Fantasy Football - Early Breakouts & Sleepers - Podcast for 6/9

6:43Mike Wright:Is that Ricky Pearsall's voice? It's me, Ricky P. Oh, man. no that was an interesting one Ricky Mouse Ricky Mouse oh man

6:54Andy Holloway:it was right there

6:56Mike Wright:so you got Mike Evans on one side and Ricky Mouse on the other side you didn't even mean to do that voice

7:04Andy Holloway:I was trying to insult him and you did yeah you did only because George was insulting him without saying it to him he didn't hear anything you said he was in pt oh yeah let's talk some more news news and notes from around the league oh my goodness well the packers locked up sort of

7:32Mike Wright:christian watson he agreed to a four-year extension worth up to 92 million dollars 31 of it is guaranteed it's essentially a two-year extension when you look into the details 2028 would be a decision year for green bay he has a roster bonus of 13 million in 2028 um guaranteed money wise this this isn't a lot this puts him in 31st place behind khalil shakir and rashid shaheed and wandale so it's a it's nice for them to commit to him

8:00Andy Holloway:it's a win-win honestly for the team of christian watson i mean he okay yes he's not making the the same amount of money that like Alec Pierce is making, but Romeo Dobbs money. Wow. Cause Romeo Dobbs is awesome. But it's like that, that's a level of guaranteed money. That is, that changes the course of your family forever. And it's, it's not definitely not Pat McAfee money. Oh, no goodness. Mahomes isn't getting McAfee money, but it's like, but they commit to Watson. He gets, he gets, you know, life changing money. and they're committed to him. Dude, I am very, very into Christian Watson's ADP.

8:46Mike Wright:I mean, I feel like you and I, we were both in on Watson for sure. The drum beats is getting louder. I just feel like he and Alec Pierce are like an incredible parallel for one another. For sure. I think they're very similar. I think their output could be way outpacing their ADP. Yes. And I don't think anything we say about them is going to change it. There are situations that, you know, if the drumbeat starts going, the player's going to move up two, three, four rounds. Rookies, it happens all the time. Preseason, big plays. These guys have been around the block.

9:20Andy Holloway:And when I tweeted out, you know, the extension back when it happened, saying, like, I like seeing this because I have been extremely bullish on Watson, and I'm glad to see that the Packers are agreeing. Dude, the comments were vast majority, good luck with that. Yeah. So speaking to what you're saying, the vibes on Christian Watson are people are just, no, I will not be fooled again by this.

9:45Mike Wright:And not every player there is the chance that that's all wasted money. I mean, legitimately, if he gets hurt again, which he has not been able to avoid. His soft tissue is softer than most. Jacoby Brissett is officially reported to Cardinals minicamp. Thank goodness.

10:03Jason Moore:Thank goodness. Wow. That was scary for a while.

10:08Mike Wright:i mean that's news next news cam scadaboo participating in drills on monday's minicamp

10:16Jason Moore:not just participating dominating did you see did you see some i mean he looks great he was making jukes down the field catching long bomb passes i love cam i think that was very obvious

10:27Mike Wright:in that uh summary chris rodriguez crawd jaguar is running back expected to be ready for training camp i guess he underwent a procedure in his foot following an injury in the offseason program that liam cohen was being cagey and weird about and wouldn't tell anybody about it um but they did say he was expected to to participate once training camp starts good

10:47Jason Moore:that he's going to be you know healthy for the season but i do think this gives a leg up it does to establish himself he has the opportunity right now to really you know go into travis h and jr's role uh he's he's going to do that until chris rodriguez is back so I mean, I was going into the offseason, the disparity in ADP between Crodd. He was way too late drafted. Tootin was just the assumed guarantee. Now I'm actually kind of in on Tootin at where he's going.

11:20Mike Wright:Yeah, I think it's more positive. Every time he gets a rep and a chance to establish where he was the guy there last year already, it's good for them. So I think Jacksonville as a whole might be one of the most interesting teams in fantasy for the entire year. Trevor Lawrence, what they did at the end of the season, the amount of wide receivers, some of which we'll talk about today. Because I didn't mention it, but we're getting into our early breakouts and sleepers on today's show. And so if you have the UDK, you know we have our sleepers, breakouts, busts, and values in the UDK. That is our consensus list.

11:51Mike Wright:Guys that we agree on are at least two and a half of us agree on it. but these are more like individual picks and we may agree with one another I don't know the names that you guys are bringing up but we're talking early breakouts early sleepers

12:07Jason Moore:I was really I'm excited to hear your first early breakout pick because I didn't know until this morning who you had in here do you agree with it I'm going to wait until after you give your case

12:19Mike Wright:you want to jump in let's go

12:29Jason Moore:breakouts

12:34Mike Wright:well i think i think if we were trying algorithm rules i shouldn't go first because you just kind of teased it people are anticipating the longer they watch the better the algorithm it's parker washington okay oh man you went first so i think this is a very interesting one we're into the early breakouts we'll start out here we just got one name that we want to bring up uh a breakout we define it as a fantasy player that we think could become a fantasy darling of sorts um anywhere from that to superstar game changer somebody that makes a big impact on your team maybe they've flashed some signs of success maybe they're not being drafted in a spot where this is interesting

13:15Andy Holloway:I think considering your feelings on Brian Thomas and Hunter.

13:23Mike Wright:Yeah, I brought them both up at different times. Yeah, the Brian Thomas Jr. last season, like, that was a problem, obviously. This offense, Liam Cohen talked about it. That was a problem. The ball gets spread around quite a bit. I think some of why I want to bring Parker Washington's name up is out of fairness to those other discussions where, you know, Travis Hunter, The story of Travis Hunter is simply the snaps. He could be a great player, and if he gets 50 % of the offensive snaps, we're not going to care. It's not going to make a difference. I think what's kind of wild about Parker Washington is, you know, maybe you guys had his stat line memorized.

14:00Mike Wright:I don't know. But to me, when I went back and looked at it, I was kind of blown away. This was a receiver last year who really the breakout for him began in the second half of the season for Jacksonville, and a lot of it was attributed to, well, you know, BTJ, you're struggling, and we lost Travis Hunter. So this is just de facto guy in the game. From week nine on, he was the wide receiver 11 in fantasy, and his final stat line was 847 yards receiving on this team, and that's at 14.6 a catch. He had a tremendous PFF grade as a wide receiver, and this wasn't just all screen passes or underneath or short route stuff.

14:42Mike Wright:He's 24 years old. And the team has come out and said they're pretty much their top priority right now. I mean, they could go try to extend BTJ if they wanted to or somebody else. It's to sign Parker Washington, who really broke out in the second half of the season. You know, his target share weeks nine through 18 was tied with Jacoby Myers for the lead at the wide receiver position. He played 50-50 in the slot and out wide for this team. And every report from camp so far has been he's just continuing to ascend. So I think when you look at BTJ, you're saying, can he return to what he did as a rookie?

15:20Mike Wright:He's going to be out there for every snap. I don't think you're going to see that return because of the distribution of targets. He did most of what his dominant performances were, was Mac Jones with what, like a 96 % target share? That might be hyperbolic, but it was close to that over the backcats of the year.

15:40Andy Holloway:It was a lot of targets.

15:42Mike Wright:basically when Parker Washington took over, which he was averaging 71 receiving yards a game when he was the wide receiver 11, the Jags went 8-1 in those games. It worked, him being that heavily involved in the offense. And the fact he plays all over the field is versatile enough to play all over the field. It's pretty interesting to me. And I think his role is very, very secure. Jacoby Myers is capped. We kind of know what Jacoby Myers is. Britton Strange, I think similarly, we know what he is as a possession receiver. I think at 24 years old, Parker Washington still has room to grow. There were only two wide receivers with 50-plus percent of their routes in the slot that had a better yards-per-route run than him.

16:20Mike Wright:It was Amon Ra and Diggs. So he was – I think my point here is that he was competing fantasy production, PFF rank, yards-per-route run with the best players at the position last year. And that was something I didn't even realize when it was happening. It felt like it was 100 % chance and opportunity that he gets these snaps. Not that the team had fallen in love with him, which if you go and read the comments, it seems like that's the case. So, you know, I don't think it's impossible that Parker Washington ends up leading the team in receptions this year. Okay. And so when you talk about draft spot, he's a wide receiver 42.

16:59Mike Wright:He's a ninth-round pick. So, BTJ is probably a value in drafts at his draft cost. but I think Parker Washington is as well and it's he's much further than BTJ so if you don't like if you if you have the burns from BTJ this is a potential breakout pivot where they could move

17:16Jason Moore:on from BTJ right they could trade a mid-season and all of a sudden the breakout for Parker is

17:22Mike Wright:bigger because BTJ's got one more year right he's he's in no he's in year three he was a first rounder so they can have him for five total right but this is year four for Parker Washington so So I'm just saying if they commit to Parker Washington, that's what I'd be watching for in Dynasty Leagues too. The team has said that's their next to-do list item is basically Parker Washington and Britain Strange are the next two contracts they want to sign. But the numbers beneath Parker Washington's performance were a lot more than opportunity. It was actual performance. And you watch the games, and you saw what he was able to do on a regular basis.

17:55Mike Wright:I thought it was super impressive. So I think at the draft cost, he fits the breakout mold. We like Liam Cohen. We like Trevor Lawrence. We like what Jacksonville's offense is capable of doing. So if you don't, like, are you guys believers in BTJ and Travis Hunter?

18:11Jason Moore:I am a believer in BTJ. I don't think that you can do what he did his rookie year on accident or just because of Mac Jones. Like, Mac Jones.

18:18Andy Holloway:Yeah, I went and double-checked it. It was a 35 % target share. He was playing with Mac Jones.

18:23Jason Moore:Right, but I'm just saying on the field he was able to, yes, but 35 % is.

18:29Andy Holloway:Which is not going to happen. That is the elite of the elite.

18:32Jason Moore:Yeah, on this team now, the way they spread the ball around, the fact that they've added Jacoby Myers and Parker Washington, I don't think BTJ is there. But as a talent, I believe in BTJ. The question I have is whether or not Parker Washington is going to be on the field in two wide receiver sets. Because right now, I don't think he is. Right now, I think he is primarily the slot guy. And they'll play a lot of 11 personnel.

18:52Mike Wright:He played 50-50 last year. He played out wide half of the time last year. So I think your question is valid. I think he's proven he can do it and so then the question is I mean which guy

19:04Jason Moore:is I think he's a good player and that's what I think in your breakout pick of Parker Washington that's the part I liked is he wasn't just a guy who had some opportunity 95 targets yeah and was and was fine with it he's he looked good you know kind of like how we talk about Michael Wilson when he had his little stint it was like you watch the film he's doing everything right every level of the field you can go deep you can go short he's running crisp routes he's always where you want to be he's catching every pass if it's contested he's coming down with it Parker looked great I just I still just worry whether or not he's going to be on the I know weeks 10 11 12 um Brian Thomas Jr.

19:42Jason Moore:missed last year and that's kind of when the breakout started for Parker Washington and so trying to remember it last year it felt like it was opportunity but at the same time he was good with it.

19:54Mike Wright:Yeah, I mean, wide receiver 3-8-8 the last three games of the season. We'll see what happens. I think a lot of what this show is about is picking some names that are not going to be the most published names in breakout categories, sleeper categories out there. So there should be disagreement and there should be questions. This is just a player that when I looked at the film and the numbers, I kind of started to fall in love with. I am ranked higher than both of you guys by quite a bit. We'll see what happens.

20:20Jason Moore:It's still, I think, Trevor Lawrence is where you want to go. We all want a piece of the Jaguars offense. This Liam Cohen Jaguars offense looks great. But with so many receiving options, it feels like, well, you know, you just go Trevor Lawrence and get them all.

20:38Mike Wright:Okay, who wants to go next?

20:41Jason Moore:I'll hop in.

20:41Mike Wright:Probably Jason after this.

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22:15Andy Holloway:Oh, man.

22:16Jason Moore:All right, Mike, what do you got? You got him. No, I'm just kidding.

22:19Mike Wright:Got him.

22:20Jason Moore:My breakout player for 2026 is Jackson Dart. Last year, rookie quarterback for the New York Giants. Jackson Dart was incredible. I mean, he was like a fantasy revelation as a rookie with no wide receivers. I mean, you didn't have Malik neighbors when Jackson Dart was playing. He didn't get his first start until week four. And it's really, it comes down to one thing, and it's a stupid thing, but it's the most important thing for fantasy when it comes to quarterbacks. It's rushing. If you want the true breakout, if you want the guy who's going to break fantasy, you want the guy who's going to win like 25 % of leagues, like had this player, It's a quarterback who rushes for an outrageous amount.

23:05Jason Moore:And that's what Jackson Dart was doing last year. How insane was his rushing? 41 rushing yards per game in his starts. That's the fifth best among rookie quarterbacks ever of all time. So his 17-game pace in his starts would have been 13 rushing touchdowns, which is unbelievably great. Almost 700 rushing yards on over 100 attempts. only Josh Allen scored more total rushing fantasy points last year at the quarterback position I know you know we had some injuries to uh Lamar Jackson we had an injury to Jaden Daniels but the point is he's up there with like the elite of the elite when it comes to rushing and really Lamar is who he reminds me of he he he doesn't run and have the body of like Josh Allen uh of younger Jalen Hurts this is a Lamar Jackson type of guy who's just out there making ridiculous little whoop whoop you know just no one can can catch him he's very slippery that's what he does you know look cam scataboo's over there going like yeah just screaming i mean the four four and six a lot of sound they are exactly they're they're gonna make some noise right now it's good time to be a sports fan in new york you know the do you hold your breath at all with the no i hope i hold my breath with the break prediction of jackson's art the way that he plays is obviously putting himself there he missed games with a concussion last year he exited he probably should have missed more he should have missed more there there's certainly

24:36Mike Wright:not six five two forty five exactly cam newton there is there is physical health risk but when

24:41Jason Moore:he is out there he is very valuable for for fantasy football among 38 qualifying quarterbacks with 200-plus dropbacks. He was tied for fourth in fantasy points per dropback. When he had the ball in his hands, he scored fantasy points. Josh Allen was ahead of him. Lamar Jackson was ahead of him. Brock Purdy, and he was tied with Drake May. That's it. And that was as a rookie. He should get better as a passer. He has better weapons this year. Where he's being drafted right now, late seventh round, he is the guy that I'm targeting where you could see, you know, if you want that guy who took last year's Drake May leap or the guy that did the Lamar Jackson break fantasy leap.

25:21Jason Moore:To me, that is Jackson.

25:23Mike Wright:Why is his draft spot there?

25:25Jason Moore:I think because people are afraid that he's going to get injured. You saw him get injured a lot last year. Right now, Malik Nabors, the fact that he's –

25:33Mike Wright:Say your number one target, Wandale, is gone.

25:34Jason Moore:Wandale's gone and Malik Nabors is currently having very bad publicity limping around the bases.

25:41Mike Wright:His knee has terrible publicity. Yeah, the videos are not going well. He hired a horrible publicist for his knee who told him to go play softball in front of a camera.

25:49Jason Moore:Yeah. The timeline for Malik Nabors' injury really genuinely hasn't changed. If you know what the surgery was and the timeline of the surgery, I have said this for months. He should start on the pup. He is not going to be ready for week one. But by the end of the year, Malik Nabors should be darn near full strength. That should be the timeline. That's what I'm sticking to right now. And that means towards fantasy championships, you've got an alpha out there. and a mobile Russian quarterback. I love the idea of drafting a year-two quarterback. You did it last year with Jaden Daniels. It didn't work out because obviously he got injured.

26:28Jason Moore:But he cost so much. He was like the third quarterback being drafted. Right now you're not doing that with Jackson Dart. You're drafting him as like the 10th quarterback being drafted. I'm all about that. That's the upside that wins fantasy championships. So I would say that every part of me wants Jackson Dart

26:45Mike Wright:to be the next breakout quarterback that we love in fantasy in the NFL. I think it's fun. I think he's a dynamic player. I do wonder if he has to make adjustments to his game. I think it's fair to say he has not proven as a passer at the NFL level yet.

27:02Jason Moore:No, but he was on pace for 3 ,200 passing yards last year as a rookie.

27:06Mike Wright:Right, but a touchdown, a game, passing. So that is where you start to ask if he slows down the running, if he takes a bunch of sacks in this offense, if the exposure risks for injury, and he isn't that good of a passer. Not even that good of a passer. He just doesn't throw enough touchdowns.

27:25Jason Moore:That's where your risk is. His touchdown pace was, you talk about, near one touchdown a game. It was over that. He was on a 21 passing touchdown pace in his starts, but also 13 rushing touchdowns. You can't pass a touchdown if you rush a touchdown, and they're worth more in fantasy, usually, and mostly.

27:41Mike Wright:Did you take a game out of that sample? I see 18. I see 1.1 a game.

27:45Jason Moore:Let me look at the two weeks. Is what I'm looking at in games played. Are you looking at the starts?

27:49Mike Wright:I believe I am. Oh, no, I'm not.

27:52Jason Moore:Yeah, so that's –

27:53Mike Wright:I was looking at the two. I missed the two. Yeah, his first two weeks he played four. Yeah, 21. That's not enough.

27:59Jason Moore:You say it's not enough, but if you add 13 rushing touchdowns, it's totally enough. Oh, he's not getting 13. Well, I mean, that was his pace last year. Yeah. Yeah, this is why I have my alarm bells going off.

28:09Andy Holloway:He won't make it through the season at 13 rushing touchdowns.

28:10Mike Wright:I mean, that's just not realistic, I don't think.

28:14Jason Moore:I'm not saying what he's going to do. I'm saying his pace last year was 21.3 passing and 12.8 rushing touchdowns. That's not like what I'm projecting him for.

28:25Mike Wright:That's what he did as a rookie with Malik Neighbors.

28:29Jason Moore:I think the biggest fear— Context matters, right? Yeah, for sure.

28:31Mike Wright:Losing Malik Neighbors and losing Cam Skinner. He never had Neighbors. He had them for like half a game. They didn't have them, right? Oh, the team, yes. I'm saying the team lost him and Scadaboo. Yes. Very much when I watched the Giants last year, it felt like Jackson Dart versus the world. That's all I'm saying. Yes. So if you want to run a John Harbaugh offense, it's not going to be Jackson Dart against the entire world. It's going to be more balanced. It's going to be a good defense that I think is getting better and better and better and not exposing your quarterback to risk, which is why he's going where he's going is because other people agree.

29:01Jason Moore:The biggest problem for me with Jackson Dart, and I don't have that many, is just Matt Nagy. I hate the fact that that's his offensive coordinator. You should.

29:09Mike Wright:yeah i mean i i think that there is risk with jets and dark and i think more of it is volatility i think you're gonna have big games from him no matter what because if you run like that you're gonna monster games he had that weird game at the end of the year where he had like a point yes out of nowhere and he took 35 sacks i mean that is going to be an issue if he doesn't get the ball out if you're taking sacks there's a little trade out there that's all i mean yeah somebody else is

29:34Jason Moore:he'll thinking that he'll be volatile for sure but I mean so is Lamar Jackson and you know you have those games where Lamar just doesn't have a lot of fantasy points I really like him I mean he scored a lot and I do agree with you Andy last year it did feel like Jackson Dart versus the world it was like okay what are we doing this play put the ball in Jackson Dart's hands and hope and pray and I also remember some Nick Folsey luck with interceptions yes he had a lot of passes that I felt like were errant and should have been picked off.

30:06Mike Wright:He's going to be fun to watch.

30:07Jason Moore:But the upside is undeniable, and that's why he's a breakout pick for me. This isn't like a sleeper where I think he's going to be better than his value. I'm looking for someone who can win me a league.

30:19Mike Wright:He'll be on a lot of your teams with the draft value. You said the upside's undeniable. The question is, is Mike's guy's upside deniable, Jason?

30:28Andy Holloway:Well, just real quick for Jackson Dart, and this could just be echoing the, oh, he didn't have weapons. But in the red zone, 47 attempts, nine touchdowns. That's a horrifically bad ratio of if you're going to actually take the next step.

30:46Mike Wright:So do you believe in, out of curiosity, just quick sidebar, do you believe in Isaiah Likely as a weapon for him? A mediocre weapon.

30:53Jason Moore:I think Theo is a better tight end than Likely. I know they paid Likely money, but both of them will be on the field, and we've seen enough of likely to make me not really believe he's a great weapon. He's fine. He's at it. He's better than not having him. But I don't look at him as a great target hog.

31:12Andy Holloway:All right. My guy, I'm in on Dart, but I want to bring this player's name up as well. He is also a second-year quarterback. We're going with Tyler Shuck of the New Orleans Saints, who is, if you like Jackson Dart's draft price, You're going to love Tyler Shucks, who is currently going on sleeper as the QB20, the QB19 on underdog. Kyle had just pointed it out to me that his ADP has actually gone down over the past month or so, which is very strange. So here's my argument for Tyler Shuck. from weeks 14 through 18, which is not a huge sample, but it's just pointing out what he can possibly do. He averaged 20 points, 70 % completion, and 27 rushing yards per game.

32:07Andy Holloway:This is not Jackson Dart level of rushing, but this is – he's giving you enough on the ground that it is making a difference. His 17-game rushing pace over those five games would have been over 450 rushing yards. We will take that. every day of the week. And then in terms of passing, intermediate passing, this matters so much. Like we all, the deep home run, the sexy ball, we're chucking it down the field. We're getting 50 yard touchdowns. Those are fantastic, but we need people to crush in the intermediate part. Think of Nico Collins, just destroying teams over and over on a dig route down the middle of the field about 20 yards so 11 to 19 yards down the field number one in completion third in yards per pass attempt and this team has gotten better they added uh travis a chan jr aka rumbelaya who in my opinion is a much better pass catcher than an actual uh running back between the tackles and they jordan tyson in the first round if you're team tate if you're team tyson it doesn't matter you know that they're both great players and adding jordan tyson to you to a roster with chris Olave, who was already a number one, in my opinion, like that's wild.

33:19Andy Holloway:It's wild that this team could have two legitimate number one wide receivers on the team. And, and of course, third round pick Oscar Delp La Hoya at the tight end position. The schedule is pretty rough. I will add to open, uh, you know, you have on the road against Detroit on the road against Baltimore, but that game against Detroit week one, it's a 48 and a half point over under. So there were already projecting big things for the New Orleans Saints. And after those first two weeks, at home against Vegas, Atlanta, and Minnesota. So maybe Shuck is not someone you're leaving your draft saying, this is the only quarterback I have and we're going to ride through the good and the bad.

33:57Andy Holloway:At QB 20, he's someone that is probably a quarterback too that is going to be on your bench. But I'm looking for him to have a true breakout with all the weapons, with Kellen Moore giving you all those extra plays which really really add up over the course of the season and at QB 20 I there's just there's no one in that range in my opinion that can end up with the ceiling that Tyler Shuck at least what I saw on the field of last year well are you in on Shuck Jason I am in

34:28Mike Wright:on Shuck I don't very similar concerns with Shuck to Dart but I worry about the his rushing upside to make up the gap. I mean, I think last year he was a 10 to 6 touchdown interception ratio.

34:43Jason Moore:Kind of. I know if you look at the first month of him playing, he threw basically like no touchdowns. After that, he was much, much better in the touchdown to interception ratio. I remember talking about this with Bo Nix where we would always take out the first month of his rookie and look how he did down the stretch. It seemed more realistic. His first two starts for Tyler Schock, by the way,

35:05Andy Holloway:His first two NFL starts on the road against the Rams and then on the road against Carolina, two playoff defenses. So, I mean, to be thrown into the fire as your first two starts as an NFL quarterback, that's pretty wild. And then after the bye week, things really did get going.

35:24Jason Moore:Yeah, his last six games, seven touchdowns to three interceptions. So it just got better. Yes. I mean, I believe in Tyler Shuck as a good quarterback. I really do. I think the weapons that he's adding is good. I love the Kellen Moore system. So I'm kind of in on the Saints. I don't like the my hesitation with Shuck is I don't know that he can really be someone who wins you a championship. I don't think he's going to put up enough stats. He's not going to be someone that I'm projecting to throw for forty five hundred and thirty. And since he's not going to rush for eight hundred yards, the four hundred is a nice baseline.

35:59Jason Moore:He'll be a quality player, a good streaming option. I just don't know if he's...

36:04Andy Holloway:The pace of which the seven games played on a pace for 4 ,300 passing yards with the 400 rushing yards.

36:13Mike Wright:That's the most impressive. I mean, Saints are projected for seven and a half wins this year. They're winning that division this year. The other question mark I have with him versus Dart is development. Tyler Shuck's 26.

36:25Andy Holloway:Oh, he's developed. He's already done.

36:27Mike Wright:Like when you look at runway for development and an upside, I think we might have less room for a shock to move than we do Jackson darts. That would be, I guess, my other thing. I couldn't get there. Like I, I was, I gave him 4 ,200 yards. I gave him 25 touchdowns, but that puts him as my fantasy 19. I mean, I, I don't care if you take a shot at it personally. I like Tyler Shuck, but when you talk about a pocket passer, is he going to rush for 350 yards?

36:57Andy Holloway:Yes. Which is, yeah.

36:59Mike Wright:I mean, 350 is fine. but I don't know if that's enough to make you happy you start him every week. He's older than Brock Purdy.

37:07Andy Holloway:Hey, man, it is what it is, but he's seasoned and he was ready to come in and play.

37:12Mike Wright:All right, we'll take a break and we'll get into some sleeper picks.

37:18Jason Moore:See you Sunday on Paramount Plus, your streaming home for the NFL on CBS all season long. That's right, football fans. Stream your live local CBS games every NFL Sunday all the way through the AFC Championship game. Follow the league's biggest stars, the can't-miss matchups, the season's biggest storylines, and catch additional coverage with NFL Today, NFL Today Plus, CBS Sports HQ, Fantasy Football Today, and more. So sign up and sign in to Paramount Plus today, and we'll see you Sunday for another thrilling season of NFL on CBS, streaming live on Paramount+. You're picky about your fantasy draft.

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38:43Jason Moore:Sleepers.

38:46Mike Wright:all right individual sleeper picks for 2026 we'll reverse order this time we'll let mike go first

38:51Andy Holloway:how about that oh i'm talking two times in a row all right yep these are these are sleeper picks

38:57Mike Wright:every never again you know what i mean you talk twice and never like you can leave i can't that

39:03Jason Moore:makes this walk i can unplug and get out of here that really makes this a mike sandwich episode

39:08Andy Holloway:that's where he's in the he's the meat you know that's what i'm known for all right over the past couple years i have brought things up about the running back position and specifically talking about players who uh at teams that don't have a running back being drafted in the top 24 and yet every year we have you know five or so of these teams that a quarterback slips into the top 24 and becomes a very usable player for fantasy football and it's really not that complicated did you mean quarterback there did i you did say quarterback i meant running back okay that's what i thought uh it it's not that complicated of a of a recipe it is hey say it again with the word running back in there just so i can follow this time teams uh teams that do not have a top 24 drafted running back by the fantasy in fantasy by the end of the year five or so of those teams will have someone who's in the top 24 right and the recipe for that is literally just who's got a good offense it's like you did this last year with i would we've done a good offense we've done it two years in a row and it has it and i'm not saying every single one of them is going to be a hit but this is where you find those players this is where you it's when you're sifting for gold it's just put it through put it through the offensive filter Javante Williams last year exactly it was and it was the the the idea even when I was would say you know we had our our YouTube sensation short series last year just the tips and I was saying the name Javante Williams as someone you might want to be drafted it felt disgusting it should gross you out because that's why they're not going in the top 24 and it was like this is not this is not even possible

40:56Mike Wright:Try to do it again. Try to gross this out again.

40:59Andy Holloway:Aaron Jones. Yeah, you did it. It is disgusting. I get it. That's gross. But here's the thing. And of the teams that I'm looking at, you know, that can be a top 15 offense, you're making some projections and some assumptions about Kyler Murray really working for the Minnesota Vikings. It's, at least of right now, Kyler's going to take this job, and I believe in, I'd say it over and over, I believe in the O 'Connell system, and if you have a competent quarterback, you will have a great offense. And Aaron Jones is going to be the lead dog of this team. You don't want that. I love Jordan Mason. It's what it's going to be.

41:37Andy Holloway:I love Jordan Mason. I think he's a great running back. But Aaron Jones, you know, he's like, oh, they released him. Yeah, they were just doing some funny money stuff. They brought him back on a two-year extension. And just looking at what happened last year with Aaron Jones, he got hurt I mean Minnesota was just a total disaster but from week 8 on after Aaron Jones came back he was on pace for 63 targets and Jordan Mason 8.5 like this is very clear who was going to be catching the ball from Kyler Murray and Kyler Murray running backs have averaged a target market share of 19 % since he came into the league that would be

42:18Mike Wright:and it won't be Jordan Mason that would have been 11th

42:20Andy Holloway:last year in terms of a target share going to the running back position. Kyler Murray will throw it to the running back. It does happen. Minnesota, I think they're going to be a top-half offense, and Aaron Jones is being drafted underdog as the running back 40 right now. People have zero interest, and I don't blame you. He's 31 1⁄2 years old. Sometimes you've got to get gross, right? Sometimes you do. It's just offense. This is what happens. And this is offensive. You're right. You are welcome. Look, someone's got to bring it up. Someone has to bring up these disgusting players because not everyone's being drafted in the top three rounds.

42:58Mike Wright:Jason can get disgusting too. Oh, yeah.

43:00Andy Holloway:Just you wait. Jason's following the formula. I approve of it very much. We have very similar players. But pay attention to Aaron Jones. He is a completely free starting running back for a team that should be a top 15 offense, which more often than not gives you a top 20 running back.

43:19Mike Wright:If you don't remember this fact in fantasy, you can never have too many running backs. That is a hard position to find players that get snaps, period. It's where people will fight tooth and nail on the waiver wire when anybody has an opportunity to get snaps. So even if you don't start Aaron Jones and you can get him in the ninth round, just put him on your team.

43:39Andy Holloway:From week eight on, which I was saying, I quoted that target share, he was also getting 32 % of Minnesota's work. So that's targets and attempts. He was a 32 % workhorse role that late in a draft. That's wild. It is very wild.

43:58Jason Moore:Getting a starter very, very, very late in a draft shouldn't ever happen. Right. And when they're a decent offense, even better.

44:08Mike Wright:This was Javante last year, which you brought up in the same context. And I watched enough Jordan Mason, no disrespect. He's got his strengths. Yes. But if you have the creative player menu, they were put into a few very narrow categories.

44:23Jason Moore:Yeah, he focused fired on what he's very good at. Yeah. Yeah, I'll follow up here because it is basically the exact same theory, the same game strategy. It is finding a late-round running back who is probably the starter for a good offense.

44:40Andy Holloway:This backfield is far more ambiguous than the Minnesota one.

44:43Jason Moore:And this is not a sleeper. This is a coma patient. this guy's going in the 13th round he's being drafted after trey benson at trey benson is the backup to the backup to the backup that can't be i mean i mean like no one wants i approve of trey benson but that's ridiculous no one wants rashad white no rb 41 on underdog which is uh i think as in one spot after aaron jones yeah they're on on sleeper right now running back 51 in the 13th round, higher on underdog. Rashad White is... I hate this. I hate this. Right? But the thing is... He plays for Washington, by the way. Yes.

45:25Mike Wright:If all you can do is picture him running for one a carry in Tampa Bay, he has moved teams.

45:29Jason Moore:Don't picture him running for one a carry. Picture him catching the ball for five yards. Oh, is he where number one? Is that actually him? We'll find out.

45:38Mike Wright:I just figured he's up on the jersey.

45:40Jason Moore:Yeah, Rashad White, this is the nice thing, is that nobody really wants him. Nobody in fantasy wants him. He's not going to skyrocket late in drafts. People are like, ah, he's a plotter. First of all, he's only in year five. He's 27 years old. This isn't a guy who's aged out. Also, he is the highest paid running back on the commanders now with this one-year contract. Everyone is like, oh, it's Ja 'Cory Krosky, Merritt, Bill. It's Bill's team. Thank you, mate.

46:10Jason Moore:Yeah, I feel like after that drop, I agree. His opportunities, Bill has never been a pass catcher, hasn't really been involved in that. And you've got Rashad White here who, I mean, really, over the last four seasons, Christian McCaffrey has more catches than him. Alvin Kamara has more catches than him. End of list. He is a good, reliable.

46:29Andy Holloway:He doesn't do anything great. No, no, no.

46:32Jason Moore:But he does do everything. He does do everything. He is very reliable. Over the last four seasons, he has the six most total snaps at running back. like just behind Saquon Pollard, McCaffrey, Josh Jacobs, Rashad White.

46:45Mike Wright:Is this a Kenny Gainwell situation in your mind in Washington where Gainwell was a depth piece added and then suddenly the most relevant?

46:56Andy Holloway:Kyle is sharing news that he is listed as the number one on the Washington site. He's talking about jersey number.

47:03Jason Moore:Oh, I thought you were talking about depth chart, Kyle. Ironically, I think he will go into the season as the number one. I think he'll have the veteran starting role. He won't be the explosive player, obviously. Ja 'Cory Krosky-Meritt, more explosive. But I think that this is a team led by a head coach that wants reliability, wants veteran leadership, wants just the guys to be able to do the right thing, be in there for pass protection, get the leak out, dump, catch, help, Jaden Daniels, and Rashad White will do all of those things. He is very reliable, very out there. And when you look at a team, right now Washington has the second highest vacated target share in the NFL.

47:43Jason Moore:You lost Zach Ertz, Debo Samuel, Noah Brown, Austin Eckler. And then you look at the running back room with Austin Eckler, Jeremy McNichols, and Crod being gone. This is a real opportunity. They went out. They signed him. I think he comes in week one as the starter. Maybe he's not. Maybe he's more of the pass catcher and Bill is the starter. but even still and that's that's a fine way to to to lay it out but even still you say okay who scores more fantasy points the guy catching the passes or the guy you know getting the the work between the 20s we're not sure which one of those two would be the goal line guy either way but I think that the pass catching guy in the 13th round for an offense with Jaden Daniels that could and should be good with vacated targets and we've we've seen this in the past when there are a lot of vacated targets for a team often it goes to the running back position and so this is the second most in the nfl if there are targets going to the running back position it will be rashad white yes he is the pass catcher for this team so this is a situation where i just feel like you're talking about a guy they went out they signed him he's reliable he's a pass catcher he's on a good

48:49Mike Wright:offense and he is being drafted well if he doesn't in some leagues if he doesn't work out who cares

48:55Jason Moore:Yeah, yeah. I mean, there's a sleeper pick for a reason.

48:57Mike Wright:Listen to the depth chart. Rashad White, Jerome Ford, Jeremy McNichols, Ja 'Cory Krosky, Merritt, and Katron Allen.

49:04Andy Holloway:If you have five running backs. He is certainly the pass catcher, and goal line, it might be him. We don't know for sure that it will be Bill. Last year, Bill converted just three of his 12 carries inside the five for touchdowns. we've seen teams have this where you have the pass catcher where Bill is between the 20s, Rashad White will come in for some pass catching stuff, and then they'll get inside the red zone, and then they'll go to the other player and not Bill. And if you're getting the high-value touches, if you're getting the receptions and the goal line work, I don't care what Bill does inside the 20s.

49:45Mike Wright:Yeah, we didn't really get to see this offense last year either. like from a like Terry McLaurin was gone Jaden Daniels was gone and we we didn't get to see a lot of what JCM was able would or could have done in a better offense and Rashad White will have

50:02Jason Moore:every opportunity to contribute and he's done it before I mean he's been a top 24 running back twice he's been a running back one once you know the last two years we joke you joke he's one yard carries 4.3 yards a carry the last two years and he's a pass catcher so I think where he's being drafted is Mike used to dump all over that dude where he's being drafted just doesn't make sense

50:24Mike Wright:to me that he would be that low no I agree and he's an easy name to add to the bench and then if it works out you stole somebody and if if he doesn't you just sign somebody else speaking of interesting scenarios final name for the day it's Jonathan Brooks oh yeah baby

50:45Jason Moore:running back for Carolina

50:46Mike Wright:still 22 years old yes he's entering year three yes his knees have taken a beating but the moves that Carolina made this offseason and the decisions they made seem to indicate a commitment to Jonathan Brooks for this third year they do and you have to go back into the time machine this was the first running back selected in the 2024 NFL draft of whom we've got to see nothing we've got to see nothing you know red shirted in 2021 was behind B. John Robinson tore his ACL in 2023 in 2024 you know does it again does it again but coming out of the draft this was a versatile player who can catch the football he has way more burst than Chuba Hubbard he said it at the podium but we all know it from the film the the interesting thing is is that we saw like chuba could be a value to depending on their commitment to him but chuba is again he's like jordan mason he is a player that has a very specific set of skills he's going to be reliable he's going to be able to handle a lot of work he is not going to break away run he is the least efficient pass catcher you've ever seen he'll catch it but man it'll be for a yard or or two so i think the opportunity for jonathan brooks i mean you're already starting to get some drumbeat out of camp out of the opportunities but rico daddle i mean he is gone this was a player that at one point during the season last year took over fantasy he's vacating 51 of the carries and 10 of the targets on the team he was the lead guy basically from week five on and i just think Chuba Harbour does not represent the kind of talent that cannot be usurped by a 22-year-old former first running back off the board.

52:42Jason Moore:And he's good. Jonathan Brooks is good. The only issue is, is he healthy? Like, if he's actually back to full strength, then, I mean, look at where Jonathan Brooks was being drafted his rookie year. And I know you brought up the age, but he's younger than, like, last year's rookies. Oh, Marion Hampton, Cam Scadaboo, Travion Henderson. Jonathan Brooks is still younger than all of them. And he will be. Forever. Forever. I love this pick. He's going to be a lot higher in ADP. I think he's going to be really interesting.

53:10Mike Wright:Yeah, right now it's 37 in underdog. So he has a wide discrepancy. I don't care about sleepers. In redraft and underdog.

53:17Andy Holloway:Jonathan Brooks is, I don't disagree with anything of this argument. I think he is a player that you, the profile and the environment and everything says you need to take a chance of drafting him. which is not an expensive chance by any means. He will be someone to follow over the offseason of what are they saying about him from the beat reporters because, right, dude, it's all over the place. It is all over the place. I've seen the speculation of, well, the real reason they let Rico go is because of Jonathan Brooks and their confidence that he was going to be back and be able to be a huge contributor.

53:56Andy Holloway:Then, and I've seen, oh, Chuba's definitely the workhorse. Jonathan Brooks will be, he'll be more like Rico was at the beginning of the year. And then you see reports, oh, Jonathan Brooks, he's probably going to steal this job within a month or so of the NFL season starting. It's crazy how hot and cold the reports are right now.

54:16Mike Wright:But I find that encouraging because it could be just one report. The guy we paid to was going to be our dude. And we'll see what happens with Jonathan Brooks. The fact that there's any speculation around that, the fact that Carolina has the most money committed to their offensive line of any team in football, and they spin a first-round pick on a tackle, and Chuba ran – he didn't have a 15-yard run last year. How is that possible, Chuba? These are the jobs that you think are secure for one guy, who, again, I respect Chuba as the player he is. You think they're secure, but then you can't – like, Dowdle had big plays for them, and then Dowdle was the dude.

54:55Mike Wright:if Chuba's running and he's running well but it's little chunk plays and Jonathan Brooks breaks off a screen pass to the to the house and a big long run the conversation will happen very quickly and yes it will and you're looking at this team and saying well I mean you brought up the Saints Carolina is in this division they have every chance to win this it's a wide open division I think we can all agree yeah yeah with Tampa New Orleans Carolina you know Atlanta there are opportunities here and the running game is going to be what they win with so you know there's a world where chuba and jonathan brooks are both sort of relevant for fantasy during the year so i think as a sleeper it's time to bring the name back up we wanted him to have success the last couple years you know i think this is a feel-good story time's the charm guys i mean if he gets hurt again i it will be it will be time to find a new career very devastating it will be devastating so there you go all of our sleepers breakouts busting values that we agree on can be found in the ultimate draft kit at ultimate draft kit.com and that'll do it for today's show what do we got coming up busts and value picks on the thursday episode of the show some underrated overrated next week as well jason yes sir i know when did you go from backwards hat back to forwards hat about 20 seconds ago oh you just made the switch yeah you were so cool for so long i know i'm back It was.

56:18Mike Wright:But when the show's shutting down. The aura of the show's. Yeah. People are not listening anymore, so I guess it makes sense. All right, that'll do it for today's episode. For Andy, Mike, and Jason, we say farewell. We'll catch you on Thursday. Goodbye.

56:35Jason Moore:Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter at The FF Ballers.

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