Fantasy Football Daily - Fantasy Points Podcast | LaDainian Tomlinson

Episode Date: July 1, 2024

In this exciting episode of our podcast, "The Guru" John Hansen and co-host Brian Drake are joined by NFL Hall of Famer, TV personality, and fantasy football enthusiast LaDainian Tomlinson. They delve into LaDainian's illustrious career in the NFL and explore his unique approach to fantasy football for the 2024 season. Later in the episode, John and Brian provide an early analysis of quarterback and running back values based on their ADP for the upcoming NFL season, offering valuable insights for fantasy football enthusiasts. Don't miss this dynamic discussion filled with expert advice and insider knowledge! Where to find us: httpp//twitter.com/Fantasy_Guru http://twitter.com/DrakeFantasy http://twitter.com/LT_21 FantasyPoints Website - https://www.fantasypoints.com NEW! Data Suite - https://data.fantasypoints.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/FantasyPts Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/FantasyPts Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/FantasyPts TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@fantasypts #fantasypoints #nfl #fantasyfootball #dynastyfantasyfootball #FantasyFootballAdvice #dynastypoints #dynasty Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, what's up? It's John Hansen. And on this week's edition of the Fantasy Points podcast, a Hall of Famer, none other than the greatest fantasy running back of all time. Ladenian Tomlinson joins me and Brian Drake. And we chop it up about, well, how running backs don't matter. We talk a little age versus wear and tear. We talk, you know, data points from the Fantasy Points data suite. And of course, we get into it about a lot of running backs. in the national football league. And later, Brian and I go over the early look at big discrepancies that I see on my top 200 sheet at quarterback and running back versus the ADP. And as always, you're welcome. All across the fantasy universe, welcome to the fantasy points podcast. I'm Brian Drake, along with the guru, John Hanson. He'll be with me in a second. And folks, we got a show for you today as Hall of Famer Ladanyan Tomlinson joins us. But before LT was earning that gold jacket, he was winning you guys fantasy titles and the guru was all over him. Don't miss out on the

next LT. So head over to FantasyPoints.com. Sign up for the 2024 season. You're going to get the expert rankings, the guru cheat sheets, O line breakdowns, so much more. FantasyPoints.com, sign up. Let that data lead you to victory. All right, John, welcome in. I'm excited as ever. We've done a lot of these pods and that's a big time guess but tomlinson here is going to be the top of the list he's a man who single handedly changed fantasy football i don't even know if he knows about that yet but we'll tell him i got to hear john how you met l t to begin with and got this relationship started oh yeah no it's uh this is this is it this is our best guest no offense to adam schfter or others but the great laddian tomlinson who is clearly the greatest fantasy football running back of all times

20 years ago, I had a magazine, my prior website. I thought, you know, fantasy people don't ever interact with these guys. We didn't get interviews. So I started working on that. I had Clinton Portis the year before I had LT on the cover. The next year I'm like, we got to go. I got to talk to this at Lidanean Tomlinson. We chopped it up.

Great interview. Great guy. I asked him about fantasy. He had no idea. He was a professional. And then 10 years later, L.T. retires and him and I doing a fantasy show on fantasy sports radio. So I've talked long enough. Let's bring LT in. LT. What is up, my man? It is great to see you.

Man, it's great to be back on with you, John. It's been a while. You know, I missed those days where we were talking child fantasy football. And I was just a young fantasy player at the time. You know, I was just starting to get into the game. But now I'm more of a season veteran now. You know, I got my eighth season coming up in my own league, so I'm excited, man. All right. Well, we got to talk a little bit about you a little bit. And, you know, one thing I don't know if I ever brought up to you. I wrote down some notes.

You know, we did that show once a week for a couple of hours for the whole season. But the one thing, one of the many things that stood out to me, stood out to me, when I talked with you 20 years ago, was your favorite player of all time was Walter Payton. And I'm like, wow, okay. But you ended up being Walter Payton, as far as I'm concerned. Like, of all the runningbacks who ever played since Walter, you are the closest to Walter Payton. So, you know, talk about Walter, what he meant to you. And I guess when you think back, like, oh, wow, you know what?

I kind of was like Walter Payton. At least I would think that. Well, I would say all those days of pretending to be Walter Payton in the front yard, in the backyard of my house growing up. I think it did pay off, you know. But I think it's, you know, I guess it's something to be said about childhood heroes and you model your game after them. So honestly, a lot of the stuff that Walter did on Sundays, I really modeled those things in the front yard.

And even on the Pop Warner field, you know, the high step and, you know, the cutback, you know, certainly the jumping over the pal, he was so great at. But then just the pure determination and the will to never give up attitude as a runner, I think, you know, for me, those are some of the qualities that certainly I tried to take from Walter. And it just so happened to be, you know, we were kind of the same size. Yeah. We both weren't tall guys, 5, 10, you know, right, a little bit 210 pounds. something like that. So, you know, it worked for me. And certainly, I enjoyed doing it and

paying respect when I could to the great Walter paid. Plus, you were dropping dimes like Walter. That was one of the most amazing parts of it. Like, you are the most prolific running back in terms of throwing a football off the top of my head since Walter. Well, I took pride in throwing a football. I grew up playing the quarterback position early on. You know, I was always pretty much a natural thrower. Even in baseball, growing up playing baseball, I played the hot corner. I was a third baseman. So you had a strong arm in order to play third base.

And that kind of carried over to the football field, even though I was a natural runner. I think a lot of my coaches can see like, man, this kid can really throw the ball. So let's utilize the talent that he does have. Yeah, incredible. I mean, just look at some of your career highlights here. eight straight thousand yards seasons to start your career. 50 or more catches nine of 11 years, including 100 receptions in 2003.

You're the MVP back in 2006 with 1815 yards and 28, you know, touchdowns. We don't see those numbers anymore, LT. You're telling me you're a big fantasy player now. So looking at how incredible you were and now knowing that you're playing this game that we all know and love, I got to ask, Are you taking running backs in the first round or are you a wide receiver guy? What are you doing here when you're pulling the trigger in a draft?

Well, let me first say you're going back to those stats in 06, I think people need to remember. I really only played 15 games. Yes. You know, it was wrapped up. We were 14 and 2 the last week of the season. I really didn't play there if you remember. So, I mean, that was a pretty incredible year to average pretty much two touchdowns a game when you think about it.

But, yeah, you know, for me and what I target, so let's take, for example, example, this year, this year's draft for my league. I have the sixth pick. And I imagine Christian McCaffrey is going to go off the board first. And then I really think, guys, there's going to be a run on wide receivers. Yeah. And traditionally, I'm a guy that I'm going to still probably try to take a running back, especially if it's one of the top three guys. top two or three. In my opinion, this year, I think it's, you know, obviously Christian McCaffrey, I think, you know, Breece Hall and Bejohn Robinson. So if I can get one of those guys at the

six pick, I'll be happy with that. But if they're gone off the board, I'm happy to take one of the top receivers, Tyreek Hill, you know, certainly I think in my mind, he probably would be right up there at the top CD Lamb as well. So that's kind of what I'm thinking. At all comes, though I really like to try to get a running back first off the board. I've been old school with that forever, but last year I was a little worried about them and I was never more inclined to go wide receiver. This year, LT, I do see an opportunity to zig when others are zagging

in terms of I'm going to go running back. I'll kick it old school when all these others are taking the wide receivers because there are three guys that really stand out to me. And you name two of them, I'll throw Jonathan Taylor in that mix as well. I mean, I've always loved Jonathan Taylor, for God's sakes. I mean, those who've heard me on Sirius XM, I love them like a son. I tried to adopt them a couple of times. She's from New Jersey.

It didn't happen. But I love the guy. But LT, these guys are young, durable, and versatile. So I feel like those three, and maybe we can put Jemir Gibbs there, they are truly the elite. And I will take them in round one. Any thoughts on Johnny Taylor this year with Anthony Richardson there? Yeah, I think he would be another guy that I would really consider taking. I just worry a little bit that Anthony's going to take some of those, you know,

go-line touches, you know, get some of the touchdowns for himself. But I do think that Jonathan Taylor is a true three-down back. So you're going to get the reception. We play PPR. So you're going to get the reception yards, maybe even a couple of reception touchdowns. And the home run ability that he has makes. makes it intriguing to really take him off the board in the middle of the first round. Do you think the mobility and the threat of the run that Anthony Richardson possesses,

might that help Taylor maybe not replace losing those a few goal line touchdowns, but I feel like that could be offset a little bit by, you know, he's not playing with a statue back there like Matt Ryan anymore, no offense, but I feel like that could help JT. Yeah, it definitely could because. Because, you know, Anthony is going to take some of the pressure off of JT. Certainly when we're talking about the RPO game, you know, that whole read the end and read the linebacker type of plays.

However, I think we have to think about the reaction of the defense. They're going to pack the box. And if Anthony can show early in the season that he can at least make them pay sometimes when they're stacking the box. Got it. That offense is going to open up a lot more from Jonathan. Taylor. But early on, I think it's going to be, it could be tough sledding. They're going to be one blitzing. They're going to make Anthony throw the ball early on. Let's take a quick time out.

Don't go anywhere, folks. We're here with NFL Hall of Famer Ladani and Tomlinson. On the other side, I want to ask him about Derek Henry moving from the Titans to the Baltimore Ravens. Don't go anywhere. It's the Fantasy Points podcast. All right, guys, welcome back Brian Drake, the guru, John Hansen. and someone you may know and love because he's put those trophies on your fantasy mantle. It's Ladanyan Tomlinson joining us here on the Fantasy Points podcast. LT, you had over 300 rushing attempts in your first seven years every single season. And that was with less games, as you mentioned earlier on in the pod. Today, you look at guys, Christian McCaffrey's never had 290 rushing attempts in the season.

Neither is Sequin. One guy who has eclipsed that number is Derek Henry. And I would not want to tackle Derek Henry. especially over the course of a season. This guy's just running downhill at you over and over. It's scary. Now you put them in this Ravens offense with Lamar Jackson. What do you expect from Derek Henry in this Ravens' offense in 2024?

I really expect a big year from Derek Henry. You know, the Ravens have always been able to run the football. I mean, with anybody who they have in the backfield, they can run the football against the very best of the defenses. And part of it obviously is Lamar Jackson being a run threat. But now you put Derek Henry, in that backfield. And you can really, you know, kind of play,

play that inside zone game to a T because that's where the focus is going to be for defenses. They're going to assume the interior part of the line of scrimmages where Derek Henry is going to go. And once Lamar just start pulling the ball out a little bit and getting around the corner, now the defense has to adjust to that play. And all of a sudden,

in the fourth quarter where Derek Henry is always good, he's going to thrive. And he gets stronger as the season goes along. And I'm really not worried about, you know, people say, well, you know, he's been in the league, you know, eight years going on his ninth year. That's when running back started to hit, you know, hit the wall. If you look at the way Derek Henry trains, he's always in shape. You know, he's not a guy that's eating bad, you know, in the offseason. he always looks the part.

And so I think that helps you as you age when you don't have to shed a lot of weight going into training camp. Wow. And you've always said, LT, correct me if I'm wrong. You're more of an age versus wear and tear guy. Is that fair to say? Like, you know, I mean, Derek Henry has both things kind of working against them here. But what is more damaging, you know, advanced age or massive workload?

I think I would say massive workload, but with the exception of the way that workload is you being utilizing their workload, meaning if you're a guy that gets pounded a lot, you know, you take a lot of hits and there's a lot of wearing tear on your body. Sure, you know, that can that can be, you know, a sign that things, you know, may be starting to head downhill because you only have a lifespan, a certain lifespan as a running back. all know that. But I think if you can alleviate, you know, some of the hard blows, you know, throughout the season and keep yourself somewhat fresh with a great number two running back, then I'm not so much worried about that if we're talking Derek Henry's case. The age part, you know, to me, guys can run backs if you're special and I think Derek Henry is special. Yeah. He can play, you know, well. to his 32, 33 years of age.

Yeah. Yeah, and I'm with you. Because as much as I've been ragging on these guys, you know, like being an old man, like yelling at the cloud, like, get off my lawn. You know, there are guys who are still bawling at receiver at 30. Tyreek, Devante. I'm like, okay, well, let me change my role. If you're likely going to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, then you can just keep

going, baby. You know what I mean? Like, you know, we probably think that way with Derek Henry. How about CMC? because we've mentioned him a couple of times, LT. And we did a podcast with Dr. Mark Adix who played in the NFL. He had mentioned, which I didn't even know, that apparently he reached out to you, CMC.

What are you seeing from him over the last couple of years to stay on the field? Because whatever he's been doing compared to a couple of years ago in Carolina, it seems to be working. Well, I think what happens as a runner, and I know this is probably being the case with CMC, is the fact that, you know, he's evolved in his training in the all season, understanding exactly what his body needs to be at the peak of shape when the season starts.

And if you notice, he does a great job of even throughout the game sometimes. There's somebody working on him sometimes, stretching him out, making sure he stays loose. That is vitally important as a runner because as you, you know, start to take those hits. things, things do tighten up. And so if you have someone to work, work it out right there on the sideline, that helps you stay, you know, in peak performance.

But I think he's just, he's in a zone where I call it, you know, it was like for me, the Matrix at the time where I really felt the height of my superpowers. I think Christian McCaffrey is there, especially that he's in the office that fits him perfectly. You know, so you can buy, those things, his mindset, his ability, and then being an outstanding offense, an outstanding

play caller. I expect another huge year from Christian McAfee. Well, that matrix in 06, by the way, Brian, to answer a question we posed earlier, LT, I believe I clued him into the fact that he literally changed fantasy football. I believe LT in like 2012 or 13, whatever that year was, you obviously, you're not that dialed into, you know, third round reversal, but that's what it is. They basically penalized you in many leagues if you've got that number one pick. That was your fault, man. You mentioned about getting beat up and having to train. I don't think enough fans realize what your body goes through week to weekend.

I mean, I'm looking at your career here, 11 years in the NFL. What do you feel like on a Monday? what does it look like when you have to go through the entire week of the season? Like how are you preparing? And then when you get to the off season and finally you can say, oh my God, I get five minutes to myself. What do you do? What does that look like for an NFL player?

Someone getting the touches that you had. Because in fantasy, we think, hey, it's a new week. Like it's a video game. The guys are going to show up. They're 100% healthy and they're ready to go. But they're not. No, they're not. But here's the thing.

I think you get in the routine. And for guys that are very disciplined, usually the great players are very disciplined, meaning they know exactly what they're going to be doing at 2 o'clock on Monday every single week. They know exactly what they're going to be doing at 3 o'clock on Tuesday every single week. And for me, that was a pool workout every Tuesday. 3 o'clock, you can find me in my backyard in San Diego in the pool, you know, doing the workout because that helped me get my body back.

And so it was a constant routine having a chef cooking the right foods, for me, having a massage therapist on hand to stretch me, make sure, you know, I'm ready to go a car practice, practically, put me back together after, you know, a brutal game. Now, I will say all games, you know, are not the same, obviously. There are some games I come out and I feel like I can, you know, play the next day. You know, I really had a great day. But there are some games where you, you know, it's a tough day. You average probably three point five. yards to carry. You had 30, 30, you know, 30 carries. And maybe only had 95 yards or something. That's a tough day, guys. You're going to be a little bit more sore, the neck sore, the shoulder

sore. So, I mean, it's all a part of the commitment you know that you're going to, that you're going to go through. You're going to take some pounding. Now, in the offseason, you mentioned that. That's the time to really refocus on, you know, the things that you need to get better at, you know, I used to always take a deep dive at, you know, something I needed to improve on. Rather, it was, you know, blocking or a certain route coming out the backfill I want to improve on. Those are the things that I would try to focus on in the off-season, as well as really trying not to get too much out of shape. You know, it's easy to do that. But that's, that's important. in terms of staying at the you know your tip top shape and peak ability considering l t that you know

you and i chatted for a good hour i think uh 20 years ago back in 04 when i saw everything play out and with the chargers in 09 obviously i was doing this i was in this business and you know covering the NFL and um i i witnessed it all and my thought at the time when you went on to the jets is knowing you a little bit i'm like you know LT is on a mission. Like, I don't know, you might have been on more of a mission that year than any other year. I mean, maybe I'm crazy, but it sure seemed to me as an outsider who at least knew you a little bit, that you were just balls at a wall here that year to prove to everyone that you still had it.

And you did. You upped your your heart-carry average from 3.3 to 4.2. But what was that like going to the Jets? Am I on the right track there that you just worked your ass off? Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, that was a time where, you know, I kind of had to look in the mirror and, and challenge myself at times. But I think deep down, I knew that I still, you know, had had it. I knew that I still had the talent to get it done. But, no, John, it was just about going back to work, really, going back to the fundamentals of how I used to train. And, you know, I reached out. That offseason, when I got to New York, I reached out to Tiki Barber. You know, he was one of the first guys I reached out to. And I had a conversation about Tiki, like, who's training you?

Like, what kind of stuff are you doing? Because Tiki had had a complete turnaround, if you guys remember, in this career. I mean, he was strong. He was fast. He was durable. He was staying healthy. And I started training with Tiki. You know, we started using the same guy.

and it helped put my body back together, if you will, for all those years of the pounding that I really never got corrected. I was able to put my body back together going into New York. But at the same time, I think it was a perfect opportunity for me. It's the same office that I had been in, you know, my entire career with Brian Schottnheimer. It was a head coach in Rex Ryan that was all about running the football and power football, you know, And it was just a perfect match, a young quarterback in Mark Sanchez. We were going to run the football. So I got every opportunity, you know, to prove that I still could play.

I think that the other part of it is having a guy like Sean Green who was a young bruiser, you know, at the time, having him as, you know, a pair that we can really kind of just take over games at times. That really helped me as well. By the way, Sean Green is a South Jersey guy. He's from about 20 minutes away from me here. I always love the geographical connections here, chopping it up with the great Lidanian Thomas. And LT, I did want to ask you something, give you a little bit of an update. You know, I did start a new website about four years ago.

I sold the other site. I had like a little non-compete. I was on the fence. People were saying, oh, you got to get back into the business. So I did. and brought in a bunch of really sharp guys like Brian and and Trey here. But we have a whole data suite where we're charting every game and we have 700 data points for every play.

It's basically PFF, like PFF. So I wanted to ask you some of your thoughts on some of the data points that I look at that are above and beyond your average stats. Like, you know, when you rank in terms of importance or how revealing these. stats are in terms of analyzing a pack here are a couple data points explosive run percentage percentage of runs to go over 15 yards uh we have missed tackles forced per attempt so we're charting things like that we have yards after contact per attempt we have yards before contact per attempt we even have you know stuff percentage percentage of carries are stuffed a stuff is any run that does not result

in a first down and or touchdown less than four yards, blah, blah, blah. So, you know, I'm not sure how into the data you are, but, you know, we're trying to get smarter and better. And, you know, we have these advanced stats here. So any thoughts on some of these data points I'm talking about? Yeah, I love it. I love it because it really gives you an opportunity to look deep into the numbers of how a running back is truly performing, right?

I mean, you know, you can have a guy that, you know, that is leading the league, but he's, you know, fifth and explosive runs. You know, I've always been a guy that, you know, I like guys with explosive runs. That's how you change the game. You know, and ultimately, when you think about it, explosive runs, you won't have to have 25 carries. If there is a guy like Jemir Gibbs,

who I'm sure, without even asking you, John, I'm sure Jemir Gibbs is up in the top of the league somewhere in explosive runs. if we're talking about based on per carry. You know, I know he's shared with David Montgomery. They share time. But Jermere Gibbs, you can see the explosive runs changes games, right? And so I love that because the other thing that it does for me, when I'm getting ready to draft, I'm thinking about those things.

Like who's going to give me explosive runs? Who's going to, who breaks the most tackles? because at the end of the day, that is how you stay on the field. That's how you accumulate points and touchdowns. And those are the guys that I want on my team. I got the data here, LT. You ready? Among 49 running backs last year with at least 100 attempts,

Jemir Gibbs per fantasy points date a third best explosive run percentage behind Devani Chan and Briseall. Boom. Yeah. Yeah, Von A-chain is pretty good too. Yeah. He's pretty good too. I would love to have both of them. What we'll do, let's take a quick time out.

One more segment here with the Great Ladinian Tomlinson. Let's see if he's got some fantasy sleepers for you guys. Don't go anywhere. It's the Fantasy Points podcast. This Giving Tuesday, Cam H is counting on your support. Together, we can forge a better path for mental health by creating a future where Canadians can get the help they need when they need it, no matter who or where they are. From November 25th to

December 2nd, your donation will be doubled. That means every dollar goes twice as far to help build a future where no one's seeking help is left behind. Donate today at camh.ca.ca. slash giving Tuesday. All right, welcome back everybody, Brian Drake, the guru John Hanson, someone you may know and love here, the great Ladenian Tomlinson, NFL Hall of Famer. I go out to Canton every year for a fantasy event and draft, and I see your bust in there. That had to just be an incredible experience to get enshrined into Canton. And all these young players out there now, LT, are trying to get where you were. You're a fantasy player. You're in it just like John and I are. You got any sleepers for us? Any young running backs? You're keeping your eye on. You see it. You go,

ooh, I like what this kid's doing. I like that offense. He's going to be a star. You know what? I'm just now starting to really get into doing research and, you know, kind of ranking my running backs. But here's the thing. I've always gone by if a guy is in a really good offense, like he has a really good play caller, even the second string running back, he's a sleeper. You know, he's because he's going to get opportunities. I think off the top of my head, one guy that I'm thinking about.

And I don't want to talk too loud here because I have another fantasy owner in my league that's here. And I don't want him to steal this guy on draft day. But Trey Benson from Arizona, I'm telling you now. And I love James Connor, but he's going to miss some games. You know, he always does because he runs so freaking hard and he's so tough. But Trey Benson, man, he's the type of guy. that if he get in the lineup, he may not give it back. Explosive plays.

Talk about explosive plays, LT. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So that's one guy that I have my eyes on. By the way, Brian mentioned your Hall of Fame induction, which, of course, I was very happy to see. You know, I'm tight with Fred McGriff, the crime dog. Oh, my man, I love the crime dog. I mean, you guys are two of my favorites.

I've been friends with Fred, actually, 25 years, and he made the hall after a long way. And I felt like I got into the hall. I'm like, I was so happy for him. But your speech was epic. I mean, go, everyone go, go check it out on YouTube. Ladania Tomlinson's Hall of Fan accept in acceptance speech, one of the greatest of all time. But LT, I did want to, here's a name that I'll throw out to you because a lot of people this time last year were comparing this guy to you.

And I know that you signed off on the comparison. I'm talking Bijan. last year watching week one it was like it was like the one o'clock games kicked off week one it was like 1 12 Eastern and I tweeted I'm like all right I've already seen it off I think bejean is the most talented running back in the NFL what'd you see out of bejean what would how would have you felt if you played for arthur smith who's pulling your ass all the time and no more arthur smith and i think the sky's the limit l t this year on bejean yeah Yeah, Bison is a stud.

And, you know, I've been fortunate to get to know him a little bit and I really like him and have some great conversations with him. And I felt for him. I felt for him last year. Certainly, you know, he wanted more opportunities. And Arthur had his system the way he wanted to run it. Yeah. But, you know, I think it's a silver lining for Bsjean

because, you know, he was able to take a step back and kind of learn the game slowly, even though he wanted more. Yeah. He was able to learn the NFL game. But not only that, the conversations that I had with him was about taking the opportunity to learn now what everybody else is doing. Like, you know what you're doing. Right.

You know, you can, since you are in the timeshare and you're not playing as much as you want to, take the opportunity to learn what the defense is trying to do to you, you know, so that you'll become a better player. And I think this season, guys, he's another guy that if he's there with the six pit, I think I'm just going to, I'm going to cash it in right away. Oh, yeah. By the way. You know?

Yeah. He's special. Didn't you get 31 carries your first NFL game, LT? Yes, something like that. It might have been 36. Oh, let's take a look. It was something crazy. Damn, we got to, I remember thinking, damn.

Yes. 36. There it is. Wow. Yeah. But Norv Turner told me, he told me, he said, hey, man, he said, you know, and the crazy thing is I healed out of all of training camp. And so when I got back in, he said, you better be ready to go. I hope you're in shape because I'm going to give it to you 30 times the first game.

He told me that. I'm sure he is. And, you know, he stayed true to his word. Damn. I've spoken with Norv a couple of times. One time I told him, you know, 20 years ago, I'm like, forget about it. Any all the noise all the fantasy people love you norv you're the man and then like 10 years later i saw him like yo norv he's like hey you like that mcalfrey because he was with the panthers

and i'm like oh we love it just just keep feeding these guys a rock here uh l t i got to ask you about another guy uh our our guy i believe you were with me on this kid givante williams i mean what a shame i don't even want to get into that neat hackett thing because i swear in my mind like him getting jockeyed and pulled may have resulted in the injury that's just my thought but neither here nor there um what do you think here i felt like last year was it was it was tough go but now we're a year removed in the final year of our contract can givante our guy get it back l t you know it's going to be interesting and and i think he's going to have every opportunity to you know to be because when you think about the type of office shan pay

Hayton has always loved to give the ball to the running backs. He's always loved to feature a running back. You know, that's kind of been part of his offenses and, you know, kind of get the run game going on and then attack people down the field. So I think Javonte, he's talented enough. What I'm waiting on is the explosive element to come back. You know, last year, it just, you know, it was a work in progress. We can see at times he was starting to, turn the corner, but I would like to see it a little bit more consistently. But tell me, John, I'm just not, who else is in that backfield? I don't think he has much of a challenge in that backfill. It should be pretty much, you know, he should get at least 200 carries, is what I'm thinking.

Yeah, I mean, you're right. I mean, at the end of the day, like, we overreact a little bit, you know, they have Jal McLaughlin, who was undrafted, Samage P. Ryan is a backup type. and they took logic estimating the fifth. Like, L.T. You put yourself in Javante's shoes. Like, are you really worried about a fifth rounder? Like maybe, okay, I see you, but you're a fifth rounder.

I mean. Yeah, and I think it speaks to how the Broncos feel about Javonte. You know, for them not to bring in a high-quality free agent guy, like a Joe Mixing, you know, they didn't seem to go after Joe Mixing or even try to, You know, so and then not to draft a running back who some people speculated that they would try to draft the running back fairly high. Certainly not the first round, but you would think maybe third round. You would try to take a running back off the board. The fact that they didn't draft a running back there, I think it says, you know, Sean Payton feels pretty good about Javonte.

So that might be a guy that can have, you know, I would say bring, take you. to a championship because it's a guy you don't expect to have a huge year that might get 200 carries, have over 1,000 yards, 10 plus touchdowns, and he's the unsung hero to take you to a championship. Let me ask you a question. You mentioned the name Joe Mixon, and he is now down in Houston in this Bobby Sloick-Shannahan influenced offense. Our guy, Scott Barrett, works for us over at FantasyPoints.com, had a great stat from

fantasy points data and it had to do with Damien Pierce and Joe Mixin and how well they run man and gap concepts and how they are over Joe Mixen specifically a yard worse in yard per carry in zone concept runs which Houston's going to run a ton of this year so you as a you're a professional running back you're a Hall of Famer nobody can speak to this better than you do some guys just not fit certain systems and coaches kind of they just want to put a square peg and a round hole, or is it a lot harder to run man versus zone? And why are these guys more successful in one than the other? Yeah. So, you know, there are some guys that are just not good at running zone. And I don't think this is a case with Joe Mixing, though. Right. Because at Oklahoma,

he ran zone. I agree. I agree. He was really good at it. You know, and I think it's, you know, So let's remember sometimes it's the way coaches teach it. You know, what they have guys reading, the way the blocking is constructed. Yeah. That can play a factor. But I think the Texans in that system, much like, you know, Kyle Shanahan's offense, it's much easier to read zone blocking. You know, the way they teach it, you know, it's much easier.

So I think Joe Mixing will excel in that offense, especially when he's going to be playing against six-man boxes, guys. They're not going to pack the box. They're going to be trying to stop the past game with C.J. Straub. Joe Mixing will have light boxes. They will kill people on the perimeter with him. Yeah, yeah. And then the gap would be, I mean, it's a little simpler, right?

You just run the right gap, right? Yeah, pretty much. Exactly. So, you know, it's all about the, pool blocking down and you're trying to hit a certain gap you're reading that first down lineman if he go inside you stay outside if he go outside you stay inside you know what i mean it's it's a little bit more simpler where the zone you do have to read it and you have to be a little bit more patient you have to let the lineman block get up on the linebacker so it is different but i think joe mixing you know he's a professional

to run it back. I don't think he'll have a problem in that office. We would be remiss if we didn't ask you about your chargers. And I would venture to say that you would be okay playing for Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman as Gus Edwards and maybe J.K. Dobbins. I'm still shocked. They'll say they didn't draft Blake Corum, but your thoughts on this rebuild and, you know, this running back room. I mean, they're going to try and run the rock. It's Greg Roman. Oh, they're going to run the rock. I mean, you know, like I know you guys can't see it right now,

but they're going to find a way to run the football. They all, you know, Jim Harbaugh always does. He always runs the football. We know Greg Roman, you know, has had a history of being able to create ways to run the football. And I don't want to misspeak on this young man's name, but I know that we drafted. Kamani Vidal. there we go hey now that's a sleeper don't sleep on i mean i've heard really good things about him now passing my eyeball test i saw him at the senior ball l t i'm like this guy passing my eyeball test

and when you look at the way he ran at troy he slipped a lot of blocks you know john you brought up mist tackles earlier he made a he created a lot of miss tackles just and with the little slip with the little body lean being able to break tackle. So this is a kid, I think we should keep our eyes on. And they're going to start out, in my opinion, with the three-man rotation. All those, those three guys will get, get, you know, reps. Yeah. And it's funny, you know, I had little terms and little guruisms, as you probably

recall doing the show for me. I have like little things that, you know, I look at receivers. I'm like, I'm a separatist. I need separation. but for my running backs, I always, I like creators, like you. Like, you know, oh, it didn't get blocked up. Oh, we're screwed. No, we're not.

We can create it on our own, right? Like, how much of that, how important is that to you? I mean, like, that's, that separates the good backs from the great ones, I think, in many ways. Yeah, it does. Absolutely. Because if we're putting a percentage on it, you know, 50, probably, you know, 45% of the time, it's not blind. right. You know, maybe even more than that. You're not going to get if the play is designed to get to the A gap, you're not a lot of times you're not going to be in that A gap because why the defense get

paid too. They have really great players on that side of the ball, you know, and their job is to stop the play. And so there's going to be penetration. Can you create? Can you jump to the next hole? Oh, there's a hole in the B gap. Can you. explode through that hole, break a tackle, break a arm tackle. Those are the things I look for, John, and you're so right on with that. You're on point with that. Those are kind of guys, especially in fantasy, that you're going to want to have on your team. Man, what a great 40 minutes.

Thank you, LT. This is a dream come true for a guy like me here. It's sitting here talking to a Hall of Famer. Just incredible stuff, man. Do you have any good stories from doing the serious show? show with guru oh i do real quick l t i'll answer the question because you know l t you got a lot going on uh you remember the time we had frank gore on while he was still in the league yes because that was awesome so i go to frank i'm like oh frank before we let you go uh i've already done your projection for this

week i can tell you what you're going to do he's like oh yeah i said oh well frank you're going to run for 95 yards and he quickly went give me the hundred so i went done done done I gave him, I literally gave him the five yards, gave him 100. What did he do that weekend? He ran for 100 with two touchdowns. There you go. That's awesome. Yeah.

I told him that story years later. I ran into him in Indian. I told him that story. And by the way, LT, you know who I interviewed at the combine this year? His son. How about that? Wow. Yeah.

Yeah, that's right. He's, I think I had a conversation years ago about, Frank Gore, his son. And he was telling me about him. He wanted me to talk to him. And it just has to be a special, special moment for Frank. I'm so proud of him. Yep, great guy.

And you two, LT. You are still mentoring a lot of these young. You're kind of kind of like the one of the go-to guys here. So you're still kind of, that's got to be cool too, keeping the touch with the youngans. Yeah, it is. You know, I take pride in it. I think, you know, it's really our obligation, you know, as, you know, great. players and stewards of the game to really, when those young guys call on us, mentor them,

you know, advise them when we can, and keep the game moving forward. I tell them all the time, I'm still waiting for someone to come get the 31 touchdowns. No one has got in. Yeah, probably going to be, yeah, you'll be waiting for a while, which is a good thing. But LT, we really appreciate your time. You remain one of my favorite human beings on the planet, and we thank you, sir. Absolutely. Thanks, guys.

Appreciate it. All right, that's the great Ladanian Tomlinson, NFL Hall of Famer, fantasy football legend. Appreciate his time. When we come back, John and I finish our discussion on his ADP values versus consensus ranks. Don't go anywhere, folks. At Capital One, we're more than just a credit card company. We're people just like you who believe in the power of yes. Yes to new opportunities. Yes to second chances.

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Gambling problem, call Connects Ontario, 1866531-260, 19 and over, physically present in Ontario. Eligibility restrictions apply. See Golden Nuggettcasino.com for details. Please play responsibly. All right, welcome back, everybody, the Fantasy Points podcast, Drake, the Guru,

we're hanging with you. What a great interview with Ladani and Tomlinson talking about some of the running backs he's targeting in fantasy football. And John, I know he's got his hand on the guru. Ranking. We need to cue the Mr. C clip from the league. I need the guru rankings, man. He was desperate.

If you go over to FantasyPoints.com, you can get John's NFL redraft rankings. They'll be updated throughout the summertime. And I know people are diehards about them. We're going to, John, talk about a little discrepancy between your rankings and some of the consensus that we see out there in the industry. For this podcast, we're going to talk quarterbacks and running back. The first quarterback that we're going to talk about is someone that you may have heard of. His name's Patrick Mahomes. Now, you see him going off the board in most places.

He's QB5, John, and he was a guy last year who had a ton of yak yards. I think he led the league in terms of his yardage being gained on yak. Now he goes out and he adds Xavier Worthy. He adds Hollywood Brown. And it's just another year of Andy Reid. in the lab against this, you know, too high safety that they're deploying against the chiefs. Why do you love Mahomes so much more than the, uh, the other rankers here? You've got him at QB2. Yeah, I mean, not only is Mahomes, you know, the most consistent quarterback in the NFL.

He's coming at a little bit of a discount here, uh, on the heels of a very underwhelming campaign. But, you know, he is, uh, a year removed from the MVP campaign, uh, in 2022 without Tyree kill, which is absolutely absurd. So I think, you know, hey, 27 touchdowns last year was a buzzkill. He got zero on the ground, which is actually a little weird. So I'm just feeling it in terms of, you know, the momentum is going to, I believe, swing positive based on what they've done. I think Andy Reid is a little sick of Dinkin and Duncan.

You're it's like I always equated to you know having a BMW M4 that's an actual race car, but having balled tires. So you can't punch it. Like what are we doing here with Patrick Mahomes? You're not utilizing his arm when you're throwing a freaking ball to juju and guys like that. So that that is why they took worthy. That is why they brought in Hollywood Brown. And, you know, we'll see about Rishi Rice, but I think they'll have a little bit more stability. and I think the YPA is going to be rising.

So I'm feeling it that, you know, we're swinging a little positive here. His ADP is down a little bit, but I think his performance will increase, actually. So therefore, I actually think Mahomes is, you know, like I say, he's a steal, but he's a little bit of a value, I think. You've coined this the Summer of Love, and Jordan Love is your QB7 in redraft right now. Now, I'm looking at some of his ADP elsewhere, QB10, QB11. This is exactly the range of where I want to take my quarterbacks this summer, this Jordan Love, Joe Burrow, DAC, kind of plateau here. But why do you love Jordan Love so much?

I know you and I, you know, we got to talk about Jordan Love all summer long. We had Bow Melton's father on. Jordan Love has the cheapest, youngest receiving corps in the NFL. And for some folks, we would say that's a disadvantage. You know, he's got these unproven guys. And, you know, he's kind of just coming into his second really year as a full-time starter. But that's kind of all out the window because we saw this kid shine on the biggest of stages last year. And he just looks like a superstar.

The light bulb is gone on. And it's just up, up and away for Jordan Love. And you're leading the charge here in 2024. Yeah, I mean, I guess it's, there's a fine line that we all kind of play. and when you see a breakout guy like, okay, one year, great. Is it for real or did he overachieve a little bit? I'm dealing with that a little bit, C.J. Stroud. Like, is C.J. Stroud really the fourth best quarterback or the fifth best quarterback

in fantasy and in the NFL? I mean, the markets are saying that. And last year, the markets didn't give a crap about C.J. Stroud. So I think it's similar. And I think the answer fairly is yes on both fronts in terms of is Stroud and love for real. Certainly, you got to make a little bit of a leap of faith here, but based on everything, and, you know, we've talked about this ad nauseum. You know, you add up the positives with Jordan Love and the negatives. Well, the positives win. That's what we said last summer.

And that played out. So I don't have him doing much better than last year. That's the thing. like I basically have him replicating last year. I don't think that's too much to ask when you are very talented. You know, I mean, he's one of the five to six most physically gifted quarterbacks in the league. So there's a good starting point.

And, you know, yeah, he was slow going out of the gate. But I remember talking with multiple people close to the team going into last year, 2023 where you know even rob damovsky has been covering them for 20 years i've known rob for 20 years and he he was very skeptical may of 22 uh like june whatever july may was like spring summery 22 he's like i don't know if this guy's ever coming through fast forward to uh that same time last year in 2023 all of a sudden he's like you know what the i think the light bulb has come on that's that's the feeling i'm getting by talking to other coaches and okay that did kind of play out we got better and better i know our friend james co on this podcast a couple weeks ago

talked about his schedule being a concern uh but guess or being really good last year that being a concern for this year but the thing is it's very good this year too so um i am going to bet on him being for real it's kind of like joe borough i guess it's somewhat similar you know when he had that that first year we're like okay and then he i guess the acl but like going into 2022 i think that was the year i'm like guys he's a eighth quarterback off the board ninth i mean this this guy's better than that so um yeah i'm feeling it with jordan love i i know the touchdowns can be a little fluky but i think though i think he's a passing to score type of quarterback or at least handling the ball

to score either he runs it in himself or he throws it in. I don't necessarily see Josh Jacobs piling up a lot of touchdowns here. So I think a lot of them are going to come from love. And another reason finally is look at the receiving core, how deep it is and how much they can do with that with LaFleur. I think he's a pretty good coach. Well, let's transition to the running back position now. And one of the things I've always loved about following your work is you have this innate ability to hit on ascending running backs, running back situations, guys prime for breakout years. I remember winning a league when you were talking up Arian Foster back in the day, when people were like, I don't even know who this guy is. This is a real player. I think you just made the name

up. But you have this great ability to do that and to find guys who, you know, other people might be a little down on and not saying that everyone's down on Jonathan Taylor, but you're ahead of the game on him. He's a player you have said for a few seasons now. This guy's a Hall of Fame talent. He's behind a really good offensive line in Indianapolis. Now he gets his quarterback, healthy, hopefully for a full off season. And the sky is the limit for Jonathan Taylor. Can we get him to play more than 11 games? I mean, you'll look at what he's done the last two years, you know, 10 games last year, 11 games the year before. I want that 1,800 yard Johnny Taylor from 2021, John. And according to your ranks, you think he's in that and top tier.

And we're going to get it this year. Yeah. And I mean, I'm just going in and doing a projection based on everything that I know. And I know more about them than I did a couple of years ago. But I will say going into that breakout year. So I guess that would have been 2021. Man, they're all running together. I'm going to look at it right now.

21. Yeah. going into that breakout year when I did yeah those projections guess who the number one player was Jonathan Taylor but you know the ADP was like 12 overall or I don't know 10 overall 13 overall it wasn't one not even close but you know so you know talk to the other guys and we had to kind of pull back a little bit but that that was a good example of like hey I mean yeah I do like Jonathan Taylor probably more than most, but these are just my realistic thoughts on how many touches he's going to get and how efficient he's going to be with those touches in the running and the

passing game. And let's see where he stacks up. Oh, okay, number one. Okay. Well, this year I did the exact same thing. And again, I'm not that high on him. It looks like RB4. It just comes in a little higher than the markets. And I think the real thing is the overall ranking, which is the whole point of this convoy. And I just am placing a higher premium on a tailor in terms of one of the few foundational guys that you can get who could carry your ass for sure. I mean, how many running backs on the board this year have legitimate potential to truly carry you? Brian, I'll throw it back to you. I mean, I don't think anyone thought Karen Williams could do it. Well, he did,

but until he didn't. I mean, the picking's a little slim there in that regard. There's no question. You go out and you look at guys who are legit three-down backs, you know, a Sequin, a Bijan, Christian McCaffrey. You need these insane outlier seasons

like, you know, Rahim Mostert with 18 rushing touchdowns to come through. Everybody else is kind of, you know, there's a flaw on them. We're going to get to that with our next guy. in Rashad White, where they have to rely on receiving work to make up for their inefficiencies in the run game. But you're right. It's it's tough to find those guys who are just stand alone studs or they're not, you know, 800 years old like James Connor or they just don't catch the football well.

You know, like, you know, I don't know, but Najee Harris or somebody. But let's go over to Rashad White. He was a guy last year you were all in on. You were screaming from the rooftops, whoever would listen please draft rachad white and all he didn't ppr was finish uh you know i what do i got him here is he like rb four so yeah what a stud and he was insanely inefficient as i mentioned but it helps when you go out and catch 64 balls on a season that's it's bananas do you think he can hold that up this year is he a value is he someone that we should be going to get again now that dave canales is gone or or should we shy away from white well i think you know let's let's be careful let's not pay up more than we need to you know that looks like the markets have them as uh what's that

fourth round pick at this point which is i mean it should be fair uh rb 13 i've got him at eight um i know again it's a little bit of a leap of faith because he's not insanely talented um but and we did we do have a a change in the coaching staff we worry about that but to me the two positive elements and and look Liam Cohen does come from the Sean McVeigh tree so he's going to throw to his backs and you know maybe he does prefer one back uh to handle the bulk of the load i would argue he has no choice because that's my main point number one is i'm not a bucky irving person i think he's a complimentary change up guy at best chase edmonds i don't even know if he's that Sean Tucker will see he'll get some chances but did nothing.

So I still think he owns the backfield in terms of touches. Like what are they going to do? Not not giving the ball, you know, but the other thing is I think their own line will be better. Thanks to Graham Barton at center because that was a big problem last year. Interior wise, they lost Ryan Jensen and they were awful. Like, you know, Rashad is again, he's always been my favorite, but I've never said he was a stud. Like, you got to block it up for him a little bit. They did not block it up at all.

And yet he still was the RB2. So while I think maybe he doesn't get quite as high of a percentage of touches in the backfield, because that was fairly unusual. And maybe they take a little bit of a step back because they are working in a new officer coordinator. I lost Dave Canales, who did a great job, as Rashad told us, he would, by the way. I talked with him this time last year. I still think at the end of the day that he is their.

their best option. He's going to get the ball. It's a little boring. It's a little volume base. But I do think that the blocking will be better. Baker Mayfield is still there. They still have Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. So they should have a professional passing game. And I think, again, they'll block it up a little bit better for Rashad. So I don't think he's like a screaming value like last year, but he's a good target. I think a lynch pin in fantasy football this season that's going to decide championships across this great nation is going to be what do with Kairn Williams. Now, if you go off of what Kiron Williams did last year, Kyrin Williams should be a first

round pick, right? Kiron Williams owned the backfield on a fairly good team, double-digit rushing touchdowns, caught over 30 balls. He was a really, really productive player. The problem being he gets nicked up. all the time and they went out and invested in Blake Corum in the third round. So do you want to spend a second round pick on Kyron Williams? I remember talking to you in the offseason, John, and in no uncertain terms, you were like, hell no, I'm not trying. I'm not spending a first round

pick on this guy. There's no chance in the world. But second round in on them, what do you think's going to happen in LA with Kyran and Blake and all these running backs? Well, first of all, I think the Rams could take a step back this year. I was not in on them this year, but, you know, the year before, I thought I sensed the problem. And I bailed. And they were awful. They did lose Rahim Morris. The defensive coordinator was great.

And they lost Aaron Donald. So, I mean, I know they added Jared Verse and Fisk from Florida State. You know, they were best friends on the team, by the way. But I think they're going to have a little bit of a drop off. there for sure on defense and you know i'm always worried about this old line you know it seems like they're always hanging on by a thread stafford was great last year but he is getting up there in age at 36 years old so i do worry a little bit there uh kairn williams my rule has always been if you at running back come out of nowhere ball out and then the next year get love and fantasy

it never works out you know um miles gaskin remember that three years ago and people were taking him in the fifth round I'm like what uh this is right not as dramatic as that you know because because karen was very good last year but you know i don't know i watched him i've told the story a little bit you know the year before he did not look good he didn't test well he just looked like a jag so i'm like why why do i why do i care about a jag you know in the summer like i'm you know i did he was a complete effort thought uh for me um but as i watched him i said okay i see i see see it now a little bit. He's very patient. You know, he really maximizes, you know, every opportunity on the field with good vision and patience. And he's not that physically gifted. Okay,

that's great. I just, I don't know about the O line. Like I said, year to year. And, you know, if they're going to give him a lot of work, he's going to wear it down again. And I think Blake Corum at the end of the day is more talented. So when I see potential downside for the whole team, I see a young backup who's better. So I'm like, I'm not paying that premium. By the way, for nothing, but early in the year, I was saying before they drafted Corum, people were taking Karen in the first round. Yeah.

And I'm like, that you will regret that. That's what I said. And guess what? You did. And it didn't even take the season to play out before you regretted it. So we're all, there's already regretful Carmen Williams drafters out there. I wonder if we're going to have that same thought about Devon A. Chan. in the Miami Dolphins. You know, people have him in their top 10 at running back. You've got him

down in your guru rankings at RB 11. People are taking him early to mid-second round. I personally cannot do it. The efficiency, we talk about how inefficient Rashad White was at the complete opposite end of the spectrum is Devon A-chan, who was incredibly efficient. That just simply cannot carry through another season. Now, will Rahim Moster score, whatever was, 18 touchdowns again? No, probably not. They did draft Jalen Wright, who I think it was a solid player. And they're just, you're going to regress a little bit. Last week, we had Mike Clay on the show, and he always talks about regression to the mean. I think we're going to see some of that with H.N. He's a smaller guy. He's not someone I think you're going to pound, you know, between the

tackles. That's why most it's there. That's why you drafted right. So you're a little below the market on Devon A. Chan. Are you pulling the trigger on him in the second round, John? No, I just, can't do it because i mean generally i i i always mentioned saquan bark i was not a saiquan barkly person and i i i don't think i was wrong i mean you know he is good he's had good fantasy seasons also gotten hurt but you know he's actually not a very good runner he is a big play dependent in the running game and i i don't that i don't like that and certainly devon a chan is going to be just that and i thought last year there was there were points early in the year i'm like i thought this guy honestly was a 10 touch a game guy and then they started giving him more a lot more and i'm like well i guess

i was wrong and then he got hurt twice so i'm like okay what what side of this is right i mean what's the what's the magical formula so i don't know i think maybe maybe go uh with that number of like 10 a game 12 at the most and i don't know if they want to do that i don't know what rights role is um it's one of those deals where i could see it happening if he catches lightning in a jar but i wouldn't bet on it because again if you aren't going to get more than 150 carries then now you're big play dependent and if you're not going to be big play dependent that means you're getting more carries and if you get more carries since you're not big you'll probably get hurt so at the end of the day the answer is no, I ain't taking his ass in the second round.

One player that I love that you're ahead of the markets on it, I don't know why people are so asleep on this, is James Cook, the running back for the Buffalo Bills. He's going off in some spots depending on what ADP, easy for me to say, you look at, you know, around 46, you've got them up at 37th. This is a guy, remember, they changed offensive coordinators at one point last year in Buffalo.

This is a team that wanted to run the football a little more. Now you'll look at their offense. And there's no alpha wide receiver here. I think it's going to a lot of it run through the tight end. Cook is a very capable receiver out of the backfield. And maybe they lean on him a little more. I love that you're ahead of the markets on James Cook. I think he is a phenomenal pick if you want to get him as your RB2,

or maybe it's a zero RB build, you know, three, four rounds into the draft. Yeah, I always lean on that genetic cheat code before James Cook even played in the NFL. I said, well, I was around James Cook. cook at the combine and i think he's going to do well why because he's literally dalvin cook except he's smaller but he's also faster uh i mean they're the exact same freaking guy uh and i think that's kind of played out you know pretty impressive going from 89 carries and well 5.7 yards a pop uh and then you increase that by like 2.5x uh and then you maintain a very healthy 4.7 yard per carry average i think joe

Brady, the offensive coordinator there is a little run heavy. I don't know how much better Cook is going to get in the passing game, but I think he's certainly good. I thought he was going to be great, but he's very good. 10 yards of catch is nothing to sneeze at. And maybe Brady wants to work in two, three other running backs, but he's clearly their lead guy. And, you know, they did lose some guys at receiver, obviously,

with all those targets with Diggs and Gabe Davis. Yeah, I like it. I also like Ray Davis. I could be wrong there. I could be overrating him. But I do think that James Cook and Ray Davis can basically handle, be the one two punch and handle most of it. We cook it in about, you know, 63, 64% in that split with Ray Davis,

maybe even emerging as an occasional pass catcher third down back. But yeah, at end of the day, James Cook is proven pretty durable, by the way. and I think we're looking at damn near really approaching 300 touches. It's pretty damn good. Yeah, he's he's someone I'm targeting in drafts for sure. You know who I've never targeted this guy in drafts and you're significantly ahead of the market on him. And I'm going to need you to, you know, you got to sell me here. I've never been a Ken Walker guy.

Me either. I wasn't either. Yeah. I'm never been in on him. You know, again, last year, not a thousand yards. They bring Charbonnet in. Now the offense is going to change some. So this could change everything.

Pete Carroll's gone and maybe that boring offense. And we're looking a little bit more like the Rams here than we are, you know, 1940s leather helmet football. But why are you so in on Ken Walker? Sell me on why I should draft this guy. Well, I mean, I'll just point out how I had to apologize for not being in on Ken Walker last year because he ended up finishing. let's take a look here uh points per game he was i mean he wasn't unbelievable but he was uh r b 22

it the numbers were actually very close to where i had him but i think for me it was i kicked myself a little bit even though i pretty much i guess i evaluated him pretty well his final standings was close to where i had him but he also was a high impact guy when healthy uh r b 21 you know he had nine touchdowns well that's a little surprising um but he had big games and it was just to me it was like well i guess i should have been a little higher on him because he does fit uh my profile and not totally but young durable versatile and oh by the way final piece of the puzzle i hate to say it but i thought zach charbonnet was a jag last year i think that's really more than else kind of the crux of the matter. Charbonnet could still you know continue to cut in he was

involved in the passing game but yeah I mean I didn't like him last year and I kind of regretted it so I'm giving him a little bit more of a nod for you know being young and versatile generally durable look I didn't like him coming out either because he bounces too many runs and that's that's been shown to be a problem but they are going to spread it out a little bit this year too So he could be ripping off some big plays. I mean, let's look at the game logs. Talk about moving the needle. Week two, he had two touchdown game.

Week three, he had a two touchdown game. Week four, he ran for 79 with a touch. Week six, he ran for 62 with a touch called three balls to 27. Then the next week, he had 26 carries for 105. You know, he was inactive for a couple of weeks. He had a couple so-so games. But, you know, week 10, he 19 carries, 63, had a 60. he had a 64-yard touchdown catch you know then he then he gets hurt he missed a couple games but you know

even down the stretch 19 carries 86 with a touch three for 26 uh week 17 only 10 carries but 53 touch three for 22 i mean he's just he was pretty impactful yeah every one of those two touchdown games was against one of my fancy themes last season there's no question about it every time i looked up I'm going to go, oh, why am I losing this week? Ken Walker's doing me in. Give me a break. Oh, my God. I mean, one more guy here.

We're just kind of dipping our toes into the guru John Hanson's projections. If you go over to FantasyPoint.com, we're going to be getting those up on the site. The redraft rankings are there right now. We're going to expand upon that over the coming weeks. And the next podcast we do, you're going to hear us talk about receivers and tight ends. I want to ask you finally about Josh Jacobs moves from the Raiders, now to the Green Bay Packers. You're not as high on him as the market. Why is that?

Yeah, I mean, I don't know. You know, subject to change, you know, I don't have a great vibe. You know, he's been a little bit of all over the place. I mean, he's been generally available. You've got to give it up to that for that. But yeah, I'm just not feeling. it per se here i mean they they brought in marshawn lloyd who i thought was the best receiving back in the class or at least the one of the two to three best jacobs's role in the passing game has

always been a little suspect they surprisingly brought back a j dylan now look if they let a j dylan go they're not paying them any money that will make me feel better about jacobs but it's just a vibe thing just a feel thing i mean he could fit in perfectly and you know give them a lot of volume unlike Aaron Jones, honestly, and solidify things, and it could go very well. But I'm going to go the other way. His data was not good last year. You know, we are a year removed from that dream season. And, you know, it looks more and more like an outlier as we look at five years in the NFL.

They've all been pretty good. But four of the five, there have been plenty of underwhelming spots. And then I think right now, I know David or Matt LaFleffle, floor is a running game guy, but I kind of feel like Jordan Love and this offense now, they're going to get a lot of their touchdowns via the forward pass. So I don't know if he gets like double-digit touchdowns. So if Dylan and Lloyd are there, I think they'll be prohibitive in terms of short yardage and catches.

So now we're like a lot of empty calorie plays for Josh Jacobs. So does he get, you know, 19 carries for 79 yards, catch one ball for six, he doesn't score, and now what? Right. those are the worst running backs in fantasy to have those between the 20s guys you know it's like oh hey especially if you don't play in a full ppr league and they don't catch any balls they kill you folks they kill you but that's why you're signed up over at fantasy points.com so you know who to draft where to draft them and why to draft them so if you want more from the guru's rankings go over to fantasy points.com

that'll be updated all through the summer big thanks to our guest ladenian tomlinson for coming on with us this week. What a great conversation with him. Make sure you go over to the YouTube channel as well. You can watch the conversation that we had with LT. And stick next week. We're going to have Dr. Mark Addox on the show. You're not going to want to miss this talking about the injuries that we should be following in the 2024 season. So for the guru, John Hanson, I'm Brian Drake. We'll see you next time for the Fantasy Points podcast.