Fantasy Football Today - 03/08 Fantasy Football Podcast: WR Rankings; NFL Draft Talk; Year 2 Breakouts

Episode Date: March 8, 2018

It's an episode for football junkies as we get some great scouting from an industry expert! But first, hear why Heath has Tyreek Hill ahead of Davante Adams and Mike Evans (4:10) ... Football analyst ...Emory Hunt joins the show (14:00) and drops some serious football knowledge! We ask him for his prospect rankings for the NFL Draft, and his rankings may surprise you. Find out how good he thinks Saquon Barkley will be (28:08) and much more ... Emory also talks NFL and tells us if Deshaun Watson is legit (41:20), the value of yards per carry (45:14), which Year Two players he thinks can break out next season and which underrated football movie we need to see ... Your emails at fantasyfootball@cbsi.com 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

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports. Here we go! Email us at fantasyfootball at cbsi.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. All right, NFL fans, we've got an awesome guest for you today.
Starting point is 00:00:21 We'll get to him in a little bit. Welcome to the show, Fantasy Football Today. On Thursday, March 8th, Adam David. Yes, Heath Cummings is here. Woo! I thought I was the awesome guest, so you're going to have me open for the awesome guest. Yes, exactly. When we have the awesome guest on, Heath will depart. Not in the leftovers kind of way, in case you guys have seen that awesome show. But actually, we're going to be talking to Emery Hunt of Football Game Plan. He is basically just a football dude.
Starting point is 00:00:48 He knows so much. He's scouting. I think right now he's at Fordham's Pro Day. So that gives you the idea of how deep he can go in discussing the NFL draft. And we'll ask him about the NFL draft. We'll ask him a little bit about fantasy football. And that will be in about 15 minutes. Right now, I'd like to tell you about our email address,
Starting point is 00:01:06 which is fantasyfootballatcbsi.com. It's a wonderful email address, and you can send us your emails, fantasyfootballatcbsi.com. We'll be reading some of those later. And you can leave us voicemails at 954-689-3199. 954-689-3199. Not going to get to any today, but next week we will definitely hear some voicemails. 954-689-3199.
Starting point is 00:01:32 Go ahead and give us your name and where you're from and then ask your question. Hey, Heath. Yes. You've got Patrick McCombs in our Dynasty League, right? I do. I want to make you an offer for him. On air. And this is based on an email that we got on our last podcast.
Starting point is 00:01:47 I'm going to give you my second round pick this year in our rookie draft and a third round pick next year for Patrick Monroe. They're the rookie drafts. These are rookie draft only picks. Correct. So, I mean, I don't know if that sounds like the best deal in the world to you or not. I can't tell if this was an actual email or if you were trying to make an Acer Trades joke. I told you, Adam.
Starting point is 00:02:10 I knew it was a terrible one. No chance. Actual email. Actual email. I don't think you would do it for any pick outside of 1.01 this year. I might do it. Would you do it for 1.02? In my current situation, I probably would because I also have Kirk Cousins.
Starting point is 00:02:24 Okay. All right. Fair enough. So do you have 1.02? I also have Kirk Cousins. Okay. All right. Fair enough. So do you have 1.02? I don't want Patrick Mahomes. Okay. I've got Wentz and Brady. I'm good.
Starting point is 00:02:31 All right. Lesson learned. That was a bad trade offer. I didn't make it, but lesson learned for the emailer. I blame you, Adam. I do want to get into Heath's rankings. I did a Twitter poll this morning. DeAndre Hopkins or Antonio Brown?
Starting point is 00:02:43 Just to see how people were feeling about it. We haven't talked about that in a while. 70% said Antonio Brown. That's the way it's got to be, but not according to you. Do we run a poll similar to that after the regular season or at some point? Yeah, yeah, but, you know, opinions change. Right. I feel like we ran that poll before and it was closer to 50-50.
Starting point is 00:03:03 What does it matter with me? I'm just looking at the poll now. I had another typo. DeAndre Hopkins. I feel like we ran that poll before and it was closer to 50-50. What does it matter with me? I'm just looking at the poll now. I had another typo. DeAndre Hopkins. I forgot the K. Well, no wonder nobody picked him. Nobody even knows who that is. Yeah, Heath, you have Hopkins ahead of Brown.
Starting point is 00:03:16 I do. And I don't feel real comfortable about that. But I expect DeAndre Hopkins to have a larger share of his team's targets next year than Antonio Brown does. And we've seen DeAndre Hopkins basically with anyone other than Brock Osweiler. He's awesome. I expect Deshaun Watson to be back to full strength next year. I'm taking a swing.
Starting point is 00:03:38 All right. I respect it. I like that. I respect your swing. I respect the swing, too. I just I like the track record of Antonio Brown. I put up a couple of Twitter polls two weeks ago about cereal, and they were two, this cereal or this cereal,
Starting point is 00:03:55 like two polls comparing two different cereals. I misspelled three of the four cereals. Maybe you should take these polls more cereals. Thank you. Well, I misspelled Coco. I forgot there was an A at the end of Coco. So, you know, that was bad. Such a rookie mistake.
Starting point is 00:04:11 I know. There's another ranking of Heath Cummings that I'm very interested in. Not nobody ranked actually Heath, but one of Heath's rankings. Tyreek Hill, you have ahead of Mike Evans and Devontae Adams in standard. And in PPR, I believe you have Adams one, then Hill, then Mike Evans. So you have Hill ahead of Evans in both formats. You have Hill ahead of Devontae Adams and Evans in standard. Now they're back-to-back-to-back. But I did think that was interesting.
Starting point is 00:04:35 I haven't seen Tyreek Hill going ahead of Devontae Adams. No, I don't think that he probably will. And I'm still really confused on where all of these guys are going to be going i'm in a few drafts already and we're going to see more and more moving forward i think tyree kill may be available at the end of the second round maybe even early third we're talking about a guy he was the second receiver ever with a thousand yards receiving that had a 70 catch rate and average 15 yards per reception. Now, there's a little bit more risk with Patrick Mahomes as his quarterback,
Starting point is 00:05:10 Patrick and Mahomes in his rookie year, but there's a lot more upside, too. Mahomes has an absolute cannon, and this team just gave away Marcus Peters. I don't expect they're going to be very good defensively. I expect a lot of chasing the score. Okay. Dave, how would you rank those three? Tyreek Hill, Devontae Adams, and Mike Evans? I've got Hill third, but they're all top 10. So Adams seven. I've got Keenan Allen eight. You didn't mention Keenan Allen. I'm just throwing him in there. Mike Evans nine and Tyreek Hill 10. And I think it's real close between them. In fact, in my top 200, that's my 19, 20, 21, and 22 overall, those four guys.
Starting point is 00:05:49 So I think that you will see a stretch of good wide receivers, and I'm using good. I'm kind of underrating the term good. These are very good wide receivers that you're going to see late round two, early round three, just as Heath said. And I love that upside that's out there for the taking with Tyreek Hill. I think Tyreek Hill is the reason why Alex Smith had the big year that he had last year. Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, you saw Alex Smith had by far his best deep passing season ever. But that's easy when Tyreek Evans is beating guys by like six steps.
Starting point is 00:06:20 Tyreek Evans. Yes, Tyreek Evans. I don't even know who Tyreek Evans is. Yes, you do. Yes. He is beating guys by four steps over a 30-yard dash, so it's a little easier to hit the guy deep. Does he still play for the New Orleans Hornets?
Starting point is 00:06:34 No. The New Orleans Hornets? Isn't that what they're called? No, they're the Pelicans now. The Pelicans? And he plays for the Memphis Grizzlies, and he doesn't play because he's hurt. Well, okay, if you look at the three guys, Evans, Hill, and Adams, give everybody their best-case scenario.
Starting point is 00:06:50 Who's the best player? I think it's Adams because I think his upside is 1,212. I don't know if Mike Evans can get back to that level. I think he can come close and i think tyree kill will probably top out at 1109 see the thing is tyree kill 1183 yards last year and he only played 15 games he set out the last game of the year so yeah so then i must be coming in low on that i i think the other thing is adam's upside is limited just a little bit by the fact that Jordy Nelson's going to be there. We know he's going to get red zone targets.
Starting point is 00:07:28 They also have Randall Cobb, if they keep him. Travis Kelsey's there with Tyreek Hill, but that's pretty much it. And I do think Patrick Mahomes is one of the most volatile quarterbacks heading into 2018. You could see him just stink it up in his rookie year, or he could make the jump into top seven. So if Patrick Mahomes hits his upside, then Tyree Kill's upside is the highest. Well, but Adams has caught 12 and 10 touchdowns in his last two seasons. Yeah, I feel safer with Adams knowing what his quarterback can do. I feel safest with Adams.
Starting point is 00:08:04 I agree with that part. I just think if you're only talking about upside, we haven't seen Tyreek Hills yet. All right, Adams was the number 11 wide receiver in standard, number 12 in PPR. Hill was fifth in standard, eighth in PPR. And they both had, well, actually, that's the funny thing. Hill had only 105 targets.
Starting point is 00:08:22 So, yeah, we need more targets for Tyreek Hill, but he had an amazing year with those targets. They both had 74, 75 catches. So let's take a look at the news and notes. A lot of defense stuff here, but it's kind of interesting defense stuff. The Eagles acquired Michael Bennett and a seventh-round pick from Seattle for wide receiver Marcus Johnson and a fifth-round pick.
Starting point is 00:08:42 Yeah, yeah, pretty good for the Eagles. What do you guys think? Carson Wentz is going to throw like 450 passes this year. Yeah, do you think that defense is just going to be so much better now that it limits the opportunities for this passing game? His volume was already low for other elite quarterbacks. He just had an exceptional efficiency year. This does not help Carson Wentz, in my opinion,
Starting point is 00:09:07 and there's a chance that Russell Wilson is finally throwing the ball a ton. Yeah, well, they're expected to release Richard Sherman. Things are changing in Seattle. Sheldon Richardson's a free agent. This doesn't even look like a good defense anymore. I don't know what they're going to do. Not a bad defense, but maybe average. How about just go sign Allen Robinson
Starting point is 00:09:25 and decide to outscore everyone? If you're going to outscore everyone, then you need Sammy, not Allen Robinson. I was really thinking about this. Is it possible that the Cardinals and Seahawks are now the two bottom teams in the NFC West? I thought about that too. Absolutely. I think there's a chance that they are.
Starting point is 00:09:40 As of right now, I am really low on the Cardinals. I think they are terrible. Well, they don't have a quarterback on their rosters. That's going to hurt. Right. And it doesn't look like they're going to get cousins. Their offensive line is in trouble. Their receivers are in trouble.
Starting point is 00:09:51 And why does that not matter for David Johnson? It does. Thank you, Heath. It does. That's why I'm afraid of David Johnson. It's hard to be an elite running back on a terrible team. It really is. Now, Forte's been able to do it.
Starting point is 00:10:03 Even if you're getting a ton of work? No. Forte proved that, didn't he? You're right, Dave. Even if you get a ton of work, and especially a ton of catches. But it just seems like he has the most bust potential by far of the top four running backs. Well, and if you're counting on 350 touches to be a good fantasy running back, and you've had major injuries each of the last two seasons.
Starting point is 00:10:26 It's true. I've got him fifth at running back, and I'm afraid I might be a little too high. Who's fourth for you? In PPR, Zeke. In standard, Kamara. Oh, so who's third for you in PPR? Who are the four ahead of him? Well, it's got to be Kamara.
Starting point is 00:10:40 Bell, Gurley, Kamara, and Elliott in PPR. Yeah, I think I want Kareem Hunt over David Johnson right now, but that might be just me being a little overreactionary. Let's see who their quarterback is. If they sign a good quarterback, then that would change. All right, some other stuff here. Jarvis Landry signed his franchise tag, so we'll still see if they trade him. The Dolphins also acquired Robert Quinn from the Rams.
Starting point is 00:11:04 The Giants acquired Alec acquired Robert Quinn from the Rams. The Giants acquired Alec Ogletree from the Rams. Finally, a linebacker. The last time the Giants drafted a linebacker in the first round? 1984. Is that unbelievable? 1984. Who was it? Carl Banks. That's what I thought.
Starting point is 00:11:19 Free agent guard Andrew Norwell is believed to be headed to the Giants. That could really help their running game. Cincinnati and defensive tackle Chris Baker have agreed to a one-year deal. And the Mountain from Game of Thrones won the Arnold Sports Festival Strongman Classic, and only one-third of us watched Game of Thrones, and that is a crying shame. I was thinking about going out for that, and I decided, nah,
Starting point is 00:11:44 I'm going to let the mountain win it. I watched Game of Thrones once. You need to watch it again. You need to watch it again. I'd be very excited to watch Game of Thrones right now, but I'm more excited... Guys, we have a new sponsor. Give it up for our new sponsor. Yeah! New sponsor! No, it's actually really great.
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Starting point is 00:13:37 can see the website for full details. This would cost hundreds if you went to a doctor or a pharmacy. Instead, $5 for your first month. 4hims.com slash FFT. Heath, thank you for your time, sir. It was really great to be here. We are now going to bring on our super special guest, Emery Hunt of Football Game Plan.
Starting point is 00:13:57 Emery Hunt is the czar of the playbook, founder and analyst at Football Game Plan. He's also a college football color commentator and author of Football, A Love Story, What Did Football Teach Me, and Stiff Arming Football Myths. And here he is. Emery, welcome to Fantasy Football today. Thank you for coming on. Appreciate you guys having me on. Glad to be here.
Starting point is 00:14:16 What is your Twitter handle, Emery? At FBallGamePlan. FBallGamePlan. All right, let's get those Twitter followers up. We've already got quite a few. But if you don't know Emory Hunt, let's find out a little bit about him. So tell us about yourself, kind of what you specialize in. I like to call myself just a football analyst, man.
Starting point is 00:14:35 You know, it doesn't matter if it's NFL, college football, women's tackle football. I've done that. You know, the draft, high school football. I do color commentary for high school football on Fridays. So I'm a little bit across the board when it comes to the pigskin. You know, the draft, high school football, I do color commentary for high school football on Fridays. So I'm a little bit across the board when it comes to the pigskin. And so I like to classify myself as a football analyst, played college football at Louisiana Lafayette. And, you know, now just trying to stay involved in the game.
Starting point is 00:15:04 I coach a little bit right out of college and just trying to provide a different perspective that's out there for the football fans. So right now we're in draft season, so I'm in my full-fledged scouting mode in addition to other analyst duties that I have. But I love this part of the season because I get to really dive into the tape, rank these guys, and try to give the fans a little bit of a perspective and kind of get them ahead of the curve on certain players. Last year I was ahead of the curve on Tariq Cohen, ahead of the curve on a lot of these quarterbacks that came out and starred as rookies. So I like to say we try to give people a non-biased approach to scouting
Starting point is 00:15:38 and just kind of a realist perspective. Can you tell us about women's tackle football? Actually, that sounds really, really interesting. Adam wants to know all the details. I think it's really cool. I'm glad that you cover it. It is, man. I did the, I was the color analyst for the Independent Women's Football League title game this past July up in Salt Lake City. And New York has a team, the New York Sharks, they play out of, I guess that's Brooklyn or Queens, you know, it's that gray area where it's that aviation field.
Starting point is 00:16:07 And these women are tremendous athletes. You look at women that played perhaps a ranch track, played volleyball, maybe played basketball. They're out there playing full contact football. And it's impressive. And I think it's a sport that needs to continue to grow because you're seeing a lot more women want to get involved in tackle football. and it has been around since 1998. I remember I was a high school senior, and I was up late at night, and I saw a PBS special on this women's tackle football team,
Starting point is 00:16:35 which is still around. It's the Minnesota Vixen. I think they've been around for 20-plus years. So it's a unique sport. The women are competitive. In the game I did in Utah, this team, the Utah Falcons, they ran the triple option just as good and precise as the Air Force Falcons. So it's great to see a ton of athleticism,
Starting point is 00:16:55 and I can't wait until it kicks off first week of April so I can get out there and check out the New York team. Now we've got to put together a women's league fantasy league. For sure. We're drafting these ladies and a women's league fantasy league. For sure. We're drafting these ladies and putting them on our fantasy team. You know that fantasy is what we do, Emery. And so, first of all, I love that your title is football analyst. Totally get that.
Starting point is 00:17:14 That's how I like to think of myself too. But when it comes to fantasy, we're always trying to predict what a player is going to do in a certain week, in a certain matchup. I'm curious, what are the things that you look for in a defense before a game that lets you know, okay, this is going to be an easy matchup for the offense that they're going up against, or I don't know, this is going to be a tough one. I'd stay away from a lot of the non-obvious offensive players in this game. Yeah, and that's a great point because a lot of it coincides.
Starting point is 00:17:42 It's all connected. If you can break down talent, you can coach. You're going to be on the plus side of victories more often than not. And if you can break down talent and also coach, then you can also find the best matchups, which means you should be able to win fantasy because it's all about finding the boogeyman, finding the weak link. And that's the biggest key. For instance, there was one week in particular last year, because I also do a fantasy football show every Sunday morning on the Fantasy Sports Network.
Starting point is 00:18:14 It's called Lineup Lock Live from 9 to 1. And it was one week in particular where I said, hey, this guy is going to go off in this particular week. He hadn't had any prior weeks of being a big-time fantasy scorer. And it was like, well, why would you say that? He's a third receiver. I was like, well, look at the matchup. His talent is better than their third corner. So if I'm thinking like a coach, if I'm thinking this correctly, they're going to exploit him until that team either takes him off the field
Starting point is 00:18:44 or gives up 200 plus yards to see even in multiple touchdowns and he went on to have a great day i can't ruin it i have to go back and find it but that's the type of analysis that you can you can find in fantasy football when you're trying to get ahead of the curve just look at the matchups and the matchups will tell you who and who to play and who not to play right so when you're looking specifically at the matchup and we can use the one you gave as an example, was there any specific data point that made you realize that the third corner wasn't good and that the team who hadn't used their third receiver would lean on that third
Starting point is 00:19:16 receiver? Was there anything there that you could point to? Or was it just strictly grinding the film, watching it over and over again, game after game of these players and saying, OK, I've seen enough. I know that this is where other teams have exploited this defense. So I think this team in this matchup this week can do the same. And it's always all about matchups.
Starting point is 00:19:38 And I think a lot of times we tend to make football a complicated entity, but it's a simple game and a lot of times if you're for me example when i'm prepping for a game and i'm looking at okay let's say jets playing the giants okay the giants have three good wide receivers i know the jets may be good at safety but corners they're questionable passing games should have success without looking at statistics or without looking at any breakdown of metrics just looking at talent versus talent you know you kind of that's how i kind of read it and get a good feel for it and it has been successful in doing so i think that's what you have to look for
Starting point is 00:20:16 you know because every because one team may come in and say okay uh this team last week threw the ball for 300 yards we should come in and throw the football for 300 yards. No, you don't have the quarterback or the receivers that they have, or you don't have the protection that the other team has to help you throw for 300-something yards. So it's all about matchups each and every week. That's why every week is different. So I think a lot of times in fantasy analysis,
Starting point is 00:20:41 guys tend to be reactive as opposed to proactive because they rely on what happened last. Some people don't see it until they saw it already. So if you're predictive or proactive and understand matchups and talent, you'll be way ahead of the curve. All right, Emery, let's get into some of your prospect rankings. I wanted your top four at every position, and this is for the NFLfl draft coming up so give me your top four quarterbacks for this upcoming draft one lamar jackson i just feel as though he is the ultimate neutralizer or equalizer so to speak when you look at football it's basically 10 on 11 because
Starting point is 00:21:20 you don't account for the quarterback being a weapon because that's usually the that's why it's called a free safety you know because he doesn't have a guy that he's relegated or accounting for uh when you have a guy like jackson that can make it an 11 on 11 game there's only a certain amount of defenses you can play you can't play man coverage because as soon as they turn their backs guess who's running right behind him lamar jackson and if you stay in zone with his ability to pick guys apart from the pocket, I think he's vastly underrated as a pocket passer than given credit for. He's mostly inaccurate when he's outside the pocket as opposed to in the pocket. So when you play in zone, you have big windows because teams don't want to rush up front because of how dynamic he is as a
Starting point is 00:22:04 runner. So they're not rushing. They're giving you big windows because you run certain concepts. You expand zone to man or from man to zone. And then now you have these huge, gigantic windows that you could throw to. He's going to pick you apart. So I think his natural talent allows him to be that guy. That's why he's number one. And number two, I have Sam Darnold.
Starting point is 00:22:23 I think Darnald still has a lot of upside left in this game i like his ability to make something happen after it breaks down um i'm not worried about the throwing motion you throw how you throw as long as the ball getting there we've seen people that that has that that have a football in their hands that legit can't throw and people try to make fun of guys that have weird throwing motions but put the ball in the hand of an offensive lineman and ask him to throw a pass. You know,
Starting point is 00:22:46 that's what can't throw looks like, you know, so Donald can't throw. He can make the, he can make all the passes that you need. Uh, I just think that he can get a little bit reckless. That's a little bit of your Blake Bortles or your James Winston.
Starting point is 00:22:58 Um, when you talk about turnovers, but I still like his upside. Uh, Rosen is third. I feel like Rosen is, um, kind of like Eli Manning, both the good and the bad. The marginal athleticism is going to yield itself in this day and age of football
Starting point is 00:23:12 of getting a lot of sacks, being susceptible to a lot of hits, which could equate to more concussions, which he had an issue with at two, I believe, at UCLA. And also he's already been injured he had a knee injury or or wears a knee brace he has a shoulder injury so he's kind of an old school quarterback but i do like his accuracy um and fourth is baker mayfield i think baker mayfield to me is the college version of a guy like case Keenum. And I don't think he does well versus pressure. You know, you can go back to the Clemson game in the playoffs.
Starting point is 00:23:51 You can go back to this game against Georgia in the playoffs. When the windows are tighter, he's afraid to make that tight window throw. And he tends to fold as far as pressure coming from the defense. We saw that against Georgia. I mean, you just won the Heisman Trophy. And to be quite honest, they took the ball out of his hands in that fourth quarter, in that overtime period. They didn't trust him to make certain throws. That's a huge red flag.
Starting point is 00:24:17 But I do like his escapability. He's going to keep plays alive. And he plays a lot like Case Keenan, which is not bad. I like Case Keenan at Houston. But everything was going great for Houston until that conference USA championship game against Southern Miss. And it all went to pieces because of the Miss Blitz's first, second, third down. It really shut down the Cougars. Well, so, I mean, the headline here, Dave, is Lamar Jackson is Emory's number one quarterback.
Starting point is 00:24:39 I don't, you know, I'm not sure how that would be for fantasy. It would be great to have a guy who can run the ball so much. But maybe people would think he's not such a great passer, wouldn't be great for wide receivers. But that's still a headline, Lamar Jackson, number one. People are very split on him. Yeah, and I haven't had a chance to really dig into these quarterbacks yet. I'm kind of taking my time looking at the prospects coming into this year's draft,
Starting point is 00:25:01 and I decided to start with receivers this year because that position seems so in flux. But I've seen enough of Lamar Jackson to know that he can definitely make plays. But I'm a little concerned about the type of competition he went up against in college and whether or not his body can handle playing in the NFL. Not going to question his speed. Not going to question his football intelligence at all. Accuracy, obviously, we can talk about that all day. But that's what I'm going to throw back to you, Emery,
Starting point is 00:25:30 is I feel like he could be great if he's in the right type of offense. I don't know if you can put him in a typical type of offense, even like a basic West Coast scheme where they ask him to stay in the pocket maybe a bootleg every seven eight plays something like that i think he's got to be in an offense that specializes in rpos and certainly the spread and i think he could get away with putting up huge numbers for fantasy in a system like that especially if he's got some really good receivers on his side. What if I told you that the offense they ran at Louisville is the same exact offense they run in New England?
Starting point is 00:26:13 And what if I told you his receiving core led the nation in drops at Louisville? So let's move that to the NFL. They played in the Earhart-Perkins offense, at Louisville. So let's move that to the NFL. They played in the Earhart Perkins offense, which is, you see multiple teams in the NFL running that, and Patriots is the biggest one. So I think you put him in a situation where the receivers are not dropping it like it's hot,
Starting point is 00:26:38 to use that phrase. I think the numbers are going to be there. Even if you take away all of his rushing statistics, the yards and all those touchdowns over 50, and just focus on his past numbers and his passing percentage, it has improved every year. The year he won the Heisman, he threw 30 touchdowns, only nine recepts. This year, he was actually, from an efficiency standpoint, way better. So I think you put him in the offense, especially with his ability to run, just having that threat is going to have those receivers see a lot of opportunity to throw the football.
Starting point is 00:27:08 So he's the type of guy that will help out your receivers, but also help your running back gain. It's almost like when Vic was in Atlanta and Warwick Dunn ran for 1,500 yards, averaging like six yards a carry or something silly like that. That's what, that's what it does because people have to worry about him because of the threat. And when you have that threat to run, you could trust him throwing a ball 30 times a game. Cause about 15 to 16 of those will be from clean,
Starting point is 00:27:39 protected pockets. Cause guys don't want to rush the field. So I think he's a guy that can help out the receivers and also the running back. He's not like Vic, where Vic really was a guy that wasn't a refined passer coming out of Virginia Tech, where he literally looked to take off. Lamar Jackson didn't do that as much. He did when things broke down, and it just so happens he's the fastest player on the field.
Starting point is 00:28:03 But I think he can help out because the offense they played at Louisville is actually a pro-style offense. All right. So, Emery, let's move on to running backs now. And your top four, I assume Barkley will be number one. And I guess what I want to know about Barkley is how does he compare to Gurley? How does he compare to Zeke? How does he compare to Fournette? Give me your thoughts on the talk of the combine, Saquon Barkley and the rest of the top four running backs. I love Saquon Barkley because
Starting point is 00:28:28 the one thing he has that the girly or the Fournette doesn't have is the ability to make miss. And so that right there is huge because that yields itself to being able to have longevity. That's why a guy like Barry Sanders can rush for, you know, damn near 15,000 yards and not miss a season. You know, it's all about how can you make guys miss. So in conjunction with his explosiveness, his power, his ability to catch the football, which is huge for fantasy. So he's a guy that's going to be out there constantly. And he has the speed to rip off the long run. So he's going to be a dynamic fantasy football player that you can grab very,
Starting point is 00:29:11 that you should grab very early because they're going to put the ball in his hands early and off. So he is a guy I would say would be ranked higher than Barkley. I had him higher than Gurley because Gurley doesn't have that wiggle. Plus Gurley takes way too much hit too much contact which um we've seen him miss time uh either miss games or miss time with end games and barkley doesn't do that so i would rank him higher than that zeke was a different animal zeke was a little bit more fluid um if barkley if i if i had to use music if zeke was jazz barkley would be you be old school hip hop.
Starting point is 00:29:47 Just something that was totally different than what we hear now, but it's still phenomenal to listen to. So that's my thoughts on Barkley. Where would you love to see him? I'm sorry, Dave. I was asking about Barkley, best fit for him. You might say he could fit in anywhere, Emery, but Cleveland, New York, Indianapolis, he's going to go to one of those three teams. He's going to be a top three pick. Where do you think he would fit in the best? I think it's a tie between Cleveland and New York, honestly, because you put him in Cleveland, you instantly help out Deshaun Kaiser. I mean,
Starting point is 00:30:18 you saw what happened when a healthy girl was out there for golf. So I think the Browns could be trekking in that direction. And if you put them in New York with an Odell Beckham, Evan Ingram, Sterling Shepard, my goodness, how do you match up against that offense that has a game-breaking back and also a game-breaking receiver and tight end? This is going to be a phenomenal watch. How about the rest of the top four running backs and how many of them could be impactful this year? Actually, my number two is Rashad Penny out of San Diego State. I'm a big fan of his game. He reminds me a lot of pre-injury Willis McGahee at Miami. You know, he's just explosive. He can rip off the long run. They had him returning kicks. And you can't name a receiver or a quarterback from San Diego State, which means teams came in knowing they had to stop Penny, and they couldn't.
Starting point is 00:31:11 He ran for 2,200 yards this year. Third, I have Sonny Michelle out of Georgia. He reminds me a little bit of Clinton Portis, a do-it-all type back. He's strong in between the tackles. He has a receiving skill, so it's a matchupup so he's going to be another fantasy stud for for folks mark walton is my my uh fourth running back out of miami oh yeah see we're we're miami guys you keep mentioning all these miami guys and now you mentioned mark walton this is terrific walton is walton is so fluid man and it's it's a shame that he got injured this year otherwise he would have had a phenomenal campaign but going back to last year he was just one of those guys that like the way he's able to
Starting point is 00:31:50 string moves together was impressive and ronald jones was my fifth guy because he has that take it to the house speed we like to call it where if you get him a lane he gets outside you might as well just get the extra point team ready there's gonna be a touchdown where's geis i haven't heard his name he's highly rated geis is seventh for me he's right behind a guy that's out here locally and chase edmunds out of fordham uh geis is good um geis to me has to learn how to make people miss or not just necessarily you don't have to turn it to barry sanders but you have to be able to avoid direct contact because you can't continue to survive as a running back taking hits now when it's between you and the goal line or you and a key first down yes lower
Starting point is 00:32:32 your shoulder and take that hit but every other play try to find ways to where you can you know deflect the blow get to the ground maybe step out of bounds preserve yourself over the course of a game that way you can still be fresh by the time you hit the fourth quarter. All right, Dave, let's talk about some wide receivers. You ready, sir? Yes, sir. All right, let's do it. Emery, give me your top four wide receivers for the 2018 draft class.
Starting point is 00:32:55 I rank wide receivers by different position. So I'll just give you my top overall grades because it's tough to rank a guy like a Christian Kirk juxtaposed to a guy that plays predominantly in a slot like a Deshaun Hamilton right because they're going to be playing two different positions uh so I kind of break it up and split into flankers and slots and also inside receivers but my overall grades Kirk would be tied with number one with James Washington out of Oklahoma State I just think Washington is a polished receiver he reminds me so much of Chris Chambers when he was playing in Miami um you know he's 5'10 but he plays like he's 6'5 you know he's he has long arms he's tracked the
Starting point is 00:33:38 ball he's tracking the ball well that's a really good job so I'd like him and kirk as as number one uh they sean hamilton is number two uh because this guy you talk about route running it's almost clinic tape how he runs routes and the reason why route running is important for fantasy owners is because that means he's going to get open quicker which means the receivers quarterback's going to see him quicker throw the football to him and that's how he's going to rack up the you know the targets the the receptions and uh the yards after contact he may not score touchdowns but he's going to be uh points per reception type of a stud in fantasy so that's my top three and then i have a log jam for three four and five with guys like antonio calloway out of florida uh calvin ritley out of alab, and I'm a big fan of Cedric Wilson and how he plays out of Boise State,
Starting point is 00:34:29 and also Cortland Sutton and Michael Gallup are tied for the fifth spot. So you've got like eight guys in five spots, and I think that just speaks to how receivers are this year. There's a lot of guys that are – I don't think that there's a clear-cut guy in this draft. I know that a lot of mock drafters are putting Calvin Ridley at the top, and I'm not sure that that should be the case. And the one guy I'd love to talk about with you is Christian Kirk, who, since our last
Starting point is 00:34:55 podcast, has moved into my number one spot among wide receivers, although it's a totally incomplete list. But I think he's a great route runner, too. Reminds me so much of both Sterling Shepard and Golden Tate. And I think he could have a day one impact in the National Football League. Absolutely, man. And the one thing he has that I like, and he reminds me a lot of Odell Beckham, is that he has that explosiveness. You know, you never know when it's going to come.
Starting point is 00:35:24 But you have a feeling if he just gets the ball in his hands on the know when it's going to come but you have a feeling if he just gets the ball in his hands on the move it's a house call and you saw him do a lot of that at texas in them remember when he came in there was a guy that was tearing up the country and he was really good and speedy noel and he made him an afterthought like kind of put him on the bench and you know speedy noel just kind of like became a run-of-the-mill receiver because kirk was so dynamic and i think what's underrated about kirk's game is that he can play all three positions he can play in the slot he can play the split in um outside of tackle and also play the flanker outside of the tight end so you can move him around you even can hand him the football i think he the football. I think he's going to be the touchdown maker, like I made the case for Deshaun Hamilton being the points per the PPR guy.
Starting point is 00:36:10 I think Kirk is going to find his way in the end zone way more often than not as a pro. So one thing I've noticed about your rankings so far is you're not exactly jiving with the consensus, other than Saquon Barkley as your number one running back but Lamar Jackson as your number one quarterback and not Calvin Ridley as Dave said as your number one wide receiver he's like tied for fifth for you is that typical for you or am I just
Starting point is 00:36:34 misreading I mean I look at that many mock drafts or that many rankings I guess just sort of the popular opinion are you kind of a do you often find yourself going against the grain yeah I think so. And it's funny because I tend to get a lot of flack for it. But when you let it play out over time, people say, oh, wow, you probably was right.
Starting point is 00:36:54 Like, nah, I knew I was right on that one. So you have certain cases like that. For instance, last year, I want to say it was maybe week two or something, and the NFL official account tweeted out a Rugrats picture of the top rookies or whatever. And it was, you know, Leonard Fournette, Delvin Cook, Christian McCaffrey, Kareem Hunt, Tariq Cohen. And somebody tagged me in a tweet. It was like, yo, this was your top five running back rankings.
Starting point is 00:37:20 I was like, yeah, it was. Nobody had Kareem Hunt or to rick cohen in the top five but but me and so yeah my rankings tend to be a little bit out out the box but sometimes i don't say i'm always right but sometimes i may be on the right side of it so a lot of it's just kind of trusting what you see um your your i mean your eyes will never lie to you guys like it's football is so easy if you see a guy breaking long runs then doggone he's gonna break long runs in nfl you know so it's not that complicated i think a lot of people talk themselves into maybe a player last year it was joe mixon um but i was like you know joe mixon is just kind of
Starting point is 00:38:01 he doesn't have the vision for the position i think a lot of people love the idea of what Joe Mixon can do than what he was actually doing on field. And it kind of worked out that way as a rookie. So it's all about just trusting your instinct and not being afraid to be wrong. If I was wrong in something, people will let you know you got to own up to it. But when you're right, you just got to keep quiet and just keep on working because your process actually has good results. There's also the reality that you could be right about how good a player is. And he's just misused with the team that he goes to. Or in the case of Alvin Kamara, who I would imagine was not in your top five of running back last year, got used in a way that was beyond expectation.
Starting point is 00:38:42 So I really think that a huge piece of it, we could sit here and talk all day about all these prospects, but it really doesn't mean anything because it comes down to where they fit in and how well they work with the offense that they join. Exactly, and you brought up a great point with Kamara because I had to explain that to folks that were saying, well, why didn't you have Kamara high? And I said, well, look, it's about usage. To be honest, if Elijah Maguire was in New Orleans, he would have been Alvin Kamara last season.
Starting point is 00:39:13 So the fact that he's with the Jets and not getting utilized, people think that was a mis-evaluation. But he's not getting utilized. And if Kamara was in New York, he would have been behind belal powell and wasting wasting space essentially so you're absolutely right it's all about usage and where you go it just worked out great that uh not only did he go to new orleans but sean payton actually realized hey i can run the ball and win and not ask drew brees to throw the ball 65 times a game you know during the season year, he kind of got away from that and he lost those games.
Starting point is 00:39:46 But when he won, it was because the rushing attempts was way more than their passing attempts. Emory, I want to get your opinion on some of last year's stud NFL players. So why don't we wrap up on just give me your tight ends that you like in the draft this year, and then we'll kind of focus a little bit more on NFL players. But who are your top four tight ends, and do you think they can have an impact uh in 2018 yeah my tight end position is just like my receiver position where i rank them by inline player flex player or h-back uh but but number one i like jalen samuels of uh nc state you know because he's a swiss army knife i don't view him as a running back or a fullback or a tight end, I think he can just play it all.
Starting point is 00:40:25 Whatever you need, he can do it. I think he's going to be a PPR dynamo in the NFL as far as fantasy is concerned. I like Dallas Goddard of South Dakota State. He's going to be the matchup guy, the Travis Kelsey type, along with Mark Andrews. I like the comparison he said at the Combine. He compares himself to Jason Witten. That's a comparison I gave him, too, when Witten came out of Tennessee. So I like those guys.
Starting point is 00:40:50 And Travis Conklin of Central Michigan, health permitting, he's outstanding with the ball in the air. He's a guy that's going to go up and grab it and be a matchup nightmare as a pro. He was a little bit banged up at Central Michigan, especially this past season. But last year he was killing guys in some big-time games as well. And, of course, if you want to see these rankings, you can go to footballgameplan.com, a very cool website. And, yeah, check it out, footballgameplan.com. So let's talk about some players,
Starting point is 00:41:17 some kind of younger players who were studs last year. You already talked about Alvin Kamara, but let's go to Deshaun Watson. And how surprised, if at all, were you by how productive he was on a per-game basis? Deshaun Watson was the best fantasy quarterback. Do you think that was legit? What do we expect going forward for Deshaun? It was legit. He was my number one quarterback last year in the draft class.
Starting point is 00:41:40 And the reason why I liked him a lot was due to his fearlessness to throw the football. A lot of times, we talked a little bit about it with Baker Mayfield. If it's not clearly defined or wide open, he's afraid to throw it. Watson's going to throw it regardless, which can be good and bad, which is why he had a lot of interceptions at Clemson, and he had some interceptions in the meat of his playing early in the NFL, but he had a lot of touchdowns. And it was also because of the threat of him running. So teams played him differently, which is the point I was making about Lamar Jackson. So it's not a surprise.
Starting point is 00:42:16 And you have to like that he's going to have another full offseason with the same group of receivers. The chemistry is going to be there and he doesn't have to worry about competing for the job with Tom Savage, who I don't even know why they even wasted time having him as a starter when they only lasted a half, you know, before he realized he was Tom Savage. So I think that's just going to bode well for these guys to hit the ground running, throwing the ball. I wanted to actually ask him, ask you, Emery, about rookies last year that weren't necessarily household names like Deshaun Watson.
Starting point is 00:42:48 Everybody knows who he is. People are going to take him in round five or so in fantasy drafts this year, maybe a little later than round five. But I wanted to ask you about Tariq Cohen, Jamal Williams, and running backs who certainly weren't headliners by any stretch. They did have some good games. Do you think that they have opportunities to see their roles get bigger? Is there one you like better than the other?
Starting point is 00:43:11 Is there a running back who wasn't a headliner last year that you think could come out of the woodwork this year and help fantasy owners out? That's a great question because there's like three different answers I can give. Cohen, I liked a lot coming out, obviously. And I think he has the chance to build on what he did last year because of the situation. New coaching staff realized that this guy is dangerous with the ball in his hands, so we're going to have to find ways to give him the football. I think the best way to solve that issue, that problem that these coaches create that they say that they have, is just by simply turning around and handing him the football.
Starting point is 00:43:49 I wouldn't imagine if he was running the football more so than Jordan Howard, who loves running into the back of linemen. You know, Cohen probably would have 2,500 yards with the amount of carries that Jordan Howard gets. But that's why they got to find ways to get him the football. So I think he's going to have it because of the offensive system he's going to be in the guy that I'm I liked a lot last year as well he was actually my sixth running back was Jamal Williams the problem is because my 11th running back in that draft pass Aaron Jones is also good so I think those two guys will probably find themselves splitting carries because Jones is just as fluid of a runner as Ezekiel Elliott and he showed that last year when he was when he got the opportunity
Starting point is 00:44:29 of how just fluid he was able to find the holes and accelerate through and score touchdowns so I think those two guys will cancel each other out I think in fantasy they like to call it handcuff backs you know guys handcuff the other one um so I think that that's going to be the case for those guys now if there's a guy that i like this year um that's going to come out the woodworks that was a last year draft pick it's joe williams out of utah who plays for san francisco oh i've got a long history on this podcast with joe williams joe williams is explosive man and i think when you have a coach openly vouching for you and campaigning for you to draft you, and they ultimately do it, you're in his future plans.
Starting point is 00:45:10 So I think this year is going to be big for Joe Williams. Yeah, that's cool. I like that. All right, keep an eye on Joe Williams. I want to ask you about Melvin Gordon and basically what you make of the yards per carry stat. Because I know it doesn't tell us how good a player is. I mean, like todd girley didn't have that great of a yards per carry in 2016 but it is kind of puzzling like i see melvin gordon
Starting point is 00:45:30 and it's like his talent sort of jumps off the page but at the same time he's under four yards per carry two straight seasons uh three straight seasons three point three point five three point nine three point nine what do you make of that like how good is Melvin Gordon? I think he's really good, man. I was having this philosophical debate with my homeboy, who's a coach and a teacher, and he also played running back, too. And we always talk about the arbitrary four yards to carry number for yards to carry. It looks better because it's a nice round number but he brought it up to he brought it to my attention he was like look man i don't care if you average three and a half yards to carry you know you get a ball three times that's the first down i was like hey you know you're right so i get it i think with a guy like gordon um a lot of his issues is similar to what you see with ronald
Starting point is 00:46:20 jones um they tend to not be patient enough and they don't have that lateral agility to overcome that so they run into the back of their lineman or they may trip over their own feet and fall down um and that causes them to have such a low yards per carry but when they do get that lane it's a touchdown and so i think for certain backs you kind of it's give and take i know jerome bettis had that thing where you knew you, it wasn't going to be, you know, the six yards a carry that you saw with other backs. So you're willing to, to, you know, uh, excuse his, his three and a half, 3.9 yards a carry, because you knew at the end of the day, it, if you,
Starting point is 00:47:01 if you go for the long play, the yardage was going to be there in the end. Right. I feel like wide receiver for fantasy in 2018 is going to be a boondoggle for fantasy owners. I think you know who the studs are going to be, but we're going to need to work hard to find breakout players and guys who take advantage of the opportunities that they hopefully get as soon as training camp opens
Starting point is 00:47:25 and they hang on to through the preseason. Do you have your eye on a couple of wide receivers who aren't household names who could either hit the 1,000-yard mark this year in fantasy or even seven touchdowns? Someone who could be productive to a good enough degree where they would finish as a top 25 type of fantasy receiver i give you two guys i like you right players you know um amara darbo of coming out of michigan he's with seattle let's see yeah yep you know i i think he's going to be a very good receiver and and josh reynolds of texas&M, who's now with the Rams. Those two guys are so explosive and so dynamic,
Starting point is 00:48:10 and they do a great job of just winning the contested catch and also tracking the ball. I think with the way the offseason will progress, it'll push those guys up the depth chart, which will then push those guys into the realm of, you know, the targets per game conversation. And with Reynolds, you know, by him being so doggone good after the catch as far as acceleration and running away from guys and getting to the end zone, I think that's going to be the deep threat in that Rams offense. And Darbo is going to, if they allow Paul Richardson to walk, Darbo is going to fill that void and be that breakout player this year in fantasy.
Starting point is 00:48:46 So Reynolds theoretically would just replace Sammy Watkins. Bingo. And I think because when they drafted him, I was like, man, that's a really good receiver. He was actually my number two split in last year's class. I was like, but he's going to a tough spot. How is he going to get on the field with them bringing in all that talent? You know, especially with Cooper Cup. And I was like, they got four receivers that's going to play before they put Reynolds on the field with them bringing in all that talent you know especially with cooper cup and i was like they got four receivers that's going to play before they put reynolds on the field so now you create a situation where you're not going to resign sammy watkins in comes josh reynolds as the the x opposite of um you know woods and cup in the middle okay that's how they're going to get him the football and that's why they picked him up when he did late later on in the middle, okay, that's how they're going to get him the football, and that's why they picked him up when he did later on in the draft.
Starting point is 00:49:26 Am I crazy for expecting a lot out of O.J. Howard in year two? You know, not really, man, because Winston wants to go to him. They just, you know, swamp with it. I guess it's a good problem to have. They just have so much talent. You know, one guy on that team that a lot of people don't know about is the the tight end anthony eau claire from laval uh the canadian guy you know you you look at him as a as a viable option as well too so you know it's i won't say breakout i would say he's probably going to be a five touchdown guy um he's going
Starting point is 00:50:01 to have probably a lot of receptions uh that's why I'm talking about O.J. Howard. I just think the way their offense is going to be set up, if it's not Cameron Brake getting into the end zone consistently, I think Howard's going to replace that production, but he's also going to get it cut in half because Eau Claire is going to be just too good to keep off
Starting point is 00:50:19 the field. Do you think that O.J. Howard has superstar potential? Maybe not in year two, but at some point down the line because i have said that i you know what the hell do i know but that i think he's like the best chance we have for the next gronk uh really rare talent that's the way i see him do you share those views is he is he an elite talent oj howard he is he's just in a pedestrian situation right like imagine oj howard in new New Orleans where they were dying for a tight end. They were
Starting point is 00:50:48 squeezing the life out of Colby Fleener to get what they got from him the last couple of seasons. That's where you guys talked about fit is so important. He is a superstar talent. Tight ends are not supposed to run that fast and that fluid. If they could find ways to get him to football,
Starting point is 00:51:04 then I think he knows what to do with it emory who's the best wide receiver in football oh that's a tough question right you know what i'm big on game breakers man i'm gonna have to say uh antonio brown and the reason why I like Brown over Beckham is that Brown has, even though Beckham has that to a certain extent, I cover a lot of Giants games out here, and it seems like when the Giants need a big play, they know they can go to that backside slant, and he takes it the rest of the way for the game-winning touchdown.
Starting point is 00:51:38 But Brown is so money at all three spots. And Brown runs like he's on elliptical, where it's all one motion. You don't know if he's running fast, but it's consistent. Whatever his speed is, it's from the start of the play throughout the end of the play, he's winning 50-50 balls. He's winning contested catches. He's winning short, deep, intermediate. I think he's the best receiver in football.
Starting point is 00:52:01 Okay, let me bring you in on some of the other controversial topics of this show. Believe it or not, that was a controversial topic. Yeah, it was. Is Antonio Brown – we even started this podcast with Antonio Brown versus DeAndre Hopkins. And I like Nuke. I think he's awesome, but I think AB is the best there is right now in the game. So now you're going to get in the weeds with more stuff. Go ahead.
Starting point is 00:52:25 But here's the thing. Like last year, 2016, I guess, I said that Beckham was better than A.J. Green. And people were really ripping me for it. I don't think there's anyone in the world who thinks Green is better than Beckham now. So I'm not – you know what, I'm not afraid to be wrong. I'm going to make some bold claims. That's all. And one of the things I said was that Calvin Johnson, what did I say, Dave,
Starting point is 00:52:49 that Calvin Johnson was the second best receiver of all time behind Jerry Rice. Most people disagreed with me. My take was that he didn't do it for as long as Randy Moss, but just the most dominant football player really in his era. We lived in the Calvin Johnson era. He was the entire offense for so many years there. So I think that Calvin Johnson is the second-best wide receiver of all time. Who do you think is the second-best wide receiver of all time?
Starting point is 00:53:24 Man, I'm going Randy Moss, dude. You're not supposed to be 6'5", four two and being elusive like people forget he returned punts in college that doesn't even make sense you know you expect someone shorter to return punts because you have to be shifty this dude returned punts and randy moss was like automatic he was the the human form of get out of jail free card or breaking case of emergency type player where if you're the vikings you need a big play okay we're just gonna throw it up to moss he's gonna go get it it's true worked out nine times out of ten so i would say moss i probably will put um chris carter third wow you know because of his hands man like you know i'm big on hands like i don't care how tall
Starting point is 00:54:06 fast short slow you are can't you catch i need you to catch first and we'll figure everything else out later okay all right i like that and then dave obviously we'll talk about this one uh you've seen jerry mcguire emory yeah i've seen it do you think it's a football movie? Listen, if Die Hard is a Christmas movie. That's the other one. Do you think Die Hard is a Christmas movie? If Die Hard is a Christmas movie, then by doggone it, then you have to say Jerry Maguire is a football movie.
Starting point is 00:54:40 But neither is the case. But neither is the case. No, it is the case, Adam. Okay. I have a question for you guys. Where do you guys rank the program as far as football movies is concerned? Dave, I'll let you take that one because I'm embarrassed to say I've never seen the program. You have never seen the program. I know.
Starting point is 00:54:58 I'm sorry. Mega two of us. Oh, no. So I think Emery is giving us homework now. Yes. I'm giving you guys homework. Oh, no. So I think Emery's giving us homework now. Yes. I'm giving you guys homework. Oh, my goodness. Listen, when you watch the program, the program is what I thought college football was going to be like when I got there.
Starting point is 00:55:14 And, I mean, it was 65%. Now, I went to a mid-major FBS. Had I gone to Florida State or something like that, then it probably would have been 100%. But it was at least 65% of what I thought college football was going to be like when I actually experienced it. But I cannot believe you're talking football movies. You guys have not. Well, we're not talking football movies because Jared McGuire is not a football movie. But is the program better than Rudy?
Starting point is 00:55:40 Absolutely. Okay. Listen, Rudy was – it tugged at the heartstrings right yes but the program was actually it covered you know paying players it covered uh heisman trophy i mean when you took when you look at the school that they talk about uh it's esu when you look at esu's non-conference schedule my goodness you know in conjunction with all that was going on with the program it like it is the with all that was going on with the program, it is the college football movie. You have to see the program. Recruiting all that stuff.
Starting point is 00:56:10 And it has Omar Epps in it. A young Omar Epps. Oh, he's awesome. You gotta check that out. I'm running the blockbuster. I'm running it tonight. Major League 2 has Omar Epps in it. That doesn't make it better than Major League 1. It's not a tiebreaker or anything.
Starting point is 00:56:26 Just saying. All right, let me read an email, an NFL draft email for you, Emery, and then we'll let you go. This is from Grando Rain in Cincinnati, Ohio. Oh, no, that's the wrong one. It's this one, Jerry from Salem, Oregon. I want to pick your brain on Royce Freeman. Where do you guys see Royce Freeman ending up?
Starting point is 00:56:43 What round? I think Freeman is is is a underrated back I think he's gonna be a third round back in I I came in you know when someone hangs around college football a lot you tend to you first you overrate them then you realize like yo he's he's actually pretty good so when people were talking about Freeman maybe two years ago I was like yeah he's okay he's you he's all right. But when I really put him under the microscope and started watching his tape, I'm like, wow, this guy has good all-around game, you know, in a way that he's going to play a long time because he can do a lot of
Starting point is 00:57:14 things well. So I think he is one of those guys you could probably find in round three that's going to be a productive pro. I don't want to call him Jordan Howard, but he's going to have a Jordan Howard-like rookie season where he's not going to be the top back, but he's going to go over 1,000 yards and probably have nine touchdowns because he can do a lot of things well. I think it totally comes down to where he ends up, though,
Starting point is 00:57:34 because he is a big banger like that. But if he ends up on a team that doesn't use him the right way, like we've talked about earlier, then I'm not sure he gets to that realization of what Emery just said. Tons of yards and tons of touchdowns. If any back gains, if any back lands in Seattle, I would say grab that back early. If they take a back early, grab them because Seattle is dying for a tailback. Absolutely.
Starting point is 00:58:00 And let's get them some offensive linemen and a running game. And Emery, thank you very much. Maybe we'll check in with you after the draft, and we can really evaluate these players when we find out where they land. Appreciate that, guys. As always, it was fun. All right. Great talking football with you.
Starting point is 00:58:14 Yeah, and catch Emery on the Fantasy Sports Network for sure and go to footballgameplan.com. Emery, have yourself a great day. Thanks, guys. Go watch the program. We're on it. So, Dave, let's finish up with the e-mails, fantasyfootballatcbsi.com. Have yourself a great day. Thanks, guys. Go watch the program. We're on it. So, Dave, let's finish up with the emails.
Starting point is 00:58:29 FantasyFootball at CBSi.com. Next week, voicemails. This is from Grando. I started reading this. Dear Captain Kirk's cousins. I don't know if I get that. Oh, Captain Kirk's cousins. Right, I get you.
Starting point is 00:58:39 Yeah. I changed my league setting to a third RB slot with the added measure that the third running back had to be a teammate of one of the other two running backs, and it worked out well. I'm thinking of doing the same with wide receiver and tight end, or wide receiver slash tight end. So I guess you'd have to be a teammate of a wide receiver or tight end. What are your thoughts on doing this? How weird. It's unique for sure, but what happens if you don't have that guy? Here's what I would suggest is it's got to be a teammate, period, of that guy.
Starting point is 00:59:16 So if you've got a running back, say you've got Jordan Howard on your team, you have to start a teammate of his every week, and you have a teammate spot. So you don't have to make it where you're starting three running backs and two are running backs on the same team. Because what if one of those running backs gets hurt and you don't want to start some crappy fourth stringer? Yeah, it's weird. Right. I'd rather have a teammate.
Starting point is 00:59:37 I mean, I wouldn't want to play in a league like this, but I totally applaud people who do fun, creative things that are just different. So, you know, don't invite me to your league. Would it change your draft strategy a little bit? I think it would. I think so. I think you'd try and collect players from teams that you think are going to blow up. Well, not just that, but you look at, like, running back tandem has become a lot more interesting.
Starting point is 00:59:56 The Packers guys would be interesting. Jordan Howard's from the Columns would be a really good one. Falcons, Falcons guys. Oh, the Falcons. That would be great. Great. All right, this is Kyle from blank and blank. I don't know. Kyle from blank and blank. Kyle from blank and blank.
Starting point is 01:00:08 Yeah. So it's a town that's got and in it? Maybe. No, this dude is from Fresno and Dover. Yeah, he's moved around. Dear Rocky, Colton, Tum Tum. Three ninjas. Yeah.
Starting point is 01:00:24 Zeke in the second. You didn't know that. I know that Tum. Three ninjas. Yeah. Zeke in the second. You didn't know that. I know that we've gotten that one before. Zeke in the second, Derrick Henry in the sixth, or Deshaun Watson in the 15th. Zeke in the second, Derrick Henry in the sixth, Deshaun in the 15th. I think it's got to be Zeke. Hate to give back Deshaun Watson in the 15th round, but Ezekiel in the second is too good to throw back.
Starting point is 01:00:46 Here's Aaron from the wet and windy west of the football-less island of Ireland. All right. I play in a 12-team standard dynasty league. That sounded good to you? Well, it's a cool intro. That it is. With Nagy's arrival in Chicago and his likeness for versatile pass-catching backs and Tariq Cohen on the roster, does Jordan Howard's stock take a hit?
Starting point is 01:01:08 I don't know if it takes a big hit. It could be a little bit of a hit. But I still see Jordan Howard leading the way, certainly in carries, certainly in touches. But I could see Cohen pick up a lot more receptions this year compared to last year. Dave, thank you very much. This was a really fun podcast.
Starting point is 01:01:29 You liked it, huh? I knew you'd like it. A lot of information out there. And I am so far behind on this draft. It's okay. We could have asked Emery about some random player from North Dakota State or something like that. Yeah, he would have known. He would have known.
Starting point is 01:01:47 Yep, absolutely. And I'm like, oh, yeah, that guy's good too. So not a lot. I've got to get up to step and got to get to know these prospects. And I like the if Die Hard is a Christmas movie and then Jerry Maguire is a football movie. That makes sense because they're both wrong, which is fine. But at least be consistent.
Starting point is 01:02:05 Good stuff. All right. For Dave and Heath and Emory Hunt, thank you all for listening. We're back next week with more. It's all right. I've got Le'Veon. It's all right. Not George Le'Veon.
Starting point is 01:02:17 It's all right. I've got Le'Veon Bell.

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