Fantasy Football Today - Final Sleepers, Breakouts and Busts! Plus Jeff Wilson News (08/31 Fantasy Football Podcast)
Episode Date: August 31, 2023Fantasy Football Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and wherever else you listen to podcasts Ready for a few dozen sleepers, breakouts an...d busts? We've got so many names for you on today's show! First, some Fill in the Blank (3:45) about what our favorite Fantasy teams have in common, how to rank some backup running backs and avoiding older guys with your early picks. We've also got news and notes (10:30) ... Dave's sleepers (18:25), breakouts (22:40) and busts (27:45)! Jaylen Warren, Tony Pollard, Romeo Doubs, Rhamondre Stevenson, George Pickens and Russell Wilson are among the many players discussed. Which categories do they belong to? ... Jamey's sleepers (35:15), breakouts (45:30) and busts (53:25) with Kenny Pickett, Chris Olave, Isiah Pacheco and many more mentioned. We also react to the news that Jeff Wilson has been placed on IR (58:10). Is Raheem Mostert a Round 8 pick now? Will the Dolphins add a RB? ... Email us at fantasyfootball@cbsi.com SUBSCRIBE to FFT Dynasty on Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fantasy-football-today-dynasty/id1696679179 SUBSCRIBE to FFT Dynasty on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2aHlmMJw1m8FareKybdNfG?si=8487e2f9611b4438&nd=1 Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr, @ctowerscbs Follow the brand new FFT TikTok account: https://www.tiktok.com/@fftoday Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/fantasyfootballtoday Get 20% off Fantasy Football Today merch: https://store.cbssports.com/collections/fantasy-football-today%20?utm_source=podcast-apple-com&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=buy-our-merch&utm_content=fantasy-football-collection Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/ Sign up for the FFT newsletter https://www.cbssports.com/newsletter You can listen to Fantasy Football Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast." To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports.
What a play!
Can you believe this?
No, I can't.
It's time to dominate your fantasy league.
Off to the races, and he stays on his feet.
He's just going to go the distance.
Now, here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath.
Well, good morning, everybody.
Happy, holy cow.
I don't know how I'm just realizing this.
We're a week away.
Woo.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well, I guess, you know.
Yeah.
It's Thursday.
And next Thursday, we're going to be helping you set your lineups.
I should probably tell you, we have some live streams.
It's going to be Monday night, Thursday night, and Sunday morning. I don't know
if I have final times, but let's say
roughly 7.15 on Monday
and Thursday night, Eastern.
So we'll take you up to kickoff. Monday
night's going to be kind of a wavery show, but
also if you have any lineup questions just for the Monday
night game, of course, we'll help you. Thursday
is going to be a start or sit show.
This is just a live stream exclusive
to YouTube. YouTube.com slash
Fantasy Football Today. And Sunday,
we've been doing this for a few years now.
11.30 a.m. until 1 p.m.
Eastern. Just firing away and answering
your questions, and we always have a good time on that show.
I'm Adam Azer, Dave Richard,
and Jamie Eisenberger here. We have
on this show, I don't know,
50, 60
names to say.
Sleepers, Breakouts, and Busts.
So just a little bit more
of a cheat sheet for you
to get ready for your drafts this weekend
or even if you've already drafted
some players to pick up.
What'd you guys do yesterday?
How was your day?
Anything fun?
Draftathon.
I haven't laughed that hard
in a long time.
It was a great time.
Draftathon was really great.
And for all of you viewers and listeners who either donated or watched yesterday or were part of it in any way, shape, or form, we raised over $120,000 for St. Jude.
Wow.
And it was a major success story.
And everyone out there, you deserve a lot of credit.
Thank you so much.
Can I thank two people?
Yeah. Our good friend, Todd Rones, who's been
more than generous for four years now, a significant contributor to our cause. And
Scott Fish, who continues to prove he's the most generous, kindest, nicest person in fantasy world,
really came through last night with Fantasy Cares. Just an unbelievable donation.
And unfortunately, Adam, you still owe us
what he asked you to do.
What did he ask him to do?
Look, Dave.
Dave, I have my guitar for you here.
No, I had to play guitar on the air
last night. This is ridiculous.
This is the second time, dude.
This is the second time you're teasing me with the guitar.
You have to shave your head.
He has to shave his head?
I was going to shave three lines in my hair,
but what happened was I went upstairs.
I can't do it myself.
I was going to have my wife do it,
but she was on an important phone call,
and we just could not do it at that point.
And it was going to be for charity,
and Scott donated anyway.
But also I've got to thank all the behind-the-scenes people,
including Thomas Schaefer, Zach Brook, Eric DeBardinas,
Sam Batesh, Eric Kay, Thomas Schaefer.
I said Thomas.
Ben Schrager, who's actually helping us out.
Chris Towers.
Dan Schneier.
That's the name I forgot.
Schneier was awesome.
He was a superstar.
All right, you'll hear Dan tomorrow on the mailbag,
which we're on Saturday.
Fill in the blank to start the show.
Go ahead.
You're not going to play the guitar again.
No, nobody wants to hear that.
At the end of the show.
I don't want you to hear it.
At the end of the show, Dave,
you think about the song you'd like me to play.
I'll play something for you.
Okay.
All right, let's do some fill in the blank
and some quick questions to start here.
The common theme I've noticed
on my favorite fantasy teams is blank.
Good players.
Yeah, agreed.
Exciting depth, if you can believe that. good players. Yeah. Agreed. Uh,
exciting depth.
If you can believe that,
that's the first thing that came into my mind,
having guys on my bench that I, that I am hopeful for will become starters slash trade bait throughout the
year.
Such as,
yeah,
I've mentioned so many guys,
like everybody that's in the sleeper column that I,
that I posted yesterday.
I'm trying to get at least two of those guys and every draft I'm in Jalen
Warren,
Jalen Warren's the top Roshan Johnson's another Romeo Dobbs,
Elijah Moore.
Cool.
Yeah.
Two of those four.
I think there's another couple of Nico Collins is in there.
Kenneth Gainwell's in there.
Like if that was my bench, I'd be a happy camper.
And I'm not thinking about, oh, I have to hope that some of these guys, you know,
break through in October.
Why did my mic fall?
I hope they break through in October.
No, they're guys that I'm, I'm thinking have huge upside and that we see it before
October.
And if they don't, then they're late round picks.
Tough luck.
I'll pick up somebody off the waiver wire.
Jamie, you got an answer.
The common theme on my favorite fantasy team is blank.
Favorite fantasy teams.
For me, it's top eight quarterback.
When I look at my roster and I say, oh, I really like this team.
It has a top eight quarterback.
I don't really have a theme.
I mean, it's just...
All right.
I got another one.
Go ahead.
Maybe, Jamie, you'll agree with this one.
Three stud receivers.
Yep.
A lot of my teams that I really like,
three stud receivers are right there.
Two in the starting spot, one in the flex.
Or if it's one of Jamie's leagues,
three starting receivers.
Bing, bang, boom.
If I start my team with two older guys,
I feel blank about it.
Define older guys.
Okay, Eckler,
Kupp,
Kelsey,
Adams,
Henry.
I'd say those five.
I think of those guys you mentioned,
really the only one I draft is Eckler.
You don't draft Kelsey?
Oh, I'm sorry.
But you don't have Eckler and Kelsey on any of your teams?
I actually have not drafted Kelsey once.
Me either, unfortunately.
I've got him a couple times.
I don't think I think about it.
So you'd be okay with Kelsey, Henry, or Kelsey, Adams
as your first two picks?
No. Kelsey Henry...
Yeah, I think I'd be okay
with it. Too risky for you, Jamie?
Yeah, I mean,
there's too much bust potential for two of those guys
that you mentioned.
Okay, you're not talking about Kelsey.
But there's none for Kelsey, who's the oldest of the group?
Not as much for the other two.
Not as much as the other two, yeah.
Okay.
Fill in the blank.
This is how I rank Samaje Pirine, Jalen Warren, Zach Charbonnet.
Warren, Charbonnet, Pirine.
I believe I have it that way now.
Warren, Pirine, Charbonnet.
What's worse?
Dropping Justin Jefferson for Peyton Barber
or dropping Justin Fields
for Andy Dalton
in a Superflex League?
Why do you do this to yourself?
Jefferson for Barber
will go down as
one of the worst
flubs of all time.
I agree.
Last one here.
I noticed Debo Samuel
is not on your busts list.
Is that a recent development?
Yes, he's fallen to the fourth round, which is where he belongs.
Yep, fair ADP.
And are you encouraged by the usage in preseason,
which we try not to make too much of,
but it just continues what we saw with Purdy at the end of last season?
Debo, Debo, Debo, Debo. And he did it again in the preseason.
Yes.
You should be encouraged by that.
I mean, look, you're talking about a quarterback that already struggled
in the small sample size to throw the ball downfield that we saw last year.
And now he's coming back from a UCL injury.
Is he going to take a lot of shots down the field?
I doubt it.
Is he going to take a few?
Sure.
The thing about the 49ers, which has been fantastic in Kyle Shanahan's tenure, is the yak yards after catch.
And they just get guys open and they and they allow them to make plays.
And that will be what for anybody concerned about Brandon Ayuk, that will be what helps him is he doesn't necessarily just have to make plays down the field.
But obviously, Debo is going to be the one that benefits the most.
Plus, he'll get some carries along the way.
I don't know if either of you watched pretty closely during the preseason.
I watched pretty close.
Ah,
very good.
I,
I didn't think he had much velocity on his throws.
He didn't last year.
Yeah.
It's always been the case.
Yeah.
I don't know if there's any kind of worried me a little bit.
I don't know if that was because of the injury or anything else,
but there wasn't a lot of zip.
Not a lot of mustard.
You're probably going to disagree with this,
but that's how I felt about Jordan Love.
No, I thought Love had some velocity.
And he definitely had a strong arm.
He was just late to make throws.
Oh, maybe.
We talked about it with Ray GQ yesterday.
Okay.
We have one item left, by the way, for Draftathon. I said we already raised over $120K for St. Jude. Still one item out there at tinyurl.com. It's going to be on the show, on the Dynasty show. Heath's Dynasty show. Yeah, whatever. I'm
not even going to do this read anymore. I can't speak. FFT Dynasty, you want to be on the podcast?
That's the last thing remaining. Please go to tinyurl.com slash FFT donate and please bid.
It's almost done. And leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. We would very much appreciate
it. And if you leave a five-star review and a question, we'll read your question on the air because we're going to have mailbag episodes all throughout the
year as well. So we'll read your Apple Podcast reviews. All right. Yeah, I'm sorry.
It's a rough morning.
For those of you who don't know, six-hour show for me yesterday. Just a lot going on right now.
And what time did your kids wake you this morning?
No, they sleep later than me, man.
My daughter's still sleeping. It's 9.50.
It's crazy. All right. Good for you.
Great for them.
They all go to school? You know what woke me up this morning?
I heard the garbage truck outside
and I had to run outside.
I had to take out the garbage in my kitchen,
put it in my big garbage bin
and run outside and chase down the garbage truck
so they can take my garbage.
All right, the big news.
Good, you got some athletic ability in you
to go and chase down a garbage truck.
I don't know if Dan's in trouble now.
Yeah.
The big news, GM Chris Ballard for the Colts.
He said that Jonathan Taylor complained
of some ankle soreness, which is why,
or ankle pain, which is why he is on PUP. And he said the situation sucks for the Colts. He said that Jonathan Taylor complained of some ankle soreness, which is why, or ankle pain, which is why he
is on PUP. And he said
the situation sucks for the Colts,
it sucks for Jonathan Taylor, and it sucks for
our fans. And I think it would probably suck
for all of you if we talked more about this,
so we'll just leave it at that.
We had some interesting fantasy notes
on yesterday's show. We talked to Nathan Zagura,
who covers the Browns on the
radio for them. And he's their color broadcaster. Nathan Zagura, who covers the Browns on the radio for them.
And he's their color broadcaster.
Analyst.
Yeah, color commentary on their broadcasts, their games.
And he thinks Nick Chubb will have a career high in catches or something.
He said something.
I don't know if it's catches or receiving yards.
He said he'll have a career high in receiving.
I don't know.
What do you?
Could mean both.
Could mean catches and yards.
Yeah, he said he's not coming off the field.
Right. He said there were, what, three players that didn't play at all in the preseason. They were Nick Ch and yards. Yeah, he said he's not coming off the field. Right.
He said there were, what, three players that didn't play at all in the preseason.
They were Nick Chubb. Yes, Miles Garrett, Joe Batonio, and Nick Chubb.
Nick Chubb.
Pete Prisco thinks the Jaguars offense will be right up there with the Chiefs offense.
Basically among the best in football.
And he's convinced Lawrence is just going to have a massive season.
He's also convinced that Calvin Ridley should be drafted ahead of DeAndre Hopkins. and he's convinced Lawrence is just going to have a massive season.
He's also convinced that Calvin Ridley should be drafted ahead of DeAndre Hopkins.
Yeah, right.
We're doing the audience team draft yesterday where we're doing a live draft during the show if you didn't watch it.
We're letting the audience pick for two teams.
We're giving them four options, making a YouTube poll.
We say, all right, audience, you've got this so far.
You're in the fifth round.
Here are your options.
DeAndre Hopkins,
Justin Herbert, blah, blah, blah.
And Pete says,
I think Calvin Ridley
should be going ahead
of DeAndre Hopkins.
And I said, well,
I think Justin Jefferson
should be going ahead
of DeAndre Hopkins too.
But they're both off the board
right now, Pete.
Calvin Ridley was taken
a round earlier.
He also had to explain to Adam why Anthony Richardson
will be a good fantasy quarterback.
Yeah.
Wait, Pete explained it?
It was very funny.
Pete explained to Adam that Anthony Richardson
Not exactly.
I'm exaggerating.
But Adam was saying that Anthony Richardson
will be hot garbage.
Hot garbage.
Yeah, but for fantasy, he'll be good.
I don't think he exactly said that,
but he understands,
and I understand the rushing angle to it.
Joe Burrow returned to practice.
That's good news,
but defensive end Joseph Osai
is expected to miss four to six weeks
with a sprained ankle.
He's an important pass rusher for the Bengals.
They're going to have a very young secondary
and missing one of their better pass rushers
to start the season.
George Kittle is still dealing with a groin injury.
He played in the third preseason game,
but they've been resting him in practice
because the groin, which he hurt a few weeks ago, is still an issue.
Jamie, is this a big deal as we talk about one week from the start of the season,
week and a half, I guess, for Kittle, still dealing with a groin injury?
I mean, look, you should still be drafting him as the seventh tight end off the board, which is where he's been the entire off
season for me. I don't think he should be going where he's been drafted so far. We've said that
a ton, no matter what ADP you really have been looking at. The thing about it is, though, maybe
now Kittle becomes one of these tight ends that you should be planning to draft a second one with,
you know, so maybe you're a little bit more aggressive with a Dalton Kincaid,
a Sam Laporta,
not that you shouldn't be drafting these guys anyway,
because of upside,
but maybe you should be considering somebody as a starter.
So Chico Conquo,
Juwan Johnson,
you know,
any of those top 15 caliber tight ends,
you know,
Jake Ferguson,
you know,
somebody that can help you just in case Kittle does not play in week one.
But look,
if he's out,
that opens the door for better things for Debo Samuel and Brandon
Ayoub, because that's what we've seen.
When one of these guys is missing, the other two step up.
The two tight ends that, based on last year, have the best week one matchup would be...
Actually, I was going to say Higby against the Seahawks.
I was going to say Jake Ferguson against the Giants, but the Giants were 28th against tight ends.
The Cardinals gave up the most,
so I don't think Logan Thomas is going to be your guy.
Why not?
I mean, he's just coming back from injury.
That's not a guy you start week one.
But Higby, though.
He's got the best matchup, we think.
Dave doesn't necessarily think the Seahawks will be as bad against tight ends.
I don't think they'll be as bad either.
But, you know, you're dealing with an injured Jordan Brooks if he's playing.
Who knows what they're going to do with Jamal Adams if he plays.
Right.
Adams will, I think Adams will play.
Hasn't he been practicing?
He's off the pup.
I know he returned to practice, but that doesn't, I mean.
Right, I agree.
Sure.
They're not running him back down.
So, I think they will, I agree with Dave.
I think they will be better over the course of the season,
but I just don't know right away because they've got some injuries in key spots.
Okay.
JSN could be ready for week one.
So that's cool.
Cool.
Another good bench guy.
Yeah.
And Kansas City general manager Brett Veach said that
Rashi Rice and Justin Ross will start as package players,
but he hopes that they become
every down wide receivers later in the
season. And Kadarius
Tony could be back for week one, and so could
the Jarius Sneed, our starting cornerback,
and that's just a week away, in case you haven't heard
me say that. Lions and Chiefs.
Alright, sleepers break out
some... It's 54.
I think Heath said 59 yesterday,
which I was going to take the under on that.
Then I saw it was 54, and I'm not touching that.
This is juicy.
You know, it's interesting.
We'll do sleepers, breakouts, and buzzes in just a second.
How fully bought in are you to the idea that the Lions are really one of the best offenses in football?
I wouldn't put them in terms of one of the best
unless we're talking, you know, like upper half.
But I think there's certainly room for them to get there.
So they have a ton of interesting pieces, you know,
but you're asking two rookies to have to carry a heavy load
of Jameer Gibbs and Sam Laporta,
and then some guys that either are past their prime in Marvin Jones
or have yet to do really anything in Josh Reynolds.
So, I mean, Jared Goff, I think, doesn't get the credit he deserves
because he was good with the Rams and he's been good with the Lions,
despite his reputation.
The offensive line is fantastic.
The play caller is fantastic.
So there's room to get there, especially the second half of the season
if Jamison Williams just provides that big playability.
Yeah, I don't know if you feel kind of certain about what Goff is,
but he was good with the Rams, and then he was terrible with the Rams.
So I just wonder if he could still turn into a pumpkin, I guess.
I feel like he's always struggled when he's under pressure,
which is common for quarterbacks.
He's playing behind a really good offensive line.
Win healthy, asterisk.
I think he's got a chance to have a good week one.
Yeah.
Yeah.
All right.
Are you going to start?
Yeah, absolutely.
Are you going to start Jared Goff against the Chiefs
or Josh Allen at the Jets?
Josh Allen, but I would start Jared Goff over Anthony Richardson in week one.
Sure.
And 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.
Maybe.
No, I'm just kidding.
No, no, no.
All right.
We'll take a break here, and we will come back and do sleepers, breakouts, and busts.
We'll be right back.
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Data sourced from the ORCGA 2023 Dirt Report. Here we are, sleepers, breakouts, and busts. One
final time for you. So many names. Here's what I want you to do. We'll see if this works.
Read the name, give me five to 10 seconds, and then so on. Dave, give me your sleepers.
Okay, let's start with Jalen Warren, who should be able to handle passing downs work for the Steelers.
More elusive than Najee Harris and could eventually take over the majority of the rushing work for the Steelers.
Romeo Dobbs comes after him.
I was so out on Romeo Dobbs a couple of months ago.
He's really looked great.
All the reports have been great.
I was told that he was the most consistent route runner for the Packers this training camp,
and he's made some awesome plays.
So love having him on my bench.
Elijah Moore in Cleveland.
I think he's going to be part of the fix for Kareem Hunt not being there.
Lined up in the backfield in the preseason.
Maybe like a low-rent version of Debo Samuel for the Browns.
Love having him on the bench.
Roshon Johnson.
Got to be patient with him.
I don't think he's going to get a lot of work early on, but the Bears might turn to him.
Good physical runner can line up everywhere.
Good player.
Sean Tucker, Tampa Bay.
He's got the guy behind Rashad White.
If you draft Rashad White, whether you want to or not, you could take Sean Tucker literally with your last pick. If you don't draft Rashad White, you could literally take Sean Tucker
with your last pick and see what happens over the first couple of weeks of the season. I think Isaiah
Hodgins has some unique traits that'll keep him on the field for the Giants. You can get him for free.
Logan Thomas, we already talked about him. Week one matchup against Arizona. If he practices all
week without issue, a streamable tight end for week one.
Yeah, I'm sorry, Dave.
I actually didn't even notice that Thomas was on your sleepers.
That's okay.
It's not.
Look, I'm not going to say he's going to have a good year.
I just think he's got a chance.
Week one.
No Terry McLaurin.
Commanders might want to try and get him a touchdown since he's back.
He had a bad year last year.
Okay.
And it's a great matchup.
So I'll reread Dave's list. Jalen Warren, Romeo Dobbs, Elijah Moore, Rashawn Johnson,
Sean Tucker, Isaiah Hodgins, and Logan Thomas. Jamie, is there anything you don't agree with
on this list? No, no. I mean, these are sleepers for, for me for the last several months. Um,
you know, started the preseason with the off season, excuse me, Nico Collins, Romeo Dobbs,
two of my favorites. Jalen
Warren, it's hard to overlook what he's done and
not call him
a breakout maybe
at this point, just based on what the
way things
are trending in Pittsburgh.
No, so those are all great calls.
Let me get a quick word on Collins.
Great shot for him to be the number one wide receiver there.
A little bit worried about the upside because rookie quarterback,
but he's also looked good.
He's flash speed as recently as his last preseason game.
And then another name, one more, Kenny Gainwell.
When's the last time DeAndre Swift or Rashad Penny played a full season?
Yeah, that's so true.
It's never, never happened.
Gainwell is just another great running back to stash on your bench.
So would you take Michael Thomas or Romeo Dobbs?
I have Thomas one spot.
One spot for Jamie Michael.
I've got Thomas a couple spots ahead of Dobbs.
Okay.
Because my problem with Dobbs is
what's his path to being
a top 24 fantasy receiver
with Christian Watson
healthy?
I think he might just be
like a really good wide
receiver three and you
could use him as a wide
receiver two and by weeks.
Everybody knows Michael
Thomas is upside.
I I don't know Michael
Thomas is upside.
I don't know what Michael
Thomas is anymore.
What is he, 31?
Coming off two lost seasons?
He's 10 games in three seasons, yeah.
I agree.
It's tough to trust.
Look, first of all, I think it depends on your build.
If you're looking for a little bit more of a long-term play,
Dobbs is probably the better option.
If you're looking for a short-term play,
you go with Michael Thomas
because while he's healthy, you'll start him.
Yeah.
No, I wasn't saying I don't
like Thomas or anything. I simply don't
know what his upside is. I don't think he has wide
receiver one upside anymore. He's no longer
the alpha
of this receiving core. That's true too.
Could you see him finishing
as a top 24 receiver?
Yeah. I could. Jamie?
If he stays healthy, yeah.
Yeah, sure. Let Jamie? If he stays healthy, yeah. Well, yeah, sure.
All right, breakouts.
Let's go to Dave's breakouts.
Same thing, Dave.
That was perfect.
Go for it, your breakouts.
Tony Pollard, now the main running back in Dallas.
I think the Cowboys are going to throw a little bit more
than we thought they were going to.
Still not necessarily a fast-paced team,
but I love the potential for him to pick up north of 50 catches, score a bunch of
touchdowns, just an explosive running back who's been trending in this direction for a long time.
Damian Pearson, Houston, we saw some flashes of it last year. Hopefully he stays healthy.
He's in the right type of offense, man. This is the 49ers running offense, so they will lean on
Damian Pearson. I think he's the better short yardage guy over Devin Singletary.
I think he'll lead them too.
We saw him getting a ton of work in the preseason,
including third downs when CJ Stroud was on the field.
Rashad White's on the breakout list in the sense that I think this is going
to end up being his best year ever.
He didn't have a great year last year.
He's going to get a huge opportunity this year.
I think he'll,
if even if he does well this year, I'd probably lean toward him being a bust in 2024, but I think he can get
north of 1100 total yards, five or six touchdowns, maybe even one more than that because he catches
the football in Tampa Bay. I think the Bucks are going to be better than people think. James Cook
and Buffalo just figures to be the main running back there should be able to average a fantasy
point per touch.
He should see over 200 touches.
You can do the math.
Good RB2.
Garrett Wilson, everybody's talking about him.
The best of the best among the second-year wide receivers.
Wouldn't surprise me if he was wide receiver one this year.
Christian Watson is my favorite low-key second-year wide receiver.
I just love his talent, his ability to make big plays.
Jordan Love hasn't looked bad so far,
other than being a little late on throws that we saw in the preseason.
I think Watson can finish as a top 12 receiver this year.
George Pickens, we've had a ton of talk about.
I think he's the best receiver in Pittsburgh.
I think he can lead that team in all the receiving categories
and certainly be a good wide receiver too by the end of the year.
And then Sky Moore, probably in that same boat as Romeo Dobbs,
maybe can finish top like 28 in full PPR among wide receivers.
But I think if he's legitimately replacing the majority of what Juju did last year,
he's going to have plenty of opportunities to put up catches in yards from week to week
in a very good, obviously, Kansas City offense.
Okay, so Dave's breakouts are Tony Pollard, Damian Pierce, Rashad White,
James Cook, Garrett Wilson, Christian Watson, George Pickens.
That's three year two wide receivers.
Oh, and Sky Moore.
That's four year two wide receivers.
And Dobbs is on the previous list, so that's five.
And I know you like Dotson, too.
So we like the young receivers. It Dobbs is on the previous list, so that's five. And I know you like Dotson, too. So, we like the young receivers. It obviously makes sense.
Jamie, any issues with Pollard, Pierce, White,
James Cook, Rashad White, James Cook,
Garrett Wilson, Christian Watson, George Pickens, Sky Moore?
Nope. All good. All good
choices. I have some follow-up questions.
Here's my issue with Pierce.
I like Pierce. I love, you know,
I love explosive running backs. I don't think he's going to be the
guy who runs, you know, outruns people,
but he's still so effective.
He just runs people over.
He breaks tackles.
He's violent.
He's really good running back.
I have to take Damian Pierce at this point over some really good wide receivers
that I want.
I think that's what's bumming me out about Pierce.
I think his, I feel like he's maybe being drafted at his upside.
Close to his ceiling, you're saying?
Yeah, yeah.
He's probably an early round four pick.
If he gets to round five, wonderful.
But when would you take him?
Because I don't want to necessarily pass up Christian Watson,
Keenan Allen, certainly in a PPR league here,
Debo Samuel, DK Metcalf.
I'm feeling like I'd rather take receiver there.
How do you feel about Pierce with those guys?
Let's go back to what Jamie said about your build
and that if you find yourself in late round three
and you want to find a second running back
or maybe you haven't even drafted a running back yet,
Damian Pierce makes sense there.
And if you're looking for a running back,
that means you should probably be good at wide receiver already.
So you might not be dying for Allen,
Debo, DK, Cooper, the names that you mentioned, Adam. And on the flip side of that, if you've
already got one running back, you might decide to wait a little bit longer to find your second one,
in which case you could go ahead and get one of those wide receivers and let somebody else get
Damian Pierce in your league. Okay. Having Rashad White on the breakout list,
but Sean Tucker on the sleeper list.
You know what I'm saying?
I've been finding myself lately drafting both.
When I get White,
and I prefer him in round five,
I get Tucker with my last pick.
Okay.
And Garrett Wilson,
do you think he has the most upside?
And you said you wouldn't be surprised if he was the number one.
Wide receiver one, yep.
Does he have the most upside out of the group of Garrett Wilson,
Amonra St. Brown, Lamb, A.J. Brown, Adams, Waddle?
Yes.
Jamie, who has the most upside in that group, in your opinion?
St. Brown.
St. Brown. St. Brown? Okay.
All right, Dave, let's see what your busts list looks like.
Keep in mind that when it comes to the busts, it's based on ADP,
and these are usually players that I'm just taking around,
maybe around and a half later.
In some cases, several rounds later, but not for the first two.
Lamar Jackson, everybody's excited about him.
Again, it's the third year in a row.
I can't justify the round three ADP
or him being the third quarterback off the board.
He's not the third.
He's the fourth, I think, in ADP off the board
when he's been below 25 fantasy points per game
each of the last three seasons.
I know we're excited about this new offense.
I hope it works out for him, man.
I really do.
I'm a little bit worried about him not running as much.
We know that he wasn't a great passer in the red zone last year or the year before.
And of course, you've got the injury concerns baked in on top of that.
Ramondre Stevenson in New England.
We've gone round and round on him.
Zeke's an issue.
But the other issue is spending a round three pick on a
Patriots running back. You get nervous when Bill Belichick and the Patriots mix and match their
running backs all the time. I know that Ramondre Stevenson is the best running back in New England,
and I think he'll be pretty good, but we saw a sample size last year when he was sharing with
Damian Harris, and he wasn't even getting 13 PPR points per game. Struggled within the division,
struggled to score pretty much in any game Harris played in.
Scored twice in all the games that he played in with Damian Harris last year.
We're counting on catches.
That's great.
I hope it's there.
I'm a little bit nervous that some of the other additions that the Patriots made this offseason
could take targets away so that they're not as reliant on Ramondre
as they were last year in that awful offense.
The offense should be better.
I just don't know if it'll be explosive enough. Again, round three, too rich for my blood.
Najee's ADP, is it round three? Is it round four? Is it round five? It's still too high. If I like
Jalen Warren, I can't possibly like Najee Harris. He's literally my RB24 in full PPR right now.
We've talked a lot about Jonathan Taylor this week. Man, there's a chance he doesn't even play this year. I think if you're drafting him and you're thinking to get him in round five
or round six, you're counting on him getting traded because that's the only way he's going
to play 13 games because the Colts aren't going to bring him off the pop list, give him a bunch
of money, and then he's going to be good to go in week five. It's just going to be a rough year.
So I don't want to even deal with the headache of Jonathan Taylor. I have him ranked 97th overall.
It feels weird. Judy and McLaurin, those are injury related. Uh, I would
prefer to get them in round seven and wait for them to come back in the case of both of them.
They might never be a hundred percent this year. And with McLaurin, Dotson's there. Dotson could
be the lead wide receiver quite easily in Washington, Kittle Waller. They're just being
drafted too high, especially Kittle.
Everybody looks at Kittle. They're taking him late round four, early round five. They see the 11 touchdowns from last year. That was a career high. He had a five-year low in catches per game
and yards per game. I have a tough time buying George Kittle anywhere near round six, much less
round five. And then Russell Wilson, kind of an obvious one. People take him because they know
his name. They hope he bounces back. I am very nervous that he will not bounce back in Denver
this year. I don't think Russell Wilson is an obvious one because he's going so late. He was
someone I was. I don't even know if he should be drafted. Yeah, I was kind of like excited about
him, but I think you have to have cooled a little. You can't see what's going on in the preseason and
Jerry Judy getting hurt and not have cooled. He's my QB 23.
Okay.
But in a 2QB league, I mean, there's still – I mean, Judy's not on IR.
We're acting like – he's on your bus list here.
We're acting like Judy's going to miss so much time.
He might miss a game.
He could miss three.
He might – what's that?
He might miss a month and a half, too.
He could miss three.
He could?
Yeah.
And he's going to come back from it.
I don't think we should expect him to be himself in his first game back
from a significant hamstring injury.
And he could always hurt himself again.
And even if Judy's there, I think it could be rough.
Yeah, I'll go back to run through your busts one more time.
But two guys on this list, uh, noticed, we noticed a
common theme on some quarterbacks who in recent years have absolutely smashed ADP and whether
that was high end guys like, like Tom Brady was maybe something like QB nine or 10 and ADP.
And he had an amazing year, won the super bowl with the bucks. Um, Ben Roethlisberger,
Matt Ryan had that year where he was QB2 and he won the mvp and the year
before that he was he was bad they were veteran quarterbacks who got new offensive coordinators
had previously been fantasy studs at least once and that is lamar jackson that is russell wilson
so um you're just not really thinking that that's draft Lamar. I just, there's other quarterbacks
I'd rather have. I'd rather have burrow, obviously the top three rather have burrow. And I still have
fields a spot ahead of Lamar, but I've got Lamar ahead of Herbert. I've got him out of Lawrence,
definitely ahead of all the other guys. Yeah. I've seen a lot of drafts where Lamar Jackson is just barely behind Josh
Allen and Jalen hurts.
And I think that's what you're getting at.
Yeah,
sure.
And I get that people love that upside when they,
when they take them in round three,
though,
it just,
it feels ridiculous.
Jamie,
anything you want to say on the bus list here,
Lamar Jackson,
Ramond,
Dre Stevenson,
Najee Harris,
Jonathan Taylor,
Jerry, Judy, Terry McLaurin, George Kson, Najee Harris, Jonathan Taylor, Jerry Judy,
Terry McLaurin,
George Kittle,
Darren Waller,
Russell Wilson.
Yeah, I don't agree
with what Dave's saying
about the ADP for Lamar Jackson,
but I do think he should be
the fourth quarterback
and I do think there is
immense upside for him
because of the coordinator change.
So I don't really worry
about what happened
the last two seasons,
but the ADP,
if that's what we're going by,
I think that is worthy
of calling him a bust.
Obviously, I disagree with Stevenson and Waller.
I think Stevenson is going to be worth a third round pick and will absolutely
destroy Ezekiel Elliott and every metric that matters because Ezekiel Elliott
was terrible last season. So I think the offense will be better.
I don't worry about the additional about the additions in the passing game
because they just needed some semblance of an upgrade to begin with.
So that will help the offense as a whole. And again again when they had a better offensive system two years ago they scored 25
rushing touchdowns from the running backs down to 10 last year so those touchdowns will be there
for both of those guys so stevenson i completely disagree with and i completely disagree with
darren waller he's the third tight end that you should be drafting this year daniel jones is going
to be fantastic for him the system is going to be fantastic for him and waller will bounce back
and play like the guy we saw with the Raiders
when he was healthy.
You can rebut Dave,
if you'd like,
or no,
I'm good.
Okay.
Okay.
Let's take a break.
I said my piece on,
on,
on Stevenson.
And I've said my piece on Waller many times.
I don't think there's any other reason to bring it up again.
Fair enough.
Let's go to break.
We'll come back.
We'll hear Jamie sleepers,
breakouts and busts after this.
Welcome back. Let's see who Jamie likes and is actually avoiding this year as well. Sleepers, breakouts, busts. Okay. We've got a lot of names here, Jamie. Go for it.
Yeah. I just published another sleepers column and looking at guys at pick 140 or later. So
that's where this range of guys is. so to give you some deep sleepers for
this season because i've done a billion sleepers already of the obvious ones um so kenny pickett
and sam howell quarterback they're not going to be drafted in one quarterback leagues they should
absolutely be drafted in two quarterback leagues and they have the potential to be a very good
waiver option throughout the course of the season pickett looks awesome this preseason and uh you
know you reference russell wilson um he's he's my number 18 quarterback this year in terms of picket so just after jared goff so the guys that we've been
typically talking about i think pickets right after that group so ahead of stafford head of
wilson head of uh jordan love for me um read it one spot ahead of howell howells look great as
well you know once he was named the starter had that strong preseason game against baltimore i
know it's against backups but he's looking better and 19 points in his debut last year against Dallas he's going to be fun
I think he's going to run surprise people with that what he did at North Carolina so again
two guys that if your quarterback play gets quarterback gets off to a bad start and you
want to talk about a good week one matchup Sam Howell is a great streaming option if you want
to play that game against the Cardinals in the opener four running backs here Dave mentioned
one Kenneth Gamble.
I agree.
Could be the starter for the Eagles.
We're getting him at like 160 right now, which is just insane as ADP.
That's obviously going to rise a little bit over the weekend once all these drafts happen,
but still just a free space right now.
But Ty Chandler, Kendra Miller, and TyJay Spears, you know I'm a little concerned about
Derrick Henry.
Spears has looked great in the preseason, had that 33-yard touchdown.
I know, Adam, you love those explosive
plays. And obviously
following his mentor with the stiff arm,
looking like he could be a nice option
there as a lottery ticket should something happen to
Derrick Henry.
Miller is going to be very interested
to see what the Saints do in their first three games
without Alvin Kamara there. And
Jamal Williams, who knows what he has left
to offer? Miller looked very good once he came back from his little knee situation.
If he does anything in those first three games,
it might be something to keep an eye on over the course of the season.
And he's going to be the future in New Orleans.
So if you are in one of these, you know, we get asked this question a lot.
Who can I draft this year to stash for next year?
Kendrick Miller is as perfect a guy as you can find,
because if he does have any strong performances this season,
that might be their starter if they move on from Alvin Kamara next season.
Ty Chandler, I know a lot of people have asked,
oh, Myles Gaskin just went to Minnesota.
What does that mean?
Well, Nuwagnu didn't play at all in the preseason
and was dealing with an undisclosed injury,
didn't even practice a lot in training camp,
and they waived Dwayne McBride.
I don't know how much we've talked about that.
So Chandler's the –
They brought him back on the practice squad.
No, I know, but moving on from him
from the active roster speaks to, I think,
what they think of Chandler who,
look, we've said for the last four seasons,
Alexander Madison, Alexander Madison,
Alexander Madison has a lottery ticket
to something that happened to Dom Cook.
Well, now the new Madison is now Ty Chandler
and Madison obviously unproven as a starter.
So all these guys you're getting with late round picks.
They're just unbelievable stash candidates.
Four receivers that I have here, Rashad Bateman, Marvin Mims, Jaden Reed, and Tank Dell.
Again, great situations.
I love Zay Flowers.
I think he's going to be the number one receiver for Baltimore, but the guy that has the best
rapport with Lamar Jackson is Bateman.
And in two of the five games that he was healthy for last year, 13 or more PPR points. And this offense is obviously going to be better. You're getting
him for free Marvin Mims. It's cheating a little bit, but his ADP is still at one 62.
That should rise a little bit over the weekend, but past one 40, I don't know how much he'll go
higher than that. This is the guy Sean Payton drafted. You know, he inherited Jerry Judy and
Cortland Sutton. And we know Sutton's been very difficult to trust lately and Judy's injured right now.
So Mims, very good at Oklahoma, very gonna, gonna be a big part of this offense, even
if both those other guys are healthy because no Tim Patrick.
And so Mims is a good stash candidate.
Um, Jaden Reed, you know, Dave mentioned Romeo Dobbs.
I agree.
Uh, Christian Watson about a breakout.
I agree.
This is a very, very thin receiving core and very, very young.
And Jaden Reed strong season last year at Michigan State, going to be their third receiver. Also
had a very strong training camp. Again, a guy you're getting, he has no ADP right now on our
site. So when your last round picks, something happens to Watson or to Dobbs, he's in a great
spot. And then Tank Dell, you know, I think we got excited after that first preseason game. Then he
had the hamstring tightness and back tightness. Nothing's really changed for him, you know, I think we got excited after that first preseason game. Then he had the hamstring tightness and back tightness.
Nothing's really changed for him.
You know, he's dealing with a crowded receiving court to a certain extent.
I agree with what Dave said.
You know, like I said, I've been high on Nico Collins all offseason as the number one guy there.
But who's going to be number two?
Is it going to be Robert Woods?
Is it going to be Noah Brown?
Is it going to be John Mechie?
You know, I think Dell is the guy that would be my preferred choice and still has just as much upside as a go-to guy for C.J. Stroud.
And then two tight ends I have are Chick Oconquo and Jake Ferguson.
I've been all over the map with Oconquo.
We had this bet, which I'll still play out with you, Adam,
but I would take Kincaid over Oconquo now.
But was one of my breakout candidates at this position
before they signed DeAndre Hopkins.
Now you've got Burks coming back from a knee injury.
Kyle Phillips is out, or at least on injury reserve with a knee injury.
And Okonkwo went from a guy that was being drafted in the early drafts
as a top 12 guy, maybe even a top 10 guy.
Now you're getting him as a borderline top 20 tight end, again, after pick 140.
So qualifies for what we're looking at here.
And Jake Ferguson, in Dak Prescott, six of seven seasons for Dak Prescott his tight
end whether it was Jason Witten Dalton Schultz and there's one more guy I think that snuck in
there at one of those seven years but at least remember me it's just those two guys at least
83 targets for his tight end every six of seven years of his career so in three of those seven
seasons the tight end has been second on the team in targets and
one year jason whitton was third but he was three targets away from being the leader in targets on
the team so the tight end is something that matters to dak prescott i think jake ferguson's going to
be a very nice surprise despite the fact that it's crowded receiving core in dallas and dalton
schultz not the greatest of athletes as we've seen has been very productive over the last three
seasons so ferguson steps into that role so another guy like i said these two guys in particular And Dalton Schultz, not the greatest of athletes as we've seen, has been very productive over the last three seasons.
So Ferguson steps into that role.
So another guy, like I said, these two guys in particular,
if you draft Kincaid, take one of these two guys with him,
along with Jawan Johnson, who I put in the breakout category.
But if you are looking for a second tight end with upside,
Oconquo and Ferguson, they're top 15 guys for me.
All right, let's run through that list again.
Kenny Pickett and Sam Howell.
These are deeper sleepers.
What'd you say, 106 you say? 140 or later.
Kenny Pickett,
Sam Howell, Ty Chandler
in Minnesota, Kendri Miller
in New Orleans, Ty J. Spears
in Tennessee, Kenneth Gainwell
in Philadelphia. Wide receivers
Rashad Bateman in Baltimore,
Marvin Mims in Denver,
Tank Dell for Houston, Jaden
Reed for Green Bay,
tight ends,
Chigo Conquo for Tennessee,
and Jake Ferguson.
Great week one matchup against the Giants in Dallas.
Okay.
I'm sorry, Dave,
anything you want to add to that list?
I like the list.
There's seven names that I think are worthy of being drafted even in 12-team leagues,
but I want to ask each of you, and I'll do the same thing. If you had to pick three,
the top three of your sleepers, Jamie, because they're 140 or later, I should be able to get
all three of these guys. Do you have a preference for the top three? Then I'll go first with it.
Gainwell is number one with a bullet.
I've thought a lot about Rashad Bateman lately.
I think that that's a really good bench stash to begin the year.
And then I can't decide between Chandler and Okonkwo.
I think I'm going to take Okonkwo just because of the tight end position. And if he does manage to somehow break out in Tennessee,
you've got that on your squad.
My three favorites would be Mims for sure.
And then it was close.
I'll probably go Chandler second and gain welfare.
And Chandler's a must.
If you get Madison,
wouldn't you agree?
I mean,
not a must,
but I think either way,
you don't,
I don't think you have to draft him.
If you,
I don't think you only have to draft him. you draft madison i mean he's he's somebody i look
for in in almost every draft and i hate drafting with thomas because he takes him every time
he looked awesome in their first preseason game lost a little bit in the other two
yeah i i struggle a little bit with the the handcuffs because there just aren't that many
that are going to come in and get the workload that we really want or they really need.
I've heard Heath say that Keontae Ingram is one James Conner injury away from
15-plus touches or something, and I don't really know that I believe that.
I think if Ty Chandler gets that opportunity and Madison gets hurt,
and just on a quick aside, I haven't brought this up,
but there have been two reports recently
where the Vikings are just sold on Alexander Madison
as an every down back.
So if you like Madison, it was good to hear.
Yeah, no, but I also think, you know,
we see this from time to time.
And, you know, you heard me say this earlier
when Heath was arguing against Tony Pollard,
that this was some of the arguments against Austin Eckler.
When a guy has
never done it before.
And then getting thrust into that role.
Can they do it over the course of the season?
This is still a guy that struggled to take away production from Dalvin
Cook in terms of Madison,
you know,
so will he,
will he thrive in that role?
I was,
I was only saying that separately.
I wasn't trying to take away from Ty Chandler, Jamie. No, no, no, no. I'm only saying that separately. I wasn't trying to take away
from Ty Chandler, Jamie.
No, no, no, no.
But I'm just making the point
that when you have
some of these unproven situations
and there may be a guy
that's, I don't want to say
as talented,
but Chandler might be
as talented as Madison.
You know, all it will take
is a fumble,
a bad blitz pickup,
something that Madison does,
and then Chandler gets
a series or two and he takes off in those series,
and we could be looking at another Jalen Warren, Najee Harris situation.
You know, so this isn't necessarily an injury scenario only.
This could be a, he may at some point steal the job.
You know, like how Roshon Johnson may steal the job, that type of thing.
Yeah, and Madison has not been a very good running back the last couple of years.
His longest run last year was 15 yards and 74 carries 2021.
He had two carries of 20 or more yards on 134 carries.
So he's might be a bit of a plotter,
unfortunately,
but maybe not.
We'll see.
All right.
Breakouts,
breakouts for Jamie.
Start with Anthony Richardson.
Go for it.
And I still have Madison as a breakup,
by the way
Richardson and and to a quarterback I mean those are somewhat obvious at this point just based on what they're where they're being drafted it's just it's just mind-boggling to me mostly for
Tua I understand the concerns about Richardson so I get that he's not being drafted as gung-ho
as we have been touting him but Tua look the the injury concerns you have to sort of bake that in
but when he hits because
it's going to happen this year he could be in the mvp conversation that's how good he was playing
last year we forget about that that people were talking about him as the nfl mvp with the way he
was performing um the running backs uh guess which one i listed here uh jk dobbins um uh two that
dave mentioned and james cook and rashad white and alexander madison again we don't need to get
into a lot of that uh the receivers there's, there's some crossover for both of us, but Chris Olave, Christian Watson,
Jahan Dotson as three guys that I listed there.
Dotson, I know we didn't talk a lot about, but obviously the injury to Terry McLaurin
has opened the door for him to be the number one guy.
And based on what he did last year, again, missed five games with a hamstring injury,
still led the commanders in touchdowns, has looked great with Sam Howell so far this year, this preseason. And I think he's
going to, you know, ascend in his second season. And, you know, we probably by the end of this,
if Sam Howell plays the way that I think he could play by the end of the season, we may be saying,
why weren't we drafting Dalton closer to where we're drafting Watson. Second year guy, a lot of explosiveness, big play opportunity.
So, Dalton, I think,
is worth drafting.
Did he say Dalton?
I think he said Dalton.
I think, but I could be wrong.
You think I said Dalton?
Why are we drafting Dalton? I thought you said Dalton.
Jamie, do you have Andy Dalton on your breakout list?
Is this Heath's breakout list?
It's Jahan Dalton. have Andy Dalton on your breakout list? Is this Heath's breakout list? It's Jahan Dalton.
Jahan Dalton.
Or Andy Dotson.
Andy Dotson.
So, yeah, I mean, Olave, Watson, Dotson,
and Dave had all those year two receivers on his list as well.
It's just a great class.
Absolutely.
And come out of your draft with a year two receiver,
if not three, you know?
But who else?
Who are your tight ends?
And then the two tight ends, Dalton Kincaid and Jawan Johnson, you know,
Kincaid, I think you're going to be happy drafting him as a starter.
He has a chance to, you know, be fantastic in his rookie campaign,
which you don't talk about a lot. And Johnson,
I think will be one of the go-to guys for Derek Carr.
It's funny because like, can Derek Carr support Olave, Michael Thomas,
Jawan Johnson, Alvin Kamara. It's asking a lot for him,
but I think from a touchdown standpoint,
Johnson will still be a good red zone threat
and we'll see him do some more things
from a catch and yard perspective.
So one of these tight ends
that we talk about with greater late.
Anthony Richardson, Tua, Dobbins, James Cook,
Rashad White, Alexander Madison,
Olave, Watson, Dotson, Dalton Kincaid,
and Jawan Johnson. You do have, Watson, Dotson, Dalton Kincaid, and Juwan Johnson.
You do have, real quick on this, actually,
you do have two Saints pass catchers on your breakouts list.
You like Michael Thomas enough where you have him one spot ahead of Romeo Dobbs.
Is Derek Carr not a sleeper?
Yeah, he's not bad.
He's behind those young guys for me
in terms of Pickett, Howell, and Love
because I think if those guys hit,
there's more upside there.
But yeah, Derek Carr's not a bad fallback option.
Listen to me.
I swear, if Taysom Hill somehow ruins
all of these good options,
I am just done with fantasy. hey dave anything to say about
jamie's breakouts list i'd like to hear a little bit more about jk dobbs actually no uh so i think
two things that i want to do one is just a quick point and then the next is a discussion the fact
that richardson tua kincaid and juan Johnson are there, those are two positions that you kind of have to work around on draft day,
quarterback and tight end.
All four of those guys you could get past the midpoint of your fantasy draft.
So they are all low-risk, high-reward options,
and I love that they're on your list.
We've talked a lot about a ton of second-year wide receivers.
A guy missing from my list, and Jamie, a guy missing from my list and Jamie,
a guy missing from your list is Drake London.
And I wonder if we should address either now or maybe on another episode,
why Drake London is not on either of our breakout lists.
I mean,
it's the volume,
you know,
it's,
it's just hard to buy into Desmond Ritter supporting those three guys. and it feels like of the three guys in kyle
pitts and and bijan robinson london the one that loses the most now that doesn't mean you can't
draft him as a starter and it's like every time i see him go i'm like this just feels like a good
spot for him you know anytime i see him going around five like just it's this is the right
spot for him yep it's when he goes a little bit sooner than that it makes me a little bit
uncomfortable just because he's going ahead of some
other receivers that I think might be better from,
from not from a talent standpoint,
just from a production standpoint.
And so I'm,
I'm very hopeful that Ritter surprises us all.
And,
you know,
we heard Matt Ryan say that he's,
he's encouraged by Ritter and encouraged by,
you know,
what Arthur Smith will allow him to do.
And so if we get like,
just looking at what Arthur Smith has, has dealt with so far, like if we can get a little bit more trust, like he had
in Matt Ryan, the first year they were, they were in Atlanta, the first year Smith was in Atlanta
and he allowed him to throw as much as he did granted veteran quarterback that, you know,
borderline hall of famer versus Marcus Mariota, where it was like, Oh my God, I can't trust this
guy to do anything, you know, and Ritter earns that trust,
then I think we're going to be really surprised by this entire team
because we know Robinson will do well on the ground,
I think will be very good as a pass catcher,
and then hopefully both Pitts and London can ascend to the heights
that they're capable of because they're amazing talents.
I've got to ask on the topic of London, I guess.
Jake Seeley was on yesterday and We were talking about Kyle Pitts.
And people may be thinking that he's not healthy.
Dave, were you on that segment?
I was there.
What are your thoughts on that, that he's not fully back from the knee?
He doesn't look great.
Let me say this.
He did not look great in the preseason game against Cincinnati.
He also didn't play every snap in that game.
And at the practice I went to, he was, I don't think he even played 50% of the practice snaps
and seven on seven and 11 on 11.
And I remember from the practice and I'm actually looking at my notes right now for London.
I didn't have anything in my notes about him.
And I thought that maybe he was locked down a little bit, but boy, did he impress in the
preseason game against Cincinnati?
You all saw the big sideline catch where,eline catch where he skyscraped over a defensive back, got a knee down inbounds.
That's a great catch.
I thought he moved well in his routes.
Remember, he's a bigger dude.
So it's rare when a big dude can move well, be quick and sudden in his movements.
And London was doing that.
So after that preseason game, I moved London ahead of pits,
kind of moved pits down in the overall rankings,
not necessarily in the tight end rankings.
And I'm okay with London in round five.
Jamie talked about it just feels right.
Pits is more of like a round six pick to me because he still doesn't look as
explosive as he did last year.
And everyone will say, well, of course he didn't look explosive last year.
He was, he was terrible.
His numbers were terrible. Now, if you watched him run his routes, he was explosive last year. And everyone will say, well, of course he didn't look explosive last year. He was, he was terrible. His numbers were terrible.
Now, if you watched him run his routes, he was explosive last year.
They just couldn't get him the football.
30 passes of 11 plus air yard, 16 of the 30, totally uncatchable for Kyle Pitts.
So I'm worried about whether or not he can move well.
I think London can, uh, but it is a, it is a math problem, especially when they added
Bijan Robinson,
who's going to certainly suck up a lot of carries,
but also a lot of catches too.
And I will say this about London.
You should still be drafting him as a number two receiver,
but he should be at the back end of that group.
Like you'd rather have him as a wide receiver three.
I would, and I'd rather have Dotson over him.
I have him one spot ahead of Dotson,
and I have thought about that a little bit.
Maybe I should make that move.
I'm going to keep it the way I have it for now.
Okay, bus list for Jamie.
Finish on that.
Again, this is a lot related to ADP
as well as Dave alluded to,
but I hate saying this,
but Patrick Mahomes still going in the first round.
I can't sign off on that.
As much as I want to be draft quarterback early
and buy into those three guys as great as they are,
take them in round two, take them in the back end of round two.
There's just too many other players that will help you at different positions
that you can still pair with a great quarterback, as we've talked about.
Again, depending on the ADP or when you're drafting these guys.
But once you get past those top three, Jackson, Burrow, Herbert, Fields,
Lawrence, Tua, they're all going to be very good
this year. Richardson, if he hits all going to be very good this year and you can get those guys
much, much later. So just don't take my homes around one on our side, Aaron Rogers still going
as a top 10 quarterback. I can't sign off on that. I do think he'll be okay, but I think it'll be
okay from a 13 to 16 standpoint, as opposed to a top 12 guy. So I'd rather have two. I'd rather
have Richardson personally over Aaron Rogers, uh uh the running backs here they mentioned one already and naji harris
two more for me are bruce hall and isaiah pacheco i just can't buy into bruce hall being back to
what he was a year ago i'll buy into that next year when it's two years moving from the acl
and if dalvin cook stays healthy majority of the season it's going to be bad for bruce hall
pacheco he said this a lot i totally agree he's got to score a majority of the season, it's going to be bad for Brees Hall. Pacheco, he said this a lot.
I totally agree.
He's got to score a lot of touchdowns because he's not going to be involved in the passing game.
And so this is the definition of a trap back.
Great offense.
We love that.
But Pacheco, at this point, I'm getting close to Jalen Warren over Isaiah Pacheco.
That's how much I'm a little concerned about him being the guy there for Kansas City to the level that we saw at the end of last season.
Four receivers for me.
Dave mentioned two of them already because of the injuries,
McLaurin and Jerry Judy.
I'm curious to see what the actual ADP will be after this weekend
on both of those guys, but still a little bit too soon.
But for Adams, you've heard me say this a lot.
I just don't want to trust him as a top five wide receiver.
He's going just outside of that right now, number seven.
For me, he's number 10.
So I would rather have him on St. Brown. I'd rather have Garrett Wilson. Uh, and I believe he's
still going ahead of CD land, which I just can't sign off. I'd rather have all those guys over
Devante Adams, Metcalf still around four pick again. I think it's a little bit too soon.
And then the tight end is the same one day listed as George Kittle.
Would you take Metcalf or Drake London? I would take Metcalf. I think there's more upside there.
All right. Your bus, sir. My homes is all upside there. All right, your busts are Mahomes.
This is all at cost, all at cost.
Mahomes, don't take him in round one.
Aaron Rodgers, Najee Harris,
Brees Hall, Isaiah Pacheco,
Devante Adams, DK Metcalf,
Terry McLaurin, Jerry Judy,
and George Kittle.
And I'll point out,
I don't know if you said this,
but I think Rodgers' ADP on CBS
is just higher than it is
on other sites, right?
Yeah, I just, you know,
I get it.
So is Kirk Cousins a little bit too,
but Cousins I could buy a little bit more
just because I think he'll be a little bit better.
The schedule is brutal for the Jets.
They're just going to have a real tough time against a lot of good defenses,
and you have still a questionable offensive line for New York.
I know they look better.
Oh my gosh, big news.
Yeah, I was going to tell Dave.
This is going to impact him pretty well.
What is it?
Gil Brandt passed away.
Oh, I didn't see that.
You're kidding!
I'm sorry.
Oh my God.
We have also fantasy football news, but yeah, I'm sorry, Dave.
Do you want to...
Sorry.
Oh my God.
He was... I'm so sorry to hear this, first of all. I my God. Um, he was,
uh,
I'm so sorry to hear this.
First of all,
I loved Gil.
We don't have enough time for me to go into what Gil means to me.
I worked with him for three and a half years at NFL.com and he was so kind,
so fun,
so willing to help me.
Um,
you guys see when I'm at my home set up a Cowboys helmet behind me.
It's a Cowboys helmet signed by Peyton Manning, Charles Woodson, and two other prospects from
that year's draft class. It's a gift from Gil. No one has that item anywhere because Peyton
Manning doesn't sign Dallas Cowboys helmets, especially with Charles Woodson. Gil gave that to me. I love him.
He's truly a Hall of Famer.
I'm really sad about this.
Sorry, man.
Rest easy, Gil.
Would you like the fantasy football news?
Sure.
Jeff Wilson is on IR.
Oh, wow.
We got Jalen Ramsey,
Jeff Wilson. Oh, this is We got Jalen Ramsey, Jeff Wilson.
Oh, this is a Dove Kleiman tweet.
So, you want me to look for it?
Yeah, just confirm it.
But yeah, Jeff Wilson.
He was absent from practice yesterday.
Jeez.
Well, this changes things.
Okay, let me read through the bus list one more time,
and then we're going to transition to this.
Mahomes, Rodgers, Najee, Brees Hall, Pacheco, Devontae Adams,
DK Metcalf, Terry McLaurin, Jerry Judy, George Kittle.
Doesn't mean they're going to stink. Just means they're going, in some cases, a little bit too high,
like Devontae Adams.
Dolphins announced it.
Jeff Wilson's on IR.
Okay.
In some cases, way too high, like George Kittle in the Dolphins announced it. Jeff Wilson's on IR. Okay. In some cases, way too high,
like George Kittle in the fourth round in a lot of ADPs.
All right. Reaction to this.
Raheem Mostert now obviously gets a big boost.
And Jamie, your first thoughts on Jeff Wilson starting the year on IR?
Obviously not ideal for anybody that drafted Jeff Wilson.
Raheem Mostert now becomes, I would say a borderline top 30 running back,
you know,
just based on the opportunity.
And he's looked good in the preseason.
Look,
let's give him credit.
He only missed one game last year.
I know he was banged up at other points in the season,
but you know,
the health concern,
not there.
Not last year.
You know,
I wonder what this means for Devon A-chain.
And,
and if you're in a deep league,
Savan Ahmed,
he's had a strong preseason,
you know, so. Didn't he's had a strong preseason.
Didn't he leave their last preseason game?
Ahmed, I don't believe so.
I thought Gaskin may have.
Maybe.
Gaskin's on the Vikings. I know.
They got rid of Gaskin.
They must have something.
I mean, this could be keeping an eye on Leonard Fournette
and Kareem Hunt.
Yeah, totally.
They were in on Dalvin Cook.
They were in on Jonathan Taylor.. They were in on Jonathan Taylor.
Maybe they go back to Jonathan Taylor now.
Remember, he can still get traded there.
Yeah.
Here it is. Ahmed was in the concussion protocol.
He's out of it now.
I'm sorry. He's not in the concussion
protocol day-to-day
after their game against Jacksonville.
If you're drafting right now, would you draft
Raheem Mostert or Roshan Johnson?
If I need a running back early in the season,
it would be Mostert.
If I'm taking a long-term appeal,
I would go with Roshan.
Would you take Mostert ahead of
Jamal Williams and Kendri Miller?
Yes.
I'm talking for like, you know,
you got the zero RB thing.
Yeah, but I mean,
most are maybe their guy all season.
Yeah, and he was really good.
I mean, look at this stretch.
Week four, he had 15 carries.
Week five, 18 carries.
14 to 18 carries in five straight games.
And one of them may have been with Wilson.
And he scored 10.1,
19.2, 5.8,
20.9, and 7.7
PPR fantasy points. Was he great?
No, but he had two huge games.
He had one game with 10 points. You can live with
that. He had two disappointing games. But that's a
lot of work. I mean, that's 15 or more touches
in five straight games for Raheem
Mostert. And then they traded for Jeff Wilson
either at the very end of that stretch
or just after that stretch.
I think it was just after that stretch.
So that's a big deal.
And A-Chain, is A-Chain...
What's his status for week one?
He's got to still be banged up with a shoulder.
Well, we'll get the injury report this week.
Maybe it's just left to Mostert andmed for week one but you're gonna see you will
definitely see mostar rise in drafts um off the top of the dome i was thinking round eight just
to have somebody who could be an rb2 to start the season uh a chain might fall right behind them or
in that same range and then i i wouldn't forget about wil Wilson if you've got IR spots
because now you can stash him.
Yes.
Yeah, exactly.
Draft him, stash him, go to your waiver wire,
pick up one of the guys that Jamie talked about, his deep sleepers list.
He's not going away, obviously.
The question becomes this has been a very aggressive front office
in the last couple of seasons.
I mean, going on again, Bradley Chubb, obviously the Tyreek Hill trade.
They were in on, to whatever degree,
Dalvin Cook and Jonathan Taylor.
So don't be surprised if there's a transaction at some point.
It may not be a superstar.
They may go after somebody's depth.
Yeah.
Well, Dave? What? Any requests? somebody's depth you know yeah well dave what any requests oh i you know i suggested that we should
ask the chat i did ask the chat and what did they say they said your headphones wire is getting in
the way of your guitar uh they said one by metallica which is like that can't happen no
you can't play that um not on an acoustic yeah they play they said tom petty i don't have any
room but um let's see yeah i i stopped thinking about it yeah right this doesn't feel right
all right put it away can you give me a rain check yes sure okay hold on i don't know that
song rain check i would like to i would like the opening theme to Brain Donors.
Play it on an acoustic guitar.
I'll work on it.
With a claymation azer jumping in and out of cabs and buildings and hospitals.
Oh, play the Game of the Week theme song.
Oh, that's a great idea.
We're almost there.
I could probably figure that out, but you know.
Alright, we're
a week away from that, from those
food sounds. Thanks
everybody. Sorry for the rough news there, Dave.
Thanks for hanging in.
We'll talk to you. We actually have another
podcast tonight, and
we don't have a topic.
We'll figure that one out at some point.
That'll be our Friday show. Then we have to nail back.
Raven's Running Back starring KMI.
We'll talk to you soon. Have a good one, everybody.