Late-Round Perspectives: Michael F. Florio

NFL Fantasy's Michael F. Florio (@MichaelFFlorio) joins JJ to chat about end-of-year breakouts, his favorite buy candidates, roster management, and so much more.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Michael F. Florio is a fantasy and NFL analyst at
the NFL.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Network who also does work for Rotoballer and Sirius XM.
He hosts the Bills Banter podcast with former white Out
Stevie Johnson too.

Speaker 1 (00:10):
He's a Mac millerstand and you better not confuse him
with the other Mike Florio.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
These are his late round perspectives. I do want to
address something that I've always want to ask you, and
I haven't asked you. What's it like to have the
name that you have with the other Mike Florio in

(00:36):
the space.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
It's gotten better over time. When I first started this,
like ten plus years ago, it was all the time
that people thought I was that guy.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
I do know that he gets a lot.

Speaker 3 (00:48):
Of fantasy questions and stuff, so people it goes to
both ways. I've been told that he doesn't love that
I have this name. I didn't pick this name. This
is the one I was born with, and but it's
it's definitely gotten a little bit better. I used to
Cynthia Freeland always used to be like, every tweet send
my way, and then she would Now, the thing that
happens is everyone thinks I'm his son. Despite however, many

(01:10):
times both of us have said, like, there is zero
relation whatsoever.

Speaker 1 (01:14):
That's funny.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
So did you have you like always gone like did
you go by Mike all the time and then you
had like change things up and be more formal because
he was Mike Florio or were you always a Michael
and just a Michael in general?

Speaker 3 (01:25):
No, I've always been Mike or Florio. I'm a picky
like I've always called you.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, I've always just called you Florio because it's just
you know, it's just easier. But like so like I
never actually like discussed that part if you were Mike
or Michael. So you were you were Mike and then
formally though, like with your job, you're Michael.

Speaker 3 (01:43):
Yeah. So they were like, hey, you gotta you gotta
differentiate a little bit. So I went Michael. I threw
the like I go by Michael F. Florio R nfl
and stuff. So like I tried to different like Michael B. Jordan.
You know, I tried to differentiate a bit. They were like,
you want to make up a name, go by your
middle name, and I was like, nah, that's not me.
But uh yeah, growing up too, I was always be

(02:05):
cause like nineties kid, you're around the same, right, Yeah. Yeah,
and uh Michael Jordan Michael Jackson era, like everyone was
named Mike or Mike. Everyone I was always called Florio.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
Yeah, I mean to be fair though, like like Michael
Florio is not like that's not a name that you
would figure would just be out there both in the
foot not not just like the sports world, but the
football world, Like at least like Jordan is a name
that you hear, you know, last name that you hear
you know pretty frequently, or like if your name was
like Michael Smith or something, then like obviously you know
you would you would have another one. But like it's

(02:38):
such a specific name. It's just crazy that you guys
both have the same name. So I had to at
least ask you that question.

Speaker 3 (02:43):
To one topic. Fun story is like back when I
was on Facebook, I'm not anymore, but like years ago,
I got invited one time to a Mike Florio group
where everyone in it was named Mike Florio and I
immediately left because I was like, I don't know who
is who in this? It was like three hundred people.
I didn't think there was that many of us out there.
That's incredible that's incredible. But I'm sure though, now when

(03:05):
you when you get googled, You're You're one of the
two results that would pop up as the most famous
Michael Florio. That's the good and bad part about having
the last name zachar Reason is that, like I'm easily findable,
which is both good and bad. Right, Like it's good
just from like the standpoint of people being able to
get my content and all that kind of stuff. It's
horrible from the standpoint of, like, if you want to

(03:26):
see anything that I've ever done on the Internet, you
can basically find it because my last name is so uncommon.
I've never met another Zachar Reason in my life. Yes, yeah,
you're You're You're the only one.

Speaker 2 (03:36):
There was a there was a basket I'm not related
to her, but there was a basketball player for Baylor
back in like the Britney Grimer area or era like
the back in like I guess she's probably around our age, honestly,
but her name was Whitney Zacharyason.

Speaker 1 (03:50):
And I don't even know. I tried first because this
is back.

Speaker 2 (03:53):
When I was like twenty years old, right when I
figured out that this was a person, and I would
try to like find like feeds of their games for
when they were announcing because she was a starter, and
when they were announcing the team, because I wanted to
see if she pronounced it Zachariason or zachar Reeson because
we obviously, you know, I go by zachar Reeson, but
others will might go by like Zacharyason or something like that.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
So I was just I was scure, but I never
found the answer to it.

Speaker 2 (04:19):
Ah, I know.

Speaker 3 (04:21):
There is a non zero chance maybe right that like
relate because it, yeah, I'm a name, so like maybe
somewhere along the line, maybe there a cousin or something. Maybe.

Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, I gotta, I gotta dig into it more. But yeah, man,
I'm super pumped to have you on. I also realized
too that this show is part of the NFL podcast
network now with the iHeart deal and partnership that we
have going on. So you and I are like pseudo
pseudo connected from that perspective too, which is fun.

Speaker 3 (04:47):
Yeah, which means you're gonna have to come on our
pod now too. I'm down.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
You know I'm down. You know I'm always down to
do that.

Speaker 2 (04:53):
But yeah, man, I'm excited to have you on I
want people to kind of get to know you a
little bit too. So the question I always ask with
the folks that are hopping on is like, how the
heck did you get into this stuff? I know you
have a different but you were doing other sports too,
like you did baseball and whatnot, right, So what's that
journey been like for you to get to where you
are now?

Speaker 3 (05:11):
So I started playing fantasy in high school. I actually
the first fantasy game I ever played. Well, I played
a year of football and then I got a little
bit heavier into baseball. After that, I knew I wanted
to work in sports, but I knew it was a
very hard field and I loved fantasy, was passionate about it,
so I was like, this could be an avenue into
working with sports, and from there I started interning. I

(05:35):
started my own website in college, and then from that
started me and Frank Stanfel actually remember works at CBS
Sports now. We started our own website in college, and
then we both started interning, actually at the same time,
at Rodo Experts that became the Fantasy Sports Network. I
became a producer there and I had never produced before,
but they were like, hey, you get to talk on

(05:56):
air sometimes and stuff, and then they gave us a
Monday night show like I would get in at six am.
The show was at eight pm. But I was just like,
I got to make it work somehow, right, And then
that became a daily afternoon show, and then I was
freelancing on a lot of spots then as well, like
Fan Duel, the NY Daily News, a whole bunch of

(06:17):
the Athletic, a lot like any publication that I could.
And then from that I realized like this wasn't going
to be my full time gig at where I was,
so I took a chance applied for a job as
a researcher at the NFL network. Got it. Didn't even
realize it was in LA when I applied, So I
moved across the country did that role for a year.

(06:37):
The second year there shout out to grand Barfield, who
I believe is a big friend of this show. He
helped me do more and more work, writing articles, doing
video stuff with the NFL, and then timing right like
the NFL people, they had openings on Fantasy Live after
some people left, and then COVID hit, so it was
like a big thing and they were just like Hey,

(06:58):
you want to take one day a week on the show,
And I was like yes, and then from that it's
so I that's like the kind of short and quick
version of it. But yeah, it was. It was a
I'm like fifteen years into this now. It's been a
long journey, but definitely one that I think is very
rewarding as well.

Speaker 2 (07:16):
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, look, there's been a lot of
people that you know, obviously harmon at NFL, and like
you said, I sometimes forget that Graham was there.

Speaker 1 (07:24):
To be honest with you, it wasn't even like it
was like super short.

Speaker 2 (07:27):
I just it doesn't always just I'm obviously now associating
him with Fantasy Points as much as I am. And
like Graham though back in the day, started under me
a number fire whenever he kicked things off, so like
and then you would like our our paths crossed at
times too, when you were at Fantasy at the at
the network and then like with FanDuel and all that
kind of stuff.

Speaker 3 (07:45):
I believe you were at FanDuel when I was freelanceed
in there.

Speaker 2 (07:48):
Yeah. Yeah, so that's cool. It's a it's always fun
to just kind of hear how things worked out. For folks,
and I think it's like, you know, for people who
are listening, the handful that might be interested in like
doing this a little more, like it's inspiring to to
just see how like you know, it takes a little
bit of time. You know, there's a little bit of
a grind there, but eventually you get there and now
you get to do shows with Marcus Grant all the time,

(08:10):
and it's yeah.

Speaker 3 (08:12):
I'm extremely lucky. I love like waking up every day
and going to work and stuff. And to your point,
like it is a grind for some, like my path
was very long, but then there's other people who like
make it like that so good at it. Yeah, yeah,
like you can. There's no there's no one set way,
as you know, but like, yeah, I always encourage people

(08:32):
if you're interested in this, like just throw your hat
in the ring. You never know what'll come from it.

Speaker 2 (08:36):
Yeah, I mean, just start like creating content and like
just start doing stuff and just see what sticks and
what doesn't and kind of go from there. All right,
let's talk a little fantasy football. We're now into week eleven.
Things are are shifting a little bit in terms of
you know, people think about playoffs a little bit more.
I think that you look at your teams, you know,
I look at some and I'm like, yeah, I'll be
a playoff team, and some I'm like, yeah, probably not

(08:58):
gonna make the playoffs and that. But how does your
like mindset shift in the way that you're managing some
of these teams as you get closer to the playoffs?
Like what are how are you transacting differently and look
at the waiver wire differently and all that kind of stuff.

Speaker 3 (09:12):
Tend to I'm not fully in that mode yet because
there's still a couple of players that I'm like, this
guy has so much upside, like Luther Burden or something
like that. But I do tend to take in my
starting lineup, especially once it's like playoff time, or if
you have a team where you're like I need to
win like three of the next four to get in,
I take less chances starting wise, like early in the year,

(09:35):
I might like, like Khalil Shakier is a good example,
right like early in the year, I do not play
him on many of my teams because he's a safe
like eleven, twelve, thirteen points. But I'll roll the dice
on the guy who I think could get me twenty
tony plus if that hits. But in the playoffs, I'm like,
Khalis Shakir, come on down, man, because that safe floor

(09:56):
is if you have a good team. If you're in
the playoffs, first of all, you probably have a good team,
so you should have a good core every week and
adding a floor play like like someone like Shakir because
you're your star players obviously have a high ceiling. So
having that secure floor I think matters a lot more.
And one way on waivers, Like I'm in a league

(10:16):
that I share actually with the Frank Stanful and Greg Sussman,
and we're we were texting this afternoon. Our only quarterback
is Caleb. We're putting in bids on Joe Burrow, but
I was like, we should also pick up rock Perty
as a third quarterback because what you can't make transactions
in this league in the playoffs, And I'm like, what
if the Bengals decide to shut down Joe Burrow, then

(10:39):
we're there with just Caleb, who has a tough schedule
in the playoffs. So I'm already thinking ahead this time
of year too, because like we're the number two seed
in that league, so it very much still depends on
your situation. But we're gonna make the playoffs, so I'm
already thinking about like how can I shape my team
best for that three week run, because that's all that
matters once you're in there.

Speaker 1 (11:01):
Yeah, are you also thinking like, like if you're a
good team right now?

Speaker 2 (11:04):
Like, for instance, I had an auction team where I'm
crushing right now, I'm in first place. I have CMC
and Jon Robinson both on the team because it was
an auction, right and so the team's doing really well,
and I'm thinking, Okay, I'm gonna probably gonna buy just
the way that things are set up right now, and
I do want to have some safety now, Unfortunately, I'd
have to trade for a Tyler Algear or a Brian

(11:24):
Robinson to get that safety.

Speaker 1 (11:26):
But is that something that you're doing, Like are you trading?

Speaker 3 (11:29):
Are you?

Speaker 2 (11:29):
I guess my question would be, are you willing to
lose some trades in order to.

Speaker 1 (11:34):
Get that safety?

Speaker 2 (11:35):
So sacrifice some of the ups, like you know, maybe
get like a wide receiver three type or four type
that's just kind of sitting on your bench you're not
starting anyway, to get a backup running back. That would
then secure make you feel better because obviously, if CMC
goes down, Brian Robinson isn't going to see a twenty
percent target chair.

Speaker 3 (11:51):
It's just not his game.

Speaker 2 (11:52):
But there's obviously plenty of upside still with a guy
like Brian Robinson in that kind of scenario. So are
you willing to cause I get this question a lot.
Are you willing to sacrifice and lose a trade if
you will in order to get that insurance?

Speaker 3 (12:06):
Yes, And I don't view it as losing a trade
because look, I'm not gonna give up a weekly starter
for a handcuff back. But like you said, you're giving
up like a wide receiver three or four, maybe someone
with a little bit more upside. But the thing is right,
like Bijon and CMC, their buys are behind them, so
you're playing them every single week, and if they go down,

(12:28):
you would play Tyler Alsier or Brian robertson Blake Korum. Like,
there's a lot of running handcuffs out there that I
would I want on my team right now because you
would play that player over that wide receiver three or four. Anyways,
So yeah, this is the time of year. I often
in the beginning of the year, say like, you don't
want handcuffs on it. And I know this isn't just

(12:49):
me wh says this's like a lot of us say it,
but like you don't want handcuffs because you want your
bench spots to be taking shots upside shots in the
draft and the waiver wire. But then we get to
a point where buys are behind us and you want
your starting lineup. That's what all that matters, right to
be as secure as possible and having that because if

(13:09):
something goes that happens with Bijon, Look, there's no player
is going to be Bijon, but Tyler elsiars going to
be a top twenty, top fifteen, maybe even better some
weeks running backs. So yeah, that is more useful on
your team at this point in the year than an
upside wide receiver or like four or something like that. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (13:27):
No, I like your reaction of like, I don't see
it as losing the trade. I think that's really important.
Like you, you know, people can look at my rest
of season rankings or look at a trade calculator or
some sort or do whatever and be like, oh, I
shouldn't do this trade because now you got to think about,
like how it's affecting your starting lineup. You know, Like
what that's what matters most of the season, is just
optimizing that starting lineup. You know, you can make the

(13:47):
argument that the first like handful of weeks you're trying
to get you know, your your bench all solids that
you have, you know, really good flyers and guys who
have upside that then can take over and.

Speaker 3 (13:56):
Be part of that starting lineup.

Speaker 2 (13:57):
But I would argue that like way early, the most
people think you should be optimizing your starting lineup, you know,
like like week six and seven and into that range,
just because you want to have a team that crushes,
Like second place doesn't matter. First place is usually what
matters most than what we care about in fantasy football.
And so you know, if you're losing a trade, quote
unquote losing a trade, you're losing a trade on paper,

(14:20):
but you're not actually losing that trade for your individual team.
I think it's important, you know, to wrap your head
around with that kind of thing. This time of year,
we see a lot of rookie breakouts too. You know,
I've done a lot of research on how second half
of the season. You know, wide receivers in particular, like
Day three, guys, this is the time where they will
sort of start to give that production for your fantasy squads.

(14:41):
Are there are there any rookies that you're excited about
right now? Could be wide receivers, running backs, tight ends, whatever,
but they could be sitting on the waiver wire, or
they could be Ted A. Roe McMillan, who's definitely not
on the waiver wire. Are there any guys you're just
excited about for rest of season production?

Speaker 3 (14:54):
I would not be doing anything right if I didn't
bring up Trevion, who I bring up on every that
I've done all year. I'm super excited about him. I
tweeted out today that I think like RJ. Harvey him,
like JK. Dobbins, going on IR is the best possible
fantasy outcome here because then it would primarily, in my opinion,

(15:15):
fall on RJ. Harvey, who I think is the more
explosive and better fantasy option anyway because of what he
could do in the passing game. But now if you're
giving him even seventy five percent of the touches that
Dobbins was seeing on top of his already workload, then
that to me, I think RJ. Harvey I know the
schedule is tough, but I do think he has a
league winning upside if Dobbins goes on ir Luther Burden

(15:40):
is another one that I loved as a prospect. It's
back way back in March and February and stuff, and
I thought the Bears would utilize him quicker and better
than they have so far. But we're starting to see
an upticking usage for him. DJ Moore is a little
banged up and hasn't really been super productive, So Luther
Burden is someone that I want on my bench a lot. McMillan,

(16:03):
I think I'm the wrong person to ask there. I
was a little lower.

Speaker 1 (16:07):
Yeah, what are your thoughts of McMillan right now?

Speaker 2 (16:09):
Because it's it's just an interesting situation I think in general,
where he's getting, you know, thirty percent plus target shairs
now for three straight weeks. But like, are you you
know you were about to say, are you Are you
off the talent versus other people?

Speaker 1 (16:22):
Or is it situation based that you're just kind of
nervous about him.

Speaker 3 (16:24):
It's a little of each. I I'm not off the talent.
I think he is. And this is something I was
saying going back to like March and stuff. I think
he gets miscast as like because he's so big, as
like a guy that you could just throw the ball
up for and he's gonna go get it. If that
was the case, he'd have more than two touchdowns right now.
Like I think he is best utilized after the catch.

(16:47):
But even on top of that, so I do think,
like I wasn't the person drafting him this year. I
thought I was more on the Travis Hunter side, and
their ADP was so close that if I was taking
a rookie wide receiver there, it was always Hunter. But
on top of that, like Bryce Young is playing better football,
but it's not like he's lighting it up. And I
know coming into last week at least I haven't checked

(17:08):
the updated numbers yet, but they were bottom three in
pass yards per game. Like it's not his faults, but
they're just not very productive right now in the passing game.
So I get that there's upside there with him. The
usage is what we want, But I'm not the person
that's going to be trying to trade because, like you said,
he's not available anyway unless you trade for him, And

(17:30):
I'm not going to be the one in my leagues
like setting out offers for McMillan.

Speaker 1 (17:35):
Yeah, no, no, I totally get that.

Speaker 2 (17:37):
You know, he was someone that I had a hard
time during the draft process because a lot of people
would talk about his top comp being Drake London, like
that was always like the go to, like, oh yeah,
Tedoroll McMillan is just like a Drake London clone.

Speaker 1 (17:51):
And I couldn't quite get there.

Speaker 2 (17:53):
Like I thought that he was really really good, don't
get me wrong, Like he graded out really well in
the in the Zapp model, and I think he's got
a bright few Sure, there was just something different, Like
Drake London had better you know, age adjusted production in
college and we saw it more immediately with London.

Speaker 3 (18:08):
I think in the.

Speaker 2 (18:10):
NFL, you know, I'm holding out some hope that the
Panthers just hit more negative game scripts than they've been
hitting and all of a sudden they're forced to throw
the ball a little bit more.

Speaker 1 (18:18):
That hasn't worked out so far. Like I thought he'd
have that all year.

Speaker 2 (18:22):
Yeah, I mean, like the problem the problem is that
they're they're pass rate over expected is just like insane.

Speaker 1 (18:26):
You know, it's like minus twelve percent every single week.
So it's like you're not.

Speaker 2 (18:29):
You're just not going to get that volume unfortunately for McMillan,
and he's just kind of stuck in that like wide
receiver three ish territory, you know, where like he can
get by on volume. But like you said, touchdownses haven't
been there. It's a little bit scary because that offense
doesn't have a strong passing attack.

Speaker 3 (18:45):
And Rico turning into prime Derrick Henry hasn't helped him either.

Speaker 1 (18:50):
Yeah, I'm all about that side. I'm all about that.

Speaker 2 (18:54):
Another question I want to ask you, and this is
one that I actually haven't asked a Perspective's guest, and
it's one that I get a lot though for, like
you know, random Q and a's or the mail bag
I do and stuff like that.

Speaker 1 (19:04):
And we're gonna get to RJ.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
Harvey in a second, because I really want to dig
into sort of how you're valuing him rest of season.
When you're setting your lineup, are you, like this is
not related to anything we just talked about, but are
you looking at your opponent's roster while you're setting your lineup?
How much does that matter to you? Like, are you
looking at projected wind probability that all these websites have
now where you log onto sleeper and you're like, oh,

(19:28):
I hope all these leagues are green and not red,
you know all that kind of stuff.

Speaker 1 (19:31):
Like are you looking at that stuff or do you
just not care?

Speaker 3 (19:34):
I don't. I would be lying if I said I
don't look at it, but I don't use it to Like,
I don't think projections on sites matter, but I just
feel better when they're in my side, you know, Like
I don't want to go and be an underdog in
all my leagues, even though I know that has literally
zero control over the outcome. And I look at my

(19:55):
opponent's lineup just so I know when I'm going up
against and stuff. I also really like to look at
what time and days everyone's game is because I'm weird, maybe,
but I always like having guys left because even if
I'm losing, then I feel like I still have a chance.
But yeah, yeah, like it's just more fun that way.
But no, I don't ever like if they have a

(20:17):
certain quarterback. I'm not playing a receiver and hoping it
cancels out. I'm setting what I believe is my optimal
lineup each week, and I'm letting the chips fall.

Speaker 1 (20:26):
Yeah, I kind of feel the same way.

Speaker 2 (20:27):
I mean, maybe there's some instances if it's like a
clear like ninety to ten or eighty to twenty.

Speaker 1 (20:33):
Yeah, yeah, you know what I mean, like where it's
like so extreme.

Speaker 2 (20:36):
But then I'm like, I've had situations you probably have too,
where like you are appear to be a huge underdog
and you win just because this is the way that
there's variance and this is the way the fantasy and
someone gets heard or they just underperform. And the other
thing too, is that people do all you mentioned the
quarterback and wide receiver thing.

Speaker 1 (20:53):
People always ask that in particular.

Speaker 2 (20:55):
They're like, Okay, I'm a let's say favorite in this
and they have Jordan Love and I have I could
I could play Romeo Dobbs or some equivalent of Romeo Dobs.
Should I just play Romeo Dobbs because they have Jordan
Love And if Jordan Love goes off, and that means
that means Romeo Dobbs has a good chance to be
going off too.

Speaker 1 (21:13):
And the other like my counter to that would be, well,
what if it's Christian.

Speaker 3 (21:17):
Watson that goes off?

Speaker 2 (21:18):
Yeah, you know, like it doesn't even necessarily help you
in that situation because it could not it could still
not be Romeo Dobbs. Now obviously, like there's gonna be
a higher correlation with like Jamar Chase and Joe Flacco
or you know, Jack Smith and Jigbo of course versus
like Sam Donald. So like I get that, but you're
not questioning benching JSN or something. I guess you could
start maybe maybe not start Sam Donald if they have

(21:39):
JSN or vice versa. But I just think that kind
of stuff is overthinking and you start to become suboptimal.

Speaker 1 (21:44):
When you when you start to do that, you know,
like just make stupid choices.

Speaker 3 (21:47):
The one thing to your point where it's like ninety ten,
eighty twenty. Like if I run into like say like
week seven Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase Stack and now
I suddenly down sixty points, I might then take if
I have a play, I might switch that up because
but that's the only time I really let it impact
my line up.

Speaker 2 (22:05):
Yeah, and usually in those situations, I don't know about you,
but I feel like they're coin flip ish anyway, kind
of situations where like I had the other guy in,
but I'm like, okay, I'll take like the forty five percent.
You know, if it's fifty five versus forty five, I'll
take the forty five just because I think he has
a higher ceiling.

Speaker 1 (22:18):
And then oftentimes too like we're wrong about floor.

Speaker 2 (22:22):
Ceiling projections anyway, and then we're just we just get
it wrong anyway, you know, Like I think it just
comes down to just being optimal. But it came to
my head for whatever reason, and putting the show sheet
together this week, I'm like, I kind of want to
ask about this and talk about this because it's it's
a question that like pops.

Speaker 1 (22:36):
Up pretty frequently. But I do want to talk about RJ.

Speaker 3 (22:38):
Harvey.

Speaker 1 (22:39):
So it sounds like this JK.

Speaker 2 (22:40):
Dobbins injury, Like if you think about it, if he
gets put on IR is he kind of is he droppable?

Speaker 3 (22:46):
Basically?

Speaker 2 (22:47):
In fan I mean you think about it, like four
weeks you got are you really gonna play him right away?
And even if he's back, even if he has a
decent game that first week back, like are you gonna
play him again in the Champion?

Speaker 3 (23:00):
You know, like there's still coming up too, so like yeah,
five weeks.

Speaker 2 (23:04):
Yeah, right, exactly right, So you're talking, I mean if
he does go on at the time of this recording,
we have no idea, but he hasn't yet. But yeah, so,
like I think that's an interesting game theory thing to
think about. But it does seem like this is a
semi serious injury, Like it's not just like a one
week thing.

Speaker 1 (23:20):
So let's talk about r J. Harvey.

Speaker 2 (23:22):
You mentioned sort of like how you view him in general.
I mean, are you seeing you know, Julil McLaughlin and
Tyler Badet being involved still in this offense or do
you think, like, like what kind of like backfield share
do you think RJ.

Speaker 1 (23:35):
Harvey might have without JK.

Speaker 3 (23:36):
Dobbins there. If it was up to me, it would
be like seventy percent. But I can't rule out the
other guys being more utilized because Sean Payton does not
care about fantasy in the slightest. Like we joke all
the time on the NFL pod, just like because we
all loved r J. Harvey coming into the year. But

(23:57):
me and Marcus were telling laqual like I just don't
trust Sean Payton, but I will like RJ. Harvey For
me as a prospect, was one of my top five
running backs in this class, like I liked him more
than like consensus like Caleb Johnson and stuff like that.
And I just think he's explosive. He's a really good
pass catcher. No, we've seen that at the NFL level now,
And to your point, like this is the time of

(24:18):
year where you start to feed your rookie a little
bit more. It it almost feels like kind of a
perfect storm for RJ. Harvey, But you always like, I
can't one hundred percent say that with confidence because Sean
Payton is his head coaching of course.

Speaker 1 (24:31):
Of course. Okay, so we're gonna go r J.

Speaker 2 (24:33):
Harvey versus some guy, and we'll go in order, and
I want to see who you would rather have rest
of season. Knowing that, like, let's just assume that Dobbins,
you know, we are assuming that Dobbins is out for
like some decent amount of time.

Speaker 1 (24:45):
Yeah, so let's say RJ. Harvey versus Alvin Kamara.

Speaker 3 (24:50):
It's r J. Harvey and it's I'm I want no
part of Alvin Kamara.

Speaker 2 (24:54):
Yeah, do you think do you like, I know he
had a better game last week, but do you think
he's in.

Speaker 1 (24:58):
Like a ten team league, drop a twelve team league?

Speaker 3 (25:00):
Do you think he's droppable. So one issue with me
as a fantasy player is I have a hard time
dropping someone like Alvin Kamara just because of like who
he is and and I could the volume like it's
easy for me to be like, well, if I'm in
a pinch, I could use him. So I don't know
if I would drop him, but I was fading him
this year. I don't have him on any team. The

(25:22):
one thing I will say I regret is earlier this week,
I'm playing in one league where I'm fighting for a
playoff spot. I'm playing the team that I'm fighting for,
and he sent me Kamara for Dobbins and I declined it.
This was before the rumor that he might go on
IR and now kicking myself a little bit, but at
the time I was like, I, I that's how little
I want Camara, Like I just I think his best

(25:44):
is behind him.

Speaker 2 (25:45):
Yeah yeah, I mean I had I had Jim Coventry
on last week and he was like quick to just
be like, yeah, I'm dropping him.

Speaker 1 (25:51):
Which I get, Like, I understand the logic.

Speaker 2 (25:53):
I mean, I wasn't quite as like strong, but I
think in at least ten team leagues he's droppable, but
in you know, in like twelve teams and competit leagues,
it's gonna be a little bit more difficult, all right.

Speaker 3 (26:02):
RJ.

Speaker 1 (26:02):
Harvey versus David Montgomery.

Speaker 3 (26:05):
I'm gonna take the shot on RJ. Harvey here because
Monty is all floor. Gibbs is getting so much work
and stuff like, Manty has a lot of single point
performances this year. So I would take the upside shot
on Harvey.

Speaker 1 (26:19):
How about this one's really interesting? How about R J.
Harvey or Amari and Hampton.

Speaker 3 (26:24):
I know maybe it's a mistake to take the hurt player,
but I'm gonna go with Hampton because if and when
it sounds like he's gonna be back week thirteen, which
gives us two weeks to kind of see what he
can be before the Fantasy playoffs. I just think as
much as I like Harvey and say his upside is
very high, I do think Hampton's is higher.

Speaker 1 (26:42):
Yeah, Like, do you think so?

Speaker 2 (26:44):
In my opinion, if Hampton wouldn't have gotten hurt, we
would have seen probably.

Speaker 1 (26:48):
Low end RB one production from him this year, I think.

Speaker 2 (26:51):
And so do you think we get back to that
point or is it more like high end RB two
because Camani Miidel has at least shown something that he
should get some work in that backfield. If it comes
down to how Hampton looks after the injury, if he
looks like he did pre injury, I think the Chargers
kind of let him run wild and then like Bedell
is like the change of pace back, he'll have a role,

(27:12):
but I think it'll be large enough for Hampton where
he could still maybe I would probably value him as
an RB two, but he could finish as an RB
one any week.

Speaker 1 (27:20):
Yeah, it's nice too that.

Speaker 2 (27:22):
I mean, I know they have the offensive line issues,
but it's nice that you have a good offense.

Speaker 1 (27:26):
They're competitive right now.

Speaker 2 (27:27):
They're trying to make the playoffs, like they will force
it a little bit more versus like a team like
the Jets with Garrett Wilson, where you're like, how much
are they going to really Like he's got to be
one hundred hundred percent probably to get back on the
field because why would they risk that otherwise?

Speaker 3 (27:42):
You know, which is also my concerned I know, a
completely different player and stuff, but with Joe Burrow, like
that is my conser true. Yeah, Like the Bengals have
like a very low percent chance right now, like even today,
to make the playoffs, and so like they have to
win these games before Burrow would hypothetically come, and some
of these matchups aren't easy for them either. And my

(28:03):
thing is, like, I know it sounds crazy and it's
a small sample size, but Joe Flacco's played as well
as Joe Burrow could have in these last months, and
they lost to the Jets. Win the game, they scored
thirty eight points, Like, yeah, it's it's on it's on
the defense, but yeah, they lose. I'm very afraid of
Joe Burrow just not getting activated.

Speaker 2 (28:22):
I'm not gonna lie when I saw the report because
I think it kind of shocked everybody the report this
week that he was back in practicing and stuff and
they opened the window.

Speaker 1 (28:30):
I'm not gonna lie.

Speaker 2 (28:31):
This is not a take you guys when I say this,
but I literally, like in my brain, one of my
first thoughts was, Oh, he's trying to get back on.

Speaker 1 (28:38):
The field to prove that he's better than Joe Flacco.

Speaker 2 (28:41):
Like like Flacco's playing out of his mind right now
within this offense, within the system, and everyone's like, well,
why why would we I mean there's been rumors out
there about them like shipping Burrow off, which I don't
think is I don't think there's legs to that, but
like this idea that they have the infrastructure, with the
wideouts that they have, in the pass catchers that they have,
that they can PLoP in a forty year old quarterback

(29:02):
who can just be the deliverer, you know, and not
be like special talent wise, but like I'm not just on.

Speaker 1 (29:09):
A real take, like Joe Burrow's awesome, Like he's so
he's great. Ridiculous to actually like have that thought.

Speaker 2 (29:14):
That's why I'm bringing up because it was just so
insane for me to just like even have that thought
cross my mind when he came back when that report dropped.

Speaker 3 (29:22):
But you know, we'll see we were doing the show
when it came out, and I was like, like, off
the cuff, I was like, what could he do this
last month that Joe Flecco hasn't done, Like obviously he's
the better player long term and everything. Of course, of course,
but they're they're probably they maybe they have what another
winn or two, but like, I don't think they're a
top seed if Joe Burrow's there, right now like that
defense is just too bad.

Speaker 2 (29:43):
Yeah, no, I agree, I totally agree. All right, let's
go to Trey Benson versus R J.

Speaker 3 (29:48):
Harvey.

Speaker 2 (29:48):
Benson being another one of those guys that I mean,
there was some hope that he could be back this
week maybe, but as of right now, they haven't opened
that practice window.

Speaker 3 (29:57):
Yeah, I'm going I'm going with RJ. Harvey there because
this is two backfields where we're not one hundred percent
certain on the usage even when Benson returns. I like
the Broncos offense more, and I just like RJ. Harvey more.

Speaker 2 (30:10):
How about Aaron Jones, who's been getting like bellcow like
legit belcow usage the last couple of weeks.

Speaker 3 (30:16):
This one is close. I still sort of lean towards
Harvey's side, though, just because I think that.

Speaker 1 (30:22):
I just feel a little safer with him.

Speaker 3 (30:24):
With Aaron Jones, it feels like every week because he's
he's what, he's over. He's thirty one years old now,
a lot of wear and tear, a lot of injuries
in his career, So like every time he goes out there,
I'm always holding my breath a little bit with him.

Speaker 2 (30:37):
Yeah, and that offense is struggling a little bit, you know.
I I'm you know, hopefully they get it together this
week in Chicago. They got a good implied team, total
good environment there. But we'll see what he marks. So
two rookies here, what he Mark's coming off that big
usage game last week?

Speaker 3 (30:51):
This is very close. I really like what he marks.
I wrote him up as like a start this week
and stuff. But if I would go with RJ. Harvey,
if Dobbins is on IR, just because the Texans backfield
has been a little bit of chasing our tail this season.
It started in like week three or four where it
looked like Woody Marks was gonna take over, and it's
happened like numerous times this year where every time it

(31:11):
looks like he's a week like last week and it's
like Woody Marks, we could trust him, and then the
next week it kind of goes back to being more
of a split. So I do think we're gonna see
Woody Marks more the rest of the way. But all
things be, if this is only if Dobbins goes on IR,
I would know. If he doesn't, I would go Marx.

Speaker 2 (31:30):
Yeah. I think like my stance with Marx is that
I would take Marx, if we get if we knew
we were getting last week's usage every week, because last
week's usage was Belcou usage. I mean it was amazing, right,
Like seventy four percent running back rush, heare fifty five
percent routeshare just getting all this work.

Speaker 1 (31:45):
I just I think this is a really big.

Speaker 2 (31:46):
Week for that backfield, because, like you said, they've kind
of flip flopped and done some weird stuff throughout, Like
the last time they faced Tennessee, it was oddly kind
of like a Woody Marx game, But this sets up
as more of like that Nick Chubb game like we
saw against Baltimore earlier this season.

Speaker 3 (31:59):
And so like.

Speaker 1 (32:00):
I'm sitting here, I'm like, Okay, one game is just
kind of like.

Speaker 2 (32:03):
A blip, like let's let's keep our eye out and
see see what goes on with that backfield. Two games
is more of a trend, like if we see it,
if we see it again this week, then I think
I would probably more confidently say Marx versus Harvey, depending
on how things go down with Harvey this week and stuff.
But yeah, I think, I mean it's definitely a coin
flip to I think I had Harvey literally one spot

(32:24):
ahead of Marx after the the Dobbins news in my
rest of the season rankings. So I'm with you, but
I think it's just so so close. Then the last
guy I want to throw out there is Jalen Warren
versus R. J.

Speaker 3 (32:34):
Harvey. My initial reaction was Jalen Warren, but I do
think it kind of depends on your situation, right, Like,
if you have a team like you were talking about
earlier with CMC and Bijon and and you're one of
the top seeds in your league, then I would rather
Jalen Warren because we know the floor is very safe.
He's been getting Belkaou usage as well as of late.

Speaker 1 (32:55):
But if you're like a fit sixth seed, you're.

Speaker 3 (32:57):
Fighting for your playoff life, I think that's where I
would roll the dice on RJ. Harvey because I think
he has the upside where he could outlive a warrant
and transform your lineup if he gets hot in the playoffs.
So to me, it kind of depends on the rest
of your team.

Speaker 2 (33:12):
Yeah, No, I think that's a good answer because like
with a situation like this with Harvey, like we have
our projection, which is, you know, use some Tyler Bidet
and pass catching situations and passing downs, and then Jelil
McGlothlin will be sprinkled in on early downs. Probably maybe
they go out and they get a bigger bodied guy
somewhere somehow.

Speaker 1 (33:29):
I have no idea.

Speaker 2 (33:30):
I think the Steelers just released Tray Sermon today, so
maybe like a Tray Sermon type player.

Speaker 1 (33:35):
But regardless of all that, like.

Speaker 2 (33:36):
That's the median outcome, but the high end outcome here,
Like you said, like what if they just use RJ.

Speaker 1 (33:43):
Harvey and they just give him a lot of the JK.

Speaker 2 (33:45):
Dobbins work while also being sort of that joker for them,
especially in the red zone, and get some of that
receiving work close to.

Speaker 1 (33:51):
The end zone.

Speaker 2 (33:52):
That could be pretty solid RB two production if things
come together that way. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (33:56):
Yeah, and I think we like we saw him have
a twenty four have point game. I know it was
very touchdown in flat in a game where he had
like eight touches, so like, yeah, I just I also
hate that Aaron Rodgers throws so much near the goal line. Yeah,
it's always frustrated me for fantasy.

Speaker 1 (34:14):
Yeah, yeah, it is, all right.

Speaker 2 (34:17):
Let's talk about that same Denver team Troy Franklin is
if you look at Troy Franklin versus Cortland Sutton and
you think rest of season, are you bold enough to
say that Troy Franklin because of just recent production, that
Troy Franklin, you'd prefer him that he's the wide receiver
one now in Denver? Or are you still like, is
this one of those situations where we sometimes just see

(34:40):
guys run hot.

Speaker 1 (34:41):
It's a little bit of a blip.

Speaker 3 (34:42):
You know.

Speaker 2 (34:43):
You could say the same thing with like Alec Pearson,
what's going on in Indianapolis right now? You know, because
he's seeing pretty comparable volume to Michael Pittman. But Troy
Franklin's seen a lot more volume than than Cortland Sutton
over last month. Like, are you ready to just say
I'd rather have Franklin than like Courtland Sutton rest of season?

Speaker 3 (35:00):
So it's a little bit of a convoluted answer. I
do think right now Troy Franklin is their wide receiver one.

Speaker 1 (35:07):
And I put this out on Twitter a couple.

Speaker 3 (35:08):
Of weeks ago, and people were like, well, that's because
they're only throwing him screens and stuff, and I'm like, well,
good thing.

Speaker 1 (35:14):
His head coach.

Speaker 3 (35:14):
Loves a wide receiver screen more than anyone ever, right,
but he has more targets on the season than him,
He has more air yards, he has twice as many
end zone targets. Those are very valuable looks, and bo
Nix has left a lot of production on the field
when it comes to both of these receivers, but especially Franklin.
But I still do think Courton Sutton is the better

(35:37):
player of the two, and I like, I have a
friend who in my home league has both of them,
and each week he is starting Courtland Sutton, and I
understand his logic because it feels like safer floor, the
upside theoretically should be higher. So while I do think
Franklin usage wise is getting the wide receiver one treatment,

(35:57):
like if you offered me that trade. Maybe it's just
name recognition and past year bias and stuff, but I
still kind of lean towards Courtland Sun. Yeah, it's hard, right,
Like this is this is one of the things that
is just one of the in my opinion, this is
some of the most difficult kind of like situations that
you have to parse through and think about in fantasy
football as like an analyst, because people are gonna come

(36:18):
to you and say who should, Like why do I
not want Troy Franklin rest of season? And sometimes it's
like you just have this like gut vibes based approach
where you're like because.

Speaker 2 (36:28):
It doesn't make that much sense. Like it's not like
Troy frank Franklin's good. I liked him as a prospect.
He had a really good production profile, but then you know,
I questioned his size a little bit like anyone else did,
and how he could do against press and whatnot. And
he's playing a lot better obviously, and he's had a
huge jump from year one to year two. But like,
I don't think Sutton's just gotten bad at the game. Yeah,

(36:48):
Like he's been great. And like when I when watching
from a NYE test perspective, obviously you get this like
roller coaster production with him, but you've kind of always
gotten roller coaster production with Sutton.

Speaker 1 (37:00):
It's not like he's been the super high floor guy.

Speaker 2 (37:02):
I think that part of the like there's like a
perception problem a little bit with Sutton because when Nicks,
when Boenix really started to take off last year, it
was just like Sutton, Sutton, Sutton, Sutton for the final
eight weeks the season and then everyone's like, oh, this
is the way that it's going to be. But I
think it's again one of those situations where like a
guy could have just been running hot, you know, and

(37:23):
we've seen some regression with Knicks at times. He doesn't
always look as comfortable. I don't think that the playbook
is completely open right now for Denver and Sean Payton
and with bow Knicks, and so I don't know.

Speaker 1 (37:35):
I still, I technically still have.

Speaker 2 (37:36):
Courtland Sutton ranked ahead of Troy Franklin rest of season,
but I have them in the same tier. So I
haven't I have I have an out right of saying, like,
if you want to go with Troy Franklin, go with
Troy Franklin. I totally understand, Mike, totally honest answer is
like avoid them both.

Speaker 3 (37:52):
Like I want no outside of the running game. I
want no parts of this Denver offense. It's pretty rough.
It's pretty rough.

Speaker 1 (37:57):
I mean, it's just it had they have not been
putting together.

Speaker 2 (38:01):
And like bo Nicks is one of those players where
you know, you'll look at his fantasy stat lines and
like they look sometimes fine. I mean last week wasn't
that great, But like they sometimes will just look fine
because he's athletic enough and he can get through and
he can find, you know, find.

Speaker 1 (38:14):
The end zone on the ground and whatnot.

Speaker 2 (38:16):
But like the actual performance, you just kind of like,
I don't know if this is something that I really.

Speaker 1 (38:20):
Want to invest in, you know, and feel great about.

Speaker 3 (38:23):
I wasn't. I was not drafting him. I had him
ranked as a QB one, but he was not a
target of mine this year because I couldn't shake the
and it's sometimes vibe based, like you said, I just
couldn't shake this feeling that he played as close to
his ceiling as he could have as a rookie. Like
I thought, if any of the rookie quarterbacks were going
to take a step back this year, it would have

(38:44):
been Nicks. And it was hard because like, there wasn't
a lot in the numbers there. There wasn't a lot
of the numbers to say Drake May was going to
be good. But that's why we watched the game, and
watching it, I was like, yeah, I'd much rather Drake
May than Bonis.

Speaker 2 (38:56):
I personally think when it comes too obviously, I'm gonna
be data driven the way that I approach stuff, But
like I think with with evaluating these players, it's toughest
to do that.

Speaker 1 (39:05):
At quarterback than any other position because there's just so
much at play.

Speaker 2 (39:09):
You know, a lot of it is between the ears
kind of stuff, and like there's just it's it's just
not easy. When I'm talking about when there's like tweeners
or like guys who are like you could go either
way with I'm not talking like, you know, I almost
guarantee you that cam Ward is not going to be
one of those players entering next year where we're like, like,
maybe he surprises and maybe he like is a decent
fantasy asset, but chances are, given what we know right now,

(39:32):
he's probably just gonna be like.

Speaker 1 (39:33):
Where Bryce Young was after Bryce Young's you know, rookie season,
where we're.

Speaker 2 (39:36):
Just like, okay, maybe we see a little bit more,
but we're not going to spend a low end QB
one or high ENDQB two selection on this guy, even
if there is upside with it. With a year two
player Jackson Dart, we obviously will, but you know, a
guy like a guy like you know, cam Ward, it's
just a little bit different. But when you get these
guys who are like in between like a like a Nixon,
a May, and a Caleb. You know, this year it

(39:57):
becomes a lot more difficult, and I do think you
have to rely more on the eye test or what
we're referring to on the show apparently just vibes, right,
how you feel about the dudes.

Speaker 3 (40:06):
We do a segment sometimes on the show called the
no Stats, just Vibes where it's just like it's solely
stuff that we see or whatever, because you can't really
quantify that. Yeah, but that's why I was very enamored
with Drake May because I was like, when things go wrong,
he still he makes the play. Whereas with Bo Nicks,
it was like when things are on structure, I don't

(40:28):
really like when things go perfectly right, Nix is great, Yeah,
but once something goes wrong, Sem Payne, I don't think
trust him at all right now, But yeah I amn't either.

Speaker 1 (40:38):
Yeah, I agree.

Speaker 2 (40:39):
And when it comes to like the quarterback evaluation stuff,
the way that I kind of see it too is that,
like I think, like understanding the situation that these guys
are in from like a pass catcher standpoint, the personnel
they have around them, the offensive line they're playing with,
Like I think A good example of this is, like
I was more bullish. I liked both Drake May and
Caleb Williams from a redrap perspective, but I had Drake
May ranked ahead.

Speaker 1 (40:58):
I had May like nine or something entering the season,
and so like.

Speaker 2 (41:02):
And the reason for that though in liking May over
like a Caleb who I thought Caleb just given the
system and weapons, It's like, sure, I'll.

Speaker 3 (41:09):
Throw that dart. Why would I not throw that dart?

Speaker 2 (41:11):
Yeah, But like with May versus Caleb, and I had
written about this too, he had better numbers than Caleb
did last year, you know, better advanced numbers, the numbers
that we actually care about, not just like completion percentage
on its own, you know. And so like his advanced
numbers looked better. And then I felt like there was
a lot more excuse making going on for Caleb than

(41:31):
there was Drake May. When May had arguably the worst
offensive line between the two, he definitely had worse weapons
between the two, and his coaching staff got gutted too.
You know, It's like he had problems with coaching as well.
Wasn't just Caleb Williams. And so you put all that
context together and you're like well, Drake May, like not
only I tests like looks like a baller or it

(41:53):
could be you know, at least says it upside, but
also like contextually had better marks you know, data and
statistical marks than Caleb Williams did.

Speaker 1 (42:02):
So let's lean into that a little bit and just
see what happens.

Speaker 2 (42:05):
I did not expect I don't think anyone that's like
a Drake May backer, because you know, he was one
of my big like go tos this year, but like
no one as an analyst should sit on a show
and be like, oh I knew he.

Speaker 3 (42:15):
Was gonna be MVP of this year. Yeah, no, I
will I'm not saying that I did. In like last
like February or whatever, I wrote an article and I
was like, I think Drake May is the best buy
you can make right now in Dynasty. Yah. And my
thing was like, if you could go back to rookie year,
Josh Allen, you would trade for him. But it was
so hard of an article to write because I had
to just keep writing, there's not a lot in the

(42:36):
numbers that back this up. Yeah, to watch this play,
watch this play. His situation is going to get much better.
They have a bunch of cap and stuff. But yeah,
it was hard because numbers wise, like people would just
be like looking at his box score and be like
this guy stinks, and like it was hard to change
that perspective when you don't have all like yeah, Kemp.

(42:57):
Paring him to Caleb is one thing, but comparing like
people were just like down on him because of that.
But if you watched him play, in my opinion, it
was pretty evident that he just he has it like
Jackson dart right. Yeah, I've said this a lot about him.
I know the numbers and the fantasy production has been great,
but just watching him play, it is easy to see

(43:18):
that he has whatever that it factor is that I
just to me, when I see that, I'm like, okay,
I'm I'm gonna believe in this.

Speaker 2 (43:28):
As much as we can crap on the fantasy consensus
and like the way that like the hive mind that
goes on and all kinds of stuff that happens with
with groupthink and whatnot, which is true, like it's inevitable
that it's gonna happen. We think that at quarterback in particular,
that the sort of like fantasy football analysts like go

(43:48):
to late round quarterback. Over the last handful of years,
there's always like one. Ever since, like the mobility stuff
has started happening with with quarterbacks, we've gotten these unicorns
in the position where it's like harder to find Later
on quarterbacks, we've kind of like as a consensus, have
nailed who that guy is because I think, like in general,
most people thought it would be Drake may Or, like
that was one of the favorites this year. Right, you

(44:10):
had Jayden Daniels last year. A lot of people were
drafting him high because of his mobility. It's this combination
of like, you know, draft capital, skill set, you know,
mobility and ability to have that high ceiling.

Speaker 1 (44:21):
You know, you're not You're not just a statue in
the pocket.

Speaker 2 (44:23):
And I do think that that's one thing that you know,
if you want to, if you want to, like I said,
crap on the Fantasy space and all the all of
us idiot analysts who are sitting on with a microphone
in front of our face, you know, having these takes.
I do think that the one place that you probably
shouldn't fade is the late round quarterback spot.

Speaker 3 (44:41):
And I look, there's always an Anthony Richardson Mixed in
there to keep us humble where Yeah, I do agree.
I think we quarterback is the I wouldn't. It's funny
because it is the hardest position to project from a
real life standpoint, like figuring out who's going to beget
or not entering the league. But once we have info
on them, I think it is the most straightforward position, right,

(45:01):
And I see.

Speaker 2 (45:02):
Right, like we knew, like we know how to spot
regression and stuff with it. We know where guys are
likely going to underperform. Yeah, like once we get a sample,
it's not as bad. And to be fair with like
the Anthony Richardson thing, people were drafting him at like
QB five, you know, last year, so it was yeah, yeah,
so like like the upside is clearly there, but like
it I do, you know, I think more like in

(45:24):
that QB like ten to fifteen range, there just seems
to be that sweet spot. Starting back to when Lamar
Jackson first broke out, you had Josh Allen, the one
year you had Jalen Hurts, the one year you had
Jayden Daniels. Now you have Drake May and they're always
the consent. If you were in a poll one hundred
fantasy analysts. I'd probably I would imagine that that would
be like their go to in that range, and I

(45:45):
think there's there's at least something to that you can
fade us.

Speaker 3 (45:48):
Everywhere else, but don't fade us there.

Speaker 1 (45:50):
I agree.

Speaker 3 (45:50):
I was in on pretty much all of those guys.
The one, my favorite one at quarterback that I was
in on that wasn't as consenstancy was twenty twenty two
Daniel Jones.

Speaker 1 (46:00):
I know I kind of came out of nowhere, but
I had him on it.

Speaker 2 (46:02):
I'm just like, this guy can run, I'm gonna take
some shit, so no matters sometimes, right, we're just like
is emo. That's the hardest part for me with prospecting court.
I don't even do that much prospecting work with quarterbacks.
Hopefully I do more of this offseason, but like, that's
the hardest part for me, is that, like, we want
a guy in dynasty who has a job for a
long time, right, Like that's the number one that we need.
But then on top of that, we know that there

(46:24):
are mobile, athletic quarterbacks who might not be like justin fields,
who might not be that great as ball throwers, and
they might not be able to sustain and keep a
job forever. But when they are on the field, they're
giving us fantasy production, and so we're trying to like
balance the mobility aspect. And it's so much easier in
redraft because you say, if I miss on this.

Speaker 1 (46:45):
It doesn't matter.

Speaker 3 (46:46):
You know.

Speaker 2 (46:46):
That's why it's if you drafted Kyler Murray this year,
if you drafted even Justin Fields this year, your team
didn't sink, it doesn't matter.

Speaker 3 (46:54):
You know.

Speaker 2 (46:54):
They were late round picks anyway, like later round picks,
so it wasn't that big of a deal. But in
Dynasty there's a different inventor.

Speaker 3 (46:59):
I agreed, but that that's why I had Justin Fields
as my QB six and my redraft rankings, because I
was like, after the top five, I you could argue
and Mahomes running has changed everything, but like I was, like,
those are the only two to me quarterbacks that have
the upside to enter the elite tier. And Fields was
very cheap, so I was drafting him everywhere. And yeah,

(47:20):
I mean I paired him with Dak or Golf or
the may in some places, and like I still have
Fields on some of them. Some of them I cut him,
but like that first month of the season was pretty fun.

Speaker 1 (47:30):
First month was fun. That was a great first month,
all right.

Speaker 2 (47:34):
I gotta I got a question about this Eagles passing
attack we saw.

Speaker 1 (47:38):
It was just I mean that Monday night game was brutal.

Speaker 2 (47:42):
I needed a little bit more production from, you know,
personally from like an AJ Brown or Dallas Goddard that game.
I have a lot of DeVante Smith's so that was good.
But regardless, it's a very tilting offense. You know, right
now the Eagles are twenty fifth and percentage of drives
that end up in scores, that's not good when you
have a decent offensive line.

Speaker 1 (48:01):
Jalen Hurts a quarterback, which say what you want, he's
not a bad quarterback.

Speaker 2 (48:04):
And then you know, you get DeVante Smith, AJ Brown,
Dallas Goddard. What do you make of all of this?
What do you make of the offense in general? Are
you do you think that we're gonna see what we
saw last week more frequently?

Speaker 1 (48:14):
Or are we gonna refer.

Speaker 2 (48:15):
There was a week like Week four to week seven
range this year where they were more pass heavy, where
these wide receivers were getting more work and they were
more consistent.

Speaker 1 (48:24):
Are we gonna go back to that or are we
just gonna see what we saw on Monday night?

Speaker 3 (48:27):
I think so, I think we're gonna go back to that.
And like so today on the NFL Pod, I said,
we did like a player you would trade four, and
I said AJ Brown, even though AJ Brown is literally
telling us not to roster him in fantasy right now.
And I was originally gonna say DeVonta Smith, but after
Monday I saw so many tweets saying that he is

(48:48):
the wide receiver to roster there, he is the one.
So I'm gonna go back to what I've gone back
to all year. I just simply think there's too much
talent for AJ Brown and Jalen Hurts not to start
connecting more. And I know that's much easier to say
in weeks three, four or five than it is week eleven,
but let's not forget he had fourteen PPR points two

(49:10):
games ago, twenty eight the game before this week, so
like that's still in him. And even more than that,
take a look at their upcoming schedule. They get the
Lions this week, then the Cowboys, the Bears, the Chargers. Okay,
maybe not the best matchup. The Raiders get cooked by
out wide wide receivers, and then the final two weeks
of the Fantasy Playoffs the Commanders, which is one of

(49:30):
the best matchups, and then the Bills, which might not
be a great matchup on paper, but has a very
good chance of being a high scoring game. So I'm
going to while the value for aj Brown is at
an all time low, because when is the last time
Aj Brown was viewed this low his Titan days?

Speaker 2 (49:47):
Wit, when's the last time a player came out and
said drop me in fantasty football?

Speaker 3 (49:52):
Like the person with eight to one, their record probably
isn't great. They're probably fighting for a playoff spot or whatever.
They're probably frustrated. Think you could kind of take advantage
of that a little bit. But also this schedule, like
you're facing other high powered offenses or great matchups pretty
much every single week. Now, I'm gonna roll the dit.
Like I said on the show today, I wouldn't if

(50:14):
we got to draft for the rest of the year.
I'm not taking Aj Brown as a wide receiver one sure,
But if I could trade for him at a low
point and get him as like my three on a
team that I feel pretty good about, then all of
a sudden if he hits that could lead me to
a championship.

Speaker 2 (50:27):
I'm all about buying when market sentiment is this low,
you know, when you know it's a talented player, Like
we can say that he's not the same as he
was last year, he doesn't have the same motivation or
whatever the case may be.

Speaker 1 (50:38):
But A J.

Speaker 2 (50:39):
Brown is still better than the majority of wide receivers
in football. And you know, given this is all is
all versus costs. We're not saying draft or take AJ
Brown and his draft day cost or anything like that.
This is all versus how people are viewing him. And
like you said, the rest of season schedule is pretty juicy,
So I love that. Do you have any any late
season sleepers do you think he could break out? So

(51:00):
it doesn't have to be rookies, it could be any
type of where they're at in their career, doesn't have
to be first year guys, but anyone in this late
season that you think could could really help fantasy squads.

Speaker 1 (51:11):
I know we mentioned we spoke a lot on R. J.

Speaker 3 (51:13):
Harvey. Luther Burden is another one. I was big on
Sean Tucker until Bucky Irvin return to practice today because
I just don't think Rashad White is a good runner.
I think he's a good receiving back. In the last
two weeks, twenty percent of Tucker's carries have been ten
or more yards, So like he is someone that if
Bucky is out. The other sleepers I think largely are handcuffs,

(51:37):
right like Blake Korum. We spoke a lot about like
Robinson and Algier and then I'll be a homer a
little bit here, So one Bills receiver was gotta step
up right here.

Speaker 2 (51:48):
You would think you would think, yeah, like Shakiir is
the one you most want, But there's right now a
lot of steam for Elijah Moore there as the speedy
guy there.

Speaker 3 (51:58):
Gabe Davis sounds like I don't. I do think Josh
Palmer is the one I'm most excited for because they've
missed him against man. Teams are playing man against the
Bills at the highest rate and he was kind of
brought in to be the man beater. He's also their
best deep threat, so he is the one that I
would be taking a shot on. I think it depends
on how long Marvin Harrison is out, But Michael Wilson

(52:19):
and Greg Dersch also come to mind. Like, I like
Greg deorch Moore this week, but I just think I'm
a believer in Jacoby Brissett. Like, not that he's great,
but I do think he is one of the best
thirty two quarterbacks walking the planet, and I think he
can help elevate those guys as well, so they come
to mind as well for me.

Speaker 2 (52:39):
Yeah, I love Greg Dortsch has a great slot matchup
this week against San Francisco's slop defense is horrible, and
so yeah love that call out for sure. We'll see
how long that. You know, appendix removal sidelines. I got
my appendix out before. It's not a fun recovery. I
mean I nevergot it. It's not like you're like jumping
back and you're like ready to go, but I got
I don't know.

Speaker 3 (52:59):
I was.

Speaker 2 (53:00):
I was in like I was like twenty twenty one
years old when it happened, so I you know, I
was in college and probably just was drinking some beer
and just to get over it that way.

Speaker 3 (53:08):
You know, I'm not.

Speaker 1 (53:09):
I wasn't. I was all of age, So he's true.

Speaker 3 (53:12):
I was.

Speaker 2 (53:13):
I wasn't a professional athlete having to come back on
a football field. I was literally a lazy college kid
that just had to good a class. So it's a
little bit different, you know, but I do think.

Speaker 3 (53:21):
It kind of ties into what we were talking about
earlier with like like the Jets and Garrett Wilson, Like
if you're the Cardinals, you have no reason to brush
Harrison back.

Speaker 2 (53:29):
Yeah, I mean especially something like that, Like that's something
that you don't want to like screw. I mean, that's
that's just insides, you know. It's not like a like
a like some sort of like bone bruise or something
like we're talking like you know in there that could
that could you know, get things screwed up. Like I
can't imagine taking a hit like even a week after
getting my appendix removed, So I wouldn't be like massively

(53:50):
shocked if he's out another week after this week.

Speaker 1 (53:53):
But I'm not.

Speaker 3 (53:53):
I'm clearly not a doctor. I do hope people start
to hold this. Like my favorite injury prone claim ever
was Keenan Allen when in back to back years his
spleen ruptured and then hes acl and I was like,
this has nothing to do with like and then you
saw a graphic some account put out this year, like
is ricky Piersoll injury prone.

Speaker 1 (54:11):
He missed time last year was like because he got shot.

Speaker 3 (54:13):
Yeah, du yeah, So next year when people are like,
well Marv didn't stay healthy, it's it's like, yeah, you're
telling on yourself a little bit there.

Speaker 1 (54:21):
Yeah, you mentioned AJ Brown.

Speaker 2 (54:22):
Are there any other guys that that you would look
to trade for right now?

Speaker 3 (54:25):
Or is aj sre to your go to even more
than him? Justin Jefferson because just like AJ Brown, the
public perception is down on him right now, Like and
this isn't even just fantasy. Like I have a friend
who's a huge Viking fan and he's not turning on Jefferson,
but he's like, that was the worst performance he's ever had,

(54:47):
and I like, he can't do that again. So I
do think that per And like on our pop today,
Lawan Jones was like, I don't want him on my
roster after what I saw last week, but I see
one a clear touchdown regression candidate him. T Mac and
Wandel Robinson are the only receivers with seventy five or
more targets and fewer than three touchdowns. And then his

(55:07):
schedule is even better than the Eagles, So yeah, I
think he could go League winner mode And I know
these are big names, but it's exactly what you were saying,
like you try to capitalize on talented players when the
market is down on them, And to me, these are
two of the JJ is one of the two best

(55:28):
wide receivers walk around the planet, and I think AJ
Brown is like five six seven. So I'm willing to
roll the dice on those guys with favorable schedule because
this is what I talked about on the pod as
well today, Like I think we've reached the point of
the season where when you're making trades you need to
be looking at their schedule as well.

Speaker 1 (55:47):
Yeah, yeah, one hundred percent.

Speaker 2 (55:48):
I had on my fifteen Transaction show, I had Jordan
Addison as a buy as like a just throw them
on your bench, you know kind of player, Like just
trade a bench guy that is not gonna do much
for you and just throw.

Speaker 1 (55:59):
Out on there, because you know, you have to ask
the question.

Speaker 2 (56:02):
I think in these scenarios of just like what if,
Like what if JJ McCarthy just kind of figures it
out a little bit and he's only played four he's
except four NFL starts. You know, I don't want to
bury the guy just yet has he played great? No,
But like let's just see what happens, like you said,
in these better matchups and and see if he can
develop a little bit. And so like Justin Jefferson obviously
like go I mean, I had Jefferson as a buy

(56:22):
a few weeks ago, so I didn't want to repeat that.
But yeah, I mean, like, like I think even going
after like a secondary guy like Addison who is good,
like he's talented, not gonna have you give you the
kind of ceiling that Justin Jefferson would, but like he
seems like the right kind of guy to just have
on your bench that if you can get for super
super cheap and not a lot of production off of

(56:44):
your bench, then then then go for it one more.

Speaker 3 (56:47):
And almost sucker for I've always been a sucker for him,
and I stayed strong when everyone turned on him. But
Quentin Johnston, I think we're seeing him utilize more where
Keenan Allen has really been fading these last game, like
they had to generate that second catch for him last week.
So and Gadson has banged up now, so I know
it's been pockets of the year with the Chargers receivers

(57:10):
and that might not change. But to me, Quentin Johnson
is a lot like Alec Pierce, who I also love.
Like the floor might not be super steady, but if
you need to throw him in as a wide receiver
three or a flex, they're getting twenty plus is in
their outcome every single week.

Speaker 2 (57:24):
Awesome matchup for QJ this week too, because Jacksonville could
not stop perimeter receivers. They're actually like really good against
the slot, like one of the best teams against the slot.
And then when it comes why yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly right,
all right, before I let you go, give me one
bold take for Week eleven.

Speaker 3 (57:40):
Uh oh, we spoke a lot about him, But my
bowl I'm doing, I'm gonna if you hear this today,
pretend you didn't tomorrow, but on Fantasy Love tomorrow. My
Bowl take is that RJ. Harvey is the has the
best game a Broncos running back has had all season,
which means twenty five plus Fantasy points. But I know
it's a tough matchup, but if you give this guy
fifteen eighteen plus opportunities and you're throwing him the ball,

(58:03):
I think he's so explosive that he could break a
couple out keep using him in the red zone. Like
you said, I know it's bold. My other one that
I was debating was one hundred and fifty in a
touchdown for Quentin Johnson. So yeah, I like it.

Speaker 1 (58:14):
Two there, Yeah, I like it.

Speaker 3 (58:16):
I like it.

Speaker 2 (58:16):
The RJ Harvey love this is this turned into if
someone listening to this has RJ Harvey, they probably feel
a lot better about having RJ. Harvey right now than
they did before they hit play. Florio, this was awesome, man,
I really appreciate you hopping on. Can you let everyone
know where they can find you, what you're working on,
Where they can, you know, look in their television and
see if you're on there.

Speaker 3 (58:34):
Yeah. So at Michael f Florio on Twitter, Instagram, Blue
Sky NFL Fantasy Live. I do The Insiders twice a
week on Sundays, I do Game Day preview on NFL Fast,
the NFL Fantasy Football Show. Then I'm also writing over
at Rotoballer each week. And then if you are I
know this is a fantasy show, but if you are

(58:55):
a Bills fan, every Thursday, I do a show live
at six pm Eastern Me and t V Johnson and
trust me, there's plenty of bills, stuff to talk about
this week, So that's gonna be a fun one. But yeah,
keeping busy this time of year, and uh, lots and
lots of places you could catch me right now. Yeah, man,
you're everywhere.

Speaker 2 (59:12):
You're everywhere you go one month from now, then then
I go away, Then then you go away. You go
into hibernation mode for the next yeah, like six or
seven months. You can find all my stuff over on
lateround dot com. Make sure you subscribe to the podcast
YouTube channel YouTube dot com slash at late round f F.

Speaker 1 (59:28):
Otherwise, everyone have a great weekend and thanks for tuning in.