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- [00:00]
A
You've seen the headlines, heard the debates.
- [00:02]
B
The three point ball has created a monotonous rhythm to the game.
- [00:06]
A
Has the three pointer ruined basketball? And how did we get here? The rise of the three point shot can be partially traced to an eccentric Kansas genius named Martin Manley, whose story didn't turn out quite the way he imagined. I decided I wanted to have one of the most organized goodbyes in history. 30 for 30 podcast presents Chasing Basketball Heaven. Available now wherever you get your podcasts. What's good, friends? Welcome into Fantasy Focus Football alongside the incomparable Stefania Bell. My name is Daniel Dopp. It's just us, Stefania. We can basically touch each other. Each other across the desk here.
- [00:56]
B
The one twin powers.
- [00:57]
A
That's right. Yes. I love that it's just me and Stefan today, to be honest. We had a really unfortunate just. It is. Well, cuz it is.
- [01:05]
B
It is.
- [01:06]
A
It is me and Stefania. Not just. I meant there's not other people here. I wanted to give the people the reason why no one else is here. Because Mike and Field unfortunately got into a little bit of a tiff last night. Field really wanted to play with Mike's drum set. Mike's really like, particular about, like, how far apart things are. Spaced this. Both got five for fighting. They're not allowed out of their rooms today. So Stefania and I have to hold down the entirety of the show.
- [01:28]
B
Somebody has to be the adult.
- [01:29]
A
That's right. And that's us, you know, as it usually is at the show. So, Stefania, how are you doing, my friend? It's so great to see you.
- [01:35]
B
Ah, it's great to see you too. I feel like we've been spending a lot of time together and that is what we do this time.
- [01:41]
A
Yes. This time of year it definitely comes.
- [01:43]
B
Around to go travel together.
- [01:44]
A
Yes. We did the marathon and then we did all of this last week and now we're about to go travel and do a bunch of beach stuff down at the Bahamas. Very grateful for that. We're going to continue to podcast while we're down there as well. We know we've been talking about our Baja Mar trip, but we are going to continue to give you guys content every single day. So make sure that you continue to stay in on the feed because we're not going to leave you hanging. All right. On today's show, we're diving into a couple of things. My favorites, Dobbs favorites that I'm trying to leave some drafts with guys that I enjoy being able to draft, especially because a lot of these guys are a little bit later on in drafts. So guys that I am looking at, and Stefania's got a couple of injuries that we want to make sure that we're monitoring.
- [02:21]
B
A couple.
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A
And by a couple, I mean a metric boatload is what it feels like.
- [02:26]
B
This is the time of year where you want the preseason to be over.
- [02:29]
A
Yes.
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B
Because you're like, can we just get.
- [02:31]
A
Healthy, get to the regular season?
- [02:33]
B
And it's funny because we watched. I'm assuming you watched Monday night Football.
- [02:37]
A
Yes, of course.
- [02:38]
B
Shout out to our crew doing Monday night Football. And the thing that amused me at the end of the game was when Joe Buck said, you know, really, the goal was accomplished for the game, that everybody appeared to leave the field.
- [02:52]
A
That's right. Yep.
- [02:53]
B
That was the big goal for the game. I'm sure there are a lot of other takeaways, but from my point of view, I was really happy that we're not sitting here talking about anything major that happened to the commanders of the Bengals.
- [03:05]
A
No way. Because, I mean, I'll tell you what, there was one play where Joe Burrow was out there running around, and I'm just like, please, Joe, just go down. Just stop. Nobody touch him. Just. Just do the Peyton Manning thing where you just fall to the ground.
- [03:16]
B
Or when Jaden Daniels decided to run it in.
- [03:19]
A
Oh, my gosh.
- [03:19]
B
Lisa Salters even asked him, why did you run?
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A
Like, what are you doing?
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B
Score. Fantasy managers rejoiced.
- [03:26]
A
Yes.
- [03:27]
B
By the way, Watching it.
- [03:28]
A
Yeah. We want both of these quarterbacks in our lineups for fantasy championships. So please, just being able to get out of that game healthy is what it's all about. And by the way, if you want to have a little bit of. A little bit of hardware for your fantasy champion, go check out our friends over at trophy smack. Trophy smack.com you can get 10% off using the promo code focus10. We have this awesome chain in front of us that we'd love to be able to have here on the desk. They also got belts. They got a bunch of loser trophies and a whole bunch of fun stuff. So go check them out. Focus 10 over@trouple smack.com. all right, Stefan, you ready to dive in?
- [03:58]
B
I am ready. Let's go.
- [03:59]
A
All right, we're going to do do's favorites tomorrow. We're going to probably have field on and we'll do some field favorites. Assuming that Fields has learned his lesson from touching Mike's drum set. That's right. Then we'll let him back in and we'll Talk about some stuff. I'm going to start at the quarterback spot though, if you don't mind. And I have one of my favorite quarterbacks that if I don't get, and we've been talking about this, excuse me, if I don't get one of the top five guys, I see it as a top five field and I both do and I think you and Mike see it as more as a top four. And then Joe Burrow is right on the outside for you guys. But if I can get any one of those top five, that's what I'm trying to leave a draft with. But if for some reason.
- [04:38]
B
I might change and after last night, Joe Burrow is going to be throwing the ball a lot.
- [04:42]
A
A lot.
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B
Just. Just saying.
- [04:45]
A
Okay, that's fair.
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B
Back to Daniel's favorites.
- [04:47]
A
If I cannot get one of those five guys, one of the guys that I love to be able to wait on in fantasy drafts is Dak Prescott.
- [04:53]
B
I like it.
- [04:54]
A
I love everything that I have seen. Not from this Cowboys team because they've been kind of weird, right? But I'm not buying the running game. I'm not buying that this is going to be a super high volume or super productive backfield with Javante Williams or Miles Sanders. Hopefully Jaden Blue can be able to do some things there. But I think a lot of that could potentially be as a pass catcher as well, which would stack. So when I'm looking at this, here's a couple of things I'm hanging my hat on. Stefania. Over the last four, excuse me, four of the last six seasons that he has played, he has averaged over 20 fantasy points per game. I mean, 20 is a really great baseline for a starting quarterback for you. One of those seasons, 20, 21, he was averaging over 27 points per game. Unfortunately, he only played five games that season because he ended up getting hurt. But in each of his last three years where he's played a full season, at least 16 games, he's seen over 20 fantasy points per game. He still has CD Lam. And that dude is the truth. I mean, he's not going anywhere. Adding George Pickens I think is only going to help make things better for him. They've been waiting to be able to get like a legit number two. Brandon Cooks was probably like the last serious number two that they had in Dallas to be able to like do some things with in the passing game. And then I also think that Jake Ferguson is a really great tight end. Again, if you happen to wait or you just aren't able to like get one of those tight ends because a run happens and you've got to like punt at the position. Jake Ferguson, 1 is one of the guys that I'm looking at. So given that I am in on this passing game and I am just, I think it's one of the least exciting running back rooms in the NFL, especially for fantasy. I'm buying not only the quarterback but all of the pass catchers in this offense.
- [06:33]
B
I'm going to agree with you on this. So as you know, I would Cowboys camp is one of the training camps I went to.
- [06:38]
A
Yep.
- [06:40]
B
First of all, the George Pickens thing saw a lot of conversation between Dak and George Pickens. Like after they'd run a play immediately he was talking with him talk about it. And you know, George Pickens has had some challenges in his short career.
- [06:53]
A
Yeah.
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B
And I think what I saw and I hear this from guys I've talked to on the Cowboys offense and I spoke with Javante Williams this year. He talked about it like Dax leadership and the way he takes control the offense. He's so confident under center and I think he can help a player like George Pickens. And plus with the talent of CD Lamb out there on the other side, I think it's going to elevate his play. So I love that. And certainly they have needed more than just CD Lam. We saw that last year. I also think that Javante Williams, even though the running back room is crowded, he's clearly the number one right now. And in the practice that I watched, they were playing against the Rams, whose joint practice, there's certainly some pass catching happening with Javante Williams, little screens, things of that nature. So that all helps boost your your case for Dak. He's not going to get a lot with his legs. You know, ever since that ankle injury, we really haven't seen him run as much. But he's also become a smarter quarterback. He is coming off a series injury. He tore his hamstring off the bone, by the way. Sounds so do you remember a week ago or so time all runs together in the preseason? But I had said I would repost the picture that I took at training camp because I had the picture of him standing and I said, can you guess which hamstring was torn off the bone? When you're looking just, you know, at the back would what speaks to you and did you want to venture a guess on which one it was? Because I'll tell you this, most people got it wrong.
- [08:21]
A
Then I'm going to guess the one that the other people didn't say, did they guess the right side or the left side? Stefani, what was the. What was the consensus?
- [08:28]
B
So a lot of people guessed the left side because they felt like it looked smaller than the right side.
- [08:35]
A
Is that just.
- [08:35]
B
And so they were thinking, like, it must be atrophy. It must be relative to this injury that he had.
- [08:40]
A
Sure.
- [08:41]
B
The right side is the one he tore, which just speaks to the fact that he has worked so hard to get this leg back stronger. He's actually improved his lean muscle mass. I know this, um, from talking with the folks he's worked with, but he has improved his lean muscle mass. He's improved the girth of his right hamstring. Um, I don't have the number in front of me, but it's pretty astounding. And it's. If you were worried at all about his strength capacity after that injury, you need not be. That is my point.
- [09:11]
A
Are you telling me that all the Twitter doctors that can immediately diagnose an injury once it happens on a play in the field don't actually know what they're talking about?
- [09:19]
B
I'm not answering this.
- [09:20]
A
Not answering that question. Okay.
- [09:21]
B
I am saying that sometimes, you know, it. It is not bad to look at something and form an opinion, but it might not be the only information that.
- [09:29]
A
Makes a ton of sense. Stefania, I am all in on Dak. Mike has his projection at 4,350 yards and 27 touchdowns. This guy could easily throw for 4,500 yards and 30 touchdowns, and I would not be shocked at all. So if you decide to wait at the quarterback spot, he's one of the guys that I am targeting. Out of everyone that doesn't really utilize his legs, I think that he's going to be out there and listen, I don't want to put stock into the idea of, like, Micah Parsons not actually being back with this team. Like, he's. They're going to get a deal done. Jerry Jones just has this thing where he just. He loves hearing people talk about him and he can't help it, and he's just going to let that run as long as possible.
- [10:04]
B
So I just hope I. I think they will eventually. I hope they get it done before the season.
- [10:10]
A
I hope so, too. But if they don't, then it's sort of like. I mean, we. What we talked about, like, okay, you going to take away a star pass rusher on that team and, like, is that potentially going to impact? Like, will the defense be as good? Will the offense have to make up for a lot of. A lot of question marks around that. So I love Dak though, if you want to wait at the quarterback spot. All right. My next favorite. This is not a homer pick.
- [10:30]
B
That means it is people.
- [10:32]
A
But I should have had my. I have a. My JMO print behind me that he had signed Jameson Williams. Right now is ranking as wide receiver 30. His vibes though, Stefania extremely high in training camp right now.
- [10:47]
B
This is how we pick fantasy players now.
- [10:50]
A
I pick some of them on vibes. Absolutely. Fantasy is an emotional sport. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. So. Yeah. But shout out Liz Loza. She lives. She absolutely is a vibe master.
- [11:00]
B
How she can get away with it.
- [11:02]
A
Okay. But I can. Okay.
- [11:04]
B
She does have facts to go with her feelings though.
- [11:06]
A
She does. I'm mostly just feelings is what you're saying.
- [11:08]
B
You are mostly honestly feelings feelings guy.
- [11:10]
A
I am.
- [11:11]
B
And I love you for that. But make the case for Jameson Williams.
- [11:14]
A
Last season he topped a thousand yards. He had eight total touchdowns, six games with at least 16 fantasy points. Six games. I mean, I think we've often thought about him as more of like a boom bust guy because he started out, the beginning of his career was real tough between the suspensions that he had to deal with and the injury. Yep. And then it was sort of boom bust while he got into a rhythm in this Lions offense. But last year I think we started to see more of the way that they want to utilize Jameson Williams in this offense. It's not just a deep shot. They don't just want to like have him be the next MVS down the field where they just throw the ball deep. They want to get the ball in his hands close to the line of scrimmage because he has world class speed that most people in the NFL don't have. He was third amongst wide receivers last year in yards after the catch and he was fourth in points per reception. Right now with where you're able to draft Jameson Williams, I love him as a wide receiver three because of the fact it's not a huge investment in value. The upside of what he's going to be can literally be like a week winning week. If he gives you at 25 plus, you know, point week as a wide receiver three as your flex play. That's unbelievable. And I think the floor is going to increase this year with the way the Lions have been talking about utilizing him more in this offense.
- [12:26]
B
Okay, we'll see. That's where I'm a little bit hung up. You know, I have. I'M playing in a few best ball leagues.
- [12:31]
A
Oh, yeah.
- [12:32]
B
And I have been very interested in Jameson Williams in those leagues. Haven't always gotten him because I think he's really attractive in those leagues, especially best ball, because that's where you're looking for, you know, the best lineup. Guys who can have big weeks that might win you your week.
- [12:47]
A
Yeah.
- [12:47]
B
But I've been afraid to trust him in standard league season long.
- [12:52]
A
Yeah. It's been a tough one. I understand that. Because you look at what he's done over the first three years and it's like the sample size of it is really just like the tail end of the. Not even tail end. It was basically just last season where we started to see him kind of become a different wide receiver now that there's an offensive coordinator change. John Morton is here. Obviously, Ben Johnson now the head coach in Chicago. We're going to see the way that Jameson Williams gets utilized. But in watching, you got to take all this with a grain of salt. In watching camp tape and watching the way that they talk about him, there is this, like, steady drumbeat from the entire Lions organization that we are going to utilize. Yes. We're going to utilize Jameson Williams even more in 2025.
- [13:30]
B
I hope so. I hope you're right. I just might not be as confident as you. I. I kind of need to see it to believe it. Unfortunately, most drafts are going to happen before you.
- [13:37]
A
Before you can see it. Yeah.
- [13:39]
B
So you're going to have to roll the dice a little bit. I think the potential is there. We know what kind of talent he is. I just. I'm concerned about the utilization and all the people who catch passes for them.
- [13:49]
A
Yeah. And. And of that there are a lot. Right. Obviously, they've talked also about having two running backs in the backfield and then splitting Jameer Gibbs out wide. And now you got to figure out which running back are you trying to be able to cover. So there's a. There's a lot of options there in that Lions office.
- [14:01]
B
Tight end who catches passes.
- [14:03]
A
He's pretty good at football as well. We actually have a Lions question from our YouTube chat.
- [14:07]
B
Yes.
- [14:07]
A
And we're going to throw that up on the screen right now. Thank you, everyone. Hanging out in the YouTube chat. This one comes from Matt Scott. How excited and scared is Daniel for our Lions with the new coordinators? I just need to see week one. Matt, I appreciate that you said our Lions because we are. That's how we talk about it. My team, our team. I'm not scared at all. I do not know, Matt.
- [14:28]
B
You're not buds from.
- [14:29]
A
We are now. We are now, Matt. So I'm not worried at all. I mean, I loved the. The coordinators that we had. I loved them. Aaron Glenn was a fantastic leader. He's one of the people that, like, it's not just what he did on the field. Like, the way he is a leader in that locker room, the way that the players respect him. He is somebody. He will be sorely missed. I feel the same way about Ben Johnson, but I also have supreme confidence in the front office that already put together this staff that has been able to, like, do the things they did over the last three years. I don't think Ben Johnson was a guy that everyone was like clamoring to have as an oc, but they were able to find him and build him to be what this is. I think that way, the way that this is. I think that that's really what this is. And I am not worried at all about the coordinator changes. I'm still buying all the offensive pieces.
- [15:17]
B
Matt needs to see week one.
- [15:18]
A
You know what, Matt? You and I both need to see it because we just want to be there. But I'm not worried. If you're worried, I would tell you. Just trust me, baby, you're going to be all right.
- [15:26]
B
I think I like who you're going to bring up next.
- [15:29]
A
You know what? You didn't want me. Okay, hold on now. Hold on. You're worried about potentially Jameson Williams, but you love Ricky Pierce.
- [15:36]
B
All I do.
- [15:37]
A
Who only played half a season last year. And I want to make this clear.
- [15:41]
B
He's on your.
- [15:42]
A
He is on my favorites list. I love Ricky Pierce. All this year I've been banging the drum for him. He didn't even play until week seven. Stefania. I mean, obviously we know he started the season. He got shot.
- [15:53]
B
It's amazing he played at all.
- [15:55]
A
At all.
- [15:56]
B
He took a shot to the chest in the preseason. I don't. It's just an injury report I've never seen before until last year. And frankly, I don't ever want to see that one again. Yeah, and he's talked about. He still has some. You know, there's some memory like PTSD of that event, as you might expect, but boy, has he come a long way.
- [16:17]
A
Yes, he has. I just want to say this. First and foremost, I prefer Ricky Piersol over Juwan Jennings. I have the entirety of the off season. If I am drafting, I am drafting Ricky Pierce all before Joanne Jennings.
- [16:29]
B
Tell me why, because I have thoughts. But I want to hear yours first.
- [16:32]
A
Juan Jennings is, and I want to say a victim because it's helping him here in fantasy drafts. But he is a victim of recency bias because I think everyone just remembers that huge game that he had 46 and a half points in week three. Juan Jennings had three 20 plus fantasy point games last season to bring his career total of 20 point fantasy games to four. He has only had four games in his entire career where he has hit 20 fantasy points. And last year after starting the season in Week 7 as a rookie where he still had to ramp up to that play, Ricky Pierce all had three games with 17 fantasy points. I realized 17 is different than 20, but the idea that he was able to do that in his the last two games were huge. 28.7 in week 17 and 18.9 in week 18. I mean you guys were fighting I believe still for a playoff spot at that point. So I mean you guys were very much playing deep into the season. The idea that he didn't even play and be healthy until week seven and I was able to see the flashes of what made him a first round pick. It's nothing against Juwan Jennings, a former sixth rounder in this league, but some of this is like the Mike Clay thing, right? When, when smart people talk, when you tell me things about injuries, I try to listen. When Mike Clay tells me stuff about people's drafts, draft stock, I try to listen. Sixth round wide receivers, you do not have very many of them that become a guy. By the way, he's been in the league for a long time. He's 28 years old. So if I'm going to bank on one of these two wide receivers this year, especially with the way that we saw Ricky Pearsall at the end of the season, coming back from everything that happened at the beginning of the year and he put together the end of season run that he did as a former first rounder, I am buying that. I think he is just a better player than Juwan Jennings and that is not me taking a shot at Juwan Jennings. Love this story, love that guy. But gimme Ricky Piersall in drafts all day, every day and twice on Sundays.
- [18:24]
B
Are you done?
- [18:25]
A
I'm done.
- [18:25]
B
Would you like me to add to it?
- [18:26]
A
Please say space. I'll say positive things about him. Please.
- [18:30]
B
Your case. So I was not as high as you were initially on Ricky Piersol because I really thought Juan Jennings was going to make a case for a bigger role, especially with Brandon Iuk likely to miss start of the season. But Ricky Pierce, are there any updates.
- [18:46]
A
On Brandon Ayuk by any chance?
- [18:47]
B
I think we're going to get to that.
- [18:48]
A
Okay, great.
- [18:49]
B
I'm just trying to make the case for you right now.
- [18:51]
A
Got it, got it, got it. All right, we'll save our Brandon.
- [18:53]
B
Ricky Piersol, by virtue of the fact that the wide receiver room is as banged up as the running back room in San Francisco, has gotten a lot of run as the wide receiver one in this offense throughout training camp. He also went to Arizona to work with Brock in the off season. He went to Jacksonville to work with Brock where he trains in the off season. And I think we talk about chemistry between quarterback and receiver all the time. But in addition to the chemistry, and I've mentioned this before, it was the learning that he got from Brock where Brock's like this, Ricky would be like, hey, dude, I'm open. Like, you missed me a couple times when I was open. Brock said, it's not about you being open. It's about you being where you need to be at the right time. This is a timing offense. I need you to stay on time with the play. And literally I was there at camp for two days. Brock had shared this the first day, the next day there was a play in practice where Ricky did exactly that. Brock threw the ball before he was, you know, made, made the cut.
- [19:54]
A
Beautiful timing route.
- [19:55]
B
Beautiful timing. And all of a sudden the ball's right there where it's supposed to be. You see Brock like running up to him like, dude, this is where I'm talking. This is it, this is it. And so I think as you've watched that, and if you happen to watch the preseason game against the Raiders, you might have seen 3 for 3 to Ricky Piersol right out of the gate. Like, there's no question that this chemistry has been enhanced in the. In the last year. And the fact that they've not only trained together and worked together so much on these things in the off season, but the fact that there's literally been so many more reps for those two in specific running, running that way in the preseason, I, I think is going to help them. And like I now see Ricky Pierce all has leapfrogged. I thought that by the end of this season he could emerge as wide receiver one and I can get into the injury stuff in that wide receiver room a little bit later. As to why I think that I feel more strongly about that now and I think it's going to happen sooner. All of which supports your case.
- [21:01]
A
Yes. Welcome to the bandwagon.
- [21:03]
B
Stefania, I try to be objective.
- [21:05]
A
I know you do. I know.
- [21:06]
B
Listen, it's not always possible.
- [21:08]
A
Ricky Piersol, his ADP has risen almost five spots over the last seven days. Preseason game could have something to do with that. And that just pushed him ahead of Juwan Jennings for the first time in our ESPN ADP. By the way, he's being drafted with pick 118 on average. That's the 12th. End of the 12th round.
- [21:27]
B
Really?
- [21:27]
A
That is too late.
- [21:28]
B
That's not happening in our round.
- [21:29]
A
That is too late.
- [21:30]
B
What's happening in our drafts. But boy, I hope for, you know, good for you guys if. If that's where you can get him.
- [21:37]
A
I am prioritizing him over a bunch of wide receivers that are being drafted ahead of him right now. And I recognize there be the wide.
- [21:44]
B
Receiver one in week one.
- [21:45]
A
Yep. And by the way, be the.
- [21:47]
B
That will be the case.
- [21:48]
A
Mike Clay. You can decide whether or not you guys think Mike Clay is smart or not. We, even though we give Mike a bunch of crap on the show, think he is absolutely brilliant. He is unbelievable at what he does. And I think he is the best.
- [21:58]
B
In the industry, is really smart.
- [22:01]
A
Stop it.
- [22:01]
B
And then Mike pushes the buttons.
- [22:03]
A
Okay, that's fair. Mike Clay has Brock Purdy projected for the quarterback with the second most, second or first most passing yards in the NFL this year.
- [22:13]
B
All of a sudden, I like Mike more today than I did yesterday.
- [22:15]
A
And it's like, man, if we're boy, we'll talk more about the pass catchers, but he's got to throw the ball to somebody. I am in on Ricky Pierce. I'll be in that guy. All right, I'm gonna talk about another guy.
- [22:26]
B
I sense a theme.
- [22:27]
A
My little brother, T.J. hawkinson.
- [22:30]
B
Stefania, I. I don't know that little. Yeah, the appropriate adjective.
- [22:35]
A
My big younger brother. My big younger brother. That's what it is. Yeah. T.J. hawkinson, just to make sure that everyone is aware, in case you have not been listening throughout the preseason, TJ Hawkinson, as a reminder, missed the first seven games of last season, still recovering from an ACL MCL injury that happened at the tail end of 2013. And when he returned, he had a couple of games that were nice. Four games over 10 fantasy points. A couple of them were in the 15 plus range. I think it was close to 17 fantasy points. You love to see that. But he clearly was not the consistent tight end that we had known him to be in fantasy up until that point. He had six games under six fantasy points. That's not great. I mean, you're not looking for that from a guy that you were hoping to be a starting tight end. Not ideal, but he is another year removed from surgery. And I think that this is where I am buying, and I've said this a bunch this offseason. I'm sorry if you've heard me say it again, but I am buying the dip on players that didn't fully look like themselves as they were returning to the performance that they need to have. Not just returning to play last year and this year because of that, I think his draft stock is lower than it should be. I have him listed as tight end five, right behind Sam LaPorta. Not only is a year removed from surgery, but Jordan Addison we know for a fact is going to miss the first three games of the season. We know that they've been out there in training camp and unfortunately at training camp there's been another wide receiver that has not been out there on the field to be able to catch passes from JJ McCarthy, and that is Justin Jefferson. So I love the idea that at least to start the year, it feels like TJ Hawkinson could be a really trusted safety blanket for JJ McCarthy and then think about what that could turn into throughout the rest of the season. It is not a high draft pick that you need to invest in order to get this guy. If you want to wait at the tight end spot and go another direction, he's coming off the board right now. Pick 61. That is the seventh round right now.
- [24:24]
B
Yeah, I'm kind of surprised that that hasn't moved up at all. I don't know. You know how we talk about the perception. This name doesn't generate a lot of excitement, you know, so we know that Trey McBride and Brock Bowers are. People are targeting them right at the top.
- [24:41]
A
Super pumped about it.
- [24:42]
B
And then I'm also surprised at where George Kittle lands because again, with wide receiver depth issue in San Francisco and the talent of George Kittle already established, you still can get him for a bargain when it comes to tight ends.
- [24:56]
A
Yeah.
- [24:57]
B
But then Sam Laporta we know is proven. TJ Hawkinson, who, you know once played for your team, is established as an incredible pass catcher, just physically able to contest and in that regard is a very, very trusted receiver for a quarterback, you would think, especially for a young quarterback. And in that Kevin o' Connell offense, we. We saw him get heavily utilized until he was. Until he obviously was.
- [25:29]
A
Was injured, unfortunately, got hurt. I think the thing that I keep coming back to is this guy was like a former top three option for us. It was like Travis Kelce clear number one.
- [25:39]
B
Right.
- [25:40]
A
And then it was Mark Andrews and then TJ Hawkinson was the next guy. This young emerging tight end that had been a really utilized well as a pass catcher not just with the Detroit Lions, but also with the Minnesota Vikings. And the injury just sort of like knocked him down a peg. I think people just forgot how good CJ Hawkinson was.
- [25:58]
B
Forgot is the thing because he was absent for a good portion of the season, came back and was like a middle of the road assessment because let's be honest, he was coming back from this big injury and as you said, he wasn't going to come out and jump exactly into that role.
- [26:16]
A
Right.
- [26:16]
B
And I do think people have forgotten about him and this is a chance to, you know, reset the, reset the memory on him.
- [26:25]
A
But I am with you.
- [26:26]
B
But I agree in terms of value, like I think TJ Hawkinson is going at a place where this is great, great value.
- [26:33]
A
I agree with that. I would love to be able to grab one of the early round tight ends if I can. I'd love to be able to like lock up one of those top three guys. But I'm not trying to force it this year because I still believe that both Sam Laporta and TJ Hawkinson are fine to be had in the middle rounds and I'll be pumped to leave a draft with either one of them. So in on TJ this year, one more player for dot's favorites.
- [26:52]
B
We're gonna disagree here, but go ahead.
- [26:54]
A
It's Kyron Williams. We, you know how little Kyron Williams talk we have had on this show. It's like no one wants to talk about Kyron Williams. And yet in 2023 he played 12 games and had 15 touchdowns. Last year he played 16 games and had 16 touchdowns. Over the last two years he scored more touchdowns than any other running back in the NFL. He is tied with Jameer Gibbs for that stat. He is fourth in fantasy points per game over that span. He is fourth in touches over that span. He leads all running backs with carries inside the five yard line. It's not Derrick Henry or David Montgomery. No, it's Kyron Williams that leads the league in carries inside the five. He had 10 games with at least 15 fantasy points last season. Apparently touchdowns are just unsexy. Stefania, I don't get it. I get it. He doesn't catch as many passes as we would like. Maybe that's where the sexiness is at. It's in pass catchers. But for me, give me some touchdowns in an offense that I think is going to continue to rely on him at the goal line. I do not have any fear about the running backs behind him at all. He was running back 10 in 2023, running back eight in 2024. I just want to say if you have been out on Kyron Williams, because it's just like not fun, maybe try to like rewire your brain. That's all I'm saying. Because I have him as a guy that I think needs to be thought of higher than he is. He's someone I'm very fine leaving drafts with, especially as a high end RB2, if not a low end RB1.
- [28:23]
B
Well, you and Sean McVay could be buds because McVay loves some Kyron Williams and we know that Kyren Williams got excited, extended. So, you know, clearly the Rams love him and they should because he's on the field all the time, which I think is. I just have not believed that his 5 9, 200 pound frame was going to hold up at this position.
- [28:42]
A
Okay, Mike Clay.
- [28:43]
B
Yeah, but he has surprised a little bit. He's been impressive in his ability to stay on the field, but I just don't know that it's sustainable. And last year his yards per carry dropped from 5.0 in 2023 to 44.1 in 2024. So you're not getting the same kind of burst out of Kyron Williams. He had a fumble issue last year. I think he had six fumbles, four of which were turnovers, including one in the playoffs. And do you remember that little stretch he was going through?
- [29:10]
A
Yeah.
- [29:11]
B
And I just, I mean, there are times where he looks great again. Watch. I. I actually spent some time and energy watching him when I was at the Cowboys Rams joint practice because I think his extension happened like, right, right in that window. Right in that window, like right when I was there. And you know, he's small. Like, there are small running backs who have success for sure. But I had just come from the Chargers looking at Amarian Hampton. You look at like the size.
- [29:38]
A
That's not fair.
- [29:39]
B
Look at Christian, even Christian McCaffrey, like, not tall, but, yeah, solid, you know, And Kyron Williams is just more petite in that way, which make, you could argue, might make him more nimble and agile. But boy, for the amount of snaps, good at the pass blocking.
- [29:55]
A
Yes.
- [29:55]
B
I mean, they trust him on the field, but the percentage of time he spends on the field and I just, I just don't have the comfort level with him to be able to churn out another year like that and you're relying on the touchdowns.
- [30:15]
A
There is a lot of touchdown reliance there. I just.
- [30:17]
B
And I just think there's going to be more like Cooper cup was off last year. We know that. But you've got Puka, you've got devonte.
- [30:25]
A
Yeah.
- [30:26]
B
Yes, there will be opportunities for Kyron Williams, but I don't think they're the same. I'm a little less confident than you.
- [30:32]
A
Okay. Is there a let's can. I want to look at where he's going. Just to be able to see when I talked about him as a low end RB1 or high end RB2. Right now he's coming off the board 32nd overall. So at the beginning of the fourth round as running back 12. So ideally if anything he would be a high end RB2. Does it make you feel at all better about the idea of him being like a running back too rather than like the anchor that you build? Are you still nervous?
- [30:54]
B
I was just about to say it's all in your draft strategy.
- [30:57]
A
Yeah.
- [30:57]
B
So I've tried a couple drafts where I decided I want to get one of the top tight ends. And so if I was late in the first round I might take Brock Bowers or second round I might take Trey McBride if I had one of the top quarterbacks at the end of the first round. And then you find yourself without a running back, you know, and you're get. And. And then Kyron Williams become. It's like Kyron Williams or Derrick Henry, they kind of hang. Hang out in the same range, I would say usually in terms of what I see available in the drafts that I've done and I, you know, given those choices, I'm taking Derrick Henry every time, all the time, partially because I think he's a beast. And when I'm looking at a running back like that, I want somebody who I feel is going to stay.
- [31:42]
A
Oh, so you're saying it's okay to be a touchdown dependent running back if you're 6 foot 4, 240 pounds, but if you're 59 2, I mean a little different.
- [31:51]
B
It's the amount of yardage Derek Henry has.
- [31:54]
A
He's a unicorn.
- [31:55]
B
He's a unicorn. He's just, you know, he doesn't have to catch 40 passes.
- [31:58]
A
I'm still not sure he's human. We might not be the same species.
- [32:02]
B
I have stood next to him as well and unreal. It actually, I was going to say it didn't feel good. It actually felt right.
- [32:08]
A
It felt great.
- [32:09]
B
I'm like, I'm so tiny. I must look good. No, Derrick Henry is a large.
- [32:15]
A
He's a large human being.
- [32:16]
B
But I, I guess, listen, Kyron Williams is a good running back. I'm not saying he's not. I know the Rams level of confidence in him. I see all that. I'm just sort of worried that the wheels fall off and it. I'm getting worried that we're at that point.
- [32:30]
A
That's fair. And they have invested, you know, two day, two picks in running backs usually the last two years, in spite of the fact that they didn't use Blake Corum basically at all last season. So it's a little bit interesting the way that they've utilized their draft capital on a position that they just locked up long term like that. Especially with the way McVeigh likes to use running backs. We got a question actually in our chat right now. YouTube chat. Throw up another one. This one comes from Kuma. I'm stuck between Kyron or Chase brown for my RV2. Just my keeper. Come on, Daniel.
- [32:59]
B
Daniel wants to be in your league.
- [33:00]
A
Oh, what a great, what a great option. Can you imagine leaving a draft with Jameer Gibbs and Chase Brown? I would feel like, why even, why even play out the league? Just give me the money now.
- [33:11]
B
You wondered if Chase Brown was going to work again last night.
- [33:16]
A
Yeah.
- [33:16]
B
Although Tosh Brooks looked, he did look good.
- [33:18]
A
Yeah. Well, they need somebody else in that backfield. For what it's worth, I would go with Chase Brown. I've been banging that drum beat all off season long. I love Chase Brown and everything that he's going to be in this Bengals offense I recognize as a runner, especially with that offensive line. He may have some lessened efficiency in comparison to some of the other running backs that are there, but he's such a great pass catcher and he is the running back that they have utilized at the goal line up until this point. So I would still go Chase Brown, but I don't think that I would be upset again if he's an RB2 for your squad.
- [33:48]
B
Looking at Jameer Gibbs. And then I've got Kyron Williams.
- [33:51]
A
I'm feeling, feeling really good, pretty darn good about. Yeah, I'm with you on that. All right. I'm going to do a couple of flyers here real quick. Stefania, three other names that I wanted to have make the list, but they are a little bit farther on down the list here. These are my late round flyers. First one, Michael Pittman Jr. Mike Clay likes that. He does?
- [34:08]
B
Yes.
- [34:09]
A
Did you know that Michael Pittman Jr. Do you remember this? He was a top 20 wide receiver for three consecutive seasons before he got Anthony Richardson in 2024. Can I not use it as a verb? Is am I not allowed to do that? Okay. Well I don't actually think Anthony Richardson will be the season long starter. He's going to get some starts but like after everything that we have seen, maybe it's just because I want to speak into existence a quarterback for fantasy football, not for real life, but for fantasy football that can help distribute the football to other players to matriculate the ball down the field so that we can do more in the end zone. He is so cheap. Michael Pittman Jr. Is right now when you look at him, I'm going to pull up his adp.
- [34:49]
B
Stefania, while you're doing that, I'll remind people he played with a back injury last year that happened in week five that remember it was going to be a season ending back injury.
- [34:57]
A
Yeah.
- [34:58]
B
And then he just played.
- [34:59]
A
Yeah.
- [35:00]
B
Like he played. If they're, if, if you're drafting like an all toughness badass league, I'm Drafting Michael Pittman Jr.
- [35:08]
A
I'm with you on that right now. Coming off the board is wide receiver 47 in the 13th round. Pick 125 is his ADP. He super cheap. And if Daniel Jones ends up being the starting quarterback, I definitely like Michael Pittman Jr. At a minimum as like a bi week flex play. Fill in for your roster when you can have someone that you need. Like we've watched Daniel Jones be able to get his number one wide receiver involved. I think that Michael Pittman Jr. Would be that guy again this year. So I love him. I also love Christian Kirk. Christian Kirk is the wide receiver too of this Texans team. It's not Jaden Higgins. We all get enamored with the rookie right off the bat because we're excited to see what it's going to be. But the wide receiver one is Nico Collins. The wide receiver two is Christian Kirk. Both of those rookies they drafted, they're going to have to work their way into the lineup. I do want to say that Christian Kirk I do not believe is going to have like standalone weekly value like to start the season. But again if you see it, I want to, I believe, I believe that he is going to be a safe floor play for you during bye weeks when you need to again to have a guy that you can fill in that you know is going to give you 10 maybe 12 fantasy points.
- [36:12]
B
I have to draft him to get that.
- [36:13]
A
It's pretty stinking late right now. Stefania. When I look at Christian Kirk, he is not even, he's one of these names.
- [36:20]
B
I pass.
- [36:20]
A
He's not even on the first page. He is all the way down at wide receiver. 64 pick 167. He's basically being undrafted behind Wandell Robinson and Rashad Bateman. Come on, come on. He's the wide receiver too in this.
- [36:39]
B
Offense, throwing territory and.
- [36:40]
A
But when you look at the running back room, Stefania, is there anyone that like makes you feel super comfortable and.
- [36:46]
B
Confident might be getting Brian Robinson?
- [36:48]
A
You know what, if that happens, all the things are going to change there.
- [36:51]
B
So we'll see. There's a little, there's some chatter, but.
- [36:53]
A
Because I am not in on most of the running backs in this backfield, I do not believe in Joe Mixon this year. And I love, love you and I both love Nick Chubb. I think we did an interview, interview with Jonathan Taylor. When we asked him, you asked him, I was just there for it, who his favorite running back in the league was. And he was like, Nick Chubb is the best pure runner in the NFL.
- [37:13]
B
A lot of running backs would say that prior to his last, prior to the injury.
- [37:18]
A
So like I love Nick Chubb, I just, I'm not buying it here in 2025. I would love to, I just don't see it. So for me, I am buying again that passing game. And for me, the number two wide receiver in that offense I think is going to have at least a nice floor play for you when you need him during bye weeks. Now that being said, I just said a bunch of bad things about the running back, but someone has got to run the football there, right? So why not throw a dart Marks if you want to have another guy at the tail end of your roster. I don't trust, trust Nick Chubb, but I do have trust that someone is going to have to be the guy in this backfield if they do a Brian Robinson move. Throw all this out the window and none of it matters. But I don't mind, I don't mind a late dart throw.
- [37:56]
B
I still think Woody Marks is interesting at the end of your draft because we don't really know how everything would all shake out even if Brian Robinson does come. And Woody Marks certainly been getting a lot more practice than he otherwise would have because there's been no Joe Mixon.
- [38:10]
A
I love the idea of again, and this is in a 10 team league. I'm probably not drafting Woody Marks. He's that guy that you put on your watch list, right? We have a watch list on the ESPN platform that you go through and in order to just make sure like, oh, I need to make sure to check back in on that guy. How's he been doing? He's one of those guys for me, maybe 12 teams with a deeper roster, like I might look at him at like the very end of the draft and definitely in like a 16 teamer. He's a guy I would take a flyer on in some deeper leagues. So those are a couple of flyers later on down the list that I'm at least keeping my eye on that I think can deliver some value for you here.
- [38:41]
B
Michael Pittman is my favorite of favorite of that one. Although, you know, I do think Anthony Richardson is going to be the starter. I disagree with you there. I think, I think it's going to be him. We'll watch. It's, we're going to hear soon.
- [38:54]
A
Honestly, it's going to be pretty quick. Football is going to be here before we know it. I mean, I'm so pumped for that. Stefania, I want to pivot from Woody marks to a YouTube question that's then going to take us into your injuries to monitor. But this one comes from Isaac Smith. What are the odds that Joe Mixon plays week one? Stefania, if you could just give us definitive 100% take it to the bank odds, we would all appreciate that.
- [39:17]
B
I'd say they're very, very, very long.
- [39:22]
A
Shot, long shot to be able to count on Joe Mixon. I mean, if you draft him, I'm.
- [39:26]
B
Not drafting him anywhere. If you do, period, end of sentence.
- [39:30]
A
You could put them on your IRR spot. But I, those are, those are words to.
- [39:34]
B
I would rather put someone like Brandon Ayuk who I know is making progress on my IR slot, somebody who Chris Godwin, who I think you know, again, we're going to talk about some of these guys, but I would rather put people like that where I at least see progression on my IR slot.
- [39:52]
A
Would you rather, I mean, okay, so you'd rather have crickets on mixing and we're getting, we're just getting closer and closer here. So you'd rather have Chris Godwin, you would rather have. Who was the other wide receiver, Brandon Ayuk, rather than Joe Mixon.
- [40:07]
B
Because sometimes in an IR spot, if you are going to. You, if you have an IR slot and you want to use it for somebody who might come back, you know, later in the season or you know somebody. It's somebody with one of the camp injuries that's relatively minor and you think they're going to be back in a few weeks, but you can throw them on an IR slot and get another, you know, the draft strategy in their place. Yeah, it's a draft strategy.
- [40:26]
A
Yep. I will sometimes do that where it's like, you know what, I'll take a guy here and then I basically get like a 17th, a free 17th round pick, Justin Jefferson. Stop. Don't. Don't, Stefania. So anyways, that sounds like it's a long shot and it lets everyone know where both you and I are at on approaching Joe Mixon and fantasy drafts.
- [40:43]
B
I know a lot of people have questions about it because they haven't heard anything, but that's the point. You haven't heard anything.
- [40:48]
A
And it gets to. It gets to a spot in fantasy drafts. And we say this all the time. You and I both talk about this, Mike and Field as well, but eventually everyone is like, but it's too good of a value to not take him versus the other people that are on the board. Joe Mixon is just that guy that even once he starts to fall, I will just let other people decide. He's a value here and I'm going to go another direction. All right, Stefania, your injuries to monitor here in 2025.
- [41:14]
B
I've been doing earlier this year monitoring them.
- [41:17]
A
Yeah, that's. And you gave us a bunch of them. I think in June. You had a great article that came.
- [41:20]
B
Out in the magazine. It's on the website. But these were players who basically, based on how things ended last year, whether they were guys who came back from their injury or guys who left and we never saw them at the end of the season because of their injury, these were people to monitor coming into this year. In other words, I don't rank them, especially when we're writing these as very early look aheads. I don't rank them like by. This is the most severe, the one I'm most concerned about because a lot of things can happen over the course of the summer and into training camp, but they're the people I'm most keeping an eye on as we get towards the start of the season.
- [41:56]
A
All right, then I would love, if you're all right with it, to start at the top because I'm not sure that anyone has more question marks and they are a first rounder like Christian McCaffrey does. Obviously you have, unfortunately, a lot of injuries in this 49ers offense right now, but let's start with CMC.
- [42:10]
B
So here's the thing. I think that I have been on record as saying I think he's the hardest player to rank coming into the season. Although it's get. It's getting a little bit easier. I think. When we first started, we first started the mock draft project. If you just look at how our own draft strategy amongst our group of fantasy analysts changed, it was like second or third round, even at the very beginning to, hey, we're hearing good things. Maybe I'm going to have to pick him up at the turn of the first round to now.
- [42:39]
A
Middle of the first round.
- [42:40]
B
Middle of the first round with the possibility. And every time I talk with someone about it, whether it's here in this building or with fantasy analysts outside of espn, the conversation we have is, can you imagine a world where Christian McCaffrey ends up as the top fantasy point producer in the entire league at the end of the season?
- [43:00]
A
Absolutely.
- [43:00]
B
Of course. Yes, of course. It is in. Is within the range of outcomes. So you're banking on that. But you also recognize there's an injury history here of soft tissue injury. Soft tissue injuries give you a little more concern about the possibility. Is it something that's going to recur? Especially running back who's, you know, now in their late 20s. So the 20. Right. Or 28 or 29. So as you get further along in your career, is this something that you're worried about? Signals the beginning of the overall decline.
- [43:36]
A
To which I say just turned 29. That's my fault. Of course. You knew he just had a birthday. You're locked in on this. Of course.
- [43:43]
B
Some call it standard stalking. I call it being doing my research.
- [43:48]
A
You're a professional. That's for my job, dude.
- [43:50]
B
Yes. My job. But ever since we made the comment about him or I made the comment.
- [43:54]
A
About him on the scooters. Yeah.
- [43:56]
B
With no shirt. You know. Also, congratulations, Christian McCaffrey, new father.
- [44:00]
A
Yeah. Shout out to him, baby girl. That's right. Yes.
- [44:03]
B
But he is such a unicorn in terms of the way he works. And again, I feel like I say this ad nauseam, but it bears repeating because it does shape the way that you think about him.
- [44:14]
A
Yeah.
- [44:15]
B
He attacked this Achilles tendonites. He was so pissed last year with how this ended up.
- [44:22]
A
Oh, my gosh.
- [44:22]
B
Well, that's what he was.
- [44:24]
A
That's what he was.
- [44:25]
B
I mean, this is not a guy who was like, well, there we, you know, guess I'm gonna have to. I mean, everything was about getting back. Everything was about making Back on the field of frustration, he did not want to believe that he was being scratched on Monday night, week one football. I mean, there was probably nobody more disappointed than him. So he works his way back. That's a diagnosis. You thought maybe, maybe. We don't see him at all this season. Once we saw how many games he missed. But he comes back halfway through and just started to look like himself before he gets injured again. Everything he did since then. I've already Talked about this. OTAs, no restrictions, Etc. We're now seeing the part. He's not going to play in the preseason, most likely, mate, maybe the final game. But I, I don't necessarily. He doesn't really need it. You know, the guy knows the offense. He's working in practice plenty with his quarterback, plenty with everybody else to get his reps in.
- [45:18]
A
Yeah, I'm not worried about that.
- [45:19]
B
He doesn't do anything beyond that. That's why the scooter. That's why everything is precision timed. The amount of, you know, working out, conditioning, lifting, the amount of reps in practice, the. What he eats. His schedule is done with the season in mind.
- [45:35]
A
I do the same thing with Rosie. I'm like, rosie, I can't get off the couch. I got football season. I need more nachos.
- [45:42]
B
Rosie is a saint.
- [45:43]
A
She's the best, baby. I'm so sorry I just said all that. Please, please let me in the house when I go.
- [45:51]
B
I can't wait to see Rosie in the Bahamas.
- [45:53]
A
It's a little different when you're an athlete and this is what you do for a living, but it makes sense. I mean, that's how serious he's taking.
- [45:58]
B
You know, and I've got given you the stats before about the, you know, the, the wear and tear, how he's bounced back from injury before. You can look at last season as less of. Less work on his body, less abuse, less hits taken on the field. So almost coming in fresher than he would have otherwise had he played a full season. So all of those things together and the fact that the reports only continue to improve.
- [46:23]
A
Yeah.
- [46:23]
B
Throughout training camp, I think all, you know, if anything, it makes a stronger case for him now. And what's he, you know, right now he's ranked as RB4 behind the big three that we keep talking about every time.
- [46:37]
A
He's my RB3.
- [46:38]
B
Yeah. And, and I have, I took him as my first pick with the second overall pick in Scott Fishbowl. So it just depends on whether you want to incorporate any of that risk. But I'll Say it always. Every running back, because of the nature of the position, has more risk baked into their value than any other position on the field.
- [47:00]
A
Makes a ton of sense. Stefania, if I had to put you on the spot and say confidence meter 1 to 10 for Stefania, Stephanie Bell, when she is drafting in the first round, how confident would you feel drafting Christian McCaffrey as your first rounder? Eight and eight. Okay.
- [47:16]
B
Because you have to acknowledge that there.
- [47:18]
A
Is an injury history.
- [47:20]
B
There is. There, there is. But eight is. Is like if I look at Bijan, Bijan, where is the jar?
- [47:29]
A
That's right.
- [47:30]
B
I'm in trouble. I am so sorry, Bijan. This is my personal appeal to you because as somebody whose name gets butchered on the regular. Stefania to be better.
- [47:40]
A
Yep. Well, listen, you call him, you get one.
- [47:44]
B
You didn't have to offer it.
- [47:45]
A
It's a one to one relation. That's how it works.
- [47:48]
B
There are more varieties, but Bijan, as a young, healthy, uber talented running back who will touch the ball a ton, will be on the field a ton. I, I still. He raised the highest to me is like 9.9.5. You know, because there's just. Other than stepping on the field where everybody's at risk. Yeah, I got nothing.
- [48:10]
A
Okay.
- [48:11]
B
You know, but Christian McCaffrey has longer, more years, soft tissue injury, so that's where I'm coming from. But with all that, I still rate him at an eight.
- [48:22]
A
All right, we got a question from our YouTube chat about Christian McCaffrey.
- [48:25]
B
Okay.
- [48:25]
A
Asking about some injury history. And it's not just cmc, but this one comes from Philip. CMC and Devon Achan are just too volatile to be that high, in my opinion. Am I ridiculous for thinking so? Stefania, do you think that volatility has to do with their ability to stay on the field, or do you think it's the. Because you can't talk about volatility in production for cmc. I mean, when he's out there, yeah, he's the best running back.
- [48:46]
B
I know what the volatility is. I think what you might be referencing is like we've either had seasons of 15, 16, 17 games or, you know, four. Four last year and seven. I think the year that he first got hurt and then the subsequent year. So when he's healthy, he's had three seasons that have had injury define the season.
- [49:10]
A
Right.
- [49:10]
B
And the remainder of his eight seasons, which is five, because last I checked, three plus.
- [49:16]
A
There you go.
- [49:18]
B
He's played every game or all but one game. And by the way, A couple of those years we had playoffs. So that actually is more games than a full season's worth of games. So if that's the volatility is like it's either extremely high or extremely low. Maybe so. But production wise, he has been consistent and he's going to touch. These are the things you can count on. He's going to catch the ball. I think Mike has him projected at 72 receptions, which puts him number one among running backs.
- [49:51]
A
That's huge.
- [49:52]
B
He is going to be on the field at all times, which means if there's a play breakdown and who might Brock Purdy be looking for, it's going to often be McCaffrey. So I just, I find it hard to argue with the opportunity. So we always talk about opportunity and availability. So if the availability is good, we know the opportunity is there.
- [50:14]
A
Yeah.
- [50:14]
B
Now Devon HN is, is. He's a totally different cat. I mean, he's a different build. He is much more. He's much slighter in his build than McCaffrey's built, you know, like fire hydrant, tank. And Devon HN is a little quicker, nimble, agile. That's how I think of him. Explosive speed. If you get him into, you know, free range territory, he is going to jet pass you and make you regret it. But he's also slighter in his lower half and has had some lower extremity injuries to go with that. Right now he's dealing with a calf issue, which according to Mike McDaniel, not a big. Yeah, like they're still targeting week one and was kind of like that's all he was going to say about that. So I think it might be proactively that they're resting him, but that's, that's a concern. He had an MCL injury when he first appeared on the scene and you know, he's going to take hits and, and have some. Some risk.
- [51:13]
A
So became like mini CMC as a pass catcher last year, which was awesome for us in fantasy. You love to see that. But I definitely think this has to do more with the injury conversation than production. 2018, Christian McCaffrey, RB1, 2019 Christian McCaffrey, RB1,' 2020 and 2021. He got hurt both those seasons. Right. He was running back 45 and running back 40. Then 2022, he's RB1 and then 2023, he was RB1. There's not a lot of volatility there. It's like when he's on the field and he's healthy, he's the best player in fantasy football, given the skill set and the way that the team utilizes him. Stefania, we got a little bit of breaking news just came through right now. Per Adam Schefter and Steven Holder, the Indianapolis Colts have named Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback for the Sept. 7 regular season opener versus the Miami Dolphins.
- [52:02]
B
All right, I know Daniel Jones. Nice. Nice guy.
- [52:04]
A
If we revisit that Michael Pittman conversation from earlier, I'm even more in on the pass catchers. If Daniel Jones is going to be the quarterback under center, we'll see what this means for you. Yeah.
- [52:15]
B
How long do you think Daniel Jones starter.
- [52:17]
A
The leash. How long is his leash? Well, how many games have they won, Stefania? Are they like 1 in 5 or are they like, you know, 2 and 3?
- [52:28]
B
I just think it goes back to. They drafted Anthony Richardson to be there starting court, to be the face of their franchise.
- [52:39]
A
The future of their friendship wasn't even number four overall pick, something like that.
- [52:42]
B
They brought in Daniel Jones. Not for that. I think they started Anthony Richardson sooner than I think. If they could go back in time, I think they would retract when they started him.
- [52:53]
A
Yeah.
- [52:53]
B
And there was. There was a lot. I mean, we all know he hadn't started that many games in college. He was still very green as a quarterback, and he had the injury history, and then he got hurt pretty quickly. So he really didn't get, as a rookie that many chances to get reps on the field in NFL game situation. And then there are growing pains like they're going to be with any rookie. But again, it's reps and it's practice. Do you really think that the Colts are going to call this, like, okay with this Is. This. Is that they're like, Daniel Jones is our quarterback of the future and Anthony Richardson is going to be a backup for us. I think this is. We've seen what we've seen.
- [53:34]
A
Yeah.
- [53:34]
B
There's still some mistakes being made. We've seen a few of them in the preseason. When the mistakes happen for Anthony Richardson, they're pretty glaring. And they also put him at risk for injury.
- [53:42]
A
Yes.
- [53:42]
B
Taking blind hits and whatnot. But I think at the end of the day, they want him to succeed. And so. But if they start him now and things don't go well, what are you gonna do? Because if you yank him again and then you put Daniel Jones out there and then you yank it, Daniel, you can't keep doing the merry go round. So I actually feel like this makes sense in the scope of things. And hey, if Daniel Jones plays lights out. I mean, he earns the right to be on the field. He's given the chances, the starter. Maybe that will happen. But I don't feel like this is the end of. I feel like I'm going to hear things later today that are like the end of Anthony Richardson or this was a bust or I don't believe that. If I do hear that, I don't agree with it. I still think they ex hope and expect for him to be the quarterback of the future.
- [54:39]
A
Yeah.
- [54:39]
B
But he's still developing and Daniel Jones is the starter for right now.
- [54:43]
A
I think that. I think that the way that the tweet was worded is what's important. Daniel Jones is our week one starter.
- [54:50]
B
Is that what it said?
- [54:51]
A
He is not our.
- [54:52]
B
Okay.
- [54:53]
A
I think it was. It was. If it wasn't exactly that, it was something very close to that. Like, it was not like he is our. Our starter for the season. And I think that that's kind of alluding to what you had talked about. You know, as much as I would love to be able to see Anthony Richardson under center first and foremost, because we want to see that guy if he's not healthy. This comes back to that Dalvin Cook conversation that we had where it's like, don't bring a player back before they're ready because you're not only going to undermine that player's ability to perform on the field, but it undermines the entire team. Right. That dynamic. And so Daniel Jones will probably be the starter until we see something that it's like, okay, either Daniel Jones has played so well that we can't take him off the field, but I mean, we saw that last year with the Steelers and like, Justin Fields played them to a 4 and 2 record and then it was still like, all right, you're out of here. Russell Wilson's going to be our starter. I still think that they want to pay off that investment of the number four overall pick in Anthony Richardson. So at some point we will see a rich back under center. But for right now, we're going to have Daniel Jones taking snaps for this offense, which who knows how that's going to be able to affect things in fantasy, but it's going to be positive for all the pass catchers for as many weeks as we can have. DJ under center. All right, Stefania, we have, like, used so much time here. You have so many names. You still want to talk about some of these? We'll have to talk about these.
- [56:06]
B
McCaffrey is the big one. McCaffrey is a big one. We talked a little bit about the wide receiver room in San Francisco. Here's what you need to know. Brandon Ayuk is likely going to start the season on the physically unable to perform lists. Like, nobody's actually said that.
- [56:22]
A
Is that four games is that.
- [56:23]
B
It's a minimum four games. And the thing is that he is around. He's around the facility. Everybody's very happy. But it's a long way back from an acl, mcl, meniscus, hamstring, all these things that he had going on. And you've got to get acclimated to football. So for fantasy purposes, I would not be looking to count on much until we get at least a third of the way into the season. And even then, I'm not really confident that I'm seeing Brandon Ayuk pre injury Brandon Aiuk until next year.
- [56:54]
A
Do you think that it's exacerbated by having to carry all that money around that he got that it just hurts his.
- [56:59]
B
Anyway, I'm gonna ignore that. And then Duan Jennings still dealing with a calf issue and we don't know exactly where he is on that. So I just, you know, more, more, more love towards your Ricky Pierce all argument.
- [57:11]
A
Our Ricky Pierce all arguments.
- [57:13]
B
Yeah, well, you know, but you brought it up. Okay, so I hopped on.
- [57:16]
A
All right.
- [57:17]
B
We don't want to make it like I am. Just, you know, otherwise it's a love fest for me and all the 49ers. Right.
- [57:22]
A
What about Chris Godwin? Can we have a love fest over Chris Godwin?
- [57:25]
B
Are we nervous about love fest over Chris Godwin, the person clearly beloved in Tampa Bay? Clearly, that's why they brought him back. Nasty injury, ankle fracture, dislocation on his left side. We know he had to have a second surgery in the spring. We know that they drafted a wide receiver in the first round. All these things tell us that they're probably going to give him the Runway to fully get better before they bring him back. How many weeks into the season that is? I don't know. Could he possibly be their week one? I mean, I guess he could, but he's not practicing right now.
- [57:53]
A
Right.
- [57:53]
B
So why would you do that when week one's around the corner? Like, oh, let's just get into practice and get you back out on the field. I don't see that happening in Tampa Bay. I don't think that's the way they do things. So I expect a delayed start to the season. And then remember, just think of other guys who've had nasty ankle fractures and or fracture dislocations. That how they look when they first come back and they, they don't usually look like themselves. Takes a while to get moving the right way and so on and so forth. So I do, I think Chris Godwin can get back to his pre injury self. I do. Do I think it happens this season? I don't know.
- [58:27]
A
Okay, so if I had. And I hate putting you on the spot, Stefania, but this is what the people want. If I had to make you answer the confidence meter, one to ten, you're on the clock. I give him a five, you give him a five. Okay, is that five? Like would it be lower than that? But it's a 5 because you can put them on your IR spot and then replace him or like there's a chance that he will be able to be here.
- [58:48]
B
I think, I think that they expect him to take the field this year. I'm saying for fantasy purposes, like the volume of work. How's it gonna look when he's out there if the first time he plays his ankle is really sore, he' struggling. Do they scale back his workload? These are all the things that we don't know yet. And anybody who tells you they know for sure is not telling the truth because the team is still figuring that out with him. The people who are working with him day to day, the athlete, they're all figuring that out. So there's no way to know for sure. They may have soft targets, things that they're not going to share with us. Like this would be a good time to get him back. But it's. Those things are always contingent upon how the player responds to increased activity.
- [59:26]
A
Yes.
- [59:26]
B
And they got, you see that you're not going to know.
- [59:28]
A
They got a bunch of great pass catchers there as well. Both the running backs are really good pass catchers. You mentioned the first round rookie new AARP member Mike Evans. And then.
- [59:35]
B
Yeah, that's rude.
- [59:37]
A
Jalen McMillan.
- [59:38]
B
All Mike does is catch touchdowns.
- [59:41]
A
That's it.
- [59:41]
B
A thousand yards receiving every single year of his career.
- [59:45]
A
And then Jalen McMillan as well had a very serious injury. We'll continue to watch that and see, but there are a lot of guys there to hopefully not have to push Chris Godwin back too quickly. What about Stefan Diggs? Can I feel confident in Stefan Diggs this year? Where you at in him?
- [59:55]
B
Certainly been out there. I mean again, we talk about the first year back not being the same terms of productivity following an acl, but he had a clean acl. It's not complicated like Brandon Aux, and we've seen that he's been at practice, he hasn't missed practice since he's been back at training camp. These are great, great signs. Means that his knee has withstood football activity really well. Now what happens when we get into games? Is he going to have a similar speed? Is he going to do. Is he going to look Stefan Diggs like he was having a great year, by the way, in Houston before he went down with the injury. So if you're thinking that's what you get out of the gate, my answer to that is, I don't really know. I mean, the fact that he's had all this practice in training camp is good. I know you're going to ask me about a confidence meter, so I would give him an 8 as well. Like, I feel very good about where he is because of the amount of practice that he's had in camp, the amount of acclimation to football that he's gotten. It's not uncommon for these guys to have a hamstring tweak or some other soft tissue injury in their first year back. So could that happen? Sure. I think a lot of it depends on how he plays. And, you know, once they get in games, they ratchet up to like 110% and all of a sudden they're exploding out in, you know, running some route at full speed and a sharp deceleration, and all of a sudden up there goes a hammy. And it's just because they never really do that in practice. So there's always little risks like that, which is why Nobody gets a 10.
- [61:24]
A
Sure.
- [61:24]
B
But about as confident as I can be for somebody coming off an acl, he's, he's given us good reason to.
- [61:29]
A
Lean that way right now. Coming off the board with the 97th overall pick. So he's a 10th rounder. That probably helps the confidence meter, knowing that it's not as big of an investment as some of the other wide receivers. All right, a couple more quick camp updates. Stefania, can you give us like a few, like one liners here to be able to close things out? Because I want to make sure that we're able to pay off some of these questions I know people have.
- [61:47]
B
Sure. Fire away.
- [61:49]
A
Yeah, I got Matthew Stafford. Everyone's been worried about what we're going to do with him. Not about him, it's more like, is he going to affect the pass catches, but worried about that.
- [61:57]
B
So first of all, for fantasy purposes, doesn't really change for me. Whether it's him or Jimmy G. But for those of you who really want to know where Matthew Stafford is in all this, the fact he was back at practice is a great sign. I think the Rams are still looking towards week one. That's the expectation. But if you look at Sean McVay's language, it's all about. I've said this before, sort of a victim of his own willingness to be transparent. Because then people start asking more and more and more questions and when, if he says day to day and then it's like, well, we're going to scale him back this week. And then he says week to week, everyone's like, oh, he had a huge setback. And maybe he didn't have a huge setback. Maybe it was just par for the course with these kind of back problems that you have good days. Anybody who's ever had a back problem, do you have a good day and you have a not so good day and everybody knows it. And that's Matthew Stafford right now. He's having some good days and some not so good days. And you hope that the good days start to stack together more for the start of the season. But I think the Rams are still hopeful that he will be out there.
- [62:51]
A
Week one, I'm drafting post both pass catchers with confidence and Stafford is not changing that for me at all. I think you just said the same thing. What about Isaiah Likely? We loved him as a potential like replacement almost for Mark Andrews at the tight end spot. But he is recovering from foot surgery.
- [63:04]
B
Yeah, foot surgery to address a fracture that happened right around the first week of August. So, you know, I think that's going to carry over into the early season. It's going to take a bit for him to come back. It'll be all Mark Andrews with the tight end position. Look, the season begins in about five weeks, so it could, I mean, I mean when the season begins. Excuse me, when the season begins, it will be about five weeks out from surgery. So pretty close. But in addition to the bone healing, you want to make sure that there's no discomfort when he's out doing plants, cuts, etc. Things that would put stress on that foot. You know, I, we, we talked a little bit about why people bend down on Mark Andrews. I am not, I think this is a bit of a bounce back year for Mark Andrews. Isaiah likely burst onto the fantasy scene last year. Nine for 111 and a touchdown in his first game. And that's why everybody went. And that's like, oh my gosh, Isaiah likely is owning the tight end position for the Ravens. Do you know that that was the only week that he had double digit targets the entire season? That's not great. So I, I just don't think that he was ever going to take over for Andrews. I think Andrew started the season a little more banged up than we all really knew last year. So do without what you will. But I think Isaiah likely will be back fairly early. But we, it's, it's, it's fluid. We don't know exactly.
- [64:28]
A
And then we got a couple of running backs here. Stefania, Tajie Spears dealing with a few things as well as Ken Walker III.
- [64:33]
B
Yeah, Tajie Spears with a high ankle sprain August 9th. Expect that to be a four to six week type injury. So it's going to be all Tony Pollard right now. You know if you look at that and high ankle sprains and running backs are really hard on them. I know if, remember Austin Eckler when he tried to come back from when he was really confident. That guy works so hard on his fitness and every time he tried to come back he couldn't do what he wanted to do. And so people were writing him and off like oh he's done, he's well, his ankle was not fully healed. It's really tough injury on a running back so hopefully he takes the time he needs to get better. Kenneth Walker. Is it Kenneth Walker the third?
- [65:10]
A
Third? Yep.
- [65:11]
B
Third. I, I, I'm seeing two like two eyes on my notes but I'm like I think there's, there's three of them.
- [65:19]
A
There are three of them. Yeah.
- [65:20]
B
Okay. Anyway, foot injury that's supposedly not serious but Zach Charbonnet quietly getting a lot of activity and a lot of props from the staff out there. So I think that's something that's more got my attention. I don't get the impression this foot injury will keep Walker away from week one, but it might have just given a open the door to a little more Charbonnet.
- [65:45]
A
I think I it may who doesn't love, who doesn't want a little more chardonnay. I actually if I could have gone back. We did a must draft running backs. I did a show with Field and Mike and I think rather than have Jordan Mason in there given some of this Ken Walker information, especially with what we saw from Zach Charbonnet last year when he was given the reins. I think he's the guy especially because he's very cheap in drafts to be able to target whether or not you want to pair him as an insurance back with Ken Walker or just grab him because there will be weeks where it feels like he'll have some starter value. All right, that's going to do it for us. Stefania, I actually got to get out of here. The babysitter has been calling me for the last 15 minutes because if I go over 11:30 with field and Mike, then I'm going to get charged an extra 50 bucks.
- [66:24]
B
So are they going to be out of time out?
- [66:27]
A
I hope so. I hope they were good for the babysitter while we were gone. Thank you so much for hanging out with me today, Stefania.
- [66:33]
B
It was my pleasure.
- [66:33]
A
We're going to be back tomorrow with Field. We're going to dive into Field's favorites tomorrow to be able to see all the people that he wants to make sure that he's leaving drafts with. But that's going to do it for us today. Don't forget to love each other, be kind to yourself, and thanks for hanging out with us. We'll see you guys tomorrow.
- [67:23]
B
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