1
00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:02,400
Speaker 1: The Action Network Podcast.

2
00:00:03,480 --> 00:00:04,120
Speaker 2: Just about that.

3
00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:04,760
Speaker 1: Action all.

4
00:00:07,840 --> 00:00:07,960
Speaker 3: Right?

5
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,760
Speaker 1: Here we go throwing out so spect we're saying it's

6
00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:15,080
Speaker 1: a cash touchdown.

7
00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:18,920
Speaker 3: We see most gambless and they go to gamble, they

8
00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:19,360
Speaker 3: go to win.

9
00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,799
Speaker 1: That's incredible, big bank, small banks.

10
00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:26,400
Speaker 2: I like to make money. All right, this is the

11
00:00:26,520 --> 00:00:27,760
Speaker 2: ultimate combine and.

12
00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:28,280
Speaker 1: You want to.

13
00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:32,760
Speaker 2: And we are away.

14
00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:37,479
Speaker 1: Welcome to the Action Network Podcast. I'm Jill Gland. I'm

15
00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:41,400
Speaker 1: joined by NFL betting expert and futures analysts Brandon Anderson,

16
00:00:41,880 --> 00:00:44,880
Speaker 1: and it's rankings week here at the Action Network. We're

17
00:00:44,960 --> 00:00:48,120
Speaker 1: doing this all week here on the Action Network Podcast.

18
00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:50,600
Speaker 1: We started with quarterbacks. Now we're moving over to the

19
00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:53,600
Speaker 1: skill position groups and we're gonna have even more rankings

20
00:00:53,640 --> 00:00:57,880
Speaker 1: as that week continues. We'll look at coaching staffs, offensive lines, offenses,

21
00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:00,920
Speaker 1: and defenses. We're gonna rank every team on through thirty two.

22
00:01:01,560 --> 00:01:04,360
Speaker 1: But Brandon, let's talk about the skill position groups because

23
00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:06,120
Speaker 1: I think, not only do I need to hear a

24
00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:08,320
Speaker 1: little bit more about the criteria of how you rank

25
00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:10,080
Speaker 1: these guys, I need to know a little bit more

26
00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:13,679
Speaker 1: about which guys we're using, because a skill position can

27
00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:15,800
Speaker 1: mean a lot of different definitions. So break it down

28
00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:18,240
Speaker 1: for us, what is the criteria and which positions are

29
00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:18,720
Speaker 1: we using?

30
00:01:19,200 --> 00:01:22,160
Speaker 2: Yeah, you chatting me offline, I'm like, okay, well does

31
00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:24,480
Speaker 2: this guy count for his you know, punt and kick

32
00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:28,039
Speaker 2: returning and what things am I counting here? So this

33
00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:31,440
Speaker 2: is just offense and just skill positions on offense. I

34
00:01:31,440 --> 00:01:33,520
Speaker 2: think of these as like the weapons, right, the guys

35
00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:36,840
Speaker 2: making all the plays for you. So not quarterback. We

36
00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:39,039
Speaker 2: did that one already. Be sure to listen to that one.

37
00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:41,959
Speaker 2: Not off that'sive line. That one's for tomorrow. Listen to

38
00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:45,920
Speaker 2: that one is everybody else. So no quarterbacks, Noligne. Basically

39
00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,680
Speaker 2: your running backs, your receivers, your tight ends. It's Fantasy

40
00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:50,800
Speaker 2: football day here, right, These are the guys that we're

41
00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:54,640
Speaker 2: talking about today. Now. For me, it's very important here

42
00:01:54,640 --> 00:01:56,320
Speaker 2: and this is going to drive a lot of the rankings.

43
00:01:56,320 --> 00:01:58,160
Speaker 2: And I think between me and you, some of the

44
00:01:58,160 --> 00:02:01,000
Speaker 2: differences of where I have something high than where you're at.

45
00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:05,960
Speaker 2: Receivers rain For me, I have I've ranked running back separately,

46
00:02:06,000 --> 00:02:08,200
Speaker 2: and receiver separately, and tight end separately. I do every

47
00:02:08,200 --> 00:02:12,120
Speaker 2: position separate, and I have a composite ranking. And for me,

48
00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:16,000
Speaker 2: passing is more important than running. Passing is more stable

49
00:02:16,040 --> 00:02:20,440
Speaker 2: higher upset than running For me, this kind of combined weapons,

50
00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:25,720
Speaker 2: skill players ranking. Receivers are worth over half combined versus

51
00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:28,280
Speaker 2: running backs and tight ends. And I actually have tight

52
00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:31,760
Speaker 2: ends almost equal in value to running back, which I

53
00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:35,320
Speaker 2: think that's maybe just as controversial because you know, we

54
00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:37,880
Speaker 2: know the whole running backs don't matter thing. I think

55
00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:40,360
Speaker 2: running back floor matters. You got to have some guys

56
00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,520
Speaker 2: out there. And I think too just in general, running

57
00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,120
Speaker 2: backs and receivers, tight ends stars matter. We know the

58
00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:50,560
Speaker 2: star names that the fantasy guys to get you over

59
00:02:50,600 --> 00:02:54,400
Speaker 2: the line. That matters the very top. But most teams

60
00:02:54,440 --> 00:02:57,400
Speaker 2: have some level of star quality. For me, another area

61
00:02:57,440 --> 00:03:00,079
Speaker 2: where I'm going to differ in a lot of rankings

62
00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:04,280
Speaker 2: from general consensus. To me, depth is really king. I

63
00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:08,640
Speaker 2: have to think about seventeen games, three four playoff games,

64
00:03:09,040 --> 00:03:11,760
Speaker 2: injury settings are turned on. We can't get rid of that.

65
00:03:12,360 --> 00:03:15,160
Speaker 2: So who's gonna hold up for the course this season?

66
00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:18,440
Speaker 2: And quite frankly, I don't really know who's the twenty

67
00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:21,400
Speaker 2: first receiver versus the twenty ninth or thirty eighth receiver,

68
00:03:21,560 --> 00:03:24,160
Speaker 2: but that dude might get hurt. Do you have like

69
00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:27,320
Speaker 2: three more guys who might also be top fifty options

70
00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:30,600
Speaker 2: or do you have nobody and if that guy gets hurt,

71
00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,519
Speaker 2: there's nobody there now or suspended or whatever else too.

72
00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:38,000
Speaker 2: So as usual, we're not looking at like contracts, We're

73
00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:40,920
Speaker 2: not drafting guys for the next five years anything like that.

74
00:03:40,960 --> 00:03:43,880
Speaker 2: This is one year right now. Let's win a Super Bowl.

75
00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:46,920
Speaker 2: Give me some weapons, give me some skill position guys.

76
00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:49,080
Speaker 2: That's the rankings, all right.

77
00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:51,440
Speaker 1: So we're gonna rank one through thirty two. We have

78
00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:54,760
Speaker 1: them broken down in tiers, and we are gonna start

79
00:03:54,760 --> 00:03:57,440
Speaker 1: with tier one. And this is if you've been in

80
00:03:57,480 --> 00:03:59,040
Speaker 1: a coma, I guess for the last year and you

81
00:03:59,040 --> 00:04:01,640
Speaker 1: didn't watch last season, And so we're gonna start with

82
00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:05,320
Speaker 1: number one, and that is the Eagles, followed by at

83
00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:09,480
Speaker 1: number two the Detroit Lions, and number three the Baltimore Ravens.

84
00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:13,080
Speaker 1: I guess quickly, just off the top, the Eagles are

85
00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:14,760
Speaker 1: pretty stacked. I have no problem saying that.

86
00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:15,320
Speaker 2: Off the top.

87
00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:17,320
Speaker 1: Should they have been maybe in a tier you know,

88
00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:18,599
Speaker 1: by themselves at the top.

89
00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:22,159
Speaker 2: Yeah, So I have this tier called I mean, you

90
00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:25,400
Speaker 2: remember last season, right, the Eagles, Lions, and Ravens, Like,

91
00:04:25,440 --> 00:04:27,159
Speaker 2: we don't need to say a ton about these teams.

92
00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:29,680
Speaker 2: We pretty much know who these guys are. Here's my

93
00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:31,400
Speaker 2: question for you, and then I'll get explain a little

94
00:04:31,400 --> 00:04:34,120
Speaker 2: bit more. Can you, and maybe you've done the work

95
00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:36,160
Speaker 2: on this, Can you tell me the names of any

96
00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:39,680
Speaker 2: backups of Saquon Barkley? Give me another running back on

97
00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:40,840
Speaker 2: the Eagles roster who you.

98
00:04:40,800 --> 00:04:43,719
Speaker 1: Got well, because I do follow the anytime touchdown market,

99
00:04:43,800 --> 00:04:46,440
Speaker 1: I will remember a gentleman by the name of Will Shipley.

100
00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:48,760
Speaker 1: I believe who is running back two on that roster

101
00:04:48,880 --> 00:04:49,280
Speaker 1: right now?

102
00:04:49,520 --> 00:04:52,120
Speaker 2: Hes and AJ Dillon over from the Packers as well.

103
00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:54,359
Speaker 2: A little bit of power run there. But to me,

104
00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:57,880
Speaker 2: the reason if you give me four healthy Eagles starters,

105
00:04:58,000 --> 00:05:02,679
Speaker 2: Saquon my jersey J. Brown, It's definitely not just Carson Wentz.

106
00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,560
Speaker 2: It's definitely number eleven A J. Brown and of course

107
00:05:05,600 --> 00:05:08,600
Speaker 2: DeVante Smith and Dallas Guard. To give me those four

108
00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:10,960
Speaker 2: healthy and I think they're number one with a bullet,

109
00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:15,119
Speaker 2: but this is a very shallow team of past those four.

110
00:05:15,600 --> 00:05:19,280
Speaker 2: I don't mind Dotson as the third receiver option, cal

111
00:05:19,360 --> 00:05:21,680
Speaker 2: Katerra the backup tight end. I'm not giving me too

112
00:05:21,760 --> 00:05:24,679
Speaker 2: much there. Those running backs don't move me a whole lot.

113
00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:28,159
Speaker 2: Saquan's had some injury history. AJ Brown had some injury

114
00:05:28,200 --> 00:05:31,040
Speaker 2: history and has pretty stark splits when they have him

115
00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:33,640
Speaker 2: in the offense and when they don't. So I love

116
00:05:33,680 --> 00:05:36,120
Speaker 2: the guys. It's just not a lot of depth there,

117
00:05:36,320 --> 00:05:38,760
Speaker 2: and you know, we got a long season to get through.

118
00:05:38,839 --> 00:05:41,520
Speaker 2: So they're number one, but they do share the number

119
00:05:41,560 --> 00:05:43,560
Speaker 2: one tier with a few other teams.

120
00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:47,080
Speaker 1: Well the Detroit Lions, because I think we're gonna see

121
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,920
Speaker 1: how skilled some of these players really are now with

122
00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:54,680
Speaker 1: Ben Johnson departing to Chicago, and I know that we're

123
00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:57,040
Speaker 1: not looking at coordinators. I'm looking at but I'm wondering,

124
00:05:57,520 --> 00:05:59,799
Speaker 1: how are you still high on them despite Ben Johnson

125
00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:01,240
Speaker 1: even and going to Chicago.

126
00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:03,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it is a really important question and

127
00:06:03,960 --> 00:06:07,360
Speaker 2: I would love to see it, particularly Sam Laporta. Ben

128
00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,480
Speaker 2: Johnson was a tight ends coach, so we're gonna get

129
00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:12,760
Speaker 2: back to why that matter is again with another team later.

130
00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,039
Speaker 2: But I wonder how much did Ben Johnson elevate now?

131
00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:18,200
Speaker 2: Willporter was a high draft pick, so he's probably just

132
00:06:18,240 --> 00:06:20,880
Speaker 2: a really good tight end, but what does he look like?

133
00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:25,200
Speaker 2: What do these other weapons look like without Ben Johnson. Additionally,

134
00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:27,760
Speaker 2: the offensive line is a lot worse in Detroit, this year.

135
00:06:27,800 --> 00:06:30,880
Speaker 2: They lost some pieces there, So take away Ben Johnson's

136
00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,760
Speaker 2: scheme that helps the run game and some pieces on

137
00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,240
Speaker 2: the line. Okay, how does jimior Gibbs look, How does

138
00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:39,440
Speaker 2: David Montgomery look these pieces? It's all part of the

139
00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,359
Speaker 2: same ecosystem. I do think we have to have some

140
00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:45,760
Speaker 2: reservations there. What hopefully offsets it is I'm seeing a

141
00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:48,000
Speaker 2: lot of buzz from a lot of analysts I trust

142
00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,520
Speaker 2: about Jameson Williams, like this is finally the year this

143
00:06:50,560 --> 00:06:53,239
Speaker 2: guy's supposed to break out. I can't quite get there.

144
00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:56,279
Speaker 2: To me, still kind of just a straight line speed guy.

145
00:06:56,760 --> 00:07:00,200
Speaker 2: But if they're right, I think that can really offset things.

146
00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:02,640
Speaker 2: I'm a Saint Brown, just one of the all around

147
00:07:02,720 --> 00:07:05,599
Speaker 2: underrated great receivers. Maybe kind of reminds me a bit

148
00:07:05,600 --> 00:07:08,360
Speaker 2: of like hinz Ward and that it's the route running

149
00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:10,960
Speaker 2: and the blocking too that he brings to the offense.

150
00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:13,640
Speaker 2: Just the all around package that gets underrated but just

151
00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:14,840
Speaker 2: performs year after year.

152
00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:18,560
Speaker 1: Right, Okay, so I'm not surprised that you have the

153
00:07:18,680 --> 00:07:21,280
Speaker 1: Ravens this high. I think what I was surprised is

154
00:07:21,280 --> 00:07:23,200
Speaker 1: when I went back to look at your twenty twenty

155
00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:25,480
Speaker 1: four rankings, you had the Ravens entering the twenty twenty

156
00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:28,560
Speaker 1: four season at sixteen, so middle of the pack. Now

157
00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:32,240
Speaker 1: you have them top three. It's DeAndre Hopkins, right, that's

158
00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:33,120
Speaker 1: what swung it for you.

159
00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:36,480
Speaker 2: Yeah. No, it's twenty twenty five, so it's not Deander

160
00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:39,400
Speaker 2: Hopkins that swung it for me. I believe last year

161
00:07:39,480 --> 00:07:42,240
Speaker 2: going into the season when I did my rankings, so

162
00:07:42,600 --> 00:07:45,720
Speaker 2: of course ranked Derek Henry very high, as good as anybody.

163
00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:48,480
Speaker 2: I like the running back depth to Keaton Mitchell's back

164
00:07:48,520 --> 00:07:51,280
Speaker 2: now ripping off a touchdown or preseason, I was like

165
00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:52,760
Speaker 2: to give a little boost if you have a nice

166
00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,480
Speaker 2: full back, which Ricard is a good fullback. Here the

167
00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,080
Speaker 2: tight ends, I told you I like tight ends. Mark

168
00:07:58,120 --> 00:08:00,360
Speaker 2: Andrews and Azaa likely is as good at ten as

169
00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:02,440
Speaker 2: you get. And in fact I rank everyone like a

170
00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:05,320
Speaker 2: zero to four with decimalsy so perfect score is a

171
00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:08,480
Speaker 2: four point zero on my entire spreadsheet on every position,

172
00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:11,960
Speaker 2: every team, I have one ranking above a four point zero.

173
00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:14,280
Speaker 2: Because the Ravens break the tight end ranking and I

174
00:08:14,320 --> 00:08:15,920
Speaker 2: have to put them out like a four point four.

175
00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:19,240
Speaker 2: I think last year one of those dudes was hurt

176
00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:21,320
Speaker 2: going to the season, and so I had to like

177
00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:24,040
Speaker 2: shove down the ranking, so I think that is part

178
00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:25,840
Speaker 2: of it. And you know, I know likely is hurt

179
00:08:25,840 --> 00:08:28,440
Speaker 2: this year, but we're looking at the whole season too. Also.

180
00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:31,280
Speaker 2: I don't know how much I believe it just yet.

181
00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:34,160
Speaker 2: Zay Flowers really did break out last year. And I'm

182
00:08:34,160 --> 00:08:36,960
Speaker 2: not the hugest fan comparatively, but I think he's a

183
00:08:36,960 --> 00:08:39,920
Speaker 2: pretty clear wide receiver one now a top fifteen or

184
00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:43,439
Speaker 2: twenty guy, and probably the best receiver Lamar Jackson has

185
00:08:43,440 --> 00:08:46,920
Speaker 2: had as actual wide receiver. So I think Zay establishing

186
00:08:46,960 --> 00:08:50,240
Speaker 2: himself and just getting that. You know, Nuka had some depths.

187
00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:50,800
Speaker 1: We like that.

188
00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:54,520
Speaker 2: But you know, the reason this team isn't number one

189
00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,680
Speaker 2: is because again not receivers. I like the running backs

190
00:08:57,679 --> 00:08:59,880
Speaker 2: and tight ends for Baltimore. It works though. That's what

191
00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:02,520
Speaker 2: they want around Lamar Jackson.

192
00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:05,600
Speaker 1: Right, and the mergence of Rashaw Bateman too last year finally,

193
00:09:05,720 --> 00:09:07,760
Speaker 1: the first round pick they spent on him him showing

194
00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:10,720
Speaker 1: out as well to compliment save Flowers. That is why

195
00:09:10,800 --> 00:09:14,760
Speaker 1: Brandon has the Ravens at number three, Eagles at number one,

196
00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:17,720
Speaker 1: lines number two Ravens and three. That is tier one

197
00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:20,280
Speaker 1: for the skill position rankings. Let's move to tier two

198
00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:23,400
Speaker 1: and you've called this there as good as anyone win

199
00:09:23,440 --> 00:09:26,080
Speaker 1: their whole. And at number four you have the San

200
00:09:26,080 --> 00:09:29,480
Speaker 1: Francisco forty nine Ers, number five the Vikings, number six

201
00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:33,559
Speaker 1: the Dolphins, number seven, the Bucks, and number eight the Rams.

202
00:09:34,640 --> 00:09:36,760
Speaker 1: I think we'll start with the Niners here because I

203
00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:39,360
Speaker 1: don't think you really need to sell anyone on Christian

204
00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:41,560
Speaker 1: McCaffrey or George Kittle at this point. I think they're

205
00:09:41,640 --> 00:09:44,440
Speaker 1: firmly entrenched as top five in their position, win healthy.

206
00:09:44,760 --> 00:09:46,800
Speaker 1: But I guess what I'm wondering is now you wait

207
00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:48,880
Speaker 1: wide receivers so heavily, and there's a bit of a

208
00:09:48,920 --> 00:09:51,320
Speaker 1: fall off right now for that forty nine ers receiving corps.

209
00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,760
Speaker 1: Even today, Shanahan reported that Brandon and I in for

210
00:09:54,800 --> 00:09:56,880
Speaker 1: a week six return. Where are you at on the

211
00:09:57,120 --> 00:09:59,120
Speaker 1: forty nine ers that you had number one last year?

212
00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:02,640
Speaker 2: Yeah? I am believing in the receivers, but this is

213
00:10:02,679 --> 00:10:05,800
Speaker 2: certainly a team where the ranking they were number one

214
00:10:05,880 --> 00:10:08,200
Speaker 2: with a bullet and then some last year in these

215
00:10:08,280 --> 00:10:11,120
Speaker 2: rankings they were in a tier by themselves. Even as

216
00:10:11,160 --> 00:10:13,720
Speaker 2: I was wondering what Deebo Samuel get traded, they still

217
00:10:13,720 --> 00:10:16,080
Speaker 2: were that high last year. This is a team that

218
00:10:16,120 --> 00:10:18,320
Speaker 2: could be that again if the receivers are back and

219
00:10:18,360 --> 00:10:21,160
Speaker 2: healthy and look that good, or it's a team that

220
00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:23,120
Speaker 2: could pretty easily fall down the middle of the ranks

221
00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:25,959
Speaker 2: because we know Kittle and CMC don't necessarily stay healthy,

222
00:10:25,960 --> 00:10:28,959
Speaker 2: and right now we don't know from the receivers. I

223
00:10:29,080 --> 00:10:32,680
Speaker 2: really like Juwan Jennings, but he's hurt right now. He's

224
00:10:32,720 --> 00:10:36,400
Speaker 2: an awesome blocker that's especially valuable on this team. Obviously,

225
00:10:36,840 --> 00:10:39,600
Speaker 2: I'm excited to see sophomore year Ricky Piersoll, who didn't

226
00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:42,000
Speaker 2: even really get a rookie year. He got literally shot

227
00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:44,240
Speaker 2: in training camp, so now we get to see what

228
00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:47,320
Speaker 2: this actually looks like. And brand Ayuk was one of

229
00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:50,080
Speaker 2: the great underrated receivers before he got hurt. He was

230
00:10:50,200 --> 00:10:53,760
Speaker 2: number two among all wide receivers in PFF grade the

231
00:10:53,880 --> 00:10:56,640
Speaker 2: year before. So what do we get now. I kind

232
00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:59,000
Speaker 2: of agree, I mean stupid to say I agree with

233
00:10:59,040 --> 00:11:03,040
Speaker 2: Shanahan projecting we're probably gonna get no Ayuk for third

234
00:11:03,040 --> 00:11:06,200
Speaker 2: of the season, kind of ramping up Ayu for third

235
00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:08,280
Speaker 2: of the season in the middle, and then pretty good

236
00:11:08,320 --> 00:11:11,560
Speaker 2: Ayuke by the end of the year. So this, admittedly,

237
00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:13,920
Speaker 2: if we had to rank right now, versus middle or

238
00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:15,839
Speaker 2: end of the year. I think right now we should

239
00:11:15,840 --> 00:11:18,520
Speaker 2: be a little concerned because we might not get certainly

240
00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:21,360
Speaker 2: not Ayuk and maybe not Joan either to start the season.

241
00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:24,160
Speaker 2: But sky's a limit for this team, and I think

242
00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:26,120
Speaker 2: that's pretty obvious with the guys on the roster.

243
00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:28,240
Speaker 1: Right And I think it comes down to the tiername

244
00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:30,400
Speaker 1: you mentioned it, like, if they're playing at their best,

245
00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:34,200
Speaker 1: they could be number one, But now you have five

246
00:11:34,240 --> 00:11:37,560
Speaker 1: other teams rather that could potentially jump into that second tier,

247
00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,520
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Vikings, you have them top five. I think

248
00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:43,880
Speaker 1: that makes sense, but it can't all just be Justin Jefferson,

249
00:11:43,880 --> 00:11:46,000
Speaker 1: who I do think is a top two wide receiver

250
00:11:46,080 --> 00:11:46,640
Speaker 1: in the NFL.

251
00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:49,200
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I'm actually a little concerned with the

252
00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:52,200
Speaker 2: receiver depth here. Obviously we know Jordan Addison's gonna miss

253
00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:54,880
Speaker 2: the first three games, not a lot of great depth

254
00:11:54,920 --> 00:11:57,400
Speaker 2: after that, And of course we're breaking in what's effectively

255
00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:00,720
Speaker 2: a rookie quarterback for Minnesota. So now you have a

256
00:12:01,320 --> 00:12:04,920
Speaker 2: triple team Justin Jefferson for the first three games. So

257
00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:07,440
Speaker 2: why am I high on them? Two names that are

258
00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:09,920
Speaker 2: probably gonna off the radar. We like Aaron Jones, We

259
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,320
Speaker 2: love Justin Jefferson, We like TJ. Hopkins, and to me,

260
00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:18,320
Speaker 2: it's Josh Oliver the blocking tight end, stud stud blocking

261
00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:20,520
Speaker 2: tight end. You get that one two punch there and

262
00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:23,199
Speaker 2: you get the depth. And I really love Jordan Mason

263
00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:25,120
Speaker 2: who they brought in, who looked awesome for the Niners

264
00:12:25,240 --> 00:12:27,640
Speaker 2: last year. And I think can keep Aaron Jones a

265
00:12:27,679 --> 00:12:30,640
Speaker 2: little fresher, makes Jones a bit more valuable. He gives

266
00:12:30,679 --> 00:12:33,080
Speaker 2: you a little depth there. We love Darvin Ham, a

267
00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:35,880
Speaker 2: blocking full back, a little boost there as well. It

268
00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:39,319
Speaker 2: adds to the depth on the team. But Justin Jefferson,

269
00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:41,480
Speaker 2: you know, he got hurt right now as well, so

270
00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:43,720
Speaker 2: we need to see him out there because this could

271
00:12:43,800 --> 00:12:46,839
Speaker 2: drop out if the receivers aren't there. But there's a

272
00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:50,840
Speaker 2: pretty high ceiling once they get hold the Dolphins though.

273
00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:55,000
Speaker 2: That's now the next question for me here because on

274
00:12:55,120 --> 00:12:57,600
Speaker 2: paper they still look amazing, right and they still have

275
00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:01,160
Speaker 2: some speedy weapons out there. Are we overlooking them right

276
00:13:01,160 --> 00:13:04,960
Speaker 2: now or is it doom and gloom for Miami. This

277
00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:06,400
Speaker 2: is a tough one for me. I don't know if

278
00:13:06,400 --> 00:13:09,160
Speaker 2: I've totally made up my mind yet, because you know,

279
00:13:09,360 --> 00:13:13,400
Speaker 2: for for a couple of years, Mike McDaniel plus Tyreek

280
00:13:13,440 --> 00:13:16,520
Speaker 2: and Waddell is like man fireworks. Here we go number

281
00:13:16,520 --> 00:13:19,480
Speaker 2: one offense potential and that was before Devon A. Chan

282
00:13:19,640 --> 00:13:22,960
Speaker 2: broke out. Who's you know now? This like rising fantasy

283
00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:26,480
Speaker 2: and real life stud I don't know what happens with

284
00:13:26,679 --> 00:13:30,000
Speaker 2: John Smith out for Darren Waller, like you want to retired.

285
00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:31,760
Speaker 2: We don't really have no idea what we're gonna get

286
00:13:31,760 --> 00:13:34,440
Speaker 2: from Darren Waller this year, but the weapons are there.

287
00:13:34,840 --> 00:13:37,360
Speaker 2: Two is healthy right now and with to a healthy

288
00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:39,920
Speaker 2: right now and the weapons that's been pretty good in

289
00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:43,120
Speaker 2: the past. Like I feel like the vibes are terrible

290
00:13:43,160 --> 00:13:46,000
Speaker 2: come out of Miami. Everything you read sounds terrible and

291
00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:49,120
Speaker 2: it's we should note the vibes around Tyreek Hill in

292
00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:52,440
Speaker 2: particular are pretty terrible, and maybe that's just cooked and

293
00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:54,760
Speaker 2: maybe that's it. You got to think a guy who's

294
00:13:54,800 --> 00:13:57,480
Speaker 2: been the fastest guy in the league, when it goes,

295
00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:00,719
Speaker 2: it could go pretty fast also, so maybe this could

296
00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:04,600
Speaker 2: reach a cliff pretty quickly. But I do think it

297
00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:07,719
Speaker 2: seems like, if anything, people have gone pretty far in

298
00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:10,680
Speaker 2: the other direction. You could zag a little bit and

299
00:14:10,760 --> 00:14:12,880
Speaker 2: find some value in Miami if you feel like their

300
00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:15,120
Speaker 2: guys are still this flashy all right.

301
00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:17,120
Speaker 1: I don't think we need to talk about the Rams

302
00:14:17,160 --> 00:14:21,200
Speaker 1: too much because essentially Cooper cup out DeVante Adams in.

303
00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:23,800
Speaker 1: I think we can all agree that when they're clicking,

304
00:14:24,080 --> 00:14:26,160
Speaker 1: they look amazing. You already talked about it in the

305
00:14:26,200 --> 00:14:28,280
Speaker 1: quarterback rankings, that there's going to be a month where

306
00:14:28,320 --> 00:14:30,440
Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford looks like the MVP in the NFL. But

307
00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:32,000
Speaker 1: I want to talk about the Bucks before we move

308
00:14:32,040 --> 00:14:34,400
Speaker 1: on to the next tier, because in each of the

309
00:14:34,480 --> 00:14:36,440
Speaker 1: last two years of your rankings, you had them around

310
00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:39,000
Speaker 1: the twentieth mark, and I think it's correlating to the

311
00:14:39,040 --> 00:14:41,240
Speaker 1: way that you've also ranked your quarterback rankings, where you

312
00:14:41,280 --> 00:14:43,080
Speaker 1: have Baker closer to the middle of the pack as

313
00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:46,480
Speaker 1: opposed to bottom twenty or bottom ten. Rather so, why

314
00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:48,960
Speaker 1: such a leap now, especially you know Chris Godwin likely

315
00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,600
Speaker 1: going to be hurt. I'm not sure if he's going

316
00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:53,240
Speaker 1: to start the season on the pup list or not.

317
00:14:53,320 --> 00:14:54,880
Speaker 1: But just talk to me about the Bucks and why

318
00:14:54,880 --> 00:14:56,120
Speaker 1: we have them now at seventh.

319
00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:58,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you know this is another one where

320
00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:01,200
Speaker 2: fantasy players certainly know this name. Bucky Irving was a

321
00:15:01,200 --> 00:15:04,360
Speaker 2: stud last year as a rookie. He does everything. He

322
00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:08,640
Speaker 2: has a great receiver as well. Rashad White has bounced

323
00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:11,120
Speaker 2: back better as a second running back, and he's a

324
00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:14,000
Speaker 2: good receiver and pass blocker. So I like, I love

325
00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:17,120
Speaker 2: that versatility that you have to the offense. I want

326
00:15:17,160 --> 00:15:18,880
Speaker 2: a little bit of everything. Give me some options for

327
00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:21,400
Speaker 2: my offense. And they helped me do that, so Bucky

328
00:15:21,400 --> 00:15:24,640
Speaker 2: Irving helping them go from what had been like just

329
00:15:24,880 --> 00:15:28,400
Speaker 2: a forgettable, abysmal bottom three run game for years and years,

330
00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:30,880
Speaker 2: including the Tom Brady years frankly for a lot of it.

331
00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:33,560
Speaker 2: Now they have a good running back, a great running

332
00:15:33,600 --> 00:15:35,920
Speaker 2: back by the looks last year. And this for me,

333
00:15:36,600 --> 00:15:40,640
Speaker 2: if Godwin's healthy, is my number one receiving group. Mike

334
00:15:40,680 --> 00:15:44,600
Speaker 2: Evans is a stud, Godwin was awesome so good last year.

335
00:15:44,840 --> 00:15:48,080
Speaker 2: And then Agbuka looks like just a star rookie receiver.

336
00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:51,640
Speaker 2: Who is the third guy right now? We like Jalen McMillan,

337
00:15:51,760 --> 00:15:55,960
Speaker 2: he's the fourth guy here. I think once Godwin comes back,

338
00:15:56,320 --> 00:15:58,560
Speaker 2: it's hard to know who can match this group because

339
00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:02,280
Speaker 2: it's the stars at the top. Evans Godwin probably top

340
00:16:02,320 --> 00:16:04,960
Speaker 2: five duo, but then that third and fourth guy as

341
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:07,800
Speaker 2: well to round things out. To me, I could talk

342
00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:10,120
Speaker 2: myself into the Bucks being the top of this tier.

343
00:16:10,160 --> 00:16:12,640
Speaker 2: That's where my numbers have them. I'm actually penalizing them

344
00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,640
Speaker 2: a little bit with the Godwin injury bumping them down here.

345
00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:18,560
Speaker 2: But this whole group, this is eight teams I'm saying

346
00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:20,720
Speaker 2: could be number one. That's a quarter of the league

347
00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:23,440
Speaker 2: that could be number one. So a lot of volatility

348
00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:25,520
Speaker 2: at the top. We'll see who stays healthy basically.

349
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:30,760
Speaker 1: Yeah, and we'll see too if Liam Cohen's departure affects

350
00:16:30,800 --> 00:16:33,680
Speaker 1: that all, similar to the Ben Johnston situation in Detroit.

351
00:16:33,960 --> 00:16:36,400
Speaker 1: All right, that is tier two. Let's move to tier three.

352
00:16:36,440 --> 00:16:39,920
Speaker 1: Now you've called this heavy star investment. And there are

353
00:16:39,920 --> 00:16:43,120
Speaker 1: two teams in here that I have a significant issue

354
00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:45,640
Speaker 1: with that you have them ranked this low. We're gonna

355
00:16:45,640 --> 00:16:47,840
Speaker 1: start off at number nine. You have the Cincinnati Bengals,

356
00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:51,800
Speaker 1: number ten the Atlanta Falcons, and number eleven the Seattle Seahawks.

357
00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:56,479
Speaker 1: When I initially did this exercise on my own, I

358
00:16:56,520 --> 00:16:59,479
Speaker 1: initially had the Bengals at two, and then I reevaluated

359
00:16:59,560 --> 00:17:02,800
Speaker 1: and I still couldn't get passed fourth. And based on

360
00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,920
Speaker 1: your criteria, given that how much you value wide receivers,

361
00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:07,760
Speaker 1: how can you have the Bengals.

362
00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:10,399
Speaker 2: At ninth in this spot. It's a great question. It's

363
00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:14,639
Speaker 2: a fair question for sure. Obviously, there's no better duo

364
00:17:14,840 --> 00:17:17,679
Speaker 2: than Chase and t. We have nothing to say about that.

365
00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:21,920
Speaker 2: They're awesome. I don't love anything else on the offensive weapons.

366
00:17:22,480 --> 00:17:25,000
Speaker 2: I know that Chase Brown is kind of a breakout

367
00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:28,679
Speaker 2: fantasy guy that people are excited about this year. He's fine.

368
00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:31,480
Speaker 2: He's a good receiver and pass blocker. I like that,

369
00:17:31,560 --> 00:17:33,560
Speaker 2: but I don't know if I trust a full load

370
00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:35,639
Speaker 2: for him. I don't know that he adds a lot

371
00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:37,200
Speaker 2: to the run game. The run game has not been

372
00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:40,200
Speaker 2: great in Cincinnati. I don't like the tight ends either. Again,

373
00:17:40,640 --> 00:17:42,879
Speaker 2: I think this is one where we trick ourselves because

374
00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:45,879
Speaker 2: a lot of us playing fantasy or betting on touchdowns,

375
00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:48,280
Speaker 2: Mikeasicki and Noah fan is like, oh, these are pretty

376
00:17:48,280 --> 00:17:52,560
Speaker 2: talented catch you know, pass catchers. Yeah, they're fine, They're

377
00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:55,520
Speaker 2: not that great, and they're nothing else. They don't block

378
00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:58,280
Speaker 2: it all. And guess what, the Bengals could really use

379
00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:01,600
Speaker 2: some blocking tight ends because the offensive line is miserable.

380
00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:05,439
Speaker 2: So I love Chase, I love Tea, and I love Burrow.

381
00:18:06,119 --> 00:18:07,800
Speaker 2: But this has been the story of the Bengals, right,

382
00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:11,040
Speaker 2: it's those three guys we know. But again, I think

383
00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:14,000
Speaker 2: the supporting cast has been a little bit overrated because

384
00:18:14,280 --> 00:18:16,200
Speaker 2: we see the three stars, but there's not a lot

385
00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:18,720
Speaker 2: else there. And to me, this has nothing to do

386
00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:22,479
Speaker 2: with Chase and t They're awesome, but I cannot make

387
00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:24,480
Speaker 2: a case for this being a number one group that

388
00:18:24,560 --> 00:18:26,920
Speaker 2: they eight above. If things go right, I can put

389
00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:29,600
Speaker 2: up there. I can't get there with the Bengals because

390
00:18:29,640 --> 00:18:30,919
Speaker 2: to me, I see two guys and.

391
00:18:30,920 --> 00:18:33,200
Speaker 1: Then a lot of question marks, right, and I wasn't

392
00:18:33,280 --> 00:18:35,040
Speaker 1: necessarily making the case of that we need to put

393
00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:37,680
Speaker 1: them in Tier one. I think just looking at Tier

394
00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:40,199
Speaker 1: two seeing like a team like the Miami Dolphins, for example,

395
00:18:40,240 --> 00:18:42,080
Speaker 1: where I'm like, I don't really see that much of

396
00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:44,280
Speaker 1: a difference. They both kind of have in my opinion,

397
00:18:44,359 --> 00:18:48,520
Speaker 1: equal talent, at least on paper. But now the Seattle Seahawks,

398
00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:50,560
Speaker 1: this is another one that I just couldn't get there

399
00:18:50,600 --> 00:18:53,040
Speaker 1: because they're more in the twenties to me when I'm

400
00:18:53,040 --> 00:18:56,359
Speaker 1: looking at their roster. Given that, I still don't feel

401
00:18:56,359 --> 00:19:01,359
Speaker 1: that Jackson Smith and Jigba has elevated himself into I

402
00:19:01,359 --> 00:19:03,440
Speaker 1: don't even think top ten status, let alone top five

403
00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:05,439
Speaker 1: status as a wide receiver in the NFL, and then

404
00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:07,840
Speaker 1: Cooper Cup coming in just you know, the old guard

405
00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:12,280
Speaker 1: and Kenneth Walker having some injury issues. So make the case,

406
00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:13,399
Speaker 1: why are they top ten for you?

407
00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:16,240
Speaker 2: Yeah? You know that. So I have Seattle at eleven.

408
00:19:16,359 --> 00:19:18,320
Speaker 2: They basically get to count as top ten. They're in

409
00:19:18,320 --> 00:19:21,240
Speaker 2: this tier with Cincinnati. It's fair to be critical here,

410
00:19:21,520 --> 00:19:24,160
Speaker 2: if I'm being honest. My numbers actually gave me this big,

411
00:19:24,280 --> 00:19:27,080
Speaker 2: robust group like twelve to twenty in the middle, eleven

412
00:19:27,119 --> 00:19:29,240
Speaker 2: to twenty something like that. That's too much, too money

413
00:19:29,280 --> 00:19:31,560
Speaker 2: to put ten in one tier, And so I was like, Okay,

414
00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:33,120
Speaker 2: how can I can move this around a little bit?

415
00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:35,280
Speaker 2: I'll admit Seattle is a bit of a pet pick

416
00:19:35,280 --> 00:19:38,040
Speaker 2: for me. They were in that middle group, and I

417
00:19:38,119 --> 00:19:40,320
Speaker 2: just like these dudes. This is just a group of

418
00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:43,440
Speaker 2: guys I like a lot. I think Kenneth Walker, if

419
00:19:43,440 --> 00:19:45,800
Speaker 2: he ever actually stays healthy, and maybe he never will,

420
00:19:46,200 --> 00:19:48,080
Speaker 2: I think he could be like a top three back.

421
00:19:48,119 --> 00:19:50,160
Speaker 2: He could be like, you know, a Fantasy Football League

422
00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:52,760
Speaker 2: winning sort of dude if he stays healthy. And I

423
00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:55,240
Speaker 2: like Zach Sharponey, I think it's a really strong one

424
00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:57,600
Speaker 2: to two punch to me. It's a top six running

425
00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:00,680
Speaker 2: back room with those two, so that definitely helped. I

426
00:20:00,760 --> 00:20:04,040
Speaker 2: thought Jackson Smith and Jigil was fantastic last year. Now

427
00:20:04,640 --> 00:20:07,400
Speaker 2: I like Cooper Cup a little less than I thought

428
00:20:07,400 --> 00:20:10,560
Speaker 2: I did when I started these rankings. So maybe if

429
00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:13,880
Speaker 2: he just looks washed, he's looked washed the last couple

430
00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:15,560
Speaker 2: of years. I know it feels like he looked pretty

431
00:20:15,560 --> 00:20:17,879
Speaker 2: good last year. You'll get some of the numbers like that.

432
00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:21,040
Speaker 2: The PFF grade has them around fiftieth among receivers each

433
00:20:21,080 --> 00:20:23,840
Speaker 2: of the last two years, and that's not penalizing health.

434
00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:27,240
Speaker 2: That's just grading when he's actually out there. If that's

435
00:20:27,280 --> 00:20:29,560
Speaker 2: all we get from Cooper Cup, then I think we

436
00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:32,200
Speaker 2: obviously have to adjust down. But this is a group

437
00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:35,480
Speaker 2: that actually I'm moving down on. I had them sixth

438
00:20:35,520 --> 00:20:38,000
Speaker 2: last year. I had them second the year before, so

439
00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:40,960
Speaker 2: this is slowly adjusting. But it also might be in

440
00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:43,679
Speaker 2: an ad mission that I've been high on this group

441
00:20:43,800 --> 00:20:47,000
Speaker 2: and they haven't really performed at my numbers, So maybe

442
00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:49,160
Speaker 2: I just need to keep adjusting it down. Well.

443
00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:51,120
Speaker 1: When we talk again next year at this time, those

444
00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:52,720
Speaker 1: are the two teams that I'm going to point to

445
00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:54,760
Speaker 1: to say where did we go wrong? Or where did

446
00:20:54,760 --> 00:20:57,760
Speaker 1: we go right kind of thing. But yeah, so all right,

447
00:20:57,960 --> 00:21:02,280
Speaker 1: last thing, well, just quickly about the Falcons obligatory Kyle

448
00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:05,560
Speaker 1: Pitts question, is this the year? Because really, if he

449
00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:06,960
Speaker 1: doesn't do it this year, I don't want to talk

450
00:21:06,960 --> 00:21:08,760
Speaker 1: about him anymore, and I don't want to include him

451
00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:11,680
Speaker 1: as part of the skill group position talk for fas.

452
00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:15,439
Speaker 2: I can't tell you it's the year. This is not

453
00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:18,639
Speaker 2: a Kyle Pits ranking to me. It's three guys. We

454
00:21:18,680 --> 00:21:22,080
Speaker 2: know Drake London, he broke out last year, we know Bijon. Obviously,

455
00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:26,320
Speaker 2: Tyler Algier really boosts the ranking here because Bijon is awesome.

456
00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:28,720
Speaker 2: This is my top running back grade in the league

457
00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:31,360
Speaker 2: because Tyler alger is a top ten PFF grade all

458
00:21:31,400 --> 00:21:34,720
Speaker 2: three seasons. And you have what's basically just like a

459
00:21:34,800 --> 00:21:37,480
Speaker 2: running back one in waiting for whenever you need him.

460
00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:39,119
Speaker 2: You can keep your other guy health, you can have

461
00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:42,240
Speaker 2: them both out there. And so I think those three,

462
00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,240
Speaker 2: that's the big three. In Atlanta, they have one Kyle Pits.

463
00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:47,480
Speaker 2: Get out of here. We're done with you, all right.

464
00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:51,960
Speaker 1: So the Bengals at nine, Falcons at ten, Seahawks at eleven,

465
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,480
Speaker 1: and that is Tier three for the skill position rankings.

466
00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:57,399
Speaker 1: Football season is here, folks, and we've got some huge

467
00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:01,240
Speaker 1: improvements and updates coming on the awarding Action Network app,

468
00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:03,920
Speaker 1: which we're very excited to discuss in the weeks ahead.

469
00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:05,320
Speaker 1: But to get the most out of the app, you

470
00:22:05,359 --> 00:22:07,920
Speaker 1: still need to be an Action Pro subscriber. And it's

471
00:22:07,960 --> 00:22:10,280
Speaker 1: only with Action Pro where you get real time pick

472
00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:14,480
Speaker 1: alerts from Action Network experts rather like from Brandon myself,

473
00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,520
Speaker 1: Sean Kerner, the entire Action Network team of experts. Plus

474
00:22:17,560 --> 00:22:20,399
Speaker 1: you can get access to pro projections which are powered

475
00:22:20,400 --> 00:22:23,760
Speaker 1: by Sean Kerner and our predictive analytics team. And right now,

476
00:22:23,840 --> 00:22:26,520
Speaker 1: Action Network podcast listeners can save twenty dollars off the

477
00:22:26,560 --> 00:22:28,879
Speaker 1: annual price of Action Pro. All you got to do

478
00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:31,440
Speaker 1: is go to Actionnetwork dot com Slash Pro and use

479
00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:35,399
Speaker 1: code Pod twenty. That's Actionnetwork dot Com Slash Pro. Use

480
00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:38,720
Speaker 1: Code Pod twenty for twenty dollars off the annual price

481
00:22:38,880 --> 00:22:41,480
Speaker 1: of Action Pro. All right, Brandon, let's continue the skill

482
00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:43,520
Speaker 1: position rankings in the NFL. We're going to move to

483
00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:47,000
Speaker 1: Tier four and you have labeled this tier balance is

484
00:22:47,119 --> 00:22:48,920
Speaker 1: key and coming in at number twelve, you have the

485
00:22:48,960 --> 00:22:51,920
Speaker 1: Green Bay Packers while buy the Houston Texans at number

486
00:22:51,920 --> 00:22:56,200
Speaker 1: thirteen and the Indianapolis Colts at fourteen. I'm going to

487
00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:59,080
Speaker 1: combine the Texans and Colts as part of this question

488
00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:03,199
Speaker 1: here because essentially it feels like you ranked the Texans

489
00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:05,880
Speaker 1: up there because of Nico Collins and the Colts because

490
00:23:05,880 --> 00:23:06,720
Speaker 1: of Jonathan Taylor.

491
00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:10,159
Speaker 2: Am I far off on that? So yes, I know

492
00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:14,159
Speaker 2: on Nico. I'll explain why, and definitely know on Jonathan Taylor.

493
00:23:14,240 --> 00:23:17,479
Speaker 2: So with the Texans, Nico's an absolute superstar, like as

494
00:23:17,480 --> 00:23:21,480
Speaker 2: good as any receiver, no questions there. But again, this

495
00:23:21,600 --> 00:23:24,399
Speaker 2: tier name should be the clue here. Balance is key here.

496
00:23:24,440 --> 00:23:27,080
Speaker 2: I thought about calling this strength and numbers. This to

497
00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:29,760
Speaker 2: me is teams that have just a lot of options. Now.

498
00:23:29,760 --> 00:23:32,399
Speaker 2: Of course Nico is a stud option, but I like

499
00:23:32,440 --> 00:23:34,120
Speaker 2: what they've done with the rest of the receiver room

500
00:23:34,160 --> 00:23:36,600
Speaker 2: this year. They went only get the rookies Higgins and Noel,

501
00:23:36,640 --> 00:23:39,600
Speaker 2: who are teammates in college. They already compliment each other.

502
00:23:39,920 --> 00:23:42,720
Speaker 2: Now they get to play together again. Christian Kirk as

503
00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:46,080
Speaker 2: a slot until Noel takes over. I just think there's

504
00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:48,280
Speaker 2: a lot of good options at receiver and the look

505
00:23:48,320 --> 00:23:51,040
Speaker 2: we need them because their receivers were hurt all last year.

506
00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:54,000
Speaker 2: Nico and the guys not on the roster anymore right now.

507
00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:57,000
Speaker 2: I don't love the tight ends here. I don't love

508
00:23:57,000 --> 00:23:59,119
Speaker 2: the running backs. We don't really know what the running

509
00:23:59,160 --> 00:24:01,800
Speaker 2: backs will be. If the running backs we love Nick

510
00:24:01,840 --> 00:24:04,560
Speaker 2: Chubb healthy, will we ever get that again? I don't know.

511
00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:07,840
Speaker 2: Joe Mixon's got question marks right now. This to me

512
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:12,679
Speaker 2: is just strength of numbers in receivers at Houston with Indianapolis.

513
00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:16,560
Speaker 2: I'm actually kind of quite low on Johnson Taylor. I'm

514
00:24:16,600 --> 00:24:20,359
Speaker 2: not sure that Stud Taylor is still in there. I

515
00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:23,200
Speaker 2: only have them number thirteen in my running back ranks

516
00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:25,119
Speaker 2: for comparison to the middle of the pack. This is

517
00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:29,120
Speaker 2: not a Jonathan Taylor ranking. His grades have not held

518
00:24:29,160 --> 00:24:31,680
Speaker 2: up well. He was, you know, the stud Fantasy Football

519
00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:34,359
Speaker 2: winner twenty twenty one was the last year. That's four

520
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:36,800
Speaker 2: years ago. He had the big injury. He missed a

521
00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:39,920
Speaker 2: lot of time. We haven't really quite seen that recovery

522
00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:42,199
Speaker 2: level yet. It's been disguised a little bit because the

523
00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:45,440
Speaker 2: line is really good. To me, these are other guys

524
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,000
Speaker 2: I like. I like the tight end group, Miley, Cox

525
00:24:48,040 --> 00:24:51,000
Speaker 2: and Ogletree. They're still there, but no longer number one.

526
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:53,159
Speaker 2: That's great because they're not very good at receiving, but

527
00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:56,160
Speaker 2: the good blockers now bringing Tyler Warren the first round. Yet,

528
00:24:56,200 --> 00:24:59,280
Speaker 2: now we got three good tight ends. Michael Pittman not

529
00:24:59,440 --> 00:25:02,880
Speaker 2: really a number run receiver, He's fine. We love Josh downs.

530
00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:05,720
Speaker 2: Everybody loves the Josh downs breakout right, and we got

531
00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:07,560
Speaker 2: Ad and I out there. I think he can be

532
00:25:07,600 --> 00:25:10,480
Speaker 2: really good. Alec Pierce as a fourth. Just lots of

533
00:25:10,520 --> 00:25:13,160
Speaker 2: options here, lots of ways that this can come through

534
00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:16,959
Speaker 2: on any given game, any given day. So it's not

535
00:25:17,160 --> 00:25:19,919
Speaker 2: Jonathan Taylor. Actually, if it's just that they should move

536
00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:22,960
Speaker 2: down my ranks. If I'm wrong about Taylor, maybe this

537
00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:24,840
Speaker 2: is a top ten group because I really like the

538
00:25:24,880 --> 00:25:26,159
Speaker 2: rest of the guys in India.

539
00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:29,360
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think Jonathan Taylor is probably closer, at least

540
00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:31,480
Speaker 1: in my opinion, is closer to a top five ranking

541
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:34,840
Speaker 1: than a top fifteen ranking at running back. That being said,

542
00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:37,280
Speaker 1: I downgraded him as soon as he threw that ball

543
00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:39,800
Speaker 1: away against Denver last year. I still haven't forgiven him

544
00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:43,280
Speaker 1: for that play. That's such a rookie mistake. But that's

545
00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:45,320
Speaker 1: neither here nor there. Let's just talk about the Packers now,

546
00:25:45,359 --> 00:25:48,080
Speaker 1: because I think we could both agree that there's no

547
00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:51,280
Speaker 1: a one player at any position, even Jonathan or Josh

548
00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:54,720
Speaker 1: Shacobs rather is probably still outside the top tier. But

549
00:25:54,960 --> 00:25:55,800
Speaker 1: a ton of depth.

550
00:25:56,560 --> 00:25:59,240
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, the Packers were a team last year. Is

551
00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:01,119
Speaker 2: the first year I really did like an in depth

552
00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:05,560
Speaker 2: weapons ranking like we're doing now, and so I was

553
00:26:05,560 --> 00:26:08,680
Speaker 2: really surprised. Then, Wow, the Packers come in a number eleven.

554
00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:10,360
Speaker 2: For me, I didn't really expect that they didn't really

555
00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:11,960
Speaker 2: have a star out there. I agree with kind of

556
00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:14,240
Speaker 2: what you said with Jacobs is their best, but I

557
00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:16,120
Speaker 2: don't rank running backs as high, and I'm not sure

558
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,199
Speaker 2: that he's like Saquon Barkley or McCaffrey best. He's a

559
00:26:19,280 --> 00:26:22,879
Speaker 2: next tier down from them. You just like the options here.

560
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:25,360
Speaker 2: I like Jayden Reid. I think he's the zone beater

561
00:26:25,520 --> 00:26:29,239
Speaker 2: on this team. Romeo Dobbs catchup all man like can we.

562
00:26:29,680 --> 00:26:31,760
Speaker 2: I watched the preseason game for these guys other day.

563
00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:34,040
Speaker 2: Jordan loves out there and goes like one for five

564
00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:37,080
Speaker 2: with two drops, stop with the drops. All these receivers,

565
00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:39,080
Speaker 2: some of these guys got to catch the ball. My dude,

566
00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:41,800
Speaker 2: Christian Watson from North Dakota State, I don't know if

567
00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:45,200
Speaker 2: that's anything anymore. He never stays healthy. Matthew Golden's the

568
00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:48,000
Speaker 2: big addition. Can Matthew Golden be the second star? Can

569
00:26:48,040 --> 00:26:51,439
Speaker 2: he be the star receiver on the team? Step up

570
00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:54,639
Speaker 2: a little bit? Tight Ends also Craft and musk Grave.

571
00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:56,879
Speaker 2: I gave them a pretty high grade last year, Like, okay,

572
00:26:57,119 --> 00:27:00,520
Speaker 2: two young guys, lots of options, they're never really like good. Yeah,

573
00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:04,960
Speaker 2: Like at some point Green Bays guys have to step up.

574
00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:08,320
Speaker 2: Like the upside is you've got like eight young guys

575
00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:10,200
Speaker 2: and somebody can be pretty good. And I mentioned don

576
00:27:10,240 --> 00:27:13,240
Speaker 2: Tavian Wicks. Yet he's very talented, but do a thing

577
00:27:13,280 --> 00:27:16,399
Speaker 2: at some point. So I feel like this is maybe

578
00:27:16,440 --> 00:27:20,240
Speaker 2: a breaking year for this team where if something hits,

579
00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:22,960
Speaker 2: they maybe go into that top eight group for next year,

580
00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:25,880
Speaker 2: but otherwise it might be time to, you know, give

581
00:27:25,960 --> 00:27:28,080
Speaker 2: up the ghost on like four or five of these dudes.

582
00:27:28,200 --> 00:27:31,560
Speaker 2: So I think Green Bay has options right now, and

583
00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:33,600
Speaker 2: they're a team I'm high on this year. But it's

584
00:27:33,600 --> 00:27:34,360
Speaker 2: an interesting.

585
00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:36,719
Speaker 1: Mix of dudes that it could go either way pretty easily.

586
00:27:37,359 --> 00:27:41,000
Speaker 1: All right, now, Tier five because you've titled this saved

587
00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:44,119
Speaker 1: by the tight End, And it's interesting that we have

588
00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,879
Speaker 1: two teams in here that are the two most favored

589
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:51,399
Speaker 1: for the Super Bowl in the Chiefs and the Bills.

590
00:27:51,440 --> 00:27:53,920
Speaker 1: So let's break this down. At fifteen, you have the

591
00:27:53,960 --> 00:27:57,800
Speaker 1: Arizona Cardinals, followed by the Chiefs at sixteen, at number

592
00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:01,240
Speaker 1: seventeen the Chicago Bears, and at number eight eighteen the Bills.

593
00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:03,399
Speaker 1: So let's start with the Chiefs and Bills here, because

594
00:28:03,880 --> 00:28:08,360
Speaker 1: around league average, nobody truly elite, I believe anymore. I mean,

595
00:28:08,880 --> 00:28:12,040
Speaker 1: I can't put James Cook up there and Taylor Swith's boyfriend,

596
00:28:12,040 --> 00:28:14,600
Speaker 1: like Travis Kelsey, he's we can't have him in the

597
00:28:14,640 --> 00:28:16,240
Speaker 1: top five a tight anymore.

598
00:28:16,400 --> 00:28:17,840
Speaker 2: It's just not what it is.

599
00:28:18,119 --> 00:28:21,040
Speaker 1: So I guess what I would just ask, is is

600
00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:22,720
Speaker 1: that a worry for you? And I guess really what

601
00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:25,960
Speaker 1: it does is it correlates just how amazing Patrick Mahomes

602
00:28:26,160 --> 00:28:27,120
Speaker 1: and Josh Allen are.

603
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:29,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean I agree with that. Like if you

604
00:28:29,520 --> 00:28:33,080
Speaker 2: look at the guys, they look at the top five

605
00:28:33,160 --> 00:28:36,280
Speaker 2: Super Bowl odds teams, three of them were our first

606
00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:39,040
Speaker 2: three teams. We went to the Lions, Eagles, and the Ravens.

607
00:28:39,080 --> 00:28:42,440
Speaker 2: So it's quarterbacking and scheming, but lots of weapons there.

608
00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:44,600
Speaker 2: The other two are the Chiefs and the Bills. Down here,

609
00:28:44,640 --> 00:28:47,760
Speaker 2: in league average, and frankly they would kind of belong

610
00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:50,400
Speaker 2: with the grouping with the teams we just said by

611
00:28:50,480 --> 00:28:53,840
Speaker 2: the balance's key strengths to numbers. We're throwing the receivers

612
00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:56,400
Speaker 2: out there. Name a guy you know they're probably on

613
00:28:56,400 --> 00:28:58,680
Speaker 2: one of these two teams. Josh Palmer, Hey, he's a

614
00:28:58,680 --> 00:29:01,920
Speaker 2: Bill this year. Mark he's Brown. He's back on the Chiefs.

615
00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:04,680
Speaker 2: Juju Smith Schuster, he's back on the Chiefs. Like, we're

616
00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:09,120
Speaker 2: just giving some options out here, and we're trusting Josh

617
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:13,560
Speaker 2: and Patrick to figure it out and give them some possibilities.

618
00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:17,200
Speaker 2: I do think these teams sort of weirdly mirror each other,

619
00:29:17,600 --> 00:29:21,440
Speaker 2: just in like we have decided, as Chiefs and Bills organizations,

620
00:29:21,920 --> 00:29:25,480
Speaker 2: we're going to invest in our quarterback. Of course, we're

621
00:29:25,520 --> 00:29:28,240
Speaker 2: gonna invest in our line, in our trenches. We're gonna

622
00:29:28,240 --> 00:29:31,160
Speaker 2: build up the defense. We're gonna keep our coaches, and

623
00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:33,960
Speaker 2: we're gonna throw a bunch of crap at the weapons

624
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,480
Speaker 2: group and see if we can find enough to stick

625
00:29:36,800 --> 00:29:40,280
Speaker 2: and trust our quarterback to elevate. I think the star

626
00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:42,640
Speaker 2: for the Chiefs has to be Travis Kelcey, if there

627
00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:45,240
Speaker 2: is one. Buoyed a little bit, but I think Noah

628
00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:47,560
Speaker 2: Gray is a nice second tight end there so between

629
00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:51,440
Speaker 2: with him still just inside my top five tight ends.

630
00:29:51,440 --> 00:29:53,200
Speaker 2: But you know, Kelsey was number one of the bullet

631
00:29:53,240 --> 00:29:55,520
Speaker 2: for a lot of years of rankings. Buffalo, I think

632
00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:58,360
Speaker 2: you're right, Cook is the presumed star there, but kind

633
00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:01,080
Speaker 2: of Travis Kelcey level of star, right like, not quite

634
00:30:01,360 --> 00:30:04,800
Speaker 2: that top level even too. Both these teams I think

635
00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:09,840
Speaker 2: have a sneaky good wide receiver. One Khalil Shakir, really good,

636
00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:12,880
Speaker 2: really reliable, especially third down target for Josh Allen. They

637
00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:15,480
Speaker 2: need him healthy for a week. One for she Rice,

638
00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,760
Speaker 2: I think possible top ten receiver. He's a really good,

639
00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:22,160
Speaker 2: excellent route runner, especially with him out there. We saw

640
00:30:22,240 --> 00:30:24,280
Speaker 2: z if you're worthy breakout toward the back end of

641
00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:27,240
Speaker 2: last year. For she Rice, we need you on the field,

642
00:30:27,360 --> 00:30:29,600
Speaker 2: We need you in the locker room and out there

643
00:30:29,600 --> 00:30:32,880
Speaker 2: playing some football. So I don't think we have to

644
00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:37,880
Speaker 2: be so afraid. But if Mahomes or if Alan ever

645
00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:40,960
Speaker 2: had to miss time, these weapons are not going to

646
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:44,120
Speaker 2: go win games for you. That's Mahomes and Alan winning

647
00:30:44,120 --> 00:30:47,000
Speaker 2: the games for you. That's what makes them so valuable.

648
00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:50,720
Speaker 2: So I think it's a thing to be concerned about.

649
00:30:50,760 --> 00:30:52,680
Speaker 2: But it's a thing we know, like if you lose

650
00:30:52,720 --> 00:30:55,080
Speaker 2: Mahomes or Alan, your season screwed. Anyways, we all know.

651
00:30:55,880 --> 00:30:58,240
Speaker 1: So the Cardinals having them at fifteenth was it just

652
00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:01,560
Speaker 1: simply as a tiebreaker of having more higher end talent

653
00:31:01,640 --> 00:31:03,320
Speaker 1: like guys that you would want to draft like first,

654
00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:05,480
Speaker 1: like for example, like a Marvin Harrison junior or a

655
00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:08,920
Speaker 1: Trey McBride over say the other three teams like the Chiefs, Bears,

656
00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:09,400
Speaker 1: and Bills.

657
00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:12,080
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the Cardinals are a tough one because

658
00:31:12,200 --> 00:31:14,360
Speaker 2: I can actually talk myself from the Cardinals moving up

659
00:31:14,400 --> 00:31:17,960
Speaker 2: even further a few spots. I don't I really quite

660
00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:21,280
Speaker 2: like this group of guys. I don't love them for

661
00:31:21,400 --> 00:31:23,880
Speaker 2: Kyler Murray and this team. So I'm separating that out

662
00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:26,960
Speaker 2: a little bit. And specifically Marvin Harrison Junior. I think,

663
00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,560
Speaker 2: you know, he was a very high fantasy draft pick

664
00:31:29,600 --> 00:31:31,640
Speaker 2: for a lot of us last year and felt like

665
00:31:31,680 --> 00:31:33,520
Speaker 2: a bust. Like there was the one game early on

666
00:31:33,560 --> 00:31:35,640
Speaker 2: that he had like two long catches against the Rams

667
00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:38,680
Speaker 2: for touchdowns. Other than that, not a lot. I think

668
00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:41,280
Speaker 2: it's because Harrison actually is doing kind of fine. His

669
00:31:41,400 --> 00:31:44,600
Speaker 2: routes have been good, but the stuff that he does best,

670
00:31:45,200 --> 00:31:47,960
Speaker 2: cutting putting us foot in the ground getting open that way.

671
00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:51,000
Speaker 2: That's really not stuff that Kyler Murray's finding him on.

672
00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:53,400
Speaker 2: He cannot see the middle of the field, and so

673
00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:56,960
Speaker 2: here's Harrison getting open in space, but they're sitting them

674
00:31:56,960 --> 00:31:59,520
Speaker 2: out like jetting down the sideline and chucking. That's not

675
00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:02,680
Speaker 2: what you got this guy for. So that's what Trey

676
00:32:02,760 --> 00:32:05,240
Speaker 2: McBride is. The guy that Kylie goes to, you know,

677
00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:08,520
Speaker 2: in shorter stuff. Trey's a stud. We love him. I

678
00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:10,959
Speaker 2: think he's as good as anything. The Cardinals have been

679
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:13,120
Speaker 2: really good at elevating their tight ends with their coaching

680
00:32:13,160 --> 00:32:15,760
Speaker 2: as well. And I think James Conner's pretty underrated too,

681
00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:18,240
Speaker 2: Like i'd put him in the mix with you know, guys,

682
00:32:18,280 --> 00:32:21,480
Speaker 2: we've just talked about Jacob's cook in that not quite

683
00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:24,600
Speaker 2: top top running back group, but next after that, Trey

684
00:32:24,600 --> 00:32:27,640
Speaker 2: Benson has been a good receiver and pass blocker, so

685
00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:30,120
Speaker 2: that adds a little bit more is there as well.

686
00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:33,880
Speaker 2: The receivers. I don't love past Harrison and he's gonna

687
00:32:33,920 --> 00:32:36,960
Speaker 2: have to actually get some production. But it's a really

688
00:32:37,000 --> 00:32:39,720
Speaker 2: talented group for sure, and I think if you gave

689
00:32:39,720 --> 00:32:42,600
Speaker 2: them a different quarterback or system, I think we could

690
00:32:42,600 --> 00:32:44,840
Speaker 2: be talking about this as a top ten group. It's

691
00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:47,960
Speaker 2: also an offense, to be fair, that ranked two years

692
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:51,040
Speaker 2: ago thirtieth in my rankings for weapons here, then twenty

693
00:32:51,040 --> 00:32:53,280
Speaker 2: second last year, now fifteen, So we're moving the right

694
00:32:53,320 --> 00:32:54,240
Speaker 2: direction for sure.

695
00:32:54,800 --> 00:32:58,600
Speaker 1: All right, let's move to Tier six now, because let's

696
00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:01,120
Speaker 1: be honest, the naked tivity is this is when it's

697
00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:04,680
Speaker 1: going to really start because we've got one huge blind spot.

698
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:06,680
Speaker 1: That's what this tier is called. Where there are four

699
00:33:06,720 --> 00:33:09,520
Speaker 1: teams in this tier where we have some A listers,

700
00:33:09,600 --> 00:33:13,280
Speaker 1: but there's just a glaring weakness for each one of them.

701
00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:16,680
Speaker 1: And at nineteen you have the Dallas Cowboys, at twenty

702
00:33:16,760 --> 00:33:19,920
Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Chargers, twenty one the Jacksonville Jaguars, and

703
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:24,000
Speaker 1: twenty two the Las Vegas Raiders. So I guess what

704
00:33:24,040 --> 00:33:25,880
Speaker 1: I'm trying to get at the tiername, I think is

705
00:33:25,920 --> 00:33:28,520
Speaker 1: pretty obvious what we're looking at, because like, if you

706
00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:31,720
Speaker 1: look at a team like the Dallas Cowboys, they're pretty

707
00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:35,440
Speaker 1: obvious blind spot. They running backs are Javonte Williams and

708
00:33:35,560 --> 00:33:39,719
Speaker 1: Jayden Blue. I guess the question is is if one

709
00:33:39,760 --> 00:33:41,920
Speaker 1: of those guys hits like where all of a sudden

710
00:33:41,960 --> 00:33:45,240
Speaker 1: we're starting to see production from that position, could you

711
00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:48,280
Speaker 1: see the Dallas Cowboys make a climb maybe even closer

712
00:33:48,320 --> 00:33:52,000
Speaker 1: to the top ten. I think maybe closer to the

713
00:33:52,040 --> 00:33:52,640
Speaker 1: top ten.

714
00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:55,440
Speaker 2: But because I don't have running back weighted so heavily,

715
00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:57,600
Speaker 2: it can only hurt you so much as well, So

716
00:33:57,680 --> 00:34:01,120
Speaker 2: it kind of goes both ways there with the Boys. Look, ceedee,

717
00:34:01,160 --> 00:34:03,920
Speaker 2: Lamb is awesome. I think George Pickens is a little

718
00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:06,680
Speaker 2: bit overrated. I do love his route trees. I think

719
00:34:06,720 --> 00:34:09,160
Speaker 2: it's a nice addition, certainly an upgrade for their team,

720
00:34:09,560 --> 00:34:12,720
Speaker 2: but there's not a ton of depth still at receiver Ferguson.

721
00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:14,879
Speaker 2: I think it's fine as a tight end, but there's

722
00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:18,400
Speaker 2: not a lot else there. It's Lamb is awesome. Pickens

723
00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:20,719
Speaker 2: is a nice addition. I mean, look, I had to

724
00:34:20,760 --> 00:34:23,000
Speaker 2: hurt your feelings, but this is a very Cowboys thing,

725
00:34:23,080 --> 00:34:26,440
Speaker 2: Like let's make some splash, big group, but like, where's

726
00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:29,480
Speaker 2: the substance, And there's there's no substance at running back.

727
00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:32,040
Speaker 2: They're might you know, number thirty two running back group

728
00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:34,480
Speaker 2: with a bullet. But there's not a lot of substance

729
00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:37,440
Speaker 2: beyond those two receivers either, So I don't know that

730
00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:40,040
Speaker 2: they could get too high. But from below average to

731
00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:41,759
Speaker 2: above average. Sure we can get there.

732
00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:45,280
Speaker 1: Sure, And it's and like the Raiders, for example, talking

733
00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:47,440
Speaker 1: about how you don't weigh running back is heavily in

734
00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:51,000
Speaker 1: these rankings. Given some a player coming onto their roster,

735
00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:54,040
Speaker 1: like an Ashton genie, that's going to move the needle

736
00:34:54,080 --> 00:34:55,880
Speaker 1: even a little bit more. But when looking at the

737
00:34:55,960 --> 00:34:57,960
Speaker 1: Raiders skill position group, you had them at twenty four

738
00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:00,280
Speaker 1: last year. That only bumped them up just to twenty two.

739
00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:03,400
Speaker 2: Yeah, so a las year, of course, he had DeVante Adams.

740
00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:06,040
Speaker 2: So we're swapping DeVante Adams out for what we get now.

741
00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:08,400
Speaker 2: So that's part of it. These are rankings from heading

742
00:35:08,400 --> 00:35:11,640
Speaker 2: into the season. But you know, we love Gint and

743
00:35:11,680 --> 00:35:14,960
Speaker 2: we love brock Bauers. These guys are young, Like I

744
00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:16,960
Speaker 2: need to see you prove it a little bit. And

745
00:35:17,160 --> 00:35:20,160
Speaker 2: back to my whole thing, running backs and tight ends

746
00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:22,320
Speaker 2: really good. Like of course, if we just did a

747
00:35:22,400 --> 00:35:25,640
Speaker 2: running backs and tight ends room draft, the Raiders probably

748
00:35:25,640 --> 00:35:27,880
Speaker 2: go like top five or something and everyone's very excited

749
00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:29,800
Speaker 2: about it. I don't like the receivers here. There's a

750
00:35:29,800 --> 00:35:32,480
Speaker 2: bottom four receivers group for me. People like to talk

751
00:35:32,520 --> 00:35:35,120
Speaker 2: about Jacoby Myers. He's not a wide receiver one, like

752
00:35:35,160 --> 00:35:36,760
Speaker 2: he'd be like a fine wide receiver.

753
00:35:36,840 --> 00:35:37,040
Speaker 3: Two.

754
00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:39,399
Speaker 2: I just don't love a lot after that, John Back,

755
00:35:39,440 --> 00:35:42,920
Speaker 2: the second rounder, that's their second receiver. I guess like

756
00:35:43,000 --> 00:35:45,759
Speaker 2: I think this could be maybe the worst receiving group

757
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:47,760
Speaker 2: in the league if Jacoby doesn't have a good season.

758
00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:50,360
Speaker 2: So the way that I value receivers, I just have

759
00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:53,719
Speaker 2: to bump them down here. The Chargers and Jaguars. Not

760
00:35:53,719 --> 00:35:56,399
Speaker 2: a lot to say about these these two teams. This

761
00:35:56,480 --> 00:35:58,719
Speaker 2: is their blind spot is the tight end group. And

762
00:35:58,760 --> 00:36:00,759
Speaker 2: I was like, who cares? Who needs the tight end? Well,

763
00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:02,920
Speaker 2: I've made the case already. I don't love the tight

764
00:36:03,040 --> 00:36:04,920
Speaker 2: ends on these groups. Have them both bottom six and

765
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:08,920
Speaker 2: tight end. You know, I think Lad McConkey on the Chargers,

766
00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:11,680
Speaker 2: Brian Thomas on the Jaguars, these are two guys that

767
00:36:11,719 --> 00:36:14,279
Speaker 2: are going to be approaching or maybe already in top

768
00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:17,239
Speaker 2: ten receiver groups soon. And of course Travis Hunter now

769
00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:20,080
Speaker 2: with the Jaguars. So that's the excitement on the teams.

770
00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:22,279
Speaker 2: That's why they rank up here as high as they do,

771
00:36:22,719 --> 00:36:24,960
Speaker 2: and hopefully the young running back come through as well.

772
00:36:25,200 --> 00:36:27,839
Speaker 2: But the tight end, there's just nothing here, so that's

773
00:36:27,880 --> 00:36:29,399
Speaker 2: kind of dragging them down. A little bit.

774
00:36:30,160 --> 00:36:33,359
Speaker 1: The Ultimate twenty twenty five Fantasy Football Draft Kit is here.

775
00:36:33,480 --> 00:36:37,120
Speaker 1: Sean Kerner and Chris Raybond have rankings, tiers, cheat sheets,

776
00:36:37,160 --> 00:36:39,800
Speaker 1: and more to help you navigate your fantasy football drafts.

777
00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:43,400
Speaker 1: New subscribers to Fantasy Labs NFL can use code Flex

778
00:36:43,480 --> 00:36:46,720
Speaker 1: twenty for twenty dollars off at Fantasy labs dot com

779
00:36:46,719 --> 00:36:50,200
Speaker 1: slash Flex. It's twenty dollars off with code Flex twenty

780
00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:54,200
Speaker 1: at Fantasy labs dot com. Slash Flex also our Fantasy

781
00:36:54,200 --> 00:36:57,240
Speaker 1: Flex podcast group. They're having a live event later this month.

782
00:36:57,520 --> 00:36:59,320
Speaker 1: Here's Chris Raybond with some details.

783
00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:03,480
Speaker 3: Chris here, Sean Turner, the odds Maker, and I will

784
00:37:03,480 --> 00:37:07,320
Speaker 3: be in Chicago on August twenty third for a live

785
00:37:07,560 --> 00:37:11,000
Speaker 3: Fantasy Flex event presented by Yahoo Fantasy, and we're gonna

786
00:37:11,000 --> 00:37:13,640
Speaker 3: have a few special guests there as well. It's gonna

787
00:37:13,640 --> 00:37:15,520
Speaker 3: be tons of fun. It's gonna be We've done a

788
00:37:15,520 --> 00:37:18,560
Speaker 3: few of these already, So if you are at or

789
00:37:18,640 --> 00:37:21,399
Speaker 3: near the Chicago area and you want to come through

790
00:37:21,400 --> 00:37:25,440
Speaker 3: and hang with us August twenty third, mark your calendar

791
00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:28,479
Speaker 3: right now. On ris VP, we're gonna do a live

792
00:37:28,520 --> 00:37:32,840
Speaker 3: fantasy draft. We're gonna watch some preseason games together and more,

793
00:37:33,280 --> 00:37:34,560
Speaker 3: and it's totally free to attend.

794
00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:36,480
Speaker 2: All you need to do RSVP.

795
00:37:37,040 --> 00:37:39,920
Speaker 3: There's a link in the episode description where you can

796
00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:43,840
Speaker 3: find all the details, So go to that link RSVP,

797
00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:45,879
Speaker 3: Save the Spot, come through.

798
00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:47,200
Speaker 2: We will see you.

799
00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:51,920
Speaker 3: At Joe's Bar on Weed Street Saturday, August twenty third

800
00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:56,239
Speaker 3: in the Shy for our Fantasy Flex Live event presented

801
00:37:56,640 --> 00:37:57,720
Speaker 3: by Yahoo Fantasy.

802
00:37:58,160 --> 00:38:00,719
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Action Network podcast. We're ranking these

803
00:38:00,760 --> 00:38:03,480
Speaker 1: skilled positions in the NFL, and Brandon has brought to

804
00:38:03,480 --> 00:38:06,560
Speaker 1: my attention. We kind of glossed over the Chicago Bears. Brandon,

805
00:38:06,800 --> 00:38:09,400
Speaker 1: why do you have the Chicago Bears at seventeenth?

806
00:38:09,719 --> 00:38:11,520
Speaker 2: Well, I think more importantly, why do I have them

807
00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:13,640
Speaker 2: in the Saved by the tight end here? And it's

808
00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:16,680
Speaker 2: the same answer for both, and it's reallyd Ben Johnson,

809
00:38:16,719 --> 00:38:19,640
Speaker 2: I kind of teased that earlier. I really like everything

810
00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:22,319
Speaker 2: I'm seeing from Coleston Loveland. He was a surprise as

811
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:25,120
Speaker 2: the first tight end drafted this season, but we saw

812
00:38:25,239 --> 00:38:28,279
Speaker 2: with Ben Johnson. They drafted Sam Laporta and he was

813
00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:31,799
Speaker 2: good immediately. For years and years, you knew that tight

814
00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:33,879
Speaker 2: ends were not going to be good in their first year.

815
00:38:34,200 --> 00:38:36,520
Speaker 2: A couple of years, but we saw what Ben Johnson

816
00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:39,880
Speaker 2: did with Lovelin and Cole Comet has been a pretty

817
00:38:39,920 --> 00:38:42,600
Speaker 2: fine tight end, but he now becomes one of the

818
00:38:42,680 --> 00:38:45,880
Speaker 2: best second tight ends. I think he's a better second

819
00:38:45,880 --> 00:38:47,880
Speaker 2: than he is a first because a good blocker. So

820
00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:50,200
Speaker 2: now we get a little more balanced there. And we

821
00:38:50,239 --> 00:38:52,920
Speaker 2: still have Roma Dunze, who remember was supposed to be

822
00:38:53,400 --> 00:38:57,440
Speaker 2: on par last year with Malik Neighbors ahead of Brian Thomas. Oh,

823
00:38:57,480 --> 00:38:59,359
Speaker 2: don't think I got lost in the shoff Well yeah,

824
00:38:59,400 --> 00:39:02,000
Speaker 2: well so did everyone. The Bears sucked last year and

825
00:39:02,000 --> 00:39:04,799
Speaker 2: their coaching was terrible. So I hate the running backs

826
00:39:04,840 --> 00:39:06,920
Speaker 2: on this team. I don't want them, but I like

827
00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:08,799
Speaker 2: Godudn't Say and Dj Moore, and I really like the

828
00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:11,720
Speaker 2: tight ends. So yeah, I'm excited for the Loveland Camet

829
00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:13,919
Speaker 2: pair and to see what Ben Jonson does with them.

830
00:39:14,160 --> 00:39:16,560
Speaker 2: That's why they still rank pretty you know, excitingly for

831
00:39:16,680 --> 00:39:17,880
Speaker 2: me toward that middle grouping.

832
00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:22,040
Speaker 1: That's probably the nicest way I've heard the Bears offense described,

833
00:39:23,080 --> 00:39:25,040
Speaker 1: And I mean, I just find it funny because more

834
00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:26,839
Speaker 1: often than not you hear from a Bears fan it's

835
00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:29,279
Speaker 1: doom and gloom a lot of just on paper, it

836
00:39:29,280 --> 00:39:31,120
Speaker 1: doesn't feel great, So it's nice to hear a little

837
00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:34,200
Speaker 1: positivity about the Chicago Bears offense. Let's move to Tier

838
00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:37,120
Speaker 1: seven and you have called this one. Those vets have

839
00:39:37,160 --> 00:39:41,239
Speaker 1: seen better days and yeah, and each one of these

840
00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:43,359
Speaker 1: teams has guys that would have been awesome in your

841
00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:46,360
Speaker 1: twenty twenty one fantasy football draft maybe four years ago.

842
00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:49,759
Speaker 1: And that includes the New Orleans Saints at twenty three,

843
00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:52,320
Speaker 1: the Washington Commanders at twenty four, and the New England

844
00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:57,640
Speaker 1: Patriots at twenty five. A lot of veteran skill position

845
00:39:57,719 --> 00:40:01,120
Speaker 1: players on these three teams. Is this why we're downgrading,

846
00:40:01,320 --> 00:40:04,520
Speaker 1: just because the more on the back end of their career, Yeah,

847
00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:04,960
Speaker 1: I think so.

848
00:40:05,040 --> 00:40:06,680
Speaker 2: Honestly, I don't think there's even a lot to say

849
00:40:06,719 --> 00:40:09,719
Speaker 2: about these three particular teams. Chris Olave I think is

850
00:40:09,760 --> 00:40:12,879
Speaker 2: the one more exciting younger guy here, but he's got

851
00:40:13,040 --> 00:40:15,759
Speaker 2: major concussion issues and you know at this point, like

852
00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:17,719
Speaker 2: you hate to see it, but one bigger hit that

853
00:40:17,760 --> 00:40:20,560
Speaker 2: could even be a career threatening sort of thing. Terry McLaurin,

854
00:40:20,600 --> 00:40:23,799
Speaker 2: obviously for the Commanders, has been great, was especially good

855
00:40:23,840 --> 00:40:26,319
Speaker 2: last year connecting with Daniels, but has the holdout. We'll

856
00:40:26,320 --> 00:40:30,800
Speaker 2: see the rest of the dudes. Alvin Kamara. He's clearly

857
00:40:30,840 --> 00:40:33,800
Speaker 2: in that we've seen better days stage at this stage

858
00:40:33,840 --> 00:40:38,239
Speaker 2: of his career. Brian Robinson and Austin Eckler. I don't know, Eckler.

859
00:40:38,280 --> 00:40:41,080
Speaker 2: We've seen better days a while back. Brian Robinson, I'm

860
00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:42,920
Speaker 2: not sure the days I've ever been that great. I

861
00:40:42,920 --> 00:40:47,000
Speaker 2: think Deebo Samuel I'm not ready to just say that

862
00:40:47,040 --> 00:40:49,239
Speaker 2: he's going to just be back now. We saw with

863
00:40:49,360 --> 00:40:52,400
Speaker 2: the Niners what he did. But remember, Deebo's kind of

864
00:40:52,400 --> 00:40:55,680
Speaker 2: a running back, so we treat running backs like we

865
00:40:55,719 --> 00:40:57,440
Speaker 2: don't want anything to do with them as they reach

866
00:40:57,520 --> 00:41:00,400
Speaker 2: the age cliff. Maybe when you treat Deebo sam that way,

867
00:41:00,440 --> 00:41:02,279
Speaker 2: and we've already seen him falling off a little bit.

868
00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:06,640
Speaker 2: Patriots Stefan Diggs, how's he come back from the knee injury.

869
00:41:07,080 --> 00:41:09,479
Speaker 2: I think he'll probably be all right still, but he's

870
00:41:09,520 --> 00:41:11,479
Speaker 2: the star on the team. Okay, well, it's not really

871
00:41:11,480 --> 00:41:13,840
Speaker 2: a star here. I like some of the young guys

872
00:41:13,840 --> 00:41:16,560
Speaker 2: that the Patriots brought in. I'm excited about Kyle Williams

873
00:41:16,560 --> 00:41:20,000
Speaker 2: at receiver. I like Trevion Henderson. He returned the opening

874
00:41:20,080 --> 00:41:23,560
Speaker 2: kickoff in the preseason for a touchdown. They're better, but

875
00:41:23,600 --> 00:41:25,839
Speaker 2: the Patriots were bottom four last year. They move out

876
00:41:25,920 --> 00:41:28,279
Speaker 2: twenty five. I don't know, there's some stuff here. I

877
00:41:28,280 --> 00:41:31,719
Speaker 2: didn't mentioned zach Ertz. That's you know, prime These Vets

878
00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:34,359
Speaker 2: have seen better days sort of dude. So we got

879
00:41:34,360 --> 00:41:36,600
Speaker 2: some guys, they're filling some roles, but not a lot

880
00:41:36,600 --> 00:41:37,680
Speaker 2: of excitement in this group.

881
00:41:38,160 --> 00:41:39,759
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think we should have told people once we

882
00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:42,640
Speaker 1: got to this point of the podcast that it's not

883
00:41:42,719 --> 00:41:44,719
Speaker 1: that you hate these teams, it's just you just think

884
00:41:44,719 --> 00:41:47,239
Speaker 1: their offenses suck. That's really what it comes down to me.

885
00:41:47,320 --> 00:41:49,719
Speaker 1: That's what I'm taking away, at least as we're going

886
00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:52,640
Speaker 1: through these rankings. So that is twenty three, the Saints,

887
00:41:52,680 --> 00:41:55,279
Speaker 1: twenty four, the Commander's twenty five, the Patriots. Now we

888
00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:59,319
Speaker 1: moved to tier eight, where past one star. I don't

889
00:41:59,320 --> 00:42:01,880
Speaker 1: really see a lot of talent here on these teams.

890
00:42:01,880 --> 00:42:05,239
Speaker 1: You start with the Pittsburgh Steelers at twenty six, the

891
00:42:05,239 --> 00:42:07,640
Speaker 1: New York Jets at twenty seven, the New York Giants

892
00:42:07,640 --> 00:42:11,279
Speaker 1: at twenty eight, and the Carolina Panthers at twenty nine.

893
00:42:11,400 --> 00:42:14,239
Speaker 1: I'm still not really sure who the Panthers one star is.

894
00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:16,160
Speaker 1: Let's start with the Panthers just tell me who's that

895
00:42:16,239 --> 00:42:16,680
Speaker 1: one star.

896
00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:19,759
Speaker 2: So the star here in these groups is supposed to

897
00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:22,600
Speaker 2: be a receiver. So Dk Metcalf I don't really love

898
00:42:22,600 --> 00:42:25,000
Speaker 2: as a star. If I'm being honest, that's the Steelers star.

899
00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:27,879
Speaker 2: Garrett Wilson is supposed to be a star. The Jets

900
00:42:27,960 --> 00:42:31,200
Speaker 2: um actually be it. Obviously, Malik Neighbors the clear star

901
00:42:31,280 --> 00:42:33,600
Speaker 2: of stars in this group. The Panthers are in this

902
00:42:33,640 --> 00:42:36,960
Speaker 2: group because they're hoping it's Ted McMillan t mac, I

903
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:39,200
Speaker 2: guess is what we're calling him now. They hope he's

904
00:42:39,239 --> 00:42:42,200
Speaker 2: the star. It's not Adam Thiele and I love Adam

905
00:42:42,239 --> 00:42:44,279
Speaker 2: theel and of course as a Vikings fan, but it's

906
00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:47,200
Speaker 2: not him, you know. It's not Cheuwbahabbard, who's been really

907
00:42:47,200 --> 00:42:49,640
Speaker 2: good for them. Cuba and Rico Dada I think is

908
00:42:49,680 --> 00:42:53,359
Speaker 2: actually like underrated running back duo. They'll be fine for them.

909
00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:57,520
Speaker 2: The Panthers need Tet to actually be the guy that's

910
00:42:57,600 --> 00:42:59,760
Speaker 2: kind putting them in this group. The Giants, I think

911
00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:03,000
Speaker 2: maybe are the surprise in this group, just because Melik

912
00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:05,359
Speaker 2: Neighbors is so good, Like I think Melik Neighbors might

913
00:43:05,400 --> 00:43:08,520
Speaker 2: be Trello and second coming for all the good the

914
00:43:08,560 --> 00:43:11,880
Speaker 2: bad and maybe, but I don't love anything else on

915
00:43:11,920 --> 00:43:13,919
Speaker 2: the roster. I don't like I don't like anything else

916
00:43:13,960 --> 00:43:16,360
Speaker 2: on the roster. I like him Scattabell. He was a

917
00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:18,719
Speaker 2: lot of fun watching college, so maybe that turns out.

918
00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:21,680
Speaker 2: But like the running back one is Tyrone Tracy who

919
00:43:21,719 --> 00:43:25,360
Speaker 2: went undrafted last year for a reason. So and Scatabell

920
00:43:25,480 --> 00:43:27,360
Speaker 2: is not beating him out right now, So that's not

921
00:43:27,440 --> 00:43:29,480
Speaker 2: great to me for either one of those guys. The

922
00:43:29,520 --> 00:43:32,600
Speaker 2: tight ends aren't good, and Neighbors has this recurring toe

923
00:43:32,680 --> 00:43:34,920
Speaker 2: injury that can't go away, and all the rest of

924
00:43:34,960 --> 00:43:37,960
Speaker 2: the receivers suck like there's nothing there. So to me,

925
00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:42,120
Speaker 2: the Giants buy my numbers, have an argument for number

926
00:43:42,160 --> 00:43:45,879
Speaker 2: thirty two with Neighbors. If Neighbors is out, they are

927
00:43:46,120 --> 00:43:49,960
Speaker 2: just bottom and like what how what's stronger than with

928
00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:52,600
Speaker 2: the bullet Like they're number thirty two with a tank

929
00:43:52,680 --> 00:43:54,600
Speaker 2: or something. I don't know what happens for the Giants.

930
00:43:54,640 --> 00:43:56,640
Speaker 1: I always think of that just they're they're lower than

931
00:43:56,680 --> 00:43:59,000
Speaker 1: whale shit, That's what I always think of, just where

932
00:43:59,120 --> 00:44:02,040
Speaker 1: it's they can't get any lower than that. And so

933
00:44:03,400 --> 00:44:06,360
Speaker 1: the New York Giants, they're at twenty eight Carolina Panthers.

934
00:44:06,400 --> 00:44:09,360
Speaker 1: At twenty nine, we moved to the dreadful part of

935
00:44:09,400 --> 00:44:12,920
Speaker 1: this podcast, Tier nine, where it's called don't expect Highlights.

936
00:44:13,000 --> 00:44:16,239
Speaker 1: And you have the final three teams in here. That

937
00:44:16,400 --> 00:44:20,800
Speaker 1: is the Cleveland Browns, the Denver Broncos, and the Tennessee Titans.

938
00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:23,319
Speaker 1: Now we don't have to go too deep into the

939
00:44:23,320 --> 00:44:25,200
Speaker 1: Browns and Titans. All you gotta do is look at

940
00:44:25,200 --> 00:44:27,400
Speaker 1: a depth chart on either of those teams and it

941
00:44:27,480 --> 00:44:30,400
Speaker 1: is grim. But the Denver Broncos, coming off of a

942
00:44:30,440 --> 00:44:32,960
Speaker 1: playoff appearance, make the case. Why do we have the

943
00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:34,120
Speaker 1: Broncos bottom three?

944
00:44:34,560 --> 00:44:37,080
Speaker 2: Yes, the second straight year for me with them bottom three,

945
00:44:37,160 --> 00:44:39,120
Speaker 2: So I guess that's the upside is I didn't think

946
00:44:39,160 --> 00:44:41,400
Speaker 2: much of them last year, but they made the playoffs. Anyway,

947
00:44:42,120 --> 00:44:44,400
Speaker 2: I just don't see a lot that I like here. JK.

948
00:44:44,560 --> 00:44:47,160
Speaker 2: Dobbins to me, we know the breakaway speed, but the

949
00:44:47,400 --> 00:44:49,400
Speaker 2: metrics have never been very good for him. He's a

950
00:44:49,440 --> 00:44:52,120
Speaker 2: good blocker, but that's not really what you want me

951
00:44:52,160 --> 00:44:55,960
Speaker 2: to say. Complimenting what looks like you're RB one RJ Harvey.

952
00:44:56,000 --> 00:44:58,520
Speaker 2: Everyone's really excited about J Harvey, the rookie running back.

953
00:44:58,920 --> 00:45:01,319
Speaker 2: If he's really good, if he Bucky Irving, you know,

954
00:45:01,400 --> 00:45:03,920
Speaker 2: as a rookie, that sort of level of good that

955
00:45:03,960 --> 00:45:05,719
Speaker 2: can move them really up here. And you know, I

956
00:45:05,719 --> 00:45:08,719
Speaker 2: give another full back bump for Burton here. Harvey's the

957
00:45:08,760 --> 00:45:10,959
Speaker 2: guy that could make this ranking wrong and really bump

958
00:45:11,040 --> 00:45:13,320
Speaker 2: them at least up to like, I don't know, twenty

959
00:45:13,480 --> 00:45:16,080
Speaker 2: twenty four sort of range maybe where they might be expected.

960
00:45:16,680 --> 00:45:18,600
Speaker 2: Evan Ingram, I know they went on and got him.

961
00:45:18,960 --> 00:45:20,920
Speaker 2: I think he's fine. I think he's like a fringe

962
00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:22,960
Speaker 2: top ten tight end. Doesn't really move the needle a

963
00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:25,880
Speaker 2: ton for me. Courland Sutton, I think too, is a

964
00:45:26,000 --> 00:45:28,319
Speaker 2: name that maybe we recognize from a lot of years

965
00:45:28,320 --> 00:45:32,120
Speaker 2: of production. I have the Broncos bottom four receivers room,

966
00:45:32,280 --> 00:45:35,200
Speaker 2: so sudden to me is not a wide receiver one.

967
00:45:35,520 --> 00:45:37,960
Speaker 2: He's kind of like a fringe maybe top twenty five

968
00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:39,960
Speaker 2: at best. That makes you not a wide receiver one.

969
00:45:40,440 --> 00:45:42,239
Speaker 2: And I don't love a lot of their names here.

970
00:45:42,400 --> 00:45:45,160
Speaker 2: I'm kind of interested in Mims. He's one of those

971
00:45:45,160 --> 00:45:47,839
Speaker 2: guys that is an electric kick returner. If we were

972
00:45:47,880 --> 00:45:50,520
Speaker 2: including that, that would bump a little bit. We've seen

973
00:45:50,600 --> 00:45:54,000
Speaker 2: guys turn that electric returning stuff and the special teams

974
00:45:54,040 --> 00:45:56,640
Speaker 2: into receiving a production, So maybe that can come to

975
00:45:56,680 --> 00:45:59,800
Speaker 2: play here. I just I don't see a ton of upside.

976
00:46:00,000 --> 00:46:01,799
Speaker 2: Need to be RJ. Harvey and then maybe they move

977
00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:03,839
Speaker 2: up a little bit that way. All right, So.

978
00:46:03,920 --> 00:46:06,760
Speaker 1: Let's recap the top ten. Now, you had the Eagles

979
00:46:06,760 --> 00:46:10,000
Speaker 1: at number one, Lions at number two, Ravens at number three,

980
00:46:10,160 --> 00:46:13,800
Speaker 1: San Francisco forty nine, Ers at fourth, Minnesota Vikings at five,

981
00:46:14,040 --> 00:46:18,640
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphins at six, Tampa Bay Buccaneers at seven, Rams

982
00:46:18,680 --> 00:46:21,399
Speaker 1: at eighth. Then you had the Dallas Cowboy or no,

983
00:46:21,480 --> 00:46:23,840
Speaker 1: I'm just kidding. I just want to see if you

984
00:46:23,840 --> 00:46:25,680
Speaker 1: were paying well, I do, if you were paying attention

985
00:46:26,120 --> 00:46:30,239
Speaker 1: Cincinnati Bengals at ninth and the Atlanta Falcons at ten.

986
00:46:31,080 --> 00:46:33,200
Speaker 1: What are some takeaways that we can look at this

987
00:46:33,360 --> 00:46:34,560
Speaker 1: top ten ranking here?

988
00:46:35,280 --> 00:46:38,080
Speaker 2: Yeah, so number one is very simple. There's a reason

989
00:46:38,200 --> 00:46:40,399
Speaker 2: there's no big surprises at the top. If you listen

990
00:46:40,480 --> 00:46:42,120
Speaker 2: from a start, if you heard the top ten, that

991
00:46:42,239 --> 00:46:45,279
Speaker 2: you'll just give back talent wins in the NFL, Right,

992
00:46:45,600 --> 00:46:48,560
Speaker 2: we know these guys for a reason, and we idealize

993
00:46:48,600 --> 00:46:50,640
Speaker 2: them in the fantasy football for a reason. You get

994
00:46:50,680 --> 00:46:54,759
Speaker 2: stars stars when that's the second takeaway for me is

995
00:46:55,000 --> 00:47:00,600
Speaker 2: unlike with the quarterback rankings. The NFC rules number quarterbacks. Spoiler,

996
00:47:00,640 --> 00:47:04,320
Speaker 2: go back and listen. Top five quarterbacks all in the AFC.

997
00:47:04,360 --> 00:47:06,920
Speaker 2: And that's been ongoing for years. Well here's the NFC

998
00:47:07,239 --> 00:47:09,879
Speaker 2: that number one, number two. That's six of the top

999
00:47:09,920 --> 00:47:12,880
Speaker 2: eight in this rankings today. That nine of the top twelve,

1000
00:47:13,239 --> 00:47:15,960
Speaker 2: three fourths of the top twelve in the NFC. So

1001
00:47:16,360 --> 00:47:20,640
Speaker 2: guess what, that's not a coincidence. In the AFC, they're

1002
00:47:20,680 --> 00:47:23,200
Speaker 2: paying the quarterbacks, right, they get them, like the fifty

1003
00:47:23,239 --> 00:47:26,760
Speaker 2: million dollar contracts. In the NFC, they're like, please, please

1004
00:47:26,880 --> 00:47:29,680
Speaker 2: let me pay your star quarterbacks. I can't find one.

1005
00:47:30,080 --> 00:47:32,319
Speaker 2: I guess I'll pay all these awesome running backs and

1006
00:47:32,360 --> 00:47:34,759
Speaker 2: receivers to try to make up the ground for it.

1007
00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:37,480
Speaker 2: So I think as you look at the team, it's

1008
00:47:37,520 --> 00:47:40,319
Speaker 2: like the AFC is where the star quarterback. If you're

1009
00:47:40,320 --> 00:47:42,360
Speaker 2: in the AFC and you don't have the star quarterback,

1010
00:47:42,480 --> 00:47:45,560
Speaker 2: that's your big deficit. If you're in the NFC and

1011
00:47:45,600 --> 00:47:48,360
Speaker 2: you have the weapons, that's your deficit. So I think

1012
00:47:48,600 --> 00:47:51,960
Speaker 2: that's interesting with a team like maybe the Commanders, who

1013
00:47:52,040 --> 00:47:54,799
Speaker 2: everyone's excited about, but I have bottom ten in the

1014
00:47:54,880 --> 00:47:58,000
Speaker 2: rankings as far as weapons go, they do have the

1015
00:47:58,000 --> 00:48:00,839
Speaker 2: star quarterback. Are they an AFC team and hiding in

1016
00:48:00,880 --> 00:48:03,480
Speaker 2: the NFC? So, I don't know. I think the dichotomy

1017
00:48:03,520 --> 00:48:05,120
Speaker 2: is interesting between the conferences.

1018
00:48:05,360 --> 00:48:08,360
Speaker 1: All right, So I want to talk then now about

1019
00:48:08,400 --> 00:48:13,239
Speaker 1: the bottom five teams because they all feature young quarterbacks

1020
00:48:13,280 --> 00:48:17,040
Speaker 1: like Jackson Dart, Bryce Young. I don't know about Shezar Sanders,

1021
00:48:17,080 --> 00:48:18,640
Speaker 1: but he probably will start a few games for the

1022
00:48:18,680 --> 00:48:21,560
Speaker 1: Browns this year. Bon Nicks, cam Ward, you got to

1023
00:48:21,560 --> 00:48:23,320
Speaker 1: think at some point you got to put a supporting

1024
00:48:23,360 --> 00:48:24,680
Speaker 1: cast around these guys.

1025
00:48:24,480 --> 00:48:28,200
Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, it's tough with the bottom five all being

1026
00:48:28,719 --> 00:48:30,840
Speaker 2: teams that are probably gonna play a lot of a

1027
00:48:30,880 --> 00:48:34,080
Speaker 2: young quarterback this year. Look, you can't do everything at once,

1028
00:48:34,200 --> 00:48:36,520
Speaker 2: and if you draft the young quarterback, especially if you

1029
00:48:36,560 --> 00:48:39,360
Speaker 2: trade it up for the young quarterback, that's probably why

1030
00:48:39,400 --> 00:48:42,560
Speaker 2: you don't have great skill positions because you can't do everything.

1031
00:48:42,880 --> 00:48:45,040
Speaker 2: Similar we just said with money, you either pay the

1032
00:48:45,120 --> 00:48:47,880
Speaker 2: quarterback or pay the weapons. Well, you either draft the

1033
00:48:47,960 --> 00:48:51,200
Speaker 2: quarterback or draft the weapons. So I think that's that's

1034
00:48:51,239 --> 00:48:53,560
Speaker 2: the hope. That's the long game. We're seeing more and

1035
00:48:53,640 --> 00:48:57,520
Speaker 2: more guys like bow Knicks, where we're building out an

1036
00:48:57,520 --> 00:49:00,080
Speaker 2: offense that isn't relying on the quarterback, do we and

1037
00:49:00,160 --> 00:49:02,279
Speaker 2: all on his own or on the weapons? You know,

1038
00:49:02,320 --> 00:49:05,480
Speaker 2: can we scheme up some offense instead? I think that's

1039
00:49:05,520 --> 00:49:09,120
Speaker 2: the hope here. But you don't love that these young

1040
00:49:09,239 --> 00:49:12,719
Speaker 2: guys don't really have a great chance to succeed, don't

1041
00:49:12,760 --> 00:49:15,319
Speaker 2: really have a lot of help. That's definitely concern. And

1042
00:49:15,360 --> 00:49:18,280
Speaker 2: the last takeaway for me, I mentioned with the Broncos,

1043
00:49:18,320 --> 00:49:20,880
Speaker 2: They've come up to two of these already. I'd be

1044
00:49:20,920 --> 00:49:24,640
Speaker 2: careful about three playoff teams that made the playoffs last year.

1045
00:49:24,960 --> 00:49:29,280
Speaker 2: The Broncos, Steelers, and Commanders are all bottom ten here

1046
00:49:29,320 --> 00:49:32,560
Speaker 2: in these rankings of the skilled positions. Only one of

1047
00:49:32,600 --> 00:49:35,759
Speaker 2: those teams as a star quarterback, Jane Daniels that can

1048
00:49:35,760 --> 00:49:38,399
Speaker 2: do it on his own. So, unless you think Aaron

1049
00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:40,959
Speaker 2: Rodgers is that, or unless you're really hind bow Nicks

1050
00:49:41,000 --> 00:49:43,520
Speaker 2: to be that, if you don't have a quarterback that

1051
00:49:43,600 --> 00:49:45,480
Speaker 2: can do it and you have the weapons to go

1052
00:49:45,560 --> 00:49:47,960
Speaker 2: do it, you might be relying a little too much

1053
00:49:48,120 --> 00:49:51,239
Speaker 2: on that Broncos defense or that Steelers defense, or the

1054
00:49:51,280 --> 00:49:54,080
Speaker 2: coaching so like. That can only take you so far.

1055
00:49:54,160 --> 00:49:56,719
Speaker 2: At some point you've got to go do it with

1056
00:49:56,800 --> 00:49:59,640
Speaker 2: your offense. And some point might be the playoffs we

1057
00:49:59,680 --> 00:50:03,200
Speaker 2: stop the Steelers and the Broncos get into the playoffs,

1058
00:50:03,239 --> 00:50:05,480
Speaker 2: and then some point came and they couldn't go do

1059
00:50:05,520 --> 00:50:09,680
Speaker 2: it with their offense. So maybe you go nine to

1060
00:50:09,719 --> 00:50:12,680
Speaker 2: eight as the Steelers for the bajillion straight year and

1061
00:50:12,719 --> 00:50:16,080
Speaker 2: sneak into the playoffs. But maybe if that offensive ceiling

1062
00:50:16,239 --> 00:50:17,960
Speaker 2: is not there and the floor can only take you

1063
00:50:18,080 --> 00:50:20,719
Speaker 2: so far, at some point some of these teams might

1064
00:50:20,760 --> 00:50:22,600
Speaker 2: fall out as well. So I think it is a

1065
00:50:22,600 --> 00:50:25,480
Speaker 2: at least an orange flag for the Steelers, Commanders, and

1066
00:50:25,520 --> 00:50:28,480
Speaker 2: Broncos that their weapons, their skill positions are a little

1067
00:50:28,520 --> 00:50:29,560
Speaker 2: bit down in the ranks here.

1068
00:50:30,160 --> 00:50:33,680
Speaker 1: So that is the twenty twenty five NFL skill position

1069
00:50:33,840 --> 00:50:37,280
Speaker 1: rankings from Brandon Anderson. That'll do it for today's episode

1070
00:50:37,360 --> 00:50:39,680
Speaker 1: of the Action Network podcast. I want to thank you

1071
00:50:39,719 --> 00:50:41,839
Speaker 1: for tuning in. You're gonna hear more from us over

1072
00:50:41,880 --> 00:50:44,320
Speaker 1: the next couple of weeks. Brandon will have NFL rankings

1073
00:50:44,360 --> 00:50:49,359
Speaker 1: for nearly everything offenses, defenses, coaching staffs, offensive lines. So

1074
00:50:49,640 --> 00:50:51,279
Speaker 1: if you did have a good time, don't forget to

1075
00:50:51,360 --> 00:50:53,400
Speaker 1: leave us that five star rating and review. Wherever you

1076
00:50:53,440 --> 00:50:57,319
Speaker 1: listen to the podcast, download the free Action Network app.

1077
00:50:57,320 --> 00:50:59,720
Speaker 1: You could save twenty dollars on an annual pro account

1078
00:51:00,080 --> 00:51:03,319
Speaker 1: using code pod twenty at actionnetwork dot com slash pro.

1079
00:51:03,719 --> 00:51:05,799
Speaker 1: Also check out the Action Network discord. There's a link

1080
00:51:05,840 --> 00:51:08,600
Speaker 1: in the episode description of the podcast. I'll be hanging

1081
00:51:08,640 --> 00:51:11,200
Speaker 1: out there all during the NFL season, so go check

1082
00:51:11,239 --> 00:51:14,240
Speaker 1: it out for the Action Network podcast. He's Brandon Anderson,

1083
00:51:14,320 --> 00:51:30,680
Speaker 1: I'm Jill Gallant bull shops.

1084
00:51:32,160 --> 00:51:35,600
Speaker 3: Action Network reminds you please gamble responsibly.

1085
00:51:36,000 --> 00:51:38,840
Speaker 2: If you or someone you care about has a gambling problem,

1086
00:51:39,120 --> 00:51:41,759
Speaker 2: help is available twenty four to seven at one eight

1087
00:51:41,840 --> 00:51:42,640
Speaker 2: hundred Gambler