DO NOT DRAFT LIST! Plus Big News Updates (07/28 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Summary

Fantasy Football Today: DO NOT DRAFT LIST! Plus Big News Updates (07/28 Fantasy Football Podcast) – Detailed Summary

Release Date: July 28, 2025
Hosts: Adam Aizer, Dave Richard, Jamey Eisenberg, Heath Cummings

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1. Introduction

The episode kicks off with Adam Aizer welcoming back the cast—Heath Cummings, Jamie Eisenberg, and Dave Richard—to discuss the critical "Do Not Draft" list for the upcoming fantasy football season. The hosts express excitement about helping listeners navigate their drafts to dominate their leagues.

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2. Revisiting Last Year's "Do Not Draft" List

Adam reflects on the previous year's "Do Not Draft" list, highlighting how certain predictions panned out:

• Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes were initially on the list but both outperformed expectations.
• Aaron Jones was ranked as a potential bust, finishing as RB19, though Jamie clarifies that the issue was drafting him too early rather than his performance.
• Zay Flowers was also previously flagged, with Heath noting, “You’ll hear his name again” (04:43).

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3. Current "Do Not Draft" List

The core of the episode centers around identifying players to avoid in drafts. The hosts meticulously break down each player, providing analysis backed by statistics and performance trends.

a. Saquon Barkley

• Current ADP: Third overall, ranked as RB2 on Fantasy Pros.
• Hosts' Consensus:
  • Jamie: Suggests drafting Barkley no higher than fifth running back, eighth overall (08:08).
  • Heath: Positions him as RB3 or fifth overall.
• Key Points:
  • History of decline after high workload seasons.
  • Concerns about injury risks and workload sustainability.

Notable Quote:

Jamie: “There are five of the seven running backs that were 28 or older who declined by at least five PPR points per game the following year. That would be bad for Saquon…” (06:34)

b. Kyron Williams

• Current ADP: 23rd turn, RB11 on Fantasy Pros.
• Hosts' Opinions:
  • Jamie: Values him as a round five pick, citing his role as a workhorse and potential RB2.
  • Heath: Views him as a great value in the middle rounds.
• Key Points:
  • High workload with 351 carries last season.
  • Decline in efficiency metrics.
  • Uncertain offensive outlook with Matthew Stafford's injuries.

Notable Quote:

Jamie: “He’s a great value because no matter the ADP, people are going to draft him around the 20th to 35th pick.” (10:54)

c. Joe Mixon

• Current ADP: Round seven, with considerations to sink him down further.
• Hosts' Concerns:
  • Foot injury status for week one.
  • Competition from teammates and potential reduced workload.
• Key Points:
  • History of injuries impacting early-season performance.
  • Backup options may limit Mixon's effectiveness.

Notable Quote:

Dave: “I'm probably not drafting Joe Mixon at all this season.” (27:44)

d. Breece Hall

• Current ADP: 33rd overall, RB14.
• Hosts' Consensus:
  • Jamie: Avoids drafting him early due to uncertain reception totals and offensive changes.
  • Heath: Views him as a swing pick with potential but not reliable enough for higher rounds.
• Key Points:
  • Concerns about reduced targets and sharing the backfield.
  • Potential for inconsistency based on offensive strategies.

Notable Quote:

Jamie: “He’ll need to prove himself to the front office and coaching staff. At his cost, he’s not horrible, but I’m sticking other players in that range.” (40:09)

e. Aaron Jones

• Current ADP: 68th overall, RB26.
• Hosts' Discussion:
  • Jamie: Emphasizes age and workload concerns, predicting a timeshare scenario.
  • Heath: Agrees, noting expectations for reduced production and increased competition for touches.
• Key Points:
  • Older age and potential decline in performance.
  • Coaching strategies likely to limit his role.

Notable Quote:

Jamie: “He’s an older running back coming off a career-high in carries… his coach wants to use him in a timeshare, which affects his fantasy value.” (41:30)

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4. Additional Key Players on the "Do Not Draft" List

Brock Bowers (Tight End)

• Current ADP: 19th overall.
• Hosts' Views:
  • Adam: Questions the value at such a high pick.
  • Jamie: Avoids spending a precious pick unless absolutely certain.
• Key Points:
  • Potential for high drafting but uncertain breakout performance.
  • Risk of limited targets and competition within the team.

Notable Quote:

Dave: “I don’t want to spend a pick on him because I don’t think he’s going to provide the Travis Kelce-style edge everyone expects.” (49:52)

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5. News and Updates

After discussing the "Do Not Draft" list, the hosts transition to "News and Notes," covering recent player injuries and team updates that impact fantasy football strategies.

a. Player Injuries:

• Justin Jefferson: Hamstring strain, expected to miss some time.

  Adam: “Justin Jefferson's gonna miss some time with a hamstring strain…” (23:41)

• Matthew Stafford: Back soreness, missing practice but expected for Week 1.

  Jamie: “Damian Pierce is on the PUP list for the Texans. I wouldn’t overlook the Stafford injury for a guy that’s had some spinal issues.” (24:29)

• Joe Mixon: Foot injury jeopardizing Week 1 availability.

b. Team Strategies:

• Carolina Panthers: Adjustments in offensive strategies affecting key players like Brandon Bowe and Kyle Pitts.
• New England Patriots: Updates on Receivers like Stefan Diggs and Brian Thomas due to injuries.

Notable Quote:

Jamie: “You have to have two balls in the air at the same time. If you’re juggling, can’t just throw one the other hand, then throw another.” (69:21)

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6. Listener Engagement and Promotions

The hosts engage with listener emails and promote ongoing activities, including:

• Draftathon: A fundraising event supporting St. Jude, with opportunities to bid on draft spots and participate in mock drafts.
• Podcast Awards: Encouraging listeners to nominate "Fantasy Football Today" for Best Sports Podcast.

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7. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, the hosts emphasize the importance of being strategic with the "Do Not Draft" list and staying updated with player news to make informed decisions. They also share humorous moments, such as Adam’s unsuccessful juggling attempt, to keep the conversation light and engaging.

Notable Quote:

Heath: “I need a ruling from Jamie because I think he turns 32, like week eight.” (67:20)

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Summary

In this episode of "Fantasy Football Today," the hosts provide a comprehensive analysis of the players to avoid in the upcoming fantasy drafts. They meticulously evaluate each player's current performance, historical trends, and potential risks, offering listeners valuable insights to refine their draft strategies. Additionally, the hosts keep the audience informed with the latest news and updates, ensuring that fantasy managers are well-equipped to dominate their leagues.

Key Takeaways:

• Saquon Barkley and Joe Mixon are primary targets to avoid due to injury risks and declining performance.
• Kyron Williams presents a high-risk, high-reward scenario, best drafted in middle rounds.
• Breece Hall and Aaron Jones also pose concerns related to workload and age.
• Staying updated with player news and team strategies is crucial for making informed draft decisions.

By heeding the hosts’ recommendations and staying vigilant with ongoing player developments, listeners can enhance their chances of securing a winning fantasy football team this season.

Transcript

[Adam]

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[Dave]

You all know I've been running an Airbnb for a while now and it's been a great way to make use of my extra space and especially when I'm traveling. And I've got some great trips coming up. First, I'm heading to Pinehurst, North Carolina for an annual golf trip with the crew. Always a blast. Then I'm swinging down to my old stomping grounds in Gainesville, Florida to catch a Gators game and slide into my favorite Mexican spot, La Tienda, for some steak tacos. What I love is that with the Airbnb Co host network, I don't have to think twice about what's happening back home. I found a local pro who handles everything, creating the listing, managing bookings, messaging guests, even being there in person if anything comes up. I get to enjoy the trip, be in the moment and know everything's running smoothly. So whether you already host like I do or you've got a space just sitting empty while you're away, this is a total game changer. Find a co [e-mail] host this is.

[Heath]

Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports.

[Adam]

What a play.

[Jamie]

Can you believe this?

[Heath]

No, I can't. It's time to dominate your fantasy league. Off to the races and he stays at his feet.

[Jamie]

This is gonna go the distance.

[Heath]

Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie and Heath.

[Adam]

Do not draft. We're on a little bit of a Do not draft list. Hot streak. Went back and listened to last year's show. I'll tell you about that in just a moment. Welcome to the show. It is Monday, July 28th. This is fantasy Football Today and we've got the whole gang here. Heath, Jamie and Dave joining. Welcome back, Heath.

[Heath]

Hey, thanks for welcoming me back.

[Adam]

Good trip?

[Heath]

Great, great trip. Did all kinds of fun Stuff did not rest at all. But it was a fantastic trip.

[Adam]

That was a mistake. You're not going to rest for the next five months. You. You should arrest it.

[Heath]

You know, who needs rest?

[Adam]

Well, today we're going to tell you who's on the do not draft list, which is similar to a bus list, but also in some cases it could be like, I don't think this guy's gonna be a bus, but I've got someone ranked a little bit higher. I never take him. I just do not draft him. Let the guys explain how they went about this list, but you get the picture. Yeah, I'm excited for today's show. I'm going to try to get to your emails@fantasy footballbsi.com we do have a good Ninja Turtles related email that I'd like to get to at the end of the show. But in the meantime, guys, let's give a shout out to Aram. Should have asked how to pronounce his name. I'm very sorry, Aram. He showed me a screenshot of a draft he's doing. He had the second pick, took Jamar Chase. Then he took T. Higgins, then he took Chase Brown. Then he took Joe Burrow. He did it. The, the, the mega bagel stack.

[Heath]

Is this the best ball draft?

[Adam]

I don't think so. Let me see.

[Heath]

Okay.

[Adam]

What he said.

[Jamie]

An actual draft or a mock draft?

[Adam]

It is an actual draft.

[Jamie]

Let's go.

[Adam]

Yes.

[Heath]

I love it.

[Unknown]

The more, the more I think about this, the more I like it.

[Adam]

It could be best ball. It's the 20 DraftKings tournament.

[Unknown]

Oh, that's.

[Adam]

Yeah, it's best ball.

[Heath]

It's even better now.

[Adam]

Okay, great.

[Jamie]

I would have done it in any.

[Adam]

League, but that's awesome. It's. It's legit. So good luck to you, sir. Good luck to you. So here's what, what I've got. The do not draft list two years ago is it was only Jamie and Heath on the show and they said Joe Burrow and Patrick Mahomes and you guys nailed both of those calls. They were, they were busts. Last year. Jamie said Aaron Jones, which wasn't a bad call. He was RB19 and ADP and he finished a bad call.

[Jamie]

Of course it was.

[Adam]

No, it wasn't. He finishes RB19. But you also said that you would take. I think you and Dave said you take James Conner and David Montgomery ahead of him and those were good calls. So we didn't hate Aaron Jones last year. We just felt like he was going too early. Dave, I think you said Z Flowers and that was a good call.

[Unknown]

You'll hear his name again.

[Heath]

Remember how high Zay Flowers being drafted in like July of last year?

[Adam]

Yeah. Fourth round. Yeah. And Heath, you said either I Saquon.

[Heath]

Barkley or Derrick Henry.

[Adam]

Nope.

[Heath]

Something really dumb.

[Adam]

You said Jordan Love. Oh nice. Yes. Do you guys have. And that was just how we opened the show and then we had more names later. I don't know how you guys did with those names.

[Heath]

Not great.

[Adam]

Let's see if we can. Follow.

[Heath]

Me.

[Unknown]

Everybody else names were Saquon Barkley and Derek Henry then. Yes. Not great.

[Adam]

All right, so who do you guys want to go with this year? Jamie, why don't you kick it off who's just one guy on your do not draft.

[Jamie]

Listen, I just don't draft sake one. It's, it's probably going to be something I regret at some point just because he's going to have a huge stretch of games where he's a monster and he's capable of obviously fantastic things. His environment is fantastic. You know everything that he showed us last year but history's just not on side. You know, I mean the, the, the, the length of data that shows us that guys coming off this workload is troubling. The small sample size of running backs that have hit the 2000 yard mark and the year after is troubling. And so you know, you never want to predict injuries and hopefully he's going to stay healthy. But again I, I just go back to this the, the small sample size version. Eight running backs have run for 2000 yards in, in NFL history. All eight of them saw a decline by 500 rushing yards the previous the following season. If he's 1500 yards the same reception total or maybe less and doesn't get the 11 touchdowns that he missed that everybody's hoping that he gets the one yard line. We're talking about still a first round pick, just not a top five overall pick. And I would not take him in the top five.

[Unknown]

I feel the exact same way. Low repeat rate of success for running backs coming off of not just 2,000 plus rush yard seasons but also 400 plus carry seasons. We haven't had a running back there. There have been like 24 running backs in the last 30 years that have had 400 plus carries. None of them were of age 28 and had another big year the following after. In fact five of the seven running backs that were 28 or older declined by at least five PPR points per game the following year. That would be bad For Saquon, if you're taking him as a top five pick, but not bad if you're taking him. I mean, I guess it's still a little bad if you're taking them, like 10th overall, 12th overall, but I don't think you're even going to get the chance someone in every league is going to take them with a top 5 or 6 pick. I agree with Jamie. It's. It's not going to be me, and it shouldn't be you. I just think the expectation doesn't match reality.

[Adam]

So Saquon's ADP right now on fantasy pros is third overall. He is now RB2, which. Which is something that we were. Everyone on this show had Bijan. Oh, Bijan, by the way, it's pronounced Bijan Robinson, RB1 for a while, while ADP had Barkley as RB1. But now on Fantasy Pros, they're back to back. They're almost tied, but Bijan Robinson is ahead of him. But, Jamie, the question from the chat was then, where should he be taken? Because I think this is one of those where he's not necessarily a bust, per se, but he's someone that you have lower than third overall, and you're just never going to get him. So, Jamie, where should Barkley be taken?

[Jamie]

I have him as the fifth running back and eighth overall right now. Okay.

[Adam]

And Dave, you guys, just. Dave and Heath, real quick, where do you take Saquon?

[Unknown]

He's also my fifth running back, but I've got him ninth, so splitting hairs.

[Heath]

I have him at RB3, and I have Saquon at fifth.

[Adam]

Wait a second. Wait, wait. What? Oh, fifth overall, you're saying? Okay.

[Heath]

Yeah.

[Adam]

All right. Dave, you said Zay Flowers last year. Nice job.

[Unknown]

Yeah. I'm gonna go with Kyron Williams this year, who I. I've already got him in my 30s overall, and I'm thinking about moving them behind like Alvin Camara. Like, I might get disrespectful with Kyron Williams. He's coming off of a career high 351 carries. That's regular season and postseason. Had a ton of work last year, every single game. Effectively the same amount of total touches that he had in 20, 23. He averaged fewer yards per carry, fewer yards per catch, yards before and after contact, fewer fantasy points per game. He dropped by over four PPR points per game there. He had a higher rate of negative rush yards, lower rate of avoided tackles. He had a fumbling issue, including a fumble that came back to haunt the Rams in their playoff game. Against Philadelphia, that was a winnable game and he's got an unfavorable schedule coming up. And now there's question marks about this whole entire offense. With Matthew Stafford sidelined, I know that the offensive line, maybe there's an issue at left tackle, maybe not. There seems to be a little bit of optimism there. I think the rest of the offensive line is fine. I'm just not sure that Kyron Williams is going to be a must start fantasy running back that he'll be a must start, but it's going to be more as an RB2 than an RB1. And so this is another running back that people are going to draft before I would be willing to take him. I'm taking him 31st, 32nd, that's middle of round three.

[Adam]

Anybody feel strongly one way or the other?

[Heath]

I just don't really get it. Like how often do we get to draft a 25 year old running back who is the clear workhorse on a team that has always concentrated touches and targets and has produced 95 yards per game over the last two seasons and scored 31 touchdowns in those seasons. In round three, even where he's being drafted is the 2, 3 turn. It's not like anybody, nobody seems to really like Kyron Williams. I like him more than where I have him ranked. I just moved him down because I don't have to draft him that high. But he's, he's in his prime. He's not holding out. He's been a clear workhorse. They drafted a day three guy. I just, I think he's a great value.

[Jamie]

I, I think the last part is the best thing about Chiron. He's a great value because no matter the pro Chiron people, which, you know, Heath, I think you're certainly on our, are that guy on our show and the drafts we've done and the drafts I've been a part of, I don't know about you guys but like he seems to just go as early as like 20th, as low as like 34, 35th. So anywhere in that range. And I think when you start to look at the running backs really from 8 through 12, if you're looking at the, the graphic on YouTube, so it's Josh Jacobs, Chase Brown, Jonathan Taylor, Kyron Williams, Bucky Irving, they're all kind of in a similar situation to certain extents, you know, whether it's not going to be in the passing game, whether there's questions about some of the backups that are going to be on the team now, which I think is the case with Kyron, it's just hard to get away from will they give somebody else more work? And that's the unknown. And so I'm also a little bit concerned about Eric Jackson not being there and Stafford now being banged up. So those two injuries are. Are pretty hard to overlook. But then when you look at Bucky, he's got a huge offensive line injury also, and he's got somebody behind him that I think they're going to give more work than we expect in Rashad White based on some of the reports, you know, so it's just a matter I think of like where you're comfortable taking Kyron. But I think you said it best. The best thing about him is you can wait and you could still get a guy that May average north of 17 PPR points per game, which is what he's done each of the last two years. So he's gonna go probably most likely early around three, and I think that's pretty good.

[Adam]

Okay, so let me just give you some names real quick because Kyron Williams right now, as he said, he's at the 23 turn, 25th overall on fantasy pros RB11. Would you rather have in a PPR league? Kyron Williams or Josh Allen?

[Heath]

Karen.

[Unknown]

I feel better about Alan.

[Adam]

Kyron Williams or Chase Brown?

[Jamie]

Chase Brown.

[Unknown]

Chase Brown.

[Adam]

He said Kyron.

[Heath]

Yeah, for sure.

[Adam]

Kyron Williams or Trey McBride?

[Unknown]

Kyron McBride, PPR McBride Half Anon PPR.

[Jamie]

Kyron.

[Adam]

Kyron Williams or Tyree Kill and T. Higgins?

[Jamie]

Both receivers.

[Unknown]

Th and th.

[Adam]

Okay, I wanted to look up one thing here. Route participation on third down. Where did Kai. He usually ranks pretty high on this list. All right, forget it because.

[Heath]

And I also think like he's not perfect and he was. Somebody said he's a volume merchant and maybe that's correct. But I also think that the fumbles and the lack of catches get overblown just a little bit. He's not going to be a 20 catch guy. He's probably going to catch 35 to 40. And he fumbled five times on 350 touches.

[Adam]

This is crazy. Kyron Williams 60, 62% route rate on third down, which is third best among running backs last year behind Samaj P. Ryan and Ty Johnson. So that those are third down back ton. Yes, he had eight targets on third down, whereas Bucky Irving 10 target route participation rate on third down. And that's like tied with Derrick Henry. He never gets used on third down and he had four targets or five targets. So it's like just throw him at Least it would make me think that Kyron has more target upside because he at least is on the field on third down all the time. But they never throw it to him.

[Heath]

And the 32. Like he had 48 targets in 12 games in 2023. Yeah, he had 40 and 16 games last year. Yeah, I mean he's not a good catch guy, but I don't think he's not Derek Henry.

[Jamie]

It's going to come down to how much they like Hunter. I, I think they showed us what they think of Blake Corm at this point. Now he may get a bigger opportunity this year if Hunter is what they've been missing, which is an explosive player and just a fun stat on him. He had more 10 yard rushes in Auburn last year than the Rams had as a team. She had 4210 yard carries on 108. 4210 yard rushes on 187 carries. The Rams had 37 on 408. No, they can't be right. 400 some carries.

[Adam]

Wow. All right, let's move on to Heat Sky.

[Jamie]

It's. Anyway, it's a lot.

[Adam]

That's a good point.

[Jamie]

I'm off on the Rams. Whatever the Rams had as a team total, Hunter had more.

[Heath]

There probably are a few more 10 yard rushes in college football on a ratio basis. Yeah.

[Adam]

All right, go ahead.

[Jamie]

I think it's just fun. Stat that.

[Heath]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jamie]

He. Listen, he could be explosive. That's the thing. And, and I, I think the premise of the show is, you know, Dave just gonna pass on Kyron. Just as you know, we're. That's. That's a thing.

[Adam]

Yep. Heath, who's on your do not draft.

[Heath]

List, you know, I think if we're. If you're just gonna hold me accountable to this next year, I'll just stay in my lane and say Baker Mayfield, who is QB7 being drafted, I think in round seven, three of our lists in terms of not drafting based on adp, he was awesome last year, but it was based mostly on a career high 7.2% touchdown rate that led to 41 touchdown passes. He had never been higher than 5.6%. You should expect probably him to lose double digit touchdowns off of last year if he plays just basically the same that he did and he lost the offensive coordinator. And so I. There's a little bit of a step back maybe from Baker. More importantly, there's a huge group of guys from QB7 to QB14. Don't draft the first one in round seven when somebody just like him is going to be available in round 11 or round 12. I don't think there's great reason to think, you know for sure who's going to be better between Baker Mayfield, Bo Nix, Dak Prescott, Brock Purdy. I'd throw Jared Goff on and he's not even a top 12 quarterback.

[Adam]

The counter to that would be. But Baker was so much better than all of them last year. He was what, QB3, I think per game last year. So that would be, that would be the rebuttal.

[Heath]

Right. One year of his career he stood out because he had an insane touchdown rate and then he lost his offensive coordinator.

[Adam]

I get all these last part though.

[Jamie]

Is a little bit could be misleading because yes, he did lose his office coordinator. They hired somebody on staff who was the past game coordinator. It could be a seamless transition. Could be awful. Could absolutely be awful. It's not like they're bringing in somebody else out of the building. And so a lot of the concepts will be the same. You know, you hope that there's, there's somewhat of continuity. And how much did Josh Grizzard plan the entire passing attack that Liam Cohen used to. I would probably lean against that but you know, it's still potential that that's what his job is, was to, you know, coordinate the passing game. And that could certainly help Baker. I think the one thing about it and, and again I, I don't think it's a problem for you know, mixing putting these guys on in a similar category because there's, you know, upside down side for all them. The, the nice thing about where Baker's coming from for me twofold. One, they added to his offense, they didn't take away from his offense. Now there's injuries clearly with Godwin and Worfs, so something to keep an eye on there. But they added to his offense and we sit here and we, we talk about how great of year he was. He lost a half a season of maybe his best receiver in Chris Godwin. He lost four games of Mike Edmonds and he had four games. We didn't have both. And he still was able to sort of manage through that. If he was playing at the level that he had through those four games with those guys or certainly Godwin rest the season. We may be looking at QB1 from a year ago. So how far do you want to drop him? How much do you want to avoid him? Again, that's, that's up to, you know, your personal preference. But the year that he had a year ago, again, maybe an anomaly could be the fact that he's finally in this great offensive environment and changes, clearly. But I don't know. It's hard to overlook what he did last year, what he did at the end of 2023, what he has around him this year. And for me, like, I don't want to reach for him, but I certainly don't have any problem targeting.

[Unknown]

The problem is that you might draft with somebody who does reach for him because that's what the ADP suggests. If that happens, you're not going to cry about it.

[Adam]

Does it though? Because. Do you think 71st, doing 73rd overall is reaching for Baker Mayfield? Because.

[Unknown]

Yes.

[Jamie]

Well, I, I think, you know, it's one thing like to talk about the guys behind him, it's another thing to talk about the guy going right in front of him.

[Adam]

So that's Mahomes. My homes is going a full round ahead of him.

[Jamie]

Right. And so like, who's the worst value and who's the worst fantasy quarterback? At this point.

[Adam]

I don't make the argument.

[Heath]

It depends on how heavily you weigh last year versus the entirety of history.

[Adam]

It's not just last year, though. So that's the thing. It's the last. No, it's not just last year for.

[Heath]

My homes, but it was just last year for.

[Adam]

I mean, yeah, full season. Yes. But you could, if you wanted to be on Mayfield's side, you could look at the last six or seven games of 2023. He averaged last seven games. He averaged 24.9 fantasy points per game in including the playoffs in six point per pass and touchdown leagues. Then he was even better than that this year. But it seemed like something clicked and I think it was getting Chris Godwin involved. Godwin had that game. We always talk about it against Carolina. We didn't have a target. And then after that, Godwin was really good and Baker Mayfield was outstanding. He also had some pretty easy opponents in that stretch and he had some pretty easy opponents last year too, but. And he probably will this year as I know Dave likes the NFC south schedule. So it's kind of a year and a half of Baker Mayfield doing this. We do have to take a break. I didn't know. There might have been one other thing I wanted to mention about him or we could just move on. But I. I guess what I wanted to say about Baker and I'll get your take on this after is I had been thinking he was going to be a bus because I thought he was going to go around 60th. I'm a little surprised that he's going 72nd overall. Kudos to the people out there for being cautious with Baker Mayfield. But you guys sticking to that before we go to break, 72nd is still too early for Baker Mayfield.

[Unknown]

82Nd is too early for Baker Mayfield.

[Heath]

Okay, it's the start of the range form in cbs. He's a full round ahead of any other quarterback behind him and he's like 60 picks ahead of Jared Goff.

[Adam]

Yeah, you mentioned the touchdown rate. Also the completion rate, the rushing yards. The rushing yards were way too high last year. He led the NFL in fumbles and he only lost two of them. He had the luckiest year. But with that touchdown rate, this is what I was going to say. They got really pass heavy near the end zone. I think that contributed to the high touchdown rate. They do that again, we'll see. All right, we will take a break, come back, got a lot of news and notes for you and a lot more players on the do Not Draft list. We'll be right back.

[Heath]

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[Adam]

McMuffin for a limited time and lunch doesn't.

[Heath]

McDonald's breakfast comes first.

[Adam]

Gotta promote some stuff Micro Machines style. Here we go. Draftathon go to tinyurl.com 2025fft and there's a lot of stuff that you can bid on there. I'm not doing this fast enough. Tinyurl.com 2025fft we still have some spots available and some FFT open leagues. You can join those for $250. All of it goes to St. Jude. If we sell vote all our spots we get $66,000. The other things you can bid on are spots in the mailbag and submit a question for $50 for a mailbag on Friday. And next week we have a mock draft that we're doing at Tuesday 7pm Eastern. Be part of that $50 for a spot in that. Speaking of which, we're going to have one of those mock drafts tomorrow night. YouTube.com fantasy football today at 7:00pm Eastern that's a mock draft with Jamie and 11 of you who donated to St. Jude very generously. Thank you so much for your donation. 7pm Eastern YouTube.com fantasy football today. There was some other stuff. Oh, Podcast awards. Go to podcastawards.com app sign up or just go to podcastawards.com and nominate fantasy Football Today for the best sports podcast. And I hope you're not Busy today at 1pm Eastern or Wednesday, 1pm Eastern. So we're gonna be on CBS Sports Network. CBS Sports Network, 1pm Eastern on Monday and Wednesday. Thank you so much. I know you don't want me to take too much time out of my schedule to promote things, but I felt like I had to get all this off my chest. So. Tinyurl.com 2025fft that's the one you really need to know about. Go donate to St. Jude via drag a thon News and Notes well done.

[Jamie]

Well done, well done.

[Adam]

Okay, I think I'm gonna pass out now. News and notes Justin Jefferson's gonna miss some time with a hamstring strain and Matthew Stafford is missing practice this week due to back soreness. He is expected to be ready for week one. Is anybody moving Jefferson or Puka down in your rankings?

[Heath]

Not yet.

[Unknown]

Could you do me a favor, Adam?

[Jamie]

In the top 10 a couple spots?

[Adam]

I don't think I can talk fast again if that's what you want.

[Unknown]

Can you. Can you just go over the third news item, kind of put all these three together.

[Adam]

Okay. The third news item is Joe Mixon. So that seems like a much more serious one because he's. His status for week one is certainly in jeopardy with this foot injury. Also, FYI, Damian Pierce is on the PUP list for the Texas.

[Jamie]

I wouldn't overlook the Stafford injury for a guy that's had some spinal issues in this.

[Unknown]

Right, right.

[Jamie]

Yeah.

[Adam]

I don't think this is the first time that Stafford's had some preseason caution precautionary thing, right?

[Jamie]

No, no. But I mean for a 37 year old quarterback that has been given a year to year contract situation because of maybe some health concerns or age or both, and now you're dealing with a back injury that's keeping him from practice, like it's not great, you know, especially with the heavy investment that you're making in Puka and Adams.

[Heath]

So thankfully they have a great backup.

[Jamie]

Yeah, Devonte loves that guy.

[Adam]

So that's Jimmy Garoppolo. In terms of backup quarterbacks, you could do a lot worse than that.

[Jamie]

So I wrote about the situation For Stafford on, on site and Adam's six games with Jimmy Garoppolo in 2023. He had a 40 point game in week two or three against Pittsburgh. He had a 20 point game in week one, played six games. What do you think he averaged? Knowing that he got 60 points out of two games with Groppo, how many.

[Adam]

Games did he play?

[Jamie]

Six.

[Heath]

18, 21.

[Unknown]

17.

[Jamie]

15 points per game with Jimmy Garoppolo. So he had two games over 20 points and three games under eight.

[Unknown]

Oh, yeah.

[Adam]

Geez, man, I. Yeah. All right, look, I hope nobody's drafting right now, but it would make me a little bit nervous.

[Jamie]

And he also said if I don't get out of here, I'm effing going to die.

[Adam]

Oh, that's right. That's right. So maybe bad for Adams, good for Puka, but Joe Mixon on the other hand. Right. Moving him down.

[Jamie]

Oh, definitely. Yeah.

[Unknown]

So it's funny because I, I moved Mixing down because I'm very nervous about his availability for the start of the season or how good he'll be at the start of the season if he's not going to practice for a long time. But I, I didn't make a move with Jefferson and I didn't make a move with any of the Rams receivers or Stafford. And I think it's just because there's still maybe like, I feel like there's like more optimism for Jefferson to come back before mid August and get in a couple of weeks worth of practice and same thing with Stafford, but I'm not feeling that with mixing. I went back and looked last year, he didn't start really practicing with the Texans until late August and then he ended up rolling in week one. He was awesome. And we all know the year that Joe Mixon had. So for now, I ranked him in round seven. I just sank Joe Mixon. And now I'm kind of second guessing that because if he can get back on the practice field by mid August, you know, two weeks before the start of the season is like August 24th. He could end up being an unbelievable value.

[Heath]

Right, Right.

[Jamie]

We.

[Heath]

There's still a range of possibilities, and you got to decide how much you're scared of the scary part and how much you want to gamble on the upside part because if what Dave just said happens and Joe Mixon's fine a month from now and fine for the season, you're getting an enormous value in round six. So I'm probably going to be in round six and maybe the high guy on Mixing now, but not really excited and definitely watching reports closely.

[Jamie]

Foot injury since the off season. In a walking boot since the off season. 29 years old. They brought in two running backs to compete for whatever roles, backup roles or maybe to take mixing off the field a little bit. Nick Chubb is not going to be great, but that does not potentially matter to d' Amico Ryan's who may just want a veteran presence in there that they think could get back to maybe some level of a guy that didn't average 3.3 yards per carry last year and has had two season ending injuries the last two seasons. It could be Woody Marks, could be a guy that they drafted that they traded up by the way to go draft in the fourth round in the NFL draft this season that, you know, showed some nice things at USC last year and has a very, you know, interesting receiving profile. And so, you know, maybe it's Mix and loses some work there to ease him back into it. I'm probably not drafting Joe Mixon at all this season.

[Adam]

Okay, Very interesting.

[Unknown]

Mix had a bunch of injuries last year too. Remember after week one, he hurt himself in week two, I think it was against Chicago.

[Adam]

But I do see, I mean, I do see him as having the potential to be the steel of drafts. If people are so low on him right now and his backups are Woody Marks, I think everybody was pretty shocked when they drafted him in the third round. Although I think.

[Jamie]

Fourth round.

[Adam]

Fourth. Yeah. No, fourth round.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Adam]

Really? Okay. Yeah. Okay, you're right. So it was after Scatterboo and, and Tootin and, and Nick Chubb coming off the broken foot and two years ago, the torn knee. Okay. Anywho, Terry McLaurin's on the PUP list with an ankle injury and he also had this injury to the same ankle at the end of last season. I assume people feel like this is just contract related.

[Jamie]

Are you, are you guys paying $50,000 a day for missing. So.

[Heath]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Right.

[Jamie]

It's a hold in now to hold out. He was signing autographs today. He said to John Keim, who covers the. The Commanders for espn, still taking it day by day.

[Adam]

All right, so nothing yet to move McLaurin down or anything?

[Jamie]

I moved down, absolutely. The history of these guys not participating in practice is not good.

[Unknown]

But it's. This is another one that you got to wait till mid to late August. If he's still not practicing by late August, then I'll get worried.

[Heath]

Yeah, I'm not moving him down yet, but I will. And probably, maybe, maybe mid August instead of late. But I I'll give him a couple weeks.

[Adam]

How about this Falcon situation? Darnell Mooney's got a shoulder injury, Kyle Pitts is healthy and I don't know people. Well, whatever. Forget pits. But Mooney, I don't know if we should. I don't, I don't mean there's no. Okay, talk about pits. I didn't mean to say that. Talk about.

[Unknown]

I mean at this point he's a great buy because you're, you're drafting him in the double digit rounds and he might end up being a, a, you know, 10 through 12 at tight end in points per game this year. And if, if Mooney misses time to begin the season or what have you, it should mean a big uptick for Drake London, but obviously an uptick for Pitts as well.

[Jamie]

We go, we go from the Breakfast Club to the Golf club. Michael Penix and Kyle Pitts were golf buddies this off season, so they spent a lot of time together. First thing that Panic said when he took the podium last week was got KP the ball a lot today and expect to see a lot of that. So quarterback is obviously very in on his tight end. There's a huge opportunity here and if you look at it, you know, Mooney doesn't sound like Mooney's gonna miss anytime in the regular season. Just being cautious. So just keep an eye on that. This is somebody that I will be buying the dip on because I'm excited about money this season, but just again, great opportunity. They signed DJ Shark, so we'll see what they, what they do there. They did run last year the Highest percentage of three receiver sets of anybody in the league. 88 of three receiver sets in that scheme. It was Ray, Ray McLeod who I believe did not catch a touchdown last season, but I think had 50 plus receptions. I'm not mistaken. So we'll see who steps up in place of Mooney, whether it's most likely Hodge or Shark. But it's a big opportunity for Kyle Pitts. And so this does not mean by any way, shape or form you should be excited to draft Kyle Pitts. But as Dave said, late round pick. Yeah, similar concave. I think both those guys are very, you know, same same type of situation. Like you can get maybe a top 10 tight end with your last selection.

[Heath]

And there was. Go ahead, Dave.

[Unknown]

I was just gonna say you should probably not make him your only tight end, but.

[Jamie]

Correct.

[Unknown]

Put him on your bench, start the season. Why not? Go ahead.

[Heath]

No, there was a quote Josh Kendall had from a team source said they are basically a 0% concern about Darnell Mooney missing time because he's the smartest player on the team.

[Jamie]

Yeah.

[Adam]

How about that? Okay, Heath, you get the next five news items. Here we go. We're gonna go first here. Josh Palmer having a good camp for the Bills according to the Athletic.

[Heath]

Wow, that was really nice of you, Adam. Super excited about that. Keon Coleman's making great catches in the rain. Elijah Moore gets hyped up and then misses time with leg injury. I moved Josh Palmer up I think two spots and he might be in round 13 for me now.

[Adam]

Cleveland quarterback Kenny Pickett hurt his hamstrings, so that's not good for him. In this. In this competition, it really had seemed like Shadur Sanders was fourth, but he'll get some more reps now if Pickett misses time. How about this, Heath? Brian Schottenheimer, head coach for the Cowboys said Javante Williams could share carries with Miles Sanders at the start of the season.

[Heath]

I expect some sort of committee there and the if he's sharing carries with Miles Sanders, that's probably good news for Javante Williams based on what Miles Sanders has been the last couple of years.

[Adam]

Then they signed Jake Ferguson to a four year, $52 million deal. Pitts or Ferguson? Who would you rather draft?

[Heath]

Ferguson, Dave.

[Adam]

Jamie Pitts or Ferguson?

[Unknown]

Ferguson.

[Adam]

Okay. Trailing Burks. Such a tough career for this guy, man. He fractured his collarbone, so that's just disappointing to see. The Bengals did get finally signed Shemar Stewart, their first round pick. Edge rusher Drake May May not to. May not want to run as much this season. According to espn. We're going to talk about Drake maybe with the Drake May tracker from Mike who donated a thousand. Donated a thousand dollars to St. Jude as part of draft a thon to challenge Heath on Drake May and I.

[Heath]

I would like a little more elaboration on that because I haven't actually looked at everybody's rankings. Like I think I have Drake May at QB20, which is pretty low. But there's a lot of quarterbacks like is. Is Drake May pushing for the top 12 in some people's rankings?

[Jamie]

He's in my top 12. Yeah.

[Heath]

Okay.

[Adam]

And in Mike. Mike has him as QB2. No, he does it well. There you go. He has a pretty high. Jalen Polk, by the way, is mispractice with muscle tightness. Jalen Polk and Javon Baker, two guys that the Patriots drafted last year. I don't even know if they're going to make the team. They are kind of buried on the depth Chart. All right.

[Unknown]

Lots of demario Douglas talk out of New England over the week.

[Adam]

Yeah, love demario, but also Keisha Booty is running ahead of Kyle Williams, and Mac Holland hasn't come off the PUP list yet. So it's slot receivers.

[Unknown]

And Josh McDaniel's offenses have typically done very well, and it looks like that's where Douglas is headed.

[Adam]

All right, so, Dave, you get the next several here. Travis Hunter spent two days exclusively at wide receiver and two days exclusively at cornerback.

[Unknown]

Yeah, that's fine. This is training, Cap. You're going to see that he was. They had their first day in pads on Monday, and he was running with the offense.

[Adam]

Okay.

[Heath]

It would be really confusing if he was changing sides within, like, individual drills. Like, how would Trevor Lawrence know who he's throwing to?

[Unknown]

Yeah, exactly.

[Adam]

I just mean to say, you know, he split. He split evenly those four days, but.

[Unknown]

There'S no doubt they're going to use him as a cornerback at times during the season. It's just a matter of how much will they do it and how many snaps on offense will it cost them.

[Adam]

Well, don't yell at me. I'm aware of that. I just thought it would have been more encouraging if he had spent three days on offense and one day on defense.

[Unknown]

I'm sorry, baby.

[Jamie]

Oh, it's three out of five now, man.

[Heath]

I just.

[Adam]

It is.

[Heath]

You know what? Just be. Ohtani.

[Adam]

Luther Burden is practicing. Dalton Cade was out today with knee soreness. Cardinals cornerback Starling Thomas tore his acl, so that's a tough break for them. They did draft Will Johnson in the second round. They seem to have a fairly deep secondary. The Cardinals, Ricky Pearsall Davis off the pup list, but Juwan Jennings hurt his calf. 49ers injuries. What is going on here? It's so unusual, but a lot of receiver injuries right now, including Jennings, and.

[Unknown]

They'Ll be totally honest about all of them. But Jennings, sideline Pierce, all first day back at practice, apparently was the best receiver on the field. I guess that's not a surprise since Jennings wasn't there. I. I do worry about either of those receivers getting the type of volume necessary to finish as a top 24 receiver. In fantasy, we've seen it before from 49ers receivers, but the best example has been Debo Samuel when he's had five rushing touchdowns on top of what he does as a pass catcher. And I don't think either of these guys profile the same way that Debo did. So I. I think I'm going to take Piersall off my breakout list. I still like him better than Jennings, but I feel like if you draft them as a number three receiver, they're both going to end up being number three receivers. Pierce saw with a little bit more upside.

[Heath]

Thought there was actually some good news for those guys too though, like Kyle Shanahan, who's often too optimistic about injuries. Sounds like Brandon Iuke's not really close to being close.

[Unknown]

Yeah, they did say that at the beginning of camp.

[Jamie]

There is some question if Jennings is actually hurt or is this the start of hey, I showed up and now.

[Adam]

By the way, the the 49ers wide receivers are probably better in half ppr than full PPR because they are not going to get a ton of targets. It's just foreign.

[Heath]

I'm not sure that the defense is going to be good enough for that to be true again this year. I think I've got Purdy projected for a career high in pass attempts per game.

[Adam]

That would be terrific. All right.

[Jamie]

It really just speaks to draft McCaffrey and Draftkittle.

[Unknown]

Yeah, that I agree.

[Adam]

The Saints quarterbacks keep rotating and Kendry Miller, their backup running back, says he finally feels healthy. But the Saints think that I saw Spencer Rattler might be ahead there. Seattle backup running back Kenny McIntosh may have torn his ACL. Miami signed a couple of cornerbacks. They're pretty screwed there. Jack Jones and Mike Hilton.

[Jamie]

How we pronounce his last name is.

[Unknown]

I don't believe he practiced on Monday.

[Adam]

Giants wide receiver Wanda Robinson hurt his leg. It does not appear to be serious. Cedric Tillman returned to practice for the Browns. Rashawn Slater, left tackle for the Chargers. He signed a contract that makes him the highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL. And our thoughts to Taron Jackson of San Francisco. Defensive end was hospitalized after an injury yesterday. Hopefully he is okay.

[Jamie]

Just to keep your streak alive, we had our CBS Sports HQ crew with the Dolphins on Saturday. Tyree Kill great interview, by the way. Said he's down to his playing weight from his Kansas City days and he took a very, very funny shot at Maurice Jones. Drew, he said when he signed with the Dolphins he felt like mjd and he was, he was on camera with Pete Briscoe. He was like whoa, what a shot. And he said no, no, I just meant like I was a little thick and so, so he, he says he's in here you go. Best shape of his life. And Jalen Waddle, who I didn't realize was top 10 in drops last year. Yeah, said he took up juggling this off Season to improve his hand eye coordination. So we'll see how the juggling intangible works into the fantasy rankings.

[Adam]

I know you guys think I'm bad at a lot of things, like softball, being the commissioner of dynasty leagues. Other things, I am so bad at juggling. I mean, hopeless, hopeless juggler. I can. I can't even juggle two things. It's pathetic. All right, you ready to get into this do not draft list? Maybe I'll juggle for. If you make a donation. Adam juggles Do Not Draft list.

[Unknown]

How much? Jamie, how much to juggle right now?

[Adam]

$50.

[Unknown]

Done.

[Adam]

Okay. What. What should I.

[Unknown]

Tennis balls. I know you've got at least three of those.

[Adam]

Okay. All right, I'll text my wife, see if she can bring some in. Jamie, we're gonna go. We're up against the break. So you've got three running backs on this do not draft list. One of them is Joe Mixon, who you just talked about. Breece hall on Fantasy Pros is ADP is 33rd and he's RB14. Breeze Hall, 33rd overall. RB14. Aaron Jones, 68th overall, RB26. So you want to talk about Breeze hall and Aaron Jones and how you feel about them.

[Jamie]

Hall is mostly just because of where he's getting drafted. I would take him in round four, but I never see him in round four unless it's our drafts. So if he makes it there, I would consider taking him. But in round three, I just think there are better players. I like the running backs in. In a similar range, and so I'm nervous about the reception total because I don't think Justin Fields will throw to him as much as obviously Aaron Rodgers did the start of last season and what we saw from him in his rookie season and his second year when he came back from the ACL tear. And Justin Field steals rushing touchdowns from him. So we'll see how this regime treats him from a workload standpoint. You know, he's spoken about it already that, you know, these guys didn't draft me. I have to prove myself to this. This front office and this coaching staff. You already know what Aaron Gled said this off season about multiple guys touching the ball. I don't think it'll be three guys in terms of Braylon Allen and Isaiah Davis. But there's some thought that the Detroit offense coming to the jets, that maybe Braylon Allen is the David Montgomery guy and going to take some of the short yardage opportunities and steal some touchdowns. So just feels like Braylon Allen could get a little Bit overdrafted at that spot for Aaron Jones. I've said it enough. You know, he's an older running back coming off a career high in terms of workload, carries, all those things. His coach has already talked about wanting to use him in more of a timeshare because he felt that was better for him. The they go out, they get Jordan Mason. He could have a short, short yardage role that could already have an impact on Aaron Jones. So at his cost, he's not horrible, but I'm just sticking other players in that range as well.

[Adam]

Thank you for the donation, Dave.

[Unknown]

Juggle, man.

[Adam]

All right, you guys have anything to say about Breeze hall in the round three and Aaron Jones round six?

[Heath]

I've become a little bit more like. I think I have Breeze hall very. I'm an RB14, so very close to where he's being drafted. And I think we're. We've talked about this before. When you have someone ranked right at where their ADP is, you rarely get them because somebody else falls that you would rather draft. So I haven't drafted a lot of Breeze hall, but I have been a little more encouraged. We talked about Justin Fields because of his style as a quarterback, not being somebody who's going to throw to his running backs very much, but he has actually last two seasons as a starter had a top five check down rate. So he's shown a willingness to throw to the running backs. And I think we talked about it with Mason Taylor. The fact that Josh Reynolds being the jets number two wide receiver leaves open the possibility that just about anybody could be second on the team in targets. And I think Breeze hall is part of that. Just about anybody. If he gets the Jameer Gibbs role and has a big role in the passing game, I think in full ppr, he could pay off at this cost. He is definitely kind of a swing pick. I think it's pretty Unlikely he finishes RB14. If things go really well for him, he's probably being underdrafted and things could go terrible.

[Adam]

All right, here we go.

[Unknown]

Did you, Jamie? I was busy donating. Did you mention what he said on Saturday, Bree?

[Jamie]

Yeah. That he's got to prove himself to this.

[Unknown]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Saying that I'm not their guy, but then like kind of like, you know, saying he's betting on himself.

[Heath]

That was pretty good.

[Adam]

It's only two balls.

[Jamie]

Like it's.

[Heath]

I'm glad you're using whiffle ball so you don't hurt yourself.

[Adam]

Yeah, I. The tennis balls were in the garage.

[Heath]

Where's the third one I can't juggle three. That's the point. It's not for you to have success doing something that my a 5 year old can do. Embarrass yourself, man.

[Adam]

I'll go get the third ball. We're gonna take a break. We'll be right back and we'll do Jamie's wide receivers and I'll get the third ball after this on fft.

[Jamie]

It was gonna be two hours.

[Adam]

I know. Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now I was looking for fun ways.

[Heath]

To tell you that Mint's offer of.

[Adam]

Unlimited Premium Wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills, but it.

[Heath]

Turns out that's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial.

[Adam]

Give it a try. @mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment of $45 for a 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.

[Heath]

See mintmobile.com youm say you'll never join.

[Adam]

The Navy, never climb Mount Fuji on a port visit or break the sound barrier. Joining the Navy sounds crazy. Saying never actually is. Learn [e-mail] America's Navy forged by the sea. Yeah, we're completely screwed when it comes to time here. Let's. That was good pace though on the last one. I like that. You got three wide receivers. You got a couple guys going three, four turn or into round four. Terry McLaren and Mike Evans, 36th and 40th respectively for McLaren and Evans, wide receivers, 17 and 19 respectively. And then you got Zay Flowers who's going at the 56 turn, 61st overall in fantasy pros as wide receiver 28 McLaurin Evans, Zay Flowers are on your do not draft list.

[Jamie]

Yeah, McLaren with the holdout hold in just makes me nervous. I don't like the what we saw from the guys the last two seasons that have been holdouts and hold ins. Again, small sample size but just not great from their production injury overall scenario. So the sooner he signs the better. But I'm probably not going to draft a lot of Terry McLaurin, especially at his cost. We'll see how far he falls though in the case of Mike Evans. You know how I feel about this. 32 years old when everybody was healthy last year he was at 14.3 PPR points per game in the first seven games with Chris Godwin. He was a monster to close the season. He's obviously going to benefit the longer God wins out. But now they add a Booka, so we'll see how that impacts Evans. Just another guy at his age and his cost, I'm probably avoiding. And Zay Flower is just too much of a crowded offense for the Ravens. Look, he's got the all the talent in the world, but you're talking about the addition of DeAndre Hopkins, who, you know, fell and seems to be healthy. You know, at practice, Andrew's still there. Talking about a likely breakout season. Rashad Bateman's still there. You know, it's just too many mouths to feed for what I think he could be. So he's going to need a huge spike in touchdowns. I just don't see that happening for him. So these are guys I just probably won't be drafting.

[Unknown]

It's too many mouths to feed. In a run first offense, they're consistently in the bottom five and pass attempts per game, pass rate. This is a team that loves to run the football. And what do they do when they're inside the five? They're not going to think of Zay Flowers. I think he's got one touchdown in his career inside the 10. It's, it's not gonna happen. He's not gonna get the volume that we want. It sucks because he's super talented.

[Adam]

He had two last year. I had him at seven, seven yards and eight yards out.

[Unknown]

Okay, so that's inside the 10. Maybe it was inside the five.

[Adam]

Yeah, quite possibly. All right, anything to add, guys? Good.

[Heath]

I mean, I had Evans on my list. I should add Flowers on my list because I agree with that one entirely. I have a really hard time finding wide receiver. I don't really love Terry McLaurin where he's being drafted, but I, I have doubts about all the guys that I might draft ahead of Terry McLaren and I, I'm really excited about year two of Jaden Daniel. So I'm still fine with him where he is.

[Unknown]

What's the range? Who are the other receivers that are there for you?

[Jamie]

Heath.

[Heath]

Devonte Adams, Jackson Smith and Jigba. D.J. moore, D.K. metcalf.

[Unknown]

I don't love a lot of receivers that have a lot of volume potentially attached to them.

[Adam]

Well, I think if you look at that range and you're coming back. If you have a late pick in round one, you're in a 12 team league. The round three four wide receivers, you might not love them. Garrett Wilson, Devonte Adams, JSN McLaurin, Marvin Harrison, Mike Evans. I don't know. Maybe Maybe you do. It's beauties in the eye of the beholder. The only one that I love there is JSN for me. I don't know how you guys feel. If I could, you know, to say we can get this guy 36th overall, who would you just be so happy that you get?

[Jamie]

JSN is my favorite group. I'm just curious with. It's almost like what you said about Baker Heath, like, you know, the, the quarterbacks in that range. Like, I'm surprised that you like McLaurin because it feels like the way that he had the spike in touchdowns because almost everything else stayed the same for him. His numbers the previous four years catches yards almost identical. And then he has this huge spike in touchdowns, obviously with a quarterback change, which makes total sense. But can he do that again? And still if his. If his other metrics don't change, you know, and that's the question I have is like, will we see a spike in receptions? Will we see a spike in yards? And I think for Daniels, I feel like he's going to be like Lamar. He's going to get his numbers without one guy carrying him there. You know, he's just that good.

[Heath]

And I just want to clarify. I don't really like McClure in there. I can't get to moving any of the. I don't really. I, I would more agree with more with what Adam said. I've started a lot of drafts running back heavy. But the one place I don't want to do that is drafting at the back of round one.

[Adam]

Because you want to.

[Heath]

Because I don't like the wide receivers in that range. I have we heard. And again, I, I was out of town last week and I've been trying to catch up. Have we heard anything about Cooper Cup?

[Unknown]

Yeah, he sounds like he's going to be their primary slot guy.

[Heath]

That I, I would feel better about JSN if Cooper cup was not Cooper cup, but I'm still like I'm the high guy on cup, so.

[Adam]

Okay. All right. So you know what? I'm gonna. Let's go to Dave's list here. And there's actually a lot of overlap. Right. So Dave also has Saquon Barkley on his do not draft list for the same reasons that Jamie said Heath is comfortable with Barkley fifth overall. Dave and Jamie have him either eighth or ninth. So it's not that we hate Saquon Barkley, it's just we're probably not going to get Saquon Barkley. You talked about Kyron Williams. You agree on Joe Mixon. You agree on Terry McLaurin. You agree on Baker Mayfield. You both have Brock Bowers.

[Jamie]

I don't have Mayfield on my list.

[Adam]

Okay. Heath does. Sorry. Yep, you're right. That was confusing the way I said it. You agree with Heath on Baker Mayfield. You both. You and Jamie both have Brock Bowers. Heath does not. So we can talk about brock Bowers going 19th overall as tight end. One too rich for Dave and Jamie. Not for you.

[Jamie]

If he's 19, I'm fine with it.

[Adam]

What's 16th was too high for you?

[Jamie]

15 is too much for me.

[Adam]

Okay.

[Jamie]

Those four picks, it's just. I can't do it.

[Unknown]

I think 19 too high.

[Adam]

It's valid because, you know, it could be a big drop off of player from 16 to 19. I get it.

[Heath]

So Jamie's. Jamie's just right. Brock Bowers at 19. Dave's too high. I'm too. I. I think it's a great value.

[Adam]

All right, let's talk about it. Dave.

[Heath]

Yeah. I don't. I don't worry about his volume falling off like the other guys do. I don't think.

[Unknown]

I. I don't. I definitely know the Raiders aren't going to throw as much as they did last year that they can't. A. It's Pete Carroll, and we know what he does. Chip Kelly, we know what he does, and they just drafted Ashton Genti. So to me, I think there's going to be a small target crunch for Brock Bowers where he's going to need to be even more efficient than he was last year, score more touchdowns they did this year, and he might do all those things. This is another case of a player who I want on my team I'm just not willing to pay the price for because I don't think he's going to give you the Travis Kelsey style edge at tight end that, that people are drafting him to be when they take them. Top 12, top 20. I don't think he's going to bring that back. I think he'll be good. He's my number two tight end, but it's not somebody that I want to spend a precious pick on when there are going to be other players in that range who I think have a better shot of getting 17 plus PPR points per game.

[Heath]

I. I just think we should be really. I definitely think it's possible they don't throw as much as they did last year. I think we should be really careful saying I know they're not going to Chip Kelly's run four offenses in the NFL. Two of those seasons they threw more than 620 passes in 16 games. Last year the Raiders threw 635 and 17 games. So in 50 of Chip Kelly's season, he's averaged more pass attempts per game than the Raiders did last year. It's, it's not going to be as high of a percentage of the total plays. The thing that we don't know is what's the Raiders pace? Does Chip Kelly, do they have a really high pace? If they do, they could maybe just lead the NFL and plays like Kelly's done in the past. In which case probably most of the Raiders are good values.

[Unknown]

I'd like to think that Chip has learned a few things since his first go around in the NFL and that he won't push that pace all the time. He was doing that all the time.

[Jamie]

Well, he's also not that cooking too, so.

[Unknown]

That's true.

[Adam]

We gotta remember Carol might say right.

[Unknown]

Yeah, but it's fair. I shouldn't say that. They're definitely going to be, but I think they will.

[Adam]

Okay, so then, you know, let's talk about Genti because you also have Ashton Genti on your do not draft list. He's going 10th overall.

[Unknown]

That's a nitpick more than anything else. This is another player that I'd love to get a few spots later. It's not like I'm saying oh, you know, he's 10 spots too high or anything like that. I just feel like there's going to be a couple of people in every fantasy draft that take Genty ahead of like Christian McCaffrey for example. And I get it, you want the new hotness over the old school. But we, we know what the old school can do. Especially in the case of McCaffrey. If he's right for a full season, there's no reason to believe that he's not his old self anymore. So I just, I don't want to reach for Genti is really the point of that.

[Heath]

Yes, I'm, I'm reaching.

[Adam]

You got to get you a Raiders jersey, bro.

[Heath]

Like generational talent. I, I expect much improved offense. I don't see any actual competition for him. Ashton Genti is one of the. And McCaffrey is too. If you'd prefer McCaffrey, it's hard to argue with. But I, I would be 0% surprised if Ashton Genti scored more fantasy points than any other running back this year.

[Adam]

I just want to read you a somewhat off subject conversation. I, I had A text conversation I had with somebody who has the fourth pick in his draft. He's a casual, casual player. Plays one, I think one league, maybe two leagues every year, and he loves it. But he's, you know, he asked me what I thought of his team. He did a mock draft. So I told him I would take McCaffrey fourth overall. I said, you should consider McCaffrey. What are your thoughts on CMC? And he said, I wouldn't touch CMC with a 10 foot pole. I have no trust when it comes to that guy. I called him a wimp. He said, but I didn't know how to spell wimp if there was an H in it or not. So he corrected my spelling. And then he said, the guy doesn't play more than he plays in his career. Why would I use a first pick on that? I just think it's funny.

[Unknown]

There's going to be a couple of guys in every draft that are like.

[Adam]

That, if not more than a couple. Right. That's going to be a prevailing sentiment on McCaffrey. All right, so you've got Barkley, Genty, Kyron Williams, Joe Mixon. All right, let's see. How about you and Heath can duke it out again on DeAndre Swift?

[Unknown]

Who's going to. I'm warming up.

[Jamie]

Okay.

[Unknown]

I mean, I gotta get there, but I still don't love the ADP being in round five. I think he's round six still at best. I don't think he's going to be the short yardage guy. I still, I'm starting to get a little bit nervous about just the Chicago offense in general. There aren't great reports coming out of Lake Forest about how they've been operating and it's early and it's a new offense, but I can't remember who it was, but there was a player on the team that said, yeah, we expect it's the first year in the offense. We'll get it, we'll be better at it next year. Like you need to get. You need to get better, right? You need to get better like in a week.

[Jamie]

I think. I think it was taken out of context though, because he was talking about how he's feeling comfortable, but he doesn't think like he'll master it until year two.

[Unknown]

Okay.

[Jamie]

Which clearly is not what you want to hear. The. The thing that I really liked that I saw for Swift over the weekend was there was something, and it was a, a minor note about their hurry up offense and Swift was their guy exclusively in it. Two minute drill.

[Unknown]

I Saw that.

[Jamie]

And so like you go back to what he did as a pass catcher the last year he was with Johnson, with Ben Johnson and you look at what Jameer Gibbs has done the last two years, like there's 50 to 60 catch potential for DeAndre Swift, which is very hard to overlook.

[Heath]

Adam, what's the worst that DeAndre Swift has ever finished per game in PPR?

[Adam]

24Th.

[Heath]

That is where he's being drafted.

[Adam]

And It's.

[Jamie]

He's top 20 running back. It's hard to overlook that.

[Adam]

It seems I got him at 24. He just has to be better. It has to be more efficient. But what I love about, you know, if you want to knock his efficiency. What did I say last week? I can't remember the number. Roshan Johnson averaged like 2.7 yards per carry.

[Heath]

Yes, he was, he was not running in a way that was going to make them think, you know what, we should give Roshan Johnson the ball. I do think Roshan Johnson will be the short yardage back. I agree with Dave on that. It's just the history. I mean you have to determine how much you trust Ben Johnson. But you can be a pretty decent running back in a Ben Johnson offense without being the short yardage back. And I think looking at the efficiency for Johnson or Swift last year is really unfair because the offensive game plan was a joke and the offensive line was worse and they did everything they could to fix those two things.

[Adam]

Okay. And then you've got some running backs going after Swift which maybe makes this a tough call. You've got RJ Harvey, who is also on Dave's do not draft list, going at the 5, 6 turn, 60th overall. RJ Harvey's RB22. He's the next running back after Swift. And you've got David Montgomery and Travion Henderson and then after that Caleb Johnson. But I do see the temptation to take a, to take one of the rookies over Swift or take Montgomery, who's been better than Swift the last couple of years on a per game basis. So Dave, you want to start this conversation off? Why do you have RJ Harvey on your do not draft list?

[Unknown]

Because I think J.K. dobbins is going to end up mattering. Don't. It's not like I think that Dobbins is going to be the better running back. It could end up going that way, but I feel like that's like 70, 30. Harvey should end up being their best running back. There have been some good reports, the early days of camp, but I don't think they've had a padded practice yet. Maybe they've had one, but to me, I, I don't want to draft Harvey and then be stuck with him putting up meandering results as an RB2 until November. I'm pretty sure the Dobbins is going to play third downs. Some of the rushing work, splitting with Harvey, easing Harvey in until Harvey really starts to take off. His speed is obviously going to be the difference there and once he starts to play fast and not think, then he could take off. He could be a guy that really is awesome in the second half of the season if you draft him. To me it's got to be around 6 and I think that might be what his ADP is, but you just need to be patient with him and expect some lumps from Dobbins along the way.

[Adam]

All right, you know what, I'm gonna In the interest of making sure everybody gets their time in here, Heath, let's go to your list and let's talk about, well, a guy who's also on Dave's list. You want to just talk about Quinch on Judkins who's still not at camp. Got the legal issues obviously. Is he just what are you talking when would you even consider taking quinch on Judkins?

[Heath]

It'd have to be the double digit rounds for me. I, I, it seems like a lot of the talk is about how he's going to get suspended early in the year and then you'll have a great running back in the second half. And I don't know what the Brown's motivation to bring him in is. And even if he's brought in he could go on the exempt list unless there's some sort of deal made on the criminal case. He's probably not going to like that. Those things don't get resolved really fast unless he pleased to something or it goes away somehow. So I think, I think there's just too much of a chance that Quinshon Judkins just does not help your fantasy football team at all this year.

[Adam]

Okay. Two guys who are going to help your fantasy football team, but not necessarily Heath's fantasy football team are Jameer Gibbs and Aman Rasane Brown, who's this like the Barkley argument for Dave and Jamie here. So Gibbs is going 5th overall as RB3 St Brown is going 10th overall as wide receiver 6 and they are just not on the teams you've been drafting.

[Heath]

And I am not saying either of these guys are going to be bad. They are both first round picks for me or St. Brown's early second. So I think they're both going to be top 15 players. But this team scored 68 offensive touchdowns last year. Even if Ben Johnson was there, they'd be likely to score fewer touchdowns going into this year because nobody scores that much on a consistent basis. And now they've lost the offensive coordinator, they've lost their center, the touchdown totals are coming down. And we already saw St. Brown last year saw a drop in his target share with the ball being spread around a little bit more. It just didn't matter because he scored all those touchdowns. And the touchdowns are the one thing that I feel pretty confident are going to fall off for the Lions this year. They can't stop raving about Jameson Williams and all the different things he's going to do. We expect Sam Laporta's target share to bounce back a little bit from last year. Jameer Gibbs is playing wide receiver. I'm saying that. Tongue in cheeks. I don't think it really matters, but I, I just think that both Gibbs and St. Brown are going to be very good number one players at their position, but not top five guys.

[Adam]

Okay. And I think the Jameson Williams point is important because if you just look at two years ago, what did you say? They scored 68 touchdowns last year they scored 57. Two years ago, they scored 57. Two years ago, St. Brown averaged almost 21 fantasy points per game. Gibbs and Montgomery were both good. Sam Laporta was the bell of the ball. Right. This amazing rookie tight end season Jared Goff was QB12 per game, but Jameson Williams was invisible. And, you know, I think.

[Heath]

I think you need. And you've made a good point a week or two ago that it could be that I'm not right about. Or I'm right about the Lions having some aggression, but the only guy it affects is David Montgomery because he just disappears. And I think that's what Gibbs needs. Either another Montgomery injury or for Montgomery's role to really shrink because he's not been as good as his adp. When David Montgomery's been healthy.

[Adam]

Yeah, And I don't think that's going to happen. I, I think it's. I think I was saying that as like the hypothetical possibility. I don't think. I think. I think Dan Campbell loves David Montgomery. Right. And he's.

[Jamie]

He loves that role. Yeah, definitely. I mean, it's, it's, you know, two running backs during his regime with Jamal Williams and Montgomery. I think the one thing, though, about the receiving situation is very interesting because they're actually putting it into play so far in practice, like everybody that's watched practice has said he's moving everywhere and not losing any of his running back snaps. In terms of Gibbs. So like 52 receptions each of the last two years on the dot. Can he get to 60 plus? It's possible. You know, and then I think it, it, it's very, it's very, very intriguing. Like what's going to happen to him if Montgomery stays healthy the entire season? Like how much of a frustrating situation could it be for anybody that passed on any of those guys ahead of him? McCaffrey, Barkley, HN, Genti, you know, all those guys that are going to be in, in the first round and, and how much buyer's remorse do you have? But if Montgomery does miss time again, which has been each of the first two seasons of Gibbs career and he's been the best running back on the field when that's been the case, like if there's a significant injury and we had it in playoff time last year for, for the Lions, fantasy playoff time. I mean Gibbs is the best player in fantasy.

[Adam]

Yeah. Oh yeah.

[Jamie]

Period. Period.

[Unknown]

This is the new wrinkle that they're using in their offense. Having both running backs on the field. Jamie, you referenced it. And Gibbs running wide. It sounds like they are making changes to their offense that scored 68 touchdowns last year. I don't know if they're going to be great, but John Morton is definitely coming in and making some changes. Jamo's role is changing and Morton talked about that on Monday. And the using two running backs at the same time. I think we're going to see a lot more of that this year too. That's very good for Gibbs.

[Adam]

Would I be crazy to have Almana St. Brown as wide receiver eight?

[Heath]

Yeah, no, I do have him as wide receiver eight, I believe.

[Adam]

So you have Brian Thomas ahead of him.

[Heath]

I do, yeah.

[Adam]

I don't think I've drafted Saint Brown once in.

[Heath]

Well, I think that's the other thing is I'm low. I've come around on jmo and I think I haven't about where Dave and Jamie do. I'm low on Gibbs, St. Brown and laporta and there's probably one of those guys that I'm wrong about. I think two of those guys are being drafted too high.

[Jamie]

I think the one thing, you know, Heath brought this up about the, the change in center. Jared Goff is not a mobile quarterback and mobile quarterbacks do not like pressure up the middle because that's where they struggle the most and is it going to be something where they have to get the ball out of his hands quicker? You don't have all this fancy stuff that Ben Johnson was doing. You know, certainly the, the crazy place. But if that's the case, then St. Brown's going to benefit the most and Laporte is going to benefit the most.

[Unknown]

And James, I would say Gibbs would benefit too.

[Jamie]

Well, without question. But I, I in terms of the, the three main pass catchers, like, I, I think it could be bad for Jameson Williams if he doesn't have these big plays down the field.

[Adam]

Okay, let's get help.

[Jamie]

But how much of his role changes to the fact where it impacts St. Brown? Like, I still think Saint Brown is as safe as you can find.

[Adam]

You've also got Mike Evans on here. You've got Rasheed rice, who's going 44th overall at wide receiver 20. Real quick, when would you take Rasheed Rice?

[Heath]

I He's around 6 guy for me.

[Adam]

Dave. Jamie, when are you taking Rasheed Rice?

[Jamie]

Right now. Makes sense. We'll see what happens as this continues.

[Adam]

Brandon Ayuk is on your list and you know he's gonna be a while for him, it seems. Last guy we're gonna end on Stefan Diggs. So Stefan Diggs is wide receiver 40. He's going 89th overall, which seems pretty high for wide receiver 40 fantasy.

[Heath]

And I looked on CBS, I think he's 84th. I think he's the end of round seven on. On CBS.

[Adam]

Wow. Fantasy pros is kind of high on wide receivers. I wonder where Diggs ranks among receivers. I'll check that on cbs. But when. When are you comfortable taking digs?

[Heath]

I'm moving him up because it does seem like he's healthy. I still don't like that Demario Douglas seems to have the slot roll and I don't think that the Patriots pass offense is going to be good. It might. It's gonna be better, but I don't think it's going to be good. So I, I might take him in round nine.

[Adam]

And he's actually wide receiver 42 on CBS. So it's almost identical. ADP, 89th over. So you're about a round behind this ADP. Dave, you are you even maybe around ahead of this ADP? Would you consider seven? Wow.

[Unknown]

Yeah. Round seven. He's my wide receiver 36 ahead of the 49ers guys. Debo Addison, because I'm expecting a suspension for Addison. Otherwise I'd probably have Addison ahead of him. I think he's got a great shot to be the target leader and the receiving leader for New England. And yeah, that we've seen him play in that role before and he's been really good and you're able to draft somebody like that at an unbelievable value. If it's round seven, he could end up, he could end up being like he could squeak into the top 24 if he stays healthy all season. If he gets north of seven targets per game. Just sounds like the, the perfect type of receiver to help a second year quarterback play better and get better numbers.

[Heath]

I need a ruling from Jamie because I think he turns 32, like week eight.

[Jamie]

November, November 29th.

[Adam]

This is 31.

[Heath]

Might be week 12. So is he, is he a 31? Because that's the other thing is even though it seems like he is healthy right now, I have a really hard time trusting a guy at that age coming off of an ACL.

[Jamie]

Yeah, dude, it's funny you say that because 2023, his numbers went in the toilet right around his birthday when he turned 30. 2024, he suffers his ACL tear just before his birthday. So heading into age 31, like maybe the time is you, you draft Stefan Diggs and you trade him like early to mid October after a strong month. I do think.

[Adam]

Well, you know, seem relevant. All right, go ahead, Jamie. Sorry.

[Jamie]

Yeah. Talking about injuries and birthdays again. Yeah. You missed a, a doozy of a moment last week, Heath.

[Heath]

What did he do?

[Jamie]

Talking about Justin Fields.

[Unknown]

Justin Fields just got hurt in practice and got carted off practice and that's when Adam decided to play Happy Birthday.

[Jamie]

You mentioned that. Dave's birthday. So he starts playing the happy Birthday song as Dave is mid answer about Justin Fields and the toe injury.

[Heath]

Happy birthday Dave.

[Adam]

It was gross. Yeah.

[Jamie]

But in terms of dicks, I think what you said is, is very applicable in regards to Douglas because last year, you know, for an older receiver coming off of a down season, he played the most snaps he's ever played in the slot certainly the last three seasons. I don't know about Earlings career in Minnesota, but from what I, what I thought I read most, most slot percentage of his career and at 31 heading into year 32, does he have as much success on the outside in a Josh McDaniels offense? And so he's going to see time in the slot. It's not just going to be tomorrow. Douglas. If Douglas struggles in that role, then maybe we see Diggs a little bit more there. But that's, that's the thing. I can't get over 32. ACL tear, different role. Like, how. How much will this, you know, play out for? Stefan digs.

[Heath]

You're being way too cautious. You have to have two balls in the air at the same time. If you're juggling, can't just be throw one the other hand, then throw another one. We need to see multiple balls in the air. You failing is what the people are paying for. Adam.

[Adam]

This is legit. I am really trying.

[Unknown]

Okay.

[Adam]

Oh, I can't do it. You're.

[Unknown]

I feel like you're throwing the second ball too fast after the first. You need to wait, like.

[Adam]

But now I've lost. They're all over the room now. All right.

[Unknown]

Can you juggle?

[Jamie]

There's so many jokes that we get fired for right now.

[Heath]

Yes. There's been some good ones in the chat.

[Adam]

Like this one. We love Adam. Thank you, Lou. I appreciate it. This is pathetic. I think we should go now. Dave, thanks for your donation. I had a bunch of emails. We'll try to read some tomorrow. Wednesday, Dan could juggle with one hand better than Adam can with two hands. Probably. Dan would say that. They would say. Yeah, he would probably say that. And he would bring up some episode of Curb youb Enthusiasm where they juggled. Well, we'll talk to you tomorrow. And Wednesday, we start our position previews. Quarterbacks on Wednesday, tight ends on Thursday, mailbag on Friday. Next week, we'll do running backs and wide receivers. And Mailbag, of course. And have a great day, everybody. Talk to you soon.

[Jamie]

Paramount Podcasts.

[Adam]

What's up, everybody? It's former Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leiner.

[Unknown]

And Entourage star Jerry Ferrara on the latest edition of Throwbacks. I looked back on the anniversary of Entourage's pilot episode. And in honor of Happy Gilmore 2.

[Adam]

We give you our favorite comedy sequels of all time. Plus, training camp is upon us. And I'll take you through what it's really like, both the good and the bad.

[Unknown]

So check out new episodes of Throwbacks every Thursday. You could watch on YouTube or listen.

[Adam]

On Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And make sure you follow us on all social media platforms at Throwback Show.