Week 1 Fantasy Football RB Rankings & Tiers: The Toughest Start/Sit Running Back Decisions (Ep. 2175)
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
54 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Sep 7, 2026
Published
Mon, September 7, 2026
17
Player insights
12
Players mentioned
Topics
Derrick HenryJadarian PriceJavonte WilliamsKyren WilliamsMike Washington Jr.Chuba HubbardJeremiyah LoveJonathon BrooksJordan MasonMarShawn LloydRhamondre StevensonTony Pollard
Player analysis
Player insights
Chuba Hubbard
NegativeRole45:09
Chuba Hubbard is expected to share the backfield with Jonathan Brooks in a 50-50 split for Week 1. Pat Fitzmaurice notes that Hubbard is recovering from a hamstring issue and could be a potential sell-high candidate after Week 1 if he dominates early touches before Brooks fully takes over.
Insight pageDerrick Henry
NegativeProjection10:23
Andrew Erickson ranks Henry at RB12, citing concerns about the Ravens' new offensive scheme under Declan Doyle, the lack of a confirmed starting center, and a tough matchup against the Colts' defensive tackles Grover Stewart and DeForest Buckner. Additionally, Henry's efficiency metrics declined last year, and his yards per carry historically drops when tight end Charlie Kolar is absent.
Insight pageNegativeProjection15:11
Pat Fitzmaurice ranks Henry at RB4, arguing that he will be a high-end RB1 in a one-game setting. Fitzmaurice believes the new offensive coordinator will lean on Henry as a 'sledgehammer' to avoid criticism for overthinking play-calling, and he views the Colts' inexperienced off-ball linebackers as a exploitable weakness.
Insight pageJadarian Price
PositiveUsage39:03
Jadarian Price is expected to have a robust role in Week 1; he has shown encouraging pass-catching ability in training camp. While George Helani may see some passing down work, Price is in a favorable spot against an average Patriots run defense. Andrew Erickson notes that Price's explosive skill set on the edge could be effective against the Patriots' linebackers and coverage, potentially mirroring Kenneth Walker's success against them in the Super Bowl.
Insight pagePositiveRole63:49
Fitzy ranks Jadarian Price as an RB2 for Week 1, noting he is the lead runner in Seattle while Zach Charbonnet is out, with added upside from reports of improved pass-catching ability.
Insight pageJavonte Williams
NegativeProjection17:25
Pat Fitzmaurice does not have Williams as an RB1 for Week 1, noting a significant downturn in efficiency and usage following the team's Week 10 bye last season. He highlights that Williams' yards per carry dropped from 5.2 to 4.3 and his touchdown production slowed significantly, leading to skepticism about his overall outlook.
Insight pagePositiveProjection20:00
Andrew Erickson ranks Williams at RB7, calling the matchup against the Giants a 'layup' due to the Giants trading away defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence. Erickson notes that Williams has no backfield competition following the release of Jaden Blue and points to his previous success against the Giants, where he posted 97 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries in their last meeting.
Insight pageJeremiyah Love
NegativeInjury56:45
Erickson is hesitant about starting Jeremiah Love in Week 1 due to his 50/50 injury status and the Cardinals' history of dysfunctional personnel management, noting that if he plays, he likely won't be at 100%.
Insight pageJonathon Brooks
PositiveBreakout45:09
Despite injury concerns and a potential 50-50 split with Chuba Hubbard, Andrew Erickson remains high on Jonathan Brooks, ranking him inside his top 24. Erickson believes Brooks has more 'juice' than Hubbard and could serve as a key pass-catcher if the Panthers are in a negative game script against the Bears.
Insight pageJordan Mason
PositiveProjection50:41
Pat Fitzmaurice is high on Jordan Mason for Week 1, suggesting he is a player to watch for fantasy lineups.
Insight pageKyren Williams
NegativeUsage40:01
Erickson expects Kyron Williams and Blake Corum to swap drives, mirroring their second-half usage from last year, which lowers his optimism for Williams' Week 1 output against the 49ers.
Insight pageNegativeProjection40:16
Erickson is lower than consensus on Kyron Williams (RB16) due to concerns about the Rams' offense struggling in a 10:30 a.m. kickoff, the travel impact, and the 49ers' defensive improvements with Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw returning.
Insight pageMarShawn Lloyd
NegativeMatchup47:36
Marshawn Lloyd faces a difficult Week 1 matchup against a Minnesota Vikings run defense that has reinforced its front line. Pat Fitzmaurice expresses doubt that the Packers will give Lloyd a heavy workload given his injury history, suggesting that Chris Brooks or Pierre Strong may also see significant snaps.
Insight pageMike Washington Jr.
PositiveRole25:05
Andrew Erickson suggests that if Jinty is inactive, Mike Washington would likely handle 70% of the snaps, with Dylan Lobby mixing in for passing downs. Erickson views Washington as a potential RB2 in that scenario, highlighting his explosiveness and the favorable matchup against the Dolphins.
Insight pageNegativeRole29:04
Pat Fitzmaurice warns against overhyping Mike Washington, stating that he is not in the same talent tier as Ashton Jinty. Fitzmaurice expects Washington to serve as a backup and cautions that even if Jinty is limited, Washington would likely only be a low-end RB2.
Insight pageRhamondre Stevenson
NegativeMatchup41:10
Rhamondre Stevenson faces a difficult Week 1 matchup against a strong Seattle defense that ranked first in DVOA last year. Andrew Erickson and Pat Fitzmaurice both suggest looking elsewhere for running backs, as the game is expected to be a committee split and the Patriots may be forced to abandon the run if they fall behind against Seattle's pass rush.
Insight pageTony Pollard
NegativeRole43:09
Andrew Erickson has plummeted Tony Pollard in his rankings, citing a 50-50 committee split with Tajay Spears that persisted throughout the preseason. Erickson also notes concerns regarding the Titans' offensive line and the improved Jets defense, leading him to believe Pollard lacks significant upside for Week 1.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. Attention Chicken Nugget fans!
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0:23restaurants. Don't wait around. You gotta try the new Burger King chicken nuggets today!
0:28The NFL season is finally here, and we are here to bring you Week 1 Ranks.
0:32Draft, kick it out the door because it's time to look at the season and time to get those players you drafted doing some business for you.
0:40Welcome into the Fantasy Pros Fantasy Football Podcast. I'm Chris Welsh.
0:43We've got Andrew Erickson and Pat Fitzmaurice as we are going to be with you every single week through the entire season, walking through the ranks.
0:51Today we're going to be looking at our running back ranks for Week 1.
0:55And Week 1 is a little tricky, guys. We've got not just like a Thursday, but we've got a Wednesday.
1:01So we are jumping in earlier than ever. And I'm going to give a little slight PSA to everybody.
1:06Not going to really do this any other week because I think you generally know this.
1:11But if there is a time that you are going to see the biggest influx of Week 1 rank changes from the
1:17episode that we do to the ranks page, it's going to be this week.
1:21Because everybody is, you know, there's a lot of people that are still in like draft mode.
1:26So I just want you guys to know as we are going to be talking about these things that let's say it becomes Tuesday afternoon.
1:33You want to take a look at the running back ranks and you go, oh, guys, this is so much different than what you said.
1:41Yes, because we are going to get flooded with experts putting in their Week 1 ranks.
1:45So the people that have the Week 1 ranks in on Fantasy Pros right now, they're the hardcore.
1:50They're the ones that are dedicated and locked in like these two, Pat Fitzmorris and Andrew Erickson.
1:55Fitzy, what was the feeling like just really quick and we're going to jump right into the rank?
2:01What was that feeling like actually submitting those Week 1 ranks?
2:04Because the funniest part about this transition is you had all your drafts.
2:08You're like, oh, I love this guy, this guy here, this guy here.
2:11And then all of a sudden, Week 1, you trash some player that you loved in the draft season because of his Week 1 matchup.
2:19So what was your feeling process going through your RB ranks?
2:22Yeah, that is jolting to be higher or lower on certain guys.
2:25And then all of a sudden we're factoring in defenses and maybe injuries to teammates and how we feel about guys like,
2:32oh, I'm seven spots higher on this guy than I was in my draft ranking.
2:36So, yeah, it's a little jolting, but it feels good to start thinking about defenses again, matchups, that sort of thing.
2:42It's time to go to war with these teams we've been drafting for the last three weeks.
2:47Erickson, let me ask you this. Do you think that this is the week that what you did in the draft, you
2:53should not be as hyper-focused on the matchup of Week 1?
2:57Because there are many things we don't know. We don't know the trueness of defenses and where offensive schemes are.
3:02Do you think the highest translation of where a player was drafted to where they are ranked weekly should be this week?
3:09Or did you play the opposite and did you just go, yep, I like this guy is the, I don't know, fifth
3:15running back in drafts, but I don't like this matchup this week.
3:19So I am pushing him down to 12. I'm just using arbitrary numbers.
3:22I think in terms of like tiebreakers, you usually kind of want to just go with the players that you drafted highest,
3:29but also not be bound to that. Where, look, especially in some of these builds where you maybe punch it off a running back.
3:36There are going to be some veteran running backs that we didn't necessarily like in redraft for the season long appeal, but
3:42we acknowledge, hey, week one, this is probably going to be the guy.
3:46And maybe not being as high on rookie players being that, hey, it's their first game.
3:50So I know that for an example, like a Makai Lemon, I think that I tried to stay above consensus on him
3:57because I liked his long-term outlook with the Eagles.
3:59But I'm being realistic that, look, if I'm not expecting him to be a wide receiver three week one when he's missed
4:06so much time in training camp, even though he's facing the Washington commanders.
4:10Like, I think that's just being a little bit too bullish.
4:13So I know that the defenses are incomplete, but we, you know, we watch football.
4:17Like we know who the personnel is going to be out there.
4:21So we're trying to project what these teams are going to look like.
4:24Obviously accounting that we can't just copy and paste everything that happened last year in terms of, well, this team was terrible against tight ends.
4:32Although the Bengals usually suck against tight ends. That doesn't always carry over from year to year, but evaluate the rosters, especially
4:38on the defensive side of the football and make the best educated decision.
4:42And that's obviously why we're here breaking down the ranks.
4:45I love that too. We're like, we know who the, the, the schemes and the players are.
4:50And then it'll be like Chris Rodriguez for 20 carries in week one and tootin is shut out.
4:55And then it'll be Chuba Hubbard has a huge game and what's that.
4:59Yeah. So we know, but we don't know. We'll see where it goes.
5:02We are going to be going through and giving you the big board.
5:06According to ECR for the ranks for the week, you guys can follow along fantasy pros.com slash rankings.
5:11Fantasy pros.com slash rankings are in a search bar.
5:14You can do fantasy pros football rankings week one.
5:17You can find that in here. And again, these are going to alter and change.
5:21So don't freak out if what we're talking about is a little different from what you see.
5:26If anything, this is going to give you a great barometer to what the early hardcore people have set for the ranks.
5:32And then what has changed when more people come in, but let's get into it.
5:37And let's look at the first visual on the big board.
5:40We've got the top 12 starting with no surprise.
5:42Jameer Gibbs comes in at number one. Bijan Robinson to Christian McCaffrey at three.
5:46Jonathan Taylor at four. So very, very chalk to draft season.
5:50We've got Devon Achan at five. Saquon Barkley at six.
5:53Then the back half. Chase Brown, James Cook, American Hampton, Derrick Henry, Javante Williams, and Ashton Gentry.
5:57So I guess for the most part, there's nothing really insane that happens here.
6:02No big pushes down. Maybe James Cook looks like the most dramatic one that ends up pushing down.
6:07That's probably defensive matchup overall with, you know, guys like Chase Brown.
6:10Or I got to be honest with you, just to throw this out, like Saquon Barkley is one of those.
6:16I just kept wanting to like push up and up going against Washington.
6:20But let's start with a huge difference between you two.
6:23That's where this one is going to go. Derrick Henry comes in at ECR 10.
6:27But you guys are dramatic. Now, you guys are both RB1.
6:30So I guess I give that caveat. But one of you has him as a top five and one of you, he's barely holding on.
6:37And Erickson for you, he is barely holding on.
6:40You've got him at RB12. So no big excitement on the matchup versus the Indianapolis Colts for you.
6:45But he's still an RB1. Yeah, still someone you're going to be starting in your lineups.
6:50I am just tempering some expectations with the big dog, Derrick Henry.
6:53The Colts are expected to have both of their stud defensive tackles ready and active in the lineup.
6:59Grover Stewart to Forrest Buckner. And when those guys have missed time in the past, this defense has been run over by opposing running backs.
7:06It's a new offense for the Baltimore Ravens. This is going to be Declan Doyle's first game calling the offensive plays with Lamar Jackson.
7:13And I have concerns about that defensive line versus interior offensive line matchup for the Baltimore Ravens, creating push for Derrick Henry.
7:19The Ravens have three new starters on the interior of their offensive line.
7:23Now, one of them is a stud, Vega Uwane, the guy that they drafted this year in the first round.
7:29He's a monster. But still, this is going to be the first game that they play without stud center Tyler Linderbaum.
7:35Like there's a reason why the Raiders paid him so much money last year in free agency, because they needed to get
7:41someone up front to help with Kirk Cousins and Fernando Mendoza.
7:44The Ravens also don't know who their starting center is still at this time.
7:48Like they still haven't actually found the guy that's actually replacing Tyler Linderbaum.
7:52It's been a competition between Ethan Posick and Javon Gwynn.
7:55So Declan Doyle says he feels confident in both guys.
7:58That's more of like, we'll see what happens. So I think that there is a potential for the Colts defensive line to
8:04have the edge here in this matchup against the Baltimore Ravens offensive line.
8:08So for those reasons, that's why I'm just a little bit lower on Derrick Henry.
8:13I'm also curious to see how they respond without their two tight ends from last year.
8:17Charlie Kolar, he was a big loss. I actually looked at last year in the last couple of years when Charlie Kolar has missed time in the past.
8:25Derrick Henry's yards per carry falls from 5.6 to 4.7.
8:28And although Derrick Henry, he has fended off father time up to this point last year, it was a career low for
8:35him and elusive rating 14th lowest missed tackles force per attempt.
8:38So if he has to create more on his own and those Colts defensive tackles are getting through this interior offensive line,
8:44maybe Derrick Henry has more of a modest game playing on the road.
8:48And we have on the ranks page, you can see start, sit grades.
8:52You can see projected points and then you can also see matchup ratings.
8:55And of the top 12 running backs, three are given only a two star rating.
9:00So those are the lowest of the top 12.
9:02The first two are Bijan Robinson and Christian McCaffrey.
9:05Pretty good. And then Derrick Henry is the other one.
9:08So pretty low rating going down there at the 10 ECR spot.
9:11But Fitzy, you're on the opposite end. You have a very positive take.
9:15You have got Derrick Henry at four on your RB ranks for this week.
9:19Yeah, Derrick Henry was a low end running back one in just about everyone's 2026 draft rankings because people are understandably reluctant
9:26to rank a 32 year old running back more aggressively than that.
9:29But a healthy Derrick Henry in a one game setting.
9:32Heck yeah, I'll rank him as a high end RB one.
9:35I'm guessing that Henry is not going to be underutilized in Declan Doyle's first game as the Ravens OC.
9:41Like, do you think the boy wonder really wants to be accused of getting too cute with his play calling when he's
9:47got Derrick Henry as the sledgehammer in that backfield?
9:50And I like this matchup more than Erickson and the matchup tool for fantasy pros do.
9:54Colts, like, I think run defense could be a problem for the Colts this year.
9:59And even with DeForest Buckner and Grover Stewart, good run stuff, good run stuffers up front.
10:03But we don't know if DeForest Buckner can still be a play record at age 32, having missed extensive time the last couple of years.
10:11And the Colts off ball linebackers, very inexperienced. I think that unit might actually be kind of a problem for them.
10:17I know in Mike Clay's unit rankings over at ESPN, he gave their linebackers a three on a 10-point scale.
10:22So I kind of think Derrick Henry is going to feast this week.
10:26I do like the idea of what you said where it's like, what do you think we're going to do in a new scheme?
10:33Do you think people are going to be more pissed about giving Derrick Henry 25 carries or 15 carries?
10:39That's an interesting perspective for it. Coming at number two, at least on this list, this is a RB difference where one
10:45of you has got him quite a bit higher than ECR, and the other does not have him as a RB1 at all.
10:52And it's Javante Williams. Javante Williams comes in at 11 on this list.
10:55Now he is given a four-star rating against the Giants.
10:58I really like this matchup. And Fitzy, this is a situation where you're not the high guy, you're the low guy.
11:04You don't even have Javante Williams as an RB1 for this week.
11:08So talk us through it. I know the situation is really good.
11:11The workload should be substantial. I know the Giants were terrible against the run last year.
11:16Maybe I'll relent and move Javante up a little in my rankings for week one, but I'm not as crazy as some
11:22other people are about his outlook for the season.
11:25Javante was sort of tailing off down the stretch last year.
11:28So he averaged 5.2 yards per carry before the week 10 bye for Dallas, 4.3 yards per carry after the bye.
11:34He had 25 catches before the bye, only 10 after the bye.
11:38Nine touchdowns in his first eight games. Four touchdowns in his last eight games.
11:42So I saw a little bit of a downturn with Javante last year.
11:46He was kind of a zero in the passing game.
11:49Caught some passes, but like woefully inefficient. I'm just not quite as high on him overall.
11:53And I guess that's sort of extending to this week one matchup against Big Blue.
11:58All right. You said some are crazy. A la Erickson.
12:00Erickson, let's talk crazy, baby. Seven. You've got Javante Williams at seven.
12:04So you guys, like I said, completely split. You are, what is it, four spots above ECR.
12:09Fitzy is three spots below. It kind of changes the tier spot of it.
12:13But what's got you positive about Javante Williams this week?
12:16And who is he jumping over? Give me like the two running backs you have him higher than.
12:21I have him out of Hampton, Cook, Chase Brown, Walker, Derrick Henry, Gentty.
12:25He's ahead of all those guys. And honestly, I could move him up even higher because I think Fitz outlined that Javante
12:31Williams is good at the start of the year.
12:34It's week one, baby. He is fresh and ready to go.
12:37So this Giants run defense was buns last year.
12:40And what do they do in this offseason? They trade away Dexter Lawrence.
12:43Their best defensive tackle. So I think this is an absolute layup for Javante Williams.
12:48He has no backfield competition. The guy that we were concerned about maybe having a role in the receiving game got straight
12:54up cut from the team in Jaden Blue. Malik Davis is the backup to Javante Williams.
12:59The Dallas Cowboys own the New York Giants. They beat them every single time that they play them, except for last year
13:05when the Cowboys rested all their starters and that they were still heavy favorites entering that week 18 game.
13:11So last year he only got to face the Giants one time, 18 carries, 97 yards and a touchdown.
13:16He was a top five running back that week.
13:19And I think he can be another top five running back in week one.
13:23I think we might have a little ranks episode like it's a pseudo DFS bet here.
13:27Can we do a Derrick Henry versus Javante? Javante.
13:30Javante. I'll take Javante. I'll take Javante. Love that.
13:33Okay. Well, you guys could do a hair bet when he has to shave your head.
13:37But we're going to have a little bet. We're going to come back to it and take a look at that.
13:43Loser leaves town match. Yeah. Yeah. So not joining us on the rank show this week.
13:48Yeah. They just get booted just because of Derrick Henry or Javante Williams.
13:52What a bad show. The final one is Ashton Jinty.
13:55We've got a couple instances of this where we've got to play a what if game.
13:59So the first what if is Ashton Jinty. Well, this isn't what if he is 12 right now.
14:04He they're optimistic. The Raiders are optimistic that he's going to be able to play.
14:09So there's a couple of questions I have. A is 12 representative of the current situation he's in.
14:14B if it's not what does that rank look like?
14:17You guys both have them at 11. So maybe the answer to that is just this is what you think if he is active for it.
14:24But I guess then the C or however you want to look at it is Mike Washington.
14:29You know, they said Mike. The quote was Mike Washington is going to be a thing.
14:34They've they've talked about how they you know, they really like this guy.
14:38But there's an element of like when Ashton Jinty is healthy, what does he take away?
14:42And there's no question he's not healthy going into this first game.
14:46So what level does Mike Washington take away? And then here's the last one.
14:50If Jinty is not active, what is Mike Washington?
14:53So Erickson, let's start with you. I know I threw a lot at you here.
14:57Is this rank properly representative? What do you think Mike Washington can be if they're both active?
15:02And then what can Mike Washington be if he is the starter?
15:05So I'll start with the last question. You asked me about Mike Washington being the starter.
15:10I think that he would probably play like 70% of the snaps and they would probably mix in Dylan Lobby as that
15:16pass down specialist out of the backfield. I think you just got to embrace this matchup here against the Miami Dolphins.
15:22I know I sneakily like the Dolphins to kind of upset the Raiders here, but the Dolphins still have one of the worst rosters in the NFL.
15:30They do have some talent at linebacker defensive line, but I still think you want to lean into this positive matchup at
15:37home for the Raiders with a revamped offensive line with Linderbaum with Colton Miller out there blocking.
15:42And Mike Washington's explosiveness as a big bodied specimen.
15:44So he'd be someone I've been trying to get into my lineups as at least a flex play, but I think he
15:51would definitely be in the RB2 ranks if not potentially even higher.
15:54So we'd see how he shakes out among just the other running backs, but somebody that I would want to start if
16:00Ashton Gentry is not going to play. If Gentry is in, he's who I would start as a back-end fantasy RB1.
16:07I think that we saw last year with the Raiders, and I know it's a different coaching staff, but still it's the same GM.
16:13Brock Bowers missed a bunch of time and then came back and people were hesitant about starting him.
16:19Absolutely smashed in his first game back, and you would have just been like, oh yourself if you had missed out on a monster game from him.
16:27If Gentry's active, I think that he's going to be playing his whatever normal role in the offense would be.
16:32I think that they have too much invested in him from last year in the draft capital and a Raiders team that is not really playing for 2026.
16:40They're playing for the future. That's why they're being so, so hesitant about playing for an Andrew Mendoza.
16:46We want to make sure Kirk Cousins gets his starts.
16:49We want Mendoza to learn. So I think they're playing the long game.
16:52So if Gentry is out there, I think that he is good to go.
16:56Yes, he will cede some touches to Mike Washington.
16:59He will have a role in this offense, but I think that means Gentry is a back-end fantasy RB1.
17:05So I mean, again, I guess your guys' rank of 11, this is your build-in here, Fitzy.
17:09But if he's not active, where's Mike Washington? And I don't know, I guess I have more hesitation than you guys.
17:16To the same point, like they're not trying to win out there.
17:19If he's not like absolutely 100% and they're using the word optimistic, you know, four or five days before the season, like
17:25I don't know if I feel great about that.
17:28And I think we should be more hesitant. Does that take him out of a roster?
17:33Probably not. You know, maybe it's like more of an RB2.
17:36You guys are putting him as RB1, so maybe it's arbitrary.
17:39But break the situation down for us, Fitzy, in some of the scenarios that you think could play.
17:44I'm putting Mike Washington as a low-end RB2 if Gentry is out.
17:48I don't think he's going to be out. It sounds like based on just little tells from Clint Kubiak, like he kind
17:54of gave a wry smile when asked about Gentry's status for week one.
17:58I think he's going to play. Now, whether he gets, you know, 20 plus touches, maybe not.
18:03Maybe it's more like 12 to 15 and the rest goes to Mike Washington.
18:07That's what I'm worried about. Yeah. And like, but we should slow the roll on the Mike Washington hype, I think, as
18:13far as like him having any sort of stay in alone value during this season.
18:18Like if anyone really thinks that Mike Washington is within 10 miles of Ashton Gentry in terms of talent, like that's just so naive and crazy to me.
18:26Like Gentry is a special cat and Mike Washington is, you know, maybe they got themselves a quality backup.
18:31We'll see. But yeah. And like it is a favorable matchup.
18:34I mean, maybe Erickson was being a little disrespectful to rookie linebacker Jacob Rodriguez and his mustache.
18:39But overall, I think this is probably as favorable a matchup as the Raiders are going to get this year.
18:45All right. RB ones in the book. Let's go take a look at RB two.
18:49And we're going to be taking a look at the RB twos and one specific player that might get you a little autograph action.
18:56If you guys want a chance to win a Kyron Williams, who's going to show up here in a second, signed Rams mini helmet.
19:03This is going to be your shot. And I actually think there are better odds on this than some of our other
19:10contests, because many of our contests are come over to the YouTube, follow the YouTube, make a comment, make a comment on any video all month long.
19:18Right. That's very easy. And there's mounds and mounds of people that are doing it that aren't even thinking about the contest.
19:24Well, we're gonna make you do a little bit more, but that's going to make your odds even better.
19:29If you want to get this Kyron Williams autograph helmet, all you've got to do is leave a review on either the Apple podcast or Spotify podcast.
19:37Get a screenshot of that, of that review, and then email it to mailbag at fantasypros.com.
19:42So we're making you jump through a little bit of hoops here, but less people are going to do it.
19:48Maybe. And this is going to give you better odds.
19:51So again, screenshot your review on Apple podcast or Spotify, mailbag at fantasypros.com.
19:54We'll be announcing a winner right here on the show.
19:57So make sure to turn on YouTube notifications or you can follow the podcast wherever you listen to us.
20:03So you can know when new episodes are up and then you can hear your name and claim that Kyron Williams autograph helmet.
20:09Speaking of Kyron Williams, let's take a look at the RB2 board.
20:13He is not number 13, but he's right after.
20:16Ken Walker comes in at 13 going up against Denver.
20:18Kyron Williams at 14 traveling to Australia. We've got DeAndre Swip, Brice Hall, Travis Achen, Bucky Irving, Cam Scadaboo, and David Montgomery at 20.
20:25And then the final is Jeremiah Love at 21, Quinchon Jutkins, Jalen Warren, and Basial Tootin.
20:30So let's talk about Kyron Williams. Kyron Williams, ECR, RB14.
20:33This is another one of those instances where one of you has him as an RB2.
20:38One of you has him as a RB1. Maybe there's some arbitrariness to it because the RB1 is 12.
20:43And Fitzy, let's go to you on this then because you've got him at 12.
20:47Erickson's a little bit lower than consensus in this 49ers matchup.
20:51You are a bit higher even though he's going to make way to some of Blake Corum.
20:56They're also traveling. I don't know if this means anything to anybody, but you see the 49ers have already traveled out there.
21:02The Rams aren't going until like Wednesday morning. You know, they're going like a week later to travel out, which I thought was really odd.
21:09What effect that has, we're not going to know until game time.
21:13But Kyron Williams at 12. Talk to us, Fitzy.
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23:01Nicotine is an addictive chemical. Well, Kyron has scored 44 touchdowns in 45 regular season games over the last three years.
23:07He's averaged at least 90 yards from scrimmage the game each of the last three seasons.
23:11He's been RB2, RB8, and RB11 in a half-point PPR fantasy points per game in the last three years.
23:17Rams 49ers has a Vegas total of 48.5. That's tied for third highest total on the board for Week 1.
23:23Rams have an implied point total of 26. What's not to like?
23:26Well, the undertaker is gonna walk us through, I think, what there might not be to like, because I think I know where he might potentially be going.
23:34Which, actually, to be honest with you, a game like this, a game script, where you're having this big travel that you
23:41might be, if you believe you're gonna be devoid on some points, they might just want to keep the ball on the
23:47ground a little bit more, which would work well.
23:49But you've got him at RB16, Erickson. So talk to us about, again, it's not like a big negative, like you're benching
23:56him or anything like that, but you just have less optimism for Kyron Williams this week.
24:01Well, I'm just acknowledging that he and Blake Corum are just gonna swap drives, right?
24:05That's what they did in the second half of last year.
24:08They were, one drive would go to Kyron, one drive would go to Blake Corum.
24:12So I'm just trying to capture that in his general ranking.
24:16And the fact that I just don't think this game is gonna be anywhere near 48.5 points total.
24:21I think this is going to be a lower scoring game.
24:24You have to consider all the variables from the traveling, from the different time zones.
24:28It's Week 1. A lot of these guys haven't played, especially on the Rams side.
24:33These guys haven't played at all in the preseason.
24:35So how fast out of the gates are they going to be playing when they're kicking off at 10.30 a.m.
24:41local time? When was the last time any of these guys played a full-fledged NFL game that early in the morning?
24:47I think never. So I have a lot of reservations about how high-flying these offices are going to be in this particular matchup.
24:54You look at the last five matchups between the 49ers and the Rams, only two of those games have gone over 48.5 points within regulation.
25:01One of those games needed overtime for it to actually push over 48.5 points, and it was 49 points.
25:07So I like the under overall in this game.
25:09Rams' defense is way better than it was last year.
25:12All of the additions that they have made. And then the 49ers, it kind of remains to be seen if they'll be
25:18better, but they're going to have at least more of their guys that they didn't have last year because they had so many injuries.
25:25Now, we'll see how effective those guys are coming off of all of these season-ending injuries, but having someone like Fred Warner,
25:32for example, like back, like that makes the 49ers defense so, so much better, even if he's not full 100% Fred Warner.
25:38I mean, he's better than all the guys that they had last year.
25:42So overall, just down on this game from an offensive scoring environment perspective, and that, you know, trickles down to, you know, the Rams running back one.
25:50Yeah, let me give you, I'm going to give my inner Erickson in here.
25:54I love that Fred Warner's there. I love that Drake Greenlaw's back.
25:57Nick Bosa might play, but the 49ers defense, buns.
26:00Ravens, booty cheeks. It's not going to be good.
26:03They are going to be running. Well, you think it'll be worse than last year?
26:07Yeah, I do. I think that. Even with all those guys back.
26:10I think there's the potential for it to be disaster.
26:13They can't stop the run. They haven't been able to stop the run in years.
26:18Their defensive line is bad. It is not good.
26:20I mean, maybe Bosa back is going to help it, but I'm worried that their secondary is still, it's just, it's all mid and average.
26:27The only spot that they really kind of shine in right now is in that like, you know, Greenlaw, Fred Warner type
26:34of spot, which like, what's that going to end up helping, especially with how dangerous they are in the past?
26:40It's like, it's probably going to help like down the middle.
26:43You know, I just, I don't know. I don't, I'm worried about the 49ers defense.
26:47And if the Rams don't want to, you know, go heavy into the past game, they're going to be able to run all over the 49ers.
26:55But that doesn't mean there's going to be points left and right.
26:58That doesn't mean that that's going to be the play.
27:01But then you take series off. It's, it's a weird spot.
27:04Hope I'm wrong. You know, self-heading 49ers fan defense buns buns.
27:08Let's talk about Basial Tootin. This isn't really one where there's like crazy differences, but I just think we should talk about him because this is it.
27:15Everyone. I mean, I guess you're in two camps in the draft season.
27:19You were just like Basial Tootin's the truth, or this is all fake.
27:23And it's going to be Chris Rodriguez. He comes in at ECR 24.
27:27You guys split it. Erickson, you got up at 23.
27:30So it was an RB two. You got him at 25.
27:33That's technically an RB three or a flex spot, but it's, you know, it's kind of arbitrary.
27:38It's just a really bad matchup. If we look at the matchup ratings here, three running backs were given a two-star rating in this 13 through 24.
27:45Ken Walker going against Denver. That's why he doesn't crack the top 12.
27:49Travis HN against Detroit. And then Basial Tootin going up against Cleveland.
27:53So really more than like going crazy ECR, Fitzy, let's start with you.
27:56What is your expectation of what we are going to see out of Tootin?
28:01Do you think draft draftees are going to be really disappointed because we're going to see more Chris Rodriguez?
28:06Do you think we have the potential? There's a lot of whole like Chris Rodriguez looking better in pass protection.
28:12Or do you think the people that have banked on him being a three down back are going to feel okay?
28:18Like what is the vibe out of there? And do you, you obviously feel a little bit more tenuous about starting him this week?
28:25Yeah, that's it. Well, I wish I had the answer key for this one.
28:29Um, I'm cautiously optimistic. Uh, Basial Tootin is going to emerge as the clear lead back in Jacksonville at some point this season.
28:36I've drafted him on several teams. It's just, I don't know if it happens week one.
28:40I don't know how much we're going to see if Chris Rodriguez, um, you know, we know we should get a favorable
28:47run friendly game script against the Browns, but that's mainly because we don't think the Browns offense is going to do anything.
28:53And, you know, the Browns run defense, no pushover, like no joke.
28:57This is a pretty good run defense. So yeah, it's mainly just not knowing what Tootin's workload is going to be.
29:03Do you think at 25, this is a scenario where I think there's probably plenty of rosters that Tootin could have been like a third running back.
29:10He's a second running back. There's probably not a ton of discussion here, but if he was a third running back, do
29:17you think this is a situation where if someone is staring at, I mean, this isn't the wide receiver show, but if
29:23it's Basial Tootin or Chris Godwin, you know, Chris Godwin is like 35 on the ranks and that's a flex spot that
29:30this is the week that you're going to lean more towards like a mid thirties wide receiver than you would want to throw Tootin out there.
29:37Or do you think that you're still throwing them out?
29:40Yeah. In a PPR league, I could see starting Godwin in that scenario in a flex spots or, uh, what about half?
29:46Yeah. Half is, um, man, I'm kind of a Godwin skeptic.
29:50I'd probably start Tootin, but it's that wrong name then.
29:52What about, no, that was a, that was a good name to pull though, because I think that would be a dilemma for a lot of people.
30:00Erickson, you're a little bit higher. Um, I want to get your take on it, but let me also throw this at you.
30:07Do you think Basial Tootin is going to be one of the top players after week one that we are talking about
30:13that you need to go trade for because of maybe a lack of six.
30:17I mean, I guess you have them at 23, but it's a bad matchup.
30:21If Chris Rodriguez did get used, you know, do you think this could be one of those players that were like, Hey
30:28guys, it was a bad week one, but you got to go and buy on the people that are freaking out about Tootin.
30:34Or do you think he's just going to ball out?
30:37It's got a really wide range of outcomes in this particular matchup.
30:41And to your point about, is he a buy low?
30:44Is he a sell high? There's a lot of scenarios where that comes into play too, because after this game, Jaguars, I believe play the Denver Broncos.
30:52So you have scenarios of the schedule gets much tougher for the Jacksonville Jaguars.
30:56And if you layer in, Oh, Chris Rodriguez was more used than Basial Tootin was in week one.
31:01So there's a lot of variables, obviously a lot of risk, I think with Basial Tootin, but whenever I'm torn with a
31:07running back, I just try to take a zoom out approach where the Jacksonville Jaguars are heavy home favorites by more than touchdown against the Cleveland Browns.
31:15You're expecting positive game script. What does that mean?
31:18Good for running backs. Pass protection has been the issue with Tootin.
31:21Is this a game where we expect Trevor Lawrence to drop back to throw 40 times?
31:26I don't think so. I think that this is a spot where Tootin's in play.
31:30Deeper leagues, Chris Rodriguez is in play as a flex starter.
31:33The Browns defense, yes, it has good pieces between getting Malik Collins back as their stud defensive tackle.
31:39Swessinger, offensive or defensive rookie of the year last year, although he's missed a lot of training cap with an injury.
31:45The biggest thing with the Browns defense that I've noticed over the last couple of years, betting on them, attacking them in
31:51fantasy and in DFS is this unit plays way different on the road than it does at home.
31:56When the Browns defense is the home team, they just suffocate opposing offenses.
32:00But when they go on the road, they are much, much more of a leaky defense.
32:05There's also their first game without Miles Garrett. There's also their first game without Jim Schwartz.
32:09They have a new defensive coordinator. So I think that there is a weakness to this defense that this Jaguars offense can attack in a big way.
32:17It's just a matter of how Liam Cohen is going to decide how and which running back he's going to choose.
32:23So that's the risk. But I do think that there's a lot of upside with this backfield between both running backs.
32:29I think I kind of feel like I want to be ahead on ECR for both guys, just because I'm trying to invite that.
32:36I think that this is a route. But I think the Jaguars are going to smoke the Cleveland Browns, especially if it's
32:43Deshaun Watson turning the ball over short fields. That's the way that I'm kind of reading it.
32:48There's risk. But I think that the reward is some big time upside.
32:51It's crazy, too, just is when you stare at both those running backs, Chris Rodriguez and Bachel Tootin were both like ranked
32:58top 10 in success rate last year at right.
33:00I mean, so it's like you give them the ball and that this could be a positive for Chris Rodriguez.
33:06It's like touchdown rate. Bachel Tootin was one of the best in the NFL when touching the ball.
33:11His success rate was up there. Chris Rodriguez, the same thing.
33:15It's like I know they play two different roles, but like what they do on the ground can be the same thing.
33:21And if Tootin just gets volume, that's where he really plays in.
33:24The last one in this territory. I wanted to save this because this guy was actually ranked a little bit higher, but
33:31I want to talk about Jeremiah Love because this is like the last one.
33:35We've got to do a little what if scenario.
33:37Jeremiah Love comes in at 21 on this list going against the Chargers.
33:41So the question is put on my WWED bracelet.
33:44What would Erickson do bracelet? If Jeremiah Love is active, is 21 the proper rank knowing that there's going to be some type of stand back?
33:51If he's not active, is it Tyler Algier-Sizan? I'd like to know Jeremiah Love and active what Algier looks like.
33:57And if Jeremiah Love is active, we got to assume it's going to be a little bit banged up.
34:03Should he really be a top 24 running back?
34:05What would Erickson do? WWED. I trust that the Cardinals are going to make the wrong decision.
34:10That's where my confidence level is with this team.
34:13So if they have him out there, he's probably not 100 percent and they're probably going to screw us over because that's
34:19what they did in the preseason game where they decided to give him 14 touches in a game that didn't matter.
34:25Wouldn't the best thing on the planet be that he gets 14 touches in a preseason game and then he's active and
34:32he gets seven touches in an NFL first start?
34:34But that's exactly what this team would do. Like that is not shocking at all whatsoever.
34:39And that's the issue when you're just drafting Arizona Cardinals is this organization is so dysfunctional.
34:44They can't get out of their own way. So for me, I'm very hesitant about Jeremiah Love in week one.
34:49Hopefully the decision can just be he doesn't play.
34:52I mean, the fact that he's already 50 50 this far out to me signals that they're still not exactly sure if
34:58Algier was ever going to have a larger role in the offense.
35:02It was most likely going to be at the beginning of the season.
35:06So I wouldn't be surprised if Algier is the lead ball carrier.
35:09If Jeremiah Love is active, if he's not at 100% and if Jeremiah Love is inactive, I think that Algier is just a volume play, right?
35:17They have Bam Knight on the roster who's just basically like a carbon copy version of Tyler Algier.
35:22But Trey Benson's on IR. James Conner is on IR.
35:25They don't have any other running backs. They traded Kibner to the Patriots, so they don't have him available either.
35:30So I think that Algier, look, I get that he's not a sexy pick, but if the Cardinals move the ball against
35:37the Chargers, it's a game that's indoors. It has a high over under.
35:41It just takes one pass interference to get them on the one yard line.
35:45And then they just give it to Tyler Algier and he could score a touchdown.
35:49So I think that he would probably be in that RB.
35:52I mean, I don't want to say top 24.
35:55Maybe that's aggressive. Say top 30. I think if Jeremiah Love doesn't play, but definitely someone that you're considering, hey, I got
36:01to flex Tyler Algier potentially this week, especially in standard or like a half PPR format.
36:06What was Love for you if he is active?
36:08I have him right now at 21, but. Oh, you do have him at ECR.
36:13I move him down. Again, I'm going to have to shift out a bunch of the other running backs because that's when you're just getting into committee conversations.
36:21Who has to move him down now, though? If you're saying he's going to be active, you'd move him down.
36:27You should move him down now. Well, I'm on the show right now, so.
36:31Yeah. Well, OK. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I get what you're saying.
36:34I was more grander scope. Back to the lab.
36:37Yeah, yeah. Get back to the lab. Same thing here.
36:40Where do you have Love? Do you think he's being overbaked a little bit if he's active?
36:45And then what does Tyler Algier look like if Love is inactive?
36:48I have Love at RB21. And I think the only lead back who I've got behind him right now is Quinchon Judkins.
36:55He's got a really tough matchup against the Jaguars.
36:57I would say that, you know, I don't think Algier is going to have standalone value if Love plays.
37:03Because really, can we trust the Cardinals to be judicious with Jeremiah Love coming off this injury when they gave him 14
37:09touches in his first ever preseason game? Probably not.
37:12So I've got Algier at 41 right now. And if Love didn't play, I'd probably just move Algier right into Love spot
37:18at RB21 and move Bam Knight right into Algier spot at RB41.
37:22OK. There you go, Jeremiah Love, Algier. That'll be a little bit tricky.
37:25Let's go over to our RB3s or the flex range of RBs.
37:29And we'll kind of punch out a couple of these.
37:32This is the one week where, like, usually we would spend less time on the top and then maybe a little bit more on the bottom.
37:39Week one, we can kind of do a little bit more burn and churn on some of the other questions since, you
37:46know, we got our big guys out there. 25 through 36, you got Jadarian Price coming in at 25.
37:51Tony Pollard at 26. Ramondre at 27. Rico Dattel.
37:54Travion at 29. J.K. Dobbins at 30. And then the back half is Chuba Hubbard, Jonathan Brooks back to back at 31 and 32.
38:01Kenny Gainwell, Chakori Krosky-Meritt, Rashad White, and Blake Corum.
38:03What to do with Jadarian Price? They did tell us that there might be a little bit of Helani early on.
38:09He comes in at 25. You two, again, split it.
38:12Fitzy, you have made Jadarian Price an RB2. And Erickson, you were lower than ECR.
38:17So Fitzy, do you think, obviously you do as like an RB2 spot, but like what do you think type of output
38:23we're going to see at a Jadarian Price this week?
38:26Yeah, and I was below consensus on Price in my draft rankings.
38:29But for this, the here and now with no Zach Charbonnet, Seattle wants to run the ball.
38:34Price is the lead runner until Charbonnet gets back.
38:37And, you know, Charbonnet was the reason I had Price below consensus in draft rankings because eventually Charbonnet comes back and maybe
38:43turns the Seattle backfield into a committee just as our games are starting to get more and more important in fantasy leagues.
38:50But for now, I think Price is going to have a pretty robust role, even though we'll get some George Helani on passing downs.
38:57We've gotten some encouraging reports about Price's pass catching ability in training camp.
39:00I guess he was showing out in that area.
39:03Didn't really get to see that when he was at Notre Dame.
39:06And look, Seattle's a home favorite against New England.
39:09And the Patriots run D might might only be average, not great.
39:13So I just I think it's going to be a favorable spot for Price in week one.
39:17Only two star rating. Both of these, by the way, I mean, going against Seattle created the first one star ratings in the top 36.
39:25That's for both the Patriots running backs. Jadarian Price not getting too much better with the two star rating.
39:30Erickson, you were a little bit lower on him.
39:33Is this about the matchup against the Patriots or could this be about Helani, you know, ruining the party a little bit?
39:39Not really concerned about Helani. I don't think that we would ever see Jadarian Price in a 90 percent snap roll in
39:46week one in his first NFL game. I don't think that was really ever in the cards.
39:51But, you know, you got to take advantage of these weeks when Zach Charbon is not a problem for Jadarian Price.
39:57Like this is his chance to cement himself as your RB one on the Seattle Seahawks.
40:01So I feel like I am leaning a little bit more into, hey, let's get this explosive guy out there on the field for my fantasy lineup.
40:09I am a little bit lower because I think Patriots run defense is still really good because you have Christian Barmore, Milton Williams.
40:16Those guys are two of the best defensive players on the Patriots roster.
40:20However, the thing that you pointed this out where if he is being used as a receiver out of the backfield, like
40:26that is where the Patriots are not nearly as good at linebacker, at coverage linebacker and specifically on the edge.
40:32So if they're doing outside zone stuff, which is what we saw, Kenneth Walker absolutely torch this Patriots defense in the Super Bowl.
40:38If he is in that Ken Walker role where he's able to get to the outside, get away from those two interior
40:45defensive linemen, then you could see Jadarian Price having a big game.
40:48So I could probably move him up a little bit.
40:51I did want to acknowledge the matchup a little bit more against a tougher Patriots run defense, but specifically to what Jadarian Price does well.
40:58I think that this particular Patriots defense actually works in his favor because of how he would be used as an explosive skill set on the edge.
41:06What about on the opposite end? Just real quick of a Ramondre versus Travion situation.
41:11Ramondre does rank higher, but they're both inside the top 30.
41:14It's the worst matchup of the week. Um, can they eat into each other?
41:18Does the matchup take them out? Erickson, I know you're, you're a little bit higher on Ramondre here.
41:23Uh, Fitz, he's, you know, decent amount lower here.
41:26Ramondre versus Travion. Does Ramondre get the top nod?
41:28And do you think he's a trustworthy start in this bad matchup or are both a little questionable that if you cannot
41:35put Travion or Ramondre out this week, you probably don't want to.
41:38Yeah, I think that you'd probably prefer not to play either guy, to be honest.
41:42Given the matchup against Seattle, their defense is just good all around and it's going to be a committee.
41:48Whether it's Ramondre with the 60-40 split or Henderson with the 60-40 split, it may just come down to, well, who ends up scoring the touchdown?
41:55Who ends up getting the ball in the red zone?
41:58And given the fact that it is such a tough defense that they're going to be coming after Drake May with their
42:05fierce pass rush, I think we're probably going to see more of Ramondre Stevenson out there in this particular game.
42:11Now, Henderson, it's a matter of does he rip off the big play or not?
42:15Ultimately, that's probably going to be a lot of his fantasy value is does he have that explosive?
42:20So there's more boom or bust. I want to embrace those booms a little bit more when you know it's a softer
42:26defense, not necessarily when you're on the road at Seattle in a hostile environment.
42:31So I think that I'm trying to definitely look elsewhere than Patriots running backs.
42:35Fitzy, you've got Ramondre outside the top 30. Is that then Henderson is inside or are both just way down because of the matchup for you?
42:42RB32 for Stevenson, RB35 for Henderson. Yes, Seattle's Rundi was number one in DVOA last year.
42:47Toughest run defense in the league. And the Seahawks held Ramondre to 23 rushing yards in the Super Bowl.
42:52Only seven carries because the Patriots basically had to abandon the run.
42:56They might have to abandon the run again in this one.
42:59All right, two more. I got like a little side one I want to ask here.
43:04This one, let's just go through quick. But this is because you guys have like a huge difference here.
43:09Fitzy, you are close to ECR and Tony Pollard.
43:12You're a little bit lower. But Erickson, you have plummeted Tony Pollard.
43:15He comes in at 26 on ECR. You do not have him as a top 36 RB this week.
43:21So talk to us about why you hate Tony Pollard.
43:24Because he's not a lock to play the most snaps in his own backfield.
43:28He's in a 50-50 committee with Tajay Spears. It's been like this every single time in the preseason.
43:33During last year, Tony Pollard was unplayable. You couldn't play anybody from this Titans backfield last year because of the split workload between Pollard and Tajay Spears.
43:41The Jets defense has been totally revamped. I know the Titans are playing at home, but they added actually decent run stoppers
43:47from David Almiata to Vondre Sweat, the former Tennessee Titan.
43:50He's a big nose tackle to Mario Davis. So I think the Jets are going to be attacked more through their secondary
43:56to kind of build some confidence for Cam Ward after kind of a shaky preseason.
44:01And the offensive line for the Titans is not good.
44:04So I just, maybe he beats me and finishes like closer to where Fitz has him as like a top 30 running back.
44:10But I didn't draft Tony Pollard this year. And I just, I don't think he has a ton of upside.
44:16So that's why I just, I have, I'm low on him.
44:19Fitz, anything on Tony Pollard for you? I share Erickson's lack of enthusiasm for Tony Pollard.
44:24I mean, he, he did pull away from Spears in terms of usage late last year when he went on that run,
44:30maybe a bonus, a bonus drive for Tony Pollard who met some contract incentives by hitting a thousand yards, getting a bunch
44:37of hundred yard games late in the season. But Erickson's right.
44:40It was a 50, 50 timeshare in the preseason.
44:42I think people might be underestimating how much Ty J Spears is going to be used.
44:47My brain only, this is just for my reference.
44:50I have to get it out or it'll eat me alive.
44:53But you became like the, the, the character in Fight Club.
44:56You were like, I am Erickson's lack of enthusiasm.
44:59So all I can think of the penguin slide.
45:01If you have seen Fight Club, you understand it.
45:04If you don't, it's a horrible reference and it's stupid.
45:07Two last things I want to add. Jonathan Brooks.
45:09Jonathan Brooks comes in here at ECR 32. Two opposite ends again.
45:13Fitzy, I want you to start with maybe the pessimistic outlook.
45:16He is not a hundred percent confirmed. There's optimism around if he can play.
45:20Chuba Hubbard maybe looks a little bit more like he might be good to go.
45:24Both running backs are kind of dicey here. So Fitzy, is this your concern?
45:29He's not going to play. If they're both active, is Chuba going to take dominance?
45:33What's your take on Jonathan Brooks this week? Yeah.
45:36Love the matchup against the swinging gate Chicago Bears defense.
45:38But I am worried about reports that Brooks is dealing with some sort of lower body soreness.
45:43We don't really have full details on what that entails.
45:46I just, I think we might see a fairly even workload split between Brooks and Chuba Hubbard in week one.
45:52Sounds like Chuba is basically ready to come back from his hamstring issue.
45:56And they've just been cautious with him recently. So yeah, we're kind of unclear on how this backfield is going to be divided.
46:02Could be an incredible opportunity to throw this out here with that Bears defense.
46:07What if it's just like Chuba going? Could Chuba be a great sell opportunity after week one and just building back up to Jonathan Brooks?
46:14Just throwing that out there. Erickson, you've got Jonathan Brooks inside your top 24.
46:18So obviously if he doesn't play, you're going to change that.
46:21But like if he is active, you think he's going to take the primary role over Chuba?
46:26I think so. But we'll see injury wise who the healthier running back leading up to that game is.
46:31I know Dave Canales talked about how it's going to be a 50-50 split if he has both guys out there.
46:38But when you're facing the Bears defense, that's maybe all you need is a 50-50 split.
46:42And I know one guy has a ton of juice and it's not Chuba Hubbard who had zero explosive rushes last year.
46:49Jonathan Brooks has the juice. And if they're in a negative game script against a high powered Bears offense, I think Brooks
46:55is going to be using the passing game. I keep bringing up this point when I look at the Carolina Panthers receivers.
47:01Who else is commanding targets in this offense behind Jalen Coker and T-Mac?
47:05I think Brooks is like a sleeper to be the number three target in this offense catching passes.
47:10So I think that's what helps separate him. So even if Chuba Hubbard leads the backfield and carries in week one, I
47:17think Brooks could catch four or five balls out of the backfield, especially if the Panthers are trying to catch up to a high powered Bears offense.
47:25So process says invite the variance with these running back in committees when you have a really good matchup.
47:30One I just had to ask you guys, he was going inside the top 30 in the mid 20s, but Marshawn Lloyd,
47:36Marshawn Lloyd comes in at ECR like 42. I think when you get the flood of rankers in here, it could move
47:43up slightly, but it's a bad matchup in here.
47:45Erickson, after him going in the top 30, is Marshawn Lloyd someone you even want to consider playing this week?
47:51Or it's like, hey, great, you've got Marshawn Lloyd.
47:54Now sit on it after you get away from the Chiefs.
47:57What's your take on Lloyd this week? So I definitely have to do more digging into just the Vikings defense in terms
48:03of what personnel moves that they have made over the offseason.
48:07Because I know they've changed up a couple of different things.
48:10Now, Brian Flores is always a tough out, basically, no matter what.
48:13And this Packers offensive line is not necessarily the biggest juggernaut.
48:16Now the scheme makes up for a lot of that.
48:19So there is reasons to be optimistic about a player like Marshawn Lloyd.
48:23And I think also a lot of fantasy managers are in a probable position where I don't know if you can afford
48:29to bench Marshawn Lloyd, depending on where you ended up drafting.
48:33If you got him in like round six or seven, he might be your RB2 or your flex play.
48:38So I kind of have to reevaluate where I have.
48:41I think I had him at 31 as I was doing my first run of the rankings.
48:46This is one that you're definitely want to check on the site about where we've updated Marshawn Lloyd.
48:51Because again, we still have a lot of layers of the onion to kind of peel back here.
48:56But I feel like I want to get him into lineups because we're only going to get so many weeks of Marshawn
49:03Lloyd potentially in a feature role, just given his body of work where never had more than 150 career touches in any season dating back to college.
49:11Constantly banged up. We got to take advantage of when Marshawn Lloyd is healthy.
49:15And if that's week one, I think that a game that could be higher scoring playing in the dome at Minnesota, there can be some fireworks for Lloyd.
49:23And by the way, I don't know if in my brain, I said the Chiefs or I said it out loud, but that's obviously not.
49:30It's the Minnesota Vikings if I incorrectly said that.
49:33Yeah. And I would think 50, there's kind of a little element of my mind that's like, all right, if you were
49:39someone that reached for Marshawn Lloyd, you might not have the whole season.
49:43There's only so many games you have him for, and then you're just not going to play him week one.
49:49Like what was kind of the point? Maybe something foresight that you should have had, but what is your take on Marshawn
49:55Lloyd against the Vikings in week one? Should he be starting?
49:58And given his injury history, I kind of doubt the Packers give him 20 touches.
50:02I think we see some of Chris Brooks, maybe Pierre Strong, who I think is going to open the season as sort
50:09of the direct early down backup to him. And as for that matchup, like the Minnesota run defense was pretty tough to begin with last year.
50:16And, you know, they sort of concentrated on beefing up up front with Kayla Banks and Dominique Orange, big citrus, two huge bodies.
50:23So yeah, that, that run D is no joke.
50:26I do not see this as a favorable matchup for Lloyd.
50:29All right, there you go. Those are, there's a ton of running backs we're talking through.
50:34There's a bunch of other really good, I mean, there were more guys we could have talked about.
50:39I know Fitzy's big on Jordan Mason this week.
50:41I highly suggest you guys want to go and take a look at the rankings.
50:46You can peruse through them. You can even just like highlight certain rankers.
50:49If you just want to see how they're playing out the week, but remember there's going to be a nice influx of
50:56rank updates that are going to happen, but we are getting you set nice and early earlier than we usually ever do.
51:02This isn't the normal schedule, obviously for the end season stuff, but we got Wednesday, we got Thursday, we got a whole bunch for it.
51:09Make sure you guys just lock yourselves in for all of the tools to help you in.
51:14We'll talk about that in other episodes, but we got the, who could you start tool?
51:19If you don't even want to take a look at the ranks and just make sure you're locked here, whether it's on
51:25the podcast, where if you do a review, send a screenshot in bam, you could potentially win at mailbag at fantasypros.com, a
51:32Kyron Williams autograph, mini helmet, which would be awesome, but listen there or come and check us out on the YouTube, youtube.com
51:38slash fantasy pros for all the end season stuff.
51:41We got you covered wide receivers are coming up and quarterbacks and tight in that'll do it for running backs though.
51:47I'm Chris Welsh. That's Pat Fitzmaurice and Andrew Erickson.
51:49Thank you for hanging out with us and good luck in week one.
51:53And we'll talk to you next time right here on fantasy pros.
51:57Thanks for listening to the fantasy pros, fantasy football podcast.
52:00If you love the show, the best free way to support us is by leaving a positive review on Apple podcasts at fantasypros.com slash review or on Spotify.
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