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Top 25 Wide Receivers 2025 · Sports Minds Fantasy Football

0:15
SPEAKER_00: What is going on, big ballers?
0:17
SPEAKER_00: It's your boy MJ coming at you with another episode of Fantasy Football Sports Minds.
0:24
SPEAKER_00: Now I want to thank everybody for tuning in.
0:25
SPEAKER_00: This is year number three for Joe and myself, and we have been putting in some work.
0:30
SPEAKER_00: And Joe, tell me how you've been feeling about it, brother.
0:33
SPEAKER_01: I've been feeling great in general about getting things started again for another season.
0:39
SPEAKER_01: But we're doing wide receivers, top 25 wide receivers today.
0:43
SPEAKER_01: And this was very challenging for me.
0:46
SPEAKER_01: I changed my rankings just today a few more times before we started recording.
0:52
SPEAKER_01: So I'm eager to see what your list is.
0:55
SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I surprised myself and I kept going back and looking, but I'm pretty confident in my picks.
1:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely.
1:04
SPEAKER_00: I'm that's something I'm excited to get into.
1:06
SPEAKER_00: But before we dive in here, Joe, let's get a word from our sponsors.
1:10
SPEAKER_00: Hey there.
1:11
SPEAKER_00: My name is Manny James Gonzalez with PRB, and I'm a real estate agent here in Central Florida.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: I'm a U.S.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: Navy veteran, military relocation pro, and big supporter of 2A and veterans' rights.
1:23
SPEAKER_00: My specialty is VA transactions.
1:26
SPEAKER_00: I'm also experiencing all parts of real estate.
1:31
SPEAKER_00: I've been living in Florida for over 20 years, and I can tell you we still believe in freedom down here.
1:37
SPEAKER_00: One of the greatest job markets, excellent economy, and no state income tax.
1:42
SPEAKER_00: When it comes to an agent, you want one that's gonna be honest, not afraid of a fight, and most importantly, willing to do the things that some agents aren't willing to do.
1:51
SPEAKER_00: And what's that, Manny?
1:53
SPEAKER_00: Choose straight, Dan.
2:04
SPEAKER_00: I'm Manny James Gonzalez, find land for the free and home for the brave.
2:15
SPEAKER_01: Welcome back, ballers.
2:16
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna kick things off with the wide receiver one.
2:21
SPEAKER_01: I'm assuming Manny has the same guy, but we'll see.
2:24
SPEAKER_01: I've got Jamar Chase, the best wide receiver in the NFL, working alongside one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL on one of the best offenses in the NFL.
2:34
unknown: T.
2:34
SPEAKER_01: Higgins will be heavily involved in the offense too, and I love that.
2:37
SPEAKER_01: Plenty of concerns and confusion for the defenses, and plenty of opportunities for the entire offense.
2:43
SPEAKER_01: Jamar played every game in 2024 and finished with over 1,700 yards and 17 touchdowns, averaging 23.7 fantasy points per game.
2:54
SPEAKER_01: I know Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase were kind of back and forth last year, and most people said it was JJ.
3:01
SPEAKER_01: This year, I think most people are saying it's Chase.
3:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I know I know you uh you you said that it should be the consensus, and I know that you know everyone has their own opinion, but in this case, I'm gonna definitely agree with you.
3:18
SPEAKER_00: Jamar Chase, number one wide receiver, wasn't even close last year, guys.
3:23
SPEAKER_00: Jamar Chase has only got a score over 400 points last year in a PPR league, right?
3:27
SPEAKER_00: Saying, you know, ESPN rankings or whatever.
3:30
SPEAKER_00: Um, like you said, over 23 points a game.
3:33
SPEAKER_00: The guy had 175 targets.
3:35
SPEAKER_00: And you know, if you look at his target share, uh, he was at about 10.3 targets per game.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: If you look at uh the guys on the top top five list for the most targets per game, number uh number four happens to be his teammate T Higgins.
3:51
SPEAKER_00: So I know you talked about him here.
3:52
SPEAKER_00: We'll obviously leave this for a little bit later, but uh definitely a great uh an excellent point to touch up on upon Dare Joe.
3:59
SPEAKER_01: For a second, I thought you were gonna throw me a curveball.
4:02
SPEAKER_01: And don't don't get me wrong, there are gonna be curveballs coming at you pretty soon.
4:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, some really weird balls, like old balls.
4:10
SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's in a fucking uh hang it to your knees.
4:14
SPEAKER_01: Now, at number two, I do have Justin Jefferson.
4:20
SPEAKER_01: The former best wide receiver in the NFL looked great last year, too.
4:24
SPEAKER_01: We were all impressed with Sam Darnold, who is in Seattle now, but I have high expectations for JJ McCarthy, too.
4:31
SPEAKER_01: He's a really good quarterback, and Jefferson will be the primary beneficiary of that.
4:35
SPEAKER_01: He finished last season with over 1,500 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging 18.7 fantasy points per game.
4:42
SPEAKER_01: And I expect those numbers to be even better this season.
4:46
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I definitely hear you, brother.
4:48
SPEAKER_00: I hear you.
4:49
SPEAKER_00: Except for my number two, I actually have a different gentleman in mind.
4:54
SPEAKER_00: He is in the same division, right?
4:56
SPEAKER_00: His name is uh Monra, the Sun God St.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: Brown.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, the reason why I have him so high, guys, this is, I mean, another season of him playing 17 games, you know, another season of Jared Goff playing 17 games.
5:11
SPEAKER_00: I mean, if you look at this guy's workload, he was only at about 8.3 targets per game.
5:16
SPEAKER_00: But when he did get the ball, he was scoring, you know, most of the time, right?
5:20
SPEAKER_00: He he was actually uh over 300 fantasy points for the season.
5:24
SPEAKER_00: So um I th I expect him to take a step forward because I know that near the second half of last season, it uh the target share kind of shut down a little bit less for Monra.
5:35
SPEAKER_00: But uh overall, I think he's gonna have a really great bounce back year with a really consistent quarterback for another uh attempt for Detroit to do another playoff push here.
5:47
SPEAKER_01: I absolutely agree with all that, and I'll touch on that soon.
5:52
SPEAKER_01: But at number three, I actually want to surprise you a little bit.
5:57
SPEAKER_01: And give me a minute to explain why.
6:00
SPEAKER_01: I have Puka Nakua.
6:02
SPEAKER_01: I completely understand why Puka falls outside the top five for most people, but I'm so high on this guy.
6:10
SPEAKER_01: He plays with so much intensity and came back strong after he was out for the first six weeks of the season last year.
6:16
SPEAKER_01: He finished with with over a thousand all-purpose yards and only played 11 games.
6:20
SPEAKER_01: He's now fully healthy going into 2025 as the wide receiver one on a great football team.
6:27
SPEAKER_01: Cooper Cup didn't impact Puka's production at all.
6:30
SPEAKER_01: And it may have even helped him.
6:32
SPEAKER_01: So I'm not worried about Devontae Adams joining the team.
6:35
SPEAKER_01: I actually think it's beneficial, as we discuss on here a lot.
6:39
SPEAKER_01: I think it's beneficial for most players to have another stud on the football field, another stud wide receiver on the football field, because they don't have to worry about double coverage nearly as much as teams with only one reliable wide receiver.
6:51
SPEAKER_01: The only thing that gives me pause is Devontae's red zone dominance.
6:56
SPEAKER_01: Puka needs to become more of a touchdown threat to finish inside the top three.
7:03
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, uh I love Puka, man.
7:05
SPEAKER_00: He's great.
7:06
SPEAKER_00: You're right.
7:06
SPEAKER_00: 11 games, and he did those numbers.
7:08
SPEAKER_00: He he was a uh hoss.
7:11
SPEAKER_00: Um, unfortunately, my number three is not Puka Nikula.
7:15
SPEAKER_00: I will probably surprise you with my number three, but I know I went Jamar Chase, Amon Raw, and my third best receiver this year is gonna be Malik neighbors, New York Giants.
7:25
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I mean, last year he had over 170 targets.
7:28
SPEAKER_00: So he was actually had the second most targets uh or targets in the league as far as for uh for a receiver.
7:35
SPEAKER_00: Uh he averaged 10 touches or 10 targets per game.
7:40
SPEAKER_00: Um, and obviously he still had over a uh 1,200 all-purpose yards and seven touchdowns.
7:46
SPEAKER_00: So Malik Neighbor is one of those guys he could do it all.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I've been watching his training camp too, and he's he's come out on fire, right?
7:54
SPEAKER_00: So uh he's somebody that I expect to have another big year, and Russell Wilson uh may not be the best quarterback, but he's a hell of a lot better than Daniel Jones.
8:04
SPEAKER_00: So we're gonna see what he can do here.
8:08
SPEAKER_01: No, that target share for Malik was crazy, and yeah, just behind Jamar Chase.
8:13
SPEAKER_01: So and I do agree with a lot of those points, which I'll touch on soon, but why don't you uh roll right into number four?
8:21
SPEAKER_01: Who do you have at number four?
8:23
SPEAKER_00: Well, I do have Justin Jefferson now.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: Uh the only reason why I have him back here, not for ability, because um obviously he's one of the most talented in the league.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: Um, I just think with JJ McCarthy, they might run a little bit different offense, more of a West Coast.
8:37
SPEAKER_00: And although he'll get, you know, whenever he touches the ball, he'll be he'll work magic with it.
8:43
SPEAKER_00: I think he's he's gonna take his little step in production back to where he is.
8:48
SPEAKER_00: He scored over 318 fantasy points last year uh overall for the season, obviously 16-week season.
8:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, and and that's actually really good, or 17-week season, excuse me.
8:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I I think he that's the only factor that knocked him out of my top three.
9:05
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
9:07
SPEAKER_01: I think I'm gonna surprise you with my number four, just like I surprised you with my number three.
9:13
SPEAKER_01: I have Nico Collins.
9:16
SPEAKER_01: He's another guy that I absolutely love this year.
9:19
SPEAKER_01: He's a big, strong player that dominates a football field, but he needs to stay healthy.
9:24
SPEAKER_01: Last year, he missed a month in the middle of the season and still finished with over a thousand yards and seven touchdowns.
9:31
SPEAKER_01: Unfortunately, Tank Dell could miss the entire season, but Christian Kirk will operate as the number two and be involved enough to prevent a lot of double coverage on Nico.
9:41
SPEAKER_01: I expect also that CJ Stroud bounces back in a big way this year.
9:47
SPEAKER_01: And Nico will clearly be his favorite target.
9:50
SPEAKER_01: The offensive line is absolutely terrible, like dead last.
9:55
SPEAKER_01: And um, I really hope the Texans are working to figure that out because when Nico's on the football field, as long as CJ Stroud has time, he can make something happen.
10:05
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, that is a big ball's take there, Joe.
10:09
SPEAKER_00: I I but I see the reasoning for it.
10:11
SPEAKER_00: He plays a whole season, his numbers could be better, and that's a thousand yards with 12 games, so similar to Puka.
10:17
SPEAKER_00: Um, so elite production.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: Now, uh for my number five, it's strictly based upon his role and his consistent impact year in, year out.
10:26
SPEAKER_00: I have CD Lamb uh at number five.
10:29
SPEAKER_00: So obviously, last year he he only he played 15 games.
10:32
SPEAKER_00: He missed a couple there, but his target share was 10.1 uh targets per game.
10:36
SPEAKER_00: So he actually was uh second leading uh targets per game share in the NFL last year behind Jamar Chase only.
10:43
SPEAKER_00: So uh, and obviously most of that was in the beginning half of the season.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: If if if you don't remember, he had a little bit of a dip the second half, and uh not necessarily when you need when you need him to take a dip, right?
10:54
SPEAKER_00: That's when you need him to kind of come and show out.
10:56
SPEAKER_00: But uh just just for the fear sheer fact that he's gonna get that same type of volume here, I still think he'll he'll finish there in the top five.
11:06
SPEAKER_01: Well, that segues perfectly into my number five, which is C D Lamb.
11:14
SPEAKER_01: He could get back to his status as the best wide receiver in the NFL.
11:18
SPEAKER_01: Like realistically, that's a possibility.
11:21
SPEAKER_01: But I just don't see it happening.
11:23
SPEAKER_01: Uh he's an amazing athlete and very capable of getting back to the top.
11:28
SPEAKER_01: But he struggled a little bit last year due to the QB situation, as you said, right in the middle of the season when we needed him most.
11:34
SPEAKER_01: So that's my biggest hang up is I don't trust Dak.
11:39
SPEAKER_01: If Dak can stay healthy and get back to peak form, CD will get back to peak form as well.
11:46
SPEAKER_01: Despite the issues last year, as you touched on, Lamb still finished with nearly 1,300 all-purpose yards.
11:53
SPEAKER_01: He's a machine, and he could finish as the wide receiver one.
11:57
SPEAKER_01: But again, I'm just not trusting Dak makes me nervous.
12:03
SPEAKER_00: The good thing is uh Gerald Milton is there if Dak messes up.
12:07
SPEAKER_00: And I know Jerry Jones is looking for an excuse to trade him away and get that money off the books, right?
12:13
SPEAKER_00: Good job, Jerry.
12:15
SPEAKER_00: Good job.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, however, uh, why don't you go lead us off of your number six then?
12:21
SPEAKER_01: All right.
12:22
SPEAKER_01: My number six is Amon Ra St.
12:25
SPEAKER_01: Brown.
12:26
SPEAKER_01: It was hard for me to rank Amon Ra outside the top five.
12:29
SPEAKER_01: I love him, as you know.
12:32
SPEAKER_01: Goff obviously loves Amon Ra.
12:35
SPEAKER_01: It's his number one guy.
12:36
SPEAKER_01: It's just that Detroit has so many offensive weapons that sometimes Amon Ra doesn't get the target share he deserves.
12:43
SPEAKER_01: And, you know, this is the same amazing team as last year, where he finished with nearly 1,300 yards and 12 touchdowns.
12:51
SPEAKER_01: Even when they're destroying other teams, I love it.
12:53
SPEAKER_01: They just keep the onslaught going, pedal to the metal instead of just running the ball.
12:57
SPEAKER_01: And we love to see that.
12:59
SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm not sure what to expect with the new offensive coordinator, but I have a feeling that he is gonna get Amanra more involved and um treat him uh with the target share that that he deserves.
13:11
SPEAKER_01: And he probably will be in the top five, even pop three, top three.
13:14
SPEAKER_01: That's very possible.
13:16
SPEAKER_01: But just because there's so many options for the offense, that's why he's slightly outside of my top five.
13:23
SPEAKER_00: You know, um, and and I I think you bring up a good point, right, with the um the possibility of him losing targets because of uh so many weapons out there in the area.
13:36
SPEAKER_00: Um, one thing that that I was thinking about is last year Ben Johnson was an uh offensive coordinator.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: And you know, Ben Johnson got like real fancy with it, right?
13:46
SPEAKER_00: He's been bulking up his coaching resume for the last three years, right?
13:50
SPEAKER_00: He's had three really good runs for the uh Detroit offense.
13:54
SPEAKER_00: So I think that uh the problem is he started getting all cute and using the best players as decoys.
14:00
SPEAKER_00: So I think with their new offensive coordinator, they're gonna kind of go back to what made them great, right?
14:04
SPEAKER_00: Like obviously running the ball, right?
14:06
SPEAKER_00: Like you have to give Amon, you know, you gotta give Jameer Gibbs more touches, like we discussed, and and David Montgomery more of a goal line type of role or package.
14:15
SPEAKER_00: But uh Amon Ra has to get that rock nine times, ten times a game at least.
14:21
SPEAKER_00: You can't not give your best you know offensive player the touches he needs, right?
14:25
SPEAKER_00: Because that's how you could be having a good game where you're up, but you know, at the end of the day, you want to make sure that your guy's happy and he makes his bonuses.
14:33
SPEAKER_01: So uh and as you touched on with the tight ends when we were talking about Laporta, and I said, you know, I'm not sure if I'm so high on him this year because there's a new offensive coordinator, but that coordinator, John Morton, does like to work with tight ends and get them involved, and like you said, like it just didn't seem right last year that um he was kind of left out, you know.
14:54
SPEAKER_01: Um Jamison Williams was getting uh fed a lot more than Laporta, and I I think that's gonna shift more towards Laporta's favor, too.
15:02
SPEAKER_01: So I'm I'm very eager to see what this offense does, but there there are quite a few weapons.
15:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, should be should be fun to watch.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: Now, uh for my number six, I I have a guy that I I didn't even realize until I was looking at the numbers.
15:16
SPEAKER_00: I was like, damn, this guy like just stood out to me as someone who's gonna get even better.
15:21
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but that number six is Mr.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: Drake London.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: Uh last year he had 158 targets, huge target share.
15:29
SPEAKER_00: I mean, he had over 1200 receiving yards, and who was his quarterback?
15:32
SPEAKER_00: You know, he had Kirk Cousins first half, and then I don't know if it's Taylor Heineke, but or but he definitely finished off with Michael Penis Jr.
15:41
SPEAKER_00: Uh at the end over here.
15:43
SPEAKER_00: Sorry for misbreaking.
15:44
SPEAKER_00: It's hard to say his name.
15:45
SPEAKER_01: I gotta list even when you say it correctly, it's I'm gonna not let you, man.
15:50
SPEAKER_00: I gotta list Michael Pink Jr.
15:53
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
15:53
SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna but but he was he played 17 games last year.
15:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, I mean, the guy was getting 9.3 targets per game.
16:03
SPEAKER_00: That's that's amazing.
16:04
SPEAKER_00: You know, I expect them to take a step forward and him to be actually, he has the physical tools to be one of the most dominant wide receivers in the game.
16:13
SPEAKER_01: I am going to echo what you say, just not quite yet.
16:17
SPEAKER_01: Um at number seven, I actually moved this guy up a little bit just uh today.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: I have Brian Thomas Jr.
16:29
SPEAKER_01: He earned the wide receiver one spot in the middle of last season, but now it's official.
16:34
SPEAKER_01: He's the man in Jacksonville, and he has no real competition.
16:37
SPEAKER_01: He finished with over 1,300 all-purpose yards and 10 touchdowns.
16:41
SPEAKER_01: Those stats are crazy for a season vet, and he did it as a rookie.
16:46
SPEAKER_01: Trevor Lawrence is a good football player, and if they can step up the pass game, Brian Thomas will go absolutely bananas.
16:52
SPEAKER_01: And in my opinion, they need to step up the pass game because the backfield is not looking very promising.
16:58
SPEAKER_01: So I think they're gonna lean heavily on Brian Thomas Jr., focus more on the pass than the run, and that he's gonna finish right around the number seven spot.
17:09
SPEAKER_00: You know it's funny.
17:10
SPEAKER_00: I I definitely agree with you.
17:12
SPEAKER_00: That's actually my number seven, uh, believe it or not.
17:15
SPEAKER_00: So I have Brian Thomas Jr., like you said, he had a great target share last year, 1,200, you know, 1,300 all-purpose yards.
17:22
SPEAKER_00: Like the guy had an amazing rookie season.
17:24
SPEAKER_00: Um, now one thing that uh, you know, you're talking about Trevor Lawrence, he just has to stay healthy.
17:29
SPEAKER_00: So last year, Trevor Lawrence only played 10 games.
17:32
SPEAKER_00: I think he left early in two of them.
17:34
SPEAKER_00: So that means that Brian Thomas Jr.
17:36
SPEAKER_00: with Mac Jones throwing him the football last year, was getting these kind of numbers.
17:41
SPEAKER_00: So uh I mean I expect that to with a whole year, Trevor Lawrence should be a whole lot better than 1,300 yards this year for him.
17:49
SPEAKER_01: And I'm glad you mentioned that about Trevor Lawrence because even the games he was playing, he was banged up.
17:53
SPEAKER_01: He was always going in with a questionable tag.
17:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for his knee, he had a bad knee issue.
17:58
SPEAKER_01: So hopefully he's feeling better.
18:02
SPEAKER_01: Now at number eight, I have Malik Neighbors for all the reasons you said.
18:07
SPEAKER_01: He's a total beast.
18:09
SPEAKER_01: A rookie finishing with 1200 yards and seven touchdowns is impressive as hell, especially when your team is one of the worst in the NFL.
18:17
SPEAKER_01: He was absolutely peppered the entire season, finishing, as you said earlier, with the second most targets at 170, behind only Jamar Chase, who had 175.
18:27
SPEAKER_01: My biggest hang up is the team and the quarterback, just like last year.
18:32
SPEAKER_01: As you said, much better quarterback situation, but still not a good quarterback situation, still not a good team.
18:39
SPEAKER_01: He's on the New York Giants, so you have to take that into consideration.
18:42
SPEAKER_01: And I'm I'm really not even sure.
18:44
SPEAKER_01: Like right now, they're saying it's gonna be Russell Wilson.
18:46
SPEAKER_01: I'm really not sure if that's official that he's gonna be the starting quarterback, but I do love Malik Neighbors no matter who's throwing the ball to him.
18:53
SPEAKER_01: That's why he's still inside my top ten at number eight.
18:56
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, NFL.com had it today.
18:59
SPEAKER_00: They yeah, it was on a news report.
19:01
SPEAKER_00: So Giants have confirmed is Russell Wilson.
19:04
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, that's good for Jackson Dart to learn.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: You should never just start a rookie right away, right?
19:09
SPEAKER_00: You gotta give him some time, whether it's a few games or a few seasons.
19:13
SPEAKER_00: That's definitely the right move.
19:15
SPEAKER_01: Definitely, yeah.
19:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I actually um uh obviously, so the funny thing I was thinking about, so I have my so my Malik neighbors pick and your Puka Nakua pick were kind of flipped.
19:28
SPEAKER_01: That's fine.
19:28
SPEAKER_00: You I have because my number eight's Puka Nakua, right?
19:32
SPEAKER_00: We talked about him here.
19:33
SPEAKER_00: So uh uh so basically, guys, when you're following us, if you go Malik neighbors and you have a better season, that was Manny's recommendation.
19:42
SPEAKER_00: If you go with Puka Nakua and he has a better season, then obviously that's Joe's recommendation.
19:47
SPEAKER_00: So that's gonna be our that's gonna be our flips this year.
19:50
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, see how we play.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: Keep your eye on it.
19:53
SPEAKER_00: But everything else we were pretty close on.
19:55
SPEAKER_01: That's funny.
19:57
SPEAKER_01: Has been close.
19:58
SPEAKER_01: And I mean we're you know, we're ranking these guys close for the same reasons.
20:04
SPEAKER_01: It's just that we we see a little, you know, just little differences that that can make uh a difference of three, four spots.
20:12
SPEAKER_01: You know, these guys are all incredible players that that you want on your roster.
20:16
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and then when you look at if you're looking at it from like a just a draft perspective, let's say you're not looking at it with like a polished fancy football, you know, perspective, right?
20:26
SPEAKER_00: Where you're like, hey, you know, these are the points, you know, you know all the metrics, whatnot, positions.
20:31
SPEAKER_00: Um, and you look at it strictly from I'd say like a data perspective, these players all score very similar.
20:39
SPEAKER_00: It's only like you know, the 20 points from the next guy to the next guy, sometimes it's only like five points, you know.
20:46
SPEAKER_00: But but what I notice is is obviously is one thing you have to look at is when that strength of schedule kicks in.
20:54
SPEAKER_00: So if you have a guy that's like, hey, he has an easier schedule second half, you know, your playoff schedule is gonna be a lot better, right?
21:01
SPEAKER_00: So uh that's something that I think people have to look at as well is you know, when you're drafting your team, you gotta stagger your bye weeks, but you also want to make sure that you have a good blend of players, right, based upon what what your matchups look like.
21:14
SPEAKER_01: And it's also like what are you looking for in a player?
21:18
SPEAKER_01: Because someone like Amon Ross St.
21:21
SPEAKER_01: Brown is going to give you consistently high ceilings, whereas you know, someone, for example, like Malik Napers might be a little bit more up and down.
21:31
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, you're gonna have huge boom weeks, but then you might have some dips when they're uh going against a tough team.
21:39
SPEAKER_00: Agreed.
21:40
SPEAKER_01: Uh, who's your number nine, Manny?
21:43
SPEAKER_00: Actually, so uh he had a really good offseason signed a contract extension.
21:48
SPEAKER_00: I think he made like over a hundred something guaranteed million dollars.
21:51
SPEAKER_00: Garrett Wilson, New York Jets.
21:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, Justin Fields is a quarterback this year.
21:56
SPEAKER_00: Uh Justin Fields had a nice little start to the season last year for the Steelers.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: But obviously they benched him for Russell.
22:02
SPEAKER_00: Now Steelers have no quarterback.
22:04
SPEAKER_00: Go figure.
22:05
SPEAKER_00: But uh Garrett Wilson, despite that situation, Garrett Wilson still got 154 targets last year.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know if you remember those games with uh Aaron Rodgers and Devontae Adams, but they were extremely lopsided.
22:17
SPEAKER_00: Um you know what's funny is that if you look at his uh target share for last year, uh Devontae Adams had 141 targets.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: How are you gonna give uh uh well it was 150 to Garrett and 145 to this guy?
22:33
SPEAKER_00: That means there's gonna be obviously a whole new perspective for offense and everything.
22:37
SPEAKER_00: But I think that you know, a guy like Garrett Wilson, you have to keep feeding him.
22:41
SPEAKER_00: And if he's getting nine targets a game last year and he's still scoring, you know, about 15 points a game, uh, that was with a shitty quarterback situation.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: So I I I expect him to at least have a better up and obviously get a similar goal or excuse me, red zone production.
22:58
SPEAKER_01: Red zone production probably will be a big part of uh you know him him performing better than he did last year.
23:05
SPEAKER_01: And you're right with Devontae Adams.
23:06
SPEAKER_01: That that hindered him a lot, and I think that was more Aaron Rodgers than Devontae Adams that hindered him.
23:14
SPEAKER_01: Well, yeah, of course.
23:15
SPEAKER_01: Um, of course, yeah, but like I also uh I also just in general like Justin Fields a lot more as a starting quarterback.
23:24
SPEAKER_01: So, you know, the Steelers flip-flopped.
23:27
SPEAKER_01: We had Justin Fields last year, now we got Aaron Rodgers.
23:30
SPEAKER_01: Uh way to go.
23:37
SPEAKER_01: You said go figure, and I just smiled and shook my head because you're right, go figure.
23:40
SPEAKER_01: Um, so at number nine for me, I have AJ Brown.
23:46
SPEAKER_01: He played a full season in 2022 and 2023 and finished with about 1,500 yards both years.
23:53
SPEAKER_01: Last year he only played 13 games, so he didn't quite get there, but he still had over a thousand yards and seven touchdowns.
23:59
SPEAKER_01: The offensive line and a healthy Devontae Smith on the field will help AJ get back to elite wide receiver status.
24:06
SPEAKER_01: And hopefully Jalen Hurts can pump up his passing stats a little bit this year, too.
24:11
SPEAKER_01: But when you get a full season at AJ Brown, he's a top 10, and there's really no question about it.
24:17
SPEAKER_01: So um, as long as he can stay healthy and Devontae Smith can stay healthy, they do statistically, you can look it up, they perform better when they're both on the field.
24:26
SPEAKER_01: So hopefully they can stay healthy and get AJ back up to that elite status.
24:31
SPEAKER_00: And I totally agree with you, my friend, because uh AJ Brown's my number 10.
24:36
SPEAKER_00: Um, as you said, he missed some time last year.
24:39
SPEAKER_00: He still had 97 targets last year.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then your boy Devontae Smith that we were talking about here had 89.
24:45
SPEAKER_00: And and that's obviously with a very low, low pass in volume team.
24:51
SPEAKER_00: Like Saquon did it all last year, like no one could stop him.
24:54
SPEAKER_00: So why even pass the ball?
24:56
SPEAKER_00: We didn't need to.
24:57
SPEAKER_00: So I think that teams are gonna try to focus in on that a lot more this year, and Jalen Hurts is gonna have a much better year, especially because all the doubters are still hating on him, despite him having a superb performance in the Super Bowl, they're still gonna hate on him.
25:11
SPEAKER_00: And and the good thing about the Eagles is they're always gonna find a way to win the ball games.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: So if that means they got to throw the ball up to AJ Brown for three red zone scores a game, I mean, make sure you put your best man on him because he's just gonna body everybody.
25:27
SPEAKER_00: And then obviously, like, you know, uh at the end of the day, I still think he's not gonna be to the top level as the elite guys for production because when you have another amazing wide receiver on the team, you know, you I'd rather have those two guys give me consistent, high overall production than you know, take a hit or miss or boom robust type of player uh week in, week out.
25:50
SPEAKER_01: Me too.
25:51
SPEAKER_01: I agree with you for sure on that.
25:53
SPEAKER_01: I want consistency more than ceiling.
25:56
SPEAKER_01: Um at my number 10, I have Drake London.
26:01
SPEAKER_01: I I love him.
26:02
SPEAKER_01: I loved him last year.
26:03
SPEAKER_01: I really like him this year.
26:04
SPEAKER_01: Uh, he's the clear-cut wide receiver one.
26:07
SPEAKER_01: He had a handful of very impressive performances last year.
26:10
SPEAKER_01: And although, as you know, I had high hopes for Kirk Cousins going into 2024.
26:15
SPEAKER_01: My goodness.
26:16
SPEAKER_01: I'm a lot more confident in Michael Peenix this year.
26:19
SPEAKER_01: So London could easily have double-digit touchdowns.
26:22
SPEAKER_01: He finished with nine last year because he played he played better in games with Peenix at QB, if you look it up by each game.
26:30
SPEAKER_01: And Darnell Mooney should have a good year too, but he's a little banged up right now, uh, which could cede more targets to Drake London.
26:38
SPEAKER_01: Uh, but it could also lead to double coverage.
26:40
SPEAKER_01: You know, if if Drake London doesn't have someone else in there to occupy the defense, uh, he will get double coverage, and that will hinder his performance.
26:50
SPEAKER_01: Um, so you know, hopefully Kyle Pitts can can step it up.
26:54
SPEAKER_01: I he, you know, that's my biggest concern is uh him emerging as the Kyle Pitts coming out as a top pass catcher for Atlanta.
27:01
SPEAKER_01: Just kidding.
27:02
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't even care about Kyle Pitts.
27:04
SPEAKER_00: I don't even think he was everyone's Kyle Pitts actually made my top 25.
27:10
SPEAKER_00: He came in at number 22.
27:12
SPEAKER_00: Oh, did he?
27:12
SPEAKER_00: That's that's how much expectation I have for Pop.
27:15
SPEAKER_00: That that's why I didn't talk about him last time.
27:17
SPEAKER_00: It was a top 15, and he's number 22.
27:20
SPEAKER_00: So obviously, you know, I'm not I'm not gonna be one of those guys that takes Kyle Pitts in the run anymore.
27:25
SPEAKER_01: You know, no, no, I was just I was just kidding.
27:27
SPEAKER_01: I I said that that's my only concern is is him uh taking all those passes.
27:31
SPEAKER_01: I it's I'm not concerned about that at all.
27:33
SPEAKER_01: I'm not concerned about Mooney either.
27:35
SPEAKER_00: You're you're gonna you're gonna draft Kirk Cousins and Kyle Pitts back to back in the ninth and tenth round.
27:41
SPEAKER_00: I've never drafted Kyle Pitts and I won't this year.
27:46
SPEAKER_01: I won't trade, I won't trade for him even if it's just like one of my you know fifth string running backs.
27:52
SPEAKER_01: You're you're the James Connor believer.
27:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
27:57
SPEAKER_00: Bro, it's funny because it like he'll ball out the games he plays, but you're only getting him 10 games a season.
28:03
SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
28:05
SPEAKER_01: But those are like we're talking about consistency.
28:08
SPEAKER_01: He's one of those guys that's gonna give you consistent numbers until he gets hurt.
28:13
SPEAKER_01: At number 11, I have Lad McConkie.
28:17
SPEAKER_01: He really impressed me last year.
28:19
SPEAKER_01: I thought he would be good, but he was phenomenal.
28:22
SPEAKER_01: Finishing with 1,149 yards and seven touchdowns.
28:26
SPEAKER_01: And I believe those numbers will be even better this year as long as he can stay healthy.
28:31
SPEAKER_01: Although he played 16 games last year, it felt like he was banged up for the entire season.
28:35
SPEAKER_01: There were a lot of games where he was going in with a questionable tag.
28:39
SPEAKER_01: Um, and there have been reports that he's dealing with a minor injury right now.
28:43
SPEAKER_01: They haven't said what it is, but um, that gives me a little bit of pause, but we got enough time before week one, or I'm not too worried about it.
28:51
SPEAKER_01: Um, but it says a lot about him as a rookie last year, going into so many games, banged up, and still performing at that level.
29:00
SPEAKER_01: So if he goes in completely healthy, he's gonna do even better.
29:05
SPEAKER_00: I hear that.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I like Vlad.
29:08
SPEAKER_00: He he had a great season.
29:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, but for my number 11, I actually have Nico Collins.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you mentioned him earlier, big body receiver, great, great all around in the in the run, short, long.
29:22
SPEAKER_00: I mean, obviously he only played 12 games last season.
29:25
SPEAKER_00: So um, you know, everyone in Houston needs to stay healthy, right?
29:29
SPEAKER_00: Everyone keeps getting injured over there.
29:31
SPEAKER_00: So uh if he could at least stay play 15 games, he's definitely hitting 1,500 yards.
29:37
SPEAKER_00: So um he's a he's a nice guy, just barely outside of my top 10.
29:42
SPEAKER_01: It's another one to make note of, folks.
29:45
SPEAKER_01: If you draft Nico early and your league mates make fun of you, uh but he hits, you can thank me for that.
29:55
SPEAKER_01: And if you're sleeping on him and he hits, you can thank Manny.
30:00
SPEAKER_00: What?
30:01
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what that means, but okay, we'll go with it.
30:05
SPEAKER_01: Now at number 12, I have Jackson Smith Najigba.
30:11
SPEAKER_01: If he takes another big leap forward, he'll be one of the best picks in fantasy this year.
30:16
SPEAKER_01: Gino left, but I love Sam Darnold and have no concerns about that.
30:20
SPEAKER_01: Seriously, it sounds funny, but we saw what he did last year.
30:22
SPEAKER_01: He impressed all of us.
30:24
SPEAKER_01: Um, and last year, JSN started the season as a wide receiver three in Seattle behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and he finished with 1,156 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns.
30:36
SPEAKER_01: He's now the wide receiver one, and I'm not worried about Cooper Cup at all as the wide receiver two.
30:42
SPEAKER_01: I like Cooper being out there, as I keep saying.
30:44
SPEAKER_01: I like when there's two receivers out there to keep the defense occupied.
30:49
SPEAKER_01: But I hate to say it, Cooper is just an average wide receiver at this point.
30:52
SPEAKER_01: If you look at his stats, he's always injured, and the only remarkable season he had was in 2021.
30:59
SPEAKER_01: Everything else has just been kind of average.
31:01
SPEAKER_01: I mean above average, but in a mix of guys like this, average.
31:06
SPEAKER_01: Uh JSN is the top dog, and he is going to eat.
31:13
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I like JSN.
31:15
SPEAKER_00: Uh, definitely good.
31:16
SPEAKER_00: Uh, have him a little bit farther down.
31:18
SPEAKER_00: So for me, my number 12, I actually have a guy I expect to take a bounce back this year, Tyree Kill.
31:25
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, he was somebody that you were probably drafting in like the first or second round last year, and he did not produce.
31:32
SPEAKER_00: He only had 218 fantasy points last year, um, and he played full 17 games.
31:38
SPEAKER_00: So he averaged 12.8 uh fantasy points per game, which is actually his career low.
31:44
SPEAKER_00: Um be uh his rookie season was even better.
31:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, and he only had seven targets per game, and obviously two uh was missing half the season.
31:52
SPEAKER_00: So now uh Miami went out, they got themselves an another backup quarterback.
31:58
SPEAKER_00: They're hoping they drafted a rookie, you know, so they're kind of hoping that they they have the future there.
32:04
SPEAKER_00: But um, I expect Tyreek to at least take a step forward and and get more involved in offense or get traded, whatever happens, it's possible.
32:14
SPEAKER_01: Um, those are good points, though, and I I will echo that uh in sooner than later.
32:21
SPEAKER_01: But at 13 for me, I have Mike Evans.
32:26
SPEAKER_01: Mike Evans has played 11 seasons in the NFL, and he's had over a thousand receiving yards in every one of them.
32:33
SPEAKER_01: He's also delivered double-digit touchdowns in four of his last five seasons.
32:38
SPEAKER_01: What's crazy is he misses a game or even two games every season and still hits these numbers.
32:45
SPEAKER_01: He's almost 32 years old, but who cares?
32:48
SPEAKER_01: Baker Mayfield had 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns last year.
32:54
SPEAKER_01: Actually, let me let me clarify that.
32:56
SPEAKER_01: Baker had 4,500 passing yards and 41 touchdowns last year, and Mike Evans is his favorite red zone target.
33:04
SPEAKER_01: It's gonna be another solid year for Mike Evans, and if the Godwin injury is serious, Igbuka will step up as the number two receiver, preventing double coverage situations for Evans, and he'll continue to thrive.
33:17
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, definitely, definitely.
33:19
SPEAKER_00: I like Mike.
33:20
SPEAKER_00: Um, but for my number 13, I have uh guy you mentioned a little bit earlier, Lab McConkey.
33:27
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, great rookie season, big fan of him.
33:30
SPEAKER_00: Uh, he played almost a full season, missed one game only.
33:33
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but when he was in there, he was getting a lot of yak.
33:36
SPEAKER_00: I mean, he was just breaking some ridiculous slants over the middle or fades.
33:41
SPEAKER_00: It was just it was crazy.
33:42
SPEAKER_00: So I expect him to have a better year, second year with his quarterback, you know, uh, better offensive line, better running back play, you know, so all that.
33:52
SPEAKER_00: No detriment to uh JK Dobbins, of course, but you know, uh obviously I think that the Omarion Hampton is a much better athlete.
34:00
SPEAKER_00: So I I expect that to open up a little bit more for Lab, plus obviously bringing in some rookie talent at wide receiver.
34:09
SPEAKER_01: All good points again.
34:12
SPEAKER_01: Now at number 14, I have Marvin Harrison Jr.
34:19
SPEAKER_01: I didn't have Marvin Harrison Jr.
34:21
SPEAKER_01: on any of my fantasy teams last year, but I could feel the frustration from others.
34:26
SPEAKER_01: He had a few really impressive games, but a lot of duds throughout the season, too.
34:30
SPEAKER_01: A lot of his games were also salvaged by touchdowns, which is actually a good thing to see when you take a step back.
34:36
SPEAKER_01: If he can develop a stronger rapport with Kyler Murray, expect Harrison to finish with over a thousand yards and possibly double-digit touchdowns.
34:44
SPEAKER_01: 60, 80, 100 yards consistently with you know 10 or 12 touchdowns, then boom, that's beautiful.
34:54
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, he's uh he has a lot of talent, man.
34:57
SPEAKER_00: Good bloodlines, too.
34:58
SPEAKER_00: Um however, for my number 14, um, I actually have Mike Evans.
35:04
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you mentioned him a couple places to go.
35:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, great athlete, consistent scorer.
35:10
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, he's gonna miss a few games uh every year, like you mentioned.
35:14
SPEAKER_00: Uh, but he's gonna produce.
35:17
SPEAKER_00: Um, and one one little fact too.
35:19
SPEAKER_00: Um, I know you said Mayfield threw 41 touchdowns last year.
35:23
SPEAKER_00: 11 of them were for Mike Evans, so a quarter of his touchdown share went specifically to Mike Evans.
35:29
SPEAKER_00: So tells you the kind of uh place he has on this offense.
35:33
SPEAKER_01: Anyways, uh oh yeah, he's a red zone monster.
35:36
SPEAKER_01: That's that's that's who Baker's looking for.
35:41
SPEAKER_01: Now, who do you have at number 15?
35:44
SPEAKER_00: Uh for number 15, I have T.
35:46
SPEAKER_00: Higgins.
35:47
SPEAKER_00: Um, I know I mentioned him a little bit earlier, but he actually averaged uh 9.1 targets per game last year.
35:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, he averaged 18 points uh per game as far as scoring goes, and still had over 100 targets and 10 red zone touchdowns.
36:02
SPEAKER_00: So uh, I mean the guy is very busy in the red zone.
36:05
SPEAKER_00: He's Joe Barrow's favorite target there.
36:07
SPEAKER_00: And when you watch him last year, it's easy to see why.
36:09
SPEAKER_00: He reminds me you a lot of you know AJ Green, right?
36:13
SPEAKER_00: Back in the day, tall, tall, uh, strong receiver that that can catch over your head for sure.
36:19
SPEAKER_00: For sure.
36:19
SPEAKER_00: So I expect him to take another step forward and you know, Joe Barrow throw another you know, 400 passes this year.
36:26
SPEAKER_01: Love that.
36:29
SPEAKER_01: Now at number 15, I actually have Devontae Adams.
36:34
SPEAKER_01: The Adams Kakua combo will be really fun to watch.
36:37
SPEAKER_01: We all know that'll be fun to watch.
36:39
SPEAKER_01: Uh, and Adams is a better wide receiver than Cooper Cup and a red zone threat to any defense.
36:45
SPEAKER_01: So he could hinder Puka a little bit more than Cup did.
36:50
SPEAKER_01: With that said, he's passed his prime and will likely operate as the wide receiver too the entire season, which is still fine.
36:57
SPEAKER_01: A lot of the best wide receiver in the a lot of the best wide receivers in the league are part of a dynamic duo, as we know.
37:04
SPEAKER_01: And I believe these two will create confusion for defenses and opportunities for each other.
37:09
SPEAKER_01: He's averaging close to 1,100 yards and over nine touchdowns throughout his 11 seasons in the NFL.
37:15
SPEAKER_01: So it wouldn't surprise me to see Devontae Adams and Puka inside the top 10.
37:20
SPEAKER_01: I don't think it'll happen, but I'm saying it wouldn't surprise me.
37:23
SPEAKER_01: If Stafford misses any time, that is a little bit concerning, mostly for Puka.
37:30
SPEAKER_01: But if he does miss some time, which is possible due to his current back issues, Jimmy Garoppolo may lean on Devontae Adams since they played together on the Raiders and already have a little bit of rapport there.
37:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, definitely uh good take.
37:44
SPEAKER_00: I've been seeing that a little bit.
37:45
SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, the stock in Devontae Adams growing lately, you know.
37:50
SPEAKER_00: And uh fortunately, I'm not as bullish on him.
37:53
SPEAKER_00: Um, for my number 16, I have a guy you mentioned, Marvin Harrison Jr.
37:59
SPEAKER_00: Um, obviously, the you know, looking at last year, he almost caught you know 60% of his targets.
38:05
SPEAKER_00: So to me, it doesn't seem like it was an issue of you know him not being able to convert his catches, but Kyler Murray to be able to throw him in a catchable radius, right?
38:14
SPEAKER_00: Because he's the type of guy that could catch catch it as long as you make it feasible.
38:19
SPEAKER_00: So I have him number 16 because I think you know he only had 800 some yards last year, so I expect him to take a step forward, maybe get a little bit more consistency with Kyler, and then obviously, you know, that'd be nice for him to break almost in the top 20 uh wide receivers there.
38:36
SPEAKER_01: Definitely doable, very doable.
38:40
SPEAKER_01: Now for number 16, I have Tyreek Hill.
38:45
SPEAKER_01: Tyreek could be one of the best buy low deals in the NFL.
38:49
SPEAKER_01: While he played every game last year, as you mentioned earlier, he was banged up for some of them, and Tua only played 11 games.
38:56
SPEAKER_01: Tyreek and Tua at full health are one of the best quarterback wide receiver combos in the league.
39:02
SPEAKER_01: At least they used to be.
39:03
SPEAKER_01: So that's what we got to see if they can still do it.
39:06
SPEAKER_01: It felt wrong having Tyreek so far down, but like I said, he could easily get right back in there while everyone is passing him on the draft board.
39:15
SPEAKER_01: So he can climb to the top quickly after a few games and catching his flow and his rhythm with Tua.
39:21
SPEAKER_01: In his first two years with the Dolphins, Tyreek had over 2,500 yards and 20 touchdowns.
39:27
SPEAKER_01: Last year, in my opinion, was most likely an outlier, and I'm eager to see what he can do in this year.
39:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I definitely expect Tyreek to take a little bit of a step forward this year for sure.
39:40
SPEAKER_01: He has to.
39:41
SPEAKER_01: Now at number 17, I have Garrett Wilson.
39:46
SPEAKER_01: If you look at Wilson's first three seasons in the NFL, they've been almost identical.
39:50
SPEAKER_01: It's not very pretty, but he averages almost 1,100 yards a season and hasn't missed a game in his NFL career.
39:56
SPEAKER_01: Last year he finished with seven touchdowns, which was an improvement from his first two seasons.
40:01
SPEAKER_01: But we need to see more yards and double-digit touchdowns for him to be considered an elite fantasy wide receiver.
40:08
SPEAKER_01: Justin Fields and Garrett Wilson played together in Ohio State, and Wilson is a versatile wide receiver that can play the entire field.
40:15
SPEAKER_01: So Fields will probably lean on him a lot.
40:17
SPEAKER_01: And I think it's going to be a big year for both of them.
40:21
SPEAKER_00: Great point.
40:22
SPEAKER_00: I didn't even um I totally forgot about that.
40:24
SPEAKER_00: They were on that national championship team.
40:27
SPEAKER_01: I forgot about it too.
40:29
SPEAKER_01: Um until recently.
40:32
SPEAKER_00: Now for my number 17, I have scary Terry McLaurin.
40:36
SPEAKER_00: I know right now he requested a trade.
40:39
SPEAKER_00: He's not getting the contracts he wants, which is stupid of Washington, right?
40:43
SPEAKER_00: Because they don't have anybody on that roster even close.
40:46
SPEAKER_00: Debo's not anywhere close to Terry's level, right?
40:49
SPEAKER_00: That's your number one.
40:50
SPEAKER_00: Debo's your gadget guy.
40:52
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I I expect him to have another really strong season wherever he may end up.
40:58
SPEAKER_00: I don't think they're going to trade him.
40:59
SPEAKER_00: I think he gets paid what he wants.
41:01
SPEAKER_00: It's just going to be a little bit of a holdout.
41:04
SPEAKER_00: And then once he he does, he's going to get right back on track with Jaden Daniels.
41:08
SPEAKER_00: And um, he didn't have a lot of targets last year.
41:10
SPEAKER_00: He only averaged just under uh six uh seven targets a game, so he was at 6.9.
41:15
SPEAKER_00: But he still had uh you know over 1,100 all-purpose yards and 13 touchdowns.
41:22
SPEAKER_00: So pretty much anytime he caught that ball, he was going for like a 50-yard touchdown.
41:26
SPEAKER_00: I think he had like six or seven uh of them just last year alone.
41:30
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, all good points.
41:32
SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna touch on that soon.
41:34
SPEAKER_01: Um but at number 18 first, I have T Higgins.
41:42
SPEAKER_01: If he could stay healthy, he'd be higher on my list.
41:45
SPEAKER_01: He is so talented that he could be the wide receiver on most, the wide receiver one on most teams, but he plays alongside Jamar Chase.
41:53
SPEAKER_01: Higgins and Chase benefit in a big way when they're both on the field, and the stats back that up.
41:58
SPEAKER_01: So anyone with Jamar should want to see T T Higgins stay healthy too.
42:03
SPEAKER_01: More targets doesn't matter as much if you're dealing with double coverage the entire game.
42:08
SPEAKER_01: Last year, T only played in 12 games, but he had 109 targets, over 900 yards, and 10 touchdowns for an average of 18 fantasy points per game.
42:18
SPEAKER_01: The Bengals could spend a lot of time on offense since their defense sucks.
42:21
SPEAKER_01: So that will increase the opportunities for T Higgins as well.
42:25
SPEAKER_01: Like I said, he's a really, really good player.
42:27
SPEAKER_01: As you said, you know, he's a big, strong player, he's a red zone threat, and he could easily be the wide receiver one on most teams.
42:34
SPEAKER_01: So I expect a huge year for T.
42:36
SPEAKER_01: Higgins.
42:37
SPEAKER_01: I just want him to stay healthy.
42:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely good points there as well.
42:43
SPEAKER_00: Um so for number 18, I actually have uh Jackson Smith from the Jigba.
42:49
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I know you had him a little bit higher here.
42:52
SPEAKER_00: He had an excellent season last year, 137 targets, Geno Smith.
42:55
SPEAKER_00: And honestly, I think that you know Sam Daryl's actually an upgrade over Geno Smith.
43:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, he had a much better season last year.
43:02
SPEAKER_00: Uh Gino's actually like um uh, you know, I'm actually a little bit worried about him having a regression, right?
43:09
SPEAKER_00: So with with this Smith Djba actually gets to be the number one he's supposed to be.
43:14
SPEAKER_00: He only averaged 15 points a game last year, but at eight targets per game, that means they just kept targeting him shallow.
43:20
SPEAKER_00: And uh Sam Darnold can throw the deep ball a lot better, so I expect it to be uh a much better season for him because he's just so good you can't not feed him the ball.
43:31
SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
43:35
SPEAKER_01: Why don't you uh roll into 19?
43:38
SPEAKER_01: Let me know who you got there.
43:39
SPEAKER_00: All right.
43:40
SPEAKER_00: I have Mr.
43:41
SPEAKER_00: DK Donkey Kong Metcalf.
43:44
SPEAKER_00: He's a beast of a man.
43:46
SPEAKER_00: Um, I've been watching him, obviously, like we all saw him over the last few years.
43:50
SPEAKER_00: All the town in the world, but if you get under his skin, he he's he's done.
43:54
SPEAKER_00: Right.
43:55
SPEAKER_00: Um, one thing I've been watching about him, though, since he's gotten to Pittsburgh, he's been you know, ironing, sharpening the iron because uh Pittsburgh really loaded their secondary up this this offseason.
44:06
SPEAKER_00: Uh so they have amazing uh you know cornerbacks and what that does make your receivers better so I I expect him to be better than last year but obviously I don't think he's gonna be in that that tier where you DK would ever dominate fantasy football again.
44:24
SPEAKER_01: Yeah that's fair I think uh the dominance days are over but I think he's gonna have a good season too now for my 19 I have Terry McLaurin Terry McLaurin has not missed a game over the last four seasons in the NFL he's a durable player that's hold had over a thousand receiving yards in every single season aside from his rookie year in 2019 when he only played in 14 games and still finished with over 900 yards aside from last season the area where McLaurin has been lacking is touchdowns.
45:00
SPEAKER_01: Last year he finished with 13 which is amazing and very difficult to do again but his highest prior to that was his rookie year when he finished with seven but last year he had Jaden Daniels that's the difference.
45:13
SPEAKER_01: So maybe another season with double digit touchdowns is more attainable than most people think.
45:18
SPEAKER_01: And we all know the risks involved with sitting out of uh preseason as you've been saying you know he's not at camp and he's saying he wants a trade I hate that because a lot of these players don't get the practice reps they need.
45:32
SPEAKER_01: So I'd like to see McLaurin get paid so he can start practicing.
45:35
SPEAKER_01: And I agree it's kind of stupid this holdout is is not going to help the commanders who do they have like Debo sucks.
45:43
SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry he's another one that's had like one good season that was an outlier when he was basically a running back too so I am uh yeah and Luke McCaffrey is the other guy so nothing great nothing over there he's got they they need him to play so they should just pay him get it over with and get him on the football field.
46:02
SPEAKER_00: Exactly agreed agreed 100% um now for my number 20 I actually have DJ Moore um he played 17 games last year I mean he had a a beefy workload 140 targets last year so he was Caleb Williams's favorite go-to target 8.2 targets per game um he had almost a thousand receiving yards but uh and six touchdowns so with somebody like that that's a really good target share really consistent workload so I expect his chemistry to get a little bit better this year obviously they have a better offensive coordinator they have Ben Johnson now right or he's the head coach but you know he's gonna have a hand in that so I expect DJ Moore to get open just as much if not a little bit more so he's gonna be uh pun intended uh so he's gonna be a uh uh I think he's gonna be a great pickup in the top 20.
46:56
SPEAKER_01: So that's why I have him right there uh above some other guys that a lot of people are high on I think yeah yeah no I like that now at number 20 I have Cortland Sutton he just got paid and is the clear cut wide receiver one on the Broncos and Bo Knicks who looked great last year should continue to pepper him throughout 2025 Sutton is a legit talent and now he has a stud quarterback and I don't normally look too closely at air yards but Sutton had the uh the second most only behind Calvin Ridley uh with almost 800 1800 air yards so you know Bonicks is looking for all over the field and I have a feeling that he's gonna take a big step forward this year.
47:43
SPEAKER_01: Yeah he had a beefy workload for sure um who's your number 21 21 I got DK Metcalf for all the reasons you mentioned um he's a freak athlete usually finishes most seasons with right around a thousand receiving yards and I'm looking forward to seeing how he connects with a fellow veteran and Aaron Rodgers and um I'd love to see them both do well as a Steelers fan.
48:09
SPEAKER_01: Uh it's a new team for both of them so that does give me a little bit of a pause.
48:13
SPEAKER_01: There's probably going to be some growing pains at the start of the season but again they're both veterans they can pick it up quickly and I'm confident they can uh get in sync and finish strong even if they start off a little bit rocky and uh I bet DK has another season with over a thousand receiving yards.
48:30
SPEAKER_00: Nice okay yeah yeah definitely he we're a couple places off so not far off there at all yeah um but this is one guy that I'm like way uh I'm not too fond of not because of him but his situation but Devontae Adams obviously uh I know the Rams like to throw the ball a lot that's when Mass Stafford's there you did mention his health right so that's one thing that really worries me is uh can he consistently get out there right because they've had quarterback issues over the years the quarterback they went into was the starting quarterback for Georgia I can't remember his name but he had to he had to check himself into rehab um uh but anyway so they don't really have an answer after Matt Stafford so so for me if something happens to him because he is an older player in his mid 30s um I think that's gonna affect not obviously Puka's is gonna affect Puka's workload but especially Devontae Adams um so uh that's why I'm not so high on him I just don't think that that's gonna be a a season long fantasy uh production for me that that is something that the season long fantasy production that's the key part there that's that's what we both look for that is a question mark with Devontae Adams now at number 22 I have Devontae Smith Smith and AJ Brown they typically play better when they're both on the field as I mentioned when I was talking about AJ Brown uh but they both only played 13 games last year so we need them to both stay healthy to reach their full potential and obviously staying healthy would improve Jalen Hurts passing stats too as you mentioned they are a run heavy team uh if he does pass the ball a lot of times it's just right next to him to Saquon Barkley uh but another season with over a thousand yards and six to eight touchdowns is completely reasonable for Devontae Smith and he's a good player to have on your roster whether he's a wide receiver too or a flex uh I'm confident in him this year.
50:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah definitely a big fan for sure uh obviously right yep obviously obviously all right now for my number 22 I actually have Stefan digs um he missed a lot of games last year uh week eight right he tore his ACL right and then obviously the freak accident tankdale and the you know last last game of the season or the play was it last game or the playoffs?
50:55
SPEAKER_00: It was the last game I think yeah right before the playoffs right so they they started off with nobody um but regardless Stefan digs is on the Patriots now uh Drake May I think he's a solid quarterback um they're gonna definitely find ways to get the ball to him Matt Brable is a coach now so they're gonna bring a certain philosophy I think so that that's obviously going to be a split workload for running backs and I think obviously they're gonna really utilize their tight ends and um you know start receiver so Stefan digs has all the makings to be a number one he just has to be healthy and um I mean at the end of the day it's his it's his job to give away right so his job to lose so and I don't expect you know him to get anything less than eight to ten targets per game over there.
51:42
SPEAKER_01: And uh I'm glad you had him in your top 25.
51:46
SPEAKER_01: He's just outside of my top 25 but I'm glad you had him because I did want to talk about him.
51:51
SPEAKER_01: Like right now the reports are he's expected to play week one and and I hope that's true because I really think he could be one of the best picks for fantasy this season.
52:04
SPEAKER_01: A lot of people he's not even on their radar because they think he's gonna ease back into a workload and probably won't be at his full potential until like week four five or six and that could be true but let's say you draft him and you just don't play him for the first three or four weeks once he hits the field at 100% he is going to get those eight or ten targets.
52:24
SPEAKER_01: He's gonna be an absolute monster and I can see him finishing inside the top 10 like if if he gets gets back to the Stefan digs that we know from a couple years ago holy shit look out because like I said there's so many people sleeping on him and um I'm gunning for him in the later rounds for sure.
52:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah he's a great value pick for sure.
52:47
SPEAKER_01: And I have DJ Moore I'm not sure what to expect from him but he's still the wide receiver one in Chicago regardless of what some other people say I hear a lot of people talking about Roma Dunze and he's awesome don't get me wrong but DJ Moore is the wide receiver one.
53:03
SPEAKER_01: We've seen him make some amazing ridiculous plays and he hasn't missed the game over the last four seasons.
53:10
SPEAKER_01: Chicago's been playing hot potato with quarterbacks over the last few years but DJ's had more time to build rapport with Caleb Williams so I like to see that consistency instead of them fucking around at quarterback again.
53:23
SPEAKER_01: And I think we could be poised to see DJ Moore have the biggest season of his career.
53:29
SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah especially because him and um Kaylee Williams been getting their nails did together hey that's what we're doing right when we're done recording.
53:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah we're gonna get our pedicures guys um now now for my number 23 I have somebody a little bit different I don't even know if you have him in your top 25 uh but I have Mr.
53:51
SPEAKER_00: Cooper Cup over here for the LA uh obviously for the Seattle Seahawks here LA Rams before um obviously we all know the domestic divorce that happened right um and he wasn't to his uh at his best health last year only playing 12 games but he still got 100 targets he still averaged 8.3 targets per game when he was there and as we mentioned earlier uh it's a much better situation in Seattle um so I expect him to still get you know at least if he's getting seven eight looks a game I'm happy because he's gonna still give you a solid stat line but at this point when you're getting a quarterback you know in the 20 20 round range you know you're hoping they're putting up starter numbers but at this case if they're getting wide receiver two numbers or three I mean it's it's a win-win as well I hope you're right about that because like I like Cooper Cup he just seems like a you know a solid person and I feel like just seeing him injured all the time it makes you feel for him you know because he he was so good that one year when he had like close to 2000 receiving yards he was just so good and that injury it feels like he never really came back and he seeing him struggle the last couple seasons has been tough.
55:08
SPEAKER_01: So I really hope you're right.
55:11
SPEAKER_01: Now at 24 I have Jameson Williams I know some people have Jamison higher in their rankings but some people have him a lot lower too he's a tough guy to gauge and for me yeah he looked great last year but I need to see it again before I can buy into him as a reliable must-start player.
55:33
SPEAKER_01: He looked great alongside Amon Raw finishing with a thousand yards and seven touchdowns but as I said I need to see it again because he's basically been suspended for his entire career prior to last season.
55:46
SPEAKER_01: So I really don't know what to expect was was that like everybody talks about how he's such a good athlete and he's such an amazing wide receiver and that's all true but can he do it consistently that remains to be seen yeah fun fact here I actually have uh Jameson Williams is my number 40 wide receiver this year.
56:07
SPEAKER_00: Ooh so you have him way down some people dude some people have him at like 10 yeah I know freaking let me get what they're smoking.
56:15
SPEAKER_00: All right now now for my number 24 I obviously have my boy Devontae Smith as an Eagles fan I try to be as unbiased as possible and realistic as possible.
56:27
SPEAKER_01: So um you know I I think he's definitely in the top 25 as we mentioned he has like uh all the intangibles to be a really great starter on any team uh but obviously he's only going to get 100 looks uh total for a season which means he's gonna get you about those 200 to 250 points if you're getting that it's great he's a wide receiver too and uh you can start him every week with the bye week uh with this guy because although he only played 13 games last year I do expect him to at least have a better and more healthier season right stop taking as many hits yeah now wrapping things up with the top 25 and this is difficult for me um this whole list was difficult for me but wrapping it up I have Xavier Worthy Rasheed Rice will probably miss some time from a suspension and Hollywood Brown was on the injury report again this week so with Hollywood's long injury history it's possible the Chiefs will rest him at the start of the season even if he's good to go they might just ease him into a full workload and if the top two pass catchers are Travis Kelsey and Xavier worthy he's gonna put up numbers you know until Rishi Rice gets back uh he's gonna be the wide receiver one and Patrick Mahomes despite struggling from time to time last year is still Patrick Mahomes.
57:55
SPEAKER_00: Xavier has huge breakout potential we saw uh flashes of it last year and Kansas City even likes to utilize him in the run game too so I could see him having a big year especially at the start of the season if Hollywood and Rasheed Rice are going to be sidelined yeah no I definitely see that great player uh great player and he didn't even get that many lifts last year too so you're right he his work load will open up um but actually for my number 25 I got a guy that you know I expect to actually take a pretty significant step forward this year and that's uh Zay Flowers wide receiver for Baltimore um he played all 17 games last year um he had over 116 targets so he didn't have that big of a target share he only finished with four touchdowns as well but he still had over a thousand receiving yards and uh and over 200 fantasy points so I think the biggest thing was uh getting looks because he was only getting 6.8 looks a game which you know doesn't sound like that bad but it was very sporadic when you saw the Ravens games you know you had some games where Lamar was only feeding him or some games he was only feeding the tight ends and uh obviously he needs to get to the point where he's feeding Zay Flowers more often because that guy is is freaking dynamite with it in in his hands.
59:12
SPEAKER_00: He's he's on he's fast he's elusive uh I mean he's tough so I I expect him to at least take a step forward this year uh because Rashad Bayman damn sure ain't taking away snaps from him or uh targets no you know uh so that's why I got him browning off my top 25.
59:32
SPEAKER_01: I I like that a lot and I was I I was looking at him having shifting him around in and outside of my top 25 he's a great player he is super tough but like you said it's sporadic like there'd be some games where I'd be thinking why don't they throw the ball to him like that every single game and it and it is frustrating because he's the clear cut wide receiver one there's no one else to worry about taking that spot and uh Bateman's deep threat that's pretty much where it ends and um you know Derrick Henry's not not going to be catching too many passes either so even the short balls you know Zay Zay Flowers is the guy so I totally I totally see why you got him in your top 25 and he could climb that ladder even more.
1:00:17
SPEAKER_00: Yeah definitely um but yeah that's awesome we got to break it down right and obviously there's gonna be uh I like how we start getting some variety in our our remaining 10 right a lot of fluctuation there with with our lists man and and that that's how you're gonna see it across the board right so I I think the best advice I could give somebody is um don't just base upon the list right if you're looking at a player you're choosing between two or three players that are right next to each other you're gonna analyze your team and be like okay what by weeks do I have already on my team boom I'm gonna go ahead and go with that um you know and then at the end of the day you're gonna be like okay so this is going to make my team a little bit stronger a little bit better and a little bit more balanced so that's sometimes that's what it boils down to me.
1:01:04
SPEAKER_00: I can have guys that I probably rank two or three spots up and I'll take the other guy just because it it just fits what I need better.
1:01:12
SPEAKER_01: And obviously that that means strength and schedule as well uh included in that most definitely and it is very important in my opinion to have a balanced team you know if you if you have a good mix of wide receivers and running backs honestly quarterback and tight end will work itself out you don't need to focus as much on them really load up on those wide receivers and running backs in case someone goes down or to prepare for bye weeks I've I've hurt myself a few times by drafting a team that's got you know three or four players that are my studs on a bye week at the same time.
1:01:49
SPEAKER_01: So you do have to pay a little bit of attention to that and again just keep it balanced.
1:01:55
SPEAKER_00: Yeah and uh um you know one of the things that I like to recommend is like in the first four rounds when I'm drafting I have to have at least two running backs in those first four rounds uh one wide receiver right because you have to get one of those wide receiver one or twos right backhand wide receiver ones before you get out of that second third round because there's no way that you're gonna get anything beyond that that's gonna be the well you can right get lucky but it's highly unlikely.
1:02:26
SPEAKER_00: And then until recently I actually last this past year I wanted to add a quarterback to that top four because the best ones like the league winners you're looking at like they go between rounds two and three and if you're looking at the guys scoring which we're gonna get into here in the next uh uh in the in the next uh video I can honestly tell you that no one scores more than quarterbacks and it ain't even close that's a really good point though if you want one of those top quarterbacks you gotta take him early I did it in a couple leagues last year and was really happy about it I usually results yeah I usually wait and last year I took a leap on in two different leagues I took a leap and it worked out so don't be afraid if you're like damn I really want a good quarterback this year do it draft him a hundred percent and I completely 100% agree about running backs too I usually take running back running back uh but sometimes I'll go running back wide receiver if there's a receiver I really like um but you know you've heard I'm sure a lot of people talk about the dead zone for running backs and that's very real so if you're going wide receiver wide receiver that's a bold strategy and I would not advise it I just wouldn't I wouldn't go past the fifth round without having a third running back that's for sure because the dead zone for running backs you're gonna get to like some pretty solid ones around five or six but once once you start focusing in on running backs at five or six round everybody else is going to as well so you're gonna be uh you're only gonna probably get you know two of the guys that you like in those mid rounds uh so definitely go with your gut go with you know what you think is more of a uh unstoppable pair and don't look at so much as you know trying to you know fill in a need for position for a player just look at uh you know what gives you the best overall points right because at the end of the day you're always going to start a running back uh or two running backs two wide receivers and a quarterback right um and to me obviously I tell people tight end not really my biggest forte I don't prioritize it till later I never prior to prioritize tight ends I have a few times usually works against me um but yeah you know the the wide receiver pool is going to be a lot deeper than the running back pool it is most years and it is this year so keep that in mind well that's gonna wrap it up for us guys we appreciate all of you tuning in uh we got one more ranking video that's quarterbacks that we're gonna release to you and uh any questions that you got or any player profiles you want to see just throw it in the comments tell all your friends about us we hate to ask but like comment subscribe all that good stuff all right policies same time same place you have a good rest of your week guys take care