Speaker 1: Wow, everybody, It's Thursday, February twenty sixth, twenty twenty six.
Speaker 1: Welcome to the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast.
Speaker 2: We Believe in Vitamin C.
Speaker 1: It's Me and Man MG Marcus Grand joated by Michael Florio,
Speaker 1: Kwan Jones dnp Illness rest up man.
Speaker 2: Right exactly. Yeah, he you know, sent.
Speaker 1: Us a little Texas morning said he is not feeling great.
Speaker 1: So we told him to ice up son, get better
Speaker 1: and hopefully he'll be back for next week.
Speaker 2: That Floria is.
Speaker 1: The the other side of having kids, because they are
Speaker 1: germ incubators and they hang out in spaces like schools
Speaker 1: or daycares with other germ incubators. So like I remember
Speaker 1: when we first sent our son to daycare, it was
Speaker 1: almost every two weeks he was coming home with some
Speaker 1: new sniffle or virus or cold, which would inevitably cycle
Speaker 1: through the house. So you know, if you decide to
Speaker 1: walk that path, just to just know that that's what's
Speaker 1: coming for you.
Speaker 3: I will say, every time I go hang out with
Speaker 3: my niece and nephews back home and stuff, I usually
Speaker 3: get sick. And then me and Kyrie were talking before
Speaker 3: the show, Lakwan did like a quick New orleanship. I
Speaker 3: do a bunch of very quick trips because like fly
Speaker 3: back home for weddings or whatever. I get sick every
Speaker 3: time I do it. So like it was coming for
Speaker 3: him whether he liked it or not. It was just
Speaker 3: a matter of when not if.
Speaker 1: Yeah, between kids and airplanes, Yeah, it was bound to
Speaker 1: take him down. So yeah, rest up, man, drink plenty
Speaker 1: of fluids. Get invite him and seeing you. You know,
Speaker 1: rest up and I will talk to you next week.
Speaker 1: I mean time for us, the two of us still here.
Speaker 1: We're still going through our team needs. As free agency
Speaker 1: hits in about a week and a half, there's definitely
Speaker 1: some new some of the non free agent variety. Also,
Speaker 1: the combine is coming up this week. I actually didn't
Speaker 1: put any combine stuff in the in the rundown. I
Speaker 1: don't know if you want to good, Okay, good, because
Speaker 1: I don't know if you want to chat about it.
Speaker 1: But you know, I could make it a you know,
Speaker 1: an exception. But the combine is happening this week in Indianapolis.
Speaker 3: I like that more and more stuff is being like
Speaker 3: like certain teams aren't even going to this, Like it's
Speaker 3: more now kind of like for the media and.
Speaker 2: You know, the.
Speaker 3: Front offices and stuff to kind of all it's kind
Speaker 3: of like the Winter Meetings is how I use the
Speaker 3: combine now, and like it's the Winter Meetings. Just occasionally
Speaker 3: someone who hopes to get drafted shows us that they're
Speaker 3: very fast or something like that.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think some of it is now we
Speaker 1: have guys who train specifically for the combine, and the
Speaker 1: more you do that, the more you start to realize
Speaker 1: that the drills that they do there don't necessarily translate
Speaker 1: to on field performance, you know. I mean, if you
Speaker 1: have guys who are spending their time training, for instance,
Speaker 1: for the forty, you know, those sorts of things, you know,
Speaker 1: it's kind of become overblown. I think in a lot
Speaker 1: of regards, we always have the combined hype bunnies who
Speaker 1: move up the board and don't necessarily perform once they
Speaker 1: get to the NFL.
Speaker 2: I think even the interview portion.
Speaker 1: Of it has become a little bit much with teams
Speaker 1: trying to find the weirdest, most esoteric.
Speaker 2: Questions to ask.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, side, what's the weirdest thing you've ever
Speaker 1: been asked in a job interview?
Speaker 2: Can you think of that.
Speaker 3: Weirdest yeah, I had the first thing that comes to mind.
Speaker 3: It's a terrible story in my mind.
Speaker 2: I they usually are.
Speaker 3: I would yeah, like right, Like, I had a first interview.
Speaker 3: It was for a to run the sports department of
Speaker 3: like a local newspaper where I'm from. And they were like,
Speaker 3: you know, so I had a really long beard, like
Speaker 3: the law I randomly post college. Was like, I'm gonna
Speaker 3: grow my beard out. And it was like eight months
Speaker 3: of just not shaving. Oh wow, and they were like,
Speaker 3: we don't really love the beard. So for the second interview,
Speaker 3: I shaved and I went in like clean, like kind
Speaker 3: of how it is now. And then they were like,
Speaker 3: you got the gig, but instead of it being full time,
Speaker 3: we're gonna make it freelance per store. And I was like,
Speaker 3: I shaved the same position I already have.
Speaker 2: Like what are you doing?
Speaker 1: Oh wow, Yeah, that's terrible. I once had a job
Speaker 1: I interviewed. I was going to be the sports editor
Speaker 1: for kind of a local similar what you do, like
Speaker 1: kind of a local news and information website.
Speaker 2: Right. It was a kind of startup website.
Speaker 1: And the guy who was my boss, my big boss,
Speaker 1: he was above my boss, actually interviewed me and was
Speaker 1: kind of just a strange dude, and I'll never forget.
Speaker 2: He asked me, if you were a tree, what kind
Speaker 2: of tree would you be?
Speaker 1: And I yeah, I mean the look on your face
Speaker 1: right now was sort of the I think the look.
Speaker 1: I don't I hope I didn't show it, but that's
Speaker 1: definitely the look I had inside.
Speaker 2: And I think I made up.
Speaker 1: Something like I was like I think I said like
Speaker 1: a palm tree or something, because like I can be strong,
Speaker 1: but also it can be flexible and move with the wind.
Speaker 1: I don't know, but it just the whole thing caught
Speaker 1: me off guard. I'm like, what does this have to
Speaker 1: do with.
Speaker 3: The That is a fantastic answer, though my first thought
Speaker 3: was pained because I like Christmas, like you know, like
Speaker 3: like that's a really good answer you had.
Speaker 2: I think oak came into the end of my head
Speaker 2: at some point.
Speaker 1: I was just but I really was just like taken
Speaker 1: aback by the whole thing, Like I have no idea.
Speaker 3: What that like, you're printing on trees, that's the only
Speaker 3: thing A tree kind of comes into this equation.
Speaker 2: And we were in internet companies, so when we weren't.
Speaker 1: Even doing that, you know, so I have no idea.
Speaker 1: I have no idea where that man is nowadays. I
Speaker 1: don't know that I particularly care. Uh. Anyway, we're talking
Speaker 1: AFC North teams today, as we talked some free agent fits.
Speaker 1: So we'll get through the AFC and the NFC North
Speaker 1: as we do this. But let's start with a couple
Speaker 1: of news headlines. Because in Denver, Sean Payton says he
Speaker 1: is handing over play calling duties to new offensive coordinator
Speaker 1: Davis Webb. My first thought is there hope for RJ. Harvey,
Speaker 1: But like Floya, we don't really know what this means
Speaker 1: because we have no idea what first time oh see
Speaker 1: Davis Webb is gonna be like as a play caller.
Speaker 1: So I mean, what any immediate takeaways when you hear
Speaker 1: or read this.
Speaker 3: My immediate takeaway besides what you just said of like,
Speaker 3: we don't really know what this And I spoke about
Speaker 3: this not with Davis Webb, but just like, to me,
Speaker 3: the harder, hardest situations to figure out in this is
Speaker 3: first time play callers because we especially when like there's
Speaker 3: no college or anything like that to kind of fall
Speaker 3: back on. My first thinking though was like I don't
Speaker 3: really expect this to look all that much different because
Speaker 3: Davis Webb has been a part of Sean Payton's staff
Speaker 3: the last couple of years. He quickly gained a lot
Speaker 3: of notaride this coaching cycle and was getting head coaching
Speaker 3: interviews even though he wasn't even the OC last year.
Speaker 3: Then they fired Lombardi and gave him play calling duties
Speaker 3: to keep him in Denver. To me, I think it
Speaker 3: just shows how much confidence Sean Payton has in him.
Speaker 3: I still expect a heavy Sean Payton influence, which means
Speaker 3: a lot of screen passes, a lot of slant stuff
Speaker 3: like that, So I don't expect it to look all
Speaker 3: that different. But maybe Davis Webb puts his own little
Speaker 3: twist on it. Maybe we get a little bit more
Speaker 3: aggressive throwing downfield or whatever.
Speaker 2: I think.
Speaker 3: When it comes to R. J. Harvey, though, he more
Speaker 3: than anything more than play calling, I think needs to
Speaker 3: survive the draft and free agency because if they bring
Speaker 3: in someone like last year where they brought in JK. Dobbins,
Speaker 3: that could be a wet blanket. Like I think Harvey's
Speaker 3: clearly going to have a role Marcus, Like I don't
Speaker 3: expect him to completely get you surfed or something like that.
Speaker 3: But it's just a matter of how much percent of
Speaker 3: the volume can we expect for him, And if he's
Speaker 3: the clear one, obviously you feel a lot better than
Speaker 3: if they use a high pick or a good amount
Speaker 3: of money on.
Speaker 2: A running back.
Speaker 3: So with Harvey, that the personnel around him, to me,
Speaker 3: matters a whole lot more than this change at play caller.
Speaker 1: I mean, I do think even if he survives free
Speaker 1: agency and the draft and they don't really bring in
Speaker 1: another real candidate to challenge him, I think what we
Speaker 1: saw from him late in the season and in the
Speaker 1: playoffs especially, is that I don't know that he's built
Speaker 1: to be a workhorse. You know, we saw Julia McLoughlin
Speaker 1: get carries, and look, nobody was effective running the ball
Speaker 1: against the Patriots.
Speaker 2: The Broncos could not run the ball.
Speaker 1: I think some of it was because, look, the Patriots
Speaker 1: didn't respect Jared Stidham for a good reason. But you know,
Speaker 1: Harvey was not the guy when they were trying to
Speaker 1: just run him between the tackles. He could not get
Speaker 1: anything going, couldn't gain any traction. We saw them using
Speaker 1: Jalil McLoughlin a few times. I mean, that didn't really
Speaker 1: worked out. I think in a perfect world, it would
Speaker 1: have been JK. Dobbins maybe taking a few more of
Speaker 1: those carries. And so I wonder whether or not the
Speaker 1: physical limitations, you know, unless he gets bigger and stronger,
Speaker 1: spends a lot of time in the weight room this
Speaker 1: offseason to become a stronger between the tackles runner, if
Speaker 1: that sort of limits what they can do with him
Speaker 1: play calling wise. But I you know, part of me
Speaker 1: wants to see if Davis Webb wants to, you know,
Speaker 1: kick the tires on that see what they got, and
Speaker 1: a guy who can be explosive can be a big
Speaker 1: play guy. I mean, I was definitely hoping, you know,
Speaker 1: LQ was going to be here because yeah, I wanted
Speaker 1: to hear his thoughts, knowing how much he loves R. J.
Speaker 2: Harvey.
Speaker 1: But I'm just, you know, I don't know, I'd like
Speaker 1: to see more. I'd like to see, you know, maybe
Speaker 1: we get Marvin Mims more involved, or you know, Troy
Speaker 1: Franklin or Pat Bryant somebody. But I guess, but I
Speaker 1: think you're right. I think being under Sean Payton's wing
Speaker 1: for so long means that he's going to kind of
Speaker 1: be the same as it ever was.
Speaker 3: I also like RJE hard he might have to survive
Speaker 3: this summer too, right, because he survived the draft of
Speaker 3: free agency last year. And then it was like a
Speaker 3: random day in June where JK. Dobbins signed, and I
Speaker 3: remember vividly like I was at I was playing basketball
Speaker 3: and I looked at my phone and I was like,
Speaker 3: this isn't great for RJ. Harvey. And then all of
Speaker 3: the takes from Fantasy Twitter were like, if JK. Dobbins
Speaker 3: was good, he would have signed way back. And then
Speaker 3: look how it played out, so like maybe, uh, maybe
Speaker 3: we got to wait all the way until July or something.
Speaker 2: Like that for RJ. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I think that's that's an interesting point too. As we
Speaker 1: hit free agency. I think when you talk about running backs,
Speaker 1: I don't know that the hole he didn't sign right
Speaker 1: away thing and necessarily is impactful anymore. I think once
Speaker 1: upon a time, yeah, if you didn't sign in the
Speaker 1: first few days, chances are people didn't really have a
Speaker 1: plan for you. But I think with the way teams
Speaker 1: sort of view the running back position now, I think
Speaker 1: you can have a guy who signs later in the
Speaker 1: offseason and still I'm in depending on the situation and
Speaker 1: have a role. And I think that's what happened with JK.
Speaker 1: Dobbins this past year over to Indianapolis speaking of the
Speaker 1: Combine that is where that's going to be held. But
Speaker 1: this is not Combine news. Yesterday, when I was putting
Speaker 1: this run down together, saw his story that said Chris
Speaker 1: Ballard can still see a future with Anthony Richardson on
Speaker 1: the Colts, and then plot twist this morning before we
Speaker 1: started doing the show, Anthony Richardson has requested a trade
Speaker 1: and appears that the Colts are going to honor that
Speaker 1: request and let him move on.
Speaker 3: Oh.
Speaker 1: Also something that I saw just a few minutes ago
Speaker 1: we were talking a report that Richardson has regained full
Speaker 1: vision in.
Speaker 2: His right eye.
Speaker 1: So after that sort of freak fluke injury last year
Speaker 1: with the resistance band where he was hitting the face,
Speaker 1: it appears that he has made a full recovery. So
Speaker 1: that is certainly positive news. But I mean, at this point,
Speaker 1: you know, he's been three years in the NFL, has
Speaker 1: played has even played a full season was worth of games,
Speaker 1: I don't believe, So.
Speaker 2: What is the ceiling for him now?
Speaker 1: He might thought like he's sort of Trey Lance all
Speaker 1: over again. Right, but Trey Lance's even played more game. Well,
Speaker 1: maybe I shouldn't say that. I don't know, Yeah, but
Speaker 1: it feels like they're sort of on a similar, similar
Speaker 1: track right now.
Speaker 3: I don't disagree, but you know, I'm going to champion
Speaker 3: for my boy.
Speaker 2: Here.
Speaker 3: I am a Anthony Richardson's stand because twofold one, when
Speaker 3: he was drafted, the knock on him was he did
Speaker 3: not have a lot of experience in college, right, he
Speaker 3: just had that one year where he was the starter.
Speaker 3: I think he threw less than four hundred passes in college.
Speaker 3: I could actually pull that up and tell you exactly
Speaker 3: how many he threw, but it's not that far off
Speaker 3: from where he's at at the NFL. Three years in so,
Speaker 3: in college he threw three hundred and ninety three pass attempts.
Speaker 3: In the NFL, he has thrown three hundred and fifty. Right, Like,
Speaker 3: this is just a guy who needs more seasoning. It
Speaker 3: always has the thing for me, though, is he's still
Speaker 3: just twenty three years old. He will be twenty four
Speaker 3: next year. That's younger than Michael Pennock Junior and Bo
Speaker 3: Nicks and these guys. Right, Like, he's still I know
Speaker 3: he was drafted a year before those guys. He's still younger.
Speaker 3: And I go back to some of the things we've
Speaker 3: seen him do on the football field, right like some
Speaker 3: of his running plays where it's just like, oh my god,
Speaker 3: he's like Cam Newton but faster, or that I still
Speaker 3: I forget. I think it was against the Titans, but
Speaker 3: that one throw he made where he had a defender
Speaker 3: in his face and he just like airmails it like
Speaker 3: sixty yards. One of the best throws I've ever seen,
Speaker 3: and all the physical tools are there. I understand that
Speaker 3: he's very raw when it comes to breaking down defenses
Speaker 3: and stuff like that. You know who else was Malik
Speaker 3: Willis the number one rated quarterback, number one rated free
Speaker 3: agent by Greg Rosenthal right now. So I think Anthony Richardson, yes,
Speaker 3: he needs he needs to go to a place where
Speaker 3: he has a coach that could kind of coach him up.
Speaker 3: Maybe maybe I don't I want him to get reps,
Speaker 3: but I don't know. Maybe they view a Malik Willis path.
Speaker 3: But Malik Willis and Kyler Murray, I will admit, you
Speaker 3: could make an argument that they have higher upside or
Speaker 3: maybe a combination of floor and upside after that, there
Speaker 3: is not a quarterback available in my opinion, that sniffs
Speaker 3: the upside of an Anthony Richardson. Maybe they're safer options,
Speaker 3: There definitely are. But if you're like, like, I don't
Speaker 3: wish this on him. I hope he goes somewhere better.
Speaker 3: But if you're like the Jets.
Speaker 1: Right, that's the one name that he's popping up, right,
Speaker 1: why not?
Speaker 3: Right? Like you're already hoping to have a high pick
Speaker 3: next year, Anthony Richardson could either be terrible and help
Speaker 3: you get that number one pick, or he can hit
Speaker 3: and you suddenly don't have to draft a quarterback because
Speaker 3: you have a very young one now with a clear
Speaker 3: cut future. So if you're them, or the Dolphins or
Speaker 3: any of these QB and needy teams that miss out
Speaker 3: on Willis, I think Anthony Richardson is a fantastic pivot.
Speaker 1: I mean that's to me, that's sort of the issue
Speaker 1: is where can he go knowing he needs reps, knowing
Speaker 1: he's got to get on the field and play. Where
Speaker 1: can he go where he can get those opportunities? And yeah,
Speaker 1: the options are sort of bleak. It's the Jets, maybe
Speaker 1: it's the Dolphins. If they feel they feel, you know,
Speaker 1: adventurous like that. They're obviously moving on from Tua, and
Speaker 1: I don't think they're any there. They're nowhere close to
Speaker 1: really being competitive like that. Seven wins last year was
Speaker 1: sort of a mirage. I said last said last year,
Speaker 1: I think they could be the worst team in the NFL.
Speaker 1: So maybe you try with Anthony Richardson and see what happens.
Speaker 1: You know, the Cardinals maybe are another option, depending on
Speaker 1: what they want to do at quarterback, unless they decide
Speaker 1: there's gonna you hand it over to Jacoby Brissette for
Speaker 1: a full year.
Speaker 2: But I don't really see that happening.
Speaker 1: But like all the other places where he could go
Speaker 1: and get reps or other bad teams, I should say
Speaker 1: they don't have options, right, I mean the Browns, Uh, well,
Speaker 1: we'll talk about the Browns in a little bit, But
Speaker 1: the Browns have.
Speaker 3: A Richardson Shadoor camp battle would break the Internet at
Speaker 3: least fantasy Twitter, but.
Speaker 1: Like not in a good way like this from a
Speaker 1: from a comedy standpoint, I think it probably would.
Speaker 2: But the Browns kind of out there own. They're kind
Speaker 2: of overloaded.
Speaker 1: With bodies at least, I don't know if they have
Speaker 1: a guy.
Speaker 2: The Titans have their guy for the time being.
Speaker 1: The Raiders are they gonna draft Fernando Mendoza, so he's
Speaker 1: not really gonna get a shot there. The Saints, you know,
Speaker 1: they've got their guy that they want to try to
Speaker 1: develop right now. And Tyler Shuck. So really, if you
Speaker 1: have the Jets, the Dolphins and maybe the Cardinals kind
Speaker 1: of the only real landing spots if he wants to
Speaker 1: get on the field.
Speaker 3: I keep operating as if Milik Willis is already a Cardinal.
Speaker 3: I just feel like that's he's gonna end up. That's happening.
Speaker 3: The Browns know that. I thought Richardson because look, I
Speaker 3: know they have a lot of bodies, but no one
Speaker 3: stands out there. Here's a wacky scenario I just thought
Speaker 3: of right now as we're discussing this, Uh, why don't
Speaker 3: we get headache for headache pick that did at first
Speaker 3: round pick that didn't work out. For first round pick
Speaker 3: that didn't work out, how about Anthony Richardson for JJ McCarthy. Right,
Speaker 3: psychn you get your chance with JJ. Now we see
Speaker 3: if you could if KAOC could get the most set
Speaker 3: of Anthony Richardson, and we just go from there.
Speaker 1: If I'm a Viking fan, I am burning everything down.
Speaker 1: If that's what happens, I'd rather Anthony Richardson personally, He's
Speaker 1: got he's got the skill set.
Speaker 2: At least he does have the skill set. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Man, we're gonna talk about the Vikings too, since it
Speaker 1: just sort of worked out there was there were there
Speaker 1: were AFC North and NFC North quarterback stories that popped
Speaker 1: up on my radar in the last couple of days.
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, so perfect that we're talking this
Speaker 1: division today, So.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we can. We can revisit this a little bit
Speaker 2: later on in the show.
Speaker 1: So that's a good spot for us to stop for
Speaker 1: a minute, take a breath, come back. We'll dive into
Speaker 1: the AFC North as we talked some free agency heading
Speaker 1: up to the new league year coming about a week
Speaker 1: and a half. That's next on the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast,
Speaker 1: all right, talking some free agency and looking at the
Speaker 1: AFC North in reverse order of finish at the Browns, Bengals, Ravens, Steelers.
Speaker 1: One thing I noticed so far going through these is
Speaker 1: kind of looking at team needs. A lot of teams
Speaker 1: need wide receivers, which is wild considering the amounts of
Speaker 1: guys who've come out of that position, who've been successful
Speaker 1: in the amount of you know, players just floating around
Speaker 1: the league at that position, but still seems to be
Speaker 1: a need across the NFL.
Speaker 2: The Browns could.
Speaker 1: Use a wide receiver they've I think they could use
Speaker 1: a quarterback. Yeah, I was sort of looking at places
Speaker 1: and nobody listed quarterback.
Speaker 2: I think the Browns need a quarterback.
Speaker 1: And to wit a story recently on NFL dot Com,
Speaker 1: Brown's general manager Andrew Berry leaves the door open for
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson to compete for a starting job. And I'm
Speaker 1: gonna ask you, Michael lef Floria, why don't I believe
Speaker 1: that is true?
Speaker 3: Because you have eyes and you pay close attention to
Speaker 3: the NFL, and you've watched Deshaun Watson ever since he's
Speaker 3: returned not be But I will say this though, right well,
Speaker 3: the reason why they're not ruling him out is because
Speaker 3: his base salary this year is forty six million dollars
Speaker 3: and his cap hit is almost eighty one million dollars. Like, yeah,
Speaker 3: they have incentive to not completely write him off.
Speaker 4: But he was kind of vocal in a way that
Speaker 4: he's allowed to be vocal, like he wasn't saying like, oh,
Speaker 4: it's all Stefanski's fault, but he was throwing a lot
Speaker 4: of breadcrumbs and point kind of fingers and saying like
Speaker 4: no one would succeed in this offense and stuff like that,
Speaker 4: like look at and I think at one point too
Speaker 4: even reference Baker Mayfield and so Maybee.
Speaker 3: The Browns are like, well with Todd Monkin here, he
Speaker 3: could get the most out of Deshaun Watson, but Todd
Speaker 3: Monkin when he got there, was most excited about Shador Sanders.
Speaker 3: So I don't envision a world where we see Deshaun
Speaker 3: Watson playing, unless like maybe Sanders gets hurt or something
Speaker 3: like that. But week one, everyone's healthy. I don't think
Speaker 3: Watson is the starting quarter. And if he is, and
Speaker 3: he looks how he has looked, I'm sorry. Browns fans
Speaker 3: are gonna be in the exact same position a year
Speaker 3: from them.
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson has played a total of nineteen games since
Speaker 1: twenty twenty.
Speaker 2: That's it, oof, Yeah, I mean just yep.
Speaker 1: He's been obviously hurt a lot. When he has played,
Speaker 1: he has not looked good. I mean that twenty twenty
Speaker 1: season when he threw for forty eight hundred yards. That
Speaker 1: is such a distant memory now.
Speaker 3: He was so just fun to watch, not forget like good.
Speaker 3: I never saw that, like we never like he never
Speaker 3: moved like he did pre suspension ever again and now
Speaker 3: he's coming off of an achilles.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I just you know, I think you're right.
Speaker 1: I think it's the We got a lot invested in
Speaker 1: him financially, so we can't just say there's no chance
Speaker 1: of him playing. But I feel like there's really no
Speaker 1: chance of him playing because what do you have to
Speaker 1: gain by starting him if you're the Browns.
Speaker 2: I mean, right, because he's at the age he will
Speaker 2: be thirty this year.
Speaker 1: He's thirty right now, I should say, because he didn't
Speaker 1: play all him last year. Last time he played his
Speaker 1: age twenty nine season. He's thirty years old, so he's
Speaker 1: not a developmental guy. After a year off, You've got
Speaker 1: to wait for him to sort of get back into
Speaker 1: game speed, and who knows how long that's going to take.
Speaker 1: You're not really expected to compete, so there's just there's
Speaker 1: really no upside to playing Deshaun Watson unless you absolutely
Speaker 1: have to. So I guess you're just sort of paying
Speaker 1: service to this if anything, And.
Speaker 3: Remember how bad Rogers and Cousins were first year back
Speaker 3: from an Achilles.
Speaker 1: Like, I don't know, yeah, no, I just I don't.
Speaker 2: I don't. I just saw it. I was just like, yeah,
Speaker 2: this feels like.
Speaker 1: A GM sort of paying lip service to a thing
Speaker 1: that he has to, but with no real.
Speaker 2: Uh you know, no real meaning behind it.
Speaker 1: Also, I think it's interesting, you know, him Bury leaving
Speaker 1: bread crumbs because the person he should be leaving bread
Speaker 1: crumbs for is the owner who went out and signed
Speaker 1: Deshaun Watson to this hideous contract that now has them
Speaker 1: buried under an avalanche right now in terms of the
Speaker 1: salary cap, and the Browns are six and a half
Speaker 1: million dollars over the cap at the moment.
Speaker 3: A more year they could get out of it.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: So, I mean but it's sort of again, it sort
Speaker 1: of hampers any sort of development. I mean, does that
Speaker 1: mean they're out in the free agent market? Is it
Speaker 1: just like we're trying to build through the draft for
Speaker 1: the time being.
Speaker 2: Is that it?
Speaker 3: I think they'll maneuver some cap around, and I just
Speaker 3: I don't think we're going to get like a huge
Speaker 3: splash out of them. It's really hard. Especially Look, I know,
Speaker 3: top quarterbacks get paid, and you hear stuff like, oh,
Speaker 3: it's hard to build. No, when you have a top
Speaker 3: quarterback and they're worth the money you pay them, it
Speaker 3: is the best thing you could have in the NFL.
Speaker 3: But when you're paying someone Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, Patrick
Speaker 3: Mahomes type money and they're one of the worst, maybe
Speaker 3: the worst starter in the NFL, and then you're paying
Speaker 3: Calves owner. I didn't realize he was the Cavs owner
Speaker 3: until the other day, Miles Garrett an all time record contract, Like, yeah,
Speaker 3: you got so much cap tied up in a couple
Speaker 3: of spots that it makes it really hard to build
Speaker 3: out the rest. So I do think we'll see We'll
Speaker 3: see some like minor moves from the Browns, and then
Speaker 3: I think the draft is largely where we're going to
Speaker 3: see them get their new players for this season. But
Speaker 3: I have a feeling right like for Todd Monkin or
Speaker 3: whatever they probably were, like, look, twenty twenty six is
Speaker 3: gonna be what it is. We have to get out
Speaker 3: from under this Watson contract and then we can kind
Speaker 3: of think about rebuilding for the future. So it's probably
Speaker 3: more about getting in guys that Monkin thinks he can
Speaker 3: develop long term, right.
Speaker 2: I mean, the.
Speaker 3: Browns have been a like the Jim Schwartz thing, Like
Speaker 3: it's just they cannot get out of their own way.
Speaker 1: I mean, bad teams stay bad for a reason, and
Speaker 1: the Browns have plenty of reasons why they have stayed
Speaker 1: bad for a long time. But also we should stop
Speaker 1: giving them high draft picks because they keep squandering them.
Speaker 2: So that's just me.
Speaker 1: Bengals mostly need things on the defensive side of the football.
Speaker 2: You know, they are set offensively.
Speaker 1: You know, they've got their quarterback, they've got their wide receivers,
Speaker 1: they've got a good running back and Chase Brown. I mean,
Speaker 1: I guess they can go look for a tight end
Speaker 1: if they wanted to. I mean, it feels like that's
Speaker 1: at least conservast offensive skill positions is maybe the only thing.
Speaker 1: But but again, I don't know, Floria, what tight end
Speaker 1: can break through that Chase Higgins duo to get significant
Speaker 1: targets at any point.
Speaker 3: The crazy thing, too, is they paid Mike Kiseki last
Speaker 3: season like he cap hit wise is in their top ten,
Speaker 3: Like it it doesn't make sense to even when they
Speaker 3: did it right, I was like, you have Tea and
Speaker 3: Chase and you're paying Burrow. You don't need to invest
Speaker 3: in a time, especially Mike Kiseki, you know. But yeah,
Speaker 3: I think if you're it's O line and defense. Like
Speaker 3: if you spend on skill positions or anything like that,
Speaker 3: it's like, what are you doing here?
Speaker 2: What it is? Yeah?
Speaker 3: You you have maybe the best one to two punch
Speaker 3: in the NFL. If not the best, it's what, well,
Speaker 3: the Cowboys will probably have surpassed them, but one of
Speaker 3: the best, you know. So like you're loaded on offense
Speaker 3: just and you got to replace, Like your defense was
Speaker 3: awful and you had Trey hendrickson pat Like, now you
Speaker 3: got to replace your best player on defense as well.
Speaker 3: So yeah, I think that that's got to be the
Speaker 3: focal point defense in no line.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, I think you talk about duos wide
Speaker 1: receiver duos, you know, in no particular order. The Bengals,
Speaker 1: the Cowboys, the Rams. I'm saying this because one of
Speaker 1: us isn't here today.
Speaker 3: The Eagles, I would still put them up there.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the Bills.
Speaker 1: There's been a lot of aj Brown chatter this week.
Speaker 1: He's not leaving Philly, right, They're not they're not gonna
Speaker 1: they're gonna trade him.
Speaker 2: They're gonna let him go. He's he's staying with the Eagles.
Speaker 3: I think in an ideal world he would be gone
Speaker 3: because he wants out, and I think they're kind of
Speaker 3: getting a little tired of his Shenanigans. But uh, the
Speaker 3: dead cap would be seventy two million if they traded
Speaker 3: him this year. They got an out after this season,
Speaker 3: so I think we get one more year of aging.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I just you know, I feel like that's a
Speaker 1: thing that it's good to talk about it. It's content
Speaker 1: filler here in late February, but I just don't think
Speaker 1: it has any real merit to it. The Ravens could
Speaker 1: use some help at wide receiver. I feel like the
Speaker 1: Ravens probably should go big. They got they have decent
Speaker 1: cap space twenty two and a half million that they
Speaker 1: can spend. At some point, they really have to commit
Speaker 1: to helping Lamar Jackson with some of his weapons there, right,
Speaker 1: I mean again, say, Flowers, nice piece, not necessarily a
Speaker 1: game changer whether or not they get him.
Speaker 2: Like it feels like, hey man, maybe we go hard
Speaker 2: after a.
Speaker 1: Mike Evans or somebody like that would be kind of
Speaker 1: a cool piece to add to that Ravens offense. I mean,
Speaker 1: I don't know, but that at some point they've got
Speaker 1: to really just try to push their chips in on
Speaker 1: a wide out.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I agree. Like I know, they paid Rashad Bateman,
Speaker 3: they still have say Flowers on his rookie deal. They
Speaker 3: tried it with like DH and stuff like that. But
Speaker 3: my concern is they just brought I know, Monkin is gone.
Speaker 3: The offense is going to look different, so they're going
Speaker 3: to address that side of the ball as well, But
Speaker 3: with the big overhaul coming on the defensive side of
Speaker 3: the ball, that's my fear as not as like, Look,
Speaker 3: if I'm a Ravens fan, I'm like, I trust Lamar
Speaker 3: in that offense. I want the defense to get better.
Speaker 3: But as a fantasy player, that's my fear is that
Speaker 3: the bulk of their money gets invested in the defensive
Speaker 3: side of things.
Speaker 1: Yes, again, it's probably a smart way to build the roster,
Speaker 1: but that's not what we're here for, you know. But
Speaker 1: especially if you've got folks in the building, you know,
Speaker 1: you've got the offensive coordinators saying that there's another level
Speaker 1: that Lamar Jackson can rise to. Well, maybe but some
Speaker 1: of that means the cast around him has to kind
Speaker 1: of help him rise to that level.
Speaker 2: He can be a willing passer, but.
Speaker 1: At some point, like the guys had to catch the
Speaker 1: ball and do something with it afterwards. So you know again, yeah,
Speaker 1: they're gonna They're probably gonna go and splurge on any
Speaker 1: Mike Evans.
Speaker 2: It would be nice, but I.
Speaker 3: Don't know why Keenan Allen's thank you. I think he retires,
Speaker 3: but I'm too the retirement home path, like they'll sign
Speaker 3: another older, big name wide receiver and call it a day.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Uh, Keenan Allen in Baltimore with me, it just
Speaker 1: look weird. I'm trying to envision it in my head
Speaker 1: and it just looks weird seeing him in that uniform.
Speaker 3: Keenan Allen bears you. We're gonna look back and be like, what.
Speaker 2: Yeah, really will Yeah exactly.
Speaker 1: They've got the Steelers who have again they got a
Speaker 1: lot of money to spend forty four point seven million dollars.
Speaker 1: They are another team that absolutely needs some wide receiver help.
Speaker 1: Even if GMFB is Isaac Rochelle has DK metcalf is
Speaker 1: a top five wide out in the NFL, I feel
Speaker 1: like that's probably not enough. I think they also need
Speaker 1: quarterback help. Is Aaron Rodgers coming back? Are we gonna
Speaker 1: have another year of this again?
Speaker 3: My thinking is yes, they've already said right like we're
Speaker 3: not gonna allow him to do it like last year
Speaker 3: because it was in like June that he signed, like
Speaker 3: they need to know sooner than later. And I do
Speaker 3: believe that part of it, right Like, I think they're
Speaker 3: telling Rogers, we will have you back if you want
Speaker 3: to be back, but if you don't, we need to
Speaker 3: know so that we can move forward with free agency
Speaker 3: in the draft knowing what we need. I also think
Speaker 3: it could be like last year in the sense of
Speaker 3: he didn't sign till June, but every move that happened
Speaker 3: to indicate like they didn't sign anyone. They didn't draft
Speaker 3: a quarterback to Will Howard in like the sixth round.
Speaker 3: I think it was their seventh round. So yeah, it
Speaker 3: was like, all right, we could read the tea leaves
Speaker 3: here that Aaron Rodgers is gonna be the guy. But
Speaker 3: the way they've just been talking about it, like McCarthy
Speaker 3: being open to having him back, the Steelers publicly putting
Speaker 3: out that like we would welcome Rogers back if he
Speaker 3: wanted to. And the way that Rogers spoke this year
Speaker 3: at the end of the year, like he's the most
Speaker 3: funny's had in a while, and he felt like one
Speaker 3: of the guys again and rightfully so because the Steelers
Speaker 3: roster or like old so they get along with Aaron
Speaker 3: Rodgers quite well. But yeah, I do think though, if
Speaker 3: you're Pittsburgh, you he cannot be your only plan at quarterback, right.
Speaker 3: I know you have Will Howard there, but whether it's
Speaker 3: using like a second or third round pick on a
Speaker 3: developmental guy or maybe you bring in a Kyler. I
Speaker 3: think Kyler would play over Rogers, but you know, like
Speaker 3: an Anthony Richardson something like that.
Speaker 1: Like I'm gonna say, Richardson seems like a fit there potentially, right.
Speaker 3: Yeah, to like sit behind him, Like I think you
Speaker 3: have to do something else. But I kind of think
Speaker 3: we have it if we have seen Rogers. To me
Speaker 3: kind of feels like if we had seen the last
Speaker 3: of him, he would have wanted us to know that
Speaker 3: was the last of him, you know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I also think I really do think if his
Speaker 1: last throw wasn't a pick six where on top of
Speaker 1: that he got trucked by the ball carrier. If it
Speaker 1: was nearly any other way that the season ended, maybe
Speaker 1: he feels better about walking away. But there's no way
Speaker 1: that Aaron Rodgers ego will let that.
Speaker 2: Be the last thing we remember of him in the NFL.
Speaker 3: Like if he if he beats the Ravens and then
Speaker 3: like that first play against Houston, he gets hurt and
Speaker 3: he's done for like maybe that's the last we see
Speaker 3: him because he walked off the field against Baltimore, you know,
Speaker 3: winning a playoff game. Kind of, although speaking of that,
Speaker 3: did you see that The league this week came out
Speaker 3: and said Isaiah Likely's catch that would have been the
Speaker 3: game winning catch in their first matchup should have been
Speaker 3: a touchdown And Lamar was like, wait, so we won
Speaker 3: that game. They would have won the division and made
Speaker 3: the playoffs had that call been called, right, like huge miscall.
Speaker 3: But if you're the Steelers, don't you don't care?
Speaker 2: But no, is it better or worse when leagues do that?
Speaker 3: Worse?
Speaker 1: I think it's worse, right, I would almost rather you
Speaker 1: just shut up about it, like don't tell me, don't
Speaker 1: don't tell me, because because you're not gonna award me anything.
Speaker 1: They're just gonna you know, pat me on the back
Speaker 1: and be like, hey, sorry, Champ screwed me. You know, Like,
Speaker 1: I don't like the NBA does that last two minutes
Speaker 1: report where they talk about all the calls and you
Speaker 1: know what they got right, what they got wrong, whatever,
Speaker 1: But because you're not gonna app actually change anything, like
Speaker 1: just just keep it to yourself. I just it doesn't
Speaker 1: make sense to me.
Speaker 3: When the Knicks played the Sixers in the playoffs a
Speaker 3: couple of years ago, there was a two minute report
Speaker 3: that said they got something wrong that would have greatly
Speaker 3: switched one game, maybe in the favor of the Sixers,
Speaker 3: And then like two days later it happened against the Knicks,
Speaker 3: and the fan bases were like, we both lost the
Speaker 3: game to it. Who cares, right, Like that doesn't make
Speaker 3: me feel any better. If anything, it makes me feel
Speaker 3: more angry if my team is on the wrong side
Speaker 3: out of a call in the league is like, you
Speaker 3: guys shouldn't have lost that game. Like no, like fight
Speaker 3: me then, like give us a chance to win it.
Speaker 3: You know.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I always laugh and every something something happens in
Speaker 1: baseball and they're like the managers like we're playing this
Speaker 1: game under.
Speaker 2: Protest it doesn't change anything.
Speaker 1: And I just imagine basically, it just means that the
Speaker 1: manager's gonna sit on the dugout steps with like his
Speaker 1: arms folded and his bottom lip poked out like a
Speaker 1: you know, Toddler or something like.
Speaker 2: Man, don't tell me if you screwed up.
Speaker 3: Pull the Bobby Valentine and come back with fake glasses on.
Speaker 2: With what the glasses and the fake mustache.
Speaker 3: That's the manager has ever done. And I don't think
Speaker 3: it'll be topped.
Speaker 2: Oh man? Uh yeah, all right.
Speaker 1: That's our look at the ANFC nor a break come
Speaker 1: back to the NFC North. Some interesting things there, including
Speaker 1: some quarterback issues somewhere along the way. That's next on
Speaker 1: the NFL Fantasy Football podcast.
Speaker 2: Talk Free Agency.
Speaker 1: Looking at the NFC North and in reverse order of finish,
Speaker 1: we got the the Lions, Vikings, Packers, and Bears. I
Speaker 1: when I look at this, it's like, well, the Lions
Speaker 1: really did finish last technically in the NFC North. They
Speaker 1: were nine to eight just because that the vision was
Speaker 1: super competitive and all those teams were really bunched together.
Speaker 3: But you know, the Vikings finishing over five hundred is
Speaker 3: something I will never give credit, like they were so
Speaker 3: bad and then they won their final four games, and
Speaker 3: maybe they deserve credit for that, but like you were
Speaker 3: eliminated already, Like in my head, the Vikings finished in
Speaker 3: last place, all right, sure, but.
Speaker 2: Either way, they're nine to eight the Lions.
Speaker 1: I think most of their issues are on the defensive
Speaker 1: side of the ball. Again, they've got they've got any
Speaker 1: quarterback in Jared Goff. Okay, yeah, he's not elite, but
Speaker 1: he's definitely an above average quarterback. I think they're fine there. Obviously,
Speaker 1: they've got a top notch running back. Engineer Gibbs sort
Speaker 1: of curious what the future is going to be for
Speaker 1: David Montgomery, you know, with his ball club, since he
Speaker 1: was obviously deemphasized in the offense last year. They've got
Speaker 1: quality wide receivers i' mon Ross, Saint Brown, Jamison Williams,
Speaker 1: even Isaac you know, they are set offensively, they just
Speaker 1: got to fix things on the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 1: So I don't you know, they're also nine million dollars
Speaker 1: over the cap, so I feel like, you know, spending
Speaker 1: on skill position guys in free agency probably a luxury that.
Speaker 3: The one, because like you said, literally their whole line
Speaker 3: all their starters on offense are coming back, their defense
Speaker 3: is filled with free agents.
Speaker 2: But the one.
Speaker 3: Offensive question is David Montgomery, because there was some smoke
Speaker 3: this week from the Combine that he could be kind
Speaker 3: of wanting a new home because of how they they
Speaker 3: leaned on Gibbs more and more down the stretch, and
Speaker 3: also his cat. He's he's about nine million dollars he's
Speaker 3: going to cost this year, so that could be a
Speaker 3: way to free some money. I want it to happen
Speaker 3: only because I think bjon and Gibbs are going to
Speaker 3: be tied for their whole career. And if we could
Speaker 3: get a whole summer where Tyler ELL's year and David
Speaker 3: Montgomery are now removed from the equations and you get
Speaker 3: to just argue Bijeon versus Gibbs, that to me is
Speaker 3: going to be a ton of fun. So that's selfishly
Speaker 3: what I'm rooting for.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'd be okay with that.
Speaker 1: I like it when we have years a week it's
Speaker 1: sort of debate who is the number one pick, because yeah,
Speaker 1: you know, it feels like there have been more often
Speaker 1: than that over the last few years. There's just been
Speaker 1: the consensus number one, and then you know, I don't know.
Speaker 1: It's just not fun to argue because then you get
Speaker 1: people who are kind of galaxy braining the whole thing
Speaker 1: about who should be a number one pick, and that's
Speaker 1: equally not fun when you're just making up reasons.
Speaker 3: I'm seeing it now, right, one of us champion for Bijeon,
Speaker 3: the other for Gibbs, and then there's LQB and like
Speaker 3: it should be poker.
Speaker 2: It's poker, right.
Speaker 1: We already know where he is planted his flag, So
Speaker 1: now it's just up to you and I to you know,
Speaker 1: kind of figure out the rest of it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's it.
Speaker 1: That gets us to the Vikings, which headline this week.
Speaker 1: The Vikings will quote explore every opportunity at quarterback this
Speaker 1: offseason with JJ McCarthy still in the mix. I read that,
Speaker 1: and I think they are done done with JJ McCarthy.
Speaker 1: If they are, If there are here a couple of
Speaker 1: years into it and they're saying they're exploring every option
Speaker 1: at quarterback, I don't know, Mike, that seems to me
Speaker 1: that the Vikings are like, Okay, this is just not working.
Speaker 1: This guy is not who we thought he who was.
Speaker 1: He's not working out. We got to figure out a
Speaker 1: contingency plan.
Speaker 3: And if you read the tea leaves up until this point,
Speaker 3: it very much indicates that they're done right. Like Koc
Speaker 3: we have found out did not want to draft JJ McCarthy.
Speaker 3: He did not want to start JJ McCarthy. It was
Speaker 3: the then GM at the time who got fired. I
Speaker 3: would argue because of JJ McCarthy. Would shout out to
Speaker 3: the forty Niners, by the way, because anytime someone leaves
Speaker 3: and they go and they get fired there the Niners
Speaker 3: are like, welcome back, buddy, Come on, Yeah, it's such
Speaker 3: a it must be such a good feeling, knowing like, well,
Speaker 3: if I strike out on my own, Kyle's gonna welcome
Speaker 3: me back with open eyes. But uh yeah. And then
Speaker 3: on top of all of that, right Jay uh Jefferson's
Speaker 3: comments of being like if I had a better quarterback,
Speaker 3: I would put up better numbers stuff like that, Like
Speaker 3: they they kind of threw him right under the bus
Speaker 3: and then reversed it back, so like I would be
Speaker 3: very surprised. I wouldn't be shocked if they go into
Speaker 3: next year where they can't battle for JJ. But I
Speaker 3: think if they could get a Kyler Murray, They're gonna
Speaker 3: strike on that or someone where they know, Okay, it's
Speaker 3: not even a battle, like we're starting this guy over JJ.
Speaker 3: But I'm gonna say it again, JJ for Richardson right,
Speaker 3: Like JJ I just feels like more of a Daniel
Speaker 3: Jones backup than Anthony Richardson does. And then Richardson gets
Speaker 3: a and to the place that's helped develop a lot
Speaker 3: of young quarterbacks.
Speaker 1: Oh, he was gonna be upset that you're pushing his guy,
Speaker 1: Riley Leonard out of.
Speaker 2: The equation here because he loves Riley Leonard. He loves
Speaker 2: Riley Leonard, don't.
Speaker 1: I don't necessarily understand it, but yeah, he's a big
Speaker 1: Riley Leonard guy.
Speaker 2: I'm not seeing it.
Speaker 3: Look, Riley could beat out JJ potentially to be the
Speaker 3: number two, I.
Speaker 2: Mean could be sure.
Speaker 1: The other part of this for the Vikings, they're forty
Speaker 1: two million dollars over the cap. In fact, every team
Speaker 1: in the NFC North right now is over the cap.
Speaker 2: To varying degrees.
Speaker 1: Forty two million makes it really hard to do things
Speaker 1: in free agency. So I do think if they're really
Speaker 1: looking to explore the quarterback situation, it is likely a trade,
Speaker 1: but it also involves you know, restructuring, letting guys go.
Speaker 1: So I think they would love to be in on
Speaker 1: a guy like Kyler Murray seeing what they could do
Speaker 1: with Kyler.
Speaker 2: You know, it's just not very hard.
Speaker 3: The only way I think it works is if he
Speaker 3: Kyler does a Russ right where he's like, the Cardinals
Speaker 3: are already paying me a bunch of money, I'll sign
Speaker 3: for the minimum here.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean that that could possibly work. I would,
Speaker 1: I think for sure. But otherwise, if he's just looking
Speaker 1: to still get paid paid, then that probably doesn't work there.
Speaker 3: I don't know if you just saw the text that
Speaker 3: just came in. No, the context, it's like he's watching
Speaker 3: sucks On, missing Florial's excitement for Anthony Richardson, possibly on
Speaker 3: the move.
Speaker 2: Now I'm checking. I'm checking the streamyard. No, he's not.
Speaker 1: He's not here unless he's, you know, masquerading as Kyrie.
Speaker 2: That's wild. That is wild that he pops in.
Speaker 1: So Lakwana actually is on the show today in his
Speaker 1: own special way. The other thing the Vikings really need, though,
Speaker 1: they do need a running back that feels like one
Speaker 1: that you know, they could possibly address that without breaking
Speaker 1: the bank necessarily.
Speaker 2: You know, I don't think they.
Speaker 1: I don't think they chase a traves etn I mean,
Speaker 1: would you try to make it work with like Najee
Speaker 1: Harris because the number that Nag's gonna sign for is
Speaker 1: going to be less than what he got last year?
Speaker 1: Do you pursue a JK. Dobbins h Kenneth Gainwell?
Speaker 2: Maybe?
Speaker 1: But I think I think there are ways to sort
Speaker 1: of address that need and do it in a pretty
Speaker 1: economical way.
Speaker 3: Is for the Vikings, right?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 3: For the Vikings, Yeah, because they they I think it's
Speaker 3: a very good chance that they move on from Aaron
Speaker 3: Jones this offense. He is so expensive. But you mentioned
Speaker 3: Kenneth Gainwell. That was gonna be the name I threw
Speaker 3: out there because I think Jordan Mason, And look, I'm
Speaker 3: not going to say I'm the highest guy on him
Speaker 3: here because we all.
Speaker 2: Know that, we all know, we all know who that is, right.
Speaker 3: But Jordan Mason is a very good runner. I don't
Speaker 3: think he is a great dual threat back, but just
Speaker 3: as a pure like first and second down short yard stuff,
Speaker 3: I think Jordan Mason could get you covered there. And
Speaker 3: then I think Kenneth Gainwell, who isn't necessarily the best runner,
Speaker 3: is a fantastic weapon in the passing game, So you
Speaker 3: kind of splice it together. With those two, I think
Speaker 3: you could have a very productive backfield without having to
Speaker 3: invest a whole lot of money. Like, look, it's not
Speaker 3: my dream backfield, but in this situation, it works. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think that's probably fair because I don't
Speaker 1: think they give up fully on Jordan Mason, but I
Speaker 1: do think they've learned that he's not the guy that's
Speaker 1: going to carry the offense. He could be good in spurts,
Speaker 1: but he also kind of has a limited ceiling for them.
Speaker 1: So I think finally a compliment to him is probably
Speaker 1: the best thing that you can do. Honestly, wouldn't be
Speaker 1: surprised if the Vikings even wait a while you talk
Speaker 1: about them the Broncos signing JK.
Speaker 2: Dobbins later in the offseason.
Speaker 1: If I'm the Vikings, I wait, right, Maybe I look
Speaker 1: and see who's available in free agency. I go through
Speaker 1: the draft, I see who maybe we can get there,
Speaker 1: and then if we don't get a guy we like
Speaker 1: in the draft, we go back because they're probably going
Speaker 1: to be some free agent running backs still hanging around
Speaker 1: in May and June that you can add and have
Speaker 1: them be that complimentary piece for your backfield. So I
Speaker 1: think that's very much a possibility there. I think that's
Speaker 1: kind of in for the Vikings. I mean, quarterback I
Speaker 1: think is the biggest thing, oh one thing.
Speaker 2: Like you know, maybe we'll wait till Kwan's.
Speaker 1: Back because I know he texted us that he was
Speaker 1: in a Best Ball draft where Justin Jefferson went with
Speaker 1: the eighth pick in the second round, and that I
Speaker 1: think is heavily heavily tied to the quarterback situation there,
Speaker 1: And you know, I think that's that's a conversation that
Speaker 1: I think we should definitely have, but we'll wait till
Speaker 1: the Q is back from that one. The Packers, most
Speaker 1: of their needs are on defense. Big need is basically
Speaker 1: for Micah Parsons to get healthy. I think that goes
Speaker 1: a long long way. They're four million dollars over the cap.
Speaker 1: Do they need I hate to say this out loud,
Speaker 1: do they need to add another wide receiver? I know
Speaker 1: Romeo Dobbs is probably on the move somewhere else. Christian
Speaker 1: Watson was very good last year. Matthew Golden had a
Speaker 1: big playoff game, But like, I don't know, Dantavian Wicks
Speaker 1: doesn't really do much. You know, Bo Melton is a
Speaker 1: part time wide receiver, part time cornerback. He's he's I
Speaker 1: don't even call him Timu Travis Hunter because I don't
Speaker 1: think that's that's even accurate enough.
Speaker 3: He doesn't get enough love though for what he does.
Speaker 2: Well.
Speaker 1: It's funny because every time they used him as a
Speaker 1: wide receiver and he drops a pass, I just see
Speaker 1: Packers fans grumbling about why would you put a corner
Speaker 1: on the field in this situation?
Speaker 3: Can't catch?
Speaker 1: Basically, it's kind of what that is. So, I mean,
Speaker 1: I know we have spent the last few years bemoaning
Speaker 1: the fact that the Packers have too many wide receivers
Speaker 1: and we can't figure it out.
Speaker 2: But now it feels like, I don't know.
Speaker 1: I mean, unless we believe in Matthew Golden to take
Speaker 1: the leap next year, maybe they.
Speaker 2: Need another wide receiver. It's a compliment Christian Watson.
Speaker 3: I think they're going to be very hopeful that Matthew
Speaker 3: Golden could take that next step. I also still really
Speaker 3: like Jayden Reid. I know he's a little limited in
Speaker 3: like how you can use him, but I still think
Speaker 3: he can be an effective NFL wide receiver, and like
Speaker 3: him and Watson and Golden on paper with Wicks mixed
Speaker 3: in there, like that should be four good ones. I
Speaker 3: wouldn't be surprised if they invest in another receiver, but
Speaker 3: I would be shocked if it's a lofty investment, you know,
Speaker 3: Like I don't think their biggest free agent signing or
Speaker 3: their first or second round pick are probably going to
Speaker 3: be a receiver. But because also they have two of
Speaker 3: their starting O linemen are free agents this year, so
Speaker 3: I think if anything on offense, that is your biggest priority,
Speaker 3: trying to get your line right. They also need a
Speaker 3: backup quarterback, right, I don't know if you feel comfortable
Speaker 3: with just desney Ri or there. So the offensive side
Speaker 3: of the things for the Packers, outside of the rebuilding
Speaker 3: your line, because your left tackle and your right guard
Speaker 3: potentially leaving is hard to replace. You can't just like
Speaker 3: string that together. But the rest of it, I think
Speaker 3: are more like minor moves. Like you know, they tweak
Speaker 3: it a little bit here we bring in this body
Speaker 3: for depth at receivers something like that, But for the
Speaker 3: most part, I think they drafted Matthew gold In a
Speaker 3: year in advance, being like, you're going to take Romeo
Speaker 3: Dobbs role in our offense when Romeo Dobbs eventually leaves
Speaker 3: next year as a free agent.
Speaker 2: Yeah, because it's not things like they've they're pretty.
Speaker 1: Much set on Dobbs not coming back. I think they're
Speaker 1: going to try and work with what they have is
Speaker 1: sort of build from there. Look, they spent the first
Speaker 1: round pick on Matthew Golden, so he's going to get
Speaker 1: at least another couple of years to just figure things
Speaker 1: out there.
Speaker 3: It is so Packers that they finally used the first
Speaker 3: round pick on a receiver and then it's one of
Speaker 3: the worst production to the first round even years.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I guess you know, see, at least you tried
Speaker 1: what it is. Look, I know people still aren't giving
Speaker 1: up on Matthew Golden, and that makes sense. It's only
Speaker 1: been one year. I will tell you that, at least
Speaker 1: from a fantasy perspective, I'm out until I see something
Speaker 1: from him on a consistent basis. So Christian Watson, though,
Speaker 1: I'm in Christia Watson, I'm very much in on. He's
Speaker 1: probably the only Packers receiver I'm really in on this year.
Speaker 1: But yeah, Golden, I'm sort of out there, so it
Speaker 1: takes us to the Bears. They are also over the
Speaker 1: cap about nine and a half million.
Speaker 2: I saw.
Speaker 1: I was looking around people saying, one of the needs
Speaker 1: is tight end. I'm going to assume that that's a
Speaker 1: blocking tight end. You need maybe more of an inlined,
Speaker 1: inline guy who can contribute in the running game, because
Speaker 1: I think I think Colston Lovelin is it. I think
Speaker 1: what we saw from him in the back half of
Speaker 1: the season forecasts him really taking off next year. So
Speaker 1: I think in terms of a pass catching tight end,
Speaker 1: I don't think that's it. I think it's more of
Speaker 1: a blocking tight end.
Speaker 3: Still got cole Comet too.
Speaker 1: They do have cole Comet, where I think it's just
Speaker 1: going to be a fly in the ointment. What I'm
Speaker 1: worried is that cole Comet is going to do to
Speaker 1: Colston Loveland what Jimmy Graham did to cole Comet a
Speaker 1: couple of years ago.
Speaker 2: I hope not where.
Speaker 1: Every week on either on the podcast or on Fantasy
Speaker 1: Live or in the Sleepers column, I was touting cole
Speaker 1: Comet because all of the metrics, the you know, the
Speaker 1: targets per route run, the snaps, all this stuff was
Speaker 1: saying Cole Comet is a worthwhile play, and then Jimmy
Speaker 1: Graham would catch a touchdown when they got in the
Speaker 1: red zone. It just got hard to kind of keep
Speaker 1: banging on that drum for a while. And I don't
Speaker 1: want this to happen to Colston Loveland.
Speaker 2: So that's my that's my worry.
Speaker 3: The one thing they do look at at his bow
Speaker 3: track page right now, they do have an out this
Speaker 3: year if they want to take it, and he is
Speaker 3: I mean eleven million dollars almost twelve million dollars for
Speaker 3: cap hit for a tight end two. That feels like
Speaker 3: he could be a cap casualty.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I could definitely see that happening. Also, Durham's
Speaker 1: smythe for what it's worth, is a free agent, so
Speaker 1: they could sort of revamp the tight end room there
Speaker 1: in Chicago.
Speaker 2: Do they need another wide receiver? You know, Keenan Allen.
Speaker 2: I mean, obviously Keenan Allen's gone. Not Keenan Allen, who
Speaker 2: am I? But Luther Burden.
Speaker 1: DJ more could be gone. I don't know why I'm
Speaker 1: stuck in twenty twenty four talking about Keenan Allen I
Speaker 1: mentioned earlier that's exactly where my brain went. At this point,
Speaker 1: DJ More could be gone. The Luther Burden hype train
Speaker 1: is several miles down the road already. Romo Dunes faded
Speaker 1: badly in the second half of the season. Do they
Speaker 1: need to add a piece at wide receiver or do
Speaker 1: we believe that they can sort of figure it out
Speaker 1: with the pieces they have.
Speaker 3: I think they're gonna need to add a depth receiver,
Speaker 3: like like a wide receiver three or something like that,
Speaker 3: because I look, I loved him as a prospect. I
Speaker 3: am super bullish on Luther Burden. I think, just like
Speaker 3: Cole Comet, we saw the youth takeover last year as
Speaker 3: they gave Burden more. And I know he's one of
Speaker 3: those players Marcus that I think if you just look
Speaker 3: at the box score, you're doing the disservice. He had
Speaker 3: a couple of big games where he popped here or there,
Speaker 3: but watch what he can do, and to me, he
Speaker 3: just seems like a weapon that Ben Johnson is going
Speaker 3: to design one hundred and twenty plays for it this year,
Speaker 3: you know, like like I just think him and commit
Speaker 3: I wouldn't be surprised if the offense runs through those
Speaker 3: two guys next year. There there's also rome with Dunesday.
Speaker 3: Though it's feeling more and more likely that DJ Moore
Speaker 3: is going to be gone because his cap hit isn't crazy,
Speaker 3: and on top of that, they have a lot of
Speaker 3: younger pieces here that they are excited for and let's
Speaker 3: not forget right. Like I was the person that was like,
Speaker 3: this camp rumor doesn't matter, right, Like the whole they
Speaker 3: can't figure out how to get DJ Moore the ball thing,
Speaker 3: I was like, that's a camp thing, Ben, trust me,
Speaker 3: Ben Johnson's going to know how to get DJ Moore
Speaker 3: the ball. And then there's a large chunk of the
Speaker 3: season Marcus where they didn't know how to get j
Speaker 3: he was playing on the backfield. They're throwing him screen
Speaker 3: passes like so the fact that his cap I mean,
Speaker 3: it's a little bit higher, but it's not huge anymore. So,
Speaker 3: Like I think there's a good look. Bills fans are
Speaker 3: already clamoring like DJ Mohr, go get him. Like I
Speaker 3: do think DJ Moore is going to be one of
Speaker 3: the bigger headline names that we see get traded. But
Speaker 3: I don't think that means they bring in another star
Speaker 3: wide receiver. I think there it means more that they
Speaker 3: have a lot of confidence in those two young pass
Speaker 3: catchers that we saw breakout in their rookie year.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I think that's that's probably more accurate.
Speaker 1: I mean, I'm trying to think of some guys that
Speaker 1: would be interesting sort of complimentary pieces is.
Speaker 2: There and you know ah, I mean Alex Pearce is
Speaker 2: probably going to be more than what they want or need.
Speaker 2: I think in terms of what he's gonna come, I
Speaker 2: think he's salary wise, He's don't get paid for sure.
Speaker 2: I don't know that Rashid Shaheed leaves. I don't. I don't.
Speaker 1: If I'm Seattle, I don't let Rashid shi Heat out
Speaker 1: of the building because he you know, he's a big
Speaker 1: play guy. He also does a lot for you on
Speaker 1: special teams.
Speaker 2: I don't know, Like.
Speaker 1: What is Christian Kirk's future going to be. You know,
Speaker 1: he's not gonna get the big numbs. He's not gonna
Speaker 1: get a big contract that he got you know before.
Speaker 1: Like I you know, I still know what his future
Speaker 1: is at this point.
Speaker 3: You talk about the Ravens eating a wide receiver, deebo
Speaker 3: is one that just screams Ravens to me.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Deebo could be sort of like the new and
Speaker 1: Kwon Bolden, you know, you know, yeah, Christian Kirk is
Speaker 1: kind of a mystery to me because, you know, he
Speaker 1: had a couple of really good He had that one
Speaker 1: really good year in Jacksonville when we all laughed like
Speaker 1: why are the Jacks spending that much money on him?
Speaker 1: And then he went and balled out. We're like, all right,
Speaker 1: well I'll shut up now. But he hasn't come close
Speaker 1: to anything like that since. And last year there were
Speaker 1: times I literally had to look on the roster and
Speaker 1: be like, oh, yeah, Christian Kirk is still there in Houston.
Speaker 3: Then he killed the Steelers in the playoffs. So it's like,
Speaker 3: it's weird because I still think he's he's got some
Speaker 3: game left. I look, I know we're way past the Ravens,
Speaker 3: but Mark's Brown also feels like another name. They could
Speaker 3: just Hollywood Miami boys with Lamar obviously already played together, Like, yeah,
Speaker 3: I could see him going back there as well.
Speaker 2: That'd be interesting.
Speaker 1: Yeah, He's another one who just it never quite handed
Speaker 1: out the way we hoped.
Speaker 2: It would with his career.
Speaker 1: But maybe maybe you reunite him back in Greg whorre
Speaker 1: he started in Baltimore. I haven't played with with the
Speaker 1: Great Dorch Sweepstakes.
Speaker 3: Kwan.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's gonna He's gonna hype him up wherever he goes.
Speaker 2: I mean maybe that's not a terrible thing for the Bears.
Speaker 1: I don't know, or does he does he sort of
Speaker 1: crowd out Burden what they want to do with Burden.
Speaker 3: I could see Greg George going there because he could
Speaker 3: play in line, he could play out wide. He's not
Speaker 3: someone that obviously needs a ton of touches. He's more
Speaker 3: just like here or there. But when he gets the ball,
Speaker 3: he tends to do a lot with it. I know
Speaker 3: the Kwan wants him to go somewhere where he could
Speaker 3: get a much bigger role, but I he might be typecasting.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think at this point he is who he is.
Speaker 1: What about Juwan Jennings in Chicago? I I like.
Speaker 3: The only reason I don't like it is because I
Speaker 3: think it would ding everyone else's fantasy value there. But
Speaker 3: I think from a real life standpoint he fits very
Speaker 3: well there. He can move roll around the field. He's
Speaker 3: not someone you have to like throw the ball to
Speaker 3: ten times a game, but.
Speaker 1: Every now and then you do throw him the ball
Speaker 1: ten times a game because it sort of works out. Yeah,
Speaker 1: all right, interesting, there we go. That's the North divisions,
Speaker 1: remember the North AFC and the NFC. Next week we
Speaker 1: will continue this with the accordingly, the South and West
Speaker 1: divisions on Tuesday and Thursday next week as we get
Speaker 1: you ready for free agency. But in the meantime, that'll
Speaker 1: do it for this edition of the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast.
Speaker 1: They happy, stave in, healthy, do good, and live well.
Speaker 1: Enjoy the weekend everybody. We will talk to you on Tuesday.
Speaker 2: Wow.