Fantasy Football 2017 - Busts + NOT “My Guys”

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary
Episode: Fantasy Football 2017 - Busts + NOT “My Guys”
Release Date: August 25, 2017

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Introduction

In this episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright delve into the challenging task of identifying potential busts for the upcoming 2017 NFL season. They also explore the concept of players who, while not necessarily busts statistically, are still not advisable to draft ("Not My Guys"). The discussion is enriched with expert analysis, candid opinions, and strategic insights to aid fantasy football enthusiasts in making informed decisions.

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Segment 1: Understanding Busts and "Not My Guys"

Jason Moore opens the conversation by highlighting the difficulty in labeling players as busts, emphasizing the responsibility that comes with such predictions:

"It's just difficult to put that on someone ... I got two guys that I am absolutely fine putting this label on."
[01:27]

Mike Wright echoes the sentiment, stressing the importance of honesty in their evaluations:

"It's ... difficulty to put that on someone ... but I'm going to tell you the truth."
[01:54]

Definition Clarifications:

• Busts: Players expected to underperform based on past statistics, average draft positions, and offensive roles.

• Not My Guys: Players who, despite not being outright busts, are deemed undesirable to draft due to various concerns, such as inconsistent performance or unfavorable team dynamics.

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Segment 2: "Not My Guys" Breakdown

Jason Moore shares his "Not My Guys":

• Isaiah Crowell (RB, Cleveland Browns): Despite decent rankings, concerns about inconsistent performance and team turmoil make him unreliable.

  "I always end up taking the guy behind him. I just can't get myself to..."
  [04:00]

Andy Holloway introduces Melvin Gordon (RB, San Diego Chargers) as his "Not My Guy." While Gordon has been a consistent performer, Holloway expresses doubts about his ability to replicate touchdown-heavy performances:

"I have ... he's in my top 10 for my projections, but ... I think it can't continue unless you see major improvement."
[06:07]

Mike Wright counters by highlighting his trust in Gordon's ability, placing him as his number four running back despite acknowledging potential regression:

"He's my number four running back ... you know ... much later than him."
[06:42]

Additional "Not My Guys":

• Patriots Running Backs (e.g., James White, Dion Lewis) due to inconsistent usage and game-plan variability.

  "James White ... Get on the goal line and give him the ball ..."
  [08:06]

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Segment 3: Bust Candidates

The hosts present their top bust candidates for the season, providing in-depth analysis for each.

1. LeGarrett Blount (RB, Philadelphia Eagles)

Mike Wright critiques Blount's 2016 performance, labeling it as his career-best despite inconsistencies:

"Out of the top 24 finishers in 2016 ... LeGarrett Blount ... still wasn't the consistent force you want ..."
[12:21]

Concerns include:

• Lack of improvement prospects.
• Offensive line uncertainties.
• Potential competition from teammates like Wendell Smallwood and Danelle Pumphrey.

Andy Holloway agrees, pointing out the Eagles' reliance on volume without guaranteeing production:

"They can't possibly continue to go forward with the Blount's production unless you see major improvement."
[13:11]

2. Devonte Adams (WR, Green Bay Packers)

Mike Wright selects Adams as his second bust candidate, citing last year's performance as explosive yet inconsistent:

"Last year ... 12 touchdowns ... but ... 75 receptions ... not the consistent force."
[24:52]

Jason Moore emphasizes the unpredictability of Adams' touchdown production, especially with Eli Manning as quarterback:

"TDs are hard to predict ... Texans offense ... defensive strength ..."
[25:04]

Andy Holloway notes the difficulty in banking on Adams' touchdowns given the Texans' offensive style:

"He is being drafted at a spot that says he will do it ... it's going to be hard for him to do that."
[40:49]

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Segment 4: Listener Questions (Mailbag)

The hosts address questions from their audience, providing tailored advice based on their expertise.

Question 1: Draft Strategy in a 10-Team League with Three Wide Receivers and a Flex

Listener: Ryan McCauley from Dallas asks whether it’s smart to adopt a wide receiver-heavy draft strategy.

Andy Holloway suggests that altering the scarcity of positions doesn't necessarily change his balanced approach:

"I don't change my strategy ... I'm more likely to take a wide receiver."
[42:20]

Mike Wright concurs, emphasizing the ease of finding wide receivers but maintains a balanced roster:

"It's just so much easier to find a wide receiver."
[42:35]

Jason Moore adds that his initial draft strategy remains unchanged, focusing on quality regardless of league configuration:

"It doesn't change my first few rounds ... be more balanced."
[43:28]

Recommendation: Maintain a balanced approach early in the draft, focusing on high-quality players regardless of positional abundance, and adjust depth strategy based on league specifics.

Question 2: Draft Rankings – Top 200 vs. Tier-Based Rankings

Listener: Brad from Detroit inquires about using top 200 rankings versus tier-based rankings from the Ultimate Draft Kit.

Jason Moore advises against relying solely on the top 200 list:

"Don't do it ... rankings are super flawed in that methodology."
[43:55]

Andy Holloway cautions that top 200 lists can mislead draft strategies:

"You're going to miss the running backs grouped together ..."
[44:43]

Mike Wright supports tier-based drafting, highlighting its flexibility and adaptability during drafts:

"Stay water ... make adjustments ... think a little more ..."
[46:00]

Recommendation: Utilize tier-based rankings to maintain positional flexibility and adapt to the fluid nature of drafts, rather than adhering strictly to a rigid top 200 list.

Question 3: Third-Round Pick – Ezekiel Elliott vs. Rob Gronkowski

Listener: Quincy from Harrisburg seeks advice on choosing between Ezekiel Elliott (RB) and Rob Gronkowski (TE) in the third round.

Andy Holloway and Mike Wright both lean towards drafting Gronkowski due to his high potential and positional scarcity:

"I'd be Loving life."
[46:49]

Jason Moore acknowledges the temptation but underscores the consensus for Gronkowski:

"It's not that clear cut ... but I think taking Zeke ... but so could Gronk."
[47:06]

Recommendation: Favor drafting Rob Gronkowski in the third round for his elite tight end performance and significant upside, which can provide a competitive advantage given the rarity of top-tier tight ends.

Question 4: Running Back Enhancement from Offensive Line Improvements

Listener: Andrew from SeaWorld questions which running back would benefit most from their team's improved offensive line.

Andy Holloway identifies Todd Gurley as a primary beneficiary:

"Todd Gurley."
[48:54]

Jason Moore adds C.J. Anderson as another potential beneficiary due to expected offensive line improvements:

"We'll also throw C.J. Anderson ..."
[49:04]

Recommendation: Consider drafting running backs like Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson, who stand to gain significantly from their teams' enhanced offensive lines, potentially boosting their rushing yards and overall fantasy performance.

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Segment 5: Closing Remarks

The hosts wrap up the episode by encouraging listeners to engage with the community, participate in giveaways, and stay tuned for future episodes filled with valuable fantasy football insights.

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Notable Quotes

• Jason Moore on Bust Labeling:

  "It's just difficult to put that on someone ... I got two guys that I am absolutely fine putting this label on."
  [01:27]

• Andy Holloway on Melvin Gordon:

  "He's in my top 10 for my projections ... no way ... unless you see major improvement."
  [06:42]

• Mike Wright on Devonte Adams:

  "He's being drafted at a spot that says he will do it ... it's going to be hard for him to do that."
  [24:52]

• Jason Moore on Tier-Based Drafting:

  "When you have a top 200 rankings ... you are going to miss that ... much, much better way to draft."
  [44:49]

• Andy Holloway on Ezekiel Elliott vs. Gronkowski:

  "I'd be Loving life."
  [46:49]

---

Conclusion

This episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast provides a thorough analysis of potential busts and undesirables in the 2017 fantasy football landscape. By dissecting player performances, team dynamics, and draft strategies, the hosts offer invaluable guidance to help fantasy managers navigate their drafts and build competitive teams. Whether you're weighing the risks of drafting certain running backs or considering the high-value tight end options, the insights from Andy, Jason, and Mike aim to enhance your decision-making process for a successful fantasy football season.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, Foot Clan. Before we get into the episode, we're going to be talking about busts, so prepare yourself. Before we do that, I want to remind you about the Secret to Victory. It's a new podcast from Gatorade and Gimlet Creative about how the best athletes in the world use defeat to fuel a win. This week you'll hear from Matt Ryan on the Falcons super bowl loss and how he's preparing for the season ahead. Visit gatorade.compodcast to listen now or subscribe where wherever you get your podcasts.

[Jason Moore]

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

[Mike Wright]

Ah, we're back again.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, it's gonna be a good show.

[Mike Wright]

It's gonna be a great show.

[Jason Moore]

Jason, I apologize for saying it was gonn. I was foolish. So good. So great.

[Mike Wright]

The NFL season is nearly here. Andy, Mike and Jason, the fantasy footballers back again for another jam packed podcast full of fantasy football knowledge and goodness. And there'll be some mispronounced words involved on this show. No doubt.

[Jason Moore]

This is no doubt. No, no doubt. Don't speak. My. See what I did there?

[Mike Wright]

Don't speak.

[Jason Moore]

I know what you're saying. Anyways, this is one of the hardest episodes to do is the busts episode. Because when you say that a player is going to bust that, it's just difficult to put that on someone. You know, don't you put that evil on me. Exactly. It's, it's from our perspective, this is the one show. It's like, man, I just don't want to, I don't want to put this label on someone. But I'm going to tell you the truth.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

I got two guys that I am absolutely fine putting this label on.

[Andy Holloway]

If you call it the. These are the voids people like, come on, you.

[Mike Wright]

Nope.

[Andy Holloway]

You gotta bring in it.

[Mike Wright]

Draw a line in the sand. Look. When you're listening to this podcast, this episode, we are on a flight to Toronto. We're gonna be doing a live show at the Fantasy Sports show in Toronto, Canada. We do have our passports.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

And so we will be presumably allowed in to the country and we're going to have a lot of fun there. So if you're around that area in Toronto, come on by. We will be there for both Saturday and Sunday. Going to be a lot of fun today. We are talking bus on the show. We've got a great episode ahead. If you want to follow the show, follow us on twitterffballers if you want to Join our community if you want to join some good leagues. If you want to talk with great people, check out jointhefoot.com and look, we're going to get right into it. I thought this was a great quick question. I saw this come through on YouTube where we also are. We're on YouTube. That's how I saw it.

[Andy Holloway]

All right.

[Mike Wright]

And they said, look, this was comment on the very popular my guys episode, which by the way, I'm very confident in my guys, but I saw a lot of people drafting some of our guys. So I'm excited to see how well these guys perform. Here was the quick question, who are your not my guys? All right? Which players do you not want to touch with a ten foot pole? Which guys do you not want to roster under any circumstances? And I think this is different than picking a bust. The bus is saying, hey, I'm going to look at the stats from 2016. I'm going to say this guy's going to let you down this year. And based on his average draft position, based on how you think he'll perform in this offense, this is more. Maybe you believe that about this guy, but you also just, you're just not even going to let yourself put him on the roster.

[Jason Moore]

So, so I can answer this one. Based on what you were saying, it's not necessarily that you're calling for a bust, but he's just not your guy and for some reason you can't draft him.

[Mike Wright]

He is not your guy.

[Jason Moore]

That's how I am this year with Isaiah Crowell and it makes me sad. Yeah, Isaiah Crowell is up in my rankings. I said this the other day. When I, when I look at my stats and how many carries I've given him, you know, how many rushing yards he's going to get. He. I can't move him down. I just can't. I believe in it. I don't. I am not calling for a bust from Isaiah Crowell. But the truth is every single time that I'm on the clock and Isaiah Crowell is my highest ranked player according to my own personal rankings, I always end up taking the guy behind him. I'm like, no, pbr, I'm going to go Dalvin Cook. No, I just can't get myself to pull the trick on the Cleveland Brown starting running back. Not knowing all the tumultuous situations, who's the quarterback, who's the quarterback the next week. You know, I just can't believe in it. So Isaiah Cruella is a guy that I am not calling for a bust from him, but he would qualify as a not my guy right now.

[Mike Wright]

That's fair. Fair enough. I mean it's not the most statistical argument, but it might be the most accurate one saying I'm not going to buy into the starting running back of the Cleveland Browns. I like winners that probably won't go together with Isaiah Cruel.

[Andy Holloway]

No, Mike, who's your.

[Mike Wright]

Not my guy.

[Jason Moore]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

If you've, if you've listened to the show for a while, you will not be surprised by this. If you're new to the show, you might be. You'll probably be surprised by this. My, my, not my guy. It's Melvin Gordon.

[Mike Wright]

Now this, I can totally see that.

[Andy Holloway]

With you and the statement of with a 10 foot pole, I won't touch him. That's not true at all. It because at the right value or the right draft position, I would gladly draft Melvin Gordon. But my right draft position means there is a zero percent chance that I will get Melvin Gordon who's going to go at the back of the first round or right at the beginning of the second round. He was amazingly consistent, essentially 100% of his games. He was a running back one or two. He's on a solid offense. I just, he's in my top 10 for my projections.

[Mike Wright]

He's not your guy.

[Andy Holloway]

He's just, he's not my guy. I have. It would not surprise me at all to see those touchdowns just cut in half from what he put up last year. And if they cut in half, Melvin Gordon will be disappointing.

[Jason Moore]

And so you have no faith that he can reproduce.

[Andy Holloway]

It's for a guy to go from zero touchdowns to scoring every single game and really needing, really, really needing those touchdowns on a lot of his strong fantasy games. That just, that gives me pause, that gives me concern. So he's just, he's not a guy who I would draft in the first round.

[Mike Wright]

Now if you are a Melvin Gordon truther out there, I think it's important to understand he's my number four running back. Yeah, Andy loves, I love Melvin Gordon. I don't like the rookie didn't score so he got 12. So he has to, it has to go down. I like the offense, I like Melvin Gordon. But look, that's your prerogative and I totally see that with Melvin Gordon. You've never really been bought in to the long term and that means you're not drafting them and that's fine.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. As a show, I think you stand more alone against Melvin Gordon. I can see the argument.

[Andy Holloway]

Me and the cheese are Fine over here.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I can see the argument for, you know, touchdown regression and worries about those, but I'm much closer with Andy in the sense that I think he is a really good running back on a good offense with touchdown opportunity. Whether or not he will actually score, we, you know, it's one of the harder things to predict.

[Mike Wright]

And I, I almost went with a similar guy in that category for me, which is Jordan Howard, where I've kind of faded on the, like, super high upside in Chicago, the emergence of Tariq Cohen and his ability on third down. I didn't go that direction because I. I would draft Jordan Howard for sure. I went with all the Patriots running backs because, oh, of course I'm scared.

[Jason Moore]

I don't blame him.

[Andy Holloway]

I want one.

[Mike Wright]

I want to want one, but I can't anymore. I'm not touching James White. I'm not touching Dion Lewis. I'm not touching Mike Gillisan. I'm not touching Rex Burkhead.

[Andy Holloway]

That's all of them.

[Mike Wright]

That's all of them. Just those five, four. So look, I mean, you go from Gillisley with the hype to Gillisley's hurt, then Burkhead with the hype and then Burkhead's banged up and then look, Dion Lewis with the second team and James White's the Super bowl hero. Look, game to game, it's probably going to be somebody different. And one of the guys I'm going to talk about later is going to highlight the problem with Patriots running backs. So I'm going to bring it up later. I'm going to tease it like that. We'll get into it, but I'm staying away. You know who's not my guys? All the Patriots running back.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I really like the Patriots running backs at value in best ball leagues because there will be so many points that they're scoring. I mean, if you want to say how many rushing touchdowns do the Patriots get as a team next year? It's probably going to be a good number. How many receiving touchdowns to the running backs? Probably going to be a good number. There's fantasy production, but if you're in a normal home league, I totally see your point here, Andy. You can't draft them and say, okay, now I'm going to start them this week because Bill Pelic can game plan.

[Andy Holloway]

Where?

[Mike Wright]

I think I heard Belichick too.

[Andy Holloway]

Bill Pelican.

[Jason Moore]

Well, Bill Belichick. Goblin, if I said that a little bit too fast, I promise.

[Mike Wright]

Mispronounced words.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, you did. And we do not deliver. We do not disappoint on that. He is the type where coming off of a monster performance and you say, okay, it's Gillislee for sure, and there's a good matchup. He will literally the next game, give him a carry and you get a goose egg. You get nothing. Because he decided in his game plan that today it's Dion Lewis.

[Mike Wright]

If you took the four guys and you gave their stats, cumulative stats to two guys, I think you'd have two top 24 running backs in fantasy.

[Jason Moore]

Sure.

[Mike Wright]

But you will have maybe, you know, week to week. You won't know. And we'll get into that more later. So those are the. Not my guys. We're going to jump right into the bus. Before you do that, I want to remind you foot clangiveaway.com assigned David Johnson helmet. We are giving that away to the listeners. Thank you for listening to the show, for subscribing to the podcast, why we do this show year round. And look, we're dedicated to making this the best fantasy football podcast even when we're on the road. Like we are right now recording from Anaheim, California, at the podcast Movement.

[Andy Holloway]

Not in Disneyland.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, we're basically.

[Andy Holloway]

I tried.

[Jason Moore]

We're sacrificing.

[Andy Holloway]

I tried.

[Mike Wright]

Is this the worst place in the world to be directly outside of Disneyland? Like, all the possible destinations. If you're not going to Disneyland, is it the worst to be right outside of it?

[Andy Holloway]

I think. I think so. I mean, there's some bad places I can think of, but this is right on. Well, that's right near the top.

[Mike Wright]

Let's keep talking about some very negative things.

[Jason Moore]

Bus. Yeah, it's gonna say, I feel like the rich man looking over to Disneyland going, there's a gulf here I can't get over.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, yeah. Mike's tried to talk us into it, maybe. See, there's two things on this trip that will destroy the lives of our wives back at home. One is if we joke constantly like we have been, that we're just gonna go to Disneyland instead of do any of the things we have at the podcast convention. Two is the Game of Thrones finale is Sunday night, and we just say that we're gonna, like, watch the finale without them in Disneyland.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, I'm. I'm gonna watch the finale without them.

[Mike Wright]

That's Mike.

[Jason Moore]

It'll be hard to do in Disneyland because we'll be in Toronto unless HBO leaks it on accident again.

[Mike Wright]

But Mike, I heard him on the phone saying he had a very important podcast appointment with M dot Mouse.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

That he had to meet over Disneyland. Look, I'm going to start it off.

[Andy Holloway]

With my on a railroad too. A really fast Runway railroad.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, yeah. Got to meet him on the commute. Look, I'm going to start this one out because it continues what I said in the not my guys. My first bus pick here and all.

[Andy Holloway]

Of our again stolen from right out from underneath.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I got the name in there before you could all of our consensus bust picks are in the ultimate draft kit@ultimate draft kit.com these are our personal we each picked two out for this show and apparently Mike agrees with me.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, I do.

[Mike Wright]

Look, it's LeGarrett Blunt running back for now of the Philadelphia that's a good.

[Andy Holloway]

Quality Eagles for now.

[Mike Wright]

Here's what was interesting to me. Out of out of the top 24 finishers in 2016 and is that the best year you could ever expect from LeGarrett Blunt?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

18 touchdowns.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Playing for the New England Patriots.

[Jason Moore]

100% career year. He will not have a better year.

[Mike Wright]

Best year career year for the Garrett Blunt in 2016.

[Jason Moore]

No.

[Mike Wright]

1. So out of that top 24, no one had a higher percentage of RB3 or below performances. Out of that top 24. So even in his perfect season, even in his his banner year, LeGarrett Blunt doing what he does, which is run the ball a couple yards into the end zone, he still wasn't the consistent force you want from the running back position.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. For 18 touchdowns. To not be running back one or two every single week, you could still Melvin Gordon.

[Jason Moore]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

You could still make a mistake by starting LeGarrett Blunt last year. So now the preseason eye test tells me he's slow. I mean so does his career. And he's battled weight issues. That report came out the way they were running him in the offense in the preseason. Looked like they didn't know what they were doing with it. Rumors about Wendell Smallwood could win the job or you know, you have Danelle Pumphrey and Sprouls in the game. Look, he's still a fifth round pick right now. That's my bus pick. I don't want LeGarrett blunt in the fifth round because people know he earlier.

[Andy Holloway]

It seemed like he was safe for volume and you knew you weren't drafting a superstar running back. You were drafting someone on a team that runs a lot. They had a lot of rushing touchdowns. I mean look at Ryan Matthews with his eight rushing touchdowns despite not being on the field all that much. So it was I'm going to get the volume for the Philadelphia Eagles. But just watching him into preseason, it can't. They can't possibly continue to go forward with the Garrett Blunt, even if he's. Even if he stays on the. On the team for the beginning of the year, which there's all. Maybe he gets cut or whatever. But throughout the year, there's no way that the Eagles can stay with Blunt's production unless you see major, major improvement.

[Mike Wright]

He's not going to be a factor in the passing game. He needs to be on the goal line. You're going to be in a Lindell White situation with Legare Blunt where you know, you better get on the goal line and give him the ball and he's got to get in and then maybe it'll work out. So that's my first bus. Let's go ahead and kick it over to Jason. Jason's all enthusiastic about crushing my hopes and dreams here.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I got two guys that you like a little bit more, but I'm going to go ahead and start here with my first of two ageism arguments and that's going to be. I'm being ageist against Brandon Marshall. I love Brandon Marshall. I like the dude. I like him as a wide receiver.

[Mike Wright]

He's a compliment sandwich coming.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, you darn right it is. I, I hope he succeeds.

[Andy Holloway]

It's going to be a big sir mix. A lot coming.

[Jason Moore]

I think he is being way overdrafted and will bust for where you're getting him. He's currently being drafted as a wide receiver, too. Okay. Yes. Last year when he turned 32, which is, you know, getting up there for an NFL football player. Yeah. The quarterback play was bad, but you cannot. Okay. Horrific. Mike.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. You're sugar coating that.

[Jason Moore]

No. Yeah. Your face said. Oh, you can't just say bad. No, the quarterback play was atrocious.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you.

[Jason Moore]

But that does not give 100% of the burden there. Brandon Marshall played 15 games. He played pretty much the whole season and he put up 59 receptions for 788 yards and three touchdowns. Yeah, Fitzpatrick was bad, but it's not like Fitzpatrick was some great quarterback the year before. He didn't get it done and now he goes from age 32 to age 33.

[Mike Wright]

Is that how it works?

[Jason Moore]

He's also going from a wide receiver one on his team.

[Andy Holloway]

The predominant target, my buddy Benjamin doesn't.

[Jason Moore]

Do it that way.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's right.

[Jason Moore]

That's right. But now he goes from being a wide receiver one to being a wide receiver two at best.

[Mike Wright]

That's why he's being drafted as a wide receiver.

[Jason Moore]

Two. He is a two always. And he's possibly even the third target in that offense if he ends up falling behind Sterling Shepard, who looked great his rookie year. So he is, he's that 2A 2B target in the offense. So are you telling me that now all of a sudden he's a year older, he's less a center point of the, of the offense and Eli Manning is going to fix everything in the world. You're going to put all of your, you know, hopes and dreams on Eli to manufacture a ton of touchdowns. I've talked about this before. If you look at Eli Manning's best years, you look where he's had multiple good receiving options. You just can't get that many targets going Brandon Marshall's way. And you know, I think gone are the days when Brandon Marshall was a PPR machine. You're going to need the touchdowns and you're going to need them to go to Brandon Marshall. I moved Brandon Marshall up a few days ago, but I moved him up to like 35 or 36. He's being drafted as a wide receiver too. Yeah, I know. I was, I was really low.

[Mike Wright]

The argument is compelling, especially the part where you said you're going to put your hopes and dreams on Eli Manning. I don't really want to do that. And I will definitely consider you're talking.

[Andy Holloway]

To a two time super bowl champion.

[Mike Wright]

My friends, the other things that are in the mix there is player switching teams. We tend to sugarcoat that. We tend to. We just Talked about the 10 tips and tricks show about not romanticizing the past, you know, not being sentimental. There's sentimentality that comes with Brandon Marshall ownership because you're saying, ooh, this guy was a one for so long. So I like it. We're going to get into. We'll give Mike his shot at delivering a bust for you. Before we do that, we want to, of course, thank our sponsor, Harry's. Harry's Razors. Look, for decades, we know this one big razor company. They have relentlessly increased their prices. They have reaped immense profits at the expense of the customers. There wasn't another great player in the game. But look, Jeff and Andy, the owners at Harry's, they came, they came around and they said, look, let's, we're fed up. We're fed up with this. We're fed up about getting ripped off and we're going to change the business. So they bought their own blade factory. Look, I can tell you from personal experience And I know a lot of guys, we have a routine. We do the same thing all the time. And I always used other blades. I tried Harry's out. I've been using them for over two years now. They're comfortable, shave, they're more cost efficient. It's part of my routine now and I'm not spending that big money. So listen, Harry's is so confident you're going to love their blades, they'll give you their free trial set. You just have to cover the shipping. Your free trial set includes a weighted ergonomic razor handle, five precision engineered blades with a lubricating strip and trimmer blade, rich lathering shave gel, and a travel blade cover. So you get a $13 value for you to try. Stop messing around and start shaving with Harry's today by claiming your free trial offer. $13 for free. Just cover the shipping. To get your free trial set, including all of the things I said above, go to harrys.comfootballers. that's Harry's.comfootballers.

[Jason Moore]

And a big thank you to Pristine Auction. Great, great supporter of the show. Look, if you've listened for a long time, you've heard us talk about them forever. But the truth is, all the giveaways that we do, all the stuff up in our studio where we go for great gifts, it's genuinely Pristine Auction. We used Pristine Auction before we ever knew who Pristine Auction was and we found out they were local and we sought them out as a sponsor because where this place is awesome. This is a match made in heaven. If you play fantasy football and you like sports and you like this cool stuff, go to Pristine Auction. Get some incredible signed memorabilia, things that you just don't think you can afford or you don't think you can find. And search their thousands of daily auctions, see what they have. Buy amazing stuff, put it up on your wall, impress your friends, your family and nay yourself and you won't be disappointed. Check them out. It's P R I S T I n e auction.com. pristine auction. Great Friends of the show for all signed sports memorabilia.

[Mike Wright]

All right, this is perfect, Mike, you got to do number one on your list here.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

So lead it off. Who's your boss candidate?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going to throw this guy out because there's. He's changing teams too. And people are very. Fantasy players are very excited about being drafted very high. I don't get it. And that's Martellis Bennett, who's going in the seventh round of drafts. Last year, the tight ends received 16.6% of Aaron Rodgers targets. You're telling me you're going to take a tight end in the seventh round and the team can't even get 17% of the targets? I mean, I, Aaron Rodgers does not use his tight end. I went back through his entire career as being a starter. There's been twice of his nine years that a tight end has hit eight touchdowns twice. Other than that, it's five or less. The touch the tight end with the most tight end or touchdowns. There's a lot of tight ends of touchdowns. They just, they. It doesn't happen. Aaron Rodgers throws to his wide receivers and you want to say, well, Jared Cook, he was their big acquisition and he was hurt. He was, he was still on the field for 30% of snaps. Richard Rodgers was on the field for 55% of snapshot. They're not catching touchdowns because they, they don't. Because Aaron Rodgers doesn't look for it. I understand you like, people are buying in even more because we saw, oh, Bennett, he scored in the, in the preseason. Stop, stop. I'm not, I'm not buying.

[Mike Wright]

You're not buying. Interesting.

[Jason Moore]

It's not like Richard Rodgers is gone either.

[Andy Holloway]

Correct. And the thing is, here's the worst part about Martell, what Martellus Bennett will do. And I'm not knocking him as a player. I'm just knocking his situation. He's going to have a monster game. He's going to have probably three great games. And every single time you will re. Buy back in, you'll put him in your starting roster, you'll pick him up off of waivers because he's bound to get dropped, I'm telling you. And you'll, oh, I got it, I got it. I got a top five tight end. And then there goes. He's just going to crap all over your starting roster when you have the courage to finally play him. I just. He's going to be so inconsistent. Rogers does not have the history of throwing to the tight end. Even Jermichael Finley, I mean, years and years and years ago, he was one of the, one of the tight ends who got up to eight touchdowns, but he only sniffed that area once. He was never even close. So I'm just not buying in to Aaron Rodgers changing his entire offensive philosophy and going to Martellus Bennett.

[Jason Moore]

I have looked into this before, if you listen, months ago, and I, I used to have that same narrative that you have. And then I realized on a per game basis, he actually did use good tight ends. When Jermichael Finley Was there that one season that he had? That he had one season? No, no, no. But the reason that it was only that one is because he would only play five games the other season, six games the other season. In those games he was on pace to be a tight end one. All of that being said, the draft capital that you have to spend in the seventh round, a seventh round replacement for Martellis Bennett and the up and down nature that probably will come from being a little bit more touchdown dependent. I don't personally call for a Martellus Bennett bust. I don't think that's going to happen as far as end of year rankings. But he would be more along the lines of to me, a guy that I probably won't have in a single league because where you have to draft him. I actually believe in tight ends I like much better than him, much later than him.

[Andy Holloway]

Bennett or Zach Ertz?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I'll take Ertz, Watts or Henry. Right now Martellus Bennett is a seventh round draft pick and I'm not going to have him on my team. But I don't predict a bust either because I think one of the things you're looking from a tight end perspective, if you don't have an upper echelon guy, you want a good quarterback and a chance to score. Both of those things exist. Now I'm not going to call the bus like you did, but I believe Martellus Bennett will affect my bust in a big way. So I'm going to give you my number. My number two bus is devonte Adams. Okay? Devonte Adams last year exploded onto the scene, right? Led, you know what? 12 touchdowns for Devonte Adams. It's the breakout campaign and I know people love him and packers fans are mad at me for not loving him.

[Andy Holloway]

But he only Most people hate Devonte Adams.

[Mike Wright]

Not anymore.

[Jason Moore]

Not Packers.

[Mike Wright]

Not once you score 12 touchdowns. And here's the thing, even last year and what again I'm going to my argument for my two busts Blunt and Adams is perfect scenario type of situations for me. He still only had 75 receptions. He was still a wide receiver one or two only 43% of the time. That's 18th best from a consistency perspective. That's behind Taylor Gabriel. Even in a perfect season you had an unhealthy Randall Cobb that wasn't involved with the offense. Now you add Bennett, who you saw it in the preseason already. Aaron Rodgers can put the ball at a point where he can go up and high point and he scores. He's going to score some Touchdowns. Even Mike admitted he's going to have some flashy games. And I keep hearing this name. Look, Aaron Rodgers, he always sustains two wide receivers and James Jones name gets brought up. Well, look, James Jones had his outlier touchdown season 15. You know what, he followed it up with three and then six. Okay, so it wasn't like that was consistent outside of Jordy Nelson, who by the way, Jordy Nelson, he had 15 touchdowns. He followed it up with an eight, I'm sorry, a seven. So it's not something that you can bank on. We have always talked about. You cannot bank on those touchdowns all of the time. Even the great Jordy Nelson goes from 15 to 7, then to 8 the year after. TDs are hard to predict. You have Bennett as a red zone factor. You have Randall Cobb. And so look, at the end of the day, I think you cannot bank on somebody with 75 receptions in an offense. Now look, you want to take a shot. If he repeats the touchdowns, he'll be fine. I just see so much turnover at that position. Unless you're Odell Beckham, Julio Jones or one of the big guys.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. One of the keys to fantasy football, when you're in the draft portion of the season, when you're looking at season long predictions and trying to get the order in the rankings and establish all that, is that when it comes to predicting success, volume is more important than touchdowns, usually at just projections. And so you know, you're right in the sense that Devonte Adams does not have the volume. He is not going to be that 90 plus reception guy. So the touchdowns will have to come to capitalize on his draft spot. Now Aaron Rodgers is the quarterback, so it's tough. I'm like, I'm amazed both of you took an Aaron Rodgers option and said they're going to bust because that's, that's weighty. I mean he could throw 40 touchdowns easy. In fact, I think of the Jordy Nelson era. While he's had a full season with Jordy, he's averaged 40 touchdowns, which is unbelievable. So it's, it's risky. But the touchdowns, I think the biggest guy that could make both of you right is Randall Cobb. Certainly could go back up on the touchdown. So I'm going to go with my next aegist comment.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, you basically, you don't like anybody over the age of 22 playing in the NFL.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, 22 is my cutoff.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

My dynasty team is, is all rookies. No, my, my guy is someone that. Andy, earlier in the off season you were Starting to really get high on. The reports have been great about him from camp, but supposed to play to Adrian Peterson. I know if you listen to the My Guy episode. Look, one of my guys was Mark Ingram. I mean, so obviously if I think Mark Ingram is going to succeed, I think that Adrian Peterson is probably overdrafted considering he's going well ahead of Mark Ingram. Adrian Peterson right now is being drafted as a running back to similar to Brandon Marshall. He is an older guy who had a bad season, is changing teams and now is supposed to be totally okay. And you might say, well, Jason, he didn't have a bad season. He got injured. And I would say kind of. I mean, yes, yes, he got injured, you're right. And yes, the sample size, I will grant you, it is extremely small.

[Mike Wright]

30 carries, isn't it?

[Jason Moore]

He had 20 carries in Game 1, 19 carries in Game 1 for 31 yards against the vaunted Tennessee Titan run defense last year. And then he followed that up the next game. He had 12 carries. Now, that last carry, let's say that doesn't count. He got injured. 11 carries. He had 19 yards against Green Bay's vaunted run defense last year. He was not good.

[Andy Holloway]

Then he tore.

[Jason Moore]

He tore his meniscus. He tore his meniscus and was quickly able to recover. And if you don't remember, he actually was back from that injury last year and played in Week 15, their 14th game, where he got six carries before having knee and groin injuries. Reoccur. And now, now I realize hall of Fame player, incredible good offense, all of these good things. But he is a year older and he is much older than Brandon Marshall is. When you talk positionally, positionally, you know, 30 is usually that age at running back that you. You tend to fall off. And now he's going to be 32 years old. He's coming off an injury and you say, well, look how good he did coming off of his ACL injury back in the day. Sure. So did Jamal Charles. When Jamal Charles had an ACL injury the first time, man alive, did he come back on fire. He was great. But when he got injured later in his career, when he was a little bit older, he lost a step. And hopefully this weekend, when we finally see him back on the field in preseason, Jamal Charles is great. And, you know, maybe Adrian Peterson is going to be great. But what I see is this. I see that it's rare for an older player who loses a step to then come back at an old age and regain it all. That's pretty Much. Mike Crux, I think he's a high.

[Andy Holloway]

I gotta talk too.

[Jason Moore]

A high risk for injury to reoccur. He's no longer the focal point of the offense. He's always been a guy who has benefited from carries better at the end of games than at the beginning because he wears the defense down, type of runner. And that's probably not going to happen. Is his touchdown opportunity going to be up and high because of Drew Brees? Sure, but I think injuries and where he's being drafted. He's being drafted ahead of a bunch of starters.

[Mike Wright]

Mike, do you want me to go or do you want.

[Andy Holloway]

No, you go ahead.

[Mike Wright]

Here's all I want to say about that. I wanted to listen to your argument on the bust of Adrian Peterson and I wanted to say this. I wanted to say, look, Jay, you know, I moved him down, which I did like a week ago. You know, we talked about Mark Ingram, Alvin Kamara's look good, a lot of running backs in the mix there. I wanted to say. You know what? I really agree with the arguments you're making, but I don't like your arguments. I don't like all of them. Some of them make sense to me, but I'm not erasing 2,381 Adrian Peterson carries in his career because of 37 last year. I'm not saying a guy's lost a step because of 37 carries on. We want to use the vaunted word. That was the bad offensive line in Minnesota. Right. And you give a guy 37 carries and you erase a career of production at 4.9 a carry. I get some of the arguments. Some of the ones you made made sense. But we've also talked a lot about on the last show, all the arguments you made for Mark Ingram. You still have to look at those and say, what's the real maybe? The maybe the ceiling isn't there for Adrian Peterson like it has been over the last 10 years of his career. But he's never played a full season without double digit touchdowns. You just talked about how productive the Saints were at the running back position. So bust only due to injury. That's the only way I think you get pure bust out of Adrian Peters. And I want to hear what Mike says. I have no idea what side Mike's going on.

[Jason Moore]

But just to retort, if I have not been clear enough, because I think based on what you're saying, I wasn't. I see Adrian Peterson as a very high injury risk. Inside injury, sees him as an elevated injury risk.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

He Came back from the knee issue last year and hurt his groin and his knee. That's my biggest issue is actually the injury risk for being drafted as a running back, too.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, yeah. And we'll say this. All that might go if Ingram or Peterson are injured or something happens. What a backfield to own.

[Andy Holloway]

There was a running back who. He's not in the hall of Fame yet, but going to go out on a limb and declare this running back will get into the hall of Fame. He was coming off of eight straight years of a thousand plus rushing yards, and then he moved teams and everyone was very, very excited for this player. His name is Stephen Jackson. He went to the Falcons and he was older, changed teams, and his career was done. It completely fell apart. And this. I'm just saying this reminds me very much.

[Mike Wright]

It's a pretty good comparison.

[Andy Holloway]

Peterson has done where huge career. It's going to be in the hall of Fame, but the career is done. He's. He's on the last fumes of his professional career.

[Jason Moore]

It's funny because before you said Stephen Jackson, I thought. Really? You think Matt Forte is going to get into the hall of Fame?

[Andy Holloway]

I wasn't going to say Forte.

[Jason Moore]

No, I know. But my point is he was another guy who had a prolific, long, great career, changes teams at an old age and had injury problems.

[Mike Wright]

And what do you expect from Adrian Peterson is the problem? I mean, that's the question, too. I mean, you bring up Steven Jackson, his career, it wasn't a case of Arian Foster switching teams. He played two seasons in Atlanta. He scored six touchdowns each of his seasons. Matt Forte was productive in New York.

[Andy Holloway]

You're glossing over the yardage.

[Jason Moore]

Well, I'm not.

[Mike Wright]

No, no. He was 500 and he was 700. I know what it was. I'm just saying, if you got that from Adrian PETERSON this year, six touchdowns.

[Jason Moore]

And 700 yards, be so disappointed for the fact that he is drafted right now as an RB2.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it would.

[Jason Moore]

That's my point. You got 500 yards.

[Mike Wright]

Well, that's within the realm of possibility for sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So I'm.

[Mike Wright]

I hope not. But it is definitely possible.

[Andy Holloway]

I am likely staying away from.

[Mike Wright]

I like this. Yeah, that's an interesting.

[Jason Moore]

It's a good debate because plenty of people out there obviously love him, disagree with us wholeheartedly, and there's a lot to lose if there's a guy with a chip on his shoulder.

[Andy Holloway]

Problem with doubting it is it's.

[Jason Moore]

You don't want to doubt Adrian Peterson.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. But at some Point. His body will be done.

[Jason Moore]

Just. Just so you know, I have Adrian Peterson.

[Mike Wright]

Age never loses Father Time.

[Jason Moore]

Father Time is undefeated right now. Frank Gore is trying to change that, but we'll see.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, even. Even Fred Jackson couldn't do that.

[Jason Moore]

I have Adrian peterson down for 710 rushing yards and seven and a half touchdowns.

[Mike Wright]

Where does that put him on your ranking?

[Jason Moore]

He is.

[Mike Wright]

That's reasonable.

[Jason Moore]

In a half point PPR, it puts him 32.

[Mike Wright]

And he's being drafted where 22, I.

[Jason Moore]

Think as an RB2.

[Mike Wright]

All right. Compelling arguments, Mike. Close us out on the bus, baby, and we'll get into some mailbag. Today, let's answer some listener questions from the Foot Clan. But first. But first, Mike's bringing.

[Andy Holloway]

Shut it down.

[Mike Wright]

He's bringing more hate.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, DeAndre Hopkins. I am sorry to tell you, Foot Clan fantasy football players. I don't understand why people think that Tom Savage or DeSean Watson is the solution. It rectifies everything for DeAndre Hopkins. Incredible wide receiver, incredible talent. Being drafted as the 14th wide receiver in PPR. How do you finish according to fantasy football calculator? I don't have it right in front of you, but I believe it was somewhere in the 30s.

[Jason Moore]

Jason.

[Andy Holloway]

The exact number. But here's the problem with DeAndre Hopkins, 14th wide receiver. Last year he was a wide receiver one 12 1/2% of his games. Last year he was a wide Receiver one or two in 37 1/2% of his games, which. That's not the worst. Here's the worst. 56% of the time he was a wide receiver or worse.

[Mike Wright]

That's atrocious.

[Andy Holloway]

Had to play DeAndre Hopkins every single week.

[Jason Moore]

You good?

[Andy Holloway]

Did you have the intestinal Fortitude to bench DeAndre Hopkins? No way. There's no way you did.

[Jason Moore]

He finished last year as the wide receiver 36.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you. Wide receiver 36.

[Mike Wright]

You know what this is, this situation? This is when you have to take your kid to the dentist because you know it's better, it's best for them. But the whole experience is painful because I love DeAndre Hopkins like you. Compare for some reason, him and Alan Robinson, they come to my mind together because of their situation. I think DeAndre Hopkins is a better receiver than Alan Robinson by far. I think he's amazing. But what's best for fantasy owners is to listen to Mike, and I hate it.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Here's the thing. Last year, Kenny Britt on the Cleveland, or, I'm sorry, not. Not on the. On the Browns, on the ramps. Jared Goff Was wide receiver one or two. It's a very, very similar, very similar percentage. And he busted less than Hopkins. You, on a week to week basis, you would have been better off playing Kenny Britt with Case Keenum, with Jared Goff throwing him the ball. Now it's. It should be better. I will give you this. It should be better than last year because Brock Osweiler, my goodness, the worst.

[Jason Moore]

The worst.

[Andy Holloway]

So Tom Savage, Deshaun Watts, at least there is. There's a new hope. Right. We were going Star wars here with there's a hope.

[Mike Wright]

You realize that Kenny Brett might have been this close and you're talking a millimeter from going golf to Osweiler.

[Andy Holloway]

No, that's. That's not something you want to hear, especially if you've just consumed food. Yeah, but here's the deal. It's just, it's. I think it'll be better for Hopkins. But why do you see for 14?

[Mike Wright]

No, that's a problem. I wish you would have told me he's being drafted at 20.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Palatable. I'm cozy.

[Andy Holloway]

But I think there is.

[Mike Wright]

Let me ask Jason a question on it. Is there upside for DeAndre Hopkins?

[Jason Moore]

No.

[Mike Wright]

Gosh dang it.

[Jason Moore]

Well, here's the thing. If you're in a PPR league, there's a little bit more hope. Right. Because he will.

[Mike Wright]

His mom wrote me a letter and asked what the chances are that her son could return to glory.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. The problem is, so last year no one had, I think there were only two wide receivers that were in the wide receiver one range with six touchdowns or fewer. One of those is Julio Jones because he's unbelievable, you know, wide receiver with a great, prolific offense. And he's the, you know, clear target of a great quarterback. The other was Amari Cooper, who, you know, again, had an awesome season when it comes to elsewhere, has a great quarterback. And, you know, the year before it was even worse. I don't even think there was anyone with six or fewer touchdowns. And touchdowns are the reason why I have a hard time trusting DeAndre Hopkins. Because if he wants to get up to where he's already being drafted. Right. So like you're, you are drafting him at a spot that says he will do it, that he will be the wide receiver. 14, which says he's probably going to need seven, seven plus touchdowns. Okay, seven to get there. Eight pass there. And with the Houston Texans offense and with the Houston Texans defense.

[Mike Wright]

Defense, yeah.

[Jason Moore]

It's going to be hard for him to do that.

[Mike Wright]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

Say the last thing is because that's that's what they are. That's who the Texans are. They want to run the ball. They. They've got Miller and maybe it's. Maybe it's Foreman. I don't. I'm not going to that.

[Mike Wright]

They want to get into victory position and then put. It's like a bubble, boy. You want to put the bubble around it and just not let it go away.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. The year prior, I just wanted to vet what I said. The year prior, nobody had fewer in the top 12 receivers, nobody had fewer than eight touchdowns. So if you, if you're hoping for a wide receiver, one number from DeAndre Hopkins, you have to hope that he ends up with more touchdowns than he should have.

[Mike Wright]

Look, all right, time to get positive. Let's get into the mailbag.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. All right.

[Jason Moore]

Mailbag. See, I like that we're going positive now. We needed a mailbag on the show. It's so hard to be so mean. I don't like being mean.

[Mike Wright]

All right, look, we love answering your questions. We love helping you win your league. If you have a question for the show, go to the website thefantasyfootballers.com, click the submit a question button. You can also dial our voicemail hotline. That number is 302464. TFFB. Leave us your voicemail question. We're gonna get into a voicemail question right off the bat here. Hey, Ryan McCauley here. I'm in a 10 team league with three wide receivers and a flex. Do you think it's smart to go wide receiver heavy right off the bat so you get the thanks, guys. Yeah, it's a good question because a lot of the times we talk about the value of running backs, and that's always in the context of a standardized format of quarterback, two running back, two wide receiver, one flex, one tight end. Now you've got a flex, but three wide receivers. Mike, how does that change the situation?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean, you're changing the scarcity a little bit. And the only time I change my strategy when it comes to three wide and two running backs is simply if it's PPR, other full point PPR, if it's anything but, like, if I'm talking 0.9 PPR, I've still not, still not changed on my strategy. I don't know. I've never heard of a 0.9 PPR league.

[Mike Wright]

Does it make you a lot less likely to start a draft? Running back, running back. Because I don't think I would really like going running back. Running back. If I'm If I'm theoretically, like you said, in a PPR or even a half point, I probably got to start three or four wide receivers.

[Andy Holloway]

I almost always am balanced.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm going running back, wide receiver, wide receiver, running back. It's pretty rare for me to come into the third round.

[Mike Wright]

It's just so much easier to find a wide receiver.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, and that's, that's what I'm saying where I'm not changing it. But when you're in the in ppr, wide receivers are just safer and they score more points. So it devalues a bit your reliance on having to make sure that your running backs are starters.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I agree with you guys. It doesn't change my first few rounds. It'll change later. It'll change. How many of each position do I end up with after the draft? Do I want more running backs and wide receivers? Do I need to be more balanced and have, you know, the same of each? Do. Does this league only start one running back and more wide receivers? In which case then I'll have more wide receivers and running backs. But the first few rounds, probably not changing my strategy.

[Mike Wright]

All right, Jason, good question here from jdub in Detroit.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, Jdub.

[Mike Wright]

That's Brooks hometown. He would probably say something if he had a microphone.

[Andy Holloway]

You know, J Dub.

[Mike Wright]

You know J Dub Brooks. He's shaking his head. All right, look, should I use this is an ultimate Draft?

[Jason Moore]

What a great question. Thank you, Brad.

[Mike Wright]

Should I use the top 200 rankings or. And or tier based rankings from the Ultimate Draft Kit? So this question is about how to use the ultimate draft kit. The best.

[Jason Moore]

Great. I'm going to answer his question as if he said just should I use the top 200 ranking? No, no, don't do it. And here's why. Yes, I will explain it. Okay? Because the top 200. The top 200 rankings.

[Mike Wright]

You got to help me, Mike. I got no voice.

[Jason Moore]

But Jason, I like top 200 lists. Of course you do. It's so easy because all you got to do is you got to scratch from top to the bottom.

[Andy Holloway]

That was my. That was my business partner, M. Mouse.

[Mike Wright]

I like it. Yeah, that's right.

[Jason Moore]

With a top 200 list, when you have a top 200 rankings, it feels so much easier and it makes you more confident because you see this wide receiver so much ahead of this running back or this running back so much ahead of this wide receiver.

[Andy Holloway]

I throw all my blame on the fantasy footballers because I just took the right. It's what it takes.

[Jason Moore]

But listen, listen. You don't want to draft that way because rankings are super flawed in that methodology. When we do our best to try to make a top 200 that is legit, that is, you know, as good as we can put together.

[Mike Wright]

But legitimately, you forced us to do it.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, right. Yeah, we, our first UDK, we don't even include a top 200. People wanted it so bad that we put it in there. But we are big proponents of tier based drafting. What that means is you're drafting positionally within each position based on the tiers that are available at that position. Looking and saying, there's a lot of guys left at this position. So I'm going to go elsewhere within the same tier, within the same group of quality type players. There's so many wide receivers here that I'm going to take one at running back. Now, if you're just going top 200, you're going to miss that. You're not going to be able to see the running backs grouped together to know, okay, yeah, the running back is lower here, but that's like the last guy where if you don't get him, you're going to be in garbageville at running back. You want to look positionally, that's the much, much better way to draft. And if, you know, look, I'm happy we have a top 200. I'm glad we make it. We're happy to produce it for you and I hope you never, ever use it.

[Mike Wright]

If you want to see a lot.

[Andy Holloway]

Of weirdness going on, what the tier.

[Mike Wright]

Based drafting looks like, it's easy. Flip back three episodes to the mock draft episode. Listen to us talk about the tiers and how we don't really talk about going through a top 200 list in any way because the draft is so fluid. Mike brings it up all the time. You got to stay water. You got to be willing to make adjustments and it's. Yeah, you got to think a little more than just checking off a list, but that's why you're going to win your league. All right, let's go to this one. Quincy in Harrisburg, high risk player question says Ezekiel Elliott or Rob Gronkowski in the third round. Who do you go with? I'll take Rob Gronkowski. I like the value on Rob Gronkowski.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, I was immediately going to jump in there with Gronk and I'm going to stick with. I'm sticking with it. Yeah, Rob Gronkowski in the third. I mean, that's.

[Mike Wright]

You get a good value on it.

[Andy Holloway]

I'd be Loving life.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I think I am as well. I. But it's tempting. And even though we're all saying unanimously here that it's Gronk, it's not that clear cut. I think taking Zeke in the third, it could really pay off for you, but so could Gronk.

[Andy Holloway]

So just. I'll tell a draft story. And because we've talked. We've always talked about or people have been asking, where am I? Where do I take Zeke? Where do I jump in on him? I was in a 10 team home style league and we did our draft and I was at the turn. I was.

[Mike Wright]

Got hungry.

[Andy Holloway]

I was at the back.

[Jason Moore]

Why?

[Andy Holloway]

Why did you get hungry?

[Mike Wright]

I don't know. You said home style. I thought I was gonna get some mashed potatoes.

[Jason Moore]

Okay, all right, all right.

[Andy Holloway]

So. But I'm at. I'm at the back. I'm at the 9 pick and it came around to the back of the second round. This is. Remember, it's a 10 team and I'm like, I'm going to take the gamble here that the person at the edge won't take Zeke and maybe I'll grab him on the way in because I've talked about I'm more likely to take Zeke in these smaller leagues where I feel like I can get quality depth to absorb the suspension of six games. I gambled and lost. The person at the edge took Zeke. And as the draft went on more and more, I was very disappointed. You're bummed out in myself that I didn't take the risk on the back of the second. So I've talked about, like, I want him in the fourth and third when the bullets were firing.

[Mike Wright]

So in a world where you were.

[Andy Holloway]

This was a real draft at the back of the second, I was bummed that I missed out on him.

[Mike Wright]

All right. Andrew. In maybe the coolest place on earth. Andrew. Thunder.

[Andy Holloway]

Bay. Thunder. Bay.

[Mike Wright]

Wow, that sounds like a ride at Sea World or something. Andrew and Thunder.

[Jason Moore]

Disneyland.

[Mike Wright]

Sorry.

[Jason Moore]

All right. We're having withdrawals.

[Andy Holloway]

Did you say SeaWorld?

[Mike Wright]

I did.

[Andy Holloway]

That's your go to. Probably because of Bay.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it was because of Bay, man.

[Andy Holloway]

Michael Bay.

[Mike Wright]

All right. Wondering which running back would benefit the most this season from the improvements to their team's offensive line.

[Andy Holloway]

Todd Gurley.

[Mike Wright]

Todd Gurley, Andrew Whitworth, Greg Robinson locking down. Maybe the weakest part of their entire line is maybe one of the strengths now. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

We'll also throw C.J. anderson out there. Their offensive line was bad last year and they. They should be better this year.

[Andy Holloway]

They should put Paxton lynch on the line.

[Mike Wright]

That's not going to help anything. Do you need maybe a tight end?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm just trying to get him on the field. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

When in doubt, you convert to a receipt past, you know, receiver.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Go to all pride.

[Andy Holloway]

That's what I hear.

[Mike Wright]

All right, that is it for today's episode. Thank you for tuning in. We will be back very soon and hope you enjoyed the show. Make sure you subscribe. Leave us those sweet itunes reviews. And we keep bringing the goodness. Check out the ultimate draft kit@ultimate draftkit.com.

[Andy Holloway]

And come say hello.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. At the FantasySportShow.com this weekend. We'll be there. Come hang out.

[Mike Wright]

All right, that is it, guys. Playdraft.com Ballers if you want to get in on week one DFS and you want to draft your team, no more salary caps.

[Andy Holloway]

That's right.

[Mike Wright]

Draft your team. We love drafting play drafts. Goodbye.

[Jason Moore]

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