My Favorite 2025 Fantasy Football Draft Picks

[Music] Greetings and salutations everyone. My name is Andrew Kurkov and welcome to my YouTube channel.

Today I'm going to be talking about my favorite picks as we approach our upcoming 2025 fantasy football draft. I'll be talking about players at a variety of different positions, running back, wide receiver, tight end, and quarterback players who I try to leave my fantasy draft with.

Now, I may not have an opportunity of selecting every single one of these players within a singular draft, but when the opportunity presents itself based on the scoring format, based on my team's construction, I potentially am looking in the direction of the following six players. So, let's go ahead and begin by talking about running back of the Cincinnati Bengals, Chase Brown.

This offseason, I'd like to first and foremost claim the title of being the conductor of the Chase Brown hype train. I truly do have him incredibly high up within my rankings and I'm not backing down from that point because I think going into 2025 it feels very reminiscent of what we experienced with Devon Achan this time last year. Yes, there was a lot of uncertainty revolving his potential. But despite all that uncertainty, he delivered for fantasy purposes when Tua Tungavoa was healthy. And now we have our 2025 version in the form of Chase Brown.

And as we approach this upcoming season, when we talk about the running back position, we all know that volume of opportunity is king in fantasy football. And there's no shortage of opportunity that is going to go in the direction of Chase Brown based on what this organization demonstrated from weeks 9 through 17 of the 2024 season. When Zack Moss went down with his season ending injury in the final eight games of the season, Chase Brown was commanding 24.4 opportunities per game and 18.25 fantasy points per game in a half PPR scoring format. Over 20 fantasy points per game in a full PPR while playing 85% of the offensive snaps. This is unimpeded volume of opportunity throughout that span of time was able to command 96% of the total running back opportunities out of this backfield. No other running back on the Cincinnati Bengals roster was getting looks and this is what elevated Chase Brown to being the number six overall running back throughout that span of time and number five overall in terms of fantasy points per game on average.

Now, when we talk about other running backs in this backfield, we have Sam Perin who is there for depth. Again, he's 29 years old, not going to get very many looks. We have Taj Brooks, who is a sixth-round selection in the 2025 NFL draft to a rookie. And Zach Moss, who was the only competition last season, has been cut because of the injury he sustained last season. So, as we approach 2025, the working formula that has really fueled the potential of Chase Brown has been unstoppable opportunity shares. And that's exactly what we saw out of Joe Mixon from 2021 to 2023 as the starting running back of the Cincinnati Bengals, which elevated him to being the number five, 12, and three overall running back and a half PPR. In those given seasons, he was the number 13, 8, and four overall running back in terms of fantasy points per game on average.

Now, this offseason, we've heard a lot of hype regarding Chase Brown, besides myself as the conductor. The Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pritchard has come out and has been quoted to say the following. "Chase Brown is everything that Austin Eckler was, he's going to be a top 10 back in this league and going to be a household name after this season." So with all the hype from the offensive coordinator, from how they utilize Chase Brown last season, the anticipation is that of course he could be this year's Austin Eckler. And Austin Eckler in his prime in 2022 finished as the number one overall running back in fantasy football. And how did he accomplish that? I mean, it was mainly because of receiving utilization and scoring touchdowns. And if that's the plan in 2025, then that's only going to elevate the potential of Chase Brown.

Now, Austin Eckler's 2022 campaign consisted of 107 receptions and 18 touchdowns. I'm not expecting anything close to that level of production. But from what we saw last season from weeks 9 through 17, Chase Brown was averaging 5.5 targets, 4.75 receptions per game, 37.4 receiving yards, and nearly .4 receiving touchdowns per game. On a 17-game pace, that's 94 targets, 81 grabs, 635 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns in 17 total games. Now, again, the touchdowns and the receiving work isn't going to be very close to the upside that Austin Eckler once presented in 2022, but the touchdowns that Chase Brown was able to accumulate in the final eight games of his season. He scored six total in those eight games. And throughout the 2024 season, he was number 12 amongst all running backs in terms of red zone rushing attempts with 44 total. And he ranked number 16 amongst all running backs in terms of red zone rushing touchdowns with six. So when we take into account he was truly only the full-time starter from weeks 9 through 17 and still was in the top 12 to 16 of those categories. Imagine what he's going to be able to find in terms of opportunity shares and touchdowns with a full 17-game season ahead of him. And when we talk about the receiving potential within the red zone amongst all Bengals last season, he had the third most targets which led to four receiving touchdowns, which again, he's a threat within that overall aspect as well.

Now, when we're on the topic of touchdowns, of course, that's also going to revolve the potential of being able to score that many points because you need to. And the Bengals oftentimes need to score a bunch of touchdowns in order to find themselves winning games. Because from weeks 9 through 18 of last season, this Bengals defense was allowing 25.7 points per game and their offense had the rebuttal with 30.8 points per game. So again, if we're going to potentially be in that 31 point per game average as a team, the expectation is that of course the love is going to be shared in the direction of Chase Brown. And I understand that his offensive line and that his strength of schedule is very concerning. And I hear the concerns and they're duly noted, but one of the worst teams in the National Football League in terms of run blocking last season consisted of the Cincinnati Bengals and the Houston Texans. And despite how bad their offensive lines were in terms of the run blocking category, we still saw Chase Brown and Joe Mixon finish within the top 12 of the running back position because despite all of the less effective run blocking, the running back also has a say in terms of his potential performance.

Now, last season, the Bengals were able to help mitigate the lack of run blocking movement that they had up front by utilizing the ninth most 12 personnel, which is one running back, two tight end sets amongst all teams in league. So, if they're going to continue to utilize 12 personnel, run the ball consistently out of those sets, find themselves with Noah and Mike Cassiki as the one-two combo in those situations, despite all of the lack of production from the big boys up front, we still saw effective play in terms of a 4.18 yard per carry average and 3.11 yards after contact per attempt throughout weeks 9 through 17 from Chase Brown. As it currently stands, he's going off of the board as RB12, RB11, and RB11 on Sleeper, ESPN, and Yahoo. As of right now, I have Chase Brown as my number seven overall running back in a half PPR and my number six overall running back in a full PPR. In comparison to where he is being drafted when we're able to get the second, if not the third round discount, depending on how many teams are in your league, the opportunity of selecting Chase Brown truly makes him one of my favorites in 2025.

Now, for those of you who want to go ahead and see my encompassing rankings and see where Chase Brown stacks up against other running backs and wide receivers potentially within the flex position, be sure to travel down to the description today and check out Betr. I'll be partnering with them for the entirety of this upcoming season, not only to provide plays, but also to provide rankings every single week. So, if you sign up today using code Andrew, make that first-time deposit minimum of $10 and make a first-time play minimum of $1 within the Betr picks section. So, you're making a $1 minimum play, picking more or less on given player statistics. Once you go ahead and complete all three of those steps, you'll be on my email list. I'll send you an email every single week for the remainder of the season over the course of the month of August. Updated rankings by position, by tier, quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, kicker, defense, and flex, which is top 200 within the flex position. Again, half and full PPR. But the rankings won't stop over the course of the month of August. They'll continue every single Sunday morning for the remainder of the season. So, for those of you who want to go ahead and gain an edge upon your league mates, be sure to check out the map to the right side of the screen to determine your eligibility based on your current location. And if you play up to $10 today, you'll get up to $30 instantly via Betr. So, take advantage of the opportunity today. We'll be making plays at the end of today's episode. So, for those of you interested, I'll be suggesting that going into the upcoming weeks. Thank you very much for all the support.

All right, let's continue on with another one of these favorite players that I love to draft going into 2025, which is DK Metcalf. And very similar to the potential hype train of Chase Brown, I feel like I'm the conductor of the DK Metcalf hype train based on where I have him ranked in comparison to, you know, the consensus whether it is on Sleeper, ESPN, or Yahoo, that ADP average. So, as we go into this upcoming season, we got to remind ourselves DK Metcalf is a former top 12 ranked wide receiver in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In both those seasons, sure, he scored 10 plus touchdowns in order to achieve that successful status. And many of you may believe that he has to rely upon the deep ball and those touchdowns to find fantasy value this upcoming season. And even if that's being the case, he is going to get those opportunities. Last season amongst all wide receivers in terms of passing attempts, 20 or more yards down the field. Sure, DK Metcalf ranked number one in targets, number one in receptions, number four in receiving yards, and number three in receiving touchdowns. And those are incredible numbers. And throughout his career, he's always been within the top 12 to 15 of that category when he stayed healthy. And for those of you who are thinking, well, Andrew, he's not going to be exposed to that kind of level of opportunity share. Well, why not? Looking at Aaron Rodgers' statistics in 2024, he ranked as number nine in terms of passing attempts, 20 or more yards down the field, number eight in completions, number 10 in passing yards, and number three in passing touchdowns. So, we know that Aaron Rodgers is capable of delivering the ball down the field. And we know that DK Metcalf is one of, if not the best deep ball receiving option in the National Football League.

Now, if we're looking for another potential excuse as to why we're not going to draft DK Metcalf this season, you may say that DK Metcalf isn't a high volume catch receiver and in a full PPR, he's a lesser potential option. Well, when you're given opportunity, it's going to lead to more receptions. That's just how it works in fantasy football. And when he has been given ample opportunity in his career, it has led to success within the reception category. Specifically, back in 2022, when he was given 141 targets, he had 90 receptions in that given year. And I understand you may be thinking, Andrew, he's not going to be exposed to 140 targets. Well, I'd beg to differ. When we look at what Aaron Rodgers was able to accomplish last season with Garrett Wilson and Devonte Adams, Garrett Wilson weeks 1 through 6 had averaged 11.17 targets per game, which led to 12.82 fantasy points per game in a half PPR. Devonte Adams from weeks 7 through 18 averaged 10.36 targets per game and 14.81 fantasy points per game. So, the opportunity is absolutely going to be there. And even though DK Metcalf, yes, has had a poor catch rate over the course of his career, it's because a lot of the passing opportunities he has seen are deep down the field. Those are the 50/50 balls and the opportunities in which again are often either overthrown or in double coverage. So, he's not going to be able to come down with majority of those. And that's why over the course of the last three seasons with Geno Smith, he's had a 60% catch rate.

Now, even if that 60% catch rate continues going into 2025, with 150 targets, a 60% catch rate leads to 91 receptions this season. And for those of you who are thinking, Andrew, he's not going to get 150 plus targets primarily due to the fact that this is an Arthur Smith offense in terms of he's the offensive coordinator. But I mean, we all know this is going to be an Aaron Rodgers offense. And soon enough, many of you will find out. But even if we look back to last season, Russell Wilson with Arthur Smith from week 7 through 18, 30.5 passing attempts per game on a 17-game pace, that's 520 total passing attempts. Even if we travel back to 2023 when Arthur Smith was the primary play caller of the Falcons, they threw the ball 528 times in that given year. So if we're looking at 150 targets for the potential DK Metcalf on 520 passing attempts, that's a 28.84% target share, which really isn't that high of a number considering his primary competition consists of John Smith, Pat Freiermuth, and Calvin Austin. So therefore, DK Metcalf is very much so in line for the potential of this. But like I mentioned before, this is going to be an Aaron Rodgers offense. And when we look at Aaron Rodgers' offenses from 2008 to 2024, his number one receiving option over the last five seasons, that's not including Allen Lazard because again in 2022 it was Allen Lazard. The number one target getter of his offense has gotten in 2024 154, in prior years 169, 148, 169, 152. Opportunity shares are going to be there for his number one receiving option in the form of DK Metcalf. And yes, Aaron Rodgers throughout his entire career has had some special wide receivers in the form of Devonte Adams, Garrett Wilson, I mean Jordy Nelson, Randall Cobb, Greg Jennings, and you may be thinking that DK Metcalf is a lesser option than all those players. That could be fine. I'm okay if you have that opinion. But even if we travel back to 2022 with Allen Lazard from weeks 2 through 9, pre-Christian Watson's breakout, Allen Lazard was averaging 12.53 fantasy points per game throughout weeks 2 through 9 of that season. After the Christian Watson breakout from weeks 10 through 18, Christian Watson was averaging 13.73 fantasy points per game on receiving statistics isolated because again, he did have some rushing attempts throughout that span of time. So I wanted to go ahead and clear that out. But when we're talking about Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf, they're going to be on the same page this season. And as it currently stands throughout all the platforms, we are currently seeing DK Metcalf as wide receiver 20, 20, and 26 coming off of the board at an ADP of 46.3, 49.2, 50.0, 50.5. If you're able to get a DK Metcalf in the fifth round, there is so much potential for upside considering the quarterback play and lack of competition within this offense. He is going to be littered with targets. And of course, the Pittsburgh Steelers have to score points and the main way they're going to do so is through the funnel of DK Metcalf. So, even though the current ADPs regarding DK Metcalf, where he's being selected, are not on the same page as myself, I would suggest you start getting on the right page and selecting him within our upcoming fifth rounds.

The next player I wanted to mention is Justin Fields. Look, there's a difference between being a good quarterback in the NFL and being a good fantasy football quarterback. And once you can make that distinction, you're able to properly evaluate a player like Justin Fields, which I'm about to do for many of you right now. Now, in regards to where he's being currently selected within our upcoming drafts, we're talking about QB12, QB17, QB14, and QB10 on the four main platforms. And outside of Lamar Jackson, there are no other quarterbacks like Justin Fields that can produce very similar volume within the rushing category. Therefore, Justin Fields is in a completely different category by himself because Lamar Jackson I'm seeing is being drafted in the second and third rounds of our 2025 NFL draft. So, if you can get Justin Fields currently at an ADP of 109, 145, 123, there's a lot of potential for him to come off the board late and deliver fantasy success for you because that is what he has done for three consecutive years. I mean, again, he's only one of three quarterbacks in NFL history that has rushed for over 1,000 yards in a singular season. And we all know that rushing upside leads to fantasy points because not only are you getting the yardage, but you're getting the rushing touchdown upside, which he'll certainly be exposed to this upcoming season. And he's also been exposed to that over the course of the last three years, averaging 19.73, 18.77, and 18.88 fantasy points per game in those last three seasons. Two with the Bears and last year with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Now, over the course of those three seasons, he is ranked as the number 10, 7, and six overall quarterback in terms of fantasy points per game on average. So, he has at base been a top 10 quarterback when healthy on a fantasy point per game average over the course of the last three years. So, why not continue to invest in someone like Justin Fields as your number two quarterback? I mean, again, we're talking about a player that in the last three seasons has the eighth highest games of 20 or more fantasy points at the quarterback position. 42.42% of his performances are 20 or more fantasy points. He is among and only behind quarterbacks like Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, Brock Purdy, Kyler Murray, and Baker Mayfield within that singular category. And when we look at his last 33 starts as a quarterback, he's averaging 10 rushing attempts per game, 60 rushing yards per game, and a half a rushing touchdown per game. That's 9.1 fantasy points per game on average just off rushing statistics. That's more than two passing touchdowns just off of rushing. Then you go ahead and you add the potential of him throwing a touchdown and 175 to 190 passing yards within a singular game, depending on how the script pans out. And there's always the potential of him scoring two rushing touchdowns because you know that down in the red zone when everyone's going to be focused on Breece Hall and Brian Allen, and of course the threats of Mason Taylor, Garrett Wilson, the scrambling effect of Justin Fields is going to take place and he is going to deliver in that regard.

Now, like I mentioned just moments ago, you're not drafting Justin Fields to be your number one. He could very easily be paired up with a guy like Trevor Lawrence, Drake May, Dak Prescott, Jared Goff, who are all going between that QB 10 to 16 range. So if you have an opportunity of pairing him up with stability in the form of a Jared Goff who has never missed a game in the last three seasons. So even if Justin Fields misses time, you have Jared Goff to fill in for him who within the category of 20 plus point games at the quarterback position was only just slightly behind Justin Fields with that category over the last three seasons on a per game average. Now on the topic of Jared Goff, he's going to be losing his offensive coordinator. He's also going to be losing his passing game coordinator over the course of the last three seasons in the form of Tanner Engstrom who is now the new OC of the New York Jets and he's going to be providing I think easier concepts in a digestible offense for Justin Fields to find success and a lot of rushing potential within this offense.

Now what we saw last year from Justin Fields within the Steelers offense and the Arthur Smith attack, they really just allowed him to just play safe and we all witnessed a different Justin Fields. He only threw one interception. Again, throughout his entire career, he has been littered with interceptions. He took care of the ball. He did not turn it over. And additionally was able to put up his highest passing completion percentage of his entire career within the 2024 weeks 1 through 6. And throughout that span of time, again, like I mentioned earlier, averaging 18.88 fantasy points per game for us. So when we have the opportunity of Justin Fields entering this offense and he's going to be playing safer and Tanner Engstrom is going to be able to elevate Justin Fields because he is going to highlight what he does best which is running the ball. Luckily the strength of this Jets offense is their interior of their offensive line. Yes, as of this season they have the ninth easiest running back strength of schedule which bodes well for Justin Fields' potential. But in terms of the guard center guard interior offensive line, this is the highest rated average in terms of run blocking grades according to PFF in 2024 amongst all interiors. When you have Simpson, Tytan, and Vera Tucker, these three were all top 12 in terms of run blocking grades within their individual positions. So, when we have an incredible interior of this offensive line that are going to be moving bodies and you have, of course, a running attack with a three-headed monster and the Reed options and the threat of Justin Fields, even just besides the offensive line and Justin Fields as a weapon, you still have upgrades in terms of Garrett Wilson, Breece Hall, and Mecole Hardman who in comparison to the other players that of course we have seen Justin Fields work with going back to last season, Pickens, Najee, and Freiermuth. Okay, could be relatively even in that category. Even back to 2022 when Fields was working with Mooney, Montgomery, and Kmet and was still a top six quarterback in fantasy football that season. I'd argue that Justin Fields is one of the best investments going into this upcoming season based on where he is being selected, which in my opinion makes him one of my favorite picks in 2025.

The next player I wanted to mention is Terryon McMillan, rookie wide receiver and the number eight overall pick of the 2025 NFL draft. Now, when we talk about the history of success that we have seen recently from top 10 selected wide receivers from 2020 to 2024, there have been 12 total wide receivers selected within the top 10 of their NFL draft. Eight of those rookie wide receivers had healthy rookie seasons in which they played 15 or more games. Of those eight wide receivers that stayed healthy, seven of them were able to rank within the top 36 of their position, which is an 87.5% success rate. The only wide receiver who wasn't able to cut it of those eight was unfortunately Romeo Doubs last year because he was the number three target getter of his offense and with less opportunity obviously saw less exposure to scoring fantasy points while the other seven receivers were either the number one or the number two target getter. The only number two target getter in fact being Marvin Harrison Jr. while the number one target getters amongst the group consisted of Ja'Marr Chase, Jaylen Waddle, Malik Nabers, Drake London, Garrett Wilson, and DeVonta Smith. So, Terryon McMillan is joining a very high class of wide receiver based on the history of the last five seasons just here alone. Those wide receivers I just mentioned, when we're talking about their per game averages in year one amongst the group, we're talking about 8.15 targets per game and 11.59 fantasy points per game in a half PPR. On a 17-game pace, we're talking about 139 targets, 88 catches, 1,126 yards, seven touchdowns, and 197.03 fantasy points in a half PPR scoring format. And we all know that Terryon McMillan joining the Carolina Panthers offense is clear and away going to be the number one target getter. And how am I so certain of that? Well, let's look at the competition. As of right now, Adam Thielen is currently on the trade block. They are currently discussing sending them back to the Minnesota Vikings as they need a lot of wide receiver help in free agency because again all the injuries that they have had take place and the Carolina Panthers can get the Minnesota Vikings to cover a lot of that contract. Then that's going to go through and we may not have even Adam Thielen as a threat. But if Adam Thielen is potentially on the trade block, because this team is not looking forward to a 35-year-old slot receiving option, again, you got to remember Adam Thielen last season was great. Weeks 12 through 18, 7.14 targets per game, 13.5 fantasy points per game in a half PPR. But if imagine, okay, if Adam Thielen still stays, doesn't get traded away, but again, that's potentially looming. The only other competition outside of him is Xavier Legette and Jalen Coker, who are both second-year wide receivers that are still developing into being primary options within this offense. But now that T-Mac is here, he's taking over. And we have heard just as much from Dave Canales, the head coach and primary play caller of this offense as he has said the following. "Terryon McMillan, he's going to get targeted a lot this season. He's going to be a big part of what we do and we're going to challenge him." So, if they're going to continue to target him a lot with a 6'4 frame, 220 lbs. Again, a rare build. Looks like Drake London and Mike Evans. Again, and I compare it to Mike Evans in specific because Dave Canales was a former OC of the Buccaneers in 2023. In that season, weeks 1 through 18, Mike Evans 136 targets and 243 fantasy points, averaging eight targets per game and 14 plus fantasy points per game because again, these 80 receptions, 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns he scored. Why not Terryon McMillan? Sure, he may not lead to, you know, scoring 13 touchdowns and get to, you know, 1300 yards, but he's talented enough to be the number one target getter here and truly deliver because what we saw out of him at the University of Arizona, I mean, again, last season amongst all wide receivers in this draft class, was number one in terms of yards per reception. He was number three in terms of receptions that led to a forced missed tackle amongst all receiving options. He played 20% of his overall snaps within the slot position and was able to average a 4.5 yard per route run average which was number one amongst all receiving options last season within the red zone 29 targets 11 receiving touchdowns. Had a contested catch rate of 54.7% which was in the 87th percentile.

Now despite all this incredible statistics the question is can Bryce Young still elevate him? Can he get Terryon McMillan to being a contributable factor within this offense and for our fantasy teams? Bryce Young once he was finished getting benched from weeks 8 through 18, not only did he play significantly better, but there was a lot of opportunity for the wide receiver position. The wide receiver position saw 64% of his passing attempts turn into their targets, which led to 72% of his yardage from wide receivers and 73% of his passing touchdowns to wide receivers. Again, amongst all teams last season, the Panthers were number 12th in terms of wide receiver targets with 341. Again, their primary wide receivers being a hurt Adam Thielen, Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, David Moore. That's what their wide receivers were. So imagine now that you have a talent like McMillan, a top 10 selection within the 2025 NFL draft. You have a lot of opportunity and it's going to be even more potential for opportunity because this offense has to throw the ball for majority of games considering their defense last year gave up the most points in a single season in NFL history. So again, if we're going to have to try to combat that every single week with negative game scripts, expect for Bryce Young to look in the direction of Terryon McMillan, especially deep down the field. Young, who was a quarterback that was number one amongst all at the position in terms of dropped air yards, in terms of on-target throws. And the on-target throws didn't stop there. They continued in terms of passes 20 or more yards down the field as 60% of those throws that he made last season were on-target, which again ranked 10th amongst all 33 qualified quarterbacks. The way that I see it, McMillan is joining an offense that desperately needs a wide receiver one. Bryce Young needs a wide receiver one and can support one. And we're going to see that this year. As of right now, his current ADP on Sleeper, ESPN at Yahoo, makes him wide receiver 27, 33, and 30. I have him as like my number 22, number 21 ranked wide receiver, which as of right now, if I'm getting that discount, is an incredible option as one of my favorite plays going into the season.

Let's continue on with Tyler Warren, another one of these rookies, but now a rookie from the tight end position, who is again a first-round selected player. And when we talk about the pedigree and the history of success of first-round selected receiving options, whether they be tight ends or receivers, we've seen a lot of success as of late. Now, over the course of the last decade, prior to the 2025 NFL draft, we had seen nine rookie tight ends selected within the first round from 2015 to 2024. We had seen throughout that span of time four tight ends be given ample opportunity in year one in the form of 90 or more targets. Those tight ends being Brock Bowers, Dalton Kincaid, Kyle Pitts, and Evan Engram who all ranked top 12 within their rookie season. So it's no surprise that Tyler Warren is going within the top 12. But that's the base minimum of his potential production because we're anticipating easily 90 plus targets.

Now, when we look at those four tight ends and exclude Brock Bowers entirely because he truly did have an anomalous year with 153 targets and had a ridiculous volume of receptions. But when we exclude him, when we just talk about Kincaid, Pitts, and Engram, of those three tight ends on a per game average, we're talking about 6.58 targets per game and 8.29 fantasy points per game over a 17-game pace. 112 targets, 73 grabs, 856 yards, three receiving touchdowns, and 141 fantasy points, which again is all within the realm of possibility for a 6'6, 256-lb tight end in the form of Tyler Warren, who is a wide receiver in a tight end's body. The way that this guy runs routes, he truly does look like a wide receiver, but he's massive. In his final year at college, 137 targets, 104 grabs, 1,200 yards, eight touchdowns, 218 rushing yards, and four rushing touchdowns, was number two amongst all tight ends in the past decade, only behind Brock Bowers in terms of yards per route run at the position.

So, now that you have Shane Steichen and an offense that has invested first-round draft capital into Tyler Warren, we know that they're immediately going to utilize him. And we know that Shane Steichen from his history of being a primary play caller and OC in this league knows how to utilize the tight end position. We go back to 2020 as the OC of the Chargers. Within that given year, they targeted the tight end position 130 times. Hunter Henry was the number 11 overall tight end in terms of fantasy points per game on average that year. The 2021 Eagles with Shane Steichen as their OC. 121 targets for their tight ends. Dallas Goedert was the number nine overall tight end in terms of fantasy points per game on average. Even with Zach Ertz playing the first six weeks as a Philadelphia Eagle. And then we move on to the 2023 Indianapolis Colts. 119 targets with a committee usage of tight ends. But it's 119 targets that led to 70 catches, 883 yards, six receiving touchdowns, and 161.5 fantasy points, which for fantasy purposes, if we can see a score line like that from Tyler Warren, he is going to deliver on his investment because he is significantly better than all the tight ends that we have seen on this Colts roster in just the last couple years. And if he's given that kind of level of opportunity, he'll make that much more of those opportunities. And when we continue on the idea of how Shane Steichen has used his tight ends in the past, Hunter Henry played 94% of the snaps in 2020 with the Chargers. Dallas Goedert played 79% of the offensive snaps in 2021 with the Eagles. Even though again, Zach Ertz played weeks one through six on that team prior to being traded to the Arizona Cardinals. In the post Zach Ertz era of that 2021 season, Dallas played 90 plus% of the offensive snaps. Expect Tyler Warren to never leave the field. Expect him to be a primary run blocker. Obviously, if they go two tight end sets, you'll see Mo Alie-Cox out there as he is one of the better run blocking tight ends in the league. But expect a lot of opportunity for Tyler Warren, and that's regardless of who's playing quarterback for this organization. I think that it is beneficial that Daniel Jones is the starter come week one because Anthony Richardson truly has struggled in his NFL career. Last season, he had a 47.7% passing completion percentage, eight passing touchdowns, and a total of 12 interceptions. That is not going to cut it. And I think Daniel Jones, what he has done over the course of his career is a little bit more promising for the potential of Tyler Warren who thus far this season within the preseason has been targeted on 30% of the routes that he has ran and has been able to play in the slot and out wide about 25% of his overall snaps. Rest of it being from the inline. I'm expecting that Daniel Jones is going to look in the direction of Tyler Warren as his security blanket. And currently being drafted as tight end 10, 10, and 11 on all these different platforms. I think that has a safe potential because you're able to get him at his floor and then he has the upside of potentially following in the footsteps of Brock Bowers and Sam LaPorta as a rookie tight end that comes in year one and dominates for our fantasy rosters.

Now, before we continue on, speaking of the tight end position, for those of you who want more stats regarding the tight end position and all-encompassing stats, rankings, etc., be sure to check out my 2025 fantasy football draft guide. It's available exclusively on Patreon. There's a link down in the description for those of you interested in getting the draft guide, getting my updated rankings, getting Discord community server access that is private, and of course asking me unlimited questions. So, for those of you interested in that, be sure to check out the description. There's more information down there. Thank you very much for all the support if that's something that you're interested in. Appreciate it.

All right, let's go ahead and let's close out today's video with the last of my favorite players to pick this season. It's Alvin Kamara. Again, when we're talking about the foundation of what makes a stud fantasy running back, we're talking about opportunity and consistency. And that's what we talked about earlier with Chase Brown, and that continues with Alvin Kamara, because sure, the opportunity comes in the form of rushing attempts and targets, and the consistency comes in the form of receptions and touchdowns. And when we're talking about both of these running backs, they're both certainly capable of it. But Alvin Kamara has done it at a consistent basis for six of the last eight years. In those six years, he's been a top 12 ranked running back overall in a half PPR and top six in those six seasons in terms of fantasy points per game on average. He is one of the best fantasy football running backs of all time. And sure, he's going into his age 30 season, but from what we have seen from Alvin Kamara as of late, he is not slowing down anytime soon. In 2024, he posted his best yards per carry average since 2020, his best missed tackles forced per attempt since 2021, his most rushes of 10 or more yards since 2020, and those are the years in which Alvin Kamara was at the top of the position. But quite frankly, as of late, he's been at the top of the position when he has been on the field. Last season when healthy from weeks 1 through 14, he was the number five overall back and number six in terms of fantasy points per game on average, averaging 23.62 opportunities per game and 16.64 fantasy points per game in a half PPR in 2023 for weeks 4 through 16 when healthy was the number two overall back, number four in terms of fantasy points per game on average, 21 opportunities per game, 15.88 fantasy points per game. Incredible opportunity share and consistency as of late, which is all we can ask for. In a half PPR, guys, imagine in a full PPR, he has been in a full PPR the number nine and the number 11 ranked running back in the last two seasons despite missing multiple games due to injury. And I understand you may be worried about his injuries this upcoming season as he has missed four games due to injury in the last two seasons. But you know, isn't it a coincidence that somehow someway Alvin Kamara seems to miss about two to three games in the final weeks of the NFL season? Isn't that just miraculous that once we are mathematically out of playoff contention, the Saints just go ahead and they pack it up with Alvin Kamara? It's not by accident, it's by design. And going into this upcoming season, there's so much value to be had as to where he is being drafted. Look, we know that the opportunity share is going to be there. Kellen Moore is going to be utilizing Alvin Kamara as a poor man's Saquon Barkley. Again, we have seen, you know, Kellen Moore be able to support Tony Pollard to being a dominant top 10 running back in fantasy football with opportunities across the board. And we already know that this offense in this running game has the fourth easiest running back strength of schedule. Has Taysom Hill on the injured reserve because again, the absence of a season-ending injury last year. And again, with no Taysom Hill, we got to remember Taysom Hill scored 13 rushing touchdowns in the red zone alone in just the last three seasons. So, if those opportunities are going to be going in the direction of Alvin Kamara, fantastic. And in rushing attempts and rushing touchdowns are great, but that's not where Alvin Kamara makes his money. He's a receiver through and through. Last season, in the 13 healthy games he played, 11 of those games led to four or more receptions. Nine of those games led to five or more receptions. Negative game scripts are going to be a part of his category. And when I mentioned it earlier in regards to potential better play going into this week or going into the full season, the number that Kamara currently sits at in terms of total receptions, we're taking more on that every day of the week as he has surpassed that number in seven of the last eight seasons of his career. Yes, Spencer Rattler earlier this morning was named starting quarterback of the organization. Looking back in 2024, weeks 6 through 8 with Rattler, Alvin Kamara was averaging 7.7 targets per game and 5.33 receptions per game. Currently coming off the board is RB 19, 16, 14, and 18. He's not only a steal, but one of my favorite running backs in 2025.

All right, that's going to cover for me today. I want to thank you all for watching. If you enjoyed today's content, of course, subscribe to the channel. Get us one step closer to achieving our goal of 100,000 subscribers, click the like button down below. And again, if you want my all-encompassing rankings every week for the remainder of the season, you can always check out the Patreon or you can go ahead head on over to Betr, click on the link down below. All you have to do again is use code Andrew, make a first-time deposit, a minimum of $10, and make a first-time play minimum of $1, and you're good to go for the remainder of the season. Thank you everybody for watching, and until next time, I'll see you guys. Peace.

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