The Herd with Colin Cowherd - FantasyPros - Are You DRAFTING Or PASSING on These Players in 2025? (Ep. 1597)

Episode Date: June 26, 2025

Join Ryan Wormeli, Pat Fitzmaurice, and Andrew Erickson as they break down 12 risky players and debate the pros and cons of drafting them onto your fantasy teams in 2025! Timestamps: (May be off due to ads) Intro - 0:00:00 Saquon Barkley - 0:02:48 Trey McBride - 0:08:56 Signed George Pickens Jersey Giveaway - 0:14:05 Mike Evans - 0:14:30 Chuba Hubbard - 0:18:21 DraftKings Sportsbook - 0:23:51 Jameson Williams - 0:25:12 Patrick Mahomes - 0:30:31 Microsoft Challenger Segment - 0:38:09 Brian Robinson - 0:40:02 Travis Kelce - 0:42:47 Travis Etienne - 0:50:08 Javonte Williams - 0:52:58 Darnell Mooney - 0:58:12 Romeo Doubs - 1:00:13 Outro - 1:01:42 Helpful Links: DraftKings Pick6 – Download the DraftKings Pick6 app NOW on Google Play or the App Store and use code FANTASYPROS. This offer is for new customers to play $5, get $50 in Pick6 credits. Only on DraftKings Pick6. The crown is yours.  Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777, or visit ccpg.org in Connecticut. Must be eighteen plus, age and eligibility restrictions vary by jurisdiction. Pick6 not available everywhere, including New York and Ontario. Void where prohibited. One per new customer. Bonus awarded as non-withdrawable Pick6 Credits that expire in thirty days. Limited time offer. See terms at https://pick6.draftkings.com/promos. Microsoft AI⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ -⁠⁠⁠  Microsoft’s AI solutions empower you to take bold steps and make informed decisions, sparking new ideas to help drive your business forward. With Microsoft as your trusted partner, you can navigate your journey with confidence, finding innovative solutions and reaching new possibilities. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠microsoft.com/challengers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to learn more. Dynasty Rookie Draft Simulator - Our Dynasty Rookie Draft Simulator lets you complete a mock in minutes with no waiting between picks! Customize your league settings to match your league’s exact format. Premium subscribers can test trade scenarios by mocking with their traded draft picks. Prepare for rookie drafts AND dynasty startup drafts in one place! Use the Dynasty Rookie Draft Simulator to dominate your rookie draft today at fantasypros.com/simulator! Discord - Join our FantasyPros Discord Community! Chat with other fans and get access to exclusive AMAs that wind up on our podcast feed. Come get your questions answered and BE ON THE SHOW at fantasypros.com/chat Leave a Review – If you enjoy our show and find our insight to be valuable, we’d love to hear from you! Your reviews fuel our passion and help us tailor content specifically for YOU. Head to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts and leave an honest review. Let’s make this show the ultimate destination for fantasy football enthusiasts like us. Thank you for watching and for showing your support – https://fantasypros.com/review/ BettingPros Podcast – For advice on the best picks and props across both the NFL and college football each and every week, check out the BettingPros Podcast at bettingpros.com/podcast, our BettingPros YouTube channel at youtube.com/bettingpros, or wherever you listen to podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Hey guys, it's us. The Jonas Brothers. I'm Joe. I'm Kevin. And I'm Nick. And guess what? We created our own podcast called, Hey Jonas.

We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. We get to ask other people questions because we're sick and tired of being asked questions. Well, sick and tired is a strong way to put it. But, you know, tired and sick. Listen to Hey Jonas on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you.

you get your podcast. Just listen. We don't care where you hear it. Hello, everybody. Welcome into the Fantasy Pros football podcast. I'm Ryan Warmly. Joined today by Andrew Erickson and by Pat Fitzmores, fellas. We're talking some draft or pass on certain players for 2025 drafts.

We put together some names that our producer John put together and they are intended to be based on your guys's rankings, names that we think you will maybe disagree with each other on. You don't have to force it if you don't disagree with each other. tried to pick these names ahead of time, knowing that you guys at least do differentiate in how you're ranking them currently. We're going to be going based off our half PPR rankings. So we'll give everybody kind of the overall consensus ranking in ECR. And then the guys will kind of share what they think about this player. And if at this cost, they are drafting or passing

on these guys, Fitz, I am glad you made the time because you, it sounds like, have had quite a day. Yes. New furnace, new air conditioner. And, you know, getting those things changed over on a 98-degree degree day in Chicago, met no AC for a big chunk of the day. And I'm a guy who likes his AC. So yeah, it's been a long hot day. But, you know, now I'm going to get heated up arguing with Erickson about some of these players he's totally wrong about it. What a segue.

I was going to say it's been a hot day. So I'm expecting some hot takes from Fitz here as we get into all different players. Erickson, you've got a move coming up soon yourself. You're just telling me about that before the show. Yeah, we closed on the wife and I. closed on our house last week. So very excited about that. Also celebrated our one year anniversary. So very excited. Next steps. Yeah, next month's going to be moving into a new house. I'm going to have a whole new background set up. So it should be a lot of fun. And regards to the heat, I am now currently on

my third shirt of today. We, the last several days, have been like 100 degrees out here in Denver. Today, it was in like the low 60s for at least in the morning when I was outside. So it was just very surprised i was wearing a sweatshirt walking my dog this morning which was literally yesterday i was like i was doing some weeding and i couldn't go for about more than 15 minutes and i was just too too hot and too drenched and sweat so very very sudden turnaround here in denver that's enough complaining about the weather let's dive into draft or pass quick reminder for everybody like i said we're going to be referencing the half ppr rankings you can find those rankings and all of our consensus 2025 rankings and tiers at fantasy pros dot com slash rankings you can also find

find Erickson's rankings and Fitz's rankings there. If you want to look at where they have these guys individually, let's start here at the top. We're going to kind of work our way down through the draft. So we'll start with some of the early round guys, then some mid-rounds, that a handful of kind of later round picks. Again, I'm going to kind of present the player. You guys will tell me if you're going to draft or pass here on this player at their cost.

We'll start off with Saquan Barkley, who obviously is coming off a league-winning season. He was, you know, the best or second best, you know, him or Jemar Chase, a player in fantasy last. year, just a remarkable 2000 rushing yard season, his first year in Philadelphia. Right now, he is third overall in half PPR, and that is RB2, actually, behind Bejohn Robinson, who a lot of folks are projecting to surpass him this year. But third overall player, Fitz, is that a player you are drafting or passing at his cost? I have done one draft for a redraft league, and I did, in fact,

end up with Seekwon Barkley in that league, getting him fourth overall, I believe. And I understand the point Erickson is probably going to make here, which is that it's kind of terrifying that Sequin had 482 touches last season when you include playoff games. And the past catching upside isn't what it used to be for Sequin. He had 33 catches last year, his lowest reception total in any full season since he came into the league, any full non-injured season, that is. but Sequin's a special player and he has pretty much the perfect ecosystem in Philadelphia,

an outstanding offensive line, a winning team with an excellent young defense that's going to give the Eagles a lot of run-friendly game scripts. Yeah, Sequin could break down after a season of such heavy usage, but it's hard to envision a scenario where Sequin is healthy, but turning in unsatisfactory numbers. If he's healthy, he's probably going to be excellent again. and maybe not as good as last year, but still a high-end RB1. And I don't know how to quantify what we perceive to be a greater injury risk because of the heavy workload last year. So, Eric, so based on your ranking, I'm assuming that this will be a pass for you.

And I'm wondering if Fitz's point about if he is healthy, it's hard to see him falling off. Do you see it as strictly hedging against injury and just an ability to stay healthy over the whole season? or do you think that even if he is healthy for the whole year, that there's still a chance for not just some regression? Because I think everybody thinks that, but maybe significant regression. I mean, I think that he's definitely due for a significant amount of regression

from a production standpoint. The fact that he doesn't catch as many passes that we saw what he did in New York, a point that for a stat that I looked at that I thought was actually crazy, when you look at what he did his rookie year, he actually scored more fantasy points to his rookie year than he did this past year because of the reception total study. He could have put up monster numbers as in the passing game as a rookie. He did not do that in Philadelphia.

I don't think that's going to happen with the way that offense operates, with J.lyn Hurts as the quarterback, with all those other weapons between Smith, A.J. Brown, and Dallas Goddard. So I think that the receptions matter a ton. It's not that he's very capable of catching passes, so they don't just use them that way in the offense. So that's part of it. Honestly, I was definitely sweating out the tush push type of ruling.

if that had been banned, I could have seen, okay, well, now Barkley's going to score 20 plus touchdowns. Like that would, that could have been in his range of outcomes where, okay, well, Jaylen Hart's still not going to be locked and loaded for another 15 rushing touchdown season. So I think those are concerns about Sakel and Barkley when it comes to if he is healthy and on the field. But again, my main thesis of the bet is guys that are coming off this type of workload. It just doesn't work out for them. I can dive a little bit deeper into it. I know that it's kind of been thrown out. I don't know if you guys are interested.

Yeah, I'm definitely interested. We actually have, I'm doing one of our Microsoft Challenger's Reads later in this episode, talking about a player facing challenges. And I'm actually going to be talking about Sequin overcoming some of this history of players who have had this kind of workload. So I think you should share it. Yeah. So only two running backs have finished RB1 with the following year after leaving the NFL and touches

since 2013. Of the last 12 running backs with at least 400 or more touches, the previous season. Only one of those running backs was a top five fantasy running back the next year. Running backs 27 or older in the NFL that led the NFL in touches. Five of them have done it. Zero top five finishes the following season. So for me, it's following a process. I trust this process. It worked out last year with Christian McAfrey. I was making the same claims for Christian McAfrey. Again, also a very special player, also in a great offensive environment, also an older running back. and it worked out.

And he was a player that got injured and ended up not being worth the number one overall pick. And the other thing, too, is because you have to take Barclay inside the top five, I mean, if you take Barclay, now I know that he's ranked below ECR, but, you know, I like Bejohn more than Barclay. I'd rather have Gibbs than, if you take St.combe on Barkley, I mean, you can't draft Jamir Gibbs. I want to draft these running backs in their Uber Prime along some of these round one wide receivers,

C.D. Lamb, he's got Dak Prescott back. Last time we saw that combination, C.D. Lam was wide receiver one. Justin Jefferson, one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. So I think that the opportunity caused for Berkeley to get him in betting on that, I think even the highest Berkeley stands would say he probably won't be as good as he was last year. So I just don't see the, I don't want to say the upside. Obviously the upside is there. But I just don't like the case this year for Saquoan Markley versus some of the other guys at the top of the board.

So Fitz, before we move off of Sequin, let's concede just for the sake of argument that he should be RB2, which is where you have them specifically amongst his position. You know, I think it's a very valid stance to take, obviously. Do you at least see the case for maybe just going with a receiver in that spot? Like CD Lamb, I was just putting my rankings together earlier today. And I had Lamb third and like almost wanted to try and make the case for him to go higher because of what Erickson just said, the last time we saw those guys healthy together. So do you see maybe a reason, even if you want to keep Sequin as RB2, just to go in a different position direction, like specifically wide receiver? If you're in a league where you have to start three receivers every week, absolutely.

If you're in a receiver where you only have to start two, then I am taking Sequin over every wide receiver except for possibly Jamarches. All right. So let's go now to a tight end actually, Trey McBride, a player I'm very excited about this year. He is ranked 22nd overall in ECR. That is tight end two. Erickson, let's start with you this time. So with McBride, I'm in line with consensus where I have him. So as the tight end two, as 22nd overall. But I don't think that he's someone that I'm going out of my way to draft necessarily. And that's not because of McBride, the player. It's because from a strategic standpoint, I just like a lot of these late round tight end options.

That's kind of the point for me with McBride is, do I think he can pay off a top 24 ADP? I think so, especially with hopefully he can finally find the end zone at some point, and they're not just jamming targets to Marvin Harrison Jr. in the end zone, as I know too well for losing so much money on Trey McBride anytime touchdowns last season, as listeners of the show are too familiar with. But I just think there's so many late run options that I like at cost, Tucker Kraft, Evan Ingram, David and Joku. So for me, don't hate the player, Rick Ride, don't hate the ADP,

but I like the tight end strategy of waiting at the position. So he's going to be a pass for me. So he's a pass even though he's more aligned with your rankings fits. Are you also passing because your rankings have them a bit lower? Yeah, I am passing. And I'm not here to Rip McBride. He's clearly one of the best tight ends in the league. 11111 catches last year, 1146 yards, average 2.12 yards per outrun,

which is really impressive. But I'm not spending a second round pick on Trey McBride. and he's not my tight end two, as you said, Worm. I've got Bowers tight end one, Kittle, tight end two. And like McBride, Kittle is coming off in 1100 yards season, but Kittl averaged a freaky 2.62 yards per route run last season, and Kittl actually scores touchdowns. And look, I know McBride is due for some better touchdown luck.

Wouldn't shock me if he had seven or eight this year, but we also have to consider the possibility that McBride is never going to be a prolific touchdown score. He's had six touchdowns in 49 NFL games and never scored more than four touchdowns in any of his college seasons at Colorado State. The other thing, like if you think Marvin Harrison Jr. is going to have a better year two than he had in year one. And there are some things about his usage that were kind of funky last year. And hopefully the Cardinals are trying to address. I'm sure they know that they have to get this top five draft pick. Um, more integrated into the offense, used more optimally.

And if you think Marvin Harrison Jr. is going to have a much better year in year two than he had as a rookie, you'd think that would cut into Trey McBride's target load. So there are just a lot of things that worry me here. And I just don't think Trey McBride is worth a second round pick. I am very excited about Trey McBride this year. I feel like there are just enough players that I love. like better than him that I agree that I don't want to take him in the second. But I would be very happy to take him with an early third pick. If I'm getting an elite player in the first round,

which I would presumably be getting if I'm having an early third because I'm picking it early in the first, then just take a player I really like at whatever the other position is that I didn't take in the first round, a wide receiver running back and the McBride in the third. I'm really happy with that. So I think this is an appropriate ranking. You know, it range at the very least, even if you'd be a couple spots lower for me. But I would much refer to get him more of an early third than a late second, which might not be doable in a lot of cases. But I think there are just enough players in that back end of the second round range

that I've just really excited about, that I don't imagine I'll be taking McBride in many leagues where he's going in the second round. So I think I'm kind of making it a consensus opinion here to pass at 22nd overall on Tray McBride. And some of that, like Erickson said, is positionally. D. Bro's not going to be happy about that. No. Well, but D.Berow is really high on George Kittle, too, right? Does he have McBride higher than Kittle or does he have him lower?

He has Bowers behind them both, I believe. Oh, okay, it's Bowers that is making. And we actually, all three of us have different tight in. I'm the one that's the chalky. I'm a chalky guy. I'm just following the ECR between Bowers, McBride, Kittle. But the guys are, they're coming with the hot heat. I'm looking here.

I would definitely be along the line of. Eric said with Bowers McBride, Kittle, although I really quite like all three this year. Well, I think it's clear that there is a top three tier. That seems like that's consensus. Now, if you want to mix and match them, I think that that's okay, especially when you're playing the value game.

That Kittles the cheapest. So it makes sense if, hey, I want to get the elite tight end, just wait for George Kittle. I know we're about talking about him specifically, but he's the guy in Bowers you have to look at when you're like weighing the options machine. Here's an example.

Like, do you want Trey McBride and Jonathan Taylor or Brock Bowers and Browers and Broward? Reese Hall. Like those are like combos you have to compare. So, yeah. Yeah. This month, if you want a chance to win a signed

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your prize. Get that now vintage Steelers. George Pickens, Jersey. Let's go to a receiver here for draft or pass. Mike Evans, he's 34th overall in ECR. That is wide receiver 16. Fitz, I'll start with you here. As my buddy Scott Pinooski of Yahoo says,

when has anyone ever drafted Mike Evans and regretted it? So I think wide receiver 16, 34th overall is pretty spot on. I think I have Evans wide receiver 15, 34th overall. I'm not that worried about age. Like Evans turns 32 in August. I guess the one thing that makes me slightly nervous is that when Chris Godwin was bawling out early last season, Evans was actually below a thousand yard pace. He averaged 51.7 yards over his first six games, and he had seven or fewer targets in five of those six games. Then came that fateful game against the Ravens when Evan hurt his hamstring.

Godwin had that gruesome ankle injury. when Evans came back in week 12 and there was no Godwin around, Evans averaged 6.9 catches and 95.6 yards a game over his last seven games. So I just, I wonder if it might be a struggle for Evans to give us a 12th straight thousand-yard season with Godwin back from the injury and now first rounder a mech egg bouka possibly poaching some targets. But I don't know, I would still be more inclined to bet the over on a thousand yards then the under for Mike Evans

and good chance he gives us double digit touchdowns for what the fifth season out of six like the guy's pretty bankable. I know that Hall of Famers kind of play by a different set of rules and yes I do think Mike Evans is a Hall of Famer but like we've seen it so many times that when it goes

it does go fast and you know got into his 30s. I'm a little concerned to Erickson about just the new play caller although Tampa has done a really good job of consistently getting quality new offensive coordinators in there as their guys get hired away. So maybe they've done it again. But, you know, it is in the back of my mind that it's now, you know, a new play caller there. So Mike Evans for you, again, 34th overall wide receiver 16.

How does that look to you? I just think he's a really solid fantasy wide receiver too. I think that's what he's going to be. I don't think that he's going to be a fantasy locked in number one, a top 12 guy. But when the Buccaneers meet training camp, when they go over their goals, number one is, let's win the division. And number two, Mike Evans, a thousand yards. It's just on everybody's narrative that they want to get this guy, his amount of touches,

and the amount of yards so he can continue this endless or his streak, his historic streak. So I understand that, yes, his production had fall off or it was not as great during the beginning of season with Godwin, but it was still pretty good. It was around that wide receiver to production under 12 fantasy points per game. And yes, Evans has moments where he misses games with his hamstring. injury or he just has these random three target games against it. Also, you have to remember, Marsha and Latimore is gone from the division. So that's a big win for these Saints matchups with Mike Evans. So we don't have to fade Mike Evans anymore on these weekly Marsha and Latimore,

whatever matchups are on now. So I think that Evans is a great pick in this round that he's pretty safe. I get the age concerns. But I mean, he was still really efficient last year. I think he posed career high, or he did post career high in yards per route run. So I don't think that his, there's nothing about his game that's saying, hey, this guy's clearly hit a cliff. Amica Abuka, yeah, we're excited about. He's still a rookie wide receiver. Mike Evans has shown he can produce with anyone else in his office as good as Chris Godwin has been at times.

Mike if this still will produce. And when push comes to shove, you know Evans can drop 30 points at any point in any game where he can win you a week. So even though he has a couple of duds here and there, I think the weekly upside he can deliver, especially with Baker Mayfield. His Buccaneers defense still has a lot of holes. I think Mike Evans is solid where he's going. Let's go to Chuba Hubbard here.

This is something that we just mentioned Debrough earlier. Debrough was tweeting earlier today that he is moving Chuba Hubbard down in his rankings. Erickson, do you agree with Debrough that Hubbard is currently too high? 46th overall RB18 or would you go against Debrough? Debrough must have been looking at my cheat sheet to figuring out that I'm fading Chuba Hubbard. Yes, I am lower on Chuba Hubbard than the consensus. I think that it's really not a slight on him either. think that he was really great last year. But I also think that Rico Daudal was really great last year.

Battle had over 1,300 total yards, 274 touches, and the amount of bowling that he saw last year was the most added to any other backfield this season. So he was averaging around 17 touches per game compared to Chuba Hubbard, who was around 19 touches per game. So I think Rico Dattle is a very capable running back. He showed that by winning out the running back job in Dallas, despite the coaches being very much against giving him a role. It took. forever for him. He had a breakout game against Pittsburgh Steelers early in the season, week five, and then they immediately go back to a committee. So he forced the coach's hand, and he did all of this, basically without Dak Prescott, as the Dallas Cowboys quarterback.

He rushed for over a thousand yards last year when he was playing with backup quarterbacks in the Dallas Cowboys offense. So I think that we're going to see more of a 1A, one B situation between Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdell, because I think both guys are very capable running backs, but we also saw Hubbard break down at the end of last year. And the minute that Jonathan Brooks, the rookie, when he came back healthy, he immediately took on a sizable role in the offense for the one game he was healthy, took away targets from Chuba Hubbard. So I think that Dowdell showed last year that he deserves touches and opportunities.

I think he's going to get more of a 1A, 1B. I think Hubbard is going to get nearly the amount of work that he saw last year. And for those reasons, I'm going to be lower on him. I think I'd rather just have Dowdell at his price compared to Chuba Hubbard at his price. I think I'm about even with where Hubbard is in terms of ECR. I don't feel like he's too high or too low. Part of it is just some of the players around him. I have a hard time kind of moving some of them ahead of him or below him.

Erickson obviously thinks this is too high. Fitz, what do you think? 46th overall RB 18. I think Erickson is never going to have any sort of career as an investigator because he is overlooking the principal rule. Follow the money. The Panthers told us how they feel about their running back situation with the contracts that handed out.

They gave Chuba Hubbard a four-year $33 million deal with about $16.5 million guaranteed. Rico Dowdell got a one-year deal $2.75 million. So Hubbard's going to be the guy to start the season. And it's possible Chuba Hubbard could stink and Rico Dowell could be really good and they change horses at some point. But no reason to think Hubbard's going to stink. he was really good last year, 4.8 yards per carry, ranked 8th in yards after contact per attempt among running backs with at least 100 carries. Chuba was 11th among running backs

and missed tackles forced, caught 43 passes, RB12 in fantasy points per game and half-point PPR. So, man, even with the signing of Dowdall and the drafting of Trevor ETIN, I'm not that worried about Chuba's job security. And there's a reason to be optimistic about the trajectory the Carolina offense, which was pretty good down the stretch in the first year with Dave Canales's head coach. And Carolina's got a good offensive line. PFF had the Panthers ranked seventh and run blocking grade last season. So I'm totally on board with Hubbard at that price. Erickson, you said, unless I'm misremembering or misheard you, that you thought it could be a 1A, 1B situation. What kind of touch breakdown is that for you? Is that like 55-45? Is it close to 50-50?

or do you think it could be more like 6040 or more disparity? 1510, whatever, whatever that would accumulate to be. So I can't do, I can't do the math. You can't put me on the spot like this. So for every 15 touches you, Robert gets. That would be 6040. Okay, 64. Yeah, that's what I think is realistic.

I think doubt, I mean, Fitz did a great job of listing off like how good Hubbard was last year. I want to give him his credit. But both of these guys rushed for 1,000 yards last year. both them average over 4.6 yards per carry. Both of them were top 24 running backs by PFF. They were both really good. So I just think that the coaching staff recognizes that Dowdell is a very capable running back.

And to keep Hubbard healthy now that they've invested to him, maybe they don't want to run him into the ground because we paid this guy. So let's keep them fresh. And I think last year they tried to do that at times, but everybody kept getting injured. Jonathan Brooks, injured, Miles Sanders, injured. So I think for those reasons again, I think that that was just the better value.

where he's going because I think that he could see a decent amount of work in this backfield. And looking at other running backs that go in this range, I like James Connor more than Chuba Hubbard. He goes in a very similar range to Chuba Hubbard. And I think that he has a bigger gap on the RB1 role in Arizona versus Chuba Hubbard compared to RICO Dowler. Because Trey Benson, again, super exciting prospect. But I think Benson really needs an injury to get unlocked in Arizona. Whereas RICO Dowdl, I don't think that he's based solely on an injury. happening. Now, obviously, if an injury happens, I think he'd be a really high-end handcuff at

worst, but I think that he might be able to be a running back kind of, or an RB2 with benefits or something along those lines. Nothing beats relaxing on a hot summer day and watching baseball. And the simplest way to get in on the action is to download the pick six app from Draft Kings. It's crazy simple. Just pick more or less on the stats for two or more of your favorite players. And boom, you're in the mix for big cash prizes. No gimmicks, no weird rules, just ball. nail your picks and you're heating up. Pick six brings upside with payouts up to 500 times. Pick six is live in a ton of states, Texas, California, Georgia, Missouri, and lots more.

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Huge news. We created our own podcast called Hey Jonas. We invented a podcast? Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to it. We're the first people to do podcasts. Pretty, yeah, pretty wide range of podcasts throughout there. But this one's extra special. So how do we actually come up with a name Hey Jonas, guys? I honestly don't remember.

I think it was on a call about what we should call it. And, well, we were thinking I'm originally calling it one of the early names of our band before Jonas Brothers. This is how you guys remember it going down? Yes. I have a very different memory of this. We were talking about a thing, a bit for the podcast, where people could call in and say, hey, Jonas. And then I wrote down on my little notepad, Hey Jonas, and offered it up as a potential title for the podcast. But thanks for remembering that, guys.

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All right, guys, let's shift into more of the mid-round section here. We'll start with Jameson Williams. He's 53rd overall wide receiver 26. A lot of hype coming from Detroit about him as a major breakout potential this year. Fitz, let's start with you this time. I'm going to pass on him at wide receiver 26 and as a fifth round pick at 53 overall. A little too rich for me.

I haven't ranked wide receiver 31. Jamo is a really talented dude with a lot of big play potential, but it's going to be kind of a bumpy ride because he is not a high volume guy. He averaged 6.1 targets a game last year, then factor in the departure of Ben Johnson, along with the likelihood that Jared Gough's career high touchdown rate from last year comes down. And, you know, Gough has maybe closer to 30 touchdown passes than the 37 he had last year. So I just, I'm not quite on board with Jameson at that price. I like him better in basketball than in managed leagues. You know, if you can get him as your wide receiver three or something, I'm okay. with that, but I don't know. This just seems a bit too rich.

Erickson, I want to hear what you think about James William's at 53rd overall, wide receiver 26. But I'm also curious if you agree with Fitz that you'd rather have him in best ball as opposed to redraft. Or are you just interested regardless? Interested regardless in James of Liam, so I'm going to be drafting him. I just think that this is the year that it's going to be all gas and no breaks for Jameson. The fact that they're talking about him as a breakout candidate after what he did last year, where I wasn't high enough on Jameson. I was kind of fed up the suspensions and the injury, a prospect of was really high on coming out of Alabama and just never lived up to the draft capital.

He finally did that last year. And that was despite him getting suspended again for doing for doing non-football related activities. So I think with Williams, he's just a really exciting player, week 10 onward. He was the Wiberty Super 10 and fantasy points for game. We saw him start to really eat into Amon Rae St. Brown's target share. Weeks 12 through 18, they had a very similar target share. Now, it's still in favor of the lion slot receiver because of a 18 target game that he had in week 15. But if you kind of remove that one outlier game from the sample, it's pretty flat across the board between JMO, Sam La Pwarda, and Amman Rae St. Brown. He's super explosive, third in the NFL yards up with the caps, catch per reception. And I do agree

with Fitz where if Jeremy Gough is taking a step back, he kind of finishes more as a middle-ing quarterback. I know like I'm specifically not high on golf and fantasy because I'm concerned about the lack of rushing and some pending touchdown regression coming for him. But if a player can make up for that, it's by their own ability. And we've seen Jameson make plays on his own, regardless of the quarterback play. So he scored 15 career touchdowns. Nine of them on been in plays of 40 or more yards. So this guy is an explosive playmaker. If anything, when I think about how exciting me is, it reminds me a lot of the Timitoulis season that was Will Fuller where you just see this guy play and he just has these insane weeks, but then he gets

injured and you're just pulling your hair out. You absolutely love the player, but he's so frustrating. And that's been the Jameson experience the first three seasons of his NFL career, just super high highs, especially last year, but really low lows. But I think this year, again, away from Ben Johnson, there's an opportunity, I think, that a new offensive coordinator comes in and puts his wrinkle on this offense. And maybe that means, hey, we're going to feature James Williams more. We're going to get him more layups. We're going to get him more layups. We're going at him in space because we need to help Jared Gough a little bit more because of the offensive line concerns, the center retired. So putting it into your most explosive playmaker's

hands, that's why I'm still confident in guys like JMO and Jemir Gibbs and why, again, my concerns with Jared Gough are more related to Amman Ross St. Brown, where was he, you know, more favoring from the system, from the slot, gobbling of all the volume? What if the volume evens out? You know, James Williams is a former first round pick. He was a 12 overall pick in the NFL draft. This guy is super talented. So I want to make the bet in round five on a guy taking the major lead, and I think that he's a dark horse to be a top 12 wide receiver. Erickson can't ever be an investigator, and he can't be a salesman because he's trying to make a case for Jameson Williams, and he's throwing Will Fuller's name around. Dude, remember the Will Fuller start with DeAndre Hopkins was gone from that offense?

Oh, spectacular. It was amazing. Fitz, unlike a lot of the other players were talking about today, there's a lot of names on here that are maybe they would fall under the umbrella of like a boring veteran type of pick. Jameson Williams is the up and comer like high upside. It's fun to imagine the possibilities when you make a pick like that. When you pass on him, given your ranking fits, do you feel any FOMO like this is a pass that could really burn me? Because some of the other names on this list, it feels like it's more of a, you know, maybe you value the floor instead of the ceiling, stuff like that. This is one where the ceiling is fun to think about.

It is. And, you know, I think the scenario that could make you regret it would be like if anything happened to Amun Rae St. Brown, who's been really durable throughout his career. But like, obviously, they would endeavor to get the ball into Jamo's hands a whole lot more if Amon Ross St. Brown ever missed time. Jameson Williams could be anything. He could even be Will Fuller. We'll see what happens. Healthy Will Fuller. Not suspended, Will Fuller. Let's go to a quarterback here in the mid round. Patrick Mahomes. considered by pretty much everybody to be the best quarterback in football, but not the best quarterback in fantasy football. He's QB7 in ECR 60th overall. This has been a multi-year stretch of him being disappointment in fantasy relative to this type of quarterback he is in real life.

Erickson, I'll start with you on this one. Are you drafting or passing on Patrick Mahomes at 60th overall? So similar to the Tray McRide conversation, I think that he's fine where he is in the quarterback rankings. I'm actually higher on ECR than have I have in a QB6. But looking at the 2025 quarterback board, I'm going to make round quarterback. There are so many guys entering their second season that offer rushing upside that go outside the top 100 picks. That's the value that I want to play here. I think that with Mahomes specifically, he's probably a player I'd be interested in Superflex where he is going to fall a little bit more compared to past years where he's basically

been a top-by Superflex selection. So in those scenarios, I want to say that I'm in on Patrick Mahomes because I think that to your point where, you just talked about how he's one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, but he's not scoring fantasy points. Eventually, that's not going to be the case. Eventually, the chiefs are going to say, you know what? We're sick of winning all these games.

We just want to have fun. Again, they went for the three-peat last year. It didn't work out. They were trying to win all these close games, playing really, really close to the best. No, like, we're going to go out and have fun. We're going to have Mahom sling it. That's why they drafted.

Xavier Worthy said, like, throw the ball downfield. again, screw the two eye safeties. Don't care. They're going to have more fun. And it reminds me a little bit about the Patriots dynasty, where there were some seasons where Tom Brady, you know, wasn't really there statistically. Everyone still knew he was a top-tier quarterback.

No one would suggest, oh, he's really falling off his game. But the numbers weren't there as they were kind of going through. What's our offensive identity? And we've seen the last couple years with Mahomes, or like you said, he's been down in the last two seasons. I just think eventually it's going to increase. And Chase were second and pass rate over-expectation. They love to throw the ball.

to throw the ball in the red zone. Are we expecting Pacheco to score 15 rushing touchdowns this season? I don't think so. And if Rashi Rice, Xavier, Worryther, are healthy, I think we could see Mahomes go back to averaging over 20 fantasy points per game. From week eight onward last year, he was averaging 21 points per game once we saw a worry to kind of hit his stride. So again, strategically, I want to go late around quarterback, so I won't be drafting necessarily

a ton of Mahomes, but especially in Superflex, where I could see him going in the end of round one, maybe even round two, because there are concerns where you can see some of the top running backs of receivers go before him. That's where I'm going to be circling him on draft boards. Fitz, I wonder if you have a similar approach to Erickson here, because it looks like based on your rankings, you are higher than consensus amongst quarterbacks, but lower than consensus on the overall rankings on Patrick Mahomes. Yeah. So I've got, well, let's see, I've got Mahomes QB6 and 59th overall. So I think I am maybe a little bit above consensus on him overall. I'm sort of with Erickson in that I kind of wouldn't wait on quarterback too, and I think,

you know, I'll be fighting Erickson for Drake May and drafts we're in together. Justin Fields is another favorite target, but there is an upside case to be made for Mahomes, especially now that he's getting drafted behind the big five at quarterback, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Jaden Daniels, Jalen, Jalen, Jalen Hertz, Joe Burrell, and sometimes behind Baker Mayfield. Mahomes is now pretty far. flush at wide receiver with Rishi Rice healthy again, Xavier worthy, Hollywood Brown, rookie Jalen Royals, and Travis Kelsey is still kicking. So I just, I wonder if maybe we'll see more verticality in the Chief's passing game. Mahomes has averaged under seven intended air yards per pass in each of the last two years.

He averaged a career low 6.2 intended air yards per throw last season. He was at 7.2 in 2022. he was over eight in 2019 and 2020. Like not coincidentally, Mahomes averaged a career low 245.5 passing yards per game last season. He's also had pretty low touchdown rates in each of the last two years, 4.5% both seasons. Before 2023, Mahomes' seasonal touchdown rates range from 5.4% to 8.6%. So Mahomes could conceivably get a bounce in some of these categories now that it looks like the wide receiver. position isn't going to be a liability for the chiefs.

I find myself approaching quarterback position. Like, I am not saying that I will definitely go late around no matter what because I am actually kind of interested in getting one of Lamar, Josh Allen, or Jaden Daniels. But if I don't get one of those kind of elite top three or four, there is like no chance I'll be drafting the sixth or seventh quarterback off the board this season. Because if I'm not getting an elite guy, I want to take the 13th or 4th. 14th quarterback off the board because I don't see a wide gap between QB7 and QB14 this season. I think it's a massive tier between the elite and the guys that you really don't want.

I think the guys that you're going to be excited about and paint a picture of upside from is like 12 names deep. So I will not be taking the first of that group where Mahomes tends to be at the top of that range. So I anticipate having very little Mahomes this year. I think I will either get a true stud early or be waiting to go to go later. Eric said, I know you said you're doing late round. Do you have any interest in kind of that elite three, by the way, before we move off this?

I think for me, not really. I just like the late round quarterbacks. It's always kind of been my strategy. And maybe that's to my detriment that I haven't been drafting more of these elite mobile quarterbacks. But last year, I was with the, I mean, I think a lot of us were strapped Jane Daniels. I'm not, not, I don't need Lamar. I don't need Josh Allen. I just need Jane Daniels.

And I just see so many guys with a potential to be last year's Jane Daniels, not necessarily rookies, but second year quarterbacks, up and coming, better systems that rush Caleb Williams and Drake May are the top two names, even guys like Abo Nix, like Tyler Murray, you see so many players that offer rushing juice that can also, you know, we're expecting improvement as passers. So, yeah, I think for me, it's still, like, late round.

Yeah, I mean, that is true. And we all, as a show, were very high in Jane Daniels. But I do feel like a lot of years, there are quarterbacks that don't hit. I mean, even last year, I was also really high in Caleb Williams as a rookie, and that really backfired. Even though, you know, so I hit one for two out of those two. But you can wait and then you are left very behind at a position that scores the most points. Well, I think it's important to recognize that when you are approaching with a late-round quarterback,

I know one of my bigger leagues that I won last year, you know, the first quarterback I drafted was, Anthony Richardson. He was horrible. but you know who I also drafted? Jane Daniels. So it didn't matter that I had wasted that six-round pick kind of similar to where Mahomes is going

because I end up going the late-round quarterback. So I do think though, because I've seen with Mahomes in some of these best ball address where he falls because there are people that are kind of fed up

with the last two years and the two-eye safety, Mahomes is not fun anymore, blah, blah, and he starts to fall. And that's why I point out in Superflex formats where that's really where I'm kind of interested

to see where he goes because I think you're going to start to see like Fitzel to top five quarterbacks, bang, bang, bang, bang. And then you can see, okay, here goes chase, and there goes Bijon, and maybe Barclay. And then maybe you see Mahomes kind of trickle down to the end of round one or beginning of round two, where I can't remember the last time he ever went that late in a superflex draft. Welcome now to this week's chasing challenges brought to you by Microsoft,

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Whatever challenge you are facing, Microsoft empowers you with the expertise to say, bring it on. This week, we're discussing the challenges faced by Sequin Barkley, coming off in nearly 500 touches in a season. It might sound weird to highlight Sequan in a section about challenges, given that he is coming off a league-winning season, and plays behind the best offensive line in football. But there is a long history of high-touch running backs falling off the next year,

and nobody had more touches than Saquan. 378 combined carries and catches in the regular season, another 104 in the playoffs during the Eagles Super Bowl run. Barclay ended up with over 480 touches in the 2024 season. He's got a top three consensus ranking right now, so fantasy managers need a healthy Saquan Barclay this year, but he wouldn't be the first running back with this kind of workload to miss some time the following season.

And that concern doesn't even, count for any possible regression from the Eagles' offense as a whole surrounding Barclay or the not-so-fun Madden Cursey faces as well. Sequin Barclay is the type of player every fantasy manager loves having on their roster, but that doesn't mean he is without question marks and challenges he's facing in 2025. That's it for this week's chasing challenges. Remember, Microsoft's AI solutions empower you to take bold steps and make informed decisions, sparking new ideas to help drive your business forward.

With Microsoft as your trusted partner, you can navigate your journey with confidence, finding innovative solutions and reaching new possibilities, visit Microsoft.com slash challengers to learn more. All right. Let's go to Brian Robinson. Fitz starting with you here. Are you drafting or passing 77th overall RB30? Yeah, I guess drafting, because that's exactly where I ever ranked RB30, 77 overall. Yeah, and I can make the analysis pretty short here. Solid if on spectacular, early down back for an ascendant offense with a pretty good offense. line. I think it's the right price. Erickson, keeping a short and simple, too. I mean, I don't know if I could follow up.

It's his winging endorsement for Brian Robinson, but I kind of feel the same way. Hey, like, carbon copy, fantasy RB2, got some touchdown upside. That just kind of feels like Brian Robinson, he's fine. If you need a RB2, RB3 with some touchdown equity, that's your guy. I will point out, though, I think where I'm going to be projecting him, I'm going into my Oracle phase here, where Brian Robinson is going to be a guy we talk about on the trade show if we're on it together this year. As a guy we're going to sell high on, because you look at the commander's schedule, Giants, week one, Packers, Raiders, Falcons. Pretty favorable schedule for a

early down running back commander's offense starts out winning a lot of these games, but we kind of know who Brian Robinson is. I don't think that he's going to ascend as an elite talent. So I think that if he runs hot with touchdowns, he saw a lot of the Red Zone usage for the Commander's last year. I pulled this from Debro, 10 games at least a 40% snap rate. Robinson had the fourth most carries inside the 10-yard line. So he's got touched on upside. I think he's going to cash in early on the season.

I think he could probably sell him a lot for them what he's probably worth. Yeah, Fitz, with Robinson, is it like for somebody on this show, it feels weird to say this, but it feels like the range of outcomes barring injury is not very wide for him. It's very hard for me to paint a picture that he finishes as a league winner who's like RB7 at the end of the season. But it's also hard for me to imagine barring injury that he falls too much lower than where he's ranked. It feels like this is just kind of where he is. And maybe that's a good thing in terms of finding value because people on draft day, you know, fancy managers like the big exciting thing.

It's harder to paint that picture with him, but it feels like more of a sure thing. Right. Because Austin Echler is going to get some of the work there. He's going to get a lot of the snaps. And in fact, Ler gets hurt. It's not just going to be all Robinson. It's going to be some other tag team partner for Robinson. And, you know, the only threat, I know some people like Jacori Kroski Merritt, but he was, what, a seventh rounder.

So that would be pretty far-fetched for him to come in and poach Brian Robinson's job. Not that it couldn't happen. But so, yeah, I agree with you. It's a pretty narrow range of possible outcomes or so, it seems. Let's go to, I think probably the oldest name on this list. I didn't actually check, but I can't imagine anybody's older. Travis Kelsey, as a mid-round pick here, obviously a guy who's been in the early rounds many, many times over his career.

He's tight end 7. 83rd overall. Erickson, are you drafting or passing on Kelsey here? I am not drafting Travis Kelsey here. We saw last year he hit the H-fliff, and I know that the off-season reports have been pretty positive for Kelsey saying that it feels good. He didn't really think that much about retiring. He always knew he was going to come back.

But just the way that things ended last year was just so bad. He had that one big catch and run in the Houston playoff game. And everyone was convinced myself included wrongly that, oh, he's back. Like Travis Kelsey playoff mode is back. And then he just was a non-factor in the Chiefs other two postseason games. I think for him, it's just he's touchdown or bust. He still has a really good red zone role in the Chief's offense. He was number one in terms of Red Zone targets last year.

from Mahomes, but how does that change with Rashi Rice and Xavier Worthy, you know, taking steps forward if Rice is healthy and if Worthy takes a step forward in year two, what about Marquis Brown and coming back? Just have a healthy receiver. So I get seeing Kelsey's 97 catches last year and thinking, oh man, this guy is a screaming value, but I don't think that he and Rice necessarily overlap to benefit each other. I think it's really one guy or the other because you just look at the first three games, Kelsey had nowhere near the amount of volume he saw without rice in the lineup. So for me, it's just too eerily similar of he has a Mark Andrews season from last year where he scores some touchdowns. His final numbers don't look that bad, but

the ride that you're on with Travis Kelsey in 2025, if it's anything like Mark Andrews last year, which I was on way too much, it was not fun and I don't want to go on it again. Do you think Kelsey ends up as like one, just like every other tight end, essentially that is just tight end or, excuse me, touchdown or bust each week? I do. I think that's kind of what his skill set is. I mean, he's a diminishing skill set. He's 35 years old.

Yes, he can catch touchdowns, but there's a lot of tight ends that can touch touch touch. And even in his area, again, I talked about some of these late round tight ends. David and Joku goes after Travis Kelsey. David and Joku could lead his team in target. David and Joke could see over 100 targets

in the Brown's offense, and he's basically free, where Travis Kelsey goes several rounds ahead. So I'd rather have a Joku and some of the other late round tightens I've talked about already. Yeah. I ask that because even if you view him in that light,

even in the last two years prior to, you know, possibly falling off the age cliff, he's only had eight combined touchdowns. Like, like, in 2023, he only had five receiving touchdowns, and then last year, obviously, just three. So if he is touchdown or bust, like if Mark Andrews is touchdown or bust, we know he's still getting touchdowns at the very least, even if he's not doing anything else because he's a favorite target there. I don't even know if that's the way the chiefs are really using Kelsey at this point

in his career fits, again, 83rd overall tight end seven draft or pass. I'm drafting. I think he's a value. And like, the dude still had 97 catches last year and he was held out in week. But Rice wasn't playing. That's the only thing. How much does that matter if Rice is back? I don't mean to cut you up.

I agree. I just kind of like, I don't know. Like my over under for Kelsey on receptions is probably closer to 75 than up in triple digits. So like I'm not expecting a vintage Travis Kelsey season. And yeah, you have to acknowledge that he was way down last year in the efficiency stats, yards per catch, yards per target. yards per outrun. But like he had really bad touchdown luck. As you said, Erickson, like he led the team in red zone targets, 25, nine targets from

the 10-yard line are closer, only three touchdowns. I mean, that suggests he had some touchdown misfortune last year. So we could get a bounce there. And yeah, like I know if the receivers stay healthy because the chiefs now look pretty good at wide receiver, like that could cut into Kelsey's target share. but like I still can't understand why T.J. Hawkinson is being drafted ahead of Travis Kelsey. Like I still think there's much more reception and yardage upside for Kelsey than Hawkinson. So man, like if you want to let Travis Kelsey go late, and granted, I'm not really looking to draft him much above this ADP of 83 overall.

But like, you give me him around there. Like, I'm taking him. Erickson, you mentioned in Joku. I think obviously Evan Engram is somebody that, you know, we've talked about a lot in these shows this offseason. There's not a ton of names after him that I'm feeling that great about, though. Like, you know, you start to get into a couple names past Travis Kelsey and the two names that you mentioned. It's like Tucker Kraft, Dalton Kincaid, Dallas Goddard. Like, yeah, like I can kind of squint my eyes and see a case for guys like Kraft and Kincaid.

But it's not like I'm drafting them feeling like that drastically different about. my tight end position than I would be Travis Kelsey. Yeah, I think that this is kind of the weird tier because the middle range of tight ends, traditionally the, you know, tight end seven to tight end 12 is usually a bad, just range to be drafting tight ends in because you, it's clear that we talked about in the beginning of the show where there's a clear top three that we all feel pretty good about. We all have different orders, but it's like, do we have these top three guys and it's a tier drop?

And just being the next guy in that tier, it's just hard for those guys to pay off because it's not like Sam Laporte's fault that he's tight end for in ECR or in ADP, but just that guy in particular, oh, you're the number one not elite tight end. Like, that's not a player that, oh, I want to draft the first non-elite tight end. Like, that doesn't sound like a good bet to make. So that's the other thing to a lot of the titans in this range where Kelsey's going,

where Mark Andrews is going. These guys tend to finish closer to the guys going behind them than the guys going in front of them. So can Kelsey, because this is where Kelsey was last year, right? he was tight in six overall, a tight in seven and points per game. So if we're getting Kelsey that we got in last year, okay, then I get Fitz's argument a little bit more where you're not drafting him in the second round wherever he was last year. So you're getting value in that perspective. But I think maybe I'm just kind of shooting for like maybe a Brock Bowers or John Smith

type of tight end in the late rounds. And I don't think that's Kelsey unless you can catch is like 15 touchdown. But like you pointed out, which I wasn't really aware of, that really hasn't been a major touchdown score, which is kind of interesting. I think my takeaway is less that I want to wait till the late round and more that I want to get one of those first three guys. So do we need to re-record and say, train McBride, draft. You guys are.

Listen, I said I would love McBride early third. So, you know, I don't know that you get him there. Maybe this makes me more inclined to take him in the late second just to make sure I get him. But, yeah, I'm not really excited about any of these tight ends in this range. Could I follow up? Fitz, I just, Fitz, could I follow up if you want for one thing? Sure. Would you take, would you rather wait for Kelsey or draft Kittle where his ADP is? Like, what would you prefer doing?

Kittle is third round, early third. Third, third, fourth, yeah. Third, fourth. Yeah, I mean, I would rather have Kettle. All right. Let's go to the late round, guys. We can go a little bit faster here because obviously the later you get it. It kind of just gets into more like personal preference, but that is what we're

highlighting your guys' personal preference here. Are we drafting or passing on? Travis E.TN. Erickson, a guy who you were very excited about a year ago. He's now 104th overall, which is reflective of the year he had, an RB 35. Draftor pass this season. I'm going to be drafting him at this price because this is, I think, his floor. This is what he finished as last year when he was terrible. He was RB 36 last year going as the RB 35, ECR ADP.

And all indications right now have been that the skinnew coaching staff is more than happy to have him as their potential RB1. I think they're still figuring out who they want. to be their lead running back. But I think right now, Travis Eton's in the driver's scene. You know, Tank Bigsby is dealt with fumble problems in the past. He also is not a established pass catcher, despite his mini breakout last year that was really based on a lot of big rushes and give credit to him. Like he did break off a lot of big runs last season, but still not trusted as a receiver out of the backfield. And that's where Travis Eton has been used, especially with Trevor Lawrence,

not only with Jacksonville, but also dating back to their days with Clemson. So if Trevor Lawrence has say in this offense. I think that he's going to go to bat for his guy, Travis E.TN. I think that means he's going to have a role on this team. And I'm optimistic about this offense overall with Liam Cohen. And RB35, I think that he's just, he's just really cheap. And I think that there's a clear upside case where ETIN has been a top five fantasy running back before. Now, I don't think that that's really like what we could see from it because I don't think they're going to go back to him as a bell cow. I think he's shown that he can't really handle that type of workload. But can he be more efficient, not banged up and an improved

offense? I think so. So I like E. probably 35. Fitz, unless you've changed your rankings since we put this outline together, I think this is the player that you guys have the widest gap in terms of how you are ranking them on, and you appear to be much lower, much, much lower than Erickson on Travis Eton. Yeah, I'm lower, but I'm also sort of torn on E.TN. Like, on the one hand, Travis E.T.N is going into the final year of his contract. The Jaguars drafted Bayshalt-Hoot, and they still have tank.

it would be pretty easy for the Jaguars to just fade out ETIN this year. And ETN was objectively bad last year. 3.7 yards per carry, only for 17 missed tackles all season. In terms of rushing yards over-expected per carry, that's a next-gen stats stat, ETN was underwater, minus 0.28 rushing yards over-expected per carry. He was getting less than expected when he carried the ball. But then again, E.T.N missed two games with a hamstring. injury last year, may have played some games at less than 100%.

We are talking about a 26-year-old running back who had 12 touchdowns and almost 1,500 yards from scrimmage two years ago. So I don't think he's a bad buy at this price by any means. He does have plausible upside. And if he's not getting enough touches early in the season, you can just drop him. Like having a ninth rounder fail to pan out is not going to crush you. Fitz, let's stick with you for the next player. Javante Williams, 112th overall.

RB 37. So just a few spots behind ETN. Yeah, and I'm a little lower than this with Javanti and my rankings, but I'm not totally opposed to taking this ride again. Javante said recently that he's starting to feel like his old self after he had that major knee injury in 2022, where he tore his ACL and LCL. He was so impressive as a rookie back in 2021, but he was sharing work with Melvin Gordon. Javante averaged almost 3.5 yards after contact per carry as a rookie, forced a lot of mistackles, had 43 catches. But then Giovante, after the injury, just has not been the same guy. Not surprising, given the severity of the injury. So it did have a career high, 52 catches last year, but for only 346 yards,

no touchdowns. Didn't have a 100-yard rushing game all season. His season high was 88 yards against a really bad Saints run defense. He had two of his four. touchdowns in that game. All other games besides that game against the Saints, Giovante average 6.7, half point PPR fantasy points per game. But only 25. He's competing with Miles Sanders and two rookies, Jaden Blue and Phil Maffa. And I know Jaden Blue is fast, but the 2021 version of Javante Williams is better than Jaden Blue. So it's not inconceivable that Javante takes the lead RB role for the Cowboys and runs with it. He's also a lot better than this version of Miles Sanders.

To me, Javante Williams will definitely be ranked inside my top 100, and he will definitely be ranked inside my top 36 running backs. And it's not even about, like, oh, it's been long enough removed from the injury, and now I think he's getting back to this stud that he was, you know, or appeared to be becoming as a rookie. It's just the opportunity is here in what I think will be a good offense.

Now that, again, Dak Prescott, C.D. Lamb, George Pickens. This is an offense that I think is going to score touchdowns. And like, if you think Javante Williams is washed, like, I will show you Miles Sanders and show you what washed really looks like. And then you're talking about a fifth round rookie who's skill set doesn't even appear to be the type that would detract too much from Javante. Like, I just don't see any world where a healthy Javante Williams this season finishes outside the top like 33, 32 even running backs. Just based on the opportunity to score touchdowns alone. I just don't see a path there barring injury. Yeah, here's the thing where the three of us are degenerates.

We're going to be in like a dozen or more redraft leagues. And my stance is that I want to get some exposure to Javante. But if you're only in one or two leagues, like a lot of our viewers and listeners, like, I don't know. Like I guess I'm okay with the current asking price on Jvante. I'd probably want to get a little bit of a deal if I'm only drafting in one or two leagues. Erickson, I kind of view Javte similarly to a guy that we liked a lot last year in J.K. Dobbins, where has this injury history, he's going really late,

but there's such a clear path to opportunity. There's nobody else in the offense that it feels like is going to be a significant challenge, and it's an offense that we think's going to be good enough to score touchdowns. I see a lot of similarities there. Where do you have Giovante Williams? Again, 112th overall in ECR RB 37.

Yeah, I'm in this range, so I think he's very much draftable here. And if you want to see watch, I can show you my laundry, weren't if you're really interested. Just watch, ready to go, right? I'm sorry. You want to see cooked.

Let me show you. you my dinner. We can be here all day. We're already running out of time. I mean, I agree with mostly what, with everything that fits at any kind of what you outlined. I think in particular builds, it makes sense to understand what Javonte can offer you. I don't think that he's going to be a fantasy RB1. Even with Dobbins last year, we kind of saw it fizzle out as the season progressive.

He just couldn't handle taking on that workload because of the history of his injuries. Jumontes is a little bit different, really just one devastating injury. But they're going to trust him in pass pro. he's going to catch dump off passes from Dak Prescott. So I think that he's fine. And with the amount of running backs that you're going to draft before Javante that are rookie running backs, that may not have great week one roles, for example, Caleb Johnson, right? I love Caleb Johnson.

I cannot guarantee what his role is going to be week one. You're probably not to be able to start in week one. But you know he can probably start week one when you draft him 112th overall. Dallas Cowboys running back Javante Williams, although he's placed in the eagle. So maybe you don't want to start him. But you get the thesis of the play where. You have some of these veteran guys kind of you start them to open the year. Kind of like what Chuba Hubbard was last year, right?

So cheap, super late because, oh, we're all afraid about the rookie taking over. I think that Javante can be a bridge to some of these running backs that we're waiting for second half surges because we know that he can at least hold the job for the first couple weeks of the year. If Javante Williams is held through the whole season, I think he finishes inside the top 24 at running back, honestly. And a part of that is that's almost cheating to say because any running back could say, healthy the whole year is going to be higher than guys too missed games. You can't come with the caveat. You can't be like top 24 next player.

I think if he's healthy the whole season, he's not only on opportunity alone. It's not even saying that he's going to look like the Javante of old. I just think the opportunity is so clear there. So I will definitely be drafting him there. Darnel Mooney next up. Erickson's starting with you on this one. 117th overall wide receiver 49.

I think that I'm going to probably be passing on Darnell Mooney. And it's not that I don't like the player necessarily. I just, he's kind of more of the boom or bust type of wide receiver that I have on my bench, that I kind of struggle to figure out, okay, my starting guy this week. I know if he's playing Tampa Bay. Yes, Darna Mooney's going to be locked into my starting lineup, and I do like the fit with Michael Penix. But the range he goes in, there's a lot of running backs that I like that I'd rather have on my bench. Tadje Spears, Jordan Mason goes in his range.

I love Jordan Mason. The Zeros are running back to draft in the Vikings offense. And Rico Dowdell, a guy we talked about a little bit earlier when talking about Chuba Hubbard. So those guys are all in the same range. And even some of the receivers, like some of the rookies going in the same range as darn on Mooney, Keon Coleman, a second year receiver that I think could be a major breakout guy goes in this range. So although I acknowledge Mooney has a pretty solid floor, I think that in leagues where you have to start a lot of receivers,

it probably makes sense the guy like Mooney because he almost had a thousand yards receiving last year. It is a good player. But does he have like top tier, you know, this guy could be a league winner upside? probably not without an injury to Drake London. So I think that I would rather stash some other guys in his range than draft Mooney. Fitz darn on Mooney, draft or pass? Draft. I like him as a wide receiver four, wide receiver five.

He's been underrated since coming into the league. What I like about Mooney for this year, he is not coming off the field very much. He had a 92.9% snapshot last season, and the Falcons made no significant additions at wide receiver. It's Drake London, Darnell Mooney, and then, man, I don't know, number three is either Ray Ray McLeod again or maybe Nick Nash, an undrafted free agent. So Mooney's going to play a lot. And I believe in the arm talent of Michael Pennix Jr. I think he's going to put up good passing numbers this year. So, yeah, I love Mooney as a wide receiver four or five.

Last name here, Fitz. We'll stick with you. Romeo Dubs, 150th overall wide receiver, 57 are you drafting or passing? on the Packers receiver. Pass. They're just, isn't that much upside. The targets are going to be spread around in Green Bay.

The Packers were one of the run heaviest teams in the league last year. I just don't think there's any real, I don't know, no ceiling with Dobbs. Erickson? I'm going, I mean, if the Packers fan was going to draft Romeo Dobbs, then I'm not. Yeah, I think that he's like an innings eater, right? Is that the baseball terminology? Yeah, he's just out there, getting routes. occasionally catches touchdowns.

He's a starter. I think he's good in basketball when you need guys to just fill in by weeks. But in redraft, he's a, I think that his ceiling is five receiver three at max. I think he's just like much like worst version of Darnal Mooney. So, yeah, pass for me. You can't be doing baseball analogies. Fitz and I are facing each other for the one of the final spots to make the playoffs in our fantasy baseball work. You guys are already in the playoffs?

So it's, yeah, we finish up this league before football drafts. He gets going because everybody here is working for. a company that has to dive so much into football. So it's, I mean, listen, I'm not excited about the way the playoff setup is, but it's the way it is. So this is the last week of the regular season. Fitz and I are both contending for a playoff spot and facing each other. So it's hate week here.

That's right. I get to knock warm out of the playoffs. It's going to be glorious. All right, I'll go ahead and wrap up there. Thanks everybody for tuning in to draft or pass for Erickson and Fitz. I'm Ron Warmly. We'll see again next time. Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pro's fantasy.

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