Fantasy Football Advice artwork

Draft For Upside or Safety? - 2026 Fantasy Football Advice

STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this video and kept the full transcript here for context.

35 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Jul 20, 2026
Published
Mon, July 20, 2026
44
Player insights
44
Players mentioned
Topics
A.J. BrownAmon-Ra St. BrownBreece HallBrian Thomas Jr.Brock PurdyBucky IrvingChris GodwinChristian McCaffreyChristian WatsonCourtland SuttonDak PrescottDavante AdamsDerrick HenryDrake Maye
Player analysis

Player insights

44

A.J. Brown

PositiveValue15:15

Brown is positioned as one of the elite wide receivers in the early rounds alongside Puka Nacua, Lad McConkey, and Quentin Johnston; the source notes there is a lot of upside in this receiver range.

Insight page

Amon-Ra St. Brown

NegativeValue16:15

St. Brown is part of the next tier of receivers after the elite group, with a slight negative 1% adjustment for value in the data, indicating it's slightly negative to take a fourth wide receiver at this stage rather than a running back.

Insight page

Breece Hall

NegativeProjection4:00

Tier-2 running back positioned at the 2-3 turn in draft strategy. The source groups Hall with Love as backs that fall into the second-to-third round range without detailed analysis or specific upside commentary.

Insight page

Brian Thomas Jr.

PositiveValue20:31

The source recommends Brian Thomas Jr. as a ceiling play in round seven for reddraft leagues, projecting upside to 1500 yards and 15 touchdowns with round-one pick potential next season. Despite year-two injury-related hesitation over the middle of the field, the source expects a return to intermediate/breaking routes (dig routes, crossing patterns) which are high-conversion-rate routes that maintain ceiling upside while increasing target share. The source prefers Brian Thomas Jr. over Marvin Harrison Jr. due to superior system fit with Trevor Lawrence versus Harrison's situation with Burrow and likely Carson Beck in a more run-heavy offense; Thomas Jr. had a stronger rookie season than Harrison has shown to date. Even if Thomas Jr. underperforms, the source has backup receivers (Puka Nacua, Pickens, Ladd), but if he hits, he becomes a wide receiver one. The source prioritizes ceiling upside in reddraft over baseline production.

Insight page

Brock Purdy

PositiveValue28:34

The source is comfortable pairing Purdy with Kirk Cousins (KD) as a two-QB strategy, explicitly drawing the line at adding a third QB option like Lake Pierce; Purdy represents significant upside at the pick when he falls to round 11–13, making him a strong target over waiting on backup QBs. Included in the final draft roster as one of two QB selections alongside Kyler Murray.

Insight page

Bucky Irving

PositiveBreakout14:10

Irving fits the mold of a potential league winner in round four; the source identifies him as a candidate with upside potential, though notes his ADP of 55 may be slightly ahead of the current draft position (45), with a decent shot at still being available in the next round.

Insight page

Chris Godwin

NegativeProjection40:50

Chris Godwin is a totally fine pick to make, though the source is uncertain about his upside.

Insight page

Christian McCaffrey

NegativeProjection1:05

Ranked as a top-5 running back option at picks 5-7 alongside Jonathan Taylor. The source discusses McCaffrey as a potential alternative to Bejian/Gibbs at those picks but notes that team construction works out better with wide receiver at picks 3-4 and running back at picks 5-7.

Insight page

Christian Watson

NegativeValue20:24

Christian Watson is a good pick at this draft spot in round six, though the source does not view him as standing out among the available options.

Insight page

Courtland Sutton

NegativeValue23:17

The source argues Courtland Sutton lacks meaningful ceiling upside even in injury scenarios; if Russell Wilson gets hurt, Sutton reverts to low-end wide receiver two production similar to last season, offering no real upside path compared to ceiling plays like Brian Thomas Jr. However, the source recommends Sutton for baseball (points-per-game) formats where baseline production is valued, noting he drops significantly in ADP on Underdog (approximately 20-30 picks later than in reddraft) and can slightly outperform his ADP. The source prefers Brian Thomas Jr. for reddraft leagues where ceiling upside is prioritized.

Insight page

Dak Prescott

NegativeValue19:16

Dak is available in round six but the source views him as past his optimal draft window; the source is comfortable stacking Dak with CeeDee Lamb but would not extend the stack further to other Cowboys receivers like Ferguson. The source would have considered stacking Dak in round eight but prefers waiting for later-round quarterback options rather than drafting Dak at round six, emphasizing the importance of knowing your specific league's draft patterns.

Insight page

Davante Adams

NegativeValue16:15

Adams is part of the second tier of receivers after the elite group, with a slight negative value adjustment in full PPR formats; the source notes it's slightly negative to take a fourth wide receiver at this stage rather than a running back.

Insight page

Derrick Henry

NegativeProjection4:20

In full PPR format, Henry's value falls significantly due to limited receiving upside. Even with a fully healthy 17-game season, he is projected to catch only 10 balls, which limits his ceiling in PPR scoring and reddraft leagues compared to other running back options.

Insight page

Drake Maye

NegativeValue16:15

Drake Maye goes off the board in round five alongside Lamar Jackson, indicating both quarterbacks are being drafted in this range; the source prefers running back at this stage over additional wide receivers.

Insight page

George Pickens

PositiveValue8:08

Wide receiver recommended as the pick at the round three spot in the source's draft strategy; the source prefers him over running back options available at that point, positioning him as the preferred value at that ADP. Pickens is part of the core wide receiver group drafted early, forming a rock-solid receiver room with Puka Nacua and Lad McConkey that can all be started immediately.

Insight page

Ja'Marr Chase

PositiveProjection0:00

Ranked as a top-4 first-round pick in full PPR format alongside Gibbs, Bejian, and Puka. The source considers Chase a tier-1 option at the position with elite ceiling and safety combined.

Insight page

Jahmyr Gibbs

PositiveProjection0:00

Ranked as a top-4 first-round pick in full PPR format. The source identifies Gibbs as the first running back off the board and a tier-1 option with both safety and upside.

Insight page

James Cook

PositiveValue1:50

Identified as a late first-round running back option for a double running back strategy. The source prefers Cook alongside Gentry and Saquon as tier-2 running backs that allow teams to defer wide receiver to round 2-3.

Insight page

Javonte Williams

NegativeProjection7:22

Running back with capped upside in the receiving game in full PPR format; the source identifies him as having limited ceiling due to receiving role constraints, making him unattractive in early round three.

Insight page

Jaylen Waddle

NegativeValue16:15

Waddle is part of the second tier of receivers after the elite group, with data indicating it's slightly negative to take a fourth wide receiver at this stage rather than a running back.

Insight page

Jonathan Taylor

PositiveProjection1:05

Ranked as a top-5 running back option at picks 5-7 alongside Christian McCaffrey. The source identifies JT as a tier-1 running back option at that range with both safety and upside.

Insight page

Jordan Addison

PositiveBreakout40:45

Jordan Addison is a nice high upside pick.

Insight page

Jordan Mason

NegativeProjection40:03

Jordan Mason is not going to have the receptions needed in full PPR; he is more of a half PPR pick, making him less attractive in full PPR leagues.

Insight page

Justin Jefferson

PositiveValue0:20

Identified as a fallback wide receiver option if the draft goes running back or wide receiver heavy early. The source indicates JSN is a viable pick at picks 5-7 if he falls, suggesting value at that range.

Insight page

Keaton Mitchell

PositiveBreakout40:20

Katon Mitchell is a very high upside pick, though the source suggests waiting a little bit on him rather than drafting him early.

Insight page

Kenneth Walker III

PositiveProjection3:00

Last remaining clearly second-round running back with strong base rushing work and touchdown opportunities. Receiving game role is uncertain—could range from 27 to 57 receptions in full PPR. If he reaches 57 receptions, he becomes a league winner; at 27 receptions, he will be disappointing. The source projects he will not match Derrick Henry's low reception floor (10 balls) in a healthy season, making him a solid second-round option despite receiving uncertainty.

Insight page

Kirk Cousins

NegativeValue28:30

Kirk Cousins is a viable QB pairing option with Brock Purdy in a two-QB draft strategy; the source is comfortable going both Purdy and Cousins but draws the line at adding a third QB.

Insight page

Kyle Pitts

PositiveValue41:00

The source leans toward taking Kyle Pitts early at tight end, noting he may not play in week one or two but will play very early in the season; if he's missed, the source would take another tight end later and return to running back and receiver before ending with a late quarterback.

Insight page

Kyler Murray

PositiveValue25:25

The source views Kyler Murray as well-positioned for 2026 and is comfortable with him as a quarterback in redraft leagues, pairing him with a high-upside backup like Malik Nabers to balance safety and ceiling. The source targets Kyler Murray as a draft pick with system fit upside in Kevin O'Neill's offense; if Murray performs well in the system, the source plans to trade him for underperforming mid-round running backs and receivers early in the season. This positions Murray as a speculative asset with trade value upside rather than a traditional backup QB.

Insight page

Ladd McConkey

PositiveValue12:36

McConkey is positioned as a top upside target in reddraft leagues due to his youth (24 years old), prospect pedigree, and team situation; however, his ceiling is capped by playing with Bryce Young at quarterback rather than Baker Mayfield or Justin Herbert, limiting his fantasy ceiling compared to other talented receivers in his range.

Insight page

Lamar Jackson

NegativeValue14:20

Lamar Jackson would not be a bad pick in round four, but the source prefers to continue drafting skilled position players (receivers and running backs) due to the addition of a second flex spot in the league format, making it more valuable to wait on quarterback. Jackson goes off the board in round five along with Drake Maye, indicating both quarterbacks are being drafted in this range; the source prefers running back at this stage over additional wide receivers.

Insight page

Malik Nabers

PositiveValue25:39

The source suggests Malik Nabers as a late-round quarterback option with significant value, and also recommends pairing him with Kyler Murray as a high-upside backup in redraft leagues to balance safety and ceiling.

Insight page

Marvin Harrison Jr.

NegativeValue20:31

The source places Marvin Harrison Jr. in a similar tier to Brian Thomas Jr. with upside to achieve 1500 yards and 15 touchdowns and round-one pick potential next season; however, Harrison has underperformed back-to-back years, creating a different path to that ceiling. The source notes Harrison plays in a less favorable offensive environment than Brian Thomas Jr., with uncertainty around quarterback play (Burrow and potentially Carson Beck) and an offense trending more run-heavy, limiting his ceiling relative to Thomas Jr.'s rookie production. While Harrison Jr. is presented as a viable alternative to Brian Thomas Jr. in round seven for reddraft leagues, the case for Brian Thomas Jr. is stronger due to system fit, quarterback, and lack of back-to-back underperformance.

Insight page

Michael Wilson

NegativeValue20:54

The source positions Michael Wilson as a lower-tier option compared to Brian Thomas Jr. and Marvin Harrison Jr., indicating reduced ceiling upside relative to those two receivers. Michael Wilson is ranked lower than Brian Thomas Jr. and Marvin Harrison Jr. in the source's tier rankings.

Insight page

Mike Evans

NegativeValue16:15

Evans is part of the second tier of receivers after the elite group, with data indicating it's slightly negative to take a fourth wide receiver at this stage rather than a running back, especially in full PPR.

Insight page

Puka Nacua

PositiveProjection0:00

Ranked as a top-4 first-round pick in full PPR format with exceptional per-route efficiency numbers. The source highlights Puka as a tier-1 wide receiver option with insane ceiling and safety, preferred over running backs at picks 3-4 due to elite receiving upside in full PPR. Per-route numbers are described as earthshattering, with ceiling projections over 200 targets and 15 touchdowns, enabling 10-12 reception games in full PPR. Upside is amplified by uncertainty around 34-year-old Davante Adams' health and role, plus potential red zone target share shift to Puka.

Insight page

Quentin Johnston

NegativeBreakout40:25

Quentin Johnston has upside; the source would lean toward him if they didn't already have Lad in their roster, and would avoid stacking both Johnston and Lad on the same team.

Insight page

Saquon Barkley

PositiveValue1:50

Tier-2 late first-round running back option for double running back strategy. The source prefers Saquon alongside James Cook and Gentry as backs that allow teams to defer wide receiver to round 2-3, enabling better team construction.

Insight page

Stefon Diggs

NegativeValue16:15

Diggs is part of the second tier of receivers available after the elite group (Nacua, Pickens, McConkey, Johnston, Tee Higgins, Evans, Waddle), with data suggesting it's slightly negative to take a fourth wide receiver at this stage rather than a running back.

Insight page

Tee Higgins

PositiveValue15:15

Higgins is positioned as one of the elite wide receivers in the early rounds alongside Puka Nacua, Lad McConkey, and Quentin Johnston; the source notes there is a lot of upside in this receiver range and expresses uncertainty about which receiver to prioritize, suggesting Higgins is a strong option.

Insight page

Tony Pollard

PositiveValue20:05

Tony Pollard is an awesome pick at this draft spot in round six; the source views him a tier above other available running back options.

Insight page

Travis Etienne

NegativeRole7:30

Running back whose upside is now capped due to Kamar Hunt's presence on the team; the source explicitly bumped him down in rankings past his ADP due to the reduced role and ceiling.

Insight page

Tucker Kraft

PositiveValue14:20

Kraft is explicitly ruled out as a draft target in round four, with the source stating 'We're not going to go there,' indicating he is not a preferred option at this stage of the draft despite being a tight end option.

Insight page

Xavier Worthy

PositiveValue32:34

The source prefers Xavier Worthy over a backup QB at this draft spot, citing his upside in a redraft league format.

Insight page
Full transcript

Episode Transcript

336
0:00What's going on guys? It's Nick here back with another video. It's Monday.
0:02It's new time and it's time to mark Jeff Monday. Uh we're going to go back to full PPR this week. We've done two late
0:08and a middle. So, we'll do a more early first round pick. I'll try and take four uh to make it a little bit more more
0:14likely we get a wide receiver to start because we've done a lot of running back heavy builds. And maybe I'll just
0:20guarantee that we do. If you know they go running back or wide receiver heavy, I'll just take JSN. Let's do a wide
0:27receiver early start here uh from the four pick and we'll do the the regular format, you know, two running back, two
0:33wide receiver. Uh no, two flex spots.
0:37Let's add a flex spot for this one. All right, enter the draft and we will restart. So, uh it does start normal
0:44Gibbs, Bejian, Chase, and then we would take Puka here. Uh there is going to be a on Wednesday running back rankings,
0:52Friday wide receiver rankings. So, you guys will see that. I think it's top 40 for both roughly. Um but yeah, that's
0:59kind of how the first round goes in my eyes. And let's see. So again, we've done a ton of running back early. I
1:05think um that is how I would probably try and build. But as I've said, the top four is Gibbs, Bejian, Chase, and Puka.
1:12So if you have the 101, 102, you're getting a running back. If you have honestly five through seven, you're probably getting one of McAffrey or JT
1:19in my eyes. If you're past that, maybe you go uh with the JSN if he falls. Uh, but you can pretty easily just say, I
1:26want Genty, I want James Cook, I want Saquon, something like that and figure out wide receiver in the next round or
1:31to go double running back. Like, you have plenty of options in the late first round. Um, but at three and four, I
1:38don't think I'd go with the running back personally. Um, if you wanted to just bring up, and we've done this before
1:44where we said, "Oh, would the team have worked out better if we taken McCaffrey?" And it kind of did at times.
1:50Uh, but especially in full PPR, you know, JSN, Puka, they have such insane ceilings to them that I have it Gibbs,
1:59Bejon, Chase, and Puka. And I would just do that. Uh, one big thing I want to talk about in this video is what you see
2:05in probably the title and the thumbnail, and that is safety versus upside, uh, at different parts of the draft, but also
2:14kind of how it relates to best versus reddraft. So many people are creating content for best baseball and a lot of
2:23times they might not like clearly indicate whether the advice they're kind of talking about is for best baseball versus reddraft. And those of you who
2:30are a little confused by that, reddraft is just like what 99% of you play.
2:34That's just like you show up to your draft in August, you make your one draft each year, that's your team. It's a
2:39managed leagues. You make start sit decisions, trade waiverss, things like that. Uh best ball is where you draft a team, you do nothing after that. It's it
2:47just picks your best lineup every week.
2:48There's no trades, there's no waivers.
2:50So, it's only who did the best draft.
2:52Um, and there's a big difference whether you want to draft for upside in a format like that uh versus a format like
2:58reddraft. So, we'll talk about that difference throughout this one. Uh, and kind of how it relates to the first couple rounds. What I will say is the
3:04first three rounds, you don't have to make that trade-off. Every single player going in the first three rounds, basically, I'd say definitely the first
3:10two, probably first three and a half rounds has great safety, has great upside. There's no player going in the first two rounds, especially that does
3:18not have upside this season. So, you don't have to do the trade-off. We'll start talking about that a little bit after. So, I go with Puka. Personally, I
3:25don't love it when I am forced to start with a wide receiver after that. Um, I think teams do work out better if you
3:31are able to go with that running back, but it's a difficult spot and I recognize why 34 can be difficult for
3:37people because you have Bejan and Gibbs go obviously uh JT McAffrey going to go, you know, Achan, Jenty, Cook, Saquon, Chase Brown, Amar Hampton all off the
3:46board right now. So, I think Ken Walker is probably the last tier two player.
3:49Um, but there's a chance that you get into this tier two and all those running backs are gone and you feel like, am I
3:55forced to take running back at this spot? Honestly, I think just yes. I think you basically just kind of have to
4:00go running back and lock it up because teams just don't work out that well if you continue going wide receiver heavy
4:05here. You're really forced to hit in rounds like four, five, six, seven of running back and you don't want to like
4:10force yourself into that. But we'll see.
4:12Again, let's start the running backs that went uh Josh Allen goes, Brock Bowers goes, and then your classic round one and two wide receivers off the
4:19board. So, if we pull up uh wide receiver, it is Nico Pickkins, Olive, kind of the guys that typically go at
4:25the back half of round two into round three. Um it's Trey McBride at tight end, but we're not going to go there.
4:31It's Lamar quarterback. We're not going to go there. Uh and then running back, we've got Ken Walker kind of the last
4:36remaining like clearly second round running back. Um I think Bree Hall and Love are kind of that turn like that two-3 turn. Uh, and then especially in
4:44full PPR, Derrick Henry really falls off because he could have, you know, a fully healthy 17 games and catch 10 balls this
4:50season. And that's even with all the rushing and touchdowns, that's going to limit him in uh a reddraft league. So, I
4:57would say again, you just go with Ken Walker, you go with the projection. Um, if you wanted to take um Nico, if you
5:04want to take Pickkins, I think that's fine. Uh, as we see up here, um, based on historic full PPR leagues, if you
5:12start off with wide receiver, teams typically produce better if you even it out and go running back. So, we'll just take Ken Walker. Uh, a little bit of
5:19unknown there. I mean, we don't technically know the passing game role, but the potential is there. So, he's not a player where it's like, oh, it's
5:25definitely all going to be on the ground. We know he's going to have a ton of carries. We know he's going to have
5:29plenty of touchdowns and opportunities there. We don't know with the receiving game, he'll have some receptions used in the screen game. We don't know if he's
5:36more of like a 27 reception running back or like a 47 reception running back or a 57. If he gets up to 57, he's going to
5:44be a league winner. If he's down at 27 in full PPR, you're going to be somewhat disappointed with that probably. And
5:49again, that's assuming like a fully healthy season. Um, but the base work should be good enough to where he's not going to pull a full, you know, Derrick
5:57Henry through the year again. 10 10 receptions not going to happen and healthy season for Ken Walker. All right, so we go with him. pull up the um
6:04pull the board here. Oh, and I I kind of glossed over a little bit um round one for this like Puka and Chase range where
6:11I'm saying like I do like just taking them in that top four. Um both of them have this ceiling to where you know you
6:19would have been happy taking them 101 over Jir Gibbs and Bejian Robinson. Like Puka Nua's per route numbers are earthshattering. I think their defense
6:29is going to be great again. So that technically does limit things a little bit, but it's going to be absolutely insane. Like his per route efficiency is
6:35monstrous. He's playing with what a 34 year old wide receiver. What if Adams goes down? What if Adams regresses a little bit? What if they don't just
6:43chuck the ball to Adams every play in the red zone, they actually throw it to Puka? Like the upside is, you know, over
6:49200 targets, 15 touchdowns. Like it's it's exceptional ceiling. And in full PPR, you can be racking up, you know, 10, 11, 12 reception games. Like that's
6:58obviously monstrous when you compare it to even like the round three wide receiver. So I know we like going running back. Uh but that's obviously
7:06crazy upside. Uh so after this uh unfortunately Bree and Love go and so does Derk Henry. We see Nico Dvont Smith
7:13go and then um Trey McBride as well. So if we were to flip to running back, we start to get into the guys where I'm not
7:19taking them in the early third round.
7:20Cam Scatteroo I like but I'm not going round three. I'm not going to take Kairen in a league where I took Puka.
7:24It's too much early round risk. And you get to Javant Williams, another capped upside for the receiving and full PPR.
7:30Travis ETN, now that Kamar is there, that upside's capped. As you can see, I did bump him down in the rankings uh
7:35past ADP. Uh and then we get to like Jacob, Swift, Monty, like guys, we're just not taking in round three. So, I
7:41think you don't go there. Again, when we had the full on there, um projections uh and the um data tells us a little bit
7:48better to take wide receiver than running back. And these wide receivers are much more of that like two three turn wide receivers. And so I would
7:56rather go with them instead of kind of force this other running back. But that's why if we didn't take Ken Walker
8:00there and this team that took like McBride, let's say they took Ken Walker and now we go triple wide receiver to
8:07start. It's just not as strong of builds that you see at the end of the day. You really have to nail your mid-round
8:12running backs and it's not easy to nail a mid-round. So um I would just go with George Pickins at this spot and then
8:19we'll see what happens after that.
8:22So, um, now we'll talk about that upside versus safety. So, again, I kind of said it it's not really something you, excuse
8:29me, you have to worry about in the first three rounds because all these dudes have great roles, all these guys have
8:36extraordinary ceilings. You're not looking at that trade-off. When we start to get into round four, we see a little bit more uncertainty. Obviously, you
8:44know, 36 players are off the board by my pick. Uh, even more than that, we're into the 40s. And so we're starting to
8:49be like, okay, either these players are lacking a little bit in ceiling or they're lacking a little bit in that certainty of the floor. In a format in
8:59baseball, you want to typically go with the floor. Go with the certainty. We have all the data in the world that
9:06tells us that when you are drafting um on something like underdog, you have 18 rounds and you miss and you have dead
9:12roster spots. Those really hurt you. If you're going up against teams that even if they have, you know, quoteunquote like lower ceiling players, if they've
9:19got all 18, you know, 17 of 18 out there playing and you've only got 13 or 14, you're at a huge disadvantage. Even if
9:27you've got great players, you just need all those players to be involved to just have that baseline production. Even if you don't have those huge spike
9:34performances over time, all those median outcomes are going to level out.
9:39Randomly have spikes, but they're going to level out and you're going to have a higher uh end of season total. And you
9:44never know in the playoffs because people's argument to that is basically, oh once you get into the playoff weeks, you know, you don't know like you don't
9:50have that ceiling. Anyone can score two touchdowns. Anyone can have a 30-point game. Go look at the 30point games from like previous years in weeks 15 through
9:5817. You're going to be like, "What? He had a 30-point game?" Because anyone can have it. You're not good at predicting
10:02it on a very low sample. Uh so just you go you want to go to safety. You want everyone to be confident in all those
10:08picks. In reddraft, we're drafting him now. when most of you draft in. You shift a little bit there because you're setting your lineup every week. It's not
10:15that you have 18 players and you know there's only like nine or 10 of them that are going to make it into your
10:21starting lineup and it's just whoever produces the most. It is you got to pick. You got to take a guy from your
10:26bench and put them in your starting lineup and bench someone else if you actually want to start them. So, if you've got a team of a bunch of people
10:33who were very, very safe but maybe lacked that league winning season, you find yourself in sixth place a lot of the time. You find yourself with a
10:42really solid score every week, but never spiking because you don't have that luxury of having a bunch of players and being able to use all of them. You got
10:51to pick a select few and you're much less likely to find that spike in a random week. Um, and you're just much
10:57more likely to have like a really good team, but not a team that's like earthshattering, not a team that's making a difference. And you're going to
11:03miss the league winners. And we have a ton of data as well to tell us. There's only depends on the year, but anywhere
11:10from 10 to 15 players every year that really make a difference. And many times five to seven players that like actually
11:17make a difference in in winning championships. Think about JSN last season. If you just straight up drafted JSN in a reddraft league, you probably
11:25made the playoffs. You probably advanced pretty far. Like, then that's one player. The weight that these league winners have in a reddraft league is
11:34enormous and it outweights it um in in like in baseball. In baseball, yes, they help you advance, but they don't necessarily
11:42always help you get to week 15, to week 16, week 17, like they don't necessarily help you keep advancing in the playoff
11:49weeks. Whereas in a reddraft league, those spiked performances that get you into the playoffs to help you advance there. There's just way more certainty.
11:57You're setting that starting lineup is just so much better off for your team if you hit on those players. And you can
12:03drop. And that's the big thing in a reddraft league. If I miss even on a fourth round player in reddraft, I've
12:08got a bunch of other people I could have drafted. I could make trades. I can pick people up off the waiver wire. I can do
12:15things to where you look at my draft and you look at my playoff roster and you're like, "Half those guys weren't even on
12:20your team before." Yeah, because free agency exists and trades exist. So, I can totally miss rounds three, four, and five. If I'm shooting for upside, I'm
12:28probably hitting on one of them. And even if I don't hit on some of them, I've got other picks that can make up
12:32for it. And the dead roster spot doesn't hurt me because I can get rid of that player. I can trade them away. I can
12:36figure out the roster. So that is to say for on basically lean upside anytime there's ever a decision in a reddraft
12:44league lean towards okay could this player actually be a league winner and a lot of the times that's just the offense
12:49right that's just like who do they play for who's their quarterback who's their coordinator how young are they right is this like a 32-y old player that's never
12:56done anything or is this a 24 year old wide receiver that was a great prospect on a great team like Lad Mcconi who's
13:03kind of the top here IA right and that kind of brings me to lad like the discussion we'll go over in the Friday
13:08video is he's great, right? He probably is more talented than Lad, more talented than Ibuka, but he plays with um Bryce
13:16Young and that's just going to cap your upside. There's only such a season.
13:19There's only so good of a season that Ted McMillan can have this year because he plays with Bryce Young at his
13:24quarterback. He doesn't have Baker. He doesn't have Justin Herbert. And so thinking about all those things, that's why you can at times see um a really
13:33good player, but in a reddraft league, you're like, I don't know, like they maybe they're not as good of a pick as
13:37we think. Okay, so we're in round four.
13:40Uh data tells us it is still positive taking running back and receiver, but it's better to lean towards running back this spot. Unfortunately, uh we're not
13:48in a great range for running back here.
13:50Um Judkins is just not going to have receptions this season. Tutin is he fits that mold of that potential league winner. Uh but 80p 55 I mean we are at
14:0145. We'll have another pick coming up here at what looks like 52. So okay shot we can get him at that next pick. Uh two
14:10of these teams already have two running backs. So decent shot. You know if we can hope to get to in the next round
14:15that would be great. Um wide or let's look at tight end. No Tucker Craft.
14:20We're not going to go there.
14:20Quarterback. Uh Lamar wouldn't be bad here, but because we added that second flex spot, it's just a little bit better to like kind of continue at to these
14:28skilled position players, uh we got to start, we can start four receivers or four running backs, but we've got to start, you know, uh six combined between
14:35them because we're not going to start 10 in the flex spot. Uh so we just need more uh and that next range is so good
14:40that it's just it makes more sense to kind of wait. Uh so it's basically do you take a Judkins or two? And I guess
14:46to be fair, um I do even with the uh difference in the reception totals have Judkins higher than two. And so it is
14:54positive. Um I would say Tootton probably still has the higher celium maybe as a player I kind of lean towards a little more in this build. But
15:01positive we have two players that if we you know one of them goes maybe the other one is still there for us in round
15:06five. Um but a wide receiver I don't think you pass on this. I mean again we can start a bunch of them. It's full PPR
15:13like Lad, Ibuka, Tet, Burden. I would still draft Hero McMillan. I think just comparing him to Ladbuka makes it a little bit more clear why you would lean
15:22towards them in a reddraft league. Um, little bit of a drop off into like McLuren, Wadd, Adams, Evans, uh, especially in full PPR. So, I want to be
15:32locking up one of these wide receivers.
15:33I'll go with Lad. I think it's a very nice discussion. Lad versus Ibuka. We will talk about it again in the rankings
15:40video on Friday. Um, it's it's really tough and I feel like if you're in multiple leagues, you hope you get like
15:46if I'm in three reddraft leagues, I kind of want to just get like, you know, one team with Lad, one team with Ibuka, one
15:51team with Burden. Like it just feels like a range where like there's a lot of upside here. I don't necessarily know
15:56which one and full PPR again. I have it lad, I burden. So, we'll take Lad uh at this one. Um, you can't even play the
16:03ADP game because they all go like right next to each other. All right, let's see what happens. So, no running backs
16:09actually. So we right now have Puka, Pickkins, and Lad. A rock solid wide receiver room. We can start all of them
16:16and we can start another one if we draft one after this. Uh Igbuka goes, T goes, Evans goes, Wadd goes, Lamar and Drake
16:22May also off the board. Um I would say you go with running back. I just like obviously Luther's awesome and um
16:31Terry's awesome and Adams is awesome, but to get your fourth wide receiver here in the data again at the top telling us no. Uh it's not horrible, but
16:39it's slightly negative for uh all positions that are not running back.
16:42Plus 12%. Anytime you see plus over 10%, it's really telling you you want to be taking a running back at this spot. As
16:49you saw in the last round, um Luther and uh Terry, keep say I want to say Terry.
16:55U Luther and Terry dropped down a little bit because it's having that negative 1% adjustment uh for the value there.
17:03So, my rankings still have Judkins, but I [sighs and gasps] maybe maybe I want to change that a little bit. Um,
17:12it's close. And again, it's not only the rankings, which are tailored. Um, they can tilt a little bit towards ADP. It's
17:17also value. If you look at the value column, the actual projections that I have do still lean towards Judkins. But when we think about that ceiling in
17:25reddraft, I think about a player like Judkins on a really bad team. uh on a team that um you know the quarterback
17:32play is just no matter who wins that job it's not going to be good on a team that has a passcatching special back and I
17:37just I don't think there is a world where he's featured. I think he has 300 touch upside but that a lot of that
17:42comes on the ground. Uh whereas Balt Tutin could more risk of course but could you know on a great offense with a
17:51great quarterback who was an explosive player who has goal line um abilities because I mean they like the goal line last season also can receive and also
17:59has that upside. So I I actually do think in full PPR if I'm drafting here I probably would just go with with Tutin
18:04and kind of keep saying give me players on good teams. I've got a player on Kansas City, Jacksonville, the Rams, Dallas, and the Chargers. When all else
18:12fails, who's on a good team? Draft those players. Um I think in half PPR, I would have gone Judkins. I would have said,
18:18"Okay, the touchdown upside of Judkins is significant. Um if he's going to get every touch inside the 10 yard line for
18:24this team, the 300 touches are more valuable, even if they're not coming receiving game because it's only half point per reception. But I want that
18:30receiving ability at least in their range of outcomes if we're in full PPR."
18:34Okay. Uh quarterbacks go. That's unfortunate. I love when I'm in round six and I can get the back half of that
18:40quarterback, but uh Jaden, Herz, Burrow, Caleb, Herbert, and Lawrence all off the board. Uh you're going to see that.
18:47You're going to see exactly this happen in your league. Someone takes Daniels, we start to see the wide receivers that tier go, and then someone takes Herz,
18:55and everyone's like, "Go." Like, I I cannot miss out on this range. All of these teams from pick 7 through 12 all
19:01end up just taking all the quarterbacks.
19:03And again, that is going to happen in your reddraft league. Uh don't assume, oh, these no one's taking it in round
19:10five, they'll be there in round six. Not necessarily. You're gonna see a huge run of quarterback because everyone knows it's such a good range to be at. And I
19:16told the computers that it's a good range to be at. So Dak is top there. Um again, you have the risk with Dak of the
19:22offensive stack. I'm totally fine if it's this if it's like Dak and Pickins.
19:26I wouldn't go beyond that. Like I probably wouldn't go after Ferguson. I wouldn't go late for like Fenoi. Um, I would stick with two. Uh, and I'd want
19:36to do it later. Like I wouldn't want There really isn't any this season that's too early, but I wouldn't want if
19:40one existed of like if you had um I don't know. I don't love like like Josh Allen plus diggs back in the day, but it
19:48did actually win people championships doing that. Um, I don't love doing too early, but if you do like round six uh
19:55and round three, it it's fine. But again, I'm not going to do it here because I don't think Dak is round six
20:00uh pick. I think we just missed the range and so we're going to be going with some later options in this one. Uh
20:05Tony Pard is an awesome pick. Um I do kind of view him a tier above um these options here in my like mind. Uh again,
20:13we'll go over the the rankings um in the Wednesday video for the running backs.
20:17Uh Carninal Tate's a good pick.
20:18Christian Watson's a good pick, but none of these guys stand out. Uh and I think it does make sense for us to just lock
20:24up that second running back. I love being even. Um and then we're not going to go with a tight end at this spot. I
20:29like being even through six, right?
20:31Especially in in a two flex league. I've got three running backs. I've got three receivers. No matter what I want to do
20:37for even the next three rounds, if it was three running backs, three wide receivers, it's probably not going to happen. I'm probably going to end up
20:41taking like a quarterback or a tight end or one of those other positions. I'm not probably going to go three receivers in
20:46a row, but I could do it if I really wanted to go to that. Um, I could do it.
20:51Okay, here another example.
20:54You've got Brian Thomas Jr. Um, honestly, Brian Thomas Jr. and Marv I'd put in a similarish tier. Um, but you got Brian Thomas Jr., Marv, Michael
21:03Wilson or Michael Wilson, my goodness.
21:05Uh, he's a little bit lower. Uh, Corin Sutton and DK Metaf, right? These are just different picks. If we want to talk
21:13about safety versus upside, completely different players. Brian Thomas Jr. and Marv are not safe. They're not safe picks, but they were really high-end
21:22prospects. They are incredibly athletic players. They are players who have the upside to be round one picks next season. And maybe we can't conceptualize
21:30that because it's like back-to-back years for Marv, one year of just really underperforming for Brian Thomas Jr. and we're like, there's no way he goes back
21:38to that that spot. They're very young, very athletic, very good spots on their offense. They have the upside, each of them, to have 1500 yards and 15
21:46touchdowns a season. That is in their range of outcomes. Now, I'll say um different paths to getting there, right?
21:53Brian Thomas would need probably an injury honestly to one of the four receivers there or for uh Travis Hunter to be needed so much on defense they
21:59can't play on offense. Uh but we think about a player like Brian Thomas Jr.
22:03former first round pick an amazing year one gets hurt in year two. They're using that as the excuse to why he wasn't
22:09working over the middle of the field as much last year. He was used much more as like a boundary downfield receiver. Um
22:15the drops were there we think because of the injury. He just seemed hesitant going over the middle of the field. They
22:21say that's coming back this year. And if it does, I mean, we know inbreaking routes are just the number one route in
22:25fantasy, right? You just you want your guys running deep dig routes. Like you want them just moving across the field.
22:30Those are just the highest upside routes. I mean, technically a high upside route is deep downfield, but it's so um such a low high variance, low
22:38outcome pick, right? If we have Brian Thomas running a go route every single time, he's not getting that many targets. And those targets have, you
22:45know, a low probability of actually hitting downfield. when they do hit, it's great, but you lead to a lot of like dud games. When you have a lot of
22:52intermediate routes, your target share goes up. Uh they're very high um conversion rate routes and you still have huge upside if you can connect on
22:59those. So, you want those returning and they say they're going to return and he's still the wide receiver in this team that I would want the most. So, in
23:05a reddraft league, I want to be looking at Brian Thomas Jr. because I'm in round seven and even if it doesn't work out,
23:10I've got Puka, I've got Pickkins, and I've got Lad. But if he works out, he's a a wide receiver one. If we look at
23:17Courtland Sutton, we look at DK Metaf. I mean, what may maybe Wadd gets hurt and we go back to what it was last season
23:24for Sutton where he's like a low wide receiver, too. I mean, like, what is the actual upside? Even if you had an
23:31injury, even if you had him being being good, there's no real upside there. In a baseball format, I'm cool with S. He
23:38drops really far. Uh maybe he can slightly outperform his ADP. Anyone can spike later on, but he's going to give me that baseline production every week.
23:45I don't care about that baseline production every week in a reddraft league. I want to think about that ceiling because I gotta hit on some
23:50ceiling players. I'm not gonna win a championship if I don't have some league winners on my team. So, you would way
23:54rather Brian Thomas Jr. You'd still rather him over Sutton in a in a basketball format, but I'm way more likely to lean into that uncertainty for
24:03Brian Thomas Jr. or someone like Marv in a reddraft league and maybe lean away from it into a different player at this
24:09spot in um baseball and then to target someone like Sutton like you know I think it was like 30 picks later 20
24:14picks later uh on on underdog just the thought process there. So I would go Brian Thomas Jr. at the spot. If you
24:20want to go Marv you could do that. Uh the case basically for Brian Thomas over Marv is saying well he plays in a better
24:26system with also Trevor Lawrence versus some Buret and then probably some Carson Beck on what's probably now going to be a more runheavy offense for Marv and
24:35he's disappointed more. We actually have not seen him have a season like Brian Thomas Jr. had as a rookie. So, a lot of
24:42talking there, but I think that is basically the crux of this video is I got to think about that ceiling every
24:49time I'm drafting someone in a reraft league. Okay, continue looking at quarterback. So, um we just missed on that stack with Dak
24:59Prescott. Would have considered it more in round eight. Um why I still would risk it in a hometown league and and know your league kind of in this
25:08one. In my hometown league, people will typically typically some years it happens, they will not go for that second. So this whole range here, they
25:18won't draft that second quarterback until very very very late. Maybe some of them start taking one in like 14, 15, 16, something like that. Um, but they
25:25won't do it. If you know that's the case in your league, I like Dart a lot. I like Perie a lot, but I also think
25:32Goff's set up well. I think Kyler is set up well. I think Stafford could easily have the season he had last season
25:37again. Uh Baker could have a good year.
25:39You could lean on Shuck or Malik late.
25:40Like there are so many more options that I know they're going to be there late and some of these guys are going to fall
25:47into a point where it's like just take them and almost like your last pick and the value there is crazy. If you're in a
25:53league where everyone takes a backup, I would start at this point looking at Dart and Purity because I think they represent uh significant upside
26:01quarterbacks this season. mobility of dart and then eventually neighbors coming back and then perie having Mike Evans added to the team if they throw a
26:06ton of touchdowns there. So I would start looking at them but I'm not going to do that in this one because in my
26:12league and what typically will happen on average is a lot of these guys are going to sit here and one of them is going to
26:17be a sick value. I'm cool with Kyler and reddraft league. Kyler is my quarterback. Add Malik on or something like that after that and I've got two
26:23high upside quarterbacks. If they don't work out I still have free agency. I still have the trademark it. Not going to do that in baseball though because
26:30those dead roster spots hurt me a little bit more. So again, just kind of the difference there in the upside versus
26:35the safety. Um looking gross in uh in full VPR here. Manunga is not going to have that many interceptions. Rashad White will, but I don't want to take
26:43Rashad White really in round eight. Um Jordan Mason not going to have the receptions we need again. He's more of a
26:50half PPR pick. JCM's not gonna have any receptions. Katon Mitchell very high upside pick, but we can probably wait a little bit on him. Um, but it's it's
26:59ugly. I mean, it gets real ugly real fast at running back. Um, still in a pretty good range of wide receiver.
27:05Quinton has upside. We already have Lad, though, so if I didn't have Lad, I'd lean towards Quinton. I wouldn't want to
27:10take Lad and Quinton Johnston and have two of those wide receivers on the team.
27:13Um, Jaden Reed, uh, pretty solid pick.
27:17Um, not necessarily someone I love because he only really playing 11 personnel, but he should be on the field a lot more this season. He'll probably
27:23run a lot more 11 personnel this year.
27:25Jordan Addison, nice high upside pick.
27:27Uh Chris Godwin, I don't know what the upside is necessarily there, but these are all like totally fine picks to make.
27:33Um I feel like though [sighs] I feel like my lean is say KD and then just take another one because I don't
27:44know if he's going to play in week one, week two, but he's going to play very early in the season. Take KD uh take
27:49another tight end a little bit later on.
27:51uh go back to this range at like running back and receiver and then end it with quarterback late. I feel like that's
27:57what I would do if I lose out on KD. Um I don't necessarily again want Ferguson and Pickins. It's a little bit too much
28:04of the passing game there just because of the variance. They're going to have some games they run a lot, some games
28:08where it just doesn't work out in the passing attack for whatever reason. Um I don't necessarily love Concade or Kelsey. So I'd be waiting for Dallas GD.
28:16I'd be waiting for likely and we can wait there. But Kill just represents more upside. Um the guy updated his player note now. You can kind of read a
28:23deeper dive into that. Uh but he's just been so good. He's been so good in recent years and it seems like he's
28:30going to play in week one or two that it's like why not take that upside shot.
28:34All right, here's what we're going to do.
28:37We've got one, two, three, four, five picks left on the bench. I want to double dip at quarterback. Um who do I take? Okay. Okay. I was gonna
28:48say who I take it. San Fran. Um, again, I'm fine going Pertie and KD, but I wouldn't be fine going Pertie, KD, and
28:54Lake Pierce, so I don't want to add on the third one there.
28:58I know I said I'd wait on quarterback, but I got five picks left here. I like Mason.
29:05I don't necessarily want to draft any of these wide receivers right now. I feel like I can probably wait till the next
29:10round. I don't need to go with that backup tight end now. So, it's basically go Perie or go with Mason.
29:19Maybe I do go with Mason. And I just hope because I know this next turn is the long one where maybe someone does
29:27take Party. Like this Dak team is definitely at risk of taking Perie.
29:30Caleb team would be at risk of taking it. Trevor Lawrence team would at risk of taking it.
29:36But I think yeah, I think I think your best outcome here is try and take Mason.
29:39Cross your fingers there. If he's not, just go with two other quarterbacks late. That would be the best play. Just just lock in. Even though Mason's not
29:45necessarily a full PPR running back, he's a running back that could be a number one on the team, could have touchdown upside if Minnesota plays
29:51better. He could still be someone I'm using. Uh, and I kind of want that fourth running back because we start to
29:56get no range after, honestly, after Mason and then Katon. I don't really trust any of these guys to do anything besides if there's an injury. So, I
30:03would rather and and there will be other wide receivers we feel fine with. So, um, because we don't like have to look
30:09at wide receiver there.
30:11I think we're good with Okay, so Pertie is still there. Again, in my league that would happen. And now starting like 11,
30:1812, 13, like maybe people start doing it, but people go with the wide receivers. Um, looks like Chris Rodriguez goes, Aaron Jones and JCM go.
30:26Um, Ferguson, Kade, and then a bunch of wide receivers after that. So, Perie is still there. Um, Katon is still there,
30:32but I would also anticipate that happening. I don't think people are typically as high on Katon as I am. So, I would now say, "Okay, Pertie
30:38represents significant upside now at this pick. Go with Brock Perie." Um, I would probably then say, "Okay, lock in Katon as that last running back on my
30:49team." And then I would finish off um at least two wide receivers and then take um probably a tight end and say, you
30:57know, maybe I just don't go with that backup quarterback because I don't know week one. you'd be fine drafting right now and not drafting um like a backup to
31:04KD because you would have time to make that ad. Maybe you just add a hand another handcuff running back instead.
31:10See if there's an injury. Um we're going to pretend like this team is drafted like um Labor Day weekend and I'm just
31:16Labor Day weekend. I'm going to draft a backup tight end, especially if I don't, you know, know if KD's playing to start
31:22there. Um who would I take though?
31:27We actually did just miss a range because I don't necessarily like Strange this season. I I guess Gadston, you would take Gadston even though we have
31:36lad. It's for a very short amount of time and you say like maybe the upside hits there. Um yeah, you probably would
31:43take Gadston as that backup, but I don't care enough if there was someone else that I would probably actually lean towards. Um you could Yeah, I would
31:50actually get an upside shot on Worthy.
31:51Um, I don't think we take another running back. And then I, again, in in a single quarterback league where people aren't taking a ton of them, I would
31:59probably wait as long as I can to take that backup quarterback. And I would be fine if like there was just free agents
32:04available after me because Perie is going to be my starting quarterback unless he gets hurt. The one would be Malik. If Malik actually hits his high
32:11end of a ceiling, you know, he has significant upside. So, it would be see if Malik is there. Um, and then if he's not, uh, don't draft
32:20the backup. All right. All right, I got to figure out why I keep I think it's after 30 minutes of recording, but I I
32:24took that setting off the last time, but the the video went away again. So, that was probably gone for a little bit, but
32:29I don't think it was that long. Uh anyways, I got to figure out why the video keeps going away and some of these
32:34mockdraft videos. But, um as I was saying, wouldn't draft uh the backup quarterback at this spot, I would say, give me Worthy um for that similar
32:45reason. He has that upside that I want in a reddraft league. I would say give me Aronda Gadston back up to KD playing
32:53in week one. Um I would grab that whatever flex spot you wanted here. Um actually no wide receivers I care that
33:04much about adding to the team. Uh and we do have five wide outs and five running backs. So we we actually could go and
33:11say draft Kyler. I don't love doing backup, tight end, and quarterback, but it would basically be Gadston as a shot on does he hit the high end of his
33:20outcome? Does he have a good target share in week one? Kyler is well, if this is Kyler Murray of the past and he
33:25really hits in this Kevin Oonnell system, I could trade one of Kyler for a mid-round running back and receiver that's underperforming early on. So,
33:32it'd be more from that perspective. Uh, I would much prefer going running back to receiver, but there actually are, again, aren't any that I really care at
33:40all about. Um, if I felt like handcuffing, not going to do that. No, I don't I don't care about any of these running backs and I don't
33:49think I care about any of these receivers on my team. So, I would just take uh the backup, go after defense.
33:56Um, yeah, Chargers in week one is a great selection and then uh whatever you want to do at kicker doesn't matter
34:07to me. All right, I think that was a really good p uh draft. Again, I'll pull up this here for everyone to see. Wide
34:15receivers, this is full PPR again. Puka, Pickkins, Lad, Brian Thomas Jr., Xavier Worthy. And then we've got running backs Ken Walker, Bashalt Tuin, Tony Pard,
34:26Jordan Mason, Katon Mitchell. We've got two quarterbacks, uh, Brock Perie and Kyler Murray. And then we've got KD and Ronnie Gadson at tight end, uh, Chargers
34:36D and Panero at my kicker. So, let me know what you think in the comment section down below. Uh, that'll do it
34:42for this one. Again, make sure you're subscribed because we're doing the rankings video on uh Wednesday for running backs on Friday for wide
34:50receivers. So, a huge week for the rankings video and then you know what returns? Camp. Camps are finally here.
34:55Uh, so I think this Saturday will be the return of the training camps video where we talk about all the news that happened
35:01in camp. So, again, please leave a like if you're still here. Please subscribe to the channel if you are new, but I'll
35:06catch you all on the next one.

More episodes from Fantasy Football Advice

6