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Must-Have Wide Receivers | Fantasy Football Draft Picks To Target (Ep. 1652)
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- [00:00]
Ryan Warmley
This is an iHeart podcast. Fantasy Pro's fantasy football podcast is brought to you by Grainger. If you work as a maintenance manager, your facility is your home turf and your home field advantage is having a partner like Grainger. They offer trusted professional grade products for every industry from lighting and electrical to safety and everything in between, plus next day delivery. Which is why they always come through in the clutch. Trust just like you. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done. Hello everybody. Welcome into Fantasy Pros. I am Ryan Warmley, joined by Andrew Erickson and Jake Seeley from the Athletic. We are talking in this video about some must have wide receivers this draft season. We are into draft season fellas. These are the receivers that we are targeting based on where they are going in drafts. We going to do wide receivers that you need to leave your draft with. Kind of guys that we are really, really targeting and then also guys that are kind of ADP climbers that are starting to move up. There's some helium with them in rankings that we are willing to still reach for even as their value goes up. So we'll give you one of each of those in those categories. Erickson, let's start with you. Who is the wide receiver that you need to leave your draft with?
- [01:15]
Andrew Erickson
So I'm going to start with Jalen Waddle as my wide receiver that you need to leave your draft with. The vibes out of Miami are much pro Waddle and not necessarily pro Tyreek Hill. You think about the factor of his quarterback, talking about how Terry Kill needs to rebuild his relationship with him and the offense and all of his teammates after last year's outburst when he basically quit on the team. Whereas Jalen Waddle is being praised for being really consistent, taking on a larger leadership role in this offense and for the Miami Dolphins as a potential captain candidate. So I just think this is the year where Waddle gets back to what we saw the first two years of his NFL career where he was essentially a fantasy wide receiver. One doing it in different ways. His rookie year he did it through volume. The second year it was through efficiency. We've seen him be really efficient in this Mike McDaniel offense with Tua Tunnel Viola as his quarterback. So I'm just buying in onto the fact that Waddle can be the Dolphins number one wide receiver this year and not be Tyree Kill because we've seen Tyree Kill last year. It fell off a little bit his efficiency because of the offense. But I just think that I'd rather bet on the 26 year old who started his career with three straight 1000 yard yard seasons attached to his former college quarterback and NFL quarterback he's played a number of seasons with. I think that we're going to see Waddle take on that focal point and I got more confidence betting on Jalen Waddle after they trade away John who Smith Again that's 111 vacated targets from this offense. It opens up another option that they can go to underneath. Waddle doesn't have to just be stuck in a vertical roll which is what happened last year where he wasn't seeing enough volum with John who gone. It also opens up opportunities in the red zone. Johnny Smith led the Dolphins and targets inside the 10 yard line last season. So that gives an opportunity for Jalen Waddle to see more red zone opportunities and score more touchdowns. And Waddle, don't forget he finished the end of last season really strong. Nine plus target in three of his last four games. 299 yard outings over 13 points per game over that span. So Jalen Waddle going outside the top 30 wide receivers in ADP. I'm just going to bet on the talent 26 years old and bet on the downfall of Tyree Kill to continue and that's going to benefit Waddle the most.
- [03:20]
Ryan Warmley
Jake, what do you think about Waddle? This is somebody that I'm not surprised Erickson picked just because he has been a big Waddle fan for a number of years in a row. I don't know that I've talked to you as much about him. What do you make of Waddle this year?
- [03:31]
Jake Seeley
Yeah. And the Waddle talent? Undeniable. The potential in this offense, Undeniable. But I will say the third thing that's undeniable is the risk and it's the risk of injury with TUA and Waddle. And the Waddle one is starting to get annoying just because it's multip is multiple legs, multiple situations where it's like oh my God is this going to keep happening but we're not paying that top 20 cost like we were last year or the year before. Even like oh my God. Because we know Waddle has wide receiver top 15 potential. If everything is right, it's just because of the cost that it is. Yeah, I'm 100% willing to invest. My concern would be if he gets kind of more closer to the top 2025 just because if Tua is out there's going to be a drop off across the board, as we've seen, if Waddle is hurt again, does it. And it's kind of like the Waddle's kind of getting down that Julio route is like, even if he plays, does he play the full game one, two, is it even 100% waddle? Because he's playing through something yet again. But at this price, for somebody that if you were talking about in the wide receiver 30s who has a top 20 ceiling, he's one of the first names I bring up.
- [04:42]
Ryan Warmley
Jake, let's stick with you. Who's the wide receiver you need to leave your draft with?
- [04:45]
Jake Seeley
Calvin Ridley. I have so much Calvin Ridley. I'm going to continue to have so much Calvin Ridley until Calvin Ridley, as I said his name for the fourth time, his name hits the top 20 in ADP, which it might happen because finally enough people are starting to talk about him. I brought up this tweet. I tweeted it out a couple weeks ago or X'd it out, whatever the heck you want to call it. I put it out a few weeks ago. 120 targets last year was a top 30 wide receiver with what we're arguing against the Saints and the Browns and miserable quarterback play last year. Miserable, miserable quarterback play, mind you, he had. You want to know how many end zone targets? One. He had four red zone targets and one Enzo target last year. And he was a top 30 wide receiver on 120 targets. And now you get Cam Ward, who everybody's glowing about what he's been looking like in the preseason. We saw his first game, preseason action, but it's the same Cam Ward we saw from college, which is somebody who's going to throw the ball down, downfield. We're talking about double digit, not only yards per attempt, yards per completion. And I know college is different than the NFL, but it's the Cam Ward's ability to hit the short to intermediate and also deep. Biggest plays that we've seen so far in the preseason from Cam Ward. One of them, from Cam Ward to Calvin Ridley, like, I just don't understand why there's not more excitement when everybody always wants to talk about. And we did the other show and Erickson brought this up from last year is like, well, the. The rookie quarterback's going to improve. Terry McLaurin, the rookie quarterback's going to improve. Cortland Sutton. The rookie quarterback is going to improve Calvin Ridley. Why are we not talking about the same guy? So I just think that you're looking at what Calvin Ridley could do way back in the day. With the Falcons and checkbox potential top 20, top 15 even this year he is going to be those names that Erickson brought up and I love because he stole it from me. But those were the two names. I was going to say the same thing if we saw it happen last year. Who is the name that stands out this year is it happening for? And it's Calvin Ridley.
- [06:36]
Ryan Warmley
I could not love Calvin Ridley more at his current cost. Erickson, I know you like Ridley as well. Like we just did an episode about wide receiver tiers and we talked about how he was a tier 2 low. He is moving up a little but he's still outside the top 30 receivers. That is just like frankly incorrect in my opinion. So really I think is an awesome call here. Erickson, do you want to weigh in any any more or do you just agree with Jake?
- [06:59]
Andrew Erickson
No, I mean I pretty much agree all the way with Jake. Calvin really has just been one of the best value wide receivers on the board and something that I was looking are thinking about with Calvin Ridley and Jake talked about how the price that would be the only thing that would kind of stop him if it got too expensive. And I think there's an opportunity with Calvin Ridley because I'm always looking at some of these early season schedules. The Tennessee Titans play at Denver in week one. That's it's a pretty bad matchup for Calvin Ridley. So if you don't draft Calvin Ridley, I can guarantee he's going to be the number one guy you should trade for after week one after he bombs against the Denver Broncos. I'm doing it. Why don't we do the trade show together? I'm telling you right now, Calvin Ridley's probably my number one buy low because he's probably going to have a terrible week against the Broncos on the road. Rookie quarterback again. But if you expect him to do bad, then it makes it really easy to then oh yeah, Calvin really. I guess he wasn't the guy that was going to be that good. All right, just go buy him week two. You know who he plays. The Rams inside in a dome. Bad secondary.
- [07:54]
Jake Seeley
Oh, by the way, you want to keep going.
- [07:55]
Andrew Erickson
Doesn't get that easy.
- [07:56]
Jake Seeley
Colts, Texans, Cardinals, Raiders. Like it doesn't really get that bad. I will say on the flip side, Erickson, could you imagine if he comes out week one with 100 and a touchdown against the Broncos? Door closed.
- [08:09]
Ryan Warmley
Yeah, we should just tape that Calvin Ridley segment right now and see if it holds over it on the show and we like dub in you just saying whatever his actual stat line is against the Broncos.
- [08:23]
Jake Seeley
No, you should make it really obvious. You should do it and then have me dub in the actual stat line.
- [08:27]
Ryan Warmley
Like. Like, not even close.
- [08:29]
Andrew Erickson
I'll say. I'll say against the Broncos he goes 2 for 24.
- [08:32]
Ryan Warmley
Okay.
- [08:33]
Jake Seeley
Oh wow. Your official prediction? I'm gonna put it right now, I'm gonna say three for 51.
- [08:39]
Ryan Warmley
Okay everybody in the comments, let us know what you think Calvin Ridley stat line is going to be against the Broncos and Week one Are you tired of your top players getting injured or not performing well? Lucky for you, Fantasy Pros Teamed up with Renegade Fantasy the only fantasy football app where you can sub in a player in real time. This means no more stress, no more points lost to injuries or even poor performance. With the Renegade Fantasy app, you can step down from the luxury box and become a real time coach. Join the Fantasy Pros League on the Renegade Fantasy Football App, Win your season and score $10,000 in cash. Are you ready to take your fantasy team to the next level? Join the Fantasy Pros League on the Renegade Fantasy App today. Go to fantasypros.renegade fantasy.com Think of Klarna as your go to MVP not for your fantasy lineup, but for everyday spending. Inside the Klarna app, you can track purchases, compare prices, earn cash back, and choose to pay now or later with no interest. When you pay on time, it's not about spending more. It's about shopping smarter, stretching your budget, and staying fully in control. Klarna helps you make thoughtful, real world decisions that work for your life. Download the Klarna app or head to klarna.com to learn more. CA resident loans made or arranged pursuant to a California Finance Law License NMLS Number 1353190 Klarna Balance Account Required Klarna may get a commission. Limitations, terms and conditions apply. If you're an inventory specialist in a warehouse, Grainger knows you've probably faced a situation like this before. Your forklift, your facility's workhorse, is leaking hydraulic fluid and with the full schedule of shipments on the docket, this has the potential to cause a major delay of game. But you're not worried. You've prepared for this type of situation and you have an ace in the hole. Grainger Grainger offers professional grade products for every industry, from hydraulic oils and hoses to so much more, plus next day delivery. So you can be confident that you'll have the product you need on hand to fix that forklift and get it back in the game. Call 1-800-granger. Click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
- [10:43]
Unknown
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- [11:49]
Ryan Warmley
We are willing to reach for even as they are rising up in the rankings. Erickson, who do you have?
- [11:54]
Andrew Erickson
Tetarell McMillan, wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers. He looked pretty good in the preseason game, made a nice over the shoulder catch on the sideline of he did drop a touchdown as well in the red zone. But I think that most people took away from that game that oh McMillan looks like legit deal. Top 10 overall pick at wide receiver for the Panthers. I just think that Bryce Young has shown last two seasons even though he's been bad as a real life fantasy quarterback for the majority of that time he's been shown that he can support a fantasy viable weapon. Adam Phelan as a I think he was 34 years old was looking at 100 catches over a thousand receiving yards during Bryce Young's rookie season last year. The wide receiver one between Deontay Johnson and Adam Thielen was pacing for over 1100 yards on a 17 game sample size with a 33% first read target Share this is my long way of saying that Dave Canales, when he's had a wide receiver one in his offense, that guy has been really good for fantasy purposes whoever that player is. And I know that it's changed between whether it's the slot guy or the guy in the X. I just think that the way They've talked about McMillan, the way they've deployed him. He's a full time player. What we saw in the preseason that he's just going to be their alpha in this passing game. There's a reason why a team that needed defense so badly still elected to draft Tetro McMillan 8th overall despite all their needs on the defensive side of the football. And if you just look at top 10 wide receivers overall over the last four seasons, they've averaged 80 catches, 1050 receiving yards and 6.3 touchdowns as rookies. If you extrapolate that or over a half PPR fantasy production, that's back end or that's wide receiver two territory. So when you can get him at the end of that wide receiver too, you're getting him I think closer to his floor as a top 10 overall pick versus the ceiling, which again, if he hits in a big way, he could have a Malik Neighbors Brian Thomas Jr. Esque rookie year. And, and that's why I want to make the bet on him and willing to chase him up the board because I think of the upside.
- [13:48]
Ryan Warmley
Ted is somebody that we talked about in that wide receiver tears episode, Jake. So I know that you're not quite as high on him as Ericsson and I are because I'm fully in agreement with Erickson on, on tap McMillan. But you can still see the upside case here.
- [14:01]
Jake Seeley
Yeah, it's funny because he said that and I actually the projections that I have for him is around 80 and around 1050 and right around six touchdowns, which is kind of right in that range. But like I think my concern more is it's not McMillan and I do think there is upside for more than that as somebody who does believe in Bryce Young and the potential he has. But I think that I'm associating a little bit more risk that what if Bryce Young isn't better? What if Bryce Young reverts back a little bit? What if Bryce Young just continues to struggle and have inconsistencies in the NFL and even so, still having him for those numbers. It's the names in front of McMillan. Like I have no problem with him and I have no problem at his current cost. But like the question being more of like continues to rise. I'd probably be out just because it's hard for me to draft McMillan in front of the names that are going in front of them. Like a Cortland Sutton, like the other names we mentioned. The other more like DJ Moores and even Xavier Worthy, assuming this is suspension is what happens. And down the list from there, like just brought up my name so I think that's more of my issue than McMillan in his own right. It's just the names that are directly in front of him.
- [15:06]
Ryan Warmley
When we think about ADP climbers, Jake, who's the first guy that stands out for you.
- [15:11]
Jake Seeley
And he's going to continue to climb as things continue to happen with Juwan Jennings. But that's Ricky Pearsall. There's been a lot of talk, both positive and negative, about Pearsall's rookie season from the fact that he didn't do anything till the end. But I mean, we're also talking about somebody who's coming off a gunshot, similarly to Brian, Brian Robinson at running back, and that's going to be a factor. But just talk about Pearsall as a talent is. I think that Pearsall has some similarities to Darius Slayton, but I think he's better in the short to intermediate game than Slayton is. And that's the upside for him where if he can be even the number two, I think the number two has enough upside. And the fact that I'm concerned that Brandon Iuk comes back and even if Jenny is on the field, Jennings is killed, is killed, like that's. That he's the one that loses the job to Iuk and not Pearsall. Pearsall stays on the field no matter what. So that's why I'm drafting Pierce. So that's why I'm going to continue to see him on my teams as it rises. But if it gets into the top 30, I think that would be too much at that point because I still think the real answer here is that we talked about it on other shows. It's George Kittle. George Kittle is the answer, but after George Kittle, I want a hell of a lot of Ricky Piercel. And if the. If the price continues to go up on Piercel, well, then I'll just pivot to Debo that I think formerly on this team. I think a lot of the season was lost to injury and you had 200 targets after Terry McLaurin, not including Zach Ertz going to Jabroni wide receivers last year. And if Deebo is anything close to 100% and he even gets 130 of those 200 targets, then I think Debo is looking like a potential top 35 wide receiver once again. It's been a while since we've seen that.
- [16:46]
Ryan Warmley
Erickson, what do you think?
- [16:49]
Andrew Erickson
Yeah, I like Ricky Piersall a lot. I think that when you look at the price, it's just. I don't see a reason why you don't always take him in every draft you're in because he goes so late. But the upside case for him is so clear as a player entering his second season and last year, given the circumstances, I think that he almost exceeded expectations for a player that suffered a gunshot wound in the end of August where he misses basically all of like the the ramp up period. He's missing months of the season and he still was able to show out at the end of the year for the 49ers and there's just so much opportunity in this offense without Debo Samuel with Brand coming back from the ACL injury which Juan Jennings dealing with a calf injury and dealing with his trade request and all by all accounts the training from training camp from the 49ers it's been that Pearsall has been the guy for Brock Purdy and they've been able to build a lot of chemistry that they weren't able to build last year because Pearsall was recovering from a gunshot wound. So he wasn't out there and also dealing with some hamstring injuries. So I think that he's a really easy click. He's just going too cheap and there's a really easy path for upside for him.
- [17:50]
Ryan Warmley
Draft Assistant connects directly to your draft and provides both real time pick suggestions and estimations on which players might get taken before your next pick. Draft Assistant fully integrates your customized cheat sheets and suggests picks based on your rankings, team build, ADP and other issue factors, allowing it to highlight your must have targets before you get sniped. Dominate your draft in real time without the guesswork with draft assistantantasyprose.com assistant or on the Fantasy Pros app. Try it for free during your draft by claiming your three day trial of fantasy pros premium@fantasypros.com premium guys, we'll go ahead and wrap things up there for Erickson and Jake and Jake's video issues. I'm Ryan Wormley. Thanks for tuning in. We'll see you next time. Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on apple podcasts@fantasypros.com review or on Spotify. Follow us on X, Instagram and TikTok at fantasypros and subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube.com fantasypros. Think of Klarna as your go to MVP not for your fantasy lineup, but for everyday spending. Inside the Klarna app, you can track purchases, compare prices, earn cash back and choose to pay now or later with no interest. When you pay on time, it's not about spending more, it's about shopping smarter, stretching your budget and staying fully in control. Klarna helps you make thoughtful, real world decisions that work for your life. Download the Klarna app or head to klarna.com to learn more. CA resident loans made or arranged pursuant to a California Finance Law License NMLS number 1353190 Klarna balance account required. Klarna may get a commission. Limitations, terms and conditions apply.
- [19:53]
Ryan Seacrest
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- [20:23]
Andrew Erickson
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- [20:38]
Ryan Warmley
This is an iHeart podcast.