Rankings Risers! CMC vs. Barkley, Bears Offense and More (08/02 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Summary

Fantasy Football Today: Rankings Risers! CMC vs. Barkley, Bears Offense and More (08/02 Fantasy Football Podcast) Released on August 4, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of Fantasy Football Today hosted by Adam Aizer alongside analysts Dave Richard, Jamey Eisenberg, and Heath Cummings, the team dives deep into the latest updates and adjustments ahead of the upcoming NFL season. With training camps in full swing and preseason games approaching, the hosts discuss rankings risers and fallers, player performances, injury updates, and strategic insights to help listeners dominate their fantasy leagues.

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Rankings: Risers and Fallers

Kyler Murray's Ascension Dave kicks off the rankings by highlighting Kyler Murray's significant rise in his quarterback rankings. [05:45] Dave states, "I'm kind of toying with the idea of putting him top 10 if not higher," emphasizing Murray's improved pass rush and potential rebound year.

Tedro McMillan Moves Up Heath highlights Tedro McMillan, a first-round rookie wide receiver, as a notable riser. [06:37] Heath mentions, "He's winning in a variety of ways," suggesting McMillan's versatility and potential as a top wide receiver.

Marion Hampton's Surge Jamie identifies Marion Hampton as a borderline top 12 running back, especially in the absence of Najee Harris. [08:33] Jamie explains, "I'm taking him over James Cook without hesitation," indicating Hampton's promising performance during training camp.

Saquon Barkley vs. Christian McCaffrey: Injury Risk Debate A pivotal discussion arises around the safety of Saquon Barkley versus Christian McCaffrey concerning injury risks. The Twitter poll results show a preference for Barkley being safer, with 74% voting "yes" [02:34]. Dave counters this by emphasizing McCaffrey's upside, stating, "He can score like a top six fantasy quarterback from the running back position" [26:29].

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Bears Offense and Player Insights

Caleb Williams' Struggles The Bears' quarterback Caleb Williams is under scrutiny due to a rocky training camp and a disappointing rookie season. The hosts express concerns about his ability to support a wide receiver-heavy offense. [70:09] Adam remarks, "Caleb Williams is having such a terrible camp right now after having a really bad rookie year. It's scary."

Jalen Waddle vs. Rookie Receivers The discussion compares veteran receivers like Jalen Waddle against rookies such as Travis Hunter. Heath prefers Waddle for his established performance, stating, "Waddle is the top five wide receiver" [73:12], while Jamie sees potential in taking late-round flyers on rookies if they prove themselves early in the season.

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Running Backs Preview

Tank Bigsby's Potential Tank Bigsby emerges as a key player for the Jaguars, with Jamie noting, "Tank Bigsby is going to be the starting running back in a shared situation" [51:58]. The analysts discuss his role in a potentially improved offense led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Joe Mixon's Value Joe Mixon's recovery from a foot and ankle injury is cautiously optimistic, with Dave stating, "We've seen it in Sean Payton's offenses in the past has been very, very good for fantasy" [31:08]. Jamie adds, "I'm hopeful that at some point by week four, I can potentially start him."

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Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

Nico Collins and Brian Thomas Jr. Rising Jamie points out Nico Collins and Brian Thomas Jr. as significant risers in the wide receiver rankings. [57:04] He highlights Thomas's performance, "he caught two touchdowns from Lawrence in their scrimmage the other day."

Pat Friaruth as a Tight End Asset Pittsburgh's tight end Pat Friaruth is praised as the "unquestioned number one tight end," with Mark Cabali noting his importance to the offense. [38:42] Dave adds, "John who being versatile adds extra blockers, which is a win for Pittsburgh."

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Injury Updates and Their Impact

Austin Jackson's Leg Injury Miami's offensive tackle Austin Jackson is out for a few weeks with a leg injury, affecting the team's offensive line performance. [40:02] Adam mentions, "Devon Hn averaged four and a half yards per carry with Jackson on the field and only 4.4 yards per carry with him off the field."

Khalil Shakir's High Ankle Sprain Buffalo's Khalil Shakir deals with a high ankle sprain, raising concerns about his reliability. Dave advises caution, "We have seen high ankle sprains capsize people's fantasy seasons" [35:12].

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Strategic Insights and Draft Tips

Late-Round Quarterbacks: Anthony Richardson and Jordan Love Jamie recommends targeting Anthony Richardson and Jordan Love in the later rounds as valuable backups with high upside. [41:36] He explains, "Richardson... could be a cheat code for fantasy."

Valuing Running Backs in a Committee Approach With reports suggesting a committee approach for running backs in teams like Kansas City and Jacksonville, the hosts discuss the strategic drafting of running backs who can thrive in shared backfields. [49:33] Dave notes, "There was a report that it should be more of a committee than what we've seen under this coaching staff."

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

As the NFL season looms closer, Fantasy Football Today provides listeners with actionable insights and updates to refine their fantasy teams. From quarterback rankings to the impact of injuries on key players, the podcast equips fantasy managers with the knowledge needed to make informed decisions. The episode wraps up with plans for upcoming previews and continued analysis to keep listeners ahead of the fantasy football curve.

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Notable Quotes:

• Dave Richard at [05:45]: "I'm kind of toying with the idea of putting him top 10 if not higher."
• Jamie Eisenberg at [08:33]: "I'm taking him over James Cook without hesitation."
• Adam Aizer at [70:09]: "Caleb Williams is having such a terrible camp right now after having a really bad rookie year. It's scary."
• Heath Cummings at [73:12]: "Waddle is the top five wide receiver."

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Stay tuned for more detailed analyses and strategic advice in future episodes of Fantasy Football Today to ensure your fantasy team remains competitive throughout the season!

Transcript

[Adam]

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[Dave]

This is Fantasy Football Today from CBS Sports.

[Adam]

What a play. Can you believe this?

[Heath]

No, I can't.

[Dave]

It's time to dominate your fantasy league.

[Adam]

Off to the races and he stays on his feet. This is going to go the distance.

[Heath]

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

[Adam]

Welcome everybody. Welcome to fantasy football Today. It is Monday, August 4th. We have a big, big week for you. We have running backs and wide receivers previews on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. We have a mailbag also on Friday. So you get a sixth, a bonus episode this week. Today we're talking about rankings, risers and followers basically based on what's been going on in training camp. And we got preseason football right around the corner. So we're pumped. I'm Adam with Dave, Jamie and Heath. Thank you all for watching Listening our show if you're watching, hit the like button. If you're listening, leave a review. I don't know if you want to send an email. It's fantasy football. CBSI.com today in addition to before you.

[Jamie]

Keep going, read Corey's comment. Why does Corey think that Dave's not that he's not A reason that we're late.

[Adam]

Okay. Corey says Jamie is late. Had to find a hat. Dave is late. Couldn't find a button up shirt to wear over his T shirt. Adam is late. He's putting up his Tyreek Hill poster. You know, I'm actually getting a little concerned about Tyreek Hill. I don't love what he said about a chan. It wasn't great. I don't think the Dolphins liked what he said about Achan. It's in the news and notes today. I saw what Mike McDaniel, 100% honest with you. I saw what Mike McDaniel said about what Tyreek Hill said about HN, that HN shouldn't be the short yardage back. And I couldn't tell if it was real or if it was an AI fake. Like you've seen all these things. A joke. Is it?

[Dave]

Yes.

[Adam]

I hope so.

[Heath]

Are, are the Dolphins going to finish last in the division?

[Adam]

No.

[Jamie]

You know, when Pete Prisco was there, he was asked about the AFC east because he's on with Jacqueline d', Agostino, one of our HQ hosts. And he said, yes, they're going to be the worst team in the AFC East. He said he likes the Patriots improvements, think the jets will be improved as well. And the Bills of the class of the division. And he got so much crap for that. It's unreal how many people think he's wrong. It's going to be an interesting division.

[Heath]

You know, after the bill, I mean, worst, worst defense in the division, right?

[Jamie]

It depends on how much you buy the Patriots improving and the jets improving, but I would think so. They're secondaries. All these, all these glowing things about Jalen Waddle. I mean, he's big. He's playing against guys up the street.

[Dave]

Yeah, I don't think they're guys up the street. I just think they're old corners at this point. It's Mike Hilton. It's Jack Jones. Jack Jones isn't that old. Minka is there?

[Jamie]

No.

[Dave]

The Dolphins have an unreal pass rush, at least on paper. But if they stay healthy, if Tua stays healthy, they might Finish third in the division.

[Jamie]

Their secondary couldn't get a job until the start of training camp. I mean, of course they're guys off the street.

[Adam]

I forgot to welcome everybody to fantasy football Today presented by BetMGM, the sportsbook born in Vegas. Let's talk about risers and fallers. I also want to talk about offenses that have produced multiple start worthy wide receivers and a start worthy tight end over the past five seasons and what they have in common. And we're going to hit on Caleb Williams today. We're going to talk about who else. Tank Bigsby today. He's having a good camp. Caleb Williams is not having a good camp. I'm going to look back at last year's notes this time of year about a year ago and, and talk about who was supposed to be a camp riser at that point. Based on reports, just got a comment that Heath looks like Christian Bale and I don't even think he's put that one up. I did. Oh, okay. All right, let's get a riser and a faller from all of you. Dave, kick us off with a rankings riser for you.

[Dave]

I have moved up Kyler and I'm. He's now a top 12 quarterback. He might have been a top 12 quarterback for Jamie and Heath all along, I don't know. But I'm, I'm kind of toying with the idea of putting him top 10 if not higher. I love that he wants to run more. We know that that's just part of the appeal of quarterbacks in fantasy leagues. Whether it's six point or four point. Reviews have been positive out of Arizona. You want to talk about a defense that's got a struggling secondary. Arizona has that and their pass rush isn't as good as Miami's. It's improved, but I don't think it's as good as Miami's. And I think that Kyler could end up having a nice bounce back year. So I'm weighing him against the Jared Goffs and Justin Fields of the world. To some people that's going to sound obvious. Of course Kyler should be ahead of those guys. But I, I, I do think that there is potential for Kyler to finally have a very good year.

[Adam]

Heath, who are you moving up in your rankings?

[Heath]

Tea McMillan. He's a first round rookie wide receiver. Some people thought he was the best wide receiver, pure wide receiver in this class. And all of the reports out of Carolina, it's just day after day he is the number one wide receiver there. He's Winning in a variety of ways. And I would just. In that wide receiver 3 range, I'd rather bet on the guy who might be a star.

[Adam]

And is there anyone in his range that has more target upside than Ted roll McMillan?

[Heath]

I think that's the interesting question is what is. Like, what's his target upside? Could he, with his pedigree, and we've seen Bryce Young just zero in on one guy. I mean, I don't. I hate to put a limit on it.

[Adam]

140.

[Dave]

Sure.

[Adam]

Yeah. All right. Tedro McMillan or. Tedro McMillan or. Well, I know one guy that you have moving down in your rankings is Jerry Judy.

[Heath]

I still have Judy ahead. I just moved him down into more of the normal range.

[Jamie]

But that's a great. That was the first name that came to mind, Adam, when you mentioned target upside, because Judy could obviously be a huge target hog based on what we saw last year. Now, I do think the health of Cedric Tillman and what the quarterback situation throughout the year might be, because it sounds like Flacco is going to win the job. We make an announcement, you know, by the end of the week at this point, based on how things are going with injuries and whatnot. So that's great, but it's a matter of, you know, how many games will Flacco be there? Because once they do make a potential quarterback change, then where do the targets go and how much do they continue to feature Judy? Plus, I think the run game's huge to all this. You know, if. If Judkins does get an opportunity to play, or if it's just an improved backfield with Ford and Samson and just a lot of speed, you know, they could. They could lean heavily on their ground game, take some pressure off of everything there.

[Adam]

All right, Jamie, let's get one of your rankings risers.

[Jamie]

Let's see. I'll go with somebody different. I'll go on. Marian Hampton, basically a borderline top 12 running back at this point. You know, the longer that. Wow, we have Najee Harris's absence in and the potential of what this kid could be at this point, I'm taking him over James Cook without hesitation. Just to give you a guy who's moved down in that range. So he's now RB14. For me, if Walker's foot injury that he apparently dealt with during the scrimmage over the weekend is something that's a problem. Sounds like just rest, but just something to keep an eye on there. Knowing his history and something that he dealt with this offseason, then he'll move to 13 and, you know, could creep into the top 12, like, the longer Najee's out. So if Naji is going to continue to miss practice, it's just more of a benefit for what Hampton could become. Now if Naji comes back, you know, then I'll change some of my expectations. But drafting right now, I'm very excited about Hampton as a borderline round three pick.

[Adam]

That's kind of interesting because if you're drafting right now, you know, do you have to do that under the assumption that Najee Harris will be back before the season starts and we have to move Hampton down? I guess from your. Where you have him right now?

[Jamie]

I think the. There's a couple of things that play. We had the obvious injury to Najeem. We don't know how long this is going to linger. Clearly, it's not knee, hamstring, ankle. You know, once his eyesight improves, I would assume that he's going to, you know, come back and have some semblance of a significant role. But obviously, Hampton's had the opportunity to prove himself and establish himself as the guy. And then you had the weird thing following the draft, you know, I don't remember what month it was. I go back and look it up of when they put Naji on the trade block, reportedly, you know, how much of it is. Is there really going to be a. A 50. 50 split? A 60, 40 split, you know, is. Is Naji Gus Edwards, you know, and just a guy that they use because they feel like they have to and not necessarily focus on the explosive player could be dominant. And we saw that with Dobbins last year when he was dominant, he was really good. So I don't know. It's just more excitement for Hampton, I guess, than. Than really what Naji and what he can do. You know how I feel about it? Like, I think these veteran guys matter too much sometimes because they do the right thing. You know, he doesn't fumble. He gets. Yeah, he falls forward.

[Dave]

So, yeah, when you say not Hampton's a borderline round three pick, does that mean, like, he's. Where is he closer to round two or round four?

[Jamie]

Oh, he's close to round four. Okay. He's around four for me right now. He's not around three pick.

[Dave]

I. I'm putting him in round three. I think the cat's out of the bag, Adam. This dude's good. He got an opportunity to show his coaches how good he was. I know he played in the hall of Fame game. That used to mean bad things. Now I just think it means that, you know, Chargers wanted to give him some reps and he's a rookie, so he's going to get treated like one in this regard. I thought he looked okay. Not in a bad way. I thought he looked, I shouldn't say okay, he looked good in the hall of Fame game, but he was running against backups. I would imagine that there's probably a greater chance that Hampton goes wire to wire as the Chargers best running back because of what happened to Najee to sideline him for the start of training camp.

[Adam]

Okay, so maybe start considering him late in round three, but still after Bucky Irving, Chase Brown, Kyron Williams or Amari and Hampton.

[Dave]

Kyron Hampton.

[Heath]

Heath, Mario Hampton could be anything. You could even be Kyron Williams. I, I'm, I'm, I'm like a round and a half apart on these guys. So I'm the high guy on Kyron and still the low guy on Hampton. So I don't, I don't have those guys very close.

[Adam]

All right, Heath, who's a follower for you?

[Heath]

You mentioned it, so I'll just go ahead and say it. I did move Jerry Judy down a little bit. And part of that is just like we all do this when we realize we're two rounds higher than we have to be on a guy. You move them down a little bit. And part of it is Cedric Tillman's getting some good buzz with Joe Flacco. I love the fact that all the talk is Flacco is about ready to be named the starter, but maybe it's more of a three way cut up between Judy Tillman and Najoku. And not just Judy and a Joker, but I still think, like I'm still way ahead of ADP on Jerry Judy. I'm still going to draft him all the time.

[Dave]

Where are you taking them?

[Heath]

4 or 5 turn.

[Adam]

Does anybody think Deontay Johnson is another thorn in the side?

[Jamie]

I do. And I think Harold Fannin too, sounds like he's had a strong camp so far to start. And so we may see just a lot more options than what we were looking at the end of last year when it was Judy and Najoku. You know, once Tillman had the concussion, remember it was the, when they traded Amari Cooper. The first couple of games, Tillman was better than Judy. And then Tillman, I think it was game four, game five of that stretch, he suffered the concussion and was basically out for the season. So do all these guys matter? I think they do. I mean, you know, look, Deontay Johnson, you haven't heard a peep about him being a problem in the locker room. At least anything publicly. And again, they like what they have in Fanon as a potential option just to take some targets away from whoever, you know, could be Najoku's expense, could be anybody else's expense. But I think just the, the ceiling of what Judy was last year just got to lower it a little bit. So, you know, he obviously has a strong take on, on how good he could be, and it's hard to argue how he finished last year, you know, just based on the, the potential of what flacco was in 2023. So I, I factored in a little bit like I would take McMillan over Judy at this point.

[Adam]

Right. We just had. We did. So how about Jameson Williams or Jerry Judy Williams. Judy.

[Dave]

For me, I believe I have Judy ranked higher in ppr.

[Adam]

Devonte Smith or Jerry Judy Smith.

[Jamie]

That's more of a belief of the Eagles run game being a little bit of a problem too.

[Dave]

I'll take Judy.

[Adam]

All right, Dave, let's get a follow for you.

[Dave]

Kyron just, it's lack of buzz with him, a little bit more buzz about Hunter and how he's physical. And I feel like until we get that contract extension for Kyron Williams, I'm just going to be skeptical of how much this coaching staff really loves him. And I'm nervous that he could be a couple of fumbles away from going on the bench. All of his efficiency metrics were terrible last year, certainly compared to 20, 23. And then you throw on top and I've, I've dragged my feet with Puka and Devonte and I haven't moved them down an inch. But if there's a problem with Stafford that ends up costing him time this season, then we are overrating every single Ram. And that'll include Kyron Williams with a backup quarterback in that offense. It'll made. It'll mean bad things for the entire run game. It'll mean bad things for everybody in la. So I'm just. Maybe I'm just skeptical of Kyron Williams being as good as he was last year and he wasn't as good last year as he was the year before. I'd rather take the upside shot on Hampton.

[Adam]

Okay, this feels like a good time to bring something up because I was looking at the show notes from a year ago. We did basically the same episode, you know, Camp Risers. And here's a segment. I put it in my notes. I didn't listen back to it, but I just put it in my notes, having a good camp. So I'll give you two guys. I'll just go through it. Will Shipley, Adonai Mitchell, Khalil Shakir. In fact, I had a report. Joe Biscalio of the Athletics says Khalil Shakir has been one of the most consistent and dependable players at Buffalo camp. Jalen Polk, Marshawn Lloyd, Malik Neighbors, Marvin Harrison, Jr. Greg Dortch. I don't remember that week where Kyler Murray was saying all of his wide receivers are going to be good. Andre Yoshovis and Zach Ertz. But you'll notice three of those guys. Yeah, no, this wasn't all bad, but you notice. Will Shipley, Adonai Mitchell, Jalen Polk, Marshawn Lloyd, Malik, Neighbors, Marvin Harrison. This. I feel like this must happen every year, rookies especially. I think if you hear that a veteran's doing well in camp, you should put more stock into it than when you hear a rookie's doing well in camp. They're never going to say a rookie. Well, no, I wouldn't say that. But rookies are going to get positive buzz. The expectations are so. No, the standards are so low. I think, you know, just come in and look good or whatever. So you like the Jarquez Hunter thing? I don't know. I feel like I'm taking that with a grain of salt.

[Jamie]

For example, David, 100% he's behind Corum too.

[Adam]

Right. The other thing, like Corum's, but they're.

[Dave]

All getting first team reps. But that's camp. I'll admit that. That is definitely.

[Jamie]

I think the. The. Just while you bring that up, Adam, we just got something from one of the Chicago beat writers about how Ben Johnson said the two pass catchers he trusts the most right now are Cole Comet and DJ Moore.

[Adam]

But he also said Kyle Menangai.

[Jamie]

I'm sorry. Right.

[Adam]

He also, he also talked about his, I think, seventh round rookie running back Kyle Menong guy gave him first driver, first team reps. Right. So this stuff's gonna happen. All right, so Kyron Williams we'll talk about on the running back preview tomorrow, but Dave won't be on that show. So Heath and Jamie will give their takes. Davis, I think the low guy on Kyron and Jamie. We're up to you. Give me one follower in your rankings.

[Jamie]

Getting more and more concerned about Jaden Reed. Just the. The scrimmage that they had over the weekend where he was not playing in two receiver sets and was basically just their slot guy. And it seemed like all the targets were going to golden and, and Dobbs, but just really the playing time, I mean, this could be a huge issue for, for Reed. So I was in the read over golden camp. I've changed that and so just dropped him a little bit. I still think he's somebody worth taking a, a flyer on. I shouldn't say that he's still somebody we're drafting, but in terms of who's the packers pass catching options that I'm most interested in, Tucker Craft would be one. I know he's got the groin injury, so hopefully he's okay. Golden would be 2. And then at this point, Reed is now a distant third from those two guys.

[Adam]

Wow, that's interesting. He averaged 63.2% of the snaps last year. That's just not a lot. Luckily with Reed last year he had 20 carries for 163 yards and a touchdown. And I'm sorry, I don't have it right in front. Oh, yeah. And in the year before that, he had 11 carries for 119 yards and two touchdowns. So you probably get at least 100 rushing yards from Reed. If they keep using him, maybe even more, maybe 150, who knows? But yeah, it's 63 of the snaps. Is, is not the recipe to being a reliable fantasy receiver, especially with what.

[Jamie]

They did with their targets last year. You know, like, yeah, you can't, you can't have a breakout season at less than 100 targets unless you're just, you know, James Jones.

[Adam]

So the FFT open spots or the invitations have been sent, there are four spots left in the FFT open in John Breach's league if anybody wants to still be in it. We have four spots left. They could be gone by the end of the day. So Please go to tinyurl.com 2025fft and sign up for the FFT Open. Tinyurl.com 2025fft Also, later today, we are going to have a lot of things available for auction. Okay. We're going to have spots in the podcast league, a spot in the podcast leftovers league. Heath is starting a new dynasty league. Okay. You get to play with. I'll be in that league. Jamie's going to be in that league. I'm not sure about Dave David going.

[Jamie]

To be in that league.

[Adam]

Haven't figured out yet. Okay. Schneier is going to be in that league. And then some other analysts and some listeners. It's going to be another amazing dynasty league. But if you just go to tinyurl.com 2025fft by midday today on Monday you're going to see a lot more items to to bid on or to purchase and including mailbags, including drafts. We do a live draft every Tuesday night at 7pm Eastern. YouTube.com fantasy football Today you can be part of that so just just check out the website. But I really need you to accept your invitation to the FFT open if you are in, they've all been sent out. I am currently in 24 leagues and getting emails throughout the day. This person has accepted your invitation and then the message board. So my phone is constantly buzzing but I'm super happy. I'm super excited about it and thank you all for being in it. Now if you haven't signed up yet for BetMGM, let's do that. All right. Use the Bonus Code Fantasy we have an awesome offer for you on BetMGM. Use the bonus code Fantasy and you're gonna get up to a 1500 first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM. Here's how it works. Download the BetMGM app and sign up using the Bonus code Fantasy. Deposit at least $10 and place your first wager on any game and you'll receive up to 1500 dollars in bonus bets if your bet loses. Just make sure that you use the Bonus code Fantasy when you Sign up on BetMGM and we'll be right back on FFT.

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[Adam]

Risers and followers in a bit. I wanted to. Oh, should we do the Twitter poll? Is the Twitter poll interesting? Very. All right, let's get that Twitter poll up there. I said, in terms of injury risk only, do you consider Saquon Barkley safer than Christian McCaffrey? Injury risk only, do you consider Saquon Barkley safer than Christian McCaffrey? I put this up an hour ago. 682 votes. 74% yes, 26% no. Oh, Schaefer's gonna vote live on the air. What are you gonna say, Schaefer? You're gonna say, what's it gonna be? Oh, he says yes. Okay. He considers Barkley safer than Christian McCaffrey. Would anybody here say no, or is everybody a yes on this? Barkley is safer in terms of injury risk than McCaffrey.

[Jamie]

I don't know how you could say no to this. I mean, just given what they're doing coming off of.

[Adam]

That's exactly what he said.

[Heath]

Like, I think that somebody if. If Adam was better at doing Twitter polls and had put a I don't care about injury risk or they're the same or see results, then there would be another option to click besides yes as you framed the poll. I think yes is probably.

[Adam]

Well, this is.

[Jamie]

This is the Safer in all caps.

[Adam]

Like. Well, yeah, because I wanted. I wanted to make sure nobody misinterpreted it. So we have a comment in the chat said recency bias. Here's the thing. They. They played Barclays, played seven seasons. McCaffrey's played eight.

[Heath]

This is the best after 73 of Azer set.

[Adam]

After their first seven seasons, they had missed basically the same amount of games. McCaffrey 23 games. Barkley 22 games, I think. And then last year happened and he played four games. Christian McCaffrey played basically three and a half games. It was an absolute mess. So I understand why people are saying that. But Barkley, safer, but he, I don't know how you could have answered that, you know, confidently last year because Barkley himself has had a lot of injury history and he's coming off a 480 touch season and McCaffrey is not. And McCaffrey is like seven months older or eight months older than Saquon Barkley. So he's older. He's not that much older. So.

[Jamie]

Interesting correlation too because 2023. 2020, yeah. 2023 McCaffrey goes to the Super bowl, has 417 total touches, comes back the next season after a lot of work and obviously plays four games again, you don't want to see that for Barkley. But still, Barkley goes to the super bowl, has over 480 total touches. So it's the amount of games, it's the amount of touches, you know, it's like just, it's, it's nerve wracking. You know, I, I, I get it. You know, I was in an analyst draft over the weekend for the flex leagues. I don't know about the other drafts. There's five of those that happened. Two of them are live, three of them will be online. Adam, you're the defending best ball champion. Congratulations.

[Adam]

Yeah, baby.

[Jamie]

Barkley went to in half ppr. So it went chase one, Barkley two. And I get it, you know, you, you want to buy into him still having this great offensive line, this great system, everything that he accomplished last year. I'm nervous. I know, I know Heath is somewhat not Dave and I think share the same sentiment that, you know, the work, you hear me say it all the time, the history of 2000 yard rushers and what these guys have done the previous year, they're still very good. They're still very good. They lose 500 yards. Every single one has lost 500 yards. Yeah, rushing. So it's going to be, it's going to be interesting. You know, the worst thing that's going to happen. I just, I hope he doesn't get hurt. Like if he struggles and he's like the, the fourth best running back, the fifth best running back, you're still going to get a pretty good return on investment. The receptions are hard to buy, the touchdowns are still going to be an issue as long as Jalen hurts is there. I, I just, I hope it's not an injury situation. And, and that's what we're saying, who's right and who's wrong on this side of the argument.

[Dave]

And it's not like we're saying he's, he should be a second rounder or third rounder. He said, for me anyway, I don't know where you guys have him. Right? He's a top 10 fantasy overall pick. There's no question about it. You just can't expect what he did last year. And what he did last year was 22.2 PPR points per game. If McCaffrey plays a bunch of games this year, I would be shocked if his number is that low. So I think as far as like upside goes, McCaffrey's got it over Saquon. And so I just, I, I don't, I try not to even think about like the, the injury concern with Saquon. His own track record. The last two times he had over 260 carries in a season. He missed three games. The following season his production was down. Now he's coming off of 400 plus carries. That makes me more nervous than anything about 2, 000 total yards or anything else. Plus he's 28 years old. McCaffrey, man, the first time he falls down and misses practice, you're going to see his ADP tank. But until that happens, he's absolutely worthy of being closer to a top five pick rather than a top ten pick. I get it. People are scared. They don't want to have Christian McCaffrey on their team after what happened last year and in prior years. But you can't deny his upside. He can score like a top six fantasy quarterback from the running back position.

[Heath]

I, I will just say, according to my research this morning, McCaffrey has scored about a half point less per game in San Francisco than Barkley did last year.

[Jamie]

So.

[Dave]

And how many games is that heath.

[Heath]

For Christian McCaffrey's ballet now? 30 games in San Francisco, 31 he averaged.

[Adam]

That's, that's a really, it is a very good stat. But in his best season, 20, 23, he averaged 24.7. Yeah, fantasy points.

[Heath]

But he also left not consider Saquon's best.

[Adam]

He had to. Okay, so if you take out, if you take out the first game he played for the cheat for the Niners where he was limited, and the last game he played for the Niners where he left in the second quarter because Barkley didn't have any of those games in 2024. I bet you it's about the same, if not McCaffrey a little higher. And I think you could look at the full season that he played. 24.7 fantasy points per game is better than the full season that Barkley played. And it's pretty obvious why. He had 67 catches in 16 games. I mean, we know he's going to catch more passes than Barkley. I don't think he has much more upside. He's, he's not the 29 point scorer that he was. He's not getting 115 catches or whatever. But, and that, that was my.

[Jamie]

Based on this receiving core.

[Adam]

No, I mean it's, this is not going to happen. But that was my, that's, that's my argument against having McCaffrey third overall is the upside isn't that much higher than, than the other running backs. You know, you could sit here and say, oh, McCaffrey could score 28 points per game like he used to. He, he's not going to. It's just not happening. And so Bijan or Bijan has similar upside and Barkley has similar upside and Gibbs might have similar upside. And it's like, well then why am I even, you could say to me, why am I even taking McCaffrey third overall? It's probably because I don't really believe that because he was injured last year, he's likely to get injured this year. I just don't believe it. I mean, you could have looked at Derrick Henry coming off of his eight game season and been like, well, he's 28 now and he's coming off an eight game season. He's definitely more of an injury risk. He's played two full seasons since then. So I just don't buy it. You know, I don't buy that he's an injury risk personally.

[Heath]

So you don't buy that anyone's an injury risk?

[Adam]

Not really. A few players, but not him.

[Dave]

You know, maybe the guys that get hurt every year, for example.

[Adam]

Yeah, and even them I like. Higgins is probably an injury risk, but I don't draft him like he's one. You know, I pretty much don't care about injuries.

[Heath]

I think that's fine. But we have to remember what we started with was you asking a Twitter poll who was a safer based on injury.

[Adam]

I don't think it's, I don't think it's Barkley. I don't think it's either of them. I should have put neither. I guess I should have done a better poll, but I don't think it's either of them. Anthony Richardson, though, that guy is a dream, bro. That. That what I buy. We gotta talk about him when we talk about more risers. All right, let's talk. Let's get to. Let's see. What should we do here? The news and notes. Sure, let's do the news and notes. So shudder. Sanders has arm soreness. Matthew Stafford is being eased back in. We'll go to some running back news. Cole Thompson of Texans Wire says that Nick Chubbs burst is nowhere to be found. Meanwhile, this is not from Cole Thompson, but Joe Mixon could be ready for week one. He's making progress, recovering from a foot and ankle injury. Damian Pierce should be back during the preseason. So I didn't like hearing that Nick Chubb didn't have any burst. Jamie, just one report. But you know, Woody Marks got to be on the sleepers list right now, right?

[Jamie]

At this point, it's just so wide open. Yes, Marks is definitely worth a late round flyer. You know, the fact that mixing could be ready for at some point early in the season, like, he's still the one you should be drafting first by far and maybe the only one you should be drafting. Just with the chance of him playing like I actually drafted him in in the flex leagues. It was round eight and, you know, running backs went a little bit sooner than I expected. So I. I'm hopeful that at some point by week four, I can potentially start him. I'm not expecting him week one to be in my starting lineup, but if you can draft him as a high end reserve, like that's the smart way to go at this point.

[Dave]

I think his injury is worse now than it was last year. But last year it took him a while to even practice in Houston. I think it was till late August when he started practicing with them. And he went on week one and had a monster game, got hurt in week two, missed a couple of games, came back house of fire pretty much the rest of the year. Love that value of round eight. I would take them around earlier than that.

[Adam]

Wait, round eight for mixing.

[Dave]

That's what you said, right?

[Adam]

Amazing.

[Dave]

Awesome.

[Adam]

Yeah, that was. That's why. That's why I liked your team.

[Jamie]

Yeah, you take Joe Burrow or Joe Mixon. If your name starts with Joe, Adam will like your team.

[Adam]

There we go. What else? We got a running back. Arizona apparently could use Trey Benson more, so. All right. Cam Scatter Boo has a seemingly minor injury. Tank Bigsby.

[Jamie]

I don't know if it's minor, to be honest. They're working out running backs today.

[Adam]

Okay. All Right. We'll keep an eye on Scatter Boo. Obviously that's a big deal for Tyrone Tracy. Tank Bigsby running ahead of Travis ETN continues to be the case. RJ Harvey could be the joker in the Denver offense, but there was a joker. Yeah, they're all going to be the joker. And by the way, one of the, one of the news items I had from this time, this show last year was Sean Payton praised his running backs and said Javante Williams looks like a completely different player.

[Heath]

Well, he did look like a completely different player last year.

[Adam]

Sean Payton is not one to be trusted. He's a bit of a prone to hyperbole. I'll be Fleener, Kobe Fleener, but RJ.

[Jamie]

Harvey, my face to my face, he said that.

[Adam]

Would you take R.J. harvey or Joe Mixon?

[Jamie]

Harvey.

[Dave]

Harvey.

[Heath]

I will take Harvey right now, but that will change the minute. Joe Manson's back at practice.

[Adam]

Elijah Mitchell has been, from what I saw, Kansas City's number two running back. Did you see? That's interesting, Heath.

[Heath]

Yes, I, I think it was Price. Carter had said that it was basically A1A1B with Pacheco and Hunt and Mitchell was, was the third. His speculation was like Hunt on short yardage and passing downs.

[Adam]

Wow.

[Jamie]

There, there was something I saw this morning that Pacheco's looked as good as he has been in, in running routes. And Mitchell comes with that in his game, which I don't think anybody would have said coming out of San Francisco. But hey, kudos to him if he's gonna do that. Press Burchard Smith has done some good things catching the ball too.

[Dave]

So those of you not name Adam, are you worried about there being too many cooks in this kitchen in Kansas City's backfield and therefore not drafting Pacheco early?

[Jamie]

I think at Pacheco's cost, he's worth the risk, you know, so you're getting him in round six or later. I'm fine with that. Just knowing whatever running backs are on the board at that point, but I think that's the earliest I would consider it. But yes, that's certainly because I know, like Adam's very optimistic about Pacheco.

[Adam]

Well, I love his value. Yeah, I do think there are some concerns, but I don't really think he's got super hard competition. If he's back to himself, I think he's going to be a steal in round six. I also feel like, I feel like that ADP is getting higher, you know?

[Jamie]

Yes.

[Dave]

You know, I hope they cut Hunt or Mitchell one of the two, yeah.

[Adam]

Okay. Other running back news. James Cook missed practice for business reasons, so we know he wants a new contract. Wide receiver news. Khalil Shakir. This is actually a big deal. I should have brought this up earlier in the show. Khalil Shakira, week to week with a high ankle sprain. Dave, your take on what this means, if anything, for fantasy.

[Dave]

We have seen high ankle sprains capsize people's fantasy seasons. So between this and Keon Coleman's progress, because he's been a guy with a lot of buzz in Buffalo, I'm not nearly as excited as drafting Mr. High Floor himself, Khalil Shakir.

[Adam]

Does anybody think Keon Coleman should be drafted ahead of Khalil Shakir?

[Dave]

I think we can get to that point.

[Jamie]

Not yet.

[Heath]

I. I don't really want to draft either one of them.

[Adam]

Okay.

[Dave]

But Coleman, if you're drafting him at cost, is a good value. Yeah, he's a dart throw at that point.

[Jamie]

He's a great late round pick. Palmer's a great late round pick at this point. Later than Coleman.

[Dave]

I've been there.

[Adam]

Oh, David, let me go back to 2024. This was in my notes.

[Dave]

Yeah, I'm.

[Adam]

I'm ESPN's Chris Rim on the Chargers wide receivers. Josh Palmer appears in position to be the number one target, but after that, it appears to be an open competition between Quentin Johnston, Lad McConkey and DJ Chark. Yeah. You know. All right.

[Jamie]

On draft day, though. Easy. Got a cut. I. Hopefully it helps Kincaid, right?

[Adam]

Yeah, you would think.

[Dave]

Right back at practice.

[Adam]

A.J. brown is a hamstring injury, by the way.

[Jamie]

Skipping over the James Cook thing is a little bit too much like he's. This could be awful.

[Dave]

It could be great for Ray Davis.

[Jamie]

Can be great for Ray Davis.

[Heath]

I. Yeah, I just, like, I don't know what leverage James Cook actually has. And he's scheduled to make more money this year than he's made in his career so far. So I have a hard time believing he's going to give up game checks.

[Jamie]

I don't think he's giving up game checks. But again, the history of these guys that have set out practice for contract situations, whatever the case may be, it's just what's happened to them. The last six, seven guys that have done it only. Yeah.

[Adam]

Even Chase got off to a slow start.

[Dave]

He did. But does it.

[Adam]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Does it mean anything that Cook did practice for a little bit?

[Jamie]

I. I have no idea. I mean, all I could tell you is the guys that have had contract situations that have forced them to miss practice. The, the results have not been good and, and I, I think we're all kind of coming from a similar point here. Everything screams regression for Cook. And so now you're putting this on top of it. Like it just reason to be a little bit more concerned. Ray Davis had three games last year with double digit carries. He, he scored 13.7 PPR points or more in all three. He had the one game where Cook did not play Week 6 against the jets and he scored 18 plus PPR points in that game. Yeah.

[Adam]

All right. And here's a quote from oh, A.J. brown, hamstring injury, Devonte Smith, back at practice. Here's a quote from Ricky Pierce, all quote I just felt like I was behind the eight ball. I like to say that I rolled out of bed and started running routes because I damn near did. You can't really rehab a gunshot wound. So I basically rolled out of bed, started running routes in week seven. From that week seven and on, that was my training camp. Those practices in between before the games, that was my training camp for me. Interesting perspective there from Ricky Pearsall. Tight end news Pittsburgh beat writer Mark Cabali called Pat Friarmuth the unquestioned number one tight end and the heartbeat of this offense. Cabali also said that Jalen Warren will run out with the starters, but Caleb Johnson could get the bulk of the carries sooner rather than later. And he also says about Caleb Johnson, you quote, you couldn't have asked for much more out of Johnson so far.

[Dave]

So yeah, I think we're gonna, I'm kind of getting excited about him. I don't wanna, I don't think I'm ever gonna like put him into round four or overreact like that. But I, I like that he's had a mostly good start to camp and I'm thinking the Steelers are going to be one of those teams that use a lot of like two and three tight end personnel sets because of John who and his versatility last week. Yeah. With four tight ends, I, I don't think they're going to do that very often, but that they can. Clearly, you know how Arthur Smith is with these guys. Like he'll line up John who everywhere, he'll have a play where John who's lined up a quarterback. It's ridiculous. But I, I think if they're going to play a lot of two tight end, three tight end formations, then that helps the run game, whoever's running it, because that's extra blockers. That, that's a, that's a win for Pittsburgh, whose defense, by the way, I mean they're going up against Rogers and DK and I don't know really what else is amazing there and I don't even know if Rogers is amazing, but apparently the defense has been flying around in camp for Pittsburgh.

[Adam]

All right, let's get. Sorry Heath, I just want to get to the rankings risers and followers. Miami offensive tackle Austin Jackson's out at least a few weeks with a leg injury. Listen to this. Devon Hn averaged four and a half yards per carry with Jackson on the field and only 4.4 yards per carry with him off the field. But we don't want to see they have a bad offensive line. We don't want to see Austin Jackson right. Micah Parsons requested a trade that seemed like a long time ago, but we haven't had a show since then. And Atlanta rookie defensive end James Pierce is apparently having a very good camp. They traded a first round pick and a second round pick to move up for Pierce. All right, we're going to get to rankings risers and fallers. Anthony Richardson.

[Jamie]

Raheem Morris, by the way, said still no update on Darnold Mooney, so hopefully he'll be back soon.

[Adam]

Anthony Richardson, Tank Bigsby, R.J. harvey, Nico Collins. These are some of the guys we'll talk about after this quick break on fantasy football today. Possibility means you have a chance. Passion opens the door to all possibilities. When I feel like anything's possible, I feel kind of giddy. I want to be an astronaut, an.

[Dave]

Artist, be an actress to visit another country.

[Adam]

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[Adam]

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[Adam]

All right, we'll go through these fairly quickly here and whenever you guys feel like you want to expand, go for it. Jamie, your Two quarterback risers are Anthony Richardson and Jordan Love.

[Jamie]

Love was thing was just having him too low to begin with but I, I think also based on what 2023 and 2024 look like and sort of finding a middle ground of how much more they're going to throw after investing heavily in the draft in their receiving core, I'm hoping for a healthy Jordan Love which can get him back to that 21, 22 point per game range. Just an easy late round quarterback to target. Not a top 12 guy for me but somebody that's a good settle for guy and somebody to pair with. Let's say a Justin Fields or Kyler Murray or a Drake May, those type of guys that have huge upside but obviously a lot of downside. Based on what we've seen in terms of Anthony Richardson, if he wins the starting job, he's going to be a cheat code for fantasy. Whatever you think of him, whatever many games he plays, whatever the potential outcome by the end of the season, if he gets a 4, 5, 6 game stretch of being the starting quarterback like that could be 23, 24, 28 points per game just based on his legs. I think format matters but he's just an easy late round pick, an easy guy to cut if you have to. But if you are inclined to take two quarterbacks and you have the right potential starter in place, like why not take a shot at him? Like I did this in the flex league is four points for passing touchdown. I took Justin Fields, actually took him as a seventh quarterback because of the scoring format and then with my second to last pick I took Anthony Richardson. The guys that are still available on waivers and this is part of it, you know, see what your league is and who you're drafting with. It's gonna sound funny but Jared Goff's not get drafted. Tua's not drafted. Pennix not drafted. Bryce Young not drafted. Like there's just so many easy fallback options that could be floors than Richardson but obviously not as much of a ceiling.

[Adam]

Yeah, Richardson, man. If you're moving Richardson up though, do you have, do you move down downs, Pittman, Warren or are we thinking. Because the reports have been pretty good. I mean Saturday I guess he had a really bad practice but yeah, they're saying Richardson has improved. So you know last year if you take away week four, which he left early, he was on pace for less than 3,000 passing yards. This is pathetic. And 14 touchdowns just obviously had big rushing numbers.

[Jamie]

But I, I feel like for me I'm probably going to miss out on one of downs, Pittman or Warren having a solid season. I don't know about a huge season just because of the quarterbacks there, but one of them is going to be I think somewhat relevant hopefully consistently all season. The ugly part could be is if it's a couple games of each guy and you know the quarterback play bringing them all down. It's really more about Richardson like as his own entity. He could be a great fantasy asset. Yeah, what he does for the collective is probably bad across the board and I don't think it's necessarily a change with Daniel Jones either based on his track record. Again someone will do well. They're all great at cost. Like you're not spending anything of a high draft pick on any of the top three receiving options. If Pittman's back is fine, he could easily be the best of the trio. Warren's unknown especially his position could be fantastic downs as we see and everybody who judges him can tell the upside is huge. But again his best numbers have come non Richardson. So there's a lot to like about all three of them because they're basically free on draft day. But for me it's not necessarily Richardson up, other receivers down or vice versa. I just think for me I'm going to take a late round flyer on Richardson if I have the opportunity to and I like my roster. It's not necessarily changing my opinion on the receiving core.

[Adam]

All right Heath, you have Justin Fields as a rankings riser. You really I thought he can get even higher in your rankings.

[Heath]

Well, I, I don't know how far back we're going with this but I, I would say that I made the decision over the weekend to move him up to QB8. So just on the thought that the vast majority of the leagues people playing are still one quarterback leagues especially for redraft purposes and for a one quarterback league I don't for the same reason what Jamie was saying about Anthony Richardson. I don't think floor really matters all that much and Fields has the opportunity to be a top five quarterback. So I left of course my home was ahead of my left Dak ahead of him but then when I got to the Brock Purdy, Bo Nix, Baker Mayfield, Jerry Jared Goff range, I just think Fields has more upside than all those guys.

[Adam]

Okay, you have a math Dave and Jamie have Justin Fields 10th and by.

[Jamie]

The way yeah I'm gonna move him actually to ninth ahead of Prescott.

[Adam]

Okay, these are, this is six point per passing touchdown that they're doing this so I guess I have to ask you, is anybody going to take him over Mahomes in a four point per passing touchdown league?

[Jamie]

That was again the draft that I just did. Mahomes won six, I took field seven.

[Dave]

Okay, what round did you take Fields in?

[Jamie]

I want to say 10. Yeah.

[Dave]

Okay, that's great. And then Heath. How soon is too soon for Fields?

[Heath]

And I think I've got him at the end of round seven. Yeah, that's not a, that's. I mean it's a totally different than what Jamie's drafting with analysts like most people. There's going to be seven quarterbacks gone.

[Jamie]

By round seven and it's four points. So it's going to push those guys down.

[Dave]

Right, right. But getting, getting him in round 10 in a four point seems like a gift. Taking him in round seven and a six point seems a little much.

[Adam]

Your turn. Kyler Murray and Trevor Lawrence are the quarterbacks. You're moving up. You already talked about Kyler. So Trevor Lawrence, where is he?

[Dave]

Great camp for Travis Hunter so far when he's played offense and I still believe he's going to play a lot of offense. Brian Thomas Jr. It's kind of going under the radar, but he's been having some great plays as well. We're not sure who's going to run the ball. It's probably going to be a committee. I think Trevor Lawrence, who has gotten some good reviews from the beat reporters in Jacksonville, I could see him having and not the same type of upside as Richardson or even Fields, but like safer floor, might be able to average 20 fantasy points per game. Not somebody I'd be afraid to take with a late round pick to be my number two qb.

[Adam]

Yep, you are the high guy on Trevor Lawrence at 13th. Heath has him 15th, Jamie has Trevor Lawrence 16th and like I said, we talked about Kyler Murray at the start of the show. So let's go to some running back risers. Dave, you've got R.J. harvey, Jordan Mason and Jarquez Hunter. I think you already alluded to Hunter.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Adam]

If you have Kyren Williams though and you want to handcuff him, are you going with Hunter or Cora? I'm you going with Hunter?

[Dave]

Hunter. But it's with like my third to last pick. Second to last pick.

[Adam]

Okay, RJ Harvey, you're moving up.

[Dave]

We talked about him already and at first it seemed like he wasn't adapting as well as we thought he would in Broncos camp and adding J.K. dobbins sent me for a loop. But forget about what Sean Payton says. Everybody's Talking about how he's picked it up and how he's doing a better job and making catches downfield. So that evidence is encouraging. And it's. He's kind of like in the same spot where Omarion Hampton was for me a month ago, where he and Dobbins are probably going to split reps to begin the season. But then if Dobbins gets hurt or if Harvey just plays to his speed and, you know, better than expectations, he'll be the lead back. No question in Denver. And we've seen it in Sean Payton's off. We didn't see it last year, but the lead running back in Sean Payton's offenses in the past has been very, very good for fantasy. So he's actually my RB24. I'm starting to get a little nervous that he's too low, but he's definitely somebody that's got all kinds of upside and is still a good value if you're getting him at the five, six turn.

[Adam]

Yeah. What about in a half PPR league? Because I think we're expecting catches to.

[Dave]

Really same thing for me.

[Adam]

It's the same thing for RJ Harvey. All right. Yeah. And Mason. And we've. We've addressed him, but more talk, more.

[Dave]

Talk about a split backfield.

[Adam]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Like there was a report. I think it was espn. Jamie, you can help me out on that if I'm wrong. But like CO RB1s and it's just the drum beat continues to get louder for Mason and quieter for Aaron Jones.

[Adam]

The report was that it should be more of a committee than what we've seen under this coaching staff, which is going into its fourth year, that they've never really had a committee that it'll be more closer to 50, 50 than.

[Heath]

Yeah. The only thing I would say is about continuing to move Aaron Jones down because of these reports is Aaron Jones has been in a committee almost his entire career.

[Adam]

That's true.

[Heath]

Like, that's. That's kind of the way he's functioned. So I, I still think he may turn into a good value.

[Jamie]

That's what o' Connell was getting at. I mean, is. Is basically they felt they gave him too much work last year and all of his numbers were great, like play through injury, career high in total touches. Like he did fantastic for them. And I think that's just the concern moving forward. And he said all this again, I keep repeating this. He said all this prior to resigning him. Like, you know, clearly there were deals in place, but it was. We won't want to give him this much work, oh, hey, let's go trade for a guy, bring in somebody else to give him work. And to Heat's point, like all of these reports and I think just people realizing it, you know, we haven't seen a lot of non analyst, non best ball all these drafts, you know, the majority of drafts that will happen, like where Aaron Jones ADP will probably settle because his name and what he did a year ago, plus the offense he plays in. But like he's settling to a point where it's hard to say that's bad cost because he's in that Pacheco, Pollard, Nixon range, you know, of round six, you know, you don't have to necessarily draft him to be your starter if you, you know, depending how your team goes and if he does hit and those pockets of games where he'll be great, he should be fantastic value.

[Adam]

Okay, that's Aaron Jones, Jamie, you're moving up Omari and Hampton, well, he, he is moving up Kareem Hunt because you mentioned that you saw a report that he's basically working as 1A, 1B. I'm sorry, 1B.

[Heath]

But yeah, but again he's not a top 50 running back. It was just Jamie had listed all of the running backs that we removed already.

[Adam]

Right, right. So Jamie's running back list. So Marion Hampton, who Heath is not moving up necessarily, or at least not as high as Dave and Jamie. But Dave and Jamie are thinking about Hampton maybe in the third round, definitely late round three. Tank Bigsby. So is he your highest ranked Jaguars running back? Jamie?

[Jamie]

Yeah, it's hard to ignore just everything you're hearing now. I think from all accounts we're going to see all three guys play and Tutin got healthy over the weekend, so we'll see how much of a factor he has in this backfield at some point. But at least at the start of the season, for week one, it sounds like Tank Bigsby is going to be the starting running back in a shared situation. To what degree again, how much you want to value that. But in that next tier of guys, you know, with the high end backups that are going to matter to whatever degree, the Jordan Masons, the Tajay Spears, the Charbonnets, you know, those type of, of options like Bigsby's now in that range, the Giants running backs, for example. So I think when you look at, you know, Dave's talked about how the passing game should improve, I mean Liam Cohen's offense is just going to be better for this Jacksonville team based on what we saw a year ago. So if the offensive line holds up, I do think his receiving totals are a little bit hard to gauge because at Auburn he did a much better job than what he showed at Florida at Jacksonville. And, and I think, you know, I mentioned this previously, like it feels like it could be a Ken Walker situation where looked better catching the ball in college, didn't necessarily get those opportunities to start of his NFL career. And then, you know, there was something that, that changed for the Seahawks and it was coaching change. And so maybe that's the same thing that happens for, for Tank in, in Jacksonville. And Papinski brings up an interesting name as well. They like La Quinta Allen also in, in that role too as a pass catcher. So it could be four guys at some point during the season. I don't think you want to overvalue Tank Bigsby too much, but if you're drafting him again as a high end reserve, maybe a potential flex option early in the season, I think that's a good way to go.

[Adam]

Do you feel the same way about Jerome Ford? Is he behind that whole group because you have him as a riser?

[Jamie]

I mean, right now he's behind them, but he's obviously, you know, fastly moving up the ranking. Same with Dylan Sampson because the longer this quinch on Judkins thing plays out, obviously it's better for Ford, who by all accounts has had a good training camp. Once he came back from his injury that kept him off the start of the practice field at the starter camp. Do Staley is a running backs coach. He's got a great history with, you know, getting a lot of production out of that position and glowing about Jerome Ford and really saying a lot of good things about Dylan Sampson. But Sampson just based on his size. Dan's talked about this a lot with Jalen Wright. Like that system in Tennessee is not necessarily, I think, something you want to say. Okay. These numbers lead to great production in the NFL because it's just easy to run for the Volunteers. But a good late round pick at this point. So both guys moving up a Ford, hard to ignore if, if Judson's going to miss the start of the season, maybe all the season.

[Adam]

I heard the word fastly in there. I don't think, I don't really think that's a word. I think, you know, just quickly. All right. I can't be the only one that gets ripped on on this show, right? Braylon Allen.

[Jamie]

We never get critiques.

[Adam]

Well, not for me. Braylon Allen, Ray Davis, not from you. I don't I don't bust your chops that much, do I? Am I? Am I a chops buster?

[Jamie]

Go ahead.

[Adam]

Okay. It's all right. Hey, listen, take it easy there. Christian Bale, wherever it was. Braylon Allen, Ray Davis and Jacori, this.

[Jamie]

Is such a great opportunity to do your Bane impression.

[Adam]

I can't do it anymore. I can't do impressions anymore. I really stink at them. But Jamie's moving up. Braylon Allen, who's getting good buzz, and Ray Davis because James Cook and Jacori, Crosby, Merritt, Corey Crowski, Merit, I mean, really has got to be on your radar right now, getting reps with the ones, which isn't a shock or anything. But Brian Robinson is not a special running back, so if he struggles, there's an opportunity. Eckler's there too. Let's not forget about him. All right, wide receivers, this is a really interesting list from Jamie. We got Nico Collins and Brian Thomas Jr. Moving up. Yeah, what do you got now for Nico and Brian Thomas Jr.

[Jamie]

I mean, Thomas, we talked about this last week with the report that Hunter is going to try and play every snap defensively. I, I think he's going to be good when he's on offense, but there's a clear path here to Thomas being the guy that he was at the end of last season because of just Trevor Lawrence being there. Liam Cohen's offense, it was always a good situation for Thomas to begin with, despite the addition of Travis Hunter. And if Hunter does not fulfill his prophecy to be the unicorn and play every snap and maybe is better defensively than he is offensively, it just feels like we're going to get, you know, targets funneled to Brian Thomas. And Dave said it, like, to what you brought up, Adam. The rookies always get overhyped. We don't hear a lot about the veterans when they're doing what they're supposed to do. And Thomas, I think caught two touchdowns from Lawrence in their scrimmage the other day. Like, he's just been on fire. Nico was more just about adjusting those top tier wide receivers Dave mentioned. You know, with the Stafford back injury, I'm a little concerned about Puka, so it's just moving Nico, who was already close to begin with, ahead of and Thomas ahead of, ahead of Puka. I didn't want to say Puka is a follower because I don't think it's something that you should be overly concerned about. It's just me being more excited about Nico and Thomas than Puka at this point.

[Adam]

Go and Thomas. Okay, so give Me your top five wide receivers. You have that.

[Jamie]

The top five are Chase Lamb, Jefferson, Nico Neighbors. Okay. Thomas's six.

[Adam]

You got George Pickens moving up the rankings.

[Jamie]

Yeah, it's sort of readjusting that. That back end wide receiver two group. So it's basically like 23 through 30ish. So Judy fell for me. McLaurin is outside my top 24. It's, you know, obviously the off season reports from Pickens have been great and just, you know, the opportunity for him. So he's a back end wide receiver, too. Rice will move back into the top 24 if he's not facing a long suspension. So I have him ahead of Rice at this point. I'm probably the only one excited about Devonte Smith just because again, I can't have this narrative that Saquon may struggle in the run game, may struggle. It's not going to benefit both A.J. brown and. And Smith. So Smith is another guy that moved up in that range also. But just moving Judy down a little bit for the concerns we talked about start of the show. Moving rice down, moving McLaren way down. I have him at. At wide receiver 30 right now. So just that whole little group, we're basically the Blob. You know, the Blob is always going to adjust that. That 20, 20 to 40 range will be the most. Most rankings moves that I have throughout the course of the offseason.

[Adam]

And Heath, you're not yet in on George Pick, as you have him 36. Dave and Jamie have him 24th, 25th, I think.

[Heath]

I. Yeah, 36 is part of the Blob.

[Adam]

Okay. All right. Emeka Buka is not in the Blob yet, but he, you know, Chris Godwin. We still don't have a timetable for Chris Goblin to return. So Abuka is a guy that steady drum beat, I guess, probably going to be off the board around pick 100. He's a rankings riser for Jamie. I don't know. That might be a little high. Maybe 110. Luther Burden. All right, I think we need to talk about Chicago here because you have Luther Burden as a rankings riser. Is. Was he top. Is he even top 40 at this point?

[Jamie]

No, I think I have. No, not top 40. 48. Yep.

[Adam]

Because you have one spot behind Abuka. Dave has burden 55, Heath has burden 54. Heath has Roma Dunes A as a rankings riser. Moving Odunze. Who's. Let's see, Odunze is up to. I can't spell his name right. 31 for you, Heath, 36 for Jamie. 40th for Dave. All right, some little exercise here. I don't do a lot of exercising, but here's a mental exercise I. I tried to find over the last five years, any team that had two wide receivers average at least 14 points per game in PPR and a tight end average at least 10 points per game. 10 points per game for a tight end is going to be a borderline top 10 to 12 guy. 14 points per game for a wide receiver is going to be somewhere between wide receiver 20 and 30 depending on the year. So these are start worthy guys. Two, two wide receivers and a tight end over the last five years. Guess how many teams. Oh, minimum 13 games played for all of the players because obviously injuries change things so much. But minimum 13 games played for all the players. Guess how many teams had two receivers average 14 points and one tight end 10 points per game over the last five years?

[Dave]

There's only one that's come to my mind that might be close.

[Adam]

Who?

[Dave]

And that's Dallas with Cooper, Lamb and Ferguson. So again, it might have been. It might have been Schultz instead of Ferguson.

[Adam]

What's that?

[Jamie]

Give me the numbers again.

[Adam]

14. 14 points per game for two wide receivers and 10 points per game for a tight end.

[Jamie]

Philly never.

[Adam]

They never met the requirements of everybody playing at least 13 games. Right. If you think about how much Goddard being out boosted devonte Smith, they were very close. They are the most encouraging example I think for the Bears this year. But San Fran, Sam Fran in 2023 is one of them. But Debo Samuel had something like 250 yards and five touchdowns rushing. So they wouldn't have qualified DJ Moore's.

[Jamie]

Line up in the backfield. That could happen.

[Adam]

Yeah. Detroit last year. Detroit last year had Amanra, Jameson Williams and Sam Laporta. Those are the only two teams that have done this. Lions and 49ers. How many passing yards for those teams? The lions last year, 4,718 passing guards, 39 touchdowns. The 49ers, 4,577 yards, 33 touchdowns. If you're looking at this list, other teams that have been close, 2023 Eagles, 2023. Texans with tank Dell and Nico Collins and Dalton Schultz. Schultz like barely right around 10 points per game. Eagles twice, 2023 and 2022. The Tom Brady Buccaneers of 2020 and 2021, they. They basically did it with Gronkowski, but they also had Antonio Brown on the team and Godwin Evans. Everybody was missing some time. The 2020 Steelers and the 2021 Rams were close. The Rams had Robert Woods Cooper cup, who was wide receiver one. Woods only played nine games. I think Tyler Higby did average 10 fantasy points per game. Here's the the takeaway though the Steelers led the NFL and pass attempts in 2020, the Rams threw for 4, 900 yards and 41 touchdowns. Pretty much any team that does this has a huge passing season or throws the ball a ton, but mostly has a huge passing season in terms of yards. God, Caleb Williams is having such a terrible camp right now after having a really bad rookie year. It's scary, right? I'm not saying you have to. I'm not saying you have to buy it. Maybe all this talent will elevate him, but oh, can we get some good reports on Caleb Williams? Can he really give us. Can he really deliver for DJ Moore or Romo Dun or Colson Loveland or Luther Burden? It's tough.

[Dave]

Yeah.

[Heath]

I just think you're asking if like the question you asked at the end is a good one. Can he deliver for one of those guys or two of those guys? These guys aren't necessarily being drafted or ranked as if we actually believe all three of them. They're going to have two 14 point per game wide receivers and a 10 point per game tight end.

[Adam]

I think, I mean I think they basically are, I think more. More, yes. Odunze. No, but you're drafting him in a range of guys that we. I mean you have two spots behind Tettero McMillan Millen and then Jameson Williams. Right. Like if you're drafting Odunze 31st that wide receiver, you really want him to score 14 PPR fantasy points. At least 13 and a half.

[Jamie]

I'm surprised you have Odunze ahead of Pickens by that much or. But not by that. You haven't had a picket.

[Heath]

I, I dropped DJ Moore and raised a Dunes a little bit in the last week. So I, I'm lower on and it's more just uncertainty. But I'm not probably drafting both of them. I just don't know. Didn't know there should be quite as much separation between them as there is. I, I've been more skeptical and I like Pickens. I've moved up a little bit but I've just been more skeptical that he's actually going to earn the type of targets that he needs to on a team. With CD Lamb, I think you'll have some huge spike weeks.

[Adam]

Okay.

[Jamie]

And the San Fro Dunes. I'm with you on that. Like you know that there's I think similar range of outcomes for both these guys. Like, for me, I just buy into the quarterback and at least what I've seen from.

[Dave]

Yeah, I mean that's the huge difference.

[Jamie]

I do think to your, to your point, Adam and, and Heath was, was on that path. Like no one's drafting these guys. Like you're drafting A.J. brown and Devonte Smith and, and even Goddard.

[Adam]

I don't know about that. I mean, Loveland, okay. They're like, well, Dunesay and Loveland are getting drafted sort of just behind the threshold that I'm talking about. If you think Luther Burden is going to matter and Colson Loveland's going to have a good rookie year, then Caleb Williams needs to have a good year. Right. There's just not enough to go around.

[Jamie]

The way that I come at it with the Bears. And you know, there's probably a handful of other teams that are the same way. Like I want to take dart throws on Ben Johnson and so it's, I want to see if Loveland can become maybe laporta but a better version of that from a catches and yardage standpoint. I want to see if Luther Burden, because by all accounts he's the slot receiver at this point based on how they're using DJ Moore on Romo Dunes, they can he be St Brown. So I'm going to take dart throws on those two guys at their price points. Like, oh, dunes a little tough to buy into because like you said, he's in this range of guys that there's a lot of similar upside and maybe more certainty around him. D.J. moore is the toughest one for me to gauge because of when you have to buy into him. So it's like when you're comparing him to Cortland Sutton and DK Metcalf and Xavier Worthy slash Rashi Rice, depending on how that all plays out and Mike Evans and and those type of receivers, like you can make the case for and against DJ Moore. You know, comparatively to those guys, based on what happened at the end of last season, your belief in maybe what Caleb Williams with Ben Johnson can become, like there's all these different moving parts. And so the way I come at it with the Bears, like if I get DJ Moore at the right price, like we did the pick by pick Adam and all those receivers went off the board and I was the, the 1 pick, I forget, I think it was the 4 or 5 turn. You had just taken Sutton, because you use my rankings right in front of me. I had, I, I, it was kind of like a settle for pick because he was my best receiver on the board and I wanted to take a receiver there because I didn't love the running back value. So it, it was like he's, he's in that, that group of guys. But I think when it comes to, you know, aside from him, the other three, like if Odunze falls to the right price, I'll buy. I'm certainly gonna take shots on what's the right price and what's the price for dunes.

[Adam]

Yeah, what's the right price?

[Jamie]

I think round seven for me is where I'll, I'll take a chance. And again, most drafts I see him go in that range are a little bit sooner. Anything after round seven to me is easy. Like again, I, I don't want to keep bringing up, you know, my drafts, but I did the, the flex leagues where you don't do not have to play a tight end. I wanted Luther Burden, stupid Alfredo Brown stolen from me and then don't play a Titan. I took, took a chance on Loveland. It's an easy flex play. You know, it was like round 13, I think around 14, maybe of a 16 round draft. Like why not? If he becomes that guy, like that's an easy, you know, 12 or half PPR, you know, 10, 11, half PBR points. If he's that good.

[Adam]

Okay, but you can make that case about so many guys. And the thing is, what I'm saying is they've never had a 4,000 yard passer in their, in their history. We probably need Caleb Williams to throw for like 4200 yards. I think to, to, to have, you know, to. I don't know, it's, it's okay. I'm not saying it well, but the bottom line is it's risky, I think to spend significant draft capital on the Bears. I can't argue with you taking late round picks. But if they have four good pass catchers, Caleb Williams better have a damn good year. It's going to be tough for anyone.

[Heath]

To see a four good pass catchers. He will have it if they have.

[Adam]

Well, if, if all, if these guys are as good as we say and they're all competing for targets, then there may not be enough. There may not be enough to go around. Caleb Williams could crush these four guys if he doesn't improve. And the fact that he's been horrible in camp after a bad rookie year is, is trouble troubling.

[Heath]

Well, I don't care really at all about the camp stuff with Caleb Williams yet, but I think that what's more likely and we like this is the case for a lot of teams. It used to be the case for the 49ers and it's probably the case for the Chiefs right now because the Chiefs are the one team actually being drafted to have two wide receivers score more than 14 fantasy points per game and a tight end score 12.

[Dave]

That's a good point.

[Heath]

But what's probably going to happen is one of these guys is going to really just stink.

[Adam]

Yeah, I think multiple one you believe in, not three.

[Jamie]

I think two of the two of the Bears guys are going to stink. And, and it may be at different times during the season. Like DJ Moore may get off to a great start because he's the most proven. And then Odunze and Burden by the end of the season. Or Burden and. And Loveland. I think that, you know, I was thinking about the, the Browns conversation to start the show. Like Judy is. Is more, you know, Tillman is. Is Odunze or Burden, you know, Deontay Johnson and. And it's easy to make the Najoku Loveland comparison too, based on how they're getting drafted. Like it's very similar. Like crappy quarterback situation could derail all of this easily.

[Adam]

Okay.

[Dave]

And yet Flacco might throw for more yards and touchdowns than Caleb Williams, right?

[Jamie]

Yeah.

[Adam]

Okay.

[Dave]

I said might.

[Adam]

And let's see. Demario Douglas. Jamie's been talking about that for a couple weeks. Dave, has Matthew golden and Keon Coleman as risers. Do you also have Matthew golden as your top ranked packers receiver?

[Dave]

Yes.

[Adam]

Yeah.

[Dave]

Yeah, it's been that way for a while. Just the fact that he's got a great type of skill set that is, it's unique to the packers right now. It wasn't unique to them before because they had Christian Watson, but Watson, clearly not healthy and not ready to go week one as of. As of this podcast. And golden, the one thing that I was worried about him in the draft process is do you evaluate him based only on his last 10 games in Texas when he really had a big opportunity? And you throw away the other games at Texas, plus what he did at the University of Houston and it seems like he's more of that receiver the last 10 games and they've been talking about how dialed in he's been and, you know, staying in close contact with Jordan Love. And these are all things that you love to hear about and read about. But what he's doing on the field is also a positive. There's a. I can't rule out that if, if Caleb doesn't turn it around and there aren't more stacked days for the for the Bears offense. Why would you not draft the number one receiver for Green Bay over the number two question mark receiver for Chicago? So golden could jump Roma Dunze at some point and Keon Coleman. If he keeps stacking days, I think that's a harder sell to put him over Roma Dunes A But what if he ends up being the number one receiver for the Bills?

[Heath]

I've not been the biggest Caleb Williams backer so I, I don't want to get too far over my skis here, but we gave like we're on like year six of giving Trevor Lawrence one more chance. Can I what I don't understand why Caleb Williams so fast.

[Adam]

I'm not counting him a week and.

[Heath]

A half of bad practices and a couple of them apparently were okay. Like he had a bad rookie year. It's the first couple of weeks of training camp in a new offense.

[Dave]

Okay.

[Heath]

If you thought this guy was a generational talent 18 months ago, I don't think we should be poo pooing in the way we are right now. Then this could be one of those things that we look back in October and say lol. Remember when we thought Caleb Williams was going to be terrible because he had 10 bad practices?

[Adam]

I I completely agree with that. It just it would be nice for him to do something good and there.

[Dave]

Is still time for him to do something good and, and this is to Heath's point as well if, if Shane Waldron is his play caller. I don't know if we have much faith in in Caleb Williams getting workarounds for the things that he's not good at. But Ben Johnson's his play caller and play designer and it's a new playbook and maybe that's why he's off to a slow start heat. But maybe. You're absolutely right. But I do think that Ben Johnson will probably dial up a lot more to to highlight what Caleb is good at and it's going to be those short quick throws, I would imagine. And that would be great for DJ Moore. That could be really good for Colson Loveland. I don't know if it's going to be that good for Romo Dunes. We just have to really take it day by day, week by week in training camp and make the best educated guests we can by the end.

[Adam]

All right, we're going to skip fallers today. Going long here. We have a show at 1pm Eastern on CBS Sports Network. And Heath, you are. You have Romo Dunes as a riser. You talked about that. You talked about McMillan, Cedric Tillman and Jalen Waddle are the last two guys.

[Heath]

I already talked about Tillman with Jerry Judy, and I've just kind of slowly readjusted the lost target share for Jono Smith. And I think I probably gave a little bit too much to Darren Waller when he signed, even though I didn't give him near as much as you would have liked, Adam. And I think there's a good chance this offense goes back to more of a ignore the tight end position, which is great for Jalen Waddle. And there's always the possibility that Tyreek just disappears at some point during the season and Jalen Waddle is the top five wide receiver.

[Adam]

Would you rather have Waddle or Odunze?

[Heath]

Waddle.

[Dave]

Yes.

[Adam]

Okay, Would you rather have Waddle or. Hold on one second, let me get a good one here. Waddle or Zay Flowers?

[Jamie]

Waddle.

[Dave]

Waddle or a rookie?

[Adam]

Travis Hunter.

[Heath]

Yeah, Waddles over the rookies for me.

[Dave]

I'll take the rookies.

[Adam]

Not all of them.

[Jamie]

Okay.

[Adam]

All right, guys, thank you very much. Thanks everybody for watching and listening. We'll talk to you tomorrow with the first part of a two part running backs preview. We'll give you kind of the lay of the land, of the position, some sleepers, breakouts and busts. We'll talk about the early round guys and we'll see you then. Have a good one. Also, 1:00pm Eastern today on CBS Sports Network and on Wednesday, same thing. See you then.

[Jamie]

Paramount Podcasts.

[Adam]

Stop.

[Heath]

Do you know how fast you were going? I'm gonna have to write you a.

[Adam]

Ticket to my new movie, the Naked Gun. Liam Neeson, buy your tickets now and get a free chili dog. Chili dog not included.

[Dave]

The Naked Gun now playing rate of DG13.