The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Pat Fitzmaurice from Fantasy Pros joins the podcast

Episode Date: August 6, 2024

John opens the show talking about the latest in the Brandon Aiyuk situation with the 49ers and who has more to gain and who ultimately has more to lose. Next, he dives into Matt Judon and how one day he is holding out over his contract, then next day he is practicing, but in the end he wants a new contract and has to wait to see if the Patriots will give him what he's looking for. Later, John is joined by the managing editor at FantasyPros, Pat Fitzmaurice, as the guys get you ready for the start of the NFL season and tell you who you should be looking to draft for your fantasy team. 8:51 - Latest with Brandon Aiyuk 19:06 - Jim Harbaugh gets his feet wet 27:43 - Matt Judon practices 32:50 - Pat Fitzmaurice interview Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On The Look Back at It Podcasts. In 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me.

I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard,

but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all?

You're listening to Learn the Hardweight with your favorite therapist and host Care Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit are armored. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. The volume.

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One per customer. Enter the best ball $15 million contest by $9.2524 to get one bonus entry. $20 entry fee required. Reward expires at $1. contest lock on 9 524. See terms at draft kings.com slash DFS. What is up, everybody? Tuesday. Well, I'm recording this on a Monday. We actually had Patrick Fitzmores on the podcast today.

That video will come out a little bit later. He's one of the main guys at Fantasy Pros. So we're talking a lot of fantasy football. Obviously, quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers. It's that time of year. A lot of you guys are drafting teams trying to decide on some sleepers, on the star players, on the quarterbacks.

It's difficult. So this is a guy, they have the Top Fantasy Podcast in America. And we BS about a lot of, basically every player that matters. And a ton of teams. So that will be later today. But right now,

I want to hit on a couple quick things. There's a lot of rumors flying around right now about Brandon Ayyuk. Harbaugh and the Connor Stallion's NCAA just doesn't seem to die. Casario and Domingo go completely old school, which I like. And I thought Matt Judon today gave just as real of a comment as you'll ever hear. And you really don't hear it enough. Guys speaking how they truly feel when it comes to contracts, hold ins, holdouts. And I thought it was refreshing. So it's take Tuesday. So we'll fire out some thoughts on some of this stuff going around and we'll keep podcasting all week long. So buckle up. Football's here. We got preseason

games. There was just brawl after brawl in the Lions Giants joint practice. You had Joe Shane, Daniel Jones. You had corners flying. A lot going on there. I've been in one joint practice in my life. It was Niners, Broncos, post-Elway. It wasn't really that great, to be honest with you. It might have been Kyle's first year, if I remember correctly. They had like, I forget what's the quarterback's name from Northwestern. And I think Osweiler, he was gone.

It was bad Bronco team. They were not good at all. And those 49ers teams weren't that good either. It was just, it was bad. It wasn't anything like what I witnessed some of these clips. And obviously there were some joint practices yesterday with the chargers and the Rams. I mean, part of the worry in these things, it's only August. You've only been practicing for a couple weeks.

You've really probably only had six, seven days of pads. Puka Nakua hurt his knee. Joey Bosa hurt his hand. You just, it's a nerve-wracking time. It's intense game-level physicality. and you haven't hit anyone else beside your own teammates, so you kind of let it fly a little more. But you get injuries in these things.

You just pray to God. It's a little thing. A week here, maybe two weeks, which I think Puka is nothing serious. I guess we'll never know with Joey. We'll just know when he's back in practice because Jim Harbaugh is just adamant. Like, I'm not a doctor. We understand that, Jim.

But you can say, hey, he did this. Like when a guy pulls a hamstring, you can just go, he pulled a hamstring. I don't know when he'll be back, but Jim, like, refuses to do that, which is kind of comical and funny and enjoyable to watch. But you're not really able to do that during the regular season. You have to announce injuries, which, in fairness, he said he will follow the protocols, though it was always kind of like pulling teeth when he was at Michigan. It's just, and the diners, he was bad at it, too, which is not really his thing. But before we dive into some of this, you guys know I got to tell you about my friends, my partners,

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Let's start with IYuk. I don't think my stance has changed that much. I would be stunned if they traded them. I really would. Because if you are going to trade a player like this, and I'm not going to put him on these guys level, but when Devante Adams was traded, when Tyreek Hill was traded, they were traded before the draft. Because when you are a team that has Super Bowl aspirations, even if you get a first round pick, hell, you get a first and a second round pick right now.

How does that help you, week one against the Jets? How does that help you when you play the Rams, when you play the Chiefs? You know, the answer is it doesn't. It simply does not. and to me you cannot remove Brandon Iyuk for a draft pick. And I've said all along, I understand their stance on him. He wants to be paid like these guys that are way more productive. And his argument constantly is, well, if you put me in an offense that would spread the ball out and throw it more, I would be more productive.

Might be true, might not. We don't live in a world of hypotheticals where we get to know the answers. Well, maybe we would if he does get traded. but that is not the 49ers offense. He's never going to be a guy that catches 100 balls. Not when he's playing with George Kittle, Debo Samuel. They literally just drafted a wide receiver in the first round. Christian McCaffrey.

Hell, Jordan Mason said he bought a jugs machine and was catching balls every day this summer with his dad. Spent three grand on it. So I get their hesitation of breaking them off $30 million a year. Does that make sense? Will we get the ROI on? this player. But if that is their stance right now, kind of on them that they couldn't work out something before the draft, if they know they're going to be unwilling to go above a number and

he's not going to budge. Now listen, this is the NFL. He is under contract this year. Then he has the franchise tag. What's he going to do if the 49ers go, we're not trading you? Just never play in a game? That's not how it works. That wouldn't help his value of one day trying to get traded. But if you're a team going for a Super Bowl, are you trying to create those dynamics in your locker room, which is pretty top-notch? They got a bunch of high-level guys who are really focused. It's not an easy place to play.

So do you want a guy having a lot of issues and pouting with his contract? And I give him credit. He showed up. He's gone to all the meetings. But I do think the 49ers, and I talked about this with Colin yesterday, of all the good teams in the NFC, like, listen, you can't, if a guy gets injured at a joint point, practice or in practice. It's football. It happens. It sucks. As long as it's not a devastating

injury. It's just part of the business. But there can't be a team in the NFC with more drama going on. Maybe the Cowboys, but a lot of that is, well, they just don't have contracts passed this year. And C.D. Lam is holding out. But the 49ers also have a holdout. And his name is Trent Williams, who's kind of important. Because last time I checked, they don't really have a replacement for him on the roster. One of the biggest mistakes, in recent draft memory is when they flipped DeForest Buckner, and they could have taken Tristan Worf's, who's now the highest paid tackle in the league, and they traded back and they got Javon Kinlaw, who was a disaster for them. But I think this is tough because I do support, like, listen, this is big business.

So having tough conversations in contract negotiations in any industry when you're talking these type of dollars is par for the course. You're not just handing out free money. That's not the way it works. And it even gets more challenging when you go, is this really worth it? Like, ultimately the Chiefs traded Tyree Kill, not because they didn't think he was one of the greatest players Andy Reid's ever coached, because he was.

It was because they started looking at the books and they went, we're going to struggle paying Chris Jones if we make this decision. And we think Patrick Mahomes is this good. We'll build up the defense and we'll go from there. And they did. And they won two Super Bowls. The Packers lowballed Devante, and clearly by his words on receiver, that was kind of the end. And he was like, you disrespected me, I'm out.

The number of the 49ers offer, they offer them $26 million, $26.5 million a year. And I would assume 60 to 70 guaranteed. So when you see DJ Moore get 80 guaranteed in like 28.5 or whatever he got a year, you know, well, DJ has been more productive than you. And that's kind of the way football contracts work. Based on production, based on your importance to my offense. Now, that doesn't mean he's not a really good player. But like, it's so easy to turn on NFL live and to see every former player like,

you got to pay him! Well, do you? I mean, do you? Because they got rid of DeForest Bukter, who was a team captain and a badass. And they've been to three straight NFC championships and a Super Bowl. since. So it's like part of football is making tough decisions. Bill Belichick did it all the time. But they're in this position now where if they have to make a difficult decision, they go, listen, we're never giving him that number. We never are. And it's like sometimes, like in life,

you've got to draw a line in the sand and be like, maybe it's just best to move on and make a trade. It just does not help. And one rumor that's out there is a trade to the Browns. for Amari Cooper. Amari, a lot like Ayuk, is really productive. Now, he's been doing it for a longer period of time. But when I watch Amari Cooper, I go, that's not really a Cow Shanahan guy. So I would be stunned if Ayuk is traded. I would be very surprised if he is traded and it's for Amari Cooper and a draft pick or something. That would surprise me because I've been watching Amari Cooper's whole career.

he's better, I think, than a lot of people think, but he definitely never lived up to early on in his career. Like, it's going to be one of the best wide receivers of his generation. But to me, he does not scream Kyle Shanahan. Not, I would say, the most physical tough guy, good route runner. Definitely get you consistently 75, 80 catches a year, get you 1,000 yards. If you look at his football reference page, it's just he produces year-in,

you're out. But you can't see Kyle Shanahan moving on from Brandon Iuke, who kind of hangs his hat, besides as a great runner as well, fantastic blocker. Tough SOB. Like when I think Brandon I Yuk, I think War Daddy, which

is part of the reason the 49ers is probably torn on this. Like, yeah, should we just overpay him a little bit? Not really what I think with Amari Cooper. And some teams don't mind. And listen, could he just balance out with Kittle and Debo? Probably. And could you get by for a year and then pivot off him. Yeah. Amari's kind of being, even him being thrown out there,

it feels like Amari's a very NBA, right? Productive, makes a lot of money, but when it's all sudden done, he played on like five different teams, like in the prime of his career. How did that happen? So my take as of the day, I still can't see them trading them. And if they were to for a draft pick, I think that's just awful planning. And if it's a draft pick and a player, it's just very, very risky. And I think these teams like the 49ers, like the Ravens, like the lions, obviously

like the bills, I mean, anything less, anything less than being in the conference championship and more than likely having a home game feels like a letdown. They're not the Chiefs, none of those teams, but the standard and the expectation couldn't be any higher, and rightfully so.

It's like, if not now, then when? Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. top. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George

Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.

Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology

of Tontans and Wampas on the Ice Planet Hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to bowl your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Harbaugh, I'm glad he's back in the NFL, but I'm going to miss him on Saturdays, but it's cool that he went to the Chargers and it's going to be a good experience to resurrect a franchise. But this Conner Stallions, which I can't even pretend to know, clearly some shady shit was going on. I've supported shady shit in the NFL forever. Welcome to the business.

Everyone's trying to gain an edge. Like, guess where all shady stuff happens? Wall Street. I've always said the NFL is Wall Street on grass. And when Belichick got popped for stealing signs, everyone was stealing signs. Everyone was. College and pro. Now, when you put a guy on a sideline and you fake a badge, there are probably lines.

But listen, I don't care what industry you're in. If it's competitive and there's a lot of money on the line, everyone's pushing the envelope. Some people get caught, some people don't. But if you don't think someone is, you're probably getting lapped. So you better be looking for an edge. Now, did Connor Stallions cross the line? He is a Marine.

Thank you for your service. We appreciate what you did. Understand why Jim Harbaugh likes him. But I also understand why the other coaches are pissed off. It's pretty clear the NCAA hates Michigan and hates Jim Harbaugh. And I've said this for a while. I do not understand why any of these powers. Power 5 major programs, but especially now the Big 10, the SEC, the ACC, the BIC and the Big 12, the power 4, because the Power 5's dead.

Why they need the NCAA. In what world could you pick up a phone call from one of those idiot administrators in that building and take anything they say seriously? You don't need them for your television contracts. They have nothing to do now with the playoffs. when are we breaking away and letting these people no longer influence anything? I saw Kentucky got in trouble

and had to vacate wins. Is there anything dumber than vacating wins? Like, no, I watched the game. They won the game. It used to happen all the time in NCAA basketball. It's like, that meant this Final Four team did not exist. No, yeah, it did.

I watched them play, and they were really fun. I really enjoyed them. Derek Rose was must-watch TV. it's happening football over the years and every single time it's like Pete Carroll, you got to vacate the Reggie Bush games take away his Heism. It's like, shut up. These are idiots.

And there comes a point in time like they're not the government. You don't need them. And you can argue we don't need the government either. But you definitely don't need the NCAA. And to me, it's clearly inevitable to ask these guys out of the deal, especially as it's going with the money that's going to have to get split up from some of these lawsuits.

I can't imagine the NCAA in major college football coexisting much longer because it just no longer makes sense. Nick Casario and Domeco, I think most people, including myself, are products professionally of how we learn when we're young in terms of when we get into a business.

I know my football philosophies were shaped by really three people. Pat Hill, who I worked for right out of college at Fresno State for two years, then working for Andy Reed, and then right when I got into radio, Jim Harbaugh was coaching the 49ers, and I was going to practices and going to the games for a couple years. And that influence on me in my 20s has shaped the way I look at players, what I like in players. It doesn't mean I'm always right, but we all have biases when we want a certain coach, when we want a certain team, what we want it to look like at,

different positions from a game to game standpoint, from a toughness standpoint, and everyone's different. And we're all a product of our environment. I think it's a lot like that in life, how you grow up, the morals and everything you're taught. Like the morals and like the basic way I conduct life has not changed in 30 plus years. And I don't think it'll ever change. Now, you constantly adapt and maybe change opinions on things. But there are some core philosophies the way I live that were just shaped like by my dad. I get anxiety if I'm late. I have a tendency to be way early to things.

And that's a product of probably when I was like six, seven, eight, nine years old that was kind of beaten into me by him. Literally and figure a little bit. But like being on time, standing up straight, looking someone in their eyes, shaking their hand, like basic things. That if no one had taught me that, I probably wouldn't do it. Now maybe you can learn as you get older. but like why does Andy Reed love to throw the ball?

Why does he love to throw the ball? Well, who did he work for or who, excuse me, who did he play for in college? We went to BYU in the early 80s, a program way ahead of their time. What were they doing? When everyone was running like the veer, the triple option, I saw a clip the other night from like Oklahoma versus Nebraska.

It looked like both teams were running the wing T because that's what a lot of teams did, essentially, versions of this crazy running game in college forever. Well, BYU was spreading it out and throwing the ball with Jim McMahon, with Steve Young, and he wasn't an offensive lineman there. It's not a coincidence. Pat Hill grew up in a much more physical old-school line of thinking. So did Jim Harbaugh.

And those guys like running, their favorite play is power when you pull a guard and a tackle and run it right up the middle with a fullback. They have wet dreams thinking about that play. And when it's working, they will run that play over and over and over again. Like our guard is pulling here, and he is going to lead up the hole with our fullback coming downhill. Get ready. We don't even need to hide the play. Right?

And there's a physicality behind that. Well, Nick Casario, forever, you know, there were old school coaches. we've got so many young guys now that are head coaches, right? I think there's a large percentage of guys that are under 40, excuse me, under 50 that are currently NFL head coaches. And Sean McVeigh a couple years ago, and I agree with them. I have old school football philosophical beliefs that I don't think will ever leave me, but I'd also go, well, I'm paying this guy $70 million.

I'm not risking them in a preseason game. But Belichick, Bruce Ariens, obviously Andy Reid, Pete Carroll, they like playing their guys in the preseason. Because back in the 80s, in the 90s, and 15, 20 years ago, that's what you did. And so why would you change it now if it's been successful for you your whole life? Well, Andy Reid is one of the rare guys who still plays this guy in the preseason. Well, Nick Casario, who is a Belichick guy, and D'Amico, who now works hand-and-hand with Casario, and also played for a year for Andy Reed, said that he is going to play his guys in

the preseason. Now listen, like I said, if I was in charge, if most of you were in charge listening, I think we'd all agree. Yeah, it's high-end starters. C.J. Stroud, I'm sorry, you're not getting any reps. But I respect people who stick to their beliefs. And whether a guy gets hurt or not, like, this is what I'm comfortable doing. I think these reps matter. It's easy, like the Raiders.

I saw Antonio Pierce, another old school guy has a quarterback kind of. competition. And he's like, if we had to name a starting quarterback right now, we couldn't. Both the guys are going to play in the preseason. One will start the first game, the other will start the second game, they'll each play a quarter. That's basic football. That's stuff you have to do. You don't really have a choice. But on certain teams, when you got star players, like, I'm just not risking it. And there are still coaches, and Andy definitely leads this charge. And D'Amico, one of the rare young guys, like, yeah, my guys are going to play. I think this is important. And I just respect anyone who just sticks to their beliefs, right, wrong, or indifferent.

If you believe it, and that's what's made you successful, don't just change because other people are changing and just to do something that doesn't make you feel good about doing it. And I respect it. Now, keep my fingers crossed. Hopefully no one gets injured, but it's been happening for a long time. There are a lot of dudes in the Hall of Fame that spend a lot of reps and snaps in the preseason. Last but not least, Matt Judunk, who controversial, I think, would be a strong word, but definitely some weird stuff's been going on. Crafts, a little cheap.

He's been a star player, had a bunch of sacks. Those first two years there, and then last year gets injured. Clearly, they're a little hesitant to give him a big extension. He wants one. Was showing up to practice doing the hold in, but then clearly was making the coaches uncomfortable with him just kind of sitting around. They kicked him out of practice. He was missing for a day.

Then today he was at practice, full pass. And they asked him, like, what changed? And he said, this isn't about practice. I got to do what I'm contracted and obligated to do so I don't lose my money. And I thought, I respect it. Because so many players, like, yeah, we're working through it. We'll figure it out. I'm not comfortable doing this.

I'm trying to be my best teammate. Like, no, this is a business. and this is simply about money. I think I'm a $23 million player. I'm scheduled to make way less than that, and my contract is up after this year. I don't agree with their take on my situation. But I don't have much leverage here

because they can find me every single day. And I don't care who you are, unless your name's like Jeff Bezos or Steve Balmer, 50 Gs a day, adds up. And I would say it would add up pretty quick. So if you're Matt Judon, you're like, I'm not paying, you miss a week, all of a sudden they're charging you $250,000. Like, this is crazy. You miss three weeks, it adds up. Now, a guy like Trent Williams would say, yeah, I'm going to miss time because C.D. Lamb, because he's still under his rookie contract, they can waive all the

fines. The veteran players, if you were to hold out, Trent Williams, you're not able to waive. Well, Trent's just going to be like, okay, I got 800 grand and fines, add that to my salary. And that's where a guy at his level, who's even on a different level than Judon, and part of Judon is,

we're the Patriots, we stink right now, we're kind of resetting. We don't want to hitch our wagons to an older guy who's just coming off an injury, even though you're probably, if you're not our best player, you're one of our best players when healthy, but it's still like, you probably won't be on the team next year. So we're not comfortable giving you a large contract right now, but we do want you here playing because you are a good player. And maybe if you play well, we'll trade you and you can go

somewhere else and get a contract extension. But I respect anyone who just says what actually is going on, because that is so rare now in sports. Everyone bullshits, coaches, players, rightfully so, because the media and then just twist their words. This is about as real as you can get. I'm here because I don't want to lose my money. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot,

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bo Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Very, very excited to have one of the main members of the Fantasy Pros, which biggest podcast out there by far, who's got to be gearing up. Patrick Fix Morris, you can find them basically every day on fantasy pros. This guy knows the stuff.

He's a Packer guy and a Wisconsin guy, so we won't hold it against you out here on the West Coast. But, you know, the Packers, they're coming. Wisconsin, I don't know, coming quite as strong, but, you know, the future is bright the next five years. You'll get to find out soon, John, because I believe the Badgers open their Big Ten season at USC, welcoming USC to the Big Ten. So, you know, hopefully we're not going to be the doormats and give USC a great start to their Big Ten existence.

But I'm looking forward to that. That's going to be fun. So now I get to have rivalries with people on the West Coast. Yeah, you guys in Packerland have been very, very spoiled. I know at the start of, we're going to get in some fantasy here in a minute, but at the start of last season, I just played the odds. I said, what are the chances you go from Fav to Rogers to this kid being awesome? And then the first half of the season, you went, even Goudicans was like, yeah, after the

buy week, remember he's like, yeah, he's kind of got to prove it. And then he proved it and more. And now he's a rich man. And from a fantasy standpoint, I mean, he's a guy that a lot of people, I mean, he led the NFC last year in touchdowns, right? Yes. And admittedly, Mayaculp, I was very skeptical. about Jordan Love. I didn't like the draft pick at the time when they needed him to make a start

in place of Aaron Rogers in Kansas City a few years ago when Rogers had COVID. That didn't go very well at all. It was kind of a disastrous start. So I was a Jordan Love skeptic, but boy, did he come on strong over the second half of last season. I mean, he was just phenomenal. That touchdown interception ratio was like something like 23 to 3 over his last nine or 10 games. pretty incredible what he showed. So bright future for him. I'm looking forward to seeing what it brings. Yeah, to me, the crazy part with him, obviously the numbers speak for themselves, but the eye test, the throws. I mean, it was Rogers-like. I mean, some of the stuff he was doing, some of the darts he was throwing on the move. And clearly you watch him talk. I'm sure you have, obviously, the press conferences after the money. I mean, he's an impressive young guy. And I obviously, like Aaron, sat for a long time behind a legend and got his opportunity and went pedal to the medal.

Yeah, love does seem like a worthy heir to the throne, John. Good kid and armed talents that makes it feel like not a pretty soft landing after Brett Farvin, Aaron Rogers. Full disclosure, my fantasy, I'm more of a gambler than a fantasy guy, but I have done a lot over the, I would say last six, seven years. the daily fantasy. But year-long fantasy, obviously quarterbacks aren't usually as valuable right as the running backs. But some of these guys in this league, because they run and pass,

has added a new dynamic at a, I mean, the guys like Lamar Jackson and even Josh Allen, the rumors about rushing, we'll see with his feet, but Justin Herbert a little bit more with Greg Roman and Harbaugh. I was reading an article that you posted on your Twitter account about Anthony Richardson, and he clearly has. has to be one of the great wild cards this year.

I know he's got your guy. They didn't even, I don't think, played a game last year together in the backfield. Jonathan Taylor, who's coming on at the end. That's a pretty intriguing little group with that duo right there. So from a fantasy perspective, we really don't have any data on this guy in terms of how high the ceiling could be. It's a big unknown, but the talent speaks for itself. When you're looking at the quarterbacks, I mean, what are your thoughts on Anthony Richardson coming into the season when it comes to drafting a quarterback? He is, I've got him quarterback five in my rankings and the upside is just so appealing because he does deliver that rushing value to and might be a more advanced passer than he was generally viewed as coming out of college.

I know I've talked to some people like Matt Waldman who does a lot of scouting and everything and he thinks it's a lot of people thought Richardson was really raw. Waldman thinks it's more just inexperience than him being raw. Like he's really actually pretty advanced as far as like moving safeties around with his eyes and, you know, thinking his way through progressions and everything like that. But yeah, it's it's that rushing upside that we're after. And he had that small sample size because of the injuries and going on injured reserve early. but like I looked at the fantasy points per snap because he had sort of this lower sample size and Josh Allen led the league in fantasy scoring for quarterbacks

and Richardson actually had like 15% more fantasy points per snap than Josh Allen. Like when he was on the field, he just was ringing the cash machine with fantasy points like racking it up with his arm and legs. So it's pretty exciting. And then you think about what could happen with Jonathan Taylor. And I think back to when RG3 was a rookie, playing with Alfred Morris, who I think a lot of people would probably agree.

It was not an extraordinarily talented running back. And RG3, that RPO game just totally open up things for Morris. And in RG3's rookie yard, I think Alfred Morris ran for like 1,600 yards. I think it was like 1650 or something. Yeah, it was correct. Didn't he lead the league in rushing that year? Yeah, just ridiculous numbers. And that was Alf's rookie season two.

So you would have thought he was on a Hall of Fame track after that start. So I wonder if the Richardson-Taylor combo might not look a lot like that. So I'm in on Anthony Richardson and I'm really in on Jonathan Taylor. Well, one thing's clear. I'm sure this is a key for when you guys do rankings with players because the talent obviously has to be there. But, I mean, the high end in the NFL, all these guys are talented. who their coach is and what their scheme is. You go back to RG3 and Alfred Morris.

I mean, it turns out Kyle Shanahan kind of knows what he's doing when he's calling run plays and offense. And I think Shane Stuyke and I think he's one of the better, you know, younger offensive playcllers in recent memory. I mean, I'd put him right there with Kyle and Sean. And I think he's got a chance to be a star. So the only question that how do we answer is the health. And he's going to have to prove that on the field.

But the talent, I was at the gym one day this offseason. I looked up and they were replaying the Rams Colts game. and it was like, Jesus, Anthony Richardson guys really talented. You know, I mean, and it was, you know, against a team that at the time the Rams weren't as good. But it was really, really impressive. And so, yeah, I think the Colts, I don't think it's crazy from a gambling perspective to bet on them to win the division. Do you? I don't.

No. If they can patch up that secondary and make that work, like I think they have the horse. It's really good offensive line. Richardson's talented. I think they have enough to start. as far as the injury thing goes, John, I mean, I know that didn't work out very well in year one, Anthony Richardson, but it's pretty reassuring that the guy's a tank, that he's almost 250 pounds and isn't going to get a crash test dummied if he takes a hit from a linebacker.

You know, he can withstand some shots and hopefully, you know, make it through a full season this year. Is it fair to say Christian McAfrey is the universal number one running back around the league? I think so, yes, and probably the top pick in 80%, 90% of fantasy drafts this fall. So it's safe to say the debate really starts at kind of the two, three range, who you like the most, or do you think there are specific guys? Because one name I wrote down, when you factor in the offensive line, when you factor in the talent on offense, a little like Anthony Richardson, but this guy's proven it would be Sequan with the Eagles to have a big season. Is that too rich for your liking to have them in that kind of tier?

I am torn on Sequin, John, because he is not been, what we loved about him when he was coming out of Penn State was that past catching ability and the potential that he could be another Marshall Falk type who was just awesome as both a runner and pass catcher. We haven't seen him be really that good as a pass catcher since 2019. I don't think Jalen Hertz is a guy who's going to throw a lot of passes to his running backs. He just hasn't been to this point. And you do wonder if maybe with the tush push that caps Barclay's touchdown upside a little. But then again, I worry that Barclay could sort of cap Jalen Hertz touchdown run potential because Hertz has had double-digit rushing touchdowns in all three of the NFL season so far. I wonder if he keeps that streak alive now that they have Sequin,

who they can give the ball to when they get inside the green zone. So yeah, but you do have to like the fact that he's getting. a really good offensive line for probably the first time in his career. So I think it's a net positive for Sequin to go from the Giants to the Eagles. So who's kind of your crew of guys right behind Christian McCaffrey then in that two to three range that could just have massive seasons that when the dust settles would be like that guy was the number one fantasy player in the season if they're healthy? Yeah, I mean, I think the other clear-cut first rounders at running back, John, are Bejohn Robinson and Breece Hall. And I think it's kind of splitting hairs between those two

me, and I think different people have different opinions on that one. I think Bijon Robinson was not used optimally last year with Arthur Smith. I agree. He seemed to favor. Yeah, Tyler Algeria gave a lot of run, and he seemed to like Algeria more inside the 20-yard line. But now, Falcons have a good offensive line. That offense is just going to be more robust with Kirk Cousins being able to move the chains better than either Desmond Ritter or Taylor Hineke did last year.

And they play in a weak division. So they should have favorable scripts for running backs. So he's up there. And then Breeshall, who was just a monster down the stretch last year. I mean, they understandably used him with kid gloves for much of the season coming off the knee injury. But then down the stretch, they let him eat as far as workload. And he was just cranking out some really impressive numbers. So both of those guys can catch passes.

Both of those guys can do a lot of damage as runners. There is definitely a path for either of those guys to be the overall number one running back, if Christian McCaffrey were to miss any time. And you would think Bejohn, Zach Robinson going to run a Shanahan-style offense, right, which will feature that guy predominantly in the run and the pass game. Yeah, and the Shanahan offenses should have been. If you get the right running back in that system, it's just been gold.

Okay, let's talk some quarterbacks. Let's start with your guy. I mean, could he have a 40 touchdown type season, Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers? Optimistically, yes. And they start with a pretty easy schedule, too. Things don't pick up for them schedule-wise until November. So if you want to get your team off to a pretty hot start,

maybe Love is a good guy to targets, gets open with the Eagles who had some, I know they drafted a bunch of cornerbacks, but they did have a lot of secondary problems last year. So, yeah, I'm excited about him. And we like the weapons, right? Down from, like, running wide receiver one, which I don't even know if that's Christian Watson or Jaden Reed or Romeo Dubs, all the way down to Bowman, their fifth receiver,

who was actually the first Packers receiver to have a hundred-yard game last year and might be the fastest guy in the team. So just so many good young pass catchers doesn't have to worry about a defense taking away any one of them. He's got a couple of good tight ends too. So, like, good infrastructure for him. Yeah, he is a great deal of upside. I think I only have him ranked quarterback 10,

but a top five finish is certainly within his range of outcomes. Yeah, Jacobs can catch the ball too. He's got to stay on the field. We mentioned this guy earlier, Jalen Hertz. I know he threw a bunch of picks last year, but the running and passing. And obviously, the receivers are freaking awesome. The tight ends good.

Add Sequin. Like you said, I mean, the past game hasn't been his forte with the Giants, but I mean, it's kind of been a disaster there offensively. A couple years ago, Jalen was incredible. And last year, down the stretch kind of fell apart. But the offensive coordinator changed. How much does Kellyn Moore factor in to where you think about him? I mean, he's been a little more pass heavy, is that fair to say, than the runs? Yeah.

Hopefully we get a revival of Jalen Hertz under Kellyn Moore because there was such a, a drop off last year in terms of the passing efficiency going from, I think, eight yards per attempt or thereabouts in his last year with Shane Steichen to like 7.2 or 7.3 last year, whatever it was, and just the interception rate ticked up. And then just there were instances where it just seemed like the wheels came off for the offense. I mean, we remember the shouting match on the sideline with Dallas Goddard during that disastrous playoff game against the Buccaneers. it seemed like things just went off the rails there. And with the talent he's got among his past catchers, with A.J. Brown, with Devontes

Smith, with Dallas Goddardt, and that offensive line, like things should, you would think things are going to bounce back for hurts. But I do worry about Sequin cutting into his rushing numbers as far as touchdowns. And the yardage numbers kind of fell off last year in rushing. So he's not one of my top three fantasy quarterbacks, but he's right on the doorstep. And certainly if someone wants to take him as their second quarterback behind Josh Allen, I'm not going to criticize that decision. Is it safe to say, would you take Anthony Richardson over Jalen Hertz at the start of the season? I believe I do have Richardson ranked ahead of Hertz.

and I know that's not a consensus. Let me just check on that, John. I have... Your top couple is Lamar, Allen, or, you know, in no particular order. Those guys are top five quarterbacks, right, from fantasy perspective. Yeah, now I've actually got Richardson four and Hertz five. Who do you have three? I've got Josh Allen three, Lamar two, and Mahomes back in the number one spot.

I just think Mahomes is going to be... He was so hamstrung last. last year by not having a wide receiver who could get open downfield. Like Rishi Rice was all manufactured stuff, little hitches and wide receiver screens. And like he was dealing with Marquez, like probably his most reliable downfield weapon last year was Justin Watson. Now he's got Hollywood Brown. He's got Xavier Worthy. He's got some speed that, you know, I'm sure the mad scientist, Andy Reid, it's going to love to play with and draw things up.

Like, I'm expecting a big bounce back for Patrick Mahomes this year. And he runs a little bit too, which helps. Yeah, I mean, let's face it. You know, Andy did it last year because he had to do, but he wants to pass and he wants to throw deep. So, I mean, he would, he's going to win no matter what. He would much rather win with a quarterback throwing 40 touchdowns than a running back rushing for 2,000 yards, right? If all things being equal. Yeah.

And the other thing I'll point out, John, is I forget exactly how many touchdowns the chief scored last here during the regular season. I don't want to say it was like 36 or 30. Couldn't have been many, right? Because they weren't scoring many points. Yeah. And if you look back at the Reed Mahomes pairing, like that touchdown count for them is usually like in the upper 50s. I mean, they are going to get a big bounce on touchdowns this year. And, you know, I'm pretty safe to say that Patrick Mahomes is going to have a hand in a lot of those extra touchdowns. So if you like Mahomes, you know, from a drafting perspective, would you double down on Worthy, the rookie? right now.

Reuters can be tough, right? Yeah, I've got him behind Hollywood Brown and Rishi Rice, but not a big gap between any of those three right now. You're dialed in on the NFC North. The Bears, a lot of hype, right? A lot of hype. And DJ gets this massive contract. And sometimes I kind of forgot. Listen, I've loved DJ more for years, but you look at his numbers, you're like, that is way better than I even realize playing with the quarterbacks at which he played with.

but now you add Keenan Allen, you add Rome, you add DeAndre Swift. Is it safe to say that his numbers, like would he be the number one wide receiver still for you on that team? On that team, yes. Do you feel he comes back to Earth a little bit? He was 96, 1,308. Maybe he has same touchdowns, but is he getting 96 catches this season? Probably not. We do expect more of an even target distribution.

with that team with Keenan Allen, who's obviously going to command targets. And if Romo Dunezay is everything he's cracked up to be, I mean, that guy, O'Dunzei was amazing in college, pretty much anything that's thrown his way. I mean, just a master of contested catches. So, yeah, and then maybe it gets a little bumpy with a rookie quarterback in the passing game. It always does, well, for most rookie quarterbacks. So, yeah, I think we have to look at at least a little bit of a drop-off. for DJ Moore in terms of reception volume,

but I've still got them inside my top 20 for fantasy, a wide receiver. Well, obviously, if those guys are going to produce, that means the quarterback who's got as much hype as anyone since Andrew Luck. The rookie quarterback, he's got to be the number one rookie quarterback for you on the board. What are our realistic expectations for a guy that, you know, because let's face it, if they don't win nine games, I would say it's going to feel like a pretty big disappointment, anything under 500 and the pressure there is going to be pretty intense.

And we know the division. I think you guys are clearly going to be good. And the Lions, I think are pretty stacked. So you can finish third, have a good season. Minnesota clips you once. All of a sudden, you're 8 and 9. You actually didn't play that bad. Yeah.

Man, if Caleb stays healthy all year, I would guess he's going to finish somewhere around 37, 3,800 yards, and 25 TDs or so. And maybe that's a little conservative. Um, no, we have to expect the rookie ups and downs. For sure. Um, but, you know, like, I love him as a prospect, John. I don't know how you feel about him. Yeah.

I mean, that's how it's pretty special. Yeah. And like, I'm not knocking him for any. I know it wasn't the year USC wanted to have last year. But that offensive line was kind of falling apart. Didn't have an abundance of, of great pass catchers. Um, you know, like, he's, he's going. going to a better supporting cast in Chicago than he had last year.

And that's the nice thing because rookie quarterbacks are typically going to terrible teams like Bryce Young did last year. And, you know, Caleb, Caleb gets this great, great group of pass catchers. And the Bears, it's been so long since the Bears have had like more than one good pass catcher. You know, DJ Moore showed up and that ended kind of a long drought. And, you know, they had Brandon Marshall for a while. But normally it's just, I don't know.

I don't remember a Bears pass catching group being this electric ever. I'm with you. What was CJ last year? 26 touchdowns and like not that many interceptions. I had a historic rookie season. So if he could get around there, even I think he might throw a couple more picks. Feels like he's a little more, got a little farve to him. But like you said, USC last year, the USC that anyone, the way it's talked about like the Pete Carroll days,

that team last year was an embarrassment. I mean, it really was. the offensive line, the defense. That was not, they earned 7 and 5 and probably could have been worse. I mean, they got very lucky in an Arizona game. They were really bad. So I think you got to look at two years ago when he was a little bit better. He was better, obviously, one of the Heisman, but he had Jordan Addison, and, I mean, he was a star that year.

And this is going to be, to me, more. The only thing I wonder about, and this is what the advantage Kyle has, McVeigh has, you guys have in Green Bay. when your head coach is the play caller, they work hand in hand with the guy, this is not that scenario with the Bears, right? Defensive head coach, Shane Waldron, who I like, you know, he's a, he came coached with McVey. So that system, I'm sure he changes it a little bit for Caleb, but some of that stuff, the play action, if you can get the run game going, it does make it easier on the quarterback and he doesn't have to be hero ball as much as he has been in college, right?

Right. Caleb's improvisational skills, are so impressive, but I think he had to exercise those improv skills far more last year than anyone would have liked. And as good as he is when the play breaks down, they're definitely going to have some plans for him. And I don't think he's going to have to deal with, you know, the improv stuff nearly as much as he did last year. Okay. It's pretty clear that, I mean, James, I think, fair to say he's going to end up starting. I know they haven't officially announced that. Drake May's not. J.J. McCarthy's not. Michael Penix obviously is not and Bo Nick. So we talk Caleb between Jaden and Bo Nix.

Who do you, if you had to rank the rookie quarterbacks, if you have Caleb 1 from a fantasy perspective, how are you going to three? So believe it or not, John, I actually have Jane Daniels ahead of Caleb just a little bit. And it's because of the running. Yeah. And that's a risk with him because he does, he will get crash test dummy. And he's got to learn to protect himself a better than he did in college because we saw him leave a game last year against Alabama, where I think it was Dallas, Dallas Turner, like just clobbered him and knocked him out of a game that LSU was in. And as soon as he left, of course, Alabama just roared ahead. But I am anxious to see Jaden Daniels paired with Cliff Kingsbury, who coaxed a top 10 fantasy season out of Kyler Murray in Kyler's rookie season. You know, Kingsbury has been criticized at times. He's got a little bit of his passing offense in Arizona could be a little more horizontal than vertical at times, which people didn't always love. But Cliff does really push the tempo, which means more plays and more fantasy value for his quarterbacks and everyone in the offense. And like he's going to have to deal with a shaky offensive line. I would say Washington probably is a bottom five offensive line. But he's, he's going to have to deal with a shaky offensive line. I would say Washington probably is a bottom five offensive line. but he does have some pass-catching talent with Terry McLaurin. We'll see if they can get Jahan Dotson back in track.

They drafted Luke McCaffrey. They drafted Ben Sinit. It's a good-looking tight end. So I'm excited about what he's going to do. I think he's going to give you a lot of fantasy value with his legs right away. And this is a guy who threw, I think, a combined 31 touchdown passes just to Malik neighbors and Brian Thomas at LSU in like 13 games last year. So there's some touchdown upside as well.

Well, you know, I've been thinking a lot about how I'm going to pick the divisions and who I want to gamble on. I think one team that a lot of people are high on or that are going to make strides would be Washington. I think I'm going to go the other way. Not that I don't, I like Adam Peters. I like Dan Quinn, big picture, obviously, the quarterback's talented. I just wonder if their team's not going to be that good this year, right? They had to go heavy on the draft and sign. And I just, there's a lot of buzz.

I'm probably going to pick them to finish last in that division. And I hear you on the Kyler stuff. Kyler, who was thick or built a little more like a tank, it felt like he was more natural at avoiding the hits. He'd get out of bow. He was so fast. I mean, he's just one of the most electric players. And like you said, this guy's a little more Michael Vick that even in this day and age where you don't,

Steve Atwater's and the John Lynches aren't killing it, you still get hit hard if you're running around. And he's going to have to run around, like you said, because their offensive line's terrible. It makes me nervous. Even though it's hard to watch LSU last year and not see. I mean, it's oozing with talent. But the talent he had on that team, right? The two sweet wide receivers, one guy could be a superstar. The offensive line, they have a left tackle.

I think is going to be a top 10 guy. It's just relative to his opponents, like this is a huge downgrade for him, right? What's surrounding him? Yes, I think so. And the body type is certainly more Lamar than, you know, he's right. He's not a thick guy or a compact, not a thick guy like Anthony Richards and not a compact. guy like Kyler Murray. But Lamar always had this sense of like how to avoid those big hits. Like Lamar just kind of shimmies his way around those big kill shots that people are trying

to deliver. And I don't know if Jane Daniel says that's skill yet. The one thing about the defense, John, and I agree with you on Washington overall, sometimes having a bad defense can actually be a good thing for a quarterback and putting them in. You know, like I think we could see the same thing with Tua this year, with everything Miami lost on defense in free agency, along with their coordinator, Vic Fangio. The Dolphins and Commanders' defenses could be pretty shaky this year, which might lead to some shootout game scripts for Jane Daniels and Tua. It does feel. That's a good point from a fantasy perspective when your defense is awesome, like the Chiefs War, the Ravens. It does slow down the game a little bit. You gain control

in the second half. These coaches, this isn't college. You're not trying to run up the score. When you're playing in these shootouts, you just kind of let a rip. I think CJ Stroud benefited a little bit from that last year, right? Their defense wasn't as good as it's going to be this year. And they just had to let a rip to win games. Yeah. And Jane Daniels will be pretty familiar with that with the defense he had to play with at LSU last year. So he's no stranger to these OK Corral type game scripts. You think Bo Nix can throw 20 plus touchdown this year? maybe you can get to 20, John. He's really interesting. I don't know what to make of him. Maybe he's the perfect Sean Payton ball control quarterback. He threw such a high percentage of screen passes throughout his college career. He was way above any other quarterback prospect in percentage of screens. And I think he'll probably be a dump off machine too. Like I'm really keeping tag. on the Denver running back situation because Sean Payton's teams perennially lead the league or near the top of the league and running back targets. We saw it like time and time again in New Orleans, whether it was Reggie Bush or Pierre Thomas or Alvin Camara, running backs catching

a lot of passes. And Denver had 153 running back targets last year, most in the league. And now you've got this guy who is kind of a checkdown in screen machine. in Bo Nix. Like, I want to pay attention to see if Jaliel McLaughlin has an expanded role this year. And they've really been talking him up. I guess he went out and got a jugs machine in the off season so he could work on that by himself, like in the park down the street. I want to see if Javante Williams is back to his old self after looking a little bit,

you know, maybe diminished last year coming off the knee injury. So, yeah, Knicks is interesting for sure. I don't think he's going to be a league one. winning type of player for fantasy managers, but I do think there's maybe a little bit of sneaky upside. I saw the Niners running back Jordan Mason say that he also bought a $3,000 jugs machine this offseason and had his dad. They'd go out like every other day and they'd chew like 500 balls. You know, so that's obviously you have to catch the ball in the modern day game, right? I mean, it's just, it's a must. Before it was so many Derek Henry types used to be the

majority of the league and then Marshall Falk or Le Daniel Thomas and the true three down back who could also catch would stand out now it feels like all the top guys have that in their repertoire right and that's just only going to continue moving forward with what's coming out of college yeah and

speaking of Jugs machines I think Marvin Harrison Jr. has some he likes working with some turbo one that throws footballs like at the speed of sound or something like that so he's he's ready for anything Do you think he's a good name?

I mean, toward the end of the season, Kyler, that game against the Eagles, when he really started getting his mojo, he hasn't always been my favorite. You know, just like I wouldn't have invested that much money in that guy, but there has never been any argument about the guy's physical gifts. And when you get him on a game, he could be playing with me and you, or he could have Larry Fitzgerald and Marvin Harrison out there. You could lose that game when he gets hot. And he's done that countless times the last couple years. to me he's a massive wildcard this year. I don't know how good their team's going to be, but he proves time and time again.

Like if you go in sleeping on them, all of a sudden he's got, and he gets hot. Sometimes you watch him in that first quarter, like that there's kind of a malaise. And then by like the third quarter, he's like a Kevin Durant. He's hit three threes in a row.

You better watch out. And then he's just coming and there's no stopping him. Fantasy managers, I think, have noticed that where if you are a Kyler Murray investor, you'll be wondering and, you know, alarmed when he goes into halftime with like 3.9 points. And all of a sudden it's the end of the game and he's finished with like 23 and a half. So he can get streaky.

Indeed, I think his season might depend on whether Marvin Harrison is merely good or truly special. And I think truly special is in play for that guy. I mean, I'm out here in Big Ten country, John. Like watching Marvin Harrison every week, like I just don't think that guy. has any holes in his game whatsoever. I mean, he's maybe not the runner that his dad was just yet, but like he works at it.

Exactly. And, you know, when you're that big, obviously he's got a little bit of size on his dad and you know, his contested catch skills are pretty special. I think he's going to be fantastic from the junk. I mean, if I told you Malik Neighbors, you know, was on certain teams, you'd be like,

put your chips in the middle of the table. But when I say that Daniel Jones is a starting quarterback, it's hard to be that high. And I love, to me, he was my favorite wide receiver because I was thinking ceiling. There's no, Marvin Harrison can't fail. This guy, you get with the wrong quarterback, he could feel underwhelming just because of his skill set. But I don't know, maybe Dayball can get him quick screens. He's to get him the ball and a rounds. If Daniel Jones is unable to push the ball down the field, which I wouldn't really call that his go-to move. Yeah. You just wonder if Daniel,

Jones is going to let the air out of Malik Neighbors' tires in his rookie year. But the point of optimism I'm clinging to as someone who has drafted neighbors in a lot of these early drafts I've done, John, is that two years ago, Daniel Jones and Brian Dable's first year with the Giants, the Giants were 16th in offensive touchdowns. They were middle of the pack. And if they can just get back to that, I would think Malik Neighbors is going to stake out a pretty big share of those offensive touchdowns. Because he only, Daniel Jones, two years ago, threw 15 touchdowns.

Is that the number, I think? Is that what it was? Yeah, so, I mean, but if I tell you that Daniel Jones throws 16 touchdowns, I think we'd all say, well, I bet Malik Navors has six or seven of those potentially, right? Hopefully. Because some of those could be on a slant, broken tackle, stuff like that. He has that ability. Yeah, they just have so little else, a wide receiver.

I mean, Jalen Hyatt's an interesting deep threat, but then what? Wondell Robinson and Darius Slate and there's just not much else there. You tweeted this article. I'm not sure if you wrote this part or someone else did, but that George Kittle gets talked about like he gets overdrafted a lot when it turns out he's actually underdrafted. Can you explain your thoughts on the tied end in San Francisco as a player? Because just as a fan, I'd go, yeah, it feels like he's been banged up. He's not quite the same player.

but he turns out to be a pretty productive individual from a fantasy perspective, correct? He does, John, but what I think can be a turnoff to some people is that he is very inconsistent with his week-to-week production. And I think part of that is the curse of him being such a great blocker. And sometimes that's more the game plan with George Kittle, that they're going to use him to maybe help chip on an especially dangerous edge rusher or they decide to go run heavy in a particular week, and George Kittle is used to help in that regard. But other weeks when they feature him in the passing game, he can just go off. And we've seen him with multiple thousand-yard seasons. And, you know, like, I will take the inconsistency week to week.

I want that guy who can give me the incredible spike weeks from a position where you do not get a lot of spike weeks, typically. So, you know, I have seen him underdrafted in some leagues, but I almost never see George Kittle over drafted in leagues anymore. Like no one reaches for George Kittle in drafts these days. And, you know, I am a big advocate of drafting George Kittle at his average draft position, which, you know, typically this year you can get him around the sixth round in most 12-team leagues. I think he's a good value there. Would you say beside remove McCaffrey, like you said, the Niners more of like a daily fantasy team because week to week George could have no catches and the next game he has three touchdowns. Thiebo Samuel, he don't see him for two weeks.

Then he has two straight weeks where he gets two touchdowns these game. Yeah, and that's it. Brandon Ayuk, I think, has been one of the more overvalued guys this year because people saw that he had a 1,300-yard season last year. And I think he's really talented, but he did that on only 105 targets. and he just had freakish numbers as far as yards per catch, yards per target, yards per route run. We're probably going to get a little bit of regression to the mean there. And even though like his efficiency numbers and all those categories are going to be above average because he's a really good player.

But I looked at the number of the receivers who had between 100 and 110 targets last year, their average yardage output was like 990. And I'll kick that by like almost 400 yards. So I just don't think unless they find a lot more targets for him, you know, which might be like it might take a long-term injury to someone else in that offense. I just don't know if he can live up to top 12, top 15 receiver status. And that's how he's being drafted this year. And I think from an on-the-field standpoint, I think that's their biggest,

issue with this contract because in any other world, in any other business, the numbers of all these other contracts, if we were trying to sell a house or acquire a business, Amunrah, St. Brown, DJ Moore, their stats speak for themselves, where IUC is this unique player, like you said, he is a talented guy and he has a rapport with Brock Purdy, but his numbers because of the offense, which last time I checked, isn't going to change with Kyle Shanahan there. So it's kind of a conundrum therein, which honestly makes me nervous even about. drafting him if they don't get a contract, they don't trade them, and he's playing on the contract? Is he mentally there? And speaking of the diners, the Purdy, to me, Purdy and Goff are two guys, right?

They have a lot of weapons. They put up really good stats. The running, Goff doesn't move at all. Purdy can, but I wouldn't call him really a running threat past the line of scrimmage. He keeps plays alive, which is definitely additive because he puts up a lot of extra stats scrambling around. Who do you like more to those two guys from a statistical standpoint this year? I have to go with Purdy, just because he was so insanely efficient. Even though Ben Johnson is a really good offensive coordinator, you know, I'll take the Shanahan system over the Ben Johnson offense. You have to, I think.

And with the surrounding talent he has, and boy, I'd like to see Purdy run a little more. He looked pretty nimble in the playoffs as a runner, didn't he? No, he's an underrated, and I think we talk about Anthony Richardson. When they drafted Trey Lance, I think they thought they were getting this physical specimen that can move. It turns out Trey's not very fast. And then they get Purdy and he moves dramatically better. He's just quicker, quick twitch. Again, he's not taken off like Lamar Jackson or Anthony Richardson down the field, but behind the line of scrimmage. They get a lot of big plays from that, the 49ers. Where the lions are a good example, they're paying all this

of the offensive line because they have to because their guy is a very old school statue who's a good pocket quarterback, but he can't move around like a Jordan Love, a Brock Purdy, which is I would say pretty consistent with the modern game of football. Most of these guys are pretty good athletes, right? Yes. And so Purdy is just, he is such a good proxy for Kyle Shanahan and being that, just running that offense and being the distributor, being the perfect past first point guard for that offense.

And I don't know if he has top 10 fantasy upside, but I think there's a really good chance he finishes in that 10 to 15 range again. So he's like one of the safer plays. you can make a quarterback in fantasy. Let's end on some running backs. Just with the unit, you know, Jim Harbaugh, we know likes to run the ball. The game last year against Penn State, I think technically he was suspended, but he was probably high-fiving everyone at home where I don't think the quarterback threw it over 10 times.

And that's kind of been his ethos going back to San Diego. Obviously, at Stanford with the 49ers, J.K. Dobbins, Gus Edwards. I mean, that's the group. I mean, if you're going to draft one, you've got to kind of draft a. both. You clearly don't have to draft them both as high as some of these other names, correct? Yeah, the nice thing is they're both going pretty late and you can get them pretty cheaply. Gus, I think, is going to start, but there's not a lot of pass catching upside and he's had some injury issues. And we know J.K. Dobbins' injury history, which is pretty bleak to have blown out

his knee and torn in Achilles. But apparently he's looked pretty good in camp so far. I do think in a lot of leagues as a late round pick Kamani Vidal. It might be a sneaky option, the all-time leading rusher for Troy University, a sixth round pick this year and just, man, like a little bowling ball. I like him a lot. Obviously, it's going to take some time for him to get traction on the depth chart, especially with maybe kind of an old school coach like Harbo. He's not going to quickly promote rookies.

But if Goss and or Dobbins can't hold up, I wouldn't be surprised to see Vidal playing a fantasy relevant role at some point pretty soon. Okay, let's go to his brother. Derek Henry had one of the great stretches, definitely the last 25 years for there with Vrable and the Titans. Felt like he was kind of falling off, but he still had 12 touchdowns last year. What do you take away and what do you make of him, Lamar, that officer? offense. Is that a fit? It does feel, when you close your eyes, you don't quite see it, but maybe it does work. Does he have anything left? What are your thoughts on old King Henry? That's funny that you say that, John, about closing your eyes and trying to see that,

because I've been doing the same thing, and it's just hard for me to picture Lamar and Henry playing together. I just, like, I can't wait to see it, but I can't picture it just yet. But the over under, right now, I think the total on season-long touchdowns for Derek Henry is 10 and a half. And so they are expecting double-digit touchdowns. And I don't know if I could argue with that. Probably not going to catch a lot of passes in this offense. It's just how it is. And Henry's never been a prolific pass catcher anyway. But what Lamar Jackson could open up for Derek Henry with his own running ability, the touchdown potential in that offense, because unlike Jalen Hertz, the Ravens really don't like running Lamar inside the five or 10-yard line.

It's pretty exciting. You just have to hope he continue to fend off father time because he's on the wrong side of 30 now. And it's the age where we often start to see a slowdown for running backs. And here's one who's led the league in rushing attempts in four of the last five years. So when the end comes, it could come quickly. But then again, Derek Henry might just be a different breed. Like, this guy's not built like other running backs. If you told me right now he gets 10 touchdowns.

You would have to say their offense is going to be pretty successful because Lamar's at minimum going to account for what, another five-day seven minimum, right? Let's just give him six. A couple other running backs will chime in. I mean, they'd have around 20 touchdowns on the ground, right? If he's getting them 10, which he's had double digits for basically every year when he's healthy. But like you said, it's just the fit. I guess I just envision more quicker, not scatbacks, but just different than his style who's more. Old school Adrian Peterson. You've got to keep hand in the ball, hand the ball. You're cool with some two-yard losses, and then all of a sudden he busts 30, and then he gets rolling. Is that really how they've played with one individual running back? It doesn't quite seem that way.

Maybe I'm wrong. Stats would not back that up, but it feels like they rotate a lot of guys in and out. Are they just going to hammer him maybe on an individual game, but over and over throughout the season? I don't know. Yeah, it seems like you have to play it that way with him, especially with maybe Keaton Mitchell, who could be that speedy change of pace guy, possibly not available if they decided to pop him after the late season knee injury last year.

But yeah, you would think he's going to get a very robust workload. And you're right, that has not been the Ravens way. He might not be fast anymore, but because his running back room doesn't really exist with anyone else, and he's still a good goal line back, the Cowboys and Zeke. you know, what are your thoughts on that situation when it comes to Zieg? I mean, is he a guy, we talk about Derek Henry getting 10 touchdowns. It's possible Zee could have double-ditch touchdowns this year for the Cowboys. Not that he's going to have a lot of yards, but he could just have a lot of goal line,

you know, inside the 10 carries. You know, I've actually found myself drafting him more than I ever have in any year previously. John, well, it used to be hard to acquire him, and now it's not. But he's going to play a role in that offense. and maybe a substantial one. And last year in New England, we saw him like really return value as a pass catcher. Like he showed that he's still a very good pass catcher.

And like it wouldn't surprise me if he got to play a lot on passing down still. It used to be that that was Tony Pollard's gig. And Zieg was the early down guy. But, you know, I don't know if they have a better pass catching back on that roster than Zeeke. So I think he could be sneaky valuable in fantasy. this year. Cal, get you out of here on this because I was watching.

Have you watched Netflix receiver at all? I haven't. I've been busy with the Hard Knocks off season with the Giants front office. So I got to catch up on the receiver. I'm still a little button. And now I'm going to have the training camp hard knocks to get through. I'm falling behind here, John. There's a lot of hard knocks flying out there.

That Giants Hard Knocks was quite the eye opener, wasn't it? But on the receiver, it follows Justin Jefferson and Devonteus to like the four or five guys. and they just popped into my head. Obviously, Justin's the highest paid wide receiver of all time, but his quarterback room is pretty questionable. He's got this rookie kind of project and Sam Darnold, who Kyle likes, but is he any good? We're going to find out early on this year.

And then Devante, with his quarterback, he left Aaron Rogers, and he's learned a valuable lesson. It's not quite the same, and he's admitted as much. When it comes to those two guys, clearly if you put them with a Josh Allen or Mahomes, you would be like, these guys are going to catch 100 balls with their eyes closed. But in their two scenarios, probably like Justin Jefferson more,

just his coach is also the play caller. But I don't know. I mean, they both make me a little nervous going through transitional years of that position, right? That's exactly it, John. Like in any year, if the Vikings had a proven entrenched quarterback, Justin Jefferson, is like in the 101 conversation, first pick overall. But now with this transitional period at quarterback, the Vikings are going through, he is typically going either fourth or fifth among wide receivers behind C.D. Lamb, Tyreek Hill, Jamar Chase, and sometimes Amunrah St. Brown. Like, I think it's about a 50-50 as to whether you'll see Jefferson or Amun Ra go first in a fantasy draft.

But then again, Jefferson is so good. Like, he might be quarterback proof. I think like last year when Nick Mullins was in there, like Mullins was just such a careless, aggressive thrower of the ball downfield who, I mean, if you let that guy start for a full season, he might throw 60 interceptions. But you liked him if you were a Justin Jefferson investor because you knew he was going to take shots down field. I think that's what you're hoping for to some extent that like J.J. McCarthy isn't so self-conscious about turnovers that he. he's afraid to air it out and let Jefferson make plays on the ball. So hopefully Jefferson wins his confidence and, you know, Planson in his head, hey, might look like I'm not open. Throw me the ball.

I'll come down with it. One season. Sorry. No, keep going. No, I was just going to say Devante. So, yeah, I mean, he's more like a mid-second round pick, I think. But even with Ed. No, Connell, it's his primary quarterback last year.

He did manage the top 100 receptions and, you know, get a, about 1,100 yards. So I just can't fade that guy. I mean, I watched him in Green Bay for too long, John, for me to completely dismiss him because of the quarterback situation. I was going to say the year Jimmy Garoppolo tours ACL, the 49ers did start Nick Mollins a lot, and they ended up with the number two overall pick.

So it's not an ideal situation when Nick Mollins. You've got to roll him out each week. Patrick Fitzmorest, obviously on Fantasy Pros, which is one of the biggest podcasts. in all the internet and sports. Anywhere else, anyone listening can find you? Yeah. If they are on Twitter, they can find me there at Bits underscore FF.

And yeah, just be sure to check out Fantasyprose.com if you are preparing for your fantasy draft because we've got you covered on that site. Do you have a hot take on, from a fantasy perspective that you're just going to die on this hill going into the season? It's a little out of left field that a lot of people are putting. it back in your world? I really like, I'm way above consensus on Brian Robinson at running back for the Washington commanders, who even I thought was just a guy for a while, but I think he's better than I

initially gave him his dup for, and I do think Jaden Daniels is really going to open things up, and I'm not too worried about Austin Echler challenging him that much for early down carries and snaps. Patrick Fis Morris, thanks a lot, man. And let's have a great season. Thanks, John. You too. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends.

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