
Two weeks till kickoff! The Fantasy Footballers are back with a new episode to get you ready for the season! On today’s fantasy football podcast, Bust and Value picks! Find out which players Andy, Mike, and Jason think are being drafted too high or too
Loading summary
Mike Wright
Foot Clan. We're all kind of looking for a bright spot right now, are we not? Mm. Well, I got one for you. There's a hilarious new series on Apple TV plus starring Jason Sudeikis called Ted Lasso. It's about an American football coach who heads to England to take a shot at managing one of the world's most competitive professional soccer teams. It's an age old story, of course. If you like a show with big laughs and a lot of heart, then this is the one you've been looking for. Watch Ted Lasso right now on the Apple TV app. Subscription required for Apple tv.
Jason Moore
The time is coming swiftly. The middle rounds are now close for the unskilled. Yet here you are unprepared, you fools. This season you will find all kinds of foes eager to watch your drought crumble with wasted picks. There can only be one ultimate draft kit, only one that can bend them to its will. And it does not share power. You must wield the UDK and send your opponents back to the shadows. You shall not pass on this chance to send your league mates into the deep. Fly, you fools. To ultimate draftkid.com.
Andy Holloway
Welcome to the fantasy Footballers Podcast with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.
Mike Wright
Oh, welcome in Thursday, August 27, the fantasy footballers Podcast. Back with you, Mike the fantasy hitman, right, is here.
Jason Sudeikis
I am here. I cannot believe with his schedule.
Mike Wright
Yes, our good friend, that Gandalf.
Andy Holloway
I mean, Gandalf's pretty busy.
Jason Sudeikis
Yes, like you, you know, he's a local wizard.
Andy Holloway
Oh, yes, he. He might be someone's local wizard.
Jason Sudeikis
How dare you insult him and call him a local wizard. He's the world's wizard.
Mike Wright
More of a national, at least regional.
Andy Holloway
I mean, come on, man.
Mike Wright
Jason Moore is here.
Andy Holloway
He's got magic. I am hyped. I'm excited for this show. It's gonna be good.
Mike Wright
We have Busts and Values on today's episode of the podcast. And you can find us on Twitter at the Ffballers. The community is jointhefoot.com you can get in on the meglable. You can find some Foot Clan leagues. You get an extra episode every week. Jointhefoot.com and as our good friend Gandalf reminded you, ultimatedraftkit.com if you want all the tiered rankings, if you want all of the sleepers, breakouts, busts and Values, use consistency charts, 100 plus player profile videos. Sometimes people message me on Twitter and they say, my draft is tomorrow. Do I have time to really get up to speed with the ultimate draft kit. And I think the answer is yes, because not only do you have time to cram, but there are tools for the active draft. You have the app and you can mark players as drafted. You have the printable cheat sheets that you can bring and give you an advantage at the draft.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I was going to say, I mean, it's. It's nice to get early where you can do the prep and look at all of the stuff. But the truth is, if your draft is about two minutes from now, that's when. That's when you're going to use it the most is, you know, look at the tiers, look at the rankings, the cheat sheet. That's my number one tool.
Mike Wright
So this weekend should be the biggest draft weekend of the year. It's possible.
Jason Sudeikis
It is.
Mike Wright
What else is going on? You guys doing all right today?
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I'm doing great.
Jason Sudeikis
I think holding up.
Andy Holloway
I think we're going to have a fun day.
Mike Wright
That is the best you can do in 2020.
Jason Sudeikis
Yeah, hold on.
Mike Wright
Just hold on.
Jason Sudeikis
Just hold on.
Mike Wright
I went. We've been very busy a lot of these days. We have multiple shows. Like today, we're on Sirius XM later this afternoon. I haven't had a lot of time for chores around the house. And it's been very, dare I say, warm in Arizona.
Jason Sudeikis
Yo. That's fair.
Mike Wright
I walked around my backyard last night nude. No, no, no. I have my clothes on, Mike. But thank you for adding some flavor to that story.
Jason Sudeikis
Really seals it in.
Mike Wright
But I'm telling you, like, like, at least a quarter of the plants in my yard are just dead. They gave up. They let go.
Jason Sudeikis
I have a tree in my front yard that's just like, I'm out of here.
Mike Wright
I mean, they're just crumbling into. I mean, this is like the scene from As a Terminator.
Jason Sudeikis
Oh, the blows through the fence. The dream.
Mike Wright
Oh, yeah. I mean, it's over. They gave up. Like we were supposed to get rain.
Andy Holloway
We've had 34 days so far this year with over 110 degrees.
Mike Wright
How do you know stats about that?
Andy Holloway
Google.
Mike Wright
You were just googling them.
Andy Holloway
Now it is on my screen. Okay, I'm following. I'm adding to your story.
Jason Sudeikis
Andy Weather calendar professional over here.
Mike Wright
There are just plans that have given up on any rain anymore. So. But I thought it was like a little bit of a metaphor for 2020 as we're just holding on. The plants in the backyard are holding on hold. We do have a season, and how many days away is the season now, Brooks? I think we're two weeks, two weeks away. Let's talk news.
Andy Holloway
News and notes from around the league.
Mike Wright
All right. Just after the show release yesterday, we had the startling news that David Montgomery.
Andy Holloway
Was out for the season.
Jason Sudeikis
Man, it was, it was rough.
Andy Holloway
That's how it seemed a day after.
Mike Wright
I forgave him for last year.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, Reaper non contact injury carted off. That was the initial thing said and then it wasn't quite so true. He was able to limp off and then taken back on the card and then it comes out that it was not his knee as it was first reported. McGroin, he, he hurt his groin and thankfully it does not appear to be a super long term injury. He's not going to miss this season. In fact, right now it's being reported two to four weeks.
Mike Wright
You ever hurt your groin?
Andy Holloway
I have not.
Jason Sudeikis
I have heard a groin. It is unpleasant.
Mike Wright
Yeah. Uncomfortable.
Andy Holloway
I think we have the audio from when that happened. Yep, there it is.
Mike Wright
Two to four weeks. He does have a chance of being available for the opener against the Lions. We will, we thought about like what kind of analysis. We want to bring something to the table here but we're still kind of learning what they're going to be doing. Depth chart wise they don't have anything traditional. Behind David Montgomery in the running back room. You have Tariq Cohen and that is the instant kind of fantasy football reaction is. But, but the truth is is Tariq Cohen has not been a very good runner for.
Jason Sudeikis
Well, he's a satellite back. He's an oversized guy. He's like, it's like Darren Sprols. Yeah, he'll get some carries but you can't give Tariq Cohen 200 carries. Someone else has to step into that role and right now it seems like that's going to be Cordero Patterson who was a wide receiver and is now converting to running back. But he's had great success in the rushing game. Will they add a veteran? I would put the probability as they will add somebody. Now what happens with David Montgomery in the draft? We I'm siding that David Montgomery is going to be out for up to four weeks. On top of that, you have the, you have risk of re injury here. If he comes back too quickly just throughout the season, it is something you're going to have to worry about. So do you take the draft dip because he's not going to. He won't be a fourth round pick anymore. A guy if you're not, you're not even sure he's going to be ready for week one. He's going to drop down to what? What would you guess? Round? Oh, I was going to say maybe.
Mike Wright
Even 8 if he has a chance for being available at the opener. Look, today's show is values. I had a paragraph and a half written up on David Montgomery. He was my value pick coming into the show. He is not my value pick today. But when you have a player that has a high probability of 275 plus touches in an offense has a chance of being back in week one and you can get that in the sixth, seventh, eighth round.
Jason Sudeikis
So you're going to buy the injury dip?
Mike Wright
I would consider it, yeah. I mean, because he could be back in week one and get 275 carries this year. And that is a price that, you know, who are you grabbing in that realm? Are you going to take Kerryon Johnson in your draft ahead of David Montgomery right now?
Andy Holloway
That's a good name to throw out there because obviously one is the presumed starter and one is the presumed 50, 50 guy in a backfield. And you know, the thing with me is I have not been in on David Montgomery. I just think his ceiling is basically a repeat of what we saw last year with, you know, an extra touchdown or two. That being said, if he does drop into the 8th, 9th round where I'm not relying on him as a starter at all, I'm just grabbing a guy for my bench, I don't think that, you know, I don't think you're going to find a better bench guy for depth. You know that in that part of the draft.
Mike Wright
Here's a great question for you. Are you taking David Montgomery if you drafted today over Tariq Cohen?
Andy Holloway
Oh, that is a good question.
Mike Wright
Because that realm of carry on Johnson, there's James White, there's Tony Michelle, there's Philip Lindsay, there's Tariq Cohen. In that.
Andy Holloway
In that range, because of where that is, in the range of roster construction, I would probably take David Montgomery. I'm not relying unless I'm going 0rb. If I'm going 0rb, then I'm going to take the pass catching higher upside. I'm going to need this guy to start for my team. This might be one of my first two running backs I'm selecting, in which case I'd go Tariq Cohen. Otherwise, the way that I construct my roster, I would be taking David Montgomery in that range.
Mike Wright
All right, we'll keep you up to date on whether the Bears add another body. They have Ryan Null as well with his career of two carries for 8 yards on the depth chart. All right, Joe Mixon has not been at practice. The report this morning was that it's due to migraines. Now, Melvin Ingram on Hard Knocks has set a precedent for what we might start seeing, which is the hold in, not the holdout. And you've had doubts about Dalvin Cook coming to the surface. Oh, is Dalvin Cook, you know, Adam Schefter came out and talked about, oh, if he doesn't have a new contract, I'd be worried about Dalvin Cook. Joe Mixon, another player that's been pining for a new contract, some concerns about a hold in. But now this report of migraines. So do you believe that? I mean, is this a situation that you're just monitoring?
Andy Holloway
You can't really make any distinct call on whether he has migraines, whether he is, you know, doing this as, you know, contract negotiation, you know, piece. What you do need to be aware of is that he is in a contract year, does want to have a bigger contract, and there's at least some risk of that boiling over. I don't expect him to miss any games. But, you know, when you're on the clock and you're drafting in that round in that range and you're looking at Joe Mixon or someone else, you at least need to be aware of it when you make your decision. Now, Andy, he's one of your my guys. Does it give you any pause when you're on the clock? You know, we just had our family league, right, and you went back to back my guys with Josh Jacobs and Joe Mixon. Is there any chance you would not have taken Joe Mixon if this was an important league to you? That was starting today with these conversation.
Mike Wright
Pieces until the migraine report from NFL Network came through this morning. It terrified me like the fires of Mordor. I mean, it's not something you want to hear. I was going to ask you the question, do you think he will consider, you know, me in this whole equation?
Jason Sudeikis
That's true.
Mike Wright
The way I went out on a limb for Joe Mixon, do you think that I will be part of the bridge to a new contract? Thoughts?
Jason Sudeikis
I from Cincinnati, like, we weren't going to do it. And then we heard the confidence.
Mike Wright
Well, the my guy thing, and I'm not taking him back again.
Andy Holloway
So, yeah, I think you are the glue in this situation here, here, Andy. So you. You should give confidence to draft him.
Mike Wright
It's not a good reaper day for me.
Andy Holloway
No. Well. Or you could argue it's a really good reaper day for you. It Was just a matter of perspective.
Jason Sudeikis
Tomato, tomato situation. I don't think Joe Mixon is going to miss games.
Mike Wright
Yeah. Oh, that's good, Mike. Thank you. Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said he. He had seen Adam Gase talking about Frank Gore and he said, I can. I can do that. Pete Carroll says Carlos Hyde will, quote, be a big factor for us, unquote.
Andy Holloway
I've heard Pete Carroll talk about his players before, and here's what they are. They're incredible. They are in great shape. They're ahead of schedule. They're going to be a giant piece of every play.
Mike Wright
Yeah, but ahead of schedule. So that's a comment in the favor of Chris Carson, but then Carlos Hyde in a big factor. Being a big factor for us is against Chris Carson.
Andy Holloway
So do they cancel out all Pete Carroll comments? Cancel each other out? All of them? Yes. You just. There's certain coaches. You just. Here's the actual truth. When Pete Carroll says something negative about a player, that's when the alarm. That's when you go, okay, that's a problem.
Mike Wright
Different angle, though. 261 opportunities for Carlos Hyde last year.
Jason Sudeikis
Here's the thing, though. A big opportunity to me is he will be on the field. He. Carlos side is going to get touches because Rashad Penny was a factor as well. Now, for fantasy purposes, your Carlos side is going to have 10 opportunities, which is more a thorn in the butt cheeks if you are rostering Chris Carson and not so much a. You could play Carlos Hyde unless he happens to get, you know, the 10 carries for 40 yards and the touchdown. And then. So I'm not drafting Carlos Hyde. But he is. He's the backup. He is the backup. If you are trying to, you know, if you want to lock up the entire Seattle backfield, which I don't just. But maybe someone out there does. It's. It's going to be Carlos Hyde. This. This to me is more of a indictment of Rashad Penny is. Is not ready to go, and we don't know when he's going to be ready to go.
Mike Wright
We. I don't know if we've considered it. We need a thorn in the butt cheeks episode.
Andy Holloway
Okay. Yeah.
Mike Wright
Because there are. I mean, there are a number of players that exist only to bring you pain.
Andy Holloway
Yeah. They're not going to provide anything good for your fantasy, but they're going to ruin. I mean, that's why I'm one of.
Mike Wright
The reasons I wore clothes in the backyard. To avoid the thorn in the butt cheeks.
Andy Holloway
Yeah. You don't want that.
Jason Sudeikis
You ever backed into a rose Garden.
Mike Wright
Oh, backed. Backed in.
Andy Holloway
A growing.
Mike Wright
Oh, this show's going great. Let's compound that. Jordan Love has, quote, yet to provide even a glimpse of why the packers traded up to him. That is the camp report from the Athletics, Matt Schneiderman.
Andy Holloway
Now, here's the thing.
Mike Wright
Accuracy issues, quarterbacks.
Jason Sudeikis
This quote was actually from Aaron Rodgers.
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
Mike Wright
Oh, that would be great.
Andy Holloway
Quarterbacks take a long time printed, you know, to develop in certain situations. And the glimpse for why they drafted him could be, you know, down the road. A year or two down the road. But why they traded up to draft a guy no one was clamoring for makes no sense.
Mike Wright
I guess I could have saved that piece of news for once we start the bus segment, maybe. Maybe we'll give it a year or two.
Jason Sudeikis
Yeah.
Mike Wright
Initial reports, Aaron Rodgers not being threatened by Jordan Love's Loves progress. All right, that is it for news and notes, unless Brooks has something for us. Brooks, do you have anything breaking?
Andy Holloway
Nope.
Mike Wright
This is the time of year you got to pay attention to that, even while we're recording. So we've got a breaking news drop. We're equipped. All right. We're going to talk about busts and values. Before we do that, I want to thank today's sponsor, Navy Federal Credit Union. If you're looking for ways to save more each month, look no further. They offer their members great ways to lower their interest rates and save more. One easy option is transferring your credit card balance to a Navy Federal Platinum credit card and saving with a low intro apr. That's a smart thing that you can do. Members save more when they refinance with Navy Federal. Another great way to save is by refinancing that auto loan from another lender and then moving it over to Navy Federal Federal. Plus, when you refi your auto loan, you get a $200 bonus. Terms and conditions apply. It's easy to apply either online or with the mobile app. And Navy Federal members are the mission. Visit navy federal.org to learn more. They're insured by NCUA Credit and Collateral subject to approval. Refinance loan must be at least $5,000 to be eligible for the $200 bonus. Message and data rates may apply. Visit Navy Federal.org for more information.
Jason Sudeikis
And ladies and gentlemen, fantasy football time means that you need to get your fantasy football hardware. You got to get the trophies. You got to get the rings. Well, guess what? You can get both of those right now and save quite a bit of quiche. Fantasychamps.com that is our go to source For. For the hardware so that we can make sure everyone else knows that they are a loser and we are the fantasy champs. And right now, if you buy a trophy or a belt, you can get a free $59 championship ring. Look, you want the ring, you want the trophy. You can't decide. Why not get both? Use the code free ring. If you buy a trophy or a belt, get that free $59 championship ring. Fantasychamps.com use the code free ring.
Mike Wright
Guys ready to talk some bus?
Jason Sudeikis
I think so.
Andy Holloway
Bus.
Mike Wright
All right, busts and values on today's show. We had an early bust episode back in June. I'm going to bring those names up again, see if you are still on board, and then we'll bring you a new name today. Mike, back in the middle of June, you said Stefan Diggs. You think he could be a bust for fantasy football players. Are you still on board with that take?
Jason Sudeikis
I am still on board with the take that Stefan Diggs is going to be. He will still be hot and cold. I think Eve will be even more extreme with Josh Allen instead of Kirk Cousins. The where he's being drafted has altered me. Me saying, you know, just banging the table saying I've never drafting Stefan Diggs, but he is a guy that you're surviving. I, as much as I love Stefan Diggs, I don't want to draft him on my fantasy team this year.
Mike Wright
All right, Jason, you know, part of this show, we say we're staying water.
Jason Sudeikis
Yeah, Jason.
Mike Wright
And we don't just bring you the analytical. We bring you the holistic view. You said Austin Eckler in middle of June was a. Now is that awesome, Echler or Austin excellent? I don't. I don't remember which.
Jason Sudeikis
Why not?
Andy Holloway
Awesome. Excellent.
Mike Wright
Awesome. Excellent.
Jason Sudeikis
He's just superlatives.
Mike Wright
But are you still on board with Echler being a potential bust for fantasy football players?
Andy Holloway
So when I said that he was being drafted as a running back one in June, he was near that, you know, early second round pick. He's dropped quite a bit.
Mike Wright
By Mike or by other people?
Andy Holloway
No, by adp, but he's dropped quite a bit. And now he's, according to what I'm looking at, the 24th player off the board. He's at that 2, 3 turn.
Jason Sudeikis
Man, I have a hard time. That's delightful.
Andy Holloway
I would not label him a bust there. I do. My point in that was that I think you're going to see a major downturn in his receptions. And that's where his real fantasy value came from. I stick to that. But if he's being drafted outside the top 12 running backs, he should, he should return on that.
Mike Wright
So he in essence should not avoid P River because that provided him with the volume in the passing.
Andy Holloway
Oh, yeah. If you're a pass catching running back, that's a delightful.
Jason Sudeikis
Get your trunks.
Mike Wright
We will talk about that later. I brought up Tyler Boyd at the time in June. I have no different feelings about Tyler Boyd.
Jason Sudeikis
Okay.
Mike Wright
There's just a lot of pass catching options there. AJ Green mercifully back at practice. T. Higgins showing out. You've got John Ross involved. Tyler Boyd's very reliable. I just don't get excited about him in drafts. I haven't really. I know I haven't taken him anywhere. So just kind of meh meh on Tyler Boyd. Think he's a reliable number two receiver.
Andy Holloway
Yeah. I mean, the reality on your fantasy.
Mike Wright
Team, like a number two on an NFL team.
Andy Holloway
Yeah. The reality is he had so many targets last year and was okay. I mean, if that's his, you know, if he's just okay when you have that level of volume and now the volume goes away. He's not someone I'm excited to have. I wouldn't imagine drafting.
Mike Wright
All right, I'm going to let Jason kick off our bust picks on today's show because his is a perfect transition from the news there. There has been a lot of talk in jets camp, so I'll let you have the floor.
Andy Holloway
All right. My bust candidate for 2020 is Le'Veon Bell. And last year he was the running back 17, which was, you know, in and of itself a bust from where he was being drafted. But nowhere to go but up. Right.
Jason Sudeikis
Lateral.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I think.
Jason Sudeikis
And down you can go down.
Mike Wright
Just nowhere to go.
Andy Holloway
I think we have a number two problem. Number two. But here's the thing. I'm not just talking about Mr. B hole, Adam Gase. I'm talking about the number two running back on the team is a problem. Last year, Blau Powell was the number two running back in carries. He had 59 total carries on the season. But wait, Powell had 19 carries in week 14 when Le'Veon Bell wasn't there. So when Le'Veon Bell was out, there were 40 total carries on the season that went to the backup. Lev got everything, you know, outside of Christian McCaffrey, Le'Veon Bell was pretty much the next most used guy. And if you remember on our recent My Guys episodes, which if you haven't listened to, please go back. It was excellent.
Jason Sudeikis
I talked about how that's what the people are saying.
Andy Holloway
That is because the people are smart. The people.
Jason Sudeikis
It was an excellent show.
Andy Holloway
It was, it was an awesome show. It still is. But you'll remember when I was talking about as well, in 2017, an awesome Kenyan Drake was on pace for over 1500 yards in the final nine games. And then Adam Gase brought in a 35 year old, old school type of running back, Frank Gore, and he gave him 156. Now you might think, well, yeah, 156 carries in 2018, sure, for Frank Gore.
Mike Wright
I believe that you weren't wrong about his age at the time.
Andy Holloway
I know, right?
Mike Wright
You just said that. And the very first thing I did was, did Jason write down Frank Gore's current age? That's what I thought you did.
Andy Holloway
Nope, nope.
Mike Wright
No, he's 37 right now.
Andy Holloway
Brought in a 35 year old Frank Gore and gave him 156 carries. Now you say, well, that's old school Frank Gore, he's, he's past his prime. Last year, I don't know if you know this, he had 10 more carries. He had 166 carries last season.
Jason Sudeikis
What? He is infinite.
Andy Holloway
But the thing is he's eternal. Yeah, he is all. Adam Gase realizes now that Frank Gore's past his prime. He's old, he's busted. Well, wait, what's that? We have audio from literally yesterday. This is Adam. Let's hear what Adam Gase had to say yesterday on Frank Gore.
E
He looks the same as he did 12 years ago.
Andy Holloway
It's.
E
I can't explain it. It's unbelievable how when I watch him, I mean, a flashback to 2008, he looks the same. I don't, I don't know how, it doesn't make sense. But Frank has been one that refuses to listen to what anybody else says. And he goes out there, he is a old school football player and he looks good, his verse looks good, his vision is never going to change. He's just, that's, it's going to be like that when he's 60 and Frank is Frank's special. I mean there's a reason why he is third all time in rushing.
Andy Holloway
That's not a guy you bring.
Mike Wright
I've already heard that clip and I, it hit me fresh today. I heard that yesterday. Just as insane today.
Andy Holloway
He's not getting 40 carries like Blau Powell got over the course of the season when Lev Bell is out there and the narrative is, well, if Lev Bell has, you know, enough workload, just volume, he gets a Thousand on the ground, 500 through the air. He's going to be a top 15 back. There's just no other way. But I mean, he didn't do it last year. He didn't even have 800 rushing yards last year. Well, he was 3.2 a carry. So I just think Lev Bell is not someone I want on my roster. But I want to make this distinct point because if you look at where he's being drafted right now, he is actually being drafted after I have him ranked in my running back rankings. I have him ranked, I think running back 18 or 19. Right now he's being drafted as like the running back 21. So you say, well, how could that be a bust? Here's how that could be a bust for fantasy. Right now he is being sandwiched in between two my guys in the draft. You can grab Cooper cup and Tyler Lockett right where Le'Veon Bell is going. If Le'Veon Bell is the running back 20 and beats his ADP, he is not going to really help your team the way you need him to. So to me, I can't imagine taking Lev Bell this year.
Mike Wright
I am concerned. The argument, I will say this. The argument for Lev Bell has been about improved efficiency, improved offensive line, improve pass catching and the touchdown totals. Other than Leonard Fournette, he was the most anomalous in terms of opportunities to touchdowns. Those things can fill in the gap to maybe get back to last year or better. I'm concerned because Le'Veon Bell's posting about this. I'm not concerned about a B holes press conference. First time I've ever said that, never said that before. I'm concerned about. And the story for Frank Gore last year was he actually started the year he had. He had three finishes inside the top 24 and to start the year with high volume in Buffalo. He basically disappeared over the back half of the year, which is something that we've seen happen time and time and time and time again with older running backs. You fade in the second half. That could happen too. But Lev Bell's posting about this. You have this tension, this ribbon of tension in jets camp for two years I didn't really want him here. That's what Adam Gaze began this whole journey. Pay him more money than anybody. I didn't really want him here. Then I give him all this work and he's not that good. Then it's oh, we're just giving him a little rest. And then Lev Bell's coming out yesterday and saying, boy, I'm I'm twiddling my thumbs. I don't really know what I'm going to be doing. I don't know why I'm on the sideline. I'm used to room, broom, and, you know.
Jason Sudeikis
Did he say I'm.
Mike Wright
No, he used. He used emojis to show, like the running man with a couple of smoke coming behind him.
Jason Sudeikis
This is what I'm used to. The vroom, vroom.
Mike Wright
He's not happy.
Andy Holloway
He'll get the work. He is.
Mike Wright
I moved him down. I mean, I was an advocate for him two weeks ago. We are paying attention to camp. He's been moved down in my rankings. He's not in my top 10, not in my top 12. I still think, like I said, I made the arguments at the beginning. I think there's an opportunity. But I don't blame you one bit for putting him in as your bust. All right, I didn't like that quote.
Jason Sudeikis
I am going to jump in here and this is dicey. This is dangerous, and I'll just. I'll get it off my chest. Look, my fantasy bust. Keyword being fantasy. It's wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals, Deandre Hopkins. Okay, let me start. Let me start here. He is elite.
Mike Wright
He's.
Jason Sudeikis
Thank you. That's how. This is how I feel anyway, right?
Mike Wright
Let me cover my shirt.
Jason Sudeikis
This is how I feel having to bear my soul to the fantasy community, put myself out there, because this is not. This is not an easy man to take a fantasy stand against. He is elite. He is one of the top three wide receivers in the NFL. He's still gonna be good for fantasy, and he's on our team, and he's on my favorite team.
Mike Wright
Why?
Jason Sudeikis
He's being drafted as the fifth overall wide receiver off the board. That's the problem for Hopkins. Over the last five years, top five wide receivers have averaged 156 targets. That's the. That's the volume on average that you have to get. Now, some guys don't do that because they have, like the huge touchdown year last year, Hopkins had 150 targets. He barely snuck into the top five and games played last year with the. Sean Watson, the quarterback who he's played with for years and years now. He was pulling in 31% of the targets while he was on the field. That was the second highest number behind only Michael Thomas. Last year on the Arizona Cardinals, Christian Kirk had the highest target share when he was on the field. Christian Kirk came in at 24% of the targets. That is a very large gap to Go from the number one guy getting 24% all the way up to 31%. Through the first five weeks, Arizona was running the actual Air Raid system that Cliff Kingsbury wants to run before the personnel kind of crapped out and Cliff realized he couldn't do that. But through the first five weeks, over 50% of the plays, four different wide receivers were on the field. Now, if you want some context for how insane that number is, through that same time period, Washington was second in using four wide receivers on the, on the field. At the same time, 11% people don't use this. This was, this is why people were so excited for Cliff bringing in the Air Raid system. What's it going to do? How will it work out in the NFL? And elite wide receivers, we've seen them change teams a few times and it's just been such a poor hit rate for people going all in on fantasy on someone changing teams. The offense just spreads the ball out too much for me to truly believe and project that Hopkins will be in that 156 target.
Mike Wright
Kenyan Drake, Larry Fitzgerald, Christian Kirk, Dan Arnold, Andy Isabella, Hakeem Butler, Keyshawn Johnson.
Jason Sudeikis
Right. And I mean, I don't want to get into a whole bunch of math, but you can break down the numbers of 70% of the targets went to wide receivers for Arizona, which is by far the most in the league. But still, when you break down the targets and you try to give DeAndre Hopkins the 155 or 156 targets, it leaves absolutely nothing for Larry and Christian Kirk, who are going to get targeted.
Mike Wright
Can I ask you a question?
Jason Sudeikis
Yes.
Mike Wright
Because I feel like, you know, sometimes, you know, people know we're from Arizona, they know we're Cardinal fans. Sometimes we get accused for, oh, you're calling for the Kyler breakout or Kyler's going to be good. That's because you're a hometown fan. I feel like we've been in a different bubble with the DeAndre Hopkins draft price. It's been in the like, I don't even. We haven't been in anywhere where we're drafting him in that wide receiver 5 range. But when you make this argument, how do you see it playing out? Because he's an elite hall of Fame caliber wide receiver. Do you see it playing out in terms of purely consistency issues in Arizona where Hopkins is? I don't think any of us would deny going to have monstrous games.
Jason Sudeikis
Yeah, that's what I'm saying. I'm starting this argument. He is elite. He's going to be great for fantasy. But if you're drafting him as the wide receiver five, I don't think you're going to. I don't think you're going to get the level of consistency that you want from the wide receiver five, I don't think you're going to get the final fantasy finish that you want when you're drafting a guy as the wide receiver 5 he should still. I have him outside of my top 10 in my projections, but that's like by a just a small margin, I expect him to be a wide receiver one. But when you draft the guy at wide receiver five and you're. And he ends up in the 10 to 12 range, it's disappointing.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I have him as my wide receiver five My projections.
Mike Wright
Yeah, you've been in that camp.
Andy Holloway
I think the pace of play is so much faster for Arizona and the total volume. He won't need to hit 30% of target market share in order to have targets like he's seen back in Houston. They didn't throw the ball as much as Arizona does. So I actually do think he has a good season. But I still wouldn't draft him at five because when I'm in those first two rounds and I'm looking at, I mean, I've said this before, in those rounds, I am risk adverse because everybody's great. Everybody's ceiling in the first two rounds is maybe they could be the number one at their position. Hopkins, maybe he could. But changing teams and all the variables that are here say that there's a larger percentage chance that I'm wrong on my projection than I like to have when I, you know, take a look.
Mike Wright
At invest that kind of draft capital. Yeah, he may have more of like from an impact to an offense. He may be number one in football on moving to Arizona and the impact he has on that offense. But that might not translate to fantasy. You talk about risk aversion. My bus pick, JuJu Smith Schuster, he's being drafted ahead of DJ Moore. He's being drafted ahead of AJ Brown. He's being drafted ahead of Cooper Cup. He's being drafted ahead of Calvin Ridley. The metaphor that I have in my mind for juju Smith Schuster, you know how when they release a new television show, they like to have it be right around the biggest hit on the network at that primetime slot.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, yeah.
Mike Wright
So they can pick up right afterwards right after Friends.
Jason Sudeikis
That was the magic slot.
Mike Wright
Look, that prime time, that primetime show was Antonio Brown. That debut show was juju Smith Schuster. And it Came on right after and man, it had a great first season.
Andy Holloway
First two seasons.
Jason Sudeikis
Yeah.
Mike Wright
First two season, even better. Second season, even better second season. But you have now removed that, that, that benefit of the doubt that. And he's still riding the coattails of that number one hit. And the price that you're paying in fantasy drafts is a result of still thinking about that sophomore season that he had and then a tendency for us to want to forgive. Throw away last season in its entirety. It's hard not to.
Jason Sudeikis
Well, yeah, it was trash. And you. The things you do with the trash, you throw it away.
Mike Wright
Yeah. The types of targets that they were getting in Pittsburgh from the variety of Duck Hodges and Mason Rudolph, they weren't very good targets. But it's 2020, guys. We have the technology to look at. I don't think I said that word very clear. We've got it. We can go look and see. Was he really bad on catchable targets last year? And the answer is yes, he was really bad. He was 58th in football in terms of catch rate on actual catchable targets when his own teammate Deontay Johnson was 16th in football at the exact same yards per target. These were the same types of targets. And juju was actually worse. He actually took a step back. I don't think you're going to get what you got in that sophomore year ever again. And one thing that I haven't brought up very much or we haven't talked about in the context of juju is this is a contract season for juju. Smith, Schuster. There was preseason discussion already about this team's not going to extend juju. They go out, what do they do? We say pay attention to what the team does. They go get Chase Claypool in the draft. The argument for juju is, well, maybe that volume from the AB years goes down, but maybe the touchdowns come up. Chase Claypool is kind of a big guy. They brought in Eric Ebron, a red zone monster. Variables around Big Ben, yes, he may be back. He may be the same Big Ben. Maybe he's not. Maybe he is. But the volume isn't there because this defense is so exceptional. They still have Deontay Johnson and James Washington and other weapons in this offense. So again, all busts are in the context of what it costs you in the draft to acquire the player. I am always shocked at where juju is going. I have no other explanation for it. Then it is riding the coattails of these great seasons gone by and throwing out last year. I'm not willing to do it I want AJ I want AJ Brown. I want DJ Moore. I want Cooper Cup. I want Calvin Ridley. So I'm not going to take juju at in the third round.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, it's. It's upsetting because I do believe he is.
Jason Sudeikis
This whole segment is upsetting.
Andy Holloway
I know. Why do we busts are so sad? I do believe juju is exceptionally talented. And while there's been reports out of camp that I was going to say.
Mike Wright
That'S the one thing I haven't mentioned yet.
Andy Holloway
That, you know, he had an exceptional camp last year and has disappeared this year. He's nowhere to be found. Maybe then we get the reverse of the season. Well, I mean, last year.
Jason Sudeikis
Hold on, hold on.
Mike Wright
You just said that the key to a great season is a bad camp. Is that what I just heard for juju?
Jason Sudeikis
I will say the way I read into that report this morning of from the athletic saying, you know, it's hard to find, his reps are limited. I think they're trying to keep their number one wide receiver from being hurt.
Mike Wright
And do you think they resign him though? Because the money that Juju will want being the age that juju is, it doesn't seem compatible with the Steelers like historical philosophy on signing plays.
Andy Holloway
I mean, I listened to some beat reporters, some beads. I've listened to some beat reporters talk about how they think that there is a decent chance that they end up franchise tagging Juju.
Mike Wright
Okay.
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
Jason Sudeikis
I would say that it comes down to does juju have a good year? Does he have a good year? And I fully believe that juju, Smith, Schutzer can. And just a reminder to last year, on top of the quarterback problems juju did have, he hurt his foot and a toe injury. It's always funny to say, well, guy had a toe injury. But if you've ever had a toe injury and then tried to run.
Andy Holloway
When did he get the toe injury, Mike?
Jason Sudeikis
Week one.
Andy Holloway
That is correct.
Jason Sudeikis
So he was hurt right away then he had, you know, the knee sprain and the concussion towards the end of the year. It was just. That's what I'm saying. It was a trash year for everyone in Pittsburgh. And you're just, you're crumpling it up. You're. I'm forgetting that it ever happened and I'm moving forward.
Andy Holloway
All right, I have two final questions on this for you, Andy. Last year in the sleeper bowl league with juju, did we draft juju in.
Mike Wright
The first round to troll juju?
Andy Holloway
Yes. The answer, I'm sorry I missed because of all the extra words. Did we draft him in the first round?
Jason Sudeikis
Yes.
Andy Holloway
And did we win the championship?
Jason Sudeikis
Yes, we did.
Andy Holloway
Oh man.
Jason Sudeikis
I don't. All I know the point is so.
Mike Wright
You heard it here first bad camp, first round pick. That's what I've got from Jason. There's a reason we didn't just do bus on this show. We don't want to bring it all down to a screeching halt. We want to bring you something a little bit more up valuable, more upbeat.
Andy Holloway
Values.
Mike Wright
Our early value show. I'll make it quick. Back in June, Mike, you said to Sean Jackson, is he still a value to you?
Jason Sudeikis
100%.
Mike Wright
Jason, you said Robert woods, is he still a value to you?
Andy Holloway
100%. He was almost going to be my value for this show.
Mike Wright
Okay.
Andy Holloway
He's always, you want to know who's going to be a value next year? Robert Woods.
Mike Wright
I said Ronald Jones back in June. I completely believe Ronald Jones is a value, maybe even more so now. Today we're bringing you one more value pick each. I'll just get mine out of the way here. Yep, he's being drafted as the running back. 56.
Andy Holloway
Oh darn.
Jason Sudeikis
So close.
Mike Wright
Late 13th round and it's Naim Heinz of the Indianapolis Colts. You can go back, you can play Mike's audio clips on the breakout show, which I think was what Monday when he talked about the value of Philip Rivers as your quarterback. If you are a running back that can catch the football, if you're even capable, you're going to get.
Jason Sudeikis
It doesn't matter if you're capable. The ball is coming your way as.
Mike Wright
A running back because when it's almost like a yeah and then it's out of his hands towards the running back. The most check down completions in the NFL since 2017. Number one, Philip Rivers, 124 check down completions since 2017. That is what he likes to do. He likes to take what the defense gives you most often. The defense is going to give you some opportunities underneath. And we have all the debates and the merits of is it going to be Marlon Mack for the first part of the year, is it going to be Jonathan Taylor? These guys are going to split some carries. Look, regardless of who gets the first and second down work, there's going to be a ton of Naim Hines. I truly believe it. He graded out as one of the better, most efficient pass blockers at the running back position. Kind of important when you're a third down back. Kind of important when you have Philip Rivers and his two feet in the Cement and he's. He's great. He's a speed demon. He's 99th percentile. 4, 3, 8. Give him the ball in some space.
Jason Sudeikis
I don't remember that.
Mike Wright
And he fits that Philip Rivers mold we just talked about. Awesome Meckler. And all the camp reports on name Hines is that he is not just a little bit part of the mix. He's essential. He's essential to this team. Marlon Mack pass catching wise, he's never done it. Jonathan Taylor at a minimum inexperienced in the NFL in that type of a role. I think you're going to have just a dynamic weapon in the backfield. And Naim Heinz throughout the season high volume situation. Sigmund Bloom came out and he tweeted a quote that came from the Athletic those watching Colts camp says it's been two straight weeks at Colts camp. Hines has been everywhere. He said he's never seen Hines more active in this offense. Maybe talk of him having 75 catches isn't that insane? That's the Austin Eckler recipe. So. And Eckler was What like a 6 round pick last year where we kind of said okay, this could be a big year. Mike was super in on him. Credit to Mike. Saw it from this from the outset and Hines is not going to have a lot of first and second down work. Echler had that to open the year. You don't expect that kind of a year. But RB56, a free player at the back of your draft.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, if you're in a full PPR league.
Jason Sudeikis
He's.
Andy Holloway
He's a really safe late guy that you can just watch the screen and get to go point.
Mike Wright
Yeah. So I really like him. I think he's a great value in drafts. He's somebody I'm going to be trying to pick up.
Andy Holloway
Here's a player I have been getting often in drafts. I find, you know, when it, when it comes to the Robert woods types, this is someone who's just undervalued and Mike just brought him up on the fantasy time machine.
Jason Sudeikis
We should talk about some more though.
Andy Holloway
But the point is you brought him up as a Calvin Ridley possible breakout. I'm saying that without that breakout happening, Michael Gallup is still a value. He is a value for where he is being drafted right now. He's the wide receiver 31 and last year he was the wide receiver 22 and 14 games. So I have a game to play. I want to play a game. Gentlemen. Who had more fantasy points per game? Michael Gallup or second year breakout? Calvin Ridley.
Jason Sudeikis
Michael Gallup.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, that is correct. Okay, another second.
Jason Sudeikis
Hold on with this game. Is this, is this really a game or is this just. You're highlighting Michael Gallup had more points than all of these players that you're going to bring up.
Andy Holloway
We're going to find out. That's the game. Who had more fantasy points. Jason always wins on a per game basis. Last year, Michael Gallup or second year breakout wide receiver Cortland Sutton.
Jason Sudeikis
Oh, well, let's, let's go with Michael Gallup.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, that is correct.
Jason Sudeikis
Okay.
Andy Holloway
All right, let's get a little harder now. How about Michael Gallup versus DJ Chark. Who had more fantasy points per game last year?
Mike Wright
Michael Gallup.
Andy Holloway
That is correct. And the final one, DJ Moore, superstar wide receiver to breakout who also missed games. Who had more fantasy points per game? D.J. moore. Michael Gallup. It's Michael Gallup. I answered before you.
Mike Wright
I don't feel good about myself when.
Jason Sudeikis
I play jack dirty because DJ Moore technically played in his final game where he got knocked out on the first play.
Mike Wright
But my point is also dirty because I brought this up before. Michael Gallup had a three touchdown week 17. That didn't matter for fancy on it.
Andy Holloway
Take week 17 out. Take week 17 out.
Mike Wright
Two touchdowns on the year through.
Andy Holloway
Through week 16 he was the wide receiver 30. And that was while missing two games. He's being drafted after that. My point is he's a value and the reason he's a value is CD Lamb. CD Lamb is coming in and everybody's worried that Gallup's not going to be able to repeat. The truth is, CD Lamb could make this offense better and be a good thing for Michael Gallup. Randall Cobb left and he had 83 targets as a starter. Now CD Lamb comes into that role. Here are some rookies who had around 83 targets. Tyreek Hill's rookie year, 83 targets. D.J. moore's rookie year, 82 targets. A.J. brown last year, superstar 84 targets. JuJu Smith, Schuster's great rookie year, 79 targets. Alan Robinson, 81. Or Dez Bryant, the man he's kind of wearing. The number had 73 targets. CD Lamb's going to come in and have about the same targets that left from Randall Cobb. Michael Gallup last year was the wide receiver, 22 in 14 games. And he's being drafted. Where I take him almost every time I'm on the clock, where he's fallen to. I'm not, I'm never reaching for Gallup. I'm not trying to say that he's a guaranteed top 15 wide receiver. But this is about where can you get value? And the last point I want to make before Andy's grimacing faces get in here is this when I was thinking about what type of player I want to value in fantasy football. Julian Edelman is a value. Yes, he is. He's being drafted way, way later than he will finish. But the thing is, is he's not going to finish as good as he did last year. And he doesn't have this. He doesn't have this ability or some, some thing that could happen on the field that will take him to the next level. Whereas Michael Gallup, what I'm talking about as a, as just a gentle value, he's going to return more than you draft him on nothing.
Jason Sudeikis
Gentle value? Yeah.
Andy Holloway
Like, like he's. It's just a.
Mike Wright
Not a breakout. You see, It's a. It's a breakout is harsh. A gentle value, not an aggressive value.
Andy Holloway
A slight Val, you're going to get a quality wide receiver.
Mike Wright
Above 31.
Andy Holloway
Above 31. But that is his floor and he has ways to break out. He's coming into his third year.
Mike Wright
The touchdowns, the touchdowns are the most significant one.
Andy Holloway
Yeah. Touchdowns go up two touchdowns in 16 weeks. Amari Filbert gets injured again. I mean, there's. There are so many ways where he could be much better than a gentle value.
Mike Wright
Okay, Andy, as a gentle value, though, are you willing to put Michael Gallup into your lineup instantaneously? Is he your wide receiver too, with no discomfort?
Andy Holloway
I will start him week one as my wide receiver. Two with zero discomfort.
Mike Wright
All right.
Jason Sudeikis
And the nice thing is because it's gentle, right?
Mike Wright
I mean.
Andy Holloway
Yes, exactly.
Jason Sudeikis
Usually when things are gentle, there's no.
Andy Holloway
There's a lot of comfort. Yeah.
Mike Wright
Now you said weeks one through 16, he was the wide receiver 30 last year.
Andy Holloway
He's being drafted at 31 while missing two games. Yes.
Mike Wright
Okay.
Jason Sudeikis
All right. I'm going to bring up a quarterback here. I think he is a tremendous value quarterback. At the end of drafts, let's say you are playing the late round quarterback game and other guys are just like, I was going to target Cam Newton, I was going to target these other players. And then he seems like your plan has gone to pieces. It's just left in shambles. Fear not, my friends, because Jared Goff, the quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, he is still there. He is a value. He is being drafted as the 19th quarterback off the board. His first two years with McVeigh, he averaged. These are his averages over a 63% completion passer over 4200 yards, 30 touchdowns. And he averaged those touchdowns with a 5.8 touchdown. Person Jerry King Jared Girth announcing look, a 5.8 touchdown percent which is a completely. It's repeatable for the Sean McVeigh system. And Jared Goff last year he still had the yards, 4,600 yards. You know, one of the like they're throwing the ball an absolute ton. But you saw the touchdown rate drop from that average of 5.8% down to three and a half. He only threw 22 touchdowns. And that was the difference between Jared Goff being just outside of the QB1 range and the difference between him being a weekly starter that you are very happy about. If you give him simply the league average of throwing a touchdown on every four and a half percent of your attempts, that puts him at 28 touchdowns. That would have been the QB6 on the year. It's like that's how close Jared Goff was. He just him playing average with the volume, the yards and the touchdown column just average. He would have jumped up to the QB6. Had he been able to sustain his 5.8% he would have jumped all the way up to the QB3. Now I don't think he really could have done that. The reason for the huge volume increase was because the efficiencies did go down. My point is simply you make Jared Goff average again and he's easily in the top 10. Look at the weapons that are being drafted for Jared Goff. He has two wide receivers being drafted in the top 20. He has a tight end being drafted in the top 10. Cam Makers is just outside the top 24 at the running back position probably by next week or so. Cam makers is going to slip inside there. Why would you not want the quarterback who has the production makers is going.
Mike Wright
To slip and slide there?
Jason Sudeikis
Who doesn't love a good slip and slide? But Jared Goff is being completely overlooked because he. He burned me last year. He burned you.
Mike Wright
His bad games are really bad.
Jason Sudeikis
The bad games were really bad.
Mike Wright
He turned the ball over 26 times last year.
Jason Sudeikis
Yes. But the actual output, changing him from what he was last year to being right back in the range of a weekly starter is very small.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, the touchdowns are a huge deal here because if you think about how much has been said about the outlandish touchdown number that Todd Gurley had last year, The Rams had 20 rushing touchdowns last year. Right now without Todd Gurley, that's not happening. That's part of why Jared Goff only had 22 passing touchdowns. You can't pass a touchdown on the drive that it's rushed in. And I, that's an excellent point. It's just a fact. And so if, if some of that regresses to the mean, you're going to have more, more touchdown opportunity. The, the one downside was that I did watch Hard Knocks and I saw how now granted it was Aaron Donald, but my goodness, he was just like, sack, sack.
Mike Wright
It's funny. The.
Jason Sudeikis
That part was pretty funny.
Mike Wright
You know, I don't know if it's maybe some of the interception because the interceptions went up last year to 16. I don't know if some of that was. He gets a little bit shell shocked from taking a hit early in the game that concerned the pressure and he gets rid of the ball too soon. His sacks went down last year from the year before, even though that's shocking. But the interceptions went up. Still double, still double digit fumbles.
Andy Holloway
Did you see they gave Aaron.
Mike Wright
All right, we got to end this.
Andy Holloway
Did you see that they gave Aaron Donald a veteran day off. And did you see what he still.
Mike Wright
Got a few sacks.
Andy Holloway
Did you see what McVeigh said about it? No, it wasn't. I genuinely don't think it was to give Aaron Donald the day off he was giving. He wanted the offensive line a break. He's like, we got to let the offensive line have a couple good days.
Mike Wright
Comparing anybody else to Hulk over Aaron Donald is unfair. I mean, that dude is.
Jason Sudeikis
He is.
Andy Holloway
Yeah. If you put Aaron next to Taylor.
Jason Sudeikis
He'S a bad, bad man.
Andy Holloway
It's Aaron.
Mike Wright
No body fat at all. Like I don't know how you can weigh what he weighs and have no body fat, but he pulled it off. All right, that is it. For values. We want to thank Pristine auction. Yesterday a Kenny Galladay signed jersey. Just $51.
Jason Sudeikis
That's smooth.
Andy Holloway
41. If you used the sign up code ballers, it's true.
Mike Wright
Christineauction.com use the code ballers $10 credit. That'll do it for us. We're slip sliding out of here.
Andy Holloway
I'm going downhill.
Mike Wright
Just a gentle exit.
Jason Sudeikis
Thank you for supporting the show. See you tomorrow. 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 the FFballers.
Mike Wright
In a reminder, Foot Clan Navy Federal Credit Union offers members great ways to lower their interest rates and save more. Like their low interest card, the platinum card. It's perfect for large purchases that you might need extra time to pay off or you can save by refinancing your auto loan to another lender. From another lender to Navy Federal and Navy Federal members are the mission. Visit navy federal.org to learn more. Insured by NCUA Credit and Collateral Subject to approval Refinance loan must be at least $5,000 to be eligible for the $200 message and data rates may apply. Visit navyfederal.org for more information.
Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary Episode: Busts & Values + Monty News, Butt Thorns - Released August 27, 2020
The episode kicks off with the hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright, diving directly into the main topics without lengthy intros. The focus is primarily on identifying potential busts and value picks for the upcoming fantasy football season, along with recent player news and updates.
David Montgomery's injury status is a significant topic. Initially reported as a season-ending injury due to a non-contact drill mishap, it was later clarified that Montgomery sustained a groin injury, not a knee injury. This adjustment means he is expected to miss two to four weeks instead of the entire season.
Mike Wright [06:08]: "Well, right now it's being reported two to four weeks."
Joe Mixon's absence from practice raised concerns, speculated to be related to contract negotiations. Despite the uncertainty, the hosts discuss the possibility of Mixon returning soon and whether he might hold out for a better contract.
Jason Moore [12:10]: "You can't really make any distinct call on whether he has migraines, whether he is, you know, doing this as, you know, contract negotiation."
Seattle Seahawks' Carlos Hyde is highlighted as a "big factor" in the team's backfield alongside Chris Carson. The discussion revolves around Hyde taking on more responsibilities, potentially impacting Carson's fantasy value.
Jason Moore [14:03]: "This to me is more of an indictment of Rashad Penny is. Is not ready to go, and we don't know when he's going to be ready to go."
Jared Goff is presented as a value pick in the quarterback position. Despite his previous season's inconsistencies, his potential to revert to form could place him among the top QBs if he regains his touchdown rate.
Jason Moore [34:04]: "Jared Goff, the quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, he is still there. He is a value."
Le'Veon Bell is identified as a potential bust due to his uncertain role in the Jets' backfield. Despite his talent, his performance last season and the team's dynamics suggest he may not live up to his draft position.
Andy Holloway [23:35]: "My bust candidate for 2020 is Le'Veon Bell."
Juju Smith-Schuster is scrutinized for his declining performance and potential lack of fantasy production. Despite his talent, injuries and inconsistent usage by the Steelers make him a high-risk pick.
Jason Moore [30:28]: "If you are drafting him as the wide receiver five, I don't think you're going to get the level of consistency that you want."
DeAndre Hopkins is controversially labeled as a potential bust. The shift to an Air Raid offense in Arizona has diluted his target share, making his high draft position questionable.
Jason Moore [31:01]: "DeAndre Hopkins being drafted as the fifth overall wide receiver off the board. That's the problem for Hopkins."
Naim Hotchkiss is highlighted as a strong value pick, especially in late-round drafts. His role in the Colts' offense and efficiency as a pass-blocker make him a reliable option for fantasy managers.
Mike Wright [43:24]: "He's going to have just a dynamic weapon in the backfield. And Naim Hines throughout the season high volume situation."
Michael Gallup is considered a "gentle value" due to his consistent performance and potential for increased targets with the addition of CeeDee Lamb. His availability in drafts makes him an attractive option for filling wide receiver slots.
Andy Holloway [35:25]: "Michael Gallup had more fantasy points per game last year."
Mike Wright [46:05]: "He's somebody I'm going to be trying to pick up."
Reiterating his value, Jared Goff is praised for his potential to stabilize at a top quarterback position if he can reclaim his touchdown efficiency. His association with talented receivers like CeeDee Lamb enhances his fantasy appeal.
Jason Moore [54:10]: "Jared Goff is being completely overlooked because he burned me last year. He burned you."
Risk Management: The hosts emphasize the importance of evaluating player roles and team dynamics to mitigate the risk of drafting potential busts.
Andy Holloway [10:30]: "Are you taking David Montgomery if you drafted today over Tariq Cohen?"
Value over Popularity: Emphasizing the need to look beyond popular picks, the hosts advocate for selecting players who might be undervalued due to recent performance dips or injury concerns.
Mike Wright [43:36]: "He's a really safe late guy that you can just watch the screen and get to go point."
Position Scarcity: Highlighting the scarcity in certain positions, such as tight ends and running backs, the hosts suggest prioritizing value picks that offer high upside without the associated risk.
Jason Moore [35:28]: "I am always shocked at where juju is going. I have no other explanation for it."
The episode wraps up with final thoughts on the discussed busts and values, reinforcing the importance of strategic drafting and staying updated with player news. The hosts encourage listeners to leverage their insights to make informed decisions and gain a competitive edge in their fantasy leagues.
Mike Wright [06:08]: "He is not my value pick today. But when you have a player that has a high probability of 275 plus touches in an offense..."
Jason Moore [13:35]: "The way I went out on a limb for Joe Mixon, do you think that I will be part of the bridge to a new contract?"
Andy Holloway [35:28]: "Michael Gallup had more fantasy points per game."
Jason Moore [54:42]: "Jared Goff is being completely overlooked because he burned me last year. He burned you."
This episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast provides a comprehensive analysis of potential busts and value picks, backed by recent player news and strategic insights. The hosts offer a balanced view, encouraging fantasy managers to weigh risks against potential rewards meticulously. By staying informed and adaptable, listeners can optimize their draft strategies and enhance their chances of winning their leagues.