August 23, 2024 • 23 mins
Seahawks Fantasy Insider Scott Engel joins the Seahawks Insiders podcast for a special fantasy football edition of the show to get fans prepped for their 2024 drafts. Today’s show: Best draft position (01:16), top picks in this year’s draft (02:44), draft strategy per position (04:22), general tips (08:31), Seahawks fantasy picks (09:16), Seahawks RBs (11:10), Seahawks WRs (12:28), Seahawks Defense (14:46), overall QB draft strategy (16:20), late round approach (19:48), and sleeper picks (21:30).
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to the Seahawks insiders. Gino, look's going way
up over the top. Goutt a man out there. It
is fucker, he's got a touchdown.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Say Hawks, getting you ready for Seahawks football every Sunday,
First Attendant.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Of Seattle forty play fake the Stafford's gonna stop, gonna.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Look its hit goes down sucking midfield. Getting to him
in the backfield is Darryl.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Taylor, presented by Delta, the official airline of the Seahawks.
Now here's your host, Jen Mueller.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Hello, Seahawks fans, No Jen Mueller today, You've just gotten
me John Boyle and our fantasy expert Scott Engel. We're
coming up here on the third preseason game, which means
we are also in peak fantasy draft season. No one
better to get you ready for your draft than Scott.
So Scott, welcome, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Thanks for having me John. It's always good to be
with you, you know, especially this time of year. We're
getting close to the season opened up for the Seahawks
against the Broncos, and it's prime fantasy football draft season two.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
All right, well, we have you here to be our
expert because I am certainly not that when it comes
to fantasy football, and kind of let's start off looking
at some big picture topics for the fantasy players out there.
You know, every year, I know is a little different.
If you're heading into a draft, where's the best position
to be. I mean, do you want to be right
at the top of the draft getting that number one pick,
(01:23):
or there's some sweet spots more in the middle.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Well, a good draft that could draft from anywhere, John,
You know, that's what I could believe I can do.
I prefer it's a twelve team draft to be somewhere
in the middle, to be at six. This way, there's
not a law as long of a wait between picks.
You're right in the middle every round. That said, every
(01:46):
spot in the draft has its advantages. If you're number one,
you get a shot at Tyreek kill the Christian McCaffrey
if you want it. If you're in that top four,
you get a shot at one of the top three
wide receiver is the top two running backs. But if
you're lay in the first round, say ten to twelve, John,
I like that you come around early in the second
(02:08):
round because if you're the you have the twelfth pick
in the twelfth team league, you're the first person to
get two players. If you're somewhere from ten to twelve,
you can get off to a really nice start with
two strong wide receiver picks, and say, come out of
the first two rounds with Garrett Wilson and Marvin Harrison
Junior in the first two rounds, and then then if
(02:30):
you want to say a little later, really load up
a wide receiver. You can get DK Metcalf, you know,
maybe the third round, and that'd be a great way
to start off with Wilson, Harrison, Metcalf. It plays out
that way.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
And who are you know we're talking? You just mentioned
twelve tun draft. Who are your top guys? How do
you think are gonna go in that first round?
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Well, John, you know I'm gonna work off my ranks
here overall. Can you see him on Rodaballer dot com.
But if you go to the Seahawks dot com the
fantasy inside of page, the news tab, you'll be able
to see my ranks by position. Tyreek Kills my favorite
first pick, Christian McCaffrey, second top running back in fantasy football,
(03:13):
Ceedee Lamb and Jamar Chase next. Hopefully they get their
contract situations worked out, and they'll stay in that top four.
I like Breise Hole of the Jets at number five.
This is the guy that caught over seventy passes last year,
and they got a healthy Aaron Rodgers this year at
number six, a Monroe Saint Brown of the Lions, very
(03:33):
high statistical floor. Justin Jefferson at number seven, I think
he's quarterback proof as they moved to sam donold Bejohn
Robinson at number eight. You will see him go a
lot earlier in many drafts in the top four and five.
But I have at eight Garrett Wilson, another Jet in
the first round. How about that John can really have
(03:53):
that true breakthrough year working with Aaron Rodgers, AJ Brown
at number ten and finishing out the top twelve Jonathan
Taylor and Saquon Barkley. Taylor's gonna go early in eleven.
Barkley will very often go the end of the first
round early in the second. But every draft is different,
and you could see these twelve going to any sort
(04:15):
of order in any draft, as every draft is different.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So not super clear cut when you look at you know,
I remember you see back in the day, everyone just
loaded up on running backs early. How do you look
at it now in terms of how you want to
attack the draft to start out, do you look position specific.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Or is it just sort of where the best value.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Is Well, and you make a good point. Nothing's clear cut.
You know those are my top twelve, but you got
to let the draft come to you. There's no set
map to start out your draft. People say, should I
start running back? Running back, running back, wide receiver. There's
no set map. Go with the flow. What you have
(04:55):
to do is fill out your starting skill positions in
the first six rounds or so. In the first three rounds,
take the best available players on the board. If you
start out with two wide receivers in a tight end,
say you get Travis Kelcey in the third round, then
you take your running backs and fourth and fifth. There's
really no specific order. I've seen a lot of drafts,
(05:19):
like the Seahawks dot Com inside of mock Fantasy, inside
of mock draft that's going to be on the site
very soon. It was six wide receivers and six running
backs in each of the first two rounds. Adjust on
the run, go with the flow. Don't try to predict
what's gonna happen ahead of you and go best play
available in the first two to three rounds.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
If you're gonna not try to predict and go with
the flow, what's the best way to be prepared to
go with the flow. I'm assuming you can't just go
in and wing it.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Yeah, you can't. But a lot of people, like you said,
we'll try to predict what's going to happen ahead of them,
and usually that's a feudal exercise. To be honest with you,
If I'm sitting into number eight pick, I'm not going
to try to predict what happens in the first seven
slots ahead of me, because even if you interview the
other players, they might lie to you for fun, you know,
(06:10):
try to mess with you, because you know, it's all
about trash talking fun and people can change their minds
in an instant. Because that's the number one pick. You
could see be John Robinson or even Anthony Richardson I've
seen going a Super Flex League number one overall. So
just rank your top eight players, for instance, if you're
at the eighth pick, and just take the top guy
(06:32):
available when it's your pick that's in your queue of
the top of your cheat sheet, and then after every
round start queuing up guys again, so every round you're
just taking the top pick in your queue or at
the top of your cheat sheet.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Now, you mentioned mock drafts a second ago, and as
you said, we're going to have one at Seahawks dot
Com soon with a couple of Seahawks legends involved with
you doing that.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
What if What can fantacy players get out of doing that?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
To get ready of going through a couple mocks, is
just going in cold on draft day?
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Yeah, you can always go to like the NFL dot
Com mock draft lobby and jump into one right away.
And it's practice. Really, it's uh, you know, it's training
camp for fantasy players if you will get those reps
in so you know what we really don't expect. But
remember that every draft is different, so you're losing using
(07:23):
it as a loose guy, but you want to get
a feel for where the players are going. Also, not
a lot of fantasy players may not know about best
ball type of drafts. Best ball is when there's no
well you just draft where there's no in season trades
or waiver moves and you just draft a team and
(07:44):
whatever they do during the season is what you get
points for. So that's kind of a mock draft that counts.
And the way it works is if you draft three
quarterbacks and the guy that scores the most in every week,
we'll get the credit for the most points at that position.
So if you draft Joe Burrow, Gino Smith, and Sam
(08:06):
Donald and in Week three, Geno Smith scores the most
points of those quarterbacks, you get credits for Geno Smith's points.
So it's an optimal lineup that's done by the computer
every week. But it's kind of a good practice because
it's a mock draft that counts.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
All right, And now we want to get to some
Seahawks specific fantasy talk. This is a Seahawks Insiders podcast
after all. But before we do that, any other just
general tips you want to get fans before any tips
on drafting, before we move on to the Seahawks staff.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Yeah, it's really the best thing I could say is
but what I've already said, John, it's really just on
the run, go with the flow, don't draft to trade, Okay,
you know you want to build your own lineup and
don't focus too much on bye weeks and playoffs down
the line, because your roster's going to change a lot
(09:00):
by the times the bye weeks come along, and definitely
like the fantasy playoffs a weeks you know, fifteen and on,
your roster is going to change a lot by then,
and so will a lot of trends and outlooks in
the NFL.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
All right, that sounds great, Thank you, Scott. Let's talk
Seahawks a little bit. Gino Smith, I knows a guy
from you know when you wrote your quarterback rankings earlier,
you're a little bit high on him. New offense, obviously
a lot of weapons around him. What do you see
for Gino Smith from a fantasy outlook?
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Gino Smith's average draft position, according to Fantasy Pros is
outside the top twenty. So I was actually able to
get him in a super flex draft where you could
as a second quarterback in the sixth round, where you
can start a second quarterback as a flex position. That's
a growing type of scoring system among fantasy players. That's
(09:52):
a lot of fun get the extra flex start a quarterback.
But if you want a second quarterback in the final rounds,
I really like Geno as a as a late type
of value. He finishes Fantasy quarterback number five two years ago,
and you can speak to this John. The addition Cotter
Williams really stabilizes the protection in the interior. Hopefully get
(10:15):
a healthy Gape Lucas, I mean Abe Lucas on the
outside that will really help the protection. And new offensive
coordinator Ryan Grubb, you know, is probably going to dial
up some you know, big big play opportunities. And you know,
advanced stats from Fantasy profiler dot com from last year.
(10:36):
Last season, Gino ranked six among quarterbacks in play action
completion percentage, seventh in pressure completion percentage, fourth and deep
all accuracy rating. So you know, some of the advanced
stats point to a bounce back for Gino Smith this
year fantasy wise.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Yeah, for sure, He's looked really good at Ryan Grubb's offense.
I do think this is going to be a really
good fit for him. And speaking to Ryan Grubb, he's
been just can't stop praising Kenneth Walker, the third guy
that you know has done a lot in his first
two years, but you know, maybe maybe has even more
in him coming. How do you look at that Seahawks
running back duo with him and Zach Scharbona and sort
of sort of how to evaluate both those guys.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Well, you know, we talked about the offensive line, you know,
the addition of Williams and the healthfe Lucas can play
something that play a good role there. You could speak
to that job if you'd like. But you know, Walker
is a guy that you know, Mike McDonald's been talking
at him up a lot in camp, saying, we want
to feed this guy. And he's a top fifteen Fantasy
(11:39):
draft targeted running back and a lot of fantasy experts
are pushing him up their board because of what the
McDonald's has said. And he's a guy who could score
from anywhere on the field. Uh, you know, I, you know,
I'm into my Seahawks history. I have not seen a
player that is so capable of scoring from anywhere on
(11:59):
the field since Joey Galloway. You know, Walker is that
exciting and you know, high end running back two type.
Charbonay is the insurance pick that you want to get
behind him in the later rounds and we saw it
last year. If Charbone's ever pressed into additional action or
(12:21):
they need him to take extra work at any time, John,
you know, he can be a fantasy starter at any time.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Seahawks are known for their receiver trio. One of the
best in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
And that's awesome when you are an offensive coordinator, But
can that make things a little tricky on fantasy players
and when you're trying to figure out how do I
value DK Metcalf or Tyler Lockett or JSN when when
it's just hard to say who's going to get the
bulk of the targets with those three guys.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Well, we know the upside of DK Metcalf, and he
goes like the third or fourth round of a lot
of drafts that I've been seeing lately, because you know,
there's a lot of upside there working. You know, in
the grub offense. Last year he averaged a career high
sixteen point nine yards per catch, And the fact that
Jackson Smith and Jigba and Tyrol Lockett and Noah Fan
(13:08):
can draw a defensive tension way from him makes me
rank him higher than a lot of other fantasy experts.
I have a number sixteen and wide receiver overall. Fantasy
players have been excited by JSN since last year, and
he is a good eighth round wide receiver four pick
in fantasy football. And we can't forget about Tyler Lockett.
(13:32):
He's he's still going to be important part of that offense,
and I like him as a pick in the double
figure rounds of fantasy drafts.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
You mentioned Noah Fan. I know it's hard to predict
with a new offensive scheme how guys are going to
be used, but is he a guy that maybe could
sneak up and have some good fantasy production for fans.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
I like him, and my tight ends breakdown is now
on the Fantasy Insider's page at at Fantasy Insider Pages
Seahawks dot com. If you're gonna wait for a second
tight end, you want to get a nice second tight end.
I like fant is like a number twenty type pick.
You know there's a real clear path for him on
the depth chart now in Seattle to you know, to
(14:16):
get a lot more targets. We know he's good after
the catch and he can be a red zone target.
I think, oh of fans, a nice value target as
a tight end fantasy to right around twentieth at the position.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
And lastly, with the Seahawks focus defense, you know this
is a unit that obviously had it struggles last year.
New scheme hot. You know, the hottest name in defensive
coaching is the new head coach. Now, Mike McDonald, what
do you like about the Seahawks defense. I know some
people like to switch out their defenses a lot, and
you know Seahawks are going to start their season with
a rookie at home. Is that, you know, potentially a
(14:54):
good defensive matchup for people.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Yeah, you put your figure right on the pulse of it. John.
It's I tell people, don't draft your fantasy defense is
based on overall rankings. Look at the early season matchups.
If they're friendly, that's who you want to who you
want to get. And I'm getting the Seahawks and a
lot of my drafts because as you know, you know
(15:17):
McDonald run of the group. The defensive line in the
secondary looks so deep heading into the new season, it's
very promising. And starting against Denver with a rookie quarterback
at home is a great matchup. And then going on
the road against New England, which could be either another
rookie quarterback or you know, it might be a veteran
(15:40):
who's respectable, but it still presents a very good matchup
for the Seahawks fantasy defense. So you know, when other
people are going to grab the forty nine ers and
the Cowboys because they're ranked. I'll wait until the next
to the last round of the last round of grab
the Seahawks Fantasy defense.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
I like it. I like it a lot.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Now.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
You know, we're not going to go over ranks at
every position because the fans want that. They can read
your excellent stuff on the Seahawks Fantasy Insider website. But
you know, let's get people some of your favorite guys.
I know, you know there's sleepers at every position. There's
some guys that you may be higher on than the
consensus rankings. You know, when you look at quarterbacks, you
know what, what do you tell fans looking at drafting quarterbacks?
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Right now?
Speaker 3 (16:22):
I try to get one of the top ten quarterbacks.
Like my cutoff is, say Jorge love Block Rock Party.
I think healthy kyl Of Murray's going to have a
lot of a lot of appeal this year. And you know,
especially working with with with Marvin Harrison Junior, who I
think could be an instant impact performer. Obviously, you know
(16:47):
you like the dual threat type. So Anthony Richardson is
in my top five. CJ. Stroud with a very deep
offense at number six, healthy Joe Burrows inside of that
top ten, and you gotta like the rookies for some value.
Jayden Daniels is going to have a lot of rushing upside,
and Caleb Williams has had a really good preseason, and
(17:09):
I like Will Levis of the Titans as a sleeper type,
you know, I think he's going to be a very
aggressive gunning quarterback.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
With running back.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
There's obviously those top tier guys. If you miss out
on them, how would you approach that position.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
I think there were some values, you know, even early on,
like Isaiah Piccheco and the Chiefs is a widespread fantasy
favorite among analysts, you know, leading that being the goal
line finisher for that top offense. I think Josh Jacobs
going to Green Bay did really help rediscover a lot
of the form that made him a first team All
(17:45):
Pro in twenty twenty two. Be interesting to season me
or White getting a lot of carries for Las Vegas.
Javonte Williams is having a really good preseason for Denver
and he's starting to shoot up draft board. Wards. Uh
Taj Spears is a nice sleeper type with a lot
of big play upside, even though he's going to share
(18:07):
carries in the backfield with UH with ex Cowboy Tony Pollard,
and I really like Rico Dawbell of the Dallas Cowboys. Uh.
The Dallas front offense really cleared a runway for him
to get a lot of work. And he's a determined
runner who can make the defenders miss.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Receiver one of the deeper positions in today's NFL. How
do you strategize with with drafted in that position?
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Uh, We're going to see a lot of top wide
receivers go off the board early in the first two rounds. UH.
But some guys. I'm definitely targeting George Pickens as the
number one wide receiver for the Steelers. Should get a
lot of targets. Another rookie I like a lot of
beliefd Neighbors of the New York Giants. I think it's
(18:55):
going to be the instant alpha wide receiver in his
first NFL camp. Pain Cooper Cup of the Rams is
having a healthy preseason. I like him just outside the
top twenty. I'm looking for a bounce back year from
T Higgins. Terry McLaurin can be a really nice fantasy
wide receiver. Three pick working with Daniels Deonday, Johnson gonna
(19:20):
be that needed number one wide receiver for Carolina. Lad
McConkey is a nice value wide receiver as a rookie.
Jamison Williams, I think is a breakout guy for Detroit
now that he's got a full offseason, in a full
preseason under him, and when you going even deeper than that,
(19:41):
My super sleeper is Jalen Hyott of the New York Giants.
He's somebody who can who can take the top off
of a defense.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
All right, Scott, So if I've got my lineup, you know,
I got all my top starting guys picked, but I
got some picks left. How do you strategize those later
picks after you've got your starters? Is it you know,
looking for a a backup running back like you mentioned
Sharbone after Kenneth Walker, that kind of strategy.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
What do you like to do there in those late rounds.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Yeah, you'd like to get the insurance picked to your
top running backs. Tight end wise, I try to get
one of my top seven ending with Kyle Pitts and
Evan Ingram, But there are some values later on. You
really what you want to do is, you know you
don't have to take a second quarterback until the final
rounds depending on your own drafts. Some drafts like ten
team leads especially, people might not even pick a second quarterback.
(20:30):
You can get them off of waivers. Look for some
good tight end values later on, like Tyler Coughlan of
the Jets, Janouz Smith of the Miami Dolphins, and Kolbe
Parkinson the former Seahawks. He's going to be the number
one tight end for the Rams. John and you know
Tyler Higby is going to be out for a while.
You know this is a guy that is a big target,
(20:52):
you know, six ' seven over two hundred and sixty
pounds yard a draft of the catch, and you know
can be a touchdown goal line type of guy. Or
Matthew Stafford. So what you want to do is get
the bulk of your starting line up in the early
rounds and later on, you know you want to get
good depths at running back, wide receiver, get one backup tided,
(21:16):
maybe a backup quarterback.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
I like it, Scott.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Now, I know you've covered a lot of sleepers in
all those different positions, but let's just wrap it up.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
If fans are sitting out.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
There being like, man, I want to steal some awesome
picks late or you know, mid round, whatever it is,
and win my draft that way, give me maybe a
handful of three five guys that are your you know,
these are the guys you are standing on the table
for in this year's draft, saying there's great value.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
Chase Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals has a lot of upside,
I think, even though he's going to start out sharing carries,
so so he's one I think. I think Courtland Sutton
is falling down a lot of draft boards, so so
I think he's a good value too. Like you said,
we can't forget to locket. You know, I like him
(22:02):
in the late rounds to say, a wide receiver for
slash five picks. You know, I mentioned some of the
guys at at tied end, but I think there's a
lot of good value at wide receiver. John. You know,
the position goes pretty deep overall, so you can pick
up Xavier Worthy has a lot of upside for the
(22:23):
Kansas City Chiefs. You know, he's not necessarily a sleeper,
but somebody with upside. Rashid Shaheed of the New Orleans Saints,
he has some upside if Mike Williams and the Jets
can stay healthy. Uh and a lot of fantasy analysts
like the Tavian Wicks and the Packers a lot as
(22:45):
as one of their favorite sleepers.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Awesome, Scott, great stuff.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Really appreciate all those fancy players out there are gonna
get a lot of good stuff from this, and UH
use Scott's advice go win your fantasy league this year.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Scott, thanks so much for joining us today.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
All right, thanks for having me, John and uh again
more at seahawks dot com Fantasy the News tab, go
to the Fantasy Insider page and you can always follow
me it at Scott E. The King on x slash
Twitter and ask your fantasy questions there.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Thanks again, Scott, M all right, all right, right,
You're listening to the Seahawks insiders. Gino, look's going way
up over the top. Goutt a man out there. It
is fucker, he's got a touchdown.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Say Hawks, getting you ready for Seahawks football every Sunday,
First Attendant.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
Of Seattle forty play fake the Stafford's gonna stop, gonna.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
Look its hit goes down sucking midfield. Getting to him
in the backfield is Darryl.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Taylor, presented by Delta, the official airline of the Seahawks.
Now here's your host, Jen Mueller.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Hello, Seahawks fans, No Jen Mueller today, You've just gotten
me John Boyle and our fantasy expert Scott Engel. We're
coming up here on the third preseason game, which means
we are also in peak fantasy draft season. No one
better to get you ready for your draft than Scott.
So Scott, welcome, thanks for joining us.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Thanks for having me John. It's always good to be
with you, you know, especially this time of year. We're
getting close to the season opened up for the Seahawks
against the Broncos, and it's prime fantasy football draft season two.
Speaker 2 (01:03):
All right, well, we have you here to be our
expert because I am certainly not that when it comes
to fantasy football, and kind of let's start off looking
at some big picture topics for the fantasy players out there.
You know, every year, I know is a little different.
If you're heading into a draft, where's the best position
to be. I mean, do you want to be right
at the top of the draft getting that number one pick,
(01:23):
or there's some sweet spots more in the middle.
Speaker 3 (01:25):
Well, a good draft that could draft from anywhere, John,
You know, that's what I could believe I can do.
I prefer it's a twelve team draft to be somewhere
in the middle, to be at six. This way, there's
not a law as long of a wait between picks.
You're right in the middle every round. That said, every
(01:46):
spot in the draft has its advantages. If you're number one,
you get a shot at Tyreek kill the Christian McCaffrey
if you want it. If you're in that top four,
you get a shot at one of the top three
wide receiver is the top two running backs. But if
you're lay in the first round, say ten to twelve, John,
I like that you come around early in the second
(02:08):
round because if you're the you have the twelfth pick
in the twelfth team league, you're the first person to
get two players. If you're somewhere from ten to twelve,
you can get off to a really nice start with
two strong wide receiver picks, and say, come out of
the first two rounds with Garrett Wilson and Marvin Harrison
Junior in the first two rounds, and then then if
(02:30):
you want to say a little later, really load up
a wide receiver. You can get DK Metcalf, you know,
maybe the third round, and that'd be a great way
to start off with Wilson, Harrison, Metcalf. It plays out
that way.
Speaker 2 (02:44):
And who are you know we're talking? You just mentioned
twelve tun draft. Who are your top guys? How do
you think are gonna go in that first round?
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Well, John, you know I'm gonna work off my ranks
here overall. Can you see him on Rodaballer dot com.
But if you go to the Seahawks dot com the
fantasy inside of page, the news tab, you'll be able
to see my ranks by position. Tyreek Kills my favorite
first pick, Christian McCaffrey, second top running back in fantasy football,
(03:13):
Ceedee Lamb and Jamar Chase next. Hopefully they get their
contract situations worked out, and they'll stay in that top four.
I like Breise Hole of the Jets at number five.
This is the guy that caught over seventy passes last year,
and they got a healthy Aaron Rodgers this year at
number six, a Monroe Saint Brown of the Lions, very
(03:33):
high statistical floor. Justin Jefferson at number seven, I think
he's quarterback proof as they moved to sam donold Bejohn
Robinson at number eight. You will see him go a
lot earlier in many drafts in the top four and five.
But I have at eight Garrett Wilson, another Jet in
the first round. How about that John can really have
(03:53):
that true breakthrough year working with Aaron Rodgers, AJ Brown
at number ten and finishing out the top twelve Jonathan
Taylor and Saquon Barkley. Taylor's gonna go early in eleven.
Barkley will very often go the end of the first
round early in the second. But every draft is different,
and you could see these twelve going to any sort
(04:15):
of order in any draft, as every draft is different.
Speaker 2 (04:19):
So not super clear cut when you look at you know,
I remember you see back in the day, everyone just
loaded up on running backs early. How do you look
at it now in terms of how you want to
attack the draft to start out, do you look position specific.
Speaker 1 (04:32):
Or is it just sort of where the best value.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
Is Well, and you make a good point. Nothing's clear cut.
You know those are my top twelve, but you got
to let the draft come to you. There's no set
map to start out your draft. People say, should I
start running back? Running back, running back, wide receiver. There's
no set map. Go with the flow. What you have
(04:55):
to do is fill out your starting skill positions in
the first six rounds or so. In the first three rounds,
take the best available players on the board. If you
start out with two wide receivers in a tight end,
say you get Travis Kelcey in the third round, then
you take your running backs and fourth and fifth. There's
really no specific order. I've seen a lot of drafts,
(05:19):
like the Seahawks dot Com inside of mock Fantasy, inside
of mock draft that's going to be on the site
very soon. It was six wide receivers and six running
backs in each of the first two rounds. Adjust on
the run, go with the flow. Don't try to predict
what's gonna happen ahead of you and go best play
available in the first two to three rounds.
Speaker 2 (05:41):
If you're gonna not try to predict and go with
the flow, what's the best way to be prepared to
go with the flow. I'm assuming you can't just go
in and wing it.
Speaker 3 (05:49):
Yeah, you can't. But a lot of people, like you said,
we'll try to predict what's going to happen ahead of them,
and usually that's a feudal exercise. To be honest with you,
If I'm sitting into number eight pick, I'm not going
to try to predict what happens in the first seven
slots ahead of me, because even if you interview the
other players, they might lie to you for fun, you know,
(06:10):
try to mess with you, because you know, it's all
about trash talking fun and people can change their minds
in an instant. Because that's the number one pick. You
could see be John Robinson or even Anthony Richardson I've
seen going a Super Flex League number one overall. So
just rank your top eight players, for instance, if you're
at the eighth pick, and just take the top guy
(06:32):
available when it's your pick that's in your queue of
the top of your cheat sheet, and then after every
round start queuing up guys again, so every round you're
just taking the top pick in your queue or at
the top of your cheat sheet.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
Now, you mentioned mock drafts a second ago, and as
you said, we're going to have one at Seahawks dot
Com soon with a couple of Seahawks legends involved with
you doing that.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
What if What can fantacy players get out of doing that?
Speaker 2 (06:58):
To get ready of going through a couple mocks, is
just going in cold on draft day?
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Yeah, you can always go to like the NFL dot
Com mock draft lobby and jump into one right away.
And it's practice. Really, it's uh, you know, it's training
camp for fantasy players if you will get those reps
in so you know what we really don't expect. But
remember that every draft is different, so you're losing using
(07:23):
it as a loose guy, but you want to get
a feel for where the players are going. Also, not
a lot of fantasy players may not know about best
ball type of drafts. Best ball is when there's no
well you just draft where there's no in season trades
or waiver moves and you just draft a team and
(07:44):
whatever they do during the season is what you get
points for. So that's kind of a mock draft that counts.
And the way it works is if you draft three
quarterbacks and the guy that scores the most in every week,
we'll get the credit for the most points at that position.
So if you draft Joe Burrow, Gino Smith, and Sam
(08:06):
Donald and in Week three, Geno Smith scores the most
points of those quarterbacks, you get credits for Geno Smith's points.
So it's an optimal lineup that's done by the computer
every week. But it's kind of a good practice because
it's a mock draft that counts.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
All right, And now we want to get to some
Seahawks specific fantasy talk. This is a Seahawks Insiders podcast
after all. But before we do that, any other just
general tips you want to get fans before any tips
on drafting, before we move on to the Seahawks staff.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
Yeah, it's really the best thing I could say is
but what I've already said, John, it's really just on
the run, go with the flow, don't draft to trade, Okay,
you know you want to build your own lineup and
don't focus too much on bye weeks and playoffs down
the line, because your roster's going to change a lot
(09:00):
by the times the bye weeks come along, and definitely
like the fantasy playoffs a weeks you know, fifteen and on,
your roster is going to change a lot by then,
and so will a lot of trends and outlooks in
the NFL.
Speaker 2 (09:13):
All right, that sounds great, Thank you, Scott. Let's talk
Seahawks a little bit. Gino Smith, I knows a guy
from you know when you wrote your quarterback rankings earlier,
you're a little bit high on him. New offense, obviously
a lot of weapons around him. What do you see
for Gino Smith from a fantasy outlook?
Speaker 3 (09:30):
Gino Smith's average draft position, according to Fantasy Pros is
outside the top twenty. So I was actually able to
get him in a super flex draft where you could
as a second quarterback in the sixth round, where you
can start a second quarterback as a flex position. That's
a growing type of scoring system among fantasy players. That's
(09:52):
a lot of fun get the extra flex start a quarterback.
But if you want a second quarterback in the final rounds,
I really like Geno as a as a late type
of value. He finishes Fantasy quarterback number five two years ago,
and you can speak to this John. The addition Cotter
Williams really stabilizes the protection in the interior. Hopefully get
(10:15):
a healthy Gape Lucas, I mean Abe Lucas on the
outside that will really help the protection. And new offensive
coordinator Ryan Grubb, you know, is probably going to dial
up some you know, big big play opportunities. And you know,
advanced stats from Fantasy profiler dot com from last year.
(10:36):
Last season, Gino ranked six among quarterbacks in play action
completion percentage, seventh in pressure completion percentage, fourth and deep
all accuracy rating. So you know, some of the advanced
stats point to a bounce back for Gino Smith this
year fantasy wise.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Yeah, for sure, He's looked really good at Ryan Grubb's offense.
I do think this is going to be a really
good fit for him. And speaking to Ryan Grubb, he's
been just can't stop praising Kenneth Walker, the third guy
that you know has done a lot in his first
two years, but you know, maybe maybe has even more
in him coming. How do you look at that Seahawks
running back duo with him and Zach Scharbona and sort
of sort of how to evaluate both those guys.
Speaker 3 (11:15):
Well, you know, we talked about the offensive line, you know,
the addition of Williams and the healthfe Lucas can play
something that play a good role there. You could speak
to that job if you'd like. But you know, Walker
is a guy that you know, Mike McDonald's been talking
at him up a lot in camp, saying, we want
to feed this guy. And he's a top fifteen Fantasy
(11:39):
draft targeted running back and a lot of fantasy experts
are pushing him up their board because of what the
McDonald's has said. And he's a guy who could score
from anywhere on the field. Uh, you know, I, you know,
I'm into my Seahawks history. I have not seen a
player that is so capable of scoring from anywhere on
(11:59):
the field since Joey Galloway. You know, Walker is that
exciting and you know, high end running back two type.
Charbonay is the insurance pick that you want to get
behind him in the later rounds and we saw it
last year. If Charbone's ever pressed into additional action or
(12:21):
they need him to take extra work at any time, John,
you know, he can be a fantasy starter at any time.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
Seahawks are known for their receiver trio. One of the
best in the NFL.
Speaker 2 (12:32):
And that's awesome when you are an offensive coordinator, But
can that make things a little tricky on fantasy players
and when you're trying to figure out how do I
value DK Metcalf or Tyler Lockett or JSN when when
it's just hard to say who's going to get the
bulk of the targets with those three guys.
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Well, we know the upside of DK Metcalf, and he
goes like the third or fourth round of a lot
of drafts that I've been seeing lately, because you know,
there's a lot of upside there working. You know, in
the grub offense. Last year he averaged a career high
sixteen point nine yards per catch, And the fact that
Jackson Smith and Jigba and Tyrol Lockett and Noah Fan
(13:08):
can draw a defensive tension way from him makes me
rank him higher than a lot of other fantasy experts.
I have a number sixteen and wide receiver overall. Fantasy
players have been excited by JSN since last year, and
he is a good eighth round wide receiver four pick
in fantasy football. And we can't forget about Tyler Lockett.
(13:32):
He's he's still going to be important part of that offense,
and I like him as a pick in the double
figure rounds of fantasy drafts.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
You mentioned Noah Fan. I know it's hard to predict
with a new offensive scheme how guys are going to
be used, but is he a guy that maybe could
sneak up and have some good fantasy production for fans.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
I like him, and my tight ends breakdown is now
on the Fantasy Insider's page at at Fantasy Insider Pages
Seahawks dot com. If you're gonna wait for a second
tight end, you want to get a nice second tight end.
I like fant is like a number twenty type pick.
You know there's a real clear path for him on
the depth chart now in Seattle to you know, to
(14:16):
get a lot more targets. We know he's good after
the catch and he can be a red zone target.
I think, oh of fans, a nice value target as
a tight end fantasy to right around twentieth at the position.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
And lastly, with the Seahawks focus defense, you know this
is a unit that obviously had it struggles last year.
New scheme hot. You know, the hottest name in defensive
coaching is the new head coach. Now, Mike McDonald, what
do you like about the Seahawks defense. I know some
people like to switch out their defenses a lot, and
you know Seahawks are going to start their season with
a rookie at home. Is that, you know, potentially a
(14:54):
good defensive matchup for people.
Speaker 3 (14:56):
Yeah, you put your figure right on the pulse of it. John.
It's I tell people, don't draft your fantasy defense is
based on overall rankings. Look at the early season matchups.
If they're friendly, that's who you want to who you
want to get. And I'm getting the Seahawks and a
lot of my drafts because as you know, you know
(15:17):
McDonald run of the group. The defensive line in the
secondary looks so deep heading into the new season, it's
very promising. And starting against Denver with a rookie quarterback
at home is a great matchup. And then going on
the road against New England, which could be either another
rookie quarterback or you know, it might be a veteran
(15:40):
who's respectable, but it still presents a very good matchup
for the Seahawks fantasy defense. So you know, when other
people are going to grab the forty nine ers and
the Cowboys because they're ranked. I'll wait until the next
to the last round of the last round of grab
the Seahawks Fantasy defense.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
I like it. I like it a lot.
Speaker 3 (16:00):
Now.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
You know, we're not going to go over ranks at
every position because the fans want that. They can read
your excellent stuff on the Seahawks Fantasy Insider website. But
you know, let's get people some of your favorite guys.
I know, you know there's sleepers at every position. There's
some guys that you may be higher on than the
consensus rankings. You know, when you look at quarterbacks, you
know what, what do you tell fans looking at drafting quarterbacks?
Speaker 1 (16:22):
Right now?
Speaker 3 (16:22):
I try to get one of the top ten quarterbacks.
Like my cutoff is, say Jorge love Block Rock Party.
I think healthy kyl Of Murray's going to have a
lot of a lot of appeal this year. And you know,
especially working with with with Marvin Harrison Junior, who I
think could be an instant impact performer. Obviously, you know
(16:47):
you like the dual threat type. So Anthony Richardson is
in my top five. CJ. Stroud with a very deep
offense at number six, healthy Joe Burrows inside of that
top ten, and you gotta like the rookies for some value.
Jayden Daniels is going to have a lot of rushing upside,
and Caleb Williams has had a really good preseason, and
(17:09):
I like Will Levis of the Titans as a sleeper type,
you know, I think he's going to be a very
aggressive gunning quarterback.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
With running back.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
There's obviously those top tier guys. If you miss out
on them, how would you approach that position.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
I think there were some values, you know, even early on,
like Isaiah Piccheco and the Chiefs is a widespread fantasy
favorite among analysts, you know, leading that being the goal
line finisher for that top offense. I think Josh Jacobs
going to Green Bay did really help rediscover a lot
of the form that made him a first team All
(17:45):
Pro in twenty twenty two. Be interesting to season me
or White getting a lot of carries for Las Vegas.
Javonte Williams is having a really good preseason for Denver
and he's starting to shoot up draft board. Wards. Uh
Taj Spears is a nice sleeper type with a lot
of big play upside, even though he's going to share
(18:07):
carries in the backfield with UH with ex Cowboy Tony Pollard,
and I really like Rico Dawbell of the Dallas Cowboys. Uh.
The Dallas front offense really cleared a runway for him
to get a lot of work. And he's a determined
runner who can make the defenders miss.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
Receiver one of the deeper positions in today's NFL. How
do you strategize with with drafted in that position?
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Uh, We're going to see a lot of top wide
receivers go off the board early in the first two rounds. UH.
But some guys. I'm definitely targeting George Pickens as the
number one wide receiver for the Steelers. Should get a
lot of targets. Another rookie I like a lot of
beliefd Neighbors of the New York Giants. I think it's
(18:55):
going to be the instant alpha wide receiver in his
first NFL camp. Pain Cooper Cup of the Rams is
having a healthy preseason. I like him just outside the
top twenty. I'm looking for a bounce back year from
T Higgins. Terry McLaurin can be a really nice fantasy
wide receiver. Three pick working with Daniels Deonday, Johnson gonna
(19:20):
be that needed number one wide receiver for Carolina. Lad
McConkey is a nice value wide receiver as a rookie.
Jamison Williams, I think is a breakout guy for Detroit
now that he's got a full offseason, in a full
preseason under him, and when you going even deeper than that,
(19:41):
My super sleeper is Jalen Hyott of the New York Giants.
He's somebody who can who can take the top off
of a defense.
Speaker 2 (19:48):
All right, Scott, So if I've got my lineup, you know,
I got all my top starting guys picked, but I
got some picks left. How do you strategize those later
picks after you've got your starters? Is it you know,
looking for a a backup running back like you mentioned
Sharbone after Kenneth Walker, that kind of strategy.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
What do you like to do there in those late rounds.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Yeah, you'd like to get the insurance picked to your
top running backs. Tight end wise, I try to get
one of my top seven ending with Kyle Pitts and
Evan Ingram, But there are some values later on. You
really what you want to do is, you know you
don't have to take a second quarterback until the final
rounds depending on your own drafts. Some drafts like ten
team leads especially, people might not even pick a second quarterback.
(20:30):
You can get them off of waivers. Look for some
good tight end values later on, like Tyler Coughlan of
the Jets, Janouz Smith of the Miami Dolphins, and Kolbe
Parkinson the former Seahawks. He's going to be the number
one tight end for the Rams. John and you know
Tyler Higby is going to be out for a while.
You know this is a guy that is a big target,
(20:52):
you know, six ' seven over two hundred and sixty
pounds yard a draft of the catch, and you know
can be a touchdown goal line type of guy. Or
Matthew Stafford. So what you want to do is get
the bulk of your starting line up in the early
rounds and later on, you know you want to get
good depths at running back, wide receiver, get one backup tided,
(21:16):
maybe a backup quarterback.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
I like it, Scott.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Now, I know you've covered a lot of sleepers in
all those different positions, but let's just wrap it up.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
If fans are sitting out.
Speaker 2 (21:24):
There being like, man, I want to steal some awesome
picks late or you know, mid round, whatever it is,
and win my draft that way, give me maybe a
handful of three five guys that are your you know,
these are the guys you are standing on the table
for in this year's draft, saying there's great value.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
Chase Brown of the Cincinnati Bengals has a lot of upside,
I think, even though he's going to start out sharing carries,
so so he's one I think. I think Courtland Sutton
is falling down a lot of draft boards, so so
I think he's a good value too. Like you said,
we can't forget to locket. You know, I like him
(22:02):
in the late rounds to say, a wide receiver for
slash five picks. You know, I mentioned some of the
guys at at tied end, but I think there's a
lot of good value at wide receiver. John. You know,
the position goes pretty deep overall, so you can pick
up Xavier Worthy has a lot of upside for the
(22:23):
Kansas City Chiefs. You know, he's not necessarily a sleeper,
but somebody with upside. Rashid Shaheed of the New Orleans Saints,
he has some upside if Mike Williams and the Jets
can stay healthy. Uh and a lot of fantasy analysts
like the Tavian Wicks and the Packers a lot as
(22:45):
as one of their favorite sleepers.
Speaker 1 (22:48):
Awesome, Scott, great stuff.
Speaker 2 (22:49):
Really appreciate all those fancy players out there are gonna
get a lot of good stuff from this, and UH
use Scott's advice go win your fantasy league this year.
Speaker 1 (22:58):
Scott, thanks so much for joining us today.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
All right, thanks for having me, John and uh again
more at seahawks dot com Fantasy the News tab, go
to the Fantasy Insider page and you can always follow
me it at Scott E. The King on x slash
Twitter and ask your fantasy questions there.
Speaker 1 (23:18):
Thanks again, Scott, M all right, all right, right,
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