Fantasy Football Today - 02/28 Fantasy Football Podcast: Early Busts

Episode Date: February 28, 2018

We start with a crazy stat that might shock you (1:34), then we reveal a couple of 2018 bust candidates (2:50) including a formerly elite RB and a certain Hall of Famer ... A little NFL Draft talk (9:50) and some NFL news including Michael Crabtree's role in OAK (17:53) and Ty Montgomery's role in GB ... Reviewing several of Jamey's 2018 bust candidates! Find out why Jamey has Devonta Freeman (26:04) and Dion Lewis (30:10) on the list. We'll also talk about 3 WRs (35:15) and a TE (39:30) who knows how to find the end zone ... Your emails at [e-mail] To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports. Here we go! Email us at fantasyfootballatcbsi.com. Here we go! It's time to dominate your fantasy league. Let's go! Now, here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. Today we talk about losers on the Fantasy Football Today podcast.

It's the biggest bust of 2018 2018 already here on February 28th. This is version 1.0, subject to change. I guess I've taken all the pressure off, Dave, just in case we get anything wrong. Can't hold it against us. It's February 28th. You've got to hold our feet to the fire on this one. Six months before the season starts and we're calling out busts already? Yeah. It better count.

Jamie, as you know, on paternity leave, Heath out today. It's me and Dave rocking the mic. Email us at fantasyfootballatcbsi.com Call us 954-689- 3199 3199

3199 3199? It's 3199. Yeah. God, I never remember that. Adam, do you ever answer it when it rings or you always send it to voicemail? It doesn't really go to me. It doesn't go to my phone. It's just a line I set up specifically for the podcast, so I will never answer it. Could I answer it if I wanted to?

No, it doesn't exist. 954- What do you mean it doesn't exist? I called the number myself. There's no phone. I I answer it if I wanted to? No, it doesn't exist. 954. What do you mean it doesn't exist? I called the number myself. There's no phone. I've left you a prank call. There's no phone. [phone].

We do have a lot of voicemails to get to. I have a trivia question I want to start with. All right. What is it? It's kind of easy, I think, right? Which AFC West team, Dave, AFC West team, their leading receiver last year was a tight end. Name that AFC West team, Dave. AFC West team. Their leading receiver last year was a tight end. Name that AFC

West team whose leading receiver was a tight end. Most receiving yards. Kansas City. Oh, wait. Actually, I think I have a wrong noise somewhere. There you go. No, you're wrong. Wrong noise? It is Oakland!

It is Jared Cook. Jared Cook was their leading receiver. No, you're wrong. That's the wrong noise. It is Oakland. It is Jared Cook. Jared Cook was their leading receiver. No. Yes. I refuse to believe that. It's true? Yeah, it's true. Jared Cook?

Unbelievable. I'm out of my mind right now. And you're too far away from the bike because you're looking up Jared Cook stats. I got to say, oh, my god, it's true. Oh my god. 688 yards. Amari Cooper, 680 yards. I knew he had a crappier. I didn't know it was that bad.

Crabtree, 618 yards. Jared Cook, 688 yards. Nuts. John Gruden's got a lot of work to do. He does. There's actually some news, some Raiders news that we're going to get to, and we'll talk about the wide receivers there. But who's your biggest bust right now?

Well, we've got Jamie's bust, which are available on CBSSports.com slash fantasy. But right now, give me a Dave Richard bust that you're thinking at the moment. The biggest big-name bust that I can give you right now, maybe it's a little obvious, LaShawn McCoy with the Buffalo Bills. He's played nine seasons, has 2,242 carries, 456 receptions, that includes the postseason, and he's getting up there in every way, shape, and form in terms of being an old person in the national football league.

Like, now I have to do it. Old! Too old! That's exactly what it's going for. Okay. That's what Sean McCoy now. I remember when he was just, you know, fresh-faced young kid playing behind Brian Westbrook, and now he's probably got some gray in his goatee, like we do.

A little bit. Just a little bit. Maybe just a few specks of silver. I really – I have a lot of gray in the beard. It's weird. And I'm kind of young. I'm 33. LaShawn's younger than you.

He is, yeah. So where would you take LaShawn McCoy? I'd be happy to take him in round three. I doubt he'll be there. I think a lot of people will see him in round two and gravitate. They'll recognize the name. They're comfortable with their veterans. And they'll snag LaShawn McCoy.

Okay. Morons. So LaShawn McCoy. Okay. So LaShawn McCoy, I'll give you one that I'm not sure on. I'll give you one that I'm not 100% sure on. Tom Brady. What's the rationale? Well, he was the number two quarterback last year. He was great. I mean, he played great, but in terms of just fantasy stats year He wasn't He was great, I mean he played great But in terms of just fantasy stats

Wasn't really that great In most years he would have been closer to the number five quarterback So if Aaron Rodgers is the number one quarterback Off the board And Tom Brady is number two He better be number two With Several other quarterbacks going very close

To him, you know, because I just don't think he's going to be that much better than the rest of the elites. And in a time where Carson Wentz, if he's healthy, is going to run the ball, I don't know, 300 yards or so, Russell Wilson's going to run the ball, Deshaun Watson's going to run the ball, Tom Brady is clearly not going to run the ball, and he's a 4,700-yard guy, which is really, really good,

but he's not a 5,000-yard guy. And I am not convinced that Rob Gronkowski is going to play next year. So, obviously, we'll— There's news today that he's going to play. Yeah, I know, I know. You doubt the reporting of Ian Rappaport? It's not that he's going to play. It's that the expectation is that he's going to play.

I doubt anything that comes out on February 28th. So, look, you see the report that also came out about Gronkowski, that he was considering retiring during training camp last year. This was from NBC Sports Boston. He didn't enjoy himself in 2016. The atmosphere was wearing on him. And you combine that with the ESPN sort of bombshell report, maybe there is some trouble in paradise in New England.

Maybe. So anyway, even if Gronkowski plays, Brady is definitely a top five quarterback. I just don't think he deserves to be taken as the number two quarterback in a tier with Aaron Rodgers. I think he's earned it based on how he played last year. Even in his last game, he was outstanding. Obviously, if you take away Rob Gronkowski from the equation, then people aren't going to be nearly as excited about drafting Tom Brady.

I do think if you get Brady, and I would advocate taking him around four or five and if you think that's crazy then if you think you should go sooner than that then you're the one who's crazy because you have to wait on quarterback this year yeah but if you do take Brady I think it only makes sense to take another quarterback with the late pick maybe even your last pick literally your very last pick you will take a kicker before you take a second quarterback and there will still be a second quarterback there that you go oh cool well i'm gonna take him i'm gonna take derrick carr i'm gonna take philip rivers and have that guy be my backup in case brady you know collapses because it it does go fast for quarterbacks when when they go downhill

it is like a uh it's like the Pinewood Derby racer going down the track. Pushcart Derby. The noise it makes. Yeah. Well, here's where – and he went in our drafts appropriately. I definitely don't think this is too early for Tom Brady. In our standard scoring draft that we did not too long ago, Tom Brady was the second quarterback off the board, but 49th overall, first pick of round five.

Aaron Rodgers was 42nd overall. So Brady was the second quarterback off the board, but 49th overall. First pick of round five. Aaron Rodgers was 42nd overall. So Brady was seven picks later. Russell Wilson was three picks after Tom Brady. Totally fine. I mean, taking a quarterback like that in the fourth or fifth round is great. Aaron Rodgers in our PPR draft was the first pick of round four at 37 overall. Tom Brady was 54 overall. Also not a problem.

And for me, anyway, Russell Wilson was 69th overall, way behind Tom Brady was 54 overall, also not a problem, for me anyway. Russell Wilson was 69th overall, way behind Tom Brady. So, yeah, if people are going to take him in the fourth or fifth round, that's great. If you're taking him in the early third round, you shouldn't take any quarterback there, but I just don't think Brady's going to separate himself so much from the bunch that he should be a super early pick. Okay. Well said, but when you call him a bust, it almost makes me think you're saying to not take him, period. And you could certainly say that you'd rather have Deshaun Watson in round six than Tom

Brady in round four. It's certainly a reach to call him a bust. I acknowledge that. I don't know that he's going to return the draft value that people are hoping for. Like, I'll be honest. I'm calling LeSean McCoy a bust, but if it's round three and he's there and I need a running back, I'm going to take him. I won't feel amazing about it, but I don't feel the way I did about Matt Forte

coming into this season, which is, no, just don't want him. Won't take him. Round 10, 11, doesn't matter. Won't take him. And now I'm not going to take Matt Forte coming into this season, which is, no, just don't want him. Won't take him. Round 10, 11, doesn't matter. Won't take him. And now I'm not going to take Matt Forte at all this year. Yeah, well, no late-round flyer. Nope. I think he is serious when he talks about his retirement.

Yeah, he is retiring. So just to wrap things up, weekly scoring for quarterbacks last year, Deshaun Watson in six points for passing touchdown leagues. Watson averaged 29 points per game. Wentz, 25.8. Wilson, 24.9. Brady, 24.1 at number four. And Aaron Rodgers, 22.3.

I don't know what it would have been if you take away the Minnesota game, though, when he got hurt very early. Dave, let's read. No, let's not read an email. Let's hear a voicemail, our voicemail of the day. Here we go. Hey, guys.

This is Mike from a bustling metropolis south of Flagstaff. Which team this year has the best landscape for a rookie running back to come in and perform as a top ten running back? Thanks, guys. Love the show. Bustling metropolis. I'm going to say the Dallas Cowboys would be a great spot for a rookie to come in and put up big numbers. Oh, wait, they've got somebody.

Uh-huh. Okay. Bustling Metropolis south of Flagstaff, is that what he said? Yeah. I don't know where that is. I mean, I'm sure he's referring to Phoenix. Isn't that south of Flagstaff, Arizona? Sure.

Do I have to look at a map? Do I have to stop everything in the podcast to find out? You are the map. Where exactly Flagstaff is? All right, what do you think? Unless he's being sarcastic about the bustling metropolis and he's in, I don't know, Yuma or wherever, the southern, Tucson. Okay, so sorry to get us off track. This is a good question.

Where do you want to see Saquon Barkley go, for example? If I could pick any location for Saquon Barkley, and I'm ignoring the draft order, right? Sure. Well, give me a team that realistically could take a running back early that you think would be a good landing spot for a running back. How about San Francisco? They need work on their offensive line, but I'm a believer in their coach slash play caller slash quarterback. I would love to see Saquon Barkley in Detroit because I think that's a good offensive line.

Yeah, that would be awesome. And a good quarterback there. I like Jim Bob Cooter as the play caller, and I think that would be huge. And if we're really looking at the draft order, I would not be opposed to seeing him in Cleveland because I think they've got a good offensive line. There's still obviously quarterback issues that have to be addressed,

but I can't get away from saying that they don't have a good brain trust offensively. Hugh Jackson, Todd Haley working together, I think that that's a nice duo to come up with game plans in Cleveland, and I think they would lean heavily on Saquon if he ended up in Cleveland. I do not want to see him go to Cleveland. I am tired of people going to Cleveland. It doesn't work for anyone. Not even on business?

Maybe. Look, there's a big convention in Cleveland. People shouldn't go? Yeah, you should go. Well, then don't say what you just said. I'm sorry. I take it back. You just told people not to go. Yeah, you should. Yeah, you should go. Well, then don't say what you just said. Sorry, I take it back. You just told people not to go to Cleveland.

So let's Cleveland's number picking number one. The Giants are number two. I don't want to see him go to the Giants. Now with that offensive line, although they will upgrade it. Of course, they've got a good chance to get one of the top guards in free agency. The Colts Colts at number three wouldn't be a terrible. I don't really care about. Anybody picking early, it would be a Denver would be a fun spot. Yeah.

They're right up there. The Jets. Obviously, they have an opening now. I think that would be good. Yeah. The better question might be where would you really not want to see him? The Jets. I don't want to see him go to the Jets unless Cousins goes there.

I don't know if I want to see him go to the Jets even if Cousins does go there. You hate the Jets. I don't hate the Jets. I'm just – I don't like them. Okay. Well, thank you for the – I'm nervous about the fit. I'm nervous about the fit.

But I do think that Barkley is an amazing talent. Yeah. He should be good right away. He's probably the only running back that's going in the first round. But you got some good ones that'll go in the second round. So we'll see what happens. It's another good class, and I'm looking forward to getting to know these guys and watching their games from the last season,

reading scouting reports from people I trust and hoping they fit in well with the teams who draft them in late April. We do have some of our mock drafters with Ronald Jones, the second of USC going to the Eagles, 32nd overall as a second running back off the board. Don't like that. That's a place I don't want to see a running back go. Yeah, no kidding. Given who they still have on the roster. We have Darius Geist being mocked to the Lions at 20 overall.

This is from Chris Trapasso. So, okay, there could be more than one, but Barclay's the only slam dunk. All right, let's move on, Dave. Thank you for the voicemail, Mike. And, again, it's 954-689-3199. Leave a message. Give us your name and your city. And keeper questions.

If you're going to ask a keeper question via voicemail, please keep it to two or three keepers at most. The news and notes. So I already talked about the Gronkowski situation. The latest report is that he's expected to play. We'll obviously keep tabs on it. But Mike McCarthy says that Ty Montgomery is a running back, Dave. Ugh. Ugh.

What are they doing? Maybe he changes his mind. But I don't know. He came out of the combine and told reporters, in case you're wondering, he's still a running back. Yeah, I was wondering that. And now that you're going to keep him at running back, I'm not as excited to draft him.

Maybe they keep him at running back, but they use him as a wide receiver. And it's Bizarro World from 2016 for Ty Montgomery. He was really good in 2016. He was. And he was putting up fantasy points in 2017 before he got hurt. I mean, why are you so opposed to this? Because you think he can't last? I'm worried about how well he'll hold up.

I'm worried about the other guys that are there taking work away from him. Seems to me that Mike McCarthy is changing his philosophy on running backs, which means the Packers are going to be one of these teams that use multiple guys. And

if he's going to keep Ty Montgomery running back along with the other guys he has, it's going to kill my prediction that they draft another running back this year. Okay, so we'll keep an eye on that. The Giants believe that Eli Manning has several good seasons left and they could trade out of the number two spot. Liars! Yeah, I don't know. Lying liars.

I do think they really like Saquon Barkley. Oh, I was so mad if they take Saquon Barkley. Would you be mad because they're not taking a quarterback? Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. What if they don't really like any of these quarterbacks? Then they're crazy.

There's five or six high-end quarterback prospects, and you can't find one of them that you like at number two overall? Are you kidding me? No. You take one. Tennessee GM John – this is cool. Tennessee GM John Robinson said that Derrick Henry can be a guy that they hand the ball off to and throw it to in their new offense. Under LeFleur, Peter LeFleur, Matt LeFleur.

Matt LeFleur. Yeah. Yeah, I am looking forward to seeing how that shakes out I would be very encouraged if Tennessee tells DeMarco Murray to go take a bath And then he goes to take a bath and he goes down the drain And I don't know where he goes, but it's not Tennessee And then they don't spend a decent draft pick on another running back And so therefore it looks like Derrick Henry is going to be their main guy

For 15 plus carries per game behind that offensive line that would make me move him up more in my rankings that would make me consider derrick henry as a potential i think he's a potential top 20 draft pick yeah this is where jamie would cut in and go out he's already a top 20 guy he'd be a top 12 guy. That's my Jamie impersonation, everybody. Thank you very much. Let's see where he went in the latest drafts. Derrick Henry, 34th.

He's going to be a very, very hyped up prospect. Well, he went 34th in PPR, and he went 23rd in Standard in the draft drafts he just did. So he's not top 20 yet. Not yet, but he's going to work his way there. Yeah, if he starts catching passes, that's huge. That would be really nice. Pittsburgh GM Kevin Colbert says he does not want to trade Martavis Bryant. Oakland is going to bring back Michael Crabtree,

but John Gruden said Amari Cooper will be their focal point, and he also said he is counting on Marshawn Lynch. Marshawn Lynch is on Jamie's bus list. We'll talk about him a little bit later. Crabtree, Cooper, what do you think? Jared Cook going to lead them in receiving again? No, no. God, that shocked the pants off me.

The track record of John Gruden is that one wide receiver typically has a floor of 1,000 yards and six touchdowns. And I don't think that's going to be Michael Crabtree. I think that's going to be Amari Cooper. And I'm actually optimistic for Cooper based on the track record of John Gruden meshed with the fact that I think Derek Carr is better than what he showed last season. And I'm thinking that the Raiders will be a better product offensively than they were last year.

I'm not saying John Gruden's coming in and he's going to dazzle the AFC West and lead them to the playoffs right away, but I think he's an improvement in terms of coach. How much do you care about his track record, though? Because he hasn't coached since 2008. I care about the tendencies, and I see him leaning on A couple running backs every year

He likes fullbacks too Which is kind of a gross thought But it works well with his Statement about trying to bring football back to 1998 Yeah well that's stupid I mean there's the thing I know but that's what he's going to He's certainly not embracing

The current day and age of the NFL, and maybe that'll be a bad thing, but it could also be such a curveball to opposing teams that it gives the Raiders an advantage. Teams still use the fullback. It's just not like they use them all the time. I don't know what we can gain from looking at John Gruden, his tendencies 10 years ago.

If he doesn't change to modern times, then they're not going to be any better. But look, if you talk about 1,006 touchdowns, Michael Crabtree's done that two years in a row before last year he's playing hurt. He was number 19 in 2015, number 12 in 2016, ironically with almost the same amount of fantasy points. Just 2015 was a much better year for receivers. 145 targets, 1,000 yards, eight or nine touchdowns. Basically what he did two straight years.

It keeps him from making a bust list, and it might make him actually a redeemable fantasy pick if he lasts. You can look in our drafts and see where he went, but I want to say he was at the earliest round seven. 69th overall. And maybe even closer to round eight, nine. Late round six in standard. In which one? Really?

And round nine in PPR to you. He went round nine. That's backwards. What the hell happened? I want answers, Adam. What's going on? Well, he only caught 58 passes last year and maybe 14 games. But he was 85 and 89 catches in 2005, 2015, and 2016.

The thing about Crabtree is his biggest impact in fantasy might be just taking touchdowns away from Amari Cooper. It's not good for Cooper, I don't think, if Crabtree's there. I love getting Crabtree in round eight or round nine. Yeah, it's terrific. Round six, I hope I didn't make that pick. I don't think I would. Too soon. Here are some other news items.

The Bears cut Mike Lennon. The Bengals. No. No. What are they doing? The Bengals plan to use Joe Mixon as a bell cow? Yay? Well, yeah.

Do you really think they were going to come out and say, we didn't really like Joe Mixon, we made a mistake drafting him? No, but they could say, well, we want to give him 15 carries and mix in other guys for seven or eight carries a game. They didn't say that. They said bell cow. It's Duke Tobin. He's their player personnel guy.

He used the term Belkow. He also mentioned Giovanni Bernard in the same breath. I think you're going to see a lot of Joe Mixon and a little bit of Geo. I'm a little worried that they're not going to give Mixon as much work as a pass catcher out of the backfield as they should because he was good. He's really good in space. He's a patient runner. They need to really evolve that offense for his strengths.

Carolina cut Jonathan Stewart. He had 198 carries last year. See you later. Ryan Shazier won't play in 2018. The Jets released defensive lineman Muhammad Wilkerson. The Lions franchise Ziggy Ansah. And let's remember the best of Matt Forte as he is retiring. In 2013, Forte was the number three running back in standard,

number two in PPR. The following year, he was fourth in standard, third in PPR. That's 2013 and 2014. He had 102 catches in 2014. In 2013, he was awesome. He had like 1,900 yards and 12 touchdowns, 74 catches. Matt Forte was an absolute fantasy stud and a bit of a trendsetter, Dave, a bit of a trendsetter with all that pass catching. Yep. He was outstanding, and he was almost better for fantasy than he was in the nfl which isn't to say that he wasn't great in the nfl but i think he had like 26 games or something like that with 100 rushing yards over over his career and that seems kind of low when you think

back on forte but he made up for it with what he did in the passing game and he he you want to talk about a bell cow that dude was a bell cow yeah that dude was great and he was he was you want to talk about a bell cow. That dude was a bell cow. That dude was great. And he was he was a joy to have on fancy teams. He was pretty consistent. I know that a lot of people are going to forget those days in Chicago because they're going to remember what he did with the Jets. And he did not end well with the Jets. Most running backs don't end their careers well, especially when they go on to second teams.

He's one of them. But with Chicago, he was fantastic. And he was great all the way around for fantasy. From what I understand, he was a good teammate. He was a heck of a draft pick by Jerry Angelo back in the day. I met him. I interviewed him. And you interviewed him. He was awesome. He was so nice.

Yeah, he was a good dude. And he agreed that New York style pizza is better than Chicago style pizza. I'm pretty sure he said that. I could be wrong. I may have forgotten. I bet now he will go on the record and say Chicago is better than New York, now that he's not playing for the Jets. Can you say bell cow one more time, Dave?

Bell cow. Ah! Too much fun. Too much fun with the board. Look at you, pushing buttons, having fun. Yeah. Okay, so Jamie's busts. First one's really interesting, but I'm not going to tell you about that just yet.

I'm going to tell you about CBS Sports HQ, which I have been watching in the morning, at night, catching up on my sports, seeing highlights of Miami hitting a game-winning three-pointer from 35 feet away to beat the Tar Heels on the road and clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament. Yeah. That was tournament. Yeah. That was awesome. Yeah, you want actual highlights, game highlights, you know, which, remember those? We got them on CBS Sports HQ. Here's what you do.

You download the CBS Sports app. You can do it on your phone, on your computer, your tablet. I have it on my Roku. Apple TV's got it, Amazon Fire. Other connected devices. Or you go to CBSSportsHQ.com and you just watch live sports coverage. It's really awesome.

It's kind of throwback, old-school basics, scores, news and highlights, great analysis, a lot of NBA draft talk, or NFL draft talk. I've seen Pete Prisco on there kind of breaking down the quarterbacks, really interesting stuff, learned a lot about Josh Allen yesterday. So CBSSportsHQ, HQ will be telling you about it. You're going to be seeing us on it. Exactly, yeah. Because fantasy is a big part of CBS Sports HQ.

Yeah, I don't know if the podcast will be on there, but I don't think it's unrealistic. Ooh. But that would be maybe. That's some news. No, I'm not breaking any news. I have no idea. I think people like the podcast, so we could be putting it on video. That would be maybe. That's some news. No, I'm not breaking any news. I have no idea. I think people like the podcast, so we could be putting it on video.

That'd be fun. Wow. Nice. That's nothing official. I have no idea if that's true, but I'm saying it anyway. All right. Here are Jamie's busts. Devante Freeman.

Hottest name on this list. And not all of this list is going to be read on the air, so check it out on the website. But Devante Freeman. So a little bit of a down year for him he has now been like number one I think three years ago number seven two years ago and number 13 at running back last year and he's good he's good I like him in the middle of the second round Jamie's got him as a bust What do you think Dave Richard I would take him in the middle of the second round too Part of the reason why he finishes the number 13

Fantasy running back is because he missed two games Still averaged 10.9 fantasy points per game That's good for That third tier of running back That we're looking for Remember the tiers aren't necessarily based on rounds. It's just groupings of the best of the best is first,

and then the guys that could make that next jump to the best of the best are next, and then the good old reliable fantasy running backs that you can start week in and week out. That would be that third tier, and I think that's where Devontae Freeman can fit in. He finished the year strong, three of his last four, with 15 or more fantasy points. That offensive line, I still believe, is pretty good. I think the concern, there's two concerns that I can think of off the top of my head. I didn't read Jamie's article yet. But one, Tevin Coleman emerged again, and he's a good running back.

And number two, Devontae Freeman had concussion issues, and that could cause him to miss some playing time in 2018 if he takes another hit to the noggin. It's things that you got to worry about, but I still believe that he is a good number two or second round fantasy running back. And someone who, if you draft a wide receiver in round one, you can go to Freeman in round two. He could be your first rusher. Jamie's reasons for putting him on the bus list are Tevin Coleman, like you said, and Freeman's lack of involvement in the passing game, which I talked about a lot last year. Now, I'll give you two. I'll give you kind of a good and a bad.

I've done this before, so I apologize if you've heard this, but it never hurts to reinforce with Devontae Freeman. He had eight games out of 14 with 12 or fewer carries. That does not include, so it was really eight out of 13, not including when he left the Dallas game with an injury after only two carries. And in those eight games, one game with double-digit fantasy points in standard scoring leagues. His other five games, Devontae Freeman had 18 or more carries.

So we talked about that a lot. He either had 18 or more or 12 or fewer. And when he had 12 or fewer, he didn't do well. And when he had 18 or more, and I think Tevin Coleman missed one of those games in the five games in which Freeman had 18 or more carries, he was awesome when he had big workload. Now that's the bad

thing. He was in a timeshare and he didn't get enough carries. The good thing is the catches got better as the season went on. In his last five games, including two postseason games, Freeman had five or more catches in three of those five games. He had 68, 20, 85, 3, and 26 receiving yards. He had two receiving touchdowns. So I hope they go to that, but I don't know.

And I think Jamie makes good points about his involvement in the passing game and the presence of Tevin Coleman. That is valid. Jamie says do not draft Freeman in round one. We can all agree on that. Would he take him in round two? He said he's best suited for early round three. He said maybe best suited for early round three.

Okay, so Jamie is definitely not taking Freeman when the rest of the country and world would take him. And I understand his reasons why. I know that Devontae Freeman is a good pass-catching running back. I don't know if the Falcons want to use him as such. I think it's strange that he went from 97 targets and 73 catches in 2015 to 65 targets and 54 catches in 2016 to 47 targets and 36 catches last year.

I'm scratching my head at that. They might not view him as a good pass-catching running back after all. Well, they should. I agree that they should, but it's not up to us. But they figured it out late in the year. I mean, he became much more of a – like, Deion Lewis is the next guy on the list. Let's just go right to him.

And he's got some similarities with Devontae Freeman because this is a guy, like, we know Deion Lewis can catch passes. Like, that was what he originally did for the Patriots two seasons ago or 2015 now. 2015, 36 catches, 388 yards. In seven games. Yep. He had five catches a game.

This year, he had 32 catches in 16 games. But, toward the end of the year, like, in the postseason, he had nine catches against Tennessee and seven against Jacksonville. So, you know, you can't just look at the numbers with Lewis. Anyway, do you consider Deion Lewis a bust? Let me see where Deion Lewis went. He went 51st overall in PPR, and he went 36th overall in standard. I think 36 is too high, but not by that much. I would expect him to either stick around in New England

or hopefully go somewhere where people know how to use him. And I'm thinking Detroit would be one of those places because Matt Patricia certainly was around Deion Lewis and probably shares a running back philosophy with Bill Belichick. I got a gross thought. What if he ends up in Tennessee as the pass-catching alternative to Derrick Henry? No, I don't like it. I'm kind of shooting spitballs at the wall here, but I wonder if that's a possibility. I originally thought that he could end up in Indianapolis because I thought Josh McDaniels was going to Indianapolis. And if he had gone there, and if he goes to Detroit, I'd be okay with it.

I would take the chance on Deion Lewis as a round four, five-ish type of running back. Prefer round five to round four, certainly in PPR. I think Jamie's biggest thing is we have to see where he goes, and also this was the first time he played 16 games. Very injury-prone player before 2017. And he had 180 carries. Yeah, that's not much. On top of it.

Well, his previous career high in carries was 64. Yeah. So you can certainly make the argument that he won't get, even if he plays 16 games, he won't get near 200 carries. This could be a good candidate for a bust, especially if he leaves New England. But then again, if he stays in New England and the Patriots don't really reshuffle their deck there. I don't like it.

I don't like it. I'll tell you why. They will use Rex Burkhead as a goal line back. Is he back? Well, you just said they don't reshuffle the deck. If he's back, then I don't like it because Deion Lewis scored six rushing touchdowns last year. Is he back? rushing touchdowns for Deion Lewis all season with a healthy Rex Burkhead. And that is a team that is stubborn enough to use a designated goal linebacker. They tried to have Mike Gillisley be that guy.

And then they went to Burkhead. Yep. All right, next one on the list. By the end of it all, they were going to Deion Lewis. Next one on the list is Marshawn Lynch. Marshawn Lynch was 18th in standard, 23rd in PPR. Yeah, the old man, Marshawn Lynch. Marshawn Lynch was 18th in standard, 23rd in PPR. Yeah, the old man Marshawn Lynch. He had a really bad first half basically, and then he actually finished pretty strong.

Last eight games was very consistent. Seven or more fantasy points in standard in all eight games. Eleven or more in five of the eight games. Even a little bit of receiving totals in those games. Alright, let me tell you where Marshawn Lynch went, and you tell me if you think he's a bust.

In our standard draft, he went 77th overall to me. In our PPR draft, he went 76th overall to Jamie. All right, that's round seven. It's hard to be a bust in round seven. Where do you think Marshawn Lynch will go? I think that that is a typical starting point for a running back who people aren't sure about. When we did those drafts, we couldn't say with certainty that he'd be back. I don't know if we can feel good about saying with certainty that he'll be back now.

This is Marshawn Lynch we're talking about. He's changed his mind before and seems to do things at his own pace. But if we know he's for sure coming back, granted he's old, got a lot of work behind him, I still think that he's a little bit better than a round seven pick. Like a round six pick, maybe round five for those fantasy teams that are just desperate for a running back. Because you look at the other running backs on the Raiders roster,

I don't think that they're going to leapfrog him. They might take playing time away from him. I think Gruden could lean heavily on Marchand if that's truly the only guy that he's got left. And if that's the case, then round six would be a steal six months from now. We could be talking about him in round five. But you like Chris Carson better, right? I do.

It's not by a lot, though. They're back-to-back in my rankings. Let's take a look at three wide receivers that Jamie has on his bus list. Brandon Cooks, Devin Funchess, and Marvin Jones. Brandon Cooks, Devin Funchess, and Marvin Jones. And who do you think gets drafted first, Marvin Jones or Devin Funches? We know Cooks is going to be the first. I think Jones will get drafted before Funches.

They were very close in the PPR draft. They were three picks apart. Marvin Jones went 46. Funches went 49th. And in the standard draft, Marvin Jones went 53rd, and Funches went 74th. That's really good value. And Jamie took him. And that's the thing.

Jamie can put him on his bus list. That doesn't mean he's on the do-not-draft list. You get a great value on anybody, you take them, and 74th overall for Funchess is great value. Yeah, these guys are interesting. Who do you think? Who's the most bus potential between Brandon Cooks, Devin Funchess, and Marvin Jones?

You know, it's funny. I think Cooks might have the most volatility, let's say. They all have big bus potential. If I had to rank them, would I say Cooks ahead of Funchess? Probably not. But Cooks is going to be the first one drafted of the group. When you say rank them, you mean in terms of bus potential, right? Right. Yeah. If you draft Brandon Cooks, you're probably going to do it

in round four or five. I don't think the other guys are going to go quite that high. I think they'll be close, but maybe Marvin Jones could be round five. Brandon Cooks has finished as number eight to number 12 three straight years at receiver in standard scoring leagues. I hate how he did it last year, and I wonder if it's going to be a worse version of that in 2018 with Julian Edelman coming back on the field. Totally. If Gronkowski's out, it's a different story.

I think that changes so much. Yeah. Funchess is kind of interesting because he was, so when Calvin Benjamin got traded, first five games without Benjamin, Funchess had 8, 21, 10, 12, and 11 fantasy points in standard scoring leagues. Big time production in those five games. Last three games without Benjamin, he had 1, 1, and 10 fantasy points, but he was playing with a shoulder injury. And then in the playoffs, he had a good game. Funches had four catches for 79 yards on eight targets at the Saints. Yeah, I don't know.

I don't know the case for or against Devin Funches. The case for him is that he was actually pretty good without Kelvin Benjamin before the injury. He's good. I'm curious what role he'll have in Norv Turner's offense. Norv has used big guys before in his offense as number one receivers, but they could run. And I don't know if Funchess can run quite like Vincent Jackson did once upon a time. Or like Josh Gordon did once upon a time.

The argument that Jamie makes is that Funchess did most of his production when Greg Olson was out. Yeah, that's another big thing. And didn't Funchess have a bunch of touchdowns to help carry his stats? Probably he had. How many games did he have with over 100 yards? He had eight touchdowns, 63 catches, 840 yards, and eight touchdowns. Over 100? I'm guessing two?

I don't know. You tell me, Dave. I'll look it up and I'll give you the definitive answer. Everybody take a guess at home. How many 100-yard games did Devin Funches have? My guess is two. Do you have a guess? My guess is two as well.

I'm going to be in the same boat as you. We will ride in this boat together. Why is it taking us so long to look this up? The answer is one, because I'm not as fast as you, Mr. Whippersnapper. And there's not three of us on the podcast. I can't hide in the background while I look it up. He had a game with 92

yards, another one with 86, so he was within striking distance. But it was the game at the Jets. 12 targets, 7 catches, and 108 yards. His only game with triple digits and yardage. Everything else, he needed a touchdown to get you 10-plus fantasy points. Last thing on Brandon Cooks.

Brandon Cooks has been, like I said, a top-12 receiver three straight years, 8th, 10th, or 12th in standard scoring leagues. He has never had more than 129 targets. I mean, he's been a really good receiver. He doesn't get the targets that he deserves, Dave. Final bust here for Jamie that we'll mention. You can read more on the website, as I mentioned before. Kyle Rudolph.

Rudolph had a better year per target in 2017 than he did in 2016, but he fell from the number three tight end in standard to number seven and the number two tight end in PPR to number eight. Had a very, very different year. Coming off an 83 catch year in 2016, he was down to 57 in 2016. One more touchdown, though. Excuse me. He was down to 57 in 2017. He had one more touchdown last year. But was down to 57 2017 he had one more touchdown last year but yeah jamie says he's a bust i i had him as a bust he was like my strongest i'm not drafting

this guy in 2017 kyle rudolph because when a guy gets that many targets as he did he had like 132 targets in 2016 and he doesn't put up great numbers. That just means that if he doesn't get the targets, he's not going to be that good. And I knew he wasn't going to get the targets. And he didn't. And he wasn't that good. Same question for Kyle Rudolph. A little change, as it was for Devin Funches.

How many games did he have last year with over 60 yards? One. One. He had two with more than 50. Yeah. So truly a touchdown or bust tight end. Pat Shermer is known for utilizing his tight end. Sam Bradford definitely liked going to his tight end.

In fact, week one, Bradford connected with Rudolph for a touchdown against the Saints. I'm of the belief that Rudolph is going to be back to a red zone threat for Minnesota with Diggs and Thielen stepping up. We'll see who their quarterback is. And it's probably not going to matter that much because I don't think Kyle Rudolph is going to be in a position to capitalize much off of 80, 90 targets over the span of a season.

He went after Jimmy Graham. Like, Kyle Rudolph's not trash. I expect him to be probably eighth or so. But he went after Jimmy Graham and before Jack Doyle. Those three guys went within about ten picks of each other. Graham, Kyle Rudolph, Jack Doyle. That's in standard scoring. And that's round seven and eight.

And then O.J. Howard went like six picks later. So it's kind of interesting. He just seems like sort of the least upside of that group. But maybe he has the highest floor as well. He's going to score. But I don't know if that floor is going to entice people. He's not enticing by the time by the time you're going to look at kyle rudolph right around maybe pick 100 if you don't already have

a tight end and if you're already waiting that long for a tight end you're probably going to prefer a tight end who's got some upside and some good early season matchups right rudolph is going to be an unpopular fantasy pick he'll get picked in every draft but it is going to be an unpopular fantasy pick. He'll get picked in every draft, but it's going to be by somebody who just waits and waits and waits on tight end. They find themselves at round nine and they go, oh crap, I need a tight end. There's Kyle Rudolph. He scores

touchdowns. I'll take him. That's how it's going to go. Well, would you take Rudolph or O.J. Howard? As of now, it's Rudolph. They're five spots apart in my tight end rankings. Yeah, and that's the thing. Howard, we don't know.

He could be terrible. But he's got a lot more potential, I'd say, than Kyle Rudolph. Oh, my gosh. There's a bunch of tight ends that have more potential. Jack Doyle, Jordan Reed, Howard, David Njoku, George Kittle. You can even make the case that Eric Ebron has more potential. Adam Shaheen. I don't know about Ebron has more potential. Adam Shaheen. I don't know about Ebron.

Trey Burton, maybe. If he ends up in the right spot. Maybe. But I can't get on board with Ebron has more potential. He's never even come close to putting up what Kyle Rudolph did in 2016. Sure. Yeah. And plus, if Detroit becomes a better running team, that'll hurt Eric Ebron.

But again, it's a guy who you look at and you say, well, can you get me a touchdown? And if the schedule's right, if they open the season playing against each other, you're going to take Rudolph. Sure. Okay, let's hear from the people. First voicemails, then emails. Here we go. Hey, guys. Mike from Toronto, Ontario here.

Keeper question. I'm looking to change the keeper rules in my hometown keeper league this year, and I'm wondering what you would do when someone wants to keep a waiver wire pickup. What pick would they lose there? About 14 rounds in the draft. So what would they be losing if they're keeping a waiver wire? Yeah.

What do you think? I don't think it should be the last pick. I'm in a keeper league in a different sport where you pick up somebody off the waiver wire, it's a final round keeper the following year, and people take advantage of that all the time. But I also don't think it should be like a middle of the draft pick.'t think it should be like a middle-of-the-draft pick.

I think you should get rewarded a little bit for having the guts to pick somebody off waivers and keep them. If it's a 14-round draft, how about round 10? That's what I was thinking. He said, Mike was from Toronto, he said, a boot, 14 rounds in the draft. So I enjoyed that. All right, here we go.

You ever see the movie Ladies' Man? No. Really? I'm familiar with the concept. Okay, well, when he would get a call, he would go. That's the Tim Meadows character. Yeah, it's funny. He would go, ooh, it's a lady.

I think something like that. So here we go. Hi, guys. This is Kate from Boston. My question is about Dynasty. This will be the first year I'm participating in a Dynasty league, and our startup draft is this weekend. I just didn't know if you guys could talk a little bit about how you approach

Dynasty drafts versus redrafts. It's a 12-team, full PPR, four points for passing touchdown. I just didn't know if you had any thoughts on QBs. Obviously, you're going to draft more than one, but do you still wait on those? And then any tips you have on how to approach the draft and how you differ from redraft in terms of best position available? Do you go after youth over veterans?

Do you do a balance? Just all that stuff. Really appreciate any insight you guys have. Thanks so much. Bye-bye. So I think she's on the right track with what to expect in a dynasty draft. People are going to skew toward younger players. They're almost going to ignore veterans.

And one of the things that I like to do is if I see a good value on a player who's toward the end of his career, I will take that in a dynasty startup draft because someone's got to win the league in its first season. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, absolutely. There are some people, there will be at least two owners in that draft who are going to bank on that

league existing five years from now. Who's the number one quarterback that you take in a dynasty draft? I think it would still be Aaron Rodgers. I still think he plays several, several more seasons. Who's number two? Brady would fall. Who's number two?

Russell Wilson would be number two. Okay. All right, yeah. But I'm not moving Deshaun Watson to the top of my draft board just because he's a second-year quarterback. But I could see him going in the— Who played well in a handful of games. I could see him going in the third round.

Yeah, great. I can still build a better competitive team for current day than if I spend three or four picks on young players who I'm not sure are going to be great or if they're going to help me win in 2018. All right, let's answer the rest of the question, though, like the youth versus veterans. You said don't be afraid to just win the league. But if you're doing a dynasty league, you do have to consider. You cannot take Marshawn Lynch.

No, you're not going to build a whole roster of those guys. Right. Like you're going to be in trouble if you're starting running backs or LaShawn McCoy and Marshawn Lynch and your starting receivers are Antonio Brown. Not saying that Brown's old, just trying to make it a little realistic here. Antonio Brown, Larry Fitzgerald, and

give me another older receiver, Des Bryant, who's been in the league a long time. You'll have a good competitive team this year. You probably won't like it. And when the time comes to making a trade, if you need an extra player to help get you over the hump in the playoffs,

I don't know if you've got the type of player to give away in a deal. So maybe one or two players that you'll try and hit on that are young. I like doing it at quarterback. Yeah, remember, waiver wire is usually very thin in Dynasty Leagues because guys and girls, owners keep their rosters, most of their rosters. So you have a lot of thin waiver wires. So I don't know. Maybe you want to be a little bit more balanced when you draft. Don't leave yourself too thin at any position.

And have a good mix. Have some young players that aren't going to contribute this year but could contribute next year. A lot of times you can get them late. Sure. And keep in mind also, last thing for me, sorry, we could have a major influx of quarterback talents from the NFL draft this year. So also another reason why you shouldn't necessarily reach for a quarterback. In two or three years, we might have three or four brand name, household name quarterbacks that are just awesome.

That's maybe wishful thinking, but this looks like a great crop of quarterbacks. It does look that way. I also think that there has been an influx of great young quarterbacks in the past couple of years into the National Football League. And you can try and take advantage of that. I would reach a little bit for Patrick Mahomes or Mitchell Trubisky in this type of draft, if only to give you a potential trade ship down the line. We started a dynasty league here at the office. And I took Tom Brady in like round five or round six.

And I took Carson Wentz in round 10, I think because I wanted to have that extra chip. And I almost traded Wentz during the year cause I was making a playoff run and I didn't. And I'm glad I didn't because I want to have that guy for a long time, but I'm not going to go. I'm not going to go overkill with that and take a ton of young players at crazy spots. Let's put it this way.

I did not ignore veteran players in that draft, and I made the playoffs. There's one guy I would reach for more than maybe anyone else, and it is a risk. It is unproven. It is a risk, but it's O.J. Howard. I believe O.J. Howard has the potential to be one of the most valuable players in fantasy for the next five-plus years. Everything would have to go right, but I think he's the closest thing we have, the closest chance we have to the next Gronk. Wow. Yeah. O.J. Howard to the next Gronk. Wow. OJ Howard?

Dude, I think OJ Howard is incredible. I think he's incredible. They just need to unleash him. He might be the third tight end that comes to my mind when you're making that type of comparison. Evan Ingram, sure. I think he could be good. Evan Ingram is in there, and David Njoku is in there. I think Njoku's got it. I cannot put Njoku over O.J. Howard.

It's going to take time, but he's got some really rare athletic traits. I know, but so does O.J. Howard, and Howard's bigger, and he's not on Cleveland. So, you know. All right, well, anyway, next voicemail. My name is James Holland-Backner from Houston, Pennsylvania. Do I keep Todd Gurley in round two, DeAndre Hopkins in round four, Joe Mixon in round five, or Devontae Adams in round six?

Gurley in two, Hopkins in four, Mixon in five, or Adams in six. I know it hurts to throw those other guys back, but you're winning when you get the number one overall player in a fantasy draft in the second round. Okay, I agree. Take him. All right, next one. Hey, guys.

Corey from Fargo, North Dakota here with a keeper question. It's a 12-team league standard scoring. You can keep any two guys without penalties. It's just whatever guys are left going to the pool for the draft. I've got a loaded team. Melvin Gordon, Mike Evans, Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, Devontae Adams. I just don't know which ones I'm going to be keeping this year, so I was just going to see what you guys thought.

12-team standard scoring. Gordon, Evans, Kamara, Adams, and Michael Thomas. Pick two. I'm taking the two running backs, Gordon and Kamara. Okay. Those would be the two players that I would – they're the two highest-ranked players on my board coming in non-PPR and I think in PPR too with all the guys he named.

So no penalty, no problem. I'm going to keep them. I want to read this email from Vince. We'll end the show. We have more emails to read, but I'll save them for next week. From Vince, dearest George, Thomas, Theodore, and Abraham. George, Thomas, Theodore, and Abraham. Chipmunks?

Yeah, of course. It's Mount Rushmore. I was just kidding. I have Le'Veon Bell, Ezekiel Elliott, and Antonio Brown. I'm going to keep all three of them. Bell, Zeke, and Brown. Arguably like the top three players other than Gurley. Congratulations on your championship, Vince.

All right. It's a three-receiver league and a flex, and it's PPR. So pick one more keeper. Julio Jones, Alvin Kamara, or Jarvis Landry. How many people are in this league? It's crazy. Like a four-team league? Everybody's got an all-star squad.

So it's going to be Kamara or Julio, and it's a three-receiver league, and he's already keeping Bell and Zeke. So do you keep Kamara and start a third running back in a three-receiver PPR league with a flex? Or do you go with Julio Jones instead? I would lean toward Kamara, and I would be open to talking trade. The thing is, though, if I'm talking trade, am I just going to end up trading him for a guy like Julio Jones? When am I going to trade Alvin Kamara? You could try to trade him for Beckham if you like Beckham better than Julio.

You could try to trade him for Hopkins. Yeah, but if I'm going to do that, I might as well just keep Julio, right? Try to trade him for Hopkins if you want. See if you can. I don't know if you can, but it's not unrealistic. Okay, Dave Richard. I love that start. Yeah, of course, it's the greatest start I've ever heard of.

It's Zeke, Le'Veon, Antonio Brown, and either Alvin Kamara or Julio Jones. Vince, if you don't win, we'll still love you, but you've done something terribly, terribly wrong. Thank you. And Adam will eat a Bean Boozled. Oh, that's what I meant to say. I ate the freaking Bean Boozled. Nobody heard it. It was at the end of the show. I ate the damn

thing. When's this? I ate it on the air with you. Yeah, but you spit out some of it. I spit out like 1% of it. No, you are exaggerating. I will not exaggerate. You spit out 35%. No! You son of a...

Oh yeah, you did. I don't like what you're saying right now. After you left, I went into the garbage can and I measured it and then I ate it and it felt weird to eat it, but it was good. That's it for the show. That's Dave Richard. I'm Adam Azer. Enjoy the weekend, everybody. We'll talk to you next week.

Be good.