Fantasy Football Podcast 2015 - 15 Gems for the 2015 Fantasy Season, News & Notes, Mailbag

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Episode Summary

Episode: Fantasy Football Podcast 2015 - 15 Gems for the 2015 Fantasy Season, News & Notes, Mailbag
Release Date: July 30, 2015
Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright

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Introduction

The episode kicks off with Andy Holloway (00:00) urging listeners, affectionately known as the Foot Clan, to participate in a listener survey at podsurvey.com/footballers. The survey aids in securing top-tier sponsors and keeps the podcast free for fans, with the added incentive of a monthly $100 Amazon gift card giveaway.

Jason Moore (01:21) welcomes listeners, noting the excitement as the football season approaches. Mike Wright (01:29) echoes this sentiment, expressing eagerness for the incoming season.

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Listener Engagement and Community Building

The hosts engage in light-hearted banter about Andy's Larry Fitzgerald practice jersey and Mike’s playful teasing about a bet concerning Fitzgerald's team allegiance, culminating in Jason Moore (02:05) mentioning their first "watered" bet payout, which can be viewed on their YouTube channel.

A listener review from Mr. Meowmix (05:22) is shared, praising the podcast’s sound quality, commentary, and analysis, highlighting its positive impact on his workday.

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Main Segment: 15 Fantasy Gems for the 2015 Season

The core of the episode revolves around the hosts presenting 15 "fantasy gems" intended to provide listeners with strategic advantages in their fantasy football drafts.

1. Mark Tressman’s Passing Strategy (17:16)

   • Andy Holloway delves into Tressman’s consistent approach to passing to running backs, emphasizing Justin Forset’s role as a dependable pass-catching back in the Baltimore Ravens’ system. He advocates for drafting Forset and handcuffing him with Buck Allen.
   • “Justin Forsett is a wonderful pass catching back. The perfect prototypical player for Tressman’s system.” – Andy Holloway 17:16

2. Carson Palmer as a Value Quarterback (17:28)

   • Jason Moore highlights Carson Palmer’s impressive passer ratings and improved team offensive line, positioning Palmer as an underrated quarterback worth targeting.
   • “Watch out for Carson Palmer. He’s being drafted outside the top 15 at the quarterback position.” – Jason Moore 17:41

3. Jeremy McCoy’s Consistent Performance (19:11)

   • Mike Wright praises McCoy’s reliability in catching passes with minimal drops, suggesting his consistent involvement in the offense makes him a valuable pick.
   • “Fred Jackson has been so solid as a third down running back.” – Mike Wright 19:22

4. Eddie Royal’s Synergy with Jay Cutler (21:18)

   • Andy Holloway underscores Eddie Royal’s connection with quarterback Jay Cutler, noting Royal’s high reception numbers and potential for increased targets.
   • “Eddie Royal is a value here because of the relationship between him and Jay Cutler.” – Andy Holloway 21:24

5. Alex Smith’s Accuracy and Opportunity (23:11)

   • Jason Moore discusses Alex Smith’s improved accuracy with the Kansas City Chiefs and the addition of Jeremy Macklin, positioning Smith as an underdrafted asset.
   • “Alex Smith is being underdrafted and is a solid streamer option.” – Jason Moore 23:52

6. Lamar Miller’s Efficiency (37:38)

   • Andy Holloway and Jason Moore advocate for drafting Lamar Miller, highlighting his efficiency and increased involvement in the Miami Dolphins’ offense.
   • “Lamar Miller is an extremely good value in the back of the third round.” – Andy Holloway 37:38

7. Jason Whitten as a Tight End Prospect (27:25)

   • Jason Moore presents Jason Whitten as a top-tier tight end who is being drafted too late, emphasizing his consistent target rates and touchdown potential.
   • “Jason Whitten is being drafted way too late and has a real shot at a top five tight end.” – Jason Moore 27:25

8. Golden Tate’s Potential Without Calvin Johnson (29:06)

   • Mike Wright and Jason Moore discuss Golden Tate’s surge in production when Calvin Johnson is injured, making him a valuable target in redemption formats.
   • “When Calvin Johnson is not around, Golden Tate is a must-have due to his increased yardage.” – Mike Wright 29:06

9. LeGarrett Blunt as a Reliable Running Back (25:59)

   • Jason Moore recommends LeGarrett Blunt as a dependable RB1 for the Patriots, noting his consistent touches and touchdown involvement despite occasional fluctuations.
   • “LeGarrett Blunt is going to be one of the more workhorse guys you can draft.” – Jason Moore 26:02

10. Matt Forte and Joy Bell Investing in Early Running Backs (24:42)

    • Mike Wright references Matt Forte and Joy Bell’s successful strategies of drafting running backs early, reinforcing the importance of securing high-volume ball carriers.
    • “Only two out of the top 12 RBs have sub 4.0 yards per carry, emphasizing the value in high-efficiency backs.” – Mike Wright 24:42

11. Jimmy Graham’s Consistent Targeting (35:31)

    • Mike Wright critiques the Seahawks’ quarterback Russell Wilson for diluting coverage, suggesting that Jimmy Graham remains a top tight end due to his high targeting and touchdown potential.
    • “Jimmy Graham continues to be a reliable target and should remain highly valued.” – Mike Wright 35:31

12. Teddy Bridgewater’s Emerging Role (32:53)

    • Jason Moore explores Teddy Bridgewater’s improved accuracy and increased passing yards, projecting his rise as a valuable quarterback with enhanced offensive support.
    • “Teddy Bridgewater has the potential to become a top-tier quarterback with his increased passing efficiency.” – Jason Moore 32:53

13. Colin Kaepernick’s Upside (38:07)

    • Jason Moore emphasizes Colin Kaepernick’s upward trajectory in both passing and rushing yards, along with new offensive weapons like Reggie Bush, positioning him as a high-upside quarterback.
    • “Colin Kaepernick’s potential improvements make him a top-five quarterback candidate.” – Jason Moore 41:36

14. Jeremy Hill’s High Yards Per Carry (42:53)

    • Mike Wright lauds Jeremy Hill’s efficiency, comparing his yards per carry to legends like Adrian Peterson, and predicts significant involvement and touchdown opportunities.
    • “Jeremy Hill is poised to be a touchdown dominator with high carry volumes.” – Mike Wright 42:53

15. Final Gem: Lamar Miller’s Consistency and Opportunity (38:07)

    • Andy Holloway and Jason Moore conclude with Lamar Miller’s consistent performance and the Miami Dolphins’ commitment to increasing his carries, marking him as a valuable mid-round pick.
    • “Lamar Miller is incredibly efficient and set to receive more carries, making him a high-value draft pick.” – Andy Holloway 37:38

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News and Notes

A significant portion of the episode covers current NFL news impacting fantasy football:

• Tom Brady’s Suspension (07:01): Jason Moore announces that Tom Brady’s four-game suspension has been upheld, leading to frustrations among fans and discussions on its fantasy implications.

• Roddy White’s Injury (09:27): Mike Wright mentions Roddy White’s recurring knee issues but downplays their impact on his fantasy value.

• Dean Bell’s Suspension Reduction (08:36): Jason Moore shares that Le'Veon Bell’s suspension has been reduced from three to two games, enhancing his draft value.

• Jordan Reed’s Return and Injury Concerns (11:05): Jason Moore updates on Jordan Reed being cleared to start training camp but notes reports of him being injured again.

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Listener Mailbag

The hosts address listener questions, offering personalized advice:

1. Tony Meatballs’ Inquiry on Le'Veon Bell (45:29)

   • Andy Holloway recommends pairing Le'Veon Bell with Trey Mason to secure a robust running back duo, emphasizing the value of Bell’s production and Mason’s potential as a handcuff.

2. Zack Garner’s Keeper Dilemma (47:20)

   • Jason Moore and Andy Holloway advise evaluating the specific dynamics of Zack’s league before deciding between keeping Le'Veon Bell or Antonio Brown, highlighting the importance of tailoring decisions to league tendencies.

3. Alexa’s Question on Stealing Away Nick Foles (50:15)

   • Mike Wright suggests drafting Nile Davis in the eighth round to counteract the rival’s Jamal Charles, while Jason Moore emphasizes strategic responding based on league dynamics.

4. Dan’s Keeper League Scoring Format (52:00)

   • Andy Holloway and Mike Wright advocate for a half-point PPR format, balancing player value without overly skewing positions like wide receivers.

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

The episode wraps up with:

• Andy Holloway and Jason Moore reiterating the importance of filling out the listener survey at podsurvey.com/footballers.
• Jason Moore promotes fantasydraftwizard.com for mock drafts to prepare listeners for their fantasy drafts.
• A brief promotion for FanDuel’s daily fantasy sports platform with a promo code for listeners.

Final Quotes:

• “Teach a man to fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man to draft well, you help him win his league.” – Mike Wright 49:20
• “Go do your mock drafts. Win championships and fill out that survey for us.” – Andy Holloway 55:53

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Key Takeaways

• Strategic Drafting: Emphasis on identifying undervalued players ("fantasy gems") to gain a competitive edge.
• Adaptability: Encouragement to tailor draft strategies based on league dynamics and opponent tendencies.
• Community Engagement: Importance of listener participation through surveys and Q&A for a thriving fantasy football community.

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Note: This summary captures the essence of the podcast episode, highlighting strategic insights, player evaluations, and community interactions to provide valuable takeaways for fantasy football enthusiasts.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, Foot Clan. Before we get started with today's show, we have a really important survey that we would really love you guys to check out and do for us. We have some of the best sponsors in the fantasy football industry, and the reason is because we have the best listeners in the fantasy football industry. And we need to prove that with having our listeners, our Foot Clan, go and take a survey for us. It means a lot to us. So please go to POD Survey. The survey only takes about five minutes. We ask a couple questions about yourself, what you like to buy, and it is completely anonymous. It just helps us find the most awesome sponsors, keep the show free, keep the show rocking, and in addition to that, when you finish, you can actually enter into a $100 monthly drawing for an Amazon gift card. So it helps you, helps our sponsors, helps the show. It's awesome. Please go. Once again, the survey address, URL is podsurvey.com footballers. Thank you for helping us find the best sponsors possible to keep the show awesome for you. Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Jason Moore]

Welcome to the show. It is Thursday. It is July 30, and it is almost August, and football time.

[Mike Wright]

The news is coming in.

[Jason Moore]

I know. I am beyond excited.

[Andy Holloway]

Football feels real. I was thinking about that today. Like, I was remembering throws and catches.

[Mike Wright]

What, like a blanket?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yes.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Like a nice, you know, a shawl. Nope. It was just, like, dawning on me. We're here. We're real football.

[Jason Moore]

That's exactly. And you're wearing your jersey today.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I'm wearing my.

[Jason Moore]

Is that a Larry Fitzgerald practice jersey?

[Andy Holloway]

This. This is if any of the Foot Clan out there has not yet seen. We had our first water bet payout.

[Jason Moore]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

Believe we tweeted that out, or you can see it on YouTube.

[Jason Moore]

Jason paid the price. He made me a bet that Larry Fitzgerald would not sign with the Cardinals way, way, way, way, way back in the off season. And he was dead wrong. And so he got watered. And you can go check that out on YouTube. Welcome to the show. We are the Fantasy Footballers. My name is Andy. I am joined by Mike the fantasy hitman.

[Mike Wright]

Right, what's going on, party people?

[Jason Moore]

And Jason the freshly watered Moore.

[Andy Holloway]

Still happy he's a cardinal, though.

[Jason Moore]

I am, too. If you want to follow the show, you can do so on twitter @the ffballers. We mentioned our YouTube channel. You can go on there and find us. You can also Visit our website, thefantasyfootballers.com that's where you can Submit questions to the show, read articles, see latest podcast episodes.

[Mike Wright]

Get better every day.

[Jason Moore]

The website we're doing work on there. I'm pretty proud, pretty excited. Quick question for you guys. I'm gonna get it started right now. Which fantasy player this year has the most to benefit from an injury in front of them?

[Mike Wright]

Mmm.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Yeah. That's an interesting question, isn't it?

[Mike Wright]

I have my guy.

[Jason Moore]

Well, shoot. Tell me.

[Mike Wright]

Buck Allen.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, that's my guy. No way.

[Mike Wright]

Snagged him out.

[Andy Holloway]

I knew.

[Jason Moore]

I knew you would go for it, too.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a great. Hey, can I just say you something, Mike? That's a great pick. I'm really.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you.

[Jason Moore]

No, I love that. And we actually, Jason and I talked about him this morning and that's Buck.

[Mike Wright]

Allen from the Baltimore Ravens, who we love. Justin Forset this year. We think he's going to be showered in targets from the Mark Tressman system.

[Andy Holloway]

It's coming up.

[Mike Wright]

And if Forset goes down, I don't think Tally Farrow is the guy.

[Jason Moore]

Well, he's not. And Allen can catch it.

[Mike Wright]

Exactly.

[Jason Moore]

That's the big thing.

[Mike Wright]

Buck Allen is a similar player to 4 set.

[Jason Moore]

Well, I'm going to go in a very, very similar vein. And that's David Johnson from the Arizona Cardinals.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yes.

[Jason Moore]

Because Andre Ellington was terrible between the tackles and yet was a valuable fantasy player last year in the passing game. So if he's off the field for some reason, David Johnson is going to benefit from an improved Arizona Cardinals offensive line and be involved in the passing game. Carson Palmer's back. David Johnson's the guy that would benefit.

[Andy Holloway]

Then I will go. If those two are taken, I will actually go. J. Ajayi, I don't think it's going to happen. I really don't. I like Lamar Miller as we'll see this show, but if he were to go down, I think he would be a true three down back. And a lot of the guys that, you know, someone goes down ahead of them might not go to three downs, but Ajayi would.

[Jason Moore]

All right, good stuff. We got a good show for you today.

[Mike Wright]

What's on the show?

[Jason Moore]

I was going to say we're dropping some news and notes like we said. There's more stuff breaking right now. We also have. And I love this. These are great 15 fantasy gyms for the 2015 season. Oh, yeah, yeah. Those are the sound that each one makes. Yeah, we. Mike. Mike made another satchel when he was in Hawaii and he brought some gems back in it. Pearls. Got them through. Got them on the Plane brought them back here. And we brought 15 fantasy gems for you. These are awesome.

[Mike Wright]

Sneaking oysters through the agricultural.

[Jason Moore]

Not inspectors.

[Mike Wright]

No, that is difficult.

[Jason Moore]

You probably had to flex a few times.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, at least. But I do that anyway.

[Jason Moore]

We're also gonna take some time for the mailbag, gonna answer some listener questions, and right now, we're gonna read A listener review.

[Andy Holloway]

Reviewasaurus rex. This one comes in from Mr. Meowmix.

[Mike Wright]

Meow, Meow, Meow, Meow.

[Andy Holloway]

Mr. Meowmix says this podcast is everything I could hope for in a podcast focused on my favorite hobby. The sound quality is great, commentary is spot on, and the analysis is the best I've heard for a long time. These guys make my workday so much better, and they totally deserve to be on the last season of the league. Hey, hashtag spam the league Twitter now.

[Jason Moore]

And wait, that's the hashtag he put. That is the league Twitter now.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And now was all caps.

[Jason Moore]

Is that 140 characters?

[Mike Wright]

Are you talking about at the League FXX?

[Andy Holloway]

I think he's saying spam the league at theleaguefx on Twitter.

[Mike Wright]

Let's get the ballers on the league, people. We have one more chance, but thank.

[Andy Holloway]

You, Mr. Meow Mix. Thank you very much for leaving a review. We do appreciate it, and to all of our listeners out there, the Foot Clan, we really do have the best listeners, and we appreciate these reviews that help the show stay on top. So if you have, you know, an iPhone or itunes, give us a review on itunes. You can search for fantasy football and find us.

[Jason Moore]

Just so people know, the Android users out there are people who use different apps. We're on SoundCloud now. Yep, we're on SoundCloud. We're on TuneIn. We're on Stitcher. We're all over the place. A lot of people, when they see us watching itunes, they think we don't love Android, and we love Android.

[Andy Holloway]

We're like 50, 50 out there. So give us a review wherever you can.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, we really appreciate it. And be sure to send in your questions. Go to the website thefantasyfootballers.com, click the submit a question button, and we try to answer as many as humanly possible before. Before we pass out and die. Let's get to the news.

[Andy Holloway]

News and notes from around the league.

[Mike Wright]

I've already died, like, five times, dude.

[Jason Moore]

I'm not risking it. The season's coming. I don't want to miss the season.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's all you're letting me handle. Heavy Lifting questions.

[Jason Moore]

Hey, big, big, big, big, big news. Tom Brady suspension has been upheld. Four games in the books. He's not happy. And yet four games.

[Mike Wright]

You know who else is not happy?

[Jason Moore]

Giselle.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, her. But Mr. Kraft. Did you see him talking?

[Jason Moore]

He's not pleased.

[Mike Wright]

He is not happy.

[Jason Moore]

I think that's why this had to happen is because Roger. Roger. And our good friend. Yeah, I had lunch with him earlier. Roger, Roger. Rog. No, Roger Goodell and Kraft have been, you know, seen as buddy. Buddy. And you know, we've, we don't need.

[Andy Holloway]

To send a message to the NFL from a fantasy standpoint.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. That's what we need to.

[Andy Holloway]

Been listening to the fantasy footballers. We've been very down on Tom Brady and the four game suspension that he has is not, I do not believe in any way, shape or form.

[Jason Moore]

It's.

[Andy Holloway]

It's a way to get great value late because he wasn't that great of a quarterback.

[Jason Moore]

He was, he was on and off.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he was on and off. He had a stretch where he was amazing. But think about the year before. He was, was even in the top 12. I mean, he might have been low.

[Jason Moore]

He's always been that way. And now you take a third of his season away.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And you got to take up a roster bench spot to have.

[Mike Wright]

He's going to play 16 games.

[Andy Holloway]

You think it's going to go to the legal system.

[Jason Moore]

He will take it to court and then it'll get. Be put on hold and he'll get.

[Andy Holloway]

To play and then it will be in another news and notes section. So.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, well, so Lev Bell, however.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, this is good news.

[Jason Moore]

He was like, take that, Tom Brady. I got mine reduced. I got mine reduced from three to two. And this is big because that's one more game that Love Bell will play for you.

[Andy Holloway]

I think that's a. That's really big because game changer for me, the three, the three games is enough to keep someone out of the playoffs if they don't do well enough. Drafting the two is much easier to get around and so I actually moved them up a little bit in my spots. He is now.

[Mike Wright]

Where is he now?

[Andy Holloway]

Well, as of right now, he's numero uno.

[Mike Wright]

Wow.

[Jason Moore]

In both standard and ppr.

[Andy Holloway]

Both. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

He was my PPR number one anyways.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

So he's gonna stay.

[Jason Moore]

I'm moving him down.

[Mike Wright]

No, he'll stay at number three for me even. But what it does for me is I'm more comfortable now if I'm gonna spend that number three or four Pick. I'm more willing to do it now.

[Jason Moore]

I'm gonna give you guys a little bit of quick hitting news here. Chime in if there's something that you want to chime in on, but I want the people to know what's going on. So Roddy White, not a surprise anymore, has his knee drained prior to minicamp. He expects to have to have the knee drained again during the season.

[Mike Wright]

Not a big deal to me.

[Jason Moore]

Not a big deal to you, even though he's been injured year after year and have his production going down?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. If you look at, we're talking about a different sport, but Dwyane Wade, when, when he was playing, his constantly having his knee drained and he's still been effective. Yes, he's missed games, but what about Roddy?

[Jason Moore]

Roddy has not been as affected, but.

[Mike Wright]

I'm saying I don't think he's going to miss gains because of his knee.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. That's a fair point.

[Andy Holloway]

When he plays. When he plays, Roddy's been good.

[Jason Moore]

All right. At the beginning of Cowboys camp, Jerry Jones has endorsed Jim Joseph Randle as the number one back. This is something we've talked about since the beginning when all the Darren McFadden buzz was going on. We kind of believed in Mr. Randall and he is the number one back. So he's got the shot behind that line to be something.

[Mike Wright]

Jerry's a really good talent scout, so that's going to work out well.

[Andy Holloway]

He's also not the head coach, which he forgets. Oh, well, it's up for debate, right? Maybe he is the head coach, but I don't know. You don't know what the number one means? Does the number. The number one is not going to mean. Clearly it's not going to mean DeMarco Murray numbers by any stretch.

[Jason Moore]

So we don't know what all of.

[Andy Holloway]

Them first, but I think it's going to be 55, 60%.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. Jordan Reed has been fully cleared to start in training camp. So this is kind of significant because, I mean, Reed has been a fantasy relevant player when he's played consistently, which has been never. But he's been relevant for week to week.

[Mike Wright]

Can I break news for two weeks from now?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, go for it.

[Mike Wright]

Jordan Reed injured. Oh, you hit the ball.

[Jason Moore]

I was gonna, but hey. According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, second year running back Trey Mason is expected to get the lion's share of the Rams early carry.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you.

[Jason Moore]

Season carries.

[Andy Holloway]

Love Trey Mason.

[Jason Moore]

Well, this is something that again, I was waiting for the two do it for me.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, thank you.

[Mike Wright]

I have been very cautious of Gurley.

[Jason Moore]

It's less girly, though. It's more like you've been pro Mason because of. Since the beginning.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Well, it. But that's just a combination of the two. Where I thought Mason was. Was decent last year. And you're talking about a top 10 running back who's coming off of ACL surgery. They're not going to just throw him out there. He's a feature back for the future.

[Jason Moore]

In. In some other news out of the Bay Area, there's been some reports that the 49ers are expected to replace Gore with more than one person, which, you know, we've, we've said that all offseason. I'm a big Reggie Bush guy. He's. I don't have my rankings right in front of me, which is silly right now, but he's like in my top. He's an RB2 for me in PPR leagues. Really? Reggie Bushes. So this only goes to show that I think Kendall Hunter is going to be involved way, way, way more than people think.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Right now people think it's zero. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

They think Hyde Bush and it's not. Kendall Hunter will be back.

[Mike Wright]

Don't forget that. Of all the Hunter hype of taking Gore's spot. I mean, that was a few years ago.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, right. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

People were all drafting him very early because they thought Gore was done and Kendall Hardner was going to take the job.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I have Bush at 17 right now.

[Mike Wright]

My goodness.

[Jason Moore]

In PPR, I have him.

[Andy Holloway]

You had him really low.

[Mike Wright]

I have him at 39 right now.

[Jason Moore]

That is what we call a gap. There are a number of players starting in the active and active PUP list. Notables include Jermaine Gresham, who we talked about last week. Joy Bell, Devonte Parker. Oh, that's ringing the bell.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Jason Moore]

So Devonte Parker's on the active pup. We talked about him last week as well. I want to take a last second here and give some props. A slow clap.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, very much.

[Jason Moore]

To Eric Berry. Yeah. Amazing news coming back from Hodgkin's lymphoma. He has been cleared to practice with the Chiefs. He is a stand up guy, a multi year Pro Bowler and honestly, it brings back memories of. I don't know if either of you guys even remember him, but Mario Lemieux, Lemuel, he played for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

[Mike Wright]

I thought you were gonna ask.

[Jason Moore]

He was one of my favorite players growing up and he missed 94. 95 season with Hodgkin's lymphoma.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

And when he came back, he. He won a heart trophy. He was great. And, I mean, just an amazing thing to overcome and a really good guy. So I thought you were gonna ask.

[Mike Wright]

If I remember Mario Lopez.

[Jason Moore]

You kind of looked like him in the Hawaii picture.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Do you know how hard it is to cut that much muscle and weight in, like, three days back to regular body size?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that's pretty tough. Reminder to everybody out there to check out fantasydraftwizard.com for all your mock drafts. We're doing several more mock draft episodes during the month of August, getting you primed for your fantasy football draft. So check out fantasy draft wizard.com. it's free. You go on there. You. You plug in your league settings. You choose ppr, choose standard draft against the experts. It's easy. You guys want to get to the main event?

[Andy Holloway]

Let's do it.

[Jason Moore]

All right, we're going to do this right now. Dig deeper, y'all.

[Andy Holloway]

Let's go. I love it. I love it.

[Mike Wright]

All right, that's someone impersonating Shaun T.

[Jason Moore]

So we're going to go through here. We're going to take turns. We're going to be dropping 15 fantasy gems for 2015. These are. How would you define them?

[Andy Holloway]

They are stats that we've dug deep for, we've done a lot of research in, and things that we think make a difference and are very interesting and need to be known.

[Jason Moore]

That's exactly right. I think these all kind of congeal into a very good mental mix to have into your brain when you go into the draft. So, Jason, you get to kick us off at number 15.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Well, this is such a great kickoff because we were just talking about Buck Allen and all for listeners who might not know Buck Allen and you're searching for him in a draft. He is also Javorius Allen. Yeah, that's a good point. But he probably won't show up as Buck. That's his nickname. But anyways, the first tip is Tressman. Running backs. Is it real or not? Because you hear about Mark Tressman, who is now the offensive coordinator there in Baltimore, and you hear about, well, he's really good at getting the ball to the running backs. And is that real or not? Because we hear a lot of things from a lot of people that when you actually look it up, you go, well, that's not really true. Someone said that. And then it just kept snowballing. So I went back and I looked. Mark Tressman has been a head coach or offensive coordinator 10 different years in the NFL. That is a wonderful sample size to work with. And I went back and looked at every single, every single season, added up every single pass to the running back position. And he's been on multiple teams. He was on the Niners, the Cardinals, I think Oakland, obviously last year, the Bears. So, so we're talking about tons of different wide receivers or running backs, tons of different systems, head coach, offensive corner. Here's what I found. Ready? Over the last 10 seasons, over 1050 receptions to the running back position in 10 years. That means every single year he's averaging over 100 receptions to running backs. That's ludicrous. I mean last year Matt Forte got 102. And so when I went back and looked, I mean you have star star years 102, 72, 75, 91. And that's just for one player. The year when he got, I mean it's just, it was nuts writing these numbers out and seeing how many passes go to the running back. So I think this speaks huge for Justin Forsett. Justin Forsett is a wonderful pass catching back. Is the perfect prototypical player for Tressman system. The only thing you worry about is injury. That's why handcuff him with Javorius, Buck Allen and I think he's going to be gold. He is actually on my rankings and I believe yours Andy as well in PPR numero 4.

[Jason Moore]

He is 4 on both of our PPR lists and it's a great point for those afraid of four set losing touchdowns, he might. But this is touchdown insurance. When you have high volume pass catching, just go ask Matt Forte.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he's going to get 70.

[Jason Moore]

My forte didn't put up good yards per carry. He didn't score a lot of touchdowns. But what he did was he caught 100 passes.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, if you say he's going to catch 70 balls, which is conservative and very realistic, that's huge. So.

[Jason Moore]

All right, let me bring you to number 14. This one's mine and it is. Watch out for Carson Palmer.

[Mike Wright]

Are you sure this is not mine?

[Jason Moore]

Well, you know what, we are on the same show. Carson Palmer's passer rating in his five healthy games last season was 108. 93, 103, 90 and 104. His touchdowns in each of those games were 2, 2, 2, 2 and 3. And he completed over 63% of his passes last year. Yeah, his numbers were good enough to be a top five quarterback in fantasy during those games. And here's what he's got coming into the season. He's got John Brown a year older and up and coming wide receiver. He's got Ellington back and healthy. Fitzgerald has resigned and he is back. David Johnson was drafted, the offensive line was improved and Jermaine Gresham has been brought in.

[Andy Holloway]

Sounds pretty good.

[Jason Moore]

They have solidified that offense and Bruce Arians is still running it. And I love Carson Palmer this year because he's being drafted outside the top 15 at the quarterback position. Mike, what do you think about that?

[Mike Wright]

I have been singing the praises of Carson Palmer all this entire off season. If you go back and you look since the bye week of Carson Palmer's first year in Arizona, he has been a beast, a beast of a quarterback.

[Jason Moore]

There are so many people who write us and say, if I wait on a quarterback, who do I stream? Carson Palmer's in every list.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Ryan Tannehill, Carson Palmer, Eli Manning as later targets for that position. So watch out for Carson Palmer.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I agree. I love Carson. My first little gem here.

[Jason Moore]

Number 13. Number 13. Count it down, Mike. This is a countdown.

[Mike Wright]

I apologize. Number 13. I can't take him off the field.

[Jason Moore]

Is that a question?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

I'm Ron Burgundy and so this is just a quick little stat for Buffalo because we've heard non stop news about Shady McCoy. He will be on the field 105% of the time. He's going to take every snap. He's going to catch everybody.

[Jason Moore]

Sometimes he'll play two positions.

[Mike Wright]

That's how much he's going to be on the field. He'll be everywhere. Last year, Fred Jackson, the best hands of a running back for catching passes. Of 68 catchable passes, he only dropped two. LaShawn McCoy Last year of 32 catchable passes, dropped three. Now, I'm not saying three is an extreme number, but three of 32 is not anywhere close to as good as two drops for 68.

[Jason Moore]

What's kind of funny about that to me, and having watched Fred Jackson over the past few years, is they can't take him off the field. Has generally applied to Fred Jackson.

[Mike Wright]

Exactly.

[Jason Moore]

Because he has been so solid as a third down running back. I'm just. It'd be amazing if for like a third straight year, he's underdrafted by that much.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, we had a show a while back where we were talking about specific players who year after year after year were underdrafted despite being underdrafted the year before and crushed their adp. And Fred Jackson's done it pretty much every year.

[Jason Moore]

He was also just cutting. They just cut. I'm just Kidding.

[Mike Wright]

And what I'm saying with this is not. I think Fred Jackson is a running back too. I'm just saying I don't think LaShawn McCoy's volume will be as high and I think Fred Jackson will be involved.

[Jason Moore]

Very interesting.

[Andy Holloway]

Hard to take him off the field. Well, at number 12 comes a royal relationship. And that is a relationship of best friends. A relationship of friends between Eddie Royal and Jay Cutler. Best of buds, best of friends. Sorry. Matt Stafford under the bleachers with Jay Cutler. It is now Eddie Royal. Yeah, it is now Eddie Royal. So here's the deal with Eddie Royal. Eddie Royal is not a sexy name. He's going really, really late in drafts.

[Jason Moore]

Especially when you spell it E, D, D, Y like you did.

[Andy Holloway]

It's radio or YouTube.

[Jason Moore]

I had to point it out.

[Andy Holloway]

It's not very sexy spelled that way. No. No, it's not. So anyways, his rookie year, Eddie Royal comes into the league with and as A rookie catches 91 receptions from Jay Cutler. And if Jay Cutler is known for anything, it is for locking on to his guy and going to him over and over. And keep in mind when. When he caught the 91 receptions as a rookie, he was behind a number one. He was. He was a perfect number two target. He was behind who, Brandon Marshall, who he's replacing. Did you know. Did you know that Jay Cutler is the one who. Who got Eddie Royal to come to Duh Bears. He went solicited Eddie Royal to come and play with him. He wants to lock on to Eddie Royal. Kevin White, great player.

[Jason Moore]

It's foolish potential is the word.

[Andy Holloway]

Foolishness. Not to have him be the number two there. But John Fox does not put rookie wide receivers in on the field. I just. I don't think it's going to happen.

[Mike Wright]

So I think he's on the list too.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that's true. Active, but. So I think he's been a pretty good wide receiver. He's got 15 touchdowns the last two years, so that's pretty darn good. So I think Eddie Royal is a value there because of the relationship between.

[Jason Moore]

That is a sleeper alert for those listening out there. Eddie Royal. Eddie Jason. Eddie. All right. Hey, number 11. I'm super excited about this. Mr. Smith goes too late. He goes too late. Despite. Listen to this. This is a little Alex Smith, Jeremy Macklin action for you. Despite a massive 140 targets in 2014, no one had a higher catch percentage in football than Jeremy Macklin. He registered one drop on 86 catchable passes.

[Andy Holloway]

Pretty good.

[Jason Moore]

However, Nick Foles and Sanchez, the guys throwing him the ball combined to finish 30th in the NFL in total accuracy percentage at the position. Now he heads to Kansas City, where amazingly, Alex Smith ranked number two in the league in accuracy percentage according to Pro Football Focus last year. Smith's receivers had the third highest drop percentage in all of football last year. And now he picks up Macklin, who doesn't drop passes. And so for me, this, this speaks more to Alex Smith being underdrafted than it does to Jeremy Macklin doing anything special in Kansas City because he was also the top play action pass quarterback last year. Alex Smith was in terms of accuracy. And you're going to run the play action with Jamal Charles all day long.

[Andy Holloway]

They kept acting like they were going to give Jamal Charles the ball. I was a Jamal Charles owner.

[Jason Moore]

That's why his carry.

[Andy Holloway]

No, it's always play action.

[Jason Moore]

Give him the ball and little extra tidbit. So Alex Smith, I think is being underdrafted. He's moving up. He's going to move up my ranks a little bit because he has the ability to play a. He can have the same success that Tom Brady has in that type of an offense. And I think people think Alex Smith's at the very bottom of the league in terms of like average yards per pass. But Kansas City, they were actually 22. So there were 10 teams that had near the bottom. Yeah, he's in the bottom third, but just barely. And what I'm saying is he didn't have guys that were catching the ball down the field despite his accuracy. They were dropping the ball. So I think getting a guy like Kelsey coming in and do a second year and getting Macklin is going to see a marked change for Alex Smith. So dropping some knowledge about Smith, I think people should keep him in that streamer talk.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, absolutely. I like Alex Smith to stream when he's a good matchup. He can produce. He can produce some numbers. My number 10 is when volume doesn't equal production. Of the top 12 running backs in terms of total carries, only two had a sub 4.0 yard per carry average. Matt Forte and Joy Bell, both of those teams, the respective teams, the Bears and the Lions, spent a fourth or higher round pick on a running back. Now clearly we know that's Jeremy Langford for the Bears.

[Jason Moore]

Was he a fourth?

[Mike Wright]

He was a fourth round pick. And my man Amir Abdullah, my fro yo bro.

[Jason Moore]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

Not only that, but they got Jacquiz Rogers. Then they went out and signed Daniel Thomas. So I don't know Matt Forte I.

[Jason Moore]

Just think it's, it's pretty interesting stat because realizing that both those teams recognized the need to draft a running back early, it just, you just need to remember it.

[Mike Wright]

Exactly.

[Jason Moore]

And again, I'll stress I don't dislike Amir Abdullah at all. I just think Drake Bell will have a role.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. All right. Well, coming in a role like he's.

[Mike Wright]

Going to eat like.

[Jason Moore]

Well, he always has a few.

[Andy Holloway]

Like speaking of a role, coming in at number nine, it's called roll with.

[Jason Moore]

The Blunt and that is three game suspension.

[Andy Holloway]

Jason Moore, legarett Blunt, legarrett Blunt, go ahead and roll him out in your lineup. He actually has a one game suspension for the irony there. But take a look at this. Over the last 15 games with the Patriots, keep in mind he was with the Patriots, you know, back in the day before he went to the Steelers, got cut, resigned. Over the last 15 with the Pats, he has averaged more than 14 touches a game, 73 yards and a whole touchdown a game. He's averaged one touchdown every single game. That's solid RB1 numbers. That's mid tier RB1 in a standard league and low RB1 in a PPR league. So you have the Patriots who this year have a much worse defense. They lost a lot of key players on their defense. And think about what happened to Dallas last year, right when you lost so many people on defense. What do you do to make up for that? You run the ball. You run the ball and keep the clock going. LeGarrett Blunt has been used like this and for where he's being drafted. I mean like the back of the fifth round. Right now he's going as the 26th running back. I think he is going to be one of the more workhorse guys. You're definitely going to get a game or two that are frustrating because he doesn't get the ball but he is going to find the end zone, going to be used and is a talented guy.

[Jason Moore]

I like it. Number eight, the tightest of ends.

[Mike Wright]

So tight.

[Jason Moore]

So tight. This tight end is 33 years old. He had the third lowest drop rate in the NFL last season. He had the highest catch rate while lining up from the, from the slot by a wide margin, 75% plus. He has caught 70 plus passes for seven straight seasons before the streak stopped last year with 64. The tightest of ends is Jason Whitten.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I love Jason. Actually I can't even say. Do you know where he has him ranked?

[Jason Moore]

How high? Well, I mean look, I have him at. Oh, he has him at three, he.

[Mike Wright]

Went down to four for standard.

[Jason Moore]

That's still great. Listen to this. The Cowboys threw the ball 100 times less in 2014 than 2013 and 200 times less than 2012. Whitten is one year removed from an eight year touchdown or an eight touchdown campaign. He's still the stalwart that he's always been. He's being drafted way too late, and if they can't get it done on the ground, no, he's going to. The touchdown numbers are going to go up, his catches are going to go up, and I think he has a real shot at a top five. It's kind of where I'm ending up. So the thing about Whitten, like Greg Olson last year, he's always on the field, every single snap, pretty much the entire year. And so if his goal line numbers increase a little bit, if Romo has to pass 2530 times more, he. You're talking about another five to 10 catches for Jason Whitten. And I just. I mean, he's as solid as they come.

[Mike Wright]

I stand corrected by Jason. Who knows my rankings better? Because Jason went in. PPR is my number three tight end.

[Jason Moore]

There you go.

[Mike Wright]

I love him very much. I love him the best.

[Andy Holloway]

But you can get him so late.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, you can. It's fantastic. So if I miss on, Kelsey Whitten's one of my top targets. Number seven. Good as Golden.

[Andy Holloway]

Is that another Ron Burgundy? Everything's a question mark.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I like to have questions.

[Andy Holloway]

I like it.

[Mike Wright]

In the 13 games Golden Tate played with Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate averaged 75 1/2 yards per game. In the three that Calvin did not play, he averaged over 116 yards per game. As we know. Matty snapback like Jay Cutler, his buddy. His good locker under the bleachers buddy. They lock onto two receivers. So when Calvin Johnson is not around, you fire up Golden Tate. He was still very, very solid when Calvin was there. But in the games that Calvin misses, if you believe in that, Calvin Johnson's old. He's going to be injured because he has more tread on the tires. You need to have Golden Tate on your team because he was putting up monstrous numbers.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. It was interesting because in standard leagues, he went from a wide receiver one to wide receiver three right when Calvin was gone. So I'm so curious to see what happens because they should throw the ball enough and. Yeah, that's interesting information. Golden Tate surprised me last year.

[Mike Wright]

Not me.

[Jason Moore]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

You.

[Andy Holloway]

You love Golden Tate. Do you? Love.

[Jason Moore]

But what's your take on Golden Tate. What is he to you?

[Mike Wright]

I still like him. I actually bumped him up a little bit.

[Jason Moore]

But you love him. If Calvin Johnson is.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Banged up.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. We're talking dfs.

[Jason Moore]

I think he was number one yards after the catch.

[Mike Wright]

I believe that is correct.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Number six.

[Andy Holloway]

You guys like monster movies?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, Monster Mash.

[Andy Holloway]

Do you guys like sequels to monster movies?

[Jason Moore]

Oh, they're the best.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Times.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, there's gonna be a sequel. This one coming in at number six is the monster sequel. The Target Monster Returns. And this is the Target Monster.

[Jason Moore]

Who's that?

[Andy Holloway]

Who's the target monster, Mike?

[Jason Moore]

Alan Hearns. I can't believe that's not him.

[Mike Wright]

I didn't know this was in the show.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Mr. Allen Robinson.

[Mike Wright]

This is fantastic.

[Andy Holloway]

Alan Robinson. This is a year to target him and get him. The more that I look, first of all, he is as a human being, incredible. If you go to, like, player profiler.com or look at who he compares to. He compares to DEZ Bryant, to Josh Gordon, the desperate. Look, my spelling has not been on point Desi Arnaz. I'm glad that we have to bring.

[Jason Moore]

Them writing in, so I won't do that again.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, you will if I spelled it wrong again. Anyways, he is a really freak athlete. He came in his rookie year and on his rookie year played only 10 games and was on a pace for 130 targets. That is awesome. Then Cecil Schwartz, their leading receiver, their highest target, he had 110 targets left. So now you're going from a rookie year that was pretty darn good to a sophomore year, where lately in the NFL we've been seeing the biggest jump be in year two, not in year three for wide receivers. So he has a big opportunity to jump up. And Cecil Schwartz not only took his 110 targets, but he also took his team leading 16 red zone targets away. So all of that, you've got a great athlete who is a great wide receiver who is going from his rookie year to his sophomore year and will be the team leader in targets. That's all you can ask for, is opportunity and talent. So.

[Jason Moore]

And honestly, myself and the eight people that own Blake Bortles jersey all believe he has the ability to actually elevate his game a little bit in the second year because he has the physical tools. I don't hate him. He runs the ball a little bit. I think Allen Robinson's good.

[Mike Wright]

I could. I could weep right now. I can.

[Andy Holloway]

I know you love Alan Robinson.

[Mike Wright]

I can't believe I've turned everyone Around.

[Jason Moore]

Well, let's talk about your team now. 5.

[Mike Wright]

Let me. Let me know. This is for you.

[Jason Moore]

Teddy's got a gun. Yes, Teddy's got a gun. My friends, let's talk Minnesota Vikings. As I unraveled these stats, it was like a purple onion, one layer at a time. I was more and more impressed as I. And I began weeping as well. Teddy Bridgewater. Teddy Bridgewater was the 10th. Listen to this. 10th most accurate deep ball thrower in the game last year. But in the second half of the season, he was the second most accurate D ball thrower. As he learned, as he proceeded, and as he acquired Charles Johnson, he improved. He was a 202 guy from week 12 on when Charles Johnson caught his first touchdown. And now he gets Adrian Peterson. Not bad. Mike Wallace pretty good at the long ball. Nor have Turner running that offense. You still have Rudolph, you still have Johnson, you still have Patterson. And here's the thing. Vegas has the vikings at a 7.5 wins this year, and I have him at about 9 or 10. So I think this is a good team. And so the potential for Teddy Bridgewater to actually become a wide receiver one candidate is there.

[Andy Holloway]

Whoa. I can't believe he's going to switch positions. Teddy Bridgewater. Did I say wide receiver one?

[Jason Moore]

That's what I'm saying, man.

[Mike Wright]

I was really confused, too. I thought you were calling Charles Johnson a wide receiver one.

[Jason Moore]

No, I was saying. I'm sorry. I was saying Teddy Bridgewater got you back. Yeah, you did. Still spelled it right. Quarterback one. Potential.

[Mike Wright]

Absolutely.

[Jason Moore]

That team. I love that team.

[Mike Wright]

We're moving into another season of absolute happy news coming out from every camp, but we are. But there was another note of how Charles Johnson has just. He has bulked up to. They called him Michael Irvian. Body type. The physical traits are there. Charles Johnson is primed.

[Jason Moore]

How many people do you have to put in the box to stop Matt Aziata? Is it more or less than Adrian Peterson? Yeah, Adrian Peterson is about 10. And so I'm just excited to see. Well, I think Bridgewater was in the tops in the league with accuracy, with throws under pressure.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

And he's going to have the opportunity to run play action with AP to dump the ball to AP and get yards after the carry, I mean, after the catch. So keep an eye on him. I guess two of mine are sleeper quarterbacks.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, but. But it doesn't just affect the quarterbacks.

[Jason Moore]

Because I'll be in Smith all year long.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike Wallace does not get enough respect right now. In fantasy, you pair him with the deep throw accuracy of Teddy Bridgewater and Mike Wallace is. He went to the perfect team for him. And I actually, I've got Mike Wallace ahead of Charles Johnson, but they're neck and neck about the same.

[Jason Moore]

All right, moving up to you, number four, Mike, number four.

[Mike Wright]

I call this something's got to give. No question mark needed. Done. Done. So Russell Wilson has never helped a single pass catcher go over 900 yards. He has never had a pass catcher catch more than seven touchdowns. He has never had a pass catcher catch more than 66 reception.

[Jason Moore]

Yikes.

[Mike Wright]

We're bringing in a huge target though, Jimmy Graham. Since 2011, Graham has averaged, averaged 89 catches, 1100 yards and 11 and a half touchdowns.

[Jason Moore]

That is more than every number you gave about Russell Wilson.

[Mike Wright]

By a lot.

[Andy Holloway]

It's something's got to give.

[Mike Wright]

Exactly. And to me, the something's got to give is Graham's numbers going down.

[Andy Holloway]

You.

[Mike Wright]

The, the offense is not going to completely Switch courses.

[Jason Moore]

The 11.5 is the number I give him the highest chance of duplicating.

[Mike Wright]

I will agree of any of those numbers.

[Jason Moore]

That's what I mean is the touchdowns.

[Mike Wright]

But to me, if Jimmy Graham, he's going. Is he still going at the back of the second, third round around there? If Jimmy Graham doesn't catch 12 touchdowns, he's going to be extremely disappointing for that value.

[Jason Moore]

He is my three in a PPR and two in a standard right now.

[Mike Wright]

I still have him. I still have him very high.

[Jason Moore]

Well, because his comparables. But if you draft him expecting 89, 1100 and 12, you're not going to get it. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And an interesting fact. You know who caught the most touchdowns for the Seahawks last year?

[Andy Holloway]

I do.

[Mike Wright]

Marshawn Lynch.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Yep.

[Mike Wright]

That's ridiculous. That is a low powered offense.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Well, something's got to give and more than likely they'll meet in the middle. So maybe Russell Wilson comes up a notch. So with mine coming in at number three, three, It's Miller time. It's Lamar Miller time. I have chosen to go with guys who aren't.

[Mike Wright]

Andy's getting. Andy's making a sour face, a bitter beer face.

[Jason Moore]

I said this in the car the other day before you get into it, that maybe I'm just completely unfairly down on Lamar Miller.

[Andy Holloway]

That is a wonderful one.

[Jason Moore]

And you said you are. You said you are.

[Andy Holloway]

I think that that is true. I think that's exactly where you are and I think that's where so many fantasy people are. They're just unnecessarily down on Lamar Miller and I love that those are the guys that you want to target going into a draft because he's falling into the back of the third round sometimes. He finished last year as the number nine running back. That is a running back one, clearly.

[Mike Wright]

Really? He was number nine.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he finished as the number nine running back. Certain, certain scores.

[Jason Moore]

He was the Clinton Porter that was.

[Andy Holloway]

In a half point.

[Jason Moore]

He was the consistent every week guy every week. He didn't win people weeks with like big.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, if he was your running back one, you know, but as a running back two, he is perfect. And so here's the deal. Last year he was one of the most efficient backs week in and week out. He had everything that you want. He caught balls, he scored touchdowns. He had the third highest yards per carry in the entire league. He is a talented running back. This year you look at the changes made and all the offensive weapons brought into the Dolphins, the wide receivers that are going to pull coverage away even more. And now the coach comes out, Philbin comes out and is saying that he's got no problem getting Lamar Miller more and more involved. He was saying Lamar Miller carried the ball 14 times a game last year on average. And Philbin was coming out and saying, you know, if he's getting the ball 24 times a game and could stay healthy, I'm happy with that. So split the difference. I mean, don't even split the difference. Go to 17 carries a game. If he stays as efficient, which there's no reason that he wouldn't. I think Lamar Miller is an extremely good value in that back of the third round. You're getting a high end RB who is the starter on a good offense. So I really like Lamar Miller and I didn't probably 2 months ago I was exactly where you are, Andy. And so. And I think a lot of people don't. And that's why I'm saying target him.

[Jason Moore]

That's good information. And you spelled his name correctly.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, yes.

[Jason Moore]

Number two. This is mine. This is mine. And it is seventh heaven. Number seven. I've got a lot of heat. I've got a lot of heat for having Colin Kaepernick as high as they do on my rankings. He is number five in standard leagues for me. And so let me drop a little bit of knowledge on you as to why I think Cap can finish that high. In four NFL seasons, Colin Kaepernick's passing yards have increased every season. In four NFL seasons, Colin Kaepernick's rushing yards have increased every season. Last Season, believe it or not, Colin Kaepernick was plagued by wide receiver drops to the tune of the fourth most in the league at that position. And Kaepernick is a downfield thrower. He had the third highest percentage of yards in the air prior to the completion last year. And you bringing in a downfield catcher, Tori Smith, his name's Tory Smith. You also bring Reggie Bush back into the fold. He's in a new look offense that will dissolve or not dissolve Vernon Davis from the offense who was a downfield threat for Kaepernick. Kaepernick's gonna get the opportunity to run the ball. They want to run it with him. And so three new passing targets, new look offense. A trend much like Ryan Tannehill that continues to ascend year after year. And so I think he can improve in his passing yards and his touchdown totals. And I think that puts him, I mean, a moderate improvement on his numbers with the way he runs the ball. It puts him 5, 6, top 5.

[Andy Holloway]

6, not to mention. But in this offseason compared to previous.

[Jason Moore]

Offseason, he's got so many cool shoes.

[Mike Wright]

He's got. I think he's up to 13 abs.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, his Instagram is pretty high, but Baker's doesn't. But he worked hard. I like that.

[Mike Wright]

Not the kind you would normally get from baking.

[Jason Moore]

He's been working on his Baker's dozen.

[Andy Holloway]

He worked hard this offseason and I think a couple years ago he bought into his own hype when he was, you know, touted as the next Joe Martin when he went to the super.

[Jason Moore]

Bowl as a rookie.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Was that it?

[Andy Holloway]

Was that it? So I think that he's worked harder this offseason than he has in previous ones and that usually makes a difference.

[Jason Moore]

And I hate guys with tattoos, but I'm all just, hey, I'm just kidding out there, by the way.

[Mike Wright]

And coming in to finish everything off, number one. We call this run to the Hills, as we know. Or maybe you're new to the show and you don't know. I love Jeremy Hill. I am extremely high on him this year. I think he's going to be a touchdown just dominator. And I think he's going to get a ton of carries. I think he's going to be on the field a lot where the big concern with Jeremy Hill is Gio Bernard. People think Gio Bernard is going to take snaps away even though he's a third down guy. I have just an interesting stat of why I think Jeremy Hill will be on the field. Getting carries. Now the Bengals record with Jeremy Hill getting double digit carries. So we're talking about 10 games, eight and two when he got 10 plus carries. Now as we know, good record. As we know, Jeremy Hill was worked in slowly and at the beginning of the season he was still getting double digit carries. Occasionally Ju Bernard goes out games where Jeremy Hill has 20 plus carries. There's five of them. They were four and one.

[Jason Moore]

Clearly exactly half of eight and two.

[Mike Wright]

But to me the offense knows what they need to be to win.

[Jason Moore]

What was impressive to me is Hill got worked in slowly last year. Dalton had one of the worst passer rating years of, I mean, I think in the NFL since the 60s as a starter or something like that.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

And A.J. green was banged up and I looked them up today, they were I think the eighth most efficient offense because the number eight offense, Jeremy couldn't be stopped. And know who's back to Marvin Jones, that offense is going. I think what I'm saying about Hill is they're going to be in the red zone all day long.

[Mike Wright]

I saw it's going to be Hill.

[Andy Holloway]

About the yards per carry on rookie running backs. And the only guys who have been as high as Jeremy Hill. It was Adrian Peterson.

[Mike Wright]

Was it Portis?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I think it was Adrian Peterson and Clinton Portis.

[Mike Wright]

And the second year, what did they do?

[Andy Holloway]

Pretty sure they were pretty good.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, we all like Jeremy Hill. He is my number six. You know what else we like Andy, he's number six. We love audience surveys.

[Andy Holloway]

I was going to say we love our audience and we love our audience.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, we do love our audience. The reality is is we have an audience survey we'd like to ask you guys to fill out. It's completely anonymous. It increases the chance of us finding some happy advertisers, which means happy listeners, which means we get to keep the lights on and keep doing what we're doing. So please go to podsurvey.com footballers that's podsurvey.com footballers take the survey. Like I said, it's anonymous. It takes less than five minutes. And guess what? You can really help us out.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it's easy and quick. All you have to do basically is remember the URL. That's it. Which is. It's a podcast survey. So it's podsurvey.com footballers.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Genius.

[Andy Holloway]

I know. Mailbag.

[Jason Moore]

All right, let's answer some listener questions in the time we have left on today's show. If you have a question for us, it is so easy to send it. You go to the website, the fantasy footballers.com. look in the upper right hand corner there is a submit a question button. You click it, you do a little typey typey. You click the button, send it. Hey, we get it and then we'll answer it. It's pretty simple. We answer questions here on the show. We answer them via email, on Twitter, on YouTube. So send them in. We really do love the Foot Clan. We love our listeners. We try to answer as many as we can. If you haven't gotten a response, it's not because we deleted your email. It's because we are working through them and trying to get questions back to you. We know it's draft season. We know how important that is. So. And we care about your team. So let's answer some questions now. Let's do some voicemails in a minute.

[D]

Hey, yo, it's Tony Meatballs and LA V Yawn Bell suspension has officially gotten reduced. I'm sitting pretty at number two. I was wondering how your guys mindset changes on him now. You know, I know you guys really like Lacey, really like AP, but I mean, Le'Veons a big base, you know, so let me know what you guys think. It's Tony Meatballs and he's out. He is out.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, double up, Double out.

[Mike Wright]

By the way, we've had so many.

[Jason Moore]

Tony Meatball impersonators lately. That is only one. I had to go back and verify phone number.

[Andy Holloway]

What did, what did.

[Jason Moore]

I want to make sure that we. We had like Johnny Hot Dog try to cut us.

[Andy Holloway]

Johnny Hot Dog.

[Jason Moore]

Johnny Hot Dog didn't he failed Tony Meatballs back Brandon Biscuits. We haven't put Tony Meatball on in a while, so I had to do that.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, we, we talked about this a little bit earlier, but here's what I think. I want Le'Veon Bell and I want to pair him with Trey Mason. Oh, yeah, that's what I'm looking for. I want that pair. It's like my handcuff.

[Jason Moore]

Well, you can get Trey Mason wherever. So if you draft Le'Veon Bell, just get Trey Mason wherever.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep.

[Jason Moore]

And then you got somebody to play.

[Mike Wright]

And I'm still Peterson and ppr, Lacy and Standard and you then flip flop those for my number two guy.

[Jason Moore]

I got it. I got it. Thanks, Tony, for the call.

[D]

Hi, fantasy footballers, this is a new time listener, Zack Garner. I have a question for you about my keepers. I'm in a PPR league, so should I keep Le'Veon Bell with the second pick or Antonio Brown with the third pick? Now I Know the easy answer would just say, yeah, go with Le'Veon Bell. But knowing the dummies that are in my league, I think with my 9th pick I can get someone like Arian Foster. And then my second, the 16th pick in the second round, I could get someone like Jeremy Hill. Then I would have Antonio Brown with my third pick. I think that's a pretty good.

[Jason Moore]

That'd be pretty nice.

[D]

So let me know what I should do.

[Jason Moore]

I appreciate it.

[D]

Thanks.

[Mike Wright]

Was it PPR I missed that was said?

[Jason Moore]

I don't remember what he said.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't remember. But let's assume it is because he's talking about Antonio.

[Jason Moore]

I think the biggest point here is what he made. You know, it'd be really natural to say Lev Bell's the guy to pick here. But you have to have the ability to play against your league mates.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

And so if you know that you can line up Antonio Brown, Aaron Foster and Jeremy Hill, I don't have any problem whatsoever in keeping Antonio Brown.

[Andy Holloway]

You have to know your league. We say that all the time. But this is a perfect. I loved this call because it illustrates to listeners to use their head and think about the reality of their league. Not just rankings, not just this guy over that guy. Because it says play to your league mates, know your league. Get to know how they draft, who they have or who they need, what their tendencies are because it'll help you get a better, better option. So I've got no problem taking Brown.

[Jason Moore]

And without going into it too much, I mean, I think that's what this show is about. The show is about equipping you with information so you can make a good decision based on the other things that are going on in your league with the team you want. I mean, I had somebody send me a question the other day saying it basically was a toss up, but the option was to take the hometown guy in, Andrew Luck. I'm like, take Luck. Take Luck in that situation. Enjoy the fantasy football season. I mean, we are not the guys. I mean, we have our rankings on the site and go use them in your draft. We think you'll do well with them. But we're not just putting out stat content and saying print this on your printer and take it in and draft. We're trying to give you the way we think about drafting, the way we think about leagues and drafts and we're not going to be right on every single player. But if we give you the fundamentals and the foundation for how we draft, you can succeed.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I think a good Way to. Is the old, the old story of give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you, you feed him, you don't feed. Fooled again. As I can't get it out. Sounded like George W. Over here.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, yes.

[Mike Wright]

Teaching the fish, can't fool the fishermen. You know what I was. Yeah, that was a botched up.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I loved it.

[Mike Wright]

But we don't try and make the picks for you. We're trying to tell you this is how we think. This is what we would probably do if we were in your situation because of this.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. And there's so many different leagues, league types, players, or in this guy's case, dummies in your league. So keep those things in mind. Let's get another one.

[E]

Hey, guys, this is Alexa in Tampa. In my longtime 12 team PPR league, you can keep any two players. My most hated rival is keeping Jamal Charles. So my question to you guys is what round would you look to steal away Nile Davis? I know it will drive him crazy if Jamal Charles goes down and I have Niall Davis on my team. So that's my question. Thanks guys. Love the show.

[Andy Holloway]

Perfect segue question.

[Jason Moore]

It is. And I laugh so much because the temptation to do that to certain people in my leagues is immense.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. You know, generally speaking, just for the.

[Jason Moore]

Fun of it, even if it's not valuable to me.

[Andy Holloway]

I've said this before, I don't draft other people's handcuffs. I don't draft other people's handcuffs unless that handcuff is worth having no matter what. Not just if you don't have the guy because it's going to ruin your roster. A guy like Nile Davis does fit that bill. Right. If Jamal Charles goes down, Nile Davis isn't just a serviceable replacement for someone on your roster but is possibly a very top running back that, you know, when he was out last year, put up great numbers. So in that case, I've got no problem with you taking your vengeance out upon your player. Mike, what are you finding as far as where?

[Mike Wright]

Well, I was going to say Nile Davis actually he had good fantasy production but he really sucked. If you look, if you look at his yards per carry and everything, he was not very good. What I would do in this situation, I don't. I agree with Jason. I don't like to spiteful draft to try and get people, but what I would do is I would be planting little seeds in that person's head.

[Andy Holloway]

Beautiful.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to take Nile Davis in the eighth round.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

And make that person reach for their handcuff.

[Jason Moore]

I love it.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, that is glory. That's doing such a bigger disservice to them than actually drafting Niall Davis.

[Jason Moore]

And we've said that because if you end up with Niall Davis on your team and you need a roster spot, you're probably going to drop him in week three or four because he's not going to have been on the field and you'll just be like, I got you. But I really got myself because I didn't have a flyer.

[Mike Wright]

If they call your bluff. No, no loss.

[Jason Moore]

But if that's a great answer, Hitman, nice. I agree. Let's do another one here.

[F]

Hey guys, this is Dan. I'm a new listener. You guys are pretty awesome. I can't lie. Big Colts fan here, but that's besides the point. What I want to ask is I'm the commissioner of a 12 team PPR league and we're trying to decide if we should do a full point PPR or a half point. So can you just go over the positives and negatives of both and which one you think we should roll with? All right, thanks guys.

[Jason Moore]

That's a great question. I love that you're thinking about that. Not just throwing something in there. A little bit of context and then I'll let Jason and Mike answer this. But in standard scoring leagues there was only one wide receiver that finished in the top 20 in scoring and in full PPR leagues there were eight wide receivers that finished in the top 20 in scoring. So what is your preference there? Half or full half?

[Andy Holloway]

I love half point ppr. It is the perfect combination of allowing people to get value for what they're doing on the field but not swaying it so much. Where your scat backs and your, you know, your wide receivers, you know, your Cole Beasley's or whoever, getting too much value. So I love half point. The leagues that we've played in for a long time have been half point.

[Mike Wright]

I'm a half point man as well. I don't like when wide receivers catch eight balls for 40 yards and they still have a great fantasy day even though they didn't really do anything on the field.

[Jason Moore]

Julian Edelman really likes that.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he does. And that's who I'm referring to specifically.

[Jason Moore]

I knew it. I know.

[Mike Wright]

But we want to remind the foot clan out there the season is coming and with, with the season, along with your, with your season long league, there is fanduel daily fantasy sports. If you haven't checked it out, we highly suggest it. It's probably gonna change your world just a little bit. It's a game where you can win money immediately in one week. And the best place to play is FanDuel.com if you haven't signed up head there, FanDuel.com is going to ask for a promo code and you say, that's right, ballers. Your promo code is Ballers. It helps you out. You get a match of up to $200 on your first deposit. You help us out and we get to keep running the show. Yeah, help me help you. Baba daba boo.

[Jason Moore]

Yep, that is the truth. We've had a ton of people sign up this month getting ready for the season and now we really appreciate it. We're coming into preseason, so yeah, we appreciate all the Foot Clan members signing up. Use the code ballers. FanDuel.com Easy as peasy.

[Andy Holloway]

We're also going to have a daily fantasy sports expert, a true expert on our show all the time through the season to make sure that if you're listening to the show, you're actually succeeding at it because it is a lot of fun to succeed and it is.

[Jason Moore]

A different, it is a different ballgame than standard fantasy. If you, if you're not very familiar with daily fantasy, it's a whole nother world. You're one week salary cap, you want to win money and you don't play the exact same way obviously as you do in regular fantasy.

[Mike Wright]

So, you know, don't, don't be intimidated because there are a lot of people. It's actually really easy to get into it. There's a little. We will talk the strategy, we will help people out.

[Jason Moore]

And if you didn't catch the show on Tuesday, I want to remind you to go back. Check that out. Evan Silva from Roto World, who's that guy, was on the show.

[Mike Wright]

That guy?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Where did those 78,000 Twitter followers come from? But he was on the show. He's a good listen and he's, he's got a DFS podcast that he talks about too. And so go check that show out. Visit the Website the fantasy footballers.com youm can follow me on Twitter at Andy Holloway. You can follow Jason@ffhitman. You can follow Jason what?

[Mike Wright]

Send Jason's followers to me.

[Jason Moore]

See, I, you know, I speak very fast sometimes.

[Andy Holloway]

That's all right.

[Jason Moore]

I can follow Mike at ffhipman. You can follow Jason ffl. You can follow Eddie Royal at Eddy RL Heart J. Heart J.

[Andy Holloway]

Heart Cuddy.

[Jason Moore]

We'll be back here next Tuesday with a good show. Do you guys have any parting words of wisdom?

[Andy Holloway]

Go do your mock drafts. Fantasydraftwizard.com win championships and.

[Jason Moore]

And fill out that survey for us. Help us out.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yeah. Podsurvey.com Footballers Goodbye. 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 Twitter the FFballers.