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0:49Welcome into another episode of Press Coverage. We hope you gain an edge in fantasy football.
0:54I am your host as always, Wyatt Bertalone. And today we're talking bold takes.
0:58Before the season, every year as we get close to it, I like to put out a tweet with some of my bold calls for the season.
1:06So I'm going to take the opportunity on this show to actually go through those bold takes and kind of explain my reasoning for them.
1:14My first one up today is Kyler Murray. And I'm saying he's going to be a top eight QB in fantasy points
1:21per game at the QB position in 2026. First off for Kyler Murray.
1:24Gotta remember, this is a dude who is top eight already all time in fantasy points per game for quarterbacks.
1:30He now finds himself on the Vikings in which he is possibly in the best situation of his career.
1:36His really good pass catchers obviously with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hawkinson, Jawan Jennings is a nice number three wide receiver.
1:43The running backs aren't as good as he's had in the past, I would say, but they form a good duo there behind him.
1:50The offensive line is good. And last but not least, Kevin O'Connell is a great offensive coach.
1:55I know there was some worry about Kyler Murray because he was in this QB battle with JJ McCarthy, but I don't
2:02think it was ever actually a real QB battle between them.
2:05Kyler Murray does not sign with the Vikings to be in a QB battle.
2:10This is a quarterback who has been a star in the league for a long time, is a starting level quarterback in the NFL.
2:17Even if he's not as good as we hoped he would be, he's still absolutely a starter.
2:22Top 25 QB in the NFL, top 20. And JJ McCarthy was absolutely awful in 2025.
2:27I never expected this to be real competition. I think the Vikings were kind of just, you know, not fully pushing JJ
2:33McCarthy all the way to the side. Wanted to make it a little bit different of a transition, but this is JJ
2:40McCarthy's offense, in my opinion, and I expect them to do some really nice things this season for the Vikings.
2:46Might see some more of his rushing comeback. I think, you know, he's now multiple years removed from the year in which he tore his ACL.
2:54Also, I think Kevin O'Connell is going to know how to make sure to get him to use his legs smartly.
3:00I'm really excited for what Kyler Murray can do in this offense.
3:04The next one I've got, another QB. I'm going to be going by position here, actually.
3:09I should mention that. Jordan Love, top 12 QB.
3:12Now, he's already finished as a top 12 QB.
3:14So it's not that hot when you think about it that way, but it is hot based on his ADB because he's
3:21going well outside the top 12 QBs in drafts right now.
3:24But as I mentioned, in 2023, his first year as starter in the NFL, he finished as QB 5 in points per game with 19.4.
3:32The two seasons after that, 2024 and 25, he was in the 16 points per game range.
3:37It dropped after the Packers signed Josh Jacobs and became more of a well-balanced team, one of the more run-heavy teams in
3:44the NFL, and kind of were led by Josh Jacobs a little bit more.
3:48But now, going into 2026, I think things could change and go back to relying on Jordan Love's arm more.
3:54Number one, Josh Jacobs dealt with some legal issues this offseason.
3:57We still don't know if he'll face any actual suspension from the NFL.
4:01It's seeming like he's not going to get suspended by the NFL, but it is still on the table, technically.
4:07Also, Josh Jacobs has had over 2,100 touches in his NFL career, and if you look at some of the advanced metrics
4:14for him last year, he started to dip down a little bit in some places, and it's possible the beginning of the end started for him in 2025.
4:22And if Josh Jacobs is not as good as he has been, or the Packers don't want to rely on him as
4:29much as they have in the past, I could see them switching more to the passing game, relying on Jordan Love's arm.
4:36And Jordan Love has shown the ability to lead that team as a pass-first offense in the past, and I wouldn't be surprised if they did again.
4:44I actually think it's helpful as well that they've kind of consolidated their wide receiver core to just Christian Watson, Matthew Gold,
4:51and Jane Reed, keeping them all on the field.
4:53I think they're all dynamic playmakers and can really spread out a defense.
4:57They all present different problems for the defense, and keeping them all on the field at the same time as not as
5:04much rotation will help Jordan Love create a better rapport with all of them.
5:08And then last but not least, we've got Tucker Craft on his way back.
5:12He was on an absolute tear to start the 2025 season.
5:16Even though he's coming back from the injury, all signs point to him being completely healthy going into the season and should return.
5:23So these are just really great weapons for Jordan Love, and like I mentioned, if they go back to relying on his
5:29arm as much as they have in 2023, which I think there's a good chance of that happening, Jordan Love should easily
5:36be a top 12 QB in 2026. We're now going to move on to the running back position and talk about a
5:43player that I have not stopped talking about this offseason, if you've been paying attention to any content that I put out.
5:49Kenneth Walker. Who else could it be? I think Kenneth Walker could be a top three running back this season, if not just the RB1 overall.
5:57In 2025, with the Seahawks, we saw in the playoffs after Zach Charbonnet went down what Kenneth Walker can do with a
6:04full workload as he scored 23 points per game in the 2025 playoffs.
6:08Just absolutely dominating opposing defenses, being full workhorse, being used in all aspects of the game.
6:13The concerns for Kenneth Walker in the past and technically going into 2026 is that, one, he hasn't been much of a
6:19pass catcher in his career, but he's kind of put some quiets on that, kind of shut those concerns down, in my opinion.
6:26When in 2024, he was fourth among running backs in target share with 13, 8%, showing that he can do it.
6:33It's just he hasn't been asked to do it as much as we'd like, and then people worry about his injury history,
6:39which is kind of a fluky thing to begin with, and he truthfully has not missed as much time as people like to act like he actually has.
6:48Now with the Chiefs in 2026, he's on a great offense.
6:51There's very little behind him for depth, so I think he's going to have a really nice workload for the Chiefs in 2026.
6:58I think he's going to be used as a pass catcher a lot.
7:02But the Chiefs have talked all offseason about how much they're excited to have him behind Patrick Mahomes and how much Patrick
7:09Mahomes is excited to be able to hand it off to Kenneth Walker.
7:13This is an offense that's been missing explosives at the running back position.
7:16That's what Kenneth Walker can do. They've been missing explosives on the offense as a whole.
7:21Kenneth Walker can do that in the passing game as well.
7:25And additionally, Patrick Mahomes returning from an injury wouldn't be surprising if he doesn't run as much as he was in 2025.
7:31Maybe he starts checking it down a little bit more to Kenneth Walker, or the offense relies on the running back position even more this offseason.
7:39Relies on the running game and feeds Kenneth Walker.
7:42I also think he's going to get used a lot in the red zone.
7:46Anytime they've had a running back who doesn't be really good in that short yard situation, they've used him a lot.
7:52Kenneth Walker hasn't always been the best short yard back because he likes to look for the explosives, but is fine in short yards.
8:00He's been able to do that just good enough, and they also don't have anyone behind him to really do that.
8:06So he's going to be in on all those situations.
8:09I think the sky is the limit for Kenneth Walker in 2026.
8:13I've got more players for you, but before I do that, we're going to hear about the Player Profiler Play Rankings, and I'll be right back.
8:21You know, I get asked, is AI ruining fantasy sports?
8:24And the answer is absolutely not. We've had consensus rankings available for a long time, but people subscribe to the Player Rankings
8:30at playerprofiler.com for Superflex, Titan Premium, Best Ball, even offensive line rankings.
8:34Of course, your rookie rankings, your dynasty rankings are all available in the ranking service for playerprofiler.com.
8:39Password protected so the bots can't get to it, and you can maintain your edge.
8:44And use code PODFATHER for $5 off. Woo! It's a good deal.
8:47This episode is brought to you by Nordstrom. For 125 years, Nordstrom has been part of your story.
8:53The stylist who found the perfect outfit for your big interview.
8:56The first pair of walking shoes for your one-year-old.
8:59The tomato soup you shared with your sister at the cafe.
9:02These are the moments that make Nordstrom, Nordstrom. Big or small, we're here for all of it.
9:07Celebrating 125 years with new moments still ahead. Discover it all in Nordstrom stores and at Nordstrom.com.
9:12Propel Fitness Water with Gatorade electrolytes, zero sugar, and vitamins.
9:15Propel hydrates better than water to help you get the most out of your workout and get back to your best self.
9:22What propels you? Propel with Gatorade electrolytes. Back here on Press Coverage, talking about some bold takes for the 2026 season.
9:28If you have not liked and subscribed yet, please do so.
9:32If you're listening on your favorite podcast platform, rate us five stars.
9:35Leave us a comment. Let me know some of your bold takes for the 2026 season.
9:40My next player that I've got is Basial Tootin.
9:43And I think that he could be a top 16 running back in 2026.
9:47I was really excited about Basial Tootin as a prospect.
9:50He came into the NFL as a real dynamic playmaker, both as rusher and receiver.
9:55He's hyper-athletic. And then in 2025, playing behind Travis Etienne, Etienne ends up staying healthy the entire season.
10:00Basial Tootin has to try and work into some areas.
10:03While Etienne is remaining healthy, ends up actually taking a good amount of the short yardage area work from Travis Etienne because
10:10he was just straight up better than him at that.
10:13This offseason, Travis Etienne moves on to the Saints.
10:16And the only thing that the Jaguars do is add Chris Rodriguez to the backfield.
10:20And a lot of people were linking Chris Rodriguez to Liam Cohen, which of course there is that link Chris Rodriguez played for Liam Cohen in college.
10:28And they made it that this was a point that Liam Cohen went out to get his guy as soon as free agency started.
10:36And that's not exactly true because it turns out the Jaguars are actually in on J.K.
10:40Dobbins first. So it's not even like Chris Rodriguez was Liam Cohen's first pick to try and find another running back to
10:47play in this backfield with Basial Tootin. And I think it makes it very obvious that this is Basial Tootin's backfield to lose.
10:54I do expect a split. Not, you know, Basial Tootin's not going to have 75% other running back opportunities in this offense.
11:01I'm not even projecting that. You know, that's, I'm just projecting something similar to what Travis Etienne was doing for this offense in 2025.
11:08I think that's on the table for Basial Tootin.
11:11And Basial Tootin is a more explosive player than Travis Etienne.
11:14And people like to point to Chris Rodriguez's ability and short yardage and being a success rate runner.
11:19And what's funny is that Basial Tootin was actually better in success rate than Chris Rodriguez in 2025.
11:25Basial Tootin finishing ninth among running backs in that metric.
11:28Whereas Chris Rodriguez finished a little bit below him.
11:31So the things that Chris Rodriguez is good at, Basial Tootin is also good at.
11:35And then Basial Tootin is a more complete running back compared to Chris Rodriguez.
11:39Basial Tootin also is a good receiver. He's not necessarily a good pass blocker.
11:44And I know some people will point to him losing snaps in the passing game because of that.
11:49But this is an offense where you can actually be less concerned about that type of thing.
11:54Because Liam Cohen likes to use his running backs in the screen game a lot.
11:59And you can point to Bucky Irving for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
12:02His rookie season, Liam Cohen is the offensive coordinator.
12:05Bucky Irving never played third downs. He was still used as a receiver plenty because that's what Liam Cohen does.
12:11He can do that for Basial Tootin in 2026.
12:14Also, Chris Rodriguez certainly ain't doing anything there because he's got six career receptions during his time in the NFL.
12:20I think Basial Tootin has an opportunity for a really nice workload and one of the best offenses in the NFL.
12:26And he's a dynamic playmaker. What else could you like?
12:29All right. Next one. Moving on to wide receivers.
12:32Jalen Waddell. I think he can finish as a top 12 wide receiver in 2026 for the Denver Broncos.
12:38Jalen Waddell has shown to be a dynamic, exciting, exceptional wide receiver in the NFL.
12:42He's finished top 10 in yards per outrun and first downs per outrun in three of his five seasons.
12:48In one of those seasons, he's dealing with a lot of injuries.
12:52And the other one of those seasons was his rookie year, which he was just used as basically a PPR machine short to the line of scrimmage.
13:00Didn't have quite as high yards per outrun as we'd like, but he was still very productive.
13:05Now he's on the Broncos where he's the obvious de facto number one wide receiver for Sean Payton and Bo Nix.
13:11They've talked all offseason about how they're excited they are to have him.
13:15And all the different things they can do with Jalen Waddell.
13:19Sean Payton has always been a coach, an offensive coach who can scheme his players open and get them in space so
13:25they can use their after the catch ability, which Jalen Waddell is amazing at.
13:30They're going to be able to use him in all different dynamic types of ways.
13:34He can be their deep shot receiver when they need him.
13:37They can be short intermediate when they need him.
13:40They can use it as manufactured stuff. The world is Jalen Waddell's oyster on the Broncos offense.
13:45The only concern people I think can really have is that he has been banged up a good amount over his time in the NFL.
13:53But again, like I talked about with Kenneth Walker, this is not something I want to bet on because that is unreliable.
14:00That we've had players in the past, oh, they're injury prone, injury prone, injury prone until they're not.
14:05Think of Keenan Allen. He was injury prone for years and years and years having all these fluky injuries.
14:11And next thing you know, he's just playing 17 games every single year.
14:15So I'm not going to bet on a player missing time.
14:18I'm going to bet on the talent and the situation which Jalen Waddell has both of.
14:23The next wide receiver that I've got here for my bold takes is Casey Concepcion.
14:27And I think the rookie can finish top 24 at the wide receiver position.
14:32Casey Concepcion was a player that I really liked coming in the NFL.
14:36I think his prospect profile is pretty darn good.
14:38It's really complete profile. He's shown ability to be a short and intermediate area of the field wide receiver.
14:44He's shown the ability to go deep. He's also been a really nice ball in hand wide receiver.
14:50Had over 400 rushing yards total in college. Got a lot of manufactured stuff, but could do all the wide receiver stuff too.
14:56The one concern for Casey Concepcion really coming in the NFL was that his hands were a little bit inconsistent in college.
15:03Not really a concern for me. It's only really a concern for me when players have trouble with some drops or some inconsistent hands.
15:10When their technique is just really poor. If they're letting it get into their body too much or if they're doing too
15:17much of a clap attack, which is not Casey Concepcion.
15:20His were more concentration issues. And that's something that you can really work on and continue to work on going into the NFL and help shore up.
15:28And it seems like he's done so because there hasn't been a mention of any sort of drops for Casey Concepcion in camp in the preseason.
15:36Nothing. And we saw in the Browns preseason games, they immediately showed that they're going to turn him into a weapon in this offense.
15:43They've been talking throughout training camp, how they want to use him in all these different ways.
15:49And basically he's at a discount right now in fantasy just because he plays for the Browns.
15:54And he's got that Browns stink on him, which, you know, is understandable to an extent because the offense is not great and the quarterbacks are awful.
16:02But we've seen in the past, especially on this Browns team, that even though the quarterbacks are bad, the offense is not great.
16:09This is a team that's probably going to be playing from behind a lot.
16:13They're going to have to pass the ball a lot.
16:16And it might be ugly at times, but Casey Concepcion should have plenty of volume as the number one wide receiver for
16:23this offense to go along with those manufactured touches that he's supposed to get to be able to finish highly in fantasy in 2026.
16:30All right. I've got two for the tight end position and we're going to get out of here.
16:35The first one is that I think Isaiah likely will not be a top 16 tight end in 2026, which shouldn't be
16:42that crazy of a claim because, well, he's never fully finished in there.
16:46But that's the way he's being drafted after being signed by the Giants this offseason.
16:51But in his career, he has PPR points per game of 5.7, 5.9, 7.7 and 4.4.
16:55Basically, ever since he filled in at the end of his rookie season for Mark Andrews, people have expecting Isaiah likely to
17:02have this breakout that has never come because he's a part time player.
17:06You know, he is a glorified big wide slot wide receiver, which at times is good for our tight ends.
17:12And at times it's bad. And the times when it's bad is when those players can't really be used in any other way.
17:19And that's the case for Isaiah likely. He is pretty incapable as a blocker.
17:23That's part of the reason why he didn't play as much as we'd like for the Ravens in the past.
17:29Why Charlie Kolar has become a thing is because Charlie Kolar was a good inline tight end.
17:34Mark Andrews was more of the big slot, but he's a better big slot than Isaiah likely.
17:40So Isaiah likely would have trouble getting onto the field that often.
17:43And him signing to the Giants, it seems like there's opening for him to be a big pass catcher for the offense
17:50because after Malik neighbors, there isn't that much to speak of.
17:53But the problem for likely is this kind of squeeze on the possible targets that he can get.
17:59Number one is that obviously Malik neighbors is going to get his first and foremost.
18:0335% target share more than likely. So we're going to cut off a good section of the possible targets right off the top.
18:10Next is that he's a part-time tight end. He does not play in line.
18:14How many times are the Giants going to have 11 personnel where he is the thought wide receiver on that play?
18:21Because Theo Johnson, Chris Manhurts, those are the two who are actually playing in line and they are going to eat up a lot of snaps.
18:29We saw this in their first preseason game. They showed exactly what the plan is in which Isaiah likely, he was only
18:35on the field for about half the plays and was only when they got into 11 personnel and put him in the slot.
18:42Otherwise, it was either Theo Johnson or Chris Manhurts playing in tight end position for the offense.
18:47And then lastly is that this is a team that probably wants to run the ball a lot.
18:53You know, Jackson Dart showed a lot as a rookie QB, but he's still limited somewhat as a passer and needs to continue to grow there.
19:01He's also a good rusher. So he turns a lot of his pass it's called pass plays into runs.
19:06And because the last lack of pass catching weapons on the offense, it would make sense for them to want to rely
19:13on the running backs more as well. So lower volume passing offense for a part-time tight end where there's a massive target on the offense.
19:21This is not something that gets me excited for a tight end going in 2026.
19:25I am not excited for Isaiah likely for the season.
19:28The last one I've got here is Greg Dulcich as a top 16 tight end, and he's going at the ends of drafts.
19:35He's going to be free in a lot of your drafts.
19:39If you're drafting in basketball, he's a late round tight end that you can stack on to your builds.
19:44He's had an awkward career. He came in as a rookie and actually showed some promise and had some good underlying receiving metrics for himself there.
19:52But then he dealt with some injuries and kind of bounced around some teams having trouble latching on to an offense.
19:59He finds his way to the Miami Dolphins last season.
20:02He kind of comes on in the second half of the season and actually plays pretty well.
20:07He has 2.54 yards per run at the position with a bit of top five in 2025.
20:12The passing offense was pretty much lacking there at the end, and it wasn't getting a lot done.
20:17So the counting stats for Greg Dulcich in 2025 weren't particularly impressive.
20:21But on a per route basis, per opportunity basis, he was good.
20:25And they brought him back for 2026. This is a team with a lack of pass catching options.
20:30You know, it's pretty much just a bunch of nobodies, and we're waiting to see if someone can ascend amongst them.
20:36We've got Malik Washington, who is a really low A dot across the middle of the field player, who has not shown too much so far this year.
20:45We've got Chris Bell, who's returning from the ACL.
20:48Looks like he's going to come back earlier than we expected, but again, he is still returning from this ACL.
20:54He wasn't expecting to be ready this early. How much can we count on for him?
20:58We got Caleb Douglas, who looks to be a starting wide receiver for them, but he's mostly a downfield deep threat.
21:05I don't know how much volume he can really, you know, earn.
21:08And then we've got a bunch of washouts like Jalen Tolbert and Tutu Atwell after that.
21:13Not really expecting much from them. Devana Chan possibly could be their wide receiver one, but how much can he handle, especially
21:20with Malik Willis, a quarterback who doesn't really check down very much.
21:24In fact, he checks down the least among starting QBs in the NFL.
21:28Well, so why not Greg Dulcich? Why can't he become kind of the standout pass catcher for this offense when there's no
21:34one else really there to take that from him?
21:37You know, this is a battle on merit, in my opinion, a meritocracy to see who can really step up and earn some targets in this offense.
21:45And I think Greg Dulcich can do that because he is a really good pass catcher.
21:50And I understand that you can come back at me because I just talked about Isaiah Likely just basically being a big
21:57slot and that's going to hurt him. And the same is true for Greg Dulcich.
22:01The difference for Greg Dulcich is there aren't any other tight ends that are really going to be a threat for snaps on this offense.
22:09And this offense is so deprived of pass catchers.
22:11They need to find him wherever they can. So they need Greg Dulcich to be on the field producing for them.
22:18I think he has a good chance to be that really late round tight end who surprises everybody, except for me, I guess, and anybody listening right now.
22:26It ends up being a really relevant, fancy tight end in 2026.
22:30That does it for this episode, though. If you'd like to follow me on Twitter, you can do so at WyattB underscore FF.
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