Early RB Rankings: 11-24 + Buy/Sell, Elastic Life - Fantasy Football Podcast

Summary

Podcast Summary: Fantasy Footballers - Early RB Rankings: 11-24 + Buy/Sell, Elastic Life

Episode Information:

• Title: Early RB Rankings: 11-24 + Buy/Sell, Elastic Life
• Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright
• Release Date: April 7, 2020

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Introduction

The episode kicks off with light-hearted banter among the hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright, featuring guest Cortland Sutton, a wide receiver for the Denver Broncos. The hosts discuss their favorite donuts, showcasing their camaraderie and setting an engaging tone for the episode.

Andy Holloway [00:51]: "Be a delicious show."

Cortland Sutton [01:51]: "Glazed Donuts. Look, it's... You want to call it basic, that's fine. I accept that."

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Buy/Sell Segment

The hosts transition into the Buy/Sell segment, focusing on fantasy quarterback Matthew Stafford. They debate whether to buy or sell Stafford as a top-12 fantasy quarterback for the 2020 season. Drawing from Stafford's impressive performance before his back injury in the previous season, the hosts lean towards buying him based on his consistent high rankings over the years.

Cortland Sutton [05:26]: "He was having, you know, one of his best years ever... hard to imagine Matthew Stafford not being a top 12 guy."

Jason Moore [07:21]: "I'm not really worried about the durability. I would buy it. I think he's a top ten."

They also discuss the Detroit Lions' potential decision to trade Stafford, with Andy advocating for building a stronger team around him to maximize his fantasy value.

Andy Holloway [08:26]: "I think that Matthew Stafford is a very, very, very capable quarterback... to get a good team around Stafford, who's 32 years old..."

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News and Notes

The podcast covers recent NFL news, including the NFL's plans to proceed with the season amid uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The hosts express optimism about the league's ability to adapt by conducting events virtually, such as the NFL Draft.

Jason Moore [09:56]: "We know that President Trump and a number of commissioners... expect the league to start in September."

Andy Holloway [11:03]: "They absolutely love their money and they're going to keep doing everything they can to make it."

Additionally, they discuss the Kansas City Chiefs restructuring Sammy Watkins' contract, which revenues interest for dynasty fantasy owners.

Jason Moore [14:20]: "The Chiefs have restructured Sammy Watkins' contract... He's back."

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Early RB Rankings: 11-24

The core of the episode delves into the Early Running Back Rankings from 11 to 24. The discussion is rich with analysis, projections, and differing opinions among the hosts regarding various running backs' fantasy potentials.

11. Josh Jacobs (Las Vegas Raiders)

Josh Jacobs is praised for his rookie season performance and potential for increased involvement in the passing game.

Cortland Sutton [24:39]: "I am crazy excited for Josh Jacobs. He is an absolute beast."

Jason Moore [32:26]: "He has a track record of 1100 yards and 76 receptions... easily 1000 yard rusher."

12. Leonard Fournette (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Leonard Fournette is discussed regarding his role and the Buccaneers' offensive strategies.

Jason Moore [30:25]: "They're going to draft somebody, they're going to draft the running back... that is a hard thing to figure out."

13. Austin Ekeler (Los Angeles Chargers)

Ekeler's dual-threat as a rusher and receiver is analyzed, with concerns about his pass-catching volume.

Andy Holloway [33:34]: "He's an offensive weapon as much as he is."

14. Miles Sanders (Philadelphia Eagles)

Miles Sanders' versatility and role within the Eagles' offense are debated, with varied rankings among the hosts.

Jason Moore [36:35]: "I don't see the upside."

Andy Holloway [37:50]: "I have him at 20 because I don't believe the team sees Miles Sanders as a workhorse back."

15. Todd Gurley (Atlanta Falcons)

Todd Gurley's move to Atlanta is explored, considering the team's offensive line and his pass-catching abilities.

Andy Holloway [44:14]: "He is a very good pass catching back..."

16. Melvin Gordon (Los Angeles Rams)

Melvin Gordon’s role in the Rams’ offense and his potential as a fantasy asset are reviewed.

Andy Holloway [45:34]: "He's going to carry the ball 250 plus times."

17. Le'Veon Bell (New York Jets)

Le'Veon Bell's inconsistent performance and his value in dynasty leagues are critically assessed.

Andy Holloway [53:37]: "He is a true workhorse... finishing RB17 with only four combined touchdowns."

18-24. Additional Running Backs

The hosts briefly touch upon other running backs, including Marlon Mack, Mark Ingram, and Devin Singletary, discussing their prospects and roles in their respective teams.

Cortland Sutton [58:45]: "Marlon Mack... has a great offensive line and excellent passer."

Jason Moore [62:30]: "It's a bet on Rivers."

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Elastic Life

While the segment titled "Elastic Life" isn't explicitly detailed in the transcript, the hosts engage in lively conversations about personal life adjustments during quarantine, maintaining fitness, and humorous exchanges about weight gain and home activities. This segment adds a relatable and entertaining layer to the episode, fostering a connection with listeners navigating similar situations.

Andy Holloway [67:26]: "I've been beating my record every day."

Jason Moore [68:35]: "Could you do a show in a pair of your blue jeans right now?"

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Promotions and Advertisements

The hosts briefly promote sponsors Omaha Steaks and Theragun, offering listeners discount codes and discussing the benefits of these products for home enjoyment and muscle relief during quarantine.

Jason Moore [19:09]: "Go to Omaha Steaks.com and enter the code footballers in the search bar to save more than 50%."

Andy Holloway [20:36]: "Theragun... helps you feel relaxed and calm."

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Community Engagement

The Fantasy Footballers announce a Live AMA (Ask Me Anything) on their forums scheduled for Friday, April 10th, encouraging listeners to participate and submit questions related to fantasy football, dynasty leagues, and more.

Jason Moore [02:00]: "We are going to do a live AMA on our forums this Friday... go to footclanhelp.com."

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Conclusion

The episode wraps up with the hosts sharing personal anecdotes about staying active during quarantine and maintaining their fantasy football strategies. They encourage listeners to stay connected through their community platforms and express gratitude for their audience's support.

Jason Moore [69:37]: "Stay safe."

Andy Holloway [69:40]: "Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast."

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Notable Quotes

• Andy Holloway [11:03]: “They absolutely love their money and they're going to keep doing everything they can to make it.”
• Cortland Sutton [24:39]: “I am crazy excited for Josh Jacobs. He is an absolute beast.”
• Jason Moore [07:21]: “I'm not really worried about the durability. I would buy it. I think he's a top ten.”
• Jason Moore [32:26]: “He's... easily 1000 yard rusher.”
• Andy Holloway [53:37]: “He is a true workhorse... finishing RB17 with only four combined touchdowns.”

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Final Thoughts

This episode of Fantasy Footballers delivers comprehensive insights into early running back rankings, strategic buy/sell decisions for key quarterbacks, and updates on NFL news, all while maintaining an engaging and personable atmosphere. Whether you're a seasoned fantasy football manager or a newcomer, the detailed analysis and lively discussions provide valuable information to help you navigate your fantasy football season successfully.

Transcript

[Cortland Sutton]

Hey, this is Cortland Sutton, wide receiver for the Denver Broncos, and you're listening to the Fantasy Footballers.

[Andy Holloway]

Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers podcast with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Jason Moore]

Welcome in what's going on Foot Clan. Andy, Mike and Jason, the Fantasy Footballers. Back with you Tuesday, April 7th. Excited to be with you. Mike is here. Jason is here.

[Cortland Sutton]

Hello.

[Andy Holloway]

Be a delicious show.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. If you're not watching on YouTube, first of all, I suggest you do check it out. YouTube.com the fantasy footballers. But Jason is. He is well placed amongst some bakery items.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, to be exact, my native land of a donut shop. So that's where you can.

[Jason Moore]

When you ran 23 and me, that's where it was traced Back to. That is your lineage.

[Cortland Sutton]

Are they like, welcome home, son.

[Andy Holloway]

23% European, 77% donut.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Not even a heritage. It's just what I am at this point.

[Jason Moore]

What is, what is your favorite donut? If you have to pick one because.

[Andy Holloway]

It'S easily a Boston cream donut.

[Jason Moore]

Really? Not too rich for you. That's too rich for me, I guess.

[Andy Holloway]

You. Thanks.

[Jason Moore]

I guess I'm a fool. Mike, do you have a favorite donut?

[Cortland Sutton]

Oh, we've been over this. There is only one donut.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, yeah, You're Captain Glazed.

[Cortland Sutton]

Glazed Donuts.

[Jason Moore]

That's so.

[Cortland Sutton]

Look, it's. You want to call it basic, that's fine. I accept that.

[Andy Holloway]

But it's the best quarterback score the most points. You got to get them. That's that kind of tip.

[Jason Moore]

That's what you compared it to?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

You can find us on twitter @the ffballers. Today we have, I think, the even more exciting running back ranking by far. We're going to talk about our consensus early running back rankings. We just did the top 10 on the last episode of the show. We're going to start with 11 and see how far we can get. We have some news to cover today. We're doing buy, sell, maybe some mailbag. Very excited to announce this. We are going to do a live AMA on our forums this Friday, April 10th. We're doing it at 2pm Eastern, 11am Pacific, and it's going to be a lot of fun. You can post any and all questions. If you've got dynasty questions, if you have draft commissioner rules, donut questions, whatever you have, you can participate this Friday and you can post your questions now you can go to footclanhelp.com we're going to help the foot clan out and that'll take you right there. And you can Post your questions and participate with us on Friday. Like I said, April 10th at 11am Pacific, 2pm Eastern.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going to try to answer every single question. I don't know what I'm putting myself out there for.

[Jason Moore]

Well, you got nothing to do.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I mean, here's the deal. This is extra content. We, you know, people have questions. We're going to answer everything at Foot Clan. Help. That's. We're here to help the Foot Clan.

[Jason Moore]

Well, that makes sense. That makes sense. Mike, your shirt is throwing me off today.

[Cortland Sutton]

Why is that?

[Jason Moore]

I know it's probably supposed to be some sort of style.

[Cortland Sutton]

It's tie dye.

[Jason Moore]

Is it? But it's like a dirt with white tie dye.

[Andy Holloway]

It looks like a mechanic wearing a white shirt after a long day of oil changes.

[Jason Moore]

Keeping us all done.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, no, it's very nice.

[Jason Moore]

I guess I do see the tie dye now. It's interesting. We'll move on.

[Andy Holloway]

Buy or sell? Presented by Pristine Auction.

[Cortland Sutton]

It's too much for the webcam. I get it.

[Jason Moore]

That's all. I mean, that's all. I mean, we actually, Jason and I both, after setting up a studio that looked exactly like yours, we renovated since then.

[Cortland Sutton]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Cortland Sutton]

Like, I went through all the trouble to make sure that my shot was looking as cool as possible, and then you guys just kind of gave up on that and you started using wizardry to transform.

[Jason Moore]

I don't know what you're talking about.

[Andy Holloway]

You know how hard it was to set up this recording in this donut shop during quarantine. So how dare you?

[Jason Moore]

Are those stale? That was probably really stale. Here's the buy, sell question for today, guys. And we're talking about Matthew Stafford. It's simple. Buy or sell Matthew Stafford as a top 12 fantasy quarterback in 2020. If you want some context, last year he played eight games before the back injury. He was great. He was the quarterback six. He was the quarterback six. In fantasy points per game. We already know what a weapon Kenny Golladay is. Stafford was having, you know, one of his best years ever. And 19 touchdowns, five interceptions. So what do you think he was.

[Cortland Sutton]

Pacing for 5,000 yards and 38 touchdowns. Now, I. I'm not saying I think he was going to hold up for those types of numbers, but that was the production that he had put up in half the season. He was absolutely outstanding. And it was. I mean, this was almost like we were transported back to early young man Matthew Stafford, where he was just slinging the ball down the field as far as he possibly could because he was the leader, he was the man throwing the ball deeper more than any other quarterback in the NFL because he's surrounded by Kenny Galladay and Marvin Jones. It was a bit surprising with the, the coaching staff in tow, that that was kind of the game plan that they were going with. But it's, it's, it's hard to imagine Matthew Stafford not being a top 12 guy if there's no reason to think that the offensive game plan has really changed for Detroit. I know they, they want to be, you know, we're the tough, we're the tough running guys, but if the run is just going to set up Stafford throwing the ball like 30 air yards every single tempt, then Stafford will be great for fantasy.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. If you were to take a look the last several years, you know, let's say he finished this full season and what was he? Quarterback six. If he finished in the top 10 this last year, that means three of the last four years he was a top 10 quarterback. Quarterback number seven in 2016. Quarterback number seven in 2017. So I think there's a lot of reason to buy it, and the truth is I would buy it on a points per game basis, but I think you're going to possibly see more of the same. The back injury he's dealing with is significant. So, I mean, when you say at the end of the year, is he going to finish in the top 12? I think that's a matter of does he play 16 games? So, you know, I would have to go to the judge here and say, is this a top 12 end of season ranking or a top 12 points per game? Whatever.

[Cortland Sutton]

Points per game. Jason, answer the question.

[Andy Holloway]

If it's points per game, I think he will be, he's, he's been that most of his career.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I'm not really worried about the durability. I know last year, you know, if they were fighting for a playoff spot, he might have come back towards the end of that year. And he's been one of the healthiest quarterbacks, one of the more durable quarterbacks until last year. I'm going to buy it. I think he's a top ten. I really do.

[Cortland Sutton]

Let me get, let me ask you guys this question. This, because this is not really, this is not fantasy, but Detroit, they are third in the NFL draft. And I have kind of just been thinking about it a little bit more and I'm of the mindset that Detroit, the team, the team, they would be better off if they could somehow. It's probably too late to trade Stafford, but they should have traded Stafford and taken to at number three.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean, I think that Matthew Stafford is a very, very, very capable quarterback. I think he could take you far into the playoffs if you gave him a good team. I don't know that they're able to do that.

[Cortland Sutton]

That's what, that's the problem.

[Andy Holloway]

So to me, I would trade back from the three and get a haul for someone trading up for TUA and use, you know, the hall of picks to actually put a good team around Stafford, who's 32 years old and he's, you know, he's that strong armed quarterback type that I think could play till he's 38.

[Jason Moore]

This is one of those situations. Mike, you talked about it earlier. You were saying, oh, they want to be this running team. I, that's out the window. They have to be a win, win some games team or Matt Patricia is going to be gone. So I think that that would be the thing that gets in the way of, of a reinvestment in a new quarterback and a rebuild. Patricia has to win games or he's gone. He's gone after this year. So. All right. So, yeah, I think I'm excited to see him back on the field, that's for sure. As a reminder, buy or sell brought to you by Pristine Auction. Check them out@pristine auction.com use the code ballers and get a little credit towards your first sports memorabilia purchase. Let's talk some news.

[Andy Holloway]

News and notes from around the league.

[Jason Moore]

We're all thinking about it, whether we want to talk about it or not. What's going on with the NFL this year? I mean, really a lot of fear out there, a lot of unknowns. I mean, we're sitting here at the beginning of April and, well, people want to know, is the NFL going to actually have a season this year?

[Cortland Sutton]

I would like to know that.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I would too, and I, I understand it. But, you know, we can't put our head in the sand and recognize that there aren't a lot of challenges between now and September. That being said, we do have some news. We know that President Trump and a number of commissioners from a variety of leagues had conversations about sports and the leagues getting started back up. We didn't get any negative news out of that meeting. If anything, you could spin it as positive. Although ultimately we're grasping at straws as a nation trying to figure out timelines on anything. That being said, they expect the league to start in September. Adjustments are being made day by day by the NFL to accommodate more and more things in a virtual format right now, including a memo on Monday sent to the 32 teams saying the entire NFL draft will be conducted entirely outside of all team facilities and, and in a fully virtual format. But it is happening on time, on schedule. What are your reactions to that news?

[Andy Holloway]

My reaction is that the NFL, and this is kind of what I've said from the beginning, they absolutely love their money and they're going to keep doing everything they can to make it. And so look, they, I mean, this is very inconvenient for players, for general managers, for everyone involved. And the NFL is like, well, deal with it because we've got a schedule and we're going to make our money. So I think that this is great news for all us sports fans out there, all the football fans just showing the resolve to be willing to bend and change and do what it takes to be on time, to be on track to have football. I'm very optimistic that, you know, whether or not fans are there, which, I mean, honestly, I'm at the studio watching games anyways, you know, I think it'll start on time.

[Cortland Sutton]

I think that the only downside of the draft is just, it's for the players where if they, if this is the moment that they've been dreaming of, I get to go on stage, I get to give the commissioner a hug and stand there because I was drafted in the first round. To me, that's really the only downside of this. I think that the, the GMs and the coaches, those big boards are set, they know what they're doing. I mean, the only things that could come up would be like last minute trades or somebody drafts a player is falling and then you have to do the why is this player falling down? The draft board, is there something that we don't know about? But I think that they should be able to handle all of that in the virtual format. So to me, this is, I think this is great by the NFL. I know that they are probably doing it for different reasons that financial reasons, but for the country to actually have a sporting event. It's not a live sport, but it's still a sport event that we all get to enjoy together. I think that this is very positive for the country.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, sports are really the one thing that people do at the same time together in terms of television events anymore with all the on demand everything else. And I'm excited to have that event in whatever form it comes. I know Roger Goodell's got to be thrilled. He's not going to get booed this year.

[Andy Holloway]

They'll find a way.

[Jason Moore]

They'll find a way. But, you know. Yeah, it'll be very interesting. And I, you know, I know you joke, Jason, about the league. They want. Maybe not joke. You tell the truth. They want their money. But we just got through a CBA negotiation where 49% of the money goes to the players. So all of these leagues, I mean, you talk about the livelihood of hundreds and hundreds of players as well, that I'd like to see, you know, not displaced. So excited about that.

[Cortland Sutton]

What I want is Goodell. Give Goodell like a soundboard. So he could be up there hitting drops, like making funny, wacky DJ sounds or. And then he can go up there and he can have himself booed. It would be a great moment.

[Andy Holloway]

That would be the only way he'd get applause. Just go up there and hit an applause track. It's like, yes.

[Cortland Sutton]

Are we gonna, like, just lean in? Know that he would have been booed. So if he hit a boo button, like, that would be really funny.

[Jason Moore]

Are we gonna find out this is all broadcast only on IG Live or something? Is that. That's where we're gonna end up?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, right.

[Cortland Sutton]

They're gonna put this. This is gonna be on every channel.

[Jason Moore]

It'll be like a full takeover, like a presidential address. We interrupt this regularly scheduled broadcast. Hey, more news that you'll be interested in. The Chiefs have restructured Sammy Watkins contract.

[Cortland Sutton]

It finally happened.

[Jason Moore]

$9 million for 2020 incentive package. We knew that Watkins was not going to play under the terms of his other deal. He was either going to be out the door or renegotiating the contract. I thought he'd be out the door. I was wrong. He's back. And the Chiefs, I mean, ultimately, from a stability standpoint, it's a good thing.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And in reality, he is definitely not out the door because it included a no trade clause was part of his agreeing to restructure. He's more to take the discount to play with Pat Mahomes, the Super bowl team. You know, it's good news for, I think, Pat Mahomes good news for just about Everybody except for McCall Hardman, who I know a lot of Dynasty owners were hoping that one of these other two free agent wide receivers on the team would not be back. And they both are. So now he's going to have to really prove his way into the lineup, not just inherit it.

[Jason Moore]

And the Chiefs also signed Ricky Seals Jones making his return conveniently for the show.

[Cortland Sutton]

He's making the rounds.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he is.

[Andy Holloway]

Would you Say he's a really good handcuff, though. I mean, no, not, not one that you would put on your redraft roster. But I'm saying if Kelsey were to go down, don't you think Seals Jones would be valuable there?

[Cortland Sutton]

Yeah, he'll have.

[Jason Moore]

He would definitely. He would. He'd run around.

[Cortland Sutton]

So I will put him as a player that will be on a waiver wire show should Travis Kelsey get hurt, but I wouldn't.

[Jason Moore]

Fair enough.

[Cortland Sutton]

Don't ever talk about handcuffing a tight end.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm just saying back in the day, Trey Burton was so valuable behind Zach Ertz and you know, he's Trey Burton once.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Okay. All right. Eric Ebron says he's not 100% cool.

[Andy Holloway]

He wasn't supposed to be, though. I mean, this is, this is his scheduled surgery. So, I mean, they. He signed this contract. This isn't like new scary news of it's not going well.

[Jason Moore]

And then the Bears, some news out of Bears camp. Ryan Pace talking about open competition at quarterback between Nick Foles and Mitchell Trubisky. If he means that, how does Nick Foles not win the starting job?

[Cortland Sutton]

That's. That's a very fair question. I just, I'm shaking my head of that. Yeah, I feel, I feel for the Chicago fans. You traded up from three to two to get your guy or your team, I should say. They traded up who was supposed to be your franchise quarterback and you're already at the spot of he has to win his job against Nick Foles. I'm saying this like we went through this in Arizona with. We thought we were going to have Josh Rosen and they were going to have to be stuck with it. So Chicago fans at least applaud your team that they are. They have one foot in the waters of trying to bail out.

[Jason Moore]

This is the transitional period of time to get out from a top five pick. Not working out. You have to make him compete for the job so that you have deniability when you've. When you give him that job and he flames out or something of that nature. It sucks. I mean, this is the nightmare scenario for anybody investing a high draft, especially.

[Cortland Sutton]

Quarterback, especially considering that this team is one double doink away. That was the. They were going to go to the super bowl, right?

[Andy Holloway]

Yep. Yeah, they were. They were very close. Has anybody ever kind of failed as a top five pick for this many years? And then like he was challenged to compete for the starting role and then all of a sudden it clicked and they became a great quarterback.

[Jason Moore]

Look, I think you exaggerate how many years he's failed. I mean, like Mike just said, they were on the precipice of the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. Last year was a struggle. No question about it. He deserves to be challenged for the job and doesn't look like the future. So. Has anybody ever done that? We'll find out. We'll find out if he. We'll find out if he can. If you throw it to Alan Robinson, maybe a little bit more.

[Cortland Sutton]

Well, he did do that a lot.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. All right, we're going to move on. We're going to get into the main event on today's show, which is the rest of our running backs, the consensus early rankings. Before we do that, I want to thank today's sponsor, that's Omaha Steaks. Look, if you're staying home, which I know you are because we all are, there has never been a better time to stock up on Omaha Steaks than right now. We've talked about it repeatedly. It's perfect.

[Cortland Sutton]

I had it for lunch.

[Jason Moore]

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[Cortland Sutton]

I have done. I have made some Omaha breakfast burritos.

[Andy Holloway]

Some steak and eggs.

[Jason Moore]

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[Andy Holloway]

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[Cortland Sutton]

I've had to bust out the theragun lately. I don't know if you guys, if you guys know this. Grown adults not meant to jump on trampolines anymore.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, we are not meant to. Yeah, I've had a trampoline injury as.

[Cortland Sutton]

An adult, but the children have asked many, many times because we're trapped at home. So I've obliged as much as possible also, you know, getting my cardio in, but by the end of that thing.

[Jason Moore]

All right, early running back rankings, part two. Starting at number 11, you can hear our top 10 early running back rankings on the previous show. These are half PPR rankings. Rookies aren't included in these rankings as they have not been drafted yet. But I'm really excited about today because I have some questions that I need answers to and I'm hoping you two fine gentlemen can help me. And they begin with this guy here at number 11, and his name is Josh Jacobs, running back for the Las Vegas Raiders.

[Cortland Sutton]

Oh, goodness.

[Jason Moore]

He sits at 11 on Jason and my rankings is at 10 on Mike's. But I, you know, today we're going to talk about Jacobs, we're going to talk about Miles Sanders as well. And we'll probably get to Devin Singletary. All three of those players are in some ways bewildering to me. And I think that there's a certain category of players, especially in dynasty leagues, that all three of those guys fit in where they are hard to trade, they are hard to trade for, but they're harder to trade away. Because when players are coming into year two that have each shown potential and that's what Jacob Singletary, Miles Sanders have all done, I think for fantasy owners, it's very easy to sit there and say, what if they are lt? What if this is the next whoever? You know, cmc? That is a hard thing to figure out as a fantasy owner. So with Jacobs, I think we all know the potential is there. Last year he finished at RB18 as a rookie, but that was in 13 games. He had some top tier weeks. I mean, week one, he finishes the number six running back. Week five, he was number three. Week nine, he was number four. So we saw it. But are we going to see it more consistently, especially in the passing game in 2020?

[Cortland Sutton]

I am crazy excited for Josh Jacobs. He is an absolute beast. Like you said, in 13 games that that's all he played and he had 1150 rushing yards and that's including in week seven, if you remember, he hurt his shoulder. He like, I mean, he hurt it badly where he had to leave. He had to get the magic shot, but came back, finished strong and then kept going for five or six more weeks and had some really, really excellent weeks. The very disappointing thing for Josh Jacobs was if you watched his call, his tape, you knew that this dude was a very capable pass catcher. So you felt like you could project real targets for him. That didn't happen. Only 27 targets. But if you listen to what is being said by the brash for Las Vegas. Yeah, I said brash.

[Jason Moore]

Okay.

[Cortland Sutton]

I thought you said that I threw a little H in at the end. I don't know why that happened.

[Jason Moore]

I actually feel like I was. That was really unfair of me not to jump on that when I would clearly do that if Jason had said it.

[Cortland Sutton]

I handled it. Don't worry about that.

[Jason Moore]

You meant the brass? The brass, yes.

[Cortland Sutton]

I don't know, whatever. But general manager Mayock, there was, there is a quote about him to talking about Jacobs and his kind of lack of passing production and what they hope will be happening for him but here's the quote. If he has to stay in and knock down a defensive end, he has to do it. If the linebackers come in, if he has to scan. Those are hard things for a rookie running back and we didn't want to put too much on his plate, but he certainly has the capabilities to do it. So this to me was, this was a pass blocking thing that they didn't want to put him in situations where he would fail or they felt like he was going to get Carr killed. So they, they went with Jalen Richard, they went with DeAndre Washington, guys who have been in the league, then they know that they could trust him in the pass block situation. I think honestly that is it. I expect that the target share is going to go way up for Josh Jacobs. There was still a lot of targets to the running back position from Derek Carr last year. Between Jacobs, Richard and Washington, it was 21% of the Raiders targets. So it's not that they aren't throwing to the position, they just weren't going to Jacobs. And I think that number goes way up. He's easily 1000 yard rusher assuming he stays healthy. And if you get him up into the, I don't know, just the 1240s, if you get him up into the 12% target share, he's going to be dominant. He could end up easily as a top five running back.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that's, that's really all it comes down to for Josh Jacobs. We've talked a lot on the show over the last couple of weeks about Derek Henry and Nick chubb and their 1400 yard rushing seasons and can it happen again? Josh Jacobs was on pace for 14, 15 rushing yards. He's excellent. And Mike, you're right, his, his skill set is there, but at the same time it was there last year and they just didn't utilize him in the passing him. His 16.

[Cortland Sutton]

Just trust, man.

[Andy Holloway]

Just 25.

[Jason Moore]

But that trust still has to be earned for this season. He can still fit. I remember last year we were on the Lefko show and he brought up the, you know, this is that off season hype train situation where it's like somebody says something, it's like, ooh, is that a story or is it a story? And it was about Aaron Jones. We said the same thing about his involvement in the passing game. Jacob still has to do it because you know, this is a situation where if he doesn't, Jalen Richard got re signed to a two year deal and they'll just throw him in there and.

[Andy Holloway]

That'S what I was going to bring up is basically they. The quote says we're going to get it more involved. The money in the transaction says they value Jalen Richard to your $7 million deal to be a part of this team. So I think Jalen Richard's role isn't going to just evaporate. And if he keeps that role, then that's why I've got Josh Jacobs at 11. Otherwise he should be a top six running back.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he's got more upside than most. And anytime you're in a situation where you can go from, you know, 20 receptions to 30, 40, the area of his strength in college, there's a lot of optimism. And obviously we have him rated inside the top 12. So number 12 is Leonard Fernet. I've got him at 14. Jason has him at 12, Mike at 11.

[Cortland Sutton]

Yeah, I don't like it.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, yeah. Now that you see it, it's.

[Cortland Sutton]

Yeah, it feels bad.

[Jason Moore]

I don't think it's going to happen. I don't think he can get up there again.

[Cortland Sutton]

See, that's. It feels bad because I do. I think he's just going to end up as a top 12 guy.

[Jason Moore]

Six receptions from 22 the year before. Receptions.

[Cortland Sutton]

Yes. And I get that that will, I don't think that's happening again. 76 reception, 76 receptions. But what also will not happen again is a guy getting 265 carries over 11, 1150 rushing yards and getting three rushing touchdowns. So, I mean, you just, you, you just balance that scale a little bit. You raise the touchdowns up to seven or eight, you bring the receptions down by 30, maybe 40, and I think you still end up with a top 12 guy.

[Jason Moore]

Aren't you worried about the potential of this offense, though? I feel like the, the, the pendulum can be swung pretty far in both directions with Gardner. You don't have foals there anymore. If this offense struggles, I don't think it's a foregone conclusion that Fournette ends up with more than five touchdowns. Personally, maybe.

[Cortland Sutton]

I mean, just, just historically speaking, if you have that many yards, you're not going to end up with three rushing touchdowns. I mean, he, he had a ton of opportunity. He had the third most touches for a running back. Like, it's just, it's insane that he ended up with three rushing touchdowns. And I personally, I believe that Garfield.

[Jason Moore]

They'Re going to draft somebody, they're going to draft the running back. This is going to be the team that, that submarines top tier value. In my opinion, that is 100%.

[Cortland Sutton]

The question.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't. I don't think they're going to draft a replacement or someone to come in and have an rbbc, maybe to be more of what the TJ Yelden role was and a better pass catcher because even though, I mean, they utilize him in the passing game a lot, 100 targets. But, you know, you could see it. You could see the difference between him catching a ball and, you know, a Christian McCaffrey or, you know, an awesome Echler where when they grab the ball, it's thoughtless, it's in stride, you know, they pick up the extra yards. But he is built for that role. He is currently still on that rookie deal. I think they're going to run him into the ground. He'll be a workhorse this year and the reality is if he doesn't get injured, he's going to be near the top 12 just from volume alone.

[Cortland Sutton]

Yeah, I was going to say that they're going to DeMarco Murray him. Like they're just. They're going to use him up. They're going to put another 300 touches on his body and not resign him.

[Jason Moore]

I struggle with that concession because of the fact that they're not going to resign him. And they didn't win with this game plan. This game plan did not lead to a successful season. Giving Leonard 4 net this amount of work, not having options behind him. I would. I would be. I'm expecting them to draft a running back in those first three rounds.

[Cortland Sutton]

Wow. Okay. So you feel like a day two running back.

[Jason Moore]

I think that they're one of those teams that might consider that. Yeah, but they haven't yet. So as it stands right now, you have a track record of 1100 yards and 76 receptions to go on. This was a guy that was the running back eight back in 2017, dropped all the way to running back 40 in 2018 and only eight games and then right back at RB9 last year. So right on that edge of RB1 territory, you guys both have them inside of it. I have them just outside of it. I think at this point you're just waiting to see if the shoe drops at the draft. And if not, you probably have 250 plus carries, right?

[Cortland Sutton]

Yes, he will be a player that you're not excited in the slightest to draft, but he will if, if they don't spend a day to pick on a running back, lock it in his. He's going to carry the ball 250 plus times.

[Jason Moore]

All right. Austin Eckler comes in at 13 he's number 13 on Mike's rankings, early running back rankings. He's number 13 on mine as well. Jason has him at 18. I am not going to disparage that disparity. Okay. Because this is a player that's very difficult to project. I love the contract, but the amount of variables that the Chargers are facing this year with a different quarterback, with what's taken place, Melvin leaving, you know, Echler is going to have to do what he did last year, which is catch the football. 92 receptions, 993 yards, 8 touchdowns, 8 touchdowns through the air. That's a tough number to repeat. Just 132 carries on the ground that could go up. But Jason, talk to me why you have concerns about getting him inside your top 15?

[Andy Holloway]

I have concerns because he's a pass catcher as much as he is. I mean, he even talked about it when he was on the show. He's an offensive weapon and Tyrod Taylor is not someone. I think he's going to utilize him anywhere near the degree that Philip Rivers did. When Austin Eckler was on the show, he was saying when the, when the play breaks down, Tyrod is able to make something happen with his legs. Philip Rivers can't do that. When the play breaks down for Philip Rivers, it's always dump it down, check it down. That was his out. And so you had Austin Eckler last year, you know, fewer than 600 rushing yards. But he was a great fantasy option because the passing game. Go back and look at, you know, when, when Tyrod took over that Buffalo team, he had Lashawn McCoy, one of the best pass catching backs in his prime. And he caught 32 balls. The next couple of years it got up to 50. But that was a workhorse back. That was a guy who was on the field at all times. And that's not what Austin Eckler is going to be. He's going to be, you know, even if he's the lead dog and they don't go out and sign somebody or draft somebody in the draft, he's, he's not going to be a workhorse guy. His running totals are going to be low. So if his receptions aren't up near the level that they were this last year, I, you know, that's where I see him more as a back end RB2 as opposed to the sensational fantasy.

[Cortland Sutton]

Asset he was this year, I'll jump in. It's. Echler is very tough to navigate. I liked that he talked about when he was on the show that the team views him as an offensive weapon and not trying to force him just to be a running back. I totally agree. The checkdowns won't be there but there will be plenty of designed plays that the that Austin Eckler will be the first target if they don't add someone in the draft. And I'm talking to the Chargers and they're moving forward with Austin Eckler and Justin Jackson. Those guys are basically both the same size. I mean they're both 200 pound running backs. So this isn't like well Justin Jackson's the big guy who's going to go in and grind it out and be the Melvin Gordon role like echler may see 175 carries. Even his targets definitely will go down. And just to speak to that, historically you know running backs with 90 plus receptions since the year 2000 it has happened nine times. Christian McCaffrey repeated then generally speaking the other guys saw a massive plummet talking like 40 plus plummet of receptions the following year. So we'll see if that's what happens. But the contract, the fact that I don't think they can spend a higher pick on another running backs. I believe that Austin Ecker will be the leader of the timeshare and still see 60 plus receptions.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, my ranking is a reflection of his talent and them figuring out how to get a talented player of the football. Kind of the way people used to view Darren Sprols in fantasy drafts.

[Cortland Sutton]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

Who kind of found his way near the top. I could see the carries going up, the receptions going down and maybe the fantasy finish going down a little bit. Let's talk about miles Sanders at 14. He's one of six rookies ever with 800 plus rushing yards, 50 plus receptions and 500 plus receiving yards. That is a great rookie season, especially from week 11 on where he had three finishes in the top 10 at the running back position. He is very difficult for me to figure out a value on in dynasty leagues. Jordan Howard is gone. Sanders proved to be a great weapon. I think we all agree the Eagles are a candidate to add offensive pieces in the draft. They haven't added them thus far in free agency and I think Miles Sanders has the capability to really improve upon 179 carries as a rookie. Where do you guys sit now? I have him at 12. I have him on the fringe. Got him on the edge. Jason's got him down at 20. Mike at 16. I agree his range of outcomes is wider than many running backs at this range. But I right now I Just don't see other weapons in Philadelphia that I have confidence in.

[Cortland Sutton]

I did like that they used him like once he became a starter at the end he was seeing solid volume inside the 10. He saw seven carries inside the 10 once he was the starter at the end of the year. Amazingly efficient through the air. There were three running backs over over 40 targets who had a yards per reception over 10. Austin Eckler, David Johnson and Miles Sanders. So like he was in great company for elite pass catching running backs. But I'm with you Andy, that of his range of outcomes, if he told me Miles Sanders is the running back eight, I'd say yeah, that makes sense. If you said he had he finished the season as a running back 32 like Ah, yeah, that may make sense. It's like what is Doug Peterson going to do? Because we've never seen him commit to one running back being the primary guy but we also haven't seen him spend us spend a second round pick on a running back. So he is all over the place to me and just very, very risky, but really high upside.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean from my vantage point I think Miles Sanders is a good player. The reason I've got him down at 20 is solely, I mean if the, you know, when we're making these rankings we've got to weigh in what we think the odds, you know, the probabilities are here. And I don't think there's a very good chance at all of the Eagles going in with basically Boston Scott and Miles Sanders as the two running backs and not adding someone significant in the draft. You look at last year and how the, how the season played out. Once you got to about week six, all of a sudden Jordan Howard became the guy. They're like he's the better running back and they made him the starter over, you know, Miles Sanders who got the start from weeks two through five and he was dominating. And then through those weeks when Jordan Howard was dominating, they were Giving Miles Sanders three carries, six carries, three carries, 10 carries. It was like Jordan Howard they viewed as better. Now at the end of the season, Miles Sanders was very good and so is that. But that was without Jordan Howard. That was with Jordan Howard gone for a lot of those. And so I just don't believe that the team sees Miles Sanders as a workhorse back, as a three down guy who can carry the load. And so my ranking is based on what I expect the Eagles to do as a franchise, as a team that's always been heavy. Rbbc. He is talented. I mean I Don't think ranking a guy at 20 is, is really that bad for a guy who, you know, unless he's getting 265 carries. But I don't think that's going to happen.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he was. He finished at RB15 last year despite the slow start. This is the home. This is where I want Carlos Hyde to go. Just for the record, I'm petitioning Carlos Hyde to arrive in Philadelphia and that would make me feel very secure in my top 12 ranking of miles Sanders if that was to happen.

[Andy Holloway]

So I'd move Sanders up a little bit that that's such a good place for him. He's just like, all right, Carlos Heide, Philly.

[Jason Moore]

And he, Miles Sanders was another player like Josh Jacobs that I think there was a confidence level in the rookie running back versus, you know, a guy coming in in his second year. So we'll see what happens. There was always impressed with Miles Sanders at Penn State and obviously impressed with those rookie numbers. But hey, who else is going to be part of that committee? Todd Gurley comes in at 15. Mike's got him down at 19. I have him at 16, Jason at 13. We've talked a lot about Gurley so we don't have to linger here very long, but obviously goes to Atlanta. It's an ideal situation for him considering the possible outcomes from leaving the Rams. We know the history, it's illustrious, it's great, it's awesome. We know what Devonta Freeman's look like in Atlanta the last few years and I do worry a little bit about whether we're going to relive some of those type of seasons with Todd Gurley, but the opportunities before him on a high powered offense. So 16 feels fine to me. It feels fine.

[Cortland Sutton]

Oh, man. I feel like if I left a draft with Fournette and Todd Gurley, that will just be the most meh. I've ever felt about anything. It's probably fine, but you just are not. You will not feel like you've. You're reaching for the stars. You're just like, yeah, I mean, I.

[Jason Moore]

Know how that draft like girly in the fifth round and then I'll feel better about it.

[Andy Holloway]

I know how it feels. My Dynasty team, my two running backs are Todd Gurley, Fortnite. Oh, okay, I'm back. I'm back to.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, this is a reward. A reward ranking. Is that what that is?

[Andy Holloway]

No, this is not a reward ranking.

[Jason Moore]

Where was Fournette? Let me see where Fournette was for Jason compared to. Okay, all right. Mike was a little Higher. All right.

[Andy Holloway]

No, this isn't number one and two. Yeah, exactly. No, I think that Todd Gurley has plenty left to give. The offensive line last year was horrendous and they're bringing him in on a one year contract. There's no reason not to.

[Jason Moore]

Which line are you talking about, the Rams or the Falcons?

[Cortland Sutton]

Both.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, they're both bad. But my point is last year the Rams offensive line completely fell apart. The health of that line. Do you remember at one point they were trading for guys, backups to immediately come into a starting role because they just had nobody to play and then those guys got injured, you know, so I don't think all of it was on Todd Gurley last year as far as his efficiency coming down from the years prior. You know, he. He played 16 games. And I think that when you look at the beginning of the year, how they were really taking it Easy on Gurley vs the second half of the year when they said, hey, we got to make playoffs, we got to go. And they really used him. And he was very good for fantasy. He was a top 10 back during that stretch. Atlanta has him on a one year deal. Go use the guy. See what you got. You've got Dan Quinn here who is, you know, you talk about Matt Patricia needing to win Dan Quinn. We were waiting every single week this last year for him to get fired mid season. It didn't happen. Ido Smith is a turd. He's not good.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, no.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Shout out to you, my man.

[Jason Moore]

Art, Rex Ryan is speaking right now.

[Cortland Sutton]

No, that was a good man.

[Andy Holloway]

That good. Good. No, that was a shout out to my bud Rex out there. Look, Edo Smith is not good and so there's. They're going to give.

[Jason Moore]

What about girly?

[Andy Holloway]

That's. It's funny. I will give. I will give you that. It's funny. But no, I think Todd Gurley.

[Cortland Sutton]

It's up to you, Todd.

[Andy Holloway]

What you become a good asset here. I mean, the biggest issue for Todd Gurley was all of his receptions disappeared this last year. Well, Matt Ryan is going to utilize Todd Gurley. In the past game, he utilized Devonta Freeman for years. They lost Austin Hooper. So yeah, I think Todd Gurley has enough work. I'm not that scared of the knee. Maybe that's foolish.

[Jason Moore]

But 59 receptions last year for Devonta Freeman in spite of, you know, despite a very bad year. Seriously, 59, I do not remember that. Just 6.9 per catch though, because they didn't go very, very far because he.

[Andy Holloway]

Was done and only 31 receptions for Todd Gurley last year, who is clearly a very good pass catching back as seen the two seasons previous.

[Jason Moore]

We talked about it. It might be the right exit strategy for the Rams and still a good situation for Gurley for a year. Mike's got him at 19. He's got him the lowest. Say something bad about him for a minute before I move on.

[Cortland Sutton]

Well, I can say that the utilization of the running back was interesting. Over in Atlanta, they had 11 carries inside the five and to put that in perspective, Frank Gore himself had 11 carries inside the five.

[Jason Moore]

Wow. Yeah. It's going to come down to those touchdown numbers and how often Gurley can get on the field, whether they end up sharing the load, a little bit of whether. It looks like it does right now that he'll have the majority of it. Damian Williams. Mike, I saw when you were going through your initial running back rankings, Damian Williams is our number 16. By the way. Jason and Mike both have him at 15. I saw you at him at 15, Mike. I hadn't seen your rank yet. Jason, this is another player you put, you know, you got those three second year guys that have question marks about their value and those guys are ranked, by the way, in order of confidence. For me, really, I have most confidence in Jacobs. Then it's Miles Sanders in a Singletary. But Damian Williams, I don't know.

[Cortland Sutton]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

I don't know what kind of situation you are in where you have confidence in Damian Williams.

[Cortland Sutton]

Well, so Damian Williams, as I was building up the stats and remembering it, it was a wild ride with Damian Williams and trying to remember all the intricacies of what actually happened for Kansas City, of they go into the off season, they declare full confidence in Damian Williams, he gets hurt, he starts missing a whole bunch of training camp and they have Carlos Hyde there and all of a sudden the reviews of Carlos Hide and training camp are absolutely glowing. And so glowing that they traded Carlos Hyde away. Damian Williams comes in as the starter or he finally gets back on the field, is the starter, gets hurt right away, comes back, doesn't seem to have his job, which was strange because, you know, Shady's doing okay and Darren Williams is there and. But eventually he does get his job back and he was actually excellent. He was excellent for fantasy purposes down the stretch of the regular season and then the freaking playoffs. Holy crap. When he puts up 46 carries for 46 for 190, apologize. 46 for 196 with four touchdowns, 94 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns on 20 targets.

[Jason Moore]

He did the Sony Michelle. He did the Sony Michelle play up front.

[Cortland Sutton]

Yes. And what was interesting about it is you look at his actual snaps when he's on the field for offensive plays that skyrocketed. Absolutely skyrocketed in the playoffs. In the regular season, he had never seen more than 73%. He saw no fewer than 85% of the offensive snaps during the playoffs. When it was time to win, they went all in on Damian Williams. Shady McCoy became a healthy scratch. I. I went with the ranking of 15 because he also could go very. He could go way up or he could go way down. This is all based on the draft. What kind of capital do they spend?

[Jason Moore]

It's too high for me because what.

[Cortland Sutton]

If they don't draft anybody until the fourth round? What if they don't draft anybody at all?

[Jason Moore]

Then I'll probably come around like you guys convinced me to do last year. But there were five games that Damian Williams was valuable for fantasy owners last year during the regular season. And the reality is the second Andy Reid had the opportunity to bring somebody in, there seemed to be frustration with the injury situation for Damian Williams. I highly doubt that they want to be in that frustrating situation again this year. So my confidence of putting him there is based on the evidence of last year. I know the playoff run was great. And I have no doubt it's Kansas City. Insert name here.

[Cortland Sutton]

Exactly.

[Jason Moore]

Full time running back as. And they belong in the top 15.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, and what you just said is synonymous for Damian Williams. It's just an insert name here. That's who he is. I've. I've long stood that he's not a very good running back, which is.

[Cortland Sutton]

Are you seriously still holding on to that?

[Andy Holloway]

I.

[Cortland Sutton]

Did you watch the playoffs?

[Jason Moore]

It depends on your definition of good, Mike. Because if you play five games, if you give fantasy owners five out of 16 relevant games. I'm not talking about good for fantasy.

[Cortland Sutton]

I'm not talking about fantasy. We're talking about. Jason has held onto this. He grasps as he's falling off the cliff saying that Damian, he's not a.

[Jason Moore]

Good between the tackles runner compared to a lot of.

[Cortland Sutton]

Is he a good running back?

[Andy Holloway]

Is he a good football player? I'm saying what Andy is saying. He's not a good quintessential running back, but is he super fast? And when you get him the ball out on a screen when the whole defense is looking elsewhere, oh my goodness, he's fantastic. Look, I. I've got him.

[Cortland Sutton]

Where you had a hundred rushing yards in the super bowl against San Francisco was awesome.

[Andy Holloway]

In the super bowl he was awesome. I mean, I've seen bad players have great games. I'm not saying he's a bad player.

[Jason Moore]

I'm just saying different dynamic between Derek Henry running the football and Damian Williams. They do it differently. That doesn't make him bad. It just. It's not prototypical.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike, you and I have him at the exact same spot. We both got him at 15 because I think the value for fantasy is clearly evident and is there. And you combine that with the fact that the Chiefs only have five picks. So it's is a matter of are they going to use that on a running back? The fact that they only have five says it's going to be more difficult to do. Maybe they sign some undrafted guys or get some older vets like they tried to do last year with Carlos side and Shane.

[Jason Moore]

We did this all last year. This is all a repeat. We did all of this last year. He finished RB35, so he doesn't get that placement in my rankings. That's why he had a great playoff run. He probably should have been the mvp. He. He made Mike see visions of what he could have been during the season if he had been healthy and gotten the ball every week. That's what. I'm not doing the same thing every.

[Cortland Sutton]

That's fine, but. But then it just sounds like you're projecting Damian Williams to get hurt.

[Jason Moore]

No, I'm projecting Damian Williams not to be leaned on. They didn't have a choice but to lean on him in the playoffs and right now they didn't have another option.

[Andy Holloway]

Right now they're going to put themselves.

[Jason Moore]

Into a position to have another option.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, and then my rankings will change because right now they just don't have anywhere else they can go.

[Jason Moore]

Last year I was so resistant to him and I just started moving him up and up and up as we got closer to the year because it seemed like he would have that opportunity. And maybe you're right. Maybe it's really more. Maybe it's Burns, maybe it's fantasy Burns that are biasing me a little bit.

[Cortland Sutton]

But that is totally fair. Look at it. The final five games of the regular season. Running back 8, running back 16, 64. Because he got hurt in that game. If you want to hold that against him, that's fine. And then he comes back running back 14, running back four. That's how he ended the year.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, now you're right.

[Andy Holloway]

But it was just a span.

[Jason Moore]

It was spanning eight weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I was going to say that was a month long gap. You left out there because he was injured and that's why he finished running back 30, whatever.

[Jason Moore]

Look, this started off by saying he's a very difficult player to rank, period. I like, I want more information. I need more, I need more from the, I need the drafts and I need some more of this, this off season. But I get it right now. He's a Super bowl champion and he's the guy in the backfield. Here's another hard player. All right, let's talk about Lev Bell. Le Veon Bell last year finished as the RB17. This was a troubling year from Lev Bell. 245 for 789 and 366 receptions, which is respectable, but just 461 yards on them and one touchdown through the air. The toughest thing when you look at his consistency over the course of the year, yes, he finished as a relevant fantasy player pretty much every week, but no, he didn't really give you a weak winning performance ever. I mean, he had one finish in half point leagues inside the top 10. And, and he was like, nine is okay for me. I'll just go to nine.

[Andy Holloway]

I had three other performances at 10. Isn't that inside the top 10? That's just, that's always hard when it's the semantics of saying, is he inside the top 10? Because now he's done it four times.

[Jason Moore]

That's the kind of argument that Lev would make to you about how he had a good year. And that's not, that's not what we need right now. As fantasy owners were burned by what took place. In one respect, you're like, how could it be worse than what you got from Love last year, big contract, the team struggled. You imagine it's got to be better. Now he sits at 17 on our rankings, so we're sitting him near the top end of the RB2 range. Jason, you got him at 14. Mike at 22. I'm at 17 on the dot. Yeah, but Adam Gaze, man, he just. His aroma, it just covers all players on that roster.

[Cortland Sutton]

Stop talking about it.

[Andy Holloway]

Their offense was obviously very bad last year. Lev Bell was not efficient and everyone was disappointed when you drafted him, which means he's not going to be desired this year. People are going to assume it's all gone and fallen off. But he is a true workhorse. He is out there on almost, you know, every down. He's the receiving back, he's the goal line back. He's the first down, the third down, he gets the volume. He finished as the running back 17 this last year in 15 games with only four combined touchdowns. I just don't think that he's getting 245 carries and 66 receptions and staying in only four touchdowns. You also had the beginning of the year when Smooches, their main quarterback was out.

[Jason Moore]

Wait, I thought you're talking about Jason JD McKissick for a second.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, that's. That's awesome.

[Cortland Sutton]

He was actually a little bit better in those games.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. No, no, no, I realized that. No, I know that in the splits with and without Sam Darnold, but I'm talking about the team as a whole, the offense as a whole. Because for him to get more than four touchdowns, it's not a matter of is he better with Darnold without it's are the jets going to be able to take any step forward? They've tried to address the offensive line this year, which is was obviously a massive problem last year they were so bad. But I'm just saying another year, you know, you've got now year two in stupid Adam Gaze's system. But with a young quarterback developing in a better offensive line, he's still going to be the Bell cow. And if he finished running back 17 last year, I would point the arrow up over the year before, not down over the year before. That's where I've got him at 14.

[Jason Moore]

I would be so much more like Lev Bell nestled in as running back two on my roster is wonderful.

[Cortland Sutton]

That'd be great.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I think that's just a great situation to be in.

[Andy Holloway]

It's like the years where you would get Frank Gore as your running back too and he would always finish. You know, he never won people leagues but he was just so consistent. He had all the volume. Every week when you double minute your points as your running back too is just like forget about this slot on my roster and build build elsewhere. It was a really nice thing. That's what I think. You can get in love Bell and he's. He's not going to cost a lot. He's really. And people do not want Lev Bell.

[Cortland Sutton]

Well, define a lot.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he will be drafted as like the running back 20.

[Cortland Sutton]

I mean I'm saying like give me a round. What round do you think Le'Veon Bell is drafted in?

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I guess I'm guessing 20 would be around third round. Four. Third? Yeah, late third.

[Cortland Sutton]

That's what I think he'll be at.

[Jason Moore]

And if he's a fourth round pick, I'm feeling great. If he's early fourth, he's My fourth pick off the board or something.

[Cortland Sutton]

What. Just what feels bad about it? And I'm. We said it. I haven't met 22. That's probably too low. But he just. It feels like you're not drafting upside.

[Jason Moore]

I know that feels bad.

[Cortland Sutton]

To spend a fourth round pick on a player where you feel like you're not taking upside, you're just taking something safe is just real safe. It's. It kind of sucks.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I was going to say that The Damian Williams vs Love belt, 16 and 17 feel like two different strategies for fantasy owners.

[Cortland Sutton]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

It's like, are you buying into the best offense at the super bowl champs? The opportunity for, you know, top five weeks. Are you buying into Clinton Portis reborn, which is a sad reality for Lev Bell because we were not talking about him like this, you know, for years. For years.

[Cortland Sutton]

But we, we talked about all off season our concern about can that running style work behind a really bad offensive line. And I think we got the answer.

[Andy Holloway]

It can't.

[Jason Moore]

All right, 18, Marlon Mack. 19 Mark Ingram and 20, Melvin Gordon to round out the top 20 running backs. Marlon Mack, Mark Ingram, Melvin Gordon. I'm going to give you some more names and you can circle back to anybody you want to talk about here. 21. Devin Singletary, who I have higher than you guys. James Connor at 22. Carson 23. And carry on Johnson comes in at 24.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, still in that RB2 range.

[Jason Moore]

I feel like we need to be quarantined from Carry On Johnson's music for like an off season.

[Cortland Sutton]

Yeah, that's fair. I'm going to jump in though with Marlon Mack because day after day I'm getting far more excited, far more excited for Marlon Mack and what he can actually be with Philip Rivers as his quarterback. We already know what he did last year. He was a ,ousand plus rusher, eight rushing touchdowns, one of the best offensive lines in the entire NFL. And now you have Philip Rivers who checks down. I went. It checks down to the running back. I went and I looked at Philip Rivers over the last three years because here's something that we can say with 100% certainty about Philip Rivers each of the last three years. Every year he gets older.

[Jason Moore]

Wait, what did you say? Jason?

[Andy Holloway]

I snuck in a. He's gotten worse. Every year he gets older.

[Cortland Sutton]

That's. That's a ridiculous statement. But what you can't argue with, every year he has gotten older and he is getting a little bit slower. Here's what happened the last three years with Philip Rivers and his target share going to the running back position. In 2017, it was 22.5. That's very healthy. Love it. 2018 and that, and that was 83 targets for Gordon, 35 for Eckler. The next year, 27% of his targets went to the running back. 66 targets to Gordon in only 12 games. Eckler at 53. And then last year, 29% of his targets went to the running back position. And each time there are two running backs who are getting a healthy dose of targets. So if you want to get all excited about Nahim Hines because he's the pass catching running back and you feel like that's going to be his role, that's fine. But Marlon Mack, just being on the field as the primary first and second down running back, he will see the ball a lot through the air and Marlon Mack can catch it. Like Melvin Gordon didn't project as a pass catching running back coming out of Wisconsin his final two years in college, you had a year with one reception and a year with 19. Marlon Max, final two years coming out of college, 16 receptions, 28 receptions. Like the dude can get the job done through the air. And Philip Rivers is going to force the issue. I'm getting crazy, crazy excited.

[Jason Moore]

I know you are, but here's, here's the concerns that I have. One has to do with the Hinds snap, you know, just being on the field on third down, 44 receptions last year, 63 the year before. Mac had what, 14 receptions last year?

[Cortland Sutton]

Yeah, from. Because of Jacoby. Jacoby's not checking it down.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I don't know, I. Look, you also had post, post season comments from this team about resistance to a long term deal for Marlon Mack. I don't think the team is as happy as you are with his performances. And so those are my two concerns is you're going to have, I mean you're going, one guy's got 44 receptions, the other guy's got 14. You're going to count on Philip Rivers to dump it down to Marlon Mack based on collegiate evidence on first.

[Cortland Sutton]

No, no, no, no. The collegiate evidence was just saying that he can catch the ball. I was saying like, because the comparison was people think of Melvin Gordon now as a pass catching running back. He wasn't thought of that coming, coming into the NFL draft and that, but now we think of him that way. I'm just saying Marlon Mack has that skill set built in. And dude, last year, Melvin Gordon, 55 targets in 12 games. Austin Eckler. Thank you. Austin Eckler. The 108 targets. That's two running backs over 50 targets. And that's all.

[Jason Moore]

It's a bet on rivers though.

[Cortland Sutton]

100%. 100% a bet on Rivers. And on top of that, Marlon Mack is already like, he's a good runner and has a great offensive line. Like everything is set up for Marlon Mack to just be great.

[Jason Moore]

I could see double digit touchdowns for Mack this year. I don't know if I'm on the pass board. Jason, what do you think?

[Andy Holloway]

Look, I was a huge Marlon Mack believer last year because of the talent. I think Marlon Mack is a really good running back. Mike, you just brought up their offensive line. If the receptions were to come, he would be a phenomenal fantasy asset. And I think that, you know, when you talk about Both backs having 50 targets, that gets me excited because I am one of those people. When I hear Philip Rivers coming, I think, oh, that's great news for name Hines because Philip Rivers is going to check that ball down a lot. I am 100% certain of that. But it's probably going to be to both of those guys. And Marlon Mack I think has the skill set. So you got me excited.

[Jason Moore]

You got Jack Doyle there to be Mr. Check. Check down Jack.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, my dynasty team thanks him for his service.

[Cortland Sutton]

He can't be rebranded. He's already Baby hands.

[Andy Holloway]

Baby hands.

[Cortland Sutton]

But check down Jack is pretty good.

[Jason Moore]

Check down Jack.

[Andy Holloway]

The guy I want to bring up is Melvin Gordon. Melvin Gordon is a player that it seems like people are leaving for dead. You two certainly are not. You don't have them in your top 20. I've got him at 16. Mike, you've got him at 21, Andy at 23. And the more that I stop and think about it, I mean, I do. I think that the Denver Broncos offense with Drew Locke is going to be outstanding.

[Jason Moore]

No, be careful what you say. That the Denver Bronco Truthers came out with force after our last. They're 12. 12 and 4 is the. If they don't go 12 and 4, it'll be shocking to them. Just so you know.

[Andy Holloway]

It'S going to be a very surprising season. But you know, I think back of last season, right, and this is a team that really does want to run the ball. They drafted Royce Freeman and then signed Philip Lindsay in the same year. And that's kind of been their one, two punch. Remember at the. There was this big moment last year, they just couldn't get the running game going the way that they wanted. They go into their bye week in week 10 and coming out of the Bye week. The, all the news right before kickoff, all the reporters at the game were saying, we just heard from the coaches that it's basically Philip Lindsay's job. They're going to, they're going to shift away from the RBBC and give it more, give Philip Lindsay more work and did. From that point on, he was on pace for almost 250 carries, but he didn't do well with it. He, you know, his great yards per carry average plummeted down when he got more utilization. And so what do they do? They go out and sign a big money contract for Melvin Gordon. And I think Melvin Gordon is big for, not big for what Melvin Gordon wanted, but that's a lot of money to pay a running back and it certainly says you're our guy. And I believe Melvin Gordon is going to get easily north of 250 carries.

[Jason Moore]

And if he does, I mean, I mean like he's a lot. 250 is a lot. When they, when their own beat writers are saying they're not positive he's the, he's the main guy.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what I believe. That's why I've got him up at 16. And the touchdowns, they're going to give him the opportunity. They're just not signing him and bringing him in. A guy who's had a long, you know, successful history of being a goal line guy, he's got a nose for the end zone. When they get down there, they're going to give him the opportunity. So I think the money, the utilization that we saw last at the end of the season last year with Philip Lindsey and Melvin Gordon's history says he's, he's going to be okay. So, I mean, I don't have him as a running back one, but I think he's going to be a higher end running back too. Not a lower end.

[Jason Moore]

Gurley or Gordon. Higher. I have Gurley for the, for the retread seasons.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, the retread seasons. I've got Todd Gurley winning that. I think Gurley is actually in a pretty good spot.

[Jason Moore]

All right, before we close this thing out, I want to remind people, go to FootClanHelp.com We've got a live AMA on our forums this Friday, April 10, 11am Pacific, 2pm Eastern. Going to be answering. Jason said it. He's going to try to answer every single question that comes through. So you can go directly to that [e-mail] we're going to help you out with answers to every question that you Got. He will certainly handle any and all Boston cream related inquiries. Also, he will handle any Boston cream donuts that you send his way. How is the quarantine weight gain attempts going?

[Andy Holloway]

I have been beating my record every day. Are you staying in the.

[Jason Moore]

Are you saying I'm, like, starting to get worried about you? Like a little bit.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I mean, I. So far, same clothes. So far I haven't had to add extensions or go into a new size. Well, my wife.

[Jason Moore]

Full elastic.

[Cortland Sutton]

Yeah. Hold on. When's the last time you put on, like, an actual pair of pants?

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, now we're getting real, Mike, because I've been wearing a lot of elastic through this break, and the last time was yesterday. And it fit.

[Jason Moore]

You got in there.

[Andy Holloway]

I still got in there, but that button was. That button was upset with me. That button was saying, dude, this hurts. But I got in and so I'm. I think I'm good. Look, I'm just.

[Jason Moore]

Could you do a show in a pair of your blue jeans right now?

[Andy Holloway]

I could, but my face would be so red buttoned. But, like, I would. I would just be sweating right now.

[Cortland Sutton]

All right.

[Jason Moore]

I'm just.

[Andy Holloway]

I just.

[Jason Moore]

Take care of yourself there.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I am taking stuff. I've got bees every day and I want. I want to get up to 350 by the time we're back in the studio. That's getting ready for winter. Someone get me an exercise bike.

[Jason Moore]

I'm on the precipice of, like, buzzing the head because I don't. I mean, who's going to get their hair cut over the duration of this, this long quarantine?

[Andy Holloway]

You got to do it yourself, man.

[Jason Moore]

Mike trimmed his beard down.

[Andy Holloway]

I did. It looks good.

[Cortland Sutton]

Yeah, that. It looks good on the camera. There was some mistakes were made.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. All right.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, you are small on my screen right now, so that's. That's probably a plus.

[Jason Moore]

Al Borland wants to know why you can't just use a regular bike. Because it's gorgeous outside. Oh, you don't need a peloton, sir.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, here's the thing. I don't. I don't own a bike. And so I've got to get one of them, and one of them I can use year round. And the other one in Arizona is not going to see the light of the sun in the summer. So that's.

[Cortland Sutton]

We're running out of time already in Arizona for a while.

[Andy Holloway]

It's getting so hot. My kids have been swimming every day this week. This is insane.

[Jason Moore]

In Michigan. There's snow on the ground.

[Cortland Sutton]

Well, we're swimming in Arizona.

[Jason Moore]

I really hope this Covid thing doesn't like the heat because we're going to be in good shape in Arizona really, really soon.

[Andy Holloway]

Covid's dead.

[Jason Moore]

So are we. All right, thanks for tuning in. Listen, listening, supporting the show. We appreciate you. Stay safe.

[Cortland Sutton]

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.