Fantasy Football Today - Updated TE Rankings! Debating Andrews, Fant, Pitts and More (05/06 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: May 6, 2021

Kicking off the show with a philosophical debate about when you should sacrifice total Fantasy Points to address positional scarcity (1:30). Basically, do you draft Mark Andrews or Allen Robinson? We also tell you how many targets you should be hoping for in order to get a Top 5 TE (7:45) ... News and notes (13:10)! The latest on Aaron Rodgers and what Kerryon Johnson's release could mean. Then we get back into the TE rankings with some Kyle Pitts talk (16:25). Where did he end up? Within this discussion we spend a lot of time on Andrews, T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant ... Debating Fant vs. Dallas Goedert (25:45), looking at players who lost value after the NFL Draft (27:30) and finishing up with our thoughts on a young TE who has breakout potential (33:33) ... Your emails at [e-mail] Want in the Podcast League? Try our NFL Draft contest! https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/permalink/1115877195573244/ 'Fantasy Football Today' is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox, and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr, @ctowerscbs, @BenSchragg Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCviK78rIWXhZdFzJ1Woi7Fg/videos Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/ Sign up for the FFT newsletter https://www.cbssports.com/newsletter You can listen to Fantasy Football Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast." To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ 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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BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, Heath, and Beck. We've got the most exciting tight end prospect in years. We've got a guy in TJ Hawkinson who could lead his team in targets. We've got Mark Andrews looking for a bit of a bounce back season, even though it was a fairly strong season on a team that says it's going to throw more. Of course, we have those big three at the top. And we've got tight end rankings today.

Updated tight end rankings after the NFL draft on Thursday, May 6th. Jamie, happy May-Sith, right? May the Sith be with you. May the Sith be with you. Heath, did you get any Mexican food yesterday? I had nachos for dinner last night. Homemade nachos or you went out and got them?

No. We had nachos and tacos and it was all at home. Okay, great. Well, I'm happy we were able to celebrate. And thanks so much for tuning in, everybody.

It's been a fun week. We've been updating the rankings. Tomorrow we have one more show for the week and that would be a mailbag plus some of our favorite mid-round picks. Today, looking at the tight end rankings, I'm going to start out with a few quick notes for you here. Tell me what you think. So last year, well, let's go back to 2019 first. 2019, Mark Andrews, who for

many people is going to be number four, for some number five. Mark Andrews scored, in terms of per-game scoring, he would have been wide receiver 22 in non-PPR, wide receiver 28 in PPR. That's excellent. But last year, he was wide receiver 38 in non-PPR, wide receiver 40 in PPR. TJ Hawkinson was wide receiver, this is per-game scoring, wide receiver 56 in non-PPR, and wide receiver 51 in PPR TJ Hawkinson was wide receiver. This is per game scoring wide receiver 56 in non PPR and wide receiver 51 in

PPR. So Heath, if these guys can't even be better than wide receiver 40, they're not worth a top 50 pick. Are they? I mean, what I don't know what tight end 10 was compared to the wide receiver class. But like part of the whole thing for Travis Kelsey and George Kittle and

Darren Waller in the, in the first couple of rounds is not necessarily that they're going to score more fantasy points than all the wide receivers and running backs were drafting them ahead of it's the advantage they have over their position. And part of it is the advantage over guys like Hawkinson and Andrews, that middling group of tight ends. But also it's the fact that a third of the league is going to try to get be guessing each week which tight end the waiver wire is going to score a touchdown um because a third of the league is

just going to have terrible production where they score four points or they score a touchdown um so i still think like definitely if you're in the wide receiver 30 range, you're worth a top 50 pick. A wide receiver 50 range? No, but hopefully Hawkinson's going to be better than he was last year. Okay, but you said wide receiver 30, you're worth a top 50 pick, right? Right, and Andrews has been 22 and 38. In non-PPR, he's been 28 and 40 in PPR.

So, yeah. So, you need him to get back to that 2019 level. But also, Jamie, talk about the balance of sacrificing fantasy points at a different position to get that positional advantage at tight end. So, if you're thinking about taking Mark Andrews, let's say at the end of round, when did you, are we allowed to talk about yesterday's draft? Sure.

Heath, when did you take Mark Andrews? First pick of round four. Okay, 37th overall then? Yes. And who were the, so yeah, good wide receivers going there, I'm sure.

Just going to pull up the draft. Sorry about that. But Jamie, you can- I have the results in front of me. OK, so who did he take? What wide receiver went right after Mark Andrews? The receivers that went after Mark Andrews were Alan Robinson, Adam Thielen, Mike Evans, DJ Moore, Robert Woods, Chris Godwin, all in the same room.

Well, sorry to keep going back to Heath. But since you made the pick, I guess talk about balancing, probably getting more fantasy points from Alan Robinson or Mike Evans or DJ more, whatever, but then having the positional advantage with Andrews. Well, I,

I mean, it is definitely a balance and those guys are going to score considerably more PPR fantasy points than Mark Andrews. Uh, no question about it. It's what it's even more difficult when you're at the turn right there, because I think for most people, um, based on what for most people, um,

based on what we're seeing, if you don't take a tight end at that three, four turn, then I'm probably not taking one until like round nine. Cause that TJ Hawkinson is going to be gone before I pick again. Sure. Looks like Kyle pits is going to be gone before you pick again at the end of round five.

It's possible you get pits at the end of round five, but I don't really want to do that. So like, I kind of look at that three, four turn. If I don't have a tight end yet, if I didn't take Kelsey at the one, two turn, as if you're either taking a tight end there or you're going to be streaming or reaching.

Well, I think first off the three of us probably can speak to this and the draft you're referring to it's for our June edition of our magazine. So we're not going to get too much in depth on it because obviously we want people to see it in the in the magazine but the three of us took i think what's going to probably end up being three of the four tight ends who go after the big three if you took andrews like you said first pick up round four adam you took hockinson in round six so he if you could have had Hawkinson at the next turn and I took Dallas Goddard who assuming that Zach Ertz is gone which we all expect to happen um as the next tight end off the board as well and I took him I believe in round seven or round eight

um I took him in round seven no I'm sorry round nine uh which which i feel like is stealing um in any event uh he if you've said this before you value hawkinson close you value andrews closer to the top three right um i think more so than than adam and i do i've actually moved hawkinson ahead of andrews um in my rankings because i think there's a higher ceiling for him with the additional mouths to feed in Baltimore's offense. As we've seen, he's touchdown dependent. So if you're going to value Andrews in that range of the top three guys, you're going to take him where he takes him, and that's totally fine

if that's how you feel. I would much rather wait for Hawkinson or Goddard at this point, especially looking at the value for both of those guys. Two rounds different on Hawkinson to me is fantastic, and five rounds different on Goddard is something I would do 10 out of 10. Yeah, Heath said he didn't think he'd be able to necessarily get Hawkinson with his next pick,

which was at the end of round five, beginning of round six. So we're talking 60th overall, and Hawkinson went 62nd to me. And I would have taken Hawkinson just before Heath, but at 59 overall. But I knew Heath, one, already had a tight end and he doesn't really like Hawkinson there.

But his ADP is 75 since April 1st on NFC. So that would be great getting him there. I'd much rather get him around later. And also, maybe Heath's right because George Maselli took Kyle Pitts before Hawkinson so maybe some people would take Hawkinson there.

I don't know that Kyle Pitts is going to go in round five typically but let's throw Kyle Pitts. Oh, I wouldn't be surprised if, you know, the hype is what it is. You know, so

I think round five is probably a little too aggressive but, you know, going ahead of Hawkinson I can certainly see that happening but, you know, for me I would take Hawkinson over him can certainly see that happening. But for me, I would take Hawkinson over him for sure. I'll get more into Pitts a little bit later.

Let me give you this second stat here. I don't even know there's much to react to here, but it's just kind of funny. Last season, we had two tight ends in non-PPR, finished top five with fewer than 90 targets, and Andrews in full PPR was six. But 90 targets in a 16-game season was pretty low. In fact, Robert Tunyon, 59 targets finishes tight end three. That's the fewest targets by far for a top five tight end in at least the last 10 seasons. We're talking all not per game right now. Yes. Total support. Before we were talking per game, we were

comparing them to the wide receivers. Yes, correct. Now we're just going at total points. Tunyon finished top five with 59 targets. That is absolutely unheard of. In the last 10 seasons, only four tight ends in non-PPR, only three tight ends in full PPR. Finished top five with fewer than

90 targets. And that was really what I wanted to get at here. 90 targets is basically what you've needed. And if you look at it, it's typically 100 or more targets to be a top five tight end. But Andrews ruins that. Andrews is an exception, yeah, although he was six last year for what it's worth. But the year before that.

88 or 89, right? I think the year before that, he had... At 98, I think. Yeah, and he was top five. And I just think, just to wrap up first, on the Tunyon thing, yeah, he should be the most obvious regression candidate, and the Rodgers fear and the Amari Rodgers coming in

should be enough to keep him out of the top 12 tight ends, even in consideration now, I think. Like you can draft him as one of your streamers if you want and hope he repeats that magic luck, but he's not. The other thing is, as far as like the two-round difference between Andrews and Hawkinson, it's just like, it's whether you think Hawkinson's going to be a lot better or Andrews is going to be a lot worse.

But if they are what they have been, Andrews is worth at least two rounds more than Hawkinson. Well, I mean, obviously you're, you're going based on what, you know, a guy who's already broken out compared to a guy who's about to break out. And I think Hawkinson is about to break out and, you know, for Andrews, if he doesn't score 10 touchdowns again, he's probably not going to be a top five tight end as we saw last year. And so they added two wide receivers to, you know, the, the offense and, um, you know, 10 touchdowns in 2019 and seven touchdowns last year. I think he's closer to seven touchdowns as opposed to 10.

So I think Hawkinson can get to seven touchdowns. I think he's going to have more catches. He's going to have more yards. He's definitely going to have more targets. And I think he's the type of Darren Waller caliber player in terms of leading his team in targets, which is what I'm banking on. So two rounds is not worth it for Mark Andrews for me.

Okay, and there's also a non-PPR versus PPR element here too because Hawkinson was, I don't know, I would say significantly better in PPR, close to significantly better in PPR, and Andrews is better in non-PPR. He had nine more catches in two more games. Yes, again, last year versus this year. What's going to happen versus what did happen?

No, he said was. That's last year. No, he was better year versus this year. What's going to happen versus what did happen? No, he said was. No, he was better than himself, basically. He's a better PPR player than a non-PPR player. In theory, he should be, yes. And Andrews, because of touchdowns, actually, I think it's probably more about touchdowns than catches. I expect a lot of targets for Hawkinson, and I expect him to be among the leaders in catches.

Where would he leaders in catches. Where would he rank in catches last year among tight ends? Well, he was fourth. Right. So, yeah, with only 67, that's not great. He was probably more like eighth. Okay. So hopefully he can get the catch rate up a little bit, but he had 101.

Anyway, I think Andrews definitely is better in non-PPR because of the touchdowns. But the other thing, Heath, with that argument is I think there's a difference in when you're comparing, let's say, somebody going in round four compared to six to the argument of round six to eight. Because it's not just about where you take Andrews. It's about the players you're passing up to take Mark Andrews, which is part of the discussion we already had. But there's, it's not just to me,

it's not as simple as saying he's two rounds better. It's that if I take TJ Hawkinson, I don't have to pass up Alan Robinson. I don't have to pass up DJ more, you know, like who are the, the players that are going when I take Hawkinson are much worse. Yeah.

And if you value, um, like DJ, that DJ more type a lot more than you do the Juju Schuster type or the Kenny Galladay type, then I think that's right. But those guys are going to be there at the end of round five, start of round six.

Yeah, and great quarterbacks could be there too, for sure. All right, so we'll get back into tight ends in a moment. Also some big time news to get to here, but I want to let you know what's coming up on CBS Sports HQ this week. Now, you've got the CBS Sports app on your phone, your connected TV, or whatever. Watch CBS Sports HQ. You can also go to CBSSportsHQ.com.

This is your home to start your sports news day. We've got live updates kicking off each morning at 8 a.m. Eastern. HQ is always your home ahead of the evening's action. We've got live picks from the best analysts and handicappers in the sports world each day at 6 p.m. Eastern. And you might be thinking it's a quiet time in sports, but you're wrong. Champions League week on HQ, the second leg of the semis. That means we'll have wall-to-wall coverage this week. The analysis picks lots of picks around match days.

So check out HQ on your computer or via the CBS Sports app on your mobile phone. CBSSports.com or the CBS Sports app on your mobile phone or TV. And it's always free and it's always on. Aaron Rodgers, according to NFL Network's Mike Garofalo, he told Green Bay free agents that he would not be on the team in 2021.

And Jamie, it'll be interesting to see what people do with their Packers right now and whether they're drafting or whether they're trading. I'm sure fantasy managers are nervous. You should be. I mean, obviously, it's something to take into account. Devontae Adams is going to lose. Aaron Jones is probably going to lose. As Heath alluded to, Robert Tunyon is going to lose.

Amari Rodgers will win because he's your favorite player now of all time. We don't know what the answer will be. Is it Jordan Love if it's a trade with the Broncos? Is it Drew Locke or Teddy Bridgewater? Is that something that has to be part of the package as well, that they get a veteran quarterback or a guy that's at least played before to help replace Rodgers in the short term? So there's a lot obviously at play, but, you know, you got to be a little bit concerned mostly, I think for Devante Adams, if you're taking him as

the number one receiver and, you know, again, not to keep referencing this draft, but there was, I think a little trepidation for Devante Adams, Tyreek Hill went ahead of him. That's not really, you know, earth shattering, but I know Adam, you pulled the trigger on Devontae Adams, and I'm sure a lot of people will probably say that may or may not be a mistake, depending on who the quarterback is by the time they read the magazine. Let's say it's Drew Locke. Let's have fun. I know Denver's been a rumored destination. Let's say Drew Locke is coming back to Green Bay and he's the quarterback. Where would you guys rank Devontae Adams?

It's like Michael Thomas. It's like you lose the quarterback that's made the guy so fantastic. He probably goes somewhere closer to 7 or 8 as opposed to 1. Yeah, I was going to say 6 to 10, so right in that range. Detroit or Dallas released Noah's tackle Antoine Woods.

I'm going to say that they went with the Noah's Tackle Antoine Woods I'm going to say that they they went with the Noah's Ark draft strategy NFL draft strategy they basically drafted two of every position so they should be fine at Noah's Tackle I guess New England running back Ramondre Stevenson first rookie running back for Big Bruiser for the Patriots now

he could threaten Sonny Michelle's roster spot. According to ESPN, Tennessee signed Brian Hill. Is that a handcuff for Derek Henry? He'll compete for the job. I mean, you know, him and Darrington Evans.

So, you know, my guess would be as if we lose Derek Henry for any stretch of time, it's a committee as opposed to one guy stepping into that role. Yeah. And he had Evans had trouble staying healthy last year, right? He could be Evans, maybe Evans handcuff. Detroit waved carry on Johnson. Heath, is this significant?

I still have a thing for carry on Johnson. I still think he's really talented now I don't know that he's the same as he was when he came in the league because he struggled with injuries and he's not shown an ability to stay healthy but I would sure think if I was a team like the Falcons or the Dolphins or any team that

had even a slight bit of question mark about my running back room that's the type of guy that you would bring in it It'll be interesting depending on where he lands. Okay. And let's get some rankings questions here with tight ends. All right, let's start with Kyle Pitts. Jamie, where'd you end up with Kyle Pitts? Seventh.

Heath? I've got him seventh in the seventh round. Hey. Okay. So that means is Dallas Goddard ahead of him? Yes. I actually have Noahard ahead of him? Yes. I actually have Noah Fant ahead of him. Yeah, all right.

We're going to have to get into that. So, Kyle Pitts, I mean, just give me, Jamie, give me your overall thoughts on him. How'd you end up at seven? Oh, why don't we do the list of the best tight end seasons ever for rookies? Best rookie tight end seasons ever. We know Mike Ditka is number one. He absolutely crushes everyone else on the list.

So he is the only tight end who had 900 receiving yards as a rookie. 1,076 yards in 14 games with 12 touchdowns. He averaged 77 yards per game. Anybody know who had the second most receiving yards for rookie tight ends? Is that Ben Ingram? I rooted for him at multiple levels of his career. Oh, it's got to be Shockey.

There you go. Jeremy Shockey, number two. Keith Jackson, number three. Charles Young. I don't know. It's Charlie. C-H-A-R-L-E Young. 1973.

John Mackey and then Evan Ingram was sixth with 722 yards. All right. 900 yards. It's only happened once. That was obviously in a 16-game season. Kyle Pitts getting 900 yards this year, guys? I mean, he could. It would be a surprise.

But I think he could be in the 800-yard range. Maybe if you're factoring in the 17 games and he plays all 17, then 900 is possible. You're buying upside. You're buying a guy who is everybody's favorite prospect, not named Trevor Lawrence, coming into this rookie class. That was a star at college that was just dominant in almost every time he stepped on the field.

He went for seven for 129 against Alabama in the SEC championship game against that defense. So no drops. He's a physical freak. He could play wide receiver. He could play tight end. championship game against that defense, you know, so no drops. I mean, he's just, he's a physical freak. He could play wide receiver. He could play tight end. He's with a quarterback who loves his tight ends. You know, I remember having the conversation with Matt Ryan last year about Hayden Hurst and, and what he was saying about how Hurst was such a gifted athlete, you know, and comparing him to Tony Gonzalez and Austin Hooper, you know,

and the numbers that he put up with those guys, Ryan put up with those guys and pits is on a different level than that. Arthur Smith is a former tight ends coach, you know, and, and featured that in the system when he was the office coordinator, you know, let's talk about, you know, already using pits in the backfield. Maybe he's the answer at running back as well. You know, there's just so much to like about what pits can be. It's just a matter of, is there enough targets to go around with Calvin Ridley and Julio Jones there? Is the offense going to change dramatically with a run-based system? But I think once you get past a level of a guy that you like for Heath, it's fan for me, it's Goddard.

It's a perfect spot to take a chance on the guy that could be the, the exception to many rookie tight ends and, and come into the league and play at a high level. Heath, what about you? What are your expectations for him? Oh, I don't think, like, I don't even know that I have expectations for him. It's more like hopes and fears, I think.

Like, you could see a scenario where he just bursts onto the scene and he's the number three or four tight end in fantasy this year. And by week six, he's the number three or four tight end in fantasy this year. And by week six, he's the number one tight end in Dynasty, and everything comes to fruition. You shouldn't expect that. He's still a rookie tight end. And if he has 550 or 600 yards this year and scores four touchdowns, we should still think he's going to be awesome in the future.

Okay, and Jamie, on a scale of 0-10 on the wrong-o-meter, where would you put Heath for ranking Noah Fant ahead of Kyle Pitts? You can't say somebody's wrong for ranking somebody preseason.

I know. I think Jamie has ninth and Heath has him sixth. you can't say somebody's wrong for ranking somebody preseason. You know, we just, I know. Um, actually, yeah, but you guys have, I think Jamie, you have band ninth and Heath has him sixth. Well, first off,

do you have fan ahead of Hawkinson? No, but, but can we, can we just like, if you want to have a discussion, let's have a discussion about the careers of TJ Hawkinson and Noah fan so far. Sure.

I love Noah Fant. Go ahead. They're almost identical. Like, TJ Hawkinson scored more touchdowns last year. That was basically it. Fant was better in their rookie years. Fant had five fewer catches. I mean, Hawkinson has so much time as a rookie,

you can't compare that. He played 12 games, and he had one good game um last year they were basically the same guy except hawkinson scored more touchdowns fant was better on a per catch basis on a per target basis for their careers he's been better catch rate yards per target yards per catch and they're both elite prospects either of them could have a major breakout this year yeah but i when you we talked about this on FFT and 5. One of them might have Aaron Rodgers. Yeah, we talked about this on FFT and 5 yesterday,

and I know you're high on him. I just wonder how you're factoring in Cortland Sutton. I feel like you like Jerry Judy. Sutton comes back. Locke, their offense was terrible last year. They were 28th in scoring, I think. They threw for like 36, 3700 yards. Pathetic.

Which makes it even more impressive that he had 670 yards in 14 plus games. No, that's not impressive. That's exactly how it works. Your share of your team's work is yes. There's nothing impressive about 670 yards in 14 games. But 720 in 16 games signals a breakout to come. No, that's the thing.

I don't think Hawkinson didn't have that good of a year. That's what scares me a little bit about it. But Jamie's hammered this home. He should lead the team in targets. He doesn't have Jerry Judy and Colin Sutton. I have TJ Hawkinson as the top five. I like TJ Hawkinson more than no fan. I'm not trying to say that.

I'm just saying I don't think there should be very much separating them. They're both elite prospects that have had good success for tight ends in their first two years in the NFL. And they both have breakout potential in year three. If you were just going to take Noah Fant and place him on the – trade them one for one. Put Fant on the Lions. Would you expect better production than Hawkinson on the... trade them one for one. Put Fant on the Lions. Would you expect better production than Hawkinson on the Lions? In other words, do you guys think Noah Fant is a better,

a more productive player than Hawkinson? I don't think Heath is wrong with what he's saying. They're different type of players, but their statistics have been relatively comparable, especially when you look at last year. The situation is it's been played out time and time again for what these breakout tight ends are.

George Kittle is a great player. He's had nothing around him, which has helped him soak up targets and become that great player. Darren Waller has had nothing around him for the last two seasons. It's allowed him to become this great player. Darren Waller has had nothing around him for the last two seasons. It's allowed him to become this great player. You go back and you look at really the only one that has really thrived with great players around him is Kelsey.

Gronk, in his heyday, what did he have around him? He had Edelman and Welker. I don't even know how much he played with Welker. Edelman? Okay, but this is kind of like, it's almost, obviously Gronkowski is a great player in his own right.

Yes. I feel, you know, do you think Darren Waller and George Kittle broke out because they had nothing around them or because they're elite players? I think it's both. I think you allow them to be the target leader. I mean, Zach Ertz for the two, three years stretch, what was around him in, in Philadelphia, Alshon Jeffrey from time to time

when he was healthy, like it's, it's such a huge, I mean, it goes without saying with any player opportunity, volume targets, you know, for, for these receivers, you know, we're talking about guys that are typically getting, you know, north of 110 to 120 targets. And that's huge. And I think Hawkinson has that ability this year. Okay. I don't think fan does that. I like fan. I think everything he said about fan is accurate, but you're throwing Cortland Sutton back in the mix. You still have the bad quarterback situation for now.

What I was going to say before is if you're drafting Noah fan right now, it's like putting a futures bet on the Broncos. You're banking on Aaron Rodgers coming in and making everybody better. So it's a great dynasty buy right now. If you can try and get Judy or Sutton or Fant, this is the time to

do so. Because once Rodgers gets traded there, if that happens, forget about it. You're not getting them cheap. So Heath, do you want to wrap this up and just say why you have fan ahead of pits? And it's only a PPR. I feel more confident about like even with Cortland sitting there, I feel more confident about fans targets in that offense than I do Kyle pits as a rookie. Okay, guys, how about give me this debate? Dallas Goddard versus Noah fans. Jamie, I think sides with Goddard and Heath with fan. I mean, I look at Goddard kind of the same thing. He's, he's going to potentially lead the team targets. You know, Devante Smith is going to

make that a problem for him, but I think Goddard has that type of upside. He's already shown you could be a top 10 tight end when Zach Er Hertz was on the field with him two years ago. And so I think Goddard is going to take that next step forward. You know, so another guy that could lead his team in targets, you know, should potentially lead them in touchdowns. It's going to be dependent on Jalen Hertz and how much better Jalen Hertz gets. But the first two starts that those two guys made together, you had 14 targets. So if he's getting seven targets a game, I'll buy into that. He's fan over Goddard. Yeah, I'm just

I have been a little stubborn on the whole Zachary thing, I think. And maybe they will just cut him, but I'm not sure anybody's giving them anything for him. Okay. And like maybe if they just cut him, then I'll change my tune in about 25 days

on Dallas Goddard and he'll be right there with Fant I'm a I'm a little bit um interested in what this offense looks like you would think Sirianni would heavily involve the tight end since he was under Reich um but I do think there's a chance Devontae Smith just leads the team in targets. That's kind of my hope. Not to sell this position short, but I don't know how many interesting debates there are after that. It's basically like, I don't know how you could sell this position short. I don't know how you, like,

what could you say to, to make it seem worse than it is? It's so bad. And you know, being tight end six is really not even a great accomplishment. Hopefully we can get six good tight ends this year. Being tight end four is not even a good accomplishment. Last year it wasn't.

Yeah. So I guess after that, it's just pick the guy you like. I know you guys like Irv Smith. He's top nine for everybody. He's eighth for Dave and eighth for Jamie and Heath ninth for Dave. Dave still believes in Robert Tunyon enough to have him eighth. Heath has him 13th. Jamie has

him 11th. Mike Kosicki is around 12th for Jamie and Dave. Mike Kosicki is 20th. All right, why don't we talk about that? Heath, you have Mike Kosicki 20th, so just not interested? I'm afraid with the additions of Fuller and Waddell, it signals more true three-wide receiver sets for the Dolphins. And Mike Gasicki's path to being good for fantasy has basically been Devontae Parker is the only healthy wide receiver on the team. Then he gets to be good because he gets to play more wide receiver. He doesn't really block or play tight end.

And if you're going to have Waddell, Fuller, and Parker out there in three wide, now it's a very fair thing to say two of those guys will be hurt by the time that we get to week five, and so then Kosicki will be good again. But I think when those three are healthy, there's just no room for him. And Jamie, you kept him barely in your top 12, Mike Kosicki. You know, of the players that Tua has played with so far, he's had the best rapport with Kosicki.

So, you know, we'll see how Fuller coming in and Waddle coming in. It's, it's great point he's made. One of their co-offensive coordinators though, is the former tight ends coach in George Godsey. And so if he's, you know, has an influence on play calling, I doubt Gusecki comes off the field. He's still the type of tight end, you know, we could sit here and say Hawkinson prospect and fan prospect. Gusecki wasn't the same type of prospect because he wasn't a first round pick, but I believe it was a second round pick out of Penn State and was heralded, you know,

kind of in the same light that those guys were coming out of college. So he certainly put up numbers. He was great last season. You know, two of Tua's final four games, Gusecki had 23 fantasy points in both of those PPR points in both of those.

So I don't think he's going away completely, but if they do, you know, value those three receivers over Gusecki, which again, I think would be a mistake because of what he does to create mismatches in the middle of the field, he's going to lose. So he was a top six tight end for me, or top seven tight end for me prior to the NFL draft.

Once they took Lalo, though, I dropped him down to 12. Did any tight ends win or lose based on the NFL draft. Once they took Waddle, though, I dropped him down to 12. Did any tight ends win or lose based on the NFL draft? Any big movement other than Pitts, obviously? Big loser there. Any winners or any other losers? What about Kittle?

I think Hawkinson wins because all they added was Amon Ross, St. Brown. I don't think that's a huge detriment to what he could be. Heath, how about you? Did anything major change after the draft? I'm trying to look. Like, obviously, Gasicki was the one that changed the most for me.

And Andrews didn't. And Andrews didn't even though they drafted Bateman in the first round and signed Watkins. Yeah, I think. Again, I just view Andrews different, I guess, because he's Lamar Jackson's number one wide receiver. Is that fair? I mean, you know what?

How about we call him co-number one? Will you sign on to co-number one with Marquis Brown? Well, I mean, Bateman could be the number one receiver. He's got that type of skill set. I think with Andrews, you just know what you're getting. You know, the thing that's going to sway Andrews to, you know, and I don't want to come off as somebody who doesn't like Andrews. I love Mark Andrews.

I think he's going to be fantastic. He's a top five tight end. It's just a matter of like, you know, where Keith is saying he's closer to the top three. He's got to get 10 touchdowns for that to happen. He's not going to do it catches and yards wise. He's not going to be a hundred target guy. that's just not going to happen in this offense um you know on a 16 game base on 17 game basis you know maybe he gets to 100 but um i just i i don't see them all of a sudden morphing into this open it up and we're throwing the ball 600 times they're

going to be around 500 pass attempts and with the the addition of the other guys, that's where the ball is going to go. Yeah. The good news is... I will say, I do think that he's probably a 100-target guy. So I think that's another area where we're a little bit different. But again, it's what he's...

But over 17 games, not 16 games. Well, no. He's been on a 16-game 100-target pace each of the past two seasons. 101 last year and... He had 98 and 15 the year before. That is with him dominating targets.

It's basically just been him and Marquise Brown getting half the targets, right? I don't have it exactly. I think he's been about 25% and Marquise Brown's been 22-23. It's comparable to Kelsey in terms of what the percentage is. I had him at 23.4% in

2019, 23.7 in 2020. But you've got a total throws and he's not playing in all the games. No, I don't do that. Not this. No, this is I think is his just the games he

played. Yeah, I'm at 22. It's right. So whatever. 22 to 25%. Right. In that range. Kelsey. Kelsey's 22% to 25% in that range. And Kelsey's 23% for the Chiefs.

Okay. So the good thing I was going to say is that he has led the team in green zone and red zone targets each of the last two seasons. I don't see why that would change for Mark Andrews. And I don't think we're that far. I don't think anybody's that far apart on him. It's just, I guess, Heath willing to go a little,

pull the trigger a little bit earlier on Andrews than Jamie is. Here's something I found interesting. He only has four games over the past two seasons, which is 19 games. So four of 19 with double digits in PPR without scoring a touchdown. Yeah.

So nine points or less in 15 games if he doesn't catch a touchdown. He's so good, though. He a touchdown. He's so good, though. He's fantastic. He's so good. If he weren't good, you know, then it would be easier to go away from him. Did you guys, Heath, you still have Kittle ahead of Waller? Anything change with the possibility of Trey Lance taking over at some point?

That did not have an impact on me, no. Okay. Well, I think that is pretty much it. Pretty much it. I know you guys like Irv Smith a lot. You want to talk about Irv Smith? I spoke to Irv Smith. Oh, about what?

Cinco de Mayo? About himself. Oh. Okay, that makes more sense. What did he say? Yeah, no, seems like he's putting a lot of work, spent some time working out with a trainer in, in new Orleans, uh, you know, went to go throw with, um, uh, I think he went to go throw with her cousins. I know he went to go work out with

Josh Jacobs in Las Vegas. Um, he was good in, in the final four games when Kyle Rudolph was out, two of those were huge games. You know, another guy that's not going to dominate targets, which is something you got to be a little concerned about, but you know, should have the chance to score. The Vikings have gotten seven touchdowns out of their tight ends as a group in each of the seasons with Kirk Cousins at quarterback. So, you know, with, with Rudolph gone with, you know, basically he's their third receiving option, you know, depending on how much you factor in the running backs there. But there's just a lot to like about what the upside could be. I think he could be one of these next playmaking tight ends.

And if the targets go at anything north of 100, I think he's going to be a guy that can score 7 to 10 times. Cool. So let's take a break. When we come back, I got a couple of emails to read. And I think that's it. I feel, man, I feel like I have to kill time. All right.

We'll do a shorter show today. What did you say? We could argue about Mark Andrews' stats some more. I think that's it. I feel, man, I feel like I have to kill time. All right, we'll do a shorter show today. What did you say? We could argue about Mark Andrews' stats some more. We'll be right back on Fantasy Football today. Whether in the game or in life, the right coverage can make all the difference. Securian Canada gives you that coverage. For more than 65 years,

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and avoid unnecessary damages to get the job done right. Data sourced from the ORCGA 2023 Dirt Report. Okay, just one more thing on Mark Andrews here. So I had been kind of obsessed with this Nick Boyle stat. Oh, yes. Right? And it was really, to me, it was really telling because look at this. Nick Boyle got hurt in the ninth

game of the season. The first eight games Mark Andrews was on pace for 88 targets, 594 yards. The last six games he played without Boyle, he was on pace for 117 targets and almost 1,100 yards. So it was a huge difference.

I figured he just started running more routes. He didn't. He may have run routes on higher percentage of plays, but he ran fewer routes after he played two fewer games. But still, I guess I'd have to do it by game. Okay, so I kind of messed that up. But still, I was surprised. No, because I thought the routes run would be a lot different.

I guess I'd have to look at routes run per game. I think they're probably pretty similar. In fact, I think I'd probably do that now. I think I have the links open. Dave, help me out with this research. Thank you, Dave. It's even more interesting because Nick Boyle played every game in 2019. I know. It just doesn't make any sense. But why did his

project... So did Hayden Hurst. They started throwing the ball less. And I guess it was just a coincidence. It was like as soon as Nick Boyle went out, Mark Andrews' production went way up. Okay, so 24.5 routes run per game with Boyle and 25.7 without him. So basically the same.

I can't explain why his production was so much better at that point of the season, but a lot more targets per game and a lot more, actually fewer touchdowns, but more yards by far. Now let's read some emails. Let me just tell you, though, that you got to listen to the Pick 6 NFL podcast.

That's going to give you the in-depth grades for all... Look, we're still talking NFL draft, right? You're going to want your team's grades. They're podcasting all the time. Six a day. Not quite that much. They are so dedicated. Check out the Pick 6 podcast. They're breaking down all the draft picks and now everything else you need to know

after the NFL draft. Follow Pick 6 wherever you find this podcast. This email is from Farmer Dan in the largest city in New Hampshire. Where is it, Dave? Okay, Dave will get back to us. Farmer Dan from the largest city in New Hampshire. 10-team half PPR keeper league.

The first four keepers take up the first four picks. I'm keeping Diggs and Chubb with one and two. Who do I keep with three and four, or do I try to throw one back and draft someone better at four? It's a 10-team league, remember. James Robinson, David Montgomery, Keenan Allen, Jeff Wilson.

There's one? Yeah, actually, apparently we read this before the draft, and we said James Robinson and Keenan Allen would be the picks, but now there's no way you're keeping Robinson. So would you keep two of them or would you just keep Allen? I keep Allen and Montgomery.

Yeah. I'd keep Montgomery too. Especially if everybody else is keeping four keepers, you're probably not going to get a better player than Montgomery for that fourth round pick from Joseph. I get two keepers. Do I keep, keep Gibson in the third round T H. Higgins in the eighth,

or Jalen Hurts in the ninth? I'm from Philly, and I'm a big Jalen Hurts fan, so pick two of these three. Gibson in the third, Higgins in the eighth, or Jalen Hurts in the ninth? Hurts and Gibson. Yeah, that's probably... Interesting.

When would you take Higgins? This is an eighth-round pick. See, that's probably interesting when when would you take higgins this is an eighth round pick i see that's the thing i think i like higgins better than hurts i like higgins better than hurts too but he's a philly guy and you know if hurts hits then the like that that would just be he's top five quarterback he hits and it And it hurts. And it hurts. It would hurt if he didn't have him. I would, uh, read more emails, but we have a quasi mailbag tomorrow.

So I will be reading them on tomorrow's show at fantasy football at CBS. I.com. Uh, I will also read some Apple podcast questions. I did want to tell you a note about the Apple podcast questions. If you say, Oh, they got a mailbag on Friday.

I'm going to submit my Apple podcast question on Thursday. It takes a little while for it to show up. So I don't know exactly how long it takes, but I would give it at least two to three days. If you want something read on the show, if not, we'll get to it the following week. It's not a huge deal, but we appreciate the Apple podcast reviews. Keep them coming. Five-star reviews are great and always help us grow and tell everybody, everybody, you know, about the podcast. Next time you're with your your family make them sit down and listen to the podcast they will love that thanks to jamie and heath and ben schrager thanks to all of you for listening rankings week

we knocked out all four positions we will talk to you tomorrow with some favorite mid-round picks