Fantasy Football Today - Rookie Superlatives and Debates with a Special Guest! (05/09 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: May 9, 2022

We get a fresh perspective on the 2022 rookies with a mystery guest who joins us mid-show. First, let's do some Rookie Fantasy Superlatives (4:15)! Most Likely to Succeed, Most Likely to be Overdraft...ed and more ... A lot of news to get to (15:45) with Michael Thomas still at less than 100%, Javonte Williams perhaps not in line for a big boost in carries (21:45) and more from around the NFL ... We're finally joined by our mystery guest as he talks about the A.J. Brown trade (31:00) and some of his favorite rookies. He ranks (37:05) his top 5 rookie WRs and top 5 rookie RBs and gets into under the radar rookies (43:10). Then we do some rankings debates (46:50): Breece Hall vs. Ezekiel Elliott; Drake London vs. Darnell Mooney; Christian Watson vs. Allen Lazard ... Email us at fantasyfootball@cbsi.com Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr, @ctowerscbs, @BenSchragg Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/fantasyfootballtoday Get 20% off Fantasy Football Today merch: https://store.cbssports.com/collections/fantasy-football-today%20?utm_source=podcast-apple-com&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=buy-our-merch&utm_content=fantasy-football-collection Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/ Sign up for the FFT newsletter https://www.cbssports.com/newsletter You can listen to Fantasy Football Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast." To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Starting point is 00:00:59 BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement with iGaming Ontario. This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports. What a play! Can you believe this? It's a no-win game. It's time to dominate your fantasy league. Off to the races, and he stays on his feet.
Starting point is 00:01:22 He's just going to go the distance. Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. We've got more rookie talk today on Fantasy Football today. We've got rookie superlatives, rankings, debates, etc. Plus some pretty big news. And reporters have been speculating on workloads and things of that nature. So we'll react to what the writers have been saying. I'm Adam Azer with Dave Richard and Jamie Isenberg on the Mother's Day-o-meter. How was your Mother's Day?
Starting point is 00:01:48 Zero to ten, Dave? It was excellent. My wife was out of town, so I got in a really good bike ride on Sunday morning. When that was done, I hit the pool. FaceTime with my mom, Sarah Lynn Richard.
Starting point is 00:02:04 How you doing, Mom? Don't forget about Sarah Lynn Richard, amazing author, children's books as well as crime mystery novels where people die, but those two things actually aren't combined together. And then I picked up my wife from the airport. We went to dinner. My steak was undercooked twice. We didn't go for dessert after. It was a great Mother's Day. Jeez geez so you didn't give it a number 10 oh 10 okay jamie zero to 10 did you take the kids with her one of them okay all right boys boys day uh boys weekend it would have been boys weekend but the boy has a girlfriend and so the girlfriend trumps dad yeah as far as like hierarchy of who to hang out with,
Starting point is 00:02:45 especially when mom's out of town. Makes sense. Jamie, 0-10? How was Mother's Day? It was a 10, I guess. Well, no, I'll say it was an 8 because my oldest son, who's 10, had two basketball games on Mother's Day, which was just unfortunate scheduling.
Starting point is 00:03:03 But his first game, I think I told you this last night, Adam, before we did F15-5, he had probably scored, and it's, you know, that's fourth grade basketball. So he had probably scored 40 points in the eight games in the regular season. And our score is probably average, like 18 points a game. You know, so put that in perspective. We were the two seed. And so we played the seven seed in the first round of the playoffs, and he went for 16 points of our 34.
Starting point is 00:03:30 So it was fun. He said before the game, he's like, hey, let's win this one for our moms. Oh, that's nice. That was cool. The reason I say it was an eight because we lost in the semis, so that was frustrating. But that was fun, and I think my wife had a good day i hope so all right well that is the mother's day-o-meter that was yours uh it was fine it's like a six and uh but i did okay rank these three ice creams then we'll move on to our topics
Starting point is 00:03:57 i bought three ice cream flavors this is just straight up ice cream flavors yeah yeah three ice cream flavors I bought yesterday. And for the Mother's Day. Why do I feel like Pralines will be one of these? No, no. These are legit. He's going to go vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. One was Oreo Bomb, which is essentially cookies and cream.
Starting point is 00:04:18 Mint chocolate chip. And then the third one is called Cookie Monster. It is vanilla ice cream with blue food coloring and Chips Ahoy cookie in there. So Oreo Bomb, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Cookie Monster. I'll go Oreo Bomb. I will rank them in the order you listed them. I'll go Oreo Bomb, Mint Chocolate Chip, and Cookie Monster. That's what, yeah.
Starting point is 00:04:40 Okay. After we ate them, I still couldn't rank them. They were all so good. I couldn't tell which one was my favorite. I think Oreo Bomb was the best. All right, anyway. Which one did your kids eat the most? My daughter is obsessed with Blue, so she had Cookie Monster the most.
Starting point is 00:04:55 Yeah. And Andrew had the Oreo Bomb. Good luck with those Blue Poops. They're all contained in a diaper. All right, anyway. Let's get into our fantasy superlatives. And listen, if you were watching and listening last week, you heard that we were going to have a special guest.
Starting point is 00:05:11 So we're waiting for him. Don't know where he is. When he gets here, we're just going to destroy him for being late. It's going to be really fun. Hopefully he gets here. Hopefully we'll have our special guest at some point. Fantasy superlatives, yearbook style. Most likely to succeed. Most likely to succeed, Dave.
Starting point is 00:05:29 Brees Hall is the most likely to succeed. Jamie, agreed? Yeah, to be different though, I will say Drake London. Okay, but it's Brees Hall, you know, for the most part. That's fine.
Starting point is 00:05:44 Usually most likely to succeed. It goes to the good-looking, popular athlete, whatever. I don't know. I don't really it's Brees Hall, you know, for the most part, that's fine. It usually most likely to succeed. It goes to the good looking popular athlete, whatever. I don't know. I really know what Brees Hall looks like, but it's an easy call. It's an easy call is what I'm saying. He is, he is supremely confident as well. He was on set with us for the combine. And I think I've told the story with Ryan Wilson. I kind of threw Ryan under the bus when I said to see what his response would be that, Hey,
Starting point is 00:06:09 Ryan just make Brian feel bad as I didn't intend for Ryan to feel bad and Ryan handled himself well. But I, I said, Ryan has you as his number as your number two as his number two running back in the class behind Ken Walker. And he kind of gave him the stare and he said, there, there are two great running backs in this class and i am not the second one oh wow yeah that was very good throwing a colleague under the bus though like very very clever uh i did not know that breeze hall was roger craig's cousin did you know that i didn't know that yeah it's according to wikipedia that's a good little factoid. All right, next superlative.
Starting point is 00:06:47 Most likely to be overdrafted. Whenever you're related to somebody who's famous, it means you're going to be great as well. In the same field, right? Yeah, anyway, most likely to be overdrafted. I'll say Ken Walker. We're talking redraft? Yeah, this is not Dynasty, by the way. This is all redraft yeah this is not dynasty by the way this is all redraft as of now i predict it's jameson williams i was going to go with sky more and that's not just
Starting point is 00:07:14 based on what schneier did taking him as the first wide receiver last week for you know bleeps and giggles i'm not sure i don't know we i guess we let's all talk about our selections jamie ken walker most overdrafted. I think he's the second running back. There's a pretty clear distinction of this group. It's those two guys, Holland and Walker, and then probably Damian Pierce, but we'll see how everything shakes out.
Starting point is 00:07:39 I'm going to guess he's going to go somewhere in the back end of the RB2 range, early flex range. And if Rashad Penny stays healthy, it's going to be tough for Ken Walker to be the guy that we hope he can be. Now, clearly, we're banking on a guy to stay healthy who has never stayed healthy. But the fact that, you know, if Chris Carson, you know, it depends on what we do these drafts, obviously. But if Chris Carson plays, then you're talking about three guys competing for touches in an offense that could be terrible if the quarterback situation is bad. So I think he's going to be the second rookie drafted. And in that case, he's going to be overdrafted if he if he's not the lead guy by far.
Starting point is 00:08:17 So I'm looking at Ken Walker's NFC ADP since May 1st, which is only four drafts. Take that for what it's worth. He went 79th overall. He was RB 26. He went after Travis ETN, but way after Travis ETN in terms of within the running backs, only two running backs after ATN, but almost 30 picks. AJ Dillon, then Ken Walker, then Chase Edmonds, then Damian Harris. But 79th overall. What's that?
Starting point is 00:08:45 That's when he should go right now. 79th? I was surprised. Like RB26 is one thing, but I'm surprised that RB26, I guess, was 79th overall when RB24 was 53rd overall in these drafts. But again, it's only four drafts. All right, Dave, you said Jameson Williams.
Starting point is 00:09:02 All he has to do to be great this year is make a speedy and healthy recovery from a torn ACL suffered in January and connect on lots of targets deep from Jared Goff in the Detroit lions run preferred offense. That's it. Should do that, right? That should be easy. Not easy.
Starting point is 00:09:22 I'm being a jerk. I'm, I'm worried that he won't be ready for the start of the year. People are going to need that bench spot unless you can stash them. Depends on what your league rules are. And if you can stash them, great. But even if he does come back,
Starting point is 00:09:37 call it October 15th. That means he didn't participate fully in any training camp. He's got to work his way back in. He's never played at the NFL level before. We don't know if his speed and his acceleration will be instant like it was in college. We know that Jared Goff is a little shy about throwing deep. I don't think that Jamison Williams will have a good rookie year for fantasy purposes, maybe toward the end of the year, but not over the course of a season. And when I see people drafting him in a single-digit round,
Starting point is 00:10:08 I get a little nervous about that. I think that's too soon. And I'm not sure where his NFC ADP is. Those drafters are typically pretty smart. So in the four drafts, I'm sure you know, Adam, where he's been going. And I hope it's in round 10, round 11. Yeah, I mean, I think it's round 11. It's 100, well, it's almost round 12. It's round 12, round 10, round 11. Yeah, I mean, I think it's round 11.
Starting point is 00:10:25 It's 100, well, it's almost round 12. It's round 12, round 11, round 12. 132nd, 133rd overall, right after Rondale Moore, right after Alan Lazard, just before Kenny Galladay. Would you take Kenny Galladay or James Williams? Lazard is going that late? Now, I'd rather have Lazard than James Williams, easily. I would rather have Galladay or Jamison Williams.
Starting point is 00:10:47 Depends on what my team looks like. I don't really want Galladay. I guess I would take him. I guess I would take him out of Jamison Williams, but I'm not really loving it. My pick was Sky Moore. He's going as wide receiver 42, 104th overall. He's going as wide receiver 42, 104th overall.
Starting point is 00:11:08 He's going after, I mean, this is, you know, Tyler Lockett is the pick right before him. And then Chase Claypool, Garrett Wilson, Robert Woods, Chris Olave. Yeah, I mean, I guess 104th makes sense. But I don't know. I just feel like he's not going to be second on the team in targets. I think that'll be Juju. And I could see him having a good late
Starting point is 00:11:28 season surge. I don't know that he's going to pay off. Skymore is going to pay off early. I feel like he and MVS will be sort of competing. And we talked about this. I think people's expectations... And Hardman still too.
Starting point is 00:11:43 Yeah, right. Of course. I just think people's expectations will be a little and hardman still yeah right of course i just think people's expectations will be a little bit too high for sky more and hopefully justin ross too right but if sky more hamstring injury too if sky more is the 42nd wide receiver off the board and not a top 100 pick then it's hard to say he's overdrafted at that point well i i think you know just again what your expectations are he's going to be the guy that you drop for... I forget the running back you dropped Justin Jefferson for. Peyton Barber. Peyton Barber.
Starting point is 00:12:12 And then you regret it. You've got to be patient with some of these guys. Most likely to have a huge finish. Most likely to have a huge finish. Which rookie? You just said one of yours, right? Sky Moore? I wouldn't say most likely, but I'd
Starting point is 00:12:25 say if he has a big year, it would probably be in that way. Not a consistent week one or early season, but a big finish. Like an IU kind of deal. What do you guys think? Most likely I have a huge finish. I'll go
Starting point is 00:12:42 Christian Watson. Similar thinking with Sky Moore. That takes a little while to get on the same page with Aaron Rodgers but once they realize what they have and you start to see the flaws you're asking guys like Sammy Watkins and Randall Cobb to stay healthy for a full season that's probably difficult and Alan Lazard to maintain his role as the number one guy
Starting point is 00:12:58 so if Rodgers is right and still putting up MVP type production I think Christian Watson at the end of the season will start to play like the guy they hope and hopefully the guy we hope as well. Put me down for Garrett Wilson. I think Garrett Wilson struggles at first. Remember, a lot of mouths to feed in that Jets offense.
Starting point is 00:13:14 And then he pulls what Elijah Moore did last year. He starts to put it together in the second half of the year. Maybe Zach Wilson sees his production and efficiency step up in the second half of the year, too. And this whole Jets offense does take that step forward. Right. Right. Call it a week before Thanksgiving.
Starting point is 00:13:35 Okay. Most likely to lead rookie running backs in receptions. Most likely to lead rookie running backs in receptions. I mean, I feel like this one's easy. James Cook? Yeah. Jamie? I'll be different.
Starting point is 00:13:51 I'll say Pierre Strong, based on the comments coming out of New England this weekend from at least Mike Reese, who covers the Patriots and does a really good job covering the Patriots. If James White's not ready to go and maybe doesn't play a majority of the season, it sounds like Pierre Strong's going to be their third down back. And so could be a dark horse candidate there, as you brought up yesterday, Adam. The first two games, James White had 12 catches with Mac Jones. And so maybe that's a role that they're envisioning for him if James White can't go. So a good opportunity potentially on the table.
Starting point is 00:14:22 Most likely to lead rookie-wide receivers in receptions? Comes down to two guys for me. It's either Burks or London. I think Burks has the better chance to catch more passes than London. I'll go dark horse candidate and say David Bell with the Browns. Knowing what this receiving core looks like.
Starting point is 00:14:43 No, seriously. Oh, okay. No Jarvis Landry. And they're going to play Bell in the slot. You'll see some shot plays done on Peoples-Jones, and obviously Amari Cooper is going to have the chance to be fantastic. But if Watson doesn't miss the majority of the season with
Starting point is 00:14:57 huge suspension, the slot receiver for the Browns could be pretty significant. So I don't think he's going to have a huge fantasy season, but it wouldn't be surprising if he plays to a big level. 70, 75 catches could be the leader of this category. Okay. Yeah, all right.
Starting point is 00:15:17 That makes a lot of sense, I guess, and didn't really consider that. That is a rich strike dark horse pick right there. Did you watch? No. Yeah, that was awesome. I'm not 70 years old. Oh, come on. I didn't ask you if you wore one of those dumb hats. I just asked if you watched.
Starting point is 00:15:32 You don't have to get that into it. Anyway, most likely to succeed was Brees Hall. Honorable mention, Drake London. Most likely to be overdrafted, Dave said, Jameson Williams. Jamie said, Ken Walker. Most likely to have a huge finish. Garrett Wilson for Dave. Christian Watson for Jamie. Most likely to lead rookie running backs in receptions.
Starting point is 00:15:49 James Cook. Jamie went with the dark horse, Pierre Strong. Most likely to lead rookie wide receivers in receptions. Dave said Traylon Burks. Jamie was a little different and said David Bell. I gave you another one, especially with this report I'm starting to talk about. Chris Olave. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:16:02 If Michael Thomas misses his time again, I mean, he's just set up to be the number one guy there that's what i thought you that's where i thought you were going all right 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 very very easy more and more ways to listen do you guys think our guest will show up we're 15 minutes in he's 30 minutes late now he's he's sleeping unless he just checked in right now and you're trying to he's celebrating george kirby no he didn't he did not check in with me he's celebrating george kirby okay uh let's go to a segment called our guest talks rookies no let's push let's postpone that one uh and do
Starting point is 00:16:47 our news and notes and start with the michael thomas news so yeah he still has some hurdles to clear in his recovery from the ankle surgery i don't know i don't know what to make of it because it's not like they were ruling him out for anything for training camp or anything like that but man it's been a while and he's still not 100%. So, Dave, react. Michael Thomas still not there. I'm good with he needs to clear a few hurdles because it's May, and training camp doesn't open for basically almost three months. So as long as he's there for the start of training camp,
Starting point is 00:17:21 I'm going to be fine with Michael Thomas. I'm not changing how I'm ranking him right nowomas i'm not changing how i'm ranking him right now i'm not changing how i'm ranking chris alave either i think they can both be usable in fantasy but thomas is a number two fantasy wide receiver he will still be that unless we get closer to training camp and i'm talking like you know middle of july and there are still hurdles to clear then i'm gonna get a little skittish yeah, he's still number two wide receiver. Olave, good bench receiver. PPR, he's a little stronger than that.
Starting point is 00:17:49 I'm not sweating. Not sweating? All right. Jamie, you sweating? He's coughing. No, but like I told you last night, I think that group of receivers for me, and I'm looking just at the draft right now,
Starting point is 00:18:00 what we did, because I took Thomas in the third round. And it's that group of, this is the way that it went. It's a draft we'll review later this week if you didn't watch the live stream on Tuesday. It was Thomas, then Deontay Johnson, then Amari Cooper, then DK Metcalf, BJ Moore, Brandon Cook, and I took Thomas and Cooks. After Cooks, it was a long wait until Jalen Waddell and Terry McCorn. So, you know, should he be at the top of that group? That's where I felt he was prior to this news you
Starting point is 00:18:26 know after this news you know cooper's got flaws obviously with the situation going on with watson if watson's not suspended i would take cooper over over thomas um brandon cooks you know you kind of know what you're getting brandon cooks he's going to surprise us every year still continue to put up good production but there's there's there's clearly a little bit of risk and some more mouths to feed in the texans offense. Deontay Johnson, new quarterback. So they're all kind of flawed to an extent. Huge upside as well. And so it's just a matter of which receiver do you feel the most comfortable with.
Starting point is 00:18:54 If Thomas is fine by training camp, he will still be my favorite of that group. But if this is something that's going to linger once again, then you've got to continue. We'll see where the slide ends. I still think he's going to be dropped to this number two receiver. It's just a matter of, will he be at the top of that, you know, 15 to 30 group essentially, or will he be somewhere in the middle of it? So what's the difference between Michael Thomas and DeAndre Hopkins? Forgetting about the suspension, just taking a look at like the overall yeah age they're he's 29 they're both 29 right or is hopkins 30 hopkins will be 30 i believe in
Starting point is 00:19:30 june okay so so he's a year older because michael thomas just turned 29 but maybe it's because we didn't well i mean he he didn't he went he went seven games without a touchdown in 2020 so there was that but you know what i'm saying it's like you were you jamie in particular a Well, I mean, he went seven games without a touchdown in 2020. So there was that. But you know what I'm saying? It's like you, Jamie, in particular, are a little concerned about DeAndre Hopkins falling off the cliff here. And that was even before the suspension. Why is Michael Thomas not in that category for you?
Starting point is 00:19:59 Well, I mean, their games are a little different, but it's certainly a fair point. I mean, Hopkins is an outside receiver that's going to have to win contests and catches with what speed he has left. And if he's not getting separation and you're talking about a small quarterback having to spread targets out to what should be a little bit more diverse receiving core, that's a little bit tougher. With the Saints, it's kind of been concentrated. Now you have Alave stepping in. It's at least on paper, I would think, since Brandon Cooks has has left the most talented receiver that Michael Thomas will share the field with. And so, you know, that's, that's something to factor in, but I think Thomas as a slot receiver, based on the possessions that he'll get, the opportunity, the targets that he'll get, the opportunities that
Starting point is 00:20:37 he'll get, um, I feel a little bit more comfortable with him, but it's, it's based on the expectation that he's falling off from his record breaking season, you know, a few years ago, prior to this ankle problem to still being maybe 80% of that, which is still a very good receiver, still a very good number two receiver, in my opinion. Hopkins, I just wonder where he's at right now, overall, you know, losing target share, being so touchdown dependent, having the injury concerns from a year ago, age becoming a problem. What did he take the supplements for? Was it to help him recover to get back on the field
Starting point is 00:21:12 or was it helping him to get back to being a star-level player? I just don't know. David does make me more excited to draft Chris Alave, who there's this report that a lot of NFL people think he's the most NFL-ready wide receiver. And I think that was, yeah, I mean, I think that makes sense. He's a really good route runner. He's not as explosive as Jamison Williams and Garrett Wilson, but he ran a faster 40 than Garrett Wilson.
Starting point is 00:21:38 But he's just like this polished kind of mature receiver. And I don't know. You got to look at Thomas as a little bit of a risk now. I don't know if you have to, but you could. Does this move Chris Olave up your draft board? No, not yet. Again, you have to wait till July for something like that to happen. If you're doing best ball drafts right now, though,
Starting point is 00:21:58 I think there might be a good value here for Olave. And if people are passing on Thomas because of this report, then there's going to be a good value on Thomas in those best ball drafts. But it's not enough to go sign up for a ton of best ball drafts right now and try and take advantage of the current market because I just don't know how much
Starting point is 00:22:18 the market's really reacting to this. But I do think that Olave is NFL ready. I love his instant acceleration. I do not like his lack of physicality. I do not like that he can't break tackles, but I do think he's in a good spot in New Orleans where he can pick up a lot of 15-plus-yard air yard targets and be productive for fantasy,
Starting point is 00:22:38 maybe even on the level of a No. 3 receiver. Okay, enough on that topic. Let's go to our second bit of bad news. As ESPN's Jeff Legwald wrote a story about the Broncos and how they are going to stick with their running back by committee, and he expects Javante Williams to get slightly more carries this season. He said Javante Williams is expected to get slightly more carries this season, which I interpret a little bit differently than him saying, I expect Javante Williams to get more carries. So, well, slightly more carries.
Starting point is 00:23:08 But anyway, you know what I mean? It almost felt like it was sourced or something. But the expectation is Javante Williams gets slightly more carries. But he made it very clear that they like Melvin Gordon and he's going to have a role and a similar role.
Starting point is 00:23:23 So, Dave, you were still, even after the signing, you were still the high guy on Javante Williams. You thought second round, he shouldn't make it to the third round. How do you feel now? I think he should probably get a little closer to the third round. I think it was buried in the story on ESPN, but a quote from Nathaniel Hackett, I found it. Actually, I had it open on my browser.
Starting point is 00:23:45 I'm one of those guys that doesn't close browsers on his laptop. Here's the quote. This is what stuck to me. This is from Nathaniel Hackett. I just look at all throughout my past. You need to have a stable of running backs. You want to hand the ball off. That's what protects the quarterback.
Starting point is 00:23:58 That's what helps the play pass. That's what helps the threat of being able to go downfield. You have two guys like that, and then you throw Boone in there. That's another change of guy. It's a really good group. Whoever's hot, that's of being able to go downfield. You have two guys like that, and then you throw Boone in there. That's another change of guy. It's a really good group. Whoever's hot, that's who we want to feed. That's kind of the beauty of it. So obviously, I didn't expect Nathaniel Hackett to give some sort of declaration saying, yes,
Starting point is 00:24:15 Javante is our guy, and we signed Melvin Gordon because he's good for a locker room morale or just in case something happens to Javante Williams. But you can't think of it as, all right, Javante's going to take this big step forward, clearly more talented than Melvin Gordon. The Broncos will see it. You can't make that assumption anymore. And then you look at the track record of who Nathaniel Hackett used. He's used multiple running backs pretty much each of the four years
Starting point is 00:24:39 that he's been a play caller except one. And that's when he had Leonard Fournette as a rookie running back in Jacksonsonville and there was really no one else in jacksonville that they really liked but by the second year of fournette's career he was broken down they were using multiple running backs maybe that's something that hackett learned from and then you see what happened in green bay last year that's something that might have just emboldened hackett even more to use multiple running backs so using this news and applying it to the best ball conversation that I just had, I don't think people are overdrafting Javante Williams as a top 15 or maybe not even a top 20 guy anymore in those best ball leagues. His value has fallen, but I think
Starting point is 00:25:16 it's an appropriate fall. Melvin Gordon's value, has it ticked up? Is he worth taking in a best ball in round eight or round nine? I say absolutely. Because if he's going to get work each week, it could look like 10 touches per week. It's not great, but in the best ball, he'll have four or five weeks where he comes through for you. So NFC ADP has Javante Williams as the 10th overall pick. The sixth running back off the board. Is that since May 1st?
Starting point is 00:25:41 Since May 1st. Again, in those four drafts. I completely disagree with that. Yeah. So where would you take him now? Totally. Where would you take him? Total read.
Starting point is 00:25:48 Where would you take him, Dave? It's going to be late round two, early round three for me. That's where he went in the draft that we did last Tuesday. He was the third pick of round three just after Nick Chubb, just before Aaron Jones. So would you, Jamie, would you rather have James Conner or Javante Williams? James Conner. Would you rather have Ken Walker or Melvin Gordon? That's a good one.
Starting point is 00:26:12 Probably Ken Walker right now, but I could see myself changing that, especially if Carson's healthy. All right, next note. ESPN's Mike Rothstein thinks that the Falcons could use Cordaro Patterson more at wide receiver than running back this season. And he also thinks that Tyler Algier, the rookie running back out of BYU, could be the early downs back. It's a fifth round pick. You don't see a ton of good rookies in the fifth round, but he's got the opportunity. In 2021, in case you're curious, Patterson played 294 snaps out of the backfield and 162 out of either the slot or out wide.
Starting point is 00:26:47 So a lot more at running back. 294 snaps out of the backfield, 162 out wide or in the slot. So, I don't know. You know what? I don't need you to react to that, I guess. But, nah, it's a rookie running back show. Jamie, Tyler Algier, what do you think?
Starting point is 00:27:05 Should he be drafted ahead of Cordaro Patterson? Not yet, but we may get closer to that, especially if this starts to play itself out in training camp. I think when you look at Patterson... Look at this. Look who's here. There he is. Our special guest is here interrupting our Cordaro
Starting point is 00:27:28 Patterson conversation what's up he is a jack of all trades so he should fit right in that's right Ben Gretsch is here nobody even knew it was Ben Gretsch and there he is just throwing up did you do the same thing as last time where you tried to like make it a big secret oh yeah big secret huge
Starting point is 00:27:44 secret but look at Jamie's face he's shocked Did you do the same thing as last time where you tried to make it a big secret? Oh, yeah. Big secret. Huge secret. Look at Jamie's face. He's shocked. Welcome, Ben. How are you guys doing? We're good. What's up, Ben? I know you're a little late.
Starting point is 00:27:54 It wasn't your fault. You drinking coffee there? I'm drinking coffee. I'm waking up out here. Pacific time zone. Slept in a little bit. Missed my start time here with you guys. I'm off on my own now.
Starting point is 00:28:08 I'm not corporate anymore. I don't have to get up as early to meet you guys. Yeah, that's all right. Better late than never. We appreciate it. I have segments just for you, so this show will be a lot more full. All right, you know what?
Starting point is 00:28:22 Enough of Jamie. So, Ben, are you going to draft Falcons rookie running back Tyler Algier or veteran running receiver Cordell Patterson first? Which Falcon would you rather have? That's a good question. I mean, usually with me, it's always
Starting point is 00:28:38 the rookie, right? But Patterson got those high-value touches that I loved last year, right? Got the downfield passing a little bit more than, you know, more than you see from a new receiver. The fact that he's actually running routes and catching passes down the field. So, uh, a really unique profile there that I have to respect. I mean, probably still going to be interested in the rookie, but Patterson's the one from
Starting point is 00:29:01 a touch value perspective that I like more. Okay. Let's go to our next news item here. Pete Carroll says that Ken Walker has a ways to go as a pass blocker and that it will be a wait and see to see whether or not Walker becomes the third down back. Dave, I interpret that as he's probably not going to be the third down back, at least as of now, Ken Walker. Agree?
Starting point is 00:29:28 Oh, no. Again? Just me? Dave? Dave? You there? What happened here? I'm here.
Starting point is 00:29:35 I'm here. Did you hear my question? What do you think happened? Man! Not at all. Okay. Can you hear me now? Who are you?
Starting point is 00:29:47 I'm going to boot Dave, and we're going to see if we can get that back. Jamie. As you can see, Ben, nothing's changed. You think Ken Walker, would you interpret that as Ken Walker is probably not going to be the third down back? Yeah. I mean, you know, it's going to have to take him proving, which I think he can, that he can catch the ball to backfield. But clearly, you know, when you're
Starting point is 00:30:12 pass blocking for the great Drew Locke or Geno Smith, you know, you have to protect that franchise entity. So it's important. But clearly that's a huge part of what you have to do as a player at that position. But he could still be the first and second down guy, clearly that's a huge part of what you have to do as as as a player at that position but he could still be the first and second down guy and and that's going to be important in this
Starting point is 00:30:29 offense that's going to try and run the ball as much as they can um as we've said as we said even the show you know if if rashad penny and chris carson are healthy it's going to be a very messy situation if carson doesn't make the team because he's not ready to go and penny does what he typically does ken walker's going to be in a great spot and the browns as jamie alluded to earlier are unlikely to re-sign jarvis landry according to the cleveland plane dealer and before we don't ask the seattle guy about ken walker oh yeah how you feel about that not great not great for the seahawks no i like walker a lot but um i think the seahawks definitely needed to take a shot at a QB in this draft, and they decided not to do that.
Starting point is 00:31:07 So it's going to be a fun year. I have a tough time with Walker and how bad I expect the offense to be, obviously. Yeah. What will change for you with the entire offense if it's Baker? I mean, I think he gives you a more competent level of play. So for 2022, for for fantasy that's fine for you know the sales seahawks i think it's kind of a you know a problem of a stopgap decision but um for fancy definitely uh i still think they're gonna run they would be bringing in baker to to
Starting point is 00:31:39 be using him as a play action quarterback like he's done so well so i mean i'd probably be interested in walker at that point for the reasons you said, I mean, Carson and Penny might not be healthy. And then if you have a competent quarterback and you can actually move the ball and score points, then Walker can get some touchdowns and it could be,
Starting point is 00:31:54 it could be all right, but not really in love with his situation right now. We don't ask Ben about the Seahawks. We asked Ben about AJ Brown. richard says interested to hear ben's take on a.j brown so let's get ben's take on a.j brown the eagle what do you think i mean does it do you actually need my take on a.j brown obviously i'm making whatever excuse i can to be super excited about this and that includes um finding out that A.J. Brown and Jalen Hurts are best buds. They go to Disneyland together.
Starting point is 00:32:30 A.J. Brown's the godfather of – or excuse me, Jalen Hurts is the godfather of A.J. Brown's daughter. And then just deciding that that is all the reason I need to draft him. Fantasy relevance. Yeah. Yes. I mean, you guys know that I love A.J. Brown, so I didn't need much more than that.
Starting point is 00:32:47 Well, is he better for fantasy on the Eagles or the Titans? Is this better or worse for his fantasy value or the same? I mean, I don't know that better or worse really matters that much. I don't think it's worse is sort of the way that I'll put it. I think the Eagles have a possibility of throwing more. I compared it to the Diggs trade right after it happened, and I was thinking I wasn't happy about Diggs in Minnesota, and I thought, oh, great, Buffalo's another bad spot.
Starting point is 00:33:13 Buffalo winds up being really pass-heavy. The Eagles are actually coming out. They're investing in the pass catchers now. They've taken Devonta Smith and traded for A.J. Brown with a big package, two off-seasons in a row. It's very similar to what the Bills did to surround Josh Allen. It would not surprise me if Philly went pass-heavy. They were somewhat pass-heavy early last year.
Starting point is 00:33:31 Then they had a stretch where they were extremely run-heavy for like six or eight games in a row and kind of threw out the rest of the year. But for like six or eight games, it was extreme. When you look at the pass rate over expectations stat, there are more than 10 percentage points below expectation for a long stretch every single week. never see anything like that very very extreme on a weekly basis i i think they have to pass more and there's this possibility that i actually think they might go towards buffalo like like extreme passing with the way they've invested in uh the receiving core uh they're still going to have you know plenty of running. It hurts. It's still going to scramble.
Starting point is 00:34:05 But I think it can be better than Tennessee. I don't think Tennessee ever could have gotten that great for A.J. Brown. So similar, but with maybe more upside, actually. Okay. All right. Let's take a quick break here. And when we come back, we're going to talk about the rookies with Ben Gretsch. If we have time, we'll read your emails, fantasyfootballatcbsi.com.
Starting point is 00:34:24 We'll be right back on Fantasy Football today. and the ability to reach further with access to over 1400 airport lounges worldwide redefine possible with business platinum that's the powerful backing of american express terms and conditions apply visit amex.ca slash business platinum we are back and we are hoping to get dave back he's working his he's working his way back to us, babe. All right. Ben, how you been, man? How's life? Good. Good, man. Just kind of a little.
Starting point is 00:35:11 It's allergy season for me up here. So a little bit allergenic. I mentioned my daughter just got a normal little cold. So I woke up, fell back asleep. I feel bad. I missed my start time. I did that a couple times with you guys when we had these like 6 30 start times for my time and you guys are obviously out on the east coast but
Starting point is 00:35:30 uh i think they were 5 30 for you i think we started at 8 30 that's right we did do 5 30 for a while this was easy though this was a seven o'clock start i know it should have been it should have been easy uh i feel it. Doing good. How are you guys? How's life out there? Oh, yeah, it's fine. Everything's great. Yeah, everything's adorable, right? We miss you.
Starting point is 00:35:53 Yeah, man. I miss you guys, too. So let's see. We have some questions from the crowd. And we'll just do this one real quick who starts gino or drew who cares and where was one i think gino started there was a one what about you and sky more do you have an interesting take or a different take on sky more um did you guys have a negative take on sky more because i have an effusively positive take on Skymore.
Starting point is 00:36:26 Oh, yeah. No, I said that he's the most likely to be overdrafted. I think people are just... Yeah, that's fair. He's gotten very, very popular, but has a really good production profile. First small school, non-early declare wide receiver to go in the first or second round since Devontae Adams.
Starting point is 00:36:44 So we usually see those guys not excuse me early declare we usually see those guys not declare early and stay the four years and that's actually something that's shown to be pretty predictive in models that when these guys are declaring early usually it's because they're getting an indication from all teams that like they're going to go high in the draft it doesn't happen for small school guys often and then they get drafted really high it It did for Sky Moore. The league seemed to like him. The Chiefs end up getting him, which is just the perfect landing spot.
Starting point is 00:37:11 They need wide receivers, and obviously you have Patrick Mahomes. I'm going to be very excited about Sky Moore. He's a guy that I want. I mean, I'm probably going to take him close to every single Dynasty league just because you can get him later in the first round in these rookie drafts, and I think he's right there with these top guys i think uh dynasty i would not say he'll be overdrafted necessarily but i wonder in redraft do you think would you take him over say chris alave or tell me what you know i was going to ask you to rank your top five running backs and wide receivers you want to start with that can you rank your top five let's start with wide receivers since we're on it. Give me your top
Starting point is 00:37:46 five. I'm going to read you. I've been in dynasty mode, but I'll still take Traylon over London. For me, it's Traylon and London are one and two in one way. It's like its own tier. Especially
Starting point is 00:38:02 for redraft, I think they both come into these great target situations. I'll still take Berks over London. I will go with Garrett Wilson three. I still really like his profile and like the landing spot. Jameson Williams is a little tougher with the injury for redraft. I'll take sky four. Okay.
Starting point is 00:38:23 And Jameson, I think five or else Christian Watson. I'm not in love with a lot of it. A lot of it might be five. He'd be in that range. Okay. So Burks, London,
Starting point is 00:38:32 Garrett Wilson, Sky more, and then someone else at five, whether it's Jamison Williams or a lot of a, or Christian Watson, Jamie, any, any strong reaction there or you want to move on to running backs?
Starting point is 00:38:42 Well, I agree with the top two. I have London slightly head of Burks, but I agree with Ben, you know, they're in a tier by themselves. And by the time we get to, you know,
Starting point is 00:38:49 training camp, you know, probably Robert Woods is going to be the one that sways it for me, you know, because he's the most competent receiver, obviously pits, you know, clearly a different player.
Starting point is 00:38:56 But I think London may get slight better targets in his offense than Berks does in his, if Woods is right, if Woods is not right, then I'll probably shift to, to Berks. I would put a lot of a third, slight better targets in his offense than Burks does in his. If Woods is right, if Woods is not right, then I'll probably shift to Burks. I would put a lot of my third just based on his opportunities, especially now with Michael Thomas's injury is still lingering. Fourth for me would be Sky Moore,
Starting point is 00:39:17 and then fifth would be probably Christian Watson over Jamison just because I'm not sure where his health is at. Yeah. All right, Ben, how about your top five rookie running backs? Breeze Hall is a pretty easy one. Wilson will be five for me. I apologize. Wilson, okay. Who will be five?
Starting point is 00:39:31 Garrett Wilson. I left him out. Breeze Hall, number one for sure. I'll still take Kenneth Walker, too. For redraft, definitely taking James Cook, three, and Rashad White, four. But I really like Rashad White. He's going to be a handcuff that I'm going to have in redraft definitely taking james cook three and rashad white four but i really like rashad white he's going to be a handcuff that i'm going to have in redraft whether or not i'm taking four
Starting point is 00:39:49 net just somebody to target because if anything were to happen to four net white's got that size speed combo we've already seen vaughn kind of not do it uh and what's got the pass catching with that size speed combo he's got the three down profile that i mean he's he's the rookie running back that i really love and sort of the early second round of rookie drafts and in the double digit rounds of redraft this year and then my fifth guy probably algeria i guess i i'm looking a little bit too dynasty focused because i'm not even putting damian pierce on this list and he's probably the one that has the most early down high snap potential, even including Brees potentially. I mean, that's how bad the Texans are.
Starting point is 00:40:30 But I just don't think he's particularly good. But I guess he probably has to be in there somewhere if you're just doing it purely as redraft. But you got to have Brees and Kenneth in there. I think James Cook belongs in the top five. And like I said, I think White's a really nice handcuff, even though he's not going to project to be a player that plays a whole lot. So they would all be in my top five as well.
Starting point is 00:40:49 And then it's Algier or Damian Pierce, both of whom are going to have early opportunity. Okay. Jamie, any reaction was going to be Brees Hall, Ken Walker, James Cook, Rashad White, and Tyler Algier. And Rashad White, purely a handcuff. But man, I mean, you could see the potential if Leonard Fournette gets injured, which he often does.
Starting point is 00:41:09 You know, he would not necessarily have to beat out tough competition to have a major role there. And then Algier, five, also Damian Pierce in the mix there. Any strong reaction, Jamie? No, I mean, the first two are obvious. You know, I think I'd be surprised if anybody says anything different than Hall and Walker. And probably Hall is a significant lead over Walker right now. Unless again, the
Starting point is 00:41:29 Seahawks backfield changes by the time we get to August, I would actually put Pierce third, you know, just for redraft purposes because of everything Ben said, you know, his path to opportunity, his path to playing time is pretty clear. I'll put Algier fourth and then James Cook fifth, but you know, James Cook is just so fascinating because his offense is awesome. His role could be awesome. We just haven't seen it necessarily, particularly with the bills and, you know, using a pass-catching running back. But, I mean, they've tipped their hand as much as anybody, you know, with the J.D. McKissick signing and then losing him. And then even Duke Johnson, you know, what he typically has profiled as in the early part of his career
Starting point is 00:42:05 is a pass catching back and now going out and getting James Cook, trading up to get James Cook. So they want to have someone in that role, and he's clearly that guy. So Rashad Wright's right there. I think TDP, Tyrion Davis-Price, is interesting because of San Francisco and not having the same leading rusher year after year after year. And now they go and get another guy in the third round. He's interesting as well.
Starting point is 00:42:27 But for me, you know, Pierce is the third one just based on his chance to play. And I disagree. He is a good running back. Would you draft, Ben, DeAndre Hopkins or your favorite rookie wide receiver? In this case, it would be Traylon Burks. Probably the rookie. I mean, especially Hopkins. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm still waking up.
Starting point is 00:42:51 Hopkins has suspension, right? Six-game suspension, yeah. Then definitely the rookie. But, I mean, multiple rookies. Okay. The only reason not to take a rookie that high is they take a little bit of time to build up. Exactly. If my alternative isn't playing, then
Starting point is 00:43:05 I might as well hope that he hits week one like Jamar Chase did. It feels like with the top two guys in terms of Berks and London, they're going to force feed them the chance to be good. You bank on that. The other guys you can certainly make an argument for.
Starting point is 00:43:21 Wilson sharing the field with Elijah Moore and Corey Davis and trusting Zach Wilson and Olave, if Michael Thomas is healthy and, you know, Jameson Williams not being ready. You know, there's a lot of flaws with once you start getting past the other two guys. So by week seven, you know, Hopkins could step in and be better than them easily. But the other two, you know, if things break right, you know, the target share for London and the target share for Berks could just be amazing. Ben, are there any under the radar guys you like you made the nice case for rashad white but what any under the radar guys i guess most under the radar guy that i love is romeo dubs
Starting point is 00:43:55 uh for with the packers because i think christian watson kind of a questionable profile was old i was talking about early declared you want to be younger entering the nfl he was older from a smaller school wasn't really productive till he was older at the smaller school they go get dubs who is also i think a little bit older but very productive from younger ages we see that like age-adjusted production i always love to talk about where um producing college at a young age and through his later ages, multiple breakout seasons. Looks like the type of player that could come in and immediately be essentially more productive and outshine the earlier drafted wide receiver for the Packers. We know it's a huge need, but he's the...
Starting point is 00:44:36 Obviously, it's a cheap bet on that, but he's the guy that I think could surprise the most. Okay. Romeo Dubs. I know Dave likes him as well. Do you think the rookie quarterbacks or tight ends matter for fantasy this season? I mean, certainly the rookie quarterbacks could, they all have rushing profiles.
Starting point is 00:44:55 The landing, the, the draft capital was incredibly surprising, right? But the landing spots for everyone other than Malik Willis are really great for this year. Malik Wilson might not be until 2023, but Ritter can definitely play in Atlanta. spots for everyone other than malik willis are really great for this year malik willis it might not be until 2023 but ritter can definitely play in atlanta howell can definitely play in washington
Starting point is 00:45:11 corral can definitely play in carolina these guys are backing up you know carson went sam donald and marcus mariotta these are those are not quarterbacks that are necessarily going to keep them off the field these are not teams that are expected to be in the playoff hunt necessarily so especially down the stretch if these teams are out of it they want to see what they have in these three quarterbacks all of them offer some mobility i mean i definitely think they i'm probably not drafting them in redraft but i definitely think they can come into the mix tight ends a little bit trickier but i do really like trey mcbride it's just tough behind Ertz. And really none of the other rookie tight ends, what I say, matter for redraft.
Starting point is 00:45:48 No, I don't think so right now. The one I think just to keep an eye on and is going to take probably an injury is Dolchich. Because, you know, he could, I don't think, beat out Alberto. But, you know, you are talking about a guy that, you know, a lot of potential has to prove it. And, you know, the Broncos are very high on him, you know, a lot of potential, uh, has to prove it. And, you know, the, the, the Broncos are very high on him,
Starting point is 00:46:06 you know, players to coaches, but, um, Dolchitz, you know, for me, it was right there with McBride and landing spot.
Starting point is 00:46:13 Wasn't the most ideal, but you know, he could clearly have a, have a role if, if Alberto struggle. Okay. We have another special guest joining us. It's Dave Richard.
Starting point is 00:46:24 And I finally found a place where I can connect and hopefully not. We have another special guest joining us. It's Dave Richard. And he's at a different... I finally found a place where I can connect and hopefully not disconnect. Yeah, hopefully. All right. Welcome back, Dave. We're going to do some debates now involving rookies. We're going to let...
Starting point is 00:46:38 I want to let Ben go last here. Let him kind of see how the landscape looks. Because they hear us so little that they need to... Right, well, I don't want to put him on the spot here. I want him... Maybe he doesn't know. Maybe he doesn't feel good. And then if Dave and Jamie agree, he'll just jump in. Maybe he hasn't paid attention to the NFL in the last two months. Maybe that's what's going on.
Starting point is 00:46:55 Yeah, I think that's what I was assuming. You're worried about putting him on the spot. Maybe you should walk around the office while you're doing the... and then you can see all the changes. Okay. It looks to be right now. Disconnect again. Yeah, no, we got you, Dave.
Starting point is 00:47:09 I feel like even if I move, I'm going to disconnect. I want to stay on. Well, you sound great. It's absolutely perfect. Okay. Debates. Brees Hall or Ezekiel Elliott?
Starting point is 00:47:20 Brees Hall or Ezekiel Elliott? Dave. Oh, he disconnected. You've got to be kidding me. You've got to be kidding me. It's good to see your face, dude. All right. JB, Brees Hall or Ezekiel Elliott? I'll take my chances with Brees Hall.
Starting point is 00:47:40 I think you look at Zeke and what we saw last year was a struggle. I don't know how much of it obviously was the knee, but, you know, you couldn't watch the Cowboys and see Tony Pollard touch the ball and Ezekiel Elliott touch the ball and not understand what the Cowboys were doing and not giving Pollard more chances. And so while Hall, I think, will share with Michael Carter to whatever extent it's going to be, I think he will prove to be the better talent. And I will take my chances with the younger player at this point. I feel like Ezekiel Elliott is an injury away from being Todd Gurley and we don't hear from him again. Yikes. Ben, what do you think?
Starting point is 00:48:10 Zeke or Brees? Pretty much completely agree. Brees holds a really good prospect. My note on Zeke would be sort of a word of caution for people assuming that last year's split with Pollard might be the same. I've heard a lot of like, well, we know they're going to play him. They had him on the hook for a $30 million cap hit for this year. They kind of had to play him last year.
Starting point is 00:48:32 One of the things I've suggested in a lot of the stuff that I've talked about with this is if, if they kept him playing and he was ever bounced back and was decent at any point, maybe they could have tried to move that cap at this office. It would have been incredibly hard, but maybe they could have tried to send it with a pick and and get that off the books this offseason um next offseason is like a clear cut for ezekiel elliott there's almost no chance they will keep him they finally get a cuttable year in the contract and his cap
Starting point is 00:48:59 pitch is way too much for what they've gotten out of him over the last few years so this is a year where i think actually we could see a changing of the guard if he's not good halfway through the cowboys are basically going to be like look it's a sunk cost at this point we need to go with pollard we need to try to win games i think i think last year's you know zeke keeps getting all that work is not likely to carry over to this year and he's the you know the possibility in the middle of this season of no longer being the starting running back i'm not even getting touches on top of the fact that it just hasn't been very healthy or very good the last few years. I think the one saving grace for him last year, which will probably be the same thing this year. He was fantastic as a pass blocker and, you know, proved to do a nice
Starting point is 00:49:36 job in the passing game as well. You know, when they went through the stretch of losing Michael Gallup and I think Cooper was a little bit banged up as well. He stepped up and did a nice job. And there was a couple of games where he had, you know, five plus catches in there. And so that saved him a little bit. So maybe we see more of, okay,
Starting point is 00:49:51 third down back, maybe power a little bit more in first and second down. So the role is changing for both of them. If he, if he struggles in, in past protection, he may not be on the field. All right.
Starting point is 00:50:01 Next up, we have Ken Walker versus essentially a rookie travis etn walker or etn jamie i'll take etn you know just based on james robinson not being 100 right now now once we find out chris carson status and james robinson status i'll probably have a different answer on this um potentially but you know i think if etn was in this you know for drafting you know nfl teams are drafting and and uh and certainly fancy managers are drafting i would take etn over walker in both cases you know i just think you know the the profile for him as a pass catcher you know what he should be able to still do as a rusher um he's a more dynamic player in my opinion so um i know the
Starting point is 00:50:39 situation might seem a little dicey with jacksonville but you know the offensive line should be better the coaching should be better hopefully tre coaching should be better. Hopefully Trevor Lawrence is better. I feel a little bit better about Travis Etienne's status right now if Robinson's not ready to go week one. Yeah, I agree. I agree, especially on the concern over Robinson. He's way, way further behind in his rehab. Etienne obviously gets hurt in the offseason.
Starting point is 00:50:59 Etienne, great prospect, went one pick behind Najee Harris in the real draft last year. I think he's better than Najee Harris. I don't think you'd be getting him where you're getting him in drafts if he plays basically any snaps last year. If we see him on the field at all, you get this immediate bump in value. You get the Javante Williams has bumped just because he flashed a little bit, right? Najee is not as apples to apples comparison because he got all the work but Javante I think is a better example of where you're getting a discount on ETN right now based on the type of player he is I still think Kenneth Walker's really good um but you have a
Starting point is 00:51:35 much you know you have bad offenses on both sides but you have a worse profile in terms of not necessarily having the pass catching and all that. ETM playing with Trevor Lawrence catching pass is going to be a pretty nice little setup there with this college quarterback. So I like ETM by quite a ways. Drake London or Darnell Mooney? Drake London or Darnell Mooney, Jamie? I'll take Mooney, you know, just looking at what he's done already
Starting point is 00:52:00 and his opportunity. I mean, you know, we talk about both these guys having great opportunity, but London still has to contend with Kyle Pitts, who's a monster. And, you know, you look at this Bears offense, I mean, if Mooney could lead the NFL in targets, it wouldn't be that much of a stretch. You know, I mean, it would take the Bears having to change some of their philosophy, but, you know, who knows what Luke Getze wants to do with that team, that offense at least.
Starting point is 00:52:23 And so, I mean, I'm excited about Darnell Mooney this year. I think he's got a big opportunity in front of him, and I hope he takes advantage of it. Gretchy? I'm taking London on this one. I like Mooney, but that's a really rough offense, right? And I think it's going to be a problem for their ability to score points. I think Mooney's going to get all the work he can get,
Starting point is 00:52:44 and he's been very good the last couple of years. And I believe it's going to be a problem for their ability to score points. I think we're just going to get all the work he can get. And he's been very good the last couple of years. And I believe in Justin Fields, but the bears have not done any favors to try to help Justin Fields improve in year two. The way that I would put it is that he fields has to improve a ton just to not look terrible, basically to be able to carry like he has to be ready to carry the offense this year.
Starting point is 00:53:02 He wasn't last year. And I think it's really tough to ask him to be ready to do that. this year. He wasn't last year, and I think it's really tough to ask him to be ready to do that. That, again, would take a ton of improvement, and he's going to have to be that type of quarterback that can just put everyone on his back. If not, this is going to be a really bad offense, which is fine for Mooney's targets and everything,
Starting point is 00:53:17 but I feel better even, frankly, about Atlanta's offense, the situation London's going into. And I think London, I mean, you just has the higher ceiling. You want the rookie kind of uncertainty, has the potential to come out and just be an absolute smash. We haven't seen him at the NFL level yet, but there is that
Starting point is 00:53:35 possibility. Mooney kind of doesn't really profile to me as a guy who has the absolute boom ceiling, but he's interesting for sure. Okay, last one. Christian Watson or Alan Lazard. And I'll let Ben go first this time. Give me a Packers receiver, Christian Watson or Alan Lazard. I mean, I just, I go with the rookie on these every time.
Starting point is 00:53:56 I mean, again, Alan Lazard, not the huge ceiling, not even the ceiling that Donald Mooney has obvious. I mean, pretty clearly, I think for anyone who's paying attention and then you have Christian Watson coming in. I talked about pretty clearly, I think, for anyone who's paying attention. And then you have Christian Watson coming in. I talked about his profile not being very exciting, but he has the size. He has the speed. He has the athleticism.
Starting point is 00:54:13 You become Aaron Rodgers' preferred go-to target in the red zone pretty early in your career. Your ceiling is big, and I'm taking him on ceiling all day. I'll go back to, you know, you asked the earlier question. I think it was Kenny Galladay or Jameson Williams, right? I think it just comes down to what your team needs at that point. You know, so if you're not planning on playing Alan Lazard, which I hope a lot of people don't draft planning to play Alan Lazard, then you take Christian Watson.
Starting point is 00:54:36 You know, but if you go RB heavy or, you know, you don't, you don't prioritize receiver and you need someone to get you through the first few weeks of the season. Now those are, it's going to be a much better fantasy option than Christian Watson is because it could take a while for Watson. And we know Rogers and rookie receivers don't necessarily vibe right away. When they hit,
Starting point is 00:54:54 they hit big, but it's usually year two. And so, you know, with Romeo dubs and Watson and how this all works with Sammy Watkins and, and, and Randall Cobb, the corpse of Randall Cobb,
Starting point is 00:55:05 you know, those are maybe the most reliable guy there for Rogers. How this all works with Sammy Watkins and Randall Cobb, the corpse of Randall Cobb, Lazard may be the most reliable guy there for Rodgers, and that might be something that you have to just hang your hat on. And so while he doesn't necessarily have the ceiling that Watson has by far, the floor might be a little bit safer. So if you just need to get that competent third fantasy receiver that's going to hopefully just supplement what should be a great roster, then that's the route you go. But if you want to take a chance on who has the most upside,
Starting point is 00:55:25 especially as a bench receiver, I'm taking, you know, Watson by far. And for those of you who missed it earlier, when Dave, when Dave tried to come back on, it was pretty funny.
Starting point is 00:55:34 And here's some of the comments. Looks like Dave is broadcasting from the basement of an art gallery. Dave filming from a calculator. Dave filming from a Nintendo DS. So that gives you a little bit of an idea the calculator one is is uh it really got me ben thank you for coming on my man yeah this was a lot of fun thanks for having me guys yeah i was gonna tell dave i saw a note from him the other day uh come across my twitter timeline or a little video that he was calling for fitzpatrick to seattle he's asked me what quarterback i want i mean at least that would
Starting point is 00:56:08 be fun that's who i want in seattle i want fitzpatrick starting yeah forgot about him a little bit there it would be nice you know that was the first i'd even heard of that or thought of that but i'm usually rooting for fitzpatrick to every situation every offseason so when i when i saw it from dave i was like perfect perfect, love that. How awesome was the draft video of all the guys wearing the Fitzpatrick jerseys? That was amazing, yeah. I was like, you know that he's played so many places, but I was still shocked.
Starting point is 00:56:33 I was like, man, he's really played on all those teams. That's a lot of Fitzpatrick jerseys. Adam, can you name all the teams Ryan Fitzpatrick has played on? I mean, definitely not, but I'll say Washington. Did I get it? He did play a game for them. Yeah. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:56:49 Washington, Miami, Tampa. Um, no, I mean, I'm not even going to go. I don't even want to embarrass myself, but who paid him? Chicago. Oh, this is pathetic. is pathetic yeah no i don't remember who was it buffalo buffalo yeah i should have gotten that one yes all right before this goes oh the jets before this goes on tennessee tennessee bangles rams i don't remember about the rams that was like early career. All right. Tennessee for sure. Okay. Well, anyway, thank you for that. That's worse than one of my, that's worse than one of my outros.
Starting point is 00:57:31 For Ben Gretsch and a little bit of Dave Ray. You know what? Combine Dave and Ben. We're here for a full episode. For Dave and Ben and Jamie, I'm Adam. Thanks for watching, everybody. Thanks for listening. We'll talk to you tomorrow on Fantasy Football.

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