← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
FantasyPros - Joey P's Undervalued Players That YOU NEED on Your Fantasy Football Team in 2025 (Ep. 1602)
01:01:37
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- [00:00]
Joey P
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
Colin Cowherd
Hi, it's Colin from the Colin Coward podcast. I've been around long enough to know quality when I see it, or in this case, when I taste it. Tito's handmade vodka. Good stuff. No flash, no gimmicks. Smooth, clean tasting. Made the right way. Tito's made in Austin, Texas. Real attention to detail. I like to keep it simple. Tito's soda, one lime, lot of ice. Refreshing, easy. Summer, winter, spring. Totally versatile. Always works. Listen, baseball season's here. The perfect time to kick back with some Tito's. It's what I pour. You should, too. Distilled and bottled by 5th Generation Inc. Austin, Texas. 40% alcohol by volume. Savor responsibly.
- [00:45]
Joe P. Zeppia
Welcome in, everybody, to Fantasy Pros. This is the fantasy Football podcast. It is me, Joey P, Joe P. Zeppia. And today we're going to look at my favorite things. That's right, everybody. I have a say for once, finally, and telling you all of my favorite players. And I may or may not get roasted by these two guys on either side of me here. We've got Jake Sealy here from the Athletic again, and Andrew Erickson. I'm going to tell you my favorite players in 2025 in terms of underrated values that I think that you absolutely 100% need on your rosters this year. And these guys will tell me if I'm wrong or maybe. Maybe I might be right. Gentlemen, it's great to see you as always. Before we get going, just a quick shout out too. We had a. A crazy little trade happen unexpected here. The Steelers acquiring Jalen Ramsey and John who? Smith from the Dolphins in exchange for Minka Fitzpatrick, Jake Seeley. I don't think a lot of us saw this one coming. So Arthur Smith gets John Smith back. Is that what's going on? He's just. He missed his long lost brother. Is that what's going on here? But let's talk about this from the fantasy end of it. John New Smith. Now, as a Pittsburgh Steeler, your thoughts?
- [01:51]
Joey P
No. Should I just make the sound again? Like, whatever.
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Joe P. Zeppia
Yeah, I think that that was the.
- [01:56]
Joey P
Best way to put it. Like, he went from being inside my top 10, two, just inside my top 20. It's also tight end, so knocking off 20 fantasy points will make you go that far. But really what it comes down to is, yeah, it's Arthur Smith and he's going to run two tight ends. But even if you give John Ooze Kyle Pitt's share from when they were splitting that and you saw about 160 targets go to each of them. And I know that was a bad year at quarterback for the Falcons and blah, blah, blah, blah, but it was still 530 targets on the season. So even if, oh what, 17% target share, but I don't see him getting that, I think it would probably be more like 15. And at 15, it's not a top 10 tight end for me. Maybe if he gets 17, 18% and maybe if he's like that solid number two and all the wide receivers failed to take a step forward alongside DK Metcalf, like Roman Wilson, Calvin Austin and all the rest. Maybe he's back inside the back end top 10, but I'm not going to risk it because unless his ADP gets down to about 18 to 20 range at tight end, I'm just not going to do it.
- [02:53]
Joe P. Zeppia
Erickson, give me the other side of this. Johnny Smith gone from Miami. A lot of people liked him as a sleeper tight end. Oh yeah, it's such a good year last year for the Dolphins. Well, that's gone. So now what remains here? What are the adjustments that you might have to make around this Dolphins offense?
- [03:08]
Andrew Erickson
Well, I think it means that Jalen Waddle bounce back season. It's. It's happening. It's gonna happen, people. So I'm really excited. I think that this means that. All right, we've seen the Dolphins offense through Mike McDaniel be very concentrated around usually two guys. Most of the time it's been Hill and Waddle. Last year it was Achan and Johnny Smith. So now it seems like of the big three, that's there Tyreek, Jalen and Achan. Well, two of these guys are probably going to be hits in this potential offense and if I'm pushing my chips on two players, it's going to be the running back and Jalen Waddle.
- [03:38]
Joe P. Zeppia
All right everybody, so quick take on that trade. And remember, make sure you subscribe to Fancy Bros YouTube channel. Drop your comments below. Again, we're trying to get to 300,000 subscribers this year and we can do it with your help. All you got to do is subscribe and like this video. It's a very easy thing to do. We appreciate all of you hanging out, talking football and let's start talking about some of my favorite things. That's right. I'm like Oprah today I'm going to give you all my favorite things and number one, my first favorite thing here. We're going to talk about some guys that are going currently in the top 50 of picks. I'm not going to take guys, you know in the top 25. Most of them are pretty good. But I want to highlight somebody ECR 38 wide receiver 18 is Terry McLaurin because he is one of my favorite things. Why? Because he is incredibly consistent. One of my favorite bets last year Andrew knows this. I smashed the over. It was 925 and half on the receiving yards from last year. This is a guy who gets a thousand yards receiving every single year with some of the worst slap nut quarterback play you're ever going to see in your entire life. And then he finally got Jaden Daniels last year and wouldn't you know it, he had one of his best seasons, probably his best season ever. He now has five straight years of a thousand yards receiving. He was wide receiver six and a half ppr last year and now he's being ranked as wide receiver 18. I don't understand this. I understand if the touchdowns regress a little bit. He had 13 last year, maybe it goes to 9 or 10. I actually think there's a world where Jaden Daniels doesn't have a sophomore slump or even gets possibly better. So I think the value proposition here for Tara McLaurin is a complete buy. Jake Seeley, talk to me about your thoughts on Terry McLaurin because he is one of my favorite wide receivers this year at value and I think he's being grossly undervalued in all of the early ranks.
- [05:16]
Joey P
Yeah, I'm with you. Honestly, even if you look at fancy points per game and include Rasheed Rice and Chris Godwin missing big chunks of their seasons, he's at worst wide receiver 16. So if anything you're just going off points per game last year he's still undervalued and I would still take him at 14. And even if you brought up the projection type situation and like I don't have him for 13 touchdowns, I have for eight at 1100 and 10 change yards. That puts him about 203 fantasy points most years. That puts him as a fringe wide receiver one around 203. Worst case probably wide receiver 15 which I feel like I'm with you is the floor in my opinion. I'm at 14. I'm taking in front of Adams as the number two I'm taking in front of and this is going to sound a little crazy to a lot of people but I'll take him in front of lad McConkey. Like I just think that if everybody's expecting Jaden Daniels to take another step forward and what you bring in with Debo Samuel like it's the corpse of Debo Samuel at this point that, that not even that one year that we can kind of throw out that happened at San Francisco with all the rushing, like, we just know that's never going to happen again. Even if you take the best years just receiving wise Adibo Samuel, it'll be better than anything they had running out there as the number two. But if anything, that's just going to help free up Terry McLaurin downfield more, which is what we love to see. So I'm, I'm with you. I think Terry McLaurin is solidly inside the top 15 wide receivers. So so far, I am not coming for you or trying to roast you, man.
- [06:35]
Joe P. Zeppia
I'm relieved. Let me tell you that. Andrew Erickson, I want your thoughts on McLaren because, okay, maybe he doesn't have the, the flashy explosiveness of the guys at the very top. That's fair. But he also has the durability of a guy you can count on every single week. And I think that is very important and sometimes underappreciated. What do you think?
- [06:52]
Andrew Erickson
So I'm not as high on McLaren. I'm more in line with where the consensus has him. So I have him at wide receiver 19. I don't think that either. You brought up the fact that this guy hasn't showed up to OTAs and he's holding out for a contract. So that's. And that may be baked into his rank here a little bit because we saw last year a lot of the guys held out besides Jamar Chase, who did start the season really badly, it didn't work out for a lot of those guys that held out. So that's something to keep in mind that this could obviously change as we get closer to the start of the season, but he is holding out for a contract, so I think that does matter. And then the second thing, and Jake, I'm kind of interested to see what you have. What did you have for his target share in this offense? Because Terry McLaren's never really been this major target share earner, even when he's played with or he's been the clear established number one even last year. I don't think that he really had more than. I think he had a 21% target share last year, which was 37th in the NFL and there wasn't a lot of target competition last year. So, yes, it is the corpse of Debo Samuel that's coming into this offense, but I mean, he's still a little Bit more of an upgrade from what they had there last season. So I see it where he is more in the middle teens of receiver and I will also say that he kind of goes in a range in the drafts where you can poke a lot of holes in a lot of guys. I, I like the point that Joe made that he has that high floor. Right. You're going to get your thousand yards. So even if he's not necessarily in my opinion the best pick that you can make in the middle rounds, I think that he does offer a decent floor. Assuming that his contract gets all solved.
- [08:16]
Joey P
Do you want to jump me in or just set me up for the question? Okay. Oh no, I was asking Joe. He's hosting the show.
- [08:22]
Joe P. Zeppia
Like no, I mean I was staying out of your way. I like when you guys fight instead and Jake fighting for well so I.
- [08:29]
Joey P
Think that comes down to what cites data too because if you go to like true Media they have 23.2% for his team target share last year. So whatever. Anyway, point being, to answer your question for me, I am at 22.6, which is I don't think aggressive and I don't think it's too low, but I'll go back to that puts him in at 119 targets. Last year was 117. The years before that 130, 120, 130, 120. So it's in his wheelhouse. I honestly don't have him going up or down. I actually just have him almost replicating last year as a project without the touchdowns. And it's so crazy that Joe brought up that touchdowns is because even if you take those away and just replicate everything else, which I think would be his floor at this point, it's still a wide receiver top 20 at minimum. And that's assuming he's not going to be better on a per catch basis or a per target basis with Jaden Daniels on year two and the addition of Deebo Samuel. So that's where I'm going with it. I think you could see better efficiency and better per target outcomes for him this year, even if the touchdowns reel back in.
- [09:28]
Joe P. Zeppia
I think we should also maybe assume that Jaden Daniels could be better and understand that everything we've seen in the past, again it was almost in spite of his quarterback play. So look, I understand typically we look at touchdown regression and things like that year over year, But I think McLaren is a very interesting case study because this is a player who has typically had zero help. Now he's got a rookie quarterback last year who really help him break out and who knows, I, I think there's actually opportunity for everybody to actually come to this table and actually feast a little bit more. Next guy on my list is a running back at 46 in the ECR. I RB18 Chuba Hubbard last year finished as RB15 in the half PPR. He had 1195 yards, 10 touchdowns, also caught 43 balls. And I'm a big proponent of follow the money. And remember he did all this and he missed the last two games of the season too. So he's going to be healthy going into this year. I think that people continue to dismiss Erickson, the Carolina Panthers, rightfully so, they've been awful for quite some time. But I think last year, if you were paying attention and I know we were, you really saw a different version of them that latter part of the season where things really started to click for this offense a little bit more. And I think that it's time to take advantage of a Carolina Panther here and I got two of them on this list. So this is the first one here with Chuba Hubbard, who I think is a really solid back for your fantasy team that I think people are really, if you just take away the team, maybe take away the name and just look at the raw numbers from last year, it's a pretty valuable player that I think is being undervalued.
- [10:59]
Andrew Erickson
I think that he's being more closely valued. So I, I will just, I'll push back here a little bit. I see this backfield being more of a one, two punch because you look at the splits last year with Chuba Hubbard, especially down the stretch when there really was no one else in that backfield taking on any type of workload. Miles Sanders got hurt and Jonathan Brooks was coming back from his injury. But what you include when those guys were healthy in the offense, Jonathan, or excuse me, Chuba Hubbard was the RB19 in terms of points per game. That's how productive he was when those guys missed time. And it was clearly Chuba Hubbard wouldn't be seeing close to a 90% SNAP share as a full blown workhorse. That's when he was the RB4 in points per game. So that was the ceiling outcome. So I think that the backfield, there's more behind him than it was last year between Rico Dowdle and the Trevor Etienne who they drafted in the fourth round who can offer a little bit as a Pats catcher. And the only thing that concerns with Hubbard is I don't think that he's a dynamic receiver I know that he can catch dump off passes, but his yards per out run was really poor last year. So I think that he's more again I have him in the back end RB2 range and it's more of a value proposition for me where, you know, RB2. I'm not trying to put a priority on that in my fantasy drafts. I feel like I can get that later on in my drafts where I want to prioritize some of the receivers and other running backs especially he goes in the range with a lot of these rookie running backs where if I take Chuba Hubbard, that means I'm probably not going to get RJ Harvey or Travion Henderson. So that's kind of the opportunity cost I'm looking at. And I think I can replace Hubbard's production a little bit farther down the line than one of these rookies that could really have a big second half surge.
- [12:26]
Joe P. Zeppia
Yeah, but we've also seen Chuba Hubbard actually contribute where the other guys is still theoretical. And I will say too, five of the last seven games that he played in, he finished as an RB1. I think that's also something we should think about. And when the Panthers offense was better is when Chuba was getting the lion's share of the workload. So Jake, I'm going to put it to you with Chuba Hubbard, I feel like he's part of the secret sauce that turned this offense around last year. So it's not trying to put him in a timeshare again. It's trying to make sure that he is healthy for the season and ready to rock and roll and ready to be that lead back. And I don't look at some of the guys on this roster as legitimate threats to eating into too much of his workload, do you?
- [13:00]
Joey P
I don't. And I promise at some point I'm going to disagree with you. So, so, so far, no, I'm enjoying this.
- [13:07]
Joe P. Zeppia
Yeah. I mean, I like when you actually support me for a change in life.
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Joey P
I know you like that. Here's why. So it's not just projections, because projections only has him as RB18 in points, as in that's what he would have been last year for 208. That would have been RB18 and that'd be RB18. What we have to include here and why we have ranks versus projections and why some of mine will skew differently. I actually have them at RB15 because I think there's fewer questions. So, no, RB18 at 208 doesn't sound as appealing as RB15 and what we're trying to argue for Hubbard, but when you say Hubbard in front of James Conner, injury risk. Hubbard in front of Travion Henderson, who, you know, you just brought up Erickson, but is he definitely the guy? I'm a huge Treveon Henderson fan.
- [13:51]
Joe P. Zeppia
Huge.
- [13:52]
Joey P
But is he guaranteed to be the lead? Is he guaranteed to see 50% of the work? 55%? Is he guaranteed to see goal line work? DeAndre Swift I'm higher on the most questions there. Marion Hampton questions there. Like it's just the fact that I know Hubbard is the lead back for the Panthers, even if it's not the same near 20 touch per game rate that it was towards the end of the season that you're referencing. Joe. It's the good part here is you know he's going to be the one. I am not afraid of Rico Daddle. I brought this up in the comments for one of the videos that we did a weeks ago. The Dallas Cowboys who just had Rico Daddle do Rico Daddle things, said, you know what? We saw that we're not even going to offer you two and a half million. Instead we're going to offer three million to a dude's knee who might not even exist anymore. Like that's how much they were. Kind of like we don't care. Goodbye Rito Dalio for your one year two and a half million dollars. That tells me what the NFL thinks of Rico Daddle, which is different from fantasy, is that I don't think he's a threat. I just don't think anybody and I'm a Trevor ETN guy, I just don't think he's a threat. I think Hubbard's going to be one of the few running backs who has 260 plus touches this year and everybody behind him in my rankings have more questions.
- [15:03]
Joe P. Zeppia
You know, I might just end the show here because Jake has agreed with the first two players right out of the gate that I've.
- [15:08]
Joey P
I'll give you a hint. It's number three. This would be a good time to end the show because I'm about to.
- [15:12]
Joe P. Zeppia
I know, I feel like I'm pushing the envelope here, but maybe Ericsson will agree with this next one again. Look, I like the rookie running backs, Henderson especially too. I think he's that big play guy that they have lacked in that offense for some time. But Ramandre Stevenson is still there and we don't know what that workload. I mean it could be eight, nine weeks into the season until we see Henderson even take that over completely. You just don't know. But I know what I saw from Chuba Hubbard last year. And again, I'm following the money they signed into a contract extension last year, which a lot of us kind of went, wow, that's odd. That's interesting. And then at the end of the season, we went, yeah, that made a lot of sense. It's a good thing they did that because Jonathan Brooks isn't playing maybe ever again. And what they were able to bring in wasn't great. So, last guy on my list of the top 50, and I just snuck him in here, number 49, Cortland Sutton. He is wide receiver 23 right now in the ECR, despite the fact he was wide receiver 13 last year, 81 receptions, 135 targets, over a thousand yards, eight touchdowns. Now, I know we all hope and think that Evan Ingram is going to contribute and, and it seems to make a lot of sense on paper. There's a lot of people that, like Marvin Mims or some other talent there. You know, people are excited about RJ Harvey. The only thing that I know is that Bo Nix can find Cortland Sutton. That's all that I know about the Denver Broncos, that I feel good, is investable, that I am looking at it in fantasy and saying, yes, I know that's the number one guy in this offense and I want him. And I think you're getting a huge discount on Cortland Sutton this year. So I'm going to ignore Jake Seeley because I have a bad feeling about this, and instead go to the original OG Cortland Sutton guy for some support. Andrew Erickson, what say you?
- [16:48]
Andrew Erickson
Well, he was wide receiver, 23 points per game. So that's, I think the fact that he played all the games mostly last year kind of is bumping up his final stat line. And I think Evan Ingram is going to make a difference. In last year, Colton Sutton really had no target competition. It was a bunch of rookie receivers. You had Marvin Mims entering the second year, still in the doghouse, but now all these young receivers are now taking another step forward, another year in the Sean Payton system. Marvin Mims entering year three, Troy Franklin entering year two. They drafted Pat Bryant, they brought in Evan Ingram. We don't know exactly who the joker is in this offense, but it's not Courtland Sutton. Like we, we feel pretty clear about that. So even though you pointed to, yes, we feel good about Bo Nix and the Sutton connection, but I think that might have hit its peak potentially last year. Sutton was gobbling up all the high value opportunities, everything downfield, everything in the red zone. And I just think that the Broncos, they want to run the football. They tried to do it last year again to point to Jake's point about Javante Williams. They had a guy without a knee essentially leading the backfield and it wasn't working out really that great. So I think they run the ball a little bit more with the dynamic running backs, with J.K. dobbins, with R.J. harvey. I think Evan Ingram is going to become Bo Nix's favorite check down target in this passing game. I think that's going to negatively impact Cortland Sutton. So I mean last year during his second half tear when he was basically it was after that Saints game where he said he got no targets on Thursday Night Football and Sean Payton like publicly apologized about first Carl and son and then we got to get this guy the ball. He dominated production from that point on and no one else in the offense had a 12 target chair or higher. I just don't think that's going to be the case this year. So I'm a little bit lower. I've met wide receiver 28.
- [18:23]
Joe P. Zeppia
Yeah, it's interesting though, you're dinging my guy Cortland Sutton here because he played every game and instead we're going to think that Evan Ingram, who could barely get on the field last year, is somehow going to be a savior in fantasy. Jake, I like players who play football. That's what I like. The guys who show up every week because you know what the guys that don't, you know, fantasy points per game is important. I, I always talk about that in.
- [18:43]
Joey P
The black book too.
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Joe P. Zeppia
But playing games every week is also important. Guys who get on the field, guys who are available and produce at a high level when they are on the field. And I'm looking at Cortland Sutton and to me I look at these er and I see, you know, guys around him that have some more questions than answers. I mean I know Devonta Smith is after him. Jameson Williams had a nice season. I can understand making the case for him. But you know, we're still talking about Xavier Worthy, Chris Olave. I'll take Horton Sutton on both of those guys and they're all in that same grouping.
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Joey P
So one is I'm higher on a lava than a lot of people so it won't get me on that one. I can see the case. I actually haven't.
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Joe P. Zeppia
That's a whole other show because yeah.
- [19:22]
Joey P
I know I have a sandwiched. Right.
- [19:23]
Joe P. Zeppia
I want to know why about that, but I'm not going to ask you that today. That's that we don't have the time for that one.
- [19:28]
Joey P
He's actually you brought up to. He's sandwiched between Jameson and Devontae Smith for me at 27. And it really comes down to there's not a lot what you said that was wrong. It just comes down to what do we believe for this season. I feel like they have for the first time Erickson and I are on the same page and maybe the question should actually be when is Ericsson going to agree with you because he's come after you for all three so far. But the biggest thing here is I look at it and Evan Ingram in the Joker role. It's not even just Evan Ingram. I've said this a lot on these shows and I would bring Sean Payton's creating his Saints in Denver. It's not exactly the Saints. It's not Drew Brees. He doesn't have a Marquis Colson or Michael Thomas, but he has some similar weapons. And if you look back at like the Jimmy Graham years, the wide the number one wide receiver for that team averaged about 112 to 115 targets usually. And I'm not afraid of emin Ingram getting 130 targets. I'm actually mostly not drafting Evan Ingram. It's just that Sutton with everything and it was his highest team target share since his second year, which back then with Joe Flacco had nobody else on that team to throw to. But if you look at it, you go down this list is like there are weapons. There's Devon Veeley who a lot of people are giving credit in this offseason that might step up as the number two. And nobody's even brought up his name, including Marvin Mims and Pat Bryant who they drafted, who I think plays that kind of Marquis role to Michael Thomas role on the team, which somebody said, well maybe he's more Lance Moore and I think that makes sense too. But then the RJ Harvey and everything in the backfield JK Doc, like there's just one weapons galore where I find it hard to give Cortland SUTTON More than 115ish targets which is why I brought that up. And it's not again referencing the Jimmy Graham seasons to say that's why it's just I just don't see where he's going to get back into 130 plus targets which I think he needs to get inside the top 20. But you are right, he is one of the safest. Like fringe wide receiver. Two threes for me. Like I feel very good about him. If I took a dice roll on my wide receiver too, I would agree.
- [21:21]
Joe P. Zeppia
As a number two, I love it. And you can get them just about as a three in a lot of leagues. And you make a good point. Yes, there's a lot of talent around this roster now. However, a lot of it's theoretical. I want to add that word, theoretical. Maybe Vale. Maybe Harvey. Maybe J.K. dobbins knees hold up. Maybe, maybe, maybe Cortland Sutton. I know what I'm getting and I'm taking it. All right, let's move on to the next grouping here, players 51 through 100. Before we do quick shout out because nothing beats relaxing on a hot summer day and just chilling out by the pool and watching a little baseball along with it. Of course, Fantasy Pros MLB is there for you for all your baseball needs. And the simplest way to get on the action while you're watching a little Fantasy Pros MLB is to download the Pick Six app from DraftKings. It's super simple. Just pick more or less on the stats for two or more of your favorite players and boom, just like that, you're in the mix for big cash prizes. No gimmicks, no weird rules. Just balls. So pick six from DraftKings is the most fun way for you to play fantasy Sports. Download the DraftKings Pick Six app now and use that code. Fantasy Pros that's promo code. Fantasy Pros New customers can get a special sign up offer today. 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. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org in Connecticut. Must be 18 and eligibility restrictions vary by jurisdiction. Pick six not available everywhere including New York and Ontario. Void where prohibited one per new customer bonus awarded as non withdrawable. Pick six credits that expire in 14 days limited time offer see terms@pick6.draftkings.com Promos.
- [23:01]
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Joey P
Get in the zone. Autozone.
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- [25:22]
Joey P
Get in the zone.
- [25:23]
Unknown
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- [25:26]
Joe P. Zeppia
Next on our list here. Coming in at number 64, we kind of mentioned him already, Travion Henderson. Now I do believe in the talent here. I also believe in new regimes. And when a new regime comes in and starts taking guys, pay attention because they don't necessarily want the guys that were there before. And Travion Henderson, I'm sure you've heard it. Oh, I don't know, somewhere between 1 and about 5, 000 times that he's also good at pass blocking. Do you guys know that Trayvon Henderson is a good pass blocking? It's all anybody wants to talk about this summer already is Travion Henderson's pass blocking, which is great. Let's talk about the explosiveness, let's talk about the speed. Let's talk about the lack of playmakers the Patriots have had. And Treveon Henderson fits a Josh McDaniels offense very well. So before I'm I get to Mr. Patriot because I think I know where he lies on this one, I want to start with Jake Seeley, Jake Travion Henderson right now. Currently I'm looking at him as RB24. I think that is being very low on Travion Henderson and what his upside could be. I understand you mentioned before we're not exactly sure how things are going to work out, but what I do know is Mike Vrabel's come to town and losing is over for the Patriots. They got a much better schedule and I think Trayvon Henderson is going to be a big part of what they do offensively in 2025. What do you think?
- [26:35]
Joey P
So two thumbs up. If I had more thumbs, if you could AI my hands I would give you more thumbs on too because I.
- [26:44]
Joe P. Zeppia
Hate to make you count to 21. It's the worst.
- [26:46]
Joey P
It is really difficult. It comes after 13 at some point. Right? I don't before 7.
- [26:54]
Joe P. Zeppia
Yeah.
- [26:54]
Joey P
I don't know. Somewhere in there. Let's get back Trevion Henderson. The draft comp I even threw out was people remember if I said this. Remember the wheel cars that you pulled back with a spring and it just like oh yeah and then you let go. That's Treveon Henderson and that's why I like him so much. I also brought up why in my breakout running back article why he can do it even without getting 60%. Because you go back to something you just brought up which was kind of buried in there is James White is one of two running backs in the last 10 years to finish as a top 20 running back and not touching the ball at least 210 times.
- [27:30]
Colin Cowherd
Why?
- [27:30]
Joey P
Because of the receiving game. Oh by the way who did he do that with? With the Patriots. And under that Josh McDaniels offense is that Trayvon Henderson can do it on a 200 target. I want to be 200 targets, 200 touches. That would be impressive. 200 targets, 200 touches.
- [27:47]
Joe P. Zeppia
That'd be nice.
- [27:48]
Joey P
I know number one running back overall. Screw you Ashton Genty. Really, it Comes down. Here's the 200 touches for Henderson that I believe is in play. Whether or not he like to go back to my point when we were talking about Hubbard is if he is the lead or not, it's okay because I believe in what he can do on a per touch basis. Maybe the touchdowns aren't high enough to push him as an RB1, but I am at RB18 in front of another rookie running back in a Murray in Hampton and if you tell me talent versus talent, I'll take Hampton every single time. But I like the situation for Henderson mostly because of how much I think he'll get value in the receiving game as well.
- [28:24]
Joe P. Zeppia
Yeah and James White was a I believe a fourth round pick if memory serves right. A little bit more draft capital and Travion Henderson and a little bit more need to really just remake this offense. Erickson, I think where jcasm@18 is good. I think he's easily. You could see him by the end of the year especially in PPR leagues cracking top 15. I think that's the thing I'm looking for that playmaking ability, pass catching ability, all that in there where man like the fantasy points I think are going to be a lot of trivia on Henderson from that backfield. What do you think?
- [28:52]
Andrew Erickson
I agree with you guys. I think that he's a great pick where he's going. I think that he's undervalued and as more teams in the NFL follow a running back by committee type of offense because that's where a lot of the league is going. Especially with the two high safeties. You need multiple running backs. There's not as many bell cows as there once was. So how do you find the running backs in the committees that still can be productive? It's guys like Trayvon Henderson who are built to operate on all three downs, catch pass out of the backfield because they can also operate an elite. No, you're not giving him enough credit. He's elite in pass bro. As a rookie he's elite.
- [29:25]
Joe P. Zeppia
That's what I heard.
- [29:26]
Andrew Erickson
So. So we got to give him more credit. We got to wax more poetic about his past protection and he's super explosive. So my comp for him coming out was Tony Pollard and we saw with Pollard where he needed Zeke in that backfield to be uber efficient and be productive. It is when they overloaded him with touches when he broke down and we saw with Henderson at Ohio State this guy was constantly banged up so he needs Ramondra, he needs internal Gibson to take the in between the touch tackles to help him stay fresh for a 17 game season. So he can still deliver on all the juice and all the explosive plays he can have as an outside runner out of the backfield catching passes. So that's why I think Henderson is just. When you're looking at the archetypal player, he's a good bet to make on, especially as a rookie in this year's class that's so loaded with talent, I think that he's a great pick. And Mike Rabel, he knows a couple things about Ohio State. Okay. I think he has the intel about how good of a Henderson, how good of a prospect, how good of a player he can be in this office. I think he's going to be put in positions to succeed. He's not going to be asked to do things that aren't going to help him put up stats. So sign me up.
- [30:25]
Joe P. Zeppia
All right? Sign me up for the next guy here, Tedro McMillan, another rookie wide receiver, 34 and ECR at 74 right now. And you know, it's funny because last year Brian Thomas was, I think, the wide receiver, 46 from what I'm looking at, fantasy pros, consensus ADP. Last year he was overall 109. Sign. Now, I'm not saying he's going to be Brian Thomas Jr. But I will say this, he's clearly the best number one target in terms of wide receiver at that position. Right. He is the guy they spent the big draft capital on. Correct. He also comes into a situation where the offense was improving and, oh wait, the defense still sucks. Which means at the end of the day, they're still going to have to throw the football a ton and trying to stay in these games. That's good for fantasy, maybe not so good for the Panthers win loss record, but it's good for me and my fantasy equity. And Ted McMillan, I believe it was. I know Jake was on that show. I don't remember who else was in this discussion with us. Jake. We were talking about the fatigue of, like, Ted McMillan's really good. And then eventually we got tired of just saying it and we were trying to poke holes and figure it out. Well, I'm not trying to poke any more holes. In fact, I'm trying to just pick 10 row McMillan on my fantasy team. So Erickson, let's start with you on this one because you were by far the guy leading the pack last year. If you watch any of the shows, it was Andrew Erickson, all Brian Thomas, all the time, and he was 100, right. So I'm not saying this is copy and paste. I am saying it's eerily familiar and I want to take advantage of it. Andrew.
- [31:52]
Andrew Erickson
Well, if Jake had been on more shows last year, we would have been hand holding for Brian Thomas Jr.
- [31:58]
Joey P
I don't even know Jake who has to sign football from Brian Thomas sitting next to him.
- [32:03]
Joe P. Zeppia
I don't know. Not you, that's for sure.
- [32:06]
Andrew Erickson
Don't, don't like. All I got is the winning ticket. You know what?
- [32:11]
Joe P. Zeppia
I could buy a lot of football is that ticket.
- [32:12]
Andrew Erickson
Exactly.
- [32:13]
Joe P. Zeppia
Does it kind of like hearken back a little bit where it feels like a little deja vu to you right now?
- [32:18]
Andrew Erickson
I think I. I wouldn't say it feels the same because I think Brian Thomas Jr. He just got undervalued because he was the second fiddle to Malik Neighbors who was also a generational wide receiver talent and that's kind of why he got knocked. Even though there was clear opportunity in the Jacksonville Jaguars offense for him to vacuum up targets after they had lost Calvin Ridley, Gabe Davis was part of that offense. We know he's never commanded targets at a high level. So now with T Mac, I think that this is such a good spot for him. I think that stylistically he fits really well with what Bryce Young does really well. He can work the intermediate level of the field. And we look at this, Dave Canelo's offense in terms of who's been operating as that, that wide receiver one at times, like they've been really productive for fantasy. I mean, Adam Thielen had over 100 catches, a thousand receiving yards during Bryce Young's rookie season. Adam Thielen is no spring chicken. Okay, he's an older guy, but he's been able to produce in the soffits with Bryce Young last year. If you look at the number one receiver in this offense between Deontay Johnson and Adam Thielen, at times they were pacing for over 1100 yards over a 17 game sample size 33% first read target share. And in Adam Thielen's last six games when he came back from his injury again at 34 years old, he was averaging nearly 15 fantasy points per game and half PPR that would have been top eight among all wide receivers last season. So the Panthers told us exactly what they want to do. Like you said, Joe, they have one of the worst defenses in the NFL and what do they do with their first pick in the draft? They draft a wide receiver because that's right, my friend, Bryce Young. We need to get Bryce Young offensive pieces and they thought that that Tetro McMillan was that special of a guy that despite all their needs on defense, like, nope, we cannot pass on this guy. We have to get Bryce Young an alpha wide receiver. I think that could be him. So he's firmly inside my top 24. I was so shocked that his ECR is as low as it is as outside the top 30.
- [34:03]
Joe P. Zeppia
Jake, were you surprised too, that McMillan's value is where it is currently? I mean, that might change by the time we get into the thick of draft season is more and more fantasy analysts are talking up people, but right now, especially early on, I just think it's way under where it should be, which is good. Don't get me wrong. I want to take him there, but I just see the floor being higher and maybe even the ceiling being higher than people expect.
- [34:26]
Joey P
I think the ceiling is higher. I don't know what the floor is. I think this is the one where I'm going to kind of come down on. I think the ECR is about right. I am at wide receiver 34, I think, because there's questions like, and this is coming from somebody not to be like, hey, look at me, because I could certainly be wrong about this. It's not happening. So, like, I am on the. Let's look at Bryce Young at the end of last year for those last five or six games and say, oh, look at how well he played under pressure. Look at how well he started to look like the quarterback from Alabama. Let's talk about the improvements he finally made and maybe that carries over this year, but carrying that over to this year still has to go further than just the way that he played, including the rushing touchdowns for us in fantasy is that there was still completion percentage concerns, as in the completions that he left on the field, as in being off target at times. So what I come down to is, does Tederon McMillan have 60, 61 completion percentage as a rookie or does he push up to like the 68, 70%, which he's capable of doing. But does it come down to Bryce Young's play? Because the biggest to come back the next level from that, the biggest factor is I have him for about 125 targets. 130, 140 is probably what we want to see to get him in that wide receiver one territory. But a big difference between catching 60% of the balls and 68% of the balls on 120, 25 targets is going to be the difference when you're in this conglomeration of wide receivers that like like it's one point per game difference from about wide receiver 22 to about 32. So the range of outcomes for McMillan is quite large. Like you could be right at the end of the year just by other wide receivers taking a slight step back or falling off. Or I could be right just because other wide receivers stepped up and finally hit their season. So I have him in this range mostly because he's alongside names like Juwan Jennings and Calvin Ridley and himself and Xavier Worthy and stuff like that. Where I'll take him if he's in this range as the wide receiver, but I'm just not going to take him at the top of this tier, which is probably like the only difference we have. I'm in on him. I just would take him more at his floor than his ceiling fantasy pros projections.
- [36:28]
Joe P. Zeppia
You can go look right now on the website. 66 receptions, 878 yards, five touchdowns. I think it's more like about 80 something receptions. I think we're getting closer to a thousand yards in his rookie season. I honestly do. And I think we're looking at maybe seven to eight touchdowns.
- [36:42]
Joey P
And I think I'm right in between that perspective. 74, 941 in six.
- [36:47]
Joe P. Zeppia
Well, that happens pretty good, I gotta say. Once again, Chris Olave, who's had concussion issues, who has no quarterback play, that team is a complete disaster. They're going two picks away from each other. Sorry. Like I'm gonna take Ted McMillan every single time. There another rookie here. A lot of rookies in this area, but that's kind of what you're getting. Outside of that top 50 to 100 range of the guys that are undervalued, there will be a veteran here, I assure you. Caleb Johnson is next on this list. And you know, once we get into the. Oh, the leaves start to fall in Pittsburgh, you know, and all of a sudden it gets a little chillier. I just think Caleb Johnson is the perfect fit here for what the Steelers want to do, which is run the football. And I'm a little tired of all the Jalen Warren hype. He's had three years and not one of them has he finished as an RB2. So can we just stop with the Jalen Warren stuff? Like, yeah, okay, he does some fun things and yeah, he's had some injury issues. Caleb Johnson, I think is the perfect fit for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the perfect fit for this offense. What they want to do, they're gonna have to support Aaron Rodgers because he's 112 years old and that's important with a run game and he is going to be the guy at the goal line. He is going to be the guy that you get those fantasy points in those standard leagues and those half PPR leagues. Those touchdowns are going to matter. I think Caleb's going to be that guy there. And personally, I'm looking at Caleb Johnson right now at RB 29 and ECR 75 as a pretty darn good value. Jake, what are your thoughts on Caleb Johnson? I know we've had this discussion before but but do you see him as that same kind of undervalued player that you kind of need on your roster as well, especially if you are an early wide receiver builder kind of a manager?
- [38:21]
Joey P
I would say yes. Value I need only because I think there's plenty of running backs kind of in this range that could go either way. I'm at 25, so I'm ahead on consensus on this one. And it comes down to something you said in there. It's like, we can stop with Jalen Warren at this point. The Steelers have told us they do not want Jalen Warren to be the lead. Like pay attention to these teams. They tell you a lot of things and like we can sit back and play armchair quarterback. That's hell. That's our job right now. And sit here and be like, oh, we why don't they do this? Why shouldn't they like give this more time? And then the teams don't do it well, oh, surprise. Maybe sometimes these teams know Lamar Miller. Give more touches, give him more touches, give more touches. They give him more touches on a new team and guess what happens? He's Lamar Miller putting up the same damn numbers at a worse efficiency. Actually to bring up the Tony Pollard thing that Erickson said before is like sometimes these teams know who are they replacing Najee Harris with, Not Jalen Warren, with Caleb Johnson. And this is coming from somebody who got attacked during the draft process for calling Caleb Johnson, Tyler Algier. Like that was a bad thing. Let's go back to Tyler Algier's rookie season when the Falcons had nothing else and it was like, hey, let's see what Tyler Algier can do. Only 210 carries. He was inside the top 20 because he was very effective and some of those games wore volume. But Tyler Algier is not a negative for Caleb Johnson and if he had those 250, 50ish about touches as a rookie, which I think is certainly in play, then RB25 might be low, honestly. So I think he's more likely to also be the goal line option than Jalen Warren. So I'm with you is like, do I have to get him? No. But if I'm in this range and saying who am I more likely to take the lead running back on the Steelers or the backup timeshare running back on the Lions, who were just assuming everything's going to be gravy and good when Ben Johnson's gone and it's just going to be David Montgomery. His glorious days are all over again. I'd rather take Caleb Johnson than David Montgomery.
- [40:08]
Joe P. Zeppia
All right, Andrew Erickson, how do you feel about the Caleb Johnson experience in 2025?
- [40:15]
Andrew Erickson
Absolutely love it. Sign me up. I got him right where Jake has him ranked. So I have him at RB24. And to me it's such a great system fit. And I think it's kind of telling that a player like Caleb Johnson, who I think that if you were projecting his draft capital, we thought that he would probably be a round two pick, he ended up falling all the way to round three. And the Steelers really rolled the dice because they didn't have a second round pick because they traded it to get DK Metcalf. So for him to fall because I think that there were things you could poke in his profile based on his running style, very Boomer bust type of rusher where he could have been a massive bust. I think on a lot of different teams where he just wouldn't fit what they look at stylistically. I know when we talked about him really early the off season, I can, I comped him to Derek Henry Henry. I thought he was a mini Derek Henry. He just runs. So stylistically he needs time to build up speed, build up that acceleration and then he hits the home run. Well, Arthur Smith knows how to work with a Derek Henry type running back. Like he's done it before. So it's the perfect fit. It reminds me so much of when McDaniel drafted a Chan two years ago. Just it's so perfect for what this head coach wants or what this officer coordinator wants to do and run their offense. So I love it here. Jalen Warren, yes, a nice back at times, but but not a three down rusher. I think that he'll be a good compliment to Caleb Johnson, especially in pass protection, catching pass out of the backfield. But the fact that Aaron Rodgers is back there, I think Caleb Johnson's still going to catch a couple passes on early downs, even if that's not really his claim to fame. So when this offense has opportunities to run out games in the second half, play strong defense. I think Caleb Johnson is going to be the guy they're feeding the ball to 20, 25 times potentially in some of these games. So I'm on board.
- [41:46]
Joe P. Zeppia
The next player on my list at 82 in the ECR tight end six is Mark Andrews, and he's also the topic of today's chasing challenger segment brought to you by Microsoft. Just like the athletes who push boundaries and redefine what's possible, business decision makers today are turning challenges into opportunities. And Microsoft meets you where you are with tools and guidance to help you make an impact with safe, secure AI solutions. So whatever challenges you're facing, Microsoft empowers you with the expertise to say bring it on. And in this segment, we're going to talk about Mark Andrews. Why? Because the first six weeks of the season were not good for Mark Andrews. Just ask Eric Andrew Erickson. He knows. He knows a thing or two about the pain of the drafting of Mark Andrews last year and maybe the pain of those people who dropped him or traded him away. Because from week seven on, Mark Andrews was tight end four overall and half PPR and he led all tight ends in touchdowns with 10 over that span. But nobody seems to care and there seems to be a negative stigma attached to him. Why? Because at the end of the year he had that terrible drop and a really tough catch in Buffalo in the cold backpedaling and he couldn't hold on to a touchdown that might have sent the Ravens eventually to his Super Bowl. Well, things happen sometimes and I think we also forget that Mark Andrews also was involved in that car accident in the summer last year and maybe that had something to do with the slow start to the season for him. So yeah, Isaiah likely still floating around, but Mark Andrew is still the go to guy in the red zone for Lamar Jackson and that's why I'm taking him this year once again where you have to take some tight ends really early like McBride and Bowers. I like the value I'm getting on Mark Andrews. And that, my friends, is this week's Chasing Challenges segment. Remember, Microsoft AI Solutions empower you to take bold steps and new ideas to help drive your business forward. With Microsoft as your trusted partner, you can navigate your journey with confidence, finding innovative solutions and reaching new possibilities. Visit Microsoft.com challengers to learn more. So Andrew Erickson, what was the Mark Andrews experience like for you last year and are you letting that impact your decision making this year year?
- [43:47]
Andrew Erickson
It's like going on a roller coaster that you didn't realize how big the drop was and you want to get off but you're already halfway up the thing and you're like I want to get off the roller coaster, please. It was not a fun ride and I know that I was with a lot of people because I recommended Mark Andrews. He was my tight end that I wanted all my teams and just watching that week one game against Kansas City Chiefs just it's just like in my memory in ingrained and it was not a fun time for me. I'm not trying to get emotional about it, but I'm not going back to Mark Andrews. I can't do it. After last year and this the overall vibes around him so far this off season. When you talk about he's been thrown out in every single trade rumor. You could talk about when teams have been asked about Mark Andrews entering a contract year. Whereas Isaiah likely I know you mentioned him as well. They've talked about extending Isaiah likely. So what's more likely to happen? Isn't Mark Andrews going to run back the second half of last year? He's going to score a bunch of touchdowns. Even though LaMar Jackson through 41 touchdown passes last year, something that he's never done before. Is he going to throw 40 touchdowns again back to back seasons? Maybe. Or more likely that Andrews probably isn't gonna catch as many touchdowns he did last year. You have other guys in this offense that can also eat Zay Flowers entering year three he could catch more touchdowns. He didn't catch many touchdowns last year. Rashad Bateman, if he's healthy, obviously Derrick Henry, we know he's going to score a double digit touchdown. So if I'm making bets on Isaiah likely an ascending player that the coaches talk about as this guy could be an all probably versus Mark Andrews, they're like yeah, he caught a lot of touchdowns last year. That's how they talk about him in the building. So for me I'm just, I feel like I can get better value elsewhere. I'd rather have guys like a David Njoku who could be the number one on his team in terms of total targets. Tucker Kraft is an up and ascending explosive playmaker who can make yards after the catch. Andrews is touchdown or bust and I feel like I can get that later and I'm not going to take that at tight end 6 so I think that he's overvalued.
- [45:34]
Joe P. Zeppia
If you score a touchdown in a week, you're a tight end one. I think we all know that that's pretty much what it is. And Mark Andrews scores touchdowns. And I don't want to oversimplify it, but we're talking about one of the best, if not the best, offensive ecosystem there is in the Baltimore Ravens. And I think this is a great way to get a piece of it at a position that has a lot of questions. And they just took another hit today when Johnny Smith went to the Steelers. So let's not forget we just lost. Let's pour some out for our homie Johnny, who's not here anymore, and pour a little bit out here.
- [46:02]
Andrew Erickson
He's still here. He's just not in Miami ranks.
- [46:06]
Joe P. Zeppia
Is he in the ranks? But Jake, look, it's the NFL. The younger guy's always eventually going to take your job. But this is a contract. Years last year. I think you churn and burn them and you ride into the sunset one more time with Mark Andrews. If you're Lamar Jackson Co. What do you think?
- [46:23]
Joey P
I think it's fine. Like, I'm not actually. No, I was just. Honestly, that's how I feel. It's fine with Mark Andrews because you can poke holes and you can speak positively about him. So I'm kind of like, fine either way because you can say almost 22% of his targets were in the red zone and it had an end zone target rate that was almost pushing Mike Evans. Now, does that carry over? You could say, like, why wouldn't it? Because he's that guy for the team. But then you say, okay, Lamar Jackson, he's going to throw 41 touchdowns again. What if it's only 35? Which doesn't sound like a huge number, but it's a big difference when you're talking about that target share even carrying over. And what if that target share comes down a little bit? But then you could spin it the other way. You could bring up what you said he was a nothing factor to start the year. He was injured, which could possibly play a part of it. So I say all this, say, like, why? My answer is he's fine is because I think in this range you're kind of getting the fine value for him. Because would I rather take him than Evan Ingram and hoping that he's the joker for the Broncos? Probably because I feel like last year might even have been. It sounds like this is crazy to say because the touchdowns were so high. But like, worst case, on the receiving side only, like, take out the touchdowns, the targets, receptions, yards. Is that the worst case of Mark Andrews? Is it possibly going to get better? It could. If you want to say, I'll take Him over in Joko, I'd be like, okay, fine. You know, it just comes down to titans in this range. I'm just usually not taking anyway. Mostly because if I don't get the top three, I'm just throwing a dart in the last round anyway because I feel like they're so replaceable. So that's why I say it's fine. This is the one where I'm not really on your side and I'm not really coming for you.
- [47:57]
Joe P. Zeppia
I guess that's why he's is tight end six then, right? He's right there in the middle of all of them. All right, let's move on here to the next grouping here. And then I'm gonna give you a bonus guy and the pick that I'm going to plant my flag in the hill that I'm gonna die on this year. So stick around for that in the show. Some late round guys that I want to smash here and take every single chance I get outside the top 100. Let's start with Stefan Diggs at 101. To me, he looks pretty good in a lot of the footage I've seen early on, way further ahead than I thought he would be. I do still expect that he's going to be a little slow in September, but I do believe that you're eventually going to get Stefon Diggs kind of with something to prove in a chip on his shoulder and already kind of had to kind of get his ship pointed in the right direction. Not to mix metaphors here for a second there, but I think that's already happened with the coach and the player and I think that's a good thing that it happened now and not during the season. So for me, there's a lot on the line here for Stefan Diggs and a lot of money on the line too. And again, I always come back to following the money. I think Stefon Diggs could be that number one guy for Drake May and you could see a real breakout season for maybe because of that. Jake Seeley, share with me your thoughts on Stefon Diggs and this outside 100 value he's going at another one that.
- [49:09]
Joey P
I'm fine with mostly because it comes down to how healthy is he? Are we talking about this is an injury that carries into halfway through the season and he's just miserable for the first couple weeks and you're it be could. Look, here's what I'm going to say is why I'm fine with it now is because you're drafting them as a non starter. So you don't even have to worry about it. If you are drafting like if this is positive news, positive. And then we get to the middle of August and all of a sudden he's going as a wide receiver three or four. I'd be out because I don't want to have to put him in my lineup. I want to be able to be.
- [49:37]
Joe P. Zeppia
100 with what you're saying. I think that's exactly true. This is very early value kind of thing. Andrew, do you agree with that sentiment? Is it 3 for 3? 2 when it comes to Stefon Diggs, this is the value. If it raises to a price where it becomes a little bit more dangerous, then that's the time to to be realistic and realize it is a player coming off an acl. We don't want to rely on him too much, especially early on.
- [49:57]
Andrew Erickson
Yeah, I think that he's appropriately valued. It just. No, he's an older player coming off a torn acl.
- [50:02]
Joe P. Zeppia
Right.
- [50:02]
Andrew Erickson
I know that he can look good in these off season clips but until he's actually on the field, you know, with the Flying Bullets, I'm just concerned about how, how much time it will take him to get get back up to speed. And I mean the Stefan Diggs that was a number one wide receiver in fantasy, like that guy's not coming back. No, like that guy wasn't in Houston. So I mean this is his third team and third three years last year.
- [50:23]
Joey P
He was wide receiver three a wide receiver three and four points per game.
- [50:27]
Joe P. Zeppia
So yeah, and he was on pace for a pretty good season too last year, statistically speaking with an awful offensive line around C.J. stroud and, and let's not forget I'm the guy that was telling you two years ago when he was at Buffalo that I was fading Stefan Diggs and people thought I was nuts until that second part of that season rolled around. I said look, he's an older wide receiver, it's gonna start to catch up. But now, now the values change considerably and I think he's got a lot to prove. Cam scatter boo at 122rb 42. I just see so much upside here. I think the first time he trucks over some linebacker MetLife Stadium is going to erupt and go crazy and it is going to be just vibes as the kids like to say. It really is. And look I the argument of like well Cam Scad Will played Arizona. He didn't play like go watch the tape against Texas. All those guys basically got drafted the NFL. He played an NFL team and he kicked the crap out of them in that game. Was unbelievable to watch. He can catch the football, he can score touchdowns. He brings an edge of toughness that the Giants sorely lack. They've had none of that in the last few seasons. That's why Jake Seeley left town on the Giants and just turned his back on that organization. Andrew Erickson, Cam Scatter Boo. Undervalued or just a, I don't know, a gimmick to you? What do you think?
- [51:38]
Andrew Erickson
I think it's a little undervalued. I mean it would be my bet to take over the backfield. I think that he has the three down skills. I think Tyrone Tracy is a better complement to what he does as a lead back versus the other way around with Tracy as the lead back to Cam Scatterboo. So yeah, he does everything and you're just concerned about how many touchdowns, how many opportunities are there for the Giants in this offense that we definitely have question marks about. But look, if this team is down and I need to generate some plays, you know, just give the ball to Scatter Booch, keep giving them to feed him the rock. So. So I'm not going to be pushing back against many of the rookie running backs as values.
- [52:08]
Joe P. Zeppia
And Tracy last year, Jake did struggle with fumbleitis a little bit. That's also not going to endear you to coaching staff, especially one that is on the edge of extinction the way the Giants are.
- [52:17]
Joey P
The one that also benched Tracy despite how good he looked for the corpse of Devin Singletary and Evan Gray and all the rest of those jokers back there. So Eric Gray, sorry, like I'm with you. Like it's going to be Scatter Boo over Tracy. It's not that Tracy can't be a factor, but this perception that comes into the NFL and fantasy is like, oh, Tracy was undervalued and mind you, this is coming from somebody that pumped up Tracy last year. But the perception was, oh, we got shocked by how good Tracy was and then everybody's like, oh good we found this running back, we need him in fantasy and blah blah, blah. Well, he still has a ceiling. I think that's what we need to pull back. Perspective wise he is like Erickson said, he's a Jalen Warren. He's a better compliment than he is a lead.
- [52:58]
Joe P. Zeppia
All right, two more guys here in this grouping. Both also rookies. Trey Harris at 164 and ECR wide receiver 64 and Jaden Higgins, wide receiver 70 ECR of 181. I think Higgins is fascinating because he's the first guy ever to get a fully guaranteed contract as a second round pick. I think that matters. I think the void is there and I think the need is going to be there for Jaden Higgins this season is when you don't have Stefan Diggs there anymore and you don't have Tank Dell. Higgins is gonna have to step up. And I just don't know what Christian Kirk is at this point in his career. I just, just. I feel like he's the insurance policy. But Higgins is the guy that they want to emerge. So it might take a little patience and Trey Harris might also take some patience. But what I saw last year was a lot of moments, a lot of Charger games, Jake, where Quinn Johnson had opportunities to really break open some games and he let them literally slip through his fingers. And I just don't think Trey Harris is going to do that again. Both these guys might take a little time in the pressure cooker, but I think at the end we're going to be guys that you want to have on your roster and draft. So, Jake, are they undervalued in your mind and if so, who do you prefer? Higgins, Harris, you're on the clock. Who do you take?
- [54:04]
Joey P
Oh, they are vastly undervalued and I will take Higgins every single time. But that's no slight to Trey Harris and mostly because Higgins, I think can step in. I compared to Marvin Jones, but Dane Brugler over the athletic. My. My colleague actually said Nico Collins, which if you're telling me I'm getting two, Nico Collins is. Well then. Are we worried about Christian Kirk?
- [54:23]
Joe P. Zeppia
Is that the plural.
- [54:25]
Joey P
Kellen's eye? Yeah. I don't know. I don't know how this works, but I think both of them are stepping into number two situations. I'm big on Higgins. There's a world, of course, if Kirk can stay on the field. Kirk has proven to be good when on the field, so I'm not saying he's definitively HIGGINS Walking into 22 target percent, but it's possible. And I would take Higgins, but I don't think Harris is that far behind because. Are we going to stop with this at this point? Quentin Johnston, I thought he could potentially have an NFL career. As you said, it's slipping through his fingers and that's pun intended. I know that Erickson is a key Andre Lambert Smith fan, but I don't think he's on Trey. Trey Harris's level. I think that's more of the number three wide receiver for this team, which. Can we stop with Mike Williams, by the way, at this point, like we're really concerned about. Please. I know exactly. See you already.
- [55:09]
Andrew Erickson
I keep forgetting he's on the team still.
- [55:12]
Joey P
Will he even be there on day one? But I say. And then we were looking at the tight end end situation. We're talking about Gadson as a rookie, who I like, but a rookie tight end is very rare to actually hit. And so if everybody's waxing poetically about Justin Herbert bouncing back this year, it's not only going to be lad McConkey, there's going to be somebody else and it's going to be Trey Harris.
- [55:30]
Joe P. Zeppia
Yeah, I think both are grossly undervalued. Do you have a preference? They're kind of close in the ECR. Higgins actually. No. Harris is actually still 20 ahead. Almost of. Of Higgins.
- [55:41]
Joey P
I have. Almost kind of crazy. Almost.
- [55:43]
Joe P. Zeppia
Yeah. Like that's where I have them too. Jake, what are your. What's your opinion, Andrew, when you're looking at these two guys, you have a preference here? Would you rather wait for Jaden Higgins or do you want to take Harris in his scenario?
- [55:54]
Andrew Erickson
I. I prefer Jaden Higgins. I'm just concerned about the Chargers offense as a whole at points with Greg Roman. And do you really ever need to have the number two receiver in a Greg Roman offense? Like, that's something that's kind of like holding me back from being all like, I don't know exactly. I'd have to look historically to see what that guy has been. But. But I have to imagine it's probably not great having a number two guy in Greg Roman's offense. So I think that Trey Harris definitely fits with Justin Herbert again as a downfield weapon. I think Johnston just. He might be annoying where he's still running routes. Not necessarily high, commanding a high target share, but annoying enough where maybe a spike guy.
- [56:28]
Joey P
He's running a lot of straight lines.
- [56:30]
Joe P. Zeppia
Yeah, a lot of straight lines.
- [56:32]
Andrew Erickson
So I prefer Higgins. I just, I mean, I feel really confident about this Texans offense bouncing. Bouncing back. And I actually wanted to ask you guys a question when it comes to. Because it seemed like neither are you really confident in Christian Kirk, so shouldn't Jalen Noel get some love now too? Because if Higgins is now maybe competing with Nico Collins and Jalen Noel, but Higgins is the redundant asset to Nico Collins, wouldn't that mean Noel would be in a pretty opportunistic role as the slot vertical receiver in this offense? If Christian Kirk is like totally Dust I think he's really undervalued I think receivers are undervalued I think that I.
- [57:05]
Joe P. Zeppia
Think the answer is as maybe I think if I felt better at the offensive line I'd feel better about more wide receivers and a lot of people being able to feast But I just think that like I don't want to bite up more than I could chew with the Texans Jake that's my point of view what's yours?
- [57:17]
Joey P
I could also see that I mean the big thing is C.J. stroud getting back to 4,000 plus yards and hopefully pushing 30 plus touchdowns for us in fantasy but even if that's the case like I think to your point Erickson is more of if I didn't think as much as I do of Higgins like if you're talking about a Quentin Johnson actually who could catch and I'd be like okay he's talented enough to be a wide receiver three on a lot of teams so that doesn't necessarily mean he's going to be the teams too I'd be like there's a threat that the slot option ends up being as if not more valuable But I would still say as much as I also like Noel I think Noel is clearly a threat to Kirk but I don't think Noel and Higgins are close as that like I think Kirk and Noel are close I'd still put a gap between Higgins and Noel and I might be wrong about that all in the end to say your question is still valid of like take a flyer at Noel at the end of the draft if Kirk gets hurt yeah and Higgins is a bus I mean it wouldn't be a shock that he's a bus as a rookie like these things happen Noel could certainly be in play in the Tank Dell role.
- [58:19]
Joe P. Zeppia
One more guy I'm going to give you post 200 so if you're in deeper leagues I'm just going to have this guy because I feel like we're just going to end up spending fab on him in September anyway so I just want to draft Kyle Manon Guy RBC 68 ECR 235 Rutgers product reminds me a bit of David Montgomery a guy who's gonna fight for you and I gotta tell you, you know once again Ben Johnson's the new guy there this is the guy that he specifically wanted and I know Roshan's there theoretically is the number two in the depth chart but I just think that Manangai becomes the David Montgomery basically in this offense sooner than later and that means he's going to be the guy that gets the touchdowns. And what do we always say every single year about DeAndre Sweet Swift, man oh man, he doesn't really have as many touchdowns because guys typically don't trust him in the goal line and other scenarios and you no matter where he goes somehow somebody else ends up kind of eating around him a little bit. And guess what? I know a lot of people might think it's Roshan, I don't. I think it's common on guy. So that's your late round sleeper that I gotta have on all my teams. And finally last but certainly not least the hill that I'm gonna die on. And I know that I'm gonna, you know die on it again. I'm comfortable with it because I was ready to die on this hill last year and I feel like I was right. But Mike Tomlin was just wrong. And now Mike Tomlin has to deal with the year of Aaron Rodgers because he couldn't just be patient and let Justin Fields play. You couldn't do it, could you? You had to just push the kid and replace him with an old fart instead of trying to see if you had maybe a franchise quarterback at 26 years old that you could play. No, no. Let's go play with Russell Wilson so we can get Alison from the playoffs in the first round again.
- [59:51]
Joey P
Fan.
- [59:52]
Joe P. Zeppia
I was a big supporter from last year. Jake knows this. In those super flex leagues I was already ahead of the curve there. I was taking Justin Fields and people didn't think he was going to even start and guess what he did and it was pretty good. In fact I think things could be even better here with the Lions former passing game coach here, Tanner Eggstron taking over as the offensive coordinator. I think that's really good. I think the continuity there and the communication is going to be really good with the head coach having worked together in that building for quite some time. And I think we also have to remember that Justin Fields was QB6 last year in fantasy points. QB6 for the first six weeks of the season and that was just kind of learning a new offense. Now he's gonna have to learn new offense again but I think he is set up for success there with the jets and I'm ready to die on this hill. I'm ready to have him be my QB1 in a single quarterback league. If I'm waiting on quarterback and super flex I'm willing to be aggressive and even you know take a, a Chase or a Jefferson or a Bijan in the first round and see if I can come away with Justin Fields in the second round because I think gonna, I'm still going to possibly get a top 10 quarterback. So Jake Seeley, is this a hill I should be dying on two years in a row and can I resurrect myself here in 2025?
- [60:58]
Joey P
Oh, I also want to chime in on. I love that running back.
- [61:04]
Joe P. Zeppia
You can do both real quick.
- [61:05]
Joey P
Yeah, like I think he's Zach Moss, which I don't think DeAndre Swift is going to be a massive, massive touch option for this team. So I think that that's a great option to take. Not a guy that late. I'm with you on that one also. Oh, by the way, Eric Biennome has a little tie to the record situation with Isaiah Pacheco who by the way is the offensive coordinator. Just throw that out there as in just keep an eye on McConaughey.
- [61:26]
Andrew Erickson
He doesn't miss with seventh rounders.
- [61:27]
Joey P
Yeah. He just loves it. So I, I like the Monada guy.
- [61:31]
Joe P. Zeppia
One that already he had all of the. The map already.
- [61:36]
Joey P
The whole thing. Charlie Day is that that one is. And then you know this and that's why you set it up. I could not be more. More with you on Justin Fields. I actually have him at QB7. I will draft him as QB7 mostly because you brought the QB6. And if you go back to that season in 2022 when he threw 2200 yards and 17 touchdowns, Whoopi flipping do. Oh by the way, QB6 and fantasy points per game and that year and his points per game would have been QB6 and fantasy points per game last year because he's going to run. If he starts 15 games, he's going to run for 1,000 yards and six, seven, eight touchdowns. It's just going to happen. Oh by the way, the only two games that he scored over 20 fantasy points last year that you're referencing, Joe and I know you know this, you know how many combined touchdowns he threw for in those two games? One. Because we don't need him to throw to be good.
- [62:24]
Joe P. Zeppia
Yeah, I don't need it to be pretty Ericson. I just needed to be productive. That's all I'm saying.
- [62:29]
Andrew Erickson
I just love that last line from Jake. We don't need him to throw to be good. Like I just. It's the best. Just use his legs. Yeah, I also have net QB 7. So yes, I'm there with you, Joe. I do have a question though, Joe, for you as we close out here, would you. So in a 15 in a 15 round draft, you draft Justin Fields, your QB one are you riding or dying? Like he's your only quarterback? Your draft, would you draft another quarterback just in case?
- [62:52]
Joe P. Zeppia
It's a good question. It's not just in case. It's a I would draft on the quarterback because of the style of play. Because when you do have a quarterback that runs as much as Fields do, you're opening yourself up to more injuries. I'd rather have a Herbert or a Golf or somebody like that that I feel, you know, like, okay, God forbid things go wrong here. He pulls a hamstring, he gets lit up, you know, trying to, you know, run the middle of field. I think because the style of play I want to back him up. But that is a good question, I think. And I think one everybody has to ask themselves here. If you do take Fields, are you going to take somebody else? I think you do because you have to understand there's risk involved and it's also New York and it's a different environment too. But I think it's an environment he's going to succeed in. But what do you think? What is the hill you're dying on? Drop your comments below. Who is that player for you? I want to know the player that you are absolutely planning your flag on in 2025. Fantasy. Drop those comments in there. Subscribe to the channel, like the stream and go try to draft some of these guys right now with the draft simulator. It's free. It's fun. Sync your leagues@fantasypros.com and go to fantasypros.com Mock or just download Draft wizard today and start your mock draft preparation for 2025. It's never too early to begin. That'll do it for us. But the story of the game goes on. For Jake Seeley and Andrew Erickson, I'm Joey P. We'll see you next time, kids.
- [64:05]
Joey P
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 tick tock at fantasypros and subscribe to our.
- [64:22]
Joe P. Zeppia
YouTube channel at YouTube.com fantasypros.
- [64:47]
Joey P
Hi, it's.
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Joey P
Get in the zone Auto Zone.
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Unknown
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- [66:30]
Joe P. Zeppia
This is an iHeart podcast.