the secret sauce!” (37:03)
• Joey, on Dak: “Brings the glass and rim down like Shaquille O’Neal... just crashes.” (37:03)

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Important Timestamps

• 04:00 – Jakory Croskey-Merritt debate
• 12:42 – Khalil Shakir WR Buffalo debate
• 24:00 – Courtland Sutton WR Denver debate
• 37:05 – Dak Prescott QB Dallas debate
• 50:20 – Mark Andrews TE Baltimore debate

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Episode Tone & Style

• Fun, rapid-fire, and irreverent—“Draft Court” brings legal drama energy and lots of in-jokes.
• Arguments are backed by stats but laced with humor: fantasy “jury” polling, judge's theatrical rulings, and classic analyst banter.
• Real-world analysis meets high entertainment value: clear takeaways for redraft leagues.

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Takeaways for Fantasy Drafters

• Don’t overreact to hype: Committee situations, injuries, and past role volatility can make risers risky.
• Late QB/TE targets: There are upside shots to take, but be wary of age, injury, and systemic risks.
• Audience wisdom edged toward upside plays for RB/WR/QB, fading older/injury-question TEs.
• Leverage real-time ADP trends: The market shifts rapidly during peak draft season—stay alert for jumps that push values out of reasonable range.

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Follow and interact with the FantasyPros crew for daily shows, expert tools, and live debates as draft season culminates. The Draft Court is adjourned!

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Transcript

[A]

This is an iHeart podcast. I'm Noah and I'm 13. And I started this podcast because, honestly, adults don't ask the right questions. Now you Know, with Noah de Barrasso is a show about influence. Who's got it, how they use it, and what it means. For the rest of you, it's not the news. It's what the news should be if someone Gen Z or Gen Alpha made it. Politics is wild. And I'm definitely not here to payment, but I'm here to make sense of it. Listen to now youw Know with Noah de Barrasto on the iHeartRadio app app podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

[B]

Welcome in everybody to Fantasy Pros. This is Draft Court. It is me, Joey P. Joe P. Zapia, otherwise known as Judge Joey. With me today, my patty cakes, Pat Fitz Moores. And hyped up on more energy drinks than any human being should be Derrick Brown Dbro, the king of bros. We are here to debate one final time. But because this wig is really itchy and I refuse to do this after Labor Day. It's. It's really uncomfortable. It's starting to get weird on the sides here. My curls are not where they were. But this is what happens, isn't it, Dbro? You know, you start out in preseason football and you get to the end of August, the next thing you know, your curls are all undone and it's the last day of draft court.

[C]

I'm glad you threw it to me because I was going to say I didn't want to interrupt you, but I did want to petition the court. Can we make the Judge Joey wig happen the entirety of the NFL season just because I want to see you in pain?

[B]

Motion denied. Next. Pat Fitz Moore is empty nester now as well. Pat, so what. What's it like? No kids in the house? I mean, just kind of running around doing whatever you want? You could scream and shout. I mean, this must be like a whole new freedom for you today.

[D]

Pretty much. The dog gets a lot more of attention. The dishwasher doesn't run nearly as much. Yeah. Still, it's only been a couple of days, so just getting used to all the delights of a kid free household. But Joe, we like, we can't have you wearing the wig after this. There's. You can't wear white after Labor Day. You know that.

[B]

That's. That's more to the point. Pathetic. Morris, always on the spot here. So I'm happy everyone's joining us here, if you haven't already. Make sure you subscribe to the channel for Fantasy Draft Court and all the amazing content we do here in Fantasy Pros. We're trying to get to 300, 000 subscribers this year and we can do it with your help. And of course it's almost the end of August as its which means we are at the end of the giveaway season for the A.J. brown autographed helmet. That's right. So if you want to win the salute to service AJ Brown autographed helmet Gilberts from of course pristineauction.com how do you win? Subscribe to the channel, drop your comments below on this or any video and make sure you like this video. And that's how you are entered to win again. It's free. And don't forget to ring the bell till it goes ding. So you not only never miss a piece of content on the channel, but you also will have the opportunity to be notified that you're the winner of this amazing helmet from pristine. Auction.com AJ Brown is a good one. I like this one. I can't wait to see what the September giveaways are for the helmets as I'm itching already and I'm itching right now, not just in this wig to get to some of the names here because we've got a lot of backfields in motion. We got a lot of cuts happening. Tommy DeVito is unemployed. All the Italians in my area in New Jersey are rallying around trying to get him a job at the local pizza place. We'll see what we could do here. But but let's begin Draft Court with a quick riser. That's right. We've had some changes to the Commander's backfield recently, and that means there's a young man named Jacori Crosky Merritt who is possibly meriting See what I did there? Little play on words, some attention in fantasy circles. He's being overdrafted, I think a little bit lately. But of course the boys have a difference of opinion. So we're going to get to those Fitzy has him as RB 37, Debro a bit more aggressive. He's got him at RB, RB 28. So we're going to talk about him because Brian Robinson Jr. He is no more. He is gone. Well, he still exists, but he's existing in San Francisco. Austin Eckler still there. Rodriguez still there. So it feels like a backfield committee here. So I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to let Derrick Brown go ahead on the assault here and attack and tell me why RB28 and the aggression of Jakori Crosby merit is warranted and this last week of draft season.

[C]

Well, I would like to first start this off with I don't feel like this is aggressive, maybe aggressive enough compared to what we're going to see in draft rooms right now. And it's season A Bill out there people. And with Brian Robinson Jr. We've been ranking him for the entirety of the off season as a mid range RB3. So I think the ranking of Bill is perfectly appropriate, Joey, especially considering with the upside here. I know Austin Eckler is still going to be there and Chris Rodriguez. Look, I've been touting Chris Rodriguez for a few years but I like him more than the Washington Commanders did. They didn't even play him last year. So what's going to change this? So I don't see why getting rid of Brian Robinson Jr. Is has anything to do with Chris Rodriguez who wasn't even involved last season. And what we're discovering and discussing with Bill is the efficiency that he showed in 2023 in college. I can't help that the NCAA screwed him over in 2024 and he dropped at the seventh round of drafts. This is a player that in 2023amongst all FBS running backs, at least 100 carries, was 19th in yards at the contact per attempt, 12th and elusive rating. And he resides in an offense that last year if you look at the rushing attempts inside the 10 yard line, they were first in the NFL. Even if you take out Jaden Daniels piece of that pie, they would rank fifth best. So as an RB3, this is the type of upside that Bill brings to us and I'll just rest my case to the court.

[B]

It's an early rest for Derek Brown here in this argument. Now look, nobody's saying that Jakory, Crosby, Merritt isn't an interesting prospect. I think what we're trying to say here potentially in the case that is being made here that our jury, our watchers here today, the program are going to ultimately decide is whether or not we should be aggressive with him. Austin Eckhors, the veteran guy there, Rodriguez, we've seen work out there in the past. Pat, your ranking here is RB37, which is a little closer to the consens. I'll get that consensus going up here in a second because I think that's what we're looking at is how much of a committee is there and how much of an opportunity is there for Merit to break away from this committee and really be A fantasy stud because we've seen this sometimes where backfields like this nobody ends up winning because different weeks, it's different game plans, different scenarios and right now he is RB 37 which is exactly where you have him in the consensus and your rankings. Fitzy so why is Derrick Brown being too aggressive here with call him jcm. Can we do that? Because you know everyone's going to ask us about JCM and I'm not going to know week one who they're talking about.

[D]

Yeah, I I can't tell you why he's ranking him so aggressively. I am ranking JCM as befitting a committee back but you you know Judge Joe our our friend Derek Brown is quick to get caught up in fads. He was into Minecraft for a while aromatherapies just a few years ago he was almost walking into traffic because he was so busy playing Pokemon Go and staring at his phone as he was walking down the street. And now and now Derek Brown is caught up in the latest fad. Jakory Crosky Merritt Look Bill is certainly interesting. By all accounts he's had a very good training camp although training camp. I will decline to call Allen Iverson as a witness to testify about the importance or lack thereof of practice. Jori Crosky Merit is a seventh round draft pick. He had one good season in an FBS college program and it appears that Crosby Meritt is going to be part of a full blown running back by committee in Washington along with Austin Eckler and Chris Rodriguez. And by the way we know that Eckler is going to play on passing downs and in the hurry up offense. And commander's head coach Dan Quinn has already told us that Chris Rodriguez is going to be used in short yardage situations which presumably means at the goal line. So we have a seventh round pick who's going to be part of a three headed backfield and is not going to be getting many of the high value touches I. E. Goal line carries and pass receptions. I don't see why we would rank him as a top 30 running back.

[B]

All right, let's put it to a vote here. Everybody you're watching, you're listening right now on the YouTube channel. It's your opportunity to vote on the poll. Are we drafting Jaquori Crosky Merritt or are we not based upon the ADP and where he's going. Debro makes the case for Fitzy makes the case. It feels like kind of against. I'm gonna be honest with you Fitzy, that kind of Feels like where it's going. And I feel like Fitzy, this happens every year, right? There's always that one situation that kind of opens the door and we all kind of peek through it. And some of us sometimes, you know, you peek through with your fingers and the door just slams on your fingers and you go, why did I do that? That was a stupid thing. This feels a little bit like that to me. But Derek Brown, again, when we're talking about maybe the health of Austin Eckler historically too, he is an older running back. He's got some mileage there on him. We know Chris Rodriguez is kind of limited in what he likes to do. But so. So define the path to me of what it looks like for the breakout Jacori Crosby Merit season.

[C]

Well, first of all, your honor, I would like to remind this court that while we're discussing draft capital and draft stock and stuff, we, we're shading Bill JCM because he was drafted in the seventh round. And yet we're touting a player that has never been used in a backfield who was a former 6th round pick and a former UDFA. Okay, so it feels like we're kind of splitting hairs in our own favor here. But also with that, like, I mean the, the, the path is easy. He has the goal on roll. He takes all the early down stuff. The Commanders are still one of the best offenses in the NFL and he scores eight to 10 touchdowns and he's a low end RB2 or a high end RB3. And he pays off exactly where you're drafting him at.

[B]

All right? Here's a question from Axel Gonzalez. What a great name too. At number 28. It's tough a past 32. I'm down Mason or Bill, I want Jordan Mason Fitzy. How about you?

[D]

Mason also Mason and Mason and Charbonne are the guys who stand out as like kind of number two running back. So I would much rather have than.

[B]

Crosby, Merritt and Dbrosi at your aggressiveness and I'm going to call it that aggressiveness at 28 aggressiveness. This is where I struggle because the guys around that are Caleb Johnson, who I like a lot, Jordan Mason, you know, I like Travis atn, all going ahead to Corey Crosby, Merit, whereas Merit's going closer to Braylon Allen. Scatter. Boo. You know, kind of guys that are in this. Well, let's wait and see how this backfield unfolds over the course of a season. To me, he belongs more in that pile than in the Caleb Johnson conversation. Would you agree or disagree with that.

[C]

I mean, I agree with that. But to the point of Caleb Johnson and Jordan Mason, I have both of them ranked ahead of Bill. So I agree with you. And I disagree with ADP for the other names that are around that.

[B]

Well, it looks like the jury has handed me a piece of paper with their decision here. And I gotta say, this one is surprising to me. I did not think we would see this. It's very close. Razor thin. Just 54% of the folks watching here today are in favor. That's right. In favor of drafting Jacori, Crosky, Merritt. This court does not approve that decision. Pafitz, Morris. I'm where you are, but we are the people show. After all, DBRO gets a win. A rare one. Case dismissed.

[C]

Undefeated.

[B]

Yeah, Bill, just. Just going for it. But I think we're living in prisoner of the moment. Just a dad. That's what I think. And speaking of prisoner, my bald head is a prisoner to this wig. I got to tell you. It is sliding everywhere. It's uncomfortable. It's starting to get wider. It was much tighter here when we started in July, and now it's almost September. And the wig has. My curls have basically. Maybe it's the humidity, I don't know.

[C]

But the curls comment that you look like Santa.

[B]

Yeah, I don't get that. I've got Santa every week, and I don't understand that at all. Like, I'm wearing a judge's robe.

[C]

It's the creepy mall Santa.

[B]

It's not even creepy mall Santa. I've got no, like, white beard. Like, what kind of Santa Claus did you grow up?

[C]

There's definitely some white in that beard.

[D]

So when you're not wearing it, Judge Joey, are you just, like, throwing it in a corner? Do you have one of those literally heads you have to head to put the wig on?

[B]

You know what? You're right. I should have. I should have put it on a helmet or a mannequin head. I do just kind of fold it and put it off in the corner. And that's probably what happened. The curls are getting pressed, I think, and coming undone a little bit, but.

[D]

Not going to keep in shape in the summer humidity without a nice mannequin head to rest on.

[B]

I know. All right, let's see if we can keep the shape for this next debate here. A wide receiver. That certainly has some, I think, fantasy appeal, but just how much? That is the question. So let's bring to the stand here for review, the tape of Khalil Shakir of the Buffalo Bills wide Receiver of the Buffalo Bills, Khalil Shakir had a, a nice season last year, I think. A guy that a lot of us fantasy nerds thought could be a contributor to that Buffalo Bills offense and to fantasy teams alike. And he was, he was solid. I don't know if you want to call him spectacular. I don't think that's where we want to call him necessarily. If you look back on the 2024 season, he finished as wide receiver 38. Okay. Wide receiver 3ish. So more of a flex play kind of guy. 76 receptions on 100 targets, 821 yards, 4 TDs. Looking ahead, the projections have him for 72 receptions, less receptions, but the yardage total right there at the same and five touchdowns. So the projections say cut and paste for this one. Pat Fitzmaurice has him right now currently at wide receiver 47. Debro has him where he finished last year at wide receiver 37. So Debro, again, you're the prosecutor today. You're going to be the aggressor. So let's get aggressive here and talk about Khalil Shakira. Why do you think he's going to repeat year over year when you have potentially Keon Coleman in year two growing? You have the addition of Josh Palmer, maybe the evolution of Dalton Kincaid, although with every passing year that seems a little less likely. So Khalil Shakir repeating his finish from last year basically is what you have. Explain to us why.

[C]

Well, first I would like to remind the court and Mr. Fitz Morris that this is a Khalil Shakir argument, not a Keon Coleman argument. So with close Shakir, I still think that he is the best wide receiver in that room. He proved it last year, especially down the back half of the season. Weeks seven through 17, Shakira earned and we saw his role grow with the rapport with Josh Allen, he had a 23% target share. Still, in a per route basis, he was fantastic. 2.15 yards per route run, almost a 28% first read share. So I know that some people might be worried about the ankle and I get that in rankings and projections. But if he starts off the year for week one healthy or somewhere close to 100%, he's still going to be the number one option in this Bill's passing attack over Keon Coleman who could might lose his role to Joshua Palmer. And again, this is not a Keon Coleman discussion.

[B]

Okay? Not a Keon Cole. We've had a Keon Coleman discussion. I think we've already had that discussion and it was weighed and measured and I think found a little wanting. All right, so Pat Fitzmores, let's talk about this because we have him currently for when I say we, I mean the royal we. In the expert consensus ranking, he is wide receiver 44. So basically, there's two ways to look at this. Either you and the expert consensus think that everybody else in the NFL is going to surpass Khalil Shakir, or you think there's regression potentially in what he did last season based on this ranking because you do have him moving spots. Because going from wide receiver 38 to where you have him at 47, the consensus has him at 48. Basically tells you, you know, he is kind of a stash wide receiver, bench depth guy, not somebody you're trying to roll out there every week. So give me your take on Shakir in this ranking. Specifically, why the backslide in 2025.

[D]

Well, anyone who's ever played fantasy football knows that injuries are going to find you. I mean, here we sit in late August, all content about the teams that we've just drafted or excited about the teams we're about to draft. A month from now we're going to be like, oh, I these injuries are just destroying me. This is terrible. So drafting injured players without getting a substantial injury discount is never good policy. And Khalil Shakir is currently dealing with a high ankle sprain. And we know that is a nasty injury that normally keeps players out four to six weeks. And often we see players come back from high ankle sprains far less than 100%. And unfortunately, we are not getting a substantial injury discount. Shakir was ranked as a wide receiver for throughout the off season. He's still a wide receiver for his fantasy Pros. Real time ADP is wide receiver 45, 113th overall. That's drafts that are going down right now. That's the 10th round. The 10th round is too early to take an injured player from an ensemble cast of receivers. And the Bills mantra with their skill players is everyone eats. And that's very true of their receivers because they play like five or six of them. And and the Bills are going to give snaps to a lot of different receivers. Josh Allen spreads it around. Oh, and by the way, Khalil Shakira has seven touchdowns over three NFL seasons and 46 NFL games.

[B]

As an Italian, I'm conflicted because I like when everybody eats A and B. I do enjoy ensemble shows. So those are two things that I actually really like. But in my fantasy world, I do like, guys are just kind of stand out more the the targets. And this is why the Buffalo Bills are kind of tricky. And this is why I keep landing on James Cook as my favorite Buffalo Bill. Because outside the cost of Josh Allen, look at James Cook being kind of undervalued. And I don't see his role as the efficient touchdown scorer changing. But, you know, the late ADP of Joshua Palmer, I think is a little bit more intriguing to me. I think when you're looking at these guys, it is up for debate there. Keon Coleman going at 51, so he's even cheaper than Khalil Shakur. And Shakur over her. This just putting that out there. And then Palmer is all the way down at 68. So let's let the people decide here. Are we drafting Khalil Shakir or are we not? It's up to all of you. The fantasy pros want to know as we let this debate rage on here. And that is the difficult thing here, Debro, because ever since Stefan Diggs left town, in a lot of ways, you saw the evolution of Josh Allen, who became more like Drew Brees in the sense. And you can appreciate this as a Saints fan. Once upon a time that, you know, he spread the ball around every week with somebody else, he just found the open guy. And that's what made Drew Brees such a successful and special quarterback. Right. He knew how to just play the position and do what needed to be done. But from a fantasy perspective, frustrating. Sometimes. There's no doubt when you're trying to figure out, like, is it Marquez Colson, is it Devri Henderson, who is it this week? Right. It feels like the Bills are a new version of that in a lot of ways. Do you find that kind of difficult when you look at Shakira or frankly, any of these Buffalo Bills wide receivers?

[C]

Oh, absolutely. I think it's gonna be a maddening season. But I think with Shakir, he seems like the best bet to get the volume. And to Pat's point earlier about the red zone and the touchdowns and stuff, over his final 10 games, he did have eight red zone targets. Now, he didn't convert those all into touchdowns, but the volume was there inside of the 20.

[B]

By the way, Mr. Wumbo calls me Timu Hamilton, which I find offensive. So I am going to throw you out of court. I want you out, Mr. Wombo. Get out of my stream. It's really good. Hamilton. How dare you, sir? I do love Hamilton, though. I'll be seeing it for a third time on my birthday. This year with the original Leslie Odom. Very excited about that. He's coming back for a few weeks. So I'm looking forward to that. Teemu Hamilton I actually did a full Hamilton rap on the baseball show this year. It was pretty exciting. I don't, I don't have the, it's August. I don't have the stamina for that today. Fitzy. Well, you've got the stamina for. But again, you know, when we're talking about breakouts potentially on this Buffalo Bills offense, if you had to pin your hopes and dreams and, and you kind of made everybody a little, you know, sad almost looking at the way this ball gets distributed here, who is the best fantasy return on investment in the Buffalo offense besides Josh Allen, obviously. Yeah.

[D]

First of all, producer Sal, could you possibly highlight Peter Kumar's comment scroll up a little in the the live chat? Like I found that very perfectly summarized.

[B]

Very nice when everyone is we're all still hungry. Peter well done.

[D]

So perfect.

[B]

I think that's from Horizon somewhere.

[D]

Yeah, that's glorious. So you know, discounting James Cook and even Cook might be a little overvalued because they do like to play three running backs and Ty Johnson actually led all NFL running backs in air yards last year, which is crazy. I, I think Keon Coleman is the guy to get and his efficiency numbers were fantastic as far as yards per catch, yards per target, yards per route run. And this is a guy who was just starting to roll when he hurt his wrist. He had I think four catches for 105 yards, five for 70 and a touchdown. And then the next game got hurt and missed a month and then didn't was kind of slow to get re acclimated to the offense upon his return. So I want to see a full season from him. Still a really young player, but like a terrific sort of contested catch win at the catch point guy like could be another Mike Evans or George Pickens type. So I'm excited about Kia.

[B]

It's still Cook for me. Although Josh Palmer late I think is a good return on investment kind of dart throw. How about you, D bro? Best return on investment in the Buffalo offense not named Josh Allen Palmer.

[C]

It's easy Palmer for me. And when you look at the numbers, both separation metrics, route win rate metrics, I'm definitely lower on Keon than consensus and I think Palmer is going to take his role in this offense. Looking at what Palmer did, he was top five in both route win rate and separation versus man coverage and that's the the role in man coverage.

[D]

Beating that.

[C]

Palmer's going to fill that role that Keon was unable to fill last year because Buffalo has faced the top three man coverage rate over the last three seasons.

[B]

That's a tough thing to say if you have a speech impediment. By the way, route win rate. Yeah. Wow. Win rate. Whole very Elmo fun of you for you. You almost say it slowly so I don't get died. Very close. You almost fell in. Almost. Yeah. You pulled yourself out at the last second here. All right, let pull out the results here of Khalil Shakir and it is overwhelming. 77% of you have voted against Khalil Shakir. Get out of my room. Get out of here. You're going to fantasy jail, Khalil. Look, Khalil, nothing against you, man. I think you're a nice little wide receiver. I think you're a bye week filler. But other than that, I can't get on board. Also, Hard knocks is painfully boring. If I have to watch one more guy eat ice cream or ride a horse, like what Buffalo has got like the most boring, Like a bunch of nice guys. But holy crap, they are a boring group. I mean, what was back in the day, Hard knocks, where people were getting arrested for eight balls of cocaine and a, you know, a whole, you know, hotel room full of hookers? I miss those days of hard knocks. That was good television. Now everyone's just out there. Oh, look at, look at my. Look at my basket weaving collection that I've got. I mean, what are we doing here? Gosh, so boring nowadays anyway. One thing that's never boring here, of course, obviously, is Fantasy Pro's YouTube channel. And we love when everybody hangs out with us. And of course, we want you to also use the tools here at Fantasy Pros, including the draft assistant, which makes it easier for you to crush all of your competition. And that's what we're here for at the end of the day. So if you're looking to do just that, make sure you sync your leagues for free. Go wherever you get your apps. Download the Fantasy Pros app. Sync your leagues. Bada boom, bada bing. Just like that. Syncs to everything. Yahoo, ESPN Sleeper, all that stuff. Cbs. It'll give you live suggestions on the picks, it'll give you insights, it'll give you cheat sheet options. It'll give you so many bells and whistles. If you're drafting 10 and the two teams behind you already have tight ends, it'll send you alert, hey, don't draft a tight end right now wait around when it comes back to you, because the two teams after you already have that. It's the kind of insights you need when you're on the clock and you have to make the big decisions. Let us help you put us in the draft with you, the Fantasy Pros, and you can only do that with the draft assistant, one of the many incredible tools here at Fantasy Pro. So go download that today. All right, let's get to our next one here. And this one I'm excited about because this is a player Joey P. Has on a lot of his teams. It's Cortland Sutton. Well, I think one of the most underappreciated, disrespected guys out there, and I don't get why. He's currently the ECR21 wide receiver. Last year, he finished as wide receiver 13, had 10, 81 yards, eight touchdowns. And let's not forget, it was a slow start to the year for Bo Nix, too. He struggled in September. In fact, there weren't a whole lot of catches for him in the first four weeks here for Cortland Sutton because of that, only just 15 catches over the first four weeks. But then things started to pop for him and the touchdown started to come. And I just feel like he is clearly his Nico Collins, right? Like, that's Bo Nix's Nico Collins is Cortland Sutton. I want to be aggressive on him in draft season. I think that people are sleeping on him. And if you are someone who takes Bijon Robinson or Jameer Gibbs or one of those guys early on, you have to make up ground at the wide receiver position because you went early RB or you stack the RBs. Cortland Sutton's sitting there. Dbro. You haven't wide receiver 18. That is respectable at the very least because right now he is being again at the wide receiver 22. I think disrespected Pat Fitz Morris, you've got him as wide receiver 28. You're not feeling it at all. Dbro. All right. Don't blow this one here. All right? It's tied 1 1. Defend my man Cortland Sutton here. Why should people be drafting him this year with authority?

[E]

Hola, It's Honey German and my podcast. Gracias. Come Again is back. This season, we're going even deeper into the world of music and entertainment with raw and honest conversations with some of your favorite Latin artists and celebrities. You didn't have to audition.

[B]

No, I didn't audition. I haven't auditioned in, like, over 25 years.

[E]

Oh, wow. That's a real G talk right there. Oh, yeah, we've got some of the biggest actors, musicians, content creators and culture shifters sharing their real stories of failure and success. You were destined to be a star. We talk all about what's viral and trending with a little bit of Cheeseman, a lot of laughs and those amazing, amazing vivas you've come to expect. And of course, we'll explore deeper topics dealing with identity struggles and all the issues affecting our Latin community. You feel like you get a little whitewashed because you have to do the code switching.

[A]

I won't say whitewashed because at the.

[B]

End of the day, you know, I'm me. Yeah, but the whole pretending and coat, you know, it takes a toll on you.

[E]

Listen to the new season of Gracias. Come again as part of Michael Tura Podcast Network on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[B]

Podcast.

[A]

I'm Noah, I'm 13 and as you might have seen from the news, I got a podcast and I explain those fake headlines like your uncle would like your cousin would if he actually did the research. Honestly, adults don't ask the right questions. Now. You know what Noah de Barrasso is a show about influence. Who's got it, how they use it and what it means for the rest of you, it's not the news. What the news should be if someone Gen Z or Gen Alpha means when I'm watching everything.

[B]

Sheesh.

[A]

Majority of the youth 18 through 24 say they trust Republicans more than Democrats to fund the economy.

[B]

You kidding me?

[A]

Politics is wild and I'm definitely not here to tame it, but I'm here to make sense of it. Just what's happening, why it matters and what it means for us. Bring your brain. Listen to now youw Know with Noah de Barrasta on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[F]

The U.S. open is here. And on my podcast, Good Game with Sarah Spain, I'm breaking down the players. From rising stars to legends chasing history. The predictions will we see a first time winner and the pressure. Billie Jean King says pressure is a privilege. You know, plus the stories and events off the court. And of course the Honey deuces, the signature cocktail of the U.S. open.

[C]

The U.S. open has gotten to be.

[B]

A very fancy, wonderfully experiential sporting event.

[A]

I mean, listen, the whole aim is.

[B]

To be accessible and inclusive for all.

[F]

Tennis fans, whether you play tennis or not. Tennis is full of compelling stories of late. Have you heard about icon Venus Williams recent wildcard bids or the young Canadian Victoria Mboko making a name for herself? How about Naomi Osaka getting back to form? To hear this and more, listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain, an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get.

[B]

Your podcasts presented by Capital One, founding partner of iHeart Women's Sports.

[C]

First, I I do want to mention to the court my own vulnerability and my own misgivings that earlier this offseason I did put this out on social media that I apologize to everybody out there that's listening that I was not high enough on Cortland Sutton to begin the off season.

[B]

But I have.

[C]

I've seen the error in my ways, Judge. I've seen the error and so are other people. In Real Time ADP Cortland Sutton is the wide receiver 23 in real time ADP he's the 12th highest gaining wide receiver over the last week. And I think I'm I don't want to be prisoner of the moment here, your judge, but I will say the preseason did move me a little bit to see a 50 target share in the final week of the preseason, which Mr. Fitzmaurice, I think might just be a Bronco hater. He doesn't want any of Evan Ingram. He doesn't want any of Cortland Sutton. He has Cortland Sutton as a wide receiver 3. Although last year after Bo Nix's breakout wide receiver 20 and fantasy points per game in that stretch, Cortland Sutton 17th in yards per out run 22nd in receiving yards per game, 19th and first reach here and oh, look at that. Even if we zoom out over the totality of the season, wide receiver nine and expected fantasy points per game. So a player that with the role that he has and if Bo Nix takes yet another step in his game, we could get wide receiver one production in 2025. But you get to draft him as a wide receiver too this year. So everybody enjoy except maybe Pat Fitz Morris.

[B]

We nearly got wide receiver 1 productivity from him last year. Wide receiver 13 what more does this man have to do with a rookie quarterback? And real time adp, let me tell you, that's a huge help. I've been using it all weekend in the drafts because it's one thing to get the consensus that's nice to have. But to see the trends when you're talking about guys like Crosby Merritt or guys like Woody Marks, like all these guys that are starting to really change the dynamic of the drafts. Ali Gordon, for instance. Right. To see where they're being drafted. It lets you know, like, where you're gonna have to start to dip your toes into the pool, into that water to get those players if they are targets of yours. Because it changes dramatically here as we get to the end of draft season. I like that real time ADP kind of keeps me on the ball there with all that stuff. It is by far my favorite new thing that we've got here. Over at Fantasy Prose now, Pat Fitz Morris, I think the argument you're going to make, and I don't want to put arguments in your mouth, but you're going to say, well, RJ Harvey's there and Evan Ingram's there and maybe some other health of some other guys in Denver. Is that the argument for the slander? And that's right. I'm calling it slander at this point. When it comes to your ADP of one Cortland Sutton.

[D]

That is at the very bottom of the list of arguments, Joe, and I can exclude that entirely. First of all, I want to address the accusation that I'm a Bronco hater. That is not true. Even though the only Super Bowl I've ever attended was the only super bowl my Green Bay packers have ever lost, and it was to the Denver Broncos. So I do have reason to hate them. But really, all the, all the Broncos fans I met that day were lovely people, and I really can't hold any grudges, so. But, your honor, I, I thought we had established precedent in the case of the People versus Cortland Sutton. I argued that case against Derek Brown and Andrew Erickson in. I can't remember if it was 2021 or 2022.

[C]

Those 22, I think.

[D]

Yeah. Those two touchdown seasons for Cortland Sutton have a way of all blending together. Dbrow so.

[B]

Well, hold on, hold, hold on, hold on. Wait, wait. Order in the court. Order in the court here. Because we're talking about years where Nathaniel Hackett was the coach. I mean, it's a very different scenario here. Russell Wilson, Nathaniel Hackett, that was one of the most ill prepared, underwhelming, frankly, unprofessional situations you could have possibly asked for in the NFL. I don't want to tie Cortland Sutton to that. I think that is unfair personally. And I'm going, I'm going to, on behalf of. Of Courtland Sutton, object and sustain my own objection. And I can do that because I have a G and no one else.

[C]

I would say I'm just Impressed? That was a very savage move.

[B]

Stop kissing ass of the judge just because you called me your honor earlier. Just watch it. Well done. Watch.

[D]

Well done, your honor. Cortland Sutton has never finished better than wide receiver, 26 and PPR fantasy points per game. And we can talk about the higher overall scores. Survivor bias for a receiver who played 17 games and you know, was able to pile up points but not necessarily do it in an impressive week over week basis during the course of the season. He's so he's being drafted kind of at his historical ceiling. Broncos have a really good defense and should be able to run the ball effectively with J.K. dobbins and R.J. harvey. So Denver might not throw at a very high rate. And when they do throw well, Bo Nix likes checking down to his running backs and the running backs in Sean Payton's offense always get a lot of targets. So again, that's where I do talk about some of the other weapons. Some people are excited about tight end Evan Ingram playing that valuable joker role in Peyton's offense. Marvin Mims came on strong late last year. Troy Franklin looks like he might be ready to take a step forward. And you know, rookie Pat Bryant could be a factor despite his 5:2 speed.

[B]

All right, so there you have it. The arguments have been laid out and now it's up to you, the people to vote. So the jury will debate here. Are we or are we not drafting Cortland Sutton this season? The boys have made their arguments and we'll see if you feel like listening. In the meantime, don't forget, the fun is always going on our YouTube channel. But also on the Twitch, we've had mock drafts there, we've had Q&As there, we've had best ball streams. We got Madden this week, Tuesday at 2pm Eastern. That's gonna be a good time. So join us on our Twitch. Twitch TV Fantasy pros. That's the place to be five days a week to hang out with us. It's a fun place. And if you're looking to get questions answered, we know the YouTube channel is enormous. Sometimes that's tough. Twitch is another great avenue. So when you see those streams pop over there. All right, let's talk about this because there's some interesting questions here. One of which was and see if I could find it real quick here, which would you take Sutton over Ricky Pearsall? I. I don't care. Pat, what's your answer to this one?

[D]

Yeah, I like Sutton over Pierce. All right. Okay.

[B]

I would agree with that. Debro as well. Okay, so three for three. And we all like Pierce all. So that is an interesting one as well. And this is the thing, and I, I think I was kind of leading the charge in the Cortland Sutton stuff early on because I just didn't see a scenario where this didn't feel like a copy paste season for Cortland Sutton. I think when a young quarterback develops a rapport with a wide receiver, they become their safety blanket. They become the guy. I'm confident in the red zone. I'm going to find Cortland. I'm confident that we, you know, that's my guy. I have the most reps with him. Evan Ingram's new, RJ Harvey's new. These things might develop. Yes. Marvin Mims at the end of the season had some really fun big touchdown plays, but that's not necessarily something. And Pat Fitz Morris was the person that taught me this, that you can bank on year over year. So Cortland Sutton, I think is the bankable guy here on a team that I think has a real shot to win this division. So I'm fascinated to see what the people are going to say. Do you have a, do you have a prediction here on what the audience is going to vote? Pat Fitz Morris. You have a number in any direction you want to go ahead and take a guess.

[D]

Just as I knew I was probably going to lose the Jakori Crosby merit case. I think people do like Sutton. I think it's going to be about 59. Pro Sutton.

[B]

You know, it's funny. I'm with you on the Crosky merit. I, I, I was actually surprised you lost that one. All right, how about you, dbro? Where, where do you had your prediction here? Pro anti Sutton. Give me a number.

[C]

Sutton. Steam is kind of real right now. I think it's going to be like a little bit more of a not a slam dunk, but 65, 67% pro Sutton.

[B]

Well, gentlemen, this one is a slam dunk. It's not even a slam dunk. It's like a Shaquille O', Neal, like mid-90s Orlando Magic where he brings the entire just rim down with him and the glass crashes everywhere. 82 in favor drafting Cortland Sutton. That's right, people. It's a good investment and I'll tell you why. Here's how you win fantasy leagues by drafting wide receiver threes that produce like twos, twos that produce like ones, and sometimes maybe even get some fours that produces like twos or threes. When you find Wide receivers that jump a tier, that is the secret sauce to winning fantasy leagues. And Cortland Sutton, at 29 years old, after what he's proven, his career, what he proved last year with Bo Nix, I think can jump that tier. I think at the base, you're getting him at wide receiver, 22 or somewhere around there. I don't think he finishes there. I think he finishes somewhere in the top 15. And that, my friends, is a win. He could even push for number 12 overall. That's not impossible with a better start to the season and a very good Denver Broncos team. So Cortland Sutton, we be drafting him this season, baby. And I like this. I like this audience today. Feeling good. It's a big crowd. We love you having you here. Fantasy pros, don't forget to subscribe to the channel. Our next debate here, another good one. Another solid debate here. This time we're switching gears. It's not a running back, it's not a wide receiver. It's a quarterback. And it's a quarterback that you can get pretty late. And in single quarterback leagues, a guy that's finished in the top five before, it's Dak Prescott. Now, when it comes to Dak Prescott, you gotta wade through a lot of the crap. You gotta wade through a lot of the Cowboy stuff. The. The hate of Dak Prescott, which is real. The injury history of Dak Prescott, which is also real. And that's the thing that's really prevented him. It's the consistency of being on the field. When he was on the field in 2023, he was QB3. When he was on the field in 2021, he was QB7, 2019, QB2. Well, other years, QB33, he only played five games in 2020. In QB World of 12, he was, excuse me, QB18. In 2022, just 12 games. And last year just eight games, obviously finishing at QB31. Now in 2025, an interesting set of circumstances, they bring in George Pickens to play on the other side of CD Lamb. The run game is not exactly a svelte. It's not in great shape. It's not robust necessarily. And I think the defense, although it has some star power, is a little questionable. I could see the Cowboys getting in a lot of shootouts this year because their inability to control the clock, even if they have a lead, because that run game is suspect. That's a good thing for Dak Prescott. It's a good thing to have George Pickens. This comes down to health. But let's talk about the rankings. Let's talk about the ECR and see if we can get a gauge here where everybody is because the ECR right now is living with Dak Prescott in a different place. Dak is QB10 in ECR, QB11 in ADP. Dibro has him as QB8, even more aggressive Pat Fitz Morris though Pat says he ain't a QB one, he's got him a QB15 which is really interesting. I can't wait to hear this. So for all the haters out there, for all the Cowboy fans out there, which might actually be the same thing nowadays, dbro, let's talk about Dak Prescott. Why should people be going after him as aggressively as the eighth quarterback off the board in your rankings?

[C]

Judge Fantasy court Pro Dak Prescott drafters, please lend me your ears right now because I need them. I need everybody to hear me right now and the real time ADP agrees with me right now. Dak Prescott over the last week has risen the fifth most amongst all quarterbacks almost a half around. Dak Prescott is rise and the talent is real. This year he could be the NFC counterpoint to Joe Burrow in a high flying passing offense teamed with a terrible defense and it's all going to lead to wonderful, wonderful fantasy points. We are one season removed people from Dak Prescott being the QB4 and fantasy points per game being top 10 in yards per attempt, CPOE and highly accurate throw rate. And as the judge outlined here, do we believe in this run game? Is this the run game that you want to fill with volume? No, it all relies upon the passing game and Dak Prescott. In 2025 Dallas Cowboys will go as far as Dak Prescott can carry them and so will fantasy GMs.

[B]

Now I've been accused in the chat of not being impartial and that's fair. I'm not above a bribe. That's perfectly fine. Pat Fitzmaurice I will say this. I don't want to tip my, put my fingers on the scale, tip it one way or another. But I will say the injury history of Dak is real and I think some of the concerns there are legitimate. I guess the question is in single quarterback leagues where replacement value is very easy, there's not a lot of guys being drafted at 10, 11, 12 that have the upside for a finish of 3, 4, 5 and I think that's the appeal of Dak. But he might also be the kind of quarterback that if you do draft him late, you might want to get a pairing. You might want to put another second quarterback on that roster because of the injury history that he's had where he's missed, it's multiple. It's three seasons now where he's missed significant time. And that clogs up your roster with another QB that can only use A on a bye week or B in case of emergency to break open glass. And that prohibits you potentially from keeping another running back or some more wide receiver depth on that roster. So from a roster standpoint, let's talk about the construction of the Dak Prescott team and why you might not think it's the best case scenario. Because clearly as QB15, you have concerns.

[D]

Yeah, that's a great point, your honor. You probably would want to pair Dak Prescott with another quarterback when, you know, maybe if you take a different quarterback, you don't have to. And that's sort of it. I, I don't really have any big beef with Dak Presco, Scott. It's more just sort of the landscape of the quarterback position, which is deep this year. It is really deep. And I have Dak ranked as a high end quarterback too and would be content to have him as my top quarterback in any league with 12 or more teams. But ranking Dak Prescott As a top 10 fantasy quarterback, I, I just can't go there. He doesn't run and as a result Dak would have to go absolutely bonkers with his passing numbers to turn into top 10 season. It's possible he does, but Dak has played 12 or fewer games in three of the last five years and he's 32 years old now, so he would need to stay healthy all season and go nuclear. I just rather bet on guys who add some rushing value. Drake May, Caleb Williams, Bo Nicks, Brock Purdy. I've got all those guys ranked ahead of Dak Prescott.

[B]

Kyler Murray, would he be one of those guys?

[D]

Reluctantly, yes. I mean he certainly runs and you know, provides the goodies as far as rushing yardage. But you know, I just don't think.

[B]

Well, it's interesting because KYLER Murray has one top five QB finish in his career. In 2020 he was QB2. Other than that, his first year was QB7, then 10, 19, 26 and then 10 again. So it's clear from a passing perspective that the upside lies with Dak Prescott. But I Understand the rushing QBs give you that floor every single week and the upside for the rushing touchdowns. This one is really interesting because I think this is kind of like especially going into draft season, this was free. He was free. Dak Prescott, he's not quite free anymore. He's gone from like QB 13, 14 to now QB 10, sometimes even QB 9 or 8. I think in the sharper leagues you're seeing people be a little bit more aggressive on Dax. So I want to put it to you, the people let us know, are you drafting Dak Prescott this year or are you not? The jury is now open for voting. Here's an interesting one that somebody brought up. Juwan had one here. I drafted Dak and May. Let's say you can only have one of those QBs. DBro. Who would you want to have in a single QB league? Drake may or Dak Prescott?

[C]

This is a wonderful question for, for this panel.

[B]

I know that, I know, I know.

[C]

Fitzy is going to sit with May, but it's Dak for me.

[D]

Oh yeah.

[B]

Why is it made for you Fitzy?

[D]

There's just so much untapped rushing upside down and we didn't get the full on rushing onslaught from Drake May last year. He had one design run. He's going to have more of those. And if you just look at his college numbers as far as rushing, he was a really aggressive runner and scored a lot of rushing touchdowns and we didn't really see many of Those last year. Two last year, 16 and 26 college starts. He has got like eight or 900 yard, six or seven touchdown run potential. So that's why he sails past Dakota as far as I'm concerned. And I love like I do love Dak. I would much rather have Dak quarterbacking my NFL team than Justin Fields or Kyler Murray. But in fantasy it's different because the rushing yardage really does move the needle and that's why like I'd rather have Fields or Murray for fantasy. But I mean Dak is far superior as a quarterback to those guys.

[B]

I like what Juwan did here by getting both of them. I think this is exactly right. Like, because if Drake May should explode onto the scene this year and take a massive step forward, well that's a huge win in fantasy. And then you could start him over. Dak in those weeks where you just don't like the matchup or if Dak, you know, suffers an injury, misses any time. I think this is the perfect kind of thing. You take the JJ McCarthy, you take the Drake May along with Dak, you give yourself one of those young QBs with stunning upside and if it doesn't work out and Dax just great, you just cut those guys at some point. And Dax flying around a little disappointed. I did Have Dak last year in an important league. The first time my daughter played fantasy football, we had a league together. It was a Taylor Swift theme name. It was Dak to December, but Dak got hurt. So it was a little, a little bit of a bummer there but hopefully a little healthier this year. But I like Juwan's pairing there. And of course we're looking to you to make this vote here. So this one's a little closer than the last one. But then again, anything was because last one was very. That might be the most one sided one we've had in all the months of doing this. The results are in. And Dak Prescott, 60% of you say that you are drafting him. Dak is going on the roster. There you have it, everybody. That's the judgment. He is guilty of being just too tempting to pass up. Just too many potential passing yards. And, and again, I keep coming down to the football theory here, which is no run game, a defense that I just, I think is opportunistic. But I don't know if they're a defense that's going to hold a lot of point totals down. Like I'm just not there yet. The Micah Parsons drama, the digs coming off an injury. Again, star power. Don't confuse star power on defense with a great defense necessarily. They're not the same thing. Always. They, you know, it takes everybody working together and really good leadership of the defensive coordinator spot to have a defense that really knows what they're doing. And I think this Cowboys defense sometimes gets away with all the talent they have, but not necessarily the scheme. And I think that could put Dak in a situation for shootouts and that is good for fantasy. So again, there you have it, everybody. That's another one of our incredible debates here. Back to one more debate and we've got a special one for you at the tight end position this time. This time it is Mark Andrews, my favorite tight end that I like to go after, of course, because he kind of just floats around there a little bit too long in my opinion. And if you're looking at a guy who was tight end 4 after week 7 in fantasy points, you're talking about a guy who led all tight ends after that period of time with 10 touchdowns. Slow start last year, but he was in a car wreck last year. And of course we can't trust NFL teams to give us insights and actual news about what's going on with players. Why would they do that? And I think a lot of us unfortunately got into a tough Spot. Mark Andrews was dropped, he was traded. He was Persona non grata after the first six weeks of the season. And then week seven it was like a totally different guy. Isaiah likely's hurt. I look at the scenario where I just don't see the cons here when it comes to him. He's 29 years old playing for a contract. But I can understand where people might think there's an evolution of this offense too that continues to change in Baltimore. Just for everyone's awareness, he was tight end five last year. He had 11 touchdowns, 673 yards, 55 receptions. And I know the argument will be, well, it's very touchdown based. Okay, fine, I get it. But it's not the first time he's had double digit touchdowns with this team and he is the red zone guy. And I know we left a bad taste in everyone's mouth in Buffalo when he was walking backwards and dropped the ball in the snow. I think we can give Mark Andrews a pass on that. Let's take a look at where everybody else has him though. Fitzy has him at tight end 10, Debro has him as tight end 4. Now that's even more aggressive than WA. So I want to hear from Derek Brown about this one. Because he finishes tight end five, he's being drafted currently as tight end seven in the ECR and the adp. So dbro kick it off here because you are pretty aggressively ahead of some of the expert consensus and the current ADP of Mark Andrews. Tell me why.

[C]

Because part, part of what you laid out there, I mean this guy was once healthy and back into form. Weeks 10 through 18 all of his metrics bounce back to Mark Andrews type levels. He was the tight end five and fantasy points per game. He is the guy at the end of drafts if you want to take a swing on top three production this year at the tight end position getting into that realm a close or equaling this elite tier of tight ends. We've already seen Mark Andrews do this previously in his career. Now Isaiah likely is hurt. When is he back on the field or effective or 100%? We don't know. You saw last year down the back half of the season. So weeks 10 through 18 again tight end five and fantasy points per game. He earned an 18 target share, 2.3 yards per route run. All of his metrics bounce back the previous levels. This is the guy in this passing attack that if you want to get the touchdown equity in the offense if it's not going to Henry if they get into the red zone it's going to Andrews as well as the upside this year. If he's closer to not just what we saw during that stretch, a 66% route per drop back rate, he's closer to 70, 75%. He could produce top three numbers this year. And yet right now in real time ADP you get to draft him as tight end 7 so I want people aggressively ahead of the market for Andrews because he is the swing to take on possible elite upside in the later rounds.

[B]

Well, I think what's so interesting too is the overall ADP in the real time ADP of him too. It's still pretty suppressed now the guy is being drafted ahead.

[C]

It's dropping typically it's actually he's dropped in drafts of last few yeah and.

[B]

Think I, I, I struggle with that because I don't know what Sam Laporte is in this new offense and I did see the emergence of Jameson Williams last year in Detroit. I like to think that TJ Hawkinson will be very useful with Minnesota, especially rookie QBs. They tend to, you know, go look for that tight end safety blanket quite a bit. Travis Kelsey I think clearly lost a step last year but still a good volume guy but again, you know, another year older here. How many times we're gonna go down this well. And then there's Mark Andrews just kind of sitting there before it drops off a cliff with you know, David and Joku who look I, I know it was good a couple years ago but I don't want to bid on anything with the Browns. Like that's just not a good ecosystem investment for me because Joe Flacco is probably not going to play the entire season and then at some point they're going to look at the kids and I don't know what David and Joke was going to be. I know what Mark Andrews is Fitzy and I think that is the argument for Mark Andrews. But what's the argument against him?

[D]

Well, you mentioned he's 29. Joey does turn 30 next week. So it's, it's not so much age though, it's that he's coming off a season that would have left a bad smell had it not been slathered in touchdown deodorant. He scored a career high 11 touchdowns. Last year was his first season with double digit touchdown since 2019. But do you know how many times Mark Andrews had 70 or more receiving yards in a game last season? 0z row Mark Andrews did not reach 70 yards even once last year. His single game high was 68 yards. Mark Andrews hasn't given us more than 80 yards in any game since the 2023 season. This guy just does not produce yardage anymore. And I do not want to bet on an old tight end having another lucky season with touchdowns. Especially not when there's a younger and possibly better tight end on the Ravens roster. The guy who goes by the name Isaiah Likely. I would much rather draft a promising young tight end like Tucker Kraft or Tyler Warren than Mark Andrews and count on touchdown Luck. And if I'm going to draft an old tight end, I'll just draft Travis Kelsey, who has always been a much better fantasy performer than Mark Andrews.

[B]

Much older, though. I will say this too, the Lamar Jackson rushing touchdowns, you know, back in the day where he's putting up seven every year, two, three, five and four the last four years. So he is not necessarily the guy that you're really worried about taking away touchdowns. I know Derrick Henry is that guy. But in a wide receiver core, that's a little lackluster. I get it. He's not the PPR God. But in the half PPR leagues where touchdown matters a little bit more, I see the appeal of Andrews. I'm curious about what the appeal is to our jury. So we're going to put it to all of you to vote here on Mark Andrews. And Pat, you do bring up a really good point, which is, although the ADP and I'm looking at the real time ADP, he's the 70th player going off the board, 72nd right now. In some other spots, you know, he is going in that Ricky Piersol, Ameca, Igbuka vibe area. And I would take those guys over Mark Andrews. But then when you dig a little bit deeper and you're talking about Tucker Kraft or talking about Warren, that's where I think, you know, Warren at the 93rd, almost 100th player off the board, that to me is an interesting swing for the upside. Because if you look at last year, that's where Brock Bowers was. And I'm not saying he's Brock Bowers, I don't think anybody is. But there's certainly potential for Tyler Warren to be a really good return on that investment and maybe in terms of the ADP overall allow you to get more wide receiver, more running back depth. Is that more of the, I guess, indictment we would say about Mark Andrews?

[D]

I mean, those guys can do incredible damage after the catch. Like tucker Kraft averaged 9.3 yards after the catch per reception last year. And Tyler Warren, I mean, the guy wears well in College wore John Riggins number because he loved the way Riggins played and just plays like a beast after the catch. Mark Andrews is a catch and fall down guy now. He just happened to catch it and fall down in the end zone a lot last year.

[B]

Yeah, but I like that about him. Fitzy. I like when he catches and falls down the end zone. Because in fantasy you score a touchdown, you're a tight end. One Debro, you and I are old DFS souls. Back in the day, that's what we were chasing. We were chasing tutties at the tight end position. And Mark Andrews was the gift that just kept on giving and giving and, and giving. And I think the bigger, I think the one thing that I would say in counter to what Fitz's argument was and I think he makes some really good ones is the emergence of Derrick Henry makes stopping Mark Andrews on play action nearly impossible. Because you have to stack that box. You cannot in the goal line not have all hands on deck. You're looking for Derrick Henry. You're looking for that, you know, RPO exchange. You're looking for all these things that are possible between Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry that I don't know if you've got time or bodies or inclination to even worry about Mark Andrews. And I think that was the secret sauce for all the touchdowns. And I don't know if that changes in 2025 D Bro, I don't know.

[C]

If it changes either. I mean, I think when you get to the red zone it's going to.

[D]

Be you're giving the ball to Henry.

[C]

You'Re going to Andrews or maybe you're sprinkling in some Deandre Hopkins, but he's not going to probably be a full time player in this offense. So still going to be heavily involved. I mean I still think for all the touchdowns he scored last year, it's not like he's been allergic to the end zone in previous seasons. So as many As, I mean 11 is in one season. He has also hit nine and 10 previously in his Baltimore career.

[B]

All right, so before we reveal the results, just a quick reminder, the draft kit is out there for you. So if winning your fantasy league means everything to you, and I know it does because you're watching this show right now, the Fantasy Pros draft kit gives you the knowledge to do it the right way. It's your one stop shop for expert rankings players to target or avoid strategies for your draft at different positions. So don't walk run right now to fantasypros.com kit again, that's fantasypros.com kit go premium today. Get a three day free trial. This is the perfect weekend to do it, folks. So schedule that appropriately. Sync all your leagues for free. Use the draft kit. Use all the tools. Don't be a tool. We want you to win all your leagues and embarrass all your friends and relatives so we can help you do that again. Fantasypros.com kit the draft kit has everything you need to dominate all of your leagues. All right, this is it. The hour of truth. It's closer. 62% say that they are not not drafting Mark Andrews. A stunning turn of events here at the end. Dramas are, are great to have in Fitzy. I think we just had one here. This is an upside, I think. Think Fitzy. How does it feel to be the winning side of this argument against drafting Mark Andrews?

[D]

Yeah, pretty, pretty satisfying. Feel like the end of A Few Good Men Joe.

[B]

Yes. Well, if that's the case, then Derrick Brown gets arrested here and court martialed and a lot of bad things happen there.

[C]

But you know, can't handle the truth. They can't handle the truth when it.

[B]

Comes to Mark Andrews. I want you on that goal line. I need you on that goal line. People talk about touchdown regression. I talk about having touchdowns there where you catch them and you fall into that end zone and you get me six points and every time you get me six points there, the touchdown. You're a tight end. One People want to talk about taking Brock Bowers as the 10th player overall. I want later touchdown productivity at tight end. But I'm not going to get it because the people will say no, it's not going to happen today. But I trust our audience. It's a good group over there. And again, if you're watching here on the YouTube channel, I know you are, you're listening. Make sure you go ahead and subscribe to the channel. Great job by the audience. Great interactions. Today we had a lot of people watching live. I love to see that we're going to be live on this channel almost every single day. And stay with us because waiver wire show with the three of us is going to be back on Mondays. Everybody's favorite program, three of us, the three amigos will be back together on that one. We're going to be live on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. This year the Joe and Derrickson show is going to be back on track which we haven't had in a couple years. But it's back by popular demand because, well, we listen to all of you. So we're excited about that. And draft court has been a lot of fun. It has been a little bit of cosplay for me, a little bit of rash on my bald head. But overall, I think at the end of the day, we have served the people and that's what we're here for. We're here for fantasy justice. So, Pat Fitz Morris, I want to thank you for some excellent arguments you made today. Derek Brown, I want to thank you as well, some outstanding arguments. Our producer, Sal, doing a great job as always. But most importantly, it's the jury of our peers, our friends here, who watch and subscribe to the channel. Again, if you haven't already, make sure you subscribe. Make sure you drop your comments below, even on the way out, even if you're not watching live, because you can win the AJ Brown Salute to Service autographed helmet from Pristine Auction.com Go Birds right here. Only a couple days left to win this bad boy, so get in on this. Subscribe, drop your comments like the stream right now. We want you to like the stream you're watching here. Click that little thumbs up. It's a very easy thing to do. And just like that, you can win. And don't forget to ring the bell to the ghost ding on the way out for all the content here on Fantasy Pros. We're gonna have a great season. I can feel it in my bones. I'm excited to share it with all of you and our terrific team here at fp. That'll do it for us. But the story of the game goes on. For Pat Fitzmorris and Derrick Brown, I'm Judge Joey. This court is adjourned.

[C]

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[A]

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I'm Noah and I'm 13. And I started this podcast because honestly, adults don't ask the right questions. Now, you know what? Noah de Barrasso is a show about influence. Who's got it, how they use it, and what it means. For the rest of you, it's not the news. It's what the news should be if someone Gen Z or Gen Alpha made it. Politics is wild and I'm definitely not here to tame it. But I'm here to make sense of it. Listen to now youw Know with Noah de arrasto on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast.

[C]

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Folks find it hard to hate up close. And when you get to know people and you're sitting in their kitchen tables and they're talking like we're talking, you know, you hear our story, how we grew up, how Barack grew up, and you get a chance for people to unpack and get beyond race.

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Now the US Open is here and on my podcast Good Game with Sarah Spain, I'm breaking down the players, the predictions, the pressure, and of course, the honey deuces, the signature cocktail of the U.S. open.

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The U.S. open has gotten to be a very wonderfully experiential sporting event.

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