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0:20Friends, welcome into Fantasy Focus Football alongside Field Yates and Mike Clay.
0:24My name is Daniel Dopp. We have a big show planned for you today.
0:27Toughest backfields to assess. We're going to dive into a bunch of the backfields.
0:31Really difficult to figure out what we want to do in fantasy.
0:34Some preseason risers and fallers as well. People moving up and down our ranks and a little bit of salary draft and some draft advice as well.
0:41So fun things in the show. How are you guys doing today?
0:45It's Wednesday. Yeah, we're doing great. I'm doing great.
0:47I'll let Mike answer in a second. I think that answer for him.
0:50We're doing great. Here it is. Mike is doing awesome as well.
0:54I find that we get a lot of questions about draft strategy.
0:57So salary cap, you may know them as auction drafts.
1:00We'll talk about those later on. And then also if you haven't played Dynasty or you're struggling with your Dynasty, at least
1:05we might give you some friendly tips. And I think the goal of the difficult backfields, I think, is deciding, is there
1:11somebody that's worth prioritizing or are we just headed for a running back dead zone?
1:15Yes. Which can happen with usually a handful of teams per season.
1:19So Mike, how are you? I'm good. I mean, you guys kind of stole the thunder.
1:23You spoke for me. You set up the show.
1:25So, I mean, I'll just move on. Live show.
1:28August 20th. There we go, Mike Clay! 7 p.m.
1:30Eastern live from Racket NYC. That is tomorrow. Yeah.
1:32Okay. Last chance. That's it. And hang out with this great crew.
1:36You know, we clearly have a good time. You could come hang with us.
1:39Yes. We'll have some drinks. We'll talk fantasy for a while.
1:42Take some Q&A. So comment out and have some fun.
1:45Also, our guy Eric Moody is in the chat.
1:47Way to go, Michael! Daniel, take the rest of the season off.
1:51This is a good chance. I mean, I have to do something.
1:54You guys took all the fun stuff. Mike Clay variety hour starts right now.
1:58That's right. I got it covered. All right. Well, before we dive into all the stuff we just talked about, we need a little bit of news.
2:05So let's talk about it. We got a lot to get into today.
2:08We're going to take some questions from chat a little bit later on in the show, but we're going to start, unfortunately, with Alvin Kamara.
2:15We got some news. He is going to miss, quote, at least a month, unfortunately, with an MCL sprain.
2:20Mike, the projections guy. That's me. When you see this, yes, that is you.
2:24When you see this, unfortunately, not great news, not only for Alvin Kamara, but hopefully maybe some good news for Travis H.
2:30How are you adjusting the projections? There's a hair of hesitation in your head.
2:33I sense it as well. Yeah. Yeah. Well, first of all, Kamara has been a fine, like kind of later round pick, right?
2:39Just because we expect that he might have that.
2:42I don't want to say like Kenny Gainwell last year, but sort of that role where not a lot in the carry
2:48department, but a lot of passing game work enough to maybe maybe like a Justice Hill role where he could kind of
2:54flirt like a deep league flex sort of situation if things go his way.
2:57But he is 31 years old. In the NFL, at least a good insurance back.
3:01He'll get some carries early in the season, maybe a target or two, but it's going to be the H and show.
3:07Here's the thing, though, guys. I have a Chan at 17 in my rankings.
3:11Who's ahead of him? Javante Williams, Josh Jacobs, Marion Hampton, Brees Hall.
3:14Like he's already at the top of a tier for me.
3:17So even if I'm if he's more likely to go overall a little earlier, it doesn't really move him much in my running back rankings.
3:24I did tell you guys before the show, though, had a best ball draft last night.
3:28I did take him at the turn over Brees Hall and Josh Jacobs.
3:32Those guys have Hall injury issues. We'll consider him questionable for week one.
3:35And obviously, Josh Jacobs looks like he'll be back at practice, but he is a candidate for suspension as well.
3:40Not to mention he's 28 years old. So coming off massive workload.
3:44So I think it kind of closes the gap between those guys, including Javante Williams.
3:48For me, if you want to take him over all those guys.
3:51Yeah. Nope. No problem. As far as the projection goes up, but he stays in the same tier.
3:56He just like creates a little bit more. Yeah.
3:58He's just a little closer to those guys and it makes it more palatable to take him over.
4:03Some of those guys are question marks. Sure. We can talk about Najee Harris here.
4:07Yeah, let's dive in field as good stuff there from Mike on Alvin Kamara, what it means for HN.
4:12Najee Harris is now New York Giant. Yep. And I remember when this deal was first reported, I was like, there's one more shoe that has to drop.
4:19It's the money. What is the money here? It's not some gigantic, crazy contract, but it's got $3 million guaranteed.
4:25I think with the upside to be worth $5.5 million.
4:27If the Giants had just signed a veteran running back, I probably would have dismissed it and said, let's move on here.
4:33I don't think this is nothing. I think it's something for this Giants backfield.
4:37Devin Singletary and Tyrone Tracy and Cam Scadamu. I probably had that order exactly wrong when I read them off in terms
4:43of fantasy relevance, but I do think this is a bit of a downgrade, a bit of a downgrade for Cam Scadamu,
4:49who dropped down two spots in my running back rankings.
4:51He's been hovering on that border of low-end RB2 or top-end flex, and I think he maybe pushes himself down a little
4:57bit to top-end flex because I think Najee's going to play a real role, right?
5:01Like, he's coming off of an Achilles tear, but he missed all of last season.
5:05That injury was sustained prior to last season. So Najee Harris has basically had 12 months to get himself back into football shape.
5:11He's got familiarity with the Harbaugh's in general, right?
5:14It was Jim Harbaugh last year who he signed with.
5:17Now it's John Harbaugh. He does sort of fit with what I think John Harbaugh wants a running back to play like, a physical bigger back.
5:23So I think it takes a little bit of the shine off of Cam Scadamu, still clearly and obviously the Giants running
5:29back that you want to draft, but a little bit less valuable today because Najee Harris will play a role, not necessarily
5:35a lead back role, but he's going to have a role.
5:38Yeah, I agree that they're going to try and see if that'll work out.
5:42I think the quote from John Harbaugh was kind of like, you know, we'll see.
5:46We're going to bring him in, see if he, and Harris himself admits he's not in football shape yet.
5:51So we'll see how it works out. So, but at the end of the day for me as a Scadaboo guy, guy wants to draft him.
5:58I hope this just knocks his ADP down a little bit.
6:01Cause I would, I still want to, I still want to pick them.
6:04Like if I, he's going in the fourth round right now, if he, he might fall now to the fifth, sixth round.
6:10And if that's the case, uh, I'm going to, I'm going to take a shot because I believe in the talent.
6:16And remember last year he was facing off with Tracy and Singletary and he emerges the clear lead back.
6:21And he had a touchdown per game. He was basically delivering as a top 10 scoring fantasy running back.
6:26So I think there's a lot to like there.
6:28And I will say this about Harris the first three weeks last season, he had a role with the chargers, but I'm sorry.
6:35It was early in the, I said he got hurt before.
6:37Yeah. It was a week three. I believe he went down.
6:40Um, but it was very clear that Hampton was going to take control there.
6:44Like we kind of all saw that coming when he was fading away.
6:48He was kind of a non-factor in fantasy, just getting a few touches a game.
6:52I believe in the talent of Scadaboo. I think that happens here too.
6:55I think it's going to be very evident early on when Harris is average at three and a half yards per carry that Scadaboo is the guy.
7:02And then he's going to emerge in our fantasy.
7:05My pushback would be this is in Hampton. I think one of the reasons why the chargers, well, the chargers signed Najee
7:11Harris before they drafted Omari and Hampton. Right. So if, if, if memory serves, Ham, uh, Najee Harris was not signed in like June.
7:17I could be wrong there. Uh, but the bottom line is that like, I think part of the Najee Harris value for
7:23them last year was like not putting too much on a rookie's plate.
7:26I think in the case of Scadaboo, while you're right, the cream rises and he's a better player, more talented player, younger player than Najee Harris.
7:33Wear and tear is the single greatest concern for Cam Scadaboo.
7:36Yeah. He's an awesome player whose body has been through a lot at this age of his career that even if Cam
7:42Scadaboo is humming, I still think that there's a part of the Giants that's like, yeah, he's playing great, but we got to be careful with this guy.
7:50He's coming off of a huge, nasty ankle injury and plays with as physical of a style of any running back, not
7:55named maybe Derek Henry or Jonathan Taylor in the NFL.
7:58Yep. I do think there's a bit of protecting him, which is why I'm moving down a couple of the spots, not
8:04dramatically, but I do think this Najee Harris has a signing has a little bit of fantasy relevance.
8:09I'm going to keep an eye on Devin Singletary to one of these teams that needs running back depth could be a,
8:15uh, maybe a cut day trade to like green may or something like that.
8:18I'll be keeping an eye on that as well.
8:21I think we should put red, no contact jerseys on Malik neighbors, Cam Scadaboo and Jackson Dart.
8:25Cause all three of them could be unbelievable. All giants and fantasy, all giants and all 49ers.
8:30Yes. Don't touch. Yes. Don't touch any of them.
8:32In fact, don't even practice. It's like the Niners can still get the job done though.
8:37Like as a collective offense. Yeah. That's Kyle Shanahan.
8:39I mean, the guy is just ridiculous. Like I said this yesterday.
8:42Uh, I don't think I forget where it was.
8:45Sorry. I might've been just in conversation with one of you guys out the show.
8:49The only player who I think is indispensable to their offense.
8:52The only one is Christian McCaffrey. Like we have proof of concept that Mac Jones can play good quarterback for the Niners.
8:57Yeah. Jake Tonjes was a usable tight end when George Kittle was out.
9:01We've seen wide receivers shuffle weekly in San Francisco.
9:03CMC is out. It wasn't as good. Like Jordan Mason had that moment there and then it very quickly fizzled.
9:09Yeah. That is not a complicated backfield. That one is clear for CMC.
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10:19But we are going to dive into some complicated backfields.
10:22Hopefully help you guys decide what you should do with them in fantasy.
10:25If nothing else, we're just going to talk through it.
10:28Because we all have some feelings on figuring out where these players land in our rankings field.
10:32We're going to start with, I think, the team that is the hardest to figure out.
10:36Because I think they're just the highest ranked of all of these players here.
10:40And that's the New England Patriots. I know we've talked about them a lot.
10:44But let's talk about these running backs. These guys are reasonably high ranked.
10:47And they have a very narrow gap between them.
10:50Yes. And across the board for ESPN rankers. It's Ramondre Stevenson and Travion Henderson.
10:54I think it's important to note that by the end of last year, Ramondre Stevenson was playing a much bigger role than Travion Henderson.
11:00To be specific, in the playoffs, you guys would agree?
11:03The most important games of the year, right? Yes.
11:05The four most important games of the Patriots season last year.
11:08Ramondre Stevenson had 70 touches. Travion Henderson had 35.
11:10It was a 2-1 Ramondre Stevenson edge. As we know, Ramondre Stevenson is going to get more likely, is more likely to get the goal line carries.
11:18Yep. Probably the early down carries. We also know that if you get 12 touches, Travion Henderson has a much better chance
11:24of turning those 12 touches into 20 fantasy points.
11:26He's amongst the most explosive players in the NFL.
11:28So, to me, the question is, has Travion Henderson closed the gap enough to think that rather than getting maybe 8, 10,
11:34or 12 opportunities per game, he can get 15, 16, or 17?
11:37If he can, the answer is giddy up. It's the Travion Henderson fantasy show.
11:41If he can't, then we kind of enter purgatory.
11:44And I don't think he can. I think that Ramondre Stevenson still does so many of the things right that the Patriots value.
11:50And in the two games that both of these players were on the field last year, Mike has used a variation of this stat.
11:56Travion Henderson, when Ramondre was in the game, averaged 9.5 fantasy points per game.
12:00That's not usable. Travion, Ramondre didn't miss any games last year.
12:03He averaged 12.8 fantasy points. Not bad, but not good enough to be an RB2 for us.
12:07As we know, when Ramondre was out, Travion was excellent in two of the three games.
12:1212.7 fantasy points and then 28 and 32.3. So if you're projecting health for both of these guys, it feels like we
12:17are entering into a spot where neither one of them really has that much upside if they're both on the field.
12:23Correct. As long as they are both out there, they have capped each other's ceiling in a pretty significant way, which is
12:29why we have them ranked where we're at. If you're throwing a dart in a draft, are you throwing that dart at
12:35Travion based on his ADP or on Ramondre? So I have Ramondre ranked a couple of spots higher than Travion, but I
12:41will tell you this, if it really comes, broken record here, what do you need in the draft?
12:46Yep. If you have to that point hammered away with, if you started your build with Jonathan Taylor and Derek Henry somehow, which is actually possible.
12:52And you've, listen, I got two of the biggest workload backs who are going to, by the end of the season, be
12:58top five in rushing yards and probably top five in rushing touchdowns as well.
13:02I just need the lottery ticket. Yes. Travion. If you need someone who's more steady Eddie and you're like, you're, you're concerned
13:08about your running back depth overall, you just need, but you need them just for a couple of weeks.
13:13It's Ramondre. So it comes down to knowing your needs.
13:16Love that. And kind of, here's the problem. Travion Anderson, second year running back, flashed a little last year at some big games.
13:22He still has that shiny new car sort of feel to him.
13:25He's going to the fifth round across the industry of 12 team leagues.
13:29It's too expensive. What am I missing? It's just too expensive.
13:31Well, I think what you're missing is just that, what I just said.
13:35I mean, I don't think you're missing it. I think that's the appeal.
13:38I just don't, I don't agree with that. He, again, he out carried him in the regular season last year when they were both active together.
13:45You would expect that to expand. It's just, it's kind of tricky.
13:49Had they had that workload stayed the same in the playoffs?
13:51I think there'd be even more Travion Henderson. I think it's just the fact that he disappeared in the playoffs.
13:57It's worrying some people. So I think the bottom line is Henderson has a higher ceiling, which makes him a little more appealing, appealing straight up to me.
14:04Stevenson. I don't think it's going to be usable anyway, unless they use him like they did in the playoffs, which I don't think is going to happen.
14:12I think that he's 28. Henderson, in theory, should play a little more in year two.
14:16I don't think that's going to happen. So as far as I'm concerned, there's a cap on Stevenson.
14:21That's why I don't want him. But he is two rounds cheaper.
14:24So to answer your question, Stevenson's a little more palatable to me because I'd at least consider him in round seven.
14:30Whereas Henderson, at round five, I just can't do it.
14:32I mean, there's just too many. The opportunity cost is too much with the wide receiver talent.
14:37And sometimes like a Tyler Warren will fall to the fifth round.
14:40That's actually where I target him. And there's other running backs like Bucky Irving and Toon and DeAndre Swift, who we've talked about this week.
14:47I mean, I just can't do it in round five.
14:49The last thing I'll say on this and then move on to the Jaguars and Mike's going to take the lead there
14:55is that there is an argument like, yeah, like Travion Henderson's going to have more weeks at the end of the season
15:01with like top five or eight or ten finishes.
15:04Ramondre wasn't that far behind in that category last year.
15:06They got the job done in very different manners.
15:09But like week 18 are I know we weren't playing in week 18, but week 18, Ramondre was the number one scoring
15:15running back in all of fantasy football. He came out of the gates with like an RB six finish last year and
15:20week one for the Patriots last year, RB six.
15:23So Travion way more explosive player. But Ramondre, it's not like you're getting a way more explosive player who's bound to hit
15:29top ten finishes seven times to Ramondre's twice. They might both be a top ten finisher three times this upcoming season.
15:34Yeah. And they were remember New England infamously had our very light schedule last year to be a little tougher this year.
15:40And also they didn't have reliable wide receiver talent like they do now.
15:44So the offense is going to be less dependent on the backfield.
15:47We had a poll in the chat while we were talking about this conversation.
15:51It's a great time in case you don't come and hang out in the YouTube chat.
15:55Come and do that in the middle of the show.
15:58We have a lot of polls that we throw up in there.
16:0161 percent of the chat would rather have Travion Henderson right now over at Ramondre.
16:05We are against the rain. Yes, that is just because of the price, unfortunately, that we feel opposite.
16:10All right. Let's talk about the Jaguars, Mike, because this one's interesting, too.
16:13Yeah. Bashal A-chan. Is that? No, no, no. Travis A-chan is gone.
16:16That's right. On this backfield. So, yeah. So it's A-chan out.
16:19Chris Rodriguez is in. So it's going to be a different dynamic.
16:22I don't think it's any surprise at this point that this is going to be a committee, at least to open the season.
16:29Now, I'll start by pointing this out. Going in like even right now, assuming they're all three guys healthy because it's not two.
16:35It's three guys. Yeah. I would expect Chris Rodriguez to be the goal line and early down back kind of have the edge and carries.
16:41Potentially, you have LaQuinn Allen passing down specialist. And, of course, you have Bashal Toon, who overall we expect will have the
16:47most well-rounded role and has the highest ceiling and the best back and the most opportunity to be fantasy relevant.
16:53LaQuinn Allen is injured right now. So we don't know if he's going to be ready to go for week one or
16:58for the early part of the season. If that's the case, even better news for Toon.
17:03Because, look, Chris Rodriguez is not going to be a factor in the passing game.
17:07This was a 2023 sixth round pick. He's been a depth guy.
17:10I mean, he's been waived and on practice squads and then promoted.
17:13Like, this guy has not been a factor quite often.
17:16And career high in touches last year in Washington was 115.
17:19Now, he has run the ball well. But, again, this guy has.
17:22Get ready for this. In his career in the NFL.
17:25Let me guess. Six. Seven. Oh, he has seven catches?
17:27He has seven targets. Not even catches. That's amazing.
17:30Seven catches. Targets in his career. Now, I think he'll probably have more than seven targets this season, but probably not by a lot.
17:36They did guarantee him over $6 million. So, he'll have a role in this offense.
17:40But I think Toon is the guy we're looking at.
17:43A very effective last season. A lot of touchdowns.
17:45He was a touchdown maker last year. He did clear 10 touches in only one game, but he had 74 yards in that game on 15 touches.
17:52Every game in which he had eight touches last year, he scored a touchdown as well.
17:57So, he's an explosive player. And we expect a large role.
18:00He's the potential breakout player here in Jacksonville. I'm at 22 because I think they're going to use a lot of backs.
18:05And he's not a guy that we've seen establish himself yet in the NFL.
18:09But he's a guy we could be talking about as an every week RB2 and what should be a good offense, guys.
18:15If you guys leave the draft with Basial Tootin as your RB2, do you think to yourself, oof, I'm too light there?
18:21Or do you think, all right, that means I'm probably really strong elsewhere.
18:24I think light because he's going in the fifth round.
18:27He's expensive. So, that means it's not like you're like, he's my RB2, but he took him in the eighth round, like a Rico Dowdle or something.
18:34Fifth round ADP is tough. Fifth round is costing you, yeah.
18:37So, it does put you at a disadvantage, I think.
18:40But at the same time, if he breaks out this year, it's going to be fine.
18:44I feel light as well. I would feel light as well if he's my RB2.
18:48The reason why the gap is quite a bit wider between Tootin and Chris Rodriguez, and we talked about with Ramondre and
18:54Travion, who truly are about like back-to-back in my rankings, is I just don't know what the pathway is for Chris Rodriguez
19:00to have an actual fantasy role week in and week out.
19:03It would have to be if he is humming as a runner, and the Jaguars are a well-oiled offensive machine that always
19:09gives him the rock at the very end of drives.
19:11Like, it would have to be like a LeGarrette Blunt type offensive performance from him this year.
19:16I don't see it, so Tootin to me has the clear edge.
19:19That is not to say that Tootin has less risk than other players being drafted around him, but to me, Tootin, the clear preference here in this backfield.
19:27Let's stay in Florida, Daniel, and go to Tampa Bay.
19:29We talked about Bucky Irving a couple days ago.
19:32He is a confusing player by himself, even more so with Kenny Gainwell.
19:35Yeah, this is a really interesting situation here, because when you look at what you're doing in Tampa Bay, it feels like
19:41Bucky Irving we haven't had any conversation on. We haven't talked about Bucky hardly at all this year.
19:46Where do you guys, I'm just curious, right now, where do you guys have him ranked?
19:5021. 21. RB 21? I think I'm, yeah, somewhere in that range.
19:5321, 22, excuse me. 21 for him, 31 for Gainwell, so.
19:56And he's one of these guys that just keeps, whenever you look at Bucky Irving and I see him on that draft
20:02board, right, I'm going through and it's like, it never feels exciting to be like, that's the guy I'm going to go
20:08out and target, because we just have seen the shine come off a little bit here and there, week in and week
20:14out, season in and season out, since we've had that exciting season a couple years ago.
20:18So, yeah, I think the big concern for me is that we saw Kenny Gainwell just play so unbelievably well in Pittsburgh.
20:24You listen to Aaron Rodgers, a future hall of famer, one of the best quarterbacks this league has ever seen.
20:29Speak praises over and over and over about how smart this kid is.
20:33You watch how good he is in the passing game.
20:36When I see this situation in Tampa and the way that they utilized Rashad White last year as well in this situation,
20:41they're not just handing the keys over to Bucky Irving.
20:44He had that shot. He had a chance to be the guy, take the entire backfield to himself, and he didn't do it.
20:50They go out and they add someone that I think is going to be legitimately involved in this offense and Kenny Gainwell.
20:56And because of that, it makes me feel like Bucky Irving.
20:59Okay. He's going to be involved. He'll probably still be the guy at the goal line, but I have just so, so
21:05much less excitement around Bucky Irving this year that I'm mostly passing him in drafts for someone else at that point of where I am drafting.
21:12I think around where he is at, he's just not that exciting to me.
21:16I'd rather wait and grab Kenny Gainwell with the discount and his cost later on, given how good he has been as
21:22a pass catcher, than go with Bucky Irving. So for me, I am a little bit more out on Bucky, even though
21:27we have him in that RB2 range. I think he will be in that RB2 range, but I would prefer Kenny Gainwell
21:33at cost with what I think his skill set is going to bring to this box.
21:38Yeah. Just because you have a player ranked higher than somebody else, it doesn't mean that you're drafting that player more frequently than somebody else.
21:44Yep. A couple of notes here. Bucky Irving's rookie season in some ways was an anomaly.
21:49He came into the NFL, fourth round pick who's tiny.
21:51Like this is a small running back. He's like five, nine, right?
21:54I remember mine amongst my draft notes leading into that year's draft was he and Dylan Lowby who went in the sixth
22:00round of the Raiders were amongst the most productive pass catching backs in the class, but more on the ordinary running side than extraordinary.
22:07Bucky was extraordinary as a rookie at over 1100 rushing, yards, too many, 40 plus catches as a rookie.
22:12And remember weeks one through four last year, dude was busy.
22:15He had 90 touches did Bucky Irving in the first four games.
22:18I was tied for the third most of all running backs.
22:21Only CMC and Saquon had more through the first four weeks.
22:24He was a workhorse going into last year. That was what their eyes were focused in on.
22:28Was. Was right. Was. Then he had this injury and there was, it was frankly, it was shrouded in mystery, right?
22:34It was. And then they gave Kenneth game. I hate to say this because I always feel like this analysis is like unfair to the league.
22:41It feels like the league was maybe wrong on Kenny Gainwell for too long.
22:45Yep. And it's finally been recognized how good of a player he is.
22:48He got two years and 14 million from Tampa.
22:50That's a legit running back contract in today's market.
22:53He's going to have a real role. So I don't exactly know how good of a player Bucky Irving is.
22:58I don't know if he's really built to last.
23:01And I like Kenny Gainwell enough that this backfield brings me Bucky Irving brings me less excitement than Kenny Gainwell does going several rounds.
23:07Can I just tell you? Yeah. I just want to put the several rounds later into context and then I'll let you go, Mike.
23:13So right now, Kenny Gainwell, I'll do this right now.
23:16Maybe I should look at first. Stop it. He is Bucky Irving coming off the board in the sixth middle of the sixth round.
23:23Running back 21. Kenny Gainwell coming off the board in the 13th round.
23:2613. Yeah. I think it's an interesting value. I think the problem I have here is it's not just two guys.
23:32You think Sean Tucker is real? It's probably the third guy.
23:35I have a wild stat here. So as a rookie, Bucky Irving had 12 carries inside the five yard line.
23:40Right. So a lot of goal line work. How many did he have last year?
23:44Now he missed a little time, but he was there from the beginning.
23:47But still he played. Yeah. So I'll say nine.
23:50How many carries inside the five? Six. Zero. No.
23:52He had zero carries inside the five yard line last year.
23:55I mean, it's on Tampa Bay as a team had for the running backs had 17 of them.
24:00Nine for Sean Tucker, eight for Rashad White. So if you're wondering why Irving only had four touchdowns last season, and Sean
24:06Tucker, by the way, had eight easily in that group.
24:08Rashad White at four. That's why he didn't get the goal line work.
24:12And I'm worried. I am worried that he's not going to get it this year either.
24:16I don't, they weren't going to tender Tucker. And you're like, okay, interesting.
24:20Yep. Then they did. I think he's going to have a real role when they're inside the five yard line, not to
24:26mention game on passing situations and, and occasionally change of pace runs.
24:29I do still think they believe in Irving as a starter.
24:32And they showed that with their depth chart, right?
24:34I know it's unofficial and it's early on, but teams will often when it's like they bring in a guy like Gainwell
24:40in Jacksonville did this actually with Chris Rodriguez and tune it'll say Bucky Irving or Kenneth game.
24:45Well, they didn't do that. They said, Irving's our guy.
24:47He's our, he's early back on the depth chart.
24:50That means something a little bit to me enough to say, all right, he's going to start.
24:54He's going to be the main guy. But the problem is I think his ceiling is cap.
24:59The good news is it's kind of baked into his ADP.
25:02He's fallen in, in where he's going in drafts.
25:04The idea that you can get a seven round discount.
25:07I don't think that Bucky Irving at the end of the season, Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell fantasy points per game, put up next to each other.
25:14There's not a seven round difference between them. Give me Gainwell and that ADP every day of the week.
25:19No offense to Bucky Irving. Yeah. He's going out 12 team leagues across the industry, fifth round for Irving, ninth round for Gainwell.
25:25So that's still a pretty big gap. That's still a big gap.
25:28I think Gainwell's pretty cheap right now. I have him, I get ahead of quite a few guys going.
25:33I think I'm going to, I think he's going to be one of my teaser, not in this episode, but I think
25:39he'll be rising up my ranks a little bit more as we get closer to this.
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26:46Let's keep moving here. You could probably win a round of trivia with this question that I'm going to throw to you guys.
26:52Ooh. All right. Over the past three seasons, sorry, over the past two seasons, three running backs or three players have surpassed
26:58a thousand rushing yards and 35 receptions. So in both 2024 and 2025, three players had at least a thousand rushing yards and 35 catches.
27:05Can you guess those three players? Christian McCaffrey. Nope.
27:07He was hurt. Oh, he was hurt two years ago.
27:10Not Derek Henry. Cause he doesn't get the catches.
27:12John Taylor. No. Jim here gives us one. Oh, Gibson.
27:15Robinson. John Robinson is the other. The other one I know.
27:18Cause I know we're going to talk about, so I'm cheating here.
27:21So I'm going to let, I'll let you, I know who it is.
27:25I don't know who it is. Rico Dowdle. What?
27:27And that's random right there. One of these things is not like the other.
27:31That would be a good way of playing. Rico Dowdle is a really, really solid runner, like pure runner of the football.
27:37He joins a Pittsburgh backfield that we thought last year.
27:39I know he was one of your guys last preseason.
27:42Mike Jalen Warren was set up for, he was in a really good spot, right?
27:46He had less competition. It was going to be Jalen Warren and then Kenny G, Kenny Gamewell.
27:50Um, and Warren, especially early in the season was pretty good.
27:53He kind of eventually faded into a less useful role, but it was a very good value relative to where he was being taken last year.
28:00I would have thought at the beginning of the season or the beginning of the summer, like, yeah, you know, Jalen Warren,
28:06he did enough last year to kind of earn it.
28:09He's got a contract. I kind of think this might be the Rico Dowdle show when things get rolling out of the
28:15gates at the beginning of the year. I think a little bit of this is who's the head coach and how does
28:21it sort of align with how he wants to play offense?
28:24Who was Rico Dowdle's head coach two years ago?
28:26Mike McCarthy, the Steelers new head coach. He was there in Dallas when Rico surpassed a thousand rushing yards and 35 catches in 2024.
28:32So I lean towards Rico Dowdle. I just think there are legitimate mitigating factors for both of these players.
28:37I don't know how involved in the passing game Rico Dowdle is going to be because they may say, all right, let's
28:43bring Jalen Warren back to what he was prior to last year, which was the change of pace receiving guy.
28:49And then on the other side of that, like, of course I don't expect Jalen Warren to see as much rushing volume as he saw last year.
28:56So leaning slightly towards Dowdle kind of has a Patriots feel to me is like, they're pretty closely ranked, but I do prefer Rico Dowdle over Jalen Warren.
29:03I would also say that I prefer Rico Dowdle.
29:06And a little bit of this is just like the narrative street.
29:09Mike, you were, I know trying to pump the Jalen Warren train a little bit last year when I felt like he had a really good reason.
29:16He had 1200 yards and eight, nine touchdowns. Like he was good.
29:19But Kenny Gainwell didn't go away in that offense.
29:22It wasn't like he took it and was like, this is my backfield.
29:25And then Kenny Gainwell leaves that, that team and they bring in not a non-consequential running back.
29:30That's the thing. If they didn't bring someone in of Rico Dowdle stature, I would feel like, okay, maybe this is more of the Jalen Warren show.
29:37Rico Dowdle is a real running back. Yeah. So because of that and the way that they utilize it, if he goes
29:43back to that third down role that you're talking about, Rico Dowdle plays the Jalen Warren role last year.
29:48Yep. And now Jalen Warren is playing that Kenny Gainwell role, which is the third down back.
29:52There's a reason why Jalen Warren wasn't playing that, that role and how there's a reason why Aaron Rogers loved Kenny Gainwell in that situation.
29:59So I don't love it as much as him just necessarily replacing Kenny Gainwell as the pass catcher there.
30:04I'm more in on Rico Dowdle as well field.
30:07I'm curious, Mike, which side you're on. Yeah. I think I've been back to back in my rankings, but both outside the top 25.
30:13And there's a very clear reason for that. And guys on that note, it's time for the first one of the season.
30:19Check this out. Yes. Check this out. Check this out.
30:22Check this out. Check this out. Check this out.
30:24It's time to check this out. Check this out.
30:26Before you start. Oh, that was amazing. You look more jacked now than you did.
30:30Oh yeah. Is that right? Yeah, I did. You know, I've been working a little more this year than I was last year.
30:37You baby. Yeah. Slacking a little bit with the last few weeks.
30:40Cause we've been swamped, but we're going to get back to it in the coming days, but guys, it's ready to check.
30:46Are you ready to check this out? Yes, I'm ready for this.
30:49I want to check it out. We're going to talk about Mike McCarthy and his treatment of running backs because it is not good.
30:55I look back at where his running back rooms as a whole.
30:58So we're comparing the 32 running back rooms across the NFL in McCarthy's last eight seasons as a head coach.
31:04We're going to start with 2012, go all the way through 2024 when he was last head coach.
31:09Here's where they finished in fantasy points. 28th, 13th, 17th, 32nd, 32nd, 31st, 16th, and 29th.
31:13I heard a 13th and 17th. 13th is a long time.
31:16I was almost a decade ago. 13, 16, and there was a 13 and a 17 and a 16, but a lot of 32.
31:22Yes. A lot. Okay. So that's fantasy points. How about target shares?
31:25Yeah. It's running back target shares during the span is even worse.
31:29This one's, this one's concerning. 30th, 28th, 25th, 32nd, 32nd, 33rd, 20th and 28th.
31:32And you might be wondering, how is it 33rd?
31:35Because sometimes coaches will be fired during the season.
31:37So multiple coaches will fit in the sample. Usually like a sample, like 35 or so in a season.
31:42So he actually finished lower than 32nd one year in target share.
31:45That's a pattern. You know, sometimes you're like, that might just be kind of fluky.
31:49That's a very real pattern. No question. Yeah. No question.
31:52Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. No question. I think he said, I have a question.
31:56So that's my concern. I think that the target shares are going to drop for that backfield.
32:00Like last year was the Arthur Smith office. Yep.
32:03Now it's a Mike McCarthy office, which changes things.
32:05And also they added Michael Pittman. Who's going to soak up more targets as well.
32:09I'm very, really, I'm very concerned about the ceiling and honestly, week to week output of these guys.
32:14If it was one guy, I'd feel better, but they're going to share it between the two.
32:19And so I'm not really feeling either. I have taken, I've taken some shots on Rico daddle just because to your point, he's cheaper than Jalen Warren.
32:26He's going like a round or two later. And I think he very well could hold a nice lead and carries and
32:32get enough rushing touchdowns to hang in the flex conversation, but that's about it.
32:35Yeah. For those reasons, I'm out. Right. I mean, this feels like the RB dead zone that we've been discussing.
32:41no doubt. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. And, and again, you, you say this a lot.
32:45So I want to reiterate it. Sometimes it depends on your team, right?
32:48If you're RB two, that you took is a little risky.
32:51Maybe you're like, all right, I'm going to take a shot on Jacobs or Brace hall.
32:55Cause they fell a little bit, but I might need someone the first few weeks of the season.
33:00Doubtle becomes a little more palatable as a guy that could be your RB three or four depends, depending on your structure.
33:06So there's a place for these guys, but it's not like I'm building my championship team around them.
33:11Starting every week. That's not, that's not these guys.
33:13When I'm doing my RB two build, where I talk about how much I love Jadari and price, trying to get him there.
33:19Usually I will try to grab a second running back in that vicinity of either Basial tootin or Rico doubtle, just to
33:25give me like another starting level ish type running back for that kind of depth that you're talking about.
33:30Lonely feeling when you need a running back, especially early in the season, you're like it's week three and the options are already dire.
33:37And it's this bad. Yes. 14 more weeks. This.
33:39Last one, Mike, we stay in the NFC South where we have been throughout the show previously.
33:44And what's up with that? What's up with the NFC South?
33:46A lot of backfields here, Yeah. Oh yeah. There's, there's a lot of problems here and we're picking out great backfields because
33:52all these guys are like back to back in my rankings.
33:55And this is another one of those cases. Cause I had Jonathan Brooks at 32 and Juba Hubbard down to 33.
34:01Actually. Oh, keep in mind Hubbard dealing with a hamstring right now.
34:04And he's questionable for week one. And there's already been so much Brooks hype that I thought he might outscore him anyway.
34:10And now with the injury, it looks like he might start week one.
34:13Yeah. Look at spinner rough go for Jonathan Brooks missed a big chunk of his rookie season recovering from a torn ACL
34:19suffered while at Texas finally got on the field for three games, had a handful of touches tears and ACL again, misses
34:25the entire and the entirety of last season. So we haven't seen much, but the guy is still only 23 years old.
34:31He came into the league, very young, former second round pick.
34:34And he, when he came into the league, it was a very weak running back class, but he was the highlight that year.
34:40It was, and was viewed as a guy that can run it well and be effective as a pass catcher as well.
34:46So again, he was drafted to be the future lead back of this team.
34:50I think he gets an opportunity to take control this year.
34:53As for Chuba Hubbard, I really slipped last year.
34:55I'll turn to my friends here at PFF 64th among 65 qualified backs and force miss tackle rate and elusive rating last year was Hubbard.
35:02I know he wasn't fully healthy at times, but he kind of was slipping early on.
35:06And that allowed Rico daddle to take control. Also Hubbard, one career top 30 fantasy campaign.
35:10One that was 14th back in 2024. He had back-to-back good years, but only one was a really, really a fantasy relevant season.
35:16So as far as I'm concerned, if I'm considering these guys, Hubbard is a guy that maybe can flirt with RB two numbers.
35:23If he's the lead back, but Brooks is the guy that could break out.
35:26The ceiling's much higher. And when I'm talking about rounds seven and eight, where they're going, I'm not drafting a starter.
35:32Usually I'm going for a guy that could be a league winner.
35:35I don't think Hubbard's a league winner at age 27.
35:38After last year, I think Brooks potentially could be a league.
35:41So I think what you just said was really important at the end.
35:44Cause I want to make something clear. Like I am Chuba Hubbard over Jonathan Brooks by a decent gap, but Chuba Hubbard
35:50is also not a target for me. Yeah. I want players that like, I don't think the reason why I win my championship is.
35:57Yeah. It's Ramondre Stevenson. It's because I had Chuba Hubbard.
35:59Or Chuba Hubbard is the guy that I either have a small injury to one of my starters, or I just get a gnarly run of bi-weeks.
36:06And it's like, he filled in and he got me 11, 13 points and whatever.
36:10It was serviceable. It didn't win me my week.
36:13Didn't lose me my week. I, I'm simply not as convinced as it sounds like I know you are.
36:18And I think you are as well. I think the Panthers are going to be incredibly judicious with Jonathan Brooks.
36:23Back-to-back years of major knee injuries. Like they're playing the long game here.
36:27I know he only has two more years left on his rookie contract, but I think they're looking out.
36:32I think they just have no choice, but to look out for the guy here.
36:36And don't forget, they do have a serviceable third running back on their roster in Trevor H.
36:40And Ray Chan. So I wouldn't surprise me if H.
36:43And plays a little bit of a role at the beginning of the season.
36:47If Hubbard is unavailable. So I just, I think there's going to be more highlight plays from Jonathan Brooks.
36:52I wouldn't be surprised if he has the first explosive run of the season for them.
36:56I also don't absent like Chuba Hubbard and the wheels falling off in this team, soaring to the top of the division
37:02and Jonathan Brooks, just giving them real playoff equity.
37:04I think this team is going to be really smart about Jonathan Brooks.
37:08I think this is going to be a year of easing him in.
37:11It sounds like you're saying, I'm saying I'll take a shot on Brooks.
37:15His ADP is on the rise. It's making it tougher to invest in him.
37:19That's my, but it sounds like it's an avoid for you because again, if Hubbard's not is maybe questionable or doubtful for
37:24week one, why even bother at this point? We say avoid as you mentioned where the avoid a cost.
37:30And you mentioned where the industry ADP is at ESPN right now, Chuba Hubbard coming off the board in the 12th round.
37:35Yeah. Jonathan Brooks coming off the board in the 13th round.
37:38Yeah. So that's both of them. Those are super cheap.
37:41That has come together. That has come together quite a bit.
37:44I think that number will get a lot higher for Jonathan Brooks.
37:47It'll get higher for Chuba as well. I agree.
37:50I know Mike has been really resourceful with giving us across the industry ADP.
37:53It's still very, we have 21 days till kickoff.
37:56Yep. Over the next, I'll call it 20 days.
37:58You will see those numbers dramatically adjust on ESPN.
38:00I love this by the way. I love you giving industry ADP because I play on a number of, I don't just play on one site.
38:07Like we all play on a bunch of different platforms.
38:10It's really valuable. Speak for yourself. It's very valuable just to know what the industry is at because a lot of people
38:16listen to us, even if they don't play on ESPN.
38:19Yeah. No doubt. Not to mention like our friends at draft Kings, like I have their, I have the best ball ADP, which is constantly changing.
38:26As you know, if you're in there doing best ball drafts, which I'm doing right now, it's evolving all the time.
38:31Guys are moving up and down. And right now, if you go in there and you're looking at running backs, Brooks is
38:37listed ahead of Hubbard and ADP, like he's going ahead of him.
38:40So all of this is, is a useful to me.
38:43All right. Let's take a couple of questions here from our chat.
38:46Before we move on, we got a bunch of them here.
38:49A lot of questions on this backfield specifically. We did not talk about it today, guys.
38:53This question come from aller 15 J aller one SJ.
38:56I can't tell what the number is, but it's Al wants to know Woody marks or David Montgomery.
39:01Yeah. Montgomery for me at cost. At cost. Cost.
39:03Can you even the cost right now? Yes, I can.
39:06Cost is David Montgomery. He's up to the fourth round right now.
39:09Eighth round in ESPN leagues. Fourth round for him.
39:12Uh, and then, um, let's see. Woody marks. Woody marks is 12th round ESPN.
39:15I mean, it's, it's like when you, when it's that wide, it's hard to make the case for somebody from the fourth to the 12th round.
39:22Um, fourth to 12th. You said fourth and 12th.
39:25Yeah. Eighth to free. I still think, I think in that case it's, it is David Montgomery at the end of the
39:30year, David Montgomery will still have more fantasy points.
39:33I think he's still going to be the, the guy that they want to lean on.
39:37I mean, he's 29 year old, 29 years old coming off, uh, a career low is pretty much across the board.
39:43Um, and he's not going to have a lot of work in the passing game.
39:47There was a good reason why he had career lows across the board.
39:50Offensive line was tough. And he had this kid that was pretty good behind him.
39:54I don't think if they wanted Woody marks to be the guy, I would love to know if you feel differently.
40:00Yeah. If they thought Woody marks was going to be the guy after their rookie season, I don't think they would have
40:06brought in and paid a guy like David Montgomery, what they did.
40:09Well, I mean, maybe Montgomery can rush the passer.
40:11Cause there's a lot of pass rushers in Houston.
40:14Yeah. Oh yeah, that's true. Uh, I agree to you to an extent that Woody marks probably wasn't viewed as like, this is our feature back.
40:21And they didn't have another feature back. Joe Mixon didn't work out.
40:24My hesitation with being low on Montgomery is that like Joe Mixon two years ago, like he was later in his career
40:30and they just gave him the rock 20 plus times a game.
40:33Yeah. And he was good in fantasy. Um, I don't know if Montgomery is going to make it through the whole season.
40:39And again, he's 29. If he slips a little bit, this might be more of a committee.
40:43And, and by the way, the main issue I have here is fourth round.
40:47That's crazy. It's crazy. That's too much. With all these other guys, I guess getting hurt, he's kind of working up, but
40:53there's a lot of hype out there. I've seen it across the industry.
40:57People are, he's polarizing, but a lot of people like him and it's just too expensive for me.
41:01I think people who watch the show or listen to the show and have done so for quite some time, know that
41:07like we do not shy away from our whiffs here.
41:10We've got plenty of them. Like I could put together a whole wall of things that I wish I didn't say at the time.
41:16Um, so there's going to be a guy that there's a chance that at least one of the running backs that we
41:22have talked about today, who's in the older unsexy category has a really good fantasy.
41:26Absolutely. I think what we're trying to make the point though is, is that like these older guys who have real holes
41:32in their fantasy resume or outlook for this upcoming year on average are not league winners, right?
41:37So between Monty and Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle and Ramondre Stevenson, Tony Pollard, you could throw him into the mix.
41:42Like, is it possible? One of these late twenties guys is useful wire to wire this year.
41:47Of course it's possible, but on average, these are not the kind of players that tilt the balance of a fantasy football
41:53league, which is why they're not usually targets for us.
41:55Yeah. And sometimes you need innings eaters on your lineup.
41:58Usually you don't want to necessarily draft them, but you're going to need them throughout the season to kind of just fill
42:04in and get you eight to 11 points. That might be enough to win you your game.
42:08On average, you're going to, your average score, like your week to week winning margin is going to be less than that.
42:14So like, you need these guys to just kind of fill in.
42:17You don't want to take a three because you started a guy who just played 10 snaps.
42:22You want a guy that could be like a Pollard or Dowdle, whatever it might be.
42:26Um, that could kind of, again, to use another baseball reference this year, cause I'm the baseball guy.
42:31You are the baseball guy. I need some innings for you in your lineup.
42:35All right. Next question here from our chat. This one comes from Joey G.
42:39We love this guy. Producer first draft. Good morning, masculine men.
42:41Is it me or does having the number three pick feel like the toughest decision in the draft?
42:46Assuming that Bijon and Gibbs go one, two, I'm losing sleep over chase or CMC.
42:50Please help. It's a great man right here. It is a great man.
42:54One of the greatest love Joe. Love that man with my whole heart.
42:57Excellent producer and a huge fantasy junkie. Um, thanks for checking out today, Joe is he always does.
43:02He watches every day. Um, I actually would say Joe that I am feeling less pressure right now at three and more
43:08pressure at wherever at six for this reason. The Puka factor until we have clarity on that, that makes things a little bit tougher for me.
43:15If it's one game for Puka Nakua, I still think he is going to be a top six pick.
43:20If it's four games for Puka, I mean, we don't know if it's any number of games, but if it's four, that conversation becomes very different.
43:27I agree with you. I'm Joe, you know, this I'm good with, with CMC and, but more indications yesterday from Shefty that
43:33it's not serious for CMC and that he could be available right away.
43:36If this was a game week, Kyle Shanahan seemed to indicate as much as well yesterday.
43:41I'm so good with CMC at number three, not saying that Jamar Chase is indefensible, but given what we're talking about, how
43:46quickly these running backs enter dead zone territories, all things being equal, I'm taking a running back early.
43:51Yeah. What's tricky about this is sometimes we talk about starting a run.
43:55You know, you don't want to necessarily do that because it puts you a little bit of a disadvantage.
44:00You want to finish the run. So I hear what Joe's saying, because it's kind of like you're starting a run at three, right?
44:06You know, the first two picks are going to be, and then you're just like, I might as well be at seven.
44:12Let someone else start this run. And then I'll get the last of this tier.
44:16And then I'll come back around earlier and get another good player.
44:19Because as far as I'm concerned, you can't really mess this up.
44:22Like you, you mentioned Nakua, Chase, JSN, CMC, Jonathan Taylor.
44:25I feel like any of them, I feel great about.
44:28You could almost include a Monro, St. Brown, maybe CD lamp, but like really that top seven, I feel like if I
44:34get any of them, I feel fine. So that's the only thing that I have a problem with at three is that
44:40like, you have to start that run as opposed to finishing it might put you at a little bit of a disadvantage, but pick your, pick your route.
44:47They're all so close. By the way, top 25 players.
44:50My rankings coming out tomorrow, which I'm sure they'll be relatively close.
44:53You guys can go on the pod. Yes. We're going to do our top 25 players for fantasy this season.
44:58What is worth? I would do Jamar chase. And that's not a question.
45:02It's not surprising. That's not surprising. it's why I have a three.
45:05I know that Adam hasn't said, we're not concerned.
45:07Didn't we also say two years ago, we weren't concerned about Christian McCaffrey.
45:11Like, we just don't know what we don't know.
45:13I'm not saying that Adam does is wrong. To field's point though, we don't know.
45:17Last year too, right? Last year it was, Oh my God, he's hurt again.
45:21And then he was the best player in fantasy football.
45:24Yeah. So that's the great part about fantasy. It's your squad, my friends.
45:27All right, let's do one more question. We'll do one more question here.
45:31Maybe. No, no more questions. Let's move on. We're going to do risers and fallers.
45:35Yeah. I'll be quick on mine here. I'll start with my father or riser.
45:38I want to say this. I just, you can start with whichever one you want.
45:42These are not risers and fallers based on ADP.
45:45These are risers and fallers based on our rankings.
45:47These are risers and fallers for field, Mike and Daniel.
45:50All right. So I want to start with my, my father.
45:53And this was a player that you guys know how bullish I've been on him.
45:57I'm just, and I said this yesterday, I'm getting more nervous about a Mecca, a book.
46:01Yep. In general, toe injuries scare me for a wide receiver.
46:04They're pushing off all the time at the top of routes.
46:07That's scary that you're dealing with one. And Todd Bowles, who I wouldn't say is like Mr.
46:11Transparency when it comes to injuries has already put a little bit of uncertainty surrounding him being available for week one.
46:17So between the possibility of a Mecca, Buka not being ready at the beginning of the season and dealing with this, he
46:23has slipped from wide receiver 11 to wide receiver 13.
46:26Remember for all the highs last year, and there were four games with 20 plus fantasy points.
46:30He also had 10 games under 45 receiving yards and low efficiency.
46:33So there was some risk already baked into a Mecca, Buka.
46:36Now there's an injury. Yeah. I hear you. And 49% catch rate really bothers me with him.
46:41That's why I'm in general, a little bit lower than you.
46:44I'm hoping that connection with Baker Mayfield is a little better.
46:47Who, by the way, Baker Mayfield yesterday, did you see his quote?
46:50Yeah. Everyone's projecting us for a losing record and we're going to surprise people.
46:54I'm like, are people projecting them for a losing record?
46:56Like I have them winning the division since like February.
46:59Like, I don't like, I think they're, they have the best team for sure.
47:03These athletes find their motivation. look, I'm like, Hey, go for it.
47:06I hope he bounces back for sure. But yeah, I hear you.
47:09Mike, give me your biggest faller. My biggest faller fellas.
47:12This one is not a surprise. We mentioned it briefly earlier.
47:15Josh Jacobs, a lot of reasons to be concerned here.
47:17And it's too bad because early on last year, he was very good.
47:21His first nine games last year, over 21 touches, just a hair under 20 fantasy points per game.
47:26He had 11 touchdowns, but then he came back after he memory played 11 snaps across two games.
47:30He was kind of beat up and it really slipped a 14 and a half touches, 11.3 fantasy points per game.
47:36But he was still effective when he was healthy.
47:38He still has 30 touchdowns in 32 games with the Packers.
47:41So he's been a touchdown machine. Um, but you know, and he's, he's dealing with the groin injury.
47:46Looks like he should be back at practice soon.
47:49So we're not super concerned about that, but he is 28 years old.
47:52So, and a guy that's seen a ton of volume in the NFL.
47:56So you worry about that slipping. And then of course, the potential suspension is looming much like Nakua.
48:00We're waiting for an answer on that. Will he face league, uh, discipline?
48:04If he does, that's going to hurt him. But, um, I moved him down to my rankings.
48:08He is going in the third, fourth round of 12 team league.
48:12So that is kind of baked in. That's the good news.
48:15This is a guy, that if everything was good, everything was fine.
48:18We had no concerns. We might be talking about him at the one, two turn.
48:22Like he, he has that, he's that caliber of player and fantasy performer.
48:25So, um, I, but I have moved him down to the bottom of that six through, uh, 15 tier at running back.
48:31And as I pointed out earlier, I skipped them last night in a draft in the fourth round.
48:36And I took Travis H and so, uh, definitely some concerns there with Jacob.
48:40If assuming if he's healthy and not suspended in week one, he will be ranked quite a bit higher than RB 15 for you.
48:46I think what you just said at the end of that, who is your father, Daniel?
48:50I actually brought two to the table. Cause the one that is my actual biggest faller, isn't that exciting, but it is Josh downs.
48:57Unfortunately, injury history, missing time. Preseason. Mike's been talking me more into Alec Pierce than I originally was.
49:02Cause I have been listening to some of the things that you've been saying.
49:05Um, Ken and Alan now joining that squad as well.
49:08I went from being wide receiver 45 to basically unranked on Josh downs.
49:11So that's the biggest technical faller. But for me, the player that I'm bringing to the table is Puka Nakua.
49:17You guys already sort of had the conversations that I was going to have as a part of this, but there will
49:23be weeks where I know for a fact, I am sitting in this chair saying Puka Nakua wide receiver one again, the
49:29third time this year, the best wide receiver in fantasy football.
49:31I also know that there is a chance I'm sitting in this chair saying Puka Nakua has been suspended for an undetermined amount of games.
49:38I do believe at that same point, I could sit here and say Jamar chase another week as wide receiver one JSN.
49:44Another week is wide receiver one. I'm on Ross St.
49:47Brown. Another week is wide receiver one, even Justin Jefferson.
49:49Another week, fourth straight week is wide receiver one for Justin Jefferson.
49:53That wouldn't be crazy. But I think the chance of me saying any of those four guys are going to miss time
49:58because they have been suspended by the NFL. That is much, much less likely to happen to me in this seat.
50:04So I think because of that, I Puka has, even though he's only moved down three spots emotionally with the way that
50:10I'm drafting, he's just moved down such a bigger amount.
50:13Okay. Also, because if he comes back, the amount of grace that the NFL will show, if something happens to any of
50:18those other wide receivers, they have a longer line to be able to have a little bit with like Puka is not, Puka is, he's had his chances.
50:26So for me, because of that, even though he's only moved down from wide receiver one to wide receiver four, him and
50:32Justin Jefferson, that's a big jump for me. Yeah.
50:34That's a big leap. So I get your, your Daniel strategy this year is just like, you hate league winners.
50:40Risk averse. Out on, out on league winners. Yeah.
50:42You hate CMC. You hate Nakua. Guys who, even if they miss some time are still week to week going to be absolute game changer.
50:49So do you hate Josh Allen this year too?
50:51You said that to me last year about Sigmund Barkley and he finishes RB12.
50:55You hated Josh Allen too. You're a known Josh Allen.
50:57Nate. So let's talk about some guys that are risers.
51:00This one's a more fun conversation. Yeah. Who are guys that we're excited about that have been rising up our ranks?
51:06I was a little, I was a little skeptical on Jeremiah Love coming out of the gates.
51:10There was some scar tissue with the Ashton Gentry experience.
51:13Definitely. And despite the fact he's got a high ankle sprain.
51:16Yep. It's actually a small riser for me from RB14 to RB11.
51:19All right. And I'll be honest with you. Progress.
51:22We are making some progress. You're my big fan.
51:24Made me the hater now. Why'd you do that?
51:26Whatever. Too bad. You know what? This is a very, this is an oversimplified way of looking at Jeremiah Love.
51:32But I realized that so much of this, this scar tissue from Ashton Gentry last year was real.
51:36I think Ashton Gentry was playing with like legitimately bottom five in terms of innovation, offensive staff and support system around him.
51:42I don't think Mike LaFleur is the second coming of Sean McVay, but I think he's much more creative and crafty.
51:48Do you guys recall Ashton Gentry's preseason last year?
51:50No. Three carries for negative one yards in his first game.
51:53His last game, he had two carries for five yards.
51:56All right. So I get it. That's a small sample size.
51:59Not good. Right. But like, remember that first game we were all sitting there.
52:03We're like, Holy crap. Like there was just nowhere to run for Ashton Gentry.
52:06It was a problem from the jump. Jeremiah Love.
52:0912 carries 58 yards. Now maybe he shouldn't have been playing as much as he did in the first preseason game, but
52:15still I think there's just ways in which this scheme will be friendlier to Jeremiah Love.
52:19And I think he's a more talented player than Ashton Gentry.
52:22So he has risen up to running back 11 for me.
52:25Yeah. This is a guy. And look, I've talked about him a lot.
52:28This is a guy I expect over the next five to eight years.
52:32To be one of those guys. Every year we rank in the top five.
52:35He's just going to be the next superstar running back in the NFL, like, you know, Gibbs and Robinson and those guys.
52:41So if I can get that guy in the third or fourth round, I mean, sign me up.
52:46I'm going to, I'm going to do it. Like I, you want to be drafting guys, not at their ceiling.
52:52And I feel like in that area of the draft, you're, you're sort of doing that with a lot of, a lot
52:57of guys like love's not the case. So he has RB one upside top five upside at running back.
53:02I mean, he, he next year, I expect to be drafting him in the first round.
53:07So even if he gets off to a slow start, no problem.
53:10I don't care if the first couple of weeks are off to a slow start.
53:14If this guy is a guy we're ranking top five every week after that point, I'm more than happy to, to make that investment.
53:20You say that, but the emotional feeling of people that watched this happen with Ashton Gentile.
53:25I know you don't care, but that's just not how fantasy football is played.
53:28People have feelings about fantasy. I'm not going to say the stat again, but okay.
53:32There'll be the 10th. Top 12. There'll be a top 12, 10th in a row.
53:36Mike's new show is called facts versus facts. That's right.
53:39Yes, exactly. Yeah. All right, Mike, who's your, uh, your risers?
53:42Uh, my risers are a couple of tight ends who I, I started very low in the rankings due to injury concerns.
53:48I didn't think they'd be ready for week one, frankly, throughout most of the off season, but now it looks like they're
53:54going to play in week one or at the latest week to Tucker craft and George Kittle.
53:58I've been eight and nine. Now I have been low on craft all off season.
54:02I probably still won't start him because I still won't draft him very often because he's still a little bit too expensive,
54:08but, um, he's just been extremely touchdown dependent. Now he did start to see the targets before he got hurt last year.
54:14He had 10 targets and back-to-back games. That was kind of new for him.
54:18He was second among tight ends and fantasy points, but he had six touchdowns with two end zone targets.
54:23His expected total was 1.8. He was way over his head.
54:26Very similar the year before. Uh, very good. But after the, after the catch, I wonder if he's going to have that
54:32in his tank this year off the injury. So with still with the injury concerns, I'm still a little hesitant on him,
54:38but he's moved up my rankings and same thing, uh, with George Kittle.
54:41He's on the fence for week one, probably going to be a slow start, but again, this guy's going in the ninth round right now.
54:48We've talked about this. Um, after the Achilles tear last year, we thought he might miss half this season.
54:53He might play again, weeks one or two. And if it, even if he has to ramp up for a few weeks,
54:59we will probably be ranking him top five, top three.
55:01Once he's a full go in one of the best offenses in the NFL.
55:05Do you guys know he has finished sixth or better in fantasy points per game?
55:09Eight consecutive seasons. By the way, Kittle is tied for second last year.
55:13Yeah. From came back first the year before he had a hamstring strain after, like I can see a week two came
55:18back in week seven, take out week seven. Cause it was his first game back from weeks eight through week 17.
55:24He averaged 19.2 fantasy points. Yeah. And remember the year before kind of broke out and Brock, Brock Bowers had his big rookie year.
55:30George Kittle had a higher fantasy points per game than those guys that year.
55:34I mean, he is still an unreal player. So sure.
55:37Also those guys moving up more, more draftable, more palatable.
55:40Honestly, where they're going. I'd be fine with drafting both of them in drafts back to back in the ninth and 10th round.
55:46I think I'd want one and a safe and then a safer one because craft's a little more expensive.
55:51Don't be able to go home, Mike. I'm more on my side there.
55:54I go like, I, I take a, a Dallas Goddard or Jake Ferguson along with one of the craft is a little
56:00further down in ADP in our draft room because we've had him buried because we have been worried about the injuries.
56:06That's not the case across the industry where he's been going.
56:09He's basically, basically tight end five. You have, Oh, pride Bowers, Loveland, Warren, top five rounds in round six is fanning and craft.
56:15So he's a little more expensive, Pits is cheaper.
56:17Laporte is cheaper. Guys like that. All right. My riser is Blake Corum.
56:21My friends. Whoa. Shout out to my girl. Not have guessed Liz Loza as well.
56:25We got a facts versus feelings coming out tomorrow, but he was much more involved in the offense last season.
56:30Big leap last year in the usage that he had.
56:33There's a really great stat from Liz. All six of Blake Corum's touchdowns were from weeks nine to 18 last season.
56:38Interestingly enough, Kyron Williams only had two games with more than 15 touches over that span.
56:43We just saw Blake Corum come on a lot in the second half of the season.
56:47It felt like it was more of a committee.
56:49It wasn't just Kyron Williams is the RB one.
56:52And Blake Corum is just buried in the depth chart.
56:54They were both being utilized down the stretch. And then this off season, John McVay literally said, quote, he's going to be
57:00a big factor and what we're going to do this year.
57:03You know how good he can be the touchdown equity that he can have.
57:07And if nothing else as an insurance back, if there was only one running back in this offense, in this Rams offense
57:13that could potentially score more points than any other offense in the NFL this season, you would say that running back would
57:19be an easy top 15, top 12 guy. Just given what the offense would be.
57:23I have moved Blake Corum up to my RB 30 because where he is at right now, RB 40, RB 40.
57:28The gap between Kyron Williams at RB 18 and Blake Corum at RB 40 is drastically too large.
57:33Okay. Hard to disagree on this. I was going to say like, I know I actually don't mind him slotting in around RB 30.
57:39I think the problem I have here is not whether he's a riser.
57:43It's just like, are you really using Blake Corum?
57:45If Kyron Williams is healthy? No, that's my, that was my point.
57:49He has no standalone value as far as I'm concerned.
57:51You don't think so? Yeah. No. Yeah. I don't think you're starting.
57:54I mean, you have him at 30, so you're already not starting him.
57:58So I don't know why he's a riser per se.
58:01I just think he needs a Kyron injury. He's not passing Kyron Williams.
58:04He even last year, he played 29% of the snaps and had 17 targets.
58:08Like he's, he's not going to be involved in the passing game.
58:11He's going to, I think he could split carries with Kyron Williams.
58:14No problem. I don't, I don't not worry about that.
58:17Sure. Just not enough passing game involvement. And there's just not there week to week to start him.
58:22I just think you're never going to put him in your flex or RB two.
58:26So that's, that's my problem. But to your point, outstay, maybe the best insurance running back.
58:30I'll give you that, but that's what the ninth round is for better than him as an insurance back.
58:35Nobody, nobody, right? Probably not. I can't. I mean, I don't think there's a better, unless it's like a committee, a clear committee situation, right?
58:42Like Kyle moon, non guy, maybe it may. Yeah, maybe he's, I think it's probably the offense is so good in Chicago and Los Angeles.
58:48It's not Brian Robinson. It's not like, there's not another guy.
58:51One of the new England backs. And that probably not.
58:54I mean, Mitchell field. Maybe. Yeah. Here's a good one.
58:57You love the offense. The Rams. It's not so good.
58:59Yes. It's clearly, I think it's Coram. Yeah. Do you really think there's going to be a 20 spot difference at the
59:05end of the season between Blake Coram and Kyron?
59:08Or do you look at last year? I hear you on the rise part.
59:11Like I get it. I probably like 18 to 38.
59:14I'm a 38 for Coram probably feels a little bit wider.
59:17It's more so like, I guess I interpreted my riser is like, it's going to, it changes the standalone value.
59:22I feel different about the standalone value for the player now than I did three weeks ago.
59:27You were both healthy last year. They both had a, what I think will be a similar deployment this year.
59:32Kyron Williams finished ninth. Blake Coram finished 40th. He was unusable.
59:35If Kyron Williams is on the field, I just think he's unusable.
59:38Is that for the entire season? Are you just looking at the second half when they, when like Sean McVay started to
59:44show that they wanted to use it? I don't think it's my, I don't think it's much different.
59:49I think that might be a little closer. And that's where I think we're different, which is fine because we're just viewing it differently.
59:55I think that what I saw in the second half of the season and with what Sean McVay has said, there will
60:01be a more deployment of Blake Coram. I'm not sure that means standalone, but it means that the gap is too far.
60:07I think I figured that. And by the way, really deeply apologize.
60:10We're going to probably have to punt on some of our draft advice.
60:14No, it's okay for, for another show soon. We will get to it.
60:17I promise. Oh yes. But I think I figured this out.
60:20If I may, please. Mike says, Christian McCaffrey will outscore Blake Coram this season.
60:24And he says, like, I'll take that. I guess.
60:26Fine. Okay. I'm trying to find good games for Blake Coram here.
60:30His last five games, all under 11 fantasy points.
60:32I mean, where he had a couple of 13, he had one big game of 26, but that was it.
60:37Everything was 14 or lower. I'm where are the good games here?
60:41I don't Mike. He had, he had, that's not how this works.
60:44He had five touchdowns in a four game stretch.
60:46And that was it. Then he disappeared. Sometimes there's some prognostication involved just because someone hasn't done something in the past doesn't
60:52mean it won't happen in the future. I have, I have Kyron Williams down a little bit.
60:57Cause I do think Coram gets more of the carries this year, but it's not enough to be fantasy relevant.
61:02I don't know why he's moving up your rankings.
61:04He's still a. Did you not listen to any of the words that I just said?
61:09Yeah. And you didn't make any compelling, you did not make a compelling argument.
61:12Okay. So you don't. Selected. Keep going. That's fair.
61:15Hey, that's, and this is why fantasy is so great because, because right now, none of us are wrong.
61:20Maybe after week one, I'll be wrong, but right now, none of us are wrong.
61:24We don't know anything more than the next person.
61:26We're just doing the best we can to come up with the best information we have possible.
61:31Thanks for hanging out with us today. By the way, are we going to punt?
61:35I think we should punt because I don't want to just give you short change.
61:39I don't want to speed through it. So like tomorrow, we're going to make, yeah, exactly.
61:43Why don't we make it a goal of ours that like at the end of the show, we're going to, we're going
61:49to agree on a certain number of minutes. Yes.
61:51That we want to dedicate to the end of tomorrow's show.
61:54How many do you want? Dynasty and salary gap.
61:57We'll talk about it post-show six or seven. Yeah.
61:59Okay. And we'll say, we'll put it on the rundown and we will work accordingly in the front.
62:04I'm like, unless 10 things happen and we're crazy crowded with news and we have to get to the top.
62:09Or Daniel says something ridiculous right at the end when we're trying to wrap things up.
62:13But can I ask what? So, but you have our pledge here.
62:17We're going to cover the draft strategy tomorrow. It's important to us.
62:20This guy over here. Is this guy? I have to point that way.
62:23Oh, all right. It's like we were looking in the mirror.
62:26Great audio ending. Guys, we love you. Thank you so much for hanging out with us.
62:31We'll be back tomorrow and we're going to dive into fields.
62:34Top 25 players as well as a bunch of draft strategy.
62:36And then we're going to New York City. Promise.
62:39And then we're going to New York City. Come hang out.
62:42We love you guys. Don't forget to love each other and be kind to yourself.
62:46You deserve it. We'll see you guys tomorrow. I'm not going to be kind to you.
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