Speaker 1: Hey everybody, It's Wednesday, August seventh, twenty twenty four. Welcome
Speaker 1: to the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, where we're checking the
Speaker 1: weather for Canton. To me your man, NAMG Marcus Grand
Speaker 1: joined by Michael F. Florio and Lakwan joneson do the
Speaker 1: Avengers have a symbol? Yes? All here, We're all here.
Speaker 1: It's crazy. I could see you, I know. I mean,
Speaker 1: LaQuan is always here because he's doing good morning football.
Speaker 1: But Florio and I have you know, tend to sit
Speaker 1: around in basketball shorts and socks and stuff before. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, maybe do something to the hair. Maybe that's
Speaker 1: not even a guarantee. But we're all here today. It's
Speaker 1: all nice to be back in person. We got a
Speaker 1: lot to talk about. We're going to dive into our
Speaker 1: division preview with the NFC South today. Uh so we
Speaker 1: will talk about those four teams there. So I let's
Speaker 1: start with Brandon Ayuk. And let me just preface this
Speaker 1: by saying, we are recording this on August seventh at
Speaker 1: ten am Pacific time, right, that is when we are
Speaker 1: recording this show. So who knows what's going to happen
Speaker 1: in the interim. By the time this thing is released.
Speaker 1: By the time it gets to your ears, we don't know,
Speaker 1: but as of this moment, it would appear that the
Speaker 1: forty nine Ers and Pittsburgh Steelers are very much engaged
Speaker 1: in trade negotiations. For Brandon Ayuk to get to Pittsburgh,
Speaker 1: the Steelers would then have to sign him to a
Speaker 1: new contract or a contract extension rather, and then there's
Speaker 1: some compensation coming back the other way. There has been rumor,
Speaker 1: there has been innuendo for all of us, there's nothing
Speaker 1: really really concrete. For Lakwan, he is rejoicing at the
Speaker 1: idea of Brandon Ayuk being out of the division right now. Yes,
Speaker 1: but I mean legitimately OQ. Just from a football and
Speaker 1: a fantasy standpoint, Let's talk on the idea of Brandon
Speaker 1: I being a Pittsburgh Steeler. I've he steps into the
Speaker 1: number one wide receiver spot. There will he be or
Speaker 1: can he be as productive with Russell Wilson or justin
Speaker 1: fields at quarterback as he was in Kyle Shanahan's offense
Speaker 1: with brock Perty.
Speaker 2: I think so, man. I won't say he'll be a
Speaker 2: better situation, but it'll be a nice lateral situation where
Speaker 2: he could still be efficient he can still be productive.
Speaker 2: He'll be the number one there. And I think the
Speaker 2: Steelers honestly need this help at the wide receiver cord
Speaker 2: because you got a bunch of just guys there after
Speaker 2: George Pickens and George Pickens, we already have our questions
Speaker 2: with if he's going to be able to produce at
Speaker 2: the full potential that we know that this offense honestly
Speaker 2: needs a star wide receiver. Losing Deontay Johnson, you're losing
Speaker 2: somebody that can separate you. Bringing somebody like Brandon Aiyuk
Speaker 2: that's one of the elite separators. This helps his team
Speaker 2: a ton. So I'm in on it for fantasy man.
Speaker 2: I'm really liking it for Russell.
Speaker 1: I mean, how are you feeling about Ayuke before this
Speaker 1: Florio and does this changes go up or down for you?
Speaker 3: I'm probably more bullish on Ayuke then I think others
Speaker 3: might be. I have him as a wide receiver one.
Speaker 3: I think I I'm pulling up right now. I believe
Speaker 3: I have him in my top ten. I know I
Speaker 3: have him ahead of Devant. Yeah, he's tenth for me.
Speaker 3: I have him ahead of London and Adams and Collins
Speaker 3: and big names like that. So because of that, I
Speaker 3: have drafted a lot of him already, so so and
Speaker 3: my number one value wide receiver in my article, and
Speaker 3: one of the players I've drafted the most is George
Speaker 3: Pickens because I personally think like a huge breakout is
Speaker 3: coming with Russell Wilson. We know that, uh he could
Speaker 3: win downfield and everything, and I think Russ could take
Speaker 3: advantage of that. But it would depend if Pickens is
Speaker 3: in the trade or not.
Speaker 4: Because we've heard rules.
Speaker 3: If he's not in the trade and Auke goes there,
Speaker 3: I'm a little bit soured on both of them because
Speaker 3: I don't think I Uke no offense to Russ or
Speaker 3: the Steelers. I don't think he could be as efficient
Speaker 3: on any team as he's been on the forty nine Ers.
Speaker 4: So now if he's not.
Speaker 3: Getting that huge bump in volume, then I think I
Speaker 3: start to be a little concerned.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I think so that is the room.
Speaker 1: Right Again, none of this is is solidified as we
Speaker 1: are doing this show, but there is chowder that it
Speaker 1: could be George Pickens as part of the package coming
Speaker 1: back the other way to San Francisco, George Pickens as
Speaker 1: a forty nine Er. I mean.
Speaker 2: How did does he fit that's like that, like that
Speaker 2: does the energy fit like Black Air Force energy going
Speaker 2: to San Francisco.
Speaker 1: I don't know if that fits over there.
Speaker 2: I don't know if Kyle wants that.
Speaker 1: In the room. Yeah, I mean I think I think
Speaker 1: it becomes incumbent on you know, some of the veterans
Speaker 1: to sort of make sure he sort of fits in. Now. Look,
Speaker 1: maybe just the prospect of being on a team that
Speaker 1: has Super Bowl aspirations is enough. Look, I get it,
Speaker 1: Pittsburgh has a standard, right, the Steelers have been a
Speaker 1: long standing successful franchise. Mike Thomlins never had a losing season.
Speaker 1: I know all of that. But the Niners really are
Speaker 1: on the doorstep of trying to win a Super Bowl.
Speaker 1: Maybe that's the thing that sort of gets George Pickens
Speaker 1: to be like, all right, we gotta lock in, we
Speaker 1: gotta go play. But he's not a one to one
Speaker 1: to Brandon Ayuk at all he can do.
Speaker 3: He could play a similar role I think of like
Speaker 3: the field stretcher and the one that helps create space
Speaker 3: for everyone else.
Speaker 1: But I don't.
Speaker 3: So this is why I say, I don't think you
Speaker 3: could be as efficient anywhere else in the history are
Speaker 3: going back since targets have become a stat in nineteen
Speaker 3: ninety two, any player in that span that is what
Speaker 3: thirty something years, who has had one hundred and five
Speaker 3: targets or less. No one has ever had thirteen hundred
Speaker 3: yards besides Brandon Nyuk last year.
Speaker 1: Wow, So like it was off the chart of fishing.
Speaker 3: And that's the thing, Like even this year in San
Speaker 3: Franzi's gonna have a tough time repeating that. But if
Speaker 3: you put him now on another offense where he doesn't
Speaker 3: have all of the other playmakers, and specifically Kyle Shanahan,
Speaker 3: who I still think is underrated as a play caller,
Speaker 3: Like I think that there's question, there's concerns.
Speaker 4: At least, whereas now we don't have those.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, it's just gonna be it's gonna be
Speaker 1: an interesting fit. And you know, chances are we're not
Speaker 1: going to see any of the forty nine or starters
Speaker 1: in preseason in any real way. So you know, now
Speaker 1: you've got Christian McCaffrey, who's also dealing with a little
Speaker 1: bit of an injury. They're going to keep him out
Speaker 1: for a couple of weeks.
Speaker 4: I wanted to ask you about that is that.
Speaker 1: How do you well?
Speaker 4: One every forty nine er? It seems like it's heart
Speaker 4: right now.
Speaker 1: The whole team just got hurt with the rams man.
Speaker 1: They all got hurt. Yeah, I can't say anything.
Speaker 4: Oh, are you guys downgrading CMC at all?
Speaker 1: I am? I am?
Speaker 2: Are you I am? But not by much. I'm putting
Speaker 2: bijon at one. But okay, we'll get to that later.
Speaker 1: But and You're not the only person I've seen say that, right,
Speaker 1: And so I guess for me, I guess because the
Speaker 1: downgrade is so minimal. It's like, who can why.
Speaker 4: Someone asked me last night, like, are you downgrading him?
Speaker 3: I was like, probably, I'll probably go like ceedee lamb
Speaker 3: or tyreek Hill over him the first day, But that's.
Speaker 1: About moving it from like one to two. Yeah, exactly
Speaker 1: know at that point that's not really a down. So
Speaker 1: that's not really a down, you know what I'm saying. So,
Speaker 1: uh So the answer is no, I'm not. This feels
Speaker 1: like some you know, Kawhi Leonard James Harden load management
Speaker 1: sort of thing, right, Like, yeah, he's got a little
Speaker 1: bit of an injury.
Speaker 4: He did have the quad last year.
Speaker 1: He did he did I don't know if it's the same.
Speaker 1: I think it is, but I'm not sure. But yeah,
Speaker 1: like he wasn't gonna play preseason, and you know he's
Speaker 1: gonna miss like I think maybe a week or two
Speaker 1: of practice. But it's Christian McCaffrey. Man, he's gonna touch
Speaker 1: the ball three hundred plus times. He's gonna he's gonna
Speaker 1: have targets, he's gonna do all that.
Speaker 2: It does make me feel good to go pick up
Speaker 2: Jordan Mason. I'm gonna be banging that drum for a
Speaker 2: long time because look, you stay ready so you don't
Speaker 2: have to get ready. And I love what I've seen
Speaker 2: from Jordan Mason. He's been my underdog guy. Like I
Speaker 2: love to see the guys that don't get mentioned much
Speaker 2: get the opportunity and take advantage of it.
Speaker 1: It's all fun and games until Matt Brida has one hundred.
Speaker 5: There's so many put that in the drafted and like
Speaker 5: no one is talking. That's what I'm saying at all,
Speaker 5: all right, So there he goes. That's our Brandon Ayuk chatter.
Speaker 1: Hopefully it stays semi semi static until we get this
Speaker 1: podcast out, but knowing our look, it won't anyway. It
Speaker 1: is time now to drive your draft, presented by the
Speaker 1: all new hybrid Toyota Camry. We have officially hit the preseason.
Speaker 1: Last week was the Hall of Fame game. It played,
Speaker 1: you know, didn't even get through four quarters. But now
Speaker 1: we have a full slate of preseason games. Uh, the
Speaker 1: three of us will all be in. Can't you maybe
Speaker 1: trying to peek it somewhere?
Speaker 3: Look, the Bills are on NFL networks Saturday afternoon. I
Speaker 3: hope you guys will and we're locked in. Join me
Speaker 3: for a day drink.
Speaker 2: As we watch.
Speaker 1: Possibly, I know I will be doing the King's Classic
Speaker 1: Draft drafting.
Speaker 2: We'll be somewhere.
Speaker 1: If you want to go buy Florio or Laquanta drink,
Speaker 1: I'm sure they're not going to say no to that,
Speaker 1: not tequila. So so let's talk about preseason week one,
Speaker 1: just sort of in general terms, I mean, Florida. When
Speaker 1: when you were sitting down to watch these games, how
Speaker 1: are they? Maybe? And plenty of them are gonna be
Speaker 1: on NFL network, all of them, they will all be
Speaker 1: on NFL network at some point. What sorts of things
Speaker 1: are you looking for at this point?
Speaker 3: I care about opportunities like if the starting quarterback and
Speaker 3: o linemen and all that are out there for one drive,
Speaker 3: I care about what receivers and running backs are used
Speaker 3: on that drive. I don't care about results nearly as
Speaker 3: much as I care about targets and snaps played and
Speaker 3: stuff like that. In fact, the thing I always say
Speaker 3: is like, if you're really high on a player, you
Speaker 3: probably don't want that player going off in preseason because
Speaker 3: then their price is just gonna go up. Or you know,
Speaker 3: this will always happen, like someone will have one big
Speaker 3: run and it'll go super viral on fantasy Twitter. And
Speaker 3: and I don't care, Like, yes, if I'm excited about
Speaker 3: a guy because they're very explosive and he shows that,
Speaker 3: I get excited. But more than anything, I think what
Speaker 3: we should be paying attention to is snaps and targets
Speaker 3: and how opportunities distributed with the starters.
Speaker 1: Any anything else that you have your eye on for this.
Speaker 2: So I'm just going to follow that. It's always about opportunities.
Speaker 2: Like you love your guys coming out of the draft.
Speaker 2: You want them to get on the field and see
Speaker 2: what they look like. And it's definitely impressive that they're
Speaker 2: doing it early in the in the quarter where it's
Speaker 2: with the ones on the field, So like, I'm looking
Speaker 2: for guys that are just going to be able to
Speaker 2: step up and have the opportunity to get on the
Speaker 2: field and perform at a NFL level.
Speaker 1: I'm also looking for who's playing with what unit right, Like, granted,
Speaker 1: we know a lot of teams aren't going to play
Speaker 1: their starters or not play them for very long. But
Speaker 1: I want to see who's out there with the first team.
Speaker 1: I want to see who's out there with the second team.
Speaker 1: Just sort of where you're slotting right now.
Speaker 2: How long are they out there?
Speaker 1: How long are they going to be out there? Right?
Speaker 1: I mean we were joking about a couple of years ago,
Speaker 1: Josh Jacobs played pretty much all of the Hall of
Speaker 1: Fame game and we all panicked, like we just started
Speaker 1: setting fire to our Josh Jacobs shares. And then he
Speaker 1: went out and had like a career year that year.
Speaker 3: Why they should start playing him? Maybe he needs that
Speaker 3: time to ramp up. I don't know, like they didn't
Speaker 3: play him year and there and then.
Speaker 1: So here's my official preseason taken. I don't know if
Speaker 1: I've ever said this on the show. Preseason is good
Speaker 1: and preseason is necessary. I understand that the league is
Speaker 1: trying to pare down preseason games, maybe do away with
Speaker 1: them as we add more regular season games. But my
Speaker 1: argument is this, when you go to a show, right,
Speaker 1: if you go to a Broadway show or a play
Speaker 1: or a movie, you don't go to the dress rehearsals.
Speaker 1: They have dress rehearsals so that when Opening Night hits,
Speaker 1: they are performing at their best. The problem with NFL
Speaker 1: preseason is that we have tried to make this into
Speaker 1: a regular season event. They sell tickets and concessions like
Speaker 1: it was a regular season game, and so we put
Speaker 1: that regular season sort of interest into it. That's not
Speaker 1: what they're for. It's a dress rehearsal. So every time
Speaker 1: we complain that the first three or four weeks of
Speaker 1: the regular season looks sloppy and awful, it's because nobody
Speaker 1: played in the preseason. Preseason is good, preseason is necessary.
Speaker 1: We just have to stop treating like it's a regular
Speaker 1: season event because it's not supposed to be.
Speaker 4: You're getting called to the higher up.
Speaker 1: If you don't see me next week, you understand what happened.
Speaker 1: Just know what happened. If I'm not back, you're.
Speaker 3: One hundred percent right, and it's why the first month
Speaker 3: of the season is so much figuring stuff out, and
Speaker 3: even more so the teams who are smart, like the
Speaker 3: Kansas City Chiefs, they don't care about September, Like they're
Speaker 3: just trying to get by the early month, early months
Speaker 3: so that they are hitting their stride and at full
Speaker 3: health and everything come later in the season.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Anyway, that was my forty nine is another one
Speaker 1: they don't care about. They don't care well, no, I mean,
Speaker 1: because when you know, when you know you are good
Speaker 1: enough to be in the playoffs, you do use that
Speaker 1: time to sort of work out the kinks. But if
Speaker 1: you're a bad team and you're not playing.
Speaker 3: Your what are you doing If you're like the Panthers
Speaker 3: or one of these teams that we know aren't going
Speaker 3: to compete being ready week one, whereas maybe some of
Speaker 3: these other teams aren't, Like that's a huge leg up
Speaker 3: potential if you ambush somebody in week Yeah, those games
Speaker 3: count just as much every count. Yeah.
Speaker 1: So yeah, speaking of the Panthers and maybe teams that
Speaker 1: could play their starters, any anybody that you want to
Speaker 1: see in particular the quad, I mean, like guys who
Speaker 1: might reasonably play right like it's not like I don't
Speaker 1: want to see you know, whatever might seek.
Speaker 2: But you know what, we were so down going into
Speaker 2: the draft about this running back class, Like I feel
Speaker 2: like I want to see like Camani Videl, Ray Davis,
Speaker 2: Jalen Wright, Trey Benson, maybe even Blake Korn, Like I
Speaker 2: really want to see what this running back.
Speaker 6: Maybe maybe maybe I just I just want to see
Speaker 6: these guys, you know, suit it up and get get
Speaker 6: the ball in their first touch or get the target
Speaker 6: in open field, Like I want to see these guys
Speaker 6: have some bursts and actually like see like some type
Speaker 6: of opportunity this season.
Speaker 1: Yeah, anybody you're looking forward.
Speaker 3: To the rookies and young players and players that are
Speaker 3: people were interested in throwing like late round dart throws
Speaker 3: on because look, if you're the kind of drafter where
Speaker 3: like what Isaiah Pacheco, where Derek Henry does some preseason
Speaker 3: changes your viewpoint on them, You're you're doing this all wrong.
Speaker 3: But it's the players that we haven't seen yet and
Speaker 3: we don't have a large history of tape and stats
Speaker 3: on that. That That's what I'm always watching.
Speaker 1: Yeah, again, that's the chance to see like where they're running,
Speaker 1: like what what units they're playing with, how many opportunities
Speaker 1: are gonna get and honestly, like how the coaches are
Speaker 1: using them. Are they moving them around? They will will
Speaker 1: somebody randomly line upotot and exactly. I'm not I'm not
Speaker 1: getting super hyped on that. If you get super hyped
Speaker 1: on that, like Floria said, you're probably doing it wrong
Speaker 1: because it never really translates. But you know, I'm just
Speaker 1: seeing how creative they're gonna be with some of these guys.
Speaker 1: That's all exactly kickoffs. We need to see more than that.
Speaker 4: Yeah, aren't gonna like they might keep it close to
Speaker 4: the chest.
Speaker 1: I might like, I don't know. Yeah, that's gonna be interesting.
Speaker 1: Is going to be so very sort of how that
Speaker 1: goes for sure. All Right, there you go. That was
Speaker 1: Drive your Draft, presented by the all new hybrid Toyota Camera.
Speaker 1: Whatever your vibe, it's a Camri vibe. Learn more at
Speaker 1: Toyota dot com slash Camry. We will take a quick break,
Speaker 1: come back and start diving into our preview of the
Speaker 1: NFC South. It's coming up next on the NFL Fantasy
Speaker 1: Football podcast NFC South Time. As we get send you
Speaker 1: our division previews and As always, they're in alphabetical order,
Speaker 1: so we will start with the Atlanta Falcons. Their top
Speaker 1: scorers from last season. Desmond Ritter was their top QB.
Speaker 1: He was a QB twenty two overall one hundred and
Speaker 1: eighty nine point one points. B. Jon Robinson was the
Speaker 1: RB nine two hundred and forty six point three. Drake
Speaker 1: London their top scoring wide receiver. He was the wide
Speaker 1: receiver thirty seven in fantasy terms at won seventy four
Speaker 1: point four. Kyle Pitts tight end thirteen one thirty seven
Speaker 1: point three. In the off season, Falcons said goodbye to
Speaker 1: Desmond Ritter, Mac Hollins, Van Jefferson, Scottie Miller, Cuero Patterson,
Speaker 1: Michael Pruitt, and John new Smith. They pretty much just
Speaker 1: overhauled their past games, apparently what it is. The off season,
Speaker 1: they brought in Rondelle Moore, who actually the reports were
Speaker 1: today he was unfortunately carted off the field with an injury.
Speaker 1: We'll see how serious that is, but he was acquired
Speaker 1: in a trade this offseason. And their free agent signings,
Speaker 1: obviously the big one was Kirk Cousins, but they also
Speaker 1: signed Ray Ray McLeod, Darnell Mooney, and a couple of
Speaker 1: former forty nine er tight ends, Ross Dwelly and Charlie
Speaker 1: Werner now in Atlanta. And then, to the surprise of
Speaker 1: literally everyone, they spent the number eight overall pick on
Speaker 1: Michael Pinnock's junior in the draft. Just completely blew everybody around.
Speaker 2: Drama drama.
Speaker 1: They also spent the sixth round picks on running back
Speaker 1: Jason McClellan and wide receiver Casey Washington. Your first Falcon
Speaker 1: off the board, no surprise is Bijon Right now in
Speaker 1: re draft league's going at about five, about the fifth
Speaker 1: pick in drafts. That could be changing depending on how
Speaker 1: people feel about the injury to Christian mccaffe So Flora,
Speaker 1: we've talked a lot about what Kirk Cousins means for
Speaker 1: Drake London, Kyle Pitts, et cetera, et cetera. Not as
Speaker 1: much maybe about Kirk Cousins himself. This is the guy
Speaker 1: that you know, we always sort of draft in the
Speaker 1: middle of the late rounds. He always sort of finishes
Speaker 1: as a low end QB one. What is his ceiling now,
Speaker 1: knowing that he's thirty six years old, I believe, and
Speaker 1: coming off an achilles injury.
Speaker 3: I think his ceiling is probably around that low end
Speaker 3: QB one, but I I'm much more excited about what
Speaker 3: he means for the other people here, Like I don't
Speaker 3: find myself drafting a ton of Kirk Cousins for the
Speaker 3: same reasons I don't find myself drafting a ton of
Speaker 3: Aaron Rodgers, Like I understand that these guys are, especially
Speaker 3: Aaron Rodgers, all time great, but Kirk Cousins is like
Speaker 3: he's first, He's coming off the best ball of his career.
Speaker 3: Like what he was doing in the first half of
Speaker 3: last season before getting hurt was some.
Speaker 1: Of the best.
Speaker 3: I think it was the best football he's ever played.
Speaker 3: But that being said that he was on a team
Speaker 3: with great pass catchers with they were throwing at one
Speaker 3: of the highest rates in the NFL last year, and
Speaker 3: they were constantly trailing when he was there, so he
Speaker 3: was playing catchup ball a lot, and still even missing
Speaker 3: half the season, was one of the quarterbacks that threw
Speaker 3: the most touchdowns while trailing. I just you've pointed this
Speaker 3: out in Paschal's Marcus dan Marino is the only one
Speaker 3: that we have that has come back from a torn achilles,
Speaker 3: And I know people are like medicine has advanced so
Speaker 3: much at thirty years, and I'm not saying it hasn't,
Speaker 3: but in recent the last since I've been alive and
Speaker 3: active in watching sports, Kevin Durant is like the lone
Speaker 3: success story from a torn achilles. So it's just an
Speaker 3: injury that I tend to avoid. I'm fine taking London
Speaker 3: or Pits, but I just really don't like he's a Okay,
Speaker 3: there's no one I really love.
Speaker 1: I'll take Kirk Cousins kind of kick. Have you? Have
Speaker 1: you made a case for yourself LaQuan about drafting Kirk Cousins.
Speaker 2: No, I actually haven't been interested in drafting him, but
Speaker 2: if I did have to put a ceiling on him,
Speaker 2: probably outside the top ten if we get like this
Speaker 2: miracle story of him being able to pick up where
Speaker 2: he left off the half of the season. But like
Speaker 2: Florio's hey, and I'm excited for the other guys they're
Speaker 2: getting like Kirk Cousins, you know, he's more so have
Speaker 2: always been.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna prove you wrong.
Speaker 2: And I feel like there's still some type of beef
Speaker 2: with them taking panics at eight, you know, and I
Speaker 2: feel like there's some trust that's broken So where do
Speaker 2: you think do you like that came from? Like I
Speaker 2: feel like that's his personality. Like, Okay, you guys are
Speaker 2: doubting me for the future, you're doubting me in this season.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna go out there and I'm gonna turn up.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, I can't say that I've drafted a
Speaker 1: lot of Kirk Cousins, but I haven't completely avoided him
Speaker 1: either in the fastball situations because he still is He's
Speaker 1: still sort of that security blanket in like the tenth round.
Speaker 1: You know, if he's still hanging around there because you
Speaker 1: sort of know what you're gonna get. The ceiling might
Speaker 1: not be super high, but the floor is not really
Speaker 1: crazy low either. With Cousins, I think that's that's sort
Speaker 1: of that he's a safe pick. He's a safe pick,
Speaker 1: and especially if you have taken maybe a more volatile
Speaker 1: swing elsewhere, right, if you're taking that shot on say
Speaker 1: a Jade and Daniels, Right, I like the upside, but
Speaker 1: there's volatility there you can get. Kirk Cousins is a
Speaker 1: more stable option that you can count on from week
Speaker 1: to week if you need to. That's kind of where
Speaker 1: it is. I agree, Look what obviously, we all like
Speaker 1: Kyle Pitts, we all like Drake London mentioned that Rondale
Speaker 1: Moore was carted off with an injury today. Is there
Speaker 1: a third pass catcher in this offense that you want?
Speaker 2: I mean, if we're going for straight vibes, I'm going
Speaker 2: Darnell Mooney and best draft picks. Like, I can't really
Speaker 2: put a case, but I know we had high hopes
Speaker 2: for him in Chicago but it just never really panned
Speaker 2: out for whatever reason. But I think he still has
Speaker 2: some type of you know, play in him where he
Speaker 2: can be relevant some weeks, but it will most likely
Speaker 2: be weeks where he's on your bench. But I feel like,
Speaker 2: you know, best ball drafts go ahead and he's a
Speaker 2: vibes pick for me?
Speaker 1: How about you? There? Is it Mooney or Bust or
Speaker 1: is there somebody else there? It's Mooney and Mooney.
Speaker 3: I agree with LQ like he's a best ball guy
Speaker 3: because they play a lot of indoor games and because
Speaker 3: he he has that downfield capability. But for redraft, I
Speaker 3: don't want any part of him because I think it's
Speaker 3: going to be inconsistent week to week. Although when they
Speaker 3: signed him, I thinking was like they're trying to recreate
Speaker 3: kind of like the discounted version of what Cousins had
Speaker 3: in Minnesota. Like Drake London, is your discounted justin Jefferson,
Speaker 3: Kyle Pitts, is you're discounted Hockinson, and then Mooney is
Speaker 3: discount Jordan Addison probably with a lot less trouble.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, that is probably probably fair. I don't
Speaker 1: think I have drafted a single third piece, at least
Speaker 1: pass catcher, you know. Yeah, Yeah, obviously we're drafting Bjean
Speaker 1: or drafting Pits.
Speaker 2: Because Bejon might end up being that second or third option.
Speaker 1: If we're going to be honest, I mean, you really
Speaker 1: might be the third, the third passion. Yeah, he should be. Yeah,
Speaker 1: which gives me to my next question, though, Florio, should
Speaker 1: we be concerned that Tyler Algier is lurking? I mean, look,
Speaker 1: I know it was one thing when it was Arthur
Speaker 1: Smith and he was doing weird things and giving algebra,
Speaker 1: But he's shown that he could be productive with opportunity.
Speaker 1: Who's to say that that doesn't that that's gonna change.
Speaker 1: I mean, I feel like there's still a case for
Speaker 1: Tyler Algier to go and get some sort of work
Speaker 1: in this offense.
Speaker 3: Yeah, no, there certainly is, and I don't think as
Speaker 3: excited as we all are for Bijon and stuff like that,
Speaker 3: and I do think we'll see more consistent usage out
Speaker 3: of Bijon. That doesn't mean that Algier is going to
Speaker 3: completely go away. The biggest fear is could he be
Speaker 3: utilized near the goal line? And if that is the case,
Speaker 3: that is scary. And I still think Algier right now
Speaker 3: he gets completely overlooked in drafts, and I understand that
Speaker 3: most weeks he don't have standalone value, but he is
Speaker 3: one of the best handcuffs because if something happens to Bijon,
Speaker 3: we know that this guy can immediately be in RB
Speaker 3: two with even more upside. To me, where this comes
Speaker 3: in is I go back and forth a lot on
Speaker 3: Brice Hall versus Bijeon as RB two, and the fact
Speaker 3: that Bijon has Algier and Brice Hall doesn't often kind
Speaker 3: of leads me to put Haul second.
Speaker 1: But I go back and forth. Yeah, I mean, there's
Speaker 1: no clear cut number two in New York behind Prince Hall,
Speaker 1: whereas we know Algiers there and we know what Algier
Speaker 1: can be. I mean in a good rookie season. Lakwana yeah,
Speaker 1: that was my guy. Was my guy rookie season's heart
Speaker 1: was broken. You know. Obviously, obviously if you're drafting Bjon,
Speaker 1: it's nice to sort of get Algier late as that
Speaker 1: sort of insurance piece just in case. But I don't know,
Speaker 1: I can make a case that he will have some
Speaker 1: kind of standalone value at least in deeperly, I agree.
Speaker 2: I mean, the talent is there. I mean, we watched
Speaker 2: the tav and the dude can ball. The dude can
Speaker 2: really play. I mean, his rookie year will definitely be
Speaker 2: remembered in going into these drafts. Like Florio said, he's
Speaker 2: one of the best handcuffs out there, because if anything
Speaker 2: happens to Beijon, you're looking at Tyler Aljier to have
Speaker 2: that same upside and usage in that offense with Zach Robinson,
Speaker 2: who knows how to utilize the running backs. He's from
Speaker 2: the Sean McVay tree, so we obviously know that this
Speaker 2: is going to be a game plan to get that
Speaker 2: running back in the most creative ways to get them
Speaker 2: the ball. And Tyler a Jeer is one of those
Speaker 2: guys that can step up in every opportunity given it
Speaker 2: to him to show up and show out.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I just I think, you know, I think we're
Speaker 1: all super excited about Bejeon to the point that maybe
Speaker 1: we're sort of forgetting that there's another guy back there
Speaker 1: that can go out and play well if given a chance.
Speaker 1: It's one the Carolina Panthers last year. Not great. Not
Speaker 1: great for the Panthers at all. Other top scorer Bryce
Speaker 1: Young at quarterback one hundred and sixty six and a
Speaker 1: half points. He was the QB twenty three. Cuba Hubbard
Speaker 1: surpassed Miles Sanders to become the RB one one eighty
Speaker 1: two point five. Was this fantasy total that was RB
Speaker 1: twenty seven. Adam Feelin like a phoenix rising from the ashes,
Speaker 1: showed up out of nowhere to get you two hundred
Speaker 1: and thirty one fantasy points. The wide receiver seventeen, which
Speaker 1: I think is far above and beyond what anybody had
Speaker 1: predicted for him. And I had to dig a while
Speaker 1: to find who the top tight end was. It was
Speaker 1: always fun. Tommy Trimble sixty point four points. He was
Speaker 1: tied to be tight end thirty nine. It was bleak.
Speaker 1: I think I think he had about one hundred and
Speaker 1: sixty three receiving yards.
Speaker 2: Last year and that's more than me, So I can't hate.
Speaker 1: I mean, yes, he outperformed any of us in this room,
Speaker 1: but compared to his tight end peers, it was not great.
Speaker 1: I actually short changed. It was one hundred and ninety
Speaker 1: four twenty three catches and three touchdowns for Tommy t
Speaker 1: three touchdowns all right. In the off season, key losses
Speaker 1: DJ Chark, Laviska Channel, and Hayden Hurst all left Carolina.
Speaker 1: They did acquire Deontay Johnson in a trade. They also
Speaker 1: signed for Shad Penny, who has since retired. Like one
Speaker 1: day he had the quote of like when I'm healthy,
Speaker 1: I think I'm the best, one of the best backs
Speaker 1: in the league. And then like forty eight hours later
Speaker 1: he was retired.
Speaker 3: He realized that I've been healthy like four days ago.
Speaker 1: Right, So I was just not as a Rams fan, man.
Speaker 2: I gotta say, like two Seahawks running back fortime, Chris
Speaker 2: Carson and Rashad Penny, and I was like huge fans
Speaker 2: of both. Like it's kind of sad seeing his career
Speaker 2: kind of paying out how it's had because he's always
Speaker 2: been that guy that you wanted to root for because
Speaker 2: the talent was there.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Carson was the one that that heard that broke
Speaker 3: man was he was a great story.
Speaker 1: Yeah yeah, so all reliable, pouring out forward Shot Penny
Speaker 1: best of Lucky in retirement for him. They also signed
Speaker 1: David Moore. They drafted Xavier Laguette with the thirty second
Speaker 1: pick in the first rounds, but the second round pick
Speaker 1: on Jonathan Brooks and a fourth round pick on tight
Speaker 1: end Jatavian Sanders, and the first Panther off the board,
Speaker 1: it is Jonathan Brooks coming off the acl tair right
Speaker 1: around pick eighty four or so. So it seems like
Speaker 1: a good place to start. Mkwana's put out to you
Speaker 1: sooner or later. Jonathan Brooks is the RB one by
Speaker 1: week eight. Does it happened before or after?
Speaker 2: I want to say after. I'm gonna say after because
Speaker 2: there's a lot of things that go into drafting Jonathan
Speaker 2: Brooks because we're hoping when he comes back, he's coming
Speaker 2: back to a winning Panthers offense, like an offense that's
Speaker 2: able to put something together, an offense that can drive
Speaker 2: down the field. This O line is protecting Bryce shown,
Speaker 2: This O line is blocking well. I feel like it
Speaker 2: will have to be a slow wall because Tube Hubber
Speaker 2: is going to be already warmed up, and honestly, he's
Speaker 2: a guy that was doing the best he could behind
Speaker 2: that line last year, and I feel like he's still
Speaker 2: a guy that can have something to say in that backfield.
Speaker 2: So I think more so how I've been drafting Jonathan Brooks,
Speaker 2: it's more so like his value has to be like
Speaker 2: great where he falls in these redrafts leagues, and he
Speaker 2: has to be like my RB three, RB four, and
Speaker 2: hopefully he can come down hitting the ground run and
Speaker 2: coming back to a playoff team and carries a team
Speaker 2: to the championship. But it's still gonna be a little
Speaker 2: bit wonky this season trying to figure out if he's
Speaker 2: going to be the RB one or not.
Speaker 4: I'm on the exact opposite.
Speaker 1: When I'm here.
Speaker 3: He is my like I'm writing an article. I'm actually
Speaker 3: submitting it today. I submitted it yesterday. Top ten league winners.
Speaker 3: He is my number one league winning kay, I'm bullish
Speaker 3: on him. Let me and this is what I wrote.
Speaker 3: I said, let me take you back to the summer
Speaker 3: of twenty fifteen. You will remember this better than anyone.
Speaker 3: Todd Gurley came back from a twenty He tore his
Speaker 3: ACL in college on November fifteen. Jonathan Brooks tore his
Speaker 3: on November eleventh, Todd Gurley missed the first two weeks
Speaker 3: of the season, got eased in the third game, and
Speaker 3: then ran for thirteen hundred and ten.
Speaker 4: Touchdowns after that.
Speaker 3: I'm not saying Brooks is gonna give you thirteen to ten,
Speaker 3: but I think that timeline can be very similar where
Speaker 3: he's maybe out the first couple of weeks, but if
Speaker 3: he's not got back by week eight, I'm gonna be
Speaker 3: struggling in fantasy because I'm drafting him in a whole
Speaker 3: bunch of leagues because I think I think like weeks three, four,
Speaker 3: maybe on he could come in and take over. And
Speaker 3: he was the only running back taking in the first
Speaker 3: two rounds with them knowing that he was coming off
Speaker 3: of a torn acl And I think so much of
Speaker 3: what can get that Panthers offense to be what you
Speaker 3: want is Jonathan Brooks because if you have that dynamic,
Speaker 3: explosive running back who can be used as a pass
Speaker 3: catcher as well, now that's another weapon you have to
Speaker 3: worry about, and it just makes life easier on Bryce
Speaker 3: Young and Dave canal Is. The last two years has
Speaker 3: gotten top twey running backs like Kenneth Walker had a
Speaker 3: good year two years ago under when he was he
Speaker 3: was the quarterback coach there, but he was involved in
Speaker 3: that offense. And then last year we saw Rashad White
Speaker 3: top five fantasy running back and they were peppering him
Speaker 3: with targets. So I'm hopeful that that could be Jonathan
Speaker 3: Brooks and I've taken him as my RB two or
Speaker 3: three in drafts. Obviously where I wait, but I love
Speaker 3: that you could get his upside in rounds like eight
Speaker 3: nine of drafts, and because of that, I'm drafting him
Speaker 3: in a lot of leads.
Speaker 1: I've drafted him in a ton of places. I'm gonna
Speaker 1: say he takes over slightly before Week eight, not a lot.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think he plays early and I think
Speaker 1: they sort of ease him in, but I think by
Speaker 1: the time we hit the midway point of the season,
Speaker 1: I think he will have pushed Chuba Hubbard to the
Speaker 1: RB two spot. And I think we're all sort of
Speaker 1: agreed the reason you're drafting him is because you're expecting
Speaker 1: late in the season for him to take over. That's
Speaker 1: why he's been a great best ball pick, because that's why,
Speaker 1: that's when you want these guys to really start to
Speaker 1: up their game. So I think that's gonna happen. I
Speaker 1: think when healthy, he is by far the best back
Speaker 1: on this roster. It's just a matter of when he
Speaker 1: gets finally healthy and when they feel confident. To your point, though,
Speaker 1: the quad, I think there's some concern that, you know,
Speaker 1: if the Panthers are bad again, Yeah, how many opportunities he.
Speaker 2: Gets to be important?
Speaker 1: It will it be? Will it be targets, will it
Speaker 1: be carries? So that's that's some sort of a thing
Speaker 1: to watch. Yeah, I mean they'll be improved.
Speaker 2: I'm hopeful for there's still still some building. I'm hopeful
Speaker 2: for next year for sure.
Speaker 1: Uh Florida more or less five receiving touchdowns for Deontay
Speaker 1: Johnson and Carolina. I'm gonna say more. Maybe this is wishcast.
Speaker 3: Look, Deontay Johnson one of my favorite values of any
Speaker 3: position this year, and I understand that scoring touchdowns has
Speaker 3: been something that hasn't always been in his wheelhouse. But
Speaker 3: I put this out on Twitter the other day. Uh,
Speaker 3: Bryce Young had the eighth highest completion rate last year
Speaker 3: when his receivers were deemed open.
Speaker 4: It just barely happened.
Speaker 3: Uh, Deontay Johnson gets open at one of the best
Speaker 3: rates in the NFL. He is still one of the
Speaker 3: best separators. And Dave canal is multiple times this summer
Speaker 3: when they've been asked him like what do we have
Speaker 3: to do to see Bryce Young get better? Feed Deontay Johnson,
Speaker 3: Like he even said, He's like, when we snapped the ball,
Speaker 3: the first thing in like going through his head should
Speaker 3: be like who is open and where is Deonton? So
Speaker 3: to me, I'm like, this guy's gonna get one hundred
Speaker 3: and fifty targets easily, and I think he'll be look Sanders,
Speaker 3: the tight end there scares me a little bit. But
Speaker 3: outside of that, who's gonna like, even in the red zone,
Speaker 3: who's gonna be the guys stealing targets from him?
Speaker 1: So I'll go with over there, all right.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna go over to and be optimistic because, honestly,
Speaker 2: looking at the Panthers offense last year, as bad as
Speaker 2: it was, they actually executed in the red zone. Half
Speaker 2: of the time they in their drives. They were dead
Speaker 2: last in red zone drives, but in those opportunities they
Speaker 2: were able to score and execute. So I feel like
Speaker 2: now that you have somebody that can get open, create separation.
Speaker 2: And we know Deontay Johnson isn't a guy that's always
Speaker 2: in the end zone. But once upon a time with
Speaker 2: a broken bad Big Ben, he had like seven eight touchdowns.
Speaker 2: So I feel like this is the bar that we
Speaker 2: could put Deontay Johnson in. And looking at Adam Thielon
Speaker 2: last year in the red zone had four touchdowns and
Speaker 2: all of them came in the red zone. So obviously
Speaker 2: Bryce Young is able to execute in areas and field
Speaker 2: where it matters most, and I think that's where Deontay
Speaker 2: Johnson will shine as well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think I'm gonna make it. I'm gonna make
Speaker 1: it unanimous. I'm going more than five for cross the board.
Speaker 1: I just know, I just I think I think he's
Speaker 1: gonna be a target hog.
Speaker 2: Yes, offense, Why is his ADP not reflecting like it?
Speaker 1: Know what, let's just be goying. It makes no sense
Speaker 1: because Deontay is every fantasy analysts like favorite receiver. Right,
Speaker 1: we talk about how he's a target monster, he's a
Speaker 1: route runner, he gets open, blah blah blah. But then
Speaker 1: if you're not deep in this, right, if you're not
Speaker 1: up to your neck and as your casual you look
Speaker 1: at You're like, this dude never scores touchdowns. Yeah, right,
Speaker 1: but you gotta look at why though, right. But I mean,
Speaker 1: like again, I think I think for a lot of
Speaker 1: people who are drafting, like they don't dig so much
Speaker 1: into the why is just it's just I'm looking at
Speaker 1: this number and I see what it is and the
Speaker 1: numbers on their face just kind of and tomorrow's my
Speaker 1: draft day.
Speaker 3: So like the last two years have been disappointing for Deontay.
Speaker 3: But yeah, it's Kenny Pickett. And I know people might
Speaker 3: be like Bryce Young and everything, but it was also
Speaker 3: Matt Canada, Like Dave canal Is is otherworldly compared to
Speaker 3: Matt Canada when it comes to scheming and stuff like that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I just I just honestly, I think
Speaker 1: it's one of those things where you watch him and
Speaker 1: you study him and you're like, this guy's really really good,
Speaker 1: but you'll get the numbers and it's just a heap
Speaker 1: and helping of meh. So I think that's the reason.
Speaker 1: Like you don't see the ad he would kill for
Speaker 1: Alan Robinson's quarterbacks. Man, what man?
Speaker 4: I mean, Kenny Pickett.
Speaker 3: Mason Rudolph's like, oh, it's been rough man.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about that. One thing we do have to
Speaker 1: talk about though, LaQuan. What's the ceiling for Bryce Young
Speaker 1: this year?
Speaker 2: Top twenty, okay, because there's still some pieces they need
Speaker 2: to build around him, and you know, Exavier Laguette suffering
Speaker 2: an injury in camp recently, so hopefully he's good, he
Speaker 2: gets back. I mean, honestly, all all the cards on
Speaker 2: the table for Deontay Johnson to elevate, you know, Bryce
Speaker 2: Young's game. But I'll say top twenty because there's still
Speaker 2: some growing room that we need to see and be
Speaker 2: put on display.
Speaker 1: I'll raise the top thirteen, as could he be Alowe
Speaker 1: in QB one. It's probably too much.
Speaker 4: I'll say top fifteen.
Speaker 3: But I was looking into this yesterday and I was like,
Speaker 3: if you would have told me two years ago that
Speaker 3: Gino Smith would be a QB one or that last
Speaker 3: year Baker Mayfield would have been a QB one, I
Speaker 3: would have laughed at you, and then they both finished
Speaker 3: just QB one's under Dave Canalis.
Speaker 1: So I would say top fifteen.
Speaker 4: But maybe if there's.
Speaker 3: Like a bunch of injuries or something, like that he
Speaker 3: could creep in that high, but I feel a little
Speaker 3: bit more comfortable leaving that buffer outside of QB one.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't think he's a QB one, but I'm
Speaker 1: I'm very curious about him because, like, I love that
Speaker 1: the Panthers have built around him after what they saw
Speaker 1: last year.
Speaker 4: Should throw last year out for Bryce Yeng.
Speaker 2: It was Trevor Lawrence. Trevor Larnce.
Speaker 1: Just throw out the first year.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I've been I think we treated in both
Speaker 3: this like they fired his head coach halfway through the year.
Speaker 3: He had the worst O line in the league, no weapons,
Speaker 3: Like what was he supposed to do?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: No, it's uh had the B team wide receivers, no
Speaker 2: no offense to them. But I'm just saying, and didn't
Speaker 2: really have the best feeling.
Speaker 4: Was a star there.
Speaker 2: I mean he ate like he ate absolutely.
Speaker 3: It says more about them than him.
Speaker 1: I think that is probably true. All Right, we are
Speaker 1: halfway through our preview of the NFC South. Still two
Speaker 1: more teams to go. We'll hit those after the break
Speaker 1: on the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Trying to take a
Speaker 1: look at the New Orleans Saints their top scorers from
Speaker 1: last year. Derek Carr was the QB sixteen, just shy
Speaker 1: of two hundred and fifty points. Alba Kamara had two
Speaker 1: hundred and thirty three points. He was the RB eleven.
Speaker 1: Chris o'lave wide receiver sixteen two thirty one point three.
Speaker 1: Taysom Hill was the top scoring tight end in New
Speaker 1: Orleans one hundred and forty three and a half points.
Speaker 1: He was the tight end twelve. The offseason, they lost
Speaker 1: Jameis Winston, Keith Kirkwood, Michael Thomas, and Jimmy Graham. Three
Speaker 1: of those four are still free agent, so Winston I
Speaker 1: think the only one who has signed key additions in
Speaker 1: free agency. They signed Helen Mond. They signed Nathan Peterman.
Speaker 1: They signed the other Saint Brown brother, Equanimious. They also
Speaker 1: signed Cedric Wilson. They drafted Spencer Rattler, the quarterback in
Speaker 1: the fifth round, and a fifth round pick on wide receiver.
Speaker 1: Bob means, which is just a fun name to say.
Speaker 1: Bob means first sad off the board, Chris o'lave right
Speaker 1: around pick twenty four or why are you bowing? I'm
Speaker 1: sorry that wait, I got another way, like you have?
Speaker 1: You have some beef with Chris Olave.
Speaker 4: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I have beef with his price, his ADP and fantasy
Speaker 2: streets are talking buzzing at and me, DM me, me,
Speaker 2: and I just don't see a case why his ADP
Speaker 2: is where it's at. I just I just have issues.
Speaker 1: All right, No, No, that's fine. So it's not about him,
Speaker 1: it's not about ep Okay, I just didn't know if
Speaker 1: there was something I was missing with you and Chris.
Speaker 4: And he took his drink last year.
Speaker 1: Yeah, there insulted your family members drink all so cross
Speaker 1: stay with you? Is Alvin Kamara washed?
Speaker 2: Uh? Doesn't matter? And this is why. Okay, it's a
Speaker 2: PPR game that we're in that most of the which
Speaker 2: is the standard now and the dude's gonna see targets
Speaker 2: and he honestly is still one of the core pass
Speaker 2: catchers there because outside of Chris o'lave, we're hoping that
Speaker 2: Rashid Shahid become this all around wide receiver. So there's
Speaker 2: still a question mark there. Then outside of that you
Speaker 2: have bub memes. I mean, that's about it. That's about
Speaker 2: it when you're looking at the pass catcher. So Alam
Speaker 2: Kamara is still a guy that's gonna see a ton
Speaker 2: of ton of targets, and I mean he averaged seventeen
Speaker 2: Fantasy points for a game in thirteen games, and a
Speaker 2: lot of that is because of his involvement in a
Speaker 2: passing game. He did drop back in efficiency when it
Speaker 2: comes as a runner, But I don't think the focal
Speaker 2: point here should be him as a running back. He's
Speaker 2: more so a running back wide receiver. So it's a
Speaker 2: PPR game. The receptions are there, the targets are there.
Speaker 2: Alan Kamara is my guy.
Speaker 1: I mean, so last year Alan Kamara had seventy five
Speaker 1: catches four hundred and sixty six yards ill. But that's
Speaker 1: I mean, it was a career low yards perception number,
Speaker 1: but seventy five catches. There you go.
Speaker 3: He was His seventeen game pace was one hundred and
Speaker 3: twelve targets and ninety eight catches.
Speaker 2: But like that sounds amazing.
Speaker 1: But also probably what less than six hundred yards.
Speaker 4: Receiving, it would put him at just six on nine.
Speaker 1: Okay, look, his efficiency is awful.
Speaker 3: He's as a runner, it's getting worse and worse every year.
Speaker 3: But I agree, like I'm not super bullishly targeting him
Speaker 3: because all he has is volume. Like you were saying,
Speaker 3: and if that starts to dip, then he could be dust.
Speaker 3: But yeah, at his price where he's going, I think
Speaker 3: it's in appropriate cost for everything, LQ said.
Speaker 1: And last year I was like, this dude is a
Speaker 1: league winner.
Speaker 3: Because he's only going to miss a handful of games.
Speaker 3: And then when he came back, like, it wasn't always pretty,
Speaker 3: but I mean there was games where I think it
Speaker 3: was his first literally his first game back. Fourteen targets,
Speaker 3: thirteen catches, thirty three yards disgustingly gross, efficient wise, but
Speaker 3: it's thirteen free points right there, exactly.
Speaker 1: Yeah, either of you concerned by or interested in Kendre Miller,
Speaker 1: even though he can't seem to stay healthy, people seem to.
Speaker 4: Love this guy.
Speaker 3: I just don't find myself in that camp.
Speaker 1: I liked him last year right when I was you know,
Speaker 1: we didn't really know what he could do, and especially
Speaker 1: knowing that Kamara was going to miss time, just sort
Speaker 1: of feeling like, all right, it's worth a shot. But
Speaker 1: couldn't stay healthy at the start of the year. Yeah,
Speaker 1: has struggled to stay healthy so far in training camp.
Speaker 1: You know, look, you're injury prone till you're not right.
Speaker 1: But for now, his lack of availability makes it hard
Speaker 1: to get behind him. I because that's where I am
Speaker 1: on Chindre mill fact.
Speaker 3: And it's if Alvin Kamara is healthy, he's I mean,
Speaker 3: they're paying him like twenty million dollars this year.
Speaker 1: He's not going the way. Yeah.
Speaker 2: Dennis Allen also said that he needs to stay healthy,
Speaker 2: like in a press conference. He has all these expectations
Speaker 2: for him, but if he can't stay healthy, there's not naked.
Speaker 1: Dennis Alnd's been very up front about how he feels
Speaker 1: about Kendred.
Speaker 3: I kind of feel bad familiar in that sense because
Speaker 3: it's not like he's choosing to go get hurt exactly.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I mean, look, that's how you find guys who
Speaker 1: end up pushing themselves and maybe making it worse, abably
Speaker 1: putting the fire under his butt, stop getting hurt.
Speaker 3: And he's probably sitting there like you think I'm softball
Speaker 3: captain will come up to me and be like get
Speaker 3: a base hit here, and I'm like, you think I'm.
Speaker 4: Going up there?
Speaker 1: I was gonna I was gonna pop up, but you
Speaker 1: know you said that, I'm completely changed my approach. Thanks,
Speaker 1: Oh my god. Lakwan mentioned Rashid sh he uh. I mean,
Speaker 1: look what, well, okay, what are your expectations for him
Speaker 1: this year?
Speaker 2: I'm hoping that they can make him this all around
Speaker 2: wide receiver and kind of step into what Michael Thomas
Speaker 2: was not talent wise, but the role to where he
Speaker 2: could be utilized short, intermediate and the loan ball. Like
Speaker 2: we saw the long ball last season with Derek Carr
Speaker 2: where he had five touchdowns, zero interceptions when target and
Speaker 2: Rashisha heat twenty plus yards with a fifty five point
Speaker 2: six completion percentage, which led the team. Now you look
Speaker 2: at solve in that category, it did not pay that well.
Speaker 2: Derek Carr had a twenty five passer rating when targeting
Speaker 2: him in twenty plus yards. So I feel as though
Speaker 2: rashishah Heed the bag is there for him for the
Speaker 2: long ball. So if he can keep these big plays
Speaker 2: and keep you know, making these plays all over the field,
Speaker 2: I really think that Rashis Shahid could be a solid
Speaker 2: wide receiver three slash flex for rosters this season.
Speaker 1: Is he more than just a best ball guy Florio.
Speaker 4: I want him to be.
Speaker 1: I like the key we want him.
Speaker 3: I like and shout out to Patrick Clayband. I feel
Speaker 3: like anytime we talk about Rashichi. Yep, he's loved him
Speaker 3: since he's like first game as a rookie, since he
Speaker 3: was born. Yeah, he's been on him. But it's not
Speaker 3: that I don't like Shaheed and the talent that he is.
Speaker 3: I'm a known Derek Carr hater. I just I don't
Speaker 3: trust Derek Carr. I don't trust Dennis Allen. I don't
Speaker 3: trust this offense. Like I feel like we've been chasing
Speaker 3: this this not just Shahied like the Saints offense, like
Speaker 3: they're gonna right, someone's gonna have to and I just
Speaker 3: feel like it ever since, like late season, late career
Speaker 3: Drew Brees, I feel like we've been chasing this offense
Speaker 3: and it's like they're gonna have one good pass catcher
Speaker 3: and Alvin Kamara and that's it.
Speaker 1: That's it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's my BEEFOOTO lobbies praise, what are we doing well?
Speaker 1: Because but he's the one good pass catcher.
Speaker 2: But I'm not early second round not early second round.
Speaker 2: That makes no sense to me because nothing has really
Speaker 2: changed with this offense this team to make it like
Speaker 2: oh yes.
Speaker 1: Push him up. True, but you're paying the wide receiver tax,
Speaker 1: right because right now, because so many people are going
Speaker 1: so wide receiver heavy early that everybody is getting and
Speaker 1: maybe look, maybe in a couple of weeks, maybe that
Speaker 1: changes a little bit more. I don't know, but right now,
Speaker 1: that's just the price to pay. Look, we all love
Speaker 1: Marvin Harrison Junior, right, He's an early second round pick, right,
Speaker 1: That's what we're talking about, because one, we love the talent,
Speaker 1: the opportunity, but also because wide receivers are going so quickly,
Speaker 1: you just have to be prepared to just suck out
Speaker 1: and go early to get one.
Speaker 3: Agreed, But of the names who go where all goes,
Speaker 3: he is my least favorite.
Speaker 2: I would take DK in the third over Chris. I'll
Speaker 2: take Drake London.
Speaker 1: I'll I'll take Cooper Cup.
Speaker 2: And that's not being being in a homer and but
Speaker 2: I'm just saying.
Speaker 4: I think I have Cup ranked ahead of Alva.
Speaker 2: Poka's Anders sluggish starting to season, Cooper Cup and fed
Speaker 2: why not?
Speaker 1: It's there.
Speaker 3: I tweeted yesterday like Olave was second and most unrealized
Speaker 3: air yards as a rook and I.
Speaker 1: Was like starting to buy in capa year.
Speaker 3: Last year he had even more unrealized their yards than
Speaker 3: he did as a rookie, and I'm like, at some point, like,
Speaker 3: it's easy to be like, if those turn into yards,
Speaker 3: this guy's.
Speaker 1: At some point.
Speaker 3: Yeah, And and I don't think it's an O Lave problem.
Speaker 1: I think it's a quarterback.
Speaker 3: And and at least in the past, it was like, well,
Speaker 3: if something happens to Derek Carr, Jameis Winston and that
Speaker 3: yolo ball, we don't have that to fall back out anymore.
Speaker 1: Either, you're not worried about You're not excited about the
Speaker 1: Kellen Mond or Nathan Peterman yolo ball.
Speaker 3: Nathan Peterman is the worst rated player in Madden. I
Speaker 3: saw that yesterday and I was like that, it's fifty
Speaker 3: four overall.
Speaker 1: You gotta claim it just love.
Speaker 4: I still I still am bitter about that six interception game.
Speaker 1: If you can't tell, Yeah, that's right. That was against
Speaker 1: the Chargers, wasn't it for the Bills?
Speaker 3: They benched Tyrod in the middle of a playoff part like,
Speaker 3: after not making the playoffs for two decades, one guy
Speaker 3: almost gets you there, and his replacement through six interceptions
Speaker 3: and a half.
Speaker 1: And a half, how does he get to four?
Speaker 2: Because you're getting ripped out there, three of you immediately
Speaker 2: do it.
Speaker 1: But he got to six, got six. I think at
Speaker 1: some point I think the coaches that was like, I
Speaker 1: just want to see what happen. Straight Vibes.
Speaker 3: Show that was like McDermott's first year, I think, and
Speaker 3: I was like, this guy's gotta go.
Speaker 1: How are you just watching this happen?
Speaker 3: Aaron Rodgers had less interceptions in his MVP season, Yeah,
Speaker 3: than that guy did in a half.
Speaker 1: Uh So my last question about the Saints that I think,
Speaker 1: why know Florio's answering. Someone asked you to kwan draft
Speaker 1: Derek Card.
Speaker 2: Yeah, nah, nah man, No, no, No, this is his
Speaker 2: fourth offensive coordinator, by the way, going into the season,
Speaker 2: I feel like we kind of know what he is.
Speaker 2: He has the low touchdown percentage, which is below the
Speaker 2: league average. If we look him back to twenty twenty one,
Speaker 2: and I feel like the touchdowns aren't there.
Speaker 1: He's not mobile.
Speaker 2: This is another system he has to learn. They're not exciting,
Speaker 2: you know, offensive weapons outside of Kamara and Olave. We're
Speaker 2: getting the Derek Carr we have seen the last couple
Speaker 2: of years. So no, I will not be drafting him
Speaker 2: at any aspect or any point in any format.
Speaker 4: And I think This is what.
Speaker 3: You need to know about Derek Carr third highest checkdown
Speaker 3: rate last year despite being the least pressured quarterback in
Speaker 3: the NFL.
Speaker 1: Jeez, that's no Boier. That's disgusting, all right. That let's
Speaker 1: get to the let's close this out to Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield was the QB ten last year. Two hundred
Speaker 1: and eighty four points for Bake bak Rashad White was
Speaker 1: the RB four two hundred and sixty seven point nine
Speaker 1: Fantasy points for him. Mike Evans the wide receiver seven.
Speaker 1: I know Floria and I have to apologize to him
Speaker 1: puzzling multiple times on this show because we did not
Speaker 1: believe two hundred and eighty two and a half points
Speaker 1: for him. Kate Otten was your top tight end one
Speaker 1: sixteen point five. He was a tight end twenty lost
Speaker 1: David Moore in the offseason. He went to Karenlina. Most
Speaker 1: of their offseason was spent re signing a lot of
Speaker 1: their guys. They didn't necessarily bring in a lot of
Speaker 1: new free agents. They did sign Sterling Shepard. They spent
Speaker 1: a third round pick on wide receiver Jalen McMillan, a
Speaker 1: fourth round pick on running back Bucky Irvin, so apparently
Speaker 1: they love Pac twelve football and a seventh round pick
Speaker 1: on tight end Devin Culp first off the board. I
Speaker 1: thought this was interesting. Both Mike Evans and Rashad White
Speaker 1: have an ADP of a round thirty four, so they
Speaker 1: tend to be your first bucks drafted in most leagues.
Speaker 1: So big question. I mean, Florio, Rashad White was the
Speaker 1: RB four. We talked a lot about how it helped
Speaker 1: that they just started throwing him the ball because he
Speaker 1: wasn't running it efficiently. Changes there, right, new offensive coordinator.
Speaker 1: Can Rashad White do it again this year?
Speaker 3: He can?
Speaker 1: Will he do it? Yah?
Speaker 3: To me? Of the like top I have him as
Speaker 3: a top fifteen ranked running back, but of those, he's
Speaker 3: the one that I think I'm like most concerned with
Speaker 3: potentially just bottoming out because he even last year RB
Speaker 3: four was the worst running running back in football, Like,
Speaker 3: least efficient, fewest rushing yards over expectation, all of that
Speaker 3: kind of stuff. But like we said, they started throwing
Speaker 3: him the ball a bunch more in his seventeen game
Speaker 3: pace from Week six on put him on pace for
Speaker 3: almost seventy catches. Can he do that again, I yes,
Speaker 3: they'll probably throw him the ball a bunch, but if
Speaker 3: he loses some of those targets with the new OC,
Speaker 3: then the floor becomes much less sturdy, and then that's
Speaker 3: the kind of pick.
Speaker 4: That coubought him out.
Speaker 1: I mean, rbfour Lakwan seems like a really really high bar.
Speaker 1: I mean, more realistically, what RB ten twelve is that?
Speaker 1: Think I have him at fourteen? Am I rank?
Speaker 2: I got him at thirteen where I'm at my rankings,
Speaker 2: and I think more so, I think we'll see a
Speaker 2: more efficient runner out of him this season with them
Speaker 2: adding to the old line in the offseason and in
Speaker 2: the draft, they're getting one of the top prospects and
Speaker 2: Graham Barton in the center. So I think we'll see
Speaker 2: a lot more efficient running from him. But it's the targets.
Speaker 2: If the targets aren't there, if he's not getting involved
Speaker 2: in the passing game as much as he was last season,
Speaker 2: then he could be taking a dip. But I think
Speaker 2: more so we have to look with Baker Mayfield has
Speaker 2: done with starting running backs in his time in the league,
Speaker 2: and they've all averaged, you know, dating back even to
Speaker 2: adding Kareem Hunt into that mix. As is a mixture
Speaker 2: of that average. They've averaged sixteen and a half Fantasy
Speaker 2: points per game, and I really feel as though that
Speaker 2: running backs they eat under Baker Mayfield. So I don't
Speaker 2: think the checkdown will go completely out. But if he's
Speaker 2: still running how he was running last season with three
Speaker 2: point seven yards per carry, I believe it was, and
Speaker 2: the old line is not doing their job, he could,
Speaker 2: you know, end up outside the top ten.
Speaker 1: Any fear for either of you that Bucky Irvings steps
Speaker 1: in and takes some work.
Speaker 4: He's more of a threat than anyone on the roster
Speaker 4: was last year.
Speaker 2: I would say, yeah, I think he's a threat in
Speaker 2: the passing game.
Speaker 1: I don't.
Speaker 2: I don't think more so, like he was great in
Speaker 2: the red zone last year and his last year in
Speaker 2: college in Oregon. But I feel as though that still
Speaker 2: would be Rashad D. White's area where he will be
Speaker 2: utilized on the field. But I'm not worried that he'll
Speaker 2: take enough touches away from White to where you know,
Speaker 2: White won't be Fantasy relevant most weeks.
Speaker 1: All Right, Yeah, I said I think he's a low
Speaker 1: end RB one at best. Yeah. The RB four thing
Speaker 1: was just bananas.
Speaker 2: And humble changes coming, Yeah, too.
Speaker 1: Much, Shange. But speaking of changes, Chris Godwin is back
Speaker 1: to playing in the slot again. I know that's gotten
Speaker 1: Fantasy Twitter very very excited. Yeah, but Lakwan, I'll say this,
Speaker 1: his big years out of the slot came with Tom
Speaker 1: Brady quarterback, and Brady was notorious for targeting his slot receivers.
Speaker 1: Baker Mayfield not so much. Are we a little bit
Speaker 1: too excited about this?
Speaker 4: Yes?
Speaker 1: And no.
Speaker 2: You're excited that he's back to where you know, he's
Speaker 2: publicly saying this is where he makes his most comfortable.
Speaker 2: It's comfortable. So I feel as though having Baker Mayfield
Speaker 2: understanding Chris Godwin's role in the slot and his ability
Speaker 2: to get open and not just zoning in on Mike Evans,
Speaker 2: I think more so this will be a camp where
Speaker 2: they'll have to build that chemistry. I'm just excited that
Speaker 2: the price that he's at right now in drafts isn't terrible.
Speaker 2: I like that I'm able to get him later in drafts.
Speaker 2: I like that it's a known fact that he's going
Speaker 2: to be one of the top two targets. I mean, well,
Speaker 2: top three, because obviously Mike Evans would be one but
Speaker 2: I feel like, you know, this is a good situation
Speaker 2: for him to get back to, at least being like
Speaker 2: a wide receiver. Two low en wide receiver won some
Speaker 2: weeks where I think that he could still be productive
Speaker 2: and be utilized a lot in lineups.
Speaker 1: I mean, is is Mike Evans the number one target?
Speaker 1: Because last year Chris Godwin led that team in catches.
Speaker 1: If he led the targets and catches, they.
Speaker 3: Were six targets apart, okay of them, so which blew
Speaker 3: my mind.
Speaker 4: I thought like Mike Evans.
Speaker 3: Ran away with it by how the narrative was year,
Speaker 3: And then I went back and I.
Speaker 4: Was like, they were six targets apart.
Speaker 1: Evans was just a big plague. Yeah he was a
Speaker 1: touchdown guy, but yeah, it was Chris Godwin that was
Speaker 1: kind of doing a lot of the dirty work for
Speaker 1: this team in the passing at a position too.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and you guys were on this before I was.
Speaker 3: But I fully have come around on Chris Godwin. Like
Speaker 3: last year in the slot, he was like almost double
Speaker 3: as good as he was out wide, and yet they
Speaker 3: were just using him more out wide. So Lee and Cohen,
Speaker 3: the new OC not only has said they're going to
Speaker 3: use him in the slot. He said, we're gonna use
Speaker 3: him like Cooper Cup was used.
Speaker 1: In the Rams, and that's a hot name. Yeah.
Speaker 4: And the thing is six times.
Speaker 3: I understand the touchdown was heavily in Mike evans favor,
Speaker 3: but six targets apart.
Speaker 1: Instead, they're like three or four rounds apart. It's not more.
Speaker 1: In some drafts. I'm starting to be out on the
Speaker 1: general we're going to use blank like blank right, likes
Speaker 1: it's so overused. Right, It's like we're gonna every running
Speaker 1: back who catches the football, we're gonna use them like
Speaker 1: Christian McCaffrey. No, you're not.
Speaker 2: No, why are you lying to me?
Speaker 1: Right, Like, oh, this guy's gonna play in the slot.
Speaker 1: We're gonna use it like Cooper Cup. No, you're not,
Speaker 1: Like he's gonna play in the slot and you're gonna
Speaker 1: throw in the football, you know, Like I just that's
Speaker 1: becoming an overused trait. It is Stop it, coaches, stop
Speaker 1: like you're because you're also comparing these players to guys
Speaker 1: who are just like one of one's the elites. There
Speaker 1: will never be another Cooper Cup ever, Like, we're not.
Speaker 1: You're not gonna find a Christian McCaffrey, You're just not.
Speaker 1: So let's let's stop doing that one now. I'm Baker
Speaker 1: Mayfield was QB ten last year. Can he be a
Speaker 1: top ten QB again this year?
Speaker 3: I'm gonna say no. I think Dave Canalis had a
Speaker 3: lot to do with it. I think everything broke right,
Speaker 3: and then I think injuries. Like to me, quarterback is
Speaker 3: so much deeper now than it has been in years
Speaker 3: because the influx of young talent that we've gotten last
Speaker 3: season and now this season with like Kleb and Jayden Daniels.
Speaker 1: So I'll say no, same question to you. I see
Speaker 1: you're shaking your head.
Speaker 2: No, it's totally because we have quarterback come back from injuries.
Speaker 2: We have quarterbacks and new places. So like Deshaun Watson,
Speaker 2: Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow, Anthony Richardson, Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins,
Speaker 2: all these guys are new spots coming back from injuries,
Speaker 2: where I think that will kind of like humble him
Speaker 2: to where I can say comfortably top fifteen Maybee, you know,
Speaker 2: And that's like a really really good year for Baker Mayfield.
Speaker 2: But I won't be drafting him. Expectations of him finishing
Speaker 2: top ten or inside the top ten this year.
Speaker 4: Yeah, no, I'm with you.
Speaker 1: I mean I think I think last year was sort
Speaker 1: of a special moment, and I do think losing Dave
Speaker 1: Canalis is going to be a big difference yea to
Speaker 1: him to that offense. So top ten seems.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you have Liam Coe there. I don't want to
Speaker 2: knock him because he's from the McVeigh tree and he's
Speaker 2: actually he was part of that installation of getting Baker
Speaker 2: up to speed when he came in Thursday night, you know,
Speaker 2: two days.
Speaker 1: Off of flight learning, which was still miraculous.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's crazy, but it helps when you have a
Speaker 2: good QB coach, you have a great offensive coordinator in
Speaker 2: a great mine in Sean McVay. So like I am
Speaker 2: part of the like you know, train of like loving
Speaker 2: every family tree that comes from McVeigh that they're going
Speaker 2: to find success some way.
Speaker 1: So also I'll say this, if there's a quarterback who
Speaker 1: can just pick up a new playbook and find some
Speaker 1: success with it, it's probably Baker Mayfield because that's been his
Speaker 1: whole whole professional football life is just new playbooks and
Speaker 1: new offensive coordinators. So if anybody can do it, Baker
Speaker 1: is probably the one who can do it there. It
Speaker 1: is our uh. Look at the NFC South. We got
Speaker 1: one more set of divisions, so we'll do that next
Speaker 1: week with the West divisions for the AFC. No East,
Speaker 1: we've done. We did, we started with I'm all turned around, y'all.
Speaker 1: We'll go with the East. So the we'll start with
Speaker 1: the AFC East. Floria can wax poetic about his buff
Speaker 1: with your four timesion champions, uh, and we'll finish it
Speaker 1: off with the NFC East next Wednesday. We'll back with
Speaker 1: you tomorrow Thursday for another episode of the cheat Sheet.
Speaker 1: I think just a couple more cheat sheets left until
Speaker 1: we got to put it down.
Speaker 2: Feel like we have to get a bar on one
Speaker 2: of them.
Speaker 1: Maybe look if to come on and talk about remembering
Speaker 1: being born and all sorts of weed that energyisms like.
Speaker 1: I'm totally on board with it. It'll be like an
Speaker 1: old Fantasy Live reunion from when he was back on
Speaker 1: Fantasy Live. Still. I for sure we will have the
Speaker 1: cheat sheet for you tomorrow. We are watching the Warriors.
Speaker 4: Top five movie of all Time.
Speaker 1: I watched it, so we will talk about that. It's
Speaker 1: another nonsense on the show, so'll be sure to be
Speaker 1: there for that as well. In the meantime, don'd do
Speaker 1: it for this edition of the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast.
Speaker 1: They happy, safe and healthy, do good and live well.
Speaker 1: We will talk to you tomorrow