Matt Waldman artwork

Feel It or F--It 8.17.26 with Lex Luthor and Matt Waldman

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

47 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Aug 24, 2026
Published
Mon, August 24, 2026
25
Player insights
25
Players mentioned
Topics
Antonio WilliamsBo NixBraelon AllenCeeDee LambChase BrownChristian WatsonDavid MontgomeryDe'Von AchaneDerrick HenryDevin SingletaryEvan EngramGeorge PickensJadarian PriceJonathon Brooks
Player analysis

Player insights

25

Antonio Williams

NegativeUsage37:51

Despite an impressive start to training camp, Matt Waldman believes Antonio Williams is unlikely to be a main factor in the passing game this year due to the arrival of Stefon Diggs and the team's shift toward two-tight-end sets.

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Bo Nix

PositiveValue25:42

Bo Nix is considered an underrated quarterback and is a target in fantasy drafts due to the potential of the Denver passing offense. Lex Luthor explicitly identifies him as a player he is targeting in drafts.

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Braelon Allen

PositiveValue31:54

Matt Waldman is not against drafting Braelon Allen near his current ADP (RB25-26), noting that at that price, you are paying for the potential of a future role rather than a guaranteed role that does not currently exist.

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CeeDee Lamb

PositiveProjection34:12

Matt Waldman maintains a 'feel it' stance on CeeDee Lamb, arguing he remains the superior receiver in Dallas over George Pickens. Waldman highlights Lamb's versatility, superior ball-winning ability along the boundary, technical route running, and elite performance on intermediate crossing patterns.

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Chase Brown

PositiveValue12:22

Chase Brown is highlighted as a safer and more reliable draft target compared to players currently involved in uncertain or unclear backfield committees.

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Christian Watson

NegativeInjury26:48

Christian Watson previously utilized the Edwards Institute for hamstring injury recovery, serving as a historical reference point for Marshon Lloyd's current rehab process.

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David Montgomery

PositiveValue33:46

David Montgomery is recommended by Matt Waldman as part of a balanced draft strategy, serving as a reliable running back option to pair with other targets like Derrick Henry and Jonathan Brooks.

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De'Von Achane

NegativeValue12:22

Devon Achane is recommended as a preferred draft target for managers looking to avoid murky or high-risk backfield situations, particularly if selected before the 10th round.

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Derrick Henry

PositiveValue33:46

Matt Waldman suggests a roster construction strategy where drafters can secure Derrick Henry as a foundational piece, allowing for a balanced approach that incorporates other running backs like David Montgomery and Jonathan Brooks alongside quality wide receivers.

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Devin Singletary

NegativeDepth Chart37:24

Devin Singletary is currently positioned ahead of Tyrone Tracy Jr. on the depth chart.

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Evan Engram

PositiveUsage26:01

Evan Engram is being utilized more frequently for winning targets downfield in his second year with the team, suggesting an expanded role despite his age.

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George Pickens

NegativeProjection34:29

Matt Waldman acknowledges George Pickens's role in the Dallas offense but argues that while he is a big-bodied receiver who can make clean catches, he lacks the technical soundness and ball-winning nuance that CeeDee Lamb possesses.

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Jadarian Price

PositiveValue31:54

Matt Waldman is not against drafting Jadarian Price near his current ADP (RB25-26), noting that at that price, you are paying for the potential of a future role rather than a guaranteed role that does not currently exist.

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Jonathon Brooks

PositiveProjection32:40

Matt Waldman views Jonathan Brooks as a special talent with high-level field vision comparable to Curtis Martin or Terrell Davis. Despite concerns regarding his history of two torn ACLs, Waldman remains optimistic about his upside and views him as a viable third running back in a balanced draft strategy, citing Frank Gore's career as evidence that multiple ACL tears do not necessarily impact long-term performance.

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Justin Herbert

NegativeProjection33:48

Due to concerns regarding the interior offensive line and potential mismanagement of a three-way running back committee, Matt Waldman suggests slightly lowering expectations for Justin Herbert's statistical output.

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Kenneth Gainwell

PositiveUsage23:18

Kenneth Gainwell is likely the 1A running back; the team is actively protecting him during the preseason while Bucky Irving receives the workload, which Matt Waldman notes is a clear indicator of his status on the depth chart.

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Michael Wilson

PositiveValue34:01

Matt Waldman identifies Michael Wilson as a target to pursue after round five, fitting into a draft strategy that prioritizes building depth at running back early.

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Mike Washington Jr.

PositiveValue4:47

Mike Washington has surged in high-stakes draft ADP, reaching the fourth round in some formats due to expectations he will force a permanent backfield split with the injured Ashton Genty. Lex Luthor notes Washington offers significant value if drafted in the 12th round or later as a viable early-season starter, though he cautions that Washington lacks Genty's starter-level vision and talent. Luthor describes some of Washington's preseason success as aided by large holes or accidental space-finding rather than elite skill, and suggests the team may look to add veterans like James Conner to work in combination with him.

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Najee Harris

NegativeInjury35:38

There are significant concerns regarding Najee Harris's health and his ability to return to form while recovering from an Achilles injury.

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Omarion Hampton

PositiveValue12:22

Omarian Hampton is identified as a viable alternative draft target for fantasy managers attempting to navigate around risky or unclear backfield situations.

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Rachaad White

NegativeValue23:46

Rachaad White and Bucky Irving are evening out in fantasy value, though Matt Waldman still ranks White slightly ahead. Waldman also suggests White as a safer, lower-risk draft option compared to Jonathan Brooks for those looking to avoid zeros in their starting lineup.

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Sincere McCormick

PositiveSleeper35:49

Matt Waldman advocates for Sincere McCormick as a valuable depth chart player for the 49ers, praising his intelligence as a runner. Waldman identifies McCormick as a 'smart runner' who possesses the mental processing and decision-making skills that distinguish him from 'dumb runners' who rely solely on speed.

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Stefon Diggs

NegativeDepth Chart39:26

Lex Luthor notes that Stefon Diggs' arrival has negatively impacted the opportunities for other players on the roster to build roles, effectively blocking them from potential targets.

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Travis Hunter

NegativeProjection40:14

Matt Waldman advises against drafting Travis Hunter in redraft leagues, viewing him as a long-term project rather than an immediate fantasy asset. His usage is expected to be heavily focused on defense, and he faces challenges with Trevor Lawrence's deep-ball accuracy and stiff competition for middle-of-the-field targets.

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Tyjae Spears

PositiveValue32:23

Lex Luthor and Matt Waldman view Tyjae Spears as a draft target in the RB25-26 range, noting that drafting him at this price point is a sound strategy because you are paying for potential upside rather than an established role that does not yet exist.

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Full transcript

Episode Transcript

457
0:02Good morning, Matt Walman. Good morning, people. Good morning, everyone. I'm Bob Harris. He is Matt Waldman. This is the
0:08Feel It [ __ ] podcast. The thing you've been waiting all week for is now here. And God, aren't you lucky, Matt,
0:14how we doing this week? Another round of preseason games in the books. We have some tidbits of news here or there.
0:20Seeing some shifting narratives in some cases. All kinds of stuff going on. How goes the uh the toiling?
0:27The toiling is good. We just sent out an update for the on the 23rd for the uh
0:32RSP Dynasty rankings and projection service. You pay $24.95. You get projections for every player
0:39that I think's going to be on a roster who has potential fantasy impact and it's divided up by every roster. Um, and
0:46then you also get um projected points with that um that you can take a look at on the Excel sheet that this is all
0:52contained on and win now and um long build dynasty rankings in tiered cheat
1:00sheet form as well as with a linear format with some commentary. Commentary wasn't updated since June um except with
1:08some minor exceptions, but I've added some players, taken some players out. I'm showing you changes in terms of
1:15who's risen or fallen significantly in my rankings since June and even since
1:21last um update in August. You can you get this multiple times a year. So people [clears throat] got got email
1:27access to this if you buy this if you decide that hey that sounds like a good idea. I'm going to get this. um you will
1:33pay for it and then at the end of the evening of the day that you bought it um
1:40I will email you instructions on how to access it's a paragraph long. You click
1:46a link, you put in a copy and paste a password in into the site where the link
1:51takes you and you're going to be able to download the document. That's just how it works for right now. Um and you know
1:59that's that's the basics with it. So, that's what we're doing there. But Bob, I mean, you you were in Las Vegas this
2:06weekend, I saw. And you were what were you drinking? Electrolytes over there. I mean, what's going on? I was drinking a lot of electrolytes
2:11over there. That is a that is a fact. Uh had a blast. Uh wrote in my my one of my
2:17uh So, everyone out there probably knows Richard Christie from the Howard Stern Show. Um, I don't know him from the
2:23Howard Stern Show because I've never seen or heard that show, but I know Richard from his days as a amazing death
2:30metal drummer. Uh, back in the late 1990s, early 2000s, uh, he was with a
2:36band called Death, uh, joyous conglomeration of amazing musicians.
2:42Chuck Schel Diner, uh, the late Chuck Scheliner, a true innovator in the field
2:47of heavy metal music, technical death metal, and Richard was just dominant, filled big shoes in that band of Gene
2:52Hogland and and Sean Reiner. And so, uh, just an amazing guy and and super nice
2:58guy and super into the fantasy football. Uh, had a blast. Hobnobbed with, uh,
3:03with, uh, with tons of fans, tons of analysts. Uh, had a good time. drafted with Dean Kane who played Superman. Got
3:10him to put me got the photo of a strangle hold with me being less Lex Luthther just for tribute for Matt. So
3:15I'll have to send that along. Um uh James Rode Rodriguez. Did he agree with me? Did he agree with
3:21you? He did. He totally agreed with you. James Rode Rodriguez drafted in his sack cancer draft with Dean Kane. Uh he's
3:28super nice guy from Psych. Uh Thomas Ever Scott, everyone in the fantasy community knows he loves to play. super
3:33nice guy and got to got to uh got to have a it was a blast drafting with all these folks and just doing some radio
3:39with Howard Bender there. That was fantastic. So, yeah, a really good time. But now I'm five days behind because I left three days. So,
3:45and now you got to be back here talking to me. Now I got to be back here talking to you. But we do have things to talk
3:50about. We do, right? There were some developments and we'll we'll kind of spin off some of those. Mike Washington uh for the Las
3:57Vegas Raiders suddenly very popular. If you are playing in high stakes leagues or in real time drafts, you saw some
4:05amazing things happen like Ashton Genty who suffered an ankle sprain. The initial reports were a leg injury that
4:12he could not put any weight on. Teammates sang prayers quietly as he left the field. Uh and his ADP
4:19plummeted. He probably fell outside the probably round eight range. I know Sigma Bloom fought seven or eight. Um, and
4:26Mike Washington jumped up into that same range and a little higher. I believe in one uh high stakes baseball that I heard
4:33about. He went in the fourth round. Mike Washington. Well, subsequent to that, we've heard it's an ankle sprain.
4:40Probably a high sprain. We're guessing Adam Hutchson at football guys thinks it could be, you know, minimum of four, but
4:45could be as long as seven weeks out. So, give him a little additional opportunity. Is there any chance Mike
4:50Washington overtakes Ashton Genty this year? Um, no. But I think that there's [clears throat] it's a nonzero chance.
4:57Um, but I think there's a significant chance that he forces a split that does
5:02not get unsplit. Um, you know, and I think that that's mainly because Genty
5:08probably won't be right all year. Um there's and if Washington plays well,
5:14they may feel like that they have a thunder and lightning back field with two guys who have um you know good open
5:22field ability um and that they can they can mix and match. That's probably what might
5:28happen. Um kind of a you know a Jonathan Stewart D'Angelo Williamsesque type of
5:36scenario is what they're hoping for. But Mike's gonna have to hold on to the football. And Mike's and when I've
5:43watched the runs this year, he had that nice run in the first preseason game, but it was a big hole. I wouldn't say
5:50that the vision there was um subtly spectacular in the way that you
5:57need to see that to say, "Oh, that's starter level skill." And then he had
6:02one of those Steve Sllayton runs that I call it that people get all excited about where you run into the back of
6:08somebody and then nobody knows where you are. They lost track of where you are. He doesn't really know where he is and
6:15then he slides to open space and squirts through and people say, "Oh, that was such a great run." It was, but it wasn't
6:22conceptually a great run. So, I mean, I'm not saying that he was bad. I'm just not saying that that run is worthy of
6:29taking him in the fourth round of a of a of a draft, but I understand why people
6:35went to that went to those realms, especially in high stakes where you're going to take a gamble, you know.
6:41Yeah. when you're drafting these drafts, you're seeing real-time fluctuations in ADP and kind of trend setting
6:47fluctuations and often incorrect uh corrections because like
6:52these hills the [laughter] the immediate the immediate news uh is leaves it wide
6:57open. I mean it was entirely possible based on the initial reporting that Dash and Jetty was going to miss the season.
7:03Hell, it still may be. I don't think that's the outcome. People I do think it's an [clears throat] ankle sprain. They say they don't expect him to miss
7:10the whole year, but we'll get official confirmation after he has all the imaging and stuff and and it's wise to wait for that. But I think saying for
7:16right now that he's going to miss a month or more, perhaps up to two months, but but does that move him down into the
7:22Jeremiah Love range for you? Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I mean, I think that you're looking at I think he should
7:29probably be he's not going to be this, but I think he should probably be like a seventh or eighth round pick as Bloom
7:35said. I think that that's probably the right spot for him. I think they're going to be people who take him between
7:40rounds four and six and I think they're overpaying mainly because with an ankle sprain it's kind of dicey. It's one of
7:47those deals where you know I remember looking at somebody like Rody White way back in the day on a high ankle sprain
7:54and it's like he came back within a month but he couldn't really play. Um, and you I I think with a running back,
8:01it's going to bleed longer before he gets back on the field and then he's never going to feel completely right.
8:07Um, so it'll be heavily taped, it'll bother him, um, that kind of scenario.
8:14So, we're unless he doesn't come back until like week seven or week eight. Um,
8:21and he's completely healthy and Mike Washington got dinged or something like that, we're, you know, then he might be
8:29that end of the year guy. And you're going to hear I can just hear Sigman saying this and I'm saying this with all
8:34the love in my heart, but I can I've heard this a million times, which is he's that guy that could change your
8:42league after the after the halfway point of the season. That's why you would be drafting him. So, if you can get him at
8:48this space, he's going to be he's he could be a league winner for you. I would say with that team,
8:54right, coming in at in week eight and if that line just gets a little bit banged up,
8:59um it's he could definitely be helpful to you, but I don't think you're going to want to be um going all in on waiting
9:06halfway through the season to, you know, to wait for that supercharger to kick in because it may not. Yeah,
9:13I do think like if you were fortunate enough to draft Mike Washington in the 12th round or
9:19later, you know, early on in the process, if you've been drafting with me out there since February, there there's
9:25a lot of value to me. You probably suddenly have a a viable start early in the season. But as my friend
9:32Vinnie Bonsor, who writes now for the California Post, longtime Raiders coverage guy, says, uh, this just in,
9:38Mike Washington is not Ashton Genty. uh and the possibility of them adding a
9:43piece. There's James Connor has been mentioned. Uh you know, something that kind of would help hold them over and
9:49work in combination with Mike Washington. That's been suggested. So, we'll wait and see. I mean, you know, I
9:55think the I think the rankings will kind of level themselves out. I think Matt's perception of that is is pretty pretty
10:00on point. But, uh yeah, you know, this is the classic example of getting caught up in the moment when we're in this part
10:07of the year. And I think we just outlined there's some merit to that. There's some value
10:13to being caught up in the moment, but also like I was in a uh I was in a in a draft two drafts yesterday ongoing. Uh
10:22one draft the news broke right before I picked. I got Mike Washington. Many curses came my way from the group text.
10:30Uh, in another draft, I had drafted about five minutes before and uh, got Rashad White and there was Pat Thorman
10:37sitting behind me landing the bonus Mike Washington play. So, these things are,
10:42you know, these things play out and if you're out there drafting a lot, you'll see the issues. Uh, just Yeah, just one quick thing. My
10:48advice on this, Bob, would be this is when you have a player go get hurt like
10:54this and and the situation looks murky and you don't know what's going on, just take that back field off the board
11:00unless you're unless you're after round 10. If if you if you're playing in a single draft, right? If you're playing
11:07and you're in the draft that matters most to you or one of your most important leagues,
11:13swerve. [laughter] You don't have to drive through every pothole, right? There's
11:18plenty of room where you were drafting Ashton Genty. You could easily take a Devon Aan,
11:24Chase Brown, Omarian Hampton, you know, any number of players. I love the driving analogy, too, Bob.
11:30This is I am a driver now. I'm an excellent driver. Everyone knows this. Uh, in a related note here, uh, Fernando Mendoza,
11:37uh, he'll start more than 12 games this season. Feel it or [ __ ] it? I'm going to say feel it. I think that
11:43the fact that I think that there's your hatred of Kirk Cousins knows no bounds. Yeah, that's probably it. I think I ran
11:49him over. Um, [laughter] and then back to over twice. Um, but I
11:55still didn't get him. Um, which tells me how bad of a driver I must be. True. Cuz he ain't very mobile. know how to
12:01swerve. Yeah, I don't know. [laughter] But uh I'm trying to hit him and I can't hit him and he's not that adept in the
12:08pocket anymore with that Achilles. But I think that probably that's the thing is that I I think Kurt is a very good
12:14signal caller, very good tactician um or kind of strategic guy in the game, but
12:19his tactical skills at this point are are um kind of waning. And I think that
12:25there is talk, we've seen that that Mendo that that the coaching staff
12:30hasn't ruled out the idea of starting Mendoza this year. Like they've kind of backed off a little bit of the oh, he's
12:38going to he's going to wait and we're going to put Kirk Cousins in there. Um so I think what that says to me is even
12:45though Mendoza threw a pick six, you know, he played well enough that I could
12:51see them going, "Okay, it's mid-occtober. We're 0 and4. We're 0 and five or we're one and you know we're one
12:58and five. Let's go ahead and uh let's go ahead and put Mendoza in here and see what we got and give him a chance. I
13:05think that's probably the likelihood. I think that's what what are we looking at? I've looked at this before. What is
13:11the by-week here? I think that's your that may be something to pay attention to. by week is
13:18uh week 13. Uh so that gives plenty of time for Kirk Cousins if they're losing
13:24and we we'll see like you know we expect them to play better offense. Uh we expect some good things if they're like
13:30ahead or close to 500. Uh I don't know that we'll see any change until
13:36Yeah. until then. So we'll have to see. Kirk Cousins has been out there doing great
13:41work. Everyone knows this except Matt Waldman. Yeah. I I guess this is more wish casting
13:46being the uh the hope that uh Kirk Cousins makes every tight end some percentage better. I'd like to see how
13:53that works with Brock Bowers just to get a taste. I Hey, look, I'm with you and I would like to see the Raiders do well
14:00because I think Fernando and Mendoza, it would be nice to see Kurt Cousins
14:05play 12 games um so that Mendoza can come in maybe for four to six games at
14:11most or not even have to play all year. I think that would be great, but I'm I'm
14:16just not confident about that. And then losing Ashton Genty doesn't help. All [clears throat] right, let's uh kind of
14:22semi related. Deshun Watson named the starting quarterback of the Cleveland Browns. You better not boo him anymore.
14:27Cleveland fans, he doesn't take kindly to that. It's very disrespectful. He'd like you to know. I want to know.
14:33Are you This kind of sounds like those instructions for if you were to commit vandalism on a flock camera. [laughter]
14:42I'm not saying you should. Well, if you've committed vandalism, it's probably been on a flock camera.
14:48This just [laughter] did. Well, it might be against the flot camera. How about that?
14:53I see plenty of that as well. It also is seen by the flot. If you want to destroy one of those
14:59dynamics um you know um animal robots with, you know, I don't know um engine
15:06oil balloon, you know. Um I don't know if we're destroying I just heard one of these robots beat Usain
15:13Bolts 100 meter dash time. We're doomed people. [laughter] We
15:18That's true. Just He did, but you know, I did enjoy him
15:23falling backwards and then his hips exploding. True. That was a good one. All right, back to Deshun Watson. Uh he'll start
15:29more than two games for Cleveland. They open up with a couple pretty tough games on the road. Uh then they come back to
15:35Cleveland. Be a great homecoming for to displace the hated Deshawn Watson and move in Sanders. Feel that or [ __ ] it,
15:43Matt? Um, oh, that that uh that Shadur is going to take over for Deshawn after a
15:49couple of games. Yes, I'm feeling that that's totally a Cleveland thing to have happen. Um, I I
15:55do think probably more likely that Deshawn Watson will play six to eight games. Um, and we'll and we'll see what
16:02happens. If he completely is back, um, it won't matter whether they're booing him or not. He'll just pretend that it's
16:09like a oh, I don't know. um like a a game facing South Carolina or or Wake
16:17Forest or you know back in his days at Clemson and it won't be a big deal. Um
16:23but I would think he's had a few years to weaponize himself against uh against
16:29the the booing that is, you know, that's h that is rightfully happening to him.
16:36and he uh and I don't think it's going to I don't think it'll bother him as
16:41much and he'll continue to handle his sociopathic ways. If that's if what
16:46happened happened is, you know, actually occurred, then he'll uh won't bother him just like a lot of the sociopathic
16:53leaders that we have in our in our country where things don't bother them at all. So, um you know,
16:59we don't remember them after five minutes. Exactly. We don't remember. Exactly. So,
17:04I mean, really, I I would expect that the bigger deal here is who's going to
17:10be the starting receiving core? Will the offensive line hold up? If they do, the
17:16system in place is a good match for what Deshun Watson used to be in theory. Um,
17:21and I think they'll give it six to seven games to find out. Also, he has now been that guy for quite some time. But I would I I do would like
17:28to see that. You know, it's a I mean, the table was set. Jimmy Hasslam came out and, you know, we went from being
17:33the biggest. Yeah. Biggest there you go. The biggest [laughter] miss, you know, in Brown's
17:38history to to hey, I think this guy could start. Is he the biggest miss in Browns H?
17:44Terry or Jimmy Hassl. I think he might be the biggest miss. I don't know. Him and Modell's still the
17:50topper. Okay. Come on, man. Uh, [laughter] a little perspective there, Matt. You see, I have a lot of perspective. Art Modell
17:57told Jim Brown to suck it, and that's why he retired. That's like I mean seriously that's that's the second worst
18:04movie he [clears throat] ever made or let's go to the West Coast. Tyler Bottish the knee injury that he suffered
18:09in the joint practice against the 49ers. They should have left that substation at home. Matt, um it's a blow to the
18:15Chargers offense that has fantasy implications across the board. I feel that. Do you?
18:20Yeah, I'm feeling that. I mean mainly because the center is the glue for the continuity of the offensive line. I
18:26mean, when it comes to helping the quarter make quarterback make line calls, read blitzes, being able to
18:32coordinate with the guards in terms of double teams that are going on there that also affect how the tackles play.
18:38Um, a good center is also the glue for the run game. So, I I think that the the
18:45interior run game when you're talking about gap plays, um, duo, different
18:52types of man blocking, who's the who's the back that's going to get the most of those? Omar and Hampton. Those are
18:59probably the ones that he's going to he's the best match for. So if they don't have a really good center in who's
19:06going to follow up here and be the substitute and even then he may not conceptually be as strong as Tyler
19:12Beadz, then you're you're probably looking at a slight decline in the
19:18ground game in terms of efficiencies. um to add to the fact that it's already going to be a hotand three-way committee
19:24which can often get mismanaged by a coaching staff because just as the guy
19:30is just starting to figure things out, they take his ass off the field and running backs complain about this often
19:36because it is a there is something about getting into the flow of the game. I
19:42know that analytics people don't understand this sometimes when they got their head too far up the assets of a of
19:48a spreadsheet. Um, but there is such a thing as momentum and getting acclimated. And it you may have some bad
19:56carries at first before you start to figure out how to to play what you need
20:01to play, how you need to play the line, um, and how it's blocking, who's getting pushed back more often, who's facing
20:07whom in terms of the assignments within the scheme of those those runs. and then the theoreticists upstairs who are who
20:15are calling to play sometimes don't give enough credence to that. So I'm a little bit worried about that in the passing
20:21game. The quick game shouldn't be as much of a problem. And so we're so I I'd say it's less of an impact on the wide
20:28receivers overall except if you're a big-time deep threat. Um and Justin
20:34Herbert might be a little bit, you know, maybe you take a little bit off the top of his numbers. Yeah, I think uh
20:39checking in with what Matt Dante from Football Guys, our offensive line guy there says. Um Jake Slaughter uh second
20:46round pick who was a very good center in college will move back to center. He was competing at guard. Um but the the the
20:52real point here is they still have their tackles who have played a grand total of three snaps for Sean Slater and Joe Hall
20:59for damn good reason. The bubble wrap is tight. Uh so that you know just having
21:04those two will make a huge difference. I think they'll figure out the middle. By the way, Bottes is uh he suffered ACL
21:10damage, but it doesn't sound like it's a complete tear. So, he is exploring non-surgical options that may get him
21:16back a little bit sooner, but definitely a blow and definitely not great news for anybody. Tyrone Tracy, speaking of not
21:22great news, has not had a great week or so. Um I think he had a fumble in this
21:28last game, whipped on the pass protection. Naji the week before Naji Harris brought in last week. Tyrone
21:37Tracy Jr. is on the Russ roster bubble. Matt Field or Pucket. He's been looking over his shoulder all
21:42week apparently when they found out that Naji Harris was coming to town, but I don't think he needs to be he I mean,
21:49one I hope that that's that his concern about that didn't drive the the lack of
21:55focus in some of the play that that wasn't so hot this week. Um, just
22:00because ho how healthy is Naji Harris really gonna be coming off of a an
22:05Achilles. I'm gonna [clears throat] go back to what and and you know maybe you know
22:10talk is talked with John Harbaugh told us after the initial workout before they signed he said he's not 100%. He's got
22:16it's going to be a bit of a process get him back up to speed and I believe that that makes sense to me right. So yeah
22:22so we'll see. Uh but but the the evidence is not great right. The evidence is not great. whiffed on the
22:29block. Uh led to Jackson Dark going to the injury tent. We bring in one of the
22:35great Harris family members. Uh appreciate that. All the Harris love that we can get. Uh and then second
22:41fiddle behind Devin Singleary on Saturday. This is from Kevin Patrick NFL.com. I mean the litany here is the
22:49the the direction is pretty clear. I I don't know that it's in d is is is that his roster spot's in danger, but
22:55definitely his role. Yes. uh is worth questioning at the moment. So, I feel that as well. Bucky Irving playing in
23:01the preseason is a better side for Kenneth Gay. Gainwell, feel it or [ __ ] it. I'm going to say feel it. Um even though
23:07they want to test, you know, people might say, "Well, we want to see him, you know, on the field and and he's had
23:13these injuries, so it's showing that maybe he's healthy." I think it's more the fact that we want to see really what
23:20his role is going to be and kind of prove to us that he can even stay healthy a little bit in the preseason
23:25some. And also that really the the biggery deal is they're protecting Kenneth Gainwell. I think they're more
23:32it's more about protecting Kenneth Gainwell and and that tells you right
23:37there who the 1A actually might be. Yeah, I think that I think that's a
23:42totally fair assessment. I'll buy into that. Uh I feel that as well. Jakory Crosky Merritt, Rashad White are evening
23:48out in fantasy value. It's been an interesting run, Matt. Uh Krosky Merritt was going ahead of White for quite some
23:54time. Then White moved ahead of him. Now Crosby Merritt's back slightly in the lead I think last time I checked. Uh is
24:01it even Steven feel it or [ __ ] it? I think it's pretty close. I think that the fact that they're talking about uh
24:07Groski Merritt being improving in his receiving skills is probably going to
24:13take a little bit of the the shine off of White's totals. they did for me. And
24:19I saw that the rushing I thought that the rushing distribution was going to be pretty even from the get-go. So if
24:26White's getting a little bit less as a receiver, that evens it out. I still have White a little bit ahead of M right
24:33now. Looking at the ADP, it's like you could get whichever one you like. It's running back 38 for Crosky Merritt. It's running
24:40back 40 uh for Rashad White. And that's kind of flip-flopped back and forth over the last few weeks. Uh based on the
24:47reporting, the most recent reporting is for Crosky Meritt, as Matt mentioned, is glowing. I'm old enough to remember
24:54glowing reports about Crosky Merritt, our guy Bill a year ago where he was the best thing since sliced bread and it
25:00turned out he wasn't right. But we all understand, you know, the post hype sleeper thing. We get too far in front
25:06of our skis on a player and they need their time to develop and learn the craft. and he was not very experienced,
25:12played very little in college uh before coming to Washington. So, or at least the year before. So,
25:17I'd rather be an idiot and build a smart team than be smart and build an idiot team. And I feel like that this is kind
25:23of what we do. Yes. Um as as a result in fantasy football all the time is that in trying to be
25:29smart, we end up being idiots. Well, we try to not just to be smart, but we try to, you know, leverage that
25:34little bit of information maybe we have over our league mates. Uh maybe a little harder than we need to leverage.
25:40Win your league, not your draft. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Bo Nicks, underrated feeler. [ __ ] it. You know,
25:47it's true. I do. I totally agree. Even if I even if I say [ __ ] the Denver Broncos, you know,
25:53but uh but no, Bo Nicks is someone that I'm definitely targeting in drafts. You look at what's going on with Jaylen
25:59Waddle, Courtland Sutton, if Pat Bryant actually is a thing. Um, even if he's not, Evan Ingram, I think in year two,
26:07even though he's older, they're talking about how he's getting winning targets downfield and that they're using him
26:13more often there. I think this is going to be a good passing offense. It's been a good passing offense for the past few
26:18years. Adding Jaylen Wadd is a supercharger effect there to to what they can be, and I think they can um go
26:24toe-to-toe with anybody on offense this year. Yeah, I agree. And don't forget, don't sleep on my guy Courtland Sutton, who is
26:32not going away. People, if you see some of the highlights, listen to listen to the expert, uh, who totally agreed.
26:39He just amen. He amended you right there. He totally did. Marshon Lloyd, uh, his
26:44Edwards Institute visit will help him this season. If you didn't know, he went to a center to figure out why he gets
26:50hurt. We saw Christian Watson do the same thing with his hamstrings. Uh, the Packers are pretty predictable in doing
26:55these kinds of things. Is this actually going to help him this season? Feel it or [ __ ] it? It could, but I'm not totally feeling it
27:01because it's it, you know, after talking with Brandon Angelo, who certainly is an expert in dealing with um high-end
27:08athletes and their injuries and working with them through them, um to help them heal and help train them. He understands
27:14a lot of the mechanisms of what rehab is like. and he'll and he told us on the
27:20podcast last week on the Going Deep podcast on Wednesday night, look, this is apples and oranges. Just because
27:25Christian Watson went there last year doesn't mean that it's going to work for Marshon Lloyd. And the reason why is
27:31that no two injuries and no two healing, no two types of recoveries or no two types of movement skills are alike. And
27:38there's not one template to help you fix that. So, it's a it's really a situation
27:45where they look at what Lloyd has done and go, "We think we think that these
27:50are the issues and we think this is how we might be able to make this better for
27:56you and we'll see if that actually happened when you get on the [laughter] field and if it doesn't, we'll we'll try
28:04again next year." Right. I think fine-tuning finely tuned athletes, already highly tuned athletes,
28:09is a bit of that. I mean, can they do they think they have it figured out? Maybe. Do they have it figured out? Not
28:15necessarily. I mean, all all these things are a bit of a process. It's like Ford versus Ferrari. I mean I
28:21mean, you know, if you saw that movie, I did see that movie. Then you know that basically what's going on here and we were comparing this
28:28to Ty to Jordan Tyson, saying Jordan Tyson's like the Ford car. Um the the
28:34trainers are probably like the the Shelby team. Um, and that the uh and
28:40that the head coach and the and the front office for the Saints are probably more like the Ford company and and all
28:47those [ __ ] uh corporatism people who uh who want to rush these commodities on
28:52the field and get have their way and they don't understand the mechanisms at play.
28:58Well, that seems like a harsh assessment. That's true. It [laughter] probably is true. And and
29:04also football's a funny game, folks. It's a collision sport. All this science in the world isn't going to help you
29:10when somebody smashes into one of your joints at an awkward angle on a random play that happens what 50 times a game.
29:18So, there you have it. Doubters, Matt. There are doubters out there. Look, I'm the Ken Miles of fantasy
29:23football. What do you want me to tell you? [laughter] The doubters out there, are they overthinking uh their naysaying when it
29:30comes to Mr. Jonathan Brooks in Carolina? Feel that or [ __ ] it? I think they have every right to be doubting. My
29:36my buddy Jason Wood probably will be one of those doubters. I have a I have a distinct feeling like at least a mild
29:42doubter. I don't think he's going to be like a total hater. Um but but I think that he will give you the the inside the
29:50lines very very wellought out approach as to why maybe this isn't a good value
29:58to draft him quite as high as that he is. We'll see. Um, but I would I
30:03would say I just look at Chuba Hubard and and I and what I saw
30:09last year and I see how the offensive line is getting better this year in the past couple of years. Maybe not jumping
30:16up as high as it needed to last year as the way people were hoping. Um, but I think that Brooks Brooks to me was a
30:23special talent. He was, you know, he he wasn't as explosive as guys like
30:30Jonathan Taylor or Jir Gibbs or Bejian Robinson, but he was a very smart player
30:37with good explosion. Kind of I don't want to say he was Nick Chub. Nick Chub had underrated
30:43explosive strength. I mean, he was a I would say that it's kind of more like a
30:50Curtis Martin, Terrell Davis type of situation. If you think about those backs in the day, if you're old enough
30:57to remember them, they were uh they were backs who weren't too fast, weren't so
31:02strong, weren't unbelievably agile, but they saw the field so well that combined
31:09with a good line, they were they were as good as any back on the field. And I
31:15would say that's the kind of thing that Jonathan Brooks has in his game. He's
31:21just going to need good enough blocking and a little bit of acclamation time.
31:26And I think he's getting that and it's coming back to him. I'm I'm I don't think he's too high.
31:31Yeah, I think this is the case of where you're looking at the price and the price is rising. I mean, he's moved up into the fifth round now. Does that seem
31:37a little bit riskier than I'd like? Maybe I've already got enough shares at much cheaper prices. you know, if you're
31:43drafting in a league that matters most to you, unlike me, you don't draft a thousand times uh each offseason, so you
31:49can't diversify and and take advantage of that kind of tactic. Um I I think
31:54he's the kind of player where if you're drafting in around five, you can maybe mitigate that risk a little bit later, whether it's Cory Crosky Merritt or
32:00Rashad White, guys will give you solid numbers or at least help you avoid zeros. There are many others uh that
32:05will help you avoid zeros, but but none of them probably have the upside that Jonathan Brooks has if he takes over
32:12this featured role. And look, we're still drafting guys like Bachel Tutin,
32:18Jadarian Price, thinking without knowing what exactly what their role is, we're drafting them right outside of running
32:25back two territory, right from running backs 25 and 26, I think, are where our Totin and Price are going. And I'm not
32:30against that because you're not actually paying for a role that doesn't exist yet. You're paying for a role you hope
32:37to land at a slight discount. So I'm fall for that with a guy like Jonathan Brooks as well. I'm injury agnostic. I
32:44know this has been a chronic injury that does raise my hackles a bit. Uh but they seem like distinct different things and
32:50hopefully he can avoid the issues. Uh, and I I'll say this, I talked to a beatw writer from Carolina last week, uh, Jeff
32:56Hawkins, who was totally like, I don't know, man. It's hard to trust a guy who's had two torn ACL. So, I mean, that
33:03sentiment is out there. The doubters are not hard to find. Um, but but for me, it's not about doubting. It's not about
33:10having high expectations. It's about price and possibility. Yeah. And I think when you're in that range of the draft,
33:15price and possibility are good. Yeah. I mean, Frank Gore had two torn ACLs. Bra would are would tell you and
33:21used to tell us all the years exactly way back then is that if you just tore your ACL you
33:27could tear it multiple times and it doesn't impact you after the recovery period you know and I think that that's
33:34the thing. So he's young enough I'm not worried about that as much. Um, and um,
33:41yeah, Bob Harris, let's go ahead and keep moving on because you could get you could get Derek, you could I still think
33:47right now you could get Derrick Henry, David Montgomery, and make Jonathan Brooks your third back and do that every
33:53other round and get a good receiver in between all of those. Um, and then probably follow that up with Michael
34:00Wilson and, you know, after round five. Jason Wood would not approve of that draft, but I would.
34:05Yeah. Well, that's okay. That's okay because I'm going to beat him with that draft. [laughter]
34:10CD Lamb, the Dallas wide receiver to draft early is feel it or [ __ ] it. I feel like this is a trick question.
34:18I'm going to still say feel it. I I still think that it is. They they've been talking about this Dallas offensive
34:24system, this new system that they feel like is is really dangerous. I think that people look at Pickkins and what he
34:30did while CD Lamb was out and they feel like, oh, he's taken over as the number
34:35one. And I think it's more likely a 1A 1B situation where it's close. Um, but I
34:41would still give the edge to Lamb because Lamb's the most versatile receiver on that core and he's going to
34:46play a lot on the inside. Um, you're still going to get him. He's I still think he is as good of a ball winner um
34:54in tight coverage. Actually, no, he is better significantly better as a ball
35:01winner along the boundary than George Pickkins. And most people would disagree with me about that, but Pickkins still
35:08doesn't get the position that Lamb understands how to get. Um, Pickins is just a big body, so it so it's a little
35:15bit easier to make some clean throws to him that way, but Lamb makes the more
35:21difficult big boy catches and does it with a more technical soundness. And he's better after the catch.
35:28Right. That that's the key for me. I don't think there's anyone better uh at the intermediate crossing patterns where
35:35nobody can keep up with him and nobody can get him down once he has the ball. He's nearly unstoppable in those
35:41situations. I'm like Tim Brown, you know, with a better God, I've haven't remembered him in a
35:46while, but like yeah, he's like kind of like a modern day Tim Brown. Uh Sincere McCormack is on the San
35:51Francisco 49ers at the moment. Um but he struggled to stay out. Who was he with? the San Antonio Ruff Riders or I don't
35:59know, one of the junior college teams of the NFL or whatever they call them. Uh, no disrespect intended to you in the
36:06junior college ranks of the NFL. Um, Sincere McCormack should have been on a roster last year, feel bucket,
36:11I'm going to say feel it. I think what happened is that he had a good run with the Raiders. They brought in a new group. They got rid of him and everybody
36:18around the NFL said, "Well, if it's a running back with the Raiders, we don't really want him." Um, and he's
36:24undersized and they just saw him as probably a guy who's not all that very
36:29good. All not very good, but I think that he's a good depth chart player who
36:34can be plugged in and give you reasonable production in an NFL game in
36:40the regular season. And I know that probably his numbers this weekend were
36:45in, you know, later in the game, but I I could see how the 49ers brought him in
36:52because either a they needed a camp body to try out and just run in this in the second half of things, but he's a smart
36:58runner. And I think that sometimes rosters in the NFL are loaded with fast
37:05runners who are um dumb runners. Not dumb people, but dumb runners. And I
37:11think that sincere McCormack is kind of the the opposite of that. There should be more smart runners on the back of NFL
37:17rosters than dumb runners with speed. Very sincere. Like the robot that ran into the like
37:23that robot that ran into the the padding and then fell down and his hips exploded. I can think of a few runners
37:29who that was an insincere attack. An insincere. Yes, they are the insincere McCormicks of the running back
37:35world. And I want a sincere McCormick of the running back world. spoke with David Harrison who covers the uh red Whoops.
37:43Uh the Commanders [laughter] has for many years, I should have prefaced that with cancel Bob Harris. [laughter]
37:50Okay, go ahead. Uh he told me the like the first week of training camp, and he's been to many of
37:56them, that he had never seen a player have a more effective first day of training camp or impressive than Antonio
38:03Williams did. Um I haven't heard a lot about him since. Will he have an impact this year feeler or [ __ ] it?
38:08I hope so cuz I just dropped his ass further in in the dynasty rankings and projections and didn't see that. Um, so
38:16that would be great. I liked Antonio Williams coming out of the draft. I loved that he could be a scheme
38:21versatile guy who could play inside and outside, but with Stefon Diggs getting into the mix and then them wanting to
38:27run more two tight end sets, it looks like I just felt like, you know, Antonio Williams wasn't really going to be a
38:34main factor in the passing game. And I still don't think that's going to be the case. But I do think that what this was
38:40was a nice add a boy through the media. Um that the coaching staff is probably
38:46saying like just keep working kid cuz and and listen to what Stefon Diggs tells you on the field. Off the field
38:53just stay away from them. But on the field, you know, even players joke around about that. I think, wasn't it
38:58the Minnesota Vikings players who said, "Who's the one who's the one player in your locker room that you would not want
39:04dating your sister?" And they all said Stefon Diggs [laughter]
39:09and he was like, "Who me?" All innocent, you know, but you know, I think that that's um I think Antonio Williams is
39:17probably on the right track, but it might take a little bit longer than this year. Yeah, I would totally agree with that. I think Stefan Diggs switched the fortunes
39:24of a lot of players on that roster who might have been able to build roles in
39:29in his absence are not going to get that opportunity. Now, what about Travis Hunter? Are we going to dump him at the
39:35side of the road and not look back like he was uh some kind of detrious there feeler? [ __ ] it. [laughter]
39:40No, but I'd say wrap him up in plastic and put him in the trunk. Um, you know,
39:46his game, not him. Please, not him. but uh wrap his game up in plastic and put
39:52it in the trunk because it might get a little stinky. But you can you can wash it off with a hose and and put it back
39:59in the front seat if you need to. Um and it will probably serve you very well. But I'm not like if you're in reddraft,
40:06why are you drafting this guy? Like you're hoping unless multiple injuries
40:12he's a late round baseball guy, right? Very late round. Yeah. Now, in Dynasty,
40:19you know, you're not going to get any value trading them. Um, right. So, you you're just going to have to be stuck
40:24with holding on to him. And this was the danger. We we saw this. And I think that part of the problem is that Trevor
40:32Lawrence is not a good deep ball thrower. We're going to see if he's going to get better this year, but he's not. And they've fashioned that offense
40:39around middle of the field throwing, short passing, and some go get go up and get it types of throws. And I know that
40:46people love the acrobatics of Travis Hunter and they remember what he did at Colorado and some of that's really
40:51there. Um, also some of it is that he gets his ass pinned to the sideline way too often for a guy who does that well
40:58at a as a quarterback, but he doesn't do it very doesn't do well of avoiding it as a receiver. he gets bullied and we're
41:05gonna have to show signs of him being able to not to get bullied and for Trevor to throw it downfield to him
41:11accurately enough for that to all work out at its maximum level. He's good in the middle of the field, but they have
41:17enough guys who are good in the middle of the field and who are more experienced route runners. So, as much as I like Hunter's promise as anybody
41:24else, if he were put in a wide receiver position, he's not going to be unless, you know, unless um the car backs up
41:32over the wide receiving core and now you've got to pop him out of the trunk and get the hose,
41:38right? This is one where you need to understand the desired outcomes. Obviously, the draft capital expended to secure his services. They have a unique
41:45role in mind for him, but I don't think it has to be immediate. I don't think they're doing this is they need to get
41:51extract all that value, all that cost that they put into Travis Hunter in the
41:56first season, the second season, the third season. This is a long-term play. Uh we heard earlier this year how the
42:02usage would be more likely heavy on defense this year because that was more their need. Uh so yeah, I think none of
42:08this is surprising nor none of it determinative of future outcomes. Uh he's a talented player. Apparently he
42:14got much bigger over the off season as well. Looks really good. has made some amazing catches uh from according to
42:20those who have watched him make them. Yeah. Uh so so you know still a player but but I think defense was going to be
42:26his role all along. We should have listened to uh James Gladstone when he told us this in January. I believe it was January
42:3316th. He made the words uh and and and and
42:38we've heard reporting back and forth after oh well they're not going to use it. We heard this people. It's been
42:43rehashing of rehashes. So, uh, so yeah, the the expectations been set and if if
42:49it falls outside that, great. But you shouldn't be drafting like that's going to happen. Now, you mentioned a fellow,
42:54uh, a [clears throat] great rookie scouting portfolio uh, win over time.
43:00Uh, recently retired this recently this past week. Nick Chub, uh, is he a Hall
43:06of Famer feeler, [ __ ] it. Um, he is he is definitely a talent who
43:13is Hall of Fame worthy. And I would say that's the answer. It's unfortunate. You know, could I make the
43:20argument that he was every bit as good as a Terrell Davis or a Floyd Little who
43:25the Denver Broncos fan base pushed hard to uh get into the Hall of Fame. And
43:32yes, Chub got the magic 2,000 yards and a super and a couple of Super Bowls. that will probably that those resume
43:39points will help him. So, you know, for the dafted football writers out there
43:45who vote on this stuff, not all the football writers are daffed, just some of them. Yes, they are. Okay. Okay. Well, some am I, but
43:52whatever. All the Daffy Ducks out there um who will not vote on him because he didn't have resume points, but they
43:58didn't watch his film um or don't understand how to watch his film close enough. Um, if you watch his film, you
44:05can see that he's a Hall of Fame caliber talent. Um, but and they'll argue the
44:11five yards per carry, you know, and the exclusive club that he was in um to be
44:18able to as a good argument point of argument for him. Um, but they will
44:23probably talk about maybe he his receiving yardage wasn't high enough, so he wasn't as really a complete player or
44:31that he just didn't play long enough and he didn't lead them to Super Bowls. Um, so, you know, he he at best he's a
44:39veterans committee pick most likely at some point. Um, and there will be plenty of players that I will see if I go back
44:46and visit the Hall of Fame one day again that I'll look and go, "Yeah, Nick Chub belongs in here." if that guy's in here,
44:52but it's not going to happen. Just in 49ers owner Jed York arrested in
44:58Ohio over the weekend on misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct possessing criminal tools. That'll be a story to
45:04come out later on. Might even overshadow the great substation that dominates the [laughter] news in San Francisco.
45:10Do you think he was trying to break into Jimmy Hasslam's house? Maybe. You know, maybe I might become a Jed
45:17York fan. Let's see. Or Mike Browns. Mike Browns. [laughter] That's true, too. Or the Hall of Fame.
45:24Maybe he maybe he has a fetish for a statue. I don't know. [clears throat] The uh the mug shot is
45:30on point. Is he It looks like he'd been roughed up a little bit.
45:36But he looks a little forlorn. Let's just put it that way. Junior. Okay.
45:41All right. All right, everybody. That's it for this week's edition of Feel It or [ __ ] It. We'll be back next week to feel and [ __ ] more things. The season will
45:47have drawn nearer. we will be getting down to the uh really hardcore preparations and we'll help you uh sort
45:54some things out as we find them. Uh in the meantime, Matt, what are you looking for on the rookie scouting portfolio in
45:59coming days or also at football guys? A picture of Dean Kane with Lex Luthther in a headlock to start. I want to see
46:06that. Um and then I mean look rankings updates. I'm going to be doing I think
46:11this week is the all gut check team. I think that's probably what I'm going to be doing. Or guys that e it's either
46:18that or um players I'm not drafting. Something along either one of those
46:23lines um will be in that. And then uh let's see. Football guys. Um we did, you
46:30know, that's that. And then rookie. Oh, see there we go. There we go. That's not
46:35bad. That's not bad. You look, you've got that smile like you know that that Superman's
46:42he he doesn't realize you've got kryptonite in your back pocket. It's just Yeah, he he only plays Superman.
46:48Yeah, [laughter] that's true. I've also seen him some other roles that he plays and he wasn't
46:53so super as in in [laughter] as in terms of a Superman. He was some
46:58he was he wasn't very nice. Um, I didn't mean he wasn't super in the role, you know, but uh, of course he was, you
47:04know, but yeah, we look, we're all gonna be busy. We're all gonna be giving you good content and uh, and [clears throat]
47:10if you didn't get the RSP rankings projections update, pay $24.95 and
47:15you'll get it within 24 hours of when you bought it. All right, that's it for us. Love you,
47:21Matt. Love you. Bye. Bye.

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