Fantasy Football Today - Bold Predictions, Fill in the Blank, Rankings and More (09/02 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: September 2, 2021

It's a busy show loaded with Fantasy content as Dave and Chris start you out with 2021 bold predictions (1:50) about the Washington WRs and the Denver WRs. Then we tell you which players could raise the bar in 2021 (8:40) and we hit the injuries, news and notes (12:00) ... Fill in the Blank (20:10) with Saquon Barkley, RB draft strategy, Lamar Jackson and more. Plus we'll rank players who you may be deciding between in your drafts (29:30). How do we rank Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Jalen Hurts? ... More bold predictions (35:40)! And Team Name Tuesday on a Thursday (51:15)! ... Email us at [e-mail] 'Fantasy Football Today' is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox, and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr, @ctowerscbs, @BenSchragg Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/fantasyfootballtoday Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/ Sign up for the FFT newsletter https://www.cbssports.com/newsletter You can listen to Fantasy Football Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast." To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports. On his way to the end zone. I'll tell you what, that was a spectacular play. It's time to dominate your fantasy league. What a play. Off to the races. Touchdown. Oh, he's done it again. Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, Heath, and Ben. Today we cover the best fantasy topic that there is,

that is bold predictions. It's the best because you can't hold this to it. If we're wrong, whatever, it was just a bold prediction. I love that about bold predictions. Today's episode. I hate that about bold predictions. I hate it. What's our job?

Gentlemen, it's to predict what's going to happen in fantasy football. The thing that I like about it is it's where you can take the things that you actually believe but are too afraid to say them. And like, if you really believe it, then rank it that way. You got to stretch them a little bit. You know, it's not like you exactly 100% believe that this is going to happen.

Right, right. But it's, you're planting a flag. Yeah, it's fun. It's not like you exactly 100% believe that this is going to happen. Right, right. But you're planting a flag. Yeah, it's fun. It's fun content. People enjoy it. Listen, today's episode is sponsored by Sonos Arc, the premium smart soundbar for TV, movies, music, gaming, and more. Stay tuned for additional details about Sonos Arc later in today's show.

We have actually a lot today. It's not just bold predictions. We'll catch up on the injuries. We've got fill in the blank. We've got rank these three players. I'm just going to, that's where I give Dave and Chris three players and they rank them. And I think there are three players that, you know, and you could be

complicated. I know I will don't worry, Dave. I will explain the rules before we get to the segment. They're players that I think people could be realistically deciding on when it's their turn to draft. Okay, so first bold prediction. This one is just like knocking my socks off. I just want to say, I want to point out.

So I'll start my bold prediction. But before I do, I just want to say the two players I'm talking about played on the same college team. And one was clearly better than the other one. Okay. So I just want to throw that out there. My bold prediction,

Curtis Samuel outscores Terry McLaurin in fantasy football in the year 2021. And I know, oh my God, it's crazy. What are you thinking? Terry McLaurin outscored Curtis Samuel in the same amount of games last year by 13.

Did you know that? Nope. You want another fun fact? They were on different teams, and one had a terrible quarterback, but other than that. Well, I mean, the other one didn't have a great quarterback, but I will. Is Adam there? Oh, yeah, I'm here. Okay. Sorry, we're having some technical? Oh, yeah, I'm here. Okay.

Sorry, we're having some technical difficulties in the studio. I'm good. The other thing I will point out, did you know that Curtis Samuel is 11 months younger than Terry McLaurin? Who cares? Who cares?

He was picked 37 spots higher. They played in the same college offense. Curtis Samuel was much better. And he's younger, and he's been in the NFL longer. So, it's not as wild as it seems. I know we're producing a huge breakout for Tyron McLaurin.

Tell me why Curtis Samuel's going to outscore McLaurin. The last time Curtis Samuel played in Ron Rivera's offense was the 2019 season, and famously it was not a great season for Curtis Samuel. He had like 690 yards. He wasn't great. The thing was, he was actually in a very valuable role

in that offense. He had like 1,533 air yards in that offense. I think it was like fifth or sixth in the NFL. He actually had more air yards in that offense than DJ Moore, who I think is a pretty good comp for Terry McLaurin in the roles that they're going to play in this offense. So yes, I think Terry McLaurin will be a better receiver than Curtis Samuel, but I think it might

be closer than we think. Maybe it's 1,100 yards versus 900 yards. I think that's perfectly reasonable. But Curtis Samuel is also going to have a role in the running game. We saw last season, obviously that wasn't in Ron Rivera's offense, but we saw last season he was really, really valuable in the rushing game. And in Ron Rivera's offense, but we saw last season he was really, really valuable in the rushing game. And in Ron Rivera's offense in 2019, I think he had like 25 carries. So that's the kind of thing that I think gets lost a little bit in fantasy production when we're talking about wide receivers for a guy like Robert Woods, for a guy like Curtis Samuel. I'm not saying you should project and boost every wide receiver because they might get rushing yards, but those guys clearly have a role,

and it's part of their skill set, and it's going to be used. Curtis Samuel is dealing with the groin injury. That's the biggest concern for me. Yeah. Well, I think regardless of how you feel about this bold prediction, Curtis Samuel is now going 131st overall. It is a shocking drop in average draft position from where he was before his

injury. So regardless, he presents great value. Okay, Dave. Now Chris gave me his three bold predictions before the show. Dave just gave me the players involved. One was Jerry Judy. One was Tyler Boyd. And the third one was

Patriots offense. So I went and I filled in the blanks on the bold prediction. So Dave's bold prediction for Tyler Boyd is Tyler Boyd will meet Dave in the year 2024 and ask him to name the city and state he is from. Makes sense. Yes, that will help people in fantasy leagues this year as well.

All right. And by the way before the show like because adam doesn't know what the bold prediction is i told him and i said it with a very straight voice that tyler boyd will finish as a number three fantasy receiver and adam lost it he was he was like you can't say that that's not a bold prediction here's the bold prediction and i've given it before tyler boyd will be the best receiver on the Cincinnati Bengals in PPR this year. Better than T. Higgins, better than Jamar Chase. I actually have him ranked ahead of Higgins still in PPR.

I just think about the offensive line not doing its job to the best of its ability. Joe Burrow dropping back to throw, getting rid of the ball quickly. Here's a target in the middle of the field that beats his coverage routinely. It will never be double coverage. If it's zone, he can find pockets to get open in he'll pick up lots of targets he did that plenty of times i believe he had 15 plus ppr points in six of 10 games with burrow last year i can double check that when i am done talking but i think there is potential for tyler boyd to have one of his best seasons ever with the Bengals, catching those easy short passes, building up his numbers in PPR and finishing not as a number three receiver, Adam,

but as a number two, yeah. Top 21 at that. I'll tell you what, Dave, in his first nine games with Burrow, Burrow got hurt in the 10th game. Tyler Boyd was 16th per game,

16th per game in full PPR, 25th per game in non PPR and Boyd. I'll just get the, throw that 10th game in where,PR, 25th per game in non-PPR. And Boyd, I'll just get the updated ADP. Throw that 10th game in where Burrow played into the second half. He was on pace for 1,200 yards, I believe, in those 10 games. Sorry, 1,136 in those 10 games. He's going 94th. Each of the four games, Burrow had 21 fantasy points or more.

Boyd had at least 18 in PPR. This is one of my favorite round six, seven picks to take. Keep going. It's T-Boyd. Keep going. What do you mean? Well, you don't have to take him in round six. This is where I'm happy to take him.

Yeah, but you don't have to because on CBS, he's 94th. That's CBS. I'll see where he is in Fantasy Pro pros consensus ppr by the way that was a sarcastic s cbs that's not how i really feel love cbs cbs is a great company excellent dental program and 91st in fantasy pros he's wide receiver 36 get two free yeah yeah all right all right come on so you could get him in round eight tyler boyd a very very very effective ppr wide receiver he's julian edelman i've been saying that for months and months okay those are two bold predictions we'll have more later on in the show it's now time for our uh raising the bar segment presented by

sonos we're looking at players who have the potential to raise their game to the next level if you want to tie this into more bold predictions, you certainly may, but we're looking for players who can raise the bar, who can raise their game to the next level. Chris, Dave, I'll let you guys. You guys are sitting next to each other in the Fort Lauderdale studio, so. It's true.

Fun. You guys can figure out who wants to go first here, wants to raise the bar. What do you think, Rock, Paper, Scissors? Raise the roof. I think you should go first. No, I want to watch Rock, Paper, Scissors. Are you bad at Rock, Paper, Scissors? No, I'm good. paper scissors no i'm good because i'm going scissors i'm going i'm good

okay scissors go rock paper scissors go oh see i went scissors the second time i went paper first and psyched him out you got to go you got to go paper first this has been i've seen studies on this people are more likely to go rock than any of the other ones because it comes first in the order. It's a fun fact. Also, if you're lazy, because when you do rock, paper, scissors, you're already in rock mode. You don't have to extend fingers or anything that might break a sweat. Rock mode. Yeah, I'm always in rock mode.

All right, Chris, rock on. Who do you got? We're looking for players who are going to take their game to the next level, and I am going to start with a guy who I believe will be the starting quarterback for the Miami dolphins in week one to a tongue of a law. I, I, I know the, the whole, like there's a lot of smoke around the Deshaun Watson trade rumors,

whatever may happen from that. I think if to a tongue of a law is the starter for the dolphins this season, I think that offense is on the verge of exploding. I think they could be extremely good. I think we've sort of forgotten a little bit that before the hip injury, Tua Tungvaloa was every bit the prospect Joe Burrow was.

If Burrow was one, it was only by a little bit on Tungvaloa. He didn't look great last season, but he did. He wasn't a disaster. He wasn't Jared Goff as a rookie, you know, and I love the weapons that they've put around him. They've got four receivers in Will Fuller, Jalen Waddle, Devante Parker,

and Mike Gasicki, who can all make plays down the field. They're all, you know, fast for their positions. Three of the four have good size. Jalen Waddle's a little undersized, but he is such a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands. Him and Will Fuller can both break a short pass for a long gain or make plays down the field.

I just think this offense is set up for Tungvalu to just explode. I think he is a potential top 12 fantasy quarterback. So people love drafting fields and Lance. Do you think that tag of tongue of Iloa is also in that group? Different kinds of players. I think he'll be much better as a pastor than either of those guys, but he's not going to be the rusher, but I have him ranked as my QB 15. And if I'm waiting and I'm not drafting Justin Fields for upside, well, actually, Fields and Tungvalu, actually, it wouldn't be a bad combination. But yeah, no, I absolutely think

he's one of the breakout quarterbacks. I'm writing my breakouts column tonight and he'll definitely be on there. He's made very few mistakes this preseason. And you go back and you think about what makes a breakout quarterback. It's getting better pass protection from the offensive line. I think he'll get that. It's by getting a better adjusted completion rate to intermediate throws. He's absolutely going to be better at that with all the receivers that they've added to the offense.

Those are two factors that I think are very much in his favor and he'll run for a few touchdowns. Yeah, he's a pretty good runner. He's willing to do that, so I'm encouraged by that. I don't think it's recommended to wait until the late rounds to get Fields and Tua as your quarterbacks. I just feel like there's enough quarterbacks to go around. You can do it, but I just feel like you don't have to. Only one problem with that.

Only one problem. There's more than one problem. Tua opens with the Patriots. That's it. That's the than one problem. Two opens with the Patriots. That's the rough one. I don't think you're going to want to necessarily start Tua in week one. At least there's no Gilmore. In week two. Hey, Gilmore. All right. So listen, Dave already gave

Tyler Boyd. We'll consider that his player who can take his game to the next level. So Tua Tungvailoa is really going to be... You don't want to hear about Gerald Everett? You lost rock paper. I did. All right, let's do our news and notes here.

Irv Smith is likely out for the season. So give me your thoughts on how this affects every, well, let's talk about the Vikings passing game here. And is it a boost for Jefferson? Is it a boost for Thielen? Do you care about Conklin or Herndon? Does cousins win or lose lose, or is he

unaffected? He's not a winner. But yeah, give me your thoughts, Dave. You can start on Irv Smith being most likely out for the season, if not the full season, most of it. All right, so I'll tell you what I think it means for the Vikings. I think it means that we'll see more concentrated targets for Jefferson and Adam Thielen. I think it'll obviously help Dalvin Cook as well. We were talking before the show today about DeeDee Westbrook maybe being that third receiver for Minnesota. I think you should keep an eye on Tyler Conklin. There were four games last year. Remember when Kyle Rudolph was out and there was Irv Smith and we were all excited about Irv Smith, but Tyler Conklin played a lot too. Two of the games, he had 70% of the snaps. He actually had one more target than Irv

Smith in those games. He had two fewer touchdowns than Irv Smith in those games and fewer yardage in those games, but he was still involved in the offense. He knows what he's doing out there. He's ready to go for week one. He's not going to have to learn a new playbook and get adjusted to a new quarterback like Chris Herndon's going to do. You could turn to Conklin, certainly in tight end premium leagues, if there's somebody on your bench you don't want anymore.

But I like Gerald Everett as someone that you can go to off the waiver wire and pick up. He's available in two-thirds of CBS Sports Leagues right now. You can use him to replace Irv Smith. Cole Komet is also out there. That's a guy who's available in almost 80% of CBS Sports Leagues. So a couple of tight ends that you might be able to find that have some upside to help you replace Irv Smith in that offense. You know, Chris, I think you and I share the same

fears for Adam Thielen. He has 57 or fewer yards in 13 of his last 21 games. Technically it's 16 of his last 20 or 15 of his last 24, something like that. But no, 16 of his last 24, I didn't even include the last three games of 2019. He was playing hurt. So, but 57 or fewer yards in 13 of his last 21 healthy games. He's touchdown or bust, basically. He really saw a big decrease in targets in the second half of the season. And I didn't draft any Adam Thielen.

You probably didn't either. I'm not so sure I feel the same way. I do think this changes things for him. I actually did draft Thielen in a league recently. I think it was the one we did on... Actually, the salary cap draft we did yesterday. I might have gotten Thielen in that one. I think he's going to produce a good tight end. I think we're talking about a 31-year-old

who's clearly in decline. We've seen that over the last couple of seasons. But he'll still be a factor in the red zone. He's still going to get 110-plus targets at least. So I think this is probably good news for him, but he's still a fringe wide receiver too for me. And real quick, guys, any drop for Cousins? No, I don't think Irv Smith was going to play a big enough role

that that's going to change things. I do want to share glowing praise from Mike Zimmer on new Vikings tight end Chris Herndon. Quote, he was a guy that was kind of pretty good in most areas. Which, personally, that's what I'm aiming for in all parts of my life. If my boss said that about me, I'd be happy if my boss said that about me. I mean, that's much more praise than I ever got in school, at the very least. All right. Dave, you said something last night or Tuesday night on our live stream about Tony

Jones not necessarily being a true handcuff to Alvin Kamara, that he wouldn't have the role that we've seen from Latavius Murray. You want to just reiterate that? Yeah, it sounds like because Latavius made the team, he might be the better backup to Alvin Kamara if something were to happen. And Jones would just remain as a running back that could give them a jolt eight to 10 times a game, maybe a little bit less than that even. But it doesn't sound like there's a path for Jones to be in that Latavius role where maybe he's getting the previous Latavius role, where he's getting 10-plus carries a game.

I've kind of come to the conclusion that Latavius is still liked by this coaching staff, and he doesn't play special teams. So what's he there for? It would be to be the backup to Alvin Camara. So I've, I've cooled it on Tony Jones, which sucks because I think he's a really talented running back and we're always looking for late round running backs. He's one that's now like a late,

late round running back. I do want to see, you know, there's still what, 10 days until the season starts. I do want to see if maybe they trade latavius murray if they're waiting for someone to make an offer um because all through camp it really did seem like tony jones you know kind of had surpassed latavius murray i think in

one of the preseason games latavius murray was playing in the second half chris i'm going to put you in the position of being an NFL general manager. You are now in power of one of the 32 teams. I'm going to offer you a 31-year-old running back. What are you going to give me for him? I guess a seventh-round pick. Yeah.

Well, I'm pretending to be Sean Payton. This guy knows my offense. He's done a good job in the past. I don't need a conditional seventh-round pick. I don't need to save on cap space that much.

I'll just keep Latavius Murray. That's fair. Thank you, Sean. Meanwhile, New Orleans week one game against Green Bay will be in Jacksonville because of the hurricane. So they'll be playing week one in Jacksonville against the Green Bay Packers. Denver plans on waving Royce Freeman, running back Royce Freeman.

Evan Ingram could end up on short-term IR, which is only three weeks, but his status for week one very much in doubt. Kenny Galladay, though, trending in the right direction. Pittsburgh running back Anthony McFarlane could go on IR. That, again, would be minimum three weeks. Does anybody ever handcuff Najee Harris? He was the handcuff, or he is.

So, you know, if it's not him, I'm not sure who it would be. They waived Jalen Samuels, right? Right. They still have Benny Snell and Kalen Balazs. Yeah. And Kalen Balazs. It's actually a good thing. If you've got Najee Harris and you didn't handcuff him

because you probably didn't feel like you needed to, now you can go and pick up McFarland off waivers if he's there. Stash him in an IR spot. He's going to be there for a little while. Okay. Marquise Brown and Sammy Watkins practiced. Good news there. Jalen Richard for the Raiders.

He's expected to be placed on short-term IR, according to The Athletic. And then just this last thing here. I know people have asked questions about vaccinated versus unvaccinated and how long they're going to be out. So this I'm just reading verbatim from ESPN. Vaccinated players are tested weekly.

Those who test positive are required to be out for 10 days or, this is important, can return sooner once they receive two negative PCR tests separated by 24 hours. And vaccinated players cannot be identified as high-risk contacts, but if they are exposed to someone who tests positive, they must wear a mask inside the facility and must test daily for five days after the day of exposure. Unvaccinated players are

tested daily. Those who test positive must miss 10 days, and then there's a three-day return to play protocol. Unvaccinated players designated as high-risk close contacts must test immediately. If they test negative, they still must miss five days. So if you are a close contact to someone with COVID and you're vaccinated, as long as you're negative, all you have to do is wear a mask. If you're unvaccinated, you have to miss five days, no matter what. So that's a big deal.

Which means if it happens after Tuesday, they're out for that week. They're out. Unless it's Monday Night Football, but yes. So, right? They miss Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. So that's a big deal, and vaccinated players can come back sooner.

You guys do with that information what you will. Time for some rapid fire segments here. Got a lot of content from the listeners. Let's hit it. Unreliable Rod. This guy. You can never count on him. Lamar Jackson's ceiling would make him QB blank this year.

His floor would make him QB blank this year. One for the ceiling. He could be the best quarterback in fantasy. And 11 is the floor. Yeah, I was going to say 1 and 12. Oh, that's a lower floor than I anticipated. Last year, he was close to that. I think he was 9 or 10.

Right, so a little worse than last year. MVP level in circa 2019. All right, from B. That's all it is, B. Saquon Barkley will receive 20 plus touches in blank games this year. Eight. That might be too high. Yeah, I was going to say six. Combination of him not quite being healthy enough to the coaching staff's liking and part of it being the coaching staff just not wanting to rush them out there for a ton of plays.

Yeah. And then you factor in... The answer should be 17. The answer should be 18. That's a lot of games. Every single game, 20 touches. 18? Wow.

Giants are going to... Yeah, right, Dave. I love it. Pro Bowl. Oh, okay. No, I mean, the problem with this question is the games... Probably four or five games this year

where the Giants are winning by so much that they take Barkley out. It's true. Yeah. All right. Jeff Bates says, I should draft a QB blank rounds higher in a 10-team league versus a 12-team league or deeper. Zero.

I was going to say negative two. You think later? Yeah, because it's all about gaining an edge in a smaller league the shallower your league is the more star power you need to have and there are i think we all agree at least 10 quarterbacks who we think have legitimate number one qb upside or in that range and so it's going to be so easy to find either a late round quarterback who's very good or someone on waivers. There's the flip side of that, which is if you're looking

for difference makers in a 10 team league, why not get a difference maker quarterback? Heath has talked about it before where you're kind of just raising the minimum for what you would want to get from a quarterback in a, in a regular 12 team league that looks like 22 points per game. Maybe now that becomes closer to 24, 25 points per game, but I'm still not interested in, for example, taking my homes in round two in a, in a 10 team league. I would still know later than, I mean, no earlier than late round three for me on my homes. So I, I really, I don't see myself changing my strategy that much on quarterback. Tied in receiver, I might. Sorry, round

three. I'm just repeating what Dave said. Rapid fire from Dave Kamal. With the sixth pick of 12 teams in the draft in full PPR, I should take blank. He's got a unique structure to his team. One running back, one receiver, one tight end, three flex. It's like a unique structure to his team I mean he sort of does

one tight end, three flex it's like a two running back yes fine, one running back, one receiver, three flex who would you take sixth overall PPR a running back Kelsey if he's there, Adams if he's there Dave what's running back do you have sixth

if Zeke's there that would be amazing Aaron Jones would be next man up alright this is from dave coon uh blank is the lowest ranked running back i'd be content with as my rb1 that's a great question and this is an exercise that everybody should do before they go into their fantasy drafts assuming you haven't already mine would be miles gaskin, RB18 in my PPR rankings. That range sounds about right, yeah. Okay.

But some people see Myles Gaskin and they'll throw up in their shoes. Yeah, I mean, it ultimately comes down to what you're comfortable with. I think my comfort level might actually be a little bit lower. But yeah, like RB20. Adam, can you ask the questions faster? This is a rapid fire segment. If you ever throw up in my shoes, I'll be very mad at you. From Nevin,

I'm going to trade blank after the first blank weeks of the season. I'm going to trade two or four blank after the first blank weeks of the season. Hmm. That's a tough one. I'm trying to think about the players that I've named as super hot start guys.

I'm going to trade Sonny Michel. I bet he has some big games early on, and everyone will view him as a number two fantasy running back, and I will sell high on Sonny Michel. And if I'm wrong on that, then I will sell high on Daryl Henderson for the exact same reasons. I am going to trade four Cincinnati Bengals

after week three, as they start with Minnesota, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. After that, it will be Jacksonville, Green Bay, Detroit, Baltimore, and the Jets. So I will trade four Cincinnati Bengals after week three. And I will also trade Jameis Winston immediately in a 2QB league. I will trade

Baker Mayfield and Jarvis Landry after the first two weeks. I'm going to give this one to Chris first, since Chris is the only one who's going to get it. I had to look it up. From John J. Douglas. Fantasy football's Cedric Mullins will be blank. I know who that is. I know who Cedric Mullins is.

Oh, because you're an AL only. That's right. He's on my team. He's on your team? Wow. Playoff town, baby. Cedric Mullins is having an incredible year for Baltimore. Who do you think found him for our team?

Nice work. No, it was Jamie. It's got to be someone who's been around for a little while and hasn't been good, but who's about to have a a huge season which i want to say marquez calloway i know he's only entering his second year but that's that's the one that first came to mind that he's you know only had the one year but i think he could be that guy i think you need somebody a little bit older than that who could who could fill that role mike williams was mike. Mike Williams is a very nice answer.

I would like to steal that answer, but I will not steal that answer. I've talked about Marvin Jones looking good in the preseason. He's 31 years old. Yeah, no way. That doesn't fit. I don't know if this is a bold prediction,

but maybe he'll be a top 24 receiver. He's always been a top 29 receiver on a per game basis in PPR. Yeah, I know. That's why it doesn't fit. He's not Cedric Mullins. Because he's not a top 29 receiver on a per game basis in PPR. Yeah, I know. That's why it doesn't fit. He's not Cedric Mullins. Because he's not a nobody? Yeah.

You're looking for a literal nobody who becomes a somebody. Yeah, sure. Could be me, Cole Hardman. I don't know if he's a literal nobody. It could be Blake Jarwin, who, you know, I think Dalton Schultz's role and performance kind of confirmed our reasons for being excited about Blake Jarwin, who, you know, I think Dalton Schultz's role and performance kind of confirmed our reasons for being excited about Blake Jarwin if he's going to be the tight end one.

Going back to a name I said earlier in the show, Gerald Everett. Okay, I like that one. That's a good one, yeah. Our last one from Broccoli Rob. This is very funny. Blank is the quarterback from 8 to 12 in ADP that I draft most often.

Great question again. I've gotten a lot of Jalen Hurts because he's not the most popular guy in fantasy drafts, and he's got tons of upside. Yeah, that's probably the right answer. That's my guy. I don't think there is one right answer, though, because you could absolutely make a case for anybody that's ranked in anybody's 8 to 12 except for like tua sorry no no i mean jalen hurts is the one i'm

drafting most off oh i see oh yep me too that's interesting it can't that can't be the answer for all of us adam i swear i have too many overlapping leagues i haven't been like three or four leagues i don't think I'm... I'm not saying. How many... Yeah, I don't have them in the 2QB league. I know I'm in that one with you. Okay.

Anyway, that's it for fill in the blank. We'll do some rank three... All right, Dave. Rank these three players is coming up next. I want you to kind of think about how that's going to work. Okay. Maybe Chris can explain it to you as I explain the greatness of the Sonos Arc to our

listeners. I've told you about how great it sounds. I haven't really told you all that much about how it looks. You're wondering, is this some big clunky speaker that's not going to look right in my living room? That's absolutely not the case. It actually looks really good. I mean, for me, it fits perfectly on my little TV stand right in front of the TV. It looks great. It looks nice, like a nice piece of furniture, basically. And it looks kind of state-of-the front of the TV. It looks great. It looks nice, like a nice piece of furniture, basically. And it looks kind of state-of-the-art, too. It looks sleek. So that's not something you have to worry about. Are you worried about setting it up? Don't be worried about setting it up. I'm not handy at all. It took me, I don't even remember,

five, 10 minutes at most to set this thing up. You just download the app. You connect it. If you can download an app, you can set up the Sonos Arc. So now that we've gotten those two things out of the way, you're just going to be blown away by it. I mean, the first time I listened to it, I was like, whoa, this is completely different. This is a game changer. This sounds so much better. I cannot wait for real football to start, and I can turn those speakers up and immerse myself in the action. Everything sounds great. The movies are, you know, everything. But the music, like I said, I mean, you've got all these radio stations. I play Spotify on it all the time, and you're just going to absolutely love it. The app, the app is also really easy to use. I haven't talked about that, but that's where you

can go into the settings and put on the different features and those types of things. Piece of cake. So from start to finish, it looks good. It sounds amazing. It's easy to set up. There is no reason why you should not have a Sonos Arc. Alright? You're depriving yourself of better TV watching and music listening. Go to Sonos.com to learn more. S-O-N-O-S. Sonos.com to learn more.

Rank these three players. Jalen Waddell, Devante Smith, Antonio Brown. Rank them by the quality of the offense that they're in. So Brown, Waddle, Devontae Smith, Antonio Brown. Rank them by the quality of the offense that they're in. Brown, Waddle, Smith. Brown, Smith, Waddle for me. Point per reception

leagues. Rank these three players. CeeDee Lamb, Allen Robinson, Robert Woods. Robinson, Woods, Lamb. That's my order as well. Robinson, WoodsLamb. That's my order as well. Robinson Woods-Lamb. Okay.

Rank these three players. Chase Edmonds, Daryl Henderson, Raheem Mostert. Edmonds, Henderson, Mostert. I will say Edmonds, Henderson, and Mostert. Is that two in a row? Yeah, it's two in a row. All right, rank these three players. Juju.

Oh. Yeah! Wow. I was like, what's going on there? I can't hear him. Okay, Dave, can you hear me now? Yeah, I had to plug in my earpiece. Gotcha.

Juju Smith-Schuster, Jamar Chase, Kenny Galladay. Juju, Jamar Chase, Galladay. There's no way this is going to be three in a row, Chris. This would be amazing. I have Chase Galladay-Schuster, Smith-Schuster. Chase, Juju, Galladay. I'may I'm interested I feel much less confident about two and three than one Dave won't look at me I was just cursing okay well why chase one ahead of Juju Smith Schuster I'm not a big fan of Juju repeating what he did last year I think I actually

think there's a chance he could still get like maybe seven or eight touchdowns and the yard will be the same. I bet his catches go down. I bet his targets go down. This is a Steelers offense that'll throw a little bit less than last year. I don't view him as a very efficient receiver. I think there's a real chance the Steelers offense takes a big step back this season. I'm very worried about Ben Roethlisberger. I thought that way as well. And then when I started watching that offensive line in the preseason, their last two preseason games specifically, I felt a lot better. I don't know how I feel about that offensive line when it comes to run.

Were they going up against starters though? Because I don't think they really were that much. Definitely not, but at least they were cohesive at the time. And week one is going to be a challenge because Buffalo's got a bunch of defensive linemen, but I saw enough to where I felt okay with it it's more about Roethlisberger for me I'm just trying to learn a new-ish offense for the first time in a decade plus playing under center more something he hasn't done really in the last five or six years at all um I just, I think things

could look really, really bad for him. And frankly, I thought he was washed up last season. All right. Bold prediction. Steelers top five offense. That is bold. That's bold. Well, they have the pieces. They just have to, they need the line. They have the skill position players

to do it. They have the probably less important parts, I would say. Yeah, in a sense. Okay, rank these three players. Russell Wilson, Justin Herbert, and Aaron Rodgers. I know we're not going to agree on this one. You just did.

The way you list them is the way I would rank them. I would put Rodgers ahead of Herbert. And ahead of Russ, too? No, no, no. Russ is number one. Okay, so we were close. Yeah. At least we had Russ one.

Rank these three players. Aaron Rodgers, Jalen Hurts, Tom Brady. Brady is going to be number one for me, for sure. I would put Rodgers one spot ahead of hurts just as him being a little safer than hurts rogers hurts brady brady we don't agree at all on that one yeah that's not a knock on tom brady they're all top nine quarterbacks for me i just i the the the shying away from aaron rogers thing sort of sort of confuses. I know he's not going to repeat what he did last season, but we are talking about arguably the most efficient quarterback

in NFL history. He's still got his number one weapon. Marquez Valdez-Scantling has actually had a very good camp. People are really raving about him. You can't say that Marquez Valdez-Scantling... We say that every year about Marquez Valdez-Scantling. Hold on. You can't say that that quickly after you say his number one weapon.

You have to pause. Sorry, yes. He has his number one weapon, M-Dash, Devontae Adams. There you go. And Marquez Valdez-Scantling has had a good camp. You're not worried about the offensive line, at least to begin the year? I'm not really. Not with Rodgers.

I just don't think that's going to be that big of a concern. Okay. And you're not worried about the offensive line, at least to begin the year? I'm not really. Not with Rodgers. I just don't think that's going to be that big of a concern. Okay. And you're not worried about the schedule? I don't really worry about schedule at all. A lot of it just comes down to, if Aaron Rodgers is Aaron Rodgers, it doesn't really matter all that much. We basically have that weird two-season span

between the end of the Mike McCarthy era and the first year of the Mike LaFleur era. And other than that, he's been the best quarterback. A lot of top five finishes. He's amazing, yeah. He just isn't going to throw nearly as much as Brady. He's obviously not going to run

nearly as much as Hurts. And the matchups are going to be tougher. I know Chris won't look at the schedules, but I will. NFC West, AFC North, tougher schedule. Minnesota's tougher. Yeah. I was surprised that Brady was not first in this group,

to be honest with you. Also, Chris said Rodgers hurts Brady, which sounds a little messed up because I thought they were friends. You should not do that. Yeah. Okay, moving on. Let's friends. You should not do that. Yeah. Okay, moving on. Let's see. We're out of ranking. Hey, Dave, you did great on that segment. You figured it out. Thank you.

It really wasn't that hard of a game after all and I think we should continue playing it as we move along in the season and in the next offseason. Actually, I know everybody's listening to this on Thursday, but I have a lot of these for the Wednesday night draft a thon that I'll be

throwing out at our industry analysts times for to finish our bold predictions all right Chris you can give one then Dave then Chris then Dave we'll go like that go ahead Chris

what's your Justin Fields bold prediction Justin Fields will be a top 10 quarterback I'm getting real like Tom Savage vibes from Andy Dalton being named the starter. We're like, we were going to name him the starter and we're going to be stubborn and not

go back on it. But it wouldn't surprise me if Justin Fields is in at quarterback for the bears at halftime in week one, like, or if not, I mean, it's the Rams. It's going to be a really tough matchup.

Andy Dalton could very well struggle in which case I just don't think it's going to be very long until Justin Fields is the starter. And I think once he's the starter, he's a top 10 guy. Or at least I think he's really close. I think he could be similar to what Jalen Hurts was last season. Maybe less running, but better passing. I think from what I've seen from him in college, obviously, a pretty historically productive player. And then what we saw in the preseason where he looked every bit the part. He looked like Cam Newton, actually. I know maybe it's just they were both wearing number one. But I just think the upside for

Fields is elite fantasy quarterback. It's easier for a running quarterback to get to that level as a rookie just in her yeah aside yeah well all right i want to talk about this here cam newton is i can't remember you guys describe me if i'm wrong i don't think we've had a better rookie quarterback in recent years say the last decade than Cam. He was top five per game. He had 14 rushing touchdowns. That was back in 2011. The other ones that come to mind that were good were Andrew Luck in 2012. He was QB eight in four point QB 11 in six point. This is per game. Everything I give is per game. Justin Herbert. Yeah, he did. Justin Herbert was QB nine per game.

Joe Burrow, 17th per game. Kyler Murray rushed for 544 yards. He was QB 12 and four point QB 14 and six point per game. Baker Mayfield had a good rookie season. QB 18 per game and four point QB 20 per game and six point. So Jalen Hurts had four games. Let's call it three and a half. He had one mega game,

and that was his only game with more than 20 fantasy points and six point for passing touchdown leagues. I don't know that. I see the potential for fields, but I would push back on one thing you said, Chris, because everybody's raving about his preseason. There was a lot of good, but it just seems like with all of these quarterbacks, because we like them, because everybody's raving about his preseason. There was a lot of good, but it just seems like with all these quarterbacks, because we like them, because

they're young, we overlook the bad plays. But all of them had bad moments. So there are going to be some of those. There are going to be lumps. My point is, Cam Newton's the only quarterback, the only rookie quarterback that I can find in the last 10 years who's finished higher than QB

8 in 4-point-per-passing finished higher than QB 8 in four point per passing touchdown leagues QB 9 and 6 point on a per game basis Lamar Jackson probably got there in his start I don't think he did you know what I can look that up for you because that was what 2019 his rookie year oh 18 yeah okay so I will go back to my 2019 I mean look at a review and look it up the whole point of a bold prediction is there are lots of reasons why it can't happen you know we're talking about like a 95th percentile outcome or a 90th percentile outcome something like that but the point for me is to just highlight how high the upside is i think for justin fields if he does click you know he's got a legitimate alpha number

one wide receiver he's got what should be a pretty good rushing game, especially if he's in there helping David Montgomery's efficiency with his own rushing ability, which I think is an under-discussed thing for David Montgomery. And we all think Darnell Mooney's a breakout candidate. So I think it's a good situation for him to land in. And frankly, I thought he should have been the number two pick. So yeah, there's a bit of confirmation bias in his preseason play, but I, you know, I'll,

I'll confirm my biases occasionally. I mean, it's certainly not a bad will prediction, but because people are spending draft picks on Lance and fields, I just think it's worth pointing out that even the mobile quarterbacks like Jalen Hurts and Lamar Jackson, Lamar Jackson was only on pace for 20 touchdowns in his starts, 11 passing, nine rushing with seven interceptions. I don't know how many fumbles he was on pace for 2,546 passing yards, but almost 1300 rushing yards. I don't know where he would have been. Oh yeah. Per per game. I had

him as QB 16 and four point, QB 22 and 6 point. I could be a little off on those numbers, but I think Fields will have great rushing numbers. I don't think he's going to have great passing numbers. I just want to bring this up because people are spending these picks and you're going to use a bench spot on Fields and definitely on Lance for a while. They might be better than everybody,

but it's rare that a rookie quarterback really blows us away. Yeah, and I'm lower on Lance. I'm much less likely to draft him. I don't know if I've really drafted him at all outside of two QB leagues. So I thought of the rookie quarterbacks, he actually might have looked the worst

in the preseason. There were really high highs, but there were some really low lows for Trey Lance. I don't think he's quite ready yet. All right, Dave, your first bold prediction, or your second one, actually. Your first one was about Tyler Boyd asking you where he's from. Jerry Judy was the name you gave me,

and the bold prediction I assigned was that, bold prediction, Jerry Judy has a middle name that also starts with the letter J. It's Jackson. Jerry Jackson, Judy. That's correct. Well done. But that's not a prediction. That's a fact.

Here's a prediction. Jerry Judy will not finish as a top 12 fantasy receiver. He will finish as a top 10 fantasy receiver. He will make that second year jump. He will have it with Teddy Bridgewater. Everybody complains, well, Teddy Bridgewater's never really had a bunch of great receivers to work with. Well, now he does. Oh, he did last year.

What are you talking about? I think you kind of know how I feel about DJ Moore. I don't know if he's necessarily a complete receiver. Robbie Anderson, certainly DJ Moore is good. And certainly Robbie Anderson's good. I think Jerry Judy is a better talent than both of them. And I think he's a better complete receiver. Robbie Anderson, certainly DJ Moore is good, and certainly Robbie Anderson's good. I think Jerry Judy is a better talent than both of them, and I think he's a better talent than Cortland Sutton, and I think we're going to see that connection that these guys have, and it's been demonstrated that they've been working out this offseason, and they've got

it together in the preseason. There's been timing. Judy's an amazing route runner. He'll have more on-target throws this year than he will last year. Teddy Bridgewater's had at least 80% of his throws on target each of the last two years. Part of it's because he's throwing short, but I think that he can actually spread his wings a little bit,

throw a little bit further downfield because he'll have the confidence in Jerry Judy going to pluck those balls. I really do think he's got a chance to finish as a number one fantasy receiver, and I don't have to rank it that way. I've already got him ranked pretty high. I've already got him as a top 50 overall player, happy to take him any time between 50th and 60th overall, and that's still higher than what his ADP is,

but I really do believe that Jerry Judy takes a massive step this season. Yeah, I was looking at our second football magazine today and i had jerry judy finish his top 12 as my bold prediction in the magazine excellent but it was funny he said this on twitter the other day he wanted to be the jerry judy guy and then he saw how high i have him ranked and then he saw how high you have him ranked so neither heath nor i get to be the jerry judy guy this season i will i will happily accept being the Jerry Judy guy, and I will take full responsibility if he doesn't have a great year.

If he starts dropping passes all over the place, like I would drop passes if I were an NFL receiver. If he does that, then it's going to be ugly for a lot of my fantasy teams. Bet on elite talent and bet on the skills that he showed last season, which was really good playmaking with the ball in his hands and the ability to make plays down the field. That's the combination that makes A.J. Brown elite. It's the combination that

makes Amari Cooper very good. That's what you're looking for. Right. Yeah, I think the thing that would hold him, first of all, not drafting him to be a top 12 player, so this has absolutely nothing to do with drafting Jerry Judy. But if he's going to be top 12, then just every wide receiver be a top 12 player. So this has absolutely nothing to do with drafting Jerry Judy. But if he's going to be top 12,

then just every wide receiver who finished top 12 last year, except for DeAndre Hopkins, was on a team that threw at least 31, I think, touchdown passes. So I just got to keep that in mind. Bridgewater, if Jerry Judy finishes top 12, Bridgewater is probably going to be top 15, would be my guess, because I think he's going to have to really get

those touchdown numbers up. Okay. Maybe Judy will help him with that. And Austin Eckler is your last bold prediction subject. Chris, what do you got on Austin Eckler? Yeah, I don't know if this is actually a bold prediction, but Austin Eckler will lead all running backs in catches and yards, receiving at least,

and maybe receiving touchdowns. Let's not forget he had eight receiving touchdowns two years ago. I think based on what we've seen from the Saints offense, obviously in the past with Alvin Kamara, Mike Lombardi, not Mike Lombardi, Joe Lombardi, right? Joe Lombardi's installed. Mike Lombardi's a front office guyardi, Joe Lombardi, right? Yes. Joe Lombardi's installing... Mike Lombardi's the front office guy who's kind of like an analyst now.

Yeah. Joe Lombardi's installing mostly the Saints offense. That's what he's talked about. We've seen Alvin Kamara be great in that offense. Alvin Kamara's obviously a great player. It's not just because of the offense, but Austin Eckler might be the best receiving running back at least since we started tracking targets.

He's the most efficient receiving running back since 1991, and I think it's by more than three quarters of a yard over number two with at least 251 targets. He's an elite, elite receiving running back. I think that offense is still going to be very good. I still think they're going to have to rely on him very heavily, perhaps even more heavily than last season, because I don't think Jared Cook and Donald Parham are going to just replace the 93 targets that Hunter Henry had last season. You don't? Probably not. No.

Okay. I tend to agree with you. Now, is he going to get the goal line to work? That's the question. No. No, he's not. But I still think he can get to eight to 10 touchdowns. And if he does that while catching 95 passes,

he's going to be a top six running back or very close. Oh, okay. And Dave, his bold, you've got to make the prediction on what the bold prediction is going to be. That's what I already did. Yeah.

Patriots offense. Here's Dave's bold prediction about the Patriots offense. The Patriots offense will finish somewhere between 14th and 23rd in scoring no that is not what the bold prediction is this was my way of wedging in three different bold predictions into one bold prediction comment so with Mac Jones now the unquestioned

starter in New England no Cam Newton there we're going to have Damian Harris finish as a top 15 running back in non-PPR, top 20 in PPR. Jacoby Myers will finish as a top 24 receiver in PPR, top 30 in non-PPR, and Johnnie Smith will finish as a top seven fantasy tight end, regardless of format. I'm impressed with Mac Jones.

He had three off-target throws out of 52 during the preseason. I think that he's throwing it right on the money to his guys, whether it's short passes or long passes. One of the things that he kind of annoyed me with at Alabama was that he would overlook short throws and take longer throws. He did it in the preseason. He's going to continue to do that. Clearly, the Patriots are fine with it,

and he was connecting and on target with those throws. I think that will continue on, and I think John, who is a perfect person for those intermediate and longer throws because he's a mismatch at tight end. I know we haven't seen much of him, but he's a good, speedy type of tight end. He's got not necessarily like breakneck speed. He's not Kyle

Pitts, but he's got good speed, and he's going to be a matchup nightmare for teams to deal with. Jacoby Myers in the slot. I think he's been proven now at this point that he's a good route runner and he's got good hands. He got a good target share last year. I think he gets one this year. And Damian Harris is going to be that lead running back for the Patriots. And I know that Romandre Stevenson looked good in the preseason, but he's a rookie. He won't necessarily get a ton of time. He'll get a little bit. I think Harris leads the way. I think he's got a shot to get you close to 1,500 yards this year,

maybe six, seven touchdowns on top of it. Good, good season for Damian Harris. That's the only one I'm not with you on is Damian Harris. My bold prediction that I'm actually ranking is Damian Harris is RB30 for me. I know I'm way lower than pretty much anyone on him, but for me it just comes down to, one, he's going to be less efficient as a runner, which I think goes without saying. He's not going to have Cam Newton opening up rushing.

I'm not sure that's going to be the case. Yeah, I don't necessarily agree with that either. He averaged five yards per carry last season. He won't be much worse than that. I'm going to say 4.8. Bam. I'm going to say it's 10% worse. So 4.5. 4.5 would be...

Well, I don't think that's the... Their offensive line is going to be there yes that's another huge factor yeah that's fair maybe he's just literally you know i don't disagree with that for me it just comes down to one you're betting on bill belichick running backs which is historically a a poor bet um that is true and i just don't think this is going to be a great offense i think it could be like 18th in scoring and there'll be plenty of goal line attempts and he should get the most of them and he should be the lead back but i don't see him having any kind of passing game role that's that's really the big thing he had five catches in 10 games last season

he could be a 15 catch guy in which case you need 1300 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns for him to be a top 20 gumble the gumble i shouldn't have done that because i think chris was making an oh no i do an important point i know i do that i don't want that we were gambling like i'm not paying attention to what you're saying because you had some really good points about Miles Sanders. Hey, listen, James White or Damian Harris in PPR, Chris? I have Harris ranked higher,

but I'm much more likely to draft James White. I bet your gap between those two is pretty small. It's seven spots, yeah. Wow. Yeah, I can't do that. I've been a fan of Harris's talent.

He can catch the ball. It's just a matter of whether or not he'll be able to accrue the amount of targets that we'd like to see. I just been a fan of Harris's talent. He can catch the ball. It's just a matter of whether or not he'll be able to, to accrue the amount of targets that we'd like to see. I just don't think he'll get there, but I think he's a good runner. I think that offensive line is great. I think their schedule is great.

And I think Damian Harris really has a chance of having one of those great years. And I think Belichick kind of painted himself into a corner here because you look at the running backs that they have, who's again, it's not like he's got Rex Burkheadhead yeah to go and take sony michelle off the field like he's had in the past is he really going to put remandre stevenson in a role if damian harris starts to struggle a little bit or if he fumbles even if harris fumbles i don't think he's going to the bench for remandre

stevenson stevenson fumbled in the preseason the one thing i I would add, Harris has had a lot of trouble staying healthy in the NFL. That's true. He had two injuries in preseason in 2019, obviously barely played in the regular season. Last season broke his pinky at the end of preseason, I think, and then had a pretty serious

ankle sprain, a grade three ankle sprain that cost him the final three games of the season. So his season was bookended by that. There's injury risk on top of what I think is a relatively low ceiling. That's why I'm low on Harris. But I know I'm the odd man out there now.

We're going to finish the show with Team Name Tuesday on a Thursday. We have not done this at all. So I asked for some team names. 90% of them were perverted. You sick, sick people. So I took the non perverted ones to a fast to a furious.

Yep. Okay. I like it. Najee by nature. Yep. Nice. Jameis Eisenberg. And this actually came with a creepy Photoshop of the two of them combined into one face. Really? Yeah, it was really weird. The Real Slim Brady.

Sure. This one doesn't work. Hot Chuba Time Machine. For those of you who don't know, it's Chuba Hubbard. But we have one that does work a little bit later. Catch Me If I You Can. I You Can? I You Can?

Sure, sure. That's a good one. That works. For Young Way Coup.. I you can. Sure. Sure. That's a good one. That works. For Youngway Coup. Coup Runnings. Sure. Okay. I like that one.

Yeah. Country Roads. Take my homes. Excellent. Trey Lance. Lance Refrigeration. Just Lance Refrigeration. That's all you need.

Lance Refrigeration is amazing. No, you got to say the full one, though. That's how he introduces himself every time. I guess. But if you're just looking at someone's team name and just see Lance Refrigeration is amazing. No, you got to say the full one, though. That's how he introduces himself every time. I guess, but if you're just looking at someone's team name and you see Lance Refrigeration, you know, it's Trey Lance. Ryan, you want something quick? Last one.

This one does work. Hot Chub Time Machine. I think we've had that before, but that's good. There you go. That's good. That works. Thank you, non-perverts, for your team name Tuesday on a Thursday submissions.

And thanks to Dave and Chris for hanging out here on this episode of fantasy football today, this rapid fire episode, we covered a lot of stuff. We appreciate it. We'll talk to you tomorrow. We got a mock draft to help you get ready for a big weekend of drafting. We'll see you then on fantasy football today.