Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Are we buying Justin Jefferson next year?

Episode Date: February 15, 2026

Mike Schopp of ADP Chasing and WGR 550 joins for our weekly fantasy show as we look ahead to the 2026 season and whether we're buying Justin Jefferson next season. The Purple Insider podcast is brought to you by FanDuel. Also, check out our sponsor HIMS at https://hims.com/purpleinsider Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, everybody. Welcome to another episode of Purple Insider, presented by Fanduel, Matthew Collar here. And it is time once again for our fantasy showpe with Mike Schope, WGR 550 and ADP chasing. Well, Mike, it is over. The Seattle Seahawks are your champions. 60 to 1 to start the year and they end up winning the Super Bowl. And I saw a few analysts talking about this really doesn't happen that often. And I wonder what you think that that universe missed about the Seattle Seahawks. And I think it's the same thing they missed about the 2024 Vikings when the over under was six and a half is Sam Darnold once again, my friends. I mean, I think at some point, how many games does someone have to be a top notch quarterback before when you just say at 28 years old in the former number three overall pick that they're a top notch quarterback? I mean, you don't have to say he's Mahomes.

you don't have to say he's Alan. But I mean, we're talking about like a 50 game stretch now of this guy being really good at football. And I think that the betting market just still didn't really believe it. I'm not sure they will buy into it next year either because your first impression carries a lot of weight. And, you know, how does it start? Well, he gets drafted by the Jets. That's not a great start, you know. And I know that Allen, for me at least, was.

pretty much the same in that way, getting drafted by the bills, but, you know, he, he blasted off. You know, from a real life standpoint, it does make enough sense. Darnold, how he played last year, Smith and Jigba. I mean, he was a great prospect, and not every great prospect is great as a rookie. So it took him a little time, and he had quarterback transitions, and he was playing different positions. Remember he got hurt too in his first preseason. And that can be something, you'll know this. I mean, that can be something that sets a guy back. And we don't ever even really know it or talk about it. So that they have, I mean, how many outstanding blue chip defensive players, five or six, you know, that that was in Darnold's favor. But there was nothing cheap about it. I mean,

they had to outlast the Rams and Philadelphia and a really good conference. I mean, Chicago, that advantage they gained by winning the West, beating the Rams in that comeback the last time, which does not happen, if not for that bizarre Charbonnet two-point conversion play where he's allowed to score after the whistle. If that doesn't happen, the Rams are home and it's maybe an entirely different conversation, but that's sports. So I think, you know, Seattle is a worthy champion. They had a great season. I mean, are they going to be a dynasty? Probably not. But whatever, it counts, you know, flags fly forever. I think in terms of fantasy, this is easy, and I'm on the losing side of this equation,

and that's that everybody hated on their offensive line going into the season. And it was almost too easy to add bad offensive line plus a quarterback that panics under pressure. I mean, when it's a lot of pressure, at least, what does that equal? That equals a disaster. And Darnold doesn't give you any rushing upside. as a fantasy player. So he's an afterthought to me. He was one going into the season.

So two, by the way, was Matthew Stafford, who was in that cryogenic chamber, whatever he was doing with his time in the summer. He ends up winning the MVP. So one of my losses this year in fantasy was really not paying attention to either of those two guys. And they were both really cheap. So fantasy-wise, I think the line is, you know,

maybe a running oriented team with good running backs that were established in Walker and even Charbonnet. Not a lot of depth. Nobody thought Cooper Cup had anything left. It was not a sexy team at all for draft purposes. And I don't know. Next year again, Walker, I think, shoots up from what kind of season and postseason he had. I mean, he was really impressive.

But I don't know that overall, it'll be much different next year. Darno will fall in the middle. He was quarterback 25, Matthew, in fantasy football this year. I won a little bit in 2024 by taking him with like the last pick of a fantasy draft. Yes. But that's, you know, when I was looking at Seattle when Donald went there, I'm sure if you went back and looked at my reaction podcast when he went to Seattle, one of my thoughts was that he was going to a good organization overall, like an organization that has been similar to the

Minnesota Vikings. I mean, they got their Super Bowl, so that's a little different. But, you know, aside from that, like, since they had won the Super Bowl, they'd had close calls. They'd been in the playoffs all the time. They had a consistent good general manager. And it was a solid foundation to step into. But I don't know that anyone could have totally figured out that Jackson Smith, the Jigbo, would go from a very good wide receiver to the best wide receiver in the NFL this year.

And also, if you look at somebody tweeted this out, his rackets, chart from last year to this year and how wildly different it was in his usage. And there's only about five to seven wide receivers, Jefferson's one of them, in the NFL, that can run any route, anywhere, anytime. And Sam Darnold has had two of those five wide receivers in the last, you know, two years. And I think that that, of course, has helped him significantly. But Gray's able was someone we knew absolutely nothing about on the offensive line. Jake Sundell, their center, again, this is a lot of course. a, I think he was either undrafted or a late round pick.

And he took a huge step forward this year. And you're right that, you know, sometimes Darnold has this tendency in his past to hang on to the ball too long, to scramble backwards and take big losses. But this year, he cut his sacks almost in half. Who would have thought that was going to happen? And I think that that mitigated a lot of the problems. And it's actually funny. I just did a piece today about how the passing game for the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 is

almost exactly the same as the Seattle Seahawks passing game by the metrics, by the success with play action, the rollouts, the leaning into the number one wide receiver. And that really is the only difference, even, you know, the interceptions. He threw picks last year because he's going to be aggressive. But the one thing that's that really shines to me about Darnold and why I think you can push him into a category that's with Herbert, that's with Jordan Love, these, you know, Dak Prescott, Jared Gough, this not the alien. but right behind them is explosive plays.

The last two years, he's been one of the best in the NFL at hitting plays that go beyond 20 yards. And the top guys in that category are Allen and Stafford and May and Lawrence this year. And it was all, not only was it all the top quarterbacks in the playoffs, it was also all the top picks who have those big old arms. But as you said,

he made a poor first impression with the Jets six years. ago. So I guess, you know, that's a thing. But I think that it aligned really well with what he had had before with the Vikings to transition that over to Seattle. And I don't think anybody knew exactly what Clint Kubiak's offense was going to look like there. No, and now they're going to lose him. And that's no small thing. I mean, Detroit was pretty good this year, but they took a step back, losing their coordinators. Fantasy wise, I was also kind of betting against the lions. That really wasn't a winning bet because they were still, you know, huge numbers offensively for the most part. But we talked to Warren Sharp yesterday on WGR and he was big on this point about explosive plays.

He had a tweet about it. And if you look at the list percentage of plays that were, what is it, 15 yards, whatever the line is in the sand on that, it's like all the teams that went far, the Rams, the Seahawks, the Patriots were number one. That can be running plays too. but, you know, that's probably a byproduct of how efficient your passing game is or, you know, dangerous it is. So Buffalo is up there too. Yeah. You know, we're, it's over, as you put it, but it's well underway for 2026 in the fantasy streets. The best ball drafts at all the sites are live and happening.

And like on ADP chasing, right now we're trying to figure out what's what. People will scoff at. And, you know, I could have been this. person, maybe for a long period of my life, drafting for next year this early, they want us to go outside and touch grass and, you know, do some things that are maybe healthier overall. But what you can, there's always an excuse, I guess. What you can on earth now is like this value because nobody really knows who the rookies are very well. We haven't even gotten to the combine, but they're on the board in these drafts. And then all the free agent movement, there'll be

I mean, eight or ten teams that will have new starting quarterbacks again next year trying to figure out what happens. And like in any sort of context like this, if you can correctly predict where the puck is going, so to speak, then you can benefit. So that in terms of fantasy is what we're trying to do now. And the Vikings are a really interesting team for this because you have Jefferson. And ever since his rookie season happened, he's never been cheaper in drafts than right now. which is like the mid-second. But will he get the ball? Are they going to go to McCarthy?

Is McCarthy somebody that can be salvaged? Is there somebody else in there? Once we know what Minnesota's plan is at the position, and especially if it's someone new, that like, well, dare I say it, like Cousins was for the Vikings for so many years, where you knew fantasy-wise, you were all set with him. Then I think Jefferson is a, you know, a screaming value at pick 18 or whatever his ADP is right now, somewhere in there.

I think the two discussions they were just having are tied together because Kevin O'Connell knows these numbers and he believes in his philosophy to hit downfield passes. And it's always funny that when something doesn't work, then it's, well, your philosophy must have been completely wrong. And I also think that the idea that Seattle just ran all the time is pretty dubious when Sam Darnold finished fifth in passing yards. I mean, that to me does not scream. Oh, all they did was just run the ball and then won the Super Bowl.

Certainly they were able to do that in the Super Bowl, but not to get there. They had to lean on their quarterback. But creating explosive plays with Justin Jefferson is written at the top of the whiteboard of things to do for the offseason. How do we do it? Is that a plan for J.J. McCarthy to develop, which seems at this moment and the way that they've spoken unlikely, then which quarterback can do that for you is the question. And the answer is actually kind of funny, but it doesn't really match with how he plays football.

The answer is Gino Smith for the guy who has a history of hitting explosive plays downfield. But he also never played under center and rarely ran play action when he was Seattle's quarterback, which is probably why they moved on from him to a play action under center quarterback. Because I know that was a real mystery to some people in Seattle, but if you hire Clint Kubiak to run that offense, you're not using Gino Smith.

So does Kevin O'Connell want to go to a peer shotgun, no play action, no under center? They just paid their number two tight end to be out there all the time for bigger personnel like Seattle does. It just that that doesn't quite add up for me. So then it's, you know, can Kyler Murray hit explosive plays? He's been down as a deep passer in recent years. And then who even knows if those two players are available? going into next season. Like there's just so many questions here.

But from a fantasy perspective and a, oh my God, this is important perspective for Justin Jefferson, that's goal number one, no matter what with a bullet is someone needs to be able to throw the ball to him because both passing games in Seattle with Smith, the Jigba and this one. And when he was in, you know, Los Angeles with Cooper Cup or what Los Angeles does with the Kua, like these offenses ride one wide receiver for an. entire season and that's part of the reason that they get those huge stats. Yeah.

And I mean, no one is questioning, not that you said this, but no, no one is questioning like Jefferson's talent or his age, Cliff or anything like that. I mean, he's still Jefferson. He's a little bit in terms of draft position, a victim of that the other guys we've drafted around him or even just after him have what looked like very consistent situations. That's Jamar Chase in Cincinnati.

That's Puka Nukuwa in L.A. That's J.S.N. That's C.D. Lamb in Dallas. I mean, all the same quarterbacks, if not also the same coaches. The Rams will have a different offensive coordinator, but I'm not even sure how much that matters there. So you've got that that's your competition. Right now, then you have Malik neighbors who went late first round last year and you'd like to think he'll be healthy.

Jackson Dart, new coaching there, Harbaugh. So Jefferson gets pushed down because, He doesn't have, there's not a lot of guys like him where you just really don't know what you're getting. But again, that can be where you win big in fantasy if you make a bet on the uncertainty, lean into it. And if you're right, you know, if you're not, you're going to lose. But most of us are going to lose anyway. As Davis Maddock famously said on ADP chasing, let's be honest, most of your entries are going to lose anyway. So the trick is to, you know, win a lot when you win.

and Jefferson is a player, I'd have circled in red, because if they do make what turns out to be an optimal decision, especially because, as you said, the team incentive is there, the whiteboard point, then there's just a super high ceiling. And it's also something I always want to make sure I think about is coaching, you know, consistency or just what is it? You can get stuck sometimes. I know last year for me, Travis ETN was an engagement. example where I'm like, okay, new coach who wouldn't take the job unless he had been able to push the GM out. So I don't know that they, I mean, Lawrence is under contract, but in Jacksonville, nobody else really has to matter. And they drafted Basial Tutin, like, okay, ETN, who has never been efficient is somebody I can avoid.

And he was pretty good. And they didn't shy away from him. So you can, you know, you never know what that's going to be. but with Minnesota and O'Connell, you have some, you know, confidence that the passing game is going to be what it's about. And you've got arguably the best receiver in the league to start with. So I'm going to like, I don't know how many teams I'll end up drafting this year. It might not be the same 300 as last year. But I'm going to want to have a lot of Jefferson, you know, Forrest Price.

I'm also very, very intrigued at what the Vikings decide to do in the backfield because it is hard to see. Aaron Jones coming back. Even if he took a pay cut, you talk about the explosiveness. That was a difference between the 2024 Vikings and Seattle is even though Seattle was not an overall efficient run game for the regular season, they had a guy who had lightning in his shoes and could make, you know, explosive runs, big plays, turn nothing into something pretty consistently. And that's not what the Vikings have had in the backfield over the last couple of years.

So there has to be something there. I've been looking at the draft. there's also free agents. ETN is one of them. Javante Williams is another one who was a pretty big surprise this year. I don't know if he has lightning, but like he's at least a solid running back that is in his prime as opposed to an Aaron Jones that was squeezing every last ounce of blood out of the stone.

And I think that Jones's character and his personality was very, very important to them in the locker room, but they sacrificed some when it came to actual performance there. And I think when we look back at it, that was not the greatest move to make. So let's talk about players that will be the most intriguing or maybe that will have the most fantasy debate going into next year. Like where would you start that conversation?

Because there's a guy I keep going back to for the Vikings that if he ends up with the Vikings, I think is going to be a player that a lot of people are very intrigued with. And that's Kyler Murray. If he ends up here, then that would be a big time buy for me. but I wonder wherever else he could go. You know, the Jets are talking about that. There's some other teams discussing it. You know, just if we start with the quarterback position,

we feel like we know a lot of the quarterbacks. So I think from a fantasy perspective, you're always looking for that guy that you don't really know that you might end up hitting big on. So I would start that conversation with Kyler, but I also think Malik Willis is really interesting for this because the run aspect of it is prolific. And clearly he's proven that he could throw the ball,

at least to some extent. right and a free agent with murray with toa for what it's worth some of these guys you're going to have to get them out of their situations and a team will have to be really motivated to do that about the player because of what the contract costs to do that whereas willis maybe willis ends up in a sort of a justin field's contract from last year where somebody's willing to take the chance but it's not especially punitive if it doesn't work out um i think the browns are an interesting team here. New coach. Monkin is respected as a play caller. It's the Browns. There's a little bit of cognitive dissonance, I think. Could they actually be a good offense?

Maybe you'd maybe assume that that isn't possible. But who knows? Like every year is different. And Willis did really well for himself with Green Bay. So he becomes an easy name in the conversation up for a quarterback, changing teams and getting an opportunity. We talked about Murray a lot on ADP chasing Tuesday night this week, which anybody can look up if they want.

And I think the room kind of all agreed that he's a worthwhile draft pick at this stage of the fantasy season in that it's the mid-rounds. And, you know, it's not going to cost you that much if it doesn't work out. But he could even start for Arizona. I mean, they're going to have a new coach there. Maybe that clicks. Maybe something changes in his, you know, whatever, off the field. maturity, any of those kind of words.

But we'd love to see him. I mean, I think he's a, like I just said, I mean, a worthwhile draft pick in fantasy right now. And we'd love to see him on a team with weapons. And that would include the Cardinals if, you know, we didn't have the scar tissue through the years already with Arizona. But yeah, he's somebody that because of the rushing upside, which hasn't been as much in the last couple of years as we'd like. But it's still there. And you can't overstate the value of that in fantasy football. I mean, Trevor Lawrence, who pretty much still, like Darnold in a different way, is scrutinized.

Like how good is he actually? I didn't like him in the playoff loss because I just didn't think, you know, he was willing to sort of take that extra leap, if you will, running the ball. You know, it's kind of a finer point. But I just felt like he left a little bit out there that day. But he ran for nine touchdowns all from week five on. And that's such a difference maker in fantasy. He was quarterback four or five for the year in fantasy. And like who would have guessed that?

So the rushing upside is such an important piece. And Willis offers that. And Murray can. But so many guys, including Darnold, do not at all. And it's something you never want to lose sight of when you're drafting. I have wondered about Miami and Arizona. watching Sam Darnold win the Super Bowl because this is, it is a copycat league.

I know that that maybe have been stated from time to time on sports broadcasts. But these, these dudes in the NFL do the same thing that all of us do, which is, well, the Super Bowl champion did that. Should we do that? Like everybody running RPO's after Nick Foles made it work,

even though RPO's are not always that great, uh, to be using, but they did it to win a Super Bowl, 2017, the reason that it's the cover of my book is because that was a turning point in the analytics movement because the Eagles went for all those fourth downs and won the Super Bowl and everyone went, wait a minute, should we be going for fourth downs all the time? Where's our numbers guy? Come here, numbers guy. So I did have the thought that Arizona could see Darnold win the Super Bowl and go, wait a minute.

Wait, we don't want it. We don't want Kyler to do this for somebody else. Like, we don't want him to go there. And then we're the ones looking like the New York Jets and looking silly because we lack. go, our former quarterback, I do think that that relationship has to be pretty bad since they benched him to play Jacoby, Brissette, and Tank last year. But wherever he lands, it's going to be interesting. Miami is a tough one because you're bringing in now a defensive head coach. And I think that they'll try to emulate what LaFleur does with the Packers. But if he was going there,

if Malik Willis was going there to play with Mike McDaniel, I would have been, okay, all right, this is going to be something because the run games. going to be wild and receivers are going to be open and they just need malique to make plays i don't know if he ends up going there if i feel very high on that situation aside from as you said like the running upside is extremely big but who else i mean at the quarterback position do we feel like is going to be we call it controversial if you will this i mean maybe i don't know like does anyone believe in a cj Stroud turn around. It feels like he sort of

set, yeah, it feels like he's sort of settled in and lost his confidence. And he's kind of become a little too alike where, I don't know, some guys like Sam Darno deal with all that criticism better than others. He's also doesn't run. And he doesn't run. Yeah, and he doesn't run. Right. So he doesn't run.

Because I'm struggling to think about, how about, okay, I got one for you. On Fan Duel, Fernando Mendoza is the favorite at minus 7,000 to be the number one overall pick, clearly for the Las Vegas Raiders of Oakland. So what do you make of Fernando Mendoza? I've been thinking about this, that Tom Brady does all these interviews talking about

how I sat for my first year and I learned so much through that and everything else. I feel like they might play Gino or might get another quarterback or Derek Carr might come back there. I don't know. When I hear that Tom Brady is very involved in what they're going to do now, I don't know. know that Fernando Mendoza is going to play right away. Yeah, that'll be interesting. I would bet that he does.

And what better way to make $10 than to bet $700 that he'll be the first pick of the draft? I mean, there's got to be a better way to make $10. But, yeah, I mean, I think that's promising. He's also not going to give you, I think, rushing value as a fantasy player. The football guy's cop for him is Matt Ryan. And I mean, did Matt Ryan ever run for a 20-yard gain or, you know, a touchdown? So fantasy-wise, it's just okay.

And I think in terms of rookies, there's really no one else. I mean, the Alabama kid might be the second quarterback taken, but that's maybe also on day two. It's a really dry year for that. So Mendoza, from a dynasty standpoint, is fine. Just remember, even if you're playing in Superflex with two quarterbacks, he might not be, I mean, Jeremiah Love is probably the number one pick anyway in Dynasty, the Notre Dame running back. I mean, Mac Jones is somebody that you might be able to pry away from San Francisco, but I'd be wary. Like, he already has been Matt Jones, and that's sort of like the perfect

system there. So I'm not sure that's great. I think, you know, the NFC South is interesting up and down for the quarterback position. Like, does Pennix make it back? Is Bryce Young going to make it at all. And then New Orleans with Tyler Shuck gave you production. Olavay had ended up having, you know, being great value in fantasy this year, was able to stay on the field even in kind of a lost season. So, you know, yesterday on WGR, we did some of this. Like how many teams really are going to be in the market? What does Aaron Rogers want to do? And what does that mean in Pittsburgh? The Jets? You know, these are teams, the Browns, the Jets, the Steelers even, where you just have not, kind of can write it off.

You can fall victim to just assuming that there's not going to be anything there. But every year is different and maybe somebody sort of falls into the right seat there and makes it work. I wonder if even, dare I say it, Deshawn Watson might be relevant anymore. Like if his body is so shot with the shoulder and the Achilles injuries, plural, that that's just dead. Maybe the Browns would prefer it that way. but if he's actually healthy, he's older now, but somebody that you have to not just completely write off, I think. Maybe you want to.

Davis Maddock had for us the other night that 62 different players started a game at quarterback this year. 62, almost two per team. And, I mean, there are a lot of guys on that list that if he's your cup of tea, somebody's cup of tea, then maybe we end up talking about Tyler Huntley again. or who knows who else. It's quite a list. How about we stay in,

in Oakland slash Los Angeles slash Las Vegas with Ashton Genti? I think that the best day of Ashton Genti's entire life was when Clint Kubiak. And that may only last the year because Mark Davis owns the team and fires people left and right. But this is that whole group. When I looked at the coaching staff, how it's like, you Kubiak's, you bring the same.

same people to every place. They were here in Minnesota and did a really good job with the Vikings offense overall. Kennedy Palomal, who's the running backs coach and Rick Denison's the run game coordinator like man, Rick Denison, that guy has been a run game coordinator, offensive line coach for absolutely ever. And they know what they're doing. For a guy who played for a guy who played linebacker, he's really built a new brand.

And also isn't he like an aerospace engineer or something? There's something like that. his Wikipedia. But Clint Kubiak and that group, they understand how to run the football. They've understood how to run the football since Mike Shanahan got Terrell Davis to the Hall of Fame. I mean, if you're Ashton Gentie, you've got to be thinking, thank goodness, because you know they're going to come and build that offensive line. He would be the biggest buy for me for someone who struggled this year at running back. Yeah, I love it. And I think in Dynasty, he's going to be tough to get away from someone else.

You know, we, we have these guys that have down ears and what do we do with them? Do we want to sell low? No, I'm not interested in trading Gentie, but you might find somebody who is that was demoralized by last season. But yeah, it's absolutely wheels up, in my opinion, too, for him late first, early second sounds great late first, probably. And that really says a lot, I think, in itself, because he had such a miserable season, mostly for the Raiders.

and there probably are people who would want to not go back to him and touch the stove again with him. But yeah, I'm willing to do it. And if Mendoza is good, you always have to, you know, remember that that is possible, that he plays and he's actually somebody, it happens in sports where they just sort of have it. I think he's very exciting as a passer and maybe even also as a processor. And if you get that, you've got arguably the best tight end

in the NFL already there. And I think what I'm, I mentioned this also recently on the air here. What I might be inclined to do with Genty is bet them at a huge payout to win offensive player of the year next year. Because like if they do find it on a team that many will write off again, like just out of hand, then that gets very interesting. JSN just won that award. Who was he a year ago?

He was kind of almost a bust a year ago. and they didn't have the quarterback thing yet. And even when they made the move for Darnold, who cared that much about that for him? So he ended up being one of the best picks in fantasy last year, needless to say, I mean, I had teams that lost where I went in different directions in the third round other than JSN in one high stakes league

that meant Trevion Henderson. And wow, I mean, that was a disaster. So, yeah, I'm in on Gentie for sure. So who's the regression candidates for running back? Because I feel like there's no reason that James Cook should drop off. Derek Henry still finished second in the league in rushing yards, which is crazy. So until Derek Henry is retired, has the gold jacket and is fishing, then we will decide that he's not a top fantasy running back. Because even in the first half of the year, it's like, oh, it's happened.

Finally it's at. And that, no, it didn't, it didn't really happen. I would go Devin A-chan for a guy who could drop off just with the difference in not having, yeah, the coach. And I would also on the other side of that, say, oh, Marion Hampton when he gets his offensive line back and he's got Mike McDaniel out there, really good chance that he blows up. Some of these guys have just been so consistent. It's hard to really bet against them. But last year, you and I were talking about fading Sequin Barclay. That ended up paying.

But who is who is that this year? Is that Jonathan Taylor maybe with the amount of workload that he had? I'm just looking at, you know, carries. We've got four 300 carry guys, but they've all kind of done this before. Bejohn's there. I don't think Bejohn's going anywhere. I think it's, it's hard to pick which one. Christian McCaffrey, I mean, I don't know.

I'll tell you how I'm going to do it. And my track record isn't so good when it comes to this because of some of the players, you just mentioned, Bejon Robinson is the consensus 101. as the season starts in drafts. So he's up there. I'm going to just go by age and mileage. And that means, for the most part, listen to this. I'm saying this out loud.

Betting against Henry and McCaffrey and Barclay and Jacobs. I mean, to varying degrees, they're all, they're clearly all, they have to be on the downsides of their career. Imagine if any of those guys wasn't at this point, what that would mean to our conversation. going forward. Yeah, it looks like a year, and maybe you'll think of exceptions to this. I can't write off.

When two years ago, Henry changed teams and Barclay changed teams and Jacobs changed teams, and we had a lot to guess at with that in mind. I don't think there's a lot of that right now. I mean, you have teams, maybe Kansas City pretty famously. You have teams where there's potential for a running back to fall in there and really smash. But who is that going to be? What is free agency? I love the Hampton point.

He goes ahead of Jefferson, Matt, in drafts. Like he's early to mid-second round. A. Chan is late first. Really like the player, but you make the right point about the situation. Yeah, it doesn't seem like a year. It's early still. It doesn't seem like a year, though, where you have a lot of shifting in the landscape at that position. But I know what I'll be doing, and that's drafting the likes of Olave and, you know,

like receivers over Henry and Barclay and those guys. That'll be, that'll come very easily to me. And we'll see what happens. I've got one guy who is going to change teams and I think has a possibility of exploding. Do you know who that is? One guy. Is he coming off a great season? Not really.

It's an okay season. Free agent. Presol. That's right. I think wherever he goes, he has been better than what his numbers have been. And, you know, the, the Jets offensive line, they tried to rebuild it. And it was probably better than it got credit for just because of gestures at quarterbacks. But I think that this is a guy when he gets into a passing game.

And, you know, because he's going to go somewhere that's going to benefit. Yeah, exactly. I think he's got the talent. Maybe it's not a Sequin blow up. But I think that you're talking 12 to 1,500 yards from Brees Hall. someone's going to make a very big investment there. All right. Wide receivers, tight ends.

Who's the big bet? I mean, there's a lot of these guys, you know, Lave had that bounce back season. Great for him probably didn't get enough from the real football universe as opposed to the fantasy. He probably didn't get enough attention because saints and they were out of it so early. But he had a great bounce back season. You know, Wondale Robinson. If you were the person that grabbed Wondell Robinson with the final pick of a draft,

to paid off. Here's a guy that I don't. That I can, that I can claim. I have you can. Okay. Maybe it's over now, but that I can at least claim. I will give you a couple of guys that broke out that I'm not sure what to make of and you can tell me what you think of them. One of them was Michael Wilson from Arizona. They were losing in so many games that just you're going to throw the ball to him. Another one is Amika Buka, who started out so hot and was just the guaranteed best young player ever and then fell off. And then Park. Washington and Jacksonville, if the Jaguars are going to keep acting ridiculous about Travis Hunter, then I feel like that's going to hurt whoever's playing wide receiver there.

Well, I think Washington, to start with him, in my opinion, he really established himself there. So I think he's probably locked in. Yeah. And they'll figure it out with Hunter and Brian Thomas, by the way, but they signed Myers and Washington really delivered for them. So I think that that's probably pretty safe. I just drafted him at 6-11 in a draft yesterday. So I like that bet. I don't so much like Wilson. I think you made a good point about how they played Arizona.

I mean, they lost almost every game of those games, like from October on. Do they, is that what the plan is going to be? And, you know, Harrison is still a big investment. McBride is great. I'm more iffy on Wilson, who goes about a round later than Washington. Ibuka is where now we're talking because Abuka, Luther Burden, Ladd McConkey, even Tet McMillan, who was the offensive rookie of the year, guys that going into years two to four at that position have given, at least for a time,

everybody reason to be excited. And I'm going to want to be on that group. Even Garrett Wilson, who's probably a little bit older than that group. Those are, that's your fourth round. And that that's hot, I think. I mean, I want to trust that a Buka is good, even though it did go downhill pretty sharply. McMillan, I think, is fine. He might even end up somehow in a better situation for his volume than he was in.

But that wasn't a bad pick last year for a rookie where he went. Maybe that was like end of third. Burden is very exciting for a Chicago team with Ben, Johnson that made a huge leap and maybe for once isn't like the Chicago Bears anymore. And, you know, Jameson Williams for Detroit, another youngish receiver where there's just huge upside. I should have mentioned Amon Rae St. Brown earlier. We were talking about that first group of receivers where he's, again, in a situation that's

pretty, you know, the same. Easier to trust. But yeah, I think give me all the second, third year receivers that have at least shown. the potential to be, you know, big producers. Even McConkey, that was kind of a lost year for him in year two. But with McDaniel and they get their tackles back, you would think, that team becomes very interesting for fantasy. I'm really curious about what happens with DJ Moore,

because one thing that we know is those playoff failures, they stick. And him not running the right route or not giving enough effort, personally, I think if you've played 70 plays in a game and it's 10 degrees and whatever, like sometimes you've just run route after route after route after route, sometimes on tape it doesn't look like you're giving it, you're all, but you know, you've run 18 miles that afternoon. And so if you go and look at any wide receiver by the end of a game in overtime,

they may not look like it's the first play of the football game, but something happened there that caused an interception that caused them to lose in the playoffs, break everyone's heart. And there were times throughout this season where the effort was questioned, the attitude has been questioned throughout the last couple years. And they have a bunch of dudes. And I wonder if DJ Moore is one of those guys that is like, yeah, it's great that we've turned this around and we're winning.

But Luther Burden was drafted for a reason. Colston Loveland was drafted for a reason. And I'll always shout out, I mean, Colston Loveland looks like an absolute star. I thought he was kind of going to just be another guy at that position. But he looks more dynamic than that. that. So they love where they're at with their young wide receivers, Roma Dunzee. At some point, there's not much room left in the inn unless you're willing to be a 600 or

700 yard wide receiver. And I just don't think that that's him. I wouldn't be surprised at all if DJ Moore is playing for another team by next year, which would actually make me want to draft him right now if you were doing a fantasy right now because that would be like a desperate team who's looking for a top wide receiver. And I think DJ more can still be a legitimate number one number two. What do you mean if you're doing a draft right now? We're not going to be together next week drafting when you're doing these things. What do you mean if I am just personally sick of every year having to make excuses for him. Yeah. There's always something this year it was that play. He did come on late in the season in the playoffs. If not for that play, I think maybe we have a

better taste in our mouths for for him. But it's just like, oh, he doesn't have a good quarterback. Oh, you know, he tapped out on a route last season. And, you know, you know, he tapped out on a route last season. and, you know, they've got these other weapons. I just, I just can't. Like, in that very crowded, you know, realm of drafts where there are all these wide receivers, I only mentioned a few, the Green Bay guys maybe, they're not going to go that high, but there's just so, Watson, there's just so many receivers that you can like. It seems it's still too early for me to really want to shout this from the mountaintop or anything,

but, yeah, I'm just going to be a no on DJ Moore. maybe he does get moved, but whether he's a malcontent or a victim or whatever it is, I just think there are too many other interesting options, including O'Donzee, and what's he? I mean, he had flashes as a rookie early last year, somewhat like a Bucca. He looked like a huge win in drafts. And then that just kind of stopped cold. Yeah. But there's talent and it's a good situation.

Let's talk about tight ends real quick. This is fun. I'll give you a guy that I got to be honest. honest, when I pulled up his numbers, I was like, really? And that was Joanne, I should have made you guess, but Joanne Johnson. Yeah, Joanne Johnson was number three in the NFL and receiving yards last year. I mean, I think that the guys who get, who are really going to get bought very, very high are, you know, Tyler Warren and Kyle Pitts, who I think that Kyle Pitts finally proved that sometimes tight ends take time and sometimes circumstances play roles in. and how many targets they end up getting. We got some emerging dudes this year. Harold Fanon was one that if you saw him in college catch 100,000 passes. Oftentimes, if you're that guy for a smaller school who catches a million passes,

I think it works a lot in the NFL. There's something, I mean, there's something about that like natural catching ability, even if the guy runs funny. So anyway, like what, what's your biggest area of intrigue at tight end? Well, there are so many interesting names. You also mentioned Loveland already, and Trey McBride and Bowers. I mean, you can go a lot of different ways. There's also Tucker Kraft, who's coming off a bad injury that was in like week eight or nine last season.

You'd like to think he'll be ready. Another interesting name in that conversation is Orande Gadsden for the Chargers. We just talked about them. And that could be a really exciting fantasy offense, L.A. So I like him. I think where I want to be different this year from last is I want to be more patient at that position because at tight end, I mean, Juan Johnson is a perfect example. If you have the right guys late in drafts, even if you drafted like four of them, maybe you draft A.J.

Barner or Johnson or somebody like that that late in the season when it really matters comes through for you. And I mean, they've sat Bowers in Vegas because they wanted to lose. that worked out. And some of these other guys, you know, Kittle got hurt and it's just so unpredictable. So I know Scott Barrett is one analyst who has espoused this theory for a long time. I just got too carried away with Bowers and McBride last year. I feel like there's an instinct. Get that position over with.

Maybe I'll draft a second one. Maybe I don't even need to. I'm all set. And while they both are really good, I'm going to play it differently this year. Ferguson, Kincaid. I mean, there are so many guys in the middle. that let's just see what happens if you get to those middle rounds and haven't addressed the position yet.

A lot of names. What's Goddard at this point? Goddard was really good for Philadelphia. And just like he gets maybe forgotten. Took me until now to even think of his name. So, you know, I think with tight end draft strategy wise, I'm going to be more patient this year. But Warren Loveland, the other names, I mean, there's just a lot to like.

It is interesting, though, that this year, there were only five guys who even got over 800 yards. And I mean, when it comes, this has been a touchdown position. There's only two guys. And actually, the hell scotter was one of them. That's a funny line where he had less than 600 yards, but 11 touchdowns. A lot of your top performing tight ends weren't in the end zone a lot. And there seems to be a lot of guys between 850 and 60 or 600 yards that are all

quality players. So you could get some production. they are out of waiting and getting those wide receivers and those running backs first. You know, you know whose touchdowns Goddert stole Hertz. Yes. Yeah. I mean, Hertz had four after week five, but that's it. Also, their offensive coordinator stole all of the touchdowns as well.

Yeah. Well, they did. That's, that's fair. They did win. And he ended up, he wasn't really a goal line guy before. He didn't, he didn't have that reputation. So anyway, yeah. Well, I also have thought a lot after watching T.J. Hawkinson struggle so much this year, specifically, that circumstances for tight ends are a very big part of this.

The year that Sam Bradford was getting instant pressure on pretty much every drop back and Kyle Rudolph ends up with like 80 something catches and nine and a half yards per reception because it's, yeah, let me get that guy the football and that and that happens all the time. And that might have been some of Brock Bowers where you don't have anyone else, your offensive line struggling. And it's just, ah, you get the football. That's the tight end. We've got to, we can't wrap this up this conversation without mentioning a couple of more obscure interesting tight end ideas. Travis Kelsey.

Yeah. And Mark Andrews, two guys who have lorded over that position for a long time that are still alive. La Porta is another one. I mean, the list goes on. Yeah, Leporta coming back from the injury. That wasn't maybe mentioned enough with their. kind of melt at the end of the season.

All right. Well, last, last thing for you here, Mike, is I want to know what your favorite part of the 2025 NFL season was. From a fantasy standpoint? Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Well, I don't know if it would be my favorite because I'm so immersed in the, you know, the bill's country here.

It was another bill season like the others where they were like right there. and I would just say before giving you a better answer, that last year they lose to Kansas City in the AFC championship, and Kansas City has this super lucky season where they're not even good, but they win. They're 15 and 1. They can throw the last game, get the buy, all of it, and they get there. I think maybe losing to Denver is even more of a bitter feeling than that

because New England looks so bad in the Super Bowl. Like the bills can't really feel any better about themselves this year than last. just feels like some bad luck, but certainly a unfortunate outcome for them. I think the Seattle story is really good. You know, it's, there are other franchises that generate more conversation and are always in the spotlight. But I don't have any reason not to like the coach, right? I mean, not to like the quarterback.

That's an easy story to latch onto and appreciate. And really the whole team overall, a lot of talent, just like, they're a great champion, I think. So that would be one. I mean, dare I say it on your show, but the bear story is really good that Chicago finally had sort of an exciting team, which has never happened, even though they're like the oldest franchise. That has never happened before that they've been exciting and they were. And on the AFC side, it was more of a slog, I think. Denver and New England, each winning 14 games.

Yikes. Houston back in the playoffs, getting to the divisional round, turning the ball over. over and over, no. Pittsburgh in the playoffs. I mean, the AFC last year was pretty gross. So I'll say honorable mention to the bears, but here's to the champions. It's a good story.

I think my favorite part is that we had come to believe for so long and we'll probably be forced to believe again soon. But for now, let me have it. that all the alien quarterbacks just run the league. And if you don't have them, don't even feel the team. And this year said maybe a little different. It was the, the most complete team from top to bottom, the best roster won the Super Bowl.

And then, you know, look, that happened last year, too with Philadelphia. So now, I mean, but we put back to back Super Bowl champions that were kind of won from the front office as much as they were from, you know, some really great quarterback performances by Hertz last year and Darnold. But still, like, it was not the Lamar Jackson, the Josh Allen, the Patrick Mahomes, uh, who were operating the league this year. And that made it more interesting. That said, I looked at, uh, MVP for next year, uh, on Fandul, Josh Allen plus 600,

Lamar Jackson plus 750 and not too far away is Mr. Mahomes at plus 1100. So I don't think that these fellas enjoy that. narrative and I think that they will be back next year. But this outlier season made it really interesting. And, you know, it's always a joy for me. This is our second year of doing the fantasy show. I have really, really loved it. The first year, I knew so little about fantasy that I was like, please tell me about how this all works. But I felt like I made great progress over the last two years. And it's always a nice reprieve to kind of talk about the rest of the league with you every week and

just get together since we're friends. So I always look forward to it. I'm flattered that you think that I can share interesting insight when it comes to this. Really, we're just talking about the league. I always get pushed back whenever I'm talking fantasy on the air, what is labeled that way, but it's really just talking football. And, you know, everybody wants to predict who the good players are going to be. That's what we're doing in fantasy, you know, obsessively, religiously. But that's what everybody's doing as fans trying to, you know, talk about what's going to happen. And that's always really fun. And it's a joy to do this with you. Absolutely. Well, thanks. And plan right now is to do it again next year. So we'll,

we'll check in at some point, you know, in the in the off season when we've got some moves and some drafts and stuff like that for sure. So thanks for all. Hopefully I can rope, you into a couple of drafts here during the downtime of the summer. It's a little aggressive for me, but yeah, maybe, maybe. All right. Thanks, Mike. Thank you.