Fantasy Football Today - Free Agency Day Two Recap (03/17 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: March 17, 2021

How are we ranking the Jaguars receivers now that Marvin Jones joins the fold? Are they ranked ahead of new Raiders WR John Brown? We've got a lot of questions to answer on today's show. We start with Clyde Edwards-Helaire vs. D'Andre Swift (6:55). CEH lost backfield competition while Swift gained some ... Thoughts on Marvin Jones, Emmanuel Sanders, John Brown and DJ Chark (11:40). Who is our favorite of that group? Then we discuss the values (20:30) of players like Allen Robinson and Cole Beasley as their situations have changed ... Looking at offensive line news (24:00), how concerned are we about the Raiders line? We also talk about the key defensive additions ... Your emails at [e-mail] Subscribe to the FFT in 5 podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to FFT. Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr, @CTowersCBS, @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 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/ Want winning picks each morning in under 10 minutes? Subscribe to 'The Early Edge: A Daily SportsLine Betting Podcast' on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever else you listen to 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

Kick off an exciting football season with BetMGM, an official sportsbook partner of the National Football League. Yard after yard, down after down, the sportsbook born in Vegas gives you the chance to take action to the end zone and celebrate every highlight reel play. And as an official sportsbook partner of the NFL, BetMGM is the best place to fuel your football fandom on every game day. With a variety of exciting features, BetMGM offers you plenty of seamless ways to jump straight onto the gridiron and to embrace peak sports action. Ready for another season of gridiron glory? What are you waiting for?

Get off the bench, into the huddle, and head for the end zone all season long. Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions. Must be 19 years of age or older. Ontario only. Please gamble responsibly. Gambling problem? For free assistance, call the Connex Ontario helpline at 1-866-531-2600.

BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports. On his way to the end zone. I'll tell you what, that was a spectacular play. It's time to dominate your fantasy league. What a play. Off to the races.

Touchdown. Oh, he's done it again. Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, Heath, and Ben. Let's take a look at day two of NFL free agency here on the Fantasy Football Today podcast. Adam Azer, Jamie Eisenberg, and fresh off a four and a half-ish hour fantasy baseball salary cap draft last night, Chris Towers. Sleepy. Are you sleepy, Chris Towers?

I'm a little sleepy. I'm a little sleepy because I had to do the mock draft and then the Fantasy Football Today newsletter. It was not a mock. The real draft. It was legit. Yeah, I didn't get to bed until about 3 a.m. last night, but I'm good.

Really? That's early for Jamie. Drank some Diet Coke. I'm wired. Oh, I didn't know Diet Coke did that. It's very unhealthy. You should drink water. I should drink more hot bean water with tons of sugar like everyone else every morning.

That's much healthier. Jamie and I, I don't think any of us drink hot bean water. Is that right? No coffee here. We're a coffee-free show. I'm drinking coffee right now. Ben, you're not on the show. You're not on the show. I'm sorry.

Time to mute myself. Let me tell you guys something crazy. Who's the most weekly, on a weekly basis, the most inconsistent wide receiver? The most frustrating wide receiver in fantasy? Marquise Brown. It's good. There's no right answer here, but who else would you say? Who's the poster

child for like, do I start and do I sit him? Oh, he went out. He went off. He was on my bench. I would think it's generally a Marquise Brown type. So I think historically, Will Fuller's been that kind of guy. I think Ben Jackson knows you're going to say John Brown because I'm not going to say him. Ben, it is someone who just signed.

Yep. It's Marvin Jones. Marvin Jones. Yeah, exactly's Marvin Jones. Marvin Jones, right? Exactly what I said. Marvin Jones. It feels like Marvin Jones signed a week ago. Yeah. Marvin Jones to the Jaguars, two-year deal. He's actually been

one of the most consistent players on a yearly basis. Six straight seasons on pace for 103 to 115 targets. Four straight seasons on pace for 107 to 115. In those six seasons, five of them with Detroit, on pace for 903 to 992 yards four times. On pace for nine touchdowns or eight or nine touchdowns, I think, in four straight seasons. And guess what? Two years ago, he finished tied with DJ Chark in points per game in PPR. He was 20th. Last year, he blew DJ Chark away. He was 25th, and DJ Chark was in the 40s. Obviously, Kenny Galladay barely played last year, and that helped. But it's three years in a row where Marvin Jones has been 29th, 20th, and 25th per game in PPR, 29th, 17th, and 22nd per game in PPR.

And the year before that, four years ago, he was a top 12 player. Okay, all right. You said Marvin Jones was wide receiver 25, and that is technically correct, the best kind of correct. He had eight catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns in week 17.

Marvin Jones was not the number 25 wide receiver in fantasy last year. That's all I'm going to say. Okay, but I'm just saying, you look at the production, and that's what it was. That's what it was. I can't help that it was in Week 17. I just thought that was interesting.

Because how much higher are you going to rank DJ Chark over Marvin Jones? Jamie, I'm assuming you're going to keep DJ Chark ahead of Jones. I am. It's about 10 spots, but we'll see how this all shakes out. Jones is the third Jaguars wide receiver for me. I think Chenault takes a step forward. But they're all number three,

number four caliber wide receivers at this point. We've got to see how Trevor Lawrence looks in the NFL. Hopefully he's Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow and a rookie that steps in and can be great right away or at least, you know, great enough to help his receiving core. But there's still an if, you know, I don't want to get caught up in the, hey, last year's two top rookie quarterbacks were great producers, two top rookie producer quarterbacks were great. Can this guy be great as well? I'm hopeful, but Jones and Chark and Chenault still have stuff to prove Jones going out to new offense.

The one thing that you like about Jones is Daryl Bevel's the offense coordinator there, and he was the guy with him in Detroit when he had his success. I just got to say that Jamie's outfit today is just top-notch. Yankees hat and a really funny t-shirt. I can't really describe it, but I'll just try.

It says, Dad Joke Loading, and it has the loading bar. And that's just great. I hope you're watching on YouTube. YouTube.com slash Fantasy Football Today. Adam, I think you'll like my shirt. What is that? Cats. Cats.

It's a Kansas City-based minor league baseball team from the 1950s. Nice. Yeah, I want no part of the Jacksonville wide receivers unless they go outside of the top 40 at wide receiver. I think if I have to draft Shark as a number three, I think I'm probably just going to pass because that just looks like a mess right now. It's pretty hot.

Especially because it might be a pretty low-volume pass offense, at least relative to how bad they should be. I was looking at Dave's write-up of when the Jaguars hired Urban Meyer. And between Meyer, the offensive coordinator, these are both situations that have been pretty run heavy throughout their careers. Obviously, the Jaguars should be trailing a lot so that they won't be 50-50.

But I could see a scenario where Trevor Lawrence only throws the ball 540 times, which is relatively low in today's NFL. Well, here's some of the news we're going to go through today. Stuff that happened either yesterday or early this morning. So Kansas City released Damian Williams and re-signed Darryl Williams to a one-year deal. Detroit signed Jamal Williams, two years, $7.5 million. John Brown to the Raiders.

Marvin Jones to the Jaguars. Andy Dalton to the Bears. Emmanuel Sanders to the Bills. 49ers getting Trent Williams on a massive deal, highest paid offensive lineman ever. And they signed center Alex Mack. How about, would you guys rather have John Ross? No, just kidding.

John Ross to the Giants? Big boss. Those are the major news items. And I don't think we're going to talk too much about the Patriots' tight ends. We spent a lot of time talking about them yesterday. So let me start with this. Based on the recent news, Damian Williams released and Jamal Williams signing with Detroit.

We know he's a pass- pass catching running back or has been. Who would you rather have now? Clyde Edwards, Z layer or Deandre Swift, Jamie first word. Still Swift, but it's not close. You know,

this, this is, it's not awful news for Deandre Swift, but it's not great news for Deandre Swift. You know what I mean? Jamal Williams, like you said, he can't play on passing downs. He's obviously a veteran guy that I'm sure Dan Campbell and the offensive coaches there, Anthony Lynn will trust. Um, but you know,

Swift should still be the lead guy there. The problem is, is it going to be a bad team? They're going to be trailing a lot. You know, touchdowns are going to be hard to find for, I think both these guys. And so how much will Williams hurt Swift? So he goes from, I think, a borderline first-round pick to a late second-round pick now. And that's kind of where Clyde Edwards-Alaire, I think, was going to end up anyway. Mid to late second-round pick for Swift.

Chris, go ahead. Yeah, I've got... It's funny. I've got Clyde Edwards-Alaire five spots in my running back rankings higher than DeAndre Swift, which sounds like a decent gap, but it's actually five projected fantasy points. Jack Clyde Edwards-Alaire, five spots in my running back rankings higher than DeAndre Swift, which sounds like a decent gap, but it's actually five projected fantasy points. So there is a jumble between basically from number eight to number nine, which is Derrick Henry to Clyde Edwards-Alaire for me in PPR.

There's about a 17 point gap. And then between Clyde Edwards-Alaire and David Montgomery, who's number 17, there is a 14 point gap and then between Clyde Edwards Lair and David Montgomery who's number 17 there is a 14 point gap so there's just a the number two RB group this season for me at least is very interchangeable

well is this significant news the release of Damian Williams it feels like fairly significant news I'll just give you guys some numbers here, give everybody some numbers. I've said it before. First six games before the Le'Veon Bell trade, Clyde Edwards-Ziller was on pace for 285 carries and 56

catches. He was a top 12 running back. He only scored one touchdown, but the total yards was on pace for more than 1,800 total yards. And he had almost every carry. He had like 80-something percent of the carries, running back carries for the Chiefs. And then after the Le'Veon Bell trade,

Darrell Williams was still very uninvolved. He had 22 carries in 10 games, and 16 of them came without Clyde Edwards-Elair playing. So you just compare Edwards-Elair to Bell. Edwards-Elair had 74 carries and 15 catches in seven games in that stretch. In those same seven games, Bell had 46 carries and 10 catches. It was a more even split.

It was a little bit annoying, but Edwards-Elair was always the lead back, and Darrell Williams was very, very uninvolved, I guess, really, maybe until the playoffs when Edwards-Elair was banged up. So I don't know. Jamie, this felt like kind of big news because Damian Williams is good. And I think this is potentially great for Clyde Edwards-Elair. It's very good. I just don't think the Chiefs are done with their backfield.

I mean, they've kind of showed you that each of the last two seasons with bringing in guys, veteran guys. So are they going to just stick with CEH and Darrell Williams as the top two guys, or does somebody else come in? You know, so we'll see. I think Edward Solaire is certainly benefits without Damian Williams there. He benefits with the addition of Joe Tooney. You know,

they were apparently really in on Trent Williams. I'm looking at a report right now that they were, you know, part of the reason why the cost became so expensive for the 49ers, where the Chiefs were offering a big deal. So we'll see. They're also bringing, you know, in Kyle Long for a visit, you know, former Bears offensive lineman. So they're, they're trying and that'll certainly help whoever's going to be back there.

But I mean, Edwards, there's the lead guy, you know, I think as, as Chris said, however you look at them, they're going to be a few spots apart and they should be, you know, they're both in different situations, have the going to be a few spots apart. And they should be. They're both in different situations have the opportunity to be good. Swift, I think, is in a worse situation, but he might prove to be a little bit more of a better talent.

And Edward Solaire, his situation is the most attractive thing about it, but he didn't fully take advantage of that last year. Okay, well, you're not taking advantage of your opportunity to get into our podcast league. You need to join our bracket challenge. We'll be tweeting the links out.

Games start on Friday. I'm obviously in it. Dave, Jamie, Chris, Heath, I'll be in it. Go to cbssports.com slash FFT brackets. Winner gets a spot in the podcast league. And if there are any ties, I will have to settle them randomly. Winner also gets a $100 Paramount Plus gift card. Love Paramount Plus.

It is freaking awesome. Great, great selections on Paramount Plus. And who enters just one pool, you can also create a group to compete against friends and fill out your bracket for the chance to win a Nissan Rogue. Wow. And a trip to the 2022 Final Four. Giving out a lot of stuff here. Just go to cbssports.com slash fftbrackets.

Marvin Jones or Emmanuel Sanders? That's easy, or is it? Well, I don't know if it's easy. Who'd you rather have? Jones by a lot. Okay, it's easy. That's what I thought. I guess Jones.

Had to ask Emmanuel Sanders to the bills. Emmanuel Sanders, number four wide receiver? At best. I mean, it's really an odd fit because, I mean, you know, he doesn't do a lot of things down the field anymore. And so Ben and I were talking about this before the show started. Like, I don't understand why John Brown couldn't work out a deal to stay there. Like, he was so cheap.

And so did he want to be the number one? Because he's, you know, technically can be the number one for the Raiders that he won out. Did they want him gone? It just, it just seems like a strange swap to go from John Brown to Emmanuel Sanders.

When you have Cole Beasley there who can obviously do a lot of the short area stuff. You know, I think you're starting to hear a lot of, and we may be emergency podcasting about this today, maybe Zachary's to the bills. So it just, the Sanders signing there is weird to me. It's a little disappointing.

I really like Gabriel Davis. I wanted to see what he could do with an expanded role. And I would think he'll get more than the work he had last season. I think he only had like 50 some targets targets, but I would have liked to have seen what he could do with 90 targets, and I think it's going to be harder for him to get there now. Okay, next up, John Brown with the Raiders

or DJ Chark. Who would you rather have, John Brown or DJ Chark? If the Raiders are done, that's a good one. I might go John Brown. I think that makes sense. I don't know what their hierarchy is going to look like.

I do. Waller. Yeah. I'm in on the wide receivers. I would say Brown over Ruggs. I got to give it that. They can still get Juju if they're still in on him. Man, Juju's still out there.

Galladay's still out there. Fuller's still out there. I'm going to take that back. Chark has Irish in him. I'm going to go Chark. Look, John Brown has had 2,000-yard seasons and was on pace for that with Joe Flacco before Lamar Jackson took over.

Last year, I think he was on pace for about 900 yards. And he's got an opportunity to get a lot of targets. If you look at 2019 for John Brown, he was the number 22 wide receiver in fantasy. That was on an offense that threw 513 times for 3,476 yards and 21 touchdowns. That was before Josh Allen was good. Now, the Raiders pass offense is actually a little bit underrated. Last year, they threw nearly 4,400 yards, 28 touchdowns. Of course, Darren Waller is going to get more targets than John Brown.

But, you know, how do you value John Brown? Is he a number three receiver number four receiver number three he'll be a number four for me i think you look at what adler did last year i think the numbers could be somewhat similar um the question though is you mentioned that their their past offense is underrated they are losing offensive linemen by the minute that's true and and you know this this could be a little bit of a struggle you You know, you need time to get the ball down the field. And if Carr doesn't have the time, we know he's not exactly the quarterback that you think of in, you know, handling pressure the best.

Yeah, but their offensive line was in shambles last year. Like, Incognito barely played. Yeah, but now you just lost two key pieces. But they were, well, Hudson was. How many games did Brown, Brown played five games last year. Incognito barely played last year. I don't know how many Hudson played. I think he played a lot. That team

has... They went from having one of the best offensive lines in football to we just have no idea what the Raiders offensive line is going to be. Yeah, I saw one of the Raiders beat Ryder say they spent all this money on the offensive line and they didn't win with them. What was the purpose of holding on to them at their cost? So we'll see.

But it's not encouraging. So, you know, Ruggs and John Brown have a very similar skill set. Brown's clearly a more established player, more established receiver. But you've got to feature Ruggs a little bit more at this point. You know, otherwise, why did you make the investment in him? Well, that's what we asked about him as a rookie you know i i the thing that i struggle with is no wide receiver on this team got more than 82 targets last season uh renfro had 77 agler had 82 i think you can probably shave a decent amount off of renfro and you know give

some of those to rugs but are they going to take 15 20 targets away from waller and give some of those to Ruggs. But are they going to take 15, 20 targets away from Waller and give them to John Brown to get him to... I mean, Brian Edwards is a guy that they like, too, and they got to give him the ball a little bit more, too. Yeah, and they didn't really throw to their running backs as much last season as they had in years past. So I just... With John Brown, I just don't think there's a ton of opportunity there.

I think he could be someone who ends up with like 900 yards and six touchdowns and finishes as a wide receiver 27. But you probably wouldn't view him as the number 27 wide receiver most weeks. Would you rather have Odell Beckham or John Brown or DJ Chark? Beckham. Beckham. Is this crazy? Is it crazy toham. What about, is this crazy? Is it crazy to ask about Tyrell Williams at this point?

The Lions still don't have a wide receiver. A number one. I mean, this is the dream setup for Hawkinson. So hopefully he's the one that you're looking at like we talked about Waller. But yeah, I mean, Tyrell Williams and Quentin Cephas, you know, these are the two guys you got to look at right now,

but they can't be done. And the teams that are wide receiver needy at this point, as we're sitting here recording this, are in a great spot because there are all these guys still available that are going to see their prices just drop and drop and drop. And so guys are going to have to get jobs. And if they want to get paid, they're going to have to go get paid in situations they might not like. Today could be fun. Fingers like. Today could be fun.

Fingers crossed. Today could be fun. I hope we got a lot of bonus points. It could be fun or it could be another drawn-out process. Guys don't have to sign today. Just do it. They don't have to, but it'd be nice if they did. Last one. Damian Williams or Chris Carson? Who would you rather have?

That's a question? You're the dolphins. I would rather have Chris Carson? Yeah, like you're the Dolphins. I would rather have Chris Carson. Yeah, by far. He's probably four years younger, I would guess. I'm making that up. It could be much closer or much

further. But Damien Williams is 29. He's coming. He's fresh. He's coming off. Yeah, he's fresh. He didn't play last year. I kind of like that. How was the last running back? He's three years younger. How did he do?

Marshawn Lynch actually did pretty well. How did Le'Veon Bell do? That doesn't matter. That had nothing to do with it. That had nothing. Le'Veon Bell was in decline before he sat out a year. That was, I think, pretty clear. I think Damien Williams is a byproduct of being in the Chiefs.

All right. We'll see. We'll see. All right. We Williams is a byproduct of being in the Chiefs. All right, we'll see. We'll see. All right, we're going to take a break here on Fantasy Football today. Look, nothing happened. Barely anything happened yesterday. Okay, I got to come up with something. Give me a break.

There was a lot that happened yesterday. Andy Dalton, we'll talk about that. Will you just be critical? Yesterday sucked. It was boring. And not only that, it crushed two tight ends. Yesterday crushed Hunter Henry and John Smith. You had two teams get potential starting quarterbacks.

You had a backfield. Oh, two of the worst quarterbacks. You had backfield get messed up. Wait, by the way, who's the other team? The Texans. Tyra Taylor. Am I supposed to get excited about that? Oh, man. I'd say I'd be excited about it, but it wasn't boring. It's boring.

I'm with Adam here. Thank you. Commercial break when we come back. Alan Robinson talk, Cole Beasley talk, and we got emails coming up later as well. We got to talk about offensive lines. We haven't really done enough of that. Fantasyfootballatcbsi.com with your emails, and we'll be right back.

Whether in the game or in life, the right coverage can make all the difference. Securian Canada gives you that coverage. For more than 65 years, Securian Canada has been helping Canadians build secure tomorrows. Their insurance solutions are designed to help protect you and your loved ones financially, giving you the peace of mind to focus on what truly matters. Find their products through banks, credit unions, and associations, or visit SecurianCanada.ca. downtime, financial penalties, and keep you safe. Don't let avoidable damage cost you time and money. Click before you dig.

Ensure your next project is safe. Visit OntarioOneCall.ca. It's free. It's easy. It's the law. Data sourced from the ORCGA 2023 Dirt Report. Let's go value up, down, or the same. How about LaVisca Chennault go value up, down, or the same. How about LaVisca Chennault?

Value up, down, or the same with the addition of Marvin Jones? Same. Yeah, I didn't move him. Where is he? He's number four for me. Allen Robinson with Andy Dalton. Dalton not guaranteed to be the starter.

Allen Robinson, value up, down, or the same? Same. He played with crappy quarterbacks before. It felt like destiny. Andy Dalton's the perfect quarterback. Hey, they tried. They tried to get Russell Wilson, so give them credit for at least doing their due diligence, but

yeah. Poor Allen Robinson. Value up, down, or the same for Josh Allen with Emmanuel Sanders replacing John Brown. Same. Yeah. Cole Beasley. Same.

Maybe a little lower. Is there anyone I'm missing? You mentioned Gabriel Davis. That we haven't spoken about? Yeah, Gabriel Davis you talked about. Anyone I'm missing here? Yeah, it hurts Gabriel Davis' chances of being a breakout. I still like him as a sleeper,

and if this offense is anywhere close to what it was last season, we know it can support three viable fantasy wide receivers. So, I still do like him. We'll see what they do at the tight end spot again you know I think you could see a Zacherts addition whether trade or signing if you follow the rumor mill um so yeah Gabriel Davis you know hopefully get the shot but who knows how likely that'll be here we go John Ross moves up you know i think i go anywhere else well we kind of forget you know in 2019 he was on a thousand yard pace yeah what was in four

game in the first four games eight games he played eight games and had over 500 yards i'm not saying john ross but he went he didn't he have the game like the first two or three games. He was, he went bonkers. Yeah. Um, but you know, there's an opportunity there and he's not entirely without talent. We've seen flashes from him. Like, you know, I wrote in the,

in the newsletter today, you know, the giants needed wide receiver help and then they signed John Brown and they still need wide receiver help. Um, John Ross. I wish they signed John Ross. Yeah.

Um, so I would imagine they're still going to add someone else. But, you know, he could be worth a late round flyer. Yeah, that's definitely

a team that's going to either draft someone or sign someone. Hopefully, hopefully today sign everyone. And this is the big question I think that people really want to

know in a PPR league, who would you rather have? Jamal Williams or A.J. Dillon? Dillon. Yeah, I haven't done Jamal Williams' projection yet, but I would think Dillon. I think they're both three to four running backs. You're looking for whoever gets hurt in front of them and who's got the higher ceiling.

If A.J. Dillon's a starting running back for the Packers, he's a must-start play every week. Jamal Williams would be just in the conversation. By the way, we definitely need a Dillon from Predator, a Predator Dillon drop, right? Dillon! We definitely need that. So I'll work on that.

That's a hell of a reference by you. Come on. Don't even. No, it's good. But you don't sound surprised, okay? I'm an Arnold guy. I just started watching Dark Fate this morning. I don't know what that is. Is that Arnold? Terminator. Dark Fate.

Oh, he's not in that. The last one. Is he in that? He hasn't been in it. The part that I'm up to, he's not in it yet. He's not in that. The last one. Is he in that? He hasn't been in it. The part that I'm up to, he's not in it yet. Oh. But he's in it, yes. He is? Yeah.

Yeah. I don't think they're any good after Terminator 2. What do I know? What do I know? Okay. So any other news and notes? Yeah. 49ers offensive line.

Let's talk about offensive lines. Which offensive lines, Jamie, do you think either gained the most or lost the most the first couple of days of free agency? And going back to the Trent Brown trade last week, but in general, the teams that right now have seen the most gain or loss at offensive

line? I mean, you look at the teams that got guys. I mean, the Patriots obviously getting Trent Brown. You look at the Chargers getting Corey Lindsley. You look at the teams that got guys, I mean, the Patriots obviously getting Trent Brown. You look at the chargers getting Corey, Lindsay, Lindsley. You look at, uh,

the chiefs getting Joe Tooney. Um, you know, those are the, the ones are going to start with. And obviously the 49ers keeping Trent Williams and getting Alex Mack, but the, but the Patriots and the chiefs in particular,

the Patriots are lost. Joe Tooney got Trent Brown. And they're probably gonna lose David. They're probably gonna lose their center, David Andrews. So are they a net negative? Seems like they are. And then the same with the Chiefs. They lost both of their starting tackles. So I guess it's probably just

too early to tell, right? It's too early to tell. I mean, again, I was just starting with the teams that got guys. But in terms of them improving, you know, again, the 49ers, if they lost Trent Williams would have been a huge problem for them. And had the Chiefs got Trent Williams, then you could have been talking about one of the best offensive lines of football. Let's not forget, they're getting

the doctor back, you know, after he opted out last year. So their offensive line benefits in that regard, just by that addition alone. The Packers offensive line makes me a little bit nervous because losing Lindsley and, you know, we don't know what Bakhtiari statuses could be a little troubling. You know, we'll see what they do. Wherever Rodney Hudson ends up is going to be a big boost for whatever

offensive line gets him. And wherever David Andrews ends up is going to be a boost for whatever offensive line gets him as well. So there's still a couple of big names out there, but you know, just in terms of like, I like the chargers being aggressive you know i think that was a big big thing to help justin herbert i'd like to see the

bangles do something you know i know they're going to be in the mix in the in the draft the top of the draft but i i'm hoping that they could put a better offensive line around joe burrow and maybe help joe mixon as well yeah the chargers are kind of following the Josh Allen blueprint with Herbert, where they know he's good. Now they want to make sure that they build a stable foundation around him. And I think they've already got the playmakers that the Bills had to go get over the last couple of seasons. So now they're kind of moving inward.

And I think getting a couple of starting interior linemen was a really strong start. I'm pretty nervous about Josh Jacobs right now with that offensive line. It's just awful. Yeah, I feel the same way. It's like you don't know what the Raiders are doing. Their drafts the last couple of seasons have been really puzzling.

Their free agent signings have been puzzling yeah I'm with you I mean look Gruden's got seven more years to turn this thing around all right there's no rush he's a I actually feel like he's done a pretty decent job

they've been respectable yes but the person numbers have been weird like you hear some stories coming out of there about he's ignoring scouts and Mike Mayock really doesn't have much of a say. The Cleland Farrell pick was obviously the one a lot of people were going to point to, but that was, I think, a Gruden call. So it's not exactly going well, I think, behind the scenes. I think the thing with Jacobs is the volume is going to be so high.

273 carries in 15 games, 242 in 13 in 2019. He has a legitimate chance to get to that Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry workload level. You'd like to see better than 3.9 yards per carry, and I would imagine he'll improve from 2020 in that regard, but it only matters so much. If he gets 280 carries like he's been on pace for each of the first two seasons,

he's going to be a borderline number one running back, especially given the increased workload in the passing game last year. Defensively, Tennessee's been pretty active. They signed Danico Autry, Bud Dupree, Andrew Norris Jenkins, so they should be better. The Jaguars could end up with really good starting cornerbacks if Henderson takes the next step.

Yeah, and they signed Shaq Griffin. Yeah, Shaq Griffin. Three years, $44.5 million. He was a really good player for the Seahawks. Yeah, kept Sidney Jones, CJ Henderson. And they signed defensive tackle Roy Robertson Harris to a three-year $24.4 million deal. Oh, they signed every defensive tackle. Yeah, that's true.

They traded for one from the Saints, but the Jaguars. Tyson Alu Alu. Hopefully will be a lot better on defense. Can't be worse. Yeah, let's see some of the biggest defensive moves. Go back to Tennessee for a second. Because I don't think we talked enough about maybe what Anthony Ferkser could be.

He just, I think, got tendered today. He's somebody to keep in mind as a potential sleeper if they don't do anything in that position. I mean, they have A.J. Brown and nobody. You know, they don't even have a good pass-catching running back. Is Adam Humphreys even under contract? Yeah, so right now it's literally A.J. Brown and then nobody you've ever heard of catching passes for them besides Ferkser.

So I don't think he's great. He's a pretty middling athlete. But Ryan Tannehill has done a good job of being a very efficient quarterback. And if Ferkser gets 75, 80 targets, that's probably enough to make him a top 15 tight end in this climate, especially with Jonu and Hunter Henry, I think, having relatively capped ceilings. Okay, well, I want to talk to you about March Madness

and our college basketball podcast because the madness is upon us. And Gary Parish and Matt Lorlander will take you from Selection Sunday to the net cutting in Indianapolis. This week, they'll help you fill out your bracket and then provide recaps after each day of action as the tournament tips off. If you want the best March Madness analysis,

subscribe to the Eye on College Basketball podcast anywhere you find this one that you're listening to right now. Eye on College Basketball, one of our longest running, one of our best shows. It goes like fantasy football today, Ion College Basketball, fantasy baseball today. In the pecking, just kidding. No, we have a lot of great shows. Actually, go to cbssports.com slash podcast and see all of our shows.

We've got a great gambling podcast that's 10 minutes every morning. And I think they have updated episodes throughout the day now to help you as the lines change. Golf, college basketball, college football, pick six, as you know, fantasy baseball. I'm forgetting some. Combat.

I'll hop in here. We've got all things covered podcast with Brian McFadden. Patrick Peterson is planning on announcing where he is signing on the podcast live. Oh, cool. Awesome. All right, great. So cbssports.com slash podcast.

See it all right there. Time for some emails. Fantasyfootball at cbsi.com. This is from Cole. 12-team, three-keeper league. Full PPR. Pick three. Jacobs, Gibson, James Robinson,

Miles Sanders, and Allen Robinson. Pick three. Josh Jacobs, Antonio Gibson, James Robinson, Miles Sanders, Allen Robinson. What's the format? Full PPR. Sanders, Gibson, Robinson. Sanders, Gibson, Jacobs for me. um Sanders Gibson

Robinson Sanders Gibson Jacobs for me boy the Eagles haven't done anything huh

so far uh they traded Carson Wentz yeah and they're gonna make Dallas Goddard

a top five fantasy tight end so that means you'd like him better than Hawkinson? Yeah. Okay. All right. And email from Scott.

Last season, I ended up with seven running backs I'm considering in a salary league. Can you rank them for me? So here they are and with their salary cap figure out of $150 budget. Does not say the format. Okay. Nick Chubb at $21.

DeAndre Swift at $10. James Robinson at $11. Dobbins at $8. Akers at $11. Gibson for $6. Jeff Wilson for $6. He needs how many? He just wants us to rank their values. Can we safely put Jeff Wilson last six. He needs how many? He just wants us to rank their values. Can we safely put Jeff Wilson last?

Yes. Okay. Yes. So I'll recap the others. Nick Chubb is 21 bucks. And then these four running backs are between eight and $11. Swift, Robinson,

Dobbins, and Akers. Swift for 10, Robinson 11, Dobbins for eight, Akers for 11, Antonio Gibson, six bucks. So who's the best value there? Gibson. Swift for 10, Robinson 11. Dobbins for 8, Akers for 11. Antonio Gibson, $6. So who's the best value there?

Gibson. I think Gibson, yeah. I think I'd go Gibson, Swift, Robinson. I think I might put Chubb last just because he's double the rest of those guys. I don't think he's going to be much better than all of them. I think I would go Gibson for six,

Swift for 10, Robinson for 11, and then Akers for 11, Dobbins for eight, and Chubb for 21. I'd go Gibson one, Akers two, Robinson three, Swift four, Chubb five. Okay, well, here's Adam being Adam.

Don't agree with the logic here, because Chubb is the only proven commodity. The others are all rookies. Chubb is, I think he has proven himself to be one of the truly best elite running backs in football. And he is more expensive, but he's not expensive. It's only $21 out of 150.

So it's not like you're overpaying. What's that? It's 150. It's 150. Yeah. Oh yeah. Chubb would be too. Behind Gibson? Yeah. Yeah. I think part of the problem for me is... I don't think I have a low projection on Nick Chubb. I have him for 1,550 total yards and 10 touchdowns. And he's running back 17 for me in the rankings just because unless he's catching passes... In 2019, he had 1,500 rushing yards, 278 receiving yards, and eight touchdowns,

and he was RB10. And that was when he caught 36 passes, which I don't think he's going to come close to. It's just, it's really hard to make the math work. What was he last year? Well, last year, he was eight overall, and I think a little higher than that in oh actually he was actually 10 and now this is 2019 sorry let me i can tell you he was nine in

points per game 11 overall and that was you know 12 touchdowns and a and a500 rushing yard pace. It's... If he rushes for 1,300 yards and eight touchdowns rather than 1,512... And look, this is basically the same thing we said about Derrick Henry last year. Yeah. He made us all look stupid.

He's kind of Derrick Henry. Sure. Just not going to get... He's not going to get the work. He hasn't been as good as Derrick Henry. Well, he hasn't had the work. He hasn't had the work. That's the difference. He has to split it with K Derrick Henry. Well, he hasn't had the work. He hasn't had the work. That's the difference.

He has to split it with Kareem Hunt. Right. Just in terms of pound for pound running the football, he's pretty much Derrick Henry. I wouldn't have the word pound for pound in anybody. Kareem Hunt's still there. Carry for carry. But to your point, Adam, though, you know what you're getting.

You know what you're buying. And so that matters. And I your point, Adam, though, you know what you're getting. You know what you're buying. And so that matters. And I'm sorry to go to this, but 5.2, 5.0, 5.6 yards per carry. I have him at 4.9. I don't think I'm underselling Nick Chubb. You can tell me. I have him for 1,330 rushing yards, 8.5 touchdowns. I don't think that's...

Projections are often like, you know, almost like a best case scenario, but we see running backs have a good year and then they're bad the next year. So it's just,

I don't see any chance that Chubb doesn't play well, you know? Whereas these other five running backs are just not proven. No, that's all fair, but I just, I don't think Nick Chubb

is not going to play well i just i think it's a math problem and i i don't love doing math problems but in this case yes you do yeah but i mean the the question becomes though is are those guys going to live up to the equation you know are they going to perform to that level and you know what nick chubb is going to do because he's done it he's done in a bad offense in 2019 he did it in a good offense in 2020 he's probably going to be doing it in a good offense in 2021 and by good offense i mean good rushing offense um you know so i i think with the price being what it is you're right adam it's not that much of a difference in in 150 cap that the 10 shouldn't offset what you're getting which is you're buying guaranteed production as

opposed to hoping that those other guys can get there. Would you trade Cam Akers and DeAndre Swift to get Nick Chubb? That's an interesting point. No, I wouldn't. I think you obviously wouldn't. I think he can keep all of them because

he has to carry up to 16 players so you don't have to make that choice. So you, okay. So you're asking that because Swift and who did you say? Robinson. Acres and Swift and acres. They are the same.

They're the same dollar amount as Nick Chubb. Um, okay. So if you had to choose, yeah, I would not pick one Chubb over two of the, of the year two guys. But if I am keeping up, what's that? Yeah, I would not pick one Chubb over two of the year two guys. But if I am keeping up...

What's that? Yeah, I know. Look, it was a boring day yesterday. I got to spice it up somehow. This is hosting. Or even looking at Gibson plus Dobbins plus Swift would be 24. Once you start looking at it that way, I just I don't think Chubb's worth that premium. Like he might be better than all of those guys,

but to be worth twice as much as all of them, he's got to be. I don't think he needs to be twice as productive, but he needs to be, you know, 40, 50 points over the course of the season more. And I just,

I think that's harder to see. Okay. Email from Matt from a city with no football. Oh, Jamie, let's give this city a football team. Where would you, where do you think Matt is from? Sleepy Hollow, New York. Oh, that'd be great. I was going to say New York City or maybe like the

outlying New Jersey area. Sure, yeah, I was going to say New York. I was going to say New York City or maybe like the outer lying New Jersey area. Sure, I'll take a team. Okay, dear Kurt, Torrey, Isaac and Marshall. Okay,

New York technically only has one team. I think he's, it's true. I think he's from St. Louis. Kurt, Torrey, Isaac and Marshall.

I need help with draft strategy and super flex dynasty PPR. I just blew up my team. I'm strong at tight end and wide receiver depth, but I'm weak at running back, quarterback, and top tier wide receiver. Oh, that's not good. I have picks

in round one, one, two, and ten, and in round two, four, five, and nine. Thoughts on one, two, and ten in round one. Do I go Lawrence Fields, Lawrence Harris? This is super flex, by the way.

And yeah, what would you do if you had the first two picks in a PPR super flex league? And he needs a quarterback and he needs a running back and he needs a top tier wide receiver. I mean, Lawrence is easy. So you're taking him. And then, you know, I think you just wait out the destination of some of these guys. I mean, Harris and Etienne can end up in bad spots, so you don't want to necessarily pigeonhole yourself to guaranteeing one of those guys.

You could be looking at Chase or Smith or Waddle maybe as superstars. So you have the chance to control. I probably wouldn't go two quarterbacks, though. I think I would because in this draft, there's a decent chance you can get waddle at 110. It's not guaranteed, but depending on the way things go, there's enough running back and wide receiver talent that you could get someone super talented there. And in a super flex, if you get Lawrence and Fields and they both turn

out to be even you know top 15 quarterbacks in the long run you know this is a dynasty league if they're both the 14th and 15th best quarterbacks that's probably going to put you in a really really good spot yeah but you also could be looking at trey lance at 10 or mac jones at 10 you know so i just think they're much less sure things. True. But you know, if you had gone that route last year, you could have gotten Jalen hurts or you could have gotten, you know,

I I'm, I'm in a pretty competitive analyst super flex league where I got Josh Allen around to year. He came out, you know, just cause people weren't sold on him. And you just never know how, how the fantasy league fantasy community is going to view that. And if it does go that route, then you're right, Chris, you're gonna end up with probably better than Waddle. If all those quarterbacks go, you could be looking at

the second receiver off the board or the second running back off the board. If it's that heavy, you could also, you know, try and see if you control the draft even more, you know, maybe package 10 and one of those second round picks and move up a couple of spots in the first round. Well, here's what you should do. I'm going to be recording two podcasts today with Emory Hunt. I'm going to be asking him about the NFL draft running backs. These are going to be the Thursday morning

and Friday episodes of Fantasy Football Today in five. Because when we talk about the first round and the first six picks or so of a dynasty rookie draft, we only talk about two running backs. And what I want to know is how much separation is there between Travis Etienne and Najee Harris and then the North Carolina guys after that, Javante Williams, Michael Carter.

Oh, it's not that far with Javante Williams. Right, so that's what I want to hear from Emory Hunt. I think Michael Carter is a smaller guy. Maybe he's a pass catcher. Maybe he's a third down guy in the NFL. But I don't know about the running back depth. The wide receiver depth, though, is great. I know we're obsessed with these three guys,

but last year obviously was a great wide receiver class. This year, I think it's supposed to be even better. Over the next few weeks, we'll be rolling out more NFL draft preview content with Emory Hunt in the Fantasy Football Today in five podcast feeds. Running backs are going to be Thursday and Friday.

Check that out. And I think we have one more email here for now. It is from Bob Throckmorton. I'm in a touchdown base keeper league with bonus points for 100 yards rushing or receiving or 300 yard passing games. Our league is made of 14 people up and down the West Coast. We normally select our players by a salary cap and have to be in attendance. So the past year, the COVID restrictions meant we couldn't get together and we went to a straight draft. Normally, you can protect as many

players as you can afford by giving that player a 20% raise. But the rule for the coming year is you can protect only two players by protect that means you match the amount bid for that player by the rest of the league since there aren't any salaries from 2020 interesting all other players are then removed from your roster okay so they're doing a salary cap draft and anyone who was on your roster in 2020 you have the right to match the bid and keep that's how i'm on i interpreting this, but only two players. All players will be bid on, protected or not. So from the following, who would you recommend I protect?

It is a one quarterback league. Josh Allen, Alvin Kamara, James Robinson, Stefan Diggs, Chris Godwin, and Travis Kelsey. The two Ks. Kamara and Kelsey? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, they're going to be

your most expensive players most likely, but anytime you can lock in two first-round picks, it's hard to overpay for two first-round picks. I have Kamara as the number two RB

and Kelsey as the number one tight end. So there, it would be really hard to come out of that feeling like you were in a bad spot. I like Kelsey even more in this format because he only starts two wide receivers instead of three. And it does not appear to be,

there does not appear to be a flex. So actually the one thing I'm thinking is that bonus for 100 yards rushing and receiving. Kamara is probably less likely to get that bonus than most running backs. That's a great point. I forgot it's a touchdown heavy league. So that might make me lean Diggs.

Although, you know, Allen, if he's what he was last year, he was a 300-yard passer nearly every week. Yeah, I forgot about the scoring there after reading that whole email. You want to change your answer? No. Yeah, Alan, it was half the game, so. It's a big deal. Yeah.

Um, I think I might go digs and Kelsey then in that, in this specific format. But if you went Camara and Kelsey, I would have no issue with it. Camara is going to score a ton of touchdowns too. All right. Fun trivia question. They just,

they just, uh, the compensation that the Bears offered for Russell Wilson. Can you guess it? Oh.

Three first round picks. And? The deed to the franchise. Close. Three first round picks and two seconds

three first a third and two starters two starters I was going to say four first and Mike Ditka's Hall of Fame bust I'm going to guess one of those was Khalil Mack so let me ask you this trivia question and the show

this is going to be good. Here we go. Everybody put your thinking caps on. Alvin Kamara has played 60 regular season games. How many 100-yard rushing games does he have? I'm going to say

five. Eleven. Three. Yep. He has more 100 yard receiving games than 100 yard rushing games. He's had seven in his career. Total four receiving three rushing. Interesting.

Okay, everybody. Thanks so much for your emails. We'll try to read more. We got Apple podcast questions. We'll read on tomorrow's show as well. And we'll be back with bonus pods. Hopefully throughout the day.

Talk to you soon.