Fantasy Football Today - 10/22: BONUS: Kerryon Johnson Out! Emmanuel Sanders Traded! (Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: October 22, 2019

Reacting to the breaking news as Kerryon Johnson is on IR and the 49ers acquired Emmanuel Sanders. How much more excited are we to add Ty Johnson? Will he catch passes? Will he keep the job? Will he be on your team in two weeks? And how does this affect the Lions passing game? Meanwhile, with Sanders going to SF (8:00) what are we thinking for Sanders and Garoppolo now? How about Courtland Sutton? And is DaeSean Hamilton a must-add?  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

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BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. Bonus podcast. Fantasy football today. Here we go. We got two big pieces of news. Kerryon Johnson on IR, which means he is out basically for the season, maybe back in the fantasy playoffs,

but you can cut Kerryon Johnson and Emmanuel Sanders being traded to the San Francisco 49ers. I'm Adam Azer with Dave Richard and Jamie Eisenberg. Which one do you guys want to start with? Kerryon. Okay, I will. Kerryon Johnson out. I'm Adam Azer with Dave Richard and Jamie Eisenberg. Which one do you guys want to start with? Carry on. Okay, I will. Carry on, Johnson. Out.

The Lions average just 3.8 yards per carry as a team. They have not had a good running game. He himself is 24th in non-PPR, 26th in PPR on a per-game basis. If you remove the Vikings game when he got hurt, he'd be more like RB20. So it hasn't been a great year for him. But how much more excited are you now to add Ty Johnson than you were when we spoke this morning?

He's now 6% owned, by the way. But how much has this changed things for Ty Johnson? I mean, a little bit. I think it gives you a little bit more of an incentive to get somebody who has long-term appeal as opposed to maybe just a week-to-week thing. But I don't think this is the end-all, be-all in terms of saving your fantasy team

because, like you said, Adam, carry-on Johnson wasn't having a great season. I don't know if Ty Johnson all of a sudden comes in and is better than that. So you're picking him up with the hope that he could be at least a flex, maybe a number two running back when the matchup's right. And this is one of those weeks where the matchup is right. So hopefully he takes advantage of it. More importantly, are the Lions convinced that Ty Johnson can be their guy? Or are they about to go out and make a trade for a Kenyon Drake, a Melvin Gordon?

Remember, this is a team that believed that they had playoff potential. And they probably still do, despite their record. Yeah, so let's keep talking about that, because I can't imagine they're going with Ty Johnson and JD McKissick the rest of the season, right? I mean, they could. They might say, all right, let's give it a week. We have another

week before the trade deadline. Let's see what Ty Johnson looks like as the primary ball carrier for the Lions. I don't know if that's enough time or if they've already decided. So I can't see spending a ton on Ty Johnson. You want to make him your number one waiver claim, I get that. But I can't say with certainty that he's going to be the guy. That he's going to be the league winner for your fantasy team.

No, but he could help you win this week, and I think that's important. And next week. Sometimes we look at what's the scenario of short-term versus long-term. So I don't think he's a break-the-bank type of player, but like we said about Wayne Gallman that week against Washington, he helped you win that week in a big way, and I think Ty Johnson can have that type of an impact for just a one-week situation. You mentioned Kenyon Drake.

Don't forget, Jay Ajayi's not making the rounds. He worked out for the Cardinals. This could be a situation where they maybe look at him too. So there are some other moves you can make. Deeper leagues, we want to pick up Ajayi now just to see if maybe he's a possibility for them. See Jay Anderson. Maybe they kick the tires on him again also.

With it being more of a long-term injury, would you drop Miles Sanders or Devin Singletary for Ty Johnson? If I need somebody for this week, yes. If I don't need somebody, then no. And that's if I don't have anybody better on the bench.

Singletary or Sanders are my worst players on the bench. Yeah. Yeah. Would you drop Duke Johnson for Ty Johnson? Yes. Yeah. Do you think Ty Johnson's going to catch passes? I thought he was going to have that role, at least a little bit,

and he hasn't, but carry on Johnson, not a pass catcher, like two catches per game this year, which was a little surprising. Ty Johnson did have four catches last week. Do you think he'll be better in PPR? Do you think he'll have that type of role, or is that McKissick, or what? I think McKissick is going to end up having that passing downs

role, and the Lions have said, or at least Patricia said in his press conference, that they're going to use running backs by committee. That's fun. So McKissick has already proven to be a better pass catching back than Ty Johnson. He came out as a wide receiver, and now he's a running back. He got converted in Seattle, and now he's doing that for the Lions. I would imagine he'll keep that role.

And Ty Johnson, not a good pass blocker. They've only asked him to pass block 10 times all year. He's running more routes. He's run like 60 routes all year, including 33, I think I said, Jamie. Do you remember? I don't remember. 33 routes last week after Carrion got hurt. He could do that.

I don't think you can rely on Ty for four catches a game. Dave, who ran 33 routes, Ty or McKissick? Ty. I can look up McKissick if you want me to. Jack talk Ty. Okay, you can look that up. I got an email from, I think, Brian. He said somebody dropped Joe Mixon.

Would you rather add Joe Mixon or Ty Johnson? I think that comes down to, again, do you need somebody for this week or long term? I'd rather have Joe Mixon long term with the hope that things improve with Cordy Glenn and A.J. Green coming back. But short term, I'd rather start Joe Mixon long term with the hope that things improve with Cordy Glenn and AJ Green coming back but short term I'd rather start Ty Johnson this week

is that not a mind blowing answer right there I mean just to think that it is what it is I'll take my lumps with Joe Mixon and take Joe Mixon over Ty Johnson we might be cutting Ty Johnson two weeks from now and to be fair we might be cutting Joe Mixon

two weeks from now I think just for this And to be fair, we might be cutting Joe Hicks in two weeks from now. I think just for this week, you take the guy facing the Giants as opposed to the guy facing the Rams. So last week it was 11 routes run for JD McKissick. McKissick has 35 routes run on the season. So Ty Johnson's been doing that job more. Okay. Does this hurt or help or none of the above for Matthew Stafford

in the passing game? It helps him. Guess who the offense runs through now if there wasn't any doubt about it before. Yeah. And all the talk about, well, Darryl Bevel is a running backs coordinator, and he wants to dominate with the run. Funny what happens when he doesn't have Marshawn Lynch or Adrian Peterson. They're throwing it now.

This is a passing team now. Before we move on. The only one who this helps is Marvin Jones. Okay. Maybe he'll get another four-touchdown game. Before we move on to the Niners situation now and the Broncos situation without Emmanuel Sanders, who, by the way, leads the Broncos in red zone targets and is among the NFL leaders in green zone targets. Those are targets inside the 10.

So hopefully that helps Cortland Sutton a little bit. Before we move on, just reflecting on how big of a bust I'd have to say Kerryon Johnson has been. I mean, injury aside, he just hasn't been good, and he's had the opportunity. He's averaging, before the Vikings game, he only had five carries and got hurt. Before the Vikings game, his average of carries per game, 10th in the NFL, is like 17-something carries per game. You can't ask for much

more than that. He was over five yards per carry last year, I believe. He's at like 3.5 yards per carry. Just had a bad year. 3.8 yards per carry. No, he's 3.4. Team's 3.8. You know, Jamie, what a disappointment. I know the injuries there and everything. And by the way,

big injury history for Kerryon Johnson, so it should have come as a huge shock. But even when healthy, what happened? I think he struggled with some tough matchups. I think he struggled with getting some work in the passing game is what I thought when Theo Riddick was

traded, that they would use him more in that regard and they didn't. You know, the offensive line had really been bad for Detroit from a run blocking standpoint. So that hasn't helped him at all. You know, I thought that would be a little bit more of a strength. But yeah, it's just he hasn't lived up to the billing of someone who had an opportunity here to step into a quality situation and, you know, take advantage of it. And so that's something to evaluate with him moving forward next season, that he just may not be a elite fantasy running back, more of just a plotting type number two guy.

You know, you saw the upside in the Chiefs game when everything was perfect. You know, the fumble was not ideal for him, but, you know, he still has the ability to be, I think, a starting fantasy running back. But, you know, when we elevated him to be somebody at the back of round two, that was probably an overvaluation of what the situation was for him. Alright, San Francisco acquiring Emmanuel

Sanders and a fifth round pick from Denver for a third and a fourth round pick. Who do we like better rest of season? Cortland Sutton or Emmanuel Sanders? Sutton. Does this help or hurt Cortland Sutton, who on a per-game basis...

I think he was 18th and... 20th in non-PPR, 18th in PPR, which was surprisingly low, considering he's on pace for 82 catches, about 1,300 yards and 7 touchdowns. He's actually a number one receiver based on total points scored in both formats. Total points, okay.

Per game, you know. A little lower, but he's been incredibly consistent in PPR. He's been terrific. And like I said, the leader in red zone and green zone targets in Denver is out. So is this a good thing or a bad thing? Green zone's inside the 10. Oh. Yeah.

Magenta's inside the five. Now you can answer the question. good or bad for Sutton? No change. Yeah, I feel the exact same way. I'm a little concerned about how he'll handle double teams, and we're going to see that as soon as this week. Broncos need to establish another pass catcher in that offense to keep him from getting double teamed a ton.

Yeah, I think the biggest winner of all these trades is actually Deshaun Hamilton because now he gets a chance to play more, gets more targets. And we saw last year what he was capable of doing. Well, last four games of last year without Emmanuel Sanders, Deshaun Hamilton had 25 catches, 182 yards

and two touchdowns on 38 targets. But the funny thing is Cortland Sutton was bad in those games. So I don't know how much we can take out of it. Tim Patrick actually wasn't so bad. He had the most yards. He had 242 yards in those four games. So Deshaun Hamilton,

should he be owned in more than like 20% of leagues after Waver's run tonight? Absolutely. Sure. But I wouldn't overextend to get him either. Dolphins receiver or Deshaun Hamilton? I'll take

a Dolphins receiver. I'll take Devontae Parker. Yeah, I'll take Hamilton. So Hamilton's already been playing a lot this year. And he's been working in the slot. Well, I think he's a slot receiver. I don't think he's an outside guy. Oh, no, I agree. But different role in terms of now you have an opportunity to see an uptick in targets. Right. So I agree with that. I think he's a slot receiver. I don't think he's an outside guy. Oh, no, I agree, but different role in terms of now you have an opportunity to see an uptick in targets.

Right, so I agree with that. I think he can see an uptick in targets. I don't think it will be a huge spike. I actually think this is bigger for Noah Pham. Because if there's a guy who can break out and get more targets downfield, and think about Joe Flacco, and think about where he's placed the ball. He loves throwing downfield. That's true. He loves throwing downfield, and proof

of that is Sutton. And you know his history with tight ends. I think it makes perfect sense that Noah Fant could be the guy that benefits the most in Denver. And he's actually got a nice matchup this week against the Colts, who have a lot of numbers to tight ends. How good do you think Emmanuel Sanders is going to be?

I think he's got a shot to be a top 24 receiver rest of season. Yeah, I take the under on that, but I think it's slightly better than where he's been. I mean, this is an offense that I don't think is going to feature one guy. I still think it's going to clearly funnel through George Kittle. They're still going to want to run the ball a lot. And Sanders, look, he's not a guy that has a ton of speed. And so the targets will be better. Hopefully the catches will improve and maybe you get closer to what he was at the beginning of the season. But this is just a slight increase for me from where he was with Denver. And where he was, was actually on a per game basis for Emmanuel Sanders,

believe it or not, outside the top 40 at wide receiver. But, you know, he had three, his first four games, he had three very good games. And this is Emmanuel Sanders. I mean, it's always a roller coaster with him. Last year, he was on a per-game basis. Emmanuel Sanders was 17th in non-PPR and 15th in PPR. He had a really good season. He had 868 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games. Basically had the same season as Julian Edelman

with just two fewer touchdowns. Okay, so would you rather have Emmanuel Sanders or Marvin Jones rest of the season? Jones. I think I'll take Jones, but I think it's close. Would you rather have Emmanuel Sanders or one of the Giants wide receivers? Oh, Golden Tate.

I'll take Emmanuel Sanders. What about when Sterling Shepard comes back? You don't think that kind of eats into the Golden Tate targets? Then I would take Shepard over Sanders and Sanders over Tate. Okay. Jimmy Garoppolo or

Josh Allen? Josh Allen. I don't think this does a whole lot for Garoppolo or Josh Allen? Josh Allen. Allen. I don't think this does a whole lot for Garoppolo. It makes him slightly better, but it's not a big dramatic boost. And look, I think the targets can improve for Emmanuel Sanders. I mean, one of the reasons why his numbers were down the last four weeks in Denver was because he wasn't getting targeted as much.

He started off the season getting tons of targets, and then it all went down. Can I ask you a question? I think the targets are going to resurge a little bit. He's going to be the number one receiver for the 49ers. He's going to get plenty of looks. They can line them up anywhere. They might use them more in the slot than this coaching staff in Denver used him. And it's the exact same offense. The offensive coordinator in Denver is a disciple of Kyle Shanahan. Okay, cool. Do you know who throws the fewest passes per game in the NFL? Which team?

You'll probably say the 49ers. You are incorrect. It is the Vikings. Second, though, is the 49ers. They throw the second fewest passes, and they run the ball more than any team in the NFL, more than the Ravens, and that includes the Mar Jackson carries.

So they are the run-heaviest team so far. Maybe that changes a little bit, but you know they're a run-the-ball-play-defense type of team. They're actually 10th best in passing yards per attempt, which is pretty interesting to me. If they throw the ball a little bit more, that's always been something that with the 49ers, Jimmy Garoppolo has excelled in.

He's been great at yards per attempt. Maybe that translates a little bit. And so was Nick Mullins last year. But Garoppolo just hasn't been that good, and he doesn't throw the ball much. Well, I think the key is that he hasn't thrown the ball much. I checked this from Sports Info Solutions. About 81% of his throws are on target.

That's good. That's top five good among quarterbacks with 100 pass attempts this year. Blows away Joe Flacco's number. Additionally, yeah, there's not really much of an additionally here. I just think that Emmanuel Sanders will get some good numbers. Additionally, I'm done. Is anyone else affected by this? George Kittle?

I mean, obviously, I think Kittle stays the same. I think all the receivers, the other receivers in San Francisco. If you're holding out hope for any of these guys, cut them. I mean, Pettis, forget it.

Debo. Yeah, Samuel. You know, this is probably, look, they needed to make a move, but it also could be an indication that Samuel's not coming back soon or Marquis Goodwin's got a bad concussion. So take that into account.

But if you've been, okay, this is the week. No. Yeah. Okay. I don't have their schedule. Who do they play this week, San Fernando? The Niners. The Panthers.

Carolina at home, and then Arizona is two of their next three games. Two of their next three games after this week. Carolina. Right. Two of their next four, if you include Carolina. Two of their next three games. Oh, two of their next three games after this week. Carolina. Right. Two of their next four, if you include Carolina. Two of their next four, right. Okay, it wasn't like Arizona back-to-back. Great.

Good stuff. So maybe some immediate production from Emmanuel Sanders. If you were thinking about dropping him, don't do that. Thank you, everybody, for listening. Dave and Jamie, thanks for hopping on the bonus pod. Thank you for having us. Wait, hold on, hold on, hold on. Go to CBS Sports HQ, download the HQ app.

We got coverage of all this stuff. There are going to be more trades. There are going to be more bonus podcasts, but for immediate reaction, you can always tune in to CBS Sports HQ. What were you saying, Dave? Na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na.