Frankly Fantasy Football
The Fantasy Football Podcast. Frankie & Johnny bring you the info you need to win your fantasy football leagues with their in-depth news and hard hitting player analysis. The guys hope to put a smile on your face as well.
Frankly Fantasy Football
Fantasy Finish: Top 24 WRs of 2024 - A Year in Review
What if your next fantasy football draft could be revolutionized by a single player’s performance? This episode, we're not just talking about J'Marr Chase’s awe-inspiring triple crown season with 332 fantasy points; we're uncovering the chemistry that made him and Joe Burrow an unstoppable duo and the implications for your draft strategy. Chase set a new precedent, but his story is just the beginning. Alongside him, we spotlight consistently brilliant performers like Justin Jefferson and the rise of Amon-Ra St. Brown, whose journey to the top five wide receivers is nothing short of thrilling.
Breakout stars are reshaping the fantasy landscape, and we're here to celebrate their successes and analyze their future potential. We delve into the unexpected yet triumphant ascension of Brian Thomas Jr. to number four, while dissecting CeeDee Lamb’s resilient journey and Terry McLaurin’s newfound synergy with quarterback Jayden Daniels. With insights on emerging talents like Jackson Smith-Njigba and Drake London, we offer a roadmap for fantasy managers navigating the shifting dynamics of top receiver picks. It's a season of surprises, and understanding these shifts could be your key to fantasy football glory.
The wide receiver conversation doesn’t stop with current stars; our focus extends to promising rookies and under-the-radar talents who could be your next fantasy assets. We explore the rollercoaster seasons of Jerry Jeudy and AJ Brown, revealing what their trajectories mean for future drafts. From Ladd McConkie’s surprising rookie year to Tee Higgins’ battle with injuries and potential, we break down what makes these players tick and how they fit into the evolving fantasy football narrative. Our episode concludes with a keen look at Zay Flowers, DJ Moore, and the tantalizing potential of Puka Nacua, ensuring you’re ready for upcoming draft challenges. Tune in to redefine your fantasy strategy with insights that matter.
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All right, guys, we are continuing our 2024 year in review. We are hitting you, guys with the receivers. Today, we are going to be going through the top one all the way down to the top 24 best receivers from this past year. Don't forget, guys like share, subscribe, let's go.
Speaker 2:All right, all right. All right, Welcome to the show. This is the Frankly Fantasy Football Podcast. We are your hosts, Frankie and Johnny. How you doing, Frank.
Speaker 1:I'm doing good, brother, you know, hey, guys, listen, check it out If you're like, hey, mr Droopy Eyes over there, I get it. I got a fucking sty over the weekend, all right, so like I'm a little sensitive about it. So let's other than that, john, I'm doing great. Okay, I'm doing fabulous.
Speaker 2:You didn't even give me the opportunity to say Frank, I just wanted to call it out.
Speaker 1:Let's just get it out there, All right. It's kind of like all right, figure it out.
Speaker 2:All right, it's good man Now that we got the housekeeping out of the way. Okay, frankie has a weird eye, Don't worry about it. That's just what you can see. He's got a lot of weird shit you don't know about. Yeah, I'm wearing pajama pants right now. All right, what are you talking about? I'm not even wearing pants. What are you talking about? Good for you, zoom meetings, podcasts, whatever. You don't need no pants. Pants. Where we're going, we don't need pants. That's right. Welcome to the show everybody. It's the end of the season and we still haven't lost it. We're crazy, we're nuts, we're insane. Hey, welcome to the show Today.
Speaker 2:Guys, continuing in our series here of the top 24 finishes in fantasy football Today is going to be the receivers Big one here, guys. These guys were huge this year. We got some big guys to talk about. Here we're going to be doing the top 24, 1-24 wide receivers. How they finished in 2024 with a half PPR. Again, we went all the way through the fantasy season, not 18 weeks, we did 17 weeks. So if you look at some of the rankings go wait a minute he scored more touchdowns than that. Fantasy points only is what we're looking at.
Speaker 2:All right, so let's get right to it here, frank. We're going to start with number one with a bullet, I'm going to give you the top three here and then we'll talk about each guy individually. All right, number one, jamar Chase. Number two, jj Justin Jefferson and number three, amon Ross St Brown. All right, number one, jamar Chase. This was the creme de la creme this year, frank, jamar Chase. 332 fantasy points Projected to start the year. Wide receiver two. Finished at wide receiver one 19.9 fantasy points per game. Almost 20 points per game with a wide receiver. Let's go, baby, talk to me about jamar chase. How beautiful was he this year?
Speaker 1:john, he was so fun to watch and guys, if you remember, way early on when the draft was happening he was holding out, people were shitting down their leg. Do we draft him at five? Do we draft him at six? Hell, no, he dropped in most drafts to eight, nine or 10 guys in a 12-man league. So this dude coming out and being not only the number one receiver, john, and not only having the highest points per game and, by the way, when we're doing this we're talking about half PPR, to give you kind of that middle ground between standard and full PPR but he also was the triple crown winner. Only five total receivers have won that and I'm going to give them to you right now. It is Cooper Cup, it's Jamar Chase, it's Jerry Rice, it's Sterling Sharp and I'm forgetting number five it is Randy Moss. God, that was off the top of my head, john. How about that? Pretty good, that's pretty damn good.
Speaker 2:That's pretty damn good.
Speaker 1:That's pretty good, guys. Jamar Chase moving forward we already know how good he has been and we just talked about it this past year. Moving forward, john in 2025, he's a locked and loaded top four pick. I don't even think you question it, guys. He's definitely going to be Joe Burrow's number one target. He's definitely going to get the payday he's looking for. Fire him up, draft him where you can. What a hell of a year for.
Speaker 2:Jamar Chase. When it comes to fantasy, jamar Chase is just maybe the most complete receiver. He gives you that high floor, he gives you that monster ceiling. He's got the ability to score multiple touchdowns in a game. He's got the ability to get you 200 yards in a game. He's just got everything, man. And he's got a great quarterback with him that has had chemistry with him for I mean all of the pros and into college as well. So I mean that experiment of taking the stack from college and bringing it into the NFL. These are the guys who created it and these are the guys who mastered it Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase. Man hands down the best stack in fantasy football this year, no question about it.
Speaker 2:And what's really interesting with Jamar Chase, he had a slow start, very, very slow start, man. I mean we're talking week one was nine points, week two was five points. Then he comes out in week three with 26 points, with two touchdowns, 118 yards. So slow start there, still averaging 20 points a game. Even with that slow start, didn't miss a single game. I mean there isn't anything bad you can say about Jamar Chase at this point in fantasy football. Isn't anything bad you can say about Jamar Chase at this point in fantasy football. If you want to take Jamar Chase in one overall the 101 next year do it, do it. I think personally Saquon's the 101. But if you're looking at a receiver, you don't want to take a running back because that is a dangerous spot. Taking a running back in the 101 a la CMC, like we've seen, yeah, no problem at all. Taking Jamar Chase at number one overall, anything else with Jamar Chase, frankie.
Speaker 1:No, guys. I just think that, john, to your point, this is a dude that's going to be a stud for years to come. And on top of it, one call-out when we go down from Jamar Chase guys, and we're going to start listing off, as Johnny mentioned, we had Jamar Chase 1, jj 2, amin Ra 3, right, listen to the difference in points. When we go from Jamar to JJ Guys, it was the year of the running back, except for Jamar Chase, and you will see why with this teardrop.
Speaker 2:Let's get to number two. Just like we said, jj Justin Jefferson 265 points versus Jamar Chase's 332. He was projected to be the wide receiver. Three was the wide receiver two averaging 16.2 points per game. Like we said, let's compare the two here Jamar Chase 19.9 points per game and a half PPR JJ 16.2. Big difference there. Talk to me a little bit about JJ man.
Speaker 1:the one thing about JJ, guys, is he's quarterback proof? Right, we've seen him like. We've seen him with Sam Darnold, we have seen him with Kirk Cousins, we have seen him with, you know, jace Hall and some other guys right that they're throwing out there at this point time Nick Mullins, etc. So, you guys, jj, when you are thinking about where can I draft and where can I feel comfortable, he's a locked and loaded top, top first round pick, no question about it. Sure, there is a drop, guys, when we're talking about 332 fantasy points for Jamar Chase, down to 265, that is a lot, that is a big difference. But what you can hang your hat on is you know, you're drafting somebody who arguably is by talent. He could be the number one receiver from a talent NFL perspective. Yes, jamar's going to have something to say about that.
Speaker 1:Fun fact is that LSU team I keep going back to that with Joe Burrow, jamar Chase and JJ. Can we just take a second? Can you even believe they were on the same team? I mean those three guys, I mean just unreal man. And so, guys, when we're thinking about Justin Jefferson moving into 2025, lock him up. If you're in a keeper league, feel super cozy and warm of keeping him, even though the quarterback position is up in the air with the Vikings? Right, sam Darnold might not even be there. Is JJ McCarthy going to come back to fold? Right? They traded down to get him in the NFL draft and he, you know, got hurt and was out for the year. We never even got to see him play a real game. That meant something. Right, we only saw a preseason game and sure, he looked fantastic, but it's preseason, right. We've seen that with Kenny Pickett, we've seen that with DTR. Right, preseason doesn't mean shit. And so JJ man, moving forward, lock and loaded top three receiver. Love this guy. Expect big things next year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm not going to be nervous about JJ McCarthy coming in or if they bring in a bridge receiver or a quarterback in between. I'm not going to worry about that, because I was worried about that this year and I faded JJ in the draft. I did too. I went after Jamar Chase rather than JJ, and if I didn't get JJ I went for a running back at that point, which is probably Brees. Oh God damn it In that first round. But yeah, I faded JJ big time this year and I was wrong. I was absolutely wrong. I was worried about Sam Darnold with a new quarterback. And you know what I'm not going to do that next year. I'm going to take JJ comfortably in the middle of the first round and feel great about it. Let's look real quick, frank. We talked about comparing the one and two. These guys were fantastic. There's not a ton we need to say about it. But let's just look at the difference here of one and two, of how an incredible year Jamar Chase actually had. All right, let's look at receptions here. Jamar Chase 127 versus JJ's 103. 24 more receptions. 1,500 yards versus 1,700 yards. 10 touchdowns for JJ, 17 touchdowns for Jamar Chase. Yeah, so I mean just that's the one and two, you know you take Jamar Chase. Let's compare him to the five or six. It's going to be shocking man Big time. I mean, they're going to look like completely different things here. All right, let's get to number three here.
Speaker 2:Amon Ra, st Brown, the sun, god, frankie. I remember a couple of years ago going nuts when he was his rookie year. I think it was the second year of the podcast, something like that. I just remember going apeshit over Amon Ra. I loved his name, I loved how he played. I said, guys, this guy's going to break out. I just remember the breakout happening and just being. It was such a cool moment. And now he has solidified himself in that top five of fantasy football. I don't see that going anywhere anytime soon either. All right, let's talk about Amin Ra here. 254 points versus JJ's 265. Very similar. He was projected to be the wide receiver six. He overperformed. He was the wide receiver three, averaging 15 and a half points per game. Talk to me about the sun, god, baby.
Speaker 1:Put my money where my mouth is with him, john, and you know that this is a guy that before all of the drafts last year I said I'm targeting him. If I got first round back half middle first round, I'm taking him. I even took him over JJ. And again you can look at it and say, yeah, it was kind of a bad choice, kind of, yeah, it was 11 points less than JJ did. It doesn't matter, I still loved Amin Ra. I wanted a piece of Detroit. I wanted a piece of Amin Ra.
Speaker 1:After he got that extension, he was fantastic and here's what he ended the year on, john he ended up having 115 receptions. So, guys, when we're talking about half PPR, imagine full PPR. If you had him right, you get a couple more points, a couple more, you're getting 13 more, 12 more points right away out of the gate from that of a standard league. If you had Amin Ra in a full PPR. In addition, john, he had 1,263 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
Speaker 1:And here is one of the most interesting things to call out his targets, with Jamison Williams coming up right healthy pretty much all year. You had Sam Laporta coming back. You had Jameer Gibbs as a target machine. We talked about that Receptions out of the backfield Amin Ra still had 141 targets. That is incredible. Now, sure you could look at JJ with 154 and Jamar Chase with 175, but Amin Ra to have 141 in an offense as convoluted as what Detroit's was dude. I'm taking him all day and twice on Sunday man. So, moving forward, guys. I can see Amin Ra still being in that top seven in 2025, top seven receivers to end the year, as long as he stays healthy. I love the sun. God man, I do too, baby All right, let's get to number four.
Speaker 2:We've got, let's do four, five and six. Here We've got Brian Thomas Jr, CeeDee Lamb and Terry McLaurin, TMC. Hey, we got a rookie coming into the top five here, man, Brian Thomas Jr. Check out the video we did on him, his rookie review right here. We were all over this guy. We loved him. He came in at number four on a shit team terrible, terrible quarterback play, awful play on offense, and he came in as the really the only bright spot in there. Uh, let's look at brian thomas 232 points versus Amon Ross 254, projected to be the wide receiver, 24. This is called a league winner, my friends, when there's a guy projected and drafted as the wide receiver 24 ends up at four. He was on your championship or your playoff teams, no question about it. 183 points was what he's projected 14.2 points per game for Brian Thomas Jr. Talk to me about the rookie Guys in most leagues he wasn't even drafted.
Speaker 1:There were leagues that this dude wasn't drafted and he was picked up off the waiver wire and I know this because we did it in one league. It was crazy man. And to see and I love that you called out guys, check out that rookie review, because we compared him and got a lot of shit about it. We compared him, actually I compared him to Julio Jones and I said, because of his demeanor, his stature, the way he plays that 50, 50 ball, so on and so forth, and you got to remember his, his um, when he was at LSU he ended up leading the NCAA in touchdown receptions, right, and receiving touchdowns. And so now we knew this was going to carry over.
Speaker 1:I didn't care how many people talk shit, and to see him get in the top four man was nothing short of brilliant. And here's what he ended on, john he had 87 receptions as a rookie 87 receptions, 1,282 yards, which, fun fact more than Aminrah St Brown. And then he also had 10 receiving touchdowns and 133 targets. And sure you could say yep. Well, christian Kirk got hurt and Gabe Davis got hurt and all these other guys. Well, guess what? A rookie doing this is still nothing short of incredible. And John they finally what a rookie doing this is still nothing short of incredible. And john they finally. Jacksonville hit gold and they have something to build around with trevor lawrence and man. I think brian thomas is only going to get better from here, guys I do too.
Speaker 2:I do too. I mean his receptions were much, much lower. Um, in those, you know the other guys in the top three. I mean he was still what 15 receptions lower than, you know, justin jefferson, who was lower than both Chase and Amin Ra St Brown. But that's the one thing that I will be a little nervous about next year when we've got a full team, because, you're right, he was the team, he was the target, he was the guy. All the other receivers got hurt, no-transcript things. But I am a little nervous. I'm very happy with how things went with Brian Thomas, but a little nervous about next year. We'll be talking a lot about it.
Speaker 1:And John. To that point, just want to call out with Brian Thomas, guys, he averaged 14.7 yards a reception, so he is not the guy that's running these short routes and getting all of these. You know seven catches for a hundred yards type of thing. It is four catches, five catches for you know 115, something like that. And to put it in perspective, amin Ra 11 yards of reception, jamar Chase, the triple crown winner, 13.5 yards of reception and Brian Thomas was more than a yard per reception than even Jamar. And one other quick call out too. Look at the drop in points, guys. I wanted to make sure I called that distinction out just to show how incredible Jamar Chase's year was. Right, brian Thomas ended up as number four with 232. Jamar Chase was number one with 332. A hundred more points, just unbelievable.
Speaker 2:That is crazy. All right, let's get to number five on the list here. Ceedee Lamb of the Dallas Cowboys 217 fantasy points. He was projected to be the wide receiver. Four. He was the wide receiver five, averaging 14.2 points per game. I mean, dallas was supposed to be a good team. Let's just start there. They were supposed to be a good team. Let's just start there. They were supposed to be a good team. Yeah, they were not. And I would say that they were very similar actually to Jacksonville. I would compare CeeDee Lamb and Brian Thomas Jr. Very similarly. They were really the only guy on the team in the passing game, really when it came down to it. And very similar stats here.
Speaker 1:So break it down for me, for CD man, I mean I think CD is exactly where we expected him to be Number five top five guy, and that's a top five guy. While he was banged up for quite a bit of the year, eventually went on. Ir didn't even finish the season and, again, it's probably because they wanted to save him. He got, you know, the brink struck, came out and paid his ass, which rightfully so. And I think CeeDee Lamb is still going to be considered a top five, top six receiver, no question about it. But here's how he ended up, guys. Just to give you a little bit of perspective 101 receptions beat that 100 mark, fantastic, 1,194 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns. And, john, you hit the nail on the head, he had 152 targets on the year and again, guys, did not finish the season. So this dude was a target monster. If you had him in PPR, you were salivating.
Speaker 1:And, guys, if he ends up falling to mid round, first round, back half of first round, which is something that could happen, especially with Saquon Barkley, maybe Derek Henry sneaks up there, right? We talked about Jamar Chase and Amin Ra and some of these and JJ et cetera. Guys, I'm taking CD Lamb, don't even hesitate. I think that you know Dak and things like that. They're going to figure it out. No more, mike McCarthy. That's the other thing. We could end up seeing Schottenheimer actually get promoted, the OC get promoted, and that's something that could actually happen, or they might look elsewhere, which again it could be prime.
Speaker 1:It could be Dion, it could be like so guys just know, cd lamb is still on that elite tier. Don't even think about it. Roll with him next year and you're going to enjoy.
Speaker 2:Very situational. Uh, down season. Which hilarious. He's number five on the list and we're saying it's a down season. That alone should tell you something for next year. Yeah, list, and we're saying it's a down season. That alone should tell you something for next year. Yeah, all right, let's go to number six here. Man, here's another guy. So good to see this guy in the top 10. It's about goddamn time, tmc terry, scary terry mclaurin coming in at number six, one point behind cd lamb. This past year he was projected to start the year at wide receiver 18, came in at six.
Speaker 2:Another beautiful stack here, man 13.2 points per game out of Scary Terry. Hey, this guy needs to be buying Jaden Daniels a Rolex. He needs to be babysitting his kids. He needs to be just tucking them in at night. It is, you know, is like a little burrito. Just tuck him in. Yeah, he needs to be taking care of that too. Because, man, scary Terry, it's about goddamn time that he got a quarterback and now we can see what he can do. He is a number six, a top 10 receiver, with a decent quarterback throwing the ball. Talk to me about Terry man.
Speaker 1:Scary Terry has been playing with slop. Terry has been playing with slop. He has been playing with slop and this guy is such a stud. He came out of Ohio state and he was the utility guy. He wasn't even the super flashy guy, but the thing is, is the tenaciousness that scary Terry plays with and kind of this moxie, almost this, this quiet confidence, and he's not a show off type of dude and to see him excel is so freaking fun and he's talented as all hell. He's got some of the best hands pure hands I've seen in the NFL. I mean dude, he's right up there with Devontae and man, I'm saying Mike Evans and some of these other guys just pure hands. Jj Scary Terry rivals him as well.
Speaker 1:No-transcript. This again on a Tuesday right. What we're leading into is the commanders playing at Philadelphia for the NFC Championship game. This is with a team new GM, new head coach, new OC, rookie quarterback. Imagine what we're going to see from Scary Terry moving forward. Guys, right now he's probably going to be projected middle second round, maybe back half a second round. I think he's totally worth it, john. What do you think on that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I do too. I think he's going to be very solid. I don't think you're going to be able to go wrong with Terry McLaurin, I mean, especially when you've got him attached to Jaden Daniels. I mean, we're just talking about thumbs pointing up here, man. Even if there is some concern of a sophomore slump with Jaden Daniels, terry McLaurin's still the one. He is the alpha on the team. The offense rolls through him in the passing game and I just don't think you're going to have anything to worry about as far as that goes. Yeah, now take them with confidence and love it.
Speaker 2:All right, let's go to seven, eight and nine here. Number seven Malik neighbors. Another rookie here. Number eight Jackson Smith and Jigba Gotta. Love that. And number 10, garrett Wilson. Frankie, I'm seeing an Ohio State Buckeye theme in this top 10. Right here, man. All right, let's go. Malik Neighbors 207 fantasy points compared to Terry McLaurin's 216. He was projected to be the wide receiver 16, came in at wide receiver 7, averaging 14.6 points per game. Much did you love malik neighbors this year, frankie johnny boy.
Speaker 1:We put our money where our mouth is and we both took that son of a bitch and enjoyed the ride. Guys, here's one stat that you need to know. He had the most targets out of any receiver in the nfl. Guess how many targets he had? John Just throw out a number.
Speaker 2:I'm going to say 170. God, you're so good 170 targets.
Speaker 1:Guys, think about that. 170 targets. I mean the only guy okay, I take that back. He was second to Jamar Chase. Outside of Jamar Chase I'm looking in a normal tier structure. Outside of Jamar Chase Justin Jefferson 154,. Amin Ra 141,. Brian Thomas 133. We'll talk about another guy on there, drake London, who had a great year 158. Terry McLaurin 117.
Speaker 1:Literally outside of Jamar Chase, the Triple Crown winner, malik Neighbors, a rookie, was targeted 170 times. The dude is a freak. He is incredible from a route running perspective. He talked about the moxie, the attitude. He was insane man. And here's what he ended with 109 receptions, 1,200 yards receiving seven, receiving touchdowns and he averaged 11.1 yards of reception on a terrible ass team who had Daniel Jones starting, went to Tommy DeVito, got hurt, who had then Drew Locke come out. Imagine what would happen if he had a competent quarterback. I'm not even saying great, I'm saying competent. I'm so excited to see what happens in this NFL draft. Hopefully the Giants can get him a quarterback or at least get him something in free agency and we can see Malik Nabors continue to thrive for 2025.
Speaker 2:It's interesting with Malik Nabors, I mean 109 catches, that's more than JJ, that's more than Drake London, that's more than Brian Thomas. 1,200200 yards, right in line with Amon Ra. Um, I mean just absolutely insane. This guy should have been in the top five very, very easily. The big thing that that knocked him down was the touchdowns. He had seven touchdowns. To be in that top five, you have to have double digit touchdowns. You know chase 17,. Jefferson 10, amin Ra 14, brian Thomas 10. So, yeah, I mean seven touchdowns. That's what brought him down. He gets another four or five touchdowns in there, which a competent quarterback or a better offense that gets you in the red zone first of all, is what you need. Yeah, I mean he's just going to keep climbing. He's going to be in those conversations, I with jj, with jamar chase, um four years to come, as these guys who are just dominating the top five of wide receivers and john one call out to us can we just pause?
Speaker 1:because we you know I'm still on a high from the buckeyes winning the national championship. Right, and I'm just going crazy. Okay, but look at how interesting like Brian Thomas, jaden Daniels and Malik neighbors just are dominated fantasy football. How the hell did they not go to the NAD? How did they not go to the national championship? How did they not even get in the playoff? Shame on you, brian Kelly. Suck it. Sorry, had to say it.
Speaker 2:That is pretty insane to have those three guys up there, all three in the top 10, like that Nuts man. All right, let's go to JSN here, number eight. Jackson Smith and Jigba. This is kind of a surprise on this list here. Man, 202 fantasy points as opposed to Malik Nabors, 207. He was projected the wide receiver 42. This is what we call a gem, a sleeper in fantasy football. Projected to be 42, comes in at number eight in the top 10, 12 and a half points per game. Talk to me about Jackson Smith and Jigba, oh you mean the number one receiver on the Seattle Seahawks.
Speaker 1:That is what's going on. By far, guys. He supplanted that of DK Metcalf. He is no longer the true number one receiver on that team. That's what JSN has truly came in and has melted with that of Geno Smith. They just figured each other out. It was a simple mesh with them and actually that's what they were doing. They were running mesh routes quite a bit and JSN fit that offensive scheme beautifully. I love DK. I think DK is an absolute freak, but JSN is the guy on that offense right now, and here's why. 100 receptions, 1,130 yards, receiving John Six touchdowns on 137 targets to end the year averaging 11.3 yards a reception Very good year for JSN.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, let's look at that, dk was wide receiver 32.
Speaker 1:I mean that just goes to show you right there.
Speaker 2:Tyler Lockett non-existent. His watch has ended. Yeah, he just didn't exist at all. But yeah, really interesting. I mean it was almost as if, if you look at the Philadelphia Eagles, I think he's very similar to a Devontae Smith. And then you've got AJ Brown, very similar to DK. It's just a different style of offense. With Philly, With the Seahawks, Geno was not just throwing those 50-50 balls in the end zone very often, I mean, they were looking for those medium-middle routes, they were looking for the guys across the field doing the slants, doing the drags, those type of things. And that was exactly where Jackson Smith and Jigba ate man. So fantastic year, very sneaky year coming in where he did, but unbelievable. All right, let's go to number nine. Here We've got Drake London 197 total fantasy points here Jackson Smith and Jigba was 202. He was projected to be the wide receiver 15, came in at wide receiver 9 and 12.2 points per game. Talk to me about Drake.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the show, drake, welcome. This is the breakout year. This is the guy that we saw for years to come, the big guy that can make incredible catches, super athletic plays, like a basketball player, and it showed. We finally got to see him in pure action.
Speaker 1:And what's crazy about Drake London, john, after looking at this year, kirk Cousins played terrible. He did it. I mean terrible. It wasn't even close. And then Michael Penix Jr came in and it was okay. I mean, you know, he was very average at best. And so what I'm getting at is Drake London performed in the midst of dog shit. And so now, man, when you look at what he did 100 receptions, 1,271 yards, nine receiving touchdowns and 158 targets 158 targets, man. And so for me, looking forward, I love Drake London. I think he's a second-round shoe-in type of pick. If you're in a 12- 14-man league. I think that he's a really nice, consistent, stable type of piece that you can really utilize moving forward in 2025. But, john, I have a question for you here With JSN and Drake London, who would you draft next year if you're sitting in the middle of the second round and you had the opportunity to?
Speaker 2:It's Drake London for me and it's not even really close. Yeah, it's not even really close. It happened to shake out for JSN this year and not for DK. That doesn't mean that's going to happen next year. There's still a lot of mouths to feed on that offense. On Atlanta, I'm not worried about Kyle Pitts.
Speaker 1:obviously he might not even be on the Falcons next year.
Speaker 2:That's what I'm saying, so I'm not concerned about that. I mean, drake London is the target hog Look at those targets he had with that team the only person that can take away receptions, I think, from Mooney. I think Mooney's his role, I think, is solidified. I think what you saw from Mooney is what you're probably going to see again, but Drake London is the alpha. The guy that worries me to take receptions away from Drake London is Bijan. Next year we talked about it with the running backs when we talked about Bijan Expect his receptions to go up, which obviously will eat a little bit into Drake London. But man, he had so many targets and so many receptions to go up, which obviously will eat a little bit into Drake London. But man, he had so many targets and so many receptions. There's some to give there. So I think he's going to be great next year. He's on my board for sure.
Speaker 2:All right, let's get 10, 11, and 12 here Number 10, garrett Wilson, number 11, mike Evans and number 12, jerry Judy. All right, garrett Wilson, oh, baby I-O. And number 12, jerry Judy. All right, garrett Wilson, oh, baby IO. All right, 196 fantasy points. One point behind Drake London this year. He was projected to be the wide receiver 12 came in at 10. 12.1 points per game. All right, garrett Wilson. Very unusual year, Very scary year. It's a little tumultuous here, a lot of drama, but all around that drama, all over that team, breeze hall disappeared from time to time the aaron rogers enigma, which, by the way, let me, let me just stop real quick. Um, did you watch that on netflix?
Speaker 1:I have not seen it yet. I've not seen it yet, is it?
Speaker 2:good, you need to watch it so we can actually discuss it. On one of the episodes here, man, I like Aaron Rodgers. I feel like if we were hanging out, we'd be buddies. I'm a couple years older than him. I think we have very similar interests and likes and we'd have a great conversation and talk about cool shit, but I think he's kind of a douchebag. This documentary did not fare well for Aaron. I'm watching it and my girlfriend's looking at me and she's looking at my expression to see how I'm responding, because I'm like it's like cringeworthy.
Speaker 2:It's like that.
Speaker 2:It's so cringey, the whole goddamn so cringey man. I know I'm really sad about it because I want to like him, but I just think he's a douchebag. But you know what? We'd still be friends. He'd just be my friend who's a douchebag. I have a lot of douchebag friends. We all have one You're. You beat me to it, you, son of a bitch. I was going to say that, but what I was getting at is you know all of the tumult around everybody else on the team bringing in Devontae Adams scared the shit out of us for Garrett Wilson, everything going on with Aaron Rodgers and how bad he was. This year the only constant on that team was Garrett Wilson. Each and every single week he did his job and he produced for you in fantasy, which was crazy considering what was going on there. All right, talk to me about Garrett Wilson, man.
Speaker 1:John Garrett Wilson, 101 receptions. So he did get over that 100 reception mark. He had 1,100 yards receiving seven, receiving touchdowns on 154 targets. Here's what's interesting, man, and I would love to know your opinion on this. I thought, well, everybody drafted most likely Garrett Wilson and a 12, 14 man league in the back half of the first round. It must have been miserable all year, even though he's the constant. I agree with you. But it had to have been miserable because he had no massive boner type of weeks or could put together a you know, a 20 point, 25 point, 20 point, back to back to back type of weeks. Right, and it was almost. It was like breese hall, but less or better is what I'm trying to say, because it was just, it was still miserable having him, even though they kind of did still produce. So I'm curious on what you think no, you're absolutely right.
Speaker 2:I mean, looking at the game log now, he had three games over 20 points. He only had he only had one game with multiple touchdowns. He had one game with two touchdowns. Um, yeah, that was, that was two touchdowns. Yeah, that was the big issue. And then, bringing on Devontae as well, it just lowered his ceiling and lowered his touchdown Again seven touchdowns.
Speaker 2:That's not going to get you in that top five, that's not going to put you in that elite status. But considering everything that happened, I think he had a great season and he saved you. But you're right, I mean, you weren't, you weren't super scared of him when you were facing Garrett Wilson and, yeah, you were hoping for a lot more. But at the end of the year it ended up shaking out for you. Okay, top 10. Yeah, top 10. All right, number 11, mike Evans. What a year for Mike Evans. Once again, man Love big Mike here. Mike Evans 193 fantasy points. He was three points behind Garrett Wilson, projected to be the wide receiver 14. Came in at the wide receiver 11. There you go, mike Evans 14.6 points per game, which, by the way, was two more points per game than Garrett Wilson. So let's keep that into consideration here. Talk to me about Big Mike and his record-breaking season, john we talked about it.
Speaker 1:We were hoping that he would get that record breaker. We even said it he's on pace. Can he get there? He only needs 149 more yards, or whatever the hell it was, and he got it and it was awesome. And congratulations to Mike Evans for tying Jerry Rice on 11 straight years for 1,000 plus yards. So let's dive in. What did he have? 74 receptions, 1,004 yards and 11 receiving touchdowns on 110 targets. But again, where Mike Evans thrives, guys, is 13.6 yards per reception, and you mentioned it. When we look at fantasy, guys, 14.6 points a game is what he averaged in half PPR. That puts him above Brian Thomas, that puts him above CeeDee Lamb, above Terry McLaurin and tied with Malik Neighbors, and so he's really, from a points per game perspective, he's top five, and so it'll be interesting to see if this continues to happen. The Bucs are going to have a big shakeup, right, they're going to have bakeback, which is great. They this continues to happen. The Bucks are going to have a big shakeup, right, they're going to have Bakeback, which is great. They have Bucky Irving, which we talked about in the last episode. It was phenomenal, so that's awesome.
Speaker 1:But what about Godwin? What happens with him? Is he coming back? Does he go to a different team? Does that open up more reps for Mike Evans? Does Mike Evans fall off a cliff, finally, or does he actually go for the solo record?
Speaker 1:So for me, man, when I'm thinking about 2025, I like Evans. You know, for the last two years he's kind of been off my board and it's just because of uncertainty. I just couldn't believe that he was still. It's kind of like you with Derrick Henry is kind of like how I've been with Mike Evans. It's just hard for me to believe that he's going to keep doing what he's doing, especially with Baker at the helm, which shout, shout out. We talked about that top-tier Baker this year and all of these things. Can Baker continue to play the way he's been playing? So for me, there's a lot of question marks. But again, the one constant thing on this Buccaneers team seems to be Mike Evans. So for me, man, he had a hell of a year. I'm a little bit weary on drafting him in that mid-second round. For me it's a little bit rich. I'm probably looking at back half a second early. Third is probably where I'd feel really comfortable if he falls there. But, man, I'm he's definitely not off my board.
Speaker 2:He's somebody I will be targeting in that round definitely I'll be looking at him next year as my ideal wide receiver too. Love that, yes, yeah, that's really how I'm gonna to look at him, no matter where he's ranked, no matter where he is on the board. He's my ideal wide receiver too. Because, again, that 14 and a half points per game, that's money. That's top five points per game there for receivers this year. So I want that, but again, I think he is going to drop down a little bit. It wasn't lightning in a bottle this year with the Buccaneers and the Buccaneers offense. Maybe, maybe, yeah, maybe. I mean we've seen this. We're Browns fans. We've seen Baker. We've seen Baker light the fucking warden.
Speaker 2:We've seen Baker light the world on fire. And then next year you're like who's this guy? What's going on here? What's happening? I'm going to temper expectations. I do think he's going to drop down draft boards next year. He's not going to be in that top 10 conversation next year, you know as far as drafting goes. So I think that'll be built in and baked into the cake, so to speak. All right, let's move on here. We've got Jerry Judy at number 12, sneaking into a number one receiver here. 193 points, actually tied with Mike Evans and a half PPR Projected to be the wide receiver. 51. Came in at the wide receiver 12. Thank you very much, joe Flacco. No, not Joe Flacco, jameis, winston, right, jameo, yeah, jameo is his savior this year. 11.7 points per game for Jerry Judy. All right, talk to me about Jerry Judy. Man, we're not really looking at him as a wide receiver one moving forward, right.
Speaker 1:No, no, it was a tale of two tapes, guys. When you look at what he did with Deshaun Watson and we know Deshaun Watson was as bad as it got, literally literally, in NFL history he's like top 10 worst based on what he did this past year. And so, looking at Jerry Judy, when Jamo was just at least ripping the ball man, he really skyrocketed and that's what propelled him into the top 15. He ended up having 90 receptions, 1,200 yards, a sneaky 1,200 yards, but it was pretty much due to those last five, six weeks. And then he had four receiving touchdowns on 145 targets. So for me, man, jerry Judy definitely had one of his better years in terms of being in the NFL as a whole. Again, if you were looking at him as receiver 51 and you picked him up on a prayer and some of your late rounds, you were so happy, you were salivating, assuming you held on to him and didn't drop him because he was droppable for the first seven weeks, eight weeks, I mean it was pretty bad and so, but, man, it was good to see him pop in that top 15 and moving forward.
Speaker 1:Man, I gotta be real, I don't know how I feel about Jerry Judy, the Browns as a whole. I don't know how I feel about any of them other than in Joku. It's just really hard to get a read. We don't know who the quarterback's going to be. The offensive line's been terrible right, and so now, yeah, they have a new offensive coordinator in Tommy Reese who just got promoted right, and they have some exciting things going on. Maybe they take a quarterback at two overall and maybe they end up getting a Kirk Cousins or Justin Fields or a bridge quarterback. Yeah, that's all great, but where Judy kind of landed John, it's going to take really good value for me to take him in a draft this year, this coming year.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree, browns are going to be one of those teams that people are going to be very nervous to draft. Those players, david and Joku, will be a solid tight end for you, like you said. But when it comes to the receiving game, when it comes to the running backs, for that matter, this was a run first team. They were not and they are not right now. So it's going to be very difficult looking at him If you can get a value for him and get him as a wide receiver too, even somebody you could play in your flex. That's what I'm looking for with Jerry Judy. I mean, this was I might as well call him the garbage King, cause I think I think all of his points really did come in garbage time. I watched every snap of the Browns this year, obviously, except for that Denver game.
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, that's true, that's true. That was also a revenge game, by the way. Totally Shout out, steve Smith. If that's still a thing. Yeah, all right, let's move on here to the next group of guys. We've got number 13, 14, and 15. We've got AJ Brown at 13. Alad McConkie at 14. Another rookie Love that. And Cortland Sutton in 15. Good to see him in the top 15 here. All right, number 13. Aj Brown of the Philadelphia Eagles Absolute stud. He's an alpha in my boy band. 190 points, three points behind Mike Evans and Jerry Judy Projected to be the wide receiver. Five Came in at the wide receiver 13. Okay, this is one that went down here, frankie. So let's talk a little bit about this. 14.1 points per game. Talk to me about AJ Brown. What happened here?
Speaker 1:John, I'm nervous. I'm nervous about AJ Brown, and here's why I think, with the way the offense is now structured and constructed, should I say it's Saquon, it runs through Saquon. It no longer runs through Jalen Hurts. Sure, jalen Hurts is a mega piece on this offense and is the focal point from a quarterback perspective, of course, but it runs through Saquon. And now you're starting to see less amount of throws, less amount of yardage coming out of that of Jalen Hurts and more mouths to feed.
Speaker 1:Right, you bring on, they brought on Jahan Dotson, they brought on, you know, dallas Goddard ended up getting healthy and came on. Devonta Smith looked great, especially towards the end. And so for me, man on top of the, aj Brown was banged up and so it was almost like they kind of saved him Right. It's almost like they knew that they were going to be in the playoffs. They really came on. The defense looked good. So let's tone it down a bit. I mean, shit, he's reading books on the sideline man. You know what I mean. And so for me, again, when looking at anchoring my team in 2025, guys, aj Brown is still going to be more than likely projected, a top seven guy, and for me, for me, I'm not going to take that. So I actually think that there's a younger group coming in that I can get more value out of and really go for some of those heavier hitters like that of a JJ or an Amin Ra or somebody along those lines over that of an AJ Brown moving forward in 2025.
Speaker 1:But here's what he did. He had 67 receptions Okay, 67. Again, he's been banged up, but he had over a thousand yards still. He still had 1079 yards, seven receiving touchdowns on 97 targets. But here's the key he averaged 16.1 yards a reception. And so, yes, they were still getting the ball down the field. It just wasn't as frequent as what we've been used to. So for me, I'm really tempering expectations for next year. I think that AJ Brown still is going to be a top 15 guy, no question about it, as long as he stays healthy. But in terms of that top five John, I don't know man. I don't know if I'm buying it with this offensive scheme anymore.
Speaker 2:There's too many mouths to feed. You're absolutely right, though. Now, with his points per game the 14 points per game he would have been a six or seven guy had he played the rest of it. He missed three games this year and was banged up. He was a decoy a bit this year as well, no question about that.
Speaker 2:But yeah, saquon changed that offense, there is no question. Sometimes they don't need to throw the ball. That's just the reality. Jalen Hurts runs it, saquon runs it. That's kind of it. They can win games like that. So that is a little scary. That's going to make it a little more difficult for him to, you know, crack that top 10 on a consistent basis. I think he's still very solid. I don't think there's a lot you really have to worry about. You can temper your expectations, obviously, on the receptions, but when he does get the ball he's a playmaker and he's a star. He still ended up where he ended up at number 13, missing three games, only having seven touchdowns, having less than 100 targets. That's difficult, man. It is very, very difficult to be a wide receiver one and have less than a hundred targets Damn near impossible. I think two guys maybe in the top 24 or the top 12 did that so really interesting, but yeah, it's not the way it used to be.
Speaker 2:It's not AJ Brown all day long anymore. Man, there's a lot going on in that Philly offense. All right, let's get to number 14. This is a good one here, ladd McConkie, ladd-y. There you go, ladd-y, one point behind. Aj Brown Never thought I was going to say that this year. Take a look at his video right here from Rookie Review. We did with Ladd McConkie. It was a good one. Projected to start the year at the wide receiver 34, came in at 14. Really came on strong for you at the end here in the stretch. 12.4 points per game. Talk to me about Lade Lade.
Speaker 1:John, you man. I wish, when you guys listen to the rookie review, when you guys hear us talk about how Garrett Wilson came on towards the back half of his rookie year, amin Ra came on towards the back half of his rookie year. This is what happens when you look for a rookie Brian Thomas, he was consistent the entire way through pretty much, but it really came on back half and middle of the year. Ladd McConkie is another pure example of this. I mean, dude, he was stout 82 receptions. He ended the year on 82 receptions, the end of the year on 1,149 receiving yards, seven receiving touchdowns and 112 targets. Guys, this dude, moving forward, is going to be a puka nakua, a Cooper Cup type of player, to where they're going to dominate target possession. They're going to really be able to get open. As long as he can stay healthy, man, I see a very bright future for NLA with Laddie. And, to be honest, man, when we look at what he was projected at 34, we called it. We even said like, hey, you need to take this guy when you're drafting in your drafts last year because of the upside, there was nobody else. There was nobody else. What you believed in Quentin Johnston, I mean sure he had a decent year this year in comparison to what Stonehands did last year and what Joshua Palmer no man, this is Ladd-McConkie's show.
Speaker 1:If you end up getting another top-tier receiver, john, to pair with Ladd, I think that even bolsters him even more. There's very few situations to where, by adding another dynamic piece, it will actually help the other player. This is one of them. Ladd McConkie is a possession type of receiver. He needs that, and so when you have the defense keying on, like an AJ Brown type or a Devontae Adams type, that's going to open up Ladd to potentially be in that top 10 discussion to where B just straight off targets and receptions alone, especially in full PPR. So, guys, this dude was receiver 34, ended at receiver 14, hats off. Excellent rookie year for.
Speaker 2:Laddie, they need a red zone threat, they need a 50-50 ball guy on that team and they have that. That's going to escalate. Ladd McConkie, you'd think, oh my God, that that's going to escalate. Lad mcconkey, you'd think, oh my god, it's going to take away his target shares. No, it's going to make him so much better. It's going to make him wide open in the middle of the field if they get another stud dk with jsn.
Speaker 2:That's what we're talking about, exactly very good comparison. Jsn, jayden reed uh, these lad mcconkey, very similar type archetype players, you know, uh, exactly what you want. And justin herbert looked great this year when they decided when they stopped running the ball if you know four out of every single town when they stopped doing that, lad mcconkey came on. Justin herbert played great. If they can give him a little bit more help, I think that's gonna boost laddie as well, man. But love, love laddie. Looking at taking him again next year. All right, number 15 another guy. That was great to see. By the way, what do you need to be a good receiver? A fucking quarterback. And courtland sutton finally got one man it's enough.
Speaker 2:I feel like courtland sutton and terry mclaurin have just been like sitting at the bus stop.
Speaker 1:Just just staring at each other. It's like that meme of that guy.
Speaker 2:Just or Forrest Gump with his hands like this looking out the window. Yeah, that's what I feel like Terry McLaurin and Cortland Sutton have been. Man, we just super good, super solid stud receivers that have just had shit quarterback play for almost all their career. It seems like all right, bring in bo nicks, bring in a stud rookie here, man, this guy turned this team around, much like jayden daniels did with the commanders. Yeah, playoff caliber team 186 points. Three points behind Laddie is where he ended up. Projected to start the year at wide receiver 32, came in at 15. Boom, there you go. There's a flex player that can help you win your leagues right there, averaging 11.3 points per game. Frankie, talk to me about Cortland Sutton.
Speaker 1:Guys, Cortland had a great year 81 receptions, 1,081 receiving yards, 8 receiving touchdowns on 135 targets. Guys, 135 targets from a rookie quarterback. Here's what's interesting. If the Denver Broncos can get a good running back, Estimi kind of fell on his face a bit. Javante Williams man, the wheels are falling off on him. And then Jaleel McLaughlin he's a nice speed type of running back, but nothing special, right? Let's just call it what it is. If they can get a legitimate threat from a rushing perspective, this is going to open up Corlin Sutton even more. And then again, with the emergence of Troy Franklin and Marvin Mims, they actually have a decent freaking core here, man, we're just going to see it build. So, for me, I actually only see Cortland Sutton getting better next year, which is pretty cool to see. So for me, man, I'm all on the Cortland Sutton train. Try to get him as your flex piece in 2025.
Speaker 2:I agree I trust Sean Payton. He's probably an asshole in real life but God damn it, he's a good coach. I trust him and what he's doing with this team and what he's done with Bo Nix.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 2:I think Cortland Sutton is the safest guy to take on that team. I think he's going to be the best player on their offense and I think he's going to have a great season next year too. So draft him with confidence next year. All right, let's look at 16, 17, and 18. 16, devontae Adams, 17, jordan Addison and number 18, tee Higgins. All right, number 16, devontae Adams. Weird year for Devontae here, man, real weird. One point behind Cortland Sutton Wouldn't have said that going into this year he was projected to be the wide receiver 11, which we also thought was disrespectful. He came in at wide receiver 16. Now we had no way of predicting that Devontae Adams was going to leave the Raiders and go be with Aaron Rodgers at the Jets. We had no way that. We thought that that was seriously going to actually happen, but it did. All right, talk to me. All right, let's look at this here. Devontae Adams 185 points start the year. Projected at 11,. Came in at 16, averaged 13.9 points per game.
Speaker 1:Frankie, talk to me about Devontae 85 receptions, 1,063 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns on 141 targets. He's another one, john, to where you're sitting there and you're miserable, you're miserable. You're miserable because really it was outside of that 40-point week that he had 49-point week, whatever it was. He was just okay. You were kind of nervous about him every week. If you had him, guys, I had him in two leagues, trust me, I know. But also you were okay with him as well. It was really tough sometimes. Also, when you were in a three like, we were actually in a three receiver one flex league and that was actually fine. But when you're in a two receiver flex league with a flex, it was almost like, man, do I really start? Devante Adams over Malik neighbors? Do I really start, you know? Or Malik neighbors over Devontae Adams? Of course you're doing that, but then do you really start, you know, maybe Zay Flowers over Devontae Adams? That's kind of where Devontae Adams was and it was really tough. You had to really work and really play matchups with Devontae this year. So for me, man, and sure he was over a thousand yards again, sure, he had eight touchdowns, almost double digits.
Speaker 1:But man, it's tough to really trust him at where he'll probably be evaluated from an expectation from around in your 2025 drafts. So I mean, where's he going to end up? Is he going to be on the New York Jets? If Aaron Rodgers isn't there, Is he going to be asked to be traded again? Is Gary Wilson going to be on the Jets? If Aaron Rodgers isn't there, is he going to be asked to be traded again? Is Gary Wilson going to be on the Jets if Aaron Rodgers is still there? Because word on the street is he doesn't want to be there if Aaron Rodgers is there. So for me, man, this is going to be a really touch and go situation. He's certainly not somebody that I'm saying he's off my board. That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying you got to really evaluate how the chips are going to fall and then go from that point this offseason. It's going to be really telling.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it was kind of a waste weeks one through six. Anyway, he had week two with 21 fantasy points but he was single digits. The other two weeks missed three games. Then was traded to the Jets and I mean he had two, three. He had three big weeks with the J jets that skewed all of his fantasy points 18 point week, 21 point week and a 38 point week. I mean that just skewed all of his fantasy.
Speaker 2:You know points there, um, the reception or the targets. I'm sorry we're out of control. I mean that just goes to show you how shit the targets actually 141 targets you should be a top five receiver man. Seriously, with that many targets. There's very few guys that had you know 141 targets. Yeah, so just really shocking.
Speaker 2:I this is a guy we can't even really talk about him very much because we don't know what's happening, we don't know what team he's going to be on, we don't know what quarterback he's going to have. Um, it's, it's just going to have to be a wait and see. I still think the talent's there. I still think if he gets into a good position he can be a top 10 receiver. I do believe that, no question. Okay, let's move on here. Let's look at Jordan Addison, number 17 of the Minnesota Vikings, sitting number two to JJ there. 185 points, the same amount as Devontae Adams, one point behind. Cortland Sutton, projected to be wide receiver 40, came in at 17. He was a nice addition to your team, 12.9 points per game. Talk to me about Jordan Addison.
Speaker 1:What I mean back-to-back very solid years in fantasy football guys. If you look at what he did in half PPR this year right, we were talking about how he finished with 185 points. Last year, he finished with 191. Jordan Addison is a very viable flex piece moving forward and can be counted on. He's a guy, john. When you look at his stats this year 63 receptions, 875 receiving yards, nine receiving touchdowns and 99 targets almost triple-digit target. So this guy is feeding off of what JJ is drawing the defense to him and things of that nature. So for me, man, I am all on board for Jordan Addison moving forward. If you can get him at a value in your 2025 drafts, he's somebody. Somebody. Don't even question it. Pick him up, there's going to be value there. God forbid if JJ goes down or anything. He steps in and is a true number one at that point. So for me, man, I really like Jordan Addison. I can only see him getting better each and every year and could see him being like a Devonta Smith to that AJ.
Speaker 2:Brown. You know what it seems like with me with Jordan Addison. He had a slow start, a very, very slow start. It wasn't until about week 11 where he really took off eight targets, nine targets, 12 targets, nine, eight, eight. I mean that was very consistent, but before that it was more like four targets, three, four targets. So that's kind of interesting to me. He's one of those guys that takes a little while to warm up and to get going, and that could have been the team itself as well. We've seen him do it too, man, with two different quarterbacks here, you know, with multiple quarterbacks.
Speaker 2:Because next year in my heart my first initial reaction is oh man, but what if they put JJ McCarthy in? There Is the number two. Is there going to be that many mouths to feed with Hawkinson and JJ and everything else going on? They throw the ball to Aaron Jones. Jalen Naylor came on. Is Jalen Naylor going to be a thing with JJ McCarthy?
Speaker 2:Is Jordan Addison going to be a startable asset with JJ McCarthy? Well, I mean, we saw it with Kirk Cousins, we saw it with Sam Darnold. I mean, yeah, so far it would seem as if Jordan Addison could be a viable piece still next year. But that's something we're going to have to monitor and look at man. He's going to be a guy I think we're going to be talking and arguing about next year, definitely. All right, let's move on to number 18 with T Higgins. Tee Higgins, this one's an interesting one here 180 points, five points behind Addison and Sutton and Adams. He was projected to be the wide receiver, 21, came in at 18, but, frankie, he averaged 16.2 points per game. Tee Higgins missed some time here. Talk to me a little bit about him.
Speaker 1:Tee Higgins was gold. If you were able to hold on to him and really overcome the injuries, he was gold Anytime he was stepping on that field. He was putting up points is what it felt like, John. He ended up finishing the season with 73 receptions, 911 receiving yards and had double-digit tuds. With 10 touchdowns on 109 targets, 12.5 yards of reception. Tee Higgins is a true number one receiver. I believe that to my core, outside of him being with Burrow and Jamar Chase guys, on any other team he would be a true number one receiver.
Speaker 1:It's going to be interesting to see how this unfolds, because Tee Higgins is in a very similar situation to some of the other guys we mentioned in terms of what is this going to look like? Right? So is he going to be a Bengal next year? Will he take less money? Will the Bengals even want him back, knowing that he is going to demand a pretty high penny? And they have to still pay Jamar Chase, and they just got done paying Joe Burrow, and so when you start really thinking about just the logistics behind how this is going to really work for the Bengals, they got to figure that out. Let's just say, though, that he doesn't go to the Bengals and now he might be top on the Raiders, or maybe he goes to the Chargers, or maybe is he a stealer right, Something like that. That could be really freaking interesting when we're seeing 16.2 points a game.
Speaker 1:Granted, you got to give credit to Joe Burrow. He is what top three. In my opinion, he's the best pure pocket passer We've seen, some Peyton Manning and that's even truly saying that kind of over Tom. I just think that there's something there that's a little bit different that Peyton Manning had than Tom. Tom's the greatest right. We're not going to debate that, but but it reminds me of Peyton and the way he commanded the offense a little bit. And so for me, man, if he doesn't have that, if he doesn't have Joe Burrow, what does T Higgins kind of look like? And so it's really going to be interesting to see what happens. But, man, I'm all on board the T Higgins train, but again, he's the type of guy that if he's not healthy he ain't playing. He's not even a step on that field. So you got to be prepared to have depth on your fantasy team moving forward if you are planning to spend a higher draft pick, which would probably be a second round pick or even a third round pick on Tee Higgins.
Speaker 2:Do you know where that 16.2 points per game puts Tee Higgins? He's tied with JJ at number two. It's incredible 16.2. He would have been a top five receiver had he played the full season. He missed five games the first two games and then three more mid season. That's pretty crazy, man. The Bengals could have had two top three potentially receivers. That's madness.
Speaker 2:I don't know if they're going to be able to afford to pick him up next year. Man, they've got so much other money they need to spend on that offensive line and that defense to get them to the next level. I think they're going to have to spend it there and I think people are going to go apeshit over T Higgins. There are so many teams that can use T Higgins. He is a true number one. I mean he is a Drake London type player. I mean you could compare those guys very similarly. I think Very similarly, yeah, yeah. So I think he's going to be hot commodity and I think he's going to be on our new faces and new places episode next year in the off season. Yeah, okay, let's keep moving on here.
Speaker 2:It was 19, 20 and 21. We've got Tyreek Hill at 19, zay Flowers at 20, and DJ Moore at 21. Man, these guys were all very, very interesting. Here let's talk about Tyree Kill at number 19. 179 points, one point behind Tee Higgins Projected wide receiver. One Ended up at 19. I fell into this trap myself. 10.9 points per game oh my God. We've never said that about Tyreek Hill, ever in his career. 10.1 points per game Yuck. Is this just a throwaway? Because of what happened with Tua and missing Tua? Talk to me about Tyreek. What the hell happened?
Speaker 1:I'm nervous with Tua and missing Tua. Talk to me about Tyreek. What the hell happened? I'm nervous. I'm nervous about Tyreek and it's because his success is purely tied to Tua. What the Dolphins need to do is they need to sign a competent backup.
Speaker 1:I mean what we saw from Skylar Thompson, from Tyler Huntley, it is not getting it done. It's not even close, it's not even in the vicinity of getting it done. And so Tyreek Hill man. He had 81 receptions, 959 yards, six receiving touchdowns on 123 targets. Here's what's crazy In half PPR he had two games over 20 points all year long. Two games over 20 points in half PPR all year long.
Speaker 1:John, it's terrible, it's not even close of being okay. He was the 19th overall and projected number one. He was almost an argument for one overall. We were talking you can make the argument for one overall man. And now he's burned, he's done. And so for me we really got. I mean, I'm scared to draft him next year. I'll be real, because if Tua gets hurt and they don't have a competent backup, then it's done. We've seen it. Tyreek Hill's gone, even with Jalen Waddell, even with Janu Smith and some pressure being taken off and a good running game with Devon Achan. They couldn't get him the ball. It's a huge, huge problem. And again we're seeing Tyree kills used to playing in the cold weather with the chiefs. When the dolphins would play in the cold weather, it would be, he would be gone, he would disappear and they couldn't get him. Like I mentioned the ball. And so for me, man, I am really, really hesitant when looking to drive Tyree kill in 2025. What if the backup?
Speaker 2:is Joe Flacco Jameis Winston.
Speaker 1:Then probably okay. That changes things. Yeah, then I'm probably okay.
Speaker 2:I mean, if there's a backup, who's a gunslinger and is going to be throwing the ball to Tyreek Hill down the field on? A wing and a prayer might be all right, right, when do you take?
Speaker 1:him then Like seriously, let's go down this rabbit hole for a second. Where do you take him? Is he still if you're staring at the first round? Is he a back end first round?
Speaker 2:I just don't see him slipping out of the first two rounds just because of what he's done in the past and the name value and there's no reason to think going into next year that it's going to be like this year. But again Tua's one hit away from devastating that entire team, tanking that team, and that's exactly what happened. He started off the year very first game 22 and a half points. You're like hell, yes, let's go. That's why I drafted Tyreek baby. Then he went five points, five points, six points, nine points. One point Just killed you, just absolutely killed you, man. Yeah, now, really disappointing. I mean it's also tough because I mean he, he posts a lot of weird shit, he says a lot of weird stuff. You know he's not a great locker room guy, for sure, johnny's more kids than touchdowns.
Speaker 2:Well, that's the motivating factor. I like the fact that he's got kids. He's got more baby mamas than touchdowns too. Yeah, like because that son of a bitch is motivated okay he's gonna make some money he's not getting all his money.
Speaker 2:I can tell you that right now. So that dude needs to hit his bonuses. He needs to. So that part. I like man that she just got a lot of little kittens out there, but uh yeah, it's gonna be tough. I he might be one of those guys because of the risk. There's very few guys that you can say if their quarterback goes down, they're worthless. Tyree kills one of those guys. Tua goes down. We've seen it now. He's worthless.
Speaker 2:I'm not going to risk that on my fantasy football team next year. I'm sorry, I'm just not going to. There's too many other receivers that have emerged, too many young guys that have come up that I'm not going to take the chance that you know one little hit to the head to can destroy Tyreek's entire season Not doing it All. Right, let's get to 20 here. Zay Flowers of the Baltimore Ravens 176 points, three behind Tyreek, projected to be the wide receiver 28, came out as the wide receiver. 20, averaging 10.6 points per game. Really just an interesting season for Zay Flowers. Here, man, I mean, talk to me about it. I was really expecting a little bit more out of Zay Flowers, especially with the insane MVP caliber season that Lamar had Talk to me, zay was banged up, man, and he ended up like it was.
Speaker 1:It was a weird year, when you start looking at also just the receptions, that he had 74 receptions. He had over 1,000 yards. He had 1,059 yards but four receiving touchdowns. That's where he fell short, john. He wasn't getting targeted in the red zone barely at all. It was Rashad Bateman man. Rashad Bateman was actually not just in the red zone, rashad Bateman was the guy getting the long, deep throws and things of that nature.
Speaker 1:And then, obviously, lamar really went heavily towards Mark Andrews, towards middle of the season, all the way through the end in the red zone. And so for me, man, that's something that we got to keep a little bit in the forefront of our minds. When we're looking at Zay Flowers, is he a guy that's going to have 1,200 yards and five touchdowns? Is that more valuable, based on where he's going to be drafted, than maybe somebody like Cortland Sutton, who is a bona fide number one on that team, who, you know he's going to get targeted in the red zone? And so for me, man, he's going to be a very interesting player this year, this coming year, in 2025. And I'm really excited. I really haven't figured out where he's going to be kind of expected to be drafted yet I mean he could be anywhere from the back half of the third all the way to really middle of the fifth and you got to kind of sift through like what is the truth and what's not with Zay. So it's going to be very interesting.
Speaker 2:He only had 20 points, 20 fantasy points more than Rashad Bateman, just 20.
Speaker 1:That's really interesting.
Speaker 2:It is because Bateman was undraftable. Bateman was not a guy you drafted. You picked him up off of waivers. He hasn't done anything his entire career with the Ravens yet. And then he did emerge and broke out this year, totally did.
Speaker 2:I don't know, I don't know if that middle tier, that Rasheed Rice, the Ladd-McConkie, that type of player player it doesn't seem like that's where lamar likes to go all the time and it's just maybe the way he plays that down the field shot that he was taking and those shots that he takes with bateman. In the end those are great, yeah, and that seems to be, you know, the trends Lamar had. So it may just be. He's not the great fit for this offense. He's great for the offense but it's not producing a ton of fantasy points. So, yeah, we're going to have to. It is going to be difficult. He's going to be one of those guys where it's just like this year I was excited to draft him. Next year I'm not going to be excited to draft him. The Ravens you can't expect them to do what they did this year. I mean, the numbers were there. These are the most numbers that the Ravens are going to put out in an offensive fashion. Lamar's numbers were absurd.
Speaker 1:It could have been any better.
Speaker 2:If it gets better, it's going to be minuscule, a little bit better than what it was, but when you got Lamar throwing for as many yards as he did and Zay only had this many and barely made it into top 24, just really really interesting, really different here, man, so I'm a little nervous about it. I think he's a guy that I'll be targeting as like a flex type player next year for my team. All right, let's look at number 21 here. Dj Moore for the Chicago Bears 174 points, two points behind Zay Flowers, projected to be wide receiver 20, came in at 21. So does that mean that he met our expectations? Frankie, is that what we were looking at with DJ Moore?
Speaker 1:I would say so. I would definitely say so, john and John. For me, I think the DJ Moore I'm actually really excited about him next year. And here's why I think that DJ Moore, I'm actually really excited about him next year. And here's why Bears are going to be signing that of Ben Johnson to be the potential new head coach. For those of you who don't know who Ben Johnson is, he's the offensive coordinator and the mastermind behind the offense for the Detroit Lions. Look at what Amon Ra has done, look what Jamison Williams has done We've seen them be able to feed and Tim Patrick shit. Even look at what he's done recently over at Detroit.
Speaker 1:So for me, man, this is a dream come true for DJ Moore and Caleb Williams. And here's the other thing I don't know if Keenan Allen will be there. Keenan Allen might be on a different team. Here comes DJ Moore to be this bona fide number one once again. And then you got Roma Dunze, who I love, as the receiver two on the Bears. If that actually happens, dj Moore is going to be a top 15 receiver. I don't see how he couldn't be, john. I just think that he has every ounce of the ability they paid him to be that guy. And also he has all of the intangibles as well as the tangibles around him, being that of Caleb Williams and a really good OC and a good running back in DeAndre Swift. So for me, man, I'm excited about DJ Moore. Here's what he did last year or this past year 98 receptions almost eclipsed the three-digit mark, had 966 receiving yards, six receiving touchdowns on 140 targets right. So for me, me, man, I'm really excited for dj more in 2025 yeah, I mean you take his.
Speaker 2:Uh, what do you have? 140 receptions here, 140 targets. You take that. 140 targets, man. I mean that's, that's right up there with amin rah. It's more than brian thomas. Uh, more than terry mclaurin. Yeah, I mean more than jsn, and that puts him, you know, top 10 there. He was just a kind of a boom bust guy. He got a ton of targets. They just weren't good targets. You know, they've got to work on that offensive line. I think caleb williams will be a lot better next year. I do see that the arrow will point up for him. I think you're going to consolidate the target share a little bit on that offense.
Speaker 2:It was just a little too much going on. Too many mouths to feed and there wasn't enough food to go around was the problem. Just looking at this, I mean he was boom bust, he had a ton of targets but he only had a handful of catches, usually each game. But he was boom bust guy, he was in single digits or he had 25. He was in single digits or he had 25. As soon as he got 25 points, you're like let's go, dj Moore, he's emerged, he's back. Then he would spend five games in the single digits, then 23 points and you're like let's go. And then a couple more games, you know, in single digits. So it's just really frustrating having him as a boom bus player. That's not what you want on your team, I don. He's going to be a lot more solid, a lot more into the top 15, at least next year.
Speaker 2:All right, we're looking at 22, 23, and 24. The last three guys here 22, we've got Puka Nakua, 23, we've got Devontae Smith and 24, there's Nico Collins. Okay, all right, let's start with number 22 here. Puka Nakua, coming off of an amazing rookie season, projected to be the wide receiver seven, came in at 172 points, two points behind DJ Moore, ended up the wide receiver 22. Now we know why this happened 15.2 points per game for Puka Nakua. So talk to me about Puka.
Speaker 1:Puka was incredible, guys, puka was incredible. Yes, he missed six weeks. I understand that that was really tough, but after that six weeks he was amazing. John, even missing six weeks, he's still finished with 79 receptions, 990 yards receiving and three touchdowns on 106 targets. I mean, dude, this guy moving forward is a superstar. I love him.
Speaker 1:I'm going to be drafting him, targeting him and if Cooper Cup ends up leaving, there's a lot of rumors here that are saying he wants to be a Ram, but maybe there's some things going on to where the Rams want to get a bit younger, especially on the offensive side of things. Right, we could see Puka truly be the one guy on that offense in addition to Kyron Williams, and so, really, man, I think Puka is only going to be better than this. Yeah, he finished at 22 again, but when you look at his 15.2 points a game man, I mean, that's putting him over Brian Thomas, that's putting him right below Amon Ross, so he would have been a top five guy. I love Puka. I really can't say enough good things about him.
Speaker 2:It was the six games he missed and it was the low touchdowns. Otherwise, his points per game and where he was trending he would have been at number four or five. He's a top five guy moving forward and he should be drafted as that next year. Without Cooper Cup, this guy could be insane. This guy could be Because we saw this year I mean, look at it this year Cooper Cup disappeared a lot this year, especially towards the end of the season, and Puka Nakua was the guy. He was the guy. So, yeah, looking forward to him next year. All right, let's look at number 23 here. Devontae Smith 169 fantasy points, just a couple behind Puka, projected to be the wide receiver. 25, came in at 23. I think he did just about what you thought he was going to do this year 12.7 points per game. Talk to me about Devontae.
Speaker 1:Devontae, man. I mean, here's what he ended up with, man 68 receptions, 833 yards and eight receiving touchdowns on 89 targets Very good flex, very, very, very good flex piece on a team with Jalen Hurts who didn't throw the ball a lot. And so for me, man, I really think that Devontae Smith if God forbid, if something happens to AJ Brown, he skyrockets. And then also, in addition to it, we've seen him being a very comparable piece to that of AJ Brown. So for me, man, I think if you can get Devonta Smith as a you know as, that flex piece would be great.
Speaker 1:If you, if you have to get him as a receiver too, it's tough Just make sure that you're bolstering, then your running backs from that standpoint, or you have a top tier quarterback, a really good running back and a really good receiver, then you can go Devonta Smith. But, man, talk about a great utility guy and I only see him continuing to be around that mark. I really think Devonta Smith in this offense with AJ Brown, there he's going to be anywhere from 18 to 26 is where I see him ending in 2025. And so, yeah, I think he's a really solid piece.
Speaker 2:Well, that's. What's really cool is that you know you're scared about AJ Brown next year just because of what you're expecting, what people expect from AJ Brown. I think you wait, you skip AJ Brown in the draft and you pick up Devontae Smith way later in your draft. And they didn't finish that far apart this past year, your concerns and the things we talked about with Saquon, with them not needing to throw the ball as much because their defense is excellent this year they had a lot of issues with their secondary last year when you were able to throw all over them, so they had to keep up with teams. They haven't had to do that this year. Very likely they may not have to do that next year.
Speaker 2:So I would rather and you saw Devontae Smith finish pretty much where he finished last year. He finished where he was projected basically this year as well. So AJ Brown really took a seat, you know, took a step back. Devante Smith stayed right in his cozy spot right there in a wide receiver to uh, you know, high low end wide receiver to great flex piece. I think that's exactly where he'll be next year. So pass on AJ Brown, hiccup Devante Smith at a much better value. That's what I'm thinking. All right, let's move on here. The last guy my boy.
Speaker 2:Took a lot of heat for this guy. I know Well, you know what. I'm sorry, but technically I was right Technically you win.
Speaker 2:All right, it's Nico Collins. What I'm talking about with Nico Collins. We had an early clip in the offseason, prior to the drafts. Collins, we had an early clip, you know, in the off season prior to the drafts, and it was a clip of me super passionate and I said I am fucking not taking Nico Collins in the end of the second round or beginning of the second round. I will not do that. The guy made me look stupid that that clip went viral.
Speaker 2:I got it went viral. What do we have? A hundred thousand views on it Something.
Speaker 1:30,000 views, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Everybody just calling me a fucking asshole, the whole thing. Basically, I got ripped on a tick tock man, which, by the way, super fun. I've never had that happen to me and that was really fun. Yeah, but I was wrong. I agree, nico Collins did end up being a stud, but he ended up being the 24th receiver here. We know why he was hurt 169 points right there, with Devontae Smith projected to be the wide receiver. 10, came in at 24, averaging 14.9 points per game. So technically, frank, I mean I was right. He didn't return second round value, right you?
Speaker 2:know, Talk to me about Nico man.
Speaker 1:Nico would have been a top five receiver guys.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he would.
Speaker 1:Had he not gotten hurt, he would have been a top five or six receiver, based on his points per game alone.
Speaker 2:Before he got hurt, frank, he was the wide receiver one, it was literally one, and it wasn't close. It wasn't close. He held that spot for like five weeks or whatever the fuck it was. Yeah, he won and it wasn't close. It wasn't close.
Speaker 1:He held that spot for like five weeks or whatever the fuck it was. Yeah, oh yeah. Even after he was hurt, he was still number one for an additional three weeks or whatever it may be. So, yeah, man, Nico Collins, even with him missing the time that he missed, he had 68 receptions, 1,006 yards, seven receiving touchdowns and 99 targets. Guys, Nico Collins really was that guy. Now, obviously, with Tank Dell being hurt already, unfortunately he's going to miss probably all of 2025 or certainly most of it. Stefan Diggs, who knows where he's going to be. I promise you guys, you can draft Nico Collins in that second round.
Speaker 1:People were asking what about first round? I don't know. I don't know, John, that's a really good question. I don't know if I'm ready to jump on the end of a first round thing with Nico Collins. You know there were a couple guys who were going back and forth on TikTok and on YouTube and originally I was like, yeah, you know, he probably could be based on what he was doing. And then he got hurt and then there was still even a couple games he came back that he wasn't really in that receiver one realm. So for me I would say, if you're in a 14-man league, you could probably take the risk at number 14, 13 on Nico Collins, or certainly early second round pick at this point in time, Because again, Tank Dell will not be there, Stefan Diggs, who knows what's going to happen there? So on and so forth. But man, what a hell of a year for Nico Collins.
Speaker 2:Well, let's look at that. This is the last guy, so let's talk about it, because he probably is going to be a first round pick next year. I mean, just looking at the finishes here with Jamar Chase, justin Jefferson, amin Ra, those guys are locked in first rounders, no question about it. All right After that? Ceedee Lamb is he still going to be right?
Speaker 1:in that range there.
Speaker 2:Yes, Are you taking Nico Collins over CeeDee Lamb?
Speaker 1:No, I'm taking CeeDee over Nico.
Speaker 2:Nico Collins over Malik Neighbors. Who Is that going to be?
Speaker 1:that range where it starts getting a little that's where it starts getting tough. I would probably take Nico over Malik.
Speaker 2:Where you're looking at Malik neighbors Brian, Thomas, Drake, London, McLaurin. That range is where you're looking at Nico.
Speaker 1:Collins. He's at the top tier of that range.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, that makes more sense to me. Yeah, I agree with you on that Okay. Okay, all right.
Speaker 1:Anything left on Nico man? No, I just think, hey, guys, right, yeah, you take, bold takes, you have some fun with it. We appreciate the shit. Let's keep this rolling into 2025. And just remember, guys, in this year outside I'm going to go back to Jamar Chase man, when you drafted Jamar Chase 332 points and we look at Nico Collins all the way, Not dogging Nico, let's go. Devonta Smith at 23 overall with 169 points. Look at the drop-off right. So really be targeting some of those heavy hitters on the front end in 2025, and we're going to get you ready for the rest, baby.
Speaker 2:All right, Frankie. What else do we have coming up here, man?
Speaker 1:Guys, get ready. We're going to be diving into the review of the tight ends. As crazy as it sounds, it was a really down year for tight ends, except for a few.
Speaker 2:So we're really excited to dive into that and check out where we expect them to potentially be in 2025. Also coming up we've got two more episodes coming up the tight end review and then we're also going to be doing the rookie review review.
Speaker 2:We love that episode, the very first episode of every year is our Rookie Review. We look at the guys coming in the new class, coming into fantasy football here. Well, now we look back and go how did they end up? How did they finish? Were we good, were we right? Were we idiots? Were we wrong? Who did we not talk about? Let's talk about that guy. So we're going to do that. That's going to be coming up, so enjoy, guys. All right, frankie, let's do it, baby. Thank you so much, everybody for joining us. Thank you for following us on social media and everywhere Podcasts are found, listening and watching. We love you. It's, frankly, fantasy Football. Keep them coming, guys. We love you. Have a great day. We'll talk to you later. May the fantasy gods smile upon you.
Speaker 2:Bye, we'll see you next time.