Dan's Favorite Players and Jacob's Advanced Stats! And Jamey is Here Too! (08/21 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Summary

Fantasy Football Today Podcast Summary

Episode: Dan's Favorite Players and Jacob's Advanced Stats! And Jamey is Here Too!
Release Date: August 21, 2025
Hosts: Adam Aizer, Dan Schneier, Jamey Eisenberg, Jacob Gibbs

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Episode Overview

This episode is a deep-dive into the FFT crew's favorite players to draft for 2025, with a focus on Dan Schneier's personal targets, Jacob Gibbs' advanced analytics, and fresh analysis on ambiguous backfields and player roles. The team breaks down player values, discusses risers and fallers in ADP, and brings new statistical context to wide receiver skill. Additionally, insights on preseason developments, player health, and listener league drama add fun and practical draft advice.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Jalen Warren and the Changing Pittsburgh Backfield

[05:21–10:10]

• Listener Email: Asks if Jalen Warren is a potential star if given true RB1 opportunities.
• Jacob Gibbs: Praises Warren's efficiency across several advanced stats, noting:
  • RB6 in yards per rush, RB4 in success rate, RB1 in avoided tackle rate among qualifiers.
  • "He just continues to get more and more work from Najee… so we’ll see what happens next." (06:24, Jacob)
• Jamie: Stresses Warren’s advantage in pass protection, crucial for playing time with an aging Aaron Rodgers.
• Dan: Skeptical about heavy fantasy investment: "Ultimately a bet against the offense and a bet against the volume here for me." (09:00)
• Consensus: Warren is preferred in PPR, with skepticism about anyone truly dominating this backfield.

2. Backfield Battles & Draft Strategies

[11:00–17:52]

• Jamie and Dan dissect backfields in Seattle, Houston, and the Giants, flagging late-camp movement (injuries/role changes) as potential value points.
• Seattle: “You’re going to get a discount on Ken Walker... Charbonnet could have a bigger role.” (12:29, Jamie)
• Giants: Jamie is "team Tracy" but likes late shots on Cam Scadaboo.
• Houston: Jamie "doesn't want much of Mixon or Chubb”—predicts RB committee with a messy outlook.

3. ADP Toss-Ups & Quickfire Rankings

[16:47–18:08] Hosts debate rapid-fire on running back decisions:

• Warren vs Tracy: Jamie leans Tracy for volume, Dan leans Warren for talent.
• Walker vs Chuba Hubbard/Travion Henderson: “Even me, I’m going Walker and I’m not a Walker guy.” (17:26, Dan)
• Jacob drops a tip: “FFT newsletter… will have a rankings update this week for sure before Friday.” (17:57)

4. Wide Receiver Deep Dive: Keon Coleman

[23:55–26:59]

• Jamie: “Early 40s” rank for Coleman. Describes Coleman's yards after catch and high aDOT as “insane, not repeatable.”
• Jacob: “Until we see Keon Coleman get slot work, I’m just out.” (25:33) Attributes lower upside to a limited route tree and outside role.
• Dan: Echoes skepticism about role/scheme: “For fantasy football, I’ve said for a long time [the Bills offense] is bad for the passing game value.” (26:11)

5. Denver-Saints Trade Impact (Vail/Mims)

[27:08–29:36]

• Jamie: Sees more opportunity for Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin, “If you have enough bench spots, [target] two of those guys. You could find gold with a late round flyer.” (28:53)
• Dan: Notes the Saints added size with Vail, but Denver's receiving core shakeup is better for clarity.

6. Dan’s Favorite Players (Dan’s Guys)

[42:43–59:05]

• Christian McCaffrey (“Unicorn back”):
  • “What I’m chasing now are what I deem to be unicorn players in fantasy … running backs who actually have a role in the pass game.” (44:57, Dan)
• Nico Collins:
  • "If there’s anyone I want to bet on besides Chase to be WR1, it would be CeeDee, but after that, it's Nico Collins … there is no way they're not going to be top three, top four in the NFL in pass attempts.” (45:07)
  • “Yards per route run over his career: elite, one of the best of all time.” (46:01)
• Malik Nabers: “Love him at cost, love the talent, freak show of a receiver.”
• Chase Brown: “One of the rare backs you can get in this range with potential workhorse role in an elite offense with a big role in the pass game.” (52:31)
• George Pickens: “The best fit he's had at quarterback by far in his career… Dak’s ability to anticipate, get the ball out… perfect for Pickens' skill set.” (53:44)
• RJ Harvey: “One of the best backs in college football last year from a yards created standpoint.” (54:21)
• Colston Loveland (TE): “I had a higher grade on him coming out than [Tyler] Warren. Loved his ability to create separation on the vertical seam.” (57:59)
• Quarterbacks:
  • Drake May: “Buying him because I think we're going to get a lot of rushing touchdowns… more of a Josh Allen type feel to him.” (61:03)
  • CJ Stroud: “I think his volume is going to be exceptional… just one year removed from being a top ten quarterback in fantasy.” (62:33)

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Advanced Stats, Notable Insights & Memorable Quotes

• Jacob Gibbs drops a new stat filter ([63:51]):
  • Removes sacks, screens, scrambles, and under-center snaps to better assess wide receiver skill.
  • “Nico Collins at the very top… Denver guys in particular—Courtland Sutton within this lens looks like a true WR1.” (64:35)
  • Marvin Mims: “Not a successful short intermediate route winner. Right now it's all deep balls or screens.” (66:44)
• Jacob’s advice: “Colson Loveland has flashed elite target drawing upside… his target per route run rate was the highest of any tight end since 2017.” (59:12)
• Drafting ethos: “Don’t be afraid to pull the trigger a little bit sooner.” (56:54, Jamie)

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Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• "He just continues to get more and more work from Najee… so we’ll see what happens next." – Jacob Gibbs, 06:24
• "Ultimately a bet against the offense and a bet against the volume here for me." – Dan Schneier, 09:00
• "What I’m chasing now are what I deem to be unicorn players in fantasy… running backs who actually have a role in the pass game." – Dan, 44:57
• "Until we see Keon Coleman get slot work, I’m just out." – Jacob, 25:33
• "If there’s anyone I want to bet on besides Chase to be WR1, it would be CeeDee, but… it's Nico Collins." – Dan, 45:07
• "Yards per route run over his career: elite, one of the best of all time." – Dan, 46:01

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Jalen Warren Deep Dive: 05:21–10:10
• Ambiguous Backfields (Seattle, Giants, Houston): 11:00–17:52
• Wide Receivers Rapid Fire & Keon Coleman Talk: 23:55–26:59
• Impact of Denver-New Orleans Trade: 27:08–29:36
• Dan’s Favorite Players (Detailed Breakdown): 42:43–59:05
• Advanced WR Stats with Jacob: 63:51–67:53

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Overall Tone and Format

The FFT crew keeps a high-energy, banter-filled tone, balancing actionable analysis with candid debates and in-jokes about league drafting. Dan’s “rant” segments inject strong opinion, Jacob drills down into metrics, and Jamie provides pragmatic drafting context, making the episode rich for both fantasy newcomers and seasoned drafters.

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Summary for Non-Listeners

If you didn’t get to listen, this episode is a robust preseason resource:

• Dan’s Guy List: Clear, actionable targets with reasoning and tier context.
• Jacob’s Stats: Contextualized advanced WR measurement to better identify “true” WR talent.
• Backfield Updates: Who to fade or pounce on amid preseason injuries and role shifts.
• Listener Fun: Includes a rant from a league-mate mocking Dan’s drafting snipes and references FFT’s open community.
• Draft Takeaway: Don’t be afraid to reach for your guy, especially if they fit the “unicorn” profile in today’s shifting NFL.

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Transcript

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[Dax Shepard]

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[Jamie]

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[Jacob Gibbs]

Bye bye Truckee.

[Dax Shepard]

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[Jamie]

Hello other Truckee.

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[Adam]

This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports.

[Dan]

Wanna play? Can you believe this? No, I can't.

[Adam]

It's time to dominate your fantasy.

[Dan]

This is gonna go the distance.

[Adam]

Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie and he. What's up everybody? Welcome to the show. It is Thursday, August 21st. We have reached the two week warning. Two weeks until football starts.

[Dan]

Everyone.

[Adam]

Welcome to Fantasy Football Today presented by BetMGM the sportsbook born in Vegas. I am in such a good mood. Nothing can ruin this mood. I got good friends here on the podcast. I got an email. We got an email about 10 minutes ago with the subject line that said I hate Dan. I can't wait to read that one out there. Jamie's here, Dan's here, and Jacob Gibbs is on the show for the first time in a while. Dan, have you met Jacob? Have you guys worked together in a while?

[Dan]

I don't know him. I don't know him very well, but I've heard some good things. Well, I've heard some good things and some bad things.

[Adam]

You guys would get along pretty well. You should do a show together beyond the box score. Check it out. I got some trivia for you, and I think Jacob's probably going to know it. So the top three wide receivers last year in yards per route run minimum 50 targets were Pukinakua, AJ Brown and Nico Collins, who finished fourth.

[Jacob Gibbs]

What'd you say? 50 targets? Pretty low threshold. Marvin Mims. No, Devon. Topical.

[Adam]

It's Marvin Mips. Marvin Bibbs. Yep. Fourth in yards per out run. Then he is topical as. I mean, I don't know if the Vale trade really changes anything, except it gives us an excuse to talk about Marvin Mims. Jamie, we'll get to that in a minute. How you doing, man?

[Jamie]

Doing great. Sounds like you're doing great.

[Adam]

I am. I'm fired up. I've got two slow drafts going on right now. We were just talking before the show how much I really enjoy slow drafts because he's just constantly in a draft. I think I drafted Keon Coleman yesterday. And then Dion Dawkins comes out and just raves about Keon Coleman, and I'm fired up about that.

[Jamie]

Yesterday was. Was very, very, very fun. If you like drafting for me. We had our IDP draft at 11:00am we had our salary cap draft at 1:00pm I had a super flex draft at 5:00pm and then I had a little league baseball draft, 7:00pm you were.

[Dan]

Definitely most excited for the Little league.

[Jamie]

Baseball at the same time. Don't lie.

[Dan]

So you're the coach commission in the Little League. Is that. Is that the scenario?

[Jamie]

Coach. Not a commissioner. Coach.

[Dan]

Well, sorry, not commission. Coach. But you're also the gm. I meant coach. Gm.

[Jamie]

Yes. You play the same role.

[Dan]

Essentially the Jerry Jones of it.

[Jamie]

Yeah. Big trade, too. I had to make a big.

[Dan]

You're allowed to make trades?

[Jamie]

Yes. You have to. No freaking way.

[Dan]

You're trading kids.

[Jamie]

Yep. So there was. Hold on a second.

[Adam]

Hold on a second. Hold on a second. Dan, are you under the impression that Jamie is drafting kids?

[Dan]

Yeah, literally. Draft.

[Adam]

I think it's a draft amongst the little leaguers, a fantasy draft, but I could be wrong.

[Jamie]

I imagine drafting kids to a team.

[Adam]

Oh, you Are okay. Yeah. I was drafting his Little League, his kids team.

[Dan]

This is unreal. He's got a huge role here. He's playing gm.

[Adam]

Okay. Okay.

[Jamie]

I had to make a trade to get one of the kids that I wanted on the team and a little, little, little persuasive, you know, conversation there and you got him.

[Adam]

All right.

[Jamie]

Yep.

[Adam]

All right.

[Dan]

So how does it look now? The dress over?

[Adam]

Let's. Can we, can we. Let's get to the show.

[Dan]

Let's get to the show.

[Jamie]

Great. Team's great.

[Adam]

All right. That's. That's a fun day, man. It's a fun time of year.

[Dan]

We're loving tracking that record.

[Adam]

All four of us are FFT Open commissioners. We're all having a really good time in our FFT Open leagues. So today we're going to talk about Dan's, some of Dan's favorite players to draft. Jacob's going to give his thoughts as well. We have an email about Jaylen Warren. I want to talk about some backfields or maybe our thoughts on the backfield has changed, you know, and I think Pittsburgh would be one of them with Caleb Johnson's kind of underwhelming preseason. We have news on the Houston backfield. Seattle I think we need to talk about the Giants come to mind as Scatter Boo is back. But here's the email from Matt Wheeler. I'm going to throw it to you first. Jacob says, are we not so sure that Jalen Warren might actually be good and just needed an opportunity to be the RB1 on his team going into the season. I'd love to hear some Azer stats on him. I don't really. I have some stats but not Azer stats. I personally think he could take this opportunity and run with it. But I'd like to hear your thoughts on Jalen Warren and Jacob. Recently we've seen Warren and Caleb Johnson having very similar ADPs. Maybe in the round 7, 8, 9 range somewhere around there.

[Jacob Gibbs]

It's hard to make Azer stats for him because he hasn't had an opportunity normally. Azer stats like when he started this game, you know, and you just pick pinpoint those games he's never got to start. But I think he's going to get to start. And yes, he's been phenomenal on a per opportunity basis since entering the NFL. This is out of like 60 qualifiers. He's RB6 in yards per rush, RB4 in success rate, RB1 and avoided tackle rate. Really good as a receiver too. RB 7 yards per out run, RB 3 in first down, per out, run behind only Nahim hines and Christian McCaffrey. And I want to point to the success rate because that's pretty crazy playing in this offense that was like often quarterback by Kenny Pickett or whatever. Najee Harris had like one of the lowest things like 45th out of 60 and success rate whereas Jaylen Warren was up at the very top. Will that translate, you know, as like a starter and not just like a, you know, third down type of back? That's, that remains to be seen. But he's done the absolute most that you, it could possibly be expected of udfa. He just continues to get more and more work from Naji and then they're like, Naji, you can go, you know, so we'll see what happens next.

[Jamie]

The best thing that happened to Jalen Warren was Aaron Rodgers because he is 40 years old and he cannot move and he needs somebody to protect him. And Caleb Johnson still has to grow into that role and Jalen Warren is one of the best in that role.

[Adam]

Yeah, but you know who's actually graded higher in, in his past blocking PFF grades over the last is Gainwell. Yeah.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Jamie]

Which is why he's playing ahead of Caleb Johnson also.

[Adam]

I just don't know. I mean it's pretty rare to see a team use three running backs I think significantly so I, I feel like Warren and Gainwell are sort of repairing.

[Dan]

How rare is it for Arthur Smith? Didn't Arthur Smith do it a few years ago? Was I mistaken?

[Jamie]

Well, I mean if you, if you're.

[Dan]

Counting the quarter out, I am counting him. What else would he be?

[Adam]

But he had Patterson in Pittsburgh too and didn't really use him until war unless Warren was hurt. Yeah, I, I so, but right there is that concern. He hasn't been very good at the goal line. He has only had, I think said eight carries inside the three yard line. He scored on two of them. Jalen Warren, that's not very good. But he's only had one of those at the one yard line. So you know, it's harder to score from the three than it is the one they've net. They've always had reasons to give him more work because Naji hasn't been that good and they've never really done it. He has two games in his career with more than 13 carries. So there, you know, there's a lot to like about him and a lot to I think maybe hold him back just, just because we haven't seen them give him that big role. But does any, okay, give me in this format I'm taking this Steelers running back first. You know so non ppr. I'm taking John whatever it is. Jamie, how would you fill in that.

[Jamie]

Blank PPR and half ppr? I am definitely taking Jalen Warren first in non PPR where they are going. I would probably take Caleb Johnson first just because of the touchdown potential.

[Adam]

Dan.

[Dan]

I'm taking Jalen Warren first in all formats. I think Jacob did a great job outlining why he's an excellent player with excellent peripherals from a just pure player standpoint. But I'm avoiding this backfield entirely in all formats. I won't be draft like the conversation I had with Jacob was we mentioned. I mentioned Gainwell because I do think gain all assigned to play a role in this offense. No matter what we've seen in the past with Arthur Smith. It may be all through play or maybe Caleb Johnson just won't play a lot at the beginning of the season. And then secondly like what is our ceiling here buying into this offense with this version of Aaron Rodgers in it. And I really am not a huge fan of DK Metcalf either as a player fantasy or real life. So it's ultimately a bet against the offense and a bet against the volume here for me. But Warren, if I'm forced to take one.

[Adam]

Jacob, you're on mute.

[Dan]

There you go.

[Jacob Gibbs]

It's Warren for sure. I. I'm. The Warren and Gainwell aspect of this has me like pretty much all the way out on Caleb.

[Adam]

Okay. By the way, here's a fun stat on, on, on Warren. Jalen Warren. So since entering the league he has 127 catches. That ranks 13th amongst running backs. He has zero touchdown catches. So Warren, that is by far the most receptions for a running back without a touchdown catch. 127. Who do you think has the second most receptions for a running back without a touchdown catch in the last three years?

[Jamie]

Najee, what's the number of catches?

[Adam]

69.

[Jamie]

69.

[Dan]

It's something weird. It's just like a weird anomaly stat. I can just tell by Adam has no poker face. You look over there when we're recording. You can read him so easily.

[Adam]

It's Kenneth Gainwell.

[Dan]

Yeah, there we go. It was a cheeky little answer.

[Adam]

Yeah. All right, listen, if you haven't signed up for BETMGM yet, use the bonus code Fantasy. All right. This is a great offer. You're going to get up to a fifteen hundred dollar first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM. Just download the BetMGM app and sign up and use the bonus code Fantasy. Deposit at least ten dollars and place your first wager on any game and you'll receive up to fifteen hundred dollars in bonus bets. If your bet loses, just make sure you use the bonus code Fantasy when you sign up. So let's continue this discussion, Jamie, about backfields, where we may have changed the adp, I guess for, you know, for multiple backs. And I think we've, we've talked enough about the rookies, right. So I'm going to skip New England. I think we can probably skip Denver, but the ones that came to mind were Pittsburgh. We just talked about Seattle. It's another, you know, I mentioned what Brady Henderson of ESPN kind of wrote in a blurb about preseason week two. Then he just wrote a full on article about it that was published yesterday. I think about Charbonnet having a bigger role and being healthy. Right. And this is important right now for Ken Walker to get these reps. I think Houston with we get a report from the Houston Chronicle that that Joe Mixon could start the season on pop and Nick Chubb looks like the leader to be the lead back there. And the Giants I think are worth mentioning because Tracy, I feel like has been a little bit of a riser for us. I have a little more confidence in him than I did at the beginning of the process. But Scatterboo's back now and I know Dan is very high on him. So if you want to give me a quick rundown of those three backfields, Seattle, Houston and the Giants and how you're drafting them right now, I think.

[Jamie]

For Seattle, you're going to get a discount on Ken Walker. That will hopefully help because he may have been getting drafted a little bit too soon if this was going to play itself out. So take out the injury situation, him missing time, if he was going to be 100 healthy, we may still have seen a little bit more of Charbonnet than people, especially fantasy managers, were expecting. So when he was going early round three, you know, middle round three, that may have been a little bit too soon. So you're getting him now probably in the middle of round four, in some cases early round four, that might just be a little bit better value. Hopefully he's going to stay healthy. Look, he struggled to stay healthy last year and as you alluded to, you know, the report from espn, it's really the only place that we're seeing this though it's not like Mike McDonald is saying it and I didn't read the story. So maybe he did say that, or maybe one of the members of the staff said it.

[Adam]

They talked about the value of like being healthy and getting the reps, but they did.

[Jamie]

It's hard, it's hard not to speculate in that regard because of what Charbonnet has done when given opportunities, what he looks like, what he's capable of. And I think part of it is, and you're seeing this play out in certain backfields in certain situations. Bruce hall is another one. These guys are coming into contract years and you're seeing how these teams are valuing some of their high end backups. And in the case of Charbonnet, we know they spent a, you know, significant draft capital on him and maybe want to see what he's capable of in case he's their starting running back in 2025 and 2026. So at some point, 2025 and 2026, not that they don't know, but you never know. In any event, it's, you know, drop Walker a little bit. It's maybe taking you out of a great deal on Charbonnet because he's, you know, been steamed up a little bit based on the injuries. I still would like to get a piece of this backfill because I think it's going to be very good and we know what Charbonnet's upside is when there's an injury. In the case of the Giants, I'm still team Tracy. I don't think Scatter Boo coming back at this point as a rookie is going to change much until we get into the season. It's not a bad idea to take one of the two at the right, the right price, you know, I don't think you want to be reaching for Tyrone Tracy, you know, so that round seven, round eight range, he's still living there is fine for me. Scatter Boo has fallen to a point now where it's just easy to take him as, as a, you know, fourth, fifth running back, depending on what your team looks like and just to see what develops as the season goes on. And the other backfield you mentioned was Houston. Houston. Yeah. I mean this, this just. I don't know how you can trust Joe Mixon if he falls in drafts. And you like the value for me, that's after round eight at this point, especially if you can stash money poplars, you know, see what, what happens if, if or IR spot if he's on the pub list. I don't really want much of Nick Chubb just because I think he's. Yes, he averaged Five yards per carry in in the second preseason game and maybe can give you a couple of good games, but I think it's going to be messy. That offensive line I still don't trust. I think they're going to throw the ball a lot and I think we'll see some other running backs mixed in there, whether it's Damien Pierce or Woody Marks or maybe even Dario Gumbwali. Like, it could be messy.

[Jacob Gibbs]

Okay, Damien Pierce revival.

[Dan]

Yeah, it's over, Jacob. It's over.

[Adam]

And a goomba Wally is going to play on third down too. So we're not talking about anyone who's getting all the work. All right. Did anyone hear anything in what Jamie said that you have a strong reaction to? Or are we just gonna. Should we just leave it at that?

[Dan]

Well, I have one thing I'll throw in there. Jacob might have something on Woody Marks. I think he's. I post saw him post something. But on the Giant situation, as much like you mentioned, like, oh, Dan loves Scott. I love them as a prospect. As far as a fantasy asset for the 2025 season, it's not. It's very difficult for me to love Scatter Boo because I think he's just so far behind the eight ball. Like Jamie mentioned, like, maybe it'll be at some point in the season, but once you get into the season, the practice schedule is really. It's not. It's very regimented and it's basically just prep for the next game. So there's not really all these reps to get ready or whatever it may be. So if the Giants play him this year, it's basically a gamble. As far as the pass production goes, he had very few reps with the first team offense before his hamstring injury, training camp. Now he's back at practice, but that doesn't mean he's back at practice working with the first team. They play Singletary by the in the red zone. That's the role I was hoping Scatterboo would grab. And it's an offense that's ultimately going to be what, at best 20th if we're lucky there. So it's not really a gamble. It seems like a good gamble based on the talent, but I'm not so sure it is a good gamble for the situation. 2025 redraft. That's the only one I had a stronger opinion on.

[Adam]

Warren or Tracy. Guys.

[Jamie]

Yeah, I go back and forth with this. Right now it's Tracy just because of. I think it's going to be a little bit more Messy in Pittsburgh's backfield. I do like Warren better by himself, but I think Tracy may have an opportunity for more touches. But they are back to back, literally in running back rankings and. And top 200.

[Dan]

For me, it's opposite. I like Tracy better by himself, but I. I trust Arthur Smith's run game a lot more than Dable and Kafka.

[Adam]

Charbonnet or Jordan Mason?

[Jamie]

Again, back to back for me, I have Mason. One spot.

[Dan]

I think I would go Mason. I'm pretty high on Mason. I like his situation.

[Adam]

Ken Walker. I'm sorry? Mason. Mason around. Okay. Ken Walker or Chuba Hubbard?

[Dan]

Easy for the upside. Even me, I'm going Walker and I'm not a Walker guy.

[Jamie]

Walker.

[Adam]

Okay. Ken Walker or Travion Henderson.

[Jacob Gibbs]

I have Kenneth Walker ahead of me.

[Jamie]

I'll go Walker.

[Dan]

I would go Walker if I had.

[Adam]

To have two Walkers and a Henderson. Jacob.

[Jamie]

I have all of Triple H ahead of Walker at this point.

[Adam]

Oh, okay. Oh, Harvey too. Okay.

[Jamie]

Yeah, I just. The foot injury scares me. I mean, anytime this guy gets hurt, he gets hurt.

[Jacob Gibbs]

Totally fair, Jacob.

[Adam]

People have been asking me, how do I get Jacob's rankings. I don't know what to tell them.

[Jacob Gibbs]

FFT newsletter. They'll be on Sportsline as well. The Sportsline fantasy football bible. Yeah, but FFT newsletter goes out for free. I'll have a rankings update this week for sure before Friday.

[Adam]

By the way, Cam Scatter Boo, I mentioned this a lot during the draft process, but if you're kind of new, you know, didn't listen in the off season. He has my favorite touchdown run that I saw in college last year. It's against Cincinnati. If you put on YouTube, Cam Scatter Boo lowers the shoulder on a touchdown run. It's a one yard touchdown run where he gets pushed back to the six yard line by two defenders, gets by both of them, and then trucks someone going into the end zone.

[Dan]

He's awesome, man.

[Adam]

He's so Cam Scatter Boo. It's the appeal of him. It's really cool. All right, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we're going to read the email that said I hate Dan. And we're going to get some of Dan's favorite players and some news and notes. Don't worry, Dan. This is all fun. You'll laugh and we'll be right back on fantasy football today.

[Jamie]

I hate Dan.

[Adam]

Hey, everyone. I want to tell you about something that makes me smile other than, of course, a winning fantasy football team. It's when I walk into my living room and see my aura frame and all the great pictures we have on it. All the great memories I get to relive every day thanks to my aura frame. Use promo code [e-mail] for a great deal more on that in a bit. Our frames was named the best digital photo frame by Wirecutter and it's easy to see why. There is unlimited storage so you can add as many photos and videos as you can find. Yes, videos. You can add videos up to 30 seconds long. That's a very cool feature. Now not only is an aura frame great for you, I think it's a great gift too. Maybe for a parent or a grandparent who doesn't get to see you too often and wants some great pictures. So start reliving your favorite memories by visiting auraframes.com for a limited time. Listeners can get $35 off on their best selling Carver Mat frame. That's a U R A frames.com promo code FFT support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply.

[Dax Shepard]

This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Checking off the boxes on your to do list is a great feeling. And when it comes to checking off coverage, a State Farm agent can help you choose an option that's right for you. Whether you prefer talking in person on the phone or using the award winning app, it's nice knowing you have help finding coverage that best fits your needs. Like a good neighbor. State Farm is there.

[Adam]

Subject line I hate Dan. This one came from Scott and he says hello Jesse James, Frank Abagnale, Abagnale I believe, Bonnie Clyde and Dan.

[Dan]

I guess these are all height. Oh I don't know.

[Jamie]

They're all thieves.

[Dan]

They're thieves. Thieves.

[Adam]

They're all thieves. I don't have a question, just a Dan esque rant. I am in the Schneier FFT Open division we're drafting now. I'm picking 10th. Dan is ninth on almost every odd numbered round. Dan is picking the guy I want just before I get to pick him who takes Jaden Blue in round nine. There goes my plan from three rounds ago to pair him with Javante Williams. Worse yet, I have introduced my 13 year old to fantasy. This year he is helping me draft and he really wanted Saquon Barkley. And of course Dan hates kids and stole Barkley from us in round one. I just hope I have stolen a few of his picks in the even rounds.

[Dan]

Yeah, you know what, I'll have to.

[Jamie]

Take a look back.

[Dan]

My guess is you have because it sounds like we think alike. And I apologize especially for the Barkley. I wanted your son to have Barkley. He probably likes it more than I do at this point in his career.

[Adam]

By the way, he says I am the funniest. He says Adam is the funniest on the show.

[Jamie]

Oh, that's the only reason you rescue.

[Dan]

Oh, man.

[Adam]

And he's from. He's from an Air Force. He's from an Air Force family. So let's thank his family for their service.

[Dan]

Thank your family. But the comment about Azer was unnecessary and untrue.

[Adam]

We have great written content on our website. Go to cbsports.com fantasy football. Also go to sportsline.com where you can see a lot of Jacob stuff. Amazing value, what you get for a very, very inexpensive membership on Sportsline. But on CBSSports.com fantasy football, there's about a thousand Jamie Jamie articles up right now.

[Dan]

He's writing about more than that, man.

[Adam]

Yeah, it's crazy. But we also have mock draft reviews. We have sleepers, breakouts and busts from all the analysts. We have tears. So a lot of things that we don't get to cover on the podcast. Great written content. CBS sports.com fantasy/football news and notes. Lamar Jackson got his foot stepped on, but he's okay. Cooper Rush is Baltimore's backup quarterback. Should not be needed. Hopefully Atlanta offensive lineman Caleb McGarry left practice with a leg injury and their.

[Dan]

Backups like out for the year or something Bad.

[Adam]

Yes.

[Dan]

That's a bad situation.

[Adam]

Yeah. So are we.

[Dan]

Oh, also it's Penix's blind side protector, right?

[Adam]

Yeah. So are we. So are we doing anything about this?

[Jamie]

Not yet.

[Dan]

Not yet. But I'm not thrilled. I already have my concerns when it comes to Pennix in his profile and why I didn't want the Giants to consider him at 6 overall. A lot of fans did. I always was concerned at how he'll deal with pressure. He didn't have to deal with it much at Washington when he finally had to against Michigan in that playoff college football playoff game. It was a nightmare. And that's what NFL teams do. They confuse you. They rotate safety zampo snap and they blitz you from angles you're not expecting. So I still am waiting to see that this year and how Penix deals with it. It's not gonna be great if his blind side protection number one and two. McGarry and his backup are both injured. So I, I got to see what that injury is, how many weeks it is.

[Jamie]

Right.

[Adam]

It's six to eight for the backup, Storm Norton.

[Dan]

No, I move from a Gary.

[Adam]

Yeah, we don't know yet for McGarry. I did mention that Buffalo offensive tackle Dion Dawkins raved about Keon Coleman. Coleman on CBS and on NFC ADP in the last 12, 10 days. No, since August 12th, he's wide receiver 50. Jamie, where do you have Keon Coleman?

[Jamie]

Early 40s.

[Adam]

Okay, so good value there on Coleman. 51 catch rate last year for Coleman, that was one of the worst in the NFL. But third in yards per catch. 7.4 yards after the catch with a 15.2 yard a dot is insane. Not repeatable.

[Jamie]

I keep going back to the two games prior to the wrist injury, Week nine.

[Adam]

You know what though, Jamie, you always forget, you don't mention the third game. He played most of the snaps in the third game and he was terrible in that game against the Dolphins. Yeah.

[Jamie]

Yes. But I'm just saying, like in terms of things starting to click, we always see this rookie wide receiver second half of the season, especially guys that are unpolished. Things start to finally start making sense to them. Yeah. And I think that's, you know, I'll go back to it. Not just that they just trade for Amari Cooper. He's explaining mid play what Cooper needs to do. Like his, his understanding of, you know, what they were trying to teach him I think was starting to click. And so how that translates to on the field stuff, I think got stunted a little bit because he had a missed time and then he wasn't the same when he came back.

[Adam]

Jacob, he must be interesting. Keon Coleman, from, from your standpoint, you know, all the things you study because you got these great yards per catch, you got this great yak, you got a high eight out. Fifteen yards is, I think too high for anyone to be super consistent. Except usually Mike Evans. Tyree Kill guys like that. But not to say it won't come down often does for second year players. But also you had a guy who ran, I think the slowest 40 time in his group two years ago. But the fastest, that drill, that Pukinakua, the gauntlet drill, which, you know is encouraging. So where are you on Keon Coleman? How you feel about him?

[Jacob Gibbs]

I just. Until we see Keon Coleman get slot work, I'm just out. He can maybe have big plays like he did last year. That kind of inflates some of these per route numbers. Sure. Like he's good at the catch point and good after the catch, but I really think that his route running is just Too limited. He's going to get bullied out there when he's trying to beat press coverage. He just doesn't have the refinement to his game. It maybe this Khalil Shakir injury lingers and that opens up more slot routes for him, but I would think Kincaid is a more logical replacement in the slot there anyway. So that's kind of where I'm at is like I think they, they put him in a position to fail by drafting him to be this outside receiver. And that's never something he showed that he could succeed doing.

[Dan]

It's an interesting point too because it's like the Chiefs. One team takes a receiver that's playing almost primarily on the outside, projects him to the NFL and says he's not really going to win there long term on a consistent basis. Rasheed Rice. Let's figure out something for a skill set and make him a power slot. The Bills take a player who is even worse at college, at least from all the data against press coverage, press man coverage on the outside and just stick them on the outside and it's, it's a pro. The j. The Joe Brady often gets a credit. I get it. They win football games, but for fantasy football, I've said for a long time it's bad for the, the passing game value there in Buffalo for sure. I don't think that offensive system helps the pass game at all. Numbers wise for fantasy. All right.

[Adam]

I mean, I still even. Sorry I asked, by the way, but I still think if he's at wide receiver, 50 and ADP, it's.

[Dan]

Yeah, it's fine. Like he'll make some big plays.

[Jamie]

He's gonna have to score.

[Dan]

Yeah, it's like what, Jamie? It's like, can he be The Marvin Harrison Jr. Arbitrage play like last year, Harrison had what, eight touchdowns? That's kind of what you're hoping for, I think, with Coleman.

[Adam]

All right. The Saints acquired Devon Vale from Denver for a 2026 fourth round pick and a 2027 seventh round pick.

[Dan]

Vale, crazy trade.

[Adam]

Yeah. Going into his second year. He's 27 years old though. He's. He was an old rookie. He had a 75% catch rate, which is really good. All right, Jamie, I'm gonna let you react to this. What's the biggest impact here from Vale going from the Broncos to the Saints?

[Jamie]

I think just freeing up opportunities for everybody else in Denver, more so than what it does for anybody in New Orleans at this point, especially until we see how this quarterback situation is going to shake out but in terms of the Broncos, like it was always Cortland, Sutton's the one, and then who's going to, you know, emerge as the 2? I. For me, it was Marvin Mims. But, you know, they said Pete Prisco was there this off season.

[Dan]

Franklin. Right.

[Jamie]

Fairly well. And they were raving about Troy Franklin. You know, they really were. And you know, you got a chance to see a little bit. I think they like Pat Bryant. You know, you can't hear Sean Payton talk without talking about how much he likes big receivers. And so Pat Bryant's going to get a bigger opportunity now, so it just sort of alleviates a little bit of a headache for a guy that made plays for them last year. Novel had some good moments. It also opens the door for Evan Ingram to get more slot opportunities too, you know, so he benefits as well. It's just a matter of what the investment is. And, and we've done several drafts lately. We don't have RJ White on with us really at all. But yeah, I asked him about this because I've noticed he's been taking Marvin Mims kind of ahead of not adp, but, you know, okay, well, yes, ahead of adp, but like he's been taking him, you know, right around the start of the double digit rounds. And then the last draft we did, he took Mims and Troy Franklin. I said, oh, you know, we're getting to the point, you know, you hear me joke all the time. I know everything you guys are going to do in drafts because we, we do them together so much.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Jamie]

And I, you know, when he took Mims and then Troy Franklin was like, oh, RJ's really trying to, you know, see what he can find. And he said he's like basically a friendship strategy if one of these guys hits. And with what Bo Nick showed last year, especially what Mim showed last year at the end of the season, like you could find gold with a, with a late round, you know, just flyer and if he sucks, you cut him, you know, so it's not a bad way to go about it, especially if you have enough bench spots to take a shot on maybe two of those guys. Because I think Nick's definitely improved as the season went on and Sean Payton finally using Mims to, to unlock that potential was, was great to see. So I don't know if it would be Mims and Franklin. For me, I might be Mims and Pat Bryant, but there's opportunities there for somebody to step up opposite Cortland's side.

[Dan]

Okay.

[Adam]

By the way, The Saints have a very small, short receiving core. They don't have a lot of height, so this is one of the reasons they traded for vale. He is 6 foot 4 and gives them some more height in the receiving core. San Francisco Their receiving corps is just a little beat up right now for sure. San Francisco wide receiver DeMarcus Robinson, though he's not injured, but he is going to miss the first three games of the season. He is suspended for a dui. They acquired Sky Moore from Kansas City and they're going to swap late round picks. You guys can interrupt me if you have any thoughts on Sky Moore going to San Francisco. But meanwhile Dominic Puni, their offensive guard, he had a knee injury in the preseason. They're calling him questionable for Week one, which I take as a good thing because it doesn't seem like. It's not like oh, he's going to start the season on IR or anything like that.

[Dan]

But yeah, if anyone was great last year too for them, really good draft pick.

[Adam]

Okay. If anyone has thoughts on Sky Moore, feel free. Otherwise I'll just leave it.

[Dan]

Not really, no.

[Adam]

Okay. Miami plans on Mike McDaniel said they plan on having Devon HN for week one. Obviously we know what Marty said the other week. The other day. They also stress this calf injuries. You have to be patient. So I would not sit there and pen and maybe pencil him in. But don't put it in pen for week one for hm.

[Jamie]

They drafted him yesterday in that super Flex draft with my third round pick.

[Jacob Gibbs]

I've got something on hn. I just want to point out that Ollie Gordon looks phenomenal this preseason. Like maybe more than any player. He's impressed me and I was not like a big Ollie Gordon proponent but like man, he looks good. And so if if you're worried about this injury, if you're worried this might be a CMC type thing, that's probably who you need to be looking at.

[Dan]

Does my. Yeah, go ahead Jamie.

[Jamie]

No, I moved Gordon ahead of Jalen Wright. Like I think if you're looking for the, the second, I don't know if you want to say handcuff, but second running back there, I think Gordon's going to play in tandem with H. And you know they, they did that quite frequently clearly with Raheem Mostert the last two seasons and Gordon is much more of a physical component than what Jalen Wright is and even Devon Hn is. So yeah, I think Gordon's a great late round pick at this point with A Chan's injury.

[Dan]

Jacob, having watched him now, extensively, in the preseason, does my demarco Murray comp make any sense for him with Gordon? I saw one player, I was like, that is demarco Murray from the front.

[Jacob Gibbs]

I already gave Dan this on Twitter. Now he just wants me to do it on.

[Dan]

The basis, baby.

[Adam]

All right. By the way, they are gonna play their starters, you know, in their next preseason game, which I don't think is tonight, but it's this weekend.

[Dan]

Okay.

[Adam]

And so we'll see who comes out first at running back. Doesn't mean that's the guy you should take first. Unless it's Gordon. That's pretty damn telling.

[Jamie]

Dave is at Dolphins Jags joint workouts, as is Pete Prisco. So we should get some info from both those guys.

[Jacob Gibbs]

That was something I. Dave on our podcast on beyond the Box Score said that like, there's no clear RB2 there in Miami. From what he's seen. That really stood out to me because then Jalen Wright since then has been struggling.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Adam]

Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur talked about giving rookie running back Jarquez Hunter more touches. I do feel like they say this every year with the Rams and it just never happens. That could just be more of who's the backup to Kyron and how surprised were you?

[Jamie]

You mentioned this on the air yesterday. And maybe get Dan and Jacob's take on this. When Jake Sealy took Kyron Williams 12th or 13th overall. Wow.

[Adam]

I was surprised. But you're not getting him at 36. Right. So if he's your guy, you take him there. But I'll say so. One thing about Kyron is in a full PPR league. You look at his receptions total and it's not that impressive, but it was pretty good. In his rookie year he only played 11 or 12 games and he has one of the highest. Or last year he had one of the highest third down participation. Participation rates. He just never got targeted on third down. But at least he's on the field all the time. So you could definitely see a big jump in receptions from Kyron Williams. And. And then if that happens, then I do think it would be justifiable to take him 12, 13. But I, I was pretty surprised.

[Dan]

I get it though. It's like he's cha. I see what Jake's come. Jake has some interesting football takes and I like him. He goes. He has his own unique takes on a lot of stuff and it ends up being right. And what he. I think what he's chasing here is some of the backs you're taking around him or we're taking before Chiron. All of us aren't as necessarily guaranteed to get the same kind of role. Like there's an opportunity for Kyron to get like you said Adam, most of the passing down work, all the red zone work, all the between the twenties work on an offense that if Stafford stays healthy there's going to probably be a pretty damn good offense with an easy schedule. So I don't, I don't hate the take. I, I wouldn't do it because I'm not a Kyron guy, but I don't hate it.

[Jamie]

Sorry, go ahead.

[Jacob Gibbs]

I just wanted to point out this is. We're getting off the Karen thing a little bit on the jar quest. Hunter. No, I don't. Maybe you didn't catch. This is at the beginning of the off season. Sean McVeigh was like I really liked what I saw from Liam Cohen who was formerly with the Rams and what they did with Bucky Irving and changing the pace, changing the tempo of the types of runners that they were using, getting him involved in some of the pre snap motion runs and stuff like that. And then they get Jarquis Hunter who he was like his day one guy, like his number one guy in the day and everything. So like I think there could be some signal here. I know that we've been fooled by this in the past with him.

[Adam]

Okay.

[Jamie]

I, I do think in terms of Chiron and you, you alluded to this Dan. Like this offense could be awful if it's Garoppolo and to, to reach for Kyron. To your point Adam, like if you want him in that spot, you're not getting him at 36 but now you're just advancing that risk by taking him ahead of a lot of quality players. True. And so it, it just felt like. Forget about what you think. My Keith hasn't ranked in that range too. I think yeah, he's a high round two pick. So it's fine if you believe in Kyron and I don't the Chiron hate has gone too far but it's fine if you believe in Kyron. It just feels like if Stafford was 100 healthy, if, if Jackson their, you know, offensive lineman dealing with blood clots, 100 healthy. Like there's a lot of things going on with the Rams. Like could be bad. Yeah, they could, they could go from super bowl contender to a 51 team.

[Dan]

I almost think possible. But if everyone stays healthy, I think they should be one of the best offense in the NFL.

[Jamie]

I think Devonte, 37 year old quarterback that can't stand up for a week.

[Adam]

So, you know, Garoppolo's had a pretty good career. He's actually 43 and 21.

[Dan]

I mean forget the number, the win loss record. He was on the Shanahan 49ers but yeah, just not a good, he's not a good quarterback outside of that system.

[Adam]

Well, yeah, but I mean he's going to be in a pretty good system, right?

[Dan]

Yeah. So he's in a pretty similar system. I've seen some stuff in camp where he's just throwing some hospital balls over the middle.

[Jacob Gibbs]

Just.

[Adam]

Sure.

[Dan]

Stuff's not going to work in the regular season.

[Adam]

You know, I think that we all look, we all follow doctors on, on Twitter and we had Marty on the other day and we get as much as we can from, from these people who are not treating these guys. They're just making guesses. It does seem like the fantasy community is more concerned about Stafford maybe than anyone else. I mean like.

[Dan]

Yeah, I think so.

[Adam]

For example, Malik Neighbors has three injuries. Yeah, he's still wide receiver four.

[Dan]

Still not really practicing. Was at practice but didn't participate in any team drills.

[Adam]

Puka is wide receiver nine.

[Jamie]

You know, Jefferson has missed a month.

[Adam]

Yeah.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Jamie]

Has not moved from his average observation at 2. Which you know would be telling if he's sliding a little bit. But I mean part of it is, is I think again his age, you're talking about a 37 year old quarterback.

[Adam]

So where would you rank Puka if. If Jimmy Garoppolo were the starter for the entire season?

[Dan]

Great question. Take a look.

[Jamie]

Probably wide receiver 11.

[Dan]

If it was Jimmy G all season.

[Adam]

I put him eighth.

[Dan]

Definitely not eighth. I'm leaning tenth, but yeah, I'm leaning. I'm leaning tenth.

[Jacob Gibbs]

12 after lad McConkey.

[Dan]

Yeah, I respect it. I respect going lower. Honestly, like push comes to shove, I'd probably still take Higgins and McConkey over him. Okay.

[Adam]

Alrighty. I think that's it for the news and notes. The jets traded for two defensive tackles, the Dolphins took Darren Waller off the PUP list and the Titans took Legarius Snead off the PUP list. At his best, Legarius need was an elite cornerback and eraser of number one wide receivers. But he's really gone through a lot of injuries. All right, so we're going to talk about Dan's God 1 NEWS. No. What's the Godwin news?

[Jamie]

So Godwin and Tristan Worfs are going to be taken off the PUP list according to Adam Shafter and not to be ready for Week one to ramp them up for the early part of the season. So Godwin, I think if I saw the report correctly, will not start getting ready until week two.

[Dan]

Really?

[Adam]

This is huge news though.

[Dan]

I did not see that. That part of the report. That's it.

[Jamie]

That's crazy.

[Dan]

No, you probably do. I just saw that. I know they're ramping him up and that means he's not proud, you know, he's not ready.

[Jamie]

The big thing is for your roster management, he will not be able to be stashed, which is almost worse. So this is what Chapter said Buccaneers plan to According to sources, Buccaneers plan to activate Chris Godwin off the pub list and have him on their 53 man roster to start the season, but only to begin his ramp up process for games not to immediately play in them. Godwin is still unlikely to play until October as he continues recovering from the fractured ankle supper last year. He's expected to start practicing in week two, but the team thinks he is right where he should be at this time and pleased with his recovery. So we still may not have him for a month. But you might not be able to stash him, which stinks.

[Dan]

What?

[Adam]

Why on earth would they take him off PUP if he's not going to be ready till October?

[Dan]

Yeah, that doesn't make sense how they're.

[Jamie]

Managing their roster at this point. But in any event, if that does come to fruition, then we have a tough decision to make when you're drafting him because it's easy to draft him and say, okay, I may have this stud in the second half of the season and I don't have to worry about managing my roster now. He's taking up a bench. Spot it.

[Dan]

You're right. Can they still put him on POP.

[Adam]

Now before the season?

[Dan]

Now it's over.

[Adam]

Yeah, once you come off pup.

[Dan]

Okay. The one time. Okay, it's a one time deal. I was pretty sure that.

[Jamie]

But I wasn't sure they could, if I understand it correctly, put them on short term ir.

[Dan]

Yeah, okay. They can put them on short term ir. I knew there was some option. Which would be the three week version. Right. Isn't that what.

[Adam]

It's at least four, I think.

[Dan]

Four. It's either three or four that I would imagine. Like if they're taking him off pup, they're definitely expecting to get him back by week four, I would imagine.

[Adam]

All right, well listen, fill in the blank. I. I would take Mike Evans over these wide receivers.

[Jamie]

I mean he's like 13th for me.

[Dan]

So I have been easier so 12.

[Jamie]

In front of him.

[Dan]

I've been so high on Evans this entire season. Let's see where I have it.

[Adam]

Would you take him over Devonte Adams?

[Jacob Gibbs]

I've got some. Yeah. Devonte Adams, Terry Kill, Garrett Wilson, Cortland Sutton.

[Adam]

Yeah.

[Dan]

Okay. Yeah, it's the same range for me. Really? I take him over Harrison.

[Adam]

All right. I would take a mecca Abuco over these wide receivers.

[Jamie]

Oh, he's now over.

[Dan]

This is who really helps Xavier Worthy.

[Jacob Gibbs]

Jameson Williams.

[Dan]

No.

[Jacob Gibbs]

DK Metcalf.

[Dan]

He would but no.

[Adam]

Wow, you are really Warren.

[Jamie]

DJ Moore.

[Dan]

I'm low man. I think Onyx Buka just listening to this.

[Adam]

All right, let's take a break and get back and talk about Dan's guys. Some of his favorite players to draft, including basically, he just stole my list. All right, we'll be right back. But that's okay because Dave accused me of stealing his list. So you, me and Dave, we'll be right back on fantasy football today after this.

[Dan]

Gatorade is the number one proven electrolyte blend designed to hydrate better than water so you can lose more sweat and raise your game. Gatorade, is it in you?

[Adam]

Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for.

[Jacob Gibbs]

For the commercial.

[Adam]

Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment.

[Dax Shepard]

Of 45 for three month plan equivalent to 15 per month. Required new customer offer for first three months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of networks busy. Taxes and fees extra.

[Adam]

See mint mobile.com Frank Abagnale in the house to say that it's Abagnale.

[Jamie]

Right things Abby now.

[Dan]

Catch me if you can.

[Jamie]

Right?

[Adam]

Yeah. Oh, what a movie. I don't know why.

[Dan]

Unbelievable movie. I don't see a lot of movies, but I've seen that one like ten times. Great movie. You can pick it up at any point and just rocket for the rest of the way.

[Adam]

I saw we had House falls into a cream, right? Makes cream. We had Chad Smith on yesterday. We did that interview and somebody told us someone in the comments said, has Dan heard of this band the Red Hot Chili Peppers?

[Dan]

I love the Chili Peppers. They're one of my favorite bands. And I did sign him.

[Adam]

They made. Yes, he did.

[Dan]

Yeah, he did the. How long it was. It was pretty good.

[Adam]

Thank you it was a really fun interview. I encourage everyone to watch it. It was a blast. All right.

[Dan]

It was pretty good. So the interview was great. The singing I meant was only pretty good.

[Adam]

Yeah.

[Jamie]

Thank you.

[Adam]

Christian McCaffrey, Nico Collins and Malik Neighbors were the first three guys on your. On your list of Dan's guys, how do you rank them? McCaffrey, Collins, neighbors.

[Dan]

Yeah, so I wanted to. With doing a list, I wanted to at least get some guys up top that I'm playing that I'm targeting for. And the reason is I play in a lot of auctions so you can get players you. It's the fun part about an auction is if you love a player like this at the top of a board, you can actually try and get them. And so out of those guys, I would rank it cmc, then Nico, then Neighbors. But I do kind of like love them all at cost right now. Cmc. I've loved it cost this entire off season and I will love it cost because I have him as my RB2 overall. And you know you can get him, what, eight, nine spot in a snake draft. And there's risk behind drafting a player like Christian McCaffrey. But really when it comes to this fantasy season and this advice, by the way, is for PPR leagues and half PPR leagues, I don't play in a lot of standards and it would change. I wouldn't like Christian McCaffrey as much in a standard format. But with McCaffrey what I'm chasing now, and you'll see this with another player I've listed as a my guy later in this draft that Jacob also likes, what I'm chasing now are what I deem to be unicorn players in fantasy. And what makes them a unicorn player is that the running backs who actually have a role in the pass game, this is becoming fewer and far in between. Date back three, four years ago. There are plenty of backs we could target with roles in the past game. Nowadays, quarterbacks don't throw to the running backs. Maybe it's the shift in how defenses are playing them, but we're seeing fewer and fewer targets to this position. So the guys who actually get it, McCaffrey, Achan, another player I guess I shouldn't mention right now, but we'll talk about in a bit are the guys that I want to target in these half PPR and PBR leagues or their cheat codes if they continue their involvement. And really when you're facing McCaffrey for a schematic standpoint, you play him in man, he's going to beat you in, man. You play him in zone, he's going to find spots in zone. He's a weapon. In the past game, he's by far and away the best route running, running back in the NFL. Fully healthy, injuries behind him on the 49ers offensive line. I like that. Also I like the fact that their schedule is easy. They should have Trent Williams back for a full, at least at the beginning for a full season. Hopefully he'll stay healthy. Everything really aligns outside of he has an injury history. So for me, I'm not going to bank on a player who is supposed to be injured at some point when there are plenty of guys I can fade who are already injured in this game.

[Adam]

Right. It's true. Right. Okay, so McCaffrey, one for you and then, and then Nico then neighbors.

[Dan]

Yeah, Nico for me is if we're, you know, I, I mentioned this earlier on a show. If there's anyone I want to bet on besides Chase to be wide receiver one, it would be CD Lamb. Well, if there's another player I get to bet on after that, it's Nico Collins for sure to be the wide receiver 1 overall in fantasy this year. And the reason being something Jamie alluded to earlier. It's a schematic thing. I think looking at this Texan situation, there is no way they're not going to be top three, top four in the NFL in pass attempts and hopefully in past yards. And in that regard, hopefully the passing touchdowns will come with it. I think Stroud can have a big bounce back season.

[Adam]

You got to temper, you got to, you gotta, you gotta pull that back to say there's no way the Texans are going to be top three or four in pass attempts.

[Dan]

No, no, I'm saying. I think there's no, there's no. I. Sorry, I didn't frame that. Right. I think they're very likely to be top three or top four ambassador to my point.

[Adam]

All right. I mean that's, that's a lot. I feel like a little ambitious, but.

[Dan]

It'S ambitious until you look at the situation going on there. They have no run game whatsoever and they're gonna have to move, try to move the ball through the passing game. I mean, unless mixing comes back earlier than we expect and that offensive line takes a big jump in the run game. I think what we're looking at is a team that's going to be really heavy in pass volume has added multiple weapons to their past game. Christian Kirk, Jaden Higgins, Jalen Noel. To a situation where last year with the injuries there. Nico for a few games and Tank Dell for a lot of games. They were a really banged up wide receiver unit. It's going to get so much better for Shroud in this passing game, which I also think is going to help Nico Collins. But Nico Collins to me is somebody who the stats bear it out. Yards per route, run over his career elite, one of the best of all time. Just an absolute ball winner. One of the few guys left in the NFL like an old school Julio Jones type who can win as the isolated ex boundary receiver because he's that damn good at football. And that's chunk plays, that's 15 yard in breakers, 15 yard outbreakers posts, you know, vertical plays. So just a player I want on my roster.

[Jamie]

Just, just to clarify though Diggs missed most of the season. Dell was hurt at the end of the season.

[Dan]

Dell at the end, yeah, but Dig's also out. Good point. Forgot about him.

[Adam]

But even in the first four games of the year before Nico got hurt, he was on pace for over 200 targets. And that was, I think Dell missed one of those games, but Diggs played all of them. Obviously I'm not expecting 200 targets but.

[Jacob Gibbs]

I think that those players being out, I think those players being out hurt Nico Collins and the offense as a whole.

[Dan]

I think, right.

[Jacob Gibbs]

It's going to be only a good thing to have receivers who can scare defenses. And yeah that's just keep the ball.

[Dan]

Moving and keeping more red zone opportunities, more scoring opportunities.

[Jamie]

And clearly a big story with this team is what their offensive line will look like because a lot of people are expecting it to be the worst. Internally though, they are expecting it to be a little bit more sound, you know, so they're missing some high end talent, but they talked a lot about chemistry and continuity with the players that were there a year ago. And you don't lose a Laramie tunnel. I think get better but maybe across the board the unit gets better.

[Dan]

Right.

[Jamie]

And so as the season goes on, hopefully that's going to play out in how they perform and protect CJ Stroud. But it's kind of funny because they had by most accounts a better offensive line last year than they did in his rookie season. Sure he was running for his life and he played a lot better. So I think like what Jacob's alluding to is like just better talent around everybody is going to help the entire, you know, was it small boats rise all tides, how we say it.

[Dan]

I know you're, I know what you're alluding to, but I Don't know what it is.

[Jacob Gibbs]

Rising tides lift all ships or something like that.

[Dan]

Yeah, I think that's it.

[Jamie]

I butchered it, but you get the point.

[Adam]

Yeah. Tides. Crimson tide. So Jacob, I know you want to share some data.

[Jacob Gibbs]

I want to share my screen. So Nico Collins. I'll give you some data. Wide receiver, one in fantasy points per out run over the past two seasons combined. He's very, very good. That was even with the dysfunctional offense last year. If I can share my screen here beyond the box score, I'm going to fill the role of plug God here. That's what we call Dan and Plug. Our show today we're going to be fair.

[Dan]

It's what I called myself and nobody should be giving themselves nicknames. But for some reason I did go on.

[Jacob Gibbs]

We're today we're going to go through and look at the best values at adp. So if I can share my screen here, we've got like CMC, not at 101. Nico Collins at the 12 turn. Chase Brown, round two. Is that like S tier A tier B tier. What type of values are these? We've got over 30 players, so we'll make Dan like choose who is your absolute favorite value. I think it's gonna be a lot of fun.

[Adam]

Awesome, man.

[Dan]

Yeah, you can find that over on the FFT channel beyond the box score, right?

[Adam]

And subscribe to it on Apple podcasts. It used to be the FFT Express feed. Now it's beyond the box score.

[Dan]

Just we got our own green logo. Please rate and subscribe.

[Adam]

Just great stuff. Best host in. In CBS is on that show.

[Jamie]

So has he cleaned up his language yet, that guy?

[Dan]

Yeah, one mistake, one error. If I look back through the year, guys, for the FFT main feed, I found a lot. There's been a lot of slip ups.

[Jamie]

Oh, Dan, Dan, Dan, Dan, Dan. There used to be a point where Adam had to edit stuff so we would purposely. Purposely.

[Dan]

I love that.

[Jamie]

Say, oh, dude, come on.

[Adam]

So annoying. You know, that's so annoying. That's ridiculous. Oh, that's so stupid. I can't believe you just did that.

[Jamie]

I love that.

[Dan]

I may have to add some random, random men.

[Adam]

All right, we love Malik neighbors. Let's go to the next guy now. You know what? I really didn't think you could ruin my good mood. And you did the congratulations. You have. Next up on your list you have Chase Brown and he's currently RB12 on CBS. 23rd overall RB8 in NFC in the last 12 in the last 10 days. So it really there's this group of five running backs and it's Chase Brown, Kyron Williams, Jonathan Taylor, Bucky Irving and Josh Jacobs right on cbs. He's at the back of this group on nfcs at the front of this group. Again, those running backs are Chase Brown, Kyron Williams, Josh Jacobs, Jonathan Taylor and Bucky Irving. Where do you have him in this group of five, Dan?

[Dan]

You know, looking at it right now, I moved him all the way to the now I still have him behind Taylor because of the news of Daniel Jones and I still haven't behind Josh Jacobs because that situation's too good. But I wouldn't be I can be convinced taking him over out of those players. And if I'm in full pbr, I am taking him over both of those two players. And again for Brown it comes down to a couple things. One, and this is a player by the way, I did a full 180 on beginning of this draft season. I was like way long ago in May area I was out on him based on some of his draft capital and what I expected the Bengals to do at the position. The Bengals haven't done much the position, right. They drafted a player Jacob and I like Taj Brooks, good film guy. He's a late round draft pick and I don't think he's going to take a big chunk of this role. So ultimately it could be very much like what we saw with Chase Brown last year, which was the single best usage for any running back in the NFL essentially. Besides what Bijan if that if that's the case, I'm not sure anyone had better uses. And Chase Brown at the end of the season. And it's another one of these unicorn backs who actually has a role in the passing game and gets targets and could give us a ton of points via receptions. He's also in the red zone all the time for them. Even watching the preseason game against Washington. It was just like watching a game from last year. Chase Brown getting almost every snap with Burrow until they wanted to work Taj Brooks in for a little bit. So this is one of the rare backs I think that you can get in this range in any fantasy draft. If we look back 24, 23, 22, 21, all the years that have a potential workhorse role in an elite offense with a big role in the pass game.

[Adam]

And Jacob, you talked about on Twitter, Chase Brown's role in preseason, it's pretty encouraging stuff. Where where do you have him in that group of five?

[Jacob Gibbs]

Same exact as Dan there Yeah, he. I've also come way up on him. I was a little bit nervous that he might lose some, you know, passing down reps, but I think he's going to be in for the important reps. He's. He has 13 touches on 24 plays with Joe Burrow this preseason. So really looked like a bell cow that they're going to run their offense through and take another step forward this year.

[Adam]

Okay, let's go to some mid round picks here and some players you like. George Pickens, Calvin Ridley and RJ Harvey. So all of these guys are actually going in somewhat similar range because RJ Harvey on CBS and NFC since August 12th, it's going about 60th overall. He has not really risen in ADP that much. Unlike Travion Henderson and Amari and Hampton. Pickens and Ridley, they're more like they're a little later than that. They're really into round six, not really seeing them in round five. But they're about wide receiver, 26, 28 and Pickens is two spots ahead of Ridley both on CBS and NFC average draft position. So if you were up at the 56 turn, how would you rank RJ Harvey, George Pickens and Calvin Ridley?

[Dan]

Pickens is first for me. Surprisingly, it's a player that Jacob and I have talked about extensively on the shows. You can listen to some of our breakdowns on beyond the Box Score. But my main take with Pickens is it's the best fit he's had at quarterback by far in his career. And Dax ability to anticipate, get the ball out with anticipation and throw those outside opportunities for Pickens that are perfect for his skill set mesh. And it's kind of reminds me of when he had Michael Gallup there in Gallup's early years. But he's a much better player than Gallup. He also wins on in breakers and a variety of routes for Dax. So I just ultimately think he's going to eat and that offense is going to throw a lot.

[Adam]

Okay, and then so Pickens won and then who?

[Dan]

Yeah, so Pickens won. RJ Harvey too. It's another player Jacob and I have really waxed poetic about. If you look into the data for RJ Harvey, one of the best backs in college football last year from a yards created standpoint, yards that's forced missed tackles, yards after contact, perfect fit for that system. And all backs in Sean Payton offenses get involved in the passing game one way or another either via design passes or in the flat. So should have a role in the passing game. Should make explosive plays that win us weeks in fantasy and is behind a top 10, maybe top eight offensive line, top two.

[Adam]

I mean, not too well.

[Dan]

That's really good.

[Adam]

That's kind of where I see Denver's line ranked. Their scoring last year from espn, from PFF was basically number one.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Adam]

And I think people consider the Eagles to have a better line, but yeah, it's Eagles.

[Dan]

Lions, maybe. Well, maybe not Lions. They. They have some changes, but yeah, I like that take.

[Adam]

What a great touchdown run Harvey had last week. He got super skinny in between two linemen. Was really nice. I. Yeah, I mean, I would personally take him ahead of those two wide receivers.

[Jamie]

I think that's.

[Adam]

I think he's a steal. Jamie, I know you would agree if Harvey's really going 60th overall, that is not just a steal, but it's something to base your draft plans on if you really felt like you could get him late in round five.

[Jamie]

Yes, I would actually take him in round four.

[Dan]

Right.

[Jamie]

And I would take him ahead of those receivers because I think that group of receivers that we see, you obviously are going to have people with their personal preferences, but there's just so much pros and cons versus, like 10 guys. And if this guy hits at that position, he could be special. And so I. To your point, Adam? We did our IDP draft yesterday. You know, I'm typically going to wait on quarterbacks. We got to round four, although it was still all offensive players this point. So really just a regular, you know, draft. Take out the idps. And I didn't have a running back that. But I went three straight receivers. No, I'm sorry. I went two receivers and a tight end. And we got to round four, and there was still Lamar Jackson. So I took Lamar Jackson and I was like, oh, I really wanted R.J. harvey. He was like my last running back and I have him again in this range that I really wanted, and somehow he made it back to me around five. And, you know, like you said, if you want to play in your draft strategy around that, it might work out. I was surprised in a draft full of analysts picking in the middle of the round that it still made it back to me. So worked out well, but was, you know, frustrating to watch and then see how the quarterbacks really went in that draft was, yeah, even more painful, but in any event, worked out to, you know, my liking. So I. I think, you know, if Dan is giving you a list of players that he likes, we've all talked about the players that we like, you know, if you want to make sure you get one of your guys, you know, don't be afraid to pull the trigger a little bit sooner.

[Adam]

Jacob, let me ask you how you rank RJ Harvey, George Pickens, Calvin Ridley.

[Jacob Gibbs]

Pickens, Harvey, and then Ridley. Love all these guys. Really think Pickens could put together just a monster season. There's so many things contributing to that, but yeah, and the FFT open. I just took Pickens and Harvey at the four or five turn. Was thrilled to do it.

[Adam]

Okay, four or five turn. Four or five turn. Pickens. Pickens at the four or five turn. Wow, that's early. So it's very early. Which wide receivers were there? I mean, I'm assuming Xavier worthy. Who? Teterella? McMillan. I hope you didn't take him over Cortland Sutton. You like Sutton a lot, right?

[Jacob Gibbs]

I don't think Sutton was on the board, but, yeah, I needed a receiver and he wasn't going to make it back to be the next pick, so I was happy to do it. I think he's going to have a huge season.

[Adam]

Okay.

[Dan]

Okay.

[Adam]

Colson Loveland is next on Dan's list.

[Jamie]

He.

[Adam]

He continues to go after Tyler Warren and in some cases, way after. Who do you like better?

[Dan]

I definitely think overall I have Loveland higher, though it's a concern because I do kind of see the path for Warren with Daniel Jones, and now it's just ultimately I'm a little bit worried about Warren and Downs eating into a little. Eating into too much of each other's role there in Indianapolis and buying into a pie and buying into a piece of a pie that I don't want to be in, which is the Colts passing game. When it comes to Loveland, he. I had a higher grade on him coming out than Warren. I loved his ability to create separation on the vertical seam. I loved his ability on those. The routes that you see Ben Johnson try to work a lot in the Lions offense, which is kind of a lot against. Especially against man coverage. It's mesh. It's having receivers running crossing routes over the middle. That's something Loveland can run despite being a tight end. He's long and he get. And he covers a lot of ground. So I just think his skill set fits the offensive system well. Does that mean we're going to see the volume we need for him to be the breakout we're hoping he will be? That's the question I have. It's why I still don't have him ranked as high as Jacob does, who I think probably will roster in all leagues. Ultimately, it's the role in the offense. It's a bit uncertain, but I have no questions about the player or the fitness scheme.

[Adam]

Yeah, Jacob, where do you have Colson Loveland ranked? I know he's been someone you've been talking about since day one. Basically very high.

[Jacob Gibbs]

I like uncertainty at times when, when we're looking for upside. I like ambiguity with a target share. To me, when I look at this team, there's no clear cut wide receiver, one target hog. There are guys who could fill that role, but we don't necessarily know who it's going to be. And we have the new coaching staff. So that further complicates things. Colson Loveland has flashed elite target drawing upside. His target per route run rate in his third season in Michigan was the highest of any tight end in the time that I have the data dating back to 2017 with 200 or more routes run. So that's higher even than Harold Fannin. And that was with almost no screens or design targets. He was just going and winning. He's a route winner. And that's what I'm the most excited about is like he doesn't have to have that type of target upside to be efficient. He's talented enough and the offenses could be good enough that he could have efficiency without the targets. But what if he does creep up into that range? That's when you're getting into like, you know, the same Laporta tight end one rookie season that we saw under the exact same offensive coordinator type of scenario.

[Jamie]

All right.

[Adam]

And then we got a couple of quarterbacks on Dan's list and they are C.J. stroud and Drake May. They have basically the same ADP. It really surprised me. I just thought the draft. Yeah, I just thought the drafters would be so much higher on Drake May.

[Dan]

They are. They are.

[Adam]

No, they're not. They're not. I mean, maybe the analysts are, but the, the public.

[Dan]

Maybe just leagues were in. You're right.

[Adam]

No, I'm talking about average draft position.

[Dan]

No, no, I'm saying in the leagues we're in may seem to go a lot higher.

[Adam]

Yes. CJ Stroud does not get drafted in the leagues we're in.

[Dan]

Right.

[Adam]

Jamie and Dave have. Have Drake May in their top 12.

[Dan]

Right.

[Adam]

So I'm surprised at the, at the similar. Like you see the CBS ADP, C.J. stroud is 129th. Drake May is 132nd. NFC is very similar as well. I think fantasy pros was the same. I'll triple check there. I'LL let you know if I'm if I'm wrong. But, you know, how do you see these two guys? I'm surprised that they are close in adp, honestly.

[Dan]

Yeah, so they're closing adp. I think I probably feel more comfortable going one round earlier to get Drake May in all my drafts and and that depends on where I'm at in the draft. Do I feel I need some extra depth at receiver, running back? I'll pass on May and get a player like Stroud or a few other quarterbacks I like in that range. But if I'm going up top for May, the reason is A I believe in the talent. I've always believed in Drake May since I first saw him at unc. I thought he was an absolute baller of a player. B With Josh McDaniels there, we're going to see an uptick in his success as a runner. That doesn't mean we're going to see an uptick in his rush attempts because I do think his scrambles will go down while his design runs will go up and it'll probably even out. But I think we're going to see six to eight touchdowns in the red zone from Drake Mayon Zone Reed this type of offense, they're not if they have a player in a Josh Allen type mold that's 6 foot 3, 6 foot 4, 240 with his kind of size and speed, they're going to use him as a weapon in the red zone. They're not going to shy away from that, as I felt the Patriots did last year with Van Pelt. So I'm projecting a massive uptick in rushing touchdowns in the red zone for Drake May, and I think those alone will boost his points. But in addition to that, he has a better system, more talent around him. Travion Henderson can take a play for 60, 70 yards on any, any one play. Dig should be an upgrade as well there. So ultimately there's an upgrade of talent around him, but mostly I'm buying him because I think we're going to get a lot of rushing touchdowns and more of a Josh Allen type feel to him.

[Adam]

So look, we've said a lot about May and there's so much appeal. Jamie has May 12th and Stroud 21st. In fact, Jamie, Dave and Heath all have Stroud 21st. Dan, why are we too low on Stroud?

[Dan]

I'm the only high one on Trout. I've looked around the industry. Nobody likes Stroud except for me in fantasy football this year, which is fine. I've Alluded to a little bit of it earlier. I think the passing numbers are going to be super, super high from a volume standby. And look, we chase volume like crazy at all of our other positions. Receivers, we pop up. People like Garrett Wilson just based on volume alone, essentially at se seems like. And talent for sure. But I think Stroud is a talented thrower of the football, and I think his volume is going to be exceptional. And ultimately, I think he has better weapons than he had last year. And we're just one year removed from him being a top 10 quarterback in fantasy, mostly due to his arm. So. Oh, I see him getting back to a 4,000plus yard season. Adam, 35 touchdowns in that range with the weapons that he's added. That's what and for me, that's a top 12 quarterback.

[Adam]

All right, we got a few minutes left. Jacob Gibbs, sorry to keep you on the sideline for so much of this show. What would you like to tell what. Who would you like to talk about to end the show?

[Jacob Gibbs]

This is, this has been a treat. I, I just wanted to come listen to Dan. I feel like too often Dan plays the host role and I, I, I saw some of his takes was like, I didn't even know this was your guy. I'm excited. Yeah. Check out beyond the Box Score. Like I said, I think today's episode is going to be really, really fun. I'll take you through if. How much time do we have here, Ryan?

[Adam]

About five minutes. Five work for you?

[Jacob Gibbs]

Five? Yeah. Five's great. So I've got an interesting stat that I want to introduce you guys to. I think it is relevant as we've talked about. You know, Marvin Mims, Courtland, Sutton, a lot of these players today. So yards per hour run. You're probably familiar with yards per run by now. People point to it as a very predictive signal of wide receiver skill, but there are a lot of things that come into effect and ways to contextualize yards per route run. And so what I did was I filtered out sacks, screens, scrambles, and snaps under center to provide what I thought. I was just playing around with a lot of things, and this is what I landed on as potentially a more accurate signal of wide receiver skill. So sacks and scrambles are plays where there's a route run, but there's no target on the play. And so that really lowers the rates for somebody like Roma Dunze, who's playing with Caleb Williams and taking a historic amount of sacks and also scrambles a lot. Screens are similar where you know, on a DJ Moore screen, Roma Dunes has no chance of drawing a target. On a Marvin Mim screen, there's no chance, of course, drawing a target. So that also kind of weighs down the rates. And then why did I take out snaps under center? Snaps under center are kind of an efficiency hack. So we talked with Rich Rebar on Beyond the Box, where he said 85 of snaps under center resulted in play action, which was such a high number, but it makes sense. Play action is an efficiency hack. And if you look at yards per out run on snaps under center, it's 31 higher compared to shotgun pistol snaps, which not to say that those are bad plays, it's just more efficient for a number of reasons. There's fewer wide receivers on the field to compete with for targets. When you're under center and just in general, you're selling to the defense that you might be running the ball, which then, you know, results in more open looks down the field. And if you want to like look at this on Twitter, I did a thread you can search, you know, Jacob Gibbs sacks, screen scrambles and snaps understanding, you'll probably find it. Some of the players who stood out the most to me are some of the guys we talked about today, Nico Collins at the very top. But the Denver guys in particular, Cortland Sutton, within this lens looks like a true wide receiver 1 higher rates in terms of first downs and yards per out run than like Malik Neighbors who had incredible data last year. His target per run rate on these plays was 32% which is like true wide receiver one stuff to get to that high of a rate that's in the same range as Justin Jefferson and Drake London and Monroe St. Brown and players like that. And so I think, you know, a lot of the Devon Vale, Marvin Mims design touches maybe lowers his numbers and so he falls into this maybe sort of awkward range where he's not quite at the elite rates. But if you think that Denver's offense could take a big step forward, I think from a skill standpoint Cortland Sutton is somebody who has continued to get better and better and is probably one of the top 12 or 15 receivers in the league. If this offense elevates even further, it wouldn't surprise me at all if he gives us like a Terry McLaurin season or even better last year where like if the touchdown spike, I think he had eight or nine last year. I think that could easily be like 12 this year if the offense is a lot better. Last note on this was that Marvin Mims I suspected would have significantly worse data within this lens because so much of what he got was the screen game. He still averaged over 2 yards per out run within this sample even with the screens removed. And that's because he was very effective on the deep ball, which is what we saw from him at Oklahoma as well. But a big grain of salt here is that his first down per route run rate was extremely low within this. And I think the point being is that Marvin Mims is not a successful short intermediate route winner. Right now it's pretty much all deep balls or screens. So I trust, you know, with the play caller here with Sean Payton that he could continue to be a fantasy relevant guy. But if you're expecting him to take a big step forward as a wide receiver and win all over the place, we just have not seen that from him yet.

[Adam]

Well, another thing a follow up to this would be don't I want to have offenses that throw that run a lot of plays under center or throw under center because the Lion, I mean I'm looking at right now, The Lions threw 225 passes that were not out of the shotgun formation. Next was the Rams at 1:68. So the Lions blew that away. The Bears, who now have the Lions former offensive coordinator. The Bears through 76 passes that were not in shotgun, the Lions 225. So if you're telling me these are super efficient plays throwing from under center, I want to see teams that are throwing a lot from under center. The Bears were not. They were 18th. The Lions, the Rams, the Vikings, the Saints, the Texans were the top five. Niners were six. But I'm just amazed at how the Lions absolutely blowing away the competition with 57 more under center pass attempts than any other team.

[Jacob Gibbs]

Yeah, this is one of the reasons that I'm wary of drafting Jameson Williams at his price this year is because within this data he looks much, much worse if you remove these plays. Amanora Saint Brown actually like stands strong like he's clearly just a stud. Jameson Williams when it comes to just winning as a route winner hasn't done it yet. And they've talked a lot about how they're going to ask the receivers to do more of that this year. He could get better. He's an immensely talented player but within this, this lens he looks clearly like the biggest beneficiary of the Ben Johnson effect. If, if you will. So yeah, I definitely like if you're curious about this, we talk about on beyond the Box Score a lot. We did an entire episode dedicated to it called Fantasy football cheat codes where we look at play action, pre snap motion under center looks, all that good stuff. And then we also did a play callers episode with Rich rebar where we talked about who specifically is doing this kind of stuff to boost efficiency.

[Adam]

All right, thank you guys. Everybody listen to Watch beyond the Box Score. It's great stuff. I'm still in a good mood. You know what, Jamie? It was a little speed bump, but I've, I went right over it and I'm good. I'm good. So have a wonderful day because I know I will. And I will talk to you. We will talk to you on express very shortly. And tonight Mailbag. Tonight. What time? 10:30.

[Dan]

Yeah, so 10, 10:30. We have to talk about that cuz I forgot there's a Giants game on tonight too. It's a complicated game.

[Adam]

I don't know that we can go much later than that.

[Dan]

D. Okay, we'll figure it out.

[Jamie]

Good night.

[Dan]

I'll figure it out.

[Jamie]

Midnight you bleepers.

[Adam]

Tonight, Mailbag. We will talk to you later everybody.

[Jamie]

See you.

[Adam]

Paramount Podcasts.

[Dax Shepard]

You say you'll never join the Navy. That living on a submarine would be too harsh.

[Adam]

You'd never power a whole ship with.

[Dax Shepard]

Nuclear energy, never bring a patient back.

[Dan]

To life.

[Adam]

Or play the national anthem for a sold out crowd.

[Dax Shepard]

Joining the Navy sounds crazy. Saying never actually is. Start your [e-mail] America's Navy forged by the sea.