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Wild Card Recap! Winners and Losers (01/13 Fantasy Football Podcast)
00:58:55
We talk about what 2025 will look like for Baker Mayfield, Courtland Sutton, Jordan Love, Ladd McConkey, Terry McLaurin, George Pickens and more
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- [00:00]
Adam Aizer
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- [01:06]
Dave Richard
What a play. Can you believe this?
- [01:09]
Adam Aizer
No, I can't.
- [01:10]
Jamie Eisenberg
It's time to dominate your fantasy league.
- [01:13]
Adam Aizer
Off to the races and he stays on his feet.
- [01:16]
Jamie Eisenberg
This is gonna go the distance. Now here's some combination of Adam, Dave, Jamie and Heath.
- [01:23]
Adam Aizer
What's up everybody? Welcome to the show. It is Monday, January 13th. Last day to vot@sports podcast group.com. we welcome you to Fantasy Football Today presented by BetMGM, the sportsbook born in Vegas. And we are recapping the first five games of wild card weekend with still one more to come tonight and that would be Minnesota at the Rams in Arizona at 8pm Eastern. Adam Mazer, Dave Richard and Jamie Eisenberg. What'd you guys think of wildcard weekend? Pretty terrible as usual, right?
- [01:51]
Jamie Eisenberg
Oh, I mean it ended nicely, but for the most part not. I'm reminded that the the seeds that are usually 5, 6 and 7 are closer to 500 level teams and not super bowl contenders. That was the takeaway.
- [02:05]
Adam Aizer
Yeah. Or the seeds. I mean, it's kind of interesting to say the seeds because the seeds sometimes aren't the better teams, which I guess the NFL like just realizing we need to fix this problem. You should not be given a home game if your record is worse than the wild card team. It just shouldn't. It's so. It's ridiculous. Fix this.
- [02:25]
Dave Richard
Well, I think we would have. We would have said that about the Chargers and the Texans. Right? Going in.
- [02:30]
Adam Aizer
It doesn't. It's fine. But. But if you finish with a Better record than the wild card team. You should be at home. Why should we.
- [02:36]
Jamie Eisenberg
You understand why they do it the way that they do it?
- [02:39]
Adam Aizer
Look, if you, if you win your division, you should get in the playoffs, but you shouldn't necessarily get a home game. You said I gotta earn the home game.
- [02:46]
Jamie Eisenberg
I don't know, man. It guarantees at least one team from every division a home playoff game. And that's, that's a money maker for the owners of the teams. So I think it's a selling point to the owners that one of you from each division will get a home playoff game. You'll make some extra bread because that's what really we care about here. But they care about that. That's why they have it in there.
- [03:08]
Dave Richard
Well, I mean, everybody's benefiting if they get a home game. No. Whether it's the division winner or the non division winner.
- [03:14]
Jamie Eisenberg
I know, but it guarantees that one team from every single division gets one. That's the point.
- [03:19]
Adam Aizer
I thought about this math because I knew Dave is going to bring that point up because that is the sticking point, I think, for the owners and it does give you an easier path to hosting a division game. But there is also a scenario, I'm sorry, a playoff game. Yeah, but there's also a scenario where you. In the other scenario where they do it the way I want them to do it and reward the better seed, the better record with the higher seed in the playoff in the home game, is that you don't have to win your division to get a home game. That you just have to be really good.
- [03:48]
Jamie Eisenberg
Right?
- [03:48]
Adam Aizer
Yeah.
- [03:48]
Jamie Eisenberg
Well, and if that's going to change, you know who's going to change that will be the owners. And if they're ready to give up that guarantee that one out of every four will have a home playoff game, then it'll change and the games will be more interesting. And then you reward the teams that are better. But I don't know if they're going to do that, Adam.
- [04:05]
Adam Aizer
I hope they do, Dave. Jamie, let's get a fantasy winner and a fantasy loser from wild card weekend. Jamie, why don't you start with a winner?
- [04:13]
Dave Richard
Winner is James Cook. Just another strong performance from him. And you know, I'm just looking at our, was looking at our mock draft and it, and our running back rankings and it feels like he just continues to get somewhat overlooked a little bit for the season that he had and hopefully will continue to have. So, you know, this was a guy that we were debating, should he be a second round pick in 2024. I'm curious to see where he'll end up being in 2025. I think he'll be around to pick again, but just, you know, one of these guys that if you miss on the top tier running backs, you feel pretty good about if you go wide receiver back to start your job.
- [04:45]
Jamie Eisenberg
16.7 PPR points per game, always a good thing when you're north of 15 PPR points and potentially could be better next year than he was this year. And that's saying something because he was really good.
- [04:58]
Adam Aizer
He did not have a target, James Cook, in this game against Denver, and He only had 32 catches.
- [05:03]
Jamie Eisenberg
That's the beauty.
- [05:04]
Adam Aizer
Two catches per game. Yeah, I know, but you look at a guy say, oh, two catches per game, scored a bunch of touchdowns. Does he. Does he regress there? I think bottom line is he's really, really good. And he's.
- [05:15]
Dave Richard
I think when you look at. When you look at. And again, you gotta factor in age, but, you know, when you start to get to that. That group of guys of. Of Derek Henry, Kyron Williams, James Cook, you know, the guys that aren't going to be significant pass catchers based on their track record, you know, when I say significant, you know, like 40 plus, 50 plus catch guys, they're still really solid players and they're in good offenses. You know, again, hopefully Henry holds up and can still do this when he's 31, going on 32. But in the case of. Of James Cook, like, he's in his prime and he's, you know, attached to such a great offense, hopefully, as Josh Allen alluded to, you know, they leave Joe Brady alone and he stays in Buffalo, and they keep this offensive system and everything in place and just continue to build on it, you know, so that'd be. That'd be fun to see.
- [05:54]
Adam Aizer
And James Cook, only one fewer catch than Saquon Barkley. And Saquon Barkley is the number one running back per game this year in ppr. And Saquon Barkley sliding instead of going for a ridiculously long, awesome touchdown run at the end of the packers game. All right, Dave, who's your fantasy winner?
- [06:10]
Jamie Eisenberg
I think we're also overlooking Terry McLaurin, who didn't even have as many PPR points per game as James Cook, but someone who stepped up and was the absolute alpha for Jaden Daniels against Tampa Bay, and it's Tampa Bay. And Jamie, you might accuse me of saying, well, you're overvaluating, overvaluing somebody who played against the Bucs, but he all year he was a monster in Week 18. Now he was a monster in the first playoff game. He gets Detroit next. I'm sure he's going to be a monster in that game. And I, I wonder if he's going to be an overlooked guy. How many top twelves was he in, Jamie?
- [06:44]
Dave Richard
He was in none. But this is going to be an interesting, you know, player to, to dissect in the off season because they're going to add another receiver and it's a matter of, you know, is that another significant addition or is it another, you know, Noah Brown, Diami Brown, you know, kind of a Darnell Mooney type, you know, somebody who, a good player but not a superstar. Because if they're in the T. Higgins market, if they're in the, you know, market of trying to, you know, the draft market of going and getting somebody early to add another piece because they should, you know, they were in the, you know, some of the off season discussions about some of these wide receivers as well. He's still going to be the number one guy, unless it's just a superstar edition. But I think there's, there's the chance of, you know, him losing some value based on what could happen this off season. But you're right, I mean, he was, he was awesome all season. I did like the fact that nearly caught a touchdown on the right side, you know, so Cliff Kingsberry in the playoff, moving around a little bit as opposed to leaving on the left the entire time, had that ball, you know, in the end zone against Tampa Bay that was broken up. But in any event, yeah, I mean, what an absolute game. Now, just for the purpose of the show, I'm writing winners and losers for the site and he's definitely on the, on the winner side. So they'll be, you know, winners and losers from the first round of the playoffs on CBSSports.com so, yeah, was fun to watch and, you know, hopefully we continue just to see him build off of this because when you see what he, you see what he can be when he has a quarterback. You know, he was in that, that group of guys of, oh, Stefan Diggs when he was in Minnesota, you know, great player, but never maximizing his fantasy potential. DJ Moore in Carolina, great player, maybe never maximize anything. His fantasy potential. Terry McLaurin's kind of been that guy, you know, in Washington, you know, in that, in that same group of players. And now you're seeing what he can be when he has a great quarterback. And it's.
- [08:31]
Jamie Eisenberg
Right, that's the thing we're seeing it now. We didn't see it before this year. I believe this is the best year he's ever had.
- [08:38]
Adam Aizer
Oh, by far.
- [08:39]
Jamie Eisenberg
Yeah. So I don't think he's averaged north of 15 PPR points before in his career. And you're right short for them bringing in a big time receiver. Here are the receivers that they could add. T. Higgins obviously would be amazing. God wins a free agent. Stefan Diggs is a free agent. Those guys wouldn't scare me off of God.
- [08:57]
Dave Richard
One would. God would scare me.
- [08:59]
Jamie Eisenberg
Nah, maybe. I don't know if they'd use them the same way that the Bucks would. Devonte Adams could be a cap casualty. Do they make a move to sign him? Everybody else that's on this list, like Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, Deontay Johnson. No, I think McLaurin will be the number one guy there. I feel good about that.
- [09:15]
Adam Aizer
Terry McLaurin was the number seven wide receiver overall in full PPR. He was 15th per game, 16th per game. Pardon me, but of the. Okay, so like I said, wide receiver seven since the NFL moved to a 17 game schedule. This is four seasons now. Terry McLaurin is tied for the fewest targets for any top eight wide receiver overall in PPR, not per game, but overall. Jalen Waddle also had 117 targets a couple of years ago and finished as a top eight guy. But that's kind of, kind of the issue here is you do have a low volume passing offense and only 117 targets for Terry McLaurin. That's pretty rare to have the season he had with that target number.
- [09:55]
Dave Richard
I don't think we'll see a huge spike in targets. But this is also a rookie quarterback that hopefully will improve. You know, and we've talked about this when talking about the quarterback rankings, you know, the, the rookie season of C.J. stroud and the rookie season of Baker Mayfield and how those guys, you know, somewhat regressed. So hopefully that's not the case with Jane Daniels. But I think he will continue to improve as a passer and that could hopefully help McLaurin and whoever else they bring.
- [10:17]
Adam Aizer
All right, how about some fantasy losers? Jamie, Who's a loser?
- [10:21]
Dave Richard
There's a lot, you know, I'll start with J.K. dobbins. You know, this is going to be an interesting off season because what do they do? I think, you know, what the, the blueprint of what this offense wants to be. And you know, they had it at times this season when Dobbins was healthy. But coming off this game you know, where they just got completely shellacked by the Texans and their defense, you know, especially after how the game started. I don't know if, you know, they feel comfortable with Dobbins who missed four games, you know, with, with the knee injury and his injury track record. So, you know, if you were in the Dobbins camp, you know, I certainly am. You know, you wanted to see not only just a good game against the Texans, but maybe a playoff run to see how he looked in the postseason and maybe solidify himself as the guy there for the Chargers. So not, not the best day for this offense. Clearly. You know, obviously Herbert's a loser with interceptions, but you know, the run game did not support the passing game at all and really hasn't for a few weeks, you know, and granted that was a lot due to the injury, but even the two games back for Dobbins wasn't over the top. Fantastic. So not the way I'm sure he wanted to go into.
- [11:25]
Adam Aizer
Fred Z and Dave, a fantasy loser for you from wild card weekend.
- [11:29]
Jamie Eisenberg
I got a fake out one and then I got a real one. Derrick Henry's at 351 carries on the year. He's going to get to 370 barring something unforeseen against Buffalo. And if the Ravens win that game, he'll get to 400. And so I wonder if that's something that'll creep into your mind. He's going to play into late January, 31 years old, 400 touches. Not something that we feel great about when it comes to evaluating players the following season. But the real one is anybody in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform pickens the receivers there. We don't know. You want to talk about a team that needs to upgrade at wide receiver, that's one that definitely needs to do it. And we don't know who the quarterback's going to be. Could it be any worse than what they've got this year? Probably not. But Russell Wilson, as good of a game that he had, I don't think he did anything to earn a long term contract extension in Pittsburgh. Najee Harris is about to be a free agent. Physically, he's the type of guy that the Chargers might want to replace J.K. dobbins with. But he's got a terrible rushing average. At least he did in this game. And he really hasn't met the expectation of being a first round draft pick in the NFL. And just the Steelers completely had to get away from him in their playoff game. So Najee is a loser. Russell Wilson, I Don't know where he plays next year, if it's Pittsburgh or anywhere else. Pickens, just because he's not a complete guy on and off the field. His comments after the playoff game was. Were pretty entertaining. About, you know, he talked about whether or not he's got optimism for the future and he said, no. That was weird. The whole Steelers squad just. I feel like they're all fantasy losers and no one's going to want to touch these guys next year.
- [13:09]
Adam Aizer
It was such a strange answer to that question. I almost feel like he didn't hear the question correctly. I mean, I'm just. Maybe no, because he was. They were like, hey, have you seen progress from the offense since you've been here? He's like, oh, yeah, I've seen a lot of progress. You know, year one, year two, yeah, we definitely made some progress. Does that give you optimism going forward? No, it was just so weird. It was almost.
- [13:28]
Dave Richard
I think he was just being honest.
- [13:30]
Adam Aizer
Very possible. But the way he said, yeah, I don't know if you listen to the. I encourage everyone to watch the interview because it's just so strange how non.
- [13:36]
Dave Richard
Watch the whole thing. The whole thing.
- [13:38]
Adam Aizer
Nonchalantly. He. He said that? Yeah. All right. I do have a lot to ask you about and say about George Pickens, including his terrible touchdown luck. I'll just tell you right now. George Pickens, he had seven green zone targets. He did not catch a single one of them. He is the only player with six or more green zone targets and zero catches. He's the only wide receiver with six or more green zone targets AND zero touchdowns. He also had 12 end zone targets and only two touchdowns. 15. Most. Most end zone targets among wide receivers. But among 20 wide receivers with 11 or more end zone targets, George Pickens had the fewest touchdowns on his end zone targets. So it was. He was weird. He was like, you can't maybe throw out the Justin Fields game. And he gave us games. He gave us a glimpse of what he could be with Russell Wilson, but then he finished very poorly.
- [14:29]
Dave Richard
So I'll ask you, you just got a question. Is he. Is he a one for. For the Steelers, right? Is he more. Is he more of a 2? And I think, you know, you got to figure out, you know, what they do to add to it. We know that they were somewhat aggressive in the off season. You know, they were in the Brandon IU conversation. They ended up, you know, only getting Mike Williams at the trade deadline. You know, there were some other guys that were discussed, but, you know, this is A team that I would, I would guess that just based on the quarterback market like. Does bringing back Russell Wilson make more sense than, let's say signing a Kirk Cousins? I would say yes, you know, because I think Russell Wilson did some good things for them. Does, does, does bringing back Russell Wilson and Justin Fields make some sense? If, if I'm the Steelers, I'm trying to draft somebody and develop and you know, let Russell Wilson sort of play it out, you know, that their defense will keep them in games, you know, they'll have a chance to be a playoff team. That's just kind of what they are. But until they find that long term answer, you know, they're going to continue to be in this, you know, sort of purgatory stage of Mike Tomlin gets them to the playoffs. They're just very well coached. This five game losing streak to end the season was unfortunate. A lot of it had to do with what the early season schedule was versus the late season schedule. You just have some of the opponents that they face, but they're behind two other teams in their division and Cleveland can easily catch them if things improve quickly. There's, so they just got to address that spot. But I, I don't know if there's anybody out there just based on where they're selecting and, and even the quarterbacks that are available that there's an upgrade over Russell Wilson. So, you know, you never know what the season would have looked like had he played the entire year.
- [15:55]
Jamie Eisenberg
Would Aaron Rodgers at a cheap contract be an upgrade over Russell Wilson? If you're paying Russ 25 plus million?
- [16:03]
Dave Richard
No. If, if the contracts are the same, I'd rather just stick with Russell.
- [16:07]
Jamie Eisenberg
Russell Wilson, I would agree, but it wouldn't be because if Rogers gets released from the jets and he want somewhere, he's in the exact same boat that Kirk Cousins is going to be in that Russell Wilson was just in. I don't, I don't care what the new contract is because he's getting paid a ton from his old team.
- [16:22]
Dave Richard
Yeah, I, I would assume the Steelers stick with Russell Wilson who at least gives them a little bit of mobility as opposed to what Rogers. Plus you also got to see if Arthur Smith stays.
- [16:32]
Adam Aizer
Yeah, look, I, we thought George Pickens would have a boost because his passing game would get better. It did. In one category that was touchdowns. The last two years, 12 touchdowns, 13 touchdowns. This year, 21 touchdown pass. But in terms of yards, it was basically the same. You know, it was, it was a little bit better than last year, but it was Actually they threw for fewer yards than they did in 2022 in his rookie year. They have now been in gross passing yards per game, 24th, 27th and 26th in three seasons with, you know, with the George Pickens era. And the other problem is we can, we got to go to break, but like he needs to be. Is he a one? I don't know. Probably not, but there's some encouraging things. Right? We can get into it a little bit. Yeah, but is he a 2? If he is a 2, if they draft, if they get someone and make him the number two receiver, how is he going to be a fantasy standout? Right. They're just not going to be able.
- [17:24]
Dave Richard
To support two guys in the current environment. No, it's. He's a two on an elite passing offense, like in this offense, you know, who are they going to get that's going to be better than him right now without upgrading the quarterback, you know, so it's got to be hand in hand to sort of make it all work. I think for Fantasy, you're talking about a very good low end, number two receiver, high end, number three receiver. That could easily be a top 15 guy. I mean, you see the flashes of it, you know. So yeah, for sure it's. He's going to be one of the one. He's gonna be one of my favorite draft picks next year, you know, because I think he'll fall in an appropriate spot that, you know that second wave of wide receivers that we usually see in round four, round five, like he's going to be perfect right there.
- [18:05]
Adam Aizer
All right. Reminds me a little bit of Terry McLaurin just with the touchdown. I have not been there. All right, we're going to take a break before we do that though. It's a great time to sign up for BetMGM. If you have not done that yet, use the bonus code Fantasy and you will get up to a 1500 dollar first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM. Here's how it works. Just 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 bonus code Fantasy when you sign up. We take a break and I when we come back, I will tell you, if I had one football wish, what would it be? Tell you after this.
- [18:49]
Jamie Eisenberg
Where'd you get those shoes?
- [18:51]
Adam Aizer
Easy. They're from dsw. Because DSW has The exact right shoes for whatever you're into right now. You know, like the sneakers that make office hours feel like happy hour, the boots that turn grocery aisles into runways, and all the styles that show off the many sides of you, from daydreamer to multitasker and everything in between. Because you do it all in really great shoes. Find a shoe for every you at your DSW store or dsw.com from Marvel Studios. The world is on the brink of war.
- [19:23]
Jamie Eisenberg
Comes Captain Brave New World. Watch yourself. You're not Steve rogers, right? On February 14, one symbol stands for all. Captain America.
- [19:38]
Adam Aizer
You don't even know what this is.
- [19:40]
Dave Richard
You want me? Come and get me.
- [19:43]
Jamie Eisenberg
Captain America. Brave New World. In theaters everywhere February 14th. This film is not yet rated.
- [19:50]
Adam Aizer
On today's show, we're gonna do one question for each eliminated team. My Steelers question was about George Pickens, so we can probably cross that one off. But if I had one football wish, guys, it would be to somehow make it so that the Chiefs, Bills, and Ravens could all play each other at the same time on the same field as. Oh, man. The top three. I'm sorry, The Texans. The Texans are going to get destroyed this week, but the other three teams next week. The other three teams are just so damn good. I like the Ravens to go into Buffalo and win. I think they're going to win the Super Bowl. But last week, I said the Chiefs. Forget it. The Chiefs don't have to be the best team. They're just going to win the Super Bowl. That's just how it works. But if the best team we're going to win the super bowl, it would be the Ravens. But, guys, I cannot. I am in love with the AFC top three. It's awesome. It's just going to be a heavyweight slugfest from here on out.
- [20:41]
Dave Richard
Yeah.
- [20:42]
Jamie Eisenberg
Everybody knows that.
- [20:44]
Adam Aizer
How you guys feeling about.
- [20:44]
Jamie Eisenberg
We're excited for it.
- [20:45]
Adam Aizer
Yeah. How you feel? Like, how you feeling about this? This matchup? Jackson vs.
- [20:49]
Jamie Eisenberg
I have. Not really. I'm more focused on just, like, being excited to watch the game than pick the game. It'll come later in the week, obviously, but for now, like, just the idea that the top two MVP candidates facing off and two good defenses. Buffalo's defense really bounced back last Sunday. Yesterday, whenever it was.
- [21:10]
Adam Aizer
Yeah, it's gonna be a much tougher test.
- [21:12]
Dave Richard
I mean, but look, all the defenses remaining either played well this past weekend. Give the Texans some credit. My God, that was amazing.
- [21:18]
Jamie Eisenberg
They were great.
- [21:19]
Dave Richard
And the Chiefs defense, we know, has been great all season. It's going to Be interesting to see how these two teams handle each other in Baltimore and Buffalo. And the two quarterbacks just, they feel like they're unstoppable right now. You hope that this is not the AFC Championship game. The nice thing is that if the Chiefs win that we still get another one of these big time performances.
- [21:42]
Jamie Eisenberg
Right. But Chiefs haters are already saying, oh man, they've got an easy game. That's not like Buffalo and Baltimore where they have to play each other and then play Kansas City.
- [21:52]
Dave Richard
So hey, they got the ones who.
- [21:54]
Jamie Eisenberg
Are complaining about it's usually it's mostly Bills fans and Ravens fans. Their path is much harder than the Chief's path.
- [22:01]
Adam Aizer
Are they an anti hero? Because I was thinking about that Taylor Swift song and like, you know, the Chiefs tie in and I was listening to it this morning and said it must be exhausting, always rooting for the anti hero. It's like, is that just about the Chiefs? But anyway, so I'm excited for that. And the Eagles are also amazing. They are the best team in the NFC. But A.J. brown is playing through a knee injury and that is. That is a bit of an issue here. So we'll go through the injuries news and notes here. So A.J. brown with a really bad game. First of all, Jalen Hurts only threw 21 passes for 131 yards. But A.J. brown had one catch on 10 targets. He had as many catches as books read during this game. He was reading a book on the sideline. Nicobi Dean, their linebacker. This is a big injury. He left with a knee injury. It could be a significant one.
- [22:48]
Jamie Eisenberg
It appears to be. Yeah.
- [22:49]
Adam Aizer
Yeah. So that does definitely weaken them a little bit. But they're going to play Washington next. No, they're going to play the loser.
- [22:58]
Jamie Eisenberg
The winner of tonight's game.
- [22:59]
Adam Aizer
The winner of tonight's game. Yeah. Washington will be at Detroit next week. Jaden Reed left with a shoulder injury. Romeo Dobbs a concussion. It was by the end of the game. Jordan Love without his top three receivers because Watson was out and on his third left guard. Tough scenario for that. And it's still a winnable game for the Packers. They missed so many opportunities. Washington defensive tackle Duron Payne left with a finger injury. How about this? C.J. stroud became the third quarterback since 1991 to throw for 101 or more yards on a possession in a postseason game. So they had that drive that started at like the one yard line. He threw for over 100 yards on that drive because they had a some penalty yards. So good for him. The Patriots hired Mike Rabel. Dave, they could hire Josh McDaniels as their offensive coordinator. What are you thinking here about the Patriots?
- [23:54]
Jamie Eisenberg
They're just bringing back all their. Their old faces. Look, I. I think Variable is a good coach. And whether or not he can lead Drake, May and company to a Super bowl, let's say one super bowl instead of six, like what we saw before in New England, that remains to be seen. But he's, He's. He's a tough coach, but a guy who can make his team strong and competitive. It's exactly what the Patriots want. It's what every team wants. And so good move by the Patriots to bring him back home. I don't know if I love Josh McDaniels coming back to be the OC but we'll see what happens.
- [24:30]
Adam Aizer
And DeSean Watson tore his Achilles again. Unbelievable. So he will probably miss most, if not all of last season of next season. What thoughts, Jamie?
- [24:41]
Dave Richard
You know, it's probably good for the Browns, you know, because now you don't have to deal with an injured quarterback coming back and trying to see what it looks like at the middle of the season. So you hope you go through the 2025 campaign with whatever they do there, which most likely is going to be a rookie, you know, so, you know, we may have seen the. The last snap for DeSean Watson as a member of the Bronx.
- [25:05]
Adam Aizer
All right. And Atlanta Fire defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake and defensive line coach Jay Rogers. I want to thank everyone. If you voted for us at Sports Podcast Group, we'll find out the results in a little bit, but sportspodcastgroup.com today, Monday is the last day to vote. Please make it happen. Go to Sports Podcast Group. Click on vote now. Best fantasy betting and gaming category. And just vote for fantasy football today, not fantasy baseball. You could vote for fantasy baseball today if you want, but fantasy football today, you got to scroll down a little bit and click the thumbs up there. And then you just have to give your email address and it takes about 30 seconds@sportspodcastgroup.com and that's it for the news and notes. So we get to one question for each eliminated team. For the Chargers, lad Bakonki with a huge game and a really impressive 86 yard touchdown, nine catches, 197 yards and a touchdown on 14 targets. Oh, you want to do something fun here? Let's see if you guys can guess who was the number one quarterback of wild card weekend through Sunday's games.
- [26:08]
Dave Richard
Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson? Josh Allen.
- [26:12]
Jamie Eisenberg
Yeah, I would say Allen.
- [26:13]
Adam Aizer
Yeah. Josh Allen by one point over Lamar Jackson. Who is the number one running back.
- [26:17]
Dave Richard
There were some good ones.
- [26:19]
Adam Aizer
Henry, Derek Henry.
- [26:21]
Jamie Eisenberg
Henry.
- [26:21]
Adam Aizer
30 fantasy points, 186 yards, two touches.
- [26:24]
Jamie Eisenberg
So long ago when he had that.
- [26:26]
Adam Aizer
Who was the number one wide receiver?
- [26:28]
Dave Richard
McConkey.
- [26:29]
Adam Aizer
McConkey 34. I think McConkey escort everyone. Yeah, he outscored Josh Allen. Who was the number one tight end?
- [26:36]
Dave Richard
Goddard.
- [26:37]
Adam Aizer
The, the only one to score? Dallas Goddard. How about that? Terrible week for tight ends so far. All right. So is lad McConkey a top 12 wide receiver in 2025?
- [26:51]
Dave Richard
He's right there. I could give you the, the people who put him in the top 12 if you want from the story that's on the site. It's, it's, it's going to be interesting to see there's another team that's going to add a pass catcher, you know, whether it's a tight end or another receiver. So, you know, what does that mean for McConkey? But my gosh, like, I went back and looked and it's funny that Buffalo, with what their receiving core looks like they had an opportunity to draft McConkey traded the pick to the Chiefs. Chiefs Jake Xavier Worthy. They then take Keon Coleman at the start of the second round and McConkey goes right behind them. Imagine that weapon with Josh Allen like. And the reason I bring it up is because Buffalo had multiple chances to take him. The Chiefs could have drafted him. Not that Xavier Worthy is not a good player or not, but like, my goodness, he is. He and, and the 49ers, you know, taking Ricky Pearsall, the, the Panthers taking Xavier Leguette and Glass pick of the first round. Like, you know, not many teams obviously passed on him, but he's, he's legit, man. He's, he's, he's not just a slot receiver as we've seen. He could play, you know, inside and outside and, you know, you hope that the, the Chargers offense evolves a little bit. Hard to expect that with Greg Roman. That's just not his history. But there's certainly enough targets and opportunities and depending on what the run game looks like, yeah, Lamakaki is going to be, if not a top 12 receiver for a lot of people. Right. Right on the cusp.
- [28:12]
Jamie Eisenberg
Yeah, he's. I, I put him in at 11, and I agree, like, he's in that same boat as Terry McLaurin where the Chargers could add another. They gotta add somebody who can take the top off and then McConkey can benefit from that by winning Underneath and then making plays after the catch. Just like we've seen really, not just in wild card weekend, but the last six weeks of the regular season. He averaged 19 PPR points per game, average 15.1 over the course of the year. I'll tell you the one thing, and this is something that I remember hearing at the Senior Bowl. He was at the Senior bowl last year. The one thing that warded off teams a little bit is that he's small, he's lean. And so if you can just accept that fact that, all right, he might be a little leaner than other wide receivers across the league. Man, he's just, he's amazing. Just precise route runner, great hands, good speed. Everything that you pretty much look for otherwise in a wide out.
- [29:04]
Dave Richard
So three of the six of us. And again, you can read all of our top 12 receivers for 2025. The early rankings are on cbsports.com the three of us ranked 12 receivers. Heath, Jacob Gibbs and Dan Schneier. Three of us had McConkey in the top 12. Three to not. Can you guess, Adam, who the three were and who the three were?
- [29:24]
Adam Aizer
I did not.
- [29:26]
Dave Richard
Dave did you know one who was in? You know, when it was out, they said it was in. You know, yours is out.
- [29:30]
Adam Aizer
Jacob Gibbs absolutely did. He's a huge McConkey guy. And because Dan is so easily influenced by Jacob, I'm going to say Dan did. So I'm going to say Dave, Dan and Jacob had him in. Me, you and Heath had him out.
- [29:45]
Dave Richard
All right, you're horrible at this. Me, Dave and Heath had him in. You, Jacob and Dan had him out. Dave had him the highest of the 11. Heath and I have him a 12. Not ranked for you, Jacob or Dan. I'll just confirm that in case I did it quick.
- [30:00]
Jamie Eisenberg
It's funny because Dan usually goes for the prospects as well and this Makaki was unquestionably one of the better prospects at receiver last year.
- [30:08]
Dave Richard
So I'm not saying the wrong thing here.
- [30:10]
Jamie Eisenberg
So you want another quick stat on McConkey while Jamie, I got a lot.
- [30:15]
Dave Richard
Here to talk about because Dan no. And Jacob no. But he did. No. That wasn't the player that was left out either for them.
- [30:26]
Adam Aizer
This is yet another year when Lamb account. By the way, Lemon Conkey finished as wide receiver 13 in PPR, but he was like a half a point behind Devonte Adams almost finished top 12. Another year where if, unless you want to count McConkey, but he technically is 13. We did not have a team that was bottom five in pass attempts. Give us a top 12 wide receiver in PPR. So that's the thing about McConkey. He was awesome, but he only had. He was only pace for 119 targets. That's really just not enough. He had an incredible explosive play rate. He was one of the best playmakers at the position, which is weird for a guy with a 66% slot rate, but there just aren't enough targets. So that's the thing. Like, can the Chargers change their philosophy? They. They kind of did. I think they became more pass heavy. They realized, you know, Herbert's our best player. But if they're going to be bottom five in pass attempts, they were fifth lowest, fifth fewest past attempts. He's probably not going to be a top 12 wide receiver. His stats remind me a little bit of Brandon Iuk. 87 catches, 1200 yards, seven touchdowns on 119 targets. That's his 17 game pace because McConkey missed the game. Now, if you want to go with his 17 game pace in his last 10, that's 99 catches, 1500 yards, eight touchdowns on 124 targets. That's. That's too good for 124 targets. I don't think he can be as efficient as he was. They need to throw the ball a little bit more. So that's, that's my issue with McConkey. And by the way, he'd probably be like 14th for me. So, you know, just outside the top 12.
- [31:57]
Dave Richard
It's going to be very surprising to see him not be around to pick right now.
- [32:04]
Adam Aizer
You'll get.
- [32:04]
Jamie Eisenberg
You'll get popular. Round three pick. If he falls that far.
- [32:07]
Dave Richard
Yeah.
- [32:07]
Adam Aizer
Top 30 for sure. I'd say yeah. All right.
- [32:10]
Dave Richard
And all of our top 25 picks will be on the site by the end of the day.
- [32:14]
Adam Aizer
My next question was, do we still buy a George Pickens breakout? But I'm going to skip that one because we already talked about George Pickens. Are you sold on Baker Mayfield? That is my next question. Baker Mayfield, with a strange night last night. Only 18 pass attempts. They had the ball for 24 minutes and 34 seconds. How many plays? 44 plays for the Bucks. 69 for the Commanders. An amazing win for Washington. 23:20. Are you sold on Baker Mayfield? Dave? That's my question about the Bucks.
- [32:42]
Jamie Eisenberg
I definitely was before the game against the Commanders, and I still probably will be. He finished the regular season with at least 25 fantasy points in each game. Far and away his best year as a pro. I don't expect him to be as good next year. And I think when I initially ranked him, I put him too high. But he'll be a top 12 quarterback. He'll be somebody that you'll love the value of once you get to at least the mid rounds, which is where he's going to go. I mean, I'm curious to see what this receiving core does look like next year. I don't know if Godwin stays, Evans will be there. You can make the argument, well, he'll be another year older. Man, just look at how he played against Washington. Like he's still, he's still that dude. And I'm hoping McMillan can take a step. Maybe they add another pass catcher. They certainly should. And I think Baker's gonna, he's got a good offensive line. There's a lot that's still going to be in place that I'll be happy about with Baker Mayfield. So it comes down to whether or not he's going to be a value on draft day. I think he will be. And that's something that I would like to have so I can build up other positions before I take a quarterback in. Let's call it round six. Plus.
- [33:52]
Adam Aizer
Jamie, are you sold on Baker Mayfield who was the number three quarterback per game in six point per passing touchdown leagues? Number four and 4.100.
- [34:01]
Dave Richard
Yeah, this game did not change my opinion of Baker Mayfield at all. I, I think the receiving core conversation is definitely interesting because I would love to see Chris Godwin back for Baker. I would not like to see it for McMillan and the breakout potential there. But look, Mike Evans missed four games, Chris Godwin got hurt, McMillan didn't come on until the end. And Baker still managed to get his way through 20 point games during that stretch, mostly with Kate Otten. But I think what we saw is he started to run a little bit more. The big concern for me would be is if Liam Cohen leans, you know, so if that there's a change there, then I would not love the situation barring whoever they bring in. Because, you know, I think we thought, oh wow, Dave Canales left. Baker was so good with Canalis. Well, he was better with Liam Kong, you know, so they could certainly bring in somebody else who's on the same level, if not better. Really, the only concern is does this run game continue to improve? And you know, you brought this up a few, few times during the season, Adam, that when Bucky Irving and, and Rashad White and Sean Tucker had that little stretch of. And a lot of it had to do with the receiving core that Baker's numbers weren't as, you know, extravagant. Yeah, you know, he. He was. This was kind of the evolution of the offense. And, you know, you saw it a little bit in this playoff game and that, you know, 18 pass attempts versus 25 carries for the back or no, I shouldn't say 18 carries versus 18 carries for the backfield because Baker had seven rush attempts. But, you know, you're talking about Bucky Aaron's really good. And this run game looks like under Liam Cohen is going to be really good, you know, by comparison to what it was two years ago. And we were saying Rashad White's just not a good running back. Well, maybe it just was the system. In any event, that's. That's a little bit more of a concern for me. So baker is still QB6 for me. I'm not moving him in my rankings as of now. Again, we'll see what this receiving core looks like because, yes, while Mike Evans is still really good, he also is going to be really old. And that's not something I want to hang my hat on, is that he's going to still be able to support what Baker needs. I think he still needs another player there. So if Godwin's back, I love it.
- [36:00]
Jamie Eisenberg
You want the splits, Adam, for Baker, over the course of the year and these again, Fantasy point averages, six point per game, 28.3. With Godwin and Evans, that was for seven games. And then there were three games where he didn't have Godwin or Evans. He averaged 20.4. So still getting over 20 without his top two wide receivers. I think that's a big plus. And that's a credit to both Baker and Liam Cohen. And then let's see, weeks 12 through 18, Evans is there no Godwin. He averaged 26.9 in those games. However, 31.5 in games. With McMillan's breakout and Evans, that's the final five games of the year. So which Baker are we getting next year? That's the question that we're going to have to get answered. And if it's. If it's the guy that we saw at the end of this year, getting him in round six as the sixth quarterback off the board will be the biggest steal on draft day. If it's the guy that didn't put up great numbers when Godwin and Evans are out, and that would be possible if Evans takes a big step back and they don't replace and Godwin at all. Godwin leaves, McMillan doesn't step up. Yeah, then he's going to be a bust.
- [37:06]
Adam Aizer
I would say, you know, the question was, are you buying? Are you sold on Baker Mayfield? I, I would say that, you know, I could say I am. But I also think he had a really lucky season. His touchdown rate was really high. His rushing yards, 378 rushing yards. That kind of came out of nowhere. I mean, his yards per carry like last year and this year. I just want to compare the 17 game paces, just the rushing totals. If I, I know I have this somewhere. You know what I'm. I lost it in my notes, but it's something like they had. He had about the same amount of carries per game, but he averaged like 6.3 yards per carry this year and 2.6 yards per carry last year. So the rushing totals could come way down. And then there's also this. He had 13 fumbles in the regular season and he lost two of them. And he led the NFL in interceptions thrown and he only had three completions all year of 30 or more air yards, and two of them were in week 18. So I think he had a very lucky season. But at the same time, he also averaged about 24 points per game in the last seven games of 2023. So he carried over some really good momentum. He's. He's probably legit, but not. I don't think he's this good because they just. Everything seemed to go right for him.
- [38:22]
Jamie Eisenberg
You want a couple other positives and negatives since we're talking Baker and we're digging deep. Positives. Falcons, Saints, Panthers. How many of those defenses do you think improve greatly this off season to become problems for the Bucks overall next year? That's a positive negative. Jets, Bills, Lions, NFC West, Eagles. He's got a lot of tough opponents on his schedule for next year. That's. That's going to be problematic for him.
- [38:52]
Adam Aizer
It's actually funny you mentioned that, because I remember talking about Dak Prescott going into 2024. And one of the things that I thought was maybe a negative for him was that he destroyed the NFC east in 2023. I mean, unbelievable. If I had a guess, it was. It was over 30 points per game in six games against the NFC East, I'm pretty sure. And the commanders got so much better defensively. And, and I'd say the Giants probably got a little bit because they were horrible. They got a little bit better against quarterbacks. And the Eagles, they were super injured in 2023. They got a lot better, too. So you never know. You see what happens in the off season but that is an interesting thing. Like, he just. Baker Mayfield did beat the crap out of his division. All right, we're going to take a break. Before we do that, though, I want to say something. I made a joke about Dan being influenced by Jacob. I was just kidding. Dan's awesome. He does, like, all of his own research and he watches a ton of tape, and he's actually fantastic at that. And he's becoming, as someone said, and.
- [39:43]
Dave Richard
He agrees with me, so I always love Dan.
- [39:45]
Adam Aizer
Yeah, that's true. Someone said in the chat he's becoming a great host of his own show, and he absolutely is. So I shouldn't have made a joke about Dan without him being here to clumsily support himself and then would just leave me to make some more jokes about his clumsy support of himself and all that. But I should have done that. Anyway, we'll be right back on Fantasy Football today with thousands of free movies and shows. There's something for everyone on Pluto tv.
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Jamie Eisenberg
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Adam Aizer
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Dave Richard
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Jamie Eisenberg
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Adam Aizer
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Dave Richard
Hey, what's up, my man?
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Jamie Eisenberg
Five seasons in the making.
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Adam Aizer
Damn it. This is terrible.
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Jamie Eisenberg
This keeps getting cooler by the second Star Trek lower decks. Final season. Now streaming.
- [40:49]
Adam Aizer
Two more questions for eliminated teams. What are your thoughts on Cortland Sutton? Cortland Sutton ended the year as the number 21 wide receiver per game. He was top 15 overall, but 21 per game. But in his last 10 games, just like McConkey, in his last 10 games, Cortland Sutton was the number seven wide receiver in fantasy, and he was 10 per game in both half and full PPR. And that was with a big jump from Bo Nix, just much better production. So we saw a great version of Sutton in the last 10 games as we saw a really good version of Bo Nix. Jamie, what are your thoughts on Cortland Sutton for 2025?
- [41:26]
Dave Richard
Almost, you know, similar conversation to what we said about Terry McLaurin and potentially, you know, the situation in Tampa Bay. They're. I would assume they're going to be in the market for a wide receiver. And does that impact what this offense looks like? A lot of stuff that worked out well for Cortland Sutton was, you know, Bonix just playing fantastic in Sean Payton system. That's not going to change, you know, so he's, he's still the guy there. He'll be older, you know, you have to worry about maybe is this the start of when he could start to see a little bit of a decline. But as long as he's the alpha still, there's so much to like about Bo. Nick's getting better. Sean Payton just continuing to evolve the offense. And I think you just, you know, treat him as one of these, you know, solid number two wide receivers that you get after round five that you'll be thrilled about to have on your fantasy team.
- [42:12]
Adam Aizer
Dave, I'm just seeing the news here that Nicole Dean for the Eagles is out for the season. He has a torn patellar tendon in his knee, so he's going to have.
- [42:19]
Jamie Eisenberg
A. Oh, that's going to linger into next year.
- [42:22]
Adam Aizer
Yeah, it's a tough one, Dave. Cortland Sutton. You know, let me give you a fun stat about Cortland Sutton. Remember how obsessed I was with Drake London's yak, his lack of yak? Cortland Sutton might be the worst yak guy in football. I cannot believe it's, it's four years in a row where he's averaged 2.6 or fewer yards after the catch per reception, which is horrible. Like Drake London was, I think, 3.5 last year and I was like, that's kind of low. Anyway, it's a, it's an interesting note on him, but what are your, what's your take on Sutton?
- [42:54]
Jamie Eisenberg
How many touchdowns for Sutton this year?
- [42:56]
Adam Aizer
8.
- [42:58]
Jamie Eisenberg
I thought he might have had even more than that, but just based on.
- [43:02]
Dave Richard
How the season went, 18 over two years in Sean Payton's offense?
- [43:06]
Adam Aizer
Yeah, it's pretty good. He had, he had among the most end zone targets in the NFL this year.
- [43:11]
Jamie Eisenberg
Okay. So I guess the one thing that I'm worried about is I'm 100% sure that the Broncos are going to address their run game this offseason and they might even potentially, you know, they're going to look for somebody who could handle all three downs and can play in passing down situations. For sure. That's a staple of what Sean Payton loves in his offense. And does that, does that change the pass run ratio? I just looked it up. They were 56% pass, which is about right for Sean Payton if you include the playoff game for Denver last year. But if they get a good running back who can catch the ball of the backfield, then they might be closer to like 53, 54%. And the running back will pick up some more targets. And does it turn Cortland Sutton into a touchdown or bust type of wide receiver? That makes me a little bit nervous. But again, this is someone who's going to get appropriately drafted. Not in the top 12, probably as a top 24 wide receiver, but maybe closer to 24 than to 15, for example.
- [44:12]
Adam Aizer
Okay. All right, let's move on to our next one. Our last topic here, it's about the Green Bay packers and it's Jordan Love. Does Jordan Love still have big upside? I know Heath has talked about this and he's pretty skeptical, I think, of it. Kind of feels like he's just kind of one of those low end, number one quarterbacks. What do you guys think? Does Jordan Love still have big upside?
- [44:33]
Dave Richard
He obviously does. I mean, we saw it last season, which is why, you know, we were seeing him get drafted. You know, I, I think by the end of the draft process, I think Dave and I are probably a little different on Jordan Love. If I remember correctly, you were still very much in the Jordan Love camp, which most people were. He was adp, was number six as the, you know, final average draft position rankings for our site. So it was right after C.J. stroud, it was QB5. Look, the, the receiving core was so beat up throughout the course of the season. Dobbs missed time, Watson missed time.
- [45:07]
Jamie Eisenberg
They all got hurt on Sunday.
- [45:09]
Dave Richard
They all got her on Sunday and they added, you know, an upgrade at running back. You know, kudos to them. It worked out well that they moved on from Aaron Jones, thought a really good season and, you know, found somebody who was a superstar in Josh Jacobs. So the offense, you know, offensive design changed and we didn't see very 30 plus passing games for Jordan Love throughout the year, but I think he still has that in his bag. And let's be fair, he, he had two pretty significant injuries that he played through. You know, he played through the knee injury, played through the groin injury, and we don't know how much that impacted just what they were able to do offensively. So I, I think when you start to get to next season, depending on the rookies and where some of the free agents end up and how the offensive look, offensive coordinators, you know, look for, for certain teams, like he's going to be one of these, you know, QB2s that you draft and, and hopefully get just fantastic value from. So like, I feel that way about him about Stroud, hopefully still about Anthony Richardson, like, you know, these guys that could still be difference makers that we've seen at times. And for love, it was the entire second half of 2023 into the playoffs. Remember last year, a year ago, wow, look what he just did against the Cowboys, you know, off a wild card weekend. And that led to all the optimism here. I do think that they're not, I, I don't expect them to address their receiving corps unless it's, you know, a day two, day three pick on someone that they may just fall in love with because Watson is coming back from the ac.
- [46:33]
Adam Aizer
I think they have to, Jamie.
- [46:34]
Jamie Eisenberg
I mean they absolutely will. But it's going to be with one of those like a third round pick. I feel like they do it every year.
- [46:40]
Dave Richard
Right. It's just not their history to, to go out and do that. And, and I'm sure a lot of it will come down to the medical on, on Watson and when he's expected to be ready because that'll determine how they just remember they, you know, unless they're cutting somebody, you know, that they're, they're, they're tied into all these young receivers. So, you know, does somebody want to go play there? You know, does, you know, Dave brought up the, the Devonte Adams cap casualty. Does he want to maybe go back and have a swan song and finish his year with, finish his career in Green Bay? And that might look a lot more attractive to Jordan Love, you know, to have at least an experienced guy that can, you know, maybe command targets and still win. So that, that's a big piece of this. Also, I, I do think there's a lot to love about him, no pun intended. But there's also the, the, the downside as we've seen this season, because the.
- [47:25]
Jamie Eisenberg
Rung it, and I think the ADP was inflated last year because of how he finished last year. Remember he had two amazing playoff games and he averaged 25 fantasy points in his final nine. And then this year, I, I, you know, even in this game on Sunday, like he had an elbow issued. Is that something that slowed him down? And just really, I, I wonder how much of it was just him being battered. And so there is bounce back potential for him for shot. There's going to be a whole tier of quarterback twos that you're going to take with one of your last four picks. And if you don't see anything from them in the first two weeks of the season, no big whoop. You cut them and you move on. But if you do see something from them, hello Value, you're on your way to having A stud quarterback the rest of the way. It's going to open the door for interest in people drafting two quarterbacks next year instead of just one.
- [48:12]
Adam Aizer
If you just look at Jordan Love's page on Pro Football reference and compare 2023 to 2024, it's pretty similar. Completion percentage is pretty similar. Touchdown rate, actually higher this year. Interception rate, also higher. Too many picks this year. Yards per attempt, 8. 8 yards per attempt this year. 7.2 yards per attempt last year. Passer rating, nearly identical. My point is it was past attempts that was, I think, the biggest thing. And it was interesting that the packers played the Eagles yesterday because after their Week 10 by the packers became the Eagles. If you look at week 11 on here are the three lowest pass rate teams in the NFL. Philadelphia, Baltimore, Green Bay. All of them between 43.4% and 46.1% pass rate. So they're, they are running more times than they throw. And there are only four teams in the NFL in that stretch that ran the ball more than they threw the ball, and those were those three teams and the Colts. The packers turned into a really good defensive team that just wanted to run and run and run. The difference between them, the Eagles obviously, is like they do it all through Jacobs and Love. Love didn't run. I Love stopped running this year. That was another problem. But his rates weren't bad. Just their offense got super boring for fantasy purposes. Hurt everyone. So, you know, if I think the answer is, does he still have big upside? Are they going to throw the freaking ball that he will.
- [49:41]
Dave Richard
Well, look, the, the run game got better, the defense got better. Love got injured. It also, you know, the Love conversation certainly is relevant. It's the receiving core conversation too, because, yeah, I mean, think about all the, all the Jaden Reed hype and disappointment we went through this season, you know, and, and Romeo Dobbs, while he flashed clearly, you know, two games with, with two touchdowns and, you know, really was disappointing the, the rest of the way. Oh, Don, Tavian Wicks, here he comes. There's no Christian Watson, and there were certainly signs of what he could become when Watson wasn't there. Well, he didn't, you know, become that guy either. So it's, it's going to be, I think, some pretty good values for these guys because if they do start to throw the ball a little bit more again, you go back to 2023, you see what they can become.
- [50:23]
Adam Aizer
All right. All right, guys, let's read a couple of emails here and Guinon and skedaddle. Fantasy football you can also leave us an Apple podcast review. You will almost certainly get your question read. If you leave us a five star review and ask a question on Apple podcasts, we'd really appreciate it. But for now, Fantasy football this is from N. Powell is the difference between Joe Burrow and Jaden Daniels. Who has the better upgrade, slash downgrade at wide receiver or in Burrow's case, just retaining T. Higgins.
- [50:55]
Dave Richard
It's certainly a big part of it. Yeah. I mean, you know, Burrow was, was good this season without Higgins. You know, I think that's a credit to the offense, credit to Mike Iseki and what he was able to accomplish in those games when, you know, Higgins was out. And so what, what they do there, you know, whether it's, you know, Eric hall, if he's healthy, you know, or they bring a secki back. I don't know exactly what his contract situation is, but I believe he's a free agent. I'll double check, you know, having, having at least another capable pass catcher. And look, they, they seemingly planned ahead by drafting Jermaine Burton. And you know, there's, there's still some, you know, optimism I would think, internally and certainly for fantasy managers of, internally in, in the Bengals building of Andre Yoshovas, you know, being a, a bigger playmaker also. So there's, there's pieces there that will help help Joe Burrow. I think the thing is like if Jane Daniels gets T. Higgins, because I'm assuming that's where this is leading to. If he, if he gets T. Higgins and still, you know, what he does as a runner, you know, most rushing yards for rookie quarterback in NFL history, that just makes him much more attractive than, than Joe Burrow or not much more, but more attractive than Joe Burrow. You know, higher ceiling, maybe lower floor because risk of injury. But I, I would rather have Jane Daniels with T. Higgins than Joe Burrow without.
- [52:11]
Jamie Eisenberg
Would you rather have Jaden Daniels without T. Higgins than Joe Burrow with T. Higgins?
- [52:16]
Dave Richard
I would rather have Joe. I'll take Joe Burrow if his receiving course stays intact over Jaden Daniels, assuming there's no holdouts because, you know, we could see a franchise tag on T. Higgins and then it, this becomes a nuisance again or Jamar Chase doesn't get his deal and it becomes a nuisance that way. But depending on the. I shouldn't say that with certainty if, if Jane Daniels does not get an upgraded receiving core. Yeah then I would take Joe Burrow if he gets draft somebody anything of significance. They're, they're Very close. That's. That's basically QB 3 and 4.
- [52:48]
Jamie Eisenberg
Yeah.
- [52:48]
Adam Aizer
Assuming you're taking Daniels in four point leagues easily.
- [52:52]
Jamie Eisenberg
That's easy.
- [52:53]
Adam Aizer
Okay. All right, next email is from Eric. Oh, I can. I can get the soundboard up for that one. Eric, if Kenneth Gainwell gets signed to a team that needs a running back one, would he break the top 25 at the position?
- [53:11]
Dave Richard
It'd probably depend on what that team is. So, like Dave's scenario of the Broncos, if Kenneth Gainwell goes there and let's say he's sharing with Audric, estimate. No. You know, that's what their backfill looks like. No. If he goes to who needs a.
- [53:27]
Jamie Eisenberg
Running back, I don't see him being a full timer. The answer's no here, no matter where he goes.
- [53:33]
Dave Richard
Yeah. Let's say Minnesota and they move on from Aaron Jones. Like that would be interesting. Raiders, if he's the guy there, probably not done.
- [53:41]
Adam Aizer
What has he done to be. To be the guy anywhere, I don't think.
- [53:44]
Dave Richard
Yeah, but I mean, every. Every player sometimes needs just an opportunity.
- [53:49]
Adam Aizer
I guess so.
- [53:50]
Jamie Eisenberg
Yeah. Yeah. I don't see it. I like him. I think he's talented, but I think he's best in smaller doses. He's a 1B type back.
- [53:57]
Adam Aizer
He's a great name for a running back. I will give Kenneth Gainwell that. Well, that's it for today's show.
- [54:04]
Dave Richard
All right, we got one question in the chat that's interesting. Loves Mac. Adam Lee says what's loves Max Upside or Drake May?
- [54:11]
Adam Aizer
Well, yeah. Love or Drake May? Was the question. Is this an upside question? An overall question?
- [54:18]
Dave Richard
Right now, I would draft Drake May over Jordan Love.
- [54:20]
Jamie Eisenberg
Yep. Same. Just on the. The belief that the Patriots are going to add. Like, if you want a team that's going to go after T. Higgins.
- [54:27]
Dave Richard
Yep.
- [54:28]
Jamie Eisenberg
They've got the cap space to do it. They need a number one wide receiver desperately. And I believe once upon a time, Mike Vrabel was on a team that took away his number one wide receiver and it might have led to his downfall, but I don't know if he was on board with that.
- [54:41]
Adam Aizer
You want to play the variable game? Very, very, very, very, very run heavy.
- [54:45]
Jamie Eisenberg
He had Derek Henry.
- [54:46]
Adam Aizer
Of course, he was asking, do you. Do you think he just abandons that and has a more.
- [54:51]
Jamie Eisenberg
I think he'll use the talents that he has to the best of their abilities. And that means Drake maybe.
- [54:57]
Dave Richard
All right, I. I would hope so. I mean, look, this. This is definitely a plus for a mondre right now.
- [55:05]
Adam Aizer
I'm over him.
- [55:06]
Dave Richard
You might be here and it's still a plus.
- [55:09]
Jamie Eisenberg
And he'll be there, too, because they just signed him to a big contract. I don't think he's a cap casualty.
- [55:14]
Adam Aizer
Round eight. Round eight. Yeah. Okay, where did he go? Anybody? You have any idea where he went? Jamie?
- [55:23]
Dave Richard
In our draft? No, but round seven plus, I would think.
- [55:26]
Adam Aizer
Is everybody? Take your guess. Over, under. Pick 90 and a half for Ramandre Stevenson.
- [55:32]
Jamie Eisenberg
Under.
- [55:33]
Dave Richard
Under.
- [55:34]
Adam Aizer
Oh, man. What's 12 times 8? No, he went 94th.
- [55:38]
Jamie Eisenberg
Oh, all right.
- [55:40]
Adam Aizer
I believe to Joel. Right?
- [55:42]
Dave Richard
Does that mean we got it right or wrong?
- [55:44]
Adam Aizer
You said what under?
- [55:46]
Jamie Eisenberg
I said under. I thought he'd go before 90.
- [55:48]
Adam Aizer
He went 94th.
- [55:51]
Dave Richard
I thought that meant before 98.
- [55:54]
Adam Aizer
Yeah. You thought he went before 90th. He went 94th.
- [55:57]
Dave Richard
He said 90th. At least 98.
- [55:59]
Jamie Eisenberg
He said 90.
- [56:00]
Adam Aizer
You. You're a liar, Jamie. You just can't accept defeat. Can't accept defeat. This guy. All right, we're at it. We'll talk to you guys on Wednesday. We'll talk about the Rex Ryan camp. Oh, top 12 wide receivers. Which one? 2025 on Wednesday show.
- [56:17]
Dave Richard
See you later.
- [56:26]
Adam Aizer
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- [56:30]
Dave Richard
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Jamie Eisenberg
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Adam Aizer
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Adam Aizer
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- [56:58]
Dave Richard
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