Fantasy Football Today - Javonte's Knee, Kelce's Age and More: Mailbag (03/31 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: March 31, 2023

VOTE FOR US HERE (Fantasy Sports & Betting Category): https://www.sportspodcastgroup.com/sports_category/fantasy-and-sports-betting/ Fantasy Football Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  Is Mike Williams set up for success with Kellen Moore as his offensive coordinator (3:10)? Is D'Onta Foreman extremely underrated (5:45)? These are some of the questions we're answering on today's mailbag! We've got great questions from our audience including some dynasty questions ... Travis Kelce's age (10:00), Aaron Rodgers vs. Jordan Love (13:15), Lamar Jackson's NFL value and why teams might be hesitant to acquire him (20:10) ... We've got questions about Jared Goff (25:30), why Breece Hall is being treated differently than Javonte Williams (31:00), thoughts on rookie tight ends, D'Andre Swift, Alexander Mattison, Ken Walker and more ... Your emails at [e-mail] 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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Visit amex.ca slash business platinum. 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. Welcome to Fantasy Football Today. It is mailbag time. Send us emails at fantasyfootball at cbsi.com. That is the letter I, cbsi.com, fantasyfootball at cbsi.com. You can also leave us a comment on Apple Podcasts with a five-star review. Please tell everybody why you like our show. Even if you don't want to leave a question,

we'd appreciate your support there on Apple Podcasts. I'm Adam Azer with Heath Cummings, podcast host heath cummings and jamie eisenberg as well what's up mr dynasty mr dynasty that is that's that's kind of a neat name yeah i should maybe create a twitter account thank you great moment from the dynasty podcast which is only on youtube right now um are those going to be dropping in our feed did we determine that i i don't believe so i i do know that you did a fantastic job of introducing it though last week when you were telling people about the about the new podcast that is only on youtube i didn't know everybody kept asking about the podcast that you introduced that is only on

youtube nobody told me nobody told me but it's on YouTube. Yeah. YouTube.com slash Fantasy Football Today. But anyway, it was a great show. Heath, Dave, and Dan, and Heath got a little taste of what it's like to be a host when you say, okay, here's a question for you. What's one rule that needs to be in any Dynasty League? And Dan's like, well, this isn't a rule, but here are

three things that you can do in a Dynasty League, right? And then he's like, okay, well, Dan didn't answer the question. Dave, what's one rule that you should put in a Dynasty, right? It's like, okay, well, Dan didn't answer the question. Dave, what's one rule that you should put in a dynasty league? Dave's like, oh, well, if you're a commissioner, you should be prepared to work really hard. It's like, okay, nobody answered the question. How did that feel, Heath?

Then he froze. Then he froze again. Oh, man. There he is. There he is. What's up, Heath? I have no idea. I promise you, the best internet available in South Florida that I can find.

Last couple of days, it's not been great. At least he froze on his smile. It was like a very happy look. Yeah. Yeah. We were into it. Another funny moment from the podcast, Heath was about to make a joke at my expense, and his internet cut out in the middle of the joke.

You have no idea what I was about to say. I said, Acer. It could have been a compliment. I don't think so. I think it was about me not hosting a show. But okay, anyway, check out the New Dynasty podcast every Tuesday, youtube.com slash fantasyfootballtoday. All right, so we've got our mailbag, and we're going to get right into it.

After I tell you to vote for us, sportspodcastgroup.com. You've got about a week left. Please vote for the fantasy and sports betting category. Please vote for fantasy football today. We are a finalist. The winner is going to be all about fan vote, so we need your help. Go to sportspodcastgroup.com or click the link in the episode description and vote for Fantasy Football Today in the Fantasy and Sports Betting category.

Here is the first email. It is from David. Do you think Mike Williams' value goes up with Kellen Moore as the offensive coordinator? He's more of the downfield threat instead of Keenan Allen. Do you think Mike Williams' value goes up with Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator, Jamie? I don't know if it goes up, but I think it kind of just stays at a level where you can trust him as a number two receiver. I think he'll still be volatile,

where there'll be some big weeks and there'll be some weeks where he disappears. I think just once we get past the draft and you see the full picture of what this team is, and the biggest thing will be is Austin Eckler still on the roster, then you can sort of determine where he's at but you know the the the overall picture I think for Mike Williams I think it's been a good offseason so far no no key additions to the receiving core and an upgrade at the offense coordinator if anything I would be

more concerned um every time I say more I'm going to think that I'm saying m-o-o-r-e but more more concerned that before this past year you really didn't see a wide receiver in his offense get a huge share of the targets they would spread the ball around to guys like noah brown and and i now they like the chargers have mike williamsenan Allen, Josh Palmer, three really pretty talented wide receivers. Palmer's probably better than any number three wide receiver that Moore had in Dallas. And they still have Gerald Everett right now. They still have Austin Eckler.

So I think it's possible the offense gets a little more diverse than it was. So I'm not upgrading Williams. Yeah, but the nice thing is people are basically going to downgrade Williams from where he was a year ago. I'm looking at a draft that we did our Fantasy Football Today draft in 2022, and Mike Williams went 31st overall, something like that, actually one pick before Justin Herbert, but seventh pick of round three. So right around 31, I think 31.

And in the draft that we did last week, and again, I'm not trying to make everything out of this one draft we did, but I do think this is going to happen. He went in the fifth round. So we'll see if he goes up. But, you know, I didn't really want to draft Mike Williams last year if I had to take him in the third round or early in the fourth.

But he could, you know, fourth, fifth round? Hell yeah. Would you guys be happy with him in the fifth round or early in the fourth, but he could, you know, fourth, fifth round. Hell yeah. Would you guys be happy with him in the fifth round? Mike Williams? It's a good spot. That's it. Just a good spot. It's not a great spot. No, I think I'm sorry. I was on mute. Uh, thrilled. I was waiting for the enthusiasm there. Yeah. All right. Next question from Dom Cabs. Came across an incredible stat. Since week seven, that's when Deontay Foreman

became the starter for the Panthers. Deontay Foreman had 191 carries for 876 yards and five touchdowns and 12 carries of at least 15 yards. Nick Chubb had the exact same stats, except he had one more carry. They both had 876 yards. I actually think Foreman had 877 yards

and Chubb had 876, but I'll let Dom Cav have his day. Nick Chubb and Deontay Foreman had the same exact stats, basically, from week seven on when Foreman became the starter. And he says, pretty impressive for Foreman. Thunder to Herbert's lightning. Your thoughts, Heath?

Gosh, really? Is this the best internet that they have in South Florida, Jamie? Apparently not. I'll take mine. Yeah. So what do you think about this? Pretty impressive stuff. It also wasn't the best stretch for Chubb, but it wasn't bad.

But what do you think? I think that Deontay Foreman's not a bad flyer. I mean, we're going to find out what the Bears think. And that's the biggest thing is, do they value Khalil Herbert being on their team more so than they do bringing in a guy who, for the last two stops that he's been in, has been pretty impressive? I mean, you know, Tennessee, when he replaced Eric Henry, he had a nice stretch. Obviously, last year when he replaced Christian McCaffrey, he had a nice stretch. You know, and so it's just one of those things where I think you look at his opportunity here.

This Bears offense is going to be better. You know, it's going to add some pieces. They have a lot of draft capital i would assume they're going to you know invest in their offensive line because their quarterback situation is is solid they added their receiver we'll see if they're done there again but um if he's the first and second down guy which would not be a huge surprise then i think you're going to really enjoy getting him for the value that you'll get him at which is going to be a pretty late round pick. Hi, Heath. Hey, Adam.

Why don't you go to Jamie's for these podcasts? Yeah, I should. Share some internet. Your thoughts on the Bears' backfield? I think it's pretty close to a coin flip. Who's going to be the lead back in this backfield, assuming it's Herbert and Foreman to start the year and there's no further additions. Obviously, Herbert's younger, has not quite as extensive of an injury history as Foreman.

But they both have the ability to be very explosive on the ground. I guess Travis Homer is going to be their third down back, which kind of makes it gross if one of Foreman or Herbert doesn't dominate early downs. I don't really want a situation where you've got two guys splitting the rushing downs and someone else taking the passing downs. Is Foreman injury prone, or did he just have the big injury? I don't think I said he was injury prone but you said more injury track record because like Herbert's missed more time the last couple of years than Foreman has

okay yeah I mean yeah alright so I'm just kidding unless I'm missing so we'll be kind of fluid in how we approach this backfield and wait to see what the reports are. I think to go back to our recap of the meetings, the Bills backfield feels similar to me.

You can see a first and second down guy and a third down guy or a split that the new addition might be better than the in-house player. Yeah. All right. Next email is from Joey. a new addition might be better than the in-house player. Yeah. All right. Next email is from Joey. Would you trade pick 2.3 and Darnell Mooney for Sky Moore, who, because I watch the Dynasty Show,

I know he's a big riser and he's wide receiver rankings. This is a full PPR Dynasty League. Would you trade pick 2.03 and Darnell Mooney for Sky Moore? Yes. Yeah, I think that's a good deal. I might want to see who's available at 203, but most likely I'm going to like that trade a lot. All right, this is from George. He went to YouTube just to see Jamie's face in the Doug Peterson photo,

and he said, normally I only listen to the podcast when working out, but I had to see this photo. I was not disappointed. Fantastic photo. Jamie needs a Snickers. How do you feel about Travis Kelsey and his age? Is he a safe pick?

I have taken him in round one or two the last two years, and I've gotten to the championship game two years in a row. I have been going zero RB. How do you feel about Travis Kelsey and his age? Heath Cummings. Definitely take him in the first round. Doesn't feel as safe as the wide receivers I'm taking in the first round, but similar to the running backs. Father time is undefeated. There is going to come a year where the massive drop off happens, or at least we start to see some decrease. But he's been so incredible lately that you can't project that for next year. So, Adam, you made the, for anybody that didn't catch our show with Samantha Praviti,

you said you've downgraded Kelsey from 101 to 102. Is there going to be a continual slide for Kelsey? Maybe. Not past like six, you know, but. No, no, no. I think that's, I don't know where you have me. That's basically where I have him at six. That's what Samantha said as well.

I think, I feel like I'm going to have him ahead of every running back. It's just, with Jefferson, you know, you're talking about, while you do have the position scarcity thing with Kelsey, you're talking about a lot of points. I can't see Kelsey outscoring Justin Jefferson. I can see him being more valuable than Jefferson because of the tight end thing, but you might be passing up like 50, 60 points, and I just think that's probably too much,

even with position scarcity. I think it's easy to say that with Jefferson and Chase because they're so young. I think the interesting one is Cup because Cup is old for a wide receiver, but he's also, what, four years younger than Travis Kelsey. And when Cup's been healthy the last two years, the difference points-wise between him and Kelsey

is the same, if not more more than between Jefferson and Kelsey. This offseason, we just talked about Sky Moore moving up. Does it matter to you what they do at wide receiver? I mean, has this offseason been better for Kelsey or just the same? He's Kelsey and it doesn't matter. Nobody else affects Travis Kelsey.

I don't think the... I mean, losing Juju and Hardman because basically they played the majority of the season, certainly the second half and the playoffs without Hardman. So that to me is, you know, not a factor. Losing Juju, I mean, they'll replace that with whatever they do in the draft or whatever they decide to do, you know, with what's left in free agency. Now, again, they could still swing for the fences and get DeAndre Hopkins,

and that changes things. Or they're still – remember, last year, I'm pretty sure there was, around the NFL draft, there was a couple guys that moved. I know A.J. Brown was moved on draft night, and I think Tyree Hill was moved around the draft. They could still make a home run swing that we don't know, and that might change some things a little bit. But if this is what we're looking at, it's Kadarius, Tony, Skymore, and MVS,

and that's their three top receivers. It's kind of the same deal, right? I guess you could just argue that Juju Smith-Schuster was a pretty big part of the offense before his concussion, and they have nobody who's head even close to that kind of target. Right, but that's where the upgrades come for Tony and Moore. Yeah. Okay, this is from nick believe it or

not jordan love will have a better fantasy year than aaron rogers cue heath sigh oh boy i really should have cued that up there but there we go what do you think jordan love will have a better fantasy year than aaron rogers believe it or not i don't believe it but I do think it's not that wild to think of. Aaron Rodgers wasn't himself last year, and he's going to a new team, and who knows when he's going to get to that new team. He's got some things to learn and some guys to get on the same page with, so it's possible. 39 years old and said he was 90% about retirement before he went to cave you know i mean

just think about some of the things that have gone on with him now granted you look at the receiving court he's leaving and i know he's bringing some guys with him but garrett wilson is i think at this point i think i'm sure we probably all agree a better option i don't know talent but a better option than christian. You know, maybe a slight upgrade. I don't know however you want to qualify it, but it feels like he's a little bit better player at this point. Receiving court, probably better. Offense system, probably better.

What are you familiar with? You know, I know what Heath is getting at. He's got to go to a new team, but he's going to know what Nathaniel Hackett wants to do. So, I don't know. I would say if they're both healthy, Aaron Rodgers should be better. But he's also going to face the Bills twice, the Patriots twice, and a Dolphins defense that certainly got better twice

versus what Jordan Love is dealing with, with a Vikings defense that's seemingly falling apart, a Lions defense while it's better, and a Bears defense might be better. But I think the division is probably more favorable for him. So not a huge stretch to see Jordan Love being better, but I would still put my money on Aaron Rodgers. It's just like, yeah, both of these guys, it will be very easy halfway through the season

if this goes poorly to say it wasn't that hard to see it coming for Aaron Rodgers and the Jets not working out. There's a lot of red flags. And then obviously Love hasn't, has barely played in the NFL. So it's very easy to imagine him being bad as well. I mean, you think about Hall of Fame guys

that have switched teams late in their careers. Russell Wilson was terrible last year, if you want to put him in that category. Stafford, great. You know, first time going to, new team. Matt Ryan, trash. They're all different though. Tom Brady.

Oh, that's what I'm saying. They're all over the place. You know, Tom Brady was great. Peyton Manning was great. You know, so. Tom Brady, you know what though? Tomady was not great people forget that his first half of the season it was he couldn't connect with mike evans his first season in tampa bay couldn't connect with mike evans you can't throw the deep ball anymore he was coming off a bad season he got written off by a lot of people

then they signed antonio brown he started playing a little bit better then he won the super bowl um but it was terrible There was an adjustment. No, there was definitely an adjustment period for him. I do think people forget about that. And, you know, it is good that Hackett is there. And they're basically like, yeah, Rodgers will know the offense like the back of his hand. But I just want to bring that up. There was an adjustment period for Tom Brady.

All right, controversial one here, guys, from Frank. I debate amongst a lot of people, is the new number zero. There was an adjustment period for Tom Brady. All right, controversial one here, guys, from Frank. I debate amongst a lot of people is the new number zero. Oh, no, a debate. Excuse me. A debate amongst a lot of people. Let me try it again. A debate amongst a lot of people is the new number zero and guys wearing single digits.

I personally love it. If a skill player wears a single digit number, he goes up a tier for me. Others hate it with a passion. Where does the FFT crew stand? Adam should answer last, as I imagine he has the hottest take on it. I move Calvin Ridley up just because he's number zero. A whole tier?

Like three. Okay. Yeah, I think it's fun that Calvin Ridley's wearing zero. I don't really care that much. i think it's fun that calvin ridley's wearing zero i i don't really care that much i think it's great i think um well i didn't like it at first because i have i have trouble with numbers not not the zero thing but just when numbers became you know anybody can have anything and the wide receivers weren't always wearing the eights i have trouble with numbers to begin with like memorizing jerseys i have i don't I don't know what number Daniel Jones is. I have no idea what number he is. Um, so

Darren Waller's going to be 12. And I actually thought that Daniel Jones was 12. He might be, they might both wear 12. I don't know. I did see the, uh, just the numbers thing that, um, the, the Cowboys story about maybe bringing back Zeke that he won't have 21 because Stefan Gilmore already took it. Oh, interesting. Apparently Zeke was 21. Yeah. 21. Yeah, so I didn't love it at first, but now I'm all about it, and seeing a zero will be great fun. So, Frank, I agree with you. Someone was complaining about T. Higgins changing because they had one of his 85 jerseys. Doesn't it make the jersey cooler if it's a number they don't wear anymore?

Yes. 100%. Vintage. Also, I think there should be a size element to this. I think T. Higgins has to wear something in the 80s. He's just too big. He can't be wearing a zero. Well, they do that for linemen, right? Some of these numbers, they're not allowing

linemen to wear. I would hope not. You can't have a lineman wearing zero. It's just anarchy. I want to see a lineman wearing zero. I want to see Chris Jones in double zero. Okay, double... Is it just zero or it's not double zero?

I think it's just zero for now. Double zero is interesting. If your last name starts with O, you should be guaranteed to wear zero. Like Chris Olave should be zero. Also fine with that. Yeah. We'll take a break.

When we come back, we're going to talk about actual football stuff. Lamar Jackson question from a dumb fantasy guy in Arizona. We'll be right back. Chico Conquo should be zero. Oh, double zero. All right. We'll be triple zero. We'll be right back on Fantasy Football today.

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It's free. It's easy. It's the law. Data sourced from the ORCGA 2023 Dirt Report. All right. Question from JustTheDumbFantasyGuy in Arizona. Number 0. It'd be 0.

Yeah, you're right. Why does everyone think Lamar Jackson is worth the money he's asking for? He's only been above 66% completion once in his career. His QB rating has only been above 70 once. Is that true? No. That can't be true. Not true.

Because of his running, he gets hurt, and the older he gets, the more fragile he'll be. It seems like the pundits just think he deserves a Mahomes deal, but unless he can continue to run and only throw us to the middle of the field, I don't get it. What do you think about this, Jamie? Hot take. I mean, first off, you have to look at the market

and what these guys are getting paid. So does he deserve to be paid Deshaun Watson money? I think that Deshaun Watson doesn't deserve to be paid Deshaun Watson money. So is he in the upper echelon of quarterbacks? He's an MVP. He's a guy that could immediately turn your franchise around to make them a winner, whether there's a Super Bowl winner or just a playoff contender. That's probably where the debate lies.

But if he goes to the Colts, if he goes to the Falcons, if he goes to the Commanders, that franchise is immediately better. And they sell more jerseys and they sell more tickets. And so the value of the team becomes better with him on it. That being said, he's a probably depreciating value because of the way that he plays. And you look at what he's done as a quarterback. And this is not a matter of can he throw it? He obviously can't.

But if he continues to play this way, he's a liability. And we talked about this with the Josh Allen stuff and what Sean McDermott said. It's just the natural progression of how these guys have to evolve as their position evolves. I think that's the biggest issue. In terms of what Lamar Jackson's value is, you have to pay him that

contract. You have to give up two first round picks for him. That's a lot. Not necessarily. If you sign him to a contract and the Ravens don't match it, yes, you have to give up two picks. You could work out a deal with the Ravens where they sign him to a contract and trade him to you

for predetermined compensation. It doesn't have to be that way. They would not trade the Jackson for less than two firsts. Absolutely correct. That's the franchise rule, but you're right. It'll be at least two firsts. Significant draft compensation. You have not giving him away, but that's the franchise rule, but you're right. It'll be at least two firsts. Yeah. Okay.

So sorry. Significant draft compensation. You have to pay him and then you have to deal with, is he going to progress? And is he going to make your offense better and your team better? And that's the questions I think a lot of these teams are dealing with. And so, you know,

it's, it's a surprise that, uh, was he 26, 26 year old MVP is not getting any interest, or at least you're not hearing about any interest. And again, go back to what we talked about with the NFL meetings, for what these coaches were saying, that they don't want him,

from what it sounds like. The only one I think that I saw some semblance of interest was the Colts. And if you're going to go the Anthony Richardson route, why not take a guy who's already done that from that style of play? So it's a little bit of a surprise. My guess is that he's going to have to deal with what the Ravens are offering, which sounds like it's a pretty significant deal. If what he said, I think it was, what, three for 144 or something like that, the offer? Significant guaranteed money?

I don't remember exactly what he said with his social media stuff. But is he worth that? No. But again, Deshaun Watson setting the bar, he wasn't worth it. Well, and I think just to address the original post, I think he was saying QBR over 70. Yeah, one year with a QBR over 70. And Jamie brought up Josh Allen.

Josh Allen has one season with a completion percentage better than 66%. Josh Allen has two seasons out of five with a QBR over 70. Those numbers aren't as damning of Jacksonson as they sound i don't think um i i don't really get it i suspect if if there's a i suspect that it's he's a player that you have to change your offense for and he's not necessarily just going to seamlessly fit in and that could be the hesitation. I don't know that he'd be good if they tried to turn him into a dropback passer. He's got to be Lamar Jackson.

But he's obviously so good. Well, that's why Indy makes the most sense. It's like two years in a row, they were in first place when he got hurt two years in a row, right? I mean, I know it was in 2021. I think so in 2022. they were in first place when he got hurt two years in a row. Right. I mean, I know it wasn't 2021. Um, I don't, I think so in 2022, but he's a,

he's a winning quarterback without question. I just wonder if I could actually, I could actually buy the argument that you got to pay all this money to a guy where you have to change your entire offense for him. That could be what's holding it up. What's holding it up. Like I said, that's why the Colts make the most sense.

You have a coach that's been with Jalen Hurts so there's a familiarity of the style of play to whatever degree you want to compare the two. You have really there's nothing that you have to retool because you're starting from scratch. They're going to bring in a new quarterback to begin with. That's a good question and a good NFL

debate. This is from Jim in Michigan. He says, drink the Kool-Aid, go Lions. And here's a bold take for 2023. Jared Goff finishes higher than Joe Burrow

in points per game and his Azor stat reasoning is that they had very similar stats last year and Goff got vultured a bunch of times, 17 touchdowns for Jamal Williams.

If half of those were passing touchdowns, Goff would have beenured a bunch of times, 17 touchdowns for Jamal Williams. If half of those were passing touchdowns, Goff would have been ahead of Burrow last season. I'm going to give you an even better Azar stat. He had eight completions that were down to the one-yard line, and only one of them was followed up by a Jared Goff passing touchdown. Six of them were followed up by Jamal Williams rushing touchdowns. So I'm not going to give him an extra eight.

I could see giving him an extra four touchdowns. But anyway, the bold prediction is that Jared Goff finishes higher than Joe Burrow in points per game. And what do you guys think about this, Heath? Well, I hope that Joe Burrow doesn't get hurt in the middle of his first game. And this is true. I do think this brings up a point. in the middle of his first game, and this is true. I do think this brings up a point.

When teams make leaps like the Lions did, like Jacksonville did, like the Giants did, there's several other, I'm sure, from last year. More often than not, there's a step back the next year and not just a continuation of you go from four wins to nine wins to now you win 12 games. So I was pretty excited about the Lions going into last year and maybe they will win the division. But I think things might not go as well for them this year as they did last year. I think typically when you see that, which is the fear for me with the Giants, for example. Sorry, Adam, but it's the first-year coach because that's when you see change. And in the Lions case, I mean, Dan Campbell's been there now a few.

They've been building towards something. So I don't necessarily see them taking a step back. It's not like they made a huge leap. And the same thing with Jacksonville, for example. I know it's a new coach, but they didn't exactly make a huge leap from a win standpoint. The Giants made a huge leap from a win standpoint you know like the Giants made a huge leap from a win standpoint Jacksonville and what I mean obviously Jacksonville made a huge leap from one standpoint but I think you know to get to that there they could still I think improve because again they've been with

the quarterback they have that's probably the the best way to put it um the Lions I think they've been building toward this well and Jacksonville's advantage is that who in that division is going to compete with them? That's not their advantage. The only one I can see, to be honest with you, is if Tennessee doesn't completely fall apart, and Ryan Tannehill has

what he did a couple of seasons ago, but there's a lot of ifs there, especially with that defense. But if Houston's quarterback comes in and is good right away that roster is very very solid their defense is very i mean we talked about this a lot last year how their secondary just improved and we never really gave them credit for it was like are they how are they doing this how they can't it's just fluky yeah the defense the secondary is is good i think their their pass rush will be better um Offensive line, I think, is heading in the right direction.

Run game is certainly heading in the right direction. If the quarterback comes in and they can have a passing game that's going to scare some people, they'll threaten Jacksonville. It's the same thing. The division is great, as we talked about. They get the NFC South. It's a favorable schedule for whoever's good in the AFC South. I have a couple things to say here.

First of all, I think we've learned never discount, never count out Tennessee when they have Mike Vrabel and Derrick Henry. They're still Tennessee as long as they have Tannehill. I mean, they probably, they would have won the division last year if they had Ryan Tannehill, I would say. But I also think it's easier to buy into surprise offenses when you buy into their quarterback. And that was what I was saying.

The advantage Jacksonville has is that they have Trevor Lawrence, so it's very easy for us to get excited about Lawrence and buy into that. Jared Goff does not inspire a lot of confidence, even though he played well last year. They were the fifth highest scoring team in the NFL, so they'll probably take a step back from that. But Ben Johnson's proven himself so far in a year and a half to be a really good coordinator.

They've got the offensive line. They've got two good receivers, we hope, if Jamison Williams pans out. They've got good running backs. I could buy them as still a very good offense, Heath. The Lions. Yeah. I think they'll be good. I don't know about very good.

And I think in fairness to Jared Goff, like versus Trevor Lawrence, what would last year for Trevor Lawrence, where would that season rank amongst Jared Goff's best seasons? Third? Second or third. But like, come on, come on.

What are you trying to say? That Jared Goff is as good as Trevor Lawrence? I'm trying to say that Jared Goff was the first overall pick in the draft and has had at least two seasons better than what Trevor Lawrence did last year. Yes. Based on... That was Adam's

sigh. I got an A'ser sigh. You're killing me. Yeah, technically it's true. But also, come on. come on. It's so much easier to buy into Trevor Lawrence than it is Jared Goff. Of course. Okay, thank you, Jamie.

I needed that, of course. I needed that. This is from Sean. I know his no trade clause has been waived, but I keep hearing New England is a possible team for DeAndre Hopkins. Seriously, is Hopkins going to play for Bill O'Brien? I mean, I would

imagine if they traded for him and said, we're giving you X amount of money, he's going to say, okay, I'll make it work. But yes, it would be a little bit of a surprise to see him go play for the coach who did not want him in Houston. Okay. We can leave it at that. Let's go to our next question here.

Oh, this is a good one. So this is from Cameron from the city with the reigning national league MVP. I don't have a clue. I have no idea who won the MVP last year. Oh, oh, it was a Goldschmidt, right? I think, I think St. Louis. Okay.

In regards to Brees Hall and Javante Williams, why does it seem like everyone in the industry is completely out on Javante, but everyone talks about Brees Hall as if he's going to be ready for week one and all is right in the world? According to my research, Javante suffered a grade 3 ACL tear as well as a grade 3 LCL tear in week 4 of last year. Brees Hall suffered a grade 3 ACL tear as well as a meniscus tear in week 7 of last year. Hall suffered his injury about a month after Gervonta. He goes on, and I think it's a good

email though. So guys, why is the industry, the fantasy community so different on Hall versus Javante? I think part of it might be that people think that Brees Hall is better than Javante Williams when they're both healthy. So I think that would be the starting point, but otherwise I think that the email makes very good points. Like there's been, we've not heard anyone say that Brees Hall could be ready for week one or could miss the entire season.

So there has been more concern expressed about the downside for Javante Williams this year. But I am concerned about both of them. Neither of them are top 12 running backs for me currently. And that probably won't change until their full goes in training camp. And I don't know if that will happen. Jamie, your thoughts? I mean, yes, they both suffered significant knee injuries. From what I've seen from reports,

Javante's situation a little bit worse than Brees' hall. Brees' hall has already been seen running a little bit. I don't know if I've seen that from Javante. And I think you look at some of the offseason situations, you know, Denver bringing in somebody. Now, granted, they needed a backup, but the Jets don't seem to have interest in the report about Ezekiel Elliott. And it sounds like, by all accounts,

they feel pretty confident that Breesaw will be ready for week one. So I feel much more confident in him than I do Javante. And as he said, there's a talent situation here as well. Okay. I think we're going to kind of go faster here for the rest of them. So let's start with this one. It is a good tight end class in the NFL draft. So the question, I don't have a name on the question.

With the tight end premiums costing a higher high value draft pick, do you recommend waiting for some of the rookie tight ends who could be top 10 their rookie year? Do you think using your first four picks in the draft on positions that are not tight end will yield higher quality of a roster than using a tight end pick that high? So I'm guessing this sounds like it's a tight end premium league. Heath, what do you think? Should you prioritize a veteran tight end with an early pick or wait for one of these rookies? Yeah, I don't want to wait for the rookies. If I'm going to draft a rookie, it's going to be because I drafted two tight ends late. And that's fine, but I would like to just get a really good tight end early. Why not do both?

Get a proven guy and then take a flyer on a rookie and have that be your backup slash upside play. And I think just from a, I was just trying to think as you're asking the question, Adam, like what rookie tight ends have come in recently and done well. Like we had Pat Fryer move two years ago. He was decent, but he scored touchdowns.

Chico Conco last year was decent, but you know, not exactly off the charts. Like we just don't see those guys come in and make significant plays. And clearly where they end up is going to matter as well. You know, Trey McBride, for example,

last year, you know, ended up in a bad spot going in, and then Zach Ertz got hurt, and it's not exactly like his numbers took off, and he was considered the best of the class. Don't forget Pitts. Where they end up certainly matters,

but I think you don't want to put yourself in a situation where you're counting on that to be the difference in your fantasy league when you can invest in somebody who's obviously done it already. Yeah, don't forget Pitts. He had 1,000 yards. He didn't have a great fantasy season

because of the low touchdowns as a rookie, but he set the rookie record for receiving yards. Yeah, but you're talking about a top-five pick. Right, yeah. All right, Dave in Flint. I have both DeAndre Swift and Khalil Herbert, so the David Montgomery news affected me heavily. What I am wondering,

is there any world where DeAndre Swift is RB1 for Detroit? Montgomery gets hurt. That seems to be the only one, yeah. Okay, that's kind of a downer. This is from Garrett in a town north of Atlanta. I will say New York City.

Dear Joel, Elise, Tess, oh no, Joel, Ellie, Tess, oh no, Joel, Ellie, Tess, and Tommy. What does that feel like? Like a Yellowstone? Joel, Ellie, Tess, and Tommy. It just feels very country.

Oh, The Last of Us. Oh, yeah. I've only seen two episodes. So far, so good. Okay. Anyway, here's Garrett's question. Keeper question. 10-team PPR, keep three for a total of three years at the round they were originally drafted in.

Which three would you be keeping from this group? Justin Fields in round 16. 10-team PPR, one QB. Fields, round 16. Eckler, round, one QB. Fields round 16, Eckler round one, Javante Williams round six. I can only keep him for one more year. AJ Brown round two,

Tyler Lockett round 10, Christian Watson round 12, Cam Akers round 15, can only keep for one more year. Fields and Watson feel like the easy two choices. Yep. And then I would probably go Cam Akers just based on the value,

even though you can only keep one more year. Yeah, because you don't have that distinction put next to Austin Eckler's name, but it's probably true, just because of his age and he's a running back. If I had the ninth or tenth pick, I might just keep Eckler as well. But if I have an earlier pick, it would definitely be Akers.

All right. I would say also, though, if you have an early pick, you might consider A.J. Brown, because if you're at the back end of the second round and you have that for three years, that's not a bad call either. All right, let's take a break here. And when we come back, we'll read a few more emails. And our producer, Zach Brooke, has a hot take on food.

I'm looking forward to that. We'll be right back on Fantasy Football today. Welcome back to the Mailbag Show. This is from Matt. Grade the trade. Give up Alexander Madison. Get the 12th pick of the rookie draft. Pick 1.12 for Madison.

Hey. Yeah, I guess. But the question becomes, though, do you want to do that now? And then they release Dalvin Cook? Yeah, I would say if you, I don't know. How long can you wait? Because if they do release Dalvin Cook, then you're not getting him for 112.

Dynasty 12-team super flex half PPR. I have picks 3, 8, 10, and 13. So 3, 8, 10, and 13 in a 12-team Superflex League. Should he go quarterback at 3? Should he go wide receiver at 8? What advice, Jamie, would you give to this drafter in a Superflex League who has 3, 8, 10, and 13? I mean, not knowing what the roster looks like

is a little difficult, but I think... Oh, sorry, sorry. He has Burrow and Geno Smith at quarterback. Yeah, you need a quarterback because obviously Geno's not going to be their long-term answer so you know you would assume in the first three picks the first two picks bijan's one of them so you know then you have your option of stroud young richardson levis you know i i would probably look quarterback at three unless of course bij course, Bijan falls. Then you just, no brainer. Yeah, he put in there the top three quarterbacks. Should I take one of them?

I would say you should take one of the top two quarterbacks or Bijan. Okay. This is from Steven. Hey, Drew, Jimmy, Matt, and Tom. Drew, Jimmy, Matt, and Tom. And, Jimmy, Matt, and Tom. And Tom, once upon a time, replaced Drew. And then Tom got suspended and Jimmy replaced him.

So Patriots quarterbacks. Tom hurt his knee and Matt replaced him. Yeah. I forgot about that. Well, I remember the knee injury. I don't think I would have gotten the replacement. That's bad. I should have gotten that.

Ken Walker or Travis Etienne, who should I keep? Both are round 11 picks. Walker. Yep. And then Matt went to the team that hurt Tom's knee. Did he? Yes. Okay, this is...

Oh, here are our... You know Matt's last name? That was Matt Castle, right? Yes. I don't know. Okay, this is, oh, here are our. You know Matt's last name? That was Matt Castle, right? Yes. Yes. Do you remember the last name of the guy who hurt Tom's knee? He shares a last name with probably the consensus breakout running back of 2023. No.

Who was it? Pollard. Pollard. Oh, no. i don't remember that at all i mean i i vaguely uh okay this is an apple podcast question from a toyota's a toyota thanks to jamie for reminding me about checking on malik davis in my dynasty league how much should i bid on him with a fab budget of four hundred dollars an eight team league where we start three quarterbacks, tight end premium. How much would you bid on Malik Davis? If you could add him now, I would not spend much

because I think they're going to add another running back in the draft. But if we come out of the draft and you're not able to make ad drops before them, then he's going to be significant. But I'd be very shocked if they go into the season with Tony Pollard coming off a significant injury, Ronald Jones being Ronald Jones, and Malik Davis as their only three guys.

So a small bit. Okay, this is from iPod Playa, or it could be someone on the beach, the iPod Playa. It says, hey, on the beach, the iPod Playa. Says, hey, George, Jerry, Elaine, and Kramer, how do you go about doing preseason and then weekly kicker rankings? This is not a joke. I

genuinely want to know your process of ranking kickers. Well, he is probably the best one to ask because he's been watching my mind. Well, see, I go to the roster page of all the NFL teams, and I get the names of to the roster page of all the NFL teams and I get the names of all the kickers for all the teams and I make sure that I have

all the kickers for all the teams in my top 32. That's good. I could have done that. I'd do that too. Jamie, what's your kicker process? Depends on the time of year because I like to take weather into account so that matters in terms of weekly rankings.

Indoor usually gets favorable preference over outdoor kickers unless, of course, you're talking about Justin Tucker. But a lot of it is, you know, the top 10 doesn't vary very much because Evan McPherson is typically in the top 10. Harrison Bucker is typically in the top 10. Tucker is obviously up there. But I tend to readjust from when we do our initial rankings by the end of the week because we have to, for start-sit, have to do at least one start kicker, one sit kicker. So I do look at some trends for kickers, you know, who's been giving up a lot of points, who gives up the most points.

So I also like to look at what the season production is for teams allowing the most field goals and I tend to bump those guys bump those opponents up as well but preseason it's typically just based on what offense I think are going to be successful and what kickers have done well in recent years okay here is a question from Matt in San Diego. How would you handle a 2023 rookie auction draft? 12 teams super flex, start three running backs, four wide receivers, tight end and a flex. Sorry, so it's a salary cap draft. Each

team has $100 to budget and you can trade fab dollars. So Heath, you're the Mr. Dynasty. What do you got for us? This year specifically, I would, I mean, it depends. In a super flex, but with three running backs, if my quarterbacks would set,

I would take and spend pretty much whatever it takes to get Bijon. If I walked out of that draft and the only player I got was Bijon, if my quarterbacks were set, I'd feel pretty good about that. Okay. Great. Well, I'm interested in this food take. Zach Brook has a hot take on food and I have no idea where this is going.

Let's hear it, Zach. So, you know, everybody puts cereal in before they put milk in. Oh, you put milk? No, it's they put milk in. Oh, you put. It's not that. No, no, no. It's not that. When you when you're pouring a glass of ice water, you go water first or ice first.

Ice. I think it tastes different. Oh, that is a pretty hot take. It was a cold take about a cold. It's a hot take about a cold beverage, but it's I think it tastes different. What's better? I think water than ice is better. How could this possibly taste any different?

I have a question. You're taking the ice, then obviously you're opening the freezer and getting the ice out with your hand. You're not filling the cup with water and then splashing it in from the ice machine. Yeah, ice, then water. So you just like the way your hands taste? Not really. No no i get the thing that the ice comes out yeah the ice comes out and then the water i don't know i don't know but i think there's a difference wait a second wait a second wait a minute you got you got the

ice dispenser from the fridge is that what you're saying like you put yeah so you put a cup of water underneath the ice dispenser and then the ice comes in and splashes the water all around? No, no, no. No. Empty cup, ice comes out, then you put water in. Like, if you did a blind taste test, I could tell you if the ice went first or the water went first. Okay, but you're saying it tastes better when the water's in first? No, no, no.

When the ice is in first. When the ice is in first. Okay. And now when you've done it the opposite way. Not as good you go water in the cup and then you put it under the the freezer and then the ice comes in and then it splashes all around yeah and it's not as good because you lost so much water or i don't know i just think it tastes different i don't know that's really interesting i wish i had the i wish i had a freezer like that to do this i don't put ice in my water.

Another good point. Why even do that, Zach? I don't know. They just taste better. And then if you leave the ice water in the fridge for like an hour, it tastes even better. If I want something that's going to taste good, I will drink something besides water. Water's delicious. I drink water because I'm supposed to, but generally I will fill a glass of water and just drink it all right there, set the glass down, and walk away. I don't take water with me.

No. It's different. There's lots of it. This guy right here, Captain Spock, don't get into rocket science. There's a scientific method to all of this. Captain Spock last night said that David Njoku is going to be a top five tight end. I called it a bold prediction, and he thinks that is not bold. He's wrong about that.

Calling Njoku top five tight end is bold. So I'm not really listening to him right now. But, you know, first of all, Heath, you're wrong about water. It's delicious. Oh, yeah, I've got some good-tasting water right here. That's what? It's flavored water. Yeah, it is got some good tasting water right here. That's what? It's flavored water. Yeah, it is.

I love water, but... Which should give you a hint that if they have to make flavored water, water doesn't have flavor. I think Smart Water tastes different than regular water. Yeah, different brands taste different. I mean, I could tell you what a Dazani... I could take a blind taste test of a Dazani water and know it's Dazani or something like that. You know what's different than Zephyrhills?

I don't like that one. I don't think it's that good. What's that? Yeah, I would know the difference between Zephyrhills and Dazani. Is that what you're asking? Oh, 100%. All right, this is interesting.

I would love to carry out this experiment. So you like the ice and then the water? Yeah, I think it's better. Okay. Good stuff. This is interesting. I would love to carry out this experiment. So you like the ice and then the water? Yeah. I think it's better. Okay. Good stuff. Everybody try it at home. We will talk to you on Monday with another edition of Fantasy Football Today.

Have a great weekend, everybody. See you later, and good luck to your baseball team.