Fantasy Football Today - 05/30: Dynasty WRs; Keeper Strategies; Marshall Signing (Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: May 30, 2018

Starting the show with a draft! We draft 15 WRs for a startup dynasty league (4:35). Did any rookies or sophomores make the cut? Did Doug Baldwin crack the Top 15? ... Any chance for a Kareem Hunt sophomore slump (18:41)? Any chance Brandon Marshall is worth owning now that he has signed with SEA (26:08)? And we play "What are the Odds" as we compare Michael Crabtree vs. Amari Cooper (32:30), discuss Kenyan Drake's bust potential (34:05), discuss Joe Mixon's stud potential (35:00) and debate Julio Jones' ability to catch 10 TDs (35:51) ... More dynasty WR talk (44:00)! The CLE WRs and Corey Davis are a bit controversial. Where does Heath have the rookies? Is Mike Williams deserving of any hype? ... Your emails at [e-mail] To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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

Today we finish up our position rankings in dynasty formats, and we've got wide receivers for you, including a little draft we're going to do in just a few minutes. I am Adam Azer. I want to apologize for not podcasting on Monday or Tuesday. Monday was Memorial Day, and Tuesday was my recovery from Memorial Day weekend. But we've got one today and one tomorrow,

and here's Dave Richard. Hello, Dave. What's up, Adam? You and I were in the same town this past weekend for different reasons, and I didn't run into you, and I didn't hear any bad things about you. No, we were both in Chicago. I was there for a wedding. What were you there for?

I was celebrating my wife's birthday. She is also a fellow Chicagoan. Yeah, very cool. Heath, I already know the answer because I asked you on Fantasy Baseball today, but on Fantasy Football today, how was your Memorial Day weekend? Let's not bury the lead here. Why did you need a recovery day on Tuesday? Heath, have you ever been to a wedding before?

You know why, Heath. I know why, but the people deserve to know what Adam Azer experienced for the first time in his life over the weekend. Dave, I had my first taste of whiskey. All right. No, not all right. It was the worst thing I've ever had. It was awful.

Are you kidding? Well, it depends on the brand. It was great. It was Johnny Walker Black. Oh, that's good. I was told that if you put ice in it, it makes it less severe, and there was no ice in this. Well, like, do you put the ice in it, it makes it less severe, and there was no ice in this. Well, like, do you put the ice in it and then drink it immediately?

Because then it won't matter. I put a little splash of water in my whiskey, but no ice. Okay, well, it was terrible. I hated it. It was just like kind of a long weekend with a lot of travel. But I did – I'll just tell this story real quick. So I gave the best man speech. There were two best men, and my friend Josh went first.

But since it was in Chicago, there was a lot of Chicago natives. So I said, Josh is going to go first, but I told him I'd warm up the crowd real quick. So just a couple things. New York pizza is better, and LeBron is better than Jordan. All right, Josh, you're up. Then I turned him over to a booing crowd. We had a good time.

That was fun. Let's do a draft. You don't really believe those things, do you? Oh, well, the pizza thing, 1,000 million percent is true. I actually do think LeBron is better than Jordan. Yeah. I'm not getting into the LeBron-Jordan debate now. That's just factual.

You're right, Adam. Yeah, I think I'm right. About both things? The LeBron-Jordan thing. You know, I almost think that both topics are similar in this way. It's hard to compare the two. I don't know what New York pizza is. It's regular, thin, big slices made by some guy who looks like he hasn't showered in three weeks. Adam.

Well, Adam showers at least a couple of times a week. Yeah, actually, I had gone a very long time. I had to shower today. Chicago pizza is this big, thick. It's just not as good. I've had Chicago pizza. And big, thick. It's just not as good. I've had Chicago pizza, and it's delicious. It's just not as good. It is delicious, but it's just not as good.

It just isn't. It goes great with a glass of whiskey. What really makes me mad is when I go to a restaurant and they serve New York strip steak when they actually mean Kansas City strip steak. I can't comment. I have absolutely no idea. I'm ignorant in the steak game. Yeah.

I think I like – this is the second time I've been to Chicago, and I think I like Chicago better than New York. Of course, I've never been there for a weekend, but the food – I mean for a winter, sorry. But the food is not even close. The New York food is just a lot better. All right. Well, both are great for food. The winters are far more mild in New York than in Chicago. Traffic is terrible in both.

And there's probably – there's a lot to do in both cities, but there's probably a little bit more to do in New York than in Chicago. You have much more expertise than I do. Now let's see how we do with our Dynasty wide receiver draft. So we're just pretending we're doing a startup Dynasty league, and we are only drafting wide receivers. No Jamie today. Jamie will be on tomorrow.

So it's the three of us, and I think we should do five picks each. I think we should do 15 total. Heath won, me two, Dave three. We'll snake it. Heath, you have the first pick. Wait, we didn't do snake on the running back draft. All right, we don't have to snake it then. Then why did I pick three i wanted

three so i would get the three four turn i will take odell beckham with the first overall pick adam beckham one uh i will take deandre hopkins too i quit no it's all right snake it we'll snake it we'll snake this well if i'm gonna snake, then I'll feel a little bit better about just going to win now and not trying to get young receivers and do something foolish. Remember, receivers last a lot longer than running backs do in the NFL. So give me Brown and Julio. Combined age, 59 years. That is true.

Brown, 30. Julio, 29. Whereas Beckham is 25. And Hopkins will be 26 years old in June, which is right around the corner. So Beckham, Hopkins, Brown, Julio. Also, I don't know that you should approach it as like your swing picks are both on your team. We're just doing this for the sake of rankings.

I want a team with Brown and Julio on it. That's why maybe we shouldn't do it snake. Yes, well, we can do snake just for fun, but just don't consider them both on your team. Would you take Julio if I took Brown third, Adam? Well, he... Oh, you're right, I have the pick. No, I think I'd take Michael Thomas.

Hmm. Okay, so, well, before I do that, how about I tell you just kind of what some of the great wide receivers in NFL history did in their 30s. So Randy Moss had 1,264 yards and 13 touchdowns at age 32. Calvin Johnson retired at age 30. Terrell Owens was a beast at age 31, 32, 33, and 34. He slowed down, and then he had 10 touchdowns and over 1,000 beast at age 31, 32, 33, and 34. He slowed down. And then he had 10 touchdowns and over 1,000 yards at age 35.

He slowed down at age 36. Marvin Harrison, also a beast through age 34. And not so good after that. Jerry Rice was ridiculous. Jerry Rice was good at age 40. He had 1,200 yards and seven touchdowns on 92 catches at age 40. And Reggie Wayne, age 34, 1,355 yards and five touchdowns, and then not very good at age 35 and six.

So looking at Owens, at Marvin Harrison, at Jerry Rice, at Reggie Wayne, these guys were very good up until age 34, and then some of them started to kind of fade at age 35. If that's the case, you could still have four more great years of Antonio Brown, five more great years of Julio Jones. I don't know that you should knock them at all if that's the case, but it is asking a lot. Plus, you could have ten more good years of Odell Beckham. Anyway, we have Beckham, Hopkins, Brown, Julio, and I will take Michael Thomas fifth.

I was hoping that Michael Thomas would fall to me. I will take Mike Evans with the sixth pick and A.J. Green at seven. Those are two really interesting ones. So Evans is 25. Green is going to be 30 in July. I found him to be one of the tougher ones, Heath, A.J. Green, who you have as number seven so far in this draft. Yeah, I don't think there is that big of difference between Julio Jones and A.J. Green.

And there's not any difference in age, maybe a couple of months difference in age. So I'm perfectly comfortable with taking aj green there i think a lot of people are gonna be sour to take aj green after last year great yep and that's a mistake this is for redraft leagues this isn't just for dynasty he's a really good player and he's proven to put up very nice numbers with andy dalton dalton's going to have better protection this year. I think Cincinnati is still going to have to throw a lot this year. Green's going to be at the other end of a ton of targets. Don't forget about him. Don't treat him like he's dirt, please.

This is AJ Green. So what do you think happened last year with AJ Green? Why do you think he disappointed? He had 75 catches, 1,078 yards, and eight touchdowns on 145 targets. Which I think it's really fun. What went wrong with A.J. Green last year? He had 75 catches for 1,078 yards and 8 touchdowns. He had a catch rate of 52.4%.

Do you think that he just forgot how to catch the football? Andy Dalton was not as good. Why do you think that is? Because the offensive line was awful. And I will also say that there were times down the stretch where A.J. Green did not look particularly interested in putting himself on the line for the product that he was performing for. Pretty much his average nine targets per game over the course of his career. You look at the last months, and things got pretty bad.

Yeah. Especially that game against Baltimore. We got two attendant targets. Not bad enough for Marvin Lewis to lose his job, but pretty bad nonetheless. Okay, and I don't know that people know this. It was a little surprising, I guess, to me, that A.J. Green and Antonio Brown are basically the same age.

People worry about Antonio Brown being in the decline phase. Green is three weeks younger than Antonio Brown. All right, so off the board so far, Beckham, Hopkins, Antonio Brown, Julio Jones, Michael Thomas, Mike Evans, A.J. Green. That means I'm up. Ah, whoo, gets tough here. This is where it gets really interesting because I think you could take a receiver as low as, like, my number 16. I would understand it.

I'm between Keenan Allen and Devontae Adams. Me too. I will take – I believe in Devontae Adams. I will take Devontae Adams. And I believe in Aaron Rodgers. That's a good combination to believe in. And I believe in Aaron Rodgers. That's a good combination to believe in. Am I next for one or two?

I forgot whether I was snaking around. Keenan Allen is my slam dunk next pick. And do I have it right that Keenan Allen is 26 years old? Yeah, that's what I have. It feels like he's closer to 30 than 25. It does? To me, it does. I feel like he's been in 30 than 25. It does? To me, it does. I feel like he's been in the league a long time.

Well, he has been. I think he was pretty young when he came into the league. Well, I love this about Keenan Allen. So getting him on my team, on one of my teams, since they're obviously not all on the same team, he's certainly one of the first 10 receivers you'll see taken. And I'm over the moon for Tyreek Hill. I think he's going to be a speedy guy in the NFL for a long time. He gets a lot of targets.

Love the Kansas City situation that he's in. I think Kansas City is going to be throwing a lot this year. So Tyreek Hill is next. So we've made 10 picks, and we've exhausted my top 10 in Dynasty rankings. Not to mention my top 10 in seasonal rankings. Not so much in my top 10 in seasonal rankings. Right, right. And that's the thing. All these wide receivers are still pretty young.

There is one of my top 10 in seasonal rankings that hasn't been taken yet. I think I know who it is. I don't have Doug Baldwin. I'm guessing it's Baldwin. I'm not going to take him here. It's not Baldwin. Oh, that's who I was going to say it was. All right, so here are the 10. Beckham, Hopkins, Brown, Julio, Thomas, Evans, Green, Adams, Allen, and Hill.

And this is why I want to do 15 instead of 12 because it does start to get more challenging here. Some of the guys I'm considering that maybe you'll laugh at, Brandon Cook, Stefan Diggs, T.Y. Hilton, Josh Gordon, Alshon Jeffrey. I'm going to go out on a limb. I'm going to take – You're going to say Brandon Cooks. I'm going to take Brandon Cooks. I think that he has a big year with golf.

I think they re-sign him. What I'm trying to do is pair young emerging quarterback and wide receiver. This is dynasty we're talking here. I know that Jamie would not agree with this, but I think Cooks is set up for a nice run with the Rams. Yeah, I'm probably discounting Cooks because of his situation on the Rams just because they are going to spread the ball around. And if for whatever reason he doesn't sign a new contract with them,

then next year whatever team he ends up on will be his fourth different team in as many years. Kind of a red flag. It was a red flag when the Saints traded him to the Patriots, although the Saints got a lot for him. And it was a red flag when the Patriots traded him to the Rams. Where do you have Brandon Cooks in your ranking? I have him at 16. So I don't think it's a bad pick.

I just, I'm probably discounting him more because I don't know that he gets the huge target numbers. I'm going to take a guy that I think is going to get the huge target numbers. And just throw a football, please, Andrew Luck. I'll take T.Y. Hilton. How old is T.Y.? 28, I believe. please, Andrew Luck. I'll take T.Y. Hilton. How old is T.Y.? 28, I believe. Yeah, he is. And then with my 12th pick, this is probably going out on a little bit of a limb,

but he is my number 12 wide receiver in Dynasty rankings. I'm going to go with Stefan Diggs. Yep. Okay, so we've got 13 off the board. They are Beckham, Hopkins, Brown, Julio, Thomas, Evans, Green, Adams, Allen, Tyree Kill. That's 10. Brandon Cooks, T.Y. Hilton, Stefan Diggs.

That means I'm up. We have two picks. These next two picks should be fun. I only have three more names on my list. One of them I just think I was being silly. Calvin Ridley. I don't think you can justify it. He's not my number one rookie. Yeah, Morris?

Yes. Understood. I'm going to take Alshon Jeffrey here, pair him with one of the best quarterbacks, in my opinion, in the NFL. Jeffrey, I'm a little concerned about him this year. I don't know if he'll be ready for the start of the season, but I think the future is bright for Alshon Jeffrey and the Eagles, so give me a 28-year-old Alshon Jeffrey. Dave, you have the last pick.

We've got a 30-year-old Doug Baldwin. He'll be 30 by week three of the season. Demarius Thomas has already turned 30. Omari Cooper is relatively young. Josh Gordon is relatively young. Josh Gordon is relatively young. Allen Robinson, fairly young. It's a tough call between that whole group. But when I play Dynasty, I try not to be so focused on age and longevity.

When I start up a team in a Dynasty League, I want to try and win now. And so with that in mind, I am going to take Doug Baldwin. I'm not going to expect him to be good for five, six, seven years, but I think he'll be pretty good for the next couple of years, and that's all I need. And you've already got four receivers on your team for the future. Yeah, see? So he's like my number – he's my wide receiver four.

He is my 19th wide receiver, but I think Dave's explanation is a perfect reason to take him there. Go ahead, Dave. Well, I was just going to say, Amari Cooper would have been the slam dunk choice if I thought his career could turn around with John Gruden. And I think he can get a good year with John Gruden, but I don't know if he's going to be the standout stud that I was hoping he would be when he came out of college several years ago. He just hasn't proven that. So it's kind of a no-confidence vote on Cooper. It's a no-confidence vote on Josh Gordon.

Same thing with Alan Robinson. I don't know how long he's going to be able to be great for fantasy. So all these guys maybe have a two, three, four-year window. I'll take Baldwin for two or three years and worry about my young wide receivers later on in the draft. And I guess the first controversy of the show, you guys both discussed like a half-dozen receivers you were considering taking. You never got to my number 13 wide receiver in Dynasty, which is?

Yeah, you're right. I'm looking at the list now, and I regret not having him on. Go ahead, Heath. Juju Smith-Schuster. He is 22? Oh, he's young. And was outstanding when he got opportunity last year, and I think he's a top 24 receiver this year with Antonio Brown there.

I got Juju just ahead of Amari Cooper at 14 and Allen Robinson at 15. So wide receiver is obviously different than running back in that quarterback matters for both positions, but clearly it matters more for your wide receiver. I don't know how much longer Roethlisberger plays. You know what I mean? I have no problem with Juju there, but go ahead. I don't know that there's a lot of long-term certainty for any of the guys left. I agree with what Dave said about Amari Cooper.

This Gruden thing, it could go a lot of different ways, but there's, what, a 25% chance that it's just a disaster. Allen Robinson is with a quarterback in Mitchell Trubisky that hasn't proven anything at all. We've got the target concerns for Cooks, the change of scenery for Jarvis Landry, Baldwin's age, Alshon's injury and history and volume concerns. It's a bit of a mixed bag after you get packed, I think, the top 11. How old is Jarvis Landry?

Anybody know off the top of their head? I'd guess 27. What's your guess, Adam? Everybody else at home, go ahead and guess. I'm going to say he's 26. He's 25. Okay. Maybe he should be in consideration.

Now, in PPR, I think it's an easy case to make, but maybe he should be in consideration in what we're doing here too. I was basing it on PPR. Because what he's doing and what we've seen him – what we know Jarvis Landry to be is something he can continue doing for eight, nine years. But why would you take Jarvis Landry over Josh Gordon in Dynasty? Because I don't know how many more years Josh Gordon is going to play in the National Football League. Well, he's 27.

We all know that he's one mistake away from being banished. That's true. That is true. All right, why don't we come back to this a little bit later? So good stuff. Thank you. And Heath will dive into it a little bit later on in the show. Let's read an email.

Email of the day is from John in Brooklyn. And we're going to talk about Brandon Marshall in just a little bit. John says, Dear Rabbit, Antelope, Bear, and Elk. I mean, is that a thing other than just animals? I don't know. You can't eat bear.

So, I don't know. Yeah, I don't know either. Oh, no. I still have no idea. Never mind. Can you explain how you're ranking Kareem Hunt so high? I can't help. Yeah, I don't know either. Oh, no, I still have no idea. Never mind. Can you explain how you're ranking Kareem Hunt so high? I can't help but think he'll take a decent step back for the following reasons. Mahomes will be passing and running. Their D should have them chasing points.

Spencer Ware will be back just to take some work away. And sophomore slump. I like him as a top 10 back, but top ten overall seems awfully optimistic for Kareem Hunt. P.S. Dave, have you tried crackling oat bran with Greek yogurt yet? You promised me and my girlfriend a full report. Oh, I sure did. I haven't done it yet.

Dave's made a lot of promises about things he's going to be doing. I'm going to be a great politician someday. No, I'm going to have to work on the COV. Have you practiced your rep yet? I've been listening to I Wish, and I have an idea on how I'm going to end it. I forgot about that. Oh, yeah, that's happening. Oh, I'm not backing away

from it at all. I didn't forget about it. We're going to do that during training camp when we have the full audience. So, yeah, Kareem Hunt, it's hard to find people that feel this way about Kareem Hunt But it happens, we get sophomore slumps, we get disappointments Why are we so high on Kareem Hunt as a top 10 overall player? The second concern is the only one that bothers me As far as Mahomes passing and running

I can't imagine he's going to run more than Alex Smith did Alex Smith was already one of the most running-prone quarterbacks in the league I don't worry about Spencer Ware. I'm more worried about whether Spencer Ware is going to be back to... He was already kind of a mediocre athletic guy.

And he was cut by the Seahawks, right, before he came to Kansas City? He was cut by somebody. And they signed Damian Williams. I'm not sure that he's back to being himself or that he's going to be a threat at all. The sophomore slump thing, I'm not really. But the defense is a possibility

of a reason why they don't run the ball as much. I'll tell you what my biggest concern is about Kareem Hunt. And I think I have him ranked the highest of the three of us. The chief schedule, I'm doing my schedule analysis. You know how I break down every team's schedule, Adam. I think Kansas City's got the toughest schedule of anybody in the NFL. Think about their conference. Think about their division.

Oakland isn't anything to worry about, but I think Denver's defense and their front seven is very good. I think the Chargers' front seven is very good. Kansas City and the AFC West are going to have dates with the NFC West. That's the Rams, the Seahawks, who I still think have a good front seven. 49ers have a promising front seven. Arizona isn't bad against the run. It's tough.

You're right. They've got games against the AFC North. That's the Steelers, Ravens, Bengals. Those are tough defenses. Browns, maybe not this year. The only thing I'll say is the Steelers were really bad against the run after Shazier got hurt. Right, but now they've got a whole offseason to try and fix that

so they won't be caught with their collective pants down. And I think it's going to be hard, and it's only one game. But the thing that I can't get out of my mind when it comes to kareem hunt is that the offense as we expect it to be in 2018 will throw deep a lot how can you stack the box against kareem hunt with the threat of tyree kill on one side sammy walkins on the other and travis kelsey roaming over the middle and it's that plus Kareem Hunt has said that he's working on his receiving skills. It's that that makes me feel good about Kareem Hunt this year. On top of the fact that there isn't a lot of competition for him at the goal line, on third downs, in the two-minute drill.

That dude's going to get a lot of work this year. He might be a bus candidate in 2019 because he gets so much work in 2018. So Kareem Hunt was the number three running back in fantasy last year, and he led the NFL in rushing. And that was with a seven-game stretch, about half his season. He played 16 games, really only played 15. He had one carry in week 17 when they were resting. Seven-game stretch with no touchdowns, 14 carries per game,

3.3 yards per carry. And people got really annoyed with Kareem Hunt. Now, you look at the schedule, he had some pretty tough matchups in those seven games. So I'd like to dig a little bit deeper into that. Did he just beat up on the easy opponents? Because Dave just said that the Chiefs have a tough schedule. But still, I mean, such a great rookie season. 4.9 yards per carry. Was it his first carry of his career he fumbled? And then not again for the rest of the year? One of the first

ones, yes. And he didn't fumble at all in college, right? Or he had some crazy streak of... He's not a fumbler, so that's a good thing. I cried when it happened. Because you know how big I was on Kareem Hunt. I laughed when Dave was crying. Alright, so there you go. And Dave is going to let you know all about crackling Oprah with Greek yogurt.

And just so everybody knows, if you are making tacos, and I've said this before, but I'll say it again, making tacos, go ahead and substitute sour cream with Greek yogurt. Put Greek yogurt on there. Much healthier. You won't even know the difference. It is freaking delicious. No, thank you. I'm telling you, Heath, it's so good. Nope.

Yes. Are you a big sour cream fan, Heath? I generally put sour – I'm not putting Greek yogurt on my tacos. Yes, you are. You will not – Well, if you go to Adam's house one day for like a whiskey party. I didn't even get invited to his wedding. How am I going to get invited to his house?

Plain Greek yogurt. Plain Greek yogurt. I'll try it. No, you won't. I will too. I swear How am I going to get invited to his house? Plain Greek yogurt. Plain Greek yogurt. I'll try it. No, you won't. I will too. I swear. Are you going to give us a full report? I will go get tacos and Greek yogurt and crackling oprah and bring it into the podcast studio tomorrow.

And rap while you're doing it? It's going to be a mess. It's not going to look good, but if that's what I've got to do, then that's what I'll do. True or false? Buy or sell? I, Adam Azer, am a geek. Oh, true. Bye.

But we all are. Yeah, but I'm a different type of geek. I am a SeatGeek. Oh, what a great way to get into a sponsored read. And I can save you $20 on the SeatGeek app because my listeners can use the promo code FFT when they use SeatGeek, and you get $20 off your first SeatGeek purchase. If you have not tried SeatGeek, the only thing I can say is that it is the sour cream. No, it is the Greek yogurt.

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I'm going to try to get to that Giants-Eagles Thursday night game for sure. The first place I look is SeatGeek, and I always find the best prices. In fact, I got an email from a listener just the other day thanking us for telling him about SeatGeek. Now, the other reason to use it is to save that $20 on your first purchase. So next time you're going to an event, say to yourself, oh, what was that app they told me about on the podcast? It's SeatGeek, and use the code FFT. Or go to SeatGeek.com. Use the code FFT for 20 bucks off your first purchase.

Seattle, have they officially signed Brandon Marshall? It's official. Hooray! I was on SiriusXM last night, and I was asked about it, and I think I said, I could not care less. I might disagree with you. Whoa, really? I'm shocked. I might disagree with you. Whoa, really? I'm shocked.

I really am. I think this is not a bad place for Marshall to go play the Jimmy Graham role. He could possibly have an impact in the red zone, average 9 or 10 yards per catch, 57 catches, 650 yards, 7 touchdowns. May help Russell Wilson in the red zone a little bit as well. Okay. Actually, that's exactly what I said. I said if he's going to have an impact, it's going to be as a touchdown guy. Jimmy Graham at 520 yards and 10 touchdowns.

You know what? Let's do a fun exercise here. Let's see. Let's take Jimmy Graham's point total from last year, where he was the number four tight end, and let's see where he would have ranked as a wide receiver. Like, if Drayden Marshall were tight end eligible, I'd be pretty excited. I'd be excited about a lot of receivers if they were tight end eligible.

By the way, Heath right now is Jim the Anvil Neidhart-ing his beard. What is that? Remember Jim the Anvil Neidhart's beard? And, like, when he would do his evil promos, he would stroke it in a gentle, maniacal way. Heath is being gentle and maniacal with his beard right now. I'm not supposed to make any comments about podcasting in the gentle, maniacal way. Heath is being gentle and maniacal with his game. I'm not supposed to make any comments about podcasting in the dark, right? You can.

I mean, it's not totally dark. You guys are. Yeah, it is dark in your room. It's very weird. Jimmy Graham would have been the number 27 wide receiver in non-PPR, probably lower in PPR. All right, so you tell me, guys. Do you want to draft Brandon Marshall?

No. I don't want to draft Brandon Marshall, but in a draft that went 18 to 20 rounds, I would. Okay. When would you start him? What's the point? Well, in a draft that goes 18 to 20 rounds, you have deeper benches.

I might start him in a... If it turns out that the Seattle, even though they invested in a running back, still can't run the ball and Russell Wilson's throwing it 40 times a game and their defense is terrible. I may end up starting him during the bi-weeks. I'm not certain he finishes training camp with the Seahawks. That's possible too. I really, I don't know what he's got left in the tank.

I know it's fun to think about, well, maybe he'll be a tight end, but they're still going to line him up like he's a wide receiver, and they're not going to put him in the slot very often because Doug Baldwin is the specialist there. He doesn't have the speed down the sidelines, and Russell Wilson, I tweeted this out, not that we're expecting 1,000 yards from Brandon Marshall, but he's never had 1,000 yards with one of his outside receivers, ever.

Came close once with Sidney Rice. So that means you're going to need the touchdowns from Brandon Marshall. Good luck predicting when Brandon Marshall is going to score. I'm just happy he gets to go play with a good quarterback finally. I do think he can score week two at Chicago. After that, all bets are off. Marshall coming off just a terrible year with the Giants, and he's 34. I'll just say this about not just Marshall but any wide receiver on the Seahawks.

I think the only time that Russell Wilson has produced two top 24 wide receivers was Wilson's rookie year, and Golden Tate was that number two receiver. And he only had 688 yards and seven touchdowns, which wouldn't cut it as a number two these days. So recently it's Baldwin, and then it's pretty much nobody else except maybe a tight end. Now Graham's gone, so that could help, but this is a guy Russell Wilson usually throws for about 4,000 yards a year,

so just keep that in mind. Another news item. Sean McVay says Jared Goff is becoming the extension of the coaching staff. Basically, he knows the offense even better now. It's year two. He's the man, Jared Goff. All right. How about this report from The Athletic?

Doug Martin could push Marshawn Lynch for the starting job. Oh, here we go again. It's Doug Martin's looking good season. Yeah. Good Doug Martin is better than current Marshawn Lynch. No. I don't think so. I'll take current Marshawn Lynch. What about good Marshawn Lynch in that case?

I think Marshawn Lynch is still pretty good right now. And good Doug Martin usually goes away by like week four or week five. He's had two good seasons. Who, Doug Martin? Yes. Yeah, out of six. But they are, you know, the first one was three years after the second one.

So he's basically, if you follow that pattern, he's due for like a 1,400 yard, 4.5 yard per carry. Nobody cares about this. He's a better late round dark throw than Brandon Marshall. That is correct. Christian McCaffrey says he's put on five pounds of muscle.

Or five pounds. No. He put on like five muscles. He's ripped. He's ripped out of his mind. Can we just read the Christian McCaffrey quote? He put on five pounds of muscle? I don't know.

What was the quote? I don't know. He said he gained five pounds. Okay. He looks enormous. Do you guys have anything to say about his physique? No. Okay.

All right, then. Let's move on. I think he's just trying to be a little more physical, right? He wants to bulk up so that he can handle between the tackle carries. Is that what we're going for here, Christian? Yeah, I mean, that could be. I don't think he's going to lose any speed. That's my guess.

Tampa Bay could be interested in Adrian Peterson, according to Florida Football Insiders. Fantasy owners will not be interested in Adrian Peterson. Oh, there will be some. Carson Wentz is jogging without a hitch. He's looking pretty good in what I've seen. Good, good. And Cleveland

defensive back Demarius Randle could be on the hook for over a million dollars in NBA jerseys if the Cavs beat the Warriors. He had to clarify that today. He did not expect that to take off like it did. Good, good, good. And Odell Beckham is close to being medically cleared.

So what's the final thing now with Demarius Randle? What is he willing to give up? No, I think he's just going with the it was a joke. Oh, okay. Pretty weak. What are the odds, guys? Let's play another round of America's least favorite fantasy football game. What are the odds Michael Crabtree is better than Amari Cooper?

Three to one. In standard, sure. In PPR, I think it may be closer to 50-50. Maybe 60-40. I'm not feeling it as much. I think Cooper will finish better than Crabtree in both. It's closer in PPR like you're insinuating. But you want to talk about tough schedules, Baltimore's got one too. And I know Crabtree has been good the past couple of years.

A lot of it's been rooted in touchdowns. And I'm not sure he's going to get you eight or nine. He's a good number three fantasy receiver. cooper you're drafting to be a number two i just don't see how they don't throw it to him 130 or 140 times they don't have like but i think cooper's going to get that type of work i hope he does i really hope i just based on what i have noticed in Gruden's track record, which honestly, given what we've seen from John Gruden's moves this offseason, isn't necessarily changing. I think Cooper's going to be featured a ton.

Okay. Maybe it comes down to health between these two. Maybe that should be factored in. No, I mean, I'm assuming. Same amount of games. All right. What are the odds? Look, every year we have busts that don't really make any sense.

What are the odds that Kenyon Drake is just a total bust this year? I'm kind of into Kenyon Drake. I'm not going to say... Maybe like 10 to 11. I think he's

a favorite to be good. not an underdog at all. 10 to 11? Yeah, so it's about even that he could be a bust. Or 10 to 1. No, no, no, no, no. Let's just say, hey, let's just say, because even I'm confused. Let's just say good, bad, you know, low, high. We like to be pretty exact on this podcast, Adam.

Yeah, maybe I should change the title to What Are the Chances instead of What Are the Odds. What are the chances that Kenyon Drake is a total bust this year? I think there's a less than 50% chance. I would agree with that assessment. I think it's maybe 25% chance. That sounds good. Okay. Maybe 33%. agree with that assessment i think it's maybe 25 chance that sounds good okay let's let's uh maybe 33 i'm gonna say 28.76415 what are the chances joe mixon makes himself a first round

pick in 2019 with such a big year in 2018 joe mixon 22 i'll take the under, Bob. Yeah? Yeah. I don't think he'll be a first-round pick. I think the best he'll be is... Oh, wow, he had 1,200 yards, seven touchdowns, had a couple of real good games for fantasy owners. Maybe a look at him toward the end of round two, beginning of round three. I'll take the under, Bob.

Is that supposed to be Price is Right? No. No. Okay. getting around three. I'll take the under, Bob. I just made it up. Price is right? No. No. Okay. What are the chances Julio Jones, for the second time in his career, scores ten or more touchdowns? I'll take the under, Bob.

30%. This is the year. I'll take the under. 62%. It's going to happen. What? based on? Based on this. There's no freaking reason why it shouldn't happen.

But it's only happened once before in the history of time. And it does not make sense. What are the odds for any NFL receiver lower than 50-50? I don't know. I mean, I think it's higher than that for Beckham and for Brown. That's fair. And Julio should be in their class. Agreed.

He's pretty close to their class, but we've seen quite a track record of Julio not getting double-digit touchdowns. Yeah, we have. We've also seen the Falcons add another piece to their passing game, which I don't think is going to make it easier for Jones to score a lot of touchdowns. It's just going to make it harder on defenses to pick their poison when they get in the red zone.

Then how is that not making it easier for Julio Jones to score more touchdowns? More? Yes. He had three last year. He's going to score more than three. But ten is a big number. See, I try to look at it from, I think seven is the most likely. And so three more than the most likely isn't really that out of the ordinary. All righty.

Let's see. We've got another show tomorrow. So let's do emails, and then we'll finish with Dynasty wide receiver rankings. All right. First email is from Peter in Raleigh. Rather than answer specific keeper questions, I think you could do a segment on keeper strategy.

Studs approach, looking to hold on to your top talent no matter what the cost is, like keeping someone like Bell or Gurley for a first-round price. Or are you all about value? Keep the players with the largest difference between ADP and keeper round price, like a Jarek McKinnon. How does this change based on size of the league or the number of players you keep? How does it change if you know,

based on what you know about who the rest of your league is keeping or how many keepers you have? So this is not the first time someone has asked this. I think it's a difficult question to ask. It's sort of case specific to me in terms of keeping the stud or keeping the great value. What do you guys think about keeper strategy? I agree.

You can't come up with a cover-all-the-bases strategy on what to do with keepers when we'll get one email from somebody who says that they're in a full-point PPR, he can only keep one guy, and it's player A in the first round, player B in the ninth round, player C in the twelfth round. And then the next email comes, he's in a full point PPR. He can only keep one guy, and it's player A in the first round, player B in the ninth round, player C in the 12th round. And then the next email comes. He's in a standard league. He can keep five guys. He's already keeping this guy, that guy, that guy, and that guy.

And then it's two players in rounds two or four. It really is on a case-by-case basis. In a more shallow league, I'm much more likely to keep the studs. And I really probably lean towards that approach anyway. Right. It doesn't really matter what the size of the league is. Well, it does because in a shallow league, you can fill the end of your roster spot with players that are good.

In a deeper league where the waiver wire is just awful, the value and balance matters a little bit more. Let me ask you a hypothetical. You can keep Todd Gurley in the first round, or you can keep Kareem Hunt in which round? How high do you have to go, or low do you have to go, when the answer goes from Gurley to Hunt? You know what I mean?

If it's just a one- keeper league, I'd say third. And how long can I keep these guys for? See? Case specific. But it's a case specific type thing. How long can I keep them at that?

Does hunt value change? Like if I took hunt in round seven last year, is he round five this year? Third round. I would probably settle on third or fourth round for Hunt over Gurley. But I'm the guy that, you know, I'd rather have the sure thing when we're talking keepers rather than get hung up on value. Okay, a few more emails here.

Just a regular keeper question. Tyler from Northwest Missouri. Dear Mike, Alex, and Alcides. Those are Kansas City Royals. They are. And not very good ones. Well, that's not true. Ten-person Keeper League. World champions. They are, you're right. I want to know

if Dave knows a city in Northwest Missouri. Northwest Missouri? Isn't Columbia around there? That's right in northwest Missouri. Northwest Missouri? Isn't Columbia around there? That's right in the middle. So technically maybe. I'm going to say Maryville. Right in the middle of northwest Missouri.

Ten-person keeper league, it's PPR. Zach Ertz in the seventh or Dalvin Cook in the fifth? Cook. What's the capital of Missouri? Jefferson City. Where's that? Right next to Columbia. So is it maybe a little north or west of Columbia?

It is south of Columbia. So Columbia then would probably be the better northwest city. Other than Jefferson City or Columbus, yes. Okay, from Nick. And where's Nick from, Dave? Nick is from Hazardville, Connecticut. Grade the trade. Dear Michael, Joe, Earl, and Demarius.

Thomas'? Yeah. 10-team half PPR. $200 auction keeper league. Four-year maximum keepers. Six points for passing touchdowns. Eight points for receiving touchdowns. Eight points for receiving touchdowns. Ten points for rushing touchdowns. So, wow.

Would you rather have a $12 Kareem Hunt? Well, you give up a $12 Kareem Hunt for an $8 Travis Kelsey and a $6 Adam Thielen. Oh, I hate it. Yeah, there's no chance. I would not do that.

Yeah, that's a D minus. All right, this is from Arnold from the place with the best Mexican, Asian, and Mediterranean food, which he says is Los Angeles. I could see that. Mm-hmm. Dear Henry, Tommy, Jimmy, and Pauly, how am I funny? Good, fellas. Keeper question. I want you to, fellas. Keeper question. I want you to keep going.

Funny how. Funny how. Use you. 12-team PPR league. Should I keep? Todd Gurley is my third. This is good. Here.

Todd Gurley third round or Aaron Rodgers in the 15th round? That is good. PPR. But I'm still going to go Gurley. I'm still going to go Gurley. I'm still going to go Gurley. All right. I wonder if Jamie would take Rodgers here. I don't think so.

Because Jamie tends to skew more toward amazing, incredible values. Let me text Jamie. And they don't come much better than Aaron Rodgers in the 15th round. In a PPR league, now autocorrect the 15th round. In a PPR league. Now autocorrected to pod league. In a PPR. Now it's. Come on, stupid phone.

All right, I'll text Jamie. This is from Jeremy in Topeka. Dear Jefferson, Kane, Mack, and Latimer. And Latimer. Yeah, I don't know. Those are definitely not cities in northwest Missouri They're not 10 team standard scoring league

It is Two receivers and a flex I can keep up to three players Players can only be kept twice And keepers make up the first three rounds So who do I keep out of Le'Veon Bell can be kept once more David Johnson

Can be kept once moreon Bell can be kept once more. David Johnson can be kept once more. Michael Thomas can be kept twice. Alvin Kamara can be kept twice. He needs three of those four. Bell and Johnson, one more year. Michael Thomas and Kamara, two more years. I'd go Bell, Thomas, Kamara. I would too.

Running back heavy. So no David Johnson? No, no. Did you say Johnson or Thomas? I said Thomas. Okay. I'm going to go in a different direction then. I must have answered it in my head when you were talking.

Bell, Johnson, and Kamara for me. I'll take the three running backs. Now let's talk dynasty rankings with Heath Cummings, wide receiver rankings in dynasty formats. Okay, so I think the Juju conversation was pretty interesting. Where should we pick it up, Heath? Anything that we missed here? I don't think there's really much of consequence in the top 11.

We talked about Diggs I have at 12, Juju at 13, Amari Cooper at 14, Robinson at 15, Cooks at 16, Land have at 12. Juju at 13. Amari Cooper at 14. Robinson at 15. Cooks at 16. Landry at 17. I'm kind of waiting for one of you to jump up and say that's dumb or yell at me. God! The whole thing is dumb, Heath. I can't just single out one thing.

You know that. Thielen is 18. Baldwin 19. Jeffrey 20. Here's the fun little name. Corey Davis at 21. Yeah, there we go. And Josh Gordon at 22.

Corey Davis, Josh Gordon, back-to-back. Just outside the top 20. And there are a couple of guys that I think have enormous talent that if I knew Josh Gordon was going to play the next five years without consequence. He'd be so much higher. He would probably be 10. Corey Davis could go anywhere from top 10 by the end of this year to outside of the top 50. So if I'm in the Dynasty League, I would be nervous to take him where you have him, right?

Because of that. I can understand that. Because another bad value or another year where his hamstring flares up yeah but i i can't i can't take him over demarius or marvin jones even not that marvin jones is going to be great but see the guy the thing the difference for me is i think cory davis has number one wide receiver potential in fantasy. Yes. I think if he delivers on his potential, he's a guy that you're – I don't see any situation where Demarius or Marvin Jones or Golden Tate are getting up to that tier.

So it's almost like you're taking the upside that you believe Davis still has. But there is risk there. Those other guys feel like kind of sort of sure things, where they're not necessarily going to get you 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns, but they'll be productive and will give you several good weeks for your fantasy teams over the next two to three years. And that balance may have more to do with who you've got on your roster when it comes time to make that pick

and whether you feel like you need a little safety and security or whether you want to chase the upside of Davis. Yeah, so to me it feels like it's a risk issue. If you're a risk taker, then you're going to be all over Corey Davis, maybe even sooner than where Heath has him ranked. And if you're risk averse, you're going to wait and hope to get him. But I'll tell you this, is that with guys who have that type of upside, you don't have to dig into Corey Davis to get it.

You can find it with other wide receivers, including the three that were drafted that we've talked about ad nauseum on the podcast in this past draft. See, I don't think any of those guys have Corey Davis upside. I think they all might have it eventually. Who's the third? It's Moore, Ridley, and Gallup? No, Anthony Miller.

Oh, Anthony Miller. I thought it was Christian Kirk. Yeah, I think it's interesting that the wide receiver position, if we're doing a startup dynasty, is still very veteran heavy for a while. It's partially because we have so many really, like the top ten, just an elite group of wide receivers. It's more because the last two, if you count what the rookies did last year and then this class coming in, I think it's a pair of underwhelming classes of receivers. Yeah, totally.

I don't know. I have nothing to base it off of, but I just do really like Calvin Ridley. But you have Moore 27th? Moore is 27th, yes. Ridley at 31. And who are some of the names in between? So it's Corey Davis, 21. Josh Gordon, 22.

Sammy Watkins, 23. Demarius, 24. Back-to-back Lions. Marvin Jones, Golden Tate, 25 and 6. DJ Moore. Devontback Lions. Marvin Jones. Golden Tate. 25-6. DJ Moore. Devontae Parker. Cooper Cup. Sterling Shepard is 30.

And then Calvin Ridley. Devin Funchess. There's one that seems to be missing here. Not missing, but where's Robert? Christian Kirk? No, where's Robert Woods? I was just thinking because you have Cup. Did I already pass him?

No, he is down at 39. Okay. So, yeah, Brandon Cook, 16. Cooper Cup, 29. Robert Woods, 39. That's interesting. Dave, what stands out to you as you look at the 20s in his rankings? As I look at the 20s in his rankings,

I'm surprised that Devontae Parker is as high as he is. I would rather have Cooper Cup. I think Cup's going to be a good, solid receiver for a long time, maybe a couple of years where he's over 900 yards and seven touchdowns, but a lot of good, solid years where in a PPR, he'll absolutely help you out. And I think this list gets ugly really quick. I know you told me to talk about the 20s, but I'm going to scroll down to Crabtree at 34, Marquise Goodwin at 35, Aguilar at 36, Will Fuller at 37.

And I don't like a lot of these guys for long term. Some of them can sit on my bench, but I think the combination of, like this is where I would go and get Anthony Miller. Like I'm wondering what's kind of wrong with you that Anthony Miller's 41st. I don't know that Anthony Miller has. You have him behind Dante Pettis, really?

Yeah. I don't know that he Miller has... You have him behind Dante Pettis? Really? Yeah. I don't know that he has big upside, and he doesn't have much opportunity for targets at all the next couple of years. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I was actually talking about this with Pete Prisco today, how

we all agree that Allen Robinson is going to be that lead target getter in Chicago, provided he stays healthy, yada, yada, yada. But I think the sooner that Miller can acclimate to the NFL level, the sooner his coaches will put him in more situations where they can take advantage of his speed and his hands. I think he's got great hands.

I think he can run great routes, and he's electrifying on the field. He's not a big dude, but he's got great hands i think he can run great routes and he's electrifying on the field he's not a big dude but he's got big hands and i've said this about him before he runs faster than what he was timed and he plays bigger than what he was measured at and it's that that's the type of thing that i'm looking at for a wide receiver when we're when we're past round six and round seven in a dynasty league draft and i want to start taking shots on guys with serious upside like i talked about cooper cups upside and i kind of man my way through it like yeah i'll have a couple good years i'm excited about anthony miller and i think his upside is way better than a lot of the guys in front of him i i think it might be the way you

feel about christian kirk like i wonder if the way i feel about miller is the way you feel about christian kirk i think i don't i think there are some risk. It might be the way you feel about Christian Kirk. Like, I wonder if the way I feel about Miller is the way you feel about Christian Kirk. I think there are some similarities between the two. The difference for me is that Kirk is probably one year away from being the number one receiver in that offense. And there's not a tight end to worry about. I mean, Ricky Seals, Jones, whatever. I expect the Bears are going to throw the ball over the next two, three, four years, however long this group stays together, a lot to their tight end. I expect Trey Burton's going to be heavily involved. I think Alan Robinson is the clear number one wide receiver.

And then I don't expect Tariq Cohen to just completely disappear. I'd expect he's going to get a larger share of the targets than a majority of running backs do. So I just don't see, even if and i think it's unlikely he's the number two wide receiver i think he's more of a slot guy at least as a rookie and then maybe he can move outside as he gets stronger if he's that as a rookie then he won't be very good this year because he won't play that much because burton's going to be in that slot yeah i think so and i so i i just if if he can win the number two job, I still think he's probably looking at like 75, 80 targets this year. Your list has convinced me, Heath, that if I'm doing a startup dynasty league, three of my first four picks will be wide receivers.

Because I just don't want to pick from, scrolling down on Heath's rankings, Robbie Anderson. Although I kind of don't mind Robbie. Chris Hogan, Manny Sanders, Alan Hearns, Josh Doxson. I mean, these are guys that I wouldn't even be excited to sit on and wait to see what happens with at this point. You know what? Robbie Anderson is a guy that needs to move up in my rankings, probably 10 spots. Does he have a long-term outlook that you can look at?

I was impressed with what he did last year. Me too. I think he developed into more of a complete receiver. I put this list together. The last time I updated my IDHC rankings was about two weeks ago, I think was when we originally put this together and started doing the positions. And there's been some information that's come out

about his most recent run-in with the law that paints him in a little more favorable light. I was more concerned because he'd had a couple of things pop up. I was more concerned in a Josh Gordon way with him than I am now. Well, the fact that he had those run-ins could still— Could. Just because he wasn't charged doesn't mean that he won't have future issues down the line. I agree.

I think he's got great talent. But I think there's risk with him, and I think you baked that into where you ranked him at, 45. That's Robbie Anderson you're talking about. I think Mike Williams is a little low. 43rd for you. A lost season last year because of injury. But top 10 pick in the NFL draft.

I would love to get – I hope I wouldn't have to start him, but I would love to have Mike Williams on my bench in a Dynasty League. I agree with you. I think if you like Mike Williams upside, and I did a year ago, what I didn't like last year was the things that I heard, the rumblings that I heard, that I don't know that he was ever quite the same. Maybe he comes back in camp this year and he looks like Mike Williams again. I just saw one positive report on him. It's not much to go on at this point.

And the other thing, last thing on this is that we're always looking for number one wide receivers. That's huge. I mean, you said Christian Kirk would be the number one guy there next year in Arizona after Fitzgerald presumably retires. There are three guys that I think are number two wide receivers in great offenses, and I want a piece of them, and that's Calvin Ridley, Nelson Aguilar, and Will Fuller, who are all in the 30s for you. And I don't think they have a huge upside, but I think they could be very, very solid starters.

So, I mean, I'm not saying like your rankings are wrong, but, you know, I look at a list of 30 guys, and I'm looking at 30 through 40 or 40 guys. I'm looking at that group of 10. Those are the ones that just sort of pop to me. I think there's enormous upside with Fuller. I'd like to see him stay healthy. Aguilar, just volume concerns for me. I think there's enormous upside with Fuller. I'd like to see him stay healthy. Aguilar,

just volume concerns for me. Yeah. Right. I think they'll throw more. I know you don't. I guess we'll see. I mean, I think Nick Foles is going to throw the ball all over the field. Right. Well, I mean, he's a Super Bowl winning quarterback.

MVP. Final thoughts? I think we should end it with MVP. MVP. Jamie says keep Todd Gurley in round three. Oh, okay. Yep, yep. So he will not be swooned in by a late round value.

No. So thank you for listening. Today we did voicemail. Today we did emails. Tomorrow we'll do voicemails and we'll talk to you then on the Fantasy Football Today podcast. Na na na na. I thought you were going to say something else.

Sorry. Bye. Na na na na. Na na na na. 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.