Fantasy Football Today - Top 5 Players We're Avoiding (07/01 Fantasy Football Podcast)
Episode Date: July 1, 2021It's mostly about ADP, but nevertheless we'll tell you the players we're passing on in Fantasy drafts. First, we try to "Guess Heath's Sleepers" and then we get into why Heath is passing on James Robi...nson (3:10) and Dan is passing on T.J. Hockenson (5:55) ... News and notes (18:30) with potentially important notes on Jonathan Taylor, Mike Williams and Damien Harris. Then it's back to the "Avoid" list, starting with QBs (26:00) Josh Allen and Dak Prescott. Remember, it's about ADP! And at TE (34:53), we debate Kyle Pitts. One analyst is fine with his ADP and one is not even close to fine with it ... RBs on the "Avoid" list (40:40) include Miles Sanders and Josh Jacobs. Has Jacobs's situation really changed that much? And we finish with a Michael Carter discussion (52:35) as we wonder if this coaching staff will let him be a workhorse at any point ... Your emails at fantasyfootball@cbsi.com Fantasy Football Today' is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Castbox, and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Follow our FFT team on Twitter: @FFToday, @AdamAizer, @JameyEisenberg, @daverichard, @heathcummingssr, @ctowerscbs, @BenSchragg Watch FFT on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/fantasyfootballtoday Join our Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/FantasyFootballToday/ Sign up for the FFT newsletter https://www.cbssports.com/newsletter You can listen to Fantasy Football Today on your smart speakers! Simply say "Alexa, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast" or "Hey Google, play the latest episode of the Fantasy Football Today podcast." To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Transcript
Discussion (0)
Kick off an exciting football season with BetMGM, an official sportsbook partner of the National Football League.
Yard after yard, down after down, the sportsbook born in Vegas gives you the chance to take action to the end zone
and celebrate every highlight reel play.
And as an official sportsbook partner of the NFL, BetMGM is the best place to fuel your football fandom on every game day. With a variety of exciting features,
BetMGM offers you plenty of seamless ways to jump straight onto the gridiron
and to embrace peak sports action.
Ready for another season of gridiron glory?
What are you waiting for?
Get off the bench, into the huddle, and head for the end zone all season long.
Visit BetMGM.com for terms and conditions.
Must be 19 years of age or older.
Ontario only.
Please gamble responsibly.
Gambling problem?
For free assistance, call the Connex Ontario helpline
at 1-866-531-2600.
BetMGM operates pursuant to an operating agreement
with iGaming Ontario.
This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports.
On his way to the end zone.
Tell you what, that was a spectacular play.
It's time to dominate your fantasy league.
What a play.
Off to the races.
Touchdown.
Oh, he's done it again.
Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie, Heath, and Beck.
Top players to avoid this year based on their ADP.
Going a little bit too high. We won't call them busts,
but just guys that were not really that excited to draft at their ADP.
We'll take someone else at the same position just a little bit later.
Welcome to the show. This is your Thursday edition of Fantasy Football Today.
I am Adam Azer. I got Heath Cummings here.
And Dan Schneier is back.
Now, Dan, before we get into the players to avoid,
we have to play a game called Guess Heath's Sleepers.
Heath is finishing up his second sleepers column.
I don't know. You're an editor, so you see all the stuff.
So have you seen the column yet?
He has not.
I have not seen the column yet.
It's still in the works i might be able to i think i can participate i can give you like positional clues i can tell you there are two quarterbacks i used fantasy pros consensus
expert rankings um and just wrote this as these are the guys the industry's sleeping on
so there are two quarterbacks outside of the consensus top 10.
One's actually outside of the top 20.
All right.
I'm going to guess Joe Burrow.
Joe Burrow is one.
Neither Joe Burrow or Taysom Hill is correct.
Ryan Fitzpatrick.
No, but you got his first name correct.
Ryan Tannehill.
Ryan Tannehill is currently 11th
by the consensus rankings. I have
him 7th, which is... No, there's no
expert in the industry that has him higher
than 7th. Okay. Despite the fact
that only two quarterbacks have
scored more fantasy points than he has since he became
the starter for Tennessee. Wow, that's a good
stat. Hmm, who's the other one?
Not in the top 20
i'm surprised it's not it's not gardner minchu is it close enough it's trey lance trey lance okay
one more position how many uh wide receivers there are three wide receivers and we talked about two of them this week on a podcast.
Talked about two of them this week.
Mike Williams.
Incorrect, but we will talk about him more later
and he might be out. He might
move into the list. He might move into the list.
T.Y.
T.Y. Hilton is correct. Okay.
Is it Minshew?
Wide receiver 52 way to consensus rankings. Gard it Minshew? Currently wide receiver 52 by the consensus rankings.
Gardner Minshew is the wide receiver now.
All right, let's say one more guess at Heath's wide receiver sleeper.
Marvin Jones?
Yeah, probably.
Incorrect.
It's Antonio Brown.
Oh, yeah.
And Meikle Hardman.
Okay.
Hardman is wide receiver 60.
I like literally all three of those picks.
Okay.
Yeah, that was basically yesterday's those. Yep. Okay. Yeah.
That was all the picks we've made.
Basically yesterday's show.
So tune into that one.
But today it's a little bit more negative, guys,
that we think are being drafted a little bit too early.
And you know that there's just some players that you like them,
but you don't like them as much as everybody else.
And you just don't think you're going to end up with them.
So maybe there's some of those on this list.
Let's get top top player to
avoid is really not the best way to put it but if give me if there's one player that headlines your
your avoid list heath who would your one player be unfortunately i think it has to be james
robinson as much like talk about a sleeper the the very best sleeper of the 2020 fantasy football season. And somehow, even when you look at ADP,
just since the start of June,
everyone fully aware that Jacksonville has drafted
a running back in the first round,
James Robinson is still pick 60 in overall ADP,
a fifth round pick.
And I just can't imagine.
It's certainly possible that they're going to play Etienne 60 in overall ADP, a fifth round pick. And I just can't imagine.
It's certainly possible that they're going to play Etienne as a slot-wide receiver and as a gadget-type guy,
and James Robinson is still going to get 15 carries.
I think that's really unlikely.
It'd be terrible for LaVisca Chenault if that's what happens.
I think there might be 15 carries a game
and no targets early in the season and it
will only get worse from there okay so would you take them 70th overall oh no no every one of these
players um except for one i think every one of the players but one i was more than 20 picks behind
what their adp is on robinson i'm actually 40 picks in ppr behind what his adP is. On Robinson, I'm actually 40 picks in PPR behind
what his ADP is. I would not take him until round
nine. Okay, last question.
You can both answer this. James Robinson or James Connor?
Connor.
I'm
Connor, slight edge, though.
I don't really want either on my team.
I think it's
way more likely that
James Connor turns into the lead running back in Arizona
than that James Robinson holds on to that for a full season.
Okay.
Well, I mean, I don't disagree, but just the follow-up would be like,
but he was so good last year, so why not?
I mean, James Conner's had some phenomenal years playing football.
But not recently because he's been so hurt.
Yeah. The why not would be because they took a running back in the first round yeah all right so uh dan schneider
the why not is also i mean the why not would also be i'm just going to jump in real quick is that
this jacksonville jaguars offensive line is still terrible their defense is beyond bad it's going to
be bottom five again there that's two years away. And so where are the
touches coming from? Unless you're assuming James Robinson will be the third down and the passing
down back, which I don't think anyone is assuming, and it doesn't really make sense. It seems like
the game script just won't be there for him. All right. Who's the headliner on your list?
Okay. The headliner on my list is TJ Hawkinson, currently at an ADP of 65. I cannot understand
this one at all whatsoever. So I'm going to give
a few stats courtesy of our friends here at FFT. The first one's courtesy of Chris Towers. He said
over the last 15 seasons among tight ends, TJ Hawkinson's ranks 12 in receiving yards,
11th in reception, 16th in yards per route run, 11th in touchdown, 16th in yards per target
in their first two
seasons. Does that screen break out to you at tight end? Not me. Then the other assumption
here is that the volume is just going to be through the roof for Hawkinson. But why are
we assuming that NFL offenses don't typically operate through the tight end as the number one
read? The Raiders are one exception to that rule. And looking back at some of the stats that Dave
provided, this was a while back,
back right after the Super Bowl, when he was breaking down new offensive coordinators and
what their impact could be on the new teams they're on. And he was breaking down Anthony
Lynn. According to Dave's research, Anthony Lynn, his offense did not heavily target tight ends.
19.6% of the targets went to tight ends in 2020 and 17. And then in 2019,
it was 17.4% and as low as 13.8% of targets to tight ends in 2018 and receivers tripled the
targets there. So I don't think this offense is going to run through Hawkinson at all,
just because NFL offenses typically don't. I'm not excited about this offense at all with Jared
Goff. He has to build a brand new rapport with the quarterback after building two years worth with Stafford. To me, this just seems like a total avoid here. Like Heath said
with Robinson, I'm not taking Hawkinson for another 40 picks. To me, he's a 10th, 11th round
guy. I don't really see the appeal here. Well, first of all, Anthony Lynn had Keenan Allen
in his offense. And if the Lions had Keenan Allen, I guarantee you,
people would not be as high on TJ Hawkinson as they are.
How many NFL offenses run through the tight end?
Well, the Eagles did when Zach Ertz was their best option.
Yes.
Travis Kelsey leads the team in targets, typically.
So when you're tight end...
Waller and Kittle.
What's that?
Waller and Kittle, too.
There's like five. Waller for sure. When your best option you're tight end... What's that? Waller and Kittle too. There's like five.
Waller, Kittle, and Kittle.
When your best option
is a tight end,
I think we have seen
that NFL teams will run
through their tight end.
Did Evan Ingram lead
the Giants in targets last year?
I think he may have.
No.
No?
I mean, it was pretty bunched.
The thing that Dave talks about,
and we'll go back to Dave again,
I've talked about Anthony Lynn's
usage of the running backs.
Consistently, year over year over year you're looking at 30 plus touches per game for the
running backs which is why the committee doesn't scare me as let as much when he's in charge it's
very rare for teams to have a high percentage of their targets going to running backs and a high
percentage of their targets going to tight ends because those are short area targets i think that's golf reliance on the running backs could
really negatively impact the tight end targets but that is golf and what about tyler higby as well he
was billed as the breakout last year higby was billed as the breakout last year we haven't really
seen golf but they have cup and woods that's the whole point of the argument. By the way, Mr. I host the Giants podcast,
Evan Ingram did lead the Giants targets by 13 last year with 109.
I knew that might have been wrong when I said it.
I was hesitant to say no there.
It felt bad right off the top.
Look, Hawkinson was the number five tight end in fantasy last year.
He was number seven per game in PPR.
And he didn't really have that good of a year,
but he had 101 targets.
You talked about game script
and how it's going to be bad for James Robinson.
Well, you think it should be pretty good.
I mean, you think they would be able,
they would be throwing the ball a lot.
This defense is also going to be terrible.
This team is going to be bad,
and people are really just relying on the targets,
and targets really make a huge difference for tight ends. I can give
you the numbers in a moment, but yeah, I mean, I'll give you the numbers, but I think the volume
is the key in fantasy. I just don't know that we can guarantee this volume with a new quarterback
who has no rapport with him. And with the fact that almost very few NFL offenses run through
the tight end, especially as Heath mentioned, one that has so many targets going to the back.
So who's going to get the targets?
Because the new quarterback has no rapport with anyone.
Everyone is new to him.
Agreed.
Yeah, go ahead.
I just don't see too many plays
where the first read is going to be Hawkinson on the play.
It just doesn't...
That works with...
Even when you talk about Travis Kelsey
leading the team of targets,
a lot of the reason for that is because of the way reed designs that offense because defense has to
leave a safety over the top to account for tyreek hill so it leaves that open in the open middle of
the field with no safety in there vacant for kelsey to get those targets and also he's incredible
player but the only real offense that really runs through the tight end schematically is
is wall is over there in Las Vegas with Waller.
And everything Lynn's shown in his past tells me that this offense is not going to operate through the tight ends.
I mean, as low as 13.8% targets in 2018.
And their tight end situation in Los Angeles has never been too much worse
than what we're going to see.
And also, the deal with Hawkinson is he was billed as a two-way tight end
coming out.
He was a top-ten pick for sure.
But at the same time, he was picked there because he was a great blocker as well he wasn't George
Kittle coming out who had converted from receiver to tight end at Iowa so I don't know all of a
sudden that we can expect TJ Hawkinson to be just this game-breaking receiving first tight end in
his third season after not showing it at all really in the first two seasons I think that's
part of the problem is like TJ Hawkinson got a lot of targets last year for a tight end right and he turned 101
targets into 723 yards and that was way more efficient than he was as a rookie so he doesn't
he doesn't have to get top five tight targets for a tight end He needs to be like up there in the one 20, one 30 range,
or he has to make a drastic leap in his efficiency.
And what we think is not a very good offense with not a very good
quarterback.
Right.
Yeah.
So,
um,
there have not.
So from 2017 to 2019,
they had not,
there was not one tight end who got more than 90 targets and finished outside the top 10.
Top 10 is not great, but if you get 90 targets,
you're probably going to finish outside the top 10.
Until last year when four tight ends got 90 or more targets
and finished outside the top 10.
So that was weird.
That's in full PPR.
Every tight end in the last five seasons
who has finished in the top five
has been first or second on his team in targets.
So that is a big thing, except for Robert Tunyon.
He's the only one, and he was only four targets behind,
or three targets behind second place on the Packers last year.
But if you lead your team in targets, that is a great start.
Okay, yes, he has to play better.
He has to be better.
But if you lead your team in targets, like I said, I'll repeat that stat.
Every top five tight end in the last five seasons, except for Robert Tunyon,
who had basically the luckiest tight end season we've ever seen,
was first or second on his team in targets.
So that's a great start right there.
And I don't see how he's not going to be first or second on his team in targets.
You say the offense isn't going to run through Hawkinson.
I would argue that it probably didn't run through him last year,
and he's still got 101 targets.
So I don't know that it needs to run through him,
but the bottom line is, I mean, he's going to get the target.
He's just going, I think he's going to be targeted.
I think he's going to have more targets per game this year than he had last year.
I'm not super excited about him for any reason other than volume.
I totally get what you're saying in terms of performance. And when I see that Andrews is going equally to
Hawkinson, a lot of people are going to put Hawkinson ahead of Andrews. I don't think
you guys are. But he's going
behind Pitts now, I think. I don't know.
There's a big difference between him and the guys behind him, I think.
But I would ask you this, Adam.
If you're drafting a player like Hawkinson,
are you really trying to get the sixth best tight end
or are you trying to get a difference maker at that position?
Because when you're taking somebody at 65 like Hawkinson,
you're passing up on players like Brandon Ayuk, T. Higgins, DJ Chark,
who can be potential difference makers on your fantasy team.
And just because you're finishing in the top six of tight end,
unless you're reaching that bar that,
you know,
the Waller and kid on a per game basis and Kelsey put up last year,
you're not getting too much of a difference maker at that position.
So it's not that important to finish with a tight end six.
If he's not scoring that many points in my mind.
Okay.
Agreed.
I think that I see a higher ceiling than you do for Hawkinson,
obviously.
And while I do,
I don't really like Chark,
but I, I like IU can Higgins in a vacuum much better than do for Hawkinson, obviously. And while I do, I don't really like Chark, but I like Iyukin Higgins in a vacuum
much better than I like Hawkinson.
If Hawkinson and Andrews are going,
and you look at ADP, they're tied in 5-6.
I think Pitts has jumped them at this point.
I've got it right here,
and that's the thing I was going to say.
Hawkinson is two spots ahead of Mark Andrews.
Mark Andrews is 64, Hawkinson's 62.
Dallas Goddard is 20 picks
behind TJ Hawkinson.
All right, so let me just finish my point.
I know I've monopolized this, and I'll let you go.
Higgins
and Ayuk, they're better, but
with Hawkinson and Andrews
right there at 63
and 65, basically, overall,
I view
them really as,
I know it's not going to play out this way
because it's just not.
There are going to be some surprises.
I view them as the last chance
to get a stud at tight end.
I don't view Higgins.
We don't have a real reason
to think Hawkins is a stud.
I think he could be a PPR stud
because I think he could be
third in catches at the position
or something like that.
Is this because Zach Ertz is not gone yet?
No, it has nothing to do with Ertz.
It has more to do with...
I don't view Goddard the same way
now that they have Devontae Smith.
But he's been mostly better.
He has, but you know what?
If you just did all your fantasy rankings
on who was better last year,
then what's the point of doing rankings?
I'm projecting Hawkinson to take a leap.
Hawkinson was better last year.
He just hasn't been better on a per-target or per-catch basis.
I think they're going to throw a lot more than the Eagles,
and I think he's going to get a lot more targets than Goddard.
I think a lot of people do.
That's why he's going 20 spots ahead.
But anyway, what I was saying is I don't think that's your last chance
with Higgins and Ayuk, not your last chance to get a star breakout wide receiver.
I do think that this is your last chance,
unless it's Goddard, maybe you like Goddard, whatever.
For me, the Andrews-Hawkinson decision there,
last chance for me to realistically think
I have a chance at a difference maker at tight end.
And I don't agree with Dan
as far as the TJ Hawkinson pick 100 thing,
but I would much rather take Dallas Goddard in round seven
or Noah Fant in round eight
than TJ Hawkinson at the five, six turn.
I think that was a bit of an exaggeration by me
before I agree with you, Heath.
I wouldn't go as far as 100, but I will say this.
Adam's saying, you know,
you're not going to see too much of a drop off at receiver
if you miss on those guys.
We both think there's a potential high end ceiling for the DJ chart,
chase Claypool and, uh, Brandon Iukes the world. But as you go into that next round, if you pass
on one of those guys for Hawkinson, you're looking at Robbie Anderson type, you're looking at Jerry
Judy, who has a unsettled quarterback situation, Devante Smith, another player I feel like has an
unsettled quarterback position, Tyler Boyd, who may be third in targets. I think there is a pretty
big drop-off there.
At this point, I probably already have at least two wide receivers
and I still have Brandon Cooks on the board.
I still have Brandon Cooks on the board.
I still have all the rookies on the
board. This is obviously a good... Well, not all of them.
Not Chase, but most of the rookies on the
board. I don't know. It's always
easier to find wide receiver breakouts than...
I'm going to stop myself. Is it? Sometimes those
tight end breakouts can sneak up on you.
But, alright, whatever.
I think we've said our piece there with Hawkinson.
Alright, good stuff. Good debate.
Good debate. And
some more in just a little bit.
We got some news and notes. Big time news and notes today,
actually. We're also very excited
to talk about the D-a-thon.
Our fourth annual draft-a-thon supporting St. Jude will be on September 1st.
Last year, we auctioned off fun fantasy football experiences like Zoom calls with our experts,
custom smack talk videos, playing in a league with our experts, guest appearances on the podcast.
What do you want to see offered this year
to incentivize donations to St. Jude?
All right, we're trying to raise as much money
as we can for St. Jude.
So you tell us, what do you want to see
auctioned off this year?
You can comment on this video on YouTube,
youtube.com slash fantasyfootballtoday.
You can comment in our Facebook group post,
or you can send us an email
at fantasyfootballatcbsi.com.
Schrager looked like he wanted to jump in there.
Yeah, just any way you contact us,
no matter what, we are open to ideas.
Last year, we had a lot of fun
with people playing in the Listener League
because of this.
People were doing Zoom calls with Heath
at 11 p.m. while Heath was drinking a nice beer
and they were drinking a beer too.
Any ideas you have,
we're trying to raise $100,000 for St. Jude.
So leave a comment, send an email, tweet at us,
any way to get in contact.
We're going to raise a lot of money this fall
and it's going to be a lot of fun.
September 1st, our draft-a-thon, be there.
We'll obviously give you a lot more details
as we get closer.
All right, time for the news and notes.
Frank Reich said that Jonathan Taylor
has earned the right to be the main guy.
Heath, does that
mean anything to you?
I wish I could have been in the room
and asked to follow up. What does the main guy
mean to you, Frank?
Because, yeah, I agree.
We can disregard the
five or six touches a game we were giving Jordan
Wilkins and maybe not even give those to Marlon Mack.
But is Naeem Hines going away?
Because that's the key.
If Naeem Hines goes away,
then Jonathan Taylor might just be RB1 this year.
But they've always kind of had that guy.
And as long as they still have the third down back,
I'm going to not get any Jonathan Taylor as a top six pick.
Where are you guys at on Taylor versus Kelsey?
I'm on the Kelsey train, but I'm also big on the tight ends here.
Big on those big two tight ends for me.
And yes, I said two for a reason.
Oh yeah, I'm Kelsey.
Kelsey, okay. What about in half PPR or non-PPR?
Non-PPR is the one
place where I will take
Jonathan Taylor as a
top five pick.
All right.
Yeah, that makes
sense.
Next news item.
A.J.
Brown still recovering
from off-season surgery
on both knees.
Dan, we knew he had
the surgery, but we
saw today he's still
recovering, not 100% yet.
Is this news to you?
No, not necessarily.
We're too early in the cycle for it to be important news.
If he's missing training camp, if he's missing potential preseason time,
that's when we start to get worried.
But remember, A.J. Brown played through this injury last year
and was still almost as impactful and effective as he was the year before.
So the ceiling, I think the sky is only the limit for him. I mean, there is no limit for him. I
think this season, I don't think Julio Jones in the mix taking away defensive coverages and
attention. So I'm not worried about it just yet. Chargers offensive coordinator, Joe Lombardi said
that Mike Williams will play the X receiver position. So he actually, what is this is big
news. What does this mean? That was the position that Michael Thomas played in new Orleans
and this offense isn't, we expect it to look a lot like the saints offense. What he actually said.
And I, I gave you the quote so that I didn't have to keep it up on my screen, but basically said he
expects Mike Williams to fill up the stat sheet. Um, I went in and added an extra percent to Mike Williams' target share.
I haven't projected for a career high in targets
and not just because it's 17 games.
He's a very interesting dude.
I don't think there's any doubt about his talent
in terms of catching the ball in traffic,
in terms of what he can do in that area.
He's kind of struggled maybe to get open, I guess,
because he doesn't earn that many targets.
But I'm very interested in him in that wide receiver four range.
But, okay, you think this is going to look like the Saints offense?
Because is that good for Mike Williams?
I mean, he's not Michael Thomas.
I know they're going to play the same position,
but we don't really think he's going to be running a lot of slants and things like that.
It's good for Mike Williams if they throw it to him a lot.
Yeah, yes.
Like, that's good for him.
That is true.
That is not something that's ever happened in his career.
ESPN report, the Patriots beat writer believes that Damian Harris
is New England's number one running back and it's pretty decisive.
So yeah,
he's,
he's drafted pretty late,
Dan.
What do you think about Damian Harris?
You there,
Dan,
we've been,
we've been playing fantasy.
We've been playing fantasy for way too long.
I think to buy into an,
a,
what is it?
Or late June,
early July type report about how the Patriots are going to split up their
backfield touches. I will believe this when I see it. Right now, I'm not. I mean, I still like
Damian Harris anyway because I liked him as a prospect. I think he's the best pure runner they
have on the roster, but I think there's a ceiling there. It's capped. It depends how good the
Patriots are because they're going to need the game script to be good for him to be RB1 or even
the high-end RB2 know some would expect based on that
type of report so but i'll i'll buy the touches thing when i see it first i moved him ahead of
zach moss oh that was my next question are you gonna take him over a bills running back yeah i
would too but he who's your highest ranked bills running back well highest ranked bills running
back is devin singletary and uh but i don't ever draft him until after i see zach moss get drafted
because nobody else likes devin singletary it's possible but I don't ever draft him until after I see Zach Moss get drafted because nobody else likes Devin Singletary.
It's possible the Bills don't
because the athletics beat writer for the Buffalo,
Joe Biscaglia, believes that, first of all,
he thinks that Emmanuel Sanders is more likely
than Gabriel Davis to fill John Brown's role,
but he also thinks that Zach Moss could take over
as the primary, I guess,
more of the primary responsibilities, I guess,
if he continues to improve.
And that Jacob Hollister could be the primary tight end
if Dawson Knox continues to struggle.
So there you go, a blitz of Bills items from the athletic.
I would have liked to ask Joe also.
I wish that had been on HQ because I'd like to know,
what if Devin Singletary continues to improve?
Could he earn a majority of the running back touches?
I think the implication here is that Zach Moss has a lot to gain.
I think there's a reason why this was quoted and this was cited.
I wouldn't like it if I were a Devin Singletary manager, personally.
I just, like, when it said Zach Devin Singletary manager, you know, personally. I just, like,
when it said Devin, Zach Moss
could take over more responsibility
if he continues to improve,
that doesn't really
sound like news to me.
I think a lot of players in the NFL
could get more touches if they continue to
improve. Okay.
You know, the tight end note of this
was actually pretty interesting to me
because the bills have said since the end of last season that they need more production from their
tight ends. And I was even thinking what I was going to say, and there's more speculation building
today, building off of what we've seen all off season, that Zach Ertz is going to be traded to
the bills at any moment. Now, now we've heard that all off season, but it makes too much sense
for it not to happen. That would be pretty interesting.
All right, we'll sit tight
and wait and see if that happens.
Saturday is a big day on CBS.
It is Superstar Saturday Night,
holiday style,
at one of the most famous tracks
in America,
Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.
Tony Stewart faces stiff competition
from some of the top drivers
in the world
as he goes for his third
straight win. Get ready for some fireworks this Independence Day weekend with the Camping World
SRX Series, Saturday at 8 Eastern on CBS. All right. Players to avoid. Back to the topic du jour.
Heath, your quarterback on this list is Josh Allen. You already gave us James Robinson,
but you're saying Josh Allen.
But frame it.
Give us a little context there.
Well, can we please not put Josh Allen's name in the tweet when we send this podcast out?
I do not need any more Twitter replies from Bill's Mafia.
Listen, I like Josh Allen.
He made a massive leap last year.
He's good.
He's currently going at the 3-4 turn,
around ahead of Lamar Jackson, who I would rather have,
well ahead of Dak Prescott and Russell Wilson,
and I don't think there's really that much difference
in terms of upside and floor.
What we've seen the past couple of years
is when we've had these quarterbacks with the breakout performances,
the next year there's usually a little bit of a drawing back.
That's what I anticipate with Josh Allen as well.
And so I'm just not willing.
I think there's one quarterback, and I've made this pretty clear,
there's one quarterback who's worth investing a third round, maybe even late second round pick in fantasy,
and that's Patrick Mahomes. And the reason is that over the last three years,
he's been basically three or four points better per game
than any other quarterback over that stretch of games.
Josh Allen did it for 16 games,
and that could lead to something in the future,
but he's being drafted right now
as if the quarterback we saw last year
is either the new reality
or a stepping stone to some other future greatnesses,
which is what I've heard a lot as well.
And it's more likely that Josh Allen's going to take a little bit of a
step back this year.
He could still be awesome.
And that could be the case.
Okay.
I want to release the Twitter poll results of this question.
Who do you prefer in a six point per passing touchdown league?
Josh Allen,
Lamar Jackson,
Dak Prescott,
Kyler Murray.
I just posted it.
It's only 573 votes. So right now, Josh Allen has 41% of the vote.
Second place is Dak Prescott at 38% of the vote.
Kyler Murray, 14.5%.
And Lamar Jackson, look at these results, 6.6%.
These are shocking to me.
Even in six-point-per-passing touchdown leagues
where Josh Allen
and Dak Prescott
are crushing Kyler Murray
and Lamar Jackson.
And again,
it's just,
it's,
people believe
that Lamar Jackson
got exposed last year,
but because Josh Allen's
best year was last year,
that his best year
is more important
than Lamar Jackson's,
which was two years ago.
Right.
And that's just not the way that I process information.
And that's not the way that things generally work.
Occasionally it does,
but that's not the way things generally work.
Not to mention when Jackson came back from COVID,
he was close to back to himself.
Yeah,
he was very close.
So I brought up Dak Prescott,
Dan,
because that's the quarterback on your list.
Your void list of is Dak Prescott.
So what's your thought there?
So my thought with Dak Prescott is this.
When he comes back now, he's a different player than what he was for the Cowboys before this season because he now has this massive contract and he becomes a completely different asset for them. And part of what, what made Dak so special as a fantasy contributor in his first four seasons or five seasons before this
contract was that he had 21. So before last season, he had 21 rushing TDs through his first four
seasons. Then he had three and just five games in 2020. So 24 in four and a quarter season.
And a lot of those touchdowns were not long break long breaking runs like sometimes you see from alan and a lot of times you see from lamar jackson they were
zone read options in the red zone where they actively use zach prescott i'm sorry dak prescott
as a runner there and i just don't know that that's going to continue for the cowboys moving
forward now they invested this also a big factor in what made him such a special fantasy quarterback
was game script and pace and the
cowboys had the best uh the number one they called the most offensive plays they had the best
offensive pace sorry last season in 2020 and not only that they had one of the worst defenses in
the nfl this year they used their entire draft class 10 plus picks on the defensive side of the
ball they've been an excellent decision in my mind to go from mike nolan's defensive system
to dan quinn who i think maybe not be that may not be the best coach head coach
but he's a great defensive coordinator and if that defense takes a solid size leap the you know
the game script is going to look a lot different for dac even in his first few seasons he threw
for 3600 yards 3300 yards and 3800 yards in 2019 when the cowboys defense collapsed and they had
their first non-winning season in his career,
he threw for 4,900 yards.
So if that keeps it through the Cowboys...
Yeah, they were middle of the pack in defense that year.
2019?
2019, yeah.
Okay, the full collapse was last year.
The full collapse was last year.
They were 11th in scoring defense in 2019.
I'll double-check on that just to make sure that's right
because that is a pretty big point here.
I don't see how they could possibly be 11th in scoring defense this year.
They were almost last.
They were terrible last year.
In addition to having bad personnel, they got super injured,
especially in the middle of their defense.
So I get it, all those things.
And the game scripts, they played the Rams in week one,
and then the next three games were against bad defenses
in high scoring shootouts.
So it was perfect for Dak.
Absolutely.
But yeah,
but a lot of interesting points there.
Well, I think...
But if he becomes like a...
If he becomes a full...
Oh, sorry.
Go ahead, Keith.
No, it's that
like your explanation of the defense,
I generally explain that same jump
with Kellen Moore,
that he was the force behind the change in the offense
and the running more plays and the going more pass heavy.
And we don't necessarily know
because both of those things did kind of happen with each other.
As far as the rushing touchdowns,
again, it's interesting.
He has scored at a pretty similar rate to Josh Allen on a per-rush attempt basis.
Now, Allen runs a lot more, but on a per-attempt basis,
it hasn't really been that much different.
But I guess Allen hasn't got the contract yet.
Yeah, and he's not coming off the major injury as well.
Right.
I just think that Dak's weapons are so good,
and Kellen Moore has been so good for him
that it's hard for me to see him taking him.
I agree with you guys completely.
It's almost as if he was so good last year in those first five games
that that gets used as a talking point about how he can't be that good.
We don't have to look at those games at all.
We can just look at 2019 and he like,
he just has to be that good.
So two things.
Yeah.
They were only,
they were 11th in scoring defense in 2019 when Prescott was the number two
quarterback in fantasy,
but they were not a good defense.
They were 24th and yards allowed.
Now what really matters is the points,
right?
Where they chasing the points.
They were 11th,
but, but we know that they did not
have a good defense,
and it's not going to be good this year.
It's going to be better than last year,
but I can't imagine,
even with all those rookies,
I can't project them
to have a good defense.
I don't think anybody would project
them to have a good defense.
But what does this mean to you?
In 2009,
and you could probably make this stat
for every quarterback,
but his 2019 fantasy point total made him qb2 he would have been qb9 in 2020 does that mean anything to you
with that fantasy point total last year was insane actually chris just did an excellent job
chris just did an excellent job breaking this down in the fft newsletter for those of you who
are listening and haven't signed up go ahead and sign up for that i think it did an excellent job breaking this down in the FFT newsletter. For those of you who are listening and haven't signed up,
go ahead and sign up for that.
I think it's an excellent newsletter and it delivers some actionable advice
in every single one.
Shameless plug there.
But what he said was basically you don't want to chase one-year trends.
And if you look back at it, yes, in 2020,
there was the trend of the high-end quarterback that was worth paying up for.
But this goes into my point as to why I don't want to take Dak Prescott
at 47 overall ADP when I can get somebody like Tom Brady at 74th overall ADP, who I probably
still wouldn't take. But if Prescott stops running, it kind of, they seem like very similar
fantasy assets to me. And the point is that, you know, in the past using 2020 to base our 2021
strategy isn't an excellent play because the drop-off at quarterback hasn't been steep,
which is why in past been steep which is why
in in past years which is why of course people advised for the late round quarterback strategy
and two and these are all of course for one quarterback leagues obviously we wouldn't have
the same advice in leagues where you need to start two quarterbacks but in leagues where
only 12 of the 32 are starting each week it just seems like you're chasing last year's trend and a
little it's a little it's kind of what goes back to what Heath was saying.
Are we going to look at just the one year sample size?
Are we going to look at the larger sample size and the larger sample size
suggests that you're that,
yeah,
the difference at the quarterbacks at the top of the tier isn't going to be
that great.
Yeah.
But if Prescott's toward the end of that tier and he was still going to
top 50 pick he's 50th,
my 40. Oh no, he's 48th um all right so you just
don't want anyone that early you're saying if i'm gonna take a quarterback that early i have to be
sure that he's going to be able to provide me rushing stats as well and i'm just not sure if
that would press got right now or be patrick mohan that's fair fair enough okay then let's take a
look at some more players fair enough is the the Adam Azer drinking game, by the way.
So I've been pretty hammered right now.
Let's go to tight ends.
We had Hawkinson for Dan and Kyle Pitts for Heath.
Okay, so Pitts is now tight end for Heath.
Yeah.
He is tight end for at pick 52 10 picks ahead of tj hawkinson and 12 picks ahead
of mark andrews 30 picks ahead of dallas goddard and 40 picks ahead of noah fant wait what was 52
52 okay overall i was just looking that's since june 1st i was looking since june 15th he's 51
because i just had this feeling that he's just going to keep skyrocketing up.
But he's holding steady 51-52.
Yeah, and this is one that's uncomfortable.
Because I love Kyle Pitts.
I got as much of him as I could in rookie drafts
because I was afraid this was going to happen in redraft.
But you are drafting Kyles to be the greatest rookie
tight end ever and if he's that then yes he will justify his adp um he has to be better than that
to get earn you a profit at his adp and that's's just not... There are certain players
where I understand the talent
or like Derrick Henry's been that the last two years.
He's broken a lot of our unwritten rules
of fantasy.
But I don't think you make a profit
very often in fantasy
drafting a guy where he has to do that.
Okay.
I think that's pretty well said.
So when would you take him?
And do you have him ranked ahead of Hawkinson or andrews no no um in in non-ppr i might actually have him ahead of hawkinson
in full ppr uh no i've got him sixth in non and eighth in full ppr um i would not take him until round seven so i'm not going to go no pits for you like this is how
ridiculous it's gotten i'm saying i won't take the rookie tight end until round seven and it's
like whoa that's a hot take it is high it is yeah it's still a rookie tight end yeah uh well here's
the twitter poll who do you like in ppr? Hawkinson, Pitts, or Andrews?
Shagger, got the
results. Ready? Ready to find it?
I'll wait for the video. Who do you like
in PPR? Hawkinson, Pitts, or Andrews? Who do you
think's winning? I would assume
Pitts.
Dan, you want to make a guess there?
It's Pitts for me, for sure.
Oh, you're going Pitts. Okay.
Yeah, there it is. It's Pitts.
To be a little contrarian. I're not contrarian do you mind him 40 uh 50 second overall he's got
40 percent of the vote here yeah not contrarian i guess not contrarian consensus but to go against
he's our argument i think he's made an excellent point there i mean his his argument was incredibly
logically sound you're making a bad bet but i'm willing to bet on pits being an outlier. And this goes a lot into, I did
prospect profiles for CBS sports during the draft season. And he's one of the best prospects I've
evaluated in the last 10 years. And it's not just his ability as a tight end when he's lined up in
line or when he's detached a bit from the formation. Florida at Florida, he was the entire offense there.
He was the focal point of every passing play and they would detach him from the formation
and line him up against corners, including JC Horn, who was selected in the top 10 and
Patrick Sertan at Alabama, who was selected just in the top 10 as well.
And he would beat them in one-on-one coverage.
He has abilities that are very different from any tight end that has ever played the
position.
In my opinion.
He profiles to me more like Calvin Johnson than anyone else I've seen, than any tight end I could compare him to, I guess I would say.
And so I think this offense will potentially run through both him and Ridley.
I think they're going to be behind in a lot of games again, Atlanta, throwing the football a lot.
And to me, I'm willing to bet on the outlier because the upside to Pitts to me at 50, when you consider the positional advantage you can get at tight end and what Darren Waller,
for example, gave us.
And I believe Waller was drafted a little ahead of this range last year, but not too far ahead.
And the advantage he gave you from the season he had at tight end versus all the other trash
that most people were putting in their starting lineups at the position is worth the gamble
to me versus some of the guys being selected there, kareem hunt dj and worth people that i don't think are going to be game changers potentially
in that range so you think that like as a rookie kyle pitts has more upside than what mark than
mark andrews i do think that honestly i feel like he's a completely different prospect than mark
andrews i think he's better beating man coverage i think he's he's uh better in contested catch
situations i just really love him as a prospect okay we're gonna take a break here we've got some Andrews, I think he's better beating man coverage. I think he's better in contested catch situations.
I just really love him as a prospect.
Okay, we're going to take a break here.
We've got some running backs and wide receivers to talk about on the avoid list.
We'll be right back on Fantasy Football today.
Whether in the game or in life, the right coverage can make all the difference.
Securian Canada gives you that coverage.
For more than 65 years, Securian Canada has been helping Canadians build secure tomorrows.
Their insurance solutions are designed to help protect 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. avoidable damage cost you time and money. Click before you dig. Ensure your next project is safe.
Visit OntarioOneCall.ca. It's free. It's easy. It's the law. Data sourced from the ORCGA 2023
Dirt Report. Welcome back. Okay, let's get some running backs and wide receivers. Let's go to Dan.
He's got Miles Sanders and Josh Jacobs. They're going within six picks of each other right now, according to NFC ADP.
Sanders 35th and Jacobs 41st.
So tell me why you are not taking Miles Sanders at 35.
Yeah, we'll start with Sanders.
These guys both fit into that dead zone,
that running back dead zone that I like to always avoid.
I know Ben Kretsch kind of termed the dead zone.
I think it's a good term for what it is. And when you're in that range after the second round in that third through fifth round range when you
could be getting these stud receivers potentially these stud tight end or quarterback you're taking
these players at running back because you need to fill the position but miles sanders what can we
count on for him in 2021 first of all nick sirianni coming over as as the head coach means
that he may not be used anymore in a workhorse role.
We've seen the type of split he's had with his running backs over in Indianapolis.
And the Eagles already this offseason have hinted that they won't rely on Sanders as
the workhorse.
And this is just one year after Deuce Staley, who's no longer coaching with the team, said
he would be the workhorse.
And if you look at that and you consider the fact that the volume may not be there, you
then move on to Sanders as a prospect.
And he's really been a middling player in the NFL he's had a last year
he was the 18th he had the 18th best elusive rating and in my mind it's the best uh advanced
stat to use to kind of determine how effective a running back is independent of everything else
around him because it combines force missed tackles and yards after contact he also has an
aging offensive line that's dealt with reoccurring injuries to
some of its best players.
And the big thing for me here is that I just don't trust Jalen hurts yet
because from what I've seen from the,
from the little film that he has out there,
he had a really tough time operating from when within the structure of the
offense hurts.
He bailed from the pockets too early.
He didn't keep that passing game on time and it led to a lot of punts for
the Eagles.
So if that offense isn't great with an aging offensive line
and a potential non-workhorse role and a prospect who,
and a player in Miles Sanders who hasn't been that great on his own
in the NFL, at 35 overall, that team was incredibly rich.
All right, Heath, what's your reaction to that?
Dan, you got some hot takes.
I like it.
I like it.
Some strong takes man
this is right about where i have sanders i don't know that i like i don't get particularly
a lot a lot of what he's saying is what i said about malice standards when we were taking him
at the one two turn last year it's a little bit different at the three four turn i was the guy
when ben gretch was uh formulating the dead zone last year we had a
lot of long long long discussions about that and generally speaking from what we uh discussed the
guys who do break out of that dead zone because there are some every year are the younger running
backs um it's it's more of a dead zone it seems for the 26, 27, 28
year old running backs than it is for guys that are
23. I don't
have quite as many concerns about Jalen
Hurts and one thing that running quarterbacks
generally do is open up more holes
for their running backs
so I think, well I don't expect Sanders
to be a workhorse, you don't get workhorse
running backs at the end of round 3
or the start of round 4
they go in round one or round two.
It's true.
Yeah.
So then,
then people might say,
well then just don't draft any,
but,
um,
that's my thing.
But I,
I,
I don't,
I think it's a little bit too rigid of a take because Sanders and Jacobs both
have big upside.
I mean,
they,
I think they've proven that if you think the situations have changed so much, and I think the argument's
more to make there for Jacobs
because of the Kenyon Drake addition, then I
can understand that, but I really
don't want to hold too much against Sanders from
last year. The Eagles were a mess.
Their offensive line was awful.
I mean, awful. And, you know,
you talked about, Dan, how Jalen Hurts bailed from the
pocket too early. I have watched a lot of Jalen
Hurts, the four starts that he made, and maybe there was some of that, but he was really running
for his life so much. It was just an awful offensive line. And not only that, if they stay
healthy, they could have a good to great offensive line. I mean, they really could have a high
performing one, and that could make a huge difference here. So I would love to see Miles
Sanders fall to the fourth round. He's almost there. 35th he's almost there so um you know we'll get there uh yeah hopefully i'll
take kenyan drake thing because you said it and dan's gonna give his uh his anti josh jacobs take
in just a minute but you said that he has a lot josh jacobs has a lot more competition because of kenyon drake
that's basically spent four years as a backup running back got a chance to be the starter in
arizona got one year and then had to sign a deal as a backup again who is taking carries away from
mile sanders though kenyon drake who's going not about the carries though carry on johnson
no it's not about the carry that's not the carries though Carry on Johnson That's not the issue for me Adam
The carries are not the issue for me with Sanders
Carries are not worth that much in fantasy anymore
If you're playing in.5 PPR leagues
Or full point PPR
They are if they're near the goal line
They are if they're near the goal line
And they are if you're on a team that's winning a lot of football games
Which I don't think the Eagles will be
And they are on a team that has a
If you have a really good offense Which I don't think the Eagles will be. And they are on a team that has, if you have a really good offense,
which I don't think the Eagles will be with Dillon Hurts.
I don't know, they get to play in the NFC East.
That is a nice, that is a nice possibility.
But the Giants defense has improved and so has the Redskins.
And then the other assumption that Kenyon Drake's
just going to take all of the running back targets
away from Josh Jacobs.
Kenyon Drake has one season in the NFL
where he's been above average as a pass catcher.
I didn't make that assumption, first of all,
but I think that Kenyon Drake is stiffer
competition to Josh Jacobs, who, by the way,
only had 33 catches in 15 games
last year. He had a better
pass catch than running back.
I think, well, they only had
69 catches among
their top three running backs last year. Their last three
seasons under John Gruden,
101 catches for their top three running backs last year. Their last three seasons under John Gruden, 101 catches for their top three running backs,
92, and then 69.
So hopefully that goes back up.
Has Josh Jacobs been worth a fourth-round pick
in that environment?
Yeah.
Yeah, I think he's fine in the fourth round.
I do.
Last year, he couldn't have been.
He was a top-12 running back.
He was top-8 running back, and I think it was a little deceiving. He was a top 12 running back. He was top 8 running back,
and I think it was a little deceiving
because he was so inconsistent.
So inconsistent.
But he did score 12 touchdowns.
Those end-of-season...
Yeah, those end-of-season numbers are not...
No, look, he was a top 8 running back.
Per game, he was 13th in PPR,
10th in non-PPR.
You could say that based on that,
he was worth a first- round pick. I would say no
because after week one he scored
three touchdowns in week one. After week one he
really had just a few big games
and a lot of crap. You'd like
more consistency. But he definitely was worth a
fourth round pick. But I'll let you, Dan, he's
on your list. So you make the case.
41st for Josh Jacobs.
The first two running backs selected
in the 2018 19 draft, sorry, Miles Sanders and Josh Jacobs. The first two running backs selected in the 2018-19 draft,
sorry, Miles Sanders and Josh Jacobs,
both on your list here.
41st for him.
So you think that's too rich for your blood
to borrow a poker term,
and I beat you in poker last night.
So go ahead.
You did beat me in poker, Adam,
but I will be getting my revenge at some point.
But I will say this about Josh Jacobs.
One of the reasons I don't like him is because of the change in Derek
Carr's play as a quarterback.
As you mentioned last year,
what was it?
69 targets to running backs.
Jacobs had just 33 and 15 games.
No catches.
I'm sorry.
Go ahead.
69 catches.
Um,
and that was the top three running backs.
So there are probably a few more,
probably a little over 70.
Yeah, sure. And by the way, probably a little over 70. Yeah.
Sure.
And by the way, those players are still on the roster currently.
Both Theoretic and Jalen Richard are currently still on the roster.
And I'm not sure they're going away.
But Derek Carr's made a big change to his name.
He's thrown downfield a lot more often.
It's a total different change to who he is as a quarterback.
And so if that's the case, and you're buying into an offense
that we don't think is going to be that good good one that lost arguably one of their best offensive linemen and instead
replaced him by one of the biggest reaches in the draft, according to most people, including myself
and Alex Leatherwood, who was a better guard than a tackle at Alabama, but also played his entire
career on the left side and is now being asked to move to right tackle, which is not an easy
transition. I think will also make things tough for Penena. So while Sewell over in Detroit, but besides that, it's an aging offensive line,
they've already lost Rodney Hudson there as well. They were also 23rd in offensive play pace and
neutral situations last year. And just 24th when trailing by seven points or more, this is a really
slow offense as well. And so factoring in all those things and the potential for him to be off
the field on passing
downs, I just don't really see the upside except for the games when they're ahead. And I'm not so
sure how many, like Josh Jacobs got off to a bang last year, right? He had 25 carries in his first
game, 27 in his second one, the Raiders won both of those games. But if you look at all the games
where the Raiders were trailing by a lot and they were way behind against Atlanta, when they got
blown out, he saw 10 total touches. Uh, another. When they got blown out, he saw 10 total touches,
uh, another game where they got blown out. I believe it was Indianapolis. He had 16 total
touches. So I just don't know what you're, what you're hoping is the upside there. If the, if the
Raiders offense is going to be slow, not so good, he's not going to be on the field and passing
downs when Drake is there. And even so, even if you had this in this little wrinkle, Drake was
decently effective in the red zone for Arizona last year.
So are we sure he's not going to siphon some carries there?
And then the final thing for me is just he hasn't been as good
as he's been projected as a prospect.
I know he was drafted high, but like I said,
I like to use elusive rating,
and that showed that Miles Sanders was middling.
Jacobs was really bad elusive rating-wise last year.
What about 2018? What about 2019, though?
In 2019,
I can pull that up right now,
but he was really good in 2019.
Last year,
he was behind guys like Brian Hill and James Connor.
And if you look at just 2019,
let's,
let's take a look at that one.
You're looking that up.
The Atlanta game where he had 10 touches.
I believe he left that due to injury.
He didn't play the next week.
Okay.
Okay.
That's a good recall on that.
I did not,
I didn't remember that one,
but you're right,
Adam in 2019,
he was the second that he had the second best elusive rating.
So it was definitely a better player then than he was now,
but I don't know.
I just,
that's the,
that's the final factor.
The other ones are more important to me.
I just don't see the upside for volume.
I don't love that offense at all.
And if he's not,
if he doesn't have a lot of volume or scoring opportunities,
I don't really see, or a role in the passing game,
I don't really see the upside there.
So you think a big Kenyon Drake's going to take a lot more touches
than Booker and Jalen Rashard did last year?
I think all three of them are going to get a decent share of touches.
And just overall, it's going to be more than what they had last year
without them, without Drake, I should say. I think think they will heath because when josh jacobs
was healthy those guys were getting something like well jacobs was getting 18 carries a game
and those guys were getting something like six carries a game uh when now you look at the overall
season numbers a lot of that might be the one the games that jacobs missed but you have to look at
just when jacobs was healthy so i I do think Drake has more of a role
than Rashard had. I think
it's probably going to come down to touchdowns. If Drake starts
taking touchdowns away, that's going to be a problem.
If he doesn't, then I think
Jacobs is going to be perfectly fine in round four.
And I wouldn't ever underestimate the ability
of John Gruden to make poor decisions.
But it's really
a stretch to look
at Kenyon Drake's pedigree and his
career and Josh Jacobs pedigree in his career and think I need to give the ball
to Kenyon Drake more and sit Josh Jacobs down more.
Well, but they think, you know,
the theory is that he hasn't been able to hold up and that was a problem with
him in college too. So I think they're trying to, you know, maybe the theory,
they're trying to keep him fresher and give him a better.
He was never a workhorse at Alabama.
He never had that role.
You're right.
And he did play another major red flag.
He played 15 games.
He did, but he left one early.
You know, he missed one.
He played 13 games as a rookie.
And, you know, is he banged up?
Does he, is he on the injury report a lot?
I think that they want to keep him fresher.
Maybe that's a theory.
We'll see how it plays out.
We're going to do one more here.
We're going to leave some for fantasy football today in five.
If you're listening to this show and you want to hear the George Kittle argument,
because we've got to hear that,
and you want to hear the Odell Beckham argument,
because you've got to hear that,
that's on FFT in five.
We're going to end this show with Michael Carter.
Heath, Michael Carter, 81st overall,
but you're still, you're just not that into him at 81st overall.
I am just not that.
And like you compare him, I did a Twitter poll earlier with Damian Harris and Trey Sermon and Michael Carter asking who people preferred because he's been drafted in the same range as those guys.
I think Michael Carter is a part-time running back on what's probably a bad team.
And I'm just not into that it really just
like i don't know what i don't think there's a scenario a lot of these part-time backs that you
can take in the round six round seven range you can say man if there's an injury that guy might
be a 15 to 20 touch per game guy i don't think michael carter turns into a 15 to 20 touch per
game guy in in any reality so, and I don't think
there's like a particular high efficiency upside with him in this particular offense. Now I'm not
necessarily saying that I think he's going to be a bad running back. I just don't think he's a
difference making running back. And this is a bad situation. Why don't you think he could get those
touches though? Why don't you think they could say, all right, Tevin Coleman, you're out of here.
The Michael P. Ryan,
let's just let Michael Carter be the main guy.
Well, he's going to a coaching staff
that came from San Francisco
where they always had a two-back system.
And he was always in a two-back system in college.
He was, again, talk about Josh Jacobs.
He was much less of a feature back than Josh Jacobs was.
So his coaching staff's history and his player and the player history is why.
Okay.
Yeah.
Heath nailed it.
Everybody's downgrading Trey sermon for this exact reason that he's in this Kyle Shanahan
off to the Kyle Shanahan offense with the jets.
And so why do we assume they're going to have a lead back, especially someone like he said,
who never had that role in college when Javante Williams was alongside him.
Yeah.
I think personally,
I think that good coordinators adapt to their personnel.
And I also think that it was pretty obvious that the first four games of the
season are the ones that most are played where he most are.
They recognize that he was their best back and they treated him as such.
I can tell you, you know, I can go through the numbers.
You probably look at the numbers and say, oh, no, that's not true.
But I could definitely make a case that Raheem Mostert was as close to workhorse, excuse me, as you're going to get.
He wasn't involved in the passing game, but they treated him like the alpha running back.
And then he broke down.
You know, I can remember Adam Gase, who's obviously awful, but having a reputation of being
this quarterback whisperer. And then he said, well, Jay Ajayi is basically my best player.
I have to get Jay. We didn't think Jay Ajayi would get the carries with the Dolphins because
Adam Gase had this reputation. But I just think that if you're a good coordinator, if you're a
good coach, you adapt to your personnel. So if Carter, I just think that the other running backs
stink. I just think they the other running backs stink.
I just think they stink.
Well, he's also a day three running back.
He is, but he was what,
the fourth, the fifth one drafted?
He was barely drafted after Trey Sermon.
So I'm not going to, you know,
put Sermon on another level because they were pretty close to each other.
Right, Sermon's...
I think Carter was better prospect.
I think Carter has the passing game opportunities
that Sermon won't.
But will that system ever be a system that utilizes the running back in the passing game?
Because it hasn't been typically with San Francisco.
Well, San Francisco drafted Trey Sermon.
The Jets drafted Michael Carter.
Why would you draft Michael Carter if you're just going to try to be San Francisco?
Because I think they felt like he's a really good fit for that wide zone blocking scheme.'s a one cut and go runner and i think that's similar to why the 49ers drafted sermon
by the way but i don't know if it was because they envisioned his role in the passing game
as much as they just envisioned his role in that wide zone blocking scheme okay just uh all right
81st overall and um other running backs going in that range include...
Where are you, Michael Carter?
Trey Sermon, Ronald Jones, Raheem Mostert.
Let's see where Damian Harris is going.
Damian Harris is 101st.
And I would take every name you've said so far,
I think, over Michael Carter.
How is Leonard Fournette going this late? Feels like
I'm fine
with that. I just feel like most people are taking it.
The G.O. signing.
Yeah. I just feel like he goes earlier in our
drafts. All right. That's it for
today's show. Great stuff again from Dan
Schneier. Tomorrow, we've got another top
five list for you on Fantasy Football Today.
Right now, if you're done with this episode,
come on over to Fantasy Football Today in five. Subscribe to that podcast. It's only five extra minutes. And we're
going to talk about George Kittle and we're going to talk about Odell Beckham. But for now, I'm
saying goodbye on the fantasy football today podcast. And again, thanks to Dan, Heath and Ben.
I'm Adam. We'll talk to you tomorrow.