AFC West Breakdown, Melvin Gordon, and a Pink Moose

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary

Episode Title: AFC West Breakdown, Melvin Gordon, and a Pink Moose
Release Date: July 21, 2018
Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright

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Introduction

The Fantasy Footballers kick off Episode 570 with a lively introduction, setting the stage for an in-depth analysis of the AFC West division, a special interview with Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon, and the segment Best Ball Bonanza.

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AFC West Division Breakdown

The hosts delve into a comprehensive analysis of the AFC West, highlighting team performances from the previous season and projecting expectations for the upcoming year.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs emerge as the focal point, having clinched the division with a 10-6 record. The introduction of quarterback Patrick Mahomes is identified as a transformative change for the team.

• Jason Moore highlights Mahomes' potential:

  "Patrick Mahomes is a game changer for the Chiefs." [05:56]

• Andy Holloway discusses Mahomes' dual-threat capability:

  "He is exciting because of his arm strength and his rushing ability." [09:33]

Concerns about Travis Kelce's touchdown dependency shift are also addressed, pondering whether Kelce's role will be affected by Mahomes' playstyle.

• Mike Wright raises a critical point on Kelce:

  "What happens if those touchdowns start to funnel over to Mr. Sammy Watkins?" [07:16]

Overall, the Chiefs are viewed as a strong fantasy asset, with Mahomes adding immense value, though some uncertainty remains about the dynamics between Mahomes and Kelce.

Los Angeles Chargers

Transitioning to the Chargers, the hosts discuss the team's potential despite last season's near miss for the playoffs.

• Jason Moore praises the Chargers' offensive prowess:

  "Number one passing yards per game offense in the NFL." [15:37]

The offseason injury to tight end Hunter Henry is a significant storyline, with anticipation around Sammy Watkins stepping out of Antonio Gates' shadow.

• Andy Holloway remarks on Hunter Henry’s impact:

  "He is a good possession receiver... Demarius Thomas has a super high floor." [39:35]

Keenan Allen is lauded as a reliable WR1, while discussions around the depth of the Chargers' wide receiver corps highlight Tyrell Williams and Mike Williams as key contributors.

• Andy Holloway on Keenan Allen:

  "Keenan Allen is a true locked and loaded wide receiver one." [20:50]

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders' disappointing 6-10 record last season sets the stage for expectations under new head coach Jon Gruden.

• Jason Moore outlines the Raiders' struggles:

  "Last year they didn't have as much time and the offense struggled. It was a bad offense." [26:45]

Player acquisitions such as Jordy Nelson and Martavis Bryant are scrutinized for their potential impact.

• Andy Holloway critiques the acquisition strategy:

  "Would you rather have Michael Crabtree this year on your roster or Jordy Nelson?" [28:10]

Concerns about offensive coordinators Greg Olson and Brian Schottenheimer are also discussed, questioning the Raiders' offensive future.

Denver Broncos

Wrapping up the AFC West, the Broncos' 5-11 record is examined with a focus on quarterback Case Keenum and the receiving corps.

• Andy Holloway emphasizes Demaryius Thomas’ value:

  "Demarious Thomas has always had a super high floor." [38:47]

Concerns about Thomas’ aging performance are balanced with his consistent target volume.

• Mike Wright on Demaryius Thomas:

  "He still will get the ball away from the defender." [40:33]

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Interview with Melvin Gordon

A standout segment features an exclusive interview with Melvin Gordon, Los Angeles Chargers' running back, providing personal insights and professional aspirations.

• Melvin Gordon shares his draft day experience:

  "I was just with my family... I just want to be the best running back." [46:39]

He emphasizes his dedication to being a versatile back involved in both rushing and receiving, aiming for respect in the NFL and fantasy football.

• Melvin Gordon on his role:

  "I want to be the best running back. I want that rushing title." [50:19]

Gordon also touches upon his relationship with quarterback Philip Rivers, highlighting Rivers' positive energy and leadership qualities.

• Melvin Gordon on Philip Rivers:

  "He's actually a really cool person. He's real chill... he brings a lot of energy to the game." [52:01]

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Best Ball Bonanza

In the Best Ball Bonanza segment, the hosts discuss strategies for best ball drafting, emphasizing the importance of maximizing ceiling over floor by selecting players with high potential rather than relying on handcuffs.

• Mike Wright advises against drafting personal handcuffs:

  "Best ball is all about maximum points, maximizing everything. You're going for ceiling." [54:21]

• Andy Holloway shares his approach:

  "I like drafting handcuffs with those last few picks and other people's handcuffs." [55:43]

The discussion includes recommendations on selecting running backs who can secure significant roles, enhancing overall team performance in a best ball format.

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Conclusion

The episode concludes with the hosts reiterating their excitement for upcoming shows in Philly and New York, promoting ticket sales, and encouraging listeners to engage with their community. Melvin Gordon is celebrated as a key Fantasy Football asset, and the AFC West is positioned as a focal point for fantasy analysts in the upcoming season.

• Andy Holloway wraps up the episode:

  "Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast." [59:03]

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Notable Quotes

• Jason Moore (05:56):
  "Patrick Mahomes is a game changer for the Chiefs."

• Mike Wright (07:16):
  "What happens if those touchdowns start to funnel over to Mr. Sammy Watkins?"

• Andy Holloway (09:33):
  "He is exciting because of his arm strength and his rushing ability."

• Melvin Gordon (50:19):
  "I want to be the best running back. I want that rushing title."

• Mike Wright (54:21):
  "Best ball is all about maximum points, maximizing everything. You're going for ceiling."

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This detailed summary encapsulates the key discussions, insights, and conclusions of the Fantasy Footballers podcast episode on AFC West Breakdown, featuring an exclusive interview with Melvin Gordon. Whether you're a seasoned fantasy manager or new to the game, this episode offers valuable analysis to enhance your fantasy strategy.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, if this is the year that you want to take your fantasy football plan to the next level and get yourself a fantasy football championship, you got to check out the Ultimate Draft Kit. It is the best value in fantasy football at only 29 bucks. We pour our lives into this. Hundreds of video profiles, Matt Harmon's reception, perception, all of our stats, all of our rankings, blurbs on every player. Check it out. Build a foundation to win the championship at Ultimate Draft Kit.

[Melvin Gordon]

This is Melvin Gordon from the Los Angeles Chargers and you listening to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast.

[Andy Holloway]

Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast coming to you from Draft.com Studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Jason Moore]

Welcome in.

[Mike Wright]

Hey.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, oh, hey, yeah. Saturday, July 21, the fantasy footballers Podcast once again climbing into your ears step by step via whatever device you may be listening on, watching on. Welcome in. Excited for this show. Show 570 in our storied history.

[Mike Wright]

Check out the back catalog.

[Jason Moore]

I highly recommend the 2015 Week 3 Waiver Show.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, my goodness.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, just. I mean, the insights that you'll receive.

[Mike Wright]

Now, those were some waivers.

[Jason Moore]

Welcome in. We have AFC west on the show today. Our divisional breakdowns. It's time, gentlemen.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Less than 50 days.

[Mike Wright]

People ask, how do you know the NFL season? When is it for the general public, it's fantasy football time. And, you know, training camp. All these, a lot of different answers for me. When the divisional series starts on the fantasy Footballers, that's when my. My internals.

[Jason Moore]

That's when my organs shift around.

[Mike Wright]

My spleen.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, my.

[Mike Wright]

My pancreas.

[Jason Moore]

Don't get me started on my spleen.

[Mike Wright]

My left lung, my right lung is still trailing behind.

[Jason Moore]

They're just moving around.

[Mike Wright]

We know. Me and my body parts, we know that fantasy football is very close.

[Jason Moore]

Just you keep it to yourself from now on. We have Best Ball Bonanza on the show today. And we have an exclusive interview with Los Angeles Chargers running back Melvin Gordon. Maybe you've heard of him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I have.

[Jason Moore]

Maybe you've seen him. He is a mountain of a man.

[Andy Holloway]

He sure is.

[Jason Moore]

And so we. We have video that, too. So you can see that on YouTube. That'll be @ the end of the show today after we preview his division. Yeah, the AFC West.

[Mike Wright]

Imagine just how that works out.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Amazing coincidence that is. So follow us on twitter @the ffballers. Subscribe on YouTube. Get ready for the season. Subscribe over there. Click the bell. So you know when we're doing a random live stream or something exciting. This week, mere days away, we'll be in Philly and New York. You can get [e-mail] come out and see us. There are a few tickets remaining for both shows so you can get [e-mail] and a reminder, we're giving away a signed Keenan Allen, signed Stefan Diggs, signed DeAndre Hopkins memorabilia [e-mail] that's just a giveaway for our listeners. And the entry on that ends on July 31st. So head over there to footclangiveaway.com and get in on some of that signed action.

[Mike Wright]

So people, August 1st I don't want to be hearing, oh, what happened to the giveaway? Yeah, you've had plenty of time. Get in there.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, get in there.

[Mike Wright]

Win free, win some stuffs.

[Jason Moore]

Because the show is so jam packed and because we have the whole divisional breakdown and the interview with Melvin Gordon and Best Ball Bonanza, we're going to jump right in with a lot of different questions. Not a quick question, a bunch of different questions. So let's do that.

[Andy Holloway]

Let's get divisional.

[Jason Moore]

All right, before we get into the team breakdowns, I want to remind you what happened in the AFC west last year. The Kansas City Chiefs won the division at 10 and 6. The Chargers almost slid into the playoffs. The Bills somehow, but hair away, right? 9 and 7, very close.

[Andy Holloway]

Is that a phrase?

[Jason Moore]

I don't think it's a phrase.

[Mike Wright]

It's a Mike Wright phrase. Yeah, it is now. Butthair.com yeah, that's do not recommend.

[Andy Holloway]

Do not go.

[Jason Moore]

The fact is, Jason looks like he may be checking it out. Just the curiosity.

[Mike Wright]

We're safe.

[Andy Holloway]

We're safe. We're safe.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, because the Is it registered?

[Jason Moore]

Can Mike grab it?

[Andy Holloway]

No, it is. It is purchased. But it's who is just nothing.

[Mike Wright]

What are you doing wasting that prime Internet real estate?

[Jason Moore]

The Oakland Raiders were 6 and 10, disappointing after the year they had previously. And the Denver Broncos were 5 and 11. So we're going to kick it off.

[Andy Holloway]

Chiefs.

[Jason Moore]

Oh goodness, the Chiefs 10 and 6. Rarely do you see such turnover at such an important position. Yeah, as we've seen this last offseason in the NFL, we had this happen and obviously we'll get to Minnesota when we get over to the NFC North. But Patrick Mahomes, the new quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs, Kareem Hunt, burst on the scene last year after the Spencer Ware injury. So there is the storyline of Spencer Ware's return. Tyree Kill the breakout season Sammy Watkins picked up for a cool $48 million. And then Travis Kelsey was a Stalwart yet again.

[Mike Wright]

See Zeus, he is, he does what he does.

[Jason Moore]

There was a time, Mike, if you remember when he was supposed to be Zeus and wasn't Zeus and now he's.

[Andy Holloway]

Just because he didn't score touchdowns. That was what the knock was on him was. Oh, he's great. He's going to get targets, receptions, yards, but he's not really a touchdown guy. I remember going back and looking at all the red zone opportunities saying no, they use him there. He just, you know, it didn't work out. I think they will continue to use him at near the red zone. Even with Sammy Watkins.

[Mike Wright]

I was going to say that the question for Travis Kelsey is Sammy Watkins. I highlighted on the risk reward show Tyreek Hill of how all of his touchdowns this past season were all very, very long place. He had no red zone touchdowns. He was very, very limited when it came to actual red zone targets. Meanwhile, with a granted a different team, Sammy Watkins was a red zone nightmare for opposing defenses, opposing 10 zone nightmare. So will that affect what people are hoping for? We're assuming Travis Kelsey is a top three tight end. What happens if those touchdowns start to Funnel over to Mr. Samuel Watkins who they, they wanted him there. They gave him a contract that says you are a part of the game plan. You're not just a wide receiver too.

[Jason Moore]

I don't think it's fair to do what we do in fantasy and say okay, Alex Smith, he's now out of there and he's in Washington and he prefers his tight end and he's going to throw to the tight end because he always does with Vernon Davis, Travis Kelsey. Look, if Alex Smith moving teams means that he is more prone to throw to the tight end, we at least have to raise the possibility that we just don't know what Mahomes is prone to. Now Kelsey, fortunately we're not talking about a check down tight end like Kyle Rudolph. We're talking about a field stretching speed mismatch seam running tight end like Travis Kelsey. So I don't think that even if Patrick Mahomes is more prone to throwing the ball deep because he has these weapons and because he has the arm strength to do it, I don't think that hurts Travis Kelce. But we still have the unknown factor of what is the rapport like between Mahomes and Kelce when third down comes around, does he look to Kelsey the way that Smith does or does he look to Sammy Watkins or Kareem Hunt out of the backfield? We don't know it because we haven't seen it yet.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, Mahomes coming in is clearly the biggest story. It changes everything for this team. It's why I don't like drafting Tyreek Hill or even Zeus for the reasons you just laid out there at their average draft position. The one guy that.

[Mike Wright]

I'm paying full price for those.

[Andy Holloway]

Exactly. You're. You're paying for what they have done the last two years, which makes sense. They've done it. But with the change at quarterback, I want the cheap option. I want Sammy Watkins near the seventh round as opposed to Tyree Kill near the third round when you know they're almost back to back in my own rankings.

[Jason Moore]

So you're paying for the ninth ranked rushing offense and the seventh ranked passing offense from last year right in those.

[Andy Holloway]

Draft and there's going to be a huge change. You know there can be the narrative that their defense is not what it was. You know, they lost some pieces on defense. The schedule for the whole conference is pretty good. So what do we make of Patrick Mahomes since he's going to be the game changer for the Chiefs? What do we think of him for fantasy? Are you. I know Andy, in the off season you were hyped, you were high on Mahomes. How do you feel about him this season in 2018?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I think that that is from a fantasy perspective I'm conservative. I'm putting him in that 15 range with upside. But from an NFL perspective I think he'll be able to handle what he needs to handle under Andy Reid. I think he's had the time. They saw what they needed to see to let Alex Smith go after a 106 season. So I think NFL impact is there for Patrick Mahomes. I'm a big Pat Mahomes fan. I traded in Dynasty for Pat Mahomes, but I don't expect to get a top 10 season out of Mahomes this season because I think that the up and down nature, the fact that Reed can depend on Kareem Hunt to carry the load when the time arises, it will come down to look, last year they weren't a good defense. They were 25th against the rush, 29th against the pass in terms of yards given up per game. So if that continues and Pat Mahomes has to sling the ball around the field, you're probably going to be happy with him. But I have seen your point is great because he's the storyline. And then when we talk about him or we talk about other quarterbacks, I see comments from people that are oh My gosh, you're crazy. Pat Mahomes is way better than that player. Or, oh, my gosh, you're crazy. Pat Mahomes is much worse than that player. Nobody knows really where to place him, but he's exciting.

[Andy Holloway]

He is exciting because of his arm strength. And one thing that's overlooked, I think, because of his arm strength is his rushing ability. That's what gives me a little bit more confidence for those people that are on the Mahomes side. I'm the lowest of the three of us. I've still got him in the top 20. I've got him at 19. But he, you know, he had 22 rushing touchdowns in college. So he can, he can definitely get out and move. He's an athletic.

[Jason Moore]

It's a strong point.

[Andy Holloway]

He's an athletic guy. So his baseline. It's very hard to have a quarterback that can have a good baseline of rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. Finish at quarterback 25 or worse.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Deshaun Kaiser last year, right. Was not necessarily how you define a running quarterback by any means, but still scored five times on the ground and had 400 plus rushing yards. And when he played, he was a.

[Andy Holloway]

Pain in the ass.

[Jason Moore]

Very relevant. So it's a very good point.

[Mike Wright]

Now, what about the other big subtraction for the Kansas City Chiefs? Matt Nagy, he was their offensive coordinator. Now, he wasn't calling plays at the beginning of the season, but they did hit a point. And especially for Kareem Hunt, Matt Nagy's second game in. That's when things turned around. That's when the Kareem Hunt fantasy dry spell went away. Do you have any concerns for this offense losing an offensive mind like Nagy?

[Jason Moore]

Maybe, but not a lot. And we talked about this when we were at the nffc. We had a Q and A and this came up and I said, look, you've got the mustache in the back of your mind. That's Andy Reid. He is the. Every once in a while, that's what's been tickling Mustache.

[Andy Holloway]

The walrus himself.

[Mike Wright]

My back, head, mustache.

[Jason Moore]

This had nothing to do. Nothing to do with all your organs moving around. All you felt was the mustache in the back of your mind getting you ready for the season, Mike. Because it starts to tingle. That caterpillar starts moving inside. And then, you know, the NFL season is here.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Lots brought up about how Matt Nagy, you know, after that first game he took, he got the carries back to Cream Hunt. But it's like, okay, well, in the.

[Jason Moore]

Beginning of the year, such a Small sample.

[Andy Holloway]

Such a small sample. And in the beginning of the year, it was Andy Reid who was giving Kareem Hunt tons of work. So you, I mean, yeah, I trust Andy Reid. He's the offensive mind there. He's the one that continues to build up great offensive coordinators. So, you know, I think these are going to be fantasy assets in general. I don't want to spend too much for Tyree Kill and Travis Kelsey.

[Jason Moore]

Last question before we move on to the Los Angeles Chargers. Is there a name outside of the mainline names, a surprising name you think that could emerge into relevance from the Chiefs?

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it's struggling. If you take a look at their at the depth charts, I mean it was heading into the off season. Okay, they, they're losing pieces. They lost Albert Wilson. Could this be Chris Conley's time to step up? Sammy Watkins dropped a fat stack of bills on him and said, nah, I'm coming in here. So there's no one I see. And I'm projecting Cream Hunt to have the absolute dominant lion's share of this backfield I hate. Even as the Cream Hunt truth are on the show, I readily admit he will lose work heading into next year compared to this previous season. Whether that is where or Damian or Kerwin Williams, one of them taking work. I still firmly believe though, that Kareem Hunt is the guy. He's the goal line back. He is the best pass catcher on the team despite the success that Spencer Ware has had. And they have a pretty solid offensive line. They're currently heading into the season. Pro Football Focus has them ranked as 18th. So Jason, I'm confident in Hunt.

[Jason Moore]

Last question for you.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

Unless you had a name, Spencer Ware is the only guy. That was my question for you was actually going to be percentage chance that Spencer Ware started in a fantasy lineup in 2018.

[Andy Holloway]

I would say 50% because he's 50.

[Jason Moore]

I thought it was going to be like 15%.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it's about. I'm going to go 8%.

[Andy Holloway]

OK. Spencer Ware was going to be part of their plans and it's all about his health. I say 50% because I think if he's healthy, if he's actually back for camp for week one, then there will be times over the course of the year whether it's due to injury or due to matchup, where he's involved enough and can be at least a DFS play.

[Jason Moore]

Okay, let's move on.

[Andy Holloway]

Chargers.

[Jason Moore]

Let's talk about the Chargers. One of my r. Our absolutely favorite super bowl contenders for the upcoming season ended the year on a run. One of the better scoring teams in football last year, the number one passing yards per game offense in the NFL.

[Mike Wright]

Wow.

[Jason Moore]

We saw really defense step up and be the third best against the pass in terms of yards given up per game. The impact that Joey Bosa has had on that offense or on that defense cannot be denied. So Philip Rivers, Melvin Gordon and company, Keenan Allen and company head into 2018 with the big storyline that happened this offseason is the devastating injury to Hunter Henry. We, as fantasy owners, we're looking forward to seeing him step out of the Antonio Gates shadow, which has grown larger over the years. In a very literal sense, it stayed.

[Andy Holloway]

In place and it doesn't move around and unfortunately anymore.

[Jason Moore]

Look, we've talked through it, but look, Melvin Gordon said this when he was talking at the end of fc. He still expects this team to bring Antonio Gates back. Gates is not expected to go elsewhere. It's retirement or the Chargers. But I look, I love this team. I tweeted this morning that if I had to predict a Super bowl matchup today, July 20, it was Chargers, Eagles.

[Andy Holloway]

How dare you disrespect the Giants.

[Jason Moore]

What did you just say?

[Mike Wright]

Well, that was.

[Andy Holloway]

We'll have hot takes later.

[Jason Moore]

That's not hot. That's like, dude, have you ever been to Venus?

[Mike Wright]

That's hot snakes right there.

[Andy Holloway]

That's not hot takes.

[Jason Moore]

Those are fumes. Hot fumes.

[Andy Holloway]

Anyway, sorry, I derailed.

[Mike Wright]

There's no way.

[Jason Moore]

That's not a derail.

[Mike Wright]

There's no way this is true.

[Andy Holloway]

So I will say this. It was.

[Jason Moore]

I was burned with this Giants thing before.

[Andy Holloway]

I absolutely have. I believe that the Giants are a legitimately, really good team this year. Thank you. I'll be here all day.

[Mike Wright]

Did you know that they picked second in the NFL draft?

[Andy Holloway]

I did. I know that they lost Odell Beckham and Brandon Marshall and even Sterling shepherd and had to go.

[Mike Wright]

Did you go with Brandon Marshall as the second key loss for that team?

[Andy Holloway]

I think that they're going to be a much better team this year and time will tell. Look.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. No, no, no. I'll.

[Mike Wright]

They'll be picking 16.

[Andy Holloway]

When you two said saints were a Super bowl contender last year, you got a lot of grief.

[Jason Moore]

They did not.

[Andy Holloway]

Second, certainly, but they were a bad team the year.

[Jason Moore]

I hope you're right. I like it.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I'm not calling them for the super bowl, but I think they're a contender.

[Jason Moore]

This number three draft accuracy.

[Mike Wright]

He's not calling for it.

[Andy Holloway]

No, no, no.

[Mike Wright]

But if they make it, he wants.

[Andy Holloway]

Credit I'm not saying that they're going to be my odds on favorite, but they are a contender. They're in that group.

[Jason Moore]

All right. Why isn't Philip Rivers being drafted as a top 10 quarterback?

[Mike Wright]

I have no idea.

[Jason Moore]

Number one passing offense, Keenan Allen, dynamic. Mike Williams, second season, Travis Benjamin and Tyrell Williams, deep threats. You know, the knock on. I just don't understand it.

[Andy Holloway]

The knock on Philip Rivers has always been that while he finishes the season, you know, as a, as a quarterback one, oftentimes a back end quarterback one. He's never been one of those. When you games he's just consistent throws for a lot of yards over the course of the season. Similar to what happened to Drew Brees last year. Right. He finishes quarterback 12. But if he played him week in, week out, he wasn't winning you games. But that wasn't the case last year with Philip Rivers. Philip Rivers was winning people games last year and I completely agree with you guys.

[Jason Moore]

Eight of the last.

[Andy Holloway]

He's a great pick this year, especially.

[Jason Moore]

Eight of 10 years in the top 12.

[Mike Wright]

Right, right you guys.

[Andy Holloway]

But usually the back half of the top 12.

[Jason Moore]

Agreed. Agreed. If you get him out of value, you can smile. That's the way it looks to me. I'm very content with him in the later rounds. You know, Melvin Gordon, I've got some heat over it, but I have Melvin Gordon ranked higher than Ezekiel Elliott this year because of what I believe about the roster and the team. I think Gordon is an absolutely locked in workhorse back. And then you're just picking between the very few running backs that get to do that. Love Melvin Gordon. I don't think anybody doesn't love Melvin Gordon or believe in him.

[Andy Holloway]

So Mike has given me grief over the years because Melvin Gordon has very poor efficiency metrics. But even Mike knows that the volume that is locked in. If Melvin Gordon is as inefficient as he was last season and gets the volume he got last season, he'll be just as good as he was last season, which was great.

[Jason Moore]

He was the fifth. He was. He's 25 years old. He was the number five fantasy running back after a number seven year, which is very difficult to, you know, in the NFL only a handful of players do it year after year after year. There are no barriers in the way of Gordon being that guy.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I wanted to highlight Austin Eckler was. Was fine this past season, but 200 yards, 240. Right. And he works in the passing game. But you have. That's the only threat to Melvin Gordon's work, Austin Eckler, which is not. And Justin Jackson, it's. They're not taking him off the field and he is not losing his goal line work. Even the games when Austin Eckler was getting heavily utilized in the passing game, Melvin Gordon was still getting more targets in those particular games. So it's the work is locked in for Gordon.

[Andy Holloway]

As far as the wide receivers, Keenan Allen is a true locked and loaded wide receiver one his first 16 game seasons. I know he's got an injury history, but he's not injury prone. We've got a great article from Matthew Betts that was talking about the difference between injury prone. Exactly.

[Jason Moore]

And frequently injured.

[Andy Holloway]

Exactly. And that's what Keenan Allen is. The real question on this team is that next wide receiver is Tyrell Williams actually of value? He had a great season two seasons ago without Keenan Allen, but Keenan Allen took a lot of the targets. Now that Hunter Henry is gone, will he step up? I believe that Tyrell Williams is the number two, the guy you want.

[Jason Moore]

I assume that was your both of your answer because I was going to ask the question like pick one. Right. You pick one guy. Mike Williams, Travis Benjamin. I don't think any of us are considering him for that. Really? It's Mike Williams or Tyrell Williams. Yes. I've been pretty vocal about my appreciation for Mike Williams, especially in the red zone. And now with Hunter Henry down, I think Mike Williams will end up with more fantasy points than Tyrell who gets in the red zone as well. Or I'm sorry, gets in the end zone as well. But he gets it over the big plays. He gets big plays.

[Mike Wright]

And the way that I'm reading the situation of, because Hunter Henry, he's a deep play tight end as well. So I think Tyrell Williams picks up that slack. It's. It's not a yeah, like I want to fight about Mike Williams versus Tyrell Williams situation, but draft price and what I'm projecting, I would take Tyrell.

[Jason Moore]

We talk so much about the number two option on great passing offenses. This is the number one yards per game offense through the air. So I think that there's value to be had at the wide receiver too. It's not going to just be Keenan Allen.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

It's just a matter of, you know, much like Jacksonville or Dallas or Green Bay. Much more like Green Bay, I guess, who is it? Right. Take a shot on one of them.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

Whoever you believe the most in.

[Mike Wright]

And back to Keenan Allen just real quick because it's.

[Jason Moore]

That's exactly what Philip Rivers says on every play.

[Mike Wright]

Well, he did. He, he definitely said that in the second half of the season. So is that what you guys, you're projecting more of the second half where he rattled up, he went wide saver 2, 4 4. Finished the final week, which is week 17, as number one. However, before that it was, it was spotty and he was still a usable guy.

[Andy Holloway]

I definitely project him more second half last year than first half.

[Mike Wright]

Was that the breakout?

[Andy Holloway]

I believe, I believe the connection is too strong. The success was there for them as a team. So, yeah, Kenan Allen, you know, he's going to be one of those around 150 target type players. There's not a lot of them.

[Jason Moore]

Okay, yeah, I'm with you on that. Keenan Allen proved himself in a big way last year. All right. Before we move on to the rest of the divisional discussions, because I know you want to talk Jon Gruden. I mean, that's just.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I can't wait.

[Jason Moore]

All storylines this year. That's the one I cannot wait to see. So much.

[Mike Wright]

I love you, Gruden.

[Jason Moore]

But let's thank Pristine Auction for sponsoring today's podcast. Longtime partner of this show show. Since the beginning, Pristine Auction has been offering you incredible deals on authentic autograph sports memorabilia. Recent auction prices. Jason, pick up a Kenyon Drake signed Dolphins jersey for $61. Andy, I'm talking to you. Andy, pick up a Corey Davis signed Titans jersey so that you, Andy, can wear it with pride. Mike.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Let's get Jason a little early Christmas present.

[Mike Wright]

Wait, no.

[Jason Moore]

Hey, Turok Cohen signed Bears jersey, $46. And Mike, don't worry, we got you covered. You get yourself a Cream Hunt signed Chiefs jersey, much like the one on our wall for a mere $78 yesterday.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, we know that wasn't me because I already got this one.

[Jason Moore]

That doesn't prove anything. That doesn't. I don't know what you have been stuffing them. War chest of Cream Hunt jerseys. All autographed, all authentic, all the best quality. You can even have them framed on checkout.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Jason Moore]

If you want. And Pristine Auction has been doing it and doing it right for many years. Great friends of the show, you'll want to check them out. And when you sign up for your free account to browse the daily auctions, which there are a hundred, let them know the fancy footballer sent you. Pristine auction.com.

[Mike Wright]

I will say this. I searched for Gruden on Pristine Auction. Little. Little upset. I couldn't find any Jon Gruden gear. I mean, I get it.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, Selling Out.

[Mike Wright]

But hope hopefully soon I can get myself some Jon Gruden gear.

[Jason Moore]

Man. Man. Jon Gruden in autographed 8 by 10, maybe a little 5 by 7 for your mirror in the morning so you can look at him and get inside.

[Andy Holloway]

Belongs right next to your.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, right next to. Is that Hugh Jackson over there?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

The thing about the Jon Gruden picture is they actually, they have to use a dot matrix printer to get that thing out.

[Andy Holloway]

It's so crazy because when he took as a head coach, the whole thing was he's a young gun, a fresh mind. I, you know, are we to the age now? I guess we are. Where it's like the young guns are now like the old curmudgeons we are.

[Jason Moore]

Do you consider Jay Gruden a young gun?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, younger.

[Jason Moore]

He's three years younger than Jon Gruden.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Okay.

[Jason Moore]

54 years old.

[Andy Holloway]

In human years.

[Jason Moore]

In human years. In football years.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

John has age. It's like Bill Cower, if he got hired now, Bill Cower went past the point of where you still wanted him. Right. Or Herm Edwards. Right. Let's look. I'm an Arizona State University fan. I'm not excited about what's going on. Herm Edwards has found his way back into. Not good. All right, let's. Let's jump into. Well, let's just jump into the Raiders. The Gruden disappointing year.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Six and ten after a breakthrough campaign. Derek Carr had ended the previous season with an injury. Came back last season, did not have the offensive line that he had the year before. Not that it was bad, but it wasn't the same. Right. Like he had gone the entire season really without being touched. With plenty of time in the pocket to, you know, to find Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper and his weapons. And, and last year he didn't have as much time and the offense struggled. It was a bad offense. There's no other way to put it. 25th in yards per game on the ground, 16 through the air. Just playing from behind all last season.

[Andy Holloway]

When you have an injured wide receiver 1 ish in Amari Cooper and an injured quarterback in Derek Carr who's talking about how he had broken bones in his back and played through a lot of injury last year, you know, and a bad offensive line, that's a recipe for disaster. Jay Gruden's coming in hoping to change it all. John. John Gruden's coming in hoping to change it all. But some of the off season moves that have been made are head scratchers at Least. And he described his moves. He's gotten rid of some of the people that have been here a long time.

[Jason Moore]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

Michael Crabtree. And he wants hardworking, new, fresh.

[Jason Moore]

New fresh might not be the right. Like maybe mine.

[Andy Holloway]

New, fresh to the franchise.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Because he's gone out and got Doug Martin. Doug Martin, old, busted. He's gone out and gotten Jordy, maybe done. But, you know, 33. So it's been surprising. I mean, would you rather. Would you. If you were the owner of the Raiders, would you rather have Michael Crabtree this year on your roster or Jordy Nelson? I, you know, because they cost about the same.

[Jason Moore]

Fantasy is different than reality. And I believe in the fact that you have to construct a locker room that supports the rest of your team if you're going to win. And if there. If his diagnosis of the locker room is that you needed to bring in a leader, which I think Jordy Nelson has established himself as a locker room guy in the NFL. And if it's negligible on the field and you believe you improve the locker room, I get it. Like, I understand why you make that decision. The trade for Martavis Bryant, I get that too. That was interesting and I think Martavis is interesting. Overall. There are clouds surrounding a potential, you know, this revelation.

[Mike Wright]

Clouds, indeed.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. There have been clouds around Martavis in one way or another for years. Nothing has come to fruition as of now. And he's a favorite basketball pick for me. Yeah, I pick him late in basketball drafts all the time because Martavis, if he plays, he will have monster games. He did it in Pittsburgh and they traded for him because they wanted him where Pittsburgh no longer wanted him. So it's interesting. Jason, one of the guys you talk about a lot as we go through the starting lineup in the fantasy options in Oakland, Jared Cook, you know, I kind of. Well, Crabtree and all those targets, they're gone. Right. You don't really have a premier pass catching back out of the backfield. You have Amari Cooper, who has been inconsistent and therefore you have. You look at Jared Cook and go, wow, that's one of the guys that has rapport with Derek Carr already.

[Andy Holloway]

You know, Jared Cook is just great between the 20s. I mean, he's a first down guy. If you're in any kind of tight end premium league, either you start two tight ends or you get a bonus for, you know, like the Scott Fishbowl, we drafted him. Because you get a bonus for every first down and every reception over the other positions. That's where you want to Take Jared Cook. The problem with Cook is he's never been a red zone guy. I think he averages three touchdowns per season which for tight end is not going to get it done. So he's kind of this higher floor guy that has no ceiling. There's just, he's. There's no walls but he's on a plateau.

[Jason Moore]

No ceiling.

[Andy Holloway]

He's just, he lives up on that plateau. It's a nice plateau he's built. No house on it.

[Mike Wright]

He was tied for the ninth most targets at the position.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Quietly.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, yeah. He's just there.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

When you're Jared Cook, you're Jared Cook. That's the way it goes. Let's talk about send in the car. Are you sending in the car? Last year he was a regression candidate. We all said it. The yardage didn't back up the fancy production and the touchdowns. But I think it went further than we thought it would go with Derek Carr last year did not look like the same player. Is he a bounce back candidate? What would you put the odds of him being a fantasy start worthy revelation this season?

[Mike Wright]

Revelation? I would put the odds very low. He's going to be a fine streaming type of candidate but he fits right in as he's going late. But he's not the type of late round target I want. He's going in the same round as Marcus Mariota. He's going in the same round as Alex Smith. He's going before Dak Prescott. These are guys I would rather take my late round shot of sticking in my quarterback slot every single week over Derek Carr. And it's as much I was thinking about this as much as I'm kind of, you know, poking at the Raiders. I love two players on this team.

[Jason Moore]

Marshawn lynch and Amari Cooper.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, I love them. I have Amari locked in as a wide receiver. 1. I feel like I've been a griefer of Amari Cooper over his career of just giving you a couple huge games, still finishing very high but not being a player you wanted on your fantasy team.

[Jason Moore]

That's because when you, when you take the Polaroid of the top 12 wide receivers before the season, Jon Gruden can he slays it with a Polaroid camera when you take. Yeah, he is. He's good at that. You take the Polaroid of your top 12 every year, back to the future style and then when you, you know, when you shake it and you wait till later in the season, Amari's picture always fades out. That's the problem. Yeah, he's always fading out of that because every year we say the same things. I went back and looked at some of the articles last year I had my 32 bold prediction article right. One of the predictions, Amare will arrive.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh.

[Jason Moore]

Oh. He arrived in one game, Kansas City. It was impressive. He showed top speed which if you.

[Mike Wright]

Recall we had to record early. We had to record our show early the day before that game. And I went Nostradamus.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, you did.

[Mike Wright]

On Mari Cooper having a big game. Just tongue in cheek. I was throwing it out there. But wide receiver ones for Jon Gruden, they put up a thousand yards. I love Amari Cooper. He's not overpriced in this year's fantasy draft. And Marshawn lynch, my goodness, I don't know what I am seeing in Marshawn lynch that other people are not. Where he's going seventh, eighth round and going to give you running back.

[Jason Moore]

I think it's the wrong birth certificate. I think you've pulled the wrong one out and that's what you're seeing differently. No, look, he was. He'll be fine.

[Mike Wright]

He was fine this past year.

[Andy Holloway]

He was very good. His efficiency was. Was.

[Mike Wright]

He was. He was 4.3 a carry. He was still beast mode there was. He got the Kareem Hunt treatment very frequently where that might be how you.

[Jason Moore]

Get 5.3 or 4.3 from Marchand.

[Mike Wright]

No 207 carries.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

I'm saying the way you get that.

[Mike Wright]

Oh.

[Jason Moore]

From this age of Marchand might be 200 carries.

[Mike Wright]

But what I mean by the cream hunt treatment is it's just. It's a random spattering of games where they just weren't giving him the ball. And I don't off the top of my head, I don't know if it was game script. They were trailing so they had to go.

[Jason Moore]

He was the 20th ranked fantasy running back last year.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

And he's going in the first half.

[Andy Holloway]

In the first half of last year he was basically. I feel like he was so underutilized it was criminal. The second half of last year got much better. But the issue.

[Jason Moore]

So Greg Olson gets you going there. Greg Olson the offensive coordinator gets you.

[Andy Holloway]

Greg Olson is my number one issue with the Raiders. I just don't think he is a good offensive coordinator.

[Jason Moore]

And the issue Brian Schottenheimer or Greg Olson?

[Mike Wright]

Oh man.

[Andy Holloway]

Give me Schottenheimer. Oh, seriously.

[Jason Moore]

I think. I don't know who I did.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean I. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Other.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Just in Marshawn lynch was a running back one or two. 60% of the time.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he's good in the court. In the Clinton Portis vein, the issue 10 points is will Doug look, I.

[Andy Holloway]

Believe Doug Martin is busted. I think he is not good, but they just paid to have him come in and I think they're going to give him work. I think he's going to carry the ball 10 times a game. And if he does, if he does get 10 carries a game, then Marshawn lynch can't do enough. I mean, maybe if you're getting him in the eighth round, he's 97 rushing.

[Jason Moore]

Yards per game on the season last year. They'll have to improve that for Marshawn to be in that upper echelon. Last question for the Raiders. I'm going to pose it to both of you. I want to know the fantasy ceiling and floor of wide receiver Jordy Nelson.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, the floor is wide receiver 80.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. The floor is a. A sinister villain pulled the lever.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And it opens up and Jordy Nelson falls into a pit of sharks.

[Jason Moore]

That's.

[Mike Wright]

That's the floor, right? The ceiling.

[Jason Moore]

Or lack of a floor.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, exactly, the ceiling. And I just mentioned this to Jason, okay. There's a world where Jordan Nelson is in fact washed. But Derek Carr leans so heavily on Michael Crabtree in the red zone. And that's where Jordan does Jordy Nelson somehow end up with 500 yards but eight touchdowns?

[Jason Moore]

Yes, it's possible.

[Andy Holloway]

It is absolutely possible. I think he could end up being a wide receiver, too. Is his. Is his, you know, upper ceiling? Ceiling is the word I was looking.

[Jason Moore]

For, the upper floor.

[Andy Holloway]

One thing that's important right above your head is the old upper floor. He was. Jordy was still above average in his game speed. So that's an argument in his favor that he hasn't slowed down above his.

[Jason Moore]

Own average or above.

[Andy Holloway]

Above the NFL average. Whereas we're about to talk about a different team with an older fella who has really dropping in his game.

[Jason Moore]

Ooh, I'm excited to talk about it. So let's talk about it.

[Andy Holloway]

Broncos.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, the Broncos. 5 and 11 last year. And yet a team that is not far removed from, I think, competing in a big way. It's the quarterback position that was the problem last season. They were 20th in the league in passing yards per game. Just 208 passing yards per game. Still one of the best defenses in football. Fourth against the pass, fifth against the rush and yards given up. This was a team that struggled on offense. And case Keenum. To some people, he's the right medicine. To other people, the Bottle's empty. And they don't believe they're going to.

[Mike Wright]

Need more than a single spoonful of sugar for that medicine.

[Jason Moore]

Bring that medicine. Yeah. Look, there are a lot of interesting fantasy dilemmas on the Denver Broncos, starting with Case Keenum and his impact on not only Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, but rookies Cortland Sutton, who we did have the opportunity to speak with at nffc, and Daeshun Hamilton, a player that Mike loves, a player that is very talented and has shown well in OTA so far. You also have Devontae Booker, Royce Freeman and company in the backfield, which, you know, their head coach has come out and said, well, it's going to be two to three main guys.

[Mike Wright]

I love it. The two to. Who's that third guy?

[Jason Moore]

Who's the third one? A, one, B, one, C, Mike. They're all ranked number one. They're all ranked number one. So what stands out to you as kind of your, your main focus on this roster? Is it Case Keenum or is it Jason? What were you talking about with wide receivers?

[Andy Holloway]

My main focus is Demarious Thomas. Demarious Thomas is a guy that I have, I've really loved over the last few years because he has gotten to the age where you could get him at a good value and his targets are going to be there. You know, he was a player with what do you have, six seasons in a row, over 1,000 yards. And he's a big bodied guy, so he can, you know, be great in the red zone. And my, and I have worries with Demaryius Thomas more and more as the season gets closer. He was the player that was below average on game speed. He has lost a step. He's coming into his age 31 season, he had the lowest targets, the lowest receptions, the lowest yards, the lowest yards per reception of the last, you know, six, seven years of his career. Now some of that lowest quarterback rating.

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely throwing to him.

[Andy Holloway]

His quarterbacks were terrible. But we have seen him before succeed with Simeon, seen him before succeed with Osweiler. I think he has lost a step. So for me, that's where, when I, when I'm on the clock and I'm going, man, demarius Thomas or juju, because they're going right around each other and usually I go with the volume number one wide receiver. I worry that we could see, like, put it this way, demarius Thomas has always, to me, had a super high floor. Always. I think his floor is a big disappointment this year. If it's just the beginning of the end, which happens to all players.

[Jason Moore]

It's not impossible. And I say that mostly because his target totals were similar to the year prior. But his production, his production. His production is about the same.

[Mike Wright]

It's about the same. I don't disagree with the fact that Demarys Thomas is aging and I think he has lost a step.

[Jason Moore]

Dara. I think we're all aging.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Every single day I'm older. What I like about Demarius Thomas, Harmon breaks him down in the reception perception of the ultimate draft kit. And he, he mentions this in his write up of demarius Thomas of saying we have seen a shift in the way that demarius Thomas plays football. However, he is turning into a good possession receiver. The, the days of high flying Demarius Thomas are gone. But the days of him still being an incredibly solid wide receiver too are here. He had of the players that at Harmon charted, he had the second best success rate at contested targets. He's.

[Andy Holloway]

He's still a beast.

[Mike Wright]

He still will get the ball away from the defender. He just needed someone who isn't a what a 70 points passer rating type of quarterback.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to go ahead and use the worst analogy I've attempted. My daughter at this point in her like we travel for these live shows from time to time. I always bring her home a stuffed animal at the from the airport. Something from the city brought home a moose. A really pretty pink moose from Minneapolis. It's her absolute favorite. She brings it with her everywhere. She cuddles with it. It's her number one. Demaryus is the coziest number two I could possibly have. Demarys Thomas is a pink moose. No, he's not the moose. The pink moose is that number one that you bring with you everywhere. And that's, that's your Antonio Brown or Julio or whoever it is. I'm just saying he is. I, there's nobody I feel more comfortable with as my wide receiver too than Demarius. I don't want him to. He's not a pink moose is what I'm saying. He won't be a pink moose again.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

His pink moose days are long gone. They went with Peyton Manning and then he's 30 now, so he.

[Andy Holloway]

So Demarius Thomas is not the backup. What your analogy is, you nailed it.

[Mike Wright]

Andy, what do you think about that was the worst analogy. I mean, I'm trying your best.

[Jason Moore]

He's the second best, so.

[Andy Holloway]

But we didn't hear a second best story.

[Mike Wright]

He's just saying no, he's just saying he's not the pink moose.

[Andy Holloway]

Right?

[Jason Moore]

Okay, he's not. But he's still very cozy. He's the coziest number two stuffed animal you could possibly.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. Nailed it. All right, I. I went.

[Jason Moore]

I did preface that properly.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, you did. You nailed it.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. Agreed.

[Andy Holloway]

Through. Thank you. Yeah. Good job.

[Jason Moore]

He's not the pink moose. Don't you understand?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, no, no. I totally get it now. Emmanuel Sanders is.

[Mike Wright]

Talk about a pink moose.

[Andy Holloway]

No, he's not a wide receiver that I want from this team.

[Jason Moore]

That's fair. Because he's cheaper, right?

[Andy Holloway]

He is three rounds cheaper. Usually he's one round cheaper, but because he was dealing with high ankle sprains last year and all the issues with injury, even though he only missed a couple games, he was very injured all last season. We've had, you know, some insider information that usually Emmanuel Sanders is loud and boisterous and he's a character, and he's just quiet going about his business, wanting to get paid again, and he's working hard. He. I mean, they could finish. If Emmanuel Sanders finishes ahead of Demarius Thomas this year, I'm not going to be surprised in the slightest. I think they will, in fact, finish near each other. And Emmanuel Sanders, I can get three rounds later and, you know, pair with Larry Fitzgerald, who's, you know, I can get in the beginning of the fourth.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, no, it's. It's not. It's not a bad point. And unlike Thielen and Diggs, you know, this is a group of a couple veterans now safely. A pink moose to me. That's all I'm saying.

[Andy Holloway]

Heck, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And I think in terms of the Denver Broncos, this, both Thomas and Sanders are playing for new contracts from other teams.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

And that does not mean as much as I like Cortland Sutton and Daeshun Hamilton, this is. This is a future play. I don't see a clear path at all for either of those wide receivers to really make a big fantasy impact. So these. These former pink mooses, they're hoping they don't hit the donate pile.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I agree. At running back, I truly, fully, 100% believe that Royce Freeman will take over a volumous job.

[Mike Wright]

Voluminous volume.

[Andy Holloway]

Is that a word? No, I mean voluminous.

[Mike Wright]

Now I'm confused. Volume us a word.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, that's par for the course. I think he will volume rific end up as, you know, a guy who's going to. He's going to be the lead guy there. I don't think Devontae Booker is a talented running back. We've seen him on the field enough to know what he is. And what he is is a serviceable backup.

[Mike Wright]

So you are not, you're not buying into what we alluded to earlier there. I have three main featured running backs.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, here's the thing. I'm not saying that Freeman, I'm not saying that he's going to be a Melvin Gordon. I'm not saying that he's going to be used in a way where he is a true three down workhorse and the backups are irrelevant. But I think when it, when it comes time for this committee, it's going to be heavily in the favor of Freeman. Sooner rather than later.

[Jason Moore]

We are going to talk about or talk to Melvin Gordon momentarily. I want to remind you, if you want to take your knowledge that you've acquired over this off season and give it a run, see what we think of it, go to draft.thefantasyfootballers.com youm can mock draft there. You can simulate a draft from any position and then we'll grade you. We'll give you a grade based on our current rankings, by the way, individually grade you.

[Andy Holloway]

Andy grades, Mike grades it.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, it's a lot of fun. It's pretty fun. It's free. It's just something you can check out at draft.the fantasy footballers.com you can also. There's a link on the fantasy footballers.com we'll give you a draft grade. It's great. Let's talk to Melvin Gordon.

[Andy Holloway]

You talking to me?

[Mike Wright]

All right, Melvin. What I love to hear from players is the draft day story. Right? I mean, this is a moment you've worked your entire life for. Take me a couple days back, just leading up to it. And who were you with, the experience and how it all felt?

[Melvin Gordon]

I was just with my family. I was just excited to. I mean, I went to school in Wisconsin, born in Wisconsin, went to college in Wisconsin. And you know, the, you know, the Green Bay actually sat me down and told me that, you know, they would have loved to have me, but they don't think I'll fall that far. So I knew, you know, my odds of playing in Wisconsin was low. So I knew I'd be at a different home for the first time in my life. So I was just excited to know where I was going to be at, you know, a change, you know, everything, a change of scenery, change, everything. So I was just excited to know and anxious and, you know, just with my family. And then when the day came, I was actually debating because, you know, I was in Chicago, so I was actually debating or not going to the draft, staying home so everybody could be a part of it. But I was just like, you know, you only get drafted once, and, you know, you only be able to walk the stage once, so you don't want to regret it. So I went there, and, you know, it was. You know, the thrill actually got took away from me. Somebody called me, you know, and I was pissed. Oh, they spoiled the moment for me. Like, the moment where you get the nerves. As soon as the. You know, as soon as the draft started, I got a call from a Florida number. You know, obviously, you know, Tampa was the first. You know, the number. And then you had Jacksonville, like, three or something. So I seen a Florida number. I was like, oh, snap. Like, soon as the draft started, they were like, the draft opened. The Florida number called, like, right. So I'm like, I can't be going. First pick. I was like, I know Jameis is going, but, like, my nerves is just like. And then if someone was like, yeah, you have a nice suit. I'm watching you on tv. I was pissed. I was pissed. I was pissed. It stole my whole moment from me. So, you know, but I still was excited when I got the call. But, you know, as far as the nerves and the. You know, the slow motion going on, they kind of stole that from me.

[Mike Wright]

It's a great story. So speaking for, on personal goal level, we. We were able to talk to David Johnson, and he is quick to say, thousand, thousand. That's my goal. So this. This offseason, we know guys want to walk the team line, but. But we also know we're all human. We're all setting those personal goals for ourselves. Do you have one that you're. You're going after this year?

[Melvin Gordon]

Yeah, I want to be the best running back. You know, that's it. You know, I obviously got my. You know, my team goes and, you know, you know, obviously super bowl and, you know, just getting to the playoffs. You know, I'm not even worried about the super bowl right now. Right now I want to get to playoffs. That's just my goal. I haven't been there yet. You know, I know we got. We got the team. We got the guys to where, you know, we get in the playoffs, it's gonna get. We just got that type of team, and I know we gonna make something happen. So right now, I'm not even worried about the super bowl as a goal. I just want to get to the playoffs and then go from there. But at the end of the day, I want to. I want to be the best running back. I want that rushing title. You know, I want to start getting some respect. I don't feel like, you know, I got none. And quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing about guys, you know, guys keeping me out of the top 10, like, just getting overlooked. You know, I don't really appreciate it because I know I'm better than most guys they talking about. So, you know, it is what it is. I haven't been really able to prove that, you know, just being hurt and things like that, but I know what type of back I am, so I just want to be the, you know, I just want to be the best. Because obviously we got a lot of great backs. So if you come out number one, ain't too much that people can say.

[Mike Wright]

I will say you get a lot of respect in the fantasy football community.

[Melvin Gordon]

Y'all show me love, man. I do get love from y'all, man. So, you know, that's. That's what's up. I have to. I have to. I have to do what I need to do. My first year, I let some people down, you know, so I got a lot of making up to.it was a.

[Mike Wright]

Great year last year. And are you doing anything different this offseason? Because what, what fantasy football players love from Melvin Gordon, that three down skill set, man, we. We love running backs that catch the ball. Guys who are on the field all the time, have they. Has the coaching staff giving you any inclination of that changing? Do they. Do they intend to. Gordon, you're the guy. We'll spell you every once in a while or do you know what the. The game plan is?

[Melvin Gordon]

Nah. I mean, I'm pretty sure that, you know, we got Austin, you know, he could. He could do. You know, he's really good in the passing game as well. But, you know, I've shown that I could do. I can do it. And if I'm hot, I think that's what Coach Lynn goes with. He goes with the high hand. And, you know, I don't. It's not like it's like I need to be taken out because I can't do it. I can do it. And I actually hate being taken out of the game, to be honest, unless I'm tired or something like that. So, you know, I just. I've always been like that. I've been like that at Wisconsin, you know, they just kept me in there. You like to be in there in every down situation because I feel like I'm every down back. So, you know, I don't think they're changing anything. If anything, they're trying to, you know, get us more, you know, involved in the passing game. So that's a good thing for y'all.

[Mike Wright]

I'll get you out of here on this one. Does Philip Rivers know how often he. His facial reactions are used as GIFs and sending across Twitter. It's. Rivers has all the range of emotions and is he that crazy in real life?

[Melvin Gordon]

He's actually a really cool person. He's real chill. He just gets. He brings a lot of energy to the game. That's just who he is. He's actually one of my favorite players on game day just because. Just the energy he brings to the game, you know, it's one of my favorite because you feed off that, you know, just football, this game is all about energy and all about good energy, and he's the best to bring it. So, you know, I. I appreciate him for that, man, but he's, you know, man, he don't have social media, so you don't.

[Mike Wright]

He doesn't.

[Melvin Gordon]

So he don't really know unless someone run it across him, you know, so unless someone do that, he don't know unless his kids or something probably running across him. But, you know, Phil don't have any social media. You know, I've never seen him on Twitter, Instagram. He don't have anything, so I don't think he do. But we used to play like a little pool game and we like, you could send gifts, so we used to send them of him all the time.

[Mike Wright]

So personal favorite is the. What he said, taking that huge deep breath. I'm sure you use that one well. Really appreciate your time, man. Best of luck this year.

[Melvin Gordon]

Thank you, man. Thank you.

[Jason Moore]

All right. That was fun. Fun to talk to Melvin Gordon. Fun to be dwarfed by him in size and stature and ability.

[Andy Holloway]

He is a superhero.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. So. No, it's good. He's one of my favorite players this year. He's one of my flag planters from the top tier guys that I just. I just firmly believe in him. I know you guys understand and respect his opportunity to be a force.

[Mike Wright]

And I like, during the interview, I mean, talking to players, it's hard to get things out of them. They're trained for pr. Don't. But you heard it. Yeah, he was getting heated. He feels like he wants respect amongst the NFL. He feels that. That he gets disrespected.

[Jason Moore]

All right. Without further ado we're going to give you another best ball tip because it's Saturday, guys, which means it's time for.

[Andy Holloway]

Best ball bonanza brought to you by draft.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I had it, too. All right, what do we want to focus on today? A quick best ball tip you can [e-mail] Ballers best ball is one of the best ways to, you know, experience the off season. Draft after draft after draft. So what do you think? What's the best ball strategy?

[Andy Holloway]

We're keeping this one in this in the West.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, talking about handcuffs.

[Andy Holloway]

What do you do with handcuffs, Andy?

[Jason Moore]

What do you do with handcuffs?

[Mike Wright]

I'll jump in here. I wanted to talk about this because I'm asked. Okay. I'm doing my, I'm doing some new best ball drafts. I'm new to the format. Should I be grabbing my handcuffs towards the end of the end of the draft? And for me, it's a no. Best ball is all about maximum points, maximizing everything. You're going for ceiling. And if you are just trying to tread water by, let's say you have your, your star running back goes down and you're hoping that the backup will give you a fraction of the points, you're done. I mean, your team is already toast. It doesn't matter. But if you're able to have your stud running back keep going and then all the. Then out of nowhere, halfway through the league, you have what is perceived to be a handcuff from a different team. Take a starting job, then you are, you are, you have just taken that upper floor, AKA the ceiling. And you, you're now living in a skyscraper because you're, you're. The amount of points you can put up on a weekly basis has taken that teardrum to your jump. So I do not draft my own handcuffs. I draft your handcuffs.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I like drafting handcuffs with those last few picks and other people's handcuffs. But I will say that there is a certain strategy where I do lock up a backfield.

[Mike Wright]

Really?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. If I, and honestly, when I'm doing best ball on draft, I usually implement a very early running back heavy approach. I might go three running backs, four running backs to start. Because those just, you know, go away so much. And I want more wide receivers on my roster than I want running backs. And if I do that, let's say I've got a David Johnson or a Todd Gurley and the other guy, you know, I've got one of those guys and I've got Melvin Gordon and I've got Freeman or something, you know, if the draft falls to me where I'm loaded, that's where I will take only the guys that I'm sure are the handcuff, which to me would be John Kelly, Chase Edmonds, you know, what about.

[Jason Moore]

A situation like Alex Collins though and Kenneth Dixon. Do you invest in guys that are multiple middle to late tier to know that you have Baltimore's running game?

[Andy Holloway]

No, that's where I think I lean more towards Mike's. If I'm taking my middle tier shot at Alex Collins, then I want him to hit. I'm going to take a shot somewhere else. You know, I.

[Jason Moore]

Because you could muddy your roster down with three options you could draft, you know, if you're going.

[Mike Wright]

That's what I don't want to do.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that's going to say if you end up with Montgomery, Jones and Williams and they all share the whole year, you've wasted those picks.

[Mike Wright]

So are you sure that is John Kelly, Malcolm Brown?

[Jason Moore]

I'm not sure of that. I brought that up before Malcolm Brown, they're big fans of him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I am sure.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

But that's only because of my belief in John Kelly. That is not. That's not. Everyone is sure. I would say that everyone is sure. Chase Edmonds is.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, Chase Edmonds is a great last round pick or second to last round pick. I believe he turns into a three down running back. If something happened to the.

[Andy Holloway]

And then of course if there are the. It gives a bump to the pseudo handcuffs like Latavius Murray, Tevin Coleman, those guys who they could score week in, week out but also could have the opportunity to become a beast.

[Jason Moore]

All right, hopefully you enjoyed today's episode. The AFC west will be tackling the NFC west on Tuesday and we'll also have Jerick McKinnon joining us for an exclusive interview at the end of that show. I'm excited for Tuesday. I'm excited for the Philly and New York shows next week. Get your [e-mail] before they are gone. If you are within what, like a thousand, two thousand miles from Philly or New York.

[Andy Holloway]

Three, three, three.

[Jason Moore]

We expect to see you there.

[Andy Holloway]

If you're not, I completely.

[Jason Moore]

I mean they're inventing new forms of plane travel now that just five times the speed of light.

[Andy Holloway]

Wow.

[Jason Moore]

I mean the speed of soul.

[Andy Holloway]

We're getting places quick.

[Jason Moore]

Well, five times the speed of light you can get there from another galaxy is all I'm saying.

[Mike Wright]

We guarantee you will arrive at your destination not in one piece, completely vaporized. You are Stardust.

[Jason Moore]

Go five times to speed light mic.

[Mike Wright]

I'm aware of that.

[Jason Moore]

Chris Johnson did it once.

[Mike Wright]

He. Yes, he certainly did.

[Jason Moore]

All right, that is it for today's episode. Thank you very much for joining the Fantasy Footballers subscribing, reviewing the show, supporting the show. We appreciate you. We appreciate the foot [e-mail] and check out draft.com ballers for the best ball. Goodbye.

[Mike Wright]

See you next week.

[Jason Moore]

Goodbye.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot. Com and follow us on Twitter at theffballers.