Fantasy Football Daily - 2021 Staff Pow-Wow: NFC North

Episode Date: May 27, 2021

John Hansen and the Fantasy Points staff break down the NFC North on the 2021 Virtual Pow-Wow livestream series. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fantasy-points-podcast/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time to the Fantasy Points podcast brought to you by FantasyPoint.com. Top level fantasy football and NFL betting analysis from every perspective and angle, from numbers to the film room, with a single goal to help you score more fantasy points. Welcome back to the 2021 powwow series here at FantasyPoint.com with our second division. This is the NFC North, and it's a lot of fun to bring these to you in audio form. We live stream them on the website and on YouTube and on Periscope as well, getting a lot of viewers. And I hope you guys learn something from this. My name is Joe Dolan.

And these conversations with John Hansen, Adam Kaplan, Greg Cosell, Graham Barfield, and myself are a full breakdown from both a fantasy and a real life standpoint. Informal, we used to do these in person. We can't do that anymore with how spread out everybody is. But it's fun to bring these to you. We want to let you behind the curtain a little bit. If you want a full breakdown of what this series entails, just go to the NFC East podcast and listen to this. But without further ado, here is the NFC North.

Chicago Bears, Adam, when does Justin Fields see the field? I'm with a lot of people who are saying, just go with them in week one. I still believe he'll be their guy by September's end at the latest. I'm going to up my starts total from seven to nine. It's between seven to nine games that he starts. Could it be more yes? from what I understand, I know that the team is very happy with the way that he came in

in the rookie camp, not that you want to judge anything. He's not competing for a starting job right now. But in terms of coming in, having the right attitude, wants to soak everything up. They're very happy with that. Dalton, they fully believe he's going to start week one. There's no debate with that right now. We're in May. We're not in August.

You're talking about Andy Dalton? Yeah, yeah. It's their belief that he'll start week one and beyond. But I learned my lesson in 2012 when Matt Flynn came. came in talking to Seahawks privately. They never gave any thought to Russell Wilson starting when they drafted him. They got to the OTAs in May. They go, oh my God.

Whoa. And as you know, wasn't even close in August. So, and I understand Russell Wilson was a third round pick, not a first round pick like fields. So let's just see what happens. But their belief right now is that Dalton's definitely starting week one. Greg, we know your scouting report up on the site in the draft app, adjusted fields, certainly not a, you know, clean, perfect prospect.

Still needs to develop a better sense of rhythm and timing and anticipation, a little bit of a seeing and throw it guy. But very athletic, seems like a great leader tough. We saw him play hurt in the college playoffs. I just can't wait to see if someone on the Chicago Bears can get the ball down the field to an open darnel Mooney. I feel like Fields is going to be really good for Mooney, Greg. They've got some speed.

They signed Amir Bird too and say what you want, but that kid could always run. Again, I'm not there. I know Adam has conversations there with the staff. Barring anything, this is just me talking, my pointless point of view on this, barring anything really bad through the offseason, I'd start just in Fields week one. Yeah, I agree. Who knows?

Yeah, who knows? Because number, here's what you got. You got a veteran center on Cody White here who can probably handle all the protections that need to be handled early on. Okay. You've got a back in Montgomery. You've got a back. They drift in the sixth round that I like to take a lot in college,

Khalil Herbert. So, you know, I personally would start Justin Fields. But again, that's, we'll see what happens. We got a whole off-season. Adam, it's so annoying when teams do this too, because it's like, you know, the Baker-Mayfield era. Like, why does Tyrod Taylor need to get? I know, you know, he got hurt, but why does he need to get 80% of the first team reps,

the first two, three weeks of camp? Like, that's, I'd like, I'd love to see them do it, Greg said. Well, here's the thing. They, they, because Fields, they got some things to work on with him. They don't want to rush. Yeah, I know. They don't, they're in a position. Nick Foles is not, I mean, he'll be the backup, the most lucky, if, if Dalton is

the start of week one, Foles theoretically would be the backup. But the problem they had last year with Foles was this. they had past protection issues. Let's call it like it is. They had a, their offensive line did not play very well. They dropped, they really dropped off last season. Too many times, Falls was stepping into his offensive line. He, he, because he's not mobile like Dalton is.

Not that Dalton's a great athlete, but he was better than Falls. Mooney was open, couldn't get him the football. They, they, when they, when the front office and the coaches looked at the tape, they were frustrated with the ability to get Mooney the football. Mooney was exactly who they thought he was. He should have been drafted way earlier. super explosive, super serious about his job, and it's a good route runner. And he's not perfect, but he's a lot, it's more advanced than you would think as a rookie.

And Foles couldn't get him with football. Now, part of it's because Nick doesn't move very well. And the other part is that their line was bad. And Matt Nagy, Bill Laser, D. Filippo, pretty experienced coaching staff. It's a really good group. RPAs guys. I think this is a pretty good staff probably for fields. Fields for Dynasty leagues.

This is a guy that I want. This is a guy that I might be well, not the, and I don't know how well he'll play this year when he plays. But for the future, this kid's got a lot of gifts. He's a really good kid from talking to people who've known him for a while, well before the Bears. Good kid, coachable. And as you said, John, he's going to be coached. If you look at lasers, a tough SOB, he coaches very hard. We know DiFilippo does.

And Nagy, to his credit, he hands off to his coaches to develop quarterbacks. I think you make a great point. He's in great hands here. Joe Dolan, here's a hot take for you. Justin Fields with an ADP of like 155 may actually be the best bet to way out produce his ADP right now, believe it or not. I feel like he's a slam dunk at 150.

Well, there's a couple of guys. I agree with that. And I think Justin Fields is probably a little bit better bet than Trey Lance, only because I think Fields has a better shot to start with one. Oh, way better. Way better. But I think Lance is also in the conversation for somebody who can blow his ADP out of the water. But, John, we were talking earlier, you know, Scott's going to have a couple of articles this week about the running quarterbacks and the Konami Code and all that stuff.

You know, the market's adjusted. You know, Jalen Hertz is a top 10 pick at quarterback, you know, like you're not getting the discount on Josh Allen the way you did last year and Lamar Jackson, the way you did two years ago. but the guys who you will get discounts on are the guys who aren't guaranteed to start right now, Justin Fields, Trey Lance, and, you know, I'm kind of with, with Greg at this point, you know, I just, I just have this like, oh, at the beginning of August, they're going to be like, well, Andy's still a starter, and then it's going to be the preseason, and Justin Fields is going to look great in the second preseason game, and then all of a sudden they announced that Fields is going to start week one,

and they have that Sunday night football game against the Rams, and it's going to be highly anticipated. I wouldn't be shocked if Fields starts week one at this point. And, you know, it would at least make the Bears kind of appointment television. But the thing for fantasy is, and we talked about this with Jalen Hertz, you don't even necessarily need to play well

in order to produce for fantasy if you're running around. And Justin Fields clearly has that ability. I think Fields will play better than Hertz. So obviously in the first three, four, five games of the career, probably not that hard to do. Greg, back to you. Anthony Miller has been like in Chateau Bow Wow. So who knows, but he may not even be around for much longer.

John, you can just add, you could expect him if he's on the roster. He's, yeah, he won't be a factor. He's not draft for fantasy. I'll leave it at that. I think Das Newsom is, I mean, dare I say the favorite if Miller's not around. I really like Das Newsom. Yeah, I really like his college tape Newsom. And he's a pure slot.

He's really good at it too. Right. What type of slot is he? I mean, is there a quick Twitch guy? Is he a volume guy? What do you like about him? He could be a volume guy, but he showed some vertical ability. He ran slot fades.

He got on top of corners. He also showed some quickness with the kind of routes we associate with the slot, the juke routes, the pivot routes, the whip routes. I think he's a really good slot receiver. Adam, do we trust, back to you, do we trust Cole Commet as a young, you know, sending maybe a breakout type of Jimmy Graham's stuff? on the roster. They are, he's everything they thought he would be. He's gotten better as a blocker. They thought as a season went along. You know, Jimmy Graham is limited to what you could ask

him to do. Is Komett blocking too much, though? Is he too good? No, I mean, he ran pass routes. The thing is, Graham, you know, inside the tennis, getting the football. He's a, he's a, basketball player playing football. That's the way that they look at them, at him. You know, overall, uh, Kemet, I just, I don't know that he's good. He'll never be a high volume guy for targets. It's not the way that they see it. As long as Adam Robinson, on the team, Alan Robinson is going to leave them on targets. That's, obviously, it's not going to change. Graham, do you think that Alan Robinson's quarterback situation this year with Dalton

and Fields and Falls, how much better is it in your mind than last year when we had Chubisky in Falls? And he caught a hundred balls, by the way. Yeah, it's not saying much, but this is the best, by far the best quarterback room, A-Rob's ever played with. And I go back to that 2015 year, was it 2015? Yeah, the A-Rob broke out. or maybe it's 2016, where Bortles was like serviceable.

And he actually threw down field a ton. Bortals threw down and field a ton. And I know you mentioned, I know you mentioned earlier that having fields and just at least having a vertical element to this offense will be huge. And it'll be huge for AROB ceiling because he was more of a, I want to say he was a compiler last year, but he was more of a product of volume.

And I think AROB probably has a bigger ceiling this year with fields, not only on deep, you know, the deep shots, but Fields, you know, Fields' legs, man. It's going to be able to extend drives like the Bears didn't have last year, and that'll lead to more opportunities as a whole for A. Robin, this whole offense. And I think based on what I've heard, they're going to give Robinson an opportunity move around a little bit more than they normally. One piece is static.

Nice. So not that he ever was, but I do believe they'll move him around more. Look, they're going to have some offensive line changes, by the way. Daniels may be their center. I know that they're talking internally about the best position for Daniels. Daniel sometimes does not win inside and gets pushed or he, you see him on the ground. They'll move white hair to guard. Yeah, because he's played both.

You know, he's played guard before. So that, believe or not, they're very happy with Jermaine or Fetty, who was a first round bus for the Seahawks. That's why he's back. They're pretty happy with him. So we'll, uh, well, before we move on to Detroit, Greg, my question to you is, did you see Kevin Jenkins tape? Oh, yeah.

Yeah. What do you think? What do you think? He's a mauler. He's a competitive guy. He's, uh, they haven't listed a. left tackle, which is very interesting. I know he played that in college. But he's more, but again, the game's changed. So, you know, you don't have to be a great athlete to play tackle

anymore, but he's, he's kind of a tempo setter for an O line. He's tough. He's competitive. He's physical. He's nasty. He plays with an edge. He's a good player. Bear's had a good draft, Greg. Once the Fields pick was in, then they got Jenkins. I was like, wow, this is a, already I'm sold. They also drafted an old lineman in the fifth round from Missouri named Larry Boren, who I studied as well. He's really, he's a big dude, but really athletic. He's an interesting guy to watch because right tackles kind of an open position for them. Their defense, they lose Kyle Fuller.

They may miss him. We'll see if Desmond Truffaut. They like this kid. One of the strangest names I've ever seen in my life, Kindle Vildor, was a fifth rounder last year. They love him. He's one of their, they think. He's, other than Jalen Johnson, their best returning corner.

Remember, Artie Burns was hurt last season. Wow. It hasn't been true fun. It's not been a factor in years. I don't understand what Chicago was thinking, sign in him. That was the one move where I go, the guys have been healthy in years.

Detroit learned that the hard way. But I'm telling you, this Villador kid, keep it if you're a bear friend watching. Wow. I mean, Kindle Vildor sounds like a Batman villain. Exactly, like a character, right, exactly. I never heard of the guy until last year, but anyway,

they're defensive. very happy with a Sean Desai, who's a Vic Fangio disciple, their defense is going to change a little bit. It's going to be more of the Vic Fangio defense than Pugano. Yeah, Pagano wrapped it up there. I guess, you know, looks like he's going to retire. Detroit Lions, oh, boy, looks like we got to deal with this. Dan Campbell taking over, Anthony Lynn. Adam and I did talk to Dave Burkett of the Detroit Free Press, who did clarify to us on Friday, they still expect DeAndre Swift, you know, to be the leadback, basically. But, you know, I think we need to open up, you know, more touches for Jamal Williams, Adam.

I mean, clearly they're going to use Jamal Williams, maybe a little bit more than we thought. And I like Jamal Williams all season. Yeah, I mean, look, they felt that they can move, carry on Johnson. They don't move them. They cut him. He's had this knee issue. But Jamal Williams is coming off a good season. He handles pass pro.

He could be a third downback. it's too early to know the touch total. I don't know yet. We're in May. But DeAndre Swift is a dynamic player. But we know what the offense is going to be. It's going to be grind it out, very little imagination. You look at the receiver core.

They're already telling you what it looks like. It's a run-based offense. I mean, they drafted Sewell. It's going to play right tackle for them. They have potentially one of the best offensive lines they've had in years. I believe Vaita is going to move to guard, probably be the right guard or at least compete for it. There are team, John. Let me ask you guys this, just as a philosophy question.

Yes. Would you draft a guy in the top 10 to change positions? It's a great question because everyone likes the left tackle. Because I've had this conversation with, you know, coaches and people. I was there when you did it. Correct. I'll do it on the office of line, Greg. Most people don't think you should draft a guy in the top 10 to change positions.

Right. Right. And I wonder how, you know, by the way, Sewell, some team Sol was a guard, believe or not, one general manager said short arms, don't see. He's not a left tackle for us. He goes, we just have a cutoff point for left tackle. He goes, we play right tackle. Now, how will he play right tackle? Now, how will he play right? I think back to the Andre, what was the Andre Dillard comment when the Eagles had him play right tackle? Oh, he was a disaster there. He said it's like wiping your butt with the wrong hand. somebody said that it might have been i don't want to think about it yeah it might have been andre dillard who said that but like gregg you've made the comment many times that like you don't see much of a difference anymore between a left tackle and a right tackle like oh no not in terms what i mean yeah what i meant by that was for a guy to switch sides right right right not in terms of the value of the position is what i'm saying not in terms of the mechanics of being taught the position, which I can't speak to at a high level because I'm not an offensive line guru.

But in terms of the way the NFL game is now played, I don't think there's a meaningful delineation at all between right tackle and left tackle. Which would explain like when Jason Peters has had all the injuries over the years, the Eagles just didn't put Lane Johnson at left tackle. Because like, what you're going to, you have an elite right tackle. Why would you move them? Right. But some guys, so, but what you're saying is some guys can switch sides, left to right tackle like that, other guys have big time problems making that transition. Yeah, it's a whole different situation for what I've been told. But I'm just making sort of an argument.

I think it's a conversation I'm speaking about. But, you know, you're drafting a guy. And granted, I guarantee when they got, I believe it was the eighth pick. Was he the eighth player chosen? He was seventh. Seventh. Yeah. You know, I guarantee that when they got to seven and he was still on the board, they just

said we're taking Sewell because they probably had him raised. as a top three or four guy on their board. And that's fine. I'm not knocking the pick. I'm just saying that you drafted the guy now to change positions. And that becomes, you know, I don't want to say, question maybe is too strong, but it's definitely something you've got to work on.

Probably tips us off, though, on, you know, their identity and what they want to do under the dude, Dan Campbell. We know what's common, man. O-line coach and tight end. And, you know, Adam and I, boy, we just go on and on and on about DeAndre Swift on Sirius XM. We're just so impressed with the kid. I felt like he did everything he possibly could have done.

But were there any areas that you notice that, oh, okay, this is something where he might be able to improve a pot. I loved him. I thought he made unblocked defenders miss. I thought he played with, you know, pretty good power and some juice. Your thoughts, though, on what you saw at DeAndre Swift. Who are you talking to me? Yeah, Greg.

Oh, you know, DeAndre Swift, to me, me didn't necessarily play enough. I mean, I think his talent level is really good. The question you have to decide on Andre Swift, John, and this is a question for you, is if they want to run the ball, is he a 280 carry back? I mean, that's the question you have to decide. I think that's an open question right now. I don't think there's a defined answer to that, you know, because, you know, he didn't, even though he came in at the combine at like 213, I don't, I don't know. I don't know. I don't if he's if if he's that guy you know right he might be he's probably going to be a 200 carry a year guy which is fine i mean see to me he fits more and he's not quite this player but he fits more in

the elvin camara mold to me even though camere is a better receiver he's the best receiver so but and twist pretty good receiver but um he fits more to me as that guy than as a you know sort of workhorse back yeah agree i've got him a 220 carries. Which I think would be okay, but I don't think you can start getting to 270, 280. Graham, is that guy? Yeah, no, I don't. And that's what I was going to say is like, I think we have to believe Anthony Lynn when he says that he wants to get Jamal Williams the ball. Like Anthony Lynn was giving Josh Kelly the ball, Kalin Belage the ball. And I get Austin Echler was was hurt last year. And, you know, you can't necessarily make Austin Echler a foundation piece where you give him 80 to 22 carries.

but I don't see Swift in that capacity at all. And I think we need to make some adjustments on Swift. I mean, look, maybe in an ideal, where did Campbell come from, the Saints? Yeah, yeah. All right. He's the tiding coach. Okay, so maybe we got the Camara, Latavius Murray situation here.

You got Swift being, you know, 175 to 200. You got Jamal Williams carrying, you know, 120, whatever that number is. I don't know what Murray's exact number was a year ago, John. You would know that better than I. But I mean, maybe that's the kind of scenario they see playing out. Yeah, and Greg, to that point, the biggest problem for, at least for our game, for fantasy, is the lions are not going to be as nearly productive as the Saints, you know? No, no.

And the other thing is, too, their defense has some significant questions. It's terrible. Well, yeah, I guess that remains to be seen. But clearly, in their mind, they've got some players who they feel will continue to improve. I'm not going to sit here and say, it's great, believe me. and they've got a first year DC and Aaron Glenn. So, you know, that becomes an issue too because if they get behind, you know, they're in an interesting situation because they have a quarterback who, in my view, and, you know, Jared

got's been taking a lot of grief over this, you know, particularly with the trade and the whole deal. And is he great? No, but Jared Goss not a stiff either. But you probably don't want to be in a situation where he has to drop back as a drop back passer as many times as he might have to given the team that he's on. Yeah, no doubt. You know, by the way, real quick, they ran it 23 times a game last year. We're moving on to it a 17th game.

So you're looking at probably about 400 carries. So do we believe that Jamal Williams is going to get upwards to 200? Because they don't really have much else. So, I mean, did they split the carries right down the middle? That's what we don't know. Jamal Williams. They do have Jamar Jefferson, too, Greg, who you, you'd notice was a volume type of runner.

He was a big time volume back in college. But, you know, he's a seventh round pick. Swift was second round pick and William he signed. Who did you have on the show last week? It was Dave Burkett. Yeah. He pointed out that of all the free agents, the Lions signed this offseason,

the only one they gave a multi-year contract to was Jamal Williams. Yeah, he's going to get carried. Now, whether he gets 200 or 130, we, we, that, John, have fun with that one. I can't help you. Yeah. I've got it with 130 right now, Greg, actually. I actually literally have him with 130. But I mean, they didn't sign Jamal Williams to carry four times a game.

You know, this is going to be Swift. This is going to be, I'm convinced, more of a Camara Murray thing where Swift is 10. No, no. You know, Williams gets, you know, that 130, whatever that number you have. I want to talk to Greg about golf really quick because, Greg, I know you've studied golf a ton, obviously. Oh, yeah. His problems, I think if I were to say, like, the things that caused Jared Goff problems, though, I think I would rank pressure maybe number one and number two. Yeah.

But when I look at the Lions team, I think you can make the argument the strongest unit on the roster is the offensive line, which could help Jared Goff. Goff with the Rams, and I think McVeigh used them properly. Goff with the Rams was essentially an under center. more shotgun over the last year or so, but predominantly an under-center quarterback, play action, boot action, that's what he is. He's a rhythm player. He throws the ball really well. Goff starts to get into trouble, number one versus pressure. Most quarterbacks do, but Goff particularly, and if you have to make him move, he's not a second reaction player. So quarterbacks like that, if you get into too many games where they've got to drop back 40 times plus you start getting pressure.

But again, their defense becomes a big issue here, becomes a very big issue. Yeah. Run the ball as much as you can, obviously, for a variety of reasons. Protect golf, protect the defense, stay ahead of the down. Greg, I actually have Amman Ross St. Brown leading their wide receivers in catches. it's in part because paramed and tyrell have all kinds of durability and availability issues just to sum us up so we can move on this is a run run run offense they're not going to be thrown the ball very much trust me on that you can take that to the bank right that's fine that's fine

if their defense can hold up well that goes with any team that has a bad defense but their philosophy is they want to run on first run on second this is not going to be analytical team this is they're telling you by personnel what they want to be this is Anthony Lenton, my buddy who coach with him, loves Anthony as a guy. He's a run guy. He's a run game guy. This is why he's... Well, Adam, to your point. One of the point I'd make, because Perriman and Williams, we have no idea what their situation is due to injury.

I mean, they could be playing or they could not be playing. I think you might want to consider, and maybe you have already Quintus Seifus, who's a very interesting player. He had some good moments a year ago. I watched him at Wisconsin. He ran a poor 40, but he plays fast. faster than that. He's not a burner, but he, but he ran a 472 or something like that, which, by the way, was the same 40 that Anquan Bolden ran. But Quintas, Seifis is a very

interesting player and it wouldn't surprise me if Seafus and St. Brown end up being their main receivers. I'm waiting on that one, Adam. What's that? Well, I mean, I'm talking about wide out. Yeah, I mean, I know out wide, but like, what are the odds, Adam, that Hawkinson doesn't lead this team in targets? I mean, they're so bad a receiver Joe. You can, I mean, he has, Hawkinson has to.

I couldn't tell you how many catch he's going to have. I'm glad I don't do project. John, I can tell you. John, I'll be right back. You guys keep talking. I'll be right back.

Okay. I can tell you, Adam, 75. Yeah, it was funny. I think 80's very possible, but it's just, this is a run-oriented office.

Now, what I'd also heard is they may try to spread it out a little bit, do a little bit of, it's still going to be a power run team. that don't mistake me, but you could still be a power run team and spread things out. It's just, we can move on here. There's really, we know what this offense is going to be. There's no mystery here, folks.

To your point, I mean, I said what I said about Amman Ross, St. Brian, I got to do with 49 catches. So, I mean, that's what I have leading the team and wide receiver. Now, Cephas, I have kind of put to the side for a moment because I just didn't get a buzz about it. He's really smart. as I told you last summer, the Lions felt that he could, he would be their top backup. And he actually started some because of injury. Super smart kid.

He had an off-the-field accusation, which forced him down boards. That's why he went to the fifth round. He's a very gifted kid, super duper smart, very super high football. He won of the smartest rookie receivers last season. He just was, he was pressing to a role before he was ready. But Greg's right. He's a kid who's got some gifts. Keep an eye on him.

Well, we'll certainly Adam if he's moving up in the world. And Green Bay, I mean, we probably don't need to spend a ton of time here because we'll waste time on May 25th talking about whether or not Aaron Rogers will or will not be there. I certainly believe he will be there. That means nothing. So let's talk about the backfield here first, Greg or Adam. Aaron Jones. Again, I don't think the number of carries really changes much from where we've been with Aaron Jones. are pretty smart about it.

So I think he's right there. Another 200, 220 carries, but a lot of catches with Jamal Williams gone because AJ Dylan, you know, I did talk with him about this and he did say, hey,

I'm a pretty good receiver. Oh, I got a little tip for you. I got a little tip for you. Now, I don't, I don't, this is super early and I don't know, first he's got to make the team, but Patrick Taylor played at Memphis.

Right. He's been there. Yeah, he might, he was an undrafted-frey agent last year. I need to find it. He may actually, actually see a little, if he makes the team, he may, he's got a good size. He may factor in a little bit.

Well, if we went to Memphis, he must be a good receiver. Well, that's what I was getting to. So let's just see what happens. I'm not, we're too early here in May. I mean, for good of sake, we don't know a lot. I would think the touch total be 65, 35, 35, Dylan, you know, obviously 65, Jones, 35, Dylan may be 6040 in that range. But they, they have a plan.

And Dylan is a perfect compliment to Jones's explosiveness. This is going to be fun backfield. It might be maddened times for fantasy. There's nothing you can do about it. But it's Dylan in that one extended game, I love to get Greg's thoughts on the tape, that one game where you got a lot of work. Oh, well, he gets, Dylan is,

there's no mystery about Dylan. Yeah. I mean, Dylan's had real. Do you remember that game where he had a lot of things? It was, I believe, in the snow against Tennessee. Okay, okay. Was it not? It sounds right.

Sounds right. Yeah. Oh, no. He's, Dylan's an interesting bad because he's actually got pretty light feet. Yeah. For instance, he's,

he's got lighter feet than Derek Henry. Yep. Nowhere near as explosive as Derek Henry. You know, that's what makes Henry. Henry's a strider and he can run. Dylan's not that guy. But Dylan's got lighter feet and confined space. But there is some Derek Henry to the game, right,

in terms of like the physicality and, you know. You think, Graham, I don't think they're, I think they're, I think they're, weights the same, but I don't think they're really similar runners, do you? No, I don't either. And one of the big things that Henry has improved on coming, you know, the last couple years when the reason he's become Derek Henry's, you mentioned the explosiveness. Yeah. It took him like, it took, he was, he wasn't necessarily like a buildup speed guy like Leonard Fournette was coming out, but it definitely took him a couple steps. He has gotten so

much more explosive within his first couple of steps. And Dylan doesn't necessarily have that short area burst, nor does he have the long speed. I think Dylan just, it was just a big back, man. To me, Henry's power comes from buildup, not just from the fact that he just runs into the line and moves people. I don't think that's the way Henry runs. I think Dylan is a little more like that.

Okay. That's actually why I struggled with Henry when he was coming out of college, Greg. Which for most people did, including myself. Yeah, I did too. John, just as the funniest side, you love names. Do you know AJ Dillon's name? I think I did at one point and I was intrigued by. It's Al Jir's Jamil Dillon.

Oh, wow. You're going to drop Al Jir's on the show. Yeah, no doubt, no doubt. Anyway. Well, people watch you're going to get the full experience because I had to run down and get lunch or I would have missed lunch. So I'm going to be eating while we talk. Greg's his blood sugar's down.

I know. I know. I was going to pass out if I don't listen to Kaplan anymore. I get that way too, and I'm really happy. I'll tell you what, I always say about Greg. He's not funny, but that was actually pretty good. Graham, here's the thing with AJ Dylan real quick. I really like him.

But when you plug in the numbers, he just doesn't come out high. I got him with 12 grabs, and there's just no getting around that. Yeah, and I mean, you know, Rogers is obviously the biggest, you know, biggest puzzle piece we're waiting on. But yeah, I think you nailed it. I don't think Aaron Jones' carry total is going to change that much. But Jamal Williams sneakishly played a lot of passing snaps last year. Oh, yeah.

Oh, we've got Aaron Jones with 60 catches. Yeah, I think, I think Aaron Jones is going to catch a ton of balls this year because Dylan is just a complete zero there. Now, if we don't get anything else going on at wide receiver, Greg, let me start with you, your thoughts on if Amari Rogers is utilized, what are we looking at here? Not necessarily a Randall Cobb type, but I mean, I do like having a quick twitch kind of a guy here,

little jitterbug type of guy compared to these other bigger receivers. He's 211 pounds. He's got a powerful lower body. You can line him up both inside, outside. He's got a vertical dimension. He's a more vertical dimension than Randall Cobb. This kid can run a little bit. I think he's a pretty complete receiver.

I liked his tape a lot. So, you know, I mean, I don't know what you guys were talking about when I stepped away for a sec, but I mean, who knows? Are we talking as if Rogers the quarterback or not? Well, we're not going to spend a ton of time on it because we don't know. But I would lean toward yes for now. No idea. I'm aware in May. Yeah, we'll know by August if he does not report to training camp, they're going to have to make a decision.

I mean, what kind of bomb would that be? Let's say he gets straight to Denver. like that's the only pretty big bomb. What's that? That'd be a pretty big bomb in terms of NFL bombs that come, you know, on a Friday afternoon that shock us. Yeah, well, it'll, it won't be a secret because if he doesn't report to, if it makes it, if he, if the agent tells him David Dunn, listen, Aaron's not reporting to training camp. They have the decision to make. Because if the, the, the fines of the new CBA are unbelievably significant to the millions.

If he misses all training camp. So, and you can't rescind them by CBA. So if he's willing to miss train the camp, that means he's not coming in. Then you got to look at it that way. So that changes everything. So that's, that is. And obviously. I've interviewed a lot of players in my career and I've never met Aaron Rogers.

But my sense of Aaron Rogers is that he's not coming in. Really? Yeah. Well, he's very stubborn, John. You know, he's history with his family and other things. He holds grudges. And his issue with the general manager is not. a secret. Everybody knows it.

If you go to the NFL, it's not a secret. I have really struggled projecting the receivers outside of Devante Adams and Bobby Tonnan. I would expect, let's get back to, I expect Lazard to start if the season started today. I'm not saying Rogers can't be a factor. I don't know enough about him yet, but I know the way they felt about Lazard before he had the groin injury, before he had the groin surgery. They were blown away by how good he was. And then he was never the same when he came back. And MVS is, you know, so inconsistent. Greg, do you think there's a chance at some point that Amari Rogers moves up in the pecking order and, you know, is really, let's say the wide receiver three behind Adams, someone else, and then Amari Rogers? Yes, without question.

Yeah. Without question. Do you think Amari Rogers is strictly slot? No. Okay. Yeah. I mean, they move those guys around. I think those delineations, Graham, are over for the most part.

Now, are there certain guys like Cole Beasley, you know, yeah, there's always going to be a few. But I think, you know, the Tonys, the Rogers, the Eskridge, you know, these guys are not just going to be slot receivers in the NFL. Okay. Anybody else have any other questions here on Greenback? Well, I think that we have to talk to Greg about Jordan Love. I mean, we have no sample on Jordan Love last year. So let's just get a tape evaluation. Greg, I mean, essentially, if Jordan Love plays this year, he's essentially a rookie. He's going to have the development year. I mean, he wasn't even active for a game. I know you don't do lists, but comparing and contrasting Jordan Love to some of the quarterbacks who came out this year, you know, what are his strengths? What are his weaknesses? Like, would he have been considered a first round prospect this season?

I'm going back to my report on Jordan Love. Okay. We've got Minnesota to get to in the next five minutes. That's fine. Then we're going to wrap up. Part number one here of the 2020 live stream virtual powwow at fantasy points.com. Greg, you got there. Here's what I said about love.

I said he'll be a fascinating evaluation given his desirable skill set. His size, arm strength, movement profile clearly suggests first round talent and higher level NFL quarterbacking, but as inconsistent lower body mechanics and lack of consistent ball placement are concerns as he transitions to the league. Love has much work to do with his combination of traits and attributes, including a good sense of timing in the quick game and has much to work with, excuse me, and a willingness to turn it loose and make tough throws. I said he was as intriguing a quarterback prospect as there is in the draft. This goes to, this would be in any draft. He's a higher level arm talent who can throw with velocity and touch,

and has more than enough mobility, first round traits will likely be in the eye of the beholder. So he has a lot of talent. You know, again, I don't know the mental part. I don't know those things. I'm not around the kid, but he's got a lot of talent. Moving on to the Minnesota Vikings here, Adam. I know you have to run. We have all got to run here.

Not much going on. Honestly, there's not real strong position battles. Yeah. Are we ready for Irv Smith? The era of Irves. Two things. The line, you're going to, obviously, Darrysal will be their left tackle. Wyatt Davis will start at left guard. Forget Dakota, Dozier. That's not going to happen.

Yeah. Wyatt Davis, they are very high on that. They feel, in fact, I cannot believe they traded back and got Darisol. I mean, I know the Colts wanted to go with Quitty Pay and that's fine. They're going to have all number one or number two picks on the line for what is worth. It's good. I mean, this, Ezra Cleveland will, I'm sure we'll improve. And Brian O'Neill's been a great story.

We're pretty happy with him. He's not a great player. he's a good player. Now, Irv Smith, John, you and I've talked about this. They don't have a lot of past targets. It's Jefferson, obviously, in Phelan. There's no reason to think he can't get 50 plus catches. It's just he's just got to be more consistent. Now, he was also hurt last year. I mean, we know it's coming. I mean, it's very simple. I mean, the O line, they've continually addressed it. That's two number one picks, a bunch of number two picks. It's a good run blocking line. Dalvin Cook is one of the best backs in football. He's getting a ball.

He's going to kick ass. They're going to do the play action, move the pocket. Kirkie now gets a left tackle. And if they're reinforced up front and Kirkie has more time. And by the way, Riley Reef talking to teams who are looking to sign him, they first, and they're doing, they were going to do what the Bengals did. They thought he was way better right tackle, way better right tackle. But as a tackle below average, just think about that.

He's below average for years and they got away with it. This kid's a legit left tackle. We could say whatever you want about Darisol. I love Darisol. Right, right. But the fact of matters, they have a legit, for the first time, really, and I don't know how long I'd have to look up their depth chart of the last 15 years. It's considered a legit left tackle. And they've needed one.

Oh, yeah. It's the first time they've had that since, man. That's why I'm asked. I know. I don't know. I'm trying to think. But anyway, Greg. Well, hold on one sec.

Adam, before I'll let you go here with this. Have you spoke to them about. about Kutland Mond. I mean, what's their view of... Yeah, they looked at him. By contract structure, Cousins has to be the starter for 22. There's no, they just, there's nothing they can do about it because of their last restructure with him. Because they drafted Nate Stanley in the fourth round last year. Yeah, seventh round, seventh round, Stanley.

Seventh? Yes. You sure? Oh, I know. Because his Asian texted me, who you know, you know, Jolenta. He texted me. Oh, you said, that's correct. Yeah, seven. Yeah, you got another guy drafted. My bad, yeah. Yeah. Mond, Mond is a, they see, he,

him like all teams do is a really nice upside developmental guy for down the road he's got issues with mechanics that have to be corrected um it's like a flyer pick and fantasy like yeah it's look he's you know what by year three um let let let you know by 23 who's to say he can't be competing for the starting job but don't cousins by contract will be the start of the next it has to be yeah they this last restructure i mean i give his agent mike mccartney credit my gosh talk about leverage he he took a restructure and they they took a restructure and they They did an advance guarantee on his contract. His base salary in 22 is fully guaranteed.

So he will be the starter for this year and next year. So quick point, John, just I know you were going to ask me, but I think a player to watch here is Smith-Marset. I think he could easily become the third receiver. He can run. He can get on the top of people. I think there's so much there to develop with this kid for what he is. He's not going to become a volume guy.

But Iowa is an old school college offense out of the 90s where they put the quarterback under the second. they run the ball, they don't toss it around, so his numbers are not great. But Smith-Marset can run. Yeah, and they've been taking their shots with these, you know, middle to later around picks, B.C. Johnson and. Oh, he's better than in my view anyway. I'm just giving you my view of tape study.

I think he's a better, he's better than those guys. Mr. Kaplan had to take off. But, I mean, again, there's not much to get to, Greg. I mean, can you find an easier offense to break down and handicap? like everything I just laid out. No, we know what they're going to do. We know what they're going to do. And they've done the right thing with the O line.

They've built it up. So they're going to run the ball. They're going to go play action. Hopefully their defense, you know, gets better. It wasn't great last year. They had a lot of young players in the secondary. Oh, yeah. So, you know, they signed Patrick Peterson now to be one corner.

He's not the same guy. But we know Peterson, you know, still is he's a veteran. Guys will look up to him. you know, they signed Xavier Woods, who's not a bad player either, to play safety, you know, once they lost Anthony Harris to the Eagles. So, you know, they're hoping that, and Danelle Hunter's back, right? Yeah, Danelle Hunter's back. Anthony Barr is back.

Right. Good depth of corner. I mean, Pierce did it out this year? Pierce sat out last year he's back. Yeah, he sat out because of COVID. Yes. And he's a very good run stuff. He's along the lines of Villainville Joseph.

The defense is going to be good again. probably not 2017, 2018 good, but they're going to be good. So, yeah, we know what they are. There's no mystery about what the Vikings are in offense. No, there really isn't. So if anybody else doesn't have anything else, I think we could probably wrap it up here. Jefferson Thieling going to get the ball per usual. And you love it.

And Irv Smith as well. But guys, anything else here on Minnesota? I just got to say, it's incredible that Adam Thiel and it's a fourth round pick this year. I mean, that is just like a huge, huge fact. He's going in the fifth round in some drafts, John. I mean, that's just insane right. It is insane because when you never had great speed to begin with, there's nothing to lose. That's a good point.

And I mean, we're looking for touchdowns and Thielen's going to score touchdowns. I mean, I know we love Justin Jefferson, but Thielen was their guy in the red zone and getting the end zone targets. I love, I love Thielen as a target. I do too. I just drafted them actually. But Greg, when the Vikings face teams that are going to travel their corner, and they're traveling. against Justin Jefferson, right? I mean, nine times out of ten?

Boy, that's a great question. I'm trying to remember. I remember you asked me that, and it was Thielen that they covered. I mean, it's a tough call. I mean... It is. It's a tough call. I mean, Jefferson put up the bigger numbers and obviously had a phenomenal rookie year and, you know, no question. But, you know, Thielen, my sense is, and I haven't talked to people about this,

but my sense is he's a really highly respected receiver. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Grout running hands, chemistry. with Kirkkin is really good. Yeah. Ed zone. And Kirk Cousins is thrown another 30 this year if he plays. Well, you know, Cousins is one of those guys, John.

He does the same thing every year. Every year. He's very good. Obviously, people don't think he's a quote-unquote Super Bowl quarterback, whatever that means. But, you know, because he hasn't been and he hasn't, you know, necessarily performed well in the playoffs. But in the regular season, you guys know he puts up numbers. He does the same thing every year.

And we do the same thing every year by running longer than expected. But, you know. I don't know what to say. I over deliver. That's my thing. The first team we do is guarantee John will do 25 minutes on the first team we do. I know. Well, you guys keep talking.

Well, you tell me to shut up and move on. But yeah, I think you do that every once in a while. So we'll wrap it up here. And we thank you, Greg, for your time. We're sorry for interrupt your lunch break there.

I know you got to get back to. I just had to get it. I missed lunch, John. And I can't miss lunch, you know. Oh, I know. I've been there.

I've been there. It's a damn fine cafeteria. you got there too, by the way. But I'll go downstairs in my cafeteria, aka a refrigerator. Right, right, right, right. Joe Dolan, Graham Barfield, our guy Adam Kaplan, had to run.

A special shout out to our guy, Ben Kucanis behind the glass. We'll be back tomorrow morning, starting at 1045, and we will be done. Mark my words, by 1230 tomorrow. Early Bird Miss 21, if you missed that on the only bird special

for your fantasy points.com. here in 2021. Early Bird Miss 21 for 10% off. For Adam Kaplan, Greg Ocell, Grand Barfield, and Joe Dolan and Ben Cucanus behind the glass, I am John Hanson. We'll catch you tomorrow for part two of the 2021 FantasyPoint.com virtual powwow live stream. Thanks for tuning in to this edition of the Fantasy Points podcast. Remember to subscribe, wait, and review on your favorite platform. And come join the roster at fantasy points.com.