
The Fantasy Footballers are back with a new show! Get personal sleeper and value picks from Andy, Mike, and Jason! Which late round players will help lead you to a fantasy football title?! Plus, Deebo Samuel injury news, and a quick look at where Aaron Jo
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Mike Wright
Hey, it's Ronald Jones ii, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And you're listening to the fantasy footballers podcast.
Andy Holloway
Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers podcast with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.
Mike Wright
Ah, welcome in Tuesday, June 23rd, the fantasy footballers. Back with you, Mike Wright here in studio. Yes, with me, Andy Holloway. And then the best remotely joining us this fine day, Jason Moore. Howdy we with the. Howdy we as you know, can only take so much of Jason on a regular, you know, week to week basis. So from time to time we ask him to just record remotely.
Jason Moore
Just, just go away for.
Mike Wright
Well, we. You're only human what we want but we don't always say it like that.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, you guys are really kind hearted and just better people so than me and I'm happy to be where I am still allowed to participate. From a distance.
Mike Wright
Yeah, from a distance is kind of our.
Andy Holloway
Have. Has. Has the phrase from a distance ever been spoken without immediately thinking?
Jason Moore
Nope.
Andy Holloway
From a distance.
Mike Wright
Welcome into the show.
Jason Moore
Sings that I don't even know.
Andy Holloway
Is it Bette Midler? I don't know.
Jason Moore
Oh, is it, Is it Midler?
Mike Wright
Is it Midler?
Jason Moore
We need.
Mike Wright
It's. It's Bette Midler.
Jason Moore
We have to get to the bottom.
Mike Wright
It is. That's the official. The music video. From a distance there is harmony and it echoes through the land. Mike, we need that song right now. We need that anthem, world. We need that anthem. It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace. It's the voice of every man.
Jason Moore
I just like that. It's from a distance and we need to keep our distance right now.
Mike Wright
That song is perfect. Bette Midler, thank you for being timeless. Oof.
Jason Moore
A prophet. Bette Midler.
Mike Wright
Can we go back to when Bette.
Jason Moore
Midler was the jam when she was a Sanderson sister?
Mike Wright
I just know we didn't have Covid my wings. I know that she was the air beneath Jason's wings. Yeah. Okay. Not the start I expected. We have sleepers and values on the show today. We have some news we have to get into, some of which breaks my heart to have to talk about. We have the ultimate draft kit now available@ultimatedraftkit.com head over there. Check it out. Dollar from every UDK going to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Once again this year we've had to make some adjustments.
Jason Moore
The UDK saw its first real, real time update which came because of an unfortunate circumstance.
Mike Wright
We've got an injury to talk about on the show. Yeah, we had to make some Dalvin Cook tweaks, some risk tweaks last week as well. You can find the show on YouTube. YouTube.com the fantasy footballer subscribe Click the bell. Appreciate everybody who supports the show by reviewing on Apple Podcasts Listening on Spotify ad free on Stitcher Premium. Wherever you're listening, we appreciate you. Quick question of the day comes in from Tom in Ohio. Jason. He wants to know why is Aaron Jones ranked so high with the packers drafting AJ Dillon in the second round? He's our consensus running back. Six right now I have him at nine, Jason at nine, Mike at six. Last year, over a thousand yards, I believe he had about 75 touchdowns, right?
Jason Moore
Give or take a few, yeah.
Mike Wright
So why is he ranked so high? What is your answer to this question from Tom?
Andy Holloway
Well, I mean, look, we all, everyone here knows that Aaron Jones is going to have touchdown regression. And by everyone here, I mean everyone on the planet, you had 16 rushing touchdowns.
Mike Wright
Everyone at your house, sorry, he had.
Andy Holloway
16 rushing touchdowns, added another three through the air. That's not going to happen. He was the running back depending on scoring form and I think two or three last year. And so, you know, we know that's not going to happen. But sometimes those negative arguments make you feel like, well, he's, he's no good. He's great. He's actually a really, really good running back. You know, there's a reason he ran for 4.6 a carry and was highly effective in the red zone. And, you know, he's a very good running back. He's still the clear lead.
Mike Wright
And I view AJ Dillon 500 receiving yards too.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I view AJ Dillon as more of a threat to Jamal Williams. Now. He will eat in a little bit to Aaron Jones and I think all three will be more involved than fantasy football owners would prefer. But at the same time, you know, I have Aaron Jones going from 236 carries last season down to 216. So I've got him losing 20 carries, half the touchdowns that he had from the year before. But that's still a really, really good number. I mean, that still puts him in my top 10. I do worry about consistency. He was very much not a consistent running back last year. There were certain games he would disappear from. But at the end of the season, I think he's going to be, you know, certainly a top 15 running back. And that's not outlandish considering he was, you know, top three running back last year.
Mike Wright
Yeah. Two comments that I would add. One, Aaron Jones ranking is also based on our confidence in other running backs in the NFL. I mean, his ranking is kind of corollary to whether other running backs can step up and be more valuable for your fantasy team. My second comment is that what a sad place to be in where last year it's like, oh man, if Aaron Jones ever got enough work, he would dominate. Oh, man, Aaron Jones dominated. Let's lower him because he dominated too much, right?
Jason Moore
Yeah, he's a great running back. And he Also, he caught 49 passes. Like he's still going to be involved in the receiving game as well with. So even with A.J. dillon coming in, Aaron Jones is still the leader of the running back room. AJ Dillon doesn't come in and take that away from him. So he's still a top option to me.
Mike Wright
We're giving away a jersey of his teammate Devonte Adams@footclaingiveaway.com if you want to check that out. Let's talk some news.
Andy Holloway
News and notes from around the league.
Mike Wright
Debo Samuel suffered a broken left foot during a workout with teammates on Tuesday of last week. He'll be sidelined three to four months. Debo suffered a Jones fracture. That's an eight to 12 week recovery timeline.
Andy Holloway
I've seen 12 to 16 out there as well. 12. I've seen both timelines given for this injury. Sure, it seems that the 8 to 12 is a little bit more common for wide receivers, which is good. But that puts it like if it's 12 weeks from the day he had surgery, 12 weeks is the exact day of the kickoff of the NFL season. So that's the idea of the timeline is, you know, he could be ready for week one if he misses everything leading up to week one.
Mike Wright
Yeah, I mean, you have to make adjustments to your view of Depot. I mean, he's a, he was a breakout candidate for us statistically. Emmanuel Sanders left Debo coming into year two. The way they use him, you know, he is a running back as well. He is a screen game player. And here he is with an injury that affects your explosiveness, that takes a long time to recover from and that has a 15 to 20% risk of a second injury. You know, a second surgery that could cause problems to his dynasty value, that could cause problems to his explosiveness coming back. This is just altogether unfortunate news.
Andy Holloway
Yep.
Jason Moore
And so now what do we do moving forward? He was projected to be the number one wide receiver for the 49ers. I would, I would. In my projections, I went in, I think I took away, you know, one to two games. But it, which isn't a lot. So he's. It's not like he's completely off your draft board. Now there's going to be a spot where he becomes a value, even though he has a much higher risk rating. What did you guys do in terms of filling in those gaps? Like who. Who got a bump for San Francisco?
Mike Wright
Yeah, I mean, I think the un. You know, we'll talk about Brandon Ayuk Iukin, but I don't think that, you know, when you have a rookie coming in and the window of opportunity is these first few weeks of the season, I believe the team is just going to distribute the ball across a number of options, including the return of Jalen Hurd this year, including Trent Taylor's return, who they talk up every offseason, who always is hurt, but he's currently healthy, and including the guys like Kendrick Bourne. And ultimately, the number one true wide receiver on the team is George Kittle.
Andy Holloway
Yes.
Jason Moore
Oh, right. Oh, come on. I was trying to get you to say his name.
Mike Wright
I will never speak that name. If you think I'm speaking. He who shall not be named.
Jason Moore
Come on, Dante Pettis, baby. Let's go. Pettis season.
Andy Holloway
Hey, he's there. He's ready. So put me in, coach. No, I agree. I'm with Andy. When I. When I redistributed, I took two games away from Debo because I think that that's accurate in the sense that even if he comes back week one, this injury in the first year and specifically immediately following the return, you have a long history of a lack of production up to 50%. So, you know, if he's out there week one, he's not going to be in my lineup week one coming off of this injury. So I took two games away, but it got redistributed to where nobody really is the clear beneficiary. It's. It's. Everyone gets a few more targets over the course of the season. Didn't change my rankings all that much. Jimmy Garoppolo lost a little bit here, but it's sad. It's sad for a guy who Andy was, you know, probably going to have as a my guy. But it is worth noting and realizing with this injury that, you know, sometimes it takes these moments to make us look backwards.
Mike Wright
I was going to give a shout out to Jared Smola's tweet here. Is that what you were going for?
Andy Holloway
Absolutely. Go. You. You do it.
Mike Wright
Well, you know, just a few days before this injury, Jared Smola on Twitter at Smolods Debo Samuel's injury history remains concerning 2015. Missed seven games with a hamstring. 2016, three games with a hamstring. 2017, 10 games with a broken leg. 2018. He was healthy last year. The numbers he put up, that was in 15 games. He missed minicamp with a hip injury. He missed Week 7 with a groin injury. Had a shoulder injury in November and now he has a Jones fracture. So, you know, this is something to concern you in the dynasty projections for Debo Samuel to have year after year of injury.
Andy Holloway
Well, and let's say, I mean, because of this injury history and the specific injury, look at a dynasty outlook that starts like this. He comes back, plays for, you know, a good portion of the season, but he's not that valuable this year. His production is down and then he is. Then the 20% re injures it has to get surgery again. You know, you could be talking about, you know, a two year window before you really get the guy that broke out as a man.
Mike Wright
Do I get a hit at one more time?
Andy Holloway
I feel like.
Jason Moore
It needs. Now you're a man.
Mike Wright
He's like sad distortion. That's the last time we'll get a play for a while. But just for the ranking sake, I think I had him at 17 or 18 before the injury. He's sitting around 29, 30 right now. There is additional risk to him and he was a player that was going to need to put up numbers, not just in the passing game. This was not a high, you know, passing volume type of team. So it's just unfortunate. It's part of every off season. We never know who it's going to be, but now it's a man.
Andy Holloway
I have Debo at 33 now.
Mike Wright
There you go. There you go. Richie James also broke a bone in his wrist on in that wide receiving core that now does not have Emmanuel Sanders. And Dez Bryant is tweeting eyeballs at the 49ers again.
Jason Moore
Oh, Dez.
Mike Wright
Which is the only way that he's going to get back in the league.
Andy Holloway
If you're going to go sign someone that's been out of the league, I believe it would be Antonio Brown.
Mike Wright
Josh Gordon, who applied for reinstatement again and is only 29.
Jason Moore
You want to play? No, I'm not.
Mike Wright
No, I'm not playing the Josh Jordan yet. No, I'm not. Not at all. I feel like I just played it by mentioning his name. So don't, don't worry about it. Yeah. Dallas Goddard. The video is incredible. He was hospitalized after being sucker punched at a restaurant on Friday.
Jason Moore
Evening not good, man.
Mike Wright
There was no social distance between that fist and his face. And he went out cold.
Jason Moore
It was a socce.
Mike Wright
Yeah. Yeah.
Andy Holloway
I was another guy coming up in this group of people and just brutal. Just gets him on the chin. And I think Dallas Goddard will not go into MMA after his NFL days are done.
Jason Moore
All right.
Andy Holloway
Yeah. I mean, this. But the nice thing is went to the hospital. He's okay. He's absolutely fine. Doesn't have any effect on the season.
Mike Wright
Dak Prescott signed his franchise Tinder. Both sides will have till July 15 to work on a long term deal. But this locks him in for the 2020 season. Means that Dallas can't retract the franchise.
Jason Moore
Yeah, one situation. Dax not going to hold out. Dak will be there to play, which we, everyone, I think, fully expected Dak to be there. So it's just. This is just passing along the news.
Mike Wright
All right, let's talk a little post hype sleeper situation here.
Jason Moore
Oh, my.
Mike Wright
Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady says Curtis Samuel, who was a, you know, subject of lots of hype and discussion last offseason, says he's going to be quote, critical to success for the team's offense. Last year, Curtis Samuel ran the most routes in the NFL. 8th most deep targets, 11th most air yards, 105th catchable target rate.
Andy Holloway
Those. Those two things shouldn't go together when you're running that.
Mike Wright
I mean, post hype sleeper, that's a real deal, right?
Jason Moore
No, it 100% is, unfortunately. It's. It's hard to really know what to do with Curtis Samuel. I think the player is very good. What's his actual situation though? They brought in. The Panthers, brought in free agent Robbie Anderson. Does that move Curtis Samuel down to three down, maybe even four because Christian McCaffrey is on the team as well and going deep. Not necessarily Teddy Bridgewater's go to move.
Mike Wright
Not that Alex Smith could do it, but he didn't love doing it.
Jason Moore
Not that he can't. And Bridgewater is a very accurate quarterback, so we'll see. And then there was like weird rumors of him being traded. I mean, those kind of vanished as quickly as they started, but you don't have to pay anything in your end, your fantasy drafts to take a shot at Curtis Samuel. So it's not impossible. Not impossible.
Mike Wright
Yeah. It's a tough situation to predict with the new offense. There's in Carolina.
Jason Moore
Yes.
Mike Wright
All right. Any other thoughts? Any other news you guys want to talk about?
Jason Moore
Nope.
Mike Wright
All right, let's do it.
Andy Holloway
Sleepers.
Mike Wright
You wanted me to be patient. With the draft? Yes. You thought I was going to jump in before the finish.
Jason Moore
I knew you were going to jump in.
Mike Wright
Wasn't this time.
Andy Holloway
Oh, you.
Jason Moore
You were ready.
Mike Wright
I was good.
Jason Moore
All right.
Mike Wright
I was good. But I thought you had another piece of news for us. That's what I thought.
Jason Moore
Yeah. The news was Andy about to look foolish talking over the music?
Mike Wright
Why do I do that? Is that because on Spitballers podcast, sometimes we don't have a finisher?
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
Mike Wright
I mean, so that's your fault. Look, consistency.
Jason Moore
It's not about consistency. The art does what the art has to do.
Andy Holloway
Great. Great. That's such a great response. Because you can't. You can't critique art. Right. I mean, you can, but it's also.
Mike Wright
Art does what the art wants to do.
Jason Moore
I am the vessel.
Mike Wright
Oh, I can't handle it. I can't take it. Okay, well, let's talk sleepers. If you have the ultimate draft kit, obviously we have a bunch of consensus sleepers inside of that wonderful resource. But today we are picking out much like we did last week with our what breakouts and busts.
Andy Holloway
Yep.
Mike Wright
We are talking sleepers and values. And we're each picking one of our own today to talk about some other players that we want to surface to you, the Foot Clan, get you ready for the upcoming season. Do I have a volunteer that wants to kick this thing off?
Andy Holloway
I will kick it off.
Jason Moore
All right.
Andy Holloway
I am excited to talk about this deep sleeper. Certainly not someone that I think people are expecting to do big, great things, but that's the definition of a sleeper. Someone that is basically late or even undrafted, that has an opportunity, has a pathway to really surprise and be fantasy relevant. My sleeper that I want to bring up is Boston Scott, running back for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Jason Moore
That's a deep cut.
Andy Holloway
It is a deep cut. And. But let me. Let me try to convince you guys that he's worth a shot even in a redraft league at the end of your drafts. Right now he's, you know, pretty much undrafted. He's a running back, 50 135th off the board. Philadelphia. He's a pass catching back. Boston Scott's a little guy, 57197, coming out of college. He was that Darren Sprolls comp Philadelphia has.
Mike Wright
I got something for you. I got something for you. Hold on.
Andy Holloway
Great Scott. Yes.
Jason Moore
Yes.
Andy Holloway
That is fantastic. Well done. I am very happy to have it. I will make sure that that drops.
Mike Wright
Just in case he does something.
Andy Holloway
Mike, we've got it ready by the end of this. I Like it. But look, Philadelphia has the ninth most vacated targets, eight and a half per game, which seems surprising. They lost a couple of ancillary pieces. Most of that was Nelson Aguilar, who's gone. And yes, that's addition by subtraction. But the point is, he benefited. Boston Scott did last year at the end of the year when there was a bunch of wide receiver injuries and they needed to find someone to catch the ball, move the offense, and Boston Scott came in and got the job done. And if you look now, this year, Alshon Jeffries injured. Desean Jackson is older. Jalen Rager coming in is like, now people are saying, well, he's just going to be learning the desean Jackson role. Maybe he's the backup for that inevitable injury. The point is, Boston Scott's opportunity here is actually pretty good because they do need to find more ways to involve players in the passing game. And they did not bring in a veteran back as of to this point yet. But that's been a big contention of the. You know, we talk all this Miles Sanders, is he going to be the guy? Is he not? Well, it's all a matter of whether they bring in a vet. Boston Scott sitting there going, look, I was pretty good at the end of the year. He was like their offensive MVP over the last month or, you know, certainly the last game of the year. Doug Peterson uses a committee approach, okay, with the RB1 and RB2 both being relevant in fantasy. We saw that last year when Jordan Howard was doing well and Miles Sanders was still involved. In 2016, his running back 2 actually finished higher in fantasy than his RB1. And that running back was Darren Sprolls. Darren Sprols is the comp for Boston Scott. In fact, the Saints drafted Boston Scott to replace Darren Sprolls. And then the Eagles went and signed him off his prac, off their practice squad to replace Darren Sprols. He's. He's literally trying to be that mold. And then he comes in and in the final month of last year, he was Darren Sprouls. He was the running back nine through that month. And that was while Miles Sanders was the running back 7. Both guys on the field, both being great. And here's the best part. Is it Scott?
Mike Wright
Yes.
Andy Holloway
Look, he averaged 6.3 targets a game and never fewer than six during that last month, which would be 100 target pace. I'm not saying that's happening, but that is. He showed that he is a weapon.
Mike Wright
But you are going to say it.
Andy Holloway
No, no, no. I'm not saying he's on pace for 100 targets in 2020. I'm saying that he proved to the team like beat writers. Right now they're saying that Boston Scott's a secret weapon. He's not fighting for a roster spot. He's fighting for more touches. He's locked into an important role in the offense. So my point is you've got a committee back, a committee coach, a really capable guy who showed he can do it. If you're in a PPR league, I mean, even. Even when he had, you know, in that last month he had one game where he totaled 19 yards, still had six receptions, you know, he would have ended up with eight points and that was a complete bust game for him. So if you're in a PPR league, I think Boston Scott's a name you need to know and consider.
Mike Wright
Did you see the comments from Doug Peterson on the veteran running back situation.
Jason Moore
About how they feel like they missed out?
Mike Wright
Yeah, I don't have the quote in front of me, but where they basically, you know, it was pretty small, had their chance to sign a veteran and missed.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, that. That veteran went somewhere else. So it almost certainly is Carlos Hyde who he's referring to. Not he didn't say him by name, but obviously Carlos Hyde was rumored to go to the Eagles and then went and signed with the Seahawks.
Mike Wright
Would you delete your paragraph if they signed a veteran or would you maintain the sleeper status of Great Scott?
Andy Holloway
If they were to go out and sign Devonta Freeman, who is a very good pass catching back, then Boston Scott would not be on my sleeper list. Outside of him, maybe Lamar Miller, you know, if right outside of those two, I don't think there's another veteran that would come in and take over the pass catching role that I think Boston Scott's, you know, they're going into this season with him as that role that scat back.
Mike Wright
All right, I'm going to bring up Michael Pittman Jr. As my sleeper selection on today's show. Right now he's being drafted as the. Oh my, I didn't even realize this. The wide receiver. And if you don't know who he is, rookie wide receiver, Indianapolis Colts comes into a situation there with Ty Hilton on the other side and an opportunity for Michael Pittman Jr. To be the wide receiver too on this team. Couple things worth noting on the, you know, hype train I'm going to try to build for Michael Pittman. One, Frank Reich absolutely adores this kid. He's a contested catch master. If you look at Matt Harmon's reception perception. A lot of hype. He's a big guy. He can, he can come down with the ball in the red zone. Last year you had, you know, being drafted at wide receiver 55, I think is interesting because last year you had four rookies finish inside, inside the top 35 at the wide receiver position. AJ Brown was 15th, McLaurin was 27, Metcalf was 32, Slayton was 35. Pittman is being drafted well beyond any of those guys and I think he's almost guaranteed to be one of the best contributing rookie wide receivers on this team. I don't know if you guys are aware of this, but Ty Hilton's contract as of today, it's expiring after this year. So Michael Pittman could be groomed to be their wide receiver one for years to come. And you have Philip Rivers in the back, in the backfield now at quarterback and last year the fourth most deep attempts in the NFL. We've seen what he's done with a very similar player in my opinion. I think Michael Pittman and Mike Williams.
Jason Moore
Yeah, that's a fair comp.
Mike Wright
Are very similar. So right now, just where he's being drafted and I don't know how you guys feel about Pittman. I think, I think you like him.
Jason Moore
Oh yeah, I love Michael, but I.
Mike Wright
Think he's just a value right now in drafts and he'll probably rise if we see in camp that he's earning that wide receiver two spot. But such an impressive career at usc.
Jason Moore
Yeah, I like Michael Pittman. The situation does seem pretty fantastic for him. I'm not going to completely write off Paris Campbell yet who was. He was a second round pick by the Colts last year. And like in Paris Campbell, even when you're talking about a sleeper, he is. He's at least interesting to me because he projects to, you know, be a slot wide receiver. Take those, take the shorter routes that we're all projecting a bump for Naim Heinz in the passing game. Paris Campbell certainly could be a player who sees a huge bump considering.
Mike Wright
Yeah, we shouldn't forget about him.
Jason Moore
He did absolutely nothing last year. But yeah, he's. I like Pittman as the.
Mike Wright
He's their Debo.
Jason Moore
He could be there. He could be the. Just an absolute touchdown guy like Mike Williams that year where he had the 10 touchdowns and not very many yards.
Mike Wright
Well, his name is Mike as well. Oh, so I mean that's all you need.
Jason Moore
It's a great name.
Mike Wright
Decent.
Jason Moore
All right. I'm going to give everyone a break from me Talking about Antonio Gibson.
Andy Holloway
I'm warming on him, Mike. Yes, I. Very much.
Mike Wright
On Antonio Gibson or on the player he's about to.
Andy Holloway
No, no, Antonio Gibson. We just got to give him the obligatory shout out. But I wanted to chime in and say I'm starting to. I'm starting to appreciate your tickets.
Jason Moore
Look, all are welcome and all are welcome on the Antonio Gibson hype train. I just happen to have first class seat. Like I'm in the front of the train.
Mike Wright
Yeah, because. Because first class on the Redskins plane is where you want to be between McLaren and Gibson. You do have to realize that this offense has to be somewhere it's going to work. Okay, sure.
Jason Moore
That's.
Mike Wright
That's the best argument I've heard.
Jason Moore
Look at the Carolina Panthers last year with Kyle Allen, had DJ Moore and Christian McCaffrey, both verifiable for fantasy purposes. Washington could get it done. It can support those two players. But no, the name. I wanted to go a bit deeper here. And this one, like Boston Scott, this is a very deep cut, but I wanted to bring up the name Randall Cobb. It feels kind of gross even bringing it up.
Mike Wright
Just the same. Randall COBB from like 22 years ago.
Jason Moore
Yes, he's been in the league since 1963. Okay, he's been around forever. But here's the deal. He was. He's a new acquisition of the Houston Texans. They grabbed him after they traded away DeAndre Hopkins. And this wasn't just a low level veteran minimum contract. This was a three year, $27 million deal. That's. Okay, maybe that's inflated. But $18 million guaranteed.
Andy Holloway
His agent is good.
Jason Moore
Maybe, maybe he just has a great agent. But over the second half of the season last year for Dallas and his quick stop there, he. Over the second half, he was averaging 70 yards a game. Deshaun Watson throws to the slot wide receiver position. 26% of Watson's targets last year, as far as I could find, went to the slot wide receiver, a lot of which last year was DeAndre Hopkins. DeAndre Hopkins saw a huge surge in slot targets because they just, I mean, they're moving around and they simply did not have that reliable player. Perhaps that's why they went after Randall Cobb. That talk you talked about, Jay, the vacated targets for Philadelphia, why about the second most vacated targets? Because DeAndre Hopkins, who's gone 150 targets that they have to figure out, where are those going to go? Desean Watson's not going to disappear. He's going to throw for about 4,000 yards. He averages 26 touchdowns the past couple years. It's going to go somewhere. And this is an absolute. This is a complete shakeup of the wide receiver core. Who's the number one wide receiver for Houston?
Mike Wright
Probably Brandon Cooks.
Jason Moore
Probably. Probably Brandon Cooks. Maybe it's Will Fuller.
Mike Wright
It's most certainly David Johnson. Maybe it's Duke Johnson. Maybe it's.
Jason Moore
I'm hearing a lot of maybe Kenny Stills. That's right.
Mike Wright
That's definitely not Kenny Stills. Go on, stop it.
Jason Moore
But that's my point is that Randall Cobb could come in and see a much larger target share than anyone could possibly have imagined. He's. He feels like old. Busted.
Andy Holloway
Yes.
Jason Moore
If you watched him, he's. I still think that he has juice remaining.
Mike Wright
If you watched him playing, he's 29 years old. Yeah. I think he'll be 30.
Jason Moore
I think he'll be 30 when, when the season starts. He's, he's interesting to me. We were, we, and I'm saying we as like the universal, the fantasy community. We were getting pretty excited for, for Kiki in Houston, and that's because he was the slot wide receiver. We saw a huge target share when he was available in games and the team is clearly moving on from him and giving that job to Randall Cobb. With such an ambiguous situation, Randall Cobb feels like a sleeper to me and someone who could pay off way, like, way, way, way more than drafting him.
Mike Wright
Than last pick in the draft.
Jason Moore
Wide receiver 70. Where his current ADP is right now, which is just not. He's not being drafted.
Mike Wright
He's his 10th season. Wow.
Andy Holloway
He is certainly not going. I think he beats his wide receiver 70. The issue is just how high does it go? And while I do think Randall Cobb will have good games when the inevitable injuries come down for, you know, the, the Will Fuller, Kenny Stills, Brandon Cooks injury trifecta. You know, you know, I don't, I don't know about drafting him because I feel like he's the fourth or third on the team, but it is, it is worth noting what you, what you said the money is real and when you pay a guy, you involve.
Jason Moore
It's not Monopoly money.
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
Mike Wright
He had the most yards per reception since his rookie season last year and it's the most in his career at 15.1 828 yards, 10 per target, which was the most since 2014. And he kind of just did it quietly and probably on no fantasy rosters last year for sure.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I think Aaron Rodgers made him a lot of money, but I would.
Mike Wright
Say that, I would say Dak made him money last year.
Andy Holloway
My point is I still think he's living off of yesteryear when he was this great number two next to Jordy.
Mike Wright
And he only has 1000 yard season in his soon to be 10.
Jason Moore
Look, I'm not saying he's a top 10 wide receiver, just saying you need to pay attention of somebody who might be a target monster in Houston.
Mike Wright
I think the most compelling argument is the one you made with Kiki where it's like you were looking at an opportunity in the slot when Kiki is completely unproven. Here they pay a guy to come in and you have such an injury history around the rest of that wide receiver core that it is an interesting name to bring up. Like he deserves to be brought up for sure. Value time.
Jason Moore
Value time.
Mike Wright
Jason's not gonna be able to handle mine.
Andy Holloway
Values.
Mike Wright
He might not be able to handle my value pick, but I can handle his. So I'll let him kick it off and get us in a good mood.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, look, last year this was a my guy. For me, he's someone that is perennially undervalued. And lo and behold he comes back again this year and he is undervalued. Undervalued. I mean Robert Woods, I mean people just don't see the, the woods from the trees. You know what I'm saying? Because he is, look, he's leading the entire NFL right now in how many years that he is beating his ADP seven years in a row. And granted some of that was, you know, you know, former Bills time, but seven years in a row he has out produced his ADP and it's going to happen again because right now he's being drafted. Shout out to Rich Rebar on that stat as well. He's being drafted as a wide receiver 19 and over the last three years he's the 10th the wide receiver 10 over those three years. As far as total fantasy points, he is the number one wide receiver for the Rams. Now that doesn't mean necessarily that he's going to be the number one fantasy option because he's not the red zone machine that Cooper cup is. And so at the end of the year cup could very well outproduce him. But and I made this argument last year and you know, it came came true when it comes to targets. And who is the actual first read and who is the wide receiver one? It is Robert Woods. And you saw this at the end of the season. At the end of the season when they made the shift that has been talked about so much with the tight end involvement with Higby, getting more tight ends on the field. And then Brandon Cooks and Cooper cup were splitting time down in the, you know, 60, 70% of snaps. Robert woods never left the field. He was on there at all times. And during that time, you know, you look at those last eight weeks, the second half of the season, Robert woods was the wide receiver 8. He was really, really good. And what happened is it took him until week 14 to score a touchdown.
Mike Wright
Yeah, I was gonna say you got burnt. Like your numbers of outperforming ADP do not match the emotional reaction of having Robert woods last year. And what you got in that first quarter.
Jason Moore
I think that's his point, is where he finished and the positive touchdown regression is coming.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I mean, the two previous seasons he was on a 16 game pace each season of six touchdowns, which is very doable for a guy that's basically, you know, 1100 yards a season. He should be about six touchdowns. To get only two touchdowns last season was anomalous and hurt you in the beginning of the year. And because he got off to a slower start, his draft position is once again someone people just don't want. But he is a value. When you draft Robert woods, you are getting someone who will outperform the wide receiver spot you are drafting. Guaranteed. I mean it's, it's locked and loaded to me.
Mike Wright
Yeah, no argument for me. Robert Woods, I have projected much higher than the wide receiver 19, as is Cooper Cup. I got to bring Ronald Jones name up in the value section of the show. Jason's shaking his head. If he wants to go plug his ears or put on those noise.
Jason Moore
Go get some water.
Mike Wright
I believe Ronald Jones. Normally you put the hate blockers on, don't you? Was it Ronald Jones? Listen, you're not going to like this, Jason. Just endure it. But Ronald Jones is being undervalued in Fantasy Football. His ADP is 80 overall. Right now it's the running back 35 last year with Peyton Barber in the backfield. Without Tom Brady in the backfield, Ronald Jones finishes the running back 26. He had an extreme. I mean, Tampa Bay has an extremely low running back market share. In fact, since 2016, the Buccaneers ranked first in passing yards per game, 30th in rushing, and yet Ronald Jones put up an RB26 season. Now, it was not a consistent, easy to predict year. Nobody is arguing that. What I am making the contention on is that Ronald Jones is being undervalued for the opportunity he has this year. Over 1,000 total yards last year, 4.2 a carry, second best yards after the catch at the running back position in the NFL last year he had runs of 10 plus yards on 12.6% of carries. That was fifth best at the running back position. Impressive. And his, their, their general manager came out and said, look, he hasn't even scratched the surface on what he can be. He also said they have more faith than ever. Now you could argue that that's not true because they went and invested in Keyshawn Vaughn in the draft, but they let Peyton Barber walk. So that was one act of confidence in Ronald Jones in that slowly he walked away.
Jason Moore
Real.
Mike Wright
He walked slowly. He walked away slowly. And look, we were talking Mike, a little bit. Peyton Barber, yeah, jogs over to Washington, your super team in Washington with Gibson, McLaurin and Peyton Barber. But Ronald Jones, I am fairly certain will have first and second down work for this team for the majority of the season. Now if you don't think that's valuable in Tampa Bay, don't draft Ronald Jones. That's fine. I think it's more valuable than the RB35 spot. And if you listen to Bruce Arians talking on a conference call in March, he said, look, he thought that they, that Ronald Jones, while he excelled in the screen game, he can't use him at wide receiver. So when they went into the draft, they said, hey, we're going to go try to find somebody to be able to compete with Dare Goombawale on third down and become a wide receiving threat. We know that Keyshawn Bond can do that. I'm not expecting Ronald Jones to be a third down master in any way shape or form. But what I do believe is that first and second down in Tampa Bay is very valuable. Last year, Peyton Barber had six touchdowns, Ronald Jones had six touchdowns. Ten touchdowns is not outside the realm of possibility for Ronald Jones. He's being drafted outside the running back three range. So I think because of the Keyshawn Vaughn draft selection, there is a disproportionate amount of hate being thrown to Ronald Jones that does not, you know, the draft position is just too low for me. I think he's worth the shot.
Jason Moore
I think that he is worth the shot as well. And I'm not, I am not a Ronald Jones truther. I think that he is a limited player for the running back position because of his, because of his hands. I mean, he is very explosive. He's really, really fast.
Mike Wright
So it's funny, the hands thing too, because they won't use him. But we looked at this last year it was much better than Peyton Barber in terms of catch percentage last year, like he was.
Jason Moore
Again, we're using Peyton Barber as the standard, which is strong point.
Mike Wright
Strong point.
Jason Moore
Strange place to be going. All right, the player I want to highlight as a value, and this one is. I think he is. Well, I guess he basically missed the whole season.
Mike Wright
Did you buy your Ronald Jones jersey after that, Jason? I mean, you.
Andy Holloway
Mike cut off any retort, but yeah, you saved. I thought he was just trying to save Andy from, you know, having me just bring up the truth about Ronald Jones. Look, Ronald Jones, you say he's being drafted as the RB35. I have him currently projected to be the RB36.
Mike Wright
Overdraft right around there. Overdrafted.
Andy Holloway
So clearly overdrafted. Hey, if you are taking him as the RB35 36, I am fine with that in the sense that what you're talking about and the opportunity to take over that first and second down role and for Kishan Vaughn to come in and whiff on a pass protection or two. We've seen this with Bruce Arians and all of a sudden that rookie is getting a little bit of doghouse treatment. And it's got to be the Ronald Jones show by de facto. There's no, you know, Daria Goombawale is not someone that should be on the NFL field.
Mike Wright
Let me say this too.
Andy Holloway
I find Miami happens. Yeah, we talk about Jordan Howard having.
Mike Wright
Potential in Miami, and I would rather have Ronald Jones in that situation in Tampa than Jordan Howard.
Andy Holloway
I would rather have. I would rather have Jordan Howard because Jordan Howard's a guy who has always gotten it done on the NFL field. 1000 yard rusher time and time again for good teams, bad teams. I want the guy who I think is a good running back, who's an NFL prototypical guy, and that's not who Ronald Jones is. Ronald Jones has had a couple flashes. He's certainly very fast. And you know, my point is, I.
Mike Wright
Do not carry 4.2.
Andy Holloway
I. I mean, if we're, if we're, if we're really standing on that 4.2, like, this guy's awesome. I just don't believe that Ronald Jones will beat out Keyshawn Vaughn when it comes to Tom Brady needing someone to throw the ball to out of the backfield.
Mike Wright
He won't. He won't.
Andy Holloway
And so I'm avoiding Ronald Jones for the however many year in a row since he's been in the NFL.
Mike Wright
Third. This is his third year.
Andy Holloway
Great. Yeah, two for two.
Mike Wright
Second, if you Throw out the rookie year, which I choose to do. Yeah, this is his second year. No, no, no. They changed the back of the football card.
Jason Moore
I like it. It's his third year, but. Well, I'm just going to throw one of those years out.
Mike Wright
Yeah, he threw it out. I can do it, too. All right, Mike, I love your pick.
Jason Moore
The value I want to bring up. Look, in the 90s, right, we all have our.
Andy Holloway
We're.
Jason Moore
I'm talking to the older generation now. We have our songs that in the 90s, they were our favorite songs. You wore it out. You listened to it over and over and over, and you kind of move on from it and you move down the road and then you go back and you listen to the song, you're.
Mike Wright
Like, oh, yeah, holy crap, this is a great song.
Jason Moore
This song is an absolute banger. And you're like, yeah, I'm glad I listened to this song again. I had fatigue because I listened to it so much in the past. And that is exactly, to me, what is going on with DeSean Jackson, wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles. People want nothing to do with him. For some bizarre reason, I guess, if.
Mike Wright
You want to come with some bizarre.
Jason Moore
Reason, he missed last year because of an injury.
Mike Wright
Yes.
Jason Moore
Okay.
Andy Holloway
And he's 33.
Mike Wright
33.
Jason Moore
Okay, well, he's 33, but he was just traded for and given a contract extension by the Eagles last year. That is. It is not ancient history what he did. And in the one game that DeSean Jackson actually played last year, nine targets, eight receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns. And you may say, well, who else? The Eagles wide receiver. Corey was pretty banged up. No, everybody was there in that game. Alshon had seven targets, Ertz had seven targets. Aguilar had five targets. DeSean Jackson was the target leader. And he, like, if you think that Carson Wentz is going to be a good quarterback, it's because DeSean Jackson is playing for this team. And if you want to come at me with it, well, Jalen Rager, first round pick by the Eagles, excellent prospect. I like Rager. I'm super pumped to have him on my Dynasty team. Got a little bit less pumped when a few days ago I stumbled across this article where a quote from Doug Peterson saying, on Jalen Rager, right now, he's going to come in, he's going to learn one position, and he's going to learn from desean Jackson, learn everything he can. Obviously, the playbook is extensive, and we just have to see what he had, what he. What he's taken from the off season to training camp. Once we see his potential and his growth, then we can use him in multiple spots. Once we see his potential, as in he is right now the backup for desean Jackson is. Is Jalen Rager going to get on the field in the first couple weeks? It's Desean Jackson's job. They love him in Philadelphia.
Mike Wright
Back to 100%.
Andy Holloway
He.
Jason Moore
Yeah, he is. He is healthy. Desean Jackson is all systems go for this season. He is a great player. He has not lost his speed. A lot of guys lose the speed at his age. If you watch him play.
Mike Wright
You mean going into their 13th year in the National Football League.
Jason Moore
Exactly. He is an outlier. You watch him play in Tampa Bay a couple years ago. You watched him in that one game last year with the Eagles. He's still DeSean Jackson. He's still has it and he might be the number one wide receiver for this team. Being drafted at wide receiver. 62.
Mike Wright
Jalen. This is that situation that happens every year. A handful of them, everyone will go draft Jalen Rager and DeSean Jackson is the better player.
Andy Holloway
Right?
Jason Moore
Was that or a groan, Jason?
Andy Holloway
No, that was a. Mm. I totally believe in this as a value pick. Desean Jackson is left for dead because he's a 33 year old guy coming off of an injury. But he's come off of injuries before. And we've seen when you have speed like the Sean Jackson has we've seen, you know, in the history of the NFL, those guys don't really lose their speed at older ages. I mean, there's cornerbacks, you know, the best ones that play late into their careers because they just have that, that speed card. So I like, I like to Sean Jackson. I think Andy's point of the fact that we always want the new piece over the right, you know, people are going to be drafting Jalen rager, you know, 100 out of 100 times before they draft Deshaun Jackson. He will go ahead of him in every single league and then you'll be.
Mike Wright
Like, man, why didn't Jenna Rager score me fantasy points this week?
Andy Holloway
Right?
Mike Wright
Oh, yeah. DeSean Jackson still exists. And we spent last off season talking about what DeSean Jackson means to an offense when he's healthy.
Jason Moore
And it was great for a game.
Andy Holloway
It was.
Mike Wright
So look, my dynasty team that has desean Jackson, that does not. Doesn't seem like the ideal roster spot.
Andy Holloway
Sure.
Mike Wright
Desean Jackson on a dynasty team, I'd love to see him bounce back. I don't think it's you know, it's not unreasonable for somebody to want to avoid desean Jackson because of the pains of last year, the fact that he is frequently injured. I don't think he's played a 16 game season since 2013. So you've got a long run of getting banged up which is amazing that he's maintained the speed throughout that time. And you know, to Jason's point like Ted Gins just finally losing it and he's like 35 and still probably pretty darn fast. But I understand people wanting to avoid DeSean Jackson in the same way that they might want to avoid El Sean Jeffrey where when Jeffrey's on the field Carson Wentz throws him the ball for touchdowns. But it's kind of, it's a painful experience at times.
Jason Moore
Upside man of desean Jackson. What's funny about that week one is.
Mike Wright
He was on my bench. Yeah, it was great.
Jason Moore
Possibly that but I mean the world, the fantasy world remembers that was the game that Terry McLaurin went 5 for 1125 yards and a touchdown in his first NFL game over overshadowing DeSean Jackson's 154 and 2.
Mike Wright
Like it's so the number one wide receiver on the week in week one.
Jason Moore
I would imagine so if with 150 yards of two touchdowns.
Mike Wright
It's just that's the last time we saw him.
Jason Moore
It's the funny how it's funny how the, the narratives change over time of the history of the season. I still believe that DeSean Jackson is a great wide receiver. Philadelphia still believes that he is a great wide receiver despite the addition of Jalen Rager and they're going to need.
Andy Holloway
Him if Alshon starts on the PUP as an organization they're saying we need Sean Jackson to be an important part of this offense come the beginning of the season.
Mike Wright
Well and you should, you should read a lot into the fact that complex playbook Doug Peterson coming out and saying look, he's probably not even going to start in his rookie year. Yes, that should be moving your Jalen Rager expectations. If the head coach comes out and says that and then you combine it with a shortened off season program where the teams are not on the field together every day, maybe very limited amounts of time to prepare. Not a great scenario for any of these rookies to go out and prove themselves if you need to prove yourself. Which is what Peterson said. Now the combined age of Mike sleeper in value is impressive.
Jason Moore
Is ARP yeah, it's.
Mike Wright
It's a combined 23 receiving seasons in the NFL, which is. But that's. That's a forgetting somebody.
Jason Moore
Yes. Because they're the old busted. It's not the new hotness anymore. It's not the shiny toy.
Mike Wright
No, no, you're right. So, all right, let's do some mail bay.
Andy Holloway
Mailbag.
Jason Moore
Mailbag.
Mike Wright
Should have done it like an old man. Like your selection. Third round reversal question. Michael in Columbus says, where do you guys stand on a third round reversal in drafts? Does your preference change based on the type of league? Dynasty versus Redraft. So they're saying every three rounds you flip.
Jason Moore
No, it's just the first third. Wait, it's once you get to the.
Mike Wright
Third round, it's a full flip.
Jason Moore
At that point, it just flips the whole draft because. And the whole idea behind it is because the weight of those first few picks, especially the first two rounds, it like, you just know, historically, guys drafted there have a much higher chance of finishing as a great fantasy player. And the further down the draft you go, the lower the probability. That's. People are pretty good at fantasy football. We miss a lot, but we also get a lot. Right. Especially in those first few rounds. So, I mean, I'm fine with it, but I don't think it's any type of mandatory decision.
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I agree. But to answer specifically, they said, is there a difference in Dynasty or Redraft? That would only be for Redraft. In Dynasty, you know, it should just be linear because once you're doing your rookie drafts, I guess the startup is fine, but rookie draft should always just be linear.
Mike Wright
Yep. All right, Jeff in Kansas City, what do I do with Nick Chubb in a Dynasty league? Kareem Hunt is going to be eaten into the passing work carries this year. Do I hold him for another year? Do I try to move him now? What would he be worth to you in the right deal? So what do you guys think about Nick Chubb long term? I think we all agree he's an incredible running back talent.
Jason Moore
Long term, I'm holding on to Nick Chubb. If I'm trading him away, it's. Someone is blowing me away with a package of a usable player. Probably multiple picks like Cream Hunt is there for this year. Yeah. But Dynasty, I mean, you can't just think about this year. You also have to think about next year. And I guess, let's put it this way, Jason, percentage chance that Kareem Hunt is a Cleveland Brown next year.
Andy Holloway
11%. Wow.
Jason Moore
Very, very low.
Andy Holloway
So I think, you know, if Kareem Hunt comes out and has a really crappy year, then maybe he will be able to be resigned by the Browns. I think if Kareem Hunt comes out and shows that he's still Kareem Hunt, which is what I expect him to do, then he will leave for greener pastures.
Jason Moore
Yeah, I think Nick Chubb is still a really solid dynasty running back.
Mike Wright
Was that you predicting that he goes to like the Eagles?
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I mean, I honestly think Kareem Hunt is valuable in dynasty, but I don't worry about him for Nick Chubb that much. I mean, Nick Chubb was still valuable over the last part of last year and he's a great. No, obviously not as much. But I mean, he was still a solid fantasy running back and that was with the weird not being able to get it in from the goal line into the end zone. You know, I expect that to change. I think with Stefanski and the offensive line upgrades, Nick Chubb's going to be end zone. Nick Chubb is going to be awesome this year. I don't, I don't worry. If you could trade him right now at a peak value like Mike said. If you could be blown away. If I could take Nick Chubb and, you know, maybe another little wide receiver piece or something and change it into. And you're in. Your roster allows for this with your running back dip. Change that into like a Tyree Kill or a young stud wide receiver, sure, then I'd be willing to do it. But I'm not looking to get rid of Nick Chubb.
Mike Wright
Yeah, you're not trying to take the Cream Hunt situation and motivate you to correct. To make a big adjustment.
Andy Holloway
Exactly.
Mike Wright
All right. If you have a question, by the way, you can go to the website, the fantasy footballers.com. click the submit a question button. We also have a voicemail hotline you can dial 302-464-TFFB before we close things out, I want to thank Pristine Auction for supporting the show. And a heads up over there on pristineauction.com it is give Back Week and they are partnering with no Kid Hungry this week for Give Back Week auction. Basically, it's June 18 through June 25. There's a few more days left and this year upwards of 18 million kids could face hunger, which is nearly one in four children in America. And they are working by donating 10% of sales from this auction to no Kid Hungry this week. You can go to pristineauction.com when you register. Use the code Ballers. You'll get a $10 credit and you can participate in their Give back week auction. That's pristineauction.com. that's it. We're done. We're done. We did it. We did another show.
Andy Holloway
Oh.
Mike Wright
How's it feel?
Jason Moore
Oh, just like all the rest of them.
Mike Wright
Feels great. All right, Bookland, take care.
Jason Moore
Goodbye.
Andy Holloway
Thank you for listening to another episode episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter the Ffballers.
Fantasy Footballers Podcast: "Early Sleepers & Values" Summary
Release Date: June 23, 2020
In this engaging episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright delve deep into the realm of fantasy football, offering expert analysis, strategic insights, and valuable advice to help listeners dominate their leagues. The episode, titled "Early Sleepers & Values," covers a variety of critical topics, including player injuries, ranking debates, sleeper picks, and listener questions. Below is a comprehensive summary capturing all key discussions and takeaways.
The hosts kick off the episode with their characteristic banter, setting an upbeat tone for the discussions ahead. Mike Wright humorously references the song "From a Distance" by Bette Midler, highlighting their camaraderie and light-hearted interaction before diving into serious fantasy football content.
Timestamp: 03:57
A listener named Tom from Ohio poses a pivotal question: "Why is Aaron Jones ranked so high with the Packers drafting AJ Dillon in the second round? He's our consensus running back. Six right now I have him at nine, Jason at nine, Mike at six. Last year, over a thousand yards, I believe he had about 75 touchdowns, right?"
Discussion Highlights:
Aaron Jones' Performance and Regression:
Impact of AJ Dillon:
Final Consensus:
Timestamp: 06:37
A significant portion of the episode addresses recent injuries affecting fantasy prospects:
Debo Samuel's Jones Fracture:
Other Injury News:
Timestamp: 17:21
The hosts each present their own sleeper and value picks, identifying under-the-radar players poised for breakout seasons.
Andy Holloway: Boston Scott (Philadelphia Eagles)
Mike Wright: Michael Pittman Jr. (Indianapolis Colts)
Jason Moore: DeSean Jackson (Philadelphia Eagles)
Timestamp: 48:17
Listeners' questions provide a platform for the hosts to offer tailored advice and expand on strategic elements.
Third-Round Reversal Strategy:
Nick Chubb in Dynasty Leagues:
Timestamp: 31:59
Beyond sleepers, the hosts discuss players who are undervalued relative to their average draft positions (ADP), offering opportunities for savvy managers to gain an edge.
Robert Woods (Los Angeles Rams):
Ronald Jones II (Tampa Bay Buccaneers):
The episode wraps up with the hosts reinforcing the importance of strategic player selection in fantasy football. They encourage listeners to utilize resources like the Ultimate Draft Kit and engage with the Fantasy Footballers community for ongoing support and updates.
Notable Quotes:
This episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast provides a wealth of information for fantasy football enthusiasts, blending insightful analysis with practical advice. Whether you're navigating player injuries, evaluating sleeper and value picks, or strategizing dynasty league moves, the expert trio equips you with the knowledge to enhance your fantasy football prowess.