Fantasy Football Today - Fantasy Jeopardy; Saquon Barkley Interview! (04/23 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: April 23, 2020

Earlier this week it was Rob Gronkowski, now Percy Harvin wants to come back! Do we care (2:00)? More importantly, let's look ahead to the NFL Draft and talk about the veteran NFL players who could be affected by this, starting with the RBs (5:00) and moving on to the Eagles and Raiders passing games (9:15). How much could Carson Wentz move up in the rankings? ... We play some Fantasy Jeopardy (16:50)! Can Adam rob Heath of another victory? Can anyone respond in the form of a question? We also answer a bunch of your questions via Apple Podcast and email ... Saquon Barkley hops on (42:06) to talk about the NFL season, his memories of the 2018 NFL Draft, his thoughts on Christian McCaffrey, the TV show he has been watching lately, the meanest fans he has encountered and so much more ... Your emails at [e-mail] and tweet us with #AskFFT 'Fantasy Football Today' is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Want in the PODCAST LEAGUE!? Here's your chance: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/permalink/856529974841302/ 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. Alright, what's up everybody? Welcome to Fantasy Football Today.

Adam Azer with Ben Grant, Chief. Heath Cummings with Dave Richard. Guys, are you more excited for the NFL Draft or for Fantasy Jeopardy? Be honest. The NFL Draft. Maybe Fantasy Jeopardy. It's always so much fun to try to anticipate the way in which you are going to rob the victory from me. And so, like, I'm sure people are just, like, I know Ben Gretsch is very excited. Yeah, Ben, what's your answer? NFL Draft or Fantasy Jeopardy?

Fantasy Jeopardy, for sure. There we go. And I'm excited for both. I can't wait. Both are going to be great. So I'm also really excited to talk to Saquon Barkley. So you're going to hear this show on Thursday. The Barkley interview will be the last portion of it.

Today on this show, which we're recording on Wednesday night and publishing Thursday, we don't really have much news and notes. But I'm going to ask you guys which NFL veterans have the most to gain or lose in fantasy value. And we are going to play fantasy Jeopardy and read your emails at fantasyfootballatcbsi.com and your Apple podcast comments as well. It's never a bad time to leave us a nice review. We'd really appreciate it on Apple podcast, five-star review with a question. We will read it on the air. In terms of the news and notes, there's a lot of rumors. OJ Howard, hey, he could go to Washington or New England or Tampa Bay. The Dolphins apparently really like Tua and are going to take him at five unless they don't take him at five and don't take a quarterback. So a bunch of

rumors that could drive you crazy. And Percy Harvin wants to return. That's actually a news item. Who would be interested in a Percy Harvin football return from a fantasy perspective? Yeah. Send him to Indianapolis and yeah, he could. Percy Harvin is an incredible

athlete. He really, really, really struggled staying healthy. But if he's an end-of-the-draft pick, sure. It'd be fun. I think both of the last two NFL jerseys I bought were Percy Harvin. And I think he's the only guy I ever bought two different teams for. Loved that guy. Really?

Interesting. What was the second? So Seattle and who else? The Vikings before that. okay okay i mean you guys are just being a little too nostalgic here i mean he wasn't great the last couple of years he was on the field when he was in minnesota he was awesome and when he got traded to seattle i felt like things really started to fall apart for him there's injury concerns there would be age concerns if he comes back. Migraine concerns, is that still a thing?

I'm not going to partake in any Percy. You don't like fun. That's right. That's why I'm on a fantasy football podcast. 700 years. I thought midway through you had stopped talking about Percy and we're talking about Rob Gronkowski.

We could say the same thing about Gronk. Excuse me? You could say the same thing about... Percy Harvin has not been good since 2012. Okay, that's fair. But Gronk hasn't been great since 2017. That's only eight years. 2017 is a lot more recent than 2012.

Says who? Okay, let's move on. We are giving away the first spot of the 2020 Listener's League. To win, go to our Facebook page, Fantasy Football Today, or click on the link in the episode description. It'll take you directly to my post. You can comment on my post with your prediction of the top 10 picks of the NFL draft in order.

Whoever's closest to the exact order gets the spot. The tie will be broken by the earlier entry, the one that was submitted sooner. But you've got until draft time to get those in. I think draft time. I guess don't play it too close. But, you know, I'll tell you what. I'm going to say you have until draft time.

If you don't have until draft time, Ben Schrager can interrupt me in the middle of the podcast. If you are eager to bet on sports again, the Pick 6 NFL podcast has you covered with a full NFL draft gambling preview available in their feed right now. You can hear from Vegas experts on the best draft props.

That's cool. Just like us, Pick 6 is also going to be podcasting immediately after the conclusion of each day of the draft, so you can expect full breakdowns on their podcast and on our podcast by the time you wake up the next morning. Download and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, wherever else podcasts are found to the Pick 6 podcast. So as we get ready for the drafts tonight,

well, really tomorrow night for us, but tonight when you're listening, which NFL veterans have the most to gain or lose in fantasy value? Ben Gretch, what do you think? Running backs. I mean, there's a lot of running backs. I've been really surprised with the Rams backs, where they're ranked right now. It seems like they're already being valued

like a high-profile running back's been drafted, so I don't know that they're necessarily the ones that have the most to lose. Ronald Jones, Damian Williams, if they were to add a high profile back which doesn't seem necessarily likely for the chiefs um i always think it's going to be running backs whoever gets those top three maybe four but probably just top three backs um the the incumbent is going to their value is going to get slashed. Okay. Dave Heath chip in. I'm not certain that that's going to happen.

Because nobody has the most like he may not. If they don't draft someone, then we need to talk about Devin Singletary like a top 15 running back. Right. Which is how I have it ranked. Remember Buffalo traded its first round pick away away to get Stephon Diggs. I think they traded their third along with it. So there's really only one shot that they'll have at adding another running back unless some guys start to slide.

I think a risk for Singletary would be that A.J. Dillon or Zach Moss is there in the fourth round, and those guys steal the touchdowns and split the rushing down work. You know who else that's a risk for? I just got to come at Heath a little bit here. Please. Who else that's a risk? Austin Eckler? Austin Eckler, man.

That's my expectation. I don't think A.J. Dylan or Zach Moss is really much more of a threat than Justin Jackson. What is Justin Jackson? I mean, I don't really get the hype on Justin Jackson, but I'm a broken record. I think Justin Jackson. Okay. No, but he is a guy who's there.

And they're going to give a running back 12 to 15 touches. It's not named Austin. Yeah. Yeah. You know, I'm not sure if they do that even unless they spend unless they spend the draft capital i was wrong on buffalo they've got pick 54 and 86 so those are two shots that they have to add one of these running backs that we've talked about over the last week and change chargers also have two picks 37 and 71

i'm not going to count six i don't think they're going to take Taylor or Swift at sixth overall. That would be pretty stupid. But one of those picks would go toward a running back, and that could obviously impact Eckler. But I think it would have to be one of those top five backs that we've talked about that would have a chance, a good chance, to take that much work away from Eckler. If it's Moss, if it from eckler if it's moss if it's dylan if it's anthony mcfarland who i'm kind of getting excited about the more i watch

him play i don't i'm not certain those guys are going to get that much work i think that they've basically pot committed to eckler um given their actions this offseason dylan's a perfect fit and that's where i want dylan to land because i like dylan um he is the same weight as derrick henry but three inches shorter derrick henry is obviously very tall but that also means his bmi is bigger he ran a 40 yard dash one one hundredth of a second faster i mean from a weight and and 40 yard dash perspective he is essentially derrick henry and it's not not just like every drill that they both did. Yeah.

A.J. Dillon was slightly better than Derrick Henry. Jumps, broad jump, vert. He has all the explosiveness of Derrick Henry. BFF gave him great grades in terms of broken tackle rate. So, you know, if you think Derrick Henry is, you know, a fluke in that sense, an untackleable player, A.J. Dillon graded out really well in that sense, too. So I think he's a great fit alongside Eckler where he could handle the early down work

and take those 12 to 15 carries like Keith was saying. Yeah. And I think that, by the way, Eckler, four-year deal, $24.5 million, $15 million guaranteed. That's what Dave was saying, pot committed. I just want to mention, though, you can look at the draft board and say, well, this team has this pick, this pick, this pick. You just never know. They could trade two fourth-round picks, move up,

whatever it may be. You never know where they're going to end up. I think from my perspective, the Raiders and the Eagles have a lot on the line here. Carson Wentz and Derek Carr, Darren Waller, Zach Ertz. Gone.

I agree with you on Hunter Renfro. I don't know, from a fantasy perspective, how much Derek Carr, I guess he becomes a starter in two quarterback leagues if he's a number one receiver. I think so, right. He's not a one quarterback Yeah. If he's a number one receiver? I think so, right. He's not a one quarterback league guy if they draft a number one receiver,

but I think, you know, you could look at him as a fallback option as your number two guy in a 2QB league or a high a number three or something like that as your third quarterback. You've got to get Mariota with him, though, because Mariota will get a chance at some point this year. He's the least interesting guy that I mentioned but in terms of

Wentz, Ertz, and Waller, I wonder what you think the impact could be if the Raiders or the Eagles grab a wide receiver in round one or round two given how deep this class is. I wonder so this is

kind of the same token. Alshon Jeffrey and Deshaun Jackson are going to be back, right? Like they have a lot of dead money on their deals. Why do we think the Eagles are – like I watched you guys stream on Twitch last night, and you guys were really excited about the Eagles landing spot. I don't think I'm as excited as you guys. Are you expecting Alshon Jeffrey to be healthy and ready to go for week one? I think between Jeffrey and Jackson and then knowing that Ertz and Goddard are there at tight end,

if one of Jeffrey or Jackson is healthy, there's not a ton of opportunity. But you've got to look to the future if you're the Eagles. Alshon Jeffrey and Deshaun Jackson are not the future. Sure, sure. But I mean, for 2020 redraft, I don't know that it's a perfect landing spot for a wide receiver. I think it is because I don't see Alshon contributing right away because he's coming back from the foot injury.

And then even when he does come back, how long can he last? Plus, he's been inconsistent when he's played. So an infusion to that passing game with the youthful receiver that can attack downfield, I think that receiver could lead all the wideouts in Philly in targets, catches, yards, and touchdowns. I'd love to see it. I hope it happens. I really want to see them trade up and get Lamb. That would make me a happy camper.

If they get Ruggs, I feel like it's kind of... I know he's not exactly the same as Deshaun Jackson. Obviously, he's a lot younger, but I think he could probably be eventually as good of a route runner as Deshaun is and contribute more in the short area. He's probably obviously he's a lot younger, but I think he could probably be eventually as good of a route runner as Sean is and contribute more in the short area. He's not as brittle, but I would be excited. I would be really pumped if if they made a big move.

They traded their first in 2021 or something like that. Get that lamb or Judy on their team and start pelting them with targets from Carson Wentz. And it would be great long term, but it would be great short-term too. It would be interesting to see if that would change their approach because there really has not been that much opportunity available at wide receiver in the Eagles offense. They have been, I believe, the only team each of the last two years to throw less than 50% of their team's targets to wide receivers. They just are very, very heavy

on the running backs and tight ends. And I don't know. Ben brings up the Alshon Jeffery thing, and I have felt really weird about the way that everyone is viewing Alshon Jeffery and what he... I have no idea.

They can't... They could cut him and just lose all that money. I think it's negative. They might as well squeeze something out of it. But I don't think anybody's going to trade for him. But listen, it's not necessarily about the wide receiver that ends up there. It's about Carson Wentz because I think – Zach Ertz has led the team in receiving three straight years.

And I'm sorry. I just don't think that's the recipe for greatness offensively. Did you know the Eagles ran the most plays in the NFL last year? I believe that. And they've been top eight in plays

each of the last three years. They were third, eighth, and first, I believe, in that. So that's an exciting offense in that regard. But they have unexciting players. And so they need dynamic players. Their yards per catch leader was Miles Sanders.

After that, it was Dallas Goddard. They need guys who can make plays desperately. So I think it could really boost Carson Wentz because, quite frankly, his numbers as a passer were pretty pedestrian last year. He was on pace for like 4,139 yards. That's really not very good. And I think a lot of that is what happens when you throw to tight ends all the time. You've got to get a playmaker there who can catch the ball five yards

downfield and go 60 yards for a touchdown. You know what I mean? Yeah. Come on, feel it. I feel like if you were going to go with the Waller-Earts angle, you should have included Kittle. I tried to do that, I think, earlier this week, and it got shut down a little bit.

Maybe it was on Twitch. I can't remember. But I said, like, do you think George Kittle would lose? And you guys said Debo would and not Kittle, right? Right. That's kind of how I feel about the Raiders and Eagles situations, too. What? But I thought

you were the low guy on Ertz. I've already downgraded Ertz from where he finished last year. But that's completely different than what I was saying. This is about Wentz. This is about Wentz. This is about Wentz getting the playmaker that he needs because they don't have playmakers. I think I'm the high guy on Wentz, so I'm not going to move him ahead of DeSean Watson.

I have him eighth. They don't have playmakers or wide receivers is what I meant. Right. Okay, any final thoughts here, guys? Kerryon Johnson is one other name that I'd keep an eye on. I can't imagine the Lions are excited about his prospects as being a full-time running back. I know he's young, but consecutive years where knee injuries sidelined him for a long period of time. And he was great in flashes.

And they've got good draft capital now. And if they trade down from three, they'll have even more. So they've got plenty of chances to add another running back. I suspect they would. Where did I see it? There was somebody that reported that they were very high on Leonard Fournette back when he was coming out. And so even if they don't get one of the running backs in the draft class, they could make a deal for Fournette and he could go to Detroit to work with carry on. That would be messy.

But I've already ranked carry on like he's going to share. I'm not nearly as excited about him as I was last year. And I have a feeling we'll see him get some company in the next three or four days. Adam, we have some breaking news that i think is especially relevant to you okay um i just scrolled across my twitter feed um tiger woods phil mickelson tom brady and peyton manning are doing a golf charity event on in uh may um i need your thoughts as long as they weren't doing it two weeks ago in New York it doesn't say the location

of where they're going to be playing I don't know if I would assume they're all going to have their own carts it was a very regrettable night one of the worst nights of my professional career absolutely hated everything about it so I don't really want to relive it anymore

to be quite honest with you. I'd rather move forward with some Fantasy Jeopardy, ladies and gentlemen. Here we go. All right. Okay, I've got only two categories, and I've got three questions per category. There's six total. Six questions. Yeah, six.

Is there a daily double? Yeah, I guess there's a daily double is there a final jeopardy there is not a final jeopardy this is already off the rails okay you know what you know what ben schrager is listening right now he's he's silent ben schrager you've got probably five to ten minutes come up with final jeopardy come up with a category and an answer come up with final jeopardy we. Come up with a category and an answer. Come up with Final Jeopardy. We will do Final Jeopardy. All right. Can you give negative points?

What did you say? No, you cannot get negative points. You cannot get negative points. Okay. You cannot get negative points. I don't remember the daily double rule. If you have like $200, what you're allowed to wager. As much as the highest number in the category.

Okay. All right. Then there you go. Then that'll be $600. And if you okay all right then there you go then that'll be 600 and if you lose that then you can go into the negatives oh okay on the daily double you can go negative okay okay all right here we go so we have two categories so can you just not answer if you don't want to because every other one where you're choosing to answer and you can't go negative i will allow that where you're the only one who can't answer you can go negative yeah i think i think you're right i think that's a disadvantage you can risk a dollar though you don't have to risk you can bring up a good point well i've already screwed up fantasy jeopardy we haven't gotten to daily double

okay all right you know what here's a twist oh. Oh, God. Daily Double, you can wager whatever you want. If you get it wrong, you lose the money. But if you get the Daily Double, you can choose to play it or you can choose to assign it to a different contestant. Here's the twist. We're going to be playing Family Feud

instead of Jeopardy. The twist is it's going to take longer to explain Fantasy Jeopardy than to actually play Fantasy Jeopardy because there twist is it's going to take longer to explain Fantasy Jeopardy than to actually play Fantasy Jeopardy because there's only six questions. I feel prepared. Okay, the two categories are Keeping Up With The Joneses. This is not

a fantasy category, but it is Keeping Up With The Joneses. It is NFL draft related. And then the other category is just called actual fantasy. So it's kind of an oxymoron, but it's fantasy football questions or answers. Literal fantasy.

Yeah. So I'm going to let Heath have the board. Heath, keeping up with the Joneses or actual fantasy? Keeping up with the Joneses for 600, Adam. Okay. Two, four, and 600. All right. For 600. Oh, by the way. How do we buzz Okay, two, four, and 600. All right, for 600.

Oh, by the way, buzz in by saying your name. All right. The sixth running back selected in his draft class. This Jones was selected 15 picks after Lendale White. And some people call him a space cowboy. Some call him the gangster of love. Nobody? call him the gangster of love nobody i mean that's that was a hint by the way yeah okay he's good julio jones he's a running back okay i read it again. The sixth running back selected in his class, this Jones was selected 15 picks after Lendale White.

And some people call him a space cowboy. Some call him the gangster of love. So that's Steve Miller, man, the Joker. But what does that have to do with Jones? Okay, nobody's getting it. Ben, I'll say Tyjuan Jones. Okay, I think you mean who is Tyjuan Jones. The answer, that is not correct. Who is Tyjuan Jones? Dave, you mean who is Taiwan Jones. That is not correct.

Dave, do you have a guess? Hell no. Who is Maurice Jones Drew? Some people call me Maurice. Maurice. Yes. Okay, the Heath board is still yours. What are the categories again?

Keeping up with the Joneses. Keeping up with the Joneses for 200, please He was the 19th running back selected in his draft class in between TJ Logan and Elijah McGuire Heath Heath That's right, that's wrong What the hell's going on ben bed who was aaron jones you got it bed with 200 all right in between tj now we're on the jones's category until he buzzed in and i was like

oh that's a that's the clue because otherwise how are we supposed to know who was just drafted between logan and well yeah what's the other category literal fantasy let's do that actual fantasy okay for two four six hundred let's go for uh six hundred okay uh actual fantasy for for six hundred this was the only team with two wide receivers that combined for more than 18 touchdown catches in 2019? Heath. Heath. Chris, who are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? That is incorrect.

Yeah, that feels like a trick question. They had exactly 18. Dave. Who are the Detroit Lions? Oh, I hit the applause button and it didn't work. Sorry. Yes, you got it right. Wow.

There you go. The Detroit Lions. Thank you. Dave gets it. Gallaudet had 11, so I figured that Marvin Jones held up the other. And Jones had like a four-touchdown game. Okay, so Dave got that for 600. Dave, you are the leader right now, and the board is yours.

We have Keeping Up with the Joneses for 400, or we have Actual Fantasy for two or 400.'ll take keeping up with the joneses for 400 and who is ronald jones no a top 10 pick in his class this arcade like defender enjoyed a 12 year career with four different teams this what like defender this-like defender enjoyed a 12-year career with four different games. Dave. Who is Pac-Man Jones. It was Dave, and Dave got it right. You've got 1,000, Dave.

Did I ever tell you about the time I tried to interview Pac-Man Jones at the Rookie Symposium, and I asked a question, and he just walked away from me. Oh, wow. He was not interested. He seemed to be engaged until I asked him the question. And it was just like, how would you defend Braylon Edwards? It was something like that. He just walks away from me. He wasn't interested.

Braylon Edwards also in his draft class. I used to be young. Adam, what the hell am I doing? You have actual fantasy for $200 or $400? Actual fantasy for $400. That's your daily double. Yes. You've got $1,000 right now.

You can play or you can pass this on to someone else. I'll play. $925 and your hair. You are risking a lot here, Dave. He's going big. Let's go. Okay. You're not going to get this. In full PPR leagues, the amount of wide receivers who finished in the top 10 among all non-quarterbacks.

So top 10 players that were running backs, wide receivers, or tight ends. The amount of wide receivers in full PPR that finished in the top 10. Well, it ain't 10. Because that would be weird. What is three? That is incorrect. You're down to $75. And you lost your hair

The answer is four You should see this big mop on Azar's head right now Michael Thomas, Chris Gobbin, Julio Jones, Cooper Cup They finished second, eighth, ninth, and tenth in full PPR in CBS leagues Baa Baa Black Sheep, have you any wool? It's on Adam's head for the rest of the quarantine All right, Dave The board is still yours You are losing to Ben Black Sheep, have you any wool? It's on Adam's head for the rest of the quarantine. All right, Dave. That's quite rhyme.

The board is still yours. You are losing to Ben. Ben has $200, right? Yeah. Dave has $75, and Heath has zero. So the answer here is... Wait, the scale is 200, 400, 600, and none of us is over 200.

Dave somehow has 75. It's the risk. That's a really terrible strategy from Dave. All he had to do was say $1, and he would have clinched it because the $200 is all that was left. Yeah, he would have won the game. The amount of top 10 quarterbacks in six-point-per-passing touchdown leagues who had fewer than 200 rushing yards?

Heath. Heath. What is one? Heath is on the board. Wait, so did you just say that there was two 200s left is all? No, that's it. That's it. We just ran the board.

Thank God. Here's the score. Heath and Ben are tied at 200. Dave is at 75. Final Jeopardy, everybody. Final Jeopardy. The category is kickers. Kickers.

What? Kickers. I would like to write my bid down. It's 200. The Colts signed Trey Burton, by the way. I will also wager... I'm not going to tell everyone what I'm going to wager. You don't say out loud what you wager.

He's going to wager $0. Everybody, send me an... He is 100% going to wager $124. That means even if he gets it wrong, I can't beat him. No, that's not true. If you double up, you get $150. That's right.

I'm better at Wheel of Fortune, guys. That was my game. I am your wagers. Everybody, I am your wagers. Heath, I am his. I'm going to wait for Ben. $200. Okay, Ben's $agers. Okay, Heath, I am his. I'm going to wait for Ben. 200. Okay, Ben's 200.

Dave, you can I am yours. You can play the strategy game. I'm going all in. All right, cool. All right, so Ben Schrager gave this to me in the form of a question, which is really messed up. This kicker scored the most fantasy points in a single season since 2010. This kicker has scored the most fantasy points in a single season since 2010.

You're talking about the best kicker season in a decade? I'm going to give you a hint. It happened in 2011. Okay. That definitely helps. So, 2011. okay that that definitely helps oh so 2011 hold on wait where's the music where do you want me to message you my answer i got a good i got a good guess okay everybody i am me i am your answer there it is wait this is chat oh you want it in slack or something no i wanted an, in Gmail. I'm not cool enough for

chat. I want Gmail, yeah. Alright, I got a guess from Dave. I got a guess from Heath. Do I have a guess from Ben? Alright, let's go around the room here. Dave, you're in last place. You wagered all of your

money, $75. Oh, going to zero. You actually wagered $3,450,000 but you didn't have that much. We of your money $75 you actually wagered $3,450,000 but you didn't have that much so I'll give you $75 your answer is David Akers that is correct David Akers

Heath you wagered $200 a lot on the line here Heath $200 and your answer was David Akers Heath, you wagered 200. A lot on the line here, Heath. 200, and your answer was? David Akers. You got it! Wow.

All right, Ben, you needed to get this right to keep pace with Heath. What did you do? I guess Neil Rackers, who kicked a lot of field goals one year for the Cardinals, but apparently was not the correct answer. David Akers. That means Dave is actually the winner because he didn't take that Daily Double seriously. He had $1,000. I'm going to give this one to Dave.

Way to go, Dave. All right. That was a speech. No, you don't get a speech. Why not? What are you talking about? I am so impressed that you guys got

David Akers right. Way to go. Okay, Neil Rackers I literally just thought of the kicker who kicked a ton. Neil Rackers made 40 field goals,

but it was in 2005. So it was a lot older than I thought. Classic mistake. All right, we're going to finish the show with some Apple podcast questions

and your emails. This is from Rcodyd. Seems like in half PPR leagues, people tend to weigh PPR rankings more heavily than non-PPR rankings. Would a contrarian strategy yield better value in half PPR? Should we expect to find valuable picks among players who fall in half PPR because they don't stand out in receptions, like a Tyreek Hill at the end of the first, a Derrick Henry in the middle of the second, Mack, A.J. Brown, et cetera.

Yeah. I don't know. Yeah, I thought yeah, too, but then I also think that if you're always playing PPR like me, I tend to value those guys because I feel like I'm moving away from my standard. I think it's all about what your standard is. me i tend to value those guys because i'm i feel like i'm moving away from my my standard i think it's all about what your like your standard is i think it's important to value receptions to some degree and if even if receptions count for a half a point using ppr rankings

bakes in a lot of that i mean there's there's going to be players that are just way too reception heavy but a lot of them are going to come toward the end of the draft i would say there there's a couple that will take that you know 100 catches but the yards and the touchdowns aren't that great maybe you devalue those guys over the course of your drafting maybe you can improve maybe you're willing to take some running back chances a little bit later on that you wouldn't in a full ppr you know sony michelle might look a little decent later on that you wouldn't in a full PPR. You know, Sonny Michel might look a little decent to you once you get past round six as a guy for your, hopefully your bench and not your starting lineup.

You wouldn't want to start the year with Sonny as a starter for your squad, but you get the point. There are ways to kind of adjust to it, but more or less I like to stick with the PPR rankings as long as the PPR points are for half or more. So the scoring is slightly different in the leagues I was looking in. I looked in a full PPR and a half PPR league. One of them was a decimal scoring league. So it's just a little bit different. But in the PPR league, let's just compare two players, Chris Godwin, who was the

number two wide receiver in fantasy, and Mark Ingram, who had a really good year. In full PPR, Mark Ingram scored 42 fewer fantasy points than Chris Godwin. So, like, not even close. Chris Godwin much better than Mark Ingram. They scored almost exactly the same amount of points in half PPR. Godwin had four more points. So, obviously, all you have to do is some math, right? It's not a hard concept, but just to think about that.

Mark Ingram scoring the same amount of points as Goblin in half PPR and 40 fewer points in PPR, it's a big deal. And I think we always sort of answer, people say, what ranking should I use? I think we typically answer PPR for half PPR leagues, but you really can't do that. I mean, you have to. I think you'd find a half PPR leagues, but you really can't do that. I mean, you have to... I think you'd find a half PPR ranking. Yeah.

Maybe you guys should do half PPR rankings. But you have to evaluate the guys that are, like, I guess on either end of the spectrum, a lot of catches or very few catches. They sort of have to be evaluated separately, I feel, right? Their values change so much. Yeah, I don't think there's a hard and fast rule to get back to the original question.

Okay. Let's go to our second Apple Podcast question. It is from Hooks42x. Should I trade Devante Adams and pick 201, first pick of round two, for Miles Sanders and pick 102. Yes, yes. Yes, next question.

Yes. Yes, Hooks, you should. All right, Brett from St. Louis. What's up, Trent, Vinny, Brad, and Josh? Quarterbacks for the Bucs. Testaverde, Dilford, Johnson, and Josh Johnson. Two Johnsons. Josh Freeman. Josh Freeman. Oh, yeah. Well, they had Josh Johnson, and Josh Johnson. Two Johnsons. Josh Freeman.

Josh Freeman. Oh, yeah. Well, they had Josh Johnson, too, didn't they? They did. But this is definitely Josh Freeman. I feel like I'm the only person not buying into Tampa Bay. A 43-year-old quarterback on a new team with a new head coach. His most comfortable weapon is a soon-to-be 31-year-old injury-prone

WWE-trained tight end. Last I checked, Bruce Arians didn't utilize his tight ends, not to mention their 29th-ranked team defense and below-average offensive line. Am I the only one that feels like this is a Florida income tax-exempt money grab? Feels like a lot of the Cleveland hype from last year. Tom Brady really needs the income tax benefit. I think part of the reason why Gronk came back was

to pick up the $10 million on his contract. I think there's no doubt about that. I also think there's no doubt that this offense is going to be more Brady-centric than I first believed when he went there. I don't think Bruce Aarons is going to say, okay, now

Brady, you're the greatest of all time. Gronk, you're a Hall of Fame tight end. You must conform to my system or else, shaking his fist. I think it's going to be more of, Tom, what are you comfortable with? We don't have a normal offseason. Let's put in your favorite plays in this playbook, and I'll adjust it to you, which kind of hurts Mike Evans even more when you think about it.

But I'm thinking that that's what we're going to see. Heath, I feel like you want to be there. The most likely outcome is that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have fewer offensive yards and probably even fewer touchdowns than they did in 2019. Their defense is going to get a lot better. It already did. They got a lot better down the stretch. And they probably won't have to throw as much.

But I'm not comparing this to Cleveland. Because Tom Brady and Baker Mayfield, there's just no comparison. Well, Baker Mayfield was better in his first year. It's not that. It's the professionalism. I mean, this is a veteran team. Yeah, it's the coaching too. The coaching, absolutely.

Freddie Kitchens compared to Bruce Arians. That's not even a comparison. I'm buying it. Are they the favorites in the NFC? No. Who is? favorites in the NFC? No. Who is? They're close. Saints?

I think the Saints would have to still be a favorite. I think the 49ers deserve some credit. Yeah, a little bit. I saw a lot of people right after the Gronk thing joyfully talking about betting the over on Tampa Bay's win total, which was nine, I believe. And so I had asked on Twitter, at what point would you bet the under on the win total?

13. Wow. Now, I'm not saying that I expect them to win 12 games, but I wouldn't feel comfortable betting the under because I think they could be that good. Ben? I would probably take the under on, I don't know, 11. I would take the under on 11, and I would consider the under on 10.5 without looking at their opponents.

Usually I have that information in front of me. I don't because it's at the office, and I haven't been in the office in four months. But pending schedule, I would say 11 would be a good one to take the under on. 27% said 9.5 or lower. 44% said 10 or 10.5. 24% said 11 or higher. William Hill has the

49ers, by the way, as the favorite. Super Bowl losers don't always have a great follow-up season. This is from Nick. Let's go a little faster here, guys. From Nick, who would you rather have in both half and full PPR, Calvin Ridley or Robert Woods? Ridley.

Ridley, but I think it's close. From Matt Z in Wisconsin. Hey, gentlemen and scholars. Let's say the Packers draft a wide receiver in round one. In a perfect world, who would you love to see them draft? Who would be an ideal fit? Jefferson.

I think he's boy Justin Jefferson. Yeah, Justin Jefferson would fit really well. Jerry Judy. Yeah, I guess. More realistic. Have free reign, that's what I would say. If we eliminate the guys that they're probably not going to get, which are Lamb, Judy, Ruggs,

Jefferson would be great. I think he'd be a perfect fit on him there's a lot guy yeah he is a lot guy yeah and i think he could be more than that i didn't get a chance to really talk about this on hq and heath did a really good job of mentioning it we were on hq today and i mentioned that jefferson is an nfl ready slot receiver and heath mentioned well he's also done a lot of work in 2018 he lined up outside a lot i think his, his NFL career floor, is reliable eight-year slot receiver. And his ceiling can play anywhere on the field and be a phenomenal receiver. So he would be great there.

I think I'm kind of high on Jalen Rager, so I'm going to say that he would be a good fit. I think Denzel Mims would be a good fit. So you'd take every first-round receiver as the best fit? No, the best one would still be either. I would say Jefferson, probably the best fit. But listen, it's Green Bay. I'd be excited about anybody they have. That's true.

I didn't mention Brandon Ayuk, by the way, Ben. From William. Who remembers the 90s hit wonder song, Tub Thumper? For some reason. I do. Yeah, I think we all do. That song came across me this week after listening to your podcast and broad visions of Derrick Henry just plowing people without being tackled.

Is there any running back in this year's class that could be the new Tub Thumper? Take it away, Gretch. Yeah, A.J. Dillon. 100% A.J. Dillon. It is A.J. Dillon. He's the Derrick Henry, but I will just say that Jonathan Taylor is also a tub thumper. Yeah, that's a good point. I think Dobbins could thump tubs as well.

So we got some potential tub thumpers. From Aaron. Six points for passing touchdown. 12 teams. Superflex Dynasty League. I give Patrick Mahomes. I get... This is Superflex. Patrick Mahomes, I get, this is super flex, I get Josh Allen two 2021 firsts

and one 2021 second round pick. Nah. Yeah, I mean, only if I don't think I'm really competing for a title this year. Yeah, it feels like a good value option, right? Because Allen is a valuable player in Superflex. It's going to be a starting quarterback for a while and be decent. But Mahomes might be the number one player in Superflex for the next half decade.

Is Allen plus two first and a future second enough? I'd rather have Mahomes. I even might consider it a four point for passing touchdown lead, but this is six, so that makes it even harder to do, giving up Mahomes. Finally, from Jared, great email here, last one. I think Will Fuller and Brandon Cooks fit your friendship strategy at the wide receiver position pretty well.

Both are pretty late picks have a good chance one gets hurt and they have deshaun watson throwing to them one of them i feel like could be a top 15 wide receiver booyah i love it and it's willful so you don't have to draft brandon cook i think you might have to have a pick on one of the ends to pull this off because it feels like fuller and cooks are going to be those teammates this year that one of them gets drafted and then somebody else remembers like three picks later oh yeah i should take the other one yeah maybe it's funny in our last mock before the draft i think it was towers was picking before me but whoever it was took cooks and i already had fuller lined up we took them back to back is this a deal where you take one in late round six and one in early

round seven that's i feel like that i would not have to do that i would like to have a little more separation there uh by the way i have to go ask saquon barkley if he likes his pop tarts toasted or untoasted where where do you guys fall in that great debate toasted heath um i don't i haven't had a pop tart in maybe 10 years i haven't either but i still remember toasted i think it was absolutely absolutely we're gonna make heathy to pop tart thanks for listening everybody we'll be back on thursday, late night, for an NFL Draft Day 1 recap. Can't wait.

We've got to do more podcasts at like 5.30 because Ben Gretsch is just, he's actually at a normal time rather than 6 in the morning out on the West Coast. Thanks a lot to Ben, Dave, and Heath, and to Ben Schrager. Let's talk to Saquon Barkley right now on Fantasy Football Today. Giants running back Saquon Barkley is here on Fantasy Football Today. And just two years ago, he was the second pick of the NFL draft. We're going to ask him about that.

But first, we want to thank Saquon so much for coming on. And before we get to football, let's talk about the important stuff. Tell us what you're doing with FedEx to help fight COVID-19, Saquon. Yeah. First, I want to say a huge thank you to all the first responders and everyone on the front line that are helping us flatten COVID-19. But yeah, with FedEx, you know, I'm proud to be here on behalf of FedEx. You know, they're playing a major role in this fight against COVID-19. FedEx has responded to the global pandemic

by working around the clock to deliver critical medical supplies to the healthcare community. To keep up to date with the FedEx relief efforts, visit FedEx.com slash CoronaWire. Yeah, thanks to FedEx and Saquon and everybody who's chipping in right now, all the first responders.

Keep up their great work. All right, so sports are on hold right now, but it's good to have you on. It's certainly good to have the NFL draft. Based on what you've heard, how confident are you that the football season will be played this year in the normal timeline, normal schedule? You know, everything is kind of just up in the air. You know, we're all kind of just hoping and praying everything can get back to normal. But, you know, there's nothing that I've heard that,

you know, from what I've been listening to, that anyone kind of can tell when this thing is going to stop or when we're going to, you know, put a stop to it, end to this thing. So for me, I'm kind of just staying in the right mindset, trying to learn the system as best I can, stay in shape as best I can. So when an opportunity comes

on the shelf, I'm ready for it. How would you feel about playing in empty stadiums? You know, for me, the way I think about it, it's football at the end of the day. You know, obviously it's entertainment, and I love, you know, what I do and to be able to do it for the fans. But I also love football.

And football is when I first learned something that passed me down. No matter if there's 70,000 or 100,000 people there or no one there, I'm just blessed enough to continue to be able to go out there and play the sport that I love since I was a little kid. All right, so let's go back two years ago. Let's go to the start of your NFL career and the NFL draft. What can you tell us? What do you remember about that morning, I guess?

Were you nervous? Or take us to the morning of the NFL draft, which obviously was going to be one of the biggest days of your life. Yeah, it was crazy. The week itself was truly amazing. Two days before I drafted, I was able to become a father and see the birth of my daughter. But the morning of the draft, when I woke up, I was kind of excited.

I wasn't nervous. I don't think you should really be nervous in that moment. You kind of know you're getting drafted. Also, myself, I kind of knew I was getting drafted. It was just a matter of when and where. But, you know, for me to be able to hear my name called and be able to go on that series and be able to go back home to New York, you know, was definitely truly amazing.

And, you know, not only just go home, I've lived the hours and change right from my parents. I was able to go to their house for, you change right from my parents' house. I'm able to go to their house whenever I have sleep time or on holidays and spend quiet time with them. But nervous? No, more excited because I put

in all the hard work to get to this point. I was going to be able to achieve that goal and then try to go and achieve my goals in the NFL. When did you learn that the Giants were going to take you second overall? They announced

that Cleveland Browns are selecting David Mayfield. Not too long after my phone started ringing and it was a jersey number. That's when I knew I was going to be a new giant. So that whole morning,

that whole day leading up to it, you still did not know where you'd end up? Yeah, no. I had no idea. I had no idea. Not at all. Alright, so now you're a giant. First thing I want to know, I had read that Eli Manning was really good at playing pranks on people in the locker room.

Did he ever haze you or prank you when you were a rookie? Not really. He did this one little thing where he kind of tricked me to throw grass at my mom, like have me do a cavity or something like that, or wasn't to. But other than that, no. I've heard a lot of crazy stories with phones and all that kind of stuff. I was definitely on my guard. But no, he didn't get married.

All right, you got off easy, I guess. All right, so your first NFL game, you had a 68-yard rushing touchdown against the Jaguars. This is big, bad Jacksonville defense. You break off a 68-yard rushing touchdown against the Jaguars. This is big bad Jacksonville defense. You break off a 68-yard rushing touchdown. You now have seven career touchdowns of 50 or more yards. Can you describe for people like me, who would probably

run out of breath before I could even run 50 yards, what's that feeling like breaking off that long run and knowing that you're going to take it to the house? Well, I didn't know I had seven career touchdowns over 50 yards. So thank you for letting me know that.

But it's kind of hard to explain, you know. You kind of let your body go and you just start making cuts and moves. There's all the preparation that you put in the offseason, all the preparation that you put in there and that week of practice and that week of film, seeing everything and how you're going to attack the defenders and how the defenders are going to attack you. And then when you get into the open field, it goes back to your training.

Before, when I first started playing football in my college days, it was more just off of natural ability and just trying to run as fast as I can. Now, you know, you're thinking about your doing the technique, you're thinking about your, you know, your stride length, how much force you're putting in. You know, it all goes that quick, like, through your mind in that short time span. So, but yeah, I didn't know I had, I know the record's like very standard, like 16 or something like that. Or AP, like, tied it or came close to a better migration year. So that's pretty dope to know. Yeah, you had five as a rookie and two last year,

and we'll see what you can do in 2020. I want to ask you about 2020. I want to ask you a little bit about fantasy football, actually, because last year you were not the consensus, but probably the typical number one pick in fantasy drafts. This year, it's going to be Christian McCaffrey. I'm sorry about that, but people are going to go with McCaffrey after what he did last season.

Are fantasy managers going to be making a mistake if they pick anybody over Saquon Barkley this year? I mean, you can't go wrong with Christian. Christian is a great player. He's able to catch the ball out the backfield and run in between out the Tigers. He can do it all back. There's a couple of us out there that can do that.

We're all talented, so we can play honest. I don't think they can go any wrong with drafting any of those guys, especially Christian McCaffrey or myself. But there's things that happen during the season that you can't prepare for. But like you said, I think Christian is a great, great choice. Myself, Ezekiel Elliott, the list goes on. So just to be able bench and that same classification with guys in this class. Have you, well actually I'm hoping you have,

can you share maybe some of the text message reactions that if you've spoken to Chris Godwin, your former Penn State teammate, what his reaction was to Rob Gronkowski, first Tom Brady and then Rob Gronkowski. I don't know if you've gotten the scoop from the now-Buccaneer, but the former Penn State Nittany Lion, Chris Godwin. No, actually I haven't.

I'm pretty sure he's definitely excited. I'm definitely pretty sure not only him, but everyone in Tampa right now is pretty excited. It's cool. We want to see Gronk's a tremendous player, come back. If not the greatest player to ever play, Tom Brady will go out there and get a new fresh look and a fresh start. It's exciting.

I'm pretty sure I think the Giants get to play them this year. Hopefully, we can give them a football and get a good chance to see those guys. Yeah, that'd be awesome. All right, I got some rapid-fire questions for you before we let you go. Just going to fire away here, and you just tell me what comes to mind. Here we go. If you were not a football player, what would you be? Are we doing sports or not?

Anything you want. I'm a producer. Producer, alright. If you were Roger Goodell for a day, what is one NFL rule or anything about the NFL that you would change? I don't know. I'm pretty okay with the rules right now.

Nothing that comes to my mind that I would change. What is your favorite football movie? Remember the Titans. I saw Ernie Davis' movie yesterday. That was really good. But I'm going to remember the Titans.

Sorry, Saigon. You're required to say Little Giants just so you know. Oh. That is a great movie too. Rank these three breakfast foods.

Pancakes, French toast, waffles. Pancake. Pancake. Homemade waffle or like, oh man, okay. Pancake, waffle, French toast. All right.

Yeah, pancake, waffle, French toast. One more breakfast question. Big controversial one on our show. Pop-tarts, toasted or untoasted? Untoasted. What are you watching on Netflix these days? Not much.

I watch Hulu, to be honest. What are you watching on Hulu these days? To be honest, the show that I watch the most uh it's like this kid show paw patrol or something like that paw patrol all right yeah all right uh okay how about the best defensive player you've faced so far in your career um um equally yeah and i i will let you you can pass on this one if you don't want to answer it i don't um, um, equally. And I,

I will let you, you can pass on this one if you don't want to answer it. I don't want to start a controversy, but the meanest fans you've encountered so far in the NFL. Um, I don't know the right person, but it probably someone controlled up. You know,

I would have thought they'd be, they go easy on you considering the Penn State thing, but I guess not. I get some love out there. Thank you so much for coming on. We appreciate it. Thanks for what you're doing to help fight COVID-19. It was great speaking to you. Thanks for having me.