Pete Overzet urged drafters to scoop rookie running back RJ Harvey in Underdog’s revamped Eliminator because the contest uses a separate, slower-moving ADP file. Harvey has already rocketed to pick 74 in Best Ball Mania after torching the combine (4.45 forty, 93rd-percentile burst) and drawing early-down buzz in camp, yet still lingers a full round cheaper in Eliminator lobbies that have only a fraction of the volume. Pete views that lag as a temporary market inefficiency: the smaller player pool has not fully priced in Harvey’s projected three-down role or highlight-reel preseason clips. Grabbing him now locks in a discounted anchor RB on builds that need weekly floor plus end-of-season upside.

Pete Overzet called Jake Ferguson "a smash" at his current Eliminator/BBM price, noting that the bet is identical to 2024—only cheaper. Ferguson closed last summer with an ADP around 90 after posting 1.63 yards per route, 23 red-zone targets (T-2nd among tight ends) and 87% route participation over Dallas’ final eight games. His 2025 tag, however, has slid into the 110-120 range because the position was flooded by rookies (Colston Loveland, Brock Bowers, Cade Stover) and the veteran elite (Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews) fell several spots, pushing everyone else down the board. Unless the Cowboys add a serious receiving tight end—something Pete doubts given cap constraints—Ferguson’s role is unchanged. Pete expects him to creep back inside the top-100 once casual drafters realize the market over-corrected, making him a priority mid-round target for both upside and weekly floor.

Pete Overzet said he has been passing on Isiah Pacheco in Best Ball Mania despite Pacheco’s scorching finish to 2024. Pete’s worry is the Andy Reid roulette wheel: every season a different back (Jerick McKinnon in 2022, the late-season rookie in 2023, Kareem Hunt after Pacheco’s injury last year) siphons touches just as fantasy playoffs arrive. Kansas City also has the cap space and front-office history to parachute in a veteran at any point—Pete name-checked Hunt and even Breshard Smith as examples of how quickly the depth chart can flip. In Eliminator drafts he still likes Pacheco’s weeks-1-to-8 workload because a single player can "pass the baton" and help you survive early eliminations, but in BBM—where Weeks 15-17 decide the money—Pete prefers backs on rosters with a clearer year-long touch outlook.

Pete Overzet chose Khalil Shakir over rookie Ricky Pearsall, explaining that Shakir’s every-down slot role in Buffalo offers the stable weekly target floor he wants in April Eliminator drafts. Shakir saw his route participation jump to 78 percent after Week 12 last season and finished top-15 in yards per target (11.9), metrics Pete believes will translate into 6-to-8-point base weeks even without touchdowns. By contrast, Pearsall sits at least fourth in the 49ers’ target pecking order behind Aiyuk, Deebo, McCaffrey and Kittle, meaning his weekly usability is far more volatile. Pete is happy to revisit Pearsall later in the summer if camp buzz elevates his role, but for now he is stockpiling the safer Bills receiver while the market views them similarly.

After selecting both Jauan Jennings and rookie Ricky Pearsall, Pete Overzet said locking up Brock Purdy a round past ADP was non-negotiable. Purdy’s 8.5 YPA and league-best EPA per play last season give him one of the safest weekly floors among late quarterbacks, a profile that becomes even more valuable when you have already invested two roster spots in San Francisco pass catchers. Pete emphasized that the 49ers averaged 28.9 points per game with Purdy under center; if that efficiency repeats, every member of the stack can post startable numbers even in games where the touchdowns are spread around. The cheap triple stack lets drafters chase correlation without sacrificing early-round capital on an elite QB.

Pete Overzet told viewers they should still draft rookie Bucky Irving in Eliminator drafts because his late-season upside can swing a bracket, but only if they protect the pick with a proven ‘chaperone’ back. Irving could take a month or two to vault Tampa Bay’s depth chart, and weekly one-on-one eliminations will not forgive early zeros. Pete’s fix is to grab a boring, locked-in volume veteran in the same build so the roster keeps advancing until Irving’s ceiling weeks arrive. He framed it as “walking a tightrope with a safety net” – the upside is worth it, but you must guarantee early production elsewhere.