Fantasy Football League Winners You MUST Draft in 2026: Brock Bowers, AJ Brown, Omarion Hampton & More (Ep. 2061)
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59 min
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Jun 23, 2026
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Tue, June 23, 2026
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Full transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. Guaranteed Varieties Available in all geographies.
0:04Warning. This product can cause mouth cancer. Welcome everybody to Fantasy Pros.
0:08This is the Fantasy Football Podcast. It is me, Joey P., Joe P.
0:12Zapia. And today, you know what it's about. It's about winning your league.
0:16Why else are we playing fantasy football if we're not trying to win our leagues for God's sakes?
0:21That's what we're trying to do here and to help us win every single league this year with some names that you're
0:28going to have to draft this year, whether you like it or not.
0:32D-Bro, Derek Brown, the King of Bros, and Pat Fitzmaurice.
0:35All three of the dads of Fantasy Pros here are back after a nice Father's Day weekend.
0:40Pat, I know you got to spend some time with the college kiddos, right?
0:45Because they're not home anymore. They come home from college.
0:48They each out of house and home, right? And then they go off and hang out with their friends.
0:53But you got to spend some barbecue time with them.
0:57And D-Bro, I hear that you're a celebrity in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
1:01Tell everybody how you got recognized in all the strangest places.
1:04I go to the bathroom at my favorite pizza place.
1:07And I'm standing there at the facilities. And then I go wash my hands.
1:11And I look up into the mirror. And some guy walks into the bathroom.
1:16And he does the double take. He's staring at me for a second.
1:20I was like, oh, dear Lord, here it comes.
1:22And he's like, so, I know this is the most awkward thing possible.
1:26And I know this is weird. But are you Derek from Fantasy Pros?
1:30And I was like, I just started cackling. And we're laughing our butts off.
1:35And he's like, dude, I saw you sitting over there with your family.
1:39I didn't want to bug you and stuff. And it's not that I stalked you to the bathroom.
1:44That was my next question. Did he stalk you to the bathroom?
1:48But we ended up in here. And we were laughing.
1:51And met his family. Told him Happy Father's Day.
1:54It was a good time. But yes, awkward beginnings to a really fun story, guys.
1:58Well, Pat, it was relieving to me to hear that he was recognized because of Fantasy Pros.
2:04And not his earlier work in the internet film industry.
2:07Don't you think? I was like, where are you going with this?
2:10Right, Pat? That's kind of a relief, isn't it?
2:13Very nice. Yeah, you want to be recognized for the PG stuff.
2:17Yeah, that's good. All right. Well, today, I don't know what rating we're going to get.
2:22Just A+. That's the rating of today's show. Make sure you subscribe if you have not already.
2:27Drop your comments. Ring the bell till it goes ding.
2:30So you never miss a piece of content here on Fantasy Pros.
2:34And let's start here with some guys early on in rounds, you know, two, three that we think are really going to take it to the next level.
2:42And look, they say you don't necessarily win or lose your draft in the first round or two.
2:48But there's certainly some chances you can take and I think some targets that you can make that are there specifically, Pat,
2:55to take you over the hump between being just a good team to a great team.
2:59And I want to start with Brock Bowers because obviously tight end this year.
3:04There's a lot of quality guys. And I know you've singled out Brock Bowers.
3:08Let's talk about why you think he's a potential league winner and why people should be aggressive on him, despite the fact
3:15that he even does already have a pretty early ADP.
3:18Pretty early, but we used to debate whether Travis Kelsey was worthy of the first round.
3:23And I don't think there was there was definitely a big contingent of people who did think he was worth a first round pick.
3:30And I think Bowers has the chance to give you the same sort of leg up at the position that Travis Kelsey did in his heyday.
3:38As a rookie in 2024, Bowers had 112 catches for 1194 yards and five touchdowns.
3:43He was tight end one in PPR scoring, and he was third among all pass catchers that season.
3:48Tight ends and wide receivers, sixth in targets, eighth in receiving yardage, ninth in PPR fantasy points.
3:54That's among all pass catchers. And it was just an absolute monster of a rookie season.
3:58And he did it with Gardner Minshew, Aiden O'Connell, and Desmond Ritter as his quarterbacks that year.
4:04The Las Vegas quarterbacks that season had a collective passer rating of 82.4.
4:08It was more than 10 points higher when they were throwing to Bowers, 92.9.
4:12Last year, five catches for 103 yards for Bowers in the opener.
4:16But he sprains his PCL and gets a bone bruise in his left knee in that game.
4:21Gutted it out for the next three weeks, but clearly wasn't himself.
4:25The Raiders shut him down for a while. In his first game back, he has 12 catches, 127 yards and three touchdowns.
4:31Four more touchdowns after that. But the reception and yardage totals, nothing special.
4:35The Raiders offense was just a mess. The quarterbacking was bad.
4:39The offensive line play was bad. And in the final season, final weeks of the season, the Raiders went into full tank mode.
4:46So they just shut Bowers down, missed the last two games.
4:49So he played 12 games total, 64 catches, 680 yards, seven touchdowns.
4:53This season, Raiders get a new and better play caller with Clint Kubiak.
4:57They get the number one pick in the draft, Fernando Mendoza.
5:00And no, Debro, they're not going to keep it a redshirt season for Mendoza all year long.
5:05No, they're not. But in the three or four or five games, they keep Mendoza out at the beginning of the season.
5:12It's going to be the very tight end friendly Kirk Cousins, who was quarterbacking the Falcons last year when Kyle Pitts had
5:19that monster 166 yard three touchdown game against the Buccaneers on a Thursday night, who fueled some big TJ Hawkinson seasons in
5:26Minnesota, who fueled a 954 yard 11 touchdown season for Jordan Reed back in 2015.
5:30Things are set up really well for Bowers this year.
5:33The Raiders best receivers, who? Jalen Naylor, Trey Tucker, Jack Bash.
5:37Bowers is going to have a big season. And it would not surprise me if a year from now people are considering
5:44Bowers like a no-brainer first rounder in 2027 fantasy drafts.
5:47Fitzy, I've already gone on record Fernando Mendoza starts week one.
5:50I don't see when they're going into training camp and they watch Kirk Cousins throw and they watch Mendoza run the offense.
5:57That's fine. We'll see. We'll see how it goes.
6:00The last time a number one overall pick did not start week one at quarterback, 2018, Baker Mayfield.
6:05That's a long time ago. Okay? The number one overall pick quarterbacks, they start week one for a reason.
6:11Eddie's way better than Kirk Cousins. There's nothing for him to learn.
6:15Just go play. All right. Let's talk about another tight end.
6:18Yeah, jerk. Derek Brown. So if you don't want to take Brock Bowers, who currently is going as the first tight end
6:25in a lot of drafts right now, you can wait a little longer and take the guy that I'm super excited about.
6:31And it looks like Derek is as well. So D bro, let's talk about Colston Loveland, whom I predicted on the tailgate
6:38will lead all tight ends in touchdowns, in yards, and also lead the bears in those two categories as well this year.
6:45I told you then, and I'll tell you again here.
6:48It wasn't that hot of a take. Yeah, I guess.
6:51I mean, I know Patty's also riding on the bandwagon here.
6:55I mean, look, just the reason I want to bring up Colston Loveland, and I'm kind of cheating right now.
7:01I know he's going at the beginning of the fourth round in drafts.
7:05I have been in best ball drafts and other places where I've seen him go at the back end of the third.
7:11I think he's going to be a mid third round pick.
7:15The farther we go into summer, and it's all said and done because the steam is heavy and it's deserved for Colston Loveland.
7:22If you look at what he did in week 16 through 20, and people say, oh, it's a small sample size.
7:28We need to look at signal for talented rookies that break out towards the back end of the season.
7:34People discounted this, and I know it's different positions, but they discounted that breakout with Amon Ross St.
7:40Brown, Rasheed Rice. When are we going to learn the lesson that you need to take the signal away from it?
7:46Week 16 through 20 last year for Colston Loveland, 25.6% target share, 81.6 receiving yards per game, 2.49 yards per route run, 34% first read share.
7:54I can keep rattling off stats for days and days.
7:57The reason I bring all of this up is if you look at Trey McBride's season in 2025 and Brock Bowers magical
8:04season in 2024, Colston Loveland beats both of them in that sample size and every single per route efficiency metric.
8:10So this year he can be Chicago's wide receiver one.
8:13We've already seen this play out last year down the back half of the season.
8:18I think he's the best tight end ADP value on the freaking board because when it's all said and done, I think he's going to be very close.
8:26If not right on the heels of Brock Bowers in rivaling as far as raw stats and everything like he's my tight
8:33end too right now over Trey McBride behind only Bowers.
8:36Yeah, look, I'm a big fan of Loveland. I'm curious, Pat, you know, to me, the, one of the reasons I also
8:43like Loveland is because there's a little kind of like a flare gun that goes off in drafts, right?
8:49When the tight ends start going, whether it be Bowers, then McBride, I like Loveland.
8:53So to me, it's just like, okay, this is where this league is going to value tight ends.
8:59So I can wait for that first salvo and then kind of take it from there.
9:04That's my approach with tight end. But would you still, regardless, go after Bowers, even if he ends up being a, let's
9:11say an early second round pick at this point with some of the helium that smart folks like you were putting out there on him?
9:18Well, I want Bowers and I'm hoping to get them in a lot of drafts, Joe, but there are certain spots in the draft.
9:26If you draw that spot, you are not going to get Brock Bowers.
9:30If I'm picking one or two, I'm not picking Bowers over Jameer Gibbs or Bijon Robinson.
9:35And he's probably not going to be there for me in the back end of the second round.
9:40So there, maybe I do consider at the top of the third round, Colston Loveland.
9:45And I've actually already been in one redraft draft where we drafted our teams in like early June or late May or whatever.
9:52And I got Loveland in right around mid fourth in that.
9:55I don't think that price is going to be available to me when it gets to be August.
10:01If I don't get Bowers, no question Loveland is a target.
10:04He's just, he's too fast for linebackers. He's too physical for safeties.
10:08Packers are really well equipped to cover tight ends and did well, I think for the most part last year against tight
10:15ends with Javon Bullard and Evan Williams, who are these physical safeties who can handle a lot of the bigger tight ends.
10:21And, you know, they move like defensive backs and Loveland just chewed the Packers up in the last two meetings last season,
10:28just chewed them up and spit them out. So like, I think it's, we're going to see a lot of that from Loveland this year.
10:36All right. The next guy on Pat's list is somebody that I've already been vocally aggressive about on this program many times.
10:42And I will be for the next few months ahead.
10:46It's Amari and Hampton of the Los Angeles Chargers.
10:48So Hampton finds himself in an offense here with new OC, Mike McDaniel, who certainly is no stranger to an effective run game.
10:55And Hampton is lined up to be the three down back.
10:59Pat, I think he's a first round pick. And I've gone on record saying in a lot of ways, I'm more comfortable
11:06with him and that offense run by Justin Herbert than I am of guys like Devon Achan and an offense run by
11:12Malik Willis with what is not available necessarily to them.
11:15So Pat, let's talk about Amari and Hampton and what that upside really, truly is.
11:20Obviously the later you get him, the better, but it doesn't feel like a bad idea to be a little bit, I
11:27would say early on the trigger with him either.
11:30Right. We only got nine games out of Hampton in his rookie year.
11:34Joe broke his ankle in week five, didn't come back until week 14.
11:37And we saw some fairly encouraging things from him.
11:40Five touchdowns in nine games, 32 catches in those nine games with five or more catches in four of them.
11:46129 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown against that tough Denver defense in week three.
11:51And then 165 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown against the Giants the following week.
11:56There was only one hundred one 100 yard rushing game.
11:59And that was, you know, against the Giants who were not world beaters on defense.
12:03But we all know the Chargers offensive line had all sorts of problems last year with the injuries to the tackles, general ineptitude in the middle.
12:11But now that line should be healthier and better this year.
12:15And we do get Mike McDaniels, the offensive coordinator, and he helped turn Devon Achan into a monster in Miami.
12:21And of course, Achan and Hampton are very different physical builds.
12:24Achan's a scat back who weighs less than 200 pounds and Hampton is a 220 yard thumper, although he does move well for his size.
12:32But what's exciting is the possibility that McDaniel maximizes Hampton's pass catching talents.
12:36And he's a very capable pass catcher, had almost 40 receptions his final year at North Carolina in college.
12:42Hampton's going to go early to mid second round.
12:44And I know some people think that might be a little rich for a guy who didn't necessarily knock it out of
12:51the park as a rookie, didn't make a huge splash.
12:54But this strikes me as one of those skate to where the puck is going picks, Joe.
13:00And it sounds like you feel the same way.
13:02Hampton's just he was a very good running back prospect coming out of North Carolina.
13:07First round pedigree and the rookie season gave us no reason to doubt that that first round pedigree is legit.
13:13Just in a really good situation for 2026 with this offense.
13:16I think he could smash. D bro, a lot of people are going to have to make the decision, I think, between Hampton and Saquon Barkley.
13:24I know which way I'm going. I'm just curious for you, which way would you be leaning in that?
13:30It's easy Hampton for me. I've got Hampton as my RB8.
13:34I've got Saquon at RB13. And I love all the points that Patty laid out there.
13:39And again, we're not saying Hampton is Devon Achan, but he's being dropped into a system where McDaniel over the last three
13:45years to that upside in the passing game where McDaniel's offense is ranked third, third and seventh in target share to the running back position.
13:53Even if you want to water that down, charge the top 12 next year in target share to the running back position.
14:00Hampton's going to catch a lot of passes, dude.
14:03Yeah. Busy season ahead for Amari and Hampton. That's for sure.
14:06Also for the newly acquired wide receiver, one of the New England Patriots, AJ Brown.
14:11Boy, it's nothing but love letters there. It's sunshine and rainbows.
14:14It's a beautiful time out there in Patriots camp lately, D-Bro.
14:17And we've talked about it on Tailgate. Again, if you haven't watched it, go over and check out the Tailgate channel over on YouTube, Tailgate NFL.
14:25Go subscribe today. It's good for your health. D-Bro, we've talked about AJ Brown and how it just feels like a perfect
14:32scenario with the perfect quarterback to get him back to being one of those statistically dominant wide receivers.
14:38And it does feel like the last two years of good, but maybe not all world AJ Brown have made people forget
14:44a little bit of just how good Brown is.
14:47I feel like this year it's our duty to remind everybody.
14:50I fully agree. And that's why I want to stay above market.
14:54Like I've got AJ Brown as a top seven receiver right now.
14:58I just, I don't see what's not to like about AJ Brown and this upcoming season.
15:03And he's shown a high floor, like as a wide receiver one, he's been no lower than the wide receiver 12 over
15:10the last and fantasy points per game of the last four seasons.
15:13He's moving from an Eagles offense. That was 15th in neutral passing rate last year to the Patriots that were ninth.
15:20And the, here's the real upside with AJ Brown outside of the increased target volume, because they're going to throw the freaking ball.
15:27He gets a passing quarterback upgrade with Drake may, but also we want to talk about the fact of, I think his
15:33touchdown ceiling goes up exponentially because we're talking about going from an Eagles offense.
15:38That was 32nd boys in 10 zone passing rate last year where he goes to the Patriots.
15:43And they were 15th last year. That is a sizable, massive upgrade where AJ Brown could spike 12 plus touchdowns.
15:49He can lead the NFL in receiving touchdowns this year on top of the target volume bump on top of the fact that he's not dust.
15:57You look amongst 109 qualifying wide receivers, ninth in target share, 17 yards per route run.
16:02He was still top 30 in separation and route win rate last year.
16:06I'm not going to slant AJ Brown or shade him and be like, oh, well he's wide receiver 10 or 12 in
16:13my ranks because that's what he's been doing in a very run heavy offense.
16:17And now he gets a big upgrade this year.
16:20He's a top seven receiver for me. Fitzy Pickens had a breakout, you know, statistical season last year for the Dallas Cowboys,
16:27but there is still CD lamb there with him.
16:29AJ Brown, the ECR is right next to Pickens and there's no CD lamb next to AJ Brown.
16:35To me, I'd rather have AJ Brown of the two of them, but I'm curious where you have those two in your rankings.
16:42I have AJ Brown ranked ahead of Pickens. I think AJ Brown is eight or nine for me and Pickens is 10 or 11.
16:49And certainly Romeo Dobbs is not CD lamb. And no, AJ Brown has literally never had a bad season.
16:55He's hit a thousand yards, six out of seven.
16:58And the only time he missed, he only played 13 games.
17:01And for people who are worried about a team change that that could adversely affect him.
17:06Last time AJ Brown changed teams, he had what was probably the best season of his career, 1,496 yards and 11 touchdowns in his first season in Philly.
17:15And Drake may will be the best pure passer he's ever played with before.
17:19Yeah. Drake may special quarterback talent. That's for sure.
17:22All right. Let's get to the mid round guys here coming up in just a second before we do just a reminder
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17:57It's a beautiful thing. Draft Assistant is there also during your draft to help you kind of be the coach right behind
18:03you, making all the decisions along with you. So if you haven't already tried it, I strongly suggest to download the Fantasy Pros app.
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20:35All right, next up here, we've got the mid-round guys that potentially, you know, might be breaking out in 2026.
20:41D-Bro, I want to start with a guy here on your list that feels like not so much a breakout, but kind
20:48of a rebirth potentially for Jalen Waddell in this Denver Broncos offense.
20:52Courtland Sutton's been the guy there since Bo Nix has gotten there.
20:55And Bo Nix was good enough, certainly from a fantasy perspective last year, finishes a QB1.
21:00Now you're bringing in Jalen Waddell. Is this a signal that the Broncos offense is going to open things up a little bit more in 2026?
21:08I mean, I think they're going to keep doing what they've been doing.
21:12And again, old faces, new places. This is just another windfall as far as the offseason movement for a wide receiver that
21:19is going to smash this year with Jalen Waddell.
21:22And then, you know, I'll give a little foreshadowing here.
21:25I'm bringing up two wide receivers here, but these are the two wide receivers where I feel really comfortable if people are
21:31starting running back, running back in their drafts. This is where you can get the edge on going wide receivers here.
21:38And Jalen Waddell, I don't understand why he's being ranked as a wide receiver three or low end wide receiver two.
21:44He's going from an offense, again, much like A.J.
21:47Brown, that was incredibly run heavy last year. The Dolphins were 29th in neutral passing rate.
21:52The Denver Broncos were fourth. And people talk about, oh, well, their defense is really good.
21:57They're going to they might run the ball and da, da, da, da, da.
22:01But they didn't do that last year. They're not going to do that this year unless Sean Payton decides he's not going to coach anymore.
22:09Oh, wait, he just signed extension. Jalen Waddell is going to get a massive passing volume infusion.
22:14And then we're discussing talent level and target earning potential.
22:17He beat Courtland Sutton in every single per route metric that matters last year.
22:22And he was also top 12 in target per route run rate, yards per route run, first downs per route run, separation score, route win rate.
22:30Like literally every single thing I care about from wide receiver play, Jalen Waddell smashed.
22:34And then people go, oh, he can't stay healthy.
22:37He was healthy all last year. Oh, but that doesn't conveniently fit the narrative about trying to shade Jalen Waddell in this
22:44new environment that he finds himself in. Denver's going to pass the freaking ball.
22:48He's going to be their wide receiver one. I've got him ranked as a wide receiver one this year.
22:54And I know it sounds spicy, but again, buying into really, really talented players that are landing on pass happy offenses when
23:01the NFL is shading even more to the run in so many different teams.
23:05Yeah. And you're giving me a discount on Jalen Waddell?
23:08I'm going to draft him everywhere this year, guys.
23:11Fitzy, what's your take on Waddell? Because I think there's a disappointment level in his performance the last couple of years of
23:17people who invested heavily in Waddell, which I understand.
23:20I think that's turned people off to him. Are you turned back on to Waddell because of the new surroundings in Denver?
23:27I'm starting to be. I wasn't at first. I was worried about the Sutton thing.
23:32But lately, I've been thinking about that and realizing that Jalen Waddell was routinely churning out thousand yard seasons in Miami playing
23:38with Tyreek Hill, who was at the height of his powers when he got to Miami and started playing with Waddell.
23:45So I shouldn't worry about Cortland Sutton when Waddell managed to get his when he was playing with Tyreek Hill.
23:51So I'm coming around to Debro's way of seeing this.
23:54And Waddell's just really good. And when Erickson and I were doing the ranking show last year, like both of us were routinely ranking Waddell above consensus.
24:02Like we like the player a lot. And I've come around to seeing his current situation as more of a positive than a negative.
24:10All right. Another player last couple of years that I think some fantasy analysts have been high on and it hasn't quite
24:16popped, I think, to the degree that some were hoping is Jalen Warren of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
24:22Now, Pat, I personally am investing in Rico Dowdle.
24:24So I'm fascinated to hear the argument for Jalen Waddell that I think you're going to make here.
24:30So let's talk about Warren and why this year could be different under a different regime in Mike McCarthy.
24:36Yeah. And a lot of people do see this as kind of a committee situation.
24:40So Warren might seem like an odd choice for a league winner show.
24:44Those two are only nine spots apart in ECR right now.
24:48Warren goes like a little over half a round earlier than Dowdle.
24:51Well, that's ECR, not ADP. But I think people are going to look at these guys as kind of co-equals.
24:58Joe, I think Aaron Rodgers is the prism through which we have to look at this backfield.
25:03Rodgers is 42. He has very little mobility anymore.
25:06And we saw last year that he is no longer willing to stand in the pocket and subject himself to hits while
25:12he scans the field for open receivers. He needs to play with a running back who can block for him and be
25:19a safety valve as a pass catcher. And that is Jalen Warren and not Rico Dowdle.
25:24Like Warren has averaged 2.6 catches per game over his career, 1.41 yards per route run.
25:29Dowdle has averaged 1.4 catches per game, 1.05 yards per route run.
25:33And last year, Jalen Warren's PFF blocking grade was 72.
25:36Dowdle's was 24.6. That was a really bad blocking grade.
25:39And being the Steelers' primary pass catching back, or just primary back in general, I think it's a lucrative gig because Steelers
25:46running backs are going to catch a lot of passes.
25:49They accounted for 25.4% of team targets last year.
25:51That was second highest in the league, only behind the 49ers with Christian McCaffrey.
25:56Warren fell just short of 1,300 yards from scrimmage last year, eight touchdowns, and he missed a game.
26:01He averaged 80.7 yards from scrimmage a game, and he was RB19 in PPR points per game.
26:06And he's like a late sixth-round pick right now.
26:09He's pretty affordable for a guy who might have upside that maybe a lot of people aren't seeing right now.
26:15D-Bro, what's your take on that Pittsburgh backfield? Are you Team Rico, Team Jalen Warren, or are you just Team Stay the Hell Away?
26:23Ugh. Sounds like Stay the Hell Away from that grunt.
26:26That's what it felt like. Yeah, I mean, kind of stay away.
26:29Stay away, but if I'm picking one guy, I want to pick the guy with the pass game upside, which I agree with Patty, is Jalen Warren.
26:38I look at this backfield. If Mike McCarthy, does he run this back of previous backfield splits that he's had?
26:44Is Jalen Warren going to be the Aaron Jones here?
26:47I think it's possible, to Patty's points. I mean, previous Green Bay backfields, we've seen McCarthy run committees and stuff like that.
26:54My only worry about with this backfield is who gets the goal line work and who gets the touchdowns.
27:00Now, Jalen Warren could get all of that and the passing game stuff, and I think that's where we discuss league winning
27:06upside versus Patty's kind of laying out here. I love Rico Dowdle, the talent.
27:11I just don't know if he's going to garner the same kind of passing game work.
27:16What if Aaron Rodgers stays like Checkdown Charlie this year and Jalen Warren, and I'm not saying, I know it's different offensive
27:22system, but he even does a 70% Kenny Gainwell of last year.
27:26I think that could be in the cards. All right, so we'll see how the Pittsburgh backfield shakes out.
27:32You got certainly the Jalen Warren contingent here today.
27:35Let's talk about another guy on Debro's list here in these middle rounds that could potentially win you your league.
27:41And let's talk about a Packer so that Pat doesn't have to today, because I think that's something that a lot of
27:48singer-songwriters are trying to make sure that, you know, we have enough funding available for all of the wide receivers in Green Bay to stay healthy this year.
27:56Christian Watson, you know, the OG Christian Watson fan going back to pre-draft is Derek Brown, ladies and gentlemen.
28:02I just want to point that out. Like, I spent a lot of hours talking about Christian Watson, and with good reason.
28:09He's a playmaker. He's exciting. It's the injuries. And it's been the injuries, and it's always been the injuries.
28:15The thought process is eventually one of these years he stays healthy.
28:18But, Debro, is the cost right for that investment this season?
28:22Absolutely. The cost this season is not baking into, one, what he did last year coming off a torn ACL, and, two, what we could see this season.
28:30I mean, Christian Watson last year, weeks 8 through 18.
28:33Guys, we talked about him every single freaking week on the Waiver Wire show, and yet people lag behind on picking him up.
28:40And he was the wide receiver 21 in fantasy points per game, weeks 8 through 18.
28:45He had 61 receiving yards per game. He had 2.67 yards per route run.
28:50He was the clear wide receiver 1 for the Green Bay Packers.
28:53And basically what Green Bay said was, okay, can you handle being our wide receiver 1?
28:58And then he did, and they rewarded him with the big contract this offseason.
29:03Now, Romeo Dobbs is gone. Dontavian Wicks is gone.
29:05Christian Watson in that sample size was ultra-crazy efficient, but also still only had a 68% route share.
29:11That was 56 out of 109 qualifying wide receivers.
29:14So, if he keeps this even a modicum of this ultra-efficiency per route, he retains the wide receiver 1 chair, because I
29:20don't know who the heck is coming for that.
29:23Jayden Reed? We still don't even know if he's going to play in two wide receiver sets.
29:28Matthew Goldman, Fitz, is going to talk about here in a little bit.
29:32Like, he's an unproven commodity. We have hope, and there's hype for him.
29:36But what can he do? Christian Watson, and Tucker Craft's coming off a torn ACL.
29:41So, when is he going to be 100%? Christian Watson could smash this year, and you're getting him at a wide receiver 3 price tag, guys.
29:49Like, this is where we talk about league winners, where if Christian Watson goes out and he puts up, like, the Will
29:56Fuller season when he finally broke out and was healthy and stuff, or like a Terry McLaurin type of season, none of us should be shocked.
30:04And that's a top 15 fantasy wide receiver. Wow, we got a Will Fuller reference in this show today, everybody.
30:10I mean, that's pretty special. We got a couple good references in this show today.
30:14Fitzy, if there's a piece that I'm investing in in the Packers offense, I got to be honest with you, it's Tucker Craft.
30:21But is Christian Watson still one of these guys that I should be going after again in 2026, despite the fact that
30:28time and time again, he's been a fantasy letdown?
30:31Yeah, and Debro even left out the part where he's 6'4 and has sub 4'4 speed, which is pretty attractive.
30:37You know, and Debro talked about the ultra efficiency with, last year, 2.28 yards per route run and 11.1 yards per target.
30:44Numbers that are up there with the elites at wide receiver.
30:47Sure, I understand the injury risk and that's what is going to spook everyone and make it like a discount buy to get Christian Watson in drafts.
30:56What I'm hoping is that people kind of forget about this, but like Watson a few, a couple of years ago, like
31:02went and underwent a study at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where they found out like he had 20 or 30% more leg
31:09strength in one leg than the other. And they kind of worked to address this with his training and everything.
31:15But then like he tears his ACL and there's nothing you could do to really stop a torn ACL.
31:21That's not being injury prone necessarily. But he came back earlier than expected from the ACL and he was great when he came back last year.
31:29He was fantastic. And as Debro said, you know, now if we get the consolidated targets, there is more upside here.
31:36And let's just get this man wide receiver one usage.
31:39And I think we could get a wide receiver one season.
31:42Well, especially if Josh Jacobs, you know, has more issues that keep him off the playing field.
31:47That could be a scenario too, where maybe I start to say, oh, you know what?
31:52We'll do it one more time because my friends keep telling me and it's the peer pressure eventually I gave into to go with Christian Watson yet again.
32:01All right, let's talk about a guy at the running back position here, Pat, in these middle rounds.
32:06Kyle Mononga, who was one of my guys last year.
32:09It feels like he is growing every single game more into that David Montgomery role in what was the Ben Johnson offense, formerly of the Detroit Lions.
32:18And it feels like, you know, another year older here for DeAndre Swift.
32:22We could even see more of Mononga. We could, Joe.
32:25It was a nice rookie season for Mononga. 783 rushing yards, five touchdowns.
32:29Definitely not league winning stuff as the second head in a two headed backfield that also includes Swift.
32:34But Mononga can be a useful asset in the role he currently has.
32:38And the league winning potential stems from the possibility that Swift either gets hurt or Mononga displaces Swift on the merits.
32:45Because Ben Johnson becomes convinced Mononga is simply the better player.
32:48And I think Ben Johnson is really kind of a key to the fantasy value of these guys.
32:54He might be the best running game designer in the NFL.
32:57The Bears were third in rushing yardage last year.
33:00They were third in yards per carry, 4.9. They were number three in rushing DVOA last year, only behind the Rams and the Bills.
33:07And in his three years as Detroit's offensive coordinator, Ben Johnson presided over a running game that ranked 12th, 4th, and 2nd in rushing DVOA.
33:15And Ben Johnson does like to run the ball.
33:18The Bears were 22nd in pass rate over expected.
33:20And he had the 11th highest percentage of running plays last year.
33:24Ben Johnson likes this 7th round rookie enough to give him 169 carries last year.
33:29Mononga is the sort of running back who could give you a pretty big payoff on a mid-round investment.
33:34Debra, I never really thought much of the idea of Mononga kind of taking over the entire backfield.
33:40Do you see that as a potential scenario that could play out this year?
33:44I think, I don't know if he takes over, because I think Swift will still take most of the passing down work.
33:51But could he be the primary early down guy in the red zone guy?
33:55Which, I mean, even if he does just that, then we're talking about a guy that vaults from being an RB3 to consistent weekly RB2 in this offense.
34:04All right. Next up, we've got some of the late round league winners we're going to talk about.
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37:55All right, let's get to the late round guys.
37:58These are really fun here. So Pat, it's funny.
38:01We talked about Christian Watson. And here we are talking about a guy that you left for dead last year.
38:07You are not a fan. And I'm going to call you out to the table right now about it because I heard
38:14a lot of slander against Matthew Golden. What has changed in this year, in this off season for you, Pat, that now he becomes a recommend?
38:22Yeah, we have not one, but two Green Bay Packers wide receivers who are highlighting on this show.
38:27You can't accuse Derek Brown of Green Bay Packers homerism.
38:30Maybe you can accuse me, but you cannot accuse me of Matthew Golden favoritism.
38:35Because yeah, you guys know I wasn't crazy about the Packers selection of Golden in the first round in last year's drafts.
38:41What Debro talked about with the target consolidation is appealing here with Romeo Dobbs and Dontavian Wicks gone.
38:47Because as of now, we don't really have enough evidence to decide whether Matthew Golden is good or bad.
38:53Maybe some people have drawn their conclusions already. I'm actually staying open-minded on this.
38:57I don't think we can say definitively. Just didn't play a lot of snaps last year.
39:02Only about 32 per game. 44 targets, 29 catches, 361 yards, no touchdowns.
39:06Target share wasn't substantial. Golden averaged 1.53 yards per route run.
39:09Certainly not good, but also not disastrous. But yeah, there will be greater opportunity.
39:14He was part of that wide receiver rotation last year.
39:17And this year, it seems like it's going to be a three-man core wide receiver with Watson, Golden, and Jaden Reed.
39:23And the Packers beat writers are indicating that it's going to be Watson and Golden as the two receivers on the field
39:30when the Packers use 12 personnel and have two tight ends on the field.
39:34So I love Watson, but we can't whistle past the graveyard with his injury history.
39:39And Jaden Reed hasn't been super durable either. So there is reason to believe that Golden could see a lot more targets this year.
39:46He's got big play speed. He ran that 4-2-9 at the combine.
39:50Honestly, I might be cheating a bit by lumping in with, lumping Golden in with the late rounders on this show.
39:56Because I don't think it would take much for Golden to be vaulted several rounds in ADP.
40:02Just a couple of those reports like, oh, Matthew Golden is catching everything that comes his way.
40:07He looks unguardable in practices. All of a sudden he's going in the seventh round.
40:11I could, I could see that as a possibility.
40:14But yeah, there, there's some serious upside potential with Golden this year.
40:18What is your take right here, Debro about Golden?
40:21Because it does feel like, you know, this is another one of those players with obvious athleticism, right?
40:26Good career in Texas. Another explosive play guy. But is Christian Watson kind of already the explosive play guy?
40:32Is there enough of those kinds of plays in the Packer offense that Matthew Golden could also end up being a guy that makes significant contributions this year?
40:41I think he definitely can make significant contributions. I mean, just look at what we saw from the Packers offense last year.
40:47Like Watson was as productive as he was. And still Romeo Dawes, Romeo Dobbs was flirting with wide receiver three value in and out like the entire season.
40:56And back to Patty's point, I think one of the things that makes this Green Bay Packers passing attack so palpable is
41:03that it comes down to the fact that I think we're going to get more consolidation.
41:08It's not going to be this five man rotation.
41:10Like, are they really going to push to get like Bo Melton, Savion Williams routes?
41:15Or do we finally get where we have two guys that have 80% route shares in this offense?
41:21Like Golden amongst 109 qualifying wide receivers. And as Patty was talking about, I was like, I really haven't looked at his number.
41:28His deeper route metrics are actually appealing. Amongst 109 qualifying wide receivers, he was 16th in separation score, man.
41:33And I will push back a little bit on Patty saying like Golden's going to go like high up the board.
41:40Right now, I'm looking at ADPs right now. Jaden Reed is 100 overall.
41:44Golden is 125th overall. I think that uncertainty that people don't know what to do.
41:49Golden versus Reed. There's going to remain a Jaden Reed hive the entirety of the offseason, regardless of whatever comes out, because
41:55people have seen what he can do in small sample size.
41:59They want to believe. So I think Golden is only going to go so high in ADP.
42:04And if Reed also gets puff and praise and training camp and Golden does too, I still think Reed will be drafted ahead of Golden.
42:12So Golden's going to probably remain a value. And we haven't even talked about Green Bay has been one of the most
42:18run heavy freaking teams of last two years. If they become even league average at passing rate and we get consolidation of targets here.
42:26Yeah, there's going to be a lot of value to be had.
42:29It'll be good for Jordan loves value too. Oh, let's put it that way too.
42:34We'd like to see that. 31st and 22nd in pass rate over expected the last two years.
42:39Jordan love is a really good quarterback, but he has been hamstrung by low pass volume.
42:44And that's why he hasn't been a good fantasy quarterback.
42:47The last two years, let him cook. Let him cook.
42:50D bro. Jonathan Brooks, the guy that we've talked about a lot already, and it's not even independence day.
42:56So let's talk about him some more. To me, it makes sense as a late pick, you know, to me, this is
43:03where you look at it and he's going as what, barely around like between 45 and 50 at the RB position, somewhere on there.
43:10Sure. It makes sense. Chuba Hubbard's history is not as, you know, glorious as some might think.
43:15He's had some good moments here with the Carolina Panthers, but Jonathan Brooks is certainly a guy that could a start out
43:22in some sort of share that could be beneficial, but B also has the ability to take over and see if God
43:29forbid there's an injury would become a very valuable piece.
43:32So I get the appeal of Jonathan Brooks. What are some of the other reasons that you want to sell people on Jonathan Brooks going into 2026?
43:40Because he can take over this backfield. And if he does that, he's a top 15 back.
43:46If he plays the role that Chuba Hubbard has played over multiple seasons, if he's this year's Rico Dowdle and he takes over the role from Chuba Hubbard.
43:54And I think it's funny. People talk about, the two torn ACLs and stuff like that.
43:59I know Patty, you agree with me. Like looking at Jeff Mueller's work, like the first ACL was just not a botched
44:06job, but he had issues recovering from that, from the jump.
44:09So now he's got this long layoff. He's a hundred percent going into camp.
44:14They are treating him with kid gloves right now, but really have all their moves this off season.
44:19They didn't bring Rico Dowdle back. They didn't draft another running back.
44:23They got AJ Dillard and Trevor Echian to compete with touches.
44:26And Chuba Hubbard has shown us like last year, he was one of the most inefficient running backs on a per touch
44:33basis, regardless of whatever you freaking look at. And the thing that I think also gets lost in the sauce guys, he's only 22 freaking years old.
44:41Like we're not talking about a 26 year old, a 28 year old running back coming off two torn ACLs.
44:47And we're trying to invest and we're hoping and hyping him up.
44:51He's 22 freaking years old. And he was a second round pick by the same coaching staff that believed in him.
44:58They're going to give him runway. He's going to be the guy this year at some point.
45:03Fitzy, what's your take on Jonathan Brooks? Cause I don't know if you and I have talked as much as myself, Debro
45:09and Erickson have about Brooks so far this off season.
45:13I'm bullish. And I believe, I believe in the power of the double bundle technique, Joe and Debro was just talking about
45:19Jeff Mueller, the Twitter, you know, the injury doc who drops a lot of points of view about NFL injury situations on Twitter.
45:26Yeah. He talked about how the Panthers brought in this renowned specialist to do the second ACL repair on Brooks and use this double bundle technique.
45:34That's supposed to include increase the lateral stability and just make for a better overall repair, more stability.
45:40And by the time training camp opens, it's going to, it'll have been 20 months since the injury.
45:45The Panthers were rightly very conservative and not bringing, trying to bring Brooks back last year.
45:50Let's just get this right. Forget about 2025. We want you to play in 2026 and be something close to the Jonathan Brooks.
45:57We drafted in the second round out of Texas.
46:00And, you know, we're rightly excited about at the time.
46:03So two ACLs, it's going to scare away a lot of people.
46:07But if you have sort of followed like the actual medical specifics about this, there, there might be some reason for optimism.
46:14All right. So we're talking about a number two running back on the depth chart.
46:18What about number three running back on the depth chart of the Minnesota Vikings?
46:23Daman Claiborne, who I've watched some recent OTA footage of him looks explosive, got good hands.
46:28What's in front of him is, you know, Jordan Mason, who's been a guy that's, you know, been a journeyman.
46:34Is that a nice thing to say? I don't know.
46:37I don't want to insult the guy because he's been useful when he's been called upon, but a bit of a journeyman back.
46:44And then you got Aaron Jones, who's a veteran back.
46:47But again, that's a capital V on the veteran.
46:50So is there a world here where in deeper leagues, a guy like Claiborne is actually a valuable stash and draft, as
46:56opposed to just a guy that you may be monitoring, add off the waiver wire, Pat.
47:01Could be Joe. Yeah. The hit round, the hit rate on sixth round running backs, not great.
47:07This is a dart throw. That's worthwhile because I do think Claiborne could ascend the Vikings running back depth chart, which is
47:13not exactly Mount Everest as far as NFL running back depth charts.
47:17Go. Aaron Jones, he's had a fantastic career, but he's 31 and just wasn't very effective in 2025.
47:23And Jordan Mason is a, he's good at what he does.
47:26He's a between the tackles thumper, but there's not much wiggle there and not much pass catching ability at all.
47:32So Claiborne is something different in this backfield. He's got sub four, four speed.
47:36He makes sharp cuts and his tackle breaking is actually kind of underrated in my opinion, based on what I've seen from him.
47:43And I'll, I'll be anxious to see if Debro agrees with that being the film study guy.
47:49So yeah, this is a late round lottery pick with a potentially big payoff.
47:53You draft him in the late rounds. And if Claiborne doesn't get a foothold in the Vikings backfield, the first month or
48:00so of the season, just drop him and move on.
48:03Debro, where are you at with Claiborne? I liked him.
48:06I didn't love him as a prospect, but the speed is undeniable and the fit in the system is undeniable too.
48:12And really like, he just needs an Aaron Jones injury.
48:15Like that, that's it. Like we know who Jordan Mason is and what he isn't.
48:20He's not a pass catcher. He's incredibly efficient on early downs for Claiborne to take over that Aaron Jones role in this backfield.
48:27It's literally just Aaron Jones get missing time. And we've seen that a year after year after year and it's declining efficiency.
48:34There's also a non-zero chance that Claiborne outplays him at some point this, uh, this season, and especially like if this team
48:41is hunting for explosive plays out of the run game, like, you know, you're not going to get a lot of that out of Jordan Mason.
48:49He'll break tackles. He's good at what he does on early downs, but the tell with Jordan Mason is he's not a true three down back.
48:57Like you're, you're tipping your hand when he's on the field.
49:00Okay. They're going to run the ball because they're sure as heck not going to trust him and pass pro.
49:06And they're not going to throw the ball to him.
49:09So Claiborne can give you the duplicity where if he's on the field or Aaron Jones is on the field, then it's
49:16like, okay, what are we going to do? Are we throwing the ball or we, we run the ball.
49:22And that's something that, that Jordan Mason has not, and will not bring to the table.
49:27All right. Let's have one more guy here. Debro talk about Ricky Pierce saw who obviously it feels like maybe a black
49:33cloud hanging over his career so far early on.
49:36But once again, there's a path, right? Mike Evans is there.
49:40Not a whole lot else. Certainly Brandon. Iuke is not going to be there.
49:44We all know that, but it does feel like one of these guys that's going to go one or two ways this year.
49:51And this is a fork in the road for his career.
49:54Either he's going to be one of those. Remember him.
49:57You know, you mentioned Will Fuller, right? Remember him.
50:00Actually, Will Fuller at least had a good season.
50:03Like Ricky Pierce. We're still waiting for one. So he's either going to become a has-been prospect very soon here, or he
50:10is going to carve out a role for himself.
50:12And certainly there's opportunities, especially early going with George Kittle, potentially on the shelf to open the season.
50:18Let's talk about Ricky Pierce saw and why people should give it one more chance.
50:23Because he was productive as hell when he was on the field last year.
50:27And it has been just a horrible run out to begin his career, both getting shot, having all the injuries, all the
50:34things in between things have not worked out for Ricky Pierce.
50:37All, but all of this stuff is priced into his ADP where his upside is not being priced into his ADP.
50:43I'm not worried about Christian Kirk. He didn't do anything of note for Houston last year.
50:48So that's more of a depth at Deshaun's dribbling.
50:51I don't see him making a massive impact in his rookie season.
50:55We've seen Shanahan put these rookies in the doghouse and make them earn it.
50:59And a lot of times that doesn't go great.
51:02So dribbling is going to have to earn his way up the depth chart.
51:06Now, Mike Evans, I love him too this year, but again, can he stay healthy over a full season is very like,
51:13that's a, that's a question that everybody should be asking.
51:16Same thing goes with Ricky Pierce all, except it's not priced into his ADP the upside, but all the injury risk and
51:23stuff is, and people are like, I'm done. I played this game.
51:27I'm out. And that's why you see him as a wide receiver, 45 and ECR.
51:31But if he does stay healthy this season, he's shown the talent to be awesome in fantasy.
51:36Like last year, he only played nine games because of the PCL sprain.
51:40And again, going back to, we're talking about earlier in this show, we're giving Brock Bowers the benefit of the doubt because
51:47his whole entire season was wrecked by PCL sprain that he played through.
51:51But Ricky Pierce all is not getting the same benefit of the doubt.
51:55And all these other parts are pieces, which I'm not, again, I'm not worried about Kirk and stripling.
52:01It's muddying up this wide receiver room, but what's getting lost in the conversation is when Ricky Pierce all was on the
52:07field last year, in those nine games, he had four top 24 weekly scoring finishes.
52:12He had 2.02 yards per route run. He had 0.103 first downs per route run.
52:17Both of those, uh, or where he finished in both of those metrics.
52:21Oh, just 23rd and 22nd best amongst all wide receivers, at least 200 routes.
52:25No big deal. Also, if you look at the deeper metrics, he was eighth in separation, third and route win rate.
52:31No big deal. Just one of the best route runners in the entire freaking NFL.
52:36Also locked into what we think if they stay healthy, could be a top 10 scoring offense.
52:41We don't know what we're getting out of George Kittle, but let's not worry about drafting Ricky Pierce all as a wide
52:48receiver for who could be way more than that this year.
52:51Pat, the early UCR has Pierce all where Wondell Robinson, Jordan Addison, Quentin Johnson, all kind of clump together.
52:57Yeah. Well, you know what? You can say QJ all you want.
53:01Like last year, there's some productivity and, there's a lot of people who like him a lot in this offense.
53:07Potentially. Pierce all for me is a hard sell, especially where around the Wondell Robinson range.
53:12If he goes a little later towards maybe the, I don't know, the Khalil Shakir sort of range or the Shahid range.
53:19I think that's something more appealing to me. Do you think that Pierce all still being a little bit too overvalued or
53:25do you think he's undervalued and could potentially be a big return this season the way Derek does?
53:31Undervalued. I like him more than Wondell. I think he's got vastly more upside of former first round pick with four, four
53:38speed and a 42 inch vertical jump. And he actually has popped as Debril points out each of the last two years.
53:44Like he's been thwarted by injuries, but his last two regular season games as a rookie, 14 catches for 210 yards and two touchdowns.
53:52Last year, his last two regular season games, or at least the last two that he played, 11 catches, 181 yards.
53:58Like good route runner, athletic, has draft pedigree, has one really old wide receiver ahead of him on the depth chart and
54:05has a, you know, tight end coming off a major injury.
54:08Who's also old and plays in this really good offense triggered by a good quarterback with a good play caller.
54:15So yeah, there's a lot that potentially lines up for Ricky Pierce all this year.
54:19Give me Pierce all over Jaden Reed, Quentin Johnson, Jordan Addison, Michael Pittman, Jr.
54:23Wanda Robinson, like all these guys that are ahead of an ADP Jacoby Myers.
54:28Like it, are any of those guys going to be difference makers, league winners, like massive upside.
54:33If they truly hit this year, probably not, but they could also be contributors.
54:37And in an offense that has Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Mike Evans, it might be tough for Ricky Pierce all to even carve out his own role.
54:46That's, that's all those guys do stay healthy. Is that a top 10 scoring offense too?
54:51That you're buying into at this per ADP. Well, I mean, you said it just now.
54:55I mean, whether you mentor or not, all those guys staying healthy, unlikely.
54:59So there's certainly a possibility there, but Ricky Pierce all the later, the better for me when it comes to Pierce.
55:06So what does everybody else think you drafted Pierce?
55:09All you like some of these names here that we've thrown out at you, drop your comments below.
55:14Who are your league winners? Potentially this year in 2026.
55:17We love hearing from all of you. Make sure you follow the channel here.
55:22Make sure you subscribe. Make sure you ring the bell till that goes ding.
55:26And of course, like this video, it's easy to do.
55:29And we'll be back here at fantasy pros with a whole lot more coverage all summer long to get you ready for every single one of your drafts.
55:38That'll do it for us. But the story of the game goes on for Derek Brown and Pat Fitzmaurice.
55:43I'm Joey P. We'll see you next time, kids.
55:46Thanks for listening to the fantasy pros, fantasy football podcast.
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