Fantasy Football 2017 - Preseason Week 3 Findings + Compliment Sandwiches

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast – Episode: Fantasy Football 2017 - Preseason Week 3 Findings + Compliment Sandwiches

Release Date: August 29, 2017

The Fantasy Footballers trio—Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright—deliver an engaging and insightful episode as they delve into their experiences from Toronto and provide comprehensive analyses of Preseason Week 3 games. The episode is structured into several key sections, each offering valuable insights for fantasy football enthusiasts.

---

1. Trip Recap and Fan Interactions

The hosts open the episode by reflecting on their recent trip to Toronto for the Fantasy Sports Show. Mike Wright expresses gratitude towards the Foot Clan members who attended the show, highlighting the excitement of meeting fans face-to-face. Despite encountering travel challenges—Mike's car breaking down and enduring a four-hour flight back—the hosts exhibit enthusiasm and readiness to dive into football discussions.

Notable Quotes:

• Mike Wright [01:07]: “Thank you so much to all the Foot Clan that came out and saw us up in Toronto at the fantasy sports show. It was incredibly amazing meeting...”
• Andy Holloway [02:01]: “It's football time.”

---

2. Compliment Sandwich Segment

Introducing a playful segment dubbed the "Compliment Sandwich," the hosts critique various NFL players by sandwiching constructive feedback between two compliments. This segment serves both as entertainment and a means to provide balanced evaluations of player performances.

Players Discussed:

• Philip Rivers

  • Andy Holloway [04:54]: “Philip, good job on this past season, this past preseason game. You look much better with Keenan Allen in tow.”
  • Jason Moore [05:20]: “You have aged very well into your later years. Still a fantasy relevant player.”

• Theo Riddick

  • Jason Moore [05:55]: “You don’t cost very much. Amir Abdullah's track record isn't pristine here. So, yeah, I'll take you in the later rounds.”

• Tyler Ifert

  • Andy Holloway [08:18]: “Tyler, very good looking. As Jason said, wonderful performances the past few years while you're on the field.”

Notable Quotes:

• Mike Wright [05:08]: “He’s wide awake.”
• Andy Holloway [08:00]: “Feel like that one needed to be like the Big Mac where it needed another layer of.”

---

3. News and Notable Updates

The hosts discuss significant news impacting fantasy football, including the trade of Vance McDonald to the Pittsburgh Steelers. This development is scrutinized for its potential fantasy implications, especially concerning tight end positions.

Notable Quote:

• Jason Moore [21:35]: “Vance McDonald has been traded to the what? Pittsburgh Steelers.”

---

4. Preseason Week 3 Findings

A substantial portion of the episode is dedicated to analyzing Preseason Week 3 games, assessing player performances, and making ranking adjustments based on observations.

a. Kansas City Chiefs vs. Seattle Seahawks

• Kareem Hunt: Garnered praise for his involvement early in the game, leading Andy Holloway to rank him as his top running back candidate.
• Tyreek Hill: Displayed exceptional importance to the Chiefs' offense but showed inconsistency with problematic drops.

Notable Quotes:

• Andy Holloway [12:03]: “Kareem Hunt is going to get a lot of work. He should easily finish as at least a low end running back one.”
• Andy Holloway [25:05]: “Don't overreact on the drops. Realize that you can't drop the ball unless you got the ball thrown your way.”

b. Green Bay Packers vs. Denver Broncos

• Tyron Matthew vs. Matt Ryan: Examined the Seahawks' offensive performance, emphasizing Russell Wilson's smooth passing and Eddie Lacy's reliability.
• Dalvin Cook vs. Latavius Murray: Highlighted Cook's potential as a heavy workload running back in Green Bay's offense.

Notable Quotes:

• Jason Moore [28:21]: “Corey Coleman is going to move up and Deshaun Kaiser will go into that middle QB2 range for me.”
• Andy Holloway [35:13]: “Chris Johnson needs to move up your draft board.”

c. Arizona Cardinals vs. Atlanta Falcons

• Matt Ryan's Performance: Critiqued for subpar throwing accuracy and decision-making, leading to inconsistent offensive outputs.
• John Brown: Evaluated for his ceiling and role within the offense, with Andy Holloway warning of potential drops affecting his rankings.

Notable Quotes:

• Andy Holloway [38:46]: “Chris Johnson needs to move up your draft board.”
• Andy Holloway [41:08]: “The real ceiling is genuinely, you know, a low end wide receiver.”

d. San Francisco 49ers vs. Minnesota Vikings

• Brian Hoyer: Received commendation for his fantasy relevance and involvement within a dynamic offense led by Carlos Hyde.
• Adam Thielen vs. Stefon Diggs: Jason Moore advocates for valuing Thielen's consistent utilization over Diggs' higher-profile but inconsistent preseason performance.

Notable Quotes:

• Jason Moore [47:07]: “I think it was Adam Thielen. They paid him, they used him. He looked good.”

e. Buffalo Bills vs. Baltimore Ravens

• Charles Clay: Highlighted as a must-watch tight end due to his increased targets and impactful performances.
• Tyrod Taylor and Trevor Siemian: Discussed their performances amidst concussion protocols and inconsistent play.

Notable Quotes:

• Mike Wright [50:39]: “Charles Clay needs to move up your draft board.”

---

5. Fantasy Rankings and Draft Strategies

Throughout the episode, the hosts provide nuanced recommendations for fantasy football rankings and draft strategies based on preseason performances. Emphasis is placed on value picks, such as Kareem Hunt in the running back tier and Adam Thielen in wide receiver rounds.

Notable Recommendations:

• Kareem Hunt: Ranked as a top-tier running back due to his multi-faceted role in the Chiefs' offense.
• Adam Thielen: Suggested as a valuable late-round pick over higher-ranked receivers with inconsistent preseason showings.
• Charles Clay: Elevated in tight end rankings for his increasing offensive targets.

---

6. Upcoming Content and Resources

In closing, the hosts promote their Ultimate Draft Kit, encouraging listeners to utilize their resources for informed drafting. They tease future episodes with bold predictions and continued preseason analyses, ensuring listeners stay engaged leading into the regular season.

Notable Promotions:

• Ultimate Draft Kit: “If you haven't drafted yet, it's not too late to get into the Ultimate Draft Kit at ultimate draftkit.com.”

---

Conclusion

This episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast serves as a comprehensive guide for fantasy football players gearing up for the upcoming season. By blending trip anecdotes, interactive segments like the "Compliment Sandwich," and in-depth game analyses, the hosts equip listeners with the insights needed to make strategic decisions. Notable player evaluations and ranking adjustments based on Preseason Week 3 performances provide actionable advice, ensuring that fantasy managers are well-prepared to excel in their leagues.

---

Note: This summary omits advertisement segments and non-content sections to focus solely on the valuable insights and discussions pertinent to fantasy football enthusiasts.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, before we get started today, want to make sure that everybody is aware of the Ballers Live event happening in Phoenix, Arizona on Labor Day, September 4th at 7pm Go to ballerslive.com to be part of our show. Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast coming to you from the Play Draft Studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Jason Moore]

Ah, back in the building.

[Andy Holloway]

So good to be back.

[Mike Wright]

It's good to be back, America. We can actually say that.

[Andy Holloway]

I know it makes sense now. Good to be back, America.

[Jason Moore]

Tuesday, August 29th.

[Mike Wright]

We are international men.

[Jason Moore]

I'll tell you what, I don't even know where to start when you talk about this trip. And maybe we'll start with the part where after a very long and torturous flight back and compliments to Air Canada on the way there.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yeah, that was delightful.

[Mike Wright]

I was going to start with thank you so, so much to all the Foot Clan that came out and saw us up in Toronto at the fantasy sports show. It was incredibly amazing meeting. We had some people drive up from Detroit.

[Jason Moore]

We had people that come see us.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, it was meeting these people face to face, answering questions, shooting the breeze. Mean it was. It was a lot of fun. We're getting to hang out with actual Foot Clan members.

[Andy Holloway]

And then after we flew back in the chicken coop for four hours. How was that drive home, Mike?

[Mike Wright]

So I've been spending all morning trying to until over here because my car broke down on the way home and then I sat in Arizona there was on the sun in my car for about two hours waiting for a tow truck down to one car. But you know what? Yeah, yeah, I'm pushing all that aside. We're here.

[Andy Holloway]

It's football time.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Today's show, we finally get to weigh in on a number of the week three preseason games. The film, what we saw. And really this is the most important week. So we have a lot of conclusions, judgments, findings from these games. We're going to get into the weeds on that. Have a great quick question. We're going to kind of play a little game, have some fun. And yeah, it was a good trip. It is good to be back. And it's very funny because if you saw the live show on YouTube or you listened to it yesterday, this is just how the world works sometimes. We did a sleeper and a value show and, you know, for this show, all we had to do was individually pick out a sleeper and a value each that we were going to bring to light. And as we were prepping for this trip, you know, it's very hard to travel in the middle of the. The football season when we're doing five shows a week plus the foot cast. So we're planning this show ahead, you know, a couple days, just building the doc out, figuring out who we're picking. And well, out of those six players, first we had Mike, who picked Kareem Hunt as a sleeper before Spencer Ware ever was injured. So he had to pull that guy out of the dock because he's not a sleeper anymore.

[Mike Wright]

He's wide awake.

[Jason Moore]

He's wide awake.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, no.

[Jason Moore]

And then you're lucky I don't have that. Drop in right now. And then on Saturday, we do the show, and Jason is just head over heels for Cameron Meredith.

[Andy Holloway]

It was. It was such a good segment. If I apologize to everyone who did not get to hear my articulate segment on how great Cam Meredith was going to be, unfortunately, he will not be anything.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, yeah. So we did have a show, but it's good to be back, and it's good to talk about the preseason games. And so we're going to get into it now. Now, Brooks, you've invented a new segment this morning.

[Andy Holloway]

That's right.

[Jason Moore]

Now, we flew in late last night. I'm not sure if I got enough sleep. So, Brooks, you came up with a segment, and we're going to do it right now. So what's going on here? We're going to do a compliment sandwich.

[Andy Holloway]

That's right. Oh, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Everyone knows the compliment sandwich.

[Jason Moore]

This is the approach you take when you are a.

[Mike Wright]

It's not the most delicious sandwich. You don't really like to receive them.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. You get two compliments as the slices of bread. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

But in the middle, the meat of.

[Andy Holloway]

The sandwich is the hardcore truth.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, we're familiar with these. They're called YouTube comments. Really like what you guys do, but you might want to change everything about what you do. But I think you guys are cool. So we're gonna. We're gonna do some compliment sandwiches. Now, the fun part of this is Brooks has already picked randomly a role for each of us to play, and we're going to go through four players, I think. Is that right, Brooks?

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

One from each.

[Jason Moore]

We're going to have a little conversation with some of these fantasy players, going to talk to them about their performances. So I guess we're starting with Philip Rivers.

[Andy Holloway]

Philip Rivers. Well, listen, Philip, good job on this past season, this past preseason game. Okay. You look much better with Keenan Allen in tow.

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely.

[Mike Wright]

Here's the thing, Philip. I'm looking back at how you did last year and you were, you were the king. You were the captain of the Quarterback 2 ship. I need a Quarterback 1 on my fantasy team.

[Jason Moore]

But, but with all due respect, you have aged very well into your later years. Still a fantasy relevant player. Still a player that slips in draft due to that age. But you have aged well and you are worthy of late round draft consideration. So some of the, some of the narratives.

[Mike Wright]

How's that taste for Philip Rivers?

[Jason Moore]

I know he's making his go down his grimace face.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, well, of course he's making his grimace face. It's the only face he owns.

[Mike Wright]

That's his face.

[Jason Moore]

Brooks, can you get Theo Riddick in here? Yeah, okay. Thanks, Brooks.

[Mike Wright]

Have a seat.

[Jason Moore]

Really appreciate that.

[Mike Wright]

I didn't know what was happening. All right, I'll jump in here, Theo. I'll start things off. Two years ago you were tied for the lead, the league lead in running back receptions with 80. You were tied for Danny Woodhead. I mean, last year you were spectacular, you know, catching all kinds of passes.

[Andy Holloway]

That is so great, Theo, with all that great pass catching role. Only I think you're not going to be the only pass catcher this year. And as a passing specialist without passing volume, I don't really think you have much use to me, Theo.

[Jason Moore]

That being said, that being said, when I look at you and your track record, I would expect to pay more, but you're very inexpensive and so that's one of your best qualities in the draft. You don't cost very much. Amir Abdullah's track record isn't pristine here. So, yeah, I'll take you in the later rounds. No big deal.

[Andy Holloway]

I'll give Theo a bonus.

[Jason Moore]

Please do.

[Andy Holloway]

He was the RB27 last year and just 20 in 10 games played. Half point BPO.

[Jason Moore]

What do you think? What do you think an actual NFL player does? If he's having this conversation and you tell him that, Brooks, do you think you just nod? Thank you. Thank you very much.

[Mike Wright]

I was the what?

[Andy Holloway]

All right, how about Ty Hilton? Ty Hilton.

[Jason Moore]

Look, come on in.

[Andy Holloway]

Come on in, Ty. Can I call you Tyler? You are. No. All right. You are very, very fast. And you've been pretty decent as a wide receiver, two or better for the last four years running.

[Jason Moore]

But listen, Ty, we need you here at the office. We need you to familiarize yourself with the end zone. Okay? We need you to spend more time in the end zone this year. It's one of those things that you struggle with. I mean, we love how fast you are, but you're going to need to become more familiar with the inside.

[Andy Holloway]

But.

[Mike Wright]

But we will never forget what you did for us last year. You led the league in receiving yards. You beat out Julio Jones and Odell Beckham. So thank you so much for that, Mr. Hill.

[Jason Moore]

Keep it up. All right, one more. Bring in Tyler.

[Andy Holloway]

Feel like that one needed to be like the Big Mac where it needed another layer of. But if Andrew Luck is gone, you're no good to me. And then another compliment to just make it like a.

[Jason Moore]

Sometimes the middle part of the sandwich is much larger than the two.

[Andy Holloway]

It's like a full pounder. This is a full pound burger right here.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. Sometimes you have the club. The club sandwich with the toothpicks in it. All right, Tyler Ifert, come on in. Come on in. Oh, my gosh.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Tyler, look, best thing I could say about you, you are a very handsome man. That's it.

[Jason Moore]

You're going back to like three, what, two years ago? Mike's favorite compliment paid to Tyler Ifer. Look, this is going to be meaty.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Tyler, very good looking. As Jason said, wonderful performances the past few years while you're on the field. But look, you got to get on the field, buddy. You've already missed some time. You were a random scratch because the coaches wanted you to focus on basically just being capable of playing football in week one. And look, we need more from you. We need consistency. We don't just need you to flash for six, seven games a year and then ride the bench, buddy.

[Mike Wright]

That being said, we will never forget your breakout season. 13 receiving touchdowns. Fellas, I think. I think this handsome business has gone a little bit too far. This guy is a touchdown monster.

[Jason Moore]

All right.

[Mike Wright]

And I love you, Mr. EIford.

[Jason Moore]

All right, let's talk news.

[Andy Holloway]

News and notes from around the league.

[Jason Moore]

We are going to dive into some big conclusions for preseason week three right after the news as well. Well, I'm excited to talk about just so many circumstances, some things that have come to light. We haven't even had the chance to talk about the huge Cameron Meredith injury. So torn acl, other damage air casted off the field. Really disappointing because this is a player that I think we're all excited about. Not just the draft value, but the player himself. Right? The player that he was on film, the player that he was as a route runner, somebody that Matt Harmon reception perception, really respected what he had done last year with really bad quarterback play. These are all the arguments Jason was making to make him that value. And yet here we are, Cameron Meredith off the field and everybody wants to know. Look, is it, is it Kevin White? Is it Kendall Wright? Is it. Don't touch some. Somebody's going to have to step up there. There's going to be a pass catcher in Chicago. So who is it?

[Mike Wright]

I'll take my, my late shot. I'll grab Kevin White. He's, he is a victim of injuries, really. I mean, when he was, when he played, you saw some target volume getting, getting thrown his way. So that's the guy that I will, I will go with.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

If you had to pick somebody, you're going Kevin White.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

But I'll throw in the sneaky Zach Miller who is, he's still, he's going to make the team. It appears so. And he's the probably the most proven pass catcher. This, you know, the seasoned pass catcher.

[Jason Moore]

We've talked about Charles Clay in Buffalo being the beneficiary of the loss at the wide receiver position. You could have a similar translation there. And I think people want.

[Andy Holloway]

Zach Miller is probably the best pass catcher there. I mean, look, what's crazy about the other options that are there is they are all like pretty decent when they're on the field, when they're, when they're getting work. But super injury prone Kendall Wright never been able to stay healthy. Kevin White has. We've, we've yet to see him. And then Zach Miller. So on Victor Cruz. Yeah, Victor Cruz.

[Mike Wright]

Marcus Wheaton.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you got a hodgepodge there. Honestly, for, for when, when I looked at this news and was saying, okay, who's the next man up? I came more to the conclusion that I don't really believe any of them will step up. Obviously there will be receptions, you know, on the team. It's an, it's an NFL team. But the problem is I think the team is hurt a lot. And so I'm even more afraid of Jordan Howard. If you can't, if you can't move the ball through the air, then you stack the boxes even more.

[Jason Moore]

Spencer Ware likely needs season ending surgery. Kareem Hunt. Yes, a lot of hype. I see Kareem Hunt in the top 12, 14 range with this offense and people, the main question that people have asked is now ranking in a redraft league the rookie running backs in this upcoming season because Fournette and Mixon, you've got McCaffrey, you've got Hunt, Dalvin Cook. Dalvin Cook.

[Andy Holloway]

So I think Hunt should be number one out of all of these rookies. He would be my number one. If we're just talking redraft, he's number one in my rankings. And you know, Leonard Fournette to me is a guy that is super talented and guaranteed a role where he's going to touch the ball a lot. That's why he was previously my number one. But he is not the pass catcher that Kareem Hunt is. He's not on the offense that Kansas City can be. He doesn't have the head coach that Andy Reid has been. That shows he always gets value out of the running back position. Those reasons are why I think at the end of the day, in a redraft league, whether it's standard or full point PPR and anywhere in between, Kareem Hunt is the is the first running back that I would be taking off the board. And the thing that I love about him is that while I think his ranking is worthy of that late second round, you don't usually have to take him there. I know if you're in a really hardcore league and people are all about the news or, you know, you got Kansas City fans, he's the new hotness. Know your league. He's the new hotness. But I see a lot of times him being able to be picked up in the fourth round. I tweeted out if Kareem Hunt should be drafted in every fourth round that he is in.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, it depends on where you're drafting. That's the decision. I've had a lot of people have to take him in the second because they wanted him. But the way that where they were in the round was going to force the issue.

[Mike Wright]

I just want to remind you, so last year, I know Spencer Ware, he felt like a disappointment for fantasy.

[Andy Holloway]

He didn't get the touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

But here's his other numbers in 14 games, 214 attempts, 921 yards and 33 receptions. I mean he's. Kareem Hunt is going to get a lot of work. And what, what was the downside for Spencer Ware was three rushing touchdowns. Now we've talked about how he was due to regress back to the. The mean of like he really should have scored more touchdowns. It was a complete fluke that he did not. So Kareem Hunt, I mean he's. He should easily finish as at least a low end running back one.

[Jason Moore]

All right, you want to make some money? Flip that cap around. Matty Stafford, now the highest paid player in the NFL. Five year, $135 million.

[Andy Holloway]

Is that how all you have to.

[Mike Wright]

Do to make money is you just turn your hat around?

[Jason Moore]

Just ask Jeff Fisher.

[Andy Holloway]

You get a job 90 plus million guaranteed money.

[Jason Moore]

It's always, it's always a funny thing though when you say I had missed it, you know who the highest plate people. It's the last one to sign a contract. I mean that's the case in the NFL now.

[Andy Holloway]

Last quarterback.

[Jason Moore]

So Matty Stafford, five year deal, can't even call and he's locked down as the quarterback there. I think. No surprises. All right, couple of quarterback confirmations. Look, if you've been playing the game with Kessler and Moss Wyler and who to sign, you're in a dynasty league. You need a 2 QB league. Deshaun Kaiser's name the starter. This is the fantasy reality for DeSean Kizer is if you're going to run the ball, you're going to move up regardless of how productive you are through the air. This is the Tyrod Taylor story. If Desean Kizer picks up, if he's a 3, 400 yard guy this year on the ground or more, you're talking about wide quarterback 15 potential. Josh McCown also named the start of the jets surprise.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, one of the things that I like about the Kaiser signing or signing the Kaiser decision was that Hugh Jackman said that he's got a long leash. They're not going to.

[Mike Wright]

Did you actually call?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I did, yeah. I was about to say that Hugh Jackman, Jackson, he's back. He has a very long leash. He said, you know, so that means when he comes out and has rookie mistakes, which he will, they're not going to pull him. I think that's a wise decision because he, he is the only quarterback that's.

[Jason Moore]

The only decision to make. You can't start a rookie and then pull him off the field.

[Andy Holloway]

And he's the only quarterback that has the talent to develop into someone that could make your franchise good. So I love this decision all the way around. I think it does help Isaiah Crowell, who I've been a little bit down on because he is a, you know, he is a mobile quarterback that defenses have to, you know, look at scrambling and usually those type of quarterbacks aren't necessarily the best for the pass catchers like Duke Johnson, although that's more in the scat back role. Duke Johnson is used pretty much as a wide receiver.

[Jason Moore]

The essence of what we're doing in the weekly rewind today when we look at these preseason games is I want to convey to you the listener where ranking adjustments have taken place due to performances this preseason and conclusions we make from the game. One of the conclusions from the Kaiser equation, I Hope you're going. Where I went is a slight bump for Corey Coleman.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Corey Coleman has a rapport with Kaiser. It was evident in the game. It's something that this team wants to build around for their offensive presence. You know, Kenny Brett is not the future of the wide receiver core in Cleveland. Coleman and Kizer, that combination, I think you're going to see a dependency from Kizer. And it made me move Coleman up when this decision came through.

[Andy Holloway]

Fair.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, Mike, that's where you wanted me to go.

[Mike Wright]

That's the game that one of the games that I was assigned to break down. So I didn't want to jump into it just yet.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I was going to say in college at Notre Dame when he had Will Fuller, Kaiser was supposed to be this number one locked and loaded player. He's able to utilize those speedy receivers with a strong arm. So I like Corey Coleman a lot.

[Jason Moore]

All right. And finally, Rex Burkhead, CJ Proslice, Eric Ebron and Brandon Marshall all returned to practice.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, Ebron.

[Jason Moore]

It's good to see you, Ebron.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey. He got in in August. He made it by a day or two. Well, he was out since July 31st.

[Mike Wright]

Something like that.

[Andy Holloway]

Come on.

[Jason Moore]

One of the things that is tough to do, though, when you're evaluating players in the off season is when players start to become injury prone. Like Josh Dockson getting banged up or John Brown. Right. Like John Brown might be the best example of this where, you know, you have an injury history, you have an injury concern. You had him miss time and then he comes out and splashes. This past weekend, he can move all over the rankings because you just want to see if the player is going to be on the field or not when it comes to Week 1 of the NFL season, because some players, it's just going to come down to health. Eric Ebron, if he's on the field and the snap count is there, you're going to see a very proficient tight end and you're going to see red zone opportunities with the richest man in football, Matthew Stafford.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, well, we ready to get into the rewind?

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Before we do, we want to thank today's sponsor, Indochino. You've heard me talk about them several times in the past because I love the custom made, custom fitting, tailored suits from Indochino. You know, everybody out there, every man needs a good suit. It doesn't matter if you have a job where you wear a suit every day, then get a bunch of them, or whether you just need one for your big events. The weddings coming up, whatever it is, make sure that you maybe you're stepping.

[Jason Moore]

Into an interview with the fancy footballers and getting a compliment sandwich.

[Andy Holloway]

And the difference between one of the bunching up in the back around the neck kind of suits that you get just off a rack and Indochino tailored suits for your body is really impressive. When you wear yours, you'll know all you need to do is visit Indochino.com or drop by one of their nine North American showrooms, pick from hundreds of fabrics, submit your body measurements and then you get it. This week our listeners get any premium Indochino suit for only $379 at Indochino.com when entering footballers at checkout, which is 50% off the regular price for made to measure premium suit and shipping is free. That's Indochino.com, promo code. Footballers any premium suit, $379.

[Jason Moore]

I've seen you in your Indochino suit.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, you're looking good.

[Andy Holloway]

You're looking. You'll never have to wear a badly fitting suit again. Get ready to look like a million bucks.

[Mike Wright]

And we want to thank Pristine Auction, the best memorabilia site in the entire known universe. I'm ladies and gentlemen, I am scrolling right now.

[Andy Holloway]

Children of all ages through the daily.

[Mike Wright]

Auctions because this is what they have. I mean they have, they have week long auctions, but they also have these daily where there's new stuff every single day. And I'm not surprised that Pristine Auction is bringing the fire yet again. I mean, signed Mike Evans jersey, signed Jordan Howard Jersey, signed Le'Veon Bell.

[Jason Moore]

Do they just have your credit card on file, Mike, they may or may.

[Mike Wright]

Not know know me. I have a retinal scan built in over at Pristine Auction. I have to go there so many times. But you never worry about the signature. It is always 100% authentic. That use the best authenticators in the world. You head over to Pristine Auction. That's P R I S T I n e auction.com. you make a completely free account. It's free and when you do it, let them know that the fantasy footballer sent you.

[Jason Moore]

Breaking news, Big news, guys.

[Andy Holloway]

What is this?

[Jason Moore]

Vance McDonald has been traded to the what? Pittsburgh Steelers.

[Mike Wright]

What?

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you kidding me?

[Mike Wright]

What?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh man, that's this morning they gave.

[Jason Moore]

Up a fourth round pick for Vance McDonald to put him on the Pittsburgh Steelers.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, that's huge news because listen, I believe Vance is a very good tight end. I mean, I was asking Andy.

[Jason Moore]

Clearly Pittsburgh does. You don't give up a fourth for a Tight end who at this stage.

[Mike Wright]

Unless you just got paid, I mean, like, so his contract is not just, oh, I go to cheapy.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, no. Wow, that, that's. That's big.

[Jason Moore]

So instant analysis, guys.

[Andy Holloway]

Instant analysis is. I mean, if you're in a tight end premium league, I would, you know, where you, where you start multiples and they get bonuses, then I would pick him up. Those are normally deep and rare leagues, but I would definitely keep an eye on him in week one. Jesse James has had good reports lately.

[Jason Moore]

Jesse James is still going to be the guy they're going to have to share there. And I'm not excited about the fantasy implications yet, but very interesting trade and obviously it changed.

[Andy Holloway]

Makes me wonder if something happened with Jesse James.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, they just, they know who Jesse James is. He's not a dynamic pass catching. He's not a move tight end. Vance McDonald is a move tight end. I mean, the Steelers, goodness, they're all big. Big Ben, if you don't come through with 7,000 passing yards this year, you have failed minimum. That is ridiculous.

[Andy Holloway]

Weekly rewind.

[Jason Moore]

Sorry to cut it. Cut you off.

[Mike Wright]

No, no, my goodness.

[Jason Moore]

I'm got fantasy points coming out your ears over there.

[Mike Wright]

I'm getting sweaty.

[Jason Moore]

You move.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you.

[Mike Wright]

Myself.

[Jason Moore]

Are you moving Big Ben?

[Mike Wright]

No, I mean, I already had him.

[Jason Moore]

You're just confirming the excitement.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he's. He's now just cemented the other side of. Of the. My number six qb.

[Jason Moore]

That's a beautiful thing. All right, let's start off. Where are we going here? Jason, you want to kick this off? We're going to talk some. Look, the Spencer Ware repercussions have gone through fantasy football. Seahawks and Chiefs faced off in week three.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Watched. Watched all the snaps of this game last night. Had a bunch of big takeaways on both sides of the ball. So we'll start over at Kansas City because we've already been talking a little bit about Kareem Hunt. He looked really good to me, which, you know, when you pass the eyeball test and you have the opportunity, that's great. One of the things that I really liked seeing, you know, I watched the game after knowing that Spencer Ware was injured. And what was interesting was that Kareem Hunt was in on snap three before Spencer Ware was injured. They were already showing. Look, this guy is going to be involved. He's going to be involved early. So, you know, he was in early. He, you know, he looked good. Tyreek Hill is a player that stood out in that game because he was good or bad. Both, it's both good and bad because he was exceptionally important to the offense, moving the ball. He was a go to look and he got the target. So that's the good half, here's the bad half. He dropped all those targets. I mean, I'm talking bad drops. Hit him in the hands, watch him go down. You know what it reminded me of? It reminded me of some of those rare games where John Brown, you know, who's got great hands, makes exceptional catches. His. He'll have those games where all of a sudden you can't get him to catch the ball. And he had three drops in the first half and two of the three were just straight egregious. Egregious.

[Jason Moore]

That being said, I like the chance to drop the ball. That ball's coming his way.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Don't overreact on the drops. Realize that you can't drop the ball unless you got the ball thrown your way, which means you were getting open and you were involved.

[Jason Moore]

Ted Gins motto.

[Andy Holloway]

Exactly. Alex Smith, man alive. If you watch the box score and that's how you're getting your information, he didn't have a very good game. But I wrote down a note here that was like Alex smith had like 10 drop passes. It was not just Tyree Kill. Travis Kelsey dropped two balls that were very catchable. Albert Wilson, Chris Conley was like, nobody could catch the ball in Kansas City. On the other side of the ball, the Seattle Seahawks, there was a lot of, I mean look, that offense is looking good to me. They're looking healthy other than Thomas Rawls wasn't there.

[Jason Moore]

But Russell Wilson, he looks so smooth this preseason.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean he, he was throwing the ball downfield. Jamie Graham looks involved in great ways. And I'm going to throw this out there because a lot has been said on Chris Carson. Absolutely on. He has running back, rookie running back for the Seattle Seahawks. He's been involved with the first team offense and I'm going to throw this out there and I think you'll be surprised, but I think Eddie Lacy looked terrific when he got his chances in the situations they needed him in. Whether it was first and 10 and he'd break off a seven yard run or whether it was, you know, a third and one and they need just a few and the boxes are stacked and you know, he's, he's getting in there. To me, I am not afraid of Eddie Lacy. And he's dropping like a rock. He's dropping like a rock. Dropping like a rock. So if he's late, I mean if he's dropping into those, you know, that, that, you know, eight, ninth, tenth round, you're talking about a guy who very well, when week one comes, they might say, okay, this is our guy and he's passed the eyeball test.

[Mike Wright]

A healthy, committed Eddie Lacy is a top tier running back in the NFL. We have years of evidence. I mean, he was still good last year before he lost the season to injury, especially for fantasy purposes. So I, I like hearing that.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. I mean, for right now, I am a believer in the Seahawks offense and I want those pieces. I want Russell Wilson. Doug Baldwin has looked good. Jamie Graham looked great. Eddie Lacy looked good. Chris Carson looked good. I mean, there wasn't anything that I saw on that side of the ball that was like, oh, man, they're having struggles. And their offensive line, sure, it's the same as it's been for the last, like, five years. Terrible. But they know how to deal with that. And when Russell Wilson's healthy and mobile, there were just so many plays where it was like, oh, the defenders got right through and he just did his little, you know, WYSIWYG turn around and run and nobody can catch him.

[Jason Moore]

All right, any other ranking adjustments that you would say that you made from that game?

[Andy Holloway]

From that game, the only ranking adjustment would have been the massive ranking in Kareem Hunt. It just.

[Mike Wright]

Where do you have it, Jay?

[Andy Holloway]

Kareem Hunt right now is my running back. 14.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

All right, Mike, I'll jump in here. What game are we going on to now?

[Mike Wright]

Browns, Buccaneers.

[Jason Moore]

By the way, I do want to say one thing really quick because we talked about the Advance McDonald news, but I think you need to pay attention now.

[Mike Wright]

Kittle.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

George Kittle, the tight end for The San Francisco 49ers is next up on the depth chart. And so when you talk about involvement in that offense and the. I mean, I'll talk a little bit about the 49ers in a bit, but, you know, you don't have an offense replete with a ton of competent pass catchers, so something to pay attention to.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

And Brian Hoyer can find his tight end.

[Mike Wright]

So Browns versus Bucs, Jacques started. And so I think that we have put to bed any fears that these first three games, when Doug Martin is out, Jocquiz Rogers is going to be the starter. He's going to be heavily involved and he looks ready to play. So draft him late and he's a perfect fill in for your first three, three weeks. Now desean Kaiser, he's talking about Alex Smith about how you look at the box score. It didn't look like he played.

[Jason Moore]

It looked bad.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, for Alex Smith, the same for Deshawn Kaiser. His box score, it came out very, very poor. But if you actually watched him play, he was missing, missing plays just narrowly. And I'm talking the kind of like a 25 yard touchdown. Perfectly thrown the edge. The receiver just didn't get the foot down. Later on he was pinpointing the edges just, just to, just a little bit outside. Just a bit outside and the receiver couldn't pull it down in bounds. And then a couple drops. I mean he looked, he looked very sharp. Now he's going to make rookie mistakes, so I'm not labeling him a quarterback one, but he is definitely interesting. And the Corey Coleman situation. I have not been a huge supporter of Corey Coleman this offseason because I was concerned about his usage. But Deshaun Kaiser is going to find Corey Coleman. He found him a ton, a ton in this preseason game. So he's going to move up my rankings. Kaiser will likely move up my rankings as well. And Isaiah Crowell, he's ripping off some.

[Jason Moore]

Big runs and 11 carries in that game.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he looks like he will benefit absolutely from the upgrade at the offensive line. And Deshaun Kaiser as well. The other takeaway is unfortunately for Goel, Duke Johnson looked pretty solid. I mean he had a huge run called back. It was a third. It was a third and two. So I mean you're not necessarily expecting a run. You know that where they catch the defense off guard. But it was called back. So the big takeaway is two.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I would expect to expect a run.

[Mike Wright]

Well, you're not always just. The formation was not set up to look like a run. But some. The big takeaways for me are Corey Coleman is going to move up and Deshaun Kaiser will go into that middle QB2 range for me.

[Jason Moore]

And let me ask you about Tampa Bay because their offense has not been what people hoped or expected. But it's the preseason vanilla schemes, vanilla offense working for some ice. Vanilla Ice. What did you.

[Mike Wright]

So Winston. Winston looked like Jameis Winston, which is a guy who looks unstoppable. I mean laser, laser passes coming out right where they need to be and then a horrifically bad interception. That's, that's the resume. Until he cleans those up, he can't be a top quarterback one because there's just too many mistakes happening for Jameis Winston. But the talent is there.

[Jason Moore]

I think the problem with the mistakes, it's not like I mean, Drew Brees had a lot of interceptions. Right. So it's not like the interceptions by themselves make you not capable as a fantasy player. It's luck. Had that a couple years back, too. It's what the coaching staff will do with your mistakes, which is take the ball out of your hands. In terms of the game plan, they can't trust Winston until he doesn't make those kind of decisions.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

And then he had another one of his spectacular. The edge rusher gets right in. He scrambles out, scrambles. Looks like he's making the worst possible decision. And then first, first down, strike. So, I mean, he's. You're going to get ups and downs with Jameis Winston.

[Jason Moore]

Any other. Anything else from this game you want me to talk about? Packers and Broncos?

[Mike Wright]

No, we move on.

[Jason Moore]

All right. I watched the Broncos and the packers game. This on the packers side of the ball, this was interesting because Aaron Rodgers played six minutes, okay? He played six minutes, so he only.

[Mike Wright]

Had four touchdowns, right?

[Jason Moore]

Right. Let me put it this way. I believe the confidence level on Aaron Rodgers is there. I think he's going to start for the Packers.

[Mike Wright]

Nice.

[Jason Moore]

No, but he's in there six minutes. So you can't make a lot of passing game conclusions with Aaron Rodgers playing six minutes in this game. You know, you saw, you did see Randall Cobb in zone target from Aaron Rodgers. He looked very spry, made a couple of catches. We've talked about Randall Cobb being kind of the sneaky second option potential. It might not be Devonte Adams all the time. Adams had his classic good catch, bad drop situation. But what I did see from the packer side of the ball, that is worthy of, I think a ranking adjustment was continued passing of the eye test for Montgomery. Montgomery looks bigger, he looks stronger. He looks like a running back. And he was much more dynamic than Jamal Williams in this game. Now, Jamal Williams made some good plays out of the backfield. Hunley finding him on dump after dump after dump. And in the open field with the head of steam, Jamal Williams looked okay. He does not look like he's on the same level as Montgomery. Montgomery even lined up wide a few times. And you're just seeing a heavy utilization of Montgomery and a capable utilization. Found his way into the end zone on a goal line carry two yards out, pushed his way in. He looks bigger, faster, stronger, capable, needs to stay healthy. But much like, you know, Jason saw with Eddie Lacy, a player that you're kind of up and down on due to other players in the depth, in the depth chart, My confidence level on Montgomery went up seeing this game and seeing what they wanted to do with this first team offense. So I think Williams is a capable back, but I think Montgomery is the back to own.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he as well. For me, he's one of the few guys that has needed a ranking change based on preseason. I think he looked very, very capable. I have been a Ty Montgomery doubter. I mean, he's not super low in my rankings, but lower than he should be. He's the clear starting running back for the Green Bay packers and Aaron Rodgers, and he's a great pass catcher. So if you're any kind of PPR half point, I think he's not going to let you down. All right, we want to talk. Hold on.

[Jason Moore]

I didn't get to talk about the Broncos.

[Mike Wright]

Broncos, man. I got to hear how he's trying.

[Jason Moore]

To move on, though.

[Andy Holloway]

Just excited.

[Jason Moore]

So the other side of the ball, the Denver Broncos. Look, it's strange to see Jamal Charles in a new uniform. And I watched every snap and I watched with care on Jamal Charles because I wanted to see what we saw on the field. He looked a bit hesitant to me, but what impressed me out of Jamal Charles was.

[Mike Wright]

And he's made the 53.

[Jason Moore]

He's made the 53. And he should have. You watch him and you say, this is an NFL running back. Still. You didn't see the level of burst that you'd seen in the past with the Chiefs and the hesitant running, an awkward open field cut after a big run. So good and bad there. But what I liked from Jamal Charles is watching the plays where he didn't get the ball. Not only the route running on those plays, but the blitz pickups he took on a few linebackers and got crushed and held up against it. And that, to me, is why he made the 53. You watched him out there on third down, and he saved Trevor Simeon a few times in this game. Now, to talk about Trevor Simeon, sometimes you hear quarterbacks analyzed as surgeons, right? Pick apart the defense, precision. I don't want Trevor Simeon doing surgery on you.

[Mike Wright]

Operating.

[Jason Moore]

Operating on me. Look, this was a play. This is like giving your surgeon three or four Starbucks before the procedure. It was shaky, guys. It was Brock Osweiler level of up and down. And I. Oof. Really bad interception across the middle of the field, some horribly misplaced throws, bad reads. And then he would get into a string of three or four quick hitters. I'm telling you, Trevor Simeon is have. He should just be giving gifts to Demarius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders in every single play. But it is a shaky offensive situation there. I am concerned with what you're going to get. I think you're going to see the good, the bad and the ugly. Now the ugly is Paxton lynch. That he was terrible in this game.

[Mike Wright]

He's hurt now, too.

[Jason Moore]

Terrible open field play, running the ball, bad fumbles. So Simeon's got the job, but he looked really shaky to me. And then Anderson. Anderson looked good. Yeah, absolutely. Yes. Failed on some short yarded situations.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, come on. He did all right.

[Jason Moore]

This is the compliment sandwich for Anderson. Looked fine, certainly the lead back cemented in that role. Failed on some short yarded situations, but made a few plays. Look, we know what we have in C.J. anderson at this point.

[Andy Holloway]

Do we? We do.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, of course you do. You know what you have on the field. This guy's not going to be somebody that beats you to the edge. He's a guy who's just an every down bruiser who. He's a capable enough pass catcher. The offensive line didn't look that good to me for Denver. So, yeah, you know what you have in C.J. anderson, he's a player that, you know, he's going to benefit from the positive game scheme and I think he's going to disappear a little bit. When they're down now, the defense looks great, so they're probably going to be in a lot of games. So we can leave it at that.

[Mike Wright]

All right, Jay?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I get to talk about it. Well, you know, we're from Arizona and I'm going to talk about the. The game between the Cardinals and the Atlanta Falcons. There was not too much to pick up from this game, to be honest. There were a couple of nuggets and here, here are the things that stuck out from the Arizona side of the ball. I really do believe that their past defense is going to be super legit. If you want a good, you know, defense, special teams, type of.

[Mike Wright]

Are we talking like I'm avoiding them with my pass catchers?

[Andy Holloway]

I think you might get to that point at the beginning of the season. I'm not avoiding any team until I've been, you know, proven otherwise. But when it comes to pass catchers and quarterbacks, not necessarily running backs, but the passing game against the Cardinals, I think it's going to really struggle. Tyron Matthew looks back. I mean, he had for the second preseason game in a row, an incredible interception. That's going to be hard when you've got a good pass rush there as well. I think they are susceptible to the Run. But this is preseason and so you know the scheming of the defense and right now you're just seeing the athletes on the field. So David Johnson, he had like one snap and then was out of the game again. It was just, hey, here's you're our starter. Please don't get hurt. Get out of here. So we got to see a lot of Chris Johnson. And if you look at the box score, he ended up with a pretty okay game. But he was bad. He was not actually good. There were a couple plays where, you know, a nice hole opened up and he ran for a good chunk of yards. But most of the time, when he needed to outrun someone, when he needed to run through someone to pick up an extra yard, he didn't look to me to be very capable. Also in the first quarter, he fumbled the ball two times. Two times. So what it said to me was a little bit of a worry of like, man, if David Johnson, you know, isn't here, he is super important to this offense. You know, when he was out, there were some struggles there. I know a lot's been made about John Brown. He had two receptions for two touchdowns and a good chunk of yards. You got to keep in mind there were only two targets. He was not really involved that much. He just happened to score a touchdown on both of those. And one of those was actually from Drew Stanton. Once, you know, the game was in a different sphere. In a different, different offense. Well, no, it just. Different sphere. A different. The game transported. Yes. To a different round ball, you know, so from the Cardinal side, that's what I would say. Chris Johnson, he had some good stuff, mostly bad. The defense looked really good.

[Jason Moore]

Well, let's talk fantasy implications for the John Brown performance. I mean, you have to be happy. Not only is he on the field, running routes, the play in the left corner of the end zone was absolutely incredible ball body control. So we've moved him way down out of fear. Where does he belong? What's the upside? I mean, people have asked, what's the real ceiling for a guy like him?

[Andy Holloway]

Well, the real ceiling is genuinely, you know, a low end wide receiver. One, if we're talking what is his cap? Because we've seen this before. We've seen, we've already seen him as a wide receiver too. And he can dominate. He has the talent, the skills. So when you're talking about pick right.

[Jason Moore]

Now, you want him in the 10th.

[Andy Holloway]

You want him in the 8th, I think I'm fine waiting until the 10th and grabbing him there, there's still guys that I am very confident in their production in the 8th, in the 7th and in the 9th. Those areas usually have guys that I am, you know, taking Emmanuel Sanders type if he drops there. Like I'm confident Sanders in the eighth. Yeah. Oh, he's his average draft positions in the 70s.

[Jason Moore]

He's 708 right now. He's just right around the eighth.

[Andy Holloway]

But that's my point is like I would much rather go with a guy I'm confident is going to help my fantasy team. But when you're in those late rounds and you're doing the dart throws, John Brown is the type of huge upside you can go with. But he just wasn't. He wasn't the first read while Carson was on the field and it was the first team offense. He didn't look like the first read the way he had in years past. To me, he was the, you know, the second or third read.

[Jason Moore]

All right, Atlanta, they struggled. Their offense struggled. We talked about the defense for Arizona. They're 0 and 3 this preseason. Do you read much into these offensive struggles so far? You don't have Kyle Shanahan, who, by the way, lit it up with San Francisco. We're going to talk about that game in a minute. But what are your conclusions, ranking implications, fantasy implications from what you saw from the starting offense of the Atlanta Falcons in this matchup?

[Andy Holloway]

It looked like what I had expected in the sense that I've been calling for a lot of regression from the Falcons and from Matt Ryan specifically. I think you bring up a good point with the offensive coordinator changes. They want to stay aggressive. We've heard this all the time. Like they're not going to back off with the offensive coordinator change. It looked like they were forcing aggression. They throw the ball deep a lot and Matt Ryan was off. Some of this was good defense. I just said the Arizona Cardinals defense looked good, but there were just some bad throws. I mean, some really, really bad throws. Matt Ryan was 4 for 11 with an interception. So, you know, I'm not going to move him down in my rankings, but I'm already the lowest of the three of us. Think he's my sixth or seventh quarterback right now. I don't expect huge things for this offense, but it did seem like they missed devonte Freeman, who was not there. Tevin Coleman, he looked, he looked good. I mean, Tevin Coleman's a good running back, so I didn't take away much from this from the Falcons. I'm not moving Julio down. I'm not moving. I'm really not moving anyone down.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. All right. Hey, I'll jump in here with the San Francisco Minnesota game. Mike, I'll let you close us out with the Buffalo Baltimore game, but I want to. On the heels of Kyle Shanahan, I want to talk about what we saw in this. In this game. And look, we've been big Brian Hoyer supporters in the past. Last year he was great.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

In Chicago. Great for fantasy and a very good quarterback. Competent quarterback for that offense on a team.

[Mike Wright]

Was it three straight 300 yard games?

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely. Yeah. And in this game, you saw a lot of what I think you're going to see for the regular season. Now on the San Francisco side of the ball, let's get this out of the way. Carlos Hyde is 100% cemented as the feature back in this offense. Matt Bereta. Matt Bereta ran as the number two in this game, wasn't special. Joe Williams is out of the picture right now on that depth chart. Carlos Hyde had some impressive pass catches in this game too. So I was impressed on that side. Now Pierre Garcon, he's a player that I think I moved up a little bit in this game. Might as well call him the slant man. I mean, he was just targeted early and often. I mean, I was so impressed with Garcon's involvement and the utilization. We know what Kyle Shanahan does with that wide receiver. One spot and then he was willing to take deep shots on a guy that can fly. I mean, Marquis Goodwin, he's going to be the Taylor Gabriel of the NFC West. It's it. It's a player that is going to be going deep often. Play action fake with Carlos Hyde and a deep ball. Touchdown. Perfect throw by Hoyer. He was carving up this defense. And this is not a pathetic defense. This is the third preseason game and you got Minnesota's defense and they were getting carved up. So from a fantasy perspective, we know that San Francisco, we don't expect him to be a dominant force or a competing force, but Brian Hoyer has always been fantasy relevant and I think you're going to see that again this year. So teams that are talking about, look, if you're in a deeper league, if you're in a league with Andrew Luck and you might not have a starter, you just need to realize Brian Hoyer can be part of your streaming rotation this season. I loved what I saw out of that offense on the other side of the ball. I got one thing to say and one thing only.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh.

[Mike Wright]

Wow.

[Jason Moore]

You did not go. I was expecting. I'm not the singer. You guys have to jump in there.

[Mike Wright]

Look, sorry I bailed on you, Jason.

[Jason Moore]

Mike, you and I were talking about this. Now, I've already been very pronounced with my disagreement with you on Stefan Diggs. Yes, I am further along those lines. Look, Adam Thielen's utilization in this game is what stood out to me. Adam Thielen was in the slot frequently. Adam Thielen was used on end arounds. Adam Elan was. Adam Thielen was found when plays broke down. He. He was somebody that Sam Bradford looked to early, often and late in the play. I think thielen in the 10th, 11th round is a better pick than Stefon Diggs in the sixth round. I know the value that you think is there for Stefon Diggs. Look, I'm not reading into what Diggs did in this game because he was awful. I mean, he dropped two wide open passes. He had a Tyreek Hill type of game. That doesn't matter. Diggs is a great player, absolutely great. But I'm making a decision in this passing offense from a fantasy perspective to take the best value in the passing game. And to me, it was Adam Thielen. They paid him, they used him. He looked good. The only other takeaway from this. Go ahead. No, jump in.

[Mike Wright]

It's shocking to me what they have done. I mean, they've essentially turned Thielen into the slot receiver. That was Stefan Diggs home. He was. He was breaking out as a slot wide receiver. So it's. I have. It's interesting that Minnesota is taking this approach, that they're saying, okay, Diggs, you're going to play on the outside. So it's.

[Jason Moore]

Well. And Thielen was on the outside, too. We had one wide receiver set. It was Thielen as the lone outside guy.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

So, I mean, it's. It makes me a little worried. A little pause with Stefan Diggs because this is a new role. Now, having said that, as the outside receiver, the chances for big play is there's a.

[Jason Moore]

He took a shot down the field.

[Mike Wright]

Exactly. So I'm not bailing at all. And Stefan Diggs. But it's certainly. I was not expecting Minnesota to say, okay, we're gonna. We're gonna see what Thielen can do in the slot.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he's the biggest move up for me. And then I know people will want to know what Latavius Murray looked like on the field, because you had. Murray's first snap came essentially two minutes into the second quarter. So Dalvin Cook was cemented and in place for the entirety of the first team offenses, drives first whole quarter. I think that's what you can expect. I think Dalvin Cook is going to be a pretty heavy workload type of player. Murray was involved more in the passing game than the running game and he looked fine. He absolutely looked fine. But to me, I think I was a little bit more confident in Dalvin Cook leaving this game despite the fact that Murray is now healthy and on the field and McKinnon was just a every once in a while rotational kick return type of player. So you guys have any thoughts or questions from that game, players that you were interested in that you wanted thoughts on?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I've been a little disappointed in seeing the utilization of Kyle Rudolph through the preseason because he's a guy that I still think is a great value for where he's going in the draft. He was nowhere, but yeah, he was nowhere. He was not really used at all.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, absolutely. And that's one of the things where I think they have, look, you didn't have Dalvin Cook and you had to hurt Stefan Diggs. I think there's going to be a lower quantity of need, not capability. Kyle Rudolph is capable. I just worry about the need there. It just, it's a, it's a split decision thing for me, like when I'm facing down Kyle Rudolph or some of these other players like a Zach Ertz. My, my hesitation on the quantity of work that Rudolph will get if this offense is healthy and doing what they want to do is the reason.

[Andy Holloway]

It's one of those really tough things because you now have a lot of capable weapons in this offense. A lot of guys who I want to see break out and I don't know that Sam Bradford, you know, can do enough offensively to warrant that many successful fantasy players. There won't be enough touchdowns to go around to make. Thielen and Diggs and Rudolph and Cook and Laquan Treadwell.

[Jason Moore]

Laquan Treadwell was heavily involved. Laquan Treadwell had the first pass catch of the game.

[Andy Holloway]

I remember him.

[Jason Moore]

He had a couple in the middle of the field and you're going to see him used. That's another player that basically is apparating out of thin air for this offense that wasn't involved last year. So.

[Mike Wright]

So it was Treadwell, not Floyd.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, it was Treadwell and Treadwell looked good. I was impressed. I think he was a first round pick. He's going to play a role in this offense and that's why when I Have to stare down all of these wide receiving choices. I'm taking the best combination of talent, value, involvement and Thielen. Mike, let's talk Buffalo and Baltimore. What could you learn from this game? With Tyrod Taylor now in the concussion protocol, how much did he play? And then with Baltimore not having Flacco on the field, but reports of him practicing.

[Mike Wright]

So it was just a few snaps really, for Taylor, and it looked bad. But then he was. He took a sack. He hit his head on the field. So this wasn't a helmet to helmet. This was helmet to the turf type of concussion. And Peterman came in and he actually, he looked. He looked competent. So I wasn't, you know, panicking. Let's say Peterman is now the starter for the Buffalo Bills. I'm not freaking out about him. The biggest takeaway from this game was, oh, man, Charles Clay, he's getting some love, you know, he's getting some targets. I had to add an exclamation point to that because I was like, whoa, wow. I had to add another exclamation point to that because I'm like, holy crap. This offense is running through Charles Clay right now. And he looks. He looks sensational. I mean, they. They're moving him all over the field. They're. They're trying to hit him up the middle. They're. Charles Clay is. He's. He has moved up. He is now. He is very necessary. He is now a low end, tight end. One in my rankings from what I've seen. He's going to be targeting.

[Jason Moore]

Look, the Ferraris. The Ferraris have been pulled off the lot. Look, they. Charles Clay is not a Ferrari, but he may be the. The best vehicle you can climb into there in Buffalo because Sammy Watkins is out the door. Zay Jones is a rookie.

[Mike Wright]

Now. They're saying they're hopeful that Jordan Matthews plays Week 1. So this offense, take that with a grain of salt. The Jordan Matthews, who should be the number one receiver on this team, did not play. But I still think that Charles Clay is going to be a heavily utilized guy. Shady McCoy. Everything at the running back position is the Sean McCoy. So if you're worried about usage for Shady, don't be. Don't. He's on the field 100,000% of the time. And. But really, the biggest takeaway that I had for this, my overall summary. Here's your Cliff Notes. Both offenses sucked. Sucked. I mean, they were really bad. Terrence west did get the start.

[Jason Moore]

It's hard to draw much out of Baltimore when you don't get a C flat. Go on.

[Mike Wright]

No idea.

[Andy Holloway]

But it's.

[Mike Wright]

Terrence west got the start at running back. Buck Allen was worked in here and there.

[Jason Moore]

We.

[Mike Wright]

So it's you. We don't know what Buck Allen's role will be once we actually finally see Danny Woodhead getting out there.

[Andy Holloway]

But it's.

[Mike Wright]

Both offenses sucked and Charles Clay needs to move up your draft board.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I did like seeing Zay Jones on the outside being utilized as, you know, the more. More of an X receiver and man alive, Jeremy Macklin. Will you please do something in the regular season? Because I'm. I'm still drafting you in a lot of play drafts. I just. Come on, Joe. Joe Flacco, get back.

[Jason Moore]

I've tried to tell you. I've tried to tell you.

[Andy Holloway]

This is still. Without Joe Flacco. You just can't know. I'm not taking anything for preseason other than worry. I'm not changing my projections here because I.

[Jason Moore]

No, but the worry's built in because you didn't get to have. You didn't get to have your opinion validated by a healthy Joe Flacco.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

You have to wait for the regular season.

[Mike Wright]

Ryan Mallet is.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, he's no good. He is no good. There's no such thing as a compliment sandwich for Ryan Mallet.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, right. Here's Ryan Mallett's compliment sandwich. Ryan, good job making it to the NFL.

[Mike Wright]

You did it, buddy.

[Andy Holloway]

You are not an NFL quarterback. You are not good enough to be in the NFL. But when you retire, you can tell your kids you were an NFL quarterback.

[Mike Wright]

He got further than I did.

[Jason Moore]

You were. You put it nicely there. Yeah, I'd give him his walking papers. All right. Hey, thanks for tuning in. We're going to go through the rest of the games tomorrow. Our observations, our conclusions, these are the most important ones that you can make. These are going to be the most ranking, defining conclusions you can make. Because preseason week four look away. I mean, it's just not going to be outside of injuries that impact teams, which, again, you're just not going to see a lot of those important players on the field. This is the last and final look that we get before next week. I mean, next Thursday, a week from this Thursday, you've got NFL football. So I'm excited. Keep it right here. We've got great shows coming up. We got so much coming your way. We've got bold predictions. We have the rest of the preseason.

[Andy Holloway]

And look, got some fantasy court maybe coming your way.

[Jason Moore]

It's going to be good. And if you aren't. If you haven't drafted yet, it's not too late to get into the Ultimate Draft Kit atultimate draft kit.com this is still being updated. Still being updated. And you're talking on the fly. We had just arrived in Toronto and we're sitting there having to make quick adjustments on the Edelman News, on the Spencer Ware news, and now the Cameron Meredith News. And so you're going to see a lot of tweaks and adjustments to the Ultimate Draft Kit.

[Andy Holloway]

And once the show is done, Vance McDonald.

[Jason Moore]

Vance McDonald switching rosters and you'll see the implications there. I look, everything's happening and we've had a lot of people already use the UDK for their draft and send us their teams and how much fun they had.

[Mike Wright]

Smashing it.

[Jason Moore]

Smashing it. Not with Smash Jackson.

[Mike Wright]

Well, they're smashing it. Sands. Smash Jackson.

[Jason Moore]

All right, hey, look, we're closing it out here. Don't forget to check out the Secret to Victory podcast from Gatorade and Gimlet Creative. Look, this is a podcast about how the best athletes in the world use defeat to fuel a win. And they just finished their first season. Serena Williams, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Matt Ryan, J.J. watt, Karl Anthony Townes, etc. So you can listen to all those [e-mail] podcast subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Guys, you have any parting words? You catch your breath from this Toronto trip?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm still catching it.

[Jason Moore]

I want to say this one more thing. Sorry to interrupt. No, Canadians are very nice.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, they are.

[Andy Holloway]

Some of the stuff we did down there probably wouldn't have it. Wouldn't have. Well, with, you know, Americans, they would be like that.

[Jason Moore]

Shut up, Jason.

[Andy Holloway]

Jokes getting old. No, they were always so kind.

[Jason Moore]

Very kind people there.

[Andy Holloway]

But I just can't wait till tomorrow to talk about Jared Goff.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, and remember BallersLive.com the live show is coming this Monday.

[Jason Moore]

And check out playdraft.comballers if you want to play some week one draft DFS. It's the best.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

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 ffballers.