2026 NFL Preseason and Fantasy Review: Going Deep with Brandon Angelo and Matt Waldman

**Matt Waldman** (0:00)
All right, we're going deep with Brandon Angelo. I'm Matt Waldman. It's always a pleasure to have you guys join us every couple of weeks. We're going to talk about some of the pre-season games in terms of what we saw, and how that may reframe some expectations for us. Some of the players that we're going to mention. We've got a few, we've got a Jaylin, a Jordan, a Drake, a Robert, a De'Zhaun, a Corey, we've got a number of guys, a Caleb. So let's get started with this. Let's look at some expectations for some rookies who've really made an impression on media in camp, and maybe even in the since mini camp, the drum beats players.
De'Zhaun Stribling is one, the Allen kid from Cincinnati.

**Brandon Angelo** (1:04)
Yeah, since he had it now in KC.

**Matt Waldman** (1:06)
Yeah. Then Caleb Douglas in Miami.
So what do we think about this? Are these guys that you're saying, okay, let's start with redraft and then go to dynasty. Okay. Yeah. So for redraft, are any of these three players to you guys that you would pick in a 20 round draft? Yeah.

**Brandon Angelo** (1:30)
That's a great way to frame the first question. Yeah. I would say Stribling for sure. Yeah. I think we look at offensive environment for all three of them. They're in three different tiers. It's your diners are your tier one offensive system. Obviously, Shane is in a phenomenal job there. They have good playmakers, a really good quarterback, a good line, good infrastructure all around. That's a great environment. Then you have obviously in the middle with your Cyrus Allen, obviously with Matt Nagy being more of a part of that offense in the last couple of years, they've taken a step back. We don't have to get into that, but that was pretty obvious.
That's interesting. But also the addition of Chad O'Shea as the receivers coach has made a really big difference in what that personnel group is going to be doing I think now and in the future. Then obviously Caleb Douglas is with the Miami Dolphins who might be fighting for the number one overall pick. I mean, they're just not very good yet. I think Jeff Hathley has done a good job. I think he's the right guy for the job, but I think it's a job that's going to take more than a few years. So starting off with the dribbling, I think big item is he looks a lot different to me at the very least to what I saw on tape at Ole Miss in terms of just overall refinement, route detail, the ability to adjust in the air with consistency, use his body and his length and his size to his advantage, walling off defenders. Also the one thing I think that with the pierce all injury that is really going to be highlighted is his post catch skill set. That's a really big one. He was great at that at Ole Miss. He was physical, a tough tackle, but also too he could make some guys miss in short spaces. But we're seeing a lot of that consistently at the next level. And that's a really good sign. And this is an offense where they didn't have a receiver over 650 yards that wasn't named Christian McCaffrey. George Kittle is coming off in Achilles. Joanne Jennings is now gone in Minnesota. He was, he had 643 yards, led that room. And you have a Mike Evans that has already been hurt twice in camp, missed significant time last year. You have Christian Kirk who, I don't know if he's returned to camp for suffering a hamstring injury.
Deebo Samuels is now in his thirties. He's got, he got brought back to the Bay Area. So you don't have a lot. Like there's not a lot of weapons in that room now that you can rely on game to game. A lot of veterans, but I don't know how impactful Deebo Samuel and Mike Evans are going to, and George Kittle are going to be game to game, down to down, same with Christian McCaffrey, right? I mean, we're hitting the AJ packs for running backs with McCaffrey, and I don't know how that looks long term. So both in the redraft and in dynasty, the drum beat keeps getting louder for Stribling because next year, you might be looking at Stribling as the focus point of his offense.
Like that's a reality, and I think that is going to correlate into fancy success this year potentially, because he's going to be on the field a lot. Like he's going to be on the field in 12 personnel because he's their best blocking receiver. Like that's a big deal. Juwan Jang did so much for that run game, and especially with George Kittle, I don't know what his return to play looks like. I don't know if he'll be back week one or if he'll be back early season. But to help fill that gap of less than 100 percent George Kittle early in the season, you're going to have to put Stribling out there to help the run game. That's a big deal. I mean, you're already starting a rookie in 12 P from day one. I think with how he's looked, he's going to command some targets. He's their best downfield threat too.