Rookie Rankings Reveal

0:01 Welcome to Fantasy Football Today Dynasty.

0:03 I am your host, Heath Cummings, joined today by Jacob Gibbs.

0:07 Gibbs is back to talk about the rookies.

0:10 That's all you guys have been talking about

0:12 over on the beyond the backup box, isn't it?

0:15 Yeah, pretty much.

0:16 Um, so there's a lot of interesting angles to take with this year's class.

0:19 We were talking about that before we jumped on.

0:20 It's a really bizarre year for Dynasty.

0:24 We're like at the back end of round one.

0:27 Um, I'm like psyched.

0:28 I'm legitimately like psyched when I get Antonio Williams at like 2011, 202.

0:33 I'm like, thank God no one wised up and took Antonio Williams in round one.

0:37 And it's just so weird coming off of last year where we were

0:40 getting obviously Coulson Lovelin at times

0:43 was falling to that range, Jackson Dart, those are huge hits,

0:45 but even like the receivers in that range are like Luther Burden,

0:49 Amecha, Ibuka, or Matthew Golden if you liked him.

0:52 Like round one type profiles and this year just feels so much different.

0:57 Um, but because of that, because there's so

1:00 much ambiguity in that that round two range,

1:02 I think that uh if you have conviction on some of these players

1:06 or if you have specific team builds that fit some of these players,

1:10 then you can get really good values um at some of these spots.

1:13 And I think that's the really that's

1:15 the most important thing with this class is, you know, does it suck?

1:19 Sure.

1:19 Relatively speaking to some of the other compared

1:21 to some of the other classes, yeah, sure.

1:23 But that doesn't mean that there's not going

1:25 to be anything that comes out of it, right?

1:27 And so like I think it's really important to identify

1:30 the different types of players that are in the class

1:33 and how they might fit their NFL teams

1:35 and then also how they might fit your dynasty team.

1:39 What type of dynasty team are you building?

1:41 Um because there is so much fluidity in how any

1:44 of them rank and project outside of the top players.

1:48 you can take Brennan Thompson really really high if you're me and you're

1:51 crazy and you're just like I'm fine just waiting on this spot.

1:54 But if you need more production now then maybe you do

1:56 lean towards Antonio Williams or Jeremy Bernard or somebody like that.

2:00 There's a lot of different angles to attack this draft

2:03 from and I'm really excited to dig into all of it with you.

2:05 And I think like today is going to be our rankings reveal.

2:09 At least I'm going to reveal my full rankings.

2:11 Jacob will tell us how his rankings are different and what I've gotten wrong.

2:15 I may change a couple things during today's show.

2:18 We were just talking about this before the show,

2:19 like it's we are to the point to where we have to have concrete takes

2:23 because we're doing dynasty drafts and people are

2:26 consuming the content to do their rookie drafts,

2:28 but we're also still so early in the postdraft process

2:32 that my mind is still open to be changed by a few guys.

2:35 So, we we'll have some conversations with that in mind.

2:38 I thought Stephen sent in a fantastic tweet.

2:41 I'm calling it the tweet of the weekend because he said, "Gibbs,

2:45 consider given all I've heard about your big

2:47 time tight end league from Heath and Adam.

2:50 I'm I'm sure this draft has been a field day

2:53 for you." And I think like tight end is the position

2:57 all that really kind of highlights what you were saying

3:00 because see there's a point in this in the draft

3:02 where there's just like tight end after tight end

3:03 after tight end being drafted and half of these guys

3:07 are more like sixth offensive linemen and another half

3:11 of maybe it's a third or more like sixth offensive lineman.

3:14 A third of them we don't know if they're ever going to play

3:16 more than half the snaps because they can't block anybody at all.

3:19 So, what was kind of your just to start

3:21 your general evaluation of this tight end class?

3:24 Yeah, man.

3:24 Extremely weird, right?

3:25 Like Jacksonville took like a 25-year-old tight

3:27 end who had started one year basically

3:29 at Texas A&M and is not really someone who projects as a receiver in round two.

3:34 Um, so yeah, it's very I mean like

3:36 almost a top 50 pick if I'm remembering right.

3:39 It's a very weird class.

3:40 Um, we're going to dig into all of it on Beyond the Box

3:43 and look at every single team and how they attack this draft.

3:45 Um there's a lot of teams that are, you know,

3:47 adapting to what we saw last year with Shawn McVey,

3:50 um using more three tight end sets.

3:52 We saw the Bears kind of copy that at the end of the year,

3:54 start using three tight end sets really heavily.

3:57 Um and then they go and they draft Sam Rous and and uh you know,

4:02 Ben Johnson's just like ranting and raving about his blocking.

4:04 Ryan Paul's too.

4:06 Um, I think Roush can do a little bit more,

4:08 but it's like we're we're kind of seeing some

4:10 of these tight ends that are like if they can run, you know, if they can block,

4:15 they can get on the field and then maybe they

4:16 can catch and run when needed if they get the mismatch.

4:19 But really, we're just, you know,

4:20 prioritizing getting them on the field to help us create these opportunities

4:25 where the defense doesn't know exactly what we're going to do.

4:27 And sometimes we can kind of catch them not

4:29 ready um and attack them with the deeper passes,

4:32 play actions, and stuff like that.

4:33 find mismatches for our best players against some

4:34 of these bigger personnel packages the defenses might throw out there.

4:38 And so somebody like Daquin Wright, who I really really liked,

4:43 um his film, his analytics were great, doesn't get drafted.

4:46 And it's just it's just weird where

4:49 we're at right now where I think legitimately

4:52 like maybe over half of the teams don't really know how to adapt to this.

4:56 They're kind of just following along.

4:57 people call it a copycat league, you know,

4:59 some that by nature some of the people are going to be,

5:02 you know, copying and so they're just like

5:04 trying to figure out what's going on here.

5:06 Um, and I think I think we're swinging away

5:09 a little bit from some of those more receiving type profiles,

5:12 but at the same time, you have, you know, Eli Sters who got picked in round two.

5:16 Um, and I think it's hard to make sense then of what he's going to to do.

5:20 And so, yeah, I I really like some of the Titans in this class.

5:24 I have some takes that are going to be controversial.

5:27 Um, and if you're playing in a sicko sicko league where you've got,

5:30 you know, two tight ends starting in your lineup or whatever,

5:32 or you're getting big tight end premiums or whatever,

5:34 like I know a lot of dynasty people

5:35 like to find different ways to emphasize the position.

5:37 I think that there are some players from this class who could matter,

5:40 but he I think it's legitimately a possibility

5:42 that none of them will matter this year.

5:44 Even Sadiq, even Starders,

5:46 that like none of them are like top 15 or 20 titans this year.

5:50 Then that leads right into my first question.

5:53 It's like the third question.

5:54 But my first question for Jacob Gibbs, how many rookies, not tight ends,

5:58 but how many rookies from this class will be fantasy starters in 2026?

6:03 [sighs and gasps] Um, I think honestly I think very few of them.

6:07 I think that there's some who have the potential to be.

6:11 Um, but I think outside of the clear top guys,

6:13 Tate Tyson, probably Lemon, hopefully Conpsion.

6:18 Um, I did a freaking 30 minute player profile just about Omar Cooper Jr.

6:22 yesterday because I think he's really intriguing.

6:25 Antonio Williams I mentioned, I think there's some of those guys who could,

6:28 but once you get to that, that's wide receiver six for me.

6:31 Then it's it's Chris Bell, Denzel Boston, those guys.

6:34 Like I don't know, Zachariah Branch maybe has a chance to um I think

6:38 we're really low on the numbers of of players who are actually going to it.

6:42 Running back I think it's one maybe two.

6:45 We might not have any quarterbacks who might not have any tight ends.

6:47 So legitimately the number could be single digits and that wouldn't surprise me.

6:51 Do you think that improves significantly in 2027 or 2028

6:56 in terms of this class?

6:57 Like will we have more of these players?

6:59 Yeah.

6:59 Yes, I do think so.

7:00 So, I think the Titan class has a lot

7:02 of talent and I think the receiver class does too.

7:05 There's definitely some really intriguing um project

7:09 players like Bryce Lance to the Saints, you know, paired up with Kell Moore.

7:13 They don't really I mean, they have a L,

7:15 but like having a bigger body deep threat is kind of a unique

7:18 thing for them that that could be something that comes along slowly.

7:21 Dean Stribbling for the Niners,

7:23 I think has a chance to come along in year two, maybe in year one.

7:26 Ted Hurst for Tampa Bay, I love that pick.

7:28 Brandon Thompson for the Chargers.

7:30 I love that pick.

7:31 Chris Bell, if he's healthier in year two in Miami,

7:33 could be their wide receiver one.

7:35 There's plenty of guys who could come along.

7:37 Jonah Coleman I really really like for Denver

7:39 could eventually kind of take over that back field.

7:42 Um I definitely think in addition to the tight end class,

7:46 um just having like multiple options um that we

7:49 have a chance for that number to push up

7:51 into the 15 to 20 range in terms of players

7:53 from this class who matter by year two or three.

7:55 Yeah.

7:55 Yeah, and I think even at running back,

7:57 there's a couple of guys that landed in pro I mean, Nicholas Singleton,

8:00 Jonah Coleman could both be in situations where there's a lot

8:04 more touches available in 2027 than there are in 2026 for them.

8:08 Unfortunately, I liked Mike Washington and EMTT Johnson better

8:11 and they may be landed in perpetual handcuff roles.

8:15 Uh, who is, and this is kind of difficult because I

8:18 don't know that we have a great grasp on consensus yet,

8:20 but I think if you could say somebody you think

8:23 will be drafted outside of the top 18 in most drafts,

8:27 who's your favorite amongst the rookies?

8:30 I think it's just got to be Brennan Thompson.

8:32 I'm ridiculously high on this guy.

8:34 Um, and I think he's I don't even know where he's at in consensus,

8:36 but not in the top 18, right?

8:39 Uh, well, so he's not in my top 24.

8:42 Yeah.

8:43 I'm not going to I I got This is so

8:46 hard for me because Matt Waldman sent out his uh updated

8:50 sneak peek for those of you who subscribed to the RSP

8:54 and I'm not going to give away all of his rankings, but I can just make sure.

8:58 Uh Brennan Thompson does not look like he made his top

9:04 it it it's he he's down there it looks like.

9:07 Yeah.

9:08 So, I think it's a really unique um skill set that he brings.

9:12 Uh, this is the best speed thread,

9:14 the most legitimate speed thread that's like just absolutely

9:16 torching SEC defenders over and over and over on film.

9:20 Um, averaged over three yards per run.

9:22 He was a fourth year breakout.

9:24 But I think it's totally fair to like look at his career arc, his track,

9:28 and how he got there and excuse it away because he's just

9:31 a small guy and he went to really big schools to start his career.

9:34 I think it was Texas and then Oklahoma and didn't really get

9:36 a chance to get on the field which doesn't surprise me on run

9:39 oriented teams that they didn't get this 160lb guy a chance to play

9:43 but in year four at Mississippi State absolutely went nuts and it's

9:47 just he's so hard to stop and Mike McDaniel is freaking fired

9:51 up to have him has been comparing him to Deshawn Jackson and Tyreek

9:54 Hill and everything and now he just go play with Justin Herbert

9:56 but he can go play with the quarterback and throw with timing.

9:59 Um I I really think he can do more than just the deep threat stuff too.

10:02 I know that that's kind of weird

10:04 for a receiver who's so small and has the speed.

10:06 It's easy to just think of him as just the vertically oriented player,

10:09 but he's electric at the top of his routes in terms of coming back to the ball,

10:13 breaking off those routes.

10:14 He can break some horizontal routes out.

10:16 And so if you get a quarterback who can throw with timing,

10:18 I think that that could be a really, really nice pairing.

10:20 He can play on the outside.

10:21 He doesn't have to play in the slot.

10:23 Um, phenomenal ball tracking.

10:25 Like in terms of playing receiver, he's everything you want.

10:29 He's just small.

10:30 He did get banged up a little bit.

10:32 Um, and so like maybe that's going to be a problem for a player to just wait,

10:35 but I think he among the players drafted outside

10:37 of the top 20 or whatever in this draft,

10:39 he's probably the most likely to come on and have like some huge games.

10:43 And if this guy with this speed, who looks really good, looks the part,

10:47 starts to put up these 100 plus yard games and he's paired up with Justin Herb,

10:51 I think people are going to get really excited about him.

10:53 You know, I I so admittedly I've not been as excited about Brennan Thompson.

10:58 I think for for a third round rookie pick,

11:04 which he's probably going to be there in a lot of leagues,

11:05 not if you're drafting with Jacob Gibbs probably,

11:07 but for that type of pick, then sure, just just bet on the upside.

11:12 I when I saw Mike McDaniel get so excited, I'm thinking, okay,

11:16 I know he said Tyreek Hill,

11:17 but who is this most like that's played for Mike McDaniel?

11:20 And I thought, well, it's obviously Malik Washington.

11:22 The difference is Malik Washington is an inch shorter and 30 pounds heavier.

11:29 Who is the best wide receiver that you

11:32 can think of that weighed less than 170 pounds?

11:35 It's he's Tankdale.

11:36 Tank is who I think of.

11:37 Um Tank is a little bit thicker than him maybe,

11:40 but just like the ability to absolutely shred

11:42 and scare the crap out of [snorts] the defense um

11:45 with a deep threat um and then also break that off

11:47 and have a little bit more of a varied ratry.

11:49 He wasn't asked to do a whole lot at Mississippi State.

11:52 It was pretty simple, but I think that he could do a lot more.

11:54 And I'm really excited about the pairing

11:55 with McDaniel in terms of Malik Washington comparison.

11:58 That's just not how he used Malik Washington.

12:00 He used him he used him kind of like a running

12:02 back which kind of you alluded to with the size.

12:04 Yeah.

12:04 I think that this is somebody who can be a legit outside receiver

12:08 and you know it it's more like Tank Del TZ Johnson an outside receiver who can

12:13 route people up even though he's tiny except

12:16 he has way more speed than these guys.

12:17 He's legitimately one of the the fastest receivers

12:20 I've seen on film in like five years.

12:22 Awesome.

12:22 Awesome stuff.

12:23 We'll take our first break.

12:24 When we get back, I'll release my top 12.

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12:37 JJ, we appreciate your [music] time breaking it down.

12:39 A lot of movement in the rankings this week with the plays you missed.

12:42 What a finish at the [music] final round of play

12:45 and analysis to give you an edge.

12:46 All we need is 20 points.

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12:59 We do already have some questions in the chat.

13:01 You guys have lots of questions today for good reason.

13:03 We're going to get to as many of those as we can at the end of the show,

13:07 but if we're going to get to very many of them,

13:08 I'm going to have to keep us on track.

13:11 Here's my top 12.

13:12 Um, I published my top 40 earlier in the week.

13:16 That was for just Superflex, no tight end premium.

13:19 I'm doing a mock draft right now.

13:21 That's for one QB leagues.

13:22 I thought I'm having Jacob Gibbs on.

13:24 I should give my top 24 four tight end premium leagues.

13:27 So that is what we have here.

13:29 Round one.

13:30 Jeremiah Love, Fernando Mendoza, Carnell Tate,

13:33 Jordan Tyson, Mai Lemon, Jadarium Price,

13:36 Casey Conception, Kenyan Sadique, Omar Cooper,

13:39 Denzel Boston, Ty Simpson, and Eli Sters.

13:43 That's the top 12.

13:44 Love, Mendoza, Tate, Tyson, Lemon, Price,

13:47 Conception, Sadique, Cooper, Boston, Simpson, Sters.

13:52 Where are our biggest disagreements?

13:55 We're very similar.

13:56 Actually, our top six is identical.

13:58 Um, and then I have Jedarian Price at 10.

14:00 You have him at seven.

14:02 So, I have Omar Cooper Jr., Sadi, and Ty Simpson ahead of him.

14:05 Um, I don't necessarily feel super strong about anyone in that tier.

14:08 I do like Omar Cooper Jr.

14:10 Like I said, there's a 30-minute profile and beyond

14:11 the box score if you want to check that out.

14:13 Um, Sadi though I'm not feeling very convicted about.

14:16 It feels extremely weird to me that he's all

14:17 the way down at eight and tied in premium.

14:20 Um, but I see that's where you have him as well.

14:22 Uh, Price just scares me, man.

14:24 We, if you look at the running backs who have had as few of touches as him.

14:28 First off, none of them have picked been picked in round one.

14:31 Um, and second, just very few of them have had, you know, productive careers.

14:34 It's really taking a ton of projection.

14:36 And so I liked his film,

14:37 but I didn't see him as just some overwhelming talent

14:41 who was going to come in here and Jamal Charles,

14:44 Nick Chub, whatever, like just be that kind of a player that's just so good.

14:48 Um, that it doesn't matter that he doesn't

14:50 get receiving and he's sharing a backfield or whatever.

14:53 Um, he's just getting there with explosive plays.

14:56 Also, he was one of the worst uh rushers

14:59 in short yard situations of any running back in this class.

15:02 And that didn't really surprise me when I saw the data.

15:04 It surprised me how bad it was, but it sort of showed up on film.

15:07 And so to me, it's like Zack Sharp is coming for that work.

15:09 Um, we'll see when Sharon is healthy and everything,

15:12 but I also think Emanuel Wilson could do that.

15:13 I think Emanuel Wilson is going to be

15:14 a better shorttered runner pretty clearly right away.

15:18 Um, and also could play on passing downs.

15:20 And so I I know that that's a weird take for a guy who got drafted in round one,

15:25 but I think it's entirely possible that Seattle

15:27 just views him as a really really good player,

15:29 really good football player, good returner,

15:30 somebody who can just help give them an explosive element

15:33 and not necessarily somebody that they have to build their offense around.

15:36 And so I'm pretty nervous about investing in him where he's going

15:39 to be going like up ahead of Casey Conpion and players like that.

15:42 I get it if you really need to if you

15:44 just really need a chance at getting points right now.

15:46 If you really need to just try to strike while

15:48 the iron's hot and get lucky that he's going to come out

15:50 with some big explosive plays at the beginning of the year

15:52 and play into a big role at the beginning of the year,

15:54 he's probably the most likely of the players outside of the top five

15:58 to burst onto the scene and see his fantasy value increase in a big way.

16:03 No, no, I think I don't know if this is logically sound or not,

16:08 but I think Jadarian's price Jarian's [snorts] price value went up on day two.

16:16 when we realized that, oh no,

16:19 none of the running backs that we like are getting decent draft capital.

16:22 And then on day three when almost all the running

16:25 backs that we like are stuck behind somebody else

16:27 and not going to a situation where we thought they

16:29 could just go ahead and maybe maybe win the job.

16:32 And so we're at this time, you talked about it with the tight ends,

16:35 but it's also been the case over the last

16:37 couple of years that running back has kind

16:39 of reemerged as as being more important than it

16:44 was how we viewed it maybe say five years ago.

16:46 And it feels like with this draft class and dynasty,

16:49 the position got just a little bit more shallow because

16:53 we we didn't have a good influx of talent and some

16:56 of the guys who we thought might be talented ended

16:58 up in situations that we don't really like at all.

17:01 So, I I wonder if Price gets a little boost just because

17:05 he's one of two running backs who might matter from this draft class.

17:09 Um, you you mentioned how much you like Omar

17:11 Cooper and people should go check out your breakdown.

17:14 I guess I think my big concern with him and Sadique

17:17 and it's probably more of a concern for Cooper for me right now,

17:20 but maybe it shouldn't be.

17:21 I saw Matt Harmon tweeting about this this morning, like those two players,

17:27 Cooper and Sadique, seem like a really good thing for the Jets.

17:31 and it's really hard to see how either one of them are good for fantasy.

17:36 Yeah, that's totally fair.

17:37 Um I think that there was a small chance that the Jets are better than expected.

17:40 I feel like their offensive line has a ton of talent on it.

17:43 Um and so if Gino is like kept clean that maybe

17:46 he could play better and there are a lot of weapons there.

17:49 Um but yeah, I don't feel great about the coaching necessarily.

17:52 Although I will say that Frank Reich has had a lot of really productive um

17:55 short intermediate area targets that have played

17:57 out of the slot or tight end position.

17:59 So, like one or two of these two rookies I think could maybe fill that role.

18:04 Um, I'm excited about Cooper because I think he's

18:07 getting priced way down and that there's enough talent here

18:12 that he could be somebody who ends up being

18:13 a clear value even if it's a little bit murky.

18:16 Like think a mecha I guess kind of um not

18:19 as good of a situation as going to a Bucks offense

18:21 that could be good in a similar type of vein where

18:25 it's like ah targets and so he gets pushed down, right?

18:28 I it if he's good if he's really good then it

18:31 doesn't really matter that much if you're playing Dynasty in my opinion

18:34 unless you just like have to have points this year then

18:36 sure take Antonio Williams I guess but yeah I I really

18:40 the more I dug into his profile Heath the more I

18:41 was like this guy seems like he's legitimately like really good

18:45 and has a chance to be a really really fantasy friendly player

18:48 I think because his avoided tackle rates are legitimately historically good Jr.

18:54 kind of gets like boxed into this he's a slot only,

18:58 he's a catch-and run only kind of guy in people's minds.

19:01 But if you dig into the the whole profile um at Indiana,

19:06 it's a he offered a lot more than that.

19:08 The year before this breakout in 2025 at Mendoza,

19:11 he also averaged over 2.6 yards per run and that was with just an 8% slot rate.

19:17 Um he he did a lot of different things.

19:19 He beat a lot of different types of coverages

19:21 and he's really really good with the ball in his hand.

19:23 So, he's just I think somebody who's getting really underrated

19:26 in a class where we don't like a lot of picks.

19:28 I think it's pretty egregious to see him fall to 111 112 like he sometimes does.

19:33 Okay.

19:33 Yeah.

19:34 I I Where do you see the tier breaks in this class?

19:39 Uh yeah, I've got that somewhere.

19:41 Let me find it.

19:42 Okay.

19:42 Um for quarterbacks, no, I I just mean like in terms of round one.

19:49 Yeah.

19:48 Um where's where where do you have to make the big jump?

19:51 Where's the big big drop offs in talent?

19:54 I think after Lemon, so after the top five,

19:56 which is Love, Mendoza, Tate, Tyson, Lemon, there's a tier break.

19:59 And then I think there's another one after the guys we just talked about.

20:02 Um, you could put Price into that top tier.

20:04 I actually have Price and Anton Williams in their own

20:06 tier where it's like I like the profile,

20:10 um, but I don't feel like it's like an S tier type of profile or something.

20:13 And then we're just kind of picking them high,

20:15 hoping that they give us points right away.

20:17 And then there's like a massive tear break after Price and Antonio Williams.

20:20 And that's all the round two guys that could be

20:24 I mean I tech I have some technical little tear breaks

20:28 among these groups but it truly to me there's like

20:30 not much difference between 12 and like 36 which is crazy.

20:36 I've never done a rookie draft like this but like all those players

20:40 in there are very very similar in terms of probability of hitting in my opinion.

20:44 So, and and I actually do like Antonio Williams wasn't on this graphic.

20:47 If this was a non-tighten premium,

20:49 I I actually have him ahead of Sadiq um at eighth overall.

20:54 So, I I'm pretty excited by him as well.

20:56 I think I I wanted to talk a little

20:57 bit about the two guys that ended up in Cleveland,

20:59 Casey Conception and and Denzel Boston.

21:02 I think we both like Conception more.

21:04 Um but I think you have a bigger gap between those two than I do.

21:09 And I guess kind of talk about I I think I know why you like Conception.

21:14 I mean, the Browns liked him better as a prospect

21:17 in this world where teams are playing more tight ends and we certainly

21:20 think with Todd Monkin the Browns are going to do that as well.

21:23 Um, do if Jerry Judy's on the field for most of the snaps,

21:27 do you think it's Boston's only on the field in three wide

21:30 receiver snaps or is there some risk that happens to Conception early?

21:33 I'm nervous that Boston might not play that much this year.

21:35 Yeah.

21:35 And then it's kind of weird because it's like,

21:37 well, we kind of need to evaluate him.

21:40 Um, because his game in college was not really fantasy friendly,

21:43 but there were a lot of reasons to think, well, he could be more as a pro.

21:47 His best football could be ahead of him still.

21:49 He had some bad quarterback play, bad offensive line stuff going on there.

21:52 And then also the role was like I don't think exactly maximizing him.

21:57 Um, and so there's some people who think

21:58 that his analytics could be a lot better than they were,

22:00 which they were not good.

22:01 they were kind of a question mark for him coming in, you know,

22:04 relative to like his round one status.

22:06 Then we see him dropped to round two and go

22:08 to this spot where he I don't they kind

22:12 of have talked about him like a he's a project

22:14 and then also like they draft Conception ahead of him.

22:16 They have Judy, they have Fannon, they're going to get touches to and they have

22:19 Cedar Tman who like has been solid as a pro,

22:22 is a good blocker and just a big like body guy who

22:25 as long as he's healthy is probably going to be ahead of Boston.

22:29 Um, so I don't know exactly where he fits in in year one.

22:33 Like Conception has a clear path to getting on the field.

22:35 Like they've talked about using him in returns.

22:37 They he's a player who can beat all sorts of different types of coverages.

22:40 They talk about how they like that they can play him in and out of the slot.

22:43 Boston, they're like, he's got a really cool skill set and we

22:46 think it's really going to round out nicely.

22:48 And it's like, yeah, okay.

22:49 So, I have to just wait and hope that it gets better.

22:52 And then you also land a quarterback and then

22:54 he gets to play next year and that he's, you know, actually good.

22:58 I think that he could be good.

23:00 It just makes me pretty nervous.

23:01 And so it's like in that case, why not, in my opinion,

23:05 just bet on Brennan Thompson paired up with Justin

23:07 Herbert where all the pieces are already there.

23:09 We just need him to get on the field, which could happen if they trade QJ,

23:13 you know, or if they don't extend Quinn Johnson.

23:15 Like that could happen pretty soon.

23:17 Um, why not just bet on Ted Hurst, who's an awesome freaking athlete,

23:20 is paired up with Baker Mayfield and could get on the field next year.

23:22 Like I I I don't I'm pretty nervous about Boston.

23:25 I do have him ahead of Ted Hurst, but he's surprisingly low on my board.

23:28 I have Chris Bell ahead of him,

23:30 Antonio Williams ahead of him, and Brandon Thompson ahead of him.

23:33 We're going to get to a lot of those guys in round two.

23:35 But first, how many of these guys in round

23:37 one would you give up a random 2027 first for?

23:41 Uh, Love, [laughter] definitely Love.

23:44 Um, I guess then it would also be Mendoza,

23:48 Tate, and Tyson, and Lemon, but that makes me nervous.

23:54 And that's the end of the list.

23:55 Yeah, I think I might.

23:56 It depends on how like random is hard to think of in a D,

24:01 but like if you're just looking at a league average team

24:03 that it could go this way or it could go that way.

24:05 I might just stop at Love and Mendoza.

24:08 Yeah,

24:07 just because I stop at Love.

24:09 [laughter] I hope it does.

24:10 Um, let's let's change the equation.

24:12 Let's say you've got a true contender.

24:14 It's going to take all kinds of things going

24:16 wrong for you to not be in the semi-finals.

24:18 So, it's a it's a late 2027 first.

24:22 Yeah.

24:22 Um, so I don't know if I would if I would do that for Mendoza necessarily.

24:25 I would probably want to use the first in a different

24:27 type of way to get somebody to add to that team,

24:29 but otherwise, yeah, love Tay Tyson and probably Lemon.

24:33 Okay.

24:34 But not not Casey Conception or anybody after that.

24:36 Okay.

24:36 I love I love Casey,

24:37 but I don't know if we're getting anything from him this year.

24:39 The Browns just could be the worst offense in the league.

24:42 We're going to go ahead and take our second break

24:43 a little bit early so we can get into the round

24:46 two and then so we have plenty of time for all

24:48 of your chat questions because there are a bunch of them.

24:50 Some of them are fantastic.

24:51 We'll be right back after this.

25:01 Game bread is in the building.

25:03 [music] Chris Widman, Dean Thomas, are you ready?

25:10 Oh boy, this one is going to be crazy.

25:13 [music] Let's get into round two.

25:18 This is when all the running backs should start showing up, right?

25:21 This is when Heath said that listen,

25:22 there's going to be some guys that get good draft capital.

25:24 They're going to be right there at the one-two turn.

25:27 No, that [laughter] unfortunately I'm so down on the class, dude.

25:32 I have riding backs at one and then 10.

25:34 And this is for uh tighting premium.

25:36 So, they're that's pushing them down the board a little bit.

25:39 Then the next one is at 21 overall

25:41 and then 25, 26, and 36.

25:46 We are not We are not far off at all.

25:49 [laughter] It's not even the guys that you might expect either.

25:53 Like I have Emit Johnson, Mike Washington, and Nicholas Singleton,

25:56 and Kron Allen all outside of the top 30.

25:59 I I am there with Allen.

26:01 Let's Here's my 13 through 24.

26:03 Antonio Williams is 13.

26:04 Again, a non-tightend premium.

26:06 He's a first round pick for me.

26:08 Jeremy Bernard 14, Chris Bell at 15, Malachi Fields at 16, Eli Ridon,

26:14 I know I know Jacob's going to want to talk about him.

26:16 Max Claire, Oscar Delp, Chris Brazelle, Zachariah Branch,

26:20 Jonah Coleman, Mike Washington, and Ted Hurst.

26:23 So, it's Williams, Bernard Bell, Fields, Raridon,

26:26 Claire, Delp, Brazzle, Branch, Coleman, Washington, Hurst.

26:32 Let's just get this one out of the way.

26:35 Who am I too high on?

26:37 Um, Brazil, you're a lot higher on than me.

26:40 And Mike Washington as well.

26:42 So, I've got them.

26:44 I've got 37 is where Brazil's at and Washington's at 39.

26:48 Uh, respect on the Eli Raridan ranking,

26:50 the Max Clair ranking, the Oscar Delpelp ranking.

26:54 Love those.

26:54 But yeah, I'm I'm quite low on those two players.

26:57 That's one of the main reasons that I that I

26:59 made it a tight end premium draft because I I was

27:01 only going to have like three tight ends in my top

27:03 24 and I knew that'd be really disappointing to you.

27:05 Uh, what is it Brazil going to Carolina where they have a lot of wide receivers?

27:13 I'm not sure if Chris Brazzle hits his ceiling that they

27:16 have too many wide receivers that necessarily stand in his way,

27:20 but what what is it about Brazil that has you most concerned?

27:24 Um, I just don't really want to invest

27:26 in that in that passing game all that much.

27:29 Uh, I we need like I know that the Flashes are really fun with Bryce Young,

27:34 but we need to see more instances of him

27:37 being able to produce yards simply like it's

27:41 just not it's like one of the lowest volume

27:44 passing offenses in terms of the actual yardage production.

27:48 Um, maybe that's different because they don't have Rico D to just ride um

27:52 this year and maybe you know Bryce Young what we saw in the playoffs,

27:56 you know, young group of receivers.

27:58 Maybe we see it opened up a little bit here.

28:00 Uh, but I just don't know.

28:02 Like I wasn't super high on him as a prospect

28:05 and I think that there are so like you have

28:07 Zachariah Branch behind him and I think that like they

28:09 both had some questions about is their production fraudulent or whatever.

28:13 They're both really good athletes.

28:15 It's just a total projection on whether

28:17 they'll do anything as pros and Branch just

28:19 seems like he has a way clearer path to maybe doing something in year one.

28:23 Um, you have Ted Hurst below him who I did like his film

28:26 a lot more and I I feel better about his pairing there.

28:29 Like they're in similar types of situations in terms

28:31 of where they stand on the depth chart in my opinion.

28:33 Um, and then like Tampa Bay just feels a little

28:35 bit better to me than what we've got with Bryce Young.

28:38 So that's that's pretty much it with Brazil.

28:40 And I think the Mike Washington thing is obvious.

28:42 He got drafted behind Ashton Genty.

28:44 I I'm actually a Listen, I don't know if it's optimistic or pessimistic.

28:50 It'd be pessimistic for Ashton Genty.

28:52 optimistic for Mike Washington, but I we know what Kubak has done in the past.

28:57 We know what he's said since taking the job in Las Vegas.

29:01 I just wouldn't be that surprised if

29:03 Mike Washington is a flexworthy running back playing

29:06 alongside Ashton Genty and then if something happens

29:09 to Genty is a guy that we're starting.

29:12 Yeah, sure.

29:13 I think that I mean I I think basically like any running back who

29:16 gets paired up with one of these elite like top top five young guys,

29:20 it's really hard to to roster them, but that could happen.

29:24 And to my point earlier, there's like I actually liked Washington coming

29:28 into the draft and I liked Kron Allen a lot.

29:31 Like there's not much difference between these guys and 12.

29:34 They're really isn't in my opinion.

29:36 So if you want to move them up, I wouldn't like have any problem with that.

29:39 just like I would like to at least take a shot on somebody

29:42 like some of these receivers who I think could get on the field.

29:45 Um or some of these tight ends have

29:47 a more realistic path to like mattering at their position.

29:50 Washington, he could play in year one.

29:53 Um but it wouldn't surprise me if it's

29:54 kind of like the tootin role last year where

29:57 it's like he plays a role for the team that matters and even if he does it well,

30:01 we still don't really have any confidence in what he

30:03 is as a player because it was such a specific role.

30:05 Does that make sense what I'm saying there?

30:07 like was basically just the short yardage back last year,

30:09 which was weird because it's like, well,

30:11 I thought that there was a lot more to his profile

30:13 that were the exciting reasons to be in on him in fantasy.

30:16 We didn't really get to see that at all.

30:18 So, going into year two, we don't even know really.

30:20 Like, now that he does have an opportunity opened up,

30:23 I think we're gonna have a hard unless there's an injury to Gindi,

30:25 I think we're gonna have a hard

30:26 time being able to actually evaluate Mike Washington.

30:28 No, that that that could be true.

30:31 I wanted to give you time to sell everyone on Eli Riden.

30:36 Okay.

30:36 Yeah.

30:36 um not someone who's probably going to matter in year one.

30:39 He's another player where the team has kind of talked about

30:41 him as a project and I think that that makes sense.

30:43 They like his receiving.

30:44 They said that they think that there's flashes

30:46 to his blocking which I definitely think so.

30:48 I think that's why he's so high on my my board here.

30:51 I had him at tit coming into the draft and that's still where he's at.

30:55 is unlike a lot of the Titans in this class,

30:57 a really weird class in terms of light

30:59 weights like 240 250 range and like 10th percentile

31:04 or lower arm length which scares me in terms

31:06 of them being able to survive in line and block.

31:08 This is one who's huge.

31:09 He has like Coulson Love body to a tea but with bigger hands.

31:13 He has like Cole KT within

31:15 his like compar most comparable profiles on mockdraftable.com.

31:18 He just needs to fill out.

31:19 He's 240 pounds now.

31:21 Um but he loves to block.

31:22 His dad was an offensive lineman in Notre Dame.

31:24 His uncle was an offensive lineman in Notre Dame.

31:26 His grandpa was an offensive lineman in Nebraska and got drafted into the NFL.

31:29 So like he was playing tackle before he transition to tight end.

31:32 He has the technique.

31:33 He just needs to get stronger.

31:35 Basically, he's a basketball player.

31:36 And that's you kind of see that on his frame.

31:38 Um but man, the flashes, the high-end flashes for him are really, really good.

31:42 We just didn't get to see a ton of it because he tore his ACL

31:45 twice early in his career and then when he was actually on the field,

31:49 he's playing at Notre Dame, which is really, really runheavy offense.

31:52 Obviously, they have two running backs go in the first round,

31:54 but his per route data is really, really good.

31:57 The best parts of his film are really, really good.

32:00 And now he gets paired up with Drake May, baby.

32:02 So, like, yeah, I'm really excited about this.

32:04 We've seen tight ends do well with within this McDaniels offense.

32:08 And obviously, Drake May is one of the most exciting quarterbacks in the league.

32:12 So, if you can afford to wait on a player here,

32:15 if you can use the roster spond that way,

32:17 he to me offers one of the the highest upside like

32:20 theoretical picks that you can make in this in this draft class.

32:23 So, I know we already talked about Brennan Thompson,

32:25 who's probably your favorite player that's not in my top 24.

32:27 Who are your other favorite players in this class that did not make my top 24?

32:32 Let me look at my board.

32:33 You've got a good top 24 here.

32:34 A lot of similarities here.

32:36 Is there anybody?

32:37 So, Brennan Thompson we already talked about.

32:39 No, you you hit on most of these.

32:41 Malachi Fields um is in your top.

32:44 Yeah.

32:44 No, this is great.

32:45 Keith, is Desan Stribbling outside the top 24 for you?

32:48 Stribbling is outside the top 24.

32:50 And I think we actually had this would

32:51 be a great uh transition into the chat questions.

32:56 I think we actually had a chat question about Stribbling.

32:59 Somebody said they took him I can't find the chat question now,

33:01 but they said they took dribbling in round two.

33:04 Is that a good value?

33:06 I said no.

33:07 Are you gonna say yes?

33:10 Um, yeah.

33:10 I think that's valid in round two.

33:12 Again, like basically you can tell me anybody

33:14 and I'm gonna be like that's pro that's probably fine.

33:16 Um, I think that there's a chance he gets on the field in year one.

33:19 I mean, really there's there's obviously a chance

33:21 because San Francisco can't seem to stay healthy.

33:24 Um, and he seems ready to play.

33:27 Um, he's an old receiver, 23 years old.

33:29 He played 24 during the season and Shanahan really really liked his film.

33:32 just really liked his film.

33:34 Um, as a receiver and then also as a blocker.

33:36 Thinks he's the best blocker in the class.

33:38 That shows up when you watch the film.

33:39 So, I think he'll get on the field right away.

33:40 Uh, kind of like a Jawan Jennings type of body but faster.

33:44 Really fast.

33:45 There's plays where he catches and just runs away from George's entire defense.

33:49 Um, he's he's interesting.

33:51 I think he's good with the ball in his hands.

33:52 I think he's somebody who could give you some decent games.

33:56 Um, could flash some some upside with the long plays and everything.

33:59 Obviously attached to a good quarterback here.

34:02 So, in a class where there's a lot of weird,

34:04 you know, profiles that might not matter for years, um,

34:08 he's one of the more likely to matter this year and then

34:12 potentially kind of work his way into some kind of a role.

34:15 He's not ultimately like probably ever going to be somebody who's

34:19 like getting a ton of targets and turning into some star receiver,

34:22 but I think he's going to be a really good pro and stick around for a while

34:25 and might be somebody who if he's in a Shanahan offense is kind of just boosted.

34:29 his productions just boosted from what his actual talent is.

34:32 Um, which then could be a lowend wide receiver too for fantasy for, you know,

34:36 five year stretch or whatever.

34:37 Like that's that might be one of the best things that comes out of this class.

34:40 So, the last time the 49ers, and I'm using air quotes,

34:43 so don't get me in this big uh analysts versus GMs

34:49 debate that's been going on on Twitter for the last four days.

34:51 The last time the 49ers reached for a wide receiver in this range,

34:55 uh, I think it was Ricky Pearl.

34:57 Would you ra how do you compare Pierce to Stribbling in terms of moving forward?

35:03 Uh they're tough.

35:04 It's tough because like Pieraw you watch him

35:06 and it's like oh well he could be a star.

35:08 You know what I mean?

35:08 Like he's so much different than than Stribbling.

35:11 Um I think he will still get on the field this year.

35:13 Like I I my guess is to open the year it's Evans

35:16 and him and um Christian Kirk and Stribbling just kind of is mixing in.

35:22 And so I think that the light's still on for Persol.

35:25 Um the offense is great and he you know

35:27 Mike Evans presence might really open things up for him

35:31 where he isn't just the downfield guy and he can

35:33 operate with more space and I I think he legitimately

35:37 has like flashes of like lad makoni type movement

35:39 skills um where he can just absolutely shred against man

35:43 coverage and so if he has less defensive attention then

35:45 maybe we start seeing piling up some big chunk plays.

35:47 So Pallol's interesting.

35:49 Maybe not a bad buy if like his dynasty value is

35:53 going to crater here with Stribbling being out of the equation.

35:55 But of course we just we need to see him be healthy

35:57 and that's been a problem for a long time dating back to college.

36:00 Um so if he if he falters I think

36:02 that it's entirely possible that Stribbling takes the role.

36:05 This is probably one of the target trees

36:07 that I am less certain about than just about any

36:10 other in San Francisco because I'm not entirely sure

36:13 what I think Mike Evans has left in the tank.

36:16 I have no idea how many games Ricky Pierol is going to play.

36:19 We don't know when George KD's going to be healthy.

36:22 We don't know if the 30% target share for Christian

36:25 McCaffrey is going to happen now that they have wide receivers.

36:27 Like I think in in terms of projecting the 49ers,

36:31 I need to really I think this term is is over now,

36:35 but I need to really nerf one of the guys in the projection

36:37 so that I can rank a couple of them as starters.

36:40 And I'm struggling with with or not even starters,

36:42 maybe just flexes having struggling with with when to do that.

36:45 Uh, somebody had a Let's kick this one off.

36:48 Where can we see Jacob's dynasty ranks for comparison on Beyond the Box score?

36:52 We will be uh doing that today.

36:54 Me and Dan are going live just after the show and we're going to go deep.

36:57 I have 70 players ranked for dynasty.

37:00 So, I hope that that is enough for you sickos.

37:02 Everybody else is saying, "Let's cancel all of our rookie drafts after

37:06 round two." And Jacob Gibbs is ranking 70 players.

37:10 This that's why we love him.

37:13 uh price over Mendoza for a competitive team in Superflex.

37:18 I just can't do it.

37:19 I say only in one QB.

37:21 It's uh yeah, not not in a Superflex league.

37:24 Um I I understand why you want to do it,

37:27 but if you don't want to draft Mendoza and you're competing,

37:30 there's got to be a team in your league that needs a quarterback

37:33 that will give you a better 2026 bet than Jadarium Price, I think.

37:39 Where do you have Kaylin Black?

37:40 I know that the round three running backs

37:42 for Shanahan have been a nightmare or whatever.

37:44 Um I'm just curious cuz he does seem to really

37:46 like him and we just talked about San Francisco and everything.

37:49 Like is he near your top 24 or is

37:51 he clearly behind Nick Singleton players like that?

37:53 He's Yeah, he's not I I No,

37:57 he he's not I mean he's not right now he's not in my top 36 [laughter]

38:02 right now.

38:02 He's not in my top 36.

38:04 I I'm right now still expecting Jordan James to be the RB2 this year.

38:09 Now, may maybe he won't be um but then again, it might be six other guys.

38:15 Um that's they they just signed Sincere McCormack after the draft.

38:20 What?

38:21 [laughter] I just don't I don't I don't understand.

38:24 I don't have any answers for you,

38:25 but I did love Black's film and so when he got picked on day two,

38:29 I was like so stoked.

38:30 Uh to me, he's kind of like Jordan James, like a nononsense guy.

38:34 It's so funny how it seems like Shanahan is

38:36 like he wanted speed guys and then he wanted

38:38 big guys and now he's just like I want

38:41 the generic like do the right thing running back.

38:44 Like [laughter] that's a good I don't know.

38:45 I feel like he goes through phases and it's just

38:48 it may be because he spends so much time dealing with the drama from his wide

38:51 receiver room that he doesn't want to have any of that in his running back room.

38:55 If my team is built to win now,

38:57 should I trade the 105 and Jaylen Coker for George Pickkins and Debo Samuel?

39:04 Yeah, I mean I pretty much never said yes to trading Jaylen Coker,

39:07 but I think that that's fine.

39:09 Yeah, I've got George Pickins in my Superflex trade chart as worth,

39:16 let's see, where is he?

39:18 23.1 points and that is significantly more than what I have the 105 at.

39:29 Yeah.

39:29 So, Pickkins could be the top scoring receiver.

39:31 That that could just happen.

39:32 that would like Pickicket could have 15 touchdowns

39:34 this year and that wouldn't surprise me at all.

39:36 So yeah, I like like that deal.

39:38 Would you rather have Ty Simpson in the as Ty Simpson

39:43 as the future in McVeyy's system or Arch Manning in any system?

39:48 Um Arch Manning, I guess.

39:50 I think I think so.

39:52 I think Arch Manning has more upside.

39:55 Yeah.

39:54 And we don't even know when we'll see Simpson or if Yeah.

39:58 like we'll probably see him at some point, but I we don't know.

40:02 Speaking of guys, we don't know if we'll ever see them.

40:04 Carson Beck at 24th overall, so he did not make it into my top 24.

40:08 There are some quarterbacks around the 23 turn for me in non-tightend premium,

40:12 but they're more mid third round picks for me in tight end premium,

40:15 but Carson Beck at 24th overall in Superflex.

40:18 Decent value for a contender needing emergency starters late in the year.

40:23 Sure, I have him at 32.

40:25 Um, I actually would probably I think I would

40:27 rather just wait and draft Taylor Green around later.

40:31 Um, I think he could get on the field

40:32 this year and could give you like actual points,

40:35 whereas I don't know what Beck's getting you, man.

40:36 Like hopefully he gets you 15 points or whatever, you know?

40:40 Like hopefully he doesn't get you three.

40:41 I don't I just I don't really want Carson Beck on my fantasy teams.

40:45 I actually have Drew Aller ahead of him.

40:47 Um, now once Aaron Rogers actually signs,

40:50 I'll probably have to adjust that, but until he does,

40:52 there's a chance he doesn't.

40:53 Um, and Tayen Green, I've got one spot behind Beck,

40:56 so I don't necessarily disagree with you,

40:58 but I did think like that's one of the I don't know if you'd call it a strength,

41:03 but we have more guys to just throw third round picks

41:05 at that might get to play games at quarterback this year.

41:08 Um, just because the teams they land on have so few options.

41:12 Am I nuts for thinking Jordan Tyson will help Chris Olive's production?

41:19 Um I I so I did my rankings for this year

41:26 in addition to the dynasty rankings and didn't really

41:29 moved down much even though I think that Tyson could

41:31 outscore him this year and it really wouldn't surprise me.

41:34 Um I I don't really know if he helps Ave.

41:38 I don't really see how he does.

41:40 I think got really clean looks last year even though it's pretty clear

41:43 that he's the top most likely to get a target on any given play.

41:47 he's the top priority for defenses to focus on.

41:50 I still think Kell Moore is just so good

41:52 that a lot of got a lot of really clean looks.

41:55 So, I think no, I think Tyson probably hurts him

41:58 in terms of drawing so many targets away from him.

42:01 Um, but I think I guess what I would say is

42:04 I think the offense has a chance to be a lot better, right?

42:08 Um, because everything they've done this off seasonason has been

42:11 really encouraging in terms of like building up this offense.

42:14 And so that helps me not be as nervous

42:16 that the touchdowns are going to regress in a significant way.

42:19 And if we get lucky, it could even be,

42:21 you know, double- digit touchdowns for Bob.

42:23 Yeah, I'm I'm very optimistic about Tyler Shuck.

42:26 I think he's one of the biggest winners of the offseason.

42:28 Love the addition of ETN for him.

42:30 I think it's just going to be and this team was 28th in scoring last year.

42:37 They might be eighth this year.

42:39 Like that that's how big of a leap they could make.

42:41 So I think I unfortunately Chris Olive is probably

42:45 going to see significantly maybe not significantly but fewer targets.

42:49 I also think that it's it's very possible

42:52 that his efficiency improves and that this offense just scores

42:55 a lot more touchdowns and maybe maybe Chris Olive

42:59 has similar fantasy production on fewer targets with better efficiency.

43:03 That's a good point.

43:03 Like his yard per run rate was weirdly low last year.

43:06 This is a guy who's always had these insane yard per

43:08 run rates and then last year was more of a volume bet.

43:12 Uh, how are we feeling about Justin Jolie,

43:13 one of the one of the tight ends that didn't

43:15 make it into my top 24 second half season immediate impact?

43:19 Yeah.

43:19 Does David and Jooku just get Harold Fannon again?

43:22 Uh, Jolie is interesting.

43:26 Like he actually I I kind There were moments

43:28 in his film where I compared it to Fannon.

43:29 To be clear, he doesn't have anywhere

43:31 near the statistical profile that Fannon does.

43:33 It's similar, I guess, in style and that he like got on the field early and was

43:38 productive and was uh you know the the center point of an offense,

43:42 but um I I think it's pretty unlikely that he's

43:46 going to be somebody who matters as a pro.

43:48 I really like him.

43:49 Like I I think his um the flashes of him at the catch

43:52 point are awesome and he offers a little bit after the catch as well.

43:55 Um, but most likely this is probably just kind of a a part-time player who

44:01 isn't going to be useful for fantasy

44:02 unless he's on a really really good offense.

44:07 We've got another one here.

44:10 Yeah, I I was encouraged by Justin Jolly before the draft.

44:16 I do think he has a little bit of an opportunity.

44:19 I would have him in round three of the tight end Premium League.

44:23 So, there's hope.

44:25 Am I crazy?

44:25 I thought Enjoku signed with Denver,

44:27 but then I'm like I I saw him as free agent the other day.

44:29 He didn't sign with Denver.

44:30 I I just assumed that something happened that I missed in the last

44:33 48 hours because as we talked about before the show, our brains are spinning.

44:37 But the fact but yeah,

44:38 I mean there may be a quicker opportunity there and we have

44:42 seen in the p maybe maybe he's going to play that Joker role

44:46 um that Evan Ingram has been thriving in for the last two years.

44:50 Uh thoughts on Chris Bell and I'm going to expand on this.

44:53 Is it crazy if you're a team that just does not care about 2026 points at all?

44:59 Is it crazy to view Chris Bell as a first round pick?

45:03 No, not at all.

45:03 I think that's definitely where he is from a talent perspective.

45:06 And I have him close to that in this class.

45:09 That's not crazy.

45:09 I'm 15th for tight ending premium.

45:11 So, if it's non-titing premium,

45:12 he would be basically just a first round pick for me.

45:17 In terms of his talent profile, forgetting the injury,

45:21 forgetting the fact that he may not be ready for the start of the year,

45:24 in terms of his talent profile,

45:26 how many wide receivers in this class are you sure are better than Chris Bell?

45:34 Um, Tate Tyson, Lemon, Conception, Omar Cooper Jr., and that's it.

45:41 Yeah, that's it.

45:42 He's really good and he might end up being better than those players.

45:45 Like he um I don't know if he would be the chances of being better for fantasy

45:51 are probably pretty low because he doesn't have

45:53 a great feel for his own zone coverage.

45:55 Maybe that will change.

45:56 Um and so that to me that makes it pretty unlikely that his target

46:00 share could ever push as high as somebody like Tyson for example.

46:03 Um, but in terms of like what he can do

46:05 in one-on-one situations with the ball in his hands against man coverage,

46:08 against press coverage, clearly way beyond Jordan Tyson,

46:11 way beyond Omar Cooper Jr.,

46:13 these guys are going to have to kind of be in a position

46:16 where they're getting a lot of targets to be good for fantasy,

46:18 which they can do because they're really good against zone coverage like I said,

46:21 but like um this guy can produce with four targets.

46:26 And if he gets in a situation like it's totally realistic could happen

46:29 in Miami where there's not a lot else and he's starting to get six,

46:32 seven targets per game.

46:33 Um then it could be really really productive

46:35 because he just has like massive efficiency upside.

46:38 Yeah, I I'm got really mixed emotions about this whole Miami

46:42 situation because I was pretty excited about Malik Willis back in January

46:46 and I thought he was really underpriced and then he got

46:49 the job in Miami which is kind of what I was

46:51 hoping and and so I was all on board and he

46:53 was a borderline top 20 dynasty quarterback and now I look

46:57 at what this team has put around him and it seems

47:01 clear that their plan is to have a top pick next year.

47:07 Yeah.

47:07 and he I don't know that he has the weapons to have a successful season and then

47:12 they draft their quarterback of the future

47:14 and he maybe just doesn't get a chance again.

47:16 Yeah, that's totally fair.

47:17 That's kind of where I've been with Willis this whole time.

47:20 Um I'm excited for him.

47:21 I hope that he plays well.

47:23 Um but I think I've got him like QB 14 or 15 for um this year, which shocked me.

47:29 That felt really low.

47:30 I thought when I did my rankings and projections and stuff

47:33 that he would come out at like QB8 or something.

47:35 Mhm.

47:35 Um, but I really am I think that they're going to just try to run the ball

47:39 a lot based off of what they've been doing

47:40 with the offensive line and everything and the receiver room.

47:42 That's kind of feels like that's where we're at.

47:44 I wanted to add that Denzel Boston I think

47:46 is a better receiver than Chris Bell right now.

47:48 Okay.

47:48 I'm nervous about him for fantasy and everything,

47:49 but I think he is clearly a better receiver than Chris Bell right now.

47:53 Well, this is the question that's been on everyone's mind.

47:55 Why would the Rams take another tight end that early even if they cut Higgby?

48:00 Claire's their tight end three on the depth chart.

48:03 Yeah, I my guess is we're not going to see Claire hardly at all this year.

48:07 Um, so yeah, on Beyond the Box where we're dead and I go through our rankings,

48:10 I'm going to make sure that to offer

48:12 the distinction of like these guys are are projects.

48:15 Um, I can just I bet I can just find it real quick and give it to you.

48:18 Um, he's one of them like the one of the clearest

48:20 examples of like this is just a long-term stash.

48:22 Okay, here it is.

48:23 Ty Simpson long-term stash.

48:25 Eli Riden long-term stash.

48:27 Max Claire probably Oscar Delp.

48:30 Um, but maybe he gets on the field in a meaningful way this year.

48:32 Probably Sters, but again, there could be some kind of a role.

48:35 I I truly think it's like most of the tight end class this year is

48:40 long-term stash.

48:40 And then Chris Bell, who we just talked about,

48:42 Brennan Thompson, Ted Hurst, Bryce Lance, awesome talents.

48:45 Uh Chris Brazwell, if you believe in him, but they're long-term stashes.

48:49 I don't think that you're going to expect like anything this year.

48:52 You were the biggest Terrence Ferguson fan that I knew.

48:57 They're very different.

48:57 when you're looking at a three-year window.

49:00 So, we're long long-term stashes probably for both still.

49:03 Um, who would you think is going to be a better long-term stash?

49:10 Um, Ferguson.

49:11 I'm going to go with Ferguson.

49:13 They're very different.

49:13 I think the Ferguson has more blocking upside.

49:16 He still has a long way to go based off what we saw last year on film.

49:19 Um, but I think that he could get there as a blocker.

49:21 He Claire I'm a little bit nervous about because he's a smaller guy.

49:25 Um he's 245 with short arms.

49:27 Ferguson has a big big long um body and like arm length

49:31 and and wingspan and everything which helps him be a weapon in the red

49:35 zone and everything but also can you know we can project that maybe

49:38 he can be a blocker be on the field all the time.

49:40 Claire to me I was like Sam Leapora is who he reminds me of.

49:43 Leaporta I think was kind of a risky bet coming in because he had good not great

49:49 production really good film and it was like we

49:52 need him to get he has identical arm length.

49:54 I think it was 11th percentile like he's a he's a small small tight end where I

49:59 think he could block in line but I kind of doubted it coming in and so I

50:02 was like we need a team to role cater to him and that's exactly what happened is

50:04 the Lions thought his receiving was so good

50:06 that they were willing to get him in that role.

50:09 The Rams clearly see something here that they

50:11 really like but I don't they've also

50:14 been really content just waiting on these players

50:16 at running back at tight end etc.

50:18 and they're also content like breaking the the tight end

50:21 room up into these little bit pieces, these little roles.

50:24 And so I don't know if we're ever going to see

50:26 him be somebody who is invested in as like a full-time player,

50:30 even if he does have really impressive ability

50:32 with the ball in his hands and really impressive route winning.

50:35 Like Titans rarely are like noticed for winning routes when I watch their film.

50:39 It's more like can they get on the field?

50:41 Can they just pile up enough to be someone we can use for fantasy?

50:44 there's a select few who are consistently up at the top

50:47 because they can win routes and actually like get targets.

50:51 Um, this guy's one of them if it ever does amount to anything.

50:55 But yeah, there's obviously a log jam here and I

50:57 don't think we'll see him hardly at all in year one.

50:59 Who would Hurst push out in Tampa Bay to get playing time?

51:03 So, I think it's McMillan if I had to guess.

51:05 Like their skill sets are probably the most similar.

51:07 I know McMillan was used in this slot a lot at times throughout his career,

51:11 but he's actually like a really long rangy guy and I

51:14 think he's going to kind of fill the Mike Evans role.

51:16 Not that anybody does, but I think McMillan and Bukar are going to be the guys

51:20 are getting more of the downfield targets for Tampa Bay this year.

51:23 Hurst is freaking awesome.

51:24 He's so fun.

51:25 Um, and I think he really is more than just um some,

51:29 you know, athlete who played well against small schools.

51:32 I think he has some nuance to his game and his ability to beat press coverage.

51:35 his ability to attack the ball is really really good.

51:38 I think if they feel comfortable going into year

51:42 two with his development that he could kind of step

51:44 into that Mike Evans type of a role um

51:46 which would probably be hurting uh Jaylen McMillan the most.

51:50 I was wondering if it was just that Chris Godwin's gone after

51:52 this year and the three wide receivers are Ibuka Hurst and McMillan.

51:57 Could be.

51:58 Yeah, I don't I don't know the details for Godwin's contract necessarily.

52:02 Um, I thought that he was around for a little bit longer,

52:04 but maybe they could get rid of that.

52:05 Well, I I think it probably Yes, you're right.

52:08 I was thinking if if he doesn't look like Chris Godwin again this year,

52:14 then it may not matter really what the contract situation is.

52:18 Yeah.

52:18 No, I could I could see that.

52:19 I I've been expecting if that's the case, then man,

52:22 this is probably one of the best picks from the draft.

52:24 I've been expecting it to be like the the four of them mixing in.

52:28 Yeah.

52:28 and and it being like him and um

52:30 him and McMillan splitting like 6040 or something

52:33 next year and maybe Godwin Ibuka only

52:36 playing like 80% of the snaps or something.

52:38 I'm a little nervous about Ibuka in general just because

52:40 he gets he he's pushed so high up the board.

52:43 Um but what we saw at the end of the year was kind of weird.

52:45 And then when they talk about their receiving room they're just

52:48 affusive with praise about Chris Godwin and what how important he is.

52:52 And then they're really excited about McMillan and they talk

52:53 about him being like Mike Evans and stuff like that.

52:55 like and then also IA and it's like I seem

52:59 like ranked at receiver 10 for dynasty like this is

53:02 supposed to be like your guy of the future right

53:03 like are you not you're not building it around him

53:05 like um I don't know I that could be unfounded

53:08 obviously he he looked phenomenal at the beginning of the year

53:10 and he's a really good player but I don't know

53:12 exactly what the role is going to be for Ibuka

53:15 it that is another one that will be interesting to see

53:17 I told my family I'm going to take the local

53:19 kid Colobby Young in every league do I need to draft

53:22 him or can I get him as a free agent

53:24 I think that you're probably going to have to draft him.

53:27 Um, depending on how sharp your league is,

53:29 like it's a really interesting opportunity for him.

53:31 I know Dan was a fan of his film.

53:33 I dug into it a little bit.

53:34 It's it's really hit or miss.

53:37 Um, but there are flashes that are pretty crazy.

53:39 He can do a lot with the ball in his hands.

53:41 Um, and then he's obviously a big athletic player and he

53:44 has an opportunity to to play in a really good offense.

53:46 So, yeah, I mean, he is kind of like discount Ted Hurst

53:50 or whatever and he might have more clear path to playing time, right?

53:53 So why why not?

53:55 Do you think conception will amount to anything

53:58 in the NFL or are the Browns going to run him?

54:01 I think so.

54:02 Yeah, I will be really really sad if not this guy's too good.

54:05 Um so as long as he stays healthy, I think so.

54:08 I think he'll just even if the Browns are freaking terrible um and just

54:12 don't get a quarterback solution and he

54:13 just wastes away there for his rookie contract.

54:15 if he doesn't have huge injuries,

54:17 I think he's so good that he'll show enough to become like a really

54:21 highly soughtafter player and then go to a spot where he'll be featured.

54:25 Two more questions from Heath the chat,

54:27 you're you're out of Great job, chat, by the way.

54:29 Fantastic questions led to some good conversation.

54:32 Um, Mr.

54:34 Tight end.

54:35 We just talked about what the Rams are doing to this position

54:38 and how it's not necessarily that fantasy friendly for the those tight ends.

54:42 Any concern that this trend that we're seeing more people copy now

54:47 is going to have the same impact on other tight ends and we

54:50 get a lot more tight ends playing and a lot more tight

54:53 ends scoring some points but fewer tight ends scoring a lot of points.

54:58 Yeah, for sure.

54:58 Right.

54:59 That's something you and I have talked about um on past podcasts, too.

55:01 Real quick, shout out to the chat.

55:03 Josh Gordon was productive with Cleveland being awful.

55:06 I love Casey Gio, but ain't Josh Gordon.

55:08 We ain't seen another Josh Gordon.

55:09 That guy's nuts.

55:11 Um, yeah.

55:12 So, Britain Strange comes to mind for me

55:14 where Jacksonville drafted two tight ends this year.

55:17 One really good receiving tight end, one really good blocking tight end.

55:19 And I'm like, well, what does this mean for Britain Strange?

55:21 Because he's awesome.

55:22 He's a good receiver and he's a good blocker.

55:24 Why would you ever be taking him off the field?

55:26 Um, I don't think that they will necessarily,

55:28 but like I just it's it's going to be

55:31 really interesting to see how it all evolves.

55:33 I think he's good enough that he kind of almost gets depending on how

55:36 this shakes out with how they play

55:38 their uh their personnel packages and everything,

55:40 he almost kind of gets the Lovelin treatment where it's like, oh,

55:44 now Bren Strange gets to run more and more routes where he's featured

55:48 because there's not a receiver on the field he's competing for a target with.

55:50 Instead, it's this tight end on the field

55:52 that's just out there to block basically.

55:54 But what if we see I mean, Max Cla is really, really good, right?

55:58 I just told you how good he is and everything.

55:59 He goes to Ohio State this past year and anytime

56:02 that they're in the red zone, he doesn't play.

56:04 His snap rate was like 40% in the red zone.

56:06 When they were like within 10 yards, it was like 28% or something.

56:09 And it's like, well, that's really weird for a guy who's going

56:11 in round two of the NFL draft that Ohio State,

56:13 I know they're a big program, but they have three other tight ends.

56:16 They would rather play in these other packages.

56:18 And I'm like, what if that's strange?

56:20 What if they get down there?

56:21 They would rather have Kosol out there because he's a really big, you know,

56:24 they've talked about how much they like him as like a red zone threat.

56:26 They'd rather have the blocker out there.

56:28 What if we get some of this weird stuff where it's mixing and matching

56:30 and it is just taking away from a position that already is pretty poor.

56:34 You can't really take away like those if if

56:37 Britain Strange loses two touchdowns because of that, that's meaningful.

56:40 Like we really need touchdowns this position

56:41 because there's not enough targets and yards.

56:43 And so, yeah, it is going to be interesting to see it all shake out.

56:47 Um, to me, it's just like I'm glad I've got a lot of Coulson Lin.

56:51 I'm glad of, you know,

56:52 like I think knowing who those absolute like safe insulated top guys are

56:56 who can be on the field all the time is the the biggest winners

57:00 at the position right now because other guys might be affected by it

57:04 if we I mean we saw so many blocking tight ends drafted this year.

57:07 Man, it's going to be really interesting.

57:09 I think it would probably be case by case.

57:11 Again, I don't know if every team has a very

57:14 clear plan for how they're going to do this.

57:16 Um, but I do think that we might see it kind

57:18 of to your point like water down the position a little bit.

57:22 Um, where those tight ends who aren't the elite guys,

57:25 so tight ends six through 20 or whatever,

57:27 um, just do see like a 10% dip and that's just that's pretty brutal.

57:32 I waited until the 57 minute mark to do this, so nobody complained in the chat.

57:36 Talk to me about Cyrus Allen and Jeff Caldwell.

57:39 [laughter] Cyrus Allen, please save us.

57:44 Um, yeah.

57:45 I I wish you I would have known that you were gonna

57:47 ask this because it's actually at the top of my film list,

57:50 but I haven't gotten to it because it's like,

57:51 well, really at the top of my film list should be that I

57:53 want to watch more Jeremy Bernard and I want to watch more Antonio Williams.

57:56 Like, I watched four games of those guys,

57:58 but I didn't know if they would be drafted into meaningful roles,

58:01 if they would just be parttime players or whatever.

58:03 And now that they are, it's like, okay, I need to watch 10 games.

58:05 And so, I'm sinking my teeth into that more.

58:07 Um, but yeah, the Chiefs drafted these two receivers from Cincinnati.

58:10 You have no idea what the hell Heath's talking about.

58:12 They drafted one in round five and Matt Harmon loves him.

58:15 He seems like he's a legitimate route winner.

58:17 Um, and that's interesting because they have no route winners on their team.

58:22 Who is it?

58:22 Taquan Thornton, I guess.

58:23 Like they have no one who can beat press man coverage.

58:26 Um, so he's interesting.

58:27 And then they also signed his teammate as a UDFA.

58:31 So I'm really intrigued to to get into those two.

58:34 and his teammate the UDFA is literally one

58:37 of the greatest athletic testers in wide wide receiver combine history.

58:42 Yeah.

58:42 And then Cyrus Allen was really really really productive.

58:45 Um I have Allen just behind Brazil and ahead of Caleb Douglas who got drafted

58:49 round three ahead of Kobe Young who we

58:51 just talked about ahead of Kevin Coleman Jr.

58:53 for the Dolphins.

58:54 I think he was round five.

58:56 Interesting kind of uh return man maybe slot kind of player

59:00 with some speed there for Miami with a lot of target ambiguity.

59:03 I'm I'm pretty intrigued by Cyrus Allen

59:05 and that ranking might change based off of the film.

59:09 He it seems like he might be kind of like a knockoff

59:12 Antonio Williams is kind of my impression of what I've heard about him.

59:15 Um where he's like a decent enough athlete

59:18 um and then a really good football player,

59:20 really good route runner and receiver and then he

59:22 goes to an opportunity where he might get in time,

59:24 probably not this year but in time he might

59:27 get to play um for a really good offense.

59:29 So I'm interested in that.

59:30 Okay, Katon, you beat the clock.

59:32 Last question because I just saw where Matt Waldman has him in his rookie

59:35 rankings and now I have to know if I'm supposed to move him up.

59:37 Any Skyler Bell talk?

59:39 Yeah, right.

59:40 Like these I mean these guys who weren't in our top 24.

59:42 I've got him at 29.

59:43 He's interesting for sure.

59:44 I've got him ahead of Bryce Lance,

59:45 ahead of the guys we just talked about behind Elijah Serat,

59:48 behind Stribbling, behind Malachi Fields.

59:51 Uh I didn't love his film necessarily.

59:54 Um I was really curious how it would translate.

59:57 I felt like a lot of the stuff

59:58 he was doing was boosting his production because it

1:00:00 was just kind of like wide open easy

1:00:02 stuff and it was a really lower level competition.

1:00:04 Um, so I was like, is he really a good

1:00:06 enough athlete for this to translate against NFL players?

1:00:09 We'll see.

1:00:10 Uh, the Bills seem to really like him that they've talked about his skill set

1:00:13 in a way that is cohesive and like makes sense based off of the film.

1:00:17 Um, they I think that they're going to use him as a catch and run

1:00:19 guy and they have hope that he can be more than just a slot.

1:00:22 Um, I just I like that because sometimes the Bills have been kind of weird

1:00:24 with their wide receiver plan in terms

1:00:26 of the roles that they're putting these guys into.

1:00:28 So, it seems like they have a clear plan for him.

1:00:30 Um, and he might be somebody who down the line contributes.

1:00:33 I don't know if he'll even be on the ro be like active

1:00:36 on game days in year one based off how they talked about him.

1:00:39 Um, they have Khalil Shakir to fill that role

1:00:41 and he's super dependable and really really good at that role.

1:00:44 But yeah, you get to pair up a guy who

1:00:45 can produce with the ball in his hands with Josh Allen.

1:00:47 Like that's that's intriguing, right?

1:00:49 So, Bryce Lance, I think, is the way to think of him,

1:00:51 like a probably a project um in a potentially in a good situation.

1:00:56 And then Steve is not a question for Jacob, it's a question for me.

1:00:58 Will there be a rookie mockdraft show soon?

1:01:00 There will be a rookie mockdraft show on Friday.

1:01:03 I've got the couch scouts coming on.

1:01:05 We will do a full three round.

1:01:07 We may even go four.

1:01:08 Those guys are sickos.

1:01:10 Full four round rookie mock draft on the show on Friday.

1:01:14 Thank you, Jacob Gibbs.

1:01:15 Awesome.

1:01:16 Awesome stuff.

1:01:16 Everybody go check out Beyond the Box score.

1:01:18 They're going live in like 20 minutes.

1:01:20 Thank you, Taff, for making everything work.

1:01:22 Thank you to everybody who was active in the chat.

1:01:24 We will talk to you on Friday.