Rashee Rice SUSPENDED! + FINAL Do Not Draft List! 22 Players to AVOID in 2025! (08/27 Fantasy Football Podcast)

Summary

Fantasy Football Today – Episode Summary

Podcast: Fantasy Football Today
Episode: Rashee Rice SUSPENDED! + FINAL Do Not Draft List! 22 Players to AVOID in 2025!
Date: August 28, 2025
Host & Analysts: Adam Aizer, Dave Richard, Jamie Eisenberg

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Overview

This episode breaks down breaking news about Rashee Rice’s six-game suspension to start the 2025 NFL season and delivers the FFT crew’s final “Do Not Draft” list: quarterbacks, running backs, tight ends, and wide receivers to avoid in your upcoming fantasy football drafts. The panel shares strategy, debates big-name rankings, and dispels drafting myths, all while providing indispensable insights as draft season peaks.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Rashee Rice’s Suspension and Fantasy Impact

• Breaking News: Rashee Rice, Chiefs WR, suspended six games (01:31).

• Jamie’s Initial Reaction:

  • "At least we find out for anybody drafting… you know what you’re dealing with. So the uncertainty of the previous situation... you now know that the first six weeks of the season, you don’t have Rashee Rice." (02:30)
  • Rice remains WR33 for Jamie, still a “number three fantasy wide receiver.”
  • This clarity lets drafters plan for his absence, favoring Travis Kelce and especially rookie Xavier Worthy for early-season opportunity. Marquise Brown sees a minor boost.
  • Jamie suggests you “get replacement options to start the season… Worthy’s a great round four pick right now, maybe round five. And then Rice I would look for in the round seven range.” (03:55)

• Dave’s Perspective:

  • Disappointed, noting “if you draft him, that rules out getting guys that are going to get off to a slow start or suspended… like Jordan Addison, like Chris Godwin.” (04:41)
  • Shifts Rice to late-round 6, must be your WR3 or deeper.
  • Recommends against Chiefs’ depth picks as replacements but “a little more interested in Travis Kelce, believe it or not.” Points out Kelce averaged 13.9 PPR points/game without Rice last year. (06:04)

• Replacement Strategies:

  • Jamie advocates pairing Rice with solid starts like Christian Kirk or Marquise Brown if bench is deep.
  • Dave lists later ADP receivers like Keon Coleman as preferred plug-ins (07:49).

• Patrick Mahomes Effect:

  • Both analysts keep Mahomes as a backend QB1, unaffected in rankings despite drop in weapons.
  • Worthy and Kelce are the early Chiefs buy; Rice is a stash.

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Quarterbacks and Tight Ends – Do Not Draft (DNDD) List & Analysis

Quarterbacks

• Overall Strategy (Dave):

  • "Don’t reach for a quarterback under any circumstances… feel like you’re getting fair value." (09:20)
  • Avoid QBs in rounds 1–2 except Superflex leagues.

• Specific Concern – Justin Fields:

  • Moved out of Dave’s top 12 (“I’ve thought about moving him outside my top 15…” 09:20).
  • Some upside remains due to cheap ADP and rushing floor, but risk is high.

• Patrick Mahomes:

  • Jamie: "Round six, at the earliest… he’s at like 48th or 47th overall… if you are drafting him in round four and that is where you have to reach for him, I am essentially out on Mahomes." (10:26)
  • Josh Allen: Jamie says Allen shouldn’t go before Lamar Jackson on upside; Allen’s consistency lauded by Dave (13:28).
  • Agree: Target elite QBs only at value, not by ADP.

Tight Ends

• Dave’s DNDDs:

  • Travis Kelce (unless his ADP drops to round 6 or later), Mark Andrews, TJ Hockenson.
  • "If [Kelce] is going to be 12, maybe 13 PPR points per game… I don’t want to take that in round six." (14:24)
  • Mark Andrews’ value is overinflated by last year’s touchdowns; Ravens now have DeAndre Hopkins, lowering Andrews’ red-zone share.

• Jamie’s DNDDs:

  • Sam LaPorta (too pricey round 5).
  • Kelce elevated to TE6 after Rice news.
  • “There’s the top three without question, then a tier of two with Njoku and Kelce; then Laporta with the next group.” (16:00)

• Consensus:

  • Wait on TEs unless you get a steep value.
  • Consider David Njoku as a value play later (discussed in “Name that Player”).

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Running Backs – Players to Avoid

• Jamie’s List:

  • Saquon Barkley: Avoid at overall pick #3. Barkley likely to regress after 400+ touch season, per historic trends.
    • "History of 2000 yard rushers... loses 500 yards minimum and six of eight have lost over 800 yards the next season." (18:55)
  • Aaron Jones: Splitting workload in Minnesota; avoid at round 5–6 ADP.
  • Joe Mixon: Coming off injury, uncertain role, approaching age cliff.
  • Quinshon Judkins: Not signed, uncertain rookie impact.
  • Caleb Johnson: Rookie trap, crowded backfield; likely low passing-down usage.

• Dave’s Addition:

  • DeAndre Swift:
    • "I don’t think he’s necessarily a great running back talent wise to begin with... not going to take him in Round five." (22:27)
    • Worries over Bears’ OL, pass blocking, and role stability.

• Alvin Kamara (Jamie):

  • Role is uncertain under Kellen Moore (historically doesn’t throw to backs), so round 3 price is too steep.
  • "If Kamara loses that, taking him in round three is a huge mistake. Absolute huge mistake." (24:35)

• Drafting Advice:

  • Wait for these names to fall several rounds below ADP.
  • Avoid injured, splitting, or unproven rookie RBs at premium cost.

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Wide Receivers – Players to Avoid

Dave’s DNDDs

• Tyreek Hill:

  • "Tyreek Hill has no buzz is because he’s barely been practicing… and Tua just doesn’t seem to be letting go of the whole situation… their chemistry looked off in camp." (26:53)
  • Not a target until late round 4.

• Garrett Wilson:

  • Offense will be run-heavy.
  • "Garrett Wilson is catching passes from Justin Fields. That’s a problem… that makes me worry about just how many targets per game Garrett Wilson’s going to get." (28:55)

• Zay Flowers:

  • Ravens run too much; never shown consistent WR1 output.
  • "Love Flowers the talent… hate Flowers the fantasy wide receiver." (29:34)

• DJ Moore:

  • Bears’ target competition increased; Moore now a short-area, lower-upside target.

Jamie’s DNDDs

• DJ Moore (shared with Dave)

• Zay Flowers (shared with Dave)

• Terry McLaurin:

  • Missed all of camp (holdout); hamstring woes and historical precedent for missed training camp impacting WR performance.
  • "Had there not been an issue across the board for him, I would be drafting him as a top 20 receiver." (31:15)

• Deebo Samuel:

  • Being drafted ahead of players Jamie prefers (e.g., Jalen Waddle, Travis Hunter, Egbuka); cost not justified by ceiling.

• Michael Pittman:

  • ADP inexplicably rose following Josh Downs injury, but Downs may return by Week 1.

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Key Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Jamie Eisenberg, on Rice’s suspension:
  • "You now know the first six weeks of the season, you don’t have Rashee Rice… Worthy may be the one who doesn't give up the role in terms of who's the best receiver for the Chiefs rest of season." (02:30)
• Dave Richard, on Saquon Barkley:
  • "He could still be a 1500 yard rusher…but it's just a big concern for a running back of his age who's had some injury concerns…over 480 total touches." (18:55)
• Jamie Eisenberg, on Alvin Kamara:
  • "If Kamara loses [receiving volume], taking him round three is a huge mistake. Absolute huge mistake." (24:35)
• Dave Richard, on Tyreek Hill:
  • "Now if you draft him, you have to hope that the ceiling is more like 16 or 17 and the floor is where he was last year. It was 12 PPR points per game. That's pathetic." (27:04)

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Notable Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment | Content | |-----------|---------|---------| | 01:31 | News | Rashee Rice suspension announced and instant reaction | | 04:31 | Analysis | What Rice’s suspension means for the Chiefs’ pecking order and how to replace him | | 09:20 | Quarterbacks | Why not to draft QBs early and Justin Fields warning | | 10:26 | Quarterbacks | Mahomes ADP discussion and top QB value talk | | 13:28 | QBs | Allen vs. Lamar, ADP and performance comparison | | 14:24 | Tight Ends | DNDD list for tight ends, why to wait, Kelsey vs. LaPorta | | 18:37 | Running Backs | Barkley, Jones, Mixon, rookie RB concerns | | 22:27 | RBs | DeAndre Swift DNDD explained | | 26:53 | WRs | Tyreek Hill, Garrett Wilson, Flowers, Moore on the DNDD | | 31:15 | WRs | Terry McLaurin and others explained on Jamie’s list | | 35:08+ | Name that Player | Fun, quick-hit player clues and deeper analysis on market inefficiencies | | 41:45 | Derrick Henry | Why fantasy managers still should not fade him despite his age |

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Additional Advice & Listener Q&A

• Draft strategy for Superflex, tight end premium:
  • Top QBs or top TEs (Brock Bowers, Trey McBride) at the turn if top 5 QBs gone. (45:41)
• Justin Fields:
  • Top 10 QB in 4-point pass TD leagues thanks to rushing. (46:15)
• Steelers QB speculation:
  • Only get Anthony Richardson cheap; Colts say they’re not moving him. (46:48)

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Bottom Line Takeaways

• Rashee Rice’s six-game suspension clarifies Chiefs’ target tree: move him down to WR3/7th round, boost Worthy and Kelce for fast starts.
• Never overpay at QB or TE; value rarely aligns with cost except for elite ceiling at a discount.
• Avoid high-ADP running backs with age, injury/holdout or unclear roles.
• Be wary of WRs with uncertain QB situations, injured/camp-missing stars, or inflating ADPs without justification.
• Context and draft value are everything—don’t get attached to names; focus on ADP and team context!

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Final DNDD Lists

Quarterbacks:

• Don’t draft in early rounds (unless Superflex)
• Avoid Mahomes and Mayfield at round 4–5 ADP, Justin Fields (outside top 12)

Running Backs:

• Saquon Barkley (top 3 pick), Joe Mixon, Aaron Jones, DeAndre Swift (round 5), Quinshon Judkins, Caleb Johnson, Alvin Kamara (round 3), others with injury/role risk.

Tight Ends:

• Travis Kelce (unless after round 6), Mark Andrews, TJ Hockenson, Sam LaPorta (round 5/6).

Wide Receivers:

• Tyreek Hill (early round 4 or earlier), Garrett Wilson, Zay Flowers, DJ Moore, Terry McLaurin, Deebo Samuel, Michael Pittman.

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Memorable Quote (Jamie Eisenberg):
"I think once you start to separate these guys, there’s the top three [TEs] without question. Then…Njoku and Kelce at this point. And then Laporta falls into that next group…But I don’t think you want to reach for these guys." (16:00)

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For full details, check out segments at 01:31 (Rice news), 09:20 (QB advice), 14:24 (TEs), 18:37 (RBs), and 26:53 (WRs). This episode is your cheat sheet: avoid fading stars out of fear, but don’t chase last year’s hype at the cost of draft value and upside!

Transcript

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[Adam Azer]

Did you know that Travis Kelce averaged four targets per game in just three games with Rasheed Rice last year? Did you know that Xavier Worthy scored 19.6 or more PPR fantasy points in five of his last six games, including the playoffs last season? Did you know we're going to talk about Rashee Rice at the top of the show. We welcome you to Fantasy Football Today presented by BetMGM, the sportsbook born in Vegas. It's Wednesday, August 27th. We've got that breaking news to get you but also the Do Not Draft list. You know guys, you better relish this now. I love talking about drafts, but in eight days that is pretty much over. We're going to be talking about starts and sits. Welcome to the show. That's Dave, Richard and Jamie Eisenberg. I am Adam Azer. Let's get right into the big news. So you're going to give us do not drafts for quarterback, running back, tight end and wide receiver. First though, Rasheed Rice accepts a six game suspension to start this season. Jamie, I'm going to throw it to you first, give me your reaction. For everyone relevant in this Rasheed Rice.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Discussion, I think it's actually good news that he's accepting the suspension prior to the season for a couple reasons. One, at least we find out for anybody drafting over Labor Day weekend or from this point through the start of the season, you know what you're dealing with. So the uncertainty of the previous situation, which was he was going to play out the first four games and then we wouldn't, wouldn't know when the suspension would happen. You now know that the first six weeks of the season, you don't have Rashi Rice. I think from his perspective, he's still a number three wide receiver. He's going to hopefully come back from week seven on. They do have their week ten bye, but now you get him for the fantasy playoffs, assuming he's healthy and hopefully whatever extra time he needed to get that knee right now, he should be 100%, no questions. Not that there was any concern right now, but you know, you're getting, I think from a fantasy perspective, I'm not moving him. He's wide receiver 33. I know what I'm dealing with at this point. And you have the ability to get replacement options to start the season. It does stink. I was in one draft over the weekend where somebody combined Jordan Addison and Rashi Rice with the hope of I get Addison coming back when Rice is back. Now you don't have both those guys for the start of the season. I'm in a dynasty league that Adam runs, the big burger dynasty league where I have Rice and Chris Godwin. So I was kind of playing that out, that scenario out where maybe, you know, have Rice and then transition to Godwin until Rice comes back. So at least you know what you're dealing with. I think Rice is just again, number three fantasy receiver. You get a great start for potentially Travis Kelsey. Fantastic start for Xavier Worthy. And Worthy may be the one who doesn't give up the role in terms of who's the best receiver for the Chiefs rest of season. So Marquise Brown gets a boost. Maybe juju Smith, Schuster, Taquan Thornton, those type of guys get a boost. Nobody's drafting them with any sort of confidence. I think Marquise Brown maybe gets off to a good start. We'll see how that, you know, sort of impacts him. And for Patrick Mahomes, look, you might want to bring him back down to the Baker Mayfield level comparatively to where he was closer to the top five guys. The Jalen hurts, you know, Joe Burrow being the Bottom two of that group. So for me, you know, Mayfield is potentially a better option to start the season. But I think Mahomes still stays at QB6. Worthy's a great round four pick right now, maybe round five. And then Rice I would look for in the round seven range.

[Dave Richard]

I think it stinks because I loved the idea of. All right, I've got Rice for a little bit at the beginning of the year and then I've got him for the fantasy playoff run and in between.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

But we didn't know. We didn't know that, though.

[Dave Richard]

But we, we figured that he was going to play those first four games. Then we didn't know how long the suspension was going to be. That's fair. We didn't know if it was going to be 6, 8, 10 games. But he did have a chance to come back toward the end of the season. Now I know that I don't have him for seven of the first 10 weeks of my fantasy football season. That's tough to deal with. That's going to be tough to look at. And if you draft him, that rules out getting guys that are going to get off to a slow starter or suspended to begin the year, like Jordan Addison, like Chris Godwin. Those are guys I would have paired with Ruchy Rice if Rice were going to play the first four games of the year. And so I thought about it a little bit and I agree he's more of a number three receiver. But I think I'm going to move him down into late round six and when I draft him, it's going to be with the idea of, okay, I've got at least two wide receivers already and I'm going to like maybe a couple of wide receivers I could get in round seven and then I'm good on wide receiver. I can start with that core four to begin my draft and to begin my season. I'm not going to try and find a replacement on the Chiefs like Marquise Brown or Tyquan Thornton. I am a little more interested in Travis Kelce, believe it or not, because 13.9 PPR points per game in the 13 games without Rasheed Rice last year. That's pretty good. And even if he's at 11 and a half PPR points per game, okay, that's not somebody I'm going to take in the first five or six rounds, but it's somebody that I'd be interested in at tight end. I'd settle for Travis Kelsey. I still think Mahomes is going to have a great year. I'm Going to keep him right where I have him as the sixth quarterback off the board.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Just to give you a real life situation as a Rashi Rice fantasy manager who drafted him last week. This is our IDP league, Adam, so you're in this league as well. Again, this was the majority of offensive players still coming off the board. So I started two receivers in the first two picks were Justin Jefferson and Puka Nakua. Rice is a three receiver league. So you know, I think this is different than a two receiver league where it's easier to get by. So Rashi Rice is the third receiver that I have on this roster. I also have Christian Kirk, so that's a great replacement option because Kirk, great start of the season in terms of a schedule guy you can get later and pair with Rice and then, you know, you see what happens with Kirk moving forward. I also did purposely draft Marquise Brown, so the only thing I would disagree, Dave, is I don't mind Marquise Brown in a deeper league as a potential replacement option because look, he's a proven commodity. He should do well knowing the system, knowing the offense and they are going to diversify some of the targets, not just funneling them through Xavier Worthy and Traps Kelsey.

[Dave Richard]

Adam, one last thing. Here are some wide receivers that are going. This is according to RADP 80th overall or later. You tell me if you'd love to pair these guys.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

I'll do one better for you with 120th or later, but go ahead.

[Dave Richard]

Well, let's do 120th then.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

And if you guys Marvin Mims, Rashid Shahid, these guys could potentially get.

[Dave Richard]

Yeah, but do you really want to start Marvin Mims or Rashid Shahid?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Demario Douglas, seven weeks. No, but you want to take shots on guys later especially.

[Dave Richard]

Well, first off, you're doing that anyway though.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

If you drafted Rice, you want to look for some guys off waiver. Jalen Coker now with the Adam Thielen trade, like there are guys you can find very, very late or on waiver wire options right now that can help you.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah, but, but that's not, that's not who I'm. Oh man. I lost Rasheed Rice. I'm going to start Jalen Coker. Dave is right. You. You take shots on those guys no matter what. But Dave is. If you're just going to give us names of guys we can get around eight or later or whatever that we can just throw in our starting lineup confidently. Yeah, let's. Let's hear some names.

[Dave Richard]

This is according to adp. I don't think you're actually going to see all these guys. But Stefan Diggs is going to be there. Cooper cup is going to be there. Michael Pittman's going to be there. Romo dun, I doubt he makes it. Chris Olave would be a dream at this point. Same thing with Matthew Golden. And why is Brandon Aubrey a top 110 pick? What's wrong with you guys taking the catcher that early? That's really about it. Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, my guy is still around 10 pick in our ADP. I would love to get Keon Coleman and use him as the replacement to begin the year over Rasheed Rice so you can find some receivers Adam, after that round six seven range that you could use as a wide receiver three if you decide to take Rashee Rice in round six.

[Adam Azer]

All right, last thing I'm going to say now look, they, they played the Chargers twice last year and they were both very low scoring games. But I look at their first six games and I see some shootout potential here. So for a guy like Worthy or Kelsey get you off to a big start. You do have the Chargers. You get the Eagles, you get the Giants, you get the Ravens, Jaguars, Lions. I see some opportunities here for some big fun Chiefs games and maybe Worthy and Kelsey get off to huge starts. That'd be fun. Okay, that's. Those are guys we want to draft. How about guys we don't want to draft? This is based on average draft position on CBS and we're going to do quarterbacks and tight ends here. And Dave, your quarterback advice is is less about specific players and more about reading the draft room, reading the adp. And you're saying don't draft anyone in the first or second round at one quarterback league. What else are you saying?

[Dave Richard]

Well, first of all, you don't want to reach for a quarterback under any circumstances. Obviously it's different if it's a super flex league or if you can start two quarterbacks. You will go ahead and take one of the elite quarterbacks as soon as 101 in your draft. But you really want to feel like you're getting a fair value at the quarterback position in general. And the other player that really worries me is Justin Fields. He's moved outside of my top 12. I've thought about moving him outside of my top 15. I don't know if I'm ready to go that far because I recognize that he has all that rushing upside and I also recognize that he's a cheap player when you're drafting him in round nine, round 10, you could find a replacement if he stinks early on. But I really think that when it comes to the quarterback position, just think fair. Try and get a player at a draft value that you go, okay, this seems about right or even better, okay, I'm ripping off the rest of my league and you can go ahead and have that quarterback and it'll be good to go for your team.

[Adam Azer]

So on this topic, Patrick Mahomes ADP has been around 50th overall and I know Jamie's been very consistent saying not interested there. Now, Rasheed Rice out the first six games. When would you guys consider taking Patrick Mahomes?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Round six, at the earliest. I just think again, when you talk about the players that are in that round four range, he's actually, you know, back into round four. He's at like 48th or 47th overall last time I looked last night. So he's continuing to move forward. Now, I do think again, if you're looking at our adp, the one complaint I have is that it does not separate one quarterback and super flex league. So whatever percentage of leagues that we're talking about there, it's pushing up all those quarterbacks. So really, when I look at it, I look at the list. So I don't mind Mahomes as the sixth quarterback off the board. But again, if you are drafting him in round four and that is where you have to reach for him, I am essentially out on Mahomes and really for the most part, probably out on Baker Mayfield as well, because he's not going soon after that. So I think just for those two quarterbacks in particular, like by comparison, Justin Fields is outside the top 12 and I think still has top 10 upside. So I understand where Dave's concern is. Clearly, if you're not in the Justin Fields camp, you're going to avoid it. But if he's not being drafted As a top 12 quarterback, there's just so much upside that if you are a Jared Goff guy, easy one to pair with a Justin Field because Goff's floor is safe, field ceiling could be immensely higher than what Goff is going to produce this year. So it's just a matter of, I think what you're looking at for me, like I am avoiding, you know, Dave brought up, you know, the guys that are going in round two, I can't imagine. For me, I understand why a lot of people would do it, but for me, if you're going to take a quarterback that early, it better be somebody that you think is Going to be what Lamar Jackson was last year. So why not just take Lamar Jackson? Josh Allen was five points per game less than what Lamar Jackson produced last year. Allen was the fourth quarterback last year behind Baker Mayfield, Joe Burrow and obviously Lamar Jackson. So for him to be the first quarterback off the board, I don't get it. Based on what we saw last year, they were fantastic offensively, they did a great job. He was the mvp. Are things going to change? I think Lamar Jackson is going to probably produce at a similar level or close to it. And if you're just talking about ceiling play for these guys, based on what we've seen the last couple of years, when Lamar Jackson spikes, he's at a better level than Josh Allen. So if you're going to reach for a quarterback, Jackson should be first off the board. Allen should not be going around 2 by any stretch, in my opinion.

[Dave Richard]

Didn't Josh Allen have a couple of 50 point games last year? He's got some pretty good spikes.

[Adam Azer]

Oh, he's.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

He's amazing. Yeah, he's amazing. But again, to be five points per game different than the guy he's now being drafted ahead of, I wouldn't do it.

[Dave Richard]

What about the consistency?

[Adam Azer]

Hold on. I have to. I have to jump in there. Because the reason he's five points worse is because he took played one snap in week 18. He is now still a huge gap. 26.6 points per game. If you remove week eight.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Okay. Sorry.

[Adam Azer]

30. Oh, but no, you're right. I want to get the right. He was. If you took out that game, you took out everyone's partial games. Those top five quarterbacks. Allen was QB two way behind Lamar Jackson in four point and he was QB three behind Jackson and Burrow in six point. You're still absolutely right. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

No, no.

[Dave Richard]

I think. I think it's very offensive.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

I think if you're going to Azer stat that Azer stat, Baker Mayfield, the four games he didn't have Mike Evans or Chris Godwin to.

[Dave Richard]

You could Azer stat all the games that Lamar Jackson didn't finish either because they were blowing out teams.

[Adam Azer]

No, that don't. That does not count.

[Dave Richard]

The reason why I like Allen better, by the way, 27.2, 26.5, 29.1, 26.9 and that one. Those are his fantasy averages each of the last four years.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Not one season better than Lamar Jackson.

[Dave Richard]

Not one season better. But Lamar was 30.1. That was last year. It was amazing. 23.7 before that, 22.5 before that, 21.6 before that. I feel a little bit safer with Josh Allen than Lamar Jackson, but I'm not going to fight you on this. They're both awesome.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

I think though, try and get one.

[Dave Richard]

Of them at a fair value.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

If you want to go sample size, do sample sizes with their new coordinators. So what Lamar Jackson's done with Greg Roman versus what Josh Allen's done with Joe Brady, I bet it's pretty close. I think Jackson's better because of last year.

[Adam Azer]

Oh yeah, Allen was better in 23 and Jackson was better in 24. But. But Jack, last point. Jackson has averaged over 8 yards per attempt both seasons with Greg Roman with with unbelievable efficiency. Okay, let's talk about tight ends here. Dave, three tight ends on your do not draft list. Does this still apply for the Rasheed Rice news? Kelsey, Mark Andrews, TJ Hawkinson.

[Dave Richard]

Well, obviously it still applies for the non Chiefs tight ends. But but with Kelce, his average draft position before this news was just after round five, so we're talking about early round six. Even in full ppr, I think that's too rich for me. I know that he's got potential to be what he was last year and what he was last year wasn't great, but it was still like a top six fantasy tight end. It was still 12 PPR points per game. You're not going to turn your nose up at that when you go to the waiver wire and you hope to find a guy that gets you nine or ten PPR points off the waiver wire. But if that's what he's going to do, if it's going to be 12, maybe 13 PPR points per game on average, I don't want to take that in round six. I'd rather start to think about targeting Rashee Rice in that range rather than getting Travis Kelce. Plus, I know that I can find another tight end that I think has the same type of upside at least two rounds later, if not three or four rounds later. With Hawkinson, I think he can get us off to a great start in Minnesota because Jordan Addison's not playing. But once Addison's back and now that they added Adam Thielen, I think that'll take a few targets away. I see his average draft position in round seven, Round eight, I think that's too rich. And Mark Andrews, if he doesn't have that huge touchdown number last year, we are forgetting about this guy and I think he's going to end up being somebody that we're going to wish we took around 100th overall Mark Andrews because I don't know if he's going to have the same type of touchdown numbers. I'm pretty sure he's going to have the same type of target volume that was around four and a half per game. This Ravens offense, they love to run the ball to begin with, but they added DeAndre Hopkins to their receiving core and he's great in the red zone. Makes me nervous to take any of those three tight ends at their current adp.

[Adam Azer]

And Jamie, you have Sam Laporta who's going way too early for you on your do not draft list.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Yeah, I'm going to move Kelce ahead of Laporta with the Rice news. So he'll now be tight end six for me because Nijoko is already tight end four. I love laporta. I mean, I think he's got an opportunity to still be a good number one fantasy tight end, a top 10 fantasy tenant. And the way that they closed the season, the way he closed the season was what we saw from him in his rookie campaign. But now they've just found another target with Tesla and I think we're going to see him be involved. You can't not listen to anybody out of Detroit talking about a breakout season for Jameson Williams. Last I checked, Amon Ross St. Brown's not going anywhere. Jameer Gibbs going to have a bigger role in the passing game. Well, it's got to come at the expense of somebody here. So if he's not scoring touchdowns, very similar to what Dave said about Mark Andrews, Laporta is going to let you down. So I think once you start to separate these guys, there's the top three without question. Then I think there's a tier of two with Nijoku and Kelce at this point. And then Laporta falls into that next group of guys which includes TJ Hawkinson, Evan Ingram, Mark Andrews, Tyler, Warren, Tucker Kraft. Like it's a good group of play, a good group of tight ends, but I don't think you want to reach for these guys. And the fact that Laporta is going to round six, excuse me, Round five at this point on CBS Sports. Just too soon.

[Dave Richard]

That's too soon. By the way, do you worry about Kelce when Rasheed Rice does come back? Because last year his numbers were.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

I'm looking at. Well, to be fair, they also flip their switch, you know, if they're going to do that again at the end of the season. So we get past the first Six games. Maybe we get a little bit of a lull while Rice works himself back in and then you get that, you know Travis Kelce.

[Dave Richard]

Right. But I don't want him to be a Dutch production. Fancy playoffs.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

There wasn't that much separation for me to begin with between Laporta and Kelce right now. And so the six game head start that we might get from Kelsey, I think it's worth it to take him ahead of him.

[Adam Azer]

Well, just looking at my podcast league team starting Patrick Mahomes and Sam Laporta, not sure Jamie's gonna like that team too much.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

No, you drafted those guys at good value. There's a big difference when you get them at the right cost. I took Breeze hall. How many times you heard me say I'm not drafting?

[Dave Richard]

Right, right, right.

[Adam Azer]

Speaking of which, when we come back, running backs on our do not draft list after this on fantasy football today.

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[Adam Azer]

Don't draft Saquon Barkley third overall. That's just silly. Don't draft Alvin Kamara, 27th overall. Come on, people. This is Jamie's do not draft list at running back. It is based on average draft position on CBSSports.com and Jamie, take it away. What do you got?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Well, you know, it's funny, we were just discussing one of our leagues and so Dave passed on a lot of running backs in our podcast league. I ended up taking Breece hall as the third running back in round five. So at the right cost, I'll obviously take any of the guys on this list. And so Dave's got a surplus of wide receivers. We might have a trade potential option here.

[Dave Richard]

I'll trade you Jalen Coker for Breece Hall.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

You know what, that might be worth the same amount of value. In the case of Barkley, it's not necessarily a do not draft because I still have him ranked as a first round pick, but it's not taking him in the first three overall picks, which is where his average draft position is. So I'm still a little concerned, you know, obviously coming off all the work that he had a year ago, the history of 2000 yard rushers and what happens to them the following season. So if he just follows suit with those other eight guys and loses 500 yards at the minimum and six of the eight have lost over 800 yards the next season. He could still be a 1500 yard rusher and still compete to be a 2000 yard total player. But it's just a big concern for a running back of his age who's had some injury concerns over the course of his career, who's on the Madden cover coming off a lot of games played and certainly a lot of work based on what we saw last year with over 400 touches, over 400 carries, over 480 total touches. So it's just a concern that Saquon Barkley's not going to live up to the expectations. In the case of the other guys, that's really where the average draft position comes in. Now I do like the fact that Breece hall is falling. He was originally a third round pick. Now we're seeing him into round four, maybe he gets to round five. I'm very excited about Braylon Allen. He's going to be somebody I have one of my most rostered players because we're going to see a split to some degree between those two guys. Justin Fields is going to steal rushing production and potentially rushing touchdowns. And Breeze Hall I just don't think is even taking in round four. I would take him in round five. Aaron Jones going in the round five range, I do not like that at all. I think we're going to see a split situation there in Minnesota between Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones. They've talked about that from Jones himself to Kevin o' Connell even before they brought Aaron Jones back as a free agent. So I'm not going to probably take a lot of Aaron Jones on my fantasy leagues this year. And then when you look at some of these other guys, Joe Mixon is basically just a do not draft at all at this point because we don't know when he's going to return. For a 29 year old running back coming off a foot injury that he's yet to practice, even going back to the spring. Quinshon Judkins yet to sign his contract. We don't know when we're going to see him. So a guy that I'm probably just going to avoid, I'll take Dylan Sampson first. Even Jerome Ford, we don't know if Judkins will play at all in his rookie season. And Caleb Johnson is just something that makes me nervous overall based on what his role could be because for an older quarterback in Aaron Rodgers, the way that the other two guys do and how they perform in pass protection. Jalen Warren and Kenneth Gamwell specifically We could see both those guys playing ahead of Caleb Johnson at this point and just the fact that he could be a trap back where he may not get as many goal line opportunities as we like, definitely not going to play in a lot of obvious passing down situations. So Caleb Johnson may not be somebody you can rely on until the end of the year if that. So I think it'd be a loss rookie season for Caleb Johnson playing in an Arthur Smith offense along that along with that.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah. Caleb Johnson just confirming he was a third round pick this year.

[Dave Richard]

Right.

[Adam Azer]

So according to my notes, in the last 10 seasons going into 2025, not including 2025, we've had 31 running backs selected in round three. Four of them four finished top 20. David Johnson, Alvin Camara, Kareem Hunt and Antonio Gibson as rookies. David Montgomery was a fifth who finished top 24. Doesn't include Devon HN who was 25th, but he was amazing. He was fourth overall. But there is a really bad history of round three rookies, so just gonna throw that in there. I think we've, we've sort of taken this rookie draft class and kind of boosted a lot of players up based on history because it's such a strong class. Ordinarily we wouldn't really even care about a guy like Jaden Blue or Jakory Crosby merit these day three picks. They, they hardly ever do anything. But this year's draft class was so strong at running back that we are making some exceptions. Round three running back at history I.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Said this last week and I'll reiterate it just because you brought up his name. I will take Jacori Krosky Merritt over Caleb Johnson this year.

[Adam Azer]

Okay, Dave, who's on your do not draft list at running back?

[Dave Richard]

I have a lot of the same names, so really I'm only going to focus on the one name that's different and that's DeAndre Swift. In Chicago, he's always been a low end number two fantasy running back. Never really performed like a top 20 or top 15 running back maybe once over his career. He did even when Ben Johnson was his coordinator in Detroit. It wasn't a great season for him. And then after that the Lions traded him to Philadelphia for one of those aforementioned day three picks. Now I get the argument for DeAndre Swift. He's the only back right now in Chicago's backfield that looks like is going to get a decent amount of touches. I still think Chicago is going to add another running back along the way. It might not be somebody of major significance. But it's going to be somebody who's going to take Swift off the field to some degree. It could be at the goal line, could be in short yardage situations. It might even be on some passing downs because of pass protection concerns that the Bears have because that offensive line, it's been a problem all training camp long, all preseason long. Things that are definitely an issue for DeAndre Swift. And I don't think he's necessarily a great running back talent wise to begin with. So I'm going to avoid him this year. I'm not going to take him in that Round five range roll where his ADP is and it just makes me want to gravitate towards some other running backs that are in that range. May not have the same type of workload that DeAndre Swift will begin the season with, but should outperform him based on his track record in the NFL.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

And Adam, just one more guy just because I think his name clearly carries a lot of weight is Alvin Camaro. Look, he has a chance to still be a very successful fantasy option. We saw that last year, even with Spencer Rattler. Four games that they played together, three of them 17 or more PPR points. As you will note, which I know you do all the time. Chris Olave and Rashid Shahid did not play in those games, so we'll see how that impacts. Just in terms of role in the passing game, Kellen Moore's track record kudos to our colleague Heath Cummings is not good in terms of enhancing pass catching running backs. He had Austin Eckler in his prime. He had, or at least the end of his prime, he had Saquon Barkley, who's still a very good pass catcher in my opinion, did not allow those guys to play in or to get the type of passing volume that they needed or at least have had in the past. And if Kamara loses that, taking him in round three is a huge mistake. Absolute huge mistake. I think he should go closer to the back end of round four, maybe even round five, and that's in full ppr.

[Dave Richard]

And I don't mind Kamara, I'll take him in late round three. But it has to be full ppr. If it's half ppr. If it's non ppr, I'm definitely taking a big step back from that. And you look at the average draft position, even I can't agree with it because the ADP says that he's a top 30 pick and I get it. The reason why I like him is because he's had at least five targets per game and every year of his career he's had about 17 PPR points per game or more. All but one year of his career. We're drafting him. If we're getting him in round four, we're drafting him where even if he doesn't get 17 PPR points per game, he still could be a very good pick if it's 14 and a half, 15 PPR points, but not if he.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Loses the passing volume.

[Dave Richard]

Well, sure, if all of that gets thrown out the window, then he's a total dud. But I don't see that happening because that's so integral to his game.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

But it's not integral to his game, but it's not integral to his coach and that's what matters.

[Dave Richard]

I think the coach might be able to work around that and involve him a little bit more, especially given all the other issues that they've got in that passing offense.

[Adam Azer]

Well, let's find out which wide receivers we have issues with because you get some big names there at running back. Based on adp we're going to take a break on Fantasy Football today and come back and talk about the wide receivers on our Do Not Draft list.

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[Adam Azer]

Fantasy Football Today presented by BetMGM and I'm just going to say right now, Dave, I absolutely hate your first I don't hate the player. I hate that you have him on your list. The first player on your do not draft list at wide receiver is Tyreek Hill. What's going on? I feel like Tyree Kills had no buzz this training camp and now all of a sudden everybody hates him again and he's still going to be great. So take that. You have Tyreek Hill, Garrett Wilson, DJ Moore and Zay Flowers on your do not draft list.

[Dave Richard]

The reason why Tyreek Hill has no buzz is because he's barely been practicing with the Miami Dolphins, which is a little concerning. You'll see the injury tag next to his name and oblique. I don't Think it's a major deal. It wouldn't stop me from drafting him. But what does seem to keep me from drafting him is that Tuatanga Vailua just doesn't seem to be letting go of. Of the whole situation argument, whatever you want to call it. At the end of last season that seemed to erode the relationship between Tyrique and Tua. And when I've watched them practice and I've been to their camp a couple of times, Tua Tangaveloa looks great throwing to Jalen Waddle. And Tyreek Hill is either not practicing or not getting a lot of the targets that could obviously flip on its head. But there's other issues too, Adam. That offensive line hasn't been very good. Tua himself hasn't been particularly great. Some of the other wide receivers that they have have been stepping up in spurts. And I just wonder if maybe the idea of Tua Tunga or of Tyreek Hill rather being a 20 point per game fantasy receiver is out the window now. And now if you draft him, you have to hope that the ceiling is more like 16 or 17 and the floor is where he was last year. It was 12 PPR points per game. That's pathetic. And so I see his adp. It's in early round four. I'm a. I'm. I'm a late round four guy now on Tyree Kill. I really just don't want to have a piece of him. I want to try and avoid this Dolphins passing game if I can.

[Adam Azer]

First of all, didn't. Didn't you. I thought you gave a great stat that his points per game. Do you remember what it was just.

[Dave Richard]

With Tua, it probably was very good last year. I can look it up and tell you. But it wasn't amazing or anything.

[Adam Azer]

He was on pace for 87 catches, 1073 yards, nine touchdowns on 134 targets. With Tua, that's not great.

[Dave Richard]

It was 14.9 PPR points per game.

[Adam Azer]

Right. So. So he's much better than what he was last year because the non Tua games were awful for everyone. I don't want to get stuck on just him, but I. Round four is. Is I. I thought you'd be happy to get him there.

[Dave Richard]

Okay.

[Adam Azer]

All right. That's your call. It's your call. Garrett Wilson, DJ Moore, Zay Flowers, the other guys on your list.

[Dave Richard]

Sure. Garrett Wilson is catching passes from Justin Fields. That's a problem. And now the fact that the jets want to be such a run heavy offense. I think they're going to want to be slow paced too. They want to use three running backs. Justin Fields himself will run with the football. That makes me worry about just how many targets per game Garrett Wilson's going to get. Garrett Wilson had nine targets per game last year. He didn't even average 15 PPR points per game. That makes me very, very nervous. And I think he had a slightly better quarterback last year than what he's got this year. Zay Flowers, the talent is great. We talk about him all the time as one of the most phenomenal receivers in the game, but he's on a team that also loves to run the football. They don't have high passing volume. There has never been a wide receiver that has averaged north of 15 PPR points per game since Lamar Jackson has been a starting quarterback. And you might say, okay, well, I'm not drafting Zay Flowers for that. I'm drafting him to be around 13 or 14 PPR points per game. And he hasn't even been able to hit that mark in each either rather of his first two years in the NFL. So I love Zay Flowers the talent. I hate Zay Flowers the fantasy wide receiver. He's somebody that I'm going to let other people draft. And DJ Moore going back to one more team that's got you kind of sense a trend with the offensive line. I don't like the offensive line in Miami. I don't like it in Chicago. I think the quarterbacks are affected by this. Caleb Williams is certainly going to be affected by his offensive line giving up pressure. We saw that in the preseason game. And D.J. moore just seems like he's more of a short area target now for Scott and not a downfield threat. You saw the Bears not only get a lot out of Odunze in the preseason game, they've gotten a lot of Odunze in training camp. They added Colson Loveland. Luther Burden is going to have a role eventually. Alamba De Zakias is going to have a role eventually. I think the target volume is going to come down for DJ Moore. I'm nervous that I'm too high on DJ Moore and he's not even a top 24 wide receiver for me.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Adam.

[Adam Azer]

Okay, I think Jamie might agree with you because we look at Jamie's do not draft list at wide receiver and DJ Moore is on there. Terry McLaurin, DJ Moore, Zay Flowers, Debo Samuel and Michael Pitman. So you guys share DJ Moore and Zay Flowers. Jamie also has Terry McLaurin, Debo Samuel and Michael Pittman, people, I feel like Jamie, there's, I mean I look at the fantasy pros, you know, the real time adp, it's very updated, very current. It seems like people don't care that Terry McLaurin has missed all of training camp and just signed. They are ignoring the history and you are not.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Well, look, it's a small sample size but again, you had four players over the last two seasons, five in total. One was Ja' Marr Chase and he was amazing and I hope that's the case for Terry McLaurin. But the other four guys, two running backs in 2023, two receivers in 2024, the two running backs, Josh Jacobs and Jonathan Taylor had awful seasons. Career lows for Jacobs and second worst season of his career for Jonathan Taylor. Both missed time due to injury. In the case of the two wide receivers, CeeDee Lamb struggled with a shoulder injury so he got hurt at some point during the season and had a down year. Was 23 PPR points per game in 2023, barely over 17. Granted he lost his quarterback half the season but still wasn't having a great year before that. And Brandon Ayuk was miserable before he suffered the knee injury. Only one game in double digits in PPR points before he suffered the knee injury. So I'm just a little bit concerned for McLaurin. And look, had there not been an issue across the board for him, I would be drafting him as a top 20 receiver. But I still have concerns because of just the touchdown spike and so can he still be a double digit touchdown guy? I hope so because I think that's going to have to justify where he's being drafted, which is still round four. And this is with the idea of him still dealing with the contract situation. I think once we get through all the drafts this weekend, we may see him closer to that round three range and for sure I'm out on him. And the reason I have Deebo Samuel on this list is not that I'm anti Washington by any stretch, it's the fact of where he's getting drafted, which I do think factors in the situation with Terry McClurn. He's being drafted right now ahead of. You could throw out Rashi Rice and Jacoby Myers if you want to. I would take Rice over Debo Samuel. Still personally, he's been drafted ahead of Jalen Waddle, ahead of Travis Hunter, ahead of Emeka Abuka, ahead of Romo Dunze. I would take over him. So there's just a handful of guys right now Where Debo Samuel, just in terms of who he's going ahead of, I would much rather have those guys instead of Samuel, especially now that McLaren is back.

[Adam Azer]

Yeah. Love it. And Pittman, we talked about this morning on our podcast. We can't really understand why Michael Pittman is a top 100 ADP and why he's up 21 spots. We suspect it's because of the Josh Downs injury. But Downs may not miss much time at all.

[Dave Richard]

He's expected to be back by week one. Yeah.

[Adam Azer]

So there's a, there's a list for you. For Dave, it was Tyreek hill, Garrett Wilson, DJ Moore, Zay Flowers. For Jamie, it was Terry McLaurin, DJ Moore, Zay Flowers, Debo Samuel, and Michael Pittman. And for me, it was a chance to say, that's your call. That's your call. That's your call. That's your call. Like six times, whatever it was. All right, we'll be right back with name that player on fantasy Football today.

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[Dave Richard]

Okay, that's it.

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[Adam Azer]

Let'S play some name that player. I love Name that player Here on Fantasy Football Today presented by BetMGM. I'm going old. Some older guys here. I name that player. First one. I am a fairly old wide receiver per game. I have only two top 24 finishes and one top 15 finish in my career. I finished last season with 76 or more yards in three straight games. But I was massively out targeted by my tight end. In other words, his tight end. On his team I had 120 targets but only 3 end zone targets. How is that possible? And I will be playing with a rookie quarterback.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Jamie.

[Dave Richard]

Yes.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Calvin Ridley.

[Adam Azer]

Calvin Ridley is correct. A little bit of an overrated career. He is not. Since that bust out year with the Falcons, he really hasn't been that great, honestly. And we're not drafting him to be a top 24. But we're hopeful. We're hopeful for Calvin Ridley. How you feeling about him right now?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

I think he's in the right range, you know. So that round five six range of wide receivers basically anywhere from 23 through 33. You know, he belongs in that kind of, you know, group of guys with Jerry, Judy and Travis Hunter and for me, Terry McCorn, DJ Moore, you know, those type of guys who have the chance to be top 20. I don't know if there's a top 10 range of outcomes unless they just score a lot of touchdowns. But you said it, or at least you alluded to this. I think the target should be there for him, the production should be there for him. I also think Chigo Conkwo is a very underrated late round tight end based on how you alluded to this with the clue that his target volume should be there as well. But in the case of Ridley, the numbers that he had last year with Will Levis versus Mason Rudolph, he was about 12 fantasy PPR points per game with Will Levis, he was north of 14 PPR points per game with Rudolph. If Cam Ward is just better than Will Levis, then I think we're going to get some very solid production from Calvin Ridley. So he's I think cheap enough. Like, you know, he's not going to get drafted at this point ahead of a Buka, at least in my opinion, ahead of a Buuka and Ricky Piersol. So there's going to be some excitement for those guys and just sort of like when you get to that range of maybe your number two receiver for me at the very minimum will be my third receiver. Like there's still reason to buy into him. So yes, he's old ish, hasn't lived up to a lot of expectations the last couple years, Jacksonville and Tennessee. But I think the quarterback play will definitely help him.

[Dave Richard]

I think he's got sneaky good upside. I think he might end up getting. You mentioned the targets. I think he could end up getting eight per game. He's the only guy. I saw them practice against the Bucs. He's the only guy Cam Ward had his timing and chemistry with. Every other receiver they had struggled with Cam Ward, not Calvin Ridley. I think he's going to be used a lot in this offense. I know people are, they don't want to draft him because he's been so bad for so long. I think he steps up and has a pretty good year this year. So I love what you're thinking and this is another receiver much rather have than Rasheed Rice right now.

[Adam Azer]

Ridley had in his last year with Jacksonville 26 red zone and 24 end zone targets last year, seven red zone and three end zone targets and eight targets per game. No, eight targets per game would be 136 targets. He actually was on pace for 130 targets after the DeAndre Hopkins trade. All right, so first round goes to Jamie. Second one, I am kind of an old tight end among 31 tight ends with 50 or more targets. I ranked 31st, dead last in yards per target. I have never averaged more than 55 yards per game. I have never caught more than six touchdowns. I have been a top eight tight end per game in three straight seasons.

[Dave Richard]

Whoa.

[Adam Azer]

I will be playing with the very opposite of a rookie quarterback this year. Super old quarterback. Jamie and Dave love drafting me.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Oh, Jamie.

[Adam Azer]

Yes.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

David Ajoku.

[Adam Azer]

Yes. David a joker. Don't worry.

[Dave Richard]

Dave Brown More than 55 yards a game.

[Adam Azer]

It's a little deceiving because.

[Dave Richard]

Yeah, I thought so.

[Adam Azer]

Here we go. No, he's dealt with some injuries, but no, it's true. I mean he's, he's been consistently good and at times he's been great. Each of the last three years there's been at least a five game spurt where David Najoku's been awesome and then, you know, Deshaun Watson comes around or something like that. But one of those spurs was with Flacco. So am I drafting David Najoku thinking there's a chance for him to have a really awesome year or he's going to have 850 yards, six touchdowns and be like tight end seven?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

I think. Well, first off, if he's tight end seven, he's being drafted as tight end seven. You know, unless you're just following our advice and you're taking him maybe ahead of some guys, you know, because you want him not where the ADP suggests. But I mean, look, I think when you're, when you're drafting him, I'll speak my. When I'm drafting him, I'm drafting him with the hope that I'm getting 10 plus games of Joe Flacco. You referenced those that stretch of games at the end of 2023, you know, depending if you factor in the playoff game or not, it was basically 16 points per game, PPR points per game or more over that stretch. So there was a strong connection. There you go. Back last year, Adam, you referenced this when it wasn't desean Watson. It was great for David Najoku. So this is a receiving core that's got a lot of moving parts. You know, Jerry Judy was awesome to close the season last year. Cedric Tillman, the first three games without Amari Cooper was awesome. We'll see what he can offer over the course of A full season. The running game is going to be very much in flux. Really, it comes down to if you buy Joe Flacco starting the majority of games and David Najoku staying healthy the majority of games, there could be a top three finish here. He could, you know, push one of those top three guys out of it. I just think there's that much upside now. You're hearing a lot of positive buzz about Harold Fannin, you know, so if we could see him taking on some targets and opportunities in the passing game, which could change some things. But I'm just looking at what David Najoku has done the last two seasons when there hasn't been DeSean Watson, factoring in what Joe Flacco did for him in that 2023 campaign, factoring Kevin Stefanski's offense, which has always been tight end friendly. So there's just a lot to like about David Nijoku, especially at his cost. So when you start to see Kelce come off the board, Laporta come off the board, let somebody else take those guys. You can wait and take Nijoko a little bit later.

[Dave Richard]

Yeah, I would cosign that. I do worry a little bit about the sheer volume of targets that Najoku would get if Fannin and Cedric Tillman ended up playing or end up playing a solid role in the Browns offense. It's not going to be just Judy and Nijoku anymore. Now it could be a couple of other mouths to feed for Joe Flacco and their running backs can catch the ball out of the backfield too. But I still love what he does for Cleveland. He's a great short area outlet. He can make plays after the catch. Big time red zone threat if they so choose to use them. And because they don't have a great or certainly an established run game right now, they might need Najoku in the red zone. So I'm fine with him as a top five fantasy tight end as well.

[Adam Azer]

All right, we're just going to do name that player for this and we'll take a break after that and we're going to answer your questions in our final segment. Triple the points. Here we go. I am an older running back. I averaged a career high in yards per carry last season. Now only four times in the last decade has a running back averaged more than 19 PPR fantasy points per game with fewer than 20 catches. And all four times it's been me, Jamie. Yeah.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Derek Henry.

[Adam Azer]

Yep, that's my favorite stat. I've been a top four running back per game in all formats in five of the last six seasons. That's Derrick Henry. And you guys would draft him win.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

End of round one in full ppr, middle of round one in half PPR and top five overall in non ppr. Look, I'm just tired of betting against him at this point. Like I've been the anti Derrick Henry.

[Dave Richard]

Guy for about five years and I've.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Been wrong every year. He just continues to defy father time. He's going to continue to be in a great offensive environment for him. He does not need to catch passes every time. He's been on a team that has a winning record. Titans, Baltimore, last year he's been awesome because he does not need to catch passes to still score around 20 touchdowns. Last year he had the most rushing yards in NFL history for a running back that was 30 year olds or more. He's going to have the most rushing yards for a running back that's 31 years old or more. He's just amazing. So hopefully he stays healthy. I think it's worth taking him in round one and just forget about anything when it comes to what historic, what history tells you about older running backs. He just continues to give father time to stiff arm.

[Dave Richard]

Absolutely.

[Adam Azer]

Well, well done, fellas. All right, that's the do not draft list. We'll name that player Rasheed Rice analysis. And now we get to finish with your questions. Ask FFT when we come back.

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[Dave Richard]

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[Dave Richard]

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[Adam Azer]

Ask FFT from Jay. What are your feelings on drafting the Triple H trio as you're starting running back?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

That was one of the worst things you've ever done.

[Adam Azer]

I'm sorry, that's hard. That's how I decided to read it. I'd have to reach for Hampton. You guys can just finish that. What do you think about taking Hampton over Chase Brown to get Triple H?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Yeah, don't do that. You could probably get Hampton in round three if you really want him early round three. But yeah, don't take him at Chase Brown. There's much more upside for Chase Brown assuming. Assuming that Brown does what he did at the end of last season. And there is no and there is Najee Harris with the Chargers.

[Dave Richard]

But what if Brown doesn't do that? Then what? No, I'm with you on this one.

[Adam Azer]

All right, next.

[Dave Richard]

Oh my gosh.

[Adam Azer]

With a top three pick and a half PPR 2 receiver 2 flex league, would you be comfortable going tight end and then quarterback at the 2, 3 turn or would you prefer one of the running backs or wide receivers in that range?

[Dave Richard]

I would prefer one of the running backs or wide receivers. I don't like taking a quarterback and a tight end with two of my first five picks. I think it just leaves me a little bit thin at running back and wide receiver later on in the draft. The smaller the league, we didn't see how many teams are in this league. If this is an eight team league, maybe even a ten team league, it's not as bad. But once you get to 12 teams, 14 teams. Yeah. I think it's a big mistake to take a quarterback and a tight end so close to the top of the draft.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Take the tight end.

[Adam Azer]

All right, next. Next up, I'm not reading those horrible drafting from the nine spot in a 10 team. Oh, super flex tight end premium. Tight end Premium. The dumbest, most nonsensical format in sports history. How should I prioritize my first two picks in this super flex tight end premium league?

[Dave Richard]

Surprised you're saying that. As a huge pro wrestling fan, I.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Would say in a 10 team league you can if you don't get one of the top five quarterbacks, if they don't fall, then I would consider taking Brock bowers and Trey McBride at the ninth spot in a tight end premium league and then you come back if you want to in round two and maybe take Mahomes or maybe take Baker Mayfield in that spot. But I would, I would try and get one of the top five quarterbacks or one of the top two tight ends in this scoring format.

[Dave Richard]

I agree.

[Adam Azer]

All right, next tweet. Please don't be about a ridiculous made up format. Are we still taking Justin Fields as a top 10 quarterback in four point per passing touchdown league?

[Dave Richard]

All right, that's a legit format for you, Adam. I hope you're happy about that. And because passing touchdowns are devalued, that means that rushing touchdowns are good. Rushing yardage is good. Yes. Justin Fields would be a top 10 quarterback there.

[Jamie Eisenberg]

Top seven quarterback for me in that front.

[Adam Azer]

We have time for one more and it's from Wilson. Should the Steelers go after Anthony Richardson?

[Jamie Eisenberg]

If they get him cheap, you know, to see what he has for the future. It would have to be very cheap at this point. But you know, look, they have no quarterback situation moving forward past this year because of Aaron Rodgers, so it would have to be just the right investment.

[Dave Richard]

Colts say they're keeping Richardson.

[Adam Azer]

That's what they say. Dave. We'll see. That's it for Fantasy Football Today. Thanks so much for watching and listening, everyone. If you like the show, please check out the Fantasy Football Today podcast anywhere you listen to podcasts. I want to thank Dave, Richard and Jamie Eisenberg. And of course, thanks to all. Thank you for watching and listening. I'm Adam Azer. Good luck in your drafts, everyone. Hey, this is Jon Rothstein and I want to remind you to lock in with my new podcast, Inside College Basketball. Now as part of the CBS Sports Podcast Network, we will be on multiple times a week and bring you everything you need to know about college basketball, featuring the biggest guests and the best names in the sport. Plus, we are going to get into everything that's happening in terms of hot topics, names to watch, games to monitor, and everything you want from soup to nuts in regards to college basketball. Download and follow Inside College Basketball now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever the podcasts are found.