Matthew Berry: Be Wary of Drafting Davante & Stafford in Fantasy This Year

Ask Matthew Berry for fool's gold and he will politely refuse the premise before answering the question anyway.

"I don't love the phrase fool's gold, just because I believe every player has a value," Berry said on the show. The version he will engage with is narrower and more useful: which players have an average draft position that has gotten too expensive?

His first name was Chuba Hubbard, and the reason is the guy behind him. "This Jonathan Brooks drumbeat in Carolina is getting louder every single second," Berry said. Hubbard already lost his job for a stretch to Rico Dowdle last season, and Brooks was a very early Carolina draft pick who, by all accounts, is looking strong. Berry's warning is specific. "People who are drafting Chuba Hubbard expecting the full workload that he got last season, that might be a little concerning."

Then he got to the name in the headline, and he took some care with it.

"I love Davante Adams. He is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. He is a Hall of Famer to me," Berry said. The concern is not talent. It is the shape of last year's production. "If you look at his fantasy production, it was very touchdown reliant. When they got in close, Matthew Stafford was constantly looking for Davante Adams."

Berry's read is that the touchdown volume was a product of circumstance as much as ability. "I feel like Sean McVay really wanted Stafford to win the MVP last year," he said, "and so they just kind of peppered Davante Adams with all these touchdown looks."

Change any one of those variables and the math moves. A healthy Puka Nacua takes targets. A more run heavy approach inside the 10 takes touchdowns. Berry pointed out that McVay has traditionally run the ball when he gets in close, which is exactly why Kyren Williams has been so productive.

None of that makes Adams a bad player, and Berry would not go there. "There's no one better in the red zone than Davante Adams," he said. "I think he's going to be very good. I don't know that he lives up to what he did last year, because I don't think Stafford does either."

Stafford got the same treatment. Berry called him one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL and then noted that the touchdown production has "traditionally not been what he has done."

The quarterback question drew a more reluctant answer. Asked which big name scares him most for 2026, Berry stalled, called it a loaded question, and then named a player he actually likes.

"I am a huge Jackson Dart fan," Berry said, before laying out why he is nervous early. Dart and Malik Nabers have barely played together, something like 12 or 20 snaps last season. Nabers has been rehabbing. There is a new offensive coordinator and a new offense. Nobody knows yet how Isaiah Likely fits.

And there is the durability question hanging over the quarterback himself. "He's so dynamic, but you're worried about those concussions as well."

Berry's bottom line is about timing, not talent. He wants to see the health of Nabers and Cam Skattebo, and he wants to see what the offense actually looks like, before he pays full price.