NFL Fantasy Football Podcast: The Dust Settles

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Whoa, hey, everybody. It is Friday, March seventeenth, twenty twenty three.
Welcome to the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, where we're open
to signing an offer sheet to me your man n
MG Marcus Grant alongside Michael F. Floria. We are at home.

(00:23):
We are doing this from our respective spaces today instead
of in the studio. And I guess first things first,
Happy Saint Patrick's Day and happy first weekend of the
NC two A tournament. It's it's a lot going on
right now. Man. Happy Saint Patrick's Day. One of my favorite,
low key, one of my favorite days of the year.
And yeah, it always it always happens where like you

(00:44):
get a full day of tournaments usually on Saint Patrick's Day.
It's just such a fun day. And then you add
in the free agency and everything. It's it's been a
really fun week in the middle of March, you know,
Like I can't complain, No, we got a lot going on.
It's been busy. I will admit a old disclosure that
as we record this on Friday morning, my USC Trojans

(01:05):
are playing against Michigan State in the first round of
the tournament. So I do have a screen that's on
that I will do my absolute best not to let
the goings on there in Columbus, Ohio affect my mood
as we go through this show, and it's going to
be a big, busy, loaded show that we have. This
is probably going to be an extra large version compared
to what we normally do this time of year because

(01:26):
since the last time we talked not so as you'd notice,
a lot of news has come down across the NFL.
There have been trades, there have been free agency signings,
there have been quarterbacks declaring where they might or might
not want to play. So we're gonna go over as
many of them as at least have any kind of
real fantasy implication. So scrap in if you've got a

(01:47):
long commute, or maybe break this up into a few pieces.
That might be sort of the best way to go
about it. I split this up into positions, So let's
start where we should always start with the quarterbacks. It
is the most important position on the field, so it
seems like a good place to go, And let's start
with what has been the biggest news. It appears, at
least for the moment, that our long national nightmare is

(02:09):
over or at least nearing a conclusion. Aaron Rodgers, after
philibustering for about twenty minutes on Pat McAfee's show, says
that he intends to play for the New York Jets. Actually,
he said he intends to play for the Jets, at
which point the NHL's Winnipeg Jets put out a really
fun tweet of Aaron Rodgers photoshop in a Winnipeg Jets sweater.

(02:33):
But he says he intends to play for the Jets. Now, Mike,
the next big thing is for the Jets and the
Packers to come to some sort of agreement on trade compensation. Yeah,
there's been a lot of arguing on Twitter about who
has leverage in this situation. For our purposes, that doesn't
really matter for your purposes. You've been on NFL Network

(02:54):
quite a bit over the last few days, and it
seems as every time I turn it on and see
your face, you are talking about Aaron Rodgers. So I'm
going to ask you all the same things that all
the hosts, whether it was Rhett Lewis or Mike Yam
or Colleen Wolf or whomever it may have been, We'll
ask you. Let's start with Aaron Rodgers in New York.
If this does actually come to pass, fantasy wise, what

(03:17):
are we looking at with Rogers wearing Jets green and white.
Is it much different than when he was wearing the
green and golden Green Bay. I don't think so. I
think his fantasy value kind of stays very similar. I
keep saying, I think there's the top eight quarterbacks he
comes in the group after that, and probably not even
right away, like i'd have him behind like a let's say,

(03:37):
like a Deshaun Watson or Danny Dons. Maybe he's gonna
be in that rangeel Gino Smith with guys like that,
I will say, I think there's a little bit more
upside than maybe he gets credit for, because I'm very
undecided if last season was just the start of a
decline for Aaron Rodgers at almost forty years old, or
if it really was him playing his first year without

(03:58):
Devontae Adams and that broken thumb. So the upside is
higher than where you're going to be drafting him. It's
still not you know, QB one or anything like that,
because he doesn't give you a whole lot with his legs.
But draft wise, I keep saying I think he'll go
somewhere between like quarterbacks ten and fifteen. He's not someone
I would be super excited about to have as my starter.

(04:19):
But if you wait and you you pair him, say
with another young upside quarterback, I think that could be
a way to adjust a position. He sort of is becoming.
I always have the patron saint of the church of
wait on a quarterback, and has sort of, I think,
started to transition into that where he's a guy that
you can wait on if you if you decide you
want to hang around and wait on a quarterback, so

(04:41):
say the ninth round or something like that, Rogers is
probably a guy that you are targeting. As you mentioned
the age, he will be forty in the latter part
of the season. Early December is when he hits his
fortieth birthday. But when he was healthy, we saw that
he can still make all the throws. As you mentioned,
he doesn't give you the same and rushing ability that
he did early in his career, but the ability is

(05:05):
there still no doubt about it. Now he goes to
a place in New York where there's a decent group
of pass catchers, we'll get to one of his guys
that looks like he's coming over potentially from Green Bay.
Will do that a little bit later in the show,
but we know Garrett Wilson is there for sure, and
Wilson has been very vocal on social media expressing his
excitement over the idea of playing with Aaron Rodgers. For

(05:29):
all the great things Garrett Wilson did last year, and
as much as we loved him, the one thing we
kept saying was he really needs a consistent, higher level quarterback,
not even an elite quarterback, but a better quarterback than
what he had last year to truly unlock his potential.
It appears that that guy is on his way to

(05:49):
the Big Apple. So with that being said again all
the caveats being this actually gets consummated and the two
sides actually work out a trade, how are we gonna
have to reach to get Garrett Wilson next year? Probably
higher than people are anticipating. In I looked for fun
yesterday in early Bestball drafts. In the last week since,

(06:12):
it's really seemed like Aaron Rodgers is going to be
a member of the New York Jets. On one very
popular Bestball site, his ADP is wide Receiver nine. He's
going as the fifteenth overall pick. I think the overall
pick will drop a bit because as we get more
clarity with some of the running backs, Like I think
he was going ahead of Tony Pollard. I don't anticipate

(06:33):
that continuing to happen. But I was like, wide receiver nine,
that is way too high, And then I looked at
it and I was like, yeah, Garrett Wilson or T Higgins,
I'm cool with Garrett Wilson ahead of him him or
Monross Saint Brown. It's close, but I'm okay with Wilson
if like, you won't get much pushback for me. So yeah,
I think he's gonna be a really early picky. You're

(06:53):
probably gonna have to draft him to be a wide
receiver one, unless you take two wide receivers and you
get him in the second round something like that. At
but the upside is sky high. Like I don't think
he could be I don't want to say he can
be what DeVante Adams was with Aaron Rodgers, but I
think he could be pretty close to that same type
of player. Because Garrett Wilson is a very very talented

(07:15):
wide receiver, right, I'm not gonna put him in the
Devantay Adams bucket yet just because that's that's a pretty
high bar to get to. But there is the potential
for him to be a wide receiver one. And yeah,
I did go look on that certain K nine themed
website that you are referring to for the ADPs, and
there's already a lot of excitement. I mean, the buzz

(07:37):
was already there. I mean we sort of anticipated for
a week or two that it was going to be
Aaron Rodgers heading to New York, And now that it
appears in motion, I think that excitement is only going
to grow. And I am looking at the eight wide
receivers listed ahead of him, and it's hard for me
to put him above any of those guys. So I

(07:59):
think right now he isn't a very good spot. But
you are certainly talking about now reaching possibly into the
second round to go get this guy, So you are
sort of you are drafting him, I think, at his
ceiling this year. But we also believe that the ceiling
is going to be pretty high for Garrett Wilson. Now,
if Rogers does leave Green Bay, that creates a whole

(08:22):
different situation for the Packers. They have been waiting for
a few years to truly see what Jordan Love can be.
They haven't had the chance because they've had a Hall
of Fame guy sitting in front of him all this time.
First off, your expectations for Love. Is he a guy
that we're going to be able to draft in fantasy

(08:42):
or is he just going to be kind of a
waiver wire option? I mean, I'm speaking one quarterback League's
not not super flex for two QB but one quarterback leagues?
Are we drafting Jordan Love? I wouldn't be maybe. I
What I keep saying is if you want to take
him as your backup, Okay, I'm fun with that because
there is always upside in the unknown. But we truly

(09:02):
have no idea who Jordan Love is at this point
in his NFL career, because he was a guy coming
out of college that you would hear like, oh, he's
a little bit of a project. He needs time to develop.
In so far in his NFL career, he's thrown eighty
three passes, Like, we cannot judge Jordan Love on what
he's done, and he has struggled a little bit in

(09:24):
that small sample size. One really good game, one down game.
But Aaron Rodgers took these shot of all shots the
other day when he said Jordan Love had a really
good season with the Watch team, I was like, yeah,
that he was throwing a dig there for sure. But
I think Jordan Love is nothing more than a QB two,
and to be honest, probably low end one. Right now,

(09:46):
he is going as the QB twenty five. So yeah,
he's not even quite a QB two. I mean he's going.
He's going after a trio of rookies, Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson, CJ.
Stroud all being drafted ahead of Jordan Love right now.
So while Garrett Wilson has gotten the Aaron Rodgers bump,
Jordan Love has not. Even though he is projected to

(10:07):
be the starter right now, people still aren't really big
on him, and I think it really is sort of
that unknown factor, the idea that it took a while
for the Packers to kind of clear the deck for him,
because I think two things. One, if he were ready
to go and they felt really confident with him in
the last year or two, they probably would have figured

(10:29):
out a way to move Rogers before then. Instead of
being held hostage the last couple of off seasons on
the flip side. If they felt like he still wasn't ready,
they probably would have bent over backwards to keep Rogers
in Green Bay. They would have done whatever it takes
to make him happy so that they could continue to
be a playoff caliber team. So maybe they have reached
the point where they feel like Love is good enough

(10:51):
to take over this starting job, even if he isn't
quite Rogers level or Farv level, to kind of keep
that train going. So he seems to have reached the
level of good enough, and sometimes good enough is good enough.
Let's talk about the pieces though, that are left there.
Aaron Jones Christian Watson specifically. I know Aaron Jones has

(11:11):
been very complimentary of Jordan Love, saying he feels like
he's ready to step in and be that guy. But
Mike Christian Watson, I think flu is heavily because of
who the quarterback was, and can we expect that same
level of production if it's not twelve throwing the football.
I think it's big arrows down for any member of

(11:32):
the Packers right now. And even Aaron Rodgers last year
in a down year where he was kind of a
shell of himself, he's still he could still put the
ball where it needs to be, and that's what he
does best. Like his placement. It might be the best
ever of any quarterbacks. So I think Christian Watson is
still a very dynamic and explosive talent in his own right,

(11:56):
which means he will still have big games, But good
luck figuring out when they're gonna come, because I think
they're gonna be super big, play reliant. And what I
keep saying is there's upside still with Christian Watson, Like
if you want to take him as a wide receiver
three or something like that, by all means, but if
Aaron Rodgers was his quarterback, I would be ready to
take this guy's the top twenty wide receiver off the board.

(12:19):
I don't see any way you can draft Christian Watson
anywhere nearly as high with Jordan Love as you would
with Aaron Rodgers. Meet Again, there's upside in the unknown,
So I'm not saying Christian Watson doesn't bring upside. I
think that is primarily what you're drafting when you take him,
But the floor and the median production it could be very,
very shaky week to week. I feel like though, that

(12:40):
upside wasn't completely predicated on Aaron Rodgers, but it had
a lot to do with it, and I just think
there is so much unknown. As you mentioned, it's this
offense is gonna be a little bit of a black box.
I do think for Aaron Jones, I don't know that
his hit in terms of value is as drastic as

(13:01):
Watson's because I do think this is an offense that's
going to have to lean on Aaron Jones a little bit,
and I do think the targets may be there. Granted,
it's been a pretty small sample size for what we
have seen from Jordan Love, but you know, he did
throw to the backs at a fairly decent rate in
the times that he has played, So that part gives

(13:21):
me at least a little bit of confidence that he
can have some sort of value, that he can still
be a part of the Packers passing game, and that's
where a good amount of his value comes. So maybe
I can see Jones falling off a little bit, but
I don't think he completely falls off a cliff just
because the Packers need to figure out where some of
their production is going to come from. I feel like

(13:42):
that's enough. Aaron Rodgers talk, he has been you know,
like between us, between the you know, NFL media, between
just the general Twitter sphere. I think we all have
Rogers fatigue. So let's move on. Um. Jimmy Garoppolo has
a new home, and it's the place that I think
a lot of us anticipated he was going to go. Anyway,
he signs with the Las Vegas Raiders, So they go

(14:03):
from Derek Carr to Jimmy Garoppolo. I guess the first
thing is, football wise, is this an upgrade, a downgrade,
a lateral move? Maybe not Financially. I think financially this
this sort of helps, I think the Raiders. But in
terms of just on fieldability what they get. Does this
make them better worse about the same. I think it's

(14:25):
somewhere around the same, maybe a slight not edge to
Derek Carr. What I think, though, more so, is they're
gonna have to change a lot of their identity as
an offense, particularly with their best weapon like DeVante Adams
is the best field stretcher in football in my opinion,

(14:45):
or maybe not. He's not like the fastest guy, but
he is the hardest to defend because of what they
talk about all the time with him, is he extends
his arms at the last possible second, so the cornerback
can't read his body at all to know when the
ball is coming in. And it's why he had such
great success with the Packers. It's why he was so
good with the Raiders last season. Most of his yards

(15:07):
come through the air, But Jimmy G with the Niners,
it was all yak like. If he didn't lead the
league in yak, he was always in the top two
or three because part of that is personnel like George Kittle,
Deebo Samuel, those guys are yak monsters. But they also
have guys like Brandon Nayuk, who at times is a
really good field hutcher and at times was a little
inconsistent because I just don't think Jimmy G is the

(15:30):
best down field thrower. So I'm really curious to see
how this offense is going to kind of take their
two strengths, like their quarterback on their top receiver, who
have different strengths, and kind of piece them together to
make it work. I think what Garoppolo has over Derek
Carr is basically a familiarity with the offense. He and

(15:50):
Josh McDaniels worked together in New England when Garoppolo was
the backup to Tom Brady, so there's at least they
know each other. There's prior knowledge there, which isn't something
that Derek Carr had. He was basically starting from scratch
when McDaniels came in and took over the team. So
maybe that learning curve is shortened, and I think there's
a guy that can sort of explain it to everybody

(16:12):
else too. I know there was some frustration I think
amongst the both the offense and the defense with how
things went last year, and so now you have a
guy that knows the system, that understands how to succeed
within that system, and I think that's going to go
a long way toward helping everybody out. Now. Davanta Adams
was a guy we were drafting the last couple of

(16:32):
years as a top two or three receiver. Right now
that number has dropped down. He's at wide receiver seven
at this point. How much faith do you have in him?
With Garoppolo at quarterback, I think there's more reasons for
concern with Davanta Adams with Jimmy g than there was

(16:52):
certainly with Aaron Rodgers when he was the slam dunk
wide receiver one, and even more with Derek Carr because there's, again,
there's no familiarity with Jim and Devantay Adams where his
Car and Adams played in college, and I just think
car style of play fits Adams a little bit better.
Of the receivers going over to him, Jefferson, Chase cup Hill,
Digs and AJ Brown, I'm fine with all of them

(17:14):
going ahead of Devantay Adams except for maybe a J. Brown.
That's one that I'd think I'd be okay flipping Devantay
ahead of him. I still think though, that's gonna make
him a borderline first round pick, early second round pick,
because I think the first round is going to be
littered with wide receivers this year. First round is going
to be very heavy wide receivers. I think you'll get
a couple of running backs, you know, McCaffrey, Eckler, guys

(17:36):
like that. You know, maybe Tony Pollard potentially, I don't know,
we'll talk about that in a bit. But other than that,
it's going to be a lot of wide receivers and
maybe Travis Kelsey the first round. So it could be
Devontay Adams ends up as a second round pick, just
because there may not be room for him in the
first round with so many of those other guys going
over there. Um in Tampa Bay, there is a new quarterback,

(18:00):
at least a quarterback competition, potentially brewing. The Bucks have
agreed to a one year deal with Baker Mayfield. He
finished up last year as the number two, and I
guess he ended up being the starter for the Rams
after Matthew Stafford went down with an injury. So it
looks like Baker Mayfield is going to get the chance
to at least compete with Kyle Trask to be the

(18:22):
starter there in Tampa for the moment. Mike Evans is
still there for the moment. Chris Godwin is still there,
though there's certainly some talk that maybe he won't be
We'll see. Look, I'm not going to sit here and
spend you a fairy tale where we're drafting either Mayfield
or Kyle Trask. But what does this mean for a
guy like Mike Evans, who's been fairly consistent throughout his career.

(18:44):
It's bad. I'm more worried about Mike Evans coming into
this year than ever. And for years people hated me
on Twitter because I was always the low guy on
Mike Evans, the red we've seen I'm worried about Chris
Godwin as well, but even more Mike Evans. We've seen
Baker Mayfield really struggle to elevate wide receivers in his career.

(19:06):
We've seen Baker Mayfield particularly struggle to elevate out wide
receivers who win downfield, which is exactly what Mike Evans is.
I don't know if he's gonna I don't think this
offense will be able to put up even as many
points as they did last season because I think Baker's
a big downgrade from even what Brady was last season,

(19:27):
So that could lead to us touchdown opportunities right now
in early ADP. Godwin's going in the middle of the fourth.
I believe in Evans in like the sixth and even that,
I'm not super bullish. It's like you get a discount
on them from where they were in the past, but
not a whole lot of one. So I don't know.
This reminds me a lot of how what we were
saying about DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett a year ago,

(19:50):
except four. I don't think Baker Mayfield is gonna pull
a Geno Smith and lead the league in like multi
touchdown pass games. Yeah, I think the difference is we've
sort of seen Baker this whole time. Gino left our
consciousness for a few years and then came back by
circumstance to have that year he did in Seattle this

(20:12):
past year. I worry about the Bucks offense as a whole.
I worry about Mike Evans. I worry about what Chris
Godwin potentially can be. I know people are trying to
get excited about Rashad White. I just think this is
going to be a bad offense in a division that's
not going to be very good. The NFC South will
be competitive. It may not be good, but it'll be competitive.

(20:34):
There are two different things there. There's just not a
lot about this group that I'm excited about. And I
do think, you know, I'm curious to see where the
ADPs go for Tampa's wide receivers. You mentioned what god
would in the fourth Evans in the sixth. Does it
stay there? Does it even potentially fall Depending on how

(20:54):
this quarterback competition goes, I'm not optimistic about it at all.
For the right price, I'll take the shot, but I'm
not getting fired up about it. The other side, note,
Mike Evans has had a thousand yards every year of
his career. Does he get there again in twenty twenty three?

(21:15):
I would take the underfer And there's a like as
impressive as that streak is, it's also kind of manufactured
because there was a couple of years with Tom Brady
where like week seventeen, they were like, we need to
get Mike Evans a thousand yards and they oh so,
But no, No, I don't think Baker Mayfield. It's more
in jeopardy now than ever before. I think. And if

(21:35):
I would take under a thousand yards from Mike Evins,
twenty twenty was the squeakiest year he had a thousand
and six, Like he just barely got over the hum
had eleven hundred yards last year. But I you know,
I would call into question whether or not he could
do it again. I mean, it's been phenomenal to watch.
I am skeptical whether or not he can do it

(21:56):
in twenty twenty three. Last bit of quarterback news and
I put this trio together. Jacoby Brissette is going to
the Washington Commanders. Andy Dalton staying in the NFC South
and going to the Carolina Panthers. Gardner Minshew is headed
to Indianapolis and signs with the Colts. They got quarterback
opening after letting go of Matt Ryan. So, of those

(22:18):
three guys, Jacoby Brissette in Washington, Dalton in Carolina, Minshew
in Indianapolis, which one do you think has the best
chance to win their respective starting job? Jacoby Brissette. Look,
Jacoby Brissette played pretty well last year. He played way
better than Deshaun Watson did as the Browns starting quarterback,
and he was above average in a lot of regards

(22:40):
as the brown starter. That them not succeeding last season
was not on Jacoby Brissette, Like that's on the rest
of the roster as a whole. I would say Jacoby
greatly exceeded expectations. I think I also think whichever of
the two start for the Commanders will be a value
in fantasy. Not like you're gonna want to start Howel
or Jacoby brist but like they could be good QB

(23:01):
twos and super flex or good waiver wire guys because
both can give you sneaky points with their more. How
I think it gets overlooked as what he could do
with his legs. We've kind of seen Jacoby Brissette do it,
but both of them can give you points with their legs. Yeah,
I mean, I think that's that's the thought there. Just
because the Panthers are going to take a quarterback at
number one, we're just waiting to see which one is

(23:22):
going to be, you know, in Indianapolis. I can't imagine
they are for real going to roll with with Gardner Minshew.
I think he is there potentially as you know, a
security blanket based on what they can do, whether or
not they trade up and get a quarterback, whether or
not they you know, I don't know if there's anybody
else worth signing at this point in free agency. I

(23:45):
think Brissette is probably going to be the guy. Now,
I would say, which, which guy do we want most
for fantasy though not necessarily because we're drafting them, but
because this guy's going to help out his supporting cast.
Is it still Jacoby Brissette or to be a guy
like Andy Dalton who wasn't terrible last year? No, he wasn't,
But I still think it's Jacoby Brissette for one reason

(24:08):
and one reason only. Terry McLaurin, we saw that this
past season. Jacoby Brissette was able to kind of help
Amari Cooper have a resurgencey year after his down year,
his final year in Dallas, and it was because he
was able to win downfield. They were able to connect
on deep passes and in the red zone. We know
Terry mclauren could win downfield. He just needs a quarterback

(24:30):
that could get the ball in his general vicinity. Which
is why we all got so excited for Taylor Heineck
when he started last year, because he was selling shirts
that said, bleep it, Terry's open somewhere down there, Jacoby,
that's all you gotta do, man. And then you had
in the fact that they also have like John Dobson
who could win downfield. Jacoby Brissette, I think could could
help those guys more than he probably gets credit for it.

(24:53):
I think you're right. I think he's probably the best
of that bunch. I still would have liked to see
Washington maybe pursue Lamar Jackson. That's a whole other conversation
that we you know, I don't know that we can
get into because there's there's no actual news to talk
about other than he's been tagged teams can negotiate with him,
but until we get an idea of where he might go,

(25:14):
it's just sort of hard to talk about Jackson. But
I would have loved to see Washington pursue. We talked
about Atlanta and they completely backed out from the beginning.
All that was frustrating and confusing to me. I didn't
get it. But it could be that Jacoby Brissette is
probably the answer to all of our questions, at least
when it comes to that trio of quarterbacks. Let's get
to running backs, because there's a lot. I know it's

(25:35):
funny because the running backs didn't happen immediately, but then
it all seemed to happen kind of at once, with
a lot of guys going to different places. So let's
start with some of the big news there. Austin Eckler
request permission from the Chargers to seek a trade. This
is a guy who has been a top level fantasy
running back for a last couple of years. In fact,
thirty eight touchdowns over the last two seasons. That is

(25:57):
first among all players in fantasy football in that stretch.
It's been great for him in Los Angeles. Can you
envision a spot that would be better for his fantasy
value than where he currently is. None that feel realistic.
Like I'm looking through the list of teams right now,
and I'm like Cincinnati, like that would be a boost,

(26:19):
But they're not realistically gonna go after Alston Eckler in
my opinion, So I personally am hoping that the Chargers
and Ekeler can reach an agreement here. One. I think
he's awesome as a person for fantasy everything. I love
having him play in LA But I just think it
brings certainty with his role in this offense. One, it

(26:39):
keeps together an offense that is very high powered for
fantasy purposes at least, and I think could be just
one of the best offenses in football. So, just because
if he goes elsewhere, then we're dealing with unknown a
new offense, I think Alston Eckler will be fine no
matter where he goes, because any team that you know
pays to get him is gonna make sure he gets
the ball plenty, especially as a receiver. But just for

(27:02):
peace of mind for fantasy, I would love for him
to stay with the Chargers. I think staying is the best.
I don't know that there's anywhere that makes him better.
I think you can go places that potentially kind of
leave him similar to where he is. I mean, I
think if somehow the Chiefs could figure out how to
make it work, right putting him in Kansas City, Isaiah

(27:23):
Pacheco becomes easily the number two in that offense. But
I don't know that he gets better. Right, thirty eight
touchdowns in the last two seasons, that's really hard to
improve upon. So I do think that staying in LA
is the best situation. Now we're talking fantasy. I know,
for Austin Eckler, this is this is a real life conversation, right,

(27:45):
This is about, you know, trying to figure out where
you can make the most money, where you can sort
of maximize your overall value. Because look, you and I
both know that he's a guy who already has his
eye on the future. He's already trying to figure out,
you know, what has moved after football are going to be,
whether it is as you know, a podcaster, whether it's

(28:05):
in business, what have you. You know, and he's got
to set himself up for that. But for our greedy, selfish,
fancy purposes, please Austin stay in Los Angeles. Make it
work here with the Bolts because we love it and
we love you and we love ourselves, so we're we're
being selfish here. The Cowboys have marked the end of
an era. They are going to let go of Ezekiel Elliott.

(28:28):
He's been marked with a post June first designation, so
it won't officially happen for a couple of months still,
but the Cowboys have decided they tagged Tony Pollard. They
are moving on from Ezekiel Elliott. So we talked about
the first round and how it's likely to be pretty
wide receiver heavy, but there are some running backs that

(28:50):
sneak into that first round. Is Tony Pollard one of them?
And how high do you think you have to reach
to get him? I certainly think that he could be
one of them. I think the locks are Christian McCaffrey
and Austin Ekeler, and then after that, I think it
kind of becomes a preference thing. But there's a group
of running backs that Tony Pollard's in for me at
least with Jonathan Taylor, sae Quon Barkley. You could put

(29:14):
Kenneth Walker in there if you want, and be Jean
Robinson would depend on landing spot and Josh Jacobs. To me,
Tony Pollard goes in that group as the next running
backs off the board. I keep saying, you could make
the case to take him as high as RB three overall,
I think, but like if you trust say Quan or
Taylor or Josh Jacob's more, you're not going to really
hear much from me. I think that that's the second

(29:36):
tier of running backs, and he easily could go in
the first round. I think at the very worst case,
you get him early second round, no later than that.
So right now, Pollard is going off the board as
the RB twelve. But I feel like maybe the Zeke
move hasn't fully kicked in yet. I'm not sure because
I know how much everybody loved Pollard understandably last year.

(29:59):
I'm surprise that it hasn't gone up at this point.
Side note, Bijean Robinson is RB four right now. It
is it is McCaffrey, it's Jonathan Taylor, it's Eckler, and
then it's Bijean Robinson. That is how much the fantasy
community loves Bijeon. It doesn't matter where he goes. People

(30:21):
are drafting him as a top five running back right
now that is incredible. I think some of that has
to do, by the way, with the fact that he's
being called a top ten talent. He's not gonna get
drafted top ten because that's just doesn't make draft sense
for NFL teams. But but the scouts say he is
that good, and fantasy drafters are taking that to heart

(30:41):
and drafting him accordingly. Um, where is the Cowboys draft him?
That is? That is that is the nuclear option for us.
Right if if Jerry Jones, which by the way, that
is the ultimate Jerry Jones move, right, wanting another top
level running back and getting the guy who plays his
college ball in the state of Texas, that is the

(31:03):
ultimate Jerry Jones maneuver, and that would nuke everything we
hoped and dream for both b Jehan Robinson and Tony Pollard.
I do think he gets his way into the top ten,
probably even top eight at some point before I hope
before we get to the season. I do. As for Zeke,
he's going to be a free agent. You know, obviously

(31:25):
had a good career in Dallas, was not the same
player of the last few years. What is his future
because I don't think he's done. I think somebody signs him.
But I mean, what's best case scenario for Zeke at
this point? I think best case scenario is I don't
think he's going to go anywhere that gave him as
much touches as Dallas did, even last year when he

(31:46):
was playing a reduced role, splitting it with Tony Pollard.
I think he's going to come in be part of
a platoon share backfield with the obviously another back that's
more explosive, because that is not Zeke strength. At this point,
I think he'll be a short yardage back, a goal
on back, I know, like one he's been one of
the backs tied still to like the Buffalo Bills. Maybe
I could see him going to a situation like that,

(32:07):
to a team that they have maybe a young back
that they like or something like that, an explosive guy,
and then they just need someone to play like that
hammer role, kind of like what would I at least
think Deante Foreman was brought into the Bears to be.
I think that could be the role that Zeke Elliott
still plays, right, I mean, I think he's a two
down back. He is potentially a short yardage guy. You know,

(32:30):
he can't catch the football, So hopefully that that helps
and he's able to get those opportunities. I also think
that it's going to be a situation where he's probably
gonna wait for a while. At this point, you know,
a lot of the dominoes have fallen in terms of
free agent running backs. I think we're gonna wait to
see what happens in the draft and who drafts what um.
But I think he's going to find a home. I

(32:52):
still think he's you know, he's too talented to not
land somewhere. But it's definitely not going to be the
kind of role we were used to seeing with the
Dallas Cowboys all those years. Twenty seven. It's so sad. Yeah, yeah,
I mean life comes at you fast. So the top
three running backs in this class all got franchise tag

(33:16):
no real surprise, sa Kwon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, Tony Pollard
all got hit with the franchise tag. They weren't going anywhere.
So the next top name on the board at the
position was Miles Sanders, and Sanders has agreed to a
deal with the Carolina Panthers, so he goes down there.
The Panthers decide to let go of Deonta Foreman who

(33:37):
goes to the Chicago Bears. So right now, Mike, it
looks like Sanders is the solid RB one. I don't
expect Chuba Hubbard to really eat into those opportunities a
whole lot. So how much does this change the way
you feel about Miles Sanders knowing that he could get
a shot, even if not a three down back, maybe

(33:57):
much more of a workhorse than he ever was in Philadelphi.
You yeah, I'm really I think Miles Sanders was the
biggest winner outside of maybe Tony Pollard this week at
the running back position. I thought Carolina was his ideal fit,
and for real life purposes and for fantasy, Like, for
real life, they're gonna have a rookie quarterback whoever they
take number one, likely starting, so he brings some big

(34:19):
playability there. He could ease the take a lot of
work off of the rookie shoulders, and for fantasy, they've
invested in him. So now, not only do I agree
with what you said where we could see him be
even more of a workhorse, I'm really hoping that we
see him used in the passing game again. He thrived
as a pass catcher as a rookie really struggled as

(34:40):
a sophomore, and then the Eagles just abandoned him using
him in the passing game. They liked Kenny Gainwell and
others more. The Panthers right now don't really have a
guy who could take a whole lot. I mean, maybe
true be Hubbard, but I don't think he's as big
of a dart as like Gainwell was in Phillies. So
I still think Miles Sanders, while I think he's a
lot more solid now as an RB two, I used

(35:00):
always have him as like a back end rby two.
He's a top twenty running back, but I think he
brings RB one upside. If the Panthers start throwing him
the ball more. I think that's the big things that
I want him to be more integrated into the passing game,
especially because they still need help catching the football. I mean,
the wide receivers don't really get you all that excited.

(35:21):
I mean, you're looking at Terrace Marshall junior right now,
is the top wide receiver there in Carolina. They did
at Haydon Hurst. We'll talk about that probably a little
bit later on, but they just need help catching the football.
So there's an opportunity for Miles Sanders to contribute in
that way, and if he can run the football the
way he did last year. Granted he's not going to

(35:42):
have the same level of offensive line in front of him,
so that's something to kind of keep in mind. But
if he can get you a portion of those touches,
if he can run the football even a portion as
well as he did last year, I think you're looking
at him as a strong RB two candidate coming up
in twenty twenty three. Deontay Foreman, as I mentioned, he
does go to the Chicago Bears. There have been a

(36:04):
lot of excitement about Khalil Herbert and potentially what he
could do with the expectation that David Montgomery was gone.
Does Deontay Foreman change your feelings about Khalil Herbert at all?
How are you looking at this backfield? Yeah, he definitely
takes some shine off of Khalil Herbert because one like
I expect Khalil Herbert to still leave this backfield. They

(36:27):
also brought in Travis Homer, who could take past game
usage away. That's my biggest fear is that this becomes
a three person backfield where Deonta Foreman is using is
getting a lot of goal on work because he's built
like a tank. If they're gonna use him anywhere, I
would imagine they're thinking short yardage stuff. And then if
Travis Homer's taken away like third down in two minutes,

(36:47):
even if it's just some of them, that's gonna really
lower the floor and ceiling for Khalil Herbert. Plus, it's
not out of the range of possibilities that Deontay Foreman,
who's a very good running back in his own right,
just outperforms Khalil Herbert, or at the worst, plays well
enough where it becomes a fifty fifty split on the ground.
Or I could also see it being like in Carolina,

(37:09):
where there were some weeks where down to Foreman ran
great and they would just give him all the work,
and then there's other weeks where he would struggle and
the game script would get away from him a little bit,
and then he would completely vanish. So I think this
brings a lot more uncertainty to this Bear's backfield. I
think Khalil Herbert stays in the range is like kind
of a low end RB two. There's more upside with him,

(37:30):
but there's also a lot more downside now as well.
The other part that you didn't mention is that Justin
Fields is still going to run the phone. Yeah, and
you know, maybe he doesn't run it quite as much,
but obviously that's a big part of his game, and
that is what makes him successful. That's what makes the
Bears offense go to some extent. So that's going to
take some opportunities away from either Foreman or Herbert. You know,

(37:54):
I'm curious to see what they do with Travis Homer,
if they actually are sort of using him as a
pass catching back or if he's just there more for
insurance purposes, because that also is going to have an
impact on what happens with Herbert. But I'm sort of
with you. I feel like last year we had a
sense of how they were going to use their backs
between Montgomery and Herbert. Now we go into this sort

(38:15):
of try to figure this all out again, because it
seems like each guy has a very specific set of
skills and it could be a situation where they all
sort of take off each other's plate and we end
up being unsatisfied with each and every one of those guys.
Over to Philadelphia, Miles Sanders, we mentioned goes down to Carolina.
There leaves an opening there in the Philly backfield, and
it was filled pretty quickly by Rashad Penny. Simple equation

(38:39):
Mike when he has been on the field, he has
been really dynamic. We saw it at the start of
last season. But dot dot dot can he stay healthy?
So with that being said, how do you approach Rashad
Penny and fantasy drafts. I'm really excited about Rashad Penny.
I said that I think Miles Sanders and Tony Pollard

(39:00):
were the big two winners. I would put Rashad Penny third.
I think he can be everything that Miles Sanders was
for this Philly offensive year ago. A great explosive runner
between the tackles, not a whole lot of usage in
the passing game. It's just a matter of if and
how long he can stay on the field. But on
a per touch, per game basis, he'll be just as good,

(39:21):
if not better, I think, than Miles Sanders. He's averaged
over six yards per carry each of the last two seasons.
The thing, though, is with all of his injury concerns
like last year, people were like, Okay, maybe we'll give
him a pass. It wasn't you know, he's going to
get a chance to leave this backfield in Seattle and
he's really explosive. And even then he was going as

(39:41):
an RB three. So I think this year, with him
getting hurt again last year, RB three is probably the
highest price I think you're gonna have to pay. So
if you're talking about being able to get him and
say like the six seventh rounds something like that, I'll
draft him there all day. And I wouldn't be surprised
if it's even a little bit of a bigger discount,
because no one wants touch the running back that is

(40:02):
two injury prone. I'll take him for as many games
as he could give us. Right now, he's the RB
thirty eight, and I feel like that's going to change,
that's not going to last. But he's going behind Kenneth
Gainwell at the moment. I mean some of the guys
going ahead of him, Kenneth Gainwell, AJ Dillon, Brian Robinson,
you know, Rashad White, Khalil Herbert, these are some of

(40:24):
the names going ahead of Rashad Penny. And I think
it is sort of that injury concern. I saw some
people basically saying, look, I'll draft Rashad Penny and basically,
if I can get ten to twelve touches a game
from him behind that offensive line with Jalen Hurts, that
there's the expectation that he can be explosive and productive.
But everybody does have that concern. If you're drafting Penny,

(40:46):
you are drafting other running backs because you know you
would be foolish not to at least get yourself some
sort of insurance policy just because history has shown he
hasn't been able to stay on the field long term.
David Montgomery is gone. DeAndre formative in Chicago. David Montgomery
stays in the division going from Chicago to Detroit. That

(41:09):
first off, that every made everybody worried about Jamal Williams.
We'll talk about Williams in a second. I looked at
this and I said, oh, no, DeAndre Swift because he
was so good last year. And I know Williams got
a lot of short yardage and a lot of goal
line work, That's how he scored the touchdowns. But this
makes me really really worried about DeAndre Swift. How how
are you feeling about that? I'm worried about Swift and

(41:32):
David Montgomery. Montgomery last year was one of the least
explosive running backs in football. He had the lowest hot
top speed of any running back with a hundred touches,
So not a whole lot there, at least in terms
of big playability. I will admit he gets a huge
offensive line upgrade. But what David Montgomery did best, at
least for fantasy purposes, and what DeAndre Swift does best

(41:56):
is both catch passes. Like they're both good pass catchers
out of the back field. So if they're both here,
I'm worried because I would anticipate David Montgomery being used
a little bit more on the ground, and if Swift
is being unused more in the passing game, I think
that hurts David Montgomery. I think it hurts Deantre Swift
to give up carries. I don't know. I kind of
came away from this being like they're both kind of

(42:17):
like low end RB two's to me. But I'm not
really bullish about drafting either because neither one of them
is going to score the seventeen touchdown, said Jamal Williams
did a year ago. That's a big issue. I know
there are a lot of I saw a stat that
I think the Lions have the most carries inside the
five that were vacated, and you know, there's talk that

(42:38):
a lot of that could go to David Montgomery, and
I think it will. They're so different, the two of them.
Montgomery is kind of a plotter. He doesn't really make
guys miss. He is gonna be the guy I would
think gets a lot of those short guardage touches. Swift
potentially is explosive. I mean, this was a guy who
was I think RB twenty one last year and he
did it with fewer than one hundred and fifty touches,

(43:00):
So he was very efficient with his opportunities. He's going
to have to be that again because I don't think
there's gonna be a lot of touches coming with a
guy like Montgomery there. And I think you spoke to
a big point because Montgomery catches the football that takes
away a lot of what makes DeAndre Swift valuable. So
this makes me really nervous for a guy that I
thought had a lot of upside and maybe he loses

(43:22):
some of that because of the guy that they brought
in to take over for Jamal Williams. Williams does leave
Detroit and he goes down to New Orleans signs a
three year deal with the Saints. My first thought is
this signals that New Orleans has concerns about what Alvin
Kamara's availability is going to be. He has a legal case,

(43:44):
a court case that is scheduled I believe for July,
so there's a trial pending, and then everybody's expecting some
sort of NFL discipline to come down after that. How
worried should we be Obviously neither one of us are lawyers,
but just sort of base on NFL president. How worried
should we be about Kamara's availability next year? I definitely

(44:06):
think worried. I think that this signing was the Saints
covering themselves in case a suspension comes down. How long
it will be we'd have to see. But and then
I think, let's say there's no suspension, or it's only
a couple of games something like that, just like if
they're both on the field at the same time. I
think then we go to kind of how this Saints
backfield has spent for a while where Alvin Kamara is

(44:29):
like kind of that lead guy, but they split the
groundwork and Jamal Williams is like the new mark Ingram.
I could see the backfield kind of being split that way.
Whether he missed his time or not. Alvin Kamara is
no longer an RB one in my opinion. I think
he could be a very solid RB two, and I
think Jamal Williams is more of an RB three or

(44:50):
a guy that you draft us like a backup running back.
But I think he's one of the absolute very best
handcuffs in the game and will outperform his draft slot
on weeks, probably the weeks where he scores a touchdown.
But yeah, I think it's certainly. Hey, if we were
asking me the draft right now, I'd probably wouldn't touch
Alvin Kamara. Yeah, I would. I would wait a while

(45:11):
on Camara. I think one the legal situation, which is
concerning not knowing how many games he could miss, and
who knows, maybe he misses no time, but certainly signs
point toward him having to sit out at least a
number of games. The other part of this is who
his quarterback is now, and Derek Carr not known as
a guy who heavily targets running backs. He did a

(45:32):
little bit, but Josh Jacobs really wasn't until the last
year or two that he actually started catching the football
for the Raiders. So much of Camara's fantasy value is
predicated on him being a pass catcher, and if he's
not getting those opportunities. Added to the fact that now
it looks like Williams is going to get a lot
of that goal line work, it just feels like the

(45:53):
value is going to fall off a cliff for Alvin
Kamara come this season. And then Versam j p Rhyme
signs h two year deal with the Broncos, and I
think a lot of us were sort of excited potentially
about what Javontay Williams could be. Then he had that awful,
awful knee injury, and there hasn't been a lot of
chatter about his progress. Yeah, there's been positive signs, but

(46:16):
you know, there's a range of outcomes that goes from
somehow he's ready for Week one two, he could miss
a significant amount of time again this season. Does this
signing signal that we should sort of expect the worst
for Javontay Williams. I don't think so. I think this
is the Broncos kind of covering their bases a bit.
If they went out and you know we're paying Miles

(46:39):
Sanders or something like that, I'd be more worried. Pete
Ryan is a very good backup, but that's kind of
what he is like he I don't think he's gonna
come in here and steal the job from Javanti Williams.
More So, I think it gives them early season insurance
in case Javantis and ready to start the season, or
even more so, which I think seems very likely, like

(47:00):
Javonty is gonna need to be ease back into things.
He's not gonna be Week one or this season touching
the ball twenty twenty five times. So now you have
another capable running back, and let's not forget that's kind
of what they wanted with Javontay Williams with Melvin Gordon
the last couple of seasons. So as long as Samange
p Ryan isn't taking the valuable touches away from Javontay Williams,

(47:20):
the goal line, touches, the pass game usage, and as
long as Javansay is still seeing a healthy workload, I
think he can be a really really good fantasy asset.
And p Ryan, though I would say we already know
this from years with him and mixing one of the
better backups and someone that it doesn't hurt to have
on your bench in fantasy, right, I mean, he does

(47:41):
feel like an insurance policy. I think hopefully the best
case scenario is that Williams is back at least early
in the season, early enough that we can get some
sort of value out of him, because obviously we loved
what he could be. He right now is the RB
twenty one, so that I think suggest that people have
some sort of hope that we'll see a significant amount

(48:02):
of him during the season. I can't imagine p Ryan
getting a large workload. That feels sort of like worst
case scenario for the Broncos if we see p Ryan
getting a ton of snaps and a ton of touches,
So hopefully, fingers crossed, we see some Javata Williams early
on in the season for Denver. In New England, James
Robinson gets a two year deal from the Patriots. Obviously,

(48:24):
it's Romandre Stevenson seasonson. It was last year and expected
to be the same again this year. Does Robinson get
a decent workload or is he again sort of an
insurance policy? For New England. I didn't really get this
signing at all. I was maybe James Robinson could become
what he was pre Achilles injury, but last season was

(48:47):
rough for James Robinson, and to me, I look at
it as a good thing from Romandre Stevenson, Like I
think James Robinson is a not as good version of
Damien Harris. Like he's a little bit better as a
pass catcher, but like he's kind of a between the
tackle runner. He's not really explosive. He didn't have much
explosiveness at all last season. So I think this kind

(49:09):
of made me like Romandre Stevenson even more, Like if
they signed Damien Harris, I'm a little bit more concerned
right now then if it was James Robinson. Robinson, remember
last year started on fire, Like the first couple of
weeks he looked amazing and we were, you know, wondering,
like what achilles injury, and then it sort of all
fell apart and Travis Etn took over and then eventually

(49:29):
Robinson wasn't there anymore. It just it just went badly
for him. So I'm not optimistic. Maybe a year removed,
we'll see a little bit more out of Robinson, but
this is Romandre Stevenson's backfield without a doubt. Last piece
of running back news, the Dolphins came into this offseason
saying they wanted to make a splash. They wanted to
upgrade their running back room, and when the dust settles,

(49:52):
it's gonna look exactly the way it did last year.
Jeff Wilson ready, most Miles gas him all re up
with Miami. I mean not that these guys are bad.
We we sort of know who they are. Which which
guy has the most upside? Which guy are you most
willing to maybe take a shot at here? It's between
Wilson and Mostard. I'll go with Wilson because he played

(50:14):
more of the two last year and was use a
little bit more in the passing game. But the correct
answer might be whichever running back they draft, because they
have to add at least one more piece to this
running back room. Might imagine you would think so. I mean,
the running game was fine for Miami. It wasn't special.
I think there were times that it would have behooved

(50:35):
them to have a little stronger running game than what
they had. I think, especially when you get to the
playoffs and late in the season, and the playoffs, and
you're playing Skyler Thompson out there. I think it would
have been nice to have, I think, a more productive
running game than what they actually had. I really thought
they were going to make a big run at somebody

(50:57):
and maybe, look, maybe once the top three guys all
got franchise tag, maybe the Dolphins felt like they were
sort of out. But I would have loved to see
a Miles Sanders head down there, you know, just just anybody. Look,
I know, Devin Singletary I think is still out there.
I was just surprised that in the end they just
went back to the same three guys that they already had.

(51:17):
So I'm not super fired up about anybody in that
Miami backfield. Super unlikely, but Bejon I keep saying he
would be a great fit there if they could find
a way to get the capitol to get him. But
it's very unlikely. But it seems Yeah, it seems unlikely,
but you know, who knows. Weirder things certainly have happened.
This has been a beefy show and we are just

(51:38):
about halfway done. We'll take a quick break, we'll come back.
We will talk pass catchers, wide receivers and tight ends
because some of those guys have made some moves as well.
Stick around for more on the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast,
talking about free agency and sort of recapping a lot

(51:59):
of the big things that have happened in the last
week or so. And one of the bigger moves actually
happened last week about this time. The Chicago Bears made
a deal to trade away the number one overall pick
in this year's draft. They trade it to the Carolina Panthers.
In exchange, they get a handful of picks back, and

(52:21):
they get wide receiver Dj Moore. One of the things
we had said continually about the Bears offense last year
is that they needed a pass catcher. There is no
doubt that justin fields, maybe he is the biggest winner
in this whole thing. He's the guy that gets the
guy that gets the help he needs in terms of
a wide receiver. But for Dj Moore, I mean he

(52:42):
gets out of a kind of a bad situation there
in Carolina. What does this mean though, for his fantasy ceiling?
When he's playing Mike with a quarterback that we think
has potential but generally is still unproven. I think Dj
Moore kind of comes in the same fantasy value wise,
like we always hear that he has wide receiver one
upside and yet his highest finishes Wide receiver sixteen. I

(53:04):
kind of think he'll be a wide receiver two with
Justin Fields again this year, a very solid one who
will certainly have wide receiver one weeks. But for the ceiling,
I think it's higher than it's been because Justin Fields
has a lot more upside, I would say, than the
quarterbacks that DJ Moore has been playing with in the
past years. That's what it's going to come down to.

(53:24):
If Justin Fields takes that next step as a passer,
DJ Moore can have his best season fantasy season yet
so far this year. If Justin Fields kind of stays
where he is, or maybe only takes a little bit
step forward, he'll probably be around the same. The only
fear I have for DJ Moore is if Justin Fields
really struggles, if the Bears has abandoned the past like

(53:45):
they did last year. But I think them going out
and acquiring you know, DJ Moore and Chase Claypool in
the last couple of months, was them kind of indicating like, no,
we know we need to pass the ball more. I
think they realize that they've got to throw the ball
more and throw it more effectively. And here's the thing.
They have the number nine pick, that's what they got
from Carolina, part of the package they got from Carolina.

(54:06):
There's a legitimate shot at them drafting a wide receiver
at that spot. There's talk that maybe they go after
Jackson Smith and Jigba from Ohio State, who right now
is the number one wide receiver on the board for
a lot of scouts. So there's certainly an idea that
they get more help. But as for DJ Moore, I'm
not gonna say that this is the best quarterback he's

(54:28):
ever played with. Right as a rookie, he did get
healthy Cam Newton. Beyond that, though, it hasn't been great.
It's been Kyle Allen, it has been you know, Teddy Bridgewater,
who is fine. It has been Sam Darnold. I mean,
it hasn't been a great group of quarterbacks that he
has played with after that rookie year. So there is
I think more optimism with who he's playing with now,

(54:51):
But I do think it would be foolish to draft
him as anything more in sort of a high, maybe
to mid wide receiver. Two for twenty tw three, the
Raiders mentioned that they went out and signed Jimmy Garoppolo.
They also got him a little bit of extra help.
They signed Jacoby Myers. And I didn't completely understand this

(55:12):
because Myers was a guy who excelled from the slot
last year, the last couple of years in New England.
They've already got Hunter Renfro, who's done a pretty good
job as a slot receiver there in Vegas. We know
Davanta Adams is going to get a ton of targets
for Myers. What's the ceiling now with the Raiders. I
think he's kind of the same of what he was

(55:34):
with New England. Like he always had a round to
twenty percent targets share with the Patriots. I don't see
how it's gonna get a whole lot higher than that
with the Raiders, Like Devantay Adams is gonna, you know,
command close with thirty percent targets share. Probably then you
have a Hunter Renfro, Myers, Josh Jacobs, So I kind
of think he stays the same. I'm not really I've

(55:55):
never had been. I thought Jacoby Myers was the top
wide receiver in this dat class more so because it's
a weak draft class. But I'm sorry free agency class.
But I've never been super bullish about Myers in fantasy.
I think he's always like a reliable wide receiver three
who will outperform that some weeks, and that's kind of
what I think he still is with the Raiders. I'm
not I'm not going to be somewhat like bullish to

(56:16):
try to draft Jakobe Myers this year. I wanted to
see where he would go if he had a chance
to maybe play. I think he gets a quarterback upgrade,
however slight. It may be from Mac Jones to Jimmy Garoppolo,
but he's in a situation where he's number one. He's

(56:38):
not the number one target by far, because I look
at the quarterbacks he's played with, and his rookie year
was Tom Brady's last year in New England. You know,
he was just sort of getting his feet wet. He
was undrafted. It wasn't like they were really relying on
him in any major way. After that, it hasn't been great.
I mean it's been you know, it's it's been Mac

(57:00):
Jones the last couple of seasons. I wanted him to
get into a better situation. I don't think this is
a great situation for him. I think he's kind of
a nice additional piece for the Raiders, and I don't
think it helps his fantasy value at all. I think
he's still a kind of a, as you said, a
wide receiver three. Maybe I thought there was more hope
for him, but it depended on the landing spot, and
I don't think this is a great landing spot for him.

(57:21):
The other part that was confusing is that the Patriots
decided they weren't gonna pay Jacoby Myers, but they will
pay Juju. Smith Schuster gets a three year deal thirty
three million dollars. So maybe it's just that they think
more of Juju than they did of Myers. Smith Schuster
was fine with Kansas City last year. I don't think

(57:42):
he was what we hoped he would be when he
first signed with the Chiefs. He goes to New England
where he becomes their wide receiver one. Essentially, how much
does this help his fantasy value? I'm out on Juju
because I still anticipate him going around similar to where
he went last year. Orderline top thirty wides, you know,
like a wide receiver three in that range, and I

(58:05):
wanted to be out on him last year, and if
he signed anywhere but the Chiefs, I would have been.
But I was like, he's playing with Patrick Mahomes and
Andy Reid on a team that needs wide receiver production.
Someone is step up opposite of Travis Kelsey. And then
Juju did what Juju always does. He's less than a
thousand yards, a handful of touchdowns, solid wide receiver three.

(58:26):
But again he did that with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.
Now he's going to a team that's gonna throw the
ball less. Going from Andy Reid calling plays to Bill O'Brien,
going from catching passes from Patrick Mahomes to Mac Jones.
It's gonna take more than even maybe a slight bump
in target share for me, for Juju to really exceed
that value. So I think a good real like he

(58:48):
could help the Patriots in real life. And then the
Patriots also brought in Mike Kasecki, who operates best out
of the slot, which is where Juju operates. I know
we're gonna talk about that more for Kasecki later, but
I'm gonna be out on Juju the shoe and fantasy.
I'll let other people draft him. I just I do
think it's gonna be a wash, right, because he's in
a situation where they are going to rely on him

(59:08):
more heavily. But as you mentioned, the offense isn't going
to be as good, the quarterback isn't going to be
as good. So in the end, I actually think his
target numbers are going to be about the same. I
think his catches, his yards, I think all that is
going to be about the same. Because you know, again
the I would rather be say a wide receiver too,
or a second or third option with Patrick Mahomes than

(59:29):
to be a top option with Mac Jones. I think,
I just you know, I was just surprised mostly at
the way the Patriots sort of handled the situation. Yeah,
you know, I don't know this. Juju has shown that
that one big year he had back in twenty eighteen
very much the outlier in his career. He had fourteen
hundred yards, has not had another thousand yards season since

(59:52):
that time. If you were able to like men in
Black that season, away from our memories, we would view
Jujuice Chooster a whole lot differently. As a community, I think, Yeah,
although I think I think now we've started to realize,
you know, I think I think we've all sort of
come to the realization that the guy we have been
seeing the last few seasons, yeah, that that really is Juju. Um.

(01:00:16):
I just remember thinking that it seemed like seems like
sour grapes when Antonio Brown was taking shots at him
on social media. It just seemed like it was, you know,
ab being weird and doing ab things. But um, he
might be crazy. He wasn't wrong, that's all you think.
Do you think Bill Belichick knows what TikTok is? If
he didn't, he'll find out in short order. He will

(01:00:39):
find out. Here's the thing I mean. I was able
to do a digital show with Patrick Claibon and Greg
Rosenthal earlier in the week, and Patrick made a point,
Like both Patrick and Greg made good points. One, for
all these social media stuff that people talk about with Juju,
you can never say that he doesn't at least take
the game seriously. When he suits up and is between
the lines, he goes out and he plays hard. I

(01:00:59):
don't think any body can ever argue that. And in
the end, the TikTok stuff doesn't really matter. It's like
when they're winning When teams are winning, nobody cares that
you're on TikTok. It only becomes an issue when teams
start losing, and then it becomes an easy thing to
poke at. So I think I think Belichick and Juju
will figure out a way to coexist and they'll be fine.
Elsewhere in the AFC East, the Jets are signing Alan Lazar.

(01:01:24):
There was much talk about whether or not Aaron Rodgers
asked for this sort of thing to happen if he
wanted some of the same guys around him. We know
Garrett Wilson's going to be fine, He's not going anywhere.
But there's some other guys there, Elijah Moore, Corey Davis,
who ends up being the odd man out because not
all these guys can prosper, not all these guys can

(01:01:45):
even stay in New York. Who ends up losing here.
I think Corey Davis will end up being either included
in the trade or a cap casualty, because I know
they can get away from a lot of his salary.
I also wouldn't be surprised if Lajah Moore, who was
sending off some football tweets about like stuff not always
going the way you envisioned it. I wouldn't be surprised

(01:02:06):
if he is included as part of the trade for
Aaron Rodgers something like that. I think two, even if
they're all there, I think the two wide receiver sets
will be Garrett Wilson and Alan Lazard. But really for fantasy,
I'm not very excited about Alan Lazard. It's Garrett Wilson
and maybe if if Elijah Moore was able to see
the field more consistently, I'd be in on him. But

(01:02:28):
Alan Lazard in a year where he was supposed to
be Rogers number one, finished as a wide receiver thirty five,
didn't get eight hundred yards and vanished really or faded
hard when Christian Watson emerged. So I kind of think
it's it's Garrett Wilson or bust. With the Jets receivers.
We know who Alan Lazard is now. I mean, last
year was supposed to be the year. If there was

(01:02:49):
ever a year that he became something greater, it was
going to be last year, and as you said, it
didn't happen. So you know what last year career high
but seven hundred eighty eight yards, six touchdowns, sixty catches.
I mean that's fine, it's not special. I don't think
that's going to get any better, especially as you mentioned,
with Garrett Wilson being the guy who's going to be

(01:03:11):
the lead receiver there in New York. Michael Thomas is
back with the Saints for a one year deal. I
guess the biggest thing is Mike. Can he stay healthy?
I mean, you're not gonna have to spend a lot
in drafts to get him if he stays healthy, though,
Can he start to look like I don't want to
say slant boy, but the guy who was such a

(01:03:32):
fantasy monster earlier in his career. I don't know if
he can look like that guy, but I do think
he can be a really useful fantasy piece. Like, yeah,
he only played three games last year, but he averaged
seventeen fantasy points per game in them. He seems like rejuvenile,
like rejuvenated a little bit by this Derek car signing.
Apparently that's the quarterback that he wanted to play with,

(01:03:53):
which makes me wonder why so many high end receivers
want Derek carrs their quarterback. But I think with Chris
olav taking so much defensive attention away there that Michael
Thomas is going to be useful when he's on the field.
And that's the thing. Last season in drafts, he was
going in like the mid thirties at wide receiver. Right now,

(01:04:15):
in early best ball, he's fifty one fifty first off
the board. I'm probably gonna say he goes somewhere in
the middle of that, somewhere in the forties. But at
that point you're talking about him being like your first
bench receiver. That to me seems like an upside shot
worth taking. That's the thing, is that, right now, what
the asking price is for Michael Thomas, why not take

(01:04:36):
the shot on it, just because if he comes back
to any sort of form, right if he can take
what he did at the start of last season and
stretch that out over not even seventeen games, let's say
he does that over thirteen or fourteen games, I think
it's well worth the asking price there. So we'll see
what Michael Thomas can be for the Saints. I think

(01:04:56):
it's a very low risk move. I think for fantasy
there's not a whole lot of risks. Maybe a lot
more upside involved depending on what he has left in
the tank. As I was talking, I was like, he
could be this year's Tyler Lockett potentially. Hmm. Interesting. Yeah, man,
if he could be Tyler Lockett, that'd be amazing. I'd
take that all day. Black. It was a guy that
I drafted a lot last year because as much as

(01:05:18):
we were worried about him, I was also like, hey, man,
he's still a good player, and he would keep falling
in my lap in like the eighth or ninth round.
I'm like, all right, I'll take him, and it turned
out that can free them. Happening with Thomas, It's different
circumstances health versus you know, quarterback concern and stuff, but
like when they're out there on the field, we know
that they can outlive that that price. Yeah, no, absolutely,

(01:05:38):
So I'm curious to see how how long this ADP
last and what the future is. Let's get to some
tight ends, because there has been some tight end news,
the biggest one being the Raiders trade away Darren Waller.
This to me might be the biggest surprise in this
whole free agency period. I didn't see this coming at all.
I thought it was weird that they signed Jacobe Myers

(01:06:00):
and I was like, how is he gonna get targets
with Waller there, and Hunter renfro there and obviously DeVante Adams,
and then all of a sudden, the Raiders trade away
Darren Waller to the New York Giants. You know, there
was talk that maybe there were some personality clashes between
Waller and Josh McDaniels, and maybe Darren Waller was sort
of frustrated with the way things went. Either way, he

(01:06:22):
is out of Las Vegas, which opens up some targets
for Myers. Also, yeah, it's right, that's right. Ryan Dennis
mentions it's Foster Morrow season, the Island of Foster morew
now might have a few more visits. But maybe more importantly,
Waller walks into New York as the number one target.
He feels like the guy that Daniel Jones is going

(01:06:43):
to live and die with. So knowing we've got you know,
Travis Kelsey at the top, followed by some combination of
you know, Mark Andrews, what George Kittle, you know, all
these top level tight ends, where would you consider drafting
Waller in the higher key of the tight end position.
I think he's back to being top five, And maybe

(01:07:05):
that sounds a little a little bullish. I've always been
a big Darren Waller guy. I think he is a
very special talent at the tight end position. But last year,
on a per route basis, he was still like with
the best at the tight end position. On a per
game basis, he was still top ten in Fantasy points,
but his usage dropped dramatically and instead of giving him

(01:07:26):
a bunch of targets, they started using him downfield a
bit more. I think he's gonna get shorter, safer targets
with the Giants, which are gonna lead to more catches,
and he could easily be one hundred and twenty target
guy if he could play the full season. I think
not many tight ends could say that. So yeah, I
think you know right now, Kelsey's obviously one, Mark Andrews,
you could put t J. Hockenson in there. That's three.

(01:07:49):
Then I think, like I would put Waller right there
with Kyle Pitts is my top five, and then you
have like Kittle, Goddard, Evan Ingram, David and Joe who
as the fallback guys. But for me, I'm comfortable putting
Waller in the top five. Yeah. I was gonna ask
would you go Ivan Ingram or Darren Waller, and you
pretty much just answered that one right there. Um, yeah,
I think Kelsey, Andrews, Hawkinson, Kittle certainly the top four.

(01:08:14):
I think you can go pits, you know, and then
I think, you know, Goddard Waller, I think is where
you start to kind of debate, you know, where where
you're going there. But I think I think there's a
big year coming for Darren Waller. Just because the Giants
have invested heavily in Daniel Jones, they got to put
some people around him, and this seems to be the
first piece in terms of trying to make that pass
catching group better, because certainly everybody knows the Giants need

(01:08:36):
help when it comes to pass catchers. The Patriots, you
mentioned that briefly, they do go to get Juju Smith Schuster.
They also add a tight end, signing Mike Gasicki. Gasicky
obviously didn't fit Mike in Miami. Mike McDaniel wanted him
to be more of a blocker. That was not his strength.
They also kind of had been using him previously as

(01:08:58):
kind of a big slot receiver, but you don't really
need that as much when you've got tyreek Hill and
Jalen Wattle doing the things that they do. So it
just sort of made sense that he was not going
to be in Miami much longer. How much of a
fit is he in New England? How much more viable
is he has a fantasy tight end in New England.
I really like this signing by the Patriots. They just

(01:09:19):
had a bunch of slot time open up by losing
Jacoby Meyers, so you could put him there. Bill Belichick
has a history of using tight ends all over the field,
and that and that, like Gasecki really isn't a tight end.
He's more of like a hybrid receiver tight end type
of a player. But now I think he's going to
go to a spot where there are targets for grabs

(01:09:40):
and their slot usage up for grabs. I think he's
still like a very fringe tight end one or early
tight end two. But after you get by like the
top ten, that's pretty much everyone at the tight end position.
This is clearly a good thing for his fantasy value.
I would say absolutely a good thing for his fantasy value.
He can go back to being more of that pass
catcher that he was earlier his career. It's just not

(01:10:01):
something that was going to happen for him in Miami.
So you know, the Patriots have been sort of struggling
to find a tight end since Gronk left. They went
out and drafted a couple of guys who flamed out.
Then they went and signed the combination of John H.
Smith and Hunter Henry, and those guys never quite lived
up to the expectations I think a lot of us
had for them. And I'm not saying that Gassicki is

(01:10:24):
going to come in here and be some sort of
world beater, but I do think this is a better
fit for both sides than what the Patriots have done
recently and what Gassicki was experiencing this past year down
in Miami. The Falcons in a trade, they go get
John WU. Smith from the New England Patriots, and I

(01:10:44):
think everybody across if you could watch Twitter, if Twitter
could make you know, facial expressions or have body language,
everybody on Fantasy Twitter had their shoulders just slump when
they saw a tight end going to Atlanta, because you know,
we had hoped for great things from Kyle Pitts and
Arthur Smith's offense sort of robbed us of that, and

(01:11:05):
then they're getting another tight end to go in that offense.
I don't know about you. I am choosing to put
a positive face on this. I am choosing to think
this means they will line up Smith as a tight
end and then allow Kyle Pitts to work more outside
and see if he can be successful, if he can
win some battles there. I'm trying to be happy about this.

(01:11:27):
I'm trying to be positive about this, Mike. What does
this mean for Kyle Pitts? Though, I hope that you're right.
Like last year, the Falcons did run the second most
I believe, two tight end sets, and Pitts was largely
the receiving one in those packages. The thing, though, is
John hu Smith is a better receiver than whoever the
second tight end was for them at any point of

(01:11:48):
last season. He's also kind of like Kyle Pitts. He's
not the best blocker in the world. He's more of
a better receiving tight end. So I wish with confidence
I could tell you, like, no, he's the second tight end.
They're gonna use Kyle Pitts the right way. But after
the year we just went through with Arthur Smith. This, Uh,
this wasn't the best thing in my opinions, Like just

(01:12:12):
I want them to use him, Like, just make Drake
London and Kyle Pits your top two receivers and everything
would be great. I mean, why wouldn't you. You went
out and spent high picks on guys who are athletic
freaks and can do a lot of things catching the football,
and then you don't use them as such. So right now,
Kyle Pitts coming off the board, ADP about sixty three,

(01:12:35):
So you're looking at what the fifth round, sixth round
something like that. Is that about where you feel comfortable
drafting him right now? Yes, but I'd be lying if
I didn't tell you in March. I wasn't hoping for
a much larger discount after the season we just had
with Kyle Pitts, because come August that ADP is probably

(01:12:58):
gonna get. All he has to do is have like
one big preseason game and then that's going to go
up a full round. So I was hoping that it
would start in the sixth seventh round his ADP. So
I feel like it's we've gotten a little bit of
a discount. I feel like it started this offseason and
he was somewhere late fourth, maybe early fifth. Now we've
sort of dropped that down to late fifth, early sixth,

(01:13:20):
so it has sort of taken a hint. I'm curious
to keep an eye on it and see if maybe
it drops a little bit more and seeing what kind
of value we can get on Kyle Pitts. You're right, though,
I really thought after last year we would be talking
about him in like the seventh or eighth round. But
I think people still believe in the talent, and I
think we're all hoping that Arthur Smith sees that and
decides to scheme up a new way to use him.

(01:13:42):
But man, adding a tight end just does not make
me excited at all about the future. Last couple, Carolina,
they do go and get another pass catcher. They signed
Hayden Hurst, who had a decent year with the Cincinnati Bengals.
And hayden Hurst is a guy that I always liked.
He was stuck behind a lot of good tight ends
in Baltimore for years, as I mentioned, had a decent

(01:14:03):
year in Cincinnati. Carolina needs pass catchers. Do you like
this move? And you know I'm not gonna say hayden
Hurst is a tight end one, but in terms of
like being maybe a solid tight end two, do you
like the move. I think this is a really good
signing for real life purposes for the Panthers because, like
you said, I do agree. I think Hayden Harris is

(01:14:23):
a good talent. He could be useful after the catch,
and now he's gonna give whichever rookie quarterback they draft
a safety blanket over the middle of the field. We
always hear that a rookie's best friend is there tight
end for fantasy. I do agree. I think tight end two,
and he'll be like any tight end two. He'll have
some good weeks in some bad weeks, and at the

(01:14:44):
end of the year you'll be like, all right, yeah,
Hayden Hurst was a pretty good tight end. He had
that fun stretch in like November or something like that.
I think that'll kind of be Hayden Hurst with the
Panthers this year. Yeah, I think that that's about right.
The thing of being a tight end two in fantasy
means that someone you'd be a top five tight end
in other weeks you might finish his like the tight

(01:15:04):
end you thirty. So it's somehow it'll sort of even
itself out and you'll end the year is like you know,
tight end seventeen or something like that. Who knows a
couple other semi notable moves at the tight end position.
Robert Tonyan signs with the Bears. Hunter Long was actually
part of the Jalen Ramsey trade the rate the trade
that send Ramsey to the Miami Dolphins. Hunter Long comes

(01:15:26):
back the other way. Either of those do anything for
you fantasy wise. I think Tonyon takes a little bit
of shine off of Cole Commet. My hope is that
they use Tongyan more as the blocker and allow more
routes and stuff for Cole Commet. I'm still fun taking
him as like a low end tight end one, which
is kind of where you're getting him right now. But

(01:15:47):
seeing that, I was like, I would rather them not
sign another tight end. I kind of wanted to see
Hunter Long stay in Miami, assuming I believe that Mike
Kasiki wasn't going to be there. I wanted to see
Long stay in Miami and really get an opportunity to play.
People have made something of the fact that he has
I believe, one career catch in the NFL, but people

(01:16:09):
like his talent and I wanted to see that kind
of shine. But you know, I don't know how much
that happens in Los Angeles. The ramps have so many issues.
Maybe he doesn't get a chance to play. I would
have liked it to be somewhere else. Who sees who knows?
That's enough? Right, We've done enough today, haven't we. I'd
be remiss if I didn't say, could Darius Tony wide

(01:16:32):
receiver one of the Kansas City Chiefs? All right, we
got it in, we got it. Which, by the way,
the draft pick that the Giants traded to get Darren
Waller was the Darius Tony pick. It was. It's pick
number one hundred. That's what they got for trading Tony
to the Kansas City Chiefs. And now that pick goes
to the Las Vegas writers. So Couldarius Tony finds his

(01:16:54):
way into the show one way or another. That's it.
We will obviously have more new as it comes when
we're back with you next week. We'll be back with
you on our normal day on Wednesday. We wanted to
take an opportunity to sort of let a lot of
the news breathe on top of it. We also, you know,
had scheduling issues because I was doing some digital shows. Mike,

(01:17:15):
you were on the network. So in terms of getting
everybody together at the same time and letting some news happen.
We ended up on Friday, but next week we're back
on Wednesday, and we can get back to Florio's film
festival next week Face Off. It's been in the chamber
for a couple of weeks now, but with so much
going on, we couldn't get to it. But we'll get
back to that next week. I will get Florio's take

(01:17:37):
on what could be one of the best bad action
movies ever put onto film. I look forward to hearing
your thoughts on it. Look forward to getting back with
all of you next week as well. We appreciate you
hanging out with us for what has been an absolutely
meaty show on this Friday. Hopefully you enjoy your weekend.
I'll do it for this edition of the NFL Fantasy

(01:17:57):
Football Podcast. A happy, safe and health, do good and
live well. Be safe on this Saint Patrick's Day, enjoy
the weekend, enjoy the uncy two way tournament, because there
is life outside of fantasy football, believe it or not,
and we will talk to you all next week. Wow,

(01:18:24):
don't don't

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