Fantasy Football Today - Breakouts! Kyler, Akers, Diontae Johnson and More! (06/17 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: June 17, 2020

On today's show, we reminisce about the Butt Fumble for some reason (1:30), find out if Ben Schragger knows who Pauly Shore is and discuss our 2020 breakouts! Ben, Dave and Jamey give their favorite breakouts to kick things off (2:40). Calvin Ridley, Marquise Brown and D.K. Metcalf are discussed ... Ben Schragger's pop culture knowledge is briefly put to the test (11:15), we've got news and notes (12:45) as we talk about how the coronavirus is currently impacting the NFL, plus the Eagles offensive line takes a hit. Then we talk about more breakouts. Can Raheem Mostert and Jonathan Taylor break out without big roles in the passing game (20:24)? Which Rams RB is the one to draft (31:00)? ... Miles Sanders (36:30)! We'll tell you why he's awesome, then we'll focus on a couple of sophomore QBs who could be great (40:40), Diontae Johnson (51:00) and some breakout TEs (54:10). And then a final round of "Does Ben Schragger Know This?" which will surely make your draw drop ... 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 the new FFT Twitch channel: https://www.twitch.tv/FFToday Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr, @YardsPerGretch, @BenSchragg Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCviK78rIWXhZdFzJ1Woi7Fg/videos Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/ Sign up for the FFT newsletter https://www.cbssports.com/newsletter 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. Here we go! Email us at fantasyfootballatcbsi.com. Here we go! It's time to dominate your fantasy league. Let's go! Now, here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. All right, we talked about sleepers on Tuesday's show.

Welcome back to Fantasy Football Today. We got breakouts for you. You know, I tried. I have a green screen behind me. Pretty weak. We'll get something better, right? At least a better image. I tried to get A.J. Brown.

He was going to be my green screen image. I couldn't find one that fit properly, so I'm sorry about that. We're also not even going to talk about A.J. Brown today, but you know he's one of our breakouts, or, you know, for some of us anyway. We do have some exciting players to talk about AJ Brown today, but you know he's one of our breakouts or, you know, for some of us anyway. We do have some exciting players to talk about. I was also going to get Daniel Jones, but the image I found of him, it just didn't work. So I have a half-empty giant stadium

for some reason. Was he fumbling? He was probably fumbling, yeah. He was likely on a record-setting pace, on pace for 23 fumbles in his 16 starts, or in his 12 starts on pace for 23 fumbles in his 16 starts or in his 12 starts on pace for 23 fumbles. He's one of Jamie's breakouts. What's going on?

What's worse? Being on pace for 23 fumbles or having one butt fumble? The butt fumble, I think, lives forever. It's kind of embarrassing to have 23 fumbles. Do you remember anything else about Mark Sanchez's career?

He shouldn't have come out of USC when he did, and he shouldn't have been drafted as high as when he did. He was the quarterback of the Jets when they beat the Patriots in a playoff game. Wild, yeah. Back-to-back AFC Championship games, right? For Mark Sanchez. I believe.

I was with my brother, diehard Jets fan, the night of the butt fumble. It was Thanksgiving. The night of the butt fumble. I saw him lose a part of himself. As he watched that play, it was like... If you're talking about that play, which part did he lose? His soul. Part of his soul. I think he realized he had wasted 30-plus years of his life on that team.

When Mark Sanchez did that, he was like... Your brother's how old? He's 46 now. I don't remember when that was. I can't believe he's 46. It's crazy, right? So not old enough for Joe Naiman. Not old enough for Joe Naiman. Not old enough for Ken O o'brien all right so who are our favorite breakouts by the way has

ben gretzky spoken today hi ben how we doing we're doing great al toon my favorite breakup ben i'll let you start actually i always have plenty to say man we'll get we'll get me talking all right all right let's rock and roll ben who's your favorite breakout who is my favorite we're just skipping news and notes you don't want to do those today We'll get me talking. All right. All right. Let's rock and roll, Ben. Who's your favorite breakout? Who is my favorite? Are we just skipping news and notes? You don't want to do those today? No, we'll do them.

We'll do our favorite breakout first, and then we'll do news and notes. Remember our show yesterday? My absolute favorite breakout? I mean, other than AJ Brown, obviously. It's probably Calvin Ridley. You just have to love that combination of pretty much locked in volume. They threw the most past attempts last year when Dirk Cutter came back. He was previously their OC from 2012 to 2014, and they were top eight in past attempts all three of those years.

They were third twice out of those three years. So he's been their OC four times, and they've always been pass heavy. And Ridley's numbers just absolutely jumping. When Mohamed Sanu got traded last year he went from 6.3 targets 4.1 catches and 53 yards per game in the the first seven games to 8.2 targets 5.7 receptions and 82 yards per game in the six after Sanu's trade he basically matched his 2018 line in 2019 but he did in 13 games and and just that fact that we know that he was so much better once the offense got more concentrated they didn't replace

sanu really that you know russell gage will play he also was was with the team late last year after he was traded and they lost austin hooper yes we like hayden hearst a ton as well but um man ridley's just in this perfect spot with high volume, a high concentrated offense, and it's just a perfect year three, you know, stages set for him to blow up. Who do you like? You like Brown better than Ridley, you said, right? A.J. Brown?

In 2020 PPR, I have Ridley one spot ahead of A.J. Brown. Okay. So does Michael Pfeiffer have Ridley one spot ahead of AJ Brown. Okay. So does Michael Pfeiffer have Ridley Brown? Right, yeah. That's my top three. Okay, so you said something that... I'm like a tiny guy. And DJ Moore's ahead of him too.

So that's your top five. Yeah, I got Ridley 11 and Brown 12. But yeah, not that far off. I do need to ask you, because I asked the guys on Monday's show when we had the consensus top 30, and you brought it up again, and I'm sorry to beat a dead horse

if that's what it feels like. Ridley didn't really get going, though, until the Hooper injury. It wasn't just the Sanu trade. He played two games after the Sanu trade with Hooper and didn't really do that much.

He had seven targets and he had five targets. And he had seven targets on 52 attempts in that first game. So, I just want to make sure... I think that needs to be clarified just because I...

It wasn't like Sanu got traded and then everything changed. It was Sanu got traded, two more games with low target share, pretty much, and then Hooper got hurt, and then Calvin Ridley went crazy. Does that matter to you? No, because you're talking about two games.

I mean, I think, yes, this is a new point we can make. I didn't really spend a lot of words mentioning that Hooper was also hurt. But then, yes, he went to 8 and 14 and 10 targets right after that. We don't know if it was Sanu or if it was Hooper. You can read into those two games if you want. We know that once the opportunity was there, if we look at it from seven games to six games, and if we look at his rookie season as well,

we just know that he's been productive. I think you can get in trouble cutting things down into two steep of splits. Two games isn't a big enough sample? Two games isn't good enough for you? No. All right. Jamie, hit me with your favorite breakout.

Don't actually hit me, though. Just suggest. You might come spy on me again. I've done so many breakouts. My favorite one, I guess I'll go from this latest version many breakouts. My favorite one, I guess I'll go from this latest version of breakouts. Let's go with Marquise Brown. I think he's going to end up

being a starting receiver by the end of the year. Okay, he's going 70th overall. He's wide receiver 32. So I'm using actually Fantasy Pro's ADP PPR for, for this. And surprisingly,

Terry McLaurin is like almost 70th overall, like 65th overall. So my, that's wild, but Brown, yeah. Just after McLaurin and Michael Gallup before Tyler Boyd, Jamie,

when we did that, that year two wide receiver episode, I think I came out of that episode most excited about Marquise Brown in terms of value. Not like he'd be the best one. But yeah, I love it. I think it's a great opportunity here to get the number one wide receiver on Baltimore as your number three guy, maybe number four. I mean, he played most of his rookie season hurt. We don't know exactly how

healthy he was. So, I mean, clearly he had some strong performances. The first two weeks of the season, he looked great. Struggled in the middle of the season. Had a strong game in the playoffs when they were chasing points against the Titans.

I don't think we're going to get double-digit targets on a consistent basis unless this defense falls apart, they can't run the ball, and just things dramatically change for Baltimore. But if he can somehow find a way to be in the 7-8 target range, I think that could be a big season for him. I know they added pieces with Devin DuVarnay and James Prochet. We'll see if Dobbins maybe does a little bit more catch than the ball in the backfield.

But it's really Mark Andrews and Marquise Brown in the passing game. And I think you're going to see hopefully some big plays. He's not going to be probably a great PPR receiver. But I wouldn't be surprised if there's a double-digit touchdown season for him soon. Could be this year. Could be year three. And just the way that this offense operates, he's not going to see a lot of coverage on a consistent basis. So he's got speed for days. Lamar Jackson is going to continue

to improve as a passer. And so I think he's going to be a great value pick, better in non and half PPR than full PPR, but still a guy that can end up starting for you by the end of the year. And Dave, I was going to ask you for your favorite breakout, but maybe if I could just pick one that you submitted. I know we're going to talk about four from each of you. If we could talk about Metcalf, because he was on your list. He's actually going earlier than I thought. He's going before Tyler Lockett.

42nd overall. I haven't seen him go that early in our drafts, but I don't know if you like him at 42nd overall, according to Fantasy Pros. That's wide receiver 14 for DK Metcalf. Seems like a lot of people are in on that. Yeah, it seems a little too high, especially if I can get Tyler Lockett later on.

Would much rather have Lockett than Metcalf. Well, actually, I'd rather get whoever I can find in round five, whichever one of those two that it is. It's really what I'm looking for. But I do like Lockett a little bit better overall. I get it with Metcalf. I mean, he's a beast out there, and he can beat defenses many different ways. I don't think he's going to get double-team much except inside the 10.

I think defenses might be able to say okay the guy's just too big can't ignore that i'd rather take my chances with tyler lockett making a catch with a blade of grass between his sneakers cleat rather and then the sideline i'd rather double team metcalf down there but he can beat defenses deep he had 100 targets last year i saw it on twitter that it took doug baldwin and tyler lockett years He had 100 targets last year. I saw it on Twitter that it took Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett years to get 100 targets in that offense, and Metcalf did it in his first season there. So his unique blend makes him special,

and I think he's got a chance to have a bigger year than he had last year. Okay. Would you take him or Terry McLaurin? Him. Ben, Jamie, Metcalf, or McLaurin? I have them back-to-back. Right now, McLaurin's ahead of Metc Jamie, Metcalf or McLaurin? I have them back to back. Right now, McLaurin's ahead of Metcalf, but they're both top 20. I have McLaurin.

AJ Green or Metcalf? Metcalf. Green. EK. Okay. Diamond King. Diamond King. All right, we got...

Remember those Donruss baseball cards back in the day? There were drawings of players. The abbreviation was DK. We have got a Facebook group that's getting more and more fun as we get closer to the start of the season. Conversations are getting a little more relevant here. Search Fantasy Football Today on Facebook or just click the link in the episode description.

You can chat with our FFT team and other fantasy fans. You can ask keeper questions. You can join a new league. You can discuss draft strategies. Fantasy Football Today is the Facebook group. Check it out.

Check out our YouTube page, youtube.com slash fantasyfootballtoday. All of the things that I promote, most of the things that I promote, you can find in the episode description. For example, later today, we're going to be playing Does Ben Schrager Know This? Pop culture references from the 90s and 2000s.

Does he know? Let's just get one right now. Ben Schrager, do you know who Pauly Shore is? Pauly Shore from the Jersey Shore? No. No, I think that's Pauly D, if I'm not mistaken mistaken no idea who the weasel is polly shore no idea what you're talking about buddy wow ben what's your favorite ben track uh ben gretch what's your favorite polly shore movie i was just gonna say i don't i hardly know who polly

shore is i definitely know the name i don't know a lot about him. I think we have to- When was he popular? Like in the late 70s? No, I'm just kidding. It was definitely like early 90s, right? No, no. It was-

Yeah, early 90s. Early 90s for sure. 90s. I'd go Encino Man. I feel like I have to see that movie again. It's probably his best movie, right? Yeah. I was born in 87,

and this was a little bit before my time. Most of his... Encino Mine looks like it was 1992. I was five years old. Yeah, that's one of his better flicks for sure. Probably sure it was on top. In the Army now, definitely heard of that. 94, I was seven. Biodome, 96.

It was early to mid-90s. Biodome was trash. No, Sun Law was a good one. Come on, buddy. All right. We got more. Does Ben Schrager know it? And we might have to ask,

does Ben Gretsch know it as well? Some news and notes. So just to, just to kind of throw this out there, like players are going to be testing positive. Hopefully not that often, but it's going to happen. And in all likelihood, all of them are going to be fine. We Hopefully not that often, but it's going to happen. And in all likelihood,

all of them are going to be fine. We know that about the coronavirus, but already they haven't even reported for practice yet. And already Houston and Dallas players, including Ezekiel Elliott, tested positive for coronavirus. It's going to be an unpredictable year. You heard a couple of weeks ago,

these guys, I wasn't on the show, but they were talking about, you know, ways to change your fantasy league, like Team QB, maybe something like that, in case you're in a pinch and guys get ruled out because they test positive

for coronavirus. These are not things that we can actually see coming. But obviously, we hope everyone that tested positive is going to be okay. They probably will, and hopefully they're going to have a speedy recovery. It's just going to be kind of a stranger, and we'll see what happens. I think the big hopefully they're going to have a speedy recovery. It's just going to be kind of a strange year, and we'll see what happens. I think the big thing that's going to have to be determined is if they do test positive, how long are they out? Is it a two-week quarantine?

And that's going to be very frustrating for, you know, obviously NFL trickled down to our little game here. But, you know, since this is a fantasy podcast, it's going to be frustrating for a lot of scenarios. And the waiver wire could be a little bit more interesting this year than maybe never before. Jamie, I've read about people who took a lot longer than that to recover. To test negative.

They're okay, but they still have it in their body. I don't know if you're still contagious. I'm not going to be a doctor here. But it's just expect the unexpected this year. Kyle Shanahan got a six-year contract extension. Ooh, we're going to talk about breakouts, and Ben's going to talk about Miles Sanders.

And they just lost one of the best offensive linemen in football, Brandon Brooks, their guard, to a torn Achilles out for the year. So we'll see if that affects anything. Meanwhile, Alshon Jeffrey has no timetable for his return from a Lisfranc injury. Not to say he won't be ready for week one, but Doug Peterson's not putting a timetable on it now. Justin Jackson is not going to have a long leash as the number two running back, according to The Athletic. Not a huge surprise. Alvin Kamara, he played through knee, ankle, and back injuries in 2019.

I think we're all expecting a really good year from him, a nice bounce back. And Dave, you sent me a note on Stephen Sims, Redskins receiver, and maybe he qualifies as a sleeper. Terry McLaurin was talking up Stephen Sims yesterday or recently. Recently. And he said that he's probably made one of the biggest jumps because of how clean his feet are. He's always been fast. He's always been quick. But sometimes he possibly would slip. So whatever he's working on, I know he's been working on it with the receivers coach there, but you can really tell his feet are so clean

the way he's running his route, his stems, they all look the same. And McLaurin, he talked positively about everybody that the media asked him about, but he went in- depth the most on Sims. And you go back and you look at how Sims finished last year, three straight games with at least 15 in PPR. And some receivers are quicker than fast. Others are just good straight line speed, but they can't move real well. He can do both.

I think he's got a really good shot at being the number two receiver for Washington this year. Yeah, a lot of available opportunity. He's a guy that, you know, we can't always talk about every player we want to talk about. And sometimes we talk about guys that are cheap in Dynasty or whatever. They're not actually as cheap or as gettable. Sims is a guy, for whatever reason, I've been able to get this offseason in some free agent and slash rookie drafts and later rounds and in some leagues

that have locked free agents all offseason. I got him in the first waiver run. I've added him in three or four dynasty leagues this offseason. I definitely think he's somebody that, if you can get him cheap in those types of formats and even in redraft, it makes a lot of sense. I also want to talk about Justin Jackson for a sec, because you noted he won't have a long leash. I've been thinking about him a little bit more and I picked Joshua Kelly. Jamie's sleepers

articles on the site, great article. Dave and Heath and I also added a couple sleepers and I picked Kelly because both Kelly and Jackson are going really, really late. And that's because we don't know who the number two is going to be. But I am wondering if we've kind of over built up Justin Jackson a little bit over what he, what they really think of him, just based on the fact that his limited production was right during the fancy playoffs in 2018, because the reality of Justin Jackson is he was a seventh round pick two years

ago. He didn't play until both Gordon and Eckler got hurt. And then he was productive for a couple of games, but it was right in this high impact point for us. So we in the fantasy community obviously remember him fondly. But then even last year after Gordon held out, they barely used him. They let Eckler kind of be the lead back. And then they went and drafted Kelly in the fourth round this year. It seems to me like they have kind of told us time and again, they don't really think Jackson is a guy that they want to use in a bigger role. And Kelly's a pretty decent prospect and very cheap right now. It seems like, especially with this latest report, Kelly's going to wind up being that number two. Yes. They like Kelly a lot. You know, from, from what I've heard that Kelly may cut into Echo's workload too. I mean, they're really

going to, I think, give him an opportunity. Again, it goes back to what we've heard that Kelly may cut into Echo's workload too. I mean, they're really going to, I think, give him an opportunity. Again, it goes back to what we've been talking about with the rookies and what they'll be able to pick up and learn with the short and off season. But I think he's headed for a pretty sniffing role. He's somebody, you know, still, if you're doing rookie drafts, he's a round two pick. Yeah, and so late, like you said, he could have that thing that we look for in late running backs,

the combination of potentially standalone value Yeah, and so late. Like you said, he could have that thing that we look for in late running backs, the combination of potentially standalone value and definitely will be handcuffed value as well, and just super late right now. He was the least impressive running back going into the Senior Bowl, and then he really did a great job at the Senior Bowl. Did everything really well. I believe he played well in the game. I think he caught a touchdown in the game itself,

but in practice he was really good too. This doesn't surprise me at all. It's really good to see. Could he be the number two? I think we're all kind of leaning that way already. Okay. Hey, by the way, would anybody be interested to know how Austin Eckler does when he gets more carries in a

game, like as an, on an efficiency basis. Is that an interesting thing to know? Yeah. Okay. Cause I, I,

I feel like he doesn't do as well when he gets big work and that, you know, and he's not like a workhorse and I want, but I, but I can't, I have to, I have to dig into it. You know what? Something I would say about that, though,

is it's probably already misleading because when he's not getting big work, he's probably running more out of passing formations with multiple receivers, which means fewer people in the box, which already means higher yards per carry expected. And then when you're talking about him getting more work, he's running more on first and second downs

out of run-heavy situations with more linebackers on the field you would already expect him to do worse in that scenario all right then i won't do the research that's fine i didn't really feel like you don't need to i've already done some of it for you oh he only has three games with 15 plus carries anyway yeah now he did in those games i don't have that exactly in front of me right now but i almost think it doesn't matter in this day and age and fantasy that they're going to use him the way that they think he's most effective and that's certainly as a ball carrier but also as a pass catcher and we should embrace that 15 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown 17

carries for 66 yards and a touchdown 18 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown in those three games. There it is. Moving on. Let's get to breakouts now. And Raheem Mostert, Dave. Well, actually, so you look at a couple of these running backs. Raheem Mostert for Dave. 64th overall. Round six pick. RB 26. He's going in between a couple of Colts.

Jonathan Taylor and Marlon Mack. And Ben, you have Jonathan Taylor on the list you gave me, I believe, right? Yep. Yes, he's going 62nd overall, just ahead of Raheem Mostert. And then I wanted to see Jamie's, if there's any back that's similar or new.

The Cam Akers, I guess. But he's going like 92nd overall. Let's talk about Mostert and Taylor. And I know that, Ben, you'd be thrilled to get Taylor 62nd overall. Let's talk about Mostert and Taylor. And I know that, Ben, you'd be thrilled to get Taylor 62nd overall. You've been taking him earlier than that. But my question is, in this day and age, how confident are you that a guy

that is probably not going to get, I don't even know, 20 catches, is going to be a true breakout? That's Taylor. You're referencing and most dirt I'd say. Yeah. I'm more concerned about most dirt because I'm, I'm,

I guess more concerned about his role, which kind of sounds weird because we know Taylor's joining a crowd of backfield, but the Niners had multiple different lead backs at multiple different points throughout last season. And I kind of suspect we'll be headed for that again. I think Tevin Coleman's a great value right now. I mean, we just don't know what, what their, what their workload split will be in week six or in week eight or week 10.

But yeah, I go for, for Jonathan Taylor, I go back to Zeke's rookie year as kind of a template. And I understand that people think he's not quite the athlete of Zeke. I mean, the prospect, he's a similar athlete. He's as big as Zeke. He's as fast as Zeke. And he was very productive. He's not necessarily the kind of all-around player because Zeke was really highly regarded in his pass blocking.

And that was why everyone kind of knew that Zeke would be playing on all downs and was a first-round pick right away as a rookie. But Zeke only caught 32 passes as a rookie, ran for 1,600 yards and 15 TDs behind a really good offensive line. I don't think that's what Jonathan Taylor is going to do in year one. I don't think he's going to get 322 carries like Zeke did in year one and lead the NFL in rush attempts like Zeke did in year one. But I do think there's the possibility that Taylor has that same type of production maybe 75 percent

of that where he runs for 1200 yards and he runs for double digit touchdowns and maybe he only catches 20 passes or 24 or 26 passes but I just think he's in this really great combination as both an elite athlete, a very productive player, a very good prospect and behind an awesome line, much like Zeke came in behind. Dave,

talk about Raheem Moser, why you have him on your breakout list. I just think he's the best running back in San Francisco. I don't, I agree with you. I think it's going to be hard for him to get, I'll be slightly more optimistic. I'll say 30 catches this year.

And there's no doubt that he's going to share the ball. And Coleman figures to be one of the guys to share the ball with. But I think he gives them exactly what they're looking for at running back. He's physical. He's good enough to catch the ball. He can certainly pass block. And he can make plays after contact. And he's got good speed.

He's perfect for the system that they run. So I've seen him go as early as round four. I think that's ridiculous. But late round six, I'm open to taking Mostert and using him as a number two running back to begin the year. And if I do get Mostert, I'm even more inclined to go and get Coleman just to lock up the run game. The offensive line is still one of the best.

It's a team that wants to run the football a ton. Moser is the best guy they've got. I want to try and capitalize. Jamie, do you think these guys are good breakouts? Taylor, for sure, just because I think if he gets anything close to the full workload there, or what Marlon Mack was getting at least, he can be just a star. I mean, averaging 2,000 yards in college behind that offensive line, you know,

the fumbles are going to be something that's going to hopefully not play again, but you know, something you have to keep an eye on. But if Marlon, I was just thinking about, you know, while Ben was talking, if there was no Marlon Mack and let's just say, you know, he, we're either projecting a year forward or, or, you know, the Colts made a decision, somebody gets hurt on another team and they decided to flip Marlon Mack for, for a pick or another player.

I think Taylor could be a top 10 pick right now, you know, so he's got that type of upside. Most are to me feels closer to a bus than he does a breakout simply because of his age, his bouncing around the league. The fact that yes, Matt Breida is gone, but they're still going to try McKinnon again. I think Jeff Wilson is going to get some touches because they like him. They gave him some opportunities in the Superbowl too. It just, it just feels like, you know, he was so touchdown

dependent last year. Doesn't do anything in the passing game. If the run game does falter, or if Coleman gets on a roll, like we saw in the beginning of the season last year, I like most of it where he's going. I think that's a good spot for him. I just don't see him getting better than what he was at the end of the season because the touches just weren't there for him. The only time he had the big carry game was in the playoffs when Coleman got hurt against the Packers and he went nuts. So he's got that potential.

I just don't know if he's going to get that role. So I certainly prefer Taylor leaps and bounds over Mostert. I just think Mostert is who he is. If he's going to go somewhere, I feel like he's going to go backwards more so than before. Well, it's interesting to say he is who he is and also to say that he's touchdown dependent because I guess there's two types of touchdown dependent.

There's the guy that gets a lot of carries but isn't that good and you need him to score like a LeGarrette Blount a couple years ago or something. And then there's a guy like Mostert who doesn't get that many carries but he's awesome when he touches the ball. I mean, he's career six. And he finds the end zone. Yeah,

but he does need to score those touchdowns. I mean, he was touchdown dependent, but six yards per carry in his career, he won't get that, but 5.6, I don't know what to make of it because on a per carry basis, Raheem Mostert has been an absolute star and he, including the postseason,

he had double digit carries in 10 games last year. In nine postseason, he had double-digit carries in 10 games last year. In nine of them, he averaged 4.8 yards per carry or more. So it's not like he has bad games and he has huge games where he averages seven yards. No, like every single time out,

this guy's really, really efficient. And do you, you know, Jamie, it doesn't sound like you think they're going to look at him and be like, okay, he's our guy. Let's give him 14 carries. I mean, the most telling game to me was the Packers game because he comes off that

amazing performance and the first carry, I think it was, he didn't even touch the ball I think until the second half or the second quarter of the Super Bowl. You're talking about the playoff game against the Packers? Yeah. Didn't Brita start that game? The Packers game?

Yeah. I don't remember who started the Packers game home with the super bowl coleman came back back and started the game like it just it makes no sense yeah if if you just look at the way that he played you would say he should be like dave said he's the best running back on a team that's going to run the ball out i agree but does that mean the 49ers feel that same way are they going to give him those type of touches is he going to continue to find the end zone? Is he going to continue to be near five yards per carry? I just don't feel like I'm going to reach for him. Like Dave said, if somebody's taking him in round four, that's just stupid.

If you're getting him in round six, that's fine. It's not a bad spot for a guy, especially if you go receiver heavy. You want somebody that you feel comfortable with in a strong run offense. I just don't see him going from where he finished, where, you know, it was a touchdown and what, seven of eight games to close the season in the regular season. He was, he was amazing, but these type of guys to me feel like they're going to regress more so than

progress, especially when, you know, I'll go back to what Kyle Shanahan said at the combine. I feel like four running backs is a necessity, not a luxury. And he's going to use all these guys. He had seven rushing touchdowns in his last six games. He was the number eight running back in non-PPR, the number 10 running back in PPR in that stretch, but he did that with 20, he was 20th in carries.

So obviously those touchdowns helped. And I think Jamie was also referencing the playoff games because he had five more rushing TDs in the playoffs and scored in two of those games. So it was like eight of nine to close the year. The biggest thing I think Jamie noted though, was his age. This, this guy only had 42 carries until his last season until his age,

27 season. And now he's 28. And Adam, you noted like he was very efficient last year and he had good yards per carry in prior years where he had six or 34 carries um but again this this guy bounced around his whole career until he was 27 why like i know some of it was injuries but he's played for like five different teams it's really hard to rely on elite efficiency from a player who wasn't even supposed to be elite at any point in this career now if you want if you want a fun tie-in his dad has done this before with you know guys like olandis gary and mike anderson and taking guys off the scrap heap and turning them into stars for a short

period of time and most it could be the same type of thing you know i don't want to i don't want to say it can't happen but it just feels like he doesn't do anything in the passing game he's got to score touchdowns not like he was having these 100-yard games, or 100 total-yard games even, and then scoring on top of it. It was, you know, good yardage, not great yardage. Good touches, not great touches. And so I think, again, he's kind of just is what he is. He's a better flex than he is a starter.

He's a better non-PPR guy than a PPR guy. And you just kind of know what you're getting with him. I just don't, I just don't, I think we've seen a ceiling. Unless we haven't. And he continues to play well to start the year behind that big offensive line. And Kyle Shanahan goes, look, I need to have the most explosive running back on the field more often than not. And so I think,

I think there's a chance for him to get there because of that. Cause I think he gives them something that they've got a lot of other running backs. One's got rebuilt knees. Another one has started to regress. And then another one is Jeff Wilson, who's just kind of a short yardage guy so far. So I think he's the best talent they've gotten. If he keeps showing me, there could be something with McKinnon. He's got to have pictures of somebody or they just really know they're paying him a ton of money and they want to be something with McKinnon. He's got to have pictures of somebody. No, they're paying him a ton of money,

and they want to get something for it. Yeah, which tells you. They could have walked away from him at any point the last two years. Well, they would have lost a lot of money in the process. They don't want to give it up for nothing. Jamie, when you said his dad, you were talking about most of it. You said his dad has done this before with Orlando's Gary. I'm thinking, am i supposed to know

raheem bosterd's dad it's like the famous football family yeah kyle shanahan's dad uh all right let's get let's get one of jamie's breakouts here i think we could stick with running back and when i'm having so much oh cam acres there we go. There we go. 92nd overall. That's round eight. He's RB34. So good. And he actually goes ahead of Daryl Henderson and way ahead of Malcolm Brown is outside the top 200.

Why Cam Akers instead of Daryl Henderson? That's my first question. I was surprised. I know they say Henderson is making progress or is fine, whatever they were saying about his surgically repaired ankle. The fact that they're still talking about this,

it was in May. It was a little troubling, you know, that he's not a hundred percent and fully recovered from this. I just think Akers is going to come in and take the job. You know, I've said this before the draft. I said it after the draft, you know, I was impressed with what he did at Florida state behind just a terrible offensive line, terrible situation overall.

I think he's a talented kid. I think he's going to end up proving to be the best running back there. I still believe in Sean McVay's system. As bad as Todd Gurley was last year, no 100-yard games. Touchdowns do matter for what they're going to get out of that. In three years with McVay, Gurley scored 54 total touchdowns. If Akers gets the chance to take the majority of that production, plus what he should be able to do as a runner and a pass catcher, uh, I think he's going to end up, you know, being a starting running back more times than not throughout the course of the season. So his value is great. If you're telling me I can get him there, I'll take him in round five. Um, you know, it's, uh, it, it's, I think he's in that for me, he's in that area of Leonard Fournette, DeAndre Swift, John Taylor.

He's behind Taylor for me, but he's in that conversation of those type of guys. And I think there's a huge ceiling for him. If he could get that job, keep that job, and prove that he's better than Henderson. I think Henderson and Brown will have a role. I don't think that McVay is just giving coach speak that he wants to use multiple running backs. I think he actually will. But I still think that Akers will have close to 65% of the total touches of their backs.

And I think that will matter in the sophomore. So, I know Dave would, I think Dave would take Mostert ahead of Akers, right? Dave? Actually, I believe I have Akers ranked ahead of Mostert. Okay. Everybody have Akers ahead of Mostert? Yeah.

So round eight for Akers is pretty ridiculous right now. That's crazy. And your first question about why would you take one or the other, I always want to go back to the draft stuff, but Daryl Henderson was a third-round pick and then didn't play in his rookie year, and then they, after that, chose Cam Akers in the second round this year so like why wouldn't you have cam makers after all henderson you know yeah fair enough this is one of those you know okay off season whatever obviously henderson knows the

terminology he knows the the the coaching staff he knows the team but to ben's point they didn't they didn't do very much with him and he missed a lot of practice time because of injury. And so maybe we're overlooking Malcolm Brown in this entire backfield that just from a stability standpoint, he's not going to be explosive, but just touches, and that could matter with Gurley gone. But I still think that draft capital, talent, ability, everything that Akers should be able to do. And I think the counterargument to the rams backfield is that offensive line is

bad and it probably will be bad again but yeah he ran behind that offensive line and put up numbers for florida state and i think he could do it again on this level i mean if we're going to nitpick acres there's there's the offensive line is definitely an issue uh it was rated six worse by pro football focus last year and they've done nothing to try and improve it this year. Akers had 10 fumbles in 36 games at FSU. He had six drops in 2019. I believe he only had 10 plays of 20-plus yards in 2019. So he didn't break away nearly as much as a lot of the other running backs

in this class, Swift to name one. And I feel like he needs to run with a little bit more patience. Can't just like run directly into the backs of his offensive linemen. It'll get them a terrible rushing average most weeks in the NFL. So that's really, that's what he has to overcome. Plus whatever challenge Henderson and Brown give him. If Henderson and Brown are part of the game plan though, that's passing downs and that's short yardage goal line that could limit Akers. So he could be a between-the-20s type of running back,

which is good for yardage. He'll get you good yardage. But I hope it doesn't happen because I agree with Jamie. I think he's a great talent. But I'm nervous about him seeing more than five touchdowns this year. Take a quick break here on Fantasy Football today. When we come back, we'll go a little higher end here. Kyler Murray is one of Dave's breakout candidates.

Miles Sanders is one for Ben. And it's not necessarily just for Ben, not necessarily just for Dave. But these are guys we're going to talk about. Kyler Murray, he's the third quarterback off the board right now. Miles Sanders is the 11th running back off the board. Let's talk about it right after this quick break. And then we're going to find out if Ben Schrager and Ben Gretsch know Dawson's Creek. Be right back.

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or the new iced apple crisp non-dairy chai. So silky, so smooth. How about the new pecan crunch oat latte? Nutty, buttery deliciousness and crunchy pecan flavor. Trick question, of course. It's the last call for fall, so don't miss out on your fall faves. Next stop, Starbucks. Well, I'm not usually glad when Heath's not here.

I like having Heath on the show but I am glad he's not here because I can give this stat about Miles Sanders without him accusing me of manipulating the data or anything like that I'm just looking at his six regular season games after Jordan Howard got hurt and I'm not going to include week 17 because Miles Sanders got hurt and he left early in that game in those six games he was the number seven running back in non-PPR. He was the number three running back in PPR. He was on pace for 1,147

rushing yards and 547 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. So he was tremendous as a rookie. Ben, is Miles Sanders a first-round pick? Yeah.

I mean, I think there's no question. Not according to everyone that works outside this company, I think. Everybody seems to be believing that when they sign some other running back, that running back's going to be a significant hindrance to Miles Sanders. And to that, I i say do you remember christian mccaffrey's second year when the panthers let jonathan stewart go showed absolutely no interest whatsoever in signing it on the back made it crystal clear signaled their intent crystal clear that they were comfortable with christian mccaffrey carrying the workload even though he was just a pass catching back he didn't really seem like somebody who could handle all that work.

And then in May, after the draft, they signed CJ Anderson to a reasonably cheap deal. And people started drafting CJ Anderson in the ninth round of drafts and thought that he was going to have this huge role in all these things. And we know how that worked out. He didn't. Christian McCaffrey was the every down back. I don't know that Miles Sanders will necessarily have made no effort to sign. They could have brought in Carlos Hyatt all that time. Then they finally let him go somewhere else. They have no preference about who they bring in. They're going to bring in somebody to have a role to carry some balls,

but it's not because they like that guy. It's just because they want to have a little bit of a mix. But the guy they like, they have in the building. It's Miles Sanders. You're going to give him a ton of work. I think they like Boston Scott too, but I mean, I agree a hundred percent with what you're saying. I think that Sanders is going to be their, their number one back and Scott will be their number two. And I don't think it's going to be

anything close to 55, 45 in terms of split. It probably won't even be close to 60, 40. But I do worry a little bit about the offensive line injury. You mentioned it earlier, Adam, about Brandon Brooks going down and top 10 in pass or run blocking rather last year um pass blocking he was really good as well he's been more consistent as a pass blocker than a run blocker but even that that's now a much higher priority for philadelphia to go out and try and fill the free agency than another running back just to have depth behind Sanders and Scott. So I think he's got the job. I think he should have the job.

I think he's earned it. And I think he's got 1,500 yard, 10 touchdown potential. Those are the types of running backs I take in round one. All right. So we talked enough about him. So just real quick, is anybody downgrading him in the rankings, Miles Sanders, because of the injury to Brandon Brooks? Not yet, but it bothers me.

I actually think with an interior lineman injury like this, they might throw more, and I kind of like Sanders' pass-catching side of things as well. Obviously, Boston Scott will play in passing downs too, but the reason I didn't mention him was, you know, Scott was active late in the year when Sanders was playing so well. So I think they can coexist. And I think this actually might mean a shift towards a little more passing

for the Eagles, which would not be bad. They spent a fourth round pick on an offensive guard as well in Jack Driscoll. So, you know, that's something that they could just, you know, get him up to speed quickly. There's also some talk about them maybe bringing back Jason Peters and playing him a guard. All right. Yeah,

I could see that too. It doesn't sound like we're super concerned, but it's not good. It's not good. Kyler Murray, Dave, you know, a lot of people are going to have, obviously everybody's going to have the top two the same, pretty much.

Jackson Mahomes in some order. And then if you look at ADP on Fantasy Pros right now, Kyler Murray, Deshaun Watson, Russell Wilson, Dak Prescott, they were very, very close. And it's in that order, actually. It's Murray. Wow, and Kyler's third. Third overall, but he's practically tied with the other four,

with that next group of four, right? All right. So, I mean, it's a pretty convincing case to make, but make it. Kyler Murray breakout. How good can he be? He can be 4,000 yards passing, 500 yards rushing, which once upon a time I thought no one has done that, but there have been a couple quarterbacks who have.

He would be the third one ever to do that. And even last year he was among the leaders. I think he was second in rushing yards last year with over 500, and the passing yards were weak because his receiving core wasn't that great and so what do they do they go on they add deandre hopkins the offensive line figures to be in better shape now than it was this time last year i know they didn't really add a whole lot to it but they're they played better as the season went on and having kenyan drake there i think is really going to help too it's going to enable the offense to say, look, we have a running threat that isn't a slow slug.

You're going to have to do something about it. And then they can run RPOs off that. Kyler can move around in the pocket and throw downfield. He made some beautiful throws last year. He just got caught up in the red zone. And that was a combination of him struggling down there. And I think the play calling was really vanilla when they got inside the red zone. And that's the play calling was really vanilla when they got

inside the red zone. And that's just after watching everything that they did last year. So I think they're going to be able to become more creative in the red zone. That'll create more touchdowns. And I think that the addition of Hopkins is going to just add to the ceiling of what he can do as a passer and the rushing numbers speak for themselves. I think he could actually improve on the rushing touchdowns too. So there's a lot to really like about him. I'm not sure how many quarterbacks are that have 4,000 yards passing, 500 yards rushing, and 30 total touchdowns. I can double check on that.

He could be, if there hasn't been one yet, he could be the first. I would think Russell Wilson. That's the first name I'd check. I would think so too. I don't know if he's gotten the 500 rushing, but I'm pretty sure he has. Oh, look. Let's find out. That's good company. I was writing about Murray the other day, and Crystal has a point that I think is really

important about him because he's expensive, and we haven't necessarily seen him be great yet, but we always talk about his upside with that rushing. His floor doesn't get enough attention. His floor is incredibly high. We talked about the pay stuff. He's going to throw more. he added deandre hopkins his passing floor is higher than lamar jackson's yardage is higher than lamar jackson's uh and we know that he's going to give you at

least a couple of hundred rushing yards his his overall profile his floor is doesn't get the attention it deserves it's incredibly high he's he's properly valued because of that floor and that's you do you think it's fascinating those four quarterbacks it really is like how they're all going to be so interchangeable between watson and murray and and dac and russell wilson in terms of who's going to go ahead of who and and which one ends up being the star of that you know foursome or who ends up being the bust um i think murray can go either way i you know just because this is what we were saying with baker mayfield you know a year ago that coming off a strong rookie campaign and okay he's going to build off that he got a star wide receiver and odell beckham and things just went

completely south and i don't think that's going to happen with Murray, but it's just, it feels similar. Like the conversations. It is, but the floor I think is the difference. I'm with you. I'm totally with you. And Dave's spot on, you know, I think we're all going to call Murray a breakout and you know, he's, he's deserving of you know, a pick in the first five rounds or even higher depending on how, you know, you draft quarterbacks. But it's fascinating because you have track record

for all of the other three guys and things are different for them. You know, maybe Russell Wilson throws more. Dak Prescott got another, you know, positive addition. You know, maybe this is the year that Watson just puts everything on his shoulders without Hopkins there. You know, you've heard me say this before, that this is his Cam Newton 2015 season. You know,

but there's downside, I think for Watson and maybe Murray the most just based on what we've seen from them and what we could see from them this year. But I think they're all, you know, this is why you don't have to reach for Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes in the first two rounds, because you can get these guys two or three rounds later.

Okay. Adam, you were right. Russell Wilson, the only quarterback ever. Really? 4,530. Okay. And let me wrap it up on Murray with this question. Let's be quick here. Do you think he has a Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson type potential?

Does he have the potential to have one of those amazing seasons where we're putting it on the Mount Rushmore of quarterback seasons basically? That's the one thing that I hesitate to do. And I think we could get... But if he goes 4,530, then... 30, that's pretty damn good. But

we're talking about... When Adam says something like that, I'm thinking 40 touchdowns and 4,500 yards and 700 yards rushing. And he saves a bunch of orphans from a burning building on his way to the game. I don't think he can do, I don't think he can finish his QB one. I think he can be three. I think he can.

And I think he can easily. Wow. He was a top 10 quarterback in every format last year and he wasn't even good they didn't yeah but he was like he was like 15 he was like 15th on a per game basis though still i mean yeah i i understand that but he like i think it was his absolute passing floor last year uh and he could have that type of year again but he's still going to be a top 10 quarterback like that's how much that 500 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns boosted his line. I mean, I think it could be pretty easily for him if you look at his

statistical profile. If he throws 400 plus or 4,000 plus yards. He would have to run like Lamar Jackson last year, at least touchdown wise. He didn't do better than that touchdown. Well, no, I think what you need is we've been spoiled the last two years. QB one has been legendary. Mahomes and Jackson, these back-to-back years. Yeah, that's what I thought you were asking.

Well, yeah. But I guess Ben answered a slightly different question because Ben said, I think he can be QB one this year. He didn't say, I think he can be as good as Jackson and Mahomes were the last two seasons. That's hard to put on anybody. But can he finish QB one? I don't know.

I think we can kind of look at it with my homes and see it and Jackson. It's going to be hard. So the, the QB, the QB one the year before my homes and Jackson was Russell Wilson in our scoring. He had just that right. Just under 4,000 passing yards, 586 rushing. He had 34 passing TDs.

That might be the hard number for Murray to hit three rushing TDs. But I actually think Murray can get to 4,200 or 4,400 passing yards in this offense if they do throw as much as I think they might. All right. Let's finish up here. Jamie, you have two more. You have Daniel Jones. He is the 15th quarterback off the board, according to Fantasy Pros.

And in his 12 starts, I mentioned the 23 fumbles he was on pace for. He was also on pace for the most passing touchdowns ever for a rookie, 32 if he had played those 16 games, based on his 12 starts, and the fourth most passing yards by a rookie. So he had a prolific year. Kind of funny to compare him to Minshew. They had similar per-game rates.

Minshew was pretty consistent, rarely great, rarely terrible. Daniel Jones had, I think, four incredible games and not much else. So I don't know if that matters to you or if you just kind of look at the stats in totality. But you have Daniel Jones as a sleeper. But that's what you look for. You look for that ceiling. And he's shown you what he can do, which was, you know, it felt like it was almost like four accidents that had happened, you know, that he was able to put up those type of numbers.

And now the hope would be he could do it on a consistent basis with everybody healthy, because we've talked about this time and time again, Barkley was hurt. Shepherd was hurt. Ingram was hurt. You know, Slayton never got a chance to play with all those guys. Golden Tate was out the first four games of the season with the suspension. So give him all those guys with a better offensive line. You know, it's funny. There was a story out the other day that the Giants may not even start Nate Solder,

you know, which would be interesting to see if they did that. They shouldn't. But I think the offensive line will be better. I think the defense is going to put them in some situations. I think we talked about this the other day that I could see them in just a ton of shootouts, just a lot of high scoring games where this offense is putting up points, but they're also giving up a ton of points on the other side. So I think he's going to be one of the better offenses in football, and Daniel Jones leading the way.

So I'm excited about him. You know, you want to talk about can Kyler Murray be the next Mahomes and Jackson. This, to me, is the next Mahomes and Jackson of the late-round quarterbacks that end up being the starting quarterback. And so I just have a hard time getting him in my top 12 right now. He's 13. But if we do get, you know,

some sort of you know, any news injury, whatever the case may be, where you know, Stafford's not back. It's not right. You know, Drew Brees,

whatever. Wentz loses an offensive lineman. I'm sorry. Wentz loses an offensive line. Yeah, but sorry? Wentz loses an offensive lineman. Yeah, but I'm with Ben. I think Wentz is going to still be fine. And Wentz is another breakout candidate for me too. I think he gets back to what he was in 2017.

But, you know, Jones is somebody that, okay, I didn't get the quarterback that I want. I'll just wait and I'll take him or I'll take Roethlisberger, one of the two. But, you know, Jones I think has just uh an immense ceiling you know again not to Mahomes 2018 or Jackson 2019 but I think he could be in that top five to top eight category if things go right he was on pace to be the the sixth best Russian quarterback last year um based on his you know 16 game pace and so he's going to run a little bit if he can get to

500 rushing yards my god he's going to be potentially awesome. I could see 4,500 passing yards for him, if not more. I could see 30-plus passing touchdowns. I'm excited. I really am. I think Daniel Jones has a huge ceiling this year. I like it, man. I'll get one last one from Jamie here, and then we'll talk about a couple of tight

ends. Dave has Tyler Higbee as a breakout. He's going to love his ADP. And Micah Sickiki for Ben. Deontay Johnson, Jamie. He's going 127th overall. Wide receiver 49, just ahead of Golden Tate and Sammy Watkins. And he was the second pick of round three a couple years ago.

He went two picks after DK Metcalf, 10 picks ahead of Terry McLaurin. Those two guys had great rookie years. Deontay Johnson was obviously held back by his circumstances, but you've got him as a breakout. Maybe we could even call him a sleeper because he's going so late, but whatever. You're liking the value on Deontay Johnson.

Yeah, I think you guys had a discussion about him when I was off. I think we also did a disservice by not talking about him with the second-year receivers. I don't think we mentioned him once. You're right. He's coming off with a strong finish, surprisingly so. I was surprised when I saw this.

He averaged nearly 15 PPR points per game in his last four outings with a bad quarterback play. I think he showed he can be a good route runner. He can separate from defenders. This is going to be a fun offense with Roethlisberger back. You know, I know we had the conversation over the last couple days about, will they throw as much because the defense is better? I think they will just based on the run, rushing offense, not being as productive.

So I don't think this is going to be Roethlisberger, you know, kind of doing what he wants to do. He's going to be the outside guy. He's not going to be Antonio Brown, but he can be sort of what Brown was at the start of his career, you know, where he was, you know, putting up good numbers and then eventually had this, you know, breakout season. So Juju will play in the slot, you know, Claypool will play on the outside or James Washington will be the other outside receiver, but Johnson's going to be the guy that I think Roethlisberger looks for down the field. Um, I'm excited about him. I keep moving

him up in my rankings. You know, he's, uh, he's somebody that I'll draft as a number three receiver that I think can end up starting. It's very similar to Marquise Brown. I just think Brown has already shown us a little bit and is a little bit better spot in his offense. But if the Steelers are still going to be one of the more past dominant teams like we saw in 2018 when Roethlisberger was healthy, I think Johnson's going to have a monster year. I just wish Adam would have let

us talk about him during that year two show. He decided we couldn't talk about him. The point of that show... He said when he did the notes it was A.J. Brown, A.J. Brown, A.J. Brown, a little B.C. Metcalf, a little A.J about it. The point of that show... When he did the notes, it was A.J. Brown, A.J. Brown, A.J. Brown, a little B.J. Metcalf, a little A.J. Brown. The point of that show was the 900-yard mark. That was the point of that show. If you get

900 yards as a rookie, you're probably going to have a really good career, basically, is what we've seen. And three of them did it. McLaurin, well, not in that order. It was Brown, McLaurin, Metcalf. Metcalf, I think, had 900 right on the nose. Let's go around the room. Ready? Here we go.

Deontay Johnson or CeeDee Lamb? I have Lamb ranked higher. I have Lamb higher, yeah. But, man, I can see the case for Johnson. Yeah, I'll take Johnson. Deontay Johnson or Christian Kirk? Johnson. Deontay Johnson or Christian Kirk? Johnson. Kirk.

Sorry, Captain. I'm going with Deontay Johnson. Last one. Deontay Johnson or Darius Slayton? I have Johnson one spot ahead of Slayton. Yeah, I've got Slayton higher. I had a feeling. All right. Tight end time. Tyler Higbee for Dave. Now, Dave is a tight end Iyer. I had a feeling. All right, tight end time. Tyler Higbee for Dave.

Now, Dave is a tight end whisperer. I hate to put that pressure on you. I'm sorry. But two years ago, he was all about Kittle. Last year, he was all about Waller. Pressure's on, Dave. Tyler Higbee's your guy this year. And then, actually, only separated by two spots in ADP right now.

He's tight end 12. And Mike Kosicki is tight in 14. This is standard scoring, not PPR. I don't know if that has anything to do with it. Maybe that's helping Jared Cook get higher in the rankings. I don't know. I don't know either, but getting him that late is basically stealing.

I would take him... I would hesitate a little bit to take him in round seven. I think that might be a shade too soon. But if I really didn't like anybody else that was on the board and I needed a tight end, I would do it. I think round eight is the time when you can plan on getting Higbee and just waltzing away.

I think he's the Rams version of George Kittle, just based on how he finished last year, based on what he looked like in that offense. He doesn't have great speed, but not a lot of tight ends do. I think he's got good speed for a tight end, but I think he's got very good quickness for a tight end. And I double checked how Jared Goff did in those final five games. Cause that's when Higby really broke out,

had the opportunity to play late in the year and really kind of blossom as a pass catcher. He'd always been on the field as a blocker more than a pass catcher before then. Goff was good. At least 19 fantasy points in every single one of those games, 21 plus in four of five. And I've got three other stats on Higby. He had 11.2 targets per game in those final five. That led all tight end in that category.

And he led all tight end in that category and he led all tight ends in fantasy points i don't think he can do exactly that again but i could see him getting seven targets per game that's great for a tight end he had 2.6 yards per route run on the season so that includes all the great stuff he did at the end of the year and all the crap he gave you at the beginning of the year that was third best. Only Kittle and Andrews were better in that category. In yards after contact, 5.8 yards per catch, 10th among tight ends with 30 catches. Kelsey was at 4.2. Mark Andrews was at 4.5.

Ertz was at 3.1. Kittle was at 7.3. He's really a beast. But I think Higby is in that same type of vein. I would be stunned, shocked, and mortified if the Rams saw what they got out of Higby is in that same type of vein. I would be stunned, shocked, and mortified if the Rams saw what they got out of Higby late last year and said, nah, he can be our sixth offensive lineman. I think he makes golf comfortable, and I think he's a weapon that will be used regularly in the Rams offense. Well, he can still be the sixth offensive lineman in play. I mean, Kittle's a

great blocker. Gronk was a great blocker, so he could still block. They are, but Higby blocked a lot. The first argument, the first problem I saw with Higby when I was evaluating him is that he did a lot of blocking on pass plays, even during that five-game stretch. And I don't know about you guys, but I want my tight end to go run routes. I don't want him to block every single time. I think that's the question that we're going to find out is, you know, Everett's absence during that stretch, was that the only reason that Higby took off or was it Higby's really that good and has the chance to build off of it.

That's going to be the question that, you know, Sean McVay and Jared Goff and Higby and Everett are going to have to tell us, you know, the, the fact that, you know, Van Jefferson is really the only replacement that they brought in for Brandon cooks. Now they could really like Josh Reynolds and he gets, you know, Van Jefferson is really the only replacement that they brought in for Brandon Cooks.

Now they could really like Josh Reynolds and he gets a big role. We talked about this on the sleepers, as Ben mentioned, that he falls in that category, rightfully so. Do they give those guys that much of a bigger chance and we see more, you know, three receiver sets? Or do they go, you know, more 12 personnel? And, you know, that's where Cup lost a little bit last year toward the end of the season because he's better suited in the slot. And it's going to be Higby being a significant factor

and the clear-cut third target in this offense. So it's a ton of upside. I don't think there's much downside because if you're getting him in round eight or later, that's perfect. You can still go back and get Jack Doyle or jay sternberger or you know john smith ian thomas whatever chris herndon whoever the the tight end that you think could help you if you if you whiff but he's worth it if you get that production that you got at the end of the season i mean he won't just be top five he'll

be number one because he won't yeah exactly but are you going to get that? Right, that's the question. Yeah, I know, I know, I know. So at Western Kentucky, Western Kentucky, small school, he didn't have more than 250 yards until senior year. He finishes with 563 yards. And then in the NFL, last year was his fourth year. Through his first three and almost four years, he didn't even have 1,000 career receiving yards at the NFL level.

Guy's never really been that productive and the majority of his production last year uh was yards after the catch and it actually was a lot of what dave described he was blocking and releasing they were doing play action misdirection screens ben he was basically running screen game yeah and that's where you get the the kiddo comparison but the I think that five-game sample, it's so different than everything else we've seen from Higby, whole college career, whole NFL career. And I think it was just kind of predicated on them out-scheming teams. And he was running free. And it looked like George Kittle. The difference is they're about the same size.

Higby ran a 4'8". Kittle ran a 4'5". Kittle's an amazing athlete. Higby's not. And he's not a very productive player. He could be very good. I still like him. I'm just kind of giving the counter side. I think he's not. And he's not a very productive player. He could be very good. I still like him. I'm just kind of giving the counter side.

Like, I will take him. I don't disagree with anything David James just said, frankly. But I'm just a little more concerned that that five-game stretch is what we'll see. All right. Last guy is Mike Kosicki for Ben. And, Ben, I'll ask you this. Are you comfortable taking Mike Kosicki as your only tight end? Keep in mind, their first two games of the season

were against the Patriots and the Bills. Now, the Patriots gave up six touchdowns to tight ends in their last 10 games, and one of those tight ends was Mike Kosicki. But the Bills were just amazing against tight ends. Now, I don't know. It's a little risky. I don't know if you're going to want to go with him in those two matchups against two of the best defenses in the NFL.

What do you think? Do you have the guts, sir, to start Mike Kosicki in weeks one and two? No, I didn't realize that was their first two games, honestly. Now that you told me that, I'll be drafting a second tight end alongside Mike Kosicki. I didn't know it either until like five seconds ago, right before I asked the question.

Basically, I looked up their schedule. I had a feeling they were starting against the Patriots. I didn't know the Bills, too. But you like them. They line them up in the slot. And you think it was a second round. Yeah. I'm not going to steal all your talking points. Yeah.

Second round pick. Amazing athlete. Played at Penn State with Saquon and Chris Godwin. Not completely overlapped with those guys, but still had some decent college production. Wasn't very good in the NFL last year, but not for a lack of opportunity and and people are worried about chain gailey's history with tight ends this is the the important

note he played um 159 inline snaps last year 160 that's like 10 per game he played 461 in the slot and 78 out wide over 500 not in line um so just not really a tight end this is a big athletic uh wide receiver that is called the tight end and um he's like a 98th percent spark athlete percentile spark athlete uh and he was fourth in air yards last year behind at tight end behind only kelsey zacher it's mark andrews he's a downfield stretch. He's got everything you would hope for in a third-year tight end breakout. Second-round pick, like you said, he's got the draft capital, the athleticism, everything. Okay, man, I just got to do it.

So let's get the Ben's on the spot here. Does Ben Schrager know it? Does Ben Gretsch know it? Neither of you really knew who Pauly Shore was. That's weird. Do you know Dawson's Creek Benz no yes

you can't loop me in with Schrager who didn't know Hanson I mean come on man how do you not know Pauly Shore Greg I knew who Pauly Shore was I said that I just didn't know a lot about him I didn't know if it was movies or anything alright Tamagotchi

yeah no I didn't know a lot about him. I didn't know him as movies or anything. All right. Tamagotchi. Yeah. No. No? You're not missing much. Chris Farley. Come on. I've definitely heard that name.

I've definitely heard that name. What? He's my favorite actor. Oh, my God. He's my inspiration. You ever see Tommy Boy boy i can pretty much cite tommy never see it was on tv last night or two nights ago baby dude rent tommy boy for goodness sake ben trager uh pogs pogs ben trager do you know them yes because they're similar to baseball

cards and that you collect them and when when I was collecting baseball cards, some people had them, but we usually tried to get rid of them and just get the baseball cards. Okay. Gretch, were you into Pogs? I wasn't really into them, but yeah, I definitely knew a lot of people collected them. Yeah. Okay. Was it the Slammer that you threw it out?

Oh, the Slammer. Yeah. Yeah. The Slammer. Right? South Florida guys, the Slammer. Jamie, you know that? Yeah, man.mer. Yeah. Yeah. The slammer. Right? South Florida guys, the slammer. Jamie, you know that? Yeah, man.

Dr. Jack. All right. Nobody knows what we're talking about. So I'm going to end the show. My turn. My turn. That was Jack Ramsey used to do color broadcasting for the Heat. The slammer.

All right. We're out of here. We'll talk to you with Busts on Friday. Thanks for listening, everybody. See you.