Fantasy Football Today - TE Reflections - Lessons Learned, 2021 Breakouts (01/26 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: January 26, 2021

Even in the highest scoring season in NFL history, the TE position was a disappointment. We'll reflect on 2020 and look ahead to 2021. Heath is back with a stat to sum up TE in 2020 (3:30) and then we give our overall thoughts on the position (6:15) and the mistake that Fantasy managers continue to make (10:30) ... When should Travis Kelce, Darren Waller and George Kittle be drafted (14:00)? Who is next after those three studs (22:06)? ... We finish with sleepers and breakouts for 2021 (25:10). Can Noah Fant overcome a crowded receiving corps? Don't forget about Irv Smith and Blake Jarwin. Are we done with Evan Engram? ... Your emails at [e-mail] Subscribe to the FFT in 5 podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to FFT. Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr, @CTowersCBS, @BenSchragg Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCviK78rIWXhZdFzJ1Woi7Fg/videos Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/ Sign up for the FFT newsletter https://www.cbssports.com/newsletter You can listen to Fantasy Football Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast." To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ Want winning picks each morning in under 10 minutes? Subscribe to 'The Early Edge: A Daily SportsLine Betting Podcast' on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher or wherever else you listen to podcasts. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Touchdown. Oh, he's done it again. Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, Heath, and Ben. Well, the tight end position really wasn't so great last year, was it? I mean, we're talking about the highest scoring season in NFL history, and you only had two standout tight ends, so that's pretty disappointing. Welcome to the show. This is Fantasy Football Today.

On Tuesday, January 26th, Adam Azer, Jamie Eisenberg, and who cares? Heath is here. Woo! Heath is back. Welcome back, sir. Thank you. It's really good to talk to you, Adam. I missed you greatly the entire time that I was gone. You didn't text me once. No, I didn't. I missed Jamie too, though. I missed Jamie more. I did text Jamie. Well, that's okay. Whatever. I can accept that. I can accept that. I have to do

more to get on Jamie's level. Also, you should know that Dave and Jamie did not greet me with the same enthusiasm that I am greeting you with today. What are you talking about? How was your time off, Adam? What did you do? I don't know. I mean, I just babysat, basically. And now I need a vacation from that. I didn't do much.

You know what I started doing? I started working on the started fantasy points project that I have been talking about since August or whatever. Or no, before that. It's terrible. It's going to take me forever. I don't want to do it, but I think I kind of have to do it. I've done one week of quarterback so far.

That's where we're at with that project done one week of quarterback so far so that's that's where we're at with that project one week of quarterback yeah i have to do their start percentages for every relevant quarterback for every week and then multiply that by the fantasy points they scored and then i do that i think i'm only gonna do that 13 times or for uh 13 times up to the playoffs not weeks 14 and on. And it's going to be bad for quarterback. It's going to be horrible for wide receiver. Oh my gosh, it's going to be quite a project.

Anyway, how are you feeling about the Super Bowl, Heath? It's going to be exciting. I don't know what to make of the Chiefs' offensive line against that Tampa Bay front. That's a little bit scary. But other than that, it should be a very exciting game. Yeah. My original thought, Jamie, was Chiefs were going to win kind of easily. But we've got to give the Bucs some credit here.

They might be able to get after Mahomes. It might be difficult to cover all those wide receivers. It's a heck of a wide receiver unit for the Buccaneers. But what do you think now? I think that it's probably going to play out very similar to how last year's Super Bowl played out, where the Chiefs will probably struggle a little bit until they figure out how to block Tampa's front

and Mahomes gets hot for a quarter. But I don't think the game's going to get away, but I don't think it's going to, you know, the game is going to go away from them. So I think it's going to be exciting game. I think it's going to come down to, uh, come down to the fourth quarter.

Andy Reed will make some adjustments and I think the chiefs still win. But again, I, as I said on Monday show, I'm, I'm, I'm still not sold on Kansas city as my pick yet. Okay.

All right. Well, the best Superbowl coverage, both from a fantasy standpoint and not, uh, we'll be on CBS Sports HQ. And we'll tell you more about that later this week and into next week. So today's topic is tight end. We're going to talk about 2020 and, of course, 2021. Sleepers, breakouts, busts, all that. But basically our overall thoughts on tight end and summing it up from 2020.

I wanted to start with one stat to sum up tight end in 2020. Heath, you were going to come through and give us that stat. Yes, there were 10 tight ends who averaged at least 10 PPR fantasy points last season. Randall Cobb was the number 58 wide receiver in fantasy last year, and he averaged 10.01 fantasy points per game. Okay, so... There were 10 tight ends better than Randall Cobb. And how am I supposed to interpret that? The hell is that?

Tight end is still awful. Okay. As always, like every year we're going to do this thing and we're going to talk about several young, exciting tight ends that show just enough to peak our interest heading into 2021. And we're going to get to June and July, and we're going to talk about, yeah, there's only four or five good tight ends, but we've got like a dozen of these young tight ends. And if half of them hit, then tight end could be really good this year. And then tight

end is going to suck again. I think this is the year fast forwarding to our position preview in August. I'm pretty sure this year we're justforwarding to our position preview in August, I'm pretty sure this year we're just going to be like tight ends. I feel like people are convinced now. This was the year we needed. 2020 was the year we needed for everyone to lose faith in tight end. So good job, 2020. You crushed our hopes in the tight end position. It was kind of weird.

There were a lot of touchdowns at tight end. Let me tell you how many tight ends have had six or more touchdown catches it was kind of weird. Like there were a lot of touchdowns at tight end. You had, let me tell you how many tight ends have had six or more touchdown catches in the last five seasons, nine, six, six, six, and then 12 last year.

So you had a ton of tight touchdowns. You thought that'd be great fantasy production. Well, how about 800 or more yards the last five years for a tight end? Six, four, four, five, and two. So that was kind of a tight end. Six, four, four, five, and two.

So that was kind of a strange thing. You had a bunch of tight ends scoring enough touchdowns to feel relevant, but really not doing anything in the yards department. So that was kind of weird. Don't really know what to make of that. Probably just fluky, but that's kind of what you were experiencing, just searching for that touchdown on the waiver wire or maybe with one of the two tight ends you rostered

or something throughout the year. Okay, so those are some stats to talk about 2020. I want to remind you that you can listen to our show, Fantasy Football Today, on your smart speakers. Simply say, Alexa, play the latest episode of Fantasy Football Today podcast, or, hey, Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast. Actually, say, Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast.

Actually, say the same thing to either Alexa or Google. I think I read that wrong. Play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast. That'll work for you. So, Jamie, what were your overall thoughts on tight end last year? I mean, it was disappointing. You know, some of it Ninja-related. You know, clearly George Kittle and the frustration that you had there, you know, Zach Ertz and, you know, what may have been for him.

You know, we just don't know. Dallas Goddard, same thing. Hunter Henry, his injury also. There were some things that happened, I think, that we expected. Austin Hooper taking a step back for the most part. He had a good closing to the season, but, you know, we kind of expected going into Cleveland wouldn't be as good for him. But I do think that there is, you know,

I get your pessimistic view of it and I understand it. I'm sure a lot of people are going to feel the same way, but there are some guys we can look at and say, okay, I like the situation. I like this potential of this guy, you know, and it was nice to see TJ Hawkinson take a step forward for a part of the situation. I like this potential of this guy, you know, and it was nice to see TJ Hawkinson take a step forward for a part of the season. I think Noah Fant's going to have a better 2021 than a 2020 season that he had. I think Dallas Goddard getting the opportunity is going to be exciting for him. I'm curious to see where Hunter Henry and Zach Ertz go, you know, so Irv Smith is somebody that I'm going to take a, have a lot of stock in, you know, I'm excited about his,

he's falling. He's drinking the Kool-Aid. But I think that the, the, the thing is, is that, you know, it's, it's when you draft these guys.

Yeah. Right. You know, looking at ADP the last couple of years, you, you get to the like rounds, like six through eight, a lot of busts, a lot of busts.

A lot of busts. Two years ago, you had that round five. You had that O.J. Howard, Evan Ingram, Hunter Henry group, and then Eric Ebron who ended up being good, Jared Cook, David Njoku, Vance McDonald. A lot of busts there. Then this past year, 2020, Zach Ertz was round four. Then Darren Waller was round five.

Obviously, he's one of the best picks in fantasy. Hunter Henry, Tyler Higbee, Evan Ingram, Jared Cook, Rob Gronkowski, Austin Hooper. That was through round eight. So if you see Jamie Noah Fant going in round, I don't know, where do you think he's going to go? Six, seven? Seven?

He went late in the drafts we did. I don't know how fair of a barometer it is because, you know, we're doing this basically blindly without rankings, without projections and, you know, in an old draft room for the mock drafts that we reviewed. But in the PPR draft, I thought Fant, or maybe it was the half PPR. Fant went in round seven.

I think that's probably where you're going to start to see those guys start to go. Now, I don't think that's a bad spot for them. Okay, that's what I was going to say. Is that where you become... Where's Herb Smith? Herb Smith's more late. I took him in one of them. It might have been this one, just because I have it open. So I took Herb Smith...

Round nine. In this one? PPR? Yeah, round nine. And you can push, like, at the very least, you can push all these back a round or two because of the rookies. Like, I think Herb Smith's probably,

well, are we using Kyle Rudolph? The rookie running backs and wide receivers, you mean? Right, yeah. Right, okay, that makes sense because they were not in this draft. Yeah. I don't know. I guess, right. You can make the case for a lot of players and get excited about them like we do every year. But when are you willing to take them?

Jamie took Herb Smith in round nine. Noah Fant went around seven in this 12-team PPR league. Heath, what are your thoughts on the sort of promising but unproven guys? Yeah. I mean, I think what we've seen in the past couple of years is if you can take Travis, Kelsey, George Kittle, or Darren Waller in the, probably the first two rounds,

but Waller might be in the third, um, do it. Otherwise wait until round nine or 10. And I think Dave said this last year, draft a couple of them and hit, because there were some guys like, if you look at just the finish of the season logan thomas

finished the year as a number three tight end robert tenyon was number four like there were some guys that came from out of nowhere it just wasn't really the middle the mid-round guys logan thomas man he his finish was so strong his last seven games, including the postseason. He was on pace for 107 catches, just short of 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns on 144 targets. This was on a team that was 25th in scoring, 25th in passing yards, 28th in passing touchdowns. So yes, there will definitely be some players we're excited about. Are we making mistakes year after year at tight end? I think Heath kind of alluded to that, but

are we just getting too excited about young players or putting too much stock in touchdowns? What mistakes are we fantasy managers making? Under-emphasizing the difference between Kelsey, Kittle, and Waller and everybody else.

But that's been the case for years,. I mean, you think about it, it was Gronk and Graham for how many years, you know, that duo, it was Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates and then the field, you know, it it's kind of always been this way. It's a matter of, you know, where do you find the second tier guys? And then, like you said, Heath, you know, we got Tanyyon and um and Logan Thomas to come out of nowhere you know the year before it was probably Gusecki you know and how he finished the season in 2019 you know I don't know there's probably another guy or two that that we're

missing um you know the the nice thing about 2019 was uh you know we were excited about Darren Waller we were excited about Mark Andrews and those guys lived up to those expectations. So we were over-hyping the wrong guys. We were talking about O.J. Howard and Hunter Henry and that group, and it was the other guys that performed at a much higher level. So I think it's just, again, it comes down to how sold are you on certain situations. And I think for a lot of these guys, you know, Kelsey, probably not in the same conversation. I mean, you think about it.

Waller is the best receiver on his team. Andrews is the best, arguably the best receiver on his team. Ertz for, you know, the, the three-year stretch was the best receiver on his team. Logan Thomas, you know, is the second best receiver on his team. Kittle's the best receiver on his team. You know, it's, it's looking at, you know, the incomplete receiving course and probably saying these are the tight ends I need to target a little bit more.

So maybe Fant doesn't have that same opportunity to break out because of all the talent around him. Hawkinson may have reached the ceiling and he did a lot of this without Galladay on the field. So, you know, it's, it's, it might be a matter of just looking at, okay, the receiving core not as strong. Maybe these tight ends do have a chance to ascend and could put a cap on somebody like Irv Smith, for example, as well.

If you want some numbers on Hawkinson, Galladay played five games, played 30% of the snaps in one of them, so you know how I do it. I didn't count that game. So you play the four games with a healthy Kenny Galladay. Hawkinson averaged 34.5 yards per game. In the other 12 games, he averaged 48.75 yards per game.

A really big difference. He was also on pace for 88 targets with Galladay and 105 targets without Galladay. That was a 16-game pace based on those games. You think about it. Henry's best numbers came before really Mike Williams was a significant part

of the Chargers offense. Gusecki's best stretch of games was when Preston Williams went out in 2019. It's not hard to figure out which of these guys have a chance to ascend to potential greatness i don't

know greatness but you know um consistent production it's pretty interesting i don't know that we've really framed it like that just kind of looking at the other we probably have but maybe not enough looking at the rest of the targets there um okay so when should we take travis kelsey because i think when you make the mistakes, Heath, of not emphasizing the gap between the elites and everybody else enough, for a lot of people, it's do I take these guys over running backs or very high-end wide receivers? So it's a difficult decision.

So let's start with Kelsey. When should we take Travis Kelsey, who had his best season and on a per-game basis, he was the number three wide receiver. He was better than all but two wide receivers per game, which is usually he's closer to wide receiver 10. But when would you take Kelsey? When I first did, way back in December, an original top 24, I had Kelsey at eight.

I think nine to 12 is the range where you should strongly consider him. I would not want to pass on him unless I, I mean, obviously I have the 12th pick

and you get two picks in a row there, but I would not anticipate him coming back to me if I passed on him in round one. Jamie, look at the mock draft we did a couple weeks ago

or three weeks ago. PPR, McCaffrey, Cook, Kamara, Henry, Chububb Devante Adams Barkley Jonathan Taylor Travis Kelsey nine to me Austin Eckler 10 to you then Zeke then Clyde Edwards but yeah ninth that's exactly what Heath was saying I'm in total agreement with it I think you could start to consider him as early as seven you can make a case that he should be drafted ahead of Devante Adams you know just based on what his position is by comparison to what the position Adams plays. And I think once you start to get to the back half of

the first round, you have a general idea. And certainly when we get to August, we have a general idea of, okay, there's five to 10 running backs that you could potentially say, I'm going to take in the second round, you know, and it just depends on how, how much you value those guys, how much you like them. So, you know, if you, if you're not sold on running back six through 12, then take Kelsey and take one of those running backs in the second round or avoid running back in general, if you want to go that route as well. I do think it's interesting. Like, you know, Chris is pushing this idea.

Chris Sauer is pushing this idea of three tight ends in the first round. And if you go back to last year and you would have done that, you would have hated yourself because Kelsey would have been fantastic. And you would have taken either Ertz or Andrews potentially as the third guy because he was in the mix with Waller. It wasn't a slam dunk. Yeah, but Waller was a lot better this year than anyone was. Well, let me just check. Waller averaged 17.5. Yeah, Waller was a lot better this year than those guys were last year.

Okay, so go back two years ago when they all set records, when it was Ertz setting the catch record and Kelsey was amazing and Kittle had an amazing season. Yeah, I think you would have been disappointed. They all took a fairly big step back in 2019, but they all had pretty good years. Kelsey averaged 16 fantasy points per game.

That's very good. Kittle averaged 15.9. He missed two games. But in 2019, those guys were awesome. Ertz was 14.4. That's very good. Kittle averaged 15.9. He missed two games. But in 2019, those guys were awesome. Ertz was 14.4. That's not worth a first-round pick,

even at tight end. Yeah, I just think it's, you know, the second round, and it's going to be the back end of the second round, I think, based on what my expectation

of the average opposition. I don't think we're going to see, like, Crystal Kittle with the second pick in round two. I don't see that happening very often. I don't think we're going to see Waller. And as of second pick in round two. I don't see that happening very often. I don't think we're going to see Waller. And as of now, I like Waller second because I just don't know the quarterback situation in San Francisco.

So once we get a quarterback, you know, cemented in place, you know, for the 49ers, then I'll probably put Kittle back ahead of Waller. But my initial ranking is Heath reference, you know, coming off of the season. I had Waller second, not because of the production, but because just the quarterback situation. At least I know right now Derek Carr is the quarterback for the Raiders. I think you're going to see those guys at the back end of round two. And I think they should be drafted in round two, but I don't think they're going to go early round two, and I definitely don't think you're going to see them go in round one.

Okay, Heath. Besides Kelsey. Round one for Kelsey. What about for you for Kittle and Waller? And who do you have ranked ahead? I currently have Kittle. I think Kittle and Waller are closer who do you have ranked ahead? I currently have Kittle. I think Kittle and Waller are closer to each other

than they are to Kelsey. I think Kittle's a middle of round two and Waller's probably... I wouldn't be surprised if Waller ends up at the top of round three, but I think he's a late round two pick is where I'd be pretty happy taking him.

And the nice thing about that is if that's the way it shakes out, then just about everybody is going to have a shot at one of those elite tight ends. So, that's true. So, what do you make of this with Darren Waller? His first 11 games, he had 542 yards. His last five games, he had 542 yards his last five games he had 654 yards so we does that matter to you at all it started with that 200 yard jet game and then after that i mean he went 200 yards 75 yards 150

112 117 that's how he finished but before that his first 11 games on pace for 788 yards on 131 targets very weird he averaged he averaged like almost double the amount of yards per catch His first 11 games on pace for 788 yards on 131 targets. Very weird. He averaged, he averaged like almost double the amount of yards per catch basically in those last five games. Not quite, maybe more like 40% more, but,

uh, crazy. Anyway, like Heath, does that matter to you? Those splits? It was, it was pretty by,

you know, it was 11 games, including their buy. I don't think they had that late of a buy. No, their buy was week six. I'm just looking at Josh Jacobs game logs. Cause they ran the ball don't think they had that late of a bye. No, their bye was week six. I'm just looking at Josh Jacobs' game logs because they ran the ball a lot better

in the first half of the season. In the second half of the season, their run game fell apart. It was 11 games of, you know, a lot of catches, a good amount of touchdowns, but very disappointing production per target. And then five games of best tight end in NFL history, basically.

Like Tyler Higbee, I don't think we should expect then five games of best tight end in NFL history. Basically like, like Tyler Higbee. I don't think we should expect those five games to be the norm moving into the new year. Like that's, that's part of it. The, as far as how bad the pace was in the first 11 games, there were some weird games in there.

They had the terrible weather game against Cleveland where nobody threw the ball. They had the game against the Patriots where they just completely took him out of the game. There were some weird things. I think you like if you're looking at an expectation for Darren Waller, it's in between the 1200 yards he had and the 750 he was on pace for. So that's one of the reasons why I don't agree with the idea of putting him in the same category as Kelsey in that first round discussion.

But I still think you're looking at back-to-back seasons with 1,100 yards and 90 catches. We don't have to parse it too much more than that. Yeah, Jacobs got hurt in week 12. Didn't play in week 13. It's almost like that's exactly where it coincides. Well, that's okay. That's pretty interesting and something to keep in mind going forward.

But it's also, again, like, look at their receiving core. If Nelson Aguilar is your number one receiver, you're probably going to lean on another position to help you out. Well, then are you worried about, are you worried about Iyuk and Debo and Kittle in that regard?

I mean, you have to be a little concerned because Kittle's greatness and he's great, you have to be a little concerned because Kittle's greatness and he's great, don't get me wrong, but his greatness came when their receiving core, their top receiver was Dante Pettis. You know, so he was amazing still with Debo,

but we know Debo was a rookie learning his way and didn't have great production. But now you have Debo and Ayuk, and Ayuk seems to be a legitimate talent. So is he going to be at that same level of production? I don't know. I think the quarterback will determine that. I'm not, I'm not shying away from Kittle because of it, but I do think that if you're, if you're comparing Waller and Kittle right now,

who has an opportunity to get more targets, you have to say Waller. Yeah. Yeah. I would agree with that. The one thing I would say about the 49ers situation is I'm more worried about Debo than I am about Ayuk or Kittle. And I'm more worried about Ayuk than I am about Kittle if all three of those guys are healthy. I think Kittle's the one to be the least concerned about

of those three. Yeah, they've played so few games at the same time. I don't even know, maybe one or two. Oh, yeah, and one or two with, Oh yeah. And with Garoppolo, right. It's just,

there's not a lot to go off of there. Uh, who's tight end for Heath. Oh, that's a discussion that we're probably going to fight over. Um, all summer. I don't even remember who I originally put it tight in for. I'm working through my,

uh, projections right now. I, I have Mark Andrews as my early top four I think Hawkinson is in that discussion but I'd probably go Andrew still Jamie who you got yeah same Andrews you know I think you go back to you know the hope of him being the guy that he was in 2019. I'm sorry, 2020. That Jackson is back to that level as well.

And I'm sorry, back to 2019. I apologize. Where he was, you know, clearly a better end zone producer, better scoring, did a better job of finding the end zone and scoring more touchdowns. But I just feel a little bit more secure with him. Again, it's looking at the offense. What else is there?

You know, Marquise Brown's not a guy that's going to command 150 targets. It's just not part of his game. And that's not the offense, but Andrews, I think is still the first read for Lamar Jackson. I still think that's the guy he looks for in the red zone. So I think he still has the most upside to be that fourth guy and can

easily crack the top three. If one of the other guys has a setback or as Kittle shown you to the last two years, he gets hurt. And it's worth noting like, well, it was a disappointing season for Mark Andrews. He was also number three on a per game basis.

He was better than TJ Hawkinson last year in his down year on a per game basis. Yeah. I had him as four. I had him a fifth and non PPR fourth and PPR, but it's probably very, very close with whoever it was. Three.

No, no. Kittle Kittle was, was three, but he, okay. Right. Yeah.

Okay. I wasn't cutting him. So fourth for Andrew, uh, for Andrew's per game in PPR. Uh, there was one thing though, that needs to be considered.

His splits were very different. Once Nick Boyle got hurt, which might not make a ton of sense, but I believe his routes run went way up. With Nick Boyle, he was on pace for 88 targets. Without him, if you want to remove the game that Boyle

partially played, you want to just go without him, the five games that Boyle did not play, he was on pace for 112 targets. And that was with Lamar Jackson throwing less, actually. Throwing fewer passes. that was with Lamar Jackson throwing less, actually. Throwing fewer passes. Of course, Lamar Jackson at one point, he said something like

he just had to run more. At the end of the year, Jackson was playing a lot better, but he was also throwing less. He was running a lot more, and that was his default. Our offense isn't really working right now. I'm just going to run more. So yeah, that's not great for Mark Andrews. Well, and in relation to that too, I mean, it wasn't just a, that they ran more, they ran

a lot fewer plays. I think they were in like five fewer plays per game last year than they did in 2019. So that's where a lot of their total number of runs also went down last year. And I think that their percentage was very, very similar. It's just that they didn't run near as many plays. Okay. So why don't we talk about some sleepers, breakouts, busts? You can lump sleepers and breakouts in if you want, but let's start with that.

Jamie, who are some 2021 sleepers? Well, I mean, Irv Smith is going to be a guy that toes the line, you know, is he a breakout? Is he a sleeper? I'll put him in the sleeper category for now. I just like the setup, especially if Kyle Rudolph leaves, we've seen some of that potential in production. I'm going to go back to Blake Jarwin. I think if he's healthy, he'll be the lead tight end for the Cowboys. You saw some good production from Dalton Schultz, I think, with a healthy Dak Prescott. Well, what Blake Jarwin had the potential to be going into the season before the ACL tear. I'll go back to him as well.

And then Cole Comet is another one. You know, just looking at the most likely scenario of Jimmy Graham leaving. And I hope for Jimmy Graham's sake, it was a pretty cool moment for him to end his time with Chicago. Maybe his career, you know, catching the one-hand touchdown walking to the tunnel and the place where you made your most of your production in new Orleans. Not the ending that you wanted, but certainly the, maybe the place and the play. So those are three that I'll look at a lot. And in that same draft, I drafted Irv Smith and Cole commit, you know, to what you said, Heath,

about, you know, Dave's point of taking two. I think that's good. If you don't get a guy that you like or a guy that you're sold on, or you think, you know, has potential take two guys, you think that has good. If you don't get a guy that you like and, or a guy that you're sold on, or you think, you know, has potential take two guys, you think that has potential. So those are two sleepers. And then the breakouts, uh, you know, Dallas Goddard is going to be number one. If Zachary is gone as expected.

Um, I think no fans still fall in that category as a breakout guy. Um, those will be probably the two most popular ones. Okay. So Jamie says, Irv Smith, Blake Jarwin, Cole Kometa sleepers, Dallas Goddard, Noah decisions to make with their offense, and Howard's still under contract for another year. So he could be really interesting as a deep sleeper coming off that injury. Agree on Jarwin.

I think that there's a chance. I'm trying to find somebody else that Jamie didn't say, but I think he said them all. Okay. I mentioned Gasicki. I'm blanking on somebody else that Jamie didn't say, but I think he said them all. Okay. I mentioned Gasicki. I'm blanking on his name for whatever reason. The rookie from New Orleans with Jared Krupp. Troutman.

Troutman. Yep. Yeah. And maybe Josh Oliver actually gets and stays healthy. That could be an offense that throws the ball to the tight ends a little bit in Jacksonville. What about Hunter Henry and Evan Ingram? I asked Jamie about them on FFT in five.

Jamie's more in on Henry than Ingram. Heath, what about you? How do you feel about those two who were exciting young players for once upon a time? They're still pretty young. Who is Henry playing for? That will have a big impact

on how excited I am. But if he goes to a good situation where you expect him to get targets, then yeah, I think you'll still view him as a low end number one tight end. It's hard for me to get excited about Ingram just because of the way that they use them most of the time. But he will, if he is somebody that's available in round nine or round 10, I think he absolutely belongs in the sleeper category. If we're still going to draft him in round six or round seven, then I'll be out. No, I mean, in the draft we just did, he went after Zach.

You took Zach Ertz. Now, we didn't have rankings. So you actually took two tight ends in rounds 12 and 13. I say we just did it. We did it like early January. John U. Smith and Zach Ertz you took with the last pick of round 12 and the first pick of round 13, and then Evan Ingram went right after that.

And I know this was a draft where you were like, oh, man, a lot of people were like, oh, maybe I should have taken that guy because you just couldn't see who was available. But would you take Evan Ingram over Jonu or Zach Ertz if you could do it again? I don't know. Why not over

Jonu Smith? Because you talk about Target. You thinking Corey Davis is gone or something? Well, I mean, Jonu Smith could be gone. And Corey Davis could be gone. We don't have any... That's one of the things that I noticed going through. There's a lot of question marks as far as who's going to be on whose team this year.

But I think Ingram belongs in that same conversation with those two guys, depending on where they all are. Well I think Ingram belongs in that same conversation with those two guys, depending on where they all are. Well, Ingram could be replaced. I mean, every mock draft you see, the Giants are taking Kyle Pitts. Oh, no. You kidding me?

Yeah, you've seen it several times. I've seen it several times. I would guess Jamar Chase would have to be off the board at that point at 11, because they need a wide receiver much more than a tight end. Yeah, Kyle Pitts will be a really exciting rookie. And Jamie's in love with him, so just get used to it right now.

I mean, what's not to be in love with him? He's pretty awesome. That's just a bonus. He's pretty awesome, for sure. All right, so there will be some fun late-round tight ends for you. By the way, Evan Ingram was, let's just get these numbers here. He was fourth in targets, fifth in catches, eighth in yards among tight ends,

and 51st in touchdown catches. He had one touchdown catch on 109 targets. Oh, my gosh. It's pretty impressive. If you would have said before the season he's going to be top five in targets, he would have been a top five top around five

first five rounds he would have been taken. Quite possibly. The Giants though, they are an offense to probably run away from. They ran the third fewest plays in the NFL and that wasn't because their defense stunk. I just think that's their philosophy. So that's not good when there are a lot of mouths to feed

on an offense that doesn't run a lot of plays. All right, I think that's pretty much it for tight end. I have a feeling we'll talk about tight end a little bit more before you draft in nine months or whenever. Or when is it, seven months? Who's counting? We'll take a quick break. When we come back, we will talk about a few news items

and read your emails. FantasyFootball at CBSi.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. Their insurance

solutions are designed to help protect you and your loved ones financially, giving you the peace of mind to focus on what truly matters. Find their products through banks, credit unions, and associations, or visit SecurianCanada.ca. Securian Canada, insurance designed for life. Did you know that across Ontario, utility damage happens 19 times a day? That's over 4,222 incidents a year.

Don't let your next dig be one that causes costly delays or safety risks. Before you break ground, make it a point to request a locate. It's not just the law. It's a step to keep your team and community safe. Visit OntarioOneCall.ca and avoid unnecessary damages to get the job done right. Data sourced from the ORCGA 2023 Dirt Report. Not a lot of news today around the NFL, but the Ravens want to extend Lamar Jackson. The Texans are set to interview Leslie Frazier, who's the Bills defensive coordinator,

Baltimore assistant head coach David Culley, and Jim Caldwell, who is the head coach for the Colts and the Lions, and pretty successful at that. That's the guy they should hire. Caldwell, yeah. I know he had to step aside from the Dolphins because of health issues. Hopefully those are resolved,

but very accomplished head coach. This was interesting. I saw on CBSSports.com, the reason the Bucs are hosting a Super Bowl this year is because of weather, because of rain. Back in 2017, the Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Rams announced that the opening of their new stadium was going to be delayed a full year,

citing record-setting rain. And while Super Bowl 55 was still several years away at that point, the NFL requires stadiums to be open for two years before hosting a Super Bowl, so the league was forced to move the big game to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. So this Super Bowl was supposed to be in Los Angeles, but because of rain, delayed the construction of the stadium. It's in Tampa Bay. How about that?

There you go. There's something that maybe nobody cared about, but I think it's pretty neat. Time for emails. Fantasyfootball at CBSi.com. Send them in. And of course, Apple Podcast Reviews. If you give us an Apple Podcast Review, we I think it's pretty neat. Time for emails. Fantasyfootball at cbsi.com. Send them in. Of course, Apple Podcast Reviews. If you give us an Apple Podcast Review, we will read it on the show. Five stars! And a question. This is from Garrett.

In my Empire League, similar to Dynasty, but with six bench spots and three taxi spots, I was offered this trade. I give up Russell Wilson and Miles Sanders. I get Kareem Hunt, Terry

McLaurin, and the 2.04 rookie pick. So give up Wilson and Miles Sanders, get Kareem Hunt, Terry McLaurin, and the fourth pick of round two in the rookie draft. Assuming this is one quarterback? Yeah, one quarterback. Oh, I hate it. Now, he does have

Dak and Wilson and Tua, but I do not like this at all. Downgrade at running back. Yeah. You are getting the best player because McLaurin's the best player. Is he? Are you taking McLaurin ahead of Miles Sanders at this point?

In Dynasty, absolutely. I was just looking at the Dynasty trade chart, and it hasn't been updated for a month. But yeah, I had McLaurin over Sanders, and I definitely have Kareem Hunt over Russell Wilson in one quarterback lead, I think. So if you're getting a second-round pick as well... I hate it.

I mean, I don't... I don't think it's... it's kind of just replacing spots. You said he has Dak, right? He does. He also has Michael Thomas, A.J. Brown, Amari Cooper, and Cortland Sutton. You can never have enough great wide receivers in Dynasty. All right, but you also can never have enough great running backs. No, maybe Miles Sanders isn't great.

I have Christian McCaffrey and a bunch of junk. And if I had a healthy Christian McCaffrey, I bet I would have won the Dynasty League last year because of my receivers. Okay, but he doesn't... I don't know what that means. Yeah, but he already has great results. You want receiver capital in Dynasty Leagues.

All right, so you're doing this trade? Yes. I would do it. Okay. From Rusty, what do you think I can get for Nick Chubb? I took over an orphan team in a super flex league. I had the first picks of rounds one, two, and three.

I traded 101 for 104, 207, and 212. Chubb is the best player on my team, but there's a manager who has 107, 112, and 204. Is that asking too much? Those three picks, the seventh, twelfth, and then the fourth pick of round two, is that asking too much for Nick Chubb? No.

If you get that, that's crazy. I think that's asking a little. I mean, you can ask, but that's a heck of a haul. Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't give that. Right. But you'd ask for it. Right. What would you give?

It's not quite an Acer trade. Would you give 107 and 204 for Nick Chubb? If I'm winning now, yes. Yeah, yeah. Okay. This is from John. Hey, FFT gang. After 13 years, I finally won my first championship.

Hey, John. But to help secure the win, I traded away $25 of my 2021 draft budget for Nick Chubb in a $200 league. So now I'm disadvantaged in our salary cap draft next season, and I'm trying to get creative. I can keep Chubb for 48 bucks

out of 175 for him, 200 for everyone else. But I also have these options. Jonathan Taylor for 31, J.K. Dobbins for 19, and Cam Akers for 11. I don't know how many he needs to keep. That's the problem. I mean, Chubb is the worst value, isn't he?

For sure. By far. So you've got Chubb for 48. You've got Taylor for 31. Dobbins for 19 and Akers for 11. How would you rank them in terms of value, Jamie? I would rank them Taylor, Akers, Dobbins.

I think I agree. Okay, so hopefully that helps. Taylor's first and Chubb's last. Why do you think Cam Akers fell kind of far, like in the drafts we did in January, in early January. He was coming off of the ankle injury, and so I think a little out of sight, out of mind.

Yeah, he went 36th in the full PPR, and I believe I took him in the fourth round, probably about 40th overall in the half PPR league. Yeah, so we had this discussion while you were gone. I heard it, and I wanted to get in on it because I thought it was so interesting. Yeah, like Dave said already, he would have taken Akers over whoever he took.

Oh, Edward Talaire. I had picks at the back end of the first round, so I really was out on this unless he would have fallen to me in round three, but that wasn't happening. So I think Akers is going to end up being a late round two pick. Just look at these carries in his last six games, including the playoffs.

21, 29, 15, 21, 28, 18. And the game with 15 carries was a Jets game. He got hurt in that game. Came back, but missed some time. But that's just an incredible workload. Yeah, it's kind of like nick chubb and that you're probably i mean we the one thing we don't know that could change things is could his role grow in the passing game the rams the last two years just haven't really thrown

the ball to their running backs at all and they preferred to throw it to both malcolm brown and daryl henderson over acres year, but he was a rookie. I don't know what his receiving upside is, which will hold him down a little bit in PPR, but he could be a top 12 back next year. The flip side of that, though, is he got all of that work. The latter part of it, certainly the playoffs, Daryl Henderson wasn't playing.

So how much of a role does Henderson still have? Now, obviously, as we saw when they came back from their bye, it was the Cam Akers show. And that was kind of what we were hearing from the offseason on. I continue to reference Jordan Roderick of The Athletic. She told us that on HQ in the preseason. She kept reporting it throughout the season. And that Akers would build toward the end of the year. And that's what he did.

And so is Daryl Henderson completely forgotten? Or does he still have that complimentary role that we see with backups that could just drive down the price a little bit of CanMakers and drive down the production as well? Heath, how was your first show back? What'd you think?

I really thought it was fantastic. You guys carried me. I appreciate it. You are very welcome. That's what we're here to do. And we'll talk to Heath and Chris Towers on Thursday with a look at some early projections for the 2021 season. Thanks to Jamie, Heath, and Ben.

I am Adam. Thanks so much to all of you for listening and for your emails. Leave us an Apple Podcast review. We'll read it on the show. And we'll talk to you on Thursday, both on Fantasy Football Today in 5 and on FFT. See you.