Fantasy Football Today - 04/30 Fantasy Football Podcast: Top Rookies; Veteran Winners & Losers

Episode Date: April 30, 2018

The NFL Draft is in the books and we are reacting to every Fantasy storyline that developed over the weekend. Who will be the second rookie RB to be drafted in Fantasy drafts? Is it Derrius Guice? Is it Ronald Jones? Is it Kerryon Johnson? Dave and Jamey also discuss veteran NFL players who are winners (7:25) and losers (11:15). How good could Marlon Mack be if IND does not add a RB? ... Top 3 rookies at each position! QB (17:55), RB (19:40), WR (36:30), TE (40:30). Within each position discussion we'll talk about all of the prospects that matter and which players could have big Fantasy impacts. Also, is the 2018 rookie RB class shaping up to be better than last year's? ... News and notes from around the NFL, and stay tuned for a live draft on the Draft app (58:30) ... Your emails at [e-mail] To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports. Here we go! Email us at 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. Alright, welcome to Monday's show, April 30th.

We are reacting to the NFL Draft. Biggest veteran winners and losers and our top three rookies in each position. My top three, Dave Richard, Jamie Isenberg, and well, there's no Heath today, but Heath Cummings is in the top three. Hello, guys. How are you? How was the draft for you guys? It was great. I'm so glad it's over. That was such a busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy weekend. I couldn't talk yesterday. My throat was killing me.

What did you talk about the most? What was the big story, the big fantasy buzz from over the weekend? Well, I was talking more than just fantasy, but the big fantasy buzz. Yeah, after round one. After round one was Darius Geist falling, was the receivers and where they landed, was we had an interesting debate on some error parents to certain players, and I can't wait for our fantasy draft tomorrow for our magazine. Oh, yeah, we're having that, but we can't talk about it, right?

We can't talk about it, no, but we're having it. All right, so who's the second rookie running back off the board? I will tell you this, though. I'm in the middle of another draft for another magazine, and Saquon Barkley went sixth overall. Sixth? Well, okay, so look, we talked about it on Friday. Your favorite format of all time.

Half PPR. No, full. Oh, no. No, it was half, yes. Yeah, it's got to be half. Well, we talked about it on Friday that we were really hoping that the Giants would just do the obvious thing and take Will Hernandez second overall in the second round, and they did. So that certainly helps.

But sixth overall is a little high, isn't it, for Barkley? Yes. Yeah, it's a little high. All right, so who's the second running back off the board in fantasy drafts? If it's my board, it's Ronald Jones in rookie drafts. No, in seasonal. I guess it doesn't really matter. It matters.

Is there a second rookie back? Who's the second rookie back, but not in rookie-only drafts, but in a fantasy draft? Who's the second rookie? Darius Geist. Darius Geist for you and Ronald Jones for you. You guys want to duke it out? Ronald Jones, Tampa Bay. Darius Geist for you and Ronald Jones for you. You guys want to duke it out? Ronald Jones, Tampa Bay, Darius Geist to the Redskins, both in round two.

I think the competition's easier for Jones. I think that defense has gotten better, so it could provide more opportunities. He's already naturally a pass-catching running back, and I think this is an offense where he can really shine. The offensive line got better. I think Ronald Jones, it's really close between the two of them, I'll be honest. But to me, the difference was, there are two differences. One, why did Darius Geist slip?

No one knows. But I'm curious as to why, because I thought he was potentially a first-round running back. And number two, Chris Thompson will be around. He's coming back from the ACL. He's a good passing down his back. Washington kind of shapes up as a team that I think will be playing from behind a lot this year. I think that'll hurt Geis.

I agree with Dave. It's very close. I think that Darius Geis is a superior talent. I think he's better suited to run between the tackles than Ronald Jones is. I think in terms of the offensive line, as long as Trent Williams and Morgan Moses are healthy, which was a huge problem for them last year,

that's a better offensive line in Washington than it is in Tampa Bay. So I like where Darius Geis slipped. And I think it's very similar to what happened to Dalvin Cook last year where he slipped for reasons that he didn't deserve to slip for. So all the reports you're hearing about Darius Geisen, why he slipped, it just seems to be that he had maybe some poor interviews with teams. You've seen the word maturity. I don't think that really has anything to do with his talent.

Everybody said off the field he's a good kid. Nothing in terms of drugs or anything like that. So I think the Redskins got one of, if not the biggest steals in the draft. There was a couple mock drafts that had him go into them in the first round. Right. And so for them to get him in the second round, it's very similar to me to Dalvin Cook. So I think Darius Geist has a chance to be a star. Yeah, that was one thing I was going to say, actually.

You look at guys who overperform their draft value, their NFL draft value, a lot of times it's an injury concern or a character concern, and Dalvin Cook was one of them. Joe Mixon might end up being one of them. Keenan Allen was an injury concern. He's overperformed. Tyreek Hill. Tyreek Hill, absolutely.

Jay Ajayi was an injury concern. Browns might have gotten one of those guys too with Antonio Calhoun. Right. So that's actually really something to keep in mind. And maybe it's a little bit different long-term versus just redraft leagues. For example, a guy like Sonny Michel, he's had a bunch of knee injuries. Maybe – I wouldn't say he fell. Actually, he went in the first round.

He went a little higher than anybody thought. Yeah, he just went to a bad spot. I mean that's the only problem with his fantasy value is he's got so many people he's got to outperform. But I think he can do it, though. Like, if you want to talk about talent. He can, but when you start comparing him to these other guys that have just better opportunities, it's just hard to say that he's in a better spot than them. Like, Royce Freeman's in a much better spot than Sonny Michel is.

Ronald Jones is in a much better spot than him. Kerryon Johnson, much better spot than him. One more of this escaping me. Oh, Rashad Penny, much better spot than him. So just in terms of these guys getting more work, they're going to get more work than Sonny Michel. All right. Hey, we're going to come back to the rookies in a second. Our email address is fantasyfootballatcbsi.com.

Let me talk about the draft podcast league draft contest, okay? So what we wanted you to do was send in your draft entries, and we had a record number this year, which was great because I really waited way too long to talk about the contest. But we had something like 650 entries, and we asked you to tell us who the top ten picks would be in order. And then I asked you, if you got five or more right, please resend the email to fantasyfootballatcbsi.com.

Reply to the original email or forward it or whatever. I will know if you've cheated or altered it or anything. I'll double check. And show me you got five or more right. So far, I've had a few with five. I haven't had a six yet. Can I put a caveat in there? Hold on. If you have more than six. That's over. No, no, no. I'm going to a six yet. Can I put a caveat in there? Hold on.

If you have more than six... No, no, no. I'm going to give up my spot if somebody got this right. Got what right? I will abstain from playing in the league if somebody got this right. Did anybody get Denzel Ward at four? I don't know yet. I don't know. If they did, they could have my spot.

Why? You just want to be out of the league. No, I don't. But I think that's pretty cool if somebody picked that because nobody saw that coming. Why don't you let them share the team with you? No. The funny thing is a lot of people got the top three right. And then after that, I mean, it was really hard after that because Chubb was supposed to go four. Just, you know, the top three were – by the time the draft rolled around, the people with the later entries, the top three picks, a lot of people got those right. Did you get five or more?

Please resend the email fantasyfootballatcbsi.com. Okay. Veteran winners and losers. Forgetting about the rookies for now. We'll come back to them, and we'll talk more about them on Thursday and going forward. Jamie, why don't you give me a few NFL veterans who won, whose value increased since the NFL draft? Well, like my rabbi likes to say, you're a juju. So Juju Smith-Schuster with a big boost without Martavis Bryant there.

But what about Washington in round two? Yeah, Juju Smith-Schuster is a big winner without Martavis Bryant there. Look, James Washington is a good player, and he'll fill that Martavis Bryant role, but I don't think they're the same type of guy, and I don't think he'll see the same amount of targets. So I think Juju gets any concerns. I had concerns about Juju, and there's a report out of Pittsburgh that Vance McDonald could be a big part of this offense,

which is part of the reason I was a little bit concerned after what we saw in that playoff game, because they have been looking for a playmaking tight end, and I think he is that guy. So I think Juju's value is in a good spot. And then it's quarterbacks. I think Matt Ryan

got a big boost with Calvin Ridley because he's a good player. I think Derek Carr got a boost. I mean, look at all the weapons they've given him. Jordy Nelson, for what it's worth, could still help him in a decent enough manner. And obviously Bryant, they give him Ryan Switzer. They add Marcel Aitman.

You know, so they're putting weapons around Derek Carr with John Gruden. You know, that should help Derek Carr's fantasy value if you're concerned about him. Okay, Dave, how about you? So we have Juju, we have Matt Ryan, we have Derek Carr. How about you? Yeah, I have Ryan and Carr on my list. But how about a running back? A veteran running back whose value went up?

Marlon Mack in Indiana. Oh, yeah. How about that? We're dying for the Colts to draft a running back. Until they sign C.J. Anderson this week. Oh, yeah, right. So when they sign C.J. Anderson, I'll take it all back. Those are the two spots that make the most sense for him.

For now, Marlon Mack looks like the lead guy in Indy. Honestly, if it's Marlon Mack or C.J. Anderson, this is a team that drafted the best offensive lineman in the Indianapolis schools, drafted the best offensive lineman in the draft, and then they drafted another guard, Braden Smith, in round two. And they have Andrew Luck coming back, we think. This is a great spot. Oh, man.

Okay, let's say Marlon Mack is the starter. What round are you drafting him in? I'm taking him right behind Gurley first round. No, no, no, I'm not doing that. Where do I have him ranked? I want to say round eight-ish. Oh, my God. Round eight?

That's way too late, isn't it? There's no way he gets to round eight if That's way too late, isn't it? There's no way he gets to round eight if he's the starter. No, I've got him 87th overall. He'll be like a round six pick. Seven. He's not going to be alone. He's not going to be alone.

No, he's not going to be alone, but he should be the best of the guys that they have if that's the only guys that they have. And if they get C.J. Anderson, then that changes completely i would almost love anderson to be in that role why aren't we talking about a third round pick or a fourth round pick after say after say alex collins comes off the board why wouldn't we then start looking at i think you can if you're in the marlin mac you know fan camp bandwagon you know if If you want to expect him to be a dominant running back, then sure. He's got the same opportunity that a lot of these rookies have where he's going to get the chance to hopefully get in the 15 to 20 touch range. But I don't think that that's necessarily going to be the case.

That's the biggest concern. So if you're looking at it, I think some other veteran running backs that won Drake, you know, the Dolphins drafting Balazs where they did. I don't think that's necessarily an indictment on taking Drake off the field. The Panthers did nothing. So if you're a Christian McCaffrey fan, you got to love that. They're talking about Cameron Artis Payne as the guy replacing Jonathan Stewart. Hi, Christian McCaffrey. Love you.

I mean, you know, that's a great, great, great scenario for him, too. And Alex Collins, you know, the guy you just mentioned. What did the Ravens do? Nothing. And we know Kenneth Dixon can't stay healthy. You know, Javoris Allen's just a guy. So, Alex Collins should be solidified as well. Okay, how about some veteran losers?

Losers? What do you think? We already talked about Chris Carson on last week's show. The addition of Rashad Penny, and I went back and thought about it some more. I moved Penny up from my initial ranking. He's in a really good spot. I'm a believer in Sonny Michel, so I think Rex Burke had lost value. I think he can fall a little bit in drafts, another round, round and a half,

from where we were getting him before. I think the dynamic Atlanta combination of Mohamed Sanu and Austin Hooper get a loss with Calvin Ridley coming to Atlanta. Jamie, you still don't like Calvin Ridley in Atlanta? No. I mean, I like him in Atlanta. I just don't like his fantasy value in Atlanta. I can't see him going in and being even –

I don't even know if he's one of the top five fantasy rookies. I mean he should be, but I like Anthony Miller's situation better. I like Michael Gallup's situation better, and I love DJ Moore's situation better. He is easily the best rookie going into the draft, going into fantasy drafts. Whether he performs at that level, I don't know if that's going to be the case. But DJ Moore's situation by far is the best of any of these rookie wide receivers. But there is a top four, and I think that's it. So you can rank them any way you want.

Christian Kirk is interesting, though. Kirk is interesting, but I'm a little worried about him in his first season. If Josh Rosen is the starter, and I think those two guys get on the same page early, then Christian Kirk could be good. I agree with you. There's some concerns because he's better suited as a slot guy, and Larry Fitzgerald, his best performances so far come out of the slot. But I think if you look at it, Ridley is in the top four, but for me he's fourth.

Jamie, any veteran losers for you? I was a little disappointed the Bengals drafted a running back. I wanted to see them go with just those two guys and kind of supplement it in another way. So Mark Walton could be somebody that hurts them. What if I told you that Walton was taken a year early and that he's really there to replace Geo next year? I mean, he could if they want to get out of Geo's contract, but I think Mark Walton's knee is fine.

Ankle. I thought it was a knee. I thought it was his knee. I thought it was his ankle. Yeah, he broke his ankle, I believe. Okay, so I know he's healthy. Knee and ankle are fine, everybody. Yes. Yeah, so that was a little bit of a frustrating one.

I just want to say something about Mark Walton. So the Bengals took him in the fourth round. Oh, here we go. He's not Gio Bernard. He is not this pass-catching running back. He might be a little short, but he plays big. He is a ball carrier. I don't see Mark Walton as the next Duke Johnson

or the next pass-catching running back. That is not what he was at Miami, and that is not what I – I never thought about that until – I think people just saw his size and anticipated him being that. I don't see that, Dave. Do you? I think he can be. I wouldn't put it past him.

I think he could be more than that is what I'm saying. He could be, but you worry about his size and you worry about him holding up. You do worry about that. That's something that I don't think the Bengals have to worry about right now. They must like his game, and they must have thought he was a good value when they took him. But before last year, he had 22 catches in 2015, 27 catches in 2016,

seven catches in four games. It's all right. No, it's good in college. I don't think i don't think geo and duke johnson are the same guy either but i i think that he he could be a more physical version of geo where if they wanted to put him into a passing role could get two or three catches a game with the occasional five reception game what do you think of him as a pass blocker i have no idea i mean i can't i can't have no idea. I mean, I can't.

I have no idea. He's probably okay at that. He's a solid football player, but, yeah, I mean, obviously he's got a big roadblock named Joe Mixon ahead of him. He was pretty good. He was pretty good in pass protection, and I wonder if that's part of the deal with Geo. Well, I hope they don't turn him into a pass catcher.

But, you know, There are a lot of really exciting running backs. Are we done with the veteran talk? Shall we move on? Get more into the draft? Yes. We'll talk about the veterans as we get through the rookies. Here's something to keep in mind. Four years ago, we had

this great rookie draft class with Evans and Beckham and Watkins and all these great players. Since then, it's been not so great. The first-round picks, wide receivers, first-round picks in the last three years, Amari Cooper is really the only one who did anything as a rookie. He was the number 22 wide receiver as a rookie. Since then, we've also had Kevin White, Devontae Parker, Brashad Perryman, Philip Dorsett,

Nelson Aguilar, Will Fuller, Laquan Treadwell, Josh Doxson, Corey Coleman, Corey Davis, Mike Williams, and John Ross. So only one round one wide receiver over the last three years has had more than 635 yards receiving as a rookie. But keep an eye on those round two and later receivers. They have been better than the round one guys. A few years ago, Stefan Diggs had a nice season. He was a number four wide receiver. Jameson Crowder had a solid season. But two years ago, Sterling Shepard was the number 37 wide

receiver as a rookie. Michael Thomas was number nine. He was awesome. Malcolm Mitchell had a pretty strong finish to the year, and Tyreek Hill fell for character concerns. Number 23 wide receiver. Not partially. Big time because of his rushing totals. 267 rushing yards, three touchdowns. You had Sterling Shepard in round two.

You had Michael Thomas in round two. You had Tyreek Hill in round five of the 2016 draft. 2017 draft, we had Juju Smith-Schuster in round two. You know, D.D. Westbrook didn't put up big numbers, but he was fantasy relevant late. And Cooper Cup. So you had two top 28 wide receivers in Juju Smith-Schuster and Cooper Cup.

They were round two and round three picks. For whatever reason, maybe it's just landing spot, those second round, third round picks, they've been better than the first round picks over the last two years for sure you know what kind of stands out to me is that thomas for sure smith shuster and cup for sure i think shirley shepherd qualifies as well these guys were good route runners with good hands that helps i mean it's just it's kind of obvious if you're going to be a receiver in the NFL,

you better be able to do those things excellently. Okay. So let's talk about then the top three rookies at each position and begin with quarterback. Dave, your top three rookie quarterbacks for 2018. Baker Mayfield is number one for me, and I will take Josh Rosen second and Sam Darnold third. The excitement level to draft these guys in a seasonal league on a scale of one to ten

with one being totally not excited and ten being, oh my God, I got to get them, is one. I'm not drafting any of these guys. Not any of them. Not now. Not until Tyrod Taylor tears his ACL or Sam Bradford walks. Once those things happen, those guys get hurt, then of course things will change. Yeah. Right. The rookie quarterbacks aren't going to be as exciting as the wide receivers or the running backs.

Jamie, your top three rookie quarterbacks, please. I like Allen first because I think he'll play the most as a rookie because I don't have a lot of faith in Stan Bradford staying healthy. You like Rosen. What did I say, Allen? I'm sorry. Josh Rosen first. Again, for Stan Bradford's lack of health.

Second would be Baker Mayfield because I think he's got the most upside. And I do think that Cleveland at some point will turn to him. Hopefully Tyra Taylor does not tear his ACL. But if if they need to make a replacement, Baker Mayfield hopefully will have a great performance. And then three would be Josh Allen because I expect him to also play a lot because I don't think AJ McCarron has a lot of longstanding reason to be under center for the Bills. So it's based on playing time.

Okay. So Dave goes Mayfield, Rosen, Darnold, and Jamie goes Rosen, Mayfield, Allen. And of course, these are not going to be guys that we are drafting in redraft leagues for the most part. Running back. Jamie, who are your top three rookie running backs 2018? Wayne Gallman. Saquon Barkley's one. That's easy. Darius Geis would be two, and Ronald Jones would be three.

I think there's a good group of guys here that have, again, it's opportunity. I don't think Samaj P. Ryan, Rob Kelly would probably be cut, and hopefully Chris Thompson's healthy, but I think you know what his role is. So Geist, I think, will get a lot of work for the Redskins. And I think the same thing with Jones. But I think Royce Freeman is in a good spot. Kerryon Johnson is in a good spot. Rashad Penny is in a good spot.

All these guys have a chance. I just wish the Georgia guys ended up in better situations where they could play a little bit more right away. Yeah. So you mentioned Ronald Jones with Tampa Bay, and number two was Darius Geis with Washington. Barkley won, Geis with Washington, Jones, Tampa Bay. And you mentioned Royce Freeman.

He got drafted by the Broncos in the third round. Kerryon Johnson got drafted in the second round by the Detroit Lions. I really want to talk about that situation actually quite a bit. But, Dave, give me your top three rookie running backs for 2018. I've got Barkley one, Jones two, Geis three. And Jones and Geis are two spots apart in my running back rankings. Who's in between them? Beast mode.

That's it. All right. That makes sense. Two spots apart Give me a round for those guys I'll take I'm going to start looking their way in late round four Okay

So like pick 45-ish or so Yeah So tell me just why You guys would value Let's say Ronald Jones and Darius Geis over Marlon Mack. Because I think that while all three of the running backs mentioned will share, I think just the theory that I—not theory, that's not a good word.

The expectation in Indianapolis is that Frank Reich is going to use all of his running backs Every game So I don't think Unless Marlon Mack just is a stud Right out of the gate And really warrants 15 touches a game I think we're going to see A lot of guys with 12 10 to 12 touches per game With no clear goal line guy

Mack doesn't strike me as a goal line guy Yeah okay A solid third Between him, Jones, and Geis With no clear goal line guy. Mack doesn't strike me as a goal line guy. Yeah, okay. A solid third between him, Jones, and Geis. I really am interested in Detroit. There are two teams that appear to have tried very hard to remake their identities, and that would be the Giants and the Lions. And the Lions have put a lot into the offensive line the last two off seasons and now the NFL draft. So they drafted Kerrion Johnson in the second round, as mentioned.

They also drafted a center in round one, Frank Ragnow out of Arkansas, and Tyrell Crosby in round five, who can play guard. And I mean, look, everybody thinks everyone's a steal, but people think Crosby was a steal, and he could play pretty early for them. They drafted a fullback in round seven. I know it's round seven, but that's when fullbacks go. Detroit was terrible in short yardage last year, so now they have LeGarrette Blount. Taylor Decker, look, their offensive line was a disaster last year. I was reading the Detroit News.

They had ten different starting combinations, and they allowed 47 sacks of Matthew Stafford. But when healthy, should be a pretty darn good offensive line. So, first of all, I do agree with that, with Detroit. And secondly, tell me about the Kerryon Johnson, LeGarrette Blount timeshare. Well, I agree with you about the offensive line. It was supposed to be a strength for them last year. And, you know, unfortunately, like you said, the injuries were a problem right out of the gate when Decker had the shoulder injury.

Ragnow is going to help the middle, the interior of that line. Everything out of Detroit with Matt Patricia is they want to be a more physical team and be better running the ball. You've got LeGarrette playing at 32 on a one-year deal.

He had some good moments last year for Philadelphia early in the season before J.H.I. got there. Thenrette Blount at 32 on a one-year deal. He had some good moments last year for Philadelphia early in the season before J.J. got there, and then in the Super Bowl, he was their leading rusher. But how long will he be able to sustain taking away a good amount of touches? I think Amir Abdullah is a candidate to get cut, so I don't even know if he's a factor. So Kerryon Johnson, I think, is going to get a healthy amount of touches. It's similar to the Washington situation. You know Theo Riddick will work on passing downs, but I don't know if that's enough of a factor to scare you away from Kerryon Johnson if you're a fan of his because I think he led all running backs in yards after contact last year. He was certainly

among the leaders. And so he's going to fit their physical nature. And I think he's got a great, great opportunity because it's not a very dominant group of running backs there in Detroit right now. I guess then it's easy to come up with a top three for you guys. You don't have the same order. Barkley, Jones, Geis, Barkley, Geis, Jones, whatever. Who's number four? Who's the number four rookie running back for you guys? For me, it's Royce Freeman.

Sonny Michel. All right. When do we get to Johnson? I have Johnson after Penny, so I have Freeman, Penny, Johnson. I have Michelle, Penny, Freeman, Johnson. I'm not a fan. Not a fan? Not a fan.

How come? Because I think he's – I don't think – I think it's a great opportunity, but he had a ton of carries last year, 285 carries, averaged over 25 touches per game. He only had three carries of 30-plus yards. He's not a burner by any stretch of the imagination. He's also dealt with a ton of injuries over the course of his career. I also think that I'm not sure Amir Abdullah gets cut. Depends on his contract.

I don't know what it is off the top of my head. But I would imagine that Detroit will use multiple running backs, just like New England, which is the Matt Patricia thing. And I think Kerryon Johnson, I think if you reach a little too soon for him, he could disappoint you quite a bit. I don't think he gets to 1,000 yards because I don't think he gets to 250 touches. I think he could wear down by then, and I think if LeGarrette Blount stays healthy, he's

probably the safer bet at the goal line at this point. I'm not sure. Abdul is a free agent after this year. What's his salary at? He's on his rookie deal. Yeah, it can't be that bad. He's staying. He might. Unless he sucks. If he really sucks in training. Well, I'll grant you that. I yeah it's not can't be that he's staying he might unless he sucks if he really sucks and well i i grant you that i think it's a great i think it's a great situation because they

they clearly want to run the ball and they are so invested in the offensive line in detroit but looking at the running back class you know in its totality with freeman with guys with johnson with jones with nick chubb going to cleveland That's an interesting one. We have to talk about that. With three first-round running backs. Maybe it's not as loaded up front as last year's because you had Fournette and you had McCaffrey as top ten picks. And you had Dalvin Cook and Joe Mixon who fell to the second round not because of football reasons. Kareem Hunt too. Yeah, I know. But Hunt and Kamara, as much as we liked Hunt in his situation,

he's not doing this if Spencer Ware is healthy. And Kamara is not doing this if Adrian Peterson stays on the roster. Yeah, I'm just saying, now that you look at it, go back a year. Which running back class sets up for more immediate success in fantasy, last year's or this year's? Last year's. This year's. Last year's.

There weren't as many guys walking into starting jobs last year as there are this year there were like four running backs that finished his top 12 runners finished yeah but it'd be not finished going in though i said remember i kept saying this is the year the rookie running back last year i was really pumped about all these running backs you you said i believe your theory was remember because we did i did this in that one draft, where if you take four or five of them, I think it was, that two will finish in, and I don't know which two you were referring to. It didn't matter. No, but aside from the guys at the top.

Because there were four guys at the top. You mentioned the four guys at the top. Yeah. In Fournette, McCaffrey, Mixon, and Cook. Those four were expected to be in great situations. Hunt was in a good situation. Nobody saw Kamara coming, unless you were just that big of a fan of his

and thought that he's going to outperform a Hall of Famer and a guy that was very good. I know people who drafted him thinking he was that guy, and then the season starts and he's not doing anything, and they cut him. So no one really saw Kamara. But I think with this class, you have Detroit could be the starter, doing anything and they cut him right so no one really saw it coming so but you know i i think with this class you have detroit could be the starter seattle could be the starter uh and tampa bay could be the starter denver could be the starter i think he could be the starter in

new york to washington could be the starter giants will be the starter you know so you have you have a lot of guys um and England, you know, Michelle could be the Deion Lewis replacement. So there are plenty of players here that walk into good situations. And I think, again, if you're just looking at it, there were four guys last year. You want to say five

if you thought Hunt was going to beat out Spencer Ware? Five guys that walked into good situations? This, there are seven. So it's a better situation for these guys than it was last year. Didn't we have a Washington situation last year with Piran? He was kind of like a 10th-round pick, I think we were sort of talking. Sure. If you want to throw him in that conversation, that's fair.

I mean, it wasn't like Rob Kelly. He finished the 2016 season strong. But I don't know if people looked at Samaj Piran and said he's the guy there, but it's probably the same thing like Kansas City. No, it was speculative. Yeah, it was speculative. He will be the guy. I think the point for me is like I think we're seeing a little bit of a running back renaissance

in the revival in the NFL. And last year and this year are doing a lot, hopefully, hopefully this year, doing a lot to restock the position. Yeah, I mean you want to take another team too last year. You know how I thought about Jamal Williams. So there's another team. Oh, Marlon Mack. Forgot about him.

Of course we felt Marlon Mack was going to have a bigger role. Yeah. And we thought Luck was going to play. One guy we swung and missed on, Joe Williams, 49ers. Yeah, yeah. We thought Andrew Luck was going to play. That would help. So, look, we're going to be wrong about some of these guys.

I mean, that's kind of the story here. It's not all going to play out the way we think. But last year was a great year for rookie running backs, and I think we could have another one. I'm excited. Let's talk about Cleveland drafting Nick Chubb in the second round. What the hell was that all about? Come on.

I mean, it's a talented player. You know, so they have to cover themselves because Duke Johnson's probably gone after this season. But Carlos Hyde, I don't know what his cap hit will be if they cut him, but they signed him to a three-year deal. So it just feels like it's going to, you know, Nick Chubb's going to need the Camara situation where somebody gets hurt or somebody gets released or traded and then he gets an opportunity i just can't see him going in right now being fantasy relevant 2018 to the level that he possibly could have if he ended up in a different spot they uh they can they can get out from hyde's contract next year but it'll cost him a couple million bucks to do it it almost looks like it's a it almost looks like if they really want to pinch pennies, they've got to keep him for 18 and 19. But if Chubb comes into camp and he looks good,

I don't think that they'll hesitate to move Hyde to a much smaller role and lean on Chubb. I just wouldn't expect that right now. And I also don't think Chubb can come close to catching the ball on a regular basis. Certainly not to the level of Duke, but also I don't think he can do it to the level of Hyde. How are you drafting them or ranking them

at this point, the three guys? Low. Very low. You don't want any of them right now? I mean, Duke is still, I think, relevant in PPR, but this hurts all of them. It has to. Yeah. Yeah. So would you take Kerryon Johnson or Carlos Hyde? Johnson. Easy. Hyde. Okay, Dave, would you take Carlos Hyde or I'll pick one you like better? Rashad Penny.

I think it's going to end up being Penny. Okay, and I'm assuming that's an easy call for you, Jamie? Yeah, very. Right. All right, well, okay, so you're more adamant about that. Any other running backs? I mean, I think we should talk about the other Colts running back, Naeem Hines out of NC State. Yeah, I think it's the other one.

Wilkins. Yep. Jordan Wilkins. Oh, in round five. He's a bigger guy. Hines is more of a Change of pace Yep

Okay Ito Smith for the Falcons Not He's a good one for Dynasty Dynasty right Because they might let go Of Tevin Coleman And he can replace him

Ito The judge And now how are we Pronouncing the Dolphins Running back Kalen Balazs Balazs Okay

Like Balagio In Las Vegas That's right. Yeah. You're going to hope to hit the PPR jackpot with me. But we already said good stuff for Kenyon Drake. And without getting too deep into Dynasty, are there any late-round sleepers that could –

it happens all the time with running backs – that could be relevant? Maybe not for a full season, but five games or so. Wilkins. Wilkins is definitely up there for me. If John Kelly can ever get away from Todd Gurley's shadow in L.A., that would be great. Okay.

That would be just fine. All right. That's really about it. Trenton Cannon, sixth- round pick for the Jets They have Crowell I'm just naming people now Walton could be that guy Let's talk about Twitter polls

Who are you drafting first? Half PPR Nick Chubb for Cleveland Ronald Jones for Tampa Bay Kerryon Johnson for Detroit Or Royce Freeman for Denver Chubb, Ronald Jones, Kerryon Johnson for Detroit, or Royce Freeman for Denver? Chubb, Ronald Jones, Kerryon Johnson, or Royce Freeman? Who are you taking first, guys?

Jones. Jones. And the people agree, 43%. Ronald Jones. Last one. Who are you drafting first? I don't know why I only put three options here. Sonny Michelle, Rashad Penny, or Darius Geis?

Geis. Geis. Geis. And the people agree, 41%. Who was second? Darius Geis. Who was second? It was close. Rashad Penny, 31%.

Sonny Michel, 28%. Any reaction? I mean, I agree with it. I hate the landing spot for Sonny Michel. I think he's going to be good. I just don't think he's going to be great. I'll tell you what's great. Sorry to interrupt, but I will tell you what's great.

The draft app. I haven't talked much about the draft app on the Fantasy Football Today podcast. I have talked about it a lot on the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast. And right now we're focusing on different types of contests. On Fantasy Baseball Today, I am playing against our listeners every day and typically losing every day to our listeners. So I'm very generous. I'm donating money every day to our listeners.

On the Fantasy Football Today podcast, we're going to try to do a draft at the end of today's show. Best Ball Leagues. Guys, do you want to explain best ball leagues? They are becoming more popular, and they are extremely fun, and now you can do them on the draft app. But you guys play in best ball leagues, right? Sure.

Best ball leagues are where you draft a team, and you don't have to do anything else the rest of the way. Your best players are from week to week are who you get your points for or from. And you just draft the guys that you think are going to have great seasons, and then you walk away for a few months.

And then you come back at the end of the season, and you say, okay, did I win? And the answer is no, you probably did not because only one in ten people win. But it's great. I mean, it's stress-free. It allows you to do a bunch of leagues and be invested in a lot of players. And now you can do it On the draft app So here's what you're

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But they have other types Obviously like standard fantasy football And you do snake drafts It's really cool We're going to try to do the best ball later today though No trades, no waiver wire. Set it and forget it and get points for your best player. Download that draft app right now.

The premise of it is it's daily fantasy sports, but instead of salary caps, it's snake drafts. So it's basically the best part of fantasy football every single day. Download the draft app. Go to draft.com. Promo code is FFT on your first deposit to get a real money game entry for free. Promo code is FFT. All right, back to the rookies. Your favorite wide receivers, your top three wide receivers this year, Dave Richard.

I don't love any of them. I don't think any of them have a chance to get 1,000 yards. I don't think any of them have a chance to get seven, eight touchdowns. With that being said, I'm looking at guys that can stand the test of time on my bench and maybe be useful for a couple weeks during the season. Ridley is my one.

DJ Moore is two. Michael Gallup, three. You only wanted the top three, right? You want to be ambitious? Go ahead and give me a fourth. Anthony Miller's fourth. Who is three? Michael Gallup? Gallup is third.

For the Cowboys. And Anthony Miller, fourth for the Bears. So you go Calvin Ridley of the Falcons, who's not even in Jamie's top three. DJ Moore for the Panthers. Michael Gallup for the Cowboys, a third-round pick. And Anthony Miller of the Bears, a round-two pick. And, Jamie, your top four. I said three, but now I need a bonus.

Sure. I love, love, love DJ Moore and his situation. So I think he's got the chance to be – I don't have it ranked this way, but he could be a top 24 receiver. I mean, if Devin Funchess can get to that spot, I think you could see DJ Moore getting there if he takes on the 113, 115 targets that Funchess got a year ago. Number two is a toss-up between

Michael Gallup and Anthony Miller. Different format for each guy. I think Miller's better in PPR than he is in standard, but I think Michael Gallup's in a good spot just for soaking up targets. We know what that receiving core is. It's pretty bad in Dallas. And then whichever

one you want to take third, and then Ridley's fourth. I love Calvin Ridley as a player. I just don't think he's going to have immediate success as a rookie. Maybe a year from now he does, but I just don't see it in his 2018 campaign. What's the buzz on these guys? Who's star potential? I mean, Pete Prisco's been comparing Anthony Miller to Antonio Brown. He's not Antonio Brown, obviously, but he has that

kind of measurables. And then Steve Smith comes out and he says, this is the first guy that looks like me. For DJ Moore. For DJ Moore. For DJ Moore, yeah. Boy, does Dallas have a lot to replace with

Jason Witten and Des Bryant gone. If you look at, like, the averages over the last two years, what are they replacing? It's about 119 catches, 1,400 yards, and 11 touchdowns on 200 or so targets on average between Des and Jason Witten over the last two years. A lot to replace. So Michael Gallup, their third-round pick, is obviously very, very interesting. Would you like to know some things about Michael Gallup? I would love to hear this.

He's a great route runner. He's got good hands. His speed is above average. His size. He's one of those players like Dez who you watch him play and you think he's like 6'2", but he's not. He's got that big body going for him.

He's probably a better route runner than Dez. Not a hothead like Dez. Another one of these receivers. I feel a certain kind of way about all four of these guys where I think they could all end up in that 800-yard six touchdown finish. But he's in there, and if you want to talk about opportunity, it's a great one in Dallas.

I give you – you mentioned Dallas, and they drafted a tight end in Dalton Schultz. Don't forget about Rico Gathers. He had an amazing preseason last year, and so if you're in your dynasty drafts and somebody didn't hold on to him, just keep that name on the forefront of your mind just in case, as we see Jason Witt retire. Okay, Rico Gathers.

So Jamie's number one is DJ Moore. Dave's is Calvin Ridley. Give me an approximation when you might want to draft these guys. I'm taking Ridley in round nine or round ten. And it's with the intention of keeping him on my bench all year. Yeah, I'll take him more round eight, round seven, if he has a good preseason. Okay, so Dave, we're thinking about 100th overall for Ridley,

and Jamie more like, I don't know, 80th overall, something like that for DJ Moore. Sure. Jamie, your top three tight ends. I go back and forth between Gusecki and Aikens. I like the spots for both of them. So I'll say Aikens right now, but I can see Gusecki being the best of the bunch,

and then Hayden Hurst being third. So Aikens went to Houston in round three, Gusecki to the Dolphins in round two, Hayden Hurst to the Ravens in round one. Oh, gosh. That was Goddard. Could that have been any worse, going to the Eagles in round two? What a bummer.

Not on the weeks that Zach Hurst gets hurt. I guess so. It's going to be pretty nice. Akins, Gusecki, Hurst for Jamie. How about you, Dave? I've got Gusecki first, Hurst second, and Ian Thomas third. Ooh, Ian Thomas. Okay.

What do you like about Ian Thomas, Dave? I think he's more receiver than tight end. Big body. Yeah. I think this is a guy that Prisco really liked right out of Indiana going to Carolina. Yeah. Pete likes him more than I think we do. And I think he can come down with three or four touchdowns this season.

Yeah, I just hate the landing spot for him, especially that Greg Olson resigned. Right, they did resign Greg Olson. And we do have some news and notes to get to. What else would you like to say about the tight ends? Tell the people. I don't think there's a single one who can pull an Evan Ingram, but the one who's closest is Gasicki, and he might be the one that you draft very late. Yeah, we've sort of hoped for the Dolphins.

They brought in Julius Thomas, and we sort of hoped that Adam Gase would lean on his tight end as he had in previous spots. Right, Jamie? Yeah, of course. Yeah, I remember Julius Thomas told – who was the tight end there before him? Yeah, he said he was going to make you a star. Sorry, who? Joe Rose.

He's going to make you a star, right? Is that what he said? Yeah, but who was there before Julius Thomas? Oh, it was Jordan Cameron. He told Jordan Cameron, you're going to love playing this offense. And then Jordan Cameron got hurt. And then Julius Thomas replaced Jordan Cameron. And Julius Thomas got hurt and sucked.

So hopefully it's not a curse of Adam Gase. The Ravens Thomas replaced Jordan Cameron. And Julius Thomas got hurt and sucked. So hopefully it's not a curse of Adam Gase. The Ravens drafted two tight ends. They drafted Hurst in round one. They drafted Mark Andrews. So did the Dolphins and so did the Texans. Round one and round three, that's kind of a big investment. They're both pass catchers, right?

Mark Andrews. So interesting stuff. And actually the team this is getting away from tight ends. The team that had, to me, a very strange draft or I don't know, just intriguing. The Denver Broncos. So Chubb in round one, everybody loved it. Cortland Sutton in round two, we haven't talked about him. Royce Freeman in round three, we have talked about him.

They didn't really invest in offensive line until late. But taking a wide receiver in round two, round three, we have talked about him. They didn't really invest in offensive line until late, but taking a wide receiver in round two, I mean, does this feel like a team that's going to look a lot different in a couple years? Yeah, the writing's on the wall that they don't want to pay Emmanuel Sanders. There was some talk about them getting rid of him. They probably don't want to pay Demarius Thomas either. And so I was thinking about this during the draft. Where did John Elway's receivers come from?

They were kind of also-ran type of guys when he was in his heyday, you know, prior to the last Super Bowl. But, you know, Mark Jackson, you know what I mean? The guys that were... Rod Smith. But that was the second time. I'm talking about the first time around. The early part of his career.

So it wasn't like he had big-name receivers. And so I just wonder if that's something that's in the forefront of his mind. But yeah, they tried this a few years ago with Cody Latimer in the second round, and it failed. Yeah. They also took a wide receiver in the fourth round, Deshaun Hamilton out of Penn State. So two wide receivers in the first.

They had a lot of picks, by the way, the Broncos. Yeah, the Sutton one annoyed me because I wanted to see him in a better spot for his fantasy value. Yeah. Same. I would have liked to have seen the Broncos take a lineman. Do you feel like they need an offensive lineman? Probably.

Or am I wrong there? They could have used a guard. Yeah. And speaking of offensive linemen. They probably were expecting Quentin Nelson before Chubb was there. Right, that's a good point. Hey, their defense got better. Speaking of offensive line,

the Colts obviously look like the biggest offensive line winners, drafting Quentin Nelson sixth overall and then another guard in the second round, Braden Smith. Who else? Any other teams really jump out as upgrading their offensive line? I mean, the Patriots, obviously, they drafted a tackle and traded for a tackle.

Yep. Giants. The Giants with Will Hernandez. Yeah, that was a nice pick by them. Dallas and Minnesota took linemen in the second round. Cleveland and Chicago took centers in the second round. Cleveland, Austin Corbett will probably end up playing tackle. I don't think he'll be their center. and james daniels can play guard or center makes the interior of that

offensive line look really sharp again mike mcglinchey was the ninth overall pick to the 49ers i had this thought i want to know if you guys agree with it with mcglinchey because you know you want to say oh they took a tackle with the top 10 pick. If he were great, wouldn't he have been a top five pick? Or am I being unfair? Because left tackle. Not in a year where there's so many quarterbacks. Yeah, maybe. Yeah, I understand your point, though.

You know, he's not – he feels more like Eric Fisher. You know, like somebody who should be good, but he's not. Oh, gosh. I don't want to put him up. I hope he's not Eric Flowers. Right. Because the Flowers was like the 10th pick, you know. But he wasn't the first tackle taken either.

That's so, I don't think anyway. So first tackle taken, ninth overall. Was it ninth the Niners picked? I would love to know. I would love to know. Maybe it was, for all all I know it was recently, the last time a tackle was taken that late. I think I'm going to try to look that up while you guys talk.

All right, any other draft thoughts for you guys, from you guys? You don't have to have any. No. News and notes. It's bad for Corey Clement that Darren Sproles is back. Yes, Darren Sproles is back. Yes, Darren Sproles is back. And Julio Jones is apparently in a good spot with the Falcons. And the Cowboys acquired Tavon Austin for a six-round pick,

and according to Ian Rappaport, could use Austin primarily as a running back. Not can. Will use Austin primarily as a running back. You guys want to talk about the Sproles thing? I just think it's bad for Corey Clement. You know, he had the great Super Bowl performance, catching the ball in the backfield, but you know what Sproles has been. I think it's bad for all the running backs in Philly.

Yeah. There's a lot of cooks in that kitchen now. Well, just three. That's a lot. That's a lot. It's less than what they had last year. Did they get rid of Smallwood? Did they play Smallwood last year?

No, but they are going to use him, potentially. He was inactive for eight games. Didn't play in the playoffs. So maybe they get rid of him. I don't know. I don't like there being three cooks. I think it's actually not bad for Ajayi because he's the thumper of the three. Jake is from a city in western Michigan, Dave.

Grand Rapids. And I think we've already answered his coverage, but he says, Dear Taven, Sony, Mike, and Lamar. Downloaded CBS HQ on my Xbox One and streamed it all weekend. Amazing coverage. You guys are outstanding and a lot better than other networks. Awesome. Thank you.

Nice. And I actually was at Nando's birthday party over the weekend, and he introduced me to one of his friends, and his friend said, Oh, I've been watching CBS Sports HQ. That bleep is bleeping amazing. They could have maybe said it without such language, but I get it.

Sounds like my 13-year-old. We're trying to work on that. I'm not sure that we need to say anything more, but he's a Lions fan and wants to know what we think the Lions backfield will look like. Did we talk about what Blunt's role might be versus Kerryon Johnson's? I think he's the backup. He'll be the backup. He'll get seven maybe maybe, carries a game.

Not many. But they might trust him at the goal line first. You know, the whole veteran thing. Okay. Tom from the future home of the Jaguars. He's probably from London. Right? LOL?

Yep. LOL. Okay. LOL. Okay. Dear Deontay, Anthony, Vladimir, and Jarrell. I think those are UFC fighters, according to the Google. Keeper. It's a 14-team Keeper League. He needs one.

Standard scoring. Corey Davis. Josh Doxson. Marlon Mack. Aaron Jones. Or Patrick Mahomes? Corey Davis, Josh Doxson, Marlon Mack, Aaron Jones, Patrick Mahomes. Mack now. I'll go Davis.

Yeah, it could be Davis in a couple weeks, but Mack now. All right, Hammy from Atlanta. Hey, real quick, I'm a hardcore Bama fan and a Falcons fan. In honor of two birds from Bama, I'd just like to say roll Falcons. Come on, Azar, don't shake your head. Julio and Calvin are going to be awesome. And Sanu, we're going to the Super Bowl. P.S., what are your favorite college teams?

Dude, Hammy, you don't know our favorite college teams? Talk about it all the time. Oh, I didn't talk about Braxton Berrios going to New England. The most New England pick of all time. Isn't it? It's unbelievable. We were talking about this during the football season. So if you recall, after the owners meetings, which were in Orlando, there was a photo that circulated of Bill Belichick sitting in the Dolphins facility.

He was the only head coach to attend Miami's, I believe, only head coach to attend Miami's Pro Day. And now you know why. He went to go find his Danny Amendola replacement. I mean, Braxton Berrios, you know, he looks like Wes Welker and Julian Edelman and

Danny Amendola. Right, you get it. And people kept making the joke as he broke out last year, this guy's going to be on the Patriots. And then we were just cracking up, of course. He ended up on the Patriots. But seriously, the Patriots could make anybody like that good. Do we need to think about Amendola in Dynasty Leagues?

Amendola? I mean, Berrios. Oh, okay. You mean Amendola Jr. Amendola Jr., yeah. I think, unfortunately, though, by the time he's relevant, by the time he's ready to be relevant, Brady will be gone. Yeah, I know. Bummer.

Okay. The one thing, though, to keep an eye on, though, is if Edelman's knee is not right. Yeah. Very-ose. He's also a kick returner. On CBS Sports HQ, our Danny Cannell, former NFL and college quarterback, said that Matt Ryan's already won the MVP with the addition of Ridley. Hand it to him now.

I'm really excited to see this guy get in the open field. I totally get why you don't like the landing spot, but I think – who do you have ranked higher right now, Jamie, Sanu or Ridley? Ridley. Okay, okay. Yeah, Ridley's better than Sanu. Okay. I don't want to make it sound like I don't like Ridley.

I just don't like the landing spot when you're comparing him to where DJ Moore ended up, where Michael Gallup ended up, and just situations for those guys. Yeah. Like, had Ridley gone to the Carolina, I'd love it. We did that mock with the seven of us doing it. That's where I put him. I would have loved it. I guess I'm just excited about the prospect of Ridley kind of being forgotten about in this loaded offense where they're focusing so much on Julio Jones and Ridley does like an underneath round, catches the ball,

and takes off 40 yards for a touchdown. Yeah, I see that. And what I'm worried about with DJ Moore is that he'll draw attention. And I don't see a situation where Calvin Ridley is going to draw attention away unless Julio gets hurt. And he better not do that. Yeah, bite your tongue. Yeah. I think we're inclined to always side with targets, right, though?

We want targets. We do. And I'm sure that's Jamie's argument for more. All right, here's an email from Dan. Hey, Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. I'm going to Google Adam, Dave, for more. All right, here's an email from Dan. Hey, Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. I'm going to Google Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath and see what happens. Better come up. You'll probably get a Google website.

What do you mean? Well, that's what happens when you Google something. Their website gives you the results of your search. The first result is Sketcher Doodle on Twitter. And it links the Goodfellas one. Oh, that is really funny. And that is a picture of Heath from what he was like. It looks like he's 21 years old.

Okay. Keep two. PPR. And they cannot be the same position. Keenan Allen, third round. Carson Wentz, 12th round. Keenan Allen, third round. Carson Wentz, 12th round. Mark Ingram, fifth round. Rex Burkhead, 15th.

Keenan Allen in the third. Wentz in the 12th. Ingram in the fifth. Burkhead in the 15th. You can keep them for a maximum of three years, and it's PPR. What was the round on Wentz one more time? 12th. Allen and Ingram.

Yep. That's easy for me. I just want to go back to Ridley for a second because I'm just looking at it. So Matt Ryan's attempted basically the same amount of passes the last two years. 534 in his MVP season. 529 last year. Do we see that change in much? Probably not.

No. He'll definitely be right around there. Say 550, right? You want to be optimistic. This is you're building your case against Calvin Ridley? I'm just looking at it. I mean, I want Calvin Ridley to be good. I really do.

You just want DJ Moore to be better? It could happen. That's fine. Don't be shy. I'll take it both. Julio Jones, 149 targets. The second most targeted guy was Muhammad Stu at 97. So let's just say that's Ridley.

Okay. Right? 67 catches, 703 yards, five touchdowns. Does Ridley do better than that? Yes. Then Muhammad Sanu? That's what Ridley, that's what Sanu had last year? Yeah. Dramatically? Hands down better. Not dramatic. 100 yards and one touchdown better.

Say it again? 806. Say the names? I really feel like that's what the ceiling is for all these receivers. Yeah, I would take the over on DJ Moore. Man, I'll tell you what. Looking at all the stats as I did the research for these rookie wide receivers and how they did, 600 yards seems to be a pretty realistic expectation. We're between 500 and 700 yards for so many wide receivers. I mean, Sterling Shepard was there.

Tyler Boyd was there. Tyler Lockett was there. Stefan Diggs was at 720. He was a little bit better. Will Fuller was at 635. Devontae Parker was at 494. It's pretty uncommon, I guess, for rookie wide receivers to have more than, let's say, 700 yards. Juju did it.

Michael Thomas obviously did it in the last three years. Amari Cooper did it. Have we had a scenario, though, where there's been guys stepping in with the chance to be the number one guy? No, but actually, the more I look at it, Michael Thomas wasn't the number one guy. Juju Smith-Schuster wasn't the number one guy. I don't know what you consider Tyree Kill. And he was a different case because he had 267 rushing yards. Will Fuller, 635 yards,

two touchdowns, wasn't the number one guy. Could we make the case that it's better not to be? I mean, then again, Amari Cooper was the number one guy. He had 72 catches, 1,070 yards, and six touchdowns. I'll tell you what. I think based on that, you can make the case for Moore, Gallup, and Anthony Miller, certainly more so than Ridley, to end the year as the number one guy for their respective. Oh, so you're downgrading Allen Robinson. It could happen. That's all I'm saying.

I'm not downgrading. Look, one of the hardest things I've had to do is control my excitement for Anthony Miller, and it's not because he went to the Bears. It's because I really liked him. Yeah. But Chicago added so many. It's not just Alan Robinson. Trey Burton isn't going to be a forgotten guy.

And Trey Cohn. So that's what's really tempering me on Miller. That's why he's fourth for me. And I really love him. But I just feel like that all the other weapons in Chicago are good. But I wouldn't put it past Anthony Miller. 15% to 20% chance he ends the season as the number one receiver in Chicago, but I wouldn't even put a percentage that high on Ridley in Atlanta.

Ridley's, I get where you're coming from with Ridley, Jamie. His ceiling is definitely capped. Can't go any higher than 806. Unless Julio comes down from the 149 targets, which would be terrible. Ridley would have to just be unbelievable for that champion. Or Matt Ryan is the MVP and has, you know. But even during Matt Ryan's MVP year, how many receivers had monster years? Let's see.

Or monster numbers, I should say. It was all the same year. Well, Taylor Gabriel had it. Can't have two years. Taylor Gabriel had it. Right. Gabriel broke out. The running backs caught a ton of passes.

Julio was awesome. Sanu was 81 targets, 59 catches, 653 and four. And Gabriel was a better third option, but it wasn't a lot of targets. It was only 49 targets. Right. He was just catching the deep ball, which I think Ridley will do a lot of on top of the other stuff. I could see Ridley being in this range, which is more targets, but more yards too. But 579 and six feels a little bit more realistic to me.

Guys, I think we're going to wrap up our conversation for today, and we're going to finish the show with a best ball draft. We're going to have Nick Kostos on our show on Thursday most likely. He hosted the draft show for us on CBS Sports HQ. He's a big college football guy, and we'll have plenty of insights. And, yeah, we'll have a great time. We'll do some e-m time. We'll do some emails. We'll do some voicemails at 954-689-3199 right now.

I'm sorry. By the way, if you want to go watch something that was cool, we had Shaq Griffin on our show with Pete Prisco in Dallas because Pete was in Dallas with Chris Trapasso, our NFL draft analyst. And both Griffin brothers were on the air with Pete. It was a really cool moment. That's awesome. All right, let me beat you guys in a best ball contest right now. So remember to go on the Draft app, download the Draft app, or go to draft.com and use the promo code FFT when you make your first deposit.

All right, our draft is about to start. I have the first pick. Dave has the second pick. Jamie the third. Now, these are 18-man rosters. We are not going to do the entire thing. We are going to just do starting lineups, which is quarterback, two running backs, three receivers, and a tight end. And it is a snake draft.

I have the first pick, and I win. What's that? What's the scoring? Of course, it's obviously half PBR. It's the best app. It's the best scoring. And four points for passing touchdown. Only minus one for an interception.

I'm sure we're going to wait on quarterback. I'll take Todd Gurley number one. What a shocker-oo. I'll go Le'Veon two. I'll take Antonio Brown three. And you have the fourth pick. I will also take DeAndre Hopkins four. So he's got Antonio Brown.

And Jamie goes receiver, receiver. How about that, Dave? You're on the clock. Those are really good picks. I'll take Zeke. Le'Veon and Zeke on the same fantasy team. Le'Veon and Zeke. Who would have thunk it?

All right. So I better take a running back, running out of time here. It's half PPR. I'm going to take Kareem Hunt. And with my third round pick, I'm going to take Beckham. So I now have Kareem Hunt, Odell Beckham, and Todd Gurley. Dave, you have – go ahead. Okay, so we're drafting just the starting lineup now.

No bench players. I would take a third running back here. No, you're not going to. So I can't do it. No. Julio. All right, Julio. Don't be so upset.

Get Julio Jones. Dang, I got Julio Jones. Back-to-back picks for Jamie with Brown and Hopkins so far. Okay, I will take Melvin Gordon, and let's be fun and take Saquon Barkley. Ah, see, okay, there we go. We got a rookie drafted. Dave, back on the clock, sir. A.J. Green, please.

A.J. Green. And then it's just up to me. Let's see, I got to take a wide receiver and a quarterback. I will take Aaron Rodgers. And at wide receiver, I will take Michael Thomas. There will be no rookie wide receivers taken in our starting lineups. I am done. And I have a nice team.

Gurley, Hunt, Rogers, Beckham, and Michael Thomas. Who's your tight end? Oh, I didn't take a tight end yet. That's right. We have to take a starter. And it's my pick. I think I need a third receiver too. Okay, go ahead.

I'll take Gronk. Oh, crap. I forgot about tight end. Why did I take a quarterback? I forgot about tight end. All right, Dave takes Gronk. Nice work. I'm excited. Jamie right, Dave takes Gronk. Nice work. I'm excited.

Jamie, you are up with two picks. I'm going to take Keenan Allen to get my third wide receiver and then the second best tight end in Travis Kelsey. I can't believe I didn't take that tight end. All right, Dave, you're up. I'm glad you didn't. And you already took a quarterback, so I can wait to take my quarterback, Devontae Adams, as joined team.

We're dominating. I will finish my starters, which include, by the way, Todd Gurley and Kareem Hunt and Aaron Rodgers. I'm going to take Zach Ertz at tight end, and I'm going to go ahead and gamble and go with T.Y. Hilton. I like it best ball. If I get Andrew Luck playing, I'm going to have one heck of a squad there. So T.Y. Hilton is my final pick. And Dave and Jamie, finish it off. I never thought Tom Brady would be my last pick in a fantasy draft, but here he is.

Last pick. Tom Edward Brady, MVP. Yeah. And Jamie, your quarterback? The one who led the NFL in passing touchdowns last year, which was Russell Wilson. Did he lead the NFL in passing touchdowns? year, which was Russell Wilson. Did he lead the NFL in passing touchdowns? He did, 34. What a weak year.

All right, those are our starters. We're going to actually go ahead and continue this draft off the air to finish up our best ball squads. And thank you all for listening. We'll be back on Thursday with more. See you later. Bye. It's alright. I've got Le'Veon. It's alright. Not George Le'Veon. It's alright.

I've got Le'Veon Bell.