The Lineup Show - 6 Sleepers That Will WIN Your Fantasy Football League ft. Fantasyland Football
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39 min
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Jul 6, 2026
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Mon, July 6, 2026
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Episode Transcript
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1:15How pros get more done. Every year there are values in fantasy football that will propel you to a championship like Christian Watson or Michael Wilson in 2025.
1:23Let's break down six must-draft players that are going to help you win your league in 2026.
1:28Including one player that finished second in points per game last year, but he's being drafted as the quarterback 12.
1:34Let's go. Welcome into The Lineup Fantasy Football Show.
1:37I'm Mitch Anderson. I'm Justin Mello. And Mello, we are joined by a very special guest today.
1:42We got Zach from Fantasyland and Dynastyland here to help us identify some draft sleepers for fantasy football.
1:47What's going on, Zach? Yeah, good to be here.
1:50Happy to talk about some sleepers. I know you guys are Patriot fans, and I made sure that I got a Patriot into the rotation.
1:57That way everybody's happy and, you know, there might be some hot takes, but I want to make sure everybody's happy as well.
2:04You know the weight of my art. Just talk good about Patriots players and I'll like you by default.
2:09Well, I can make them both Patriot players if you want, but no, I'll stick to one.
2:14First off, you would find it hard-pressed to find a bigger Travion Henderson stand than myself.
2:19I think back to like the Dynasty offseason last year, one of my favorite players to draft in rookie drafts.
2:25Had big expectations for his career, but I just feel like the price on Ramondre this year is too enticing again.
2:31I think the easiest way for me to kind of help people understand where my mindset is at, for years, we have
2:38been so excited about drafting David Montgomery in the fifth round, and no one's had a problem with that, right?
2:44Everyone's been like, oh, it's a two-headed monster. It's a great offense.
2:47Why wouldn't you draft Ramondre? David Montgomery is going to be involved.
2:51And for whatever reason, now that the name is Ramondre Stevenson, people are not as excited to draft the guy.
2:56Ramondre is going, I think, like ninth round ADP.
2:59It's the HR move. Yeah, it's like if his name was David Montgomery, he's probably a fifth round pick.
3:05His name is Ramondre Stevenson. I mean, meanwhile, last year, the Patriots are top six in rushing attempts, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns.
3:11Ramondre Stevenson, I don't think it's hyperbolic to say he wasn't only the best running back on the Patriots team last year.
3:18He was one of the better running backs in the NFL, like point blank period.
3:22He was one of four running backs to finish top 10 in yards after contact per attempt, missed halfless force per attempt.
3:29The other names that finished top 10 in those categories, Bijon, Javante, Marion Hampton.
3:33He was top 10 in receiving yards, receptions, yards per route run.
3:36And here's a problem. We all love projecting like a Henderson from year one to year two because we expect them to take another leap.
3:44And I would expect Henderson to be more involved this year.
3:47But all of the trends that typically support that don't line up with what happened last year in the Patriots backfield, right?
3:53Stevenson only got better not only in the NFL, but also for fantasy football.
3:57I mean, he was the definition of a league winner in your fantasy football playoffs from like week 16, 17, 18.
4:04And even in the real NFL playoffs, Ramondre Stevenson, 58 carries to 30 for Henderson.
4:08Okay. Almost tripling his yardage on the ground, even as a receiving threat.
4:12Ramondre had 15 targets to Henderson six, almost four X in his receiving yards.
4:16It's just, it feels like this is a little bit of a no brainer.
4:20It's a high powered offense last year. Now you add AJ Brown.
4:24There's probably going to be more scoring opportunities on the ground.
4:27Again, it's just like, this is the least sexy David Montgomery that you can draft.
4:31But for the zero RB builds, which I wouldn't recommend this year, but you know, last flex spot, I think he's going to have a lot of value.
4:40And the only reason he's not going to be heavily involved is if there's some huge downturn in his career and his
4:46ability to produce, which I'm not sure I see happening.
4:49He's right in the prime of his career. Yeah.
4:52We didn't see anything from an efficiency perspective last year that would suggest that he's on a downturn.
4:57And we've talked so much about like the Patriots postseason run.
5:00They clearly trust him so much that Broncos game, Henderson got four snaps.
5:04Something I brought up earlier this offseason to Melo is like, let's say Travion takes this massive leap that everyone wants him to take.
5:11Right now, Ramondre Stevenson is the 29th running back off the board.
5:15You're telling me even in that universe, he's not getting enough work to be better than like one of 28 running backs.
5:21Totally. I just, I couldn't agree more. I think this is a no brainer.
5:25Yeah. Yeah. It's, um, it's funny because I look at my projections and there are some players where the price tag is
5:32just so ugly that they become so attractive to me.
5:35And Stevenson is one of those names. I mean, RB 29, is that underdog by the way?
5:40That right now is on, um, fancy pros consensus.
5:42Okay. Right. Cause I imagine he's a name like ESPN and Yahoo leagues where there's not as sharp drafting.
5:48He's probably even going to be going later, you know, but yeah, it's just, you know, the non-sexy Montgomery and I'll have
5:54as much of him on my team as I possibly can.
5:58I love that you compare him to Montgomery because you know, who did have a year two explosion was Jameer Gibbs, you
6:04know, who is still good in fantasy. Yeah. It's David Montgomery.
6:07Yeah. So even if we do live in this world that Mitch painted, there is a path for Ramondre who honestly, I
6:14think more than anything is a victim of name fatigue at this point and just like boredom that surrounds him.
6:20I think it's funny you say that because I, as a trade man Henderson's Dan was talking major trash on Ramondre all
6:26last off season because I wanted to force the trade man Henderson narrative.
6:30Yeah. And, uh, Ramondre is like, I don't care what anybody has to say.
6:34I'm still a good, good player in the NFL.
6:37So it's, I think fatigue is, is the right way to look at it for sure.
6:42Yeah. And he was, I mean, to your point, very honestly, even as a Patriots fan, I was surprised how good he was down the stretch last year.
6:50Especially after all the fumbling issues early on. I think there was a real stink around him.
6:55There was like 10 moments where we all thought, okay, this is when the changing of the guard is going to happen.
7:01This is Rabel is going to make the change.
7:04It's like, no, I'm good. This is the guy.
7:07Like me and my emotional state was ready for him to not only get benched, but cut after some of those fumbles.
7:13And then he turned it around clearly and ended up being really good.
7:17So yeah. Kudos to him. And thank you for talking about a Patriot.
7:21I actually have a former Patriot. I want to bring up here.
7:24And that is Jacoby Myers. We've talked on this show, I think about every Jaguars wide receiver at length, except for Jacoby Myers.
7:31He's kind of the forgotten guy here. And I think it's time we put some respect on his name and talk about why he's a great pick.
7:39I still love Parker Washington for the upside that he has.
7:42And yes, I even like Brian Thomas Jr. as a potential post-hype sleeper.
7:46If he can stay on the field in two wide receiver sets, I think he has a path to have a really good rebound in year two here.
7:54But you know who I know will be on the field in two wide receiver sets?
7:59You know whose role in this offense feels super safe right now?
8:03Is Jacoby Myers. After the Week 10 trade that sent Myers to Jacksonville last season, he played a team-high 82% of snaps.
8:09Both Washington and Brian Thomas Jr. played under 65%.
8:12He also led the team in targets over that stretch with 61, 10 more than any other Jaguars receiver.
8:17Liam Cohen used him all over the field. He lined up out wide about half the time in the slot the other half.
8:24His role is just very secure in the offense.
8:27And he may not have the same upside as his two aforementioned teammates, but he's such a safe bet at ADP, a
8:33much safer bet at ADP than those other two guys.
8:36In fact, he's outperformed his ADP every single year of his career aside from a rookie year.
8:41For a veteran that's been in the league a long time, that's very impressive.
8:45Right now, he's being drafted as the wide receiver 41 according to Fantasy Pro's consensus.
8:50His worst finish over the last five years is the wide receiver 32, nine spots higher.
8:54And he was the wide receiver 17 overall over the stretch that he was a Jaguar last year.
9:00So with all of that said, the price just makes no sense to me.
9:04He stays undervalued every single year. You're not going to get a top 12 finish from him in all likelihood.
9:10But you can bet your mortgage that he will be a reliable wide receiver 2 or flex in your lineup every single week.
9:17At his current cost, 92nd overall. I'm taking that every single time.
9:20We should have called this episode like the least sexy players that are going to help you win your championship.
9:26Yeah. That would be a good name for it.
9:29Yeah. I mean, I'll be honest. I don't know if you guys know Sammy Stacks, but we string together often.
9:34And he's a big Brian Thomas guy. I feel like the most difficult receiver room to really digest this year from a projections perspective is the Jags.
9:42And I think Myers is the cheapest outside of Hunter, right?
9:46Yeah, I just double checked. He is. Parker is getting up there.
9:49I love Parker myself, but he is getting up there.
9:52And man, I could totally see it happen. There are these non-sexy names that keep returning on ADP.
9:57Like Wandel Robinson is a name I thought for this episode as well.
10:01It feels like he is the next Jacoby Myers in the sense of not a fun name, just going to put up points for you.
10:09Kolo Shakira almost fits that mold as well. I guess, I don't know if you guys do projections, but I was, this
10:15is where I'm like struggling so hard with this receiver room.
10:18It really is such a, every week I'm like, oh yeah, it's this guy for sure.
10:23No, no, this guy's going to be featured. And in reality, it might just be the answer is Trevor Lawrence.
10:29But I've got Jacoby at a 17% target share that gets him 102 targets.
10:33And I think the biggest, the biggest reason I'm finding it hard to be super in on him or even Brian is because of the Travis Hunter question.
10:41You know, it's like, we're all, we're all really guessing if we're being honest.
10:45Like we, we know what the coaching staff has said that he'll play both sides, but it's just like, if we knew
10:52how much wide receiver he would play, it would make our lives so much easier.
10:56But that's, it's just, it's just such a hard receiver room for me to have a strong stance on, but maybe I'm,
11:03I'm the reason why his ADP and some of those other guys are being pushed downwards.
11:08I think it's very funny. You say that about like statting out all the receivers.
11:12Cause I forgot who I was talking about this recently, but it's like, you try statting out all of the Jaguars receivers.
11:18And next thing you know, Trevor Lawrence is passing for like 60 touchdowns and 7,000 yards.
11:23And you're like, well, something's got to change here.
11:26Yeah. I a hundred percent agree with that. And as somebody who likes Jacoby and for that matter, the other guys in
11:32terms of upside, I can admit it's a very difficult receiver room to project.
11:36The stance I'm willing to take though, is I don't believe Travis Hunter will be super involved.
11:41Obviously I think we'll get some snaps on offense.
11:44So that's part of it. But the other part for me is I just think Jacoby's role is the safest in this offense.
11:51They traded for him last year, immediately extended him.
11:54I think between Brian Thomas and Parker Washington, one's going to be very disappointing and one's going to be very good.
12:00And when people leave, whereas Jacoby is probably the middle ground there.
12:03It reminds me of like, to not the same extent, but you guys remember the year after CJ Stroud's rookie season where
12:10there was like Nico, Dell, Diggs, like all those guys.
12:13But they were more what top four round picks.
12:15You couldn't get them out of the fourth round.
12:18So there is still some intrigue there. But yeah, you're right.
12:21Like we could all agree of the names we're looking at here in Jacksonville, there will be a bust.
12:27There will be a bad pick. We just don't know which one it is.
12:31Agreed. A hundred percent. No, I'm joking about the Jaguars room, but I actually do agree with this pick a lot.
12:37Like I'm looking at best ball rankings right now.
12:40And it's like, if I'm staring down Jacoby Myers and Xavier Worthy at this point, like at a wire receiver 48 or
12:4649, I'd like to take the short thing because I've probably taken some shots before then.
12:51And also because I'd rather do anything than draft Xavier Worthy in best ball this year.
12:56So I do like the pick. I just wanted to make that joke because I find myself doing it with the Jags
13:02being like, well, everyone's going to be great this year.
13:05Yeah. That's a real place. I mean, with the Jags in general, I agree.
13:09Draft with caution because somebody will disappoint. I'm just willing to die on the hill that it won't be Jacoby.
13:15Although he won't get you a top 12 finish like one of those other guys might.
13:20A hundred percent. All right. Let me jump into my first guy and I promise I'm going to go deeper on my
13:26next value, but this is a guy that just had to be talked about.
13:30Mr. Irrelevant Brock Purdy tied last year for second in points per game among quarterbacks.
13:35He averaged 32 points per game in the fantasy football playoffs.
13:38And now you can get him for the low, low price of quarterback 12.
13:42I think we as a community need to get over the original draft capital and just recognize that Brock Purdy is really good.
13:49He was pro football focuses seventh highest grade passer last season.
13:52He's still got Christian McCaffrey. He's still got Ricky Pearsall.
13:55Hopefully George Kittle gets back up to speed sooner than later.
13:58And then, oh yeah, replace Juwan Jennings with a quarterback's best friend in Mike Evans.
14:03And sometimes we look at touchdown rate as this thing that we expect to regress with these quarterbacks.
14:08But frankly, Brock Purdy is just unbelievably efficient. In four seasons as an NFL quarterback, he's finished first twice as well as fourth overall in touchdown rate.
14:16And now you add Mike Evans to the equation.
14:19And I think this is just going to be a fantasy football goldmine.
14:23Also got the sneaky Russian game. He's had 11 games last season.
14:26He went for 200 yards and three touchdowns. If you want closer to a full season sample, 2024, he played 15 games.
14:33He had 323 rushing yards and five touchdowns. I think the upside is absolutely insane for a guy that you're drafting at
14:39the bottom of the quarterback one range. Yeah, I mean, you're speaking my language right now.
14:44You're writing a love letter to me. I have him.
14:47Look at us. Look at all of us getting along with our picks.
14:51I have him as my fifth quarterback in projections for points per game.
14:54That's not where I'm actually drafting him right now, obviously.
14:57But to me, he is he's like cheaper Joe Burrow.
15:00And people will hate to hear that in the sense of you're going to throw a bunch of touchdowns.
15:06You've got good weapons around you. I mean, even Christian McCaffrey at this point, the offense is completely built around throwing to these weapons.
15:13McCaffrey wasn't a really effective rusher last year. Anyway, how many times in the red zone do we just see them get
15:19the ball to him through the air? And Kittle is apparently going to be ready week one.
15:24Mike Evans is probably one of the better low-key upgrades that people aren't discussing from like a Jawan Jennings.
15:30You know, they don't play the same exact role, but, you know, being kind of that primary receiver there.
15:36Hopefully, Ricky Pearsall can stay healthy. But I 100% agree with you.
15:39I think Purdy and more specifically him being in this offense attached to this play caller with these weapons.
15:45I don't think with this many years of evidence we can go out there and say, well, it was a fluke.
15:51The touchdown rate is going to come down. I think I love building my teams where I punt that quarterback, what, 10th,
15:5711th, 12th round, and it's Brock Purdy. I love this pick.
16:01I think it's a really, like, I'm right on board.
16:04I was going to talk about a quarterback, and it was almost going to be him today.
16:09I love that you did the Joe Burrow comparison.
16:11We did an episode where we did guys who were like a name brand versus store brand.
16:16I think Joe Burrow was Aloe and Brock Purdy was Walmart.
16:20You can get something just as good at Walmart for a hell of a lot cheaper, and that's just Brock Purdy in a nutshell.
16:27Yeah, it's Mountain Dew versus Mountain Shouting if you ever grew up on the name brand sodas versus the, what, Dollar Tree ones?
16:33So, yeah, I'm a big fan of the pick.
16:36No, we got to write that down. We're going to totally plagiarize that in our next episode.
16:41That's okay. You can take it. But the other thing, too, and I agree with the Purdy pick.
16:46I like him as well. I like the comparison to Burrow.
16:50The other thing people don't talk about with Purdy is he actually runs the ball quite a bit, unlike a guy like Burrow.
16:56I mean, he's not putting up Lamar Jackson type of rushing numbers, but he runs the ball.
17:01He's tied to Shanahan in this offense that has improved weapons like we talked about.
17:06And he's a guy that, I don't know if it's the draft capital or the fact that he's maybe not as flashy
17:12or fun as the truly elite mobile quarterbacks like Josh Hahn or Lamar Jackson, but people continue to fade in.
17:18And he, again, fits this mold of one of the most unsexy picks that is almost a lock to hit at ADP.
17:25Although my wife recently said he's the most attractive player in the NFL, so maybe that's not true.
17:30And maybe I should be feeding him just out of anger.
17:33How many Disney Channel original movies did she watch growing up?
17:36Because he looks like he should be in one about a kid who's turned into a football player.
17:42Yeah. Yeah. Maybe too many, but even though my heart doesn't want me to draft him for that reason, I simply have to.
17:49He's too good. Even if the touchdown regression does happen and we see a lower volume of touchdowns per attempt, he's still
17:55going to be a value at ADP. The only league I'm really not drafting him is probably these small leagues out there
18:02where people are in like an 8-team start 7, 10-team start 7.
18:05And I might go early on quarterbacks, but there's a lot of good quarterbacks this year.
18:10I think Purdy's in that conversation for sure. My last one on today's show is a player that I think the majority
18:16of the Dynasty community has really loved for a long time.
18:19This is one of those guys when you turn on his film out of college, you're just like, oh my God, look at him carving these fools up.
18:28Josh Downs. And I think he is a perfect candidate for this post-hype sleeper.
18:32I remember the year with Anthony Richardson. I think it was Richardson in 2024 where he got over 13 points per game.
18:38And even I was thinking, oh wow, this is like we're going to keep elevating from this.
18:43But he's so cheap right now. Now, if you mix ADP of like ESPN Yahoo underdog, he's the 9-12.
18:49So late 9th, sometimes in the 10th. And just there's every reason right now being pointed towards more opportunity for him in 2026, right?
18:56Like Michael Pittman, A.D. Mitchell are off this roster.
18:59Colts are top 10 in vacated targets to wide receivers.
19:02If you look at that Colts room, there's a reason all of us suspected every mock draft before the NFL drafts, Colts are taking a receiver.
19:09They're taking a receiver. They're going to take this one in the second round or this guy in the third round.
19:15They really did nothing. I mean, they took, what, Deion Berks in the 7th?
19:20But it's Ashton Doolin now. It's Nick Westbrook, you know, Bikini, whatever his name is.
19:24Alec Pierce has not practiced the entire season with an ankle surgery, by the way.
19:28So if you're thinking about practices that are happening today, it's, I mean, Downs is operating as their number one receiver at this point.
19:35Not that he will to start the year, but the main thing that's really held him back and it's been, I mean,
19:42I can think of so many receivers that I loved coming out of college and they were all held back by the two wide receiver sets, right?
19:50And he is a victim of that where you got a lot of teams who are, you know, now rolling out heavy tight end packages.
19:57In his career so far in the NFL, he's played about 81.5% of his snaps from the slot.
20:03But we are hearing reports out of every mouth in Indianapolis that he is going to play in two wide receiver sets,
20:09that they want to move them all around the formation.
20:12Shane Steichen, this is a quote from him. He says, after losing Michael Pittman Jr., I think Josh Downs' role will step up a little bit more.
20:20More targets for him. Hell of a player. We've played him in the slot a long time.
20:25We'll get him some reps on the outside during the spring and see where that goes.
20:30And again, like this is a guy who, when he was fed opportunities, 7.6 targets per game in 2024, 13 points per game.
20:36If anybody is this year's Wandel Robinson, where it's like, okay, look, is he the most attractive name?
20:42Is he going to score 80 yard touchdowns? Is he going to take it to the house from the 10 yard line?
20:48No, but is he going to chip away that really annoying underneath presence for the Colts?
20:53I think that's Josh Downs. So pretty excited about him as one of your last flex spots.
20:58He's just giving you a lot of safety, I think, on a week-to-week basis.
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22:41You're speaking our language on this one. I mean, by the time this episode dropped, we'll have mentioned that we have Alec
22:48Pierce as one of our busts for this year.
22:50I think we both believe he's being overdrafted a little bit.
22:53And we've talked about Josh Downs as being one of our favorite risers throughout OTAs because of the injury that Alec Pierce
23:00has, because of the opportunity Downs is going to have, because of that 2024 year that you mentioned that he led the team in receptions.
23:07Like, I think a lot of things are coming together for a guy that's proven it, but maybe hasn't gotten the full opportunity yet.
23:14And it's presenting him right in the face here.
23:17Yeah, not everybody can transition outside when they're at his size, but he just has a really, I think he has the ability to play inside outside.
23:25It's just that mold that oftentimes, transparently, I'm confused why the Colts traded A.D.
23:29Mitchell because I feel like they need a player like that, but it's convenient if you're a Josh Downs guy because now
23:36you'll get to see, could he be that player that we all thought he could be?
23:40So I'm excited to see if he takes that opportunity and runs with it.
23:44I think A.D. Mitchell traded himself when he fumbled the ball out of the back of the end zone.
23:50That's fair. I think that was an emotional trade by the Colts.
23:54Still a good player, but it is good he's out of the picture.
23:57It's good Pittman's out of the picture. Something I haven't heard a lot of people talk about as somebody who's also very
24:04big on Josh Downs too is there was a certain level of duplicativity.
24:08I don't know if that's the right word. I'm going to make it now.
24:12Redundancy between Pittman and Downs. And I know they're very different in size and stature and Downs profiles more as a true slot, unlike Pittman.
24:19But Pittman last year, ton of short to intermediate routes, high volume type of guy.
24:24And that's the type of role Downs can play.
24:26It's the type of role he has played out of the slot.
24:30Hopefully he can do it out of two wide receiver sets as well.
24:34But I mean, everything the last couple months with Alec Pierce's health especially has, in my opinion, rocket-ship, rocket-ship the value of Josh Downs out.
24:41Yeah, I think the Wandel comp as well, I just can't get over.
24:45Just again, because we've seen Daniel Jones really love a player like that when he hasn't had any other options, you know?
24:51Right. But I think the answer right now is probably Warren and Downs in your draft.
24:56Those are the two names that I'm most comfortable with.
24:59Well, I want to shift gears here. And I think this episode's all been about true values, guys that we feel very
25:05confident are going to return on ADP. I want to propose someone here that's going later.
25:10To be honest, I'm not super confident will return on ADP, but it's a shot I'm willing to take.
25:16And that is Matthew Golden as the wide receiver 55 off the board according to Fantasy Pro's consensus rankings.
25:21I just find myself willing to take that shot, especially as we move into the summer here.
25:26I'm becoming increasingly bullish. And it does have to do with the potential that he has as a player, but it has
25:33more to do with the situation in Green Bay and the receiver room as we head into 2026.
25:38The biggest frustration that I've had, and I think that everyone's had with all of these Matt LaFleur's offense for years and
25:45years now has been just how they rotate receivers.
25:47Romeo Dobbs was the only wide receiver on this team who even played over two thirds of snaps in games where he was active last year.
25:55And now he's out of town. They also traded Dontabian Wicks, who did get serious playing time the last few seasons.
26:01And they didn't do anything to replace him or Dobbs for that matter.
26:05It's more or less the same guys that have been there, aside from, of course, Dobbs and Wicks, like I mentioned.
26:11So now all of a sudden, you have this receiver room in Green Bay where you know the guys who are going to be consistently on the field.
26:19It'll be Christian Watson, of course, whose ADP is much higher.
26:23And then Jaden Reed and Matthew Golden, predominantly all playing three wide receiver sets.
26:27Maybe we see a little bit of Sabian, but I don't think that'll be, I don't think he'll be a huge part of the offense.
26:34And then you get two out of the three of those guys in two receiver sets.
26:39Just philosophically to me, I think it makes sense to take a shot on Golden because he is the cheapest of those three.
26:46But now let me explain why I think he also just, as a player, has incredible upside and talent.
26:51First of all, the draft capital, we talk about that as one of the most predictive things we can look at.
26:57He was a first round pick for a reason.
27:00And he was drafted by the same regime who, for what it's worth, is very incentivized to make this work.
27:06Some people are saying Matt LaFleur is coaching for his job.
27:09They're very incentivized to make Matthew Golden work in this offense.
27:12And he did show flashes last year, although it did feel like a disaster overall.
27:17He's pro football focuses, 39th highest grade receiver among receivers with at least 40 targets.
27:21And I know that's not super high. I know that's not super impressive, but I think it's better than most people would expect.
27:28It's certainly higher than I would have expect. And it's significantly higher than Jaden Reed.
27:32He was also eighth in the NFL last year in contested catch rate among wide receivers with at least 40 targets.
27:39So you know he has the potential for those highlight reel types of plays.
27:43Speaking of which, we saw in the playoffs, that's where the true potential was shown.
27:47Granted, limited sample size, just one game against the Bears in that lone playoff loss they had last season.
27:53But when it mattered most, he posted by far his best performance of the season at four receptions, 84 yards, and a touchdown.
28:00The touchdown is, I don't even think hyperbolic to say, one of the most impressive touchdowns I've ever seen in my life.
28:06The number of tackles he broke on that play.
28:09Again, it's somewhat anecdotal, small sample size, but it shows the talent.
28:12So with all that said, is he a lock to hit on his ADP?
28:16Like I mentioned with Jacobi Myers or some of these other guys we've talked about today.
28:21No, of course not. It's far from a lock.
28:24But to me, this one is all about upside.
28:26With an ADP of 137, I'm willing to take the shot on that upside.
28:30Yeah, I mean, personally, I really like Matthew Golden coming out of Texas.
28:34It's so interesting because there is, the Packers have been this team that have been very, their identity has been very clear in the past two years, right?
28:43They've had really good defense relative to the NFL and they've had a really good run game.
28:48And they haven't really thrown the ball much. I mean, this is why I've always been out on Jordan Love, just, he's not throwing the ball enough.
28:56There's not a high enough passing rate there. But with Micah Parsons coming off a serious injury, right?
29:01With now there's no Dobbs, you mentioned no Wicks.
29:03What happens if Watson goes down? We got Kraft, who I love coming off a serious injury.
29:08So I've always felt like Matthew was this really talented player that was kind of just being bottled up, bottled up a little bit, you know?
29:16It's not, they're not anywhere near the same player, but, you know, Burden is stepping into new opportunities as a year two player.
29:23It's not like you could point to what he did last year and be super excited about it from like historically talking
29:29about rookie, what rookie receivers have done. But what really stood out to me, and I know it's not a quantifiable thing,
29:36is when Pat Sertan faced him last year, this was, I can't remember, it was the back half of the season, week 10 onwards.
29:43I don't remember specifically what week, but one of the reporters asked him, so what do you think about this kid, Matthew Golden?
29:50And basically, I'm not quoting it directly, but he said something along the lines of, oh, he's got it.
29:55Like, just wait. It's there. I promise you it's there.
29:58He's got it. It's going to click. He's going to be a dangerous receiver.
30:02If you guys know the average separation score from fancy points data that was going around, they call it the ask or whatever.
30:09He's a really good separator right now. He needs to work more versus like zone coverage than versus man.
30:15But when you're getting that high amount of praise, and I did like his film coming out of Texas, I think that
30:21there, he's one of these like post-hype sleepers. He was going what, like seventh round last year?
30:26Now there's a clear path to actually producing. So I think it's a good pick for sure.
30:31It's not a name. It's a name that I liked a lot last year.
30:35It's not a name that I've thought too much in depth about this year, but I think he's worth discussing.
30:41And it's probably because we're not talking about it because Watson got extended, Reed got extended, and we're all like, well, those are the guys.
30:49But I mean, you're not going to extend a second year player.
30:52It's just, he can still ascend. Yeah, Mello, we just talked about this with Derek Brown, about Christian Watson, about the moves that the Packers made speaks volumes.
31:00And we've been so worried about this Matt LaFleur wide receiver carousel.
31:04And it's like, you kind of don't have the bodies to do it anymore.
31:08So it's like, let's see what these guys got.
31:11And like, I thought in the short flashes you got of Matthew Golden last year, I was impressed.
31:16And it's very funny. I was just looking at like the rankings and he's so close to a guy like Jacoby Myers
31:23that I think this is one of those guys that it kind of depends how your draft's going.
31:28Do you need a safer guy? Go with someone like Jacoby Myers.
31:31You know what you're going to get. Or do you go with a guy like Matthew Golden that is a really fun
31:38lottery ticket flyer that does not have a safe floor, but that's also what fantasy football is all about.
31:43For sure. Why can't he be Jameson Williams to that offense at some point in his career?
31:48So. I don't know how we're just mentioning all these like NFC North guys, Burton, Jameson, Matthew Golden.
31:54And make the connection somehow, right? And just to play devil's advocate too, like I'm certainly not projecting Matthew Golden is going
32:00to lead this team in receiving yards or anything like that.
32:03But I'd say going into this upcoming season, it's more likely that Golden has a huge breakout and leads this team in
32:10the major receiving metrics than people would have perceived for Christian Watson to do last year.
32:15Granted, he only played half the season, but over the back half of the season, Christian Watson was incredible.
32:20He struggles to stay on the field. Like you mentioned, what if he isn't healthy?
32:25You know, what if he isn't there? Or even if he is, this receiver room has been so unpredictable for years and
32:31years now, not only because of the rotation that we talked about, but just because there's been a new leader in yards
32:38or receptions or whatever stat you want to look at year over year now.
32:42Jaden Reed was being ranked as like a top 15 dynasty receiver just two years ago.
32:47So things can change quick. I think he has a good chance to be one of these waiver wire pickups at some
32:53point where everyone's really excited because an injury happened.
32:56Not that I want that to happen in Green Bay, but those guys just can't stay healthy.
33:01So yeah, a hundred percent. All right. You boys want to get into our final player?
33:05Let's do it. Let's do it. Let's talk about someone absolutely disgusting.
33:09Let's go dumpster diving here and talk about Jalen Naylor.
33:12Wide receiver 61 off the board, according to Fantasy Pros consensus rankings.
33:15There were a lot of wide receiver names out in free agency this off season.
33:20In fact, there are still big wide receiver names out in free agency.
33:24And the Las Vegas Raiders made it a point and a concerted effort to land Jalen Naylor and give him a decent
33:30bag, three years, $35 million in this offense, give Fernando Mendoza a weapon.
33:34And I genuinely think there's a real path here for him to be the wide receiver one in Vegas.
33:40Of course, the real wide receiver one is Brock Bowers.
33:42I don't want to discount that. But when you consider the hopes we have for them to take a step forward here,
33:49this new Clint Kubiak offense, like what we expect for Mendoza when he gets on the field, I feel like the wide
33:55receiver 61 is a little bit disrespectful. And I get it.
33:59It's easy to be grossed out. And last year was awful.
34:02And the whole Geno Smith experience was tough. But Jalen Naylor was not as bad as people think.
34:07Jalen Naylor last year averaged 2.07 yards per route run against man coverage.
34:11He was third in average separation score lined up out wide in the entire NFL among receivers who ran 300 or more routes.
34:18And so for me, I see a speedy field stretcher with big playability.
34:22Last year ranked 7th in win rate on vertical routes.
34:25Give that guy to Clint Kubiak and we're drafting him as the wide receiver 61.
34:29I just think this is like a huge upside shot that you can get on a guy that people are just like,
34:36I like Bowers, I like Jenty, and then I'm calling it on this Raiders offense.
34:40Yeah, it's, he's one of those players I'm just ignoring for some reason.
34:44Maybe I need to look at him more intently.
34:46I mean, I don't blame you. I think the reason I'm ignoring him is because I just loved Jack Besch coming out.
34:53And I don't think there's room for more than like one receiver here to matter for fantasy because I think Bowers would just be so dominant.
35:01But I don't even, I'm not saying it's going to be Jack Besch.
35:04And then I have to look at Trey Tucker and think, well, he was actually pretty good last year.
35:10So maybe I should give him more respect because I'm, I'm maybe part of the problem as to why his ADP is so low.
35:17I think I'm just looking at it as like fake money, but to be fair, people kind of did the same.
35:23It wasn't the exact scenario, but kind of the same thing with Christian Kirk when he went to Jacksonville.
35:29People would have regretted not giving him any respect at all.
35:32Difference there. Kirk obviously had more production, but Naylor's, you're right.
35:35Like I know the behind the scenes metrics look good.
35:38The analytics look good. So I think he's just more of like a best ball target for me, you know, rather than like a managed, managed league thing.
35:47Cause I don't know when I could start him.
35:49He'll be really an interesting guy to watch as we go into training camp to see what the coach speak is around it.
35:56Because I think that I agree with you. The wide receiver room is very ambiguous and it does feel like you're going
36:02to pick out the one guy that's going to succeed for fantasy and the others are going to fail you.
36:08There are some receiver rooms that are going to be really vulnerable during preseason.
36:12When I say vulnerable, I mean like there's going to be so much volatility based off what happens in a preseason game.
36:19So like if Kirk Cousins gets one drive and Naylor has a touchdown or something, like you're going to see that, that ADP skyrocket for sure.
36:27Because we don't, none of us really know the answer to that one either.
36:31Yeah. One of these guys has to be a hit though.
36:34And I agree it's probably only one of them, but unless this offense is as bad as they were last year, which I would be stunned.
36:42Yeah. And Kubiak and just how bad they were last year.
36:45It's hard to imagine they could be that bad again.
36:48One of these guys has to hit, even if Brock Bowers eats, even if Ashton Jenty eats.
36:53It's not that one of these receivers has to be a star.
36:56I'd be shocked if any of them finish, you know, top 20 at receiver, but they're all going so late that one of them has to hit.
37:04And if Naylor's the guy you like, because some of the underlying metrics are there and because he is so cheap and
37:11he is the guy that the Raiders just paid this off season, I think that's more than a fair shot to take.
37:17For sure. Maybe John Jennings of this year. If that offense is better, it's obviously different, but you know, this really unattractive
37:24name that is going to be on the wave of wire, people are going to pick up.
37:29Only thing that concerns me is I think he'll have big weeks, but then you like pick them up.
37:34He just, I don't know, I could be wrong, but it feels like the guy off the wave of wire where you
37:41pick them up and then you regret it because he has three points then you drop him and then he has 12 points.
37:48That was kind of Trey Tucker last year, honestly.
37:50Yeah, that's true. That's true. And then we heard Gino Smith call him San Antonio Holmes and we're like, oh, this guy's going to be good.
37:58But yeah. Well, thank you guys so much for tuning in.
38:01Those are six great values that we are drafting everywhere right now.
38:05Of course, be sure to check out Zach on Fantasyland Football and Dynastyland Football.
38:09Zach, before we get out of here, you got anything to plug?
38:12No, I appreciate your mom and shout out to my wifey and outside of that, life's good.
38:17Hell yeah, that's the best answer we've ever gotten in that situation.
38:21All right, Mello, we miss anything? Nothing for me.
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