NFL Draft Predictions + Draft Day Hype! - Fantasy Football Podcast for 4/25

It's another one of those things of, yeah, there's not a ton of killer landing spots. This is what the draft does to us. This is why we end up sad or laughing hysterically at other people in the league. But they need somebody. Yeah, they got the king there, but they need some depth on there. And I think you can get Blake Corum, you know, later. then not a really expensive pick. Braylon Allen, the last running back will make a prediction for. I have him going to the Buccaneers at pick 89. How would you feel about that for Rashad White? Not great. Yeah. Yeah, I think it just, I think they'd love to have a committee there. I still think Rashad White would be a great fantasy asset because he's going to do so much work in the passing game. I think they're willing to go in on a running back third, fourth round. You know, if it's Allen later.

Beyond the third, probably feel less intimidated. But I'm going to go Tampa with Braylon Allen. I'm going to go with the Buffalo Bills, who with their actions have said repeatedly, we want the beef in here. We don't want James Cook to be our goal line running back. We'd rather have Latavius Murray. We'd rather take a flyer, a failed flyer on Leonard Fournette. They want a thick boy. in there, and I got Breland Allen going there. I actually think that's a really, I hadn't seen that pick, and I haven't really heard this connection, but I think that's brilliant. They do want a bigger back, and they have looked at investing. You know, they were in the Christian McCaffrey market. They care about the position, so that's interesting. I've got him going to the Raiders. He seems like he's got that kind of mentality, and how's this for a stat? He'll be the first running back ever to play his entire rookie season before turning 21. Guess who can't go to them casinos?

Braylin Allen. So come on down to Vegas. Grow into your man body where we don't have to worry about a rookie. Dude, hold on. If this guy grows into a man body, the NFL is in such trouble. He's got a man body already. He's going to be 7 foot 345. No, he, I'm just saying, you know, they don't have to worry about him. That's funny. Getting distracted by the shiny lights of Vegas, his rookie season. Yeah. No, that's a good point. They deny him entry. Yeah. wide receiver time guys oh boy let's have some fun i think we have one two three four five six seven eight nine ten oh my gosh we're doing wide outs to be predicted today so we've got the time marvin harrison let's make it easy i think he's i think they stay at for the cardinals we just i think as a show we refuse any other way if one of us put him somewhere else

you'd be off the show. Yeah, you walk the plank. So he's going to be a cardinal. My hope is that it comes via trade back, trade up, or in the case of the Giants, just trade back and stay, and maybe, you know, you watch Harbaugh grab an offensive tackle. But yes, Marvin Harrison will be a Cardinal, or I will revolt. Let's get to where we have some difference of opinion. Malik Neighbors, I believe he goes to the Giants at six. Jason, you have the Giants as well. I think most likely Cardinals stick where they're at. The Chargers are the trade candidate. Someone comes up and takes McCarthy so that temptation is off the board for the Giants, someone being the Vikings, and the Giants end up taking one of the best players in the draft in Malik Neighbors. I went back and forth. I have the draft happening the same way that you see it. And this morning, I just could not decide, do I want it to be neighbors? Do I want it to be Odunze?

It's for the exact same reason, which is the Giants over the last few years. They have drafted, you know, they drafted Wondale Robinson, a smaller slot, speedy guy. They've drafted Jalen Hyatt, a guy that we like that kind of has some similarities. You know, they spend a third rounder. And so it's like, okay, so Malik Neighbors is their type. They like these fast guys who maybe had some slot college production. And so that is neighbors. So it's like, okay, that makes sense. Or you can say, well, they've already got some of those guys. So they should draft the Dunes. They don't really have that.

possession mammoth man. And in the end, I went Malik Neighbors because I think he's universally seen as the number two wide receiver. He's my number two wide receiver. And they're going to have the chance to take either. So Malik Neighbors, I'm with you, Andy, to the Giants. And this is the pick where fantasy players with their rookie picks start to weep uncontrollably because I think Malik Neighbors goes to the Tennessee Titans. I have the Giants taking McCarthy. And the way that I've been hearing the GM from Tennessee talking about the wide receiver position and blue chip players, I think that they're going to make the splash and this is where everything just goes bad. I don't disagree with that. I think it's very possible. You have to believe what the general manager has done. And he brought in Tony Pollard brought in Calvin Ridley by paying him so much money. Like equipping Will Levis.

with a prospect that can be seen in the same likeness of a Jamar Chase. It makes sense. And it's like, look at this. Yeah, you know, with. And it's unexpected. With, yeah, it's unexpected, which expect the unexpected. But, but that wide receiver core. Oh, man. What would you do with Will Levis? You'd have to, you'd have to kind of believe. If you're telling me, he's got Malik neighbors, Hopkins, Calvin Ridley, Pollard out of the backfield. I mean, you're going to find out, you're going to find out if he can be an NFL quarterback. Conquo? If he can't, yeah, if he can't get it done with those weapons, he can't get it done anywhere. So moving on to Rome, Adunzei, I actually think for the reasons Mike said about Tennessee, I think Adunze goes to the Bears, but not at nine. I think they actually move up to secure him and swap picks with the Titans who are sitting there with the ability to take one of the top.

Wide receivers, I think they do it defensively to protect against the Jets maybe stealing away Roma Dunzei. I think the Bears, much like your case for equipping Will Levis, they do that to equip, you know, Keenan Allen, DJ Moore, Roma Dunzee, and now DeAndre Swift, you'd have to believe in Caleb Williams as a rookie. And I have Rome going to the Bears as well. It's, if it really happens. The hype for Caleb Williams will be just astronomical. People will be so in and ready for him because I don't know that I've, like off the top of my head, can you think of a better starting situation for a first overall pick whose team was getting better towards the second half of the year on the defensive side of the football? You fix the offense? There's never been one.

It is the number one. For a number one overall pick, there's never been a quarterback that's gone into a situation. If they grab O'Donzee, which is right now the favorite. Like they are, O'Donzee is the favorite for the number nine pick. That is most mock drafts. You see him there everywhere. This is why I've got the Jets who are sitting at 10 trading a little flip-flop with the Falcons hopping the bears to get O'Donzee. Because I don't think he gets 2-10, and that's who I believe they want. All right, bears, bears, jets. Let's go to Brian Thomas Jr. This is, by the way, when we went out, all three of us and built our predictions out, built our mock drafts out, and thought through this for this show. This was done very independently. So you have a couple times when you think you're going to catch somebody by surprise. Jason and I, we did not catch each other by surprise. I was so upset because both of us independently, like you said,

We were excited to have this surprise of like, we think he's going to go to the Colts right in the middle of the draft. The Colts could use them. Yeah. And Ryan Thomas Jr. You've got Michael Pittman there, a great possession guy. You've got Josh Downs, who's a nice little slot option. And Alec Pierce, he just doesn't, he's a deep threat, but he is not ever, he's not going to be the guy. He's not who they hoped he was. He's not Brian Thomas Jr. And if you want to say. Hey, Shane Steichen, what do you want on your high-flying Anthony Richardson-led offense? They want a Brian Thomas Jr. If he's there, they are a traits machine. They are always drafting guys who break the combine. And Brian Thomas Jr. broke the combine. So I think it makes sense for the team needs, for how they draft. It would be a great fit for me. And I'm already all in on Anthony Richardson. That would be awesome.

There has been some kind of later breaking news about medical stuff for Brian Thomas Jr. possibly needing some shoulder work. And so I think that could drop him a bit in the draft. Still, I still have him going in the first round, but I have the Pittsburgh Steelers taking him because I think that he falls a little bit just because of those concerns. And they need somebody. Okay, so you got the Steelers. That would be picked 20 for you. I, since I'm the host. of the show. And I'm in control of where we go next. I find it very disrespectful that you would put Adonai Mitchell so far down the list of where we're predicting him. And because you just talked about the Steelers, I have the Steelers trading up to 17 to take Adonai Mitchell. So I'm going Adonai Mitchell to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I think this is, you know, they lost Deontay Johnson. They need a kind of a fundamentally explosive.

compliment to George Pickens, who ran, I think, the second most fly routes of anybody in the league. I think Mitchell is a perfect compliment to him. So we're turning the page. We're going to Adonai Mitchell right now. That is fair. Adonnie Mitchell, I think Schefter just came out and was talking about how he thinks he's going to go really high in the draft, definitely in the top 20 picks. I've got him, I've got the NFL having more. logic than that and logic um i believe agreeing with you are banishing him i'm banishing him you put him in the second round i put him but really early in the second round don't worry and he's going to the panthers you're condemning him i am trying to send him to siberia this is what i'm trying to do panthers you're going to love adenai mitchell he's exactly what you need a big strong athlete

You know, he should have, he dropped. He was supposed to be a first rounder. And now here you go. You left the first round and everyone's going to be talking about Adonai Mitchell. And that you can happen. Did it send shivers through your spine when you saw like PFF's mock yesterday had Adonai Mitchell ahead of Brian Thomas? Did that hurt you a little bit? I fully expect Adonai Mitchell to be a first rounder. I really do. When you have the combine he had, I said it right afterwards. I said he fully don't. You just made him a second round pick.

So in my personal mock draft that I made, that was all of these picks, I had him going to the chiefs. You're willing to lose in this competition? I am willing to lose. I am trying to put it into existence. I came to this show doc. I'm like, I can't do that. He's a panther. I want him to be a panther. Let's go Panthers. Okay. Mike, where do you got him? So I have him going, I have him falling into the second as well. You can, it's what we, I'm allowed to shake my head. Oh, the people love it. The people love it.

Clowns. And I just, I am trying to willing something into existence. So maybe. To willing? Yeah. So. Willing it brother. This isn't, Ad and I just kind of, he, I don't know, he was the collateral damage for you in your little mock draft. But he's a little stupid mock draft. I put him with the giants. And this, what I'm trying to will into existence is teams, if you're going to take a quarterback, take one of these guys. Start. the process of equipping with weapons immediately. So I have the giants figuring out a way to get him in the second round. It's going to be hard for them to pick him in the second round when he had gone like 15, 20 picks earlier. That would make it very difficult. Well, this will be fun. This will be fun. All right. Circling back to Ladd-McConkie, we're actually all in agreement on Ladd-McConkey. We have them all going to the Buffalo Bills. I have Buffalo having to trade up to do it, though.

I think they move up four picks with Dallas to get Ladd-McConkie and secure him. But I think we're expecting the bills to be major players in the wide receiver area. They should be. Which will give a little boost of confidence for Josh Allen heading into the season, as well as throwing into question, you know, some of the excitement around maybe Don Kincaid or Khalil Shakir that you have right now. But we all have them being players for one of these guys. It might not be McConkey. But we all. went that direction. I love the chaos it will cause for rookie drafts. Yeah, he's a, go ahead. He's just a perfect fit for their team. I mean, Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, they face so much zone because they've got such great over the top arms. And Ladd McConkey and, you know, someone like Troy Franklin that are just absolute world beaters against zone. The fit would be great.

So, yeah, we've all gone them going to the bills. I just love it. Get open, sit in that zone and let Josh Allen laser beam you a ball. He'll be great there. Troy Franklin, I haven't gone to the Chiefs with the 30-second pick. I haven't going to the Kansas City Chiefs as well. Please. It would be glorious to me if it happened, but Chiefs seem to really favor speed, and they may have a wide receiver death problem. I don't think it's the best situation for Troy Franklin. I actually do not believe that. I think it would be a wonderful – it was the same argument for Josh Allen. When you've got a guy that is great at zone, he was over three yards per out – or targets per out run against zone and against, man. It's not that he couldn't succeed there. It's that I think they – this is a team going for a three-peat. I don't think the rookie's going to have a fundamental role this season. That's all. I think maybe long term you'll be okay. I mean, Rushie Rice was a rookie last year that was going for a repeat.

They found a way to get him involved. Late in the season. Sure, but I mean, I would say that Rushi Rice is a hit right now for fantasy and was valuable for fantasy. I think it would be a good spot. Okay. Well, I haven't gone there. I just don't love him as much for fantasy. Yeah, the drafting sports book line has him only as a 27% chance to go in the first round at all. Yep. I think it's obviously far more likely that he leaves the first round, but because of the Troy Franklin and I Mitchell fun we've been having this off season.

I am giving the NFL a ton of credit. Oh, of course. They agree with you. That the Rams in the first round right there, I think they're picked 19. They're just going to take him, baby. Take Troy Franklin as you're, you know, just add them to Sean McVeigh's offense. All right. It's a bold pick. I think the Chiefs are the only team in play for Troy Franklin in the first round. I think that's why you're sitting at 27 percent as the league must see the Chiefs is having about a one and four chance of taking them there. Troy Franklin, I know you love him. Moving on to a guy that wasn't in PFF's top 10, X Xavier Worthy. Jason, you have him going to the Arizona Cardinals. Would this be? Whoa. Yeah, I've seen a second round or what? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Second round. They're at the top of the second. Right now he looks to, he projects to be a late first, early second round player. And I've got him not, you know, obviously I've got Marvin Harrison going there as well. A lot of.

Bigger, deeper mock drafts have the Cardinals taking multiple wide receivers. They could honestly take like three or four wide receivers and have those just be their entire wide receiver core. They just don't, you know, Greg Dorch. Michael Wilson. Michael Wilson. They've got spots to fill there. It reminds me the Cardinals did that. Who were the two? Hakeem Butler and Andy Isabella were the same draft. Yeah, whoops. That worked out well. That's why you've got to take multiple jobs, Mike, you've got them going to the Panthers? I do. That makes sense, and then I've got the Eagles at 53. My Panthers, just my logic there is that I think the NFL may still be concerned with size, but then speed comes in, and I feel like the Panthers might fall into the, just that love of like, we got to get the fastest guy on the field. All right, quick break back with a few more predictions.

Keon Coleman, we'll talk about him next. He is at a 19% chance to go in the first round. He would be somebody that it wouldn't surprise me if a team fell in love. It reminds me a little bit of Iyuk surprising us going late first for the 49ers. I have him going to the Panthers in the second round. Yeah, I do think. We all have the Panthers picking up a whiteout. Yes, there's a couple of teams that really need to add someone and they've got the draft capital to do it. The Panthers are sitting there at the top of the second and they could probably take their time to figure out which one of the wide receivers left over. I also think that wide receivers drop. I know that there's been a question of like, well, this is a really good wide receiver class. But I actually think it's like the top three are amazing, absolutely dominant, great wide receivers. Then you've got a couple of guys. But because this next tier is so large, I think teams are going to say,

in the first round, they're going to go, I can get another, I can get one of these guys in this tier in the second, maybe even the third on day two. So I think a lot of these guys dropped to the second. I've got them going to the Saints about the middle of the second round. I, sorry, I was lost in thought over here. I have Keon Coleman going to the manders of, again, the theme of taking a quarterback and then giving him somebody. And one more name. We'll bring it up. I want you guys to talk about him. a little bit more extensively because he's not one of the names that gets brought up in the top five, six, seven wide receivers. But Xavier Leggett, I have him going to the Saints. I do think they add a weapon. They're losing weapons in that offense. So I think the Saints make sense. Jason, the Raiders, Mike, the Patriots. But talk about Xavier Legate for a second so people know what to expect if he surprises. Because we had a couple of years ago, it was Wondale, right? Wondale was not talked about nearly at all.

going into the draft and ends up being a first round draft pick by the Giants, right? Second round. But it was a name that people didn't really understand or know about. Leggett might be in that category. Leggett's got the weirdest profile of any player I've ever scouted in my entire life. So talk about why. Especially when you compare that with the film. Yeah, he is a fifth year breakout. You heard that right. We don't like a late breakout. A late breakout is like a third year breakout. When guys break out in their fourth year, it almost never works. Now they're like they're 22, they're 23 years old playing against, you know, 18 year olds out there sometimes. And then, yeah, they can dominate then. This is a fifth year breakout. It's not going to work. It never works. However, I'm in. I'm in, baby. He was. But it might work for us. But it might work for us. The tape, the production, his final year.

was unbelievably great. He was dominant. He's so athletic. He hit a faster speed miles per hour on the field last year than the fastest player in the NFL this last season. He outran Tyreek at top speed. He outran D.K. Metcalf at top speed. And he is more of that D.K. Metcalf type of build. He's a giant super athletic guy that when I watch the film, I loved it. When I look at the production, it last year I loved it. The only thing I don't like is that he spent four years doing nothing. And when I say doing nothing, I'm not saying like, you only had 700 yards. You have, you have 500 yards. I don't. You have them? Yeah. So here's his career, year, 80. 80 yards. Oh, next year. Total on the season. 80 receiving yards. We went up to 113 the next year, then back down to 63. Then we skyrocket up to 167. Skyrocket. Skyrocket. Skyrocket. Skyrocket.

Before a fifth year breakout, 71 receptions, 1,255 yards, and seven touchdowns. Yeah, it's, it's, I don't know how. What? The player and the human that was in that fifth year, how the coach could not get him involved in even the fourth year? This is one of those things where it's tough when the profile versus the reality. Like, if he's that good of a player, he's worthy of being picked and he's worthy of being picked highly. It's also when you indict the coach, it's like, It acts like Xavier Leggett was the same player five years before. Like we forget that they are like they work out and then they practice and then they get better at things. And then find the cave of wonders. I mean, well, Joe Burrow, Joe Burrow had one season, okay, at the NFL level. All right, sorry, at the college level that was an impressive top tier. So, you know, you do figure things out. Some players figure things out. Now, who do you say he ran faster than? Everybody, faster than DK Macca. Even faster than Papa Josh?

Faster than Papa Josh. Who is? Now, Papa Josh is way faster than the Falcon. I can't believe you're gassing him up like this. Mid 40s, mid. Very late to mid. Looks late is mid. I get it. But he gets faster than Papa Josh. We just won a 40-yard dash in our back alley against a 20-something Walmart Borgononi. Yes. Is that what you're saying? He's faster. I'm saying he's even faster than that. Brock Bauer's final prediction for today's show. I've got him going to the Jets of 10. So I've got the Chargers trading back from five, and the Chargers need pass-catching options, and they need offensive line help. And so I feel like Brock Bowers kind of fills both of those needs. You get a little bit of offensive line work, helping the run game, and a receiving option. Plus, you have the...

Baltimore Ravens West trying to be reestablished, redeveloped with Gus Edwards, J.K. Dobbins and G. Roe. And so get yourself your Mark Andrews. And this is the one and only destination that I will be in on him as a rookie. Otherwise, I will take my normal fantasy football stance. And then I am having just, I'm going contrarian here with Brock Bowers having a little bit of a fall in the first round. And once, like, there's a certain point where once you make it through these picks, assuming no trades, there's just teams don't, like teams just recently invested. And I have the Seattle Seahawks, who I know they recently invested, they gave Noah Fantle, a bit of a contract extension. But Seattle is a team that they don't care if they just invested in a position, if the best player available is Brock Bowers. So I've got him, I've got him falling a little bit. I don't mind it. I don't mind it. Tight ends have not.

done well when they've been picked in the first. They haven't been usually worthy of that draft selection in the NFL. I believe only one tight end since 2015 has re-signed a contract with the team that drafted him in the first round, which is the Joku recently. All right. Kyle crunched the numbers based on our predictions and the current odds. He handicaps it as you two. once again aligned hand in hand 34% chance to win I'm at 32% so pretty close in terms of you know where things lie obviously I'll win so I will say before before you stop I need to share a fear that Mike yeah spiders

Well, I think that's been widely acknowledged. Also, if you do share that on X, just know you will be muted. I will never see from you again. He's not joking. No, that's not a good. Even like if we've talked a bunch and we always communicate on X, you go ahead and share that. You're going to be muted. I will never see from you again. Anyways, but you've been talking about equipping the quarterback you take with the wide receiver. That's my hope. We've seen it a ton. It is something GMs do. It makes sense. It puts these two guys on a rookie contract together.

And we've seen it succeed. And I started to think about, I remember this one time it really did succeed for a franchise that was struggling. And it was a really nice combination of AJ Green and Dalton. Sure. And my fear started to set in of help because they took AJ Green first. Yes. And then they got the quarterback. And I'm sitting there looking at the Patriots. And I'm like, if they grab. Bo Nix and the second to pair with Marvin. Don't do it, Patriots. I don't do it. Leave me by Marvin. I don't think they're taking a, I don't think they'll take Marvin. I really don't. I don't think there's any chance. Don't do it. Mike does. So it'll be interesting to watch. So, um, we're done. Predictions. Draft coming tonight. Yes, the draft tonight. Remember right after and even, you know, probably like five minutes while the first round is ending.