Fantasy Football Daily - New York Jets with Michael Nania | 2023 Franchise Focus Podcast

Episode Date: June 22, 2023

Joe Dolan (@FG_Dolan) and Michael Nania (@Michael_Nania) of the Cool Your Jets Podcast (@CYJpod) and @JetsXFactor sit down to preview Aaron Rodgers and the 2023 New York Jets. Want to join a high-stakes dynasty league -- or any other high-stakes league? All new FFPC users get $25 off their first FFPC league of $35 or more, including dynasty orphans, using our affiliate link: https://myffpc.com/cms/public?affid=fantasypoints FANTASY POINTS PROJECTIONS ARE LIVE FOR ALL STANDARD AND PREMIUM SUBSCRIBERS! Interested in playing Best Ball in 2023? There's no better place than Underdog Fantasy. Use our code FANTASYPTS to sign up for a new account at Underdog, and not only will you get a 100% deposit match up to $100... but you'll get a Fantasy Points Standard subscription for only $5! https://www.fantasypoints.com/underdog --- 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. Hey everyone, it's Joe Dolan and welcome to the 2023 franchise focus podcast series at FantasyPoint.com. Franchise Focus has been something we've been doing for a number of years and really what it started as was a team preview article for all 32 teams in the NFL with a fantasy slant. And last year I decided, and it ended up being a pretty successful endeavor, outside of the fact that I recorded half the podcast with COVID voice, I decided to expand the franchise focus idea to go to the source.

And what I opted to do was reach out to a podcaster, analyst, beat writer, individual for all 32 teams, somebody who covers that team, for a living, somebody who was just intimately close to those teams. And I thought it really went well and I think people enjoyed it. It gave me new perspective. It gave me new takes. There were some sleepers I learned about that I didn't think about. There were some breakout candidates that I learned about that I didn't think about. So I really wanted to do that again and I'm excited that over the next six weeks. I am going to be able to bring that to you. This is week one of the series. And what we're going to do is we're going to start with the AFC East and we are going to go AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, AFC West, and we're going to go alphabetical order

within those divisions by city name. So we're starting off the podcast series with AFC East, and over the next six weeks, we're going to hit all 32 teams with an article. Some of them will be free, some of them will be exclusive to Fantasy Point subscribers, but the podcast will always be free. There's going to be an accompanying podcast. So when you see the podcast or see the article, you know there's going to be the counterpart to that, either on the website or on the podcast feed. I'm really excited to bring the 2023 franchise focus podcast series to you. Without further ado, let's kick it off with the AFC East. And we're welcoming back Michael Nannia to the franchise focus podcast.

He was one of our favorite guests on last year's version of the program talking New York Jets. Michael is the co-owner of Jets Factor. He's also the co-host of the Cool Your Jets podcast. You can follow him on Twitter at Michael underscore Nannia. Michael, welcome back to franchise focus. A lot has changed for the New York Jets in the 12 months since we last talked. I hope you're ready to work late this year, by the way. You guys are credentialed over there at Jets X Factor.

And there's a lot of prime time for the Jets this year for obvious reasons. Oh, yeah, and thanks for having me back. And, yeah, to say the least, things have changed a little bit since last year. But hopefully for the better, I think Jets fans are hoping. But like you said, I think six primetime games. One of those is a 4 o'clock Black Friday game, but five night games, which is not usual for the Jets, who are usually 1 o'clock Eastern regular.

So it'll be a change. And hopefully it's something, hopefully the spotlight allows the Jets to showcase themselves in a positive way more so than some of the things we've seen previously. So what's the vibe like around the Jets right now, mini-camps, OTAs with obviously, the trade for Aaron Rogers. How different is that for how long you've been covering the Jets? Kind of kind of that different vibe. I mean, the Jets, I guess the last time they had something

like this was with Brett Farve. Hopefully for the Jets it ends up better. But what has been that vibe around, has it been different than in years past? Oh yeah. It's definitely a very palpable change, I would say. And you would expect that with a, you know, four-time MVP, quarterback, future Hall of Famer coming into the building, but it's just the buy-in from Rogers that I think I find not necessarily surprising, but he's really been more than just, okay, he's here, he's practicing because you're hearing from players, from coaches, just the level of dedication that he's shown already, just the fact that he even came to New York for OTAs, which, you know, are voluntary, he didn't always do them in Green Bay. He showed up and he's been active in meetings, and he's been,

you know, on everyone's case, really just establishing expectations for how they want to work every day in meetings and practices. And off the field as well, he's been, you can see him everywhere at Nick's games, Rangers games. He was, you know, at Broadway plays with all his teammates, just establishing that chemistry. So it's, you know, it's, it's only May and June here since he's been with the Jets. So it's not, you don't want to read into it too much, but it's definitely good just to see the level of buy-in and dedication from his end. and the effect that it's had on just raising the standards and expectations across the building for a team that has not had the highest bar for success over the past decade. But there's also had to be a buy-in from the Jets, and there's had to be a buy-in from Robert Salah to kind of sell this to Aaron Rogers. And part of that was bringing in Nathaniel Hackett.

Now, Nathaniel Hackett's hired as the offensive coordinator, obviously, before the trade goes down. But you have to think that that was part of that, part of that lore, right, for Aaron Rogers. what are some of the changes you're expecting to the offense? How similar do you expect it to be to the old Green Bay offenses when Rogers was winning MVP? Are there any changes that Nathaniel Hackett and Rogers have talked about maybe from those offenses? What are some of the things you're expecting there? Yeah, I think Hackett coming in definitely had an impact on bringing Rogers over here. And, you know, the Jets have said it wasn't necessarily, it's not as if they hired him to get Aaron Rogers.

but I think there definitely was a degree of that because any time Rogers talks about it and he himself hasn't admitted, you know, I'm here because of Hackett. I wouldn't be here without him. But just the way that he speaks about his connection with Hackett and how much he enjoyed playing under him and sees eye to eye with him,

I think it's very clear that there's a strong part of getting him to the Jets. But I think for the most part, we'll see something very similar to what the Packers' offense looked like. when Rogers was playing under Hackett. And that's also because even the Jets have already been sort of operating in that similar coaching tree. They had Michael Flores, their offensive coordinator over the past two years.

And he didn't do the greatest job, which is why he got fired. But it's still like a similar coaching tree. Obviously, his brother, is the head coach with the Packers, who was coaching while Hackett was the O.C. There is still there, obviously. So I think it'll be similar.

But one thing that was brought up recently, And we haven't gotten too many details yet, considering it's only June. But there was some talk recently or a report, I think it was from ESPN, where they're saying that maybe Rogers wants to lessen the pre-snap motion because he wants to have more control at the line, be able to change things. I definitely think there will be as much control as Rogers has already had throughout his career. I think we might even see that heightened this year because it really feels like that they're letting him be very hands-on. It almost feels like he's a player coach to this point. There are so many videos and pictures out there of him coaching up players and whether it be a fellow starter or even an undrafted free agent,

just him being hands-on with guys, giving them pointers. And like I said, in the meetings, he's been very active. A lot of players have attested to that. He'll quiz guys, make sure everyone's on point, paying attention. So it does feel like that there could be some increased control from Rogers, and that could translate to play-to-play during the season, maybe less pre-snap motion, giving him an opportunity to get to the line, see things, make changes.

But again, that's only just June talk. I think motion has always been a part of this sort of West Coast system. The Packers did run it above or use motion at an above average rate while Rogers was there. So we'll see if that actually does come to pass, but that's some of the talk that we've heard so far. from a fantasy perspective there obviously are folks who are plenty excited about Rogers. They're a little tempered on Rogers from a fantasy perspective, but very excited about the rookie of year, Garrett Wilson, and what Roger's presence in this office is going to mean for him.

Yeah, Garrett Wilson is definitely the player you should be most excited about from a fantasy perspective because the volume is already there as a rookie, you know, rare volume for a rookie. he, 147 targets, six most among receivers. And, you know, that was with three different quarterbacks who were really struggling, but he just established himself as such a good separator so early that he was eating up all those targets. And it's not as if he was in an offense that didn't have other talent. You know, Elijah Moore was there, Corey Davis.

They signed two tight ends to fairly big deals. So there was plenty of competitions, not as if he was the only reliable player. But he was just so good at route running and creating separation that he ate at, up all those targets. And, you know, the fantasy production was pretty good. It was just a lack of touchdowns and the yards weren't as high as you would like relative to the volume because of his catch rate was so low and that was because of the quarterbacking. But now you throw Aaron Rogers in there. And as long as he can get that same volume of targets, maybe even more, Rogers is going to be more efficient, completing passes to Wilson capitalizing on him getting

open. And you should see the four touchdowns go way up. You should see the, I think he had a battle 1100 yards. You should see that go way up. So the volume they already established last year gives you such a high floor going into next year and the ceiling now that Rogers is there is very exciting. You know, for the rest of this receiving core, I think it's interesting. Rogers brings in his cronies, right? You get Alan Lazard and you get Randall Cobb here. Corey Davis has been a subject of discussion though. Will he stay? Will he not stay? From your perspective, what do you think is going to happen with Corey Davis? Is he in the Jets plans? Yeah, I do think he'll be on the team.

There was certainly a lot of speculation about that earlier in the offseason, especially when they got Alan Lazard, because it's a similar skill set, big-bodied receivers, who kind of do some of the same things, bring some of the same things to the offense. So a lot of people thought they'd release him. His contract is escapable, but he's still here in June.

He was there throughout OTAs, and Robert Sal has insisted multiple times at this point that they do have him in their plans. there was a rumor recently they're trying to restructure that deal, bring the price down, but it looks likely, especially since they traded Elijah Moore. So it's already one starting receiver that they dropped from last year, that he's going to be in the plans this year. The question is, you know, what's his volume going to be? Because obviously, Lazard comes in.

He's already got the chemistry with Rogers. And, you know, it was a fairly sizable contract they gave him. So that shows that they do have big plans for him. So the way I see it, I think Davis is. probably going to slide in as that third receiver. The question is like where the tight end is going to factor into this, where the running back's going to factor in because they could take targets from him. But in terms of the wide receiver rankings, obviously Garrett's number one,

but I do think Lazard's going to edge out Davis for number two, just because of that experience with Rogers and playing under Hackett, I think. And there's also Davis's durability is a question. That has been an issue for him in the past couple of years. So I think he's going to be that third option. But I think he's, because you look back to his 2020 season with the Titans when he had the opportunity to play with AJ Brown, who was attracting all that attention, they did a good run game and quarterback Tanhill who was playing really well that year. He was a very efficient big play receiver. Volume still wasn't super high, but the yards for reception, yards for target were very, very high.

And I could see that type of season for him, maybe boom or bust, lower targets, but more of a big play kind of guy than he was the past couple years. The running back spot is really going to be an important point for fantasy purposes, because we know obviously Brise Hall was going, he was going to be a fantasy league winner, potentially would have been the rookie of the year if he doesn't get hurt, allowing it to cede to his teammate. He's coming off the ACL, we know that. But interestingly, and I have to let people know that we are recording this

about a week before you're listening to this. So maybe things are happening. But we hear about the Jets reported interest in Jemir Gibbs in the NFL. draft reportedly could be interested in Dalvin Cook, who got released by the Minnesota Vikings. What does that say about Breece Hall's recovery? Where is Breece Hall right now? And do you anticipate that the Jets might actually make a move to kind of upgrade that number two spot, maybe even have a 1B to Breece Hall's 1A? Yeah, I do think the signs have been mostly positive so far. I mean, he wasn't participating in practice at OTAs, but he was in uniform. He's off to the side.

You could see him sprinting pretty much full speed, but obviously it's a lot more than just the straight line sprinting. You know, can he explode? Can he change directions? Things like that because, you know, that's where the injury initially occurred. And that's where you think the most effect is for a knee injury. So he's not there yet, but they do seem very optimistic about him playing week one. It's just, you know, how long is it going to take until he is the brace all you saw last year. And he was averaging almost six yards of carry and pretty much putting the Jets off. on his back in those last few games. So that's the question. How long is it going to be until he gets to that point?

Because like you saw Sequant Barclay, he comes back, wasn't quite himself. But then this year, then he was able to get back to some of Pete Barclay from earlier in his career. We've seen that with some other players as well. So I think they just want to, and they've invested in running back a little bit. They drafted Israel, Banakana, in the fifth round this year out of Pittsburgh. Donvin Knight, undrafted free agent last year. He came on at the end of the year.

I think he's part of the plan. So they do have some good depth here. And Michael Carter, who they drafted in 21. So there's some depth there. But I think they just want, in terms of exploring other backs, I think it's just trying to hedge your bets as much as you can. Because I think they are hopeful about Hall, but the history of ACLs is pretty tough.

There are not a lot of guys who have come back from it great. But, you know, Hall has the advantage of he's a lot younger than some of the other guys who have suffered ACL tears. It was pretty early in the season. So he has that extra time to get back going into the next season. So he has a lot of things going for him. And it's looking promising. But you always just want to be prepared.

So that's why I think they've shown some interest. And we'll see if they're making any other moves to kind of add to that depth. Zach Rosenblatt from the Athletic actually pointed out that the Jets have been really high on what Izzyabana Kanda can do for them. What did you see from him at OTAs and mini camps was, did he live up to the hype here? Yeah, I know he was a fifth round pick, but this guy was. was getting some pre-draft buzz for his athleticism. What did you see from Banakanda? Yeah, I think he does have a chance to make a big impact early on.

Maybe I think Hall is still going to get that volume and how much volume depends on what we just talked about, like how quickly can he get back to being his peak self? But the thing with Israel, Banakanda is I think he has the explosiveness and home run hitting that you don't really get with Zonovan Knight and Michael Carter, Both those guys bring things to the table. I think they're elusive.

They can break tackles. But the top end speed and the home run hitting, you get a lot more of that with Izzy. So I think if he's able to, because he has some questions in the passing game, drops, pass blocking, things like that. If he could solidify that and earn snaps, get on the field,

he's just a really good fit for this outside zone scheme, being able to stick his foot in the ground and get from, you know, just pulling that run outside and then throwing your foot in the ground, around hitting top gear. That's what he can do well. And it's a really good fit for the scheme.

And that's what made Breeze Hall so special last year is that same type of ability. So I think he has a chance early. I wouldn't lock it in yet because they like Carter. They like Knight. There's a lot of competition there for touches. So we'll see how it plays out. But the skill set is the right fit for this offense.

And he definitely has top end potential for home run hitting type of place. I think if you were to ask any Jets fan, what their biggest concern about this offense would be. I think it would be the offensive line. Yeah. I think they've obviously had a lot of injuries. Becked in. Dwayne Brown-Vertucker was hurt last year.

Could potentially have a rookie starting at center. Do you think that is a valid concern for Jet fans to be maybe not panicked about the offensive line, but to worry about how this whole thing might come together? Yeah, for sure. I think that's the most valid concern with the offense because, look, you've got quarterback solved now. The weapons are pretty good, even if it's not elite just yet. Maybe it can be. But that's solidified. But offensive line is where the questions are. And it really has been the weakest part of this offense outside of quarterback for quite a few years now.

And I think the potential is there for it to be really good because the investments have been made. They got two first round picks on this line. They have Lakin Thompson who they signed to a big contract last year. Tipman's a second round pick. and Dwayne Brown has passed his prime, but he still was an elite player at his prime and can be a good player late into his career. So the pieces are there if everyone's healthy, if the chemistry is there. But injuries are just a big question. Bechton has played one game the last two years. AVT is coming off, season-ending injury.

Dwayne Brown was banged up last year. And Joe Tipman's a rookie, so you don't know what he's going to get. We have seen guys like, you know, Crete Humphrey had a great rookie season as a center. Tyler Linderbaum did it last year. So it can happen, but there are also guys who struggle as rookie, so he's a wildcard. So, yeah, the potential is, I would say this has a potential to be one of the better lines in the league if everything breaks right. But it's just such a big question mark when the durability questions are really serious for at least three guys on this line. Michael, we're going to wrap up all of these franchise-focused podcast by asking the expert, maybe somebody we haven't yet discussed on the show,

who could potentially make a statistical impact for fantasy purposes this year. The Jets have a lot of those ancillary players. We did discuss Izzy Abanakanda, but outside of him, is there somebody who might surprise, might be able to make an impact here with Aaron Rogers at quarterback and contribute to a fantasy roster? Yeah, I initially was going to go with Izzy Abanacando as my pick for this, but since we discussed them already,

I'll probably go to someone who's even further under the radar. I'm going to say tight-end jerse. Ruckert. He was the third round pick out of Ohio State last year. He's kind of buried as a rookie. He was dealing with an injury throughout the season. He played on special teams, but not really in offense. But going into this year, he's had a lot of buzz throughout OTA so far. C.J. Usama kind of struggled in that second tight end role, both as receiver and a blocker last year. So I think that there is an opportunity for Rucker to really flash over take Uzama. I think Conklin's still going to be that first tight end.

But I think there's space for Rucker to get in there as that second tight end. And we've seen Rogers throughout his career in Green Bay. They never really had a solidified tight end, at least through the latter part of his career. But every year he kind of found ways to get touchdowns at tight ends, whether it was Tunyon, Mercedes-Lewis, Jimmy Graham. They recycled tight ends and he would throw touchdowns to them. And I think Rucker might be able to sneak some in over Tama as that second tight end. maybe be a red zone touchdown guy. So he would be the under the radar player I'd keep an eye on.

His name is Michael Mennea. He's the co-owner of Jets X factory. He's the co-host of the Cool Your Jets podcast. Michael, thank you for being a recurring guest on the franchise focus podcast. We'll talk to you next year, if not before that. He's going to be a very popular man. So make sure you follow everything on social. Michael, thank you so much for joining me.

It's been a pleasure. Yeah, thanks so much for having me. We'll be back later this week, With more franchise focus, everybody, talk to you later. Thanks for tuning in to this edition of the Fantasy Points podcast. Remember to subscribe, rate, and review on your favorite platform. And come join the roster at FantasyPoints.com.