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PodcastFrom Harris Fantasy Football Podcast

Five Safe Players For 2026

STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.

1 hr 2 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 25, 2026
Published
Tue, August 25, 2026
22
Player insights
20
Players mentioned
Topics
Sam LaPortaSaquon BarkleyA.J. BrownColston LovelandD'Andre SwiftDak PrescottDerrick HenryDeshaun WatsonDeVonta SmithDK MetcalfHarold FanninJames ConnerJaylen WarrenJeremiyah Love
Player analysis

Player insights

22

A.J. Brown

PositiveValue28:21

The source views Brown as a safe pick around 20th overall, noting that he looked excellent in training camp despite initial concerns about his knee and the trade. While the source would prefer CeeDee Lamb or Justin Jefferson, they believe Brown is a strong value at his current ADP and is a player they feel comfortable drafting.

Insight page

Colston Loveland

PositiveProjection43:58

The source believes Colston Loveland has the highest ceiling among the group of tight ends including LaPorta, Warren, and Fannin, and he elevates Loveland in his rankings above those players.

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D'Andre Swift

PositiveValue32:53

The source considers Swift a safe RB2 option, typically available in the 5th or 6th round. The source argues that Swift is a better fit for the Bears' offense and will maintain a heavy role, especially with Kyle Manungai likely missing time to start the season, providing Swift with extra runway to secure touches.

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Dak Prescott

PositiveProjection50:46

The source views Dak Prescott as a safe, reliable quarterback option who consistently provides 30 touchdowns and 4,000 yards. He is considered a solid building block for those waiting on the quarterback position.

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Derrick Henry

PositiveValue30:25

Jeff Erickson identifies Derrick Henry as a 'safe' player for 2026, noting his consistent volume and goal-line role. While acknowledging age and the transition to a new center as potential risks, Erickson emphasizes that Henry remains highly effective and is often available in the second or third round.

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Deshaun Watson

NegativeProjection16:45

Christopher Harris criticizes the Browns' decision to name Deshaun Watson the starting quarterback, calling it an 'indefensible decision.' Harris notes that Watson has not played well and expresses doubt that the situation can lead to success, describing the prospect of Watson succeeding as 'soul crushing' for fantasy managers.

Insight page

DeVonta Smith

PositiveRole24:26

The source considers Smith a solid WR2 and a 'flag' player for the season. While acknowledging he may not be a high-volume red zone target due to the presence of Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley at the goal line, the source believes Smith is a very good player who will command significant targets and perform well.

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DK Metcalf

NegativeBust54:27

The source expresses concern about DK Metcalf, suggesting he has a low ceiling and a low floor due to team context and quarterback play, leading the source to avoid drafting him entirely.

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Harold Fannin

PositiveRole43:53

The source views Fannin as a very talented player who will continue to see volume regardless of the Browns' quarterback situation. The source believes Fannin is a 'glue guy' who will receive red zone looks and creative usage, making him a valuable tight end option without requiring a premium draft price.

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James Conner

NegativeUsage15:15

Christopher Harris observes that James Conner has not been active in Cardinals 11-on-11 practices, though he acknowledges the possibility that the veteran is simply 'sandbagging' to prepare for the season. Harris remains uncertain about his Week 1 role.

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Jaylen Warren

PositiveValue43:58

The source highlights Jalen Warren as a very safe flex option in the sixth round, noting that while he is in a split backfield, he is a high-quality player who could handle a larger workload.

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Jeremiyah Love

NegativeBust15:48

Christopher Harris labels Jeremiah Love a 'bust' for his current ADP, citing a high ankle sprain and the general messiness of the Arizona backfield. Harris explicitly states he is not drafting him in the late second round.

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Ladd McConkey

PositiveValue48:59

The source views Ladd McConkey as a safe, reliable player with a believable weekly floor, especially at his fourth-round ADP. While he may not be an 'alpha' receiver, the absence of Keenan Allen increases his target potential.

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Matthew Stafford

NegativeValue51:36

The source ranks Matthew Stafford ahead of Dak Prescott but notes that Stafford carries more risk due to a chronic back issue.

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Michael Pittman

NegativeProjection54:23

The source groups Michael Pittman Jr. with DK Metcalf as players whose fantasy outlooks are negatively impacted by team context and quarterback play.

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Romeo Doubs

PositiveValue12:06

Christopher Harris advocates for drafting Romeo Dobbs in double-digit rounds, viewing him as a significantly better version of Kayshawn Booty. Harris highlights Dobbs' ability to run intermediate routes and his toughness after the catch, suggesting he could be the best number two receiver for the Patriots if the team performs well.

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Sam LaPorta

NegativeValue44:10

The source notes that Sam LaPorta is the player from the group of tight ends including Warren, Loveland, and Fannin that he has drafted the most, despite concerns about his injury history from last year and a recent hip issue in practice.

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NegativeValue45:38

The source notes that LaPorta is part of a group of tight ends (along with Fannin, Warren, and Loveland) that they are willing to draft if they are the best available player on their board, though they generally prefer to wait on the position. The source mentions they have drafted LaPorta the most out of this group.

Insight page

Saquon Barkley

PositiveValue21:43

The source views Barkley as an awesome pick in the 7th-9th overall range, noting that while the 2024 season was a disaster for the Eagles offense, Barkley himself was not degraded. The source argues that the offensive line's health issues and poor quarterback play were the primary culprits for the team's struggles, and expects Barkley to have a solid season.

Insight page
PositiveValue35:43

Christopher Harris considers Saquon Barkley a 'safe' player to target in the first round (around the 7th-9th pick). Despite a disappointing previous season, Harris argues that Barkley's individual talent was not degraded and that the team's offensive struggles were the primary issue.

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Travis Etienne

PositiveValue42:03

The source identifies Etienne as a safe pick in the late 3rd to early 4th round. Despite a difficult 2024, the source believes Etienne was the Jaguars' best offensive player and trusts Kellen Moore to utilize him effectively. The source also notes that Alvin Kamara's injury provides Etienne with additional opportunity.

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Trey Benson

NegativeDepth Chart13:36

Christopher Harris notes that the Cardinals cut Trey Benson following recurring knee issues, specifically a ballooning knee during training camp. Given his limited usage last season (29 carries) and the injury history, Harris finds it hard to believe Benson will contribute elsewhere this year.

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Full transcript

Episode Transcript

719
0:00It's the Harris Football Podcast with your host, Christopher Harris.
0:03Hey everybody, welcome in. My name is Chris and this is a show born and bred and of the Pacific Northwest.
0:10Hello there from the only state in the United States with different designs on either side of its state flag.
0:17That would be Oregon. I am here this morning in Portland, Oregon, once again watching the sun come up in the Pacific
0:24Northwest and making a very stupid show from a hotel room for you today.
0:28It is my pleasure and honor to get to speak with you about this incredibly stupid topic that is nevertheless very important.
0:36I am certainly riding high after last night. Portland, holy crow, what a turnout.
0:40The reading at the Rainbow Road pub of the gorgeous beer company was spectacular.
0:45I have to say so much thanks to the owner of the bar, Travis, a longhorn.
0:50Thank you, Travis. Special shout out to James Brown.
0:53Yeah, yeah, he's heard that joke a few times.
0:56Without James, it just would not have happened. What a turnout.
0:59Not that we're keeping score, but, and Tacoma was awesome.
1:03Portland was bigger. Let me read you some snark from Nick, who wrote me late last night after the meetup.
1:09Hey, Harris. Tonight, I survived ignoring a few calls from my wife, and I'm fairly certain she's not the serial killer in Pound Foolish.
1:17No spoilers either way. I'll give it a read and find out on my own.
1:22When I got home, I told her we'd had a great turnout and a really fun time.
1:27She asked, With Mark Hammond? I raised an eyebrow.
1:30Mark Hamill, she corrected. I laughed. Uh, no. But it was a Mark, right?
1:35No, it was a Chris. She stared at me, completely lost.
1:38Chris Harris? I added. Oh! She said. The Chris Harris football podcast.
1:42I just laughed. Yup. And then the mail continues from Nick.
1:46Thanks for helping put Portland on the map and helping my wife realize there are various ways to be a nerd.
1:53It was great getting the chance to meet you and spend some time with fellow Yacht Possums.
1:58I'll try and make my way into the Discord.
2:01It's a great community. Shout out to Blake, Ethan, Aaron, Justin, David, Keith, Todd, Dan, Dalton, Cole, the fellow Dolphins fan whose name I didn't catch.
2:10I'm glad to know I'm not the only person who chooses Pain and Sadness as an annual pastime.
2:16Thanks again for a great night. P.S. Looks like we trounced Tacoma.
2:19Final score? 42-25. What do you got, Vegas and Phoenix?
2:23A lovely email. I think it was about 40.
2:26We estimated between 40 and 42 people. Like, people kept coming late.
2:30It was great. I will post pictures. I read a couple of pieces from my new book, Pound Foolish.
2:36Took some questions about the book and writing and about the NFL and this show.
2:41Signed a bunch of books, which was great. And then we hung out and chatted and took photos.
2:47So I'm with Nick. What do you got? Vegas tonight?
2:50Tuesday night? 7 p.m.? The Fandom Bar in the Arts District?
2:53Vegas is a pretty big place. A lot of people live there.
2:57Surely there are some possums. I know there's at least a few.
3:01We'll see. Like, big or small. The meetups are so fun.
3:05I can't tell you how many people have come up to me and said, wow, this is way different than I expected.
3:12This was so much more communal and fun. I was worried I wouldn't have anybody to talk to.
3:18That's what I can promise. Both for Vegas on Tuesday and Phoenix on Wednesday.
3:22I am positive that you'll make some friends and have some fun.
3:26Come alone. You will be welcomed, not just by me, but by everyone.
3:31What an incredible group of people we have listening to this show.
3:34I am truly so lucky to have all of you.
3:38And I should say it's not too late. If you want to help the cause of cumulative press, see how well I said it right there?
3:46If you've heard me mention the book a whole bunch and you keep forgetting, harrisfootball.com, where you can find out all about it.
3:54Do it right now. Make a mental note. You can pre-order Pound Foolish.
3:58And I really wanted to say that if you're having a hard time justifying the expense, budgets are tight.
4:04I have a bunch of copies that your fellow listeners have sponsored and donated.
4:09Please email me. Don't feel weird about it. Sometimes you're saving up for something or you're between jobs and you don't have as much discretionary spending.
4:17If that's the case and you'd like to read the book, write me.
4:21Please do it. HeyHarris at harrisfootball.com. Okay. As of early on a Tuesday morning in the Pacific time zone, we don't really
4:29have any more clarity on Ashton Gentry, but I felt like we smack dab in the middle of draft season.
4:35I got to make a change in the ranks and barring any actual information.
4:40I have to admit there's just more risk. I don't even think it's really arguable given, you know, where I'm sitting this
4:47moment in time, given the ankle that Gentry sprained on Sunday.
4:50And for sure, it looked like a severe injury.
4:53It didn't look like your run-of-the-mill low ankle sprain.
4:56I just, I don't really believe that he's absolutely fine and will proceed week one as though nothing had happened.
5:03So I don't think it's really arguable that Gentry can be a first-round pick.
5:07And with the right update, sure, I could change my mind.
5:11But if they're just going to stay quiet about it, I can't take him in the first round, I don't think.
5:18He's lower in my ranks on the website. He's 20 standard overall.
5:22He's 21 PPR. Still mid to late second round.
5:25You're obviously playing the roulette wheel a little bit if they're not going to tell us anything between now and week one.
5:32If it turns out that, listen, they were just playing it close to the chest and he's fine.
5:38Rock on. You got a great deal. If it's a high ankle sprain, you could not get a good deal at all.
5:45You certainly would have to have a taste for risk to take that on.
5:49Other news from Monday. Kayshawn Booty gets traded to the Texans from the footy pajama Patriots.
5:55I don't think. I know that Patriot fans way romanticize Booty beyond what he's actually done for them.
6:00He caught 33 balls last year. Like, let's calm down.
6:04He's a fringe wide receiver three for NFL purposes.
6:07But it's understandable why the Texans would want him.
6:10It's very late in the preseason to be assimilated and he's going to be in a race to be comfortable.
6:16This is a depth move probably for Houston who, of course, lost Jaden Higgins to a torn ACL.
6:22And Booty, trust me, is well known to be an absolute pro and a really good locker room guy and would be
6:29a good addition to any NFL team. But deep threats who aren't big and are only kind of medium fast.
6:36Booty just isn't really that much of a route runner.
6:39I don't think it's impossible that he fights his way past the Xavier Hutchinsons and Jalen Knowles and rehabbing Tank Dells.
6:46But I'm pretty skeptical at this moment that it winds up being relevant for fantasy and Noel is still the second Texans
6:53receiver who I'd be most likely to take a very late round chance on.
6:58What's left behind in New England? I guess we're going to do this with Pop Douglas again.
7:03He's mostly going to be the third guy in three wide and play out of the slot.
7:09But Douglas is a banana in the tailpipe. I will not be indulging in again.
7:13Everybody said he had a great camp. Where have I heard that before?
7:18Oh, right. Every single season of his career. To me, it reinforces something I definitely ranked and feel, which is that double digit rounds.
7:26I will take a shot on Romeo Dobbs. You know, I don't think Keyshawn Booty was ever really a reason not to take the shot.
7:34on Romeo Dobbs. But it, to me, emphasizes even more that there actually is potential for an interesting role for Dobbs, a
7:41player who is, I would call him like a significantly better version of Keyshawn Booty.
7:46I don't think AJ Brown is the analog. I think Keyshawn Booty is the analog to Romeo Dobbs.
7:52Can be a contested catch deep guy. Not a true burner, but pretty fast.
7:56But Dobbs really runs good intermediate routes and is tough on short catches after the catch running in the open field.
8:03Probably the answer winds up being nobody other than AJ Brown will be usable week in, week out.
8:09But if the Pats are a wagon, I think Dobbs is the best number two receiver they've had in a good long while.
8:16Also on Monday, the Cardinals cut Trey Benson. And suddenly that four man, oh, too many guys.
8:22That depth chart's a mess. That Arizona backfield looks much simpler.
8:26However, Benson had a meniscus tear in his knee last year and only had 29 carries all last season.
8:32And then reportedly his knee started to balloon up again in training camp and the Cardinals just decided they're done.
8:38Hard to believe that Benson is immediately landing somewhere else to become a contributor this year.
8:43Come back with me, won't you, to the spring of 2024 when people were just telling us you don't understand the size-speed combo.
8:51So, you know, everything they say about Omari and Hampton, everything they say about Bashul Tootin, guys that were really not that
8:58sure are good, but are really good athletes, big and fast.
9:02Yeah, you know, I guess the best ball bros loved Trey Benson in 2024, but in the end it did never work out.
9:09You know, hopefully he can get his knee right and make a try with another new team for sure.
9:15That fact, combined with James Conner, the squarminator, hasn't done anything in Cardinals practices.
9:20I don't believe, at least not in 11-on-11s. And then Jeremiah Love having his high ankle sprain kind of cleared that backfield right up.
9:28Week 1, maybe it's a lot of Tyler Algier.
9:31There has been some speculation that Conner, he's a veteran, he's sandbagging, he's getting ready, which is possible.
9:37We've seen that before, for sure. So, in week 1, we could get a surprise, and we probably won't know that beforehand,
9:44unless the Cardinals get rid of him or put him on IR or something.
9:48There's also the uncertainty we spent a lot of time talking about on Monday's show regarding Jeremiah Love.
9:54And I am not taking him late second round.
9:57I guess it's still a mess in the Arizona backfield, but just for very different reasons than we thought a month or so ago.
10:05Lastly, Deshaun Watson was named the Browns' starting quarterback.
10:08Simply, you've heard me say it, I think, probably if you've been listening.
10:12Certainly in July I said this. An indefensible decision.
10:15There just don't seem to be any adults in the room to step in and say, do not do this, Browns.
10:22I mean, Browns fans have made their feelings known by booing Watson.
10:26And Watson has remained as headwound moronic and tone deaf as ever when he was asked about this booing.
10:32And I mean, set aside what an obvious creep Deshaun Watson is.
10:36And that's a hard thing to do because he is an obvious creep.
10:40He hasn't played well. Nobody thinks he's good. I guess maybe Todd Munkin does.
10:45There's basically no way that this works. I honestly can't say, I'm not changing my ranks of Quinshawn Judkins or Casey Concepcion or Denzel Boston.
10:53I don't know that Shador Sanders would be any better.
10:56But it also is just kind of soul crushing.
10:59Like, you just can't put yourself in a position where Deshaun Watson plays well.
11:04Like, your absolute best case is that Watson is good and you win a bunch of games.
11:09And now you're in a position where you're tempted to re-sign the biggest boondoggle contract in NFL history.
11:15How he has not been fired into the sun.
11:18How you wouldn't look at two bad quarterback options or three if you count Dylan Gabriel and say, Hey, you know what?
11:25Let's play one of the ones who hasn't been an albatross around our necks.
11:30And who doesn't represent the utter failure of our organization over the past half decade.
11:35Just a crazy choice by the Browns. But I guess that's why they're the Browns.
11:39Today's kickoff. Okay, on today's show, it's not Eric Jefferson.
11:43Stop saying it's Eric Jefferson because it's not. It's Jeff Erickson.
11:46Jeff will be my guest. A rare time we're podcasting together where we're not speaking to each other, both from the City of Angels.
11:54And Jeff and I are going to count down some safe players for 2026.
11:59We'll talk about what we mean by safe players and give you more names to think about as you get ready for your fantasy football draft.
12:07I think you'll have fun and I thank you again so much for listening today.
12:12We are sponsored again by Viore. Did I wear a Viore t-shirt to the Portland reading last night?
12:18You better believe I did. The Ponto performance tee.
12:21How many of those do I own? Hey, no need to get personal.
12:25A lot, okay? Viore is my favorite clothing. You almost never will catch me not wearing something from Viore.
12:31These clothes are made to reflect the California coastal lifestyle.
12:35They're awesome to work out in. They're awesome just to lounge in.
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12:44Viore fits great. Feels great. The clothes are made with recycled material.
12:48The company is environmentally conscious and I simply cannot get enough of their clothes.
12:52There are pictures of me at the reading. I will post them.
12:56Check out that Ponto tee. It's the best. Sky blue.
12:59Looks lovely. If you go to V-U-O-R-I dot com slash Harris, you'll get 20% off your first order.
13:05These clothes are for men and women. Check them out.
13:08Get 20% off Viore.com slash Harris. Today's guest. His name's Jeff Erickson.
13:12Better Jeff to son. To Jeff Erickson. I know you know the song.
13:17I know it's the song that you like the most of any walk-up song.
13:21You can stop emailing me and tweeting me and whatever, skeeting me and telling me that you love that song.
13:28You can stop asking me what it's based on.
13:31It's not based on anything. It's an original by grandma band.
13:34I love it. I love it too. You can just stop asking me.
13:38It is Jeff Erickson, not Eric Jefferson. You can find him all over social media.
13:43Just look up Jeff Erickson. You can get 35% off if you'd like to check out rotowire.com.
13:49If you use the code Jeff35, which is so personal, it's lovely to have him aboard.
13:54Even though odd not to be talking to him from the same city.
13:58Hello, Jeff. Christopher, welcome. Portland, we're sorry. I am very excited to be talking with you.
14:04I couldn't wait to make a replacements joke there, so I held on to it until we started.
14:09You did. You did indeed. And Portland treated me very, very well.
14:13There's no apologies on any sides. That was a pretty crazy event last night.
14:18It wasn't crazy in that people were wild or drunk or anything.
14:22It's just so nice and so many people. It was really, really great.
14:26And of course, I was telling you before we started, a week from today in Los Angeles is the official book launch, September 1st, 7 p.m.
14:34Frogtown Brewery. If you're in L.A., please come. How have I not met you?
14:39If you're listening to the show in L.A., how have I not met you?
14:44But you should come and we should meet. And then hopefully Jeff will be there, too, if he can make it work with his schedule.
14:52So we are here to talk about safe players for 2026.
14:55You received an email from me describing this topic, and you didn't write back.
15:00So I assumed this is all good. Jeff knows exactly what to do.
15:04And then right before I hit the button, you said, we'll talk.
15:08We'll talk about this topic. What did you want to talk about?
15:12Well, I struggled with the assignment a little bit because what is safety?
15:16I mean, you know, the thing is, I think there's a trap.
15:20You start thinking safety and you think, OK, there's no upside.
15:24That's not true. That's not what we're talking about here.
15:27But players, you still want to draft. But it is like, oh, yeah, I know what I'm going to get with this guy.
15:34I feel good about this guy. So I kind of got it a little bit better.
15:40I was trying to avoid outside of my top 24, but I didn't with one player.
15:45We can talk about him first. We'll get him out of the way.
15:49But let's face it, a first two-round player, that's not going to help too many people.
15:54But I did want to talk about one player.
15:57And I haven't spent much time talking about him this draft season.
16:01So like you said, it's an excuse to talk about players.
16:05This is a player I wanted to talk about.
16:08Yeah. In the end, the lists are all really excuses to just talk about players and get people on the same page of what we think about them.
16:17I kind of did this where I almost went like round by round.
16:21I have a person from each of the first five rounds.
16:25And the way I think – you said it great.
16:28These are definitely not players we want to avoid.
16:31I also think you were kind of leaning toward something that I think is very correct in that, you know, I sit
16:38here and rail about the people who decide that they know how the season's going to go.
16:44And they know which teams are good and which offenses are good and which are bad.
16:49And believe me when I tell you in three weeks people are going to have different opinions when we actually see them play.
16:56Like we're going to be wrong about so many things.
17:00And so therefore, me sitting here and going, okay, but hold your horses, I definitely know which players are safe.
17:06You know, that's also kind of BS, you know.
17:09Yeah. The things we think are safe because of their situation or because of, you know, their talent or whatever often wind up not being safe.
17:17But there is a different quality to the players that I picked out here and I'm sure the ones that you picked out too.
17:25And I kind of like this topic because it kind of brings you toward that sense of roster building that sometimes I
17:32want to balance out the crazy high upside guy who I understand Jeremiah Love.
17:37Like, I'm not taking him where he's going. He's a bust for me.
17:41But if someone's kind of just like, listen, I love the high upside guys.
17:46I can't believe I get him in the late second round.
17:49You know, last year Ashton Gentry was the five pick.
17:53I'm thrilled to take him at the end of the second.
17:56Cool. If you're going to build a roster that way, you might want to try to balance it out with a couple
18:03of players who feel like their floors are a little safer to kind of like just, you know, give yourself roster construction that feels more comfortable.
18:12All of which is just a way to say it is an excuse to just talk about players.
18:18And therefore, of course, it's a pointless countdown, but it matters so much.
18:22Who is your number five safe player for 2026?
18:25Number five safe player is going to be the earliest one on my list.
18:29It's Derrick Henry. I feel good. I know what I'm going to get out of Derrick Henry.
18:35I don't think we need to talk too much about his virtues.
18:39Maybe you want to talk about the things that are a little scary.
18:43You know, it's his age. It's his that he got a brand new center that we don't know if you're going to be any good.
18:51You know, we know that Declan Doyle comes from a great running back, running offense tree under Ben Johnson, but he hasn't called plays himself.
18:59So we don't know that. But come on, it's Derrick Henry.
19:03He's awesome. He's good at football. He's going to get volume.
19:07He's going to get goal line carries. Yeah, I like Derrick Henry.
19:11I know what I'm getting with him. And, you know, you get him in the second round in almost every draft.
19:17I even got him in the third round one time.
19:21You know, you've got that one part you know you have.
19:24Yeah, I guess if someone was going to object to the notion of Henry being safe, they would say he turns 33
19:31in January and he's out of guaranteed money after this season.
19:35And this could be the end. It's just that they haven't behaved that way.
19:40You know, the Ravens just simply do not appear to be planning for this to be the end at all.
19:46They let Keaton Mitchell walk, you know. Yes. The recent history of age 32 rushers is bad.
19:52It is really, really bad. The past decade, only two of them have even run for a thousand yards.
19:58It was Adrian Peterson and Frank Gore. None of them topped seven touchdowns.
20:02You know, the only reason I wouldn't consider them for the list is the actuarial table.
20:07But like the moment you start doing that, people rightly say, yeah, but it's this is not someone you can just put in a data set.
20:16He's a different kind of dude. And there was a moment that last year with Tennessee where it looked like maybe he lost a step.
20:24It looked like maybe, you know, they were taking him out on third downs a lot.
20:29And that's continued. He used to play more third downs.
20:32But obviously, the Baltimore years have just laid that to waste.
20:36So I even though maybe he wouldn't make my safest players list because of that one piece of risk, I completely understand why you're putting him there.
20:45Very good. Yeah. And I think he's just and even the age argument you encounter.
20:50Well, just look at last year. Did he show signs of decline?
20:54No, he did not. Yeah. Well, the cliff does come fast.
20:57I just think the idea there's no risk of decline.
21:00That's silly. But I don't think the Ravens are planning on it.
21:04Right. And you can find you can find something negative to say about every single player.
21:10And we will. That's what we do. But so the concept of safety, even then, is a little bit of a lie.
21:17There is not one bulletproof player in this list.
21:20You're absolutely right. I mean, even if we could predict how the season was going to go, which my contention is that we absolutely cannot.
21:28It's what I said before. Like the idea that we can just isolate and go, oh, but don't worry, that guy.
21:35I know for sure he's safe. Like, no, there is no such thing.
21:39Obviously, you're right as a safe player. So I'm going round by round.
21:43I'll start with the first round. And at the nine pick or so, the eight pick, even the seven pick, Saquon Barkley feels awesome to me.
21:52I, of course, there's risk. He was the one pick last year, or at least for me, he was.
21:58And, you know, he didn't get hurt, but it was a disastrous fall apart for the Super Bowl defending champion offense.
22:05And Barkley himself was wildly frustrated. Everybody in that offense was wildly frustrated.
22:09And I don't, you know, there's certainly risk in that.
22:12What if it just doesn't ever recover? I just don't find the argument that Barkley himself was degraded in some way really
22:19compelling after having watched a lot of his tape trying to see what went wrong last year.
22:25And, you know, he's the one pick from last year.
22:28He doesn't deserve to be the one pick this year because of what happened.
22:33And we learned that if certain Jenga pieces get taken away from the Philly offense, it can look bad in a way
22:40that I didn't think was really possible. Most of those Jenga pieces were on the offensive line, but also the quarterback needed to play better.
22:48So I'm not going to say there's no risk.
22:51But myself, when I've gotten that eight hole, I'd think right about eight is like perfect sweet spot for me.
22:57When I'm eight and Barkley falls to me there, I go, ah, I just feel so much better than worrying about everybody else I could take there.
23:06Usually the three receivers that I would want are gone.
23:09Usually the running backs, other running backs I would want.
23:13And it's like, cool, do I really want to, you know, pre-injury Ashton Jenty, Devon A.
23:18Chan. Like those guys give me the stress farts in a way that Barkley does not.
23:23Stress farts. That's awesome. Awesome turn of phrase. Yeah, I get it.
23:27I get it with Barkley. And I might be talking about a teammate of his momentarily.
23:32But I think that there's a, you know, you just know that the offensive line was unusually unhealthy last year.
23:39It was such a chaotic season. I think there is the risk and the risk here is that the new offensive coordinator,
23:46Sean Mannion, is no better than the old offensive coordinator.
23:49And they go through this revolving cycle, revolving door cycle of offensive coordinators again.
23:54And maybe the fact that the offensive line coach is gone, that's the scary part.
23:59But yeah, I think he's probably got another very nice solid season in him.
24:03Yeah. I mean, as far as fears go, oh boy, I really worried this world historically great running back can survive this offensive coordinator.
24:11I don't know that much about. It's pretty small relative to, I hope Ashton Jenty's foot is still attached.
24:17You know, like, I hope Jeremiah Love knows how to stand right now.
24:21You know, like we are talking relative here. How about your number four safe player?
24:26We're going to stick with the Eagles. He was the flavor of the month for about 12 days, but now there's others that have surpassed him.
24:35I'm going to stay with Devonta Smith. I know that he's a really good player.
24:40He's going to be a guy that gets a lot of targets this year.
24:44Maybe he's not a big red zone guy. That's the one thing I would say is my only negative thing about Devonta
24:51Smith, but I'm getting him as a solid wide receiver, too, on my teams.
24:56And I'm very happy about that. Yeah, he's a flag player on the show this year.
25:01One of the 10, you know, I'm planting the flag on.
25:05When I say planting a flag, do you know that?
25:08Do you like are you like, oh, yeah, that's something you did a long time ago.
25:13Now everybody does. Or is that just you think I'm just copying everybody?
25:18No, I think people have different turns of phrase.
25:20I think, you know, you've also been doing this longer than most people.
25:25So you probably know. I don't get I don't really I don't get to claim it.
25:30Like, you know, when Scott Pianowski create every phrase I steal.
25:34Well, in the ash heap of history, it will not be remembered that at ESPN.
25:38I long, long, long ago. I mean, there was a very specific reason.
25:43Let me put it this way. There used to be an article at ESPN.com that was about.
25:48A hundred players that might be good or might be bad.
25:52You all can try to remember back and think what that article might have been.
25:57My flag planted players column was maybe a little bit in response to that article about how it's kind of easy to
26:04say that you're really into 50 players because then eventually you can always find someone you like that you can point to and say, I rocked.
26:12I did great. So I tried to have picks of integrity and we did flags.
26:17And that is a bit in that is a bit in vogue.
26:21Duante Smith. Yeah, even the idea that he's not a good red zone player is just, you know, I think he's probably a fine red zone player.
26:30He happens to play on a team that has Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley at the goal line.
26:36And that doesn't lead to a lot of short touchdowns for anybody.
26:40But I don't think like he's constitutionally incapable of catching those passes.
26:44Right. Exactly. I just it might be a quarterback that's constitutionally incapable of throwing those passes.
26:49But I don't think that's even the case either.
26:52I think he's going to be fine. I think he's going to be more than fine.
26:57I think he's going to be very good. I love having him this year.
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28:10Hungry route.com slash Harris. Use that code Harris. Okay, we are back with Jeff and we are counting down safe players for 2026.
28:17We're at my number four and I'm going round by round here.
28:21And so for the second round, I picked, well, another Eagles connection and Devante Smith's former teammate, running mate.
28:27I put AJ Brown here. I think something around 20 overall, you know, like mid to veering toward slightly late second round.
28:34I don't, you know, he's not coming in any kind of great discount.
28:39That's about where he goes. But I'm kind of trying to capture, you know, having done a lot of drafts by now,
28:46I'm kind of trying to capture the feeling of if I take the guy, do I, do I give a little sigh of relief like that felt okay?
28:55Or do I, do I go, oh man, you know, I'm, I have, I have indigestion now that I tried this and we'll see how it goes.
29:04Because you know that everybody knows that feeling, that feeling of trepidation of, of being like, well, I'm really, I'm, I'm trying to get away with something here.
29:13And that's not what I feel when I take AJ Brown is, does he have risk?
29:18I think it's the knee. I think that, you know, his knee that needed constant maintenance with the Eagles, that is certainly a potential problem.
29:26And maybe he's lost a step as a result.
29:29I don't know that I necessarily saw that. It wasn't a very creative Philadelphia offense last year.
29:35The Patriots will know what to do with him more, I think.
29:39And it's funny how going into camp, especially, you know, I'm so buried in the Patriots ecosystem and I, you know, no,
29:46no people around the team and whatever. Like there was a lot of noise about, oh, what a bad move.
29:52I can't believe you traded a future first rounder for him.
29:56And you know, he's, he might be washed. And then he got into camp and everyone shut up.
30:02He was awesome in camp. He was apparently like, they can't believe what they have.
30:07They're so excited. So I understand what could go wrong.
30:10And it's not like I'm lobbying for him to be the 13 pick or something, but right around 20, it has felt really good to get him.
30:19I wish I lived in leagues where he was around 20.
30:22That's my only objection to this at all. I've seen him go as high as eight.
30:28Um, you know, yeah. Uh, maybe, and there, there's a lot of excitement about, you know, Brown and may hooking up here.
30:35You know, this offense will have some really nice, you know, trick make and make any throw.
30:40I mean, that's, that's one of the things we're excited about there.
30:44I I'm, you know, his enthusiasm for being on the team was, you know, noted noted.
30:49Um, yeah, if you can get him at 20 click away, absolutely.
30:53A hundred percent. I, I, I've seen him go ahead of lamb and Jefferson though.
30:58I mean, I wouldn't do that. I would take both lamb and Jefferson over him.
31:03I don't think it's like outrageous, but I'm looking right now at the fantasy pros live ADP and it's 20.
31:10So that's a reminder that not everybody drafts in the NFFC and not everybody.
31:14Uh, you know, you got to get outside of your bubble every once in a while.
31:19I mean, that not just for your own draft purposes, but also for your advice.
31:24Uh, it's, it's good to know what everybody else is doing too.
31:28Yeah. NFFC is not, I mean, the, I'm surprised to hear that AJ Brown is a riser at NF NFC because like
31:35Jeremiah love is still probably going 10 and NFC like they tend to just, that's the wild swing, uh, league.
31:42And so it's funny because I think AJ Brown is kind of safe and I kind of agree that if you're going
31:49to elevate him, that might, I way would rather elevate AJ Brown than Jeremiah love.
31:54I can tell you that. But I, I personally think of NFFC as being the hipster, you know, Oh, you think you can take him early?
32:02I'm going to take him early. Ashton Gentry is the two pick, you know, like, like last year.
32:08Do I have that wrong about NF NFC? I think it's more, it's the hipster wide receiver, uh, league.
32:14Uh, the three receivers and a flex is, is one of the league structure is part of it there.
32:21Um, I, I, I, I've found the cost of doing business with the wide receivers is higher there than elsewhere.
32:27Hmm. Well, I mean, but in this case, you're telling me like, it's not a matter of every receiver going higher.
32:34It's that they're shuffling AJ Brown ahead of. Yeah.
32:37That's interesting. Uh, I don't think that's going to be reflected in most of the listener leagues who are, uh, people who
32:44are listening right now, who is your number three safe player you wanted to talk about?
32:49Okay. You might, you might not agree with me on this one here.
32:54This is the one where I expect to get the Harris lecture from, um, Dave Kluge and I were talking about this,
33:01like, Oh God, I better study before I do my Harris podcast.
33:05Uh, um, I'm going to go Deandre Swift here.
33:08I get him at the end of the fifth round, beginning of the six, almost all the time.
33:13Um, if I've gone with the receiver, heavy build, he's, uh, is there for me?
33:18I don't think he, I think, you know, rumors of his demise of his terribleness were overstated.
33:24I also think he's just a better fit in this bears offense in particular.
33:28Uh, he he's going to get around a thousand yards.
33:32He's going to get catches. I think he was, he's, he's a, he's a more efficient back last year.
33:38I don't, they didn't bring anybody else in. Um, I, I, I worry a little bit about whether the center switch is going to work out.
33:46At least drew Dahlman retired before the draft, as opposed to the year before when Frank Knapp rag now retired on the,
33:53in the lions in June, I think they had enough.
33:57They were able to do enough to kind of make sure that the interior offensive line is still going to be okay.
34:04I think it's a good offense. I think he's going to have a heavy role on it.
34:09I got no problem with this. I got no problem with you calling Swift safe personally.
34:15I mean, who cares if I did have a problem?
34:18You're allowed to have your opinion. I want to please the teacher here.
34:22I want to make, I want to make sure the teacher is happy with me.
34:27Not at all. I mean, I, I'm, I'm pleased to have, even if I disagree, I'm pleased to have the audience here.
34:34I wouldn't bring you on. Believe me, there are people I don't bring on there.
34:39They're, you know, I bring you on because I want people to hear your opinion.
34:44Um, I, I think also something that you didn't fall back on as an argument, but clearly can be argued is Kyle Manungai got hurt.
34:52I don't, I doubt he's ready. Like he's a high price.
34:56I agree with that. I doubt he's ready to start the season.
35:00There's, there's a little extra built in, uh, you might say runway for Swift to continue, you know, to own that, get
35:07a hot hand and own just a little bit more of nobody thinks it winds up being all his job.
35:13The entire year will well be on that with DeAndre Swift, but that's why you're getting him in the fifth round.
35:20Um, I, I will ask the question of you in a moment.
35:24I'll actually ask it. I'll ask it rhetorically first.
35:27Uh, you know, does Swift have any built in upside to be any kind of league winning player the way his boosters
35:34have been trying to tell us for five years or whatever?
35:38My argument would probably be no. And maybe that makes him, you know, you're comparing him to Cam Scadaboo and you go,
35:45yeah, one of those guys probably is going to make it through the season.
35:50And the other one, I have real doubts, but also the one who might not make it through the season could score
35:5715 touchdowns and out of nowhere, win me a league.
36:00And I, I, I would, I think you would agree that might not be Swift.
36:05I agree. Uh, ironically, I have Swift and Scadaboo back to back in my rankings.
36:10Me too. Me too. Yeah. So there you have it.
36:13But yeah, and that, and I think that's the thing is like when I'm drafting RB2, what type of player am I looking for?
36:21You know, or if, or if it's RB3, it's, if it's RB3, I might click on Scadaboo first.
36:27If it's RB2, I'm going to probably do Swift first.
36:30And I think, I don't think that has to be a hard and fast rule for people listening, but it's, it's very
36:37interesting to hear that insight into your thought. It's, it might just be which RB1 you got, you know, if it's Jonathan
36:44Taylor and you're, and you're like, you know, I like Jonathan Taylor, but every other year it gets hurt.
36:50And I feel like I'm shooting the moon a little bit.
36:54Maybe I'm more apt to take Swift. If it's Bajon Robinson and I'm like, that's pretty locked in, isn't it?
37:01Maybe it's not. But like, I feel like the only thing that's going to really derail him, I don't know what, I mean, he hasn't really gotten hurt.
37:10So maybe, maybe I'm more likely to say I'll go Scadaboo.
37:13I'll take, I'll shoot the moon. I'll try to, you know, those are the kinds of calculations, especially as you're, you're starting
37:20to nominate like slightly lower players in the ranks.
37:23You actually can think about as you're drafting. Exactly.
37:26Exactly. And you should be thinking, you should be thinking in that as a whole.
37:31Um, I think sometimes we get so locked in like on various other things.
37:36Sometimes during, even during our drafts, if you do a lot of drafts, you don't even think about the team context as much.
37:43And then you look up and you see, Oh, how did I put this all together?
37:48Whereas if it's, you know, I think you need to treat every league like it's your most important league, you know, as
37:56if it's your home league and I, you know, stay off your phone, just stay locked in and what, and your team build.
38:03I think most of the people listening do. I think you're thinking of us.
38:08Yeah, I might be, I might, and it might be self-referential.
38:11Yeah, yeah, we do. We do so many drafts and we have to do so many.
38:17I have three slow drafts going on as we speak.
38:20I, uh, but I hear what you're saying. Um, I think, uh, what was I going to say in relation to the, to the habits of people?
38:29Oh, you know, um, one thing just kind of almost apropos.
38:32So if nothing, but we're talking about roster construction, it just occurs to me because I did an AMA as I'm sure
38:39you have on, on the fantasy football subreddit last week, the week before.
38:44I can't remember. I guess it was last week.
38:47Um, and so many questions. And I don't think that many of them were from listeners to the show, but so, you
38:54know, there's 200 questions in there within a half an hour.
38:57And so many of them are, okay, so I'm going to go running back in the first round.
39:03Should I go wide receiver, wide receiver in the second and third, or should I go running back, wide receiver, tight end in the fourth?
39:11And of course, everybody knows who listens to the show, what my response is always going to be.
39:17It's some variation on my bumper sticker of draft players, not positions.
39:21And you should, you should go in with a draft board and you should do your best to stick to it.
39:28Only when you get further down, you know, round four, round five, that's where you go, okay, let me see what I've wrought by picking the best available.
39:37And now let's now fine. We can start elevating guys at positions and trying to build a full roster.
39:43And the reason I bring it up is because part of that is also not just positions, but like risk profile.
39:50And, and as you say, like if you, if you look at, if you behold what you've done after four rounds and
39:57you go, Oh, I have truly built a risk monster here.
40:01I'm in trouble. You know, I need to smooth it out.
40:04That's good information to have. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And I couldn't be more in lockstep with you on the lack of preordained positions early.
40:12I really think that you're doing yourself a disservice if you're not willing to be able to zig a little bit there
40:19when the, when the draft, especially when the draft provides you, when you have those people that take Jeremiah love in the
40:27first round or, you know, something of that nature, when they present that opportunity to you for that player that falls, be ready to pluck it.
40:35Yeah. And, and, you know, I get a lot of emails like, Hey, you never talk about the first round.
40:42Can you talk about what to do in the first round?
40:45And my answer is I really, for me, myself, I follow my own ranks.
40:50Like I don't mess around. I don't try to game it.
40:53I take the best player that I think that I could take and I don't worry about the position.
40:59And I just, I know I can make it work.
41:03And the draft is 50% anyway of, of your team throughout the year.
41:07Cause you're going to make trades and you're going to do waivers and you have a lot of control to fix things.
41:14So yeah, I, I don't, that subject, I don't even have that much to say on.
41:19All right. My number three of the relatively safe players.
41:23I put Travis Etienne on the list. I looked at him.
41:26Um, end of the third round. And it's another one where he, you know, let's just pretend that 2024 never happened.
41:33And this guy's had a great career and maybe we'll wind up chalking up two years ago to injury because he was very, very good.
41:41I thought that he was the Jags best offensive player last year.
41:45Um, side note that I think the Jags lost their best offensive player and their best defensive player from last year.
41:52I'm sure nothing bad can happen, uh, about the fact that Travis Etienne and Devin Lloyd play other places now.
41:58Um, and so he's good and I trust Kellen Moore to know what to do with him.
42:04And Alvin Kamara is also hurt. So I'm going to make the Deandre Swift safety at little extra runway kind of injury.
42:11I think Etienne has that extra runway as well.
42:14So it has been a comfort to be getting him like late third, early fourth.
42:19Yeah, absolutely. Uh, and the fact that, uh, you know, Alvin Kamara is hurt.
42:24Like you alluded to, uh, Devin Neal is next in line.
42:27There's not really any threat. Um, everybody expects better things out of the saints going into this year.
42:33We'll see about that. But, uh, I was at least moderately impressed with Tyler Shuck, uh, that he's not going to sink the ship.
42:41So yeah, I think Etienne's, uh, going to be someone that I will be rostering as well.
42:46Multiple times. How about your number two? All right.
42:49This is another one of those. Hear me out here.
42:53A sort of situations there. I'm going Harold Fannin.
42:56I like Harold Fannin's skillset. The fact that he was able to produce what he did with three different terrible quarterbacks last
43:03year makes me not that scared of the chaos that happened this week here with, uh, just Sean Watson being named the starter to start the year.
43:11I think we'll see three different quarterbacks this year for the Cleveland Browns.
43:16Probably four. Who knows? Um, I just think Harold fans very good at football.
43:20I think he, they will continue to find ways to get him the ball.
43:25Uh, I, I, I love, even though I like Casey.
43:28I like Denzel Boston. I'm not really scared about the volume because I think Fannin still is that glue guy that gets off.
43:36Yeah. It's going to get red zone looks. He's going to get creative ways to keep finding him the ball because they
43:43found him the ball before last year. I, I, I knew, new, new, new, new offense still doesn't scare me.
43:49New coordinator still doesn't scare me. I think Fannin's just very good.
43:53You get them. You don't have to pay a premium tight end price to get them.
43:58Same group as Laporta, Warren, Loveland. Yes. And therefore I'm still probably not taking him because usually I wait, but sometimes if
44:06I'm in a draft where again, like I'm just paying attention to my own board.
44:10And if I get to the point where that group is starting to go and that they're my best available, I'll do it.
44:18I don't have to wait. Like I'll take at the right price.
44:22I'll take the right player. You know, I'll take the player.
44:25I've gotten Laporta of that group. I've gotten Laporta the most.
44:29He feels like of that four people are the most afraid of him.
44:33And I get it because, you know, so like if you were going to compare Laporta's safety to Fannin's safety, I think
44:40you'd say Fannin feels safer because Laporta missed the second half of last year with injury and then, you know, has a hip thing or whatever.
44:49And we don't, we won't really know until we know.
44:52So I kind of agree. Of that group, Laporta, Warren, Loveland, Fannin.
44:56I don't know if I, I don't know my own answer to this question.
45:01Do you find Fannin to have the lowest ceiling of those four guys?
45:05I do, but I also find it significantly lower price.
45:08And I think that that's like, I think Loveland's got easily the highest ceiling of those guys.
45:14But I think Laporta does, to be honest. That's fair.
45:17That's fair. Yeah. And I might be playing the recency bias game and that's dangerous.
45:22But I see, and I probably, I elevate Loveland in my rankings above those guys.
45:27I found though that like sometimes you can get Fannin as the tight end 10, even though, and I think he belongs to be like tight end six.
45:36And I just, I like that combination of ability and price.
45:39So that's where I kind of, I wanted to dig a little later on a couple of my safer guys.
45:46And that this is, this is one of the reasons I wanted to highlight him too.
45:51But yeah, I looked at Laporta on this list.
45:54I think if he had not gotten the little hip thing in practice, I might've said Laporta instead, you know, you know,
46:01because of an existing injury, I always worry about that.
46:05You know, as injuries do find us, you know, playing injury optimism is a dangerous game.
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47:30We're back with Jeff and we are talking through our safe players for 2026.
47:35We're at my number two and I kept going with the round-by-round thing.
47:39So I have a fourth rounder for you, Jeff.
47:42And I put Lad McConkie on the list. Feels like a little bit of a...
47:47Like I can just take a deep breath and fresh air with Lad McConkie going like 45 overall as opposed to 25 overall.
47:54Or I think it was higher than that. I think it was like 18 overall last year or something.
48:01Just... I don't think he was ever really that guy.
48:04Maybe that'll be wrong. Again, it's so hard to do charger analysis because it was all fruit of a poisonous tree.
48:11It just became an unworkable pass-blocking situation. And so...
48:14Yep. Hard to even know who to blame. We've said it a million times.
48:18So I'm gonna yada yada last year's results a little bit with Lad McConkie.
48:23I think he's a really, really nice player. I probably don't think he's an alpha.
48:28I think he's... You know, if he's the best receiver on your team, are you a great team?
48:34I think maybe not. And so therefore, he is maybe the best receiver on the team.
48:39But I find the floor to be very, very believable.
48:42I don't think it'll be... The floor will be weekly as bad as it was last year because I gotta believe they've worked out.
48:50It's like when you see how bad you can turn your own situation into with injuries and your own bad moves, building a roster.
48:58I have to believe that scares you straight and you're not gonna go through it again, even if Rashawn Slater isn't healthy or whatever.
49:05So I believe in McConkie's weekly floor among the other receivers you can get in the fourth-ish round.
49:11And I agree that maybe he doesn't quite have the ceiling of some of those guys.
49:17But again, that's not the list. So McConkie's on mine.
49:20My only objection is the offensive line is already creeping up as an issue.
49:24You know, Biotic is out for the year. Slater, you know, is limited in practice.
49:29Go Cats. But I'm a Northwestern guy, so I'm still rooting for Slater.
49:33But, you know, I am concerned that we're at this point and they're still saying he's going to be limited for a while.
49:41How is that translating the games? I mean, I think there was a before and after Joe Alt issue last year.
49:48So I think they were living until Alt got hurt last year.
49:52And when Alt got hurt, that was the straw that broke the camel's back.
49:56I thought that was the big one last year.
49:59So we'll see what that means this year. New offensive coordinator, obviously, Mike McDaniel.
50:04You know, I the absence of Keenan Allen makes me want Lad more for sure in terms of just pure targets.
50:11I think I agree with pretty much your characterization of his skill set for sure.
50:16And I think if you're getting him in the fourth round, especially because in leagues we're pushing, they're pushing up wide receivers.
50:23And I've still seen Lad get there. Then I like that.
50:26Yeah, I, again, I have to believe when you, you know, put truth serum in the charger management and they would admit
50:33they did not properly plan for the eventuality of disaster.
50:37It's hard to plan for losing both your tackles, but they just, they threw really rough names at it.
50:43So I have to believe they have a plan.
50:46And because you can't go through that again. All right, we are at your number one safe player.
50:52All right. What's a bad Dak Prescott season look like?
50:55If you're playing the weight on the quarterback's game and I always, always am.
51:00Dak's there for me. He is the money in the banana stand.
51:03You're getting 30 touchdowns. You're getting 4,000 yards and you're getting, you know, are there, are there injured seasons?
51:10Sure. Everybody has an injured season. I don't think he's especially injury prone.
51:14He's not going to be putting himself out there running a ton.
51:18I'm not really, you know, I'm not, I'm not getting running upside, but I don't want running upside necessarily.
51:24If I get it, it's fine. But, you know, I, I, he's always there for me and he's always the guy I
51:31can get if I'm waiting on quarterbacks, allowing me to build strength at other positions.
51:36Yeah. Yeah. He's my, what QB nine. Yeah. I'm sorry.
51:39I was looking at my own ranks. QB nine.
51:42I've gotten them a fair amount. Absolutely. The only reason I don't get them is because I get Stafford.
51:48I have staffed ahead of him, but you know, I would characterize Dak as probably being maybe a little safer than Stafford
51:56just because Stafford has a disc in his back that you always worry will turn, will turn wrong.
52:01Um, you know, the real life player Dak always has something go wrong.
52:06Always has the dagger. He is, he seems like a nice man and you know, I sort of want, I root for
52:13him, like want good things to happen. We don't really know these players, but you know, it just seems like a blood
52:20and guts, good teammates, supportive type player. And it can feel like things are just rolling so well for the Cowboys and
52:27he can look great for three quarters. But when you need that throw, oh, there's just always something with the Cowboys and with Dak.
52:35It's also incredible that he's 33. Not that that's a reason to doubt him.
52:40It's his prime, but it just seems like, wait, isn't he 28?
52:44Sure. He must be 20. No, he's been the starting quarterback for 10 years.
52:48Um, and as long as we're not playing in a second round of the playoffs league, I think we're okay with that.
52:55Yeah. You're, you're, you know what you're getting with that.
52:58Absolutely. Um, again, my number one just results in being, you know, I just went rounds one through five and actually my
53:06number one goes a little later than around five.
53:09But I looked at the group and I went, oh, I think I need to put a word in for Jalen Warren.
53:16Someone I just feel, I definitely recognize it's a split backfield, but the listeners hear me say it every single day.
53:23Tell me this non-split backfields. I'll wait. You know, it's, there might be three.
53:27There might be four. They're all split backfields. So what do you think of the player?
53:32And we've talked about Jalen Warren on Film Room Heroes.
53:36We talked about him a couple of times last week.
53:39Like he's, he's very good player and probably could handle a bigger workload, but the Steelers have always paired him with a bigger back.
53:47And Rico Dowdle has paired with him now. And I understand there are going to be weeks where you're going to be frustrated.
53:54Guess what? That's why you get him in the sixth round.
53:58And I would take him probably in the fifth.
54:01He goes live, live ADP 64 overall right now.
54:04Um, a very safe flex. So I have felt very good when I've built rosters and Warren is my flex.
54:10I like that. I like that a lot. The Steelers are the safe team.
54:15You know, they're, they're nobody's buzzy team. And I get it.
54:18I get it. Cause Hey, nine and eight, 10 and seven, et cetera.
54:23Rogers back again, all that. And I, it has a depressed effect for Warren.
54:27It has it for DK Metcalf. Same thing. Uh, these are guys that no one is excited to get, but they're solid.
54:34They're building blocks. Yeah. I, you know, I almost want to have a separate conversation with you about Metcalf.
54:41Cause I, I find Warren pretty safe and Metcalf and Pittman.
54:44I'm looking for reasons not to draft. And it's, it's definitely Rogers related, but it can work.
54:50I mean, it can work. It can work with, with the occasional downfield shot.
54:54And both of those guys can make plays and then it can work with a million little cowardly third and eight, six yard passes.
55:02Like it, it can work. It, I don't know.
55:05Am I wrong in feeling like, especially Metcalf, probably more than Pittman because Metcalf, we all know, like has it in him to be a downfield player.
55:14And he made plays downfield last year, but like they're just so few and far between.
55:19Am I wrong to think that Metcalf kind of embodies the two qualities I don't want, which is on the one hand,
55:26uh, I feel like the ceiling now is a little in question despite the player.
55:31And then I think the floor really stinks. Like I think low, low ceiling, low floor.
55:36That's not a player I want to draft. Am I, do you get Metcalf at all?
55:41I, it's the, uh, I guess I'll take Metcalf pick is what I'm getting.
55:46Um, I, I still think there's a ceiling. I just don't know if he realizes it with, with Rogers.
55:52Right. Well, that's what I mean. I mean, I'm talking about this year.
55:56Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I mean, there's still a scenario where Rogers doesn't finish the season and Metcalf actually is better because of it.
56:04Um, I, it's possible. I, you know, he still can take that three yard slant, 60 yards.
56:10That's still there. Um, that, that ability to do that.
56:13Um, there's also the sulk on the sideline and wonder why is, uh, why he's not getting more action guy also, um, that, that also exists too.
56:22So yeah, you're right. And I just think that, yeah, it's just a team context dragging the whole thing down with a lot of these players.
56:30And I think Warren gets trapped in that too.
56:33I think nobody's excited to draft Steelers unless you're a Steelers fan.
56:37Uh, it just, it's, it's more of the same.
56:40I, you know, it's a different head coach, but it's still, Hey, this is the best we can do right now without doing radical changes.
56:48We, they just don't want to do radical changes.
56:51Yeah. I, I feel way better about Warren. Um, and you know, Metcalf goes in like the seventh round.
56:57So what am I complaining about? You're not even drafting to be a starter, but I just, I have not taken them.
57:05I have not taken them once done a lot of drafts, hasn't wound up on a single team.
57:10And it's not like people are aggressive around me.
57:13It's not like there's that one person who goes, ah, I got Metcalf.
57:18You know, everybody, I'm sure everybody who takes them has the same feeling of you.
57:23Like, I guess this is the Metcalf round. I'll take them for my bench guy.
57:27Um, I haven't done it yet. All right. Well, this was fun.
57:31An excuse to talk about more players. I was interested in your opinion and I feel like I learned something.
57:38You can find Jeff all over social media. Just look up Jeff Erickson.
57:42You can find rotowire.com where Jeff has been for approximately 73 years.
57:46You can get 35% off at rotowire.com if you use the code Jeff35.
57:50You know, uh, we did our La Liga Lebowski veteran auction last Thursday aboard the yacht and it turned into a poker game without you.
57:58Oh, I know. Oh no. Oh man. But oh yeah, that's good.
58:02Sounds awesome. Sounds like so much fun. It was not nice.
58:06I'm sorry about that. We couldn't, you live too far.
58:09Like we couldn't be like, hey, we're finishing an auction.
58:12Come on over. Like, you know, it was just, you'd have been like, cool, I'll be there an hour and a half.
58:20Uh, but yeah, we, we, we, we missed you.
58:22We love you at that game. So we'll do it again soon.
58:26Thank you for coming on the show. I really appreciate it.
58:30Anytime. And thank you so much for listening. Let me thank the three sponsors that made today's show possible.
58:36If you were interested in what I had to say about them, it's wonderful if you use the codes.
58:42We had Viore for some clothing that I modeled for some fine Portlanders on Monday night.
58:48We had Hungry Root, which I can't wait to get back to in LA.
58:52And also DraftKings, who have the big September 2nd event coming.
58:56Again, you can find information about today's sponsors in the show notes.
59:00And all the current sponsors are listed at HarrisFootball.com.
59:03I'm getting to come out and, you know, meet everybody here in, in the meetups.
59:07It's overwhelming how many people say, oh yeah, I support the sponsors here and there when I can.
59:13It's so nice. You take ownership of the show.
59:16It makes the whole thing keep going. I appreciate you very, very much.
59:20Let's do a bribery drawing winner for Pound Foolish.
59:23It is a random number generator, which I then find the entry.
59:27The winner of today's prize, which is, we're calling it like a cameo.
59:32I've already done one of these. It was really fun.
59:35I'll do it again. It's not on cameo. I'm obviously not charging for this.
59:39But the idea is basically, I'll make a video, whatever you want for your league, for someone in your league to talk
59:47trash before your draft, after your draft, whatever. The winner is Peter Ferguson.
59:51Congratulations, Peter of Toronto. And I'm happy to do it.
59:54I'll send you an email. We'll work out what you would like to be said.
59:59And I can do some improv and not great at it, but we'll figure it out.
60:04And so again, if you'd like to be bribed, if you'd like to be entered, preorder Pound Foolish.
60:10You can find the details in today's show notes or at harrisfootball.com.
60:14You'll also get pre-entered if you currently just don't have the means to get a book.
60:19Let me know. We have people who will get you a book.
60:23And then you get entered. So there's really no reason not to do it if you like the show.
60:29So hit me up, heyharris, at harrisfootball.com. That will do it for this Tuesday episode.
60:34Coming up on Wednesday will be the Yacht Club.
60:37I will be in Las Vegas having done a Vegas event this evening at 7 p.m.
60:42at the Fandom Bar in the Arts District of Las Vegas.
60:46Very hot Las Vegas. It'll be the next morning.
60:49It'll be Yacht Club with Andy Behrens. We're going to do Dynasty Ups and Downs from the summer, from the spring and the summer.
60:57We're going to nominate guys who we feel like their Dynasty fortunes have changed, the long-term outlooks, you might say.
61:03So that'll be a good one. And then we'll all meet back here on Thursday for the beginning of the Super Deep Sleepers.
61:11To help me with that list will be Jake Seeley from The Athletic.
61:15If you're in Vegas or the outlying areas, come on by this evening.
61:19It'll be great. If you're in the Phoenix area on Wednesday, plan on coming by.
61:24Again, 7 p.m. also for that one. I know it's weird.
61:28All I can tell you is it's fun. And when people come by themselves and they feel apprehensive, they get a handshake and we take pictures.
61:36And it's really nice. Both of the two nights now, Sunday and Monday, people have started leagues with the people who have shown up.
61:44Like, it's really nice. You'll have a good time.
61:47So if you want to come by, please do show up.
61:50Until then, thanks again so much for listening. Your hat is awesome.
61:54You're awesome for wearing it. I will talk to you next time.
61:58The Harris Football Podcast's opening theme is Under the Gun by Apex Manor.
62:02The closing theme is Say Yes by The Wellspring.
62:05Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and never miss an episode.

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