Should You FADE Sam LaPorta in 2024 Fantasy Football Drafts?!

Obligatory Kyle Pitts Slander all right let's wrap things up with tight ends uh this is where you're going to get the hottest take out of the wolf uh but you know honestly pretty hot take out of Mo as well this this is going to be interesting before we do that let's talk 2023 and who they picked at tight end this is the only one where Mo has a little bit of egg on his face wolf uh you pick Kyle pittz who the aforementioned Kyle pittz kind of don't even really think you deserve credit for this um I mean this is just kind of like shooting ducks in a barrel I mean what he was going top six in fantasy I I definitely cred for this both you and I both knew how stupid that was yeah we we were just like that's moronic this guy this guy I mean how many years are we gonna be like this is the year for Kyle pittz anyway you got it right you know I I think I think it's at least in my head it was not a super gutsy pick because it seemed obvious I he just had like a tattoo on his forehead that said I'm going to be a bust um and he was again Mo picked George KD he wasn't really a bust no he was just George KD doing George KD things we had we had a good debate on that one and I I'll definitely take the W there I said on Victory lap when we got back to this show the next year and just wanted to take that quick Little J Around real quick that was terrible I will say Truth uh I actually could get down with Kyle pittz this year I know I know I was I was tempted to do him as the bust again just for like old time sake but I kind of buy the where where's he going offense where's he going round if he doesn't no there's no way I'm taking that guy in the fifth or sixth round way for the record I don't either just because I go George KD instead I'd rather have George KD it's easy for me uh so I don't really have much Kyle pittz but I wouldn't be shocked if like this is the year he does actually break out he's got everything in his his uh path if he doesn't do it this year then the dream is definitely over uh you you'd rather you'd rather take George KD who is good over Kyle pittz who is bad at the same right remember after Josh Gordon came back from from weed weed suspension and every year for like five years we were like oh yeah this is it this he's coming back baby every time we would get so excited he'd play like two games and then he'd get suspended or whatever yeah how long are we going to do this for Kyle pittz anyway he's not even one of you guys picks this year yeah I'm just one more year we're gonna do it okay I'm just all lathered up about it now all right 2024 picks the wolf talking about Sam LaPorta 2024 fantasy outlook coming off the top rope both of you guys the wolf is picking Sam leaport everybody's darling at tight end uh finished he finished one last year right yes he did and and mo with TJ hackinson that's a kind of hot take too what's going on defend yourself yeah so I will just say right from the jum not to even make us a hedge like I have leaport as my tight end two just behind Travis Kelce and a tier together I believe in his fantasy upside I think he's going to have a great year would not surprise me at all if he goes back to back as the tight end one this is just like Mo's argument for Pat Mahomes last year being a bust where I do not see why Sam lorta is going 20 plus picks above the tight end three right now the tight end four right now going pick 50 and Mark Andrews I think that Gap is way too wide so well I love Sam leaport as a player I just do not see last year 11.5 fantasy points per game very solid Mark Andrews 11.3 literally a 0.2 difference in points per game but a difference of 23 total picks and where you take lorta you're now passing up on some of those receivers we talked about that we love Debo Samuel Nico Collins Drake London maybe you want to take that early stab at Josh Allen and get the most elite of elite quarterbacks you want to take a onesie in that spot make it the quarterback who's been the number one player in fantasy in like historically a top 10 alltime performance in four straight years like that is wild why not go for that instead of a tight end who might be0 Five Points better than a guy that's going 30 picks later again love laort I think he's a phenomenal player could he take a step forward rookies the hardest position to translate is tight end and he did that as a rookie like that is very impressive but then I also look at his situation amand Ross St Brown always going to be the target vacuum there J Mo Williams apparently having a phenomenal Camp whether you buy it or not looks like he is taking another step J if if you don't believe in him well Jamir Gibbs is here playing in the slot and taking another step as a pass catcher a guy they want to use like Christian mcaffrey according to latest reports so all of that to say is like yeah leaport is in a great offense gonna have some huge games but it's just not a path a Runway to really I can't see him getting significantly better than last year now if he gives you what he gave you last year great but why would I take that over Trey McBride who's going 27 picks later I'd way rather have Trey McBride yeah honestly maybe straight up but like okay I'd probably have leapor above him but Trey McBride and pick 50 you know who actually as a starter had 11.7 points per game which was more than Sam leapa that that's really the argument here it's not that I don't like leaport it's that I think that is a brutal pick to make because there's so many good players again receivers if you want to go hhan there Devon ham the guy I think is GNA break fantasy he goes after Sam lorta go running backs receivers get your Elite quarterback onesie and then look at your tight ends in round five and pick a McBride pick an Andrew hell pick a king K the number one potential option for uh Josh Allen right he's going it's KD's going at pick 61 all those guys are right around leaport and and so again it's I know I'm repeating myself but just the what you're gaining for the amount you have to pay is significantly not worth it I I I do not see leapa paying off that price with the opportunity cost that's gonna they gonna force you to take on whereas the round five guys that you're passing up on we just talked about George Pickins you know those those are the guys that are going in round five okay easy easy fade easy to get a tight end in that range not so easy to fade the guys that that uh leaport is going around just just to be clear when I said I'd way rather have McBride I was talking about for the price yes I do probably like leaport slight more than McBride but not a ton more I I I love McBride and I mean you're talking about a difference of like several rounds I I would certainly much rather have someone like him than leaport uh you know it's funny people people get really good they come in as the one like we saw with Mahomes and everything else people get really weird about it all of a sudden their value just gets blown up to a point where it just doesn't even make any sense anymore so yeah I guess he'd be a pass for me at that cost as well what is interesting TR and I know you do auction drafts too Lea is going for like 17 16 like I'll take him there because 14 13 but that just kind of illustrates the point like in a snake draft you know a second rounder a late second rounder early third rounder that should be like a 35 $40 player absolutely but he's going 17 18 so like you just like look at the two different formats and it kind of helps illustrate like this Gap makes no sense uh right now in snake draft price take him in auction at 17 sure all day but that that's where he should be priced not you know as a $35 player and he's not being priced that way appropriately so oh I'm a buyer in an auction at 17 or even 20 but yeah for the numbers you're talking about yeah we're we're in Total Lock upep on that uh Mo TJ hackinson I I got a I gotta pile onto this Sam laor real quick I would have made the the case for leapor if wolf didn't um okay this it's almost as if people just automatically assume that the last year's tight end won is now worth like a second round pick or like a pick at the two three turn we have to understand that this is not the kind of performance um out of Sam laor that we were getting out of like the Kelsey and the Andrews and know kelse at his Peak was a first round pick and he was averaging like 20 points a game but last year leaport 14.1 points per game and and in the years that um Andrews and Kelsey were uh the non-nuclear um uh Kel years the they were performing at like 17 points per game it was a significant step up and even in those years like their following year ADP was in the same spot or even later like late round two or early round three so it's basically just like people are saying oh yep this guy tight end one we're gonna plop him right at the end of round two even though he was not performing even anywhere near the levels and I think you kind of hit on it pretty well but I I think this guy's ceiling is pretty capped in terms of just because Aman Ros Brown is the clear number one in this offense he's the target hog we expect some some growth and some emergence out of some secondary pass catchers and just I you didn't really harp on it 10 touchdowns um last season just not just exceeded uh touchdown Expectations by a pretty wide margin so I I just this guy is gonna disappoint like maybe he still finishes as the tight end one but a late second round pick give me a break it's it's a joke uh but people just aren't thinking this through I agree yeah moving on to my guy TJ Hockenson 2024 fantasy outlook here it is TJ hackinson and this one is is pretty cut and dry for me it's really really straightforward TJ hackinson is coming off a multi- ligament ACL tear or multi- ligament knee tear rather he tore his ACL and MCL on Christmas Eve last year and that is just it's just such a different injury from a traditional uh ACL tear a clean ACL tear as you'll often hear it it prolongs the recovery period and it makes players look sign iFly worse when they hit the field once again you think back to javante Williams last year just like how much of a shell of his former self he looked like last year when he came back from that multi-leg tear and I know running back's a little bit different um or significantly different rather than it is for tight ends but just to kind of give you an idea of of what a multi-gate terror can do to a player but just in terms of the recovery line just performance aside just in terms of the recovery timeline T.J hackinson may have torn his uh had this injury on Christmas Eve but he didn't have his surgery until the end of January January 29th to be exact and these T typical uh these typical multi-leg tears are usually takes 10 months for a guy to return the 10mth mark puts him at week 12 of this season that is pushing the fantasy playoffs and I know that there's been some reports that he's a little bit ahead of schedule but I think a conservative uh uh rather a liberal um expectation would be somewhere around week 10 and even then that's well over half of the fantasy season so you're drafting this guy as a fringe starter he's off the board as the tight end 13 so if you're drafting him as the tight end 13 you're hoping that this guy has a moderately impact moderately large impact on your lineup but who knows what it's going to be if he's not even on the field until week 12 like that is ridiculous like you're hoping that you're gonna get him for your playoff push but if you're spending a 10th round pick on uh on TJ hackinson and he's not hitting the ear lineup until week 12 or week 13 like you're you're might you might be out of playoff contention by that point it might not even matter whatsoever and I that doesn't even consider the fact that this offense it might take a step back with uh with Sam Donald under Center don't know what kind of definitely will yeah we we don't know what kind of we don't know what kind of player he's gonna look like when he returns like just in terms of his own performance as an individual so this is all just setting up to be just a guy that you stash on your eye our slot and he might not even matter for your fantasy lineup the entire season because he's not back until week 10 11 12 so just easy fade for me as a fringe starter in these leagues like I don't know what you're doing drafting T.J hackinson unless like I don't I I can't really think of a scenario where I would be interested like maybe if I've locked down like a mid tier tight end one like a a Bowers or a Ferguson perhaps like and then I if he slides maybe a bunch but there's going to be that one guy and uh in your league who's like oh my God TJ hackinson is here and round 10 like how has he not been drafted yet and not understanding that it's very realistic that this guy is not available until week 12 it's it's all I mean you could also see some guy in your auction draft being like TJ hackinson for 10 bucks like I'm in right it's gonna happen it's gonna happen just because of the name I your argument is compelling also I think we should possibly make shirts or bumper stickers or something that say you know it's possible the offense could struggle under Sam darnold yeah very possible there's a chance there's a puncher's chance small chance you do look at it and you also see though that the Vikings even with Kirk Cousins out for well over half year nine games of jiren Hall Nick Mullins uh you know whoever else Josh dos for as long as he played they still led the league in passing yards which is crazy like I am a big believer in Kevin oconnell but I'm fully with you Mo in terms of like this injury timeline seems like 10 weeks is like a best case and then is he really himself how long is he getting his legs under him for that period and then there also is the risk of like if they are knocked out if this team does completely implode under darnold and they don't have any playoff contention there's a chance that hackinson is just not even you don't see him all year like why why you put him out here risk it let's let him you know fully get healthy maybe they give him a couple try out games to get contact and and test the knee but not really actually play him type of situation that's certainly in the range of outcomes it's a little different in redraft where there are like IR spots and you know you can stash him without hurting your bench but if he's eating up bench Bas and even then like an IR spots valuable if somebody gets hurt in week one week two to to be able to stash them and not have to uh burn a drop somebody or burn a roster spot you know it's it's it's a lot easier to stomach a a draft injured guy in your IR spot if you know they're G to be back like week five six but yeah week 10 the optimistic Outlook it's it's a tough sell in round 10 where there's still really interesting players Jaden Daniels one of our favorite quarterbacks often goes around 910 like wh why bother with T.J hawson I I I'm with you there great arguments today guys and and you know I think this is actually gonna be a really good podcast what is up you fantasy wolf thanks so much for tuning in if you haven't already share your thoughts in the comments check out some more videos and join the newest wolf pack by subscribing below