0:00This time, I'm on the clock and I'm telling you the players I'm avoiding in every single draft this year.
0:06Now, that sounds harsh. Really, I want to take this episode to outline how these players do not work out this year
0:12because too often we focus maybe on the positive ends and maybe don't reveal some chips in the armor, some chinks in
0:18the armor of these lovely fantasy players that we all like to discuss.
0:22And that starts with round one. What an interesting and fascinating discussion there that I'm sure I'll shock you.
0:28With that name. So stick around for this episode of Yahoo Fantasy Football with Josh and Hayden.
0:33We spend all summer telling you who to draft today.
0:35I'll tell you who to avoid. Yes, who not to draft the players that are landmines for me in rounds one through 14.
0:42Hayden, your episode is up already. That one, I believe, is titled The 16 Players to Avoid ahead of round 10.
0:48I'm taking you beyond round 10, 11, 12, up to 14 rounds.
0:52And I'm not playing it lightly here, Hayden. Some of these names are, you know, getting a lot of positivity out there.
0:58But I'm telling you why it might not end up the best possible outcome for them this season.
1:03Yeah, like kicking other people's sleepers in the 12th round.
1:06That's what we're doing here. And remember, you don't dislike these players because they're price tags.
1:11You hate these players personally. It's a personal vendetta.
1:13You know, I think with every single player, and this is a good exercise for a lot of them, is you can
1:20go through, hey, the high end outcome, the positive outcome is this.
1:23And maybe too often we associate the season going to happen with that.
1:27And maybe we don't talk about the negative pathway or narrative enough.
1:30And today, again, some of these players I actually like, but maybe we haven't highlighted that negative outcome enough.
1:36So let's do that here. And that kicks us off in the first round with Christian McCaffrey.
1:41Oh my gosh. Yeah, he's the fifth pick. By the way, all of these are going to be from home league ADPs.
1:47We aggregate every single site, every single platform that you use.
1:50And that is what is making up these ADPs.
1:53So all of you get a taste of this.
1:55So yes, Christian McCaffrey, the fifth pick of the first round.
1:58Hey, I can't shake the idea that last year was the one year to draft Christian McCaffrey, which all of you did because of this channel.
2:06And now we're just chasing that all over again.
2:09Like, as always, he has the running back one overall upside.
2:12He did that last season. But also, he has the red flags that maybe other running backs in the first round simply do not.
2:19Just not even talking about the injuries for a second.
2:22The underlying metrics last year made him look like one of the worst rushers in the league.
2:26He was 39th in yards per carry, 31st in success rate, 37th in rate of runs to gain 10 or more yards,
2:3332nd in rate of runs to gain yardage, and 36th in yards after contact per attempt.
2:37That's not just one thing that the offensive line might have impacted.
2:41It's also him as an individual and a lot of those things too.
2:45And then number one overall is the three previous running backs that had 450 touches, Saquon Barkley, DeMarco Murray, Arian Foster, fell
2:51off an absolute cliff the next season. It was a drop of anywhere from five to seven points per game.
2:57Okay. And those guys were 26 and 27 years old.
3:00And Christian McCaffrey here is 30th overall. So obviously, if this works out, CMC, like he has been, can be the one that you need.
3:07But Hayden, the negative outcome here is one that completely derails your season.
3:11And it might not happen in back-to-back years. Yeah, definitely.
3:13So I will say if we were drafting solely based on last year, he would go 101.
3:18So it's kind of like that sliding scale of how much risk do you want to take on?
3:24And I've been comfortable around Jonathan Taylor. But it seems like you're even pushing that further away after Amon Ross St Brown, after Jackson Smith and Jigba.
3:31Stop me when you hear a name where you would say, okay, I'd rather take the risk.
3:36It might be Saquon Barkley taking the risk ahead of CMC.
3:39Okay. Like I keep saying it like last year, CMC might be this year's Saquon Barkley.
3:44Like I sat here at this time last season and advocated for Saquon, despite that 450 touch mark that I just mentioned to you.
3:51And I don't think Saquon fell off a cliff individually, but it shows that this entire thing can be environmental too.
3:57And in this case, everyone around CMC was injured last season.
4:00So they had no choice but to feed him, despite the lack of efficiency and explosiveness.
4:05And again, like 2019, he had 400 touches. Then he played three games and seven games the next two seasons.
4:11In 2022 and 2023, he had 330 touches and then play four games the next season.
4:15So I don't know. I love all first round picks.
4:18It is tough to bring up a name for this.
4:21But again, this is the pathway that it can derail your entire fantasy season with just one click when I think there
4:27are a lot of other good picks to be made in round one.
4:31They kind of say this every offseason, but they really did say for Christian McCaffrey, they want to scale back his workload this year.
4:38Just it was like too much in what they did last year.
4:41So like I think there's a good chance he does not meet those touches on a per game basis, which would hurt his overall ceiling.
4:49The fact that Caitlin Black's having a good camp matters a little bit.
4:52Also wanted to mention the 49ers owner, Jed York, like he doesn't even live in California anymore.
4:57Like I think that ownership, there's like pretty much not an owner with the 49ers right now to the fact that they
5:04might be like selling the team or something going on.
5:06Like there's the lack of leadership in general with the 49ers right now is kind of like eye opening after reading about the case last couple of days.
5:15And again, I'm not trying to hedge. I just am stating overall, I am not out on Christian McCaffrey.
5:20I understand the upside and I understand why he is a good pick.
5:24That's just the only reason why I made him the selection here in round one.
5:28Okay. Round two, it's the same name that you had.
5:31I mean, in every platform out there, Josh Allen is a second round pick, the 10th pick of the second round.
5:37You simply can't take a quarterback this early. It's that simple.
5:40Like let's do a simple exercise, right? A two V two.
5:43Okay. Would you rather have Nico Collins and Dak Prescott or Josh Allen and Cortland Sutton, which are rounds two and seven picks, right?
5:50Here's another one. Would you rather have Brock Bowers and Bo Nix in rounds two and rounds nine, or Josh Allen and Travis Kelsey?
5:57Like in each of those, I would rather have the non Josh Allen teams.
6:01So he's my quarterback one. He's everyone's quarterback one.
6:04I expect him to finish out the quarterback one, but you're just giving up a massive opportunity to either take a onesie
6:10position in Brock Bowers, or you're starting wide receiver one or running back one potentially here at the end of round two.
6:17Yeah. And I think that's especially true in full PPR.
6:19And I know about half of you guys play in a league that's full PPR and like that gap widens even more
6:26in that format, just because, you know, you get an extra half point per reception.
6:30So keep that in mind for drafting Josh Allen.
6:33I feel great about him at 30 second overall, but he never gets there.
6:37Never gets there. And I could do a hundred more two V twos.
6:40Those are just, just the first two that sprung to mind when going through this ADP that I'm using of exactly like
6:47the next pick that was after that, you know, it was a player, the same position and all that type of stuff.
6:53Okay. Round three, to me, there are no bad picks.
6:56Like I think everyone here at cost is pretty fine, but I'm going to go with Josh Jacobs, even though I understand
7:02that the 34th overall pick bakes in some negative outcomes here.
7:06Uh, and it's somewhat understandable for me first, actually today when we're recording this, um, there is a possible suspension on the
7:12way, as we've heard from Adam Schefter a couple of weeks ago, this is a full quote.
7:17And let's say the full quote from Packers GM Brian Gutekunst, uh, on plans for if and when Josh Jacobs is suspended
7:23quote, we've obviously been preparing for that in case that happens, but at the same time, I feel really good about the guys we have in that room.
7:31So that's one thing. The other thing Hayden is the Packers offensive line was rough last year.
7:36The top unit only played together 18% of the time.
7:39And then the one guy that played for 17 games and Rashid Walker is no longer a part of this organization.
7:45Their best offensive lineman in Zach, Tom partially tore his patellar tendon in week 14 of last year.
7:50I think you can argue that Josh Jacobs is all volume and all the volume inside of the red zone on top of it.
7:57I think he's been fifth in red zone scoring among running backs in each of the last two seasons.
8:03But part of that is there's been no direct backup behind it.
8:06I mean, literally no, it's Chris Brooks. Who's like a pseudo fullback.
8:10And then I can't name you any other running backs other than Emmanuel Wilson, who might be the running back for on the Seattle Seahawks this year.
8:17And so it's different this year, you know, so far it's Marshawn Lloyd.
8:21And so at the very least, if we get a two, four, six game suspension for Josh Jacobs, uh, then you have another ball carrier standing in there.
8:29Uh, and then I believe he actually has more competition to rather than owning, you know, 70% of the workload when he's actually in there in ballgame.
8:37Yeah. I've always appreciated Josh Jacobs game, but he is not quite as explosive as he was in his absolute prime.
8:43It's a lot of touches on his body. The offensive line is a straight up disaster.
8:48I thought they're having like full blown hour long podcasts over on Packers land about just the left guard spot.
8:53And you know, how bad it's been over there.
8:56Uh, looking at like the top running backs that go in the top 50, uh, overall picks on Yahoo, Josh Jacobs was
9:02second worst in rush yards over expected, uh, last season only ahead of Ashton Gentry.
9:07Um, I don't think that he's going to get suspended most likely.
9:10Maybe it's like a 10 to 20% chance the Packers should be preparing like just in case like they, they have thought about this.
9:17I'm not surprised by that quote at all. Does it move me?
9:20Um, I, I will say he was the RB 12 last year.
9:24I think you can replicate that. I think if you get an RB 12 season in your third round, it's fine.
9:30Uh, but there, there's definitely more downside, uh, this year than there was previously.
9:34And I don't think the offensive line is going to like turn it around all of a sudden.
9:39He's been a very good, you know, what you're getting every single week in terms of touches, in terms of receptions, but
9:46also the high value areas of the field in terms of the red zone, the 10 yard line, it just seems a
9:52bit more fragile this year to me than the past.
9:55And also we keep talking about here. The Packers is going to play faster and throw the football more this year too.
10:01They should, they should, they should round four is actually one of my favorite young talents in the league.
10:07Unfortunately, I have to say quinch on Judkins. I think he was the best rookie runner in the NFL last year.
10:13He should be even better as a runner this year after improved offensive line investments, but simply, but I'm nervous about the Browns scoring enough points.
10:20And like, you are most importantly, I'm nervous about the Browns scoring, uh, points and then having their defense prevent the other team from scoring points.
10:28Like the defense last year kept them in games that they should not have been competitive in and won them games that
10:34they should not have won right now. The Browns are only favored in two contests.
10:38Okay. Last year's defense with, you know, a guy named miles Garrett, who set the NFL sack record, a part of that
10:45squad, they kept the Bengals to 17 points, the Packers to 10, the Dolphins to six, the Raiders to 10, the Steelers
10:51to six and the Bengals to 18 last year.
10:54So they created environments where quinch on Judkins, uh, could have a higher share and a higher volume of touches than I
11:00think he probably will have the season. Even if this year's environment of Todd Munkin and offensive line investments should be again,
11:06a better situation for him to run. Yeah. He was the RB 23 and RB 17.
11:11He was the RB 17 usage as a rookie.
11:14So he was not efficient, even though the tape was telling me this guy's awesome at football.
11:18Um, and there were some crazy splits. He had 14 fantasy points, uh, per game, the two games with Flacco, but with
11:25Shador Sanders and Dylan Gabriel, that was at 9.5 and 11.7.
11:28So like when they had like some semblance of normal quarterback play, he was fine at this price.
11:33And then in the other games, he was not.
11:36So I wish that he, you know, catches the ball maybe a little bit more, but that's what Dylan Sampson's good at.
11:42He's going to have all the goal line carries.
11:45It's just a matter of how many goal line carries it is.
11:48And I think it's a really good point about the defense where, um, if they're like average on defense this year, which
11:54I think is the most likely outcome, like this team is not going to be able to run the ball in the fourth quarter.
12:01Um, yeah, it makes me nervous. Um, I'll probably draft a lot of clinch on Judkins in 2027.
12:07We didn't even mention the injury he's coming off of too, which has, you know, not necessarily led to less opportunity, but
12:13it has led to less effectiveness for players who are actually on the field.
12:17Um, and again, this, this is no indication of clinch on Judkins as a player.
12:21I am readily happy to say that Todd Munkin is good for him.
12:25The offensive line is good for him. Just think the whole situation, despite, you know, how many points they scored last year.
12:31And that was low in the totem pole. I just don't think they're going to be as in as many neutral or
12:38close game scripts as they were last year. And like, they didn't have anyone to throw to last year at points other
12:44than Harold Fannin and so fancy was like, okay, we'll still run the ball, even though we're down some points in the fourth quarter.
12:51I don't think Todd Munkin is going to do that.
12:54I think he's going to want to throw to Fannin and Casey Concepcion and Denzel.
12:58Yes. Yeah. Hopefully that means they actually can move the ball and they can get some red zone, uh, opportunities for him.
13:05But to your point about the environment, he faced the highest rate of eight plus defenders in the box at 45% of
13:11his carries, according to next gen stat, uh, stats.
13:13So he has to be really good to overcome it.
13:16And then we'll see about the offensive line, pretty much an entirely new starting five up front.
13:21Um, maybe a couple of those guys hit most likely scenario is all those guys were available for a reason and it's
13:28not going to be a good offense. Yeah. They had 2.2 red zone drives per game last year and that was 29th in the league.
13:35So hopefully that is better. Hopefully that is better.
13:37Two. That's so bad. 2.2. There are a lot of them in the twos.
13:41Um, okay. Round five trivia on Henderson. I am a trivia on Henderson optimist.
13:45And yet I still been unable to draft trivia on Henderson because of you absolute sickos that continue to draft Hendo above Ramondre Stevenson.
13:52This is the consensus at home leaks that Hendo is going ahead of Ramondre Stevenson.
13:57We repeat it. It feels like every single show, but you're taking the running back two over the running back one.
14:03In again, this aggregation of all homely gated piece, trivia on Henderson is 60th overall.
14:07Ramondre is a full round later at 72nd overall.
14:10Greg Bedard has covered this team for a very long time.
14:13He says, not even discussion. Ramondre is the way better back at everything.
14:17Week one, we're going to see Ramondre Stevenson back there in the first series and on the first carry and all that type of stuff.
14:24So, Hey, I don't know how many times we have to repeat this, but, uh, I'm going to once again, cause it keeps sticking.
14:31Yep. I have almost no new notes behind, uh, beyond that.
14:34Uh, it's going to be hard for him to ever steal the goal and work from Ramondre just looking at the size.
14:40And I think the same thing is for pass protection too.
14:43It's not just an awareness thing with him last year.
14:46I thought that there were times where he knew who to block and he was just unable to do it because he wasn't big enough.
14:53And I think it's, you know, hard to overcome that.
14:56Uh, so I think you're drafting a awesome elite contingent up upside back just too early.
15:01Do you think you and I are week one brained about this?
15:04Um, perhaps, but like the guys that, that, that are going around on like Jadarian price goes right after him.
15:10Like, right. Doesn't that guy also have tons of upside too?
15:13Like, I think you play this game, like what if, what if, and it's like the other guys are random.
15:19Like Sam Laporta goes right next to him. Could Sam Laporta go absolutely crazy on this lions team?
15:24Like, of course he can. So like everyone around him has upside.
15:28Basial Toon has upset around them. DJ Moore has upside.
15:31So it's like, yes, of course he has upside.
15:33So does everyone else around him. The reason why I don't think this is week one brained is because Ramondre isn't just
15:40some wash veteran who's hanging out, you know, he's actually a good football player.
15:44He was, you know, in our running back sleeper show last off season and he turned out to be very good.
15:50And then for those of us that did draft Trevor and Henderson for that stretch of the season, he was very good
15:56too, you know, in terms of scoring a whole bunch of fancy points.
16:00Um, and no needs that. He, I think he outright needs to have the vast majority of the work, uh, in order
16:06to kind of pay off this ADP. The Patriots gave Ramondre a $36 million contract.
16:10Like this is not like some pushover round six.
16:13At first I had Mike Evans. She's the third pick of the sixth round.
16:17We just kind of did a whole show on this.
16:20I mean, we talked through it already. Quad injury groin.
16:23He hasn't even gotten to his hamstring yet. Um, so I'll propose another one.
16:27And again, this is tough, but I want to do the tough work and force a mirror looking back at us, Hayden,
16:33because this is an offense that I was buying in on in the early points of this off season, but we've basically
16:40only gotten negative reports since then for the sixth round.
16:42I'm going to say 15th in projected points. Well, at least they were.
16:46And that was before the Laramie Tunsil injury. And what we always notice when we reflect on these seasons of which teams
16:53overperformed and specifically underperformed their projected totals, it all comes down to, well, their offensive line was injured and it wasn't talented.
16:59I mean, what we have gotten, not just this week, but throughout camp is that this commander's offensive line has been kind
17:05of a train wreck ever since Larry Tunsil went down from Nikki Jabwala.
17:09Uh, this is the worst I've ever seen the commander's offensive in years and operable offensive line from John Kime.
17:15They need Nick Allegretti healthy. They need more depth.
17:17So we've gotten Brandon Coleman moving to left tackle, which he did play during Jane Daniels rookie season.
17:23Uh, but the loss of Jeremy Tunsil Hayden, as you know, means you can't just put your left tackle on an Island
17:29anymore and then have your other four blockers work on the other three pass rushers.
17:33Like now you actually have to give him attention, give him help.
17:37And that changed the entire equation and complexion of your front five.
17:40Like Alec Gretti, the center has barely practiced. Sam Cosme was out sick today on top of it.
17:45Plus has been injured in the past. Plus they're shifting to a totally new offensive line.
17:50And one, we aren't sure that Jane Daniels can operate in at a high level.
17:54So while I was hyping up Terry McLaurin at the start of this off season, uh, again, it is starting to get
18:01like chipped away of my confidence level. This is the offense that's going to like take one of the biggest steps forward in the NFL this year.
18:08Yeah. First time play caller, bad offensive line. Um, and then like, you know, they're going to have to scheme around Chig as a blocker.
18:16If he's going to be their starter, there's, it's one of the worst running back groups.
18:20There is as well. Steph digs is an older guy and seems like he's going to be maybe in a part-time ish role.
18:27And then Terry McLaurin, uh, is like the clear alpha of the group.
18:31Um, but he's an older player that who's had some injuries here and there as well.
18:35So it's, there's a lot that has to kind of go right for a while.
18:40Jane Daniels was considered the quarterback three in consensus.
18:42He's last in that tier to me. And I would rather have Jalen hurts straight up.
18:47I don't, to me, it's like not even a question anymore.
18:50Um, and I don't draft that much Terry McLaurin at the four or five turn because he's Larry Mutunsel is, uh, issues.
18:56So I don't really see like the reason to be stacking Jane and Daniel.
19:00So I really haven't clicked him in quite a while and I feel, I felt pretty good about it.
19:06Yeah. Jane is the second pick of the sixth round in your home leagues.
19:10Uh, Jalen hurts is the fifth pick of the sixth round.
19:13So I just rather take Jalen hurts in that way.
19:16And again, some of you might say, well, if the offensive line's bad, that means Jane Daniels is just going to scramble.
19:22Um, maybe that could happen at the same time, as we have seen, I think we're allowed to be slightly nervous of
19:29when Jane Daniels takes a lot of hits and that can happen with the offensive line.
19:33And that can happen even more when he scrambles on top of it.
19:37There's another report as well that they've removed a lot of the design quarterback rush attempts for him.
19:42They want him to just scramble around, but you know, um, there's limitations to asking your quarterback to scramble around that much
19:48like you're, like you're talking about here. And again, this could be, we look back on training camp and August and be
19:55like, remember when everyone was worried about the commander's offensive line?
19:58Uh, well, that was the case, you know, a couple of seasons ago during his rookie season and cliff's rookie season.
20:04But at the same time, you and I both believe that offensive line and understanding if they're good or bad or predicting
20:10it correctly is one of the biggest edges when it comes to fancy football.
20:14And again, it, this has not been a clean, uh, last few weeks here for the commanders at all.
20:20No. And I remember the off season when they, uh, cut the Oddish, um, the chargers paid more money than what the
20:26commanders saved by releasing him, which is like never a good sign.
20:30Like I was just like a bad, like we're just not on top of it.
20:34Like as an entire team. Yeah. And it doesn't just seem like the starters have struggled.
20:39It just seems like they don't have any depth either behind it.
20:42And at some point they're going to go down with starters as well in season.
20:46And then who do they turn to when they're already turning to backups?
20:50So that's concerning. It's on my radar to say the least round seven, Harold Fannin.
20:54Uh, this is the fourth pick in the seventh round.
20:57Um, I mean, 43 of his 76 receptions last year were caught less than five yards on the field per PFF 53
21:04of his 76 receptions were on first three targets.
21:06We've talked about it at length this year that he was the easy button for Kevin Stefanski last all season, last season
21:13that when you needed a surge, when you need a first down, when you need a boost to actually sustain the drive,
21:19Harold Fannin was there and he was great at it.
21:22I mean, absorbing all those targets at that age and winning after the catch that shows a lot.
21:27Uh, I just think Todd Munkin, soon as he was hired, looked at the film and said, uh, I'm going to get my guys.
21:34And he got Casey Concepcion and he got Denzel Boston in the top 40 overall picks.
21:39And specifically with Casey Concepcion, how he can't stop saying that we're not going to stop getting him the football.
21:44Uh, that's the new easy button. That's the new PPR sponge.
21:48Uh, and maybe even a scam if you want to have a negative connotation to it.
21:52And, uh, I think that's going to impact Harold Fannin here.
21:55But I know I hate to say it as well.
21:58He goes too early on, on Yahoo for, for my, for my liking here, I guess maybe in full PPR.
22:04Um, I loved Fannin as a prospect. He was sensational.
22:07He's one of the best yards after catch players in the league.
22:10Nobody has the, they don't take the right angle to him.
22:13And then he like bounces off these guys. He's one of the most interesting players in the league.
22:19And at the same time, the tight ends getting that level of first read targets, like that takes a very rare circumstance to happen.
22:26Maybe Harold Fannin is literally just one of the best tight ends, uh, there is.
22:30And that's just, he just going to be so good.
22:33That doesn't matter. Um, but we'll see if that actually happens here.
22:36I think it's going to be hard to overcome the Browns offense.
22:40Yeah. I straight up have George Kittle ahead. I know other people do not, but, uh, he's going about 13 picks after Harold Fannin here right now.
22:47Um, when we're combining all these home, the Katie piece round eight, RJ Harvey, he's still going really high Hayden in a bunch of home leagues right now.
22:56Um, last season, it was a two way backfield, JK Dobbins and RJ Harvey that condensed to one person when JK Dobbins went down injured.
23:03Now it's a three way backfield that will condense down to two if, and when JK Dobbins gets injured.
23:08And if that's the case, then Jonah Coleman has kind of some overlapping skills with JK Dobbins.
23:13Whereas I would say RJ Harvey has maybe some isolated skills that neither of those guys necessarily have.
23:18And so this is just an assumption, but I would assume that Jonah Coleman, would inherit a lot more of the pure rushing volume on top of it.
23:26But overall, the point is that these Broncos running backs struggle to be successful.
23:30Even when one guy owns all of the rushing, another guy owns the majority of the receiving, what has to happen is
23:37one guy through injury, owning all of it to like be a true difference maker.
23:41Like RJ Harvey was for like the first, the section of six and seven weeks halfway through last year, just in terms of fancy points overall.
23:49Um, and I think it's going to be impossible with how things are stacked right now in this running back room for
23:55one guy to come out like a huge winner and like someone that you need at the end of it.
24:01Yeah. I haven't drafted Harvey or Coleman for the reasons that you're outlining that I just think this is going to be stuck into a committee approach.
24:09Uh, and then we don't know for sure that JK Dobbins is going to miss a huge chunk of the season.
24:15Like we think it's, it's definitely possible. We don't know that for sure in the games with Dobbins healthy RJ Harvey was
24:21the RB 36 on RB 54 usage. So that was as efficient as you can possibly go.
24:26We talked about some of the wheel routes and manufacturer touches like that they would do right around like the red zone line.
24:32Um, and those would work. And we saw that in the preseason.
24:36Uh, could he be the RB 40, um, even with JK Dobbins, I think that's possible, but you're paying him a price tag ahead of that.
24:43And I'm just not convinced that the Broncos would use him between the tackles one stat that I came across next gen
24:50stats had him with the second highest time spent behind the line of scrimmage only behind Kenneth Walker.
24:55The difference between Kenneth Walker and RJ Harvey is the Broncos offensive line was universally ranked inside the top three.
25:01Uh, and oftentimes the best offensive line last year where the Seahawks were never that good.
25:05There was like no reason for him to be behind the line of scrimmage for as long as he was out there.
25:12So, uh, he just a boom bust style player.
25:14I think Sean Payton's got a good grasp on how to use him.
25:18Uh, but can we break him outside of that mold?
25:21I'm less convinced. I'm not saying RJ Harvey doesn't have standalone value.
25:24Broncos running backs rank seven fourth and first in receptions at the position over the last three seasons.
25:30Even Harvey had the eighth most receptions among running backs last year.
25:33But again, the point is we are looking for backs that jump 10 to 15 to 20 spots versus where you're selecting
25:39them at this portion of the draft. And that happened for Harvey last year when JK Dobbins went down because he got 14 touches in week 11.
25:47Then he got 16 touches in week 13. Then he got 23 touches in week 14 and then 19 touches as well.
25:53Plus another 19 and 16 to close out the season.
25:56I just don't envision games this year that RJ Harvey touches the ball 14 to 19 times.
26:01Yeah. The, the Broncos were flirting with all of the top backs, both in the draft and in free agency.
26:07And then they did give JK Dobbins $10 million guaranteed, which is a lot more money than I was expecting.
26:13And to me, that was a pretty clear sign that they view JK Dobbins like the no doubt about it starter there.
26:19And then RJ Harvey would be in this very defined role who will be good at that role.
26:24And then in comes Jonah Coleman. If something happens to JK Dobbins, maybe it's my bias, but here we go in round nine with another pass catching back.
26:32Uh, these guys are obviously more impactful for you in full PPR leagues.
26:36We have full PPR rankings down the description below, but I'm mainly to include everyone here talking about half PPR.
26:42Uh, here's an interesting note from Greg Allman, who has covered the bucks for a very long time.
26:47He said, quote, I don't know if you saw this Hayden, it wouldn't surprise me if Kenny Gainwell were to lead this team in receptions this year.
26:55I'll say if, if that's the case, the bucks have real issues in 2026 eliminated.
26:59I mean, what leads you in receptions. Um, so while some people can take that quote as a positive, that gives me
27:06some good surges overall of what they might be looking like.
27:09Uh, Gainwell did have eight touchdowns last season. His previous high for a year was six.
27:13Um, his rushing attempts, his 114 were a career high last year.
27:17And I doubt he's going to get the 73 catches that he got last season associated to Aaron Rogers, where he was
27:23truly a pseudo wide receiver on a team that only had one wide receiver talent in DK Metcalf and a quarterback that
27:29likes to throw underneath more than almost anyone else.
27:32Conversely, Baker Mayfield likes to hold onto the football, run around like a madman, throw down the field into tight coverage to
27:38a group that has Emeka Ibuka, Chris Godwin, and I guess Ted Hertz, Hurst on top of it.
27:44So again, I think the role that we went from last year with the Steelers where he was his most impactful ever is just very different this year.
27:52And more so he's just going to kind of do like the Overshot White thing here.
27:56Yeah. I see this one the same exact way.
27:59I haven't drafted him a single time through 158 drafts.
28:02Um, I think last year was awesome, but it was like, like you said, the environment was perfect for that type of thing to happen.
28:09I just don't think that Baker Mayfield wants to play that game.
28:12I think that Emeka is too good. I think that Jalen McMillan and Chris Godwin are way better than Calvin freaking, uh, Austin and MVS.
28:20Like those are like the other wide receivers that they were trotting out there for, for chunks of the season.
28:25So, um, yeah, I think there's totally different, uh, scenarios.
28:28And then, you know, if it's Sean Tucker or somebody else out there, they could also use a three back committee approach here.
28:35So I'm fading that line of thinking. And even if it is true, I'm on your side.
28:40That means the Bucs were terrible, terrible this year.
28:42Yeah. And even if Sean Tucker is not a part of this team, which he might not be, um, I mean, Kenny
28:49Gainwell was used basically like Devon HN last season.
28:51There was no other player that had as many true downfield routes at running back than Kenny Gainwell.
28:57And as often as that narrative is passed around the league, it just is not a thing, you know?
29:02Right. So, uh, I don't see it. I don't see it.
29:05Nope. Okay. Well, we've another part-time running back in round 10.
29:08That's Aaron Jones, the ninth pick of the 10th round in your home leagues right now.
29:13I mean, all off season, the beat writers have literally said that Aaron Jones falls off a cliff after 150 touches.
29:19It's almost like maybe someone in the organization has mentioned that to them.
29:23Uh, 150 touches won't do much for you across 17 games.
29:26Now it can do something for you in maybe certain peak weeks where he has like 12 to 13 or 14 touches and he has good games there.
29:34But what we have seen recently is he starts off hot or he has these moments and then it kind of trails
29:40out and fizzles out as the season goes along.
29:43And just overall with the Vikings, yes, I'm taking way more Jordan Mason than I am Aaron Jones.
29:48I think he fits quite nicely in Frank Smith's new rushing game.
29:52And he's drawn running reviews in training camp as well.
29:54But I also believe like neither one of these backs might matter in the end, but at the end, I just rather
30:01take Jordan Mason, who seems to have more red zone upside touchdown scoring upside than Aaron Jones has.
30:06Yeah. Five straight seasons with under five rushing touchdowns for Aaron Jones last year, career low 4.2 yards per carry, which was a drop by 0.3.
30:14Uh, yeah, it's just, this team is way more pass heavy than people kind of realize.
30:18So from 2022 to 2024, the Vikings were fourth and pass yards in 26 and rush yards per game.
30:24That was a top five neutral pass rate as well.
30:26Maybe that kind of closes the gap a little bit.
30:29The office line is a little bit better. And you do have Kyler Murray out there, but, um, they paid Jordan Mason real money.
30:36And he always pops up on the advanced numbers.
30:39Whenever I'm looking at that type of stuff, I think that Jordan Mason's a totally fine, uh, between the tackles rusher.
30:45I think Aaron Jones is going to catch some passes this year, but I don't think Kyler Murray is like the type
30:51of quarterback that's going to be checking down to his running backs for your office.
30:56And I don't think Aaron Jones is a priority to be manufactured, like swing passes to and screens and that type of stuff.
31:02When you have Justin Jefferson and my highest drafted wide receiver somehow in Jordan Madison.
31:07Um, I don't think you've disagreed with one of these yet.
31:10That's unfortunate. You're cooking. You're not going to disagree with anyone left in this list.
31:14Uh, round 11 is Depot Samuel. He's going into the seventh pick in the 11th round.
31:19Why draft an old guy? We could draft a young guy, you know, after him, Jalen Coker is still on the board.
31:25Rashid Shaheed is on the board. Uh, this time last year I was actually in on Depot Samuel.
31:30I'll kind of count that as a win. I mean, he actually started really well.
31:35Four top 21 weeks in the opening five games, including three top 12 weeks.
31:39But obviously the commanders situation fell apart from there.
31:41On top of that veterans decline as the season goes along and rookies start performing at a higher level.
31:47And I don't even think that Deshaun stripling is going to need multiple weeks to get phased into here.
31:52Hayden. I think, uh, stripling is going to straight up play over Depot Samuel, uh, into wide receiver sets, uh, almost immediately in this offense.
31:59So, uh, I would rather just avoid the wide receiver three on the 49ers this year.
32:04Yeah. I see a $3.8 million guaranteed for Depot Samuel, which is like absolutely nothing in the wide receiver markets.
32:10Um, so I think he's got a chance to be out there in two wide receiver sets to start the season as
32:16they get Deshaun stripling fully up to speed, but he's been cooking everybody in practice.
32:20And that was the 33rd overall pick that he's competing with.
32:24Um, so yeah, I think it's a very fragile offense.
32:26He's a very fragile player. I think that he has some utility early on, but he's eventually going to be somebody that we're going to be releasing.
32:34And I don't think that, you know, in week one, he's going to be anywhere near my top 36.
32:40So he's like somebody that's going to put up some decent points on your bench initially, but not good enough to make your starting lineup.
32:47And then you're just like, not really feel going to feel comfortable with starting him later in the season.
32:52Yeah. He could have some nice weeks early on.
32:55And then let's get back to me in like week nine, week 10, week 11, all that type of stuff.
33:0112 is Tyrone Tracy. This one doesn't need that much explaining.
33:04Um, this just has to update. I mean, Najee Harris even got some first team reps with the ones last week.
33:10We don't have to read into the depth chart changes where I had a preseason week one.
33:15It was Cam Scadaboo and Tyrone Tracy. And now it's Cam Scadaboo, then Najee Harris, Tyrone Tracy, and Devin Singletary as a running back too.
33:22Um, they might keep four running backs. That's totally fine.
33:25But at the same point, it's becoming a really full room.
33:28Like yeah, four is a crowd. And, uh, I, I, I don't know what someone like Tyrone Tracy brings the table.
33:34So while it can be difficult for ADPs to fall because people think they are scooping up value once they see someone
33:41with a higher ADP on the board, uh, just let Tyrone Tracy slide this year.
33:45Yep. He's undraftable. I don't even know what round I would draft him in.
33:49Uh, it sounds like they're going to keep four running backs.
33:52They did this with, uh, the Ravens, even though they had Derek Henry.
33:56And then I think Najee Harris would be the RB two, um, over the rest of those guys.
34:01And then I think Tyrone Tracy Singletary, like we'll see what special team snaps there.
34:05They're going to come up with to, to justify it.
34:08Not a good spot to be in. Kenyon Sadiq is going in round 13 of your home leagues.
34:13Uh, just recently Frank Reich on Kenyon Sadiq missing so much time this off season.
34:18Yeah, there's no doubt. We'll have to scale it back.
34:21We just got to work him in slowly. We can't rush it as much as we would like to.
34:26The good thing is he's very smart and we've said it all before, but he can, we'll be as ready as you
34:32can go, but there's nothing like practice. I know he has stayed locked in, but we got to go back out on
34:39the practice field and slowly working back into the mix.
34:42Um, also Mason Taylor apparently has had a really nice camp.
34:45He's good. The other part of this is it's interesting when you draft Kenyon Sadiq and Omar Cooper in round one.
34:51And then it's very apparent on August 26th that you can't get them both on the field at the same time.
34:57Like right now, this season, it's basically going to be either Sadiq is in the ball game or Amari Cooper is in
35:03the ball game and three wide receiver sets. And it's not both at the same time.
35:08So I really like Sadiq as a prospect. Uh, it is just impossible to draft rookies and especially rookie tight ends when they miss all of training camp.
35:16It's that simple. Yeah. I've been drafting them recently in best ball, like, cause he's going way later than the 13th round and just like seeing what sticks.
35:24But your point is so true that it's 12 personnel where he is the slot or it's 11 personnel.
35:30And Omar Cooper is a slot and Mason Taylor is going to be annoying.
35:34Not just this year. I think Mason Taylor is going to be annoying for the Sadiq, uh, drafters for a very long time.
35:40I think Mason Taylor is a really, really rock solid inline option who can be a reliable receiver.
35:45Uh, and like a decent enough athlete who they drafted in the second round.
35:49Like there's not that many tight ends that go in the second round.
35:53Like Mason Taylor just did like, this is very real competition.
35:56Um, so I didn't see the equal have fun moments that you can ride that in best ball.
36:02Like, is there going to be weeks where he gets six targets?
36:05And like the next week we feel comfortable that he's going to get another six targets in the game.
36:10Like, I just don't see that happening this year.
36:13All right. Round 14. We'll close this thing out.
36:16Uh, we'll pour one out for Ian Harditz, his most drafted player and Jerry Judy.
36:20Uh, I understand that Ian did a whole bunch of that during the portion of off season when rookies weren't on the field.
36:27Uh, but Hey, it is quite clear as soon as rookies got on the field that this is the Denzel Boston and most importantly, Casey Concepcion show.
36:34So maybe Jerry Judy goes somewhere else, but at the same time, I think his contract is difficult to move.
36:40He's getting paid a lot. And you know, even I have Isaiah bond flipping in there for, um, some two wide receiver set stuff.
36:47So, uh, I would expect very, very, very little for Jerry Judy as a consistent piece.
36:52The softies. Uh, I think it's contracts tradable. Okay.
36:54I didn't, I didn't, I think they can do it.
36:57I think that's how we backdoor into this. Um, now guess what?
37:01He will be, he'll be on waivers. And when he does get traded, we will talk about him on that show and best ball.
37:08I think he's, his ADP is so free. I mean, so free for somebody that has has a thousand yard season who
37:14is 27 years old, who has had one of the most outrageous single game performances you will ever see being literally free in best ball.
37:21I'm interested in that. And in redraft, he's not going to matter until he gets traded away if that does happen.
37:27Uh, but the Browns are pretty forward. Like it sounds crazy, but like they, they do like want to offload guys at the right time.
37:34We just obviously saw that with miles Garrett. I would not be surprised if Jerry Judy is a, you know, chief or something like that.
37:42Uh, and then not too distant future. Um, just looking at round 14 as well, Marshawn Lloyd is going there in all these home leagues at this moment.
37:50Uh, change that. Uh, Keenan Allen is going there.
37:52I would simply rather take Keenan Allen than Jerry Judy straight up.
37:56Yes. Um, and then like Jalen Naylor is going.
37:58I am so out on Jalen Naylor versus where I was earlier this year.
38:02I don't think I've heard Jalen Naylor's name one time reading the reporters from the Raiders camp.
38:07No. Yeah. He's like a slot guy, but they want to put Desh in the slot and 11 personnel.
38:13And then this, another one of these teams where, you know, Michael Mayers can be in line guy and Brock Bauer is
38:19going to be, you know, your ex slot receiver, whatever the hell we're going to call that.
38:24And then we'll see if Jalen Naylor is going to be out there on the two X ever sets.
38:29It's straight Tucker. Number one. All right. That does it.
38:32Great list. Simple enough. I mean, I, I did spend more time on the top names.
38:37And again, yeah, don't write in the headlines that Josh Norris does not want to draft Christian McCaffrey this year.
38:43I just wanted to bring up the negative outcome.
38:45Well, you draft him or you rank him lower than where you would draft him.
38:50Well, yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm just drafting him.
38:52That just, that doesn't mean that I think Christian McCaffrey is going to have a bad season.
38:57Uh, it sounds like just remember. I'm the guy that said draft Christian McCaffrey last year and it worked out.
39:03That's it. Okay. That's right. I'm reading this as Josh Norris.
39:06Scared to compete. Do not write in the headlines to fade to Christian McCaffrey.
39:10That's how I'm reading this. All right. That does it for us.
39:14Um, starting tomorrow on Monday, we have our final rankings and tiers for every single position ahead of your draft.
39:20It's a big, big four shows with running backs and wide receivers and quarterbacks and tight ends.
39:24So I know you love it. I know you watch it.
39:28So go and watch it for us and hit subscribe.
39:31We'll see you all then. I'll see you all then.
39:33Thank you.