0:05>> One of the most important decisions for fantasy managers to make in 2026 is which player to select in the second
0:12round. It feels like one of the most loaded second round groups that we've seen in quite some time and we can't get
0:19things wrong here. We've got to get it right. There are league winners to be found in this range and there's always
0:25some busts. Uh Theo Greninger, RotoWire Fantasy Football, joined today by Mike Shope uh of of ADP Chasing uh of of the of the voice of the Buffalo
0:35Bills, of you name it. Mike is everywhere and Mike, you're also drafting. So, you're drafting a lot of high-stakes teams right now. You've
0:42really got a lay of the land ADP-wise and we're going to go from there. One thing we're going to talk about today is
0:47FFPC ADP. Uh so, one player that doesn't really apply as a second round target, but is certainly viable in any other
0:56format, whether it's NFFC, Sleeper, ESPN, you name it, is Brock Bowers. Are you in or out on Brock Bowers this year
1:05and do you think he's a transformative type selection inside of round two?
1:09>> I wouldn't dare to be out on Bowers, you know, with the friends I have, including yourself. Oh, yeah. I mean, oh, the
1:16humanity if you were out on Brock Bowers.
1:19But, I can see the argument that it doesn't have to smash, as they say.
1:26You know, it's still the Raiders.
1:28And last year was great. Everybody's sort of working on the premise that it has to just nowhere to go but up.
1:34And I suppose, I mean, you've got you've got an elite player in pretty much every capacity. So, I'm definitely not out.
1:42The whole thing comes down to how you want to build it and you don't go all the way, in my opinion, you don't go all
1:49the way to the end of the draft figuring out like, all right, well, here are the strengths and weaknesses around 14. So, I want to make sure I draft a
1:57receiver here and then you don't have to get that deep with that I think, but I think you do want to think about that
2:02through like round six.
2:04And this year for me, I've been more comfortable drafting running backs one or even one two and leaving tight end for the Harold
2:15Fannin, Kyle Pitts, Tucker Kraft crowd. Um, but you know, I have to say it once, you and I draft so much that you definitely don't want to
2:25same thing every time and I'm doing my best to make sure I don't get shut out on Bowers.
2:31I've done seven of the 350s at FFPC so far and I got Bowers twice at the nine, which feels pretty pretty good. I think
2:41as we go forward through the summer with everybody it seems, I mean, who isn't hyping him in fantasy football, you know, discourse that maybe nine is going
2:52to look like a great price eventually if it doesn't already.
2:55>> Yeah, I think nine won't hurt you and I think structurally in the FFPC, when you get access to Bowers there, it allows
3:01you to sort of punt tight end for many, many rounds and really get get catch up at running back and wide receiver
3:07through like sheer volume and upside bets. So, I I think that's a great way and I think when you talk about Bowers
3:13um and and sort of everybody's in on him, but it's like we look at like the two for twos. If I take Bowers here,
3:19it's the opportunity cost of me maybe passing up on a running back or a wide receiver that could have league winning
3:26value. Um, one one other thing about you, Mike, is like a lot of people who watch you in this fantasy football space
3:32associate you with ADP chasing. Um, you were the host of the deep end before that. Like, you've you've been doing a
3:39lot of fantasy football content. I certainly have you on as a guest, but you also are in Western New York and and
3:47in Upstate New York and anywhere else that the Bills are are relevant, you are known for WGR 550. So you you kind of
3:54see like both sides where you're hosting a super popular radio show, a daily show with the Buffalo Bills and then the
4:02fantasy football lens. So yeah, I think you're a unique perspective. One player who we're seeing occasionally falling into round two after sort of living in
4:11round one for many months is James Cook.
4:14I went on with with the ship chasing guys yesterday. We talked about James Cook as a value. His low in FFPC is like
4:21the 205.
4:22I think in the average draft he's probably going somewhere in the low first round, but let's talk about him as a second round value here. For me, if
4:32he's right there in the second, it feels like one of the easiest clicks there is to make. Last year we saw James Cook go
4:38for 1,600 plus rushing yards. We've seen how many touchdowns he's been able to score over the last two years. And he's
4:45like the focal point of one of the league's best offenses. As a Bills insider though, what are your thoughts on James Cook? And do you think we see
4:52anything different this year with Joe Brady, Pete Carmichael, maybe a chance that he catches more passes?
4:59>> I want to answer that question. I got to say first, not to so to speak untoot my own horn.
5:05I I'm not officially with the Bills. Our show has been the flagship station for many years of Bills broadcasts. It's not
5:13starting this year going forward evidently. But yeah, I mean the Bills are the lifeblood of our talk show. So I don't consider
5:21myself an insider, but maybe relatively speaking yes, because I talk about them at work every day.
5:27>> You're pretty locked in on the Bills, Mike. You're my You're my source of Buffalo Bills information for sure.
5:33>> I'm not the voice of the Bills, but I do talk about them a lot and I'm flattered by all the compliments you've given me
5:38talking about this over the years.
5:40I think that you know from our conversations I've been a very tough sell on Cook. I didn't really buy the premise out of college.
5:49He didn't really catch the ball. I thought he was brought here to catch the ball.
5:52Uh, they described him as a sub back right away. I think to Latavius Murray.
5:57Does that sound right when Cook was drafted?
5:59>> I think people couldn't really necessarily figure out what he was coming out of Georgia. It was always like a lot of teammates there.
6:06Um, obviously there was uh, there was we were sold on James Cook the being the pass-catching back. Um, it's really been
6:13a anything but thing. Uh, been in the 30s in terms of his his total catches the last 2 years despite sort of having
6:20like league-winning upside at where you're taking him in ADP.
6:24>> Right. He has been a confounding player for me. I've never really been in how he was no pun intended build by the team
6:32when he was drafted and he hasn't really shown the chops catching the ball. But, he set a franchise record in rushing
6:40touchdowns 2 years ago and led the league in rushing last year. All despite being somewhat undersized. I never really bought into him as a full-time
6:50player. He does come off the field on third down still and this all happens.
6:55And you have Josh Allen who's running double-digit touchdowns in on on his own anyway on top of that. So, it's really
7:03bizarre to me how this could have been possible.
7:06Um, not that he couldn't have been good value or a good pick where he has gone the last couple of years. Now,
7:13this is when it gets scary for me. It's cuz like now fantasy football is ready to proclaim James Cook as a first-round
7:20draft pick and I just think when you have Achane there and even I mean, there's a group of running backs six or eight guys that go between 10 and
7:2920. Christian McCaffrey for starters and then into Hampton and Walker and Chase Brown and Barkley. Like, I don't know. I don't want to get shut out on Cook, but
7:40I'm stubborn. I've kind of kind of always been standing in this one place where I'd rather have somebody else.
7:45And we're 1 year older.
7:47He's been able to stay on the field.
7:50Also, like for his size, that's pretty for any running back, that's pretty good. He's been very durable. So, I'm still more of a bet against going into
7:582026, but it's not because of any insight particular to the Bills. And I do think, as you brought up in your
8:03original question, there is the potential for more passing for more targets.
8:09Um I think the Bills want to if they're if they're plotting out this off-season the way I think they should be.
8:17And I think the DJ Moore trade is an indication that this might be right.
8:21Is what they want to be better at in 2026 is getting the ball down the field.
8:26When you think about Shakir, I just talked to Warren Sharp recently on my radio show, and he brought up just like
8:32historically incredible stats on Shakir for how short the air yards are on his targets. Like the worst or the I don't
8:41want to say the worst, the shortest in 25 years in the league.
8:45Last year was Shakir. They threw the ball short a lot. Allen got hit a lot and got sacked more often last year than
8:52usual. So, maybe that makes way for Cook and sort of a different design.
8:57Um I don't know exactly if that perfectly matches with the Shakir point.
9:02But, you know, Cook is probably not going to catch fewer passes. And if he ever >> [snorts] >> gets the benefit of the doubt to play on
9:08third downs, then look out. I mean, there there's where you really could see a spike.
9:13>> Yeah, I I think you you sold it. And And it is a sort of a there are other appealing running backs, but I know with
9:19James Cook, sort of what we're getting.
9:21I think last year in terms of like the volume department, uh it was shockingly high volume. Like years ago we talked
9:27about like the snap share for James Cook. And you know, basically they were using him in certain ways where they're mixing in a lot of guys. And last year
9:34they still mixed in a lot of guys, but his like touches per snap were absurd.
9:39Went for over I think it was over 340 total touches for James Cook. So, I just I just look at it and I'm just like a
9:46rational coaching department where you get this new voice over here and I I understand that Joe Brady and Pete Carmichael are kind of cut from the same
9:54cloth. They have sort of the same same background, but it's what how could this offense look different? And I think most
10:00people are gravitating towards DJ Moore's involvement. And I think DJ Moore is going to be a significant source of like target share for the wide
10:08receivers.
10:09I think Dalton Kincaid healthier this year and you bring up Shakir who's been like this YAC guy cuz he kind of has to
10:16be a YAC guy when you're throwing to the throwing the ball so short.
10:18>> Four yards.
10:19>> James Cook just get James Cook out in space and a few extra passes. Like we're talking about it's such a low bar. He
10:27was at 33 catches last year. If we could get him like one and a half more catches per game, it's not like we're talking
10:34about reinventing the wheel here. It's just getting the ball in his hands a little bit more in creative ways that I
10:39do think that he's a dark horse RB1 overall candidate because a lot of the guys we're going to talk about also available at the running back
10:48spot in his range, they're not on offenses that are quarterbacked by Josh Allen and we have sort of some question marks with some of these guys. But James
10:58Cook I think I'm going to when he's in round two, I'm I'm I'm hitting that button whenever I can get access and I'm
11:04considering him when I'm sitting at like the 110 and I don't like the options around me. I think James Cook's a fine
11:10way to start it. So, >> Okay.
11:11>> we'll continue our James Cook discourse throughout the years until he falls off, Mike.
11:15>> I know and who knows when that'll actually happen if it ever does. Maybe he'll never not be great. Um two quick
11:22points. One, I can tell you from my you know, experience in the market, overwhelmingly the fans want to see the
11:32Bills lean more heavily into Allen.
11:35Which necessarily means less into Cook.
11:38How can you have an MVP quarterback and not be able to throw the ball down the field? Like it doesn't make sense to the
11:43fan base and mostly we've been clamoring for better wide receiver, you know, options for years. And we'll see if DJ Moore is that. I have my questions. Um
11:53and secondly, that this is another point that Warren Sharp made.
11:57The schedule is pretty rough on the Bills and they might be in a in more game scripts where they have to chase
12:03the game or they have to throw the ball more and that could be good for Cook again if he's on the field and they're
12:10throwing dump offs to him. You know, that in in theory you kind of think like Allen takes off on those plays, but
12:17maybe those can become passes to the running back like bad teams do.
12:21And if they're in those kind of game scripts, you know, that could be good for him in that way conceivably, but
12:27also bad for the rushing stuff because, you know, they're going to be playing Look at how they start. Houston, Detroit, Chargers, New England, Rams.
12:38They could be in shootouts. They've had a huge turnover on defense and if their defense isn't good, I don't know if
12:44that's good for Cook.
12:46>> Yeah, it'll be interesting to see. Um and I I think with with Buffalo, I understand the schedule, but they're still a an awesome football team.
12:53They're still the favorites in their division and we're very used to seeing Buffalo win year in, year out. So I I I think there's there's a lot of
13:02appealing traits to Cook where he's going at in the draft. And if you want to see where I have James Cook ranked,
13:07make sure you check out rotowire.com.
13:09You're going to get access to all of my articles, all of my rankings, and some of the amazing tools. I I know FFPC
13:16managers, they love this sort of like any sort of edge.
13:19Uh the the team sync we have over at rotowire, I was loading in a bunch of my dynasty teams from FFPC last night. It
13:25is absolutely awesome some of the work they put in. Definitely highly recommend you check that one out. Use code Theo Theo15 for 15% off. Um let's continue
13:33talking about it. Let's go off show sheet. Let's kind of like bounce to another question. We just talked about James Cook. You mentioned the that group
13:41of running backs. So, let's take James Cook out of the equation. Let's go ahead and throw Kenneth Walker, Zach Charbonnet, Chase Brown, Devon Achane,
13:51and Saquon Barkley all into one cluster.
13:55We're seeing Zach Charbonnet more and more often going in round one. So, I think he's sort of separated himself from this group. But again, Walker, Zach
14:01Charbonnet, Chase Brown, Devon Achane, Saquon Barkley. All of these guys will go in the second round in almost every single FFPC or NFFC draft. And they're
14:12probably going to go in the second round when you get to the ESPN and Sleeper leagues drafting late in August. Who is
14:18your preferred back or backs among this group of players?
14:22>> Brown would be my number one.
14:25Not not by miles. I mean, it's close.
14:27Obviously, there's things to like about all of them.
14:30But I'm getting a sense that it's sort of the year of the Bengals. And I think last year, not not for a Super Bowl
14:36necessarily, but that they're they won't you know, I think they should be a playoff team. They're favored in 15 of 17 games because of their schedule. As
14:45we talk here in the preseason, that's kind of nuts.
14:48And Brown does catch the ball.
14:50I mean, their offense is pretty undeniable. Everybody's back. Literally, everybody on that offense is back including coaches, I saw from Joe
14:58Goodberry. So, I think Brown the the conversation about whether he can hold up or what can his workload can be has
15:06kind of stopped. It's been decided. And I don't think there's any reason to feel like that that's going to not be
15:12positive.
15:13So, he's the one I think he's the one of the five maybe you can get away with waiting if you're picking like fifth.
15:21Maybe you can get Chase Brown slide at 208 or 207, somewhere in that range, where you are less likely to get that
15:29with Hampton. I think I think Hampton's fine. I'm not sure how good he is, you know, just hearing everybody kind of
15:35weigh in on that. Um Walker, you've got durability questions, and I don't know. Like that seems a little bit too obvious for me when you take a
15:47Patrick Mahomes team and drop the Super Bowl MVP on the field, and okay, this is the year, what do they just lean into
15:52running back? Uh I'm sort of mid on him.
15:57Uh Barkley, I'm just playing against his age again. One of these years we're going to be right betting against the Barkleys and the Henrys and McCaffreys,
16:04you know. So, he comes in last for me.
16:08And there was one more, Achane.
16:12Achane is a really interesting one because that could be that could be the moon, or that could be just their offense is
16:19inept. And they take him off the field at some point. They're They've paid him, they're preserving their their asset.
16:26So, I'm I'm a little bit skittish when it comes to him.
16:29>> I agree with you. I think Barkley is the one that I'm drafting the least, and I think it's sort of like an agist thing
16:35for me. I I understand Barkley could have a big bounce-back season. I just haven't been clicking that button. I do have some
16:42some like exposure to Barkley in dynasty, and those it's sort of like, you know, a ride into the sunset with Saquon Barkley on those teams. Um but
16:50for redraft, it's just there's too much appealing upside there. I think I'm a little higher on Walker than you are, a
16:56little higher on Hampton, but I get your enthusiasm for Chase Brown. And it's funny because Chase Brown if sort of people kind of view him as a it feels
17:05like a structural pick almost, and like a safe pick, but the guy went up in receptions last year up to 69
17:12receptions. So, like we're hoping for James Cook to get 50, and Chase Brown was at nearly 70 last year.
17:20Um he's had 11 touchdowns in back-to-back seasons, and last year we saw him get to 300 touches. And Cincinnati basically told you everything
17:28about Chase Brown and their confidence level in him by their lack of moves this past off-season. There was like not even
17:35any rumors about them bringing another back. So, you're looking at guys like Taj Brooks and Samaje Perine as his competition. It's like non-existent. And
17:45like you said, if Joe Burrow holds up and Cincinnati looks like a team kind of let that's on like a revenge tour,
17:51they've added guys on defense, and I think that the AFC North is is absolutely at do Should Should we say it's probably
17:59theirs to lose this year? I think >> Well, I'm sorry. I wouldn't I mean, Baltimore is still Baltimore, I think, but the AFC
18:08North play the AFC South and the NFC South. I mean, that's the jackpot.
18:12>> That's That's 100%.
18:14>> [clears throat] >> So, I mean, if the if the Browns are still the Browns and Pittsburgh is, you know, lame
18:20as usual, then yeah, I think Baltimore and Cincinnati could be a a fun a fun ride this year. And they meet in week
18:2617, by the way.
18:28>> Love that one. Love a little lot. Mike Mike Shope always thinking about week 17 game stacking for your for your best
18:34ball rosters. Know it Know it in the back of the back of your head that week 17 schedule by now.
18:39Um let's talk about wide receiver. Let's go a little bit like guys who have been at the top of the food chain, wide
18:45receiver one overalls. These guys often times go in round one, but you'll also see them occasionally at the beginning of round two. If you're OTC at the 201
18:55or the 202, and Justin Jefferson and CD Lamb are both on the clock, which one of those guys do you feel more confident
19:02could put up a smash season like we've seen from them in years past?
19:07>> This one for me is easy, and and always Lamb.
19:11I took Lamb in one of these Gorillas at 107 just to, you know, vary it a little bit.
19:19I don't know. I don't see how that doesn't work if he's healthy and Prescott is healthy.
19:24Um I know Pickens, I mean they've had different wide receiver twos on that team. There's the Ferguson piece, but Lamb just always hits and Jefferson for
19:34once didn't. And Kyler Murray has had a way of being really annoying to his teammates and his coaches and to fantasy
19:41players where we we learned last year and I don't really mean this is a as an insult, but we learned last year that Justin
19:49Jefferson is not above getting annoyed.
19:52After all those years where we just like, well, he's undeniable. Nick Mullens, Josh Dobbs, doesn't matter. We got to JJ McCarthy
20:03and that was horrendous. And then we ended up at Max Brosmer. They did actually win I think their last five games, Minnesota, but when no one was
20:11watching. But I don't know. Jefferson is as good as he is. I'm certainly not saying he's not great, but there there
20:17was an outcome last year where all right, well, I guess it's not just completely foolproof. And Lamb to me is closer to foolproof, so I don't want to
20:26get left out on Jefferson entirely, but it's always Lamb in that situation for me.
20:31>> It's an interesting one. It's really close for me. I'm actually slightly ahead on Jefferson. I think we could have a big bounce back season for him
20:38because like a lot of people talk about Kyler Murray and how he's only had really one wide receiver be dominant and
20:44it was DeAndre Hopkins early on, but can't we give the Trey McBride like breakout with Murray like a little bit of credit for first read rate. We also
20:54found out the other thing about Murray is he doesn't even even if a guy is not the first read, um he'll force feed it
21:02to like his top option. Trey McBride talked about how he was targeted a lot of like plays where he was like the
21:07second or third option and Murray would just force it in there to him. I think this is going to be kind of the case. I
21:12don't think Murray's going to necessarily elevate anyone else in Minnesota, but I do think like self-preservation as being the starting quarterback and what can I get in 2027
21:23in terms of my long-term like career. It this is it for Murray. Like if he doesn't have a solid outing in
21:28Minnesota, the way that he's going to be viewed by general managers is going to be significantly different heading in the 2027 off season, especially with
21:36what we think will be a deep quarterback class where maybe five or six NFL teams will end up with first round
21:42quarterbacks. So, I agree. Murray's going to Murray's going to just hyper target Jefferson. I think they're going to be a bounce back. And then,
21:48I don't know. I think the thing with Pickens and Lamb, Lamb has these moments where he looks completely unstoppable on an NFL field and it's like Dak Prescott
21:57targets him. He gets these double-digit target games and he's just cooking these these defensive backs. And we the last time we saw CeeDee Lamb fully healthy,
22:05it was uh 2020 uh 2023 and he played the full schedule and he was the wide receiver one overall. It was like 23
22:11points per game. But I do think Pickens is this like ascending talent who averaged 18 points per game last year.
22:18And there's the teammate target competition for Lamb, even though it's an explosive offense, is way more significant than Jefferson. So, I mean
22:27again, it's splitting hairs. Right. Both of these guys are are great values, but I I think maybe I'm a little Jefferson
22:33on this one. Let us know in the comments uh who you are into between Jefferson and Lamb. Am I crazy on this one? Is
22:40Mike correct on this one? It's definitely an interesting one, but it's sort of a champagne problem if they're there for you in round two. Talk about
22:47the other wide receivers we're seeing in round two, where A.J. Brown has steamed up significantly. We're starting to see him in in the NFFC, which is a start
22:55three wide receiver format, PPR format.
22:58Uh he's going inside the first round occasionally. He's flipped Drake London on Underdog, so he goes slight right ahead of Drake London on Underdog. And
23:07then FFPC, they've continually been side by side, but there's some very sharp money people, Mike, that we know and respect who have a ton of skin in the
23:15game that are putting a lot of like clicking that button on A.J. Brown over and over again right now. Between A.J. Brown, Drake London, where are you
23:24at on one or the other and are you having exposure to these two players?
23:30>> Absolutely. Yes. That's really close. Um I accept the Brown hype, you know, just it makes sense.
23:40If you believe in May and the year he just had makes it hard not to, to put A.J. Brown on his team and they paid up
23:47to get him probably is worth a lot of trust here. Um I really like London, too.
23:53That's mid-second. I mean, Brown is that now, also.
23:57Um how would I decide between two? This is tough cuz you when you and I talk, it's always a matter of like exposures, which
24:04is I think I don't I don't know what that does to people who are watching. I guess if you're if if you're
24:10>> [clears throat] >> It does. If you're watching RotoWire, maybe then you do, too. That's That's the premise I usually work with.
24:17Um and then, you know, you kind of want to end up with a decent share of both guys.
24:23But I I feel like the the only difference between the two cuz I like Tua, also. I feel like it with Stefanski up top could could really
24:34hit.
24:35So, there's like upside. I love drafting Pitts, you know, Bijan is Bijan. I mean, I'm not questioning the Falcons. Maybe I
24:42should be a little bit more than I am.
24:44But it's it's A.J. Brown and his knees, you know, it's like why the Rams didn't want him. It's the the stuff you hear
24:49about that. New England What's the argument? Uh New England had to make some kind of bet like this this off season. They had the money,
25:00they have the quarterback, they went to the Super Bowl. I mean, what a kind of a fluke, but they did it and they had they
25:06really they had to do the Josh Allen Stefon Diggs thing where like, all right, let's go get a stud and they did
25:12that. He was available. He was the best guy out there and they did it.
25:18But, I think just questions about him physically still do linger.
25:23So, I mean, all else equal one one draft, I think I would pick London, but Brown would be close behind. Brown would come
25:30in for me over I mean, Rashee Rice.
25:33Um maybe Nico Collins if I'm going to call A.J. Brown's durability in question, then I have to do that for Collins, too.
25:41I think maybe Brown would be next, but London 52-48.
25:46>> Yeah, I'm London and I actually have London ahead of ADP, but I also have A.J. Brown ahead of ADP. Like, I'm very
25:51high on both of these guys. I think it sort of lends itself towards and I'm going to have Pat Corrain on to talk
25:58about hero RB strategy right here on this podcast. Make sure you're following Yeah, your your buddy Pat Corrain. There you go. Another ship chaser just like
26:05yourself or ADP chaser, Mike. I guess >> The original.
26:08>> Yeah, the original.
26:09So, we're going to talk about it cuz I I think I'm very open-minded to the hero RB strategy where this year I can get an
26:15access to Chaser Nakua in round one and I can recover with a round two running back or I can draft a running back
26:23inside round one and get access to a guy like Drake London or A.J. Brown for that matter. I think I would the way I would
26:29sort of describe it, Drake London back-to-back years 16 plus points per game. He was averaging 19 points per game last year before he went down with
26:37an injury. Of course, he returned to the field, but it was sort of a mixed bag of production at the end, but he was 19
26:42points per game last year. He's a 30% target share guy. No wide receiver two target competition. Certainly, Kyle Pitts will be targeted a lot from the
26:50tight end position and Bijan from the running back position, but I'm betting on sort of Zachariah Branch, the rookie third-rounder, being like the number two
26:58most targeted wideout. He's definitely a cap target upside guy. So, London to me could end up having like that special special year where maybe he averages 20
27:07points per game. He's young. He's a big outside alpha.
27:11Tons you can do with him in the passing game. But, A.J. Brown also could just lead the NFL in touchdown catches this
27:17year. He could have a ton of target I mean, A.J. Brown, even though we're talking about a player sort of in the
27:23tail end of his career, could end up being 160-plus targets. I think not enough talk about Drake May as sort of
27:30like a kingmaker type talent at quarterback where I love Drake May this year. He's my QB2, and I think there's not enough discourse
27:37about like everybody's okay drafting Drake May as like the QB5, but there's I'm not hearing any fantasy analyst talking him up saying like this is the
27:45league winner at quarterback this year.
27:47So, I think Drake May, like the whole reputation of he likes to spread the ball around, he liked to have spread the
27:53ball around until he had A.J. Brown. I think everything is going to be sort of centered. So, I think both of those guys
27:57are really good. You mentioned Nico Collins. We're seeing him like right around that two-three turn. I've a little bit lower on Nico Collins versus
28:07everyone else, and I haven't mixed in too much of him. Is that going to hurt me not to have exposure to Nico Collins
28:13at the end of round two?
28:15>> I don't know.
28:16I mean, obviously there's a lot of upside with him.
28:19The sense I get from hearing analysts talk about Houston is that Aaron Schatz is as I continue to name-drop on this
28:27show, but you just mentioned Pat, so it's my turn.
28:30Uh Aaron has Houston as the number one team in the AFC.
28:34And if if that happens, is that through Nico Collins, or is that through their defense, their pass rush, and 13 David
28:42Montgomery falling in the end zone touchdowns? Feel like it's more of that. I mean, Stroud has a lot to prove still. So,
28:50Collins can be he can pay you off if you're drafting him in that range. I know a lot of people are, but I'm not in a big hurry.
28:58It's tough the the front end of the draft if we're talking about strategy there. I mean, you're almost always seeing running backs go
29:07one and two with um Gibbs and and Robinson, but it's interesting after that. I much prefer like the 10-11 range for my
29:17construction stuff cuz then I mean, you're with is that is that Rashee Rice?
29:21Is that Nico Collins? Is that Breece Hall? In our Hard Way draft, Darren Armani was at the one. He took Etienne
29:28at the 212.
29:29>> Yeah.
29:30>> Like so, I think >> Not Darren but not not Darren and Darren will listen to this. Not not your best
29:35pick there, Darren. Not your best pick.
29:37>> Well, I'm not here to question him. It's just it well, yeah, I guess I just did.
29:40>> Yeah, you did. Yeah, it's okay. It's okay.
29:43>> anything can work, right? I mean, it's and that was a a month ago or more, right? I mean, think things have shifted
29:49somewhat since then. I don't know. I think it's a trickier end when you're picking in the front and players like Collins and Rice. I mean,
29:57we're talking about Rice like he's a sure thing. Well, who knows if he can stay out of trouble. He's had a bad
30:04injury. And again with that offense, we're just kind of giving them all the benefit of the doubt even though I mean,
30:10they were 6 and 11 >> Yeah.
30:12>> last year and Mahomes got hurt at Christmas. It wasn't like he was hurt for half the season.
30:17So, I don't know. There's there are a lot of questions in that. It's almost like in my mind, picks 10 to 20 are the
30:23same.
30:25Almost completely flat. Anybody you want from 10 to 20 is like the same bet. And then maybe 21 to 30 is the same bet mostly.
30:35And that's not great if you're picking, you know, to the on the left end of that or it's it's not ideal at least.
30:41>> I see, I don't mind the I don't mind like a top three or four pick right now.
30:45I feel like you get access to Gibbs or Robinson. I'm on Gibbs, but Robinson's my my two. And then or you get a Jamar
30:52Chase, Puka Nacua at the three-four. And I like that two-three turn area. I I do [clears throat] agree with you that
30:59like you get some value at like that three-four turn when you're like And I do feel like there's a falloff when when
31:06you're picking at the the the at like the early part of round one, you're not necessarily loving life when you get to
31:12like the fourth and fifth round. Whereas I think there's a little bit of a tier break. A lot of times when you get to
31:17that 36, 37 in FFPC, it feels like you're going to find somebody really good there.
31:23But I'm open-minded to drafting in multiple spots this year.
31:28I'm sure I'm going to be covering like the ideal spot to draft from for some of you people in leagues with like Kentucky
31:33Derby style systems, but it's an interesting it's an interesting conversation to be had.
31:39>> Well, well, you Theo, you and I I I know from Hardway and then from my own drafts, you and I each have drafts where
31:44we picked Zay Flowers in the late fourth.
31:47>> Yep.
31:48>> And now that's a name you'd mention probably in the late third.
31:52And you know, the the options there are Pickens and Flowers and McConkey and Burden and Ebuka. Like you've got so many different ways to go.
32:01Um but you know, it was nice getting Flowers late fourth for each of us that one time.
32:05>> Yeah, we were trendsetters. We really we really paced the pace. Yeah, absolutely.
32:08Absolutely. We influenced everyone. One player that we've been used to seeing like it's a a weird conundrum. You talk about Devon Achane.
32:17And Devon Achane was last year 1,300 plus rushing yards. He had 20 over 20 points per game. He had another season with
32:24nearly 70 catches. But drafters are pushing him down to round two. And I get it. There's Malik Willis. It's a Bobby
32:31Slowik running the offense. And Vegas says four and a half wins. We're seeing the same thing though with Trey McBride where drafters are fading Trey McBride
32:39in FFPC. I I think it's sort of like unheard of for FFPC, which is a 1.5 point tight end premium, for a player
32:48like Trey McBride who just set the NFL record for the most catches ever by a tight end. He averaged over 18 points
32:55per game in regular PPR leagues, and now FFPC managers are like, "No, I don't want him. I'm pushing him down in a round two. I'm I'm fading Trey
33:03McBride." I've had really smart people tell me that they think Trey McBride could be like the tight end four this year. I I'm not there. I think Brock
33:12Bowers for me one, McBride two, and then Loveland very close to him at three. I but I'm open-minded to Trey McBride,
33:19especially when he's in round two of FFPC. I get all the downside. I get it could be Carson Beck. I get the offense
33:25could look a little different, but I have back-to-back years where Trey McBride has 100 plus catches. He's got this massive contract insulation, and
33:33he's just awesome. Are are people missing the script here, or are you seeing this the arguments, and are you also sort of fading him when he's
33:42sitting there for you, like let's say it like the 204?
33:46>> I mean, I'm not I'm not going to try to beat that argument. The the bull case on McBride is tough to argue against.
33:53Um I just will say I think again for me it's more my taste this year to pick my tight ends in the ensuing rounds.
34:03Because you can get fallers, you can get I'm used to drafting FFPC where it's 1.5 per catch.
34:09And there's just like you can go 10 or 12 deep. You can get to Gadsden and not feel terrible about it. So, I mean, he's
34:16not going to be McBride almost for sure, but I just rather would pick one of those potential home run running backs
34:24or receivers in like if it's Jefferson and McBride or Lamb or McBride, I would always take the receiver and then try to
34:29figure tight end out. And you know, you have a lot of these teams where you get into a season and some
34:36late round tight end ends up being like a a star.
34:40Not a league winner necessarily, but somebody that really really helps you.
34:45And I mean, you can flex in that guy if you have McBride or Bowers on your team already. I would just rather not. I
34:51think By the way, I'm really curious about Marvin Harrison, who is completely getting slept on in drafts. And if they're competent, you talk about
35:01McBride and his contract and the draft capital. I mean, Harrison, don't they want to make that work if they can? If they have anybody, if it's
35:09Minshew even like week one for Arizona, couldn't that be possible?
35:14I I want to I I want to think that Harrison still has a bright future.
35:18Um definitely not a second round discussion point, but you know, I mean, if they're amazing, then they're both great picks. But
35:25they're going to win two games. They're favored to lose every single one of their games on the schedule. Obviously, that can be good
35:32for passing fantasy points, but um I don't know. It could also blow up.
35:37>> Yeah, it's interesting. And I think the way to kind of handle Trey McBride is even if you're if you're fading him in
35:42this sort of a format, getting him at getting access towards his tail end and and a shout out to our guy Darren Armani
35:48Fantasy Mojo. The low for like the last week in in these 350s is like the 206.
35:54You could potentially have a Bowers McBride team. McBride becomes a more interesting conversation when you look at like other formats where will you
36:03start seeing maybe Trey McBride falling into like the late third, early fourth and you've seen back-to-back 100 catch seasons. Um it's a really interesting
36:11one. And then we also, Mike, it's sort of that that I I I don't even know what tier to call them. It's like the
36:18non-elite fun tight tight end tier, the Tyler Warren, Harold Fannin, Tucker Kraft tier. That that tier seems really kind of like a potential edge pick this
36:28year and I'm sure I'll cover it in upcoming uh dis uh shows. Uh let's continue the conversation. We talked about uh Trey
36:37McBride. Let's talk about his teammate Jeremiah Love where I I was on with your guys over at Chip Chasing yesterday and I talked to them a
36:45little bit in the pre-show and I'm like I think one of my targets might end up becoming Jeremiah Love because I'm
36:52seeing NFFC drafters push him into the fourth round sometimes now and we're seeing these uh FFPC drafters who are also being like very cautious with
37:03Jeremiah Love. We talked about the apprehension with the Arizona offense, but Love has actually fallen into a third-round ADP. Technically he's the
37:1225th overall pick according to Fantasy Mojo. Um running back 13. But what that's caused is you're seeing these one-off type drafts in FFPC and that's
37:23of course a two-flex format. So you could you could potentially start four running backs in this format. And Jeremiah Love's low is the 309 now. For
37:31me like that's crazy to me. Like I get it.
37:35Jeremiah Love like the uh Tyler Allgeier's there. The offense could be bad, but we're talking about a guy who was the third overall pick who has
37:44Jahmyr Gibbs-like traits, who can catch the ball. He's a home-run hitter. He's an athletic specimen who can handle volume. Um and he's one of the best and
37:54I people hate when I'll say like, you know, try to rank these prospects like over the last 20 years. Let's say
37:58Jeremiah Love is one of the best running back prospects we've seen in the last 10 years, period. And I think people could
38:04handle that one, Mike. Um like are people being way too cautious with Jeremiah Love? Or you share these same sort of fears. You talked about
38:12McBride, uh but I don't know. It running back is also a scarce position uh in a sense and I think Jeremiah Love has so
38:20much more upside than maybe some of the guys behind him.
38:24>> Yeah, that's also really interesting staying with the Cardinals. Are people being too cautious? Maybe a little bit.
38:30I mean, there's some pretty provable commodities in that range. Kyren Williams would be another one. Josh Jacobs. Nobody ever really likes these
38:38guys on their efficiency stuff.
38:41>> Uh a some extension of talent. And Jeremaih Love comes into the league with all the talent. Maybe Bijan as a rookie
38:48or Gentry last year.
38:49>> Our fresher minds where you've got these highly touted running back prospects and then you maybe get [snorts] too excited and draft them
38:58early in fantasy drafts. I mean, wasn't Gentry a first round pick last year at times before he even played a a snap?
39:05And you know, that could be a little bit of There could be a little bit of scar tissue with that and therefore we're
39:12more cautious on Love, which could make him a a good good value, good buy. So, yeah. I mean, I certainly wouldn't be afraid to do it.
39:20>> Yeah, I I I'm writing a zero in hero RB targets list that's coming out over over at rotowire.com. I'm hoping to have that
39:28out sometime in the next week or two.
39:30And I have like a special section on Jeremaih Love for the fourth round to sort of like abandon ship and and click
39:38that button if he's there. And I think it's going to be like way more often that Jeremaih Love lives inside of round
39:43three. But we're seeing it in one high stakes format. We start seeing it in the other. A lot of the same drafters are in
39:50these these leagues and there's just no juice for for Love. I think you nailed the number one reason where Marvin Harrison Jr.
40:00Like drafting a wide a rookie wide receiver early on, it's always like the cautionary tale. The Ashton Gentry first round drafter last year, it's sort of
40:09the cautionary tale. But it feels like an overcorrection with Love to have him go late third. I I am comfortable taking
40:16Jeremaih Love when he's there at like the two-three turn.
40:20So, when I see him at 309, I'm like that's crazy to me. I wish I was in that draft. I wish I could build an FFPC team
40:27with a 309 Jeremiah Love. I think I could put a really fun one together. Uh we talked about a young running back.
40:32Let's talk about an old one. Derrick Henry, in or out on him this year?
40:36Occasionally goes somewhere in the late second, sometimes early third. He's just sitting there at that two-three turn.
40:43>> What's left to say? I mean, as long as you and I have known each other, we have the same conversation about Derrick
40:49Henry.
40:50And uh sure, sometimes, once in a while, maybe. I know I've I know I've done it.
40:56I know I've done it. I'm not going to tell you that I've never done it this year.
40:59But, it's just a little bit not How is it doesn't feel good? I guess it's how weird is that? Like, why shouldn't
41:10it feel good to draft Derrick Henry?
41:11What does he have to do? What does this What does this poor guy have to do to win guys like me over? I mean, really,
41:16what's left?
41:17>> He's got to not be 30 not be 33 years old. You know, that's really the long and short of it.
41:22>> I just feel a little bit duplicitous drafting Derrick Henry now after five years of not doing it at all. That's It
41:32just doesn't It doesn't feel It doesn't make me proud to sort of move over. You know, like if you play roulette or something, and five or six
41:41numbers in a row are red, and you've been betting black. Like, do you know I'll bet red cuz Oh, well, I guess I was
41:46wrong. And then it goes just That's a little bit how I feel with the older running backs. Like, I'm really not on
41:52Barkley.
41:54Um but, you know, I'm sure there are tapes of you and I having this conversation over the years, and I look
41:59like an idiot because year after year, Derrick Henry comes through. But, yeah, I mean, it I will say though it in that range, like we
42:07talked about before, I don't think there are for many options that are like that much sexier than him.
42:14Where you have to you just can't draft that Derrick Henry.
42:17I don't think it's like that. I think he definitely deserves the kind of respect where you could take him there and
42:24probably should at least sometimes.
42:27>> Yeah, I think it's sort of like Derrick Henry structurally makes a lot of sense when you draft like a Jamar Chase or a
42:33Puka Nacua. And I think Derrick Henry maybe maybe it's a flip of last season where his production is maybe more front-loaded. Where last year like a lot
42:42of those spike weeks happened at the very end and I think it's sort of the he was the league winner last year in in
42:47the playoffs. 33 years old. I mean, we keep harping on it. I feel like a couple years from now we're going to be talking
42:53about like 36-year-old Derrick Henry in round eight. Should we click that button? The guy seems like he's never going to fall off. He's an athlete He's
42:59just an athletic like miracle at this point. The guy is I mean, his off-season workouts are legendary. Shows no signs of slowing
43:08down whatsoever. And he's very durable as well. And they've talked about They've talked about using him in the screen game with Declan Doyle. So maybe
43:16we see a little bit of like creativity with Derrick Henry, too. So I like quick and yeah, go for it.
43:21>> The thing Theo I want from Baltimore selfishly because it's my favorite thing to see happen in a football game ever is
43:28Lamar Jackson to take off. And he has just stopped running.
43:32Like he just doesn't I don't know if it's permanent. There's a new coaching staff. Maybe that changes it. He really was not I mean, Josh Allen is a
43:39touchdown machine. Jackson is not.
43:41Jackson is not interested that often in running in goal-line situations. So when you have Derrick Henry, that contributes to that.
43:50But just because the moment where Lamar Jackson gets out is just the most exciting thing that happens in the NFL for me. And if he ever goes back to that
44:02and even mixes in more sort of RPO stuff that pays off for them. Go It's not like they have that much outside receiver talent. I
44:12mean, Andrews is older. I'd love to see that. Will that really notably or meaningfully cut into Henry? I don't know, but that's what I would love to
44:18see from the Ravens.
44:19>> Yeah, we had I well, I had Nelson Sousa on from FTN who does his fades list and one of the players that's on the fades
44:26list that he shared with our audience is Lamar Jackson. Make sure you tune into that episode if you haven't seen it. If
44:31you enjoy this kind of conversation with Mike Shope, you'll like that Nelson show a lot. Last player to talk about, my guy
44:36Colston Loveland. Uh, this is a fourth-round target if you're in a regular PPR league, but if you're in FFPC tight end premium, he's living in
44:45the middle to end of round two.
44:47I think he's got tight end one overall upside. If it's not a Bowers or McBride, I think that that uh, for me, Colston Loveland's the guy. So
44:56much to like about Ben Johnson, the play caller. So much to like about how Colston Loveland ended the season. Are you in or out on him as an FFPC target
45:05in this sort of tight end premium uh, setting at the end of round two?
45:09>> In.
45:10Again, that's a tough little section for me with the other options. So, I have one 350 that I picked second and went
45:20Robinson-Loveland to start. And those other tight ends that I do like, that next tier with Firkser and Kraft and Pitts tend to go on the right side.
45:29>> Yeah.
45:29>> So, you don't often see them in that fifth-sixth round range if you're drafting on the left. So, I think Loveland is a fine idea.
45:36>> Yeah, I'm with you. Structurally, he makes a ton of sense and it provides the upside. So, like you don't get jammed on
45:42tight end. You're never going to get access if you're picking at like the one or the two, you're never going to get
45:46access to Trey McBride. I don't think he's going to ever fall to that level.
45:49And you're now you're not getting any access to Tyler Warren. Uh, he's starting to go at like the end of round
45:54three, early round four. And then you talk about that pocket of guys where it's like like it's it's like we're sitting there and playing chicken and
46:03then somebody will pull the trigger on a craft or a fan in or a Pitts or a Laporta and then they all go in a row.
46:10So, you can't rely on those guys coming back to you. So, I'm with you. I think Loveland provides a whole lot to you and
46:17the upside case is phenomenal. The idea that I could get a Bijan Robinson, Colston Loveland and then any of these round three guys start
46:27is really pretty awesome. You could end up with a second running back or a high-end wide receiver to go with a
46:33great tight end and a great running back. Have a chance to make a lot of money. Mike, we might have to draft a
46:38team together at some point this summer.
46:40This was a lot of fun. Yeah, man. Let's Let's get that on the schedule.
46:43What Let me ask you this. Just one last question. You walk out of round one and round two. What's a dream scenario draft
46:50for you? Your first round pick, your second round pick.
46:54>> Well, I like drafting around pick 10.
46:56Like I said, 7 8 9 is a little bit too flat, but I think if you get past that McCaffrey, St. Brown section, then you
47:05can do a lot of interesting things. I mentioned I have a Lamb-London team in that tournament. That's fun. Then it's Kyren Williams, Breashaun Tuiton, like
47:13that. I would say ideally it's one of each though. It's not the tight end for me unless it's Bowers who if he makes it that long, which is
47:22rare.
47:23So, I would say Gente, Lamb in that 1 10 2 0 3. Something like that would be the best.
47:32>> There you go. And he's Mike Shope. Make sure you check him out on WGR 550 and also on ADP Chasing. Stick with us here
47:39at RotoWire. We're going to help you crush your fantasy leagues this season.
