Yahoo Fantasy analysts Matt Harmon and Scott Pianowski discuss which young wide receiver is a better option to build your team around in the long term. Hear the full conversation on “Yahoo Fantasy Football Show”, and subscribe on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
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MATT HARMON: It’s fantasy draft season, and we all want to build that perfect team to dominate our friends, family and co-workers. So for this week’s Build Your Team, courtesy of Toyota Racing, we’re tackling this major draft debate. And Scott, it’s about ecosystems, baby. I want to know, Scott, what should we prioritize more in drafts? Is it decent players in great ecosystems or is it stars, proven players, but they’re maybe in bad ecosystems?
SCOTT PIANOWSKI: These questions will come up with receivers, right? I have to feel good about the quarterback. If I don’t think the quarterback can elevate the play of the receiver, then that just puts a cap on the receiver’s ceiling. It often comes up with running backs. With running backs, we’re always trying to anticipate game script.
Think of Dameon Pierce, good player. Is Houston going to win four or five games? Is Dameon Pierce going to be in hurry-up packages? What if they fall away behind? Is he going to have weeks where he has 9 or 10 touches? That’s a major ding to him. I ideally want the top half of my roster to be on offenses I feel really good about.
MATT HARMON: Definitely at running backs, I really like to chase good situations. And that sometimes can bang you if it’s a back who’s not going to earn those touches, right, if he’s going to be usurped by somebody else. I know this is the big debate with Alexander Mattison this year where, how talented is he? It’s a great– theoretically, it’s a great situation.
SCOTT PIANOWSKI: Sure.
MATT HARMON: Because it looks like he’s just moonwalking into the bellcow role there. But if he falters, do they give Ty Chandler a look or something like that, right? So it doesn’t always work out perfectly, but I do try to prioritize situation at running back. And even tight end a little bit. A great offensive ecosystem, if this guy’s going to go out there and be a touchdown threat way down the rankings at tight end. Jake Ferguson, right? He’s in a great situation. I think that’s why he’s an interesting bet there.
But at receiver, I am definitely prioritizing talent, even if it is in a bad situation. And look, that’s got me stuck with Terry McLaurin having decent, but not great seasons for many years. You could say the same with Allen Robinson before it fell apart. Obviously, DJ Moore is in that bucket too. I think that sometimes, we’re just really straight up bad at reading situations, right?
The Seahawks example is a great one from last year where everybody’s like, wow, this is the worst quarterback situation in the league. I said it was an unserious quarterback situation at times. And if we get the situations wrong, we know the guys are going to produce, right?
So same thing with guys like a Michael Pittman this year. Everybody assumes, based on his ADP, it’s a run-heavy offense, it’s a quarterback that’s going to run a lot, and it’s a quarterback that’s probably not ready to play, at least, or be a high-level starter. I think some of that is true, but what if we’re wrong about that last part? And what if Anthony Richardson is really good? And in my opinion, Michael Pittman is a really good player that’s going to dominate the targets there.
So I like to bake in some of that uncertainty, specifically at the receiver position. But for sure, I’m with you that early on, the first three rounds, especially, I’m really not trying to take my chance on players on bad teams.
SCOTT PIANOWSKI: What if we’re wrong is a really key part of this. How do we feel about Daniel Jones today versus a year or two ago? How do we feel–
MATT HARMON: Totally.
SCOTT PIANOWSKI: –about Jared Goff today versus a year or two ago? And that’s why we love fantasy, because it’s so fluid.
MATT HARMON: So there you have it. Whether you’re on the field or the track or building your fantasy roster, you’ve got to have a great team around you. That was Build Your Team, Thanks to our friends at Toyota Racing.
