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- [00:00]
A
Quick break. Let's talk about some pizza. You want to bring restaurant quality pizza home this football season? Get Frigidaire's stone baked pizza oven fresh pizzas go from dough to done in just two minutes right from your kitchen and ready before halftime. Perfect for watch parties or just upgrading pizza night without the delivery delay only from Frigidaire Game ready pizza. Get it today at the Home Depot. How doers get more done.
- [00:28]
B
You're in the.
- [00:43]
A
What'S good friends? Welcome into Fantasy Focus alongside Mike Clay and Phil Jates. My name is Daniel Dopp and Michael, I just want to say congratulations. You made it past cut down day.
- [00:54]
C
You're still here the day after shout out to you. It is a long day of just pressing the delete button and moving guys around on depth charts. But I was up till about midnight last night, put the finishing touches on it, got everything updated.
- [01:06]
A
So I think Mike took that opposite part of what?
- [01:08]
B
Yes, he was congratulating you on making the team.
- [01:11]
A
You made the team here on the show today.
- [01:13]
C
Well, I knew I would make the team because I was up till midnight doing all the transactions while you were sleeping. Okay, so for someone that don't understand.
- [01:20]
B
What Mike is talking about, Mike literally updates every projection and last night he is grinding the projection model because of the fact that there were what, a thousand plus moves made yesterday? That's wild.
- [01:29]
C
It's almost half the league gets cut. And it's not just that it's moving guys to ir. There's a difference between getting waved, injured and waived or cut, you know, so everything's updated. Got the PDF updated and the game updated last night. So you'll see all that reflected. I have some little tedious things to do like the capsules and stuff, but it's good to go. I updated this morning too. There was the Tim Patrick trade. Yes, there was. And I didn't get to the Thielen trade because it happened like two minutes ago. So I apologize. Yes. Am I cut now?
- [01:56]
B
Honestly? Yes, that's correct. That's right. The ramifications for not updating the game within three minutes of the Adam Thielen trade being announced.
- [02:03]
C
Now question though. Am I waved or waved Injured?
- [02:05]
B
You're waved in wave dinger.
- [02:06]
C
Yeah. Yeah.
- [02:07]
B
Because you broke our heart.
- [02:08]
A
That's right.
- [02:08]
C
And I said, well, that's good for me. I get an injury settlement, so.
- [02:11]
A
Well, a little. Well, maybe we have to reconsider that.
- [02:13]
B
The nerdiest opening to a show ever and I love it.
- [02:17]
C
What are you always saying? Not to get too inside Baseball here.
- [02:19]
B
But yeah, that's correct because there are some times where it actually matters and good example of that being the case right now.
- [02:25]
A
We got a very fun show planned for you today. Mike already talked about it. We're going to dive into some winners and losers here in just a little bit from the cut down day as well as headlines from the future. We're going to bring you some spicy headlines and prognosticate a few things later on this football season.
- [02:40]
B
I just opened up Adam Schefter's Twitter drafts.
- [02:43]
C
Yep.
- [02:43]
B
And. And I have all of my prognostications from Love.
- [02:46]
C
That's great. I love that.
- [02:47]
A
A quick shout out to our friends over at Trophy Smack before we get started. Head on over to trophy smack.com get 10% off using the promo code focus10. Go get yourself a belt or a chain or maybe something to be able to like give out as a loser punishment from there. But our friends over over at Trophy Smack are unbelievable. Go check them out again. Promo code is FOCUS10 for 10% off your order. But let's dive into some winners and losers coming down from Cut down day. Mike, I'm going to turn the podcast over to you and let you rip through a couple of things and we'll just sort of jump in when you want.
- [03:17]
B
I think we should start with Adam Thielen first. Yes.
- [03:19]
C
Yeah, we could do that.
- [03:20]
B
Let's just get through the news there. So for those that maybe are watching live and don't live on Twitter like we do, Adam Thielen was traded back to the Minnesota Vikings. We can give you all the draft picks, but the bottom line is like basically Carolina is getting a day three pick. When you take out the conditional stuff and all that, whatever. The bottom line is Carolina gets a pick and Adam Healing goes home to Minnesota.
- [03:41]
C
Yeah, we got to pick next year. And a pick in 2027. I think a 2028 pick was actually traded yesterday, like a seventh in one of the deals.
- [03:49]
B
Which, by the way, that's KT Leviston inside baseball.
- [03:52]
A
I was just going to say the.
- [03:53]
B
Furthest pick that you can trade out is three drafts out. There you go. The Ravens, I'm sorry, the Rams, I believe, got as little as you could possibly get other than a conditional 2028.
- [04:06]
C
Seventh round for a player they would have cut. So presumably. So, yeah. So we'll just run through a few because I just took some notes here as I was working through nothing.
- [04:13]
B
Adam Thielen.
- [04:14]
C
Oh, yeah, we're start with the Elon. You're right. That Is one, I think the big winner here, Xavier Leggett, Jalen Coker in Carolina, Cataroman. Yeah, well, I think a little bit of a boost, but we already expected a big target share there. I don't think Adam Thielen leaving really affects him a lot. I think it's the other guys that kind of soak up those targets. So I think it helps a little bit. But I think Xavier Leggette, remember he was the first round pick last year. This is a guy that has been a late round flyer, kind of a boring pick. A guy that is often atop the draft room. You're like, I don't see much upside. They got McMillan. The offense might not be that good, but I think he has a little bit more appeal now and he'll run the ball a little bit more to Jalen Coker will now presumably be out there in 11 personnel when they have three receivers on the field. So I think those are the winners and guys. The loser, I think, is Adam Thielen here. You know, I think weeks one through three, he'll have some appeal. There's no Jordan Addison there, so it should be top priority. Obviously, Justin Jefferson, probably Jay Hawkinson, Jalen.
- [05:06]
A
Naylor, is he, I mean, he, he.
- [05:08]
C
Goes, yeah, he, he gets sunk for sure. But we already weren't drafting him. But Thielen will be the two, you know, the number two receiver. So he might have some. You might put up flex numbers those first few weeks. But after that, once Jordan Addison comes back, I don't know how there's enough volume for him to provide consistently in fantasy. So I think he's the one. He had a shot to hang and flex in Carolina, in Minnesota, I don't think it's going to happen.
- [05:30]
B
Okay. So I will reinforce that. I do believe Tedro McMillan is a bit of a winner here. And I think the reason why is maybe the target share doesn't change dramatically. But the. I think the note they sent the Carolina Panthers, the message they sent, I should say, is like, this kid has come along just as you expect or hope an 8th overall pick to come along, right? Like, I don't think they make this trade if T. Mac hasn't been having this awesome training camp. And it underscores that perhaps, perhaps we haven't talked enough about him. Now, I thought about this because I was thinking about, do I go update my rankings and move tea McMillan up a few more spots? Mike said this recently on a show. There's this tier of guys amongst the wide receivers that might. And this sounds Like a lot. It might be 20 deep, where it's like, how do you break the ties between Roma Dunze and Tedro McMillan and Jerry Judy and players of that caliber. Right. And maybe the first retort to Roma dunes is, hey, he's not the number one wide receiver on his own offense. But maybe that's offset by playing at what could be a better offense with a quarterback who has maybe the most talent out of that three. The bottom line is this. There's this gigantic tier, really intriguing, let's call them wide receiver threes that Tenoro McMillan really fits into. But if you tell me at the end of next year, end of this upcoming season, they do have a lot of upside. I don't know if I'm expecting this to be Brian Thomas junior level. He was what, wide receiver three on the season last year. But BTJ is a good example that there are all these guys that we kind of have waiting in the wide receiver three weeds during the preseason who could clearly ball out and prove to be league winners. I think there is a chance that Ted Arrow McMillan proves to be a league winner.
- [07:10]
C
I think that's a fair point. We're always looking for signals that a player is not a bust or is an average player or is going to be a superstar. And perhaps the stealing trade kind of cements the fact that they think he is the real deal. So, yeah, I agree there, you know, everything's, you know, range of outcomes and confidence levels and, you know, maybe we just update our confidence or increase our confidence a little in McMillan. So it's totally a fair point.
- [07:34]
B
I just think we can just, you know, sometimes you want to talk more about players that, you know, when there's 50ish wide receivers that we think have a path to fantasy relevance this year, you're not going to be talking about all of them extensively. Consider this our opportunity to talk with a little bit more emphasis and confidence in Teterom McMillan.
- [07:52]
C
Yeah. And by the way, one other thing I was thinking about there, just to put a bow on it, is like, sorry, unless you wanted to contribute, I'll.
- [07:57]
A
Let you finish and then I'll just.
- [07:58]
C
Popped into my head. It's kind of like that, that, that issue we have. I think you're kind of talking about this when we get into that tier of receivers. It's like if you're thinking like say Calvin Ridley versus McMillan.
- [08:08]
B
Right?
- [08:08]
C
Ridley maybe a safer play for wide receiver, two or three numbers. But what's the ceiling? Probably wide receiver two, McMillan more of an unknown. Right. His ceiling Might be the number three over number three scoring wide receiver. He has a higher ceiling and that's where it gets tricky when we're ranking these guys. Do you go for a higher floor player in that area or do you go for the ceiling guy?
- [08:28]
B
Roster construction roster.
- [08:29]
C
Exactly right.
- [08:30]
A
I don't think it's going to change where I am ranking him but I also just love this move for JJ McCarthy because over the first three weeks of the season like you guys already mentioned, it just gives him another guy to be able to lock onto rather than have a little bit of a thinner receiving core to be able to find, you know, ways to to they.
- [08:43]
B
Were work deliver the football offseason where he love that feeling as well.
- [08:47]
C
Yeah.
- [08:47]
A
All right, let's keep on moving then Mike. We got a couple of guys. I'm just going to let you rip through them and then Field and I will jump in as we wish. Yeah, give us your winners.
- [08:56]
C
Exactly right. Just cut me off if you want to talk about anything here. Top winner here.
- [09:00]
B
That's enough.
- [09:00]
C
All right, next next topic. Losers field Yates. End of list. All right, first winner Tony Pollard. Tony Taji Spears goes to IR so he's out four games. Not only is Pollard kind of cemented early in the season as the feature back but perhaps can keep that grip all season like he did last year.
- [09:18]
B
So by the way Mike, it's funny that you start here because the Titans own the first claim priority on Weavers and by the time people are listening to this or maybe watching it as well they could have claimed like three running backs that might change the complexion of their running back room time.
- [09:32]
C
I don't know if it'll be Mike.
- [09:33]
B
Is saying it's a 10:09am by the.
- [09:35]
C
Way was someone wave that we're really worried about seventh round running back or.
- [09:39]
B
Something Martinez from the Seahawks or something like that.
- [09:42]
C
Yeah like douchebag goes there we're not really worried about.
- [09:44]
B
But I agree with your take.
- [09:45]
C
Yeah. So Drum Ford and Dylan Sampson. It wasn't just that Judkins is still unsigned. Also Pierre Strong who played a quietly kind of played a role in the passing situations last year was place on ir. So those two cemented as the one two punch in Cleveland I believe.
- [10:00]
B
Can I ask just mention one thing here. Yeah. Just to clarify or update people cuz I don't know that people have the full scope of what's going on with Quinshon Judkins. Just because he's not going to face criminal charges it does not mean that the NFL cannot or will not suspend him. The NFL conducts its own investigation into all legal matters. The Cleveland Browns have obviously not not signed Judkins. If this was a complete nothing burger and there were no concerns and there were no things to work through, he would have been signed the day after the most recent legal update. So it's just a reminder that he could sign. I mean there, there has been some suggestions that he could sign in the next week or so with the Cleveland Browns, but this is very, very much a moving target. So for now, if you do draft Quinshon Judkins, you have to prepare for a wide range of scenarios, including the possibility that maybe he's on the field the first four games of the season but could face punishment from the NFL all over. C. Rice, who of course has his hearing date on September 30th.
- [11:06]
C
Yeah. And best case scenario right now might be that he signs, there's no legal situation or it's pushed off and he's joins the team. But even then, do you expect him to play a big role in week one?
- [11:15]
B
He is not big.
- [11:18]
C
That's kind of my point. Like if you draft him, you're hoping second half of the season, potentially a league winner, helps in the fantasy playoffs, but not going to help you right now. Cedric Tillman, also in Cleveland. Deontay Johnson was cut, so I think Tillman a little safer in that number two role. This has been trending that way for a while, but Tillman's been a very cheap late round flyer. Remember he spiked last year was actually what, a top five scoring receiver?
- [11:38]
B
I remember that month.
- [11:39]
C
Yeah. Yeah. So keep an eye on him in the late rounds. You want to take this one?
- [11:43]
A
My guy, Isaac Tesla. Absolutely. After Tim Patrick gets traded to the Jaguars for a six round pick, I feel like it's similar to what you were just talking about with the Carolina Panthers. Obviously different type of wide receiver. But the team drafted Isaac Tesla to be the eventual Tim Patrick replacement. They just saw enough in training camp and preseason that they were like, you know what, we can't keep this guy off the field. So I think he's going to become the number three in that offense.
- [12:05]
B
The only hesitation with Tesla for, by the way, he just his name needs to be Tesla. Like it needs to be like, like the car. Like just make it easy for us.
- [12:13]
C
Just do it.
- [12:14]
B
Good for branding.
- [12:15]
A
Not sure the Ford family is into that. In that it's also, you know what I mean?
- [12:19]
B
Paul had not thought of that dynamic in play. We have a lot of excitement for basically every lion, which Means that someone's not going to pay off.
- [12:28]
A
Right?
- [12:28]
C
I was going to say that, yeah. This is not a. You start them in your flex week one this is if something happens to Jameson or Amon Ra then suddenly this guy becomes very appealing on waivers.
- [12:38]
A
I'm drafting him but we have a little, you know, you can like flag guys. Right? The watch list, that's exactly where he lands.
- [12:44]
C
Just a boost in value.
- [12:46]
B
Brad Hollis does it again, baby.
- [12:48]
C
Yeah, right. Speaking of studs, next one. We're talking late round flyers here. Kendra Miller, Clyde Edwards Allaire and Cam Acres were cut. So it's Alvin Camara's the lead back. We know that. Then it's Kendra Miller, then it's Devin Neal, late round rookie and Bayless Shones is a returner. I mean that's it. So Kendra Miller's insurance appeal very high right now. Super flex deep super flex league. Spencer Rattler gets the Saints starting job. Not much to see there. And then I'll mention these quickly because a little foreshadowing we're going to get to these but Texans running backs Joe Mixon goes to nfi, he's going to be out four games and then Dolphins running backs as well. So again I'll leave those there. Touch on those a little bit about them shortly.
- [13:26]
A
Those were the good winners. I mean those are not, I mean obviously not many of them are really going to move the needle for us right now in like early rounds. This is like guys to keep an eye on names to make sure that you remember and whatnot. If you had some losers, Mike from Cut Down Day, who'd you have on that list?
- [13:41]
C
Yeah, not as many here. Michael Penix's sleeper appeal. Caleb McGarry the right tackle and remember Pennix is a lefty so this is his blind side tackle goes to ir. He's done for the season. Also Darnell Mooney may miss week one to early. You know a couple of games open the season so makes him a little less appealing if you're looking for a late round flyer at quarterback. And there's a lot of options you have to choose from.
- [14:01]
A
So Ray, Ray McLeod is that the number three there in Atlanta?
- [14:04]
C
Yeah, he probably would be. The two they might add someone too. They have some adept issue there. Jags running back room. We were kind of hoping I think all that someone would be traded Trevor Etn, someone like that. But you know I know you on that. Yeah, please do.
- [14:18]
B
Chef D every year on his podcast delivers a list from a trainer. Pete, I'm going to screw up the Last name and I really apologize for that. He's based in Florida and he's had some notable hits. Like this guy works with a ton of players and he's like really crush it on some non obvious picks. And he did a. Did give a stamp of confidence.
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A
Do you have the name Pete Bamorito?
- [14:43]
B
Pete Bombarito. Yes. From I believe Bomberito Performance Systems.
- [14:46]
A
Yep.
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B
He was systems. Excuse me. He is a fan of Basil Tuton. I love Basil Tuton.
- [14:51]
C
So one of my favorite underrated prospects in this year's class. I've drafted him a lot in the late rounds.
- [14:55]
B
Yep.
- [14:56]
C
I've took a little of all of them. But I really like Tooton a lot. So yeah, Bash.
- [15:02]
A
This is one of those names where when I look at it, I'm just gonna say it wrong. I was saying Bishol either and it's, it's. But it's Basil. It's kind of like the no Bay Shoal. Bash. All right, we'll get there.
- [15:14]
C
So next one preseason for all. So for now no one has been traded there. They have three, maybe four guys. Quint Allen as well. Seventh round pick. I have Omarion Hampton on this list. Najee. And just because Najee Harris is going to play, we thought he might miss some time. He's going to be there. He'll have somewhat of a role. Not moving the Neil much on Hampton. We thought Harris would be back, but something to consider. It could have been good for Hampton. Ed Harris missed some time.
- [15:35]
B
Don't you feel like Amar and Hampton could be one of the defining players of like the first three to four games of the season.
- [15:41]
C
Yeah.
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B
Because the hype has gone so significant. Right. The idea that this guy could be a top 10 running back or something like that. There's a chance, and I hope I'm wrong here, but there is a chance like Najee Harris is taking like early down work and early game work for the Chargers. He's not spectacular by any stretch, but Najee Harris is a first round pick four years ago. Who. It's like kind of like middle of the pack for running backs, but probably, probably below middle of the pack. But like Najee Harris is not a nothing burger.
- [16:12]
C
Right.
- [16:12]
B
Running back to. To have on your roster.
- [16:14]
C
No doubt.
- [16:14]
B
So I feel like if. If Najee has 12 carries in the first game and Hampton has 13, people are just going to lose their mind. That game, of course being played Friday night in Brazil against the.
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C
I was just going to say that spicy first game for him against the Chiefs, which is going to be fun. And I think they have a few question marks on defense. There's some.
- [16:31]
B
The Chargers.
- [16:31]
C
No, no, that. Well, maybe Chargers a little bit. But Chiefs do.
- [16:34]
B
Yeah, the Chargers talent maximized last year on defense.
- [16:37]
C
Yeah, no doubt about. And the Chiefs.
- [16:38]
B
Yep.
- [16:39]
C
Last one sticking in that division. Raiders rookie receivers Thornton and Beck with their fourth and second round picks respectively. Amari Cooper signed with the Raiders, so I don't know that Cooper's going to be a fantasy starter anymore. But he should have a role in that offense. They brought him in for a reason. So the rookies probably going to be pushed down the road. Not a good start for Bash. I know you like him a lot, but I did slow start. That doesn't mean he's dead in the water, but.
- [17:02]
B
Well, I'll say is this is. I'm just going to lay this out there. Amari Cooper, we've seen the Raiders like and this is. These are not guys that are fantasy relevant. Some of the players the Raiders have brought in this offseason include Amari Cooper, Jamal Adams. Do they bring in Devin White? Devin White's there, right?
- [17:19]
C
Is he on there?
- [17:20]
B
Someone can fact check me on that one. But the bottom line is this. They brought in a number of veterans. How old is their head coach?
- [17:26]
C
He is an older.
- [17:27]
B
He's 74. Oldest head coach in NFL history right now is Pete Carroll. Devin White now with the Raiders. They're going to bring in guys and play guys who can help them win right away. That is what Pete Carroll, who not just because of his age, like Pete Carroll, is not going to coach the Raiders for 10 years. Right. This might be a three year window for Pete Carroll. I think his contract was three or four years. The bottom line is this. Pete is there to win and try to win now. Which means that if Amari Cooper, even if he's slightly more expensive and has less developmental upside, clearly than Jack Besh or Dante Thornton, if he's going to help them right away, they will play guys like that right away.
- [18:00]
A
Do you think he's going to help him right away though?
- [18:01]
B
I just, I mean not for fantasy.
- [18:03]
A
I was.
- [18:04]
B
Yes, I think he'll be on the field a lot. I think it'll be, you know, Brock could be there too. Myers and Amari Cooper.
- [18:08]
A
Everything that I saw in Buffalo last year just made me not feel like Amari Cooper has anything left in the tank.
- [18:14]
B
He was fine. Like he was okay the first half of the season with clean Cleveland. Like there still were some games. Like when he got traded, it was for a third round pick. And we were kind of like, whoa. Like this might be like a legit fantasy asset the rest of the way. With the eventual NFL MVP under center.
- [18:28]
A
Bills gave up a third round pick from.
- [18:30]
B
Third round pick.
- [18:31]
C
Yeah, yeah. Same thing with DeAndre Hopkins. He wasn't as expensive, but same thing. They just didn't really play. They seem one, two targets, not good.
- [18:39]
A
That's crazy. All right, well, we'll obviously have the final list of all the cut downs and everything happens today at 3pm, so big day today.
- [18:47]
B
So teams have to submit their weights. Waiver claims by.
- [18:49]
A
That's what it is. Waiver claims.
- [18:50]
B
10, 18 Eastern Time. We'll probably know by around like one o' clock who gets claimed. I'm sure there will be plenty of players claimed off of waivers. We'll see some movement. And of course, when a player is claimed, a team has to make a move to create room for that player if they don't have a full roster. And so you'll see another series of moves around 4pm Eastern time today. So you'll probably see some guys go to ir. You'll probably see some guys who made the team, maybe as long shots, undrafted free agents who may see their fortunes change dramatically in just one day. I'll tell you one team who does not need to create any roster spots is the Detroit Lions, who currently have 49 guys on their roster. What's up with that?
- [19:31]
A
I was actually talking with my buddy Kurt on the way in about this and the idea that, like, we overcut players and we're trying to figure out what sort of gymnastics is Brad Holmes playing here for us to know, like, why do you cut more players than what you need to? I have no idea.
- [19:47]
C
Almost every team knows they're not done, right?
- [19:49]
B
It's the Darius Smith and guys like that.
- [19:51]
C
Howie Roseman said the same thing with the Eagles. You know, they're not done.
- [19:54]
A
We've been waiting. We only. Detroit Lions only have three edge rushers on their roster right now.
- [19:59]
B
Right.
- [20:00]
C
There's. There's some teams where when you're cutting guys, you're like, oh, they're not done there.
- [20:03]
A
Yeah, they're gonna use.
- [20:04]
C
They cut too many guys. Yep. And that is common. That happens every year where a team says, yeah, sometimes you'll see a team just cut their punter knowing we're gonna claim a punter. Like, we don't like our punter. Now. It can't be worse than what we had. We're gonna go get one. Let's show him now.
- [20:17]
B
Yeah.
- [20:18]
A
All right. Well, you Said we would no punt the ball. Not very often. Not if we can help it. We like to just go for it. And fourth down. Yeah, but you mentioned we will know around one o' clock maybe where things are at, what waivers are gonna be.
- [20:30]
B
Cutlets could have a new home.
- [20:31]
C
He may claim him.
- [20:32]
A
Does that feel like a headline from the future? I feel like maybe, yeah.
- [20:36]
B
I think so, yes. But we have other headlines from the future. We have, I think are slightly more.
- [20:41]
A
Fantasy more than Tommy Cutlass. Well, we're each gonna bring three headlines from the the table right now and talk about which way we think things are going to go here in the 2025 season. Field Jates, I'm going to start with you for your first headline from the.
- [20:54]
B
Future, which is Monday, September 8th, from thoughts from the field or the Fantasy Focus forecast. Daniel Jones. That's right. Danny Dimes finishes the top 10 fantasy scorer in Week 1 as the Colts put up a lot of points against the Miami Dolphins defense. Danny Dimes we know does have some fantasy appearance appeal, even if in real life you can often be a confounding player. But last year Danny Dimes started 10 games. He was a top 11 quarterback in four of those 10 games. Top 13 five of those 10 games. Otherwise he was 22nd or worse. He is a hit or miss player. But I am going to play a game of trivia. Mike. You're not allowed to play because you know these kind of things. Daniel.
- [21:34]
C
Yes.
- [21:34]
B
Name two Dolphins cornerbacks.
- [21:36]
A
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- [22:24]
B
You've seen the headlines, heard the debates. The three point ball has created a monotonous rhythm to the game. 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.
- [22:42]
A
I decided I wanted to have one.
- [22:44]
B
Of the most organized goodbyes in history. 30 for 30 podcast presents Chasing Basketball Heaven. Available now wherever you get your podcasts. Talk about stepping up.
- [22:58]
A
It's time to level up your game. Introducing the all new ESPN app. All of ESPN all in one place. Your home for the most livestock sports and the best championship moments. The electricity is palpable. Step up your game. With no annual contract required. It's the ultimate fan experience.
- [23:16]
C
Level up.
- [23:17]
A
For more on the ESPN app or at stream.espn.com Sign up now.
- [23:24]
B
Go. No, Jason Sea Orange does not count.
- [23:28]
A
Yeah, and Jalen Ramsey is no longer there.
- [23:30]
B
Does not count yet.
- [23:31]
A
So Finkel and Einhorn, come on, it's.
- [23:37]
C
One of your favorite, one of the best names in football. Storm Duck.
- [23:41]
A
Oh, Storm Duck. How could I forget Storm Duck.
- [23:43]
B
So seriously, here are the Dolphins top corners right now. Storm Duck. Cam Smith, a second round pick who a few years ago who has certainly not panned out. Kendall Sheffield.
- [23:53]
C
They cut him, didn't they?
- [23:54]
B
Sheffield's gone. He might be back tomorrow. He's a vested veteran so he could be back tomorrow. Jason Marshall, their fifth round pick out of Florida this year slot.
- [24:01]
C
Yep.
- [24:01]
B
Rasool Douglas signed yesterday with a one year deal who's fine but yes, he'll probably start. My point is this is like I'm targeting quarterbacks that are playing the Dolphins every week of the season if I need a streaming option. So Danny Dimes fits the bill. Obviously there's some rushing upside as well from Dimes and get say whatever you want about the Colts and their quarterback process and Danny Dimes and whether he is great or not, I would argue he's got a pretty good group of weapons to work with there like Jonathan Taylor, Tyler Warren, Michael Pittman Jr. Josh Downs, A.D. mitchell, Alec Pierce. Like you could certainly find worse supporting casts around. I think it sets up well for a big week one for Danny Dimes.
- [24:40]
C
It's funny, I almost did something very similar which is going to be something about him being like a, you know, a top 10 top 12 scorer by seasons and which he's done before. Yes, just a few years ago he was seventh in points per game at quarterback with the Giants.
- [24:52]
B
By the way, you know what happened, and this is a little bit of a real life football tangent here is if Danny Dimes does that and he leads this team to the playoffs, which I think is probably unlikely, but the division is so vulnerable that it could happen. The Colts could do what the Giants did during the year in which Danny Dimes took them to the playoffs. It's like, yeah, he played well enough to prove that he's got solid football starter in him. And then like this off season, Danny dimes gets like four years, $160 million and then after next year the Colts are like, we forgot that it's the multi year with Danny Jones that's the problem. It's not the single isolated game or half of a season or full season. It's the fact that over the course of time, Danny Dimes has proven himself to be just kind of like right in the middle at best for quarterbacks. And when you're right in the middle at best for quarterback, it means your team's not going to win a lot of games.
- [25:40]
A
This is his best supporting cast that he would have ever played.
- [25:42]
C
I was going to say I would. This might be a hot take. I would say the Colts on paper have a top 10 roster if you exclude quarterback. So this is probably the best team Chris Ballard's had on paper because they actually spent a little this off season. They went out and brought in talent which they, they were trying to do all homegrown talent. That was Ballard's thing for years and it was not working. And they kept resigning like, like non needle moving players. And now they're like, okay, we actually have to go add some players and the team is much better.
- [26:08]
A
Mike, save those hot takes for tomorrow. Just for what it's worth. All right, Foreshadowing, foreshadowing there. All right. Where are you going with your first headline from the future?
- [26:15]
C
Yeah, we talked about this guy a little bit earlier. How about this one? Wednesday, September 10, after producing 142 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 touches in a Week 124 to 21 victory against the Panthers by Shaw.
- [26:32]
B
Bashl.
- [26:33]
C
Bash. Bash. I'll get there. Baal Tootin who's currently rostered in 23% of ESPN leagues is the most added player during week one waivers.
- [26:42]
A
Of course Mike is going to add an entire stat line in there with this.
- [26:47]
C
I went all in.
- [26:48]
A
Either I didn't understand the assignment or you like Lisa Simpson the assignment by.
- [26:52]
C
Going way above and beyond. That's.
- [26:53]
B
That's right. Headlines. You know headlines is like source feel into Vikings.
- [26:58]
A
Yeah, you did like Michael Scott Paper Co. Some business papers still.
- [27:02]
C
No, I didn't think that said the Field and Daniel newspaper. It said the Clay Chronicles.
- [27:06]
B
Remember the the graphic that was sent around in our group thread yesterday that had the headline. Yeah, yeah. That was the headline you should be thinking of.
- [27:13]
A
Okay.
- [27:13]
C
I don't know.
- [27:15]
A
To the point.
- [27:15]
C
I know you're talking about.
- [27:16]
A
All right.
- [27:17]
C
Anyway, yeah, Tootin. So, yeah, speaking of my headline, by the way, didn't we do this project? Did we do this project last year and I seem to remember nailing it.
- [27:30]
A
You did a. You did a great job.
- [27:31]
C
Player in week one waivers, Blake Corum. So we're going the other way this time. We're going more positive.
- [27:35]
B
So interesting. Your. Your stat line, which I guessing was a little bit tongue in cheek.
- [27:41]
A
Yeah, I mean, he's 120 that he.
- [27:43]
C
You know, he's coming off the bench. He gets a few touches, has some. Some big plays.
- [27:46]
B
So he should be drafted higher and more frequently then.
- [27:49]
C
Yeah, well, I mean, I mean, you don't have to reach on him too early. He's available late, so you don't have.
- [27:55]
B
To take good late round as what you're saying.
- [27:56]
C
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. Late round flyer. We talked about that a little bit earlier. He's. He was one of my most drafted players during our mock draft experiment. I think he is a shot at some point to take control, and it's not going to.
- [28:07]
B
He.
- [28:07]
C
He's not going to get 20 touches in week one. That's kind of the point.
- [28:09]
B
Yeah, for sure.
- [28:09]
C
He's going to flash and then maybe get a little in the fourth quarter and, you know, kind of boost his touches because he's playing well, and then everyone's going to want to go grab him on waivers.
- [28:17]
B
Newton was the fastest running back at the combine this year. He finished up his career at Virginia Tech. He had the single game rushing record against Boston College last year. It was like 280 yards. He is lightning in a bottle. Quick. We can make a list of the most confusing or at least clear backfields going into the season. Jaguars, Texans, Cowboys.
- [28:41]
C
Yeah. Who's.
- [28:42]
B
Who's next after that? I don't even know if. The Jets. Yeah, I think the jets are there, don't you?
- [28:47]
C
I think so. Just because we don't know just how much.
- [28:49]
B
Yeah. Allen's Browns, maybe like there's a handful of them, but the Jaguars definitely are up there where it feels like. You know, the scare I have with the Jaguars this year is that, like there's a. And I know that we, we. We use this player often as a comparison, but, like there's a Tony Pollard in that mix. We just don't realize it. We're like, yeah, look, it could be Tank Bigsby, it could be ETN, it could be Baal Tootin. And then it's like, no, like ETN just has like, you know, 275 carries this year and he was a first round pick a few years ago and he just like ends up being a really solid value.
- [29:18]
A
I feel like when we talk about Travis etn, like there's just this forgotten thing where like we think that he. I don't know, I don't want to talk badly about a player, but like, it feels like we think he's better than he is because I thought the year he was really good was just because he got so much volume. If you took his volume away, the efficiency wasn't really there for him.
- [29:32]
C
Yeah, it's just, it's been state. It's probably a guy that needs a lesser workload. Yeah. Maybe a lot too much was on his shoulders that season. I think he was third in touches. But at Clemson, I mean, his efficiency, he was, was. It was one of the most efficient running back seasons I've ever seen since I've been doing this. So it's too bad to see him going that direction. But that's the nature of the running back position in the NFL.
- [29:53]
A
Too bad he couldn't play in college for another 10 years.
- [29:55]
C
That's too bad.
- [29:56]
A
Wouldn't that be great?
- [29:56]
C
I think they want. I think the players want to. They would love to do that.
- [29:59]
A
Yeah.
- [29:59]
B
He have them. I'm almost positive he had the most games with a touchdown in FBS history.
- [30:05]
C
Really?
- [30:05]
B
Like the most individual games, like not the most touchdown.
- [30:08]
C
Reese hall has to be close to that. Right.
- [30:09]
B
Breeze was up there.
- [30:10]
C
He scored in like every single game for like.
- [30:12]
B
I think it was a streak. Yes. Breece was awesome. Iowa State always tough.
- [30:15]
A
So that's why Genti doesn't count, because he scored like six touchdowns a game.
- [30:19]
B
Right.
- [30:19]
A
But it's not how many touchdowns you scored. It's like every game being able to go in. That's.
- [30:22]
B
I was doing some prep. This is just a random note, but I was doing some prep for get up this morning quickly. And we're talking about.
- [30:27]
A
Oh, I'm sorry, Phil, I think you dropped that. I'll get that for you. Get up, Mike.
- [30:31]
B
Dropping the name drop. Um, so we were talking about Kate Clubnik from Clemson, and I was reminded of his game last year against Appalachian State where He went to 24 of 26 with five passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns and he played only the first half.
- [30:47]
A
That's unbelievable.
- [30:48]
C
That's like me on Madden.
- [30:49]
A
I was just gonna say that.
- [30:51]
C
Oh, I hear Mickey mode these days because I turn on, turn it up to pro and I'm just like. I'm getting torched by the bro. I don't even.
- [30:59]
A
Okay.
- [30:59]
B
I don't know.
- [31:00]
C
I just can't. I don't have the chops. I used to. I used to be a pro.
- [31:03]
A
All Madden, all that.
- [31:04]
C
Yeah. Oh, Bobby. I used to win easy. Madden.
- [31:07]
A
Yeah.
- [31:07]
C
I am a washed Madden player for sure.
- [31:09]
A
Oh, speaking of winning easy, one of the guys, I think that's going to win over the start of the season for me. September 30th. Ricky Piersol is a top 25 wide receiver over the first four months. Excuse me. The first month of the season I thought about doing top 20. I didn't want to go too far. Here's the thing. Ricky Pierce, all right, now is being drafted as wide receiver 44.
- [31:33]
C
Fair enough.
- [31:33]
A
@ this point for me to feel like he could be a top 25 guy, potentially even top 20. I think he's primed to be the number one wide receiver heading into this offense. Last year you saw what he did at the end of the season. Week 17 and 18 were huge weeks. I love being able to see that. And I just don't think that he's on the same talent tier as Juan Jennings.
- [31:50]
B
That was the question I was going to ask you. If Juan Jennings gets a deal tomorrow and he's back on the practice field the following day. Yeah. Who would you guys prefer? Like if there was no concerns over Jennings availability, who do you prefer this season? And I'm not talking about at cost because they're going very close to each other.
- [32:06]
C
I'm going. Pierce Hall. I think we had this conversation at the Bahamas, I believe. Yeah.
- [32:10]
B
So it was a couple too many.
- [32:11]
C
Margaret.
- [32:12]
A
I would.
- [32:12]
C
Yeah, I know.
- [32:13]
A
For what it's worth, I have Ricky Pearsall as wide receiver 34 and Juwan Jennings as wide receiver 44. I have a 10 spot difference between them.
- [32:21]
B
That's pretty notable.
- [32:21]
A
And part of it is I just, I don't want to say I don't believe in Juwan Jennings, but I don't think that he was the guy that you saw last year. If you. And now hear me out. Little loosey goosey math. But Everybody remembers the 46 and a half point game that he had last year. That's a statistical outlier. That's not going to happen again this year. That will be the best game of his fantasy career. Without question. If you take out that one game he averaged 11.7 fantasy points. Less than Darnell Mooney, less than Khalil Shakir. Adam Thielen, this is one of the. He would have finished as wide receiver 39 if you take out that one game. Instead he was wide receiver 27. And even at wide receiver 27, that was with no CMC for the entire season. Yeah, Brandon Ayuk sucked. Debo Samuel sucked. And Ricky Pearsall didn't even. They were playing, but they weren't playing well. And then Ricky Pearsall didn't even play until week seven.
- [33:14]
B
I like.
- [33:15]
A
Yeah, he had a bigger path because of that. I just think that Ricky Pearsall is a much better player than Juwan Jennings. Not that Juwan is bad.
- [33:22]
B
Yeah.
- [33:22]
A
That's why I would be all in on Pierce all being a top 25.
- [33:25]
B
Pearsall more than you do Jennings.
- [33:27]
A
I see what you did there. Nah, you tried it though.
- [33:31]
B
8.55 targets per game though for Jennings after the buy last year. So he has me intrigued. Let's. We can't do this yet because there is the uncertainty surrounding his availability. But there could be some sort of board bed or whatever.
- [33:43]
A
We could do something around that.
- [33:44]
B
I'm not even sure that I believe my own case, but sometimes you just like to create controversy.
- [33:49]
A
Let's see if a deal gets done. Cause if a deal gets done, then we really got some things to talk about there.
- [33:53]
C
By the way, some of the ADP there has to do with the expectation that at some point Brandon Iuk returns this season. But those two guys could remain one two punch on this offense. But I'm looking early in the season like where you know, like Jennings and Pearsall are in rankings and you know, they're certainly in wide receiver three flex territory including. I'm looking at week two. They play the Saints, which we don't expect them to be very good. And the early projections have them both top 25. Yeah. At wide receiver. So I mean there's definitely a lot, a lot to like.
- [34:22]
A
First four games, Seahawks, Saints, Cardinals and Jaguars. At least the Saints and Jaguars don't give me a lot to be afraid of there.
- [34:28]
B
Headline two for me.
- [34:29]
C
Give it.
- [34:30]
B
Here we go. This comes from the thoughts from the field.
- [34:34]
A
Thoughts from the field. T H O U G H T.
- [34:37]
B
S my second headline. Throughout the preseason we extensively talked about a certain wide receiver who enters his second year in the NFL out of lsu. This player during his college career wore number one, a number that he was able to wear after the Giants unretired that number last preseason. This player went on to have a remarkable year. His jersey sold like hotcakes and some people believe flipped. He may have had the best rookie wide receiver season ever. That good, Mike or no?
- [35:06]
C
How was that? Okay, great detail.
- [35:10]
B
The headline on Monday, September 15th, did we draft Malik Neighbors too low? I referenced this yesterday during the mock. I think he's my favorite first round pick because for a guy who had 170 targets last year in 15 games, which is just five fewer than Jamar Chase in 17 games, it feels like everything that you would want from Malik Neighbors this offseason has taken place. And the things that you don't want, absent a little bit of time off the practice field did not take place. Right. Like who is the player the Giants added this offseason that makes you go, well, you know, like competition for targets is all of a sudden a lot stiffer. Nobody right on top of that quarterback upgrade is real and legit. It seems like the biggest like downgrade from his rookie season was that he only averaged 11 yards per catch. They had no choice. They had no offense last year. Yeah, and I'm not saying this offense is going to be great this year. The defense could be great. But I do believe that Malik Neighbors is due for positive regression in the yards per reception category and maybe even if his volume drops a little bit, I mean it's hard to repeat 115 catches or whatever it was last year, year over year. That being said, like this guy just checks all the boxes of fantasy superstard and the quarterback situation should be better. And the reason why I had this headline on Monday, September 5th, which would be the Monday after week two's action.
- [36:27]
A
September 15th.
- [36:28]
B
Oh sorry, 15th. Excuse me. Is the Giants open the season with the Commanders and the Cowboys now? I think the Commanders should be better. They're deeper at corner for sure. Marshawn Lattimore they are expecting big things from we shall see, right? I mean New Orleans felt prepared to move on from Marshawn Lattimore and in week two they draw the Cowboys who they have their own cornerback question marks. I think that is fair to say. The other thing that those two teams have in common is they should be high powered passing offenses. Game script should work out favorably for the Giants not just in weeks one and two, but throughout the season. Like I think there's a chance that at some point we're asking ourselves, should Malik Neighbors have been talked about in the same breath that we are talking about Justin Jefferson and CD Lamb? Maybe not quite this Jamar Chase's level coming off of the triple crown season. I don't think it's that crazy.
- [37:16]
C
Are we that far off, though? I mean, like, I have lamb with 315 projected points, 310 for nakua, 300 for neighbors.
- [37:22]
B
I mean, yes, but they're going like, Justin Jefferson's going third overall in a lot of leagues. Malik Neighbors is going like 10th to 14th. That's a big discount.
- [37:30]
C
Fair enough.
- [37:31]
B
In the first round. That's a gigantic discount.
- [37:33]
A
And I could see putting him and we've had this conversation a little bit, but, like, I could see putting him ahead of Amun Ra. I think he has a higher floor and a better path to being wide receiver one than amonrad does. Amon Ra's got a great floor, but, like, I don't think he'll ever finish his wide receiver one. And if with Puka, I understand people are nervous about the Matthew Stafford back thing. You know, if you want to use it as a tiebreaker, like, Malik Neighbors could be right there. He on all of a sudden, like, just moving up those couple of spots. It does feel like he could be in that range. As someone that has caught passes from Russell Wilson, I will say that Malik Neighbors is in a great spot this.
- [38:01]
B
Year also, like, if they can pass, protect a little bit. Say whatever you want about Russell Wilson as he showed again this preseason. The dude still throws one of the best deep balls in the NFL, by the way.
- [38:10]
C
More to come on the Giants.
- [38:11]
B
Okay, here we go.
- [38:14]
C
I'm going to save that one for third because right now my second one is just for you two. I got a. Okay.
- [38:22]
A
All right.
- [38:22]
C
I got a, you know, dramatic build here just a little bit. The headline is just Drake May. Giant, giant bold letters. That's it. Okay.
- [38:28]
A
Drake May, Drake.
- [38:29]
C
Not good for you guys.
- [38:30]
A
Got it.
- [38:30]
C
Can I give everyone else more details? First sentence of the article. Wednesday, November 1st. Sitting fourth among quarterbacks and fantasy points after four games they played the Raiders, Dolphins, Dealers and Panthers, Drake May has reached lineup lock, territory and fantasy as he enters a week five showdown with Josh Allen in Buffalo.
- [38:47]
B
Hold on, Mike. November 1st is not week five.
- [38:51]
C
Oh, is this October 1st?
- [38:52]
B
Yeah.
- [38:53]
C
Yeah. Okay, details. Well, you can trust me. Okay.
- [38:55]
A
We cannot should have had an editor look at the newspaper before we published.
- [38:58]
C
This is why we have. This is why we have copy, copy and line it. That's right. Yeah. So look, I think Drake May has a real shot or he's on the very. If you were to make a very, very short list of guys who could break through and be a superstar in fantasy this year. Drake May is perhaps on top of that list. The guy threw the ball well last season, been packing QBR and he ran it very well. As Field likes to point out, without a lot of design. Runs very efficient, second in yards per carry, scrambled a lot and played well. And you would expect a year to leap. That's the year for quarterbacks to make that leap. New scheme this year. Little worried about them being a little run heavy and the defense is much better. So might not be wild game scripts, but he does have two matchups with like the Dolphins for example we talked about among others. So I think Drake May is a real shot to make the leap this year.
- [39:41]
A
Give me those four teams that he's playing again the first month he's playing against.
- [39:44]
C
The Raiders love the Dolphins which we love. The Steelers we don't like so we're maybe benching in that week and then the Panthers in week four, which we love.
- [39:52]
A
Three of those four matchups are juicy.
- [39:54]
B
Yeah. Like the push and pull here for Drake May, I think that the pull, the pullback is in like how does he not get there? Is that it's still not a great group around him. Right. It's a better group, but not a great group. And also that he plays for a head coach in Mike Vrabel that definitely feels like they can win games playing elite defense and running the football well. That being said, the skill set, it's pretty ridiculous. Like some of the wow plays from Drake May last year were as good as really any quarterback. I don't know about any quarterback, but most quarterbacks in league remember that. Remember that play at the end of the Titans game where it was like eight seconds to go and the Patriots were down seven points maybe and Drake May scrambled for like a thousand yards and then threw the ball up like, like a pop fly for a game tying touchdown. There's enough wow plays from Drake May that makes you think like if he lets it rip this year he could certainly get there.
- [40:44]
A
Do you think there are enough, enough pass catchers in that offense? Do you believe in Stefan Diggs?
- [40:48]
B
Here's what I would say though.
- [40:49]
C
They have the most, they have eight so I'm guessing they're going to make him.
- [40:52]
B
Yeah. What I would say though is again, he's not, I don't think he's on this level because Jaden Daniels had the most rushing yards from a rookie quarterback ever.
- [40:59]
C
Yep.
- [40:59]
B
But nobody was talking about Jaden Daniels supporting Cass in a particularly positive light going into last season. It's all about the rushing for Drake Bay. If he runs a lot, we've got ourselves a gold.
- [41:09]
C
You got it.
- [41:10]
A
Good to go. All right, my second headline. October 31st, jets trade Breece hall during week nine bye week.
- [41:18]
B
Right now, that would actually. This would be the Sunday of week four. According.
- [41:21]
A
According to Michaels. Yes. Yes. Aaron Glenn says the jets have no plans of trading Breeze Hall. Quote, I like having three good guys. I just got to be honest. If you've got three running backs, you don't know which one of them is your running back. Like, that's not what I want to hear.
- [41:35]
C
It is like the Browns, they were going to keep four quarterbacks and we're like, okay, sure.
- [41:39]
A
Reese hall is an unrestricted free agent heading into next season.
- [41:42]
C
Yep.
- [41:43]
A
Like he has the chance to be able to walk a walk away. Wouldn't you rather get something for him than nothing for him? And maybe that's just what good franchises would do. Maybe I'm giving the jets too much credit. Right. That's. Maybe that's part of the problem. But even Breece hall said I'm not their guy. He is not expecting an extension to happen this year. And with Braylon Allen and Isaiah Davis, by the way, if you combine their ages, they're still younger than Joe Flacco, as was a starting quarterback in the NFL. It just feels like this could be.
- [42:10]
B
It's close.
- [42:10]
A
Don't fact check that. No, don't. It's close. I think combined they're 44 and he's 40. Right. This year. So. But if you tell me that by the time we get to Week 9, the jets recognize they're not playing for something that they want to be able to play for this year. Wouldn't we rather get something for this asset than just let them walk away? That would be the time that I could see them saying, all right, time to move Breece hall to one of these running back star of teams that need someone.
- [42:33]
B
That'd be awesome. Wouldn't that be great, Houston, if Isaiah Pacheco doesn't find his form again, Kansas City, you know they're going to be opportunistic. Of course, it's actually like, it's. I love the call because right now, as a player, like until the games begin, you can buy into what the coach is telling you, especially a new coach, very respected coach. And Aaron Glenn, who played for the jets, he was a first round pick. He's a guy who's been through the business side of football. He was once franchise tagged by the jets like he And Breeze can probably have some honest conversations that not many head coaches are equipped to have. So it all sounds good right now. And then, like, week one rolls around and he gets like, eight touches and he's like, this is crap. Right? Like, why are we all sharing equal amounts of touches with the quarterback also running? So love the call there by Daniel.
- [43:19]
A
Appreciate that.
- [43:20]
B
You're welcome.
- [43:20]
A
All right, headline number three, Mr. Yates.
- [43:23]
B
Do you guys have any, like, magazines? I don't know if you subscribe to them, but, like, the town I live in sends out a magazine, like, every few months with, like, the latest around town and a feature on somebody. So I'm calling this the Early Season edition. It's not specific to a week or a date. The Early Season edition. Ollie Gordon cement his status as the dolphins RB2, which some are saying he may have already done. I was this the board bet that you and I wanted to make during the Bahamas?
- [43:50]
C
Yeah. Well, I didn't know Jaylon Wright was that hurt. He's going to go on IR today, I would guess.
- [43:55]
B
Yeah.
- [43:55]
C
So obviously I've changed my tune there. Looks like Ollie Gordon will win that by default, no matter what.
- [44:01]
B
I think it's as simple as that. Like, I think this guy is exactly what the Dolphins feel like they need this season. Just a quick reminder for those that don't spend as much time watching college football as we fortunately get to do, Ollie Gordon two years ago won the Doak Walker Award, which is given out every year to the best running back in all of college football. Of course, Ashton Genty got it last year. He was incredible two seasons ago. This past year, he was not great. He was. The whole team stunk, as a matter of fact, in Oklahoma State. But he is huge. He's 6 foot 2, 225 pounds, ran like a 46340. So he went in the fifth round. But the Dolphins keep talking like, we need to get tougher up front. Even Tyree Kill was like, yeah, if I were. If it were third and short, I wouldn't give the ball to Devon Hn as a runner. Ali Gordon is the kind of guy that I think most people would be, like, give the ball to him. So he has cemented his status. He had, I think, 26 carries for 126 yards and two touchdowns. Two touchdowns in the preseason. Is this fantasy relevant? I believe it is for two reasons. Most importantly, if something happens to Devon Hn, we have to know who the next.
- [45:07]
C
And he's not fully healthy right now, too.
- [45:08]
B
There's Hn himself is Banged up. J. Wright is banged up. On top of that, if you are making the anti hn case that's not tied to his current health status, it's maybe the team just wants to be a bit more judicious with a guy who's like 175 pounds, right. Like he's probably 50 pounds lighter than Ali Gordon. That's pretty crazy. They play the same position. Maybe his workload decreases just a little bit. And last year Achan really relied on volume. And if the volume goes down a little bit, then if you're looking at running backs who might like leapfrog ahead of him, Josh Jacobs, a Derrick Henry could prove to be more valuable.
- [45:44]
A
This isn't just another ESPN fantasy football season.
- [45:47]
B
It's your shot at greatness. With a refreshed design, the ESPN Fantasy.
- [45:52]
A
App is sharper than ever. So you can draft like a pro.
- [45:55]
B
And dominate your league. And introducing Gridiron Gauntlet, a new game mode where the best compete to be.
- [46:02]
A
Crowned the number one fantasy football football player of 2025.
- [46:05]
B
One app, one shot, one champion. Download the ESPN fantasy app and sign up to play ESPN fantasy football today. Then to Devon A. Chain who is currently going just ahead of those guys.
- [46:18]
C
Yeah, I like it. I think he especially with right likely going on ir, he's found his way into that. That list we have of insurance running backs you take in the late round.
- [46:26]
A
So no doubt he's definitely moved up there field. I'm actually just sort of upset because you asked, do you guys subscribe to any magazines? And then you never let us answer the question because you just kept going. Highlights. Still get highlights.
- [46:39]
C
Oh yeah.
- [46:40]
A
You know, children's magazine. No, guys, come on. I don't. I have a 20 year old son.
- [46:43]
B
I was gonna say I was gonna ask you to borrow some if you do. Yeah, I don't know.
- [46:46]
C
That sounds awesome. Actually.
- [46:48]
B
Favorite magazine growing up, Sports Illustrated.
- [46:51]
C
I got.
- [46:52]
B
Mike Caught Himself. Mike Caught Himself. You know what?
- [46:55]
C
Mike was gonna say something inappropriate was what I was gonna say. No, Sporting News and Si. I got most. I love them. But I would get like, like Maxim and stuff when I got a little older too. I enjoy those. Yeah. Whoa. We did like.
- [47:08]
B
I read the articles.
- [47:09]
C
Remember when they used to have things where you can like get three or four magazines or something for like one price. I did that like right before college because it was like a crazy cheap deal and it just kept going for years really. So I would just get like all of them for the longest period. I love Sporting News and I used to put like, all the rosters and the box scores and all that stuff. And.
- [47:30]
B
Of course. What do you got?
- [47:31]
A
I was a big NASCAR Today fan. I definitely got that one, Winston cup scene, dirt track racing. That was a big one for me. No, it was definitely Sports Illustrated for Kids when I was like. I definitely, like, had that one. And then, like, as I got older, like, I would, you know, sort of. I never did music magazines. I always did sports stuff. So it was. It was either SI for kids or just regular si.
- [47:49]
C
You used to get Area Auto because that was in the back. They would put the Go kart, like, at my Go Kart track, they would put, like, the top three in each series. And I was in there a few times. No way. Yeah, yeah.
- [48:01]
B
Got a couple clips somewhere now.
- [48:02]
C
I have pictures. I have pictures of the.
- [48:04]
A
They didn't have video cameras backwards and they just had still shots.
- [48:07]
C
I know we had a child. There's. There's some video, but more pictures and video. But yeah, that was a good time.
- [48:11]
B
All good answers there. I've sourced. Illustrated definitely is, like, on the OG list. My mom is from Columbus, Ohio, and so I grew up rooting, like, passionately for the Ohio State football team. I. I don't have quite the same sort of, like, fervor and passion for them as now as I did back then, but like, the Buckeye Bulletin, and it's, like, amazing. That's one of those towns where at the time they didn't have a professional sports team. They now have the Columbus Blue Jackets.
- [48:37]
A
Oh, that's weird. It looks like you just got removed from our Michigan men chat.
- [48:41]
B
I wasn't that strange.
- [48:42]
A
Okay, you mentioned Ohio State and it's over for anyone from Michigan.
- [48:46]
B
But I used to love it. Like, you'd be reading about these kids and you get this dense magaz, and it would be like, every note you could possibly find from this kid. It was like. Yeah, back in third grade, like, I used to go over to Mike's house, like, every Wednesday afternoon. It's like, wait, this guy sounds so good. It was awesome. It was great. It was just dense information. I loved it and went to a handful of Ohio State games growing up. And I thought it was so cool that, like, you walk around town on Fridays and, like, all anybody cares about is the football game the next day.
- [49:15]
A
Can we. Has anybody just, like, with a show of raise of hands. Have you ever been on the COVID of a magazine, Mike?
- [49:20]
C
My name has been not my picture.
- [49:23]
A
What about you? Have you ever been on the COVID of a magazine?
- [49:25]
B
No.
- [49:25]
C
No. Have you.
- [49:26]
A
No, I have not. I was just curious. No, no. Well, we did a fake magazine, I think, called Athleisure, where we're making fun of that.
- [49:33]
B
So that was a. Yeah, that was one. Go find it anyways.
- [49:36]
A
No big deal.
- [49:37]
C
And.
- [49:37]
A
All right, next up, Mike Clay. Oh, we got something in there. Hold on, hold on. Everyone's.
- [49:43]
C
I'm trying to.
- [49:43]
A
We're gonna do a quick pause.
- [49:44]
B
Do you have a magazine? You just carry magazines around?
- [49:48]
C
Yes.
- [49:48]
A
There we go.
- [49:52]
B
Leave home with.
- [49:53]
A
Does anyone else's name end up on the front of that, or is it.
- [49:55]
C
Just Mike Clay, John Robinson? Just me.
- [49:57]
A
Oh, it's just him, Hugh and Bajan.
- [49:58]
C
No video. First round picks. You know, the two superstars around these parts. Yeah, I mean, headline three, Mike, that's just. That's just my life that I live.
- [50:07]
A
You gave us a spoiler alert for this one earlier in the show.
- [50:10]
C
I did. I did give you a spoiler alert. We're gonna hopefully hope. Spoiler alert. Hopefully. I get the date right. Right here. Monday, October 27th. After reviewing the tape of a Week 8 loss in Philadelphia that drops his Giants at 2 and 6, coach Brian D. Names Jackson Dart the team starter for a Week 9 home game against the struggling 49ers defense. Wow. So hear me out on this.
- [50:32]
B
I'm here.
- [50:32]
C
The Giants schedule to start the season. So. And by the way, I want to say this. The Giants fans are furious right now that I said 2 and 6. I think the defense is better. Maybe a top 10 defense on paper. Offense should be better with Russell Wilson there, but they were very bad last year. You know, they're catching up a little bit. The team's a little better. They still have work to do, but the schedule is brutal. They start in Washington, then they go to Dallas, then they host the Chiefs and Chargers, then they go to New Orleans, which should be a win.
- [51:00]
A
Okay.
- [51:00]
C
Then they host the Eagles, then they go to Denver, and then they go to Philadelphia. So that's got to be strength of.
- [51:07]
A
Schedule to start the season.
- [51:08]
C
The hardness they. Perhaps the hardest schedule in the NFL this season. There's a couple that you can make a case for. But, yeah, it's a brutal schedule, especially during the Russell Wilson era. If you're two and six at that point, you're coming to the. The trade deadline. I think it's time to take a look at Jackson Dart.
- [51:25]
A
Jackson Dart looks pretty good during the preseason as well out there. Like, very, very much command in the offense. Looked like a rookie that if you needed to throw him out there at the, you know, middle part of year one, it doesn't feel like you would be undermining anything that his growth would be so.
- [51:38]
B
And do we think. I just would be curious. Just very like first blush knee jerk reaction. Does Jackson dart help hurt or keep the value of Malik neighbors? Kind of.
- [51:50]
C
I think it will be fine because first of all, if you turn at that point. Yeah. You're.
- [51:55]
B
Yeah.
- [51:55]
C
The schedule should be. The schedule will be lighter in the second half. Also, if you're making that turn, you. You think he's ready to go to some extent.
- [52:03]
B
Yeah.
- [52:03]
C
So I think it'll be fine. Also, he's gonna have a huge target chair no matter what.
- [52:07]
B
Totally. Before you get to your third headline, Daniel, just to put a bow on something that we talked about a few moments ago, Dolphins GM Chris Greer said that he expects Devon Hn to play in week one. He will be ready for week one. So.
- [52:19]
A
Want to hear that Jalen right now?
- [52:20]
B
Well, it's still something where we're watching for sure. Yes. How does he look? It sounds like we'll at least have Achan on the field.
- [52:26]
A
Love that.
- [52:27]
B
Yep.
- [52:27]
A
All right. My last headline, January 1st. Texans finished the season without a single top 30 fantasy running back on their roster. Similar to the Raiders last year. I just don't think there's anyone in this backfield that is worth drafting in 10 team leagues. No to Joe Mixon. I haven't drafted him once. He's going to start the season on the NFI list. He's going to miss at least four games. No to Nick Chubb. I also haven't drafted him once. I just don't think that there's enough in the tank with Nick Chubb. If there was one guy that I would throw a dart at field, you mentioned this yesterday. It would be Woody Marks.
- [52:59]
B
You like that call, Mike?
- [53:00]
A
That dart is at the very end of drafts. If I'm going to throw it.
- [53:03]
C
I don't. I did not like him as a prospect, but I do like the opportunity. What is efficiency wise? The efficiency was just very poor and that's usually a pretty big red flag for me.
- [53:13]
B
Great.
- [53:14]
C
But, but if he, if it's, if it's Chub and Marks out there, he might be the most fantasy relevant guy. I just don't know if he's gonna be very effective and if he's gonna have enough volume. I, I honestly, I mean, you can finish your thought because are you, are you rolling through the other options here?
- [53:27]
A
Because it's basically like I'm out on Nick Chubb. I don't believe that Damian Pierce is going to be a guy and Woody Marks is like maybe a guy that you do at the very end. But like at that point I feel like you've got a three headed committee between those four.
- [53:38]
C
That's what. Exactly. I don't know what they're even going to do week one because Dari Okambole is the guy I like that I like a lot. And he. Or they like in this a specific role.
- [53:47]
B
You like Dario a lot.
- [53:49]
C
They, they like to keep him around and give him the. He could, he could have touches in week one. And is what he marks a healthy scratch in week one, like possible? Yeah, I don't know, like I don't know what they're going to do. That's one of the hardest things to project right now is what that deployment even looks like in the first couple of weeks of the season. So I don't know.
- [54:05]
B
Again, we could do this later. Tyler, make a note. Just like go through the five backfields that are the most difficult to figure out and our goal in that handicap. I don't. Well, I was going to say, I don't even think the goal of the segment is to say like, here's what we expect because we are acknowledging we don't know what to expect. Here's what we found out, here's what we know, here's what we don't know about them.
- [54:27]
C
Yep. So we. Yeah. And. But I mean at the end of the day, all three of us are drafting and we're making decisions at some point in those drafts. Like, all right, you know what, I'm gonna take a shot on Travis ETN here or I'm gonna throw a dart at Woody Marks here. Like, when does that happen? So that could be the point of the segment is to say I'm all out on this backfield or here's the guy I'm considering taking a shot.
- [54:45]
A
And I have said this a bunch and field. I believe that you have said it as well. But I am all out on Joe Mixon. I understand that you could draft him and then immediately put him into an IR spot. Right. But with how much volatility there is within the NFL, as soon as someone else gets hurt and I need that IR position, I probably want to not have Joe Mixon there. I would rather lose like potential weeks because Joe Mixon comes back and looks better than what I think then feel like I'm wasting roster spots week after week after week on Joe Mixon.
- [55:14]
B
Let's call a spade A spade, by the way, on Joe Mixon, the fact that they announced he was going to the NFI reserve list yesterday and there's been zero suggestion from anybody that, like, hey, it's week four, we get through it and then we think he's back in week five. Like, the Bucks moved Chris Godwin from the PUP list to the active roster, which does not mean we expect him to play right away, but it's a sign that, like, they are going to work to ramp him up.
- [55:40]
C
Yeah.
- [55:40]
B
There's been no suggestion that Joe Mixon is anywhere close to being on the field.
- [55:45]
A
Correct.
- [55:45]
B
This has been complete mystery all off season. Like, if you told me he doesn't play at all this year again, I wouldn't be stunned.
- [55:51]
C
Yeah.
- [55:52]
A
Mike, the one question that I have for you, I believe when I was looking at your draft kit because you have an awesome it's your pin tweet at the very top, being able to look at all the positional grades. Texans looked like they had one of the worst offensive lines. I think it was a three out of 10. That doesn't help the running back room when I look at this situation either. It would be different if it's like, hey, we got three guys and a good offensive line, so we think they all can do something. It's kind of the opposite. We have, we have three to four guys and I don't like the offensive line.
- [56:17]
C
Yeah, I think you said it best the other day, which was your reaction to this is to invest in the passing game. Right? Right. I think that was what you said. Yeah.
- [56:24]
A
Yeah.
- [56:25]
C
Maybe at some point, Jaden Higgins, I think maybe slow start there because Xavier Hutchinson's generating a lot of noise. Christian Kirk, of course, so might take a little time for Higgins, but there's probably room for a few guys to contribute in this passing.
- [56:37]
B
So you mentioned that's Mike's pinned tweet.
- [56:39]
C
Yes.
- [56:39]
B
For a very, very long time, Mike had a different, different pin tweet and I don't think the story has been told enough. So I think we should go back down this path. Unless you guys have anything else to add on the Texans running backs.
- [56:49]
A
The only thing that I would say is if my headline two bleeds into my headline three where Breece hall gets traded by week nine, then they, the Texans may have a top 30 running back at that point, but unless that trade happens, I'm good with it. So I just wanted to bleed those two headlines together.
- [57:04]
C
That's it.
- [57:05]
B
By the way, that would be an incredible call. Like, if that happens, like all credit.
- [57:09]
C
To you because you nailed it.
- [57:10]
B
It. Mike, you once broke the news about.
- [57:13]
C
Martell, so you know what you were talking about. Yeah, yeah. That's like the only time I broke news, so that's why it was my pinned tweet for so long, I'm sure. Yeah. So, yeah, I've told this before, but. Yeah, but Martellus Bennett followed me on Twitter for a long time back in the day. Twitter was kind of a different place, especially within football Twitter. I think it was more positive. I definitely. A lot more engagement for me. I thought. I thought it was better back in the day. Maybe it was just depends on your audience. No, I. I was at pff. It was a little different anyway, so, yeah, he followed me and I. I was very high in him. He was like one of my favorite breakout players. He had a big year and then he just DM me at like 4:50. It was at 3:55. I think 4:00 clock is when free agency open. This was over 10 years ago. And he said, hey, I'm signing with the Bears. And I was like, can I should pull this up at some point to read what he said? But it's. I was like, can I report that? And he was like, yeah, right at 4 o'. Clock. You have to wait till 4 o'. Clock. And I was like, so really quick. I draft, I try to do my best. Adam Schefter and come up with like a tweet. Martellus Bennett tells me, signing with the Chicago Bears. And I waited till 4 o' clock and hit the button. And I was definitely a little nervous. Like, is he messing with me? Yeah, of course. But he was not. And it just. That was my 10 minutes of Adam Schefter just watching my feed go.
- [58:27]
A
That's incredible.
- [58:28]
C
Everyone just started retweeting it.
- [58:29]
B
Did anybody else credit you or no?
- [58:31]
C
Yeah, I got some credit. Yeah. Yeah. The other Bears reporters then picked it up. So it started to go, you know, get. You know, other people had it too, but I. I had the first free agent signing that year and then like the next year I was like lower on him and then he unfollowed me. And I've never heard from him. I haven't heard from him since. That's amazing.
- [58:50]
B
Yeah, I'd be nervous. I would be. Because to your point, like, I guess it depends. Were you. Were you a pff at this point?
- [58:57]
C
I was at pff. I didn't have as much to lose at that point too, so it was well worth it. And all happened so Fast, too, so. And again, he had followed me for a while, so I was fairly confident he wasn't.
- [59:06]
B
Oh, so at this point, like, those blue check marks mattered. They weren't paid for, so.
- [59:10]
A
Yes, back then it was a big deal.
- [59:11]
C
I didn't know it was him for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [59:14]
B
Now there's going to be, like, some guy who's just, like, following you. Like, you know, like Henderson frustrating dms, Mike. Like, hey, after this season, I'm signing with the Panthers or something.
- [59:22]
C
Yeah, yeah.
- [59:22]
B
What? Like, why is the wait that. That Trey Hendrickson with the. The eye and the Henderson actually an L? Like, what's going on here?
- [59:30]
A
Did you get that rush? Did you feel like.
- [59:32]
C
Absolutely.
- [59:32]
A
I've been in the room with. With Shefty before as his producer, when it's like we actually have to pause because he's got a thing he's got to break, and it's like watching him break news on his phone is like. I get hyped watching it happen.
- [59:43]
C
We've talked about this before, too, you. And, you know, being up in the middle of the night waiting to be able to. Oh, man, you've to.
- [59:48]
B
You've talked about those days.
- [59:50]
C
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [59:51]
A
Well, hey, this was a really fun show. Appreciate you guys. Headlines from the future. I do want to give a little teaser for tomorrow. I believe we're going to be doing hot takes, a callback from last year in which we did all of our big, spicy, hot takes. As you remember, Field was on the IR list for a couple of shows after that. Field, maybe we go a different direction with you this year. Maybe we don't do hot takes.
- [60:14]
B
That's being negotiated.
- [60:15]
A
We're going to be negotiated. All right. We'll see how that works.
- [60:19]
C
He did recently sign a new contract, so I'm sure there's a clause.
- [60:22]
A
Did we ever say that on the show? By the way, congratulations on signing a new deal, my friend. Like, that's unbelievable that you get to be here again. You have earned so much, and you've crushed all the draft stuff that you've been given. Everything you're doing here at Fantasy Football, like, it's. It's unbelievable.
- [60:34]
C
I was. I was surprised just because I thought. I assumed he has, like, a lifetime contract. You wouldn't need to. Like, they're gonna. They're gonna keep you here forever.
- [60:40]
A
It's like the Steph Curry shoe deal, right? It's like MVP forever.
- [60:43]
B
You guys are incredibly kind, extremely grateful to stay at espn. This is the coolest place on the planet to work, so. And I love working with you guys every single day. I am pumped to be sticking around.
- [60:52]
A
Do you shower every single day? Because you still have that fake tattoo on your arm and I can't tell if you actually showered or if you just.
- [60:57]
B
I do.
- [60:57]
A
Yes.
- [60:57]
C
I didn't get one of them. I'm a little offended you didn't ask. Whatever.
- [61:01]
A
That's too bad.
- [61:02]
B
Yes, I do shower every day.
- [61:03]
A
All right. Good for you.
- [61:04]
B
Most days.
- [61:04]
A
Most days. Headline from the future.
- [61:06]
B
Yeah.
- [61:06]
A
All right. That's going to do it for us today. Thank you so much for hanging out with us. Those are our headlines from the future. Come back tomorrow. It's going to be a very spicy show. You will not want to miss it. Don't forget to love each other and be kind to yourself. We'll see you guys tomorrow.