Fantasy Football Today - More Akers Reaction, Advanced Stats, Best Handcuffs (07/21 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: July 21, 2021

Nominate us on PodcastAwards.com! https://www.podcastawards.com/app/signup We're bringing on SportsLine's Jacob Gibbs who has the best stats in the industry. He gives us a concerning CEH stat at the ...top of the show as a preview of what's coming up later. First, let's get thoughts on Cam Akers and Darrell Henderson from Dave and Jacob (1:50). Where is Henderson going to be ranked? Which other RBs could contribute for the Rams (8:15)? ... A fun discussion on handcuffs (11:44)! Should you handcuff your RB or someone else's RB? And we go through a list of RBs and tell you which ones are worth handcuffing (17:00) ... Jacob brings the obscure stats on CEH (31:00), Robby Anderson (38:30), Adam Trautman (44:40) and even Emmanuel Sanders (48:30). Who in this group could thrive from the slot this season? ... Your emails at fantasyfootball@cbsi.com We react to the unfortunate news about Cam Akers as he will miss the season with a torn achilles. Darrell Henderson steps into the limelight now and Jamey tells you where he'll rank Henderson, what other RBs the Rams may look to and the dynasty outlook for Akers.  'Fantasy Football Today' is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox, and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr, @ctowerscbs, @BenSchragg Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/fantasyfootballtoday 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

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 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?
Starting point is 00:00:38 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.
Starting point is 00:00:59 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. Tell you what, that was a spectacular play. It's time to dominate your fantasy league. What a play. Off to the races.
Starting point is 00:01:21 Touchdown. Oh, he's done it again. Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, Heath, and Beck. Today on the show, Daryl Henderson scored 17 or more non-PPR fantasy points in three of four games at one point last year. Clyde Edward Ziller was on pace for 44 catches last year. Can he be better than that in 2021? Which handcuffs are worth drafting? Are people sleeping on Emmanuel Sanders?
Starting point is 00:01:46 Yes, actually, we're talking about that. Is Adam Troutman yet another awesome person whose first name is Adam? All of these things will be discussed on today's show. I am Adam Azer. I am joined by collared shirt wearing Dave Richard. Hello, Fancy Dave. What's up, Adam? I just come back from the office here,
Starting point is 00:02:05 so I didn't have a chance to change into a cool shirt like you and our other analyst today has on. The flex shirt for me, sports line shirt for Jacob Gibbs of Sportsline, and you hear him a lot on FFT and Five. What's up, Jacob? Got a stat you want to dazzle us with? Oh, man. Off the bat, huh?
Starting point is 00:02:24 You go to sleep thinking of these things. Yeah, I'll us with? Oh, man. Right off the bat, huh? You go to sleep thinking of these things. Yeah, I'll go with Claudio Tiller. In the second half of the season, he did not play in the two-minute drill one single time, not even one snap. That stuff. Did Daryl Williams?
Starting point is 00:02:39 Yeah, 45 out of 51 were Williams. What about Le'Veon? Do you happen to have that? Yeah, he played six out of 51. I could have done Le'Veon? Do you happen to have that? Yeah, he played six. Six out of 51. I could have done that. I've got some friends in Los Angeles that want to know about that guy.
Starting point is 00:02:51 Sure, sure. So, listen, we're recording this on Monday afternoon or Tuesday afternoon, Tuesday afternoon, and we've already done a bonus pod about the camp. I swear to God, I have no idea what today is. Today's Tuesday, right? Tuesday, yeah. We already did a bonus pod about Cam camp. I swear to God, I have no idea what today, today's Tuesday, right? Tuesday. Yeah. Uh, we already did a bonus pod about cam makers, but we didn't hear from Dave.
Starting point is 00:03:10 We didn't hear from Jacob. So let's do it. Let's, let's talk about that first out for the season with the torn Achilles. It totally stinks. He was the 11th pick in NFC drafts since July 1st, first round pick, you know, maybe early second rounder and, and he's, he's off the board now, and it just stinks. But we'll turn our attention to Daryl Henderson. And Dave, where would you take Daryl Henderson?
Starting point is 00:03:32 Where are you ranking him? I've got him, and it depends on format, anywhere from round five to early round six, which probably means I'm not going to get him. And I'm open to changing my mind on it, but I just remember last year when he had the opportunity to be the main guy for the Rams, started in week two, went all the way through until week seven. So six games in total. Three of them, he did great. You mentioned it at the top of the show. I've actually got him with at least 18 PPR points in three of the games. And then he didn't obviously do quite as well in the other three games. I think they were all single digits in PPR. And then Cam Akers came back, and it's almost like Sean McVay,
Starting point is 00:04:08 like you'd see it in a movie. Like he grabs Daryl Henderson and like pushes him out of the way so he can go and hug Cam Akers. When Akers came back, Henderson became an afterthought in the offense. In fact, there were only two games the rest of the year where he played more than 40% of the snaps. One of them, Akers didn't actually play in. So in so of course you're going to see henderson play more was the week 16 game against seattle but he was never a full down guy uh he played 13 third down snaps uh in in those six
Starting point is 00:04:38 games without cam acres on the field he had 13 targets in those six games without cam makers on the field i just have a suspicion that this coaching staff doesn't want to trust Daryl Henderson to handle everything. They're okay with him being maybe the first guy up and working in tandem with other running backs, but they don't want him to be an every down guy. I don't think they're quite comfortable with that. I'm, I'm going to lean toward them adding another talent. I know that there's a report saying that they're not going to do that. I think they will eventually. Not yet. Not yet.
Starting point is 00:05:08 Right. Eventually, they're going to add somebody else. I kind of like what they have in Xavier Jones. All right. Hold on. Let's get to him. We'll get to him. Okay.
Starting point is 00:05:17 Because there's so many players. Ultimately, I'm not super high on Daryl Henderson in fantasy. So give me the where do you have him ranked. And I just want to bring up one thing, Dave, because the way I saw it was it wasn't like Cam Akers got healthy and then they just said goodbye to Darryl Henderson. The way I remember it was that Henderson got hurt in the Dolphins game. And he, I'm looking at the first half stats now.
Starting point is 00:05:39 He had eight carries and I was looking at the game log. I mean, he was dominating carries. This was in the midst of his run as the starter. Malcolm Brown had eight carries, and I was looking at the game log. I mean, he was dominating carries. This was in the midst of his run as the starter. Malcolm Brown had five carries. Cam Akers had three carries in the first half of that game. I think he got hurt there, as I recall. Then they had a bye week, and he didn't miss any time, but after the bye, Cam Akers, they started to get him going more.
Starting point is 00:06:01 So I don't know if he lost his job because Akers got back or because he got hurt. And I also think he played hurt. Maybe we don't even know how much he played hurt. He was always hurt. He missed week one with an injury. He played week one. He just didn't play much in week one.
Starting point is 00:06:14 Oh, okay. He barely. Malcolm Brown had a ton of work in week one. Sure did. Maybe was it Cam Akers who missed week one with an injury? No. Akers was there too. Okay.
Starting point is 00:06:23 Three carries for Daryl Henderson. But I think he had an ankle or something. And he ended the season with a high ankle sprain. Missed the playoffs. Health is an issue there. So give me the running backs that you have ranked around Henderson. So I've got him at 23 in my PPR rankings.
Starting point is 00:06:37 To me, there's a separation between Montgomery, Sanders, and Chris Carson from this next group of running backs. Miles Gaskin, Mike Davis, Josh Jacobs, Daryl Henderson, and I still have ETN at 24. I don't know how long I'm going to stick with that in BPR. All right, Jacob, let me get your thoughts. And when you would draft him and which running backs you think would be in the
Starting point is 00:06:57 same range as Daryl Henderson? Yeah, it sounds like I'm a little bit higher on him than Dave. I think when I ran the projections, if he is a starter for the whole year, he came out of RB13, which seems too high. I wouldn't draft him that high. I have him at RB20 right now. But I generally agree with what Dave's saying. I don't know if I trust the role fully, given how they kind of handled him last year. But the big reason he didn't play on the passing downs and third downs, like Dave mentioned, was because Malcolm Brown. And I don't know if that is a reflection of Henderson or Brown more I think they really you know trusted Brown on those passing downs because they still were you know giving him those
Starting point is 00:07:31 reps even when Cam Akers was kind of taken over at the end of the year so I think with him gone I think it's possible that Henderson could play more on third downs we saw last year he was pretty exposed to the Memphis in the passing game even though he didn't have a ton of volume there so I'm kind of waiting to see who they draft or who they pick up. If it's somebody who seems like he's clearly going to be involved on third downs, like that would, you know, keep him outside of the top 20, I think. But if it looks like he might have a three down roll, then I think I would be fine taking him as a top 15 or 16 running back.
Starting point is 00:07:58 Honestly, there's a lot of upside there. Yeah. Rams, according to PFF, they give them the eighth best offensive line going into the season, so that's nice. And you get a lot of rushing touchdowns. You get a lot of carries from the Rams running backs the last two years. I mean, I mentioned all this stuff on yesterday's podcast, but the last two years they've been 30th and 31st in running back targets, and Heath gave me that stat, so thank you, Heath. But we all know, I mean, the Rams offense can change.
Starting point is 00:08:24 New quarterback who has a history of throwing to his running backs. And it was just three years ago and the year before that under Sean McVay that Todd Gurley was one of the leading receivers on the team. So you don't know exactly what to look at there. Okay, so Jacob, for you, like Josh Jacobs? And do you have kind of a, you know, he's a Jacob, you're a Jacob kind of thing? I don't know if there's a bias there. Josh Jacobs or D do you have kind of a, you know, he's a Jacob, you're a Jacob kind of thing? I don't know if there's a bias there. Josh Jacobs or Daryl Henderson?
Starting point is 00:08:49 There's a bias there. I have no Josh Jacobs bias. I do have Daryl Henderson just ahead of him just because of the limited, you know, passing involvement for Jacobs. I think there is a path to, you know, more targets for Henderson that Jacobs doesn't have. How about, guys, both of you, Mike Davis or Daryl Henderson? To me, it's a reflection of how I really feel about Henderson because I'm not a big fan of Mike Davis either, but I'll take Davis ahead of Henderson.
Starting point is 00:09:14 Yeah, I have Davis one spot ahead. And I think he could be really involved in passing downs too. That's the main reason. That's definitely a factor. So, Dave, let me ask you, are there any other running backs, either on the Rams or who are free agents right now, that you think in some leagues that's drafting now or a dynasty league where free agency is open should be added?
Starting point is 00:09:37 In deep, deep leagues, the two names that I would look at, and one is a guy who is on the roster it's Xavier Jones who isn't a burner but he reminded me of James Robinson a little bit when I watch I spent a little time watching him today he's got some good vision and that was the one trait that James Robinson had like nailed down it's probably what got him like his foot in the door with the Jaguars in the first place so he reminds me of. Maybe a smaller version of James Robinson. I don't have the measurables in front of me, so I can't say for sure,
Starting point is 00:10:10 but decent pass catcher, quick shifty feet, physical, just not a lot of burst to his game. He's going to get caught from behind a lot. He'll have a lot of runs between four and 10 yards and not a lot of 15 plus yard runs. He's somebody who could end up being the guy like if they had a game this week he'd end up probably sharing with daryl henderson
Starting point is 00:10:32 because two of the other running backs they have on their roster uh ray collet and uh otis anderson are more of like scat backs and then you've got uh j Funk, who is a fun, talented prospect and a high spark score, but is coming off of two ACL injuries and is more of a special teams guy. Jake who? Funk. Not to be confused with Terry or Haas. Now the other player that I think might make some sense for the Rams,
Starting point is 00:11:11 that's a free agent. This is just me spitballing. Do not add a Le'Veon Bell just because I'm mentioning him, but 29 years old experience running in zone scheme offenses, definitely has experience playing three downs. Maybe they give him a call. I think he's probably the best free agent out there that could be the plan B to Daryl Henderson's plan A. Everyone else that's in free agency I don't view as a complete type of running back. You're talking about passing down guys like Duke Johnson or Deion Lewis. You're talking about early down guys like Adrian Peterson or Todd Gurley.
Starting point is 00:11:47 I think Le'Veon offers a more compelling package than any of those running backs would for LA. Alright, so for more analysis on this, including Dynasty Talk on Campmakers, check out the bonus pod from yesterday. As we've mentioned, our fourth annual draft-a-thon supporting St. Jude will be on September 1st.
Starting point is 00:12:03 Last year, we auctioned off fantasy football experiences like Zoom calls with our experts. We did some custom smack talk videos. Those were fun. You could play in leagues with us, guest appearances on the podcast. This year, we've got something awesome for you. Scott Fish is generously offering up spots to play against us in next year's Scott Fish Bowl. So these are all things that are going to be up for auction, and all of it's going to benefit St. Jude.
Starting point is 00:12:35 But if you have any ideas of what you'd like to see bid or auctioned off to incentivize donations to St. Jude, please leave your ideas on this YouTube video, or you can tweet at us or send us an email at fantasyfootballatcbsi.com, fantasyfootballatcbsi.com. All right. One of our topics today is handcuffs, and I'm putting a 10-minute timer on this discussion, but I'm going to ask you guys which handcuffs you think are worth drafting. And first of all, the age-old question that's like three years old is, would you rather have your own running back handcuffed handcuff or a different running back?
Starting point is 00:13:07 Let's say you draft Alvin cook. Are you more likely to take Alexander Madison or Tony Pollard? Something like that. Jacob, what are your thoughts there? Yeah, we talked about this last year with Ben Gretchen and I kind of agree that like the,
Starting point is 00:13:20 the highest upside way to handle the situation definitely is not to handcuff and take players that are on the same team as, you know, a running back that you invested heavily in because, you know, the best case scenario is that your running back just gives you what you expect, he doesn't get hurt, and you just waste the bench spot on, you know, a security policy, which is not the worst idea. It just is, you know, not a very high upside play. If I'm going to, you know, spin one of those late-round picks,
Starting point is 00:13:44 I'm just hoping, you know, to kind kind of it's kind of a lottery ticket approach i guess with some of these guys where i want somebody who's not on the same team as my running back um and if because you're playing to win you know you're playing to get first place um so i'd rather have somebody who if another running back goes down now i've got two starting running backs you know um so i just i know not everyone agrees with that and people like the safe approach of like feeling like they have security of having it's so comforting when you get your handcuff but sometimes you're not it's not even the right guy that's the thing is there's no the security is it's honestly a facade sometimes so like i don't
Starting point is 00:14:22 but that goes to both you know that, that goes with your strategy too. Sometimes you might not have the right guy. But oh, Dave, I sleep so much better at night when I have my handcuff. You know what? I have one league where I have Alvin Kamara and not Cam Akers. And I have both Latavius Murray
Starting point is 00:14:37 and I just so happen to have Daryl Henderson. So I did both Cs there. But if you were just going to have one handcuff on your team, would it be your running back or someone else's running back? I think it depends on what the format and how deep the league is. If I'm in a league where everybody's got eight-plus bench spots and maybe there's more than 12 fantasy managers in the league,
Starting point is 00:14:57 then I think I'm more apt to get that backup running back for my stud running back. I want to protect the investment. But in a regular 12-team league where you've only got limited bench spots, the upside play is to absolutely get the better talent and the guy that might even play a little bit each week, even when the starter is healthy and ready to go. Tony Pollard could fit into that. A.J. Dillon could fit into that.
Starting point is 00:15:19 Gus Edwards absolutely fills into that. So that way, at least you've got a running back who can give you, I don't know, maybe like six, seven, eight points, something like that. And then if it just so happens to pass it, they end up being the lead back for their team, you've got a stud on your squad. And even if they're getting six or seven points per game, maybe they score on top of it in a given week.
Starting point is 00:15:43 Maybe you're forced to start them and you luck out a little bit. You don't have that same type of potential if your handcuff is legitimately somebody who just doesn't play from week to week. How much does Alexander Madison play from game to game? It's not that much. How much will Chuba Hubbard play? It's not going to be that much. Those guys don't carry that same type of value.
Starting point is 00:16:07 Okay, so then would you rather have a handcuff who has some weekly value, but in all likelihood, not weekly value that you're excited to start? It's a bi-week replacement. Who's starting Gus Edwards unless they absolutely have to, right? But Edwards doesn't have as much upside as Madison. I think, anyway. Would you agree with that? He doesn't have as much upside as Madison. I think, anyway. Would you agree with that?
Starting point is 00:16:25 He doesn't have as much upside as Pollard. Sure. Right? Okay, so would you rather have Edwards, who has some value even when Dobbins is healthy, or Madison, who has no value when Cook is healthy, but could have 23 touches, as I'm just looking at the game log from last year,
Starting point is 00:16:43 you know, what he did. Well, he had one game against Atlanta. It was like one of the biggest flops of the year what he did. Well, he had one game against Atlanta. It was one of the biggest flops of the year. But week 17, he had a ton of work. And he could be involved in the passing game. Would you rather have that? You're not going to be able to use him during the year if Cook's healthy,
Starting point is 00:16:55 but he's better than what Gus Edwards would be if all the starting running backs got hurt. You're asking me. Whatever. I like you both oh i find i'll let that i'd rather have i'd rather have power to madison because i don't plan on starting gus edwards anyway he's really just a handcuff i know he's got some i don't know about that i know yeah i mean he might be the one example but latavius murray you know he might have a few weeks, but for the most part,
Starting point is 00:17:26 you can't start Latavius Murray if Kamara's healthy. That I agree with. It's a case-by-case thing. Unless they change their offense and they go super run-heavy. But from what we've seen, you can't start Latavius, but he'll do more than Madison. He'll do more than Pollard, probably. So the way that I look at it when I rank these guys is the running backs who I think will have a role from game to game that are backup running backs, but they'll still see 20 snaps and maybe get seven touches per game. Those are the ones that I'll draft ahead of the other handcuffs.
Starting point is 00:17:57 That's what I'm saying. Yeah. So then you would take Edwards over Madison then? Yes. Okay. All right. Let's go through the running backs. Jacob, I'll throw out a team,
Starting point is 00:18:08 and you tell me, is this running back worth handcuffing? I'll throw out a running back. Christian McCaffrey. And with whom? Yeah, I mean, I think it's Hubbard, right? I'm actually pretty excited for him. If anything were to happen to McCaffrey,
Starting point is 00:18:20 just how his cell might be used last year. I don't know who else on the depth chart really could play that three-down role. So, yeah, I'll go with Hubbard. Okay. And Dalvin Cook, yes, is Madison. Kamara is Latavius Murray. And what about Derek Henry? Derek Henry, I think, will end up, if he were to miss time,
Starting point is 00:18:44 I think you'd see Jeremy McNichols and Darrington Evans play so I wouldn't want to get either of those guys I think it would be kind of a mess between the two of them Zeke is Pollard what about Jonathan Taylor do you think he's worth backing up with Marlon Mack
Starting point is 00:18:59 in the deep league scenario that I laid out I think he is but Mack is not somebody I'm interested in drafting at this time. So what's different about, say, Gus Edwards if Dobbins gets hurt and Marlon Mack if Jonathan Taylor gets hurt? Well, in Mack's case, I still think he's going to share with Hines.
Starting point is 00:19:23 I think Hines has his role. Even when Jonathan Taylor's healthy, I think Hines is going to have with Hines. I think Hines has his role, even when Jonathan Taylor is healthy, I think Hines is going to have his role. Right, but what I'm saying, the reason why I picked Gus Edwards is he's probably not going to catch passes, right? He could, he just, I mean,
Starting point is 00:19:38 we don't know how serious the Ravens are about throwing to the running backs this year. I think Mack and Edwards, if you look at them right now, if they were both the starting running backs, you would think similar passing roles, right? Receiving roles? Low volume. I think your point makes sense.
Starting point is 00:19:52 I think the offense environment in Baltimore is just much more conducive to success rushing, and Edwards has been a little bit better. But yeah, I think what you're saying makes sense. Right. Yeah, I guess I just wanted to bring up Mack as an alternative. Edwards is going 115th overall. Marlon Mack, 219th overall.
Starting point is 00:20:10 Right, yeah. So if you wanted to have some handcuff but didn't want to use a semi-valuable pick, maybe it's Mack. How about the Giants? How about Saquon Barkley? Let's assume that Mack is also healthy and looks good. He's coming back from the same injury that Cam Akers just suffered. Right.
Starting point is 00:20:26 So how about Barkley? I am more interested in Barkley's backup, given all the news about how he might not be full go to start the season, and if he has a setback once he starts playing and once he starts taking on contact. And they signed Devontae Booker. That's who it is. Devontae Booker was someone they went out and gave money to this offseason.
Starting point is 00:20:47 So I'm mildly interested in him. More than I make, but not that much money in the NFL grand scheme of things. Do you think that Booker, that they throw him into a heavy workload? Because he's barely gotten that since his rookie year. He's had four games with double-digit carries, and he's 29 years old. So I wonder if that's a situation where they split between some guy who, maybe Corey Clement,
Starting point is 00:21:12 or like a rookie, or somebody that we're not even thinking of right now. Do you think he gets Gallman treatment, Devante Booker, or do they split it up like you mentioned with Tennessee? I think there's a decent chance that he gets the Gallman treatment. Okay. Yeah, I think so. He's one of my preferred handcuffs in the late, late picks.
Starting point is 00:21:33 I think he's shown some ability to play on passing downs, so it's possible that he would get that type of role like Gallman had. I'm going to make my 10-minute limit kind of difficult to achieve with this next question, but I want to go back to Jonathan Taylor. Just, we were talking about it and you said that Marlon Mackie, he's got to be healthy. Well,
Starting point is 00:21:51 maybe he's coming back from an Achilles, which is really tough. Maybe that's more of an incentive to draft Naeem Hines, because that is someone who's going to have a PPR role. And he's going right after it goes, Gus Edward. Well, it goes,
Starting point is 00:22:04 AJ Dillon, Jamal Williams, Gus Edwards, Tonyony pollard naeem heights five running backs in a row running backs 40 through 44 but maybe heinz would get more carries than we would have expected if something happened to taylor i don't think it would be too many more i think he'd be very either touchdown reliant or like ridiculously game script reliant in order for him to be useful in PPR. I think that's kind of what he's proven to be. So you'd have to look at a game and say, OK, do I really think that Hines can get more than five receptions in a game and that he could do well with them? But I would guess that he would not see more than like six carries in a game maybe seven i'll be generous if jonathan taylor were to miss time i think mac would end up getting the lion's
Starting point is 00:22:53 share of the early downs work jacob i know this is one that interested you the chargers with austin eckler yeah i think the guy i'm taking a shot on is justin uh jackson and of course he's kind of a cut canada but if he ends up making the team, he's been really good. Like in the three years that he's been in the league, here's the list of running backs who have a higher target per run and yard per run rate. It's Alvin Camara,
Starting point is 00:23:14 James White, Tariq Cohen, and Austin Eckler. That's the whole list. Like he's been really good as a receiver. He's also been really good as a rusher. He's eighth among a hundred qualified rushers and avoided tackle rate during that time. So so like and we saw them give him 20 touches in his two starts for eclair last year so again he might not even make the team i don't know where his health's at or anything
Starting point is 00:23:33 the drafted layer entry but if if he's on the team i like him a lot and he's free in drafts all right they're all free in drafts whether it's jackson or around he's the only one who's shown us an ability to like be efficient as a pass catcher, particularly. Yeah. Round tree is the more physical type. Yeah. Like he's, he's a grinder.
Starting point is 00:23:53 He's a, he's a plow that can go straight ahead. He can work in short yardage situations. I'm curious to watch him. He's I drafted Eckler in the fish bowl. And so when I got to my late picks, I did spend a late pick on round tree. Cause I'm kind of putting some chips down on him to be the guy behind Eckler in the fishbowl. And so when I got to my late picks, I did spend a late pick on Roundtree because I'm kind of putting some chips down on him to be the guy behind Eckler this year.
Starting point is 00:24:10 And don't get me wrong, if Eckler were to go down and miss time, it would be a split. But I wonder if Roundtree could end up being someone who steals some valuable touches away from Eckler during the season and then sees his role grow when Eckler misses time. So you would actually take him over Josh Kelly because Kelly is
Starting point is 00:24:26 actually the first one being drafted of that trio of Kelly, Jackson, and Roundtree. Everybody's guessing right now. Kelly was amazing in training camp last year. What would you do? I'm taking Roundtree. Okay. And Jacob's taking Jackson. Alright, moving on. Nick Chubb is a unique case. His handcuff goes in round five. Najee
Starting point is 00:24:42 Harris, is he worth handcuffing? Not with anybody there, I don't think. I'm not even sure if Snell makes the final roster. McFarlane knows the offense a little bit because he played in it. So I would imagine that he's got a chance to be the first guy up if Najee were to miss time, but I don't know how effective he'd be.
Starting point is 00:25:02 He's a fun running back to watch, man. I love them, and I thought he was a good fit for the Steelers when they drafted him. But I don't know how effective he'd be. He's a fun running back to watch, man. I love them, and I thought he was a good fit for the Steelers when they drafted him, but I don't know how much work they'd really be willing to give him. Plus, they have Kalen Balazs. What do they need on any of these other guys for? Clyde Edwards-Ziller.
Starting point is 00:25:18 All right, Aaron Jones, we know. A.J. Dillon. Antonio Gibson, Clyde Edwards-Ziller, Joe Mixon, DeAndre Swift. Prettyillon, Antonio Gibson, Clyde Edwards-Ziller, Joe Mixon, DeAndre Swift. Pretty much not quite done, but... Okay, Gibson. Real quick. Go. Gibson. It would probably be McKissick.
Starting point is 00:25:34 Yeah. I think McKissick is one of the better handcuffs you can get in terms of somebody who would definitely have a three-down rule. He's kind of like Hines. I don't know what his rushing volume would be like necessarily, but we saw the way they used them as a receiver last year. I like him this price. I would imagine he'll be a watered down version of what he was last year.
Starting point is 00:25:52 I'm saying if Antonio Gibson's out. Yeah. Yeah. Even if Gibson's out, I think that you'll see him not get the same type of target volume. Just no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
Starting point is 00:26:04 no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, target volume. Just the quarterback change and Samuel being there. How about the Chiefs, Clyde Edwards-Elair? Williams is worth a late-round stash in deeper leagues. He's another guy who I took in the fishbowl because I had
Starting point is 00:26:17 Edwards-Elair. Joe Mixon. I don't know who the guy is. I think it's going to be Jermage Piran. I think so, too. I looked back at that just before we started. And other than Gio, Piran was the only guy that they really let play on third downs and passing downs. And so I think it makes some sense, looking at their depth chart right now,
Starting point is 00:26:38 that he would be the guy who could potentially even play three downs if Mixon is down and they don't sign anybody else. Jacob, did you watch Chris Evans at Michigan? No. potentially even play three downs if Mixon is down and they don't sign anybody else. Jacob, did you watch Chris Evans at Michigan? No. I think Evans could work as a passing downs guy. Okay. Yeah, that's interesting. He's one to watch during training camp if you're really interested.
Starting point is 00:27:03 Remember, the guy who's backing up Joe Mixon isn't as good as Joe Mixon and is still going to play in the same offense behind the same offensive line. And they get the same run of defenses. It won't be pretty. So P. Ryan, if he's the guy, would be somebody that you would take only in the deeper drafts, only in the fishbowl type of leagues. Jamal Williams was great last year when he got to start for Aaron Jones. Now he's on Detroit. Do you consider him a true handcuff, or is there some other running back that you think would get carries while they would keep
Starting point is 00:27:29 Williams maybe in a passing role if Swift got hurt? I would view him as a handcuff plus. I think he's someone that I was talking about earlier that you draft knowing that if you're in a pinch, you can use him and hope that he gets 10 touches and maybe falls into the end zone. But that's going to be even when Swift's healthy. And if Swift isn't healthy,
Starting point is 00:27:46 this is an every-down guy for the Lions. Okay. And then anyone else? We're looking at Chris Carson, David Montgomery, Miles Sanders, Josh Jacobs. You know, the interesting thing is at this point, you probably have another running back on your team who you drafted earlier,
Starting point is 00:28:01 and you're more interested in handcuffing that guy, in all likelihood. That's kind of how it works, but maybe that doesn't mean it should work that way. But would you take Damian Williams, somebody on the... I don't think I'd take anyone like Eagles. Chris, you know, would you take Rashad Penny?
Starting point is 00:28:18 No, we've covered all my guys at this point, I think. Did we talk about A.J. Dillon enough? Because I don't think we did at all, and that's another handcuff plus, I think. I just mentioned him. He's going to be one of my favorite
Starting point is 00:28:34 ones to go and put on your bench. Makes sense. For sure. Some news and notes. Pittsburgh signed pass rusher Melvin Ingram. Hopefully they can get something from him. Aaron Rodgers was offered a two-year contract extension earlier this offseason,
Starting point is 00:28:49 according to Adam Schefter. He obviously did not accept the offer. And Jets, this is tough news, but Jets passing game coordinator Greg Knapp, he's in critical condition after a bike accident. So we are wishing him the best. There are not a lot of news items here other than the Acres stuff, so we will get to Jacob Gibbs' statistics. Hold on.
Starting point is 00:29:10 Before we do that, would you like the list of running backs that Chris Towers put together from 2010 on who have suffered an Achilles injury? Oh, no. I don't think there are that many. You can count the names. Here we go. Lendale White.
Starting point is 00:29:27 Andre Brown. Andre Brown, yeah. Mikel Lashore. I remember loving Mikel Lashore coming out of Illinois. Ernest Graham. Kendall Hunter. Beanie Wells, who's actually a cool dude, but suffered a really vicious injury. Never played again after the injury.
Starting point is 00:29:42 Vic Ballard. Joe McKnight. Arian Foster. I think that was pretty much the end of the run for Foster. Brandon Oliver, speaking of Chargers backup running backs. Deontay Foreman did try a comeback in 2020. I'm not sure if he's even on a roster.
Starting point is 00:29:57 It might be Tennessee. Isaiah Crowell and Marlon Mack. We don't know what's going to happen to Marlon Mack, but after running through all those other names, it's a brutal list. It is a brutal list. They were not great running. Sorry to say it.
Starting point is 00:30:13 They just weren't. They were not stud running backs in the NFL. I think some of them had the chance to be, and others definitely had their moments. Crowell had his moments. Lendell White had his moments. Beanie Wells had his moments. Leshore might moments. Lendell White had his moments. Beanie Wells had his moments.
Starting point is 00:30:27 LeShore might have been. I think you're being kind. Lendell White definitely did. Well, he scored a time. And Arian Foster, for crying out loud. But Arian Foster was one overall big fantasy draft. He was toward the end of his career when he tore his Achilles. I don't think he was. Well, at that point, you know, how good was Arian Foster?
Starting point is 00:30:42 Honestly, I'm asking. I don't remember. But he didn't tear his Achilles in the prime of his career. And what I said on the show with Jamie was that it used to be basically the end of your productivity for basketball players, too, and Kevin Durant's as good as he ever was. And Kevin Durant's not young, either.
Starting point is 00:31:03 And can makers will have plenty of time. Yeah, I'm just hoping that these things are always so, they change so much. Guys get so much better at rehabbing from these injuries. The science gets better. The medicine gets better. So hopefully that's the case here. I don't think any of those names were in the position of Cam Akers,
Starting point is 00:31:24 you know, in terms of youth, opportunity, pedigree. I mean, LeShore was. But no, he wasn't Cam Akers. Was he? He was a popular... He wasn't as high up as Cam Akers, no. Akers was flirting with round one status.
Starting point is 00:31:41 LeShore never did. But LeShore was a popular popular fantasy pick. All right, Jacob. Dazzle us with some some stats. Before you do that, though, why don't you do it? You do it, Jacob.
Starting point is 00:31:54 Go to podcastawards.com slash app slash sign up and make sure we are going to be one of the finalists for the sports category of the People's Choice Podcast Awards. Help us out, everybody. You got to nominate us to advance of the finalists for the sports category of the People's Choice Podcast Awards. Help us out, everybody.
Starting point is 00:32:08 You've got to nominate us to advance to the final round. To nominate Fantasy Football today, go to that link, podcastawards.com slash app slash sign up. Toggle down to the sports category and we've got the link at the top of the episode description. This would be awesome if we could win it, so help us make it happen. We wanted to talk about Clyde
Starting point is 00:32:24 Edwards-Ziller in the passing game, and you're skeptical about his role there, right? Right, yeah, I don't know if these stats are going to dazzle anyone. They might depress them, honestly, or at least they do me as a Chiefs fan. Dude, the more I dig through the data from Clyde's rookie season,
Starting point is 00:32:40 I just keep noticing myself shaking my head. It's just like, the way the Chiefs use him is so disappointing, given all the hype around him when he came in as a first-round pick and how, you know, the way that Mahomes and Reid talked about envisioning him as adding a new element to the passing game. He just didn't play on passing downs, and it doesn't make sense to me, really, given all the data points that we have.
Starting point is 00:33:01 PFF had Darrell Williams graded as a worst pass blocker, and then CEH was clearly more efficient as a receiver but they just didn't play him on passing downs like and it got unlike some rookies where the roles kind of expand throughout the year i thought maybe that was what happened with with clyde you know like he didn't have preseason and so there are some you know reasons why he was kind of eased into it but he wasn't it actually got worse as the year went on um i mean i get that stat at the beginning of the show that he didn't even play a single third down in the final eight games of the season it was the same thing in the uh no he played sorry he played 19 of the third downs he didn't play any of the two minute offense it was the same
Starting point is 00:33:36 thing in the super bowl he didn't play a single third down and i don't know it's just it's going to be really hard for him to you know return what people were expecting last year for sure, or even this year at his ADP if he's an early down only guy. Do you guys think that's going to change in his second year? I think it could. Obviously, we're all rooting for it to change. We remember how he was such a great pass-catching running back at LSU. Obviously, there is something that went down,
Starting point is 00:34:09 and maybe it was the truncated training camp, who knows what it was, that made the coaches say, you know what, we can probably do a little bit better than this. We don't have to put that on his plate this year. It is something that he can, it's something he's proven to do in the past, and it's something that the coaches might allow him to do this year. We just don't have evidence of it. Once we start hearing about Edwards-Alaire's working in the two-minute drill
Starting point is 00:34:32 in training camp when they're in 11-on-11, then that would be interesting to me. Or if there's a drive when the starters are playing in the preseason and he's the running back on the field then, that would me um i i'm hoping that maybe one of those things happen the other thing you can think about is you look at the other running backs on the roster daryl williams is okay as a third down back he can certainly pass protect and you know if they're in a short yardage situation he can get the job done jerick mckinnon is there when mckinnon is right he can be a good third down back we just don't know how often he will be in that position but i i have i i can't i can't tell everybody that it's going to work
Starting point is 00:35:13 out great and edwards ziller is going to catch 50 balls this season yeah there's no evidence that says that it's definitely going to happen and that he's going to play more passing downs and that's just half of the the battle that i deal with jacob the other half that i deal with is is he going to happen and that he's going to play more passing downs and that's just half of the the battle that i deal with jacob the other half that i deal with is is he going to get short yardage and goal line situations just about to bring that up yeah like that like literally the two things that we've learned about high value touches are targets and catches and short yardage goal line work and if you don't have those roles, you better run for 130 yards every week or, you know, total 130 yards anyway, if you're going to help us in this fun game called fantasy football. He was 0 for 4 from one yard to go last year. It was all against
Starting point is 00:35:57 Houston. Didn't score any of them, obviously. He was 1 for 6 from three yards or closer in goal to go. The touchdown was against Vegas. Overall, on downs of three yards or closer in goal to go. The touchdown was against Vegas. Overall, on downs of three yards or closer, wherever they are on the field, he was 17 of 31. So a little better than 50%. That's not really that great. And then my favorite stat to tie onto that was Mahomes had 10 passes inside of the three-yard line. That includes those little pop passes to jet sweeps to Tyree Hill or whoever. Eight touchdowns on those ten passes. And Mahomes was two for two when he
Starting point is 00:36:29 rushed from inside of three yards on touchdown, on goal-to-go carries. Can I give you one more stat? Yeah, sure. Clyde Edwards-Ziller was the only player on the team with more than two carries inside the five. and he had nine
Starting point is 00:36:46 and no and i that surprised me because i i thought tyreek hill would have had more um i thought my homes would have had more but no and and i know that maybe four of them were in week one right maybe three or four were in week one where he couldn't get in the end zone yeah but they didn't. It's not like they had a goal line back. I do think I remember just throughout the season, Darrell Williams getting some short yardage work, but they didn't give it to Darrell Williams to plow it in at the one yard line.
Starting point is 00:37:16 The only guy who really ever got that was Clyde Edwards either. Chad Henney had two. Mahomes had two. Darwin Thompson had one carry from inside the five. And that's it. Darrell Williams had none. Le'Veon Bell had none. Darrell Williams had no goal-to-go carries in 2020. His last goal
Starting point is 00:37:33 line carry was in 2019. That's in the regular season. He might have had one in the playoffs, but he didn't have any in the regular season. Jacob, I'm not sure if you mentioned this, but you noted in an email that Patrick Mah homes hasn't really thrown to his running backs that much he did though in spurts with damian williams down the stretch in 2018 and 2019 but yeah that was worth noting too but where where are you guys comfortable taking clyde
Starting point is 00:38:01 everett dealer he is going 14th overall at running back 20th 19th 20th overall off the board after Antonio Gibson's basically the same ADP as Joe Mixon that's about right I haven't been RB 15 uh just ahead of Dobbins Chris Carson um but yeah I mean there are legitimate concerns here with his passing down involvement that's the main thing for me I think like you noted we we didn't see enough last year to say that he's not going to have the goal line rule. I think he definitely could, and I don't put a ton of stock into, like, success on goal line rushes, especially on such a small sample size.
Starting point is 00:38:35 It's kind of random, I think. But the passing down involvement I'm very, very worried about because we just haven't seen anything that's going to indicate that it'll change. It's just, like, speculation that it, because he's a second-year player. To Jacob's point, the offensive line wasn't exactly great last year. It should be a lot better this year. Yes, it should. And so that might make the coaching staff more confident
Starting point is 00:38:55 in handing off to Edward Dallaire in those goal-to-go situations inside the three. And that would help his stats. I also think his schedule is a little rough to begin the year. He's starting off against Cleveland, Baltimore. The Chargers, I don't know if that's that dangerous of a defense. Philadelphia, after that, I think they're going to have a good run defense. I think Buffalo's run defense can be pretty good. Washington, after that.
Starting point is 00:39:19 It's not an easy schedule for Edwards-Hilaire. I'm comfortable taking him toward the very end of round two. Okay. Let's talk about Robbie Anderson reunited with Sam Darnold, and it feels so not so good. I don't know who sings that song, Jacob, but do you have that album cover on your wall? If anybody's looking at Jacob- I don't. That didn't make the wall. Like a map of the United States and album covers behind him it's pretty cool uh also i'm going to look up who sings that songs i should know uh but anyway yeah what do you want to tell us about robbie anderson and and his role in the passing game yeah so the question is like who's going to take over for curtis samuel who had a big year out of the slot for carolina
Starting point is 00:40:01 last year um and i'm working on my 2021 version of my slot research piece at If You're Sportsline last year, which has showed that slot targets are worth about 10% more PPR points than perimeter targets on average. And so I think this is an important situation, just given that knowledge and how well Samo performed last year. And then how we have seen Sam Donald
Starting point is 00:40:21 have a propensity to target the slot, whether that's due to gaze or not, I'm not entirely sure. But I think whoever is going to play a slot in Carolina is someone we should be interested in. And I think it could be Anderson. The more I've dug into it, Curtis Samuel led the Panthers with 66 targets in the slot, but Robbie actually almost matched him with 54, even though he ran 141 fewer slot routes. And if you're wondering how that math makes any sense, it's because Devonta Adams was the only player who was targeted at a higher rate than Robbie Anderson on slot routes in 2020 his target per route run rate was up from 20.4 percent which is like good it's above average
Starting point is 00:40:58 on you know routes outside the slot all the way to 29 percent when running from the slot and his yards per round was up from 1.7 to 2.3. So I think it makes sense that he could have that role. Do you guys, is that what you're expecting? Are you Terrace Marshall fans, either one of you? Yeah. I like the talent of Marshall. I mean, Marshall played the big slot at LSU,
Starting point is 00:41:19 so it's possible that that is how they will use him. But he did it when Joe Brady wasn't there. Yeah. Which is kind of interesting. not that brady's gonna ignore it just you're only gonna play on the outside right like justin jefferson was there blocking him from that role right yeah 20 20 it's a fair point so brady probably knows he can do it look i it wouldn't surprise me in the least if if the panthers used all those guys in the slot and they didn't have a cooper cup style designated slot receiver you know dj moore has proven to work out of the slot robbie last year did and i think marshall could i think mcafree could and you know that's the sign of a team that can you know keep other defenses off kilters by lining
Starting point is 00:42:02 guys up all over the place. So I don't want that to be the data point that makes me want to draft Robbie or not draft Robbie. Right. No, it's just one of a lot. And then obviously his ADP is the other thing. But yeah, I don't expect him to be the full-time slot receiver, just to be clear. I just think he was much more efficient on those routes. And it stands to reason that he will see at least a 10, 15% increase to the amount of routes that he suffered in the salt last year, if not more. So that just provides a slight bump. Just someone who already saw 134 targets last year. He was eighth among wide receivers and targets.
Starting point is 00:42:34 And there's no real reason why his target share would go down in 2021. Samuel was targeted at a really, really high rate when he was on the field. I don't see any way – I like Marshall as well, but I don't see any way he replicates that target run rate that Samuel had in his first year. I mean, he was never targeted to high rate in college. Obviously, he had a lot of competition there at LSU, but I think we could see 140-plus targets from Anderson this year,
Starting point is 00:42:56 which is crazy for someone being drafted as late as he is. Wide receiver 33 off the board, Robbie Anderson, after Sutton and Chark, before Jerry Judy, Devontae Smith, Tyler Boyd. That's, wow. Before Jerry Judy, Devontae Smith, and Tyler Boyd. Based on what he did last year, it's justifiable because he had so many catches.
Starting point is 00:43:18 But, you know, this is a guy, this is what he does. The first five games of the year, he was the sixth best wide receiver in PPR leagues. The last 11 games of the year, he was the sixth best wide receiver in PPR leagues. The last 11 games of the year, he had 600 yards and two touchdowns. So, on a ton of targets, too. He was 10th in targets per game last year.
Starting point is 00:43:36 Eight and a half per game. To be 10th in targets per game and to finish as wide receiver 28, I think, in PPR, 41 in non-PPR? That's a story, doesn't it? The ceiling is definitely capped
Starting point is 00:43:52 by the offensive environment there, for sure, in terms of touchdowns. I just think if he slides past wide receiver 32 or something, I think he's a really good value. He's not something I'm going way out of my way to get. Would you guys take Devontae Smith, Tyler Boyd, or Robbie Anderson? I'm taking Boyd for sure.
Starting point is 00:44:09 I have him 29, 30, 31. Really? Wow. That's pretty incredible. I have Anderson first, but it's really close. I think you can make a case for any of them. I really like Devontae Smith. I like Smith a lot too. I just can't put him ahead of Robbie
Starting point is 00:44:23 just yet. I think Robbie's a little safer, and I think Boyd's a little safer than Robbie. We're going to take a break here on Fantasy Football today. When we come back, we're talking about Adam Troutman and a replacement for Cole Beasley in Buffalo. If Cole Beasley does not play this year, and he's a guy who had a career year last season, career highs in almost every category, we'll talk about the Bills and the Saints right after this on Fantasy Football
Starting point is 00:44:48 Today. 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
Starting point is 00:45:04 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. Securian Canada, insurance designed for life. It's the season for new styles, and you love to shop for jackets and boots. So when you do, always make sure you get cash back from Rakuten. And it's not just clothing and shoes. You can get cash back from over 750 stores on electronics, holiday travel, home decor, and more.
Starting point is 00:45:36 It's super easy, and before you buy anything, always go to Rakuten first. Join free at rakuten.ca. Start shopping and get your cash back sent to you by check or PayPal. Get the Rakuten app or join at Rakuten.ca. R-A-K-U-T-E-N.ca. Welcome back. Jacob Gibbs joining us from Sportsline. He's got awesome player profiles that you need to check out. Go to Sportsline.com. It's mega affordable. It's like $9.99 a month and it's great gambling advice, great fantasy advice. It pays for itself, especially if you like to gamble.
Starting point is 00:46:11 So tell me about Adam Troutman and Dave's going to join you in the excitement for Adam Troutman. What are you excited about? I'm mostly excited about the fact that he could be on the field a lot for a tight end because because of the the vacated slot targets here in new orleans if he ends up playing the role that we kind of envision um which i think is totally realistic they like to use two tight ends quite a bit um and line them out in the slot wide receiver then he could end up having you know a 70 plus percent snap rate and that's pretty exciting for you know somebody who's in an offense that does have a lot of vacated targets um so between emmanuel sanders jared cook the saints lost 64 of their 115 slot targets um and they might let trey kwan smith be the full-time slot receiver i'm curious if is that what you guys are expecting
Starting point is 00:46:55 he really really struggled last year in that role i think he's going to be their number two receiver to begin camp yeah and i think that's the only guarantee that we can say about Trey Quonsmith. Yeah, I think it's more likely that they'll move Trauman there. I mean, he's a third-round pick who didn't show a lot as a rookie, but he's someone they clearly believe in and he put up great numbers in college. And I think the signing of Nick Vanette
Starting point is 00:47:15 kind of points towards the likelihood as well that he could be their primary slot target. Right. I think Vanette has been used much more as a blocker than a route runner, and his presence should allow travis to split out wide in the slalom more like we saw with jared cook um and then just jared cook he was he was targeted on 20 of his routes from the slot up from 14 on all other routes and his yards per hour run almost doubled it was up 76 on the slot compared to other routes so if we see Traven in that role, I think that is exciting for somebody
Starting point is 00:47:46 who does have some talent as a pass catcher and is on a team that needs somebody to step up as a complementary playmaker. So he's not somebody I'm reaching for super heavily, but I think he is someone to keep in mind. You're real high on him, Dave. How high do you have him in your – He's top 12. – your tight end rankings.
Starting point is 00:48:02 I'm curious. Top 12. Wow. He's top 12. I'm ready to take him and begin the season with him as my starter, even though he's got a really tough schedule to begin the season. He's got Green Bay in week one, for example, and definitely doesn't have the experience that you'd like to see.
Starting point is 00:48:16 But he's got a huge opportunity, and he's a huge player. He is a big dude out there. He's tough to take down. A weird thing stood out to me when I was watching his film. He looked faster and more fluid before he caught the football. So, like, when he ran his routes, I thought he did a great job. I think he cut quickly. I think he was able to gain some separation that way.
Starting point is 00:48:40 But then once he had the ball in his hands, he wasn't quite as fast. And I wonder if there was just too much thinking going on there. Maybe he was a little nervous about it all and just really focused on holding onto the football and not necessarily trying to make a big play after the catch. I wonder if in time he'll be able to marry that together where he moves so well before the catch and then does so again after the catch. I also think that this is an offense that he's familiar with, and he played tight end in a very West Coast style of offense. I talked to his offensive coordinator at Dayton. He compared the offense that they ran at Dayton to what the Rams run, and the Saints offense isn't too terribly far off from that. I think that there is a chance here for Troutman to be a rags-to-riches story
Starting point is 00:49:28 at tight end. If I find myself on draft day, honestly, I'm kind of looking for Troutman no matter what, whether I take a tight end early or not. But especially if I don't take a tight end early and I'm resigned to the fact of taking two tight ends after round seven, he'll be in the mix. He won't be a round eight pick. He probably won't be a round nine pick for me either. Round ten is when I'm looking for Troutman. Let's go fishing
Starting point is 00:49:50 for a stud tight end. There you go. And then finally, we'll talk about the Buffalo Bills who had one of the best pass offenses in the NFL and only one top 24 wide receiver to show for it. It was the Stefan Diggs show for sure. But you think, Jacob, that maybe Emmanuel Sanders could have some value and really nobody's drafting Emmanuel Sanders.
Starting point is 00:50:10 Yeah, nobody wants to draft Emmanuel Sanders. I can't blame him. He's 34 years old. But if Cole Beasley doesn't play, which who knows, I don't even want to speculate on that situation, but he is leaving a lot of vacated volume if he doesn't play he had 948 yards from the slot last year which is more than any player in the past five seasons uh the bills scored the third most ppr points from the slot and if him and john brown are both not there and only replaced by emmanuel sanders um i think he's someone that is going to have enough volume and has actually been decently efficient surprisingly efficient i think over the past couple of years, I think he might end up being relevant and he's being drafted outside the top
Starting point is 00:50:49 70 wide receivers. So I don't know if people are thinking about that much, but before I kind of get into some of the efficiency stats with Sanders, are you guys, are either of your Gabriel Davis truthers, is that who you would expect to step up here? Nope. I think Davis will see an increase in playing time and targets overall i just think he offers something different than what sanders can do honestly i think sanders was signed not to replace anybody but to be kind of like an easy veteran presence an easy short area target and a guy who could back up all three positions in buffalo and now it's just turning out where
Starting point is 00:51:21 um you know cole beasley there might be some availability concerns for the Bills, and they could turn to Emmanuel Sanders and say, you've played in the slot before. You were great at it. We need you to do it. Can you step in? Yeah, sure, I can step in. And then they make the move to get away from Beasley,
Starting point is 00:51:40 and Sanders takes that role. It's absolutely in play. Sanders was pretty good last year when Michael Thomas was out. And if you want to get a little bit more specific, no, it was the same thing. I was going to say when Michael Thomas was out and Drew Brees was playing, but there were no games that Michael Thomas
Starting point is 00:51:56 was out and Brees wasn't. Yeah, and Brees was also out. Never mind. So yeah, no, when Michael Thomas was out, Emmanuel Sanders was pretty solid last year. Definitely a guy that was must-roster and not quite must-start, but he was good. And Beasley, like I said, career season there. I like the upside of Gabriel Davis.
Starting point is 00:52:17 I don't think Emmanuel Sanders has a lot of upside. Yeah, I think that's fair. I just think... Right now, though, if we're drafting, I do think Cole Beasley is... If he plays, I don that's fair. Yeah. I just think... Right now, though, if we're drafting, I do think Cole Beasley is... If he plays, I don't know if... Let me just check his ADP. But he's been, I think, pretty disrespected.
Starting point is 00:52:34 Yeah, he's clearly a value if he plays. Wide receiver 61. Yeah. I mean, no one wants to draft Cole Beasley, I think. Could be. Is the issue there. But yeah, he's definitely underdrafted to that. Who had more games
Starting point is 00:52:47 with 10 PPR points last year? And they were in different offenses, of course. Beasley or Sanders? Oh, Beasley. I would have to think Beasley, right? Beasley had 10. Sanders had 9.
Starting point is 00:52:58 Wow. But Sanders played in 14 games. Beasley played in 15 games. Oh. Beasley also left another game a little early. Beasley, Dave, in seven Beasley also left another game a little early. Beasley, Dave, in seven games. Honestly, I look at both of them as solid bench guys in PPR only.
Starting point is 00:53:13 In seven games without John Brown, this is going to knock your socks off. What if we're not wearing socks? That's gross. Beasley was on pace for 101 catches, 1,120 yards, and a whopping two touchdowns on 133 targets. But still, 1,100 plus yards and 101 catches. That was his pace without John Brown.
Starting point is 00:53:40 All right, good stuff there. Do we have time for emails? Yeah, let's fire through a few quick emails here uh starting with one from our friend brando but brando you should know you and everyone else should know that oh oh that peaches and herb sing reunited and now i don't feel bad for not knowing that never heard of them all right Brando has a keeper question. And he had second place last year, so he's drafting
Starting point is 00:54:10 11th. It's PPR, three receivers, and it is a super flex league. So he can keep three. Patrick Mahomes in the seventh round, yes. Yes. Travis Kelsey in the third.
Starting point is 00:54:26 Yes. Easy now, easy. McLaurin in the 15th. Yes. Okay, but so now I think Holmes and McLaurin are the top two keepers, right? Yeah. If you can keep McLaurin at that value for several more years, then yeah. If it's like a one-year deal thing, then probably still yeah.
Starting point is 00:54:47 Yeah, still can. All right, so then you can choose one more. Kelsey in the third, Swift in the 11th, or Lamb in the ninth? Kelsey. I think it's Kelsey. But again, if it's a long-term thing and you can keep these players for their whole careers at these cheap values, you've got to give Swift some serious
Starting point is 00:55:05 consideration. Question here from Josh Alvarez. Is it possible that a person could draft a really great team picking just the best available players due to everyone else doing their research and making players either rise or drop in ADP with all the mocks and early drafts? Sure.
Starting point is 00:55:22 Best available player. I have a couple of friends who do that where they they actually build a starting lineup before they add any depth at any position is that is that best available player though to a degree it's not exactly best available player but if you're doing best available player what happens when the best available player is a quarterback in round four and in round six yeah now that that makes sense of filling out your right but within filling out your starting lineup you're not taking your second running back before your third receiver if you have your third receiver higher in your overall rankings
Starting point is 00:55:55 you're just taking the best available player i've sort of gravitated to that to be quite honest with you you know that's an easy thing to do in the later rounds. You almost ignore a position and need. You don't really have many needs when you're in the late rounds anyway. But this is how I've ended up with some drafts where I have two quarterbacks and two tight ends.
Starting point is 00:56:18 And in a very few times, but I've done it, I've had three quarterbacks. Just because I've gotten ridiculous values in round 10, round 11, round 12. Can't pass them up. But we're never going to be the guys who take, well, I shouldn't say never, Miles Gaskin ahead of Chris Godwin or something like that or CeeDee Lamb. I wouldn't.
Starting point is 00:56:41 Jacob, I don't think you would either. I'm a big Miles Gaskin fan, but no. Oh, you are? Okay, okay. Yeah, and that's the thing. People are like, well, I'm running out of running backs here. I'm going to take this guy, even though he could be a total bust. He's got so much downside because he's a running back.
Starting point is 00:56:57 We don't do that. We'll take that wide receiver instead. Well, given those wide receivers, yes. Well, I think that's... It's not really ADP because Gaskin's going later, but that's how it works out in our drafts. Right. What if it's Gaskin versus Galladay and Juju or something like that?
Starting point is 00:57:14 Yeah. More reasonable there. I was really looking at the drafts that we do. Gaskin always seems to be a fourth round pick, I think, but not in ADP. All right. Next question is from AJ in a city on the Ohio. On the Ohio.
Starting point is 00:57:33 Why don't you just look at the map behind Jacob? I think Ohio River's in Southern Ohio, right? Yeah, Apex. I'll say it's Cincinnati, even though there's a chance
Starting point is 00:57:49 that it's not on the Ohio River. All right, dear Arnold, Doug, Ren, and Rocco. Arnold, Doug, Ren, and Rocco. Jacob, how about you rank those Nickelodeon characters? Dang, I don't remember. Other than Arnold, I don't even remember the other three. Ren? Come on, Ren and Stimpy? You never saw Ren and Stimpy? No.
Starting point is 00:58:09 Sorry to let you down there. Alright, don't worry about it. Between Trey Sermon and Michael Carter, who do you like better in Redraft Leagues? Carter. PPR, by the way. Still Carter. Full PPR? Yeah, Carter definitely benefits from that i'm really
Starting point is 00:58:28 excited for sermon i think he's a really great fit with them um there's a lot of data points from his college profile that indicate that he could be really successful in this system but yeah i have sermon one spot ahead wow oh wow yeah that's tough i think there's more upside with him but carter like could potentially play a three-down roll if anything were to happen to coleman oh yeah tevin coleman something could happen to him is that right if you have a question honestly that's it they're really tough they are tough and people are definitely going to be hesitant to take jets i really like carter's talent i think the only thing he can't do really well is pass block,
Starting point is 00:59:06 and I think that he'll be able to work around that in the offense and that they'll find ways to get him the football, and I think he's better than the other running backs on the roster. Sermon's in a great spot. There's no doubt about it, but I think Kyle Shanahan just likes to use multiple running backs and maybe squeamish to give a rookie a ton of work right away. Sermon's someone I i like but i get nervous drafting him a little too soon i'd rather hope to get him at a value but i
Starting point is 00:59:33 probably won't carter i'm comfortable taking like round seven early round seven i feel fine with it you have 30 seconds to answer this cincinnati is on the Ohio River, by the way. Jared Cook, why didn't we discuss him in our tight end tiers? Will he not be the clear number one tight end on the Chargers this year? How do you view Jared Cook this year? Jacob, 30 seconds, go. I think Jared Cook is a little bit slept on. I think he's going to play from the slot a little bit like Hunter Henry did. He's somebody who is just at the very end of a tier of guys like him
Starting point is 01:00:05 that involve Troutman, Cole Komet, those type of Blake Jarwin, Gerald Everett guys. He just is not quite as exciting as the rest of those guys to me. But I think he's a little bit slept on. I think part of the reason why he did so well in New Orleans was because of Drew Brees targeting him far downfield, and I don't know how much that's going to happen in L.A. Four of his last five games last year, 11-plus PPR points.
Starting point is 01:00:27 That's cool. I think he's going to be a little worse than that, if not a lot worse than that with the Chargers. You know, you should have done like a Facebook or social network. 11 or more PPR points. That's cool. You know what's really cool? 11 billion or more PPR fantasy points in four of his last five games.
Starting point is 01:00:44 He'll be a league winner if he scores you 11 billion PPR points. That's Jacob Gibbs. Thanks for joining us, man. Yeah. Thanks for having me. Always fun. You'll hear more from Jacob throughout the season and throughout the off
Starting point is 01:00:54 season, getting you ready for drafts. He has the best stats and Dave Richard, as you know, wearing a college shirt. Very cool. I'm Adam. No socks though.
Starting point is 01:01:02 We'll talk to you tomorrow on Fantasy Football Today.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.