Speaker 1: Hey everybody, It's Monday, July twenty second, twenty twenty four.
Speaker 1: Welcome him to the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. But we're
Speaker 1: not quite in the best shape of our lives.
Speaker 2: It's been your man, MG Marcus.
Speaker 1: Grand joined by Michael Florio and Lakwan Jones and well
Speaker 1: one Happy Monday, gentlemen. But to LQ, I know you
Speaker 1: are in the midst of sort of Good Morning Football
Speaker 1: reboot rehearsals. You were up and in the office at
Speaker 1: an ungodly hour.
Speaker 2: How was that? It was good? It is a normal
Speaker 2: shift for me. Man.
Speaker 3: I like getting up early, to starting on my day
Speaker 3: early and getting through it, you know. But the rehearsals
Speaker 3: are going great.
Speaker 2: Man. I love Akbar.
Speaker 1: Akbar Barja Biamila is great. He's back on Good Morning Football.
Speaker 1: For those of you who've been watching NFL Fantasy Live
Speaker 1: for a number of years, you might remember him from that,
Speaker 1: or you may know him from am I feel like
Speaker 1: Troy McClure in The Simpsons.
Speaker 2: You might remember me from such self help video.
Speaker 1: You might remember him from either NFL Fantasy Live or
Speaker 1: from American Ninja War, or he is back on Good
Speaker 1: Morning Football. Big, big personality, really fun guy, great guy
Speaker 1: to work with, so you get you get to have
Speaker 1: that that that joy for you.
Speaker 2: For you were out balling this morning, you were Jim Jones.
Speaker 4: I joined an LA Fitness but they have a basketball court.
Speaker 4: So all all this offseason, I've been getting getting some
Speaker 4: shots in a few times a week, and usually I
Speaker 4: go after the show, but this today we flipped the
Speaker 4: show a little bit later, so I was like, you know,
Speaker 4: I am also like Lakwan, an early riser, although I
Speaker 4: will say there's a huge difference between like being awake
Speaker 4: at six am and being at work at six am.
Speaker 4: I'm almost always awake at that time. I hate being
Speaker 4: at work at that time.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's those are very much two different things. Also,
Speaker 1: I love the client saying I like getting up early.
Speaker 1: I'm like, bro, you have kids, you don't have a choice.
Speaker 2: You're right.
Speaker 1: So that's that is also to shout out to you, Floria,
Speaker 1: because we did shift our shooting or our recording schedule around.
Speaker 1: We're doing this in the midst of the USA's Olympic
Speaker 1: warm up against Germany.
Speaker 2: So now it's on right now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you're starting five Steph, Devin Booker, Drew Holliday, Lebron
Speaker 1: and embiid are are you're starting five for this.
Speaker 2: Right now?
Speaker 1: Like he's trying to find the TV next to his
Speaker 1: desk right now. So in the mean time while he's
Speaker 1: doing that, I will let you know what we have
Speaker 1: on the show today. We are continuing our division previews.
Speaker 1: Today is the AFC North, which should be a really
Speaker 1: intriguing division to watch just from a football perspective, also
Speaker 1: a really intriguing division to watch my fantasy perspective, because uh,
Speaker 1: there's some changes across the division and you know, some
Speaker 1: some really intriguing teams, really intriguing pieces that we will
Speaker 1: get into. But let's start, as we normally do around
Speaker 1: this time, with some news and rumors. I include the
Speaker 1: rumors part because we don't have any actual football going
Speaker 1: on down in Houston.
Speaker 2: CJ.
Speaker 1: Stroud was asked about these skill positions on the Texans
Speaker 1: offense and he said, quote, it's a five headed monster.
Speaker 2: Which I don't know about you, Florio.
Speaker 1: That immediately sort of made me queasy because it's again,
Speaker 1: it's great for real football. You have so many options,
Speaker 1: so many places to go with the ball. For us,
Speaker 1: that means it gets a little bit harder to peg.
Speaker 1: Who is the guy you want. So I'm gonna ask
Speaker 1: you who do you think will be the top scoring
Speaker 1: non quarterback in Houston for fantasy?
Speaker 4: Nico Collins. I think Joe Mixon is a fine pick
Speaker 4: at running back, But Nico Collins, I don't believe is
Speaker 4: going I'm sorry, c J. Stroud. I don't believe is
Speaker 4: gonna dump off the ball nearly as much as Joe
Speaker 4: Burrow did.
Speaker 2: He was.
Speaker 4: He keeps his eyes down field, man, and he looks
Speaker 4: for every strike to throw the deep ball that he can.
Speaker 4: The reason I like Nico Collins so much is because
Speaker 4: I just have the most confidence in him getting the
Speaker 4: opportunities right. He can stretch the field, he could win
Speaker 4: after the catch. He could play out wide, he could
Speaker 4: play in the slot. Now I know a prime steph
Speaker 4: Diggs could do all of that, But at thirty one
Speaker 4: years old, was he potentially losing a step last year?
Speaker 4: And I know Tank Dell has the ability to take
Speaker 4: the top of a defense and brings a high ceiling,
Speaker 4: But is he gonna be out there in two wide
Speaker 4: receiver sets. I think it's possible we could see Diggs
Speaker 4: and Dell rotate in two wide receiver sets, but I
Speaker 4: feel confident that Nico Collins will not leave the field.
Speaker 4: So to me, I think he is the right combination
Speaker 4: you want. That he brings the upside that say, like
Speaker 4: a Tank Dell has, But I also think he brings
Speaker 4: a safe floor, which is kind of how I'm viewing
Speaker 4: Steph Diggs in the sofense.
Speaker 1: So, I mean, lakwan, are we are we overdrafting Texans
Speaker 1: just because there are so many places to go? I
Speaker 1: know we all know what the ceiling is for each
Speaker 1: of these guys individually, but I mean with them all together,
Speaker 1: how worried are you that they're going to sort of
Speaker 1: cannibalize each other?
Speaker 3: I am really worried, man. I think this offense will
Speaker 3: look great, you know in real life football, like Sundays
Speaker 3: will be exciting to watch the Texans and watching c J.
Speaker 3: Stroud just drive downfield. Before a fantasy aspect of things,
Speaker 3: we may be overdrafting some of these guys, like Tank
Speaker 3: Dell is going in the third round right now in
Speaker 3: best ball. I mean, we're waiting on redraft ADPs. But
Speaker 3: that still seems a little spicy for me. If we
Speaker 3: already have CJ. Stroud saying this is a five headed
Speaker 3: monster like it's going to be a constant week to
Speaker 3: week headache that I feel like, because look, Dalton Schaltz,
Speaker 3: he actually had a bunch of targets last season, so
Speaker 3: it's like we have to account of him as well,
Speaker 3: being that he was c J. Stroud's like best friend
Speaker 3: Dordan training camp last year. So I really feel as
Speaker 3: though this offense is going to be a lot of
Speaker 3: frustration from fantasy managers. But let's just be happy that
Speaker 3: we drafted c J.
Speaker 2: Stroud. Hopefully that's the game plan for some.
Speaker 3: Folks, because he is the biggest winner out of this
Speaker 3: whole package where he can. Honestly, I can see him
Speaker 3: clearing thirty touchdowns and if he's still responsible with the
Speaker 3: ball like he was last year, I don't see why
Speaker 3: he can't be a top five quarterback without even having
Speaker 3: the rushing upside. I just think this is gonna be
Speaker 3: a high power offense, but gotta be realistic here. When
Speaker 3: it comes to Nico and Diggs and when it comes
Speaker 3: to Tank Dell and their ADPs, they're fairly closed. So
Speaker 3: either way it's going to be a gamble.
Speaker 1: I think it was interesting you mentioned Dalton Schultz cause
Speaker 1: I feel like that's the thing that we don't really
Speaker 1: talk about in this whole thing.
Speaker 2: You know, we've talked about the Texans.
Speaker 1: It's, you know, how do we separate Collins from Dell
Speaker 1: from Diggs, and we don't mention the fact that they
Speaker 1: have a tight end who is very capable of catching
Speaker 1: the football and being a part of the offense as well.
Speaker 2: It's the reason that I've drafted CJ. Stroud.
Speaker 1: I've taken some shots on Texans wide receivers, but this
Speaker 1: feels like a quintessential they're better and best ball sort
Speaker 1: of offense because that way you don't have to kind
Speaker 1: of figure out what week you're going to try to
Speaker 1: start them.
Speaker 2: You know, and deal.
Speaker 1: Look, there's gonna be a week where Stefan Diggs probably
Speaker 1: has you know, twenty some odd points, and there's gonna
Speaker 1: a couple weeks in there where he has like six
Speaker 1: because they didn't necessarily need him or the defense tried
Speaker 1: to take him away. They can still be successful without
Speaker 1: any one of those guys having a really really big
Speaker 1: week and any given point.
Speaker 2: Then there's the backfield issue because Joe.
Speaker 1: Mixon goes in there and seems to have a really
Speaker 1: nice slot, but Florida over the weekend and they, I
Speaker 1: guess officially announced it this morning.
Speaker 2: Cam Acres is going to be a Houston Texan. Wow.
Speaker 1: Right, like when it saw it immediately I text put
Speaker 1: in the text chain right just mostly get a reaction
Speaker 1: out of out of the Kwan and he was kind
Speaker 1: of like that.
Speaker 2: It was basically that like, wow, I.
Speaker 1: Mean, Florida, Can cam Akers be a thing in this
Speaker 1: Houston offense as long as Joe Mixon is healthy?
Speaker 4: No, I don't know if Akers should be a thing
Speaker 4: on any team in the NFL anymore with all the
Speaker 4: It's the same reason I feel about JK. Dobbins, Like
Speaker 4: when you have an acl and an achilles and all
Speaker 4: of this stuff adds up. Like listen, man, at some
Speaker 4: point injuries just they take their toll and they win.
Speaker 4: And I'm fearful that we're getting to that point with Acres.
Speaker 4: But it wasn't like that this just came out of
Speaker 4: the blue. The worked out Dean Jackson last week. They
Speaker 4: worked out a number of different running backs, which gives
Speaker 4: me hope. And I've been saying this since the NFL Draft,
Speaker 4: like they can move Damian Pierce potentially in August. There's
Speaker 4: teams like the Cowboys like the Chargers that I think
Speaker 4: would take Damian Pierce and make him an RB two
Speaker 4: if he was to get the starting opportunity on those
Speaker 4: teams with higher upside. And I just don't think he's
Speaker 4: a good fit for Bobby Slowick and this version of
Speaker 4: the Texans offense. I think he's a great fit for
Speaker 4: an old scot old school like run between the tackles
Speaker 4: physical style of play, which is what the Chargers might
Speaker 4: do where the Cowboys could do. So that's why I'm
Speaker 4: hopeful that he gets moved. And that was my biggest
Speaker 4: takeaway from this cam Aker signing was like, maybe they
Speaker 4: do move on from Damian Pierce and I continue to
Speaker 4: draft him in like the seventeenth round of my best
Speaker 4: ball drafts.
Speaker 2: I mean, that's a good spot to get him.
Speaker 1: I can't say that I drafted him really anywhere, but
Speaker 1: I don't know that it was a conscious like I'm
Speaker 1: staying away from him. I just didn't draft him at all.
Speaker 1: You know where my heart is, I'm drafting Damien Piers.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're still a Pierce believer, right, Yeah, I can't
Speaker 2: let it go.
Speaker 3: He's going to be on special teams and I think
Speaker 3: that's where he could be utilized more. I think he's
Speaker 3: very explosive. We know that he's a downhill runner. He's
Speaker 3: a guy that can take it to the house, like
Speaker 3: he's an angry runner, Like come on, I really feel
Speaker 3: as though he could be utilized properly. But Florio hit
Speaker 3: hit it nail on the head. I just don't think
Speaker 3: the system fits him because remember last year in camp,
Speaker 3: he was watching CMC tapes trying to catch more passes,
Speaker 3: and I think Joe Mixon fits more into that to
Speaker 3: where I feel like, you know, Damian Piers has to
Speaker 3: be on the move.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was funny.
Speaker 1: I do remember like last year the articles, the headlines
Speaker 1: about like you're trying to be more like Christian McCaffrey,
Speaker 1: and like, yeah, I think I'm at a point where
Speaker 1: I don't necessarily fall for That's the.
Speaker 4: Thing in the world, because no offense unless you are
Speaker 4: going to get that skill set through the computer screen
Speaker 4: or something like.
Speaker 2: Yes, it's good to watch and how this guy gets
Speaker 2: over how he.
Speaker 4: Catches and stuff, but like Christian McCaffrey is a once
Speaker 4: in a lifetime talent.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, we gotta we gotta stop doing this, man,
Speaker 1: I mean it's it's I mean it is. It's like
Speaker 1: all the young Titans who kept coming into the league
Speaker 1: and they kept being compared to Gronk.
Speaker 2: You know how many baby Gronks did we go to
Speaker 2: either Higby? I think T. J.
Speaker 1: Hawkinson was one. I mean we I've been through a
Speaker 1: number of baby Gronks. Like we got to stop that,
Speaker 1: We gotta stop. Like, you know, just because you're a
Speaker 1: running back who catches the football does not make you
Speaker 1: Christian McCaffrey.
Speaker 2: It makes you a running back who catches the football.
Speaker 2: Like that's it, Like that's all that is.
Speaker 4: I'm looking at the Texans stats from last year and
Speaker 4: rough math in my head right now, it looks like
Speaker 4: all of their running backs combined had like around sixty targets.
Speaker 2: That's not a lot. No, No, they were not. They
Speaker 2: were not very involved in the passing game last year.
Speaker 4: And I think that's a CJ. Roud thing, not a
Speaker 4: Devin Singletary Damian Pierce thing.
Speaker 1: Well, you've got so many targets all over the field,
Speaker 1: you know, even when things sort of break down, you
Speaker 1: can find somebody to get the ball to. So unless
Speaker 1: it is particularly schemed up that way, I just don't
Speaker 1: see it happening. I mean, I'm looking at this what
Speaker 1: Devin Singletary had thirty eight targets and that was that
Speaker 1: was your leader among running backs, Like, h yeah, that's he.
Speaker 4: Prettyroud keeps his eyes as downfield as he possibly can.
Speaker 2: Like, yeah, it's just it's pretty bleak for that part
Speaker 2: of the game there.
Speaker 1: Meanwhile, in New York, Darren Waller, who is recently retired,
Speaker 1: said he believes Daniel Jones can return to his form
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty said, quote, that's definitely still in him.
Speaker 1: So a simple, simple question for you, Laqwan hype train
Speaker 1: or smoke screen on Daniel Jones bouncing back to where
Speaker 1: he was a couple.
Speaker 4: Of years ago.
Speaker 3: Smoke screen, what are we doing here? I don't, I don't.
Speaker 3: I don't really see Daniel Jones even tapping back anywhere
Speaker 3: near twenty twenty two, because we had to remember the
Speaker 3: first five games he started the season was very very bad.
Speaker 3: And like not even just the interceptions, because half of
Speaker 3: them weren't his fault. There were pop off of defenders.
Speaker 3: But I just think overall that just the passing production,
Speaker 3: the ability to go downfield. It's the weapons around him.
Speaker 3: I know, you add Molik Neighbors, But you just lost
Speaker 3: two of the biggest pieces that you had already set
Speaker 3: last season. So in honesty, this offense took a step
Speaker 3: back even further, even adding the two guards that they
Speaker 3: got to help out that old line because Daniel Jones
Speaker 3: is getting smacked. But when you look at the two
Speaker 3: guards they added, they both allowed six QB hits last season,
Speaker 3: which was more than any of the Giants starter on
Speaker 3: the line. So it's not like they actually fixed the issue.
Speaker 3: They just kind of put a band aid, A used
Speaker 3: band aid on the.
Speaker 2: Situation to where band aid.
Speaker 3: So it's like nothing really has gotten better out of
Speaker 3: his team other than you added Malik Neighbors. But I
Speaker 3: feel like you lose Saquon Barkley used Darren Waller two
Speaker 3: security blankets that day, and Jones were lied on a lot.
Speaker 3: Everybody knows to cover Milik Neighbors. So that's not going
Speaker 3: to be something that I'm looking forward to in twenty
Speaker 3: twenty four. H Hype Traininger Smoke Screen Floria.
Speaker 2: I disagree.
Speaker 4: I think. Look, I'm not telling you to go out
Speaker 4: and draft Daniel Jones as your starting quarterback. He's barely
Speaker 4: being drafted as a QB two in leagues, But I
Speaker 4: do think a lot of us are forgetting what Daniel won.
Speaker 4: I still trust Brian Dable. I know last year it
Speaker 4: crashed out and everything, but Brian day later in the season,
Speaker 4: when he got Darren Waller back healthy, and when he
Speaker 4: got some of his other pieces, when Saquan was going,
Speaker 4: like with Tommy DeVito and Tyrod Taylor. I mean, like
Speaker 4: remember they took the Eagles to the brink on Christmas
Speaker 4: Day or whatever it was. So I believe in Brian
Speaker 4: Dable as a play caller. I think we're forgetting how
Speaker 4: much of a runner Daniel Jones was two years ago.
Speaker 4: Now that Nie could put that into question. But Darren Waller,
Speaker 4: as much as I loved him last year, and I
Speaker 4: don't know if anyone was higher on Darren Waller than
Speaker 4: I was swinging a miss. He was so in and
Speaker 4: out of the lineup and banged up and stuff that
Speaker 4: I do believe there is a chance Milik Neighbors could.
Speaker 4: I love Molik Neighbors as a talent. I think he
Speaker 4: could come in and have an effect like Justin Jefferson
Speaker 4: did on that Vikings offense, like Jamar Chase did on
Speaker 4: the Bengals, like Jayalen Watt, Like we've seen it before
Speaker 4: where these rookie wide receivers come in and where like
Speaker 4: Jared Goff of the Moan Ross Saint Brown is a
Speaker 4: good example. Like they take average quarterbacks and all of
Speaker 4: a sudden turn them into quarterbacks that look very viable
Speaker 4: and useful at an NFL level. And Daniel Jones is
Speaker 4: the best wide receiver he's thrown to. Is what Darius Slayton,
Speaker 4: Wandel Robinson broken down last year of his career, Darren Waller,
Speaker 4: so like I think Malik Neighbors could be better than
Speaker 4: anyone he's ever thrown to and really revitalized this offense
Speaker 4: and now expectations like if Jones finish his top fifteen,
Speaker 4: it's a really good year for him. But I'm not
Speaker 4: ready to leave Daniel Jones like like leave him for
Speaker 4: dead and say that there's no absolutely no shot he
Speaker 4: could get back to looking fantasy viable.
Speaker 1: Can I give you a end of career Golden Tate
Speaker 1: as maybe the best receivers all of those out of the.
Speaker 2: Wall I'm.
Speaker 1: I'm not I'm not trying to sit here and say that,
Speaker 1: you know, late career Golden Tate is what we expect
Speaker 1: from Elie Neighbors.
Speaker 2: I'm just trying to I was.
Speaker 1: Like going through trying to figure out who was the
Speaker 1: best receiver that he's starting. It's it's bad and yeah
Speaker 1: that that might be it there. I do think there's
Speaker 1: something about the rushing upside. Right, he ran for seven
Speaker 1: hundred yards. He also had seven rushing touchdowns, which that
Speaker 1: number feels hard for.
Speaker 2: Him to do. Yeah, so I think that's the thing
Speaker 2: sort of working against him.
Speaker 1: I don't know that he gets seven touchdowns and you know,
Speaker 1: he's got to get back to you know, his rookie
Speaker 1: year he had twenty four touchdown passes. He's got to
Speaker 1: get back to something closer to that if he's not
Speaker 1: going to give you the rushing upside. So I would
Speaker 1: say it's possible. I am not banking on it, but
Speaker 1: where he's getting drafted, you know, it's worth a dart throw, right,
Speaker 1: It's worth a dart throw. That's that's about. That's all
Speaker 1: I have to say about that. Into the go ahead.
Speaker 4: Yeah, oh, let's just say Darren Waller real quick, Caitlin
Speaker 4: Clark was cooking Kelsey Plumb at the at the you.
Speaker 1: Know, sometimes he taking shots. Sometimes it's the small victories.
Speaker 1: He's going through, man victory. Sometimes it's the small victories.
Speaker 1: You gotta buy his album now, Man, I check it out,
Speaker 1: see if it's on Spotify.
Speaker 2: Probably. Let's dive into the AFC North in a bit,
Speaker 2: take a break, come back and reset.
Speaker 1: This thing here on the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast a
Speaker 1: FC North. It is going to be just a battle
Speaker 1: all throughout. You got four teams who are very much
Speaker 1: in contention for playoff spots. This year is gonna be
Speaker 1: interesting to see how things shake out. As always, we
Speaker 1: go through these in alphabetical orders, So we start with
Speaker 1: the Baltimore Ravens. Their top scores from last year. Lamar
Speaker 1: Jackson three hundred and thirty one Fantasy points. That was
Speaker 1: QB four worthy. Gus Edwards their top running back one
Speaker 1: hundred and eighty seven points. He was the RB twenty five.
Speaker 2: He is eight.
Speaker 1: Flowers was the top wide receiver at two six point
Speaker 1: four Wide receiver thirty one, and Mark Andrews tight in
Speaker 1: fourteen one thirty five point four for him in a
Speaker 1: season that saw him battle some injuries off season. They
Speaker 1: lose Odell Beckham Junior, they lose Gus Edwards, and they
Speaker 1: lose JK. Dobbins, but they do sign El Tractorcito himself,
Speaker 1: Derrick Henry, and they draft devontees Walker later in that draft.
Speaker 1: First raven off the board right now is Za Flowers
Speaker 1: of an ADP of thirty six.
Speaker 2: So Florio.
Speaker 1: Rarely, I keep saying this, rarely do we actually get
Speaker 1: a thing that we as a community all where. But
Speaker 1: it happened with Derrick Henry going from Tennessee to Baltimore
Speaker 1: to play in that backfield with Lamar Jackson.
Speaker 2: Everybody's excited. We're all like double digit touchdowns for sure. Yay.
Speaker 1: You know how things go when everybody in the community
Speaker 1: believes in something, when we really are hoping for and
Speaker 1: we are all like in lockstep with it.
Speaker 2: Is it possible we're too hyped about Dereck Henry right now?
Speaker 4: Is it possible? Yes, because I believe you always have
Speaker 4: to look at things any range of possibilities. But I
Speaker 4: think it's a really small chance that he busts this year.
Speaker 4: The all like, outside of injuries, and I think you
Speaker 4: could say that about all players, like I would be
Speaker 4: shocked if Derrick Henry stayed healthy and just busted because
Speaker 4: this is the best offense he's played on in his career.
Speaker 4: This is the best quarterback he's played on. This is
Speaker 4: gonna be the first time in his life since literally
Speaker 4: probably ever since he's ever stepped on a football field.
Speaker 4: If you don't believe me, go watch this guy's high
Speaker 4: school highlights. Every coach that he has faced in the
Speaker 4: last two decades has game planned around stopping him, and
Speaker 4: they said, if you stop him, you stop their team
Speaker 4: for the first time ever. You can't say that because
Speaker 4: he's playing with a two time MVP there so, and
Speaker 4: he's playing in a heavy run system. Last year fifteen
Speaker 4: touchdowns from five yards or closer for Ravens running backs
Speaker 4: just running too. I think he could stumble into twelve
Speaker 4: touchdowns this year. I think fifteen is very realistic. I
Speaker 4: think if things break right, he could approach twenty. So
Speaker 4: I'm in on Derrick Henry.
Speaker 2: But not only that.
Speaker 4: I think when we get to now we're getting to
Speaker 4: redrafts time, I think he's firmly going to be a
Speaker 4: second round pick, maybe even middle to early second round pick.
Speaker 4: Obviously I like him a lot more in round three,
Speaker 4: but I think that's an appropriate value for Dereck Henry
Speaker 4: and probably where he should be going. So as long
Speaker 4: as we get him at that coll so cheaper, I
Speaker 4: will continue to.
Speaker 2: Be in I love looking at that.
Speaker 1: He gets tweeted out every so often of his stats
Speaker 1: from his senior year of high school, and like every
Speaker 1: game it's like two something and he's got like five
Speaker 1: or six touchdowns except one game, one game late in
Speaker 1: the season against East Gaston where he was held I
Speaker 1: air quotes, held to one hundred and eighty nine rushing
Speaker 1: yards and just one touchdown.
Speaker 3: Beast.
Speaker 1: No, they won that game sixteen thirteen. They just barely
Speaker 1: hung on and won that game. So I'm like, I'm wondering,
Speaker 1: like something happened that he maybe roll an ankle or
Speaker 1: something like.
Speaker 2: You know, like he was felt bad everybody. Maybe maybe
Speaker 2: he just felt sorry for them so he just took
Speaker 2: it easy. Yeah.
Speaker 1: That always cracks me up. I mean, Lakwan, what is
Speaker 1: the earliest you would be willing to take Derrick Henry?
Speaker 4: Oh?
Speaker 3: Me man, I'm look, he's sitting in that third round,
Speaker 3: But I will honestly be confident in taking him in
Speaker 3: that second round. If we're going to iron out all
Speaker 3: these details about the Ravens offense. I mean, they had
Speaker 3: the second most red zone drive. So we already know
Speaker 3: this is a high power offense that's going to create
Speaker 3: a lot of scoring opportunities. And they had a franchise
Speaker 3: record last year of twenty six rush touchdowns. I think
Speaker 3: Henry and Lamar are going to clear that. And I
Speaker 3: say Lamar, I don't think he's going to be heavily
Speaker 3: used obviously in their goal line areas. But you don't
Speaker 3: really have to worry about that with Dereck Henry because honestly,
Speaker 3: Lamar only has eight rushing touchdowns, less than Tom Brady,
Speaker 3: who has ten since twenty eighteen on goal line carry.
Speaker 3: So I'm looking at this as a huge plus for
Speaker 3: Dereck Henry. So I agree fellas, like we're probably staring
Speaker 3: at twenty touchdowns by the time it's like week sixteen.
Speaker 1: Once he touchdowns by week sixteens, that means he still
Speaker 1: has potentially one more game toasts to turn it up.
Speaker 1: That's spicy. I Look, I love Derreck Henry. I'm willing
Speaker 1: to take that second round shot on him for sure,
Speaker 1: for sure.
Speaker 3: Man funny though that seems it seems crazy, but look,
Speaker 3: moster did twenty one total touchdowns last year. I mean,
Speaker 3: Derek Henry could do it. He's gonna throw for one.
Speaker 3: I guarantee he throws one.
Speaker 2: Wow, all right, he's gonna throw one. It's going to
Speaker 2: be such vintage.
Speaker 4: He's got to have at least five passing touchdowns.
Speaker 2: In his career, right, Oh man, we got to see now.
Speaker 1: It's a good thing, good thing for the Google that
Speaker 1: allows us to go and look for these sorts of things.
Speaker 4: Ah.
Speaker 1: He has four, no, four passing touchdowns in his career,
Speaker 1: including two last year. He's got five if you count
Speaker 1: the playoffs. Okay, there you go, and there's five. There's
Speaker 1: five passing touchdowns there, there is.
Speaker 2: Lukwan. How much do we believe in Zay Flowers?
Speaker 1: And are there any other receivers in Baltimore that you're
Speaker 1: willing to kind of take us swing at it?
Speaker 3: He's always been like a good flex for me. I
Speaker 3: really haven't been like two on the Baltimore Ravens like
Speaker 3: wide receivers because we really only get one relevant one
Speaker 3: at least dating back to you know, to Lamar Era.
Speaker 3: I mean, we have never seen two wide receivers to
Speaker 3: have fifty plus receptions or average ten Fantasy points per game.
Speaker 3: Like it's either one or the other. Like I really
Speaker 3: feel as though the second option of wide receivers in
Speaker 3: the Baltimore offensive really is almost non existent. So Zay
Speaker 3: Flowers is one of those guys that I don't see
Speaker 3: him having a huge bike weeks. He'll have a good
Speaker 3: service amount of numbers of like I guess, let's say
Speaker 3: twelve Fantasy points per game. I can see him finishing out.
Speaker 3: But this offense is gonna be such a run heavy
Speaker 3: offense to where like I can kind of see him
Speaker 3: getting sprinkled in with some rushing attents, maybe some jet sweeps,
Speaker 3: et cetera, et cetera, just trying to find more waste
Speaker 3: to get him in the end zone. But the dude
Speaker 3: really didn't have, you know, this pace to even hit
Speaker 3: a thousand yards if we're going to be honest. So
Speaker 3: it's like, when it comes to Baltimore wide receivers, I'm
Speaker 3: kind of out.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I like Artie wants to be excited about Zay Flowers,
Speaker 1: but I feel like there's just kind of a cap
Speaker 1: on production from Baltimore wide receivers generally. And I think
Speaker 1: now especially you know, we just spent how many minutes
Speaker 1: waxing poetic about Derrick Henry. You know that would seem
Speaker 1: to bode poorly. Also, the fact that Mark Andrews is
Speaker 1: back healthy again just doesn't seem to really bode well.
Speaker 1: I don't I don't know that I've drafted a lot
Speaker 1: of z Flowers. I think I may have stacked him
Speaker 1: a couple of times with with Lamar Jackson, but I
Speaker 1: don't know. Just something about it just sort of leaves
Speaker 1: me wanting more. Anybody else there that you're interested in Florio,
Speaker 1: any other Baltimore receivers you have any interest in non.
Speaker 4: Martin And we're talking real late in drafts. But Devon
Speaker 4: says Walker, I like him a good amount, like as
Speaker 4: the best ballflyer and stuff. Probably redraft, someone you leave
Speaker 4: on your waiver wire, but a name to write down
Speaker 4: to keep an eye on, because he is a he's
Speaker 4: a briner four three sixty. I believe he ran, He's
Speaker 4: excellent downfield. He was brought here to be this big
Speaker 4: play threat for Baltimore, which I think a lot of
Speaker 4: us wanted Rashad Bateman to become and it just hasn't
Speaker 4: happened yet. And I think Bateman could potentially early on
Speaker 4: Seymour snaps. But if Walker hits, I would not be
Speaker 4: surprised at all if he steals that job and becomes
Speaker 4: the primary X for Lamar Jackson. We're talking about a
Speaker 4: guy you get in the seventeenth, eighteenth round. So yeah,
Speaker 4: he's the only other one I've been taking. I haven't
Speaker 4: really taken shots on Mark Andrews or Jay Flowers because
Speaker 4: I really like the talent of Zay Flowers. I agree
Speaker 4: with everything that both of you guys said, but I
Speaker 4: do also think there's a chance that Jay Flowers can
Speaker 4: take over as the number one target here. Mark Andrews,
Speaker 4: about to be twenty nine years old, already wasn't earning
Speaker 4: targets at a super high rate last year, so and
Speaker 4: Flowers actually was out earning him and when they were
Speaker 4: out there on the field together in a target sense.
Speaker 4: So I think it's possible that either one of them
Speaker 4: could be the top target for Lamar, and you have
Speaker 4: to pay a premium price to get him. So I
Speaker 4: typically don't draft either.
Speaker 1: All right, Well, because since we're talking about Mark Andrews here,
Speaker 1: for either of you, is Isaiah likely?
Speaker 2: Is he worth it? Late round? Okay, there you go. Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2: I'll have to say the same thing.
Speaker 4: Yeah, definitely, one of my most drafts the tight ends
Speaker 4: actually really oh okay, because outside the top twenty, and
Speaker 4: let's remember what this guy was when Mark Andrews went down.
Speaker 4: He was a top ten tight end that was consistent
Speaker 4: every single week. Now, it might take an injury to
Speaker 4: Mark Andrews to get that again. But we're talking about
Speaker 4: how bad these wide receivers are after his eight flowers,
Speaker 4: who what's to stop them from saying, hey, let's get
Speaker 4: likely out there on the field. As much as we
Speaker 4: can run two tight end sets, put one of them
Speaker 4: in the slots something like that. So look, we're talking
Speaker 4: best ball outside the top twenty tight ends. I take
Speaker 4: a lot of shots on him.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, look, he averaged twelve fantasy points for
Speaker 3: a game and had five touchdowns in the last seven
Speaker 3: games when Andrews went out, and he actually had the
Speaker 3: second second highest target share on the team. So it's
Speaker 3: not like he's going in half in the work for
Speaker 3: to get the targets. Lamar is going to be looking
Speaker 3: for him, and most of the shots he was taken
Speaker 3: with him for those touchdowns were downfield. So I look
Speaker 3: at this as like a clear plug and play. If
Speaker 3: Andrews was to miss time at any point. So, just
Speaker 3: like Lareo said, he's probably like my second or third
Speaker 3: most drafted tight end behind John new Smith because of
Speaker 3: John Newsmith season. But we're gonna leave that for another episode.
Speaker 3: But I really like Isaiah likely Man. I do like
Speaker 3: him as a player all around. I would love if.
Speaker 1: The Ravens would use more too tight end sets in
Speaker 1: terms of percentage of plays.
Speaker 2: Good they were. There are only three teams that that
Speaker 2: did it less by percentage.
Speaker 4: Get Baitman off the fields and get likely.
Speaker 2: Are you are you part of Wait? Are you part
Speaker 2: of the you were shot Bateman Hive? Absolutely not.
Speaker 3: But I don't want our d N to be on.
Speaker 2: Fire at this Oh.
Speaker 1: I was like, wait, I thought, I thought what I
Speaker 1: was learning something? Did you go guys the dream? I
Speaker 1: thought I was just learning something about Lakwan right now? No, Nope, nope,
Speaker 1: other than he just doesn't want his dms to be
Speaker 1: on fire, which no, because a reasonable a reasonable statement.
Speaker 2: It's one of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Speaker 1: Last year, their top scorer Joe Burrow in an injury
Speaker 1: riddled year one hundred and forty seven point one points
Speaker 1: QB twenty five. Joe Mixon was your RB six two
Speaker 1: hundred and sixty seven points. Jamar Chase the top scoring
Speaker 1: wide receiver in Cincy. He was wide receiver eleven overall
Speaker 1: two hundred and sixty two point seven points.
Speaker 2: Tanner Hudson, Tanner Hudson.
Speaker 1: Your top scoring tight end, And I think if you
Speaker 1: had quizzed anyone, I would say ninety eight percent of
Speaker 1: people would not have been able to tell you that.
Speaker 1: I would have been one of those people. Tanner Hudson
Speaker 1: your top scoring tight end in Cincinnati. He was tied
Speaker 1: in twenty six eighty point two points. Off season, some
Speaker 1: of the big losses Joe Mixon, who is in Houston.
Speaker 1: We talked about earlier, Tyler Boyd. As they go out
Speaker 1: and make some moves back. One of those moves was
Speaker 1: to draft Jermaine Burton. They also added Zach Moss in
Speaker 1: free agency, no surprise. First Bengal off the board is
Speaker 1: Jamar Chase ADP of four point two. So if he
Speaker 1: somehow falls to you at five, consider yourself lucky. First question, Floria,
Speaker 1: how much do you believe in Zach Moss? And associated question,
Speaker 1: are you a believer at all? In Chase Brown?
Speaker 4: I think at where they're going, they're both fine shots.
Speaker 4: To take. I think Brown is obviously more explosive and
Speaker 4: potentially could be a little bit more utilized in the
Speaker 4: passing game. But Zach Moss is the one I like
Speaker 4: more because Zach Moss is also a good receiver. He
Speaker 4: is going to be the early down back. I think
Speaker 4: I believe he'll be the goal line back there. And
Speaker 4: we saw last season when Jonathan Taylor got hurt, Zach
Speaker 4: Moss put up RB I know this late in the
Speaker 4: season he disappointed when Taylor was out, but early on
Speaker 4: he was putting up RB one numbers. So I think
Speaker 4: Brown is what he is at this point, which is
Speaker 4: like a change of pace. Come in, big play guy,
Speaker 4: but you can't run a whole backfield through him. I
Speaker 4: think Massel will see a lot of volume. But again,
Speaker 4: you get Zach Moss in the eighth round and what
Speaker 4: Brown in like the ninth, tenth rounds. So both of
Speaker 4: them are are up side shots we're taking in their
Speaker 4: best ball adp. I do continue to believe that we're
Speaker 4: gonna see running backs heavily get pulled up the board
Speaker 4: once we shift to redraft. But for right now, where
Speaker 4: they're going, I love them.
Speaker 2: I don't know how you feel like, are you a
Speaker 2: Chase Brown guy at all? The kwan uh?
Speaker 3: It's an interesting backfield to be honest, Like, it's one
Speaker 3: of those things I haven't really ironed out to honestly,
Speaker 3: you know, have the right expectations for Zach masson Chase Brown,
Speaker 3: and like they're not heavily expensive and hopefully in drafts
Speaker 3: they don't get pulled up because of training camp noise.
Speaker 3: But it's more so, how is this workload gonna be split?
Speaker 3: Because we know Chase Brown can kind of be likely
Speaker 3: the past catching back and then you can see a
Speaker 3: lot of goal line opportunities for Zach Moss. But my
Speaker 3: worry is that, you know, maybe the Bengals may throw
Speaker 3: a lot more in the red zone now with their
Speaker 3: new toy with Jermaine Burton. So I feel like they
Speaker 3: run a lot of three wide receiver sets, So there's
Speaker 3: gonna be opportunities in that red zone that you know,
Speaker 3: maybe Joe Burrow fades it out or finds another situation,
Speaker 3: you know, dump it off to Zach Moss. But honestly,
Speaker 3: I think it's gonna be a little bit of like
Speaker 3: you need to have your expectations and make sure your
Speaker 3: roster build like You're not getting either one of these
Speaker 3: guys as your RB one, so you just have to
Speaker 3: have a nice little one to two punch and these
Speaker 3: guys can fill in as your RB three, RB four,
Speaker 3: So just have your expectations in order when drafting these guys.
Speaker 1: I will say that I'm I'm a little bit part
Speaker 1: of the Chase Brown hive. I'm not like necessarily super
Speaker 1: carrying the banner for him, but I do think let's go.
Speaker 1: I think there's a bigger year coming. I mean, I
Speaker 1: think I do think that anybody who goes really heavy
Speaker 1: on Zach Moss is going to be frustrated.
Speaker 2: Yeah, because I do think that because I also set
Speaker 2: the break out.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I kind of think that Zach Moss is a
Speaker 3: product of like how the Colts O line was as well,
Speaker 3: like a lot of those you know, in between the
Speaker 3: tackles that he was able to have those breaks. But
Speaker 3: I feel like we've always known that the Bengals O
Speaker 3: line has kind of been beat up the last couple
Speaker 3: of years, but they've been investing, you know, since trying
Speaker 3: to keep Joe Burrow healthy. But ultimately this offense is
Speaker 3: going to come down to Burrow staying healthy at the
Speaker 3: end of the day as.
Speaker 1: Well, Uh, Florida, what are expectations for for T Higgins
Speaker 1: this Year's like, you know, we haven't talked besides him
Speaker 1: in his contract situation.
Speaker 2: I feel like we haven't talked about him a lot.
Speaker 4: I think T Higgins is one of the more undervalued
Speaker 4: wide receivers right now.
Speaker 2: His ADP, he's.
Speaker 4: Going like barely in the top thirty wide receivers if
Speaker 4: I haven't correct, Yeah, wide receiver twenty nine right now.
Speaker 4: I know last year was bad. The year prior to
Speaker 4: that he was wide receiver twenty in points per game,
Speaker 4: nineteen and overall points. The year before that he was
Speaker 4: wide receiver thirteen in points per game, twenty four in
Speaker 4: total points. So I believe as long as Higgins and
Speaker 4: Burrows stay healthy, you are drafting Higgins probably below his floor.
Speaker 4: The floor is injury, and I get it. He's on
Speaker 4: a one year deal, franchise tag. He wants to get paid,
Speaker 4: so maybe if he gets banged up, he doesn't play.
Speaker 4: But let's also remember, like I really like Jamaine Burton.
Speaker 4: He's one of my favorite sleepers this year. He is
Speaker 4: still a rookie wide receiver. They lost Tyler Boyd, who
Speaker 4: Joe Burrow greatly trusted they lost Joe Mixon. I think
Speaker 4: it's possible we see and a greater emphasis on getting
Speaker 4: these two stud wide receivers the ball as much as possible.
Speaker 4: And T Higgins has proven to us he could be
Speaker 4: a high end wide receiver two, even opposite of Jamar Chase.
Speaker 4: Yet you're drafting him as a wide receiver three. So
Speaker 4: I'm actually this week gonna be working on the top
Speaker 4: ten values, an article that I'm gonna write for NFL
Speaker 4: dot com top ten values at the wide receiver position,
Speaker 4: and T Higgins, I'm almost positive is going to be
Speaker 4: in my top ten values.
Speaker 1: I mean, you mentioned that it wasn't a good year
Speaker 1: for him, but you also you know, I think you
Speaker 1: pointed out rightly that I think a lot of that
Speaker 1: was connected to having a quarterback who wasn't healthy. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I just I think everybody has sort of been you know,
Speaker 1: we're either you're going big and you're paying up for
Speaker 1: Jamar Chase, or everybody sort of feels like, well, I'll
Speaker 1: just wait and I'll take that shot on Jermaine Burton.
Speaker 1: I'm curious as to how this changes when we get
Speaker 1: to redraft season. Right now, now that we're in redraft season,
Speaker 1: if people sort of want the the more week to
Speaker 1: week consistency and what you know with T Higgins versus
Speaker 1: you know, the potential unknown of a Jermaine Burton and
Speaker 1: trying to figure out what's happening there.
Speaker 2: So just yeah, I don't know, I like it. I
Speaker 2: just feel like we haven't talked about him enough.
Speaker 4: Yeah, real quick, like T Higgins. So he played the
Speaker 4: first four games, That's when Joe Burrow was awful. Joe
Speaker 4: Burrow's breakout game last year came Week five. Higgins was inactive.
Speaker 4: The next game, he played just about half the snaps
Speaker 4: did game after that he got two thirds of the snaps.
Speaker 2: Then Joe Burrow and T.
Speaker 4: Higgins clicking on all cylinders. He went eight for one
Speaker 4: hundred and ten. Then he missed the next three games,
Speaker 4: and then Joe Burrow was gone for the season. I
Speaker 4: would argue we saw one game last year where Joe
Speaker 4: Burrow and T. Higgins were both fully healthy, and in
Speaker 4: that game to Higgins eight Yeah. No, I mean, I look,
Speaker 4: I think he's still a good receiver.
Speaker 1: I think we've just sort of kind of been clouded
Speaker 1: by what happened this offseason.
Speaker 2: Completely right now, Mike Gsicki is going as the tight end.
Speaker 1: I mean he is basically free in drafts la Quan
Speaker 1: so at that ADP smash or pass pass.
Speaker 3: No, I'm not going to ski man. He's not one
Speaker 3: of those late round guys that I want to have
Speaker 3: any interest in because back to back seasons he had
Speaker 3: less than four hundred receiving yards. I don't know if
Speaker 3: teams are not really understanding how to utilize him when
Speaker 3: we did get on that high training. But I think
Speaker 3: more so like he's not a guy that I'm really
Speaker 3: interested in because the Bengals have not had a tight
Speaker 3: end surpassed five hundred receiving yards since twenty twenty and
Speaker 3: no more than nine fantasy fantasy points per game either
Speaker 3: since twenty twenty. So it's like there's no real like
Speaker 3: upside for me to go out there and be like, yeah,
Speaker 3: I got Mike Koseki in like the twentieth round, all.
Speaker 1: Right, But but hear me out on this, right, because
Speaker 1: last year everything was a mess in New England, right, yeah,
Speaker 1: quarterback situation, everything was a complete mess in New England.
Speaker 1: Nobody was going to succeed there the year before that,
Speaker 1: those last couple of years in Miami, or at least
Speaker 1: the last year in Miami. You know, they tried a
Speaker 1: different thing with the offense. They were using him previously
Speaker 1: as a big slot receiver. Then Mike McDaniel's like, I'm
Speaker 1: gonna make you an actual tight end. I remember the
Speaker 1: comments of like I have to learn how to play
Speaker 1: tight end and that you know that that sort of
Speaker 1: happened out on him all year. Then yes, yeah, right,
Speaker 1: and I'm like that sort of had me out on
Speaker 1: him although he had what he had five touchdowns last year,
Speaker 1: even despite all that, Now he's in an offense where
Speaker 1: they're going to use him to his pass catching potential,
Speaker 1: Like they're not gonna ask him, I think to block
Speaker 1: a whole lot sweens go out and run routes and
Speaker 1: catch the football. And he's got a good quarterback, Like
Speaker 1: I'm not telling you he's gonna go out here and
Speaker 1: get you seven eight hundred yards. But for that price,
Speaker 1: I don't know, it feels I'm I'm willing to take
Speaker 1: the chance to take the risk on it.
Speaker 4: With that, I'm with you because, like so I said earlier,
Speaker 4: isaa likely one of my most late round targets. I
Speaker 4: agree with leakwan On, John new Smith, and Mike Aseki's
Speaker 4: my other one. Those are the three because Kiseki set
Speaker 4: the moment they signed him and let Tyler Boyd walk,
Speaker 4: I was like, he could be the new time in
Speaker 4: this offense. Like, he is not a tight end, he
Speaker 4: is a slot receiver. So it depends on how one
Speaker 4: If if all three of their top wide receivers stay healthy,
Speaker 4: that that will ding his value, and if they all
Speaker 4: are on the field consistently, that will ding his value.
Speaker 4: But I do think there's a good chance that we
Speaker 4: see Kaseki heavily utilized in the slot, and I think
Speaker 4: there's a shot he could be the best tight end
Speaker 4: that Joe Burrow has played with.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's probably not terrible. That's not a crazy thing
Speaker 1: to say, but also probably speaks to the tight ends
Speaker 1: that it's more that's been through there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 4: Hey.
Speaker 1: By the way, the Top one hundred is back, so
Speaker 1: find out who the players voted as the best player
Speaker 1: in the NFL. Head the NFL Plus starting July twenty
Speaker 1: second for exclusive daily drops and to find out who
Speaker 1: took home the trophy. Go to PlusD NFL dot com
Speaker 1: to sign up today. We're halfway through the AFCORR. To comeback,
Speaker 1: we'll talk some Browns and Steelers towards picking to the moon.
Speaker 1: We'll find out coming up here on the NFL Fantasy
Speaker 1: Football Podcast. The Cleveland Browns a riddle wrapped inside and
Speaker 1: enigma stuffed inside. A mystery when it comes to actual football,
Speaker 1: but in fantasy we sort of knew what was going
Speaker 1: on last year. Top fantasy scorers, it was Joe Flacco
Speaker 1: who was your top scoring fantasy quarterback. Before you get
Speaker 1: too excited, he was the QB thirty four, one hundred
Speaker 1: and ten point eight points, but he been in a
Speaker 1: short amount of time, so we'll give him that.
Speaker 2: To his credit.
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson in case you were curious, with the QB
Speaker 1: thirty seven eighty six point eight points. Jerome Ford ended
Speaker 1: up being your top scoring running back in Cleveland, of course,
Speaker 1: after the horrible knee injury to Nick Chubb. Two andred
Speaker 1: and eleven points for Ford, RB sixteen, Amari Cooper your
Speaker 1: top wide receiver to twenty seven for him. That was
Speaker 1: good for wide receiver twenty and David Joku. The Chief
Speaker 1: came to life late in the season, thanks in part
Speaker 1: to Joe Flacco tight end six two six point four
Speaker 1: the fantasy points for him. Key losses well, Joe Flacco,
Speaker 1: who is now in Indianapolis as the back up to
Speaker 1: Anthony Richardson, because of course, you know you want a
Speaker 1: quarterback who does the same things as Anthony Richardson, So
Speaker 1: why not Joe Flacco and key additions. They did make
Speaker 1: a trade to bring in Jerry Judy to bolster the
Speaker 1: wide receiver corps. Amari Cooper your first Brown drafted of
Speaker 1: an ADP of forty. So Lakwan will start with you,
Speaker 1: what do you expect for Deshaun Watson in twenty twenty four,
Speaker 1: Because let's be honest, it has not been great. It
Speaker 1: has been very ungod native for Deshaun Watson in Cleveland
Speaker 1: so far.
Speaker 2: I'm hoping that the rust is off.
Speaker 3: He could stay healthy, get into training camp and just
Speaker 3: have a breath of fresh air and kind of get
Speaker 3: this offense to be able to move downfield. They gave
Speaker 3: him a good separator in Jerry Judy, So my whole
Speaker 3: expectations of this offense to kind of look a lot
Speaker 3: better than it did last year. To start off, I mean,
Speaker 3: you look at the first three games, he had two interceptions.
Speaker 3: But in that last game against Tennessee, he actually kept
Speaker 3: a clean sheet with one hundred and twenty three passer rating,
Speaker 3: So you're hoping to keep that momentum. And then the
Speaker 3: very next game that's when he suffered the injury. So
Speaker 3: it's like, if we can get a healthy Deshaun Watson
Speaker 3: the game momentum, I think this offense can actually go
Speaker 3: downfield and create some scoring opportunities. So I'm Marii Cooper,
Speaker 3: Jerry Judy, even David Nijok, who has a big tight
Speaker 3: end threat, he is in that red zone. Like I know,
Speaker 3: we all want the chief to be back in the
Speaker 3: conversation of the top five tight end. So I think
Speaker 3: Deshaun Watson ultimately, it will just have to come down
Speaker 3: to health for this Browns offense to succeed.
Speaker 4: You're willing to draft Watson at all, Florio, I haven't,
Speaker 4: but I've started to reconsider. I I was on a
Speaker 4: show like a week ago with Lawrence Jackson, and he
Speaker 4: pointed out that Watson's best game of the year was
Speaker 4: his final game, the one against the Ravens, where he
Speaker 4: completed every pass in the second half and led them
Speaker 4: to victory. Dropping over thirty points against what was the
Speaker 4: best defense in football last year, who made a bunch
Speaker 4: of really good quarterbacks look like mortals. So maybe that
Speaker 4: was him starting to turn it together. But one thing
Speaker 4: I do think that gets overlooked with Deshaun Watson as
Speaker 4: bad as he was last year, and we were harping
Speaker 4: on that a lot, eighteen or more fantasy points in
Speaker 4: three of his full five games that he played, largely
Speaker 4: because of rushing touchdowns. But with Nick Chubb hurt, maybe
Speaker 4: we see him use near the goal line a little
Speaker 4: bit more. The fact that he's cheaper than ever and
Speaker 4: you could get him at what something like QB twenty two. Uh,
Speaker 4: maybe I need to change my stance of it, because
Speaker 4: I do think there's still some up. I know we
Speaker 4: haven't seen it in years, and I don't think he's
Speaker 4: gonna get back to what he was with the Texans,
Speaker 4: but like somewhere in the middle would still be a
Speaker 4: lot better than what we've seen as of late.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I just I don't know that I'm willing to
Speaker 2: take the swing on Watson.
Speaker 1: I'm just sort of hoping that he's not a disaster
Speaker 1: for the sake of the pieces around him.
Speaker 4: You know, you don't.
Speaker 1: He doesn't need to be great for like guys like
Speaker 1: Amari Cooper and David and Joku to succeed.
Speaker 2: He just needs to not be awful. Yeah, that's all.
Speaker 2: That's all.
Speaker 1: I mean, that's kind of all I'm hoping for h
Speaker 1: right now. Okay, So I'm gonna ask you, Lakwan, because
Speaker 1: I know you are drafting Nick Chubb.
Speaker 4: No.
Speaker 1: I said it on this showing. Both Floor and I
Speaker 1: were like, hey, man, if we're wrong, then like, hey,
Speaker 1: that's great. Like if he comes out, he balls out,
Speaker 1: that's great. I'm not willing to do it, but no,
Speaker 1: I mean, like, explain to me, because obviously you feel
Speaker 1: like he's a value. I just I want you to
Speaker 1: make your case to the people out there about why
Speaker 1: they might want to consider drafting Nick Chubb.
Speaker 3: I mean, look at this. I honestly know he's gonna
Speaker 3: start the season off on pup. But we're talking about
Speaker 3: a guy that can lift a bus over his head.
Speaker 3: I've told you this multiple times, and then the very
Speaker 3: next day he's lifting like four hundred pounds. And I
Speaker 3: understand that there was like some analyzing of the video
Speaker 3: where he had to put and shift different way on
Speaker 3: the different leg But I think more so, you're still
Speaker 3: gonna get Nick Chubb in those late rounds, so you're
Speaker 3: not really gonna be facing any type of burn. He's
Speaker 3: gonna be like your RB four or five and on
Speaker 3: the back end of the season when it starts getting
Speaker 3: cold and he hits that Captain America super juice and
Speaker 3: he's back ready to go. You have a running back
Speaker 3: that when he comes back to that room, there is
Speaker 3: no question. If it's a Deontay Former, if it's a
Speaker 3: Jerome Ford, it is Nick Chubb's backfield. And I would
Speaker 3: love to have that type of attitude and have that
Speaker 3: built of a running back just going into the playoffs.
Speaker 2: So that is my case.
Speaker 3: Man, you're getting a freak athlete. You never bet against
Speaker 3: freak athletes.
Speaker 1: Is Captain America super Juice on the NFL's list of
Speaker 1: banned substances? Yes, I mean like I feel like Steve
Speaker 1: Rodgers would have been getting in like a letter in
Speaker 1: his locker every single week for like a drug test.
Speaker 2: Absolutely so, Floria.
Speaker 1: Obviously everybody's drafting Amari Cooper. I don't think anybody has
Speaker 1: a problem with that. Are there any other Browns receivers
Speaker 1: after that? You would take a shot at No, I'm
Speaker 1: not really doing the Jerry Judy thing.
Speaker 4: I'm not doing a more if the late Browns that
Speaker 4: I target are running backs. Actually, like like, I think
Speaker 4: Deantay Foreman is a really good value for where you
Speaker 4: get him. I got him in like the nineteenth round
Speaker 4: of the scot Nice Wow, something like that. I like
Speaker 4: jerrooam Ford, who goes around where Nick Chubb goes. So
Speaker 4: if I'm going for late round Browns, it's typically running backs.
Speaker 1: I think that's fair because I'm sitting here looking at
Speaker 1: the depth chart and like, I'm with you. I'm not
Speaker 1: in Elijah Moore real nasty work, you know. I really
Speaker 1: I tried last year to get in on it, right
Speaker 1: because remember he was in New York with Flacco. You know,
Speaker 1: they seem to have a good connection there. Flacco was
Speaker 1: kind of talking him up early, so I really tried
Speaker 1: to hype him up and that that didn't work at all.
Speaker 1: You got nothing out of Flacco. I'm with you, I
Speaker 1: just you know, I don't know. I sort of like
Speaker 1: go of the rope on Jerry Judy. I mean, looks
Speaker 1: Cedric Hillman, David Bell, Uh, you know, stop me when
Speaker 1: I stop me? When I say a name that you're
Speaker 1: gonna get excited about, Jamari Thrash, Jalen Darden.
Speaker 4: Cedric Hillman is the one I would probably get most
Speaker 4: excited about. But I'm not drafting.
Speaker 3: Yeah yeah, I mean David Bell and me have the
Speaker 3: same birthday, so that works out.
Speaker 2: Oh well, that's cool.
Speaker 3: I don't know, random thing.
Speaker 2: I don't know where to go anywhere.
Speaker 1: Alright, that's cool. That's cool, all right, So I guess
Speaker 1: where we go from there? It's Pittsburgh. We go to
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh Steelers. To round out our AFC North Preview Top
Speaker 1: twenty twenty three fantasy scorers. Kenny Pickett, who put up
Speaker 1: a grand total of one hundred and ten point two
Speaker 1: points that was good for QB thirty one, Jalen Warren
Speaker 1: and Najee Harris, who I think two years in a
Speaker 1: row now they have been back to backs. I feel
Speaker 1: like it was like this last year. Warren's your RB
Speaker 1: twenty two one hundred ninety six point four points. Najie
Speaker 1: Harris was the RB twenty three one hundred and ninety
Speaker 1: five point five. So basically what point nine points less
Speaker 1: than one point separated the two of them.
Speaker 2: George Pickens two hundred and eight point eight points.
Speaker 1: He was wide receiver thirty Pat Fryarmouth your top tight
Speaker 1: end tight end twenty nine seventy six point eight points
Speaker 1: in a season where he was not completely healthy, So
Speaker 1: that had a.
Speaker 2: Lot to do with it. There key losses.
Speaker 1: They lose Deontay Johnson to the Carolina Panthers this offseason,
Speaker 1: but they do pick up Van Jefferson and Cordero Patterson.
Speaker 2: I don't know if I can still be a van
Speaker 2: Stan when it comes to Jefferson. I did. I tried
Speaker 2: for years. I was a van Stan for you.
Speaker 3: I was there with you, man, you already know. And
Speaker 3: it's sad it never quite happened.
Speaker 2: By the way.
Speaker 1: Shout out to Cordero Patterson. I just got married, I
Speaker 1: believe over the weekend. Okay, spillers saw the Steelers posting
Speaker 1: some some wedding photos. So congratulations to mister and missus Patterson.
Speaker 1: Shout out to you guys. First off the board, George
Speaker 1: Pickens an ADP of thirty eight point nine. All right,
Speaker 1: you gotta pick one whose backfield is it? Who is
Speaker 1: the RB one in Pittsburgh, Florio? Is it Najie Harris
Speaker 1: or is it Jalen Warren.
Speaker 4: In volume, it'll probably be Nase Harris, but I think
Speaker 4: in production and in the one that I want to
Speaker 4: target and draft, it's Jalen Warren. Warren last year was
Speaker 4: top six an explosive run rate, runs that win for
Speaker 4: ten or more yards, runs that win for fifteen or
Speaker 4: more yards, run that went for twenty or more yards,
Speaker 4: mistackles forced per tent yards after contact per a tenth
Speaker 4: rush yards over expectation, and target share, which is the
Speaker 4: huge thing because if he's seeing suppressed volume compared to
Speaker 4: Naji Harrison, I do think Nause will be the guy
Speaker 4: that on early downs and stuff like that they'll rely on.
Speaker 4: Warren could make up for the decrease and carries by
Speaker 4: being a more explosive runner. And then you add in
Speaker 4: that he's a better pass catcher and everything, and the
Speaker 4: fact that maybe Arthur Smith surprises us and uses him
Speaker 4: near the goal line a little bit more than Pittsburgh
Speaker 4: did last year. And so at an RB three price,
Speaker 4: I think they're both appropriately priced, but I like Jalen
Speaker 4: Warren a lot more.
Speaker 2: Who you got as the RB one look one, I'm
Speaker 2: gonna go Jaalen Warren.
Speaker 3: Things can get weird with Arthur smith I mean, honestly,
Speaker 3: we've seen Tyler a jer last year getting utilized a
Speaker 3: lot more than we expected, so hopefully Warren can be
Speaker 3: used the same. And these last two seasons, nobody has
Speaker 3: a rush outside the tackles more than the Falcons, so
Speaker 3: that's where Jalen Warren was really explosive and able to
Speaker 3: get a lot of the production downfield. And also adding
Speaker 3: that he's the better pass catcher as well. And you
Speaker 3: have a Russell Wilson back there who had a twenty
Speaker 3: six percent oh I'm sorry, a twenty nine percent running
Speaker 3: back target share as well, which was the highest. And
Speaker 3: we got to understand Arthur smith Man. He knows to
Speaker 3: get the ball to his wide receivers and to the
Speaker 3: running backs that are explosive. I mean desmid Ritter was
Speaker 3: fourth last year and running back target percentage also, So
Speaker 3: there is a little perfect marriage here where Jalen Warren
Speaker 3: can be utilized at a high rate now and I
Speaker 3: think it might end up being his backfield when it's
Speaker 3: all said and done.
Speaker 1: I think Najie Harris is the RB one, but that's
Speaker 1: pretty much a name only, like it's a title. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, I think they are both the lead running
Speaker 1: back if that makes sense, right, because they are going
Speaker 1: to be used in different ways. But we've seen the
Speaker 1: last two years that the workload has been split fairly
Speaker 1: evenly between the two of them. I mean, I think,
Speaker 1: like I said, I think we're back to back years
Speaker 1: of them finishing one spot behind the other when it
Speaker 1: comes to fantasy totals at the end of the season.
Speaker 1: So I mean saying Najie Harris is the RB one
Speaker 1: is basically like, yeah, he's the guy who's gonna be
Speaker 1: on the field first when the offense comes out, you know, Like,
Speaker 1: but I think either way, uh, they're gonna see similar numbers.
Speaker 1: I've taken Harris because at least early on, like his
Speaker 1: ADP was slightly better, but then when it has kind
Speaker 1: of flipped, then I've got I've gotten Najie Harris because
Speaker 1: you know, I guess it's gonna be right. Floyda, are
Speaker 1: we overlooking bad Firemouth? At tight end fourteen, he says
Speaker 1: he's healthy. All the reports out of camp have been
Speaker 1: pretty glowing. Should we be buying in on him at
Speaker 1: this point?
Speaker 2: Yes?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I target him as my tight end one, uh,
Speaker 4: or as like a high end tight end two drafts
Speaker 4: where I don't love my stuff, Like if I miss
Speaker 4: out on like Kincaid and Pits and I wait then
Speaker 4: on the position, prior Mouth is usually a name that
Speaker 4: I'm going after because you always hear like Russell Wilson
Speaker 4: loves throwing to the tight end, especially in the red zone,
Speaker 4: and that has historically been true. Like it's not like
Speaker 4: a one or two year blip or whatever like this
Speaker 4: goes back to Jimmy Graham and Will Disley and stuff
Speaker 4: like that in Seattle. And then they don't have a
Speaker 4: clear cut number two guy, like it could be Van Jefferson,
Speaker 4: it could be Roman Wilson, it could be a couple
Speaker 4: other different options they're throwing out there. So friar Mouth
Speaker 4: easily could be the number two target in this offense,
Speaker 4: behind only George Pickens. And I think he's getting disrespected
Speaker 4: a little bit because of one, how poor the quarterback
Speaker 4: play was last year. But also remember he was like
Speaker 4: in and out of the lineup, banged up a bit.
Speaker 4: So I just think it was a lost year for
Speaker 4: Pat Frye mouton that in the Steelers system.
Speaker 1: I mean, I do think the biggest part of this
Speaker 1: is the fact that there isn't a clear cut second
Speaker 1: target in this offense. You know, we all know George
Speaker 1: Pickens is gonna be that guy. I have not heard
Speaker 1: anything that gets you fired up about Roman Wilson so
Speaker 1: far this offseason. I mean, you know there are Look,
Speaker 1: there was talks that maybe they'd be in on Brandon
Speaker 1: Ayuk if he was available.
Speaker 2: I think that I get it. I yuks a guy
Speaker 2: that most teams are going to take a shot at.
Speaker 1: But I think the fact that these Steelers were very
Speaker 1: heavily attached to him, I think says a lot. You know,
Speaker 1: they're they're trying to make Van Jefferson their wide receiver
Speaker 1: too right now. I just I think that that bodes
Speaker 1: well for Friar with being able to get open and
Speaker 1: get some some targets there. And I do like the
Speaker 1: point about Russell Wilson and the tide ends he could
Speaker 1: just never keep one healthy. So I don't know if
Speaker 1: I don't know if that's just a coincidence thing, or
Speaker 1: if this is like Russell putting his dudes in harm
Speaker 1: with Harm's Way hospital balls.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if he's if
Speaker 2: he's you know, out there doing that. So I don't.
Speaker 1: I have no idea, But speaking of Russell Wilson, he's
Speaker 1: the QB thirty, Justin Fields is the QB thirty two Lakwander,
Speaker 1: either or both of those guys worth drafting.
Speaker 3: I think Russell Wilson's a good QB two. I feel like,
Speaker 3: more so have your expectations and be ready to pivot
Speaker 3: if he ends up getting benched. But I'm honestly going
Speaker 3: into this season confident that Russell Wilson will go in
Speaker 3: get the playbook down pack, and I do like the
Speaker 3: weapons that they're trying to put around him. If the
Speaker 3: Brandon Aiyuk rumor is true and he gets Brandon Ayuk,
Speaker 3: I think we honestly see that ADP come up a
Speaker 3: little higher than QB thirty. And I feel as though
Speaker 3: he wasn't that bad last year, Like he wasn't terrible.
Speaker 3: It's not like he had a Zach Wilson season or
Speaker 3: Kenny Pickett season. This is a huge upgrade for this
Speaker 3: offensive round. George Picken's going to be a lot more
Speaker 3: attractive in drafts to go out and get. And we
Speaker 3: just talked about Pat Fyromf. I mean, he's such a great,
Speaker 3: big talent that never really had a chance to show
Speaker 3: his full fantasy potential because of the QB plays. So
Speaker 3: we're all looking at these pieces, man, and the more
Speaker 3: I keep looking at their depth chart, the more I
Speaker 3: keep looking at their values and drafts. Like I'm kind
Speaker 3: of in on Steelers players at the price makes sense.
Speaker 3: So definitely Russell Wilson.
Speaker 1: I feel like, didn't you say you drafted Justin Fields
Speaker 1: Floria at least in Best Ball a couple of times.
Speaker 4: Oh oh yeah, I take him everywhere. It's like QP
Speaker 4: three in Best Ball because and then to be honest, like,
Speaker 4: I'm not gonna draft him in redraft because I do
Speaker 4: think Russell Wilson will start the year. But I'm much
Speaker 4: more interested in Justin Field started than Russell Wilson because
Speaker 4: I think Wilson is better for like George Pickens and
Speaker 4: Pat Fryer mood. So I'm cool taking those guys. But
Speaker 4: remember last year, like Wilson, he was someone that I
Speaker 4: was putting like in the start sit a lot, and basically,
Speaker 4: if it was a good matchup, you were looking at
Speaker 4: somewhere like fifteen to maybe eighteen fantasy points, and if
Speaker 4: it was a bad matchup, you were getting something like
Speaker 4: thirteen to feel like most weeks he was sitting around
Speaker 4: fifteen fantasy points, and that is so low and it's
Speaker 4: a low floor. And one thing I've been thinking a
Speaker 4: lot lately, and I could be wrong. I'm purely speculating here,
Speaker 4: but I truly think if you asked Mike Tomlin, who's
Speaker 4: better for a seventeen game season, it is Russell Wilson.
Speaker 4: But who can you win you needed to win one game,
Speaker 4: who would you choose? I think he would choose Justin
Speaker 4: Fields because of the running ability, the ability to control
Speaker 4: the clock and trust your defense. Then so I continue
Speaker 4: to think that we could see a quarterback change at
Speaker 4: some point, and Justin Fields is maybe the only quarterback
Speaker 4: three ever. Uh and for fantasy purposes that we know
Speaker 4: if he starts hop fun I.
Speaker 1: Mean, that's sort of it, right. I think everybody is.
Speaker 1: I think the general attitude is if he plays, then
Speaker 1: I'm willing to start him. It's just a question of,
Speaker 1: you know, will he play. I guess more of when
Speaker 1: he will play, because I do think at some point
Speaker 1: he's going to start this season. It's just a matter
Speaker 1: of how long they will with Russ before they turned
Speaker 1: things over to Fields.
Speaker 3: Have them split man sixty forty every game that was
Speaker 3: coming off the bench.
Speaker 2: That would be a disaster.
Speaker 1: I mean it'd be great for us, but for the
Speaker 1: actual Steelers offense, that would be a complete disaster for sure.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's it.
Speaker 1: That's all I got on that, all right there, you know,
Speaker 1: there's a look at the AFC North. Of course, we'll
Speaker 1: be back with you on Wednesday. We'll take a look
Speaker 1: at the NFC North as well, so stay tuned for that,
Speaker 1: and then on Thursday we'll have another edition of the
Speaker 1: cheat sheet.
Speaker 2: Kung Fu Hustle. That is the movie.
Speaker 1: I'll let you know early because I think last week
Speaker 1: I kind of reminded you late about Gladiator. Florio, and
Speaker 1: thank you for reminding me. Right now, it's only an
Speaker 1: hour and a half and a half. It's like it's
Speaker 1: like ninety minutes. Like you know, Gladiator is like a
Speaker 1: solid two and a half hours. It's an enjoyable two
Speaker 1: and a half hours. Yeah, I've got to say that
Speaker 1: was worth it, but two and a half hours. Nonetheless,
Speaker 1: this will be a little bit easier, So check that
Speaker 1: out on Thursday as we get you another edition of
Speaker 1: the cheat sheet. In the meantime, that'll do it for
Speaker 1: this edition of the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Stay happy,
Speaker 1: safe and healthy, do good and live well, and we'll
Speaker 1: talk to you on Wednesday. Woo