Fantasy Football Today - 08/02: Rankings Risers, Zero RB, Regulators! (Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: August 2, 2019

Fun show today with a lot of topics. We begin with when to draft the LAC RBs (2:10), injury-prone players we're avoiding (4:08) and an interesting note on the ATL backfield (5:10). Then Dave and Heath... tell you who has been moving up and down their rankings (10:00) which includes our updated thoughts on Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman, plus Jarvis Landry and some rookie WRs ... News and notes (23:45), teams with the best and worst Fantasy schedules (27:15) and three fairly bold proclamations from Adam (35:35). Are Mike Davis and Mark Ingram underrated? ... Does Zero-RB still work (40:40)? Heath defends the strategy! Then we read your questions from your Apple Podcast reviews (48:00) and the Fantasy Regulators are back (53:15)! ... Your emails at fantasyfootball@cbsi.com To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Here we go everybody! It's Friday! And I am feeling good. I've got a happy Friday for me. I am pumped up. I am ready to go. Can you feel it Dave? Oh, I feel something.
Starting point is 00:00:19 You know it. You know this song. Come on. I do know this song, yes. It's Friday. It's a great day for football that's what they say right he's hey yeah i don't really remember this song come on bruce willis not the singer willis singing it's from a bruce willis you know who does sing this song
Starting point is 00:00:41 bill medley apparently what other song does he sing that might be a little more popular than this one? I don't know. From Dirty Dancing. Oh, okay, great. The time of my life. Well, anyway, Friday afternoon or morning is a great time for football. How do I know that? That is weird, Dave.
Starting point is 00:01:00 Yeah. Welcome to the show. Welcome to Fantasy Football Today. Yeah, I'm in a great mood. You know why I'm in a great mood? Because our listeners are amazing. I was reading the five-star reviews this morning, and you guys are just crushing it. And thank you so much.
Starting point is 00:01:13 It means so, so much to me. It honestly does. I appreciate it. Thank you. And I'm going to read some of your five-star review questions later today. We have a busy show. Now, the one criticism that I get the most as a host is that I hurry the guys along. So I promise I'm going to do a lot of that today because we have not gotten to many, many topics that I've wanted to get to this week. So you're going to be on somewhat of a pitch count today, a little bit of a clock today.
Starting point is 00:01:37 Let's get started here with three fun questions. Then we're going to talk about some rankings risers and rankings fallers and the Hall of Fame game. Yeah, they should really call it something else. You know what? If you wanted to really move the podcast along, we could just not talk about the Hall of Fame game. Or have the Friday night theme song for two minutes. Oh, come on. Come on.
Starting point is 00:01:57 Well, listen, you've got to make a decision. I'm making a decision right now. Are we going to have a bunch of obscure pop culture references? I actually like the move it along thing. I I'm I'm I'm good with the in and out. Yeah. All right, let's do it. Three fun questions.
Starting point is 00:02:09 When do you draft the Chargers running backs? As of right now, Friday, August 2nd, the report yesterday that Melvin Gordon's agent request requested a trade last week. When do you draft the Chargers running backs? I'll look at Eckler. Round six in PPR. I'll go there right now. And probably early round seven, real close to that in non-PPR. Justin Jackson, the gate comes off in round 10. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:02:37 This is the second time we've had this question this week, and you just not mentioned Melvin Gordon. And he's still a Chargers running back. And I will take Melvin Gordon in round four. and I mostly agree with what Dave said besides that I am the high guy it looks like I think just I don't know if this is going to matter for fantasy but you think about where Melvin Gordon could end up if they do trade him I think there's three teams that make sense I think Tampa would make sense I think Houston would make sense. I think Houston would make sense. And I think Buffalo would make sense.
Starting point is 00:03:07 In the case of Houston and Buffalo, they can cut a running back and actually save some serious cap space that they could use to pay Melvin Gordon. Tampa Bay doesn't have much cap space, but they could come up with some. I don't know if I would rank Melvin as high with one of those three teams as I would if he were with the Chargers. So I'm kind of hoping that there's some finality to this holdout soon that gets Melvin into camp.
Starting point is 00:03:33 And we can go back to taking him in round one, Eckler in round nine or ten, and Justin Jackson in round never ever. And a reminder, in three games without Melvin Gordon, he missed four games, but Eckler missed one of them. In the three games Eckler played, he had 17, 18, and 17 touches. He had five, five, and two catches in those games. Chargers have routinely had a second running back get eight, nine, or ten touches in a game, even when Melvin Gordon's healthy. Right, and the primary guy. That's part of their primary guy gets the rest. Yeah, gets 17 or more.
Starting point is 00:04:11 Okay, question number two. Question the second. Is there anyone you're not drafting because of injury concerns? As in, I wouldn't take him even if he fell to round 18? I think we should do that at their current ADP. Yeah, yeah, at their current ADP. The guy who comes to mind for me is Beckham because he's in a group of similar wide receivers. I'm not going to say that's my answer,
Starting point is 00:04:35 but he was sort of the inspiration for this question maybe. Yeah, is anyone at their current ADP that you're like, no, too many injury concerns, not doing it? Todd Gurley, right at the top for me. That's a good one. I would say there are several reasons, but the one that most comes to my mind is Sonny Michel. What's his ADP at these days?
Starting point is 00:04:55 50? So he's fallen out of round four? He's in round five. Right. Yeah, I can't feel that excited about Sonny Michel in round five, but I don't think that's terrible. And I'm nervous about Dalvin Cook in general. So that's another one.
Starting point is 00:05:09 His ADP is top 20. I'm not going to take him there. I'll take Dalvin. I know. Okay. And final question. Do we have any fantasy takeaways from the Hall of Fame game? We do.
Starting point is 00:05:21 I have one. I have one. I'm not going to let you guys just ghost me on that. Well, Brian Hill for the Falcons had 11 carries for 57 yards, and he caught a touchdown as well. And then I went back and I looked at Brian Hill's game log from last year, and in Week 16, he had 8 carries for 115 yards. In Week 17, he had 8 carries for 30 yards.
Starting point is 00:05:44 Ito Smith missed both of those games. And Tevin Coleman, in those two games without Ido Smith Week 16 and 17 for the Falcons, he had two more carries. He had 18 carries to 16 carries for Hill. And it's just like, gosh, even at that point, when they were down to Brian Hill,
Starting point is 00:06:02 they wouldn't even give Tevin Coleman feature work. What does that mean for Devontae Freeman? Because Tevin Coleman did get pretty big work for the first three games after the Freeman injury, including the game in which Freeman got hurt. But then after that, his last nine games that he played with Ido Smith, Coleman had 95 carries and Smith had 72. Coleman had 21 catches and Smith had 20. That is way too even of a split, and it continued with Brian Hill in Week 16 and 17. And for a guy, you know, for me, who've been very excited about Devontae Freeman,
Starting point is 00:06:33 just remembering the Brian Hill thing and looking up the numbers this morning scared me a little bit. What do you guys think? I just, like, I kind of get what you're saying, and I agree that it's not going to be a situation where one guy gets 80% of the work. They've got way too many running backs for that to happen.
Starting point is 00:06:51 One or two guys can get hurt, and they're still going to chop it up a little bit. Most teams chop it up a little bit. But it sounds to me what you were describing about Tevin Coleman's workload in Week 16 and 17 is what we would consider feature-back work. No, no. Nine carries a game? I thought you said he had 18. Oh, feature back work. No, no. 10, nine carries a game.
Starting point is 00:07:07 I thought you said he had 18. Oh, I'm sorry. That's all. I'm sorry. Over two games, he had 18 carries and Hill had 16 carries. He had 10 in one game and eight in the other. That's Splitsville. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:07:18 That is a hundred percent. Maybe that's them. It's the last two games of the season, right? Yeah. So maybe they're just evaluating Brian Hill during those games. They weren't going anywhere. Yeah, but even weeks four through 14, I mean, Tevin Coleman, 95 carries, 21 catches.
Starting point is 00:07:34 Ido Smith, 72 carries, 20 catches. That sucks. It definitely does. That's terrible for fantasy. It's brutal, and I can't help but wonder if that's just part of the mindset of the Falcons. Well, it's been that way for three years. So why would it change?
Starting point is 00:07:50 Well, if they really don't like any of these running backs behind Devontae Freeman, they might just have to risk it with Freeman. Yeah, I don't think. Say, okay, we're going to have to give you 17, 18 touches per game every single week because the guys behind you stink. Give me 14 carries, three catches a week from Freeman, and I'll be pretty optimistic. Do you think he'll get that?
Starting point is 00:08:14 Not every week. I've got him for 226 carries and 38 receptions. I'd take that. Of course you would. That's a 16-game projection. That's 53% of the team's rush attempts. Gosh, when you
Starting point is 00:08:31 put it that way, it just seems so low. 53% of the team's rush attempts. Even I would expect Devontae Freeman to get more than 53% of the team's rushing attempts. But don't buy into the Hall of Fame game as a reason to draft somebody.
Starting point is 00:08:48 No. Just a general reminder, last year Hayden Hurst caught a touchdown in the Hall of Fame game. Javon Wims, seven catches for 89 yards. Gus Edwards had 35 yards on 10 carries in the Hall of Fame game last year. Oh, that was pretty significant.
Starting point is 00:09:04 He was much better than that in the regular season. No, I'm just kidding. Whoever does three and a half yards per carry in the Hall of Fame game last year. Oh, that was pretty significant. He was much better than that in the regular season. No, I'm just kidding. Whoever does three and a half yards per carry in the Hall of Fame game, we're going to point at them and laugh. Yeah, we have. See, now we've got to move on. Today's sponsor is SeatGeek. Promo code is FFT on SeatGeek for $10 off your first purchase.
Starting point is 00:09:20 I was just looking the other day at Miami UF tickets for that game in less than a month, and they're way too expensive. But I was looking on the other day at Miami UF tickets for that game in less than a month. And they're way too expensive. But I was looking on SeatGeek. And also I'm working that night because our radio show is back on August 17th. Ion Fantasy Football on CBS Sports Radio. If you have Sirius, you can listen to it.
Starting point is 00:09:36 I think it's channel 206. It's been a while. So, yeah, we'll tell you more about that as we get closer. I want to know, as the preseason games are starting, not counting last night, who are some rankings risers and fallers over the last few weeks? Training camps have opened, reports are out, injuries, holdouts, all that stuff.
Starting point is 00:09:59 We'll remove the Chargers situation, but let's start with rankings risers, guys. Who are some guys who are on the rise? Well, there's some pretty obvious names, like Curtis Samuel we've talked about on every episode for the last week. Dante Moncrief, same thing. Kalen Balazs, I think. I don't know how much Kalen rose for Heath,
Starting point is 00:10:19 but he's rose quite a bit for me. A move that I made yesterday, I put Devin Singletary ahead of LaShawn McCoy. Because I just don't want anything to do with LaShawn McCoy. I really don't think that Shady's going to be helpful for fantasy. I think at some point this year, Devin Singletary will break out and be a pretty significant part of the Bills offense. Do you think Devin Singletary's a better running back than LaShawn McCoy?
Starting point is 00:10:40 Right now, yeah. I didn't think he was that impressive in college, and I don't think he's good or not be impressed with what he did. He was playing against high school players. Oh, not always. Did you watch his film against Oklahoma? I saw some runs against Oklahoma. He's like, I thought I have moved Evan Singletary up a little bit.
Starting point is 00:10:59 I can't put him ahead of LeSean McCoy right now because LeSean McCoy is the starting running back. I just I'm in this ridiculous draft. I just took him in the 14th round of a draft. Like, I don't want to take LeSean McCoy right now because LaShawn McCoy is the starting running back. I'm in this ridiculous draft. I just took him in the 14th round of a draft. I don't want to take LaShawn McCoy. If he's there in the 14th round, I'm going to take. You take lots of players you don't want
Starting point is 00:11:14 over the course of many drafts. I do. It's just all about value. I try not to. I had an argument. Not an argument. Jamie and I were on HQ last night before the Hall of Fame game,
Starting point is 00:11:26 and we were talking about the Broncos running back news, and Jamie said he'd rather have Royce Freeman at Royce Freeman's value than Philip Lindsay, and I disagreed because I don't believe in Royce Freeman. And I'm not getting Royce Freeman in the 14th round. If I were, yeah, I'd take him in a second. And I wouldn't be opposed to taking Royce Freeman, but I'd still rather have Lindsay. And this falls into the rankings risers
Starting point is 00:11:46 and fallers because I would imagine that Phillip Lindsey is a follower for you guys. The recent report that the Broncos from Yahoo, the Broncos like what they see from Royce Freeman. They want to make it a true split in the back field. You know, I'm just not sure I buy it because I think
Starting point is 00:12:01 there's a new coaching staff. Maybe they're trying to pump up Royce Freeman. Lindsey's better. He's just better. And so if they're smart, they're both going to get work, no question. But if they're smart, Philip Lindsey's not going to be as good as he was last year. That's just a matter of fact. There have been 28 running backs over the last 10 years
Starting point is 00:12:22 that have averaged better than five yards per carry in a season only one of those running backs did it again the next season okay on a per carry basis sure but but i think he's got a great chance to have more carries he that well what would determine that the coaching staff that continues to do everything they do to tell us that they are not do not want to give a feature workload to Philip Lindsay. They want an even split in terms of rush attempts. Lindsay, I thought, I was open to the idea that he could get 190 carries and then earn that passing game work, but when they went and signed Theo Riddick,
Starting point is 00:13:01 I'm just pretty much out. I'm not going to spend a pick in the first four rounds on Philip Lindsay. I think he's fine in the fifth. He is one of my biggest fallers and probably one of the more significant fallers because a lot of the guys that have fallen for me, I've taken a little bit away from David Njoku. They don't seem very happy with him so far in camp. I took a little bit away from Antonio Callaway. Rashard Higgins seems to be ahead of him right now.
Starting point is 00:13:23 A lot of those guys are lower end guys that you were taking at the end of best ball drafts or late-round tight end types. But Lindsey's a big name that has definitely fallen significantly. Can you tell me who you like better between Lindsey and Carson? Because that's the one that I'm kind of fighting with in my head right now. Lindsey getting 10 touchdowns, I think that that's out the window if Royce Freeman's healthy. Royce Freeman might not be good.
Starting point is 00:13:49 That's the thing. I know he might not be good, but he was better than Phillip Lindsey for 18 years of his life. No, that's not true. I don't know if you can say that either. Phillip Lindsey proved himself last year, at least in my mind. The advanced metrics are really good on him.
Starting point is 00:14:06 He made guys miss. He didn't benefit from an amazing offensive line. He just had a straight-up great year. If he's too small to handle a big workload, I get that. He's not going to get 20 carries a game. But I just feel like the cream will rise. And I also said yesterday, Heath, on HQ
Starting point is 00:14:22 when we were talking about it, I said he's not a fourth-round pick anymore. You have to take him in the fifth round or later. So I agree with that. But I would rather have Philip Lindsay in the fifth round than Royce Freeman in the seventh round because I just don't believe in Royce Freeman. And even if the value's better, I don't believe in the player. And I just think Lindsay's a better player.
Starting point is 00:14:40 And I think this comes a little bit back to the Corey Davis argument again and just throwing out what their value was before the season because of one year in the NFL. And I don't think you have to totally hold on to it and say, I thought Royce Freeman was better than Phillip Lindsay at the beginning of last year, so I still think Royce Freeman is better. But I don't think you should just completely throw it out either. I think we need to leave open that possibility that Royce Freeman may have a better career than Philip Lindsay still. Yeah, look, I agree with your general philosophy there. I personally, though, the first time I saw Royce Freeman,
Starting point is 00:15:13 I said it on the podcast, I was like, he looks slow. And the first time I saw Philip Lindsay, I brought him up as a sleeper. We had an emailer who brought it up as well. I brought up that email. So I kind of always believed in Philip Lindsay and not so much in Royce Freeman. I just think Lindsay's better suited for the NFL. The other thing I will say about that argument is I don't believe you have to spend a seventh round pick on Royce Freeman.
Starting point is 00:15:37 I got him in the ninth or tenth yesterday. His ADP right now is still tenth round. So I think we're talking about the difference between Philip Lindsay in the fifth and Royce Freeman in the ninth or 10th. And I think I still technically have Lindsay as a top 50 pick. I don't know if that means that I'm comfortable taking him in late round four, but it's something that I might have to stick to because I do like the talent. And I also don't think there's going to be a lot of games where the Denver Broncos are going to be grinding the clock in the fourth quarter. And if that's the case, I think Lindsey's going to be on the field more in passing situations.
Starting point is 00:16:13 Well, that's like the Riddick thing. I don't think you're overvaluing Theo Riddick. I think he's there to replace Devontae Booker. Right. When Fred was out, I wanted Phillip Lindsey to replace Devontae Booker. Devontae Booker got that, that was, I wanted, it was out. I wanted Philip Lindsay to replace Devontae Booker. Devontae Booker got way too many targets last year. And he still might. We got to see what Theo Riddick looks like and,
Starting point is 00:16:32 and, uh, acclimates himself to in this Broncos offense. So I, I think there's still reason for optimism in Philip Lindsay. I don't know what you haven't projected for, but if you, if you ballpark them at 1,207, 1,200 total yards and seven touchdowns,
Starting point is 00:16:48 I think he'll be close to that provided he plays 14-plus games. Okay, let's move on and talk more about risers and fallers here because Lindsey's obviously a faller. Is Nikhil Harry a faller, Patriots rookie wide receiver? Yes, he has to be. And is Hunter Renfro, the San Diego Padres outfielder slash Oakland Raiders wide receiver, is he rising ahead of Nikhil Harry in terms of rookie wide receivers? No.
Starting point is 00:17:18 No. No. I get that Hunter Renfro is playing great in the slot and might have the slot role in Oakland, but I would still rather spend the late-round pick on Nikhil Harry on the hope that he can turn things around in training camp. There are three slot receivers that have gotten a lot of attention in the first week of training camp.
Starting point is 00:17:40 Renfro is one of them. Trent Taylor in San Francisco is another one. Trey Quinn in Washington is a third. It sounds to me like those three are going to be late round ppr maybe deep league ppr late round targets i have moved renfro up and harry down renfro is 11 points behind harry now and my ppr projections i think there's a there's a chance that we're like two or three weeks from now and the starting wide receivers in New England still look like their Julian Edelman, Philip Dorsett, Maurice Harris. And we have to strongly consider the fact that Hector Renfro
Starting point is 00:18:18 is a better pick than Nikhil Harry. But I'm not ready to decide that right now. Well, you drafted Maurice Harris. Or Dorsett. Not yet. No, they're right alongside the deep PPR. Why
Starting point is 00:18:33 not? Coming a 22-round draft right now as a slow draft, I will probably will. Great example. But if I'm going 15 rounds, there's going to be better receivers. And I'd rather have Maurice Harris than Antonio Callaway right now. Two quick things here. I don't have it ranked that way, but we're heading that way, aren't we? DK Metcalf or Nikhil Harry? I still have Harry ranked a little bit higher than Metcalf.
Starting point is 00:18:54 Yep, Harry over Metcalf. And one more slot receiver that's gotten a little bit of a – there was a good report from DetroitLions.com on Danny Amendola that he has a nice report with Matthew Stafford. Remember, Golden Tate caught 90 or more passes for straight seasons. And then last year in seven games with the lions, he was on pace for 101 catches. So I don't,
Starting point is 00:19:13 I'm going to take the under on 90 catches for Amendola, but how does he look with, with Trey Quinn and who are the other sloppers and Hunter Renfro and, uh, Trent Taylor and whatnot. I, I would imagine that fantasy managers would gravitate toward Amendola before the other names of guys who are unproven.
Starting point is 00:19:33 A, because they've heard of Amendola before. B, because they know what Golden Tate did in that Lions offense. Sure. Okay. Any other interesting, we've talked a lot about late round guys. Any other mid or early round guys that are rising or falling for you? Most of my risers have come in the round eight plus range. I don't know if I've got any that are shooting up or shooting down.
Starting point is 00:19:58 Kerion Johnson is one that is an obvious early rounder that we've talked about a lot. He rose, yeah. John Brown's rising. Right, so that's one that I would put in the round eight plus bin. I'm hearing really good things about him in Buffalo. Jordan Reed's healthy. Every reporter in Washington is saying that he looks exposed.
Starting point is 00:20:15 I'm about ready to move him ahead of Eric Ebron on PPR. No, neither am I. No, I am. You are? Yeah. See, I'm not there yet. And Ebron's banged up right now. So that's interesting that you would do that.
Starting point is 00:20:27 Delaney Walker also seems to be healthy. Three rookies, Boykin and Keyshawn Johnson in Arizona. Dexter Williams in Green Bay. Are you going to take Dexter Williams in your 22-round draft? I took Dexter Williams in our 15-round draft, the experts draft, two days ago. Yeah, I took him in the very last round. I like the fit in Green Bay for him. He is a zone-running type of running back.
Starting point is 00:20:54 He's a good fit there. Okay, and I think that one guy who in our minds has fallen a lot that I think maybe we've gone a little overboard on is Jarvis Landry. I more or less have no interest in him in a non-PPR league, but I feel like all we've done is on is Jarvis Landry. I more or less have no interest in him in a non PPR league, but I feel like all we've done is dump on Jarvis Landry. It gets to the point where he's like, like I wouldn't take John Brown over Jarvis Landry. Would you?
Starting point is 00:21:14 I haven't. Nope. I haven't drafted him, but I also haven't moved him since the start of camp. So that's why I didn't call him a faller. Sure. Right. Okay.
Starting point is 00:21:22 Yeah. I just, it was kind of felt to me like he's got a lot of negative momentum. I just want to look up Jarvis Landry's ADP real quick. Let me ask you this. This is 67th overall. Curtis Samuel has been a hot name with videos on social media and great quotes from his offensive coordinator,
Starting point is 00:21:40 and we haven't heard boo about Jarvis Landry. Who are you drafting first between Samuel and Landry? I would take Samuel in a non-PPR league. I would take Landry in half or full PPR. How about you? I'll take Landry in both. And that's not the discussion that the drafters are having right now. When you look at Landry's ADP, he's being taken ahead of Mike Williams,
Starting point is 00:22:01 ahead of Tyler Boyd, ahead of DJ Moore, ahead of Robbie Anderson, ahead of Dante Pettis, ahead of Christian Kirk, ahead of Tyler Boyd, ahead of DJ Moore, ahead of Robbie Anderson, ahead of Dante Pettis, ahead of Christian Kirk, ahead of Sammy Watkins, ahead of Alan Robinson, ahead of DeeDee Westbrook. That's ridiculous. Yeah. Yeah. I'm taking him ahead of DeeDee.
Starting point is 00:22:16 We can keep dumping on Jarvis Landry was my point. A little bit. Yeah, yeah. I could see that. Look, it's a nice spot for wide receivers. There are some pretty good values there. All right. We got some news and notes, including a note on Ezekiel Elliott. We got Dave's schedule analysis. Adam makes three proclamations and Dave and Heath tell him how they feel about his three proclamations. During the break, I'll work on how to say the word proclamations. We're coming right back on
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Starting point is 00:23:52 Get excited. Jerry Jones is confident about signing Ezekiel Elliott to an extension, and I'm not going to talk about this anymore. I just will tell you that in six games without Ezekiel Elliott, Alfred Morris had 99 carries for 430 yards and a touchdown. But he also gave Rod Smith at 43 carries and four rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown. So it was kind of annoying.
Starting point is 00:24:14 But Alfred Morris is back on the team. Ben Roethlisberger says he loves football again. Guys, I never stopped loving football. What's up with that? Big Ben. I don't know what that means. I don't know how to interpret that. You know exactly what that means.
Starting point is 00:24:30 He's shooting shots. He's trying to make somebody in Oakland hear that. He's taking shots. But what's the shot? He loves football games because he doesn't have to deal with the drama with Antonio Brown. Yeah, that's how I – I'm not saying I'm on Ben's side or agree with him.
Starting point is 00:24:47 I'm just saying that's what he's saying. Or is he saying that AB doesn't love football and that's why – I think he's just saying it's more fun to come to work. He was going to work with somebody he didn't get along with, and that person's not there anymore, and so he loves it. Heath, when I tell you that I'm not on a show, you're like, oh, I can't wait to go to work today. I get super excited. Yeah, I'm like if you I'm not on a show, you're like, oh, I can't wait to go to work today. I get super excited.
Starting point is 00:25:06 Yeah, if you were gone and moved to Oakland, I'd be like, man, I love podcasting again. Yeah, and I'd love the weather. So mean. That's okay. No, you're wrong. It's not that great year-round. Roethlisberger's ADP is 85th overall. It's still way too high for me.
Starting point is 00:25:23 Without AB. We've got to look at it in terms of what quarterback he is overall, not where, because every quarterback is going way too early. He's still top 12. And he should be. He's number eight for me. He's the high guy in Roethlisberger. Two items on the Jets' backfield, really.
Starting point is 00:25:42 Le'Veon Bell said he wanted to apologize to fantasy owners. No, he wanted to tell fantasy owners last year that he wasn't going to play. He already apologized. And they signed Ryan Khalil. The Jets signed center Ryan Khalil to a one-year $8.4 million deal. He was retired. He's a former stud, but
Starting point is 00:26:00 it can't be a bad thing for Le'Veon Bell. No. It can't be a bad thing for Le'Veon Bell. No, it can't be. I think Ryan Khalil is an upgrade in terms of intelligence and experience on that offensive line. I think it's a mistake to expect him to be as good as he was even two or three years ago. I don't think he's quite the same type of lineman as he was.
Starting point is 00:26:24 But if it makes you feel better about drafting Le'Veon Bell, go ahead. I don't think he's quite the same type of lineman as he was. But if it makes you feel better about drafting Le'Veon Bell, go ahead. Le'Veon was not happy when he was told that he wasn't a first-round pick by us. Brian McFadden was just a jet scam. Brian McFadden talked to Le'Veon Bell, and he told Le'Veon Bell that we don't have him as a first-round pick, and Le'Veon did not like that. Okay, and just a few more items here. Cam Newton still not
Starting point is 00:26:45 participating in drills. So again, Monday's our quarterbacks preview Tuesday tight ends, and then we'll do running backs as well, either Wednesday and Thursday or Thursday and Friday. But yeah, I mean, I, like you heard me talk about Cam yesterday. We're excited about Cam, but still there's some progress that needs to be made with that arm. Cleveland wide receiver, Antonio Calloway reported to camp out of shape. That's why Heath just mentioned Callaway as a faller. And Jacksonville rookie linebacker Quincy Williams is out four to six weeks with a torn meniscus. But Yannick Ngakwe is expected to report by August 6th.
Starting point is 00:27:16 Dave, we get a lot of questions about schedule strength and how much it means in fantasy. You have an article published. I'm giving you five minutes on this topic, Dave, so keep in mind um okay what would you like to tell people and then tease your article because you know if you don't if people want more than five minutes of analysis please read the story what would you like to tell people about schedules this year who's got the good ones the bad ones and whatnot well i the the story is a full breakdown of what I think each team's opposing defenses look like from week to week basically graded out the defensive lines linebackers secondary pass rush I consider depth
Starting point is 00:27:56 of course because there's going to be injuries along the way coaching also mattered graded every single one of these defensive elements came up with with a total number, applied it to the NFL schedule, added some other tweaks in there for teams that had to go on the road three games in a row or had to play an opponent coming off of a bye, things that put a team at a disadvantage, and basically came up with a ranking for who's got the best and worst schedules across the National Football League. And I also broke it down for the first four weeks of the season because I just, I don't think it's worth it to look at week 15 and 16 and say, okay,
Starting point is 00:28:29 I'm looking for a guy that's going to have, um, uh, a real easy schedule. Then when I'm playing for the fantasy championship, that's not worth planning ahead for it's worth planning ahead for the early part of the year, finding teams that have early schedules early on. Teams that I think have good run schedules early in 2019. Carolina is a top five team. Pittsburgh is a top five team. The 49ers are a top five team. The Browns are a top five team. And the Bengals are a top five team.
Starting point is 00:28:59 A lot of good running backs in that group. Top five teams that I think have great passing schedules in 2019. The Cardinals take on a lot of teams with passes, pass defenses that I don't think are really that great. Panthers are in the top five there too. They've got a really good schedule. The Jets, the Eagles are in there, and the Patriots, because they play in the AFC East,
Starting point is 00:29:22 and they're going to take on the Dolphins and the Bills and the Jets. Those are three teams with Bill's secondary isn't really that bad, but the other two teams are really bad. They've got the top-ranked pass defense over the course of the season. No, sorry. They have the top-ranked pass offense. Just clarify. Well, it's not the offense.
Starting point is 00:29:39 It's the schedule. Yeah, yeah, right. Yeah, I might have misspoke a little bit there. So did I. There are some changes in the first four weeks if we're just drilling in to the first four weeks of the season. Ravens, Panthers, Bills, Cowboys, Seahawks have great early season run schedules. So just an idea of Mark Ingram should be somebody that you're going to start. You'll have plans on
Starting point is 00:30:03 starting Mark Ingram every week, but I think he can get you off to a hot start. And maybe if Buffalo, whichever running back they decide on to be their starter, maybe there's an opportunity there for that player to get off, to help your fantasy team, get off to a good start. Top five schedules for the first four weeks of the season.
Starting point is 00:30:21 Cowboys are number one, both run and pass. I think Dak's going to get off to a real good start. Same thing with Amari Cooper. The Chargers are in there. Patriots are in there. Giants actually ranked out as having a good early season schedule for their offense, and so do the 49ers.
Starting point is 00:30:37 49ers week one in Tampa Bay. Yeah, that's one right there. I hate that they've got back-to-back road games to start the year, and I hate that they have a week four bye. That kind of works against them. Yeah, but a week one road game is really not a big deal. That's not, but at Tampa Bay and at Cincinnati for a team that's traveling west to east kind of sucks.
Starting point is 00:30:58 Maybe, but only for one of those games. And then they've got Pittsburgh at home in week three. Oh, man, I love it. I love it. That's a great start for Garoppolo. Because you're a Garoppolo guy yeah yeah yeah i think the most week one the most interesting start is arizona and i don't know what to make of it just because it's they've got a lot of kind of question marks on their schedule they start
Starting point is 00:31:20 off against a lion's defense that we think is improved? Up front, they're improved. They should definitely be good against the run. They have at least one very good corner. They've got a defensive-minded head coach. Then they go to the East Coast, all the way to the East Coast, for a 1 o'clock game at Baltimore, a defense that lost a lot from last year but has the coaching and has Earl Thomas. Scares me just a little bit. Then they get Carolina, who has an awesome front seven,
Starting point is 00:31:46 and Seattle, who's always good defensively, but we don't know because they also lost a lot of pieces. That's a really interesting start. So Seattle is one of those defenses that I don't have graded highly against the pass. I'm worried about where their pass rush is going to come from, and I'm worried that their secondary, it's not the Legion of Boom anymore. It's going to be more like the Legion of Duds.
Starting point is 00:32:10 Well, other linebackers are the strength. I mocked Seattle's defense a lot before last season because they had lost a lot of pieces going into last year. But they still had some semblance of a pass rush. They did. They still had some pieces there that helped their unit play well there it would take a master stroke by Pete Carroll for them to be a dominant pass defense again this year all right well yeah I just wrote down in my notes David Johnson's first three games
Starting point is 00:32:37 could be tough but it looks great after that Detroit at Baltimore and Carolina Carolina does not have Thomas Davis anymore he's always been kind of a key to their run defense, but they did add Gerald McCoy. But when you have a guy who catches a lot of passes, a running back who catches a lot of passes, that's why we love it so much. Then the matchups don't matter quite as much. And then we're past our five minutes here,
Starting point is 00:32:59 so let's just do your quick thoughts on Green Bay at Chicago, Minnesota, Denver, Philadelphia, at Dallas, Detroit. That is just not fair to start. And when they play Detroit, they're catching the Lions as they come off of a bye. So the Lions will be rested for that game in week six. They've got the they rank dead last in projected strength of schedule, both for the first four weeks of the season and for the year. They rank dead last first four weeks of the season in passing terms. I don't know if this is going to stop anybody from drafting Aaron Rodgers
Starting point is 00:33:34 or Devonta Adams, and I don't know if this information should be the backbone of your draft strategy. I tend to use this stuff as tiebreakers more than anything else. But, yeah, you see that early slate of teams that Aaron Jones is going to run into, and you know that he's got a hamstring injury on top of it. And you know that Packers running backs just in general under Aaron Rodgers do not consistently put up great numbers. I'm pretty much at the point where I'm ready to walk away from Aaron Jones
Starting point is 00:34:03 as a top 30 fantasy pick. They put up great numbers per touch, I think, but they don't feature one guy. They haven't featured one guy since Lacey, probably. If you can give me one second, I can give you the stats on it, and that'll blow your mind on just how bad Packers running backs have been. Are you ready for this? Yeah, go for it. All right, so let's do a little trivia if you don't mind.
Starting point is 00:34:29 Heath, you can participate as well. Oh, thanks. Everybody at home or at the gym or on your commute, play along. Aaron Rodgers has been a starting quarterback for 11 years. How many times in those 11 years has a Packers running back, one Packers running back, had at least 200 carries? Everybody get your three guess. Four times.
Starting point is 00:34:49 Adam, you're correct. It's four times. I'm so good at guessing Dave's trip. I look really good. I'm always close or spot on. Have I sent this to you? Is that why you know this? No, no, no.
Starting point is 00:34:57 Okay. All right. Question number two. 11 years, Aaron Rodgers, quarterback of the Packers. How many times in those 11 years has a running back totaled over 1,000 yards? Not run for 1,000 yards, totaled over 1,000 yards. Get your number ready. Three.
Starting point is 00:35:13 Adam's right again. Yes. Okay. How many running backs in the last 11 years have had seven or more touchdowns with Aaron Rodgers? Total touchdowns? Total touchdowns. Yes,gers. Total touchdowns? Total touchdowns. Yeah, six. Four.
Starting point is 00:35:28 Damn. And to Aaron Jones' credit, he's one of them. He had nine last year. All right, Dave, we got to wrap it up. So, cool. Point taken. All right, Adam makes three proclamations, and Dave and Heath tell him how they feel about his three proclamations.
Starting point is 00:35:43 Proclamation number one, Mark Ingram is going to be a beast and he should be going at the end of round three, not the end of round four in a 12-team league as he currently is. Disagreed. It is hard to say that about a 29-year-old running back. I know he's not a typical 29-year-old running back. I wonder if he's got close to as many touches as Lamar Miller has, but I'm,
Starting point is 00:36:08 I'm not there with Mark Ingram. You could talk me into late round four, but late round three, I just think that there are too many other players I'd rather have. Yeah. I don't know that he necessarily has a big increase over his career high in Russia temps, which is 230.
Starting point is 00:36:25 Oh God. Give me 230 carries and Mark Ingram's going to be amazing. Gus Edwards averaged 5.3 yards per carry last year. They're going to run the ball so well. Right. I don't think saying Gus Edwards averaged 5.3 yards per carry last year means that Mark Ingram is going to average 5.3 yards per carry.
Starting point is 00:36:42 4.7. And he's going to be awesome. And he's going to score a touchdown. I think he'll be good. Fine. They disagree with me. His ADP is about 46 or something like that. Next one. Mike Davis is the most underrated player in fantasy right now. Bears running back. Mike
Starting point is 00:36:58 Davis outside the top 200 in average draft position. I think you're probably right on that one because Mike Davis is going to have really good fantasy value if there's an injury to either David Montgomery or Tariq Cohen. And there is still maybe a 30% to 35% chance
Starting point is 00:37:18 that Mike Davis is just more trusted than David Montgomery when we get to week one. Everything I've read out of Chicago and heard out of Chicago is that the front office and coaching staff love Montgomery. They love his physicality. They like that he can catch the ball out of the backfield. They feel like they've upgraded on Jordan Howard, and he's going to be given the opportunity to be the lead back in Chicago.
Starting point is 00:37:41 Cohen is probably going to be in line for around 10 touches per game. Davis is going to be below that. I bet there's going to be some games where Davis only gets two or three touches per game. I like... How about this, Adam? If I draft David Montgomery, it's going to take a pretty decent pick to get him. Spending my last pick on Mike Davis as a handcuff
Starting point is 00:37:59 is absolutely the way to go because I don't think this coaching staff wants to give Tariq Cohen 15, 18 touches per game if they don't have to. All right, and then my final proclamation. The Marquez Valdez scantling hype has now made Geronimo Allison one of the best draft day bargains. Allison outside the top 90 now,
Starting point is 00:38:21 in average draft position outside the top 100 on CBS. I'm with you on that one 100%. I'm glad that MVS is developing some chemistry with Aaron Rodgers. That'll matter. But Allison's been developing chemistry with Aaron Rodgers for a couple of years now. And I love his style in the slot. A tall, shifty receiver who can take advantage of matchups in the middle of the field and then make a play after the catch.
Starting point is 00:38:47 I'm excited to draft Allison round 8-9. Yeah, I don't think, well, his ADP is 92 on Fantasy Football Calculator? Mm-hmm. That's round 8. That doesn't make him a very good value. I would have taken him earlier than that. I don't necessarily disagree that I would like to draft him in round eight or nine. I think I kind of agree with that assessment,
Starting point is 00:39:10 but I've got him at pick 100 in my top 200, so I don't think an ADP of 92 makes him one of the best values. I'm going to have to disagree. You're closer to CBS's current ADP. He's currently at 111.6 on our site. There are a lot better values than that. Alright, let's take a break, guys. Let's take a break.
Starting point is 00:39:32 We're going to come back. Heath wants to talk about his 0RB team, which he loved. Turned out really well. That's up next on Fantasy Football Today. Also, your five-star reviews and fantasy regulators. We'll be right back. Whether in the game or in life the right coverage can make all the difference securing canada gives you that coverage for more than 65 years securing canada has been helping
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Starting point is 00:40:23 Just like that. How about dinner with my third cousin? Skip it. Prince Fluffy's favorite treats? Skippable. Oh, what? Just like that? Just like that. How about dinner with my third cousin? Skip it. Prince Fluffy's favorite treats? Skippable. Midnight snacks? Skip. My neighbor's nightly saxophone practices? Uh, nope.
Starting point is 00:40:34 You're on your own there. Could have skipped it. Should have skipped it. Skip to the good part and get groceries, meals, and more delivered right to your door on Skip. All right, Heath. Zero RB. It's not dead, apparently. Oh, it's not dead.
Starting point is 00:40:50 I wrote that article earlier this week and immediately got some feedback that it's always been dead ever since it was ever conceived and it's never actually worked for anyone, which is not true. But I appreciated the feedback. I am in the Ras Bowl draft. Chris Towers is also in this, another one of these big drafts. And I started with the 10th pick. It's a PPR league.
Starting point is 00:41:14 And it's probably my favorite zero running back team I've ever drafted. How many wide receivers are you starting? My first five picks. No, no, I'm sorry. Like the roster set up. Is it two receiver league, three receiver, three wide receivers and two flexes. Okay. Oh, wow. And I started my draft with Juju at the 10th pick Tyreek Hill coming back in the second round. Zach Ertz with the 10th pick in the third round, Robert Woods coming
Starting point is 00:41:41 back and Calvin Ridley with the 10th pick in the 5th round. Juju, Tyreek, Woods, Ridley, and Ertz. Phenomenal. In love. And then, my running backs weren't even as bad as I was afraid they were going to be. I got Tevin Coleman with the 3rd pick of round 6, which is relatively close to what his ADP is. I know he was one of Dave's breakouts.
Starting point is 00:42:06 I expect him to be the best running back in San Francisco, and that's been pretty good in fantasy over the last couple of years. Rashad Penny came back to me in round seven. He's more of an upside guy that I'm targeting with my zero running back builds that I think he can take the job from Carson at some point. And if Carson gets hurt, he's got immense upside. I took a floor pick next with Latavius Murray. I'd anticipate he's going to score seven or eight touchdowns this season.
Starting point is 00:42:31 He's a very good flex. It's funny. Mark Ingram had this role for the last two years, and he was a fourth or fifth round pick. Now Latavius Murray is an eighth round pick and probably a similar role. I took Adam's favorite running back after Latavius Murray. I took Royce Freeman in the ninth round.
Starting point is 00:42:49 I would say, look, I would take him in the ninth round too. I would absolutely. The 10th pick of the ninth round. Yeah, absolutely. Dion Lewis coming back around in the 10th round.
Starting point is 00:43:00 And then in the 11th round, I got Matt, Matt Brita. I then took two quarterbacks, Ben Roethlisberger and Lamar Jackson, and then took LaShawn McCoy in the 14th round. So my running backs are Tevin Coleman, Rashad Penny, Latavius Murray, Royce Freeman, Deion Lewis, Matt Breida, and LaShawn McCoy. If I don't have two starting running backs out of that group,
Starting point is 00:43:24 then I'll agree with something Adam said. That's the poster for zero RB. That's it. That's pretty good. Yeah, I like that. That's exactly what you're shooting for if you're going for waiting on a running back. Here's the thing. I think you did get a little bit lucky with some of those running back picks, though.
Starting point is 00:43:41 They're all basically right around their ADP, though. Well, Coleman, like Tevin Coleman, I think if you're going zero RB right now, with some of those running back picks, though. They're all basically right around their ADP, though. Well, Coleman, like Tevin Coleman, I think if you're going zero RB right now, Tevin Coleman should be the centerpiece of your strategy. That was exactly what I wrote in my article. Oh, yeah, but the problem with it, though, is that I suspect Tevin Coleman is going to be one of the biggest draft risers.
Starting point is 00:44:00 Like, if I'm just predicting the future three weeks from now when we're talking, Coleman's ADP is going to go up at least a round. That's just a guess. Right now, I think it's great value. I think he's going to kind of separate himself and he's going to end up being... He's early round six on CBS. I got him at pick 63. His CBS ADP is 62.
Starting point is 00:44:16 Yep. Yeah. But if you don't take Coleman there, we talked about it yesterday, the two guys that sort of go back-to-back, Coleman and Lamar Miller. Lamar Miller might be your... You, you might go Lamar Miller, Deontay Foreman instead of Tevin Coleman, Matt Breida, or something like that. You have to go a little earlier on Foreman. Do you feel like Coleman, Penny, Latavius, Royce Freeman, Deion Lewis,
Starting point is 00:44:38 LaShawn McCoy, Matt Breida, do you feel like you have upside with those running backs or just like, you know, RB2s? I think I'm going to have two top 20 running backs most likely. Two top 24 running backs for sure out of that group. I don't anticipate I'm going to have a top 12 running back out of the group. So no, there's not a lot of upside. But I have four of my top 22 wide receivers and my number two tight end. So I've got the upside on the roster at those positions. I don't need too much upside at running back.
Starting point is 00:45:11 I just need guys that aren't going to kill me. Yeah. Do you? It's full PPR. Yeah. I mean that to me, that's qualification number one to do zero RB. I'm not doing zero RB in a non PPR. I did it in our pick by pick series and I didn't really hate it.
Starting point is 00:45:27 The thing you have, I think that you have to realize is when you do that in non PPR, the wide receivers that like I got Julio Jones and Michael Thomas from the 10th spot and are not to start in our non PPR and then Robert Woods a little bit later. But I think it works cause, and then Robert Woods a little bit later. But I think it works because you're going to get better wide receivers later. Who are your running backs? Phillip Lindsey, Tevin Coleman, Latavius Murray, Dion Lewis, Carlos Hyde, Duke Johnson, Dexter
Starting point is 00:45:56 Williams. Yeah, I'd rather have it all done in a full PPR. So I'm not even considering zero RB unless the catches count. And that's why I like your zero RB team in the Razzle Bowl so much is because you've got so many guys. The receivers just get such a great boost compared to the majority of running backs that are out there that it makes sense to try zero RB.
Starting point is 00:46:21 The only thing I would say is don't do this if you have a pick in the first four picks. You're going to take a running back there. But you can do kind of a modified version, and that can be your only running back for the first six rounds. And you can have a great team. And I've actually done that in a lot of my leagues the last few years.
Starting point is 00:46:38 I don't know what you call that, the one RB strategy. But I think you can do something like that. But you've got your cornerstone at running back. You're going to collect a bunch of good receivers that are going to catch a lot of passes and be good starters for your team. And then you're making the weak spot of your lineup your number two running back.
Starting point is 00:46:56 And you're just going to shuffle through until you find somebody you like. Almost like streaming the number two running back. If I could start my team with Saquon Barkley, top four running back, and then Keenan Allen, T.Y. Hilton, and then Mark Ingram, O.J. Howard. I know that's not one RB or zero.
Starting point is 00:47:13 All right, fine. So that's how I would do it. Get Mark Ingram and put in another receiver. That's how I would do it. But if that were Calvin Ridley and O.J. Howard and then load up on running back after that, I'd be pretty happy. And one thing I have noticed from a lot of the drafts we've done,
Starting point is 00:47:30 because we've started to do more three-wide receiver PPR leagues, including, or three-wide receiver mock drafts, half PPR, full PPR, including three-wide receivers plus a flex. As soon as you start three receivers, as soon as you get to three receivers and a flex especially, that's like the running backs just fall. You're going to get great value there.
Starting point is 00:47:48 I'm interested to know how a 0RB team would look in a 12-team league with two running backs, two wide receivers, and a flex. Might be a little trickier there. As soon as you add that third receiver, though, it gets easier. All right. Here are some of the questions from the people who left us
Starting point is 00:48:03 five-star reviews, and thank you so much. From much from zach what is your opinion the biggest difference in changing a draft strategy moving from a 10 team league to a 12 team league ppr you have to draft more more players the draft is going to take a little longer uh it's uh i am it's weird because i'm actually more likely to take an elite quarterback in a 10 team league than i am in a 12 team and same i you could explain why if you want to but to me it's because everybody's going to have a great quarterback you want one that's going to be at the top of the top so that's that's easier to try and fulfill in a 10-team league when the draft rounds are shorter and the quality of players last a little bit longer than they would in a 12-team league you're getting two extra players per round
Starting point is 00:48:56 falling in a 10-team snake draft i also i you could also apply the same thing to tight end but you're going to do that in a 12-team league anyway. You know that top tight ends are going to be valuable. I don't think you reach for them necessarily in a 10-team league, but maybe you try and target them close to their ADP, maybe in the case of Zach Ertz a little bit sooner. I would also say in a 12-team league, in a 10-team league that you've been playing in,
Starting point is 00:49:22 you don't have to worry about floor at all. It doesn't matter. In a 12-team league, you've got to consider, you don't have to worry about floor at all. It doesn't matter. In a 12-team league, you've got to consider it. You need a little bit of safety on your team. All right, next question. I don't have names for some of these questions because it's just like the Apple ID when I'm looking on iTunes or Apple Podcasts. I think you should just read the Apple ID. It's gone now.
Starting point is 00:49:41 Sorry. In an auction, well, they're not in my notes. In an auction, do you always nominate who you don't want, or do you try to get a read on value, like nominating Kelsey to see what an elite tight end goes for? I mostly just nominate who I don't want. I'm going to nominate who I don't want my first two or three nominations, and then I'm going to nominate players that I think the managers with the most money would be interested in.
Starting point is 00:50:06 So I get into a laser type focus during an auction. And when there's somebody who's patient and they've got a lot of shekels left to spend, I want to, I'm going to look at their roster. I'm going to say, oh, they need a quarterback. Well, the best quarterback that hasn't been nominated yet is Deshaun Watson. So I'm going to nominate Deshaun Watson to try and trigger that manager to spend some of his dough. There's also the strategy that Jamie uses, which is his first nomination is going to be the top DST. And it's going to be for a buck. And if he gets them for a buck, he's happy. And if someone else bids two or even three
Starting point is 00:50:45 on a DST, he's happy then too, because somebody else is spending money. It's just, they're only spending two or three. I want the manager to spend five to 30 in the case of a top running back, if they need a running back. Next up, this is not a question, but a fun review I wanted to read from Seth in York, Pennsylvania. The Fantasy Football Today podcast is the best one around. To find a better one would be as difficult as finding a Thanksgiving jazz CD anywhere else but a Starbucks. First, you have Adam, the host of the show. He's the uber nice guy of the group, the kind of guy who would feel sad for seedless watermelons because what if they wanted babies? He's always coming up with creative topics and games to spark debates next you have jamie whose advice sets my mind at ease when it comes to
Starting point is 00:51:29 difficult decisions i just close my eyes and imagine i'm being carried to a fantasy football championship in a kangaroo's pouch while breathing in the sweet dewy air made from unicorns breath then there's dave geography whiz and pizza connor sir he often offers a different take on topics for a nice mix and is always at the ready to defend his views finally you have heath who i imagine his breath is the perfect combination of old milwaukee and little debbie snack cakes he supports his views very well seth do you even know me do you even know me seth first off i i did drink a lot of old Milwaukee in college when you could buy a case for $6. I might have to go to the ER. But I am a craft beer connoisseur, Seth.
Starting point is 00:52:12 And I am definitely the least likely person on this podcast to have their breath smell like little Debbie snack cakes. I don't know what those are. Who's the most likely? Who's most likely to have little Debbie snack cake breath? I think everybody else can be a tie for first, but I'm last. Yeah. Your breath is going to smell like fancy beer and barbecue.
Starting point is 00:52:32 Yeah, pretty much. I had barbecue last night. It was great. Sonny Michelle in the 8th or Chris Godwin in the 10th? PPR. Godwin. I'd go Godwin. Is the Hawkinson hype the real deal? The beat writers are loving Hawkinson. Long term, yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:52:49 We just had somebody ask us before we went on the air today, who do you like better, Fant or Hawkinson? I like Fant better and seasonal and Hawkinson better. I'll take Hawkinson both. In the long term. I think Hawkinson's a future pro bowler. I think he's really, really good. I just don't see him getting more than 55, 705.
Starting point is 00:53:08 That'd be a fantastic year for a rookie and top 12. It might be top 12. I was much more bullish on him a month and a half ago. Half PPR league, Mark Ingram in the seventh or DJ Moore in the ninth? DJ, give me more. It's more, especially if you can keep him for more than one year. If this is just a one-year deal, I might lean toward Ingram. I'd take Ingram personally.
Starting point is 00:53:30 I didn't really get a chance to defend my Ingram take, but I will next week on the Running Backs preview. Let's regulate. It's time. All right, this is from Andrew. Dear Squanchy, Birdperson, Jerry, and Noob Noob. I don't know. I'll look it up. We're in the eighth year of a Keeper League.
Starting point is 00:53:54 Keeper rules state that you can keep up to three players at a... Sorry. Keeper leagues state you can keep up to three players at a two-round price or keep one player who was drafted in the first three rounds of last season as your first pick. We've always chosen draft spots first, then announce the keepers before a firm deadline. But recently, some managers have been asking,
Starting point is 00:54:17 why don't we declare keepers before choosing the draft order? I see pros and cons on both sides. Should we adjust the rule? It's a little more hardcore if you declare the keepers before the draft order, because then you can't use that draft order to your advantage when picking your keepers. Well, I would rather know who's going to be available when I pick where I'm going to draft and strategize, yeah, I can wait until the seventh pick. There's seven good players and then I get a better pick in round two.
Starting point is 00:54:48 So yeah, I would definitely, I mean, the first off the answer to should we adjust this is you should have a vote and whichever side gets the most votes is what you should do. But I would suggest choosing announcing your keepers before choosing your draft position. If you guys are really into fantasy and you love this league and you want it to be tough, you declare the keepers before you figure out the draft order. All right, let's consider that one regulated. Next up, this is from Donald Welsheimer III. What a regal name that is.
Starting point is 00:55:20 Dear Peterson, Gonzalez, Wilson, and Balboa. I bet Welsheimer doesn't drink Old Milwaukee. No way. Also, I had no idea what Old Milwaukee was. The Beast. Oh, these are Adrian's. Milwaukee's best is Beast. That's what I drink.
Starting point is 00:55:37 Come on, beer guy. You got to know this. That's not hardly beer. Did you ever drink King Cobra? No. All right, guys. We drank a lot of that in college. You can ask your brother about it, Adam.
Starting point is 00:55:48 Peterson, Gonzalez, Wilson, and Balboa are Adrians. My 40th birthday and my 18th anniversary fantasy football draft both take place this Sunday. In the past, I've held my draft on the weekend after week three of the preseason. However, considering I'm coming up on two pretty big milestones, his birthday and the
Starting point is 00:56:03 18th anniversary of the football draft, I moved the draft up a couple weeks to coincide with my 40th birthday. A few of my league mates have accused me of Bush leaguerie for holding the draft that early. Last year, Bell bit a few owners in the butt with his holdout. Now we have Zeke and Gordon threatening to do the same thing. Given all these facts,
Starting point is 00:56:21 factors, and circumstances, when is it too early to draft and when do you like to draft for your most important leagues and am i crazy and yes donald this is garbage you cannot move up the draft because of your 40th birthday that's ridiculous anything have the draft on your 40th birthday that's that's what that's what he's doing it's terrible and he's trying to do it exactly on the 40th or i thought he was going to do it no no he's doing it this weekend up to have it on his birthday and his league mates are all
Starting point is 00:56:48 mad i see i read it as he's moving it up so it no it's before no okay so i didn't read the email right so he's yeah that's donald you're looking at this all the wrong way your league mates are right but you're also looking at this the wrong way. We get to this stage in life and there are very few occasions throughout the year where we're given basically a free pass with no responsibilities, where I understand you're going to make some decisions that you wouldn't make most days of the year. Your fantasy football draft is one of those dates. Your 40th birthday is one of those dates. Don't put those together. Now you're only getting one date you should definitely separate them put the draft back where it belongs after week three and you get two dates in one month it's gonna be
Starting point is 00:57:30 a great month and when is it too early to draft now for sure yeah now like honestly we're doing too many but honestly honestly honestly anytime in august is too early you can't help it you're gonna you're to go late August after the third week of the preseason is fine. But if I had my druthers, it would be September. You know, if you're pretty good at prognosticating, then do some early drafts
Starting point is 00:57:56 because I've actually had success in early drafts. And like if I were drafting now... Oh yeah, for best ball, it's great. Yeah. If I were drafting now, I would take Te Yeah. If I were drafting now, like Tevin Cole, I would take Tevin Coleman. And I feel like I would have an advantage over somebody drafting in three weeks, you know, something like that. But, you know, if you feel like you can predict the future, then drafting now is good. But it's just not as fun.
Starting point is 00:58:15 It's not as fun. All right. We'll go long today. We got a few minutes left. Let's read some emails. Thank you for the regulators' questions. To be honest with you, it wasn't the best batch of regulators' questions. Bring some spicier ones.
Starting point is 00:58:26 Bring some league hatred. Bring some stuff that we could really dig into. All right. This is from Joe. Joe has a feeling about Tyler Eifert this year. How do you guys feel about Tyler Eifert? If he had a good opportunity to begin the season on a high note, if he had a good opportunity to begin the season on a, on a high note, if he had
Starting point is 00:58:48 a good schedule to begin the season, I'd be more inclined to get him three of the first four games for Cincinnati are on the road week ones at Seattle. I think Seattle has a safety that can match up with Eifert and then their home against San Fran at Buffalo at Pittsburgh. I don't, I don't, I don't like the schedule, so I can't call him a streamer that I would go with. That's a fine schedule. I don't like it.
Starting point is 00:59:10 The reason he is a OK. You asked if there was one guy we weren't drafting because of injury concerns, and this is probably the poster boy for it. He's played like four games in the last two years, it feels like. Six. But he is going to start the year.
Starting point is 00:59:26 Those matchups aren't great. He is going to start the year without A.J. Green. There are going to be targets available. He may make it through two or three games without any sort of injury. I don't, like, if you're at the end of the draft, like, I can't imagine taking him instead of Jordan Reed, and Jordan Reed's always there in the 12th round when I want him. But if you're at the end of the draft and Jordan Reed's not there,
Starting point is 00:59:46 he's not a terrible guy to start the season with. Yeah, all right. I can take that. This is from Marty. He's a Steelers fan. Go Steelers. Oh, this is cool. My wife and I are renewing our wedding vows
Starting point is 00:59:57 and decided to take a honeymoon we never had. We decided to each choose our most favorite thing to do and have two vacations in one. I'm taking her to Waco, Texas to take the Grand Chip and Joanna Gaines Fixer Upper Tour she's dreamed of. I don't know what that is. Sounds cool. Then we're flying to Pittsburgh for the Steelers home opener. I live in Washington, but I've been a Steelers fan since I was 12.
Starting point is 01:00:16 I've never attended an NFL game. I've never attended an NFL game. He's 42. Just lots of college games. Go Cougs. So my wife thought it would be great to buy us both Antonio Brown jerseys since they were a bargain. She knew he'd been traded.
Starting point is 01:00:32 Face palm. She seemed very proud of it. I couldn't say no. So I came up with the idea to take the Brown names off the back and put just and married on the backs of the jerseys. I'm now trying to figure out if this is awesomely genius or an awful plan or awesomely awful. Hoping you can help, and yes, I'll be buying a juju jersey the minute I get there.
Starting point is 01:00:51 This feels almost like a regulator's. Yeah, this is regulating. But you're stuck. You're stuck with the jerseys. You made the best of it by putting just married on the back, and I think it'll go over well in pittsburgh i think the fans there will like it a lot all that really matter if you're on an anniversary trip with your wife as long as she's happy with the situation that's all it really right but you
Starting point is 01:01:12 don't want to get booed out of the stadium you're wearing out of your brown jersey i don't think you will it's all right it's a job it's awesome it's good yeah it's great it sounds like a really great trip very fun trip trip. That's a fun show. That was a great show. Friday nights, Friday afternoon, Friday morning, whatever. It's a great day to talk football. Play that song next week when we've got preseason games on Friday. We had a preseason game last night.
Starting point is 01:01:37 What, are you kidding? All right. But it's Thursday. The game was on a Thursday. Okay. I get it. I get it. I get it.
Starting point is 01:01:44 Well, thanks for being a buzzkill, Dave. Thanks for listening, everybody. Have a wonderful weekend. Quarterback preview on Monday. That is awesome. Fantasy football is in full swing. Tell your friends. Give us a five-star review, and we'll talk to you on Monday.
Starting point is 01:01:58 See you later, Dave. Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.

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