Fantasy Football Today - NFL Schedule Reaction! Best and Worst Early Schedules and More (05/12 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: May 13, 2021

We react to the release of the NFL schedule by highlighting the players and teams with the best and worst matchups, mostly early in the season. Should you be concerned about Cam Akers and Josh Jacobs? Should you be excited for Jalen Hurts? Any playoff matchups worth spotlighting? We also read your emails (24:42)! '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/channel/UCviK78rIWXhZdFzJ1Woi7Fg/videos Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/ Sign up for the FFT newsletter https://www.cbssports.com/newsletter You can listen to Fantasy Football Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast." To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ 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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Touchdown. Oh, he's done it again. Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, Heath, and Beck. The NFL schedule is out. The Bears don't play any consecutive home games or road games this year. It's home away, home away. I mean, we should spend the whole time talking about that. That's so weird.

But we have others. Oh, and also the Raiders are on Monday Night Football in week one for the third time in four seasons. This is what I'm looking at when I look at the schedule, but also plenty of fantasy analysis. Like last year, I talked about the players

who had the hardest cornerback matchups like DK Metcalf and Stefan Diggs. So that stuff's really important right now. Adam Azer, Jamie Eisenberg, and Dave Richard on 945 PM on Wednesday night, late night podcasting here. Dave,

how important is the schedule release for you in terms of fantasy? This is what can provide some tiebreakers for you during the draft where you might be comparing player A and player B and you go and you look at the schedule and player A's got a great schedule and player B not so much. Well, that might lean you toward taking player A. Jamie B, and you go and you look at the schedule, and player A's got a great schedule, and player B, not so much.

Well, that might lean you toward taking player A. Jamie, what do you think? I think that the Broncos' DST has got a great three-game stretch to start the season. I think that the 49ers have a great opener and a great championship matchup if you're looking at it from offense and defense. They get the Lions in Week 1 and the Texans in Week 17, so that could be really good if you're looking at it from offense and defense. They get the Lions in week one and the Texans in week 17. So that could be really good if you're looking at some 49ers.

Those were two things that stood out to me. Okay, yeah. I don't know how much, how into it you guys have gotten. I'm wondering if there's a player that just has a brutal start to the season or an incredible start to the season. I don't love... I think...

Hey, ready for my big prediction? Schedule prediction? Mac Jones starting week five. The Patriots start with the Dolphins, then they're at the Jets, then the Saints and the Bucs. They go in one and three. They're going to look pretty bad against the Dolphins, the Saints, and the Bucs.

Their favorite against Miami, though. They're going to lose. Week five is at Houston. And even if they win, it won't be because Cam Newton was so good. Week 5 at Houston. Week 6, Dallas. Week 7, the Jets. Beautiful time.

Get your rookie quarterback in there. So, yeah, they have a tough start. Cam Akers has the Bears, Colts, and Bucks in the first three weeks. I hope he gets off to a good start. I hope we don't have to worry about him fending off Daryl Henderson or anything like that. Anything stand out to you, Dave?

I've got a lot of things that stand out to me. I don't know how deep into the weeds you want me to get, but the first thing that seemed weird to me is that there are four teams with a week 14 by. I don't think we've ever said that before. There's teams that are going to play for the first 13 weeks of the season. Remember, we're moving to an 18

game slate, but the Colts, the Dolphins, the Patriots, the Eagles, if you're lazy like me, get a kicker or a DST off of one of those teams. Then you don't have to chase them out of your lineup until week 14. And by then, your fantasy team might be so dominant that you won't even care. You'll just put them in your lineup on a bye, and you'll deal with it later. You'll win anyway. Or your team will be out of it, and you won't care and uh you'll cut them at some point or do whatever but i thought that was interesting haven't seen a week 14 buy before you said cam acres has a tough early season

schedule i agree with you that's one of those tiebreakers that i think works against him deandre swift just has a tough schedule in general but i think it's also difficult at the very beginning hopefully he can rack up a lot of receptions, but if you want to talk about tough schedules to start the year, the Eagles, the bucks, the giants and the football team, those are the first four games for Atlanta.

So for a team that didn't do a whole heck of a lot to get their, their run game improved, it's kind of a good thing. I think this is a tough start for Mike Davis. I would, I would struggle to say that he's going to have three good games out of those four he might have they have what's their first four it's philadelphia at home which that's probably his best matchup then he's at tampa bay

who at the giants this is where you go on for about two minutes they lost a very important piece of their run defense but i still have a one. But they still have a lot of good players up front. And then Washington, who, you know, they're up there with one of the best front sevens in football. So I'm nervous about Mike Davis probably not going to be as interested in drafting him at this point. And the Falcons in general kind of got the old Scroogey. They only have seven games at home. One of their home games is in London, and the NFC only has eight home games this year,

so only seven home games for the Falcons. Seven home games, nine road games, one neutral game. Yeah, it might as well be a road game. Jamie, how do you like a team whose first four opponents are the Raiders, Chiefs, Lions, and Broncos? Pretty good. Raiders, Chiefs, Lions, and Broncos. That would be the Baltimore Ravens

starting with them. Those first three games especially, but even that fourth game against Denver, I think the Broncos' pass defense is going to be great. But I don't know if their run defense is going to be equal to the task. I thought today that Lamar Jackson's highest passing totals

each of the last two seasons have come in week one. Oh, that's interesting. He also doesn't have, I looked at his two regular season games against the Chiefs. They weren't very good. So you think a high-scoring game

would be good for him? I still think it is, but history, recent, small sample size history hasn't been good. So you think a high-scoring game would be good for him? I still think it is, but history, recent small sample size history hasn't been good. Jamie, any players that you noticed tough or easy? Anything like that? And let me just say, we're doing

this kind of reactionary. I haven't even seen all of the schedules. I'm just seeing them as we have this live blog on CBSSports.com and they're updating it. I've seen most, I haven't seen everyone. So I I'm putting you on the spot a little bit as we wanted to get out ahead of it and have some fun with it. And I know it's not to be all end all and defenses are what they, what we expect them to be a lot of injuries and a lot of turnover. So just with that being said, just having fun with it. Is there anything that stood out to you? I mean, you know, the one thing that we did have time to digest is week one um you know and so i'm looking at week one because the schedules came out

this morning i thought it was cool that each of the networks uh were able to broadcast their schedules so cbs to theirs fox to theirs uh abc did the monday night schedule um i i think you know if you're looking just from a week one standpoint uh trevor lawrence is definitely interesting um you know from a streaming standpoint gets the texans in week one standpoint, Trevor Lawrence is definitely interesting. You know, from a streaming standpoint, gets the Texans in week one, you're going to hear a lot from us throughout the course of the season about playing against Texans. That's going to be a bad defense. And if they don't have Deshaun Watson, which clearly feels like they're not going to the other side of that,

you know, the Texans would have been interesting if Watson was playing or if Watson does play for the Texans, but cause Jacksonville defense is not going to be great, but there's some great week one matchups. You know, I think they've sort of highlighted one of the teams, but Atlanta-Philly should be fun, that week one game. You know, that's one where you're going to probably see a big over-under total, and I would say take the over.

I also think that Minnesota-Cincinnati is going to be a fun one in week one. You know, that's a defense for the Vikings that's rebuilding and, you know, should be better than where a year ago. But that offense is going to be a fun one in week one. That's a defense for the Vikings that's rebuilding and should be better than where a year ago. But that offense is going to be fun. And you have some tie-ins there with Justin Jefferson on one side and then the two other guys for the LSU offense on the other side with Jamar Chase and Joe Burrow. So it should be a fun one there.

Those are a couple games that stood out to me. But for the most part, I like to look at week one. You know, I get a little bit into what the championship playoff schedules can be for teams. For DSTs, you know, you try to look for the first couple of weeks. Like I said, the 49ers were a team that was already a top five DST for me. But just looking at their week one matchup against Detroit and that rebuilding offense, especially quarterback that they know really well in Jared Goff. And if they're healthy as expected, they could be

a really good team to start the season. Then again, if you're looking at the close, getting the Texans in Week 17 could be really good for that team. I noticed the Bengals, they have some pretty good pass rushers coming their way. The Vikings with Hunter, the Steelers in Week 2, the Packers

in Week 3. We can overlook Khalil Mack in Week 2. Oh, Khalil Mack's in week two. I'm sorry. I read the schedule wrong. I thought he was in week four. Okay, so it goes Vikings, Bears, then Steelers, then Jaguars, then Packers, I believe.

That's their first five games. They got some good pass rushers coming their way. I was about to get to Khalil Mack, but he's actually in week two. All right. What defenses scare you, Dave? Which are the ones that you think are going to be bad for fantasy? Bad for fantasy offenses? We haven't... Which ones

are going to be bad for fantasy offenses? Bad matchups. Sorry. I thought you were asking me what DSTs might I have downgraded because of the schedule. No, no. Which teams when you say, uh-oh, they have this opponent, that's not good. The Rams certainly stand out. The Bucs stand out. Washington certainly stands out. I think

Denver, given... I know that their run defense might not be amazing, but it should still be good. Their pass rush should be very good. Their secondary is deep. We were already talking about Denver as a DST to target. Their first three games, they get Daniel Jones and then two rookie quarterbacks. Yeah, that's a great one. So it's a, it's a real good situation.

Now two of them are on the road to start the season. So obviously not ideal, but you know, they, they should be fine for week one going into New York and then going into Jacksonville, you know, hopefully Trevor Lawrence plays well in week one, but for week two, that's a tough matchup. And then they get the jets in week three. So it's, you know, Daniel Jones, Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, three straight games.

And then they get Baltimore week four. But at that point you should feel pretty good about the Broncos DST. And I'm not ready to, to fully say that these defenses are going to be like, you know, stay away from these DSTs or just stay away from these defenses for the matchups. But there's an ABC that I think could be tougher than we think. Arizona, Buffalo, and Cleveland, and especially in Buffalo,

take a look at what they have on that D-line and what types of different packages they can put together to rush quarterbacks. They are deep on that D-line. They've had a good secondary playing a good scheme for a long time and good linebackers to go with it. That could be a defense that ends up wreaking havoc during the year. Cleveland's interesting because obviously they get Kansas City in week one, which is not ideal. But then they come back week two and week three and they get Houston to Chicago.

And so we know Houston could be miserable. And then Chicago is a wild card because it could be Andy Dalton, which we hope it's not. But it could be Justin Fields, obviously, you know, maybe that's his first start for all we know. No. So even if he's starting this to open the season, you're still talking about rookie quarterback.

So the Browns DST is probably going to be one that might not get drafted because of their week one matchup, but they will be right after. I think they could have a great defense this year. And that's the thing. I think so too. Maybe the Steelers take a step back. They've lost a number of starters.

Sure, but Dupree being the biggest one. Right, but I feel like they'll still be good. Until they have a bad defense, I'm not going to think they're not going to have a good defense. Anytime you have one of the premier pass rushers, you have a shot to begin with. So when you have TJ Watt, and then clearly they still have great linebackers.

They're getting Devin Bush back. Good D linemen too. And the secondary is still going to be very good. So yeah, I think the Steelers are still going to be one of the top DSTs, but that's another one. You know, week one at Buffalo, that's not going to be an easy matchup for them because of what the Bills present offensively

and the challenge that they have. So there's going to be some interesting DSTs that I think get dropped after week one or might not even get drafted you know for people that are looking at the schedule but um you know like for example the colts i mean look what they're starting yeah the first two games are seattle and the rams um you know that's not easy you know for what those offensive present but uh we saw last year that the colts dst was was fantastic and could still be fantastic again jamie they've've got Seattle and the Rams, and then they've got the Titans and the Dolphins.

So maybe that Dolphins game, they'll be ready to roll by then, but they'll have their hands full with the Titans too in week three. Yeah, yeah. You never know with Tennessee, especially with what they lost, how efficient they'll still be.

But it's going to be Derrick Henry and A.J. Brown that's not easy to beat. So you're right. Well, I'm trying to see the NFC North. The point I was going to make is the AFC North, sorry, with Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Cleveland. That's not a division you want to get matched up with, and that is the...

And this, I think, is interesting. The AFC West faces the AFC North and the NFC East. So if you think the Giants and the football team have good defenses, and I think they do, then that's a lot of good defenses. It's kind of interesting for Justin Herbert. He has some pretty tough matchups. He has some pretty easy matchups, too. You get Dallas,

you get Cincinnati, the Raiders. I don't think he's got that great of a schedule. No, he gets Cleveland, Pittsburgh, the Giants, the Patriots, the Ravens, and Washington. All of those teams were top eight against quarterbacks last year and fantasy points allowed except for Cleveland. And we think they're going to be much better.

He also gets Kansas City twice. And Kansas City was a pretty good defense last year. And the Eagles are kind of on the fence. But he does get Dallas, Cincinnati, Houston, Denver twice. And the Raiders twice. Although Dave, you said the Denver is a tough defense.

Denver is going to be a defense that gives Kansas city some fits because they can go deep in their secondary. This is where you hope, you know, the chiefs, obviously with what they've done on their offensive line, the chargers, what they've done on their offensive line,

that these are where those moves help, you know, offset some of those great defenses and that's the hope you know because as good as those secondaries are you know these those playmakers would still get open if the quarterback has time to find them and that's the hope so um you know you got to hope so at this point that great players signed through and and and we've said this you know time and time again you know go back to last year we were talking about Deshaun Watson's first four games. And just the way that it was supposed to unfold for him. I believe three of them were very impressive performances from, if I recall.

So it could still be a good... Oh, wait, the first three? No, Deshaun Watson? No, his first four games were 22, 16, 20, and 24. Yeah, and then he went off. But that's a good call of someone that we said. I can think of two instances where we knew the schedule was going to be a certain way. And Watson was one of them.

He said, get through the first three weeks. Then he's going to be amazing. The three were okay. One was terrible. Todd Gurley had a great schedule. And then we were like, sell high after the Carolina game, whatever it was. And he was terrible after the schedule got a little bit tougher. So you can get some nuggets.

I just also know, you know, I have to say that there have definitely been times where I've looked at players and been like, whoa, their schedule is brutal. And it hasn't mattered at all. So I'm not even going to make that big of a deal of it. But I do think what we said about the AFC North having good defenses, the NFC East with Washington and the Giants, and I really think the Chargers should be, obviously, a much better defense this year.

They were so injured last year. The Chiefs are solid. Denver, you talked about. How about the Raiders? I mean, do the Raiders have a really bad fantasy schedule? Yeah. And their defense is ugly, too. Yeah, that's one to keep

an eye on. I mean, it's just another strike against Josh Jacobs, for sure. Tough matchups, and the defense is probably not going to stop anybody. I mean, Derek Carr, just look at this, because we don't know yet if Miami's pass rush is going to be good, based on the moves that they made this offseason.

But Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Miami, after the Dolphins, then you got Joey Bosa, Khalil Mack. Yeah, and Chubb. What happened to their offensive line? What did they do to it? Oh, yeah, that's right. They dismantled it. Yeah.

Does it scare you off Waller at all? No, I think that helps Waller. Does it scare you off Waller at all? No, I think that helps Waller. Does it scare you off John Brown? Because this is actually making me think that John Brown, Ravens, Steelers, Dolphins, Chargers, Bears, Broncos, first six games. Should I? Because I kind of like John Brown.

When you say scare you off John Brown, he's being drafted as a fourth receiver. Right. Yeah. Especially like where you're getting him. Like, I don't think you should be scared of john brown like you should almost welcome john brown because if he gets if he does anything through those first four games when you're not starting him because he's going to be on your bench then when he gets to a little bit of a lighter schedule

you feel a little better about it yeah that's true okay yeah i like john brown i mean i liked agalor a lot last year i think he's a better player than agalor so maybe maybe rug steps up but it's not hard to make a case for, for John Brown, I think. Um, all right guys, I'll throw it over to you, Dave, anything else? Sure. Um, there are some teams that are some players that I would say have a good or early schedule and you guys can check me on it if you want, but I think the schedule is good for Cleveland and they're passing him to begin the year. Baker could be someone that you stream.

Odell could be someone that you eventually sell high on if he gets off to a good start. Same thing with Philadelphia. Jalen Hurts, and then he's got Devontae Smith, and Dallas Goddard, and Jalen Rager. We think that that could be good. Give us some of the matchups. Give us some of the matchups.

You want to see the matchups? Not all of them. Give me the first four for these teams. All right, I got that. So the Cleveland Browns start the season with Kansas City. Should be a high-scoring game that's in Kansas City. Then it's Houston at home, Chicago at home. Remember, Chicago's

defense is Khalil Mack and then there are some good players elsewhere in that defense, but I think that they take a step back this year. Then at Minnesota, I don't know what that Vikings defense is going to look like. I think that that's a nice start for Cleveland. I think Philadelphia, let me get to look like. So I think that that's a nice start for Cleveland. And I think Philadelphia, let me get to their schedule.

They've got Atlanta in week one. We know that that's going to be a high-scoring game. Well, but remember, Atlanta's defense got pretty solid after they fired Dan Quinn. I know. But if you go and look at their defense now, it looks brutal. I don't know where their pass rush is going to come from. I think their two starting linebackers gave up a total of 25 missed tackles

last year. Secondary still has a lot of inexperience. The safeties got changed out. I think that that's a defense that could be ripe. I think Philadelphia can take advantage. San Francisco secondary, that's a question mark at Dallas in week three and then Kansas City in week four. So I think that Philadelphia's offense could get off to a good start. I think on the other end of the spectrum,

you've got, we already talked about Cam Anderson. Just another good one for me is Carolina. I mean, I like their start as well. You got the Jets, you got Norm. They're on my list. Their secondary is going through a little bit of a change. Houston, week three. Dallas, week four.

Philly, week five. I mean, that's a team that if Sam Darnold, you would expect, has something to play for in week one, taking on this former team, that with all the weapons that they have now, healthy, obviously McCaffrey being back and Terrace Marshall stepping into Curtis Samuel know, Curtis Samuel's spot, not necessarily role, but spot. That's a team that you can look at and say that could be, you know, some, some high scoring games and some good production from their top guys. I agree with that.

I would take a long look at the Cardinals schedule, overlook the games against the Rams. And I think that you'll, you'll like it. I think it's a good early season schedule for them. I think it's kind of brutal though. If we're counting, but 4-5-6 is kind of brutal, though, if we're counting on the 49ers defense to be healthy and the Browns defense to be good because it goes Rams, 49ers, Browns.

I'm not sure. I think they can work around. I agree on the Browns. I think the 49ers, I think the jury's still out on whether their defensive backfield's going to be good. Agree, but again, you have a pass rush and that changes things. Nick Bosa back is going to change that defense Agreed. But again, you have a pass rush and that changes things. Nick Bosa back is going to change

that defense in a big, big way. I hope so for their sake, but the Cardinals did improve their offensive line as well. Even with that three-game nightmare, I think that they're still in good shape. They still could have as many games that are really favorable.

Nobody's passing on Kyler Murray or DeAndre Hopkins because of the schedule. And then dial up the Cowboys schedule i know week one's tough but one weeks two through 12 if the charges are healthy though that's that's a wild card because their chart their defense could be awesome yeah yeah so who's week one for the cowboys uh they get the bucks right yeah they get the bucks that's the first game of the year in game. Yeah, Chargers, again, it's a wild card, but that's back-to-back road games. It's never easy. And then Philly Carolina, the Giants, and then the tough one against Patriots.

Yeah, I think that passing game could really help fantasy managers. It's a nice little perk to Dak and everybody else. Gallup could be a DFS guy. I mean, I think the one thing, though, that we're... I don't think anybody's changing their opinion

on how they're drafting the Cowboys, though, you know, based on what they're doing. No, but I will point out that Amari Cooper does have a little bit of a history of being pretty bad against great cornerbacks, and that was somebody that I did highlight last year as having tough cornerback matchups, and it's hard to say how that played out

just because of the whole Dak thing. But in week one, he played the Rams. I think he had 80 yards or something like that, but he has something like 14 targets. So he had 10 catches for 81 yards at the Rams. I mean, that's not really that good. And then he had two catches. I would take that

in PPR. I know, but it's okay, but it's really not a great game. You get that many targets. I agree. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But yes, it is great in PPR. And look, they're just going to throw the's really not a great game. You get that many targets. I agree. But yes, it is great in PPR, and look, they're just going to throw the ball, they're just going to sling it a whole bunch and have a terrible defense, and it probably won't matter because the targets will be there, but Cooper is a guy who has struggled against top cornerbacks, and he struggled

badly against the Giants and the Eagles last year, but really very little of that was with Dak. I just wonder, though, if C.D. Lamb is as good as he seemed to be last year, but really very little of that was with Dak. I just wonder though, if C.D. Lamb is as good as he seemed to be last year, they're probably not traveling with a corner on Amari Cooper, whoever they're facing that

corner. Yeah, that's a good call. Oh, but Lamb's in the slot, right? So if you had an outside corner... Well, they moved Cooper in the slot too. I mean, they moved those guys around. Okay. Yeah, sorry, there was one other team I wanted to get to. Oh, the Dolphins. You know, this is just kind of interesting because...

Their first two games suck. Yeah, they got New England, Buffalo. Then they get Las Vegas. Then Indianapolis and Tampa Bay. I mean, what if they're 1-4? And Jacksonville and London. Yeah, but that's like a really tough start to their season. I don't know.

It's not like they're going to bench Tua. Why? They've done it before. Yeah, for who? Jacoby Brissett, maybe. He started before. It's not like he's not a starting quarterback. Maybe they bench Miles Gaskin for Jacoby Brissett. Short yardage. But yeah, New England, Buffalo, Las Vegas, Indianapolis, Tampa Bay. There's some

four good defenses in that stretch. That's pretty much all I got. Unfortunately for Tennessee, Tennessee faces Houston in Week 18. So, yeah, they lose the Houston matchup in the fantasy season. Yeah, Cleveland loses Cincinnati. One more thing. Philadelphia, fantasy postseason if it's Weeks 15, 16, 17. This is a great call.

Washington twice and the Giants for Philadelphia. Cowboys have Washington twice late in the year, too. Oh. It's like Washington's going to be pretty busy in the division late in the season. Just remember, though, when you're talking about the fantasy postseason, this is going to be a grind. It's really going to be a long year for these guys. And so, you know, it's going to be who's healthy at that point, you know?

So, just I wouldn't necessarily, you know, draft for the postseason or avoid for the postseason because who knows what these teams are going to look like. And remember, if a team has playoff implications or the other side where they don't have playoff, they could be resting guys. So you could see a little bit more of two games of guys maybe playing the half or not necessarily going full go because they're getting ready for the playoffs. They want to make sure they're healthy. Generally speaking, I wonder if players will sit more with an injury that they could theoretically play through in a 17 game season compared to a 16 game season. I know it's only one game, but you know,, but each game is slightly less important, and the season's longer,

and you've got to get through it. Do teams play a little? There's no way we can know the answer to this, but do teams play a little more conservatively? Well, it's also the new playoff format from last year, too. Only one team gets a bye. So they could be going a little harder to make sure that they get the bye,

if it's up for grabs, or if they know they don't have a bye, you know, does the two seed matter versus the three or however they want to play that out. All right. I'm going to read some emails here just because we haven't had a time to get to those in the other episodes this week. And tomorrow we're doing a, well, you'll probably, you might hear this on Thursday anyway. So Thursday we're doing a mock draft review. So let's do these emails really quickly here. Email from Jim in Michigan. Why isn't anyone considering this as a realistic real-world trade? How about Aaron Rodgers straight up for Kyler Murray? Or maybe there will be some draft pick compensation,

but less draft pick compensation needed, less current players needed. We are living in a fantasy world. How great would it be to watch Aaron Rodgers run that offense? Why would Arizona do that? Right. Take on that salary when Kyler's still under his rookie deal. He's 37. Kyler's what, 23?

Something like that, right? 22? I mean, that just doesn't make any sense. Obviously, Aaron Rodgers makes him a better team right now, but you have to think about what the long-term future is. And the long-term future is Kyler Murray. It's not Aaron Rodgers. So it's not a team job. Plus, that offense was built for Kyler.

There's no way that the Cardinals would do that. I want to read what Jason Lockenforer wrote. He wrote an article that came out, I saw it today, about the NFL quarterback tiers. He does his own quarterback tiers. Tier 3 is the rising stars, and it's Kyler Murray, Trevor Lawrence, and Joe Burrow.

This is what he wrote about Kyler Murray. He wrote, Kyler Murray's Trevor Lawrence, and Joe Burrow. And this is what he wrote about Kyler Murray. He wrote, Kyler Murray's first half of the season had him on a path to MVP consideration and he moved to Tier 1, but major questions remain about Cliff's killer offense in Arizona. Far too often, opposing scouts and coordinators

would tell me their ability to move the ball came down to Murray going off script and improvising. And everyone on that coaching staff in front office should be feeling the heat if this team once again fails to take a meaningful step to the playoffs. Running around for first downs will only take you so far. Just thought it was just a little food

for thought out there. This is a big year for the coaching staff there. You see what they've done. They go out, as Dave said, they upgrade the offensive line with the trade to get, you know, uh, the center from, from the Raiders. They go out and they bring in another, you know, veteran presence to help the receiving core. They draft a receiver and Rondell Moore, AJ Green being the veteran, you know, so they've done things the last two years to, you know, put Kyler in place to have success. And,

and as JLC said, he was on pace for an MVP season, but he didn't stay healthy. Things weren't there for him to take the next step. He's got to take the next step this season, and I think a lot of us are counting on that fantasy-wise. But if they don't make a playoff run, I'm sure Cliff Kingsbury might be fired and probably should deserve to be fired. I wonder if they tell Kyler to run a little less. Is that the biggest takeaway that they've got from last year, is that Kyler's got to be fired. I wonder if they tell Kyler to run a little less. Is that the biggest

takeaway that they've got from last year? Is that Kyler's got to stay healthy. He's got to be able to stay on the field. He's got to play at 100%. Maybe they ask him to take fewer chances. That would not be good for his fantasy production. I hate that, Dave. I hate everything

you just said. Let's take a break. I'm going to yell at Dave during the break. Real quick, though, just in terms of tying in Aaron Rodgers' schedule, that's a big factor if you're looking at these defenses because you're looking at the Broncos. He may be on the Broncos, and you could be saying, hey, I'm going to take the teams that are playing against the Packers all the time if it's Jordan Love as a starter

or maybe Drew Locke or Teddy Bridgewater. All right, let's take a break. When we come back, more of your emails at fantasyfootballatcbsi.com. 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.

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This is from Thomas Thurman. His name is Thomas Thurman. Let's switch him, flip him around, you know? Yeah. Uh-huh. Yeah. Hey, Cordaro Patterson, Josh Palmer, Justin Hunter, Jawan Jennings, and Josh Malone.

Tennessee Stars. Yeah. Most recent Vols wide receivers. He loves his Vols. Which current group seems to have a deficiency that we could see a rookie, drafted or undrafted, emerge from? Potential examples below. Nico Collins, wide receiver for the Texans.

Javion Hawkins, running back for the Falcons. Or real deep, LOL, Kenny Yeboah, tight receiver for the Texans, Javion Hawkins, running back for the Falcons, or real deep LOL, Kenny Yeboah, tight end for the Jets? I think the running back for the Falcons is interesting just because of what their running backs coach said. I forget his name, so I apologize. But I know he spoke to the media the other day, and he was saying that he likes the group.

And we know it's a group of no-names. He said that Cordero Patterson is more of a gadget player. Mike Davis was somebody, I guess, that he tried to recruit out of high school to wherever he was coaching in college. He said Kadri Allison could still be explosive. And I'm going to get the kid's name wrong. So who did it? JVN Hawkins.

JVN Hawkins. A draft rookie free agent. Yeah. You know, a lot of people are bringing up that he could be this year's James Robinson, which makes sense. He's not the same type of player. Um, if you watch him, but, uh, the circumstances are there, you know, uh, an open backfield essentially, but, um, it's Mike Davis's job to lose. And if he screws up and as Dave said, you know, the schedule is not going to be easy. So if he screws up, they're going to give other guys opportunities. Um, so that's a

name to definitely keep an eye on. You know, if you, if you, if your rookie draft and it is three rounds or more, and you get to round three, like we just did a three round rookie mock draft on Tuesday and you see some of the names in round three and you're like, okay, good player, good opportunity, but may take some time. That's a guy to, you know, put on your radar. Certainly if you go to four rounds or more, that's definitely a guy you want to consider drafting because even if it's just a couple of weeks into the season, you have to move on or he doesn't make the team in the preseason. You can move on from that. But if he does get a chance to maybe be number two on the depth chart and something happens to Mike Davis, there's a good chance for them to, for him to have some

success. He's just really small and he's got really small hands. So speed kills, there's no doubt about it. I just wonder like what would happen to this guy if he was consistently getting 12 touches per game as, as a running back, he, he, he makes me a little nervous. He doesn't have to be a star, but he could be a contributor and he could, you know, could be looking at as a flex. If he's as a, as our buddy, Pete Prisco likes to say a typical airback. Um, that's something that could certainly Pete Prisco likes to say, a typical airback, that's something that could certainly help him. He could do that,

but I think that would be all that he could do. Jared Doakes, if I'm going to go deep on this, Jared Doakes is a late-round rookie picked by the Dolphins. Physical running back, has good balance. Not fast, but maybe someone that could end up swiping some touchdowns away. Remember Sergeant Oaks from Dexter? No.

Yeah. Well, it's a great character. This is from Patrick in a small Jersey Shore town. Asbury Park. Ah, okay. I'm in a... Bam, bam, Bigelow. I'm in a 10-team PPR Keeper League.

We can keep one player from our previous draft, except for players drafted in rounds 1, 2, and 3. Who should I keep? Terry McLaurin in round 6 or Darren Waller in round 7? Waller. Yeah. Waller. That's probably the better way to go.

Waller, shot caller, brawler. This is from Vaughn in Virginia. Dear Michael, Andy, Jim, and Creed. Why does everybody love Creed? Since I started listening to every episode of FF Today, I've won two of three fantasy titles. Yes. But now I have an important keeper decision to make,

which I'm sure I'll botch. No, we got you. Half PPR. Keep them plus two rounds every year for as long as you want. I have the 10th pick, so I'm going to keep Camara at 10. Here are my other options. Kamara, 11th overall. Canmakers.

Even for 10th and 11th overall. Kamara and, did I say Kamara? You did. Sorry. Hopkins. Kamara and Hopkins in the first and the second rounds. So 10th and 11th overall. Canmakers, fourth round. Lamar Jackson, eighth round.

This is a half PPR league pick two. The 10 team league? Yes. So obviously you keep Lamar Jackson because you can still keep him for six next year. Yeah. Okay. So you guys

on board with Camara? Of course. Yeah. Okay. And finally, from Jamie from the Great White North. Subject line, Daniel Jones traded for what? Real-time reaction. Hey, Ed, Ed, and Eddie, this question has nothing

to do with Daniel Jones. Thanks for the tip, Heath. Yes, Heath said put Daniel Jones in the subject line, and I'll read it. Deep 16 team, tight end premium, PPR Dynasty League. Here are my running backs. Jacobs, Zach Moss, Jeff Wilson, LaMichael Pirine, DJ Dallas, Divino Zigbo, Benny Snell, JJ Taylor, Le'Veon Bell.

As you can all see, it's bad. Really, really bad. It's my only weakness, though. Okay, I ended up trading my 1.6 rookie draft pick and my 2022 first round pick for 1.1 so I can take Najee Harris. Is this a good deal for me to have made? It is tight end premium, by the way.

Tight end score 1.5 points. So should I take Kyle Pitts? He has, who's his tight end? Hunter Henry. I'm taking Kyle Pitts. Yeah. Even with his running backs? Even with his running backs.

If Kyle Pitts is everything that he could be, that's Travis Kelsey. For the next 10 years. And listen, Najee Harris could end up being the next Ezekiel Elliott. Somebody like that.

I'd like to know what else he has on his team to maybe make another trade. Well, he told us. What are his wide receivers and quarterbacks? I was going to say we're out of time. Hurts and Tannehill. Diggs, Kupp, Beckham, Marquise Brown, DJ Moore, Henry Ruggs.

Maybe you can move one of those receivers. Yeah, I would say that's the type of... If you can do it, you're looking at some of these either questionable starters. Miles Gaskin, Mike Davis, Chase Edmonds, James Conner, whichever one you prefer, Melvin Gordon potentially.

You know, somebody that can give you some production. Carson. Would you put Carson in there? I'm thinking Dynasty. That's the top of the heap. But, you know, that's the type of move I think you're trying to do is, you know, try and trade Odell for Chris Carson if you can. You know, something along those lines. Well, that is it for our schedule recap episode.

We will talk to you on Thursday with fantasy football today, a, a draft review, a post NFL draft mock draft review. Um, stay tuned for that. Thanks to Dave and Jamie and Ben Schrager. I won that draft.

Yeah. Najee Harris, 33rd overall. You'll never see it again. You will never see it again. See you later, everybody. Have a good night. We Harris, 33rd overall. You'll never see it again. You will never see it again. See you later, everybody. Have a good night. We'll talk to you soon.