← Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry
Fantasy Football Happy Hour with Matthew Berry
Free Agency Reaction: Kenneth Walker III, Travis Etienne, Mike Evans, Malik Willis
00:57:10
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- [00:00]
A
Foreign.
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B
Welcome to the Fantasy football happy hour. Connor Rogers, Matthew Berry, Jay Croucher. A lot has happened in the last 24 hours, so we did not wait until our normal Thursday slot. We got Kenneth Walker to the Chiefs, we got Travis Etien to the Saints. Mike Evans not in a Bucks uniform seems absolutely crazy. Matthew, I'll start with you. What a whirlwind it was. This free agency felt a little faster and more furious than years pass in the first two hours.
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C
I feel like it always feels like that every single year. Although, you know, one of the things I wrote about in my my NFL combine rumors column, the very last note was talking to an agent there at the combine who just said, you know, listen, 20 new coordinators, 10 new head coaches, you know, with a compressed time schedule. Again, like the super bowl just ended less than a month ago. And so he felt like this particular agent was just like, you know, I don't know if it's going to be a big rush and people aren't really under haven't had time to figure out scheme fit and do all the scouting. But in some cases as we saw like teams knew who they wanted, they went after and got them. So yes, it was a free agent frenzy. Emphasis on the word frenzy.
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B
Yeah Jay, let's just before we go move by move, I want to know what your thoughts. What was the most shocking. Was it Mike Evans finally not being with the Bucks or was there just too much buildup to that?
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A
Yeah, the fact that it's with the 49ers and we could see Mike Evans in Kyle Shanahan's offense with Brock Purdy. I think that's probably the most jarring move but to me under the radar, not necessarily surprising. But the biggest thing that I got out of yesterday is that Tua Tagovailoa is going to be the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. Most likely Atlanta Falcons team roster is pretty loaded and if tour is good like this team can win the division and be hosting a playoff game. And I think that guys like Tua and Kyla Murray, there's such a stench around their names because you know, they're not on the teams that drafted them in the first five picks anymore. They didn't live up to expectations. These guys are still good NFL quarterbacks and they're going to have a chance to succeed. We'll see where Kyle lands. Most likely Minnesota. But with tour just the fact that yeah to attack by low is going to be the quarterback for Bijan Robinson and Drake London and Kyle Pitts Co that was yeah, kind of. I guess it was somewhat expected, but for that just to actually happen, I think it's going to be pretty material for the season.
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B
Yeah. Kevin Stefanski loves himself some undersized left handed quarterbacks. Matthew, you just can't get enough of them.
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C
He really does, you know, like he drafted Dylan Gabriel, now he's got two. Like he. Yeah, like if you're short and lefty, like you can play quarterback for Kevin Stefanski. Connor, start working on your other hand.
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B
So close, so close. Just need to throw lefty. Oh, what a missed opportunity.
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C
Very missed opportunity. I was going to say my two, my two most shocking. And we're going to get to these. But number one was just Malik Willis to the Dolphins. I mean, I know a lot of people had mocked that, obviously coach and general manager coach coming from Green Bay, but just their cap situation. Right. From what I understand, and I'm not a capologist or anything like that, but from what I understand, I believe the Dolphins have over $150 million in one shape, way or form to committed to the quarterback position over the next couple of years because like they're taking like a $99 million cap hit by releasing Tua and then they give like 67 million to Malik Williams. 45 million guaranteed. I think those are the numbers. So, I mean, just like I thought they were just so capped out that they wouldn't be a part of the Malik Willis sweepstakes. And so that was shocking to me. That was my NFL Rumors combine column. Had a pretty good run. I mean, go back and look at it like I nailed a lot of things, but one thing I did get wrong was I thought Malik Wills would go to Arizona. He's instead obviously going to Miami. That was the shocking thing. And then the other one that was kind of shocking to me. Connor. And this leads us into our show. Here is Ken Walker going to the Chiefs. And the only reason I say they're shocking is that I just feel like Andy Reid has always been a. He's been a running back by committee guy. He's been a, like, he's like, he's the guy that made Shark Hendrick West a thing. He's like, you know, he went into a season with Spencer Ware as his guy one year. Like he's always been a guy that's kind of like I'll make anyone a running back. And for them to pay the kind of money that they did on Ken Walker, 43 million for a three year deal, that was just surprising to me. Just because I feel like we knew that Ken Walker was going to get paid. I don't know that we thought he was going to get paid that much, but I was just surprised that the Chiefs paid that much. When you just sort of think about the ethos of that team, not necessarily team need, because I do actually think it's a great team need. Last two years, Chiefs have been one of the teams that's last. They've been last in explosive run rate and second in running back yards per carry. Like it has been three yards in a cloud of dust. And I'm being generous on the three yards for the Chiefs over the last two years. And so they needed somebody that, you know, had big play potential and explosiveness and could run the ball and take pressure off Mahomes. And so they get that in K9.
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B
Yeah, I think what it comes down to for the Chiefs of this move is that they probably won. Realize there's no world anymore where Jeremiah Love is falling to their ninth overall pick in the draft. So you weren't going to be able to necessarily draft a guy like that for this year. And that, you know, the NFL is kind of shift. Not kind of. It clearly has been shifting to the run game for the upper echelon teams. This is going to be phase two of the Patrick Mahomes era now. Not that he's old, but getting older. So you have to retool what's around him. And Kenneth Walker J ends up being kind of the face of that, which, you know, I respect the Chiefs kind of changing who they are and trying to kind of go with the way the rest of the league is.
- [05:58]
A
Yeah, I think there's a couple things at work there where one, this just speaks to just the fatigue of watching Kareem Hunt and that type of attack and just grinding everything out and having to work so hard to get 4 yards a carry and stay ahead of the chains. And I think the other thing too is that Ken Walker, even though it feels like he's been around for a while at this point and he's coming off Super Bowl MVP, he's in the spotlight like he's not. He's 25 years old, he's had under a thousand carries in the NFL. The underlying stats have always loved him. Even though if he is a little bit boom or bust, he skews more to boom to make it worthwhile and beneficial for his team, the way that he plays. And I think also kind of what this speaks to is the fact that when the Chiefs offense was really flying, when it was the Mahomes even going back to the Tyreek Hill days, you could kind of get away without investing at running back just because of the gravity that the passing game had. And I just don't think that the offense has really touched those heights really since Mahomes won his last mvp, which is three, four years ago at this point. So I think it just shows it's an acknowledgment that they do need to invest in the position. And for so long it's been, you know, running back is the position you shouldn't overpay. I think there's been a bit of a correction there where we've seen, you know, the really smart analytical organizations like the Eagles and the Ravens, they're invest, they've invested in Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry. And I think that this just speaks to the fact that, you know, you can't just get by with a no name running back if your offense isn't all, all world and the Chiefs offense hasn't been all world in a while now.
- [07:32]
B
Yeah, you need somebody that can create explosive runs, missed tackles, and having that guy to lean on puts less stress on the offensive line because you're not constantly in a drop back script where it's pretty predictable for the defense's front. And the fact is, once again, like we saw Matthew, what Kenneth Walker did in the super bowl when he's healthy, he's a one man difference maker that can turn negative run plays into 10 plus yard runs.
- [07:55]
C
24 career games where he's gotten at least 18 touches and he's averaging over 108 yards from scrimmage in those games, like when he's healthy. He's right. The only knock on Ken Walker has been health, but played all 17 games this past year for the first time in his NFL career, stayed healthy and then obviously became the super bowl mvp. Wish he'd caught three receptions in the super bowl, but otherwise it was a flawless performance. It hit him in the, it hit him in the numbers, Jay. And then the fourth one was at his feet, Sam Darnold. He just, you know, he should have hit the over two and a half receptions. I'm just saying. But either way the man gets paid. And I agree with you. I mean, I just think that when you think about how often the Chiefs are in the red zone, how often they run, I mean how many times did we say like, look, we don't think Kareem Hunt is very good at this stage, but he is getting work and he will fall into the end Zone felt like every game just I don't have a stat for this but just felt like every game Kareem Hunt would get you at least one rushing touchdown because just the Chiefs are in the red zone so often and so assuming a healthy Mahomes, the fact that they've got Travis Kelsey back as well, we'll get to that in a second here. Just feels like, you know, they're going to be in scoring position often and when they are, you know, while they will be passing me in the red zone because they're in the red zone so often, like anybody's going to run. Like my expectation here is double digit touchdowns for Ken Walker next year. I have him as a top 12 running back next year as well. Like and there is a scenario that if Patrick Mahomes is healthy and this, this offense works the way we've seen it work in the past and that Ken Walker stays healthy like number one running back in fantasy is not outside the realm of possibility. Do I think Bijan Robinson and Jameer Gibbs have better shots at it than he does? Yes. I wouldn't say he's the odds on favorite but like it's within the range of outcomes. A healthy Ken Walker with a healthy Patrick Mahomes and an Andy Reid offense, fantasy goodness can happen. He no longer has to worry about Zach Charbonnet, you know, taking carries.
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B
It was a good day guys for the top of this running back class in free agency as Travis ETN agreed to a four year $52 million deal with the Saints. Jay, the Saints offense right now, they've done a good job building up this offensive line. They also signed David Edwards, their only open spot on the offensive line, as their left guard spot. They have the bookends at tackles. They have Chris Alave, Tyler Schuck played really well under Kellen Moore. Now they have their workhorse back as Alvin Camara obviously has declined over the years. Travis Etienne coming off a career year enters the New Orleans backfield.
- [10:28]
A
Yeah, I feel like I jumped off the Saints bandwagon at precisely the wrong time during the Spencer Rattler era and now instead have this Indianapolis Colts flag behind me and we'll get to the Colts, but they are trending perhaps in the wrong direction. Saints definitely trending in the right direction. And ETN look, I don't know like what's Trevor Etienne? Is he the 14th, 15th best running back in the NFL? You typically don't want to pay those guys a ton. But where the rest of this team is at the fact that Shark showed what he did in the second half of the season. The fact they have a legit wide receiver, one in Crystal Lava, the fact that the defense is excellent and is probably the best defense in that division. This is a team that, you know, kind of out of nowhere because they were going from, you know, Spencer Rattler starting games to now a legitimate chance of winning the division next year. And I think what makes ETN a bit more defensible as a signing, Connor, is that this offensive line for New Orleans is in a pretty good spot at the moment.
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B
Yeah, I, I think, I mean, number one, they've hit on both picks at tackle right now. They've added a guard, Matthew, that can help them kind of solidify this entire unit. There's no weak spot. We know that they can run the football schematically. It's, it's easy to be very high on the Saints offense right now. Like the way they finished the season, the way they can throw the ball with the young quarterback. And now ETN, who, you know, healthy and reliable last year is a huge addition and was once again like the Chiefs. I think the Saints realized Jeremiah Love was not making it to the 8th overall pick in the draft and they went out and wisely addressed this in free agency.
- [12:01]
C
Yeah, it's, you know, it's super interesting because I know the underlying metrics on ETN aren't amazing, right? And, but they needed to do something right. Last year, no team in the NFL had fewer running back rushing yards than the New Orleans Saints. It just, you know, love Alvin Kamara. I said this on my video that he did for Social yesterday, but, you know, clearly at the end of his career, and Travis Etienne you mentioned about sort of healthy and productive. Like, I think people would be shocked to learn that since 2022, Travis Etienne has two missed games, literally only two missed games since 2022. He's had over 1300 yards from scrimmage in three of the past four years. So surprisingly durable. Feels like he's always like questionable with a hand, but. But he always ends up showing up. And so, you know, I think if there's a concern here, it is that Kellen Moore offenses tend not to target the running back all that much. Now, I think Kellen Moore offenses are pretty good generally. I think they use the running back. You think about the Saquon Barkley year in Philadelphia when Kellen Moore was calling plays. You think about all the years in Dallas, you know, you know, the Chargers, whatever, but. But generally speaking, Kellen Moore I think calls a pretty good offense and A pretty good run game. He just don't use the running backs in the passing game all that much. But obviously when you're getting a $52 million contract, you're going to be the guy. Camara is still on the roster. We'll see what his role in this team will be. But I think, I think Travis ETN is kind of a mid tier RB2. Again, lack of, lack of passing game involvement makes him more of an RB2 than an RB1 for me. But I think he's in that 14 to 18 range. I think he's super solid. And then the other part here, Connor, and you can talk about this because we were excited about him a year ago and now it's time at least for the moment to get really excited about Bashaw Tootin.
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B
That's right. It's elevates his role. A guy that can hit the big play can factor into the passing game and there's, you know, obviously things can change with the rest of free agency or more importantly the draft, but there's just built in reps for him and the good news is it looked like they were trying to find ways to get him on the field. As is, they just had talent in front of him. As we see Scott in the chat says I'm buying as many shares of Tootin and Jacksonville this year. My drafts, I'm with you all the way. It's a player I really, really liked in his draft class. He's an excellent athlete, he's an explosive runner and we know this offense, it can be tricky to figure out because they almost have so much talent. By the way, we'll see if Brian Thomas Jr. Is on the move where that would change. But that is something that is a trickle effect of this that I'm excited about. All right. Back to Mike Evans. It's funny this is, you know, a three year contract but when you look at the structure of it, really just a one year $16.3 million deal based on the guarantees, which Jay, I think that's great business for the Niners for what Mike Evans is right now at this stage of his career. He's still a physical jump ball receiver. It's something if Juwan Jennings is gone, that the Niners not only fill, they upgrade in this spot and it feels like an insanely low risk when you're talking about one year of guaranteed money.
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A
Yeah, definitely. And I think what this speaks to is that, you know, the Niners offense, when Purdy was healthy statistically was right there with the Rams offense as One of the best elite offenses in the NFL. But then you look at the difference between how those two teams played against Seattle towards the end of the season. I think that just brought into stark light the fact that you can't do it with smoke and mirrors all the time. Sometimes you just need to get a dude who can just beat his guy one on one. And Purdy just didn't have anyone who was creating separation or anyone who could win a jump ball against Seattle's defense, while Matthew Stafford had Puka Nakua and Devonte Adams. And so with Mike Evans, who, I get it, he's, you know, about to turn 33, he's coming off an injured season. But Mike Evans, his whole thing, his whole career is that he has been this metronome of consistency where every year it's been 75 receptions, 1100 yards, 10 touchdowns. And I think that he's such a good pairing with Purdy because, you know, much like Baker Mayfield, Brock Purdy will pull the trigger. He will take shots downfield. He is a gunslinger. He's not a game manager. He will throw the ball up for grabs. Mike Evans, I think, should age pretty gracefully if he can fix these hamstring issues, because he's never been a guy who's been super dependent on his speed. He's 6 5. He wins at the cash point. So I think just as an added wrinkle, it's just a much needed dimension for San Francisco's offense and a great pairing with Ricky Pearsall. Because now if PE is healthy, the Niners have two legit wide receivers who can be elite at the position to go with Christian McCaffrey out of the backfield and then George Kittle once he gets back from his Achilles injury.
- [16:47]
C
Yeah, see, I don't know that that's the case. I mean, to me, like, I think Ricky Pierce hall is still a question mark. You know what I mean? Like, you're like, if he's healthy, he's still in a. I'm like, do we know Ricky Pierce hall is good? Like, we've seen flashes of it. We loved his college tape. But like, I don't think, like, I think there's a. There's a non zero chance that Mike Evans is the number one wide receiver for one of the better offenses in the NFL here, and that even in a scenario where Ricky Piersol becomes what we all thought he could be when he was drafted in the first round a couple of years ago, I think there's still a scenario here where Mike Evans becomes this year's Devonte Adams. You know, that was sort of an easy conclusion I came to yesterday when I was doing social videos. I think other people came to it as well, but like, you know, not a ton of yardage but a big red zone threat. Think about what Devonte Adams did last year with Matthew Stafford. They get in close. Especially when you think about George Kittle coming off the Achilles, right? And we don't know when he's going to be back. Like Mike Evans immediately becomes the best red zone threat that Brock Purdy is going to have. And so you mentioned it like 6 foot 5, you know, vet says does Evans move make Pearsall a better fantasy pick? Yeah, potentially, because I think he takes some attention away. But I don't know what this. Look, Kendrick Bourne is now an Arizona Cardinal. We don't know if Juwan Jennings is going to be back with a team or not. So there's an again non zero chance that Mike Evans is the best fantasy wide receiver, best fantasy pass catcher on the, on the 49ers here. I have him in my initial ranks as kind of a low end wide receiver too in that, you know, 20 to 24 range. Right. 18 to 24 sort of there. We'll see how everything shakes out here. But again, I think he's, I think he's going to be double digit touchdowns and I don't know, maybe he's 800, 900 yards. Like you know, not a huge yardage total here as well. I mean again, remember last year, the first year and he was injured for a while, but last year was the first year in his NFL career they didn't get a thousand yards. So I think this is a great landing spot for Mike Evans. And to your point, Jay, a smart move by the Niners front office.
- [18:48]
B
More receiver news right at the buzzer. The Colts knew if Alec Pierce got to test open free agency, that might have been it. For Alec Pierce. With the Colts, they get a four year, $116 million deal. Done. The trickle effect of this is to clear out some money, they send Michael Pittman to the Steelers for a late round pick swap. Michael Pittman signs a three year, $59 million extension with the Steelers. So double Colts moves. And here Matthew, obviously Alec Pierce from a fantasy angle I find interesting to digest because I think at times before any of this started, we were like, God, imagine Alec Pierce on the Patriots or the Bills and you start naming all these different places. Good for Alec Pierce. Friend of the show gets a giant payday from the Colts. But how do we Project him. Now Pittman's out some more targets, but still some questions at quarterback, even with Daniel Jones on the transition tag.
- [19:43]
C
Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of people saw that price tag and were like, wait, did Jay Croucher negotiate this? And the answer is yes. Yeah.
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B
Nice job, Jay.
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C
Yeah, it's well done. Yeah. For the shoe. Yeah.
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A
Alex, Alex, Alex, my boy. He was lovely as well on our show. Very nice man, Alex. Very happy. He's gonna get padding. He's gonna spend that money very responsibly. Seems like a very high character type of operator. But look, I think we talked about ad nause point where he's become a bit on the show. But look, I think the thing with Pierce is that, look, he went over 1000 yards receiving this year despite missing time, despite the fact that he only had one reception all season over 50 yards. So he wasn't just fluking it with bombs. And to me, the most encouraging thing is that he runs a diversified route tree now. And the fact that, you know, he had games where he earned 13 targets against the Steelers, 10 targets against the Chargers.
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C
The.
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A
The fact that he was able to do more over the middle. The fact also that he was able to have a massive game with Riley Leonard as his quarterback. The last time we saw Alec Pierce, he was going 4 for 132 and two touchdowns with Riley Leonard in a game that he got ejected from, which he shouldn't have been ejected from as we've covered as well. But I think that Pierce as well. With Pitman gone, the Colts are very much a forgotten team in the AFC landscape. But I am old enough to remember the first two months of the season where they had the best offense in football. And I think that the bones of that offense are still mostly there. We'll see what Daniel Jones looks like off the Achilles, presuming that he is the starter as everyone expects him to be. But this is still a really good offensive line. It's still Pierce with Tyler Warren and Josh Downs alongside of him. Pittman is gone. I think that more affects Josh Downs and it'll affect Alec Pierce. So I think operates in a little bit of a different sphere still. Jonathan Taylor, running back, and I think the Pierce, you know, he's young enough at 25 where he can take another step. And Connor, like this guy, it feels like Alec Pierce is like a seven rounder, seventh rounder, came out of nowhere. Eliquis was drafted in the second round. He's got a lot of talent. I think that he really showed it last Year, yeah.
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B
Size sub four. Four wheels. Like it's all there for Alec Pierce and obviously it's. He's been on the right trajectory where he's gotten so much better year after year. And part of that it's been held. I think he's had three concussions throughout, you know, maybe through the, I'm not sure through the pros. I know he had two in a nine month stretch. So injuries have played a part in sometimes derailing that, but when he's healthy, he could stretch the field. And Matthew, I think the big thing is with Michael Pittman gone, Pierce kind of finally evolves from that role of, okay, vertical guy. Vertical guy. Vertical guy. Can we get you running some shallow crossers where you have the ball in your hands after the catch or some slants or some digs. Basically just open up the route tree where you operate more like a higher volume number one ish rather than this vertical stretch number three, number two receiver. They're paying him to be a lot more than that now.
- [22:36]
C
They are. But fantasy wise, I don't know that he's going to be much more than that. Look, look, everything you say makes total sense, right? Listen, we like Alec Pierce. We like him on the show. He has become a complete wide receiver. I understand. You know, for all the jokes about, wow, I can't believe Alec Pierce got that kind of money. And did Jay Croucher negotiate the deal? The truth is, is the reporting out there is that Alec Pierce actually turned down more money to return to the Colts. I know my commanders really wanted him. I know there were a lot of teams very interested in his services. And ultimately he got offered supposedly more money than what he ended up. But he gave a hometown discount to come back to Indianapolis, which is great. But here's the thing. So last year he has a breakout year, right? He's awesome. We love it. And so I'm going to take weeks one through 17, I think the week 18 game. I know we had a huge game here, but I think weeks one through 17 is probably a more accurate reflection. He has a breakout season. Last year he was awesome. To your point, Jay, the Colts offense was unstoppable the first two, first two months of the year. Al Pierce was wide receiver 36 on a points per game basis. Now, okay, you take Michael Pittman and move him to Pittsburgh so there's some more targets to go around. Okay, fine. But you know, this is still a guy who, despite some of the games you mentioned, Jay, still a guy who averaged under six targets a game, still only had an 18% target share. He's led the NFL in yards per reception each of the last two years. So he is a deep ball threat. I agree with you that his game has become much more than that. And certainly this contract says they expect him to be a number one wide receiver. But I think as we sit here, if we're here a year from now talking about the Colts, do we think he gets more targets than Tyler Warren? I don't. Do we think he gets more targets than Josh Downs? I think there's a chance that Downs gets more targets as well. Just when you think about how Daniel Jones throws the ball now, what Pierce does is he opens up higher. Offense, they still want to be run heavy with Jonathan Taylor. So I mean look, he was wide receiver 36 on a points per game basis last year. I think that's about right. Like maybe move him up a little bit. Again, extra targets with no Pittman there. But to your point, Connor probably helps Josh Downs more than it helps Alec Pierce. So I think he's like, you know, in the 30 to 35 range, you know, as a wide receiver. But I just, I think this is a better move for the Colts NFL wise than it is suddenly. You know, Alec Pierce is suddenly a, you know, a top 20 wide receiver and an automatic starter. I think he's going to have some huge spike weeks next year. Loveman, best ball, you know, as we like to say. But I think consistent fantasy production. Given how the Colts offense runs, I think it's going to be tough to see Pierce. Look, Pierce has that skill set and maybe he does become the alpha but it just feels like in Shane Steichen's offense they like to spread it around and that I, I think the person that leads the team and targets next year is Tyler Warren.
- [25:21]
A
Yeah, I think on the Colts I think I'm going to end up with Josh Downs in a lot of drafts because he's kind of the forgotten guy in this mix. One, Josh Downs is really good and now two, he is taking, he's going to take a lot of the usage that Michael Pittman got and I think that there is enough, there is enough space in this offense for three pass catches to succeed in Warren Downs and Pierce. And also the scary thing with Pierce as we mentioned, like he is in a lot of collisions by the fact that he is downfield so often he's in these jump ball situations. And while we hope obviously nothing happens to him, if he has a concussion next year it could be a long term absence as we saw With Trevarius Ward on the Colts dealing with his own issues. So Josh Downs, I think there's, there is a material, he's going to be the third pass catcher drafted on the Colts, clearly. And I think there is a material chance that, you know, he can be their number one guy.
- [26:16]
B
Yeah, it's, they will be a very interesting offense for us to talk through in August of the distribution of everybody and of course the health of the quarterback, which is kind of the engine or sets the, the floor of what all those guys can do. Speaking of, it's always good when we get some fantasy relevant quarterback news in free agency. We mentioned this at the top. Malik Willis, Matthew ends up going to.
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C
Before we move to Malik Willis real quickly, I just want to talk, I want to touch briefly on Michael Pittman though.
- [26:43]
B
Yeah.
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C
You know, because I, I think he goes to Pittsburgh here and it's weird because I like Alec Pierce more than Michael Pittman. Clearly the Colts like Alec Pierce more than Michael Pittman. But I think there's a pretty good chance that Michael Pittman has the better fantasy year next year than Alec Pierce. I think the Steelers are going to be more pass heavy under Mike McCarthy than they were under Arthur Smith. Calling the plays. I think, you know, adding he's got less target competition. It's just him or DK Metcalf. And DK Metcalf has never been a guy that was a massive volume. You know, DK Metcalf's game had been about touchdowns and about, you know, kind of the big plays. But Michael Pittman is somebody that's had at least 80 receptions for the last five years. He's never been a big touchdown threat. Although last year Pittman gets seven touchdowns. And so, you know, even if the touchdowns regress and he's like whatever, he's four or five or something like that. I just think, I think he's going to be a solid, you know, wide receiver. Three, bordering on wide low end wide receiver two in PPR. I think he's in the, you know, 24 to 30 range. You know, as a wide receiver. I just, you know, it's, it's him and D.K. metcalf. Right. And we'll talk about the running backs in a second here. But I think, you know, it's him and DK Metcalf and whatever Friar Booth. But I think Pittman's going to get a big target share on what should be a much more pass happy offense than we saw last year under Arthur Smith. Mike McCarthy has generally been a. He certainly was Very past happy with the Cowboys and with the packers he was a little bit more, a little bit more balanced. But you know, and it obviously depends on whether Aaron Rodgers comes back or not.
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B
Right?
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C
But yeah, I mean I do. I just think, I think, I think he's going to be, you know like a mid tier wide receiver 3 that could border like in the right situation. Could wind up, you know, wide receiver, 22ish, you know, again, low end wide receiver. 24 low end wide receiver too. So he's in that range.
- [28:33]
B
Malik Willis to the dolphins. Three years, 67 and a half million, 45 of it is guaranteed. So Malik Willis ends up with a lower annual average than someone like Sam Darnold. These mid tier quarterback contracts, but bigger guarantees. So I mean right out of the gate this is familiarity from Malik Willis. He obviously comes from Green Bay where the Dolphins new head coach and new general manager do. But Matthew, I agree with you. I'd be fascinated to know how in Arizona was on this. Sometimes they have a reputation cash flow wise of being a cheaper organization because they have an immense amount of talent. Now Malik Willis will have a chan and waddle. It's not like he's walking into nothing. But this is a very interesting, interesting scenario is that Dolphins have shed some money this off season and with the two, a cap hit could be kind of resetting. They don't reset under center. They bring in Malik Willis.
- [29:27]
C
Yeah, this one was a weird one to me. I. Look, as we talked about, I get it. General manager and head coach both from Green Bay where they're obviously very familiar with Malik Willis and maybe that was also a factor in Malik Willis choosing to go to the Dolphins as well. He certainly gets paid. Look, we've talked about this before. We know the fantasy upside of him. Three starts for Green Bay over the last two years, averaging over 23 fantasy points per game. The rushing is there. I think the concern here is that this is a guy that has six career starts and for as excited we are about, you know, full time Malik Willis starting, he's got six career starts and could this be Justin Fields 2.0? Like you know, I raised my hand. I was excited about Justin Fields fantasy wise heading into the year and that obviously did not work out when he had a full time job. But he went to a dysfunctional organization with not a ton of talent around him. And so are the Dolphins as bad as the jets in that scenario? No. But are they close? Kinda. I mean, you know, I mean this is a team that's had a lot of turnover here. And to your point, Devon hn, Jalen Waddle and not much else, you don't feel great about this offensive line. I don't, I don't think. I also think from a fantasy perspective, so for Malik Willis, I think he's probably in the QB 12 to 16 range. I think he's a mid tier QB 2 that's got low end QB 1 upside quarterbacks, really deep. I don't know if people sort of looked at rankings yet or done any like best ball drafts but like quarterback is super deep next year. So it's one of the reasons why. But given the small sample size and that there's a, there's, you know, there's definitely a scenario where this goes south, right. Given the lack of experience by Willis and the lack of talent and it's a new offense coordinator Bobby Slowik, who, you know, I don't know that you can take much, you know, from last year when he's with McDaniel up and down, you know, seasons in Houston. The one thing I will say here is that I actually think guys that this hurts A Chan and Waddle a little bit. Right. That just because Malik Willis is the reason we love him in fantasy is he's willing to duck and run. But that's not great for Waddle and it's certainly not great for Devon HN who you know, so much of his fantasy value came from the fact that he would get, you know, six, seven receptions a game. And so if Willis is not dumping off to hn, like they'll still run the ball, they'll still use them, I think in the passing game because they just don't have much else. But I'd say slight downtick in value for HN and I think Waddle is probably closer to a wide receiver 3 than wide receiver 2. Again, given that, I expect the Dolphins at least with Willis to be more run heavy than they have been in the past.
- [32:04]
A
Yeah, that makes sense. I think firstly find it hilarious. We had a great NBA game last night on Peacock Thunder Nuggets. The two best players in the world going head to head. Nicola Jokic and Shay Gilgis Alexander Jokic and SGA combined make about what Malik, Willis and Tuatagavailoa are going to be paid by the Miami Dolphins this year. It's pretty crazy the Dolphins are in this situation, but that's hard to do in the.
- [32:26]
B
With NBA salaries.
- [32:28]
A
It is. It is hard to do. But I think that this is probably for the Dolphins purposes. If they weren't going to Go the Kyla Murray route then. This was the best available route. The good thing with Malik Willis is that unlike Tour who is a pretty known commodity at this point, like there is real immense upside with Malik Willis. I mean this year he had a 92 PFF grade. It's MVP level now. He only played 97 snaps. But there is something here where there are worlds where Malik Willis could be a star. He could be a star for the Dolphins, he could be a league winner in fantasy. So if you want to shoot for the stars, he is the type of guy that you go for now it's going to be just on average it's probably going to be a weaker scheme than what he had with Matt Lafleur and Green Bay. Bobby Slowik stock probably goes up a little bit based on CJ Stroud struggles after Slowik left. But at the same time you would expect that full of flow infrastructures is going to have been kinder to Willis and what he'll get this year. But just the fact that he has waddle and H hand, I think that gives a certain flaw to the offense. Those guys are just so talented, they bring so much speed. This is a team that is going to be built around speed. Again offensive line is a concern but yeah, Malik Willis now is one of the most compelling characters in the NFL going into the season. Both real life and fantasy.
- [33:49]
B
It's also going to be interesting to see obviously Halfley being a defensive mind, he usually be able to set some kind of floor on defense but they have no players in their secondary right now. They traded make a Fitzpat and reason I say this is they traded make a Fitzpatrick, they're gonna have to draft a corner, probably need to draft two corners. You know the pass rush. We'll see. They're okay in the middle of the field. Is there a world where year one as good as halfway is? They're in these scripts where they are down 60% of their games by. You know the Dolphins could be bad this year on defense but that's great for Malik Willis because he'd be an elite, you know, past script heavy kind of quarterback because he'll be able to scramble more. The defenses won't be playing as tight. I know we're getting super far down the road here but like there's a road where the Dolphins aren't great but Malik Willis because of his skill set also still holds some value.
- [34:43]
C
But oh for sure.
- [34:45]
B
I do think Matthew we were really excited about him before free agency and this at least cools things a Little bit where I don't know if he'll be a top 10 quarterback in drafts.
- [34:54]
C
I'd have felt, yeah, exactly. I like, could he get there.
- [34:57]
B
Sure.
- [34:58]
C
The reason I have him ranked where I do like as a mid tier QB2 is because again, there's a wider range of outcomes he could, he easily has the skill set again to your point because of both game script and the scrambling and you know, he does have some talent around him and you know, free agency isn't done yet and I, I still, I still keep the light on from Alik. Washington become a thing. So, you know, there's still, you know, potential opportunity for him to be a top five, top seven quarterback. But there's also a scenario where again he's this year's Justin Fields and just the bottom falls out. And like those three games were just sort of like, you know, the games that he made appearances were like either down big or like just again being in the packers structure is different than being in the Dolphins structure. So be really interesting to see sort of how it all plays out. The, you know, but we're, you know, it's an interesting one. It's a very interesting one where we see how the Dolphins play out. The other one that's interesting to me is that, you know, again, so Malik Holz goes to Dolphins. But one of the things that I, I did not hear to a Tunga Violoa's name quite a bit when I was at the NFL combine, I heard a lot of, I heard a lot about Malik Willis, a lot of Kyler Murray, a lot of some of the other quarterbacks as well. I think fantasy wise, I would have preferred Malik Willis to go to Arizona where he could throw to, you know, McBride and Harrison and Wilson. But, but he's not, he's in, he's in a floor in Miami, which means Tua winds up signing with the Atlanta Falcons or is going to, you know, when the official year opens on Wednesday. And so look, I think there's no fantasy value for Tua in Atlanta. He doesn't run. I think they're still going to want to run the ball with Bijan Robinson. But the exciting thing here, Jay, is that Tua is good enough to get the ball to the guys we care about, you know, whether it's, whether it's Drake London or Kyle Pitts or honestly dumping off to B John Robinson. B John Robinson's already my number one overall. He's my one to one. He's most people's 101. So it's not like he can go quote higher but when you just think about how many times Tua would dump off to Devon Hn and now he's got Bijan Robinson. I you know Bijan Robinson could have 100 receptions next year depending on how long Tua is the starter.
- [37:16]
A
Yeah, I think the thing with Tua is that Tagbalo is a professional quarterback. He's one of the 32 best quarterbacks in the NFL. He should have a starting job. He I think we kind of know what he is at this point. I think he flashed an elite level in 2023. Since then the wheels have come off as the league I think is figured out him out a little bit. But look, Tua is very much like a lot of pocket quarterbacks who don't create that much out of sight of structure. Think he is a product of his environment and this environment is excellent. It's literal dome environment. But it's also with Bijan Robinson a pretty good offensive line, Drake London and then a really good offensive mind in Kevin Stefani. So too I think he is going to keep the train on the tracks. I don't think there's going to be a massive amount of surplus value that he's creating particularly outside of structure. But I think just having the high floor of Tour and Penix combined when Penix comes back I think makes you feel a lot better about drafting Drake London or Bijan Robinson. And it just, it prevents the disaster scenarios where all of a sudden it's like oh week 13, Penix had a setback and it's like Brett Rippon time in Atlanta or whatever. I think that two are just insurers against the downside scenarios for Atlanta. And look this team to you know, make the playoffs and win the division this year, it's a very competitive team and I think that you feel pretty good about Bijan and Drake London who are going to obviously go extremely high B on Robinson will likely be the first pick. Drake London will be a top 10 wide receiver clearly. So I think that you feel a lot better about those guys over in
- [38:52]
B
Tennessee, Robert Salah and Brian D saying let's get the band back together through free agency. And the headliner of that was the Titans because it went so well well in New York for both sides. Wandell Robinson coming off a career year gets the payday. Four years, 78 mil, 38 of it guaranteed. Great for Wandell Robinson. Now Matthew, while there's jokes to be made about their free agency strategy, there are targets galore in the slot for Wandell Robinson from Cam Ward. When you look at the structure of this roster.
- [39:24]
C
Yeah, I mean, look, I mean, I mean, you know, he's, he's. We'll see if Calvin Ridley still on the team come August. Right. But you know, him and Alec IO Manner and Shamari dk and so you think about Brian Dabel and I know a lot of people will sit here that the naysayers, the haters, Connor Rogers, that will say, well, Wando Robinson, all this production was because the Malik neighbors was hurt and it was a lot of junk time and blah, blah, blah. But Brian Dabel drafted Wando Robinson. He coached him for a number of years. And so I think Brian Dabal is sitting here going like, Wando Robinson is the kind of player I know what I can expect out of him. I know, I know what the kind of offense I want to run. I know what Wando Robinson could do. And I think he's sort of a perfect fit. Right. Breakout year for Wandell Robinson last year, who for years we'd sort of thought, well, he's this slot guy. And then whether it's because of game script, because of no Malik neighbors, because they just didn't have anyone else. Wando Robinson became a complete wide receiver last year. They were, they were targeting down the field. He was producing with Jameis, he was producing with Russ, he was producing with Jackson, Dart like, you know, whoever was out there, they were finding Wandell Robinson. And so I think you're right. I mean, I think easily 120 targets for this guy. He had 140 last year for the Giants. And so it's weird to think about a slot guy, quote unquote, a slot guy as your number one wide receiver. But I think he's clearly the number one wide receiver on a team in the Titans that should be in game throwing script quite a bit next year as well as they continue to rebuild in Tennessee. And so I think just him coming back together with day ball and the familiarity with the offense and not a lot of target competition makes him kind of interesting. Now again, it's the Titans. I don't think they're going to be in scoring position that often. I have him as a, you know, in the 35 to 40 range among wide receivers is about where I think he's going to land, but you know, slightly higher potential in PPR formats. I. Yeah, I mean, I just, you know, I like Wando Robinson. We like Wando Robinson. It's just the question marks are about Cam Ward and the overall offense.
- [41:27]
A
Yeah, Interesting one for me Rashid Shahid. I still don't understand really what happened with him in Seattle where look, obviously they won the Super Bowl. He had some great moments, mainly on special teams.
- [41:38]
B
Yes.
- [41:38]
A
So the trade is a success. But reality is is that his final six games as a Seahawk, the last three regular season games and the three playoff games, he had five receptions total. This was a guy in New Orleans who before he got traded was on pace to have around 80 receptions and a thousand receiving yards. Do you think it was just the difficulty in acclimating to a Super bowl contender mid season? Is this. Is Rashid Sheet more of a Percy Harvin type of player or do you think there can be a lot more that can be unlocked with a full season?
- [42:07]
B
I think it's what you led with Jay that they think through a full that you know, getting acclimated as the vertical guy is tough. Right. Him and Darnold, the timing wasn't always there. So I still think they see a lot of promise in him as a vertical receiver in this offense once they have time to build that. But the beauty of it is you get two things that set the floor. You brought up the special teams plays and, and we could factor in the gadgety plays with that. The second thing is Rashid Jahid's presence is massive for a team that wants to run the ball even though they're going to have a different offensive coordinator. Seattle's offense is going to be built on running the ball. You need somebody on the field like him that hopefully can force some lighter boxes. So I think they value his presence. Anything they get as a receiver is a little bit of a bonus. But I am more optimistic, Matthew about his box score production with Seattle next year than what the post trade deadline showed.
- [42:56]
C
Yeah, I think, I think that's fair. Although I will say that I think he's going to be a much better player for the Seahawks then he will be in fantasy. Right. To your point. Like he's not going to play a full complement of snaps because they want him on special teams. You're still going to want but what he does is he opens up things for Jackson, Smith and Jigba where he's so much more of a threat offensively at this stage of his career than Cooper cup is as well. I still, I kind of like what I've seen out of A.J. barner. They're getting a little bit of. But you know, I mean again when you've got JSN as the number one but you're. You've got Shaheed flying Down the sideline, you've got to send somebody with him. And so hopefully the way they use Shahid will open up the running game and also get some one on one situations for jsn. So it makes a, makes, it makes a lot of sense for the Seahawks, NFL wise. I don't know that Shahid is somebody. I think Shahid is going to be a guy that we're talking about on the waiver wire show and not somebody that you're going, coming out of drafts.
- [43:50]
B
With three running back signings here that are all a little bit in the same bucket. Tyler Algier signs a two year deal with Arizona. We'll go circle back to that in a second. Rico Dowdle signs a two year deal with the Steelers. Kenneth Gainwell signs a two year deal with the Bucks. So I think the consistent theme here, Matthew, with all of these is, is that there's entrenched starters in front of these guys, but does one have a better pathway to more touches than the other? In this group of three, you have obviously Algier with James Connor reworking his deal to stay in Arizona. I don't know what happened with Trey Benson there, besides lack of health. You have Jalen Waddle. Jalen Waddle, of course, she's, that's a tough break for the Steelers. How is Jaylen Warren? There we go. Jalen Warren. Too many names going through. And then of course Bucky Irving in front of Kenneth Gainwell as Rashad White is still out in free agency as well. So is there a path for any of these guys, Matthew, where you see them kind of taking over, being more of a 1B than a number two running back.
- [44:54]
C
Yeah, certainly with the first two. Right. I mean, so you mentioned James Connor, but like James Conner, older running back, struggled to, you know, struggle to stay healthy throughout his career. And so is a scenario where Tyler Algier, who gets, you know, you mentioned two year twelve and a half million dollar deal, almost like that's like, that's pretty solid money, right? I mean like that's, that's not, that's not nothing, right? It's, it's not Ken Walker or Travis ETN money, but it's not nothing. And so you know, Algier, who, you know, had the eight rushing touchdowns, you know, who last year, I think, you know, had, you know, 500 yards, like is somebody who's been, you know, very, very solid and so with a larger work role. I mean, we've talked about this. Tyler Algier is good. Tyler Algier's biggest Issue is that he wound up on a team with Bishon Robinson.
- [45:39]
B
That's right.
- [45:40]
C
You know, like, it's like, you know, he's a good running back. He's just not one of the three best running backs in the NFL. And that's a, that's a tough spot. And yet even with B, John Robinson as team, Algiers still managed to carve out a significant role for himself. And so he goes to get some money from what we think will be a pretty good Cardinals offense. So is there a scenario where Algiers could become the guy? Sure. James Connor gets hurt or just he becomes. Again, it's a new regime. It's a new coaching staff. Right. It's Mike LaFleur. He's got no, he's got no loyalty to James Conner. All due respect, like, you know, this is a, it's a new coaching staff. And so they went out and get Algiers. So I certainly think there's a scenario. There's. And then the other one that's obvious in terms of who could take over. It's Rico Daddle reuniting with Mike McCarthy, who had him in Dallas when he had 1,000 yards for the Cowboys. And so look, free Jalen Warren. You know, I mean, like, what we. I don't know what we have to do to ever get Jalen Warren to get a full time gig. Like, America loves Jalen Warren. I love Jalen Warren. Just everyone except whoever's coaching the Steelers, for whatever reason, we just can never seem to get him a full time role. And the signing of Rico Doddle seems like we're going to have to wait even longer because now Gainwell moves on. We'll talk about him in a second. But, you know, feels like you have both guys that are sort of complete running backs. Right. Warren was the past catching back when Najee Harris was there. Najee leaves, they bring in, you know, Gainwell. And so now all of a sudden Jalen Warren's like the, the bruiser. Rico Dowdle was sort of the bruiser. But then in Carolina we see like, oh, Rico Dowdle can be used in the passing game. So they're both complete running backs here. I think ultimately what this means is that the Steelers hate Caleb Johnson. I was going to say, you know, that's. That's what this means.
- [47:18]
B
This happens so fast.
- [47:20]
C
Yeah, the Steelers were like, are we losing Kenneth Gainwell? Well, we, we spent, you know, like, I think what was Caleb Johnson, third round.
- [47:28]
B
An early third, I thought early third.
- [47:30]
C
And they're like, it, no, thank you. Rico's out there. Okay, go get Uncle Rico. I just. Look, I'm going to. My suspicion is that the way the ADP will fall is that Rico Dowdle would be higher than Jalen Warren because everyone will make the Dowdle McCarthy connection. But I will still say that Jalen Warren will be the better draft day value. Just as we sit here today, I just think he's the better running back. And I like Rico Daddle. I know he had a couple of 200 yard games, he was awesome. But I just, I think Jaylen Warren's a special running back. I don't know why he can't get like just a full time gig to himself. Like, you know, but. But by the way, same thing, kind of Same similar money, 2 year deal, 12 and a half million dollars for Rico Doddle as well. Right? So, yeah, kind of similar numbers. From what I understand from, from what
- [48:18]
B
I remember, yeah, all three of these contracts were in the same kind of bucket as guys that'll operate as number twos going into camp. But they all have avenues in front of them for a bigger workload. By the way, more a little mini note for the Bucks. Kate Otten, who we talked about through how many waiver wire weeks, Jay, for tight ends it's basically K dot. And when the Bucks go through some injuries at pass catcher now Mike Evans won't be there. He is a viable streaming tight end with Baker Mayfield.
- [48:46]
A
Yeah, kind of the Kenyan Drake of tight ends, Kenyon Drake of wave, a wire show ghosts pass. But Kate Otten, look, I mean he, we very much know what he is. I think that the hope for Kate Otten would be that this Bucks offense is better than it showed in the second half and his Bucks team as, as kind of catastrophic as the season ended for the first half of the season, they're really humming on offense and they had a lot of injuries on the offensive line. I will forever remain convinced that Baker Mayfield was just not healthy after the injuries that he dealt with mid season in the second half of the year. So you would hope that with Baker being healthier, with the offensive line being healthier, that this can get back to being the elite offense that it was two seasons ago. And just Mike Evans, the, the good thing for Kate Otton is like Mike Evans takes a lot of touchdowns. Those touchdowns are now more up for grabs. And look MacBooka, it's going to be a huge year for him because he had basically the two most extremes to halves of a season that you can imagine where he was a top 10 wide receiver for the first half and then unplayable for the second half. And if a book of is kind of halfway in between that, then there's going to be a lot of opportunity for other guys in the offense. And so Kate Otten, again, not someone that you ever feel super enthused about, but it's probably someone that you can start and hope that you get eight to nine points out of him.
- [50:08]
C
Yeah, I mean, I think he's a mid tier tight end too. But your point about just sort of with Mike Evans leaving, look, another year healthier for Chris Godwin, but the emergence of a Booka Jalen McMillan, I think is suddenly on the sleeper radar, as is Tez Johnson. We saw flashes from both guys are like, you know, McMillan two years ago, Taz last year as well. But that was one of the reasons why I said in my column, my rumors column, like, Mike Evans isn't coming back. I know there were some agents out there, there's some reporters out there like, oh no, the Bucks are trying to resign him and I think they were trying to do some favors for Tampa Bay there or something because, like it wasn't going to happen, especially knowing what Evans was going to command on the open market. But as long as we're talking Tampa Bay, we sort of glossed over Kenneth Gainwell. The one thing I just want to say here is like, look, Bucky Irving is entrenched as the starter. Like where there's a scenario where Rico Dowdle could be the number one running back to the Steelers over Jalen Warning becomes more of a third down guy Warren does. Or that Algier, the healthier, younger running back becomes the lead of what is a committee in Arizona. Look, Kenneth Gainwell is always going to be the number two to Bucky Irving. But when you think about Rashad White and Sean Tucker moving on, I think that Gainwell from a touch perspective could have both the Rashad White and Shawn Tucker role. He's not going to get the goal line work that Tucker did. That's going to go to Bucky Irving. So I think this actually helps Irving a little bit because I think, you know, less of a potential vulture here. But it does hurt Irving's pass catching ability because I think Gainwell is clearly two years 14 million. It is going to be Bucky Irving on first and second down and Kenneth Gainwell on third down, which is sort of crazy to think about. Connor, when you thought about Bucky Irving's profile coming out of college.
- [51:40]
B
Yeah, it's, it's definitely an interesting way to construct a backfield but the ironic thing is the Steelers just did this with Warren and Gainwell last year. So the Bucks are kind of like, hey, we like the mold of that. Some teams like to have the thunder and lightning. Some teams have heavier backfields. I guess some teams now can go more undersized backs that give you a little juice in the past game. More tight end news and this kind of rounds things out. The boring one is Travis Kelsey returning to the Chiefs. I don't think anyone ever thought Travis Kelce was playing it down in football anywhere else throughout this offseason. The interesting one, Matthew, is Isaiah Likely getting a pretty big contract from the Giants. We know they have Theo Johnson to play on the line of scrimmage, but that's probably good news to keep Isaiah Likely off of it. It feels like he not from a volume perspective, but he almost takes the alignment role that Wandell Robinson had in this offense.
- [52:36]
C
Yeah, I mean I think when you think about after Malik neighbors they just don't have much else. They lose Wanda Robinson. So I like Isaiah Likely reuniting with Coach Harbaugh, but yeah, more of a move tight end than a blocking guy. Theo Johnson's a good blocker so could they go to more two tight end sets that we saw a lot in Baltimore as well as somebody that has both Isaiah Likely and Theo Johnson in a tight end premium dynasty league. I was very, very depressed about this news. I was hoping that Travis Kelsey was going to retire and that Isaiah Likely would go to be the new Travis Kelce in Kansas City and none of those things happened. So I mean, yeah, I mean no one's shocked about Kelsey coming back to Kansas City. Who's coming back? To me the surprising thing was that he's coming back. I sort of thought last year was going to be Travis's last year. The NFL is more fun with Travis Kelce, so we're excited that he's back. I think he's still a mid tier tight end 1 assuming Mahomes is back. You know he's still going to be a red zone threat and a part of that offense. Back to Likely and Theo Johnson. I think you'll see both guys out there. I prefer Likely to Johnson, but I think unfortunately they're going to sort of eat each other out as it were. That's awkward. I hope somebody does.
- [53:44]
B
Oh man. I was going to let you move through it. I was going to let you move through it.
- [53:52]
C
There's production away. They're going to.
- [53:53]
B
We were like three minutes from the show being over. Just we Couldn't make it.
- [53:58]
A
Yeah, I can get a graphic there with AI.
- [54:01]
B
No, no, no.
- [54:02]
C
That's going to be a. I want. That's going to be awkward.
- [54:05]
B
I want to go home. Well, I'm already home.
- [54:07]
C
I would just like to take a moment here to thank NBC for all the time. Had a great run. Appreciate everyone.
- [54:13]
B
Football night in America was fun.
- [54:14]
C
Life experience. It was great. Maria Taylor, I'll miss you. You know, Appreciate. Appreciate everyone. I apologize. I have no further comment at this time. We get in there, I was. I was hacked. I'm trying to think of all the other.
- [54:31]
B
Rashawn, Gary.
- [54:32]
C
I was on Ambien. Yeah.
- [54:37]
B
It might actually work. That excuse.
- [54:39]
C
Yeah, that's AI. AI. It clearly wasn't me. Anyway, my expectation here is that Isaiah Likely and Theo Johnson are going to eat into each other's target share. It's over. Because of. Yeah, because, you know, they play the same position, but. But I prefer Likely to Theo Johnson. I mean, both. Both red zone targets. But to your point, I do think they probably view Likely again, new head coach that, you know, is familiar with Likely from the days in Baltimore. Together, that Likely becomes kind of that slot. Big slot, for lack of a better way to phrase it. All right.
- [55:21]
B
Any if.
- [55:21]
C
Big slot. Anyway, God bless everyone. Thank you so much. Thank you to Lawrence Jackson for taking over for me next week, you know, thank you, Stephen and Damian, producer, our producer, for everything. Yeah, for everything. I'll miss everyone. When you speak of me, speak kindly. That's all I ask. Because this is over.
- [55:41]
B
Do not speak of my demise.
- [55:42]
C
No, but you can't. I get it. Yeah. What are you gonna do? I had a good run.
- [55:48]
B
Well, see, we're supposed to be back Thursday, so we'll see if I am.
- [55:52]
C
No, the show is back Thursday. I want to be clear. The show is back Thursday whether I am or not. We'll see. But. Yeah, that was. That was bad. In fairness to me, it's my first time on tv. Yeah.
- [56:05]
B
Yeah.
- [56:05]
A
Say yeah.
- [56:08]
C
Anyway, do we have anything else, Connor?
- [56:09]
B
No, that's the entire rundown. You. You are literally. You literally blew it off. The last player. The last player of all the players we went through. You. You drop the ball before crossing the goal line. It's actually unbelievable.
- [56:22]
C
Yeah, no, I'm. Yeah, I'm. I'm Adnai Mitchell is what I am. Yeah.
- [56:27]
B
Mitchell desean Jackson. Malachi Corley.
- [56:30]
A
Yeah, Malachi. Always underrated, and that's a very underrated one. He was. This is just as bad.
- [56:37]
B
Yeah. Never heard from again.
- [56:38]
C
Yeah. All right. Well, listen, that music means it's closing time. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. That's especially true for me. So the show is back on Thursday. I'm not sure if I will be, but until then, follow all of us on social media for reactions to free agency. Rotterworld.com for all your player news as well. For Jay and Connor, I'm potentially Matthew Barry for the last time. Peace out.