NFL Preseason Week 3 Impressions + TE Primer | Fantasy Football Happy Hour (FULL SHOW)

Intro: Welcome to today's Happy Hour! he just about having fun man remember the time you played your best football game in your life yes sir remember the time after that Victory you went to C pizza and cated with the boys real feel it in your heart a long way back to Cleveland let's not leave it with dollar Victory all right so put everything you got on the line today let's have a game of memory man I remember let's go family number three 1 2 3 fantasy football happy hour with Matthew Barry served by Apple beans welcome to the fantasy football happy hour I'm Conor Rogers alongside Matthew Barry Jay Croucher guys nothing gets me ready for a show like a jamus Winston pregame speech we should bring him in I would love that we should just to you know fire us up we have our Big Show draft you know um the league that I'm the defending champion no big deal but we have it on Thursday and I'd like to bring them in let's let's find out if we have that in the budget to bring jamus in to fire us up before we go into the draft I feel like he's going to be Cameo probably I feel like he's going to be pretty busy this year playing football if Deshawn Watson's injury history is anything to go by I said that last night we did we did this H football night in America pod and we did a rapid fire thing and I was one of the questions was at the end of the year DeShaun Watson is a top blank quarterback you know and so coach Garrett was like top 15 and I was like top 32 you I mean like and to far maybe right I mean honest I completely agree with you like it feels like deshun Watson's arm is shot and that we will see we will see jamus Winston at some point this year like he's already got Watson's already got arm soreness again this year like it just I I don't know anyway I'm getting us off track well we have a fun show what I do it's what I do it's on brand it's okay we're starting positional previews today first ones will be tight ends which includes our season long bets for some of the biggest names of the position but first a lot of football to catch you up on from the weekend as the preseason is officially in the books and I was just going to say this is the biggest draft week of the season right this is the big and leading up to this upcoming weekend which is the biggest draft weekend of the year and so what we're going to do this whole week is we're going to first off we're going to update you everything you need to know over the weekend and we're do tight ends today but also it's going to be every day it's going to be positional ranks like it's going to be a running back day then it's a wide receiver quarterback we're going go through all the positions get you ready for big drafts this weekend but before we do that the preseason week three reaction for teams that played their starters we have to start with the Steelers and Matthew you brought up the football night in America pod you had a really interesting response when quarterback Preseason Week 3 Takeaways: Trends for the Steelers, Jaguars, Panthers, Buccaneers, 49ers, Patriots came up take a listen come November the Steelers starting quarterback will be whom Justin Fields they have to see what they got out of this kid at some point I think I don't think they'll be in the uh the hunt so Justin Fields okay I I'd love to say Kyle Allen just for fun but I I think Russell Wilson's going to hang on to the job they've got some tough games early they got some Prime Time games they understand what they're trying to do offensively and defensively and I think Mike Tomlin is going to make a decision he's going to stick with it for as long as he can yeah I agree I think Mike Tomlin says hey we're going to win games on defense they just need Russell Wilson to do what he did last year if he can just be that same guy they'll be in it and they'll stay with him nine-time pro bowler in in Seattle the formula was run the football play great defense Russell make a handful of plays during the game that's what we're trying to recreate there in Pittsburgh they have the right guy in Arthur Smith to do it I still think he'll be their starting quarterback maybe not the uh the hero we need but the one we deserve Matthew Perry standing alone on an island on an island Fields Island that's exactly like standing on a field I guess I mean you've got you've got a couple of Super Bowl champions on that desk you got you know Mike Florio and uh you know super smart but I'm just going to tell you I I don't think Russell Wilson is the long-term answer in Pittsburgh I just I don't right I mean he's on a he's on a very short contract here and I don't I I understand what they're saying and I would argue that if the Steelers are in the hunt then I agree with all the everyone else that's on that panel there if the the Steelers have a legit shot but you just think about that division with Cleveland and Cincinnati and Baltimore you know what I mean and that basically you're saying like hey Russell Wilson we just need you to be a game manager I Justin Fields is a guy who was a former top 12 pick who was considered you know he's a first round pick overall and so he has made some brilliant plays this preseason he's also made some like head scratching like what are you doing kind of plays and so my argument here is is that uh is that Justin fields is potentially a franchise quarterback he he potentially also isn't but I just feel like they've got him on this dirt cheap deal and that at some point I don't think Russell Wilson is the future in Pittsburgh Justin Fields might be he also might not be but I feel like Pittsburgh's going to have to give him an extended look to figure out hey next year do we need to start over at the quarterback position or is Justin field somebody that we can build around long term because there are some skills in there we Connor we saw it at Ohio State absolutely and I I'm interested in you know this is going to be a good defense we know that it's a team that can win ugly they're going to want to run the ball does Fields rushing ability just simply give them more right simply give them more for an offense that in theory Jay doesn't need a lot they don't need to be a superstar top five top 10 offense with how the defense is and how they play under Tomlin and does that little extra rushing element from Fields eventually give him the edge maybe not September and you didn't say that but maybe down the line where they're like man we just need an ounce more and we're going to flip some of these one score games yeah I think last year Russell Wilson was 18th in PFF grade he was 18th in EPA per play by the ey test he was about the 18th best quarterback in the NFL and there's no reason to think that he should really get better he just seems to have lost the step athletically he's just everything that made Russ special the speed the Deep ball like that has largely migrated to last year he was checking down so much more so I think that Russell Wilson he just kind of is what he is and there's this idea that here's what that team wants that they want to be this defense bow control team like I think on offense they want to be a team that runs the ball and I think that Arthur Smith would surely prefer to have the upside of Justin fields and prefer to have that rushing upside and the threat of fields and what it unlocks in the Run game now seems like they're going to start with Ross I think what helps Ross is that the first part of their schedule is the easier part where they don't get they don't have to play Baltimore or Cleveland either of those top two or leite defenses until after they byy so the first 10 weeks they don't play either of those teams even though they're in division so I suspect it is going to be Russ but I would say that it is great great than 50% chance that Justin Fields gets in there at some point as the stter and just to point about how run heavy they want to be again this is this is a step that I've used in relation to Lamar Jackson but I think it's relevant here that since Lamar Jackson became the starting quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens Ravens running backs Ravens running backs are averaging 4.8 yards per carry which is best in the NFL again we've done this study but like the more mobile the quarterback the more open lanes there are for running backs so to your point the threat of Justin Fields I think would open things up for naagi Harris and Jaylen Warren and just we know how run-heavy uh Arthur Smith wants to be I mean honestly like the Falcon stuck with Desmond Ritter much longer than they should have been and I I would argue that it is because of the threat of Desmond Ritter's legs that that's why that happened because you know the passing was not great not where he wanted to be some other interesting nuggets from the Steelers offense van Jefferson 93% route participation with Russ he looks to be their wide receiver to Matthew and then a more interesting scenario that could be a commit committee Pat F 60% route participation with Russell Wilson this preseason this could be a committee with Darnell Washington yeah we forget how much they liked Arnell Washington and you know he was highly touted coming out it's interesting like I thought Fri mouth might be a sleeper just because Arthur Smith teams have traditionally you know you go back to like the Laney Walker you know and they've actually tried to I know everyone that's ever had Kyle Pitts on their fantasy team is screaming at the screen right now going like what are you talking about but I'm just they have tried to Target the tight end overi J Smith resed no I know was the problem but also to your point about jnu Smith like again like um Arthur Smith likes big bodied tight end so maybe maybe they want especially given the fact that they want to um run the ball as much maybe Washington on the field more than anyone that's drafting friou would like to like to like to be but like as we wait to find out what's going to happen with Brandon auk at the moment van Jefferson who had some nice moments with the Rams to your point is suddenly like no one is drafting van Jefferson and we don't think the it's going to be a great passing offense but but if you're in a deep league and we're all like we're all in an 18 Team league like if if you're in a deep League you're Michael Smith is in his crazy deep leagues like van Jefferson is suddenly on the radar as somebody who you know is going to play more than I think people realize and a team that'll matter a lot in deep leagues because they're deep at pass catcher Jays Jacksonville Brian Thomas Jr their rookie first-rounder wide receiver 81% route participation with Trevor Lawrence this preseason Gabe Davis 100% I mean these W this is a deep wide receiver room that's without talking about Christian Kirk and a guy like Evan Ingram that had a 29% Target share from Lawrence this preseason yeah Brian Thomas has lit up training camp by all accounts plenty of viral highlights kind of reminds me a little bit of George Pickins from two years ago but what do you think Conor do you think that he has the is he polished enough where he could be you know the next breakout great rookie wide receiver from a fantasy perspective just this year because I love Brian Thomas Jr for the long term I think he could be a number one star it feels like it's going to be a little rased Shahed like this year where you get the the two catches for 82 yards and you're like man I got to go get him on the waivers or I'm glad I drafted him late and then the next week you might get one catch for nine yards there's just a lot of mouths to feed in this offense he is a rookie he is a guy that coming out of college was all about the vertical speed he's got all the talent in the world but Matthew I don't know if there'll be a massive fantasy volume impact to your one for him no I think that's the that's the challenge here I I feel like the hype on him is getting a little bit too much again cuz I just feel like they're going to spread it around uh in Jacksonville and let me put it this way I think there's going to be some big games for him but I think there'll be some big games for Gabe Davis and I think you know if I'm investing in the Jacksonville passing game give me Christian Kirk you know that that's who I want who's going to be able to play the slot full-time which is where he's most effective he's got the history with Doug Peterson he's got the history with Trevor Lawrence when I spoke to Doug Peterson at the combine Kirk is who he specifically mentioned about how they feel like he's much more effective in the slot and that's where they want to play him and so that was part of the reasons why they went out and drafted Brian Thomas Jr it's why they they assigned Gabe Davis as a free agent you've got Ingram there as well and obviously etn is going to touch the ball a lot so I feel like this is one of those guys that really like him a lot but feels like you're going to have to wait till the second half of the year for him to pay off and I don't know that he's going to be consistently unless there's an injury the Panthers often a offense in fantasy that's left for dead but Matthew kind of interesting is Bryce young looks better this in his second training camp second preseason have to be de Johnson in town 29% Target share from Bryce on that one drive Adam th still out there 92% route participation with young 64% in the slot so the Panthers could have a notable pass catcher this year it's just a matter of do you have to pick between Thelen and Deontay Johnson you probably lean Johnson obviously yeah I don't think you have to pick between them you're just picking Deontay Johnson Adam Thelen was wildly productive for what we thought he was going to be last year with BR young he he but my point is is that as bad as Bryce young was last year for the first nine weeks of the Season Adam Thiel was like you know top 10 fantasy wide receiver he was ridiculous and so uh Dave Canalis has already come out and said we're going to run this offense through Deontay Johnson I think Deontay Johnson has always been somebody that like he's had this weird bad touchdown luck when he was in Pittsburgh but he's always been a very talented player very very talented great route Runner um and so the fact that Bryce young looks better the fact that there are other weapons besides Deontay Johnson that you still have to you know you're still going to have to cover uh Adam Thelen you're still going to have to deal with whatever Jonathan Mingo and um Xavier Legette and you know all the guys there in Carolina um especially by the way once they get Jonathan Brooks back I I I have a lot I'll just say this I have a lot of Deontay Johnson because he always goes cheap he always goes in the middle rounds and he's just going to get cheap volume like he is like he's like if you went zero wide receiver like again that's not really a thing but like he's a good Z like as we talk about zero RB like those cheap volume guys in the middle rounds I feel like deont Johnson is the wide receiver version of that that no one's going to be excited about him but he's going to get just massive volume and like Bryce young being even 15% better than he was last year is going to be a massive Improvement yep Deontay keeps on getting banged up at training camp but it seems all fine it seems like he's going to play they just see minor knocks um said this before I'll say it again Dave Canalis on DraftKings is plus 1800 to win coach of the year and the Panthers are plus 550 to make the playoffs that doesn't reconcile if if they make the playoffs he's going to get a ton of credit for fixing Bryce young and it seems like there's a chance that Bryce young is fixed I again like again this is somebody who fixed Gino Smith in Seattle fixed Baker Mayfield and now to your point they fixed Bryce young and what's crazy is it's like I I we've talked about this before but just if CJ strad wasn't CJ strad last year it doesn't make as big a spotlight on Bryce young Bryce young was the number one overall pick in the NFL draft a year ago and and no one was going like what are the Panthers doing like there was there was some debate about him versus stoud but no one was like whoa what's with that guy like there was more controversy about Baker Mayfield a number one overall in going into that draft with darnold than there was which is great you know but like but no no seriousness right you know versus um uh you know versus Bryce young like Bryce young was considered by everyone to be one of the top two quarterbacks in the draft last year and so I guy that was that productive at Alabama doesn't suddenly just can't play football Y and tying into that look look how good the Colts offense looked last year and particularly their offensive line looked after Frank Reich left and so maybe that is another element of this the Frank Reich leaving Carolina Canales comes in uh I think there's a lot of upside for the Panthers on offense staying in the division with the Bucks rookie Jaylen McMillan 100% of the snaps of Baker Mayfield he should open the season as the wide receiver three in an offense that has Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and Jay the Back Field kind of shaping up in an interesting besides Rashad white Bucky Irving has established himself as the clear-cut running back too especially with a Chase Edmund's injury yeah and I don't think that Rashad white is at the level where he has he is guaranteed this Ironclad um vice grip on the starting job because I mean he was sub 4.0 yards per carry last year um Jaylen McMillan is interesting it doesn't seem like this offense is going to be able to support a third wide receiver for Fantasy value but you know if Godwin goes down or if Mike Evans goes down then it gets interesting just interesting overall to see how committed the boxar to the run this year because last year it felt like they were running for the sake of it a lot that was a Canalis thing I mean Canalis actually spoke about that at the combine that he's like even if we were getting 3.3 yards per carry 3.5 we just wanted to keep establishing the run all those cliches but we wanted to just keep you know grinding it out because that would open up things for the passing game and just being committed to the Run game regardless of how successful it was and he felt like you know by the end of the year they felt like they were getting somewhere with it which by the way speaks two things number one I think it it suddenly makes chuba hubard interesting in the in the beginning part of the year and Jonathan Brooks very interesting over the you know final third three fours of the year but also like will will the Buccaneers coaching staff have the same commitment to Rashad White and The Run game that they did under Canales and if they do again it was so much volume with Rashad which is one of the reasons why Rashad white was on the hate list is because I do think you're going to see more Bucky Irving I'm not convinced they run as much as they do and even even if the volume in the Run game is the same I think Bucky Irving because of the camp he's had will take some of that workload off of Rashad white and so Rashad white is going as a top 15 running back to me it's just it's too pricey a tag I do want to say real quickly though all these stats that we're giving out like 29% Target share the 92% route participation that's Deontay Johnson Adam theland For example all these all these stats we're giving out courtesy of our friend Dwayne McFarland at Fantasy life.com he charts every preseason game every single Drive does an unbelievable job and writes an unbelievable article that one of the most useful as you head into drafts 100% free at Fantasy life.com like look I'm I'm not just a fan I'm I'm I'm an owner like I I hired the guy because I think he's so good uh but anyway I just want to give a shout out because this is this is all courtesy of Dwayne McFarland and his work at Fantasy life.com and more of his work an important note for the 49ers Jordan Mason 88% of the snaps and 74% of the rushing attempts with the starters Elijah Mitchell did not play We Know Christian mcaffry has been hurt here Matthew it appears that Jordan Mason is the number two back in a in a potent Run game if anything were to happen to Chris mcaffrey Jordan Mason's a top 10 fantasy running back I mean like you know and so he has I feel like more importantly that uh because there was some talk about Elijah Mitchell but it it feels like if you watch that like Jordan Mason just runs with explosiveness with you know with with power and so you just sort of think like man like it I just think especially in baseball he's an he's an interesting flyer as well but just I think he's I'm not always the biggest hey you have to draft an insurance back especially because I think there's some things that are sort of unclear but yeah as I as you see a mcaffrey jersey over my shoulder here um yeah if you're investing in chrish mcaffrey make sure you get Jordan Mason yep 2020 chrish mcaffry played three games 2021 Christian mcaffry played seven games he's dealt with soft tissue injuries twice in the past eight months so look McCaffrey he should be fine but if he if he isn't then all of a sudden Jordan Mason could be the lead running back uh in potentially the best offensive football and remember the 49ers are a team that you know played in the Super Bowl last year and have designs on going back there this year the reason I bring that up is that the way Kyle Shanahan and his team think about this season is they're not thinking about an 18we season they're thinking about a 22-week season like they're like we need to go Christian needs to be healthy in the postseason as we try to get through the NFC Championship we try to get back to a Super Bowl and so I feel like when there's a it's week 11 and they're like you know and they're two games up in the division and he's not feeling great you know like you know what we got a we still got a lot of play football ahead of us so I just I think unlike other teams there'll be more of a more of a caution around chrish mcaffry making sure he's healthy again because this is a team with legitimate Super Bowl aspirations one of the most interesting story lines of the preseason guys has been the quarterback competition in New England that once upon a time felt like jacobe brasset was nearly a lock to win brassette leaves with a shoulder injury in the first quarter of the final preseason game and Jay Drake May with a good showing he's gotten better every stretch of the way throughout training camp in the preseason 13 to 20 126 yards in a touchdown and something we keep talking about the on the show he's just a different level of athlete back there with the mobility yep and I think that is reflected in to me the most important stat from Drake May's performance last night zero sacks and that might be the most important thing for New England quarterback and obviously brassette uh gets break down uh and we'll see exactly the extent of his shoulder injury but look Drake May is going to be the starting quarterback of this team whether it's in week one or whether it's shortly after that uh it certainly seems like Conor do you think from a fantasy perspective that he elevates any of the wide receivers or that he could provide fantasy value himself because he what he gives you on the ground if they put Jaylen pul on the field that's the guy that gets elevated because there's going to be a connection there between the two rookies what scares you with Drake May from a fantasy perspective if he has to play out of the gate is that they play the Jets in Cleveland in the first three weeks I believe they go to San Francisco they play the Jets again in week they play a ton of really tough teams I mean they have a murderous row of defenses I'm sure Buffalo is in there somewhere so that's where it gets a little scary if Drake May has to play right away here's the other thing too right um think about that offensive line I mean like like that's a bad offensive line in New England and so yes you know the mobility of Drake may maybe helps you helps you with that need it but I just think you if you think about the New England franchise for a second and just take fantasy out of it for a second but just talk about like they don't want to M Jones this kid M Jones had a really nice rookie year and then it just became a disaster the team got worse the line got worse the coaching you know McDaniels leaves that was the key and and all of a sudden Matt Jones who was like a mid first round pick and everyone's just like wow the you know looked like the Patriots you know did a great job right you know and everything like that and they've got another they got another star in their hands and now all a sudden like you know they're giving away to Jacksonville where he's a backup and so I think that New England just as an organization is like we want to make sure that Drake May works and you don't to your point do you want to really throw him to the wolves um behind a bad offensive line you know having to play the Jets and the Browns and these these really amazing defenses early on because the other thing that I think people forget about Drake May is like like not a large body of work this is not a guy that was a four-year starter in college this isn't Michael pennx right I mean this how many games right right it's a I think he started as a freshman he had multi-year starter but he's not guy that played Four Seasons Five Seasons right and he wasn't always on a great team right those like bone Nicks and Michael penck and Jaden Daniels last year played in big games really big games in the ACC I'm not you know downgrading it but Drake May wasn't playing for college football playoff at the end of the year every year right yeah so just I just I think they want it's so it's tough I mean now it may as as of this taping we don't know the extent of the injury to jacobe Bret so it may be mood I mean it may be sorry Drake get out there here next back up at Cincinnati then they play the Seahawks at home at the Jets on a short week at the 49ers after Thursday Night Football then they play Miami the Texans Jacksonville gonna have a tough defense this year then they play the Jets again that's a brutal schedule of defenses you see it right there on your screen and by the way think about that home game against the Seahawks you think Mike McDonald isn't going to have that defense huming this year they're going to be flying around exactly like I mean this the of of the defenses from last year this Seahawks were the worst but that's why they hired Mike McDonald and so you know that's that's a really kind of a Murderers Row of defenses if you're a rookie behind a shaky offensive line uh to have to go out there and start and so I think if there's any way that jacobe brette can play he'll be the starter at least initially but um it'd be interesting to see so fantasy-wise I don't think I want Drake May unless it's like a two quarterback league superflex league and even then he's like a third quarterback but there is a little bit of upside with the with the legs but I agree with you Jaylen po pulk becomes interesting if May's the starter guys the most important nugget from the final preseason game Martavis Bryant is back and lethal with the commanders Martavis Bryant drinks free after three catches 20 yards and his first touchdown catch in six years welcome back to the league Martavis Bri like it's just a good story I I we'll see if he makes the team like feels like he might you know with John doson now in uh in philadel felia but um either way like it's just sort of like you know the the idea of like a guy six years later getting into an NFL unzon so anyway good for you Martavis Bryant uh good for you man hail the commanders hail Victory there he is just checking now on draftking sports book Martavis Bryant to win the receiving title 60 million to one all right there we go could be worth a fly maybe a dollar they both run yeah well how how much for come back that's the one we wanted no I can't talk about that award it's kylo Murray this year we decided we're getting new home let's go kylo oh man the rot World draft guide is here for you during the peak of draft season and this year it has added features available exclusively through a new partnership with Matthew Barry's Fantasy Life get a Fantasy Life Plus subscription and receive the roto world draft guide to help you crush your competition use promo code Roto 10 for 10% off and unlock extensive fantasy DFS and betting tools now go to nbcsports.com fantasy lifee to learn more we're taking our first break when we're back our tight end preview for the season is coming right up once you try these tools you will be hooked they're unbelievable clear the shelters NBC universals locals annual Nationwide pet adoption and donation campaign returns for its 10th consecutive year August 10th to September 10th as part of the month-long campaign NBC and telmundo owned and Affiliated stations across R the US and Puerto Rico partner with animal shelters and Rescue Services in their communities to promote pet adoption and raise funds to support Animal Welfare one of our own makes the list this is fry you can see he's ready to watch his owner Dev and help Dev maybe beat Barry in this season's Championship rematch potentially maybe I don't know that's the look of a dog that steals tight ends is what that is right there gets all the tight ends from the waivers except Jaan Johnson never forget never forget all right let's get into our tight end by the way I mean we do a new one every day but Joan Johnson draks free for life at the happy hour Jaan Johnson drinks free for Life Char double yeah never forget Jaan Johnson turning into Peak Antonio Gates against the buck Rand desperation I called my shot you got to give me credit on that I called my shot before I I said I'm picking him up and he's going to be he's going to have a huge game this year this week and he did he did for me stupid Dev it's not stupid fry though no no we love fry fry Fry's an awesome yeah stupid Dev with his cute dog fry shout out to fry all right before we get into rankings tiers or any of that Matthew just what is your overall approach to drafting tight end this year I for it's finally changed a little bit so my my my my strategy about tight end this year number one is I think you should have one I feel like you I think you should not ignore the position that's it's strategy number one no honestly like I think when you what phenomenal work thank you very much yes God bless producer Steph do me a favor just clip that off and send that to the Smithsonian and the Emmy Award committee if you will thank you very much got it all right thank you um all right so uh TE Draft Strategy + Rankings #1-10: Mark Andrews, Dalton Kincaid, Jake Ferguson, Kyle Pitts my strategy for approaching I think you want an elite tight end this year I my strategy used to be used to be kind of uh Hey I want to be one of the first guyss in my league one of my last but honestly as you look at it there there's not nearly as many Sleepers at tight in this year there is a clear tier and and un likee last year or previous years where it was like Kelsey and then there's a little tier and then there was like and there was some more sleepers here it's more concentrated like I ideally you really want a top five tight end this year and if not a top five you definitely want like a top eight and if not a top eight definitely Le at least a top 10 like I want a tight end one this year there's a couple of sleepers that we'll talk about here but I feel less I feel much less certain about them breaking out are them having consistent week- to week fantasy value there are five tight ends that I feel really really good about and then after the five there's a couple more that I think you can get away with that are you know that are above average but honestly this year I think it's really important to have an elite tight end yeah I do think the one aspect though is that the fact that you can get guys like Jake Ferguson it's the ninth tight end off the board David and joku at 10 I feel like that is perhaps stronger than I think last year we were talking about guys like Co Ked and that type of range um so I do think there is a little bit of depth but certainly the separation between your Porters and your mcbrides and then going further down to you know a tight end 11 your Dallas God itss is fairly significant but but what my my argument and I agree with you like I I'm a big Jake Ferguson guy we'll talk about him in a second but and once you get past the top five you can start you know nitpicking a lot of these guys and and so again like that's what I'm saying is it's like you just start getting those like kind of talk yourself into it again I'm I'm a jake Ferguson believer this year but like there's if you want to take the negative side of him or some of those guys in the six through 10 you certainly can and so I guess in terms of because it because there's really nice depth at wide receiver there's nice depth at quarterback there's also nice uh you know at running back there's some cheap volume in the mid rounds and you know there's always guys that come in the league that will be a fill and running back for three four weeks we talked about the Jordan Masons of the world that they get some run my point is is like again it's not just about what you do with this position but it's about what you with this position in terms of how you o construct your overall roster uh for the entire season and my point is is that on a weekly basis you don't want a hole at tight end when you're going head-to-head with somebody you don't want a hole at tight end like I feel like it is easier to match up like okay you've got a better quarterback than me but I think I can I can I I I can battle that better I can battle your wide receiver I can battle your running back depth it's easier to battle that uh every other position than it is tight end where it's just like if you have an elite and I don't that's just then I'm just praying for a touchdown y you know and that's just that's just such high variance yep no I think that makes sense and there a GU like if you go in with uh Brock Bowers as your tight end one there are probably going to be weeks where he just does not much because of how weird that Raiders offense is and the fact he's already dealing with injuries whereas if you go in with uh Le Porter Kelsey McBride Andrews one of those four you can have extreme confidence that they are going to get peppered with targets so let's look at the tiar drop offs that we're talking about based on rank Rings right we'll show rankings 1 through 10 and kind of dive into the top two tiers from here as tier one it's not a lot of surprise Sam lorta Travis Kelce Trey McBride who you really like a lot Matthew a ride or die finalist Mark Andrews and then Dalton k k that is tier one where it cuts off to tier two and starts is with George KD Evan Ingram Jake Ferguson who you have a head of Kyle pittz that goes against consensus and then Kyle pittz David and joou does not start uh till tier three we'll get into 11 through 20 in a second but I want to start with Mark Andrews Matthew because we don't talk a lot about him on the show compared to other guys maybe it's because he's when he plays he's just consistently good I mean 14.6 points per game last year the question always with him seems to be Health in the situation for sure for sure still an elite tight end friend of the podcast Mark Andrew you mentioned that the 14.6 fantasy points per game that was his a nine full games but on a full season that have been tight end three second year in um the Todd monket offense we obviously all like Lamar he's there are not many tight ends that you can say this about but like Mark Andrews very legitimately could lead his team in targets receiving yards and uh and touchdowns right and so there aren't a lot of tight ends like Kelsey was that guy for a while although I think Rashid rice is going to challenge him this year for that McBride him and Harrison are going to go back and forth leaport him and am mon rth St Brown like uh you know those are the guys there but like legitimately Mark Andrews could be the leading pass catcher on the Ravens in all the categories we care about and so um health is always a concern but the nice thing about Mark Andrews here especially when it comes to health and I know this is going to sound weird but like we just talk about this again with usually with running backs but this is the one case where there's actually an insurance tight end like if you invest a high draft in Mark Andrews if you grab Isaiah likely in the last round of your draft he's not going drafted that much you know towards the end then you're sort of you've locked up a tight end position for every week of the Season except for one and you're going to get Elite top five fantasy tight end production there 36% of his team's Red Zone targets last year that led all tight ends for Mark Andrews that's the most important thing too it's not just how involved he is in the passing offense overall but just how important he is to that offense when they get in close Lamar always looks for him as well five straight Seasons finishing as a top five fantasy tight end on a points per game basis so the consistency is there by Mark Andrews I just feel like people are excited about the emergence of leaport people are worried about the drop off with Kelce Trey mcbrien is another emerging person another emerging player everyone's excited about the potential of concade in year two no one's talking about Mark Andrews and yet he's just sort of there and he's going to be a top four fantasy tight end again and so I just I think that I I want one of in an Ideal World I want one of those five tight ends leaport Kelsey McBride Andrews concade and that's the order I have them in yep so two things on Andrews one we' spoken about this previously but I think an underrated storyline of the offseason is that Ravens added nothing at receiver they're two and their number two and number three wide receivers are still Rashad baitman and Nelson aalor and the number one is z flowers who's not like 2021 Cooper cup gobbling up Target so Andrew should still be the guy and the second thing with the Ravens I think this ties into why Lamar is being perhaps a little bit underrated too as well as a flowers last year they were just leading in every single game like I think I'm not sure what the exact is but it's like 99.5% of the season they were within at least the score of their opponent like they were just constantly in these game scripts where they could run the ball they would never ever in catchup mode where they just have to sit back and Lamar would just have to air it out in third and fourth quarters and so just by the fact that they're probably not going to be in that situation this year where they're just leading every single game they're going to have to be second halfes where they're throwing more and Andrews and flowers and Lamar should all benefit statistically now Matthew everything you said about Andrews can that also apply to dton conade where he could lead his team in targets and and receiving touchdowns as well 241 targets are no longer on the team with Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis now on different teams and yes they we expect an expanded role for khier Shakir they they drafted Keon Coleman Curtis Samuel is now a Buffalo Bill so there's there's obviously help coming for the bills but you think about just the connection especially over the second half of the year that Josh Allen and Dalton concade had five games without Dawson Knox last year a 21% Target chair and now Dawson Knox is going to be back and they're going to but and they want to go more run heavy this year under Joe Brady fulltime but Knox is more of The Blocking tight end the important thing is is that I think when Knox went down Josh Allen and they were trying to figure that offense out sort of was like oh I can trust dton concade I throw him the ball he's going to come down with it concade has great hands we talked about this a lot when he was drafted and so uh concade who had the third most slot targets at the tight end position last year like I think he's going to be potentially the focal point of the Buffalo Bills passing offense and so anytime you can get a guy I think K kade's going to have a monster year so just um uh being in you know given how they want to run that offense given his talent given the fact that it's Josh Allen just how good the Bill's offense is can Kate is somebody then again I a tight end five uh I get my only the only question mark on him is just you know is the touchdowns will the touchdowns come because you do have Dawson Knox who's a nice Red Zone threat and they do have Josh is always a threat to keep it himself and they've got James Cook and you know yep what is encouraging me to me there though is that in the Red Zone last year Stefon Diggs and gab Davis combined for 27 targets between them and they're both gone those are vacated dton conc did not score a single touchdown off of a red zone Target last season like that just has to regress as the number one tight end in tier two Matthew I mentioned this briefly but I want to I want to go deep on this one you have Ferguson over pits and I feel like once again that could be a ranking that's over consensus what kind of kind of LED you to that thought process there um specifically on Ferguson against pits I just less Target competition look athletically it's Kyle pittz but Jake Ferguson is the clear-cut number two target for Dak Prescott and you know all due respect to Brandon Cooks well right at the moment in Camp he's the number one I mean if CD lamb if they don't get this done with uh my guy eight like it's going to be all Jake Ferguson but Dak Prescott is always like you know he made Dalton Schultz a thing and Ferguson is is such a a big Target for Dak who loves to throw to the tight end this is somebody who led all tight ends in Red Zone targets he was tied for second in End Zone targets when they get in close Zach loves to look for big 87 there in the Red Zone there were only two players on the Cowboys last year that had more than 81 targets cidi lamb obviously and Jake Ferguson and then you think about Jake Ferguson from Ferguson like okay who's the number three it's Brandon Cooks Jaylen Tolbert like it's going to be they didn't do much in the Run game either so you'll see Zeke and Rico dle but this is going to be a pass first offense it's going to be 88 which is why he's the number one wide received for everyone and then it's goingon to be 87 and Jake Ferguson and so Kyle pittz now we like Kyle Pitts right we like Kyle Pitts we expect Kyle Pitts to have a you know a better year under Zack Robinson under Kirk Cousins you know they've been misused but there's something to be cons there's something to be said about the fact that this stat is unbelievable we think about how athletically gifted Kyle Pitt is and yet cow pittz has played 44 career games right 44 career games he's got six touchdowns six touchdowns in 44 career games he scored on 4% of his career receptions and I think some of that is quarterback play and some of that is play calling but also some of that is by the way when you get into the Red Zone you also want to be able to run the ball and Kyle Pitts is not a blocker right so this is why they had jonu Smith in the Red Zone all the time and so we'll see what the Falcons do this year but like he's not going to play 100% of the snaps in the red zone and we know bejan Robinson is going to get a lot of Red Zone work this year we figur Drake London's going to get some look so I my argument for Ferguson over Kyle pittz is Kyle pittz has a lot more Target competition in terms of Drake London bejon Robinson you've got darnel Mooney there as well um as opposed to Ferguson who literally only has CD lamb and that I think there's I think there's a pretty good chance you know I feel very good about the odds that Jake Ferg ends the year with more touchdowns than Kyle pittz does Kyle pittz pass him based on yardage and receptions we'll see but you know so I'm right there but yeah give me Jake Ferguson over Kyle Pitts who we're still waiting and again we can excuse a lot of it right but eventually it runs out eventually you're like at some point you got to score touchdowns to be a viable tight end and fantasy y I feel like Kyle piz is going to have a lot of like five receptions for 54 yard games with no touchdowns which will be fine in terms of like a footballing impact but capsy fantasy upside a bit on Fergus and one other thing is that the Cowboys last year they won nine different games by 20 points or more they just blew teams out constantly and so again similar to the Ravens thing where they just didn't have to throw in these fourth quarters because they're beating the Giants 40 to nothing let's look at tight ends 11 through 20 now we told you tight end number 10 before we even move on though can go back go back to that screen I just what do you want to say one 10 yeah I want to go one through 10 again we were never there we can't go back to what we no no I want to go I want to go all the way back 10 what do you got wow well this is why well I just want to walk through no no hang on I wanted to just sort of walk through why the tier one versus the tier two guys right so I'll just walk through this real quickly like as we talked about like so leapor Kelce McBride Andrews concade all of them Elite tight ends on good offenses should get massive Target share should be able to score touchdowns again McBride and leaport emerging right but KD is inconsistent you know like again and if auk leaves that's interesting but in a season in Long League where you're looking for consistency as much as we love George KD friend of the podcast again has these big spike weeks and then you know because they have so many weapons and because he's used so much as a blocker often like Evan Ingram was all receptions last year like and so does he get that continued volume like4 receptions with the second most by tight end in a single season in NFL history like so are we expecting Evan in like even if Evan Ingram catches 90 balls this year that would be an amazing year and still like a big drop off from what he did last year and so I'm just there's a little bit of concern with Evan Ingram again with all the weapons they've added as well we've just talked about Ferguson in pits and the last thing I'll just say about en joku right like last year he was tied in two in points per game from week seven on but like in the games that he played with deshun Watson last year he played 11 games with deshun Watson last year he averaged 8.8 fantasy points per game when when he was with uh Joe Flo Jay you might have be aware of this but he was you know comeback Player of the Year Joe flacko uh with Joe flacko David and joku 18.2 fantasy points per game so that's the one concern it it's kind of a breakup for in joku but it wasn't with the guy that's going to be the starting quarterback this year so that again it makes you a little nervous that's why those guys are all in tier two so I talk about the fact that I would feel much more comfortable with a tier one top five tight end this year but if you if you have to if it just the draft doesn't play that way then you've got these these the second tier guys but just to understand you know they're not none of them are perfect yeah and the other thing with then Joker it's not just he had the rapport with flacko it's just that much to my shagrin Joe Flo is dropping back like 60 times a game just throw and throw and throw Jam will do if jamus has to play yeah exactly and uh and I think that's going to happen at some point I do think it's going to happen at some point but um I think that it might be a bit of a rougher start for um David and joku with KD as well like very small thing but just in the back of our heads a little bit Brock P's looked terrible in preseason and he's out being out there for two games like think Brock P's fine like he was minus 250 to win the MVP left in season it's a little bit of a concern that he has looked awful out there um so look he's not going to lose his job or anything but just something to be a bit mindful of if he starts the season poly I think they need Trent Williams and Brandon iuk back yeah quickly that's a big part of the Brock P effect for sure so and Joko kicked off tier three for us at tight end 10 and he's joined by dallis SCD Brock Bowers TJ hackinson and then it kicks off our final tier tier four which is literally everyone else obviously hackinson is in here just because we think he's going to miss half the season Once he's healthy he's a tier one guy and he could be back even earlier they seem optimistic about his return correct so I mean I don't mind a flyer on TJ hackinson Bowers just a wide range of outcomes here like insanely talented there are some reports like oh they've got big plans for them and then there's other reports where you're just like TE Rankings #11-20 + Deep League Targets: Brock Bowers, Dallas Goedert, Taysom Hill, Noah Fant, Tyler Conklin, Luke Musgrave listen it's going to be a run-heavy team they you know they've got Michael Mayer there as well questionable quarterback play along with Adams and Myers and so just how much Target share can Brock Bowers talented though he is get we love GD but you know again AJ Brown Devonte Smith on a team that should be you know fairly balanced or even maybe run heavy so um uh got it there in the uh in the tier three let's pull up 11 through 20 again Jay I want your thoughts on who you like in this group at cost right it's not just hey I'll I'll roll with you know GD her because I've seen him do it before but at cost with 11 through 20 who do you think is somebody that you might throw a dart on or might be your first streaming option so I mean in terms of at cost the guys I like are actually the two last ones and Jawan Johnson and Noah fan just because I don't really see much differentiation even with guys like Pat fryou who's further up and Dalton Schulz as well I think we going to talk about him at the end of the show but just with his competition he's going have to deal with with tank Dell Stefon digs and N Nico Collins but to me what is most interesting is kind of at the top of this list where this morning Matthew had to agon about a guillotine choice for my tight end between Dallas godett and Brock Bowers and went back and forth between the two and what ultimately had me land on Bowers was just trusting the talent and trusting the kind of institutional incentives that team is going to have to maximize him because they took him in the first round um and with got it what got me off of got it not just he's dealt with injuries a fair bit in his career but it's that previously that Eagles passing game has been just about the most defined passing game in the league where it's AJ brown one Devonte Smith two Dallas got it three four nothing else four is like quz Watkins or Grant calcatera coming like there was just absolutely nothing there and I just wonder where Kell Moore comes in new scheme Sequon Barkley presumably is just going to have to be used more in the passing game and they've used their running backs in the past and so just all of that made me trust the talent of Brock BS didn't feel good about it don't love the BS is already dealing with injuries but do think there is a bit more uncertainty around God it who in years past when he's been out there has just been Rock Solid and you just is very high floor now one of the guys on that list was Tamm Hill who it depends on where you play your league right um because he doesn't have Titan eligibility on all platforms but he does on Yahoo uh he does on Yahoo and he does elsewhere and so if you play on a platform where Tamm Hill has tight end eligibility seven different games last year with double Jed fantasy points and the reports out of New Orleans are there you know that Clint kubak is using him in even more you know Annoying Ways for a lot of fantasy managers but like Denny was on to it yeah he this is choice for my ride or die we didn't go that way but Tamm Hill is sort of interesting you mentioned Jaan Johnson already and Fant who should get a much bigger Target share in that revamped uh Ryan grub offense in Seattle Tyler Conlin Conor three Street Seasons with 85 targets and now he's got Aaron Rogers back is new Bob tan new Bob tanion I think Tyler Conlin's just going to walk into seven to eight touchdowns out of nowhere honestly there's not a lot in the red zone for them to throw the ball there really is and um and we already mentioned Isaiah likely one last guy I'll just bring up is last year throughout the pieces I I kept saying how hey Luke musra is going to be a thing this year well and he wasn't because he just he got hurt um uh and they found something in Tucker craft I will just say he's now fully healthy Luke Musgrave We Like Jordan love a lot we like this Packers offense a lot and I just I continue Conor to be fascinated by Luke Musgraves size and speed combination like again he's got to beat out craft and there's a lot of mouths to feed in that offense but I just feel like on a talent level there's something special about Luke Musgrave am I crazy it's such an enigma because craft is really good right in his own right Musgrave was a guy that his final College season he played three games and got hurt his rookie season he flashed and he got hurt so is he just a player that's just always going to be hurt but you always want something more of I almost look at the Packers Jay as I I'm interested in streaming their tight end position right I think whoever is out there if musk graes hurt I think craft is going to be an impact player if musk graes healthy I think he'd be an impact player it's almost a team that and you're I'm talking about streaming I'm not talking about Drafting and starting but you can trust the Packers at tight end which you're in love yeah definitely and I think just overall the Packers pass catches it's a fascinating situation because I think there are very real worlds where the Packers have the best offense in football this year and with no idea how to order their four wide receivers let alone the tight ends in terms of who's going to provide value like that would be a very flat Market if you were pricing out who's going to be the best Packers wide receiver this season um so yeah plenty going on there I think in terms of the flyers for ends what is important to remember is that like when you're taking fers you want variance and you don't want to go like likeon schz has no variance at all he's older he's in an offense with the same quarterback and same offensive coordinators last year and all that has changed is Stefon digs is coming in and tank Dell is back so it's only going to get worse for doton Schulz whereas you go further down like no offense new offensive coordinator CH cono new regime in Tennessee um other guys like you know Ben Cate he comes in and we don't know what that is going to look like I'm say this right now by the way I I appreciate mentioning Ben s who who like is an interesting guy second half of I'm just going to say this right now he's not even getting drafted in leagues Zack Herz is going to play more than honestly any of us expect or want him to play like it's it's going to be a thing like I I tell my young daughters they say listen when you're when you're ready to get married find somebody that looks at you the way Cliff Kingsbury looks at Zack hers and then they they look at me they roll their eyes and go back to Tik Tok but what's important here is that Zack hers like it's going to be like it's going to be like six for 34 but like I mean like you're going to be like Zack Herz is going to be sort of a thing this year I think at least initially like he's gonna he's going to play more than you than any of us want him to I'm just telling you so if you're desperate in a deep league for tight end Zack hers there you go fantasy football just got better this season $1 million better Creator join a private Yahoo fantasy league and enter the $1 million NBC sweep Stakes plus earn extra entries to win when players on your roster score a touchdown during an opening weekend game that's on NBC or peacock download the redesigned Yahoo fantasy app or go to nbcsports.com fantasy million to learn more we're taking our last break when we're back we're looking at the best season long props for all these tight ends we talked about coming right up draftking Sportsbook is the number one place to bet touchdowns and new customers can bet $5 and get $200 in bonus bets instantly plus get one month of NFL Plus premium download the app and use promo code Barry when you sign up giraff King Sportsbook the crown is yours it is time for last call let's take a look at some notable tight end props courtesy of Draft Kings Travis Kelce the leaderboard there over unders at 900.5 yards 80 and a half receptions followed by Sam laap pora Mark Andrews Dalton kit K George KD aorta at 850 and a half Andrews at 800 a half K Kade and Last Call: Season-Long Props for Dalton Schultz, Jake Ferguson, Brock Bowers KD both at 7 50 and a half Jay what tight end season long prop are you on this year so I don't mean to keep piling on this block but taking the under on doton Schultz under 550 and a half so last year doton Schultz was second on the Texans in Targets this year I think he going to be fourth uh between tank Dell Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs last year Schultz had 88 targets which per game was more than George KD like I just think there was going to be less usage he played 15 games last year that's probably about the expectation in terms of but I just think with the added weapons more health for tank Dell and Stefon digs coming in there I just think that Schulz is just going to see a bit of a lesser R especially because it's it's not like Schultz is like this great run after the catch guy I mean like it you know he he's getting what it's thrown and so it just if if you're not um if he's not getting the volume that he got last year then it's hard to see him getting that number here I this one wasn't on the board here I don't understand this Market Jay help me explain this line I don't get it but Jake Ferguson over 600 75 and a half receiving yards absolutely love it that's his line 675 receiving yards Jake Ferguson he had 761 last year Y and and I think his situation is better this year than it was last year like there's less Target competition so Jake fuson who I already talked about remember Jake Ferguson ran the third most routes at the position last year Jake Ferguson's out there all the time on what should be a very pass heavy offense for Dak Prescott and the Cowboys here so I don't understand it but I love it and I'm happy to bet it and happy to take DraftKings money here Jake Ferguson over 675 and a half receiving yards again he did 761 last year and I think he has a better year this year than he did last year yep I locked that I'm chasing an under here guys and this one breaks my heart because I love Brock Bowers but 650 and a half receiving yards is a lot for any rookie tight end and this is one now he's dealing with a lower body injury that's heading towards the season it sounds like he could be good to go for week one but just doesn't make you feel good in an offense that Devonte Adams gets a lot of targets Jobe Myers gets targets they want to run the ball under on Brock Bower 650 A2 I like all those bets all right it's closing time means you don't have to go home but you can't stay here for Jay and Connor I'm Matthew we'll see you tomorrow martus Bryant you drink free peace out hey it's Matthew Barry from nbcsports.com and rotoworld.com and I want to thank you so much for watching whatever it is you just watched or if nothing else being too lazy to click out of the autoplay after this video started after whatever it is you actually wanted to watch finished but now that you're here I'd like to take a moment here to ask you respectfully respectfully now okay I'm asking you respectfully to subscribe to the NFL on NBC YouTube channel you'll get the latest roto world fantasy news headlines all sorts of great shows including my own fantasy football happy hour so go subscribe now again I'm asking respectfully