The Herd with Colin Cowherd - FantasyPros - Top 12 Draft Tips to DOMINATE Your 2025 Fantasy Football League (Ep. 1612)

Episode Date: July 11, 2025

Join Ryan Wormeli, Jake Ciely, and Tom Strachan as they highlight the top 12 draft tips that are going to help you win your fantasy football league in 2025! Should we be ignoring last year's results? How important is positional value? How much risk should you absorb onto your roster? Is it essential to use tiers when drafting? Do your opponents factor into your decision making process? The pros break it all down here! Timestamps: (May be off due to ads) Intro - 0:00:00 The draft isn’t where championships are won - 0:03:39 Remember WHY you drafted a player - 0:07:07 Adjust from the Best Ball market - 0:11:40 FantasyPros Draft Kit - 0:15:47 Top tier QB and TE, or wait - 0:16:10 Don’t draft with only last year’s results in mind - 0:21:48 Remember positional value - 0:25:18 DraftKings Sportsbook - 0:28:14 Be mindful of your opponents - 0:29:28 Don’t buy all the risk - 0:34:20 Use your last picks to get ahead of waivers - 0:37:15 FantasyPros Draft Assistant Promo - 0:40:20 Use tiers - 0:41:01 Leverage ADP via Expert Consensus Rankings - 0:45:21 Don’t waste your bench - 0:50:40 Final Quick Tips - 0:56:15 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. 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 Pro's football podcast. I am Ryan Warmly. Joined today by Jake Seeley from the Athletic and by Tom Stracken from across the pond. Tom, you know you said it's not that late where you are right now, but it's a lot later

than it is for us. So thanks for making the time to be on the show today, buddy. Yeah, man. When it comes to football season, you just got to get into it, no matter what time of the year it is. And we're getting ever closer to football season here, you know, past Fourth of July's. typically the kind of milestone where we really dive in and start getting, we do stuff all off-season, of course, but we really start getting, you know, even more into the weeds and having a little

bit more fun. Jake, at the athletic, you just released your tight end breakouts, which I don't know how fun that was to come up with for you. I think the best part about it so far, at least on the feedback, was what I called Kyle Pitts. And I said, going back to Kyle Pitts is like trying to look at Taco Bell at 2 a.m. when you're 30 years old and being like, man, that's going to be good. and then you immediately regret it and you probably get diarrhea. That's Kyle Pitts. I have never had Taco Bell in my life.

I have drafted Kyle Pitts, though. So I can never. That's outrageous. Like me being this guy, I've had Tucker Bell. I don't even know if I've stepped inside a Taco Bell, let alone eating food there ever. Like as a kid, I was really picky and I didn't want to, you know, like Mexican food or anything. And then as an adult where I like expanded my horizons, it just never came up. I was never like, why would I go to Taco Bell?

I'll go to, I don't know, like, Chipotle or something else if I want, like, a fast food Mexican. So, at this point. Tom and I might as well just jump. Nobody's listening to this podcast anymore. Like, everybody just immediately turned out. Like, I'm not listening to a guy who's never been to Taco Bell. You have to go before our next podcast. It is, like, a pretty good fun fact for people.

Like, you need one of those, like, two truths in a lie or something of those icebreaker moments. That and not being able to smell are usually might too. But, yeah, like, it is a, I just have never come across. I'm not opposed to it. I'm not, like, actively. you know, digging my heels in. I just,

yeah, sounds like you're less American than Tom. What, what, what should I order if I go? Ooh, crunch rap for real. Like,

crunch wrap, okay. Yeah. All right, let us know in the comments, the listeners who are still with us and powered through that.

Let us know what, what item I should order when I finally make it to Taco Bell, maybe on a team trip or something. You missed, you missed your opportunity. 20 years ago,

you could order the entire menu to find out what you wanted and still only spent $10. Now it's like two things and you spend $10. My dad used to tell me a story. He used to do that with my grandpa. When my dad was a kid and my grandpa would take him to Taco Bell,

they would, like, see how much money they could spend a Taco Bell before getting full. And it was never a lot. So it does run in my family to like Taco Bell. I've just, maybe it's skipped a generation. Oh, Taco Bell will run in your family. Yeah, good phrasing on that one. Let's dive into our episode. Our tips today will not include going to Taco Bell, but maybe that's my tip to dominate my draft.

We're going to be giving you guys going from six to one from each of the two of you. We're going to be given the listeners our top 12 draft tips to dominate your league this season. So this is going to be, you know, less player driven. We can mention players if there's a guy that maybe fits an example you're trying to think of to make one of your points. But this is more macro level, more conversational, more just, hey, these are the tips that we try to remember every year. This can be something that you're applying specifically to 2025 drafts, however you want to approach it. Again, we're going six to one for our top draft tips here for the next couple of months in draft season. Quick reminder for everybody to all of our 2025 consensus rankings and tiers can be found at fantasypros.com slash rankings.

Tom, let's start with your number six tip. So this one is probably going to seem a little bit obvious, but I think it's always worth reinforcing some of the simple stuff here. And that's remember that the draft, it's not won. You know, you don't win your championship based on your draft. You can go back to last year and we had a number of players who were really meaningful for fantasy who probably weren't drafted

like Baker Mayfield had an ADP around about 160 to 170 depending on your platform probably wasn't getting drafted every draft John Hsu Smith undrafted Titan 4, Sam Donald, QBA undrafted, Zackerts, Titan 10 undrafted. You go back to 2023

and of course like that was the mother load for guys who were like on the fringe of being drafted in Karen Williams and Pooka Nakua. So like draft day for me, is about building that solid floor. And then the moment the draft is over, it's time to analyze the weaknesses, work out what's still on the way of a while,

look at your opponent's rosters, and just say, well, I like what I've got, but maybe there's an opportunity for me to start making a trade, whether it's a two for one or anything like that, and not get glued to those draft picks that you've just drafted a few hours before, because, you know, staying glued to your draft picks is one of those awful situations where you get to week four

and you're still like, yeah, I drafted that guy in round three. I've got to start him. I've got to start him. It's like the draft has to go and it's time to just turn the page and start trying to look at it with fresh eyes. Yeah, almost like sunk cost fallacy type stuff. I've had this conversation on the dynasty side before where at one point I made a trade offer. I forget the specifics, but I was trying to get Sky Moore. This is early in his career.

And the person I was trying to negotiate with said, oh, you want me to give up a first round pick? Because he had taken Sky Moore with the late first. And I said, no, I want you to give up Skymore. The pick is done. Like you have spent that capital. I'm trying to acquire the player now. And thankfully, he declined the offer. And I did not get saddled with Sky more.

But I think it's a good example of, you know, once a draft is done, it is done. And this is now your team. Jake, do you agree with this? And also on the flip side of this, you know, remember the draft isn't where championships are won. Can it be where you lose your league, though? I'd say it could be. I mean, but you'd have to really screw up your draft. I go all the way back to the Justin Fawcett year, and I say that because he got hurt, and I drafted C.J. Anderson, as everybody well knows, in the first round that year. So you have bust of a first pick. Justin Fawcett injured that year, and this was an industry league that I still won. I think it's hard to really lose your league, but it's the same way what Tom's saying. It's hard to say that you have definitively won your league on the draft. I completely agree because I'll always say this. I think there's one-third, one-third, one-third is the draft. There's still two-thirds left. Two-thirds, another third being roster.

management and the other third, unfortunately, being luck. Like, you're just not going to get away from it. But even if you threw out luck and then say, okay, what's the rest? It's still only 50-50 in that aspect. Like the trading, as you said, taking advantage of like the highs and the lows, the waivers, the roster management, up and down the line. So, yeah, it's only one piece of the puzzle as you draft. And also, Tom, I know you kind of mentioned that this is like, you know, maybe a little

more, I don't know, like obvious or more basic of a tip. I think those are very important. It's very easy to get so just dive so deep into the players and the values and everything that you sometimes kind of need to take a step back and remember like this is kind of the tried and true. Like you want to remember these tips going in on a more macro level. So I think it's totally fine to include stuff like this one. Jake, let's go to your number six. Yeah, I'm glad it ties into the draft here, honestly, because I'm going to say remember why you drafted a player. And I can just go back to last year and pretty much ask anybody who dropped Bucky Irving.

after week two how they're feeling this year or even at the end of last year. And you said bring up players that you can make the comparison this year to a healthy Trey Benson or, you know, look at it in the backfield across the league. Anybody backup wise, Zach Charbonnet, you know, Kenneth Walker is probably going to get hurt at some point. But if he doesn't, like, don't drop him three weeks into the season. Kenneth Walker is healthy. Don't drop Trey Benson three weeks into the season because James Connor is healthy for the

first three weeks because otherwise, why did you draft that player? You drafted them because the upside, if said player in front of them gets hurt. Now, I understand we get to buy McGettin and you just have nobody left to cut on your roster because you're not going to cut your starters. And I understand that. So I'm not saying you have to hold on to these guys until week 12. But if you're just going to drop them in the first three or four weeks because the lead running back stayed healthy, then you should have never drafted in the first place because you basically threw the pick away.

How do you approach, Jake, those early season drops? I think it's really an important part of most leagues is those first couple of weeks of waiver wires. There are always league winners that pop up in weeks one and two. And sometimes the really tricky part isn't identifying those guys. It is identifying the right guy to drop. So when there is somebody that becomes available that you are really excited about, what is your approach for deciding how to make room for those guys? So the first one gone is a tight end.

I'll give you example. You brought up Kyle Pitts as a joke. But the thing is, we'll know the book on Kyle Pitts, very soon. Like, you can drop him after week two or three. If that's not working, move on. Those kind of players are, like, in their own classification. You took them for a reason. And like, maybe, like, Jaden Higgins, like, if he doesn't have the job on day one, like, yeah, you should probably try to hang on to him, but I'm more likely to give up on a wide receiver than a running back because there's a quicker path to the running back of an injury or

opportunity. I mean, you could look at this whole situation of people not being enamored with Kairn Williams. If Kairn Williams has two or three bad games in a row, Sean McPey might pull the plug on them and turn to Hunter or Corum. Whereas if you're talking about the second, third, fourth, wide receiver on a team and like the opportunities aren't happening, you know, it's going to say, okay, well, what if the injury happens? And even then it's not a guarantee. So I look for the clearest, quickest path to being a top 25 player. And then the second part of that, why I say top 25, mostly running back a wide receiver, maybe top 35 wide receiver. But if that player is just a wide receiver five or RB5, they're getting kicked.

off my roster too. I mean, I'm probably not drafting them in the first place, but if they're somewhere on there because maybe I had an injury risk, those guys you're going to find on the waiver wire every single week. Those should be the first to go if they have zero upside. Tom, what do you think? How do you approach determining guys to drop early on that you drafted? Yeah, I think Jigs summed it up so well. And it just, it typically comes down like those wide receiver three types. And obviously, this varies depending on how deep or shallow your roster is. But if you're playing in a league where you're only starting a couple of wide receivers and a flex, like the receiver types can be an absolute nightmare,

the guys who are so heavily touchdown dependent. And if we're seeing guys like Jalen Knowle, who Jake mentioned, not have a role immediately or like other rookies where we feel like they warranted the draft capital because they got the draft capital in the NFL and we're pushing them up in ADP, if you can see that the role clearly isn't there,

if you can see that the rapport's not there, if you can see that their coaching staff aren't fully trusting a player yet, then it's time to pull the plug. very much so for running backs who, it becomes clear, aren't just one injury away. You know, you're talking about guys who, if the lead running back gets injured, are the team really going to give it all to this guy? And they're a little hints, you know, you see stuff earlier in the season where it's like,

okay, well, they've pulled the start. They clearly trust the RB2. But if you're getting none of that, then they become the guys who just start sliding down my roster and I'm ready to give up on earlier. Obviously, I enjoy football and I'm always hoping for it to come back. And I don't enjoy the off season as much as in season. This conversation is already making me like just so excited. I'm like, I need football to be here.

Like we're talking real strategy now, not just like, you know, a list of busts and sleepers. Like this is the stuff I love thinking about. And I just in hearing you guys talk already. I'm sitting here like, man, I wish it was like late August or early September. I can't wait for the season. Tom, let's go to your number five tip. Yeah, and honestly, for me, this could be, if I was doing a list that was very just personally for me, this could be my number one, because it's adjusting from the best ball mindset.

And, like, I think it's so easy now to draft hundreds of teams in an offseason. Like last year, I think I hit 400 teams. This year I'm at, like, 200 already. And moving from best ball ADP or the way that you construct the best ball roster into redraft is so different. Because in best ball, we're building for ceiling. You're looking for late season. breakouts, you've also got wildly different ADP. Like, you can look at consensus ADP as it starts forming,

and the running backs in particular tend to get pushed up. My home league drafts running backs, like absolute sickos every single year. So being aware of those nuances, not trying to stack as aggressively, like, you know, the odd stack is fine, like, you know, quarterback and one pass catcher, but going out of your way to sort of had two, three players to a quarterback,

like you might, if you want to win one of these massive. best ball tornets because you need that single week upside. It just doesn't translate to redraft. And lastly, all the kind of micro strategies that we talk about like Hero RB, Robust RB, ZeroRB, they look very different in redraft if you're playing in a shallower league compared to if you're playing in best ball where you've got 20 rounds. Whereas if I'm going zero RB or Hero RB, like I might be looking to take my second running back in round six, seven or my first running back in that range. But in home leagues, if you're in one like me where the guys all take the running

backs early, the running back quality that you get in round six or seven is going to be drastically different in best ball to what it'll be in redraft. Jake, I don't know if I've ever talked to you about this, but do you do a lot of best ball? Is this an adjustment that you have to make yourself as we get into redraft season? I don't. Well, a lot is kind of tough. I'll qualify it in the fact that's probably 20% of the leagues I'm in. So if that seems, I mean, and it's us, so that's probably more than most people are playing. But I'm not on the end where, you know, I have 50 rosters already at this point. There are people like that.

And I'm not coming for them. I'm just saying I'm definitely not on that end of the spectrum. But I do think it's a very valid point because you could argue both ways for it. You know, we're talking in baseball. We're like, okay, I'm looking at weeks 15, 16, 17, and trying to stack for these good matchups. Like, everybody went for the chiefs and the bills. And obviously the situation with that kind of skewed at that year.

But point being is like, these are the. reason we're looking for this, the Bengals that year. So, like, that's a completely different strategy because in seasonal, you're more adept to be able to adjust for, you know, best ball. I think the biggest thing here to go deeper with Tom said is, like, a lot of times we look at strict for schedule, which we can change, we know can change in season. I go back to the one year, I think it was 2008, but like the Giants defense was do not play people against them in the first half of the season.

And the Saints were start all your studs, anybody you could possibly think of, even bench options. And people were stacking and thinking of Julio Jones and Matt Ryan because they got the Saints twice in the last three weeks. And that season, this is why it always stands out to me, that season, it flipped 100% on its head. The Saints ended up being a top three defense down the stretch. And Julio Jones got shut down one of those games. And the Giants were just start anybody you could possibly find against them. So I say that to say, we're stacking in baseball because we don't have any control. Like we're just hoping our strength of schedule plans play out. In season, in, you can adjust for these things. So you're not thinking as much for weeks 15, 16, 17.

You're not thinking as much of like, oh, I got to get four guys from the Bengals offense because they're going to stack. So it's a really good point by Tom. And I think too many people go with the best ball mindset into redraft. And that ends up hurting them sometimes. And for me, it's the same thing, not for best ball, which I don't do as much of, but for dynasty. I have been thinking through the prism of rookie draft and through the prism of dynasty trading for so many months. And it's a say it's in a different sense, but right, it's a similar like transition. You have to adjust to dialing these guys in redraft, which is different in a lot of cases. I want to let everybody know about the Fantasy Pro's draft kit.

Winning your Fantasy League starts before draft day and the Fantasy Pro's draft kit gives you the knowledge to do it right. Get insight on proven strategies, must haves, players to avoid, and more from analysts like Pat Fitzmorest, Derek, Eric Brown, and Andrew Erickson. Don't walk into draft day guessing. Read up, lock in. your league, go to fantasy pros.com slash kit. All right, Jake, your number five tip. Yeah, my number five, it kind of goes back to the drafting again. And this is more so for

redraft. Obviously, if you went this round, best ball wouldn't work at all, probably. But I go within the mindset is a top tier quarterback or tight end or just wait till the end, do not draft in between. And now, obviously, this is going to be relative. And people are like, well, in the 12th round, Justin Fields was still there. And like, okay, of course. Like, I'm probably taking Justin Fields in the ninth round. But, the overall strategy of if I don't get a top tier quarterback and it's about four guys, maybe five, tight ends three. If I don't get those, I'm waiting until the end because the gap from four or five at both

these positions to 15 is a point per game. Like, think about it like, a point per game is not going to make the difference in your matchup. If it is, you have a really weird league because I've never seen that matter that much. So what I'm looking for is who can put up those five, six, seven, kind of player numbers at the end of drafts. That's why the top five, I don't even would call them breakout tight ends. Just there was more from the lens of, okay, what of these tight ends could actually be those guys

that people are jumping on in the seventh and eighth round? Because I'd rather get more depth at running back and wide receiver than take a seventh eighth round quarterback or tight end because I know those are replaceable. As Tom said off the top, we were talking, bringing up tight ends and quarterbacks that were undrafted, finishing as ones, top tens at their position. And so I'm just going to avoid those in the middle rounds just because I find the strategy of your team being more adept to overcome injuries and potentially make trades if you have that depth at running back and wide receiver. Jake, are you willing to take a top tier quarterback and a top tier tight end in the same draft? Or if you take one, does that rule you out from taking the other?

Because you just can't pass on that many running backs and receivers. I would say it probably leans to ruling it out, but I'm never going to not do something to throw out the double negative there. I want to get a bell cow running back in the first two rounds. But if I don't, like, I've started a draft with three straight wide receivers because of how the draft fell to me. You know, the better question, I think we're not to say the better question because that sounds like that's a bad question. Really bad question, worm.

The better way I should put it is that if I were to take a tight end at the end of the end, like Bowers is there at the end of round two. I would consider it. I want them in round three, but I would consider them at the end of round two. If I did that, I wouldn't turn around in around three and take Lamar Jackson. If Bowers or McBride is there in round three and then in round five, I can take Hertz, that's still taking two top tier players at those positions, but there is more balance in the value for the rest of my team. So that's why I say, like, it could happen, but probably not because the majority of drafts, that's not usually how those guys fall out.

Tom, how do you approach these two positions, if that's a good enough question for you? I won't pushback. No, I love that. I think that what Jake's saying, like, I'll just expand a little more on that. Like, when it comes to the tight end position, there are so few guys who command serious volume. There are so few guys who can hit 100 yards in a game. And it's those guys at the top who really are able to do that for three, maybe four games a year, which doesn't sound that much, but really, that's all it takes at tight end to be a dominant force.

Like, you go back to the year where Sam Leport was tight end one as a rookie. He scored nine touch. touchdowns. Nobody else scored more than six. So it's really easy to separate a time position if you're able to do that. And I do want the guys who are able to do it or who have shown us that they can do it in the past, but perhaps the situation is a little different. And, you know, I'm not prioritising guys like Mark Andrews or Travis Kelsey this year because of wider concerns, but it's looking at Brock Bowers, Trey McBride, George Kittle. And then Sam LaPorter as well, I think, is definitely somebody that I want a lot of exposure to

this year. Then at the quarterback position, for me, it's dual threats or putting it later, because if you don't, you know, I'm willing to take Drake May where he lands in kind of like the round nine, ten range and Justin Field's similar. But otherwise, if I'm just getting a pocket passive, then yeah, I'll just say, okay, I'm going to get 15 to 18 points most weeks from this quarterback and I'll play the waiver wire. Do you have a preference, Tom, like if you could only go top tier on one of these two? Is it tight end? just because quarterback is deeper? Or if you can only pick one, would you rather go top tier a quarterback?

Well, I mean, come on, you know I'm a Ravens fan like you, so it's quite hard for me here. I've set you up for this. I mean, look, when you have Lamar Jackson on your team, it's just, you know that every week is going to be fun. Jake, what about you? If you had to pick one or the other to go top tier on, would it be quarterback or tight end? It'd probably be quarterback, mostly because that Bauer's McBride cost a quarterback is usually around later to start. and then on top of it, you know, I feel like that advantage is just stronger because you go back to even the best Kelsey seasons. Like, you have to be those three really good seasons, which were seasons that he finished as a top 10 wide receiver at the tight end position.

Those are the kind of seasons you need from Bowers and McBride to really give you that second round value because of what you have to give up. So it's hard for those tight ends even when you take them that early, even with the position advantage you get, to actually still return costs on their, on their value. value. And also, like, it is really fun to have a Tray McBride or Brock Bowers on your team, but it doesn't compare it to just the pure fun as a fantasy manager of every week watching Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen or, you know, Jane Daniels last year. Like, it just is so fun. So, all right, Thomas, go to your number four draft tip. Yeah, so this one is don't just draft with last year's results in mind because it can be very easy to fall into the trap of, oh, okay, they were wide receiver one last year, so they should be the wide receiver one this year.

And obviously at the top, there's probably less of a difference between the talent. Like this year's first round in drafts feels really fun across the board anyway. But as you get further down, and there's guys like Ladd-McConkie, who now goes ahead of A.J. Brown in current best ball ADP, and we're not quite at the point where we've got enough redraft ADP to see if that's going to be the case. But Ladd-McConkie, like, did he – oh, sorry, did the charges pass more because McConkey got healthier as the season went on? or was it because J.K. Dobbins slowed down and wasn't finding those explosive run plays.

We don't really know exactly how the charges truly want to play things this year. So for me, it's taking that kind of approach of going, yes, Ladd-McConkie finished the year with that unbelievable performance against the Texans in the playoffs. But what is it that I'm getting when I draft him in the middle of round two? The same for Jonathan Taylor, a guy who won people championships if you had Jonathan Taylor in their championship rounds, but he also got 42% of his total points for the season across week 16, 17, and one of a week, I think it was around week 13. He was RB 14 or worse than 7 of 13 games that he played last year. So just try to take a slightly zoomed out view and not just remembering

the positional finishes and how things ended over those last few weeks. What do you think about this one, Jake? In a pie chart of what you care about and what thinking about making your draft picks, what percentage is last year's results? 16.83? It's definitely a factor. And to kind of what Tom did with my last one is I'll even take it a step further here with this is that I often find some of the best value. It's an article I write is last year's players that burned people because all they remember

is last year and like, oh, I'm not taking him again. You know what he did to me last year? You know how much of that wasted my seventh round pick? on that guy and they don't go back because they're just bitter and angry. And like, I get it. Like, nobody wants to go back to players that burned you, especially if there's two or three times Kyle Pitts. But, like, if you go in with that mindset and, like, automatically you write these players off, you're just going to miss on the value because the biggest, the biggest thing, like, I threw at Trey Benson earlier. Like, Trey Benson, like, you could be frustrated that he

didn't do much and then got hurt on top of it last year. But if you go into this year and, like, just ignore the fact that he's still the clear number two behind James Connor, who has an injury history and you're just like, well, I'm not taking him. And now he's coming at a discount on top of of it. Like, why were you in on him last year for a very good reason? You should be in on this year. You shouldn't just be because, oh, I never got to use him last year. It's funny. I was thinking of a different card. I was thinking of Marvin Harrison Jr. at night, nothing's going his latest, Trey Benson, but like where you took him last year, he definitely burned you. But in a vacuum, it was still pretty good rookie season. If he comes back, you know, it takes a step forward in year two,

that's somebody that I could see managers say, well, why would I trust him? He's didn't do anything. He was supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. And now at a discount, actually could be a value. And I would love to meet the person who hasn't been burned by Kyle Pitts at least once across their fantasy leagues. That guy should win a trophy or something. Jake, let's go to your number four.

Yeah, I'm going to near and dear to our good friend Joe Pia's heart. Remember, positional, if I could say it, positional value. And what this means, and he talks about it every single year in his black book, it comes down to the fact of as the draft is going, understand your roster construction. You're not going to come out of the draft being dominant, a quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end. It's just not feasible. Maybe in an auction.

Maybe you're auction with some really dumb people. Maybe that's the only world you can do it in. But inherently, especially in snake drafts, it's just not going to happen. So too often you bring up taking a quarterback early. And I'll go even to super flex on this one. You know, you take a quarterback early. You take a quarterback in the first roundworm. And then I'll see people not draft their second.

quarterback until it's like QB 25. You threw all that value out because you started with a quarterback that's better than at least 10 teams, possibly the entire league, and now you've brought your quarterback position to level with the league because you waited so long on the second one. You went, wide receiver, wide receiver to start. And then you start going running back, running back, running back, and you don't take your third wide receiver until the sixth, seventh round. And now you had an advantage as the number one, possibly the best number two wide receiver

in your league. but now again, your position is brought back to league average because you waited so long on the third option. And I think too many people just kind of look for like, oh, I need a running back. I can't keep waiting. And sometimes it doesn't feel good to only have like three good or two good running backs out of your draft, but you're going to be so well positioned at the other opportunities that like that makes up for it.

So like just remember the value that you drafted and how you're building your team. And then pay attention to that as the draft goes on. Yeah, I think this is a really. really interesting insight. It's also really helpful. Let's say you really lean into the receivers, even though you went them early. And so now you're stacked there and you got a luxury tight and a quarterback. So it's just running back that you're weak at rather than trying to be just okay everywhere. Now you know on the waiver wire, I don't need to waste my time thinking about all these other positions because I am already, like the others, you can narrow your focus. I guess is what I'm trying

to get to. You can really dial it and say with my late round flyers, with my, you know, early waiver wire priority and fab, I can really focus in on the one area that I know I'm going to need help in. I think that simplifies it and streamlines it, which I always like with my rosters. Tom, what do you think about this one? Sometimes you see people in single quarterbacks, they'll pay up for the elite quarterback, but then later on, they can't help themselves. They take the breakout guy, the rookie guy.

You know, it's like going, okay, well, I'm going to draft Josh Allen. And then later on, I've got to be the person who rosters Caleb Williams or or something like that, just because it's about feeling if they don't want to miss out. But it's like you are sacrificing everything that you paid for Josh Allen by now wasting a roster spot on another quarterback who you're barely going to use. So yeah, just understanding what each draft pick that you're making means for what you're going to do for the rest of the roster. Nothing beats relaxing on a hot summer day and watching baseball.

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Well, we didn't invent it. We just contributed to a... 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.

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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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Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get. your podcasts. The French Open is one of the toughest tests in tennis, and I know firsthand because I competed there myself. I'm Renee Stubbs, and on the Renee Stubbs Tennis podcast, I'm breaking down everything happening at Roland Garris, every match, every upset, and what it really takes to win on Clay. Jen she went. I mean, she went down in three to Rabakina, but I'm delighted. She's an outsider to win the French for me. And she likes Clay. Listen, Lina Rabakina is arguably the best player in the world right now and I actually can win on any surface because if she's serving well good luck. Consider this your court side seat to the French Open. Listen to the Renee Stubbs tennis

podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Presented by Capital One founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports. All right Tom, your number three tip. Now this one is quite a fun one I think because you can take this as deep as you want to go but be mindful of your and that can be whether you're on draft day, whether it's through the league season knowing, like, I have a guy who is one of my very best friends, but I know he will not trade unless the trade offer is heavily weighted to him

because he's so attached to his players. And then there are other guys who will make trades for the sake of trades, and there's people within your league, you know, who are going to be incredibly on it when it comes to waivers. So there's all those little bits, but then at the draft, like which content like provider do they lean on?

And obviously this is easier in home leagues, but even if you're drafting in a dynasty league and it's a lot of people who you don't know, it can be quite easy to go to their Twitter account and see what they're interacting with, who they're following. My co-host over at Fantasy Sanctuary, Rich, Rich goes as far with this as anyone I've ever met

and he keeps spreadsheets on his dynasty opponents. He keeps lists of like how much people, will be paid attention on waivers, what team they support, because that's a big one, like knowing that somebody supports, say, the Ravens for Usworm, if there's somebody who likes to make sure they've got players from their team on their roster, you know they're probably going to reach at a certain point and be able to leverage this, or somebody who's massively rookie heavy, are they somebody who's obsessed with the draft? Are they going to be trying to grab those rookies? And does that mean that you can then push veterans in the draft?

because they should slip to you, or does it mean that you can try and acquire veterans off their roster in exchange for rookies? So I'm in a salary cap format league that I've been in for many, many years, and there's like seven Ravens fans in there. And I don't participate in this, but literally every year in the first round, somebody nominates Justin Tucker,

obviously not anymore, but somebody would nominate Justin Tucker, and he would go for like $9. And it just waste your money on this kicker, even though he's a great kicker or was and was a Raven and some of the people wanted on their team, you could take advantage of stuff like that. I know you didn't pick this, Tom, so I could seamlessly bring up this tool, but I have to mention draft Intel.

I was going to say, if you didn't do it, I was going to do it. It's too perfect of an opportunity. This isn't even one of our ad reads on the show. But like draft Intel, and I say this all the time, it genuinely is my favorite tool of fantasy pros. I think it's so cool that they do that. If you're in any kind of long running league that you are. synced with, you know, fantasy pros in my playbook and draft wizard, we can look at the history

of all the guys in your league and say, when you are on the clock, you can have this in your actual draft during draft assistant. It will say, hey, the person picking after you never has taken a quarterback before round 10. He's always a late-round QB guy, so you can probably wait until your next pick to take it. It will actually analyze to that level. If you're in any kind of long-running league that has a couple of years of data, we can look at that and let you know, like, oh, this guy, he always takes a tight end.

early. So if I want one, I have to take one there. It's super, super helpful. I use it in all my draft intel. I think it's the best tool we have. So draft intel, I would strongly recommend, if you guys agree with what Tom is saying and being mindful of your opponents, there's no better way than draft intel. Jake, what do you think about this one? I love it, too, and I even think about it, and I should have said this. I did a show with Alfreda Brown the other day, and he was like, what's something that you would try to think that you're really good at that you hope other people can learn. And I think what I was, what I said on that show and what I think ties in. to this is trading. It's like also

knowing what the other opponents in your league like, do they like Cowboys, do they like Ravens, do they like young players? And I'm just thinking to my home league, I like, have a Cowboys fan. I have two brothers that are Vikings fans. I have a guy that always has like five rookies on his bench out of the draft. Like

knowing these things, but it's not just the draft because then like I said, it carries into the season and is like, hey, I know if I come to this person with like equitable, two wide receivers, they're basically the same exact thing, but one is the play. from his team, like he's going to pay up more in the trade. One of them's the young player.

He's going to pay up more in the trade. And it's just knowing that stuff about your opponents that's just so valuable. It's a great point by Tom. I also like when I can take advantage of it the other way, like I'm pretty down on Zay Flowers this year, but because I'm a Ravens fan, anybody that is talking to me about the Ravens or is in a league drafting with me is like, oh, I got to get Zay before worm does because he loves the Ravens. I'm like, please go right ahead.

I happily pass on him this year. So I once gave some last. year somebody like DMs me and asked, you know, what I thought about, uh, Derek Henry. And I think it was in a trade or something. And I gave my opinion that I was really high. And I said, very tongue and cheek, but I am a Ravens fan. And then the guy literally followed up with, would you mind asking your other co-workers so I can get an unbiased opinion? And I was like, well, no, I'm giving you my real opinion. I just also, I was, I was being joking. But, uh, but, uh, but yeah, sometimes you could take advantage of it the other way, too. Uh, Jake,

let's go to your number three. Yeah, if this comes. back to some, it kind of ties into some of the things we've said already, but don't buy all the risk. And when I say buy all the risk is buying players, and of course, first two, three rounds is tough not to do it because there's not much room to improve from there. But we're doing this show, and we're not talking about a lot of players, but all on the shows leading up to this and for the rest of the preseason from July and through August, we're going to be talking about players, then I'll probably get echoed on these shows by people with fantasy pros. It'll get echoed on other podcasts or other sites that you might visit and listen to.

And the problem is, is because there's so much content out there, you kind of get like industry, and I mean industry is like us, the people, or whatever, like kind of a group think. Like you'll see some, and I don't know any names at the top of my head, so I'm not coming for anybody, but you'll see some people that'll start to move their players based on things they've heard from other intelligent people that they respect. So you kind of get like a group think in the industry, which leads to group think in your leagues. it's like, oh my gosh, I got to, you know, Tom brought up Caleb Williams before.

Like, Caleb Williams comes out hot and then, you know, they start getting to the preseason and everything looks great with Ben Johnson and the reports are glowing and everything. And then it's like, oh my God, got to get Caleb Williams, got to get Caleb Williams. And then all of a sudden, Caleb Williams is going off the board as the sixth quarterback in the draft. And like, where is the upside return on Caleb Williams? Because you bought, he now has to be the breakout that anybody thought it could be just to return the value of the cost you placed, let alone positive return.

in value. So that's why I say don't buy all the risk because there will be players probably 10 to 20 of them every single year where they get so hyped that their cost ends up being prohibitive on trying to get any return on value. Tom, what do you think about these guys who helium kind of makes it go to the risk? That's a good word for it. No, that's a good word for it. Yeah. It is, yeah, because we just, we see them fly up and like how many years in a row have we seen Chiefs running back to is getting all the touches in camp and like and then it turns into nothing coming like Dineric Prince was such a hot name to talk about last summer and I haven't heard his name whatsoever this year like he's completely gone so like learning to take

shots at risk where you feel like it warrants it and where the profile fits is massive and not taking too much of it is a great point because redraft is so much about finding a high floor as much as anything. Like, how many weeks do you go through the season? And it's like, I just needed 10 more points there. I just need five more points there. Rather than saying, well, if all this had worked out, then I would have scored like 200 points and been 50 points clear of anyone.

Like, it doesn't do you that many favors. Tom, let's stick with you for your number two tip. So this one is usually last pick to get ahead of the waivers. And this is particularly useful if you're driving. a few weeks before the season starts. Like, I've heard my home league has drafted in July previously just because we get together any weekends through August. And then other weeks where it's like, you know,

you're drafting middle of August ready to start when the league starts. So if you have kickers or defense, then I'm absolutely not drafting them unless I have to. I'm not drafting a second tight end. I'm not drafting a second quarterback in single QB. What I want to do at that point is start taking some shots at some of the guys who could rise in ADP, who are starting to get a steady drumbeat,

who look to be getting playing time with the firsts in preseason or in the case of a team like the Rams aren't playing whatsoever. Those are the guys that I want to be trying to pick up at the back end of my draft rather than having to battle it out on waivers because we know come week one, if those guys go out there and have like Pook and Akua Kairn Williams type week ones or go back to James Robinson, then somebody in your league might be willing to drop 60, 70% of their fab on it,

and I don't want to be battling like that. I would much rather try and take a few shots in the draft, and then if I end up having to drop a bunch of people, I'm sure that I can get replacement-level production for those last few spots. I think what Tom is saying is to draft an Eric Prince with your final picks. That was absolutely, yeah. Jake, how do you approach these final picks? Do you do the same thing?

I think that's a really smart thing to do. Also, it kind of bleeds into the regular season. David Ganos, who's in the Fantasy Sports Hall of Fame, used to do an article for us over at the Athletic, and it was the waivers for next week. And it's kind of like, it's the same thought process as those last few draft picks is like, okay, do I have something? And this is going to tie into my very last one. So I'm trying not to spoil too much of my last piece of advice. But like, what does this person do on my bench for me potentially next week? Is there a path where next week, like, okay, you bring up, funny enough, like, let's just say, we'll use the Naircraft press, let's say he was clearly the number two running back sitting on waivers behind

Isaiah Pacheco, and he's still out there even in week two. It's like, think of it that way. It's like, okay, if Pacheco gets hurt on Sunday, everybody's going to go nuts for this guy. And I think that's actually on Sunday mornings is really important too. Like, maybe you have somebody on your bench as your fifth wide receiver because there's an injury risk and you don't know if the guy is going to be playing. And then he actually does get rid of that fifth wide receiver go pick up Marshawn Lloyd for the Packers just in case Josh Jacobs gets hurt. And it like, so it's not just the draft. It's like use that final bench spot or two, which again is going to lead into my main

point that is safe for last. But use that spot to get ahead of the waivers and beat everybody to the punch. So instead of spending 90 in fab, maybe you're spending $1 in fab. You know, I really should have thought of that point considering I where I look ahead waivers post for each Sunday. Yeah. Yeah, I should have in front of mind for you. I know already talked about draft intel, but I do want to let everybody know about draft assistant in general.

Draft assistant helps you make the best decisions during your fantasy draft. It connects directly to your draft and provides both real-time pick suggestions and estimations on which players might get taken before your next pick. Draft assistant fully integrates your customized cheat sheets and suggests picks based on your rankings, team build, ADP, and other factors. Dominate your draft in real-time without the guesswork with draft assistant at fantasy pros.com slash assistant, or on the fantasy football draft wizard app. All right, Jake, you've got two left here. What's your number two tip? Yeah, this one probably going to feel obvious these days at this point for everybody watching this show,

but it's still, it's important enough to worth mention for everybody is to use tiers. And the reason why we talk about them and the reason we put players in tears is not going to be like, oh, these guys are all the same. I'm like, yeah, that's part of the point. But part of the point is because they're the same, it helps you make these tougher decisions in your draft. because you can sit there and say, oh, RB15 versus wide receiver 18, like, who's really better for my team? Well, if Y receiver 18 is the last wide receiver in the tier, but RB15, there's still six other guys in the tier with him, and you're up again in five picks, well, then you should take the wide receiver because you're going to have to jump into that next tier when it comes back around if you want the wide receiver,

whereas you're probably still in the same range as running backs. And that's really what it comes down to is trying to get, it kind of ties into the tiers, what I talk about with the quarterback. and the tight ends, is trying to get similar value at the least cost possible and build your team the proper way. This is also a great opportunity to mention the cheat sheet creator where you can make your own tiers on the Fannie's Pro site so you don't just have to follow the tiers of whatever site you're using. So our corporate overlord is going to love this episode.

Those are just a podcast advertisement, basically. Yeah, pretty much. It's hard not to mention them when you guys are given these tips because our tools can do this. So, yeah, check out the cheat, cheat, cheat, creator, everybody, too. And sorry for those who hate the promos, but it's just too, such a low-hanging fruit. But, yeah, I mean, using tears is, like, not, I wouldn't, like, frame it as a no-brainer because I don't want to make it seem like, oh, yeah, it's too obvious.

But, like, it definitely is, like, the smartest way to approach your draft. I think, like, for sure, if you're, if you are not, and again, it doesn't have to be, I said it jokingly, but you should have your kind of own tears of comfort and what you're looking for. It doesn't have to be just, oh, I'm drafting on Yahoo. So where do they have kind of the breakdowns or ESPN or whatever it is that you're doing it? You should come up with your own tiers. And the guys that, if they're the last ones in the tier on the clock, you want to make sure you get.

You should know that ahead of time rather than trying to determine it during the draft. You should have a sense before. Before you toss it to Tom, I just thought of something too, is especially like this comes into value and I think might get overlooked because not enough people play this way. But in auctions too. Because a lot of times you'll see and everybody's who, you're. who's been in an auction, has probably experienced it, is like, oh, you know, I get Derek Henry, he went for 30, Jonathan Taylor went for 28, Christian McCaffrey went for 32, and all of a sudden, you know, Bucky Irving's the last running back in that tier, and all of a sudden,

Bucky Irving goes for 37 because everybody wants to make sure they got the running back inside the top 12, and everybody else is like James Connor level, and then you, you end up spending money way worse than you possibly ever could have been in a draft, in an auction draft, because you weren't paying attention to all of a sudden, oh, my God. the last good running back that I wanted to get. It's a great point. It's important in both formats, but in that format especially, it comes into play even more. And you're right.

Everybody who was played in that kind of format has been burned at some point in like, oh, I should have gotten the guy earlier. I shouldn't have saved the money because now he's the last one. Everybody knows it. And they're going for way more. Tom, how do you use tiers in your draft? Yeah, I mean, I'm a big believer. Obviously, like, it's easy for us to say that we rely on rankings and tears and stuff.

But I think that tiers, even if you aren't putting together your own rankings, it's easy to take something like the expert consensus rankings and just go through and just underline where you feel that you've got tears unless you want to use the tier cheat sheet. But it's very easy to print them off and then just go, that is the point where I do not want any of the next four or five guys beneath that player. And it can make life a lot easier when you are on the clock. It's such a no-brainer for me that I can't imagine drafting,

particularly a live draft without it. Yeah, 100%. And to the point about making your own, if you look at the tiers, I'm just looking right now, let's say I'm really down on Aminara, St. Brown this year. When I'm looking at tier two

of the overall players, it's Puka, Malik, Aminrat, Nico, and Ashen Genti. I want to know going in that, okay, there are five guys in this tier, but I actually don't even really like one of them. So now it's, I do like St. Brown, but I'm just using an example

where you want to know your own, like, who am I actually comfortable taking in this range of the draft and who are the guys that I would prefer not to take here. So, all right, we have one final tip from each of you. Tom, what do you got? Yeah, so this, again, I mean, I hate to set you up for another plugworm, but leverage ADP, whether that's through the expert consensus rankings, consensus ADP, just being able to take a look at the inefficiencies of platforms. Like last year, I did a video series, which was just looking at the worst and best picks for each individual platforms.

And the differences between platforms are so incredibly wild, even if they've got similar scoring. Like, NFL's fantasy platform last year had the San Francisco 49ers defense going in round six as an ADP, and I have no idea how they ended up there, but they were there for a good month of drafts being open. So looking across at where the values are, and you compare that against VECR and see where your favorite anise. analysts' rankings bring up those players and look and then comparing it to ADP and saying,

okay, well, that seems like a complete bargain. Maybe I don't need to reach 30 picks ahead of ADP, but maybe if I'm reaching around ahead of it, then that's still a great pick. Yeah, the ADP in whatever platform you're on is going to look very similar to the rankings in the draft room or whatever platform you're on. People are just naturally anchored to the numbers they see besides those games. and it's, it's, you know, a lot of casual users, but also even, I'm not going to say like industry experts or anything, but like it is just natural for your brain to want to kind of match the ranking that the platform is telling you these guys should be going in. So it's, it's one of the best things you can do every single year is familiarize yourself with, with the ADP and rankings in the system you're on and what the key difference is the player.

Because you're right, you'll see these, sometimes like between ESPN and Yahoo, there'll be like a 30 or 40 spot gap between certain. certain players that you really like. And it's just because on that platform, for whatever reason, the rankings haven't moved and the ADP doesn't change. And then it just kind of gets stuck there by the time you get to mid-August. So this is extremely smart. Yeah, like fancypros. com slash rankings, if you want to see the expert consensus rankings, you know, consensus

ADP data on there. But yes, just for whatever platform you're on, find those differences before draft day. And you will be the guy who takes somebody and then everybody goes, oh, they didn't even appear in my window on my screen. Let's say scroll down. They're like, oh, I was going to take this person, but I forgot about it. Yeah, scrolling down, going to page two, if that's the way the draft room is set up, is very, very smart. Jake, how do you use ADP?

Yeah, 100%. And, like, it even ties to, like, if you don't want to use consensus and you, or you do, but you want to use it on a specific three analyst or, you know, like, to tell myself for a second, like, maybe you're like, I just want Jake's regs. I'm not saying, I'm just presenting it to make my argument here is that, like, just because I have somebody or another expert on this. the ADP or the ECR consensus has somebody 30 spots over doesn't mean you have to take them there. Like that's why that's the other piece of the ADP that comes into play.

It's like, oh, all right, clearly they see something here and are saying like, you know, this player is where he would be at the end of the season or his rankings or whatever might be. But I know I can still wait a full round and a half and still getting before anybody else is taking them and not buying all the risk, but still getting the player you want to get over the consensus. So I'm glad you brought that up because also I'm going to. I'm bringing up with my final pick as I actually just did a CBS mock with Jamie Eisenberg. And I took Justin Fields referenced him earlier in the show.

I took him in the ninth round. I had to scroll down the quarterbacks to get him because CBS did not have him as one of the eight best quarterbacks still on the board, even the fact that four quarterbacks had already gone. So he's outside the top 12. And I'm like, no, this is dumb. I need to scroll down to find him. So this is that point of like it just came into play for me earlier today.

Yeah. And before we get to your final point, Jake, I want to make another point on the ADP, which is, like, obviously within reason, you don't want to be crazy, you don't want to take a guy like 60 spots earlier, you know, around eight value in round two just because he's your guy and you really want him. That would be an insane waste of resources. But in general, the idea that ADP is a myth and you can just get the guys you want on your team.

If we're talking around maybe two, depending on the player and where in the draft you are, just get the guys that you, like you're going to be kicking yourself if you, let's say you do really like Zayflower. and you're like, listen, I like him so much, he's going in the sixth round. I think he should be a fifth rounder, but I just can't go against ADP and go against his value. It wouldn't be smart drafting to take him. Then he goes somewhere else and he has his breakout season. You're going to be so upset because you knew it was coming.

You wanted to take him and you didn't. Just be willing to pull the trigger and take the guys that you want. Again, within reason, there is a rage where it begins to be kind of insane. But take the guys you want. Don't worry so much about it. year. Brian Thomas had as a fifth round value, which actually undersold him last year. And but his ADP, you guys remember this, was like ninth, tenth round.

And everywhere I was, I was taking the seventh to make sure I got him. So like you can, to your point, or I'm usually you can do both sides of it. It's like, know that like, okay, the ADP has this enormous gap and I can still take them well over ADP to make sure I get him, but also not doing it at a sane rate. 100%. All right. Let's wrap up with your number one tip, Jake. Yeah, and it just came at the play.

And I think this is going to bring in some names for this is don't waste your bench. And that's why I was trying not to lean into too much with Tom's previous point and kind of echoing what he said. But I see too often that people waste their bench. And where I say waste their bench is like the first two spots on your bench are going to be good players. Like I say that all the time. Like it's hard not to be like the first and I'm going to reference that draft. But it's for the reason not to be like, ha, ha, look at my team. But the first two players on my bench in that draft were Roma Dunzee and Brian Robinson.

those are, if you're playing in a two-flex league, those are drafted players that might even be starting on some teams. Those are good players. But after that, the rest of my bench, Jalen Wright, Tyler Al Jeter, Tray Harris, Jaden Higgins. What is that? Breakout potential, breakout potential, injury breakout potential, injury breakout potential. And that's what I'm saying is like the other four spots are much better. And I hate to come for two of your guys, but they were drafted in these last three rounds. Justice Hill and Rashad Bateman.

Where is the upside? nine. Like, if something happens to Derek Henry, we've seen Justice Hill, he is going to, to what Tom's point earlier, he is going to be part of some timeshare. He's not going to all of a sudden be a top 20 running back. Rashad Bateman, what is Rashad Bateman ever? Like, you hope you get a touchdown? You hope he's your wide receiver four in the week. Another one that went in the range, I won't just come for your Ravens, is Romeo Dobbs. Like, I'm sorry, Romeo Dobbs, but like, 8.5, 8.2 of the last two years, do you know how many times Romeo Dobbs has hit 20 points in a fantasy season in a game? Zero. He doesn't even have a

ceiling. And that's the thing is like, why is Romeo Dobbs on your bench? Oh, because you might have a buy to slide a measure wire receiver four. No, get rid of those guys. You want guys that could potentially be top 20, 25, 30 at wire receiver and running back. Again, after those first two, if you're in a deeper league, okay, maybe Romeo Dobbs actually needs to be there. But you get my point is that those first two spots, pretty good players, those next four, upside, upside, upside, and again, upside, which ties into Tom's point about using that last pick and looking at waivers and trying to jump ahead of everybody else. Yeah, I think it's really worth emphasizing the difference between value and upside because I do think with those later on picks, like, and it's not just upside overall. It's week-to-week upside.

It's I want a guy who like realistically could could help me win an individual week because it is a week-to-week game. Like Rishaw Bateman, he's wide receiver 56 right now. Just use examples you brought up. Rashah Bateman is wide receiver 56. Justice Hill is running back 62. I'm actually reasonably confident that if those guys stay healthy, they are going to outperform those values, but it won't be in a way that helps you win their league. If they are, yeah, if their wide receiver 40, you know, 8 and running back 51, yes, those are

technically values where you got them. But that doesn't mean they're going to help you win your league like some of these other guys who may be, may fall lower than they are, but then could actually be real league winners if the situation changes or circumstance, you know, ends up in their favor. So I think it's a great call to highlight the difference really between. upside in value. Tom, what does your bench typically look like by the time you're done with the draft? I end up quite often going running back heavy for my bench, and that's because it's just, it's so easy to understand which of them have roles, which of them have the potential to a role,

and which of them are going to be relevant enough for me to use them quite quickly into the season. So I'm always willing to take shots on RB2s or rookie running backs, and even if it means I don't of much wide receiver depth for my bench. Well, generally speaking, the wide receivers I'm drafting, I'm hoping they're going to be good enough to carry me to the by week anyway. Oh, you don't want that to really, sorry, I want to jump in. You were about to, quarterback, as Tom said this earlier that you just hit me with this one. One of the biggest wastes I see people do is drafting Lamar Jackson and then not only

drafting a second quarterback because you are never using that second quarterback except for Lamar Jackson's by week. That is the only time he's ever getting in your lineup. But so far so is that they do that. And like you said, the Caleb Williams, it's not even like the Caleb Williams. They'll draft guys that don't even run, which what is the upside? Like, Jared Gough is your second. Why the hell did you take a top five quarterback and then draft Jared Gough just because he's still there in the 15th round?

Like, that is one of the biggest was bench space I ever see in my life. Yeah, you shouldn't. And I've seen some people justify a move like that by saying, well, I just couldn't let somebody, it was too good of value. I didn't want somebody else to get him. this late. I'm like, I'm going to your own team. And like, like, make your, make your team better, not your, don't make your team more valuable, right? Like, what will be the, what will put your best starting lineup week in and week out out here? It's not whatever is giving you like, oh, I won the draft in terms of value based on what the ADP was or what consensus thought. It's what

what will give you the best chance to win. That's what matters at the end of the day. I tell you what. If Yahoo or ESPN gives you an A on your draft, you probably did it well. Yeah, and I see this with trading too, which is a little bit of a different conversation than we're talking about. But I'll see it all the time where people will say, like, well, I need to win this trade. But even if you are sometimes taking a value hit, your team is now better. If you have eight amazing wide receivers and no good running backs, if technically you're getting a value decrease in the receiver you're trading for a running back, it still gives you

a better lineup to put out there. That's like kind of the in-season version of the same idea, which is your goal is to give yourself the best team possible and the best chance to win. That should really be your only goal in the draft. It is not to win the draft. It is not to have everybody walk away saying, did you see all the values that guy got? It's to win the league. So that's kind of my final thought. Do you guys have any final thoughts here? I know we just throw out a bunch of tips, but Jake, any kind of last thought before we wrap up? I'll go back to trading one more time, and I'll say this. It didn't really fall into my top six, but for trading in general, I don't feel like happens enough, mostly because people are

scared. But here's the biggest part. I don't even think it's people are scared. Like you said, they don't want to look like the idiot. Like, I can't believe. I lose one out of, probably one out of four trades I make. Like, it just happens. Like, but the thing is, is be active. Everybody playing fantasy, well, not every. 90% of the people playing fantasy are lazy with trades. They say, they put, they use the trade block on all these apps because they want people to come to them. They don't want to put in the effort. They're just looking for somebody to come into their inbox. And then how many times have the people listening, are you guys even with me right Now, have you seen a trade go down and you'd be like, I would have given more.

I would have done more than the like, it's because people sit on there and they don't try to talk to people, don't try to get the conversation going. What do you need in trades? What do you think of this one? This is why I was thinking. Be more active. Just putting the effort and you are going to be a better trader and have a better team at the end of it.

It's such a great point. And I like, you use the word laziness. Like that might be right. I don't know what the right word is, but like there's just no willingness to. Hey, I'm going to look at my team. I'm going to look at your team. I'm going to find a deal that makes sense for both of us. It's just like, hey, I'm interested in maybe moving this guy.

Let come to me with your best offer. Okay, like, that's not a give and take. This is, it's supposed to be a negotiation. It's not supposed to be like, let me blow you away with this offer just so you can go brag about how you got so much value for this player. It's also like once you see one trade go down in a league, how often do you then see a glut of trades? It's like, you making that can really spur people into action.

other people will see that you're making a trade and then other people will be like, hey, ever anyone else on my team that you fancy? Like making trades in general just helps the league become so much more active. And I would say to this point, this would be almost becoming like a trade advice show, but like I think it's really important and I always talk about this on the dynasty side, but it is also true in the redraft side. It's really important to be good at self-evaluation and know what your team is actually good at or what isn't. So like I run into this on the dynasty side with like,

people who really should be rebuilding. Like, it's very obvious. They have, like, two good pieces. They should be trading for as much as they can get. But then they're like, well, no, I'm trying to win this year. I'm like, that lack of self-scouting is going to hurt you in the long run. And it's the same thing in the redraft. You need to know, like, hey, I actually am weak at this spot.

And it would benefit me to make a deal. Or I'm overly strong at this spot. I have too much depth here. And it would behoove me to make a deal. Like, like, that ability to self-scout, I think, is really undervalued in fantasy in general. but it is really important. I see people too unwilling to give up the best player because it's the best. Meanwhile, their roster is constructed like the Giants.

It's Malik neighbors and nobody else. And it's like, well, you're not going to win this league with only two good players. You need to, you know, I understand you don't want to give up Malik neighbors. But at the same time, the only way you're making the playoffs is by a better constructed team. Everybody's afraid to get screenshot. Oh, can you believe I put off this trade? You know, what a loser. Tom, any final thoughts?

will wrap up. Yeah, nothing quite as deep as some of the stuff we've talked about. But just particularly if you're in a home league, just enjoy it. Like, I think it's so easy to go to live drafts or be in drafts where people are so desperately worried about making a bad pick. And it's like, for all the reasons we've talked about tonight, like, you can recover from making a bad pick. And enjoying it is what this is all about.

Like, and, you know, getting your guys where it works. getting the guys with upside and being at a stake you claims, that's all what this comes back to. And sometimes maybe we just lose track of that enough. And it's just a timely reminder to enjoy it. But don't get too drunk at the same time. Make a quote unquote bad pick. And then if it pans out, you get to just rub it in the face of everybody who laughed at you for the next four months.

And that is super fun. Yeah, it's all about having fun at the end of the day. And, you know, we might know more than the average person because we put a lot of time and effort into this. as our, you know, careers. But at the end of the day, we don't have crystal balls, right? You should just go out and get the players you want to root for that you think are going to help you win the league and have fun and, you know, have conviction and, yeah, enjoy it. You're doing this with friends and family, maybe coworkers and have a good time.

I think that's a great note to end it on. So we will go ahead and wrap up there. Lots of good advice in this one, even beyond just draft days, some trading advice in there as well. Thanks to everybody for tuning in for Tom and Jake. I'm Ryan Warmly. We'll see again next time. Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast. If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on Apple Podcasts at FantasyPros.

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