Go back

Scouting WR Prospects: Finding Playmakers + Waddle Reactions - Dynasty Fantasy Football

61m 25s

Scouting WR Prospects: Finding Playmakers + Waddle Reactions - Dynasty Fantasy Football

The podcast explores the deeper tier of wide receiver prospects in the 2025 NFL draft, focusing on players targeted at picks 50–75. The hosts emphasize that while the class is deep, it’s not uniformly talented—many players are role-specific and require careful evaluation of their route trees, target volume, and ability to translate to the pros. Key players like Omar Cooper Jr. are seen as versatile but risky at first-round value, while Elijah Serrat stands out for his consistency and big-play ability despite limited fantasy production. Chris Brasel and Zachariah Branch are viewed as intriguing but limited by body type, offensive fit, and college usage—especially Branch’s reliance on screens and short routes. Chris Bell, though physically imposing and effective in the slot, faces major concerns due to an ACL injury and lack of proven NFL readiness. The hosts stress that fantasy value must align with real-world NFL dynamics, such as offensive schemes and personnel trends, and warn against over-hyping players based on college stats or social media buzz. They advocate for a disciplined, data-driven approach—using film, stats, and team context—rather than relying on trends or one-off highlights. The episode concludes with a clear message: while some players offer potential, most are developmental or niche fits, making them better suited for mid-to-late rounds or specific fantasy formats like PPR. Ultimately, the discussion reinforces that draft capital should be allocated based on realistic expectations, not hype, and that fantasy success comes from understanding the gap between college performance and professional execution.

Transcription

12825 Words, 66186 Characters

English
[music] Welcome to the Fantasy Footballer's Dynasty podcast with Borg Betts and a Baller. Welcome back. It's Wednesday, March 18th here. We are back on the Fantasy Footballer's Dynasty podcast and buy back. I mean Borg Betts. You're never left. You're always here, Kyle. And you know, normally come on. I tell you guys how much I love this show and how the suits are always very busy and they don't have time for us. I got to apologize to the people, man. I'm so happy to be here this week because there was a 24-hour period last Monday at about 3 a.m. in the morning till about Tuesday night at 9 o'clock where I didn't know if I would make it. I didn't know if I'd ever come back on this show because let's just say I was best friends with my toilet. Goodness gracious, man. That was brutal. I missed you guys last week. I would have rather been anywhere else than where I was for a solid 24 hours. But the guy saw it down and he got to come on the show, which I know people were excited about. He made his, you know, once pre-year appearance on the Dynasty podcast. So missed you guys last week, but it was a good show. Talking about free agency and all that good stuff. I love free agency. And I was so bummed that like every time there's something that happened in the signing, I would look at my phone and be like, okay, cool. And then sprint to the toilet and go puke. That was your driver. Not because of the signing being bad, but just man, the stomach bug was horrendous. So I hope everybody out there is staying healthy. I don't wish what I had on anybody, not even my, you know, worst enemy. So brutal, brutal, but happy to be back. We were this close to just giving your spot away for the company, of course. And in your exit interviewer just said, like, he just didn't have the grit. He just couldn't show up when he was needed. I really didn't. I was soft physically, mentally, emotionally. I was, it was so bad. It was like one of those things where our one and a half year old got it the weekend prior. Then one of the twins got it. Then my wife got it. And somehow I was like, I'm feeling good. What's a bed? Walk up. Not feeling good. And somehow our other twin, fingers crossed, throughout this entire time has a gun. But yes, it was, it made its way through the bed's household. And it was nasty. That is the joy of being a parent or a parent of kids that go to school and they come back and you're like, you are sharing with everybody in her house. So on this episode, we are going to look at the next tier of wider receiver prospects for this year's NFL draft. We went through the top five. And I think this is where it gets interesting. And I'm just going to bring up a tweet from Daniel Jeremiah. And he said this. He says, I feel like a sweet spot in this draft is between picks 50 and 75. If you need an adressure or quarterback or wide receiver, you will find somebody graded in this region. So a lot of the wide receivers here are going to be day two picks. And in your rookie drafts, you are staring down the end of the first round, beginning of the second round. And there's a lot of wide receivers that feel like, I don't know how to sort out them. And so this episode is for you. If you have one of those picks to say, Hey, what am I doing at the 111? Or I'm at the 203. And there's like five wide receivers. I don't know the difference between the two. I could tell you some facts. But for fantasy, how are they going to translate? And I would say this group more so than the others, like everybody has their own role that like can work in the NFL. So none of these guys were going to say, like, okay, you're absolute trash. But for their specific team, that's why they might be drafted for fantasy. There is a big difference between what is Malachi fields, what is Zachariah branch, and what is Chris Bell. And I think that's the conversation I want to have. I think there's a large group of this wide receiver room or not room. But this kind of second, third ish tier, maybe even fourth year, you're going to see a lot of these guys go on date, two of the NFL draft. And of course, that should have our interests. Like, okay, we know draft capital is very important. But then you go down the line of like, well, how important is it? Because every single one of these prospects, you can poke three holes in at least. And a lot of these guys, quite frankly, I'm just not very into. So you know, the NFL will be into them for the role that they will fill for what the offense is looking for, what the coaching staff is looking for. And when I say I'm not that into them, of course, me for fantasy, that's that's what we're doing here. Um, there's a lot of issues with these guys that kind of go here. So this wider receiver class has been built as, hey, it's pretty deep. If you don't get one of the top two or three, like you probably get one on day two. And that guy can play some snaps for you. But over the course of time, we know that historically, there's a lot of bus that go in that day, two day, three range. And there's going to be a lot of pick your flavor, pick your favorite sleeper in this class type of guys. Because there's not really one guy that I'm like so excited about outside of the first round prospect. So even though it is built as a deeper wider, super class in general, I think it is extremely top heavy and then kind of falls off from there. One of the parts of my process is, you know, we go from like the analytical side, we watch the film, we talk about on this podcast, we still need draft capital. But like as I'm building that process, I have, you know, for each player, I write down if there's a red flag that pops up. And some of those are like statistically like, man, you didn't command a ton of targets. That's something we talk about a lot in college or man, this is a contest to catch only guy. That's a red flag. That's that not the only thing that we should be paying attention to. But I don't want my entire process to just be, well, he went in the third round. And you know, that's, that's just where he goes. Like Isaac Tesla, you could look at him last year and be like, whoa, he went in the third round. That's so wildly different than all of us projected for him. He had the lowest targets per out run of any player taken in the first three rounds over the last decade. And so we kind of build on that process and you saw it this past year, the touchdowns were there. But, you know, he was target on like eight percent of his routes. So it's, that's something that you get to add in as opposed to holy crap. This player is taken in the second round. I just need to, this is just where he goes and rookie draft. So we'll talk about that. I know we still have a month or so leading up to the NFL draft. But make sure you're creating a process with these guys that you're not just taking one tweet, one video, something bets throughout there just to, you know, trash a player and his family as the only data point. Kyle, I only put the good stuff out. Okay. Come on. Like the Miami Dolphin Zepchart. Yeah. Yeah. Especially that. We're going to react to Jalen Waddle. I feel like that is something that's really fresh on Dynasty minds. And while corporate is out this week, I figured if we didn't do it, then people would be begging the fans footballers to say something and they would just be silent. Just completely silent, not wanting to show up to work. There, there's going to be a lot of people to listen. Where's the Jalen Waddle reaction? What do you got? Come on. This is huge news. They will have it for you. Whenever their meetings are done, you know, they have to crunch the numbers, get the spreadsheets going, get the business meetings, fly back to Arizona, all the, all that stuff. And then they'll have the reaction. But I'm excited to talk about it today. It's a very fun trade, man. You know, there's often trades like that kind of happened at the start of free agency and, you know, information and news is hot and heavy. There's been a law for like three or four days outside of the random one year signings that everybody's getting. And you know, it's kind of bad when you get to the point in the free agency window, which technically we're still in when the agents don't even report the number anymore. They just say one year deal because the number is not worth reporting. But we got some huge news yesterday with Jalen Waddle headed to Denver, which is really, really fun. I did have the, I don't know, say privilege, but the opportunity to update the team opportunity charts in the ultimate draft kit. Good and disgraceous, man. How, how is Malik Willis going to succeed as an inexperienced quarterback without a lot of dropbacks throwing to this group? Now, of course, they will, they will probably address the position multiple times in the NFL draft. So it won't look the exact same. But asking Stan Kyle, is it Jalen Tolbert? Why do you see her one season? Is it Tarris Marshall, Jr.? That's what I wanted you to say. Well, I do see her one season. I mean, if he's out there, that is a nasty boy boy to pick up on your roster, which I know you would never do because he's already on there. Yeah. No, if he's not on your dynasty roster, are you actually playing? I think the bigger point, as opposed to just saying that Tarris Marshall, Jr. was quietly signed. Like, you know, we're, we're, we're pointing the fingers. Why was he signed a couple of months ago? Oh, you win horse meme in this. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I mean, you tell me what's going on? The depth chart's bad with two, two out well Malik Washington, Jalen Tolbert, Tarris Marshall, Jr. Theo Weas. Like, it's, it's pretty rough. And you should not be putting in target chairs for any of those players right this second. I think Malik Washington is the easiest because you've seen him on the team. But where I'm not making any dynasty moves related to dolphins, past catchers, getting the ball from Malik Willis and trying to be bullish on it. You're going to see instant reactions across the board of arrows up for this player. It's just this is going to be a bad passing offense, apart from maybe Duwan H and seeing 90 targets. And I think the bigger question when we look at the Broncos, because with Jalen Waddle, he's 27 years old. He's entering a six year in the NFL. I think we're kind of asking the question, can he get back to being a top 15-ish wide receiver? And you saw early on, he had 100 catches of rookie in the next year is when he put up the really good numbers opposite Tyree Kill. And since then, if you play the Jalen Waddle game, which I haven't been dynasty, it's like, when you're on the field, this is fun. You get off the field every game at some point, you're hurt. And then I don't really know win to start you. And now we're going to a completely different offense. So contextually speaking, I cannot use Jalen Waddle stats from two years ago with Tua in that offense and say, this is exactly what's gonna happen. He also just runs very different routes than what the, you know, Broncos have done. The Broncos ran a ton of screenshots last year, especially for Troy Franklin and Marvin Mims. That was like over 8% of the routes. Waddle was at 1% last year. So you have to change your expectations. But my bigger question is, can he get back to being a top 15 wide receiver? And then we'll talk about him in terms of dynasty value. Yeah, he's been so frustrating in dynasty the last couple of years because there has been this like two to three year window where it's like, this is a great trade target. You know, all the underlying numbers are like this guy. It's still very talented. The first down per out run, yards per out run, all those things have kind of always been there with Waddle and we saw the early production. So as dynasty players, we hang on to that and then you hang on to it and you hang on to it. And then eventually you're like, well, what do we do here? I'm still a believer. I mean, even last year with the issues that two had at quarterback and the dolphins had in general, he was 8th in first downs per out run among qualified wide receivers. He was 12th in yards per out run. So this is still a top tier talent at the position. And you go from a quarterback that literally could not throw deep functionally last year and to a to bow next to yes, he has his issues. He has some accurate problems when he gets out of the pocket, but you can throw the deep ball. And so I do think you got that explosive element back into Gillian Waddle's game. You get a very creative play collar here in Sean Peyton. The frustrating thing for me and I do love the fit across from quote and so I think the two pair very well together. The frustrating thing with Sean Peyton is like, you know, there's going to be multiple times this year where randomly little Jordan Hunt for you seeing three targets of game. And for Franklin will come on the field and Marvin Mims will be in there. And of course, you have to give a design target to Nate Appkins with a game on the line. Like he will just do weird stuff like that. So that's obviously very, you know, my Newton and focused on one specific aspect of this trade. But all in all, I like to fit. And the other thing with the Broncos is comparing them to how they played to the dolphins. The pace metrics are so different, too. So I think we'll have an upside for more playball game with though next in this Denver Broncos offense. Then you had historically with Mike, but Dana, which always relied on efficiency, but it was very slow and methodical. So all in all, I mean, obviously it's an upgrade from a systemic standpoint. The Broncos were on this cusp of the Super Bowl last year. So I like it. If anybody out there in your league is kind of down on just Waddle frustration in recent years, like even with this trade, it'll probably cost you a little more than it did, you know, last week. But I'm buying I think this is a good spot for general model. Yeah, we traded for Waddle and the main ballers dynasty league last year. We gave up a first and then it was part of a package deal. But really the core of the deal was like a late first is what it ended up being. And I feel like now it's going to cost you a mid first. And I was putting him in context to this year's wide receivers in rookie draft, because that's really what we always want to do when we talk about trading a first round pick, we're saying, Hey, would you rather have Waddle at 105 or would you rather have, you know, Denzel Boston or whoever else it is in the wild. So yeah, I would rather have Waddle. I'd probably rather have Tyson, Tate and Lemon. But I think I'd probably put him force in that group. I agree. Okay. Last little thing I'll mention is that Bonix was really, really, really bad in the intermediate area of the field. And looking at passer rating, the only quarterbacks with the worst passer rating in the intermediate area of the field were Geno Smith, Bryce Young, Kim Warren, Shadur Sanders. Not a great list. But I look at some of the routes that Franklin and Mims were running last year. There was either screens or go routes, which is a weird combination to basically be like all or nothing. And you think of Waddle as that player, but a lot of his stuff like his bread and butter has always been like out routes, hitch routes, because he has the speed that can, you know, test defenses, but then he can come back and run these kind of curl routes. So I like him. I did find out that Nix and Waddle the last time that they kind of played against each other was that 2019 iron bowl where Waddle had three receiving touchdowns and a 98 yard kickoff return for touchdown. So I'm sure Nix is like, dude, last time I really played this guy in that way. He killed us. I want him on my team. They also have a new play collar this year in Davis Web. So I'm not using the Broncos offense from last year as a template, because it's good. But I mean, Sean Payton is not going to completely give up the case. I'll tell you what to call, but you are the one that's allowed to say it into this. There's no way Sean Payton is giving up full control of the offense. So I think you'll see a lot of the same concepts. But it is a fair point that there is at least some chance. It's not the exact same. But overall, I think Payton will have his, his, you know, finger fingerprints all over this. I don't give you a couple of names to compare. Jalen Waddle is 27 years old or Zay flowers in dynasty. I've always loved Zay. I still think Waddle is more talented player. All right. Give me a Waddle. All right. I have Waddle as well. All right. Fellow Alabama alum, Jamison Williams, 25 years old, or Jalen Waddle. That one's tough. I will go Waddle, but it's very close. I think it's very close to. I think it wouldn't shock me if Jamo ends up with more touchdowns, but Waddle is better for fantasy. It's possible in terms of consistency. All right. So we kind of settled on where we're at in terms of rookie picks, like around the 105-ish, 106. But I have one more name I need throughout there because his name has been thrown around so many trades. Diana Rossini is getting paid to just say this out loud. So would you rather have Jalen Waddle or AJ Brown in dynasty? Can we just stop for a second and recognize that this is her super bowl, June 1st, baby. Like if he is not traded at some point around June 1st, goodness gracious. Mike sent this to me because we have a bit going back and forth with like reporters and beer reporters and national reporters. We love you guys. We need the information. We love it, but it's so funny how like you can tell how some tweets are kind of molded to be like the agent told you to say this and we all know it and you're getting paid for it. And that's fine. And if I wish I could be paid for that stuff, don't get me wrong. But like the Rossini AJ Brown stuff, this woman has been tweeted, tweeting about AJ Brown's trade for approximately 278 days consecutively. And I love that like the second this news broke. It was like, well, this is not related to AJ Brown. Like you could still be dealt. It's like goodness, oh man, give it a break. Um, but with that being said, it's still possible. And I'm the Eagles. Like if you're trying to at least see if this is a Super Bowl roster still, they're losing species defensively, wouldn't you just like hold AJ Brown and see how it goes. And if they're eight and two, then like, great, keep riding it. And he's doing well. If he's struggling and you're not where you were two years ago, trade him at the deadline. Like they're not in any rush to do this, in my opinion. And with this trade, his price tag continues to rise because it's like if Waddle went for a first, how he's not going to trade him for anything less. So I think you probably remains on the Eagles for now. But there is like that kind of hidden upside with the want to submit that if he does get moved the summer or in season, then obviously that would be a huge huge boost to his outlook. You do realize the Eagles are on the pattern right now of Super Bowl. Next year, they hate everybody and they hate their OC. Then Super Bowl with Kellymor as a OC. Next year they hate each other. So this year, new OC with Sean Manion, you tell me what happens. Hollywood Brown Super Bowl champion Hollywood Brown. Last little thing I'll say you mentioned the agents putting out to eat stuff. We are about to get into season where this team really likes this player for the NFL draft. And what we really, what that really means is the agent of this prospect told whoever to tweet this out because an NFL team would be stupid to say out loud that they like a player that is being graded in the third round. We really like this guy. It's it's smoke. It's it's pure poppycock as they say. Don't love it. Who says that? I don't know kids. They do. Kids from yesterday. You're used to say it that way. All right, let's take quick break. We'll be right back. We went through the top five rookie wide receivers for this year's NFL draft. So let's keep going. Hey, rookie. Welcome to the NFL. All of the prospects that we talked about on this show and previous shows are found in our dynasty pass including full scatter reports. There's also rookie profile articles live on the site. I know you just did one with carnal tape and I'll mention a couple of other ones, but there is so much more to this discussion than just what we can do on a podcast. So if you want to continue that conversation ultimate draft kit.com, you'll get it in your app. It's right there. Scroll in the toilet, figure out everything you need to do from there. But we talked about carnal tape. Jordan Tyson, McKay lemon, Denzel Boston, and Casey conception on the last rookie prospect show. And we're going to start off by talking about a pair of Indiana wide receivers. I'm going to try to go in order of where they are in mock draft database. But these Indiana wide receivers, I feel like we had to have a conversation of them together since we were watching a lot of the same film. I did a deep dive on Fernando Mendoza. I did a huge article on him. So these are kind of the guys. But let's first start with Omar Cooper, Jr. Redshirt, Jr. out of Indiana. It's an interesting rise for a player that's kind of been the hot name over the last month. So before we get into analytics, do you feel like he's like the guy this year? You've mentioned before, like kind of like Buka where it's like, okay, this guy kind of feels like he could be in the first round to a month from now. This guy's surely going in the first round. It sure seems like his his floor at this point is like the 35th overall pick, doesn't it? Like maybe he doesn't sneak into the first round, but it seems like when day two starts, if he doesn't go round one, his name will be called pretty early is what it feels like. And I wouldn't be surprised like you said over the next two or three weeks, you start to see a lot more Omar Cooper junior mocked in the first round, which I totally understand. Like he does have an NFL ready skill set in my opinion, super tough after the catch, very, very good. Um, can play inside outside as far as that mist tackles force like he is kind of a guy that his game should translate to the NFL and you look kind of what he did with zone yards throughout run like over three yards, we love that. So I think there's a lot to like about Omar Cooper junior as far as how he fits in the NFL and his ability to get on the field pretty much right away just because of that inside outside versatility. The problem I have is just like every year, there's like a guy that is like trendy and kind of hot and the guy that's the late riser and it's like, man, if we just like rewind basically a year ago, nobody was talking about this is like a brown one and it felt talent like that's type of guy. And obviously you should leave your mind open to changes over the course of time. It's just that I see a guy that's good, not great. And I fear that if he does get that first round capital because of the kind of sleeper hype around him, he will be a guy that potentially is overdrafted, not just in like rookie drafts, but maybe even like dynasty startups too. So I like a market for junior. I definitely question some aspects of his profile then for sure. One of the things we have to deal with every single year is the players that make a run in the college football playoffs. They're just going to see a rise. It's going to happen every single year because there's more exposure, there's fewer games and all of us are like, wow, this team's really good. And you can't really argue with 13 touchdowns from him. We'll talk about Elijah Serrat 15 touchdowns like, oh, these were the players on the national championship team, but going back to before December, he was routinely being mocked outside the top 100 picks in the NFL. So that's just the context that you need from where he went, what, three months ago to where he is now. When you look at what he excelled at in Indiana, you go back to his junior season or his sophomore season. He's redshirted. It was like, when they needed a big play, this dude made it 24 of his 28 receptions that year went for a first down or a touchdown, which is just insane. He led the big 10 yards, yards per catch at 21. And actually, if you dive deeper that year, like the production's not crazy. 28 catches, 594 and seven Kirk signety actually like challenged him that year on his dependability. And you saw this year, how crucial he was to this team. Some of the biggest moments, including against Penn State, it's like, he was such a big deal for what they were doing. The hardest part for me is he played 84% in the slot. And then the year before in 2024, he was 90% out wide. So instead of trying to say, this is a slot only guy based on last year, I think you pegged it very early. There's versatility there that NFL teams will like. And I don't really like the Debo comps too much. He's just not as big, but DJ Moore is one of those players who kind of has had an inside outside role, depending on which team, Carolina, Chicago, now with Buffalo, where it's like, he could pretty much do anything you need on the field. That's kind of been my favorite comp so far, just to kind of peg him. Dude, we have to stop doing the Debo thing. There's no Debo's. Debo is one of one. There will never be another Debo for what he did. And I understand what people do that because it's like, you know, who do you think of the tough bully yak guy? Okay. He does do. He is a very tough hit with the catch. A lot of contested grabs and you think he's going to go down. He breaks the tackle and he's offered, you know, 10 or 12 yards. So that's what I was saying. Like his ability to kind of work the intermediate area of the field fits today's game. And then his ability to create it for the catch fits today's game. I do think he might start his career as being somewhat volume dependent. Like you're not going to be able to give this guy three to six looks like down the field and you're hoping for a splash play like you would with carnal tape. For example, that's just kind of not how he historically is one though. He did see targets kind of at all three levels. So all in all, I like him. My fear though is just kind of like the Mike Washington thing at the running back position this year. It's like everybody has that one guy that they attach onto that they kind of just shoot up the draft boards and they go along for the ride. I feel like at the wider see reposition this year that guy is on market for junior. I like him. I don't necessarily love him. If you look at his route tree, it's really confusing to compare what somebody did in college with this to the pros, 28% of his routes were screens, which is pretty high. And then 17% were outs and those are just very confusing. The only wide receivers just in any sort of range in the NFL that played that role in the slot was like Malik Washington, Chimray DK, who's a very fun kind of yaks specialist and savior worthy. And so those three players, you know that they can hit the big play. And yet there are times where they're just erased from the offense. So I don't really know where he fits in. I do love his after the catch stuff. One of my favorite phrases I've been using is he's an agent of controlled chaos. So when he gets the ball, it looks like he's out of control, but really like he's the one creating all the chaos around him, forcing missed tackles. He does have some numbers that are boosted by like you had a game against Indiana state, the Sycamores, of course, Larry Bird's team, where you went 10 for 207 and four, that's going to change stuff. When you play in 15 games, that also will change some of your counting stats. So I don't really care so much for that. I care about the zone yards per out run stuff. You brought up 3.03. He's going to work in zone coverage. He's tough. I like that. He just doesn't feel like a first round pick to me. And maybe that's like me looking at where he's been and what can work in the NFL. So it will be interesting to see how he is used, his route tree. I feel like his acceleration isn't like a lead in and out of his brakes, but just like put the ball on his hands and see what happens. But I just, I don't feel comfortable with him at like 106, which is kind of where he's going right now. 106, 107 and rookie drafts. Yeah. That's kind of the price. So I have to pay if you want him on your roster, most likely, assuming he does go in the first round. Like if you have that pick and he's the trendy hot name and everybody wants to mark Cooper. Like I'm cool to flip that pick when I'm on the clock in my rookie draft for an established veteran of something of similar, yeah, we just talked about Jill and Waddle. I don't think you're getting that done today, but like, I don't know when you're on the clock and no more Cooper is there at 106, I'm willing to find out if that can get done something like that. That's obviously shooting for the moon, know your league. But I guess my take home here before I move on is there's a lot to like, I think we both see some overall issues with kind of where things went to where they are now and kind of how his game might, you know, eventually be in the NFL. At the same time, there is something to be said for, hey, you are playing next to also an NFL talent. Elijah Sarat is going to get drafted in the top three rounds, the NFL draft most likely. And if he does, that's also a strong signal for a Mark who produced pretty good numbers next to a potential NFL player. All right. Let's move on and talk about Sarat senior six, two and a half to 10 bigger dude. Starting story as a zero star recruit out of high school went to Saint Francis, a Catholic school, then you're Alma mater, JMU, so he was a dude, then he was at Indiana these past two years with some insane touchdown production, okay, 15 touchdowns led FBS. He's nicknamed Waffle House and Mark Cooper gave him that because he's open 24 seven, which, hey, I'm from the South man. It's part of the culture. It's part of the staple of who we are. I've never eaten out of Waffle House. Are you kidding me? I'm not kidding. I saw someone say this the other day about Waffle House is like, you know, every restaurant wants to have some type of promotion or new thing. Waffle House just stays in its lane and knows exactly what it is. It's not trying to be anything different. It's actually not great. It's just, you know what, it's what to depend on. I took Truman the other day before school and he wanted to talk to a chip waffle. You got to talk to a chip waffle. It was great. You know, I will say, I was thinking about this. I'm like, man, they don't really ever promote anything ever, but this past year, because of the fantasy punishment thing, you know, they did the Malik neighbors one, which is actually very good. Great commercial. That was I hop. Oh, that was I hop. I'm so sorry, Waffle House. I get my, get my national, you know, chain breakfast restaurants messed up here. Waffles versus pancakes. Wow. That is. It's okay. I just need to make sure I need to say this. I am very anti international house of pancakes and I'm talking like I will never go back there again. I even if they pay, I worked there for six months in college. That's why fair enough. Yeah. All right. So he's called Waffle House because he's always open. He's always open. Well, I just saw it. So he didn't test at the combine. So and because he's not the fastest of players, he did run the gauntlet drill. If you go back and watch it, it looks slow, man. And every wide receiver does that differently when they're running down the line, but he dropped one. It looks slow. His pro day is April 1st. So Indiana's pro day is going to be one of those things where he's going to look great off the charts. But the thing that is crazy about him is he's just a first down machine 54% of his career targets, turning to a first down. So it's just like over and over and over again when they needed big plays, he was available and the biggest thing is the back shoulder throws between Mendoza and him were like spot on. He said in some of his interviews that like we watched a lot of Rogers and Devonte Adams. And that part of his game is already elite. It's already great. In the NFL, that looks a little different, right? When you're doing back shoulder throws, teams know and teams understand. But his dependability showing up in big games is just something that like stands out in this class. crafty as a route runner than slippery, but like good football player. You want him on your team. He's a winner. The question is for fantasy. I don't really love to translate like touchdowns like this in the NFL. It's just hard for me to say this is going to work the same way for a wide receiver. For sure. Yeah. 15, 8 and 8 touchdowns over the last three years. The touchdowns are doing a lot of the heavy lifting for kind of the dominated reading and stuff like that. So I think he's a solid player. Nothing special athletically, but understands leverage, body control, good hands. And you mentioned that kind of back shoulder type stuff. It's interesting you brought up the Devote Adams and Aaron Rodgers back shoulder throw type of chemistry they had. I think an interesting kind of comp for like how this could work in a foul and this sounds horrible and disgusting right now. But there was a period of time where Alan is Arbus. Okay for fantasy, not the most athletically gifted guy, but like under subposition understood where he had to be first quarterback could catch everything was a solid possession flex guy for fantasy. And I think that's possible with a guy like throughout. So I will say the fact that he's always open for his teammate. Omar Cooper and not a big fan of PFF because if you check the contested catches and contested targets, they would say otherwise Omar. I didn't think that was funny. Almost 30% of his career targets were deemed contested per PFF. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. They just invites a lot more variance like we've seen the hits with like guys like Quartan Sutton and some of those types, even Niko Collins, right, developed from being just a contested guy to now you can do a lot more to the downside of like a Keon Coleman. It's not really working. So there's a wide range of kind of how this could go. But I will say that I don't necessarily agree with always being open. And I think the numbers will agree with that. I did think this stat was was kind of crazy. This is from Dynasty Zoltan FF on Twitter. One third of largest routes targets. Indiana were deemed contested of 200 drafted wide receivers since 2018. Only JJ. I believe we're saying our Thega white side has a higher contested target rate. Generally not the list you want to be on. It's one day. The point. It's not everything. But I will say I feel like like you said that a work in college does not mean it will definitely work in the pros. And that's a question mark I have with this guy. I'm glad you brought up the spectrum of contested catches because there are guys like Michael Pittman Jr. or Drake London. I'm thinking about USC players who like that was their calling card there and they've kind of morphed into being volume guys in the right offense and the right schemes. But if you look at the NFL just 10% of catches over the last four years were contested catches. So when we say this player is really good at contested catches. We're like okay well this is like a 10th of the volume in the NFL like it's fine but it's not the main thing. And the catcher rates are 50 50 balls. That's usually what they are in the red zone. It's even lower for contested catches because it feels condensed. So I like Sarat. I don't feel like he offers much after the catch. He ran a ton of slant routes. I was 20% of his routes is pasture. That's off the charts like nobody else in the NFL is really over 15%. So something's gonna change but I think he's gonna keep slipping. Like I he's been his drafts are actually gone down as Cooper has gone up where right now he's around 70th on big boards. But he's gonna end up probably being around three which makes him a mid to late second round rookie pick. Most likely yeah before we move on I do want to point out and just kind of give him a little hat tip like it's not hard to go or not hard. It is hard I should say and we don't want to overlook the fact that he went from St. Francis to JMU to Indiana and every time like the level of competition got more difficult he continued to produce and put up pretty significant numbers. So there is something here but I think we both agree there's a wide range of outcomes and certainly you can understand and kind of see where the downside case happens. All right next wide receiver we're going to talk about is Chris Brasel the second out of Tennessee. His dad Chris Brasel the first was briefly an NFL wide receiver seven career in receptions. Seven total seven total I look he was on the Cowboys I looked at his you know PFR profile for about like 15 seconds. So we as NFL bloodlines that you're saying that's exactly that's what if you want to hear that that's what you're hearing. So start off at Tulane was that Tennessee this past two years the constant criticism we've had with Tennessee is that their offense hasn't really produced wide receivers that can translate to the NFL. Jalen Hyatt's been the recent example Cedric Tillman valus Jones if you want to call him a wide receiver where what they ran at Tennessee doesn't really work and he actually went on record during the combine saying hey I just want you to know that we ran a different style often still Josh Hypole as the head coach but it was a little bit more traditional from those Hyatt and Hinden hooker years that we saw a couple years ago and this past year at Tennessee 62 catches over a thousand yards nine touchdowns he's a really big target and he kind of has an unusual body type 64 198 there haven't been many wide receivers that have been that tall and that skinny over last decade the names that show up is like AT Perry remember him from a couple years ago Dante Thornton Jr also from Tennessee last year MVS who I think he's going to get comped to a lot so there's a lot of context with Chris Brasel and trying to figure out what he is the NFL level but I just want to say before we get any further I win in being skeptical and I've watched Tennessee football and I came away thinking like I think he's more than just a deep threat I think he's more than a deep threat if you zoom out and look at some of this stuff at Tulane I mean I tend to see a lot of his targets especially the ones that made you know the highlight reel we're down the field I will say like for a bigger guy I just kind of saw him getting bullied out there on the perimeter more than I would pushed around he's like running on the sideline at times like the cornerbacks using leverage because they line up so wide there's not that much field and if you just push him to the boundary you cut off the entire field from this guy and that happened a lot with him so I think this is a guy that has a wide range of outcomes like could develop into a deep threat in the NFL could also develop and kind of do some of the Tulane stuff and have a nice marriage of that it's going to take a very very thin needle to thread to get there I don't know I'm not in love with him quite honestly I do think that the body type of being that tall long rangey guy that hash vulnerability to see targets down the field NFL teams like that that does not necessarily mean that will work for fantasy and that's kind of the place that I'm at with him right now is I kind of picked him as a guy I feel like will most likely help his NFL team more than he helps our fantasy rosters is the most likely scenario that will happen he is interesting he has a pretty quick release off the line for someone his height he can win in zone that's what's interesting to me is in zone over the top and in the intermediate area with his hitch routes it works for somebody that you normally wouldn't think the NFL is paying a premium right now for wide receivers who can get over the top the Alec Pierce you just saw his market skyrocket because it hasn't worked that often the NFL recently we saw the lowest 20 plus area touchdowns over last decade this past year so there's a short supply of guys who can do it he does which is why I think he can end up in round two as highs round two his hands aren't great he has 12 career drops and despite that size he just didn't face the type of press coverage that you think like Malachi fields who will talk about it's like this guy's going down field you need to get your hands on him 45% of his routes where either posts goes or crossers which is exactly what Alec Pierce did Daria Slayton did those kind of guys I think there's a little bit more to his game and the the game against Georgia by the way he was the dude that day he won the jump balls the 50 50 balls that day so I like Chris Brazel more than I thought I would and I don't mind taking a shot in the right environment in the right passing offense as long as he's not drafted to see a ton of volume like he's he's gonna probably do what Pierce did which is see very few targets near one catch maybe one or two deep balls and then hopefully can develop into something more but a 437 40 time at 64 is pretty nice the unfortunate thing though is Kyle's doesn't really matter fantasy and we know that um yeah this is a guy that averaged 2.09 career yards per hour run he just I'm not I'm just not into it as I always say as I'm not into him but be honest that's okay let's go to Chris Bell his draft stock has actually gone down since his injury ACL injury in November against SMU but before the season Dame Bruegler I went back had him as his number two wide receiver coming out so there's a lot to like about Chris Bell and what he could be only played 11 games this past year but the dude is a tank he played with Tyler Shuck the year before at Louisville interesting name he is the quote heaviest wide receiver that participated at the combine that weighed in I just thought that was a fun fact heaviest dude and you can tell me this part he was told by doctors to potentially return by training camp I don't know anything about the timeline is that just dude is that just they're just spewing whatever they want there will be multiple reports I feel like over the next was it's mid march the drafts end of April over the next six ish weeks leading up to it that's like you will see a letter of approval from whoever a surgeon was it says he will be ready for training camp and all those things. It happens every year. around this time with these prospects that can't test and do all the things they need to do. It's possible. It won't be 100% entering week one. And so we kind of talked about this on the mock draft, I believe we did with Jason, I think it was, where we talked about him and it was like, I kind of like Chris Bell. Like I kind of like some of the stuff he does. You get him on Crossers, get him after the catch. He's really, really exciting on those types of plays and there's also some moments where he's winning on the boundary. So like I can kind of see it. I will say analytically, there's a lot of issues here with this guy, it didn't really break out so it was final year. Now you have the injury. The problem I have though with these guys is just in general, you think about like how you view players in dynasty, so much of their value is tied to what they do in their first year. We're so quick in this game we play to bury players or crown them, right? It's just what we do. It's kind of the way the market goes. And so now you've got a guy that has red flags all over his analytical profile. Now coming off in the ACL, if you're just learning the ropes in training camp, the train's already left. Like NFL coaches and teams aren't really gonna wait for you to build their game plan around you. So then you're saying maybe this guy sees a handful of targets in October and November and perhaps he's fantasy relevant in December and then we're entering January, February next year. We're saying nobody knows what Chris Bellas, right? So he's a guy that I'm just kind of like letting the NFL tell me kind of what they value him as because there's no pre NFL draft data information, all that sort of stuff. And teams are just gonna kind of have to go off what they saw the last year at Louisville, which there was some good moments. So I do like him as a player, but like I said, from a dynasty value perspective, which if that's how people prefer to play the game as kind of the market analysis, you might be able to just like trade your 205 next year for him and not have to worry about burning the late first on this year, you know what I mean? So I'm gonna be market price aware of Chris Bell, although I do like aspects of his game. - It would be an interesting, you know, proposition right now. If you put in a reminder for yourself for like November, hey, that just says you'll probably forget that you did it. It was just, hey, what is Chris Bell? And if he was brought along slowly, if it took longer, whoever the manager is that drafted him might say, hey, no, no, no, no, I wanna see where this is. You also might find a manager that's like, hey, like, this was not a good pick in the second round of my rookie. So you can either acquire him then at the trade deadline as like, oh, he could be a rebuilding piece or you could trade for him next off season. So put a little reminder in, I'm gonna do that. Just to see who is Chris Bell. That's probably what I'm gonna put. 60% of his targets though were between zero and nine yards so that short area of the field, that was the highest in the class and you see his yak ability as kind of his main thing. His speed, like I wouldn't call him fast, but I would say he has the build up speed to get fast. For those out there that play Mario Kart, it's like Bowser. You're gonna build up speed and eventually you're gonna be afraid train that nobody else wants to tackle. Watch the Virginia game. I feel like he just bullied them over and nobody wanted to tackle him and I also, he plays more like a power forward, a small forward than like a pure wide receiver. So it'll be interesting to see what the fit is, a lot of curls, a lot of crossers and then mostly outside. Like that's another thing. It's like, how are they gonna utilize this guys? He's gonna get to play some big slot stuff where we've seen guys in this mold. I'm just gonna say it's very trail on Berks' Esk. Big dude who gets manufactured touches, build up speed and it took a while on the NFL to figure out. It's a lot of Xavier Leguet and then if I had to give a high end comp at all, it's like you're thick, you have the ball skills of AJ Brown. And I don't think he can be AJ Brown by any means, but that's the type of player you're getting on these slants and these kind of hitch routes. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. That kind of Leguet Esk comp makes a lot of sense, even analytically, right? It's like, if you remember the conversation when he came out, it was like, Jason, I remember told everybody's like, do not listen to me. This is not good advice. But when I watch this player play in the SEC, let's do this dominating and he didn't do anything, right? For like four years took his 50 year, Chris Bell, sub one point eight yards per hour run, the first three years of his college career, like early production wasn't really there as far as a huge signal. So it happened late, but like I said, you get them on a cross or moving before the snap and stuff like that, like he would run away from players. So I kind of feel similar to kind of how I felt about that is like deep down, especially coming off injury, this probably won't work. But I see like a sliver of hope for kind of where it does. So I think he's a fun player, some really fun tape, but more of a developmental kind of stash in this group than a guy that you're hoping to get production out of in your one. I did see that he posted that he had a pre-draft top 30 visit with the bills, which-- - I know. - Is part of our processing, if you weren't around this past year, we tracked all the top 30 visits. We put out a bunch of data about what was predictive and what it said about each team and stuff. So I'm excited to figure that part out this year. I feel like I was a data point that we were lacking. And it's not always like, he visited with this team. It's more of saying, what is the team want to use the draft capital? What does it say about it? So that would be an interesting fit for that team as a bowling player. So let's hit quick break, talk about some more wider sievers. [MUSIC PLAYING] Next day we're going to bring up is Zachariah Branch, wider siever out of Georgia, 5'9", 177 pounds. And if you want to have a good time, go watch some Zachariah Branch high school film. He was the number one wider siever in the country. And posted some pretty insane track and field numbers to, including in 2023, he was recorded on a treadmill sprinted at 26 miles per hour for context. Usain Boltz record is just over 27 miles per hour. So this is like Olympic track speed for Zachariah Branch. Really fun player at USC as a freshman. I mean, his first game, he was the best player on the field with Caleb Williams. So those are some really fun. But as we've progressed, he was at Georgia this past year. He had 81 receptions, which was a school record in terms of seeing volume. And yet, we have to bring up the very, very big point that this is a lot of screens, a lot of low A dot stuff, that generally speaking, we don't love for fantasy. For sure, yeah, you mentioned some of that USC tape, his return game, Ainsane, and this dude's an athlete. Like you just get in the ball, figure it out later, kind of a player. That's kind of how he's generally been in college. Like you said, so much of his stuff is the manufactured screen behind the line of scrimmage, volume type stuff, which like in PPR formats, like could work. The problem with Zachariah Branch and the way the NFL is trending with this heavier person out type stuff, is this guy is 59177. And highly, highly, highly unlikely to play on the perimeter, especially in the first year, probably the second year or two. So you're telling me this is a slot-only guy in a league trending towards multiple tight ends, heavier personnel type of packages. How many snaps this guy even gonna play is the question I have? And then from there, can he actually be an NFL wide receiver because he wasn't only asked to do that at Georgia. And so so many question marks, you can tell yourself a story where he's fast, electric, dynamic, playmaker. But we've seen this story so many times, right? We get so intrigued by the what if this guy could be this, this guy could be that, I think we all know if this probably won't work for being honest. That's how I feel. I think he will contribute right away on special teams for an NFL franchise and be dynamic and electric at that. But for him to turn into anything more than a gadgety slot-only player would be an outlier, historically betting on those guys has not worked. So not say you don't have fun and throw a dart in your rookie drafts, I just think we need to be realistic with kind of what to expect here from Zachariah Branch. Yeah, just a couple of numbers, 77% of his receiving yardage came after the catch. So a lot of stuff that's what's talking about. He did crush man coverage, 4.23 yards per out run. He's a playmaker. I want to ask this question because I'm in step there. It's easy for me to make a bet against Zachariah Branch for a fantasy. I would love to have him on my NFL team. I would love to have him for our Falcons just as like played at Georgia, fun player. I said, so how can Zachariah Branch work in the NFL? 'Cause I know how it won't work in the NFL. And when I asked that question, how could it work? The best example is like, is he just a souped up version of Wandaile? Wandaile is probably the 90th percentile outcome. Is he-- - Let's play. - And Wandaile saw a ton of volume at Kentucky and just got a second contract that's really big. It just saw 140 plus targets back to back. It was the context though that was needed for Wandaile, which was a really crappy, you know, giants organization that kind of kept this dude on the field forever and neighbors getting hurt this past year. So it really had to play out that way. That's really the best case scenario I can paint. I mean, a lot of people are bringing up Tave on Austin who the Rams took with the top 15 pick. I am my rookie draft, so I will probably let somebody else take branch. - Me as well. - But, but in my PPR only, slot eight low 8. league only, number one pick. - Don't forget about those return yards. - Let's bring up Jeremy Bernard of Alabama, or as Jason called him the week before, Gurmi, and Jeremy Bernard, I've kind of run the gamut with him and trying to figure out what he is. He started off at Michigan State on the same team as Keon Coleman and Jaden Reed way back in 2022. His first college reception, 44 yard touchdown. That was some cool film the other day. Then he went to Washington and actually drew more targets than Denzel Boston, who's part of that Michael Pinnick's junior team. Goes to Alabama. And this past year is final year 64. for 862 and seven. I feel like we were kind of waiting for him to be the next Alabama wide receiver. And it just doesn't pop off the page the way I want to. I think he can be a very, very good NFL player. And I love this comp. I saw the other day like the highest income I could give him is his versatility and what he can do on the field getting some, you know, snaps in the back field is what Robert Woods was in the NFL was like you could do it all for the Rams. Are you really an elite player? I don't know. But you're a good football player that McVeigh, no knew how to use. But I just, I don't really know what he is. He's an interesting player. Gurmy, you know, he has some signal in his profile of like, like this guy was on a Washington offense, you know, three years ago that had future NFL players. And he was actually carving out a role. It's like he must be at least somewhat talented. Ghost Alabama, which you just nobody is a Alabama. You have to be talented to do that. So there's some signal there. He follows, you know, DeBoer and it's like, you're kind of waiting for him to like take the jump and it was just fine, mostly. I think he's a player who's good at a lot of things. I don't think he's like special any one thing. And so when I'm thinking about him and the NFL, it's like, I can see him working as a wide receiver to slash three for an offense. And maybe being like on the flex radar for fantasy. I do not think from what I saw and kind of analytically, this is a player you could ever really like build your offense around as how I feel. So I view him as like a high-ish floor player in rookie drafts. I don't necessarily see a huge ceiling here if I'm being honest. The one thing that I do love about him. This guy is ultra reliable. Four drops on over 200 career targets in college. So he has great hands. He can play inside outside. He also got some involvement out of the backfield, which is sometimes a signal of talent. So there are some aspects where you squint and you're like, okay, I can kind of see this. At the same time, this is a player who averaged 1.7 yards throughout run as a 22 year old senior. So not ideal. So all in all, I think the NFL will like him. I think there's some signal in his profile. It's like, hey, this could work. He'll have a role. He could be productive enough to kind of be a flex type guy. But by no means do I see this guy turning into a fantasy star. He's more quick than explosive. I think he can create separation. So it'll be interesting to see where he fits in an offense. And I think he's one of those players that if he gets taken on day two, if he has the right landing spot in an offense that's like, okay, we needed a wider receiver three in our offense right away. This guy's young. He can develop over time. That's what I hit using Robert Woods as the only cop. But like him and Buffalo was not like a big deal. And it wasn't until he got that second contract with LA that he was like turned into a fantasy force for a while. The numbers you mentioned there are not great when you when you talked about the yards per out run as a 22 year old senior, that final season would be the second lowest of any wide receiver taken around one two or three since 2015. The only one lower. And I need to repeat the only one lower was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles like the biggest idiots in the world in 2020 with Jalen Rager. That's Eagles legend. Jalen Rager to use her. Okay. I don't have much as a Falcons fan to like hold over your head. But Jalen Rager over Justin Jefferson is just one of the greatest moments of all time. Who went after Kyle Pitts in the draft? That's that's obvious. Who was it? Jim Marchace. We didn't need him, man. We didn't need you, Marchace. So I think with Jerry Bernard, when you get in the second round, I'm letting the team fit be the kind of the differentiator. Makes a lot of sense. All right. We're going to talk about Malachi fields of Notre Dame. And I can just tell you right now, Betts would love for this to be a 10 second conversation. I don't see it, man. I really don't. This is a five year player who in 2023 like kind of started to show like he peaked. And then it was like, it just never really got better. And historically, five year players that have limited elite production is a major, major red flag. I also think this is a guy that when you think about kind of how he wins, it's like classic extra seaver. Go in down the field and we'll throw your jump ball and kind of hope for the best. That's just is not what today's game is in the league. So again, extra seaver who has valuing NFL would be absolutely shocked if this works for fantasy. I wrote, I think I've seen this movie before. And he's more of a bully than a wider seaver, but he's like stiff in his route running. He's not quick. He might be the least quick. What's really the best way to say that? He's not a turtle. He's just not. He's just slow at the line of scrimmage, man. He gets messed up by press coverage, which is weird for a guy who's a contested catch guy. I will add that at the senior bowl down. Jeremiah called fields the best wide receiver of the entire week of practice. So good week of practice. Don't hold that against him. Betts. It's just really hard for players with this type of production to then translate. He was target on fewer than 22% of his routes. The best comp I can give in terms of size production is key on Coleman. But this is like the older slower version. That's like what we're getting of this player. I mean, Keum was an athlete at least. It's, it's not ideal. And I even said like, if I had to be really, really like 99th percentile, this is Mike Williams, but the coupon version. And I like Malik. I feel just like a person. I really like, his story is really compelling. But I don't, I will let somebody else take this type of archetype of player. That's how I feel. Yeah. This is, you know, three or four weeks ago, but there was a moment where it was like he was kind of getting a little like, could this guy sneak into the first round buzz? And I was like, Florida, I was like, I don't understand what am I missing here? But now it kind of seems like rational, you know, heads are prevailing and we're kind of falling back away from senior bullhype, which the NFL draft cycle is this, right? It's whatever's happening happening lately. And of course, he goes to Indy, runs four six and everybody's like, uh-oh. And so now his stock is falling again, right? So it's just, you have to kind of go with the eds and flows here. He'll be a day to pick. He'll fill an extra Cever roll in the NFL. Does that work for fantasy? Most likely not. So I'm with you. This is a guy that I will be lower on in consensus. All right. One more name here is Antonio Williams. White or Cever added Clemson. He's a registered junior. Did play all four years. He got hurt in a sophomore year. And he was just consistent performer all throughout college on those Clemson teams. Even in high school, you go back and he won three state championships. He lost just once in high school, same high schools. Jalen Hyatt, the, uh, Dutch fork silver foxes, the same team. They did not. They did not overlap there. But what's interesting about Williams is he was a freshman, all American 2022. And then in 2024 put together an awesome campaign, 74 for 902 and 11. And what you need to know is that if you're picking from your slot wide receivers this year, there's tears for NFL teams. There's Mackay Lemon, who's the obvious name Omar Cooper junior is up there as well. But Antonio Williams saw 93% of his routes in the slot. So he's kind of that next tier. If you're looking for a slot wide receiver and he's bigger or at least taller than you would imagine for a slot wide receiver. Yeah, for sure. The same thing I kind of feel about branch applies in some ways here. I'm not saying these guys are the same players, but the, uh, kind of overarching theme is like NFL moving to two wide receiver sets or heavier personnel sets limited the number of three wide receiver sets in the last couple of seasons. If that continues in year one and year two for Antonio Williams, how much is this guy even get on the field? So I think a taxi squad type of guy that you're kind of throwing a dart on in rookie drafts. I will say if you're looking for like a signal, it's like, oh, you went to a legit program and produced right away as a freshman. That has some signal to it. He also was used in the run game as well. That has some signal as far as talent in the, uh, as far as talent on his depth chart of saying coaching staff, let's get this guy to ball. So I can kind of see it with Antonio Williams. It is going to take a very thin needle to thread to make it work for fantasy. He has to develop into more of a consistent two wide receiver set guy and they just didn't show that us that at all at Clemson. So that's just a major unknown question mark. Can it translate to the NFL, uh, most likely, probably not. But again, you're thinking about more of these developmental guys. Antonio Williams kind of fits that bill for me. Um, a guy that I will, you know, sort of dart on in the late second, maybe early third, stash him on a taxi squad and just kind of see what happens in the first year or two. You mentioned the breakout age 19.1. That's fifth best in his class. A lot of his routes for crossers or screens, which is pretty typical for a player who plays in the slot. But I think he just looks pretty comfortable in the middle of the field, in zone coverage. And he has the short area of quickness to me that he was just open a ton. He's explosive in like getting off the line. I like my comp. If I was really kind, it says like he's a diet version of what Christian Kirk was really good at, which Christian Kirk did progress to be able to play outside as well later on in his career. But he's not a burner. He's probably not going to do very well against press coverage. So at the end of the day, like you look at a player like this, like if you're not going to get on too wide and you're not going to block for those teams, then you're missing out on a ton of routes over time, despite how reliable you are. So you need to be in the right spot on a team that is in three wide all the time. And maybe you carve out a role the way that Josh Downs carved out a role with a cold or somebody like that. But it's it's hard to say like I'm pounding the table for Antonio Williams. I think he's going to be a good NFL player and have a high floor long term. Sealing wise, I'm not like saying you have to take him at the end of your second round. Agreed. Yeah, I feel I feel pretty similar. Okay. There's lots of other names that we will have highlighted and discuss over the next couple of weeks. And in the dynasty past, we will have scouting reports coming out for names like Skyler Bell, which is actually in there right now, Deon Berks, Vocal Homa, Ted Hurst of Georgia State right here in good old Atlanta, Brennan Thompson, Mississippi State, Bryce Lance, Tray Lance's brother, who has now signed Back to the chargers, you see that? I did. I mean, that's huge news. They sound the KB1. So, there's lots of names that are going to be added to the list and I just want to say of this group. I kind of like Skylar Bell. Dude, of course you do. It's like he's like the trendy sleeper guy. Give me production in the final year and you're tougher than people realize. Yeah, I'm with you. Give me the production. Dionne Berks is so weird, man. There's like some NFL kind of circle that kind of are into him. I don't understand. That's a great way to describe that. There's people that are kind of into that stuff and I'm not really into that scene. I'm not into that, man. I don't go to those meetings. I'm not there. I don't know those people. But when you look at his complete kind of profile and totality, it's like, I don't know here. But, and if I love speed, they always love speed and he did run fast at it. So, we'll see. But this is what I was saying. Like, there's some interesting names around, but you really have to squint. Hard to see it for fantasy. That's going to do it for this episode. Make sure you check out the dynasty pass at ultimatedraftkit.com and we'll be back next week. Talk for more. Goodbye. Goodbye. Thanks for listening to the Fantasy Footballers Dynasty Podcast. If you want to take your dynasty skills to the next level, check out the Fantasy Footballers.com.

Podcast Summary

Key Points:

  1. The podcast discusses second- to third-round wide receiver prospects in the 2025 NFL draft, emphasizing that the 50–75 pick range is a sweet spot for finding reliable, role-specific players.
  2. Key players like Omar Cooper Jr., Elijah Serrat, Chris Brasel, Zachariah Branch, and Chris Bell are analyzed for their fit in fantasy football, with concerns about route trees, target distribution, and NFL translation.
  3. The hosts caution against overvaluing hype or single data points, stressing the need for a balanced process that includes film analysis, statistical red flags, and realistic expectations about player development and usage.

Summary:

The podcast explores the deeper tier of wide receiver prospects in the 2025 NFL draft, focusing on players targeted at picks 50–75. The hosts emphasize that while the class is deep, it’s not uniformly talented—many players are role-specific and require careful evaluation of their route trees, target volume, and ability to translate to the pros. Key players like Omar Cooper Jr.

are seen as versatile but risky at first-round value, while Elijah Serrat stands out for his consistency and big-play ability despite limited fantasy production. Chris Brasel and Zachariah Branch are viewed as intriguing but limited by body type, offensive fit, and college usage—especially Branch’s reliance on screens and short routes. Chris Bell, though physically imposing and effective in the slot, faces major concerns due to an ACL injury and lack of proven NFL readiness.

The hosts stress that fantasy value must align with real-world NFL dynamics, such as offensive schemes and personnel trends, and warn against over-hyping players based on college stats or social media buzz. They advocate for a disciplined, data-driven approach—using film, stats, and team context—rather than relying on trends or one-off highlights. The episode concludes with a clear message: while some players offer potential, most are developmental or niche fits, making them better suited for mid-to-late rounds or specific fantasy formats like PPR.

Ultimately, the discussion reinforces that draft capital should be allocated based on realistic expectations, not hype, and that fantasy success comes from understanding the gap between college performance and professional execution.

FAQs

This range is considered a sweet spot where many quality wide receiver prospects are found. Players drafted here often have strong potential for fantasy success due to their specific role fits and development potential in the NFL.

Waddle's move to the Broncos presents a mixed outlook. While he remains a top-tier talent with strong stats, his performance may differ due to a new offensive scheme and different pace, making his fantasy value uncertain but still potentially strong.

Waddle is seen as more talented overall, with better consistency and production metrics, while Flowers is a solid player with different strengths. Most analysts favor Waddle for fantasy due to his proven track record and upside.

Cooper has high upside with inside-outside versatility and strong after-catch ability, but concerns exist about overvaluation due to hype and a potentially mismatched role in the NFL, making him a mid-to-late first-round pick rather than a first-rounder.

Serrat excels at creating first downs and is reliable in big games, but his fantasy value is limited by the difficulty of translating his high-volume, high-touchdown college production to the NFL's more balanced passing game.

Brasel has strong zone and intermediate game skills, a quick release, and effective performance in zone coverage, making him a potential fit in specific offensive schemes, though his overall fantasy value is limited by low target volume and a high-risk injury history.

Chat with AI

Loading...

Pro features

Go deeper with this episode

Unlock creator-grade tools that turn any transcript into show notes and subtitle files.