Fantasy Football Today - FFT Express - Senior Bowl Sleepers & Diamonds in the Rough | Dave Richard Returns From Mobile, Alabama! (1/31 Fantasy Football Podcast)
Episode Date: January 31, 2026Dave Richard is back from Mobile, Alabama, after a full week scouting the Senior Bowl, and he’s bringing the fantasy football intel with him. 🧠🏈 Fantasy Football Today is available for free o...n the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever else you listen to podcasts Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/fantasyfootballtoday Shop our store: shop.cbssports.com/fantasy SUBSCRIBE to FFT Dynasty on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-football-today-dynasty/id1696679179 FOLLOW FFT Dynasty on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2aHlmMJw1m8FareKybdNfG?si=8487e2f9611b4438&nd=1 SUBSCRIBE to FFT DFS on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-football-today-dfs/id1579415837 FOLLOW FFT DFS on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5zU7pBvGK3KPhfb69Q1hNr?si=1c5030a3b1a64be2 Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr Follow the brand new FFT TikTok account: https://www.tiktok.com/@fftoday To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The 2026 Senior Bowl.
It's in the books.
Let's talk about the prospects that will matter for fantasy right now on FFT Express.
What did I say express like that?
That was weird.
It's Dave.
Back from Mobile, Alabama, and I am pleased to report that if you're in an IDP league,
you're going to love the prospects in the 2026 draft
because there are some great defensive linemen, edge rushers, linebackers,
corners, safeties that showed up at the Senior Bowl.
But if you're in a typical fantasy league, you're looking for the next great wide receiver,
running back, quarterback, tight end.
Yeah, I don't know if this draft is it.
The senior ball wasn't it?
I was kind of underwhelmed by what I saw from three days of practices in Mobile.
Not to say that there weren't players there who were good.
I just don't know how many of them are going to be able to translate for fantasy.
But I'm going to give it a shot.
I'm going to name about a dozen players that ended up doing well enough to have their name
spoken, at least on an episode of FFT Express, and we'll keep these names in mind as we talk about
the draft moving forward and the rookies that could make an impact. Let me just bring up one
quick thing. Last year, first 12 rounds of redraft leagues on CBS, there were 17 rookies taken.
17, man, we love that rookie class. I wouldn't be surprised if there were 17 rookies taken in the
first 12 rounds again this year, but I bet a lot of them are going to be toward like the
back half of the first 12 rounds like round seven eight on i there's definitely not going to be
uh jeremiah love will be close to being in ashton jenny he wasn't at the senior bowl there are
five wide receivers that are kind of the consensus top guys at that position none of them were at the
senior bowl quarterbacks we know there's one guy mandosa i don't know when he's going to be
taking the re-draft leagues if he's even taken at all and then tight end there's one guy keny n sediki
wasn't at the senior bowl point is not a lot of studs but let's just get into what i saw at
the senior ball go position by position.
And I'll tell you some names that you can keep in mind,
especially if you're in Dynasty,
these are the names to remember.
And remember, I'm looking at this from a fantasy point of view.
There were quarterbacks who were there.
They understood the offense.
They completed a bunch of short throws.
I don't know if they're going to end up being good for fantasy.
These are the guys that have potential,
the most upside to give us big stats.
Let's start with Cole Payton from North Dakota State.
I thought he showed out at the Senior Bowl.
This is about a 6'3, 220-pound quarterback from North Dakota State.
only one good year of experience, and it wasn't at the FBS level.
But he fit in in Mobile and playing with a bunch of guys from Power Force schools,
I thought he threw with accuracy and anticipation.
I believe that really not until Thursday, did he start to have some wonkiness in his throws?
But overall, he was good.
And he didn't run a lot.
He did a lot of running at North Dakota State, didn't do a lot of running in the senior bowl.
He wanted his arm to do the talking.
think he played well. You're going to hear buzz about him being like a seventh round pick or an
undrafted free agent. Dude, I'm telling you right now, I've been to enough senior bowls. I've seen
a lot of bad quarterbacks at the senior bowl and those guys get picked in round seven. This
guy's better than that. So Cole Payton, a name to keep in mind. Another quarterback with some good
fantasy upside, tail and green from Arkansas. Now he's 6'6, about 230 pounds, so a little bit lean.
And he can sling the ball too, but he's not as accurate as Cole Payton.
going to be much more of a boom or bust type of thrower,
at least if he gets the chance as a rookie.
That's what he'll be,
maybe a little bit more of a project player or quarterback,
but he'll run as well.
I think that both of these guys,
because of their rushing ability,
because of their strong arms,
they've got potential down the line
to be decent quarterbacks in the NFL,
and if they get the opportunity to play,
and if they run, then, yeah, by all means,
fantasy managers will love them.
These are names for Dynasty, not for redraft.
I'm going to move to running backs and wide receivers,
and then tight ends.
I'll do the tight ends real quickly here because they weren't really that great.
I've never found tight ends to be awesome at the senior bowl.
There's always exceptions to the rule.
The rule didn't change this year.
Tanner Coziel from Houston probably made the most plays of any tight end.
He was physical.
High pointed a touchdown on the third day on a pass from Cole Payton.
He's good.
And then Nate Borker from Texas A&M.
Everybody saw him make plays during the college football season.
He made a couple of plays at the Senior Bowl, too.
both of these guys look to me as they need good opportunities.
They're not going to get huge opportunities given to them because of the talent they have.
They're going to have to earn it in the NFL.
So not really a lot to love from the tight end position at the Senior Bowl.
When we come back, some running back, some wide receivers, that's really what you want anyway, right?
Those positions, right when we come back on Offifty Express.
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All right, we're back.
Let's talk about running backs.
There was a guy who I thought was head and shoulders
better than everybody else at that position.
And that's Mike Washington, Jr. from Arkansas.
Incredible acceleration.
Really could get to his top speed faster
than any of the other running backs who were there.
And I spoke to him after practice,
and he talked about how he wants,
to be a three-down running back, I think he's close to being there already.
Really good pass catcher.
Obviously, a really good runner.
If you saw him in Arkansas, you know what I'm talking about.
His pass protection is something that he seems to be really focusing on as he leads up to
the combine.
As of now, I don't think we view Mike Washington, Jr.
As a top five running back as far as prospects go, and he'll never be number one.
That's Jeremiah Love.
But because all the other running backs after Jeremiah Love aren't that great, I wonder
of Washington can make a push.
And that's somebody who I could see a team drafting round three, round four,
and then he just evolves into being their best running back by the second half of the
2026 season.
So he's going to get drafted in fantasy redraft leagues.
He's going to be a decent pick in rookie only drafts.
He's going to be somebody that I think we should keep our eyes on.
Remember the name Mike Washington Jr.
As we get to the combine.
Two other running backs, both from Penn State, K-Tron Allen, Nick Singleton.
Allen is a one-cut downhill runner.
Both of them are physical.
I thought Singleton was a little bit more physical,
but these are two running backs who I think could be the best of the
complementary running backs.
So think about, who could I think about?
I should have thought about this before I started recording,
but somebody who could be a 1B running back as a rookie,
and then maybe has the potential to turn into a 1A,
maybe something that we were hoping for with Blake Corm as a rookie,
basal Tootin as a rookie.
And we saw flashes of it from Tootin as a rookie.
There's probably a better example.
could post in the comments, somebody who's even better.
But those guys, Alan and Singleton, could end up being guys that work in tandem with a veteran
and then overtake the veteran as the year goes on.
The rest of the running backs, there were some flashes from them, but nobody really worth mentioning at this point.
Wide receivers.
Malachi Fields from Notre Dame was probably the best wide receiver there, 6'4, about 200 pounds,
sky high vertical, so he can make those contested catches.
and he moves pretty well for a six foot four wide receiver,
not necessarily a burner because you know,
those guys,
they can't run if they're big guys like that,
but they can cut and he can cut.
And I think he's got some good footwork already,
polished footwork already in his bank.
And he could end up being a good,
like a good outside receiver to complement a team that's already got somebody
working well inside.
I'm thinking about Buffalo and maybe what the vision might have
been for Keon Coleman, Malachi Fields could do that for Buffalo if they so decide to go after
him. And he won't cost the first round pick. He'll be a second round pick or a third round pick.
He was my favorite wide receiver over the week's worth of practice. A couple of other wide
receivers to mention who just stood out to me, not really going to get into them. But Caleb
Douglas, the taller Texas Tech wide receiver, he moved pretty well. And then two small school guys,
Tyrone Montgomery from John Carroll, Ted Hurst from Georgia State, a little bit different bodies on
these players. Montgomery's smaller or shorter, I should say, and Hearst is taller, but both of them
could move. And at one point in the practice, Montgomery was making plays on cornerbacks like Colton
Hood, who figures to be a first round pick. And so when you make plays like that and you're
coming from a small school and you're competing with the best of the best at the senior bowl,
I'm using best of the best a little loosely there, you're going to get attention. And so those guys
are names to keep in mind as we move forward, all these names, a dozen of them, to keep
mind moving forward for fantasy purposes. Of course, we're going to talk about these names over and
over again, and we're going to add names to it as we get closer to the NFL draft. It is a big part
of the fantasy football process to know these rookies and then see where they get drafted.
Consider the capital, consider the landing spot, consider the opportunities, because when they do
get those opportunities, those chances to put up points, fantasy managers have to jump at it.
And that's what we're all about at fantasy football today. I appreciate you watching.
Thank you for caring about the future of your fantasy football.
football teams as we continue to plow on through the office.