The Fumblerooski Podcast - Spiked Rankings -Ep 94 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: June 28, 2022

Who are the top-5 Tight Ends in the NFL? Adam Wright, Justin Tucker, and CJ Medieros debate their picks as well as discuss the most underrated players at the position.

Thank you. Good evening. You are listening to the Fumble Ruski podcast by Power 88 and Fans Only Sports Network. I'm Adam Wright with CJ Medeiros and Justin Tucker. So we've reached the end of our defensive side of our player countdowns and we are moving on to the offense and we're going to be leading off by talking about all things tight ends so we're going to start by giving our top five rankings going into 2022 and then we're going to go into the fan box which is where we're going to cover the most underappreciated tight ends in the league. And we love getting your answers.

This has been great for the fan box, just getting all your answers on that. So I'm actually looking forward to reading off these answers. But first, we're going to get into our top five tight ends going into the NFL, the 2022 NFL season. So which of you guys want to start with giving our top five? We'll start five, then go down to one. So which one of you guys? CJ, Tuck? I'll go first.

Yeah, sure. Go ahead, man. All right, Tuck, let's go. All right, so my number five guy is Kyle Pitts. Okay. I believe he's the first rookie tight end, other than maybe Mike Dickett with over 1,000 yards in his first season. Congratulations to the Atlanta Falcons for drafting him.

He had a great season, a Pro Bowl season. Very impressive for him, and he's looking to build on that in his sophomore year. I believe he will continue to build off that, because they have nothing there except Drake London. So I think he will be further successful and I think he will continue to progress as a tight end. Yeah, Justin, I got to tell you something. My number five also kyle pitts now this is a kid who's just dripping with potential i mean his first season 68 catches and over a thousand yards the only thing that's really off-putting was he only scored one touchdown last season and when you're outscored by jacoby myers the new england patri, there might be some red flags.

But at the same time, like I said, the potential is sky high for him. Like I said, this is basically him going into next year. And next year, he's going to develop even more. He's going to have Kyle Pitts. I mean, they got Drake London there to help him out. So there's no reason to say that he should decline he's definitely going to improve all right guys so some of my top five in here are going to be a little low for the talent that they've possessed and the the ranking that i've had them in in past years but um and remember this is going into the 2022 season and so my number five is darren

waller and the reason i have darren waller lower than what he should be is because he's been hit by the injury bug a little bit over the past couple of seasons he's and he's going to have davante adams to compete with in targets and i mean we we were talking a little bit off camera about this but but darren waller is kind of more of a wide receiver and when you're the when you become when you go from wide receiver one to wide receiver two you're just not going to put up the same production and that for that reason uh injuries and just falling behind falling a little bit further down in the death chart.

I have Darren Waller lower than he usually is, and he'll probably go back up by next season. But just because of that, I'm going to put him a little bit lower. And, yeah. Jeez. All right, then. I don't know how I feel about that yeah darren just used that as motivation yeah because he was my number four guy all right that'll that'll segue us pretty well into the next

guy why don't you elaborate a little bit my number four is darren waller now granted he did have an offseason which is why he's not as high up as the other remaining three. But again, he was the best offensive weapon for an Oakland Raiders team that made the playoffs. So that does take in and knock out Scary Good. He is unhealthy. True, he may be considered the wide receiver number two on this team, but he is still the matchup nightmare for any defensive coordinator to scheme against. So when you have to face somebody like him, you're going to have to have a player that can stay with him, keep up with him, and keep him away from the ball.

If you don't have a player like that on your team, then he's just going to ruin your day, regardless if the Raiders have Devontae Adams or not. That's just a bonus. And so I believe he will at least have over 1,000 yards if he can stay healthy and around seven touchdowns and still be the monster he always is for the Oakland Raiders. Yeah, and yeah, Darren Waller was also my number four, to be perfectly frank.

Now, Waller, like we said, had a bit of a down year, and we all know about his injuries. But I would argue that perhaps having Devontae Adams would help him because he was basically wide receiver one last year in Vegas. But now you're going to have Adams, who more likely than not is going to be double teamed every play. And that will leave you with some pretty favorable one-on-one matchups, be it with a smaller safety or a slower linebacker. And when you have Adams there to take all the heat off you, you could really flourish.

Like I just said, you know, with a lot of favorable one-on-ones so yeah but just because of the down year i had him at four we're usually somewhat argue he'd be at three but uh but yeah i'm definitely excited to see what a duo of waller and adams could do oh yeah yeah i like i said i still really like darren waller and um he's certain davante adams is certainly going to be double double covered a lot and that will draw more attention um from derrick carr to darren waller just the only problem is davante adams was still he was still double teamed in green bay and that didn't generate much many more targets for robert tonyan now robert well i mean it's pretty different you know from t Tunyon to Waller.

Yeah, but none of the other guys in that Green Bay offense got any targets. Well, have you considered Green Bay pretty much has a bunch of paper plates on offense besides Devontae Adams? Well, when you're double covered and you're not open, then it's up to the quarterback to go and find somewhere else to throw to. And if there's nobody else, if this other guy is wide open, even if he's a stiff, you still throw his way. That was part of Tom Brady's philosophy when he was younger.

Right before Randy Moss got there, the best receiver is the open receiver. Yeah, and even when they're open, the receivers last season for Green Bay weren't really that good. I mean, you can make a case for those. Still want to throw their way. Plus, Devontae Adams was open anyways. Yeah, okay. but still still want to throw their way plus davante adams was open anyways yeah okay yeah okay so so like i said he's davante adams is going to be open anyways in in oakland but that's neither here nor there i will be open in vegas but i want to give my number four if if you

don't mind um my number four and the more i think of it the more i might have wanted to put him a little higher is mark andrews and mark andrews had a badass season career year for him having over 1300 yards and nine touchdowns as that that that type that type of production especially in a run first offense is incredible and just the just the only problem is that whole team just started to they weren't they really had to become a run they they were a run first offense in the beginning of the year but they kind of had to become a pass-first offense. And Lamar Jackson already loved Mark Andrews. So you can understand why his stats really spiked in this season relative to other years.

But yeah, Mark Andrews, I really like him, and he's going to be even better next year. And like I said, I'm low-key considering maybe I should have had him higher, but I'll probably have him higher next year i and i i like i said i'm low-key considering maybe i should have had him higher but i he i'll probably have him higher next year i probably will all right no i'm going first on this uh what do you mean you should have had him higher i took oh i'm not a fan of him frankly before the injuries that made the teammate pass first offense, then afterwards when they became a pass route. He was putting up the same consistent numbers regardless. I don't understand why we keep denigrating Mark Andrews like he isn't top two. Yes, he is top two.

That's not true. He nearly doubled his numbers from last year with 700 yards. I'm talking about this year. From this year on, he was consistent with his numbers from last year with 700 yards. I'm talking about this year. From this year on, he was consistent with his numbers. But they were never a run-first offense. But, Tuck, they were never a run-first offense this season. They lost practically their entire running back core by the beginning of the year.

So they really had to turn themselves into – I'm not blaming Mark Andrews for that at all. That's great that he was able to step up like that. I'm just explaining why he was able to put up such spiked numbers. Because in years past, when they were a run-first offense, they were still great numbers, especially for a tight end. But they weren't the numbers that he had this year. And the reason why was because they had to turn into a run into a pass first offense so you're holding that against him i'm not holding that against him i'm just giving that giving you the reasoning for why his

stats spiked and he did a great job but i'm just saying like it's there's it's not like you know it's not like they actually – That's more of an indication. That's more of an against the Ravens philosophy than it is against him. I can't blame him for suddenly increasing his stats because the Ravens went in a different direction on offense because of injury concerns. I can't hold that against him.

That's what the Ravens are changing. It's just a reasoning for what happened. Either way, with Hollywood Brown gone, he's definitely going to be the guy. He's going to be getting the lion's share of the targets next season. Right. So he is going to be better. Yeah. And I feel like that's a top three worthy.

All right. So even if we went in that direction, I need to hear the other three. Oh, God. Oh, God the other three. Oh, God. Oh, God. All right. Oh, man. You good there, Tucker? No, I'm not good.

I'm not. Okay, I'm sorry. All right. Who's your number three? CJ, can you please go first? I need a minute. Oh, all right then. This has yet to happen.

All right. My number three is actually mark andrews now i truly believe mark andrews is a top three tight end and when you consider like tucker said his uh his injuries you know only starting nine games last season, really starting nine games. Like I said, a lot of snap counts for him still put up over 1300 yards and nine touchdowns. And that's insane. And there's reason to believe that he will only get better because now without a shadow of a doubt, he will be the guy next year. There is no reason to believe he will not take a step forward barring a massive injury.

But yeah, Justin, you good to take over? My only counter-argument to that is he may not have started those games, but he actually had his highest snap count share and this is in this is by a mile his of his whole career at 75 yeah that's great and it's just gonna get bigger because now hollywood brown is gone and who are they gonna rely on rashad bateman to be a thousand yard receiver i don't think so no he did show flashes and i think, and I think he will step up like that. Yeah, and Nikhil Harry showed some flashes his rookie year too. I'm not saying he's – I'm just saying, like, calm down.

Don't do that. I'm sorry. It was just a comparison. I think Bateman's going to be fine. We'll talk later, Adam. I can't with you. Oh, no. You said say he's gonna see you after class my number three guy is george i'll see you in the parking lot my number three is george kettle

down year after down year uh injuries has always been a main concern with george kettle after his 2019 season when he's healthy he's a beast and he's a phenomenal blocker and a phenomenal receiver the problem is his stats go down when he gets injured. So my only concern is if he can stay healthy, then he can continue to put up monster numbers. The problem is he has a problem with staying healthy. If he can stay healthy, then yes, I believe he is a top three tight end, which I still believe him, if not top two or the best tight end. But my main concern is like health, which is why he's like number three instead of like two or one.

Come on, Adam. I want to hear this. I need to hear this. So you have George Kittle at number three. I have George Kittle as number three as well. George Kittle is the type who I have George Kittle as number three as well. George Kittle is the type who I have only lower because of injuries and the injury bug has just hit him so consistently and it's hit him hard that I just can't, I just can't bring myself to put them any

higher. And yeah, I just, I just think Kittle's going, I just think Kittle has taken a step back. And when he's healthy, he's arguably the best tight end out there. But George Kittle, he's my number three as well. Oh, I need to know who your number two is. Yeah, I do too. I'm not going to lie. I'm thinking, all right. I'm a little scared who your number two is. I'm scared too because if I think of who I think it is, too. I'm not going to lie. I'm thinking, all right. I'm a little scared.

I'm scared, too, because if I think of who I think it is. Yeah, and if it is who I think it is, yeah, you're going to have to deal with me and Tucker in the parking lot. We're going to have to talk. My number two is Mark Andrews. Stop beating around the bush. We already know he's top two. I don't understand why we keep lying to ourselves and telling me he's five and then what, three? No, he's number two. With the season he had and with the projection he, and the, I want to say the things he will continue to do with the Ravens offense, I believe he will continue to be successful and continue to get

the targets and continue to put up the numbers that will make him a top tight end in this game. He doesn't have Marquise Hollywood Brown to take touches away from him, even though he does have Rashad Maitland, who I think may or may not be an upgrade depending on how you look at it. Hopefully. You look at me like that, but my problem with Marquise was occasionally he would have drops where I would put him. He would have drops where it's like it happens almost out of nowhere rashad doesn't have that problem yeah that's cool but do you think they was gonna step in have like 1200 yards like hollywood did last year he only had a thousand he didn't have 1200 wait wait really i'm thinking of someone else never mind but still you really think they was gonna step in and have you have000, over 1,000? I am skeptical.

I think Mark Andrews could have 1,500, and Bateman could have 800. Yeah, fair enough. So that's where my stance is on that. I believe he can increase his output because of the Ravens' offense is kind of towards having two tight ends on the field. And let's just say, for an example, they do try to double Mark Andrews. Then Rashad Bateman would get a one-on-one, and I like my chances with that. But Mark Andrews is without a doubt a matchup nightmare for any team to go against. When they go into the meeting rooms, defenses have to look at it and say,

we have to stop this guy, and that is Mark Andrews, and that's why he is number two. He's not number one, but he is my number two. CJ? Well, yeah, my number two personally is George Kittle. And despite the fact George Kittle missed some games, still had 910 yards and six touchdowns. And you have to keep in mind, he has been hindered by the noodle arm of Jimmy Garoppolo.

And I feel that he can be like that big security blanket, kind of like what Gronk was in New England. And if Trey Lance ends up getting the starting nod, I expect him to lean on Kittle, and I expect Kittle to deliver. And when it comes to talent, I mean, just pure talent alone, I truly believe that there's not a tight end that touches him from his route running to his hands, to his blocking, to his ability to win 50-50 catches, speed, strength. It's all Kittle. All he has to do is stay healthy. And if he does,

I'll probably put him number one next year. I know you guys disagree because of injuries, but I mean, that plays a factor because if he didn't get hurt last year, he'd probably be my number one. But still, but still, but still, he was better than most and he was hurt. So, you know, it is what it is. Adam, I am your number two. He'd be not he'd be my number one as well if he didn't if he didn't get hurt. But like the problem is the injuries do play a factor. So that's why he drops.

He drops a couple spots for me and it just hits him so hard he does he misses a huge portion of the of the year just the past two seasons um but my number two i have kyle pitts and oh yeah no i do not agree with that. Why Kyle Pitts? Like I said, Jacoby Myers outscored him. Look, the touchdowns are a factor. However, when you are the size that Kyle Pitts is and you're a rookie, to put up 1,000 yards by doing that is just unheard of. And also he played practically half. He played a big portion of that season playing, playing behind Calvin Ridley.

So he's, so he's had to work with that and you, and you become the second tight end in NFL history to do, to do, to, to go for a thousand yards. That is, that is unbelievable. And I I'm real, I really don't think the tight, the touchdowns, obviously, if he doesn't improve, then he, then he might almost be out of the top five for next year. But you know, I know I'm sorry, sorry continue but you look at but i just think it is going to improve and it's going to improve a lot because he just has the abilities to make

it happen he has the speed he has the size he has the route running all he has to do is make it happen and he's only a rookie and a lot of tight ends make big jumps in their second year. I think that's going to happen with, with Kyle pits and he's, and also with a, with a rookie quarterback leaning on him. I think that's cool. I think it's going to work. Yes. Yes. Yeah. I got a side of a Tucker on this one, honestly. Yeah. I just, I would still put Mark Andrewss and kittle over him because basically you say oh rookie quarterback ridder might not even start he'll he'll have to deal with marcus mariota

who couldn't hit the side of a barn from point blank range and when you look at pitts oh so i wouldn't be shocked if he actually took a step back. If he truly can't hit the side of a bar, he's not going to start. What? If he truly can't hit the side of a bar, he's not going to start. Oh, I don't like Ritter either, but I think he's going to be good enough so that he can get, though, he can give Kyle Pitts enough production.

No, no. I'm not having this. They don't even have a starting caliber quarterback there. And I mean, when you look at Mark, and look, I mean, he only got one touchdown, and Calvin Ridley was suspended half the year for the gambling and stuff. And, you know, you got, like I say, you got Kyle Pitts, who still gets Matt Ryan. You have Mark Andrews. Russell Gage.

Who's playing with, huh? Yeah, he played with Russell Gage as well. Oh, yeah, Russell Gage oh yeah Russell Gage because that screams Pro Bowl and they have Mark Andrews you don't need to wear a pro ball to generate the backup there I can't believe it's not Lamar Jackson I mean I'm just saying Andrews played with worst quarterbacks is not knock on Lamar I'm just saying Lamar was hurt did Marcus Colston ever make a Pro Bowl huh did Marcus Colston ever make a Pro Bowl? Huh? Did Marcus Colston ever make a Pro Bowl? Colston? What?

He's talking about the Saints wide receiver. Marcus Colston from the Saints. He's one of the – No. No. He never made a Pro Bowl. Exactly. Okay.

So does that mean that he's just not going to – Oh, he didn't make a Pro Bowl, so no. Julian Edelman never made a Pro Bowl. Yeah, I feel like that's a bit of a jump but so also who's talking about pro bowls i didn't talk about pro bowls yes you did yes you did no i did not yeah you did you said you said yeah you said and um i say pro bowl caliber because that's something you said that's that You said that screams Pro Bowl. You know what?

I think I remember that, but that's not what I meant. You know what? Sue me. I misspoke. But still, even still, like, I mean, that just screams at least top three. But I'm just sorry. I don't think Kyle Pitts is the second best tight end situation or not. I said going into the 2022 season. Yeah, and even talent-wise, yeah, he's not top three.

So I'm predicting a top two season for him. That's just what I'm predicting a top two season for him. That's just what I'm predicting. So you're thinking he's going to have like 1,300 yards in 10 touchdowns when he couldn't even score two. I think he can do that. Maybe he can score eight. Well, let's say he scores eight in 1,300. With that offense, with that quarterback, with that system you think yeah he was able to get not

in a very favorable situation downgraded quarterback downgraded the weapons around him like and not to mention he's going to be double teamed every play every play yeah and it's not like travis kelsey this is kyle pitts well george Kittle was able to put up big numbers in his rookie year, and he had nothing to work with at quarterback. Wait, George Kittle big numbers his rookie year? Yeah, I have Kittle stats in front of me. His big rookie year numbers were 515 yards and two touchdowns. He's talking about 2018.

Ignore 2017. Yeah, yeah, you're right. You're right you're right george kittle in 2018 1377 yards his sophomore year and he was working with i don't even remember it was nick he was nick mullins nick mullins i quarterback i would literally you can desmond ritter talking like in 2018 nick m Mullins wasn't even that bad. He was pretty bad. His first three games, no, he was not. He wasn't going to be the starter.

In two games, he was – He was going to be the starter, but he was good in a pinch. But look at what – you're going to have Mariota and Desmond Ritter. And you of all people know I was not high on Desmond Ritter. I know you weren't high on Desmond Ritter. So it's like, no. No. weren't high on Desmond Ritter. So it's like, no. But can he be good enough to provide production for Kyle Pitts?

I think he can, especially with the talent of Kyle Pitts. Not top two production? I think he can, yeah. All right, Neil. Darren Waller was also able to do it with Derek Carr not playing at a very good level. I'm just saying that there seems to be a bit of a gap between Marcus Mariota and Derek Carr not being playing, not at a very good level. I'm just saying that there seems to be a bit of a gap between Marcus Mariota and Derek Carr. You know, there's a reason Derek Carr started over Marcus Mariota in Vegas last season.

But Derek Carr was absolutely trash a few years ago. He sucked. He's only just starting to get better. Since his 2016 breakout campaign, he really hasn't done much, and he's just starting to get a career renaissance going so let's not let's not talk about how how derrick carr is this is this very good quarterback that i didn't say he was very good i'm just saying i would still even for 2017 onward i would still rather take him over marcus mariotta and you seem to forget derrick carr literally started over him so you tell me who's better.

But I just don't think Mariota is going to have the starting job. And we're not talking about who's going to be better. It's whether or not they're capable of getting them to have good production. And George Kittle was able to do it with Nick Mullins. 1,377 yards, five touchdowns. If he does that, that's top two production. George Kittle is still Kyle Pitts. If he does that, that's top two production. Oh, my God.

I can't believe what I'm hearing. If he does that, that's top two production. This is almost as bad as when J. Hill said Julian Blackman was the top three safety. This is almost as bad as when Jay Hill said that. Oh, yeah. I heard that. That was interesting. Who said what?

When Julian Blackman was a top three safety in the league. He didn't say that. It was that Diggs kid. Didn't he say it was the Seahawks guy? Seahawks. Quandre Diggs. Quandre Diggs. That's not as bad.

That's not as bad. Come on. You're telling me. Kyle Pitts as a rookie had an incredible season. I'm just saying he's going to make a big jump. You think he's going to increase 300 plus more yards and eight more touchdowns or seven more touchdowns? He could.

I think he could. A lot of things could happen. That doesn't necessarily mean it will happen. Based off the production you saw and the teams surrounding him currently, you still believe this? Because I think Kyle Pitts is going to get better. Will the team put a team on his back?

I don't think so. He might not put the team on his back, but he'll put up good stats. George Kittle didn't put the team on his back that year. And Darren Waller sure as hell didn't put the team on his back. You can't put a team on your back as a tight end. You can put up good production if you're a talented enough tight end, but you're not going to be able to make them a competitive team,

regardless of what's around you. But you can be – if you are talented enough you can you can put up numbers yeah i i mean i don't know i guess but like i'm just saying with some of these tight ends like uh like kiddo like he was missed like if you take away travis kelsey from the chiefs they lose a lot but from But from Kyle Pitts, if you take them away, it's like they're still going to be terrible one way or the other. All right. All right.

That's enough of this. We're going to have to move on. We'll move on. We are going on to our number one, and I'm pretty sure we all have the same number one. I hope. I hope too. One, two, three number one. I hope. I hope too. One, two, three.

Hunter. Travis Kelsey. Yeah, Travis Kelsey. Yeah, Travis Kelsey. He's going to be generating a lot more attention from defenses, but he's also going to get a lot of attention from Patrick Mahomes. And Patrick Mahomes is going to find a way to get the ball to him. He'll get it. He'll get it to him enough, just enough so that he can remain as the number one tight end. But I mean, he's,

he's still main kind of just a wide receiver, but he's still, I mean, he's a great wide receiver who's good enough to generate. Like he said, he's like we said, he's working great wide receiver who's good enough to generate, like we said, he's working with the best quarterback in the game, so he's going to put up numbers regardless. And the departure of Tyreek Hill is going to – those targets have to go somewhere, and a lot of them are going to go to Juju, a lot of them to Marcus Valdez-Gantling,

a lot of them to Nicole Hardman, but most of them are going to go to Juju. A lot of them to Marcus Valdez-Gantling. A lot of them to Nicole Hardman. But most of them are going to go to Travis Kelsey. And that is going to duplicate all the past few seasons that he's had that have become nothing short of spectacular for Kelsey. And, yeah, there you have it. There's our top five. And I'm being ripped apart for my top five. And like I said, if i were to make these

again i just have to stick with it because i made the i made this list i probably would have had mark andrews higher probably in at number three um but i really i i mean we've had very busy schedules and we've had i and some of these lists i've really had to just throw together and um mark mark andrews three whether he's three four i've never been that high on mark mark andrews but i still really like mark andrews he's in the top five at least i have in my top five george kittle as number three like i said he'd be number two or even number one if he wasn't if he wasn't healthy darren waller a guy who's going to get a lot of he's just going he's just not going to have the same production with davante adams in the mix um but he's still a tight end who i really like kyle pitts is a guy who nobody likes is the number two going into next season. However, I, I, I,

I'm going to, I'm, I'm going to go out on a limb, give a, give the bold prediction, say he's going to have a top two year. Um, and then we all have, we all stand in agreement having Travis Kelsey as our number one. Um, so we're going to go onto our fan box, which is where we we've done this pretty much all summer. Um, we go, we talk about each position and who you think is the most underappreciated, most underrated in the league. And we're going to lead off with tight ends on our offense. So we're going to get to that next. Don't go anywhere. This is the fumble ruski podcast here's edelman broken up and the pass is no sign yet edelman comes down with a football they're saying it's a catch it's a catch it's a catch

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it's a catch it's a catch it's a catch it's a catch it's a catch it's a catch It's for the touchdown! You are listening to the Fumble Rooski podcast by Power 88 and Fans Only Sports Network. Adam Wright, Justin Tucker, CJ Medeiros. And we have reached towards the end of our show,

and that means we are on to the fumble ruski fan box so what happens is we pat we post a question filter on our instagram every monday and you can respond with hot takes questions and more and we will discuss it and give you a shout out on our podcast so respond to next week's fan box question to be featured on our show. Now, the question of the week was, who is the most underrated tight end in the NFL? So as I said, this is a question underrated at every position that we've done all summer. We're going to continue to do it because that generates a lot more answers and we get to appreciate some of the tight ends who don't really get much of much attention so cj maderos was the first response and you can just you can elaborate on this dalton schultz yeah no uh you know when you think of the cowboys you know we all know about ezekiel elliott they had amari cooper cd lambs headliner, but Dalton Schultz quietly had a top 10 for the tight end

season, 808 yards and eight touchdowns. You know, I don't know what to tell you for a guy, you know, who is like pretty obscure, like maybe known to some Cowboys fans before this season. Like he just, it seems like he came out of nowhere and, you know, they tagged him because he was in a contract year. And I feel like with the departure of Am and, you know, they tagged him because he was in a contract year. And I feel like with the departure of Amari Cooper, his role will grow and perhaps he could ascend to top five. Yeah, he is certainly get in there going into next year because he and and also Dallas trusts him enough so that they were willing to in the offense so that they were willing to trade away Amari Cooper. And they're giving a lot of trust in CeeDee Lamb. Who's the other guy?

There's that other number two wide receiver. And I'm blanking on him real quick. Help me out. Help me out. Oh, Gallup. Michael Gallup. They're trusting Michael Gallup as a wide receiver too and the and tight end uh dalton schultz who you could almost argue that he'd be the number two option in that offense um so that's so a lot of trust they have in him and he's going to make a big

jump because all those targets that amari cooper got they're going to be spread out to those three guys um so we got a few responses so i'm going to go through everyone who said dalton schultz grace and mortar mortimer also had also picked him there was also let's see let's see let's see just because i want to pick out all of those so that we don't have to re you know reiterate on dalton dalton schultz every single time. Patrick Wilber said Schultz by a mile, so we got like three responses about that. Ian Malern said Dawson Knox.

So that's one who, he is the definition of underrated. Over 500 yards, what do you have, nine touchdowns? And if you are able to generate, or if you are able to earn that much trust from, uh, from Josh Allen, that you're able to get more touchdowns than Stefan digs and anyone else in that offense, you like, he had the most touchdown receptions out of that whole offense. Then you're doing something right. And if he, if he keeps it up,

he could have another breakout year, another Dalton Schultz-type year like last year. So Tyson Tate, so his first response, he had two of them. His first response was Dallas Goddard. This is a guy who has been stuck in Zach Gerttz's shadow for his entire career, and he's finally had his time to shine. And boy did he. Over 800 yards.

Was it like 900 yards? I looked at it this morning, but I'd have to look. Hold on, Adam, Adam. I have his stats in front of me. 830 yards and four touchdowns last season. There you go and he didn't even he played most of that season without with with urts on the roster granted urts was barely being used but he was there and he generated some targets and the more the more the season went on

the more he was used and you know that's good that's not going to go away and you have a very you have a very good offense around him so he's going to get plenty of attention so i really like him um tyson tate again he said irv smith jr will have a breakout year mark my words i don't know about that now Now, personally, I like him, but what were you going to say? I'm a bit of an Irv Smith fan. Now, his first two seasons in Minnesota, he

was overshadowed by tight end mainstay for the longest time, Zach Ertz. He had 311 yards his rookie season. Wait a second. No, no, no. Kyle Rudolph. Sorry. Kyle Rudolph. Yeah. I i am sorry my brain does not want to cooperate with me next thing you know i might fall off a bicycle wink wink now jesus now his sophomore season irv smith had 365 yards and five touchdowns now that that's a now that's

not bad for tight end too i was expecting him to break out this season, but then he went and got hurt. Not a lot you can do about that. But this season, I don't expect him to be a 1,000-yard receiver, but I imagine him that he would be a really good red zone threat. But in the middle of the field, all those targets are going to Jefferson and Thielen. So it's kind of like curb your enthusiasm a little bit,

but he's definitely probably going to have a career year barring another injury. All right. Yeah. Look, Irv Smith Jr., I looked at his stats. He had, I believe, 300 yards in each of his three seasons so far in his career and i would like to think that he would that his numbers would go up and maybe he has a 500 yard season the only problem is there's still justin jefferson on the roster and there's still adam phelan over there and that's going to generate a lot of targets and they also love to throw the

running backs. They love Dalvin Cook. And even when Dalvin Cook is out, they still like using Alexander Madison. So he's just going to be buried in the depth chart, at least in just with Cousins, how he prioritizes his targets. Jefferson's number one feelings number two and

then he'll probably throw to his running backs as well he does like his tight ends but not that much um so next response was brady mckeithran or brady etherin i i'm not sure i think it's etherton is it etherton all right br it Etherton? All right. Brady Etherton. My bad for the pronunciation. CJ Uzoma. And Uzoma, I do think could see a much bigger workload than he did in,

uh, in the, on the Bengals. Now that he's on the jets and the jets have a solid receiving core, but it's not anything like the powerhouse that the bengals had jamar chase t higgins and then you had tyler boyd as well that's just like you're never going to get enough targets and he still managed to have 575 571 yards and so he might have a better year than he did last year yeah yeah i agree i would imagine yep so brady etherton cj uzama i like it

grayson mortimer yep he's the one who said dalton schultz um patrick williver dalton schultz by a mile so that was a pop that was a popular choice patrick uh excuse me jack hartman said david nojoku not going to be after this season as in referring to not going to be over not going to be underrated after this season look they have the trust in him they paid him have the faith oh yeah yeah they paid him but i mean they mean, they let their previous tight end one in Austin Hooper walk. They franchised David Njoku and they paid him. What does that tell you?

What does that tell you? We're seeing something in this kid that they really, really like him. So it's either they're going to be wrong or he's primed for a breakout year. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, Adam, I agree. And after five seasons in this league, Njoku has amassed 1,754 yards and 15 touchdowns, never eclipsing 700 yards, never eclipsing five touchdowns.

And it's just, I feel like this is officially his make or break year. If he can get over 700 yards and five touchdowns and it's just i feel like this is officially his make or break year if he can get over 700 yards and five touchdowns then he'll stay but if not he might have to accept a backup role you know well you know what money's similar to mark andrews that's unacceptable you know what he's going he's gonna have four years to to prove to prove it because he's on the contract. So did him do that contract for, I don't know why. Also, if,

if Deshaun Watson is on the roster on opening day, granted, who the hell knows what's going to happen. That's a big is, and that's probably, that is like the biggest, if I've ever heard it, I'm either regardless if,

or whenever, whenever Deshaun Watson arrives there. If he plays again. If it's next year, it's next year, but so will Dave Njoku be there as well. Whenever Deshaun Watson's back, if he's ever back, him throwing to Njoku is certainly going to help a lot. It's going to help a lot. That's going to help help a lot. It's going to help a lot. That's going to help him a lot. And it's going to help his case to, to eclipse maybe 700 yards. Um, so Zachary Stilson said, I'd say underrated potential wise was definitely Noah fan. So I think he said was referring to

in the past few years, he was certainly underrated and he was, and there were a lot of targets on that Denver Broncos team that were going before him. And they were also, they fell victim to quarterback play as well, but now, so quarterback play might not get much better with drew lock still there,

but he's going to have that familiar face for him to throw to. And Drew Locke, being in a new system, is going to see Noah Fant, and he's going to say, okay, that's a guy who I trust because I've been on his team before. And Fant also has the change of scenery working for him. And apparently Seattle really liked him for years so no offense he does have the makings to to have a breakout year and he is underrated i do like him um all right where where are we derrick hool said zach ertz getting slept on was a huge ad for the

cards uh for the cards last year. It appears all he needed was a change of scenery, wasn't it? Yeah, and he's going to be a great safety blanket during DeAndre Hawkins' suspension. Yeah. Maybe saying he's old is a little too harsh. He might be a nice little safety blanket for Kyler Murray because he's not as good as Lamar, but that's neither here nor there.

Year two in that system, and it clearly worked out for him when he barely knew the playbook. So I really like it. I really like that one. He looked good. Oh, yeah. He had, like, over 700 yards and, like, five touchdowns, I think. All right.

And Stephen Parker said hayden hurst so hayden hurst he's playing for cincinnati now which means he's basically the replacement for cj uzama so the best he could probably do is replace cj uzama's production. He could probably replace his production at best, just because he's in the same boat that CJ Uzama was when he was here. It's like, yeah, he's a solid tight end, but he's buried on the depth chart. Everybody's going to be better than him. Tyler Boyd, who is their number three receiver,

in the passing game is much further ahead of hayden hearst than hayden hearst ever was so like he could be better he's a wide receiver ahead of a titan as far as route running and as far as route running as far as just tyler boyd tyler boyd's a very underrated receiver i I really like him. Oh, yeah. But I was just naming off their number three guy just to show how far it is between Hurst and Boyd. And I haven't even mentioned Chase and Higgins. But, look, Hurst, he just needs the opportunities, and he can certainly get a lot better than what he has in the past.

I think his best, that one breakout season where he goes over 600 yards is ahead of him. He can still do that. Just, he needs the right, he needs the right environment. And this could do it. This could. Pesky Pole Podcast, otherwise Robert Shelley, because he's trying to reignite that,

the former mighty Pesky Pole podcast, which was a hit in the past, but he hasn't had the time. But that's neither here nor there. He said, I've said it once, and I'll say it again. And he's referring to how he mentioned this guy as an MVP. He was going to be the Super Bowl MVP. And he he calls him so he said cj uzama but he said he pronounces it on purpose just to be funny cj who's your mama so he picked this guy for their super bowl mvp wasn't even close the team didn't even

it wasn't he didn't even get the right team to win um but cj uzama again so i'm not sure what what else you guys want to add to him but he's a guy who he's in a better situation where he could put up more better production okay yeah there's a lot of that we've been over he's on the jets i wouldn't say it's the best. I wouldn't say it sucks. It's just the Jets. Right. So he'll be an option to put up bigger numbers.

Well, is it a winning situation? That's a tough one. But if we're talking about putting up better production, then I like C.J. Uzama next year. I do. He's going to – he can go over 600 yards. Perhaps he can hit 700. You never know.

They do have – and they do have like – whether or not they can win, that is a possibility. I talked about – we talked about the NFC – excuse me, the AFC East last year. I can realistically see any of those teams making the division,, the, excuse me, the AFC East last year, I can realistically, realistically see any of those teams making the division, making the world, um, uh, twisting my words here, making the playoffs. The jets are a bit of a long shot, but I can still see it happening. If everything goes right with them, obviously it goes, it goes down to whether or not Mr. Wilson over there at quarterback can play. So any other thoughts before we end the show tonight? Mark Andrews is top three, bare minimum.

Hey, you don't got to tell me that. That's a lot to add on. He knows who I'm looking at. Look, if I were to do this, you can make a solid case that Mark Andrews would be number three. And to put him number four is bold. To put Kyle Pitts number two is bold. I recognize that. But I'm trying to be bold.

I don't want to create boring answers. Like, oh, well, like, because top five tight ends, it's pretty, a lot of people have the same list. And sometimes it doesn't always work the way the preseason list goes. So if I'm right about Kyle Pitts being number two, if he winds up putting up the season that I predict him to do, then credit to me. If he doesn't, then I'll have egg in my face. You'll know who you'll hear from.

I want you to recognize this now. If he doesn't have close to the season what you're recommending he'll have, you'll hear it from me. If Kyle Pitts doesn't do it, you know how we post those reels of any sort of take that one of us has, I'll put that up and I'll put a caption, cold take alert. I will say that.

If he regresses next year, which I don't think he will do, he'll be better. If he regresses or if he stays the same, cold take alert. I'm calling it. All right? All right. Yeah, that's fair. All right. Anything else?

No. I'm good. No, I got nothing to add. All right. Well, that'll do it for us tonight. Thank you for listening to us. Be sure to tune in to us live Tuesdays and Thursdays at 730 on Twitter and Facebook through Fans Only Sports Network. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Also, be sure to follow our Instagram at FumbleRooski underscore podcast to keep up with our podcast and latest coverage on the NFL. I skipped a part. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. We also have all our episodes available on Spotify, Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, and so much more. Obviously, our Instagram. I just mentioned that. Otherwise, we'll see you next week. Over and out.