The Fumblerooski Podcast - No Sleep -Ep 288 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: August 20, 2024

How will the 2024 QB draft class stack up all time? Who are two fantasy sleepers at the WR and RB position? Adam Wright and CJ Medeiros host special guest Ari Koslow of the Fantasy Football Experts page to debate these topics and more!

Preseason quarterbacks and fantasy sleepers. I'm Adam Wright. This is the Fumble Rooski podcast. games where he has three touchdowns. Someone's got to get that six or seven spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie. Truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides. Welcome to the Fumble Rooski podcast by Power 88 and Sequel Weapons Consulting. I'm Adam Wright with CJ Medeiros. We are close to the end of our summer football coverage. We kind of take the entire summertime and we use it to preview the upcoming season. This is something we have done ever since our show just started to exist. We've been doing player rankings. We've been doing division previews. We've been doing fantasy football previews to start during, we do it during the draft season where you guys are doing your fantasy

drafts to kind of give you guys some tips on who to take in the later rounds. Everyone and their mother knows who they want to take in the first five, six rounds, but the later rounds, who to pick based off upside, who could help you win your league. That's something that we've been covering the last two weeks. And we are going to give you the fantasy sleepers for wide receivers and running backs. These are guys who you take, you predominantly find them in the draft rather than in over the waiver wire. It's a lot harder to find them on the waiver wire during the season. So during the draft is a time where you find those players who have that high upside who will end up showing out. And helping us to do all of this, we have, for the second time,

a guest on the show, the content creator on the Fantasy Football Expert page, Ari Koslow. Ari, welcome back to the show. Yeah, thank you guys for having me on again. I had a lot of fun last year when I first came on and looking forward to the next hour or so of doing it again today. Absolutely. Well, we're going to start off by a little bit of pre-season coverage and so this quarterback draft class has been so far the 2024 rookie class has been pretty interesting

so far um so namely with caleb williams and Bo Nix of all players. So Bo Nix was a player who was widely considered. There was a possibility he would go in the first round, certainly not within the top 15 picks. And he ended up being taken by the Broncos at number 13. It was a surprise pick. And so far in preseason and in training camp the kid has really balled out and so is Caleb Williams and you've all you also look at players like J.J. McCarthy

and Drake May who well McCarthy will not end up starting the season for obvious reasons but there was a possibility he was going to take over with reports that he was ahead of schedule in his development. Drake May is starting to cause some rumblings that maybe he does start year one, but there's a strong possibility he also sits for at least a big chunk of the season for Brissette or whichever other player that they decide to start over him to further his development. What I want to ask,

where do you guys see this draft class stacking up from past ones in recent memory. CJ, I'll let you start. So I don't know why, but a trend that I notice in the NFL, especially the pre-draft process and the NFL draft, is that there seem to be fewer and fewer truly polished QB prospects that enter into the league. Like, I mean, these prospects just are deemed uninteresting and, you know, people are tantalized by these high upside project players because we've seen success stories with players that were deemed projects like Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert, the list goes on. But that being said, this draft class has sky-high potential.

For starters, we all saw what Caleb Williams did at USC. And now he is very fortunate to be the first overall pick who's actually going to a somewhat competent team that is loaded with weapons, which let's face it, a lot of first rounders just don't have that. Jaden Daniels has roughly the same situation. Drake May, no, not as much, but there are whispers that he might sit. J.J. McCarthy, unfortunately out for the year. beau nix might wrangle the starting job away from zach wilson and then there's michael pennix who will be stuck in limbo for as long as her cousin is there in atlanta so when i look at this season i mean there's obviously different measures of

success for these quarterbacks. But for Caleb Williams, I would definitely be shooting for the Bears to have around 500 record, like maybe eight and nine as the floor. I know there's going to be rookie mistakes. I know there's going to be growing pains. But come on, you can't just give the first overall pick weapons like Junze, also a rookie, and Cole Komet you know dj moore and keen and alan and expect the bears to only get like three wins and jayden daniels also his weapons aren't as prolific but i mean zach earths austin ecklers gary terry johan dachshund like there's really no excuses for the commanders to improve at least a tiny bit. May, I'm hearing, might sit, although he's been outperforming Jacoby Bursette.

So I couldn't tell you. My gut instinct says he's going to sit. So Jerry's still out. I mentioned McCarthy's hurt, and Nix is up in the air. So when you factor this in, just looking beyond year one, solely on potential, this class can succeed where the 2021 class failed. And for those who don't know, the 2020, or at least don't know off the top of their head, the 2021 class was Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fieldsin fields mac jones trey lance and zach wilson so this class already just looks solid at least i guess a jury's still out on a few people

like is jj mccarthy gonna come back healthy and pick up where he left off because he looked pretty good and when or is pennix ever going to play? Because Kirk Cousins is on a four-year deal. And Penix, as it sits now, I believe is 24. But there's no reason. I mean, at least, at bare minimum, we're going to have two franchise guys. I will lock that in, at bare minimum. Because I think Williams is going to be a mainstay for the Bears.

And I think Daniels is going to be a mainstay for the Bears, and I think Daniels is going to be a mainstay for the Commanders. And just based on what we've seen, if they continue to develop him, May should be the answer for the Patriots. And I would have said kinder things about McCarthy if he didn't get hurt. So, yeah, I definitely think the floor is higher than 2021, but the ceiling, that's really up for that. All right. Ari, what are you thinking? Yeah, I mean, I'm mostly in agreement with that.

I mean, I'm also, you know, pretty bullish on both Caleb Williams and Jaden Daniels. I know both of them have a lot of, or I guess more so Caleb, but just the off-the-field stuff that people just, you know, just like to hate these days and all that. But, you know, as a player, I mean, I'm a Pac-12 fan grow up, you know, on the side of the country at the Pac-12. So I watched him a lot, obviously at USC and, you know, I agree. I mean, I think the win total, I think is eight and a half for the Bears.

So just Vegas thinks that they're going to be, you know, pretty much better than what they were last year and potentially, you know, compete for a playoff spot, a wild card spot in the NFC. And then Daniels, I mean, just with his legs, mobility, you know, just looking at the past six, seven job classes, I think the 2020 is the pretty clear in a way, you know, the best class in the past decade or so with you know burrow hurts uh herbert tua jordan love you know that kind of group in 2020 but i think it's going to be i think this class has

the potential to be better than 2021 as well the kind of class i'm looking at that i can kind of seeing it be like you know from a ceiling standpoint um i think it was 2018 where you had guys who kind of flailed with Baker, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen. Obviously, Baker now kind of resurrected his career now. But in that class, you had Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. I think if Kim Williams and Daniels can kind of reach to their potential and how good I think they can be. I think they can be, you know, at least close to, at least comparable to some degree, you know, with what we're seeing out of Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, in terms of overall production, you know, both mobility, arm strength,

you know, it's kind of making the teams around them better. So that's kind of the class that I'm looking at as kind of, if this class has been a rigid ceiling, you know, obviously led by Caleb and down as you're looking at that class where, you know, you had Josh Allen, MMR Jackson, and then, you know, you look at the other guys, you know, obviously I watched a lot about Nick's last year, you know, at Oregon. I'm not fully selling Drake May, you know, to a huge degree in terms of, like, completely turning a team around. But, you know, I watched the last preseason game from the Patriots,

and he definitely did look better than Brissette. So I know they kind of want to sit him, but we'll see if they can even do that with, you know, just how much better May looked than Brissette in the last preseason game. Obviously, preseason, you take that only to so much an extent obviously but um and then yeah michael panics is kind of the big question mark in this overall class you know i was hoping i grew up a washington fan so i was a big fan of him last year i wanted to see him land in a situation where he could survive away especially like you said you know he's 24 years old so he can only realistically sit for so long already

being at age so you know we'll see how that plays out time will tell but i mean you know just overall obviously daniels and williams are the leaders of his class and i am you know very high in the potential that they can be both this season and long-term. All right. So looking at this draft class, you can almost divide it in half by the quarterbacks and what your expectations for them can be. I look at Caleb Williams, Jaden Daniels, and Bo Nix, and I look at them a little separately than I do Drake May, Michael Penix, and J.J. McCarthy.

The reason is because the first three that I mentioned are going to be thrust into a starting role where they could legitimately make an early impact. The other three are guys who they are shelving. Some of them, mainly the Vikings, didn't have a choice, but they're shelving for building up the team so that they could eventually have them ready to start in an environment to grow in and also have them sort of develop under professional coaching. So also the only other draft where there has been six quarterbacks taken

in the first round was in 1983, and that was where half of them became Hall of Famers, namely John Elway being taken number one overall. There was also Dan Marino and Jim Kelly. I think this quarterback class can match that and possibly beat it. You look at Caleb Williams. You look at Jaden Daniels. They're both guys who have looked good in the preseason.

I know it's just the preseason, but they're also in good situations, and they've looked solid in training camp as well, as well as Bo Nix. So let's say one or two of those guys pan out. That means you only need one or two of the other guys who are sitting for a year or two to pan out as well in order for this draft class to really match that 1983 draft widely is regarded as one of the best one of the greatest quarterback drafts of all time so i i see a really strong possibility that this could stack up to be

one of those drafts where it becomes um it's just i'm just looking at probability here i'm not saying any of these guys are individually are going to pan out i'm saying looking at the likelihood six quarterbacks taken three of them already look like they're big league ready will they all pan out probably not i mean there's there's always a couple that don't work out, but there's a good likelihood at least one or two of them do, at least this year. And then you still have three more who are probably going to start in a year or two as well. And at least a couple of those guys have a strong chance too. So just looking at just the likelihood that this quarterback draft ends up being one of the best of all time is it's a pretty strong possibility. And I think it's something that we should monitor

in the next couple of months as this season goes on. You can accuse me of jumping the gun all you want, but I think this has that kind of potential yeah i mean like i said you know at least recent recently i think 2020 is you know the best quarterback class you know overall top to bottom with the five i named i don't think that this you know depth wise is going to be as good as that class is, but I think top heavy wise or, you know, or I guess whatever you want to call it at the top of the quarterback class,

you know, with Dan, like to me, like to me, at least like, I know Nick's is in that caliber just because he's probably gonna start out of the way, but I think upside wise, I think Caleb and those are kind of in a tier of their own in terms of you know carrying a team to the playoffs potentially like if they're if they reach their seat that's what they can do I don't think Nix is the type of guy that can necessarily carry Denver on his own I think he's to me he's more like a game manager which I'll get into him a little bit later with my sleepers and because it relates to it relates to about next to an extent but um but uh but yeah i mean i think i'm with you that at least top heavy wise i think that this can be one of the better quarterback classes overall um but i don't think like top to bottom i don't see

quite see that kind of ceiling in it if that makes sense yeah it, it'll, I mean, I'm definitely not banking on it being the, having the most depth because at least one or two of them will, won't pan out. And it just happens every year. There's, there's teams that get quarterback crazy and then they turn, then it turns out it was all hype from, from the beginning. But I think in terms of depth, yeah, you're definitely right. The quarterback draft in 2020 was the best.

When you mentioned Joe Burrow, who was the number one overall pick, but you can also bring up Jordan Love, who three years later was able to come into his own. Justin Herbert, he's trapped over there with the Chargers, but I mean, a lot of it's not his fault, and he's still a very good quarterback in this league. I mean, I guess the question is, how many of those quarterbacks in the 2020 draft do you see becoming Hall of Famers? depth it definitely has the 83 class by a mile i mean you already have five quarterbacks who panned out that one only had half of it um so

i guess my question is like how many do you think that will be hall of famers yeah that's a good question obviously i mean i guess i was i guess that's the question of you know of how you define this type of question in terms of the best, in terms of, I guess you would say Hall of Famers for sure would be, you know, the best. It's more important than depth. So, I mean, I think you could get two to three of them potentially. So kind of in that kind of same range as like the ceiling i guess so i think at the ceiling of that class you know 10 20 years from now whatever you want to call it could be comparable but yeah i mean like i said i think it's like you like we already know it's deeper because there's already been more quarterbacks

that have panned out for an extent for an extended period of time as you know legitimate starters but um i think in terms of pure Hall of Famers, I think it can definitely have the potential to kind of push that two to three number. But, you know, obviously time will tell. Yeah. CJ, I'll throw it to you one more time. What are your thoughts in terms of this overall draft class as far as depth goes?

Do you think it's it um do you think it more stacks up to the 2020 team or uh draft class rather or the not the 83 where it's you have three that end up being hall of famers and the others are busts by default i would have to go at 2020 just because it's way too early. I would not be shocked if it ended up like 83, but right now, like I said, I have to go with 2020 just because the

Hall of Fame is a very weird thing. No one really knows how it works. The voters, the media people that select the Hall of Famers, they are unreliable, to put it nicely. And when I so real quick, I just want to unbox 2020. Burrow is a guy where if he stays healthy.

Yeah, Herbert just by numerically could at the end of his career. Tua is one of those guys where he's just unimpressive, blatantly obvious. He's being carried by his weapons. If he gets a ring, then I feel like he'll get that Eli Manning syndrome where if you win a ring, you kind of have to get in. Jalen Hurts is kind of the same thing because, you know, he was magical when he went to the Super Bowl. And then the next season, just complete implosion. So I could see something like that happening to this class, but as a whole, I feel like 83 obviously is where the goalposts are

because Williams and Daniels have all the potential in the world. May is more of a project. Nix, I think, Ari put it right, is going gonna be at his ceiling a very high level game manager pennix i mean that's i mean he could have like a pole jordan love thing except jordan love was in 24 when he was drafted and mccarthy it all depends on how he bounces back. So in terms of talent alone, I would put May Daniels and Williams together, but I would say those would be my three, but I mean, we'll see. But right now, just as it sits now, I would say 2020 is more realistic just because we don't know how 2020 is

going to end up. Yeah, that makes sense. All right. I think we're going to move on and we're going to get to our fantasy sleepers. We're going to start with wide receivers. We're each going to pick two for this upcoming season, and this will help you in your fantasy football drafts. That's next.

This is the Fumble Rooski podcast. It may not have always showed it in the stat sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws. Back-to-back games where he has three touchdowns. Someone's got to get that six or seven spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie. Truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides. Welcome back to the Fumble Rooski podcast by Power 88 and Secret Weapon Consulting. Adam Wright, CJ Medeiros, special guest Ari Koslow. We have reached the fantasy sleepers portion of our show, which means we are going to the wide receiver position.

CJ, why don't you name us your first sleeper? So my first sleeper is Khalhalil shakir from the buffalo bills now let's be real folks the bills are in a state of free fall they got absolutely gutted in free agency i mean free agency for the buffalo bills is the equivalent of waking up in an ice bath, missing a kidney. Like it, it was awful. You know, like their defense got gutted, you know, you lost your wide receiver one and your wide receiver two. So, you know, and Josh Allen, who had Stefan Diggs and Gabe Davis now has Khalil Shakir and Keon Coleman, but Shakir is interesting. And the reason I choose him over

Keon Coleman is just because he already has an existing rapport with Josh Allen. I think he went for over 600 yards and two touchdowns last year, if the numbers are correct. And Shakir, there's been a lot of noise surrounding him. And I see why, especially after last year really started heating up ended on a high note and think about this over the last three games of last year he caught 16 of 17 targets for 180 yards and two touchdowns and he has an 88 catch rate so now that we'll that we are going to see him in a larger sample size i I see no reason why he couldn't do that as, you know, a wide receiver one, because the competition isn't great.

I mean, I know they have Curtis Samuel, but counterpoint, it's also Curtis Samuel. He's not a wide receiver one. That's my number one. So do you want me to give both or just the first one? Just the first one. We'll go around the table. Ari, what's your first pick?

Yeah. one we'll go around the table um ari what's your first pick yeah so obviously for sleepers you usually think of younger players who you know are improving everything um but my first sleeper for my receiver is a vet is i don't know i guess i guess you could say better at least compared to you know younger players i kind of alluded it to him earlier when we were talking about Bo Nix and Corlin Sutton for me. Last year, obviously the Broncos offense was a complete mess, to say the least, for the large majority of the season. And at first glance, you would think that there wasn't really anybody that you could trust on a week-to-week basis in your fantasy lineups, you know, on that team.

But quietly, the first, I think it was 15 weeks of the season, Carlton Sutton was the wide receiver 21. He's a low-end wide receiver 2 based on, and he was, I had him, you know, in several leagues and he was actually, for PPR, he was a lot more consistent than people were giving him credit for, especially given how unstable that offense and situation was. Now you have Bo Nix, who I think has shown, at least, I'm not like, like I said, I'm not huge on Bo Nix from a steal-like standpoint, but I think he can be a very good game manager and get set in the ball. And I think under Sean Payton, I think that this can be, you know, I'm not comparing Bo Nix to Drew Brees in any sense of the imagination here,

but I think when we saw Brees and Michael Thomas have their connection, you know, during their years, I think we can see kind of a Walmart version, you know, just for lack of a better term, type of duo there. I mean, you look at the watcher room in Denver and, you know, just for lack of a better term, type of duo there. I mean, you look at the watch your room in Denver and, you know, you have Tim Patrick, Josh Reynolds. I think this might be the right type of year for Troy Frankel and who they just drafted from out of Oregon also. So, you know, Greg Dolch is in the tight end room.

So, I mean, there's not a ton of competition, you know, overall. So, it's not not and he's not even being drafted right now it's like a top like even like 40 45 receiver right now so you're essentially getting a number one receiver in the 10th 11th round where i'm seeing him going usually 10th 11th 12th round so um just from you know a value standpoint you know i think nicks can be good enough to make sudden even oh again a low on march here to take last year you're getting him again outside the top 40 quite easily at least from what i'm seeing at the position i don't know exact you know adb is kind of a tough a tough term because it's different everywhere you look every every platform obviously but in general he's going in the double digit round so i think that's

um you know that's my first sleeper is colin sudden going in that range yeah and by the way and from the way that they're reporting on bow nicks lately you might as well just put him in the whole thing especially right now. Especially Diana Rossini. I'm sure – I'm not doubting what she sees. I'm just like – I mean, it's very rare that quarterbacks really just break out and they're just right away like just scorched earth. You know what I mean? Like people see C.J. Stroud and Dak Prescott, and they think that's easy to do.

It very rarely happens, which is why it's pretty important to see when it does. My first sleeper is Ladd McConkie. And the reason I have Ladd McConkie is simply, number one, this kid has some unbelievable abilities. The explosiveness that he has, the quickness, and the opportunity that he has now presented to himself on the Chargers. Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are both gone, which leaves Josh Palmer and Quentin Johnson as the other guys for Herbert to throw to. And now on top of that,

the Chargers have a little more protection for Herbert. So looking at that, with Herbert having more time to throw and not having many weapons, he's going to have to lean on somebody. And I think Ladd McConkie is that type of guy. And he's going to be the benefactor to the cover being kind of bare, the most bare that we have ever seen for Justin Herbert during his young career with the Chargers. A slightly better coaching, not even slightly better, a much better coaching scheme with Jim Harbaugh. And I think it's going to be night and day as far as a more well-run offense. Whether they can execute the new game plan any better is another thing

because they don't have the personnel they once did as far as pass catchers go. But it's got to help in some way. And so Ladd McConkie, I think, is going to be a sleeper that you want to look at in the later rounds, because he's going to have the opportunity, and he has the abilities to take advantage of it. So give me Ladd McConkie for my first sleeper. But CJ, what's your second pick?

So for me, when I look at my second pick, I'm going to have to go with Michael Wilson for the Arizona Cardinals. Now, for the Cardinals, we all know what time it is. It's the Marvin Harrison Jr. show, and rightfully so. That man was scary at Ohio State. However, someone's still got to be two, and I would imagine he's going to draw a lot of double teams. I know they have Trey McBride. However, I would like to offer Michael Wilson as an alternative, and I'll tell you why.

Because Connery didn't play all last year. They had to suffer through the pastronaut, Josh Dobbs, and literally whatever else you could find. But consider this, despite all that, and he only started 12 games mind you Michael Wilson with 38 catches 565 yards and three touchdowns outside of Marvin Harrison Jr. there is a very strong case to be made that he's the best wide receiver on that team because let's face it just it's a real lack of competition he i won't say he's proven himself but he has at least separated himself from the rest of the

cellar dwellers that they have in that room and of course you know harrison like i said he's going to be the one let's be real we know that trey mcbride's gonna get his touches but in the later rounds michael wilson is certainly worth taking a look at, especially with a healthy Kyler Murray. Nice. Yeah, so I'll go on to my second sleeper. So my first one was a veteran, an older player in Sutton, now know, a veteran or, you know, an older player, not, you know, in Sutton,

now going to a rookie in Roma Dunze. So, obviously, the initial concern for Dunze is that he's going to end up like JSN last year, where he's in a Washington trio where he's behind, you know, two veteran receivers, and that might limit his you know snaps or to an to some degree but um you know i think ultimately he's too talented to keep off the field i mean i thought the same about jason last year but i think that was too talented to keep off the field um i think dj moore is the pretty de facto clear number one wide receiver for Chicago. But, you know, we already saw Dune to take away a snap from Keenan Allen in the preseason game this past weekend.

Again, obviously, it's a preseason. But, I mean, with rookies, I think it's more notable to see how they're used than anybody else, just because it's their first, you know, actual action, NFL action before the season starts, obviously. So this is mostly obviously an upside play. I'm not confident, you know, drafting him to start right away, you know, as I could watch here or two or anything, but ideally as like your first or second bench player, I like him a lot. You know,

we saw him catch a deep pass from Cale Williams this past weekend again in that preseason game. He also had an end-of-round run for 20 yards, so we could see him be used in that area as well as a rusher every once in a while. His route running is really, really crisp.

I just think he's going to end up... It could be a slow start obviously like it is for a lot of rookie receivers but i think by the second half of the season it's going to be him and dj more as the you know number one number two for caleb um and so i think you know getting him you know eighth ninth round range that type of range kind of kind of an early bench players where i'm kind of looking at udunze as you know someone again you're not relying on right away but could be a you know top 15 receiver come second half of the season All right. So my second pick is Xavier Leggett. And the reason I have Xavier Leggett is you look

at, so he's had a couple of injuries during OTAs and training camp, but he is expected to be ready for the season. And looking at Adam Thielen and Deontay Johnson, Deontay Johnson may not even be ready for the season to start. And you also look at Adam Thielen. Thielen is a very good veteran player, but his best days, I mean, he's, his days are limited of being an elite player. And every opportunity he has had to be the number one wide receiver, it's either been, there was last year where he was, but it was on a team that won two games last year. And then you look at his time with the Vikings. He was always second fiddle to either Stephon Diggs or soon after that, Justin Jefferson.

He was never able to take over that wide receiver one role. So that leaves Xavier Leguette, a player with very high upside and a guy who is working with a young quarterback who struggled last year and was looking for new targets the panthers have really prioritized that this offseason when they brought in deontay johnson and they also traded up back into the first round in order to go and get xavier laguette so they're reinvesting for bryce young and bringing in xavier laguette one of the better prospects of that back half of the first round that's that is an important detail to look at because it shows that that's they he's he's in their plans to be one of their top receivers. And they're trying to get this young kid, Bryce Young, some targets in order to further his development. Because it was a tough first year. But I like Xavier Leguette. I think the opportunities that he's going to see

are going to be plentiful. And Bryce Young is going to be looking for a guy to lean on to be a number one wide receiver. And I think Xavier Leguette has the upside to do that. but um so we'll we'll move on and we'll go to our fantasy sleepers for running backs so we'll uh cover two again we'll go around the table and that'll be next this is the fumble ruski podcast it may not have always showed it in the stat sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws. Back-to-back games where he has three touchdowns. Someone's got to get that six or seven spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie.

Truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides. Welcome back to the Fumble Rooski Podcast. Adam Wright, C.J. Medeiros, special guest Ari Koslow. We are on to our final segment of Fantasy Sleepers for the 2024 season to preview the entire year. And this is pretty much it for all of our summer segments. So we have, again, we have covered top five players for each skill position we have previewed every division we've gone over nfl honors rankings all of that stuff and we are

getting very close to the start of the regular season it's been a long summer, a long off season, but we are finally here and we are going to cover our final segment of the summer, which is fantasy sleepers, the running backs edition. CJ, kick us off. So I might go a little bold for my first sleeper. And that is rookie out of USC to the Green Bay Packers, Marshawn Lloyd. And the thing with Lloyd is that you got to look at his final two seasons, one where he had over 2,000 yards, at least in college. And apparently the perception of Josh Jacobs jacobs isn't the best and

most of us myself included while respecting him view him as a one season wonder which you know fair fair and aj dylan he's just not what we thought he was especially last season but let me tell you man marshawn lloyd he has i know he like tweaked his hamstring but i think he'll be i've heard he'll be ready for week one and you look at all the rave reviews he got especially like matt lafleur who by the way has made it clear that he wants to implement a committee so jacobs just won't be the bell cow and people like lloyd are what we call handcuffs in the fantasy world and let me tell you i can see lloyd eating into a bunch of jacobs carries and i think the risk is minimal for you know especially since he's going to be there in

like the last round where you need a guy who can come off the bench into your flex spot and give you 10 to 15 points i think marshall lloyd's that guy solid okay so i go into my first sleeper yeah um so i again have a rookie and then not an older player, but I'll just get into the other player first. Zach Moss is my first. Again, you know, we talked about before we recorded that there's not really like a set, definitely no sleeper, but to me it's just someone who is going to help reduce, you know, where they're being drafted. And, you know, Zach Moss is going in the seventh eighth

sometimes ninth round in drafts and you know obviously the the shiny new toy in this backfield so to speak is Chase Brown and that's who a lot of people like and he's going to have his role you know in the passing game you know change of pace world that type of role. But you have Zach Moss who's going to take over the early down goal line role that Joe Mixon had last year. And Mixon quietly led the league last year and carries inside the 10-yard line with the Bengals last year. And that's the role that Moss is taking over. Obviously, last year Moss lit the fantasy world on fire the first month of last year

when taylor was recovering from his injury and moss was a lead back from i think he missed week one but his weeks two to two through five last year he was a top five running back in fantasy and now he's you know i don't think he's going to be that good because chase brown's going to take away more than you know anybody did behind him last he's going to be that good because Chase Brown is going to take away more than, you know, anybody did behind him last year with the Colts when he was the lead back. But, you know, he shouldn't have that early down goal line role. And the Bengals offense, I think, you know,

will find the red zone quite a bit this season with Joe Burrow healthy. So I think he's pretty much in RB2 or low in RB2 being drafted as a mid to low in RB3, sometimes even RB4 if you can get him as late as the ninth round. All right. So I teased one of my sleepers off camera to you guys but i'm gonna hold on to that one and i'm gonna save that for the second one i'm gonna give you deontay foreman um the reason i have deontay foreman is he has been a guy who as far as efficiency goes

has been a pretty solid back but if you look at his overall statistics, no matter where he has gone, he is not – he just hasn't quite played like the RB1 that he could have potentially been when he was drafted by the Texans way back. He went to the Panthers. He was solid in a – he was solid in a platoon with Chuba Hubbard. And then he went to the Bears. And with him and Khalil Herbert, he was just okay. The problem is with all of those teams, Texans, Panthers, Bears,

not the best offensive lines. And for a player who relies on power and speed, if you're constantly getting hit all the time, then you're going to get hurt a little more often. You're going to get banged up easily. Now playing for the Cleveland Browns, who have a much, much better offensive line, you should expect some better play.

And now you have, so you have, here's the other part. Nick Chubb blew up his knee, and he's expected to be back at some point this season, but we see how running backs are typically in their first year back following any sort of knee injury, mainly ACL tears. You see their best play the year after the year they return. So like, for example, Saquon Barkley tore his ACL year after was not himself year after that much better. Dalvin Cook is rookie year tore his ACL year after that, not as himself year after back in business.

Nick Chubb is a guy I would fade this year. So that leaves Jerome Ford and Deontay Foreman. Jerome Ford is good, and I think if you want to name him as a sleeper, that's a good pick. But it feels like there's so many people who are picking him as a sleeper to the point where he's almost not a sleeper. I want to look at Deontay Foreman, a player who's always been a solid back but has never gotten his flowers. I'm getting them those flowers today. Give me Deontay Foreman. I think he's going

to have a pretty solid year. And even if Jerome Ford pays off, I think there'll be plenty to go around for both of them to have solid fantasy season. Remember, these are sleeper picks. They could end up being guys who you just cycle in and out of your lineup based on the matchups. These are guys who could have some productivity but aren't RB1s. They could be flex options. I think at the very least, Deontay Foreman could be a flex for you based on the matchup and has some RB1 upside to him as well. He's also, and I didn't mention this yet, he's a guy who can catch the ball out of the backfield too.

So there's a lot of things this kid can do. And we haven't been able to fully appreciate what he could do ever since he tore his Achilles when he first started his career with the Texans. So give me Deontay Foreman. You know, Adam, I like the pick. Deontay Foreman's been pretty underrated in his career. You know, I mean, I remember he was giving everybody problems, all the Texans, and now a lot of people just don't know who he is, which I still believe in him.

And I do think he's a good flex spot. Thank you. Oh, believe me, it's really no problem. Now, moving on to, for what I think, this one is tough. I'm going to the Chargers, and I think Gus Edwards, and I'll tell you why. For starters, yes, I can hear everyone attacking me for not saying J.K. Dobbins. I'm fully aware the Chargers have J.K. Dobbins. And I think he'll do well if he stays healthy, which, oh, yeah, that's a big if. I mean, as soon as he steps on the turf, his ACL screams for mercy.

But all jokes aside, I do hope he pans out. But for Herbert, this is something that I believe Adam mentioned earlier. No weapons. They got Buffalo Bills syndrome where they lost their wide receiver one and their wide receiver two. But it doesn't stop there. They lost their receiving back in Austin Eckler, and they lost their starting tight end in Gerald Everett. The Chargers on offense, I mean, they got absolutely ransacked. The cupboard is

bare. And on top of that, they have a new head coach, Jim Harbaugh, and a new offensive coordinator. That's right, kids. It's the scourge of Baltimore himself, Greg Roman. And what do these two men like to do? They like to run the ball. And they throw this by signing Dobbins and Gus Edwards in fantasy and the reason I choose Gus Edwards is because he's a goal linebacker he is what they're going to use in the red zone to get you know just rack up touchdowns and I think this is always a red flag but he's very touchdown dependent but at the same time literally what running back isn't especially nowadays in fantasy where you know the all the love that we're not giving to running backs will also not be received in fantasy i mean let's be real that's just how

the league is going nothing we can do about it but for edwards i like him as a goal linebacker. I like him getting probably between 10 to 15 touches a game, especially when RB1 in Dobbins is, well, his track record speaks for itself. So, yeah, lock me in for Gus Edwards because a lot of people will be so focused on the sparkly toy dangling in front of them at J.K. Dobbins. Gus Edwards is going to fly under the radar. Yeah, it's actually kind of crazy to think that they have both running backs from the Ravens. They just – one man's trash is another man's treasure, I guess. And they're obviously brothers, the coaches now.

So they essentially just sit here and take my running backs on your new team, essentially. Yeah, I keep forgetting about that. Just take my players. But Ari, what are your thoughts? Yeah, I mean, I think on paper, this is a team that's going to want to run the ball, you know, obviously.

And on paper, again, Edwards should be the lead back I think you know it could be a little messy at times with you know if Dobbins does stay healthy and then the rookie Vidal is you know he could have a role potentially as well so there's a way where it could be a committee with three backs but I think I guess Edwards will still be the lead back and he'll have the goal line role so I mean that in will still be the lead back and he'll have the goal end role. So, I mean, that in and of itself, you know, it's definitely going to have some value. Yeah. So what, what's your, what's your pick on your second sleeper?

Yeah. So I put out a post yesterday on my fantasy account on a player that I'm lower on than most the season. And that's correlated to my sleeper running back here. So the player that I'm lower on the most is James Cook. And that's partially because of my sleeper in Ray Davis, a rookie out of – he played at, I think, like three schools, but he was at Kentucky last year and then Vanderbilt the year before. And, I mean, the Bills just have not fully committed to James Cook, you know, in the full three-down roll.

I mean, they brought in a 34-year-old Latavius Murray last year to take the goal line role. And then, obviously, Josh Allen. And Murray's gone now, but you have Davis coming in, who's also a bigger back than James Cook. And then obviously Josh Allen will still have his role near the goal line. Ray Davis is also capable as a receiver out of the backfield. He caught over 60 passes his last two years in college,

which for a 12-game schedule in college is a lot, is a pretty good amount of receptions in a two-year span. So, like, and James Cook also has had issues with ball security. He had four fumbles last year. He lost four fumbles, which was tied for the second most among learning backs last year so i think there's an immediate role for ray davis in this backfield to complement james cook and if there's any sort of early season uh ball security you know issues for james cook early in

the year i think that could only lead to ray davis and his role growing even more as the year goes on. You know, again, preseason, you can take how you want, but I think it is meaningful for rookies who are getting their first actual NFL action in. And all, you know, in the preseason, Ray Davis has looked, you know, really, really solid. Just vision, quickness, explosion, which, you know, is what Cook is known for. But he's also capable as, you know, again, a receiver in pass protection to an extent as well. And then, you know, on the goal line. So James Cook, where he's going around three, is someone I'm staying away from.

And Ray Davis, 11th, 12th, 13th round where he's going. I think there's a lot more value in him, you know, where he's being drafted with the potential to have his role grow as the year goes on. Yeah. And it really stinks about James Cook. So Jay Cook can do everything else except get into the end zone. And he's a kid who's, he's been efficient. He can take on a large workload. He can catch the ball out of the backfield. But he just can't get in. And it really reminds me of back in 20, I believe it was 2020.

Yeah, 2020. The Kansas City Chiefs drafted Clyde Edwards-Elair in the first round. A kid who had all of the abilities that James Cook has right now. He can catch he's elusive. The problem is he was just too small to get into the end zone. And you could see as that season went on and seasons and seasons after that, he started to fade out of their backfield plan, which just stinks because the kid could, the kid could play in every other way. That being said, I mean, he has some fantasy value, just definitely not for where he's been being taken. I mean, it's just the yardage total

that he had last year. It's inflated his fantasy value to a point where it's just not worth it. But my next sleeper is Deuce Vaughn. Now, if you guys remember, for those of you who have listened all the way back to last summer, this is a player I named as a sleeper last year too. And yes, I am taking a second swing at it because Tony Pollard is now gone. Ezekiel Elliott's back, but it's a shell of Ezekiel Elliott. He was okay last year, but at best he'll play just an okay role. He has some size to get into the end zone, but if Deuce Vaughn is elusive enough to fit between the linemen and be able to score a little bit, then I think this is a kid who can actually make

some noise. And he's a kid who's, he's been showing out again during training camp and he's had some solid performances in the preseason. He just needs to put it all together. And we've seen small running backs have reasonably successful careers everyone likes to point out darren sproles also tarik cohen he's a guy who i mean listen that guy his legs have completely blown up ever since like the past couple of years um but when he before he got hurt he was pretty good he was a very boomer bus player, but if we're naming sleepers, if he turns into Tariq Cohen pre career ending injuries, I think that's pretty good as a sleeper and a player who the Cowboys would welcome as a, as a pleasant surprise, because that

backfield right now does not look good at all past Deuce vaughn they let tony pollard go and they didn't really do much to uh they didn't really do much to replace him in the running game and uh we are at an at an era in the league where running backs don't win super bowls but they you certainly need some sort of a running game in order to keep defenses honest you need some sort of balanced attack and if you don keep defenses honest you need some sort of balanced attack and if you don't have at least something okay you have ezekiel elliott he can get you into the end zone who's going to be the guy who gets the open field carries the early down backs i think deuce vaughn is a guy who's fitting of that role

yeah i mean i think um at least depth-wise, I think Rico Dallow will also compete for a role in that backfield. But I like the Tariq Cohen comparison. I think he can be just a guy. He can even be a guy you kind of line up kind of in the slot potentially as a quick just get in the ball and open space. Yeah. Look, I'm not trying to

sell to uh rather a deuce vaughn as a three down back he just is i mean he just doesn't have the size to do that i mean i could be wrong maybe if he figures it out some way somehow but i mean he has the ability in the open field to do something. And it's an open competition right now for the lead back. So I definitely think that Deuce Vaughn has the ability to at least make some noise this season and be a potential waiver wire target. I don't see him being drafted, but I also see him being a player you look at

and if you need a running back, if you have no depth at running back I don't see him being drafted, but I also see him being a player you look at. And if you need a running back, if you have no depth at running back or you have issues with buys, look Deuce Vaughn's way. That's all I'm saying. I know I said that last year, but I think this year definitely. You had Tony Pollard last year. This year the cupboard is bare, man. Rico Dowdle, definitely. You had Tony Pollard last year. This year, the cupboard is bare, man. Rico Dowdle, sure. But, again, it's an open competition.

We'll see what ends up happening. And also, this is a very good offensive line the Cowboys have. They've traditionally had good offensive lines in this year. It's going to be good, too. So, I think this year, definitely, we're going to double dip on Deuce Vaughn, back-to-back seasons. So, all right. That's all the scheduled content we have for today.

I mean, we've been waiting to report on Brandon Ayuk being traded, but, I mean, who the hell knows what's going to happen there. Do you guys think he's going to hold out, like, into the year or no? I mean, I don't think anybody knows right now. It's just a pure guess. I mean, I feel like it more often not hurts players more than it helps them when they hold out into this. I mean, even holding out until now, like a couple weeks before,

isn't like the most ideal. Like Jamar Chase, it's the same way with him right now. And then obviously CeeDee Lamb too. It's all of them. Yeah. And then obviously you see the lamb too. It's all – Yeah. It is rare that you see any sort of holdout. Le'Veon Bell is the only – I was going to say, I think he's like an example of how it doesn't help you

in a way because I feel like that didn't really benefit him long term. But obviously everyone – every player has their own philosophy. Yeah, so it's like not only did it not help Le'Veon Bell, it took a year off of his prime where he could have been putting up really solid numbers, but it's the only example that you can look at. How often do you really see a player holding out through the season? Because, I mean, the players, they still have no leverage,

regardless if they're sitting or not, because NFL careers are so short. They have so few opportunities to get their money. And if they sit out a year, that's a year off of their prime. And if they come back and they're not quite the same, then there goes your opportunity for a payday. So if you look at, I mean, I think CeeDee Lamb will end up getting his money. If he doesn't, I mean, I think that he's going to stay. It's all speculation at this point. But as far as Brandon Ayuk goes, I just don't think he has the leverage. The 49ers, you can still make a case or a playoff team without Ayuk.

So they're going to play with or without you. It's only a matter of if you want to be along for the ride, and then you become a free agent, and then you say, all right, let the bidding war begin, and then you get to choose where you get to go. But you can't just sit here and pout, and then every time there's a trade in place, you say, I'm not going there. Screw that.

I'm not signing an extension with you. I mean, you have to figure something out. Either play this year, have a good season, and then get your money. Or accept the trade that the 49ers are trying to work with you on. It's one of those two. But I just don't think it works for him if he's going to just sit out. But that's just my two cents there. All right.

So again, that is all of the schedule content that we have for today. But do we have any other thoughts before we end the show today? Preseason coming to an end. Not really too much going on besides that. But we are actually close to the start of the season. Any thoughts before we end the show tonight? Speaking of holdouts, just one more little thing. Did you hear what Chad Ochocinco said about Jamar Chase?

Yeah, he said he's not going to play under, without a new contract. Which I personally think that's crazy work, because doesn't he have like two years left on his deal or something? Like they picked up his fifth year option. Yeah. Which I personally think that's crazy work because doesn't he have like two years left on his deal or something? Like they picked up his fifth year option. Yeah. Yeah, that is correct.

That's wow. I hope Ochocinco is wrong, but you know. And the other interesting part with Chase is that it's mostly been a hold in for him. Like he's been, you know, in training camp for most, I think there's maybe like one practice last week where he wasn't there, but for him, it's mostly been a hold in where he's at least been at practice. Whereas other guys have been, or I guess I, you, I think was at some of the practices.

I think a lamb I'm not mistaken has been holding out or he hasn't even been with the team at all. So, you know, obviously I don't know if there's any difference with that, but I think it's at least noteworthy to some degree. Yeah. And also Joe Burrow and jamar chase are best friends i just feel like if there was any issue chase would still play and i just don't see especially since look at what the bengals have done outside of this jamar chase contract situation they've completely neglected t higgins too um excuse me trey hendrickson has also requested to be out the door. I mean, you've alienated every player besides Jamar chase. So I just find it hard to, I find it hard to believe that they're just going to let Jamar chase go to, because they, I mean, they need,

they need something for Joe burrow to throw to. They're in the middle of a championship window where they can, at their very best, can be in contention. They've had the Chiefs number the past few years. Even in games where they lose to them, it's still a close game. I just can't see where you let all of these guys go. And I get it. If you want to let T. Higgins go, fine. You have a better wide receiver. All you need is one number one target.

If you have that elite quarterback, but letting all three go, your star pass rusher, your number two wide receiver, who's also a number one on any other team. And also your number one, who is one of the best in the game. You're just letting all three of them go.

I find that hard to believe. So we'll see what ends up happening there also hot take if somehow which i highly doubt the bangles lose higgins chase and hendrickson i don't care what he's done in the past that gm needs to go yeah 100 and uh i i wouldn't be surprised if Burrow would get that pissed off to the point where he said, you know what, I'm out of here too. And we've seen it in recent years. Quarterbacks who are franchise QBs end up requesting a trade and they end up going somewhere else after a couple of years.

Deshaun Watson had that issue. Russell Wilson as well, although, I mean, did not end for those guys very well. But I'm not saying it's going to happen, but it's just something to look at. I'm not saying he will request a trade. Who knows what he's thinking, but would you blame him if he requested a trade after you let all of his friends leave?

Everyone who would have won you a championship in the next couple of years? I wouldn't blame him if that happened. All right. Cool. So we do need to end the show here but um yeah thank you for having me on again of course absolutely thanks for coming on for a second time uh we're excited to follow your page throughout the season and take some fantasy football advice i've been i'm not sure if i told you but i have i've literally followed your page for the past eight years.

So basically, I think this past July was nine years, I think. So basically, since the start. So I appreciate you. Yeah. I mean, just consistent fantasy football advices. And it's understandable to see how that, how that does very well. Um, because everyone is looking for 10 different opinions because they're just that unsure of themselves. Um, and, uh, yeah, it's, I mean, it's, it's been, it's been a pleasure to

follow and, um, we appreciate you coming on our show and getting, and, uh, getting some of your viewpoints on this upcoming season as we preview the year should be a good one. And we'll, we're excited to follow your page. I appreciate it again. All right. Well, that'll do it for us tonight. Thank you for listening to us. We have new episodes out on Tuesdays at 7 30 PM Eastern standard time. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. We also have all our episodes available on Spotify, Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Google Podcasts, and so much more.

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