Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football Podcast - Top 10 RB Rankings + Trash Talkers - Fantasy Football Podcast for 8/12

Episode Date: August 12, 2026

Fantasy Football show for Aug 12, 2026. Difference making running backs for 2026 fantasy football! Is the Ashton Jeanty breakout coming? Will Derrick Henry be undervalued in fantasy football drafts yet again? Plus, injury updates from training camp, trash talk, and more! Manage your redraft, keeper, and dynasty fantasy football teams with the #1 fantasy football podcast. 2026 ULTIMATE DRAFT KIT is available now at UltimateDraftKit.com Get MEGALASHOW tickets at BallersLive.com (00:00) Intro (04:25) Fantasy trash talk (09:15) NFL News (10:55) Top 10 Running Backs (13:45) Chase Brown (18:05) Derrick Henry (24:10) Ashton Jeanty (30:55) Kenneth Walker (33:55) De’von Achane (39:10) James Cook (41:30) Jonathan Taylor (44:45) Christian McCaffrey (47:55) Bijan Robinson & Jahmyr Gibbs (54:45) Mailbag Connect with the show: Subscribe on YouTube Visit us on the Web Support the Show Follow on X Follow on Instagram Join our Discord Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The time is coming swiftly. The middle rounds are now close for the unskilled. Yet here you are. I'm prepared. You fools! This season you'll find all kinds of foes, eager to watch your draught to crumble with wasted pigs. There can only be one ultimate draft kit.

Only one that can bend them to its will. And it does not share power. You must wield the UDK and send your opponents back to the shadows. You shall not pass. On this chance to send your leadmates into the deep, fly, you fools, to autumn draft kit.com. To the Fantasy Footballers Podcast with your host, Andy Holloway. Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

Oh, welcome in. The fantasy footballers, Wednesday, August 12. Mike, the fantasy hitman, Jason Moore, Andy Holloway. Back at it. Top 10 running back show. We'll jump into some mailbag. We've got lots going on. It is that time of year.

We're in the midst of an opportunity for that UDK for life if you want to win that. What an opportunity it is. What an opportunity, Mike. For life? For life. Goodness. And to sign Jemar Chase jersey, pick up the UDK before August 24th, use it to prepare for your draft. Set the foundation for your team. We are priming up.

Draft season is here. I cannot wait. I've had some opportunities to trade some picks, and I've not done it simply because I don't want to take away some of my draft day fund understandable and one thing you've always said is that your draft picks can't get injured no so if you trade some draft picks for keepers their groins are fine right yeah i um much like jk dobbins everything is fine yeah can't get hurt no if you trade for him you're fine now it was like yesterday i think jason and i were talking a little it's a bigger deal as some Hampton and Jacobs and other pieces,

and I passed on it. And then the next morning, you get the news that, like, Pooka and Akua and Jacobs could still face discipline. And I was just thinking about where my headspace would have been. Yeah, it would have been great. You would have... I would have just been...

I mean, he might not. I mean, I still think the odds are probably maybe that he doesn't, but... But we hadn't heard anything about it for quite some time. Oh, I would have been so... And then a reporter who will not be named on this podcast delivered some news that... Is that who it was? Yeah.

You don't name him now? No. Okay. But what's his name? Um, ma'am. Oh, man. Smalessero? No, no, no.

It wasn't him? What? No. He's moved past Tom. Yeah. Oh, me and Tom were... I'd squash that beef. Like me and him...

I see. He's got the new. Me and him are cool now. You're talking about the big dog. Whoa, whoa. Whoa, big dog. Michael. Mike, I've known you for 20 years. You hold grudges.

You do. You pick a few. You do it on both sides. You got your favorite guys that you hold on to forever. And you will never let go. That you'll never let go of. Trey Lairns in the house. I'm a loyal person.

Ben Sinit. And then you... It's any minute. I am the Senate. But then if it's the wrong side, it's a forever thing. It feels like. I was slighted. At the FF ballers on X.

Quick question comes in. Describe the trash talk between the three of you and your leagues. What are your main tactics? Are there any comparisons to a character or evil villain? Ooh. Describe yourself or one of the other ballers. Who's the biggest trash talker when things are going right among the three of? Jason?

I don't know. Do you think I think I'm the biggest complainer when things go wrong. Yeah, you are the whineiest. babies. For sure. That's not trash talking. You trash talk yourself. I think our dog yourself. My usual go-to, I mean, it's not

trash talk, but it's the same spirit of what you're talking about is the early congratulations, the building you up, the setting you. You know, it's like telling someone how well they're playing at golf to try to throw them off their game. No, that's not trash. No, but it's like gift talking. Yeah, exactly. That's my version. I would say Mike has become

pretty annoying in recent history because insufferable? Insufferable. Because I won both the leagues? What is the problem here? Yep, that'll do it. Yeah. I'm just champing over here, man. Yeah, I'm just saying it's annoying because what happens is is like... I know the truth is pretty annoying. We have a lot of conversations and then you'll just inject yourself in as

the guy that's going to win instead of these other conversations all the time. I think one of my favorite trash. I do have a lot of confidence in my dynasty. Your dynasty team is what I'm talking about. Would you like to read through my roster? I looked at it. I don't know how it stops for 10 years. The other day, I was making a trade. I've got a solid roster in our dynasty league.

Yes, your dynasty team is pretty good. I'm competing along with the best. Silver will look good on you. And I, thank you. There it is. And I was just, I was looking at trades in the league. And I've got the whole, you know, where you see the whole league at once on the board. And I came across your team.

I start just reading and I was just like, oh no. You're so good. That team is loaded. I was like, wait. And the bench. Jamar Chase and Citi and George Pickens. Yeah. And Ken Bone walking into freaking Kansas City who we'll talk about today.

Did you see he was on my bench? Did you remember his bench is great too? Garrett Wilson. Oh my God. He doesn't even need a guy can't even crack my starting roster. This is what I'm talking about. Yeah. It's exactly.

It's just a good team. Most people, if they don't, I mean, you should do what you're doing. It's just that. Win? Yeah, I'm doing it. A lot of people have to equivocate because there are paths to losing. And you're in a position where you're like, your bench is much better than my starting roster. Well, that's not fair.

Your team, you have blown your team up for a rebuild. On purpose. Yes. Repo man showed up. Yeah, no. I mean, you can't compare. You can't compare. No, but like you're not going to win, Jay.

How dare you? Did you know that? You're not going to win this year. You won't, you won't be winning. It just takes one week for Mike to lose. One bad week. And you won't have it. It's going to be a, this is how good my team is.

Other people will talk garbage for me. That's what I just did, didn't I? I'm your co-man. My team's name in that league right now is Mike's butt. Yeah. Because in our league, the winner gets to name the last. place team and current placeholder is Mike's butt. That's fine. Mike, you, and Mike was like the, the silver medalist a couple of times.

He was on, we were taunting with that when we had two titles. All right. Anyways. Look, we're this far in. I hate this. What a stupid question that has got us now talking about Mike's team, but people are going to never do that because my team. My team only has Gibbs, Walker, Hampton, C.D.

Armand Rae in our League of Recruit. And then like a bunch of picks. So here's Mike's team. He's got Joe Burrow and Jared Gough with Flacco behind Burrow. This is his dynasty team. Christian McCaffrey. So you got age here, McCaffrey and Derek Henry.

Yeah. And Ken Bone Walker and Jemar Chase and C. Lam and running backs? George Pickens. Jordan Mason probably, right? Yeah, and Rico. And all three insurance running backs. Yeah.

And you got Pat Bryant who's been the... Oh, bro. Pat Bryant? Mm-hmm. And Garrett Wilson. This is the best show we've ever done. And Donatavian Wicks. Oh, and Trey McIntyman.

bright. Oh, yeah. Wait, did you say Loveland? He has McBride? Oh, you have Loveland too. Oh my gosh. This is disgusting. I'm out. I'm quitting this league. I don't like this league. You have McBride and Loveland. All of my picks. All of them. You never traded anyway? No, no. This is the greatest

constructed roster. I hate everything. Cheers everybody. We cannot do this show anymore. No, I'm out. Let's move on. News and notes from Around the League. The NFL network, Ian Rappaport, talking about the fact Pukunakua is dealing with minor soreness. He had left with a trainer. It's in his groin.

It's been a bad, bad week for groins. You know, as Jason would say, just do a butterfly stretch. Yeah, they got someone teaches dudes how to butterfly stretch. That's obviously what's missing. You sit on your butt. You bring your feet together. And it looks like you got two little butterfly wings. You've lost me.

They don't know what that is. There's no way. By concept. Mecca Abuka limped off with trainers, and that was today. Yeah, this is like 20 minutes ago. He's watching the rest of practice with his cleats off. No other reports. If we get one before the end of the day, we'll let you know.

I do like that the follow was Abuka with both cleats off. Yeah. Thank you for specifying both of them. I mean, I guess if you have one off, you think maybe it's just that's the leg, that's the ankle. I don't know. It's just a funny report. Mike Evans did return to practice. with the quad injury.

Here it goes. And J.K. Dobbins returned to practice. Well, return to individual drills. Yes. So. Nothing to see here. No, everything's fine. Everything's fine.

Yeah, good luck, J.K. Stay healthy. Today should be, today should be fun. We're counting out on the top 10 running backs. All of our consensus rankings, player projections, sleepers breakouts, bus values

are in the UDK at UltimateDraftKit.com. Let's go ahead and jump right in. Running bags. All right. What makes a top 10 running back in fantasy? Since 2015, among those finishing in the top 10, 79% average 19 or more opportunities per game.

That was part of your discussion with Hampton yesterday, trying to get to that number. 72% of top 10 running backs saw at least 50 targets. You want to be involved in the passing game. And the 28% is named Derek Henry. It feels like, yeah, that's. pretty much it. And the 94% of top five running backs had 10 or more

total touchdowns. So that's a huge number. That's nearly everyone always 10 or more total touchdowns. You would have to be basically Echler levels of receiving work. I mean 94%. That's like if you want to be, you have to have the touchdown upside.

And that's in the last 11 years. So you're talking about a long like a lot, a large sample. Yeah, I mean that that's why we prefer, you know, players on good teams. Teams that are going to win are going to score more points, and it's not always the case, but you really need 10 touchdowns. The average, if you just average out the last 10 years, it's 20 opportunities, 200 and rushing attempts,

1182 yards, so you don't have to lead the league in rushing by any stretch. 10.5 rushing touchdown, 68 targets, 53 catches, 436. receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. 2.7. Before we move on, I just, I figured I'd look this up since we were just talking. You need 10 touchdowns. Here is the current sportsbook top five for 10 or more rushing touchdowns. Oh, nice.

Number one, Jemir Gibbs has the highest odds to get 10 touchdowns ahead of Derek Henry, who's number two, Jonathan Taylor, number three. James Cook, number four, and number five, Kyron Williams. I did that whole bit to get to Kyron Williams. Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're a good team. If you're going to do the top, you've got to do the top five.

Right. Yeah, of course. Number six, Blake Corp. No, I'm just kidding. Who's number six? Six is Giovante Williams. Okay. I mean, that says something.

Yeah. He doesn't. He'll have the targets. The yards will be like 112. Yeah, it's, it's. I mean, it's worth noting, you know, the debate at 101 of Gibbs versus Bejohn. We haven't said Bejohn's name. And that to me is the...

I have moved Gibbs ahead. Yeah. So I think we're fully unanimous now of Gibbs should be the first pick. Number 10. By the way, Josh Allen is at 11.5 rushing touchdowns. Yeah, he would be third on this list as far as odds to get to 10. Chase Brown at number 10. Jason and Mike have him at 8.

I have him at 11. I love Chase Brown as well as just how it broke down. He is a perfect situation for Cincinnati, I think, with Chase Brown being there back. He's been so consistent the last two years. Just look at the points per game numbers, 14.3, 14.6. There have been reports in camp of him lining up in the slot more. He is a pass catcher. He is not a triple B, right? He's not a big body back. He's not going to, But that's what I'm saying for Cincinnati. It's awesome. He's right in that he's 510-2-10 is what I see listed.

Like that is 210 to 215 is truly a. It's like that's the perfect weight where you can be agile enough to work in the receiving game. And you're still big enough to go between the tackles. He only had five games last year in the 17 where he scored a rushing touchdown. Yes, that is true. But obviously the team environment to be able to score a lot of touchdowns. double-digit touchdowns. The Bengals would be there.

I mean, here's the nice thing. You have to remember last year how bad the beginning of the season was for the Bengals. Burrow got off to a slow start, got injured, and then they didn't have Flacco until week six. So that team environment, you know, Chase Brown, a lot of people are like, ah, he's just a product of the team environment. And maybe that's true. Because the team environment is fantastic. And now Joe Flacco is the backup. So should Burrow go down, we saw Chase Brown.

be fine with Flacco. If you look at Flacco from week six on, you've got a... You mean Chase Brown? Chase Brown from the Flacco Weeks. You know, that would be he was on pace for 1,200 yards, seven rushing touchdowns, 93 targets with seven receiving touchdowns. He was better than the running back eight finish that he had last year, and that's pretty darn good.

Chase Brown is... he's one of my favorite picks in fantasy. I think he is a talented running back, but the situation is just so perfect. He does. He's not, you know, that the, like, McAfree Gibbs Bejohn player where if everything goes terrible for the Bengals,

it will, I don't think Chase Brown can overcome that, but they're set up in such a situation of this year where they're more protected than ever. Andy you said they're talking about lining them up in the slot. We like hearing that little news blurb. They're also talking just in an emphasis of this year, as it seems like more and more teams are now, is, okay, we're going to get back to under center.

We want more explosive runs from Chase Brown, who was already a pretty explosive player from that week six on, you know, when Joe Flacco kind of fixed the offense through the ending with Burrow, Chase Brown's running for 5.1 a carry. Like he was already a very efficient running back on the ground during that time. 320 opportunities last year. Are you perfectly comfortable with him as your RB won? 100%.

Yeah, if you want to start with a high level elite wide receiver and then come back and get Chase Brown, that feels good. My favorite start when you're in the middle to late, if you can get Amman Rae St. Brown, you know, or sometimes JSN goes fourth, but assuming that Amman Rae goes as the fourth wide receiver gone and come back. around and grab Chase Brown. I adore that start. I mean, the, the, the, the depth chart around him is just, it's a 30 year old Samajai Pryne is the backup. And then it's Todd Brooks. Like, there's, there's no one else here to compete. He has matrix dodged the last few drafts. The free agent market, yeah. The only kind of negative about Chase Brown, his red zone success rate has been bad. 13 carries inside the five, two years ago, only six touchdowns on the 13 carries. And that's inside the five.

13 carries inside the five last year, only four rushing touchdowns. 31% of those converted. The most opposite compared to number nine. Derek Henry. Forever and always. The Yetty. I didn't realize how low I have him.

Interesting. He comes in at nine. I guess I have him at ADP. Yeah, I don't blame you for having him there. I've got him at running back six and I don't. I got him at 12. I don't love it. I mean, there's tons of risk. DeAngelo Williams was the last running back to be 32 years older,

older with 10 rushing touchdowns. It's not an easy feat, and this, I know he's a Yeti. Guys, he's actually a human being. I've heard. There are some changes, right? The offense is changing. We have a new system in place. We'll see what that becomes.

Mike, you've got them at 7. His sleeper ADP is RB12. So you get him late round two. That seems great. I mean, it's where I have him ranked. I would take him at ADP with no qualms. I mean, he was the running back three, the running back two, missed half a season as the running back 16,

then the running back four, then the running back eight, then the running back two, then the running back seven. It's like he is just a top ten running back every year of his career. The only question, the only thing is, did father time catch up? And that's the, if it hasn't, and it. Let me read the concerns on the top 10 ranking shows that we've had for him over the last five years. So in 2021, we said he has a lack of targets. Which was true.

In 2022, we said the age was starting to become a concern. In 2023, we said, age and wear and tear. In 2024, we said age. In 2025, fifth season or not. a row basically with an age concern. Yeah. It's the Frank Gore. Now, it did end up happening at some point in time.

They do, if you want to look at a way it kind of slows, I don't think it goes to nothing. That's where I think the pick is fine. You've got a new offensive system and you've got an offensive line that just lost, like, we talked about Gentie. They picked up Tyler Lindenbaum. He's gone. They lost their all pro fullback in Ricard. Gone. They lost their tight-in Charlie Kohler, got a big contract to go to Los Angeles.

They lost Isaiah likely. There is, they're the 26th ranked offensive line. And this is, you know, he's not going to have 50 plus receptions. So, you know, and that, that would be the, maybe things could slow a little bit. It could. They're projected to win a bunch of games. It's, yeah. And when they win, Derek Henry scores a ton of points.

And the way to stop Henry is you have to, you hit the train before it starts going. So if the offensive line is not given him some room to at least get a couple steps to get up to speed, then things may not be so great. It's really, I mean, it's really just age. Do you want to bet that this is the year that Henry falls off, then avoid him? It just feels like at ADP, that would be a fallout. If at the end of the year you're like, oh, Henry finished at RB12, you're like, oh, crap, but that's where you're drafting it. And the thing is, is I don't think that there's a world where he finishes its 12.

You know, he's going to finish like 18 and, you know, it didn't happen. He got eight touchdowns or he's going to finish it, you know, eight or better. The question I have is like if you're at that point in the draft and you're not drafting your first running back, would you rather, you know, pair your first running back with Derek Henry or like Jeremy I love, the young, the complete opposites. The higher upside. I'd rather pair your first running back with Henry every time. Yeah. I just feel like it's so solid.

And the, like Henry has historically, as the temperatures drop, he does transform into the Yeti as it gets cold. And that's science. That's not like a bit. No, no. This is like. The bit is, is it snowing in Vermont? Right. Because that is, that's like Groundhog Day.

I don't know. People probably don't notice. We sometimes we goof around. This is science. But I'm saying, like, so I'm, I, I, I know. I know that at the halfway points or whatever of the year, Derek Henry will hit Transformation 3, and then he'll just start dominating again.

But the first six matchups for the Baltimore Ravens. Favorite, favorite, favorite, favorite, favorite, favorite, favorite. It's not just favorite, favorite, favorite, but these aren't great defenses. Colts, Saints, Cowboys, Titans, Falcons. Oh, my. Yeah. It should be fine.

All right, we'll take a break and we'll continue the countdown. Before we continue the counten, when we say this is science, we want to read this to you. Yards per attempt for Derek Henry, September, 4.31, October. There's a little crisp in the air. 4.78. November. Now it's getting chilly. It's a little, put on a windbreaker, put on a jacket. December, 5.26, January, 6.09. The longer, that's not how. age works brother. Yeah. That's how that's how a freak of nature works. It's how tackling a car works. I mean that's

I'd rather if I have to tackle a car I'd rather not be freezing. Right give me a car in September. It's like the season is a hill and he picks up speed. That's how it seems. So that's the data. He does get better over time. The team also just starts riding him when the weather gets bad. It always feels like to start the year, they're like, we're going to try to open this up. And then by the end of the year, they're like, we should just keep giving the ball to Henry. Jacoby Lane, you know, he's probably going to take over in the entire league.

It's the only player I got on that dynasty team of mine. Number eight. Ashton Genty comes in at number eight, just 22 years old. I got him at seven. Jason at seven. Mike at 11. He is the RB6 by ADP. I can't believe I'm below ADP on Ashton Jentee. The ADP is a bummer.

That's, I mean, you, you, you. You got to get a great performance from Gentie for that first round draft capital. We know the workload's going to be there. We know the upgrade and play calling is there with Clint Kubiak. We know they added Tyler Lindembaum, the aforementioned All-Pro Center from Baltimore that is there to help solidify an offensive line. You certainly, I think, have a lot of reasons to like what you've seen from Genty so far. efficiency-wise, they weren't good numbers as a rookie,

but he had so much volume. And those things are not necessarily sticky. I think the upside of Genti is pretty high. I mean, I don't think that Genti, I think he could finish as the RB1. I mean, I think that's possible for Ashen Genty with the targets. His target totals, we all have them above, you know, 65 targets on the year. That fits the threshold.

we all have them about or above double-digit touchdowns. That fits the threshold. And we all have the opportunities pretty high. I just... Yeah, so the... Doesn't mean that I think he'll be number one. And just certain guys can do it. Certain guys can't.

Yeah, the negative, the biggest negative is that he's on a poor team that does not project to score a ton of points. And so that's, you know, are you going to get the double-digit touchdowns? That one that 94% of these top 10 backs get. It's a hard environment to see it happening. Now, as a reminder, he had 10 touchdowns last year. So he had five receiving, five rushing. He is a freak of nature talent-wise.

I do think that this offense will be significantly better. The combination of Clint Kubiak and the offensive line upgrades. And the health of Brock Bowers. And Kirk Cousins coming in to start as far as like dumping off the ball. I mean, you saw when Bejohn was there with Kirk Cousins, he was thriving in the passing game. To me, I think B, I'm very in on Ashen Genti, unfortunately seems like everybody is.

And so that's where the ADP is running back six. That's kind of, I mean, I've got him as my running back seven. So I think you're drafting him where he kind of belongs. I don't necessarily think it's an easy path for him to finish top three. He's talented enough. 73 targets last year, over 50 receptions. Yeah, I mean, he's, he's, he's, certainly talented enough. I, you know, I agree with you. He could be the... Who do they want to

throw the ball to? Who else can you? It's Brock Bowers and Gentie. That's it. Mark, Mark Bowers and Gentie. I mean... So, Mike has them a little bit lower. I think Mike has brought up with whether it's A-chan, whether it's Genty, like you don't want a running back on a losing team, but, you know, certain ones can thrive. Those two players to me are the, like you you I went and I compared those two guys next to each other and my interpretation was that I think that the Raiders offense will be improved versus last year and the Dolphins offense will be worse than it was last year wow when I look at the that's bad yeah yeah and then when I look at they were really bad yeah the talent of both guys both outrageously talented

I think Ashton Gentie is the better, more talented running back. Now, that's where the debate is. I haven't ranked the same. I probably disagree on those two points. I think A. Chan's the better back, better receiver. And I think the dolphins will be, you know, a pretty okay offense relative to Las Vegas. But we both know that Jentee is going to get a workload. And it's hard to get guaranteed 300 plus opportunities.

It is the, you have the issue too of Fernando Mendoza is just waiting to take over. Like, could he be better than Kirk Cousins? Yeah, that is a variable. But just historically, it's hard to make a transition to being a professional quarterback. They don't come in and put up a whole bunch of stats, especially, you know, when it comes to touchdowns. So there's a chance that halfway through the year, the offense gets worse as they're trying to acclimate Mendoza and look forward to 2027. The opening schedule. Cupcake Miami, that's fantastic, but then it's the Chargers.

Saints, okay, but Chiefs at Patriots at home against Buffalo. This is an absolute, this is a horrifically bad opening schedule for the Raiders. And I guess, Jay, my question for you is, because I'm, Ashley Jett's a great player. But historically, you, one of your philosophies is you want to know for sure your first rounder is going to work. Yeah, it's safe. And it's exactly, is safe. Because everyone in the first round has massive upside.

They wouldn't be in the first round if they didn't. But Ashton Genti feels very unsafe to me compared to the other guys there. I would agree that he is a riskier pick at that point. Where I've taken Ashton Genty in drafts is oftentimes at the beginning of the second round. And so then it's totally fine. Yeah, so you don't think he's safe? I do not. I don't think the environment is safe at all.

You're a big Kubiak fan though, right? I am. Yeah, I like what they did with the line. I think he's a safe pick. You have to decide between a bunch of guys in this range. And that's the issue for me is... But I mean, I don't think Hampton feels safe. Hampton feels exciting.

I feel safer in the environment of the Chargers being a top 10 scoring offense. Yeah. Yeah, like versus the Raiders feel like they're probably a bottom 10. It's funny because it's like we, Chase Brown feels safer. Yes, he does to me. But I guess what you're doing here when you draft Gentie is you're taking your percentage chance at the running back one overall. That's what you're signing up for. You're getting a guy who can.

I don't think Chase Brown would be the running back one overall. Genty has that kind of built in talent where- There was the RB12 last year and I don't know if I saw a worst, a worse situation for a running back. Yeah, in the league. I mean, the worst team in the league, the worst quarterback in the league. The worst coordinators in the league. The worst offensive line coaches in the league last year. All of it was terrible.

I just think the volume will outpace it, but that's why the debate is fun. You're back. Okay. Is this guy safe? Number seven. Don't care. It's Canbone Walker. Not safe.

It's so funny because he's, you know, I think he's very safe. Yes. I think he is... He's very safe, but he's... I think his volume is way safer than people are really thinking through. Oh, I thought you were going to say it in Gentile. I was like, that's crazy. No, no, no, no.

But I'm saying, like, I think he's going to be an incredibly high volume player. You could do, you can go to the health, which, I mean, the... In terms of games played, he's really only had one year that was a major bummer. His rookie and sophomore year, he played 15 games. If a running back, if misses two games, he's, he's... that's considered totally normal. 11 and 2024, okay, that's an injury problem. And then he plays the whole year last year.

Obviously his, you know, it felt like the opportunities were being throttled was Zach Charbonnet coming in. But they gave him the cash. I have zero concerns about Kenneth Walker. They immediately went to go get him. And all reports coming out of training camp for what this team, the identity of this team, how much they're going to lean on Ken Walker. And in the receiving game as well.

Walker at 209 is theft, in my opinion. Mahomes back. Great offensive line. No threat in the red zone. No threat in the passing game. Maybe Breschard Smith takes some opportunities, whatever. The identity of the team is built around Kenneth Walker now if he can just, you know. When Andy Reid has a true stud.

Stay healthy, he's going to be a monster. When Andy Reid has a stud at the running back position. their work course. Yeah. Like that's what he does. He hasn't had a stud for years. They're going to give him absolutely everything. Yeah, he's very safe.

He is. So here's my view of Walker. Absolute monster. I agree with you, Mike. Steal of a draft at the back of the second, the back of the second for a guy who's going to get all the work for a team that's going to win a ton

of games, who is very talented with a great offensive mind, line, everything. He is... Like a top 10 offensive line. He is every single check mark perfect across the board

and I'm just waiting to see how it doesn't work. That's how it feels. Because somehow, some way every year, whether it's injuries, people are agreeing with that. He played the entire season last year for the Super Bowl champs and he's the running back 22. It's somehow, some way.

I feel like he's just built to disappoint. But how I don't know how. I don't know how it's going to happen. I honestly think it's just going to be fine. I think it'll be something that we look back at the beginning of Ken Walker's career with all those question marks. And I've gotten to the point where I'm like, I can't find the pathway where it doesn't work out other than injury, which is everybody's pathway to not work out. He's going to be awesome.

Agreed. Number six. All right. This guy ends up ahead of him because of me, I think. Yes. This is one of the flagplants that my numbers bore out. Mike, what are you doing over there? I just, I hate.

You hit your ranking? I hate everything about this situation. It's Devon A-chan. Because A-chan is awesome. Devon A-chan, I have them at four. I got him as my running back four. You guys at 10 and 9, being drafted at 8. Obviously, I can't escape the talent and the volume that I think we're going to see.

I like Malik Willis. I think the offense will get some stuff done. There was a really funny clip. I think two days ago with. his head coach saying he's going to give him 40 to 45 opportunities a game. That he will literally not let him tap his head to come off the field. That he will carry him back to the sideline after 40 carries a game. You can't dream as a fantasy football manager for any coach to say anything better

because there was no sarcasm, not joke. I mean, obviously it was hyperbolic, but he's literally telling us the truth, which is he gets everything. He's the center of the offense. Yeah, this is a situation where I'm just, everybody has to pick their players that they're in on. And you can always create storylines of why you believe or don't believe. This is one where I believe the fantasy community is making a horrible mistake in doubting the production of Devon A-chan by carving out a bunch of reasons

why it might not work for Miami. 100% of his games last year on a horrible team, he was above 10.5 fantasy points. That is the best, most consistent running back, that you had in football. The identity of this team, the talent of this player is just one where I'm like, I think we're going to screw up over analyzing what can go wrong and not recognizing how many opportunities this player is going to have over the course of

the year. Yeah, I have him lower in my... And he can score at any minute. He can't. I mean, he is a Gibbs level... He's a Gibbs level talent to me. Yeah, he's awesome. I would love to have A. Chan on my roster.

where I still like where I have them ranked at 10, which is obviously well behind you. I won't end up with a lot of him simply because I think when I'm push comes to shove and I'm deciding between these running backs we're talking about all of these guys, the Gentie or HN, the Walker H.N, the Chase Brown or HN. I'm going to end up with those other guys over HN,

and I could be making that terrible mistake, like a lot of people are making that you're predicting Andy. My rationale for that is, is, you know, the last two years, no one has thrown the ball to the running back more than Tua. You lose Tua. You then replace him with a quarterback who can scramble and have mobility. They're still going to throw the ball a lot to A-Champ, but I would expect he gets fewer targets in the passing game than he had with McDaniel and Tua. So if that comes down a little bit, and like I just said a minute ago, I think their offense is worse this year than it was last year losing Waddle.

Obviously, you've got McDaniel. Just noise, man. Just noise. Just noise, sure, but I mean. My estimation. Remember when Cam Newton couldn't throw out of running backs? Right. No, that's what I said. He's going to get a lot of targets.

But do you, are you saying you think Malik Willis will, without Mike McDaniel, Malik Willis will target H& more this year? I think he'll get the same amount of targets. I mean, we weren't talking about 105 Echler targets. We're talking about 85 targets. Yeah, I think he'll get 85 targets. You don't, you said they don't have Waddle? Where does, where do targets go?

Vacated targets from wide receivers often go to running back. I'm just saying, like, to me it's noise. I'm not saying what you're saying is invalid at all. I'm saying to me, these are things that I think will get me a discount on him. For you, it won't be a discount because you won't have him. It's just a flag plant for me on the town. Where is he going ADP-wise? Is he ahead of early second?

Okay, so just as far as running backs go. It's right, for me, the hard bar is it's right next to Chase Brown. Hampton, Chase Brown Walker. And I prefer Chase Brown. Yeah, Hampton, Chase Brown Walker going behind him. That'll be tough. I mean, yeah, obviously incredible talent. Where did he finish last year? Six. Okay. With his best points per game of his career. He had 12 touchdowns.

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, the nice thing about him is exactly like Gibbs where on any play, even if they're up. I mean, he had so many late fourth quarter games put out of reach goes and scores from 65 yards. I, to me, he got paid. The other thing... I mean, nobody talks about this, the commitment to him, he's their face of the franchise. And then you go listen to the coach talk. I hate that I can't argue. Yeah, like anything you're saying, like, yeah, no, those are all...

Those are all true things. On the plus and the negative side, everything is true. The one maybe tiebreaker when I'm looking at this is if he does get like 30 touches a game, which would be outrageous, he's 191 pounds. I mean, he's probably heavier now. But my point is like, there's also he's under he's undersized to be a you know a carry an entire team for two seasons

in a row so all right moving on number five james cook just keeps getting better 12.4 fantasy points per game up to 15 up to 16.8 last year i mean he feels like he gets no respect even even in my heart i think we got there i think we got there he's there for me mentally He's elite tier. We are number five, number five, number four. He's got to let it wash over you. I mean, he's being drafted as the RB5 off the board. I think we got there, Jay.

I think it came with last year's performance, leading the league in rushing. I guess where I'm at is I never, ever, ever take James Cook because he's going where the last of the elite wide receivers are. So if I'm deciding between, like all these running, back that are at the next turn in the second round, these Walker, H.

and Hampton, like, I love all those guys, and I don't really love the wide receivers there. Yeah, that's fair. So I just can't take James Cook there because I'm always taking JSN or Ammon Ra or or CD and then coming around and grabbing these other running backs, but James Cook's awesome. Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, Jefferson or James Cook?

James Cook. Okay. Yeah, TD regression has not existed for James Cook. His opportunities ballooned from 245 to 349 last year, right? There's rumors that they're going to pass more. I could see them getting Cook more

involved in the passing game. He's got room to go up there. If they run more, it's James Cook. If they pass more, he'll have more reception. He's so good. Yes. And he's on the bills. Like, he's on one of the best offenses in the... I mean, it's just like, you know, we're talking about A. Chan and the dolphins. You're going to have so

many touchdown opportunities. Yeah. It's just tough because I've, like, never drafted. Yeah, I mean, his quarterback will score 12 times on the ground. and he'll still be fine. That's the wild thing. Yeah, those odds that I was giving earlier in the top five, both James Cook and Josh Allen were

in the top five. And there's 32 teams. And he's on the bills. The bills. All right, we'll take a break. We'll come back with our top four. Well, you know, general overview of the top four. They're very good at football. Number four. Jonathan Taylor comes in at number four. I've got him, I guess, the lowest at six, Jason at four, Mike at five.

He's being drafted at four. He's really good. Oh, Jason's stank facing. Yeah, I'm, I don't know, man. I'm getting a little bit sour on the Colts. Like, I, it's so weird because I like the opportunity that Josh Town says. I've talked about him a lot as one of the latest wide receivers that I really like. I love Tyler Warren, dog.

I just don't know if the vibes are great right now for the Colts. their schedule is very, very difficult. They opened Baltimore, Kansas City, Houston, Pittsburgh in Week 5. It's like it's going to be tough sledding. You know, so I don't know. I find myself not excited for Jonathan Taylor, but if you remember,

and I've talked about this, like last year before Daniel Jones went down, he was the runaway running back one. He was, he was. Which he's done before, by the way, in 2021. He was points ahead of Christian McCaffrey until Daniel Jones went down and he's a freak of nature good.

I mean, you can point out he's coming off a tremendous workload. So back when he was the running back one in 2021, he had 383 opportunities, followed it up with two injury-plagued seasons. He got back up to that number last year, 378 opportunities. That can be tough on a running back to stay healthy,

something you can pay attention to. And that is, you know, he's missed games, one, two, three, years of his career. Maybe that's in the back of your mind. I think Daniel Jones playing at an MVP level them winning eight out of nine games

certainly helped last year. He's been a great running back when his team has been good. He's slowed down a little bit when obviously he hasn't had the quarterback player the offense, but yeah, I mean, no complaints. He scored 20 fantasy points per game last year.

On the season, that's including the second half of, you know, Grandpa Rivers throwing him the ball. Also, the vacated targets on this team. Just like we talked about with A-chan losing Waddle, the targets often go to the running back. And he can catch it. Where's, I mean, is this similar to James Cook where?

He's pretty close. I have James Cook ahead of Jonathan Taylor now. Yeah. I'm just saying draft, like in the draft, are you able to grab, you know, one of those JSN, Omn-N-Raw? He's at 106. Oh, yeah, you're in the same category. He's at 106 versus 109 for Cook.

I think I think I'd rather have. Oh no, Jason. I think I'd rather have, not CD, but if I could grab JASN or Amin Ra. Puka. Oh, definitely. I mean, Puka and Jemar Chase ahead. But those four wide receivers,

I think I would take over, over Jonathan Taylor. I mean, we, I feel like we are made a mistake not talking about Puga could get a suspension too. Yeah. That's been, you know, he who Mike shall not name was reporting, yeah, was reporting

that both Puka and Jacobs, there are still discussions going on in the NFL as to potential suspensions. Number three. Christian McCaffrey comes in at number three. We all have him at number three. He's being drafted as number three. But it'll probably be number one, right?

It's, there's really not much of a discussion to have here. It's if McCaffrey stays healthy. he's probably the number one running back or at the... He's top three guys. At the floor of a healthy Christian McCaffrey, he's the running back three but a difference maker at finishing at running back three.

It just means two other guys happen to have like crazy seasons. He's coming off a season with 440 opportunities. If you remember, the last time this has happened, I think DeMarco Murray in 2014 had 449, that's a lot. I think the last time Christian McCaffrey had that many including the...

Oh, no, he's actually never had that many in a season. I'm just saying his 2019 season, he had 428 in season. Man, and then he was, of course, missed the next year with injury. There's no one you feel more nervous about injury with.

Still. And that's fair. But, I mean, anybody can get hurt other than you told me Bijon can't. Last year. And I was right. I mean, I will say this. The injury stuff that we talk about with these players and you go, well, anyone can get injured. That's true. I don't really care about injury history that much for most guys. But what I do care about when it comes to the potential for injury is age. So like when I look at Sequin and Christian McCaffrey coming off of large workloads and they're 30, that's where it's like, it's just, you know, it's more, it's more difficult to recover quickly should an injury happen. Is it more comforting to say three of the past four years? He has been number one or number two?

That's very comforting. Yeah, that's a good way to put it. That's nice. Like those, the two Carolina years, I mean, that's just, that's fluky stuff. He's so good. The offense, you know, they keep losing their wide receivers. Christian McCaffrey last year, 129 targets. there's not a world where he doesn't get 100 plus targets again,

and it's just somehow remains unstoppable, because he caught 102 of them for 924 yards. That's 9.1 yards per catch. These are high numbers for a running back. It's very effective. He's had seven receiving touchdowns in two of the past three years, and the one when he had none is because that was one of the years he got hurt. it's what do you it's time to ask yourself what do you believe will he get hurt or will he not

yeah i mean i think the only reason he's not going to number one is because you have two guys this year yes that are significantly younger that have already proven it and so you get to take the odds right yes you get to take odds with you that these guys are going to be better starting with number two bejean robinson yeah he's pretty he's Very good. Before, the last thought I had on McCaffrey, because I'm looking at this strategically for 2026, you're in that first round of the draft. Personally, I find that the top, those top four wide receivers that I love, I'm leaning towards them over James Cook and over Jonathan Taylor. And I can't decide when I'm there and I'm staring at JSN Amin Ra and Christian McCaffrey.

Which one is the right pick? Can you guys just tell me? It's probably CMC. Unfortunately, I cannot. I knew what it was last year, but I don't know this year. Yeah, I mean, a more valuable thing for your team is if you get Christian McCaffrey playing at a high level. That's the most valuable thing. Fair.

Bejan, number two, gotten better every single year, got paid this off season. Oh, wait, that's the same thing with number one. Jamir Gibbs, gotten better every single year, got paid. paid this offseason. Both are 24 years old. Both lost their backups that encroached on touchdowns for them. One's on a really good team. Yeah. I mean, that's the biggest difference

is one is on a team projected to score, you know, top three in the NFL and one is, you know, a 500 at best team that is not projected to score as much. The path for Bejohn to outscore Jemir Gibbs is it's Tua. It's Tua is

the quarterback for the vast majority of the season. And then, and we can continue to see the highest checkdown to the running back rate that we continue to see that. I think it's, to me, like, that's kind of the only way. But think about what you just said with your words in your mouth. Yeah. You just said that the, his best, his, the thing. I know, his best for him is two. That's why he said, that's why I have moved Bejohn to two. I'm with you guys on Gibbs. It says something, though, to me, what you looked up earlier. Gibbs is the number one

highest odds of double digit touchdowns. Bejon did not crack that list of the top six. That says something to me. That's a differentiator. I think Gibbs has the potential this season to have one of those years, an LT-style, CMC-style. I feel like he has the chance to score the most fantasy points ever at the running back position. I mean, you look at what Dan Campbell's philosophy was as an offense with a team with Montgomery, who could catch the football. When he took over as the play caller, Gibbs had the seventh-most receptions of any player in the NFL. That's what you need. That's the LT, that's a CMC. You want this guy to be like, stand alone as if he was just a wide receiver with the receiver

numbers, he's in the top five at the position. And so that is in the realm of possibilities because the offense, Detroit, favored in 14 of 17, potential to score a ton of points. That's the differentiator. Both guys are going to be awesome. Both guys could easily finish number one. It's funny because they neither has. I mean, they haven't had that year.

It's like when Chase had never finished at one. And we're like, we always drafted him. at the top because you know it's coming. You know, it's just the offensive system. It's the same reason you said you like Hampton more than Gentile. This is a year where frequently

I don't want the number one pick. Like you'll have kind of a tier of who here's five or maybe even six guys. I want to start my draft with them. So I'd rather start where my second pick is going to be better. The way that

ADP and the market has looks like it's shaking out this year. I want the number one pick. I want Gibbs because on the way back that turn, I'm going to get two other... The two-three turn is great. Yes. I love the players going in that range. So if I could stack it with the guy who has the highest potential of carrying teams into the fantasy playoffs and fantasy championships,

I will actually want the number one pick this year. Yeah, we talked about Gibbs is, you know, as far as the sportsbook odds to have 10, regular season rushing touchdowns. He's number one in the league. And Bijan is number eight in the league. But Jemir Gibbs, to have double-digit touchdowns is minus 370. That means if you want to make $100, you have to bet $370.70. It's that kind of. Yeah, you don't, you'll me to blow your mind here are players that had more carries inside the five than Bejohn and Gibbs last year. Sean Tucker. Blake Corum. J. J. Cic. Cory Crosky Merritt, Chris Rodriguez, Ramandre.

Both players should have more opportunities in that regard. Where's my bill drop? There, there it is. So it's like you take Gibbs 19 plus fantasy points per game, two straight years, Vijon 18 plus two straight years, and you give them goal line, and then Gibbs is on a good team. I don't know. These are easy picks. You know, I think in a different season, CMC is the number one pick.

if these guys are not just entering their prime at 24 years old. I don't think there's any reason why you couldn't. I will say this. If you want to shoot the shot on CMC, I don't think you're doing a wrong thing there. I mean, San Francisco should win games. He did stay healthy all last year. He takes care of himself.

His injuries have been freak injuries. If you want to do it, do you think that's wrong? I don't think it's wrong. You're just the level of fire that you need to be there is maybe not worth it. But, you know, like the argument for McCaffrey, so two of the last three years, because we're sandwiched with a, he played four games and did nothing for fantasy,

but 22.4 points per game and 21 and a half points per game. Neither Jamir or Bijan in their first three years has surpassed 20 points per game. So the ceiling for McCaffrey might be a little higher, but when you're weighing out the, risk of what those other two guys are, I'll take them. Yeah. I, I, since we've been talking through the top 10 and we've been talking about 10 rushing touchdowns and the odds, a couple other interesting tidbits to close out the top 10. Um, I noticed that, uh, so Bijon was 8th.

Genty is 13th. Um, highest odds at the running back position. Who's, wait, so who's between Bijon and Genty? Uh, between Bejon and Genty is, say, Juan Barclay, Amarian Hampton, David Montgomery. Yeah, I mean, they're a good team. Ken Walker the third and then Genton. Where's Chase Brown? Chase Brown. For 10 rushing touchdowns?

Chase Brown is... You'd have to combine the rushing receiving. He is a little further down. He is a... Devon A. Chan is 23rd. Yeah. So Chase Brown is ahead of that, but yeah. All right. Let's do some mailback. Mailbag.

Yeah. Alec in Wisconsin, by the way, if you have a question, go to the site, the fantasy footballers.com, click that, submit a question button or dial our voicemail a voicemail hotline, 302464 TFFB. Alec in Wisconsin says, hey, baller, simple question. If I'm a rebuilding team in Dynasty, would you trade away Jonathan Brooks off his hype? Or hold out and hope he takes over and you have a better value. I would be the latter.

I would do the ladder. I don't think the trade value on Jonathan Brooks is as good as it could get. So let's just say if you could get a 27 late first. Oh, I would do that. I mean, I'd do that. Yeah, okay. I think it's more of a can you get a second? I would not do it.

I would not do it for a second. I think you can definitely get a second for Jonathan Brooks right now. He's very young. So we're both, I think all three of us are the same, which is if you can get a first for Jonathan Brooks. Yes, do it. I would do it. And I don't do it for a second.

Johnny Johnson, writing in from Grand Junction. Johnny Johnson and Grand Junction I don't think that's a real Colorado. That's not a real name. It is a real name. He used to play running back for the Cardinals when I was going. We had a Johnny Johnson. What was his middle name? Jonathan?

Steve. Who does? My last name's Johnson. What should we name our son? John. I don't get it. It literally says son of John. What has been your least favorite draft spot to draft from and why? Not the first.

least favorite spot I think I think my least favorite is wherever I have to take Jefferson I mean that might be my real answer wherever I feel backed into Jefferson because the problem is is you get maybe two swings at that decision if you're at 9 10 11

or 8 you pass on him oh gosh I didn't take him I took I took Genty yeah all right oh no he's there again Yeah, I think right now my least favorite spot is around like nine, nine to 12. That's where I don't want to be this year. It hasn't felt great. All right, we're going to wrap it up. We got a mock draft show tomorrow and we're bringing the mock draft mayhem back by popular request.

And on Friday, one of our biggest episodes, top 10 tips and tricks. Don't miss it. We'll talk to you then. Goodbye. Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on join thefoot.com and follow us on Twitter at the FFBallers.