Fantasy Football Week 1 Rankings & Tiers (2024)

what's up friends and welcome into fantasy pros the fantasy football podcast it's week one ranking time that's right no more draft it's time to get these guys in action and we're doing it I'm Chris Welsh we got Pat Fitz morrris and Mick Chella both breaking down week one rankings we're doing quarterback we're doing running back wide receiver tight end we're looking at ECR and where these guys are differing and arguing and we're just getting down to Brass tax doing it all and I'm excited to get to it and thank you guys for hanging out with us we finally got here Pat can you believe it months and months of all of this prep all the pre-draft rankings and now we are just ranking for week one and I'll tell you I was working on my rankings last night and when you start to make those adjustments that are off of draft rankings it actually is a little alarming when you know you've had these same guys this is your rb6 and this is your rb2 and your wide receiver 14 and then all of a sudden this week you're like well this guy's a really bad matchup and you go completely different off of the draft rankings it it's a little it's a little disarming I suppose going into this first week it is the shift from draft season to in season is always so abrupt and jarring I'm sure a lot of people are feeling that right now and um you know having this draft plan and now all of a sudden they've going to make their starting lineups and like a lot of this is not as cut and dried as it seemed back in July when we were putting these teams together Mick did you feel at all uh in putting these together did you feel disjointed uh was there anybody like even a specific player as you were going through your ranks that You' been so locked into in the draft season and then all of a sudden you're like oh they're going way down what how what was the process in putting the ranks together yeah it's interesting because we don't have any data to go off of you know we have last seasons you know matchups and things like that but we don't know how many how much of that is going to be applicable for this season so there were a couple people I know we're going to discuss some running back but I think Derk Henry was one in particular that I dropped a little bit further this week in comparison to my season long rankings so yeah there were definitely a few adjustments that had to be made based on week one matchups well we got it all you guys can check it over at fantasypros.com rankings week one rankings from all of the experts the contest is underway and we are going to get right into it in this episode but speaking of contests we got one for you we got one coming and we are going to announce the winner so we're officially announcing the winner of the Joe burrow signed helmet the winner of said Joe burrow helmet giveaway is Jared Smith we'll be contacting you to get to you that prize so stay tuned and on the lookout congratulations on winning Jared Smith this awesome Joe Burl helmet and guess what we're not done because we're going right back to it if you want a chance to win a sign Devon Smith Eagles helmet for free courtesy of our friends at pristine auction.com all you've got to to do is head over to fantasypros.com contest complete the form and either download the fantasy pros my playbook app leave a review for the podcast or follow us on X Instagram or Tik Tok at fantasypros the more actions you complete the more entries you're going to receive we'll be announcing a winner right here on the podcast just like we did with Joe burrow if you're watching on YouTube be sure to subscribe and turn on those notification so you can be alerted when new episodes are up and claim your prize gentlemen let's strap in let's get to the ranks it's time for quarterback ranks and first up we are going to go through the ECR before we get to a couple of your guys's rank discrepancies or differences here so far as we're recording this the ECR looks joshh Allen is the number one quarterback Jaylen Herz Patrick Mahomes Lamar Jackson pretty chocked for the top four Anthony Richardson at five CJ strout at six Kyler Murray at seven Joe burrow at 8 Jordan love at nine Jaden Daniels at 10 Jared Goff and Tua that rounds out the top 12 one difference we do see is Trevor Lawrence Mick you got him at quarterback 11 Pat's got him at quarterback 12 the consensus is Quarterback 13 so this is a quarterback that you both have as a QB one that did not show in the consensus so Pat what put you to this spot you barely have him there Mick is a little bit of the higher guy on him but let's start with you uh I don't know which quarterback of that top 12 got knocked out for you was it maybe Trevor Lawrence for Tua talk to us about uh Lawrence yeah um it was Trevor Lawrence for Tua and I have those two adjacent in my rankings but I'm I'm a little concerned about what the Miami defense is going to look like this year I mean they lost Vic fangio their coordinator they lost Christian Wilkins they lost Andrew van GLE who was a terrific pass rusher so they have endured some pretty tough Personnel losses and the loss of their uh their Commander this off season so I'm I'm not sure like I have had a uh Dolphins fan who wrote me a nice note explaining why he thought maybe the defense wasn't going to lose anything but um you know I I guess we're gonna find out soon enough I'm not sure about this Miami defense I think this week one game could be a shootout so I'm pretty pretty enthusiastic about starting Trevor Lawrence or at least you know Lawrence was this guy who was going like quarterback 15 quarterback 16 in drafts um so a guy who's kind of a borderline start sit QB for week one and I'd feel pretty good about starting him if I had to make the same thing here I mean you you've got him one notch higher you've got him at 11 so you're inside of that top 12 I'd be curious in probably the same respect I'm guessing the shootout side is what you're leaning on to but also who are the quarterbacks that jumped or were pushed down for Trevor Lawrence uh my main quarterback that I pushed down was Jaden Daniels uh I also have Kyler Murray underneath dor Lawrence I still have him as my qb12 but I do have Lawrence rated higher than those guys and a lot of it is yeah based on what Pat said the matchup should be a shootout I think we got the second highest implied Vegas total in this game between Jacksonville and Miami Jacksonville's gonna have to put up points to keep with Miami keep up with Miami and I think the way to do that is throwing the ball and as Pat alluded to you know the losses on defensive personnel and coaching staff I think it's going to lead to a little bit more volume than normal out of Lawrence and I mean you know like there's always going to be a big shootout respect and I think what's interesting about this is if you know both these guys have Trevor Lawrence up it's something to look for for some of the receiving options and and paying attention to where those ranks are going to go Brian Thomas being a specific player Christian Kirk I feel like people are kind of in and out about uh we had another notable difference that comes outside of the top 12 that was in your ranks and it was Matthew Stafford and this is this another one of those guys kind of in that Trevor Lawrence territory that was sitting you know somewhere between like 15 and 18 and how people were valuing him this week he's got an ECR 16 so we're outside of that top 12 Fitz you've got him at 19 and Mick's got him at 16 so he's got Mick's got him at consensus you are out on Matthew Stafford you think the Pittsburgh defense is just going to be bull rushing and we're not going to see that big passing game that everyone's expecting with cousins Detroit Detroit so they got the Lions and oh did I say I say Pittsburgh yeah yeah yeah yeah that's okay um so so the the Lions yeah like they have spent the offseason focusing on improving their defensive back field they drafted Alabama Star Quarterback Teran Arnold they signed longtime Buccaneers quarterback Carlton Davis um so this Alliance pass defense should be a little better um also Rams left tackle aleric Jackson is suspended for the first two games of the season for violating the League's personal conduct policy his replacement is Joe notab boom who was graded 69th last season by PFF out of the 81 tackles they graded so um protection is going to be a little bit of a concern I think for Matthew Stafford here and this Detroit pass defense might not be quite as susceptible as it was in 2023 I turned uh I turned Matthew Stafford into Kirk Cousins in my head who by the way scarily is one of my highest shares when we were doing our high shares I have Jaylen Herz and Kirk Cousins heavily invested so as soon as I looked at that I went to cousins but yes Matthew Stafford in there Mick you have him at ECR is there any excitement around Matthew Stafford this week even though you've got him on average um I think there could be some shootout appeal you know we saw the matchup between the Rams and Lions last year in the playoffs where Stafford threw for 367 yards and a couple of scores so I think there's some history there as Pat mentioned the Lions pass defense should be a little bit improved but I think their Rush defense is still Elite which leads me me to believe that uh the Rams are going to rely more on the passing game than the running game especially we have questions about you know KY Williams returning punts and all these other things so I think Stafford's volume is going to get him there and I think he's a pretty decent bet for you know a 300 yard game if you're playing out in a league that Awards bonuses as well Pat I want to go to you real quick and and this wasn't something that was on the sheet but going through this like we the top 12 is very chalk this is a very chalk top 12 as it should be by the way like the one thing I it's always been frustrating you guys have had this you know for years when you're doing St you know sit questions and answer and then people are like well hey you know I took you know Josh Josh Allen's a bad example on this one but you I took CJ strad but then I also took Matthew Stafford and I really like Matthew Stafford's value should I start you know and you start getting into that where like you're not even playing your invested high-end quarterback so nothing wrong with it being chock but Pat is there anybody outside of the top 12 that does peak your interest that didn't get there a player that you think has a possibility to jump up you just weren't comfortable with it because this is week one but was there somebody that was maybe giving you no pun intended some fits in your rankings Baker Mayfield um is sort of intriguing and he might be a guy who I would be looking to um potentially start ahead of some higher drafted quarterbacks just because I do not think a lot of the Washington pass defense I think quarterback is going to continue to be a major Achilles heel for that team and um so it wouldn't surprise me if Baker playing at home um you know put the uh put the Washington defense on a a spit and roasted them in week one Mick same question for you was there anybody that was giving you a little bit of a problem you really wanted to push up a little bit more you know I I was actually going to mention Mayfield as well so I'm glad we're on the same page on that if I had to pick a player outside of even Baker's range I would say possibly Gino Smith think Denver is still going to be a below average defense and Seattle should be upping the pace of their offense now with the new regime in place so I would say Mayfield ahead of of Gino but Gino kind of intrigues me from a from a weekly standpoint if I understood it correctly too I believe the Bold prediction show from yesterday there might have been a Gino Smith nugget in there so uh go and check that out on the uh YouTube and the podcast side 10 bold predictions for the season I was about to say I'm not sure who had that Gino Smith nugget but from that smile that pets got I'm thinking maybe that came from you Fitzy it was not me it was Debo Debo with a very bold and spicy Gino pred it is a very spicy go and check that out all right uh you want more on the quarterbacks fantasypros.com rankings you can check out the whole crew let's move to the running backs it's running back rank time we are going to be going through the top 36 we're going to give you the ECR and then we're going to give you the important nuggets from it that both of these guys have in their ranks so starting with the top 12 in ECR at running back using half PPR again there's a pretty good element of chalk as you would expect Christian mcaffrey comes in at number one we've got Bree Hall at two bejon Robinson at three Jonathan Taylor at four saquan Barkley at five again chalk there you go Travis etan at six jir Gibbs at seven Derk Henry at eight Kyler uh Kiren Williams Devon hn Rashad white and Ken Walker coming in at number 12 the Ken Walker one just to kind of throw out it's very interesting I want to be invested in the betting Market it's against the Denver Bronco team that decimated last year I want to say it was like over almost 120 yards rushing per game on uh RVs it makes sense why he's in here uh you know we don't have it listed but did either one of you guys were you tempted or didn't put him inside the top 12 Mick let's start with you did you not or did you put uh Ken Walker inside the top 12 I did I actually have him as my rb7 this week because yeah the matchup is about as good as it gets so yeah I think Walker's in for a big game on Sunday Pat do you think there's any trap element to this uh with Ken Walker because he he's the guy that stands out in the top 12 for drafters of uh again that the the cute conversation of like well you draft your guy blah blah blah Ken Walker is one of the biggest risers just specifically for week one because of that Denver matchup did you kind of follow suit or you think there's a trap in store yeah I mean I do have him ranked right around that I can't remember right now wellsh if I had him ranked RB 12 or RB 13 don't have it in front of me but um like no hesitation about starting him and he's a guy I been pushing a little bit all off season no one's forced more Miss tackles over the last two seasons at running back than Kenneth Walker and um you know even if Denver I know they have endeavored to fix their run defense but it's still not going to be one of the better run defenses in the league so this is a good matchup it's at home um you know everything like Vegas the with uh I think Seattle's almost a touchdown favorite maybe six and a half in this game um everything sort of points to a pretty big Kenneth Walker game here uh going in and looking at the top 12 there was a back that you guys both have inside the top 12 who is outside of the top 12 in ECR and that's Josh Jacobs so Mick let's uh talk about Josh Jacobs where he landed inside of your top 12 and why sure I have Jacobs as my rb1 I think more than anything this is going to be a volume play the matchup is not ideal against the Eagles but I just think Jacobs is going to be the Workhorse especially early on in the season we have Marshall and Lloyd who's been in and out of practice with his injury issues he's the questionable for this game and then beneath him you in the on the depth chart you have Emanuel Wilson who's a 25y old with 23 career carries so I just don't think that either of these guys is gonna get a ton of run on Friday I think it's going to be the Josh Jacobs show and even in a pretty difficult match up against the Eagles if Jacobs gets 20 carries I think that his floor is going to be high enough to push him into rp1 territory uh fit you've got him is we've actually got a couple others we're going to go to too is there anything you wanted to add on the Josh Jacobs front not really I mean I've sort of warned people all off seon to maybe not expect a Workhorse role for Josh Jacobs given Matt lefleur's history of using committees uh backfield by committee um but this does set up for maybe Workhorse usage for Jacobs with Lloyd coming off the injury I think he was limited in the last practice report and um you know with Wilson probably not going to have a big role so I think there's a pretty good bet we get at least 15 or 16 carries or uh or Touches for Josh Jacobs in this we've got two other players that it's really interesting the players that uh were pushed down in this respect but James Cook was another one of those guys that was inside the top 12 that wasn't consensus fits so talk to us about I mean the matchup pretty tasty Arizona Cardinals talk to us about you know is it simply the matchup do you are you comfortable with the usage I think there's Ray Davis in the back of some people's heads uh what about James Cook getting into theide the top 12 for you yeah um Bill's Home favorites by about a touchdown against the Cardinals pretty good setup the Cardinals run defense not that great last year and we really saw an uptick in James Cook's usage last year after uh Joe Brady was promoted to be the offensive coordinator for the bills so um yeah I mean like I I like Ray Davis I think he's a really good Prospect and will help take some of the load off the 190 pound Delvin cook uh oh sorry did I say dvin uh James Cook um but see you did it I did the the Stafford this is the all mess up team man still still shaking off the offseason rust here I guess but um yeah so I feel pretty good about James Cook I think he's going to get a lot of usage against the Cardinals and it's a good matchup he was actually one of those guys where I was looking at and I was like how do I get you higher there's always a couple of those I think there's like in the top 15 I feel like there's like one or two guys in any position running back a wide receiver where you're like I need to keep going but how do I do it and James Cook was one of those players uh the other one that showed up on this was Isaiah Pacho it's GNA be Thursday it's gonna be a little bit sooner uh but Mick Isaiah Pacho jumping over I think a few other pretty valuable running backs what did you want to add on Pacho well Pacho is interesting I actually have him higher from a season long standpoint I have him as my rb10 but I did drop him a little bit in this matchup the matchup with Baltimore is going to be interesting because Baltimore is very good at limiting rushing touchdowns however they have seated a pretty high yards per carry last season I think they allowed the sixth highest yards per carry to opposing running backs uh what I do like about Pacho is his involvement in the passing game as the season went along he had 19 receptions over the final four regular season games so I think that raises his floor a little bit from a half PPR PPR standpoint so I think in this matchup I think he's going to be a solid you know backend rv1 highend rb2 in 12 team leagues I think the biggest question that surrounded that team in that running back situation is like will samj peryan be a problem and when could he be a problem and if he's a problem in the third question it's probably in respect to the passing game so this is one of those like let me see week one like me see how this works let me see what they end up doing you know P Ryan hasn't been around enough to where they could justify not using him but it could be the difference between Isaiah peo being firmly inside the top 10 of RVs or just being like a solid like you know rv2 or something like that all season if he has the reception upside and that takes a jump it's a big game Cher the other in the top rb12 you know talking about rb12 here it's again it's the core guys but there's one massive difference that ended up popping here and it's Derrick Henry and this was alluded to a little bit here Mick earlier derck Henry is actually up to ECR eight well Fitz has got him at rb7 and you've got him at rb6 so let's start with the hate here for a second why are we down on Derk Henry in week one Mick you know listen if if he scores a touchdown I'm probably going to be wrong because obviously the volume is going to be relative ly safe I just don't know if he's going to get the touchdown um Baltimore allowed all I'm sorry um Kansas City allowed only six rushing touchdowns to opposing backs last year and you know the receiving upside is just not going to be there um you know Henry's averaged 19 receptions per game uh per season over his career he had a little bit of an uptick last year we'll see if that translate again in a new offense this year so I just don't know I mean it could be one of those games where he goes for 21 and 100 but doesn't score the touchdown and falls out of top 12 range so I mean I think the yards will be there uh I just think he's going to fall short of scoring the touchdown Which kind of drops him into rv2 territory for me Fitz that's so fascinating because I feel the opposite I feel like Derrik Henry is the touchdown of touchdown magnet and lock I'm actually a little bit concerned about the usage because of Hill they've been talking about Hill is like an rb1 I almost slam took early in the week the Derrick Henry rushing yard marker then I held back because it's like week one I don't know if they could have some splits what I do know is if they're in a goal line inside the five Derrick Henry's getting the Rock and so I feel better about the touchdown than I do massive volume in week one so Fitz break the tie between me and Mick here you have him high where are you are you touchdown or volume or both I suppose both um so yeah the the DraftKings odds for an anytime t touchdown by Derrick Henry minus 120 so better uh you know they're they're expecting better than 50/50 odds he gets into the end zone I I tend to agree with that um over under on his rushing yardage 63 and a half I kind of like the over on that one too um Ravens fans might want to put on their ear muffs for the next 20 or 30 seconds but um I'm just going to remind people of um that game where the Ravens bowed out of the playoffs to the Chiefs last year where I think every Ravens fan I know was uh apoplex that the Ravens did not run the ball nearly enough against a Chief's defense that ranked 27th in dvoa versus the run last year um and and yet the Ravens came out with this inexplicably pass heavy approach in that game um I don't think they're GNA make that same mistake I think they are going to Pound The Rock with Derk Henry and uh Lamar Jackson of course too so I I think Henry's getting like 15 16 maybe up to like 20 or or more carries this this game like I know it's his debut but what did you get this dude for you did it to like pound the ball against like if you had any trepidation against of uh like Gus Edwards getting major carries last year against the Chiefs I I don't think you've got that with Derrick Henry I think they're gonna feed him and when I make my bets for Thursday like I'm just not gonna be able to hold back on Derrick Henry even though I've been like a little intrepidacious about it and like what that usage could be it's it's a show Pony like they're going to show off they got to show everybody their new toy to be a little kid like look I got derck Henry like that's what we're going to see probably a lot of and do like the touchdown call so there was a big consensus difference let's move over into RB 13- 24 ECR shows us we've got James Cook Isaiah Pacho Josh Jacobs are 13 through 15 Joe Mixon at 16 Alvin chra James Connor Aaron Jones David Montgomery Raheem moard at 21 rre Stevenson 22 Naji Harris and Devonte Williams rounds out the crew we do have uh some ECR difference in here by the way and we're going to start with David Montgomery David Montgomery comes in at ecr20 Mick you're the higher high guy on this room of him but you him at 19 a little above consensus and fits down at 25 so I don't want to hold Mick down again but let's go to the hater first Pat you are out on Dave Montgomery for all intents of purposes you do not have him as an rv2 this week where he is a consensus mid rb2 so what's got you out on David Montgomery is it a healthy Gibbs or is it just offensive scheme that's going to end up going on with the Lions and the Rams it's Gibbs last year early in the season Montgomery averaged 22 carries over his first four games they just pounded the ball with Montgomery um and they were somewhat sparing in their usage of uh then rookie jir Gibbs but then Montgomery had this mid-season rib injury and he came back in week 10 and from that point on in Detroit's last nine regular season games and three playoff games Homer averaged 13.7 carries and 1.3 catches a game so about 15 touches didn't have more than 18 carries in any of those 12 games I I like Monty but he is a committee back granted a a committee back in a good offense with a really really good offensive line but to me rb25 seems about right for committee back on a good team there's a there's a slight argument Mick maybe you would make it that you know early season especially when you've got those two back system where you've got a guy that can absolutely pound the line of scrimmage and then a guy that you're GNA spread out on the corners you're going to throw the ball to that early week maybe even this game where you might want to slow it down that you would want to just just beat it between the tackles that's I think where some of the argument for David Montgomery is this week and regardless of what has been said about Jamir Gibbs being healthy you can foresee week one with time that's been that they may want to Halt back some of the usage and I think that's where some of the trepidation comes from but what say you Mick because you you are high on highish on David Montgomery is that what you're seeing do you think that we might see a little bit less Gibbs or do you think this will just be one of those David Montgomery games where he's gonna be an easy rv2 I think I don't know about an easy rb2 because kind of you know along the same lines as my my Derk Henry hate if Montgomery doesn't score he's going to have a hard time getting there there but I do think the volume is going to be pretty consistent I think you know Montgomery still has some something left in the tank he was a pro football focuses 12th ranked uh run grade last season so I think that he's going to get a decent amount of volume early on in the year like you mentioned you know Gibbs is definitely going to be a factor but I think we might see him ease div a b more I think we might see 15 to 18 carries out of mountgomery which should put him in the rb2 conversation there's some inherent risk I suppose in there this is another one of those guys where you've got a volume difference touchdowns are going to play a big key he scored all the touchdowns last year Raheem moer who came in at rb21 on ECR we've got a like and a dislike situation here Pat you've got him at 22 Mick 27 so this is another one of those guys who did not make so what is different for Raheem moster Mick that is not for David Montgomery you know the touchdown leaders I mean because the same touchdown conversation you can take the argument that Raheem moard should probably be right there if that's the only thing about David Montgomery but we do know that aan is there and probably gonna take a Next Step so uh what brought Raheem moster all the way down to 27 for you yeah I think that's what it is I think you know at least for me I I think it's more likely that he will see a reduction in early season volume than Montgomery I think aan is going to be a factor they you know they drafted Jaylen Wright and obviously they have you know poent offense I think this is going to be more of a passing game you know I mentioned Tua earlier I think this is going to be more of a shootout in a passing game so I think that's going to lend itself a little bit more towards hn and his skill set so I think most's volume is going to be probably closer to the 10 to 12 carry range than 12 to 15 so that's what you know made the tiebreaker for me and dropped him out of the top 24 for me Pat you've got him uh inside do you foresee that we're going to see a a a much lower usage with with Raheem moer one of the things that was so great about him uh as a 49er fan that used to you know watch him a bunch was when the 49ers would bring him in through a series because you know guys is getting older but great Sprint speed you could end up bringing him in on like the fourth drive of a series and he could just go and dominate and the dolphins really have that ability to interchange with Anan and with mostard and they probably continue to will continue to do it I kind of as much as I love aan I it's been hard to talk myself off of the idea that they were going to give most Le any less than 15 touches per game which really UPS the odds on the touchdowns this is a potential shootout situation which maybe ends it but what do you think on mostard especially with like Mick having him outside like what gets him there outside of a top two RV I'm with you Welsh and expecting sort of a status quo for the uh size of mostarts workload he averaged 13.9 carries a game last year I think as long as he stays healthy that's probably about what he going to average this year um and we know he's going to be the goal line guy I I think that's why I have a three spot gap between Montgomery and moart and would prefer mostard um like maybe Montgomery is the goal line guy too and he probably is at the one yard line but like it also wouldn't surprise me to see Gibbs in there on uh you know at the five yard line or the eight yard line um I think it's going to be moster inside the 10 for the Dolphins like this guy had 18 touchdown runs last year and had multiple touchdowns in six different games and and then just the fact that I do think this is going to be a high-scoring game like Miami came out firing last year they they played a g they beat the Chargers 36 to 34 uh last year in the opener 70 points put up in Miami's opener and the other 15 games averaged 39.1 points a game in week one uh by the way unders are a really good bet in week one if you're on the gambling site out there so um yeah I just feel good about the the touchdown Potential from right off the bat I was looking quite a few 48s this week and I was like oh might be some unders so yeah I completely agree with you on that one uh real quick is the last one that's not on the show sheet I feel like there's one player in this RB 2ish range that has I know taking a little tiny rocket boost as people are starting to like really facilitate like what they could be in this offense and they're actually given this back was given a five-star rating on matchup this week and it's Aaron Jones who is is at 19 on the list and I know um Debro is a big Aaron Jones guy I've kind of a big Aaron Jones guy the matchup is really there Fitz give any take on Aaron Jones I don't know where you have him relative to this list he seems kind of low at 19 but I feel like the sentiment is a lot more excited that maybe he's not like an rv1 but I feel like I wouldn't be surprised if when all the ranks are in for week one if Aaron Jones ended up pushing even into the top 15 are you in or out on Aaron Jones for in in I've got him ranked as a mid-range running back to um item RB 17 in my draft rankings I had him ahead of Alvin chimra David Montgomery uh I'm bullish I'm a Packers fan Welsh like I've seen what this guy can do if he's healthy he's really really good and yeah he he stacked up what four or five straight 100 yard games at the end of last season into the playoffs uh Dallas Cowboys fans don't have to be reminded of how good Aaron Jones is because he steamrolled them in the playoffs last year so um yeah and and I think like they they don't want Sam darnold throwing 45 passes in week one so we're going to see a lot of Aaron Jones as long as if he did 35 of them are to Justin Jefferson but the other 10 might be to Aaron Jones mck kind of same thing you think Aaron Jones is kind of a hot commodity going into this week like the the potential if we do see him get four five six targets out of the backfield and he's the primary back volume could be king even on a lesser of a Vikings team do you think he deserves a little bit more love going into week one yeah you know you mentioned earlier I think when you talking about James Cook that there was certain running backs that you just wanted to keep bumping up but at a certain point you know you weren't sure how high you should go with them that's kind of how I feel about Jones this week I have him at 18 but I I want to push him into the top F the top 15 but you know I have Henry and aan lower than than most analysts do so I don't know if I want to put Jones ahead of those guys and bump those to even further so sort of a you know a mix and match kind of situation but I do like Jones a lot in this matchup and I think he's probably gonna outperform expectations this week against the Giants let's go to the RB 25 through 36 is kind of the flex RB range uh we are looking at number 25 DeAndre Swift zamir white Jerome Ford Devin single ter Brian Robinson Jr Tony Pard chuba hubard Zach Moss Gus Edwards Chase Brown Austin Eckler and Taj Spears those are the guys that round out the top 36 and a couple of our notes in this range chuba Hub chuba has got an ECR of 31 this the guy that we're going to pick on both of you guys are higher than the consensus we've got fitzu at 29 and Mick at 25 almost an rb2 in here so Mick let's start with you real quick you're very bullish on chuba Hover almost pushing the rb2 range talk to us about it I think we give uh chuba the label of a scatback type running back but he played 50% of snaps or more in 12 games last season and when he did so he averaged 11.21 fantasy points per game which is squarely in that you know top 20 top 25 range I think he's gonna get most of the work again this week There's No Jonathan Brooks for the first few weeks of the season so I think they're going to kind of rely on HUB and I mean the Carolina offense has nowhere to go from for but up so I think you know any extra volume that Howard gets in the next this week and in the next few weeks before Brooks comes back I think it's going to boost him into borderline you know rv2 or at least Flex territory um Erikson and I talked about chuba a lot that he was just one of those kind of not free but just one of those just great backs that was just wildly underrated in draft season because you're going to get a starter for uh multiple weeks and then you're going to get a guy that's going to be in usage Pat so you're a little bit higher on him he's inside your top 30 anything you want to add on chuba no I mean I'm glad I'm above ECR at rb29 and feel like um you know maybe I should be closer to Mick at rb25 um I I think Mick's got it right in thinking like chuba is probably going to operate as something close to a Workhorse back and we saw in the preseason like he played well ahead of my sanders I I don't think the Panthers want to use my sanders it just like nothing has indicated they're interested in putting that guy in the field very much so um you know like my only hesitation is that I I don't know how much better if at all the P Panthers offense is going to be I'm optimistic that Dave Canalis can fix things but um you know it might be slow andad steady progress so maybe the touchdown upside with chuba isn't uh quite as sexy as it might be for some higher ranked running backs uh this other one here really stands out ECR uh 23 is actually not on this list but there's kind of this balance why I wanted to talk about it real quick uh niji Harris who ECR 23 could even move to that 25 range mix got him at 29 and fits you have him at 19 what a wide range that's in here so Mick just real quick you have him in the range that we're talking about here lower than quite a bit lower than consensus it's a time share why is naagi so low for you well I think there are a couple of things I think uh Atlanta has a very underrated run defense you know they only allowed five rushing touchdowns and 3.8 yards per carry last season and I think like you mentioned the committee with Jaylen Warren and I just I don't trust what this Pittsburgh offense is going to look like right off the bat I mean I don't know if Harris is getting 18 touches or 10 um you know we got the new quarterback new offensive coordinator you know lots of moving parts so I just kind of want to see it first before I kind of evaluate I think this game is goingon to be interesting on on both sides from that standpoint you got new you know coordinators and schemes offensively so I think both offenses are a little bit up in the air as far as what we're going to see in week one so I'm a little bit hesitant you know a little bit more reserved on those guys this week I want to see it going forward Pat is not Pat you've got nji Harris at 19 inside the top 20 so the complete inverse of what Mick said are you not concerned talk to us about niji oh I wouldn't say I'm not concerned I mean when Arthur Smith is involved there has to be some level of concern for certain but we know that Jaylen Warren has been dealing with a hamstring issue uh Mike Tomlin says he's going to be available but we don't know how much he's going to play it's probably not anything close to a 50 50 in week one and of course of course Arthur Smith could really Annoy Us by uh giving Cordo Patterson a bunch of carries and um but but I do think uh that we are probably going to see a healthy dose of naagi in this game and I do think the Steelers are going to be pretty run heavy this year uh there's one there's one situation in this I think is really odd I just want to get your guys's take on it you have both Cincinnati backs inside the top 36 they're within a couple spots of each other it feels very draft ranky but you've got Zach Moss at 32 Chase Brown at 34 against New England I know there's a much higher implied spread to uh to the Bengals I think which works out there but Pat do you think this is like this is just everybody not understand obviously I don't think everybody fully understands Zach Moss is one on the depth chart everybody wants it to be Chase Brown do you think this is a big hedge play or do you truly think that both Zach moss and Chase Brown can be Flex options this week I think they can both be reflex like I I do think Chase Brown is the better long-term play but I would expect something close to 50/50 in week one and and Moss might even be the better touchdown bet I know in our uh you know Discord touchdown draft contest I actually picked Zack Moss is my running back in week one where you it's sort of like a um a oneandone pool where you cannot pick the same guy twice ever like I think Moss uh especially in a game where the the Bengals are big favorites like I kind of like his touchdown odds this week Mick do same thing you think they can both be Flex options you're comfortable starting I think they can be although to your point it does feel a little bit you know draft hedgy with both of these guys because you know I'm not sure if they're both going to finish in that exact rb3 range maybe Moss is a little higher based on his touchdown upside I think in a different matchup you know where Cincinnati might be forced to throw the ball more maybe you see more brown but I I do think moss and brown are both going to be viable this week for sure last thing on the running backs your favorite outside the top 36 RB of the week Pat we'll start with you who's your favorite guy that didn't hit that Flex option that you think could pop Julia mlin of the Broncos so much pass catching upside for the Denver running backs they led the league with 153 running back targets last year Shawn Payton's offense is always funnel targets to running backs and uh by the way B Knicks has always been a checkdown machine uh Mick same thing your favorite outside the top 36 RB for the week I do like mclin but I'm going to go on the other side of that match up and say Zach shanet I think you know we talked about the Denver run defense I think Walker is going to have a great game but I think there's some room for shanet as well Denver Not only was a Civ uh on the ground against running backs but they allowed the sixth most receptions to running backs that's an area where shanet specializes so I think you know in an uptempo matchup with Seattle's new offensive scheme I think we could see shanet get a little more L little more few more touches in the righted zone especially all right it's wide receiver rank time but first first let's talk about DraftKings cuz NFL week one is here and a new season means new ways to get in on the action of draftking Sportsbook 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wide receivers we got the top 12 here is the ECR consensus top 12 for week one Tyreek Hill comes in at number one Aman St Brown at two Justin Jefferson CD lamb AJ Brown oh Jamar chase at six how things may change Garrett Wilson at seven Mike Evans pukaa Devonte Adams Cooper cup and Jaylen Wadd the elephant in the room my friends is Jamar chase this is a very if he plays if he doesn't play okay I think the bigger question is at this point if he doesn't play Pat I mean really just like figure this out for us like what do we do here obviously rankers are putting him in in the assumption that he will play if he doesn't he's going to plummet but what does it look like let's say if he signs on Friday I think that everyone's kind of put the 48 hour marker on it and I say that because like if he were to sign with two days to go is he gonna be full go is he gonna be limited what do you think the proper rank for Jamar Chase is right now if he signs uh agrees to a new new deal on Friday I would probably have him him ranked as a low-end wide receiver one like around wide receiver 10 or 11 so he's still starting yeah I I think no matter what if he is playing he is an unconditional starter even though we might see the snap scaled back but on the bright side the chemistry with Jamar Chase and Joe burrow is pretty well established they've been teammates in the NFL for several years they played at LSU together um they know each other like they know what to do if uh you know it's a scramble drill and Joe us to like move out of the pocket like he knows where Chase is going to be jamar's not new to the Playbook is like what you're saying ex exactly so yeah I'm I'm a little worried about a snap reduction but man if he is in I'm I'm playing him no matter what it's kind of a simplistic thing even though we joke and I'm like hey elephant in the room is Jamar Chase but Mick it's like if he he might not play you just take him off the list if he S I think if he signed like you know we're doing this on Wednesday he signed on Thursday it feels even better Friday's little dicey to me and but I don't know if it's enough to not start him so this really is a simplistic situation and I guess I'm asking you if he is signed in some capacity before Sunday and is suited there's no scenario where you're not starting him is that correct yeah I I'm not benching him I'm gonna start him you know we can make the same argue about CD lamb Brandon iuk some of these other guys who've recently signed I think you have to start them you know are they going to be full boore right off the bat in week one possibly not so maybe they some of of those guys enter low you know wide receiver one category territory but I think ultimately you have to start those guys if they're playing yeah and maybe it's very very simplistic I just know there's going to be someone out there that's going to be like man Chase signed late Friday night you know whatever and they're just like can I really start da da da over da d da you're GNA put him out there in that comfortable spot but just know that the most volatile is going to be him at this point because when we get that word or I'll tell you the rank is going to look different on Friday if he hasn't signed rankers are just going to start plummeting him but let's talk about a couple things inside the top 12 you guys have got one wide receiver in the top 12 that is not in the ECR and then also you have thrown out an ECR top 12 wide receiver outside of at least at earliest wide receiver 14 so let's start with the guy that you guys bumped in hello Chris LA because Chris La did not make the top 12 both of you have got him in there so Mick let's uh start with You Chris La top 12 wiers receiver for week one talk to us why I think this is his wide receiver room now with Michael Thomas out of the fold I think you know we know Derek Carr's gonna throw to Alvin Kamar 200 times probably but when he's not throwing to Kamar he's gonna throw to Chris alve you know alve was finished seventh last season in yards per route run he was also seventh in uh grade versus Man coverage so I think he's going to be you know the the number one option almost exclusively from a wide receiver standpoint so I just think from volume standpoint and a ceiling standpoint I think Al is going to be a high receiver this week and Mick has him at uh 12 but Fitz you've got him at 10 so you're even a little bit more firm into it who got pushed down for olve like do do you haven't even know I guess I'm throwing this on you I'm curious that like who olve jumped at that 1112 range yeah I I forgot who from the ECR in my top 12 has has dropped one I don't think I dropped anyone especially far so like they would still be a starter caliber guy for me but I I totally agree with Meck on olave like his Target share last year was 23.8% and I would not be surprised if it was north of 25% this year um like especially with the ambiguity they have at the other wide receiver spot like Rasheed Shahed um sort of iffy status after missing a lot of time in in recent weeks but uh like olve is just Far and Away the best pass catcher on the Saints roster and you know maybe i' be a little more concerned if I thought he was going to see Shadow coverage from JC horn an excellent uh Defender for the Panthers but I don't think that's going to be the case so no hesitation about olave like I want him in my starting lineup Devonte Adams and Jaylen Wadd were the ones I I went and looked I pulled up uh Pats rankings which hey guess what you could do the same over on fantasy pros fantasypros.com rankings check out the consensus or you can get the experts specifically and it's Devonte Adams and Jaylen Wadd so heavy in on olve you guys out on probably top three of the highest final two week risers Cooper cup Cooper Cup's ran everybody just kind of came together in those final two weeks and just said what are we doing at wide receiver 20 or 19 and you started seeing him go inside the top 10 in some situations he is ECR 11 but not for you guys Mick has got him at 14 and fits 18 where's the hate not hugely bullish on the Rams passing game as I mentioned before a little concerned about the uh the loss of uh starting left tackle aleric Jackson and I think Detroit is improved defensively so um I I also just I still feel better about puka nikua than I did about than I do about Cooper cup um granted Cooper cup is better in my week one rankings than he was in my draft rankings because health is a big concern and he's healthy right now I'm starting him pretty much unconditionally but just not feeling great about him as like a near wide receiver one for the first week see I am I I think there's going to be an establishment of Cooper Cup this week with all that's going on but I will say puka nakua I believe has a top five quarterback white or running back uh wide receiver cornerback PFF rating so one of the best matchup ratings this week of anybody puka AA has but I also think with how they can interchange cup and Naka that can go to Cooper cup so we'll see what ends up happening with it but you know some people have had Cooper cup over puka AA Mick you're not in that situation you're not quite as far down as Pat is but uh any other take you want to throw on Cooper cup no it's a similar mindset cup was the guy I I bumped for Al as far as top 12 ECR ranks um I think I have ncua uh seventh this week and I think ECR is nin so I think it's going to be more of a AA game than cup but to your point you know wouldn't surprise me if if that flipped but either way I think you're starting both guys comfortably so yeah I think Cup's more of a wide receiver to this week but I would still be starting him everywhere well let's go to a few more challenges and maybe where the ranks are going to be let's go to wide receiver 13 to 24 13 starts off with Marvin Harrison there is Ol here at 14 Drake London uh Nico Collins Michael Pitman Debo Samuel at8 18 DJ Moore at 19 DK metf Amari Cooper Malik neighbors Devonta Smith and Brandon auk I'm gonna throw one real quick before we do it because Pat I want to get your take on this because I am much much more with you here Malik neighbors came in at wide receiver 22 you've got him at 14 this week and I think a lot of us uh you know Malik neighbor supporters and guys that have wanted to be invested in on him is pure volume and what he's going to do he's going to have volume for this team now another positive could be is if the Vikings do get to the Giants early on then this can turn into some weird version of a scoring Fest of these offenses going back and forth but just that there's a huge discrepancy between where the ECR is and where you are with Malik neers maybe the most significant for your ranks versus ECR in the top two wide receivers what's your take on Malik neighbors for week one that he is going to be peppered with targets as he will continue be all season like I think Brian dable is fully ready to make Malik neighbors the centerpiece of this offense and um the Vikings do not have a great set of cornerbacks I think that's kind of a vulnerability in their defense I'm I'm ready to see Malik neighbors eat right away I am too I looked at the yards uh he by the way uh one of my bets for this week he is under his actual yard total is under what the projections are looking like right now so there's about a 5 yard cushion between where projections have neighbors right now and he's plus money on five and a half receptions over so you know Vegas isn't seeing anything less than five receptions but that's where we all just don't quite know Mick uh I don't know where you have neighbors do you have him beating ECR or below I actually have him at 20 so I'm I'm pretty much in range with ECR um you know I'm actually higher on him this week than I have him in my draft rankings and I think my ranking of Neighbors in general is more of a Daniel Jones ranking than it is a Malik neighbors ranking because we know neighbors is supremely talented and yes he should be the first read uh more often than not with the Giants I just don't trust Danny dimes he's been in the NFL for Five Seasons and the Giants have not even had an 800 yard receiver in any of those five seasons I do expect that to change this season with neighbors but I just I don't know if the ceiling is going to be you know as high as some of these other guys in like the top 15 or so wide receivers all right well let's uh jump to some discrepancies in here you guys are both lower than this wide receiver that is on the consensus and it is Nico Collins who has got the ECR of it's actually now 16 it was 14 when we originally did this Mick you've got him at 18 fits you got him down at 21 M let's actually go to you you are the higher guy you're actually closer you guys both think insightful to where ECR is trending that you guys have got him in this area though he has a great quarterback wide receiver matchup but all three of these guys are out here and I do think everyone is trying to come to terms with which wide receiver with the Texans am I going to have suffer for this week one guy has to go one guy has to be the one that is not g to uh jump personally by the way I really think this could be a tank Dell week one I'm going to probably have him higher than most but Mick you're a little bit higher just under consensus so you're higher than Fitz talk to us about Nico Collins yeah I think like you mentioned it's going to be interesting from week to week and matchup to matchup how the targets are going to be divvied up between these receivers so I think you know almost one is certain to disappoint in any matchup and it'll be just a matter of which one that'll be I think Collins will be fine this week as you mentioned he's got a very good individual matchup so I think he is the safest among the Texans wide receivers so that's why I project him in the top 20 Pat this rank isn't indicative of failure because you still have him as a wide receiver too but do you have this in that you think we're going to see more of a spread I'm curious at like what this week one rank is versus where you had Nico in draft season because like what has changed because if just going with this if Nico was like let's say a top 15 guy for somebody I'm not saying you I'm just it's an arbitrary person and then week one he's outside the top 20 yet he has a great matchup it almost doesn't seem to jive with how people maybe were ranking and obviously they have to suffer so like again your rank isn't indicative that necessarily or at least project projecting that you he's gonna fail but like what is your thought process on having him lower with this group and maybe even tying it into how you pre-draft ranked him so I'm being pretty consistent on this Nico's ADP has just confounded me all offseason like I I just don't understand why people were drafting him as a high and wide receiver too with this much Target ambiguity I mean like Stefan Diggs um averaged like an insane amount of targets for the bills the the last four years like he was one of the true Alpha receivers in the NFL over that period and um you know as as Mick was just saying like Houston's Target distribution week to week is going to be this moving Target and I don't want to put anyone in my top 20 uh for weekly rankings it if I can't be reasonably sure they're going to get more than six targets and I I don't know that like I love the player I hate fading Nico Collins because I love how he is just so good in contested catch situations and this um George KD like Bully when he has the ball in his hands like really hard to tackle um but just unless Stefan Diggs or tank Dell misses considerable playing time I have a hard time seeing how Nico finishes as a high-end wide receiver too that was really well said that I think it was a really good way to put it because I I think that is a tricky one there's a couple of those that are super tricky and you know like similar to that Bengals running back situation where it's like we're putting Brown and moss in there like all these wide receivers are top 36 but how do we come to terms with one being dramatically higher and I think that I kind of agree with you I guess I'm saying with the draft season how can Nico be so much more valuable than the others but I suppose The Season's going to also tell us like maybe Diggs just becomes a complete secondary piece and we were all underrating tank Dell or you know Nico goes back to being the guy it's a tough one I just think it'd be interesting you're probably I guess not the person to do it it'd be interesting to have the person that ranked him you know 14 or something and then would rank him outside the top 20 this week and what brought us there the other guy in the wide receiver 2 range I think this is a super tricky one seems like you guys have both come to terms with it is Brandon auk Brandon iuk wide receiver 24 this week I think that ECR is built around obviously he had not played he had not been practicing probably going to be on some version of a snap count you guys both took it a step further and put him in at wide receiver 28 so Mick did I just kind of answer it is it do you feel that Brandon auk is going to be put in kind of a time not a time share but you know limited snaps due to no usage in the preseason I think that's going to be a factor he may not be at 100% snap rate or as you know as much as Al would be under normal circumstances but I think in addition to a potential decrease in workload I think it's the matchup uh the New York Jets have the best pass defense in the NFL they have you know everybody talks about s Gardner but the Jets have three quarterbacks who play in the top 15 according to Pro Football Focus you know you have DJ Reid and you have Michael Carter in the slot so I think no matter where IU matches up he's going to have a difficult matchup uh could he get there you know he could have three catches for 60 yards and touchdown and get there but I think you know the volume is not going to be there in this matchup so that's why I have him lower than normal yeah it it's funny that's what that was where I was going to turn it to you Pat was outside of that you have the matchups I think a lot of people were trying to put like sauce on Debo I think you're probably gonna have Gardener locking down auk in a lot of situations the 49ers like to move Debo a lot you're going to get screen passes they're just move him around they're going to have ound situations to get him more open I personally again as a Niner fan feel this is a dvo KD game where you're going to see a lot of usage on them so I'm in agreement anything else you want to add as far as the holdout affecting or the matchup affecting yeah um all those things are concerns for a guy who only averaged 6.6 targets a game last year to begin with and had this great season because he was so ruthlessly efficient all year um and I don't think he's going to be all that efficient against a defense this good so yeah like I haven't at wide receiver 28 I'm worried that's too high not too long okay uh let's go over to the final set here these are our wide receiver threes some leagues these are going to be flexes is wide receiver 25 through 36 We've Got rasid Rice George Pickin Stefon Diggs Terry mclen T Higgins Z flowers coming in at 30 Chris Godwin tank Dell Christian Kirk Deontay Johnson Calvin Ridley and Keenan Allen yes that is three Houston Texans wide receivers inside the top 36 couple things to pick out here we got a debate between you guys T Higgins T Higgins is ECR 29 Fitz said yep I'll do the exact same I will get him at ECR Mick you said no I'm gonna have him inside the top two wide receivers at 22 so let's get your take on uh the high rank of T Higgins I think in some respects it's a little bit of a Jamar Chase hedge we were discussing him earlier I think if Chase signs you know Thursday or Friday maybe I bump Higgins down closer to 25 but I think he's going to be the number one target for burrow this week and I'm not worried about the matchup with the Patriots so I think you know based on the volume that I think he's gonna get I have him as a wide receiver too this week okay that that was essentially kind of where I was goingon to go with this by the way was like I don't think I think it's a Nob brainer Fitz if Jamar Chase isn't there t Higgins is gonna go up I imagine maybe you can even tell us where you'll put him if we get that official word but with Jamar Chase in there you're right at ECR where do you think he goes if Chase is out I think if Chase is out he probably moves to the cusp of the top 20 right around there probably where Mick is maybe even a little higher than that like I need to move T Higgins up it's inevitable I do and I think you're just starting him in fantasy regardless like even if even if you broke in with breaking news right now Welsh that uh Jamar Chase had come to an agreement with the Cincinnati Bengals I think I would still start T Higgins pretty much unconditionally in fantasy okay how about this your gut right now Chase signs I know you have iuk one spot higher but would you go Higgins or iuk week one I I would move up Higgins ahead of that's I felt yeah that's what I felt you were leading to like I need to do that anyway I need to do that anyway it's probably the play that is probably the play to go uh another one this is a little wide receiver fringey too but you'll follow me with why I want to do it this wide receiver did have an ECR of 19 who we just talked about DJ Moore Fitz has him at 17 you're a little bit higher the reason I'm bringing this in is because Mick you've got him as a wide receiver three at wide receiver 25 DJ Moore so he is in this territory of maybe doesn't start I mean you have him as a not start in wide receiver 2 maybe he's a flex spot option where is the concern with DJ Moore for week one yeah I think ultimately he will end up in the flex range but I think my concern with Moore is sort of the opposite situation with Chris alve so last season Moore had a 28.5% Target share I think that's going to dip a little bit with some more options in the fold Keenan Allen Roman dun so even though with the quarterback upgrade and Caleb Williams I think that the volume might be a little less for DJ Moore than it was in previous seasons in Chicago only player I want to bring up real quick in this and then we're GNA just jump out to a couple outside the 36 things is does anybody feel that Terry McClaren might be under ranked this week and I would specifically say you got Jaden Daniels at ecr1 right now I mean Mick I think you were kind of out on Jaden Daniels so maybe not but fourstar as far as rating goes it's one of the better ratings in this General range he's ECR 28 Tampa I just there's something that jumps out to me when I look at this the the number one that I'm like oh is maybe Terry McClaren Pat I don't know how you feel about that this is another one of those where it's like I want to get them higher but I can't do you think there's a little displacement of where ECR with mclen is or do you think this is a matchup based thing and a rookie quarterback in week one so I'm a little higher than census I've got him wide receiver 26 um I understand that maybe there's some concern about Jaden Daniels and like this is after all his NFL debut and he's doing it like in hostile territory like he's on the road for his first start of uh his career and maybe it doesn't go totally swimmingly but I mean like yeah mclen is going to be the clear Alpha receiver for the commanders and I do have good feelings about Jaden Daniels so like I I start McLaren without hesitation Mick you're not comfortable with Jaden Daniels does did that also uh spill down to Terry McClaren for you a little bit but you know like Fitz said I think you know I might be a little bit too low on mclen because as he mentioned he is going to be the alpha in that offense um you know he mentioned that maybe we have Brandon iuk too high I think you know come Sunday maybe I might bump mclen ahead of auk so yeah that's something I'm a little bit fluid on but I think McLaren's going to be a wide receiver three regardless like we do with running backs here uh outside the top 36 and Mick maybe we can start with you I'd like to get your take on a wide receiver that didn't make the top 36 that you think could be a player that could jump into there you're maybe invested in to get into Flex maybe your favorite wide receiver outside the top 36 or a guy that really has your attention Mick will'll start with you uh I think I'd probably go with courland Sutton um you know Fitz mentioned that bonck likes to dump the ball off but I think you know Sutton is going to be the top Target on that offense he had double jitted touchdowns last season you know on the road at Seattle uh they're going to have to probably play from behind so I think Sutton is a pretty safe bet for floor and he has the touch upside that we're looking for as well Pat you had a little smirk like maybe he took your guy I don't know if that was gonna be your guy but yeah I mean that actually was one of my guys and and probably would have been my choice if uh if Mick hadn't mentioned them but um I'll I'll I'll go deep here um Brandon Cooks and I know the matchup against the Browns isn't that great the Browns have like a really good collection of cornerbacks but um Cooks was very quietly from I think week 10 on last season the wide receiver 14 in Half Point PPR scoring like it took him a while to get on the same page with Dak Prescott but once they did like Cooks was pretty much the same Brandon Cooks we're used to who just goes from Team to team and puts up thousand yard seasons wherever he goes um so like I I also think Dallas is going to be pass heavy this year because when you've got Zeke Elliott Rico dle and Delvin cook as your running backs why wouldn't you be pass heavy it's a very good point uh before we get to tight end ranks let me tell you guys about Locker bet all right guys have you ever felt like you could call the plays better than the coaches on the field well now you can and you can prove it with Locker the new Innovative fantasy app where you predict the plays as they happen in real time talking about making real time decision ISS during the games like predicting which player will rack up the most yards on the next drive and guess what we've got our very own fantasy pros Locker League where you can join in the action compete against the fantasy pros team and take home some serious cash they're unlimited and uncapped prize pools so the skies the limit just make the calls and watch the points roll in plus with rolling entry options you can jump in at any time sign up today with the link in the description and use promo code fantasy then join the fantasy pros Locker League to show us your play calling skills whether you're a fantasy Pro or a rookie this is your chance to win big because Locker isn't just fantasy it's live Gameplay at its finest all right tight end ranks the final one here the top 12 we've got Sam leaport Travis Kelce Mark Andrews Dalton Kade and Trey McBride falling down to five in the ranks this week but those are the chalk names Evan Ingram Kyle pittz George KD David and joku Jake Ferguson Dallas gard and Brock Bowers I guess the question I'm just going to throw at you not that it really truly matters but Pat McBride do you think he's not he's like barely a top five tight end uh with the matchup against Buffalo this week again no one's not starting him but just seeing you know Andrews uh and cancade above him and him being pushed down to five just kind of jumped out to me I feel like if this game uh were being played in Arizona rather than Buffalo we might see McBride ahead of K Kade it's probably that close for people like I know that um you know I've I've flip-flopped those guys in my rankings a couple times in the offseason it's just a pretty um that that tier of the tight end group is pretty flat to me so like with Andrews cancade McBride um even KD and pits maybe like I just don't think there's a lot of Separation there and and it is weird the tight end rankings this week it's just kind of all of the big chalky names though we will try to get a sleeper outside of the top 12 I do want to talk about this guy and Mick I I like to see it because Fitz is higher so we'll go back to Fitz in a second but you both have Brock Bowers inside the top 12 he is ecr1 12 which is kind of good to see I know Pat and Scot Pat and Bogman are the world's highest on Brock Bowers for this year but it's a little dicey on what the early weeks are going to do Mick you have seemed to be a little bit conservative in some of the rank stuff we've talked about which is very understandable but Bowers getting inside the top 12 I don't know maybe you could call that conservative or not I just think there's questions around it what made you comfortable enough to get him as a top 12 tight end I just think he's supremely talented and is going to get a ton of opportunities in that offense uh have a slight issue with the foot injury a little bit of concern there but I think he's going to be full go and I just think you know a lot of the W tight ends in this range are sort of interchangeable and you know between 10 and 15 so I'm going to go with the upside with Bowers processes fits you're all in you've got Bowers at might be the lowest you rank Bowers all season long I think that's a very fair thing to potentially say um you know what do you want to add to it I I do think of all the tight ends that are on this list everybody's got these guys Bowers is the one I think people could start second guessing because just nobody really has a great feel of what this week one is going to look like where this could be the number one tight end because no one's gonna ask like hey should I not start Trey McBride people might legit say hey should I just go with Conlin you know and that the line linebacker core with the 49ers trying to cover him and where the Jets are going to go should I go Conklin over Bowers for week one and play it safe you say no so talk to us about maybe what you're comfortable with with Bowers I think he's special I think he's maybe the best tight end Prospect to ever come into the NFL and I want to be above consensus um I I know people didn't love the landing spot um I'm I'm I was less worried about the quarterback because Gardner muu like he had a um you know like Michael Pitman had a great season with muu last year well over 100 receptions and even though the Colts had this confusing jumble at tight end last year Colts tight end still combined for like 70 catches and 800 plus receiving yards my bigger concern was maybe how Luke gsy would use him because like Bowers can be this great chess piece he can line up in line out wide in the slot in the back field and like is Luke gsy the kind of offensive mind to use this Swiss army knife in the best possible way in Brock Bow's one preseason game gety lined him up all over the place and that was exactly what I was excited to see and oh by the way like Bears fans um are are probably still having like nightmare flashbacks to how much Luke gy loved the screen Pass that might not be the worst thing in the world if you are a brock Bowers investor because I could see a lot of tight end screens coming this year I'm just super excited can't wait to see what it looks like and I I think Bowers is gonna like it wouldn't shock me if he W up a top three tight end this year well one guy that's not going to jump in there this is outside the top 12 uh a difference that you guys have got on ECR whatever differences we can really have on tight ends right now is ECR 17 currently is Cole KT where you both have pushed him out of the top 20 so that's not going to be a guy if someone's like hey I don't want to play the upside of Bowers I just want to play it safe doesn't look like that's going to be one of those guys for you Mick let's start with you you've got him at tight end 21 versus 17 this week so you know like premium tight end leagues and stuff like that or deeper leagues KT is definitely an option he is not for you though what do you want to throw on the Cole KT shade I think it's sort of what I mention with DJ Moore I just think there's uh more diverse you know options as far as the passing game goes with Chicago so I think the volume might not be quite as high from a Target share perspective as it was last season and I don't love the match up against Tennessee the only allowed three receiving touchdowns by tight ends last season so if KT doesn't get in the end zone I just think he's going to fall short of where you'd want to start him even in tight end premium leagues Fitz what do you got on K you're even lower I think you're at 22 Yeah Mick mentioned the tough matchup that is uh one strike against Kat who really good young tight end a different situation like I might have had him in my top 12 in my draft rankings but blinking warning lights with his usage in the pre-season whenever the Bears had their starters on the field um they were rotating Cole KT and Gerald Everett the newcomer at tight end so like this is going to be a value killing tight end platoon oh and by the way the Bears have a a really good group of receivers too which is probably gonna hurt the tight end Target share commets just a stay away I think until further notice also like tight ends can play safety nets especially for rookies but like when you have a slot receiver like Keenan Allen like that's he's not a tight end but it's like it's a pseudo version of the player that's going to play low inside right on the outside like that's where Keenan Allen's going to be he is the version of the high-end rookie tight end yeah well well I'll predict that we see Cole K as like one of the most dropped players in the first couple weeks of the fantasy season I wouldn't be surprised about that well let's get a player that we're not dropping how about a sleeper tight end for the week Pat let's start with you outside the top 12 tight sleeper tight end but uh you know a guy that you think could push up here someone that you would keep an eye on maybe start if things get tricky let's make it a sleeper quarterback tight end Tamm Hill it's uh you know Carolina's run defense was dead last in dvoa last year and the Saints have all but scream to us that Tamm Hill is going to have a prominent role this year um he's streaky but he was a top 10 fantasy tight end last year just barely sneaking into the top 10 so there's certainly upside here um he had some some big games last year wouldn't be surprised if he had one in week one t some Hill in the touchdown contest might be kind of fun too have to see what those odds are over on DraftKings Mick uh same thing your sleeper tight end that's outside the top 12 someone you'd be taking a look at I'm gonna go with Kobe Parkinson I think um you know as I mentioned earlier with the Rams I think they're going to throw the ball a lot against Detroit and obviously you know cup and NOA are going to be the top two options in the passing game but I think you know Parkinson can sneak in for Poss possibly a score against this Lion's defense well friends uh tough decisions are out there with lots of ranks we've got you covered on all of the shows so make sure you're subscribed to the YouTube and the podcast side where we're answering your questions whether it's live streams or on demand fantasypros.com rankings where you can check it out but also the number one tool to help you is my playbook so make sure you guys go and check out my playbook today you can download the my playbook app and make all of your decisions easier it's like like having Pat Fitz Morris on your phone at any time waiver assistant trade analyzer multi- League worker you can have all of your leagues and your rostered stuff done on my playbook trade questions analyze it who's the best waiver bam like I said it's like having the fantasy pros team with you so go and download the inseason app for my playbook it's going to help your inseason stuff we did everything for the draft season so don't just stop it after the draft because your league doesn't stop that's how fantasy pros is as well so go and check out my playbook and download the app today fellas we did it week one is in the book quarterback running back wide receiver tight end those are the ECR and R takes Mick you're fantastic thank you so much you can catch Mick on all the rankings and he'll be on more shows with us Pat the king of fantasy pros our favorite person can't literally can't do enough shows with Pat love love being able to do a show with you this uh year and hopefully you guys can tolerate me but thank you guys so much for hanging out with us we got a whole bunch more for you make sure you're subscribed good opportunities to win for Mick and Pat I'm Welsh and we'll talk to you next time right here on fantasy pros the football podcast bye friends