Fantasy Football Today - 12/29: Weekend Recap; 2019 Awards Nominations! (Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: December 30, 2019

Who would you rather have in 2020: Ryan Fitzpatrick and DeVante Parker or Ryan Tannehill and A.J. Brown? We kick off our show with that debate before we discuss The Best of Week 17 (7:45). Baker Mayfield, Jared Goff, Derrick Henry and Tyler Higbee are among the many players we discuss ... We are announcing our nominees for our 2019 Fantasy Football Awards (30:45)! Let's start with MVP and figure out who joins the three obvious candidates ... Other awards include Rookie of the Year, Best Waiver Wire add, Worst Waiver Wire add and a few more fun ones ... Email us at [e-mail] To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Now, here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. Well, a lot of crazy things happen during the fantasy season. Players come out of nowhere. You pick them up off the waiver wire. They help you win a championship. Quarterbacks like Ryan Fitzpatrick finish on a strong note. Nothing crazier. Nothing crazier than the Patriots losing at home to the Dolphins in Week 17.

Welcome to the show, everybody. In fact, we welcome you to the Fantasy Football Today Road Tour presented by Little Caesars. Pizza for dinner tonight? How about ordering your favorite online from Little Caesars and using Pizza Portal Pickup? It's the latest, greatest, and hottest way to pick up a pizza without even going to the register. I'm Adam Azer. You should be expecting Dave Richard and Heath Cummings, but no! Forget them.

Ben Gretsch is here. What's up, Ben? Not much. Exciting week 17. It's always fun to see who makes the playoffs and see how the season caps. Excited to go over it. Well, the Raiders didn't make the playoffs. In fact, almost

nothing that needed to happen for the Raiders to make the playoffs actually happened. It was a dreadful prediction. Heath's not here. Ben is. Dave's not here. Jamie Eisenberg is here. Happy Week 17, Jamie. I mean, you know, normally in Week 17, you get, you know, some downgrades in terms of replacements. But you got significant upgrades between me and Ben.

Oh, yeah. Big time. Very excited. You're the best around. So let me start with this. So here's what we're going to do on the show. We're not on vacation, unlike some. He's working on vacation.

Dave texted me. Please, please. He texted me from Hawaii this morning, asked me to submit a DFS lineup for him. I didn't see the text, but hopefully someone else did. Anyway, so what we're going to do today is talk a little bit about Week 17. He said he's working. He sent you a text to do something for him? Yeah.

What are you, a servant? I don't know. I don't know what that was all about. What we're going to do today is talk a little bit about Week 17. We're also going to start our nominations for the awards for 2019. The Fantasy MVP. The Rookie of the Year. The Best Waver Wire Pickup. The Worst Waver Wire Pickup. The One the rookie of the year, the best waiver wire pickup, the worst waiver

wire pickup, the one-week performance of the year, and the biggest bust of the season. And we're going to do the nominees today, and we're going to put them up in our Facebook group, Fantasy Football Today, and you all can vote on them. But here, let's start with a combo question. In 2020, let's assume that everybody's back in the same spots they are in right now. Quarterbacks, wide receivers, all that. Nothing changes. In 2020, would you rather have this combo, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Devontae Parker,

or Ryan Tannehill and A.J. Brown? Jamie, go. That's a good one. I would take the Dolphins. I know Ben's not going to agree with you. I thought you were going to get that one right, Jamie. I really did. It has to be A.J. Brown.

I think Fitzpatrick's going to still be a better fantasy quarterback than Tannehill next year. Yeah, maybe. I'm already building an extra wing on the Hall of Fame for A.J. Brown's future accomplishments. So we just want to make sure that we're taking him. I want him. He's really good. Holy cow.

The plays this guy makes. He's really good. I just think that, you know, we're going to find out a lot about Ryan Tannehill next week. And, you know, what the offseason brings. But Ryan Fitzpatrick is just so good for his top receiver. Yeah. Everywhere he goes, he just makes that guy good. Now, does this variable, though, matter to you?

Because obviously when you look at the best of Week 17, Devontae Parker, I don't know if he had the most yards. He didn't have the most points because he didn't score, but he had the most yards for any wide receiver against the Patriots since week six of 2018, Tyree Kill. So I think he did have the most yards. Perryman had 134. Parker had 137. When I say most yards, I mean this week.

So amazing game. I mean, against Stephon Gilmore, he had 137 yards. Going into this game, since the Preston Williams injury, Devontae Parker was the number two wide receiver in fantasy. You know, he wasn't this good, Jamie, before the Preston Williams injury. So, you know, does that matter for you looking ahead to 2020? I mean, a little bit. But I just think that, you know that the contract sort of speaks to itself,

that they feel pretty invested in him. He's lost his anchor, which is now the coach of the Jets. And so you look at what Parker's been able to accomplish this year, but again, I just go back to Fitzpatrick. That's the biggest thing, is he's still the quarterback. Yeah. So if Fitzpatrick's not, I know that's your question,rick. That's the biggest thing is he's still the quarterback. Yeah. So if Fitzpatrick's not, I know that's your question. Clearly, it's combining the two of them.

But I'm not going to like Parker anywhere near as much as if it's a rookie or if it's some other veteran guy that they bring in because Fitzpatrick either decides to retire or they just can't meet their contract situation. All right. So then let's do a straight up. Who would you rather have next year? Ben, you can go first.

A.J. Brown or Michael Topnow? A.J. Brown or Devante Parker? I would take Brown over Parker, but I do agree with Jamie. I would take Fitzpatrick over Tannehill in a vacuum. That's amazing. And Jamie, who would you rather have, Brown or Parker? Brown. I mean, he hasn't reached the ceiling yet.

You know, that's the nice thing is that, you know, what you're seeing right now is a guy sort of feeling his way out. We know that, you know, rookie receivers, there's been a handful that have had success, you know, more success than what Brown has done. But, you know, I think you have to hope that this offense continues to evolve. You know, they've been sort of learning on the fly a little bit as Tannehill took over in week seven for Marcus Mariota. I think you have to hope that this offense continues to evolve. They've been sort of learning on the fly a little bit as Tannehill took over in Week 7 for Marcus Mariota.

It's still Derrick Henry's offense. You look at what he did today and what he did this season to lead the NFL in rushing. They're not going to go away from that, but they can certainly enhance it, and that's where Brown comes in. He led the NFL in rushing while missing a game. Did you do—you probably know, but in case you don't, you know the play in which he became the rushing champion for this year?

The long touchdown. The long touchdown. What a baller move. All right, let's get into the show. We're going to talk about the best of week 17, then we're going to do our awards nominations. I want to promote a few things. Three episodes per week in the offseason.

Tell your friends. We have the preeminent fantasy football podcast. We will give you coverage that no other show is going to give you. Our Facebook group giveaway winner for week 17 is John from Tampa. We asked, who are you avoiding? Who are you just not drafting next year? And John said,

I would stay away from Lamar Jackson. History shows that this type of performance is very unlikely to repeat, and he will probably go high. And I decided that was the winner. Ben Trager and I decided because that's going to be an awesome talking point beginning January 1st, basically, and going all the way to September. And you can vote in our Facebook group for the awards that we nominate today,

except for the Bust Award. The Bust Award is going to be determined in the Apple Pod Reviews. So vote for that. Obviously, we'll give you the nominees today. And you can vote in the Apple Pod Reviews for the Apple Podcast Reviews.

You know, give us a nice five-star review. Leave us a comment. And with that, you know, you vote for one of the biggest Bust nominees. We're going to announce the winners on the

January 7th award show. All right, here we go. Heath does not like when I play this. Let's see how you guys feel. There's no way Ben understands what this music is referencing. But we're talking about the best of week 17. Ben, do you know the movie yet?

No. Not a surprise. Dak Prescott was amazing. 37 fantasy points. Michael Gallup had three touchdowns. Ryan Fitzpatrick at the Patriots. Big game. And Ryan Fitzpatrick, you're the best.

Gardner Minshew, you're one of the best. Jared, this is from Karate Kid, Ben. Karate Kid. Speak the leg, bro. Come on. That's right. Yeah, that's right. Sure.

I remember. I mean, I knew it was an 80s movie. I couldn't place it. Why does Heath not like it? an 80s movie. I couldn't place it. Why does Heath not like it? I don't know. I don't know. Probably because I came up with it. Does that sound anti-Adam?

We look at some of the best quarterbacks. He did enjoy your stupid comment on the radio show on Saturday night. You know, Michael Thomas was not a superstar before this year. Oh, yeah. Here we go clarifying i should have put the word super in there yeah i should just said i'm an idiot here's what i'm about to say at one point you said he wasn't a star before this year yeah i did he wasn't a superstar before this year uh he was he wasn't a top five wide receiver before this year in fantasy i mean he was like wide receiver six in fantasy drafts this year.

The question was. The fantasy finish dictating how good of a player he is. It was a fantasy. We're doing a fantasy show, for goodness sake. The question was, who would you take next year, Saquon Barkley or Michael Thomas? I said, hey, before this year, this wasn't even a question. It was obviously Barkley.

And now I would stick with Barkley. But you could have just left it at that. You had to throw in the stupid comment. But you know what happens. You talk a lot. You say hundreds of thousands of words throughout the year. Sometimes stupid things are said. Adam, I talk a little bit more than you do.

And I don't say as many stupid things as you do. I don't know if you talk as much. I do seven podcasts a week. I think I say more words than you do. I do eight hours of HQ programming a week. Yeah think I say more words than you do. I do eight hours of HQ programming a week. Yeah, but I do much... I think I do more radio

than you. I think I talk more than you do. And I bet you say some stupid things. You know what? Next time you say something stupid, I'm calling you out. Alright, so let's take a look at the top quarterbacks this week, guys. I did just say I would take Ryan Fitzpatrick over Ryan Tannehill. That could be stupid. Maybe. Dak Prescott,

Jared Goff, Gardner Minshew, Baker, like forget about Drew Brees, Baker Mayfield, Ryan Fitzpatrick. Ben, which quarterback stood out to you in week 17? What do you think? I think it's Fitzpatrick. I mean, we already kind of talked about him, but doing what he did against the Patriots was

very impressive. Obviously, I did not give Miami much of a chance to win that game. Yeah, nobody did. It's the worst. I think it's the worst loss in Brady's history in terms of the spread. I don't think he's ever lost as a heavier favorite. It's only the second time in the tenure of Julian Edelman and Tom Brady playing an AFC opponent at home, that they've lost. Both times this year.

And you know New England, like they needed that game. You know, we always have the conversation whether New England's dynasty is really going to end this time around or when, and they usually always prove us wrong. But now they have to go, they have to win first, which I assume they probably will in the first round at home. But then they have to go into KC and into Baltimore most likely, and that's going to be a really hard

path to travel. Yeah, it is. I'm really looking forward to the Tennessee Patriots game. Hold on. Let's talk about this. Fitzpatrick. Let's pause for a second. Marshawn Lynch is about to get his first carry. I don't care.

You don't care? Let's talk about Gardner Minshew. I have it queued up on my computer. I'll watch it. Let's talk about Gardner Minshew. Jamie, 29 fantasy points. Yeah, kudos to Heath. He stuck by him through thick and thin. So give him some credit for that one.

It's going to be a really interesting scenario for a couple things for the Jaguars. One, do they keep Marone? My guess is probably not at this point. But if Doug Marone is gone, is John DiFilippo gone? And is the whole entire coaching staff just whacked? If that's the case, whoever comes in has a tough decision to make. Are they going to go with Minshew or are they going to go with Nick Foles?

Because the money says Foles. Performance would say Minshew. He did not play well the past few weeks prior to this. I don't care what Heath says. You can tell me all you want to about he looked good in this half, this quarter, played a half, whatever. He was bad. This was his best performance since before the London game.

So you hope that if he is the guy that they can put some pieces in place around him to help him out. DJ Chark took a nice step forward. The receiving core is what it is. Leonard Fournette. I actually thought that what I saw from Rykel Armstead today was better than what Fournette has done in the past several weeks just in terms of how he moved and how he did some things running

around. But Minshew's got a chance to be one of those number two quarterbacks that when the matchup's right next season, you can start him. He would not be somebody that I'd want to draft, though, as a number one quarterback. And, Ben, when Jamie says number two quarterback that you can start when the matchup's right,

that is sort of what Baker Mayfield and Jared Goff were this year. And they both had good matchups today, and they both put up a lot of fantasy points. Goff torched the Cardinals for the second time in like five weeks, 30 fantasy points. Mayfield had 25 fantasy points. He threw three interceptions, though, and he only completed 12 of 27 passes. So I can't really say he played that well, but three pretty nice touchdown passes and good plays by his receivers on the touchdown passes.

But, you know, Goff and Mayfield were basically only, in retrospect, only worth starting with really good matchups. Are you going to view them that way next year, you know, as we sit here on December 29th? It's going to be really interesting for both of these teams because obviously what we saw from the Rams this year was not really what we have seen from them with McVay the last couple of years. And there's a lot of talk that the Patriots figured them out. They seem to have gotten something going a little bit better late this year using Tyler Higby a lot more in the passing game.

They never used to use tight ends the last couple of years. But the Browns is even more interesting, I think. I have been pretty down on Freddie Kitchens all year. I assume that's what most people have, most people's opinion on that. I think it's been a very disorganized offense and team and just undisciplined team. I would argue it's probably the worst coaching job in the league this year. Maybe Adam Gase, but like,

that's about it. I think Kitchens did a pretty poor job with the talent that he had. And so I think the Browns are going to be a really interesting bounce back team that a lot of people are going to say a lot of positive things about this off season and talk themselves into Mayfield again. To me, it kind of just depends where he winds up. You know,

if he, if he's somebody that's a later round option, I could see the bounce back. But if we talk ourselves back into him and he ends up, you know, you know, quarterback six, quarterback seven going in that range, I don't know if I'll probably be taking a lot of them. The thing, the thing, you know, obviously, and Ben alluded to this, so the Browns fired Freddie Kitchens. We haven't said that yet.

So their, their whole outlook could be dramatically different. We don't know if they're going to keep Odell Beckham, who is most likely going to have groin surgery. Jarvis Landry is going to have hip surgery. To what extent those two guys are dealing with any level of recovery, it was pretty clear that Freddie Kitchens and David Njoku did not get along. So what's going to happen there is the new head coach come in and have maybe a little bit more of a tight end friendly offense

that could help Baker Mayfield. I think Baker missed having and sort of you see his numbers improved when he got Kareem Hunt. He missed having I think a player like Duke Johnson who can be a little bit more of a pass catcher out of the back. You should have treated him better, Jamie.

You should have treated him better. Should I have treated Duke better? Yeah, don't talk about Duke Johnson that way. I agree with you 100%. Never talk about a man's money. So, you know, I think there are things that can help Baker next year. And Ben said it best, you know, the leadership. You know, I think he needs somebody to come in and sort of say, okay, this is the way it's going to be,

and you're going to have to fall in line and follow suit. And I hope that'll be a bounce back season for, for Baker. We're going to reveal our top 10 quarterbacks. Um, the three of us, Dave and Heath, um,

starting on Monday. And, um, you know, it, none of us have Baker Mayfield or Jared golf in the top 10 for obvious reasons. All right,

let's go to the running backs here. And your top running back this week is Derek Henry. He scored 39 fantasy points. Did not have a catch, but 211 yards on 32 carries and three touchdowns. Boston Scott is number two. That's a wild one. Miles Sanders hurt. That's the biggest injury of the day.

Miles Sanders, Kenny Galladay, but obviously Sanders going to the playoffs. Zach Hurts not going to be a part of the Eagles playoff run, it seems. He has a lacerated kidney. But Sanders joins the wounded there with Philadelphia with an ankle injury. And Boston Scott has three rushing touchdowns, 19 carries, 54 yards, three touchdowns, also 84 receiving yards. He led the team in receiving. Big game for Joe Mixon.

He finishes strong. And, Ben, Damian Williams is going to give us it's going to be another perhaps really interesting offseason with Damian Williams because he's finishing strong. Only 12 carries but 124 yards and two touchdowns. He had an 80 plus yard touchdown run. He had four

catches for 30 yards. I love that. Mike Boone shows up on this list. Talk to me about Damian Williams right now. Yeah, I mean, the last two weeks, I would argue, have kind of shown us that probably the reason that pick didn't work out and he wasn't very productive this year was mostly just due to injury. I mean, LeSean McCoy is not there anymore. Darwin Thompson never really stepped up. In week 16 from Williams, we saw him get a really easy 18 PPR points.

Wasn't very efficient on the ground. Caught some passes, scored a touchdown. That's what we were hoping for for most of the year for Damian Williams. And then this week, we saw what can happen when you get a little bit of an efficiency spike. He has the long touchdown run. I mean, he went over 30 PPR points, I think. I mean, this is – we don't know what the Chiefs are going to do all off season. I would expect they'll bring in another running back. So it's really just kind of a hindsight thing,

but I'm, I'm looking back at it and I'm like, man, this is what we should have seen from him all year. If he could have just kept away from all the nagging injuries. But this has been his career though. You go back to his time in Miami. And when he got the opportunity,

when they traded JJ, remember it was him and Kenyon Drake and Adam Gase, take it for what it's worth, was leaning toward Damian Williams more so than Drake. And then Williams had the shoulder injury and missed the rest of the season. I think it was like week 12 or week 13, and that's where Drake took off at the end of the year. So that's the concern you have for him is durability as a featured guy. So he can show you this in probably four or five game spurts. There's probably a reason why they want to keep him under 20 touches per week. But yeah, I think if he's still the guy and it's him and Thompson

and maybe another rookie, there's a lot to like about him. Just understand what you're getting. All right, how about some of the top wide receivers from Week 17? And we've got Michael Gallup. So did Michael Gallup at some point have four touchdowns? One got called back? Or am I making that up? I saw him having four at one point. He finishes with five catches,

98 yards, and three touchdowns. Brashad Perryman, A.J. Brown, Hunter Renfro. Big game for him. DeeDee Westbrook. And then you got Cooper Cupp, Devontae Adams, Stephen Sims. It was a weird week for wide receivers, Jamie. What jumped out at you today? Nothing really jumped out.

I think just, you know, there were some of these guys that we had talked about as waiver options earlier in the week, and we thought they had a chance to play well. Renfro and Sims were two that we mentioned. Greg Ward was a disappointing one of that trio, but to see those two guys deliver, I think the Jaguars receivers are going to be interesting to sort of dissect next year.

I know we sort of touched on this a little bit, but DJ Tark didn't really profile coming into the season as a number one guy. He was that for the Jaguars early in the season. We thought it could be D.D. Westbrook with Nick Foles. That didn't really materialize. Chris Conley had some good moments, Keelan Cole. So I think it's going to be fun to see, again,

if they change head coaches and who the quarterback is, who is going to be considered the number one receiver for Jacksonville. I'd be shocked if anybody didn't rank D.J. Chark first, but will he be drafted as this type of guy? We had a conversation earlier in the week, Ben, I'm curious your opinion on this. Devante Parker versus DJ Chark. He said he would take Chark over Parker.

I don't know if I can co-sign that right now, just based on what I've seen from Parker all season, if it's Patrick's the guy. And again, Chark, you know, still being in this mix of all these other guys sort of sharing targets. Yeah, I think I would take Chark too, but I'm, I definitely have some bias with Devontae Parker. I was high on him when he was younger

and he's kind of snake bit me a few times. So I'm hesitant to buy in on him. I think it's more of a personal thing at this point. Yeah. We get that all the time. Yeah, no, I mean, I'm hesitant to buy in as well. The Preston Williams factor is legit. I mean, the targets just weren't there in the same way. But maybe

you just look at him and say, okay, he's just emerged and now he deserves those targets. It's strictly contingent on Fitzpatrick. I think what was really amazing was that two good games against Buffalo, one good game against New England, good game against Pittsburgh.

I don't know that there's been a wide receiver that's faced more tough cornerbacks than Parker. I know I keep saying it about Beckham. And he's still going to finish. I think he's going to be a top 10 wide receiver. Like I said, he's number two since Preston Williams' injury. Well, it's interesting. He's always had all the talent.

When he came out, the closest physical comps were A.J. Green, Alshon Jeffrey, these big, super athletic, legit number one wide receivers. But you're right. The fact that he's able to beat those matchups really stands out to me as well. When Superman loses kryptonite, he's pretty good. Adam Gase is in New York now.

Look, Brashad Perryman really is making nice catches. He's got four straight really good games. Five catches, 134 yards, and a touchdown. Don't know who his quarterback's going to be. Don't know where he's going to be. Don't know where Jameis is going to be next year.

Bruce Arians did not seem happy with Jameis Winston, but shout out. Jameis, be back. Yeah, you saw the comments though, right? Yeah. I also saw Jameis say, look at my numbers. I'm balling. He said that? Yes, he did.

Dude, get at my numbers. I'm balling. He said that? Yes, he did. First quarterback ever with 30 picks, 30 touchdown passes. You're not balling. Eighth quarterback ever with 5,000 yards though. Do they count return yards and the touchdowns? Then he's got like 6,000 yards. Most pick six, I believe, ever.

I guess I saw his first NFL pass was a pick six i believe ever yeah and i guess i saw his first his first nfl pass was a pick six and uh his last nfl pass his last of his rookie contract that was the way it was phrased okay to the tight ends tight ends all right another big day for tyler higby and yeah it was the cardinals but he's your number one tight end and unofficial math i did this quickly before the show it's probably wrong but it's your number one tight end. And unofficial math, I did this quickly before the show. It's probably wrong, but it's ballpark, right?

Tyler Higby had eight catches for 84 yards and a touchdown. That gives him, in his last five games, by my probably wrong count, but close, 43 catches, 521 yards, two touchdowns. No, he's got to have more than 521 yards, right? Because he had 100 yards in four straight games. Whatever. He's over 500 yards, two touchdown Because he had 100 yards in four straight games. Whatever. He's over 500 yards, two touchdowns,

almost 50 targets in his last five games. Amazing stuff for Higby. He's your number one tight end. He's followed by Dan Arnold, Josh Perkins, Hunter Henry, and Jared Cook and Darren Waller. This is weird because I think Josh Perkins is technically a receiver. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Probably should have put him in the waiver wire, right? Cheat code. Ben, anything to say about Higby, the Saints, Dan Arnold, Josh Perkins for the Eagles, Hunter Henry, Jared Cook,

Darren Waller, and Caden Smith. You know, Caden Smith is actually ahead of Waller and Cook and Henry in actually, I think Caden Smith is your number three tight end in PPR this week and he is making Evan Ingram's future look a little interesting with the Giants trade

Evan Ingram I think they might honestly Higby I'll say was one of we Jamie just alluded to we did our top tens and we're going to release those this week Higby was one of the hardest guys for me I I think I wound up putting him maybe in the back end of my top 10 I might not even ranked him in my top 10 he was right there for me in like the 8 9 10 range I couldn't really

go higher but I also felt weird not ranking him with how good he's closed this season I don't really know what to make of him I don't really know if this is just a scheme thing that they've been doing, if it's something that they could go away from and not use their tight ends again right away, or if Gerald Everett could become involved again. It seems like this could just be something that they had that worked at the end of this season, and they have a completely different offense next year. Because McVay seems to kind of mix things up. So it's tough.

This is one thing I made fun of Heath of during the season because when he does Believe It or Not for the column that he writes, and then we usually talk about it on CBS Sports HQ on Mondays. So one of his toward the end of the season when Higby was either like the second 100-yard game or the third 100-yard game, he said, Believe It or Not, Tyler Higby will not be a top six tight end. And I was like, come on, Heath. I know. He did that on, come on. I know.

He did that on the show, too. Or the top six. I mean, like, call him a top ten guy or don't call him a top ten guy. You know, obviously, he's not going to be a top six guy. There are too many good tight ends that he hasn't done enough yet to warrant being in the top six. But top ten, like Ben said, it's tricky because, you know, where does he compare to maybe Darren Waller? Where does he compare to Evan Ingram? Where does he compare to Hunter Henry? You know, guys that either lived up to expectations like Waller did, uh, or maybe failed to meet expectations, but still have a ton of potential like an Evan Ingram. So I think that's

where you're going to have to make some tough choices on draft day and look, we'll see what the Rams do. You know, there's going to be a different version of the Rams coming into 2020 than there was coming into 2019, even how they finished 2019. So is it, like Ben said, is it Sean McVay evolving to use a player who's clearly talented? And if he didn't have some off-field issues

coming into the NFL, would have been drafted higher? That remains to be seen. But if you take the production probably of Gerald Everett and Tyler Higbee over the course of 16 games, that tight end is probably close to a top five guy. Everett had some pretty big games earlier in the season. So it's really not just the five-game sample size of what we've seen from Higbee at the end of the year.

Everett was doing some good things at the beginning of the season. Okay, guys. So right now, you have to draft for next year. Tyler Higbee or Jared Cook? Higbee. I think I might take Cook, but it's close. Yeah. Another big game for Cook.

Another big game for Higbee. Another big game for Debo Samuel. Oh, really? Great. You're ahead of me. I'm not DVRing tonight, everybody, in case you're curious. I usually DVR and then Dave and Heath like to spoil what's been going on in the game before I can watch it.

Oh, nice play, Deebo Samuel. But now I'm just watching online on delay. All right. He was the entire drive, by the way. He was the entire drive? Yes. Was that a running play? That was, but he had about a 50-yard pass, too.

He's very good. Man. Oh, come back. The rookie wide receivers are good. All right, so we got news and notes. We got awards. We also have the SeatGeek app. Our boy Ben Schrager used the SeatGeek app to go to the pinstripe bowl.

He got a great deal on SeatGeek. He got better prices on SeatGeek because SeatGeek brings in tickets from all over the web. And, of course, was his first time using the app. So he used the promo code FFT. Now listen, that promo code is not going anywhere. You've got all the time to use it. Next time you need to go to an event, sports, comedy, concerts, theater, whatever you want to go to, you want guaranteed tickets, you want $10 off your first purchase, use the code FFT on SeatGeek. It's a great app. It's so easy to use. Reviews are just fantastic. Over 50,000 five-star reviews in the App Store. I don't know why you're not using the SeatGeek app.

I use it. I tell everybody about it all the time. And I'm thinking about going to the Miami Duke basketball game next weekend. And if I go, I'll be using SeatGeek to get there. So again, download the SeatGeek app and use the promo code FFT for 10 bucks off your first SeatGeek purchase. Some quick news items here. We know Freddie Kitchens fired. Like I mentioned, Kenny Galladay was evaluated for a concussion. He was having a pretty nice game before that. Miles Sanders left with the ankle injury and Brandon Brooks, their left guard, one of their best guards in football, he left with an injury

as well for the Eagles. Buffalo lost two starters. Levi Wallace, a cornerback and right tackle, Ty Insecchi. Ankle injury for both of them. And they get the Texans, right? Buffalo at Houston next weekend. Will Greer left with a foot injury, and we saw Kyle Allen again. Kansas City safety Juan Thornhill left with a knee injury. So, yeah, between the Bills,

the Eagles, the Chiefs, some injuries. Week 17 injuries, a little unfortunate. We don't know the severity yet. Bruce Arians, like I mentioned, he sounded very noncommittal on Jameis Winston. We'll see what happens there. Oh, Green Bay also. Big injuries for them. Two offensive linemen. Right tackle Brian Bulaga. Concussion. Corey Lindsey.

Back injury. I don't know if Bulaga was diagnosed with a concussion, but he was evaluated for one. Dallas defensive end Demarcus Lawrence left, and Zach Ertz has the lacerated kidney and the fractured rib. All right, so what are our... I haven't looked at the playoff matchups. I think I know them. We've got Saints against the loser of tonight's game, right?

No. No. Because... Oh, okay. The NFC is still wide open depending on what happens tonight. So by the time people

are listening to this, they're not going to know the answer. Saints are the three. We're not going to know the answer. Right. Saints are the three.

Oh, no way. Because the San Francisco game. Right. OK. No, we don't know anything. All right.

So forget about that. The only thing we know is the AFC first round. It's the Titans and the Patriots. Patriots are the three by virtue of losing to the Dolphins and the Chiefs winning. And the Texans and the Bills.

The Texans are the four and the Bills are the five. I said the Packers are the two. That's not even true. That's not even true. They could be the one, right? The Packers have a first round bye. They will either be the one or the two. Right.

And Minnesota is the five. Minnesota is the six. The six. Yeah, the loser of tonight's game will be the five. Okay. San Francisco can get to the one seed. Seattle can't get to a bye. They'd be the three if they won.

Okay. Well, everybody knows what happened by the time they hear this, so sorry about that. But the AFC, awesome. Okay, Little Caesars, everybody. Pizza Portal Pickup. I've been telling you about it. Have you ordered a pizza online from Little Caesars yet? If not, you're, everybody. Pizza Portal Pickup. I've been telling you about it. Have you ordered a pizza online from Little Caesars yet? If not, you're missing out on Pizza Portal Pickup.

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It's time for the 2019 awards. The nominees, just the nominees. So I think we all have a few here. Let's start with the fantasy MVP. I don't know. I'm thinking maybe just, we'll narrow it down to four per award

because everybody has to vote on it. There are only three guys for the fantasy MVP, so you can stop at three. We'll add a fourth. You can, but... Adam will probably add the Patriots defense. Lamar Jackson. No, you know what?

I put a fourth guy in here that I think I probably need to change to a better option. It's like when they sent Joe Burrow and the other guys to the Heisman. Yeah, right. The fourth guy is not invited to this party. Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey, Michael Thomas.

And if we're going to pick a fourth, let's pick a fourth. I originally had Aaron Jones, and I think that's a really compelling case because he was, first of all, entered Week 17 as the number two running back in fantasy. I mean, come on. It's going to be Derrick Henry. That's what I was going to say. Now. It's going to be Derrick Henry. That's what I was going to say. Now I think it has to be Derrick Henry. But what I liked about Aaron Jones was that weeks 14, 15, and 16,

he came through. He had five touchdowns in those three games. And Derrick Henry missed one of those games. Well, I mean, by that strategy, Ryan Fitzpatrick should be the fantasy MVP. Well, no, because he wasn't nearly as good all season long. Jones and Henry are top five running backs. Ben, if you were going to nominate someone as number four here,

who would it be? I mean, I think either of those guys are fair options. I think you could, you know, you could go to a different position and say Travis Kelsey. I think it's really hard to make a case that any running back could even be discussed with Christian McCaffrey after he became the third player in NFL history to do the 1,000-1,000 season. He had the third-best PPR season ever

behind only Ladanian Tomlinson and Marshall Falk. Just a phenomenal season for him. I bet Aaron Jones has a higher winning percentage than McCaffrey, Jamie. You'll get that data. The players that were on the most championship rosters, I think Aaron Jones is going to be number one among running backs. No, I'm saying that because Chris sent us the list of the guys who were the most started players in...

But that doesn't take into account championships. No, but in week 16. And Aaron Jones was started in more leagues than McCaffrey, and he had a huge game. The win percentage does not take into account championships, though. What do you mean? What does it take into account? Because you could have those guys on your roster,

and your win percentage may be higher the once he got upset. Your win percentage may be higher than the team who won it. I thought the win percentage was the higher than the team who won it. I thought the win percentage was the percentage of championship rosters that had that player. No, no, no. It's the win percentage for the season.

For the season. It's not who won the league. No, the win loss. Yeah, for the season. Okay, then never mind. All right, so those are your... We have to decide a fourth. Derek Henry?

Sure. I would give it to Henry over Aaron Duncan. Derek Henry was the 49th overall pick in CBS Sports League. Christian McCaffrey was the top four pick. There's a case. We've got Lamar Jackson, Christian McCaffrey, Michael Thomas, and Derek Henry.

Next category, Rookie of the Year. Ben, who would you like to nominate for Rookie of the Year? Well, I mean, it's obviously got to be A.J. Brown. This guy, he was the number one wide receiver in standard formats in weeks 14 to 16 in the fantasy playoffs. He was number three in PPR. He was an absolute league winner.

Okay, and anyone else or just one for you? You want to nominate him twice? Miles Sanders would be the other one. He was sixth in non-PPR and fifth in PPR in the fantasy playoffs at running back. I mean, those two guys came on late and were really, really big players in the fantasy playoffs. All right. My guys were Terry McLaurin and Miles Sanders. The reason why I went with McLaurin over A Brown going into week 17 uh Brown was a little bit higher in the overall wide receiver standings than McLaurin but I just felt like I was giving the nod to McLaurin because you were able to use him more for more of the season whereas nobody was

starting AJ Brown nobody really owned AJ Brown in 12, he had 135 yards and a touchdown against Jacksonville, A.J. Brown. He was owned in 32% of leagues. So, yes, he helped you win because you picked him up. But he didn't help you get there, and McLaurin did. McLaurin had a game like that in Week 1 that no one played him for that. Yeah, Week 1, but what about Weeks 2 through 10? McLaurin had more— Well, I'd argue that McLaurin had a lot of down games in people's lineups once

once aj brown emerged and the playing time was there he he maybe had one dud he's been really good when people have been starting him whereas mclaren was a little bit sketchy there and probably hurt his his managers a little bit all right i was honestly just saving aj brown for you uh jamie who would you like to nominate for Rookie of the Year? I think, again, it's a three-man race. McLaurin and Deebo Samuel would be four and five for me, and then maybe Kyler Murray if you want to throw him there at six. But I think it's the two guys that Ben mentioned, AJ Brown and Miles Sanders.

But Josh Jacobs got a ton of people to the Fantasy Playoffs. He clearly did not do well in the fantasy playoffs because of the shoulder injury. But if you were able to maybe pair him with DeAndre Washington, you may have gotten by there with the games that Jacobs missed. But he was awesome for the start of the season. He was awesome midway through the season. And he was awesome up until the shoulder injury became a problem for him. So I think it's going to be fun to see the value for Jacobs and Sanders next season and how

those guys get ranked and taken in drafts. But I think it's those two running backs and AJ Brown are the top rookies for 2019. Okay, so who's our fourth? Terry McLaurin or Debo Samuel? I will vote for Terry McLaurin. I would put McLaurin just because I think he had a little bit more of a lifespan for your fantasy team than Debo Samuel. All right, so that's two for McLaurin. Ben, I'll let you cast a vote even though it's useless. I'll vote for Debo. All right, it's useless. It's useless. Give him his point on the voting scale.

Okay, those are our four then. Terry McLaurin is the fourth. Best waiver wire pickup. Jamie, who are the best waiver wire pickups? Well, I mean, we've already mentioned a few of them with the rookie receivers. Ryan Tannehill. I'll make my case for him. Just what

he did to help people get to the fantasy playoffs at a time when quarterbacks were up and down with Breeze with his injury, Brady with his subpar play. A lot of the guys, Aaron Rodgers, obviously frustrating people. Ryan Tannehill, I think, makes a lot of sense

to be that guy. That's a pretty good one. If you want multiple, I'd say basically pick a Dolphins cast-off or an Adam Gase cast-off. Yeah, Devontae Parker was my guy. I think the three would be Tannehill, Parker, and DJ Tarkin.

Oh. Actually, you know what? There's someone that I think is probably the winner that nobody was going to nominate because nobody knew what his – nobody believed it. I went back. I looked at my waiver wire notes for the first waiver wire show that we did. John Brown was 61% owned after week one.

That's good. So I don't know. I mean, that's kind of high, but he's the winner, I think. He's in the threshold of what we talk about every week. Yeah, I think so. So I have John Brown, Devante Parker, and Darren Waller. Top five tight end going into week 17.

He was 59% owned in week one. So Ben, this one's really tough. This is going to be tough to narrow down. Ben, who do you like as the best waiver wire pickup? Yeah. I mean, I, I agree. A lot of the guys you guys named, I think if you just kind of zoom in a little bit more on the later part of the year, you can, you can talk about AJ Brown again. Uh, and Tyler Higby who we just talked about as a guy who, you know,

you could plug in a tight end and was so consistent week in and week out after he became someone that got on the fantasy map and people were actually using him. And then he was so productive in the fantasy playoffs. So he's another guy. But yeah, I mostly agree with all the names you guys are saying. Kenyon Drake, I think he may have gotten cut in a couple leagues and then he came up big later. I don't think he did. Not enough. He probably never dropped.

His ownership probably never dropped that far. Right. I think he got down to like the 70s, so he was one of those guys that we would say, if available, take a look at. But I don't think he ever got below it. This one I think comes down to, you know, if you're talking season long versus, you know, end of season.

Because, you know, the guys Ben mentioned, end of season, you could throw DeAndre Washington's name in there, end of season, what he was able to do for the fantasy playoffs. But if you're just talking about length of year, John Brown, Darren Waller, DJ Chark, Devontae Parker, these guys, you pick them up. Terry McLaurin, you pick them up and you got seven, eight plus weeks out of those guys.

It's pretty special. Those would be my four. I would go with Brown, Parker, Chark, and Waller, I think. Any objections? No. Ben? No.

Okay. Excellent. Those are good ones. Those are your best waiver wire pick-up nominees. DJ Chark, John Brown, Darren Waller Devante Parker worst waiver I have the winner for worst waiver wire pickup Mike Boone

worse than that Ty Johnson he was 93% owned oh I got one better oh no really I forgot something Brian Hill Brian Hill was a good one was 93% owned. Oh, I got one better. Oh, no, really? I forgot something? Brian Hill.

Ooh, Brian Hill was a good one. What about Kalen Balazs? People went out and got Kalen Balazs a couple different times this year. Brian Hill was getting the start against the Panthers. I don't know if it's the height of their terrible run defense,

but it was pretty bad. So here's why I would take Ty Johnson. Because with Brian Hill, the report we had on Devontae Freeman was like two to three weeks. And with Ty Johnson, we knew Kerryon Johnson was out for the year. It was earlier in the season. And I remember the stories about the amount of fab that people spent on Ty Johnson.

So I put Wayne Gallman for kind of the same reason. And Gallman actually played really well in the first game that Barkley missed. But I know in a couple of my leagues where I needed a running back, I spent a lot of fab on Gallman because we didn't know the severity of Barkley's injury. And then Gallman in his second start got hurt, crushed your lineup because he was in everybody's lineup. And then then Barkley beat him back. You got one game out of him, and you probably spent 40% of your fab if you got him.

If that won you the week, it was worth it. Yeah, for the one week. Well, I don't know. If he was the guy that won you the week, it was worth the fab. He may have been for that one week. If you spent a lot on Latavius Murray, at least he won you two weeks.

All right. So, okay. So who are the – Ty Johnson for me is a must. I honestly think Mike Boone is a must because that was just so funny. It was week 16 and it was just so funny. Not to the people who started it. A lot of people are laughing about it. I lost a championship where I needed 7.3 points from him.

So that was fun. You know who we should add to the waiver wire pickups is Raheem Mostert. Does he beat the other guy? The other guys we have are really good. I don't know, man. Mostert's been... If he scores today,

that would be seven touchdowns in a row. Okay, so who are you going to bounce? John Brown, Devontae Parker? Oh, I don't know if you have to knock any of those guys off. I would say probably John Brown just because 61% ownership is mostly for 10-team leagues that he was available. Yeah, I kind of agree with that too.

He was owned in most leagues. I'll amend it. I'll make it Chark, Parker, Waller, and Mostert. I would actually take Tannehill over Mostert personally. Ben, Tannehill or Mostert? I'll go Mostert okay best waiver wire is now mostert plus charke parker and waller we will move john brown worst is going to be ty johnson mike boone who else brian hill okay it's all running backs it's all running backs we believed in that

that didn't do it i i put John Ross on my list, too. I mean, Kenny Stills, Will Fuller went down. Those are guys that I think we had high hopes for. For Ross, it was injury. For Stills, he just never really filled the Will Fuller role. But I don't know that those guys are the top four. I would say Kalen Balaji said it earlier. You know, people got excited about him when Drake was traded.

All right. Final nominees. Ty Johnson, Mike Boone, Brian Hill. Who's our fourth? Kalen Balaji. You know what's another good one for this? It's TJ Hawkinson. Okay. I love it. I love it. That's a great one. He looked like a superstar in week one.

If only we knew about the Cardinals defense against tight ends. Ty Johnson, Mike Boone, Brian Hill, TJ Hawkinson. I love it. I love it. All right. Next award. Oh, this one's a fun one. One week performance of the year. One week performance

of the year. There were some really good ones. Here's my favorite. I don't know that you guys are going to agree because it was Lamar Jackson's third best game of the year. But it was such a statement. It was week one. And he scored 43 fantasy points at the Dolphins. 42 fantasy points at the Dolphins.

He threw 20 passes. Five of them were touchdowns. And looking back in retrospect, it was a sign of things to come so that was my favorite other than that i would i guess i would probably go with marvin jones catching four touchdowns i was only started in 26 of leagues so that's kind of uh a negative in that regard um one week performance of the year ben what do you got here well so i was thinking kind of like to your jones point like we were thinking like one hit wonders.

I have Will Fuller, the 14 catch, 217 yard, three touchdown game. Yeah. I think he was started in a lot of leagues that week. I had him in a lot of lineups. He was just getting. I'll tell you. You know what? Find me the date.

I'll find the date and I'll tell you how started he was. Because week five. Okay. And then the other one that I did for a good one hit wonder was Sammy Watkins week one. I mean, he came out of the gate and looked like he was going to have an amazing year for Kansas City. And then Tyreek goes down and he's nowhere to be found for the rest of the year. Well, that was the game Tyreek went down to.

Yeah, it coincided with. Oh, my God. I traded at that point. Not at that point, but a couple weeks later, I traded Lamar Jackson for Kyler Murray and Sammy Watkins. And that wasn't crazy at all, but it sounds crazy right now. And we know what happened. I didn't see her bet. So, yeah.

So I think start percentage, I kind of wanted to factor that in, in this, because I don't think Will, I'm sorry, I will find the Will Fuller note or how started he was but like Marvin Jones being only started in 26% of leagues I think kind of takes away a little bit of the shine of the one week performance Mike Evans had a huge game in week three when people were really doubting

him he had two bad games to start the year he had 190 yards and three touchdowns against the Giants in week three and then you just had these quarterback performances Deshaun Watson scored 51 points against Atlanta. Aaron Rodgers, 53 against Oakland. Six points for passing touchdown leagues. Russell Wilson, 49.

Oh, how about, you know what? This one is actually a pretty important one to me. Drew Brees, his 49-point game against the 49ers. Just kind of silencing the doubters, right? Like, oh, he's the best team he's faced all year. How's he going to do? Crushed it. So we have so many choices here.

And Drake is another one. Four touchdowns in the fantasy playoffs. I don't know how much. I think he was probably started in a reasonable amount of leagues. He was, yeah. And that was a monster. One we already talked about, I think, has to be on there is the Wayne Gallman game. The Wayne Gallman game?

That wasn't that good. Well, it was pick him up because he has the chance to be really good, and he was really good. No, I think Latavius Murray was better two weeks in a row as a waiver wire fill-in. I don't disagree with you, but it was... That was, how much do you spend on Wayne Gallman because he's not a very good talent.

And he delivered in that one game that we just finished saying that if you spend a lot of fab on him, you got rewarded with it. I think he's a typical one-week wonder. Yeah, but it wasn't nearly that good of a performance compared to some of the other ones. But it was impactful. It was. But I think in that vein, I think that Will Fuller was started in 41% of leagues when he scored three touchdowns.

I think the Latavius Murray games were even better. Because he had back-to-back games with like... You don't agree? No, I don't. They were better games, but I don't think they were more impactful when you think about the 2019 fantasy season. I think it's that Wayne Gallman debate of how much fat do I spend

on this scrub just because he's stepping in for Saquon Barkley and he delivered in one game. But were we having the same kind of debate about Latavius Murray? Or was it just so clear cut? No. Latavius Murray, we expected to play well. I don't know

that that really matters in the context of this. Well, look, it's up to interpretation, I guess. All right, so Jamie likes the Gallman one. I had Will Fuller

on my list too, so we'll put Will Fuller there. Aaron Jones with four touchdowns against the Cowboys. I think also, you talked about this and I think they're you talked about this,

and I think they're both impactful. The TJ Hawkinson game was the game we saw the Cardinals can't defend tight ends and sort of set the tone for that matchup. The Tevin Coleman game against the Panthers, when he had the three touchdowns, or four touchdowns, I forget how many he scored, that was the Panthers really stink against the run. And then that was a matchup we were just hammering

from that point forward. I need your two favorites. Everybody give your two favorites. My two favorites are Lamar Jackson week one. And just to keep it simple, I will say Will Fuller, three touchdowns. I like the Jackson one. I think that makes a lot of sense. And Fuller probably is my favorite for the whole year because I had that makes a lot of sense. Fuller probably is my favorite for the whole year

because I had him on a lot of leagues personally. Yeah, I think those are two really good ones. The Lamar Jackson one, you're right, set the tone for this season. He's the MVP. I'm going to say Sammy Watkins week one and Wayne Gallman week four. Okay, we've got our four then. And finally, the biggest bust of the year, Jamie, give me a couple of names.

David Johnson. Yep. Would be one, and Baker Mayfield would be two. David Johnson and Baker Mayfield, okay. Yep. Who do you got, Ben? David Johnson is my number one. I mean, again, part of that's because I drafted him

in a lot of my own leagues, but for me, it's like a lot of bus it's injury related you know juju smith schuster we can put on this list but ben rothsberger getting hurt obviously changed everything for juju smith schuster and then he himself got injured but david johnson yeah he was banged up a little bit but he just wasn't very good and then kenyon drake came in in that offense and showed what the upside could have been for that role i mean to me david johnson is just like the the winner like already like i don't even have other great nominees that are even close well what about barkley number one overall pick he kind of redeemed himself with that four touchdown

fantasy championship game i mean i lost a championship or not four touchdowns sorry uh yeah two touchdowns and the 200 and whatever yards yeah um but yeah that i i played a guy who had barkley and somehow made it all the way to the championship and then beat me because barkley just played like like the number one pick i got beckham i think beckham yeah beckham's a good one. So we need a fourth. We have Mayfield, Johnson, Beckham, and anyone else? I mean, you can make a case for Le'Veon. Oh, that's a great case. Done.

Done. And Juju, I think. Yeah, I agree with you, though, about Juju. Wasn't really his fault. Nobody would have taken him that high if we knew Roethlisberger was going to miss basically the entire season. Damien Williams is another one that people really like to... But injury, I think, factors in there. I mean, you can make a case for Holmes.

Yeah. He's not nearly as bad as the other guys, though. No, I mean, I still think Baker's the fourth because he was... That's fine. Yeah, I was including him. Yeah, Baker, Beckham, Johnson, and... Oh, we need a fourth. Le'Veon Bell. Yeah, Le'Veon's fair. Yeah. All right. Le'Veon Bell,

Odell Beckham, David Johnson, Baker Mayfield. That one you are voting on in the podcast reviews on Apple Podcasts. The other ones you will vote on on our Facebook group. And it's going to be really cool. And we'll announce the winners on January 7th. Good show, guys. Thank you very much. And congratulations's going to be really cool. And we'll announce the winners on January 7th.

Good show, guys. Thank you very much. And congratulations to both of you on a job well done all season long. Thank you. I was going to return the congratulations, but, I mean. See, Jamie just said something stupid. There you go, finally. Adam, Ben, everybody listening, Happy new year. Are we doing a show before

New Year's, right? Tuesday. We'll react to all the coach firings and stuff. No happy new years yet? Happy new years on Tuesday? Yeah, we'll talk to you Tuesday. Great. It's been a pleasure, everybody. The reason why I'm not going to do one of those sign-offs is because, you know, three shows a week. Nothing's done here. Dynasty talk all

off-season long, NFL draft talk, all the signings, all the firings, the agents, trades, all that great stuff. We'll have it for you. So for Ben Gretsch, for Jamie Eisenberg, I'm Adam Azer. Thanks for listening. We'll talk to you Tuesday.