Fantasy Football Daily - Fantasy Points Podcast | Guru's WR. Sleepers

Episode Date: July 15, 2024

In this episode of The Fantasy Points Podcast, "The Guru" John Hansen and co-host Brian Drake break down their favorite WR sleepers you need to roster on your fantasy teams in 2024. Where to find us: httpp//twitter.com/Fantasy_Guru http://twitter.com/DrakeFantasy http://twitter.com/FantasyPts FantasyPoints Website - https://www.fantasypoints.com NEW! Data Suite - https://data.fantasypoints.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/FantasyPts Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/FantasyPts Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/FantasyPts TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@fantasypts #fantasypoints #nfl #fantasyfootball #dynastyfantasyfootball #FantasyFootballAdvice #dynastypoints #dynasty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, what's up? It's mid-July. It's John Hansen and teams are on vacation for basically the last week all year. This week, little light on the podcast here, but we do have some great information. Brian Drake and I are going to go over 10 wide receivers with ADPs of over 100 that I think are great picks. and most of them are looking good through all the OTAs and all that. Here we are in mid-July. And I've been on most of these guys since March. So stay tuned for some great wide receiver recommendations for 2024. As always, thanks for liking, subscribing, hooking us up, and you're welcome. Welcome back, everybody.

Fantasy Points podcast, Brian Drake, the guru, John Hansen. Talking about wide receivers you can get after pick, 75 in your draft that are going to be difference makers. Now, John has made a living. Trust me, folks. This is how I became a fan of the guru. He has made a living and a killing identifying players this late in your draft who are going to be impactful for fantasy football. And nothing's different here in 2024.

So, John, we got a fun little list here of guys who, you know, you talk about Christian Watson at wide receiver 45. You know, this guy's a six, seventh round pick. Last year, played in just nine games, thank to this nagging hamstring injury. So this offseason, he's working with specialists to strengthen his legs. They have, I guess, evened out what they said is a difference in mass between both legs. I'm no doctor. Sounds kind of crazy to me.

But on the field, John, to me, he's the most talented wide receiver that Green Bay has. He can command the football. If you look at weeks 12 and 13 last season, he caught a combined 12 balls for a buck 65 and three scores the tailant's undeniable the issue here is the hamstring that's what's keeping them all right field so that's why we're getting this massive discount on a kid who just two years ago was the second pick around two so guru what strikes you about watson as someone we want to target this summer well his ADP is around a hundred right now in season long i know it's a little higher maybe 20 spots higher in best ball which makes sense

for a guy like Watson who had a couple of blow-up games, 100-yard games under Aaron Rogers early in the career. He actually led all rookie receivers that year in rushing. I actually talk with him about that at the Combine in terms of like the deba-oization of the NFL. And I thought it was kind of coming out of left field a little bit, but he, for me, but he was like, oh, yeah, I'm all about that. And he did just that. He also led second among the rookies that year in yards per reception. I went and I looked into some other numbers here. We'll get into other elements, but I mean, the dude's got a 17% touchdown rate. So that's a pretty damn good number. So 17% of the time he catches a ball, it's for a score in the National Football League. I don't have

it in front of me. I think it's 12 tutties in the career thus far early on despite missing what, 10 games last year. You know, also even just the 10% rate on targets. Let's like throw them ball 10% of the time he pulls it in for a touchdown in this career thus far it's pretty damn good uh i think you know and people who are following this podcast listening all year long know you know i'm i'm in on jordan love i'm big big on that and you're right about what you say like he does command the ball here because there is some sameness here it reminds me a little bit of nico collins last year in houston because you know before nico fully blew up last year you're looking at the depth chart you're like oh wow there's a lot of interesting

changeability here. You know, so it stood the reason that Nico would stand out because he was like, okay, there's your perimeter receiver right there. You know what I mean? And that really is what Watson is as well. And, you know, great downfield threat.

It could be more deadly than Nico. Talent is just absolutely bursting from Christian Watson. Good kid from all accounts. From our guy, Gary Melton. My interactions were good. Again, the the hamstrings are kind of everything. Apparently his muscles were growing out of symmetry, you know, whatever that is, you know, I can tell you that, you know, my right calf, I tore the muscle

racing a 15 year old on Halloween wearing a flash costume. And I do have a serious imbalance. And even my wife to this day comments on it, you know, when I wear shorts. Uh, anyways, um, he's been working on that. And if that what ends up being the, you know, the, the real problem and now we're kind of good health-wise i mean it's just a great investment uh eighth round ninth round if you're lucky i'm sure it'll probably tick down to the seventh round maybe even the damn sixth round if he blows up a little bit in the preseason but it's good offense they've got great continuity there i know it's a crowded receiving core that's really one of the big elements that's holding his price down but i'm all in here buying uh trying to hit that knockout uh

shot basically. That's Christian Watson this year. I just drafted him in the Scott Fish Bowl because he's one of those players. If you hit on him, John, he's a guy who could become, maybe you draft him as your wide receiver four, wide receiver three, whatever it is. He can become your wide receiver two really quickly. And then now you're cooking with gas because everybody that you drafted ahead of him just kind of gets slotted down a little bit. And that's how you win your league. Another guy who could help you win your league is Jameson Williams. So In best ball, he's like 78 overall. In redraft, he goes a little farther down.

Why? Because all these guys in your home league that you're going to be drafting, you know, drinking bushlights in someone's garage, Labor Day weekend, they look at him to go, the kid's never healthy. Here's what you got to know. He might be the second most electric wide receiver with the ball in his hands behind Tyreek Hill. That said, we need him to be on the field every week so we can feel good about them

when we slide him into our lineups. Last year, played in just 12 regular season games, and amassed 42 targets. But what gets our juices flowing here, what we saw in the NFC title game, John. He scored on a 42-yard rush, also caught a receiving touchdown. His best ball ADPs got him behind guys

like Roma Dunzee and Keon Coleman. So what makes you think that Williams can break through this year as a wide receiver three option for our season-long teams? Well, certainly big boy pants time here. Time to put those on here in year number three. I've been joking around on Sirius XM for a couple of years. It's like, what is he a mascot? You're actually going to play some football here or what?

I mean, we knew we were coming off the ACL a couple of years ago, but last year I thought was a little weird. But, you know, you mentioned all those good points there. He also showed well as a blocker at times. And look, the vibes are pretty good in the off season. Dan Campbell talked about him being one of their most improved players. He says he's a man on a mission. I know we're in man on a mission time of the year,

but Dan Campbell seems to be in. They did let Josh Reynolds go. You look at the receiving core here. And by the way, you know, both these two guys we've hit on so far, both have good quarterbacks. That's always somewhat underlooked element here. Like who's throwing them the rock? But, you know, this lion's receiving core is really setting up for Williams to have a massive

role. Khalif Raymond is a journeyman third receiver. DPJ is kind of buried on the depth chart. They don't really have anyone else. So Jameson Williams should be, you know, he'll be the third option in the passing game, which isn't bad for the Lions. They're going to, you know, run it a lot as well. But Jared Goff is a professional quarterback who'll get them the ball. They'll take the shots.

Certainly, golf does that. And by the way, they only have three games outdoors all year. Now, granted, a couple of them come late in the year in Chicago and San Francisco. But, you know, my man's going to be indoor on a track more often than not this year. So it's that magical year three blow up or glow up, whatever you want to call it. But I'm buying at these prices. Again, same as Watson, seventh, eighth, maybe the ninth round, pretty much buying in on Jameson. It's a good example of, by the way, why you don't need to go totally crazy on wide receiver

and get like four with your first five picks, these are two stud players here who are not really going off the board that high and season long so far. Yeah, and look at the draft capital that the teams put in to Williams and Watson. They want them on the field. They want them to start in, you know, especially two wide sets. And Williams should never come off the field in 2024 for Detroit. You just mentioned some of those guys, you know, they just going up against Khalif Raymond, Donovan People's Jones, a couple of dudes who I've never even heard of, Antoine Green.

Give me a break. So again, folks, you want to forget about Raymond Caliph. Yeah, Raymond Caliph. You get a little drunk. have one too many stella's this weekend, and then all of a sudden you're like, whoa, hey, Raymond Khalif, and he's starting at flex for me this week. When you're flying Emirates business class, relaxing in an exclusive airport lounge, you'll see that your vacation isn't really over until your flight is over.

Fly Emirates, fly better. Your business doesn't move in a straight line. Some days bring growth, others bring challenges. But what if you or a partner needs to step away? When the unexpected happens, count on Canada Life's flexible life and health insurance to help your business keep working even when you can't. Don't let life's challenges stand in the way of your success. Protect what you've built today. Visit canadalif.com slash business protection to learn more. Canada Life. Insurance, investments, advice.

Ontario, the wait is over. The gold standard of online casinos has arrived. Golden Nugget online casino is live. Bringing Vegas-style excitement and a world-class gaming experience right to your fingertips. Whether you're a seasoned player or just starting, signing up is fast and simple. And in just a few clicks, you can have access to our exclusive library of the best slots and top-tier table games. Make the most of your downtime with unbeatable promotions and jackpots that can turn any mundane moment into a golden opportunity at Golden Nugget Online Casino. Take a spin on the slots, challenge yourself at the tables, or join a live dealer game to, feel the thrill of real-time action, all from the comfort of your own devices. Why settle for less when you can go for the gold at Golden Nugget Online Casino.

Gambling problem call Connects Ontario 1866-531-260. 19 and over, physically present in Ontario. Eligibility restrictions apply. See Golden Nuggettcasino.com for details. Please play responsibly. So another name that might throw some folks in your home league that maybe they haven't heard before. Kahl Shakir. I love that you put this

pick on our podcast pre-show rundown here. So Kalir Shakir is stepping into a starting role on an offense that's wide open folks in Buffalo. There's like 300 targets that are vacated with Stefan Diggs and Gabe Davis out of town. So in is

Kion Coleman. He's a rookie and journeyman Curtis Samuels. Shakir shined in the postseason. He caught 10 of his 12 targets and scored 12. Last year, per fantasy points data, he ran 78% of his routes from the slot. So, John, we got to see how this all shakes out because you got Dalton Kincaid. He's going to be patrolling the middle of the field. Curtis Samuel, per that same data, ran slot 68% of the time.

And we got Keon Coleman, who did a lot of really good work in the slot at Florida State, but he's probably going to be primarily their ex-receiver. I think there's massive breakout ability here in the ninth or 10th round. That's easy money for a weekly PPR flex and Khalil Shakir. Yeah, he is the only receiver currently on the Bill's roster who has caught a pass from Josh Allen in a game in the national football league. So that's impressive. Two touchdowns in both playoff games, 10 grabs for 75. I was very, very impressed by how he had an 87% catch rate coupled with a 15.6 yard per reception number.

very efficient 34th out of 120 wide receivers last year per fantasy points data to run at least 25 with at least 25 targets 34th out of 120 inefficiency. Curtis Samuel, you know, he did have a good year under Joe Brady in 2020. Joe Brady, when he was with the Panthers, he had caught 77 balls. He had 41 rushing attempts for 200 yards, a couple touchdowns. So you understand why Brady probably who had some influence there. But Brady is also talking up Khalil Shakir as being like super intelligent, which we kind of figured that out.

I mean, the guy has nothing has been too big for Khalil Shakir. I mean, he has literally shown well in the NFL every single opportunity he's gotten. I mean, he's a savvy route runner already. So now he's, you know, another year older and wiser. And boy, just like in the playoffs, Josh Allen, is going to lean on him because he's going to need them. And how about this? With Brady as the OC last year,

here's the numbers for Shakir and Diggs, Stefan Diggs. Stafir, Shakir, Shakir, 36 targets, digs 75 targets. Shakir, 438 yards, digs 388. And Shakir had 30 grabs, digs 44. Shakir scored twice, digs once. So, I mean, I think we're looking at Shakir, ideal fit or not as their main outside receiver to open up the season here for Josh Allen. And obviously, that's been a pretty fruitful place to be. That's where Diggs and Gabe Davis have lived.

So, I mean, I know they have all these guys you mentioned. They also have 17 other journeymen types. Mack Collins or Hack Collins, Chase Sesspool or Claypool. I mean, we can we could guruify all these, Marquez, Valdez, skankling. I mean, well, KJ Hamler as well, Andy Isabella. I mean, it's ridiculous the turnover here and all these names. I love the Shakir call. Even late in the draft, like we mentioned Curtis Samel, I'm fine taking a shot on him.

If I'm in a deep league, you know, 14, 16 teams, I remember his last year when he was with the Panthers under Joe Brady a few years back, he had over a thousand yards receiving and seven scores. He was the top 25 wide receivers. So I think Curtis Samuel and Shakir can both be valuable in some deeper leagues. All right, we're rolling along here. It's the Fantasy Points podcast, Brian Drake, the guru, John Hansen, talking about some wide receivers. You can get 75 picks or later in your season long draft who could pay dividends for you in 2024. And guru, someone has to be the top target earner for the L.A. Chargers. Joshua Palmer could be that someone. is a best ball ADP of wide receiver 54.

Now, there's this narrative that no one's going to complete a pass. They're just not going to throw the football for the Chargers. But we know that's not the case, okay? So Palmer's got this great opportunity to be a productive playmaker. And when he has been given that role, he's gone and done well. Go back to two seasons ago. He gave us nine or more PPR points in 10 games. Now he's locked in as a starter.

We're going to get Josh Palmer. You're going to get Ladd McConkey. Someone's going to catch the football here, John. And why not Josh Palmer? Yeah, no question about it. We'll see what Quentin Johnston can do here. I wouldn't hold my breath in terms of expecting great results with Greg Roman there. Not exactly known for, you know, scheming wide receivers open well with sophisticated route trees and alike.

It's going to be, you know, pretty basic out there. But Palmer's going to get the volume. And he probably should emerge and will emerge. as they're, you know, as an outside receiver, more, more, way more than we're used to because I think McConkey is going to be locked into the slot. You know, that's what Ladd, of course, told me, wants to be outside, but, you know, breaking in as a rookie, I think it's for the better for him. So that makes Josh Palmer, for my money, obviously, the number one outside receiver for the Chargers. And, you know, he's clicked well with Justin Herbert in the past. He's got a couple

a hundred-yard games where he stacked up. If you've heard me on Sirius X-M over the years, I've been on him from the beginning. I've been a Josh Palmer guy, never said he was a stud. But in the right situation, he's done some real nice things here for the charges in Herbert. In the right situation,

and this looks like it's pretty solid, despite the fact that they're going to be run heavy. The target shares, what is looking really good for Palmer, with a good quarterback as well, and Herbert, all in here, 12th round pick all day long. That's like the beautiful fifth receiver where, oh, crap, my, my number two receiver

is towards ACL. You're like, not a problem. I got Palmer's catching five balls every week. And especially if he finds the end zone a little bit, you know, on his career, he's never been a huge touchdown guy. He only has nine in his three-year career, but that should go up in a full-time role this year. So I like where you're going with that one.

All right. Jahan Dotson, the Bloom's a little off the road. here with Dotson who ran hot in 2022 with seven scores. Last season, John, he only turned 83 targets into 49 catches for 518 yards and four scores. But we're excited about Jaden Daniels at quarterback and this new fast-paced offense. It should allow for a lot more opportunities in D.C. So here's another former first round pick who's essentially free in drafts this summer.

So what's the upside for our boy, Jehan Dodson? You know, it's probably not through the roof. but if you're looking for a really strong ROI and a good buy low, I would in fact submit Johan Dodson. I liked them a lot. Coming out of Penn State, really liked them. I actually said I thought it was more talented than Tara McLaurin.

Still up for debate, but no debate about McLaurin being more productive and just a hell of a football player. And Dodson did certainly take a step back last year. Look, there was a perfect shitstorm, if I could be honest here, because new coordinator, Eric Bianami, I feel like there was something going on there that wasn't good and wasn't conducive to production. Well, he's no longer there.

You mentioned Cliff Kingsbury and the scheme, by the way. I mean, they should scheme him open, afford him some touches in that regard. So it's kind of a big year, certainly. And then you look at that target share and what they did and didn't do in the draft, I think it's, dreaming, they need Jahan Dodson here. No question about it. I'm surprised that Luke McCaffrey is already considered like a frontrunner. I think he's a little bit of a project here.

I mean, he only played receiver a couple of years in college. So they do have Diombe Brown. But, you know, I think Dodson is primed. And by the way, Jaden Daniels is liking what he's seeing. You know, he is a superior athlete, Dodson. So it's a bet on talent, bet on pedigree thing. It certainly doesn't help that his cost is down to the level that it is. Like in a season-long draft, barring a shocking, you know, awesome preseason with Daniels,

I mean, John Johnson is a guy, you'll get him in the 12th round. And that's a good buy no matter what, because, okay, you can discard it. You won't remember it. You won't, it won't, didn't crush your season. But, you know, betting on a damn good player who could make your season. Yeah, so often in fantasy, we see players going to the waiver wire, John, and they're like, okay, I got to get somebody for a buy week. I got to get some depth on my team.

And you're picking up like these third, fourth receivers on their NFL team where we're talking about guys today who are second options on their NFL team. Like these are guys who are going to be on the field. They're going to play all the time. You're never going to really see many plays where John Dodson's taken off the field. He's going to start in two wide sets. If they go to 11, which will probably play a ton of. He's going to be out there.

So I'm with it. And another guy who's going to. Good list, man. It's a good list. I mean, these guys are going to pop. I'm feeling it. If this next guy doesn't pop, then, you know, I don't know. We should retire from fantasy football.

This guy's coming from one of the worst situations in fantasy to what could potentially be one of the best. We're talking about Darnell Mooney, wide receiver for the Atlanta Falcons. Only 26 years old spent his first four years in championship. Chicago. Now, you go back a few years, he had a thousand yard season, had 140 targets, who's looking like, you know, hey, this guy might be something here. The past few years, listen, we can kind of throw it out the window. The offense is terrible. The quarterbacking was garbage. Now he goes and he's going to be essentially what, the wide receiver two on the outside,

on the other side from Drake, London and Atlanta. London's going to get a ton of double coverage. People are keying on Bejan. You got pits running around the middle of field, always has to have a little safety with an eye on him. Mooney's going to have free run wherever he goes. He's going to have the worst corner guarding him and he's going to have just tons of space. I think there's a lot of upside here for Darnel Mooney. Totally, totally. Per the Chicago Tribune, Mooney was apparently offered a contract three years, 30 million. He declined. They said he bet on himself. And then when the season ended, they're like, oh, well, he lost. Nope. He won because the Falcons paid him. $9 million more than that.

And guess who is recruiting him? Kirkie Cousins. Because Kirkie, playing for the Vikings, saw Darnel Mooney twice a year over these last three years. And he knows that he is very underrated. His ballerism is not recognized, but it could finally be recognized here in this unbelievably great situation here. I am seeing something similar to Jordan Addison last.

year you had uh hawkinson eaten over the middle and you had jefferson spider man out there all over the place but when they took the shot plays often it was to addison downfield often in single coverage that's darnel mooney this year so uh he's a great separate separator he's a separatist and kirkie can get into the ball yeah you look at over the past few years he's had a lot of big gains in his career you know last year, a 41-yarder. He had 56-yard a year before that. A kid can run. So don't forget about Darnel Mooney.

Wipe away all that thought in your head of him in a bear's uniform because it's a whole different ball game now with him and Atlanta. He can't throw himself the ball. He cannot throw himself the ball. He's tried, I believe, but just can't throw it. Black Friday is here at IKEA and the clock is ticking on savings you won't want to miss. Join IKEA family for free today and unlock deals on everything from Holley. must-haves to cozy at-home essentials, all the little and big things you need to make this season shine.

But don't wait. Like leftovers at midnight, our Black Friday offers won't last. Shop now at IKEA.ca.ca. slash Black Friday. IKEA, bring home to life. Same could be said for the next receiver we're going to talk about Michael Wilson, second-year man down in Arizona. Now, he's forgotten about because we're all talking up Marvin Harrison Jr. and Tray McBride, but to me, Wilson provides deep league upside. And trust me, I had them on some deep leagues teams last year.

Because once Kyler Murray returned, they looked like an actual NFL attack. Final two weeks of the season, he caught 10 of his 12 targets for 150 yards and two scores. So even with awful quarterback play most of the season, he gave, he turned in in week seven. Let me say that again. He turned in seven weeks with eight or more PPR points. So again, guys in deep release. leagues this is an asset this is somebody who's on the come up and you want to get your hands on him so what makes you think wilson is going to take that next step this year john don't know if he's

going to stay healthy that that's been a problem dating back to his years at stanford but uh no no doubt about it i thought this time last year he was one of my top deep sleepers i did videos on on our on him on our feed if you want to check it check it out and uh see what i said at the time because he he did show that ballerism he actually finished first on the team in yards per reception last year. I watched him practice for a week in Mobile the year before. And he looks like an NFL starting receiver. Very much so, especially in the red zone.

He runs very good routes, good, strong hands. I mean, he's not a burner per se, but he's, again, a pro receiver. Now, he is expected to be the Z receiver with Marvin Harrison at X, which I think is a good spot because, you know, you're off the ball, a little less pressure. You know, when you're out there on an island often in the perimeter, you know, you're working against the sideline, basically. So a guy like Michael Wilson, you're going to have more options to get the football.

You got Trey McBride, who's going to be obviously probably the top target, followed by Harrison, but Wilson is, again, third, clear third. Like, I mean, you know, shout out to Greg, Torch! But I think Wilson will certainly. be the clear third option. And Zay Jones, by the way, is going to, I guess, battle Greg Dorks, or maybe presume starter going in the camp.

But I just think Kylo Murray, solid quarterback, offense, year two under the regime, pretty good vibes. They've done well with the offensive line. They've, they've added depth in the backfield. It's a pretty good roster. I mean, they've done a hell of a job, Moni, Austin, Ford, and company,

reassembling this cardinal offense. Yeah. And again, it just takes, when you're sitting in your draft room looking at players to take shots on. Look at the play caller. Look at the quarterback. You know, if you've got check marks in both of those boxes, pull the trigger and get that guy on your roster. And by the way, he's one of these guys. There's a couple of them. The next guy we're going to talk. We're calling them night and day guys. And, you know, some of it is probably cliche, but there is some truth to it in that Michael Wilson, for example, asked in during

the OTAs, you know, how does he compare this time around year two to year one? Oh, night and day. You know what I mean? Like my head's swimming out there. Now the game slowed down. You know, one of my favorite phrases of all time is if you think you stink, which applied to me more than anyone in the history of athletics, but that's neither here nor there. And unfortunately, I thought way too much. But yeah, I mean, he's feeling it here a little bit in year number two. We'll see if the vibes continue in training camp. But he's, he's absolutely talented enough to where it's like every week, defenses are going to be like, all right, we got to stop McBride and Marvin Harrison. And then Mike Wilson eats. Yeah. We live in this, you know, instant gratification

society, John, where if something doesn't happen, you know, the first week of the season, we're like, nope, Michael Wilson stinks. Every, and you're old like me, so you remember this. The old fantasy magazines it used to write, every magazine had a third year breakout receiver article, because it used to take receivers three years to really come out of their shell. Now we're like, oh, if they're not out as a rookie, then forget about these guys. So sometimes it just takes a minute for people to catch up to the NFL game and to figure out what they're doing. Maybe the same could be said for the next guy we're talking about, Marvin Mims. So he's got a lot to prove and there's a fluid situation around him.

He's got a new quarterback with the arrival of Bone Nicks. Out of the air is Jerry Judy. Who knows, Cortland Sutton could be next to follow him out the door. So this offense should look a little different in year two of Sean Peyton. Mims, though, is a forgotten man in draft. So every time we get into a draft, people are like, Marvin Mims, he stanks. He only caught 22 balls last year.

What's different this year with Marvin Mims than last year and what should make us pull the trigger on him in our fantasy drafts? Well, he's another night and day guy in terms of comparing, you know, where he was at in year one and Sean Payton's offense to where he's right now we also had the departure of jerry judy so that certainly helps and sean Peyton kind of talking him up a little bit in the OTAs uh I like the quote from from Peyton he he referred to him as having transitional speed which uh you know that's kind of like a tyree kill thing you know what I mean like change direction without losing so much speed

of momentum and not having to throttle down things like that so I think that's you know kind of what more of Mims brings to the table. And I think he's their deep threat. He's going to start barring a meltdown in training camp. And he's certainly their deep threat. We all remember what he did. His first three catches in the, well, three of his first nine catches, it was a win for 60, 38 and 48 yards. I mean, that does beg the question. Why didn't they throw it to him more? Maybe part of the answer is Russ Wilson stunk. So maybe that was a little bit of a problem. But presumably, year two, It's slowing down for Marv Mims. He's got game-breaking speed, a good return man.

It'll be Cortland Sutton at X there. Mims probably open inside or him and Josh Reynolds are a little, you know, versatile back and forth there. And we'll say about Tim Patrick, but I think it's pretty clear. It would be an upset to me if we go into the season with Mims as, only the third option in the passing game. I'm fully projecting him to be basically the second guy with Josh Reynolds, probably right behind him. And you never know.

You might get a little more value out of him with these new kick return rules. Because if the Broncos have him back there returning their kickoffs with the new shorter structure, maybe he breaks a few. I don't know. You Scott Fishbow guys out there, I know they're drafted them left and right. All right. One more name here of receivers that you might find. 75 picks or later into a draft.

Another guy who was a first round pick, Rashad Bateman, make or break time for Bateman here. He won't have to compete with OBJ for targets, should be fully healthy, which he wasn't last year. So, John, this is an offense we know doesn't want to throw the ball a ton,

but they're investing in their receiver position. Bateman a few years back. Zay Flowers a year ago. So there are weapons on the outside for Lamar. Can Bateman take the next step this year? because I'm on record. If you ever listen to the serious X-M show when I'm hosting, I'm not a Zay Flowers guy.

I think Bateman with a bigger frame could become maybe that second option behind Mark Andrews in this offense. What do you think about Bateman this year? Yeah, well, I mean, things are looking like, yeah, two things. One, like, it's now or never, all that in terms of his career with the Ravens. And two, it's lining up like he'll actually come through here. I mean, all the reviews from guys. guys like Mark Andrews and even Wiggins, the top draft pick, the corner, said he was the toughest

cover in the OTAs. Makes some sense. I wasn't actually a big Bateman guy coming out. You know, he not really griffic, you know what I mean? Like, good. But just, you know, doesn't, you know, move the needle that needs volume, basically. But you're not getting that most likely. And with Lamar or Jackson, he's your quarterback.

And you're certainly not getting it if you're hurt. And he's had all those injuries and all that. So, you know, it's one of those ROI situations, though, because again, and it's another bet on talent, pedigree, all that. I mean, not that his pedigree and not that his talent is through the roof, but pedigree is pretty damn good as a former first round pick. So didn't pick up the fifth year option, right? So this is it for Rashad Bateman.

And, yeah, Monkin, at the very least, the passing game was better than it was under Greg Roman. I actually was as a Flowers guy last year. I mean, you could argue I was right in terms of his fantasy impact for year one. I liked them as a pick that last year, but I liked them in general. I was a little underwhelmed, not doing as much downfield. So that's a storyline that I'll be following this year. But Bateman, if you recall back, you know, I do watch every game.

Bateman was getting a lot of downfield looks late in the year. Granted, a lot of them didn't connect. But yeah, he's got a real shot here. And then Aguilar, what are we doing? You know, I mean, he's just such an annoying tease, you know, but he's also a year older and it's, it's Bateman's time to shine here. And we'll see about Zay Flowers, what he does. Yeah, I mean, Zay Flowers last year, you'll look at his average depth of target.

And it was basically a glorified handoff every time Zay Flowers got the ball. But if you watch him at Boston College, they were taking shots to him left and right. So who knows, maybe if Bateman stays in the field, we take some shots on the field to him. I thought he had AB. him downfield honestly zay flowers not yet in the NFL yeah flowers just he was the guy I had on several teams and he just frustrated me so much because it took him like you needed to steal a phrase from you planetary alignment for him to score so he was he was almost like one of these grinder running backs who would just catch like six balls for 48 yards and you're like if they don't score they're

not coming through and for a while that was zay flowers and he just drove me bananas So interesting to see. I don't think the career of Zay Flowers has been defined yet, though. So I mean, it's a big year for him. Like not that he sucked last year. You mean, they, I mean, geez, didn't they throw him like 11 balls in his first game? Something like that. Like that was a little, you know, a little surprising.

I might be exaggerating a little bit. Now I'm going to look it up. But, you know, I think he showed enough to me at least to wear 10. caught nine of them for 78 he showed enough to me last year to where i'm certainly not giving up it is a big year but i also by that you know same token i wouldn't be shocked if he did in fact improve and started making some downfield players and then he might be something close to the player i thought he was i know he is not on the list here but zay flowers another guy who will see where he goes in in drafts come well he's going a little too high that's why he's not

a list i mean i've not even listened to him as one of my targets this year man because uh you know ADP around like 50? It's not cheap. No. I think that's why I'm out on them. But that's a conversation for another day. So good stuff here. We've got to say, thanks so much to the crime dog, Fred McGriff. Stopping by

and chatting with the guru. And hopefully you guys got a little nugget from our wide receiver conversation here. As always, get over to that YouTube channel. Make sure you're subscribed. Wherever you listen to the podcast, give it a five star review. We appreciate all that. Get over to FantasyPoint.com. There's no

better time to sign up for fantasy points.com or fantasy points data help you win your league you want gurus rankings we got the guru rankings man the guru rankings at fantasy points.com is a special section there's our new computerized rankings that chris wex doing and then you go nah don't want that i just want johns we give that to you as well so that's exciting john it's got to be nice to say you know what people trust you over a machine well i mean we'll see we'll see i'm actually excited about beating the machine in the season long rankings. You know, I had, I've been doing that for a long, long time. I've done some award winning work where, you know, I didn't even take credit for it.

Let's say it that way. So we'll see. But yeah, I basically built initial rollout of the projections and, you know, went deep in the hood, looking at all the players. And I still have that file. and I've been tweaking that same file, same as I always do behind the scenes. And I actually just updated it Saturday night, July 13th, for example. If the mood strikes me and I get into it and I, you know, I reevaluate a couple of players.

Let me, boom, boom, change the projections and don't even have to hit save. And then what that does is it triggers, actually, I do have to publish them. It triggers those rankings. So I think we're going to get the cheat sheets up as well. So yeah, a lot of good stuff here. So I'm still in the ranking business. You know, it is harder for me to write these long novels in my old age, but I still do really like doing the rankings and the projections and all that.

I'm still, you know, I can't, I'm addicted to being right. What can I say? And when you have projections like that and you compare them to the ADP, it's right there. It's all there. brother i've been walking into drafts for two decades with the guru cheat sheet and i'm old school i just have a clipboard and a piece of paper and a pen i'm just crossing names off you will never see me at a draft with a laptop you know using some kind of algorithm letting the computer decide who to pick i don't need

any of that nonsense give me a piece of paper crossing things off and that's how i'm going to win like i feel cheated if i go to a draft and i'm sitting next to a guy and he's got some kind of draft software telling him who to pick like that's not the fun of fantasy football to me no but some people do like that though i mean uh you know the fantasy points generator you know do does number crunching and all that of course it never ever ceases to amaze me that i typically come up with the same answers and conclusions as you know at some point it's going to be me against AI i guess like to see how that goes but for the most part, I found that the data people and the stat nerds, which I'm not really one of them, I come up with the same conclusions, like 88% of the time.

There you go. And that's why you guys are listening to the Fantasy Points Podcast. We appreciate you guys for hanging out with us. So for The Guru, I'm Brian Drake. We'll see you next time in the Fantasy Points Podcast.