Fantasy Football Today - 04/16 Fantasy Football Podcast: Talking Football with Prisco

Episode Date: April 17, 2018

Pete Prisco is back to give us the inside scoop on a variety of NFL topics, including the NFL Draft which Pete believes will start with Josh Allen going to CLE. First we cover the Rob Gronkowski situation (3:00), C.J. Anderson's release (4:55) and what Pete thinks of Dez Bryant these days (7:50) ... Consequences of the new catch rule (12:30) and a lot of NFL Draft talk (15:00). Who are the top QBs? When will Saquon Barkley be drafted and how much better is he than the rest of the RB group? Any impact rookie WRs this year (23:48)? ... What do we think about drafting both NO RBs (32:45)? Both MIN WRs (34:50)? Both DEN WRs (36:12)? Then we talk elite TEs (38:14) and hear your voicemails (44:53) ... Email us 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 fantasyfootball at cbsi.com. Here we go! We're here to help you win your league and have bragging rights on your friends. Let's go! Now, here's Adam, Dave, and Jamie. All right, we're talking NFL Draft today.

Also, Rob Gronkowski, CJ Anderson, and more from around the NFL. This is Fantasy Football Today. We've got a special guest. I am Adam. Here's Dave. Not a special guest, but here's Dave. Hi, Dave. I'm not special? No. Well, you're not a guest. First, it's not our podcast. It's his podcast. Now I'm not a special guest.

Special guest. You will like this. On one of our host, our esteemed host, advertising reads about a week ago. He said, special for my listeners. As if he's been doing this podcast by himself for years. Hey, there is an I in Acer. And that is Pete Prisco. And there's an I in Prisco too, by the way. That's why they used to call me Priceco.

Senior citizen football writer. Did I get the title right there? You want me to smack you around a little bit, youngster? Good thing I'm on Skype. Senior football writer Pete Prisco is here. If you were here, I'd be slapping you in the back of the head like the little eighth grader that you are. Is the challenge still on the table that Azar can get open on you as a wide receiver versus a defensive back? If he's ever around.

He never comes down here. He's never around. You've been here for a week and all of a sudden you're calling shots. Yeah, but at least even when I didn't live here, I was around all the time. Yeah, you can't cover me. I'm quite confident of that. You're a non-athlete, Azar. I absolutely would pay at least $20 to see this.

He played some third-grade soccer thing. What was it? What did you say you played? Not in high school, right? No, I was in high school. I was the number one backup goalie on my team in high school, Pete. Yeah, but then you go to some weird prep school somewhere or something where there was like 11 kids in the school. What was that?

There were like 400 kids at the high school. It was one of those teams where they needed somebody just in case the real goalie got sick. Right, like in the NHL where they've got like that emergency goalie. It's like some, you know, accountant or something. He's the third string quarterback. Like, God forbid we have to ever put him in. Actually, Pete, my high school is now a national champion winning football school. But back when I was there, I would have been able to start on the offensive line.

Is that university school? Yeah, university school, yes. Well, isn't there a quarterback in this draft from university school? Isn't it Mike White? Didn't he go to university school? I don't know, but we're going to ask you because you know all the draft stuff. I think Western Kentucky's quarterback, Mike White, I think he went to your high school, if I'm not mistaken.

All right, well, now I'm fired up. Well, we'll get to the draft in a minute. The email address is fantasyfootball at cbsi.com, fantasyfootball at cbsi.com. And the voicemail, you want to leave us a voicemail? We've got some of those to play today, 954-689-3199. Give us your name and your city. Ask us a quick question, 954-689-3199. Let's start with some news, guys.

Rob Gronkowski, he will not attend the start of New England's offseason program. Ask us a quick question, 954-689-3199. Let's start with some news, guys. Rob Gronkowski, he will not attend the start of New England's offseason program. Tom Brady's not going to be there for all of it. Pete, do you think everything is just fine in Patriot land, or is this actually something to be concerned about? He wants a new contract. That's what all this is about. Gronkowski looks at his money, and it's $8 million a year,

and he looks around the landscape and sees what other guys are making and and he wants more money that's basically what this is about if they gave him a new contract that made him the highest paid tight end in the national football league rob gronkowski would show up that's at least that's what i've been told and my reaction to that was and is isn't he already the highest paid tight end in the league and the answer is no no he's not he should be he's the best tight end in the league why wouldn't he be so you kind of understand where he's coming from on this oh i don't i don't think there's any doubt that he's look one thing about gronk he plays up the gronk angle and the gronk persona but when it comes to his finances gronk has been very responsible with him and very smart about it current contract he's averaging nine million dollars a year that's fourth best among tight ends.

Can you name the three tight ends? All them fantasy-known guys who currently have a contract making more per year. Kelsey? That's one. Burt? Not one. Cameron Brate. Cameron Brate is not on there.

He's making $7 million this year. No, but the guy that just got the contract, Trey Burton just got a good contract. He is two behind Graham. Right. He's a million bucks a year behind. But that's what angers him. I mean, if you're Jimmy Graham per year. Jimmy Graham, $10 million, the number one paid tight end.

According to contract, it's not guaranteed money, but he's first, Kelsey second, and the third guy just had toe surgery for the second year in a row. Jordan Reed? Jordan Reed. Oh, wow. All right, so you don't think he's going to retire, Pete? No, I don't. I think it's all a negotiation ploy.

So the Broncos, have they officially released C.J. Anderson, or will they be released? He has been cut. Okay. It has happened. What's your take here, Jamie? First, let's start with the Broncos. I think it puts them in play for Saquon Barkley. Certainly they're going to get a running back in the draft at some point

because the only two guys they have in terms of the tailbacks on their roster right now are Devontae Booker and D'Angelo Henderson. If it's not a day one or a day two draft pick, then Booker's in line to start. If it's a day one or day two guy, that rookie certainly will have a chance to outperform Devontae Booker, who has three games with double digits in fantasy points in a standard league in, I believe, it's 29 games that he's played. So he's not been a very good running back fantasy-wise. He's not been a very good running back NFL-wise. And I don't think

henderson will have the chance to earn the starting job although he uh he would have to turn some head so we'll see what they like him what they do liking him and him getting the job like him i think they'd have to go on on what they do with what they add to their roster they'd have to go like the first five rounds in the draft without a running back in order for henderson to have a legitimate chance well yeah i think if it's after one of the third for Henderson to have a legitimate chance. Well, yeah. I think if it's – Say you're after one in the third round, he'd have a legitimate chance. I'm not sure about that. A day two guy – Not in this draft.

It's deep at running back. A day three guy would put Henderson in the mix to still get the starting job. But I would imagine if that's the case, then Booker has the edge going into it. He's the one that when I was there last summer that the players were raving about. I mean they were like, watch this kid. He's going to be something special. I liked watching his – I remember his film from what I saw last year in college. I just – I love that a guy that big could move around that well.

Quick. D'Angelo Henderson we're talking about for the Denver Broncos. And, Pete, I know you kind of – you've said over the years, don't draft a running back early, right? And that's kind of your philosophy. But how does that – how does that fit with Saquon Barkley? What's your take on him? I wouldn't take him in the top ten.

I know he will. And the reason I wouldn't take him in the top ten is because I do like him. I think he's a good player, and he's going to be a very good player. But I don't think there's a significant difference between Barkley and Geis and Jones and Sonny Michel and the entire group. I just think there's a lot of good runners in this draft class. If you're in a position where you can take a position of value, you take

that position of value. I go back to two years ago, and I'll still stand by this. The Dallas Cowboys, they drafted Zeke Elliott. Yes, he had a good year. They didn't win a title. They didn't win anything with it. Jalen Ramsey is a better player. They haven't won with Jalen Ramsey either, but he's a long-term player,

and that position stays on the field longer than a running back and plays a lot better. So I would take the corner or pass rusher or something of that value. I would not take Saquon Barkley. All right, a couple of other items here. Calvin Benjamin participated in voluntary workouts. He had off-season knee surgery, so good to see him back on the field. The Chiefs signed Kerwin Williams for some running back depth.

And we talked about Dez Bryant. If you missed it, we had our Dez cast on Friday. Baltimore is reportedly interested in Dez Bryant. Pete, we spent a lot of time talking about Dez on Friday. You tell me what you think about Dez Bryant. My listeners want to know how you feel about Dez Bryant right now. Your listeners. I'm glad.

Thanks for having me on the program, by the way, Adam. I don't know what these two appendages are here in the room with me. No, I think he's a guy who never ran fast to begin with, won a lot of 50-50 balls, and now that he's gotten older, he's not that fast either. There's some guys, I talk to some people in Dallas that think that the quarterback hurt him a little bit, didn't always go his way, and the system hurt him a lot by they didn't move him around and they just had him running deep plays. So look, slants and go routes, that's all he did, and they were 50-50 balls.

I don't think he runs that well. He's a physical player still, but is he a number one receiver? No. The answer to that question is absolutely not. Appendages? Any reaction? think he runs that well he's a physical player still but is he a number one receiver no the answer to that question is absolutely not appendages any reaction mostly agreement okay i think he's it's going to come down to targets and catches wherever he ends up i mean jacksonville would make sense to me if i'm jacksonville i'd sniff around that and the reason being yeah they got a bunch of little receivers and they got Moncrief, but he's on a one-year deal. You need a physical guy.

There's not a go throw the ball up kind of guy on that roster. And, you know, they got rid of one while they get rid of them, but they didn't bring him back. And Alan Robinson, I think that would make a little bit of sense if the money was right. I'm not going to go crazy and I don't think anybody's going to go crazy on Des Bryant. Well, that's part of his problem is that he was cut so late in the game is that teams have to allow their money for their draft picks. And, you know, he's not going to command a big deal unless it's backloaded. And at this point, he's never going to see that. So the other factor there is he's a crybaby when he doesn't get the football. And, you know, depending on the makeup of your team, when you bring him in, that's going to be a problem. It

was a problem in Tampa last year with Deshaun Jackson, by the way. Sure. That ended up being a problem there, and I think that's the kind of situation you want to avoid if you have a lot of young receivers. But if you have a strong room, then I think it would make some sense. Yeah, Baltimore would be – I mean, at least leadership there is solid. You'd have Dez and Crabtree in the same locker room. Yeah, that's –

That'd be fun. I don't – Joe Flacco. Green Bay. You mentioned Green Bay same locker room. Yeah, that'd be fun. Joe Flacco. You mentioned Green Bay earlier, Jamie. I think that one is intriguing. I think so, too. I think that would be a lot. I mean, he's almost a direct replacement for Jordy.

Same type of player. But in talking to McCarthy, though, at the owners' meetings, they like a lot of the young receivers. They think some of those guys are going to be ready to step up. Allison, I mean, granted, they've had some issues. Do you think there's one above the rest is that would it be allison since he seemed to get the most playing they like them that's the one they like them but do they like clark michael clark they don't love him i don't think the guy is allison and they think he can be

a player i look then you got the kid who got in trouble at the uh airport and uh that's never a good situation. But look, but Dez and Dallas – I mean, and Dez and Green Bay would make sense because Rodgers could keep him under control. I mean, he wouldn't have – if they have a strong quarterback, that kind of receiver who causes problems and complains and gripes isn't going to have his whole situation permeate the locker room. They'll score every time they're inside the 10. If they have Dez, Jimmy Graham, Devontae Adams, plus whoever's running the ball on the field. That would be amazing. Like in San Francisco, if you're the 49ers and you need a receiver, do you want that with young Jimmy Garoppolo?

Yeah, but I think also how much faith do you have in Garoppolo being a strong leader? Because if you do, then you – because, I mean, you would think Shanahan being around the NFL as long as he has been, he should be fine. John Lynch is obviously somebody who can reel in. You expect someone with any sort of issues. I don't know. I wouldn't be opposed to it. Would he get enough stats?

Do you think he'd get as many targets there as he would in – first of all, in Green Bay, it'd be a nice fit. We're talking about the locker room. But for fantasy purposes, I don't think Dez would beat Dez. And I'm a little worried that Dez will never beat Dez. Dez is never going to beat Dez again. I don't think he's ever going to get to a point where he's 800, 900 yards and 9 or 10 touchdowns.

He might get the yardage. If he goes to, let's just say right now, Buffalo, and they get the right rookie in place, he could be great. Or he could rock the rookie's boat too. Agreed. But I'm just saying, if he goes to a place where the quarterback all of a sudden is great and the opportunity is fantastic, there's nobody there to take Dez's targets away from Dez if he's the guy. In San Francisco, you can argue that there are other guys there, but he would probably be the number one guy on top of the deck.

I keep going back to Seattle. I think Seattle is a great spot for him fantasy-wise. Yep, I agree. All right, guys. Well, we did talk about that on Friday, so I want to move the show forward a little bit here and read an email from Sam. Our email of the day, I put this one in for Pete. Pete, here's the question. Do you anticipate any unforeseen consequences due to the new catch rules?

For example, will every incomplete pass now be reviewed as a potential fumble to determine whether the receiver made a, quote, football move prior to losing control of the ball? Yes, you're going to have a lot more of that. It's real vague on what's a football move, and so you're going to lead to a lot of replays and reviews. And look, no matter what the catch rule is, we're going to lead to a lot of replays and reviews and look no matter what the catch rule is we're going to have issues with it because of the way the technology is today

we have so many angles and hd and everything else that they're going to always be issues before we had hd and all the camera angles and twitter and facebook and everything else you watch the game even if you thought it was a catch and not a catch and you moved on to the next thing, now it becomes an issue. So now it's just a different issue. What is a football move? We tend to think we know what a football move is, but do you really? Isn't it just a move? What's the difference between a football move and a move?

You've got to catch the ball and then make a move. Right. But what's a move? But it's a move. They should have never put the word football in front of it. It should have been just make a move. You've got to catch the ball and then make a move. Right. But it's a move. They should have never put the word football in front of you. It should have been just make a move. But what if you're going side to side, though? Is that a football move? You're moving. You've caught the ball. You've possessed it. Your feet are down. What about if you catch the ball, put your two feet down on the sidelines and fall to the ground and the ball comes out? I believe that's going to count as a

catch right but is that a football what's the football moving part of it there you're falling down right moving it's anything you literally have to like stand like a statue after catching the ball without moving your feet or anything well you can use the plays that they use in examples for example zach ertz anybody who watched that play in the Super Bowl who didn't think he made a football guy took about four steps before he went in. Jesse James made a football move. He moved. Des Bryant made the football move. I mean, those

are easy to see football moves. I think it's, you know, what was the old the Supreme Court justices said about pornography? Oh, you know it when you see it. Right. I mean, that's basically what it is. That's kind of what it is, too. Gosh, man.

Pete comes on once in a blue moon and starts talking about pornography. Just bring it down. That's history, man. That's history. Yeah. Hiding behind that Supreme Court ruling. All right. Let's move into the NFL draft.

We've got a voicemail to play here. This is going to be from Josh. Now, the number is 954-689-3199. We're going to start with a quarterback question, and then I just want to get everybody's take on how we think the start of the draft is going to go, the top five picks or so. But let's hear from Josh first. Hey, fellas. It's Josh

from Fresno, California. I was listening to the podcast last week, and my hearing must be going bad because I thought I heard Dave say that Josh Allen was the best quarterback in this upcoming draft. No offense, Dave, but I really need to hear your argument, and please don't say it's because he has a rocket arm in playing the pro-style offense, mainly coming from his completion percentage,

his adjusted completion percentage, and everything involved with that. I'd love to hear your argument and your top three quarterbacks in this draft. Thanks. Bye. Well, first of all, Josh Allen has a rocket arm. You can't use that, Dave. Oh, I can't use that. He's got rocket ears.

The thing that I like best about Josh Allen compared to the other quarterbacks in this draft is that he's physically gifted compared to the other ones. Doesn't have small hands. Doesn't have a slight body frame. Isn't short. So things that you can't control in a player, like if you had to build a great quarterback, you'd build a guy that's as tall as Josh Allen, with hands as big as Josh Allen, has good size, has good mobility. Yeah, he didn't have a great completion percentage in college, but a lot of that had to do with who he was throwing to. Some of it had to do with his offensive line. And yeah, you can talk about his competition in college not being as good compared to the guys that, you know, the SEC, for example.

He didn't play in the SEC. He played at Wyoming. I think he's got the best chance to be a great quarterback. And so if given the opportunity in an offense that protects him well and has good targets downfield, I think he's going to get good production. That's why he's my favorite quarterback. He's going number one. I've been saying it for a hell of a long time.

I've been saying that now for almost two years, a year and a half. He's going number one. I've been saying it for a hell of a long time. I've been saying that now for almost two years, a year and a half. He's going number one. The scouts love him. Everybody says, well, look at his completion percentage. And if you pop on the tape, his offensive line was awful, awful. Now, two years ago, he had some decent receivers. Last year, they were terrible. When that team played San Jose State without him,

and San Jose State might have been the worst college football team I've ever seen in my entire life, and that's a long time, they lost to San Jose State. That tells you what he meant to the team. Was he good against Iowa? No. Are there plays when you watch him against Iowa where you go, wow, yeah, he was flushed in the pocket, stepped up and fired a rifle shot to a guy about 40 yards on the line, hit him in the back of the end zone, and it doinked off the receiver's numbers. I mean, that's the kind of plays he made.

He is the best quarterback. He will be the best quarterback. But more than that, he's the only one, at least in my book, that's going to be a home run or has a chance to be a home run. The other guys might be doubles. This guy is either going to be a single and a strikeout or a home run. I'm taking my chances. I'm going for the home run.

He has the highest ceiling and the lowest floor. This is fun. You've got Allen going one. I think a lot of people are expecting Darnold to go one, but not you, Pete. There was a report that... I'm stubborn, by the way. That's fine. I like it. There was a report that the Giants would

take Darnold if he were there at two, but you, looking at your most recent mock, I think this is your most recent one, have the Giants trading out and Buffalo moving up to number two. How do you see the first few picks playing out? Well, I think if you look at it, like I said, I think Allen's going one. I think, you know, John Dorsey, when you look at, he drafted a strong-arm quarterback, or at least, I mean,

he's always liked strong-arm quarterbacks. So I think he's going to draft him one. I think two will be, the Giants are going to get out of there, I think, unless they take Chubb. I would take Chubb. Me, personally, I think that's who I would take if I were the Giants. If I'm not in love with any of the other quarterbacks, we don't know if any of these teams are in love with these quarterbacks.

That's the unknown. But I would say take Chubb. Number three, Jets move up. You have to take a quarterback, and I think that will be Rosen or Mayfield, one of those two. Then you get to four, and you're talking about the Browns again. I think that's a tradeout spot. They'll get some value there.

Somebody will come up and get one of the quarterbacks, probably Darnold or Rosen if they're there or Mayfield. And then five, you get to Denver. I don't think they're taking a quarterback. I think they're going to take the guard, Quentin Nelson, or if Chubb were there, they might take him as well. And then six is Indy. That's where Saquon Barkley could wind up. Six or seven. Yeah.

It's the perfect spot. Yeah. Either of those places would be great for him for fantasy. Yeah, six is Indy and Tampa Bay is seven, but you don't think the Broncos would take Barkley at five? You've got to look at their history, and you've got to look at it. Okay, Terrell Davis came in and played with Elway, and won Super Bowls, but they came he came in a sixth round. And remember when when their history of backs is is to put anybody in there and let them run. Mike Anderson, they found him off the scrap heap and the guys like that. Their philosophy is we run

that zone offense, that zone scheme. We could put a guy back there and let him run the football. I don't think they're going to. I don't think they're going to change. But what was Portis in the draft? I believe he was a second-round pick. Yeah, a second-round pick. But I don't know. I just don't think they'll take a running back. That's me.

I don't think they'll take Barkley. He could slide a little bit here. I mean, if you go down that board and you sit there and you say, okay, Indianapolis has big-time defensive woes. They might take a defensive player. The Tampa, okay, Indianapolis has big-time defensive woes. They might take a defensive player. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have big-time defensive woes. They might take a defensive player. Then you get to the Niners, right?

Isn't that right after them, nine? Yeah, the Bears are eight. They're not going to take a running back. What about the Niners at nine? I'd be surprised if they did after what they plopped down on Jarek McKinnon. You'd have to assume that if he starts to slide like that, somebody will go up and get him. Yeah, you would think. Depends on how many quarterbacks.

But to your point, though, Pete, it is interesting because it is such a deep running back class. And so where's the value lie? And I know just talking to one Bucks beat writer we talked about last week, they would consider going defense and trying to get somebody like Geis in the second round if he's there. I mean, the guys are going to be, for fantasy purposes next year, these running backs get drafted. Geis, Ronald Jones, who I love from USC, I think he's going to be a star. Those guys, Sonny Michel and Nick Chubb,

I mean, there are guys in this draft that you could find and that will run the ball and run the ball very well. I don't think there's that much difference. I think you look at it, if you're in a situation like Tampa Bay, you take the corner. It is telling. I don't recall, and you guys may know this just off the top of your heads.

There's at least four teams I can think of that don't have what you would consider three for sure, don't have what you consider a solid running back right now denver just made the move to cut a thousand yard rusher the colts they have marlon mack and really nothing else the bucks they get rid of doug martin they're sitting on peyton barb right now and even the giants i mean you know they have a young guy and wayne gallman they get a retread guy and john stewart i mean there's there's there's a lack of talent that position because i think a lot of these teams are waiting on what this draft class can bring.

But if you're a team like the Giants or a team, you can wait to the second round. I mean, these teams can wait. Like Cleveland has two second-round picks at the top. They can wait to get their running back. But they have a guy, and they have two. That's a team that doesn't necessarily need it. No, they don't need him. But they can trade out of those picks and give it to somebody

who takes one of these running backs. They could certainly take somebody second round to invest in two years from now or a year from now. Second round is going to be a fun one for running backs, I think. I hope, anyway. The question is, how many go in the first round?

What do you think? One. One. Maybe two. Maybe Geis or Jones yeah who's overrated the patriots could take that who's overrated that running back barkley no i say that because i do think he's very good but but when you look at what they say about him and what the analysts all talk about you'd think he was barry sanders and walter payton combo and he's not he's just

a very very good back and we've seen very very good backs bust okay i mean kajana carter busted i mean we've seen backs bust um you know we've seen backs who were at decent years what ronnie brown and and cadillac williams were drafted in the top five yeah i mean the trent richardson boss i mean so i do think he's very good we've got to be careful where we're going with this because I think there's value in the other spots. So me, he's overrated. I like Sonny Michel's game, but boy, I tell you what, his speed was a worry. He plays fast and doesn't run fast.

That's a worry to me. Ronald Jones is Chris Johnson. If you want Chris Johnson, that's Ronald Jones. All right. And what about the rookie wide receivers? Do you think we'll get any impact players in year one? The recent years say no, right? Right.

If we look at the recent years of the rookie wide receivers. Everybody falls in love with that 2014 class and thinks it's replicable. Not this year. No. No way. Where do you get? Okay, but look at last year's, right? They they got hurt but they didn't do much right mike williams didn't do anything john ross was terrible john ross and cory davis i mean you know wow yeah so uh is there

an impact cooper cupwood's all right but even he tailed off as the season went is there a big time receiver in this draft no No, there's not. And so that's why those guys might get pushed up a little higher. Ridley, Calvin Ridley from Alabama. I like D.J. Moore from Maryland. And then you have some other guys in there, Cortland Sutton, the big receiver. D.J. Chark, who some people like because he can run.

I love Anthony Miller, by the way, from Memphis. That's my guy. So where's the strength of all positions, not just offense? But if quarterback doesn't seem like there's a lot of exciting guys, but doesn't seem like you're in love with any, maybe Josh Allen. Running back is obviously really good. But, okay, wide receiver we just kind of put down. This isn't being lauded as a tight end draft.

Where's the strength of this draft? Well, actually, the tight ends are pretty good. I disagree with you on that, Ezer. I think the tight ends, you've got some guys. There's no star, star, like when you sit there and say and say oh he's going to be an 80 catch guy but there are a lot of good tight ends i think you got uh the kid from uh south dakota state goddard dallas goddard's good player you got hayden hurst at south carolina you have um you know some people like mark andrews from oklahoma i don't i think he's a blown up wide receiver he's a little soft

uh i don't love him like other guys do. Gusecki from Penn State. And then you've got the guy I love, Ian Thomas from Indiana. And then there's some good blocking tight ends. Was it Gisley? You're on the wrong show for that. Yeah, we don't have blockers. Those are pass-catching tight ends. And those guys all have roles as pass catchers early in their career.

Okay. Can I ask you about the year two guys? Because last year's rookie running backs were pretty damn good. Fournette, McCaffrey, Mixon, Cook, etc. Camara. You left out the top two.

Oh yeah, Hunt and Camara. I'm going in order of when they were drafted. See, now you're just feeding the beast right now because this is Pete's argument. Why draft a guy early when you have Hunt and Camara that come out of the third round? Right. I mean, and a couple years – what? Jordan Howard's been productive for two years in a row, and he was –

He was a fifth-round pick? Right. I mean, you could find these backs. You know, Fournette to me is an interesting one. I don't think he was nearly as good as his reputation a year ago. I think he misses a lot of holes. I think he needs big holes when he gets going. He's very good.

He doesn't make anybody miss. But we've had this discussion recently with the mock drafts. Do you think the addition, I forget the offensive line, Andrew Norwell, how much will that help him? A lot. Because when the holes are there, he's darn good. Because he can make people, he can run over people, and he can you know, he's fast when he gets outside.

You remember the play at Pittsburgh. Was it 90 yards? Yeah, yeah, yeah. AJ Kan kicked out. He went right inside him, and nobody touched him. He just ran away from everybody. He can do that. But as far as putting his foot in the ground and going to the backside, he can't do it. And as far as making people miss, he can't do it.

So it's got to have – yeah, he needs holes, and I think Norwell will help him. I want to ask you about one defensive player. He's like – I don't know why. He's my guy. I didn't watch that much college football, but I watched the playoff games. I love Roquan Smith. I think he is outstanding, and I can't wait to watch him in the pros. How do you feel about Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith? It's funny you ask about him, and you mentioned the positions of strength in this draft. That is one of them, by the way, and he is probably one of the top two or three. Look, the top three guys

are all going to go early in this draft. You talk about Roquan Smith. I thought he might be a weak side linebacker, too small, and you don't draft that position that high. Went back and watched him. He's thick. Dare I say it, he reminds me of Ray Lewis. I mean, he's thick like that. He can run. He's about 235 pounds. I think you're spot to be a very – I think you're spot on with him. He's going to be a very good player. I love Leighton Vander Esch from Boise. You talk about Urlacher-esque traits. I mean, probably doesn't run as well as Urlacher did coming out,

but can get to the football and run. I had one personnel guy compare him to Luke Keekly to me. Oh, wow. That's high praise. And then you have the kid, Pharrell Edmonds' son up in Virginia Tech, who's a good player. And he's only 19, by the way. I think all three of those guys will be gone by pick 15. Tremaine Edmonds. Tremaine Edmonds.

If we're going to be formal about it. They're all going to be gone by pick 15 and make for bad fantasy production on the other side of the ball for whoever they're playing. Dave, Jamie, would you like to ask Pete any questions? Personal life questions? Nothing? Pete, are you going to watch The Shield or what? Are you going to finish The Shield?

I still got your DVD, by the way. I've never finished it. Did you ever watch it? I did. I watched about four seasons of it, I think I did, or whatever. How many seasons were there? Seven. Yeah, I've watched about four or five of them.

It kind of got off the rails. It went off the rails a little bit. All right. It was really, really good for about, like most shows, they write with the idea that they're going to get to about the third or fourth year, then they start wondering what direction they're going in. That's what happens

with those shows. Not this show. You're way off base on this. Game of Thrones? Anybody? You guys agree with me on that one, right? Yeah, I think Dave's the only one that doesn't watch it yet. I'm gonna, because Walking Dead left me disappointed. I heard my wife said Walking Dead is so bad now. Yeah, I think I gotta walk away. Pete. Walk away.

Pete, Game of Thrones season 7. The previous season. The most recent one. What did you think? I thought it's kind of getting off again. Right. Yeah. It's not good. This is an argument Adam and I have. Comparing it to the other seasons, it's not as good. Correct. I think everybody agree on that. Correct.

Comparing that season compared to other TV shows, however, still very good. Entertaining. That's all it is, just entertaining. Not good. Not well-written. No, it wasn't well-written at all. I think once they started getting into too much of the futuristic –

Like Adam's point is getting away from the book. And getting away from the stories of the people. People's stories are what made that show what it is. To me, not draw guns. But it was always about the White Walkers. Yeah. You had to get there. I know, but still.

I think the people stories were the – who's going to end up as the king? Probably Daenerys. I don't think so. It's too obvious. Snow? I don't think so. It's too obvious. Snow? I don't think so. It might be his sister.

Sneaky sister. She's getting an edge to it. The little one? Who, Sansa or Arya? No, the other one. Arya? Sansa's too obvious. You got to remember, they write not to be obvious. But everything's so damn obvious in that show now.

Season 7 was just like, they just gave up. I'm waiting for Narcos to come back. Oh, that show's incredible. Thank you, Pete. Your best contribution. Did you watch the Unabomber? No, I didn't. You know what? This is an example of between you, Pete, and Adam, two people that don't work very hard. You've got time to watch TV shows.

I binge watch them in the summer, usually. Two people with cats. I didn't watch Game of Thrones until last year. What are you talking about? You guys would come in, oh, Game of Thrones. Because it's one hour a week. Now you're able to binge watch all these shows because you have all this time on you. You never work.

Coming from a guy who hasn't worked in the last seven weeks. Don't you got a couple more months off for babies? I hope so. Look at that. All right, Pete. Thanks a lot, man. Great stuff. We appreciate it.

That's Pete Prisco, senior writer. Check out his stuff on the website, cbssports.com slash NFL. You dropped your cane, old man. You want to go pick that up? Senior citizen writer, Pete Prisco. All right. Pete is smart enough to know that when he's going to the games, he's going with the SeatGeek app. Everybody please download the SeatGeek app right now and search for tickets.

That's what I do every time I need to go to a game or a concert or a comedy or a theater, whatever it is. Use the SeatGeek app and our promo code FFT. Enter that promo code FFT. You get $20 off your first purchase. That's a really good deal. Go to a game and save $20 and then go use that at the concessions. Get a couple of hot dogs. Get whatever you want.

$20 off promo code FFT. So why SeatGeek? Well, couple of hot dogs. Get whatever you want. $20 off. Promo code FFT. So why SeatGeek? Well, it saves you time. It saves you money. You get the most bang for your buck because SeatGeek searches multiple sites and finds the best deals and grades every ticket based on value. Remember when you used to have to go through all that process of looking at like five or six websites, trying to find the best deals on tickets? Everything in one place now with SeatGeek. So download the SeatGeek app.

I love it. I use it all the time. I use it a couple weeks ago to go to a Yankees game. I'm going to do the same pretty soon with another game. I strongly recommend it. SeatGeek app or SeatGeek.com, and the promo code is FFT. All right. Good stuff on the draft.

A couple questions for you. Modifying the friendship strategy. What do you think about drafting both Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara using rounds one and three, let's say, on two running backs, Ingram and Kamara? There's no way you're getting both in rounds one and three. Unless you take Kamara with like a fourth or fifth overall pick. Yeah, 10-team league maybe. You'd probably a fourth or fifth overall pick. Ten-team, yeah. Ten-team league maybe.

You'd probably have to do it if you're picking like six through the end of the first round. You'd do it in an auction. You'd do it in an auction. What do you think? What do we think about it? Uh-huh. You know, it could be a situation. Well, yeah.

And I think it could be great. How often did they both have good games last year? Often. Probably more often than you. They were two of the top five running backs in fantasy, maybe top six in standard. Kamara got going week seven on, and Ingram, I think, was around the same range. It was right after they traded Peterson. There were six games last year where both of them had at least ten fantasy points in a non-PPR.

And there were three games where neither one of them had 10. So if you draft both, you're almost guaranteed at least one with 10 fantasy points per week. And if one gets hurt, you've got the other one. And that other one theoretically would then pick up tons of work each week. It's a lot of draft capital to spend on the same position on the same team. Yeah. Okay, so who's the running back that you have ranked directly after Mark Ingram? And then my question is, you take Alvin Kamara in round one.

Do you take Ingram in round two, or do you go deeper into your rankings or one spot deeper and take fill-in-the-blank, whoever it is, Kenny Drake? So for me, the guy behind Ingram is Devontae Freeman. I think for me it's McCoy. So I think it's easy to pivot to those guys, right? Sure. I think that would be a fun experiment, though. Yeah, me too.

I'm not really feeling Ingram because I feel like they like Kamara a lot more. But, I mean, look, the numbers will show you just in terms of workload, they don't want to overwork Kamara, at least they didn't seem to. Yeah, yeah, it seems that way. Okay, what do you think about drafting both Stefan Diggs and Adam Thielen? Say Thielen in round three and Diggs in round four. That's more realistic to accomplish, but I don't know if you need to go that high with both of them.

It's probably round four and round five. Everything I'm saying is based on our most recent Ppr draft from last week okay so ppr yeah you probably see feeling in round three digs went around four yeah i think first pick up round four yeah that seems a little high um i wouldn't have a problem with it if if you almost took an approach like what dave did as but instead of taking receiver, receiver, you went receiver, running back, receiver, receiver. And so that's your number two guy in flex. There were seven games last year

where both of them failed to get 10 fantasy points. That's standard scoring. Standard scoring. And two games where both of them got 10 plus. So I think you're hurting yourself if you take both of them. But you have to assume that there's a slight upgrade Of quarterback with your cousins Oh yeah, over K-Skidham

I'll give you that I don't think I'd feel good about having both of them On my team Yeah again, if it was Let's say you end up with Not even the top two guys Let's say you take Julio Jones or Michael Thomas or Odell Beckham And then those two guys

After taking your running back round two. I'd be okay with that. And then you just kind of go running back crazy. Okay. What do you think about drafting Demarius Thomas in round three and Emmanuel Sanders in round seven PPR? PPR makes it far more manageable. Yeah, I think even both. You know, again, it's the hope that there's a quarterback upgrade. I just did the Broncos player outlook, so looking at the numbers for these two guys, it's just been awful since Peyton Manning left, and really the year before Manning left, because we know what that

year was when he was splitting time with Brock Osweiler. So the hope would be is that better quarterback play just turns those guys around. I know it's not that simple. They're both older. Sanders battled injuries last year. Thomas fought through a hip injury two years ago. But if Case Keenum is an upgrade over Trevor Simeon, Brock Osweiler, Paxton Lynch, which are the three quarterbacks that they've dealt with over the last two seasons,

which I think we can all say that should be, then those guys have unbelievable rebound possibilities. I don't think they'll ever get back to their heyday when they were setting records with Manning, but they can both be, I think, top 30 receivers with Thomas hopefully being the better of the two. Yeah, it's kind of interesting. Sanders in round seven, just get some better quarterback play in there.

That's the goal. You could almost draft both and still get two other good receivers with your other six picks among your first eight. That's kind of friendship strategy right there. Yeah, right now they're, I think, hoping, at least just looking at their depth chart, they're hoping Carlos Anderson, who missed all of last season with a thumb injury, is going to be their number three guy.

Jordan Taylor is coming off of a hip problem. He's going to be in the mix there. Isaiah McKenzie, who's not really a wide receiver but can play wide receiver, is going to be in the mix. If they don't add somebody significant, which, again, looking at their team as a whole, it would be surprising if that's the position they invest heavily in. Those two guys can still be – Thomas was 140 targets. Sanders was about 120 if he would have played 16 games.

If you're talking about close to 300 targets for those two guys, if they're both right, they should be able to fall into significant production. Last question, then we'll hear some voicemails and read some emails. How much separation is there between Rob Gronkowski and the next two tight ends, Kelsey and Ertz? On draft day, it's going to be less than one round. It'll probably be somewhere in the neighborhood of

nine, ten picks. I don't mean that. I mean in your mind how much separation is there. There's a break in tier. I think it's interesting for the two guys that are after Gronk, which is most likely going to be on everybody's draft boards,

Travis Kelsey and Zach Ertz in some order. Kelsey is going to face changes for the first time since he's become significantly relevant, or a star, I guess, because new quarterback and a lot more talent around him. And then Ertz may have less talent around him in some fashion if Alshon Jeffrey's not right. If that shoulder injury lingers into the season, which it's not expected to, but he could see a big bump in production. So I don't think there – this to me feels like the first time

because I know we had this a couple years ago with Jordan Reed coming off the year where he was almost neck and neck with Gronk, and obviously the Jimmy Graham years. But I always felt like there was a separation between Gronk and Graham. Gronk is, you know, I think not necessarily the – he's the guy you draft first, and he's still the best fantasy tight end going into the season. But I wouldn't be surprised if he's not number one and maybe even number two. I think those other two guys could pass him.

I think it comes down to injuries for Gronk. If he stays healthy, he's not number one and maybe even number two i think those other two guys could pass him i think it comes down to injuries for grock if he stays healthy he's gonna dominate he performs like a quality wide receiver at the tight end position he averaged 10.9 fantasy points per game that's non-ppr i believe the second highest was kelsey at 8.9 per game so he's a full two points better per week. And that doesn't sound like much, and it really isn't that much. No, it's significant. Well, you consider the grand scheme of things between you're going to win a fantasy game 75 points to 68 points. Two points typically doesn't help you. You'd like to have it if you can.

It's actually a big deal, though, two points per week. We make it a big deal when we talk about the number 13 wide receiver versus the number 30 wide receiver. What did Gronk play? How many games last year? 14. And he had a couple with zero. He played 14? He played 14, but yeah, week 17 he had no targets.

He did play week 17. He had no targets. So it's 14 games or 15 games? It's 14, including week 17. And Kelsey played 15 games because he didn't play Week 17. He had no targets. It's 14 games or 15 games? It's 14, including Week 17. And Kelsey played 15 games because he didn't play Week 17. Correct. And they had very similar numbers. I mean, Kelsey had 14 more catches.

Gronk was nine points better than him. In standard. In standard scoring league. One game difference. And Kelsey was slightly better in PPR. They scored the same amount of touchdowns. They were 50 yards apart. Yeah, basically the same.

I think what separates Gronkowski at this point is touchdowns. I mean, I know that he had the same amount as Kelsey, but I know people think that touchdowns are not that predictable. I think they're fairly predictable with Rob Gronkowski, and Kelsey's never done what he did last year in terms of touchdowns. Well, it's actually better than nine points because Kelsey, if you recall, threw an interception. So there's two points that shouldn't have really come off of his stat line. So, you know, seven points difference.

I agree with what Dave said. It's going to be probably ten spots. I know, like, in our most recent draft, I don't remember exactly where Gronk went in the second round. I took Kelsey at the end of the second round. You took Ertz at the beginning of the third round. So those guys would have been right there in that 10 spot range. To me, the separation isn't really between one, two, and three. Gronk should go first.

Again, there's more upside with him, as Dave said, when he's healthy. But the separation is like I'm more curious when the fourth guy comes off the board. Yeah, and I feel like we've been seeing Olsen go way too early. Well, he went early in this last draft. I still think he's the fourth best guy depending on what their receiving core looks like because I just think there's more stability between him and Ingram and Hunter Henry just with what those receiving cores look like.

But you can make an argument that if you're confident this is the Ingram step forward year or this is the Henry breakout season, which as of right now, they don't have Antonio Gates back on the roster, so those things can happen. But it really comes down to if you're inclined to still get one of the top six guys, because I think those are the top six, when do you pull the trigger on four through six? Because you know if you don't get one, two, or three in round two or round three, then it's okay you're playing the the guessing game otherwise you're left with sort of the retread guys which still have some upside delaney walker still has upside rudolph still has some

upside um you know certainly jordan reed has plenty of upside if he's healthy but um i think it's almost you want to guarantee yourself one of those top three guys or take a shot in that round four through six range on one of the the next three the the the solid factor of olsen or the upside of ingram henry all right yeah i think the interesting one is really uh earths and they're all interesting but earths has not had 900 yards yet and you know he had 824 last year in 14 games didn't really play a full 14 games. He left one halfway through. His first game back from injury was a total dud. Carson Wentz missed three games, and that hurt his production a little bit.

But he's 800 yards usually. And I think we can all look at Wentz and we can all look at Ertz and see the talent. And, no, there's potential for more than 800 yards or 850 yards. But he's never been above 853. Meanwhile, Gronk and Kelsey are around 1100 most of the time. So it is pretty interesting. But, I mean, if you were going to project Zach Ertz right now, you would project him for more than 853 yards, right?

That's his career high. Yeah, but I don't know if I'd be 1,000. No? Maybe in the 900 range. I don't know if I'd be 1,000, maybe in the 900 range. I don't know if you're going to make that huge. To me, it comes down to Jeffrey. If Jeffrey is slowed at all early part of the season, this receiving core is not that great.

There are definitely good parts taking Ertz out of the equation. Jeffrey's good. Mike Wallace could certainly be the Torrey Smith, if not better. We know about Nelson Aguilar and what he showed last year. Certainly had a big step forward. Do they bring Darren Sproles back, which is something they're talking about? Or does Corey Clement step into that role for a full season,

not just what he showed in the Super Bowl? So it's kind of an influx thing. I think he's, right now, again, going into the season, clearly number three. But if he does have that yardage boost and stay in that 8-10 touchdown range, he could easily be the best tight end. All right. Well, that is going to conclude our strategy talk, I guess. Let's hear some voicemails.

954-689-3199. Here we go. Hey, guys. This is Cooper from College Station, and I was wondering what you guys were thinking about Dalvin Cook in the first round. I feel like it's a little early just because he's coming off of injury. And I feel like his success was really against teams that were not so great. We had New Orleans early in the year when they were just a complete mess.

And then Tampa Bay whenever Tampa Bay really wasn't that great. So I feel like the end of the first round is a little early for me, but I'm curious to hear what you guys think. All right, let me know. Thanks, guys. Ba-da-da-ba-da-da-do. Nice. Isn't that great?

That's awesome. I love it, and I've got to bring that back for the ending. Let's see if I remember today. I currently have Dalvin Cook as my number 12 overall player. Once Saquon Barkley gets drafted, he will probably fall to 13. The thing that I like best about Cook is that the coaches love him. He should be fine. This is assuming he's fine for training camp.

Of course, he should be fine for training camp. And he's on a team that that with that good of a defense, they'll be in plenty of games where they're going to kill the clock at the end. He'll get a lot of extra carries that way. I feel like he will be a good, consistent fantasy running back for your squad.

Anything to add, Jamie? Are we good? No, no, no. I think he's better suited in the beginning part of the second round, but you're splitting hairs because if you get to that suited in the beginning part of the second round, but you're splitting hairs because if you get to that point at the back end of the first round and there's pick whatever receiver you want. Michael Thomas, Leo Jones, AJ Green, and you think

okay, I can guarantee myself one of those guys but I just missed on Kamara, I just missed on Barkley, or I don't want Barkley because he's with Cleveland and two other guys. Then you take the receiver and you get Cook and the stick around. Next question. Hey, this is Daniel from southern Texas.

I'm just calling to say I have had several successful drafts by approaching each draft going against the grain. When I see everybody going running back, running back, there's a lot of receiver count that gets left on the board. So I end up grabbing, you know, I'm going to get two receivers on my first two picks. Well, if everyone's going heavy on receivers and they're in a PPR league and they're grabbing them,

I'll go grab two or three running backs. I feel like going against the grain to always get a lead count is always a good approach. But there comes a point in the draft where you have to start going after what you need. And I think it's around four or five. I'm going to cut it off right there. So, yeah, what do you think about that?

Going against the grain. Everybody's going running back heavy. You swoop in. You take two wide receivers. Then he says, Daniel says, round four or five is when you start focusing on what you need. Yeah, I mean, it's not a bad approach at all because I think you're going to see, and we've seen it in this draft, this PPR draft that we just did, there were nine owners that went a combination of running back receiver

in the first two rounds. There was one owner in you, Adam, who went running back, running back. There was one owner in Dave that went wide receiver, wide receiver, and there was another one that went running back in Gronkowski. So you're starting to see the pattern of, okay, somebody wants to get, or almost everybody wants to get a running back in their first two picks. And so can you differentiate yourself enough to add talent? And I wrote about our mock draft.

I used Dave's team as an example because I thought it was a good strategy with how he built it. And I don't necessarily agree with all the players that he took. And I would have taken a fourth receiver as opposed to just limiting yourself to three. But it's certainly the way to be different. And as we talked about during the course of the draft, a lot of things worked out well for Dave, not knowing where the rookie running backs are going to go that he drafted but having ingram fall to the third round that made the draft for me right you know it it puts you in a spot of okay now you have a potential top 10 top 10 guy at one of your running back spots and then alice

collins i think was the other guy right nope uh Nope. It wasn't Alex Collins. Oh, maybe it was. Yeah, round five, Alex Collins. So Alex Collins is a great number two guy. And then you took a couple of rookies in there, right? At least one. Where it gives you the opportunity. Now, again, we don't know where those rookies are going to be. They could be bad picks as we review it.

But it could be a different rookie that I end up taking in that spot. Sure. But the point would be is that, you know, you're taking players of potential at spots of quality, you know, and so you have the opportunity to, OK, I have my three receivers that I like in the first five rounds and now I could just, you know, load up at another position. Now, if too many people start doing that, you're not going to have the same depth, but, you know, you pivot and go in a different direction. So it's always good to set yourself apart because like – what was his name, the caller? Daniel. Daniel said people start to look for their needs in that range.

Well, your need is already settled. So while they're trying to fill other spots at the receiver position, you now take those running backs that they're leaving for you at your disposal. And I think that this – what I'm seeing more and more as I get into my draft prep for the year is that receivers are going to get real sketchy pretty quickly. And that's what we used to say about running backs is that after a certain point, you fall off a full tier and you look at what's left and you go, oh, my cheese and crackers. This is horrible what's left. And if you go too heavy on non-receivers early in the draft, you're going to look at Michael Crabtree as your number one wide receiver, and you're going to ask everybody in your league if you can redo the entire draft.

But that's completely waiting, though. That is completely waiting, but I think some people might. People that go running back, running back, and then in round three, they can't resist one of the tight ends we just talked about. Yeah, but Adam's team is a good example of that because you went with two backs with your first two picks. But you almost have to take a receiver third if you do. And then you took Ertz in round three?

Yeah, I took Ertz. And then remember, Jamie, we missed that wide receiver run. So, I mean, to his point, all right, so my team, Le'Veon Bell, this was PPR, 12 teams PPR, the second pick. Le'Veon Bell, Christian McCaffrey, Zach Ertz. And then, like, right before I picked, there was this crazy wide receiver one, and I missed out on all of them. So I missed out.

That was in round four, right? Yeah, I missed out on Jarvis Landry, Golden Tate, Josh Gordon, Julian Edelman, and my starting wide receivers are Marvin Jones and Brandon Cooks. Right, but your strategy, though, is, I think think the total opposite of what we're talking about here. Again, most people, because I've seen it in the first two drafts, in analyzing them, standard and PPR, have gone wide receiver, running back, or running back, wide receiver. Right, they want to get one of each so that they're balanced. I think it's just where we'll end up seeing average draft position, that's how it will fall, is you can get two players of each position because we've seen that

and seen teams like Dave's that have ended up fine. But I think you're going to end up – the trend we're going to see is one of each in the first two rounds for the majority of the league. That's right. Where last year it may have been a little bit more skewed to maybe two wide receivers with your first two picks. I don't know that for sure. I feel like that might have been that way two years ago.

Yeah. You know what? I'll say this. I've noticed that I really think that these running backs these days change so much in standard versus PPR. Because we are seeing a lot more running backs become majorly involved in the passing game. And that's why, with the 23rd overall pick in this draft that we did last week on the air,

I took Christian McCaffrey. And I have Le'Veon Bell and Christian McCaffrey at that point. I don't really care about wide receiver. I have two running backs who are going to catch more passes than almost every wide receiver. They're going to be top 20 in catches if everything goes as planned. So it's kind of different the way you get your PPR points now.

And I've been drafting standard scoring leagues thinking really so much about touchdowns. And then I guess I overvalue. I don't think I overvalue, but I boost the value of a guy like Christian McCaffrey so much that I was willing to take him over. He's going to have more catches than Doug Baldwin. It doesn't matter what position he plays. For your team,

for example, as well, if you had taken... And mine too, because I took Baldwin and Kelsey after taking Todd Gurley. If either one of us had taken T.Y. Hilton instead of the tight end... Yeah, that was the question. And then let's just say we came back.

I don't know if it would have worked out that way, but if we both in the fourth, fifth round had the shot at Henry and Ingram or Olsen, Henry, and Ingram. I know Olsen went a little early in that draft, but Henry and Ingram. Do we feel better about our receiving corps? Oh, yeah, definitely, about our full team. Yeah, but I mean, so to go back to what Dave was saying about receiver getting really thin and this question from Daniel about going against the grain,

I am much more willing to go against the grain if it's two receivers, two running backs, and a flex. We start getting into a three-receiver league, I'm more hesitant to go against the grain because then, Dave, yeah, you could really be looking at having a terrible receiving unit. They all go really early. You need to start three of them. You might end up with Alan Hearns and Terrence Williams and Colby.

You could really dig yourself a hole. I don't know how willing I'd be to go against the grain and not take a receiver with any of my first three picks in a three-receiver league. I know we're saying this now and factoring the rookies potentially being terrible while the rookie running backs could be unbelievable. But there are going to be so many wide receivers that come the middle of the year like, oh, my God, why didn't we draft this guy? Why didn't we put more emphasis on this guy? Why didn't we know?

We talked about two of them. You asked about the Broncos guys in terms of Emmanuel Sanders or one of them and Emmanuel Sanders and what his bounce back potential could be. Dave mentioned Michael Crabtree. He certainly has bounce back potential. He does. There are going to be guys Pete mentioned one in terms of the Packers guys. We could be talking

about Allison in a month or three months and all of a sudden he's better than Randall Cobb and he's the second guy there. If you play in a fantasy baseball league, first base is always really deep.

You could go the entire draft without drafting a first baseman, take like the last first baseman off the board, which for me in a 12-team league was Justin Smoke. I don't remember what I – You just picked up Justin Bauer off of – Justin Boer, yeah. Justin Boer, excuse me. Right.

But at the same time, you know at the end of the year, Votto and Rizzo and Encarnacion, those guys are good. They're just like a first base. Yeah, sort of. But also I make the case with wide receiver. Yeah, there are going to be plenty of wide receivers that you can pick up throughout the year that are going to be really good. But if you don't have at least one of the great ones, you can certainly win that way.

But I would always, in a three-wide receiver league, I'd love to have one elite one. I really would. Well, I'll give you an example. And you talk about three-wide receiver league. This is a dynasty league, but it's a startup dynasty league, so take that into consideration. We started five wide receivers. The first player that I took in this draft, I think I picked fourth overall, was Mike Evans. He was bad.

You know who I took in the second round? Who? Todd Gurley. I lost one game in the regular season, and I lost in the semifinals of the playoffs because it was just bad luck. But my receiving core, in a five-wide receiver league, my top two guys were Mike Evans and Larry Fitzgerald. PBR?

PBR. All right, well, at least you had one great win there. I did have one great one. We'll talk more about the positions that we have more conviction in as we get closer to July and August. But I think that's going to be a huge thing. You'll know which players are going to go in the first five rounds of your draft. What position do you feel more comfortable picking from

once you get to round six, round seven, round eight? And once you figure out what that position is, you can kind of build a draft strategy around that. Because I think most of our listeners, they're going to realize that waiting on a quarterback is the right thing to do. If you're in love with one of the tight ends or there's a good value at tight end when you're up, you'll adjust your draft strategy

on the fly to that. Otherwise, it's figuring out which position you're okay with waiting on between running back and receiver. I'll give you a little tease for our next show. I had a fun conversation about a unique approach to auctions that I may try this year

that I think would be fun. Okay, excellent. All right, guys, so we're almost out of time. I promised someone I'd read his email, so I want to listen to one last voicemail. It's a quick keeper question, then we'll read an email, and then we'll get back to you all on Thursday afternoon. But here's our last voicemail of the day. Hey, Icebox, Spike Jr., and zoltec greg from south carolina i'm in a 12-man ppr keeper

league uh what's a better value for a keeper uh do i do somebody like kareem hunt in the second round and essentially have two first round picks on my team or should i stick with my gut feeling which is adam feeling in the 11th round? Let me know what you think. Thanks, guys. One time. Little Giants, first of all. So was it Kareem Hunt in the second or Adam Thielen in the 11th?

That was his question. Did he say the format? PPR. I think I'd go with his gut and go with Thielen in the 11th round. If he's right now trending in the third round, which I think, again, is a little high, he's probably a fourth-round pick, it's so hard to pass up on value like that when he gets a quarterback upgrade. Okay.

So hard throwing Kareem Hunt back. Top five, top six type of pick in the PPR. He's not a top five pick in PPR. He might be up there. He's not going ahead of the top four running backs, the top two receivers. Top seven pick in a PPR. Yeah, he's top seven. Giving up in round two. The value clearly is better

with Thielen. It's very tempting. I guess you can make the case for Thielen. Improved targets with Cousins coming for Thielen. Improve targets with Cousins coming, etc. Worst targets with Cousins coming. Remember? Cousins spreads the ball around. He had 143 targets

or something like that last year. It's efficiency. You've got to bank on efficiency, which Cousins has been very good about. I don't think he's going from a receiving court where he had to spread the ball around when he had Terrell Pryor, a banged up Jameson Crowder. It was every year there. I would be stunned if he throws a lot. But look at the guys that he's had.

He had great receivers. He had a very similar group. He had a really good tight end. He had Pierre Garçon. He had Deshaun Jackson. He had Jameson Crowder. That year, he spread the ball around. That's what I'm trying to say.

You're talking three years ago or two years ago? Two years ago, I believe. Every year, he spread the ball around. Has there ever been one stud wide receiver on the Redskins with Kirk Cousins? I think the answer is no. Reed. They had two receivers with over a thousand yards. But there's never been a fantasy

standout wide receiver. Never been a stud. I'm going to say there's never been a top 20 wide receiver that Kirk Cousins has produced. I could be wrong about that, but it's just off the top of my head. Crowder may have been close to that one year. So two years ago is what Dave's talking about when they had both Garcon and Jackson go over 1,000 yards, and Crowder, I believe, had eight touchdowns.

Yeah, I'm not sure any of them were top 20. Does Minnesota have a third guy as good as Crowder that year? No. No. No. Point taken. But I'm still making the case that he just didn't feature anyone. He spread the ball around

Yeah, I think when you look at different teams And in my opinion Better options right now than what he's walking away from Okay Then let's finish with This question from Mark Mark Now, you know what, Mark, I'm going to save you for next show

I'm going to email you back, I'm going to tell you, we're going to read it next show Just so you don't Sit there for an hour You I'm going to email you back. I'm going to tell you. We're going to read it next show just so you don't sit there for an hour. You're so good to your listeners. I try. My listeners. Actually, Mark, Daryl, Aaron, someone from Geneva, and Joe. I've got to get the name of the guy from Geneva.

We will read your email next episode on Thursday. Thank you for listening. Thank you, Pete Prisco. God, man. This is the longest show ever. Bye. Bye. I've got Le'Veon. It's alright. Not George Le'Veon. It's alright. I've got Le'Veon Bell.