Finding Rookie Sleepers Before the NFL Draft with Alfredo Brown
Alfredo Brown — host of the Pretend GM Fantasy Football Show — joins Jeff Blaylock to break down the 2026 rookie class before the NFL Draft. The conversation focuses on the prospects worth targeting with second-, third-, and fourth-round picks.
"I don't really care how fast a guy runs unless he can utilize that speed the right way. We've seen a ton of guys who can run really fast, and they just don't know how to do much else."
In Episode 31 of Dynasty Compass, Jeff Blaylock sits down with Alfredo Brown — fantasy analyst, host of the Pretend GM Fantasy Football Show and Unbinged, and author of the first-ever Pretend GM Rookie Draft Guide — for a deep dive into the 2026 rookie class ahead of the NFL Draft. The conversation opens with an explanation of how the guide came together, tracing Alfredo's background from a college football scouting internship at FIU — where one of his early assignments was tracking whether TY Hilton was attending biology class — to his current work building a proprietary prospect evaluation system rooted in film study.
Alfredo walks through the PGM Score, a 40–100 composite metric that weights position-specific traits differently and adjusts for factors like competition level and age. He explains why he uses Low/Median/High player comps instead of a single projection — walking through Chris Brazel as a live example, with DJ Shark Jr. as the low, Christian Watson as the median, and Jameson Williams as the high — and how the range of outcomes helps dynasty managers calibrate both expectations and risk. He also covers his first trip to the NFL Combine, making the case that seeing players in person is a genuinely different experience from watching film, particularly for tight ends where athleticism and explosiveness register in ways broadcast television can't fully convey.
The heart of the episode is a freeform sleeper conversation. On the wide receiver side, Alfredo highlights Ted Hurst out of Georgia State — a 6-4, 206-pound prospect who led the FBS in 20-plus-yard catches over the last two seasons despite playing on one of the worst teams in the country — along with Brennan Thompson and CJ Daniels as players he believes will be available well into the later rounds of rookie drafts. At running back, Alfredo makes the case for Jaydn Ott as a fourth-round target with legitimate flex upside, and flags pass protection concerns around Jadarian Price and Kaytron Allen that could limit their three-down viability. In the tight end conversation, he names Max Claire, Oscar Delp, Sam Roush, and Eli Rein as players worth stashing, and raises Kenyon Sadiq's pass protection limitations as a reason to temper early-round expectations despite elite athleticism.
The episode closes with a candid assessment of the 2026 class overall — Alfredo calls it what it is — and a pointed reminder that draft picks are currency, not players. The right move isn't to trade away picks because you don't love the class; it's to use those picks in service of what your team is actually trying to do this year.
Key Takeaways
The PGM Score is built from film, weighting position-specific traits differently and adjusting for age, competition level, and late-breakout timing.
Low/Median/High comps give you a range of outcomes, not a single projection — and the width of that range tells you something important about a player's volatility.
Seeing players in person at the Combine is different from watching film — especially for tight ends, where athleticism and explosion register at a scale TV can't replicate.
Ted Hurst, Oscar Delp & Jaydn Ott are names to remember when you’re in the third round or later.
Draft picks are currency. Using them based on your team's actual strategic direction — competing vs. rebuilding — matters more than reacting to class quality.
Timestamps
00:00 — Intro & Welcome
02:57 — What moved Alfredo to build a rookie guide
06:23 — The PGM Score: how it's built and why
09:48 — How the PGM Score maps to player tiers
11:50 — Player comps using Chris Brazzell as an example
16:15 — Where to find the Pretend GM Rookie Draft Guide
17:33 — Alfredo's experiences at the Combine
22:16 — How the Combine affects his rankings
28:03 — WR sleepers: Ted Hurst, Brenen Thompson
36:20 — RB sleepers: Jaydn Ott
39:12 — TE sleepers: Max Klare, Oscar Delp, Eli Raridon
43:19 — Pass protection concerns: Kaytron Allen, Kenyon Sadiq
48:29 — Pretend GM Gems: CJ Daniels, Taylen Green
51:20 — Class quality, kicking the can, and using picks wisely
57:43 — Wrap & where to find Alfredo
Related Links & Tools
Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify
Episode 21 – Scouting Rookie RBs with Dave Kluge
Episode 22 – Scouting Rookie QBs & TEs with Mike Kashuba
Episode 23 – Is There a WR1? Scouting Rookie WRs with Jeff Bell
Episode 25 – Draft or Trade? 1-Round Pre-Combine Rookie Mock with Heath Cummings
Episode 28 – The Rookie Draft Pick Where Everything Changes
Jeff's Dynasty Rankings at Footballguys
