10 Lists of 10 for the 2025 Season

Summary

Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry

Episode: 10 Lists of 10 for the 2025 Season

Date: August 29, 2025
Host: Matthew Berry (with Jay Croucher, Lawrence Jackson, Trista Crick, Producer Steven)

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Episode Overview

This episode revolves around Matthew Berry’s highly anticipated “10 Lists of 10” column for the 2025 fantasy football season. The crew breaks down Berry’s key storylines, sleeper picks, “chicken” (nervous) players, and classic unsexy value picks that could swing leagues. Lively banter, insider nuggets, and fantasy wisdom abound, making this not just a list show, but an essential primer before Week 1.

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Main Segments & Highlights

1. 10 Lists of 10: Setting the Table

Matthew introduces his annual “10 Lists of 10” feature—available on NBC Sports and Rotoworld—covering every position, storylines, and even best fantasy team names. The premise: dig deeper than just rankings to identify trends, traps, and league-winning value.

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2. Top Preseason Fantasy Storylines

(03:20–23:44)

a. Commanders’ Backfield – Jaquory Croskey-Merritt Hype

• Berry: “There may not be any hotter player in fantasy football this year during the preseason than Jaquory Crosky-Merritt.” (04:24)
  • Commanders trade away Brian Robinson; Austin Ekeler gets passing and third-down work, but Crosky-Merritt (“JCM”) seen as the best pure runner and goal-line back in DC.
  • Lawrence: “He provides something to that offense that they desperately needed...some burst and some speed.” (05:01)
  • Consensus: JCM is the flex/third running back to target, especially as hype matches projected opportunity.

b. Packers WR Depth Chart – Matthew Golden Ascends

• Jay: “Matthew Golden I think is the most talented guy in that room. They seem to have a rapport. There's a reason why they spent first round draft capital on Golden.” (06:42)
  • Jaden Reed’s slow start, Romeo Doubs’ inconsistency, Christian Watson coming off injury: all factors making rookie Golden the likely WR1.

c. Colts Pass Catchers – Tyler Warren the Real Deal

• Lawrence: “Brock Bowers, Trey McBride and George Kittle are the only guys I like ahead of Tyler Warren. That's how much I like him.” (08:29)
  • Tyler Warren expected to be top 10 fantasy TE and most productive Colts pass catcher, regardless of who’s at QB.

d. Bucs Rookie WR – Emeka Egbuka Immediate Impact

• Berry: “Everything I'm hearing out of Tampa Bay is...they love with a capital L this kid.” (10:53)
  • Chris Godwin’s early absence and Egbuka’s pro-readiness make him a strong target.
  • Jay: “Mayfield is…a borderline top 10 QB. Egbuka will benefit from the volume.” (11:33)

e. Giants QB Situation – Jackson Dart as a Fantasy Stash

• Jay: “If Russ gets benched—and that schedule is brutal—Jackson Dart’s first start will be instantly fantasy relevant.” (13:06)
  • Dart’s running ability and early rapport with Malik Nabers make him a strong midseason stash.

f. Patriots Backfield Turnover – Travion Henderson’s Path

• Lawrence: “By the end of the season, we're talking about a guy you could be RB2. Houses his very first kick return in preseason—that explosiveness they've been missing.” (14:20)
  • Stevenson starts, but Henderson likely overtakes fast.

g. Texans Backfield – Joe Mixon as a Red Flag

• Berry: “Bad vibes all summer…it’s been bad vibes to start the season.” (15:34)
  • Injury concerns mean Berry is avoiding Mixon entirely, recommending Nick Chubb and tracking preseason roles.

h. Dolphins RB Handcuff – Ollie Gordon’s Opportunity

• Jay: “Achan stays healthy, it's his show, but if not, Ollie Gordon steps in and that’s the role you want.” (17:55)
  • Jeff Wilson and Hasty signings don’t threaten Gordon’s upside.

i. Jaguars WR/Weapons – Travis Hunter’s Expanded Offensive Role

• Lawrence: “Travis Hunter as my WR3? I’d feel great about that.” (19:45)
  • Berry: “We’ll look back a year from now and say, ‘I can’t believe we were that low on Travis Hunter.’” (21:17)

j. Lions Passing Game – Jameson Williams’ Breakout?

• Berry: “Jameson Williams having an awesome camp—that was the first name Goff brought up.” (21:40)
  • Expecting an expanded vertical role; Williams could out-target Laporta.

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3. 10 “Unsexy” Players Who’ll Help You Win

(24:04–28:54)

• James Conner, Mike Evans, Tony Pollard, Dak Prescott, Calvin Ridley, Alvin Kamara, Courtland Sutton, DeAndre Swift, Evan Engram, Jonnu Smith.
• Berry: “These guys are snoozy, but all they do is produce and outproduce ADP…James Conner is the poster child for this list, year in, year out.” (24:08)
• Jay: “Pollard…two years ago, first round pick talent—he’s grown as a pass blocker, Spears on IR, Pollard gets a ton of work.” (25:55)
• Calvin Ridley with Cam Ward gets a “90-100 catch” projection from Lawrence.
• Mike Evans remains undervalued as injuries have clarified the Bucs target tree.

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4. 10 “Chicken” (Nervous) Players for 2025 Drafts

(32:01–46:25)
Berry lists players he’s fading at cost—admitting they’re good players, just “make him nervous.”

• Highlighted “chicken” picks:
  • Breece Hall: Goal-line and target concerns with Braylon Allen and Fields in the mix. (33:01)
  • Puka Nacua: Durability and Stafford’s health worries. (34:22)
  • Kenneth Walker: Charbonnet’s emergence and OC uncertainty. (35:39)
  • Saquon Barkley: Massive workload last year, loses goal-line touches, not as pass-game involved. (37:14)
    • Jay: “If you don’t have the pass game usage, and you don’t have the goal line carries, you need to hit home runs to live up to this ADP.” (38:19)
  • Brock Bowers: New coaching/new personnel, unsustainably high ADP for a tight end. (40:09)
  • Caleb Johnson: Pass protection concerns for Pittsburgh’s rookie RB (42:29)
  • Jerry Jeudy: Only produced with Jameis; uncertain with new QBs. (43:10)
  • James Cook: Touchdown regression, low passing usage. (43:55)
  • DK Metcalf (now in Pittsburgh): Arthur Smith offenses are a fantasy wasteland. (44:30)
    • Berry: “I haven't seen an Arthur Smith offense in fantasy football that I didn't hate...” (45:05)
  • RJ Harvey: Camp pass pro issues, Dobbins as competition, prefer Dobbins at cost. (45:47)

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5. Late-Round Targets: Running Backs and Pass Catchers

(46:28–50:42)

Late RB targets:

• Zach Charbonnet, Bashal Tootin (“may not be immediate but size/speed and regime-change backfield”), Braylon Allen, Ali Gordon, Kyle Monangai (“Dave Montgomery role for the Bears”), Sean Tucker, Will Shipley, Keaton Mitchell, Kenneth Gainwell, Jaden Blue.

Late Pass Catchers:

• Keaton Mitchell, Josh Downs (“when he has a QB, he’s really good”), Rashid Shaheed, Chris Godwin (great value if he returns anywhere weeks 2–5), Marvin Mims, Keenan Allen, Cedric Tillman, Jalen Coker, Brenton Strange, Mason Taylor (“could be TE8 for the Jets, Fields has a history with Cole Kmet”), Theo Johnson.

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6. Fun Segment: Top Fantasy Team Names

(50:42–52:24) Some creative year-defining names from listeners:

• Penix Envy
• Catalina Wine Mixing
• Did We Just Become Best Friends?
• Chuck Around and Find Out
• Post Neighbors Drip
• Irritable Bower Syndrome
• Bed Bath and Bijan
• Finding Nico
• Owner of a Lonely Dart
  Berry: “Go check out 10 lists of 10 at rotoworld.com, nbcsports.com—we have more names and lists.”

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7. NFC West Odds/Bets

(55:18–56:29)

• Jay: “Cardinals +425—I think they're sneakily a top 10 defense...offensive upside.”
• Lawrence & Berry: “Give me the 49ers—too talented, too experienced, and likely healthier.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Jaquory Croskey-Merritt (JCM):

  • Berry: "There may not be any hotter player in fantasy football this year during the preseason than Jaquory Crosky-Merritt." (04:24)

• On James Conner:

  • Berry: "All he does is make me look smart. He's never been less than running back 15 on a points per game basis since he's been in Arizona." (24:08)

• On Chicken Players:

  • Berry: "The vibes are off. These are my chicken players that... make me a little nervous. I just don't have a lot of shares of them because they make me nervous." (32:38)

• On DK Metcalf and Arthur Smith:

  • Berry: "I've never seen an Arthur Smith offense in fantasy football that I didn't hate. I just, I hate them all." (45:05)

• On Travis Hunter:

  • Berry: "We're going to look back a year from now and be like, 'I can't believe the fantasy football industry... was that insanely low on Travis Hunter.'" (21:17)

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Key Timestamps

• 03:20 – Start of Lists of 10 discussion; Commanders backfield
• 05:30 – Packers receiver pecking order
• 08:18 – Tyler Warren’s upside for Colts
• 11:33 – Bucs’ Emeka Egbuka hype
• 13:06 – Giants QB situation and schedule
• 14:20 – Patriots RB Travion Henderson
• 15:34 – Texans RB situation; Joe Mixon
• 17:55 – Dolphins RB handcuff (Ollie Gordon)
• 19:39 – Travis Hunter’s offensive usage and value
• 21:40 – Jameson Williams’ expected breakout
• 24:04 – Top 10 “unsexy” value picks
• 32:01 – “Chicken”/nervous player discussion starts
• 46:28 – Late round RBs (names and profiles)
• 49:01 – Late round pass catcher targets
• 50:51 – Fun: Top fantasy team names
• 55:18 – NFC West pick segment (Cardinals, Niners)

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Episode Takeaways

• Matthew Berry’s “10 Lists of 10” is a season-starting staple, packed with actionable draft advice, player takes, and entertainment.
• Commanders RB JCM, Packers’ Matthew Golden, Colts TE Tyler Warren, and Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka are preseason buzz picks with clear fantasy upside.
• Unsexy players—like James Conner and Mike Evans—are often ignored but can be league-winning value.
• “Chicken” players at ADP include Breece Hall, Puka Nacua, Kenneth Walker, and Saquon Barkley—great talents who carry more risk than drafters appreciate.
• Late-round rookie RBs and young pass catchers provide league-winning upside—know their roles and watch the training camp hype.
• Jameson Williams and Travis Hunter stand out as potential year-two and rookie breakouts at their positions.
• Make your draft fun—Berry’s crowd-sourced team names are must-browse for viral potential.

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For those prepping drafts or looking for an edge on the 2025 fantasy season, this episode offers a dense, highly entertaining rundown of key names, deep sleepers, values, and warning signs—for the casual player and diehard alike.

Transcript

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[Matthew Berry]

Substance use disorder and addiction is so isolating. And so, as a black woman in recovery, hope must be loud. It grows louder when you ask for help and you're vulnerable. It is the thread that lets you know that no matter what happens, you will be okay.

[Producer Steven]

When we learn the power of hope.

[Ad Council Narrator]

Recovery is possible, find out [e-mail] brought to you by the National Council for Mental well Being Shatterproof and the Ad Council.

[Producer Steven]

I was asking Steven. I said, what is Matthew gonna give me a hard time about? Cause it's gotta be the chain, right?

[Matthew Berry]

Right. Yeah, sure, sure.

[Producer Steven]

And I was one. I just took it out of your wardrobe.

[Matthew Berry]

Everyone always says, there goes Matthew Barry.

[Lawrence Jackson]

It's too much time in chains. That's what that is.

[Indeed Sponsor]

Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry.

[Producer Steven]

Oh, hello and welcome back to Fantasy Football Happy Hour. Matthew, we dug into the brother. We found you in that illustrious chain I stole.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, we appreciate that as well. Trista Crick, Jay Croucher, Lawrence Jackson, of course, Matthew Berry. And you know what happens, everyone? Everyone drinks for free. Oh, there we go. Oh, there you go. I see. How nice. Yeah, that's what happened with the chains. Yep. Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

I didn't know what happened with that. Happened with the hat and the glasses.

[Producer Steven]

Run dmc.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Kind of a terrifying visual when you think about it.

[Matthew Berry]

It really is. I don't know why. I don't know why we did this. I don't remember the bit that happened with this. I think this attempt. And it was a poor one at the Kirk Cousins thing. Remember when Kirk Cousins was. Yeah. Well, he was shirtless in the chains on the plane back home with a big victory. And, like, you look like. I didn't want to go shirtless on the show. You're welcome, America.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Why?

[Matthew Berry]

And I don't know why. I don't know why the hat.

[Jay Croucher]

Why did it come out looking like. You look like Robin Williams in one hour photo.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, I look like.

[Jay Croucher]

Just not a compliment.

[Matthew Berry]

You know, it's weird. Like, somehow no one else did. Somehow in that photo, I look even older than I actually am. Which is hard for me to do. Like.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Can you put a number on it?

[Matthew Berry]

No, it just. I don't know.

[Producer Steven]

You think it was the bucket hat or do you think it was the glasses without the lens A little bit, too.

[Lawrence Jackson]

He said Robin Wills. Then he said a woman. He trying to say you look like Miss Doubtfire.

[Matthew Berry]

That's right. Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

There is a Mrs.

[Matthew Berry]

Doubt. That was kind of.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah.

[Matthew Berry]

With a. With a big, thick Mr. Magoo glasses right there. Yeah.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Mr. Magoo.

[Jay Croucher]

Let's never bring that photo up again.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah. Good hip reference. Yeah, I agree with Jay there. Finally, Jay and I agree on something. Let's never, ever bring that photo up again. Bring it up for the love of.

[Producer Steven]

God, one more time. Let's bring it up one more time. Come on. Just one more, please. Okay.

[Matthew Berry]

All right.

[Producer Steven]

So anyway, we are previewing one of the best articles of the preseason. I know. I always look forward to it. Barry's 10 lists of 10. We have to start with the biggest storylines heading into week one. Matthew Bill, Jacori Krosky Merritt will be the best fantasy option in the Commander's backfield. They trade away Brian Robinson. Why? Why do you think that's the case?

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah. So 10 list of 10 columns up on NBC Sports and Rotoworld.com right now. So go check it out. So among the 10 preseason storylines that I'm buying is that Jaquory Crosky Merritt will be the best fantasy option in the Commander's backfield. You mentioned the trade of Brian Robinson, obviously, in San Francisco. Austin Eckler has his role defined there. So it' JCM Bill, as he is known. And Chris Rodriguez. They like Chris Rodriguez, but he's also been in the practice squad a couple of times. They've cut him before, you know, Jaquorty Crosby Merritt, who our own Connor Rodgers had ranked ahead of RJ Harvey coming out, coming into the NFL draft. He's a special player that you just haven't heard of because he didn't play college ball last year because of a weird eligibility issue. But there may not be any hotter player in fantasy football this year during the preseason than Jecory Crosky Merritt. Everyone's been talking about him. We've been talking about him since the NFL draft. Shout out to Connor Rodgers. But what I will say is that this is an offense that's going to score a lot of points. They always want to run. They don't like Jaden Daniels running as much, and they get in close because they're nervous about injury. Lawrence. So I do believe that the Commanders A will be one of the better offenses in the NFL for fantasy football purposes and that Jaquori Crosby Merritt will be the running back you want in that backfield.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I'm going to say I am buying he's the guy that will score the most fantasy points, although I don't think it'll be by that wide a margin.

[Matthew Berry]

I think it's fair.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I think it's a he's fine young player and he provides something to that offense that they desperately needed. Just somebody with some burst and some speed. But I think we kind of counting out Austin Eckler, I think we're kind of counting him out from getting actual carries. You know, I think Austin Eckler, he'll start off the season as a starting running back and he'll have his share. I just think it's a three man committee where Bill will be their big play running back.

[Jay Croucher]

So Matt, you're, you're a Commander's insider, best friends with JP Finlay and forth and etc. So last year it was kind of like Brian Robinson early down guy, Austin Eckler third down back and then Eckler would have some series where he would get carries. Like how does this backfield work? Is this just going to be JCM and the Robinson role and Echler and the Eckler role and Riguez kind of picks up the scraps?

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, I think, I think that's a little simplified. But yes, I think that is. I think they'll mix and match. And Lawrence's point, I think you'll see Echler get some carries. I think they'll use JCM in the passing game a little bit. But really for the most part when they get in close, Crosby Meredith is going to get the goal line work. Ekeler will be more of a third down guy. They'll split it up. But I do think, look, I'm As a top 30 running back, I would be more comfortable with Jaquory, Crosky, Merritt, Bill as my flex play running back or my number three running back than my two. But again, it's a preseason story. You hear so much news in the preseason. Are you buying this or you're not buying that? There's so much buzz about Jaquori Cross Kamari, I am buying it that he will be the at the end of the year he'll be the best fantasy option in this backfield.

[Producer Steven]

Jay, you are buying a little Jordan Love stock on this list. Matthew golden will be the packers clear cut wide receiver. 1. Do you agree with that and why.

[Jay Croucher]

I agree with that because Jaden Reed looks like he might get off to a bit of a slow start to the season. Coming out of the walking boots, just getting back to practice. He might not be full go to start the season then after like Romeo Dobbs hasn't ever really quite happened for him. Certainly hasn't quite happened for Don. Tavian Wicks, Christian Watson we know is coming off the acl. So. So I think, I think Tucker Craft's going to get a lot of work. But this is about wide receiver one specifically. Matthew Goldman I think is the most talented guy in that room. They seem to have a rapport. I think that the packers are going to throw the ball more this year than last. Jordan Love is healthier. So Matthew golden, he is certainly the one guy that you want. I don't understand why they use Jaden Reed the way they do. I don't understand why he doesn't play more out wide. He doesn't play a ton in two wide receiver sets. But I'm going to Defer to Matt LaFleur knowing more than I do about that. And they seem to have a lot of faith in Matthew Goldman.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, exactly. So it's a drumbeat that has continually kind of steadily risen. Especially we've seen some of the other guys bank getting banged up. And so as you hear that sort of the press reports and from the beat reporters that are there at practice every day just sounds seems like Matthew golden is the real deal here and will like there's a reason why they spent first round draft capital on Golden, a position the packers normally don't draft in the first round.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah and I don't have much to add here. You guys said it all. I will say this though. None of these, this no receiver in this packers group, they're not bad receivers. Right. They're serviceable receivers at an NFL level. So it shows you a lot when they go out. Like you said Matthew, they the packers don't draft wide receivers in the first round and now you got one that runs a four two and it already showed the signs in the preseason in the connection with Jordan Love. So that's exactly what you want to see when you draft the receiver that.

[Producer Steven]

High the third storyline. Tyler Warren is the real deal which I agree with Will finish as the most productive Colts pass catcher this season. Lawrence, what do you think about that?

[Lawrence Jackson]

Brock Bowers, Trey McBride and George Kittle is the only guys I like ahead of Tyler Warren. That's how much I like him. And it never really was going to matter to me who the quarterback was because I saw both quarterbacks in the preseason target him early and often. So that's what the Colts need, a player like Tyler Warren for this offense to take the step forward. You got a top running back back in Jonathan Taylor. Well, it doesn't make him a top offense. You need that tight end there. And for Tyler Warren, he could do so many different things, especially at the goal line. He can throw it in, he could run it in. He actually told me himself he wants to be the guy. Got to talk to him at the combine. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Got to talk to him at the combine and he said, I would like to be the guy that they use to run the tush push. So I look Anthony Richardson nor Daniel Jones has ever had a tight end relevant in fantasy. So this for me it's all about the player, his skill set and what he could bring to the Colts.

[Jay Croucher]

Yep. No, I'm with you there. The one concern about Warren is that Daniel Jones never been a real big middle of the field guy and never been a real big deep guy either. So what do you actually do? Daniel Jones at the passage.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Daniel Jones actually hit.

[Jay Croucher]

They're going to scheme open touches. And also I think that this is a bet on Shane Steichen and I'm buying Shane Steichen stock because I'm old enough to remember two years ago when he went nine and eight and was one Tyler Goodson screen pass away from winning an NFL division with Gardiner Minshew as his quarterback. So I think that they have a good enough O line, a good enough scheme and Warren is that talented that he will get fed. And you know, I think that Daniel Jones is bad news like Alec Pierce down the field. But there should be enough short stuff for Tyler Warren to really face. And Tyler is going to be a base yards after contact. It will create the open field.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, 100%. And you know the thing is is like who's he got competition with? Josh Downs. We like Josh Downs, but banged up. Right. Just finally coming back. Michael Pittman. You know, we're still waiting for A.D. mitchell. Like I do think like again the storyline I'm buying is that he is absolutely the real deal. I'm As a top 10 fantasy titan, I think I might be too low on him. Right. But he's going to be the most productive Colts pass catcher because there's going to be a high floor and a.

[Producer Steven]

High ceiling as an Oregon duck. I was watched a lot of Emeka Abuka all over the field in your list he's the most pro ready rookie receiver and will have a huge role in the Buccaneers offense.

[Matthew Berry]

Everything you're hearing out of Tampa Bay is that in addition to the skill that we saw at Ohio State, in addition to the fact that he's pro ready, they love the kid in terms of his work ethic, in terms of showing up early, staying late, Baker Mayfield loves them. And then you also think so the talent is there, but you also think about the opportunity here. We know Chris Godwin's not going to start the season healthy. We know Jaylen McMillan is going to miss like about half the year. And so Ebuka, who has that first round draft capital, same as Matthew golden, there's a reason they went out and get him. Everything I'm hearing out of Tampa Bay is, you know, from both the beat reporters that you've heard a lot of, but just from inside sources as well. They love with a capital L this kid.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. And I think there's a little bit of apprehension around the Bucks passing game because I think people in their heads, they still wait to bake it Mayfield being like, oh this is the guy who's like the quarterback in Carolina was on the Rams like three years ago and his career looked done Like Baker Mayfield is I think a borderline top 10 quarterback in the NFL. Like I think he's the same tier of guy as your Dak Prescott's, as your Jared Goffs, that kind of conversation. And I think that he is someone who has shown Lawrence that he can, you know, he can not just make the offense run, but he can do elements beyond that. He's a candidate to lead the NFL and passing yards, passing touchdowns, he will put it, he'll throw picks because that's what he does. But he'll put up volume stats and a book is going to benefit.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Keyword what you just said there, the volume stat. Baker Mayfield and I do think He's a top 10 real quarterback in the NFL, but a Mecca Abuka. The kind of guy that could work the short area middle of the field and not not the deep guy. But you got Mike Evans for that. So a lot of receptions could be had for a booker early.

[Producer Steven]

Yeah, I think this is a pro Jackson dart show. Jay Jackson dart will be fantasy relevant from the moment he takes over as the giant starting quarterback. You agree with that?

[Jay Croucher]

Poor Russell Wilson. Everyone's just kind of bad.

[Matthew Berry]

Russell's you have the Giants at 18 to 1. You're winning. What happens when the crush what happens.

[Lawrence Jackson]

When the Giants beat the commanders?

[Matthew Berry]

Who's Won.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Are we thinking about. Are we talking about.

[Matthew Berry]

Stop it. Stop it.

[Lawrence Jackson]

That's not going to be on alert.

[Jay Croucher]

There are only six and a half point dogs.

[Matthew Berry]

I'm actually nervous. Is it possible to have a trap game in week one? Because I actually think it might be. Let's go.

[Jay Croucher]

So Giants, they'll beat the Commanders Week 1. Cowboys, that's a win. Chiefs, it's a coin toss to probably lose. Coin toss and beat the chargers. I see 4 and 1 going into the Eagles on Thursday Night Football. Now look, it's going to be tough for the Giants. The schedule is brutal. Tough break for the Giants going 3 and 14 and they're getting one of the five hardest schedules in football. Yeah, not great. But that does create opportunity for Jackson Dart. If it was going to be a cupcake schedule, then maybe Russ gets through the whole season. But I mean they've drafted him in the first round. Matthew, like this is their guy.

[Matthew Berry]

Well, again, to talk about fantasy relevancy, he runs like you've seen him in the preseason, just running around. I think at least to me it was a little bit of an eye opener that he was using his legs as much as he did, that he's as mobile as he is. And so I do think I'm just in terms of fantasy relevancy, obviously he's got an elite option in Malik Neighbors. I'm high on Theo Johnson, but again, I think that combination along with the legs will make him, I think, a borderline QB one the minute he becomes the starter of the Giants. Whenever that happens.

[Producer Steven]

Yeah, I mean, Ramondre Stevenson, I had him last year and it was a rough one two years ago. Pretty damn good. But Travion Henderson steps in now. A lot of talent for him. For you, Lawrence. Matthew says he will take over in the New England backfield sooner than later.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I really wish your commanders would have drafted him in the first round, but they did it and now he's on the Patriots, who also they needed him worse than the Commanders. But yeah, I'm with that. I like Trevion Harrison not only to just take over the backfield, I think he's a. By the end of the season, we're talking about a guy you could be RB2. And that's mainly because he's a guy who could catch the ball out the backfield. We saw his very first play as an NFL player. He houses a kick return in the preseason. So that's that explosiveness that they've been missing. Ramondre Stevenson is still there when when the Patriots line up Week one, it's going to be Ramondre Stevenson, but it won't be long before you see Trevion Henderson. He's.

[Matthew Berry]

He's never going to be like a lead 20, 25 touch a game running back, but he doesn't need to be like again. He can be very fantasy productive on 15 touches, which I think he will be. But again, to your point, Ramondre Stevenson is the veteran. They want to ease him in a little bit. But I am buying the preseason hype on Travion Henderson and he is the Patriots running back that you want.

[Producer Steven]

Matthew. Joe Mixon, I've seen a lot of him in Cincinnati getting injured and here we are again. Joe Mixon will be a non factor and might miss the entire season.

[Matthew Berry]

Just bad vibes all. And it's been bad vibes all summer. It's been bad vibes to start the season. And just, and just, you know, you listen to the press conference from d' Amico Ryans and he's very evasive. Like he wasn't like, oh yeah, he'll be back. He was just. We'll see. You know. A lot of caveats there, Lawrence. A lot of like. So anyway, I just, I have some shares of the Chubbler, of the original Chubbler. Chubb. The og, the rc, not the original Chubb.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I think you should. At the very least, Nick Chubb has a chance to like turn off the clock. He has a chance to do that.

[Jay Croucher]

He's going to get first crack at it. He was the guy getting all the snaps in the preseason with CJ Stroud. It seems like it's him and Damian Pierce and it seems like they prefer Nick Chubb. So look, we'll see how much gas he's got left in the tank. But he looked okay in preseason.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I would prefer Nick Chubb over Damian Pierce, definitely. Yeah, I'm not going to.

[Matthew Berry]

I have 0 shares of Joe Mixon this year and I will continue to like. I just, I, I think there's a real chance we don't see him this.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Season or at least for a very long time.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, exactly.

[Producer Steven]

I'm not going to put Nick Chubb in the same category as Derrick Henry because of all the injuries, but at one point Nick Chubb was that guy. Right?

[Matthew Berry]

He was that for sure.

[Producer Steven]

And so he goes to a new team and you wonder how he's going to work out. Maybe people are a little bit too, too low on Nick Chubb. Ollie Gordon is the Dolphins backup running back that you want to roster. Jay, we have some update and Some news about, about the backup who just had a little bit of a knee surgery here now. Dolphins running back Jalen Wright had a small procedure done that isn't season ending but will take some time to Recover from. Per McDaniel, Miami has signed running backs Jeff Wilson and Jamaichael Hasty.

[Lawrence Jackson]

In response, he Love them guys. Mike McDaniel love them guys.

[Matthew Berry]

That's a tweet, by the way, from Marcel Luis. Jocks does a great job covering the Dolphins as well. And so I wrote this last night before the news that Wright came out, but it only solidifies what we've heard all preseason is that Ollie Gordon and what we've seen all preseason, Ollie Gordon looks awesome. And so Devon Achan, there's been some rumors that maybe they won't use him at the goal line. You know, Tyreek Hill joking about that. Yeah, exactly. But I just think for speaking as someone who has drafted a lot of HN this year, I have tried to get Ali Gordon wherever I can as well.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. A chan who has dealt with injuries in his career, particularly his rookie season, he actually got through all of last season for the most part, which went a little bit under the radar because the Dolphins were largely off the radar. But, yeah, I think Ollie Gordon's clearly the guy now. Like Jeff Wilson, Jamaica, these guys aren't that threatening. Now, Devon hn, if he stays healthy, he's going to get the overwhelming majority of work. But if he does go down, then Ollie Gordon stepped.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I think Ali Gordon is somebody that the Dolphins just need in this off. Look, I'm just going to say it. And in my opinion, he's better than your boy Bill. I would take Ali Gordon over Bill. People forget Ali Gordon.

[Matthew Berry]

Why? You know, Giants beating my commanders in week one, Ali Gordon winning the Jacorian. Why do you listen?

[Lawrence Jackson]

I want people to know that Ali Gordon won the Dope Walker Award. That means he was the best running back in college football. This is like Ashton Genty played football at the same time as Ollie Gordon and Ali Gordon won that award. He was on a terrible team last year. So I think the Dolphins are going to end up getting a steal in Ali Gordon.

[Matthew Berry]

So anyway, just producer Steven, if you can do me a favor, just clip that moment there where Lawrence said he likes Ollie Gordon more than Ash and Genty. We'll see how that plays out over.

[Lawrence Jackson]

The course of the season.

[Matthew Berry]

We'll see how that plays out over the course of season.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I feel very good about it.

[Matthew Berry]

Very surprising take there, Lawrence, but fair enough. Fair enough. I'm going to stick with Ash and Genty and Jakory, Crosky, Merrick. But no, in all seriousness, we do think Ollie Gordon has a chance to be special in this league and certainly I think he's a priority draft. He's a priority ad if you have Devon HN as your RB1 2 way player.

[Producer Steven]

Travis Hunter on the list will play close to full time snaps. Lawrence on offense. Liam Cohen says that they primarily want to use him as a wide receiver. What do you think about that?

[Lawrence Jackson]

I think he's better than Bill too. Do you agree with that?

[Matthew Berry]

Yes.

[Lawrence Jackson]

All right.

[Matthew Berry]

All right, cool. Finally you say something I agree with.

[Lawrence Jackson]

You know, no Travis Hunter for the fantasy managers all around the world, this is what you want to hear. And look, they're going to use him in the way that they use him at Colorado Elite when it comes to catch and run his initial bursts. That's what's going to get him these five yard catches turning into 20 and 40 yard gains. And this is what's going to help Trevor Lawrence up his game too. Now he's got him to pair them with Brian Robson. I would feel great with Travis Hunter as my wide receiver three on my fantasy rosters.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, coaches don't usually say much in preseason in terms of giving specifics and talking numbers, but Liam Cohen said on the Rich Eisen show we want Travis Hunter playing 65 to 75% of the offensive stats, ramping up towards 80%. And to put that in context, Brian Thomas Jr. Played 80% of the snaps last year. That was his number and he was third in the NFL and receiving yard. So Travis Hunter, I mean if he was purely a wide receiver, we're talking about, you know, an elite wide receiver prospect just on his own Merit, a top 10 draft pick off of that. So I think that Travis Hunter in offense, it should throw the ball a lot. Liam Cohen liked to throw the ball a ton with Baker Mayfield last year in Tampa Bay. And also Liam Cohen was great at just scheming easy touches for his playmakers. He was the best in the league with just the scheming of screen passes in particular. So Travis Hunter, he will get plenty.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, it's a. Again, I feel like there hasn't been nearly enough buzz. There's been some buzz on Travis Hunter, but again, one of the preseason storylines that I'm buying is that Travis Hunter is going to play close to full time snaps. Like he should have a lot of buzz.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I think it's because we all, I know how good he is.

[Matthew Berry]

We're going to look back a year from now and be like, I can't believe the fantasy football industry and drafters were that insanely low on Travis Hunter.

[Producer Steven]

Happened a little bit with Brian Thomas last year as well.

[Matthew Berry]

People slept on him for sure.

[Producer Steven]

All right, Jameson Williams, his role has been getting steadily bigger every single year, but now they have a new oc. In your opinion, Matthew, he'll have a larger role under new OC John Morton.

[Matthew Berry]

Well, again, that's been sort of a preseason storyline and I'm buying it. Right. Again, like everything we talk to. Literally, I've said this before on this show, but when I went to the hall of Fame game between the Lions and Chargers for NBC for Football Night in America, I was on the field pre game and I talked to Jared Goff and I, my best friend, my buddy Jared Goff and I said to him, I said, give me a sleeper. And he says, you know all the guys here, but Jameson Williams having an awesome camp, like that was the first name he came up with and just said like he's just. And everything you've heard from the coaching staff, from the players, from the beats that are covering the team is that he's ready to take another step. Remember, this is a guy that came out of college, that was a first round pick. Like, you know, he was hurt when he came out, but like he'd have been like the number one wide receiver taken had he been healthy.

[Lawrence Jackson]

He'd have went top five.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Over guys like Drake London, Chris Olava.

[Lawrence Jackson]

He would have went over.

[Matthew Berry]

Yes.

[Jay Croucher]

John Dotson.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Which didn't work out as well.

[Matthew Berry]

But no, I agree again.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, no, I agree. I think that this offense, they've talked about making it more of a vertical offense, probably have to throw the ball more. They're probably not going to go 15 and 2 this year and be in as many run scripts as last year. Tougher schedule and still like as many weapons as there are. Passing game is pretty streamlined where it's Jameson Williams is the ax and Monroe is the slot and laporta is the tight end and, and Isaac Tesla will get involved as well, but Williams has scope to really emerge.

[Producer Steven]

Does, does Williams start to creep up above laporta to you now, Jay?

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, I think so. I think he's got more ceiling than laporta and just offers something different. A bit more overlap between Laporta and a Monroe St. Brown and the Monroe might be the best in the NFL at what he does specifically. So yeah, I think there's a, there's huge upside for Jameson Williams, he's the type of guy who, you know, he could really pop to being a 1200, 1300 yard receiver. He's got that in his outcomes. And also Ben Johnson's gone so he doesn't have to throw interceptions with the season on the line.

[Matthew Berry]

Exactly, exactly. But he'll always have a spot in my heart for that.

[Lawrence Jackson]

The proof is in the pudding though. He's improved his numbers every single year and I don't see why that's going to change this season for Jameson Williams.

[Producer Steven]

All right, let's go to 10 unsexy players. They're all sexy in my heart. Who will help you win. Let's go to the graphic. James Conner, Mike Evans, Tony Pollard, Dak Prescott, Cortland Sutton, Calvin Ridley, Alvin Kamara, deandre Swift. Ooh, Evan Ingram and John O. Smith. Deandre Swift. I'm gonna need some.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Hey, I heard that noise about Swift. Come on now.

[Matthew Berry]

Right, so the idea of this list is like none of these guys are like sort of sexy players or like a Travis Hunter or a Mecca Abuka who like when you draft somebody in your league will be like, oh man, I wanted him. Or like ooh, I like that pick. Like none of these guys is going to get that reaction. They are unsexy. They've been around forever. They're boring, they're snoozy. But all they do is produce and outproduce their ADP as well. And so we talk about it like the poster child of this list year in, year out and all he does is make me look smart. Is James Conner, who's currently going as running back 19. He's never been less than running back 15 on a points per game basis since he's been in Arizona. One of only three running backs with at least 1,000 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns and each of the past four seasons like he's just much more consistent than he gets credit for. I think it's because he doesn't make these exciting plays. Is an Arizona west coast team off in the 4 o' clock game that, that people don't get to watch. Like I don't know but like James Conner is always out produces his adp.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, it's a quiet personality, but as quietly gets about hyper efficiency. It's a very good run scheme as well in Arizona as a hyper, hyper efficient rushing off fans got the cheat code of and Kyla Marius, your quarterback there, which opens up lanes for your running back too. I wouldn't expect anything less than James Conner than what he's delivered in the past.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I like Calvin Ridley on this list.

[Matthew Berry]

Sure.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Continuously gets a thousand yards with quarterbacks who aren't starters in this league. Now you get the top rookie quarterback in Cam Ward. And I think with the most important thing with Calvin Ridley, he's a 60 to 75 catch guy. That number should be closer to 90 to 100 with Cam Ward. So definitely looking forward to having him.

[Matthew Berry]

Getting a lot more accurate quarterbacks, getting a more accurate quarterback and not a lot of target competition in the preseason so far this year. 43% target share for Calvin Ridley. And how about his teammate, Tony Pollard? Jay, a member of the Chubblers?

[Jay Croucher]

Yes, member of the Troublers. He's my RB1, which was not how I went into the draft hoping to go, but I'm okay with it because the rest of my team's okay. Tony Pollard two years ago was being drafted in like the first round and I still think he's got that level of talent. I think he's grown as a player since then, gotten better as a pass blocker. So I think that Tony Pollard, with Tyjay Spears on ir, he's just going to get a ton of work behind what is. I think it'll signs having a good O line because it hasn't been good in the past. They've really fortified that they've spent capital both in free agency and in the draft. I think they might actually have the best O line in their division, which is more about the other O lines. But still, it's a decent O line now. Think Pollard will have a big year? I will throw the challenge flag. Matthew though, on Jono Smith not being sexy. I think John Smith is so sexy to Arthur Smith that he's now just sexy to planet Earth, just sexy to everyone.

[Matthew Berry]

It's fair enough. I do tell my daughters all the time, I want you to look find somebody that looks at you the way Arthur Smith looks at John Smith as well. But again, like, I think, I think because he's going to. Because he's only had the one year, which was in Miami last year where it was great and second half of the year really, that just people don't like John Smith, especially because now he's going to Pittsburgh. It's kind of a boring offense. It's Arthur Smith, it's Aaron Rodgers and everything like that. But like, do you think about 20, 23 when he was playing with Arthur Smith in Atlanta? He had over 50 receptions, over 500 yards, couple of touchdowns and there's not a lot of target competition in Pittsburgh Lawrence in terms of like it's DK Metcalf and like that's it. Like Pat Friarmuth again. Arthur Smith had Johnny Smith in Tennessee, in Atlanta and now in Pittsburgh. He's going to be a part of this offense. And some of the, some of the preseason reports are like they've lined him up in the backfield, right? They're using him in a variety of roles.

[Lawrence Jackson]

That's how they used him in Tennessee. They also used him at the goal line and do little reverses with him and get him in the end zone. So that could be taking some Russian touchdowns away from the either Jalen Warren or Caleb Johnson too. So think about that.

[Producer Steven]

You mentioned Calvin Ridley. All he does is get a thousand yards, you said. But that's really Mike Evans. He has not done anything less than that, regardless of who his quarterback is. And you guys are excited about the offense with Baker Mayfield. So he actually feels sexier than some of the other names on I just.

[Matthew Berry]

Feel like people would just sort of take him for granted, you know, and just like he's older and sometimes he deals with the hamstring injuries. Like his ADP is wide receiver 19, but he's got top 10 upside right. And again there's it's a fairly narrow target tree. What we thought was a crowded wide receiver room has now suddenly become very narrow with injuries as well. The last one I'll just mention here, like we've talked about Camara and Courtland Sutton and Dak Prescott on the show a lot. But the last one I'll mention here is DeAndre Swift. He had one season under Ben Johnson. That was 2022 in Detroit. He was running back 15 on a points per game basis. I would argue no team in the NFL improved their offensive line more this offseason than the Chicago Bears. That's going to be a strength. And his competition for touches are Roshan Johnson and Kyle Mononige. And I like Mononigue as a late round flyer. We'll talk about him in a second. But like he's a veteran running back with a coach who's familiar with him. Not a lot of competition on a team that is going to be a better than average offense.

[Jay Croucher]

What you call him? Monongai.

[Matthew Berry]

Monongai. Yeah. Sorry I keep screwing the kid. I apologize the Monongai family because I keep screwing the kid's name. Listen, in fairness to me, English is my second language.

[Jay Croucher]

You cannot do any monongai. Props on Fnia.

[Matthew Berry]

1000%. No. No monongai. I don't even think we have Chicago this year, so it's fine. I'm good.

[Producer Steven]

Big Ten Saturday night is back. We're kicking off the season from the big House as 14th ranked Michigan hosts New Mexico Mexico. Coverage begins tomorrow at 7:00pm Eastern on NBC. And Peacock here comes Saturday Night. On the back end of this break, we'll have plenty of lists to get to, including Barry's favorite late round targets to draft next.

[Matthew Berry]

When work gets crazy, I like to stop by the bar after have a few cold ones. I don't drink at all until 4 o'. Clock. We limit ourselves to one bottle of wine a night. Excessive drinking has a way of sneaking up on us. A few drinks, a few nights a week, it can add up and suddenly we're at greater risk for long term problems like heart disease, cancer and depression. Reason enough to rethink to Drink [e-mail].

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[Matthew Berry]

You guessed it.

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[Trista Crick]

I do have chickens. I have chickens. Brought them home for Easter and just little chicks and they loved them. You know, they loved those chickens for about a week. The chicks, the respect that I have for chickens. I know there was a time when I said that chicken is a nervous bird. I don't eat chicken. I only eat meat. You know. But I was dead wrong. I stand corrected. Whose check ins are low maintenance and high production. There's times when doing good things for other people and they're not as happy to see me as my chickens are. So it's good. It's good for my mental health as well.

[Producer Steven]

Low maintenance and high production that's the perfect.

[Matthew Berry]

You think you were describing me?

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, you're the opposite.

[Matthew Berry]

I was just going to say. Really? I'm the complete opposite of that. But yes, Jim Harbaugh famously said chickens are a nervous bird. He doesn't eat them because I guess he doesn't want the nervous energy. So ever since then, on my 10 lists of 10 column that I do every year, I always put my 10 chicken players, which are these are very good players that are getting drafted about where they should. That's where I have them ranked. They're getting drafted where I have them ranked. But just as I've gone through drafts and I've sat there with my mouse over this player or that player, I just haven't drafted a lot of these players just because there's something that I'm just a little nervous about.

[Producer Steven]

The vibes are off.

[Matthew Berry]

The vibes are off. Yeah. So these are my chicken players that, you know, again, make me a little nervous. Give me some, you know, some concern there. Again, I'm sure they're going to have great years. They're good players, they're ranked and drafted appropriately. But just, I just don't have a lot of shares of them because they make me nervous.

[Producer Steven]

Number one on your list, Matthew, is Breece Hall. There's just a lot of nervousness around the jets as a whole.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, for sure. I mean, so you've got an injury prone player here who's going to lose goal line touches to both Braylon Allen and Justin Fields. Fields has never targeted running backs at a high rate. So is, you know, Breece hall who's going, he's going as like running back 15. Like he's going pretty high in drafts for him to hit that. Like I just don't think he's going to get a bunch of short easy touchdowns. So he's going to have to hit these home runs, he's going to have to stay healthy and he's going to have to get really involved in the passing game which we just haven't seen from a Fields left off led offense. So just feels like there's a narrow window for Breece hall to hit that adp.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, I think it's a big issue, Lawrence. Braylon Allen's really good. They seem to have a lot of faith in Braylon Allen. So Breece hall maybe relegated to third down. He'll get more than just third down passing game usage. But Braylon Allen's going to get a lot of carries and Justin Fields is going to run tough.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I can't Say that I've drafted a lot of Breece hall on my teams, but I would, you know, just depends on where you can get them. That's really what it's all about. When it comes to Breece hall. Yes, they're going to use Braylon as they should, but if he does what I expect him to do, what I've seen him do this preseason in the receiving game, he should be okay. And I just think he's ranked appropriately. It's nothing more, nothing less. That's, that's pretty much when it, what it comes down to with Breece Hall.

[Producer Steven]

Yeah. Number two on this list is Puka Nakua. It's not about his talent, it's about the health of the best friend.

[Jay Croucher]

My best friend's Puka Nakua. Little worried about Puka too. Matthew. I agree with him being one of the of the chicken players. And there's two injury concerns here. One is his own. He gets banged up a lot and he plays a very violent style. And so he's probably the biggest injury risk of these top tier wide receivers. And then maybe even a bigger concern is his quarterback, Matthew Stafford, who is practicing and looks like he's going to be good to go week one. You just worry about how the back is going to respond when he takes that first big hit and whether he can get through the whole season. And if it's Jimmy G, like, yeah, Puka will still be okay if it's Jimmy G, but he doesn't have the same ceiling without staff.

[Matthew Berry]

The thing of it, he's got a wide range of outcomes. Right. He could easily be the number one wide receiver in fantasy, but there's also, there's a downside there that I just don't feel that's there with some of the other wide receivers that are being drafted right in the same range. He's all just right there with a couple of, you know, with the Amon Ras, with the Nico Collins, with the Brian Thomas Juniors. But I feel like have similar upside, similar potential upside, but less downside. And I just don't find myself with a lot of Puka this year. I think there's an argument that Devonte Adams could be a. Could be wind up. Certainly at cost. Certainly at cost.

[Producer Steven]

What about Kenneth Walker? Lawrence, because there's injury concerns with him as well. And then you have Zach Charbonnet right behind him.

[Lawrence Jackson]

That's what it's all about with Kenneth Walker as a fantasy manager. We just don't know how they're going to deploy the running backs. So it's not like Kenneth Walker misses a half a season every single year, but he misses games. And that gives us an opportunity to. To see Zach Charbonnet. And what we see out of Zach Charbonnet is that he's just as productive or even more productive sometimes than Kenneth Walker. They're so identical. They both average 4.2 yards per carry for their career. So the question would be like, how much more work in that batfield does Charbonnet get? And that's what makes it a questionable where you take him in fantasy.

[Matthew Berry]

Charbonnet has had an unbelievable camp. Walker has been banged up. I'm a little nervous that he might be more banged up than we know. And the other thing, Jay, is that we don't know what Clint Kubiak's going to do with this offense. Previously it's been like Ken Walker's been the guy and then if he gets hurt, Charbonnet is the guy. But we have no guarantees that Clint Kubiak doesn't get in there and say like, both these guys are good. Why don't we try to ease Ken Walker's workload a little bit so that he doesn't get banged up as much and let's make sure we get 10 touches a game for Charbonnet.

[Jay Croucher]

That's the issue is that just logic is always dictated. Alright, you've got two really good running backs. One of them gets hurt all the the time. Just give the guy that gets hurt all the time less touches so he has less opportunity to get hurt. So yeah, just more variance with this new offensive coordinator. And they got. They're going to run the ball a ton. Like that's kind of the identity of the offense. I do think though that it might. I don't think it's gonna be 50 50, but it might be 6040 Ken Walker. And if that's the case, you'd much rather have Charbonnet at price.

[Producer Steven]

Saquon Barkley was a league winner last year, but he is on your chicken list. What is giving you anxiety about him?

[Matthew Berry]

Well, well, just. It's a lot of things, right? So everything that could go right for Saquon Barkley last year went right. He's a phenomenal talent, but just in terms of where he's going, you know, we've talked about the workload, right? 482 touches last year. This is a guy who loses goal line work to Jalen Hurts. He isn't heavily involved in the passing game. It didn't matter last year because they were so efficient offensively and he's breaking off 60, 70, 50 yard runs and so but what are the odds he can't keeps doing that this year? Jay, we've talked a lot about on the show that we expect the Eagles not to be nearly as last year they were the run heaviest team in the NFL and we think they're probably going to be like the 10th run heaviest team in the NFL this year. So if they try to ease up the workload of Saquon Barkley, we see more Will Shipley this year. Again, there's still the vulture opportunity there. He's not really involved in the passing game. I just in terms of where you have to take Barkley, I find myself going wide receiver more often there and or depending on where where it lands in the draft. I just, I just don't have a lot of shares of Barkley this year.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, look, the Eagles, there's always somebody.

[Matthew Berry]

That'S willing to take them top five or six in my drafts.

[Jay Croucher]

Indeed. And the Eagles, they were the second healthiest team in the NFL last year after the Ravens is going to be you would expect some health regression and with Saquon you just, you're just a little boxed in if you don't have the pass game usage and you don't have the goal line carries like you need to hit those home runs to I think live up to this adp. And yeah, he'll hit some home runs because he's Saquon Barkley. But to your point, probably not going to hit as many as he did last year because no one does. And so just naturally you'd expect that to.

[Lawrence Jackson]

I'll be okay with 1500 rushing yards, 10 rushing touchdowns. Like I if he gets that which I think like what what his concerns are, it's probably the concerns for a lot of people and he's not, it's not as if he's coming off an injury. He had, he had a lot of touches. So if he was, if he had some nagging injury coming in to suffered something, I would be like all right, maybe. But yeah, 2,000 yards is, is rare. So I would chill on that a little bit. But I still think 1500 rushing yards on this offense is in play for Saquon 1000%.

[Matthew Berry]

He's going to be great. He's Saquon Barkley. He's one of if not the best pure runner in the NFL right now. I'm just saying there's enough like given where he's going in drafts which is very high in the first round. Right. That I just, I Just don't own a lot of shares of him this year because I'm. He's a chicken player. I'm a little nervous. There are other guys that I feel safer that don't have as many question marks, but I'm with you.

[Lawrence Jackson]

He's him or. Well, no. You got Saquon hired in Derrick Henry?

[Matthew Berry]

I do.

[Lawrence Jackson]

So. All right.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I have Saquon at running back four. Yeah, but. But I've seen some people that have saquon at RB1. You know what I mean? Like, I prefer bichon. I prefer McCaffrey. That's a controversial one. But weirdly, I feel safer with McCaffrey this year than Saquon Barnes.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Well, McCaffrey's going to catch 80 passes, so that's understandable. I don't think that's controversial, to be honest. For that reason alone. Yeah.

[Producer Steven]

Yeah. Another one that Matthew is nervous about is Brock Bowers. You got a bunch of changes in Las Vegas. What do you think about Brock?

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, I think with Brock Bowers just. There's a lot of variance for a guy who was tight end one last year. New quarterback, new head coach, new offensive coordinator, new superstar, top 10 pick at running back Jacoby Myers. Situation does create a bit more upside. If Jacoby Myers is going to be around saying, who else are you throwing the ball to? I do think he is the clear tight end one. I took him in our draft yesterday because he did fall into the third round there, but I think for the most part, yeah, if he's going. If he's going at his adp, you're probably better off waiting. The only reason I took Brock Bowers, my choices are Brock Bowers or Josh Jacobs. I'm going to take Brock Bowers, but for the most part you can probably wait.

[Matthew Berry]

But again, you got a great. Like, I don't mind him in the third round, obviously the problem is he's going in like the first 14 picks. And so my argument is, is that being drafted, you know, in the. In the top, you know, in the first, late in the first round or early in the second, that in essence, basically he has to do what he did last year. Like, there's no profit available in that price. Like he. There's nowhere to go but up. He's everything that what went right last year is being baked into his current price. And so like, if he falls like he did in our draft, great. But I would much rather have McBride or Kittle to another round or two rounds after than Bowers and just that's what I'm saying. I just don't have a lot of Bowers this year. Because.

[Lawrence Jackson]

The difference between Trey McBride and Brock Bowers last year was the touchdown.

[Matthew Berry]

Correct.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Which we know Trey McBride didn't have. And in my drafts recently I've just been letting those guys go. I did get Trey McBride in a fourth round so I'm good with that. I can't take Brock Bowers in the second round. I'm not worried about the new quarterback, the new player. I'm not worried about that. This is why, because when he went from UGA to Vegas last year he had all that. So that part don't worry me. But taking them that early when you could still get a top tier like a AJ Brown, a running back, I'd rather go that route again.

[Matthew Berry]

These are not players that I think will fail. These are not players that I think are bad. Brock Bowers is my number one ranked tight end too. The idea of this list is just. These are just players that I just don't draft a lot because I just when it comes time to click them and I look who else is around me, I'm just. I get a little nervous, that's all.

[Producer Steven]

What about Caleb Johnson over in Pittsburgh? I feel nervous about all of Pittsburgh. That's like many chickens for me. What do you say Lawrence?

[Lawrence Jackson]

Well, what they saying is he having trouble with pass protection and I think just for any rookie running back that makes it hard to get on the field and even harder when Aaron Rodgers the quarterback so he'll be fine. But just know that Jaylen Warren means a lot to this offense.

[Matthew Berry]

You will be annoyed at how much Kenneth Gainwell plays on the Steelers offense as him too. If you drop, if you draft Caleb Johnson, you're watching Steelers games, you're going to be annoyed at how much Kenneth Gainwell plays.

[Producer Steven]

People are pretty annoyed with Jerry Judy for almost all of his career. He had a breakout season last year. But you're nervous about him now. It's just.

[Matthew Berry]

Well it was all volume based and it was all Jameis volume base. We haven't seen him do it with any other quarterback. He's never been a touchdown scorer in his career. And so his splits with and without Jameis Winston are pretty stark. And where he's being drafted is kind of thinking that he's going to have that same kind of volume. I'm not convinced he is with comeback player of the year Joe Flacco.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, it might be Dylan Gabriel by week four. We just don't know what you do. Yeah. Or should do. A lot of his volume was just that one game against the Broncos in primetime picking on the backup corners opposite Patrick Sutton. So I think that is kind of baked into people's minds. But I mean, Joe Jude is we kind of. Joe Judy is. He's been mostly the same guy his whole career.

[Producer Steven]

What about James Cook? A lot of people are high on him and other people around this show low on him. What makes you nervous about him?

[Jay Croucher]

I think the obvious one, James Cook is just the touchdown regression. He's just not going to have 16 touchdowns again. DraftKings as he's over under eight and a half. So he's probably gonna have around half as many touchdowns as he did last year. Just Josh Allen at the goal line. Josh Allen stealing rushing touchdowns from him. He's James Cook. He's still part of a great offense. He's going to produce, but just wouldn't expect him to do what he did last year.

[Matthew Berry]

And he got paid, but he's just not involved in the passing game. He. And he doesn't get a ton of volume, actually. He averages under 15 touches a game. So he needs that touchdown equity to pay off the adp. And so it's just, I'm nervous about again, it's about where you're having to draft him to get him. It makes a little chicken about him.

[Producer Steven]

Yeah. DK Metcalf no longer in Seattle. Again. I'm just disgusted in general with Pittsburgh's offense and Arthur Smith in general. What about you?

[Lawrence Jackson]

Well, when I took DK Metcalf as my wide receiver 3 in our league, I asked Jay who else is catching passes and when he said Roman Wilson, I said, I'm drafting him right now as my wide receiver three. So that's the, that's the good part about it. The other side of it is we know Arthur Smith, we know what he want to do on offense, so. But it's Aaron Rodgers. We saw him give Devonte Adams a lot of targets Ledger. So that's the upside of it. But the downside obviously is Arthur Smith.

[Matthew Berry]

Smith, yeah. You're more pro, you're more bullish on him than I am. But the one line I wrote is I don't. I've never seen an Arthur Smith offense in fantasy football that I didn't hate. You know, I just, I hate them all. And I just, I think, I think you'll see Johnny Smith and Pat Fryermouth and like, I don't know, I just, I think they'll be run heavy, they'll play good defense. They're not going to get into shootouts because they're going to have such an elite defense. And I don't know, I've never. Arthur. It's been a long time since Arthur Smith has supported an elite fantasy, a fantasy wide receiver. You have to go back to A.J. brown's rookie year in Tennessee. It's been a long time. Like he couldn't make Drake London work, you know what I mean? So I'm nervous.

[Producer Steven]

Let's talk about RJ Harvey. He's going up a lot higher than I think I would have expected and he is going to have to share workload.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, he makes me nervous as well. Again at cost. Because we know Sean Payton likes to use multiple running backs. The camp reports are that he is struggling past protection. If you can't protect the quarterback, you don't get on the field in a Sean Payton offense. And so I do think J.K. dobbins, as long as he's healthy, he's going to get the early down work, he's going to get the close work. And so how much passing game work does RJ Harvey get at cost? I much prefer J.K. dobbins who's going two to three rounds later than RJ Harvey.

[Lawrence Jackson]

He looked good last year in this time with the Chargers.

[Jay Croucher]

2 knocks on RJ Harvey 1 pass protection 2 just vision and not taking what is there and trying to hit home runs on the outside. Sean Patton's not gonna like that.

[Matthew Berry]

No, no, it makes me nervous.

[Producer Steven]

Let's go to the top 10 favorite late round running back targets. Zach Charbony, Tootin, Braylon Allen, Jaden Blue, Ali or as Lawrence likes to say, Ali Gordon. Can you pronounce this one? Manongai Right. Thank you. Manong Guy. I believe it's Manonagay Manungay Sean Tucker.

[Matthew Berry]

Screw you guys.

[Producer Steven]

Will ship Keaton Mitchell and Kenneth Gainwell.

[Matthew Berry]

Well, we just talked about Kenneth Gainwell again. I think he's going to play more than Caleb Johnson at least early in the season. We've talked about Charbonnet on this show and Braylon Allen as well and Menonoge. I'll just say that like he has a chance to be the Dave Montgomery, what is it Guy. I'll get it right by the end of the season. Monong guy. We've talked about him in terms of, you know, the potential for. With only DeAndre Swift there. Ben Johnson likes to use multiple running backs. He could easily have that David Montgomery role in Johnson's offense as well. We talked about, we've talked about Ali Gordon but He's the top insurance option for Devon Hn and could get some goal line work immediately. But a couple other guys that I want to talk about here. How about Bashal Tutin, right. Travis Etienne, Tank Bisbee reportedly on the block. This is somebody those guys were drafted by a previous regiment. Liam Cohen drafted Bashal Tootin. Size and speed and so it may not be immediately but there's uncertainty there in that backfield and where there's uncertainty, Jay and Variance, there's potential for profit.

[Jay Croucher]

Absolutely. There's no one in that backfield who owns that job. It could be anyone's and so why not Bashful Tootin's?

[Matthew Berry]

I am at running back 39. He's going as running back 50. So I'm significantly higher on Tutin than a lot of other people.

[Producer Steven]

As a Dallas Cowboy fan you gotta give me a little bit of encouragement about Jaden Bleu for sure.

[Matthew Berry]

And I drafted him late in our draft yesterday as well. We don't know again, talk about variance and unknown. We don't know who the starting running back of the Cowboys is going to be. They're going to be very pass heavy but somebody is going to be the running back and have opportunity and so blue who's impressed? When he's been out there, he's been a little bit banged up but like I ain't worried about Javante Williams.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Yeah, give it a little time. It would be Javante Williams to start but give it a little time.

[Producer Steven]

Alright, let's go to the top 10 favorite late round pass catcher targets. That's a mouthful.

[Matthew Berry]

By the way, one of the other guys on the running back list was Keaton Mitchell who Jay said will replace Derrick Henry.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, he's already better than him. There's a new king in Baltimore. His name is Keaton.

[Producer Steven]

Keaton Mitchell, Josh Down, Rashid Shahid, Chris Godwin, Marvin Mims, Keenan Allen, Cedric Tillman, Jalen Coker for the Cokeheads. The Cokeheads, Brenton Strange, Mason Taylor and Theo Johnson here.

[Matthew Berry]

So these are all guys that According to the FantasyLife.com consensus ADP are going 10 round 10 or later on all the major sites. That's the same with the running back list that we just showed you as well. And so we've talked about Tyler Warren quite a bit on this list. But Josh Downs, when he has a quarterback and get him the ball is really good. He was great with Joe Flacco last year and given how short Daniel Jones passes are going to be, this is a guy with the third most slot targets in the NFL. Last year. I think Josh Downs is of value here. He's currently going as wide receiver 50. I'm, you know, a handful of spots ahead of that.

[Jay Croucher]

When in doubt, just go with the talent. And we've seen Josh Downs. He's got the talent. He's had flashes when he's had competent quarterback play. And for whatever Daniel Jones isn't, he should provide at least competent quarterback.

[Matthew Berry]

Any other guys on this list you guys like?

[Lawrence Jackson]

I like Mason Taylor, especially when you're talking about the jets and Justin Fields, who, when he was with Cole commit for two years, had him as a top 10 tight end in fantasy. And we know they don't have a, like a top tier wide receiver, too. So Mason Taylor's somebody who could come along.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. My favorite guy is Chris Godwin.

[Matthew Berry]

Sure.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah. He's just going too late in drafts now. And I thought it was very instructive that Todd Bowles went on radio and said Chris Godwin will return anywhere between week two and week five. I thought that he was just going to be out the first four weeks. Apparently it's on the table. And the fact that he's not going on the pop list is hugely instructive that they think he can be back in the first month of the season.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah. Lawrence, you mentioned, you know, Mason Taylor being the number two pass option for the jets, and that's where a lot of these guys are. Theo Johnson very likely is the number two pass option. The tight end for the Giants after Malik Nabors. Right. Keenan Allen, number two for after Ladd McConkey. Marvin Mimms, number two to Cortland Sutton. These are all guys that aren't being drafted as the number two on good offenses. And yet they are.

[Producer Steven]

All right, before we go, let's get to the surprise list. Berry's top fantasy team names, which I have not seen. None of us have seen. So let's get to it.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah. So Penix Envy.

[Producer Steven]

Phoenix Envy.

[Matthew Berry]

That's one. That's one from Jeff Boggess. Yeah. Catalina Wine Mixing.

[Jay Croucher]

That's good.

[Matthew Berry]

Shout out to not gonna play this season. Yeah, exactly. But still, you know, did we just become best friends? Chuck around and find out.

[Producer Steven]

Love that one.

[Matthew Berry]

That's a pretty good one. Yeah.

[Jay Croucher]

Post neighbors drip.

[Producer Steven]

Post neighbor's drip. Oh, yeah, that sounds like a surgery.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, that's from Harry Hewitt. Irritable Bower syndrome.

[Jay Croucher]

Very pleasant. Big leg scoop.

[Producer Steven]

Go shorty. It's her birthday. I need that one. I've got Bijon mustard. I need a replacement.

[Matthew Berry]

Jordan Love, hate. Listen, I'm not above getting pandered to. Yeah, you can suck up and make the list. There they go. This one's pretty good. The man in Jamirror.

[Producer Steven]

Yeah, Bad Bed Bath and Bijan. Finding Nico.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, Bed Bath and Bichon and also Finding Nico. Those are two names right there. This guy came up with a bunch of them. Owner of a Lonely Dart, Color Me Lad and Camara Chameleon. I've heard Chimera Chameleon a lot, but Color Me Lad Pretty good. And Owner of a Lonely Dart.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah, that's solid names.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, those are all solid names. There are more in the list as well. Go check out 10 lists of 10 on rotorworld.com, nbcsports.com we have a bunch of names and more lists as well. So always a fun column to read and write, I should say. Yeah, fun to write. Hopefully. Fun for you guys to read.

[Jay Croucher]

Yeah.

[Producer Steven]

All right, last call. Coming up next, our best bets to win the NFC west after break.

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[Matthew Berry]

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[Producer Steven]

DraftKings is the official daily fantasy partner of the NFL and right now all Pick Six customers can play free for a share of DraftKings biggest bag ever hit all six picks for your cut of a million dollars or more. Just download the Pick six app and use promo code ffhh which is you sign up Ride the upside with Pick six Let's talk about the NFC West J I think it's a value play but you like the Arizona Cardinals here?

[Jay Croucher]

I do and I bet this put my money where my mouth is. Cardinals +425 I think that they're going to have a sneakily top 10 defense with a fortified defensive line. Josh Sweat should have been Super Bowl MVP in my mind, he adds there. I think they'll be healthier on the defensive line. They were very injured last year, the Cardinals and there's a lot of upside on their offense. I think it might maybe have been a year early on right or D Kyla Murray. I think he will bounce back and run the ball more. I think Marvin Harrison Jr. Will be better as well. I think this could be a top 10 offense and defense.

[Lawrence Jackson]

Give me the Niners Christian McCaffrey back and I was actually impressed with Brock Purdy last year as far as like kind of putting the team on his back more. So I'm going to go with the Niners.

[Matthew Berry]

Yeah, I'm with you Lawrence. Like again you talk about they'll be help the Cardinals will be healthy this year. There's no way. The 49ers, they have to be healthier this year and so just you know give me Kyle Shannon as a coach here. So I just think offense and defense, they're too experienced. I think the 49ers at Plus Money I like them to win the west but I do like the call on the Cardinals. I can't decide whether I'm rooting for Kyler Murray to have a monster year or not not be good again like it'll be, what are you going to do?

[Producer Steven]

And sneakily, there's a lot of Bay Area fans that are calling for Shanahan's head, so I don't think that's a possibility. When healthy, they are a contender for sure.

[Matthew Berry]

All right, that music means it's closing time. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. For Lawrence, Jay and Trista, I'm Matt. You have a great Labor Day weekend. We will see you on Tuesday. Peace out.

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