2026 Sleepers! Players You MUST Target! Best Cheat Sheet, Draft Guide (08/11 Fantasy Football Podcast)
62m 46s
In this episode of Fantasy Football Today, hosts Adam, Dave, and Jamie dive into sleeper picks—players drafted after pick 100—for the upcoming season. They share fun facts and analysis on several under-the-radar options. Jamie highlights Jordan Mason (Vikings RB) and Malik Willis (Dolphins QB) as his top sleepers. Mason benefits from the Vikings' shift to outside zone running, a scheme where he has thrived historically, and he offers strong value in rounds 9-10. Willis, meanwhile, brings elite rushing upside, potentially leading the position in rushing yards, though his passing consistency remains a question. Dave adds J’Cori Croskey-Merritt (Commanders RB) and Isaiah Likely (Giants TE) to the list, noting Croskey-Merritt’s potential as a starter with improved pass-catching work, while Likely has been the Giants' best pass catcher in camp. The hosts debate Mason vs. Croskey-Merritt, favoring Mason for now due to scheme fit and safer role. The news segment covers Chargers OC Mike McDaniel’s "hot hand" approach at running back, which the hosts dismiss as coachspeak, expecting Amari Hampton to dominate touches. Injury notes include Alec Pierce’s second PRP injection and missed practices for JK Dobbins and Christian McCaffrey. The episode also promotes upcoming mock drafts and league opportunities for listeners.
This is Fantasy Football today from CBS Sports. Swap away! Can you believe this? It's a no again. It's time to dominate your fantasy league. To the races, play stays at his feet. Just gotta go to the distance. Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. Big week for you here on Fantasy Football today. It's Adam, Dave, and Jamie here on Tuesday, August 11th. And it's Sleepers Breakouts and Bus Week. Tomorrow, Wednesday, we have four Breakouts episodes. And we have three awesome guests joining us. Jake Seely, Chris Harris, J.J. Zacharyson, although I think I might be pronouncing that wrong. Might be Jack Arisen. Zacharyson, we gotta ask him. Jack Arisen? Not that. It's definitely not Jack Arisen. Did he recently move to New Orleans? ZZ, Jack Arisen. He tweeted about it. Yeah, he's exactly. But you know, it's kind of a joke that is, yes. But today is Sleepers Day. So these are picks, basically after Pick 100, we'll use CBS ADP today. Here are some fun facts about Dave, Jamie, and Heath Sleepers. He's not on the show today, but still we'll talk about a couple of his Sleepers. Fun fact, number one, four of Jamie's Sleepers that he gave, this aren't all of his Sleepers, but I asked them to give me a list of about six or seven. Four of Jamie's six Sleepers start with the letter J. But one of them, that's pretty narcissistic, if you ask me. But one of them is not, J'Cori Croskey Merit. That is Dave Sleeper. Washington has produced 18 and 15 running back rushing touchdowns in the last two seasons. Fifth most in the NFL. However, they've been 26 and 30 seconds and running back targets the last two seasons. Okay, next fact, four of Jamie's six Sleepers start with the letter J. But one of them is not Jared Goff. That's one of Heath Sleepers. Now, by the way, I think Jamie probably agrees on the other ones. But Heath's list has Jared Goff on it. He has been top 14 per game, four straight seasons, top 10 per game, two straight seasons, and yet he's quarterback 16 in ADP, and he has one cold weather game. How about that, Dave? How many outdoor games does Jared Goff have great question? Do you know the answer? Are you cheating? Oh, I'm looking it up. I don't know. Yeah, why? I don't know. What's the answer? Do you know? I do. At Buffalo, at Carolina, at Miami. I got four in Chicago. There will be five. No, because Green Bay-- You're not counting a week, 18. Yeah, Green Bay is week 18. There will be five in the first 17 weeks this season. Was Arizona outdoors? No, game and music. Oh, come on, Jamie. Doesn't even count. And one of them is Jalen Coker, who scored 14 or more PPR fantasy points in four of his last six games, including the postseason, scored 28.4 in the playoff game. He outtargated Tenerola McMillan in those six games, Jalen Coker. Dave, one of your Sleepers is Bownick. He's been top 13 per game in both of his seasons, and yet he's QB17 and ADP makes sense of it, Dave Richard. I think people see a lot of other quarterbacks that have more upside and appeal than Bownick's, but they're kind of forgetting about the appeal that Nick's has, in that he's still a running quarterback. I don't think that the fracture that he suffered in the playoffs last year is going to slow him down. He's gotten improved receiving court. Not only did they bring in Jalen Waddle, but Pat Bryant has started making some waves. There are huge question marks about the run game. Yes, they're going to have somebody available to run the football for them in every game because they restock their running back room. But it's not necessarily a great running back room. I think a lot of this will fall on Bownicks. Hopefully it takes a step forward in terms of efficiency. And he's one of several quarterbacks that you can draft late and get good value from. Do you target Bownicks or do you just say, all right, did quarterback didn't work out the way I planned? Let's go to Bownicks. That's the latter. Yeah, which is okay. Of course, it's okay. Good. Let's see. More Sleepers here. Jaden Reed is one of the Jays for Jamie. Since entering the NFL in 2023, Jaden Reed is second among wide receivers in fantasy points per target. And that does not even include his rushing totals, which over 100 yards in each of his first two seasons. Not a lot last year, though. By the way, can you name the wide receiver who he's going into his third year now? Leads the NFL. He leads all wide receivers in fantasy points per target. He doesn't have a ton of targets. And his name also begins with Jay. And he was briefly a sleeper for me. That's cool. I still call him. It's Jaylen McMillan, but not really a lot of targets. Travis Kelsey is one of Heath Sleepers, at least according to his first Sleepers article. And he was top five tied in with Patrick Mahomes in 2025. He's tied in 12 and 80 P. You guys agree, Kelsey a sleeper? Of course. Yeah, that all used to good. And then Josh Downs, I don't know if he's one of the guys Dave submitted on his list today, but I don't know if he's just, you know, our sleepers like the FFT sleeper. We love Josh Downs. The fun fact I have on him is actually a little discouraging because he's he's had stretches of all three of his NFL seasons where he's played seven years run 78 per 76% or more of the routes. And he's only been good in in 2024. He wasn't good in 2025 or 2023, but didn't have Daniel Jones in those games in 2025. I think it's pretty irrelevant. We like Josh Downs. He has a great opportunity. And by the way, Alec Pierce turns out he has a second PRP injection on his injured ankle. All right, let me get two sleepers that you love. We'll do a couple of sleepers here. We did a few there, but we'll get more in depth on them. Let me get a couple that you love. We'll also talk about the news and notes because you're going, what? Chargers three running backs every week, right? The hot hand. What's that all about? JK Dobbins. JK Dobbins and Christian McCaffrey missing practice. What? That's weird. We'll talk about all that. But Jamie, give me two sleepers that you love right now. Two sleepers that I love right now. I'll go with one with the letter J, which would be that you haven't mentioned yet. Jordan Mason and the other which would be Malik Wells. So Jordan Mason that running back Malik Wells quarterback. You like me going depth? Yes. Yes. Well, for Mason, it seems like he's going to be the running down sky for the Vikings. So the starting running back at least based on the reports are getting at him in a soda. And I think there's an opportunity for him to be better just because the offense will be better. The offensive environment should be better because of Kyler Murray. So I think there's an opportunity for more touchdowns. He's 27. Aaron Jones is going to be 32. Clayborn who's also getting some positive reviews. A sixth round rookie. I don't know how much he'll cut into Mason and Jones' workload. But it's something to keep an eye on there. I just think based on the value that you're getting plus the opportunity, if there is an injury for Aaron Jones as we saw last year. In the time that Jones missed, I believe it was five games. He averaged over 13 PPR points per game. So that would make him a number two running back if that's the case. You're getting him basically as a flex. In some cases, maybe a number four running back. So I just think it's easy to target somebody like this. Now the downside is he's got 28 career receptions in four seasons. So I don't think he's going to help you in that regard. But if the offense is better and he's going to be the starter, I think there's just a chance when you look at him, similar probably to like Dave's going to say about Croskey Merit. Like this isn't going to be a guy's going to help you in terms of pass-catching ability. But touchdowns and rushing yards for the value that you're getting, I think is very good. And then for Malik Willis, I think it comes down to how much are you going to buy into his rushing? Because that's what's going to really make or break. I think it's fantasy production. He has the good throwing the ball according to reports. I don't know how much of that is the Miami defense. But he has been doing a good job finding Caleb Douglas. Sorry. Finding Caleb Douglas, finding the guys that are, you know, at least performing for him right now. Hopefully this receiving court continues to evolve and grow. But if you take his, if the games were he played at least 64% of the snaps, he rushed for at least 40 yards per game on average in those games. And only eight quarterbacks in NFL history have average more than 40 yards rushing per game. So I think that's an opportunity for him to be successful in that regard. He could lead the position in rushing yards. I don't think that's a stretch. You know, he's probably going to compete with Jane Daniels and Lamar Jackson in that category. But again, the value for what he can give you, they may not win many games. He's probably going to turn the ball over quite a bit. He may not have a lot of passing touchdowns. But I think when you look at the total numbers, especially the rushing numbers, put him in the top 12 category of things. Go right. Adam, what was the question you asked me about Bonnex? Why are people, why is he going later than what he's doing? Is he the type of quarterback that you're targeting late or that you're settling for late? Yeah. Right? That's kind of the genesis of your question. With Bonnex, he's the kind of quarterback that I want to settle for if I'm waiting on QB and I want to draft two of them. Willis, I'm fine doing that with, but he's also one that is so intriguing because of that rushing upside and because I don't think he's as zero as a passer. Jamie's right. He's not going to throw a ton of touchdowns. I'll turn the ball over a little bit. I love the film of him throwing last year. And I could see a world where he actually keeps the dolphins in a bunch of these games and is a awesome fantasy quarterback. I'm gravitating toward taking him as my second quarterback when I've got a stud quarterback. Or even when I've got just like a solid starter that I feel good about from the Trevor Lawrence Patrick Holmes type tier. And I still get Willis late.
in case he starts the year as a better version of what Justin Fields has been when he's had opportunities the past couple of years. And the other point that I want to make about Jordan Mason, I think this is what's going to make people feel even better about taking Jordan Mason as a sleeper. The Vikings are changing their run scheme. They want to do more outside zone. In each of the last four years, when he's run outside zone, Jordan Mason has averaged at least 4.6 yards per carry, including three years, and his own San Francisco, three years over five yards per carry when he's run outside zone. So they're fitting their offensive run game to his strength. And he's come to camp looking a little bit leaner. And the reports have been great. Jamie talked about that. I think that there's a real bull case to be made for Jordan Mason has a tremendous fantasy value. Yeah, for sure. Round nine, round 10 for Jordan Mason. He's been a starting running back before for seven games of 2024. He was on pace for 311 carries, 1,620 yards, and seven touchdowns rushing, plus 24 catches for 209 yards. I don't think he's going to be on pace for 311 carries, but you never know. It could be maybe like two, 72. That'd be a lot. That'd be like Aaron Jones basically having no role. But there's a possibility of that just in terms of carries. So Mason, yeah. And then Dave, I'll throw it to you for the two sleepers you want to talk about. But if you wouldn't mind making one of them, Chakory Krasky merit, because I'd like to compare the two, who do you guys like better? Jamie, I can just let you go. Jamie, real quick, who do you like better, Mason or Bill? Right now it's Bill, but it's a lot of speculation because Ben standing, who does a great job carving the team, said that he's been flashing as a pass catcher. If that's going to be a part of his game, then that's going to help him significantly hold off for shot white. If he's not going to be involved in the passing game, then I think we have a problem. So he doesn't have to become kind of game well, you know, for example, he doesn't have to be a 50 catch guy, a 40 catch guy, but I think we can get to 30 catches and keep him on the field. So that happened late last week or over the weekend that report came out. And then there was video yesterday of him just really getting abused in some past protection drills. So you asked me this Sunday night about the Laramie Tuncel injury. This could really impact Bill because if they don't have their blindside protector and they don't have somebody that can keep players off of Jane Daniels, we're not going to see a lot of jacquery cross game merit in obvious passing on situations. I definitely have merit ranked too high. Like I've got him in the round seven range. I don't think he belongs there. And I've got Jordan Mason in like the round nine ten range and I don't think he belongs there. So that gap is definitely going to shrink, but I do have Bill a little or significantly for now out of Jordan Mason, but it should be much smaller. What I love about cross game merit is just the opportunity to do a little bit more in the offense. And Jamie just talked about it. This is something that the commanders have been working on with him since the last season ended. They really want him to be. I can't say the feature back, but the one A and we're shot white to be the one B. And we know that just because you play on passing downs doesn't mean or if you don't plan passing downs because cross game merit probably will not plan passing down. That doesn't mean you're going to be a zero in the passing game. You can still get catches on first and second down. And if he proves to the coaching staff over the next several weeks that he can do that, they're going to use him as such. It's not going to be to the point of 50 catches or anything like that, but it could be in that 30 catch range just like Jamie talked about. And I'm not certain that he's going to be their goal line guy. White could also fill that role. So I'm a little bit nervous, but at that ADP to get a running back that's going to at least start. Any appears to be improving in two thirds of his talent. I don't think his best protection is going to improve. Then yes, I think that's something that we can look at with a mid to late rom pick is a potential starter for your fantasy squad. Cory Crossgameric going 104th and CBS sports ADP, Jordan Mason going 109th. Remember, all of these guys have ADPs 100 or later, except for is on CBS, except for Isaiah likely who will talk about later who is going 99th on CBS. But we'll let you keep them Dave are give me one more guy that you like as a sleeper. Let's just go right to likely and this is broken record time for me because I've been talking about him for months now and there's been no slowing of the drum beat for him as a primary target for Jackson Dart. In fact, while mulling neighbors is still working his way into game shape, it's been likely that's been the best pass catcher in Giants camp thus far. And there's been some some hiccups with the offense and hopefully that gets worked out. But I'm encouraged by his opportunity to be the second best pass catcher in this offense and I've said this before, sorry for repeating nine career games where he's had at least six targets, 12 and a half ppr points and eight of the nine games. And that's really good for a tight end. It's especially good for a tight end that you're going to draft around a hundredth overall. Okay. Yeah, likely your Kelsey, who do you like better? Likely, Jamie, likely your, Kettle. It's likely for now, but it looks like George Kettle could easily leap frog him if he continues to look good and practice and get off that pup list and be ready for week one. Yeah, I would take likely over fan at this point. Oh my goodness. Yeah, I'm not there. I'm likely over pits and that's close, but I've got fan in the head of likely. Okay. So a few things real quick here. The FFT open, obviously spots still available there. And if you've already signed up for a league and that league has filled, I think we're going to send out the invites this week. And also if you go to tiny URL.com/fftdonate2026 and you click on the auction house section, this is exciting stuff. This is where you can bid on spots for the podcast league for the Superflex podcast league, which is what we call the leftovers league that heathen I are in, heathen I share a team, and then we play against nine other competitors. That's a 10 team Superflex league. The podcast league is a 14 team league that's been going on for like 16 years or something like that. Let's see what else. Oh, we have this new eliminator league. The rules are, I think it's the top half stay on and that bottom six are out, but you could in theory stay in this league for several years. And then we'll put the other spots up. This is for, you know, for St. Jude auction next year, but this is a brand new eliminator league that at least some of us are in. I know I'm in it, Jamie's in it. Dave, are you in this one? I don't believe I am. Okay. I some of us are. I might be. I don't even remember. You can see the details on the draftathon website, tiny URL.com/fftdonate2026. We have a mock draft tonight at 7pm, YouTube.com/fantasyfootball today. Let me cook. We don't have an email address for you. So please email me if you don't have one that works. Yeah, one that works. Eddie, please email me fantasy football at cbsi.com. And that's our email address. By the way, if you want to just send some emails for the show, we got a mail back show every week. We'll be right back with more sleepers and actually some important news and notes when we come back on fantasy football today. We are back. So let's get to the news and notes and people are buzzing about what Charger's offensive coordinator, Mike McDaniel said. He's going to ride the hot hand at running back. He's going to use Amarie and Hampton, Kamani Videll and Keaton Mitchell, probably every game and kind of play the hot hand once you're into games. Jamie, what do you make of that? What's your job? Fooled you? Don't fall for that, please. Yeah. It's just bad. It's just McDaniel, McDaniel. Last year he said about the dolphins that they were going to use for running backs. So this is just one of those things where he, I mean, listen, they're going to use other guys to what extent he uses Keaton Mitchell and Kamani Videll remains to be seen. But Amarie and Hampton is going to be the majority of touches there. So if there's, let's say, 25 running back touches for the game, if you want to be conservative with it, I'm going to guess it's probably 18 for Hampton and then seven for the other two. So I wouldn't expect too much. It's a reason not to overvalue Keaton Mitchell because I think a lot of people excited that he could be because of the McDaniel posting wanted signs for Mitchell and during Freight and Sea. And you see a couple of highlights of him catching the ball that he can maybe be the past catching back there. I think Hampton's going to certainly play on passing down and catch the ball in first second down. And then Videll clearly did a good job replacing Hampton last year, at least at times. They're not in the same weight class. If Amarie and Hampton's healthy, he's going to be a stud and challenge to be a top five fantasy running back. So I think round two is the perfect spot for him. You agree, Dave? Yeah. 100%. Well, it, yeah, clearly round two. I mean, how early in round two? I've got him as a top 15 pick. Yeah, he's right in that range. He is behind, I think what number running back, I think he's running back eight for me, but yeah, top 15. I mean, you've got him behind Taylor and McCaffrey, I assume. Yeah, I haven't mind, Jenty, I haven't behind Cook. I haven't behind Chase Brown. I haven't behind Ken Walker. That's it. Okay. And I've got eight Chan ahead of him. I've got Jenty one spot behind him. If I believed even a little bit of what Mike McDaniel was saying, I would make that switch in a heartbeat, obviously, but I don't believe it. He once told me and I think it was before last season that he liked having a bunch of running backs in his, in his running back room that he could trust and that it really makes sense to have so many that he can put out in the field and just utilize them all. And then we all saw what happened last year, a Chan dominated. And so I'm expecting that to be.
the exact same thing. He talks a lot. But he has a history of splitting. He's split with most certain and Wilson when they acquired Wilson as a in a midseason trade. He's split most certain and HN. It's not like it's never happened before. That's fine. But those I would say that like in the most certain HN example, that was HN's rookie year was it not? Yep. Yeah. So that makes sense to not put too much on one guy in his first season, especially when you've got a solid veteran and most who knows exactly what he's supposed to be doing. This isn't that. This is this is a second year running back in Hampton. He's been out there. He knows what he's doing. And the other two back, it's not like he's got a vet. He doesn't have a most on his depth chart. He's got Keaton Mitchell who's a great air back and he's got Commandy Vidalu Prove last year that he's a good backup running back. Okay. All right. Good. I'm glad to hear you say that because I want to believe in Omari and Hampton. And I want to believe in Jameer Gibbs. And I'd like to believe in Isaiah Pateco, but that's getting harder. But Detroit Center, Kade May is free agent signing that they were going to plug in at center. He's going to miss eight to ten weeks according to Ian Rappaport with a fractured wrist. And Isaiah Pateco has an MCL spray and but is expected to be ready for week one. So forget about that. You might be able to get him for free now. I'm not sure. Action leaks. All right. This is great news for me. You're right. But with the Kade May is injury, the center out eight to ten weeks, which you know might be a little bit more than a month of the season. Is that change anything for Jameer Gibbs, Dave? I'm still taking him at the 101. It's still a great situation where he's a talented running back. They want to get him a lot of work. There's there's a pathway for him to be the offensive player of the year. And so I don't want to give up on that just because the center is going to miss a portion of the season. Luther Burton could be back for week one. He has the groin injury. Is he still around four pick or should Luther Burton be around five pick guys? I moved him down. JK Dobbins left with a soft tissue injury. Sean Peyton said that Dobbins will be fine. But Jamie, let's play a hypothetical here and say Dobbins misses time at some point in the season. I know crazy. But if that does happen, you know, that's when RJ Harvey became not an every down back, but he got two thirds of the running back carriers. He got enough K. He got a decent amount of catches and he was solid. What do you think happens this year, though, if Dobbins misses time? And by the way, when I say Harvey was solid, he was solid for fantasy. He really struggled as a rusher. What do you think happens this year, Jamie, if Dobbins misses time? I think Jonah Coleman is probably the rushing downs back and RJ Harvey gets a little bit more work in that regard. I don't think we see RJ Harvey as a primary ball carrier unless both guys are injured or Coleman really just struggles if given an opportunity. Like you said, Harvey did not perform well as a rusher last year from week 11 on. Week 10 was when Dobbins suffered the foot injury. He was amazing for fantasy because he scored touchdowns and he was getting a lot of work overall, averaging over 15 and a half or averaging 15 and a half PPR points per game. Once Dobbins was injured, I think it was like week 12 until week 17 because week 11 was not great for him. So I still think Harvey benefits the most if Dobbins is out. But I don't think we get that type of performance because we may not get those goal line touches or those touchdown opportunities just across the board. So it's just tough to trust Harvey. You know, he was so good for fantasy managers in the fantasy playoffs because of those chances. I just don't think that's the same. I think that's why they drafted Jonah Coleman. RJ Harvey, so his explosive play rate, carries of 12 or more yards, was 2.7% last year, which was second lowest among 49 running backs with 100 or more carries ahead of only Chuba Hubbard. But it is the worst explosive play rate for any rookie running back in the last 12 seasons. And the only running back who was really bad at that in the last 12 seasons and ended up being good was Christian McCaffrey. McCaffrey was at 3.4%. And Harvey was at 2.7%. All of this is to say he had a really bad year as a russia. McCaffrey meanwhile mispractice with tightness. I don't think anyone's worried about that. He's going to mispractice every week. This was 2024. That was tightness. Oh yeah, he'll be ready for week one. We had a game tomorrow. He'll be playing Kyle Shanep said that. Yeah, but that was the kill. He's 10 to 9. This wasn't it. It was tightness in his calf. I thought it was a kill. He's 10 to 9. This for him could be wrong. I think it ended up being. I don't know if that's what they called it in 24. I can start. It's troubling. You don't want to see this. You don't want to see what he is and what he's capable of doing and dealing with injuries because every time he's had 400 plus touches, he's been hurt the following year. And so let's not go down this path again. Let's see him play. Let's see him be the guy's capable of being. But this is why we're saying we're concerned because 30 years old now coming off 450 touches the most he's ever had. And here we go. Okay. If this is a one day thing or even a three day thing, I'm not worried. But if it lingers, it's pretty obvious. If it lingers, what you do, that's a straf stock of these out of week with tightness. What are they covering for? What is the tightness? Yeah. You saw what they did, right? Yes, sir. What do you mean what they did? So they move away from the electrical substation because they have what I want to see. No Jordan James right now dealing with the rib injury. No Kaylen Black who's still banged up. No Isaac Garendo who's still dealing with the pectoral injury. Debo Samuel was playing running back for them and they worked out Zameer White and Nihim Hines. Like this is this team could be very, very bad right now. It's crazy. The Patriots sign Hunter Henry to a two year 60 million dollar extension, 16 million, not 60. Dallas signed offensive tackle Quinn and Williams to a three year, $106 million dollar extension. Signs now through 2030. Running backs average 4.4 yards per carry against the Cowboys and games that Williams played. 4.8 yards per carry and games he did not play. And I mentioned earlier Alec Pierce had a second PRP injection in his ankle. So Josh Downs or Alec Pierce? Oh, down. It's gotta be down. Okay. There was a good story on ESPN to with their writers. Soulac and Fowler. They went to a bunch of different training camps and they had a lot of reporting from there. But you know what? This is a sleeper show. So let's do some more sleepers and I'll end I'll finish up with the there's a sleeper in those notes that I particularly like and even suggested. Who's that? Rashid Shaheed. Rashid Shaheed was mentioned. Adonai Mitchell was mentioned. Jalen Naylor and do a trait Tucker was really more mentioned than Jalen Naylor. Don Tavian Wix was mentioned. Denzel Boston was mentioned. So I'll go over that a little bit. All right, Dave, your sleepers that you provided. These are not your full sleep full list of sleepers. But Patrick Mahomes, Jonathan Brooks, Josh Downs, Isaiah likely, Bonix, Jekori Kroski Merit and Casey Concepcion. So I think we've covered likely and Nick's and Jekori Kroski Merit fair. Yeah, okay. Let me ask you about Mahomes. Same question I asked you about Bonix. Is this a guy you target as a late-round sleeper or you know, round nine minutes? Yes. Okay. Yep. Go ahead. And obviously my philosophy on drafting a quarterback this year is you've got to feel like you're stealing one. And I don't know if there's a better feeling of stealing a quarterback than getting a former multi-time NFL MVP with a pick in round nine or 10. And I'm impressed that he seems to be fine from the ACL injury. I like the offensive line. I love what the run game edition of Kenneth Walker, what that means for the offense and what it should mean for how defense is a just to taking on Kansas City. I know that he doesn't have a diary killing his offense anymore, but he's put up huge numbers before without diary killing his offense. And he didn't last year for crying out loud before he got hurt. He had 28.1 pPR, 28.1 fantasy points and six point in his first six games without rice. And that went up to 28.8 in his first eight games week nine on. He stunk. But I think we can all look and see that he's got potential. Why would you pass up on somebody like this? I feel a little dirty, dirty. Why did I pronounce the tea like that? Adam that was bad. I feel I feel a little dirty. Suggesting that my homes is a sleeper because he's got so much potential to finish as a top five guy. But if what the hell man, if we're getting him in round nine or round 10, let's let's call it what it is, a tremendous value. Okay. Would you rather have Jared Goff or Patrick Williams? My homie. Goff. Okay. Jonathan Brooks going 105th overall. What do you think that 80 P's going to settle as the reports continue to come out on him? If we get even one preseason highlight of Jonathan Brooks making a play, it's going to move to round seven. And I think I'd still be okay taking the chance on Jonathan Brooks in round seven. If it comes to that, because these are all players. The whole point of a sleeper is you're getting a player at one value on draft day and he turns out to be better than that. And the entire the entire operation of a draft is get the best players you can and hope that you get guys that outperform where you draft them. And from round seven on, my goal every year is to get just one player, one player that is better than where I draft him. And Brooks can easily be that guy. So if the reports are true when he's looking like his old self and camp and he's he's adding muscle, he looks a little bit stronger. We know that he can be a factor in the passing game. We know Chuba Hubbard.
is just okay. And we saw last year, you had to go back and look to remember it. But when Rico Dattel came on, the Panthers coaching staff did give Dattel more work all the way up until the playoff game. And then Chuba started to get more work than Dattel did. So they liked Chuba, but they want Chuba on the team, but they're willing to put him in a complimentary role. And so if Brooks is gonna be good, he's gonna be potentially awesome for fantasy managers. He can help the Panthers. I don't love their offensive line, really their offensive tackles. But that's just gonna help him get more catches out of the backfield, because that's one way that an offense can work around having mediocre tackles. And so getting him, where do I have him right now, like a round eight pick? If it ends up being round seven, I guess I'd be okay with that, but there's potential for him to finish as a top 20 running back if not higher, provided that he stays healthy for the whole season. That is Jonathan Brooks we're talking about. By the way, over the last nine seasons, there have been 16 running backs, almost two per year that have been drafted in round seven or later and finished top 12. So that's pretty cool. I think Travis H. Ann was one of those guys last year, although that kind of bothers me, because so his ADP was so influenced by the tank bigs, be trade. But Chavante Williams was definitely one. It was just a great discount last year. So I don't know if we have that guy like Chavante Williams was so clearly the best option, I think for the Cowboys. We didn't know it at the time. I don't know if we have that guy. Maybe it's Mason. And by Miles Sanders come on. Maybe it's Mason. Maybe it's Jacobi Croskey Merritt. Maybe it's Jonathan Brooks. A running back that's going late that could be a top 20 guy. Top 12. Top 12. Like Chavante, an ETA and a Ray Chan. I mean Mason could be a main pilot. This is ADP a higher than that, isn't it? Oh, you're saying around the hundred? No, it's round seven or later, it was mine. So round seven is what pick, pick 84, 85. I don't think we get that's where around seven ends. That's where it ends. Sorry. So that's right. I don't think we get it too. Number three. Quite that high. No, I mean, look, it's always surprising. I didn't think Chavante, I liked Chavante Williams last year. I think he was going to be top 12 running back, you know, it's hard to predict. But I got a state healthy and he scored a lot of touchdowns. Who could run away with their backfield on a good offense? Without an injury? Yeah. That's being taken after 73rd overall. Without an injury. Where's Doudal and Warren? They're in that range. They're definitely in that range. And Doudal appears to be the one A there. But I think he's going to need Jalen Warren to miss time for him to really run away with it. I think Brooks is a candidate. I really do. After what we saw last year in Doudal ended up being in the year before. Yeah, sure. That's a great call. So I think Brooks can be that guy. I'm nervous to say Travion can be that guy, especially since the training camp reports haven't been trained on the run. But Travion's around five pick. Yeah, which is ridiculous. But if he falls to round seven, I don't know. I don't even know if I can even say it. It could be two and if he falls after the latest report. Sure. Yeah. Could be two and why couldn't it be Chris Rodriguez? Pretty hard to see him just taken over that backfield without an injury. That's I think the difference between, you know, a Bayesville Tutan because right now, sorry, this is a little bit of a detour. There may not be that much of a difference between Bayesville Tutan and a guy like Blake Corham. I mean, their roles are seemingly different, but you could see their stats being similar. But Tutan, I think, and everybody probably thinks, has a chance to just be so much better than Chris Rodriguez where he just gains a bigger role as the season goes on. It's not going to happen for Blake Corham. Kyron Williams is so good. But it's, yeah, I'm really struggling with Tutan because I like him a lot, but it's possible that he's just a waste. Is he Tony Pollard? Exactly. Where? He's he gets you over a thousand totally yards. He plays a lot every week. He does a score a ton of touchdowns. End of the year, it's a thousand yards and five touchdowns that's Tony Pollard. And Dave, let me just read or Jamie, whatever, whoever brought up the Steelers, guys. Let me just read what the ESPN training camp report was. It was quote, I can't get a lien on Jalen Warren and Rico Dattel, but I'm confident both will be used enough to be playable in any given week. Dattel is a more than capable receiving back. And I think he'll bite into Warren's catches more than most people realize. Warren is a spectacular tackle breaker. And I think he'll bite into Dattel's carries more than people, more than most people realize. And this was a fantasy nugget from, I'm not sure which of the beat, which of the reporters was there, but well, is an ESPN be reported? Either. No, it was either Jeremy Fowler Benjamin, so that day. Oh, I see. Sorry, I don't know which one that is usually Brooks on top of stuff for the Steelers. All right. Dave, what's there? There's been non ESPN be reporters all over Steelers camp that have said that Dattel looks like the better option at this point. Interesting. Okay. Yeah. I have Dattel. You should have Dattel ahead of Warren in your rankings. Even in public. I think you're okay. It'll be fun to watch and see how that one turns out. Yeah, I just think he's going to get more opportunities in the passing game. I think that matters. Yeah. Is there anyone else? Oh, yeah. Casey Concepcion and Josh Downs. Let's talk about them. I want to establish what our expectations are for Josh Downs. As we've come off very high on him, just how high are we? Dave, compare him to Casey Concepcion. How do you like those guys? I think they're both in the ball. I think they both have a similar role in each of their respective offenses. They'll play in the slot quite a bit. They'll work the middle of the field quite a bit. I think that they're both after catch receivers. They've got good speed. They can make guys miss. So they're very similar. Downs is ranked higher because he's done it before where two years removed from a maverick jing over 13 PPR points per game on 7.6 targets per game. I have a little bit of a hard time believing he's going to get that many targets per game. But let's flip those numbers. If it's 6.7, I can buy into that. It could be 7.6 for however many games out. It pierces misses, by the way. So the longer that pierces out, the better that it is for both downs and Tyler Warren. In full PPR, it's really easy to believe in downs. With Concepcion, there's a pathway for him to get 7 targets per game. I love what I've been reading about him and Denzel Boston. I especially like the fact that Concepcion took a big hit in practice, like maybe seven days ago. And he walked off holding his arm. And it looked like he had a big shoulder injury, was right back out there days later doing his thing. And so I think there's room for Boston to get some good numbers. I think there's room for Fanon to get some very good numbers. And I think Concepcion can also get very good numbers, particularly in full PPR because I think he can get 7 targets per game. And in the case of Cleveland, especially, that's an offense that I expect to either be in close games or trailing. And that should help the target volume just go up for everybody across the board. I'm going to throw out some names and numbers for you here. Justin Jefferson as a rookie was drafted 125th overall in fantasy was wide receiver 10 per game. Chase Claypool was drafted 200 than Payton Barber, I forget. Not at first. Chase Claypool 236th and ADP, wide receiver 32 per game. CDLAM, these are all these guys, I'm not going to say where they were all went. They were all after pick 100. CDLAM, wide receiver 35 per game. Brandon Iyuk, wide receiver 19 per game as a rookie. Jalen Waddle, wide receiver 14 per game. I'm on Ross St. Brown, 26th per game. Garrett Wilson, 31st per game, Olave 27th per game. Again, all of these guys, rookies being drafted after pick 100. Pukin, Akua, Tank Dell, Brian Thomas, Jr. Lad Maconkey, those guys all smashed their ADP as rookies. Last year was the first time in five years or six years, I think, that we didn't have at least two rookie wide receivers picked after pick 100 that finished either top 24 overall or per game. Will we get back to that this year? I don't really see it, but I think Concepts Jalen is probably the best bet. I don't know. I would guess so. I don't think there's a rookie wide receiver. I think he's the best bet. And I think Boston is a pretty good bet to get north of six targets per game. And I wouldn't be surprised if Boston ended with more touchdowns than Concepts Jalen. I just don't agree with that. My biggest concern is, first and foremost, the quarterback because I think both guys have looked terrible so far in camp. It's the one of the worst quarterback battles that maybe we've seen in the last 10 years. Just how poorly these guys have performed. It's going to be a very slow-paced offense. I think there's a lot of moving parts to this offense. The concern I have is if Concepts Jalen is going to play inside, which I think makes some sense if they're going to try and put Boston on the field because I think Judy's going to be either the X or the Z. We could have a problem of him just sharing the field space with Fanon, which is why I'm a little bit concerned about Fanon. And so if this was a more capable quarterback, I would be like, "Oh, wow. This is awesome." These guys are fantastic. Look how great these guys could be. If Judy's the fourth, let's go. But it just feels icky. So it's a good call. I mean, where you're getting him the upside-down risk. But I do see the potential of what Boston could be because what Watson will still probably do well is, oh, bleep, chuck it down field. He's not- So that's if Watson's the quarterback. What if it's your door? And if it's not Watson, then I think that helps Fanon and maybe helps Concepts Jalen. But this just feels icky across the board. So you're saying which rookie receivers can come out of nowhere, right? Is that basically the process? Pick after pick 100 right so 24.
And by the way, Jamie, I have to say just at an ADP check, but Kai Lemon is now in this range. She is going in. - Yeah, I mean, that's the entry. That's one I would probably bank on more if he's healthy. - Yeah. - The type of guy I think that you may find is not necessarily because of talent, because I think it's definitely clearly is more talented, but like, that could be a Caleb Douglas, that could be a Cyrus Allen, that could be a Jacobi Lane because of touchdowns. Like Zachary Abranchi, you know, just because of-- - Stripling, maybe. - He may get-- - Yeah, the stripling needs to be mentioned here. - Stripling, yeah, another great one. You know, like, those are the type of guys I think, like, I'd rather, if I'm going to gamble on that premise, I might gamble on like, who's got a better quarterback and better system. - Yeah, I get that. And unfortunately, when you look at history of like, okay, who emerged from this group? I mean, most of the names we read are first round or early second round picks, but not all of them. I mean, I know that I'm on Rossane Brown, not Pukinucua, not Tankdale. I don't know that there's a common thread here. Some of them really benefited from injuries. - There's two common threads. Number one is target volume. - Yeah. - And number two is, and I don't know if this really applies to Puka, but speed. Just think about these guys are very shifty, and they've got speed on their side, and they're getting a ton of targets. And when that combines with the opportunity, that's the other thing that they all got. And this plays into other guys being hurt and opening up opportunities. That matters a ton. And so here we are in Cleveland. We're talking about the best wide receiver that Cleveland has that isn't a rookie being Jerry Judy, who's disappointed us pretty much every year, save for one, maybe two, and then Harold Fanon, who's a great middle of field option, gonna be a trustworthy guy on third downs and in the red zone for Cleveland, especially if shoulders the quarterback. Other than that, there's opportunity for both conception and Boston. Conception's the one with speed and shifting us. - Yeah, I know. It's just, I just struggle because I think they're gonna wanna, they're gonna try to run the ball a lot. I think that should be the strength of their offense, and their quarterback suck. And between Fanon, Concepcion, and Boston, I don't know that anyone's getting more than like 110 targets. I'm probably someone will, but I don't know. I'm with you, I don't think it's more than that. - Yeah, I don't know, it's tough. It's, I, Concepcion is so talented and so exciting. So I do think it's worth the risk, but you just, you know, you never know. All right, we gotta take a break. When we come back, I want you to take a look at this tweet from Heath Cummings. It just cracks me up. The hate in this man's heart. What am I talking about? I'm just joking. But we'll tell you after this, and then we'll get to Jamie Sleepers on Fantasy Football today. All right, let me show you this. This just cracks me up. PFF tweets, "Patchable Homes with 17 has more career playoff wins than Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and the Mar Jackson combined." Heath has the dunk on the Chargers, and he says, "You could throw Justin Herbert zero playoff wins in there as well." Heath, you are making me a Chargers fan this year. I just, I, why? - He knows what's coming. He knows that the Chargers are gonna be really good. - I don't know if you know his that. I don't know. - Yes, he does. - I think he feels like as long as my homes is healthy, the chiefs are gonna be the chiefs, and they're just gonna win the division, no problem. That's, that's a. - Yeah, it's not really a crazy thought at him. - Yeah, and my, you know, he thought, as mentioned, it's like bowl prediction I made months ago, but it's basically the chiefs struggle again, offensively, Andy reads out, and things change after this year. - Wow. - I just don't really like their personnel. I like it a lot more with Walker now, a lot more. - Yeah. - Good line, good running back. Great quarterback. Jamie, your sleepers. Jordan Mason, Jaden Reed, Jalen Coker, Jalen Nailer. Those are the Jays, Tyler Schuck and Malik Willis. Thankfully, we've talked about a number of these guys. Let's talk about Jalen Coker and Jalen Nailer. Which Jalen do you prefer? - Jalen Coker. - Okay, what do you expect from Coker and Nailer? - I mean, the two somewhat different profiles fantasy wise, at least, you know, for Coker, you mentioned it, the last five games of the season last year, including the playoffs. He averaged over 14 PPR points per game, Teterola Mcmillan, who's going significantly earlier than him, and it's not to make the comparison, aside from just what they did at the end of the season. Average 9.8 PPR points per game over that span. The targets were essentially equal 6.2 per game for Teterola Mcmillan, 6 per game for Coker. So I think you're hoping that Coker, who missed the beginning portion of last year, then had a ramp up period, as we all often see, for guys coming off of injury during the year. By the time he was healthy, he was a big piece of this offense, and I think that carries over to this year. I think the fact that Brazl is hurt, and the fact that now Xavier LeGet also banged up again, but he's going to most likely still be the third receiver. You kind of see an opportunity for Mcmillan and Coker to get funnel targets. So don't love that the tackles are not healthy for the Panthers going in, because I think that impacts Brazl even more. But just where the cost is for Jalen Coker, it's easy to gravitate toward him, because when he's gotten chances, he's been productive. And so hopefully that's the case once again. So I don't want to draft him as a starter. I think if you're running back heavy, this is the perfect guy to make your fourth receiver. You know, somebody that could be in the flex range for you, or your first reserve in a three-receiver league. If you're receiver heavy, I think you want him as maybe your fifth and a guy that can work into your starting three or maybe flex. But this is one of those guys that I think at the end of your bench or part of your bench can make it tough for you when you look at your starting line up on a week-to-week basis, because if he is getting opportunities, I think he'll produce. - Okay, and then what about in Las Vegas with Nailer? Why did you, I don't know if you do, but why do you, I assume, settle on Nailer over Trey Tucker? Let me just read what ESPN said about that. The Raiders think Jalen Nailer has more to offer than what he showed in Minnesota, but Trey Tucker is probably the player Las Vegas says can take the biggest step forward this season. So how do you break down their wide receivers? - Yeah, it's interesting because I believe Albert Breer when he was in Las Vegas was saying that Jalen Nailer was the one that was looking like their best option of the receiving course. So my guess is just based on how these guys are going to perform and throw Jack Besson there, is that it's going to be a very mixed bag throughout the season, because none of them have a very, none of them have a resume that's worth holding your hat on. For Nailer, he had four games last year with at least five targets and two of them, he had 19 and a half PPR points per game. That was in that miserable offensive environment. Obviously this is a situation where they're looking at it as a blank canvas because Tucker did some nice things, initially after Brock Bauer's had the knee injury week one, so like weeks two through six, I think it was, he was performing well and then when Bauer started to get more involved, we had the Jacobi Myers traits that kind of threw everything into a little bit of a disarray and the quarterback play was awful. I don't think Tucker really took advantage of the situation. So it wouldn't surprise me. I mean, I keep referencing the flex draft that I did last week. I took both of them. There were two of my last four picks. So Jalen Nailer, Entrey Tucker, the probably the cheapest friendship strategy you could find. Maybe the dolphins guys are up there also, if you want to take Caleb Douglas and the league Washington. But CWD1 performs well. CWD1 is getting targets. CWD1 has the initial report 'cause it's gonna be Kirk Cousins start the season that maybe changes when, and those it takes over. But we keep saying Brock Bauer's gonna get fed. Somebody else is gonna be number two. And I think Jalen Nailer has the most upside of the group based on what they paid him and hopefully money talks here in this case. So again, not somebody I want to invest heavily in, but when we are talking about late round flyers, it's easy to gravitate toward one of the Raiders receivers, similar to one of the dolphins receivers because somebody's gonna get chances and hopefully produces with them. - Dave, do you have a preference of a Las Vegas wide receiver? - I'd prefer to pass on both, but if I had to pick one, it would be Nailer. I didn't mind his film. I thought he's got good hands, good balance. He can win in tight spaces. I thought last year especially, he was the byproduct of the scheme that he was in. And the scheme that he's in this year is very similar to the scheme that he's been in his entire career. So I could very easily see him have six targets per game and have a bunch of games where he catches three passes for 70 yards in a touchdown, but he could also have a bunch of games where he catches four passes for 50 yards and no touchdown. Tucker is being exposed to the scheme. I think the second time in his career and he's just more of like a downfield guy. I don't know if they're gonna change his role all around, but I feel like I can find other players in the late rounds to carry on my bench ahead of both of these guys because I'm just worried about what the upside really is. If Bowers is gonna get north of seven targets per game, if Gentee's gonna get three or four targets per game, plus they're gonna run the ball a lot, it makes me nervous about just how much will be there for Nailer or Tucker. I think I'm gonna let other people draft them. That being said, if you're in a draft like the Flex draft, there's deep benches, go ahead and take your shot on either one of them, but Nailer would be the one I would gravitate toward. Yeah, the thing is, I mean, if you just look at ADP, you probably can make a case for so many of the wide receivers going in this range. And we're about to. I guess the question is, what are the factors? When you're sizing up Jalen Nailer versus Romeo Dobbs and Matthew Golden and Xavier worthy and Casey Concepts you own. What are the factors, Jamie, that makes you lean toward one wide receiver in this late round ADP versus another? Quarterback and opportunity. So the opportunity for the Raiders guys is.
Amazing, you know again like Bowers if he gets a hundred and forty targets. They're still probably a hundred targets for one of these receivers. So Do you trust kubiak do trust? cousins do you trust Mendoza, you know, and then that starts to compare to Matthew Golden who's the first round talent and you know seemingly gonna be on the field a lot and Jordan love if he throws enough You know that's always been the knock for the Packers guys. So I would take a chance on golden before I take a chance on on Nailer at this point now. Stobbs is an interesting one because You know he he kind of had this golden opportunity that got quickly squashed with the AJ Brown trade and Does he kind of just stay in the same spot that he's been in which is you know good quarterback because I think you can make the case of Drake May and Jordan love through the ball the same we might get some great production at a Jordan love. We just don't get that Does he get to 120 targets where he's kind of just been pegged in that hundred target range. So I think there's that's an even one for me If there was more. Oh, Jalen nillers the guy. I think it would be easy to take him So dobs is gonna most likely go first. You know you look at any ADP the The difference is somewhat startling rank lists are a little different, but the ADP's tells you most people would take dobs Who else did you mention? Concepts worthy. I mean were these were these like a poor man's golden, you know So so much situation first round pick clearly good quarterback You know you hope that he can perform like he did in his rookie campaign I think like for nailer a better conversation is more the the rookies that I mentioned, you know So and they've thrown a great one to straddling, you know so struggling and Caleb Douglas and Zachary branch, you know if you still believe in Antonio Williams after the dig signing Jacobi Lane, you know Cyrus Allen, you know these guys that are going to have some chances in most cases They're gonna be the the number two or the number three guy at best. I think you're looking at it That's a good comp because if nailer is the Raiders receiver you prefer or if Tucker is the Raiders you've received or you prefer They'll probably get more targets, but the talent is just not the same I want to add one other name to this Raiders lesson This is one of the problems with nailer and trade Tucker There's been a lot of buzz in Las Vegas about a rookie named Malik Benson Who is a little bit bigger than nailer and certainly then he's bigger than trade Tucker But he's been making plays and finding time with the starters. He went to Alabama then Florida State and then finished at Oregon and Six round pick so these cases are rare when they end up being impactful for fantasy This is more for people in dynasty leagues double check to make sure that Malik Benson is on your waiver wire And if he is pick him up because there's an opportunity for him to take a couple of targets away from all the other wide receivers in Las Vegas And it to me it's just another strike against nailer or Tucker being ahead of the range that Jamie talked about the range that Jamie's talking about with all those other Wide receivers to me that's like round 13 plus and Nailer is ADP is right around there I think that that's fair and if you're looking for a wide receiver that late in your draft then so be it That's usually around the time where I'm trying to find that second tight end that diamond in the rough at running back a second QB That's not when I'm looking for another bench wide receiver. Okay, let's finish up one more sleeper for Jamie here Malik Willis was one of your sleepers that you talked about earlier, but Tyler Schuck is another one Schuck averaged 7.6 yards per attempt in his nine starts last year Only 19.3 fantasy points per game because his touchdown rate was pretty low But it was really impressive and what do you like about Tyler Schuck? Couple things first off, you know 20.1 fantasy points per game six of those final eight games His coordinator has a great track record with the quarterback studies to work with and it's a pretty impressive resume when you're talking about Jack Press got in one year of Justin Herbert and one year of Jalen Hertz all those guys averaged scored more than 20 fantasy points per game in the years with Kellen more they averaged 24 points per game During his time as a coordinator there. So he gets 20 points 20 plus points per game regularly from his Quarterback who starts the majority of the time they just add a first round rookie in Jordan Tyson I think a little guy gets a little bit overlooked Not necessarily what he's gonna do on his own, but just another weapon a nozzard help So another tight end that's gonna factor in there But Kellen more scheme is typically great for quarterbacks and then we'll see if he continues to run like we saw at the end of last season So that was a fun little wrinkle to Tyler Schuck's game So if he can do that then we're gonna add that element and if he can get you maybe 300 400 yards rushing other projections on sports line If you're watching on YouTube 327. I think that's fair This could be a fun late round quarterback. So very similar to Malik Wallace You know, I think Dave gave some good names You know like so if you are gonna invest in Patrick Mahomes, which is risky Bo Nick's which is risky Jared golf and you know just maybe the limited ceiling, you know those type of guys if you just wait on the position I think you got an opportunity here to take a Tyler Schuck to take a Malik Wallace guys that have just huge upsides But very questionable floors because of either lack of a track record or you know in the case of Willis You know just maybe a terrible offensive environment, but Schuck was fun last year And I think you could be a good low end starter You know one of these guys that by the end of the year we say oh I wish I would have taken a chance on him and he could end up being one of those top 12 guys By the end of the year a lot of team name possibilities with Tyler Schuck as well all Shucks obviously but you know you get creative with it Rapid fire or let's call this the lightning round of sleepers How likely are you to draft these guys Dalton concaid What's the ADP? I mean these are all pretty late You know let's say later than round 10 if you take two tight ends He's a good second one to gravitate or agreed don't like his matchup against Houston only one though That's a good point. So he better be your second tight end. Yeah, he's going 130th next up is Matthew Golden Similar to Jalen the good late run far. I think you'll go ahead of Nailer and I kind of like I'm starting to like what I'm hearing out of Green Bay for all their receivers Tyrone Tracy Jr Did I draft cam skater boo? Don't care. I'll take him anyway You should want to take him anyway, but if I drafted skater who I might have to reach a little for Tracy It sounds like he's gonna be the one B That's exactly what we thought he was going to be and he's he's absolutely worth using a bench spot on Sheesh, by the way you you Briefly mentioned Jane Reed Just one thing that I like is because he missed a lot of time 23 games his career with at least five targets 13 and a half ppr points for game and 15 of those so when he gets opportunities to produce that's my fault. Sorry skipped him Rashid Shaheed Love him late. I would rather have Nailer in that regard, but hopefully Shaheed performed much better than he did last year with the CX I'm starting to warm up to him over the Raiders guys Chris Rodriguez Yes, he's around 10 pick kind of in that same van is Tyrone Tracy and he's Yeah, I mean I guess not going that much later's going around 11, but probably being overlooked right now Chris Rodriguez Denzel long. Yeah Denzel Boston Tank down also the round 10 range I'd rather have conception I would take Boston over the Raiders receivers would take him over lemon at this point would take him over Shaheed dobs And a bunch of the backup Cubes just to take a chance on a primer Better back earlier with the conception on like I am back to back. I think Boston's gonna score the most touchdowns in the same car But it might be by like one it might be six touchdowns for Boston five for conception on it could I hope it's not three and two Tank tells the only player on this this the late round sleepers that we're gonna talk about other than James Conner Tank tells the only one who's been you know awesome at any point for a full season or you know a season of awesomeness Would you rather have Denzel would you rather have tanked L or a Raiders or Browns receiver? The more that Dell continues to practice that issue. He's gonna be a pretty significant riser Agreed he's behind both Raiders receivers for now, but you could see that changing the problem is Opportunities and quarterback is quarterback CJ Stroud were not huge fans of his It's not like he's getting glowing reports and Niko Collins is there Jaden Higgins is another guy who should be mentioned as a possible sleeper He's had a great camp for Houston. So how many guys can CJ Stroud truly support in the passing game? I think the answer's one. I'm hoping it's just one Jonah Coleman running back for the Broncos rookie running back we already talked about what Jamie's expectations are if JK Dobbins misses time James coupled it around's love him James Conner if he gets traded that could be you know if you get him So that could be big there's there's two players who you're drafting with your last pick just in case they get traded Conner's one in case on booty is the other and I think there's a better chance for booty to get traded than Conner But if you get him both now and see what happens before week one You'll have a pretty easy decision to make once week one comes around You might be cutting Conner and booty. They might be a waste of a pick But if they end up in better situations, you've got yourself a steal Addeni Mitchell's having a nice camp a lot of talk about him for the jets Malik Washington is either top is he the dolphins receiver you'd pick right now? No, yes, who would you pick Jamie Douglas? Greg Dolson just he the dolphins tight and you'd pick yeah And then it's Dolson to head of Douglas for you No Douglas head of Dolson. Okay. I've got I like watching the best especially in PPR Couple potential handcuffs Kaelan black and Martian Lloyd Do you think who's a better person?
pick black for the Niners or Lloyd for the Packers. Lloyd for me over the 49ers guys. For two reasons. Number one, he's practicing. And number two, something happens to Jacobs which is still within the realm of possibility. This is who's going to replace him. Yeah. At least to begin the year. No, it's so frustrating is I he has done nothing in his two seasons. He's barely played. He's barely been healthy. Yeah. And he's on my thinking dynasty team and I kind of want to drop him for someone, but I know you can't. I just I'm not good. But you're just helping your opponents. Yeah. I know. He's just he was actually my second favorite running back in that class behind Jonathan Brooks. And neither of them have done anything unfortunately. And then I probably my third favorite from guessing was probably Trey Benson. It was a really bad class. Another guy who could get traded too. We knew it at the time. Yeah. Benson. I still I still think I mean when he had like a brief brief run, it was like one or two games. I think there's one game. He came through James Connor got her and then Benson got hurt and missed the rest of the season. I still would love to see opportunities for him. Yeah. All right. So the ESPN training camp reports. One other guy by the way I'd throw on there is right Davis like. Yes. Late round pick and something happens. James Cook could be a stud. If you get James Cook, you have to get Davis. Just like if you get scataboo, you should. I shouldn't say you have to, but you should make a plan to get or just take them anyway because it could be good. And Johnson for Kansas City and Mike Washington for the Raiders. Washington especially seems like he's clearly the number two guy. All right. So those training camp reports from ESPN Rashid Shaheed could be a major fact should be a major factor. I didn't think that was Jeremy Fowler who also said that's the sea also have two to three running backs involved in the game plan. But Mike McDonald is impressed with Jadarian price. The Raiders don't have a set date for Fernando Mendoza's debut. Ashton Genti could be an even bigger part of the passing game this season than he was last season when he had 55 catches. Easy first round pick at this point. They said keep an eye on that and I Mitchell. I read you what they said about the Steelers running backs. Another report about Don Tavian wicks being good and he should be a big factor in the passing game for the Eagles. Denzel Boston is look very impressive. And this was a quote the Cowboys like second year running back Jadon blue. But I don't think he's a threat to Javante Williams workload. And that is it for our show. So Mark Draft tonight at seven o'clock, PM Eastern, youtube.com/fantasyfampal today. Here for Maddie. Not yet. And break out tomorrow. Tanti then. Have a great day everybody. See you. Paramount podcasts. Hello and welcome to Pluto foal. If you know the name of the movie you'd like to see, just stream it for free on Pluto TV. We're all your blockbuster favorites are landing all summer long. Catch anchor man, the legend of Ron Burgundy. Fantastic. The Matrix trilogy. Welcome to the real world. Mean Girls. Side up. Tantani. I'm the key in the world. And so much more for show times. Press nothing. They're free 24/7. That is so a f**k. On Pluto TV. Stream now. Pay never.
Podcast Summary
Key Points:
The episode focuses on sleeper picks (players drafted after pick 100) for fantasy football, with hosts Adam, Dave, and Jamie sharing their favorites.
Notable sleepers discussed include Jordan Mason (Vikings RB) and Malik Willis (Dolphins QB), both praised for their value and upside.
Other sleepers highlighted
The hosts debate the merits of Jordan Mason vs. J’Cori Croskey-Merritt, with Mason favored for his fit in the Vikings' new outside zone scheme.
News notes
Injury updates
Promotional mentions
Summary:
In this episode of Fantasy Football Today, hosts Adam, Dave, and Jamie dive into sleeper picks—players drafted after pick 100—for the upcoming season. They share fun facts and analysis on several under-the-radar options. Jamie highlights Jordan Mason (Vikings RB) and Malik Willis (Dolphins QB) as his top sleepers.
Mason benefits from the Vikings' shift to outside zone running, a scheme where he has thrived historically, and he offers strong value in rounds 9-10. Willis, meanwhile, brings elite rushing upside, potentially leading the position in rushing yards, though his passing consistency remains a question. Dave adds J’Cori Croskey-Merritt (Commanders RB) and Isaiah Likely (Giants TE) to the list, noting Croskey-Merritt’s potential as a starter with improved pass-catching work, while Likely has been the Giants' best pass catcher in camp.
The hosts debate Mason vs. Croskey-Merritt, favoring Mason for now due to scheme fit and safer role. The news segment covers Chargers OC Mike McDaniel’s "hot hand" approach at running back, which the hosts dismiss as coachspeak, expecting Amari Hampton to dominate touches.
Injury notes include Alec Pierce’s second PRP injection and missed practices for JK Dobbins and Christian McCaffrey. The episode also promotes upcoming mock drafts and league opportunities for listeners.
FAQs
The episode focuses on Sleepers, Breakouts, and Busts Week, with today specifically being Sleepers Day, featuring picks after Pick 100 based on CBS ADP.
Sleepers include Jared Goff, Jalen Coker, Bownick, Jaden Reed, Travis Kelsey, Josh Downs, Jordan Mason, Malik Willis, J'Cori Croskey-Merit, and Isaiah Likely.
Mason is expected to be the Vikings' starting running back with improved offensive environment under Kyler Murray. He has shown success in outside zone runs, averaging over 4.6 yards per carry in recent years, and offers value in rounds 9-10.
Willis has rushing upside, averaging over 40 rushing yards per game when playing significant snaps, and could lead the position in rushing yards. He's a late-round quarterback target for his total production potential despite possible turnovers.
Croskey-Merit is ranked higher due to potential for more offensive involvement, but Mason's ADP is later, making the gap in value smaller. Both are mid-to-late round picks with starting potential.
McDaniel plans to use a hot-hand approach with multiple backs, but the hosts believe Amari Hampton will dominate touches, likely seeing around 18 of 25 running back touches per game, making him a top-15 pick.
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