Fantasy Football Today - Top 10 Backfield Battles and Fantasy Jeopardy (06/26 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Episode Date: June 23, 2023

Fantasy Football Today is available for free on the Audacy app as well as Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher and wherever else you listen to podcasts.  We give our thoughts on the Seahawks, Bears and Lions backfields and many, many more after a quick round of news and notes (3:05). Let's start with Seattle (7:05) where Ken Walker is being drafted much earlier than Zach Charbonnet but we like the value on Charbonnet. And in Detroit (13:35), we don't see this backfield battle the way others in the industry do ... Are any of the Bears RBs (19:15) worth drafting before pick 100? Is D'Andre Swift overrated in Philadelphia (22:46)? Should DeVon Achane be the first Dolphins RB selected (28:35)? Then we finish up with 8 more backfield battles (31:10) including the Bills, Broncos, Packers, Saints and Commanders ... It's time for Fantasy Jeopardy (42:15)! Can Dan Schneier give us a decent effort or will Heath continue his Jeopardy dominance? ... Email us at [e-mail] Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr, @ctowerscbs Follow the brand new FFT TikTok account: https://www.tiktok.com/@fftoday Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/fantasyfootballtoday Get 20% off Fantasy Football Today merch: https://store.cbssports.com/collections/fantasy-football-today%20?utm_source=podcast-apple-com&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=buy-our-merch&utm_content=fantasy-football-collection Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/ Sign up for the FFT newsletter https://www.cbssports.com/newsletter You can listen to Fantasy Football Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast." To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Now, here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, and Heath. A very happy Friday to everybody out there. Let's get ready for the weekend. A very happy Friday to everybody out there. Let's get ready for the weekend. A very sleepy Friday for Dan Schneier. We're going to find out why. It's a good story for you. And Heath Cummings is here as well. And I'm Adam Azer and we've got Fantasy Jeopardy coming up in a little bit.

We're also going to talk about, yeah, oh, Heath's pumped. We're also going to talk about the 10 most interesting backfield battles as of right now, plus three honorable mentions. So I guess the 13 most interesting backfield battles, which is close to half the league. Anyway, good morning, Dan. Been up for a couple hours, I guess. So where were you last night and how was it? Well, you built this up as a great story.

I don't know if this is any kind of great story, but it was a great night for me. Yeah, that's what I meant. it well you built this up as a great story i don't know if this is any kind of great story but it's a great night for me and the fam we were at city field for the last ever dead and company show at city field this is their last tour uh first one i've ever gone to and i i gotta say this i've seen probably 20 to 25 live bands different actually it's got to be more i've seen random bands so let's just say 50 and i I would say, here's the take. John Mayer is the best live musician I've ever seen play. Yeah. And to me, I don't even think it was close.

And I think... What did you see? What show did you see last night? Dead & Company. Dead & Company. So it's a grateful dead tribute band kind of thing. They play a lot of dead songs. They play some cover songs.

And they played a cover of All Along the Watchtower. And the guitar solo by John Mayer on that was something that I don't even think was possible until I actually just watched it live last night. So just incredible to see these people that good at playing instruments together and especially John Mayer. And so now I'm just like mind blown. And but then it was like a long ride home because I got to drop my brother off and I had to go back to my parents house and back to my apartment. So I'm on a few hours of sleep now, but hopefully I still have my voice. That's what's most important. Yeah, all right.

That's awesome, man. Sometimes, man, a great concert can just be like an out-of-body experience. Heath, best concert you ever been to? One of the Farm Aids. It's a day-long, like noon to midnight type thing and every year Willie Nelson's there Dave Matthews is there Wilco was there one year probably the year that Tweedy was there by himself

but yeah one of the four mates what about you Azar? I'm not going to bother googling Tweedy I just get accepted I don't know who that is that's fine he's like the the front man for wilco i had a feeling uh the best concert i've ever been to i don't know i wow probably an aerosmith concert i knew you were going to air they're so good live so i can think of one in

particular but yeah i yeah i'll say that one okay let's get to the show. Let's start with just a couple of news items. Romeo Dobbs said that Jordan Love can do the exact same thing as Aaron Rodgers. I don't think he's talking about the psychedelic drugs. I think he's talking about the quarterback position. But nice to see some love given to Jordan Love. Travis Kelsey playfully said that Jamar Chase should sort of watch what he's saying about Patrick Mahomes. Jamar Chase saying Pat who? I think is what he said.

You saw how Mahomes responded, right? With the tweet of his rings. Yeah, that too. And then I was like, I gotta check the schedule. Are they playing this year? Oh, they are playing this year. This could be a huge game. December 31st, New Year's Eve. Chiefs hosting the Bengals in week 17.

It's probably for the one seed. Quite possibly. We'll see what the Jets have to say about that. The Jets? The Jets are the team? I was just trying to be. But the Jets could win the AFC. Wouldn't shock me at all.

I guess. The entire AFC? They could win the Super Bowl. I think absolutely. I guess. The entire AFC? They could win the Super Bowl, I think, absolutely. I guess. You're not feeling it? I mean, they have maybe the best defense in football, and if Aaron Rodgers is good again...

It's just so hard for me to... I feel like if it's not Mahomes, then it has to be Allen or Burrow, right? If they let somebody else win one besides Mahomes, the year that he doesn't, there will be a year or two that he doesn't. No, the AFC. I don't think Mahomes is going to win the Super Bowl every year.

I'll take Herbert over Rodgers or any of those people too as well. Like if those young guys got to get him the years that something goes wrong with Mahomes because they're not going to get very many chances. Yeah, I didn't even see that. What year will something go wrong with Mahomes? Outside of injuries, I don't really see that happening anyway. Yeah. No, I mean – I just get to a point of every playoffs where I'm just betting on the Chiefs

because I'm like, why would I bet against Mahomes? It's just – I don't think there's – I don't want to root against Mahomes, first of all, and I don't want to be rooting against him in a bet. Like in the fourth quarter. This is my favorite segment of the show, probably. I think the reason that is, Dan, is because he's been a quarterback for five years and they've been in the AFC Championship every year. Yeah.

One of the years they probably won't be. And one of the only times they lost it was the Super Bowl when the entire offensive line got injured, which will never happen again. So the Jets, by the way, have the fourth shortest odds to win the Super Bowl in the AFC. I believe that. I just don't. In the AFC.

In the AFC. Eighth, seventh or eighth. It's Chiefs, Eagles, Bills, Bengals, Niners, Cowboys, Jets. So seventh shortest odds. I guess having no depth and potentially no starters at offensive tackle doesn't matter. Yeah, I mean, ask the Bengals two years ago. They won the AFC with a dreadful offensive line. I would go Chargers

over Jets, too. That's true. Chargers are tenth shortest odds. Ravens are actually just behind the Jets. I would definitely go Ravens before Jets, too. The Lions are the ninth shortest Super Bowl odds. That's dumb. Yeah, they're not going to win the Super Bowl.

All right, let's get to our backfield battles. Also, if we could throw up that URL, Schaefer, that tiny URL, I can tell people how to get to our eBay store to support the draft-a-thon, support St. Jude. Any donation you make, it's all going to St. Jude, and you can bid on things like private Zoom calls with our experts to get ready for your draft. There will be more spots available to make a guest appearance on Fantasy Football today. There will be spots available in different leagues.

We'll hope to have more information about that next week. Something really exciting. So, yeah, go to the eBay store. I'll get the URL for you momentarily here. Actually, I think I have it, but I know it starts with tiny URL. tinyurl.com slash FFT donate. tinyurl.com slash FFT donate.

That's where you can go right now and make some bids and support an amazing cause. All right, backfield battles. Let's start with Seattle. I'm going to give you the ADP based on NFC, which is high-stakes leagues since June 1st. Perfect. We'll also put in it's high-stakes leagues,

and I think there's best ball data mixed in there. And it's, I think, half PPR, right? Typically? There are a variety of leagues mixed in there. I think Dan's right. There is some best ball. I think there's less best ball in this ADP than there is in Fantasy Pros currently, though.

So I think it's the best we've got. Okay, and it's about 50 drafts, so it's still not great, but it is what it is. best we've got. Okay, and it's about 50 drafts, so it's still not great, but it is what it is. All right, Seattle. Ken Walker as RB15 in round four. Zach Charbonnet as RB38 in round 10. And what do you think?

RB15 for Walker, RB38 for Charbonnet, round four versus round 10. Heath, what's the better value? Well, it's definitely not Ken Walker in round four is RB 15. Um, for me, I have real concerns about whether Walker can hold on to anything in the passing game and whether Walker can hold on to short yardage work. He was, he was very, um, Deandre Swift like last year with a real strong ability to hit the big play. Maybe even a little bit of Saquon Barkley, except not near as good, obviously, in the passing game. But too many runs that went for negative or zero or one yard.

And so I don't want to draft a running back in round four if I'm not sure that he's the goal line back or the passing dots back. Dan, what's the better value here? Round four for Walker or round 10 for Charbonnet? Without a doubt, it's taking the gamble in round 10 on Charbonnet. I think Heath nailed it. I was going to go into a little bit of it. But Walker was not very efficient last year as a runner, and I felt like he didn't do a great job, in my opinion, of running behind that wide zone scheme that they ran. I mean, I only saw two games on tape. One was the Giants game.

But I thought there were some holes he picked that were wrong. And you bring in Zach Charbonnet, who's a really talented back, whose film I loved. I had him as my RB2 overall in this class, ahead of Jameer Gibbs, clearly. And that's a big piece. That's a big competition piece. And I don't think they're going to look at this thing like, this is Walker's job. He's coming in and Charbonnet's the backup. I think they're just going to hot hand this and mix it around.

And at that point, with a six-round difference, I don't think it's even a debate for me, Charbonnet over Walker. Because I think Charbonnet is the more talented player. I don't actually have Charbonnet in round 10 either in full PPR. I've got him in round 11. So I'm not necessarily saying that I love the Charbonnet side either, but I just know chance that I'm drafting Ken Walker in round four. There will be a lot of Charbonnets for me just because the way I draft my teams,

it's so wide receiver heavy that I need those dart throws in those rounds. To me, he's just like you get one Walker injury. Now you have potentially RB1 out of Charbonnet. So I just want to, I do want to bring up some, first of all, you did say, Dan,

you think Charbonnet is a more talented player, which I find interesting. I like him better. I think, I feel like people are forgetting how good Ken Walker is. And you're right. You're exactly right. Heath about his profile.

He was a boomer bust, not on a week to week basis, but on a carry by carry basis guy. He was a home run hitter. a boomer bust, not on a week-to-week basis, but on a carry-by-carry basis guy. He was a home-run hitter. He was one of the very best at explosiveness and one of the very worst when it came to just gaining a yard, basically. And that is the kind of guy, generally, that fantasy people love and head coaches give touches to other guys and we get mad about it.

Yeah, I just don't know that it's going to be the same this year. He could easily become a more consistent running back. That's what I've noticed with some of these advanced stats when we look at rookies. And also, short yardage. Walker was not good in short yardage. Among 64 running backs with 50 or more carries, he was 48th in conversion rate on third and fourth and one.

So he did not do a good job there, but he was better than his, his percentage of converted carries on third and one, uh, fourth and one to become first downs. He had a higher percentage than Jonathan Taylor, then Saquon Barkley, then Damian Harris.

Um, he was slightly behind Josh Jacobs and Nick Chubb. And also remember Clyde Edwards, he layer as a rookie, he converted one third of his third and fourth and one carries. And then over the last two years, he's 15 for 15. Third down and one and fourth and one. So things can change.

There's two things there. He's gotten 15 opportunities since he converted one-third. I know you're right. He is nowhere close to the Chiefs first or second preference as an option on a short yardage play. I think that's probably why he's 15 for 15 because teams are so surprised when they hand it off to him on third or fourth because they don't do that. I think he's just gotten better. Once every other game he gets one of those opportunities okay austin eckler in 2021 he converted 33 percent of his 18 third and fourth and one carries in 2022 he converted 64.3 percent i just want my point is and this is really important point that i like try to make not

necessarily just specific to the situation when you look at these types of numbers you need more than one year you need more than one year before we declare for sure yeah for sure i wasn't saying i definitely think charbonnet's got short yardage work i'm just not drafting a running back in round four if i think that both of those things are up for grabs i think those like walker could be better than charbonnet and get that role this year i don't think it's very likely that walker gets the passing down. Yeah. I think he's really nailed this one to be honest, because we could like, how close is the situation to Deandre Swift of last year?

We drafted Deandre Swift around that same range. What did you get out of that investment? Oh, I have to disagree with this because he Swift was terrific at the start of the season. Granted was only two and two and a half games. I thought we drafted Deandre Swift on my ground too last year. No,

you're right. It was even higher for, for Deandre. Yeah. But two last year. No, you're right. It was even higher for DeAndre Swift. Yeah, but he got hurt. He got hurt. That's why. I don't know if the injury was the reason he wasn't running short yardage. I think Jamal Williams had that role regardless.

Yeah, for sure. Yes, that is true. And you know what, though? Dan Campbell told us that before the season started. But Swift was still so good that he was still putting up a lot of fantasy points. But you're right.

You're 100% right. Jamal Williams was a short yardage guy. Okay, let's go to Detroit. Hey, speaking of which, it was Swift and Williams last year. Now it's Gibbs and Montgomery. I know where Heath's going to go with this. I'll let him go first anyway.

What's the better value, Gibbs in round four or Montgomery in round seven? Well, I have Montgomery in round four and Gibbs in round four or Montgomery in round seven? Well, I have Montgomery in round four and Gibbs in round five. I'm one of the only people I think in the, uh, I don't like this. I might, I might end up caving because I do think Gibbs is a special talent, but I think I'm one of the only people in the industry who has Montgomery ahead of Gibbs. And I just, it's not because I think he's going to score 17 touchdowns like Jamal Williams, but I do think that David Montgomery is better than Jamal Williams, especially I think he's

better in the passing game. I think if you look at that split between Williams and Swift last year, I think there's a chance that it's a similar split. Gibbs could have more than 99 carries because he's going to hopefully play a full season. But I think it's a similar split, but possibly Montgomery has a slightly larger share of the passing down work. I think Gibbs is going to have to score from outside the 20 most of the time if he's going to score a touchdown. Dan, better value Gibbs in round four or Montgomery in round seven? I don't even think it's close. It's Montgomery in round seven. I think I'm exactly with Heath on this. If I had to rank them today, I would have Montgomery over Gibbs. I think Gibbs in round four versus Charbonnet in round 10 makes absolutely no sense to me. No sense whatsoever to me. Both of those players are in basically the same exact time. So you can say, Oh, Walker is much more talented than Dave Montgomery. Is he like Dave Montgomery is a really good runner. If you look at the advanced stats, he has done a great job of in his career, forcing

missed tackles and creating yards after contact. He's not viewed as one of those types of guys that can create on his own, but he actually can. And that's been behind a pretty bad Bears align with the exception of last year. Now he gets the best offensive line of his career. I think David Montgomery is a great value. And I think that Jameer Gibbs is completely inflated to a point that really doesn't even make that much sense to me. Like Heath just said perfectly, where are we getting our points from Gibbs? If he's not going

to dominate the passing down role, which we don't think he is, or at least Heath and I don't, he's going to need a lot of design touches in the passing game. Don't know where those are coming from. The passing game is already so concentrated with the Mon Ross and Brown and could even turn over a little bit more to Jameson Williams. So now you're looking at where is he scoring the touchdowns from and that really doesn't feel like anywhere but long touchdowns for me. And now we're looking at basically like DeAndre Swift 2.0

it feels like almost from a role standpoint. I know he was drafted high and there's all these expectation and hype and hope because he's having good camp and stuff like that and that's only going to grow. I think this ADP will go to like round three by the time we're done with this but i just took him in round three i don't know where the actual production comes from for me with with what's going with what's around him yeah he's got like it's got to be what the case that adams made and and this case right here it's got to be that he catches 70-plus passes.

Yeah. And that could happen. We had a comment in the chat. Don said think Ingram Camara, but you're taking the one example of a Sean Payton offense, the guy who has shown over his history he can maximize running backs in the passing game. So much of that offense was designed around getting Camara in the passing game. Arrow routes, whip routes, every type of different route.

I'm not so sure the Lions showed that last year under Ben Johnson. I'm not so sure that's going to evolve that way. Like that offense doesn't run the same as the Sean Payton offense, schematically. I'm going to give you one other example, though. I'm going to give you Christian McCaffrey's rookie season. Jonathan Stewart, he only had 198 carries in 15 games because Cam Newton was on the team,

and he had 139 carries, and he led the team in rushing yards. McCaffrey that year got 117 carries and 80 catches in 16 games, and he only averaged 3.7 yards per carry. He didn't have a great rookie year from that standpoint. He averaged 8.7 yards per carry. He didn't have a great rookie year from that standpoint. He averaged 8.1 yards per catch. McCaffrey, I believe, was the number nine running back in PPR that year. So he was second fiddle.

He was third fiddle in the running game to Newton and Jonathan Stewart. And that, I believe, was the same year as Kamara. I think they both came in the league in 2017. So Kamara was a third-round pick. McCaffrey was a first-round pick. I think if you don't give Jameer Gibbs at least 200 touches, well, yeah, about 200 touches or more, I think you're making a big mistake.

So I think people like me, and by the way, to answer the question of who's the better value, even though I do love Gibbs, I still think if you get Montgomery in the seventh round, I think that's the better value even though i do love gibbs i still think if you get montgomery in the seventh round i think that's the better value i know i don't want to be painted as the anti-montgomery guy necessarily i mean i don't okay wait i don't really want to be you don't want to be painted as the anti-david montgomery in the seventh round guy you have worked very hard over the last three years to be painted as the anti-david montgomery guy yeah right but i don't want to but i but i could certainly see him having a good fantasy season and I think he's incredible value in round seven, but I think you could plug in just

about any running back into that situation. I would feel the same way. I don't think it's David Montgomery. That's going to, I just don't think he's that good. I mean, basically you're right that he does create a lot of, you know, missed tackles and stuff. It's the problem is he just doesn't do that much after that. He's just, When Dan said he was a great runner, I was really hoping your head was going to explode. But I do think a great runner would be if we could combine David Montgomery and Ken Walker.

If we could give David Montgomery Walker's athleticism and speed. Well, just the speed. Alright, so we agree Montgomery is a better pick in round seven. These guys are giving you a strong take on this Lions backfield that is not common, I would say. No, if Dave and Jamie were here, neither one would agree. But I think everyone would agree that Montgomery is good value in round seven.

I don't think there's any debating that. All right. Let's go to the Bears. They were like, see you later, David Montgomery. They've got three guys who are going round nine or later right now, RB36 to RB49. Khalil Herbert is first. Deontay Foreman and Rashawn Johnson are RB46 and 49, respectively. So it's not a huge investment in any of them. Dan, is there a best value here?

Or how would you rank them, Herbert, Foreman, Johnson? That's the way they're being drafted. Yeah, I would rank them Herbert Foreman Johnson that's the way they're being drafted yeah I would rank them Herbert Johnson Foreman um just ranking based on talent I think Herbert's the best value look Herbert was a player two years ago he was one of my favorite he was my favorite value in that entire class before the draft I love this film he reminded me of Tiki I saw some shades of Tiki Barber in his tape at Virginia. So I'm just going to go with, go with the player that I like most talent wise. And I feel like you've seen that at the NFL level, right? Like on a per touch basis,

clear Herbert has done some really good things. I should have dug up some stats on this. I didn't because I had, I wasn't as prepared as I would like to be. So I apologize for that, but Adam may have some stats going, but I think he was right up there in top 10 and force missed the missed tackle rate, uh, in yards after contact per touch. So talent wise, I feel like he's the best of the bunch by a considerable margin. You're not paying that much more of a price for him at these ADPs. They're basically all late round dart throw mid mid round dart throws in a similar range maybe two three rounds so i'm just gonna go with the talent here and i'm gonna go with herbert what what round is herbert nine he has him nine he's around up pick 100 round pick 100 or so and the other two are around pick

what let's say round 12 i don't know 130 ish i haven't okay Hold on. I think I'm lower on all three of these guys than... 150. Sorry. No, no. Deontay Foreman's 145. Rashawn Johnson's 155. And Khalil Herbert is 106. Okay. I've got...

And that's fine. I think that's basically fine. The thing that scares me about Herbert, he is the opposite. He's got a little bit of the Ken Walker thing. I think he's better in some regards and not as good in others, but he has that same, his coach doesn't like him as much as his fantasy manager does. And they asked his head coach about the running back battle, and he said, well, their first job is to protect the quarterback.

Their second job is to run the ball. And Khalil Herbert's been one of the worst pass blocking running backs in the nfl so yeah i don't know i i've got it herbert johnson foreman right now i don't have any of them in my top 120 okay uh he was the i don't know that I look at the same advanced metrics as you do, but there were 41 running backs with 100 or more carries. He was top 13 in six different advanced metrics last year. Yards before contact, yards after contact, rush EPA, percentage of carries for zero or negative yards,

as in he had one of the lowest percentages, and carries of five or more yards, carries of 12 or more yards, Carries of 12 or more yards. And ninth in a void rate. So a void rate would be something like that. Yeah, the two I was looking at, I just found it. Top five in yards per carry. Yards per carry overall.

Yards after contact per carry. And then top ten in the fours in his tackle rate. Those are the big three for me. Let's go to Philadelphia. DeAndre Swift is RB23 23 he's in round six rashad penny is rb 39 he's in round 10 swift in round six or penny in round 10 heath um i i guess i'll go with the late guy again again it seems like all these battles i'm just lower than everyone on them. I also am looking at full PPR rankings and this is half PPR, so that might be part of it. I'm okay

getting a piece of both of these guys. I really would prefer to not do it before round seven, so that's why I said Penny. I think there's a very good chance one of them is going to get hurt and the other one is going to have a stretch as a top 12 running back. I think there's a pretty low chance one of them is going to get hurt and the other one is going to have a stretch as a top 12 running back. I think there's a pretty low chance that either of them has 200 touches over the full season, but they're nice guys to have on your team

for that time that they're really good. What do you like better, 6th round for Swift or 10th round for Penny? Yeah, it's not really close for me. It's going to be 10th round for Penny. There's just too many red flags for me with Deandre Swift, the player who I didn't really like that much coming out of Georgia for reasons that I don't like a lot of these running backs when I watch them on tape, I don't feel like they do a good job of processing men, mental processing their blocks. They're picking holes that I think are leading to them losing yards. I think we saw that in Detroit, even before, you know, the injuries you saw

do Staley in the, in the hard knocks be like, look, you gotta hit the hole. Like you couldn't be a great back, but you gotta, you gotta, you gotta be a great back and he's missed 42 of 82 games looking this up in his career. Deandre Swift. So I don't really, I mean, we could talk about the injury situation with shot Penny, but I don't think it's too far off with Swift. So I would go Penny here slightly, but I just don't want any of this because piece of this, because what I saw in the playoffs and at the end of the year was Kenneth Gainwell, who a

lot of people, myself included, liked a lot last year. We were wrong on him. He didn't really help us during the regular fantasy season, but in the actual NFL playoffs, his role really expanded. And I think he's going to have that role again for 2023. I think Gainwell is going to be a real big thorn in the side of anyone who's expecting consistent fantasy production from Swift or Penny this year. So don't really like either. I'd rather gamble on the later guy. Overall.

I feel like Penny is a better runner than Swift and they're both have the same kind of injury concerns. I, okay. You might be right about Swift missing some things and not processing well. And there was a quote from Ben Johnson, the coordinator from the Lions. I've mentioned this a lot, where he saidher. But at the same time, he's been a really good rusher. So even with those deficiencies, he's still so explosive. He's got to be one of the most explosive running backs in football. And yeah, he might make some mistakes, but also he makes dynamic plays and it's incredible. So I'm not going to be as hard on him in that regard.

And my concern for Penny, I'm sorry, Heath, my concern for Penny and the reason why I would take Swift in round six over Penny in round 10 is that if there are no injuries and Penny's just as likely to get injured

as Swift is, if not more likely, like Penny's not going to catch passes. I feel pretty confident in that. And I don't think he's going to average

the 15 carries per game that Miles Sanders did because Sanders got almost all of the running back carries. I think there's going to be a split between Penny and Swift. So I actually don't really see a reason to draft Rashad Penny, especially in a PPR league. He might be an 11 to 12 carry guy. I think I've

compared him to Gus Edwards. If he doesn't score, you're talking about six points. I don't think you're wrong, Adam, but I think if you draft him, you're at a point where you're talking about right now from an ADP range standpoint. You're at the point where you're just at late – you're at the dart throw period where you're looking for – I hate to say it, but an injury to someone else in his backfield, and then he becomes valuable. Because that Miles Sanders role, it's not – you're right. It's probably not likely.

It's probably some kind of split. But if anyone were to get that rollback, that's when you're like, okay, now we hit on value on this pick. Because you talked about how like, okay, I like Swift a little more because at least he can catch passes and Penny doesn't catch passes. Are there really any passes to be caught

in this offense for the running backs? I think they will change. I don't think... They had the fewest running back targets in football last year. They will... I believe they will change that. I don't think you trade... Why though? I don't think you trade for DeAndre Swift and don't use him that way.

But he won't be a ton. You have A.J. Brown and Devontae Smith and Dallas Goddard. You're right. You never work your way to the running back. Heath, I know you wanted to get a word in. Go ahead, and we'll go to our next one. Well, I think it's two things. I've been a huge backer of Swift in the past.

I definitely liked him a lot more than Dan did when he came into the league. But the last two years, he's been slightly below average as a pass catcher. And the Eagles throw the ball to their running backs less than any team. I don't think that changes with Jalen Hurts, unless somebody gets hurt amongst their receiving options. But the thing that you said, that you're not going to hold it against him, it's not about whether we hold it against him. That's where we get in trouble, I think, with backs like him.

It's about whether the next coach holds it against him. Why would they hold it against him if they just traded for him? I mean, you're ignoring the benefits, though. They didn't really trade for him. They traded a fourth-round pick that they get back once they let him leave. Okay, but they still have a talented player on their team. They're going to use him. You're ignoring the benefits of DeAndre Swift.

If you want a home run... Now, Penny can do that, too. Penny's really good. But Swift is a terrific playmaker. There's no reason not to get him on the field. Yeah, I don't know. He'll play some. It's just hard for me to envision

where the fantasy's production comes from. Let's go to Miami here. Miami, I was really surprised by the... I guess I wasn't that surprised. A little surprised. I was surprised by the ADP. Devon A-Chain is the first one off the board, round 11.

And then Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson are RB 52 and 53. None of these guys were in the top 40. A-chain, Mostert, Wilson, Heath, two questions. Who should be the first Dolphins running back drafted and will there be any Dolphins running back worth starting without an injury? Yeah, I think that there will probably be a Dolphins running back worth starting. I would bet on it being A-chain. I would bet on it being somebody else at some point in the season and somebody else at a different point in the season.

But I think for the most part, they will have, uh, they'll have a startable running back. I don't think they'll just chop it up so much that we can't use anybody. I guess one of Wilson or most shirt is going to share with a chain most weeks, but a chain is my favorite value.

Okay. Dan, quick thoughts on the dolphins. We'll take a break after that. In the same boat as Heath, I'll show me and he, they're aligning. I'm with, quick thoughts on the dolphins. We'll take a break after that. In the same boat as Heath, I'll show me and Heath are aligning. I'm with, with Heath on a chain. They drafted a chain for a reason. He's the most talented back in that backfield. When I actually went back and watched a lot of a chain on tape, I think anyone who went, who wants to take the time to watch them, you'll be pleasantly surprised with how he is as a

between the tackles runner. He's billed right now as the speed guy, bounces outside, yada, yada. Don't believe that. Watch him play, and he could actually hit it in between the holes. I think he's going to be a good back in the NFL, and I think he'll be the clear-cut best talent, and I always buy into talent. So to me, small difference in ADP, give me A-chain.

All right, we're going to take a break here. The Bills, the Broncos, and more when we come back on Fantasy Football today, right after this. 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. All right, guys, I'm going to ask you to speed it up because I've been waiting all day, all week for Fantasy Jeopardy.

So we did our top five backfield battles they were seattle detroit chicago philadelphia and miami and let's go to buffalo here to start our next group do we have to they're the adps are fairly similar james cook round eight at rb30 damian harris round 10 at rb40 How do you see it, Heath? I'm strong, prefer James Cook. I just wanted to keep aligning with Dan. I have some hope that James Cook might buck the trend. I don't want to draft. Until I see it proven that Josh Allen's actually going to take a step back from rushing,

especially inside the 10, I don't want to draft a plotter whose appeal is scoring touchdowns on a team with Josh Allen. So I'm not drafting any Damian Harris. Okay. I think that works. Good. Thumbs up, Dan.

Perfect. Well said. All right. Next up, Denver. Right now, the ADP is very similar for Javante Williams and Samaje Pirine. Round seven, RB28 for Williams. And round nine, RB33 for Samaj P. Ryan. If they were going that close,

round seven or round nine, Dan, who would you take first, Javante or P. Ryan? I actually love both at that value. I'd be happy with both or either. I guess if you push game to shove, I would take Williams just because of the way I play fantasy. I like to swing for the fences, play for first place. I don't really care about second, third, and

fourth, but I like Pirine a lot too, so it's tough for me. I'll go slight edge Williams. Love. Just in case anybody thought Dan was just agreeing with what I said, I'll go second and agree with what Dan said. Some of these teams, I didn't like either of the running backs at cost.

I like both of these running backs at cost. I'd probably lean. I only have one round separating them, so I'd probably lean towards Pirine, but happy to draft both of them here. Yeah, so we did a draft a couple weeks ago, and I took both of them. I took Javante Williams in round six and Pirine in round eight. And in both cases, I did not have another pick for another 20 picks or 22 picks. So I did feel like I had to reach for P. Ryan. I don't know if you guys feel that way,

but do you feel like if you draft Javante Williams that you, I never would say need, I never would say need, but that you want P. Ryan? I want P. Ryan. So if I happen to draft Javante Williams, that wouldn't stop me from winning P. Ryan, but I don't want P. Ryan more because I drafted Jelante Williams. Okay.

How about the Packers? Heath, you didn't really think this was a backfield battle per se. We might disagree on this one, by the way. Jones is going at the 4-5 turn. He's RB16, AJ Dillon round 9, RB32. So, Heath, your thoughts on the Packers? Like them both. Slight lean into Aaron Jones no I just I think we're going to see between 46 and 50 percent of the rush

attempts go to Aaron Jones and between 12 and 14 percent of the targets go to Aaron Jones and Dylan's gonna be 35 to 40 percent of the rush attempts and six to seven percent target share I think that would now maybe Jones falls off in the middle of the year and Dylan gets a larger share of the rush attempts and six to seven percent target share i think that we've now maybe jones falls off in the middle of the year and dylan gets a larger share of the work because jones is getting up there in age but i think it's been pretty well established that it's a 1a 1b situation aaron jones is better and and less aaron jones gets old it'll stay that way yeah this is the one where we disagree on i went over it on my bus show uh aaron show. Aaron Jones, one of my bus picks for this year. I just don't see it with Aaron Jones.

I don't see the path toward fantasy success on this offense. Now, I'm taking the gamble here that Jordan Love and this offense won't be very good. And that, to me, I don't see the – I know he still has a passing down roll, Aaron Jones. That's good. But the red zone roll, not certain. On a bad offense, i feel like i'm worried about where the touchdowns are coming from for aaron jones in 2023 and without a lot of touchdowns it's hard to return value in the fourth round yeah and i i guess you weren't

paying attention to what romeo dobbs said about jordan love i mean it was our first news item all right let's go to the Saints. Interesting backfield battle here. We just still don't even know. This is something we pretty much have never... We haven't talked about this, I feel like, in months. Kamara's potential suspension. Right, and how to draft him. But he's in round nine pick, Alvin Kamara.

And so is Jamal Williams. Kamara's RB 34, Jamal Williams is RB 37. And then Kendri Miller, the rookie, is RB45. So, Dan, what do you think about the Saints? How would you draft them? You've got Kamara and Williams in round nine and Kendri Miller later on probably around 12-ish or so. I think it's a funny scenario for me, Adam,

because we've done a bunch of mock drafts now for the site, for the magazine, whatever it would be. And I feel like I look at this and I say, my God, I would love to take a gamble on Camara in round nine or eight or seven. Like this is all feels great to me. It all feels like I'm swinging off the fences. And yet on every single one of those teams, I don't have Camara on any of them. So I clearly didn't actually do it. When push came to shove, I found a player who I liked more in each round.

So I think on the surface, it feels like I would say Kamara here. Maybe I will say Kamara because I don't really like the other two or value that as much. But I end up not drafting him as much. I think this is more of just an avoid situation for me, this backfield. Heath, how about you? It's Kamara if I can get him in round nine. I have no interest in drafting Jamal Williams or Kendri Miller, really.

I really would heath on that. I have zero interest really. Williams for sure, maybe Miller close as well. Okay, so then let's say there's breaking news and Kamara suspended six games. I do not believe there's a player on the roster that's going to get Alvin Kamara's target share at running back. This would be an exception to my running back bucket theory. Because I don't think that Jamal Williams or Kendri Miller are in the same... I'm not sure they're as good as Ken Walker in the passing game.

But do they have to be worth a ninth round pick? You're still talking about a starting running back. Maybe you catch... Okay, well, they wouldn't be that at that point. Camara is suspended for the entire season? Yeah. No, Camara is suspended for six games.

You went zero RB. You want to get off to a hot start. You've got... You know, look, I don't believe much in Jamal Williams, but I do think he's going to be ahead of Kendri Miller at Miller's first games

of his NFL career. Agreed. And if you're talking about a starting running back, that guy's probably a low-end RB, too. Dan's concerns about the Packers' offense. I'm the guy who thinks the Saints might actually be bad offensively. I feel that.

I really do feel that with Derek Carr. I know Adam's a big Derek Carr guy, but I really feel that. You are. What are you laughing at? Dan assigns so many things to me i wouldn't say i'm a big derrick carr guy i mean adam adam live on air with jamie and me you once said if the washington football team and i still call them i don't care commander's a stupid name if the washington football team acquires derrick carr they have super bowl hopes you did say that

once i said super bowl hopes or i said they'd go to the playoffs something about a super bowl contender i don't i do not i do not i think i probably said they're not a super bowl contender but they go to the playoffs of adam being contrarian against me and getting trapped into liking a player more than he actually does much like the david montgomery situation i think i think he's a league average quarterback der Derek. Next time Jamie's on, we're going to find out what the exact car quote was, but it was something bad. You went all in on car. I think he's exactly

what a league average quarterback used to be. I don't think he quite is anymore. We have four more here. Washington, Antonio Gibson, and Brian Robinson are both round nine picks. Who do you like better? Dan.

Gibson, slightly. I have a little bit of hope that they can get something going with Biennium there. Yep. But neither really for me. This is a very big avoid for me. Gibson a lot in PPR. Both are fine in none or half. Sab p ryan aj dylan and the two

commanders running backs are all round nine picks based on this average draft position are the commanders running backs last in that group yeah but i've got like i've got p ryan Dillon, and Gibson all in round seven. So I like all three of them. I like the take he had with Gibson PPR. I think I need to focus a little bit more on the potential upside for him in PPR. And our honorable mentions, do you see backfield battles, true backfield battles, in Jacksonville, Kansas City, or Houston?

I say yes in Kansas City, not in Jacksonville and Houston. But I know that there's more people who think Jacksonville and Houston will have battles, too. I say no in Houston. I think that's going to be Pierce's job. I say no in Kansas City. I say yes in

Jacksonville. Do you think Pacheco is going to be a true lead running back for the Chiefs? No, I shouldn't say no because I was thinking about it. I don't think he's going to be a true lead running back for the Chiefs. Just a split without much of a battle. Yeah, right. Right. Well, okay, obviously McKinnon's going to have his role.

Do you think Clyde Everson-Lair factors in? But when does McKinnon's role start? Yeah. Because it's not – Always to take Pacheco off the field, I mean, not necessarily to get the ball, but to be in the game would be week one, I would think. I mean, he's going to be the third down back. Right? I wouldn't be surprised if Clyde plays more on third downs early in the year, but we'll see.

Okay. Might be Sky Moore back there. Over under six and a half carries per game for Devin Singletary. Under for me. Damian Pierce plays the entire season? That's a good number.

I think it's, I'll say slightly under. You know what's a better number? What's that? $200, $400, and $600, which is what you're going to be playing for when we come back as Fantasy Jeopardy! will begin after this.

All right, here we go. Dan's been nervous. He's been making excuses all week long on social media. Oh, you have to put me up against Heath. Heath's the best. I'm going to be on two hours of sleep. This and that. You know what?

Just suck it up, and let's play some Fantasy I'm going to be on two hours of sleep. This and that. You know what? Just suck it up and let's play some Fantasy Jeopardy. Are you guys ready? Yes. Alright. I'm pretty nervous. Dan set the table nicely here for an upset victory. Right. 100%. 100%. Now you have to do it. So I'll go over the rules that I'll screw up.

No penalty for an incorrect guess. We have three categories with three answers in each of them for $200, $400, and $600. I'm not going to do a daily double. It doesn't really work in this format. I'm not going to do Final Jeopardy unless Thomas Schaefer wants to come up with a Final Jeopardy question. Nope, he says no, so there will be no Final Jeopardy. You have to buzz in by saying your name.

Whoever says their name first is up. And you have to answer in the form of a question heath did you have a question or a comment i just i mean no double jeopardy no final jeopardy three categories three dollar values could you do less please come up with a final jeopardy please come please. Come on, James. Anything you want. Now, look, I tried to make this fair for Dan, so the three categories. I'm glad we go into it with the idea of how can we make this easier on Dan.

That's exactly the way that fair competition should start. The three categories are quarterbacks, flexes, so running back, wide receiver, tight end. Names that rhyme with Daniel Doans. And the final category is Heath's meat. Okay. So that is one of the categories. Heath's meat. That doesn't seem like a fair category for me, but okay. Oh, you're right. Actually, it's totally not fair for you. Okay.

Dan, I'll let you have the board. Quarterbacks, flexes, or Heath's meat? Quarterbacks for 200. Okay. This top 10 quarterback scored 51.8% of his fantasy points in a five-game midseason stretch. Dan. Dan.

Who is Trevor Lawrence? Heath. Heath. Who is Tua Tungvalu? Oh. The answer is Justin Fields. He scored 52%. All three of them.

Yeah, they're all three. I thought Heath was going to buzz in first and say Trevor Lawrence because he loves to knock Lawrence for that. I knew that it couldn't be Trevor Lawrence because we'd had that discussion and you wouldn't do that. Very good. well played. The board is still yours, Dan. All right, quarterback for 400.

Including the postseason, this quarterback threw for more than 228 yards only three times all season, and he did it against two of the three worst pass defenses in the NFL. Including the... Heath. Who is Daniel Jones? Yeah!

Oh, come on, Schneier. That was for you, man. That was a tough one for me for some reason. All right. Heath, the board is yours. Well, it's hard to imagine that a quarterback as successful as Daniel Jones only had three games over 220.

Okay, that doesn't work in your brain. How do you get in the Hall of Fame with that kind of statistic? I'll go quarterbacks for 600, please. And in case you're confused, I said three games, but only two against two of the worst defenses, Minnesota twice and Detroit once. Did you say quarterbacks for 600? Yes, please.

Okay. He averaged 35 rushing yards per game as a starter, which is a 595 rushing yard pace. Heath. Who is Dan? Heath. Who is Dan? Heath.

Who is Deshaun Watson? Dan. Yeah. Who is Desmond Ritter? Who is Sam Howell in his one start? Ritter Howell. I knew it was a small sample size. I was close. It was Ritter Howell.

It's interesting because he rushed for, what, over 800 yards in one year and he rushed for 35 yards. That was good. That was a good one. Heath, the board is still yours. You have a $400 lead. Man, this has, the board is still yours. You have a $400 lead. Man, this has been a poor performance so far.

I will go flexes for 200, please. All right, he led the NFL with four catches on which he was stopped at the one or two yard line. Oh, Dan, damn it, damn it, damn it. Who is Amon Ross St. Brown? Wait, no. He had three. Oh, my God. Dan.

Yeah. Who is Jamar Chase? The guy who is the number one pick in fantasy drafts, Justin Jefferson, had four catches where he was stopped at the one or two-yard line last year. I feel like Chase is a close guess. This is the worst performance. I think there was actually one game where Jamie and I played where neither or two yard line last year. I feel like Chase is a close guess. This is the worst performance I've... I think there was actually one game where Jamie and I played

where neither of us got an answer right the entire game. I take responsibility for that. I don't even know how anyone gets any of these right. Yeah, I think the next two are pretty gettable in flex. But that was 200? Yeah. And these two are four and 600? But they're easier.

Yeah, they are. Yeah, yeah. It's reverse jeopardy today. That, yeah. And these two are four and 600. But they're easier. Yeah, they are. Yeah, yeah. It's reverse jeopardy today. That makes sense. Heath, your board is yours. You can go to Heath's meet if you want. No, I'm going to save that for Dan. 400.

All right. This player became the first running back to finish in the top 10 in PPR with only two rushing touchdowns since Christian McCaffrey did it in 2017. Top 10 PPR running back, only two rushing touchdowns. First time since 2017. I got no idea. Hold on.

Who's a big receiver that didn't do much? Was that running back? Yeah, running back? yeah running back Heath who is Aaron Jones? yeah Heath way to go that was a weird

I'm not sure he said Heath before Dan said Dan but we'll just go on with that I feel confident I think Adam heard that weird but we'll go on with that were you going to guess Aaron Jones? no comment alright Heath the board is yours.

Is it 800 now? No, you're up 800 to nothing. Okay, flex for 600, please. This tight end has 40 or fewer receiving yards in 18 of his last 29 games, including the playoffs. And he has 80 or more receiving yards in nine of those 29 games. Heath. Dan. Hey, Dan. Sorry, Dan.

I really want to give it to Dan. Who is TJ Hawkinson? Dan. Dan. Who is Dallas Goddard? I thought you were going to get that one. George Kittle. Would you believe it? In his last 29 games, only twice has George Kittle been between 41 and 79 yards. 27 of the

times he's been either 40 or less or 80 or more. And usually it's 40 or less. Alright, we are on to Heath's Meat. I want to get one right. Let's just go to 200 here. Dan, you're down 800. So you still have a chance here, but you definitely need the $600 one.

Alright, for $200 this meat gets its name from the way it's cooked and its location on the animal. This meat gets its name from the way it's cooked and its location on the animal. That's uh... two dan dan brisket that was wrong three two what are burnt ends location on the animal i think it's the location on the cut of meat.

Well, yeah, sure. Did you think I was going to do this all without any scrubs? Come on. All right, Dan, you need both of these to win. Great. Okay. Pete's meat for 400. This dish, which comes from the shoulder of the pig, is served shredded. Heath's meat for 400. This dish, which comes from the shoulder of the pig,

is served shredded. Heath. I had that one. Go. What is pulled pork? Come on, Dan. Yes, it's pulled pork. I had it.

I was going to say carnitas. All right. Technically been right. This one is for $600 dollars but i will double it it is now for twelve hundred dollars dan this is the tie okay i'm basically reading this directly from barbecue bible.com great unlike baby back ribs this type of ribs is cut from lower down on the rib cage and is meatier fattattier, and tougher than baby back ribs? Eighth.

Yeah. What are St. Louis-style ribs? All right. Come on, Dan. You can tie it. All you got to do is name a type of rib. Like I know nut types of ribs. They usually are available in Chinese restaurants.

Dan. Come on. Dan. Spare ribs. Go. Dan, congratulations. Well done, Dan. Not really, but I'll take it. You earned Dan. Congratulations. Well done, Dan. Not really, but I'll take it.

You earned it. You earned that tie. You earned it. You're using the word earn loosely, but I'll take it. Oh, man. That's one of my favorite appetizers, Chinese food spare ribs. Incredible. I feel like Heath.

Have you ever had Chinese food spare ribs? No. Really? I knew he was going to say that. That's why when you said that, Adam, I was like, what do you like? There is one dish that I order from Chinese. No matter where I go, there is one dish that I order. It's the same dish every time.

What is it? Always the same thing. Szechuan chicken. Mushu chicken. It is not chicken. Szechuan? Beef. That lobster sauce thing that people like?

No. Fried rice. Chicken, pork fried rice. I don't know. That lobster sauce thing that people like? No. Fried rice. Chicken, pork fried rice. You were very close. Shrimp fried rice. Shrimp fried rice. Okay. You know, there's a place in Coral Springs, Heath.

What's it called? Red Ginger. They serve Polynesian fried rice. It's served in a big pineapple, and it's got shrimp, and it's got chicken in it. You can get it without chicken. It's delicious. Absolutely love it. Polynes in it. You can get it without chicken. It's incredible. Delicious. Absolutely love it.

Polynesian fried rice. All right. All right. That is it for today's show. A big, big week for us next week. Got a lot more fantasy stuff to get to. We've got to do a mailbag at some point.

We will do that. Fantasy football at cbsi.com is the email address. I've been responding to some of them as they have come in as well. The, the, um, best way to get a question answered right now would be leave us a five-star Apple podcast review. And thanks. Have a wonderful weekend. Beyond the Box score publishes tomorrow, so check that out. Talk to you later.