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Rookies You MUST Draft - 2026 Fantasy Football — Transcript

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0:06Greetings and salutations everyone. My
0:08name is Andrew Pureov and welcome to my
0:09YouTube channel. Today we're talking
0:11about rookies you must draft going into
0:13the 2026 fantasy football season. Now I
0:16think we can all agree rookies make a
0:18huge impact upon fantasy football every
0:20single season. Now some years more than
0:22others, but we can all identify that you
0:24have an opportunity to perhaps selecting
0:26a breakout player at a relative
0:28discount. We're talking about the most
0:30recent years, 2025. Eight of the top 36
0:33ranked running backs in a half PPR
0:35scoring format were rookies. That's 22%
0:38of the top 36. Then we go back to 2024.
0:41Five of the top 36 wide receivers
0:43rookies. And in this most recent season,
0:45guys like Tyler Warren, Coulson Leland,
0:47and Harold Fannon, three of the top 12
0:50ranked tight ends were rookies, 25% of
0:52the share. So, the entire objective of
0:54today's episode is how do we identify
0:57the most valuable rookies going into
0:592026 that can give us not only an
1:01advantage based on players who could
1:02potentially outproduce their ADP, but
1:05potentially selecting league winners for
1:072026. Now, before we get to talking
1:09about these rookies, a quick reminder
1:11for those of you guys who have not yet
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1:57running back, wide receiver, tight end,
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2:20Click the link down below and use code
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2:27responsibly. Thank you very much for all
2:29the support. Okay, let's go ahead and
2:30let's talk about the running back
2:32position to begin with. Like I mentioned
2:34just moments ago, in 2025, eight of the
2:37top 36 running backs, 22% were rookies.
2:40Now, objectively, that is an outlier at
2:43times over the course of the last
2:44decade, as this most recent class was
2:46said to have been one of the best
2:48running back rookie draft classes since
2:512017. And quite frankly, it lived up to
2:53the hype. But in my opinion, going into
2:552026, I think we're going to see a lot
2:56less representation within rookie
2:59running backs in the top 36. I think
3:01we'll see a lot more of what we saw from
3:022021 to 2024, which on average 3.75
3:06running backs made the top 36 and a half
3:08PPR scoring format. Primarily because
3:11this 2026 running back draft class
3:13consisted of the least amount of running
3:15backs selected within a given year in
3:18the last decade. only 12 true running
3:20backs were drafted, which again in
3:22comparison to last year, there were like
3:2426 running backs drafted. So, there are
3:27less overall representation and
3:28therefore less chances of guys
3:30potentially breaking out. So, expect
3:32anywhere between two, three, maybe four,
3:34if we're lucky, running backs to make
3:36the top 36. And that's being optimistic
3:38because truly, I think the only people
3:40that are guaranteed to find opportunity
3:42in which they need and potentially
3:44success are the two men on screen,
3:46Jeremiah Love and Jadarium Price. both
3:48of them, both Notre Dame alumni and
3:50teammates back in 2025. Now, oftent
3:52times the best way to identify a running
3:54back for the potential breakout in their
3:56rookie years typically revolves around
3:58NFL draft capital, which in the case of
3:59these two running backs obviously are
4:00first round selections and opportunity
4:02share. When we talk about first round
4:04selected running backs, obviously using
4:06top tier NFL draft capital to make this
4:09selection, so you would assume that the
4:11organizations are going to prioritize
4:13them within the offense. of the 14
4:15running backs that have been selected in
4:17the first round since 2016, I'm gonna
4:20eliminate Travis ETN from this overall
4:22equation considering he did not play in
4:24year one. So instead of 14, we'll talk
4:26about 13 running backs. 12 of those 13,
4:2992.3% ranked within the top 36. Again,
4:32an incredibly high overall success rate
4:35of first round selected running backs.
4:38And of the running backs who played 15
4:39or more games in their rookie year,
4:41there were seven of them. in all seven
4:44ranked within the top 13 or better their
4:46rookie season. So the expectation of
4:48this upcoming season for guys like
4:50Jeremiah Love and effectively Jadarian
4:52Price if in fact they are given the
4:54ample opportunity and play 15 plus games
4:57I mean the sky's is the limit. Top 12
4:58potential upside is certainly on the
5:00board. Now besides draft capital
5:02potentially determining the overall
5:04usage of a running back opportunity
5:05always leads to success in fantasy
5:07football. So, let's talk about when
5:09running backs, specifically rookies,
5:11have been exposed to a high volume of
5:13opportunity in the past decade of the
5:15NFL, 2016 to 2025. There were 48
5:19different running backs that were given
5:20150 touches or more in their rookie
5:22season. Of the 48, 44 of them, so 92%
5:26ranked in the top 36. Again, a
5:28relatively high success rate when given
5:31ample opportunity. And even beyond that,
5:33when we talk about running backs that
5:34were exposed to a greater volume share
5:36of opportunity, 180 plus targets, of
5:39those 40 running backs, 38 of them
5:41achieved a top 36 standing, a 95%
5:44success rate. So, if we're anticipating
5:46to potentially see guys like Jeremiah
5:48Love and of course Jarian Price, which I
5:49am anticipating to get plus 180 touches
5:52this upcoming year easily, they should
5:54both be guarantees at top 36. But can
5:56they go even further beyond that? Now,
5:58before I get into specifically answering
6:00that question, a quick reminder, there
6:02is a way to make it into the top 36 and
6:05not get 150, you know, total touches
6:07within a given year. Over the course of
6:09the last decade, we have seen three
6:10running backs accomplish that. Rookie
6:12season, Devon Achan, Tariq Cohen, and
6:14Naim Hines. Two of them obviously
6:17receiving backs, the other a touchdown
6:19machine. But nonetheless, it's not
6:21impossible for a given running back to
6:22accomplish it, assuming, of course,
6:24either receiving utilization or
6:26touchdowns are the primary lead factor.
6:28But I wanted to go ahead and let's talk
6:29about the undeniability of what Jeremiah
6:32Love can potentially accomplish this
6:34upcoming season. Let's not forget
6:35Jeremiah Love signed the highest
6:38guaranteed contract for a running back
6:40in NFL history. I think it's $53 million
6:42guaranteed. When you are already joining
6:44the league and breaking records for your
6:46guaranteed contract, I would like to
6:48assume that the Arizona Cardinals
6:49utilizing the number three overall pick
6:51of the 2026 NFL draft know exactly what
6:53they're doing and they're going to
6:54utilize them in every aspect of their
6:56offense. Again, for context, from 2016
6:58to 2025, running backs that were
7:00selected in the top five of their NFL
7:02draft have always ranked in the top
7:04eight of fantasy football within that
7:06given season. So again, there are
7:08potential high ceilings of production
7:10from Jeremiah Love this upcoming season
7:12ahead. But historically, when we talk
7:14about running backs that were selected
7:15in the top 10 of their draft over the
7:17course of the last decade, all of them
7:19ranked within the top 13 in year 1.
7:22These are running backs such as Barkley,
7:24Elliot, Fornette, Genty, Bejon, and
7:26McAffrey. All incredible running backs
7:28in their own right, but Jeremiah Love
7:30deserves to be a part of this group
7:31considering how much talent he has. Now,
7:33when we approach this upcoming season,
7:35again, there are still some
7:37uncertainties within this Arizona
7:38Cardinals offense. It's almost identical
7:41to what Bejian Robinson in his rookie
7:442023 season had to deal with.
7:46Specifically, both of them are going to
7:48have to deal with Tyler Algier. Of
7:50course, Tyler Algier was there in
7:51Atlanta for Bejon and now is the backup
7:53running back in Arizona. Both them will
7:55have to deal with that. And
7:56additionally, very similar to Bejon, who
7:58was dealing with a veteran running back
7:59in that organization, which was
8:01Cordderero Patterson at the time, we
8:02have Jeremiah Love that has to deal with
8:04James Connor. It's almost an identical
8:06situation, but still within that season
8:08accomplished 272 touches with Desmond
8:12Ritter and Taylor Heinei as his starting
8:14quarterbacks. I think this upcoming
8:15season within this offense, anticipate
8:17that level of opportunity share.
8:19Additionally, on top of it, more
8:21negative game scripts as we will see, of
8:23course, Jacobe Brassette launching the
8:25ball in the direction of his incredible
8:26weapons. But of course, amongst all
8:28quarterbacks last season, he was number
8:30one in checkdown rate, 19.7%
8:33checkdown, which again certainly helped
8:35their running backs as the Arizona
8:36Cardinal in 2025, ranked third in
8:38running back targets with 124. And
8:41remember, Jacobe Brassette did not even
8:43start the entirety of the season. But
8:45when you go ahead and talk about on a
8:46per game average, Jeremiah Love is
8:48looking towards potentially six or seven
8:50targets per game this upcoming year.
8:52Now, besides Jeremiah Love, we want to
8:54talk about his former college teammate,
8:56Jajarian Price because I do believe that
8:58the price is right for him this off
9:00season and specifically where he sits on
9:02his current ADP. I'm willing to take the
9:04potential investment there because of
9:06what we're going to get in return. Look,
9:08he's joining a backfield as the final
9:09pick of the 2026 first round that is
9:12again in tatters. We have Kenneth
9:14Walker, the defending Super Bowl champ
9:16and MVP of Super Bowl 60 that is no
9:19longer going to be there. You have Zack
9:21Charbanet recovering from the ACL
9:23injury. And that ACL injury, of course,
9:25forced him to have surgery on February
9:2720th. A 9-month return to date lands us
9:29on November 20th, which in this case
9:31would be week 11 of the season, or
9:33because of course, this team has a
9:35by-week in week 11, week 12. So, when I
9:37anticipate Jadarian Price to be the
9:38starting running back of this
9:39organization and potentially do so from
9:41weeks one through 10, there's a
9:43possibility that he could be averaging
9:46anywhere between maybe 15 to 18 touches
9:48per game. Because last season within
9:50this organization, their running backs,
9:52Walker and Charbet, when they played
9:54together during the regular season,
9:56Walker was averaging 14.69
9:59touches per game, while Charbanet was
10:00averaging 12.75 touches per game. as a
10:03duo getting 28 opportunities per game.
10:06When you bring in a new offensive
10:07coordinator in the form of Brian Flurry,
10:09who was the San Francisco 49ers runame
10:11coordinator last season, the 49ers
10:13ranked sixth in running back rushing
10:15attempts with 403 last season, while the
10:17Seahawks were tied for first in running
10:19back rushing attempts with the Atlanta
10:21Falcons with 439.
10:23Expect a lot of rushing from this
10:25offense and a lot of opportunity in the
10:26direction of Jadarian Price early on. In
10:29the event in which he averages 13
10:30touches per game this season on 17
10:32games, that's 220 total touches. But
10:34until Charbanet returns, expect him to
10:36have workhorse level of opportunity in
10:39the price range of potentially 16 18 if
10:41not 20 touches per game. And when rookie
10:43running backs have been exposed to that
10:44level of opportunity in the last decade,
10:462016 to 2025, 220 plus touches makes you
10:49an automatic top 30 fantasy running
10:51back. And on top of it, you even have
10:54more potential because even when
10:56Charbanet returns, you could see a
10:57two-headed monster backfield like they
10:59continued to run last year. And Jadarian
11:01Price could be the thorn on the side of
11:03Charbanet on a weekly basis. Now, let's
11:06go ahead and continue on by talking
11:07about other running backs because
11:08unfortunately in 2026, there were zero
11:11second round selected running backs and
11:13only one selected in round three. It's
11:15the lowest amount of running backs
11:17selected on day two of the draft in
11:19quite frankly the history of the NFL.
11:21So, let's talk about some potential
11:22fourth through seventh round selected
11:24running backs and what potential they
11:26have over the course of the last decade.
11:28Of the fourth through seventh round
11:29selected running backs that were given
11:31150 touches or more, 14 of the 15, 93%
11:36of them were top 36 within a given
11:38season. Now, I do mention this because
11:40of course opportunity leads to success.
11:42But the question is, are there going to
11:44be breakouts in 2026 among the running
11:47backs that were selected between rounds
11:494 through 7? In recent years, the
11:51typical catalyst for a breakout either
11:53is first and foremost injuries to the
11:55starter, a washed backfield with very
11:57little competition or a backfield that
12:00quite frankly has no competition at all.
12:02We've seen that only three times in the
12:04last decade. You know, guys like Michael
12:05Carter in 2021, Damen Pierce in 2022,
12:08and Jakori Crosky Merritt 2025 that
12:10joined a backfield that had quite
12:12frankly no early down competition, which
12:14of course allowed them to be the starter
12:16early and of course have the fantasy
12:18value to be top 32 ranked each
12:20individually. But when we look at the
12:22guys like Jonah Coleman, Nicholas
12:24Singleton, Kron Allen, or Deont
12:27Clayborn, those four running backs have
12:29potential. But of the bunch, my two
12:32favorites would be technically Jonah
12:33Coleman or Nicholas Singleton if all
12:35things are the same. Again, obviously
12:38all of them could find value in the
12:39event in which the starters of their
12:41organization get injured. But when we
12:43talk about a Shawn Peyton backfield and
12:44of course the fact that he has utilized
12:46many of times over the course of his
12:48career two three-headed monsters,
12:50there's always the possibility that
12:51Jonah Coleman could supplant someone
12:54like R.J. Harvey or in the event of a JK
12:57Dobbins injury, of course, find himself
12:58value there. Additionally, in the case
13:00of a Nicholas Singleton, he is also in a
13:02backfield that is quite crowded with
13:03guys like Tony Pard or Tai Spears. But
13:06when you're playing under Brian Dal who
13:08over the course of the last two seasons
13:09leaned upon rookie selected running
13:11backs that were outside of the first two
13:14rounds selected guys like Tyrone Tracy
13:16in 2024 was the feature back of the New
13:19York Giants and in 2025 it quickly
13:21became Cam Scatteraboo prior to his
13:23season ending injury. reality of the
13:24situation is unless you are utilizing a
13:26finer final round pick in a deep league
13:28on one of these two guys, again, I'm not
13:30going to be utilizing very early draft
13:32capital, I'm not anticipating them to
13:34have value for quite some time as these
13:36are guys that again require their
13:38starters to go down in order for them to
13:40go ahead and be given the opportunity to
13:43find success. All right, let's move on
13:45and let's talk about some wide
13:46receivers. Because of course, besides
13:48the running back position that has found
13:50representation on a yearly basis in the
13:52top 36 rankings, so have wide receivers.
13:54Like I mentioned earlier, back in 2024,
13:56five of the top 36 wide receivers, 14%
13:59were rookies. And again, we have seen it
14:01on a yearly basis since 2021 at that
14:03level of kind of representation. Now,
14:05this most recent year, we only saw two
14:07wide receivers crack the top 36, which
14:09was Tedo McMillan and Amecha Ibuka. It's
14:12no surprise they were able to accomplish
14:13that as both of those wide receivers
14:15were first round selections. So, let's
14:16talk about players that not only were
14:18first round selections, but their teams
14:21utilize high draft capital to secure
14:23them. That's of course guys like Carnell
14:25Tate and Jordan Tyson. When we talk
14:27about the history of success from top 10
14:30selected first round wide receivers, we
14:32find the following. when we exclude
14:33Travis Hunter as he is not just an
14:35exclusive wide receiver. So technically
14:37there would be 10, but in this case
14:39we're just going to exclude him. Of the
14:41nine wide receivers since 2021 that were
14:44selected in the top 10 of their
14:46respective NFL draft, eight of those
14:48nine wide receivers were top 36 ranked,
14:50an 89% success rate. Of those eight wide
14:52receivers that ranked in the top 36,
14:54seven of them were number one target
14:56getters in their rookie season for their
14:59offense. guys like Tedoro McMillan,
15:00Garrett Wilson, Drake London, Jamar
15:02Chase, Devonte Smith, Jaylen Wadd, Malle
15:05Neighbors, and the only wide receiver
15:06not able to accomplish that was Marvin
15:07Harrison as he was second to Trey
15:09McBride on his own team. So, he was the
15:11number two target getter, but luckily
15:13enough was able to still rank within the
15:15top 36. So, when we talk about which
15:17wide receivers are eligible for this
15:18this year, we're lucky enough to have
15:20Carninal Tate and Jordan Tyson in this
15:21conversation. First and foremost with
15:23Carnell Tate, the number four overall
15:25selection of the 2026 NFL draft,
15:27continuing the legacy of first round
15:29selected Ohio State wide receivers,
15:30following in the footsteps of guys like
15:32Amecha Ibuka, Marvin Harrison Jr.,
15:34Jackson Smith, and Jigba, Garrett
15:36Wilson, and Chris Olive, who since 2022
15:39have all been selected in the first
15:40round of their respective drafts. He
15:42joins an offense that is going to have
15:43the new offensive coordinator Brian
15:45Dable, formerly the head coach of the
15:46New York Giants from 2022 to 2025. Now,
15:49when we talk about what Brian Dal did in
15:50his final full season as the New York
15:53Giants head coach and primary play
15:54caller, we have to travel back to 2024.
15:56In that given year, the Giants were
15:58number two amongst all teams in terms of
16:00wide receiver targets with 402.
16:02Additionally, in 2024, the New York
16:04Giants had Daniel Jones, Drew Lockach,
16:06Tim Bole, and Tommy Devito as their
16:08starting quarterbacks. Yet, they ranked
16:10number nine amongst all teams in passing
16:12attempts. Additionally, Malik Neighbors
16:14in his rookie season a part of that
16:16organization, a top 10 selected wide
16:18receiver at that very similar to Carnell
16:20Tate had 170 targets in 15 games while
16:23Wandell Robinson additionally in 17
16:24games had 140 targets. Expect for Bryant
16:28to air it out to not only his, you know,
16:29first round selected wide receiver
16:31Carnell Tate, but Wandell Robinson as
16:33well as he's going to try to re-eulate
16:35that offense and find just as much
16:36potential success through the air. Now,
16:38when we talk about top 10 selected wide
16:40receivers since 2021 that have gotten
16:43themselves a minimum of 120 targets, all
16:46five of those wide receivers, Chase,
16:47Neighbors, McMillan, Wadd, and Wilson
16:49were all top 20 ranked. So, if we can
16:51find ourselves in a season where
16:52Carninal Tate alongside of Cam Ward is
16:55not only the number one receiving option
16:56of this offense, but is exposed to 120
16:59plus targets this season, expect for a
17:02huge breakout year from this rookie wide
17:04receiver that again in comparison to his
17:06potential is going at a far lower ADP
17:09range, which you can currently find him,
17:11you know, being selected at like wide
17:12receiver 30 or higher. Nonetheless, we
17:14move on to another wide receiver in the
17:15form of Jordan Tyson. Look, one of the
17:17biggest surprises of the first round of
17:19the 2026 NFL draft was the eighth
17:21overall selection, Tyson. Again, this is
17:23a wide receiver that over the course of
17:24his college career, yes, he balled out,
17:26but found himself in a lot of injured
17:28situations. But when you compare him to
17:30guys like Chase Neighbors, McMillan,
17:32it's a little bit of a different
17:33situation. Not via talents, but
17:35specifically in terms of the offense
17:37he's going to be associated with. Like I
17:39mentioned earlier, the majority of the
17:42wide receivers that were selected in the
17:43top 10 ended up being the number one
17:45target getters of their offense. Only
17:46two of those nine wide receivers were
17:49not their number one target getters
17:50being Marvin Harrison who was the number
17:52two target getter of the Arizona
17:53Cardinals his rookie year and Roma Dunay
17:55who was number three within his offense
17:57behind DJ Moore and Keenan Allen. So if
18:00in fact again we're not going to see
18:02Jordan Tyson be a top two option then
18:05potentially a top 36 draft position
18:07isn't going to be something that we're
18:09looking forward but I do believe he is
18:11going to be the number two receiving
18:12option of the New Orleans Saints and let
18:14me tell you exactly why. Last season,
18:16the New Orleans Saints had Kell Moore in
18:18his first year as their head coach and
18:19primary play caller. They ranked number
18:21nine amongst all teams and wide receiver
18:22targets. And prior to Rasheed Shahid
18:25being traded away, we saw him get a lot
18:27of opportunity within this offense,
18:29specifically in the first nine games of
18:30the season, averaging 7.33 targets per
18:33game. That level of opportunity for
18:35someone like Jordan Tyson, who in my
18:37opinion is a better wide receiver than
18:38Rasheed Shahid, could potentially unlock
18:40his ability to be this top 36 potential.
18:42Now, for those of you who are wondering,
18:44Andrew, can he still compete with guys
18:45like Olive, you know, Johnson in the
18:47backfield? Absolutely. Because last
18:49season when Rasheed Shahid was being
18:51exposed to these seven targets per game,
18:53Olave was averaging 9.7 targets. Jawan
18:56Johnson 6.2 and Alvin Kamar 3.8. So,
18:59considering the situations they're
19:00associated with, I truly do believe both
19:02these wide receivers are going to be top
19:0436, assuming, of course, they are
19:06healthy, play 15 plus games in 2026. All
19:08right, let's continue on to other wide
19:10receivers that still are within the
19:12first round because again, first round
19:14selected wide receivers are typically
19:15the ones that find success in fantasy
19:17football. So, let's talk about guys
19:19like, you know, Mai Lemon, Casey
19:20Cassion, players that again were
19:22selected in the first round, but outside
19:24of the top 10. Since 2021, there have
19:26been 16 wide receivers selected in the
19:28first round outside of the top 10. Of
19:30those 16, nine played 15 or more games.
19:34And of those nine, six of them ranked in
19:36the top 36, which is a 67% success rate.
19:40So, two out of every three. Now, all
19:41five wide receivers who got themselves
19:43100 plus targets while being a first
19:45round selected wide receiver outside of
19:46the top 10 all were able to find success
19:49and be top 30 ranked in their given
19:50year. So, of course, opportunity leads
19:52to success. And if you can anticipate to
19:54see one of the three other wide
19:56receivers that were selected in the
19:58first round, whether it be Mai Lemon,
20:00Casey Casspion, or Omar Cooper Jr. to be
20:03exposed to 100 plus targets, then of
20:05course you should be drafting them
20:06because top 36 upside is certainly on
20:09the table. But in my opinion, if I'm
20:10looking at these three wide receivers,
20:12the two that I've displayed on screen
20:14are the ones that I trust the most going
20:16into this upcoming year. Now, I'm not
20:17trying to get burnt like I did last year
20:19with Matthew Golden going allin on him,
20:21but I still think this is worth a
20:22potential gamble if the price is right
20:24via ADP. Now, in the case of Conpsion,
20:27he could very easily come away with
20:28being the number one wide receiver of
20:30this offense. He may not outtarget
20:32someone like Harold Fannon, but I
20:34certainly think he's a better receiving
20:35option than guys like Jerry Judy or
20:37Denzel Boston. So, I would anticipate
20:39him to be the number one wide receiver
20:40of this team and potentially be able to
20:42vive for 100 plus targets considering
20:44they're going to be in negative game
20:45scripts all season long. Someone like
20:47Mai Lemon will have a little bit more of
20:49a difficulty transitioning because not
20:51only is he currently dealing with an
20:52injury, but additionally, you still have
20:54other threats within that offense like
20:55Devonte Smith and of course Dallas. on
20:58top of the fact that this is going to be
21:00a runheavy offense. But if in fact they
21:03can spread the love and get Mai Lemon a
21:05lot of usage, of course he can make an
21:06impact in year one. May not be from week
21:09one on, but of course eventually he will
21:11be a mainstay within that offense and a
21:14name that on a weekly basis we are
21:16throwing in our flex position by
21:17hopefully halfway through the year. Now
21:19when we continue on to other wide
21:21receivers that were selected in later
21:22rounds specifically, let's talk about
21:24some second round selected wide
21:25receivers since 2016. In the last decade
21:28of fantasy football, only 13 of the 52nd
21:32round selected wide receivers. So 26%
21:35ranked within the top 36. Of the seven
21:38wide receivers that had 100 or more
21:40targets, they all ranked in the top 36.
21:42And of wide receivers that still ranked
21:44in the top 36, in which there were four
21:45of that did not have 100 targets, they
21:48all scored seven touchdowns minimum in
21:50year one. So with opportunity, with
21:53touchdowns, there can be an opportunity
21:55for a second round selected wide
21:56receiver to jump into this top 36
21:59conversation. And if there was
22:00technically going to be one this
22:02upcoming season, I'm looking towards
22:03someone like Deshawn Stribbling who's
22:05associated with a high-powered offense
22:07that still has KD coming off the
22:10Achilles, an old Debo Samuel, and an old
22:13Mike Evans. All these players, their
22:16ages are high and their injury rates are
22:18also just as high. And in the event in
22:20which of course everybody gets injured,
22:22I think Stribbling could certainly be a
22:23value play going into this upcoming
22:25season that may in fact not be someone
22:27that you draft, but in just a couple
22:29weeks time into the season could end up
22:31being a waiverwire asset. Now, when we
22:34continue on to other potential wide
22:36receivers, guys that were selected from
22:38rounds three through seven, again,
22:40you're not going to find much success.
22:41In the last decade of fantasy football,
22:43only two third rounders have been top 36
22:45ranked wide receivers. Cooper Cup, Tara
22:47McLuren. Only one fourth rounder, Aman
22:49Rosar St. Brown. Three fifth rounders,
22:52which consist of Pukunaku, Tyreek Hill,
22:54and Darius Sllayton. And no sixth or
22:56seventh rounders have ever been ranked
22:58in the top 36. So if in fact you're
23:00looking towards players within that
23:02range of rounds three through seven
23:04whether that be someone like Jacobe
23:05Lane, Chris Bell coming off of the ACL
23:07or you know Cyrus Allen if you're
23:09looking at those players unless they're
23:11going to be the next coming of Aman Ra
23:13Puka Nua and be exposed to the level of
23:15opportunity they were in their rookie
23:17seasons that helped elevate them to that
23:19level of production. Unless you're going
23:20to end up finding those hidden gems this
23:23upcoming season, I would anticipate
23:25probably just skipping on all wide
23:27receivers within that range because
23:2890.5% of rookies that ranked within the
23:31top 36 since 2021 were either first or
23:34second round selections of their draft.
23:36Of the 112 wide receivers selected from
23:38rounds 3 through 7 in the last five
23:40seasons, only two of the 112 were top 36
23:44ranked. Again, that's only Puka Dua and
23:47Aman Ross St. Brown. All right, let's go
23:49ahead and let's move on and let's close
23:50out today's episode by talking about the
23:52tight end position. I mentioned this
23:53stat just a couple days ago when I
23:55talked about my top 24 tight end
23:57rankings, specifically in relation to
23:59Kenyan Sadiq, the first round selected
24:01tight end and the only, you know, tight
24:02end that was selected in the first round
24:04of the 2026 NFL draft. If you're looking
24:06to get a top 12 ranked tight end, the
24:09only way you should be able to
24:10accomplish such a thing is in the event
24:13in which you're selecting a first round
24:15tight end. Since 2021, there have been
24:17five first round selected tight ends.
24:20Warren, Lovelin, Bowers, Concaid, and
24:21Pitts. All of them played 16 plus games
24:23in their rookie year. All of them ranked
24:25in the top 12. If Kenyon Sundique can
24:27follow in the footsteps of these other
24:29tight ends, of course, that would be
24:30incredible. But as we know right now,
24:32he's currently dealing with a little bit
24:33of an injury. He had a bit of a setback
24:35based on the offseason sports hernia
24:38surgery that he did have. Again, he is
24:40not clear to practice yet. And once in
24:42fact we get some positive news in his
24:44direction of course he could still find
24:46value come week one in the event in
24:48which his recovery process is a clean
24:50and smooth kind of transition. Now the
24:52reason why I do believe besides the
24:54history of success of first round
24:56selected tight end since 2021 is the
24:58fact that when you're associating him
25:00with Frank Reich the new offensive
25:02coordinator of the Jets who has helped
25:04support Eric Ibr to be the number four
25:06overall tight end back in 2018 for the
25:08Colts with 110 targets. He helped
25:10support Zack Herz in 2016 to being the
25:12number six overall tight end with 106
25:14targets. And in 2014 helped support
25:17Antonio Gates be the number two overall
25:19tight end with 98 targets. Again, he has
25:22been associated with incredible tight
25:23ends over the course of his entire
25:24career as an offensive coordinator. And
25:26now that you also bring in their tight
25:27ends coach, Alfredo Roberts, who's been
25:29with the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2021
25:31and helped Pat Frier Muth rank as a top
25:3313 tight end in three of the last five
25:36seasons. I think there is a high
25:38potential for upside from someone like
25:40Kenyan Sadi who is undoubtedly one of
25:42the most athletic tight ends that has
25:43come into the NFL draft in quite some
25:46time now. If you're going to try to look
25:48beyond the first round to select a tight
25:50end better luck finding it elsewhere
25:51because quite frankly year-over-year we
25:54try to find tight ends that can be
25:56sleepers that can be breakouts guys like
25:59Sam Leaporta couple years back or Harold
26:01Fannon last year. Yes, those are
26:03literally the only two tight ends that
26:05have been selected in the second or
26:07third round of their NFL draft that
26:10ranked as a top 12 tight end in their
26:12rookie year. And the reason they were
26:13able to do so is because both of them
26:15saw over a 100red targets in that given
26:17year. In fact, of the top 12 ranked
26:20tight ends that have been rookies since
26:222016, all of them had to have a minimum
26:24of 82 targets, but six of the eight had
26:28100 targets minimum. So again,
26:30opportunity leads to success. And unless
26:32you're looking at guys like Eli Sters,
26:34again, second round selected pick for
26:36the Philadelphia Eagles, unless GD
26:38misses time, he's not going to be quite
26:40relevant enough to be a top 12 option.
26:42You know, Marlon Klein, unless we're
26:44going to be in the post, you know,
26:45Daltton Schultz era, don't expect much.
26:48Max Claire, yes, he got drafted to the
26:49Rams that love their tight ends, but
26:51he's going to have a rookie year of
26:52purgatory just like Terrence Ferguson
26:54had last season. You know, Eli Raridan,
26:56an incredible talent, but Hunter Henry
26:58is still in the mix. Unless he goes
27:00down, nothing that we can look at.
27:02Matthew Hibner of the Ravens. Again, we
27:04know that the Ravens want to get a lot
27:06of utilization out of their tight ends.
27:07Whether it is guys like Mark Andrews
27:09alongside of another piece, considering
27:11there aren't very many receiving
27:12options, unless we're in the post Mark
27:14Andrews era, it's also going to be
27:16difficult. You know, Justin Jolie,
27:18that's another player that if in fact
27:20the Denver Broncos can utilize instead
27:22of Evan Ingram this year, could be of
27:24value. There guys out there that I'm
27:26keeping my eye on. Am I holding my
27:28breath? Absolutely not. Because the
27:30history of fantasy football speaks to
27:32first round selected tight ends being of
27:34value. There are going to be weeks into
27:36in which some of these guys may end up
27:37being of value because of injuries, but
27:39until then, they're going to be waver
27:41wire options rather than a priority for
27:43my upcoming draft. All right, I hope you
27:45guys enjoyed today's content. Again, the
27:47entirety of it was to identify some
27:48players that we're going after, whether
27:50it's Jeremiah Love, Jadarian Price,
27:52potentially Jonah Coleman and Nicholas
27:54Singleton as guys that are in a deeper
27:55league, potential options as the final
27:57pick of your draft, going to the wide
27:59receiver position. Talking about, of
28:01course, the top 10 selected players like
28:02Carnell Tate and Jordan Tyson, and then
28:05potentially putting in some investment
28:06on guys like Mai Lemon and of course
28:08Casey Conpsion. maybe even a couple
28:11sprinkles in this Sean Stribbling, but
28:13if anything, he's probably going to be a
28:14waiverwire asset this season. And if
28:16you're looking towards a tight end, of
28:18course, look no further than Sadiq.
28:20Outside of that, I want to remind you
28:21guys again, if you enjoyed today's
28:22content, subscribe to the channel. Of
28:24course, we are on our way to 100,000
28:26subscribers, click the like button down
28:27below. Greatly appreciate all of it.
28:29Again, for those of you guys who want my
28:30all-encompassing rankings, you can use
28:32code Andrew. Make that first time play
28:34of $10 minimum via parlay play or of
28:36course, you can check out the Patreon.
28:38There's a link down in the description
28:39for those of you guys who want to ask me
28:40individualized questions via the Patreon
28:42messenger or of course via Discord. You
28:44can additionally get my draft rankings
28:46there on Patreon and of course weekly
28:48rankings for the remainder of the
28:49season. All that information if you guys
28:51are interested. All right, that's going
28:52to cover for me today. Thank you
28:53everybody for watching and until next
28:54time, I'll see you guys. Peace. [music]

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