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, Paul Charge. Welcome to our second Draft
Speaker 1: day edition a Fantasy Football Weekly. I am Paul Charging
Speaker 1: in My co host this week is Matt Harrison at
Speaker 1: Explosive Output on Twitter. Hey Matt, Hey Charge, how are
Speaker 1: you doing. I am doing well. Good to talk to
Speaker 1: you and exciting to get back to the draft. Last
Speaker 1: week we covered the first rounders. Because of the drought,
Speaker 1: we tape on Fridays, and so the first round is over.
Speaker 1: This is our chance to catch up with everybody else,
Speaker 1: which is a lot of guys that we think are
Speaker 1: that have a chance to be meaningful contributors here at
Speaker 1: least in the short term, and so our opportunity to
Speaker 1: talk about everybody else and man the second round in particular,
Speaker 1: just loaded with fantasy factors. Is the second round of
Speaker 1: this draft, the most loaded fantasy round of maybe any
Speaker 1: draft ever, like better than better than many first rounds
Speaker 1: that we've seen in the past few years. The second
Speaker 1: round is bonkers. I'd go one step farther. I would
Speaker 1: take the second round of this draft over from just
Speaker 1: a fantasy standpoint, over the entirety of last year's draft. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's it's that good. It is. It's so many great
Speaker 1: guys to talk about. Um, we're gonna begin at the
Speaker 1: running back position, and and again for a little a
Speaker 1: little bit of background on this discussion today, less oriented
Speaker 1: and dynasty, more on redraft. We're gonna do full dynasty
Speaker 1: editions of Fantasy Football weekly in the coming weeks, and
Speaker 1: excited for that as well as we start really catering
Speaker 1: to those people that are UM and some already having
Speaker 1: their dynasty drafts. Let's start at the running back position,
Speaker 1: and I let you choose the order you wanted to
Speaker 1: go with for the guys who were going to talk about.
Speaker 1: And the first guy you had up to bat Matt
Speaker 1: was DeAndre Swift. Well, I basically went in order of
Speaker 1: how they were drafted in the second round. So it's
Speaker 1: not like, not like DeAndre Swift is my favorite out
Speaker 1: of all these guys, but uh he was the next
Speaker 1: one up. He goes with the third pick in the
Speaker 1: second round, and uh he goes to Detroit. UH carry On.
Speaker 1: Johnson's contract still has two more years on it, but
Speaker 1: he can't seem to stay on the field at all,
Speaker 1: and Swift probably takes over as the lead back in
Speaker 1: at very worst, what should be a sixty forty split
Speaker 1: DeAndre Swift when when we previewed the rookies, we had
Speaker 1: him as probably the most complete running back in this
Speaker 1: draft as far as what he can do all over
Speaker 1: the field. So I really like DeAndre Swift to be
Speaker 1: one of those difference makers right away in the fantasy world.
Speaker 1: I believe that it will be more like seventy five
Speaker 1: DeAndre Swift because he's so good. It is arguably the
Speaker 1: most elusive, shifty, difficult to tackle back in this draft,
Speaker 1: and it's he's just shattering ankles of all these defensive players.
Speaker 1: And I just don't think Carrie On Johnson is anywhere
Speaker 1: near as good as DeAndre Swift is. So I think
Speaker 1: he's I think there's a real chance that he turns
Speaker 1: into a three down back that gets a vast majority
Speaker 1: of work. Even though lines aren't known for three down backs,
Speaker 1: they also have an invested a great picker had a
Speaker 1: guy nearly as good as DeAndre Swift there in a
Speaker 1: long time, and I think you can just house that job,
Speaker 1: and that's It's somebody I'm very intrigued by. Let's move
Speaker 1: over to Let's move over to Jonathan Taylor going to
Speaker 1: Indianapolis where he gets to run behind one of the
Speaker 1: league's great offensive lines. Yeah, and I think that Marlon
Speaker 1: Mack is just an ordinary running back who's had an
Speaker 1: incredibly good line in front of him. But I think
Speaker 1: Mac is kind of a perfect compliment to Taylor. Because
Speaker 1: Taylor provides the thunder, he provides the lightning. Mac provides
Speaker 1: a light drizzle and the ability to catch balls out
Speaker 1: of the backfield, which is kind of Taylor's one thing
Speaker 1: that he can't do. Uh super well. So um, I
Speaker 1: think Taylor's in line to be, you know, on the
Speaker 1: bell cow status here, and Mac figures in as a
Speaker 1: passing down back and a third down back from now on.
Speaker 1: Uh kind of kills one of our favorite players, Nike minds.
Speaker 1: Uh but uh yeah, one of your favorite players. I
Speaker 1: would just because we like to play the nine times
Speaker 1: drop because it rhymes. We do love that. We do
Speaker 1: love that part. So Taylor, of course, a very complete
Speaker 1: back who stunned people with this combine run of four
Speaker 1: three nine. We knew he was fast. We didn't think
Speaker 1: he was like track star fast, but it turns out
Speaker 1: he is. And you still get a physical, thick, well
Speaker 1: built back who's got better footwork and lateral movement dame,
Speaker 1: but his side should have And I mentioned the great
Speaker 1: offensive line for Indianapolis. Pro Football Focus ranked Indie's offensive
Speaker 1: line is the second best run blocking line in the NFL.
Speaker 1: You're gonna give Jonathan. You're gonna give Jonathan Taylor like
Speaker 1: five free yards on half his runs. I mean, that's oh,
Speaker 1: it's It could be a fantastic opportunity for him. And
Speaker 1: I think Taylor feels to me like he's gonna end
Speaker 1: up fitting in. I think he's gonna end up fitting
Speaker 1: into round two of fantasy drafts. That sounds about right
Speaker 1: to you. Yeah, that's kind of where I got him.
Speaker 1: Um In my latest Dynasty trade value chart, I have
Speaker 1: him as the twelfth overall player right now. Um So
Speaker 1: I think he's right up there. And I want to
Speaker 1: ask you, charge, if you're in the rookie draft and
Speaker 1: you hold one one in a traditional dynasty rookie draft,
Speaker 1: would you take Jonathan Taylor? Or would you take Clyde
Speaker 1: Edwards Hilaire. I think I'm not gonna overthink it. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna take Jonathan Taylor because I get the every down back,
Speaker 1: I get the goal line back. I'm not sharing time
Speaker 1: with anybody, and I can't be assured of that with
Speaker 1: Clyde Edward Edwards Hilaire. As much as I love him,
Speaker 1: I still feel like he's nobody. We're not talking about
Speaker 1: Jonathan Taylor in a sixty forty split here. I mean,
Speaker 1: I think think Taylor takes that that offense over I
Speaker 1: think so too. Now, Frank Wright, is it is part
Speaker 1: of that you know the dreaded Eagles offense historically right
Speaker 1: and where they did use a frustrating rotation back, so
Speaker 1: you know, maybe it will be more more of a
Speaker 1: rotation than we realize or that we want to believe.
Speaker 1: But um, I think Damian Williams is a bigger threat
Speaker 1: to Clyde Edwards Hilaire than um than Jonathan Taylor is well.
Speaker 1: Frank Reich also was in the UH San Diego Charger
Speaker 1: system where they've been known for Bell House for years
Speaker 1: and years, so we could we could see it go
Speaker 1: both ways here. Now we could see it about go
Speaker 1: both ways. Um, very intrigued by Taylor obviously, and I
Speaker 1: think almost anybody would feel that way. All right, let's
Speaker 1: go to our next running back up. Cam Acres was
Speaker 1: the next guy taken in the third round, and he
Speaker 1: ends up going to the Rams. We figured the RAMS
Speaker 1: would address this. I think it was earlier than I
Speaker 1: expected them too, But um, they end up going with
Speaker 1: the powerfully built cam Acres, presumably to take the role
Speaker 1: of Todd Gurley. Yeah, it seems like he would slide
Speaker 1: right into Todd Gurley's role. But last year the RAMS
Speaker 1: often featured both Gurley and Malcolm Brown, and they sprinkled
Speaker 1: in Darryl Henderson as well. And gosh, all those Darryl
Speaker 1: Henderson truthers out there who were investing heavily in him
Speaker 1: when they got rid of Gurley, they gotta be freaking
Speaker 1: out right now, because this is not good for his
Speaker 1: numbers at all. I do think that the Rams learned
Speaker 1: something because of the overuse of Gurley, and I have
Speaker 1: a feeling that this is now going to be a
Speaker 1: shared backfield. I still like Acres the best out of
Speaker 1: this bunch, but right off the bat, I would say
Speaker 1: he might be a fifty percent snap right kind of
Speaker 1: guy with Malcolm Brown and Darryl Henderson eating up the
Speaker 1: other half um together. So I'm a little nervous about
Speaker 1: the usage that he'll get there. But I do like
Speaker 1: the player and I do like the offense, so there's
Speaker 1: gonna be some uh, some bright spots ahead for cam Akers.
Speaker 1: Do you think cam Akers gets the goal line work
Speaker 1: for the Rams. I do, because he's just it's he's
Speaker 1: he's just so physical and he's so powerful, and I
Speaker 1: don't think they've got that on roster right now. I
Speaker 1: believe cam Akers is gonna gonna get the goal line carries,
Speaker 1: do you Yeah? And Todd Gurley was that goal line
Speaker 1: back last year, so they obviously don't see that out
Speaker 1: of Henderson or Malcolm Brown because they gave it to
Speaker 1: to Gurley. So I think Acres does have that the
Speaker 1: opportunity to be like a double digit touched down kind
Speaker 1: of guy, just with that Rams offense getting close to
Speaker 1: the stripe. Yeah, I agreed. That's what makes cam Akers awfully,
Speaker 1: awfully intriguing here. It's a Ram's offense, as we know,
Speaker 1: can be very explosive. Cam Akers could be sitting on
Speaker 1: twelve touchdowns and I wouldn't be at all surprised could
Speaker 1: be higher. I mean, I'm not saying that's the absolute ceiling,
Speaker 1: but I think, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if
Speaker 1: he if he hit the twelve touchdown mark, and that
Speaker 1: makes him a significant Fantasy contributor. Sure, let's go to
Speaker 1: J K. Dobbins, the fourth running back taken in the draft.
Speaker 1: He ends up in Baltimore, and this was a at
Speaker 1: least the short term, this was a frustrating landing spot
Speaker 1: for an awfully good player in j K. Dobbins. Well,
Speaker 1: I mean, if you consider that mark Ingram was it
Speaker 1: was kind of the lead back in New Orleans and
Speaker 1: then this dynamic playmaker named Alvin Kamara showed up and uh,
Speaker 1: you know, really cut into Ingram's production there. I think
Speaker 1: Ingram probably works best in a shared back field. It
Speaker 1: hurts Ingram, I think more than anybody. And I think
Speaker 1: Dobbins is a perfect replacement for Ingram eventually, because mark
Speaker 1: Ingram does turn thirty this year, but he does have
Speaker 1: two years left on that contract, so I don't foresee Dobbins. Yeah,
Speaker 1: he was great last year, but I do look at
Speaker 1: this as probably an even split between these two, which
Speaker 1: is going to be frustrating for fantasy owners for sure.
Speaker 1: It is. It's gonna be very frustrating. And and and
Speaker 1: he's got to deal with his own quarterback housing a
Speaker 1: lot of runs and potentially uh potentially goal line run
Speaker 1: situations away from him. To the funny thing about j K.
Speaker 1: Dobbins Man, when we broke down the rookie running back
Speaker 1: six weeks ago, when we were prepping for the draft
Speaker 1: and we were doing these shows, his comparable that we
Speaker 1: talked about was mark Ingram. And now look he ends
Speaker 1: up in Baltimore running with mark Ingram. So I mean,
Speaker 1: clearly they liked the skill traits that Ingram brings and
Speaker 1: they're just doing some succession planning already. And I wonder
Speaker 1: if they're not gonna grind up mark Ingram and force
Speaker 1: a bunch of carries through him now at the end
Speaker 1: of his at the end of his his deal is
Speaker 1: is coming up through just the last couple of years here,
Speaker 1: and just grind him up and then just keep JK.
Speaker 1: Dobbins more fresh. I could see that happening if Baltimore
Speaker 1: wasn't so close to being a title contender. I think
Speaker 1: the talent will win out and they're gonna probably play
Speaker 1: it pretty balanced and try to, you know, win the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl this year could be although mark Ingram's plenty talented.
Speaker 1: I mean, the issue here is not that that he's
Speaker 1: not good. No, absolutely, Dobbins is plenty of talented too, though,
Speaker 1: So I don't know if they can go you know what,
Speaker 1: We're gonna just ride mark Ingram forever this year and
Speaker 1: and see how it goes. But uh, because Dobbins is
Speaker 1: just too talented, and they invested a pretty high draft
Speaker 1: pick in him. Zack Moss went to Buffalo next, and
Speaker 1: this is a this this is a tricky spot for
Speaker 1: him because we all loved what we saw from Devin's
Speaker 1: Singletary at the end of this year. Now Moss brings
Speaker 1: a very different game to the table. Uh. He's two
Speaker 1: hundred twenty three pounds, you know, Singletary well, not a
Speaker 1: lightweight scat back. He's also more built to be elusive,
Speaker 1: wherea Zack Moss is your North South more of a
Speaker 1: power runner. Yeah. They're definitely a complementary backs to each other.
Speaker 1: And I think everybody really liked what we saw out
Speaker 1: of the out of Singletary and the tail end of
Speaker 1: last year, But the knock on him was always that
Speaker 1: he's much smaller than you want in a bell cow back,
Speaker 1: and people don't think that he can shoulder the bell
Speaker 1: cow touches. Hence, they had a whole bunch of running
Speaker 1: backs there in that depth chart last year in Singletary
Speaker 1: eventually one out because he's talented, but Zack Moss has
Speaker 1: talent of his own, and uh, it just seems like
Speaker 1: it's a miserable fantasy fit for both of these guys.
Speaker 1: It makes me not really want to invest at what
Speaker 1: Singletary was on his high end last year because I
Speaker 1: don't think he can hit the high end with Moss there.
Speaker 1: And Moss, if he walked into say Tampa Bay where
Speaker 1: there was a little bit more of an open hole
Speaker 1: for uh some some game time, I think I would
Speaker 1: have liked him better. So it looks like a split
Speaker 1: backfield here, and uh, we're gonna have to see how
Speaker 1: they situationally use these guys. And also, and I think
Speaker 1: this will be frustrating for fantasy owners, Zack Moss is
Speaker 1: Utah's all time rushing touchdown leader at the goal line,
Speaker 1: I think I think they're gonna give Zack Moss the
Speaker 1: ball a lot, and that's gonna really hurt Devin Singletary,
Speaker 1: who now has to score at distance and score on passes.
Speaker 1: And we've seen running backs that that that don't get
Speaker 1: those goal line carries, they don't get those easy touchdowns
Speaker 1: from inside the five. Those guys can have like four
Speaker 1: touchdown seasons that really really end up torpedoing you. And
Speaker 1: it adds a lot of variable to Devin's Singletary season.
Speaker 1: That I that worry me. Yeah, that one's bad all around. Next,
Speaker 1: and this was the first, I think real head scratcher
Speaker 1: of the draft, Derrington Evans going to Tennessee in the
Speaker 1: third round. Now, Pro Football Focus had him graded out
Speaker 1: as an undrafted free agent, and here was the summary
Speaker 1: that Pro Football Focus had on Darrington Evans. Undersized and
Speaker 1: unable to break tackles is a bad combo when projecting
Speaker 1: to the NFL. Two hundred pound backs with good but
Speaker 1: not great shiftiness or a dime a dozen in this league.
Speaker 1: That's the new Tennessee back up behind Derrick Henry. I
Speaker 1: think he has zero value while Derrick Henry is healthy,
Speaker 1: and even after if something were to happen to Derrick Henry,
Speaker 1: I don't trust Derrington Evans to be a significant contributor. Well,
Speaker 1: maybe the Titans just have some inside information because they're
Speaker 1: obviously from Tennessee, uh, Darrnton Evans from nearby Appalachian state,
Speaker 1: and maybe they just needed somebody who could run at
Speaker 1: the approximate altitude of five feet, which is where Nashville
Speaker 1: is located. So I don't quite understand this one. They
Speaker 1: spent a third round pick on him, and it just
Speaker 1: doesn't quite make sense. But just a reminder, Derrick Henry
Speaker 1: is on the franchise tag right now. So if you're
Speaker 1: in a deeper dynasty league, Darrnton Evans is the backup
Speaker 1: running back. He is RB two in Tennessee right now.
Speaker 1: Dion Lewis left that team. So if something does happen
Speaker 1: to Derrick Henry, Darrenson Evans is the next guy up.
Speaker 1: And if something catastrophic happens to Derrick Henry, he might
Speaker 1: have the opportunity to try to run away with this
Speaker 1: job if he can. Doesn't sound like he will be
Speaker 1: able to run away with this job. But there we go.
Speaker 1: We're gonna take a break when we come back where
Speaker 1: I want to touch on the next pick, which was
Speaker 1: also a head scratcher, that went to a t without
Speaker 1: obvious need and another player that was graded out to
Speaker 1: be an undrafted free agent really weird. We'll talk about
Speaker 1: a J. Dillon when you come back. Welcome back to
Speaker 1: Fantasy Football Weekly. Paul Charchion and Matt Harrison with you
Speaker 1: were breaking down the key players that went after the
Speaker 1: first round, so second round and beyond. Next up A J. Dillon.
Speaker 1: It was the second pick for the Packers and another
Speaker 1: head scratcher, a position of really no need for for
Speaker 1: the Packers, and with better running backs on the board,
Speaker 1: I think they went with the player that Pro Football
Speaker 1: Focus had ranked in the in the seventh round or
Speaker 1: as an undrafted free agent, and A J. Dillon who's
Speaker 1: got a battle through at least two people on the
Speaker 1: depth chart ahead of him to get any kind of time. Church,
Speaker 1: we could probably do a whole episode on why Green
Speaker 1: Bay drafted like they did this year, because it made
Speaker 1: no sense at all. Um, unless the Packers are already
Speaker 1: planning on moving on from Aaron Jones when his contract
Speaker 1: is up after this season, that's the only way I
Speaker 1: can think that this makes any sense whatsoever, because he's
Speaker 1: certainly third on the depth chart behind Aaron Jones and
Speaker 1: Jamal Williams, who, behind Davante Adams, was probably the best
Speaker 1: pass catcher on the field for the Packers last year.
Speaker 1: So I don't know how A J. Dillon finds the
Speaker 1: field unless an injury happens. So he's basically shelved until
Speaker 1: something like that does happen. Yeah, and you know what,
Speaker 1: I didn't love him. I didn't love him as a
Speaker 1: runner anyway. Um he's he's a big body north south runner,
Speaker 1: and he does have some prospects for goal line use.
Speaker 1: But they got guys who can score touchdowns already, So
Speaker 1: I think to me, A J. Dillon is only draftable
Speaker 1: in Dynasty and Empire formats. We are already planning for
Speaker 1: coming years. Let's move. Let's move to our next. The
Speaker 1: next player drafted who drops into really the perfect spot,
Speaker 1: and that's Keyshawn Vaughn, who goes to Tampa Bay and
Speaker 1: will take a well presumably end up taking over the
Speaker 1: running game, as they've got to be ready to turn
Speaker 1: the page on on Ronald Jones and Peyton Barber's already gone. Well.
Speaker 1: I mean, wouldn't we all have felt a lot better
Speaker 1: if Tampa Bay, which was really has been the best
Speaker 1: landing spot for a running back. For about three years now,
Speaker 1: we've all been just salivating for the Buccaneers to take
Speaker 1: a top flight running back there because it's just been
Speaker 1: wide open. But then they take Keyshaw Vaughn and he
Speaker 1: provides a lot of interest there. I think we all
Speaker 1: would have preferred one of the top five backs landing
Speaker 1: in that offense. And maybe the death of Ronald Jones
Speaker 1: has been greatly exaggerated because he played all right at
Speaker 1: the tail end of last year. It still feels like
Speaker 1: a split back field to me, um especially if let's
Speaker 1: let's see how Keyshawn Vaughan can block for Tom Brady,
Speaker 1: because if he's not blocking for his forty three year
Speaker 1: old quarterback and he's getting run out of town, I
Speaker 1: imagine Ronald Jones is going to be in the backfield
Speaker 1: on any high leverage situation. I think you've hit the
Speaker 1: nail on the head with Keishaw Vaughn, and we have
Speaker 1: I've seen I'm seeing fantasy experts on Twitter talk about
Speaker 1: Keyshawn Vaughan as an elite level fantasy producer this year.
Speaker 1: We saw Bruce arians run a split backfield all year
Speaker 1: and Peyton Barber was giving him very little, and neither
Speaker 1: was Jones for that matter, and he kept he kept
Speaker 1: running a split backfield. And you're absolutely right. If Keyshawn
Speaker 1: Vaughan mrs a block early in the season and Tom
Speaker 1: Brady takes a big hit, that might be at that
Speaker 1: might be over right there. And I there's a lot
Speaker 1: more downside I think too Keyshawn Vaughn than people are
Speaker 1: not necessarily recognizing. I think they just really want a
Speaker 1: part of the the Tampa the now thrilling Tampa Bay offense.
Speaker 1: I I you know, I think for what you're gonna
Speaker 1: have to pay for Keyshawn Vaughn. And it's too early
Speaker 1: to know where he's going in fantasy drafts yet, but
Speaker 1: I think you're gonna see him go like fourth round.
Speaker 1: You can get Ronald Jones in the twelfth round, and
Speaker 1: I think that's gonna end up being a better value.
Speaker 1: And I don't even like Ronald Jones particularly. We've had
Speaker 1: a split backfield in Tampa Bay since Warwick Dunne was there,
Speaker 1: so I changing anytime soon. Anthony McFarland was the next
Speaker 1: player taken for Pittsburgh. UM McFarland another guy that Profo
Speaker 1: Ball Focus had as an undrafted free agent. He's a
Speaker 1: small guy, but he's a tough, hard nosed runner, but
Speaker 1: middling measurables um not a Lucifer, shifty, mostly untested through
Speaker 1: the air. I honestly I didn't love the pick, but clearly,
Speaker 1: when when you look at what happened to that running
Speaker 1: game with James Conner hurt for most on and off
Speaker 1: for most of all the last year, the team felt
Speaker 1: like they needed to have had a little better backup plan. Yeah,
Speaker 1: James Conner is only twenty four years old as of taping.
Speaker 1: He turns twenty five on Cinco de Mayo. His body
Speaker 1: might be about thirty five years old with all the
Speaker 1: stuff that he's gone through in his life, with with
Speaker 1: all the injuries and and he's he's battled through cancer
Speaker 1: and and all that stuff. So, uh, last year when
Speaker 1: Connor went down, converted tight end Jalen Samuel's filled in admirably,
Speaker 1: especially in the passing game, but the run game was
Speaker 1: kind of thrown in the ditch when when James Conner
Speaker 1: went down. So McFarland provides that running option and he
Speaker 1: could be a replacement, uh sooner than people think, if,
Speaker 1: especially if Connor can't stay healthy. And uh, they just
Speaker 1: want to use Jalen Samuels as kind of a gadget
Speaker 1: running back tight end player. The next player taken was
Speaker 1: another one that provoball focus had as an undrafted free agent,
Speaker 1: and that's DJ Dallas from Seattle who went to who
Speaker 1: ends up going to Seattle. Um d J Dallas was
Speaker 1: a player that profoball focus did not like much. They
Speaker 1: mentioned good balance and a powerful lower body who welcomes contact,
Speaker 1: but he's average speed, slow to get up to full speed,
Speaker 1: low agility, slow news cuts, he was not productive in college.
Speaker 1: There's um, I don't think DJ Dallas really is a
Speaker 1: factor that fantasy owners need to sweat as they're thinking
Speaker 1: about the starting rotation here in Seattle. Well, Seattle always
Speaker 1: drafts weird guys, like they find their own guys and
Speaker 1: and they just they draft weird and it seems to
Speaker 1: kind of work out for them for the most part. Uh.
Speaker 1: Dallas went in the fourth, fourth round. And the reason
Speaker 1: that you have to kind of pay attention to this
Speaker 1: guy is that depth chart. While there's two guys in
Speaker 1: front of him, both of those guys got injured. Both
Speaker 1: Chris Carson and Rashad Penny both had big injuries right
Speaker 1: before the playoffs began, and Penny had an a c
Speaker 1: L which prompted the return of Beast mode in the
Speaker 1: playoffs last year. So d J Dallas just figures in
Speaker 1: as a as a possible depth guy, especially if Carson
Speaker 1: or Penny deal with any injuries again this year. So uh,
Speaker 1: he's He's a guy to pay attention to and probably
Speaker 1: not a guy who ends up on fantasy rosters at
Speaker 1: the beginning of the season, but by middle or tail
Speaker 1: end of the season he could be one of those
Speaker 1: guys who abe has a role in the NFL not
Speaker 1: It would be weird but not crazy. Yeah. I don't
Speaker 1: see the skill set for DJ Dallas. I think if
Speaker 1: I think he will need some things to to work
Speaker 1: his way, like Chris Carson getting hurt for shot Penny
Speaker 1: doesn't bounce back from the a c L as well
Speaker 1: as they like something like that. To me, is is
Speaker 1: the scenario where DJ Dallas plays a role. Two more
Speaker 1: running backs to talk about. Joshua Kelly was somebody I
Speaker 1: thought would go much earlier than he ultimately went, and
Speaker 1: he ends up going to the Chargers. I he there's
Speaker 1: a kid out of U c L A who I like.
Speaker 1: He's a short, shifting north south runner with good footwork. Um,
Speaker 1: he's tricky to bring down, he's big enough for goal
Speaker 1: line use. He's athletic, he's nimble, he's fast enough. Um,
Speaker 1: And there was a lot that I there's a lot
Speaker 1: that I did like about him. Um, and he was
Speaker 1: successful behind a bad offensive line. Now he goes to
Speaker 1: the Chargers and Melvin Gordon's not there anymore. What do
Speaker 1: you think of Joshua Kelly for the Chargers? Well, I know,
Speaker 1: Charch you you were kind of a fan of Justin
Speaker 1: Jackson has kind us chick up this offseason, and Joshua
Speaker 1: Kelly is like Justin Jackson in so many ways. Um.
Speaker 1: Kelly only had eleven receptions last season, so he's probably
Speaker 1: not cutting into Austin Ekeler's feature backslash receiving role. So
Speaker 1: I think it's Kelly and Jackson who are maybe splitting carries,
Speaker 1: or maybe one of them wins out to be the
Speaker 1: low end of the timeshare split, maybe for either of
Speaker 1: those guys if they win it from the other. So
Speaker 1: I don't really like Kelly's chances of making a dent
Speaker 1: this year. Do we think Austin Ekeler gets two thirds
Speaker 1: of the overall carries, leaving one third to be split
Speaker 1: then perhaps evenly between Justin Jackson and Joshua Kelly. I
Speaker 1: don't know if carries, but touches. I think touches for sure,
Speaker 1: because I think he factors so much in the passing game. Yeah,
Speaker 1: to me, this has not materially hurt Austin Ekeler. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't think it does anything for Austin Ekeler. All right,
Speaker 1: Joshua Kelly to the Chargers. One last running back. You
Speaker 1: know Benjamin a fascinating player. Uh, He's got prototypical running
Speaker 1: back size and by the way, he ends up going
Speaker 1: to the Arizona Cardinals where he's the He's the presumed
Speaker 1: back up to Kenyan Drake, although Chase Edmonds had you know,
Speaker 1: has flashed a little bit. Um. One of the best
Speaker 1: tackle breakers in this draft is you know Benjamin, and
Speaker 1: he can be special that way. You're always looking for
Speaker 1: something that really defines a player, that makes him possible
Speaker 1: to succeed at the next level, and for you know Benjamin,
Speaker 1: it's his tackle breaking, super elusive, good cutback abilities. Um
Speaker 1: gets a lot of forward momentum going and he's strong
Speaker 1: and determined. I think there was there was some I
Speaker 1: can catch a little bit too, by the way, I
Speaker 1: think there's some things to like from you know, Benjamin
Speaker 1: in Arizona. But Kenyan Drake remains the starter. Well, Kenyan
Speaker 1: Drake is the starter. But are we a hundred percent
Speaker 1: sure that Kenyan Drake is good? Because pretty much all
Speaker 1: of his fantas the value happened in three games last
Speaker 1: year Week nine fifteen for one ten and a score,
Speaker 1: Week fifteen two for one thirty seven and four touchdowns,
Speaker 1: and Week sixteen for one sixty six and two. That
Speaker 1: was all of his production. He was getting thirty yards,
Speaker 1: forty yards, a sixty yard or thrown in here and
Speaker 1: there and not scoring touchdowns. So are we sure that
Speaker 1: Kenyan Drake is good? And are we sure that Chase
Speaker 1: Edmonds is good? And I know Brian really liked you
Speaker 1: know on the earlier pod and he fell to the
Speaker 1: seventh round to the hometown Cardinals. It's a good offense. Uh.
Speaker 1: The card Cardinals were second in rushing d v o
Speaker 1: A last year. He's a stash play in both dynasty
Speaker 1: and redraft leagues because I think he has a sneaky
Speaker 1: chance of emerging from all, this is maybe the top
Speaker 1: runner in Arizona. UM. Maybe, yeah, you know, I thought
Speaker 1: Kenyan Drake looked pretty good to my eye. He passed
Speaker 1: the eye test. Um. They proved their offensive line a
Speaker 1: little bit. Round three, they took Josh Jones, who some
Speaker 1: people thought. I did thought he'd go at the end
Speaker 1: of the first round potentially, and many people did. He
Speaker 1: was mocked regularly to the end of the first round.
Speaker 1: He slid all the way to pick seventy two. Offensive
Speaker 1: line gets a little bit better. I think that helps
Speaker 1: Kenyan Drake's overall efficiency, which was, as you correctly noted,
Speaker 1: was up and down. And you're right, you know, I
Speaker 1: think the thing you're really hammering on with these you know,
Speaker 1: three great games, as if you look at the total
Speaker 1: if you look at his total numbers at the end
Speaker 1: of the year, they look really good. But he did
Speaker 1: have these down games where he just couldn't get anything going.
Speaker 1: And I but I want to say that was more
Speaker 1: of a product of a bad offensive line. And I
Speaker 1: still think Kenyan Drake walks in as the starter here
Speaker 1: in the seventh rounder. Um In you know, Benjamin is
Speaker 1: not likely to take that away from Kenyan Drake and Uh,
Speaker 1: and if memory serves, I think they re signed Kenyan.
Speaker 1: Did they signed Kenyan Drake to a new better deal
Speaker 1: or my my misremembering. I think they re upped him
Speaker 1: a little bit, But I don't think he's on a
Speaker 1: huge deal at all. Yeah, you might be right about that.
Speaker 1: I should have looked it up before the show. That
Speaker 1: would have been super professional of us. But you know,
Speaker 1: we're at the end. We're at the end. We're at
Speaker 1: the end of the podcast. Nobody's listening anyway, so you know,
Speaker 1: it's probably pretty safe to just go with what we
Speaker 1: you know, we think it is. Uh, you Nan Drake's
Speaker 1: on the transition tag Church there we go transition tag,
Speaker 1: So he's he's one one year deal for eight point
Speaker 1: four million. Yes, reported in mid April that they would
Speaker 1: like to sign him to a long term contract, but
Speaker 1: they have not done so to this point. Now that
Speaker 1: the draft is over, perhaps they will. We'll find out. Um,
Speaker 1: there are we should mention, although I think people know
Speaker 1: no David Johnson Arizona either, which clears the way for
Speaker 1: for a little extra time for potentially you know, Benjamin
Speaker 1: as well. Mum, we're half hour into the podcast. What
Speaker 1: I think we'll do is handle wide receivers, quarterbacks, tight
Speaker 1: ends in the next podcast or the one two weeks
Speaker 1: from now so, or perhaps an upcoming one. But I
Speaker 1: think we'll do it maybe next week. How does that sound, Matt? Sure,
Speaker 1: I'm good with that. Alright. Good. We spent so much
Speaker 1: time on running backs, and you know, I was originally
Speaker 1: thinking maybe we'd be a little quicker, but man, you
Speaker 1: and I just love to hear our own voices. I know,
Speaker 1: I like to talk a lot, and especially about running
Speaker 1: backs like Eno, Benjamin, Like you know, Benjamin, I hear you.
Speaker 1: We're breaking down Eno Benjamin, who knows you know, one
Speaker 1: of those seventh round running backs. But the opportunity is there. Uh, Matt,
Speaker 1: great job today, Thanks a lot for helping out. Thank
Speaker 1: you charge. Okay, everybody else will be back in one week.
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