0:00This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports. What a play!
0:03Can you believe this? He's had no idea. It's time to dominate your fantasy league.
0:08Off to the races, and he stays at his feet.
0:10He's just gonna go the distance. Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamey and Heath.
0:15After dark, welcome to the show Adam Azer and Jamey Eisenberg on Sunday night, August 9th.
0:20Jamey, where the hell have you been? I've been in lovely Toronto, Canada for a week.
0:24Wow, Toronto is a lovely place as I recall.
0:27I didn't really get to see much of Toronto itself.
0:30I saw a lot of Toronto baseball fields. Just want to make sure I get the person's name right.
0:35I met Sean, one of the listeners of our show.
0:38He was one of the baseball commissioners for the tournament that I was in.
0:42So thank you Sean for being so helpful and for being a dedicated listener.
0:46And then I had a very funny story. My son was playing in a 15-U baseball tournament.
0:51Mid-pitch, the shortstop of the other team. I'm the third base coach.
0:55He says, hey, fifth pick, 12-team PPR. Who do I take?
0:58No way. Yeah, nice young man from Cleveland, Ohio.
1:01Yep. So it was awesome. Oh, that's awesome. That's a lot.
1:04Yeah, I ran into several people that listened to our show.
1:07It was pretty cool. That's really cool. That's really cool.
1:10Yeah. Well, we missed you. You know, it was a big week on the show.
1:14It was running backs and wide receivers and Jamey didn't really get to weigh in on that.
1:19So today we're going to save, you know, maybe half the show at least to Jamey.
1:24Jamey to give his thoughts on running back, wide receiver, his strategies, sleepers, breakouts, busts, whatever he wants to talk about there.
1:30We do have just in general sleepers, breakouts and busts coming up this week.
1:34I have a lot of draft-a-thon stuff to talk to you about in a bit.
1:39You can get tinyurl.com slash FFT donate 2026. But for now, since you've been, you know, back in the swing of things,
1:45any interesting rankings adjustments you want to tell the audience about?
1:48I guess the first one was adjusting the Washington pass catchers with the addition of Stefan Diggs.
1:53So drop Terry McLaurin down a few spots. You know, that was, I think he's probably the biggest loser.
1:59Well, I guess him and Okonkwo are the biggest losers from the addition of Stefan Diggs, understandably so.
2:04You know, he's a, he's still a good enough player.
2:07If not someone who's going to threaten the target share, you know, we got the, uh, the report from David Blauer, the,
2:13the, the statement from David Blauer that it was going to be a lot of targets headed into Terry McLaurin's direction, which
2:20is probably still going to happen, but maybe not to the extent that it was prior to the addition of Diggs.
2:26And we kind of always knew there was going to be somebody coming.
2:30And I think Stefan Diggs being the player that he is in the season that he just had, uh, that's impactful enough
2:36that you should worry about Terry McLaurin a little bit.
2:39So I dropped him from like wide receiver 17, 18 to like 23.
2:43Um, so, you know, basically around, uh, move Diggs up a little bit, obviously with the, uh, with the signing, knowing that
2:49where he's going to be playing now. And then dropped Chick Okonkwo who was, you know, I think when we did the
2:55tight end preview, I said he was my tight end 12 in pencil.
2:59Uh, he's now dropped to tight end 15. So behind Dallas Goddard, Mark Andrews, two guys were basically getting drafted ahead of, uh, Okonkwo anyway.
3:06Um, but I was excited about Okonkwo if he was going to be the second guy in terms of targets for the commanders.
3:13And now we know that he's not. Did you move Jaden Daniels up?
3:17Um, you know, I, I, I considered it, you know, right now he's fifth through me.
3:22I basically have him in Joe Burrow. I think I actually do have him in Joe Burrow back to back.
3:27So, um, four points. It's easy to go with Daniels.
3:30Uh, the upside, I think maybe favors Daniels. I just think that if Joe Burrow is healthy, we could get a 5,000
3:3745 season, 45 touchdown season out of him. So, uh, I like Burrow slightly better, but, um, it's basically a coin flip there.
3:43Uh, some other rankings moves that I made. I dropped Rashi Rice down a few spots.
3:48Uh, moved kept Drake. I moved Drake London to wide receiver.
3:51Six. I think that was where I had Rice.
3:54Uh, AJ Brown also ahead of Rice. And what I did also was in round two, I had basically, um, HN was the cutoff.
4:01And then I had a group of wide receivers and then Barkley and Henry at the end of round two, I moved
4:07Barkley and Henry, uh, up ahead of the wide receiver.
4:10So it's basically, um, a long run of wide receivers from, or excuse me, running backs from like pick nine through pick 15 or 16.
4:17So it's just all running backs there. I'm sorry.
4:20No, I have a CD lamb and just Jefferson wedged in between those guys.
4:24Why did you move rice down? Uh, just with the, still being a little sluggish off the knee injury and just looking
4:30at it, like he's going to get fed. I do think, you know, you've heard me say this quite a bit that
4:37the chiefs receiving core probably was terrible on paper.
4:39Now you're getting Cyrus Allen making some plays. Um, you know, we'll see what Xavier worthy is, but I do think that
4:46it's not going to necessarily have to be all rashy rice.
4:49Plus I also think you're going to hear me talk about, uh, on, on CBS express, uh, uh, FFT express, um, that
4:55Ken Walker, somebody that I've been excited about since the signing.
4:59You think you got, you, you know, that where I've been drafting him.
5:02Um, they're going to be a run heavy team, uh, more run heavy than we've seen in the, in the last few years.
5:09And I think that's going to impact the passing game across the board.
5:13Okay. Yeah. It's a, it's an interesting call for she rice.
5:16Cause he's basically been the most consistent wide receiver and really damn good, you know, 18, 19 points per game since breaking out as a rookie.
5:23Um, but seeing him run that way, it, it did just make me think, is he back yet?
5:29Is he back to being normal? Then he walked off the field with a trainer on Saturday, which apparently isn't a big deal or anything like that.
5:37Heath mentioned that he saw another video over she rice where he, you know, like destroyed a defensive back and look great, whatever.
5:43So yeah, listen, I don't, I'm not running away from Rashi rice by any stretch.
5:48It's just London having a good camp. You know, I think he'll benefit with Tua and the offense there.
5:53They're just going to get funnel targets. Um, I think you look at Brown and that's really the one that, that is
6:00the tough one for me is, is AJ Brown.
6:02He hasn't had a great camp. He had the thumb injury, um, so far at least, you know, so I just, I just had a good camp.
6:10There's been mixed reports just in terms of the early part of the, the rapport with, with Drake May.
6:15So I think all three of those guys, London, Brown rice, they're going to lead their team and targets by significant margin,
6:22uh, or at least lead their team. It's just a by significant margin to leave their team and targets have the opportunity to be very dominant this year.
6:30Uh, the other one was, you know, it's hard to, you know, avoid what Malik neighbors is doing.
6:35So moved him up a few spots. He's still in round three for me, but, um, close to the, uh, start of round three.
6:42So moved him into the top 15, um, trying to think any other significant changes.
6:47Uh, we're going to talk about a few of these rookie wide receivers that are doing well.
6:51Caleb Douglas, Cyrus Allen, who I mentioned Jacoby Lane, uh, all having strong training camps.
6:56They were not in my top 200, uh, prior to this morning, uh, put all three, uh, right around, right in the top one 50.
7:03Um, Caleb Douglas will be the dolphins receiver that I would draft first now ahead of Malik Washington.
7:08Uh, Cyrus Allen is somebody I think that's worth a late round flyer and Jacoby Lane.
7:13Also, same thing, late round flyer, you know, guys that could hopefully do something, maybe going to take a few weeks, but
7:19strong camps, good reports with their quarterbacks right now.
7:22Uh, hard to overlook what they've been doing so far.
7:25Okay. And yeah, we will talk about some other training camp risers.
7:28We'll talk. Oh, I'm sorry. One other one of significance, uh, Jonathan Brooks, the head of Chuba Harvard.
7:34Oh yeah. What was the, what was the final straw there?
7:37I just, again, hard to ignore what we're seeing and hearing, you know, guy having a strong camp.
7:42I think if you, you remember, I said this basically since free agency, when they let Rico Dowdle walk and following the
7:48draft, their moves were telling us one of two things.
7:51Either they're fully back in on Chuba Hubbard or they're fully confident that Jonathan Brooks is going to be good or both.
7:58But I think if they have their opportunity to feature Brooks, they're going to feature Brooks.
8:02So it's, as you see, if you're looking on YouTube, they're one spot apart, uh, but with Brooks, one spot ahead.
8:08Yep. 30 RBs, 30 and 31 for Jamie, RB 31 for Dave is Jonathan Brooks.
8:1336 is Chuba Hubbard. And for Heath, RB 33 is Brooks and Hubbard is outside the top 36.
8:18Now I'm curious to know if you're going to move any of the commanders down even more with Laramie Tunsil out for looks like most of the season.
8:26We'll talk about that in a second, but man, do we have some exciting stuff to tell you about with our draft-a-thon tinyurl.com slash FFT donate 2026.
8:34Just please go there. We are over the 90,000 mark.
8:37That is awesome. We are selling spots still in the FFT open.
8:40If you're in an FFT open league already, if you bought a spot and that league is full, we will probably send out league invites tonight.
8:48I think we're going to start the drafts on the, on the, what would be the 24th?
8:53I want to say that whatever that Monday is, I think we'll start the untimed drafts there.
8:58We have plenty of time to get these done, but we've got a live mock draft on Tuesday night and you can
9:04pay to be in and everything is goes to St.
9:07Jude, by the way, this is our fundraiser for St.
9:10Jude. So you can pay to be in these mock drafts.
9:13You can pay extra to have your team written up in the story that Jamie will write for the next day.
9:19But those are going to start now to tomorrow or well, tomorrow for most of you who are listening.
9:25Tuesday, the 11th of August. And we will have a live draft for you at youtube.com slash fantasy football today at 7 p.m.
9:31Eastern. So please join us there. And also we're going to have a bunch of auction items going up.
9:37Can you, can you scroll up to, or wherever the, uh, auction houses?
9:41There it is on the page on the draft with on page.
9:44If you click on view auction house, you'll see some of our auction items.
9:48So that's how you can get like zoom calls with us and so many other things.
9:53Um, I can't even think off the top of my head what it is, but just like really cool things that you can bid on.
10:00Oh, the spots in the podcast league. Of course spots in our, uh, super flex league, which is our other podcast league, which is the leftovers league.
10:08So this is really fun stuff. And this is, we're going to raise a lot of money for St.
10:14Jude here. If you want to play in fantasy leagues with us or the cover three guys and things like that, you'll see the auction house.
10:21Can I tell my favorite auction story? Oh, sure.
10:24So we, we would, um, have these spots. Do I sound funny now?
10:28No, you're okay. I mean, you always sound a little funny.
10:31Um, we would have these, uh, auction, these, um, zooms with audience members, right?
10:35And we were about to record a podcast. We did one of our zooms and the person I did zoom with, um, his name is Todd.
10:42He's been on our show a few times. He said, I will pay you X amount of dollars to be in a fancy league with you.
10:50And, you know, we get these offers from turn to time from people saying they want to pay to be in leagues
10:56with us or, Hey, will you, you know, be in a FFPC league with me or whatever?
11:01So I was like, Oh yeah, cool. You know, I'll, I'll think about it.
11:05Whatever. Got off the phone with him. Um, we did our show.
11:09I think you remember, uh, I said, you know, Hey, I got this offer, whatever.
11:13And, uh, I said, you know what, let's, let's, let's all call him.
11:17We'll call him back. So we all called him back.
11:20And that was about six or seven years ago.
11:22And he's been the most generous donor to St.
11:25Jude's that we've ever had. He's, I've shared a podcast league team with him, uh, since then we won it last year together.
11:32And I'm going to consider a friend and just an amazing, uh, situation that came off of somebody that wanted to donate
11:38and then continue to be as generous as anybody could.
11:41If any of you have, uh, you know, if you want to be generous with us, that'd be amazing.
11:47Even if you don't, even if you don't donate through the draft a thon, donate to St.
11:51Jude. But if you want to donate through the draft a thon tiny URL.com slash FFT donate 2026.
11:57Okay. Back to the show. All right. Washington left tackle Laramie Tunsil tore his triceps.
12:01He is going to miss significant time. He played 14 games for Washington, missed the last three.
12:06He also played about 24% of the snaps of a game at Kansas city in the middle of the year.
12:12And the commanders did not do well in any of the games without Laramie Tunsil, except for week 18 when the Eagles bench their starters.
12:19But they also didn't have Jane Daniels in any of those games.
12:23Jane Daniels didn't have Tunsil. As a rookie. And he was phenomenal.
12:26So what, what do you think about this situation right now and the fantasy value for the major players on the commanders?
12:32I think anytime you lose a significant member of the offensive line, think about last year with the chargers.
12:38They had to adjust not only losing Rashawn Slater, but losing Joe Alt.
12:42And we saw the numbers. Uh, it was a touchdown difference for the offense without Joe Alt on the field.
12:48So it's not good. Um, you know, you never want to lose a key player like that, but I think they have enough time now to adjust.
12:55He's not out for the majority. He's out. He's not, he's out for the majority of the season, not out for the entire of the season.
13:03So it could be nine games. We get in for the second half of the season.
13:08You know, we just don't have the exact timeline yet.
13:10And I'm sure if they're winning, they will allow him to rest.
13:14But if they're winning, then he's doing well. So I think you just kind of view it as still Jayden Daniels benefits
13:20with Stefan Diggs and gets hurt a little bit with the loss of Tunsil.
13:24Uh, the receivers, I think stayed the same. Really, it comes down to how you feel about the running backs.
13:30Neither one, uh, Ja'Cory Kroski and Barrett or Rashad White are being drafted as starters.
13:35They're both being drafted as high in flexes. Uh, that's another rankings change that I made.
13:39I like the fact that you're hearing Bill is being used in the passing game a little bit more.
13:45I think that's a benefit to him. So I had Rashad White ahead of Bill, uh, for a few weeks.
13:51Um, so it, it not good, but I don't think it's anything that crushes them in terms of how you're drafting them.
13:57Yeah. I mean, I would agree, but I also know the charger situation you brought up last year, but also every time
14:03the Giants lose Andrew Thomas, they stink. I know it could have a pretty big impact.
14:0849ers when they lose Trent Williams. Yeah. Same thing.
14:11Yeah, it really could. I mean, the Eagles, when they don't have Lane Johnson, it could have a big impact.
14:16I cannot ignore it. So go back to the question you asked me, uh, with the rankings, when I said Stefan Diggs,
14:23you know, Joe Burrow versus Jayden Daniels. If you're torn, this is something that pushes you in Burrow's direction.
14:28If you're torn on McLaurin versus DJ Moore or Jalen Waddle, for example, those type of receivers, uh, pushes you towards other,
14:35you know, non-commanders guys, you know, so stuff like that I get.
14:38Um, but I don't think again, it's something that you run away from these guys because of tonsil not being there.
14:44Okay. Other news items. Luther Burden has a leg injury.
14:47I believe a groin injury. Groin injury. Yeah. Uh, reaction to that from a fantasy angle.
14:52Yeah, it sucks. Um, you know, this is one of those things that we could see linger.
14:57So let's hopefully get an update prior to the end of August.
15:00You know, it'd be great to see him back on the field, um, within a week or two, you know, Ben Johnson
15:07kind of downplayed it and hopefully it's going to be something that's minor.
15:10Uh, but look, it's going to push you more in the direction of Colston Loveland.
15:15It's going to push you more in the direction of Romo Doonze at this point as it should.
15:20And I think if you're just looking at burden again, stacking him up against Waddle and more and Devante Adams and Mike
15:26Evans and you know, that whole group, Garrett Wilson, Malik neighbors, you know, wherever you want to start.
15:32And then that list of number two wide receivers, uh, it's going to drop him down a little bit.
15:37So I think if you're smart, you buy the dip.
15:40I think if you're afraid of it, then you sort of, you know, go in a different direction.
15:45But I think if you still expect great things from Luther Burden, hopefully it'll be okay.
15:50Hopefully get him at a cheaper price. And so right now, would you draft Odunze or Burden first?
15:55I'm still drafting Burden first now, but in a week or two, that might change.
15:59Yeah, it's frustrating. First of all, again, I'll mention it.
16:02We've got an extra week basically before the season starts.
16:05Season starts later this year than it normally does.
16:08And it's tough to know what to make of preseason injuries because I can give you some examples on both ends, right?
16:14Last year, AJ Brown, preseason hamstring injury. I think it really affected him.
16:18I believe a few years ago, Cooper Cup, when he was still a first round pick, he had a preseason injury and it affected him.
16:25Sam Laporta had a preseason injury going into his second season.
16:29And that seemed to affect him. He got off to a horrible start.
16:32That extended for two and a half months, basically.
16:35On the other hand, we were talking about Jameer Gibbs with multiple soft tissue injuries in the preseason.
16:40We're talking last year about Devon Achan and maybe missing time early in the season.
16:44Sometimes these injuries are a blessing. You get these guys later and they're great.
16:49So it could go either way. That's not the best fantasy advice.
16:52But I think it's, to me, the most accurate thing is you can't completely discount it.
16:57But you can't also be like, oh, well, he's going to be much worse.
17:01So basically, I guess you could just, you know.
17:03So we're back at zero. Malik Nabors trending toward being ready for week one, according to ESPN.
17:08Cam Scadaboo left with a leg injury, but it's not serious.
17:11A couple of rookie wide receivers having good camps.
17:14Malachi Fields for the Giants. Zachariah Branch for the Falcons.
17:17More on that in a bit. Jadarian Price has leg soreness, but he should be back soon.
17:22Josh Downs has missed two straight practices with a groin injury.
17:25Dave also sent me a note from Colts Practice, one of the reporters, saying that Downs hasn't really been that great working on the outside.
17:32So I don't know how much they'll use him there.
17:35But so far, according to at least one reporter, not great there.
17:39People have been talking about Deshaun Watson getting first team reps on consecutive days.
17:43If that's a sign, we shall see. Jalen Waddle muscle tightness.
17:46Not a huge deal. Miami rookie wide receiver Chris Bell.
17:49You know, Jamie mentioned Caleb Douglas, but Chris Bell, turning off the torn ACL, he might play in the preseason.
17:55So that's pretty cool. Zay Flowers has a quad contusion.
17:58Michael. Oh, we're. Nope. I can't find that damn drop.
18:01Michael Pittman. We're. There you go. Pittman. He has a seemingly minor injury.
18:04Xavier Worthy has a shoulder injury. I don't think it's a big deal.
18:08Deshaun Stripling returned to practice. Mike Evans seems close to returning.
18:11And Philadelphia right tackle Lane Johnson said to 2026 probably his last year is probably going to retire after the season.
18:17Meanwhile, Devante Smith and Makai Lemon are still out with hamstring injuries.
18:21Players having good camps. You know, you can tell me who are these guys.
18:25It's really made a difference for you in your rankings or just the way you're drafting.
18:30But Jaden Higgins for the Texans. Dalton Kincaid for the Bills.
18:33Miami wide receiver Caleb Douglas. Jamie already said moved him into the top 200.
18:37Denver wide receiver Pat Bryant. Both of the Cleveland rookie wide receivers.
18:40Zachariah Branch for the Falcons. Kenneth Walker. Parker Washington.
18:43Parker Washington. Parker Washington's had a good camp. I mean, every day it's something different with him.
18:48It's just amazing. So, I did move him up.
18:51I have him at 25. So, I would actually draft him ahead of Devante Adams and Mike Evans right now.
18:56Oh, my. My, oh, my. Yeah. The one constant.
18:59It is. It's crazy. My Twitter feed is just Parker Washington highlights.
19:02It's hard to ignore. Chris Godwin having a good camp.
19:05Yep. Carnell Tate. I think it was something that somebody was charting today.
19:09The first seven pass attempts for them went to Chris Godwin.
19:12Oh, my gosh. No, that could be just, you know, by design practice.
19:16But. Yeah. Like I said on, I think, Friday's show.
19:19I mean, I'm back in. It's worth the risk at this point.
19:22Yeah, I'm back in. I am. After your film analysis of his 100-yard game.
19:27He ran the 40 in like 5.3 seconds. Yeah, I'm back in because even if he's a bust and he's going in the 90s, it's worth it.
19:34Yep. Chris Godwin, that is. Carnell Tate. Jacoby Lane.
19:37Cyrus Allen. Jalen Naylor. Isaiah Likely. Isaiah Likely has been a very popular target.
19:41Malik Nabors still not practicing with the team. He's not, you know, he's doing individual stuff.
19:46Yeah, I think from what I heard or saw or somebody said, likely right now the number one target.
19:51Yeah. And Nabors will be the number one, but likely two.
19:54Tyler Warren, a good camp. I do think that.
19:57I think that one of the common things you see this time of year is that the rookies, the rookies get a lot of buzz.
20:04The reporters. Oh, he's looking great or whatever. We have nothing to compare them to based on previous years.
20:10Right. So there's always excitement about them. So how many rookie wide receivers did I say on this list?
20:15I will say this, you know, just thinking about it, because I know you pushed back your rookie draft in the league that you commissioned nicely.
20:23You commissioned at another friend today. Text me. He had his rookie draft today.
20:27And so I think when you're when you're looking at it, like we kind of figured there was a pretty strong top of the first round.
20:34And then it was a lot of guessing. Right.
20:37So it was Tate Lemon. Tate Tyson Lemon as the top receivers.
20:41Concepcion. Then it got to that next group of Boston Cooper.
20:44I think Stribling kind of pushed himself into the maybe late first round, early second round.
20:48You want the draft results? Antonio Williams got a lot of buzz early.
20:52I have the league open. Huh? I have the league open if you want the draft results.
20:57No, no. I mean, you can. But I'm just thinking about it now.
21:01Like Caleb Douglas, Jacoby Lane, Cyrus Allen, Zachariah Branch.
21:04You know, I think Malachi Fields kind of gets pushed aside a little bit once Neighbors is back to full strength.
21:10And we'll see if you know what happens with Odell Beckham if he makes the team.
21:14But, like, you're seeing a little bit deeper class that we may get some names that not just help you this year but help you for several years.
21:22You know, so it's fun to see, especially if you hit on a couple of these guys at some point in your
21:29rookie draft earlier in, you know, May. Sure. Ted Hurst, you know, another guy that's gotten some buzz recently too?
21:35Yeah. I mean, Caleb Douglas. Caleb Douglas went 35th in our rookie draft.
21:38That could be a great pick right after Brennan Thompson.
21:41So, okay. I want to talk about Bejal Tootin, but let's take a break here real quick.
21:46I've lost kind of track of the time of this show, but let's take a break and let's talk about the Jaguars running backs.
21:53That was one thing that was kind of interesting, a development that we saw in camp.
21:58And kind of give you some comps for what Bejal Tootin might be based on what we saw in practice or what
22:04someone saw in practice and relayed the other day.
22:07We'll be right back on Fantasy Football today. Okay.
22:09So, the Jaguars running backs. I guess. I guess Bejal Tootin.
22:13So, they had a practice and Bejal Tootin was getting most of the carries until he got to the 10-yard line.
22:19And then that was Chris Rodriguez time, right? And obviously, we know that Quinn Allen's going to play on passing downs.
22:25So, how concerned are you? Because, you know, I'm excited about Bejal Tootin.
22:29He's another Jaguar who's getting a lot of buzz right now.
22:32They're going to win the Super Bowl and score 100,000 points based on preseason reports.
22:36But, yeah. What's your concern level of Bejal Tootin getting eliminated?
22:39Basically being Ken Walker from last year. No touchdowns, no catches, basically.
22:43I mean, it seems like the trap back of all trap backs, right?
22:47Like when you're talking about LeQuint Allen, who's last year, you know, I think he gets overlooked because he didn't really do anything.
22:53But he was their third down back. They just did not use him as a weapon.
22:58They used him as a blocker. And now you're maybe getting him used as a weapon to a certain degree.
23:04And now you have a goal line back and a passing downs back.
23:08It's kind of like the fear we had or fear we have in Tampa Bay, right?
23:12Because Bucky Irving could kind of be in a similar spot.
23:15At least with Bucky Irving, you've seen him do some other things.
23:19Be involved in the passing game. Work at the goal line, you know.
23:23So while there is the threat of Kenneth Gainwell and Sean Tucker, at least there's a resume for Irving.
23:28So I think Bucky, I think Basil Tootin is appropriately priced.
23:31You know, I had moved him up prior to this week.
23:35So when I left for my trip, he was, I think, RB22.
23:38And I have since dropped him back to RB24, which is where he was prior to the move.
23:43So for me, he's in that mix of guys still with Trevion Henderson, who's at the back end of it.
23:49But David Montgomery and Bucky Irving, you know, guys that I have some questions of, I think could be really good.
23:55You know, I was high on Chris Rodriguez in the early part of the offseason.
23:59I still think the value is great because if he does get the touchdown chances, we may get a David Montgomery type of player.
24:06Because like you said, they're going to score a lot of points, at least based on what the offense seems to be trending toward.
24:13So Rodriguez is an injury away from being the first and second down guy and could be the goal line guy on top of that.
24:21So don't want to run away from Tootin, but this thing, this recent report that came from, I think it's John Shipley or Josh Shipley.
24:28I apologize for getting his first name incorrectly, but Shipley covers the Jaguars for USA Today.
24:33Does a great job. He's been heavily quoted by a lot of fantasy analysts.
24:37And he's the one that kind of broke down this recent trend that we're seeing.
24:41Yeah. John Shipley. And so I looked at some comps of like, let's say you're a primary ball carrier, but you don't
24:47get the carries from the five yard line or closer.
24:50How good can you be? So I did a search of running backs over the last three years, right?
24:5623, 24, 25. And if you start just 2024 and 2025, here are the running backs who have had 150 or more
25:02carries on the season, but from the five yard line or closer, no more than five.
25:07And there's only been in the last two years, there's only been one player who's again, 150 or more carries, but no
25:13more than five carries from the five yard line or closer and been awesome.
25:17And that was Devon Achan last year. Other than that, we're looking at Bucky Irving last year, who was RB 18 per game.
25:24Brees Hall, who was RB 21. Tony Pollard, who was RB 28 last year.
25:28Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB 32. There were four examples of these guys, 150 or more carries, but no more than five from
25:34the five yard line or closer in 2024. And none of them were higher than RB 22 per game.
25:40So that gives us nine examples like this of a guy who gets a lot of carries, but not where they count.
25:46And only one of them has been better than RB 18 per year.
25:50Now I'm glad I was like, I'm going to get one more year in there.
25:54Just while you're looking at this, Travis Etienne did not play for Liam Cohen in 2024.
25:59So a different coach. Yes, Travis Etienne was on here and he didn't really have that much.
26:04He started splitting with Tank Bixby at the end of 2024.
26:07Right, but what I'm getting at is don't look at it as this could be Tootin in the same system.
26:13It's a different system. It's true. And he's the worst one on this list.
26:17He was RB 41. But I think Tony Pollard is a really good comp for what Tootin might be.
26:23Now the difference is Pollard didn't get goal line carries from the five-yard line or closer because his team stunk.
26:28This wouldn't be that. This would be just getting replaced.
26:31But if we look at 2023, there were actually three guys who finished in the top 20 per game, including Brees Hall, who was RB 6, B.
26:39John Robinson, RB 15, and James Cook, RB 19.
26:42So that gives us five guys in the last three years who have been in this category and finished top 20 per
26:48game, but only one who was better than RB 15.
26:51And that's, I think, pretty significant. If he's not going to have the goal line role, and I'm not saying he's not,
26:57but think about it for anyone who you think won't have the goal line role.
27:02It's hard to be better than RB 18. It's harder to be better than RB 15, obviously.
27:07And the other thing is all of those running backs, by the way, that finished top 20 per game, all five of
27:13them in the last three years, they all had at least three, maybe four.
27:17I think they had at least four touchdown catches.
27:20So you need that. I don't know if he's going to get that.
27:24So this is why when you draft matters to a certain extent.
27:27This is why understanding certain situations. So you say this all the time, and we don't really argue about this, but I
27:34usually push back on this when you say it.
27:36So you want to draft Basial Tootin, I think, with the hope that he's going to be a top 10, top 15 guy, right?
27:43Yes. Anybody who drafts in the first five rounds.
27:46We have him ranked, I think, consensus probably around between RB 23 and 26.
27:50I don't know where Dave and Heath have him, but I know for me he's 24.
27:54So I'll say in that range, you know, low end RB 2.
27:58I know when I'm drafting a player like this, my hope is, does he crack the top 20?
28:03Obviously, if I'm drafting him 24th, I'd like him to be a top 20 guy.
28:07I'm not drafting him with the expectation that he's going to be a top 10 guy.
28:12I hope he is, but I'm not drafting him with that expectation.
28:16So I think if you're getting your return on investment, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, maybe 26, 27, I think you
28:22should be okay with that, knowing that how you built your team, maybe he's your third running back, in most cases your second running back.
28:29You know what you're getting here. And that's why I almost would say like if you're looking at the cost, the cost
28:36is better to go with Chris Rodriguez. What I mentioned about when you're drafting matters, you and I saw each other since
28:42our last show at the Flex draft. I was drafting, you were stopping by to be a kind and considerate person and say hello.
28:49And I had a choice, just to veer off for a second, I had a choice between DeAndre Swift and Quinchan Judkins.
28:55I have Judkins ranked one spot ahead of DeAndre Swift.
28:58At the time, Kyle Manonga was missing practice for about four days in a row.
29:03Those guys are back-to-back in my running back rankings, they're back-to-back in my overall rankings.
29:07I took Swift over Judkins. That's going to be one that I agonize over because if Judkins is better, that's the player
29:13I thought was going to be better, but I went with Swift because of the news.
29:18Somebody in this draft, I forget who it was, drafted Tootin.
29:21I thought too soon. This was at the time the buzz was pretty heavy for Tootin.
29:26Like I said, before I left for my trip, I adjusted my rankings.
29:30I wonder how much buyer's remorse that manager may have if Tootin is in this three-headed monster and a trap-back.
29:35So you want to keep an eye on the news when you're drafting.
29:39If anybody's drafting soon, you may get a bargain on a player, let's say like Rodriguez or in the case of Tootin.
29:46If things are pushing his value down, you still love him.
29:49But make sure you're keeping an eye on all of these things.
29:52Stay on top of all the information as much as you can.
29:56Yeah. Right. I think if he finishes his RB 28 or something like that, it's not that bad.
30:01It's like a wasted pick. But you'd like to have your fifth or early sixth round pick have that kind of upside.
30:07I'm not sure how many guys after him do.
30:10I'll ask you this because I kind of think I know the range of guys he's going in.
30:15So David Montgomery or Basel Tootin? Yeah. I'd have to say Montgomery.
30:19I would agree. Basel Tootin or Jalen Warren? Tootin.
30:21I would agree. Trevion Henderson or Basel Tootin? Tootin.
30:24I would agree, but that's a close one. Ramondre Stevenson or Basel Tootin?
30:28Tootin. Yep. So it's that kind of range of guys.
30:31You know, I think Bucky Irving is another one.
30:33Comp, I would take Irving over him, but similar.
30:36Yeah. I would go Irving and then I would really struggle between Montgomery and Tootin.
30:40Yeah. So I have it Montgomery, Irving, Tootin right now.
30:43We shouldn't take one practice as this is what's going to happen throughout the year.
30:47But it makes sense though. It does make sense.
30:50I just think if Tootin comes out and he plays really well, you know, then he'll earn a bigger role.
30:56He won't be the goal linebacker. Because Tootin is not some little dude.
31:00He's lightning fast. But he's actually pretty physical too.
31:02He's kind of like a little fast bowling ball, I think, a little bit.
31:06And he could be physical as well. We heard Scott Turner talk about this.
31:10Joint practices versus preseason games. Yeah. They're about to practice with the Panthers coming up in a week.
31:16And we'll probably get a good idea of what their roles will be a little bit more defined.
31:21All right. Hey, did you know that I'm going to be in Florida in a couple weeks for the tennis match?
31:27I heard. And the Giants are at the Dolphins.
31:30How fun is that? Can't get any better. Yeah, we all get to go to the Giants-Dolphins game.
31:35Me and Dan and everyone else who wants to go.
31:38So we'll see you there. You're going to go?
31:40I heard you're buying everybody tickets in a suite.
31:43Bro, it probably costs $200 to buy a full suite for a preseason game.
31:47Preseason games are expensive. I saw today like $13 upper deck.
31:50Okay. We're good. The food will be more expensive.
31:53All right, Jamie, let's talk about some running backs.
31:55I'm only going if Schaefer's going. Schaefer? Yeah, Schaefer, you should come too.
31:59We should all go. You can watch my kids as they run around the stadium.
32:04Jamey, running back. Let's start with your running backs.
32:06Give me a running back strategy. What do you got?
32:09I think this is a good year to go running back, running back if you can.
32:14You know, I wouldn't force it. I wouldn't necessarily reach for somebody that you don't want to take in the second round.
32:20But if you have an opportunity to take any of these players that are going in round two, and based on ADP, it could start with Chase Brown.
32:28But Ken Walker, if Jente's in round two, we don't see that very much.
32:32But Hampton, Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, like, you know, the receivers that you're passing on, again, could be A.J.
32:38Brown, could be Rushy Rice, could be Nico Collins, could be George Pickens, you know, whoever you think is going in round two, Devontae Smith.
32:45Some of those guys are going to be there in round three.
32:49And I think if you feel comfortable enough with those guys, again, we're going to talk about kind of a draft that
32:55I built of just my guys that I like on FFT Express from the 10 spot.
33:00So just using ADP, Chase Brown round one, his ADP is 12, so picking at 10, got him at what his cost would be.
33:07Ken Walker ahead of his ADP in round two, Devontae Smith in round three, Colston Loveland was in round four.
33:12Again, I don't want to spoil the whole FFT Express, but you get the point, like you're getting really good players.
33:18And so depending on where you are in the first round, you can get two good running backs.
33:24I think the drop-off is pretty steep. You know, I know you've made the case, I think you did it on the
33:30running back preview show, maybe it was the first one or second one, about Josh Jacobs being one of the best values this year.
33:37He's dealing with a groin injury. We still don't know when his legal situation could, you know, rear its head and become
33:43a problem for him if it does. But really after Jacobs, like Jeremiah Love, upside is immense, but we just don't know
33:50how much he's going to be sharing. Kyron Williams could be sharing.
33:53And you start to see the fall off, I think, really after those guys.
33:57Those are really the only three guys I think we see going round three.
34:01Maybe Javante Williams, Brees Hall at the back end of round three.
34:05But if I can get two running backs early, I think I'm actually going to do it.
34:10And it's not something that I'm used to doing probably in about 20 years, but not a bad strategy to go about this year.
34:17Okay. Very interesting. Let's take a break and get a little bit more into running backs and we'll talk about wide receivers.
34:23We'll be right back on FFT. Okay, Jamie. So you're cool taking two running backs to start and I don't disagree with it.
34:30I like to be running back receiver in some form because I don't want to feel pigeonholed on my third pick.
34:36I don't want it to be like, well, I have two running backs.
34:40I can't take a running back. But Ken Walker fell to me in the third right.
34:44You know what? Obviously, you could take three. But I don't want to feel like, man, I can't take my favorite player
34:51on the board because I already have two running backs or two wide receivers.
34:55Well, I think once you go that route, you have to be open to still taking best player available if it falls in your lap.
35:02And, you know, again, I think where you pick in the first round is probably going to be important because if you're
35:09picking 3, 4, 5, maybe 3, 4, 5, 6, I guess, you're probably looking at Chase, Puka, JSN, and St.
35:14Brown. And so then you're going receiver. I would probably go receiver running back there personally.
35:19But, again, I would also not try and pigeonhole yourself.
35:22So to reference the flex draft, I picked fourth, Drake London, because it was a very heavy running back draft, this half PPR.
35:29Very heavy running back draft. There was 12 running backs selected before my second pick.
35:33I took Drake London in round two. Come back in round three.
35:36You don't have to play a tight end, but you have two flex spots.
35:40I took Trey McBride. Round four, there's Tee Higgins still sitting there.
35:44So I don't have a running back through the first four rounds.
35:47And then my first two running backs are DeAndre Swift and Tony Pollard.
35:51Now, the build I'm perfectly fine with. I threw a lot of darts at the running back position after those guys.
35:57So it was Ja'Cory Krosky-Merritt. It was J.K. Dobbins.
36:00It was Tyrone Tracy. It was Ray Davis-Lath or somebody else I'm missing in there.
36:04But a lot of just dart throws at guys that I hope can maybe win a job and challenge Swift or Pollard in my lineup.
36:12But I don't think you should ever go into a situation where, okay, I'm targeting two running backs.
36:17I think it's easier if you're picking at the back end of round one because you kind of have that pool of players.
36:23Yeah. Beginning to the middle of round one, you're going to know who you're getting in the first round.
36:29And then it kind of dictates to you what you're doing round two.
36:33But I think you're right. We've had a couple of those drafts where I've said, oh, I didn't like going running back, running back, running back.
36:40But I did it. There was one in particular where I took Brees Hall in the third round.
36:46No, I think it was a hero wide receiver approach where it was two running backs, receiver, and then Brees Hall in round four.
36:53So he was the best player on the board.
36:55So I think it's just one of those situations where the running back position feels very, very top heavy.
37:01And if you can get two of those guys early, like you said, you may see Barkley, Derrick Henry, Ken Walker.
37:07However, the draft man full where those guys are there in round three, early part of round three, especially once we start
37:13to see the quarterbacks maybe get pushed into round two a little bit.
37:17Josh Dow in particular. It's not a bad idea to sort of play the board that way.
37:22But I think that's if you're picking in the early part of round one as opposed to the back end.
37:28So with wide receiver, me, Heath, Dave, we had sort of established about 25, 26 wide receivers that sort of run close
37:34to the end of round five, 60th overall. We'd love to get two of them.
37:38Wouldn't mind getting three of them, but we'd love to walk away with two of those guys.
37:43It's kind of important. Do you feel that way about any number of running backs?
37:48I want two of my top blank running backs.
37:50I mean, again, I think once you start to dip into the pool of, you know, I know Dave would say Brees
37:57Hall, but so we could say Brees Hall, Judkins, Scadaboo, Swift, Tootin, Henderson.
38:00I'm trying to think if I'm missing anybody there.
38:03Montgomery. Irving. Yeah. Montgomery. You know, those guys, like it just starts to get a little, oh, I don't love it, but,
38:09you know, I can see the upside. Like you're trying to convince yourself, right?
38:14And so it's a hard sell. I think there's definitely 22 that I feel okay with.
38:18You know, kind of Montgomery, I think, is the cutoff for me.
38:22You know, where I can see the workload being okay and the offense being okay and the role being okay.
38:27But it just, you know, once you start to have to justify, okay, Rashad White's my RB too.
38:33Ramondre Stephenson's my RB too. You know, so the hero RB route can still work and work great.
38:38You know, especially if there's an injury that unfolds to a certain backfield and you end up with the second guy that ends up as the starter.
38:46But like, you know, unless you're just comfortable with a lot of depth.
38:50So again, to reference the draft that I did, you know, everybody was loading up on running backs.
38:55I didn't have that luxury starting Puka, getting Drake London.
38:58And so I wasn't going to reach for somebody just to get a player of a certain position.
39:03So, you know, a little bit of a weird draft, a league because no tight end and you could play two flexes.
39:09So you could essentially start five wide receivers. But I think when you start to stack it up, like the wide receiver pool feels deeper.
39:17The running back pool feels more top heavy. Like, you know, once you get past, we've discussed this a lot.
39:22Once you get past St. Brown, there's questions. And that's four guys, you know.
39:26So there's questions with C.D. Lamb. There's questions with Jefferson.
39:29There's questions with London, you know, to varying degrees.
39:32But it's like, okay, I know if Derrick Henry stays healthy when I'm getting.
39:36I know if Saquon Barkley isn't more involved in the passing game, he's going to probably bounce back and be special.
39:42So Jente could be awesome. Hampton could be awesome.
39:45Like, it doesn't feel like there's that many questions.
39:47Yeah. Yeah, I mean, certainly there are always questions.
39:50But it's good. I mean, I love round two.
39:53I just love round two. I think round two is awesome at running back and wide receiver.
39:57And I think you should – there's really no reason not to love your first two picks.
40:02I think if you're picking early, to me, honestly, there's no reason not to love your first three picks.
40:08Once you start to get to the mid and late first round picks, round three gets a little bit tougher.
40:14Running back, if you don't get one of those – or two of those top 22-ish guys, I think we'd be okay with Tony Pollard as our RB2.
40:22He's not that exciting, but, you know, he's going to get some work where we don't really know what Jalen Warren's workload
40:28is going to be in guys like Enrico Dowdle.
40:31J.K. Dobbins, if we knew he was going to play 17 games, if we thought he was going to play 17 games, he might be higher up.
40:39He could get you through the beginning of the season as your RB2.
40:43More so in non or half PPR. Maybe Jordan Mason with a late pick.
40:47Maybe Ja'Cory Krosky-Meritt. Like, these guys will emerge. Do you have any mid to late round targets that you find yourself drafting a lot at the position?
40:54I mean, John the Brooks, you know, is an easy one right now.
40:58Just the more buzz and more hype that he gets, the easier to gravitate toward him.
41:03I like the pass-catching guys. You know, so Gainwell and Rashad White, I think they're going to have, you know, enough roles
41:09– enough of a role in PPR that they're worth taking a shot on.
41:13Conversely, I think, you know, Ja'Cory Krosky-Meritt, if there is any truth to him being involved in a passing game, that's awesome
41:20because he closed last season playing very well. So, I think it's – the most important thing I think that you can
41:26do in your draft is once you have – I would like to have three.
41:30Two is the easy number, but three would be the ideal spot.
41:34So, if you have your two starters and one guy that could be potential flex for you or work in your starters,
41:40start to take swings at guys that have just immense upside, mostly if there's an injury that occurs.
41:46So, you know, we've talked about this. You've done a great job illustrating this in regards to two players in particular, Blake Khorum and Kyle Monongai, right?
41:53So, you look at those two guys. If they did get starting roles on their teams, we're talking about potential top 10
42:00running backs there because the other guy would be off the field and they would most likely get featured down work.
42:06So, those are two easy swings. So, when you're comparing them to – and, you know, this comes down to, you know,
42:12who you favor and I think what your build is.
42:15So, Khorum versus Dobbins, right? You just said if Dobbins plays 17 games, well, that doesn't happen very often.
42:21Plus, there's now potentially three guys that he's sharing with.
42:24So, if you like your build to that point and you have your three guys, let's say, and you say, okay, who's a league winner here?
42:31Is it Dobbins with the safer floor or is it Khorum with the safer ceiling?
42:35You know, and that's really like in – we're talking probably around 9 through 11 with those type of players, right?
42:42Then it starts to go a little bit further.
42:44So, if you're looking at it as do I want to take a TyJ Spears, a Dylan Sampson, that type of player,
42:51or even look way further down the ADP list and certainly a lot of people's draft boards, a Ray Davis or a Marshawn Lloyd, right?
42:58Because if Sampson gets the job, is he the featured guy in Cleveland?
43:02Maybe. Is Spears the featured guy in Tennessee? Maybe.
43:04But I think if the Packers have an injury or if the Bills have an injury, yeah, it could be still sharing,
43:11you know, Ty Johnson and Ray Davis. But Ray Davis could be an absolute monster, right?
43:15So, like those are easy late round targets. Now, again, we're talking different ADP and those type of things.
43:21But I think when you look at it, like at the end of your bench, swing for the fences as much as you can.
43:28Those guys may be cut early in your year because they're not even playing.
43:32But by the end of the season, that player, even in a shared situation – I mean, look, Blake Corum at the
43:38end of the season last year was startable. You know, so you may get to a situation where Kyle Manonga was startable.
43:45You know, those type of players, if they get the chance to start, could be awesome.
43:49Yeah, the only guy I wouldn't personally buy into would be Dylan Samson because I think Raheem Sanders would mix in there quite a bit.
43:56No, I'm saying avoid Samson. Yeah, but I think – What I'm getting at is, like, if you're talking about Ray Davis
44:03versus Dylan Samson, Samson is going to help you more now.
44:06Yeah, for whatever that's – Davis is going to win you a league.
44:10Yeah, absolutely. Okay, yeah, yeah, no, totally on the same page.
44:13And to me, I just don't – I don't really understand how Blake Corum and Kyle Manonga go about three to four rounds later than Travion Henderson.
44:21I don't want to pick on Travion Henderson every episode.
44:24But unless I'm missing something here, what are we talking about?
44:27Any of those three guys, if the starting running back or the other running back gets hurt, they all could be great.
44:33And any of them might have flex value on a given week.
44:37What are you buying Travion Henderson in round five for when you can get Corum and Manonga in round eight or nine?
44:43I think that makes sense. The only pushback I would give you is that Travion's playing behind a guy that feels like
44:50he's on a little bit less footing than the other two.
44:53Yeah, all right. I mean, I could see that.
44:55I could see that. Corum, by the way, is apparently having a great camp and looks super explosive.
45:01And honestly, I love Kyron Williams. I think he's a terrific player.
45:04I'm not sure that Blake Corum isn't better, which is me praising – that's my praising Corum, not insulting.
45:10It's got to be his pass blocking. If he can get that to the level of Kyron Williams, who does it at
45:16a very good level, at least – I don't know what his rating is, but I know what my eyes tell me.
45:22Yeah. And what the Rams say. They love him in that spot.
45:26Yeah. Kyron is a guy who plays almost every – no, that's not true.
45:30He plays almost – I was going to say he plays almost every snap, but he doesn't because of Corum.
45:36But he plays all the time on third down.
45:38He just never gets targeted. But just the fact that Kyron is on the field on third down all the time, maybe they changed that up this year.
45:47Maybe they mixed Corum in more. But the history is Kyron is always there.
45:51That at least gives him the opportunity to surprise us with more catches this season.
45:55I'm not expecting – I think if you're very hopeful for Corum, you're hopeful that the Rams are in a lot of blowouts.
46:02Yeah. I agree. And I think they probably will be.
46:05So this I talked a lot about on the wide receiver show, but the trends – I've done the research back for
46:11the last eight years – is that it's a little bit – not a lot, but a little bit easier to find
46:17good wide receivers later in the draft than it is at running back.
46:21If you look at guys who have finished in the top 12 of the two positions, a little bit higher of percentage
46:27of those running backs were drafted in rounds one and two compared to the wide receivers.
46:32I mentioned that over the last two seasons, when you look at the top six running backs over the last two years
46:39and the top six wide receivers over the last two years, well, 11 of those 12 running backs were drafted in rounds one and two.
46:46Only seven of those wide receivers were drafted in rounds one and two.
46:50So running back has been a little bit more top-heavy, and when you start getting past round seven or so, you're able to find wide receivers.
46:57They're not going to necessarily win your league, although they could be Chris Olave last year.
47:02They could be Zay Flowers at the end of round six or something like that.
47:06But better values typically at the receiver position, which kind of makes sense.
47:10There's just so many more wide receivers that we draft.
47:13There are so many more wide receivers that are fantasy relevant than running backs, so there's just more opportunities.
47:18So, Jamie, let's get your wide receiver preview, if you don't mind.
47:22Give me your overall strategy at that position. I think there's easy to take one of the top four in the first round.
47:28If you're at the back end of the first round, it becomes a little bit tougher to sell the upside of CeeDee
47:35Lamb because of George Pickens there and the upside of Justin Deverson because of the quarterback situation.
47:40Both could be awesome. They are both ranked for me at the back end of round one.
47:45If I am going to take a wide receiver in that spot, those would be the two guys I would be choosing from.
47:51I think if you're going to go wide receiver, wide receiver with your first two picks, it's got to be one of
47:58the top four guys and somebody falling to you that you really love.
48:02So that could be London, could be Brown, could be Rice, could be Nico Collins.
48:06I think once you get past those guys, at least for me, I'm probably looking at other spots.
48:11I would factor in Brock Bowers as well as somebody I would take ahead of some of those wide receivers.
48:17I love the value for a lot of the wide receivers in rounds three through six.
48:22I just think that there's so much potential, so much upside when you talk about Abuka and Flowers, hopefully taking a step forward with his touchdowns.
48:29Devontae Smith without A.J. Brown there. Luther Burden if he's healthy.
48:32There's just so much to love about the high-end wide receiver twos.
48:36T. Higgins gets pushed down. He scored 21 touchdowns in the last 27 games.
48:40I mean, if he's healthy and Joe Burrow's healthy, you know what he's going to give you.
48:45And when we talk about touchdowns are the hardest thing to predict, when a guy does that, it's not hard to predict.
48:51He's probably going to be in the neighborhood of 10 touchdowns.
48:54Higgins, right? Are you talking about T. Higgins? That group of guys that there's still questions of, but the upside's there.
49:01Garrett Wilson last year finally started to put it together, and then he gets hurt.
49:05Malik Nabors, the upside is immense if he's healthy.
49:08I still think Chris Olave is going to have a good enough season.
49:11He's in the round three range. But I love D.J.
49:14Moore. I think Jaden Wall is going to have a good enough season if he's healthy.
49:19Hopefully the groin injury isn't sore. I think it's a groin injury.
49:22But a leg injury that he's dealing with is not going to be a problem for him.
49:27You know, you start to look at the back end of this group where you still have, I think, Devontae Adams, Mike
49:34Evans, Christian Watson is somebody I'm very excited about.
49:36And Romo Doense now. You know, his value can skyrocket.
49:39So there's, you know, I think you said 26, 26.
49:42You know, to me it's almost like 30 guys.
49:45You know, Jameson Williams is another guy having a great camp that we're kind of all over the map on.
49:50You know, with the addition of Drew Petsing and what the offense is going to look like.
49:55But, you know, he's still going to have a lot of big weeks.
49:59Marvin Harrison, after a dismal camp, has really turned things on and, you know, making play after play.
50:04So there's just a lot of depth to this position that I think you can look at and say, OK, if I
50:11don't take a wide receiver early, I can still be very good at that position.
50:15And that's kind of why, you know, I'm not afraid to go running back, running back, especially, again, if you're at the back end of the first round.
50:23Yeah. And I maybe I'm a fool, but I like the old guys still.
50:27The ones that are going around five. I don't love McLaurin as much now because of Diggs and because of Tunsil and
50:34because he just really hasn't had that great of a career, honestly, for fantasy and good, not great.
50:39He's basically going where he deserves to go based on his career.
50:42But you're hoping there's more there for McLaurin because the one year he played with Jane Daniels, the one year he really
50:49played with Jane Daniels was his best season. But the DJ Moore, Mike Evans, Devante Adams, Terry McLaurin group, I happen to like quite a bit.
50:56And I don't want to I don't want to necessarily pass it up.
51:00If I took wide receivers in rounds three and four, which I may have, I'm almost certainly not going with a wide receiver in round five.
51:08And I'll say one more thing about those wide receivers around five.
51:11I like them. I think I like them better than the running backs there.
51:15That's yeah, I do. I do. I like them better than Montgomery and Tootin and Bucky Irving.
51:20Right. I'm not saying that all those wide receivers are going to be better than all those.
51:25But in general, I'd rather need a wide receiver in round five than a running back.
51:30However, I'd much rather have one of those quarterbacks there.
51:33That's when Joe Burrow and Jaden Daniels and Drake may might be available in Lamar Jackson.
51:37Now, you're hoping that one of them falls there, maybe.
51:40But if one of those four guys fall, so quarterbacks two through five in the rankings.
51:45Those seem to me like better picks than any of the running backs and wide receivers.
51:50That doesn't mean you have to take one there.
51:52But that would be the time where I think quarterback really comes into play when we're starting to look at the riskier picks at running back and receiver.
52:00Yeah, and scoring matters. You know, again, I'll reference the flex draft.
52:04So that's a four point for passing touchdown league.
52:06And so, again, I told you how I started.
52:09Puka at the fourth spot. Drake London. Trey McBride.
52:12Tee Higgins. DeAndre Swift. Tony Pollard. My next pick was Drake May.
52:15You know, so like there were running backs on the board that probably would have helped that position a lot more.
52:21But if Drake May is Drake May, that's a steal.
52:24That was the third quarterback. Again, analyst draft. Four points for passing touchdowns.
52:28So put that in context. We're quarterbacks. We know in those type of formats, especially with other analysts, they fall.
52:34But like I wasn't just going to reach for a running back because, oh, I didn't like my running backs.
52:39I'm going to take the best player on the board.
52:42And he was by far the best player on the board.
52:46I think that team is phenomenal. I guess I didn't realize that you don't have to start a tight end.
52:51So the McBride pick is not as good as I thought.
52:55But I still think that's a phenomenal. Can I tell you that I didn't remember that we didn't start a tight end?
53:01So I was I was shocking. I was running late.
53:04And I had made my first pick on the app in a taxi in an Uber.
53:09Wait, can I interrupt real quick? Because I was at the bar.
53:12They were waiting for Jamie. He was the last guy to show up for the draft.
53:17And I said, I will draft for Jamie until he gets here.
53:20And Jake Seeley, who ran the draft, said, now he's drafting from his from his phone in the car.
53:26Like, damn it. I really wanted to draft for.
53:28So, I mean, you would have taken Puka at four.
53:31Yeah. I was there for the second pick. So you would have taken London because you were you were very much in agreement when I drafted him.
53:39Mm hmm. Right. Yeah. And I wouldn't have known the rules.
53:42So I would have taken McBride. Right. So McBride's there in round three.
53:46Now, listen, if if I was doing it differently, the one player that I would have taken because I like Devante Smith
53:52a lot would have been Devante Smith. So that'll be one that I track.
53:56You know, will McBride outscore Devante Smith? But yeah, that's.
53:59Otherwise, I think we're we're we're lockstep. Yeah. Yeah.
54:02All right. Well, I'm just saying I would have liked to have once I got there.
54:07I was like, damn, I regret not being in this league.
54:10That would have been fun. So. All right. So we talked about kind of those wide receivers there.
54:15And then, you know, I know you like Christian Watson a lot.
54:19I guess at what point do you feel like we are drafting?
54:22Well, at what point do we run out of players that you think have a realistic shot to be top 12?
54:28Like after the Watson range. Be top 12. Yeah, I could see Mike Evans being top 12.
54:33I could see DJ Moore being top. So I don't think they're going to be top five, but I could certainly see them having that kind of year.
54:41That's fair. So I have it right now. Washington's at 25.
54:44Adams is at 26. Evans is at 27. Watson's at 28, if I have it correctly.
54:49You know, so probably that group. Maybe Odunze at 29.
54:52Okay. Then we've got these are consensus rankings. If you're watching.
54:55Heath is much lower on Mike Evans. That's why it drives his cost down.
54:59Marvin Harrison, Jr., Brian Thomas, Jr. I know we like Josh Downs a lot.
55:03How do you feel about the rookies? It's hard to get excited about Makai Lemon right now.
55:08Just with the injury, the fact that he was injured in minicamp, still injured and started training camp.
55:13You know, he's a faller for me in my rankings.
55:16But Carnal Tate, Tyson are the first two that I would draft.
55:20Then it would be, I have the two Browns guys back to back.
55:24But again, like, you know, if you want pieces of this rookie class, Stribling's seemingly in a great spot because he's healthy.
55:30And Evans and Christian Kirk are both hurt. Ricky Pearsall's out for the season.
55:34You have Zachariah Branch, you know, looking like he's going to be the second receiver there in Atlanta.
55:39Caleb Douglas might be the best receiver in Miami this year.
55:42You know, especially if Chris Bell is still limited coming off of the ACL tear.
55:47We'll see how that goes. So there's a lot of good players here.
55:51You know, again, Cyrus Allen, you got Xavier Worthy, as you said, banged up a little bit.
55:56And Jacoby Lane could end up being the touchdown guy for the Ravens, maybe at the expense of both Mark Andrews and
56:02Zay Flowers, based on his size and how he profiles.
56:05So there's a lot to like about this rookie class late.
56:08But I think if you're talking early, it would be Tate as early probably as round six.
56:13Tyson probably as early as round seven. I would probably look for him closer to round eight.
56:18But those are the two I think that everybody should be chasing if you're chasing the rookie class.
56:23I mean, I'm pretty amazed when I look at the rankings and I see Makai Lemon at 50 in our consensus rankings.
56:29We got Casey Concepcion, who is a first-round pick with a ton of talent.
56:34The kind of guy that might just shatter his ADP.
56:36Usually we get, last year was an exception, usually we get two rookie-wide receivers every year that are drafted after pick 97
56:43or later, the beginning of round nine in a 12-team league, and finish as a top 24 player or top 24 wide receiver either overall or per game.
56:51You go back to a couple years ago, it was Brian Thomas Jr.
56:55and Ladd McConkie. Last year I had what, one?
56:57No, I think we had zero last year. Well, I guess Abuka fell off at the end because he was the only
57:04one that was drafted later than that, right? I don't know if, I actually think he was top 24 overall or per game.
57:10I don't think he ended up with an ADP that late.
57:14He was such a riser. Man, like we would love, you know, people would love him.
57:18And for good reason. Yeah. But you've got Matthew Golden, who was the first-round pick two years ago, and now, you know, he's got an opportunity.
57:26And if we go back, Thomas, to the page before that, yeah, there we go.
57:30Thank you. Jordan Addison, Quentin Johnston, Jordan Typen. I mean, Quentin Johnston's ADP right now is after pick 100.
57:36Jordan Addison is around the same thing. He's 109th.
57:38I just, I think there's such good value. Michael Wilson, where's he going?
57:42Michael Wilson's going 89th. So he's actually going ahead of those guys.
57:46But however it falls, in some drafts it might be Michael Wilson going ahead of Addison and Johnston and Tyson.
57:51In some drafts it might be the exact opposite.
57:54But boy, we have some exciting players in this range.
57:57And just while we're on this page, it's just something that has been on my mind lately with all the Parker Washington hype.
58:04So I think there's three guys that kind of fall in the same category.
58:08They're smaller slot-type receivers. Parker Washington, Josh Downs, Wondell Robinson.
58:11Prior to the groin injury for Downs, he was getting some buzz as well.
58:15So I think I said this on one of my last shows.
58:18If you miss on Washington, just get Downs a round or two later.
58:22If you miss on Downs, get Wondell Robinson. He's another guy having a strong camp.
58:26And I think getting overlooked a little bit, I know Dave's very excited about him.
58:31I don't think he's getting 140 targets like he's gotten each of the last two years in Brian Daybol's offense.
58:36But if we get a mix of the two seasons of Robinson, last year was unbelievable.
58:41The year before, he was kind of just a good low-end wide receiver too.
58:45More in PPR than any other format because, again, all the volume.
58:49But still, the tier of the ADP versus what the production could be.
58:52Wondell Robinson's resume is obviously better than both those guys combined.
58:56So somebody that you can get at a cheaper cost and I think could still be a good value pick for your team.
59:02Yeah, I just completely agree with everything you say.
59:05Just changing the subject a little bit here. I want to look at last year's ADP at wide receiver and see if I like this group.
59:12Let's see if I can go back to memory lane here.
59:16Wide receiver 40, 41, or 40. And Jacoby Myers was wide receiver 40.
59:19He was still on the Raiders. Matthew Golden as a rookie.
59:23Cooper Cup. I didn't really like Cooper Cup that much, I don't think.
59:26No. Jordan Addison. But we're talking about wide receiver 42.
59:29Jordan Addison. Addison was suspended though. Keep that in mind.
59:32Who was? Addison. Okay. Three games, was it? I think so.
59:35Yeah. Khalil Shakir. I probably love that pick. Chris Godwin.
59:38I think we all did. I probably like that pick.
59:41Michael Pittman. I don't know. I don't know. Keon Coleman.
59:44What's his deal? The way he started the season last year was awesome.
59:48Yeah. Keon Coleman. I love that. 118th overall. I think we all did.
59:52So I'm sure I was excited about those guys.
59:54And the reality is most guys getting picked this late, or you're not going to get major fantasy contributions there.
60:00I understand that. I think you just, again, you look at the profiles of these guys, right?
60:05Addison, Sutton, you know, he's been, I don't know if he's holding in, looking for a trade.
60:10He hasn't been practicing very much. Sutton, Addison, Johnston, maybe Tyson, maybe Wilson.
60:14They're going to be touchdown guys, right? If they score a bunch of touchdowns, you're going to get great return on your investment.
60:20If they don't score, you're not going to get a lot of targets for those guys, especially, you know, if Jawan Jennings
60:27is a factor in Minnesota and what Johnston, you know, is dealing with, if Trey Harris is actually a thing, et cetera.
60:33Then you have, you know, the guys that should get some targets, which is Wondell Robinson and probably Pittman is a new role.
60:40Coker, to me, could be a steal. Debo and Diggs are kind of wild cards at this point.
60:45They're older guys, but, you know, obviously they're going to be called upon in their offenses.
60:50So this is just, you know, I think it's kind of like a pick your poison of, am I shooting for a
60:56lot of touchdowns and maybe more than you're taking Sutton, Addison, Johnston?
61:00If I'm shooting for targets and opportunities, I'm probably looking at a Wondell Robinson type of guy.
61:04All right. Good options late at wide receiver. Anything, any final thoughts you want to give before we wrap it up?
61:11Um, again, I think when you get to the late rounds, you know, and, and we talked about this with the running
61:17backs, like you're taking guys that have eye upside.
61:20So those rookies that we talked about, you know, they may not do something early in the season, but Douglas Lane, Cyrus
61:26Allen and guys that have, you know, I think untapped potential.
61:29The name that I keep gravitating toward a lot is Jalen Naylor.
61:33And so far he's been by all accounts, the best receiver for the Raiders.
61:37He's not going to lead the team targets, assuming Brock Bowers is healthy.
61:40He's probably going to be number two. And so why not?
61:44Why not Caleb Douglas? Why not those type of players that just there's opportunities there.
61:48And again, you're looking at what they could become.
61:51They're going to be maybe the first guy you cut.
61:54Who cares? Stripling, same thing. If everybody's injured in San Francisco, by the way, go, go check out the substation, uh, account on X.
62:01It's hilarious. Um, have you seen it? No. Oh, it's so funny.
62:04Um, it's, it's just like taking shots at the, uh, let me see if I can find like a, one that it's done.
62:11Um, but take shots on guys that are going to get targets.
62:14And I think that's just the easy way to look at it.
62:18Like you could go about lots of different metrics and what's going to happen, but like, you know, the opportunity for guys to get, get targets.
62:25All right. So here's, it's called, it's, uh, at SC substation.
62:28They're now up to 21,000 followers. Um, six days ago, this was their pin, uh, post on X.
62:34I'm just here doing my job and everyone is mad at me.
62:37Um, where's a good one. I just have one point to make while you look for that.
62:42As I get to the later rounds of drafts, talk about round nine ish or so.
62:47There's a point where we're talking in the, the Josh downs, Quentin Johnston, Jordan Addison range, Jordan Tyson.
62:52I like a lot there, even Makai lemon. I like those guys better than the running backs.
62:57I don't, I'm not really in on gain. Well, or Chuba Hubbard at this point.
63:01So I probably, if I could, would go wide receiver at that point in the draft and then come back.
63:07And if I need a running back, then I'm looking at you, Corey Krosky, Merritt, uh, Jordan Mason.
63:12You're getting, you're getting a starting running back in round nine or 10.
63:16So I, I would, I, you know, it's just a few names there.
63:20Um, but that's kind of how I would look at it.
63:23I'd rather pass on gain. Well, and Jonathan and not necessarily Jonathan Brooks, but I'd rather pass on gain.
63:29Well, and get, and, uh, who was the other?
63:31Oh, Chuba Hubbard in particular. And then take a wide receiver there and then look at Bill or Jordan Mason.
63:37I also would like, hopefully I can get Blake Kormer common on guy in that stretch as well.
63:42But I'm, I have a feeling you'd be able to accomplish both.
63:46Like I'd love to walk away with Quentin Johnston and Blake Corum.
63:49Those would be two. But doesn't that, doesn't that kind of depend on how your first several rounds have gone?
63:55I mean, my team's pretty awesome at that point.
63:58I just assume. So I guess if I were going to walk away with one wide receiver and one running back, you
64:04know, it'd be either Johnston or Josh Downs and either Corum or Mononga.
64:08And if I miss on them, Jordan Mason, that's kind of where I'm at.
64:12Yeah. I mean, it's, it makes sense. Again, you're talking about guys that have high upside.
64:16You know, the problem is that everybody's chasing those guys if they're doing their homework, but there's a ton of guys in this ADP.
64:23Those are, I'm just picking the guys that kind of stand out to me.
64:27Yeah. And I don't think you need to take a quarterback there because if you don't take a quarterback there, you, you
64:34can still get someone who's probably just as good.
64:36I mean, you'll see how your draft falls, but you can get Jared Goff even after that.
64:41He's the, uh, he's the late round target of choice.
64:44Yeah. He's pretty awesome ADP right now. Jared Goff.
64:47Um, thanks for watching and listening, everybody. We will talk to you on Tuesday with another edition of fantasy football today.
64:53Also join us Tuesday night for our live stream at 7 PM Eastern and go to tinyurl.com slash FFT donate 2026.
64:59The auction is going to be open for the beyond the box score dynasty league.
65:03Hopefully we'll raise a lot of money through that.
65:06And we'll talk to you later on fantasy football podcasts.