WR Rankings Countdown: 20-11 + Puka Panic - Fantasy Football Podcast for 8/6

You know, his, uh, yeah. I see his last one is a, is a picture of him against the lions. So maybe the lions are in play. Ooh. You know, just throwing that out there. Or lions have mains. Okay. Maybe his main team that he wants to go to. Oh, I thought you were going to go in New England. Um, I don't know. Let me know where he goes someday. Okay. All right. We are, uh, we are looking at our. 20 through 11 today. And this will be fun. There's some discrepancy quite a bit, actually, starting at number 20 with Drake London. I've got him at 20 on the dot. That's where he ended up in our consensus because Jason's got him at 12 Mike at 26. He's 23 years old. I hate my ranking. I'm just letting you know that. You are morally opposed? It's just his the, that's where he fell in the projections. And it's not like a gigantic gap point wise between him.

and say where Andy has him at 20 and the upside is not, that's why we have an upside meter in the UDK because that is not reflected in my median projections. Yeah, I mean, we're sitting in this stage with Drake London of excitement for the future, fear of a Garrett Wilson style letdown from last year where you came in with expectations that weren't delivered on because you haven't had it. And then you don't want him to become. that perennial McLaurin DJ Moore of Days of Old. So I think there's some fear, and I think that there's going to be a big variety of rankings on Drake London. I think that some people hearing, you know, Jason at 12 might say it's a little aggressive, but I think there's other people that are going to say that's right where he belongs. ADP says that that's low. Yeah.

Yeah, I will say that he is scary to rank there because he hasn't done it yet. Obviously, that's difficult. But when you look at the trifecta of, you know, the Garrett Wilson, Drake London, Chris Oliva trio that was drafted together, they have looked great on the NFL field. They've done some stuff. There's a lot of excitement for them. And you have to say, well, what about the quarterback situation? I believe Drake London has the best quarterback of the three. Today. Now, Achilles injuries are coming back from them, you know, maybe he's not the same. Obviously, that's true for Garrett Wilson's quarterback as well and Aaron Rogers. And a lot of people will be like, wait, you think Cousins is better than Aaron Rogers? I do at this point. I think the 40-year-old version of Aaron Rogers is not going to be as good as Kirk Cousins. But if Kirk Cousins, if Drake London is very good.

at playing wide receiver, which he has looked on, you know, the metrics that matter, the yards per route run. In his career, he's 2.47 yards per route run in three wide receiver sets. That number is outstanding. If Kirk Cousin still has it, how does Drake London not finish in the top, you know, 15 or as a wide receiver one? He absolutely should. There's questions about, yeah, I mean, and you have some kind of, Jack of all trades players on this roster. Kyle Pitts is not a, you know, Kyle Pitts is an athlete that can be lined up and run down the field, B. John Robinson, especially with Tyler Algeo there. Like Robinson can be used in the passing game tremendously, obviously. Mooney was in addition. And then just questions about how a new look offense is going to, you know, succeed under Zach Robinson. All those things factor into the variability. But he sits at 20 in our rankings.

with upside. That's factored in without question. And, you know, the talent is there. Like, if you, if you guaranteed me targets, my ranking changes. If you can guarantee me enough targets. I don't know how you, I don't know how you cannot guarantee that. Like, that's what I don't get. This is the, this is the RAM system coming over that plays at a faster pace, three wide receiver sets, throws a ball a lot. And he's the, he's such an alpha within this, you know, I'll grant you that. Kyle Pitts and Bijon are going to be very involved, but that's the, you know, a tight end and running back. In the wide receiver room, which is the primary target. Well, I mean, the last two years, 117 targets, 110 targets. So. Yeah, I mean, Arthur Smith running the ball nonstop. And I guarantee what conversation has been had of how do you not get, look at this guy. He's the alpha. There's nobody else. How do you not get drag on in the football? So I'm not going. I don't fall into the.

Every new offensive coordinator is amazing and it always works out. That's all I'm saying. So there's a prove it aspect to this season for Drake London. Because we all said if Terry McLaren got 160 targets, he'd be fine. We all said, you know, these players should be getting them. Right. I mean, you know, we waited for years for the DJ Moore breakout as well. Took a long time. But this season, you're going to have to go in early and, you know, make your claim for it. And honestly, I know I'm sitting here saying like he should get the targets. Everything should work out.

I'm terrified when I'm on the clock and he's the highest ADP and he's the next highest in my rankings. I often still don't take him because it's hard when you're going into year three and you're saying please break out. I mean, you have to draft them to be your one. You have to pretty much. And so that is, that's kind of where we were with Garrett Wilson and it didn't work out for people last year. So there's a little bit of a fear. I'll tell you right now, I just looked left. at the back wall, trying to see the clock for the show. Is it back there? It is not, but 1,200 shows told me it would be. So I just, for those listening at home, Mike and I are swapped spots again due to my grotesque appearance. Which, I'm looking at it. Yeah. I don't know why we didn't take into account my feelings. No, I mean, it's disrupting to the show in every regard. Yeah, it's gerose.

How's that feel? It feels good. It feels real good. There ain't nothing I can do. 19 is Brandon Ayuk. We just talked extensively about him. The ranks are going to jump all over the place based on the trade destination. Right now he's at 19. I've got him at 16. Mike at 17. Jason at 22. This was the most efficient wide receiver last year. Big play guy. We talked about if he stayed in San Francisco, some of the pitfalls of... matching those efficiency numbers again because of fantasy points per target were so incredibly high and the big plays. But this is a hyper talented player about to get paid. It seems like by another team. And these rankings are going to, they're just going to move. Yeah. I mean, TBD on what his target market share will look like and who his quarterback is. I won't ask you every, I won't ask each of you this question. But Jason, I'm real quick.

You have them at 22. Is that factoring in trade rumors? No, not at all. That was as a nineer. And then if I say a team name, I just want you to say where you think he'll end up when you restat him. Okay. I know it's not going to be fun, but you're going to do it anyway. New England? 26. Pittsburgh. 25. Cleveland. 18. So he goes up from San Francisco then. Four spot. That's presuming Amari Cooper leaves, yeah. Okay. Washington. 20. Okay. All right. Just off the top of the dome. Devante Smith at 18. I don't know why you hate him, Jason. But how do we have Smith ranked higher than you? Yeah. I don't know. I've got to go look a little deeper because I am all in on Devante Smith this year. I love him. I think he's going to have an awesome. Honestly, here's how you guys are higher. Outside the top 20. Just our numbers, where they're higher numbers?

I got him at 15. Brilliant smart people. You're brilliant smart people and you have him where he's, you know, going to finish. You've got him at 15, Andy, and I need to adjust him up. No, higher stat numbers now. Higher stats. Yes. That's what I meant. I mean, Devante Smith, I don't know if you saw that little, you know, hype moment this morning of. Jalen Hertz completing 88 consecutive practice. Practice passes with that on interception, which is exciting to, it's exciting to hear that with a new offensive mind coming in there. But the storyline with Devante Smith finished at wide receiver 20 last year, missed a game, wide receiver 10 the year before. Mike has talked so much this offseason about Jalen Waddle. And the fact that Jalen Waddle, he took a little step back last year after being the wide receiver 7.

and got, you know, Mike expects him to come back to form. Very similar to me with Devante Smith. These two were darlings in last year's draft season. And I think part of the narrative was like they got to deliver now on this new promotion. And neither of them were able to do that. But, you know, this was the wide receiver 10 in 2022. So Jason, even though you hate him, why do you love him? I love him because the Eagles offense was so hard to watch last year. It really was. Like it was, I mean, we saw it from the beginning of the year even when they were having success. We commented on it. This isn't revisionist history where we're saying, oh, things weren't good last year. Like, their offense was bland and boring, and it worked in the beginning of the year because they have immense talent. Because A.J. Brown and Devante Smith are just awesome. And Jalen Hertz is a super capable quarterback that with his dual threat ability, you just, you have, it's tough as a defense. However, you know, they didn't.

put men in motion. It was like around 10% of the time, man in motion. It was the lowest in the NFL. And Kellan Moore, I know we've had debates. Is he great? Is he not great? Whatever. He's been successful offensively for a couple of years in a row. Keenan Allen last year was phenomenal with, you know, with Kellynne Moore. C.D. Lamb was good with Kellan Moore two years ago. And so Kellan Moore coming over. He might not be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but I know he's not a bad offensive coordinator. I know he can get the job done, and I know he's got a great amount of talent. So I'm in on the Eagles offense this season. I really do expect it to be closer to what it was two years ago than last year. And Devante Smith coming into his own as a great wide receiver who...

can be used in the slot a little bit more, put in motion a little bit more. Let me talk about that for a second, because when you put a player in motion, you give them an advantage. Yes. And so when you see players that are extremely talented, prolific wide receivers, and you put them in motion, Arizona would do this with with Larry sometimes, you know, C.D. Lamb, we've seen do that recently. What I mean, Tyreek is. Tyreek is always moving. Which they have, did you guys see that they're at least trying? The. A focus for the refs will be what they're calling a cheating motion or something like that. Upfield. Where arena ball. You have, I mean, if you're watching the game, it definitely happens of Tyreek will be running laterally and he'll turn upfield just before the snap. And you're like, how are we not calling this a penalty? It certainly is. So we'll see if that affects anything. You should be able to keep your torso straight and your bottom half can move.

That'd be really fun to watch. So you're like you're facing? As long as your torso is facing horizontal, you can turn your legs. That's what I'm saying. Can we make it just the helmet? You know what I mean? Because that's, oh, that's even better. A little bit easier. So you can be running forward, but you've got to be looking back. But yes, it sets people up for an advantage. And this is something that I expect both AJ Brown and Devante Smith. to be moved around more. You have the Eagles cornerback, Ivante Maddox, said he noticed the Eagles wide receivers lining up at different spots more often, said he's seen more Devante Smith in the slot than he's used to seeing. Devante Smith, in college at Alabama, was an unbelievable player in the slot. 5.4 or 5.5 yards per route run during his Heisman year from the slot. All right, Smith at 18, 17, D.K. Metcalf coming in. He's one of those players where Jason, you're...

your ranking is extremely high compared to Mike and I, but his ADP to me is basically his floor. Mike and I have him ranked at his ADP right now. But when you look at a, you know, you talk about kind of an inverse Drake London situation in your draft, which is Drake London, you're forced into him being a wide receiver one. You're having to make a bet that has to pay off. Whereas Metcalf. I feel like if you draft them in ADP, you might be drafting a wide receiver one. Where is his ADP, wide receiver what? 22. Okay. So, I mean, he is a... He's never finished that low since his rookie year. Yes. Which, wide receiver seven, wide receiver 12, wide receiver 18, wide receiver 16. 16 last year was, like, I think the, the group memory of Seattle was, it was bad. Like, it was, they did not come through for fantasy football.

And yet he was the wide receiver 16 in 16 games played. I did have a little fear with the Gino Smith injury news. He is back at practice. But it would mean something if he was not there. Metcalf is one of the value picks of the years. He's a value. And he is there, you know, from a physicality, you know, you look at the red zone report in the UDK. He was one of the leaders in red zone targets. not necessarily completing them all into touchdowns, but those numbers come back to form. Yeah, and, you know, you look at Marvin Eloquin, one of our great writers, he did this study on what season, each position kind of peaks. Historically, year five and six compared to others, have the highest ceiling for fantasy points at wide receiver. This is, this is D.K. going into year six. This is a player in his prime.

Also, the Ryan Grub offense coming from the University of Washington, that was the one that featured Roma Dunesay so well. And the comps aren't just like me saying it. Ryan Grub has literally talked about the similarities between having one of those Adunze-like players in D.K. Metcalfe. So I think we can be confident that he's the center number one piece of the offense, and we know the talent. So to me, you know, wide receiver 10, that's pretty high. That's going to be touchdowns, right? If he gets the touchdowns, he can finish there. If he doesn't, he won't, but he gets so much red zone work, and he's got the body for it, and he's done it before, and he's being drafted as a wide receiver 22. He's just a, he's a layup to me at ADP right now. The big challenge was last year you only had 6% great games as we define them in the consistency charts. And out of his eight touchdowns, three came in that Dallas game. So then you're talking about breaking up 15 weeks with five touchdowns. So yes, it is going to come down to touchdowns and some more consistency if you're happy with that pick.

But he is, he's capable and set up to do it. And your confidence in Grub leans that direction. At number 16, Cooper Cup is sitting at 16. His ADP right now is the wide receiver 23. I am worried about the ADP. Just jettisoning, jettisoning, jettisoning. Jettisoning. Jettisoning. Jettisonal? Jettisonally rising. Yes, there is. Yes, thank you. Because we do this and we definitely do this with players that have been, you know, multi-time top receivers in the game and at his current wide receiver 23, I'm all over it. I want Cooper Cup on every team. This, the Puka Panic. The Puka Panic is interesting.

because he's hurt. He's weak to week right now, right, with the knee injury. And there's been reports out of camp that the offense is running through Cooper Cup already. And so, you know, he's on a mission. He's back to full health. You can be all those things and be 31 and still get hurt, right? Sure. However, like, if you go back and you look at the history of Pukkahua, he has struggled with injuries as well. Yeah. And so those injuries struggles going back to high school and college, like, They're hanging out there as maybe Cooper Cup can be the guy this entire year. The defense looks like it has weakened for the Rams, more throwing the football. McVeigh knows how to get the ball to Cooper Cup. We've seen this. The recipe is out there. They've cooked the dish and it's delicious when it's made right. We've spent some time lately talking about.

Is this just a situation? We're all excited for Puka. I don't know. That's okay. You be excited for Cupa, or a Cupa, Cupa, for Puga. Coupa trooper. Yeah, do not. Coup, don't be excited for Cuba. That's a bad tortoise. But we were like, well, at the end of the year, are we going to look back and go, oh, yeah, Cooper Cup is very good at football. And he has a very strong connection with Matthew Stafford. And these guys are still here. And are we just, are we letting? the new, the excitement for one player diminish our excitement for another guy, which we should, we should be excited for both of them. And it's like, and Puka's been up here at the one-two turn and Cooper Cup has been like a, what, like a late three or a fourth round guy. And it's just, it's, it's, it's in balance. I don't be there. I don't believe that a healthy Puka Nakua is a better player than a healthy Cooper Cup today. Okay.

I don't know if I believe that or not. I really don't. It's it's tough because obviously Cooper Cups, his, his pinnacle is an all-timer. You know, he's a triple crown winner. He's done things that very few other wide receivers have ever done. But man alive, Puka is so physical. So, I mean, as a rookie coming on and doing what he did, I think they're about even. When you look at the decision, Mike, of staring down the Drake London Cooper Cup and who you want to slot in as a wide receiver one for how you're constructing your roster. Oh, my goodness. That's a good question. Because those guys, I mean, you're going to have to Drake. You're going to have to Drake. You're going to have to draft London. We're doing real well. Yeah. Morning recordings are going good. I'm staring at the back wall. Talk about King Cooper.

Yeah, I mean, obviously these two players could be much closer in ADP by the time draft day hits, is all I'm saying. They definitely will be. They 100% and we're not helping the case today. I'm really hoping Puka slides though. That's like. Sure. Yeah, that could happen. Because I like Puka. But what's your, what's your, what's your. Where do I want to take him? No, where's your things to remember going into the... I know. Don't buy the injury dip. Like when the... Don't buy the injury dip. It never worked. When they're hurt going into the beginning of the season, like we've been here with... Ironically, Cooper Cup was that guy. Yeah. Right? And then he ended up, what, missing five weeks? Yeah. To start the year. And then Puka took over. Last year he got put on... Could you imagine? Could you imagine? Like, play this out. Puka should be fine. That's what it's told. It's a week-to-week thing.

It's not serious. He should be fine. That's the assumption. Let's just say week one, just week one, Puka misses. If Puka misses week one, Cooper Cupp is going to be the best draft versus Detroit. I mean, Cooper Cups going to have a billion fantasy points week one. His value will never be higher. Well, he plays Arizona week two, so it could be. It might be even higher on week two, man. I'm like, yeah. All right, Jaylon Waddle at 15, Mike. You're moving them up right now, Jay. I want to keep him where he is. Let him be there on draft day. Waddle at 15. Yes. Mike, you're the highest of the three of us right now. Our consensus rank is 15. You talked him up on the Ice and Fire episode. If you want to hear a huge Waddle breakdown, you can go listen to the Ice and Fire show. That was a fun one. You should listen to it.

This is good. Yeah, the, really, I'm not going to do the episode, not Mike's take. Oh, thank you. Yeah. So I'm not going to do the entire breakdown here, but it's the condensed version is essentially these two players talking about Tyreek and Jaylen Waddle, they have already had success together, where Jalen Waddle was the wide receiver 7 in 2022. So this is not a both guys can't eat in this offense. Yes, they can't. Tua led the league last year in passing yards. He's going to contend to lead the league again in passing yards. And, yeah, Tyreek has a lot to do with it. But so does Jalen Waddle, who is absolutely, Jay. We just talked about, we're looking for players who can beat zone. Jalen Waddle dominates at that part of that aspect of offense. And last year, it was just really bad injury luck, not only just missing games, but getting hurt midgame, fighting through it.

I think that he can easily bounce back. And the ADP this year is nowhere close to the risk that you invested last year. The price is what, yeah, last year I did draft him as a top 10 wide receiver. There's still an aspect to Waddle's game. I'm the lowest of the three of us that reminds me of, you know, pickings last year where if you get that big play, you're like, this is one of the best players in the game and you're going to win me a week. But if you don't get it, like, that's the concern. Which I get that.

It is just to me, the player, Jaylon Waddle, what we've seen now over three years. Three years. But like he can be whatever the offense needs him to be. That year one, it was, you know, like he was absolutely peppered with targets. He was just, he was a PPR machine. And then, and then, well, now we're big plays. And so it's just, I think that he is so well rounded that going into year four, I think we're hitting ceiling. I'm a little lower on him than. than you are, Mike. I know you're bullish, and it is really the consistency aspect. I mean, I've had him on my roster. I've had a lot of shares of Waddle, and you just don't get the really good games as often as you want. You get great games, you know, winning weeks, but I just wish he was more consistent, and I'm worried that it's his play style, that he will be consistently inconsistent going forward, even if he finishes well. All right. My argument for that is,

Sure. I can't argue against that because that's what's happened. No, you said you had an argument. But the counterpoint is guys in that range can't give you the winning weeks that Jalen Waddle can't. Yes, it won't be every single week. I'll pad in some, I'll find consistency later. I'm taking Jalen Waddle as my wide receiver two. Yeah, but what about Waddle or cup? Between the two of them, I would take Jalen Waddle. All right, we'll take a break, come back with another player. Mike has fallen in love with all summer long. All right, I don't know. I don't know if there's a guy that Mike needs to buy a jersey of more than number 14 on our consensus wide receiver rankings list. Oh, Jaylonel's on the wall, though. Nico, Nico Collins, last year's wide receiver nine, got paid like a number one, three-year, $72 million extension, fantasy managers out there pricing him, you know, where they.

I think this future with C.J. Stroud is headed. He's a wide receiver 14 in ADP. I'm a little lower than that. Jason's a little lower than that. Mike's a little bit higher. 35 receptions of 15 plus yards. That's tied for the fifth most in the league. C.J. Stroud was so good at extending plays and finding Nico Collins. I like the boom, Mike. He was also the only wide receiver in the NFL to catch every 15 plus yard catchable target, according to Warren Sharp. So I give you those numbers to kind of illustrate this is a really good player, not necessarily just a really lucky season. Right. For me, Nico Collins is if CJ Stroud is who we think he is and what fantasy players think he is, drafting him as a top five guy, Nico is the number one. Nico was the number one for this team. Then they paid him like he's the number one for this team. I don't care about Stefan Diggs.

coming into town. Stefan Diggs will help the offense. Maybe we have more scoring opportunities here for Nico. But the fact that they immediately started treating him with their actions of this is our guy. This is absolutely our number one guy. And C.J. Stroud's play style is at least last year was not, not look. Don't panic. Don't check it down. Stay poised and wait for Nico Collins. And don't run. And yeah. And that's not part of Stroud's game. It's wait for. for Nico Collins. If I can wait a half a second more or just a fraction, I believe that my guy is going to be open downfield, and that happened over and over and over again. He missed two games. Yeah, with the calf issue. So that kind of, you know, he finished inside the top 10 and he missed two games. Yes, he did. There's also, you know, there were glimpses of the offense of what it could be when a third wide receiver was good.

And so I think that's why they brought in Stefan Diggs. Noah Brown's not a very great wide receiver. He's a journeyman. Yeah, he's a journeyman. And when he had his big games, I mean, you remember six for 153 in a touchdown, seven for 172. I think this offense can work with three wide receivers succeeding if there are three good wide receivers. But I've been rising on Nico. More and more. I was the slow. The slowest to come to terms with Nico being a very good wide receiver. I just didn't believe it. I was really disappointed. I was about to say that Kyle has not found clips of me talking in previous off seasons of my belief about Nico Collins in that offense back when it was Davis Mills. There were no weapons to get him the football, but he had that look. And it was neat to see him, you know, take a huge step forward.