Speaker 1: Welcome to Fantasy Football Weekly, a production of iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2: Time now for Fantasy Football Weekly from iHeartRadio, your weekly
Speaker 2: source for the nation's best fantasy football advice, speculation, and
Speaker 2: whatever stupid stuff they decide to drop into the show. Now,
Speaker 2: here's your host, Paul Chargion.
Speaker 1: Hey everybody, it's another edition of Fantasy Football Weekly. I
Speaker 1: am Paul Charchian. Guest today Brian Johnson, Hey, buddy.
Speaker 3: What's going on? Charge? Brian Johnson aka Sam Darnold the.
Speaker 1: Believer Sam A preview of coming attractions. Today, we're talking
Speaker 1: about last picks of your draft, whether it's Best Ball drafts, redrafts.
Speaker 1: What is the last pick of the draft and who
Speaker 1: should you take. We're going to give you suggestions at
Speaker 1: each of the four key positions we're not doing tight
Speaker 1: end to defense.
Speaker 3: And these are guys too, who we think we'll start
Speaker 3: upwards in terms of adp as we draw nearer to
Speaker 3: quote unquote the real draft season right now. It's always
Speaker 3: the draft season these days, but it kind of your
Speaker 3: eye on these guys now.
Speaker 1: Especially Sam Donald, as America starts to realize that he's
Speaker 1: going to be the starting, starting quarterback for a guy
Speaker 1: throwing to Justin Jefferson. His his ADP is going to
Speaker 1: go way, way up. I believe we'll find out. We'll
Speaker 1: talk more about it in a few minutes.
Speaker 3: I can't tell if that's satirical or no, that's not
Speaker 3: at all genuine. All right, good, No, not at all.
Speaker 1: This Sam Donald right now is one of my five
Speaker 1: to ten favorite sleepers across all positions because I believe
Speaker 1: he will start more most of the season, and he's
Speaker 1: got a really nice opportunity with the talent around him
Speaker 1: Jordan Addison, a pass catching running back, and Aaron Jones.
Speaker 1: While I'm stealing your your bullet points, so I won't
Speaker 1: do that.
Speaker 3: Okay. I love hearing someone else brace Sam Donald for once.
Speaker 3: I feel like I'm a one, one man army on Twitter.
Speaker 3: That's not true. There is a nice The Sam Donald
Speaker 3: Hive is growing by the day. People are starting to believe.
Speaker 3: So well, okay all day with Sam Donald, stef charge.
Speaker 1: That's fine. So let me just set up well, let's
Speaker 1: jump right into Sam Darnald. But let me just set
Speaker 1: this up as we talk through our favorite last picks
Speaker 1: of your draft. First, you got your guy has to
Speaker 1: be going in the fifteenth rounder. Later, that's an ADP
Speaker 1: of one hundred and seventy five or beyond. And I
Speaker 1: think critical to this discussion is at this stage, all
Speaker 1: of these players have wards. I mean, we're gonna make
Speaker 1: a case for these guys, and you might be listening going, well,
Speaker 1: what about this and what about this and what about this?
Speaker 1: And sometimes we'll acknowledge that stuff, but we're talking about
Speaker 1: round fifteen guys. So you know, none of these players
Speaker 1: do not have question marks. They all do. To me, Brian,
Speaker 1: I'm looking at one of two angles. Can this guy
Speaker 1: just be like a consistent, if not splashy performer who
Speaker 1: can help me in a bye week or a short
Speaker 1: term injury replacement situation, or does he have some special
Speaker 1: traits that could allow him to really emerge this year?
Speaker 1: Is this guy really you know, there is there something
Speaker 1: about this guy where he hasn't performed at this point,
Speaker 1: but then these traits are gonna kick in and the
Speaker 1: opportunity is gonna kick in and he could he could
Speaker 1: emerge and have a great year. And I've got a
Speaker 1: couple of both category guys, but let's start with Let's
Speaker 1: start with Sam Darnold, your choice at quarterback for Round fifteenth.
Speaker 1: Or later is adp last I saw he was going
Speaker 1: off to board it like his quarterback, like thirty three
Speaker 1: deeper than there are teams in the NFL.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you'd be thirty four to be exact. Now, let
Speaker 3: me preface this again. What I'm about to say is
Speaker 3: no knock on JJ McCarthy. Whatsoever weve JJ McCarthy. He's
Speaker 3: got a lot of potential, probably very bright future in
Speaker 3: the league. But we're talking solely the twenty twenty four
Speaker 3: season on this podcast, and right now JJ McCarthy is
Speaker 3: going is you be twenty five in underdog draft, which is.
Speaker 1: That he may not start a game this year, So yeah.
Speaker 3: And if he does, it's what they're gonna start. Nick Mullens,
Speaker 3: excuse me over JJ McCarthy earlier in the season if
Speaker 3: they have to. Sam Donald is hurt. So anyway, love
Speaker 3: Sam Donald in the last round. Right now. First, let's
Speaker 3: talk about the situation in Minnesota. You kind of touched
Speaker 3: on this very past friendly system. Kevin O'Connell runs the
Speaker 3: Vikings ranked third and passing play percentage last year. As
Speaker 3: you said, they have the best wide receiver in football
Speaker 3: under a fresh new contract in Justin Jefferson alongside him,
Speaker 3: alongside him as Jordan Addison one of just six wide
Speaker 3: receivers to record double digit touchdowns last year, it should
Speaker 3: take a big step in his second season. Of course,
Speaker 3: t J. Hockinson gonna miss some time, maybe all season.
Speaker 3: That stings a little bit, but an exciting arsenal for
Speaker 3: Sam Donald, who will be the quarterback oneen heading into
Speaker 3: camp and into the season. Ye, Kevin O'Connell's still sort
Speaker 3: of using some kind of you know, quarterback competition between
Speaker 3: JJ McCarthy, but that's all smoke screen. You can look
Speaker 3: at DraftKings sportsbook. Donald's now minus two seventy to take
Speaker 3: the first snap for the Vikings. So that's gonna happen,
Speaker 3: whether some Vikings fans like it or not. But they're
Speaker 3: just gonna have to accept it. And really, those who
Speaker 3: have accepted it are a lot of them. I'm gonna say,
Speaker 3: they're just like, Oh, Donald's gonna start, and he's gonna suck,
Speaker 3: and then he's gonna, you know, give way to JJ
Speaker 3: McCarthy after they're bye in week six. I don't think
Speaker 3: it's gonna be the case.
Speaker 1: It's possible.
Speaker 3: I believe that.
Speaker 1: Would be the earliest to me that would be the
Speaker 1: earliest scenario where JJ McCarthy makes a start.
Speaker 3: Now we all know it's easy to say Sam Donald sucks,
Speaker 3: he sucked in his career, But to me, that's a lazy,
Speaker 3: ignorant take. You just have to go back and look
Speaker 3: at the history of this poor kid's career, who, by
Speaker 3: the way, he entered the league as the startest young
Speaker 3: the youngest starting quarterback in NFL history at the time. Yeah,
Speaker 3: still might hold that record.
Speaker 1: I thought a great I think he might. And let
Speaker 1: me mention this about that he made a big mistake
Speaker 1: coming out when he did. He came out after his
Speaker 1: sophomore year, after two years of starting at USC and
Speaker 1: they were good years. They weren't even great years, they
Speaker 1: were just good years. And that was on darnold he
Speaker 1: came out. I think, you know, granted, he he got
Speaker 1: selected with the third overall pick in the draft, so
Speaker 1: you know, he made a ton of money and he
Speaker 1: read the tea leaves correctly that there would be a
Speaker 1: lot of interest in him. But he wasn't ready yet, Brian,
Speaker 1: and he came out too soon. And I think part
Speaker 1: of your case is that his last couple of years
Speaker 1: sitting out as a backup effectively has probably given him
Speaker 1: time to mature into the role.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, he's been through hell and back and it started. Yes,
Speaker 3: he came out to early and he didn't have any
Speaker 3: control about getting drafted by the Jets, but unfortunately he did.
Speaker 3: In his tenure there, he was primarily coached by Adam Gase,
Speaker 3: one of the worst head coaches in NFL history, at
Speaker 3: least this century, no longer in the league.
Speaker 1: That can. Can I expand on that for a second.
Speaker 1: I did a lot. I did a big thing on
Speaker 1: Sam Donald on the radio about a week ago, and
Speaker 1: so I'm all prepped up on this. Here. Let me
Speaker 1: tell you about the coaches he's worked with, head coaches
Speaker 1: and offensive coordinators in the games that he in the
Speaker 1: times he's had to start, so not counting San Francisco
Speaker 1: last year when we only played a meeting this week
Speaker 1: eighteen game, Todd Bowles, his head coaches, Todd Bowles, Adam Gase,
Speaker 1: Matt Ruhle, Steve Wilkes. His offensive coordinators Brian name these guys,
Speaker 1: where are they now? Jeremy Bates, Dowell Loggins, Joe Brady,
Speaker 1: Jeff Nixon, Ben McAdoo. As a group, those offensive coordinators
Speaker 1: and head coaches. One of them is in the league today.
Speaker 1: All the rest of them are out out of the league.
Speaker 1: That's right, Todd Bowles. He's the only one that has
Speaker 1: a job in the NFL today, isn't He doesn't That
Speaker 1: say a lot?
Speaker 3: It does. And he was Donald's Bulls was Donald's which
Speaker 3: is a rookie year, a defensive guy. You and he
Speaker 3: got fired after Donald's rookie season. So he did the
Speaker 3: one you know, one head coach that at any legitimacy
Speaker 3: to his name anyway, head coach's coaching situation the nightmare
Speaker 3: his receiving options throughout his career. These are the top
Speaker 3: receivers he's dealt with, Robbie Anderson, now Robbie chosen, Jameson Crowder,
Speaker 3: Chris Herndon, Quincy Unna.
Speaker 1: Yeah, DJ Mooreman DJ Moore in Carolina. He's a legit receiver.
Speaker 3: But that's number one.
Speaker 1: But that's it. But that's it. I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: the rest of the receivers he's had to throw to
Speaker 1: have been Sam for Sam Donald have been bad.
Speaker 3: And lastly, I'll say the pass blocking, how his offensive
Speaker 3: lines graded starting his rookie year. But with the Jets,
Speaker 3: then with the Panthers, this is my pro football focus
Speaker 3: U pass blocking. Again, they're ranked twenty second, twenty eighth,
Speaker 3: thirty first, twenty eighth his first four years in the league.
Speaker 3: So again I think he's got and he's got some
Speaker 3: mobility too. He's an athlete a little bit. People don't
Speaker 3: know that. No, he has some wheels. Could have played
Speaker 3: college basketball if you dig deep enough into his past.
Speaker 3: So he's that much of an athlete. So anyway, Sam
Speaker 3: Donald a freebie in the last round. If he doesn't
Speaker 3: work out for him, you cut him, you drop him,
Speaker 3: pick up someone else. But I think he's an ideal
Speaker 3: backup candidate and fantasy football, especially if you pay up,
Speaker 3: you know, payout for quarterback with one of the premium
Speaker 3: guys like Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, someone along those lines.
Speaker 3: Love Sam Donald in the last round has a ton
Speaker 3: of potential in this offense. I'll shut up. I like
Speaker 3: hibout him for at least today.
Speaker 1: But here's I'm gonna make my case against Donald and
Speaker 1: again because I've I've done all this research on him
Speaker 1: and I'm and I'm still saying draft him in round
Speaker 1: round whatever, seventeen, that he's going in so I'm not
Speaker 1: even I would absolutely take him there. But here's your
Speaker 1: case against Donald Way. Too many picks, even for a
Speaker 1: young quarterback with bad blocking and lous and receivers good
Speaker 1: not great, but just like good quarterbacks throw about half
Speaker 1: a pickup per game, Sam has basically double that. He's
Speaker 1: fifty six picks in fifty six starts. Too many interceptions
Speaker 1: have plagued him in college, plagued him in the pros.
Speaker 1: That's something that's got to get better, and that could
Speaker 1: shorten his timeline as a starter. You know, you throw
Speaker 1: a bunch of picks in the NFL, and you know
Speaker 1: the least gets real short not nearly enough touchdown production.
Speaker 1: And this is very siline for fantasy. Again, good not
Speaker 1: elite quarterbacks, just good quarterbacks average about to a game.
Speaker 1: Sam has just sixty three touchdowns in fifty six starts.
Speaker 1: He's barely one touchdown per game. So that part's not
Speaker 1: numbers aren't great.
Speaker 3: And is deep.
Speaker 1: Passing particularly bad? Here is this? Here are his PFF
Speaker 1: ranks as a deep passer for Sam Darnold in his
Speaker 1: five years getting starts thirty fourth. Again, there's thirty two
Speaker 1: teams in the NFL, thirty fourth, thirty first, thirty sixth,
Speaker 1: twenty ninth, and twenty eighth. He has just fifteen career
Speaker 1: touchdowns of more than twenty yards and again, fifty six
Speaker 1: NFL starts, just fifteen touchdowns of more than twenty yards
Speaker 1: struggles under pressure. Here's his completion percentage ranks under pressure,
Speaker 1: Thank you Pro Football Focus thirty fifth, twenty eight, thirty second,
Speaker 1: twenty fourth, and thirty first. He's played. I mean, what
Speaker 1: you can't what you can't, well, you can't get around.
Speaker 1: Donald's played some bad football. You just don't know if
Speaker 1: it's because of the surroundings, the position he's been in,
Speaker 1: or if it's because he's not a very good quarterback.
Speaker 1: And this is gonna be the first time to find out.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he deserves some blame, for sure, but I do
Speaker 3: give him the benefit of the doubt for a lot
Speaker 3: of bad a lot of bad play around him, and
Speaker 3: a lot of bad tutelage coaching that he's had. But
Speaker 3: I again, he's been through hell and back, so I'm
Speaker 3: excited to see what he can do with the vikings.
Speaker 3: I'm gonna close with this angle or more angle? All right, Well,
Speaker 3: i'd won more on Sam darld Okay all right, real quick,
Speaker 3: Kevin O'Connell's cut by the New York Jets on hard
Speaker 3: knocks in front of the whole world. Do you not
Speaker 3: think that Kevin O'Connell wants to take Sam Donald as
Speaker 3: a reclamation project, turn him into the all pro quarterback
Speaker 3: he was meant to be blue chip prospect and just
Speaker 3: shove it right back in the Jets face and say
Speaker 3: look at us. Now. I know it was a whole
Speaker 3: different regime at the time Rex Ryan was licking feet
Speaker 3: and all that, but still, Kevin O'Connell has so much
Speaker 3: spite in his heart.
Speaker 1: He might be licking feet now. We don't know that.
Speaker 1: You probably could be a lot of right this minut
Speaker 1: he might be.
Speaker 3: He's probably got diamond these days. This there's a bunch
Speaker 3: of foot liquors. But anyway, all right, I'm done with Donald.
Speaker 3: There was like the whole podcast we could probably no kidding,
Speaker 3: Holy cow, Sam Donald, baby, all right, my last pick
Speaker 3: of the drafted quarterback. And I considered Russell Wilson here
Speaker 3: going off the board as QB thirty I believe, or
Speaker 3: thirty one. And because you know, Russell Wilson, he finished
Speaker 3: from weeks eight to from weeks eight to sixteen. Last year,
Speaker 3: Russell Wilson was QB eight eight in a bad situation
Speaker 3: which his team was trying to actively bench him.
Speaker 1: So I liked him. But the problem is he goes
Speaker 1: to Pittsburgh and it's the Arthur Smith problem, right, and
Speaker 1: I don't the wide receiver group in Pittsburgh looks really unappealing.
Speaker 1: So I decided not to go to with Russell Wilson. Here,
Speaker 1: I'm going Bryce Young pick one ninety five in Best
Speaker 1: Ball Round seventeen. Brutal last year. But as we broke
Speaker 1: down when we did the Panthers full we did the
Speaker 1: offseason recap for the Panthers a couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 1: Remember another first overall pick, Trevor Lawrence, looked unfathomably bad
Speaker 1: with a bad coaching staff in his rookie year. The
Speaker 1: team Nukes's coaching staff brings in receiving help, brings in
Speaker 1: better coaching, and then Trevor Lawrence rebounded really nicely. Maybe
Speaker 1: Bryce Young's got that in him. Look at all the
Speaker 1: help Bryce Young is getting. The Panthers spent their entire
Speaker 1: offseason putting tools around Young to succeed, starting with new
Speaker 1: head coach Dave Canalis, who has that history of reviving
Speaker 1: the careers of underperforming quarterbacks Gino Smith, Baker Mayfield and
Speaker 1: both those guys, you know, they turned around so well
Speaker 1: that they got new sizeable contracts. You know, they came
Speaker 1: into their teams on like one year prove it deals
Speaker 1: and they walked away with sizeable new contracts.
Speaker 3: Dave Cannils, you remind me of someone too, by the way.
Speaker 1: Sam Donald, by chance, and we get just who are
Speaker 1: we going? Back to Sam Donald? Back to Donald. The
Speaker 1: Panthers traded for Deontay Johnson, so they've added a solid receiver.
Speaker 1: Adam thelem remains fine, if non explosive at this stage
Speaker 1: of his career. They're both solid hands, guys who are
Speaker 1: going to catch what's thrown to him them. The Panthers
Speaker 1: poured first, second round, and fourth round picks into this offense,
Speaker 1: including the marble mouthed Xavier Lagette, bringing vertical speed to
Speaker 1: the table, something Thelan and john and don't have. He's
Speaker 1: the guy who is got the big, enormous upper body,
Speaker 1: the thick build and then runs a four to three
Speaker 1: nine forty. I mean that guy is bringing He is
Speaker 1: bringing a totally different skill set to that receiver group
Speaker 1: and maybe Xavier Laget's gonna be very good. And they
Speaker 1: improved the interior offensive line. They've got a new left guard,
Speaker 1: right guard, and center, and last year they were the
Speaker 1: twenty seventh best pass blocking unit, so they needed to
Speaker 1: get better there too. And the Panthers ad drafts to
Speaker 1: all that stuff. And then lastly, for Bryce Young, Fantasy
Speaker 1: Pros has Carolina tied for the easiest strength of schedule
Speaker 1: in the entire league for quarterbacks? Bryce Young? Round seventeen,
Speaker 1: your backup quarterback. It was brutal last year. Doesn't have
Speaker 1: to be brutal this year.
Speaker 3: What do you think, Brian, Yeah, I like it, actually
Speaker 3: not lying. I ran into Bryce Young yesterday. I walk
Speaker 3: around the Panthers stadium all the time, walk my dog
Speaker 3: and I saw him in a said what's up, Bryce?
Speaker 3: And he said, I can't sign for you? And I said,
Speaker 3: I didn't ask that. God, I'm glad you said that.
Speaker 1: But what does it say that he feels like he's
Speaker 1: he's gotta cut that off. That's too bad.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it is a little too bad. But I'll tell
Speaker 3: you what. In person, he look smaller than he doesn't.
Speaker 3: But I'm pulling for him, and you know Jonathan Mingo too,
Speaker 3: who knows, maybe he could. He's a second year wide
Speaker 3: receiver too. But like you said, it can only they
Speaker 3: bolstered the talent around him. It can only get better
Speaker 3: for Bryce Young definitely worth a last round flyer.
Speaker 1: I like to pick all right, who is your last
Speaker 1: round of your draft? Running back? Brian.
Speaker 3: I've I only recently discovered this guy a couple of
Speaker 3: weeks ago, and I'm I'm really excited about his prospects,
Speaker 3: and I'm I'm pretty much addicted to drafting him in
Speaker 3: Best Ball right now. And that's Rashene Alie, who was
Speaker 3: RB seventy one right now on Underdog Wow. Pick two
Speaker 3: fifteen is his ADP. And uh, if you don't know
Speaker 3: who Rashien Ali, he's a ali Is. He's a backup
Speaker 3: running back for the Baltimore Raven is now a rookie
Speaker 3: out of Marshall, selected in the fifth round in this
Speaker 3: pass draft. Likely would have been selected sooner, but he
Speaker 3: tore his bicep at the Senior Bowl, so he didn't
Speaker 3: play in that game. He wasn't able to test at
Speaker 3: the Combine. His his stock certainly took a hit as
Speaker 3: a result, but he was he was participating in OTAs
Speaker 3: recently somewhat limited, but he will be full go when
Speaker 3: training camp starts in late July. And when he does
Speaker 3: or when, sorry, when it does, I think Rashin A
Speaker 3: Lee has a great shot of winning the backup running
Speaker 3: back job behind Derrick Henry. He's really just competing with
Speaker 3: Justice Hill right now. Everyone probably remembers Keaton Mitchell from
Speaker 3: last year, but he's all but guaranteed to start going to.
Speaker 1: Miss at least sometime.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, probably at least half the season. So I'm
Speaker 3: excited for the prospects for Rashin. Ali has three down potential,
Speaker 3: great initial speed and a second burst, so he's capable
Speaker 3: of a lot of explosive plays, as evidenced by his
Speaker 3: seventh play fifty plus yards last year that led all
Speaker 3: of the FBS. He has good power in the gaps again,
Speaker 3: three down potential. He can catch, he can pass protect.
Speaker 3: I know Baltimore is saying they expect a huge workload
Speaker 3: for Derrick Henry, but I'm not buying it. You know,
Speaker 3: the Ravens, they have Super Bowl aspirations. They're not going
Speaker 3: to get there by running Derrick Henry into the ground
Speaker 3: throughout the regular season in the playoffs, and he is
Speaker 3: north of thirty years old, thirty one, thirty two years old.
Speaker 3: So right now I'm putting all my bets on Rashein
Speaker 3: Ali and carve out some standalone value. But if something
Speaker 3: were to happen to Derick Henry, rashin A Lee could
Speaker 3: be your starting running back in one of the most
Speaker 3: electric offenses in the NFL, and your your casual fantasy
Speaker 3: football player has no idea who he is right now,
Speaker 3: so a name to keep your eye on. I'm very
Speaker 3: bullish on Rashein Ali right now at very low cost.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's got some some nice athleticism to him. He
Speaker 1: was in Bruce Feldman's Freaks list right which is always
Speaker 1: a good sign. Five foot eleven, two hundred pounds, so
Speaker 1: he's got the physicality where, you know, if if he
Speaker 1: needed to take over some of Derrick Henry's typical reps,
Speaker 1: maybe even at the goal line, Rashin Ali interesting.
Speaker 3: I meant to bounce him off Thor really quick, see
Speaker 3: what he thought. But I'm just gonna pretend Thor likes
Speaker 3: him tall.
Speaker 1: Oh I heard that? Oh yeah, Thor loves Thor loves
Speaker 1: him absolutely for sure. Oh good, Yeah, we'll just assume
Speaker 1: I'm on Broncos running back Julia McLoughlin currently go after
Speaker 1: board ADP one's seventy five running back fifty three in
Speaker 1: round fifteen. He plays for the Denver Broncos. You may
Speaker 1: remember him from last year. At this stage of the draft,
Speaker 1: I'm looking for guys who can show some kind of differentiator, Brian,
Speaker 1: something special that can put them on the field frequently,
Speaker 1: even if even if it's not like super consistent, but
Speaker 1: enough where they're like demand. The skill set is there,
Speaker 1: they just have to get playing time. And McLaughlin can
Speaker 1: be a thrilling runner. He's dynamic, he's elusive, he's fast.
Speaker 1: Let me give you some stats from last year rookie year.
Speaker 1: McLaughlin finished third among all running backs in PFF's elusiveness ratings,
Speaker 1: and he would have graded out as the number one
Speaker 1: player the year prior just based on his grade, which
Speaker 1: was I think one hundred by their rating system. His
Speaker 1: breakaway run percentage was twenty eight percent, fifteenth best in
Speaker 1: the entire league, and Jalil McLoughlin finished as Pro Football
Speaker 1: Focuses thirteenth ranked running back thirteenth. We're getting him off
Speaker 1: the board at running back fifty three and by the way,
Speaker 1: he can catch eighty six percent catch rate last year,
Speaker 1: zero drops last year.
Speaker 3: McLoughlin's the closest.
Speaker 1: Thing Sean Payton has to Alan Kamara if he wants
Speaker 1: to put if you honest to get Alvin Kamara back,
Speaker 1: McLoughlin's his guy, and I'll tell you who it's not.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about Javonte Williams for a minute. Man, did
Speaker 1: he looked mundane last year coming off the knee injury.
Speaker 1: Maybe he's never maybe gets better second year off the
Speaker 1: injury and that happens sometimes, or maybe this is just
Speaker 1: who he is now. I mean some guys never come
Speaker 1: back from it. I mean look at Gus Edwards for example,
Speaker 1: never really the same guy. JK. Dobbins, never really the
Speaker 1: same guy. You know Williams last year I mentioned McLoughlin
Speaker 1: finished Pro Football Focuses running Back thirteen. Brian, you want
Speaker 1: to guess for Javonte Williams finished RB forty one, fifty six,
Speaker 1: fifty six. They only did like four more guys qualified
Speaker 1: to get a grade. That's that's how bad Williams was
Speaker 1: last year. And let me give you more date on Williams.
Speaker 3: Then, I'll let you jump in the steam. He might
Speaker 3: not even make the team. Yeah, I've heard.
Speaker 1: I've seen some of that speculation on Twitter. I mean,
Speaker 1: I can't rule it out.
Speaker 3: Get this.
Speaker 1: Per next Gen stats, Williams finished dead last in rushing
Speaker 1: yards over expectation at a full yard under expectation. He
Speaker 1: was second to last in percentage of runs to go
Speaker 1: over expectation. It's bad. Samaj p Ryan's still there, but
Speaker 1: he's not really a factor at all, averaging three carries
Speaker 1: and three targets per game. The Broncos did draft Audric
Speaker 1: Estimate in the fifth round, and he was productive for
Speaker 1: Notre Dame. He was a bigger, bodied, bully guy with
Speaker 1: some vision ability to cut, but very different runner. FM McLoughlin,
Speaker 1: who brings you some really special traits that I don't
Speaker 1: think anybody else has got in this backfield. I love
Speaker 1: him at round fifteen ADP one seventy five, Jalia McLoughlin.
Speaker 3: I'm with you a great value and a pounce. Pounce
Speaker 3: on him while you can, because that ADP is should
Speaker 3: to rise as you get closer to August two. I think,
Speaker 3: no doubt.
Speaker 1: Let's go to the wide receiver position. Who's your last
Speaker 1: round of your of your draft wide receiver.
Speaker 3: I'm going with Detroit's Khalif Raymond. Right now, his ADP
Speaker 3: on a dog is two hundred and twelve. That's good
Speaker 3: for wide receiver ninety three. I think he's very, very
Speaker 3: undervalued in one of the one of the offenses that
Speaker 3: projects to be one of the most pass friendly in
Speaker 3: the league this season. Everyone fixated on Aman Ross, ain't
Speaker 3: Brown and Sam Laporta in the passing game for Detroit,
Speaker 3: and rightfully understandably, yes, understandably so there should be enough
Speaker 3: balls to go around for the Lions. Yes, Jamison Williams
Speaker 3: people are predicting a breakout year in what will now
Speaker 3: be his third season, but what if that doesn't come
Speaker 3: to fruition? And even if it does, Kaliff Raymond still
Speaker 3: poised to be a starter in three wide receiver sets
Speaker 3: with Josh Reynolds now in Denver. But Jameson Williams turns
Speaker 3: out to be a one trick pony, which he kind
Speaker 3: of has looked like so far in his career. We
Speaker 3: could see an extended snapcount for Khaliff Raymond, who last
Speaker 3: year averaged two point zero seven yards per route run,
Speaker 3: which is a very strong number that put him top
Speaker 3: twenty four among wide receivers, and it was a better
Speaker 3: clip than the likes of Jamar Chase, Davante, Adams, DK Metcalf,
Speaker 3: George Pickens, and Michael Pittman. In terms of yards per
Speaker 3: route run. Raymond also averaged more than six yards after
Speaker 3: the catch per reception. That's something only seven other wide
Speaker 3: receivers were able to do among wide receivers who saw
Speaker 3: at least forty targets. So Raymond super efficient. And again
Speaker 3: and what should be a high flying offense, it's playing
Speaker 3: like fifteen of their seventeen games in a dome this year,
Speaker 3: something like that, which you gotta love. And Jared Goff
Speaker 3: has nothing but good things to say about Khaliff Raymond says,
Speaker 3: it's been invaluable to have him. He can trust him anytime.
Speaker 1: A little don't you think, Well, it's a little.
Speaker 3: Bit he's pep, you know, he's pumping him up a
Speaker 3: little little bit. But uh, rightfully, So they're gonna be
Speaker 3: They're gonna be leaning on Kalif Raymond more than they
Speaker 3: have in the past with Josh Reynolds gone. And if
Speaker 3: something were to happen to Sun God or Jameson Williams
Speaker 3: or Laporta. Even Cliff Raymond could be a seven eight,
Speaker 3: nine target per game.
Speaker 1: Guy if those guys go down. Yeah, and even when
Speaker 1: they don't, Kalif Raymond could be a spot starter in
Speaker 1: some situation.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's he could be you know, that safe four
Speaker 3: to five catch per game guy that gives you that
Speaker 3: double digit PPR floor, which is all you need for
Speaker 3: a guy you're drafting with the two hundred and twelve
Speaker 3: to overall picks. So, Kleiff Raymond, I'm clicking on a
Speaker 3: lot in the last round.
Speaker 1: I like it. I'm going to Arizona wide receiver Michael
Speaker 1: Wilson currently ADP won seventy seven round fifteen wide receiver
Speaker 1: seventy eight off the board. Hollywood Brown gone in Kansas City.
Speaker 1: So Wilson walks into the starter's role opposite Marvin Harrison.
Speaker 1: He's got the advantage of having a year and Drew
Speaker 1: Petsing's offense. He knows the offense and the terminology everything else.
Speaker 1: And remember Wilson is you know, it wasn't like he
Speaker 1: was a total schlub. You know, he's a third round
Speaker 1: draft pick last year. So they have some legit draft
Speaker 1: equity in him now. Michael Wilson struggled with terrible quarterbacking
Speaker 1: in the beginning of the year. Then he had a
Speaker 1: shoulder injury right in the middle of his rookie year
Speaker 1: and that sapped like six seven weeks right out of
Speaker 1: the middle of his season. But then at the end
Speaker 1: of the year he finally gets healthy and Kyler Murray
Speaker 1: is then the quarterback and in the final two games
Speaker 1: of the year, Wilson scores a touchdown and then posts
Speaker 1: ninety five yards in the final game of the year,
Speaker 1: So we started to see a little end of season
Speaker 1: kick for Michael Wilson. Just one drop all of last year,
Speaker 1: which is promising. Wilson can be a downhill threat. He
Speaker 1: finished with the eighteenth deepest a dot among all wide
Speaker 1: receivers and had a healthy fifteen yards per reception, which
Speaker 1: is very good. Yeah is he He's got to compete
Speaker 1: for targets with Trey McBride, who's turned into a target hog.
Speaker 1: Marvin Harrison is going to be very good. Greg Dortch
Speaker 1: is there too, but that doesn't matter a lot. Michael
Speaker 1: Wilson Round fifteen with competent quarterback and an offense that
Speaker 1: got a lot better as we've As we've mentioned many
Speaker 1: times this offseason, Cardinals offense came to life in December,
Speaker 1: averaging twenty five points per game at the end of
Speaker 1: the year when nobody was paying any attention to Cardinals football.
Speaker 1: So there's a little something there for Michael Wilson as
Speaker 1: a sure starter in an offense that might be better
Speaker 1: than people think.
Speaker 3: Oh yeah, no doubt. And he's certainly not going to
Speaker 3: be seeing any double teams for the top corners in
Speaker 3: any game. Yeah, I'm excited about the Cardinals offense as
Speaker 3: a whole. Kyler Murray dark horse QB one candidate, just
Speaker 3: to go off off track a little bit, if he
Speaker 3: stays healthy with Harrison now and McBride and Wilson and
Speaker 3: his obvious rushing potential.
Speaker 1: To be one like as a starting quarterback in fantasy
Speaker 1: football or the top scoring quarterback in fantasy.
Speaker 3: Offense score stop top scoring quarterback has that potential, has
Speaker 3: the profile playing for a team that's not great on
Speaker 3: defense either, probably a lot of positive game scripts he was.
Speaker 3: Murray was one hundred and fifty to one on FanDuel
Speaker 3: to win Offensive Player of the Year, and I've put
Speaker 3: quite a bit of PiZZ of money on that, considering
Speaker 3: on other sites, he was like fifty sixty to one.
Speaker 3: He's got the I don't know why I'm talking about
Speaker 3: Kyler Murray right now, but I love all the Cardinals,
Speaker 3: and Michael Wilson one of them.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I do. I like betting on improving offenses, and
Speaker 1: this is one of them. And I don't mean betting,
Speaker 1: I don't mean betting cash. I just mean fantasy wise.
Speaker 1: I like I like buying low. I did it, you
Speaker 1: did it on a bunch of Houston players last year.
Speaker 1: This is this is an offensive that looks like it's
Speaker 1: going to be a lot better for sure. Let's take
Speaker 1: a break, and when we come back, let's get in
Speaker 1: our final, our final sleeper guys, beginning beginning with one
Speaker 1: that well, I don't even I don't actually, I don't
Speaker 1: even know who your sleeper tight end is.
Speaker 3: Do I you know? You know I bring the goods
Speaker 3: on sleeper tight ends. Jeish, I got a good one,
Speaker 3: come good.
Speaker 1: And I've got a long time favorite that I think
Speaker 1: is set to finally do great things. We'll find out
Speaker 1: who the Aaron Moments. Welcome back Fantasy Football Weekly. Thanks
Speaker 1: for joining us if you haven't joined our discord. You
Speaker 1: should really do that. Check the show notes and jump
Speaker 1: into our discord channel. Also of note, Chop podcast is
Speaker 1: gonna come back soon. You excited, Brian? Oh yeah, let's
Speaker 1: talk Guillotine. It's been a long off season. I'm excited
Speaker 1: to get back and the Guillotine frame of mind, it's
Speaker 1: gonna be a fantastic season. We've got a bunch of
Speaker 1: new stuff coming. Oh can't wait. Chop Podcast check that
Speaker 1: out as well. All right, last pick of your draft,
Speaker 1: and you need a tight end. Maybe it's probably not
Speaker 1: your first tight end off the board, but you need
Speaker 1: a backup for whoever you took in the whoever your
Speaker 1: first tight end was. Who are you looking at here?
Speaker 2: Brian?
Speaker 3: I like, uh, this guy Definitely you want to start
Speaker 3: the season as a backup, but he could have starter
Speaker 3: potential as the season wears on, hopefully not too long
Speaker 3: into the season. And that's the rams Colby Parkinson formerly
Speaker 3: of the Seahawks. We'll talk about that a little more
Speaker 3: in the second his former team, but right now, Colby.
Speaker 1: Barby Parkinson, you say, wowkay off the board as tight
Speaker 1: end thirty two, pick two fourteen overall. Wow.
Speaker 3: Most people when they think of Rams and tight ends
Speaker 3: in recent history.
Speaker 1: They think of Tyle Tyler Higbee.
Speaker 3: Right, yes, but Higbee tore his ACL and MCL in
Speaker 3: the playoffs last year, so he most certainly will be
Speaker 3: starting the season on the pup list, probably won't even
Speaker 3: play another snap for the Rams. Sadly, I think his
Speaker 3: time might be up. I don't think he sees the
Speaker 3: field this year. So enter Colby Parkinson. Free agent Colby Parkinson,
Speaker 3: who la signed to a two year deal with fifteen
Speaker 3: million and guarantees. That's that's starter money right there for
Speaker 3: Colby Parkinson, who is six seven, two hundred and fifty
Speaker 3: two pounds and ran a four eight.
Speaker 1: Forty Wow col right, I did not realize.
Speaker 3: That he is an athlete. And Parkinson was stuck in
Speaker 3: a three tight end platoon with the Seahawks previously with
Speaker 3: Noah Fant and Will Dislay, so no tight end could
Speaker 3: stand out in Seattle's old regime. That should change this year.
Speaker 3: I do like Noah fan do'll throw that out there
Speaker 3: real quick. But sticking with Parkinson, he appears to be
Speaker 3: the guy for the Rams, who have utilized their tight
Speaker 3: end heavily under Sean McVay and last year Parkinson proved
Speaker 3: to be a receiving threat went on the field. He
Speaker 3: took more than or at least half of his snaps
Speaker 3: in the slot or out wide. So you know, we
Speaker 3: love Puka Nakua. Cooper Cup supposedly healthy again, but Cup
Speaker 3: is up there in age, could get hurt. So there's
Speaker 3: not a lot of receiving depth behind Nikouah. There's DeMarcus Robinson,
Speaker 3: but not a lot of size, especially with two two
Speaker 3: at well as what they're fourth wide receiver. So Colby
Speaker 3: Parkinson a guy I'm targeting as my tight end two
Speaker 3: in later rounds, So keep your eye on Colby. He
Speaker 3: could surprise a lot of people.
Speaker 1: That is some deep, deep stuff right there. But you
Speaker 1: want the Rams starting tight end in the what'd you say,
Speaker 1: round twenty twenty five, something like that last pick of
Speaker 1: your draft, the Rams starting tight.
Speaker 3: End, and you get your two revenge games baked in
Speaker 3: per years.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there you go, and yet we know how you
Speaker 1: love that.
Speaker 3: Well little bonus.
Speaker 1: Longtime listeners already should know where I'm headed with my
Speaker 1: tight end with the last pick of your draft, Indianapolis's
Speaker 1: Jilannie Woods, my guy ADP selection two hundred and fourteen
Speaker 1: tight end twenty eight, Round eighteen for Jilanni Woods. You've
Speaker 1: probably heard me talk about him before. Tragically, you know,
Speaker 1: I was talking about him at this time last year,
Speaker 1: but then amstring injury sidelined him for the entire season.
Speaker 1: So here's a refresher. An elite size speed freak athlete.
Speaker 1: He is six foot seven, two hundred and fifty five pounds,
Speaker 1: came out of Virginia two years ago. Do you know
Speaker 1: what his RASS ranking was, Brian, you happen to recall
Speaker 1: for Jelanni Woods athletic score?
Speaker 3: Yes, probably off the charts.
Speaker 1: That would be a perfect ten out of ten in
Speaker 1: the history of the RASS looking at one thou ten
Speaker 1: tight ends, he's number one with the highest relative athletic
Speaker 1: score of all time in the thirty five year history
Speaker 1: of RASS testing. So he's fast, he can get open downfield.
Speaker 1: Jolnni Woods. Then after the catch is a complete mismatch
Speaker 1: because he's got these cornerbacks that are trying to tackle
Speaker 1: a six foot seven, two hundred fifty five pound guy
Speaker 1: where they're giving up a foot in fifty pounds. It's
Speaker 1: a big, big mismatch. He's also excellent blocker that could
Speaker 1: keep him on the field. He was a goal line
Speaker 1: target in college, scored eight times his senior year alone,
Speaker 1: and Jelanni Woods only needs to beat out the middling
Speaker 1: talents of Moli Cox Kylon Granson for playing time. They're
Speaker 1: not athletically, they're not even in the same ballpark. I
Speaker 1: want to try Johnny Woods, see if this is the
Speaker 1: big third year tight end breakout coming. We know that
Speaker 1: happens a lot, the third year tight end breakout. He
Speaker 1: missed the season, so it's kind of like a second
Speaker 1: but yeah, maybe this is it all comes together for
Speaker 1: Johnny Wood and in round eighteen. Yeah, that's my guy,
Speaker 1: Johnny Woods.
Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely worth a flyer in the last round. Deserts
Speaker 3: to be going a round or two sooner based on
Speaker 3: his potential. Yeah, Moli Cox, Kylon Grantson, they've had their
Speaker 3: they've had their chance when when Woods has been hurt.
Speaker 3: So hopefully Wood stays healthy and the Colts just let
Speaker 3: them play.
Speaker 1: Let that kid play. Absolutely.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we brought the beef for tight ends. Parkinson's six '
Speaker 3: seven too. Yeah, how about that.
Speaker 1: That's amazing. I didn't think there was another six to
Speaker 1: seven tight end in.
Speaker 3: The league being either. I remember he didn't play much
Speaker 3: obviously Woods last year, but when he was on the field.
Speaker 3: Remember watching one Colts game, it might have been the
Speaker 3: Vikings game when the Vikings came back like thirty three
Speaker 3: nothing but Woods this like dwarfed all the offensive linemen
Speaker 3: in the huddle. You're like, who yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1: The tight end. That's their tight end streaking down the seam. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he's uh, he's gonna get this at his size six
Speaker 1: foot seven, two hundred fifty five pounds. He was a
Speaker 1: quarterback in high school and the beginning of college quarterback
Speaker 1: six seven, two point fifty five. That's that's unreal. Toilanni Woods,
Speaker 1: my love affair continues. It's not. It's not abating now,
Speaker 1: I can tell you that much. Not in around eighteen,
Speaker 1: that's not.
Speaker 3: Can I throw out a quick bonus tight end?
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah please do.
Speaker 3: Empire players and another guy I just kind of heard about,
Speaker 3: and this is uh, you know, this is a future play,
Speaker 3: probably not coming into play this year, but keep your
Speaker 3: eye on Jared Wiley, who is uh looks to be
Speaker 3: the backup tight end now for the Chiefs. Rookie Jared
Speaker 3: Wiley out of Texas Christian University getting rave reviews and
Speaker 3: basically getting comped to Travis Kelcey, a young Travis Kelcey,
Speaker 3: and he's obviously learning behind Travis Kelcey right now. And
Speaker 3: Travis Kelcey's expiration date so year or two. So Jared Wiley,
Speaker 3: if you're looking for a tight end to stash in
Speaker 3: Dynasty or Empire leagues, that's the name you want to
Speaker 3: keep in mind.
Speaker 1: Other guys I considered Damian Pierce can't. But I can't
Speaker 1: bring up his name anymore, right, So I can't. I
Speaker 1: couldn't officially go to bat for Damian Pierce, and he
Speaker 1: had a bad season. But all YES to do is
Speaker 1: give I Joe Mixon. Dude, is Joe Mixon is so cooked,
Speaker 1: so cooked, he's got nothing left. What do you think
Speaker 1: of Ray Davis? Yeah, Buffalo's back presumed backup running back
Speaker 1: behind James Couk.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I remember when we did the team previews, I
Speaker 3: had the Bills and James Cook. I believe that the
Speaker 3: Bills had twenty rushing touchdowns and James Cook had two
Speaker 3: of them, right, right, So it's Josh Allen is the
Speaker 3: guy that they need someone other than Josh Allen to
Speaker 3: be the guy at the goal line. And that's not
Speaker 3: James Cook. And uh yeah, Ray Davis, why not Why
Speaker 3: I liked him? Just beat James Cook outright.
Speaker 1: Well, I don't know that he's as good as James Cook,
Speaker 1: but he's not that far off. You know what he's got.
Speaker 1: He can do a little of everything, which you have
Speaker 1: to do with the bills. You have to be able
Speaker 1: as a running back. You have to be able to catch,
Speaker 1: you got to be able to pass, protect, you gotta
Speaker 1: do a little of everything, and he's got those trades.
Speaker 1: Thor thinks that Ray Davis is good at a lot
Speaker 1: of things, not special at any and he doesn't think
Speaker 1: he's got huge upside. But again, last pick of the
Speaker 1: draft kind of territory I like. I like the Buffalo
Speaker 1: running back Ray Davis.
Speaker 3: Yeah. Buffalo went very run heavy in the second half
Speaker 3: of the season last year, and that looks to be
Speaker 3: the case this Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean, given the receivers, right, Kean Coleman and Curtis
Speaker 1: Samuel and Khalil Shakir. I mean they've got to go
Speaker 1: run heavy, don't they. And you know they're not gonna
Speaker 1: run James Cook into the ground because they never do
Speaker 1: their running backs that way.
Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely, Davis.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there you go all right, thanks for thanks for listening.
Speaker 1: Everybody appreciate getting to the end of the show. We'll
Speaker 1: we'll be back next week, and I can't I think
Speaker 1: I know what we've got coming next week. To have
Speaker 1: it in front of me, darn it, I don't have
Speaker 1: I don't have the topic in front of me, but
Speaker 1: I think it's already all planned out.
Speaker 3: It'll be riveting.
Speaker 1: Yeah, God, it's gonna be It's gonna be so good. Oh,
Speaker 1: you know what it is. Matt Harrison wants to talk
Speaker 1: about now that do the opposite is just normal drafting, right,
Speaker 1: this is it's become so widely accepted. Matt wants to
Speaker 1: talk about, at what point do you undo the opposite?
Speaker 1: At what point are running backs such particularly such big
Speaker 1: values that you have to move on them. So we're
Speaker 1: gonna we're gonna h that next week, and that'll be fun.
Speaker 1: And I'll give me a chance to uh, give me
Speaker 1: a chance to chat with him a little bit about
Speaker 1: that and and defend might do the opposite, which I'll
Speaker 1: usually do. But there's a point of which I you know,
Speaker 1: there's a point in which I'll take running backs to
Speaker 1: if a guy falls far enough Christian McCaffrey's looking at
Speaker 1: me in the second half of the first round him
Speaker 1: and you're thinking real hard about that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I don't think that's gonna be happen.
Speaker 1: That's not gonna happen. An it's not gonna happen in
Speaker 1: any of them. But should he be the first pick
Speaker 1: in a guillotine draft, you might want to listen to
Speaker 1: the Chat podcast for that and more. Thanks everybody, talk
Speaker 1: to you next week. Bye bye. Fantasy Football Weekly is
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