Fantasy Football 2018 - The TRUTH About Fantasy WRs in 2017, Part 2

Summary

Podcast Summary: Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football Podcast Episode: Fantasy Football 2018 - The TRUTH About Fantasy WRs in 2017, Part 2
Release Date: January 11, 2018
Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright

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Introduction

In this engaging episode, the Fantasy Footballers dive deep into the performance and consistency of fantasy wide receivers (WRs) from the 2017 NFL season. Hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike Wright analyze how these WRs performed relative to their preseason expectations and season-end rankings. They provide valuable insights for fantasy managers looking to optimize their drafts and weekly lineups.

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Overview of the Episode

The episode is the second part of a two-part series titled "The TRUTH About Fantasy WRs in 2017." The hosts continue their analysis by examining a broader range of WRs, assessing their consistency, bust rates, and overall fantasy impact. They introduce a "consistency rank" metric to evaluate how reliably each WR performed week-to-week, beyond just their end-of-season rankings.

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Key Discussions and Insights

1. A.J. Green: A Top Performer with Hidden Inconsistencies

• Performance Analysis: A.J. Green finished 11th in fantasy WR rankings with a consistency rank of 20. Despite accumulating just over 1,000 yards, his performance was mixed.
• Bust Rate:
  • Andy Holloway [11:22]: "25% of his performances were great. Which to be fair for A.J. green's credit, that's a fantastic number."
  • Andy Holloway [11:27]: "31% bust rate for A.J. Green, a top five wide receiver selection in the draft. Devastating."
• Impact of Quarterback Play: Green's performance was notably worse against top 16 defenses, attributed to poor quarterback play from Andy Dalton.
• Decision Point: Despite inconsistencies, Mike Wright expressed confidence in drafting Green over other options like Mike Evans.
  • Mike Wright [12:47]: "I would, yes."

2. Brandon Cooks: Potential with a High Bust Rate

• Performance Analysis: Brandon Cooks ranked 12th with a 23 consistency rank, showing potential but with significant variability.
• Bust Rate:
  • Andy Holloway [15:26]: "38% of the time, even more than A.J. green."
• Team Situation: Cooks' future with the New England Patriots remains uncertain, raising questions about his reliability.
• Strategic Consideration:
  • Mike Wright [17:36]: "I think this was peak Brandon Cooks and I think most people remains a Patriot."

3. Devonte Adams: Emerging as a Top Value Player

• Performance Analysis: Devonte Adams finished 13th with a consistency rank of 7, showcasing reliability despite not reaching 1,000 yards.
• Consistency:
  • Jason Moore [19:19]: "Devonte Adams consistency number. His consistency rank was number seven."
• Future Outlook:
  • Mike Wright [21:22]: "Devonte Adams is the player to count on there."
• Draft Strategy: Adams is viewed as a high-value pick, potentially being drafted high in the upcoming season.

4. Doug Baldwin: Consistent but Inconsistent Performance

• Performance Analysis: Baldwin ranked 10th with a consistency rank of 10, reflecting a season of highs and lows.
• Consistency Issues:
  • Mike Wright [24:05]: "He was living on the edge and it was a dirty foul edge."
• Season Dynamics: Early-season struggles gave way to more reliable performances later in the year.

5. Golden Tate: Reliable Yardage but Low Consistency

• Performance Analysis: Golden Tate ended the season ranked 15th with a consistency rank of 24, indicating inconsistency despite solid yardage.
• Performance Issues:
  • Jason Moore [27:53]: "92 receptions, a thousand yards and five touchdowns."
• Draft Consideration: Tate may slip in drafts, offering potential value if targeted appropriately.

6. Mike Evans: Reliable but Lacking Boom Games

• Performance Analysis: Mike Evans finished with 1,000 yards and five touchdowns but lacked high-scoring games.
• Consistency:
  • Mike Wright [35:01]: "He never really boomed. He didn't have a single game over 20 points."
• Long-Term Outlook:
  • Andy Holloway [36:44]: "He is one of three receivers ever to have a thousand yards each of his first four seasons."

7. Alshon Jeffery: Steady Producer with Room for Growth

• Performance Analysis: Jeffery ranked 18th with a consistency rank of 12, demonstrating reliability.
• Team Dynamics:
  • Mike Wright [38:37]: "He's a good wide receiver. I mean, he was coming into that draft class."
• Future Prospects: Signed to a four-year deal, Jeffery remains a solid pick for consistency.

8. Stefan Diggs: High Talent with Injury Concerns

• Performance Analysis: Diggs ranked 19th with a consistency rank that highlights his talent despite injury setbacks.
• Health Considerations:
  • Mike Wright [42:31]: "If he plays a full 16, I don't think anyone's going to end a year unhappy with having Stefan Diggs."
• Draft Strategy: Health is a key factor in determining Diggs' reliability for the next season.

9. Additional WRs Analyzed

• Devin Funchess: Ranked 21st with a consistency rank of 27, Funchess showed promise post-Kelvin Benjamin trade but remains a risky pick.
• Juju Smith-Schuster: Ranked 22nd, juju is viewed as a rising star with potential for higher performance in future seasons.
• Nelson Aguilar: Ranked 23rd, Aguilar demonstrated improvement but remains dependent on quarterback performance.
• Dez Bryant: Ranked 24th with a consistency rank of 32, Bryant had a disappointing season with high bust rates.

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Notable Quotes

• Mike Wright on A.J. Green's Impact:
  [11:02] "Yeah, that's like the 90 degrees. Feels like 115 the weather."

• Andy Holloway on Cricket Chirp:
  [03:25] "For everyone who has never noticed the cricket chirp before, you are welcome. Join me in hell."

• Jason Moore on Devonte Adams:
  [20:16] "Devonte Adams might very well be the best value at wide receiver in next year's draft."

• Mike Wright on Stefan Diggs:
  [35:01] "If he plays a full 16, I don't think anyone's going to end a year unhappy with having Stefan Diggs."

• Andy Holloway on Dez Bryant:
  [53:26] "44% of the time he busted. That's a low impact player. Six touchdowns."

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Conclusions

The Fantasy Footballers provide a comprehensive analysis of the 2017 WR season, emphasizing the importance of consistency alongside traditional stat-based rankings. While several WRs like A.J. Green and Mike Evans remain valuable, others such as Brandon Cooks and Golden Tate present both opportunities and risks. Emerging talents like Devonte Adams and Juju Smith-Schuster offer high upside potential for strategic drafts. The episode serves as a crucial guide for fantasy managers aiming to make informed decisions in their upcoming drafts.

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Final Thoughts

This episode is a must-listen for fantasy football enthusiasts seeking to understand the nuanced performances of WRs beyond mere yardage and touchdowns. By focusing on consistency and situational performance, the Fantasy Footballers equip their audience with the knowledge needed to gain a competitive edge in their fantasy leagues.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Before we start today's show, I want to remind you about JoinTheFoot.com that is our fantasy football community. It is your way to help support this independent podcast. I'm getting tweet after tweet, people saying, man, shucks, tweet, tweet. You guys aren't on five days a week. That sucks. I like listening to it every day. Guess what? There's a bonus episode every single week [e-mail] one of many perks you can get for helping support the show, that is. Join the Foot.com.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, this is David Johnson, running back of the Arizona Cardinals, and you're listening to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. 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]

Welcome in. It is Thursday, January 11th, and we're back once more with another great episode. Jason, how are you doing today?

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I'm so happy that you guys let me in today.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, we took the keys away, but we still let you in from time to time.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, usually I just try to walk really close behind Mike as he walks in and hope nobody notices.

[Jason Moore]

Like the guy that when you go into, like, a gated community, they tailgate you in back behind the car.

[Mike Wright]

Like I do when I go into a gated community. Correct.

[Jason Moore]

Like when you go into a gate.

[Mike Wright]

Exactly. You nailed it.

[Jason Moore]

We have the second half of a. Of a truth episode telling the truth about fantasy wide receivers from 2017, the fantasy year, how consistent they'd been versus where they finished, you know, their fantasy rank at the end of the year. And we had a great episode on Tuesday. I encourage you to go back, listen through. We got through the top 10, and today we're going to get through a bunch more.

[Mike Wright]

Whole bunch.

[Jason Moore]

Probably 70. Look, the rule is, one of the rules that we have is you have to get far enough to do the David to do the Devin Funches drop.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

You have to at least get to Devin Funches or you haven't succeeded in a podcast.

[Andy Holloway]

That's fair.

[Jason Moore]

How are you doing, Mike?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm doing fantastic. I've finally worn off the. The ptsd. I was talking to Jason. Apparently he did not hear this. And as I'm watching the games on Sunday, I meant to bring this up on Tuesday's show. There's a cricket chirp.

[Jason Moore]

What?

[Andy Holloway]

There is a cricket trip happening in my house.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, it's in your house?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, so I thought. And so, I mean, I go on, I mute the audio. I'm looking for this. And Then I think, wait a minute. Because I've seen on the. On the Facebook they got those prank cards where it's a sticker and it just chirps like a cricket for hours and hours is my wife trying to pull one over on me?

[Jason Moore]

And so I wait, that sounds pretty funny.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm watching the audio or watching the football game. No audio for minutes and minutes and nothing is happening.

[Mike Wright]

No crickets.

[Andy Holloway]

I unmute it instantly. And so it's one of those, oh, crap, did I unmute it too soon? And now I can't find it. Come to find out, it's coming out of the speakers. I rewound and there was a cricket chirp. I'm tweeting about this. I feel like a crazy person. What is happening? Through detective work, the Fookland helped me out. Every time CBS goes from replay to regular live footage, there is a cricket chirp. Apparently this has been happening for weeks.

[Jason Moore]

In the sound effects.

[Andy Holloway]

This is in the broadcast.

[Jason Moore]

There's a cricket.

[Andy Holloway]

For everyone who has never noticed the cricket shirt before, you are welcome. Join me in hell.

[Mike Wright]

Wow.

[Jason Moore]

Wow. Okay, well, I'll have to not pay attention to that on the next one.

[Andy Holloway]

It's impossible because that's all you will hear now.

[Jason Moore]

All right, great. Quick question before we jump right into the truth about fantasy wide receivers. Follow us first on Twitter @The FF Ballers. All offseason, we're a year round fantasy podcast. So if you want to stay connected to the show, follow us on twitter@the ff ballers. Visit the [e-mail]. our website's the fantasy footballers.com and we're also on Facebook. We're on YouTube, fantasy sports network, all over the place. You can't miss us. Just look out your window. Quick question of the day. What's your favorite part of the off season?

[Mike Wright]

Gentlemen, that's an impossible question. I mean, that is so tough because.

[Jason Moore]

Is that kind of like. What's your favorite part of Christmas?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, exactly.

[Jason Moore]

Is it the music? Is it the food? Is it the presents? Is it the trees?

[Mike Wright]

What dessert tastes best? All of them. All of them taste the best.

[Jason Moore]

So if you had to, you know, nibble on one dessert, which I know you're not one to nibble.

[Mike Wright]

Well, I see here.

[Jason Moore]

I'm gonna.

[Mike Wright]

I'm gonna skirt. This is not my. I'm changing the question now.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay?

[Mike Wright]

Okay. Because I could do whatever I want because you guys didn't stop from doing. You aren't the host. You didn't stop me for. You didn't lock the Door. I'm in. I get to talk.

[Jason Moore]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

I'm gonna go with what I'm looking forward to most right now. This isn't my favorite thing of the whole off season, but right now I am really, really, really looking forward to investigating incoming rookies. I miss that. I had so much fun last year diving deep on the rookies, watching the college tape, you know, reading different reports and scouting reports. So right now, as soon as fantasy playoffs ended a couple weeks ago, I shifted focus and I am really looking forward to diving deep into all of those rookies. That's my favorite part of the current segment, but best ball drafts are probably my favorite part.

[Jason Moore]

Mike, what stands out to you?

[Andy Holloway]

It's. I really like the. The bonus podcast on Join the Foot because, I mean, while we talk football non stop and we still talk football because we talk the rookies, we talk the coaching changes, everything in the.

[Jason Moore]

We talk whatever you ask.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, but that's the thing.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it's great.

[Andy Holloway]

All of a sudden we launch into a 10 minute debate on what's the best Super Nintendo game because that's a space where we can do that, get to have fun. You know, I love football. I like to talk about other things sometimes. So it's just a nice little reprieve to get to do the best of both worlds.

[Mike Wright]

Best thing is we're talking about whatever you ask.

[Andy Holloway]

Exactly.

[Mike Wright]

So, you know.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, why is Mike so handsome? I don't know.

[Jason Moore]

Tough to determine.

[Andy Holloway]

Can't quantify. Just handsome.

[Jason Moore]

Just, just plain old handsome, regular Tyler Eifer.

[Mike Wright]

Andy, what about you? What's your favorite part of the off season?

[Jason Moore]

I'm struggling like you would with a, you know, a dessert buffet here. I, you know, the easy answer for me is, you know, when the draft season hits, I mean, that's the favorite. That's so far from now, though, that I would say the NFL draft is great because I feel like as soon as the NFL draft, like watching it and then through that next week, you can start to see some of the 2018, in this case ADP, start to take form.

[Andy Holloway]

NFL draft is the gas station.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, it fuels you.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Fuels the fantasy rocket. I mean, if by then, you know, you're kind of, we're still cruising, but then you hit the turbo boost because you've restocked.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. You're driving from Arizona to Disneyland. You just hit the border, California. And I'm ready for the home stretch.

[Jason Moore]

And I would also, if I want to say internally, internally here, I would say getting the ultimate draft kick, that was.

[Mike Wright]

That was in my mind as well. Getting all that stuff.

[Jason Moore]

We start doing pre orders on that and building that ultimate draft kit out from basically now through its release, which is normally right in the summertime. So very excited. I love the fact that you have kind of the off season to think differently to prepare. Everybody's undefeated in the off season. It's a lot of fun. So, Brooks, do you have a favorite part of the off season? Do you have one that comes to mind?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I mean, fantasy draft time.

[Andy Holloway]

That is like.

[Jason Moore]

That's your favorite.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that's easily.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, yeah.

[Jason Moore]

That counts as off season.

[Mike Wright]

I feel like that season.

[Andy Holloway]

Brooks.

[Mike Wright]

No, no, that is if that's the offseason. I mean, that's, I think everybody's favorite part. It's kind of like, you know, asking who's your favorite player to have watched? You're not allowed to say Alvin Camara this year. It's just because everyone's going to say it. But that is the best time.

[Andy Holloway]

Joe, we had a drop. We fingered the drop.

[Jason Moore]

We don't have a drop. Yeah, I mean, I would say also if you're in a dynasty or keeper league, any offseason transactions, the off season's great. It's so wonderful.

[Mike Wright]

So coaching changes is one of my favorite things. Can we just talk about all the things we love in the off season? Because I could. We can do this for an hour.

[Jason Moore]

Nope.

[Andy Holloway]

We got to talk about the truth.

[Mike Wright]

Before you hit that button. You want answers? I think I'm entitled.

[Jason Moore]

You want answers? I want the truth.

[Mike Wright]

You can't handle the truth. Well done. All right. You should never have said that.

[Andy Holloway]

Your one detour that you're allowed for per show, you already wasted it.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, well, watch the.

[Andy Holloway]

Hold my beer.

[Mike Wright]

Another detour. Hey, if you're playing with us, which I assume you are, because we have, I think, like the third largest group on NFL.com for their playoff challenge. If you're in the fantasy footballers group or if you're playing at all there, make sure you go and check your lineup, set your next round of the playoff lineup. And here's something that's changed.

[Jason Moore]

We have the second largest group. Thank you very much. Oh, just about 5,000.

[Mike Wright]

Whoa. Very nice. But last year, if you, you know, if you drafted in week one, a team of all by round guys, or at least people on teams that are still playing in the next week, you might assume that those players are already in your lineup. They are not. You need to go back in and set them. You will get the double bonus points by Setting them again but you got to do it manually.

[Jason Moore]

I am happy to say that all of my players are at a two times bonus next week.

[Mike Wright]

I had to replace both my kicker and my D. All right, we're back.

[Jason Moore]

Into the truth about fantasy wide receivers. A quick refresher. We are looking at where fantasy players finished, wide receivers, where they finished and then what their consistency rank is. We basically came up with this consistency rank based on how often a player busts, how often they are considered good, which is a average of a top 24 finish and how often they score points. That would consider them great. Which means they're finishing with a point total on a given week. That would put them in that top five week. Winning, dominating performance range. And so we're looking at players so that you can get a better picture of hey, it's more than just the end of season rank. When you're three, four months from now, you may come back and listen through these episodes again. I know a lot of you did last year because you want the refresh your course on what really happened. As Tom Cruise said, he wants the truth.

[Mike Wright]

I can handle it.

[Jason Moore]

AJ Green. AJ Green finished number 11 on the season with a consistency rank of 20.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's. That's like the. That's like the 90 degrees. Feels like 115 the weather.

[Jason Moore]

I was going to the wind chill factor. You go the other way.

[Mike Wright]

Sure. Yeah, I guess it is the winter.

[Jason Moore]

It's like 30 out but it feels like about six.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, exactly. That was. A.J. green finished as a wide receiver. One did not feel like it hurt you a lot.

[Jason Moore]

75 for just over 1,008 touchdowns on 145 targets.

[Andy Holloway]

The line is fine. It's just how did you get there? 25% of his performances were great. Which to be fair for A.J. green's credit, that's a. That's a fantastic number. I mean he won you some weeks.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Then he was good. No 38% of the time. But a 31% bust rate for A.J. green, a top five wide receiver selection in the draft. Devastating. On top of that, the defense is split. Here's where AJ Green was an issue when he's playing against top 16 defenses. He was six points worse which I'm going to put some of that blame on to Mr. Andrew Dalton. But AJ Green felt the effects that he wasn't just simply a plug and play. This was a guy you felt was a start your stud. Yet if you were, if you had played the matchups with him, you probably would have been A better outcome for your team.

[Jason Moore]

He hurt fantasy owners in the playoffs. The fantasy playoffs. Weeks 14, 15, 16, 48, 61st and 21st.

[Andy Holloway]

Adam Thielen style.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, this was not good. Now, the previous 13 weeks, never really, you know, he had a couple of busts in there. Weird year for AJ Green. Weird year for him, Weird year for Mike Evans. Would you take Green over Evans in the draft next year?

[Mike Wright]

I would, yes.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. Do you have confidence that this was just kind of a. A.J. green's the same player, but the targets weren't there? You know, he had 30 less targets than a guy like DeAndre Hopkins. Less receptions than we're used to seeing. Yeah, I mean, injury wasn't an issue.

[Mike Wright]

Injury was not an issue. And if you look at the bust rate, he is higher. He's above average busting compared to the other top 24 wide receivers. So, yes, that hurts you, but A.J. green has always had some of those disappearing games and like Mike brought up, because you can actually tell when some of those are going to happen. You know, it's, it's easier to be able to go away from A.J. green.

[Andy Holloway]

But you didn't draft nobody.

[Mike Wright]

No, no, no.

[Jason Moore]

Nobody benches AJ Green. This has been the refrain of the year. So nobody ever went away from AJ Green.

[Mike Wright]

So next year, do you change that? Do you have those weeks where you say, okay, he's, you know, he's going up against Jacksonville, you know, no, I'm going to.

[Jason Moore]

The answer is no again, because you have to draft him at a certain position. There's no option to go away from AJ Green with where you have to pay draft capital. His, his draft price isn't going to drop because he finished 10th. I mean, he's A.J. green. Right.

[Andy Holloway]

And here's. Hopefully these are some numbers we can say, okay, maybe it was an outlier year for AJ Green. This was the fewest yards per game that he's ever had. I mean, you're talking even lower than his rookie season, only 67 yards a game. His catch percentage was down to 52.4. Coming off of seasons of 66%, 65.2 and 59%. So that's a monster drop in catch percentage, which that's also, I mean, you're still counting those awful targets that are just, they're not even catchable for AJ Green. So if it's AJ Green, his elite performance is going to be linked to Andy Dalton, if he can perform at least as a medium level quarterback in the NFL. I don't know that A.J. green at this point in his career can overcome bad Andy.

[Jason Moore]

How have you guys done.

[Mike Wright]

I was really curious. I was thinking this was a bad Andy Holloway thing, but as I said.

[Jason Moore]

How have you guys done overcoming bad Andy?

[Andy Holloway]

You're great all the time. Andrew Holloway. Oh, thank best host west of the Mississippi. I was trying to think of something really west, but.

[Jason Moore]

Okay, well, let's talk about another player that consistency is not his forte. Brandon Cooks, the 12th rank. Look, he fits the mold with A.J. green almost exactly. Even from a yardage touchdown reception.

[Mike Wright]

All that even from a playoff week's problem. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Brandon Cooks ended up the 23rd most consistent fantasy wide receiver and the 12th in terms of rank. He busted 38% of the time, even more than A.J. green an extra week and. But he was in that good category one extra week than AJ Green as well. Look, it's difficult. Brandon Cooks has shown through two seasons that he can do two things. He can give you a big play. He can struggle against good coverage. Where should we be thinking about Brandon Cooks? Because look, we're not bringing these consistency numbers up because we're trying to say that they, you know, they finished 12 and they should really be ranked 23. That's not the, the narrative here because you may need a number 23 consistency guy because of the big weak potential.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

So Brandon Cooks, free agent.

[Andy Holloway]

That's, that's the big question is did New England. They gave up a first round pick to get Brandon Cooks. Are they just renting him? Are they going to let him go and get a, and get a free draft pick?

[Jason Moore]

Does that change based on how the season ends for them?

[Andy Holloway]

You win a Super bowl, it's a strong possibility.

[Mike Wright]

You probably bring them back.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, and they have Malcolm Mitchell coming back.

[Mike Wright]

Who? Julian Edelman.

[Andy Holloway]

Flashing. Yeah, it's. And what's hard for wide for fantasy players through week 12, the game against Miami, he was actually chugging along at a pretty solid rate. He'd only really hurt your team three times to that point. And then it was just three out of the next five games were really.

[Mike Wright]

Rough, I think when you Compare. So like A.J. green, Brandon Cooks, both were, you know, drafted near the same spot. AJ A little bit ahead, certainly, but coming into next year, depending on how the playoffs finish out, if they're going anywhere near the same. Brandon Cooks, what he didn't give you this year, which you kind of expected, you knew going in, he's a little bit more boom, bust. But I don't think he gave you enough of the carry my team.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, completely agree.

[Mike Wright]

You know, he, he only had two times on the season that he scored more than 20 points. If you're going to be a boom bust guy for Tom Brady and the Patriots, you would expect those booms to be much larger. You know, you compare that to twice as many with AJ Green, I'd much rather, you know, have to deal with the duds with a guy that can win you a week single handedly. And that was not what Brandon Cooks was. And let's be honest, this last year was pretty much as good as things could have worked out for Brandon Cooks due to other injuries to everyone else. So I think, I think this was peak Brandon Cooks and I think most.

[Andy Holloway]

People remains a Patriot.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, the Saints got Lattimore with the pick they got from the Patriots. Is that true or no? I would have to. I guess that's probably. They had two first round picks. I don't think Patriots was the later pick.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, I don't think that is.

[Jason Moore]

I mean it's just interesting. The Saints go from being a non playoff team to a great team this year sans Brandon Cooks in that offense. It's just interesting that they didn't need him. We see the numbers. He fulfills a role, but his consistency is not there. I want to move on to this next player because look, he, he deserves this from me. And no, you didn't have a thousand yards, but you did catch the ball 74 times, 10 touchdowns and you just got paid to be the number one probably for Aaron Rodgers. And I got to apologize to devonte Adams. I got to do it in front of my friend Jason Moore who has vehemently supported devonte Adams. And look, I, I haven't, I've doubted him. I've. I've turned elsewhere.

[Andy Holloway]

You've more than doubted him. You've disparaged the man.

[Jason Moore]

The man without a thousand yards.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, you're doing it again. Terrible.

[Jason Moore]

The man without. I'm sorry. The man without 900 yards, the man.

[Andy Holloway]

With 22 touchdowns in the past two.

[Mike Wright]

Years, man who played with Brett Hundley.

[Jason Moore]

Get a. I'm apologizing to you on behalf of Brett Huntley kind of now. Devonte Adams at the end of the day, 13th ranked fantasy wide receiver, outside the top 12 wide receiver too. But Devonte Adams consistency number. His consistency rank was number seven. Very similar to a guy like Larry Fitzgerald this year where you could count on him regardless of the quarterback situation. Now we had a strange home road split. He was much Tyreek Hill.

[Andy Holloway]

It happened again.

[Jason Moore]

It did. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Vonte Adams, one touchdown at home, but.

[Jason Moore]

10 on this season, which is two straight years of double digits and he only busted 21% of the time despite not having Aaron Rodgers. I think, you know, Green Bay saw what Jason saw, which is a really good wide receiver who's especially good after the catch, who they can pair with Aaron Rodgers for the next four years. And that's all it comes down to. I mean, devonte Adams might very well be the best value at wide receiver in next year's draft.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I see. I, that, that was exactly what I was thinking early on. And then I realized Jordy will go.

[Jason Moore]

Ahead of Dante Adams.

[Andy Holloway]

Maybe something's going to happen. Yeah, Jordy or Cobb. Someone's either taking a really big pay cut or someone's getting shipped out of town.

[Mike Wright]

I, you know, it's selfish here. I don't want to talk about Devonte Adams because I think Devonte Adams next year is a locked and loaded top 10 wide receiver. Like without a doubt. I'll draft him extraordinarily high. The problem is I think we're going to talk about him enough in the off season where he'll be drafted high. You're going to really like to get some devonte Adams in the third round.

[Jason Moore]

Would you just take the lowest of Adams and Jordy?

[Mike Wright]

No, no, I'd rather have Adams. I would much rather have Adams than Jordy at this point. There is far more risk, you know.

[Jason Moore]

Take injury, there is far more risk. With the age of Jordan Nelson, there.

[Mike Wright]

Is risk that Jordy's just lost it. I mean he's 32 years old and even if he is still good and you know, which Jordy is a great wide receiver in general, they're going to play towards the future and I think this becomes the year of devonte Adams.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, and here's the thing. Aaron Rodgers is massively underpaid. Now the team doesn't technically have to do anything about it. He's under contract for two more years. But the number two and number three largest cap hits for the Green Bay packers next year, Randall Cobb number two and Jordy Nelson number three. And devonte Adams is down at seven. So three of your seven highest players are wide receivers. You just, you can't succeed in the NFL with a payroll like that. Jordan Nelson would. This is the last year of his deal. They can cut him for a 2.3 million dollar dead cap clears. Yeah, but it's. He would be paid around. It would clear 10 million in cash. Randall Cobb is a 3.25 dead cap he would carry if he was cut. And you'd free up a little over $9 million. So I, I think it's going to be jordy.

[Mike Wright]

It's tough, tough to see also incoming.

[Jason Moore]

GM for brand new GM that is going to want to make his mark on this roster in some capacity. So it's going to be interesting. But regardless, this is all to say devonte Adams is the player to count on there.

[Andy Holloway]

I'll be shocked if they go status quo. That's what I'll say for now.

[Jason Moore]

Doug Baldwin.

[Andy Holloway]

These numbers are shocking.

[Jason Moore]

From Dog Bald, the consistency rate, 75 receptions for 991 yards, about 100 more than Devonte Adams and eight touchdowns on 117 targets in an up and down odd year for Seattle ended up as the 10th most consistent wide receiver.

[Andy Holloway]

That's the number that's confusing to me.

[Jason Moore]

How do you mean that? You. Because you feel like it was much worse than that.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

One, it didn't feel like that. It felt like Doug Baldwin. I mean he's giving you big games 19% of the time, but it just, it felt like he was not giving you those.

[Jason Moore]

You want to know why?

[Andy Holloway]

And just saying finishing with 75 for under 1,008 touchdowns to be, to only be busting 19% of the time. I mean that's. Thank you Doug Baldwin for spreading out your production.

[Mike Wright]

Part of it. Part of it.

[Jason Moore]

Is that correct though?

[Mike Wright]

So here's, here's the reality.

[Jason Moore]

He finished outside the top.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. So here's what happened with Doug Baldwin and why it feels that way is Doug Baldwin was one of those players who had several games where he's, he's an enigma. Here he had a threshold where he was above seven points barely. And that was kind of our threshold for where you didn't necessarily bust.

[Andy Holloway]

He was living on the edge, but.

[Mike Wright]

He was living on the edge and it was a dirty foul edge. So I get.

[Andy Holloway]

It's like Steven Tyler, you know.

[Mike Wright]

If we had to criticize one number of our consistency ranking here, it would be Doug Baldwin at number 10 the first half of the year and awful. This was first the Seattle Seahawks and Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin. It didn't get off to a, to a good first half, but from that point on he was, he was pretty much a force in fantasy football. So yeah, I mean the four out.

[Jason Moore]

Of the first five weeks he was real bad and then he had the buy. So you had the first six weeks, the, the taste in your mouth, it was bitter from Doug Baldwin because people spent, finally they spent some money, so to speak. They spent that Draft capital on Doug Baldwin for the first time and he didn't give you special numbers. So before we move on to the next wide out in the truth list, I do want to thank Pristine Auction. Believe it or not, I was just over at Pristine Auctions facilities.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I believe it.

[Jason Moore]

This morning I was touring the amount of autograph memorabilia they have down there. It's incredible. The team they've assembled, the customer support and ultimately it comes down to the deals. And if you go to pristineauction.com let them know the footballer sent you. Here's some things that were recently auctioned. Tyreek Hill signed mini helmet, 77 bucks. You want to sign Chiefs logo football from Tyreek Hill. Yesterday it went for $54.81. You want that aforementioned Devonte Adams signed packers jersey? Yes, $88.

[Mike Wright]

I'll take it.

[Jason Moore]

If you're interested, you've got an Aaron Jones signed jersey that just went for 40 bucks.

[Andy Holloway]

And I wanted to bring up they are launching a brand new feature to their site. We're all about instant gratification in this world. 10 minute auctions.

[Mike Wright]

What?

[Andy Holloway]

No reserve. 10 minute auctions. It's up for 10 minutes.

[Mike Wright]

How do. How do you do other things in your day?

[Andy Holloway]

I do not know.

[Jason Moore]

It might explain how a Ty Hilton signed Colts photo went for $15 yesterday.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I'm saying it. 10 minute auctions. No reserves, no extended bidding. You got to be there.

[Jason Moore]

P R I S T I n e auction.com let them know the fantasy footballer sent you. You will not regret it. Our Twitter feed can attest to that. It's filled with awesome gear from Pristine Auction. All right, we are moving on to the second highest ranked Golden. Sorry, I almost said Golden Lions. Detroit Lions wide receiver Golden Tate.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a different person now.

[Jason Moore]

Golden Tate. It was a weird year, man. It was 15th ranked wide out finished number 15. But his consistency ranking was number 24 which is, I mean right on the edge there of wide receiver two consideration. He had 92 receptions, a thousand yards and five touchdowns. He only had one game all year. That is classified as a great game, a top five type of performance. So you didn't get any boom from him, but you did get some bust 38% of the time he busted for you. That's why the consistency ranking is so low. And where do we go from here with Golden Tape? Because I have a feeling he's not only going to slip in drafts, but he might be worthy of slipping in drafts. It's.

[Andy Holloway]

That's so rough, man. Because you have Golden Tate here, this is four years in a row. So every year he's been in Detroit, he's had over 90 receptions. Three of those years, he's been over a thousand yards. The past two years, over 90 and over a thousand. How does a guy putting up those numbers give you?

[Mike Wright]

How does he bust?

[Andy Holloway]

How do you. Such inconsistency.

[Jason Moore]

Why? Here's the thing. We talked about Jarvis Landry on the Tuesday show. I feel like Tate is had the year that Jarvis Landry is very capable of having. Where you just take that 112 receptions, let's bring it down to 92, let's take that nine touchdowns, let's bring that down to five. Where do you end up? Well, you end up as a middling wide receiver too with inconsistent numbers because you just. You're right. You'd think a PPR guy would be more consistent. He wasn't. He has Matthew Stafford, he's got that stability. You got a new head coach coming in, but you got a 27 year old Marvin Jones on the other side that finished better than he did this past year. I just don't know what to do with Golden Tate.

[Mike Wright]

One of the hardships for Golden Tate is that it is not as easy with him as some other players to determine when it is. It's not like he is terrible against the top defenses or really good at home or there's no easy to verify metric for knowing when he disappears. But we have three years of him having plenty. Like you said, all those numbers and constantly disappearing. I think we, at this point we have to say that's who he is and you need to know. I mean, look, I would have been happy having Golden Tate on my team at the right draft price. Probably overdrafted this year. Next year, if he does slip like you're saying, Andy, then I might actually draft him because you have a guy that can put up, you know, a lot of numbers.

[Jason Moore]

But I want him as a wide receiver too at a great draft value. That's exactly what I want from Golden Tate. I want to have invested like, you.

[Andy Holloway]

Know, three, six round pick or something.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, like invested like three or four of my top five picks on running backs in a tight end, you know, and then snag Golden Tate as a complimentary piece. I don't want to have to pay up for him.

[Mike Wright]

Could it change for the better with a new head coach coming in and not because it really seemed like Golden Tate was a game plan thing. Like you'd watch certain games and it was just their intent was different.

[Jason Moore]

See Golden Tate had big, big, big plays A few years ago. He was the number one yards after the catch wide receiver in football.

[Andy Holloway]

He was once again the most elusive receiver after catching the ball.

[Jason Moore]

But, but I don't think as you age your odds of those numbers replicating get better.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

And they've stayed. He did it again though.

[Jason Moore]

No, he didn't. He had five touchdowns.

[Andy Holloway]

No, but I'm saying he is. The past four years, three of those four years, he's been the most elusive wide receiver after the catch.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, but part of the reason for that is because of the percentage of his catches that are done on those moving screens where you can beat that first guy.

[Jason Moore]

So the last three years, I mean, Jason's right, he had the monstrous year his first year in Detroit, but you're going back and grabbing it. 2014 now that was 99 for 1300. That was the monster year since then, I mean, he's going to be 813, 10, 77, 1,000, 3, 1,000 yards. It's nothing to sneeze at. It's just not something that I'm willing to like. I draft Marvin Jones ahead of him.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Talked about on, on Tuesday show that maybe I want to Tate more than Jones, but that's just, it's not accurate.

[Jason Moore]

Do you want Robbie Anderson the sixth Robbie, now he's the 16th ranked whiteout Robbie, but he was the third, almost the 30th ranked. Consistency, but he wasn't. He was 29, 16 games, 63 receptions, 941 yards, seven touchdowns on 114 targets. Only one great game, was good 38% of the time. Remember, good means top 24 level points. And then he busted 38% of the time. Lots of quarterback problems in New York. Really a much better player at home. Almost eight fantasy points better at home, but a young, talented wide receiver. Could we see Robbie Anderson make a leap next year?

[Mike Wright]

We could, but it's going to be completely dependent on the quarterback. And I don't think they're going to have a quarterback that allows him to make that leap forward. Robbie Anderson is a talented wide receiver and if you look at how the year started, three of those six busts he had on the year were all in those first five weeks where, you know, he hadn't really come out of the, you know, doldrums. He hadn't separated himself to be the number one wide receiver yet. If you were to take out three busts from his list, he jumps all the way up to the number 12 most consistent wide receiver. So the problem with Robbie is clear. It's just quarterback who's throwing him the ball. If Josh McCown comes back next year, I will happily draft Robbie Anderson out of value. I think he'll be still be a value too. Yeah, and I think he would still be a value. I think he'll get off to a great start and I'll try to trade him before Josh McCown kamikazes.

[Jason Moore]

Inevitably, he falls on his own sword.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

And touchdown regressions likely coming.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

For Robbie Anderson. Seven touchdowns on 63 receptions.

[Jason Moore]

Little bit of news. We didn't mention it. The Raiders did officially hire Paul Gunther as defensive coordinator and Greg Olson as the offensive coordinator. I do not like the Greg Olson hire.

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

Nope.

[Jason Moore]

It reeks of old school. Old school. And they want to run the ball. A retreaded name who I've never liked. So I take that for what you will. I've never been a Greg Olson fan.

[Mike Wright]

I'm just the coach.

[Jason Moore]

The coach.

[Andy Holloway]

We'll see. I mean, what they're investing.

[Jason Moore]

I know you're super skeptical of Gruden. I think he'll have some success there.

[Andy Holloway]

Once again, I don't think Gruden is a bad coach. What you have invested into everything is all in on Jon Gruden fixing everything. To do that, to put any of that on anyone of just one person is a mistake.

[Mike Wright]

His name better be Bill.

[Jason Moore]

Mike. Mike Shanahan got a similar situation in Washington. Didn't work out right. Gruden has a lot of respect in league circles, so we'll see what happens. All right. Number 17, maybe the hottest of all topics.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, for sure. This is the all been waiting to.

[Jason Moore]

Get to Mike Evans. Mike Evans. Everyone wanted to crown him, give him that top three moniker at the beginning of the season. Well, 15 games, he had 71 receptions for just over 1,000 yards and five touchdowns on 135 targets. So the targets. Mike, you should look this up. Last year he was over 170, wasn't he? I'm pulling it up right now this year, 135. We said before the year, there's no way that number replicates. But I don't know if any of us saw him dropping to where he was. He had zero great games.

[Mike Wright]

It's really a shame that last year in the preseason he had such good preseason because I was. I was very much down on Mike Evans in the. In the early off season. But he looked so good in preseason that I said, you know, he's going to overcome it. And the truth is I do think he's a great wide receiver and when you look into how he was inconsistent or how he disappointed you, I think it's surprising. I know it surprised me because what I thought without looking into it was that look. Mike Evans, he had to deal with Jameis being out for a while and he had a lot of games that just completely crapped your team and you know, a couple boom games. That's what I thought. Like that was the feeling. And that's completely wrong on Mike Evans in the sense that he only busted 20% of the time, which is better than the average of the top 24. The real issue with him was that he never really boomed. He didn't have a single game over 20 points in the, you know, in half point scoring. Not one the whole year. That's, that's what he made his living doing the year before.

[Jason Moore]

Now he's a great bounce back candidate for a lot of reasons though.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

One being his monstrous size and only having five touchdowns. I mean, you look at a guy like Evans as the inverse. Jarvis Landry. Landry with nine touchdowns this year. Evans is a double digit candidate.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Every single season. He also started the year pretty darn great with James Winston. And then you had quarterback issues and he never got from the, you know, Carolina game. Basically midway through the season and beyond is when he really, really lets you down.

[Andy Holloway]

But here's the thing. Mike Evans is one of three receivers ever to have a thousand yards each of his first four seasons. That's. You can't fluke your way into that level of production. That has been, if I remember correctly, it's AJ Green, Randy Moss, that's it. So I still believe in Mike Evans long term.

[Jason Moore]

But what are you willing to pay for?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I would pay top five.

[Jason Moore]

No, I'm talking top five wide receiver.

[Andy Holloway]

We're talking redraft.

[Jason Moore]

Drafting him over A.J. greg, are you taking him over A.J. green next year?

[Mike Wright]

Oh, that's a good question.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a very good question. They're going to be really close in my rankings.

[Jason Moore]

James taking them over Michael Thomas?

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Mike Wright]

You're taking them over Keenan Allen?

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Jason Moore]

So then not over Julio.

[Mike Wright]

Not over Odell Beckham?

[Jason Moore]

No. Not over Hopkins or Brown?

[Andy Holloway]

Nope.

[Jason Moore]

So he's the back part of the.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I was going to say back. Back of the second round, which is Evans will slip in drafts this upcoming.

[Mike Wright]

Year, which is very nice.

[Andy Holloway]

So I'm still interested in him and Jameis. What I was going to say is did he trick us again with this, the final half of the season when he was playing great, yes, he was turning the ball over, but for fantasy purposes, he was playing, he was playing great football. So will that continue to next year or was it just another. Let's buy into Jameis and the Bucks again.

[Jason Moore]

We should talk about that during the offseason.

[Andy Holloway]

Maybe we will.

[Jason Moore]

Alshon Jeffrey was the 18th ranked wide receiver but had a consistency ranking of 12. So despite finishing at 18, he was more consistent than many a wide receiver. He busted only 25% of the time. He only had one great game, but he was very consistent in that middle round.

[Mike Wright]

He was really surprisingly consistent.

[Jason Moore]

Only 57 receptions.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, really surprisingly consistent. This year when you look, yeah, you look at the reception total and what's amazing is that 2 of his bust games came without Carson Wentz at the end of the season. So, you know, it took him a while, I think, to really become the clear number one for the Eagles. But next year with Carson Wentz, who I believe will not be able to be a rushing quarterback to the same level as he was this year, which hurts him, hurts the offense a little bit, but it does mean that he's got to stand in that pocket, throw the ball a little bit more. I like Alshon going forward. They just signed him to a four year deal.

[Jason Moore]

I don't think anything, anything affecting Carson Wentz's ability to get out of the pocket or be elusive helps anybody in that offense. I would really disagree at that point. I think that what makes him be able to function is his mobility. So if you question mobility, I'd question.

[Mike Wright]

Alshon Jeffrey because do you question mobility? Is the follow up?

[Jason Moore]

I'm not willing to, to speculate on his recovery yet.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, hold on. Breakfast. He's scheduled.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, but look here, Jeffrey speaking to what you said, you know, he obviously he goosed his way in the championship week to the 154th rank, but the previous seven weeks, six of the seven he finished inside the top 24, three of those inside the top 12. That was pretty nice. Pretty darn nice. And he was a scoring threat. I like his future with wins in general. And so yes, in general, I think with the four year deal he signed, he's a top 15 wide receiver.

[Andy Holloway]

You're going to have to pay up for Alshon Jeffrey next year.

[Jason Moore]

You're going to have to pay more than Robbie Anderson. You're going to have to pay more than Golden Tate. You have to pay more than Doug Baldwin. You have to pay more than.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he'll go in front of Mike Evans if he does all that'll be interesting.

[Jason Moore]

And I would take Evans too. Stefan Diggs, number 19, his teammate Adam Thielen. We talked about him as the final guy, number 10 on the, on the Tuesday show.

[Andy Holloway]

I was just remembering you're saying he.

[Jason Moore]

Was busty in all the wrong places.

[Andy Holloway]

That is what I was referring to.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

He busted during the wrong weeks. Stefan Diggs, however, he was great. He had a great finish. 14 games. Once again dealt with injury. Talked about it before the year. You know, it was 14 games played, but it wasn't 14 games played healthy.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

And he was 64 for 8, 49 and 8. Still a game breaking talent. Busted 36% of the time but had two weeks that were in that top five category. Really a much better player at home.

[Mike Wright]

If you look at his game log and how he started the year on, you know, I think two of the first three weeks he was the number one wide receiver. He was double digits in three of those first five weeks. Then he gets injured, has that clear bust game when he gets injured. And then as he came back it seemed like he struggled to get back. But by the end of the year he was, you know, rock solid. We just said it in the fantasy playoffs. He was great. I think Diggs has the chance here to be. I mean it all comes down to health. And so this was one of the reasons I bought in. I, I really liked what he was doing this past offseason to ensure health and it still didn't happen. If he plays a full 16, I don't think anyone's going to end a year unhappy with having Stefan Diggs. But we can't predict injury around here and I don't see Diggs as a guy. I will say this, he's not one of those people that I think is inevitable. Can't play 16 games. There are certain guys that are that way and I think many people would put Diggs in that category. I still don't.

[Jason Moore]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he's, he's pretty close to that for you. For me, for as far as injury, it's not going to scare me away from drafting him, but the numbers, the splits on him and it would scare.

[Jason Moore]

Me away from leaning on him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that's. It's going to be draft price dependent for Stefan Diggs, but he was much better against poor defenses and much better at home. So it was. At least you knew when to play him. If you were far.

[Jason Moore]

Maybe.

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Jason Moore]

Now.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Demaryius Thomas, the 20th wanker. The 20th ranked wide receiver with a consistency rank of number 17. I don't know if I ever felt like playing him this year. 16 games, 83 receptions, 49 yards and five.

[Andy Holloway]

He's Mike Evans. His stat line's a little bit different but good. 44% of the time versus 40. Busted. 25% of the time versus 20.

[Jason Moore]

And no great games.

[Andy Holloway]

Exactly. So the splits. A little bit better at home. A little bit better versus bad defenses.

[Mike Wright]

As expected.

[Andy Holloway]

With the quarterbacks situation going on for the Denver Broncos, it doesn't look like.

[Jason Moore]

That quarterback situation is going to be solved.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Anytime soon.

[Andy Holloway]

Solved by free agency.

[Mike Wright]

I think free agency because if I'm.

[Andy Holloway]

I think they make a hard push.

[Mike Wright]

I do.

[Jason Moore]

Alex.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Alex Smith.

[Andy Holloway]

I think Cousins.

[Mike Wright]

Cousins.

[Andy Holloway]

If I'm any of those.

[Mike Wright]

Exactly.

[Andy Holloway]

If I'm Kirk, I'm going to. I want him in Arizona. The pheromones are coming out ladies and gentlemen.

[Mike Wright]

100%. I mean John Elway went and he got Peyton Manning, won his championship with it. He's got you know, the wherewithal and the name to go and convince a guy to play there and they have a good team around him. I mean the quarterback is the, is the real problem. You got a running game, you've got Emmanuel Sanders and demarius Thomas.

[Jason Moore]

I'm not sure Cousins is the mix the match that they want there.

[Mike Wright]

Maybe not. Alex Smith would be perfect.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Alex Smith's not going to get traded to inner division. There's no way they're going to do that. So yeah, maybe as of today as much as you have to question quarterback for Larry Fitzgerald or a question quarterback for Robbie Anderson, you got to question it for demarius Thomas.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

But he's got more raw talent than those than at least you know, maybe Robbie Anderson does. It was a weird year. He was somebody that you wanted as a two at best and nothing more. And the five touchdowns, you know, he's not in that category of being able to put up double digits anymore.

[Andy Holloway]

Ended his thousand yard streak.

[Jason Moore]

Unfortunately I want to move on because I want to make sure we touch on some other guys outside the top 24. So let's get to number 21.

[Mike Wright]

Oh.

[Jason Moore]

Devin S. Scrumptious.

[Mike Wright]

Delicious.

[Jason Moore]

You know I started dancing before the button went down. That felt weird.

[Andy Holloway]

This is premature dance celebrations.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. 21 Devin Funches consistency rank of 27. His year was strange obviously with Kelvin Benjamin being traded away early. 63 for 840 and 8 on 113 targets. I think he's a good, not great player. I don't think he can carry an Offense, I'm not looking to draft him in almost any format. Personally, I don't look at him as somebody that I can easily predict. Not only did the Kelvin Benjamin trade affect what they could find, you know, you saw in the playoff game Clay come out of the woodwork. You know, you had Greg Olson coming off the injury, still dealing with the foot. You got Christian McCaffrey out of the backfield. I'm going to be as hands off to Devin Funches myself as anybody next year.

[Mike Wright]

And we will disagree with this in the off season. I am sure Devin Funches to me was, I mean, as we've talked about these players, hopefully you are getting, you know, the handle of all wide receivers bust. All wide receivers have bad performances. You know, AJ Green 31% of the.

[Jason Moore]

Time, not DeAndre Hopkins.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, fair enough. All but one wide receiver out there. Busted. Thankfully, you're not going to pay hardly anything by comparison for Devin Funches, but if you look at what he did after the Kelvin Benjamin trade and you see how he was actually really, really consistent. I mean, those first three weeks, he was not that involved in that offense. You know, those are three of his, you know, bust weeks. And again, just like some other players, if you were to remove those three busts, he'd actually be the 12th most consistent wide receiver from week nine on.

[Jason Moore]

You're telling me if you take his bus out, he's more consistent?

[Mike Wright]

Yes, I'm saying if you take his bus out. But my point is, I like that he was playing with Kelvin. He wasn't the number one yet.

[Andy Holloway]

He was also. He was also playing without Greg Olson, the number one target on the offense.

[Mike Wright]

Right. And that's worth noting because during that stretch that he was gone, he was, you know, exceptionally reliable. From weeks nine through 14, never, not once finished outside of the top 14 or outside of the top 24. So, you know, I think next year, with another year under his belt as going into the offseason as a number one, if he.

[Jason Moore]

It's an eye testing for me.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, see, I've always really.

[Jason Moore]

I don't think he's that good. I think he's large. He's exceptional at being large. But I mean, look, you saw this in the Saints game. He could have won that football game. All you had to do is cut back on that ball.

[Mike Wright]

He had.

[Jason Moore]

He had beaten him and didn't make an athletic move. I don't know. For me, the eye test says Devin Funchesters is a good player. He's not a great player.

[Mike Wright]

I would agree with That I would not want Devin Funchester as my number one.

[Jason Moore]

Do you want him in your top, do you want him as a top 20 guy next year?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he'll probably be around 20. Probably.

[Jason Moore]

I mean maybe we're not really disagreeing when it comes to rank. You know, I'm willing to concede he'll be in that 20 range. All right, so Juju Smith Schuster number.

[Mike Wright]

22 star is born.

[Jason Moore]

Number 22. Consistency rank. Rookies are the most difficult to kind of, you know, lean on any consistency ranking. Personally I don't like looking at it because a rookie develops over the course of the year their role, their ability, their, their understanding, their route tree, all those things. Juju came, came to life and 58 receptions, 917 and seven. Big playability, 80 targets. Yeah, he busted also had some big games. I would draft juju over Devin Funches next year.

[Mike Wright]

Interesting.

[Jason Moore]

Even though he's the two in that offense. So I think juju has a very bright future. I mean if you take in the sky, if you take as a star.

[Andy Holloway]

If you take juju from the breakout game, right. The, the Detroit lion game where he had almost 200 yards and through the.

[Jason Moore]

Rest 20 guys, I know he's 20 years old.

[Andy Holloway]

Through the rest of the season.

[Jason Moore]

He was just born. When he says a star is born, that's what he meant, right? Ours just was born.

[Andy Holloway]

Our favorite thing of prorating out.

[Mike Wright]

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Let me know.

[Jason Moore]

Give me the proration.

[Andy Holloway]

So from the Detroit game all the way out 16 game season, he would be 94 for 15, 68 and nine touchdowns.

[Jason Moore]

People should know that Detroit game, that wasn't late. No, that was, that was before the buy. No, but I'm saying that that proration while crazy illustrates his ability to have a sustained dominant.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he was without Antonio Brown.

[Andy Holloway]

He was without Antonio Brown for three games where he put up great. Which that's, that's a checkbox in his favor. He, if he has to be the one for the Pittsburgh Steelers, not a problem.

[Jason Moore]

That's a ten game span in which you said three games he was missing. Antonio Brown, he has the ability to do it and all I'm saying is when you have an offense that can produce at that level. This is Rod, this is Roddy White and Julio Jones. This is not, you know, the two is not worth considering. This is Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall. Right. You can have a thousand plus yard season obviously and be a value there. And he's going to get drafted obviously much lower than Antonio Brown. And I think I would Take him over funches because he's 20 years old and has a better offensive system around him.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm very intrigued to see where juju goes in drafts because I think it's going to be very high.

[Jason Moore]

Nelson aguilar was the 23rd ranked wide receiver this year. A consistency rank of 24. You have to give a shout out to Nelson Aguilar for turning the career around. Sixteen games, 768 yards, eight touchdowns. That was the big number. You know, only one game that was kind of out there as the great dominant performance. 44% good games. What do we think of Nelson Aguilar heading into next year? Is he that complimentary Austin Jeffrey piece at best? I mean, when you look at Aguilar and Jeffrey versus Tate and Marvin Jones, I mean, how do you see those pairings?

[Mike Wright]

I would rather have the Tate and Marvin Jones pairing again. This is so early to speculate, but I do worry, just because of how late he was injured, that it's not fair to ask Carson Wentz to come back and be the mobile, rushing, evading everything quarterback that he was, you know, prior to tearing his ACL right at the beginning of a short recovery. And that's where you saw Aguilar excel. The broken plays, the scramble around, scramble around. Nelson Aguilar, scramble, scramble around town and he'd find him and that's where Aguilar would, you know, break a defender and in half and then, you know, jaunt his way to a touchdown. So I worry about Aguilar, but he certainly proved the haters wrong this season. And I think he's going to be a good quality wide receiver. I just think I'd much rather pick him up halfway through next year than draft him.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, it's probably hard to expect Carson Wentz to be the exact same player outside the pocket. I would hope that you could compare him to a guy like Donovan McNabb who tore his ACL back in 2006 and was still an evasive player afterwards, even though the play dipped a little bit. But yeah, Aguilar, there's so many variables there to count on and we're getting down into that range now.

[Andy Holloway]

It's touchdowns. I mean, 13% of his receptions were touchdowns. Nelson Aguilar. Yeah, I think that he is. He's not that.

[Mike Wright]

But.

[Andy Holloway]

But he's a decent wide receiver.

[Jason Moore]

You say he had two more than does Bryant.

[Andy Holloway]

I didn't say that.

[Mike Wright]

But you would have been telling the truth.

[Andy Holloway]

That's, that's fine. Just be careful with Aguilar is what I'M saying.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I agree.

[Jason Moore]

What's the truth about does Bryant number 24 on the rankings? Who knows. Ranking of 32 overall. Hugely disappointed disappointing season from Dez Bryant 44. As bad as it gets.

[Mike Wright]

44% of the time he busted. Now you might think, okay, once Dak Prescott had, you know, kind of fallen apart at the very end of the season and you know, okay, that's when DEZ was unreliable. That's not accurate because again, Dak Prescott on the year was a top 10 quarterback and he spent the first three quarters of the year pretty darn good. But still does Bryant 40 almost half of your games a bust. That's not to say like he scored eight points. Let's say he was under seven. He absolutely trashed your team.

[Jason Moore]

Great fantasy wide receivers, great NFL wide receivers do not have that level of inconsistency. And so it's, it's fair for me to say that he is not a great NFL wide receiver anymore.

[Andy Holloway]

It's possible.

[Jason Moore]

I think he doesn't mean he can't be a good one. But we've talked about this on shows prior. They need to bring him, they need to put him in a position to succeed with the skill set he has now at his age and do what teams did with guys like Heinz Ward and Larry Fitzgerald and Reggie Wayne versus what they're trying to do because right now it's not working. 44% bus rate. That's a low impact player. Six touchdowns. Couldn't even use them in the red zone to the degree that you should be able to.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, Dax going to give me and.

[Jason Moore]

No week winning weeks going to get.

[Andy Holloway]

Coached up from Kellen Moore.

[Jason Moore]

What?

[Andy Holloway]

Kellen Moore, new quarterback coach for the Dallas Cowboys.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, get it coached up. Yes, I got you.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, that'll fix it.

[Andy Holloway]

Maybe.

[Mike Wright]

So are you Mike. You. You've been the highest on Des of the three of us. Although I was pretty high on Des as well coming in. Are you off? Because I'm. I don't know that I'm going to where Des will go because of his name.

[Andy Holloway]

That's the.

[Mike Wright]

I won't draft him.

[Andy Holloway]

It's. I don't even know that his name will carry him in drafts. I think DEZ Bryant's will fall the way similar to what Ty Hilton experienced this season. Now it was for different reason because his quarterback was injured, but Ty Hilton, I mean he was a what, a fifth or a six round pick. I would not be shocked to see DEZ Bryant in that range and DEZ Bryant in the fifth depending on how I have drafted before him, I am likely to take the chance on him. On him returning to touchdown scoring form.

[Jason Moore]

How do you hire Kellen Moore to be your quarterback's coach?

[Andy Holloway]

You say, hey, Kellen Moore, you want to be the quarterback coach, but you were just.

[Jason Moore]

He was just the backup at 28 years old, but I guess that's a lot older than Dak Prescott.

[Andy Holloway]

Just because someone doesn't physically have the skill set to play quarterback in the league. Kellen Moore was. Is one of the most winningest coach or quarterbacks in college history.

[Jason Moore]

I'm not, no, no, no. I'm not saying he's not qualified to do. It just seems like a strange thing to have the, the team all of a sudden become the coach for the guy that's ahead of you in the depth chart. That just seems like a strange.

[Andy Holloway]

What it sounds like to me is they knew he just, for instance, he couldn't play it.

[Mike Wright]

Basically, it feels like they're not hiring a quarterback coach.

[Jason Moore]

Well, I mean, I think it's just.

[Mike Wright]

There he was already there. He's already wearing the hat.

[Andy Holloway]

But they're saving, maybe they're saving money now. I don't know what he's being paid to be the quarterback coach.

[Jason Moore]

Did you hear Chuck Andrew west as the new running backs coach in Kansas City?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, that's what, that's what it felt like to me.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

All right, What I want to do is let us point out a few other players that kind of finished in interesting spots on the consistency ranking. Now a reminder, consistency ranking that we're giving you is based on how players performed when they played.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

And so there are players that didn't finish anywhere near the top of the wide receiver rankings that still had very high consistency rankings because they performed except exceptionally well while they played. When they played. Josh Gordon, first example I want to bring up, he only played five games. 14th most consistent wide receiver at the position. How does that lend itself to next year and where Josh Gordon belongs in the draft?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, what, what that shows you is that he was, you know, reliable during the time he had. And coming into next year, you might be able to trust Gordon. I mean, if, you know, you've got to factor in the possible suspension going forward because any mess, any mess up and you've lost him completely. As if he, you know, tore his ACL. But he was good enough to be the 14th most consistent wide receiver because these are all percentage based. So when he was playing, he can give you that great boom game and he's Targeted enough to not bust. Now we've got to find out what's going to go on with, you know, quarterback, offensive. Yeah. Who's the quarterback, who's the offensive coordinator, those things. So you've got a reserve judgment. But it's worth noting that the season Josh Gordon put up in a limited sample was a reliable. He was a reliable fantasy player.

[Jason Moore]

As much as you can count five games towards reliability.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. I mean, as a sample size, you might say that there's a worse sample size with who finished number three in consistency, but it's probably right. Odell Beckham was the most. The third most consistent wide receiver this past year.

[Jason Moore]

This is almost the don't forget about them category.

[Mike Wright]

Don't forget about me.

[Jason Moore]

You know, Robert woods only played 12 games but was the 21st most consistent wide receiver. You mentioned Odell Beckham Jr. In his four games, the number three. You also had a player like Chris Hogan who through the nine games that he played was the 19th most consistent wide receiver. Anybody else that you kind of want to. To throw in there mention. I mean, that's a more. That's a higher consistency ranking from Hogan than Brandon Cooks. Just for the record. So if you're looking for consistency at that position, you didn't get it from Cooks the way you got it from Hogan.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. When they both played, Hogan was the more reliable player. I would. Only other guy I would throw out would be Sterling Shepard. Yeah, was. Was, you know, very consistent. Now, granted, he did play without Odell Beckham, so I think that you can't really bank on this year's numbers other.

[Jason Moore]

Than to say he also played with Geno Smith.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's true. He's a good wide receiver. I mean, he was coming into that draft class. He was my favorite. I know a lot of us around here really believe in him as a talent. Have to see who the quarterback is if it's Eli, but he's a quality wide receiver.

[Jason Moore]

Mike, anything to add?

[Andy Holloway]

Nope.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. Hopefully you enjoyed those episodes. We have the truth about fantasy running backs and tight ends and quarterbacks coming up on future episodes. Be sure to check out jointhefoot.com to grab an extra episode. A mailbag episode with the foot clank questions every single week. And a reminder also, if you want to, you can play basketball [e-mail] ballers so come join us over there. Draft.com ballers play some best ball. One of the funnest parts of the off season. We'll talk to you next week. Goodbye.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you for listening to another edition of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Don't forget to visit us on the web at www.thefantasyfootballers.com and follow us on TwitterFFballers.