VideoFrom Matt Harmon
Wide Receiver Sleepers To Take In Your Drafts This Year
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this video and kept the full transcript here for context.
14 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Jun 5, 2026
Published
Fri, June 5, 2026
5
Player insights
5
Players mentioned
Topics
George PickensJayden HigginsNico CollinsRyan FlournoyTank Dell
Player analysis
Player insights
George Pickens
NegativeValue4:02
On franchise tag with uncertain contract situation; Harmon estimates 90% chance Pickens plays for Dallas in week one but acknowledges non-zero trade risk given Pickens' personality and Cowboys' history of unexpected moves (Micah Parsons trade precedent); if traded, would create WR2 opportunity for Ryan Flournoy; contract negotiations with Cowboys don't always go to plan.
Insight pageJayden Higgins
NegativeDepth Chart7:06
Jayden Higgins is noted as a solid depth chart contributor in Houston's receiver room, further constraining opportunity for Jalen Nowell.
Insight pageNico Collins
NegativeDepth Chart4:33
Nico Collins is cited as a stud receiver in Houston's depth chart who limits opportunity for Jalen Nowell; C.J. Stroud performed best when Collins was healthy and active, establishing Collins as a priority target.
Insight pageRyan Flournoy
PositiveSleeper1:09
Matt Harmon's top deep sleeper WR with 180th overall ADP; high-tier athlete with strong athletic measurables that translated to film; showed ability to pop off when CeeDee Lamb missed time (Lions and Jets games); can win on big routes as Z receiver and in-breakers in Cowboys offense; Dak Prescott can rip the football over the middle; injury-based discount with path to WR2 upside if Lamb or Pickens miss time or if Pickens is traded.
Insight pageTank Dell
NegativeRole4:48
Harmon cites Tank Dell as proof of concept that Houston is willing to deploy smaller receivers outside; Dell showed explosive play and after-the-catch ability last year. Harmon notes uncertainty about Dell's return status and role scope going forward, tempering expectations for Nowell's opportunity.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00What is cracking Reception Perception
0:01fans, James Co, Matt Harmon here with
0:03you. We're talking about a DraftKings
0:05Best Ball game and Matt, my goodness
0:07gracious, the studs are the studs, the
0:09chalk is the chalk, but once you get
0:12into the wild west rounds, I'm talking
0:14just craziness here. Who are some
0:16players with ADPs outside the top 150
0:21that you think could break the chalk and
0:23give your team some much needed variance
0:26wins because as we know in Best Ball,
0:28man, you got to get some variance on
0:30your teams if you're really looking to
0:33make a little bit of a splash. But talk
0:34to me about we're going to talk three
0:37deep sleepers here that could crush ADP.
0:41>> Yeah, um,
0:42by the way, we're talking about like my
0:44selling ability, we're working on that,
0:46you know. Um,
0:47I'm going to say like this guy is this
0:49next one here might be my next like
0:50Jalen Coker, which I know is again,
0:52that's going to really get the people
0:53clicking. But but if you're a Reception
0:55Perception fan, you know that that's
0:56high praise because Coker [laughter]
0:58heading into last year was like my
1:00favorite deep sleeper in the league at
1:02wide receiver. And hey, he certainly
1:03obviously had some moments there
1:05including a dominant playoff game. My
1:07favorite like deep sleeper wide receiver
1:09in the league right now might be Ryan
1:12Flournoy. That is the Cowboys wide
1:14receiver three here with a 180th overall
1:19ADP.
1:20This guy is legitimately good, okay?
1:23Like he is a high-tier athlete. James, I
1:26know you've seen some of the athletic
1:28measurables on him. Little bit of an
1:30older prospect coming into the league,
1:31but that was why he got drafted on day
1:33three in the NFL draft because of his
1:35some of his athletic measurables and I
1:36think those translated to the film last
1:40year.
1:41There was a couple of um,
1:43games last season when CeeDee Lamb
1:45missed time where Ryan Flournoy was able
1:48to get in there and pop off. Uh, it's
1:51the Lions game he missed some time, the
1:53Jets game CeeDee Lamb uh missing time in
1:56those games and Ryan Flournoy actually
1:58popped off in both of those games. So,
1:59like he is definitely someone that
2:01Here's the thing, like it really is is
2:02like kind of an injury-based discount,
2:04you know, for folks here in basketball
2:07if like
2:08if CeeDee Lamb misses time again, Ryan
2:09Flournoy, we've seen him he's able to
2:11produce. And like again, from when I've
2:13charted some of these games and I'll
2:14have a full profile out on him pretty
2:16soon on the website, like the the guy
2:18can legit get open and win down the
2:21football field, too, on like some big
2:23big boy routes as a Z receiver, big
2:26in-breakers I've seen him win on. And
2:28those are key in this Cowboys offense.
2:30So, we know Dak Prescott can rip the
2:33football over the middle of the field.
2:35So, I really like Ryan Flournoy in that
2:36regard. And then the real just kind of
2:38like I don't know that this is is is
2:40definitely going to happen, but from
2:41like an upside standpoint, Okay. George
2:43Pickens right now
2:45not in the building, right?
2:47>> it. Yeah.
2:47>> He's on He's on the He's on the
2:49franchise tag, okay?
2:50>> Yeah.
2:51>> How happy is George Pickens about being
2:52on the franchise tag?
2:54>> Not at all.
2:55>> Can't be that happy. Probably wants a
2:56nice long-term deal. We know that the
2:58Cowboys I I I
2:59I think again, odds are
3:02like 90% chance George Pickens is on the
3:06football field, playing well for the
3:08Dallas Cowboys in week one this year.
3:10But are you really going to tell
3:11yourself it's a 100% chance that he's on
3:14this roster in week one?
3:15>> Right. Right.
3:16>> Number one, it's George Pickens. Number
3:16two, it's the Dallas Cowboys. They
3:18traded Micah Parsons last year. I don't
3:21think that's what's going to happen
3:22here.
3:22>> Same.
3:23>> But typically sometimes with these
3:25Cowboys contract negotiations,
3:27they don't always go to plan. What if
3:29things don't go to plan for George
3:30Pickens? He gets traded and Ryan
3:33Flournoy is just the wide receiver two
3:35for Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys
3:37offense, which is going to throw the
3:38football out. And I'm telling you, he's
3:41good enough to capitalize on that
3:42opportunity. Everybody else will be
3:44like, "Who is this rando?" They No, no,
3:45like I think Ryan Flournoy actually can
3:47be like a
3:49good wide receiver three, maybe even a
3:51passable number two if chaos hits or
3:54somebody misses time with injury. So,
3:56like yeah, he's going to give you a
3:57couple weeks if he's the 180th overall
3:59like he's just your depth wide receiver
4:01whatever, but there is a path to like
4:03big-time upside if for whatever reason
4:06one of these other Cowboys receivers is
4:07to miss time.
4:08>> 6 ft 202 lb out of Southeast Missouri
4:13State round Ryan Flournoy
4:1644440, which is good, but it's really in
4:19that short area burst, man. 39 and 1/2
4:22inch vertical 11 ft broad. This guy
4:26absolutely has some short area burst.
4:29For sure. Okay, if I am going to pick
4:32one
4:33it is my boy Jalen Noel. I've I've had
4:36screaming matches about like why is this
4:38guy not getting on the football field?
4:40I'm so frustrated with Houston. C.J.
4:42Stroud was his absolute best when Nico
4:45Collins was healthy and doing his thing
4:48and Tank Dell was also roaming around on
4:51the outside being explosive. He was
4:53showing after the catch ability, but
4:55again, I know he's undersized, but Tank
4:58Dell was doing the dang thing.
5:01They ended up drafting another Tank Dell
5:03in Jalen Noel and they won't put him on
5:06the football field and it drives me
5:08absolutely
5:10nuts, Matt Harmon. 73%
5:14overall success rate versus man
5:16coverage, 81% success rate overall
5:19versus zone coverage. He's clearing
5:21those threshold marks that we're always
5:23looking for, but then on top of that,
5:25like I don't want to hear about size
5:28when the guy's posting, according to
5:30your charting, 82% success rate versus
5:33press 96th
5:36percentile. I mean, come on, man. Like
5:38this guy can separate and as you see on
5:40the on the route chart on the screen,
5:41too, it's like, look, short,
5:43intermediate, deep. The guy's getting
5:44open everywhere. It's crazy. I don't
5:46understand how he's not on the football
5:47field.
5:48>> I get it. I I'm Look, I'm with you. I
5:51love Jaylen Nowell, the talent. Um I was
5:53a big fan of his coming into the NFL
5:55draft. I really liked him a lot what he
5:57showed. As the charting shows, yeah, he
5:59was he was good in isolation last year.
6:01I will say
6:03it is pretty funny. Uh maybe this is why
6:05I've like been trying to temper my
6:06enthusiasm for for Jaylen Nowell.
6:08>> Okay.
6:09>> You look at our player comparison tool,
6:12uh three of his top four comparisons
6:15>> Oh no.
6:16>> Jaylen Nowell's rookie season.
6:18One of them, by the way, the the first
6:19comparison is Travis Hunter, so, you
6:21know, I mean
6:23>> [laughter]
6:24>> Travis Hunter pretty good, too. I almost
6:25talked about Travis Hunter in this
6:27segment.
6:27>> Yeah.
6:28>> outside the top 50 and he's literally
6:29150th overall. I was like, "Ooh, maybe
6:32we could almost I decided I decided not
6:34to touch that hot stove. That's for a
6:35different time." So, again, three of his
6:37top four comparis- comparisons Jaylen
6:39Nowell's rookie season,
6:41two Jayden Reed seasons, and Curtis
6:44Samuel 2023.
6:46It is like the Matt Harmon fell for it
6:48again Hall of Fame. Uh Jayden Reed,
6:50Curtis Samuel, these kind of like I
6:53think they're better against man
6:54coverage to not be be these gadgety
6:56slot-only players, but then they don't
6:59get on the football field a ton. They
7:00are these limited-role players. So, like
7:02I maybe that's why I'm like trying to
7:03guard my heart against Jaylen Nowell.
7:06But because they have Nico Collins,
7:08who's a stud. Jayden Higgins was solid
7:10in his role last year.
7:11You mentioned Tank Dell, like he's
7:13coming back. I don't know what to what
7:14degree he's coming back. So, I'm not
7:16trying to like completely crush your
7:18argument here, but I mean, Curtis like
7:20yes, I do see the Tyreek Hill compari-
7:22comparison is the fifth one, right? Like
7:24that's early career Tyreek Hill there in
7:26Kansas City. Uh so, like yeah, I mean,
7:28do I want to get my hopes up that like
7:29yeah, he could become [laughter] that
7:31guy?
7:32That would be awesome. That'd be great.
7:34But it is those three other comparisons
7:36right before him that I'm a little I'm a
7:38little scared. But I do love Jaylen
7:39Nowell. He is a baller, no question.
7:41>> I I think the thing that drives me crazy
7:43is that okay, we could have this like
7:45this argument in a vacuum, right? With
7:46Houston, but like there's already been
7:48proof of concept. Like they're willing
7:50to put a smaller dude outside and tank
7:53that like they've already done it.
7:55Right? Like
7:55>> Yeah, when he got when he got, you know,
7:57hurt, he he he went from like an outlier
7:59to a cautionary tale really quickly. But
8:01>> [laughter]
8:01>> dude, like Jaylen Knowles not even that
8:04small all things considered, you know?
8:06>> Exactly.
8:08>> He is a He is a pretty good sized player
8:11for and and really strong, too. Remember
8:12he ripped all those bench press reps at
8:15the NFL Scouting Combine? Like I think
8:17and I I do see him as like a guy that
8:20can block a little bit, too. So, yes, I
8:23like
8:24Let me tell you what, James. If we get
8:26into July and like we're getting these
8:28reports that oh, no, he's going to play
8:29a big role, I will be all in with you on
8:32the Jaylen Knowles Express as we go
8:34right off the cliff cuz yes. It's the It
8:38is like I said, two Reed comparisons is
8:40just the one where I'm like, oh my god,
8:41that's
8:42>> Dude, you and I are going to be holding
8:43hands. We're going to take our
8:44convertible right over the cliff, baby.
8:46Let's go. I'm all in. Let's go.
8:48>> [laughter]
8:48>> Just screaming Knowles.
8:53ADP outside the top 200 picks, man.
8:56Again, he's an absolute free pick. He's
8:57a free square.
8:59If we're again, if we're looking for a
9:00little variance here, Jaylen Knowles I
9:02think does provide a little variance and
9:04again, you could take him for absolutely
9:05free. This is get He's He's like the
9:07last pick of your draft, you know what
9:09I'm saying? So, again, interesting
9:11player for sure. Okay, so we've got We
9:14got a cowboy. We got a Texan. We've
9:16stayed in the state of Texas this entire
9:18time. Give me your third deep
9:21sleeper for best ball.
9:23>> Yeah, this is a little bit honestly in
9:25the Ryan Flournoy bucket in that it is a
9:28good offense. We expect there to be
9:29production in this offense and there are
9:31two established starting receivers ahead
9:33of this guy, but if either of them was
9:35to miss time or there's just some spike
9:37week potential. I think Isaac Te is
9:41an interesting pick outside the top
9:42160s. 169th overall ADP right now is
9:45Isaac Te,
9:46and yes, we actually saw him make a ton
9:49of big plays last year in tight
9:51coverage. I mean, he probably has like
9:53the coolest highlight reel of any
9:54non-star receiver in the NFL last year,
9:57right? He was pretty incredible.
9:59And I think that we look though at his
10:01charting data, he showed an ability to
10:03play kind of a lot of different roles
10:06for this team. He could play some X, he
10:09could play in the slot, which I think is
10:10actually pretty cool because it allows
10:12them to unlock Amon-Ra St. Brown
10:15and Jameson Williams from like a, you
10:17know, alignment standpoint, but you
10:18don't care about that. You don't care
10:19about that. You're not getting points
10:21for alignment here
10:23in a best ball draft, but you are
10:24getting points when he can make some
10:26plays on in-breaking routes, which I
10:28think he can do. Like he actually can
10:30rip it on nine routes, 63% success rate
10:33at really high volume. Remember, this
10:35guy is not, you know, some stiff. He is
10:37an athletic freak. Like his comparables
10:40on Mock Draftable are some like big,
10:42big-time X receivers in the NFL, really
10:45good players. But he can rip it on nine
10:47routes, and then the in-breakers, too,
10:49which are critical in this offense. Like
10:50this is a very downfield-oriented route
10:52tree for him. Good success rate on digs
10:55while running those at 26% in terms of
10:57his sampled routes. You know, not a lot
10:59of usage on slants, but good success
11:01rates there. So, some of these like
11:02staple in-breaking routes in the Lions
11:04offense.
11:06I And he can get vertical, too, and make
11:08plays in tight coverage. Like I think
11:09he's going to absolutely give you some
11:11spike weeks. And then again, if Jameson
11:14Williams
11:15misses any time, if Amon-Ra St. Brown
11:17misses any time, this is the third
11:19receiver on this team, and I think he
11:20showed just enough last year to hold it
11:23down in that role
11:25and be that guy. So, to me, I just think
11:28again, the the the path to him playing a
11:31lot is there, it's available, and and I
11:35I really like his opportunity. If you
11:37just look at comparisons for him on our
11:39player comparison tool, I mean, pretty
11:41funny that one of them is literally
11:43Kenny Golladay. Like it's it's it's We
11:45go from We go from Megatron to Babytron
11:49to Vanilla-tron here for the Detroit
11:51Lions wide receiver. So, I do like the
11:53Kenny Golladay comparison. Mike Williams
11:56comparison is pretty good for him. Those
11:58are kind of the more of the X receiver
12:00variety, and and he can play
12:02in the X receiver role. There's no
12:04question about that. We can We can see
12:05him be that X receiver for this team,
12:07which he's going to win some of those
12:09isolated routes cuz he's going to get
12:10some singled-up looks. Mike Williams,
12:12again, X receiver, but those like Juwan
12:15Jennings, Adam Thielen kind of
12:16comparisons are also interesting for
12:18him, as well. Not some of Adam Thielen's
12:20best years, necessarily, but Adam
12:22Thielen comparison is interesting for
12:23him, as well, because he could also be
12:25one of these guys, as he was in college,
12:27mostly a slot player. He was 70% in the
12:30slot
12:31at Arkansas. So, I I kind of like the
12:33ability, James, for him to play multiple
12:35roles, give you some spike weeks, and
12:37again, there is some injury-based upside
12:39if anything happens to Amon-Ra St. Brown
12:41or Jameson Williams in a very good
12:43offense.
12:44>> I mean, again, as you mentioned, we've
12:45already seen proof of concept, you know?
12:47>> Like right.
12:48>> The guys already put together spike
12:50weeks, you know what I mean? So, um
12:51you're right, though. Um
12:53man, injury insurance, uh we love the
12:55upside and the overall offensive uh
12:58ecosystem there in Detroit um as well.
13:01Okay, so, three deep sleepers for y'all
13:03playing in um in Best Ball, in
13:06DraftKings Best Ball. Uh I don't know,
13:08what do you guys think, man? Obviously,
13:09let us know if if you if you agree with
13:11the picks, if you disagree with the
13:12picks, or maybe if you guys got some
13:14deep sleepers, throw them into the
13:15comments here, as well.
13:17>> I want to know, shoot. I'm the sleeper
13:19king, man. Like I love hearing what
13:20other people think about sleepers um as
13:23well. Obviously, please like and
13:25subscribe. That would be great. Um and
13:27go check out DraftKings Best Ball game.
13:30You could use our promo code RP Matt uh,
13:34as well for a little bit of a bonus
13:35there for you. Okay, we got to go, man.
13:38For Matt Harmon, I'm James Co. We'll see
13:39you. But, remember, go to the website
13:40receptionperception.com.
13:43All right, peace.
