FantasyPros - Does Christian McCaffrey Belong In The 1st Round? | PPR Mock Draft (Ep. 1609)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Episode 1609: "FantasyPros - Does Christian McCaffrey Belong In The 1st Round? | PPR Mock Draft"

Release Date: July 13, 2025

In Episode 1609 of "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," hosted by Joe P. Zapia along with fantasy football enthusiasts Andrew Erickson, Derek Brown (Dbro), and Scott Bogman, the team delves into a comprehensive PPR (Points Per Reception) mock draft. The central theme revolves around the strategic placement of Christian McCaffrey—whether he deserves a coveted first-round selection. The episode is rich with draft strategies, player evaluations, and lively banter among the participants.

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1. Introduction and Mock Draft Setup [00:00 – 02:05]

The episode kicks off with a brief advertisement for FishingBooker.com before transitioning to Joe P. Zapia introducing the fantasy football mock draft session. Joe announces the participants and outlines the structure of the draft:

• Format: PPR Mock Draft
• Team Composition: 1 Quarterback, 2 Running Backs, 3 Wide Receivers, 1 Tight End, 1 Flex Spot, and 6 Bench Players.

Notable Quote:

• Joe P. Zapia: "It's time for another mock draft. That's right, we are flexing our muscles, getting in training for the 2025 fantasy football season."

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2. Early Round Selections and Strategies [02:06 – 08:14]

Round 1:

• Scott Bogman (#1 Pick): Selects Ja'Marr Chase.
  • Scott Bogman [02:06]: "He's paired with one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Joe Burrow. They still have no defense. He's coming off his best season."

Subsequent Picks:

• Joe P. Zapia (#6): Chooses Justin Jefferson.
• Derek Brown (#9): Opts for Christian McCaffrey.
  • Joe P. Zapia [04:18]: "The one strategy you should absolutely enact before, as Bogman is on the precipice of making his first selection here, is to make sure that you like this video."

Discussion Point: The group debates the merits of drafting Christian McCaffrey in the first round, considering his PPR potential amidst injury concerns.

Notable Quote:

• Joe P. Zapia [04:43]: "The question is, can those legs hold up PPR?"

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3. Mid-Round Maneuvers and Player Evaluations [08:15 – 20:31]

Round Strategies:

• Derek Brown: Emphasizes the value of securing running backs early, citing A.J. Brown and Puka Nuku.
• Scott Bogman: Focuses on high-floor players like Derrick Henry and Jonathan Taylor in the second round.
  • Scott Bogman [08:27]: "I did like getting Derrick Henry, of course, just so many touchdowns, even in a PPR league."

Team Dynamics:

• Derek Brown: Utilizes a balanced approach, blending running backs and wide receivers to maximize PPR scoring.
• Scott Bogman: Builds a receiver-heavy team with strong tight ends, including George Kittle.
  • Scott Bogman [12:30]: "Marvin Harrison Jr. obviously he hasn't missed any gym days. We know this offseason. Marvin Harrison Jr., a guy was going last Year around the turn."

Notable Discussions: The participants analyze player performances from the previous season, potential breakout candidates, and optimal drafting sequences to build competitive teams.

Quotes:

• Derek Brown [07:00]: "I like his upside in these Eagles passing game. I think it's going to be a little bit more reliant on the pass in 2025 than in 2024."
• Scott Bogman [12:30]: "I think this is a very good value, so I'm getting an RB one in round four."

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4. Late-Round Selections and Depth Building [20:32 – 40:00]

As the mock draft progresses into the mid to late rounds, the focus shifts to building depth and addressing potential bench spots.

Key Picks:

• Joe P. Zapia: Secures Baker Mayfield in the later rounds as a high-value quarterback.

  • Joe P. Zapia [55:11]: "I like Baker Mayfield in this spot here and I know without the draft intel that rather than fight over Justin Fields in the next round or so, I might as well just take Baker Mayfield with the value here."

• Scott Bogman: Adds depth with tight ends like Travis Kelce, despite concerns about his durability.

  • Scott Bogman [25:36]: "I think that could be a career season for a guy that has not slowed down at all."

Strategic Insights: Participants discuss the importance of balancing high-floor and high-upside players, managing positional runs, and anticipating other drafters' moves.

Quotes:

• Andrew Erickson [06:36]: "I like a lot of these guys still. A.J. Brown, lad McConkey."
• Scott Bogman [25:36]: "I don't believe a single word that comes out of the NERS camp about Christian McCaffrey ever again."

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5. Post-Draft Team Analysis and Feedback [40:01 – 58:52]

After completing the mock draft, the participants review and critique each other's team compositions, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement.

Scott Bogman's Team:

• Strengths: Strong wide receiver depth with Ja'Marr Chase, DJ Moore, and DeVonta Smith. Dominant running back with Derrick Henry.
• Weaknesses: Concerns about Christian McCaffrey's injury history and Travis Kelce's age.
  • Scott Bogman [43:29]: "I do think a little of that appeal that piece of P had talked about with Fields is going away."

Derek Brown's Team:

• Strengths: Balanced roster with solid mid-round running backs and versatile wide receivers.
• Weaknesses: Lack of a single high-impact player compared to Bogman's team.
  • Derek Brown [45:06]: "I probably would have much rather just taken Dave Montgomery, Quinton, Sean Judkins instead of Fields."

Andrew Erickson's Team:

• Strengths: High-upside picks like Jalen Waddle and Calvin Ridley.
• Weaknesses: Reliance on uncertain performers like Bo Nix and Deontay Johnson.
  • Andrew Erickson [48:33]: "What happens is, I think Price enforcing, especially in Lee, where it's like, it's PPR. So David Montgomery, you know, perception wise is a little lower and goes, well, he doesn't catch the ball, whatever."

Joe P. Zapia's Team:

• Strengths: Strong wide receiver lineup with Garrett Wilson and Terry McClure.
• Weaknesses: Middle draft position leads to challenges in avoiding positional runs.
  • Joe P. Zapia [52:41]: "I like the wide receiver depth you have on this team. It's hard not to like it."

Notable Quotes:

• Scott Bogman [43:35]: "I think Derrick Henry, there is a little risk, but I really like the way this team fell for me."
• Derek Brown [49:49]: "I think that's really because you think they're going to take a step forward, you've done the homework."

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6. Conclusion and Takeaways [58:53 – 60:04]

The episode wraps up with final thoughts on the mock draft outcomes, highlighting the differing strategies and the importance of flexibility in drafting. Joe encourages listeners to engage with the content by subscribing to the FantasyPros YouTube channel and participating in giveaways.

Final Insights:

• The debate over Christian McCaffrey's first-round value remains central, with strategies varying between securing top-tier running backs early versus building a balanced roster.
• Depth in wide receivers and running backs is emphasized as crucial for a successful PPR team.
• Participants acknowledge the unpredictability of player performances and the necessity to adapt strategies accordingly.

Notable Quote:

• Joe P. Zapia [58:52]: "If I knew that Derrick Henry would make it back to me where he did, I probably would have taken Puka instead and that would have been the change of my team."

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Key Takeaways:

• Christian McCaffrey's Value: The episode centers on whether McCaffrey deserves a first-round pick in a PPR format, weighing his potential against injury risks.
• Draft Strategies: Participants showcase diverse approaches, from focusing on high-value running backs to building strong wide receiver corps.
• Player Evaluations: In-depth analysis of players like Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Jefferson, Derrick Henry, and emerging talents like Marvin Harrison Jr. guides drafting decisions.
• Team Building: Emphasis on balancing high-floor and high-upside players, managing positional runs, and preparing for draft dynamics.

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This episode offers a comprehensive exploration of mock drafting strategies tailored for PPR leagues, providing valuable insights for fantasy football enthusiasts aiming to optimize their draft approaches for the 2025 season.

Transcript

[Joe P. Zapia]

This is an iHeart podcast. Hey guys, let me tell you about the easiest catch you'll ever make. FishingBooker.com with top rated fishing guides across the world, verified reviews, seamless booking and 247 support, FishingBooker makes it easy to plan the perfect fishing trip. So whether you're chasing trophy fish, watching your kid reel in their first catch, or just taking in the sunrise on the water, fishing Booker makes it happen. These aren't just daydreams, they're your weekend plans. Visit fishingbooker.com and book your trip today. Welcome in everybody to Fantasy Pros. This is the fantasy football podcast. It is me, Joey P. Joe P. Zapia. And it's time for another mock draft. That's right, we are flexing our muscles, getting in training the 2025 fantasy football season. And to help us today, Andrew Erickson, the undertaker, Debro, Derek Brown, the king of bros and and my favorite man in the world, Scott Bogman, the three best friends that anybody could have. We're here to get ready to get our pump on mock draft style. That's right, it's ppr. That's what we're doing today. And the only place to go to the gym to flex those muscles to get in training is of course, Draft Wizard. So if you haven't already download the app, what the hell are you waiting for? If you're looking for the ultimate cheat code to make sure that you're dominating all of your leagues, well, the best way to do it is to mock draft every single day, mock multiple times a day and don't skip leg day. That's what Ericson told me. Never skip the leg day. That's, that's the one thing. And of course that's available for you right now. Wherever you want to get your apps, download that bad boy and sync your leagues for free with my playbook as well. But today you'll see we'll be using the mock draft lobby [e-mail] traftwizard so you can invite other friends to mock with you or you can just enter mock drafts as well. Again, sync your leagues for free and go to fantasypros.com mock gentlemen, we're going to have a good time today. We have got spread out here throughout the draft. We have. I'm at the sixth spot. I'm going to go try to host and draft from the middle, which is going to be difficult. Andrew's at the 9, Debro's at the 12, and number one, Scott Bogman. You're at the very Top. How does that feel, my friend? I mean, I was the last one.

[Scott Bogman]

To pick, and you jerks all clumped together at the back end. So I was like, let me just get as far away from these clowns as I can. I think that's the best strategy for me.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Clumped together. It's not like we're 8, 9, 10. I don't. I don't understand what you're talking.

[Scott Bogman]

6912. Give me five spots away from these guys.

[Joe P. Zapia]

All right. Boy, oh, boy. Dbro, I think those are fighting words. What do you think? Oh, he's cracking the knuckles.

[Andrew Erickson]

I'm ready.

[Joe P. Zapia]

I hope you can hear that on the audio version of the show. Andrew Ericson. Speaking of leg day, what are you squatting these days? Out. Carry on.

[Derek Brown]

You can't spell legendary without leg day.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Immediate.

[Andrew Erickson]

He doesn't want to answer.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Asking this question. That was. I mean, if I let you talk the rest of the show, it'll be a miracle. I can tell you after that. All right, again today, we have one quarterback, two running backs, three wides, a tight end, and we've also got a flex spot, six benches. That's how we're rolling today. So again, full PPR style. So we'll see what the different strategies we're going to enact. But. But the one strategy you should absolutely enact before, as Bogman is on the precipice of making his first selection here, is to make sure that you like this video. Subscribe to The Fantasy Pros YouTube feed and drop your comments below. Because we are giving away a James Cook Bill's jersey. That's right. We are giving that away to you from pristineauction.com all you have to do is subscribe to Fantasy Bros YouTube channel right now. Drop your comments again, like this video. That certainly will help your chances. And we'll be announcing the winner right here on the channel, so turn on those notifications. So, you know, every time a new video is up, you never miss a piece of content. And a James Cook Bill's jersey can be yours. All right, Boggs, the whole draft is yours. And you selected whom?

[Scott Bogman]

Jamar Chase. I mean, I don't love taking a bangle there as a Steelers fan, but you have to. He's paired with one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Joe Burrow. They still have no defense. He's coming off his best season. It's Jamar Chase, number one with a bullet here.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Okay, so Jamar Chase off the board. The rest of the draft continues on Bijon, CD Lamb, Malik Neighbors, Justin Jefferson. It's the second draft in a row where Jefferson almost made it to, like, the fifth and sixth spot.

[Scott Bogman]

Interesting.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Very interesting. I took Jir Gibbs at 106, Puka Nukua goes at 107, Saquon Barkley at 108. And then Mr. Legday, you took somebody who I don't think skips leg day very regularly. It's Christian McCaffrey. The question is, can those legs hold up PPR? You can't do leg day. Yeah. You passed on Aman Ra on Brian Thomas to take the running back. Erickson, walk us through here.

[Derek Brown]

Well, a lot of it has to do with I like the running backs more that I can get at this pick than the receivers, so. Or I like the receivers more I can get in round two. So when I come back to my pick here at the 204, I'm looking at the receivers here still available on the board, and I like a lot of these guys still. AJ Brown, lad McConkey. So some other guys in the back end of that top 12 that I still feel really good about, maybe they don't have a wide receiver one overall finishes in their range of outcomes. But again, Drake London I think would also fall here in most drafts that DBRO's not in. So that's something else to kind of consider as well. So I just like the combo of running back first and then receiver in round two versus the other way around. So for me, it's, I can double tap Christian McCaffrey and then go with a guy like A.J. brown in round two.

[Joe P. Zapia]

And you have a clever team name today, I believe, too. What's your team name that you're going with today?

[Derek Brown]

This is courtesy of the Fantasy Pros name team name generator. And it's. I think I pulled McAf, so also staying on brand with Christian McCaffrey as my first round to make sure that.

[Joe P. Zapia]

That was out there. Since you drafted McCaffrey, team 10 selects. I'm on raw. And then Brian Thomas Jr. Dart Vader, aka Derrick Brown at the end of his rounds here at 112 and 201, you went double tap and wide receiver. Let's talk about it.

[Andrew Erickson]

Well, of all, shout out to Andrew Erickson for the Star wars name article. Yearly pulled my name directly from there. And second of all, man, we're starting in this league with three wide receivers. I love the back end of the first round. Why I picked the turn because there's just a litany of players there that have very close to first Round profiles where we could see top five upside. So going two wide receivers here, I mean Nico Collins and Drake London both definitively have that upside in them to be top five wide receivers. So where we're starting three wide receivers, going two right here. I like a lot of the running backs I can get action with with rounds three to five. So I'm just waiting on the position.

[Joe P. Zapia]

I didn't need a name generator. I just came up with a clever one all myself. Mine is Kenny Pickett. Yes, he can. Which is a little throwback to the old school days. A little bit of old school hip hop for you, for the fans out there. Let's go with Josh Jacobs, a 202. Ashton Gentia 203. And then you said it. Andrew, you like the wide receivers. A.J. brown was a guy who got a 204.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah.

[Derek Brown]

So I like his upside in these Eagles passing game. I think it's going to be a little bit more reliant on the pass in 2025 than in 2024 where they were able to really establish a run with Saquon, play with leads. I think they throw the ball a little bit more and I think that benefits A.J. brown, who is the alpha in this passing attack.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Okay, there you go. Very nice situation there. Let's move on to the next couple picks. Devon HN at 205. Brock Bowers a 200, 206. I took Garrett Wilson at 207 there last year. Last time I checked, this is a guy that everybody was coveting and couldn't talk nicer about. Now it's like everyone's forgotten about him. He was still wide receiver 10 last year. He had 101 receptions, 1104 yards. I know Justin Fields is there now, but sounds like he and Justin Fields don't have a history together. So I feel very comfortable with this selection here as my number one. And I will back it up, I'm sure. With another wide receiver in the third round. Trey McBride goes a 208. Jackson Smith and Jigba, 209. Tyree kill at 210. Lad Monkey at 211. And then Scott Bogman, the pick after my own heart. Derrick Henry at the end of the 12th. Excuse me, the second round. What an incredible 212 value. And then another RB classic bogman. Jonathan Taylor. How do you feel about Henry Taylor Chase so far I like it.

[Scott Bogman]

But I'll say this, that where I took Derrick Henry, I did not expect him to fall back. So he's kind of like an insta pick But I wanted my other pick to come out of the group of Wilson, JSN, McConkey and McBride.

[Joe P. Zapia]

And.

[Scott Bogman]

And all four of them went when it was just on you with five picks left. So that was a little bit of a brutal turn. But I do like getting Derrick Henry, of course, just so many touchdowns, even in a PPR league. And then JT still average the fifth most points per game last season at running back. So I like that double tap right there.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Yeah. Also, I'm sure Bogman loves starting off his team with a Bengal and a Raven. Oh, just classic Bogman here. Bucky Irving.

[Scott Bogman]

Next thing you know, I'm going to draft Aaron Rodgers.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Well, time left. Bucky Irving at 302, Chase Brown at 303, T. Higgins at 304, Lamar at 305. Then I took Terry McLaurin at 306. So I took two wide receiver ones on their team. Terry McLaurin, again, some. Everyone every year finds a reason not to like Terry McClure. And every year I find a reason to draft him on my team. And every year I'm happy about it. Even if there's even a little bit of regression for Jaden Daniels in year two, a little sophomore slump, I still think Terry McClure is far and away the man there. So I feel really good so far. How this looks. Josh Allen at 307. Devonte Adams. He was the one I was going back and forth on. Instead I took Terry McLaurin. Breece hall goes to Andrew Erickson at 309, your number two running back behind McCaffrey. So let's talk about what we think 2025 looks like with this new regime and Breeze Hall. Andrew.

[Derek Brown]

Well, I expect that Breeze hall is going to get a decent amount of volume. An offense that expects to be pretty reliant on the run. Justin Fields leading the way. I think that's going to help Breece hall and his efficiency. And I've kind of come around a little bit more on Breece Hall. Really? I was kind of concerned about what kind of target share he could see in an offense with Justin Fields. But as I've done more digging, I've kind of realized that Justin Fields also is kind of off to check the ball down a decent amount. And when you look at just the weapons in the jets passing game, Garrett Wilson's clearly the number one. And then it's Josh Reynolds and Mason Taylor and Al Lazar I think is still on the team. So even if Justin Fields doesn't project as a quarterback necessarily because he's mobile to throw the ball to the running back. I think that given this situation and the fact that they want to feature Breeze hall, he's playing in a contract year. I think he's really motivated this season. So I've come around more on Breece hall and getting him in round three. For a player that we were taking at least I was taking inside the top five last year and I think he played through injuries in the second half of last season. So I think it's a big year for Breeze hall and we know that he's a three down skill set.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Rushy Rice goes to 310. Team 11 selects Kyron Williams and then Debro. You're up for the end of the third, beginning of the fourth and you stayed on brand with your boy George Kittle and then Ken Walker to start the fourth round. Give me the lowdown here about this team build. Obviously just the one running back here is a ppr. So what's the plan to make up ground and what do you think about these two selections here you just made?

[Andrew Erickson]

I mean Kittle, we're, we're drafting the tight end one last year as the tight end three. I understand a lot of the reasons why but this is why you don't have to pay up for McBride or Bowers early because you can get George Kittle later. And as high as I am on Ricky Pierce all this year and everybody loves Juwan Jennings, he's still a 27 year old 4th year breakout Piersol, does he take the leap? Brandon Auk, what health and effectiveness do we get this year? All these roads lead back to George Kittle and so this could be a career season for a guy that has not slowed down at all. Any efficiency metric that you look at. And then Ken Walker I can draft an RB1 in points per game last year in round four. This is why you could start wide receiver heavy early and Ken Walker is going to be in this Kubiak running game scheme. The offensive line can't play worse than they did last year. And Ken Walker, he coffin nailed everybody that said he couldn't catch passes last year. So getting him at this spot, I mean I'm getting an RB one in round four.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Okay, can't argue with that here. All right, next up is Joe Burrow at 402 followed by Mike Evans at 403. Marvin Harrison Jr. To Andrew Erickson. So Harrison obviously he hasn't missed any gym days. We know this off season. My goodness. Marvin Harrison Jr. A guy was going last Year around the turn. This year you get him in the fourth round, that's a pretty good value.

[Derek Brown]

Andrew yeah, I'm just betting on a player taking a leap and getting better in year two. I think that last year it was out of control where he was going in adp and I think this year it's really palatable in round four, Year two, we see guys make the jump every single year. Year two is very common for wide receiver breakouts and Marvin Harrison Jr. Again wasn't perfect his rookie year, but there's still a lot of things that you can look at and say, hey, that's a positive. You know, he didn't have he I believe he had one drop and it was in the first game of the season against the Buffalo Bills where he was basically a non factor and cool stat. About the Cardinals, they play 13 games indoors, most of any NFL team next year, so I think shootouts are coming. So I like Marvin Harrison Jr. To take the step in year two.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Jaden Daniels at 405, Cortland Sutton at 406, then Alvin Camara at 407 in a PPR. To me I couldn't say no. Was my RB too. Oh look, I think the Saints are going to be awful, but Alvin Camara basically is that offense. So at 407 I'll take him as my second running back. Him and Jameer Gibbs. That's a lot of receptions at the running back position. James Cook goes next at 408. It was back and forth on him, but I went with Camara for the PPR format. Joe Mixon, then Jalen Hurts, Xavier Worthy and then Scott Bogman, you double tap wide receiver. Let's talk about DJ Moore and DeVonta Smith.

[Scott Bogman]

Yeah, I was super happy to get two high floor players here this round. It kind of made up for the turn that I missed with Wilson Ladd and JSN to me after I got the two good running backs. So adding D.J. moore, I know a lot of people are afraid of this Bears scenario and who is going to end up taking a back seat and a lot of people think that maybe it's DJ Moore because he's a little bit older, but I just think the floor is so incredibly high. He's the one guy that I don't worry about in that offense at all to me is DJ Moore and then Devonte Smith just has an insanely high floor. I understand that, you know they're going to run the ball a ton, run first team, best offensive line in football, all of that. But Devonte Smith, it's just such a good player with such a high floor. He's not a good swing player. He's. He doesn't usually have those crazy output weeks. But as a number three, I think the floor is insane here with Chase, Devonte Smith and DJ Moore. I really like it.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Next up here we have Chuba Hubbard at 502. Incredible value there. DK Metcalf to 503, Omari and Hampton, then Tet McMillan to me. I took Zay Flowers as my third wide receiver, then James Connor, Travis Hunter, Jalen Waddle, Andrew Erickson, you keep talking about Jalen Waddle. When last we left John who split Smith was still there. The last show that we did together on a mock draft, he is no longer there. So let's talk about how that impacts Jaylen Waddle's potential 2025 target share.

[Derek Brown]

I just think that it makes it more likely that Jaylen Waddle now becomes back to a focal point of the Dolphins passing game. Last year it was really focused on Achan and Johnny Smith especially underneath to kind of mitigate the issues across the offensive line. I think that they're saying, hey, we want to get back to Jalen Waddle and with all the nonsense going around with Terry Killed off the field and does he want to be there and he said he's saying all the right things now. But you know this team paid Jaylen Waddle in the long term. Like they signed him a contract last season. So if they're really looking for somebody to step up in this offense, it would be the 26 year old Jalen Waddle, not the 31 year old Tyreek Hill. And three straight 1000 yard seasons to start his career. He's shown that he can win in multiple ways. He was a volume monster in year one, efficiency monster in year two, and he's had success with TUA dating back to their time spent at Alabama. So I like betting on good players. I think Waddle's still a good player and if he's healthy, I think that he's going to drastically beat his adp.

[Joe P. Zapia]

All right, after Jaylen Waddle, Chris Godwin goes, then Chris Olave and then Darth Vader. Derek Brown decides to continue to pound the running back board. He goes with RJ Harvey and Tony Pollard. So dbro clearly, I guess we've had this discussion before off air. The JK Dobbin signing doesn't mean anything to you, does it?

[Andrew Erickson]

Nope, doesn't at all. I was always there was always going to be a running back that took anywhere from 125 to 140 carries away from RJ Harvey. So the fact that that's dobbins and not estimate, I don't care. Harvey's. Harvey's still going to get the, the money touches going to play in the passing game. I love his upside this year. And looking at Tony Pollard, he's undervalued guys. I mean, a guy that was a top 24 running back last year, he's going in the RB3 range and nothing but good things have happened around him in a situation with the offensive line. Cam Ward can elevate this offense. And the other thing about all this is I know who I'm drafting with. I don't need Draft intel to tell me what guys are going to pick. And I'm looking at this team build and I'm like, do I go wide receiver? Because I'm staring at George Pickens there. No, no, no, no. I know Scott Bogman's in here and I know Caleb Johnson's probably not going to come back to me. So again, don't need Draft intel to tell me I should have gone running back. Running back here.

[Joe P. Zapia]

But if you need Draft intel, thank goodness that Draft wizard has it and let you know what the players around you might be doing also. We'll let you know maybe the teams they're picking after you already have tight ends. So don't take a tight end here, wait another round or two and then you can make that selection. Those are the kind of pieces in the tools here of Draft wizard that's separated from every other piece of draft software out there. It's the best in the business by a wide margin. So don't do mock drafts anywhere else. Do it here. And while you're at it, you know it is summertime. It's getting hot out there. Maybe watch a little baseball. Maybe on our MLB channel with me in the Welsh. The simplest way to get in on the action with us is to download the Pick Six app from DraftKings. It's very simple. You just pick more or less on the stat lines for two or more of your favorite players or your least favorite players. I don't care. Whatever you want to do. And boom, just like that, you're in the mix for big cash prizes. No gimmicks, no weird rules, just ball. So nail your picks right now as the summer is heating up and and the pick six from DraftKings is the most fun way to play fantasy Sports. Download the DraftKings Pick Six app now and use that promo code. Fantasy Pros that's called Fantasy Pros. New customers can get a special sign up offer right now. Better payouts, bigger wins only with pick six from DraftKings, the crown is yours. Gambling problem call 1-800- gambler help is available for problem gambling.

[Andrew Erickson]

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[Joe P. Zapia]

Must be 18 and over. Age and eligibility restrictions vary by jurisdiction. Pick six not available everywhere, including New York and void where prohibited. For additional terms of responsible gaming resources, see pick6.draftkings.com promos if you're an inventory.

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[Joe P. Zapia]

Let's continue to crown some picks here after dbro's two selections Jameson Williams, Sam Laporta and then the fourth wide out to the Andrew Erickson squad, Calvin Ridley. So what do you expect from Ridley this year with the young kid Cam Ward at qb?

[Derek Brown]

I expect him to be a fantasy wide receiver too. I think that he's just one of the best values on the board in terms of where he goes in the outside the wide receiver 3 price range. When he had really good usage last year he commanded really high air yard share in the Callahan offense and Cam Ward just has to be better than Will Levis. I don't think that that's a such a high bar for him to have to low bar even though he's a rookie quarterback. And then you get the untapped potential of can he deliver a Shroud or Daniels type of rookie season where you're seeing a player like a Terry McLaurin like Aniko Collins take a leap. I mean Ridley when he's been healthy he's always been a top 30 fantasy wide receiver. So I think that in a full PPR getting him as a wide receiver three flex play that I can plug in during bye weeks. I think that he's a really good value where he's going.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Very good. Next up, George Pickens at 605, Jerry Judy at 606. I took Jordan Addison at 607. He is my fourth wide receiver and I feel pretty good about this. Look, I know it's a different quarterback this year. Wasn't going to be Sam Darnold this year. Now with J.J. mcCarthy under center, but still 63 receptions, 875 yards, nine touchdowns. That was good enough for wide receiver 21 last year. So it was my fourth wide out. Yeah, and I've got a lot of belief in the kid. J.J. mcCarthy. I think it might be a slow September, but by the time we hit October and the leaves start to change, I think the Vikings are going to win that division. There, I said it. Isaiah Pacheco, Aaron Jones, Travion Henderson gets past me, unfortunately. KYLER Murray at 6:11. And then as predicted, Caleb Johnson to Scott Bogman at 612. 701. Ricky Pierce, all. What's it like to stick the knife in the front and the back of Derrick Brown with these pit spots?

[Scott Bogman]

I mean, it feels outstanding, I'll tell you that much. But I mean, look, DBRO has made this comment and I'll just make it for him that Najee Harris had over 300 touches for the Steelers last season. So yeah, they may not all go to Caleb Johnson. Maybe Kenneth Gainwell gets some of them, but the majority of them are going to go to Caleb. It's been a high pick on him. I think that's a good pick this late. And then Ricky Piersoft, that's my fourth wide receiver, so that is my complete upside play. So, like taking a lot of upside because like I said before, I've got a ton of floor at wide receiver already.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Yeah, upside, floor. The balance of that is what makes for special fantasy teams. T.J. hawkinson at 702, Juwan Jennings 703. Patrick Mahomes at 704 Roma Dunes A. Then I took Baker Mayfield, who, yeah, he was the QB4 last year through 40 touchdowns. I feel like nobody cares. Nobody cares. The renaissance of Baker Mayfield has been a slow burn, but the last two years in Tampa, my God, has it been great. And I think the team around him is so good. I still think they're the class of that division. I love Baker Mayfield in this spot here and I know without the draft intel that rather than fight over Justin Fields in the next round or so, I might as well Just take Baker Mayfield with the value here. DeAndre Swift at 707. Then team eight goes Khalil Shakir. Oh, look. Justin Fields goes. What a shock to Andrew Erickson. Didn't see that coming.

[Andrew Erickson]

I love you and hate you, Ericson.

[Derek Brown]

I just again, I knew that he was going to be going flying off the board with the amount of quarterbacks that need actually at. So asked coach AI, I was like, hey, what do you think about positioning here? Should I go for one of the ones? He's like, hey, you better draft a quarterback because DBRO is breathing down your neck. Make sure you take. You're not gonna be able to take. You're not gonna be able to take him later. And immediately, once I clicked the button, I looked down at Debro's face and he looked disappointed. Which means I made the right selection.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Yes. Can we get that as emoji disappointed DBRO face on on draft wizard? I'd like to see that. I'd definitely like to see that. So after Justin Fields goes Dak Prescott. So a little QB run there. Mahomes, Fields, Dak. Lot of value in the seventh round. And I took Baker Mayfield as well. So four QBs that round. Then you have Michael Pittman. Go. So how did you pivot here, dbro? It looks like wide receiver was the plan.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, filling out the wide receiver room. I plan to take at least one wide receiver here, but with getting sniped by Erickson, I went, I double tap wide receiver. So filling out the room in a PPR setting. Jacoby Myers is going to get a ton of volume again this year. And Josh Downs, man, all we need is just competent quarterback play. When he got it from Joe Flacco last year, the guy was a top 24 wide receiver. So just banking on somebody in that quarterback room delivering good short area targets or at least catchable ones this year.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Okay, after downs, you quinch on Judkins, David Montgomery, Travis atn to you, Andrew Erickson. So atn, your third rb, it's a ppr. So I understand the thought process here on the pick, but let's be honest, here was a very disappointing season. Why can this year be different for Travis Atn with the Jags?

[Derek Brown]

He's not injured because I think that he played basically almost the entire season injured after week five when he hurt his shoulder and he was still playing and he was obviously really inefficient. I think it's a brand new offense. Liam Cohen doesn't have an allegiance to any particular running back. I think he's still trying to figure out which running back he wants to feature. Doesn't mean I can't draft Bashaw Tootin as well on this team. Again, he's a bench player for me. I want to see how this Jaguars backfield shakes out because I know that we could see a really productive player come from it. Like we saw last year with Tampa Bay, with Bucky Irving. So it's more about the price really, with etn Again, if he was more expensive, I probably wouldn't be as interested. But he's a bench player and if I realize after week one, okay, he's a backup, he doesn't have a role, I can just cut him and move on, pick somebody else off the waivers. So that's kind of why I gravitated towards him in this round.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Travis Atn at 804, then Brandon Ayuk, Debo Samuel. I took Stefan Diggs at 807. That was my fifth wide receiver. So I like the upside that Bogman was talking about earlier. David Joku at 808. Cooper cup, the Naji Hours. Jaden Reed. Then we have Bogman going tight end. I was a little surprised. Travis Kelsey and then Brian Robinson Jr. So Brian Robinson clear floor pick. I get that. Travis Kelsey at the stage in his career. Bogs, why Kelsey over, say, Andrews, Kraft or even Evan Ingram?

[Scott Bogman]

Yeah, I mean, I, I just think that Travis Kelsey had a really bad year. I think this is the, the season. He knows this is it. Empty out the full tank and look, if he's not that good, it's fine. I waited long enough to take a tight end. There's still good ones that are out there. Like you said. Evan Ingram still on the board? Well, he, I think he just went. But like John who? Tyler, Warren, Hunter, Henry. One of these guys is going to be a free agent. So I'm not too worried about if Travis Kelce doesn't work out. But if he does work out, I could be getting a value here. So like, like where I got him.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Fair enough. Good assessment. Let's move on to the next selection here at 902. Matthew Golden. Jalen Warren. Tyrone Tracy. Javante Williams. I took Mark Andrews at 906. Spoke about on the last show too, to me, is my favorite tight end value this year. Touchdown machine. 10 touchdowns in the last. Basically 10 games for him last season. Jack Zach Charbonnet, Darno Mooney. Tucker Kraft, another tight end. So it's the tight end time here. Erickson. Why Kraft over Evan Ingram?

[Derek Brown]

Yeah, this one I've been debating for a While I was really high on Evan Ingram. But then I was thinking about the last time that me and D Ro were really high on a particular tight end, Darren Waller.

[Joe P. Zapia]

And you mean rap star Darren Waller? You mean Miami Dolphin Darren Waller. That's singles.

[Derek Brown]

Talking about the Giants Darren Waller. I think it's close between the two and honestly I was kind of going back and forth, but just more research I've done with Tucker Kraft and I think that he could emerge as the number one target on this packers offense. I'm really bullish on Jordan Love bouncing back after the injury. And I just look at Kraft. He's just a really good football player. You look at last year in terms of yards after the catch per reception, he was number one among all tight ends. Number two in terms of explosive receiving rate behind only George Kittle. I think that he could be the next George Kittle, to be totally honest. Like, that's where I could see him emerging in this office. Laflor's even talked about him playing a Kelsey or Kittle type role in this packers offense, that this team doesn't want a wide receiver one. What does that mean? They want a tight end one. So Tucker Kraft I think is going to continue to send. And I think especially in half ppr, I think it's a pretty clear cut choice over Evan Ingram. But in full ppr, Ingram's catching a bunch of dump off passes. I do think it's really close.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Well, I could sense in your voice there was a lot of pain still from the Darren Waller experience. So let me offer to you instead some words of wisdom from Darren Waller himself in a classic called who Knew? Quote unquote, her perspective. You know, in life, it's time to heal. It's hard to love, it's hard to be free. It's hard to give all your soul then have your heart broken in return. But it's time. Take your time to heal. Just take your time out of here. Did this make you feel better?

[Scott Bogman]

A different show?

[Joe P. Zapia]

No, no. This is the same Walmart card.

[Scott Bogman]

I know.

[Joe P. Zapia]

This is. This is Darren Waller's.

[Derek Brown]

This is.

[Joe P. Zapia]

These are his words. Now I can't read the rest of it because it gets a little dirty here. That's on the Fantasy Bros After Dark version. Did that. Did that little sonnet make you feel better about the Darren Waller stuff in the past? Are you ready to move on now?

[Andrew Erickson]

Because of that, I feel like I got closure. Thank you, Joe.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Thank you. It's all about the journey here.

[Andrew Erickson]

It is, it is.

[Joe P. Zapia]

You know, it's it's, it's about the draft. It's not about the team. You know what I mean? It's about the journey, not the destination. Let's talk about the rest of these selections here because after Tucker Kraft, cam scatterboo goes, J.K. dobbins goes. And then Darth Vader himself selects Bo Nix at QB and Jordan Mason. So you didn't get the QB you wanted, you end up with Bo Nick. So let's talk about the pivot point from Justin Fields. Why was it Nicks and I think we all know the Jordan Mason love and understand it.

[Andrew Erickson]

Well, yeah, I mean Jordan Mason, I think he's gonna be the goal line back. And it's upside if Aaron Jones gets hurt with Knicks. I mean, dude, weeks 5 through 18, QB6 and fantasy points per game situation has done nothing but improve around him. And yes, what a difference a year makes. Boys. Last year was not very high or very kind to Bo Nix on any of these shows. And this year I'm like, yeah, that's a solid pick for fantasy.

[Joe P. Zapia]

See, I knew all that Darren Waller stuff was going to help you get in touch with your emotions. Jordan, closure. Look, I don't think any of us expected Bo Nix to have the season he did. I think the season he started with in September was what we thought was going to happen. And then to his credit and Sean Payton's credit, he got on track. So it is a very different 2025 outlook for him and the Broncos Taji Spears goes and Tank Bigsby. Keon Coleman up next for Andrew Erickson at 1,400. Erickson, real quick, let's talk about Keon Coleman here in year two.

[Scott Bogman]

That's a great pick, Erickson. I definitely don't hate you for it.

[Derek Brown]

Yeah, I got the bogman stamp of approval with Keon Coleman. I just think again, betting on second year wide receivers taking the leap. What does Keon Coleman have to do? Stay healthy? Number one. I think that we were actually seeing him start to break out during his rookie season before he injured his wrist. And the coaching staff has talked about he was never really the same when he came back, but the opportunity is there for him. He should be a starter on the perimeter attached to Josh Allen as his quarterback. And it's really Khalil Shakir, Dalton Kincaid, Elijah Moore, Joshua Palmer. You know, are these guys so elite talents that they're going to prevent Keon Coleman from breaking out? If Keon Coleman is not good, then yeah, he won't break out. But I think at this time I Want to see week one, what does he do? And if he goes out there, doesn't do anything that I can cut him and move on. But if he ends up having a larger role, if he is Josh Allen's go to guy in the red zone, I could see him really drastically beating his adp. So just betting on archetypes here with the Year two player attached to a good quarterback.

[Joe P. Zapia]

A nice, nice vocab too. Archetype. Well done. Adam Thielen, Bashel Tutin Ramandre, Stevenson to me at 1007. Then Austin Eckler, Evan Ingram at 1009, Christian Kirk at 1010, Rashad White at 1011. Bogman. You had two selections here. You went Ameka Egbuca and Jaden Blue. So Blue certainly could find his pathway there for carries in Dallas. Egbuca, would it take an injury for him or do you think that Igbuka is going to push regardless because of the talent early on in Tampa?

[Scott Bogman]

No, Emeka Igbuka is the second best wide receiver in Tampa Bay right now. I think he's better than an injured Chris Godwin. I think he's definitely better than Jalen McMillan. Way better than Jalen McMillan. So it's just, you know, an aging veteran and Mike Evans is still an absolute stud, but I think he's number two. This is a high passing offense. They said even though there's changes at oc, they're not going to change a lot of the system. So I expect this to still be pass heavy, Baker Mayfield heavy and I think Buka is going to play a big role here. So I know, I know he goes into a crowded room, but the talent is already top tier for Egg Buka.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Luther Burden at 1102, Johnny Smith, Jalen Wright, Rashid Shahid. I took Ray Davis, so just trying to build some running back depth there. I like Davis's upside there if something should happen to cook, Roshan Johnson, 1107 and Jake Ferguson. Andrew, you took Braylon Allen. So is this just a simple handcuff here or do you think they're more of a timeshare in the jets scenario with the selection?

[Derek Brown]

I think it could be both scenarios. Again, drafting Breeze Hall Round three, I'm betting on it really being him as the featured guy. But they talked about maybe mixing in Braylon Allen, Isaiah Davis, a little bit more than Breeze hall managers would probably like. So I want to wait and see around in, in week one, you know, see what happens. And if it is the Breeze hall show, then I know, okay, Allen's just a handcuff that's all he is. But if he does have a larger role in the offense, well then I have on my team as well. Maybe he can offer some standalone upside or value outside of a Breeze hall injury. So that's kind of the thought process there.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Rico Dowdle at 11:10, then Dalton Kincaid and look another QB. So some matchups. A little upside here. So maybe you don't believe in Bo Nicks as much as you said you did. Derrick Brown because you took J.J. mcCarthy and then Trey Harris right out of my queue. Good job on there. The so let's talk about these two selections of McCarthy and Harris.

[Andrew Erickson]

I mean JJ McCarthy at this point is just free upside, man. I think he's a QB one this season and if Bo Nicks doesn't have that top five top six upside, I'm taking another swing at quarterback in a fantastic situation. Like how many times we have to see in a KOC system that these guys are locked in QB1s over numerous quarterbacks and a lot of them with a lot less talent than J.J. mcCarthy. And then yeah, Trey Harris, this is all just filling out the bench with upside down considering I have a pretty balanced build for my team with the running backs and wide receiver rooms. Trey Harris baby. All day.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Interesting though. And I understand the upside of McCarthy. You make a great move for it. But when you see the the QB talent still on the board. Brock Purdy, who has had some really good seasons, obviously Justin Herbert who's not that far removed from some massive fantasy seasons. Jordan Love one year removed from QB one season and CJ Stroud who was everybody's darling. So it would seem theoretically those players would all offer more floor than J.J. mcCarthy. But in your terms looking at quarterback for you, it's just all upside.

[Andrew Erickson]

It's all upside. I mean when you get to this point in the draft I could piecemeal streaming weekly on a weekly basis like if I wanted to go Stafford or Stroud or wait until the final two picks of the draft. But for me this is strategic upside. Picks where it's like Ebonics with the rushing upside. He was QB6 last year. Can he take another step with more weapons around him? This year JJ McCarthy airdropped into a system where Sammy Darnold, yes that Sam Darnold produces the QB8 and fantasy points per game last year in weeks one through 17 if that if JJ McCarthy hits the ground running he either one of these guys could be a top five option at quarterback and I got them for pennies.

[Joe P. Zapia]

All right, interesting stuff There. Tyler Warren at 12:02, Wanda at 1203. That's a nice late PBR selection. Trey Benson for Andrew Erickson. So Erickson, year two here for Trey Benson. Year one was pretty quiet. Do you expect more noise from Benson in 2025?

[Derek Brown]

I would hope so based on the fact that I took him. I think that with James Connor, he's probably going to be the RB1 until he gets banged up. I mean, last year he stayed as healthy as he's really been since joining the Arizona Cardinals. So wouldn't bet on that happening two years in a row. And I think Trey Benson, I really liked him a lot as a prospect. We see year two guys even after down rookie seasons for running backs, like Tank Bigsby is an example. Like he was an absolute zero his rookie year and then he came back year two and really had a big season. So Trey Benson, I think that if he gets the opportunity, I think that he can take advantage of it. Cardinals office now. Stacking Cardinals, chasing those indoor games, those shootouts.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Yeah, stacking Cardinals. What could go wrong in that ecosystem for your fantasy team? Isaac Garendo. Shootouts, yes. Maybe take yourself out behind the barn and shoot yourself. Maybe. Isaac Garendo at 1205. Christian Watson at 1206. I took Cedric Tillman, my boy at 1207. Let's go, Joe Flacco. Let's do it. Please don't. Mark. Please don't. Kenny Pickett, please. Tyler Algiera. 1208. Dallas Goddard. 1209. Jerome Ford, Nick Chubb and then Scott Bogman. You went ahead and took your qb. Caleb Williams and Jaden Higgins. I love these two picks here. Some tremendous value. Big upside for Williams with the new head coach and obviously Jaden Higgins. Look, all he's got to do is just somehow find a way to be better than Christian Kirk. And I don't think that's going to be too hard.

[Scott Bogman]

Yeah, I know. Everyone's like, hey, I don't know if I like Jaden Higgins because he's a lot of what Nico Collins is. I'm like, you don't like two Nico Collins?

[Joe P. Zapia]

I mean, he's pretty good. Or is it Collins? I always.

[Scott Bogman]

Collins is how I say it is. Yeah, I think that's the correct pronunciation, is Collins. This is so. But yeah, Jaden Higgins is a great option. I think he's already the second best target that they have in Houston. Maybe behind maybe third behind Mixon. Like, obviously Nico Collins is your number one there. I don't think Tank Dell plays at all. I think Christian Kirk is washed. Jalen Noel could be a nice option here as well, and he's a better fit probably than Jaden Higgins. But Higgins is a very good wide receiver, and he should not. He should not take long to get on the field and have a substantial role.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Absolutely love this pick. Can't say enough good about it. All right, next up here, Jalen McMillan. Colson. Loveland. Keenan Allen. Still teamless. Keenan Allen, Bogman. Where does Keenan Allen end up? I. I assume he's back in the NFL here in August.

[Scott Bogman]

Right now, hopefully Pittsburgh. So no idea.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Yeah, that would be. That would be actually not a problem. We need more slot options. It's Calvin Ridley.

[Scott Bogman]

It's Roman Wilson. It's John who? Smith. It's Pat Friarmouth. Let's throw Keenan Allen in there.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Come on, Falcons. And then run the ball, Austin. Not Calvin Ridley. You wish it was Calvin Ridley.

[Scott Bogman]

I do wish it was Calvin.

[Joe P. Zapia]

I think that was a little Freudian slip there from Scott Bogman, Marquis Brown. And then I took rashad bateman at 1308 Again, just building out that wide receiver room. You can never have too many of them. And I want to play a wide receiver flex in my PPR leagues. Kareem Hunt at 1307. Blake Quorum, Drake, May. There we go. So you got Fields, you got May. How do you feel about this QB room, Erickson?

[Derek Brown]

All the rushing upside you could ask for. So that's.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Yeah, baby.

[Derek Brown]

I'm chasing here.

[Joe P. Zapia]

I love it. Jared Goff goes next. Josh Palmer. And then Deontay Johnson, the newest Cleveland Brown. And then Burchard. Steven Smith here with DBros's last two picks.

[Derek Brown]

Deontay Johnson.

[Joe P. Zapia]

I know I'm like, the pick is.

[Scott Bogman]

Fine, but Deontay Johnson I will scoff at every time I see.

[Andrew Erickson]

Well, we. We could separate real life from fantasy upside here.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Can you. Can you. Can you separate a guy who was on three teams in one year and say that somehow, investment wise, that's still a good investment?

[Scott Bogman]

And no wonder why he's talking about Kenny Pickett. He punched Mitch Trubisky in the face for Kenny.

[Derek Brown]

Isn't Kenny Pickett potentially the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns? And doesn't he have chemistry with Deontay Johnson?

[Joe P. Zapia]

Does he.

[Scott Bogman]

Does he have chemistry?

[Derek Brown]

He's got more chemistry than Jerry Judy does.

[Joe P. Zapia]

He doesn't have chemistry with his own hands. Well, you don't know that. You don't know what he does when the lights go out and stuff and.

[Andrew Erickson]

Floating between the team.

[Scott Bogman]

But he fumbles it, whatever it is.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Can we still.

[Andrew Erickson]

Can we still talk about Deontay Johnson. Target per route run, yards per route run. Would have led Cleveland last year. So everybody's just, like, saying that.

[Joe P. Zapia]

So he's good at running. Is that what you're telling me?

[Scott Bogman]

Yeah. Listen, as. As far as a player goes, I think he's still a pretty solid player, you know?

[Joe P. Zapia]

But if he's such a solid player, then why did three teams not want him? Because he's a dick. Right? So there you go. So that's the problem with it.

[Andrew Erickson]

Fantasy football we're talking about.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Yes, yes, But. But in fantasy football, you have to produce, which means the teams have to play.

[Andrew Erickson]

What did he do? He produced.

[Scott Bogman]

How dare you take him in the 13th?

[Andrew Erickson]

I know.

[Derek Brown]

Wow.

[Andrew Erickson]

Terrible pick. Horrible pick. As my wide receiver.

[Joe P. Zapia]

I don't know. I did not even mean to start this on Deontay. You. Yeah. Wanted to scoff. You did start it. And then walk away from it, Bogs, in all fairness, you started it. And then we're like, I didn't do anything there.

[Derek Brown]

But I got a question for you. So before last year, who. Who. Who do you think was a better receiver? Deontay Johnson or Jerry Judy?

[Andrew Erickson]

You're gonna say Deontay. Yeah.

[Derek Brown]

What about you, Joe? Who's better, Deontay Johnson or Jerry Judy? Better.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Oh, God.

[Andrew Erickson]

You know, it's Deontay. Go ahead and say it.

[Joe P. Zapia]

No, see, I was an OG Jerry Judy guy, and Bogs knows this. But the og I go back to the battle. I go back to the Bama. Jerry Judy. I can't knock that out of my brain. I was. And look, you go back to watch the receipts of the shows in the last five years when I would talk about Jerry Judy and Jerry.

[Andrew Erickson]

Well, that's a conversation for a different day. But outside of Deontay, I want to give a shout out to Brashard Smith here, who's making some noise. I think he's going to make even more noise in training camp. PPR setting, taking upside shots at the very end of this draft for a player that doesn't need an injury in the Casey backfield to carve out a standalone role as the new Jerick McKinnon. So while we're derailed on Deontay here, got to give us some love for Bashar Smith.

[Scott Bogman]

Yeah, I think we'll right back on.

[Joe P. Zapia]

The pack deep, bro. Way to be, buddy.

[Derek Brown]

I'm trying, man.

[Joe P. Zapia]

I would rather make selections. I would rather make selections that I think had more. You know, look, I. I get it. DeAndre Johnson, once upon A time was good. Josh Gordon, once upon a time was good. And everyone kept drafted him thinking that was going to work out. But Jack Bash is still out there. Coker still out there. And the guy that I'm gonna take with my next pick is still out there. So Marvin Mims, then Zach Ertz, your last pick, Kyle Menangai. Boy, oh boy, somebody's been listening to a lot of Joe P. Zapia videos here.

[Derek Brown]

Yeah, of course. Kyle Manangai. Love this guy. Your guy, My guy, Our guy.

[Joe P. Zapia]

My guy. Our guy. He's our guy. He's. He's the perfect last round pick. He is perfect. I'll take Kyle Williams, who's still available on the board. Boggs, last round to you here as we recap the picks after Manangai, Marshawn Lloyd, Romeo Dobbs. I took Kyle Williams, Jaleel McLaughlin, Jarquez Hunter. I wish her name was Jarquez. Box. Dylan Sampson and Mike Kasicki. So the last pick, Mr. Irrelevant, is who? Scott Bogman.

[Scott Bogman]

Let's go with DJ Giddens to handcuff my JT pick.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah.

[Joe P. Zapia]

All right, so I got a B plus, so I'm going to pass the class, maybe not make honor roll. Let's see how the rest of the grades for everybody works out here. Scott Bogman at the top at 909 with the number one pick. Of course you're at the top. Pretty good team. Five is second. Debro at third. I think it was that Deontay Johnson pick that put you over the top.

[Scott Bogman]

Yeah.

[Joe P. Zapia]

You had one more point than I did. One. One more point. Still win, baby.

[Andrew Erickson]

Still a win.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Where's Andrew Erickson? He pulled the calf. He's at 11. So there you go. So that's. It's all right. It's all right. Sleeper alert for me. Rashad Bateman, Cedric Tillman were pretty good there. Our friend Brandon Murchison, we love Brandon. He liked my draft more than anybody else here. Let's take a look at some of the other analysis. Boggs, you were at the top, so expert opinions there for you. Who liked and hated your draft?

[Scott Bogman]

Jorge Edwards. Like my team more than anybody else. And second, you guys will not be surprised because I do a show with him every single week. Pat Fitzmaurice, number two. Kev Masterjan was three, I was four. And then Pierre Camus was fifth for me.

[Derek Brown]

Love.

[Scott Bogman]

All right, everybody who loved my team, a lot of love for Derrick Henry.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Dj, Great pick there.

[Scott Bogman]

Devonte Smith, a lot of those. A lot of haters. Not number one on Jamar Chase. By the way, Tropi's a PIA. Hated my guts. You hated J.T. devonte Smith, Ricky Pierce, Hall. I don't know what your problem is, Joe.

[Joe P. Zapia]

It sounds right. I love all those. Sounds like me. So, look, if I knew that Derrick Henry would make it back to me where he did, I probably would have taken Puka instead and that would have been the change of my team. I'll be honest with you. And that's the nice thing about draft wizard. You could. You could start a draft simulation. Be like, I don't like the way this looks. And you can back out the picks and undo them and do it another way till you start to get the teams in the draft slot that you're going to be in in that league until you get it right. Because that's what it's about. And Scott Bogman. You got it right. Congratulations. You're the big winner. Let's look at the roster. Caleb Williams at qb, Derrick Henry, Jonathan Taylor at running back. The wide receivers, Jamar Chase, DJ Moore, DeVonta Smith. The tight end, Travis Kelsey. Then Caleb Johnson at flex. Your bench. Brian Robinson, junior Pierce, All Egbuca, Jaden Higgins, Jaden Blue and DJ Giddens. Look, I love the wide receiver depth you have on this team. It's hard not to like it. You got my favorite running back, maybe even ever, Derrick Henry there. So Bogs, is this a squad you'd be very happy to go to war with?

[Derek Brown]

Absolutely.

[Scott Bogman]

A little rookie heavy, which is not my favorite, but most of it's on the bench. So that's where we like our rookie.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Well, Travis Kelsey's there too, so that offsets the age.

[Scott Bogman]

Yeah, yeah, that's true. I mean, average age, I'm probably about normal. I'm probably middle of the pack because I have Kelsey. But yeah, so there, there is. Yeah. And Henry. There is a little risk, but I really like the way this team fell for me.

[Joe P. Zapia]

All right, let's go to our friend Derek Brown, the bronze medalist in this draft. Bo Nix at qb, Ken Walker, RJ Harvey. Then you have Nico Collins, Drake London, Jacoby Myers, George Kittle, Tony Pollard, Josh Downs, JJ McCarthy on the bench with Jordan Mason, Trey Harris, Deontay Johnson and Burchard Smith. So, D bro, when you step back and look at this roster, obviously London and Collins, two terrific players. But to me, when I look at it, it doesn't have that one big like impact guy. Unless Drake, London, Nico really become that guy? Like, I don't. Would you agree that like, it's not the same as having a puka or I'm on Raw or one of those kind of guys to start a team.

[Andrew Erickson]

I mean that's fair but I feel like this is the kind of team that you build or need to build at the turn where you're taking shots on guys that can take a step and you're projecting some because there's a lot of guys here. They're going at the end of the first round because they haven't been top three, top five options. And what have we seen on an eco when he's been on the field he has that type of upside. Same thing for Drake, London with improved quarterback play and I feel like with this team I backed it up with a lot of volume with the mid round running backs. I got a lot of underrated PPR volume with Myers and Downs as my wide receiver 3 and for the build overall, like I mean my upside swings are George Kittle is going to be tight end 1 overall this year. Kenneth Walker is going to be an RB one. So a lot of projecting but I feel like that's the kind of team that you have to build when you're close to or at the turn where you're taking swings on guys because you think they're going to take a step forward, you've done the homework or you know that they're not going to come back to you at the next spot in the draft.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Do you like a team at the turn that starts with let's say Ashton Genty, Derrick Henry, Devonte Adams, Terry McLaurin or what you did here with Nico Drake, London Kittle and Walker?

[Andrew Erickson]

I think you can make cases for both of like I could have easily started like if the board would have fell perfectly I would have had no issue starting CMC and Genti or I mean Genti was in my queue. But again part of this is just how I see the, the draft board laying out and I'm very high on these middle round running backs where a lot of people aren't and they look at it as that's the dead zone and stuff where I think you have plenty of upside for all these guys. So I have no problem starting running back in one of those first two selections or even going running back running back. But the way that I'm building teams this year at the turn, I just really like the mid round running backs and I mean in a three wide receiver starting league like to be able to start with those two wide receivers. Oh man, love it.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Andrew Erickson. Actually you know what, before we go to that Was there anybody that loved and hated your draft of note here, expert opinions, things that draft wizard scolded you on that said you should have done this instead, maybe things would have been better.

[Andrew Erickson]

I loved my team the most, obviously. I gave myself a 98. Love it.

[Scott Bogman]

Yeah, it's beautiful.

[Andrew Erickson]

But Matt Harmon gave me an 89. So shout out to Harmonic. Joey Wright did not like my team and unfortunately Scott Bogman got all the love for Jorge. I did not. I got a 65 from Jorge. So Jorge, we're gonna have to have words and DMS later.

[Joe P. Zapia]

The one tell.

[Andrew Erickson]

Tell me this guys. Would you have gone with this twofer? Okay, this 2v2 David Montgomery and DeAndre Hopkins. Are you taking downs and Bashard Smith? I'm not high on Hopkins, but perhaps the simulator says I would have had 61 more points if I would have gone Montgomery and Hopkins over downs and Bashard Smith.

[Joe P. Zapia]

I struggle with downs because I just don't know what that offense is going to be at this point. You know, I had high hopes for the Colts last year and they just fell woefully short. And now I just feel like at some point the Daniel Jones pivot is coming. I just. That is awful feeling about it. Maybe I'll be wrong. But Andrew, where do you stand with that? Because I think that's interesting question. It's really whether or not you're buying into the Colts.

[Derek Brown]

I like the downs for Sharad Smith side, especially if those are players that are on the bench for the most part. So you're just shooting for upside. Where I understand why the simulator might like or the analyzer might like David Montgomery. Especially where he went. I mean he went the eighth round. Like that's more than baking into. I mean I wish that I drafted Dave Montgomery, getting him in the eighth round, banking those. Yeah, he did go late even that's. That's considering. Okay, the Lions take a step back. That's more than considered in that type of price tag. So. But based on your roster bill, like you don't need those points from Dave Montgomery. It's one of these things we talked about on the best ball show where every roster needs different things. So in a vacuum, Dave Montgomery, eighth round, absolute great value. But for your team, if you already have established, like when I went three.

[Andrew Erickson]

Running backs and stuff like that, he doesn't really fit the bill.

[Derek Brown]

Like yeah, it doesn't. It doesn't make sense for you to draft and then you can. I mean you can always theorize you could trade this guy later on, but I Don't really like going into drafts. Be like, I'm going to draft this guy so I can trade him away. Exactly like that's usually like you're thinking too. I think you're doing too much.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Yeah. But you know what? I think what happens is, I think Price enforcing, especially in Lee where it's like, it's ppr. So David Montgomery, you know, perception wise is a little lower and goes, well, he doesn't catch the ball, whatever. He still gets a ton of touchdowns. He still get yards. He's still very valuable. I think Price enforcing, you just, you get injuries, you get things that happen. It's the NFL. Price enforcing more than usual will help you out. A couple years ago, I Price enforced on Josh Jacobs in that season that he went off in the Vegas Raiders. It's not a player I wanted to. He fell to me. He felt way for and he worked out. And you know what? It was just principle of saying he shouldn't be there. I don't like him this year. I'm gonna take him. And you know what? Price enforcing, I would say 90 of the time is actually the right call for me personally from what I've seen, because the injuries that happen, the unknown factors, taking players that you know who they are in the specific team that they're playing for too. Let's get to Andrew's team here. Justin Fields at quarterback, Christian McCaffrey, Breeze Hall, A.J. brown, Marvin Harrison, Jalen Waddle, Tucker Kraft, Calvin Ridley. Then you have Drake May, Travis Atn, Keon Coleman, Trey Benson, Braylon Allen, and Kyle Menong Guy. I think Draft wizard was unfair to you. I think. I think this is far too low of a ranking. Andrew, what do you think about this squad?

[Derek Brown]

No, I think that Draft wizard was fair. I didn't even give myself an A. You know, Andrew Erickson for Fantasy Bros. Gave this team a B plus, so. And that's the highest rank, actually, I'm interested. Scott Bobman, if you had to rank this team from 0 to 100, approximately, what would you give it?

[Scott Bogman]

Let's see.

[Joe P. Zapia]

This feels like a trap. This feels like a trap.

[Scott Bogman]

I had to give it a score.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Think of a letter grade first and.

[Scott Bogman]

Then convert that into a 60.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Oh, man, he nailed it. Exactly. No, no. Wow. And this is how you know the accuracy level of Draft wizard in terms of the back end repercussions of your draft? I mean, there you go. I hate McCaffrey.

[Scott Bogman]

I don't like him.

[Derek Brown]

You nailed it to the digit. Not 58, not 61.

[Joe P. Zapia]

I was gonna say 65. I looked.

[Andrew Erickson]

I looked.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Oh, you. Oh, you look. Sorry, I lied. You should have went with. I did the whole thing. I look. Oh, you should have.

[Derek Brown]

He had to be authentic. He couldn't lie to the viewers.

[Scott Bogman]

I thought it was hilarious that De Bro thought. I didn't lie.

[Joe P. Zapia]

No, I thought you just hit it, man. I was giving you props. But.

[Scott Bogman]

But look, I don't. I. I understand where you took McAffrey. I do. But I don't believe a single word that comes out of the NERS camp ramp about fair Christian McCaffrey ever again. And bilateral Achilles tendonitis does not sound good. You know, I also sounds like something that's going to last for longer than this.

[Derek Brown]

Well, to be honest, when I made the pick for McCaffrey, just going running back in round one and then seeing how the board played out so not going receiver. So I went McCaffrey, A.J. brown. But then looking at it again, I think I might have actually liked it more if I went Nico Collins first and then Achan is my rounding back in round two.

[Scott Bogman]

So I would have scored about an 82. Yeah, so you would have done that.

[Derek Brown]

So I didn't look at that. Reflecting on it, I think that I would have liked that more. So again, these running backs and receivers that go at the end of round one, beginning of round two, you really got to kind of play the ADP board, you know, whatever your. Your site is drafted on. Because I'm trying to get guys I think that could finish number one at both positions at running back and at wide receiver. And I think that I get more bets on that probably with Collins and H.N. versus A.J. brown and CMC. So if I could go back, I probably would make that change.

[Scott Bogman]

I. I really like the build on everything else. Honestly, I think that the build on everything else is really good. I'm just not the biggest. Like I'm even a big Breeze hall guy. I just really don't like cmc.

[Joe P. Zapia]

That.

[Scott Bogman]

That is what sinks you in my grade. But everything else, I. I love that you took etn. I think he's a good value. I obviously as upset about Keon Coleman. I've. I think I'm even a little higher on the pack than Trey Benson. So the rest is build. I love just that first pick.

[Andrew Erickson]

I love Waddle and Ridley. Love Waddle.

[Derek Brown]

Yeah. I like the receivers I drafted. I would say too, I probably would have much rather just taken Dave Montgomery, Quinton, Sean Judkins instead of Fields. Like I like Fields, but you could let me. That'd Be nice to Mahomes and Mayfield. Like part of the Fields of lore is that he goes so cheap. And I kind of see that.

[Joe P. Zapia]

I agree 100%. That's the allure. The allure is that. And I don't think that's going to happen anywhere outside this room. I think this is the room where you draft on people like us for lunatics that you're going to have. If you want Fields, you better take them here because you ain't going to get him. And the reason I took Baker Mayfield is because he slipped so far and I was like, I can either take Baker Mayfield here as a top five QB at a huge value, or I can fight with these three bozos over Justin Fields in the next round. And I don't want to do that. So I'm just going to do this instead. But you nailed it. I don't think people who are watching the show are going to have that problem. If you want Fields, chances are he's still going to be there, I think later than he went in this draft. Andrew, you would agree.

[Derek Brown]

Yes. Yeah. And I think that it's, it's. It just feels weird taking this close to him. I get like, the fantasy production is different and I have them ranked back to back, but I still think that, you know, I think in one month.

[Scott Bogman]

That'S going to be where he's going. He's getting a lot of helium right now.

[Andrew Erickson]

So I, I mean, I think it's deserved, though.

[Joe P. Zapia]

It is, too.

[Scott Bogman]

But I do think that I think a little bit of that appeal that piece of P had talked about with Fields is going away.

[Derek Brown]

I guess the thing I want to. To preach, though, with that is there has to be a stopping point because if he gets up to where Richardson was going last year, then you got to be out.

[Joe P. Zapia]

He.

[Andrew Erickson]

He won't get up that high just because people burned.

[Joe P. Zapia]

No, he won't. But he's going to exceed that Richardson hype by a country mile. But the point is, yeah, I think there's enough negative stigma attached to Fields now after being on, you know, this is a third team. And the Steelers didn't want. Well, they. Well, they didn't want them last year. They wanted them at the end of the year, you know, and the jets aren't exactly, you know, a situation he goes into and people have a warm, fuzzy feeling about. Because the jets have a great history.

[Scott Bogman]

With quarterbacks, don't they?

[Joe P. Zapia]

No. What could go wrong with the New York Jets? Where's Browning Nagel when you need them?

[Andrew Erickson]

And just Projecting his ADP forward a little bit. Looking at best ball ADP on fantasy pros. Right now, on underdog and drafters, he is going as QB10 and QB7. If you look at the spots of where those guys are going currently in drafts, it's somewhere around like 77, 86 though. Like somewhere in the 70s to 80s. So he's gonna get up there. Definitely.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Yeah. All right, let's talk about the Joey P roster here and see what everybody thinks of the look here. Well, Tribe Called Quest, Kenny Pickett. Yes, he can. Baker Mayfield, Jameer Gibbs, Alvin Camara, Garrett Wilson, Terry McClure and Zay Flowers. Mark Andrews. Jordan Addison. The bench is Stefan Diggs, Ramandre, Cedric Tillman, Rashad Bateman, Ray Davis and Kyle Williams. I like this roster. This is the hard part, though, about drafting in the middle. I prefer to be on one of the ends here because when you're in the middle, you're constantly just getting smacked around from one side, the other side. It's really tough to gauge when those runs are going to happen. I don't like it. I know, Bog, sometimes you actually like the middle of drafts. I. To me, this is that classic middle draft where it's like, I try to just do the best I can, but I feel like anytime you try to plan out what you're going to do next, it basically never goes your way.

[Scott Bogman]

I feel like I miss less being in the middle, but I understand what you're saying. You know, you do have to wait on both sides between both picks. You don't get that double tap. So if there's a couple guys you like, you know you're going to get one. But probably.

[Andrew Erickson]

I mean, the problem was you and I were bookending the draft, so anybody that Joey was hoping to fall back.

[Joe P. Zapia]

Oh, yeah. The fact that you guys were on the turns did not make it easier. Yeah. But that. I always feel like every time we do these. Right. How often do you see people win the draft, quote, unquote, at the top, at the bottom? It's really hard to win the draft in the middle, T, bro.

[Andrew Erickson]

Yeah, it is. I mean, because again, you're.

[Joe P. Zapia]

I was happy finishing fourth. Like, I was like, okay, I'll finish fourth. I mean, you kind of hold into.

[Andrew Erickson]

The runs and like, we're with the. The bookends of the draft kind of do. And with me and Bogman, it doesn't make it easy, man. No doubt.

[Joe P. Zapia]

It does not. It does not. Andrew Erickson doesn't make it easy either. None of you guys do that's. Why we're here. We're trying to make it easy for all of you by trying to flush out all of these different scenarios, the different picks, the different stuff. And of course, we're trying to get to 300, 000 YouTube subscribers this year. We can help get there with all of you. So if you're enjoying the content here at Fantasy Pro, subscribe to the channel like this video. Drop your comments below and you can win yourself a James Cook autograph jersey from pristineauction.com so do that right now and don't forget to ring the bell till it goes ding. So you never miss a piece of content here on the channel. And of course, go run as many mock drafts as you can. Go to fantasypros.com mock or just download Draft wizard today. Start your mock draft journey just like Darren Waller would want you to do. That'll do it for us, but the story of the game goes on. For Debro, Andrew Erickson and Scott Bogman, I'm Joey P. We'll see you next time. Kids.

[Unknown]

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 [e-mail] review or on Spotify. Follow us on X Instagram and TikTok Antasypros and subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube.com fantasypros.

[Joe P. Zapia]

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