Preseason Love/Hate (QBs + RBs)
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
54 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 27, 2026
Published
Thu, August 27, 2026
25
Player insights
23
Players mentioned
Topics
Bo NixDerrick HenryBaker MayfieldBlake CorumBrock PurdyBucky IrvingCaleb WilliamsCeeDee LambChase BrownD'Andre SwiftDak PrescottDavid MontgomeryJoe BurrowJonah Coleman
Player analysis
Player insights
Baker Mayfield
PositiveValue26:02
Matthew Berry considers Baker Mayfield an interesting sleeper pick in a contract year, noting his ability to play through injury and his history of high-scoring games. He highlights the return of Chris Godwin, the expected development of Emeka Abuka, and positive camp reports on Ted Hurst as reasons to be optimistic about the Buccaneers' offense.
Insight pageBlake Corum
PositiveUsage44:06
Matthew Berry identifies Blake Corum as a high-upside stash with standalone flex value. Berry expects Corum to see 10 touches per game in the second half of contests when the Rams are protecting leads, and notes he would be a top-10 RB if Kyron Williams were injured.
Insight pageBo Nix
NegativeProjection19:50
Matthew Berry ranks Bo Nix as QB15, noting that his previous top-10 finishes were inflated by a 40-point outlier game against the Giants; removing that game drops his average to 16.6 points per game (QB14 level). Additionally, concerns exist regarding his health following an ankle injury and potential regression in rushing volume, which was a key component of his fantasy value.
Insight pageNegativeValue31:54
Matthew Berry places Bo Nix on his 'hate' list only to clarify that he is actually a strong value at QB15. Nix has been a top-10 fantasy quarterback in each of his professional seasons, making his current ADP a potential bargain.
Insight pageBrock Purdy
PositiveValue23:42
Matthew Berry highlights Brock Purdy as an undervalued asset, noting he is being drafted as QB13 despite finishing as a top-10 fantasy quarterback on a points-per-game basis in every season he has started.
Insight pageBucky Irving
NegativeProjection52:00
Matthew Berry is lower on Bucky Irving than his current ADP of 51, citing poor efficiency metrics from last season, including the lowest yards after contact per attempt among RBs with 100+ carries. Berry expects Kenneth Gainwell to cut into Irving's workload, limiting his fantasy ceiling.
Insight pageCaleb Williams
PositiveProjection9:58
Matthew Berry ranks Williams as his QB7, highlighting his dual-threat ability. Williams was one of only two quarterbacks last year to finish top-seven in both passing and rushing yards. Berry expects the Bears' offense to be high-scoring under Ben Johnson, and notes Williams has been seventh in passing attempts since entering the NFL.
Insight pageCeeDee Lamb
PositiveUsage17:23
Matthew Berry prefers stacking Dak Prescott with CeeDee Lamb over George Pickens, citing Lamb's longer track record of success and higher floor, though he acknowledges both are viable WR1s.
Insight pageChase Brown
PositiveProjection37:53
Matthew Berry ranks Chase Brown as his RB7, noting that since becoming the starter in week 9 of 2024, Brown has been among the top five running backs in games with 15+ fantasy points. Berry is all-in on the Bengals' offense and prefers Brown over Saquon Barkley and Devon Achane.
Insight pageD'Andre Swift
PositiveProjection41:47
Matthew Berry is high on DeAndre Swift, projecting 1,200 total yards and double-digit touchdowns. Berry highlights that Swift was a top-24 RB in 75% of his games last year and rarely posted sub-nine-point fantasy performances, making him a reliable, albeit 'unsexy,' pick.
Insight pageDak Prescott
PositiveValue13:11
Matthew Berry ranks Prescott at 78 overall, slightly ahead of his 84 ADP, labeling him a boring but high-floor value. Prescott has been a top-10 fantasy QB in each of his last four healthy seasons, averaging 18.5+ points per game. He finished as a QB1 in 10 different weeks last year, tied for second-most at the position.
Insight pageDavid Montgomery
PositiveProjection43:11
Matthew Berry views David Montgomery as an unsexy but productive asset, noting he has been a top-10 goal-line rusher in six of his seven NFL seasons. Berry projects 1,200 total yards and 10 touchdowns for Montgomery, citing the Texans' struggles with goal-to-go efficiency.
Insight pageDerrick Henry
PositiveValue39:06
Matthew Berry ranks Derrick Henry as his RB9, noting that Henry has averaged over five yards per carry in each of the last two years and leads all running backs in rushing touchdowns over that span. Berry views him as a value at his current ADP of RB12 and believes he is 'new coach proof' in the Baltimore offense.
Insight pagePositiveValue39:51
Matthew Berry ranks Derrick Henry as his RB9, noting he is a value at his current RB12 ADP. Berry projects a big year for Henry in the Baltimore offense, describing him as 'coach-proof' and capable of high-volume production regardless of the scheme.
Insight pageJoe Burrow
PositiveProjection3:34
Matthew Berry ranks Burrow as his QB5, noting he is a strong value at his ADP of 60. Over the last two seasons, Burrow is the QB3 in points-per-game, trailing only Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. The Bengals' offense is consistently top-five in passing rate over expectation, and Berry is fully in on the team's potential with a healthy Burrow.
Insight pageJonah Coleman
PositiveBreakout45:12
Matthew Berry names Jonah Coleman his favorite rookie running back, citing high praise from talent evaluators. Despite a crowded backfield, Berry believes Coleman will emerge as the starting running back for the Broncos by the second half of the season.
Insight pageJordan Love
PositiveProjection23:59
Matthew Berry is optimistic about Jordan Love, expecting the Packers' offense to pass more this season. Love averages nearly 19 fantasy points per game when he has at least 30 pass attempts, and Berry notes his potential for added rushing production.
Insight pageJustin Herbert
PositiveProjection19:55
Matthew Berry is very high on Justin Herbert, projecting his best fantasy season ever under Mike McDaniel. Berry notes that McDaniel previously helped Tua Tagovailoa reach top-five status in passing yards and touchdown rate, and expects similar success for Herbert.
Insight pageKenneth Gainwell
PositiveUsage44:32
Matthew Berry highlights Kenneth Gainwell as a sleeper, noting he led all RBs in fantasy points per touch last season. Berry cites positive reports from Buccaneers camp and suggests Gainwell will be a significant part of the passing offense, making him a preferred value over Bucky Irving.
Insight pageKenneth Walker III
PositiveProjection28:52
Matthew Berry ranks Kenneth Walker as his RB6, ahead of Saquon Barkley and Devon Achane, citing his potential for a massive workload in a top-eight offensive line. Walker has averaged over 18 fantasy points and 110 scrimmage yards in games with 18+ touches, and expectations are for him to be a three-down back involved in the passing game.
Insight pageMalik Willis
PositiveSleeper22:03
Matthew Berry likes Malik Willis as a deep-league sleeper, primarily due to his rushing floor (45 yards per game as a starter). Berry notes that even if Miami struggles, Willis's mobility provides a fantasy floor, and he could reach top-12 status if the passing game shows any production.
Insight pageMatthew Stafford
NegativeBust28:44
Matthew Berry warns of massive regression for Matthew Stafford, who is currently being drafted as QB12. Stafford had an outlier season last year with 11 touchdowns of two yards or less, and Berry expects the Rams' strong defense to lead to more rushing in the second half, limiting Stafford's passing volume.
Insight pageRhamondre Stevenson
PositiveRole43:29
Matthew Berry advocates for Rhamondre Stevenson, noting he is being drafted a round and a half after TreVeyon Henderson despite being the clear lead back for the Patriots. Berry emphasizes that Stevenson is trusted by Mike Vrabel and will handle goal-line duties.
Insight pageTank Bigsby
PositiveSleeper44:52
Matthew Berry labels Tank Bigsby as the best insurance back in the NFL, noting that he is productive whenever he receives an opportunity in a good offense.
Insight pageTreVeyon Henderson
NegativeBust48:15
Matthew Berry lists TreVeyon Henderson as a 'hate' due to his ADP being a round and a half higher than Rhamondre Stevenson. Berry notes Henderson's inefficiency in pass protection (21% third-down usage) and reliance on big plays, with 26% of his rushing yards coming on only four carries last season.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00Well, it's noon on YouTube, but you know, it's five o'clock somewhere.
0:04So of course the bar is back open. I'm Matthew Berry, your friendly neighborhood bartender.
0:08And you know what? It's Love Hate Day. It's Love Hate Day.
0:11My big preseason Love Hate column will be up a little bit later on FantasyLife.com.
0:16But before that column gets posted, we're going to talk about Love Hate.
0:20And to help me do it, I had to bring back an old friend.
0:24When I say old friend, I mean old friend because A, he's old.
0:28Nando DeFino. But I mean old friend in the fact that you and I have known each other over 20 years.
0:34You were on my talentedmisteroto.com website way back in the day.
0:37You've been in the industry forever. You know, cbssports.com, The Athletic for so many years.
0:42You were with us at Fantasy Life for a long time as well.
0:45You know, you've been in the industry forever. And now you're doing your own thing.
0:50The7oracles.com where you guys are having so much fun with prediction markets.
0:53Lots of content analysis, not just about sports, but pop culture.
0:57So thank you for doing this, brother. It's good to see you.
1:00Yeah, man. You too. I forgot to bring Red Solo Cup.
1:03But... That's all right. I got like alcohol-based hand sanitizer if that counts.
1:07You know what? It does. I'll take some sips.
1:10Yeah, right. There we go. Yeah, you'll be all right.
1:13You'll be all right. So anyway, what we're going to do here is, you know, I mean, Love Hate is my thing.
1:19And so obviously I've got players that I love and players that I hate.
1:23And it's such a behemoth this year, Nando. It's 9,000 words.
1:27So it's taken a while to edit over there.
1:29FantasyLife.com. But it'll be up in a little bit.
1:32But what we're going to do is it's actually a two-parter.
1:35So today it's going to be quarterbacks and running backs.
1:38Tomorrow will be all the pass catchers. And because it's sort of my thing and so that I don't have to talk
1:44the entire hour as everyone will get sick with that, I'm basically going to turn the hosting duties over to you, Nando DeFino.
1:51Yes. So here is the proverbial baton. Yes. Thank you so much.
1:55Yeah. All right, man. Thank you all for joining us.
1:58It's obviously Love Hate, as Matthew said. Let's jump right into it because you have a lot.
2:03There are like I've got two pages of notes.
2:05Yes, sir. Matthew's love it. I've had these for three days and I haven't leaked them.
2:10So you're welcome. Let's jump into it. A guy you have is your fifth quarterback, Joe Burrow.
2:15And let me start with this. Is five high enough, Matthew?
2:18It might not be. You know, I mean, it's hard to get them higher than that just because without the rushing.
2:25But I do think the passing yards, the passing touchdowns, I'm in on the Bengals offense overall this year.
2:30Fully healthy as well. It's worth noting that over the past two seasons, Joe Burrow is quarterback three on a points-per-game basis.
2:37Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson are the only two quarterbacks that are ahead of Burrow over the last two years on a points-per-game basis.
2:44Each of the last three seasons, they're top two in the NFL in passing rate over expectation.
2:49I'm sorry, they're top two in passing rate and they're top five in passing rate over expectation.
2:54As you see it there on your screen there, over the last two years on a points-per-game basis, it's Josh Allen, it's
3:00Lamar Jackson, and it's Joe Burrow over Jalen Hurts, Jaden Daniels, Mahomes, et cetera, et cetera.
3:05I just, a fully healthy Joe Burrow. Health is the only question, but I believe that the Bengals are in for a big year.
3:12I'm at five, and I think there's upside for more for Joe Burrow.
3:16Is Joe Burrow, I mean, like, can we call him a health risk?
3:20Is that fair, like, or has he just had some bad luck, you know?
3:24And like, because I think that's what's keeping people from putting him at like two is like, oh, Burrow gets hurt.
3:30But really, like, I mean, are you worried or are you just going to go all in on Joe Burrow?
3:36Look, I mean, I have him on my love list.
3:39He, the thing is, his ADP is six, so he's going sometimes in the sixth, even seventh round as people wait on
3:45quarterbacks because the position is so deep. And I'm a big believer in waiting on quarterback this year because, again, the position is so deep.
3:53But at some point you just go, well, this is just silly.
3:56And that's where I feel with Joe Burrow. And so, again, I have Joe Burrow at 56 overall.
4:01His ADP is 60, so I'm slightly ahead of the market.
4:05So fifth, sixth round, I am fine with Joe Burrow, again, depending on your league settings and what has happened with some
4:11of the other guys there as well. But, yeah, give me Joe Burrow.
4:15I'm all in on the Bengals offense this year, Nando.
4:18Proud Fantasy Life investor, Joe Burrow, by the way.
4:21By the way, so there's an interesting thing I read.
4:23And not to, like, just keep harping on Joe Burrow because, oh, duh, we like Joe Burrow.
4:28But, like, I think the selfie, you know, I think, wrote, like, if you get Chase early in the frame, first is Jamar Chase.
4:36It's going to take away people wanting Burrow because that stack is now gone.
4:40Like, is that, like, true? What do you think about?
4:43Like, I'm reading, I'm like, oh, man, that's smart.
4:45Because, like, the reason you love Burrow is obviously because of his weapons and stacking has proven to be a winning thing.
4:52But, like, I wonder, like, if you go for Chase, if you love Burrow, Matthew Berry loves Burrow.
4:57If everybody listens to Matthew Berry, you love Burrow.
5:00Would you go Chase, like, with your first round pick just to push people off of Burrow for the lack of a stack?
5:06For sure. Because, by the way, I've also, I've actually done that.
5:10Because the way it plays out, even at, like, Scott Fishbowl.
5:13Like, I have a Chase Burrow stack there. Because, like, even in Superflex leagues, again, like, you can get Chase.
5:19And that's one of the more easier stacks. I think, you know, Hurts and Devontae Smith as well.
5:24But it's because you get, if you can get Chase early in one of the first four picks, it's pretty easy to
5:31get Burrow the way it sort of breaks out in terms of, like, even if you have to reach a little bit in the fourth or the fifth.
5:39But it's easy to get Burrow, especially if you get Chase, because I'm with you.
5:44There are other stacks that people start, they start looking at, you know, and they're like, so, yeah, I'm in on Joe Burrow.
5:50And the next guy, by the way, Nando, is another offense that I'm fully in.
5:55And that's why I've got the quarterback on the love list.
5:58This next quarterback is Caleb Williams. You got him at number seven.
6:01Wonderful offense. You know, even Khalif Raymond's there to take off the top of that offense.
6:06Like, what is it that we love about Caleb Williams?
6:09You got to have some confidence. I mean, he's good.
6:12But you got to have some confidence there, too, to put him at seven.
6:16Yeah, I do. I mean, look, I'm a big believer in Ben Johnson's offense this year.
6:21I think it's going to be one of the better offensive lines.
6:24And the thing about Caleb Williams is that I don't think he gets enough credit for.
6:29He's a good rusher. He gets you points both with his arm and his legs.
6:34Uh, last year, he was one of only two quarterbacks.
6:37Caleb Williams was one of only two quarterbacks to be top seven in the NFL at the quarterback position in both passing yards and rushing yards.
6:44The other one was Drake May. So, again, like, I just don't know that he gets enough credit for the amount of rushing that he does.
6:52We like this offense. We like all the, you know, you talk about the weapons that Burrow has.
6:57We like the weapons that, that he has with Loveland and, and, uh, you know, obviously Luther Burden and Roma Doonesay.
7:03We like the running backs as well. Since he entered the NFL, this is Caleb Williams.
7:08He is seventh in the NFL in passing attempts.
7:11Right? I mean, like, and so, and Ben Johnson's about there saying like, man, we want to score a lot of points.
7:17We want to be the highest scoring offense in the NFL.
7:20So I just think the, the combination of weapons, second year in the system, he seemed to really find himself.
7:26The fact that you get points with the legs.
7:29Yeah. I mean, I'm as a top seven quarterback would not be shocked to see him inside the top five.
7:35I think it's going to be a big year for Chicago.
7:38Next guy is kind of boring. Actually, Matthew. And I like, I look, and I look, I, you know, I took a couple notes on this.
7:46Like a couple of these guys are a little boring, but I mean, that sometimes helps you win.
7:51It's Mr. Dak Prescott, the quarterback for the Cowboys, for your Dallas Cowboys.
7:55Stop it. Stop with that. Stop with that slander.
7:57But look, I have him at 78 overall. He's going at, you know, pick 84 basically.
8:02And you'll see as we get into this list today, Nando, I have a lot of boring guys because the sexy guys,
8:09those are the guys that aren't values. Again, love, hate is always about ADP.
8:13Love, hate is like, again, like there's always good players.
8:16There's always bad players. But every player has value.
8:18Just it's about what it costs to acquire that player.
8:21And the sexy players are always at the top of ADP that like, they're just like, if they hit, they'll return the value of where they're being drafted.
8:30There's just no profit there. Right. But the boring players, the unsexy players, the guys that people just sort of yawn when
8:36you draft, that's where the value is. I think at least this year, I've got some sexy players and I've got some buzzy guys.
8:43But, you know, Dak is one of those guys who is like, he's an unsexy guy.
8:48And yet when he's healthy. As a football player.
8:50Yeah, exactly. When, when, when Dak Prescott is healthy, he's a top 10 fantasy quarterback, right?
8:55Each of his last four fully healthy seasons. He's averaged at least 18 and a half fantasy points per game.
9:01He's been a top 10 fantasy quarterback in each one of those years.
9:05In the three seasons that Brian Schottenheimer has been calling the plays for the Cowboys, whether it's the head coach or the
9:11offense coordinator, they've been second and pass attempts. All right.
9:14As stuntman Chuck says, boring is my jam at quarterback.
9:17Look, 10 different weeks last year, 10 different weeks Dak Prescott finished as a QB1.
9:22As a top 12 fantasy quarterback that was tied for the second most at the position.
9:26Literally only, only one other guy had more top 12 finishes than Dak Prescott last year.
9:31And so again, like no one, when you draft Dak Prescott, no one's going to be like, oh man, oh, you got my guy.
9:38Yeah, slap in the table. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Scottie McCoy says, get me all the shares of Dak.
9:43Yeah, right. Yeah. He says, get me all the shares of Dak I can gain.
9:48Exactly. Again, he's going in the ninth round and he's somebody that just has a super high floor.
9:53We're not worried about the NFL playoffs in fantasy football.
9:56We just want production. And again, whether it's CeeDee Lamb, whether it's George Pickens, we're hearing some nice buzz about Flornay.
10:02Another good offensive line. And it's just an offense that's going to be in scoring position often as well.
10:08So yeah, give me some Dak Prescott on the love list.
10:11Who'd you say? I mean, all things. Go ahead.
10:14Yeah, go ahead. I was just going to say, just to show, I don't discriminate.
10:18Everyone knows I hate the Cowboys as a fan, you know, as a Commanders fan.
10:23But, you know, fantasy-wise, there's value to be had there.
10:26I was going to ask you, like we talked about stacking just a second ago, like all things considered, ADP considered.
10:32Would you rather stack him with Lamb or Pickens?
10:34Because I've seen both camps this preseason. Is there one you prefer that you want with your Dak?
10:40I would prefer to stack him with Lamb than Pickens.
10:43Although in best ball, Pickens might be a little bit more interesting.
10:46I just, I feel like there's just more of a floor with Lamb.
10:50They're both, they're both great, you know, and also depends like are you in half PPR or PPR?
10:55But just a longer track record of success with CeeDee Lamb.
10:58Eight, I call him eight, but you know, yeah, CeeDee Lamb.
11:02His friends call him eight. Where are you on that one?
11:05I kind of like Pickens, but I'm like, you know me, I'm like a big swing.
11:10You know, swing or miss. Like I'll have some boring in there and I do agree with your Dak Prescott take, but like, I'll go for it.
11:18I'm shooting the moon with Pickens. There we go.
11:20Look, I have both guys, you know, as obviously as wide receiver one.
11:24So it's, you know, I think you go. So, but the other thing is, is that the way it all falls, that
11:31there's a, because Dak goes late, you could easily do, if you want to do a full cowboy stack, you could get
11:37Lamb, Lamb in the first, Pickens in the second, and then, you know, Dak in like the seventh or whatever.
11:43Like it's, that's not a hard stack to put together.
11:46You never go full cowboy. That's what I say, right?
11:49All right, let's go. You got some others receiving votes in here that I wanted to bring up a guy.
11:55I think it's fair to reveal now, Justin Herbert.
11:57I don't know if he falls at exactly number four for you in terms of love, loving, but he is others receiving votes.
12:04No, he's, he's actually a full on love, but we've got to move through it.
12:09But like, just in terms of like, again, Herbert, we keep this in mind in his first two seasons under Mike McDaniel
12:15to a tongue of Ioloa was top five in passing yards per game and touchdown rate.
12:20Like he made Tua a thing and now he gets Justin Herbert with also really good weapons as well.
12:25You see Brock, you know, those are my, those are my loves right there.
12:29So Herbert's on there. So these are my, these are my, these are my loves.
12:34Just a big fan of Justin Herbert this year and the entire Chargers offense as we make our way through the love hate list.
12:41Bears, Bengals, Chargers. You'll see some themes here. You'll see some certain teams start to emerge as well.
12:46And so I'm, I'm, I'm very high on Justin Herbert.
12:49I think he's going to have his best fantasy season ever under Mike McDaniel.
12:53My bad. I didn't mean to defame Justin Herbert.
12:56He was an actual, I was looking at the wrong section of my printout here.
13:00I'm sorry. That's all right. Sorry, Justin Herbert. It's your first time hosting.
13:04He'll be okay. He's getting married to Madison Beer.
13:07He's going to be just fine. What is this?
13:09Let's go on to your actual others receiving votes.
13:12Yes, sir. Because this is an interesting list. I think it's like, we were talking about a little bit of boring, a little bit of fun in here.
13:20Brock Purdy, Kyler Murray, Jordan Love and Malik Willis.
13:23And I don't know if you mind, if we start at the bottom with Malik Willis, because to me, he's the most,
13:29like Malik Willis had this amazing upside. And then Miami's like, ah, we're just going to get rid of all our wide receivers.
13:36Good luck, dude. Like, what makes you still love Malik Willis?
13:39It's got to be his legs, right? It's got to be the rushing.
13:4345 rushing yards per game as a starter. And I just think, and we talked about this earlier on the show, like a few days ago.
13:51But I think Miami's going to be normal bad.
13:54Andy Barron's used the phrase, which I loved. Normal bad.
13:57Like, not horrifically bad, but normal bad. And I think they'll be, so I think they'll be fine.
14:02I mean, Malik was moved the ball again as a passer.
14:05Moved it with Green Bay. Now, small sample size and the matchups weren't that strong.
14:10But, you know, whether it's junk time or his legs, I just think the, to me with Malik Willis, the rushing gives you a floor.
14:17And then I think there's some upside with the passing, even if they're down big in the second half.
14:22Like, you know, it all still counts. Think about Brock Purdy, who isn't being drafted as a top 10 fantasy quarterback.
14:29And as you see it there, his ADP is QB 13.
14:32And yet, every season of his career as a starter, he's been a top 10 fantasy quarterback on a points per game basis.
14:39Jordan Love, I think this offense is going to pass more.
14:42Just, you know, second year of Matthew Golden, a fully healthy Christian Watson.
14:46Tucker Craft is back. Josh Jacobs, there may be some issues there with Josh Jacobs.
14:50So I think the offense could pass more. When Jordan Love has at least 30 pass attempts, he's had 24 different games
14:57where he's had at least 30 pass attempts. He's averaging almost 19 fantasy points per game.
15:01So Jordan Love, who also gives you a little bit with his legs.
15:05I wish he would run a little bit more.
15:08But I think there's, you know, potential to get you a point or two with his legs every week.
15:13So, yeah, give me some Jordan Love, again, if you're down in the QB 18, 19 range there.
15:19Well, I was going to ask you that. Like, so there's the drop off at 13, right?
15:24You know, we're all these leagues where, like, some guys take two quarterbacks, you know, even though they don't need to in a single quarterback league.
15:31If you're left with just Love and Willis, you know, as your choices, you know, there's a gap obviously between 13 and
15:3819 or 18, whatever you love at. Are you just like, well, I'm just going to take Willis as my quarterback and
15:44see what happens and, you know, stream some guys every week?
15:48Yeah. I mean, I don't, I mean, especially you'd have to be in a pretty deep league to get there.
15:53But like, I've drafted a lot of, you know, guillotine leagues.
15:57We have eight, you know, guillotineleagues.com. It's if you play as many players as you can do whatever size league you want,
16:03but it goes up to 18 people. So, and I'm in a lot of 18 person guillotine leagues where, you know, one
16:10person gets cut every single week until the end of the season.
16:13And so I tend to wait on quarterback in those leagues.
16:16And I have a lot of Malik Willis because I think, especially in a format like that, when you're playing guillotine, there's just a floor with the rushing.
16:25So look, I'm at 19. He's going as QB 21.
16:28I think it would take quite a while to get there where Willis was your only quarterback.
16:33Yeah. But yes, I think there's a floor with some upside.
16:36I certainly like him in deeper leagues because if we, because the rushing is so profound, like him being a top 12
16:42quarterback is not out of the question. Malik Willis, especially if they get any sort of production out of their wide receivers.
16:49Give me some Caleb Douglas this year. Well, let's see.
16:52Let's see what happens. Someone has to catch him, right?
16:55Yeah, exactly. Oh, there you go. All right. Let's be quiet about Malik Willis now.
16:59The Barry Boos is in effect. Yeah. Josh, I am Josh Douglas says he doesn't need that affecting Malik Willis's availability in my draft.
17:06Well, hopefully no one's watching in Josh Douglas's league or if they are just leaving for Josh.
17:11Josh. Yeah. There's other 18 other quarterbacks you can have.
17:14Josh, when you send this around to your league, just do hashtag T equals whatever we're at.
17:1916? Because we're about to hit the hates. How about the Barry Boos for the hates?
17:24Yeah. You know, and look, real life quarterback, very much like Matthew Stafford.
17:28But as a fantasy quarterback, I think massive regression is coming here.
17:31Like, by the way, last year, this is a great stat.
17:34You know, I felt like McVay and they were really trying to push to get him the MVP.
17:40Last year, Matthew Stafford had 11 different touchdowns of two yards or less.
17:4411 different touchdowns of two yards or less. No other quarterback in the NFL had more than five.
17:49So again, I just, you know, every other quarterback for the last 15 years that has led the NFL in touchdown rate has regressed the following year.
17:57And that includes Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers during their sort of peak season.
18:01So I just think that Stafford, who has traditionally not been a, you know, I feel like last year obviously was an outlier year.
18:08I just don't see that happening, especially when you think about the fact that the Rams are going to have one of,
18:15if not the best defense in the NFL. So I just think you're going to see a lot of rushing in the
18:21second half because they're not going to need to throw.
18:24And I don't need the, and given that they have Super Bowl aspirations and that they've got a 38-year-old quarterback that's had lower back issues.
18:32Like, they're not going to press it with him.
18:34Like, they got him as MVP. Now this is about trying to get another ring for the Super Bowl that's in LA this year for the Rams.
18:42So I'm a QB 16. He's currently going as QB 12.
18:45I think that's too high. I'm lower on Stafford than the market.
18:49I think massive regression is coming. He obviously doesn't get you anything with his legs.
18:53So, yeah, Stafford is on the hate list, unfortunately.
18:56But to be clear, Nando, he's on the hate list in the NFL.
19:00If he leaves to go back to LSU, I'm in on him.
19:03Well, didn't they just, they didn't ban that, right, yet?
19:06Not yet. Lane Kiffin. I heard Lane Kiffin's making a play for Stafford.
19:10That's what I've heard. So we'll see. See how it all plays out.
19:14Speaking of someone who does use their legs who made the hate list, Mr.
19:18Bo Nix, who's still your 15th quarterback, but we don't, we know like he.
19:22Yeah, look, this one's a weird one. It's always tough to find hates for the quarterback because, again, like, we're talking about
19:29Malik Willis, who's going as QB 21, and I like him.
19:32So hates for quarterbacks all have to be sort of couched.
19:35And Bo Nix going as QB 15. I think he might be the best QB 15 in the history of fantasy football.
19:42Like, in terms of ADP. Like, the fact that you could get Bo Nix, who's been a top 10 fantasy quarterback each of the last two years.
19:50The fact that he's going as QB 15, I think, is actually pretty good value.
19:54But I put him on the hate list to explain, this is why I have him at QB 15, as opposed to
20:00a guy, because he has been a top 10 fantasy quarterback each of the last two years.
20:05Because I could see people saying, like, let me get this straight, Barry.
20:09Bo Nix has been a top 10 fantasy quarterback.
20:12Each season he's been a pro. And they just added Jalen Waddell.
20:15And you lowered him five spots? What gives? And so, yeah, as Burks and Flannels, he's a Bronco fan.
20:21There's the Knicks haterade. Look, dude, Burks, I'm just going to tell you this right now.
20:26What I hate is, you know, his potential as a quarterback won this year.
20:30Think about that, Nando. You remember that Week 7 game against the Giants last year?
20:34Bo Nix had 40 points. Just, you know, it's the insane comeback and just this monster game for Bo Nix.
20:40Unbelievable game for Bo Nix. Okay. But that was a weird one.
20:44That's an outlier. We don't expect 40-point games, especially the way that one happened with, you know, just the furious comeback.
20:50So if you remove that 40-point game from Bo Nix last year, his points per game drops to 16.6, which last year would have ranked as QB 14.
20:58He's coming off an ankle injury that kept him out of the AFC championship game.
21:03And so, obviously, he's healthy. But does he run as much this year, Nando?
21:07Because that was a big part of his fantasy value as well is the rushing.
21:11And so even if he runs but just not as much, that certainly hurts his fantasy value again.
21:16Again, I have a QB 15, but so him being on the hate list is explaining why I have a QB 15
21:23as a mid-tier QB 2 as opposed to the QB 1, you know, that he's been the last two years.
21:29His exhausted Texans fan says, this isn't a real hate pick.
21:32This is just the Pino talking. You know, this is, you know, and I'll pause here for a second, Nando, because, I
21:38mean, you and I had dinner two months ago maybe in New York.
21:42When was that? Like six weeks ago, two months ago, something like that?
21:46Ish. It's all a blur. Ish. Yeah. And I believe I ordered a bottle of Pino.
21:51Yeah. Me, you and our buddy Dan, right? Yeah.
21:53Yes. Yes. It was wonderful. Well, just you and I have been drunk many times over the years.
21:59And so, I mean, I think you can, I make a lot of jokes about Pino Grigio, but I think people think
22:05I'm joking about how Pino messes me up. But you have somebody that has witnessed it multiple times.
22:11And then you did a phone call and then you jumped on a phone call.
22:15I'm like, well, that's impressive, man. You know? Yeah.
22:18Yeah. I was only buzzed. Yeah. It was fine.
22:20It was delicious. It was a delicious bottle that you ordered.
22:23I would trust you. It really was. Yeah. If we sit down and you're like, Matthew, you order the wine.
22:29Dan picks the restaurant. You order the wine. I just sit there and enjoy myself.
22:34Yeah. That's how it works. It, it, it does.
22:36And it's worked. It's worked very, very well as well with the, with the Pino.
22:41But yeah, I took a phone call because, I mean, listen, I'm, if I can do a podcast, if I can do
22:47a live podcast when I'm drunk, then, you know.
22:50Yeah. It was dark out. I can certainly take a business call.
22:53Yeah. Yes. It was great. The Matthew Berry scramble to find a quiet area to do a phone call was fantastic.
23:00And I was trying to remember what it was.
23:02I just remembered what it was. Actually, we were, we were raised, we were raising money for fantasy life.
23:08And there was this large zoom call that a bunch of investors were on the zoom call.
23:13And I had to pop on it. And I just, I had my, I just, I thought it would be, I thought
23:19our dinner would be done and it ended up getting delayed and blah, blah, blah.
23:24And long story short is I basically had to find a quiet spot in New York city to, to present fantasy life on the phone.
23:31But by the way, we got some investments from that call.
23:34A couple of people came in. The secret recipe is your Pinot.
23:38Yeah. It worked. That's right. That's right. I completely forgot about that.
23:41Yeah. Like, you know, half buzzed. It was great.
23:44If you're anything like me and my family, there's just nothing worse than opening up the fridge and realizing it's empty.
23:50Being like, oh man, I forgot to thaw meat or I got to go to the grocery store and deal with all that, which is a disaster.
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24:51Please use the promo code. It's OmahaSteaks.com, promo code FOOTBALLHOUR, and you get $35 off at checkout.
24:56Terms apply. See site for details. Anyway, so that is the quarterback list, Nando.
25:00If you had, is there anyone that I'm forgetting, Nando?
25:03Do you agree with the list? Is there anyone that you would remove if I said to you, Nando, I'm giving you
25:09one love or I'm giving you one hate? Is there somebody that you're like, hey, I wouldn't have put that player on the list?
25:17Or you know who I also like this year?
25:19Anyone? So, like, I'm weird with quarterbacks, though, and I think it's similar to you.
25:24Like, quarterbacks, like, no other position for me is, like, let's just let the draft come to me.
25:29Like, if this is a group that's waiting on quarterback, like, maybe I'll jump on someone or, I don't know, like, Lamar
25:35Jackson's maybe not the best example this year. And then if everyone's jumping on him, I'm like, all right, you know, I can wait.
25:42And I think I can, like, talk myself into Malik Willis as my starter if I really like him.
25:48That kind of, that's the world I live in with these quarterbacks is just feel the draft out.
25:53I'll give you one more that was other receiving votes to make the other receiving vote list.
25:58You know, like he was honorable mention to be an honorable mention, basically.
26:02But I kind of like Baker Mayfield this year.
26:05You know, contract year, he was really hurt. This is somebody who's been a good fantasy quarterback before.
26:10He fell off last year. He got really hurt and banged up and sort of gutted through it.
26:15But contract year for Baker, pissed off Baker. There, all right, you know, I thought about it.
26:20You know, will he run? That's a question because, you know, he sometimes will sneakily get you points with his legs.
26:27So I thought about it with Baker Mayfield. Ultimately, I didn't do it.
26:30But again, he was on the short list to be on the short list, if that makes sense.
26:36Well, I mean, you do like, this is a guy who's faced adversity.
26:40It's not like this golden child who came in and has been pampered and doesn't know adversity.
26:45Like, this is a dude who showed up in, like, week 17 and had a 23-point fantasy game or whatever.
26:50You know what I mean? Like, this is a guy who knows how to handle stuff like being disrespected about a contract.
26:57So that's not a bad pick, man. Like, I know the skill's there.
27:01Yeah. I mean, look, and I just, you know, I think Godwin's back healthy.
27:05We expected, you know, another step for Emeka Abuka this year.
27:08I'm hearing great things out of camp from Ted Hurst.
27:11I like Ken Gainwell out of the, or Ken Catchwell, depending on how you look at it.
27:16But I like him out of the backfield as well.
27:19Like, I think, I think you're not scared of the division.
27:22They got some nice weapons. So, you know, Baker's somebody that's interesting.
27:26And we've talked a lot about him on this show.
27:29So I didn't want to get into it. And the loss of Jordan Tyson doesn't help.
27:33But Tyler Shuck, once he took over as a starter, was a top 12 fantasy quarterback down the stretch.
27:39He's another guy that offense, we like the offense.
27:42Division doesn't scare you. And he gets you points with his legs.
27:45Yeah, but secrets out on him. You know, like last year, like middle of the year, people were, I remember, like, I
27:52think Gene Clemens, someone was being like, hey, Tyler Shuck can run.
27:55Like, and no one realizes this. And so I think by the time week, I don't know, like 14, 15 hit, everyone was on him.
28:03And I think this preseason it's carried over. And so, like, you can love him, like, you know, in the casual in quotes term.
28:10But I think for something like the show and your column, it's like you can't love with a capital L him because,
28:16like, his ADP is too high now. Like, everyone's in on Tyler Shuck, really.
28:20It's plateaued a little bit because of the Jordan Tyson injury, which, you know, people were excited about that.
28:26But, yeah, I mean, that's a, again, if you wait on quarterback, you're in a deeper league.
28:31You know, he's a QB2 with upside. Nando, why don't we move to the running backs now and give me your, you know, set me up.
28:38Who? Yeah, let me set you up. Please hold.
28:41Yes, please. Cyber running back loves. This is a very interesting trio that you have here, I think, with your top tier of loves.
28:48Let's start with Kenneth Walker, who's, you know, he's gotten a lot of buzz.
28:52I'm surprised you're able to, like, love him against his ADP, really.
28:56Like, I've seen a lot of Kenneth Walker, like, at Dauze.
28:59Yeah, well, here's, I mean, he's going as RB10.
29:02Yeah. I have him at RB6, Nando. I have him ahead of Saquon Barkley.
29:06I have him ahead of Devon Achan. I have him ahead of Chase Brown.
29:10These are guys that sometimes get drafted ahead of Kenneth Walker in other leagues.
29:14But I'm at 12 overall. His ADP is 16, running back 10.
29:18I am as a top six running back. And I will tell you that I think number one running back in fantasy
29:24is not out of the range of outcomes for Ken Walker.
29:27I'm not saying it's likely. I'm not saying it's going to happen because Gibbs and Bijon are so amazing, right?
29:33And you've always got JT and CMC in the mix as well.
29:37But he has that kind of ability. Assuming health, we saw him stay healthy last year.
29:41Like, you know, every game, when he's gotten at least 18 touches in his career, and I think he's going to get a massive workload.
29:49The Chiefs paid him like they want to give him a massive workload, right?
29:53So including the playoffs and the 25 career games where he's had at least 18 touches, Ken Walker is averaging over 18
29:59fantasy points per game, over 110 yards from scrimmage.
30:02As Brandon Garrett says, Ken, walk in TD. I like that.
30:05I screwed your joke up, Brandon. Sorry about that.
30:08But I like the joke. Good offensive line here in Kansas City.
30:11PFF and Brandon Thorne, who does a great job over there at ETR.
30:15They both have the Chiefs as a top eight offensive line for 2026.
30:19And then you think about just the lack of explosiveness, right?
30:22You know, I mean, I know we've got what are Rashard Smith and Amari DiMicardo.
30:27But the expectation here is that Ken Walker is going to be used in the passing game.
30:32You know, Dan Graziano, our friend, was on the show in the first week.
30:36He was at Chiefs camp. And he said that's what was happening.
30:39And that was the expectation when he talked to Andy Reid.
30:43So Ken Walker, three down back on what I think will be one of the better offenses in the NFL.
30:49And they always like to run when they get in close.
30:52Andy Reid does. You know, I made this joke the other day.
30:55But it's like Andy Reid, you know, Andy Reid made Sharkandrick West a thing.
30:59He made Spencer Ware a thing. Yeah. He did not make Daneric Prince a thing.
31:04But Andy Reid is so good that people thought Daneric Prince could be a thing.
31:08Just to give you an idea. And now you've got Super Bowl MVP Ken Walker coming to the Kansas City Chiefs in
31:15a year where they want to take pressure off Mahomes coming off the injury.
31:19So I think just massive workload for an insanely talented running back is incoming.
31:23My running back six. Let me ask. Oh, sorry.
31:26Go ahead. You were saying something dramatic. I'm sorry.
31:28I have so many shares of Ken Walker this year.
31:31Well, that's why this is relatedly for our auction people out there.
31:35Is Kenneth Walker like the guy? Like, forget about this guy.
31:38Forget about this guy. I'm going to aggressively bid, like, if it comes to it, five or six dollars more than, you
31:45know, what it should be or his average auction value, blah, blah, blah.
31:48Like, is Kenneth Walker the guy in an auction that just like, that's the red meat and I'm the wolf?
31:54Like, is this where you're at with him? Yeah.
31:57I mean, look, he's on the love list, obviously.
32:00It certainly depends on how much your budget is and what he goes for.
32:04But, you know, and I'll tell you this. Here's what I would do.
32:07Nando. Yeah. Nando DeFino. I would go to fantasylife.com.
32:10I would go to fantasylife.com. I would use the promo code Barry and I would purchase a subscription to a Fantasy Life
32:17Plus Tier 2 subscription, which is our best subscription.
32:19And then I would go to our ranking set and I would input the settings.
32:24I would into our draft companion. I would input the settings into our draft companion tool.
32:28And you click on Matthew Barry and then I will generate.
32:32You'll have auction values. And then what I would do is I would say, like, oh, I wonder what.
32:37And so that will already be priced in, if that makes any sense.
32:41Like, you know, I will go above whatever the market is because I have them higher.
32:46So what I what I have Ken Walker's value is, again, depending on your league scoring and how much, you know, are you bidding 260?
32:53Do you have 200? I've seen some leagues do 100.
32:56Yeah. That'll be that. So that's where I am with Ken Walker.
33:00You sound like someone who has a high stakes auction tonight.
33:03Oh, that's a good answer, Matthew. Thank you. Yeah, nice dodge.
33:06All right. How about Chase Brown? How about that?
33:09I see the Bengals theme popping up here. I mean, I have it six.
33:13So I would, if it, if it, and all the, but auctions are not, that's not fair.
33:18It's not me hedging. I mean, I have it six.
33:21I guess I really like him. I would go.
33:23No, no, but I'm just, but I think this is important.
33:27Auctions more than anything else, auction drafts are all about value.
33:30And you never know when those values hit. Sometimes it's early in the, sometimes it's really early in the auction because everyone's,
33:36you know, got their butt clenched and they're holding onto money.
33:40And so you see big star players go undervalued because people like, oh, I'm going to save my money.
33:45And sometimes it happens in the middle where half the league spends all their money up front and then the other half is holding.
33:52And then you find these values in the middle of rounds.
33:55And then sometimes there's leagues where so many people hold money.
33:59And then you find that, you know, so many people spend money early on the big names.
34:04And then you find yourself getting like Jalen Waddle for five bucks just because he slips through the cracks as it were.
34:10Or when you do the money count and right off of that first P break and like Kenneth Walker's the first name
34:17out and everyone just goes nuts trying to get him, you know, or like if you wait on Kenneth Walker and there's
34:23a tear right after him, just a teardrop right after him and people go nuts and you're like, oh, well, there goes my strategy basically.
34:31Well, and just as long as we're on, since we're on the subject of auctions for a second, then we'll get into
34:37the rest of the running back loves and hates.
34:40But very quickly, one big thing that I do in auctions that I don't think a lot of people do is that
34:46if I'm in on a plate, say it's Ken.
34:49Drink a bottle of Pinot. Yeah, I bring a bottle of Pinot or what I'll probably do is I'll bring beers because
34:55I'm in, everyone knows I'm impervious to beer. And so it'll pretend like I'm getting drunk and they'll think to be able
35:02to take advantage of me, but I'm still sharp as a tack.
35:05I'm like a hawk, like out there. And I'm like, I'm scouring everything.
35:09And so Nando, what I will tell you is that say Ken Walker, right?
35:13Yeah. Like I'm in on Ken Walker and I have a value for Ken Walker.
35:18Let's call it $45. I'm just making up a number.
35:21But so let's say I have $45 and I really want Ken Walker this year.
35:25So when my first try, I will immediately throw out Ken Walker because I'll say like, and I want to see, can
35:31I get him for $45 or less? Because, you know, if the bidding goes around and it peters out at like 41, okay, great.
35:39Boom. I've got him. And now I've just saved $4 and I mark my sheet and I'm like, okay, now I've got four extra dollars to play.
35:46Yeah. Play with. And this is the other thing I do, which is super dumb.
35:51It's a super easy exercise with auctions. But like, right, you know, whatever my possessions, quarterback, running back, running back, wide receiver,
35:57wide receiver, tight end, flex, blah, blah. And I just basically put in numbers of what I want to spend in general.
36:04I'm going to go cheap on quarterback, 10 bucks, 45 bucks on running back one, 30 bucks on running back two.
36:10You know, I want one elite wide receiver. I'll go 40 bucks on wide receiver.
36:14Right. I just do that. Right. And then whatever your, whatever your auction amount is and however you balance it out for
36:21yourself, you know, your league better than we do.
36:24But like in the scenario I just talked about, Ken Walker, I get for $41.
36:28I'll put that down. I'm like, okay, now I've got, now I've got $4 to play with and I can go, ooh,
36:34I'm going to, I'm going to try to upgrade my, now I can get a slightly better quarterback.
36:40Right. All right. And Berks and Flannels, I was not told there would be Matt this morning.
36:45Well, whatever. You're a Bo Nix fan. Yeah, come on, you hippie Bo Nix fan.
36:49Yeah, come on. Come on. And then not be worried about numbers.
36:53But the other thing is, is that there's a scenario where I throw out Ken Walker and he goes for like 52.
36:59I've gotten at 45. And so I'm like, now I'm out.
37:02At least I know. Because what ends up happening is, oh, I want Ken Walker.
37:07I want Ken Walker. And so I'm going to hold my money.
37:10Three rounds, four rounds go out. And then finally somebody throws at Ken Walker and he goes for 52.
37:16And you're like, you know, or 55 because he's like the last stud running back.
37:20And, you know, all these other guys, Gibbs and Bijon and Taylor all went cheaper because people are holding onto their money.
37:27And so now you've got a pivot. You've got this $45 left for an RB1 and there are any RB1 left.
37:33So I always like to throw at the player I want first to see if I can either get him or if
37:40I can't, then I know I now have the rest of the auction to pivot and I can look at other, you
37:46know, other players that are coming out. Let's move on.
37:49I was going to say, you let Kenneth Walker go and up comes Chase Brown.
37:53That's another one of your loves. I mean, like this is the beautiful thing about having five loves is, you know, like
38:00if, you know, the Kenneth Walker strategy doesn't work, you got Chase Brown.
38:04You got Derrick Henry. That's right. Well, we'll get to Derrick Henry in a second, but think about last year when Joe Burrow came back in week 13.
38:12From that point on, Chase Brown was the second best running back in fantasy football.
38:16He had a running back four utilization score. Since week nine of the 2024 season, Nando, which is when Chase Brown became the starter.
38:23Here's the entire list of running backs that have more games with 15 or more fantasy points on a point per game
38:30basis and PPR scoring than Chase Brown, right? You got that?
38:33Since he became the starter, you see it there on your screen.
38:37Devon HN, Bijan Robinson, Jameer Gibbs, Chris McCaffrey, Chase Brown.
38:40That's the list. Four guys, HN, Bijan, Gibbs, and CMC.
38:42That's the kind of, that we're talking about here with Chase Brown.
38:46Again, you heard me talk about it with Burrow.
38:49I'm all in on the Bengals this year. I'm at running back seven.
38:53He's going at running back nine. I'm higher on him in the consensus as well.
38:57I like him over Barkley. I like him. I like him over HN.
39:01Yeah, give me all the Chase Brown this year.
39:03I'm in on the Bengals offense. You mentioned Derrick Henry.
39:06Yeah. So I want to just quickly get into him because I know we're, I just detoured us with all the auction talk.
39:13But, you know, over at fantasylife.com, our default rankings are half point PPR.
39:17So I'm going off of that. Like in a half point PPR, since he became a Baltimore Raven, Derrick Henry is running
39:23back five and half point PPR scoring. He's averaged over five yards per carry each of the last two years.
39:29Him and Jameer Gibbs are the only two running backs that can say that.
39:33Think about that. Right? And, you know, only one player has more goal to go rush attempts.
39:38He has, he, no, no player has more rushing touchdowns than Derrick Henry over the last two years.
39:44And I just think that that's all going to continue.
39:47We've been waiting for years for the wheels to fall off with Derrick Henry.
39:51We've seen nothing like that. That's going to happen with Derrick Henry.
39:54So yeah, I think he remains a value this year.
39:57I have him at running back nine. He's going, he's running back 12 and an ADP.
40:02I'm at 15 overall. He's going basically pick 20.
40:05So yeah, I think Derrick Henry second round there, or, you know, I'm having late as a late first.
40:10Should it be another big year? I'm big on Baltimore this year as well.
40:14It's an offense. He's new coach proof. I think too, right?
40:18Like Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry both like are like, okay, like, you know, I don't care who the coach is.
40:24Like, let me just plow through everybody. Thank you.
40:26For sure. Let's get to some, a couple of, a couple of the guys, then we'll get to others receiving votes.
40:33Yep. Your ride or die from last year, Amari and Hampton, and then DeAndre Swift, who's a little lower down the board there.
40:39Yeah. You can read more about them when the love hate article comes out on fantasylife.com.
40:44But last year, again, Hampton didn't play the full season, but when he was out there, he was really good.
40:50Top five in the NFL in terms of team red zone and goal line rushes last season.
40:55I think McDaniel is one of the best, if not the best run game coordinator in the NFL.
41:00So him coming on to the Chargers, I think only helps Amari and Hampton.
41:04Again, you heard me talk about this with Herbert.
41:07Hint, hint. You might see Land McConkie on the list tomorrow.
41:10I'm in on the Chargers. Who's tomorrow? Who's hosting for you tomorrow?
41:14Who'd you get? I don't know. You were available.
41:16What are you doing? You want to do it?
41:19Well, at noon, live at noon. I'm busy tomorrow.
41:22It's Friday, man. Happy to go. So we'll find somebody.
41:25All right. Yeah. We'll find somebody if you're not available.
41:28At any rate, DeAndre Swift. You got to book me in advance, man.
41:31I got things. I got life, you know? That's not true.
41:35None of that's true. Suburban New Jersey life. Stop it.
41:38That's not true at all. None of this is true.
41:41I'm driving to Connecticut. I'm drinking with Damien. Is that really?
41:44Okay, that's fair. That makes sense. That actually makes sense.
41:47All right. DeAndre Swift, Nando. Yeah. Again, I'm in on the Bears offense here.
41:51We talked about Caleb Williams, right? So 75% of his games last year, DeAndre Swift was a top 24 running back.
41:57He was a starting running back in 12 team leagues.
42:00He literally only had two games of under nine fantasy points per game.
42:04Again, just what we're talking about with Dak Prescott.
42:06DeAndre Swift is another one of these guys that no one is going to be excited about when you draft him.
42:13No one is going to be like, ooh, good pick.
42:16Yep, there you go. Birks and Fanels. One of those great, boring, non-sexy picks.
42:20And yet, DeAndre Swift is somebody that doesn't get hurt.
42:23Common on guys already banged up. Luther Burton's already banged up.
42:26Like, give me all the DeAndre Swift. He's going to be 1,200 yards in the bank.
42:31And he'll catch some passes. And he's going to score double-digit touchdowns.
42:34Yeah, I'm at least eight. Love me some DeAndre Swift this year.
42:38Let's move quickly here to the others. Yes, I am a Swiftie, Wolf John.
42:42You're damn right. I'm a Swiftie. Both Taylor and DeAndre.
42:45I'm a big fan of both. What about Jonathan?
42:47You know what? Not as much. All right. To be honest with you.
42:51Yeah. Not as much. Not as much. He's third on my Swift list.
42:55Chris Harris will appreciate that. Yeah, there you go.
42:58Let's go to others receiving votes. Let me transition you.
43:01Yeah, before I just take us off the rails more.
43:04This is a fun list, man. It is. And by the way, there's another unsexy guy similar to DeAndre Swift, which is Dave Montgomery.
43:11Six of his seven years in the NFL. He's been top 10 in goal line rush attempts.
43:16The Texans don't want C.J. Stroud to throw. Woody Marks is one of the – last year was one of the worst
43:22in terms of converting goal-to-go rushing attempts. You're going to look up, and Dave Montgomery's going to have 1,200 total yards and 10 touchdowns.
43:29We talk about Ramondre Stevenson on the show a decent amount, but he's currently going after Travion Henderson in ADP.
43:35He's going around, round and a half after Travion Henderson, despite all the reports that Ramondre is going to be the guy for the Patriots.
43:42He's going to be the lead running back. He's going to get the goal line work there.
43:47We talked about the Rams' defense and how we think they're going to run – you know, talking about Stafford.
43:53Again, it all comes together, right? Everything makes sense.
43:56It's all logical. Stafford's on the hate list because they're going to have a good defense and run more in the second half.
44:03So what does that mean? Blake Corum makes others receiving votes.
44:06Double-digit touchdowns in seven of his final 11 games last year.
44:09Rams, of course, fourth last year in the NFL in terms of running back rush attempts.
44:14And if something were to happen to Kyron Williams, who has dealt with injuries throughout his NFL career, Corum becomes an immediately top 10 fantasy running back.
44:22But I think there is standalone flex value to Corum because I do think he'll get 10 touches in the second half
44:28when they're bleeding the clock because they're up because their defense is so good.
44:32How about Kenny Gainwell? Last year, no running back had averaged more fantasy points per touch than Kenneth Gainwell.
44:38Baker Mayfield's been raving about him. I have a very good Buccaneers team source who says he has been awesome, who said
44:45Kenneth Gainwell has been awesome in camp. They paid him.
44:48Follow the money. We talked about—Roto Pat and I talked about Kenneth Gainwell yesterday as well.
44:52So Gainwell makes the others receiving votes. Tank Bigsby, I think he is the best insurance back.
44:57We want to talk handcuff as well. He's the best insurance back in the NFL.
45:02Good offense. We know Banks Bigsby's productive when he gets an opportunity.
45:05Saquon Barkley, getting up there in age. Almost 700 touches the last two seasons combined for Saquon Barkley.
45:10And then Jonah Coleman is my favorite rookie— Yeah.
45:13My favorite rookie this year, Nando. Like, over the last five seasons, J.K.
45:17Dobbins has missed 53 games. 53 games in five seasons for J.K.
45:20Dobbins. He's never played all 17 in his entire NFL career.
45:24He's never played an entire NFL season. R.J. Harvey last year struggled as a rusher, wasn't particularly efficient.
45:29They got a good look at him as their lead running back, and they were like, let's go J.K.
45:35Jonah Coleman. You know, we had my buddies Connor Rogers and Trevor Sykema, the NFL Stock Exchange guys who do such a great job.
45:42We had them on the show. And to a man, both of them were like among their favorite rookies just from a
45:48pure talent perspective coming out of college. Jonah Coleman was there.
45:51And so I think his ADP is depressed because you've got Harvey and Dobbins there and it's Sean Payton and it's the Broncos.
45:58And so we had three-headed monster and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
46:02And LALC247 says, or LALC247 says, Coleman is so good.
46:05I covered him in Arizona. He was amazing. I mean, Sean Payton said that.
46:09You know, I saw a couple of plays and I'm good and they pulled him quickly.
46:14Like, I have a lot of Jonah Coleman this year because I believe Nando, over the second half of the year, Coleman
46:20will be the starting running back of your Denver Broncos.
46:23Wow, nice. All right. Sorry, I'm still trying to figure out what LALC stands for.
46:28Like, it's LAR, LAC would be the Rams and Chargers.
46:31LALC is LALC. Maybe it's LALC. LALC? LALC? Maybe he's just a big basketball fan?
46:35I guess, but that would be LAL, LAC. What was he?
46:38He was LALC? LALC. 24-7. Like, what are you doing 24-7 that's LALC?
46:42Yeah, LALC. LALC. LALC. LAC. I don't know. LAL is the Lakers.
46:46LAC is the Clippers. So it's Lakers Clippers. I'm in L.A.
46:49And I love the Lakers and Clippers 24-7. Oh, I see what you're saying.
46:53LALC, right? Kind of like, you got to read the L.A.
46:56first. All right, anyway, sorry. Sorry to get us off track, but I mean, these are our friends.
47:01And I'd like to know more about them. Like, we need to figure out.
47:06We do it 24-7, yeah. I stayed up all night writing love, hate.
47:09I'm punch drunk here. Let's finish it off with the hates then.
47:13I mean, I think if you've been paying attention to this show, you can see who the two hates, they're coming from a mile away, essentially.
47:21Exactly. Like, I will say at least hopefully, I mean, you may not agree with my takes.
47:26I'm saying the people in general, but there's a logic to it, right?
47:29So, oh, there you go. Oh, Lakers fan. His initials are L.C.
47:33So, Lakers fan L.C. 24-7. So, he's a Lakers fan 24-7, and he keeps the name L.C.
47:3824-7. He's always L.C. So, thank you for clearing up that mystery.
47:41We would have wondered for at least 45 more seconds.
47:44I appreciate that. Yeah, I would have been Googling just that word to see what else they show up on.
47:50But, again, go ahead. The hates. Yeah, right? You have a spider web.
47:54Yeah. Getting back to the hates. What I was saying here is there is a logic to the universe.
48:00My point is that I've looked at the entire NFL.
48:03I've looked at all the puzzle pieces. And so, you know, there's corollaries.
48:06If I love Ramondre Stevenson because he's going around, round and a half after Travian Henderson, it makes sense.
48:12Ipso facto. Ergo. Therefore, Travian Henderson must make the hate list.
48:15He's currently going 60th overall. I have him at 68.
48:18I'm lower on him in the running back ranks as well.
48:21So, in the games in which Ramondre Stevenson was active last year, he averaged 11 touches a game.
48:27Under 10 fantasy points per game. So, again, when Ramondre Stevenson was active, Travian Henderson averaged single-digit fantasy points.
48:32He played on only 21% of third downs in those games.
48:36Think about that, right? That was the whole thing.
48:38Like, oh, he's going to be like this, you know, he's going to be on third down.
48:43It's going to be passing downs. Like, if they're going to get him in the space, he's going to take advantage of the speed.
48:50But, like, he continues to struggle in pass protection.
48:53So, literally, in games in which Ramondre was active, he only played on 21% of third downs.
48:58And this is stats unbelievable to me. 26%. 26%.
49:01Almost a fourth. Oh, over a fourth. Sorry. A lot of pinot.
49:04It's been a long show, yeah. Over a fourth of Travian Henderson's rushing yards last year came on four carries.
49:1026% of Travian Henderson's rushing attempts. Rushing yards. Sorry.
49:13I'm going to say that again so that my social guy.
49:16This is live. All right, yeah, okay. Slow it down.
49:19Hold on. Ready? Go. LALC 24-7. Yeah, there you go.
49:22Go. Last year, last year, 26% of Travian Henderson's rushing yards came on just four big plays.
49:27So, he does have that big boom-bust potential. He does have the kind of ability that he could take it to the house anytime he touches the ball.
49:35It's just, you know, counting on that week in, week out when they clearly prefer Ramondre Stevenson.
49:40Ramondre led them to the Super Bowl. Ramondre's the guy Mike Vrabel trusts.
49:44Mike is, you know, a, you know, Mike is a veterans coach, you know.
49:48And so, why I like Ramondre, why Travian Henderson, unfortunately, is on the hate list.
49:52Again, don't hate the player. Just hate the ADP.
49:55Hate the fact that he's going around, round and a half over Ramondre Stevenson.
49:59Real quick, I know we got to get to Bucky Irving, but just to tie this all together from the auction talk before, though.
50:06Like, just so people understand your hates better. If he's sitting there at three bucks, are you going to say four?
50:12Like, because, like, you know, like, if he's sitting there at two, are you going to say three?
50:18Like, oh, yeah, man, there's value there. Like, this is all about value, not just, like, I don't want him anywhere near my team.
50:25Yeah. Like, the X and Y axes, they'll meet somewhere, right?
50:28And that, you know, that could be $3 in an auction.
50:31Yeah. Kankle Nibbler says, Hate is a mean word.
50:34Can we change it to love slash strong dislike?
50:37And Kankle Nibbler, I can tell both by your nickname and your question that branding is not your forte.
50:42It's not your expertise. Because love hate rolls off the tongue.
50:45Everyone knows love hate. That's the brand. You know?
50:48Well, this is LSD. They just suggested LSD. Yeah.
50:51I mean, saying, you know, saying, you know, love, don't enjoy it, ADP doesn't really roll off the tongue.
50:56I agree with you, Kankle Nibbler. Hate is a mean word.
51:00It's a strong word. And when I came up with the concept of this column 27 years ago, I didn't really think it through.
51:07I never thought that, you know, I was writing for a low-trafficked internet site.
51:11It never occurred to me I'd be making a living of this, that I'd never be talking about it on TV.
51:17And so it is something, especially because, you know, the way the world is these days, there is too much hate.
51:23And so that's why I always, whenever I do these lists, I'm always very clear to say, like, I don't hate the player.
51:30I hate the price it costs to acquire that player's abilities and talents as I see it this year.
51:35So again, I think Trevion Henderson's a very good player.
51:38I got nothing personal against the man. I just hate the fact that he's going a round and a half ahead of
51:45who I think will have the superior fantasy year in Ramondre Stevenson.
51:48What do you think Kankle Nibbler means? I mean, I think it's a joke.
51:53I know, I know. I'm sorry, man. That was a joke.
51:56All right, listen, we got two minutes left. Two minutes for Bucky Irving.
52:00Real quickly, look, first off, I mean, you know, it's somewhat injury related, right?
52:04Again, they say he's healthy, but who knows? A lot going on.
52:07But think about his rushing metrics last year, right?
52:10It was definitely probably not 100% last season, but 2.3 yards per, sorry, 2.3 yards after contact per attempt.
52:16That was the lowest mark among running backs with at least 100 carries last season.
52:20Only 5% of his rush attempts gained 10 or more yards.
52:23There wasn't an explosiveness there to Bucky Irving. Again, and probably some of that was injury related.
52:28But in games in which he gets a single digit target share, he's averaging under 12 fantasy points per game.
52:34And so we expect Kenneth Gainwell and Kenneth Ketchwell to be a big part of this passing offense.
52:39And so if Bucky Irving is just limited to first and second down, and Gainwell may cut into his work there as
52:46well, it's just hard to see Bucky Irving returning, you know, the top 20, 22-ish ranking that he has.
52:51You know, he's going at 51 overall. I'm closer to 60.
52:55So I prefer Kenneth Gainwell at cost to Bucky Irving.
52:5845 seconds left, Nando DeFino. We will all go check out the7oracles.com.
53:01Thank you. We all call Booyahs on whatever it is you have to do at noon tomorrow.
53:06But it's always awesome to see you, my friend.
53:09I love you, brother. Thanks for doing this. Of course, man.
53:12This is great. LALC 24-7. I'm Googling you. I'm not.
53:15That's creepy. But no, thank you, man. This is fun.
53:18This is fun. This is fun. To find someone for tomorrow, it'll be great.
53:22We'll find somebody. What's JJ doing? We're all going to the zoo.
53:26Yeah, there you go. Maybe your wife can do it.
53:29All right. All right, brother. Listen, we'll all go follow you on social media at Nando DeFino.
53:34Love, hate. The Past Catchers Tomorrow episode. The article's up on fantasylife.com.
53:37It's closing time, which means you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.
53:42So please like and subscribe. We'll see you tomorrow.
53:44Peace out.
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