Speaker 1: Welcome to Fantasy Football Weekly, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Time now for Fantasy Football Weekly from I Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: your weekly source for the nation's best fantasy football advice, speculation,
Speaker 1: and whatever stupid stuff they decided to drop into the show. Now,
Speaker 1: here's your host. Welcome to Fantasy Football Weekly. I am
Speaker 1: Paul Charge and my co host today is Matt Harrison
Speaker 1: Explosive Output on Twitter. Hi Matt hi Charge. This is
Speaker 1: a very dynasty and Empire oriented podcast this week on
Speaker 1: Fantasy Football Weekly and UM. Now for those who don't know,
Speaker 1: I don't want to be freaking out our Empire leagues.
Speaker 1: A lot of our listeners don't know what Empire leagues are.
Speaker 1: Give people to quick rundown on Empire leagues and White
Speaker 1: runs in tandem with dynasty. I am an Empire League
Speaker 1: is a dynasty league. It's just got a couple of
Speaker 1: special little uh tricks that are that's up at sleeve
Speaker 1: uh the Empire League. UH. When you win in a
Speaker 1: given year, you cannot make trades the following year because
Speaker 1: if you win in that subsequent year two years in
Speaker 1: a row, you win the Empire Dynasty Rolling Pot, where
Speaker 1: each year we put about half of the pot aside
Speaker 1: for the Empire Pot, I think we're in one that. Uh,
Speaker 1: we're in the oldest, we're in the original Empire. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think we're in year seven. Are our Empire Pot
Speaker 1: has I believe nine thousand dollars in it right now?
Speaker 1: Could and it's a one fifty dollar entry into that league.
Speaker 1: So we're we're each contributing seventy five dollars of our
Speaker 1: entry fee of this Empire Pot every year. So we're
Speaker 1: we're nine grand in and uh, if I think it's
Speaker 1: Christian Peterson who won it last year, If C wins
Speaker 1: this year, the whole thing's over and he wins the pot,
Speaker 1: he wins the nine thousand dollars, he wins the nine grant,
Speaker 1: he wins that year's pay out, and the league ends
Speaker 1: and the league ends. I love the fact that it's
Speaker 1: a format in which a league ends. That's the Empire League.
Speaker 1: But it's still a dynasty league. And so all the
Speaker 1: stuff that we're talking about really we're for both here,
Speaker 1: and we're going to focus our attention on contract year
Speaker 1: running backs. I think next week will do the contract
Speaker 1: year past catchers and um and so we're gonna contract
Speaker 1: look at the players that are in the contract here
Speaker 1: and whether or not and we're just gonna look really
Speaker 1: a heady year, and you know, whether or not we
Speaker 1: think they're gonna stay put, what their value is gonna
Speaker 1: go down after this year for those people are already
Speaker 1: starting to think about one um in the league in
Speaker 1: which you're describing, I had been a good not great
Speaker 1: team for many years, and I just bottomed out last year.
Speaker 1: You sold all my assets, and and I know you're
Speaker 1: in the same spot. You and I are just total
Speaker 1: rebuilding mode in the league. And and so you know
Speaker 1: a lot of my attention is and it might be
Speaker 1: my year in that that league because I have three
Speaker 1: picks in the top six. So I'm feeling I'm feeling
Speaker 1: like I can I can maybe make a jump this year.
Speaker 1: I think you probably can. But to frame this conversation, UM,
Speaker 1: I want to start by saying that in one I've
Speaker 1: got about fifteen teams in the NFL that could be
Speaker 1: looking for running back next year, and I got about
Speaker 1: ten really solid running backs who are set to hit
Speaker 1: free agency this year. So the runners may have some
Speaker 1: some power here. There may be a few landing spots
Speaker 1: for these guys. But I also wanted to mention um
Speaker 1: as we frame this conversation, there's currently only five running
Speaker 1: backs in the NFL that make more than ten million
Speaker 1: dollars per year, and a lot of those teams regret
Speaker 1: those deals. I mean, you know, look at David Johnson
Speaker 1: getting chipped off and that's one, UM, So there's two
Speaker 1: that there's two that I think are really regretting these
Speaker 1: David Johnson regret for sure. Ezekiel Elliott is in that mix.
Speaker 1: Christian mccaffers and McKay just recently signed, and and Derrick Henry,
Speaker 1: who will be in this conversation which was on a
Speaker 1: franchise tach Um. There's another five running backs and there's
Speaker 1: only five that make between six million and nine million
Speaker 1: per season, and this list is super interesting. Another guy
Speaker 1: who's going to be in this conversation later Kenyan Drake
Speaker 1: making eight point four. He's the six highest paid running
Speaker 1: back in the league right now. Uh, Melvin Gordon at
Speaker 1: eight million, se Kwon Barkley on his rookie deal at
Speaker 1: seven point eight, Leonard four Net at six point eight,
Speaker 1: and Austin Ekeler at six point one. So there's a
Speaker 1: lot of talent that's sitting on a rookie deal right now,
Speaker 1: and we're going to dive into those guys pretty quickly.
Speaker 1: All right, Let's begin with Dalvin Cook. He was running
Speaker 1: back three last year in points per game. He missed
Speaker 1: a couple of games at the end of the year,
Speaker 1: has never played a full season, and I think in
Speaker 1: the esteem of many he uh he wore down at
Speaker 1: the end of uh. We mentioned word. I think, very
Speaker 1: good player, but I think there's a lot of question
Speaker 1: about whether or not he will remain a Viking. Vikings
Speaker 1: are in okay shape against the cap, but I got
Speaker 1: that they have twenty nine million and estimated cap space
Speaker 1: in season. That's twenty three in the league, so they're
Speaker 1: on the lower end um. The current backup under contract
Speaker 1: is really Alexander Madison, and he's the only guy. He's
Speaker 1: signed through twenty two for under one million each season.
Speaker 1: So by all accounts, the Vikings love d Alvin and
Speaker 1: I think that we've we've heard that from them a lot. However,
Speaker 1: he has been injured in every season in his pro
Speaker 1: career and he might be do the most money out
Speaker 1: of all of these guys. So the Vikings may be
Speaker 1: in a weird spot too. It might be a year
Speaker 1: next year where they're like, is it time to kind
Speaker 1: of rebuild and reload and and and reset this roster.
Speaker 1: So in my mind, Dalvin is not in a particularly
Speaker 1: good bye low or sell high moment, but alex Alexander
Speaker 1: Madison is in an excellent spot to buy right before
Speaker 1: he may become the lead dog in this offense. Alexander
Speaker 1: Madison will cost you almost nothing right now, correct and
Speaker 1: in some in some dynasty leagues, he may be even available.
Speaker 1: That's true now, So he cost you nothing and you've
Speaker 1: got a what do you think about a thirty percent
Speaker 1: chance that he inherits the starting job next year. I
Speaker 1: think it's I think it's closer to I mean, they're
Speaker 1: gonna have to sign Dalvin to more than ten million
Speaker 1: dollars a year, make him a top five paid running
Speaker 1: back in the league to keep him, and they have
Speaker 1: a lot of guys that they had to jettison off
Speaker 1: this year. I think it's gonna be really difficult for
Speaker 1: the Vikings to pallet signing Dalvin Cook to that big deal.
Speaker 1: So Alexander Madison is another guy that they really like,
Speaker 1: and I think there's a good shot that he could
Speaker 1: be the lead dog there next year and stylistically similar
Speaker 1: to Dalvin Cook, so they don't have to up end
Speaker 1: their offensive scheme exactly to end up helping him, which
Speaker 1: is a factor as well. All right, let's go to
Speaker 1: Alvin Kamara next. He was running back fifteen in points
Speaker 1: per game last year, and uh I had in a
Speaker 1: normally bad year, as most people remember, until Week sixteen.
Speaker 1: He had scored in one game last year, one game
Speaker 1: until Week sixteen, and then he exploded in sixteen and seventeen. Saints,
Speaker 1: What's I think fascinating about Alvin Kamara? Matt Saints are
Speaker 1: totally cash strapped season there in cap hell. They are
Speaker 1: thirty four million over the cap over the cap right now.
Speaker 1: The one that I just saw it said thirty six
Speaker 1: million over the cap next year. Guess who's contracting is
Speaker 1: exactly thirty six million next season, Drew Brees. Drew Brees. Okay,
Speaker 1: so if Drew Brees decides to stay one more year,
Speaker 1: they have to pay him the thirty six million. If
Speaker 1: he decides to leave, it's a dead cap hit of
Speaker 1: twenty two million, so they would be still twenty two
Speaker 1: million in the hole and in need of a quarterback
Speaker 1: because jamis Winston's only signed for one year, so they
Speaker 1: would have to find a quarterback and somehow figure out
Speaker 1: a way to resign Alvin Kamara. Alvin Camara is not
Speaker 1: a Saint next year. Think you're right. So the only
Speaker 1: backup there is Lettavius Murray. He's signed through the two
Speaker 1: season for around three million per year. So however, his
Speaker 1: dead cap after this season is only one point seven,
Speaker 1: so he could be a there's a really good chance
Speaker 1: that he's a cap casualty after this year as well.
Speaker 1: I think the Saints are looking at a completely new
Speaker 1: backfield one So if you don't, if you're not recommending
Speaker 1: that we double down on Latavius Murray as a possible
Speaker 1: starter next year, and we agree that Alvin Camara is
Speaker 1: gonna be gone, Uh, that would mean that they're gonna
Speaker 1: hit the draft. They're going to hit the running back.
Speaker 1: There's five or six like blue chip ish running backs
Speaker 1: that are coming out next year, and I'll probably talk
Speaker 1: about them a little bit at the end of the show.
Speaker 1: So what do we do about Alvin Camara? If you're
Speaker 1: a Camaro owner right now, are you unloading him now?
Speaker 1: Figuring that wherever he goes next probably won't be as
Speaker 1: good as of an offense. Is what he's enjoyed to
Speaker 1: this point? Or are you holding and just saying, you
Speaker 1: know what, I'm gonna enjoy Alvin Kamara for this year.
Speaker 1: Are you gonna go try to acquire him? What's your
Speaker 1: what's your recommendation? It's so tough. I I think I'm
Speaker 1: probably in cell mode on Alvin right now, just because
Speaker 1: the the uncertainty is the thing that is terrible. If Tampa,
Speaker 1: for instance, doesn't have a guy step up, If Keyshawn
Speaker 1: Vaughan or Ronald Jones don't step up and Tom Brady's
Speaker 1: roll in one more year, Tampa's got a lot of
Speaker 1: cap space next year, and Tampa could be like the
Speaker 1: team that's just like, you know what, We're gonna go
Speaker 1: get Alvin Kamara, like whoa all of a sudden, That
Speaker 1: would be just absolutely crazy. So uh, or alternately goes
Speaker 1: to Jacksonville, he replaces Leonard four Nett and dies a
Speaker 1: miserable a miserable tie. I have a list of the
Speaker 1: teams that would you know, might be in search of
Speaker 1: a running back next year. We can go over that
Speaker 1: at the end of the show too. But but overall,
Speaker 1: you're you're saying, I think it's probably a seller a
Speaker 1: sell high moment. I don't think he's gonna dip that much,
Speaker 1: but I think the value is at a peak right now,
Speaker 1: and I think that you can get you could sell
Speaker 1: him and maybe try to acquire him back for a
Speaker 1: little bit less in the future. That's Alvin Camara. Let's
Speaker 1: go to Joel Mixon. He was running back sixteen in
Speaker 1: it points per game, coming off a tough season with
Speaker 1: all the bad quarterbacking that they had and the changes
Speaker 1: a quarterback, terrible offensive line play, and the offensive line
Speaker 1: by the way, still not great. But Bengals are eighty
Speaker 1: million dollars under the cap for the fifth most cap space,
Speaker 1: so they clearly can sign him if they want to.
Speaker 1: And there's no apparent there's no apparent air apparent, no
Speaker 1: apparent air apparent on the roster in Cincinnati. So what
Speaker 1: are your thoughts on Joe Mixon and what should Dynasty
Speaker 1: owners do with him? Um, I think he's gonna probably
Speaker 1: hold out through this camp for a contract extension. I
Speaker 1: think he's gonna try to go the route of up
Speaker 1: in his face, and since he's kind of a weird
Speaker 1: organization and they they played hardball with Carson Palmer. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so I don't know. I I think it's an interesting spot.
Speaker 1: They obviously have the money to pay him, and and
Speaker 1: Mixing could be a guy who holds out. I don't
Speaker 1: think that they want to put their brand new number
Speaker 1: one overall pick rookie quarterback in a weird spot where
Speaker 1: he doesn't have a good running back in the backfield. Too,
Speaker 1: So I could see I'm getting a deal done with
Speaker 1: Joe Mixon before the season starts. This might be something
Speaker 1: that uh just doesn't doesn't even matter. But I think
Speaker 1: if anybody in your league owns Mixing and is scared
Speaker 1: in the slightest that he might hold out or he
Speaker 1: might not start the season, I think that this is
Speaker 1: an opportune time to try to buy him because I
Speaker 1: like that offense this year, like it better next year
Speaker 1: a little bit more. I'm gonna like it better next year.
Speaker 1: And even if Mixon does leave since e He's probably
Speaker 1: gonna end up in a spot that's comparable or maybe better. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it would. It's not hard to get a lot better
Speaker 1: than where Cincinnati is. Mixon was was decent last year
Speaker 1: with all the all the problems that they had. You
Speaker 1: figure Joe Burrow this year, gets will be even better
Speaker 1: next year. Now he's gonna drop, potentially lose a bunch
Speaker 1: of his receivers. Te Higgins will be there. But a
Speaker 1: j Green last year his deal, John Ross last year
Speaker 1: his deal, Tyler Boyd last year of his deal. No
Speaker 1: Tyler Boyds under CONR. Sorry, you know we made that
Speaker 1: mistake like a uple episodes ago, which is why it
Speaker 1: was still That's why I remember all right, so well,
Speaker 1: you know I think, um, I think it makes sense
Speaker 1: to assume that a good passing game will only help
Speaker 1: Joe Mixon. I like your by Low angle on Joe Mixon.
Speaker 1: Let's go to Derrick Henry. We've alluded to him earlier.
Speaker 1: Last year he was running back too in points per
Speaker 1: game for non PPR. He was running back five even
Speaker 1: in PPR, despite the fact that on we caught like
Speaker 1: twenty passes all year. Obviously coming off a monster year
Speaker 1: of eighteen total touchdowns franchise tagged this year. What do
Speaker 1: you think about Derrick Henry going forward? As you look
Speaker 1: into the crystal ball and are you it's I don't
Speaker 1: know that you can. So there's no by Low on
Speaker 1: Derrick Henry at right now there. I think. I think
Speaker 1: it's a hold on Derrick Henry. But do you I
Speaker 1: seem to think that the Titans can play this the
Speaker 1: right way. They have cap space. They have forty three
Speaker 1: million in cap space next year. That's right about the
Speaker 1: middle of the league. They're paying him ten point two
Speaker 1: million this year. If they franchise him again next year,
Speaker 1: it would go up a little bit. And if they
Speaker 1: franchise him again to fall him then it like doubles. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that it goes up quite a bit. But they can
Speaker 1: play this out and go a year to year deal
Speaker 1: paying him good money that he's not going to turn
Speaker 1: away because it's gonna be tough for him to get
Speaker 1: a long term deal. It's just tough for any of
Speaker 1: these running backs to get a long term deal. But
Speaker 1: he's the fifth highest paid running back in the league
Speaker 1: right now. I don't know why he wouldn't just continue
Speaker 1: to play under the franchise tag. They want the security
Speaker 1: and the guaranteed money, so they all do. Nobody wants
Speaker 1: the franchise tag because you don't get a signing bonus
Speaker 1: that's based on you playing five years. Sure, So the
Speaker 1: the other option here is Darnton Evans, who is a
Speaker 1: third round pick from Appalachian State. He's on his rookie
Speaker 1: deal through three. The only other running backs who will
Speaker 1: be on roster next year are three guys I've never
Speaker 1: heard of, Dalen Dawkins, Sean Wilson, and Cameron Scarlett. I
Speaker 1: don't know who any of those guys are, but they're
Speaker 1: under contract through one. So um, I think Darrenton Evans.
Speaker 1: If you want a real deep, speculative ad, maybe Derrick
Speaker 1: Henry gets hurt this year and they go, you know what,
Speaker 1: We're not going to resign him and we're gonna let
Speaker 1: him hit the pavement. Darnton Evans, I think, is the
Speaker 1: only guy on that roster that you could pick up
Speaker 1: and maybe have as a as a possible replacement. Paul
Speaker 1: Charchy and Matt Harrison with you. We're talking about contract
Speaker 1: year runners. These are the guys in the final years
Speaker 1: of their deal running backs and the fantasy landscape for
Speaker 1: twenty and beyond for each one of these will take
Speaker 1: a break. When we come back. Aaron Jones and several
Speaker 1: other notable running backs that will be free agents will
Speaker 1: break those down in just a moment. Welcome back to
Speaker 1: Fantasy Football Weekly. Paul Charchy and Matt Harrison with you.
Speaker 1: We encourage you to follow Matt at Matt sorry, Matt
Speaker 1: explosive output on Twitter. Nobody can sell Matt with one t. Well,
Speaker 1: there's that too. I am at Paul Charchy and your
Speaker 1: Empire Dynasty League cheat sheet is available via your Twitter
Speaker 1: account as well. Yeah, it's the pin post on my
Speaker 1: Twitter page right now. And it's a trade value charts.
Speaker 1: So I actually give a trade value to every a
Speaker 1: number a number of value, so you can go ahead
Speaker 1: and see, Hey, Christian McCaffrey is hundred in value. Who
Speaker 1: could I trade him for? Yeah, Christian McCaffrey, add will
Speaker 1: cost me a Mark Andrews and a Kenyan Drake as
Speaker 1: one example. Oh, man, I don't think I do that
Speaker 1: for which side on the McCaffrey side. I think I
Speaker 1: got gotta bump McCaffrey up a few times. I would
Speaker 1: want to be on the other side. Really, Yeah, there
Speaker 1: we go. That's right, but maybe it's right. Yeah, we
Speaker 1: should probably make this deal if you can give me
Speaker 1: Mark Andrews is arguably one of the three best young
Speaker 1: tight ends in the league, and Kenyan Drake, who looks
Speaker 1: like he's going to be a functional running back. For
Speaker 1: several years now, I'm interested. Okay, okay, that's what the
Speaker 1: trade value charts all about. Yes, giving you some guidance
Speaker 1: on that. All right, Let's return to the running backs
Speaker 1: under contract this year. Are sorry, the last year of
Speaker 1: their contract this year. Aaron Jones in the last year
Speaker 1: of his deal for Green Bay. He was running back
Speaker 1: four and points per game him last year in PPR leagues.
Speaker 1: Packers are forty million under the cap next year, which
Speaker 1: puts them somewhere in the ballparking like the twenty second team. Now,
Speaker 1: unlike some of the other guys we've talked about, there
Speaker 1: were real threats on that pack or roster. Matt Yeah,
Speaker 1: um a J. Dillon, who's the second round pick. I
Speaker 1: don't think he supplants Aaron Jones as the guy who
Speaker 1: carries the ball the most times. He's not going to
Speaker 1: be a bell cow or anything like that. But he
Speaker 1: may supplant him near the goal line because A. J.
Speaker 1: Dillon is just a big dudel uh And And that's
Speaker 1: the thing that worries me about Aaron Jones this year,
Speaker 1: because that could be this year. So I think his
Speaker 1: value is at a peak. And think about it this way.
Speaker 1: So what if they start handing the ball to A. J.
Speaker 1: Dillon at the goal line and his his numbers dip
Speaker 1: quite a bit, Maybe Aaron Jones Naron Jones numbers dip
Speaker 1: quite a bit. Maybe the Packers are doing this in
Speaker 1: a way to lessen his number and try to keep
Speaker 1: him his Aaron Jones leverage. Yeah, so, hey, you weren't
Speaker 1: really as good last year and we got this other guy,
Speaker 1: so you can sign a team friendly deal for six
Speaker 1: million dollars and and continue to play here. But yeah,
Speaker 1: it's a tough one. I think he's at peak value
Speaker 1: right now. So I think I'm selling on Aaron Jones
Speaker 1: if I'm owning him right now, and I'm probably buying
Speaker 1: shares of a J. Dillon just in case. Next year
Speaker 1: Aaron Jones out of his contract and Jamal Williams is
Speaker 1: leaving his contract too. So here's I'll be contrarian a
Speaker 1: little on this. Here's why I think Aaron Jones is
Speaker 1: more interesting to me next year than he is this year.
Speaker 1: This year, who's got the crowded backfield this year? Uh? Packers,
Speaker 1: both of the previous head coaching and the current head
Speaker 1: coaching never seemed to use him as as the workhorse
Speaker 1: back that we think he deserves to be because he's
Speaker 1: so good and because that he's like mileage, he really
Speaker 1: hasn't had that much abuse for this stage of his
Speaker 1: his his career, and he could go someplace where he's
Speaker 1: the workhorse back, where he's the number one and that too. Yeah. Um,
Speaker 1: and I think there's a decent chance that that happens.
Speaker 1: I think you know the reason you take you blow
Speaker 1: a second rounder for the Packers this year because you
Speaker 1: think that guy's gonna be a starter next year. What
Speaker 1: what did they do with their first round pick? Again?
Speaker 1: They went with a quarterback? Yeah, trade it up for one. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's a baffling. Okay, So there's Aaron Jones. I'm I
Speaker 1: think you're right that his value is it's really high
Speaker 1: right now. There's a lot of threats on that roster,
Speaker 1: and it's I understand why this might be an opportunity
Speaker 1: to sell. Uh, But man, I think I'm gonna like
Speaker 1: him more in twenties possible. Let's go to Kenyan Drake.
Speaker 1: He got the transition tag this year that ended up
Speaker 1: paying him quite well. He was running back eighteen in
Speaker 1: PPR last year. But it's kind of a goofy running
Speaker 1: back eighteen because he was active for a lot of
Speaker 1: games but didn't wasn't a big part of a lot
Speaker 1: of games games script until really the middle ladder like
Speaker 1: to the year and almost all came in three games. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's a concern. UM current backups. There's two who are
Speaker 1: going to be under contract in Chase Edmonds, who I
Speaker 1: think is a guy that a lot of people like. Um,
Speaker 1: he's under contract through one. He's only making eight sixty
Speaker 1: thousand next year. And Eno Benjamin who is the seventh
Speaker 1: round pick who people really seem to like going into
Speaker 1: the draft, yet he fell to the seventh round. Um,
Speaker 1: he'll be on his rookie deal that could last through UM.
Speaker 1: The Cardinals do have fifty eight million in estimated cap
Speaker 1: space next year. That's the tenth most in the league.
Speaker 1: So they certainly could pay Kenyan Drake if they wanted to.
Speaker 1: They could franchise him too, But they might have some
Speaker 1: holes that they take a lot of holes in Arizona,
Speaker 1: especially like defense, the whole defense. So um, if if
Speaker 1: they want to be a real contender in this league,
Speaker 1: and especially in probably the toughest division in football, the
Speaker 1: NFC West, Uh, they're gonna have to fill those holes
Speaker 1: in different ways, and I think Kenyan Drake could be
Speaker 1: a cap casualty next year. I wouldn't be surprised. Let's
Speaker 1: go to Todd Gurley, who's now in Atlanta. He was
Speaker 1: running back thirteen in pp UP in points per game
Speaker 1: in PPR leagues. Falcons UM. I don't actually don't have
Speaker 1: Falcons cap number for next year, but I think it's
Speaker 1: not great. But they're in a bad They're at the cap.
Speaker 1: They're like they're almost dead on the cap. They're negative
Speaker 1: two point nine million in camp space next year. That's
Speaker 1: the third worst number u UH. Gurley is only on
Speaker 1: a one year, five point five contract they signed in March. Um.
Speaker 1: The backups there right now are nobody Edo Smith who's
Speaker 1: under contract and Kadre Allison. Brian Hills not under contract
Speaker 1: next year, so he's under this year, but I got
Speaker 1: next year alright. So those both of those guys are
Speaker 1: making about a million per season. So there's no answer.
Speaker 1: There's no air apparent on the Falcons roster. Nope, not
Speaker 1: at all. And they could be definitely a team who's
Speaker 1: looking at a rookie UH coming in with a high
Speaker 1: draft pick next year. So you know, medical issues are
Speaker 1: really thorny for fantasy owners because we just can't know,
Speaker 1: and lot times the players don't own, the teams don't know.
Speaker 1: I mean, if the Rams who knew everything they could
Speaker 1: possibly know about his knee and still gave him a
Speaker 1: fat contract and still played him through last year and
Speaker 1: everything else, it's um, you know, if they didn't get
Speaker 1: it right. Fantasy owners shouldn't feel bad if they get
Speaker 1: it right or wrong. As you look at what Todd
Speaker 1: Gurley's value is right now, do is this a by
Speaker 1: low opportunity for his fantasy owners? If you think that
Speaker 1: he's going to continue to be fantasy viable for several
Speaker 1: years and maybe on a what's generally been a good
Speaker 1: offense for the Falcon And you said he was the
Speaker 1: thirteenth ranked running back in PPR thirteenth last year. Can
Speaker 1: we all hated his usage and everything else, but at
Speaker 1: the end of the day he ended up getting If
Speaker 1: you think that he can go another three four years
Speaker 1: at being a middle of the road running back like
Speaker 1: a high end RB two, I think it's a by
Speaker 1: low moment. I think people are probably sick of him.
Speaker 1: His his value dipped A ton ton know I think
Speaker 1: that is it is a by low moment, and you
Speaker 1: could have a running back who's a safe running back,
Speaker 1: a respectable running back, and even though he might not
Speaker 1: be on Atlanta next year, Uh, he could probably find
Speaker 1: a good spot somewhere. If he's not Atlanta next year,
Speaker 1: something's gone wrong, probably in my opinion that you know,
Speaker 1: or just they can't afford him. Well, there's that great
Speaker 1: point because they're at you know, because they're already there
Speaker 1: at the wrong side of the cap right now. He
Speaker 1: might not be able to afford him. Good point. So
Speaker 1: you know, I think, girl, you gotta have stones, but
Speaker 1: you might not. Girlies price might be so low right now.
Speaker 1: Even if he's never going to be again be a
Speaker 1: twenty two touch a game, I ever will be. Um,
Speaker 1: he could be every goal line situation for whatever team
Speaker 1: he's on, and he could still be fifteen carries and
Speaker 1: four receptions in a typical game. And that's pretty good. Yeah,
Speaker 1: you take that, especially with a lot of black fields
Speaker 1: going to the the Niners style split backfield. Now correct,
Speaker 1: Let's talk about a couple other of the running backs
Speaker 1: that are entering free agency after this year that are
Speaker 1: at least notable. Yeah, the notable. Kareem Hunts fascinating. I
Speaker 1: don't know that he leaves or not. I thought the
Speaker 1: way they used him last year was very good. It'll
Speaker 1: be different this year with Pat Shermer there, not Pat Chremer.
Speaker 1: Excuse me. I got my Vikings, my former Vikings offensive
Speaker 1: coordinator Kevin Stefanski. He was actually yes, you go back
Speaker 1: seven eight years. Uh, Kareem Hunt there with Kevin Stefanski.
Speaker 1: The usage of probably a little bit different, but you know,
Speaker 1: part of that one to punch. If things continue to
Speaker 1: work out for him there, he might be affordable and
Speaker 1: then might keep him. I don't have a real good
Speaker 1: sense on this. How about this, What if he's a
Speaker 1: Bilow just for this season, because maybe the Browns are
Speaker 1: looking at him, going let's run him into the ground,
Speaker 1: him into the ground, and ye, we'll use Nick Chubb
Speaker 1: next year. Got Nick Chubb next year? Get this. I
Speaker 1: just did my first real draft of this year for
Speaker 1: the Fantasy Index magazine. Sure, and we're not supposed to
Speaker 1: like disclose our whole roster, but I will tell you
Speaker 1: that I had Kareem Hunt, who, by the way, running
Speaker 1: back from from the time he came back last year's
Speaker 1: second half of the season he was running back fourteen.
Speaker 1: I got him as the thirty second running back off
Speaker 1: the board. That's great value, right, that is great value.
Speaker 1: Did to do the opposite draft in you, well, I
Speaker 1: had picked one. I had the first pick over because
Speaker 1: I was because I was the champion or hold on
Speaker 1: old wait, oh, you gotta turn the volume from the
Speaker 1: peacockes the peacock. Thank you, let's get because I wanted
Speaker 1: I could pick any slot I picked. I picked one
Speaker 1: oh one. Now normally I go and I gave a
Speaker 1: lot of thought to going Michael Thomas there in in
Speaker 1: part just to prove that you could do it. It's
Speaker 1: so contrarian. But and then I almost went, say Kwon
Speaker 1: Barkley again, just to sort of say you can do it,
Speaker 1: because I think Sae Kwon Barkley is a better I
Speaker 1: think he's the best running back in the league just
Speaker 1: on talent. I think Kuon Barkley's the best running back.
Speaker 1: So almost took him for that reason. But at the
Speaker 1: end of the day, I just went, you know what,
Speaker 1: the noodle armed Teddy Bridgewater is such a good compliment.
Speaker 1: Dink and dunk dancing dunk to death. So I ended
Speaker 1: up guy went, and I'm really I try so hard
Speaker 1: not to just replay last year. So anyway, I took
Speaker 1: Christian McCaffrey. But but then I didn't take another running
Speaker 1: back there until Kareem's right. It was a modified to
Speaker 1: the anyway, So Kareem Hunt, what are your thoughts on
Speaker 1: on buying lower selling? Hi don't know if he's going
Speaker 1: to stay or not, but I believe that there's a
Speaker 1: good chance that he does. He does end up sinks,
Speaker 1: and I'm not sure there'll be a big market for him.
Speaker 1: I really think he's a by low because I think
Speaker 1: that they could run him into the ground this year,
Speaker 1: and I think that they could let him go and
Speaker 1: he could walk into a new situation next year, and
Speaker 1: at worst he's staying in Cleveland, and at best he's
Speaker 1: probably walking into an RB one situation, or maybe there's
Speaker 1: a point there. There's a lot of different teams that
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go go through in a minute. There's some
Speaker 1: teams that are really interesting that might be looking for
Speaker 1: a running back next year, and Kareem Hunt could probably
Speaker 1: fit that bill nicely. Nobody loves Chris Carson, and I
Speaker 1: saw when I took Kaream hunting round six. I think
Speaker 1: I went no. Actually, Carson Carson was went a couple
Speaker 1: of picks before me. But Chris Carson's last thing like
Speaker 1: the fifth round of draft. I don't understand it. Um,
Speaker 1: he was a he was roughly a top ten fantasy
Speaker 1: running back last year and he's into his last year.
Speaker 1: They've got d J. Dallas and Rashad Penny. I don't
Speaker 1: I'm just not seeing those guys. So, um Seattle has
Speaker 1: sixty three million in cap space next year, seventh most
Speaker 1: in the league. Um. D J Dallas, as you said,
Speaker 1: was a fourth round pick. He'll be on a rookie
Speaker 1: deal through three. And Rashad Penny, who was a first
Speaker 1: rounder in eighteen, could end up getting a fifth year
Speaker 1: that still got one if they give him the fifth
Speaker 1: year option he's got. So I don't think they will.
Speaker 1: Penny's there though, yes, and DJ Dallas is there. I
Speaker 1: think that they let Chris Carson, who had a hip
Speaker 1: injury late in the season, and if he gets dinged
Speaker 1: up again this year, I think he just becomes one
Speaker 1: of those guys who kind of ends up on the Jets,
Speaker 1: because that's that's where all these running backs end up
Speaker 1: for a year, like it just ends up on the
Speaker 1: Jets for a year and uh, you know has some
Speaker 1: fantasy value, But yeah, I don't think that. Uh, I
Speaker 1: don't think it's a by moment on Chris Carson. James
Speaker 1: Conner is in the last year of his deal, and
Speaker 1: that's another team that doesn't have an obvious workhorse to
Speaker 1: take his place. I mean, they struggled trying to fill
Speaker 1: that role last year when James Conner was constantly hurt.
Speaker 1: Get this, They've been struggling to fill that role for years.
Speaker 1: In seventeen, they picked James Conner in the third round.
Speaker 1: In eighteen, they picked Jalen Samuel's in the fifth round.
Speaker 1: In nineteen, they picked Benny Snell in the fourth round.
Speaker 1: They picked McFarland in the in the fourth round. So
Speaker 1: they have a lot of guys some real draft equity
Speaker 1: against that position, but they haven't gotten production outside of
Speaker 1: I mean, James Conner has been good ish when healthy,
Speaker 1: he's been pretty good, just he's rarely healthy. And now
Speaker 1: you can't look at what's happened with James Conner and
Speaker 1: feel like you dare give him more than twelve carries
Speaker 1: in a game. So what would you do if James
Speaker 1: Conner was on the trade block in one of your
Speaker 1: leagues with no chance, no chance, no chance between the
Speaker 1: injuries and the fact that again the team can't give
Speaker 1: him more than a handful of carries a game. No
Speaker 1: way do I want to invest a roster spot, let
Speaker 1: alone give up equity for him. I think, well, I'd
Speaker 1: rather go get Anthony McFarland. We don't have anthamly farends
Speaker 1: any good yet, um, but I think he's at least okay,
Speaker 1: and he I think he's got a better chance to
Speaker 1: turn it to a workhorse and any of the other
Speaker 1: guys on roster. So Pittsburgh might be one of those
Speaker 1: teams that are on the do not Touch list this
Speaker 1: year and maybe for Dynasty for a little while, because
Speaker 1: we don't know if Ben Roethlisberger stays after this year
Speaker 1: problem ju Ju Smith Schuster's contract is kind of coming
Speaker 1: up here. We don't know who's going to be running
Speaker 1: the offense in that town, uh at anytime soon. So
Speaker 1: there's gonna be a lot of different names going out.
Speaker 1: It's gonna be pretty weird. It is gonna be weird.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about teams that need runners. Yeah, you've identified
Speaker 1: any teams. Fifteen teams that next year could be in
Speaker 1: the market for a new running back. Let's start off,
Speaker 1: I went through the Vision's Uh a f C East,
Speaker 1: I got Jordan Howard in Miami. Uh, he could be
Speaker 1: a guy who's easily to play more. Uh. New England
Speaker 1: they're in the market now. Yeah. New England could move
Speaker 1: on from Sony and James White very soon agree. Uh
Speaker 1: the Jets if they move on from Levy on Bell
Speaker 1: and I'm almost certain they will at the end of
Speaker 1: this year. Yeah. Um, in the a f C North Cincinnati,
Speaker 1: if Joe Mixon ends up leaving after this year, we
Speaker 1: both think he's gonna stay. I think he's gonna stay,
Speaker 1: and that would fill one of the spots obviously. And
Speaker 1: then Pittsburgh that we just talked about a little bit.
Speaker 1: Um a f C South Jacksonville if they move on
Speaker 1: from Leonard four Nett and they've been Tennessee. If Derrick
Speaker 1: Henry is not the guy, so there's a there's another
Speaker 1: one moving over to the NFC. How about the Washington
Speaker 1: Professional Football team if no one emerges from that crowd,
Speaker 1: no kidding, and you know it's you know, if Darius
Speaker 1: Guys does not put it all together here. They could
Speaker 1: cut they could cut him. Adrian Peterson gone, um, yeah,
Speaker 1: there's there's a real they may be looking for They
Speaker 1: may be looking for help in Washington seeing guys on
Speaker 1: on that depth chart right now at the running back position,
Speaker 1: and they do. But you know, when you look ahead,
Speaker 1: I don't think there's that many guys that fill the
Speaker 1: bill though. As a workhorse style back. They got Antonio Gibson,
Speaker 1: who's a is a new Chris Thompson. But I don't
Speaker 1: think they've got another They've got another workhorse. They could
Speaker 1: be one of those teams that's in the market for
Speaker 1: Dalvin or Aaron Jones if they hit the market Green Bay,
Speaker 1: if they move on from Aaron Jones. I think the Vikings,
Speaker 1: if they like, if they if they don't to fully
Speaker 1: trust Alexander Madison, or they want to have a second
Speaker 1: running back Atlanta, Todd Gurley in his last year, New Orleans,
Speaker 1: Alvin Kamara, uh Tampa. If no one emerges, yeah, I
Speaker 1: think that they would be a super interesting spot. Everybody
Speaker 1: thinks Keishaw Vaughn. All the fantasy guys think Keishaan Vaughn's
Speaker 1: a a money in the bank, money in the bank.
Speaker 1: I'm not. I just think the opportunity is perfect, and
Speaker 1: that's so much a fantasy football is the opportunity, and
Speaker 1: I love his opportunity. When I look at his talent
Speaker 1: and I look at when I look at Keishawn Vaughn's
Speaker 1: UH tape from his collegiate career, I'm like, he's just
Speaker 1: a guy. Final two Arizona if they move on from
Speaker 1: Kenyan Drake, but I think they got two guys there
Speaker 1: that they could split the workload with. And then finally
Speaker 1: this was the one that I think is interesting. San Francisco.
Speaker 1: He mostred as sneaky old. He was well as as
Speaker 1: well documented during the Super Bowl. It was like his
Speaker 1: eighth team. And Tevin Coleman is just a guy. He's
Speaker 1: He's not good. That's gonna be. It's one of my
Speaker 1: big strong takes this year is I'm banking on mostart
Speaker 1: because I don't think Tevin Coleman is a factor. Um,
Speaker 1: Jeffrey Wilson is still there, but he's not a factor either,
Speaker 1: And it's Jerick McKinnon. Derek McKinnon is never healthy, right,
Speaker 1: so he's not he's out. Matt Breed is on a
Speaker 1: different team, so so yeah, there's an opportunity there, and
Speaker 1: who wouldn't want a lead dug running back in a
Speaker 1: Kyle Shanahan offense. Just think of Kareem Hunt ends up
Speaker 1: in San Francisco next year and you could buy water.
Speaker 1: You could buy Kareem Hunt for pennies on the dollar
Speaker 1: right now. Maybe get a great season out of him
Speaker 1: in Cleveland, and maybe he could turn it into Hey,
Speaker 1: maybe he's in San Francisco. You know. I think out
Speaker 1: of all the things we've talked about, my biggest takeaway
Speaker 1: is I love I love Kareem Hunt's talent, and I
Speaker 1: think you've got me pretty energized to go try to
Speaker 1: find a way to get curry Mount right now. Uh,
Speaker 1: and then draft eligible players. I'll mention in one these
Speaker 1: are kind of the guys who have already been mocked
Speaker 1: in the top three rounds. So that's Travi et En
Speaker 1: from Clemson. He's gonna go early, he's really good. Shuba Hubbard,
Speaker 1: which is a fun name out of Oklahoma State, Naji
Speaker 1: Harris out of Alabama, Kennedy Brooks out of Oklahoma, and
Speaker 1: Kylan Hill out of Mississippi State. Those are kind of
Speaker 1: the top five guys that should be going high in
Speaker 1: the draft next year, and UH we had ten guys
Speaker 1: on the free agent market, we had five rookie eligible guys,
Speaker 1: and we have fifteen open teams. That math works out perfectly.
Speaker 1: Great job on this, as we break down all the
Speaker 1: contract runners, Matt. Next week, we are going to look
Speaker 1: at the past catchers will be wide receivers and tight
Speaker 1: ends UH in their contract here as we do similar
Speaker 1: speculation for one and beyond. Thanks for listening everybody. We'll
Speaker 1: be back next week with more Fantasy Football Weekly. Fantasy
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