← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
FantasyPros - Full Send on These Players! | TOP TARGETS in Every Round of 2025 Fantasy Football Drafts (Ep. 1619)
01:05:12
Loading summary
Transcript202 lines
- [00:00]
Ryan Warmley
This is an Iheart podcast.
- [00:04]
Pat Fitzmaurice
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.
- [00:27]
Ryan Warmley
These aren't just daydreams.
- [00:28]
Pat Fitzmaurice
They're your weekend plans. Visit fishingbooker.com and book your trip today.
- [00:33]
Ryan Warmley
Hello, everybody. Welcome into the Fantasy Pros Football podcast. I'm Ryan Warmley, joined today by Pat Fitzmaurice and by Heath Cummings of CBS Sports. Heath, thank you so much for making the time to join us today.
- [00:44]
Heath Cummings
Really happy to be here with you guys. It's. It's the most wonderful time of the year, Right. We're getting ready for fantasy drafts. None of our picks or calls are wrong yet. It's, it's an exciting time.
- [00:56]
Ryan Warmley
Yeah, we're definitely not being too negative. We definitely weren't just before the show talking about how nice it is to have players you can drop early in the year.
- [01:03]
Heath Cummings
Yes.
- [01:04]
Ryan Warmley
As opposed to thinking about, hey, what if they hit? So we're talking about players from a positive angle today. I feel like I've done a lot of, you know, players who are likely to bust, players who are overvalued type of shows lately. Today we are doing the opposite. We are doing top targets in every round. We're going to go 14 rounds deep, so we're going to hit a lot of different players today. But, but our top targets in each round of drafts, we're going to be going kind of based on the consensus rankings, which you can find@fantasypros.com rankings. All of our 2025 consensus rankings and tiers are there and you can find different scoring formats. We're kind of going with the half ppr, you know, baseline view. So if your ADP is different on whatever site you're using, you know, that's fine. But we're going based off the rankings, who our favorite players are in each round. Fitz, how are you feeling here? Mid July, just a couple weeks away from August.
- [01:49]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Feeling really good. Great to have Heath on the show, by the way. We had not ever done a show together for years and years, and all of a sudden we're doing two together in the span of like five or six weeks, which is pretty cool. Yeah, I'm feeling great. Like, we are right on the verge of you know that crazy time when there are drafts every weekend and you know people are asking you to grade their drafts and hitting you up with a million pre draft questions. So just enjoying that lull before the storm.
- [02:17]
Ryan Warmley
It's a great couple weeks stretch where we're really excited. We're thinking about fantasy again. We're talking drafts. Scott Fishbowl drafts are going on, but it's not overwhelming quite yet. We're not in that late August like real surge yet. So it's a very fun, fun few weeks here.
- [02:32]
Pat Fitzmaurice
We haven't had our first depressing training camp injury yet either. So we're probably just days away from that. So enjoy it while it lasts.
- [02:39]
Ryan Warmley
Worst part of the summer for sure. Let's, let's dive in. We're going to start with round one. Like I said, go all the way through round 14. You have each pick player that you guys like in this round. And obviously some of these earlier rounds there's gonna be a lot of players that we like. But you guys are giving us your top targets here. Heath as the guest, we will start with you. Who is your player in round one?
- [02:57]
Heath Cummings
So yeah, looking at the consensus rankings, the guy that I thought, you know, I like him more than consensus would be CD Lamb. And it really has, it has something to do with Lamb and the floor and upside that he's shown when Dak Prescott's been healthy. He's basically always been over 18 1/2 fantasy points per game one decks been been healthy. He's shown us the 22 point upside when Dax been healthy. And then the other part of it is, and you'll see this as we go through the next few rounds, when I look at consensus rankings or ADP right now, a lot of my favorite players in each round are running backs, which is an uncomfortable position to be in a format that really everybody wants to get those wide receivers. So it's really made me kind of push the wide receivers in round one up over little bit more comfortable starting with one of them to give me the freedom to take as many running backs as I want in the next couple of rounds.
- [03:46]
Ryan Warmley
And I'm actually glad you mentioned like think about some of these future rounds. We are not to clarify building a team. And that's not what you're doing here, of course. This is just you are kind of pushing them up because of the way you feel about guys later. But we are not building out a team. So if these guys say like, oh, a tight end is my favorite pick in the next 10 rounds, you know that they're not going to do that. But that's. That would be okay, theoretically, because we're just going with our favorite targets here. So, yeah, CD Lamb, is he somebody Heath that you see as. I mean, I would assume you have Jamar Chase number one like everybody else, but is he wide receiver too, like ahead of Justin Jefferson for you?
- [04:19]
Heath Cummings
He is my wide receiver too, and I've actually got him almost a full tier higher in terms of projections than I do Jefferson. He's my number three player overall. I'd go Chase, then Bijon, then CD Lamb. But yeah, I just think the addition of George Pickens seems to have scared a few people about. Well, maybe CD Won't see as many targets. That's just not the type of guy that George Pickens has been. He is a very efficient wide receiver on a per target basis. He can make huge explosive plays, but he's not somebody who's going to demand eight targets per game. I think he maybe opens up the underneath for Lamb just a little bit, makes the offense overall better, but doesn't necessarily impact Lamb's target share very much.
- [04:59]
Ryan Warmley
And Fitz Lamb isn't your pick here in round one, but it looks like you also have him as a top three player in your rankings on the site.
- [05:05]
Pat Fitzmaurice
I do. In any league with a requirement to start three wide receivers. I feel the same as Heath. Lamb is my wide receiver too, my number three overall. And I pretty much agree with Heath's take on Pickens. Like, I don't think it hurts at all.
- [05:18]
Ryan Warmley
So who is the player you're going with in round one?
- [05:20]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Oh, Worm, it's Bijan and you and I did a short form video about my favorite around a week or two ago. I believe I mentioned Ashton Genty as my favorite first rounder on that show, but I told you I chose Genti because you didn't have to pick early in the round to get him. But my real preference, as I think I mentioned to you then, would be Bijan. I generally like hero running back roster belts and Bijan would be my first choice of heroes to put on the cape for me. 1887 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns last season, 58 catches his rookie year, 61 last year. Bijan hasn't missed a game in his first two seasons, unless you count the infamous headache game in 2023 when Arthur Smith pulled him after one carry. But Bijan just, he passes every eye test. He's fast, powerful, has really good patience and vision. Falcons play at a fast pace and they have a Strong offensive line. They're just no holes in Bijan's profile.
- [06:18]
Ryan Warmley
Heath, do you see a case for Bijan as number one pick in drafts or do you think Chase is very clearly in that spot and Bijan is just number two?
- [06:27]
Heath Cummings
I think that you, you put Chase first because there's more separation for me between Chase and the wide receivers that you're going to find in round two than there is Bijan and the running backs that you're going to find in that range or even in round three. It's weird because I don't actually have Bijan as my number one running back in the projections. He is in the rankings because I think one of the things that Pat mentioned he like he is probably the safest pick in fantasy, no injury history to be concerned with, skill set that we love and an offense that we know is going to run through him. There's not that many workhorse running backs left in the NFL, especially workhorse running backs that are not old or injury prone and he's all of those things.
- [07:11]
Ryan Warmley
Just, just quickly, Heath, actually, before we move on round one, because Fitz mentioned Ashton Genti as a player he picked who's maybe more accessible to people. Like, you have to have an early pick to get Bijan. You can get Genti later. Do you like that as a back half of the first round target?
- [07:23]
Heath Cummings
I absolutely love it. I almost chose Genti as my favorite pick in this round. I just didn't want to have seven running backs to start the show. But yes, I, I think he is also one of those workhorse running backs who is young and is not an injury concern. I would not be really that surprised if Ashton Genti just goes out and scores more fantasy points than any other running back.
- [07:45]
Ryan Warmley
Let's go to round two. Fitz, I'll start with you on this one. Who do you have for us?
- [07:49]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Another Falcon, Drake. London. Now, I wouldn't want to double up with two players from the same team in the first two rounds, but there's really no danger of that here. Bijan is going to be a top three pick in every draft and London is probably not going to slip past the middle of round two. London just fully arrived last year. 100 catches, 1271 yards and nine touchdowns on a whopping 158 targets. Only Jamar Chase and Malik Neighbors saw more targets than London did last year. And what's nice is that London really clicked with Michael Penix Jr. When Penix took over as the starter late in the season. So in three Pennock starts, London was targeted 39 times and had 22 catches for 352 yards and two touchdowns. I think London belongs on the same tier as Malik Neighbors, Brian Thomas Jr. Amon ra St. Brown, Nico Collins, maybe even Puka Nakua. But London is typically drafted last among that group. I think he's just a fabulous second round pick.
- [08:50]
Ryan Warmley
Heath, do you see London in that tier that Fitz just mentioned or is he a little bit lower for you?
- [08:54]
Heath Cummings
He. He's one tier lower for me, but I think that there's no doubt he has the upside to prove that he belongs in that tier. I've been a little bit more skeptical of the Michael Pennick's splits because they are such a small sample size. Because against terrible defenses and because Darnell Mooney missed one of those games.
- [09:14]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Right.
- [09:15]
Heath Cummings
But I believe in the talent. I'm not of London. I'm not quite as sure about the talent of the quarterback or how great the passing game is going to be. If Pinnock is good, then yes, London deserves to be in that range.
- [09:28]
Ryan Warmley
I'm excited to get to your player here for round two, Heath, because I was looking at the CBS Sports Collective rankings earlier today and you guys are all much higher, especially you on this player than we are in the expert consensus rankings on Fantasy Pro. So who do you have for us around 2?
- [09:43]
Heath Cummings
So I have this thing about my projections where for the most part, unless we have a long injury history, I just project guys to play 17 games and if I project HN for 17 Devon HN for 17 games, I project him to be the highest scoring running back in fantasy football this year. Now there is a, there is an asterisk next to that because you also maybe have to project his quarterback to play 17 games. Also he averaged more than 23 fantasy PPR fantasy points per game when Tua was healthy last year. I project him to lead all running backs in catches, in targets and in receiving yards. He had a massive role in the passing game last year and that was with John who Smith having a big role. They've replaced John who Smith with Darren Waller, which whatever Darren Waller may have left, I don't think it's going to be those targets close to the line of scrimmage where they asked him to run with the football like a running back. I think we may even see a chance target share go up a little bit from last year. He showed the ability last year to play 17 games. He's one of the most explosive running backs in all of football. And again, this is where the projections diverge from the rankings because I do want to take Bijan ahead of him because Bijan's a much safer pick and round one's the place where I really worry more about that. But I don't think there's any reason at all that Achan should fall to round two. He's a, he's a surefire top ten pick for me.
- [10:59]
Ryan Warmley
So he's. Obviously you have to pick him in round two for the sake of our argument because of where he falls in ecr. Where would you take him? Is he. You said top 10. Do you have a specific spot?
- [11:08]
Heath Cummings
I've taken him fifth in a couple of drafts recently.
- [11:10]
Ryan Warmley
Fifth. Okay. Now, Fitz, you have long been a big Devon HN fan as well, so I don't know if you're quite as, you know, optimistic as Heath, but I assume you like the pick.
- [11:20]
Pat Fitzmaurice
I do. Certainly a top 15. And I don't think first round is crazy at all. And you know, I wondered if there might be some pullback on the passing game usage if the Dolphins try to reinstore the principle of verticality in their passing game since it really disappeared and we saw Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle fall off last year. But like, any concerns about a chance target drop off were sort of laid to rest by the John who Smith trade. Like now Achan is going to consolidate those short area targets and have a massive share of those for the Dolphins. And like, I'm not worried that he might not be the goal lineback. Fine, give Ali Gordon the goal line carries, but who's going to be in there? The Dolphins are at the four or five yard line or the three yard. It's probably still going to be Achan and he can absolutely score from there. So not worried about that. I think what we see from Achan this year could look a lot like early career Alvin Camara where maybe he doesn't get to a thousand rushing yards but has like 80 receptions, 600 receiving yards, you know, and collectively double digit touchdowns.
- [12:28]
Ryan Warmley
This might be a weird thing to say considering a guy like Christian McCaffrey who just missed, you know, most of last season, is inside the top two rounds. But is Achan the riskiest guy in the top two rounds? Because it's not just him staying healthy, it is like he's just alluded to his quarterback needing to stay healthy as well. Does that, does that added risk play into your ranking of him fits?
- [12:47]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Those guys were so the backups were so bad last year and now I mean, Zach Wilson, the much aligned Zach Wilson. Yeah, also bad. Like I'M not going to try to spin him up into a, you know, something better than he is. But I, I do think it would be non disastrous if Zach Wilson had to play some games.
- [13:08]
Ryan Warmley
Okay. That's the first time that sentence has ever been said. Let's go to round three. Heath, you've got a running back here and I will tell you, this is also the player that Fitz would have picked if you didn't pick him already.
- [13:21]
Heath Cummings
Yeah, Chase Brown. I'll, I'll be honest, I went into this off season like a lot of people have with DeAndre Swift, just thinking, well, they're going to add somebody else. That makes me feel worse about him. I couldn't. I mean, I didn't think coming into the league that Chase Brown was the type of running back that teams would give an 80% snapshare week after week after week and give him 20 touches a game. Basically, that's what the Bengals did in the second half of last year and they didn't add anybody this offseason. That scares me even a little bit. This will be one of the best offenses and this is a true workhorse running back in that offense. And so I think you get that in round three. You feel like you just received a gift.
- [14:00]
Ryan Warmley
Yeah. And Fitz, you can share your other player, but obviously you also wanted to pick Chase Brown here. So a strong agreement on this player.
- [14:07]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Yeah, totally agree with Heath. And maybe Chase Brown is not getting 90% Snap shares anymore. Maybe someone from among Zach Moss, Samaj P. Ryan, and you know, my personal favorite Taj Brooks steps in to steal a few of the carries. But like, Chase Brown is still going to be a workhorse and you just have to love that. The Bengals offense is so consolidated and you know, it's this potent offense that really only goes through three guys plus the quarterback.
- [14:38]
Ryan Warmley
Yeah, it's, it's, I mean, I didn't sit down and put together a list like this, but I can't imagine the list is very long of running backs who are very clear workhorse number one backs in what is very clearly expected to be a top five scoring offense, you know, top 10 to, to make the longer list. Like I, I, that list cannot be very long. To get a guy like that in round three is really exciting. So I, you know, like agreement across the board. I guess there's not really much I can add to that one. But Fitz, you actually went with one of his teammates in round three to go in a different direction here.
- [15:10]
Pat Fitzmaurice
I did. And like Chase Brown, who is a second rounder who we've got as a third rounder in ecr. I think T. Higgins should probably be going late in the second round too. Getting him in the third is a really good value. I just. I think this Bengals passing game is going to cook this year because. Well, because it's really good. Joe Burrow is one of the best pure passers in the game. And because the Cincinnati defense is likely to be really bad. So the Bengals are going to have to put up a lot of points to win games. There are three good ways to tap into this passing game. You could draft Jamar Chase, but that requires you to have the one on one or maybe the 102. You could draft Burrow, but he's kind of expensive for a quarterback who doesn't run much. Or you can draft T. Higgins in the third. And I know some people don't like drafting a guy who isn't the top receiver on his own team. But I think Higgins will outperform a lot of teams. Number one receivers. Like he scored 10 touchdowns in 12 games last year and was pacing for almost 1300 yards. He missed five games last year. Also missed five games in 2023. But the perception of injury risk is why Higgins is there in the third round and not the second. He's just, he's really good. He's averaged nine yards per target for his career, almost two yards per route run. He's just a fabulous receiver paired with one of the top two pure passers in the game. The lowest yardage total for Joe Burrow in any of his full seasons was 4,475 yards. And the fewest passing touchdowns for Burrow in any of his full seasons. 34 and like, what if. I know Higgins is considered the injury risk, but what if Chase were to miss any time over the last three years? Chase has missed five games. In those five games, Higgins has averaged 102.2 yards and 20 PPR points per game.
- [16:56]
Ryan Warmley
Heath, do you see this as assuming health limiting the upside of your team if you're taking guys not the number one target in his offense as early as round three? Or are you if it's like the offense is just so good it won't matter?
- [17:09]
Heath Cummings
No, I think he, he inherently has upside at his cost because we are all factoring in not just the 10 missed games over the last two years, but the fact that he's had a lot of partial games too. A lot of games he's left early that have kind of, kind of really held down his per game stats. Not just his overall stats. And so with that being factored in, there's the upside that T. Higgins just plays 17 games and right there you're getting a better player than what you drafted. And I think that people do focus a little too much on the time he's missed and not enough on the content and upside. The Fitz talked about that if, if Jamar Chase misses time, T. Higgins might be the number one wide receiver in.
- [17:44]
Ryan Warmley
Fantasy Winning your fantasy league starts before draft day and the fantasy pros draft kit gives you the knowledge to do it right. Get insight on proven strategies, must haves players to avoid and more from analysts like Pat Fitzmaurice, Derrick Brown and Andrew Erickson. Don't walk into draft day guessing. Read up, lock in, win your league. Go to fantasyprose.com kit all right guys, let's head to round four. Fitz, I'll have you go first here, but I will mention that you also for the second consecutive round wanted to pick the player that Heath will take.
- [18:16]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Yeah, Heath stole him. For me, he was. Heath is just being a rude guest. Came into the house, tracked mud on the carpeting. No, but that's okay. Heath is a great guy so we'll forgive him. But yeah, so it's Alvin Kamara for me and I love him as a fourth rounder. He is only going that late because people are worried that the Saints offense is going to be a dumpster fire. And it most likely will be a dumpster fire. But with Camara, I would encourage people to warm their hands by the flames. He was RB5 in PPR points per game last year and the Saints were not exactly an offensive juggernaut last year either. Camara always catches a ton of passes and that is probably going to be the case again since neither Tyler Schucker nor Spencer Rattler are like these guys are going to be eager to check down if they don't see anything. They like downfield a few seconds after the snap and the pass rush starts to close in on them. So I think there's going to be a lot of designed dump offs to Camara. I just, I think he's a value in the fourth round because what he can give you as a pass catcher in addition to his 8 or 900 brushing yards.
- [19:26]
Ryan Warmley
Heath, is this the right area for Kamara?
- [19:28]
Heath Cummings
Yeah, 100 if I don't like him near as much as the guy I picked. But no, I think there's, there's so many reasons to just avoid the Saints, but if you're going to draft one, this is the guy to do it with because he is the security blanket for quarterbacks that are very, very much going to need security blankets. I don't know that we get as much out of him as a rusher as we have in the past, but this team is going to be playing from behind so often that Camara is going to have to be involved in the passing game.
- [19:55]
Ryan Warmley
Who do you have here that you stole from Fitz?
- [19:59]
Heath Cummings
Yeah, I'm gonna go with Ken Walker and this one is also I guess a little bit polarizing because I actually think he should be taken like mid round three and sometimes you see him fall all the way to round five. He's had some injury concerns. He had some real efficiency problems. But I think Kubiak fixes the rushing efficiency of this offense and they've made it very clear that they want to run the ball a lot more than they did in 2024. So I think it's a run heavy system where Walker's the clear lead running back sharing passing downs and a little bit with Zach Charbonnet. But he's definitely the one A and we the explosive ability he's shown in combination with the receiving upside that he showed last year I think really gives him top 12 upside. Without a doubt.
- [20:42]
Ryan Warmley
This is one that his ranking in ECR I think is even dragged down a little bit by folks that are not here at fantasy pros because I know like Derrick Brown is very big on Kenneth Walker. Fitz obviously wanted to pick him too. Like as a team I think we are collectively pretty high on him. Also Fitz, do you want to weigh in on why he would have been your pick too?
- [21:01]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Yeah. So in addition, everything Heath mentioned there is the Kubiak Denison combination coaching with Clint Kubiak being the OC and Rick Denison being I think the run game coordinator. That combination, well at least Kubiak family because going back to Denver it was Clint's dad Gary as the Broncos offensive coordinator under Mike Shanahan and Rick Dennison was either the O line coach or the run game coordinator and like that was the Terrell Davis, Clinton Portis era and they were always churning out big yardage. But after those guys it was dudes like Ruben Drones and Tatum Bell and Mike Anderson having these one off great fantasy seasons. And it was because of that run game scheme, like it was just gold no matter who was in the backfield. And you know, not only that, but Kenneth Walker didn't do much as a pass catcher his first couple of years and then we saw a big spike in his passing game usage last year, which is encouraging.
- [21:57]
Ryan Warmley
Let's go to round five here. Heath, who do you have for us?
- [22:01]
Heath Cummings
This is the guy that I talk about on every podcast that I do. It seems like it's DeAndre Swift who has really gotten a bad rap in the fantasy community. Mostly, I would say, because our expectations have been so sky high two or three times for him and he fails to live up to those. But what he has done is be a top 24 running back on a per game basis. Every single year of his career. He's shown us that borderline top 12 upside. People talk about how Ben Johnson doesn't like DeAndre Swift, but the best season of DeAndre Swift's career came when he was on the same team that Ben Johnson was coaching. He was when Jamal Williams was scoring all those touchdowns. DeAndre Swift was finishing as a top 16 running back in PPR on a full game basis. On a per game basis. Another team that everyone expected to bring somebody else in. It was going to be Nick Chubb or it was going to be J.K. dobbins or it was going to be a Martin Hampton, and it was nobody. I think Ben Johnson's pretty comfortable with DeAndre Swift as one of his two running backs. Roshan Johnson's a great value also, but what it feels like when you look at where he's being drafted usually just outside of the top 24 running backs. We are drafting DeAndre Swift at the floor that he's shown us over and over and over again. And now you get a chance to also have the upside of what we thought he could be earlier in his career. I expect a big role in the passing game and I expect this Bears offensive line and offensive philosophy to be greatly improved from last year when he was still a low end RB2.
- [23:28]
Ryan Warmley
Yeah, just looking at his finishes, you know, five years, RB19, RB23, RB22, RB19, RB18. That's in half. EPR scoring is right. Just like that. You always talk about, like you learn in science class growing up, the difference between accurate and precise. He is precise. He is in the same area every time, every single season fits. You are roughly in line with ECR on Swift. Ironically, Erickson and Debro who aren't on the show today are both way lower on Swift, so I'd be curious to get their opinion why they disagree. You're more along the lines with Heath here though.
- [24:02]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Yeah, I have moved him around pretty restlessly. I would say I've moved him around probably more in my off season rankings than just about anyone Else I'm kind of inflicted on him. Like if you go to NFL next gen stats they have this stat for running backs rushing yards over expected and rushing yards over expected per carry. DeAndre Swift ranked dead last in that category last year. I think he was like minus 0.69 rushing yards over expected per carry. So he was pretty far underwater. But like how much does that factor in? What a disaster the Bears offensive line was last year and they have completely overhauled the middle of that line in the most impressive way possible. Bringing in like three studs to man the middle of the offensive line. So that's going to help. Ben Johnson is going to help and you know then it's, it's behind him Roshan who well might talk about a little later and Kyle Menangai a seventh round pick. So yeah, I mean there is plausible upside for DeAndre Swift no question.
- [25:03]
Ryan Warmley
What direction fits. Did you go in for round five?
- [25:06]
Pat Fitzmaurice
I went with devonte Smith and I'll be honest, I did not love any of the fifth round options. But devonte Smith is one of the best route runners in the game. He's dangerous after the catch. Devonte would have had his third straight thousand yard season last year if he had missed four games. He scores touchdowns. He has averaged 9.1 yards per target and 1.92 yards per route run for his career. Those are outstanding numbers. And you know, again people are often reluctant to draft a player who's the number two target on his own team. And you know Devontae Smith does have to share targets with A.J. brown. But Smith was wide receiver 17 in PPR fantasy points per game last season even though the Eagles were the run heaviest team in the league. So Smith offers this sturdy floor and we could get a high ceiling season from him if the Eagles are forced to throw a little more this year.
- [26:03]
Ryan Warmley
Heath, with a guy like Smith, kind of the same thing as Higgins. Right? You know, in a different sense. But you're taking a guy who's not the number one target on his offense. Do you like him in round five?
- [26:12]
Heath Cummings
I'm just a little bit lower on this. I don't like it though because I think that everything that Fitz said about Smith is accurate. I think he is an exceptionally talented player. The problem is he plays in one of like T. Higgins is the second option and one of the best pass offenses in the NFL. Devonte Smith's the best and that's why he's going three rounds later. I think the great thing about Smith and the reason that I rank him higher Than his projection is that he has been so good. If either A.J. brown or Dallas Goddard is out, when both of those guys are healthy, he's been a little bit of a bust at cost. Most of the time more of a wide receiver 3 than a wide receiver 2. We saw Goddard miss extensive time last year. Brown missed a little time last year. And so Devonte Smith finishes at a top 20 wide receiver. It's good to have that type of contingent upside. I'd rather wait just a little bit longer. But the thing I like about drafting him is I know he's very good and who knows, maybe the Eagles throw just a little bit more this year.
- [27:08]
Ryan Warmley
Yeah, I'll be curious to see what the offense looks like in general. Just, you know, the super bowl champion. Every year you see the brain drain, you see, you know, talented players go elsewhere. It's still a really, really good team. But I'll be curious if maybe they are forced to throw just a little bit more than they did last year too. Even if it's not their plan going in. Let's go to round six here. Fitz, I'll start with you on this one.
- [27:27]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Calvin Ridley, I think he can give you wide receiver two numbers at a wide receiver three price like he's just such an easy click for me in the sixth round. Ridley has given us two straight thousand yard seasons. After missing the 2022 season because of that gambling suspension. He got to 1000 yards last season with Will Leviss and Mason Rudolph as his quarterbacks. Now he gets to play with number one overall draft pick Cam Ward. And I know Ward is going to struggle at times, most rookie quarterbacks do. But he's an aggressive downfield thrower and he's more accurate than either Levis or Rudolph. There's also very little target competition for Ridley. I just, I think there's a great chance Ridley sees significantly more than the 120 targets he saw last year.
- [28:14]
Ryan Warmley
Heath. Calvin Ridley is 69th overall wide receiver 32 in half PPR. Is that too high, too low or just right?
- [28:21]
Heath Cummings
That's pretty much just right for me. I don't, I don't necessarily. I think there's upside with where you're taking him and there's risk and it really just comes down to can this Titans offense with a rookie quarterback look a little bit more competent? And if it does, then I think Ridley probably pays off just a little bit at value. He's one of those guys that I just haven't, I don't have a lot of takes on. I think he's a round six pick. He's a number three wide receiver who has huge upside on a given week.
- [28:50]
Ryan Warmley
You have got one of the rookie running backs here in round six, Heath, and this is kind of the range for a couple of these guys and I think it's really interesting. I know you've been really high on this player, you know, since the draft, so I, I was kind of expecting you to pick him if you're going to go in a rookie running back direction. But I'm curious to hear your thoughts on. On why you're going with the guy you did.
- [29:08]
Heath Cummings
Yeah, Trevion Henderson was my second favorite running back in this class before the draft and I'm pretty much still there. I didn't like the fact that he didn't get drafted quite as high as I would like, but I think the situation actually works out really well for him. First off, we know what Josh McDaniel's history is with past catching running backs and Trevion Henderson profiles as somebody who could be very, very good at that. And so he doesn't necessarily even have to win a large share of the rushing down work to pay off in round six. But I think he has a chance to partially because Ramondre Stevenson struggles. And the one thing that can keep the two things that can keep veterans on the field over rookies who are more exciting or when you have veterans that are really good in pass protection or really good at ball protection and Ramondre Stevens is bad at the Stevenson is bad at both of those things. I think Henderson might be a better pass catcher the first day of train or a better not pass catcher pass blocker the first day of training camp than the Stevenson is. So I think there's a real opportunity for him to begin the year in that third down role with some explosive playmaking in the running game. And then as the season goes on, he becomes the number one guy for hopefully an improving Patriots offense.
- [30:16]
Ryan Warmley
And I believe this is what you just said, but I just want to clarify for the listeners this isn't that you see him like, oh, round six Henderson is a better value than round five. RJ Harvey. You actually have Henderson ranked ahead of guys like Harvey and Hampton, right?
- [30:29]
Heath Cummings
Absolutely. Yes.
- [30:29]
Ryan Warmley
Yeah. Fitz, how do you feel about that ranking of the rookies?
- [30:32]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Yeah, I mean I, I think Heath is smart to focus on what Henderson can give you as a pass catcher and then what he gives you as a runner is gravy. But it could be a lot of gravy. Like it could be a double ladle of Gravy, because I love gravy. Because Stevenson had the fumbling problems, man. I mean, like they sat him on the bench for Antonio Gibson last year. But like Henderson is going to own those passing downs because he's electric on screens and because, I mean, you would think a guy like Henderson who's not a big prospect like Omarion Hampton, but he is a dog as a pass blocker, like, he's really good at it. That dude's not coming off the field on passing downs. The.
- [31:12]
Ryan Warmley
The thing I really like about Henderson as opposed to somebody like Hampton is, you know, we have concerns about how much work is Hampton gonna get early in the season with Najee Harris there. If Henderson doesn't get a lot of the work, he's still getting really valuable work catching passes, getting explosive plays. Like maybe not the short term like touchdowns, but everything else. The most valuable stuff you can be doing as a running back right off the bat. I think Henderson is going to be doing that for what I expect to be a better offense in Drake May's second year. So, yeah, I think it's a great pick and he's not somebody that needs to be a workhorse for it to pay off. Kind of like a poor man's Jameer Gibbs in that sense where he's just going to be doing stuff that we like to see in fantasy. So I think it's a great call and you know, I think it's smart to plant your flag on him compared to some of the other guys going in this range. I want to let Everybody know about DraftKings. Get in the game. Best ball is live at DraftKings. $15 million is on the line with real stakes and real excitement. Best Ball is the biggest fantasy contest at DraftKings. We're taking a $15 million guarant prize pool with two millionaires being crowned for first and second place play season long Fantasy football the Draft Kings way. With Best Ball, there's no waiver wires and no roster management. You get bigger rosters so injuries won't end your season. Just draft your team and you're set. If a shot at winning a share of $15 million isn't enough to get you excited, check this out. DraftKings is offering everyone a draft one get one special. Your 20 entry scores you a bonus ticket. Download the DraftKings app and use code Fantasy Pros. That's code Fantasy Pros for all customers who enter the NFL best ball 15 million millionaire contest to get a bonus ticket and get a shot at being crowned one of two millionaires only on DraftKings gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER in New.
- [32:48]
Heath Cummings
York, call 877-8-HOPE and wire text Hopeny.
- [32:50]
Ryan Warmley
At 467-369 in Connecticut.
- [32:53]
Heath Cummings
Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org 18 and over in most eligible states, but age varies by jurisdiction. Eligibility restrictions applied. One per customer. Enter the Best Ball 15 million headliner contest by 9425 to get one bonus entry $20 entry fee required. Reward expires in 30 days. See terms@draftkings.com NFL Best Ball.
- [33:18]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Life's messy.
- [33:19]
Ryan Warmley
We're talking spills, stains, pets and kids. But with Annabe, you never have to stress about messes again. @washablesofas.com disclose Discover Anabe sofas, the only fully machine washable sofas inside and out, starting at just $699. Made with liquid and stain resistant fabrics, that means fewer stains and more peace of mind.
- [33:42]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Designed for real life, Our sofas feature.
- [33:45]
Ryan Warmley
Changeable fabric covers allowing you to refresh your style anytime.
- [33:49]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Need flexibility?
- [33:50]
Ryan Warmley
Our modular design lets you rearrange your sofa effortlessly. Perfect for cozy apartments or spacious homes.
- [33:58]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Plus, they're earth friendly and built to last.
- [34:00]
Ryan Warmley
That's why over 200,000 happy customers have made the switch. Upgrade your space today. Visit washablesofas.com now and bring home a.
- [34:09]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Sofa made for life.
- [34:10]
Ryan Warmley
That's washablesofas.com offers are subject to change.
- [34:14]
Pat Fitzmaurice
And certain restrictions may apply.
- [34:18]
Heath Cummings
Check out behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club. We go behind the scenes and explore the stories of those involved.
- [34:30]
Pat Fitzmaurice
San Diego Coming to MLS is going.
- [34:32]
Heath Cummings
To be a game changer because this.
- [34:34]
Ryan Warmley
Region has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.
- [34:38]
Pat Fitzmaurice
We need veteran players and we need young players. Like you're building a team from scratch and so the succession plan of long term success needs to be defined. We need to embrace this community.
- [34:49]
Heath Cummings
When I was 13, my uncle took me to a qualifier and we watched Paraguay against Chile pouring rain.
- [34:57]
Ryan Warmley
Just watching the fans jumping up and down, I think that was definitely a.
- [35:00]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Watershed moment for me. Not only was that going to be.
- [35:03]
Heath Cummings
My game, but it was going to be my life. Listen to San Diego FC behind the flow now on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. When I became a journalist, I was the first Latina in the newsrooms where I worked.
- [35:21]
Pat Fitzmaurice
I'm Maria Hinojosa.
- [35:23]
Heath Cummings
I dreamt of having a place where.
- [35:25]
Ryan Warmley
Voices that have been historically sidelined would instead be centered. For over 30 years now, Latino USA.
- [35:32]
Heath Cummings
Has been that place.
- [35:33]
Ryan Warmley
This is Latino USA, the radio journal of news and Cultura.
- [35:37]
Heath Cummings
As the longest running Latino news and culture show in the United States, Latino USA delivers the stories that truly matter.
- [35:43]
Ryan Warmley
To all of us. From sharp and deep analysis of the most pressing news, they're creating this narrative that immigrants are criminals.
- [35:53]
Pat Fitzmaurice
This is about everyone's freedom of speech.
- [35:56]
Heath Cummings
Nobody expected two popes from the American.
- [35:59]
Ryan Warmley
Continent to stories about our cultures and our identities.
- [36:03]
Heath Cummings
When you do get a trans character like Emilia Perez, the trans community's gonna push back on that colorism. All of these things exist in Mexican culture and Latino culture.
- [36:12]
Ryan Warmley
You'll hear from people like Congresswoman aoc.
- [36:15]
Heath Cummings
I don't want to give them my fear. I'm not going to give them my fear. Listen to Latino USA as part of.
- [36:21]
Ryan Warmley
The Mike Cultura Podcast network, available on.
- [36:23]
Heath Cummings
The iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [36:29]
Ryan Warmley
All right, let's head to round seven. Heath, who do you have for us?
- [36:32]
Heath Cummings
This is kind of, kind of one of my guys this year in terms of value, it's Jerry Judy. And I think if Joe Flacco wins the starting job, this is way, way, way too low. And if anybody else wins it, this is probably. I'm a little hesitant to buy mid career breakouts, especially like year five, year six, and then believe that's going to continue. But he was only 25 years old last year. I think people don't realize how young Jerry Judy is. He's. He'd shown us flashes in the past, took off last year with Jameis Winston. And Joe Flacco at this stage of his career is basically older Jameis Winston. We've seen him elevate pass catchers like he did with Josh Downs last year, like he did with teammate David Ajoku a year before. And I really believe that Judy, who was a top five wide receiver in the second half of last year, has top 15 upside for as long as he's playing with Joe Flacco.
- [37:25]
Ryan Warmley
It's funny, Fitz, I'm realizing that you were the wrong person to have on the show because once again, I'm looking like Erickson is lower than consensus. DBRA is lower than consensus. You are above consensus. So I'm assuming you're going to agree with Heath here.
- [37:36]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Yeah, I'm just here to be the Greek chorus for Heath today.
- [37:39]
Heath Cummings
I like it. I could use this more often.
- [37:43]
Pat Fitzmaurice
So. Yeah. The funny thing is, Judy averaged three catches and 38 yards yards last year in the seven games that DeSean Watson started like he did not work well with. Watson obviously just smashed in the Jameis Winston games and even was really productive in the Dorian, Thompson, Robinson and Bailey zappy games. So did not click with the Sean Watson, but everything else was just gold. Like he said, he's still young and if you draft Judy, you're just praying that Joe Flacco makes a bunch of starts.
- [38:16]
Ryan Warmley
Fitz, we've talked about some of the younger guys available in previous rounds. You have, I think probably the oldest player we're talking about today as your choice here.
- [38:25]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Yeah. And this is probably going to be controversial. It's Travis Kelsey and it's funny that it's controversial because we've been debating for so long whether he should be a first round pick in fantasy. Now you can get him in the seventh round and I feel like the only way he doesn't pay off on this price is if he gets hurt. And Travis Kelce has not missed more than two games in any season since its rookie year. And a lot of the games he's missed have been regular season finales when the Chiefs had a bye week. Wrapped up already or if he just collapses. I suppose the collapse is possible. He's 36. Last year was the first time he averaged under 10 yards per catch, but he still had 97 catches last year. Like, do we really think Travis Kelce isn't going to be a big part of this offense again? That. That Patrick Mahomes isn't going to look for him? Like, come on. I'm just, I'm not buying that. So seventh round. Yeah, I'll take it.
- [39:18]
Ryan Warmley
Heath, let's loop in your round eight pick. Who's David and Joku? Because it's the first tight end that you brought up on this show. How do you compare a guy like in joku in the 8th to Kelsey in the 7th?
- [39:27]
Heath Cummings
I have them both. I think back to back in my rankings. I love Fitz's call here. I think one of the things he didn't talk about was the fact that Kelsey outscored Sam Laporta and Mark Andrews per game last year despite the fact that he only scored three touchdowns. And those guys lived on touchdowns. And we know touchdowns are not the stickiest stat. We've seen big touchdown seasons from Kelsey in the pack. I do. I would be more likely to believe he was going to ride into the sun, off into the sunset if it wasn't for how hard he's been working this off season to get in shape and how all the things Patrick Mahomes is saying about how much better he looks. I think Kelsey wants to have one more great season so great call there. The Joker It's a lot of the stuff I said about Jerry Judy. The difference is that he's actually safer because their layups in that Browns offense in the Kevin Stefanski system, I know they got a new offensive coordinator. I still think Stefanski has a big impact on things. The layups go to the tight ends. Joku had a 5 yard 8 out over the last two years. If they play one of the younger guys, kind of like the Alvin Camara is the guy that they dump it off to in New Orleans. Najoku is the guy they dump it off to in Cleveland. So I think he's a little bit safer in terms of if Joe Flacco is not the starter. But it's worth Remembering that in 2023 he played five games with Joe Flacco and averaged 18 fantasy points per game in those five games. So big time upside for as long as Flacco was starting and I think he might be better than an 8th round value even with one of the other guys.
- [40:52]
Ryan Warmley
Flacco has always loved his tight ends from from day one. What what is your approach generally, Heath, on the tight end position? Is it to I know you didn't mention these guys earlier, but is it to try and get a, a, a bowers or a McBride or a Kittle early or is it more to get, you know, this mid tier or do you just want to kind of punt and wait till even later to get your tight end?
- [41:10]
Heath Cummings
Yeah, I Wish almost that HN had been 12th in the rankings. So I could have said him for round one and I could have said one of the tight ends for round two because my plan so far this year has pretty much been take Bowers or McBride in round two. If I miss both those guys, it's take Kelsey or Najoku in round seven. So yeah, these are the four guys that I usually end up with.
- [41:31]
Ryan Warmley
Am I misremembering? Did I see you took Bowers first overall in Scott Fishbowl? That's its own story.
- [41:36]
Heath Cummings
I took him first overall in Scott Fishbowl. I I've heard some of the arguments about why he won't be as good as he was last year. I just can't believe in a better offense with a better quarterback and no significant target competition added that he's going to be worse. I think Brock Bowers might be worth a first round pick and just a standard PPR league.
- [41:54]
Ryan Warmley
I've got the third pick in my draft this weekend so maybe if he's there I'll go with a.
- [41:58]
Pat Fitzmaurice
You'll, you'll.
- [41:59]
Heath Cummings
There you go.
- [41:59]
Pat Fitzmaurice
I took him at 104 and I saw a lot of people getting them at like 109, 111. I'm like did I reach? But so Heath is making me feel better about that. But yeah, I like Bowers at 104. Scott Fish always pumps up the tight ends in his league for sure.
- [42:16]
Ryan Warmley
Fitz, we have not done your round 8 player yet. Who do you have for us?
- [42:19]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Yeah, it's Brock Purdy. So in his two full seasons as an NFL starter, Purdy has finished QB7 and QB10among quarterbacks who made at least six starts. His ADP is QB13. Purdy is averaging 8.9 yards per attempt for his career and just to put that number into perspective, the single best one season YPA that Tom Brady ever had in his career was 8.6 yards per attempt in 2011. So Purdy averaging 8.9 yards per attempt over 40 careers game shows that 1 he's good and 2 Kyle Shanahan's system is good. So I mean Purdy even gave us some rushing value last year. 323 yards, five touchdown runs. Maybe the rushing numbers dry up a bit but Purdy could be due for some positive regression and touchdown rate. Only 4.4% of his throws resulted in TDs last year. That's below his career mark of 6%.
- [43:19]
Ryan Warmley
Yeah Heath, I'm curious. I'm curious where you have pretty ranked amongst quarterbacks but also because you didn't pick a quarterback for this. Kind of the same thing about tight ends. What's your approach with the position?
- [43:27]
Heath Cummings
So the last three drafts that I've done I've drafted Brock Birdie. So what All I can do is just 100 agree. I think he's gonna smash his career high in pass attempts. I think people focused on the weapons that he's lost but I think this 49ers defense may not be near as good as it's been during the time that he's been there. So I expect he's my QB7. Absolutely love it. The the reason I didn't put him here is because I've been spoiled by all these analyst drafts where I get Brock purdy in round 10 or round 11. But he is my QB7 and I absolutely amongst the quarterbacks I think he is probably the guy that I am highest on amongst all quarterbacks.
- [44:05]
Ryan Warmley
Before we get to the rest of the show, I want to take a quick second to talk to everyone about Fan Tracks. Guys, if you want customization in your fantasy platform, look no further than Fan Tracks, offering the greatest fantasy experience for your dynasty, Keeper redraft and best ball leagues. Their free NFL Fantasy Football League Manager is the most customizable, easy to use, feature rich platform in the industry. They can easily import any current leagues you have on other platforms and begin customizing your settings immediately. Personally, I use Fan tracks for my college football fantasy league, my Dynasty Baseball league, my Dynasty College Basketball Fantasy league. Yes, that's a real thing. And of course my longtime dynasty NFL league made the switch as well. Whether it's devi leagues, IDP leagues, decimal scoring, tight end premium, unique matchup settings like weekly double headers, there's a reason why fantasy players who try fan tracks make it the permanent home for all their fantasy leagues. Because they have it all. And I haven't even mentioned the best part yet. Sign up for free today and you will be entered to win a signed Jamar Chase Jersey. Head to fantracks.com fantasypros and sign up today. That's F A n t r a x.com fantasypros for your chance at a signed Jamar Chase Jersey Fan Tracks, the home of fantasy sports. Let's stick with you Fitz for your for your pick in round nine because you're going back to the quarterback. Well, here again I am.
- [45:28]
Pat Fitzmaurice
So I have to admit that Purdy is not my favorite click at quarterback in drafts this year. It's Drake May. And you know this worm. I mean, after doing shows with you all off season, you could probably recite my Drake May sales pitch for me and I've been giving it to our viewers and listeners. You know they've been getting the hard sell on Drake May off season. So so I will spare all of you a long breakdown of why I think Drake May is going to run for 800 yards and at least four or five touchdowns this year and why I think he'll put up solid passing numbers. I'll just say that if anyone out there believes in Drake May and wants to get him this year, use Justin Fields as your alarm clock. Like when Fields gets picked. Take Drake May in the next round and fields ADP is 93 overall. May is 115 overall. So you'll probably be picking May a full round ahead of his adp. But you will be assured of getting him. And I think it's well worth it to get him this year.
- [46:25]
Ryan Warmley
Heath again, we just talked about how Purdy is such a great target for you. Is May kind of also in that conversation in this round of drafts?
- [46:32]
Heath Cummings
No, I I My Drake May ranking was so low that we have our St. Jude Draftathon coming up and just starting, actually. And we had somebody make a donation if we would do a weekly segment about how wrong I was about Drake May because he's just convince against I'm going to be eating crow all season long. So we appreciate the donation and we're going to do the segment and hopefully I'll look dumb. I'm probably still more of a Stefan Diggs skeptic in terms of his health and his age. And I think if Diggs is not good, this is still the worst receiving core in the NFL. And so that's what worries me. I I loved what May did as a rusher last year, but also there's some efficiency there that's just probably not repeatable. He had some very long runs and he'll have a couple of those. But I think we see the yards per ATT come down a little bit. I'm hopeful that the rush attempts go up, but in the Josh McDaniels get it out quick system, I'm a little bit more worried they're going to train him to not take off and run, but dump it off to Trevion Henderson instead. And so we'll just, we'll see if I'm wrong. I like the player. I like him a lot more in Dynasty than I do in Redraft. And if Stefan Diggs is somehow at 31 coming off of an ACL Stefan Diggs again, then I'm gonna have egg on my face.
- [47:44]
Ryan Warmley
So who are you going with around nine then in round nine?
- [47:47]
Heath Cummings
I'm gonna go with Ricky Pearson. This feels like cheating because from the moment the Juan Jennings trade request or contract request happened, it seemed like a switch flipped and everybody started taking Pearsall a couple of rounds ahead of Juwan Jennings. I like both of them. I'm happy to take whichever one goes second. I think in the consensus rankings, Pierce all was showing as the second one, so I chose him. There's, there's big time upside for Ricky. Pierce only showed it in the last two games of last year. The reason we can't rank him any higher is because it was two games and I I don't expect much from Brandon IUK until probably week seven. Week eight gives him a great Runway to establish himself as the number one receiver in this offense. Either way, I think If I can get at the 8, 9 turn, both Jennings and Pearsall, I feel great about that.
- [48:38]
Ryan Warmley
Fitz, what do you think about Piercel?
- [48:40]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Like him a lot. It's funny because people on a bunch of fantasy analysts on, on Twitter this week were sort of fighting the Juwan Jennings crusades. People on either side of that battle and I have tended to be. I, I did not join in with my sword and shield but I have been on the Ricky Pierasol side of things. I feel better about Piercel. I mean I Never trust age 27 breakouts. And if you look, look like Juwan Jennings yards per route run last year was fabulous. It was like 2.26 but like for the rest of his career, which I think amounts to more route runs than he had last year, it was like 1.4. Like it just wasn't good. So I'm not sure I trust the breakout for Jennings. I trust more in the draft pedigree and athleticism and you know, Pearsall gave us a pretty good audition the last two weeks of 2024.
- [49:32]
Ryan Warmley
Sorry Heath, did you say where you would take him? Because you said round nine is almost like cheating at this point. Where is the round that you would be wanting to reach for him?
- [49:39]
Heath Cummings
Well, what I'd like to do is take one of them in round eight and one of them at the start of round nine. Like I'd feel pretty good about that. I, I've considered it in round seven, but I think round eight is probably the sweet spot.
- [49:50]
Ryan Warmley
Let's go to round 10 here. Heath will start with you. Who do you have?
- [49:54]
Heath Cummings
Well, we're not going with the youth this time. We're going with the old man and it's Cooper cup. And I, I do have like I've been taunted by our listeners over this. I have a theory that if a guy shows you in his 30s that he's done believe him. The problem is kind of like I can't quite believe the last two games for Ricky Piercel. It was only really the last four games for Cooper Cup. Through week 14 he was on a 1200 yard 10 touchdown pace. And then those last four games he just disappeared. I'm, I'm hopeful that was some sort of injury. And he's Cooper cup again at the beginning of this year which is probably a big time problem for jsn. I love the fact they're talking about playing him predominantly in the slot. He's just been elite too recently for me to see him fall this late in drafts. I would actually prefer cup to the 49ers and I'd take him as early as round seven.
- [50:47]
Ryan Warmley
Fitz, what do you think?
- [50:49]
Pat Fitzmaurice
I don't know if I've taken him in any draft yet. I mean, I'm not one of these people who's done 200 basketball drafts already. But yeah, I just, I don't know if he like he said, like the switch just flipped off very abruptly. I don't know if he turned to dust or if there was some sort of hidden explanation, an injury or something else. I'd like to believe that he goes back to his home state and has like one more really nice season. I just, I don't know. I'm very sort of torn on him and have erred on the side of not drafting him.
- [51:22]
Ryan Warmley
Fitz, who's your round 10 pick?
- [51:24]
Pat Fitzmaurice
It's Jordan Mason and I actually think both of the Minnesota Viking running backs are pretty attractive. Aaron Jones might even be the better value at this point because Mason is starting to get expensive. I'm just not sure if people can actually get Jordan Mason in the 10th round. So please don't yell at me in the YouTube comments about Mason not being available here. But if you can, and that's where ECR has him like Mason should have some standalone value this year. And if anything happens to Aaron Jones, who's 30 now by the way, Mason will be a guy that we will be ranking in the top 10 or even in our top five at running back every week that Jones is up. So Mason showed us what he could do last year when, when Christian McCaffrey was hurt early in the year. Mason averaged 120 scrimmage yards a game and 5.1 yards per carry before getting hurt himself. And the Vikings run games real heavy on the outside zone which is just totally suits Mason's abilities. I think if you can get Mason in the 10th round you should pounce on him.
- [52:25]
Ryan Warmley
Heath, is Mason a target for you as sort of like a handcuff plus type of player there?
- [52:30]
Heath Cummings
Yeah, yeah, I think he, he's got flex appeal even with Aaron Jones healthy. I would not be surprised if he just has more rush attempts than Aaron Jones this year. And I certainly wouldn't be surprised with Jones fumbling issues if he has more rush attempts inside the five or ten yard line and maybe even more rushing touchdowns. I hope that this high flying Vikings pass game can still be that with a first year starter at quarterback. I do think there's a chance that with a first year starter at quarterback they go a little more run heavy than they have in the past and there's room for Aaron Jones to touch the ball 15 times a game and Jordan Mason still be a contributor in fantasy. So I think if you, yeah, if you can find him in round 10, that's great.
- [53:10]
Ryan Warmley
Fitz, who is your round 11 guy?
- [53:12]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Keon Coleman. So we saw glimpses of Keon's big playability in year one. He averaged 19.2 yards per catch, just under 10 yards per target. He just needs to get more consistent and earn more targets. But the Bills don't really have anything close to an alpha receiver on their rost there. There's substantial target upside for Coleman. I'm hoping for a big step forward in Year two.
- [53:34]
Ryan Warmley
I wonder if it's since especially since we do the Dynasty show together, if I've heard you talk more about Drake May or Keon Coleman over the last year because it's got to be May.
- [53:43]
Pat Fitzmaurice
But there's been a lot of Coleman hype too.
- [53:48]
Ryan Warmley
Heath, are you buying into any of Fitz's Keon Coleman hype?
- [53:51]
Heath Cummings
I hate the Bills offense so much and Josh Allen's awesome. They are very good, but just their offensive philosophy of even our best skill position player, James Cook. Yeah, let's just give him 230 touches or something and mix in Ty Johnson and Ray Davis and let's throw it to seven different pass catchers. I I think that the Keon Coleman breakout path is like a James Jones season where he doesn't actually have a thousand yards, he doesn't catch that many passes, but he scores 10 touchdowns because he plays one of the best quarterbacks on the plan. And so if you can get that in round 11, I think it's not the guy that I generally click on that range, but he is certainly has that potential upside because of who he plays with.
- [54:34]
Ryan Warmley
Who is the guy that you click on here?
- [54:37]
Heath Cummings
So my round 11 guy was tank Bigsby and I want to apologize in advance to all the facial Tootin touts. I know everybody loves him. I looked at ADP earlier this week and there's some site where he's going earlier than both Travis ETN and Tanks Bigsby already. Tank Bigsby has had a terrible time catching the football and fast protecting. He's not in passing downs guy, but he was one of the most efficient rushers in the NFL last year and I think that there is a chance. Everybody looks at Toot and says well he's the Bucky Irving and I think there's a chance to Tank Bigsby's the Bucky Irving and I would much rather take a chance on him if he's going third in this group in round 11 than drafting one of the other guys in round seven, eight or nine. I don't think we really know anything about the Jacksonville backfield heading into training camp, but the narrative that the day three running back is going to be the guy because he's the one the coach chose doesn't hold as much weight with me as it seems to be with a lot of people.
- [55:31]
Ryan Warmley
Fitz, what's your approach with this backfield?
- [55:33]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Yeah, I mean kind of lean into it. I want to get a piece of it in every draft just because the ambiguity is keeping the prices low and if you don't get the right guy, it's really easy to cut ties and just waive them after a while. But the potential rewards if you hit on the right guy and maybe Bigsby, well, as he said, he's not going to plan passing downs. I'm kind of just scratching him off my board on in full point PPR leagues and half point. That's different. He was so much better as a runner than ETN was last year. It wasn't even funny. Like as all the metrics yards after contact per carry, rushing yards over expected. ETN just got blown away by Tank Bigsby. So I see why Heath is attracted here and like BAE Shaltin is a fumbling issue. Laquint Allen isn't really an early down guy so it wouldn't surprise me if Tank got the vast majority of the first and second down worth mark round.
- [56:26]
Ryan Warmley
12 we've got one rookie and one guy in his 30s so opposite end of the spectrum here. Heath, let's start with the rookie.
- [56:33]
Heath Cummings
Yeah, I'll go with Matthew Golden. I again another guy. I would take three or four rounds earlier than what the ECR shows right now. It seems like some people really hate Matthew Golden. I I know the downside is that so far Green Bay hasn't had a number one wide receiver. They just spread the ball around too much. But the other thing they haven't had is a first round pick as a wide receiver. It's something the packers didn't do for basically two decades. Decades. And they did it this year. I think that's because they looked at their roster and said we've got like four number two guys. We need a number one. And the thing that golden possesses that the other guys don't is two hands. He can catch the football exceptionally well. They really had a problem with Drops last year. He's also better as an intermediate route runner than he gets credit for people see the 40 time and think oh he just runs down the sideline. No, he can do other things. He really seems to be building a good rapport with Jordan Love already and I expect golden to function as a true number one in this packers office. That doesn't mean 140 targets like some teams but I do think there's a chance for 120 targets which would be the most I think in the Matt LaFleur era at least since Devonte Adams left. And I, I love love love him if you can get him in the double digit rounds.
- [57:39]
Ryan Warmley
Fitz, your in house packers fan. What do you think about this pick?
- [57:42]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Yeah, I mean we've talked about how conflicted I am with Golden. The guys in our our business who do like models for rookie first round rookie receivers in general, but especially the first rounders point out that every first rounder with a profile similar to golden like it's just littered with guys who have been bust. I mean he two years ago he was like the third best receiver on the University of Houston and that was after Tank Dell left. But the scouting guys, Daniel Jeremiah, Mel Kuiper Jr. Dane Brugler, they all had golden as a top 15 overall prospect in this draft like they loved him and what he did down the stretch against some really quality competition was so impressive for Texas. So I don't know what to think here but I do, I'm encouraged by the fact that Matt LaFleur is one of the best play callers in the NFL and he if he and Brian Guda Kunst the Packers GM were on the same page about drafting this guy, that lafleur has a plan for him and it's going to get him involved and get him the ball. So yeah, mixed feelings for sure.
- [58:50]
Ryan Warmley
Let's go with the older guy here. Now Fitz, who's your pick for round 12?
- [58:54]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Austin Eckler. I was never really that big an Echler guy when he was a first rounder and I missed out on some good years. But now that he's so cheap he plays in an exciting up and coming offense with an electric quarterback and a much improved offensive line. And Echler was productive when he was healthy last year. He scored double digit PPR points in eight of his 12 games. And I think there's some upside here too. When Brian Robinson Jr. Missed a pair of mid season games last year with a hamstring injury, Eckler at 134 yards from scrimmage and three touchdowns in those two games and one of those games was against the Steelers who have a pretty good defense.
- [59:32]
Ryan Warmley
Heath, is this somebody that interests you as a late round target?
- [59:35]
Heath Cummings
Oh for like he's this is the guy that sits in my rankings as the the best player available by rankings for a couple of rounds and I just don't want to click it because it's an old running back who's sharing work. But I think that he's an incredible value, especially at this cost. And I don't really fully understand the difference in the ADP of Brian Robinson Jr. And Austin Eckler because if you just look at the games when both of those guys were healthy last year, first off, neither one of them was great, but they were both within like a point and a half of each other right around 10 or 11 fantasy points per game. I think Brian Robinson Jr. Is being overdrafted, Austin Eckler is being underdrafted and.
- [60:13]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Jacori Crosby Merit I think could steal carries from Brian Robinson, but he's not going to steal any work from Eckler.
- [60:20]
Ryan Warmley
Quick note for everybody on Draft Assistant Draft Assistant helps you make the best decisions during your fantasy draft. It connects directly to your draft and provides both real time pick suggestions and estimations on which players might get taken before your next pick pick. Draft Assistant fully integrates your customized cheat sheets and suggests picks based on your rankings, team build, ADP and other factors dominate your draft in real time without the guesswork with draft assistant@fantasypros.com assistant or on the Fantasy Football Draft wizard app. All right guys, two rounds left. We'll go quicker here because these are kind of the the range of I don't want to say like lottery tickets, but like kind of lottery tickets, guys that you'll be willing to drop if they don't pan out pretty early on in the year here. Heath, who do you have in round 13?
- [61:01]
Heath Cummings
Yeah, I don't have a lot of things to say about Jaydon Blue, so I'm glad that you said that we're going to be quick on these guys. I'll just say that if I can take a running back with receiving upside who's currently behind Javante Williams and Miles Sanders, who have both failed plenty over the last couple of years, that seems like a decent bet to make.
- [61:20]
Ryan Warmley
Are you interested at all? I know I said we go quick here, Heath, but are you interested at all in Javante Williams just as like a guy who we don't think is like what he used to be, but there's just so much opportunity here?
- [61:30]
Heath Cummings
Yeah, yeah. I think if, if he falls to that Round nine Round ten range then sure it's especially if it's one of those teams where I started. Now the reason I don't end up picking him a lot is something I said at the start of the show. A lot of my favorite picks in the first few rounds are running backs and I think Williams is the type of guy you target. If you started off with three wide receivers, an elite tight end and a good quarterback and now you're trying to piece together that 0 RB team, you know, then Javante Williams is a good option. If you already have three running backs by the time you get to round nine. I'm not sure that Williams has the upside to really ever matter on your team. But yeah, I think any of the Cowboys running backs are a worthwhile click in the double digit rounds for sure.
- [62:11]
Ryan Warmley
Fitz, we've talked a lot about Javante. Do you have any thoughts on blue as a pick here?
- [62:15]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Yeah, I mean I think you're getting pretty good pot odds on him as you know in the 13th round. Basically. Like I don't know how he's going to work into that running back rotation, but there's a chance he has a pretty substantial role.
- [62:28]
Ryan Warmley
You are picking round 13 here. Fitz is a longtime fantasy pro's favorite.
- [62:32]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Yeah, Marvin Mims Jr. And I know people have heard me talk about him and how he scored six touchdowns over Denver's last seven regular season games despite, let's see 62 yards per game in those seven games despite playing fewer than half the offensive snaps in all of them. So he averaged 0.72 ppr fantasy points per snap in those seven games, which is almost double the 0.38 ppr fantasy points per snap that Jamar Chase averaged last season. And I realized it was a lot of schemed up production. Like Mims got a bunch of yards on screens, Sean Payton was putting him in the backfield some of the time and now the Broncos have RJ Harvey and Evan Ingram to steal some of those short area targets. But Mims average depth of target as A rookie was 15.1 yards in college. His last two years at Oklahoma he averaged more than 20 yards per catch in each of those two seasons. Like if he goes back to being a downfield receiver this year, fine. Like there there's still a chance for him to produce that way and he just turned 23. Like I think there are a lot of potential paths to value for this guy and I like him as a late round dart throw.
- [63:38]
Ryan Warmley
Heath, is Mims somebody that interests you in this range?
- [63:41]
Heath Cummings
I love Mims I loved him as a prospect. I got too excited when Sean Payton took him in round two and then talked about how involved he was going to be. I got too excited last year when Sean Payton talked about how they had to get him on the field more and then his snapshare actually went down down. And it's probably part of the reason why I've been skeptical about the things Sean Payton says about RJ Harvey, another second round pick that he keeps talking good about. So yes, I, I am definitely interested in drafting Mims at this point in the draft and I will be optimistic but I really don't think Sean Payton's going to let it happen.
- [64:12]
Ryan Warmley
You beat me to the RJ Harvey comparison, so well done on that. Let's, let's go to round 14 and there, there were three players in this exercise that you guys both won wanted to pick. One was in round three, one was in round four and one was all the way down around 14. You guys had the same guy again. Heath, who did you take and snake away from? Fitz.
- [64:31]
Heath Cummings
I don't know how so many people hate DeAndre Swift and think that Ben Johnson hates DeAndre Swift and yet nobody wants to draft Roshan Johnson until round 14. It doesn't make any sense to me but yeah, he should be in that Jamal Williams slash David Montgomery role. He was already basically the goal line back last year year. If this offense takes the leap that we're hoping it does with Ben Johnson and hopefully Caleb Williams turning into the guy he was drafted to be, then this could be a team that scores 45 touchdowns in a season and Roshan could definitely get to double digit touchdowns. I don't know that he does much in the passing game. I don't expect him to be that efficient as a rusher but he doesn't necessarily have to be. If it's blocked well and he gets the short yardage opportunities, he's a value here.
- [65:14]
Ryan Warmley
Fitz, you wanted Roshan. Where did you go instead?
- [65:17]
Pat Fitzmaurice
I went with Isaiah Likely just to pander to you, the Ravens fan worm. Yeah, I mean it's just if Mark Andrews stays healthy all year, Isaiah likely is probably someone I don't know. You're, you're cutting fairly early in the season. You, you're just needing an extra spot and you can't draft him as your top tight end. But if anything were to happen to Mark Andrews, where we've talked about this in games Andrews has missed, likely is produced at a rate that I think like if you prorated over a full season works out to almost 900 yards and like 11 touchdowns. And I just think the guy's really good and I'm willing to kind of throw a dart and hope that the opportunity presents itself. We've heard talk that they're looking to lock up likely with the long term contract which maybe bodes well for him getting used a little bit more aggressively this year.
- [66:07]
Heath Cummings
Year.
- [66:08]
Pat Fitzmaurice
So yeah, I think he's worth a shot this late.
- [66:11]
Ryan Warmley
The rumor around Baltimore is that they've made him the same contract offer that they extended Andrews to a few years ago. Kind of that four year. I think it's like 52 million like as an offer which obviously hasn't been accepted yet, but they are looking to extend him. From what I can tell is likely Heath somebody that if you do end up waiting late on tight end or as like a second tight end that interests you.
- [66:32]
Heath Cummings
Yeah, I think when you get to round 15 of a draft or round 14 of a draft, what you'd like to do is draft people that you know are good at football. If they get the opportunity, they're going to smash. And I think likely is exactly that. I the, the hard part last year was that week one was so good you couldn't drop them. You just had to hold them on your bench all year long and wait just in case. And that's kind of a pain when you've got short benches in a redraft league. But the, the potential is so good, the offense is so good that it's worth having him on at the end of your bench. Bench for as long as you can handle that.
- [67:08]
Ryan Warmley
Heath, before we get out of here, you mentioned already the St. Jude draft a thon just such a cool thing that you guys do. Do you want to take a moment to let everybody know in case some people listening don't know what that is?
- [67:17]
Heath Cummings
Yeah, yeah. Basically from now until the end of August we are raising money for St. Jude. Last year we raised over a hundred thousand dollars. We're going to smash that number this year. We'll have all types of opportunities for people to get involved including play in leagues with us, do mock drafts with us, have your question read on the air all, all kind. And then it'll be other things through. You'll get to watch Dan Schneier be that amazer at tennis again. It's one of the best thing we. I feel like that we get to do in this industry is stuff like the Scott fishbowl like the St. Jude draft on anything we can do to use this game that we love to help other people.
- [67:52]
Ryan Warmley
Yeah, it's super, super awesome. So on the off chance anybody listening wasn't aware of that, definitely check that out throughout the next several weeks that they got going on with CBS Sports. Thank you again so much Heath for making the time here. Good luck throughout draft season the next several weeks. Enjoy the the chaos that is incoming for for all of us here in the next month and a half. For Heath and Fitz, I'm Ron Warmley. Thanks for tuning in. We'll see everybody again 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 Antasyprosis Pros and subscribe to our YouTube channel at YouTube.com fantasypros.
- [68:57]
Heath Cummings
Okay, have you heard about this? Last year, Degree changed the formula for their Cool Rush deodorant. Their fans rebelled and wanted the old sent back and Degree Listen, that doesn't happen often. They admitted that they effed up and are bringing the original Cool Rush scent back. And it's exactly how you remember it. Cool, crisp and fresh. There's a reason it's the number one man's antiperspirant and it's back in Walmart, Target and other stores for under $4. So try it and see what the fuss is about. Head to your local stores to try the OG Cool Rush for yourself.
- [69:30]
Ryan Warmley
Join iHeartRadio and Sarah Spain in celebrating the one year anniversary of iHeart Women's Sports.
- [69:36]
Heath Cummings
With powerful interviews and insider analysis, our.
- [69:39]
Pat Fitzmaurice
Shows have connected fans with the heart of women's Sports.
- [69:41]
Heath Cummings
In just one year, the network has launched 15 shows and built a community.
- [69:45]
Ryan Warmley
United by passion podcasts that amplify the voices of women in sports. Thank you for supporting I Heart Women's Sports and our founding sponsors E L F Beauty, Capital One and Novartis. Just open the free iHeart app and search iHeart Women's Sports.
- [69:59]
Heath Cummings
To listen now, check out behind the Flow, a podcast documentary series following the launch of San Diego Football Club. San Diego coming to MLS is gonna be a game changer because this region.
- [70:13]
Ryan Warmley
Has been hungry for a men's professional soccer team.
- [70:16]
Pat Fitzmaurice
We need to embrace this community.
- [70:20]
Heath Cummings
Listen to San Diego FC behind the Flow Flow on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [70:30]
Ryan Warmley
This is an iHeart podcast.