Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football Podcast - The Fantasy MVP Episode! - Fantasy Football Podcast for 8/31

Episode Date: August 31, 2023

Fantasy Football MVP Picks for 2023! On today’s fantasy football podcast, Andy, Mike, Jason, and a number of special guests name players who can be true difference makers! Find out who has fantasy football league-winning potential in 2023! Manage your redraft, keeper, and dynasty fantasy football teams with the #1 fantasy football podcast. -- Fantasy Football Podcast for August 31st, 2023. Ultimate Draft Kit + Draft Analyzer! UltimateDraftKit.com Compete in the largest fantasy football league! Megalabowl.com Connect with the show: Subscribe on YouTube Visit us on the Web Support the Show Follow on Twitter Follow on Instagram Join our Discord Check out today's sponsors: News & Notes presented by USAA. Visit https://USAA.com/Insurance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This episode is brought to you by McDonald's. Monopoly is back at McDonald's, everybody. This is an alert. It's time to get back to Mickey D's. Monopoly Double Play is back at McDonald's, and it's easy to get into the win. First, you peel on pack, and then again in the app. There are millions of prizes to be won,

including a new chance to win cash every minute in the app. Get into the game with Monopoly Double Play at McDonald's. While supplies last, one in five chances to win game piece prizes at outset, chances to win Double Play prizes based on time of code entry, and draw prizes based on number of entries in each draw. See rules in the app. Get a credit card annual fee waiver and earn C-plus points with the Scotiabank ultimate package and bank more entertainment. Learn more at scotiabank.com slash banking packages.

Conditions apply. Scotiabank. You're richer than you think. The Megalobol drafts are starting this weekend. That means there's still a little bit of time to get into the largest fantasy football tournament in the known universe. Come compete against thousands upon thousands upon thousands of Foot Clan members with the ultimate prize of the glory of winning the Megalobowl and a spot in the Listener League.

Check it out, megalobowl.com. Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast with your hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright. Welcome in. Going with some Doppler effect there. What's going on? Thursday. August 31st. We don't do sirens on an audio program.

There is nothing I hate more than when I'm listening to a song or a podcast and any kind of siren comes on. I go, oh, no, they've caught me. You think that our listeners, which I believe are, you know, it's a high 90% located here in the United States of America, are going to be concerned about that European ambulance that was on the way? Look, I took that as a compliment. That means that Jason thought my incredibly bad impression of a siren was so realistic on that drivers are pulling over i got scared he thought

he got caught sitting down i was like am i speeding right now he got caught by an ambulance that's what just happened uh welcome into the show they're on to me they're on to me they're gonna haul me off to the hospital don't get the ivs oh yeah you may choose prison over over getting an iv or a needle um welcome to the show yeah i welcome in uh jason moore mike wright Andy Holloway, the fantasy footballers. This is the fantasy MVP episode, one of our favorite episodes of the year, where the three of us, along with a large group of very smart people, share their fantasy football MVP picks. We also have a surprise special guest that will round out the group on today's episode of the show.

And I'm excited. Deucers are in the building. Happy, healthy, present, accounted for, ready for football. You're kind of my MVP back there. Which one? Yeah. I leave it. M stands for most.

I leave it right there. You're kind of my MVP, and then they can fight over it. But we have NFL news to talk about as well. Lots going on. The Ultimate Draft Kit, if you're drafting this weekend, still available. UltimateDraftKit.com. Still getting updated. And the Megalobull, which Mike just talked about.

It's up over 15,000 entries now. I just checked it. Megalobull.com. That's M-E-G-a-l-a-b-o-w-l megalobull it's the easiest word in the english language megalobull.com for details how to enter how to join um we're drafting the third through the sixth of September. So today's the 31st of August, so you still have time to... Basically, you get in there, you sign up, you claim your draft date, and then the countdown begins to your Mega Bowl draft. And this year, it's going to be fun. I'm in a league.

Jason's in a league. Mike's... Again, I don't talk about it. ...may be in a league, and so you may end up playing with us as well. I'm very mysterious. And Jason, now you promised you would take it down last year. Yeah, I don't know what happened. Okay.

But I did not. Promises were broken, Jason. I did not win. But this year. This year I'll definitely take it down, for sure. You can find us over on Twitter at the FFBallers. Mike is at FFHitman. You can follow Jason at JasonFFLfl follow me at andy holloway i enjoyed that our social media guru the rap scallion

himself posted some behind the scenes video of jason testing out the t-shirt cannon yeah i'm really happy we got that because i want people to know that that T-shirt cannon is a cannon. Yes. And it could go through the back of that building. Just take out all the lights. You want them to know that you showed restraint when actually using it in the show? Yeah. Because you almost blew a hole in the back of the theater.

I could have killed a man. You really could have. And some people are like, I'm really impressed that you spent the time making sure you didn't kill us did you guys hear about bob no what happened a t-shirt yeah yeah that would be bad um okay anything else we got to cover here at the top we're pretty good i see nobody telling me i need to stop then proceed we're moving forward news and notes from around the league presented by usaa insurance yeah the listener league draft was last night uh so we got that in the books i was drafting from the 14th spot in a 14 team league nice so that was uh that was a bit of an adventure every round waiting and waiting and hoping

that somebody would make it back to me, but it was a lot of fun. We had a good time and, uh, we're planning on winning that league so that we can fit an extra person next year into the listener league. All right, here's some news.

The Vikings and TJ Hawkinson agreed to terms on a long-term extension, making him one of the highest paid tight ends in football. So that old ear infection and that sore tummy or whatever else he was dealing with, I bet it's better now with four-year $68.5 million contract. $42.5 guaranteed. The King of the Forest is now one of the highest paid tight ends of all time. The King of the Forest. I like it.

That got me good. Thank you. Yeah. It's a little bit of a deeper cut if you haven't seen a photo of TJ Hawkinson lately. Just know that he doesn't have courage, and if there is a wizard that can present it to him, he will accept it. Okay, he's doing good. All right.

Here is some very important news. This one stinks. Yeah, but it is pretty relevant for fantasy drafts going on right now. The Dolphins have placed Jeff Wilson Jr. on injured reserve, will miss at least four games and Mike McDaniel's quote about the mid-section injury and finger issue was that he couldn't protect himself so they're giving him time to heal he went on to say quote I definitely wouldn't be surprised if he makes a return this season we will let his body tell us that is a quote i do not

like for the prospects of well will he be back in week five this looks like a long term potential injury i have been drafting raheem mostart for months yes you have uh simply because he can be taken with nearly the last pick in drafts. Now, that might change a little this weekend, but if you get Raheem Mostert in the 11th round, reach for him. You have a starter. When you get to double-digit rounds, to me, you get to round.

I think before. Sure, but I'm saying in round 10 or so, he's still going to be there because he's so far down in ADP. If you're in a casual home league, you could still keep drafting other guys. Reach on Mostert. Mostert should start the season in an extremely strong position for fantasy. It's a great running game. Devon A. Chain is coming back from his own injury.

They hope that he practices this week and is ready for week one, but that's not. He's at practice wearing non-contact jersey. Right, so he's not going to just be the guy week one but that's not yeah at practice wearing non-contact right so he's he's not going to just be the guy week one by any means which means it's most or most it's yeah it's not just most or which Ahmed yeah yeah so are in the listener league I tried to play the ADP game last night with most hurt yeah with yeah I did too witht, and I took Rashad Penny, because he was at the top of the ADP. I don't know what's going to happen with Penny with the Eagles,

but I still want to take that chance. And I was like, Mostert will easily make it back. He did not make it back, and that sucked. And it was even worse this morning. But, Sivan Ahmed, you need to pay attention. It won't be just Mostert. He's also hurt. Is he?

Neck injury. Wait, what? Wait, when did Ahmed get hurt? Day to day. Okay, all right. Day to day with a neck injury, probably from swinging his neck so hard, seeing Jeff Wilson land on IR, that he's like, whoa. But the point is, last year when it was Mostert and Jeff Wilson, it was a little frustrating because it kind of went back and forth

because both were getting work. So I think that there is a strong chance that Mostert is the one, but it might even be a 1A, 1B with Ahmed until A-Chain's ready to go. That's the biggest point on Mostert. He will not be deleted from the rotation

at any point, regardless of these injury recovery situations he had games that were great with Jeff Wilson last year he'll have games that are good with Devon A-chain like he will also get hurt yeah I mean he will delete himself from the rotation at some point this year he did pretty well for himself last year yeah in terms of staying healthy last year was a great season I also think this does bump up uh Devon A-chain A-Chain is someone that I haven't been drafting over the last couple of weeks because of the shoulder injury that he sustained in preseason. He's not ready to go.

I figured he'd come along very slowly, kind of buried to start the season on the depth chart. But if the other guys ahead of him are injured, and Jeff Wilson is obviously not going to be there, that'll just thrust him forward a little bit quicker. Yep. Joe Burrow returned to practice. Big fist pump from Mike's Dynasty team. Let's go.

We have Chris Ballard talking about Jonathan Taylor. Said he was still complaining of pain in the ankle, which led him to be placed on PUP. Which I did receive an update. Apparently the last year of a player's contract, the contract will not toll if they stay on the pup the whole year. So we will have a showdown at some point this season when Jonathan Taylor is ready to go

because he has said, I'm not going to play for this team. I want more money. And the management has said, I'm not going to play for this team. I want more money. And the management has said, we will not trade you, even though that turned into go ahead and seek a trade, but you're hurt. So something will happen this year with Jonathan Taylor. What else do we have? Jay Lonnie Woods on injured reserve. Yeah, Colts tight end.

And then Jets head coach Robert Sala said that the team would be smart with how they use Brees Hall early in the season. We've never been worried about his availability. We just have to be smart, said head coach Robert Sala. The excitement as well, let's just throw him out there, but we need to be smart, need to be diligent. So there you go. He feels like he can take 30 touches.

We have to be smart with him. You want to start week one with Dalvin Cook and Raheem Mostert. You might have a good first week. Yeah, I mean, this was always the expectation. When you're drafting Brees Hall, you're hoping that he has big plays in these first couple weeks because he's not going to get the volume that is bankable. But towards the end of the season,

I still think he'll take over and make Dalvin Cook a distant second on the depth chart. Zachary's uncertain if he can play week one. Makes sense. So what? Who cares? Yeah, agreed. That was today's News and Notes presented by USAA Insurance. Learn more at USAA.com slash insurance. Who's your fantasy MVP?

I missed a piece of news, Brooks. Was there something that I didn't mention? Just didn't know if you want to mention the Chiefs wide receiver news there. Oh, just about Justin Ross and Rasheed Rice being package players to start. So, look, Twitter loves Justin Ross so much. But he made the 53-man roster, but it's going to take a while. Again, like... Is that one of the fantasy bullet points for a player, made the 53? Yeah, well, it's certainly a very important first step.

It certainly starts with that. Sky Moore is going to be a starter. He's going to have the first opportunity, and Kadarius Toney is going to be there from week one, and we've been kind of necessarily ignoring him due to the injury and the impending injury that he hasn't had yet that he will. But those guys are going to have week one opportunities. Patrick Mahomes has to throw the football to some other players.

Juju had a relevant fantasy season, which is where Sky Moore is likely to start. I've been drafting a lot of Sky Moore. And Canaries Tony could absolutely have a surprise week one. What's funny is this depth chart at wide receiver has seemed like just hot garbage since the last year, since I got rid of Tyreek. And now you're going, Rushie Rice has looked good. And Justin Ross has looked good. Now they've got two strong rookies coming in.

You add Kadarius Toney, the year two hopeful leap for Sky Moore that probably won't happen. Yeah, Ross is a second-year guy year guy yeah it's basically his first yeah i mean uh missed it but um this could end up being a really good depth track when i i've been like going man mahomes is just gonna do it again isn't he like of course it's good for mahomes i mean but but it's not i don't think it's good for fantasy outside of like one shot on one guy and if it doesn't work out, like you didn't even mention Justin Watson.

Oh, superstar. Justin Watson will catch touchdowns and make you say, crap, I played a different guy. All right, talk to me about how you define a fantasy MVP because this is the fantasy MVP show. I hit that drop,

which means we're going to start listening in on some of the fantasy MVP picks. So we reach out to our friends around the industry, love this episode, get some outside perspective, and I leave it up to them. I say, hey, who's your fantasy MVP? Is that your favorite pick, your favorite value pick, your favorite sleeper, the player you think is most likely to break out? Who's your MVP?

And it's pretty much a guy that you are drafting everywhere you possibly can. And that's kind of the criteria that we give them. All right, we're going to kick it off with J.J. Zacharyson from, well, it's at LateRoundQuarterback on Twitter. LateRound.com. That's right. And here we go.

Hey, nerds. J.J. Zacharyson of LateRound Fantasy Football here. When thinking fantasy MVP, right and uh here we go hey nerds jj zacharyson of late round fantasy football here when thinking fantasy mvp most people probably think biggest value and biggest value is usually someone drafted in the late rounds but i'm gonna go with an early round pick i'm gonna go with tony pollard as my fantasy mvp i know he'll be gone in the second round, but he falls off draft boards at RB5 or RB6. He should be at least RB4 in my eyes, and that's a significant difference in the early rounds of your draft. There may be some concern about the Cowboys just not giving him a much bigger workload

than he's already seen, but in three games without Ezekiel Elliott over the last three years, Pollard's running back rush share per game has been around 73%, which is what we see from top 10 backs. In those contests, he scored 31, 34, and 22 PPR points. Getting him in round two is amazing. He's the perfect mix of floor and upside within a running back landscape that lacks a ton of obvious league winning players. All right. Have we talked too little about tony pollard i mean i i drafted him for the first time in the listener league last night i went back to back pollard and jameer gibbs at the end of the first round early second it was a juicy start we i think we've talked about

him fairly he uh i kind of he got featured in uh my article my one one article that I do a year, my hit squad where I kind of look every round, my favorite pick, and that's based off of what I think is the best value. I love Tony Pollard. I keep drafting him in our mock drafts. I get him pretty much everywhere we can go or anywhere that I possibly can. Well, let's turn to Rich Rebar at Lord Rebs on Twitter. Works for Sharp Football Analysis analysis and see if he agrees

what's going on fantasy footballers this is rich rebar of sharp football analysis and my fantasy mvp for 2023 is tony pollard it feels like people are trying to talk themselves out of tony pollard the same way they did austin eckler three years ago when the chargers chose to extend him and let melvin gordon walk among 42 running backs to 100 or more carries last season. Pollard was second in the rate of carries to go for 10 or more yards. He was first in yards after contact per carry. His yardage and touches have gone up every year of his career, and with 232 touches last season, that's set to happen again this year. He has just 13 games with 15 or more touches in his career. In those games, he's averaged 19.6 ppr points per game

112.6 yards from scrimmage with 13 touchdowns in three games without ezekiel he scored 31.2 33.7 and 21.8 ppr points and elliot is gone now so we have a full line to goal line carries the first time in his career don't be don't make the mistake of not drafting Tony Pollard in the second round because he should be a first round fantasy pick this year. It's a lot of agreement. It's a lot of numbers. I promise not all the MVP picks are Tony Pollard but this is a... Let me

go next. My MVP is Tony Pollard. Welcome to the Tony Pollard MVP show. No, I mean you do have agreement there between a couple of smart voices just with the opportunity. And I thought the most astute point that I was nodding my head to is just the fact that we are trying to talk ourselves out of it. Right.

Because, you know, it just seems like it's almost like it's too juicy so we don't believe it. You know what I mean? The too good to be true situation. Yeah, it feels like a mirage. They literally drafted a five-foot, five-inch running back just to calm our fears that goal line could be lost to Tony Pollard.

So we're sitting here having to explain who Rico Dowdle is to the listeners yesterday. Tony Pollard is set up to succeed on a team that, look, I think Dallas will compete for that division. I really do. Everything at the beginning of the year feels like everything that happened last year will just happen again. This is a good football team with a great defense

with a competent to great quarterback and a running back that has done nothing but impress us. I think I understand the well-made points of these two gentlemen. I really like the comp of Austin Eckler because I've been too afraid of the Lamar Miller comp,

the very efficient guy who gets the workload bump and the efficiency comes down. But the, the actual talent of Tony Pollard, just watching him on the field, you go, he is, he's much more special than Lamar Miller was.

All right, let's go ahead and turn it over to Kendall Valenzuela, Fantasy Life Senior Analyst and Director of Social over there, one of our favorite people in the industry. Let's get her fantasy MVP pick. All right, guys, this is Kendall Valenzuela, my MVP for the 2023 fantasy season. To me, it's got to be Calvin Ridley.

Calvin Ridley, I am buying into all the training camp hype. I am buying into all the electric videos we've seen posted throughout social media. I'm all in on Calvin Ridley this season. He is ready to be back on the field. And to me, he's going to make up for all the time that he's lost. In Ridley's last full season,

he finished as a top five fantasy option. He had 90 passes, 1,374 yards, and nine touchdowns. So I understand people want to be cautious because his last full season was in 2020. I get that. I think it's going to backfire though. I am so scared to leave drafts without drafting Calvin Ridley. It's hard for me to pass up on his name. Like I said, he finished as the wide receiver for overall 18.8 fantasy PPR points per game. I know skeptics are going to be concerned about the one and a half seasons that he's lost, but I'm scared to leave a draft without Calvin Ridley. He's my MVP.

Look, I'm pretty bought in on Calvin Ridley. He runs at a different speed. He plays at a different level than the other receivers on that roster. And so I, I'm very optimistic. I'm on board with this pick. Yeah. From, from the get go, you know, when ADP first came out and was kind of set early in the off season, it was like, wow, Calvin Ridley that high, that seems pretty crazy because he hasn't played football in years. We don't know how he is. and Ridley that high that seems pretty crazy because he hasn't played football in years we

don't know how he is I think it's the the unique situation that allows the training camp videos to be important you know you don't want to buy the hype of training camp and oh these videos look good but when you haven't seen a guy on the field yeah that's your only opportunity to evaluate them yeah and you and he certainly has not looked like he's lost a step. I mean, the beat writers out there, there are beat writers that have worked there for 20 years that say this is the third best player that they've ever covered as a member of this organization. The what best?

Third. Third. Third best player. Yeah. That's still pretty high. Like of all time. Okay, but who were the other two? I do not remember.

So covering Jacksonville? Yeah. Okay, I'm going to give one to MJD. okay but who were the other two i do not remember so covering the covering jacksonville yeah okay i'm gonna give one to mjd yes i was gonna go jones drew maybe fred taylor maybe i don't know but yeah i just would have that would have been good information the well we don't have that information it's such a funny it's a funny quote like yeah i'm. How far can you go? This guy is the eighth best player I've seen at camp. To be fair, I think he was saying he's one of the three best. I don't know that it was ordered. I don't have the tweet in front of me.

No, it's fine. I was very hesitant to buy into Calvin Ridley at the opening ADP. And I have. I've changed my opinion on him. And surprisingly, when we started actually getting evidence oh no Calvary's looking real good all the reports are great his ADP didn't really move it just it just locked right in I'm surprised that he didn't skyrocket to the moon so I think that he is a really good value where he's going right now. All right, quick break and back with some more fantasy MVP picks.

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.

I would not have bought into Calvin Ridley if he was only one of the top six that that guy had ever seen at camp. That would have been kind of embarrassing. I draw the line there. All right. It's time to turn to a couple of folks within these walls. Let's get the editor-in-chief, deucer extraordinaire, host of the DFS Embedding and Dynasty podcast, Kyle Borgannoni himself with his fantasy MVP pick. Foot Clan, I'm Kyle Borgannoni, fellow deucer, editor-in-chief,

DFS and Dynasty pod host for the Ballers. And my fantasy MVP for the 2023 season is Jackson Smith and Jigba, rookie wide receiver, Seattle Seahawks. This might be a bit of an unconventional pick for fantasy MVP, but as the esteem jason moore once said on episode 754 of the fantasy footballers no risk it no biscuit and biscuits can lead to diabetes yes i get it he recently underwent surgery to repair a small broken bone his wrist but whether it's week one or after i need need to remind everyone, JSN is that dude.

His over four yards per route run as a 19-year-old at Ohio State far surpassed teammates Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave. And the worry is that he's only going to be a slot wide receiver behind DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. But in preseason, he showed his versatility across formation. Keep in mind, many of the best wide receivers in the NFL came into the league labeled as slot-only guys. Cooper Cup, CeeDee Lamb, Justin Jefferson. With rookie wide receivers, we have to draft with this question in mind. Where will these guys be

taken next year? Since 2014, we've seen 18 first-round wide receivers have 50-plus receptions as a rookie, a number everybody in their mama expects JSN to hit this year. All 18 of them were drafted as the top 30 wide receiver the next year and 10 of them in the top 15. We will be talking about JSN next year in the same breath as his Ohio State teammates, a borderline wide receiver one for fantasy. But this isn't just a down the road dynasty take. JSN can be a second half hammer for your fantasy but this isn't just a down the road dynasty take jsn can be a second half hammer for your fantasy teams this year we know rookie wide receivers often start out slow but once the rocket ship takes off a rookie wide receiver good luck trying to trade for them right now you get

to draft him in the eighth round as your wide receiver four and wait for him to just explode the draft discount is glorious, the upside is massive, and the pick for MVP is obvious. It's Jason. All right, some fierce words on behalf of Jason. Do you buy it? I regretted drafting zero. I mean, like every rookie wide receiver I drafted last year,

later in the draft, I did not regret any of them. Yeah, I think he's a great pick. I'm still very pro team Tyler Lockett I think DK Metcalf can have a great season as well I think there's room for all three of them uh it's it will be interesting to see how the season plays out if if he really does replace one of those guys for some two-set wide receiver action for Seattle. But he's – it's talent. Draft talent. He is – I can't believe he fell that far in the draft.

I think the NFL made a huge mistake letting him fall into, what, the 20s or so for Seattle. It was a wild drop, and I think that JSN is going to be fantastic. 20th overall. That's the 20s? Yeah. You got it. You're in.

All right. He's one of the 20 top players picked in the draft. Okay, yeah, JSN, it's hard for me to like – that's just not going to be a very fun analysis situation in future years, breaking down Seattle. Like maybe it will – it's probably going to naturally happen with Lockett kind of going the way of the old man. Eventually he will.

He will feel it. Because you don't – like you lived with the Boyd Higgins, right, and then Chase arrives and you can't – like no one drafts Tyler Boyd. Right. I've watched him just trickle down into nothingness. So it's hard for three players to bring you the kind of consistency every week, and yet you know Jason has to be one of them

at some point here. It's certainly possible. And since you mentioned it, looking at the Dynasty outlook, Tyler Lockett, they owe him a lot of money. So it's going to be interesting to see how seattle handles it yeah i mean uh i hate to tell you guys but he is i mean he's not gonna be your favorite forever lockett oh i know oh someday he'll join adam thielen yes he will all right matthew betts's turn i'm afraid of introducing of introducing all of his accolades and titles

because he may just do it himself. But he's our injury expert. You can find him on Twitter, at FantasyPT. And we'll give the shout-out the fun fact. Betts did send us a clip of Tony Pollard. And we said, we can't have that. We can't have it just be all Tony Pollard all the time. So give us a different one.

Yeah, I mean, mid-show I may have sent a trade offer for Tony Pollard all the time. So give us a different one. Yeah, I mean, mid-show, I may have sent a trade offer for Tony Pollard. Oh, good luck. What is up, Foot Clan? This is Matthew Betts, the Ballers injury analyst and co-host of the Dynasty and DFS podcasts. My fantasy MVP for the 2023 season

is Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert. Look, last year, it just didn't work out for Herbert, and he still finished as the quarterback 11. What went wrong? Well, everything. Keenan Allen injured his hamstring in week one, then missed essentially half the year. Mike Williams got banged up.

The offensive line was injured off and on all year. And Herbert himself dealt with a rib injury that affected his fantasy production for about a month. To put some numbers to it, just 23% of Herbert's dropbacks last year came with both Big Mike and Keenan Allen on the field together. And in that sample, Herbert's 77 completion rate would have led the entire NFL. Herbert is also one of fantasy football's most obvious bounce back candidates, specifically in the touchdown department.

After his touchdown rate plummeted from 5.7% in 2021 to 3.6% in 2022, despite attempting 699 passes last season, aka the second most in the NFL. If that touchdown number bounces back to even league average, Herbert has a great chance to beat his ADP and put up some big time fantasy numbers. With new OC Kellen Moore in town, the Chargers offense should remain extremely pass-heavy, up in pace, and Herbert should be pushing the ball down the field more often this season, which should help keep him in contention for the league lead in passing yardage. Oh, and one final note on Herbert's bounce-back season that's going to come this year. He's quietly due for more fantasy production with his legs.

14 quarterbacks logged 50- rush attempts last season justin herbert aka your fantasy mvp is the only one who didn't score a single touchdown with his legs and 12 of those 14 quarterbacks ran for three plus scores if you pass on the elite options at the top of the draft board herbert is an awesome target in the middle rounds um that's the best audio betsy's ever put forth i he doesn't do that on the regular shows right i don't know i liked the the bonus we got there about the running jason didn't uh bother to bring that up actually i did bring up that exact same stat no i didn't listen thanks for listening at our live show i was making an assumption yeah no um you assumed he would not bring that up

i uh i obviously agree with this he was my breakout uh bold prediction pick to be the number one quarterback this season it justin herbert situation is very difficult for me because i i lived that entire experience last offseason, including just acknowledging all of the things that were present for him last year are present for him this year. What happened last year is he was dealt some really tough hands with the injuries to his wide receivers, with the injuries to his ribs. It just kind of – the plan didn't come together. So, you know, maybe this this year jason you can live the

life i wanted to live i will show you how it's done all right moving on danny kelly co-host of the ringer fantasy football show and ringer nfl draft show with his fantasy mvp what's up ballers danny kelly here from the ringer fantasy football show and my mvp for the 2023 season is lamar jackson and look i get it he's been a little bit disappointing over the last few years. He's underwhelmed relative to his ADP. He's missed too many games. But I do think this is the year he puts it all back together and turns back into the guy who we saw win the real-life MVP back in 2019.

The Ravens have put together a really talented group of pass catchers for him, along with Mark Andrews. They signed Odell Beckham, who has looked great in training camp. They drafted Zay Flowers, who looked awesome in the preseason. They get back Rashad Bateman. They get a healthy J.K. Dobbins back onto the field, and they could get a nice jump from tight end Isaiah Likely. Most importantly, add in the Todd Monken effect, which should transform this Ravens offense from one of the slowest, run-heaviest groups in the NFL to potentially an up-tempo, out pass happy scheme and there is no ceiling to what this offense could do more plays more yards more points and a much bigger pie for all the above-mentioned players to split up in

fantasy Lamar brings potential to rush for over a thousand yards and he could leave the NFL in passing touchdowns is exactly what he did back in 2019 when he won a million people their leagues. And so I'm just hoping that's what he can do this year. Okay. Lamar Jackson, I'm sure you will have. You know I like it. Yeah, Mike will be on board. Yeah, absolutely.

No notes. Before we comment further, I have a feeling somebody else has a similar opinion. What's up, everybody? Marcus Grant from NFL Media. And if I'm talking about my fantasy MVP for 2023, it's going to be Lamar Jackson, right? Now being drafted as the fourth or fifth quarterback, depending on what room you're in. But this is a guy who has the potential to be the QB1 overall, maybe even the highest score in fantasy football.

We already know about the rushing upside. That is not going away. What is different this year is that he is working with what is probably the deepest wide receiver core he has had in his career. Now, granted, there are still some question marks. What is Odell Beckham going to be after another knee injury? Can Rashad Bateman return from injury? What is Zay Flowers going to do in his rookie season? But there is talent here in this room. They've got Mark Andrews and Todd Monken pulling the levers on this

offense. I expect it to be more of a vertical passing game. So you're getting Lamar in the fourth round. The possibility that he is the top scorer overall, it's as good a situation as you can possibly imagine. No notes. I feel like, yeah, you got no notes. No notes.

I just feel like that, you know, maybe this is just my personality. Maybe this is nine years of fantasy. And, like, I don't know if there's been a more consistently positive drumbeat for one offensive situation where nobody can say anything potentially negative about it than this Lamar Jackson one, where it's, like, bona fide guaranteed. You know, I know there was a lot of excitement around Denver last year in the off

season and where they got picked, but like this situation, even more than that has just been exclusively positive. And, and I don't think I've heard much detraction from that. You've been a detractor. You've, you've,

you've told the world how much you hate the Ravens. No, no, no. I've hung some street signs that say, slow down. This road is slippery. It's a cliffside. The view from the top is great,

but you've got to get there the right way. You can't just slam on the gas, and that's how I felt everybody has handled the Ravens. Yeah, I'm not convinced necessarily that Todd Monken's gonna come in here and make the Baltimore Ravens a better team I I am you know I think they could turn the ball over a lot they could uh you know um hurt the defense in certain

situations first year under the system but I am convinced from a fantasy perspective like you know it's like when Jameis Winston with todd monka threw 30 interceptions it didn't matter it was pretty cool it was like heck yeah i'm glad that went pick six get back on that field and throw it all right we're going to share our fantasy mvps and then we have one extra special guest to round out this episode so you want to stay tuned for that i'll be brief my fantasy m MVPs, I'm cheating. I'm cheating this year. A little bit you are.

It is Debo Samuel and Brandon Ayuk, wide receivers for the San Francisco 49ers. Both of them, I think, are being drafted too low. We've seen Debo's ceiling before up at number two. He came out not in shape last year. The contract situation. All reports this year, very positive. And I think this is just one of those reactions, right? You had the incredible year, drafted very high, a lot of disappointment. Now he's drafted too low, in my opinion,

and I think he has the potential on a Super Bowl contender to be a dominant force. And then Brandon Ayuk last year, 114 targets. He was the wide receiver of 15, and he's still being ignored in fantasy drafts. Like, Brandon Ayuk is sitting out there with a real opportunity to be a wide receiver one, potentially, in this offense. I think both guys will be bringing fantasy MVP value

to your roster this year, and Debo brings the rushing upside in this offense, and they work game plans around him. I'm very excited for both players and I think they are both co-fantasy MVPs for your fantasy team all right I like it that you get two ways to go down on that one uh they they scare me the passing game scares me but I know that the last time that you were very bullish on Debo Samuel, it was the time that he was the wide receiver too. So I take notice. My MVP this year.

Yeah. Yeah, I mean, look, the heart wants what the heart wants. This might not be the best value in the draft, but this is an MVP type of pick. This is one of the very few players that you can draft that will next year be everyone's consensus 101 like he has that potential he is not the last time we saw a rookie running back who was drafted in the first round of both real life and then that caused him to be drafted in the first round of fantasy drafts was Clyde Edwards

Allaire and that didn't work out that great. He was still decent. He was like 12.5 points a game his rookie season. But obviously... Yeah, finished at 22. Yeah, it didn't work out phenomenally. And I'm just... I want to make sure it's clear.

This is not that situation. Bijon is a different caliber athlete. A way different prospect. Before the NFL draft, Clyde Edwards-Alaire that year was my running back six in my own evaluations. Like, he wasn't even up there with Jonathan Taylor or the other guys. It was going to Kansas City that vaulted him into the first. And Bijon goes to Atlanta.

And that situation is so much better than I think most people even realize. Here's a tweet from Warren Sharp after the draft happened. This is what the scheme allowed the Atlanta Falcons running backs to do last year. Number one in rushing yards, number one in yards per carry, number one in rushing first downs, number two in EPA per rush, number three in success rate, number three in first downs or touchdowns per rushing attempt in EPA per rush, number three in success rate, number three in first downs or touchdowns per rushing attempt. This scheme from Arthur Smith that Derrick Henry used and then has worked well with, you know, a hodgepodge of running backs is adding a superstar running back to it. He's going to be phenomenal. He's going to be great for fantasy. He's going to

put up huge points, catch the ball enough, get the goal line opportunities and even if Tyler Algiers Algier is very involved which I think he I think he'll have 150 carries it it's not going to stop Bijan from being great for fantasy all right Bijan Robinson surprise pick from Jason Moore didn't know you liked him well everyone was really upset that he wasn't one of my my guys yeah my MVP no it makes perfect sense. And we had a very fun discussion on Bijon on the Dynasty podcast yesterday morning, the three of us. So, Mike, give us your fantasy MVP pick.

It's rookie wide receiver, Mr. Zay Flowers of the Baltimore Ravens. You have become smitten. The chips have gone all in. Well, you know how I felt about the potential of the Baltimore Ravens. You have become smitten. The chips have gone all in. Well, you know how I felt about the potential of the Ravens offense and Lamar kind of the whole offseason. That's why I have no notes for these people who, if Lamar is your MVP, fantastic. I think that it's going to be a great season for him.

And it was, well, who's going to be the benefactor of it? And it seemed early on that it would be Rashad Bateman but he just cannot get back on the field he's missing practices yet again Zay Flowers of the first round rookie wide receivers he is the most complete in his production profile we're talking the share of receiving yards receptions touchdown, an absolute dominant player in college. Again, Bateman is still not around. OBJ coming off of his second ACL tear. And the last time we saw him with the Rams, he was averaging about 38 yards in eight games with them. Like this was not a special player. He was catching touchdowns, but the yardage just, it wasn't there. So I'm in on the Ravens. And I

think that Zay Flowers can take the leap and actually be the number one wide receiver for this team, and he's being drafted in the ninth round. And the bonus stat here is talking about the difference of offense. So last year the Ravens used 11 personnel, which means three wide receivers are on the field. They used it 12% of their plays dead last. In the preseason we were up over 80%.

And why is that important? Well, last year in quarterbacks with 80-plus dropbacks in 11 personnel, so we have three-plus wide receivers on the field, the quarterback that led in completion percentage over expectation, Lamar Jackson. He is a good passing quarterback. He's not just a running back he is a great passer as well so I am in on Zay Flowers uh I'm one disappointed in you

that you didn't go Alexander Madison okay I want that I'm no I'm just going to take that decision sure as a sign that you believe I am right about him. No. You made the decision. I do want to give the notes. No notes. Yeah. You said no notes. I had no notes for it. It was Lamar MVP. You did say no notes.

No notes. Because we did the Listener League draft last night, and BK, the biggest loser, is my co-manager over there. That's a good sign. We're planning things out. And he's like, have you cooled on Alexander Madison? I'm like, no, not at all. But do you see how he thought?

Yeah, I can see that. But I'm more in give me a rookie wide receiver in the ninth with the potential to be the number one for a really high-powered offense. Yeah, the draft capital price for Zay Flowers makes him immune to all of the potential criticism that I might have because I worry that he could be their number one receiver. He could be their number four fantasy producer in the passing office. That is an outcome that I worry about a little bit.

But one more special guest, the legend himself. Yes. The host of the Emmy- nominated nfl game day morning uh two-time emmy nominated rich eisen show host rich eisen joined us yesterday for a special interview including his own fantasy mvp picks enjoy all right we got one final special guest for the MVP episode today, none other than Rich Eisen himself coming in here to share some insights. Man, the myth, the legend. That's right. Thank you.

I appreciate it. That's right. Welcome in. Thank you. This is the back end of a home and home. That's right. Yeah, these two gentlemen across from me had the privilege of jumping on your show last week, and we thought, you know what?

No one knows football better than Rich Eisen. So why not have him come on and talk fantasy football with us ahead of the season? I appreciate that. I appreciate the opportunity. Certainly. Are we on the clock right now? Am I on the clock? I was going to bring it up.

I can't get another email from your producer or your guy saying, you know, with the emoji of football and a clock, which he sent to us. He sent it to you? By the way, hold on a second. This is a flex and also a complaint. He sends this to us in the middle of us interviewing Odell Beckham Jr., who last called into this show six years ago. So I'm sorry if I'm holding anybody up. I'm interviewing Odell Beckham Jr.

Is he available? Is Odell Beckham? Draft Odell right now. If the listeners haven't picked up on it, Rich is joining us on a fantasy football league this year. And I guess our management is just um rich is actually hey what's up fellas and by the way out of fairness to you andy i'm cutting the third guy of our program out no that's fine yeah you're also allowed to come on your show

you know so no that's good all due respect to tj only tj you can come here or you come in here you come in here and we'll bust the norm. Come on. Are you ready to go out and have a round? Hold on a second. We're in the ninth round, yeah. He wants Brandon Cooks. TJ wants Brandon Cooks. Yeah, good value.

I was going to say, are you really going to take Odell right here? Not bad. As kind of a thank you for coming on. I think he might get back to us. Oh, yeah. You hit the all button here. Oh. on? I think he might get back to us. Oh, yeah, you hit the all button here. Yeah, I imagine he'll get back. I think he'll come back to you a couple rounds from now.

Let me set the stage here. Rich has Eckler, Kamara, Rashad White, Dalvin Cook at running back. We're taking Brandon Cooks right now. Brandon Cooks off the board. He's being drafted by us right now because TJ is a big Dallas Cowboy fan. There may be an eye in Rich and Eisen but I'm a team player so I'm getting you you can tell TJ that I actually I'm all in on Brandon Cooks this year I love the fact that they traded for him they need a number two over

there and Dak Prescott has shown us that he can sustain multiple fantasy options so I think that Brandon Cooks still has it I think we have at least one more year of him being a thousand yard guy. Mike is very proud that Rich took Brandon Cook. I love it. I think it's a great pick. I appreciate the check mark from you. I appreciate it. And I apologize that I'm sorry.

I'm a control freak. I normally do the Q, not the A. So I'm the A here. You're the Q. I'll back off. I didn't mean to take things over the minute I popped on your pod. My apologies. We noticed you were on the A. So I'm the A here. You're the Q. I'll back off. I didn't mean to take things over the minute I popped on your pod. My apologies. We noticed you were on the clock. We thought that might have been strategic. You're setting

up an air pick. It's called content. But also, I don't want any more emails that I'm taking up too much time while I'm talking to America. He'll hear about that. Oh, yeah. He'll hear about that from us. We'll give him the business. I have a little bit of an ego, but I don't think

everybody should know when I'm on the air all the time. But to send like a hey, you're on the clock when I'm talking to Odell Beckham Jr. You know? This is going to be a good league. This is going to be fun this year uh we are

we're fresh off a number of uh fantasy mvp picks uh i am curious if you have a few names uh and they can't all be jets but do you have a few names no uh for fantasy mvp this upcoming season uh i'll get fantasy mvp coming up this season um gosh i mean it's tough not to go justin jefferson and i know that's the lowest of the hanging fruit but one of my favorite statistics and i'm saying this for real in the now 20 years that i've been with nfl network i've seen a lot of stats i've seen a lot of numbers and i think seen a lot of numbers. And I think I might have recited it with you guys. Not you, Andy. You weren't on.

No, no. Andy would never know. But that Justin Jefferson has set the record for most receiving yards and touchdowns for a player in his first three years of his career.

Those numbers are a record for a player in his first three years of his career. Those numbers are a record for a player in their first four years in the NFL. So he's going to add on to these numbers and keep on pushing out so there'll be a record for a player through four, for any player through five, and things of that nature. So it's tough to think otherwise that Justinin jefferson isn't and i know he didn't even go first in our league i wonder who got him in our league i was just looking at that andy has justin jefferson in our league with you rich and he went third shockingly yeah that was a little bit surprising i was definitely thinking in a league with you and who you're bringing in um it would be a tough one i mean

tell dan that come on i mean i couldn't believe i'm like wait a minute it's a half point ppr and justin jefferson isn't first it's the first time i've seen it this offseason anywhere right yeah um but if i gotta go with somebody that's off the radar screen, and I haven't gotten him in either one of the two leagues that I've done so far, and I've got a third one coming up, and this is the one that I've been in the longest, the one that I want to win the most, no disrespect to you guys, but we all have one of those, right? Oh, yeah.

It's been the one I've been in the longest and we always wait till kickoff because we don't want to be caught up drafting before Josh Jacobs signs or Jonathan Taylor goes on pup. We don't, we want everything to be as, as set as possible. So I'll go Jameer Gibbs. There's something about him. There's something about him that I just cannot shake. Um, I, I heard that when the lions took him 12th overall, he beat a whole bunch. They beat a whole bunch of teams to the punch. Yeah. I heard that a bunch of teams to the punch and everyone's was shocked that he went 12th overall. And I, I heard that night going back to, uh, you know to the lobby of our hotel and talking to a bunch of people after that first round in Kansas City

that there were a ton of teams that pounded the table in their draft room for him and then pounded the table in anger after the Lions took him 12th overall. Do you think that a lot of their excitement that kind of got mocked trading up for a running back was because they knew there were other teams in contention there for him? I don't think they care, to be honest with you. They clearly don't care about taking Jack Campbell and all the crap that they got for that.

It's just, who do they like? Who do they want? And in the same way that we were conversing last week, not you, Andy, but the way that we were conversing last week, I andy but um you know the way that we were conversing last week i'm sorry andy i didn't mean to do no no keep it up it's a good bit it's a good bit you know and i come from the letterman style of broadcasting where where i take the bit and i pound it down to the ground and then keep hitting it um so you know if you like somebody and you know you're third or fourth overall and

is up there and it's still too early to get him well you're not getting him when he comes when you come back so take him it's just mentality in the draft for real that it all it takes is one to make someone a first rounder um so you know we're all just afraid of being the cleveland browns being the one to make johnny manziel a first rounder but i don't think john is that type of player so i was gonna gibbs is a guy now i'm not saying i would take him top five uh but man do i like him a lot yeah i was i was gonna ask if we are suckers for the consensus sometimes right you don't want to look stupid during your draft. What was number two here?

Tyreek Hill. Tyreek Hill went number two in our league. But, you know, it never plays out the way that anybody projects it, NFL draft or fantasy drafts. We just have like six months to fill putting an order together. Maybe it's better to just go with that, you know, go with your gut on some of these players. And like you said, you can't, you said, if you're drafting at three,

you will not have an opportunity to draft Bijon ever. So if that's the guy you want, that's your only shot. That's where Gibbs is a really interesting pick because Gibbs is someone that right now is usually in the third round, but you'll have an opportunity if you want to reach a little bit for him. We do a lot of mock drafts, obviously. We do fantasy, and Andy has grabbed Gibbs. I do, too.

Andy has grabbed Gibbs all over the place. He's one of his my guys this season. So you guys are in sync right now on Justin Jefferson and Jameer Gibbs for sure. One final thing for you, Rich, before we let you go. I want you to know, and maybe this will endear me to you for the future. I think you're endearing. I picked in our Bold Predictions episode, which we had a live event out there.

You guys were talking about it in L.A. I didn't realize the vitriol that would be coming from a Los Angeles crowd, but I picked the Jets to win the Super Bowl this season. Why does everybody in Los Angeles hate that team? Because I was booed into submission. Yeah, they gave him the business. I don't know why either. I don't know.

There's no... You think it's an Aaron Rodgers thing? I don't know. Maybe they just don't like you. Oh, and the truth shall set you free. It took two seconds to get back to there. I don't know. I don't know why.

It's probably an Aaron Rodgers thing. And again, it's kind of funny. It's just sick and tired of the Jets are like, look at me. Rodgers is like, look at me. But they didn't want hard knocks. They didn't want to be looked at. They didn't want that. Rodgers hasn't, for all his look at me, been on McAfee's show, I don't think,

since he said that he wanted, he had an intention to play for the Jets. I don't believe. I think he might have come back once after that. I mean, you know, he's just posting and going to Taylor Swift concerts like the rest of, you know, Americans. So, right. So I, I don't know. There's a backlash in the same way that just, you know, I went all in.

I had no idea. My guy Brockman, who was standing over my shoulder moments ago, had no idea. He told me on the air live that there's a bar in Milwaukee that's going to pay bar tabs of everybody on days that the Jets lose. And I'm like, okay. I'm sorry, Favre, to Rodgers, Packer fan, that you're, you know, upset that maybe Jordan Love has foisted upon you right now.

But more often than not, he's, you know, odds are he's going to go to the Hall of Fame because that's what's happened. You got the Favre that went to the Hall of Fame. We got the Favre who used us as a transfer portal to the Vikings. Honestly, and tough bar owner saying, I'll pay the tab if the Jets lose. Well, over the last 54 years, that would have been a lost leader for his bar. This shows you that they're concerned or he's concerned or she's concerned that that rogers may you know win more often than not because i guess you're figuring you're not going to pay for a lot

of bar tabs this year i i don't know this is how fans process things yeah i guess but like can we get can we get hope once every 54 years is that possible can we possibly do that can we you know last time our hope was a team whose quarterback ran into the of his offensive lineman on thanksgiving night you know that's when that's when hope last went out the window it went out the window into the taint of brandon moore i believe that's where the Jets' last hope, like, if you go check that man's orifice right now, that's where the Jets' last hope resides. So can we get a break? I don't know why they're booing in Los Angeles.

This is why I was shocked. Did you boo the Cubs when they had never won? What the hell? It makes no sense. You guys have a lot of hope now. I think right now there's a lot of people like Andy that think there's bright days ahead. Do you think that you guys are playoff bound this year?

Look, man. You afraid to say it? Are you afraid to say it? No, I'm not afraid to say it. I'm not afraid to say it. You have eyes, is what I was going to say. You have eyes. Quentin Williams, that's Sauce Gardner.

Did you see what Jermaine Johnson's looked like in the preseason? And those are just two of the defensive linemen I've mentioned, you know, CJ Mosley's in the middle of this defense. And then you've got Rogers clearly loves Garrett Wilson. He trusts him. He's already back shoulder throwing him like he's the, his previous 17. Come on, you know, and if the offensive line protects him and Brees Hall and Dalvin Cook are guys who can look like their previous, like last year selves. This is, this is, this is a, this is a playoff team. And this is a team that can go on a run depending on it's a very difficult schedule. Their first six games are, you know, home for Buffalo on a Monday night.

Then they're at Dallas. Then they've got Belichick. Then they've got the Chiefs. Then they've got at Denver, no Gilligan hats there. And then Jalen Hurts and the Eagles before their bye. That's their first six. It looks really good after the bye. So if you can survive these six weeks.

You could say that, but the Chargers lurk there. You never know. The Falcons, I think, are going to be better they're there cleveland's there washington is there you lost me when you put the falcons in there as a as a tough one that's bridge too far say all you want we don't know we have no earthly idea the only thing just to go back full circle that we can definitely say for sure say for sure is going to happen in fantasy is Justin Jefferson. You know, if 2020, 2021, and 2022 are any indication, as in, you know, every year he's played in the NFL. So that's providing me to a league where he's there to be taken third. Oh, it's delicious.

That's great. You did end up with Garrett Wilson in the second round. So happy about that. That's providing me to a league where he's there to be taken third. Oh, it's delicious. That's great. You did end up with Garrett Wilson in the second round. So happy about that. Jalen Waddell in the third. Not too bad. It'll be a fun season, and we're really thankful you jumped on with us. So we appreciate it.

Rich Eisen, the Rich Eisen Show. The best. The best in the business. Always making me feel insecure about my own voice. Keep it up. And presence on this show. So, once again, thank you, Rich. Clearly it's a Los Angeles thing. All right.

That was a fun conversation. It will be fun playing in that league with Rich and a number of talented folks this year. We will share some updates throughout the season. And thank you to everybody. Thank you to all the guests that joined us today to share your fantasy MVP picks. We'd love to hear from all of you. Talk to us on social

media at the FFBallers. Share in the comments if you're watching on YouTube. This is a good time to head over there. YouTube.com slash the Fantasy Footballers. Subscribe. Click the bell. Why? One, you want to see our beautiful faces. Two, we go live throughout the year, including Sunday Live with Mike, the fantasy hitman, keeping you up to date with the last-minute news

heading into your roster decisions on Sunday morning. And we are right there, guys. The season is right there. I can see it over the horizon. And if you've never tuned into sunday live it is it's we break down all the news how is this changing rankings and it's really just therapeutic for everyone as we tilt our faces off together as we make high leverage and really impactful decisions that will affect the emotional state that you have for the upcoming week. It's just a gathering place to melt together into puddles

ahead of your fantasy season. So thank you again to all of our guests. Thank you to the Deucers for putting all this together today. And tomorrow, a very special final mock draft episode, and then we've got football next Thursday. That is going to do it for today's episode of the show. That was a good time.

Always love the MVP show. You mean someday we're going to have to find out if all these predictions come true? Very soon, actually. Oh, man. Goodbye. Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com

and follow us on Twitter at the FFBallers.