Fantasy Football Podcast 2015 - RB's 21-40, Chris Harris Interview, News, Mailbag

Summary

Fantasy Football Podcast 2015 - RB's 21-40, Chris Harris Interview, News, Mailbag

Release Date: August 13, 2015

---

Episode Overview

In this episode of The Fantasy Footballers Podcast, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright delve deep into the running back rankings from 21 to 40, welcome special guest Christopher Harris from HarrisFootball.com, share the latest NFL news impacting fantasy football, and address listener questions in their mailbag segment. The episode serves as a comprehensive guide for fantasy managers gearing up for the upcoming season.

---

News and Notes

[04:34] Cardinals' Running Back Woes:

• Chris Holloway discusses the Arizona Cardinals' decision to offer Chris Johnson a one-year contract due to injuries to Andre Ellington and rookie David Johnson.
• Mike Wright highlights, “If Chris Johnson signs with the Cardinals, you can forget about David Johnson for the entire season” ([05:44]).
• Jason Moore draws parallels to the Cleveland Browns' running back depth issues, emphasizing the challenges fantasy managers may face with the Cardinals' backfield.

[05:56] Saints' Wide Receiver Spotlight:

• Mike Wright announces, “Brandon Coleman may emerge as the Saints' number three wide receiver” ([05:56]).
• Discussions include the roles of Kenny Stills and Golden Tate, with Jason Moore noting Coleman’s versatility and potential impact on fantasy lineups.

[06:57] Roger Goodell's Endorsement:

• A humorous segment where Andy Holloway shares, “Roger Goodell writes on iTunes... ‘These guys are the best at what they do. Helped broaden my fantasy football and Oreo knowledge greatly’” ([04:00]).
• Mike Wright quips, “If he had come to us first, he would not have drafted Marcus Mariota” ([04:02]).

[07:35] Geno Smith's Departure:

• Jason Moore comments on Geno Smith’s release, “Ryan Fitzpatrick is there and this is to me better fantasy news for Brandon Marshall” ([07:35]).
• The hosts analyze the implications for teams and fantasy managers, considering the influx of new talent.

---

Interview with Christopher Harris

[12:06] Welcome Chris Harris:

• Chris Harris joins the show, expressing enthusiasm about collaborating with The Fantasy Footballers. He brings a film-centric analysis approach to fantasy football discussions.

[12:50] Analyzing Joy Bell:

• Mike Wright: “One of the guys that I like a ton is Joy Bell” ([12:50]).
• Chris Harris provides an in-depth analysis, stating, “What I see on film from Bell... a powerful kid... a real good all-around player... looks like the goal-line threat” ([13:08]).
• Discussion on Bell’s potential, health assumptions, and comparison to Eddie Lacy’s skill set.

[14:15] The Downside of Yards Per Carry:

• Chris Harris critiques the relevance of the yards per carry statistic for running backs, declaring, “Yards per carry is my least favorite stat in the world” ([14:15]).

[19:56] Carlos Hyde's Potential:

• Chris Harris compares Carlos Hyde to Jonathan Stewart, highlighting his power and ability to handle the workload: “Hyde strikes me as a similar player... He does not look Eric Blount out there” ([19:56]).

[23:23] Tevin Coleman vs. Devontae Freeman:

• Chris Harris expresses skepticism about Tevin Coleman’s prospects, “I'm not entirely convinced Tevin Coleman is a great prospect” ([23:45]).
• Jason Moore echoes concerns about Freeman’s ability to become a feature back, citing offensive line questions.

[26:29] Isaiah Crowell Critique:

• Chris Harris dismisses Isaiah Crowell as “damaged goods” and doubts his reliability throughout the season ([26:29]).

[08:26] Doug Martin's Value:

• Chris Harris emphasizes Doug Martin’s potential, stating, “Doug Martin represents tremendous value in fantasy” ([08:26]).
• Discussion on Martin’s previous performance and expectations for the upcoming season.

---

Running Backs Rankings 21-40

[29:18] Overview of Rankings:

• The hosts transition to discussing running backs ranked 21 through 40, building upon last week’s analysis of the top 20.

Number 21: Andre Ellington

• Mike Wright praises Ellington’s versatility and expected touch volume: “Arians expects 15-20 touches” ([32:21]).
• Jason Moore highlights Ellington’s potential rebound with Arizona’s offensive improvements.

Number 22: C.J. Spiller

• Jason Moore and Mike Wright discuss Spiller’s role in the New Orleans Saints, accounting for his versatility as a runner and receiver: “I expect him to get around 70 receptions” ([33:27]).

Number 23: LeGarrett Blount

• Mike Wright notes Blount’s dominance with the Patriots, while acknowledging potential inconsistencies: “He may have games with low carries that will screw you over” ([34:02]).

Number 24: Chris Ivory

• Jason Moore and Chris Harris discuss Ivory’s role in Cleveland’s offense, emphasizing high carry volume and potential touchdowns.

Numbers 25-40:

• Discussion includes Joy Bell, Carlos Hyde, Devontae Freeman, Tevin Coleman, Isaiah Crowell, Doug Martin, Ryan Matthews, Giovanni Bernard, Bishop Sankey, Reggie Bush, Danny Woodhead, and Shane Vereen.
• Key points focus on each player’s strengths, potential risks (like injuries), and fit within their respective teams’ offensive schemes.
• Jason Moore advises caution with players like Doug Martin due to fluctuating rankings and the competitive nature of their roles.

---

Mailbag

[51:51] Listener Questions:

1. Keeper Choices:

   • Question: Rate Lamar Miller (9th), Brandon Cooks (9th), or DeMarco Murray (3rd).
   • Andy Holloway: “I'm going to take DeMarco Murray in the third” ([52:33]).
   • Jason Moore: Confident DeMarco will outperform Lamar Miller by at least eight spots ([52:26]).

2. Best Day to Draft:

   • Question: What is the best day to do your fantasy draft today?
   • Jason Moore: Recommends drafting after week three of preseason for better player evaluations ([53:38]).
   • Mike Wright: Agrees, suggesting during or after week four ([53:49]).

3. Player Selection Dilemma:

   • Question: Keenan Allen (10th), Alan Robinson (14th), or Charles Johnson (15th).
   • Hosts: Agree on selecting Keenan Allen and Alan Robinson, prioritizing higher-tier receivers ([54:07]).

[51:55] Additional Insights:

• Emphasis on the importance of drafting based on league formats and individual team needs.
• Encouragement for listeners to utilize tools like fantasy draft wizards for mock drafts and strategy building.

---

Conclusion

[55:50] Episode Wrap-Up:

• The hosts thank Christopher Harris for his valuable insights and tease the next episode featuring Kevin from "the league."
• Promotions for their YouTube channel, website (thefantasyfootballers.com), and Twitter (@FFballers) are reiterated.
• Final reminders to subscribe and review the podcast to stay updated with expert fantasy football advice.

[56:04] Final Remarks:

• Andy Holloway: “Thank you, sir. Yes, thank you.”
• Mike Wright: Highlights the uniqueness of Christopher Harris’s perspective compared to traditional fantasy football analysis ([28:46]).

---

Notable Quotes:

• Mike Wright on Chris Johnson signing: “If Chris Johnson signs with the Cardinals, you can forget about David Johnson for the entire season.” ([05:44])
• Chris Harris on Joy Bell: “What I see on film from Bell... a powerful kid... a real good all-around player... looks like the goal-line threat.” ([13:08])
• Chris Harris on Yards Per Carry: “Yards per carry is my least favorite stat in the world.” ([14:15])
• Andy Holloway on Draft Strategies: “I do not doubt that someone who gets the right lottery ticket there will have found great value in the draft.” ([10:31])

---

This episode provides fantasy football enthusiasts with valuable insights into mid-tier running backs, expert analysis from a seasoned guest, and practical advice to navigate the complexities of drafting and managing a successful fantasy team.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, Foot Clan. Just wanted to let you know before we start today's show that it is brought to you by Handsome Fancy fellas. You want a better beard, head to handsomefancy.com use promo code Ballers get 15% off.

[Jason Moore]

Welcome to the fantasy footballers podcast with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Mike Wright]

What is going on, everybody? It is Thursday, August 13football tonight and we are the fantasy footballers. Welcome to the show. This is the last off season podcast that we have.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Next week we go to four shows a week because the football season is here.

[Jason Moore]

The draft season is certainly here.

[Mike Wright]

The fantasy drafts.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Not the NFL, the NFL drafts. That was a while back.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Correct.

[Mike Wright]

You didn't get drafted again.

[Jason Moore]

I know this is like every year I submit and. But you know, I do think that next year is going to be the one.

[Mike Wright]

You know what you got. You have to be a workout program the whole off season. You can't just do this. Like what?

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I heard, I've heard that Jason's the burst score of his mouth is off the charts.

[Jason Moore]

It is. It really is. And I'm thinking supplemental. I'm not.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I see.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, yeah. I think.

[Mike Wright]

Are you passing the personality interviews?

[Jason Moore]

I think that might be the shortfall.

[Andy Holloway]

Is that wonderful?

[Jason Moore]

Clearly the athleticism is there.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, hey. I gotta let people know right at the top. We have an awesome show for you today. Chris Harris is here.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

It doesn't get much better than that from Harris football, formerly ESPN fame. We love Chris Harris. So we've got him on the show today. We're talking. We Talked the top 20 running backs on Tuesday show. So today we're talking some of the 20 through 40, some of the back half running backs. We got some news and notes. We've got mailbag today. It's a great show.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Back half running backs, also known as the picks that win leagues.

[Andy Holloway]

That is accurate.

[Mike Wright]

I've got a very simple quick question. Do you watch the league?

[Andy Holloway]

The. The hit. The hilarious television show.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, the hilarious hit television show about fantasy football.

[Jason Moore]

The one that is heaguefxx on Twitter.

[Mike Wright]

That one.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Do you watch that?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm really curious why you're asking.

[Mike Wright]

I. I'm gonna let you break this.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike Foot Clan. We are, we are. We are halfway there. I don't know if halfway there, but.

[Mike Wright]

We have not come to them, but they have come to us.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. Steve Ranazizi. Kevin himself is going to be joining us next week on Tuesday's show.

[Mike Wright]

That is a way to kick off the regular season yeah. With Steve Ranazizi of the league on the show.

[Andy Holloway]

Hilarious, man. And what we're actually going to do is we're going to open some things up to the foot clan. So we want you to tweet us a question that you want to ask Steve. And we need a hashtag. What should we ask Steve? Hashtag ask Steve so we can filter those things out.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that works.

[Andy Holloway]

I am very.

[Mike Wright]

Mike is doing well, Very excited. He put extra beard oil on today just because of that level of.

[Andy Holloway]

I am so fragrant right now.

[Jason Moore]

You are two things to me, Mike. You are handsome and you are fancy.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, that's true. Hey, if you want to follow the show, it's very easy. Heffballers on Twitter, go to the website thefantasyfootballers.com you can subscribe to us on itunes and we will slide right into your phone without you even knowing.

[Jason Moore]

We will be in your pocket.

[Andy Holloway]

That's so bad.

[Mike Wright]

But it's true. If you click subscribe, that's what happens.

[Andy Holloway]

We're like the walk it.

[Jason Moore]

We're going straight to it. Reviewasaurus rags. This one comes in from. Oh, oh, we need a breaking news here. Breaking news. This one comes in from Commissioner Goodell. Commissioner Goodell writes on itunes. These guys are the best at what they do. Helped broaden my fantasy football and Oreo knowledge greatly.

[Mike Wright]

Wow.

[Andy Holloway]

Our friend Roger.

[Jason Moore]

Roger Goodell.

[Andy Holloway]

I can't believe it.

[Jason Moore]

Wow.

[Andy Holloway]

He told me personally with text messages because he's really good with cell phones. He said, I'm gonna review the show. I didn't believe him.

[Mike Wright]

If he had come to us first, he would not have drafted Marcus Muriatou. I'm telling you, this is the type of thing we provide to the world. All right, let's get into some news and notes.

[Jason Moore]

News and notes from around the league.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, stuff is happening all around us.

[Jason Moore]

Don't mention this first one.

[Mike Wright]

This is depressing news if you're a Cardinal fan or if you're a Fantasy Football fan. ESPN's I don't know how to pronounce that name. Diana Marie. No, that's not hard.

[Andy Holloway]

This one's from John Doe.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. The Cardinals have offered Chris Johnson a contract, a one year deal. Why is this happening? This is happening because of injury. Ellington and David Johnson. Rookie David Johnson are dealing with injuries. David Johnson has a grade 2 hamstring injury. And Bruce Arians is not happy with the depth there. This is very similar to what you're seeing in Cleveland with Isaiah Crowell and Duke Johnson and Terrence West. Where they're considering bringing in another back.

[Jason Moore]

Atlanta should is also dealing with the starters. Yeah, everyone's. Everyone's hamstrings. I don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

You get a hammy.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. The worst thing is these are all guys I wanted to see in preseason. I wanted to see David Johnson and I want to see Duke Johnson and I want to see Tevin Coleman.

[Andy Holloway]

But I hope it's just a motivational tactic.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to say this right now. If Chris Johnson signs with the Cardinals, you can forget about David Johnson.

[Jason Moore]

I agree.

[Mike Wright]

For the entire season, I would disagree. I don't think he sees the field. If he's hurt and then he missed.

[Andy Holloway]

His training camp, it will be much later than anticipated. But he will be a second half guy.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, could be second half but definitely not a value.

[Andy Holloway]

I agree with that.

[Mike Wright]

Here's a bit of news for you, Mike Triplett. ESPN's Mike Triplett reporting on the Saints says he would not be surprised if Brandon Coleman emerges as the Saints number three wide receiver.

[Jason Moore]

Everyone loved Josh Hill because someone's got to replace. Someone's got to replace Jimmy Graham. Jimmy Graham. Thank you. He's a name I should know and he's pretty good and so everybody hopped right over there. But Coleman here is the same physical type of specimen and he's just a wide receiver but he can move all around and play that role. So worth keeping your eye on.

[Andy Holloway]

And Kenny Stills has gone as well and Colston is. We. We also found out Colson took a.

[Mike Wright]

Huge pay cut to stay there.

[Andy Holloway]

To stay there.

[Mike Wright]

And we've talked about Colson. We love Colson.

[Andy Holloway]

Where, I mean I like him but if, if Coleman is surging, he's a name that you need to pay attention to.

[Mike Wright]

I agree. In Sweeshum follow up news, Garrett Hartley has been signed to a one year contract. People like kickers with Pittsburgh. That is all I'm going to say about that. This was big time news this week.

[Jason Moore]

Oh man.

[Mike Wright]

Geno Smith punched in the face.

[Jason Moore]

Who bite by who? Andy, I just want you to have to read.

[Mike Wright]

It's not in the blurb we put in the show, doc, so I don't have to read his name. His name is you shall not be named Ike something. And he got signed by the Bills today after he was released by the Jets. But the headline news is Geno Smith is gone. Ryan Fitzpatrick is there and this is to me better fantasy news for Brandon Marshall because Ryan Fitzpatrick, if anything knows how to sling the ball around the field a little bit. I'm not sure that the turnover differential is going to be much different. But this, the ball is going to Chris Ivory a lot. The defense is going to be the kind of rock of that team. But I like Brandon Marshall, I like Eric Decker. So.

[Andy Holloway]

So do you think Rex Ryan just brought that, the third string guy in just so he could shake his hand and say thank you for punching jets quarterback in the face?

[Mike Wright]

The guy who got, who lost me in my job. Yeah, maybe Eagles first round wide receiver Nelson Aguilar got all the first team reps and at Josh Huff's spot on Tuesday. Worth noting and paying attention to because we've said that wide receiver corps committee, like there's also a lot of really good reports about Jordan Matthews. I'm gonna come on and say that even though I have not been the biggest Jordan Matthews guy, Jordan Matthews, he looks really good in camp. So, man. Lots of news today. More Doug Martin news. I think Doug Martin is somebody I've been asked about more on radio shows than I could imagine. Like, of all the guys, people are picking out Doug Martin because he's. He represents a value in fantasy.

[Andy Holloway]

Tremendous value.

[Mike Wright]

And there's some, some reports that said they're excited. He looks like 2012 Doug Martin.

[Andy Holloway]

And this is Mike Mayock reporting this. So it's not just. That's nobody.

[Jason Moore]

That's good news. Right. Because you would expect the team and the camp and, and even beat writers when they're a terrible team to be pumping people up. Well, Mike may have to say it.

[Mike Wright]

Looks Doug Martin this off season did what. What do you like to see at the running back?

[Jason Moore]

Oh, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

What do I like to see? Oh, lost weight.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. So, hey, he's got to be good. Texans camp. Alfred Blue is listed number one right now on the unofficial depth chart. We still don't know how it'll shake out. Preseason is going to tell us a lot, but Blue's the guy right now.

[Andy Holloway]

I'll tell you tell you something. There's one person in this room who watched Hard Knocks. You guys are failures.

[Mike Wright]

I cannot believe you're calling us out on that.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, the world needs to be because.

[Mike Wright]

We tried to watch hard enough.

[Jason Moore]

Hbo. Go. Where are you at?

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, we're calling out hbo.

[Mike Wright]

Good. That's going to end well.

[Andy Holloway]

The what? Taking on giant corporations is a bad idea.

[Mike Wright]

You know what? We're fine. We got Nabisco on our side.

[Andy Holloway]

We love hbo.

[Mike Wright]

All right, let's digress quickly. The Giants initial preseason depth chart list. Rashad Jennings is the first team running back and yet Shane Vereen took the most snaps. And yet Andre Johnson a week ago took the most first team snaps. Williams, I mean Andre Williams. Andre Johnson is a wide receiver.

[Andy Holloway]

Gross.

[Mike Wright]

So the summary is gross.

[Andy Holloway]

This, this is going to be complete lotto ticket.

[Mike Wright]

I like Vereen because they just paid him. He's the most recently paid.

[Andy Holloway]

Ben and Fog. They did.

[Jason Moore]

But the thing that we pretty much know with Jennings is even though I believe he starts the year well and starts in first position, I don't think he stays healthy. In which case Vereen will come into that role. But it is a mess there and it's one that I am right now avoiding. I do not doubt that someone who gets the right lottery ticket there will have found great value in the draft. But it's just 2/3 are going to get the wrong guy.

[Andy Holloway]

And when the lottery is this mixed up, I want the cheapest ticket possible. So I'm going to take Andre Williams.

[Mike Wright]

All right, before we get into our back half, running backs 21 through 40, I want to take a minute and remind everybody about fantasydraftwizard.com now is the time right now. Like probably right now while you're listening, like walk over, go to Fantasy Draft wizard.

[Andy Holloway]

If you can multitask or if you're.

[Jason Moore]

Driving, get out your phone, pick it out, go to fantasy draft.

[Andy Holloway]

Please pull over.

[Mike Wright]

Go to a library. No fantasydraftwizard.com Easy one.

[Jason Moore]

Got in an accident. No. What are you doing?

[Mike Wright]

Don't do that. Don't listen to Jason. Everybody knows you don't listen.

[Jason Moore]

If you're still alive listening, then when.

[Mike Wright]

You get home, fantasy draft wizard.com Two minute mock drafts, completely free. A good way to run through whatever your list is right now as you prepare. A lot of drafts have begun. A lot more will take place in weeks two, three and four of the preseason. So go to fantasydraftwizard.com check it out, do your mock drafts and if you're.

[Jason Moore]

In a keeper league, you can actually import your players from that so that you can draft the, the draft that you've got coming up.

[Mike Wright]

All right, we're really excited to bring in our next guest, Christopher Harris, formerly of ESPN Fantasy Underground Podcast. He has his own brand new podcast right now. Excited to bring him on.

[Jason Moore]

You talking to me?

[Mike Wright]

All right. The fantasy footballers are excited to bring in the Christopher Harris, formerly of ESPN, now of Harris harrisfootball.com you can follow him on Twitter Harris Football. One of my favorite people in the world of fantasy football. Say hello, Chris.

[Chris Harris]

Hello, Chris. Thanks for having me on, you guys. I really have Liked your show for a long time and my affiliation with the worldwide leader prohibited reaching out. But now that I'm free, you guys are basically one of the first emails I sent out because a chance to appear on here. You guys are a lot of fun and you know your stuff. So thanks for having me on. I really appreciate it.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, thank you.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Hey, man, that's good stuff. Yeah, we love Chris. Chris is not a group think kind of guy. He is a film guy and we're excited. We're gonna talk some back half running backs, take a look at the rankings. We got some guys that I'm really excited to talk about on the show. So let's just get it started right now. One of the guys that I like a ton is Joyk Bell.

[Jason Moore]

Kicking it off with Joy right off the bat.

[Mike Wright]

If we talk about Joy the whole time, that's fine. But Joyk's a guy that I really like. These guys are on the Abdullah Express as it is so dubbed on this show. So you have Joyk, I believe, at 17. So he's inside that top 20 for you. What do you like about Joic Bell?

[Chris Harris]

Yeah, and I'll preface it by saying two things. One, everything I do media wise right now centers around Joy Bell. People see the rank and they're like, what, what are you, what are you doing? And then two, you know, we're still, believe it or not, despite all of our hard work the first 10 days of August, we're still in the beginning of August. I definitely do reserve the right to change my mind if he can't get on the field. But I'm going to assume health. I'm going to assume, you know, that the surgeries that we know of warrant major and that, you know, cleanup procedures shouldn't prohibit him from being ready week one, being himself. And if we assume that, which the other guys may not want to assume, but if we assume that, I'm going to talk about what I see on film from Bell. And what I see is Eddie Lacy. To be honest, I don't see a lot of difference in their skill sets. Now, it's a different offense. Lacy's in a more friendly fantasy offense, obviously in Green Bay, but big guys with really good feet and a lot of power and who can catch the ball. I tell you, yards per carry is my least favorite stat in the world. I just don't think it means anything.

[Mike Wright]

I was going to ask you about that because I've heard you talk about that before.

[Chris Harris]

I just think it's one of those compiling Amalgamation stats that. Yeah, can it put you in the neighborhood? You know, Jamal Charles is yards per carry, I think is reflective of something good about him. But Joy Bell being under four last year for me isn't reflective of anything bad about him. Particularly ask the packers in Week 17 when the Lions and Packers were playing for the division how fun it was to tackle Joy Bell. Ask the Cowboys in that playoff game. I went back and watched that film again just to reconfirm some stuff. And he's a handful. He's a powerful kid now and he's a really good all around player and he looks like the goal line threat to me. And I kind of have the anti Abdullah stance, which isn't that anti. I sort of think he's a really good prospect, but I just like Bell a lot. But I'll stop talking and let the, let the Bell go.

[Mike Wright]

I'm gonna just play this every night before bed. That's good.

[Jason Moore]

So. So I'm curious because I know that you're a big film guy, you're a film guy over stats guy and you say yards per carry is one of your least favorite stats. I'm curious, are there any stats that you do look for specifically what's your favorite stat?

[Chris Harris]

Probably isn't running back related? I like yards at the target for both quarterbacks and wide receivers. I'm a believer that with some exceptions and to some degree I want my receivers making plays down the field because it's just likelier that they break loose, there are fewer defenders to get around and you know, they make bigger plays. And I believe that yards at the target, especially for quarterbacks, I mean, you get that sort of anxious, nauseous feeling when you look at Alex Smith and maybe can't quite, you know, fathom why. And then you see his yards at the target is 33rd out of 33 qualified quarterbacks last year and you realize, oh, he's dumping it off every single time. That's a good one for me. But you know, honestly, like yards after contact is better for me and maybe even yards before contact is interesting for running backs, but I just don't know that I think there are great running back stats. You know, I want, I want touchdowns, I want fantasy points, but I'm not sure last year's are all that predictive of this year's.

[Andy Holloway]

So. Because I cannot possibly move off of Joyk without talking about it. Just real quick, but. So, Joy, when Reggie Bush was playing, they were both viable fantasy guys. So I want to. What is your opinion of how that shakes Out. Do you see Abdullah in that the Reggie Bush type role that the Lions would use him in?

[Chris Harris]

I do. I think Abdul is a good prospect in a certain kind of role. Not sure he's ever a full time guy. I feel like my mantra this time around is, you know what? I'm going to let someone else take Andre Ellington and Gio Bernard and Justin Forset and Amir Abdullah. What do all these guys have in common is they're small and it feels like for set didn't get hurt last year. He was. And his tape was legit. He was really, really good. He's maybe a different case study, but the other guys, it's like you're darned if you do and dart if you don't. Because if you use them a ton, you obviously love their ability in space and you get some results like Andre Ellington did, but you expose them to so many hits and they're littler guys and I think they get hurt. So for me, Abdullah falls in that category. Plus he's a rookie, plus he had fumbling problems in college. All I need is to invest heavily in Amir Abdullah and then have a David Wilson happen in week one. Right. And suddenly Amir Abdullah's riding pine and now Thea Riddick's the one who's playing behind Bell. I'm totally with you that Joy Bell's probably not a full time back three down. That's why he's 17 and not 10. Sure on my list, but I think he's the touchdown maker. Listen, you know, we all love to hear that people at Lions camp think that Abdullah is sexy as anything. Right. And you know, totally turning heads with his ability. And in college, my goodness, I mean, the guy was really tackle. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. We, we always tell our listeners pay more attention to the bad news than the good news in camp. The good news is really exciting when you own a guy already and you.

[Chris Harris]

Want to get really good advice.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I mean, I like to look up, you know, all the news on the Internet about my guys and how good they're gonna be. But yeah, that's good insight on Bell. I appreciate it very, very much.

[Chris Harris]

Definitely. I could make the other case and I've had the other case made to me the other way around. Absolutely. I mean, you really, you're going to invest as your number two running back in a guy coming off like three separate surgeries who his team drafted a fairly highly regarded running back. I mean, I get that argument too.

[Mike Wright]

I'm.

[Chris Harris]

I'm just sort of choosing to believe my eyes on Bell from Last season.

[Jason Moore]

And we'll bring you back on the show. We'll bring you back on the show in three weeks when you're with Mike and I.

[Mike Wright]

No way.

[Andy Holloway]

No way.

[Jason Moore]

We can all rail on Andy.

[Mike Wright]

He's only coming back on if things work out for me and him.

[Chris Harris]

I tell you that right now to take my lumps. I'm coming back on and in like in October to say so. Joint Bell has four carries.

[Jason Moore]

We'll see. That's the great thing about fantasy football. We get to. We get to see.

[Mike Wright]

I am with Chris in the fact that if he's not on the field, I'm not taking any lumps from either of you. No. Just kidding. All right, so one guy that is in your list that we have had, I think either problems figuring out or none of us are High on number 15 for you is Carlos Hyde. And so much has happened in San Francisco. I like Reggie Bush when he's on the field a lot. I like Colin Kaepernick this year. I'm probably the highest person on Colin Kaepernick of all time in the universe. And we're not going to talk about that right now. We'll talk about that later. But I know you like Hyde on film, so tell me some of the things that you think stand out about Carlos Hyde and how you think the running back situation will break down there.

[Chris Harris]

Yeah, that is a film play much more than a situation play because I'm with you. The 49ers have the potential to win three games. And if that happens, you know, Cardinal.

[Mike Wright]

Fans will rejoice is what.

[Chris Harris]

Yeah, that's right. That's right. You guys are in Arizona. Carlos Hyde on tape this past, you know, his rookie year, albeit in a, surprisingly, to me, limited sample size because Frank Gore played a little more than I expect. He would frankly, probably played more than he should have because by the end of the year, it felt like he was a little bit gassed. And Hyde, man, he's a big guy and he carries it well. I mean, he reminds me some of Jonathan Stewart. You know, I'm a huge believer in Jonathan Stewart's talent. I think if we were just going based on talent and situation and, you know, potential to dominate a backfield's carries, Jonathan Stewart's easily top 10, and if not top five. He's big guy who runs like a little guy, high step and can make you miss as well as run you over. But of course, with Stewart, there's all this baggage with injury. Hyde strikes me as a similar player, not. Not as Big as Stuart, but big and doesn't run like a sloth. You know, he does not look Eric Blunt out there. So what I see on, on film I really like and I didn't like Reggie Bush's film at all last year. I grant you that. Maybe I didn't like it because he was hurt.

[Mike Wright]

You know, there wasn't a lot of it.

[Chris Harris]

That's right. And when he was, when he was playing, he, he still had sort of forward acceleration to me. But that side to side jitterbug stuff that really made his name and you know, made him such a terror in New Orleans and in Miami was, it felt like it was. But you know, there's a danger in saying, well he could have been hurt. You know, if he's healthy, maybe that comes back.

[Mike Wright]

But he's 30, is surprisingly older than we think. I know.

[Andy Holloway]

Have you, have you done any breaking down of, of like Kendall Hunter? Because he's a name of, he's a really, really forgotten man in San Francisco. But he was, he was very hyped up a few years ago before Hyde was getting the hype to take over for Gore. Have you watched anything for him? Kind of. Is he going to actually take carries?

[Chris Harris]

For me, he's not on the radar just because I don't trust him to stay healthy at this point. He's for me damaged goods and I would be surprised if he ends up a major part of the game plan. It could happen. And I was certainly, I'd say three years ago I was aboard the Kendall Hunter train. But I think now chastened, I feel like, okay, got, you know, guys where I have to make an excuse for their size. You know, the 559199 is what they're always going to be listed at even though we know they're 5 8, 1 80. I don't see a big role for a player that size. If Bush doesn't work out or if Bush is hurt, could Hunter be the third down back and you know, take away some stuff that way? He could, but kind of not sure I trust it. Do you guys, do you guys have a different opinion about Hunter?

[Mike Wright]

Not necessarily just the fact that he, you know, he is coming back and he's another guy in the mix and Hyde height isn't super proven and Bush is coming into the fold and so kind of just a mix of players in a backfield on a team that'll probably be down a lot more than they're up as in the past. So for me I just think Bush might be on the field a little bit more. That's the angle I've been taking. But. But height is obviously younger and much more talented. So one. One other set of running backs that has divided our show a little bit that I'll bring up here. And you know, Mike and Jason should be happy because you have in your rankings cited.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I wasn't sure we were getting to this.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, you have sided with them on this. So Tevin Coleman and Devontae Freeman. Mike has been very quick to summarize Devontae Freeman's career from last year's tape. Are you with him? Is Freeman not special at all? Can he be special or is Coleman going to run away with this thing by mid season?

[Chris Harris]

I'm not ready to say that Freeman's completely not special. I just kind of think he is what he is and he's not a feature back in the NFL. But I think what he does probably is prized by Kyle Shanahan and there's some not so much in the zone blocking sense, but in the throwing it to the running back sense. There's a. There's some upside there in a point perception league. And I'm not entirely convinced Tevin Coleman is a great prospect. What I know is that for his size, he's insanely fast, straightforward. You know, just watch that tape at Indiana and watch him when there was an opening, that dude would go, you know, I mean, all the yards are coming from these crazy long runs where people who are 40 pounds lighter than him can't run him down. Not sure how much greater vision he has and how elusive he is, but really you can't tell that from college tape. We're just going to have to see what it's like once the season starts and probably the Falcons will make a judgment call that way before we ever get to make a decision. I've ranked Coleman higher than Freeman, maybe because it's the devil. I don't know. It's the bright shiny object that I'm being distracted by like. Or somebody's like shaking their keys at me maybe.

[Mike Wright]

No, those are fun. Those are fun guys to own.

[Jason Moore]

That's exactly what I did at first. I was all in on Tevin Coleman, mostly because I just didn't believe that he could. He could become that Freeman could become a feature back. He just not built for it. And the more that I thought about the offensive line and the question marks there, I really think both of them are just going to eat into each other and neither of them is going to be hugely relevant personally.

[Chris Harris]

Yeah, there's a real chance that's true. I mean, I've kind of considered the way I have them ranked right now in standard leagues. I have Coleman at 22 and Freeman at 36. I've sort of considered that a placeholder until we get some clarity on. I mean they both have hamstring injuries while we're talking, so neither one. Neither one's even out there. And Anton Smith can't even get on the field. Like I saw that.

[Mike Wright]

That's pretty wild.

[Chris Harris]

Yeah. There's really nothing there right now. I probably have Coleman too high. I've kind of thought when Freeman got hurt, maybe Coleman would be, you know, be able to run away from a little bit. I have to be honest and I don't love TJ Eldon, but I have to be honest. If I'm sitting in a draft room knowing what I know exactly right this moment and I have to choose between Yelden Coleman. I'm just going to take the workload probably Even though, you know, Jacksonville's terrible.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Completely agree on the. The workload. And moving to the Browns, which is an always interesting subject with their running backs. The guy I want to talk about was Isaiah Crowell, where you have him at 35. So barely a running back. 3. And just wanted to get your take on him because he at times looked very good. At times looked very bad. And we just.

[Chris Harris]

The.

[Andy Holloway]

The coaching staff continues to flip flop on what we're hearing is what do you have to. To say about the crow?

[Chris Harris]

Yeah, I mean I just want to stay away from what those guys say because it's just boy misinformation central. It's like the Belichick residue has somehow, you know. Yeah. Or come back in Cleveland from the many years ago on tape. There's no question who's better between Corel and West. It's Corel was. That's not Terrence west is a below average NFL running back. It's not to say he can't score touchdowns. He's a big guy and he's not, you know, he's not a. I'm sure he's a nice human being. He's just not a particularly good player. I think Cruel is a. Maybe a above average player, but I don't think he's ever going to be great. I think I was guilty last year of probably being too enthusiastic about him when he had those couple of good games. Having gone back and watched every snap again this winter. The players that I compare him to now or something. You know, it's like Marion Barber Rudy Johnson, you know, big guys who in the right situation, we've saw, we saw those guys score a lot of touchdowns and have good seasons, but the minute something is not ideal, they're not going to help you at all. So able bodied guy who isn't ever going to be, I don't think, a superstar. And it's such a mess. I mean, when, when that offensive line is good too, that's what's sad. I mean, it's a good offensive line and they're just not going to take advantage of it. Defenses are not going to be scared of the pass. I mean, if possible, that passing attack is like significantly worse this year.

[Mike Wright]

They had to set out to accomplish that and they did it.

[Chris Harris]

Oh, my goodness, they worked hard.

[Mike Wright]

All right, Christopher Harris joining us today. Harris Football. On Twitter. You can follow his podcast, we recommend it. He's not a guy who you're going to get the same old nonsense in the fantasy football world like us. Not like us.

[Andy Holloway]

We're two peas in a pod.

[Mike Wright]

No, you need some complimentary fantasy football knowledge and there's no one better than Chris Harris. So check out his podcast, the Harris Football Podcast. You can also Visit his website, harrisfootball.com. thank you very much for coming on the show, sir.

[Chris Harris]

Oh, it's just so awesome, you guys. I would be on. You snap your fingers. I'm on anytime.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, we'll do it again for sure. Especially when Joy goes in for his fifth, fifth touchdown in week two. And we'll have you right back on.

[Chris Harris]

Thanks, guys.

[Mike Wright]

All right, take care. All right, big thanks. Big shout out to Christopher Harris for joining us.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you, sir. Yes, thank you.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. That's good stuff. Yeah, that is a different perspective. It is not the same old perspective. And.

[Jason Moore]

And yet our stats, we're looking at our rankings. Even though we come from different approaches. We really go film and stats and he goes film over stats. Our rankings are pretty similar. So it's good. It's good. Good. Trust in both parties, I think.

[Mike Wright]

I agree.

[Andy Holloway]

I like parties.

[Mike Wright]

All right, let's move on. Let's go to our 21 through 40. Last week we went 1 through 20. You can watch that show on. Well, I just did.

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, you're right. I didn't.

[Jason Moore]

Running bags.

[Andy Holloway]

People want that stuff. Mostly me.

[Mike Wright]

Why won't you drop some guitar into the back half of that thing?

[Andy Holloway]

You know what I need to do is just have a guitar right here.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, man. Live drops. We gotta get that hooked into the board. Then we just slide you a piece of paper and Let you know what to do. Except for your voice doesn't sound like that.

[Jason Moore]

You've got a guitar on your lap. You can't put it to the side. You got to wear it the whole time.

[Andy Holloway]

Deal.

[Mike Wright]

Dude, the YouTube channel will blow up. All right, we're going. Running backs 21 through 40. At number 21 is a guy that we. We spoke of briefly in the news and notes section because the running back situation there is no. We're still alive. Some of the studios falling apart behind Jason.

[Jason Moore]

Wow.

[Mike Wright]

Nobody. Everybody's alive.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't know if that came through the microphones, but I almost had a heart attack.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, you look scared. You got to put some more beard oil on.

[Andy Holloway]

We're gonna have to freeze frame the video because it's gonna be.

[Mike Wright]

Andre Ellington is our number 21 consensus running back. He is in Enigma because he had a bad year on the ground last year. But that team had a lot of problems that, you know, it's not all in the stats. Okay. Because Andre Ellington was hurt and played through being hurt. The team had no Carson Palmer. They had a hodgepodge. No Drew Stanton, after a while, a hodgepodge of quarterbacks coming in. They're the worst maybe the NFL has ever seen. He still had fantasy value. In many games, he catches passes. So Andre Ellington for this year, I like him.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I actually do, too. I'm moving him up more and more on my boards. David Johnson coming in and being drafted and being a stud in college was somebody that made me feel less confident in Andre Ellington. With him being out right now in camp and seeing the response of Bruce Arians, to go look at other guys and say he's not going to put him on the field. If he doesn't get out here for practice just gives me a little bit more confidence that Andre Ellington will be the guy. And the thing I like about Ellington now, that was what burned everybody last year, is that last year you had to draft him with such high potential. Right.

[Chris Harris]

From.

[Jason Moore]

From that. From that year two years ago, everyone was all aboard on.

[Mike Wright]

Do you think he burned people last year, though?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, because of the value of where you drafted.

[Andy Holloway]

He was like a third, fourth round.

[Mike Wright]

Because of the injury.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Because even outside of the injury, the stats didn't impact. I mean, his fantasy game was pretty good.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, it was. But because of what you had to invest to get him. Because of what you invested to get him last year, he let you down. You were expecting a top guy. What you have to invest in to get him this year, he's going to over.

[Mike Wright]

You're investing in 18, the 18th running backs.

[Andy Holloway]

He's still in the fourth of a PPR. He's still a fourth round pick.

[Mike Wright]

I like him. I like him because with Carson Palmer and that offense and being able to extend the field in the kind of jack of all trades guy that he is, the fact that David Johnson's injured, the fact that they're bringing in backups, I think Ellington's going to get the majority of the touches and Arians has come out and said that, yeah, he expects 15 to 20 touches volume.

[Andy Holloway]

And just a quick thing that concerns me is of 54 catchable passes, he dropped 8 15%.

[Mike Wright]

Did you, did I mention the quarterbacks in Arizona?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm just saying. We're saying catchable pass is in. That's a lot of drops.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, Ellington is a. Is a good pass catcher. I think it was the quarterback play. I don't think it was him because the year before he was fine.

[Mike Wright]

Well, another pass catcher on our list, number 22, let me give you these next three guys. 22, 23 and 24 is C.J. spiller, LeGarrett Blunt and Chris Ivory. I think that probably puts us fairly high on all three of those guys compared to some of the consensus reports out there, other experts. So let's talk first about Spiller briefly. We haven't heard a bunch about him in camp. They say he's dealing with an undisclosed injury of some sort.

[Andy Holloway]

That's never good.

[Mike Wright]

And we know Sean Payton likes to stay close to the vest with his Swiss army knife type players. But nine games last year he didn't do much. So what, is he going to be in New Orleans or is it wait and see?

[Jason Moore]

I think he's going to be great.

[Mike Wright]

Because this puts him at. Just for the record, it puts him in a RB2 spot in a standard league.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, an RB2 spot is where I've got him in a standard. I've got him at 19 in a standard league. I had a mistake in my stats that was putting him up at number nine. I had him at a crazy yards per carry and somebody pointed that out to me. But I actually really like him because I expect him to get around 70 receptions and even in a standard. We talked about this with Justin Forsett. When you get 70 receptions, you get a lot of yards on the ground. You get touchdown opportunities. And I think that the. They're going to use him by moving him all over the field in that Darren Sprouls role.

[Mike Wright]

Reggie Bush role.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, exactly. And if you Go back and look. I mean, last year, I believe the Saints.

[Andy Holloway]

Who.

[Jason Moore]

The Saints as a group, the most. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Had the most 175 targets to Pierre Thomas and Darren Sprols in 2013.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

That's incredible. And, and it's, it's a pattern.

[Andy Holloway]

And last year they had the most targets to the running back as well. And I think that's completely where his value is. I don't have him nearly as high as the, as Jason and Andy in standard, but I still like him very much in ppr and the. His upside is tremendous.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I've softened on him a little bit, but I still think he's going to be used well because that's what Peyton's strengths are. So Legarette Blunt, he's been reported as by far the best running back in camp. So he suspended for game one. Remember that if you draft him, have a backup plan, you're probably drafting him as a three. So you're probably okay week one flexing somebody else.

[Andy Holloway]

But he's been, he's been dominant with the Patriots. He'll have games of really low carries that will screw you over, but for the most part, he's dominant with the Patriots.

[Mike Wright]

And so Chris Ivory is the last guy from that three pack. Chris Ivory is climbing up our boards a little bit because when you have a volume position on a team with a good defense, I think you have to pay attention to it. He has been a little injury prone and there are, you know, there are other guys involved. But right now as it sits, Chris Ivory is our number 24, the last RB2 on our list.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Todd Bowles is talking up Chris Ivory a lot. Not just in the ways that everybody says, oh, he's doing good, but in how he's going to use him. Whoops. And how he's.

[Mike Wright]

That's good. Number 25 is Joy Bell. So thanks for hearing that.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Just the fact that he's willing to give him third down roles and he's going to have every first and second down role. The backs behind him there are either not healthy or not involved right now in training camp. So I do agree that there's a health issue, a health risk right now with Chris Ivory, but I believe he's going to get the, the lion's share of a high running team. So that to me says, you know, we compared that to, say, Lashawn McCoy. I don't think Chris Ivory is that great, but he's going to get so many carries. So I like that.

[Andy Holloway]

I really liked Ivory, especially when he got Freed to go to the Jets. I think he's a very talented guy. And when you're the way he runs is amazing, with the power and the ferocity, it leads to injuries. That's a knock on him. But anytime a Coach mentions a three down back, a bell cow back going in the seventh round, I'm taking him. I'm taking that chance.

[Mike Wright]

All right, 25, 26 and 27, 25 is Joy Bell 26, Carlos Hyde 27, Todd Gurley. We talked pretty exhaustively about Bell and Hyde earlier in the show with Chris Harris, so we won't linger on those guys. But let's talk about Todd Gurley for just a minute because reports have said he's likely to miss. And this is not surprise news. Maybe it is for some of you if you, if you've drafted him already or you haven't been paying attention. But Todd Gurley is likely to miss at least one or two, three games to start the season. And so this is one of the reasons we've been telling people who draft left Bell, who draft Legera Blunt, these type of players, go get Trey Mason because he's got a role, a strong role probably through the season or at least the first half. But Todd Gurley, 27, A lot of hype, a running team, a ton of talent. And so what's going to shake out for Todd Gurley?

[Andy Holloway]

The guy was taken as the 10th overall pick. They're going to slow the roll. If he's missing all the training camp, he's going to get worked in slowly. It's possible that the talent is so immense that he takes over and becomes a sensation for the second half of the year. I don't see it shaking out that way. So I'm avoiding him because he's, he's going far too high for where I would like. I'll take him in the eighth, ninth round, but he's not going to be there.

[Jason Moore]

It's very well said. I believe he has a very strong second half of the year. I think he's talented. And if you look at basically what's happened the last several years with the Rams is whoever starts there as the running back ends up just being completely overshadowed and someone comes on strong and they've got the best opportunity for it this year. But the difference, the difference that people are not paying attention to is that in theory, I love when a guy is going to come in the second half of the year and win you a league, say Odell Beckham. But Odell Beckham didn't Cost you anything. He didn't cost you an early round pick. You grabbed him off waivers or you drafted him at the very end of a draft. Whereas here you have to pick up and roster a guy for a long time, hurting your team, losing games potentially, so that in the second half of the year you can have him. So.

[Andy Holloway]

And who knows, we maybe second half, who knows?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, so I'm there.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, for argument's sake, isn't it? These are the type of fears that happen with these guys. Occasionally they pan out, occasionally they don't. No one wants to be the guy that didn't draft Adrian Peterson. Right, right. And so just talk to me real briefly about Bill. You know your philosophy when you draft these teams. I mean, Mike, you like Amir Abdullah, you like him a lot for his talent, his upside. Obviously he's not coming off an injury, but he, you know, there are still warts on him. But he's new, right? He's the new shiny.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. The situations are just so different because I think the guy in front of him, it's almost like an opposite situation. The guy in front of him is old and hurt where Gurley is young and hurt. If, if Gurley wasn't coming off an acl, I'd be all aboard on this pick. I would take the risk for his talent.

[Jason Moore]

And if it comes to a keeper league or especially a dynasty league, I love Todd Gurley. I think he's going to be a great pick. He's going to be ap. But that's. If we're talking redraft, it's going to hurt your roster for a couple of weeks to have it.

[Mike Wright]

2,000 yards for Todd Gurley this year. Wait, no, no.

[Jason Moore]

Hit that water. Bad button.

[Mike Wright]

Number 20. That's a joke, everyone. Number 28 and 29 on our list are two more guys we talked about earlier with Chris Harris. Isaiah Crowell at 28, Tevin Coleman at 29. Mike, I need to ask you a question, though.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

My beard game, it's lacking.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I'm looking at you. You got the starter. You got the starter. It's not too bad.

[Mike Wright]

This is the. I think this is the 4 or the 5. On the setting, the trim. The trim setting.

[Andy Holloway]

It's not too bad. And you know what? It's actually long enough for handsome Fancy Beard oil to get everything. You head over to handsomefancy.com you use promo code ballers. Fellas, take it from me, you see my picture, I got the big beard. People ask, how do you keep that thing so nice? And the answer is I take care of my beard, I wash it, and I use Handsome fancy grooming products. They're made from all organic natural materials and they're fragranced with essential oils, therapeutic grade essential oils. These aren't perfume that you're putting on your face, which might irritate your skin. You're talking about something that's going to help detangle your beard. Fellas, with the big beards, have you ever, you know, when the neck beard gets all tangly? That's no, that's no good. That doesn't happen when you condition it with a handsome Phantom. Probably the cream.

[Mike Wright]

The best value pick you can make for your beard, go to handsome fancy.com, put in the promo code ballers and get 15% off. Just like that.

[Andy Holloway]

And tweet us your beards.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Show me your beards.

[Mike Wright]

We'll retweet some handsome fancy beards.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

All right, number 30 on our list is the, the counterpart, Mike's guy, Amir Abdullah. 31, Rashad Jennings and 32, David Johnson. Wow, that's really high for David Johnson.

[Andy Holloway]

He. David Johnson is this high because he has not been adjusted by me yet.

[Mike Wright]

Okay. So you're to blame for this.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

All right. So we might not talk too much about him. You've heard about him earlier. So Amir Abdullah, he will have a very significant role. He will have the opportunity to show if he can do what he did in college in the NFL and he's on a good offense. Calvin Johnson is back. Golden Tate, an offense that might have to score a few more points this year due to losses on the defensive side of the ball and a team that I think is playoff bound.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

Capable at the very least.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. I mean, they were a great, great team last year and dealt with injuries, so.

[Andy Holloway]

And I will concede. I'll be real quick. I will concede that, yeah, he's absolutely smaller, but when he weighed in at the combine at 205, he was. He's actually a little bit heavier than Ray Rice. And I know that how a guy carries a weight is not always the same from person to person, but I just. People need to understand that. And one of the best pass protecting running backs in the league, Jacques Rogers, that guy is tiny.

[Mike Wright]

No. And the reports out of Lions camp is that he can. He's been able to pass protect. He's. He's far better than theoretic in all of their third down drills. Obviously Joy's not back in the field. So, Jason, let me ask you about Rashad Jennings because I'M not sure if there's a person that could be more potential value and potential dud at the same time. Is that how you see him?

[Jason Moore]

I do see him that way, except I believe that even when he is of value, he will eventually get injured. We kind of talked about this last year. Mike was saying this before the season. Last year I was very much on Jennings and it was proven right in the beginning of the year. But it was just like you said, he's going to get injured. You know, there are certain small guys that absolutely can't handle the load. And that's why small guys get that bad rap. And there are big guys who also can and can't. But once you've got that history, I think that we see with Jennings, if you draft him, he, he can very easily start the year winning you some weeks. I think he's going to get the first crack. I think he's going to have a good yards per carry. I believe that he'll score touchdowns from a little bit further out. He's good at catching the ball and that. Bob McAdoo says all great things. But can you rely on him? Can you draft a guy and rely on him through the season? I don't think you can rely on Jennings.

[Andy Holloway]

So if I drafted Jennings, if I end up with him in that eighth round range and he has two to three great games, oh, he's, he's selling him out. I'm not, I'm not going to depend on it. I'm going to take the value.

[Jason Moore]

That's, that's a really important thing. A really, really important thing is to understand that you do not win fantasy championships at the draft. You just don't. Nobody who wins the championships, unless it's a best ball league wins on draft.

[Mike Wright]

They come and give me the trophy right after the draft. They say, let me see it back. Let me see your paper. Let me see your paper.

[Jason Moore]

And no, the point is, you know, it's transactions through the year. So many people put in work and prepare before the draft and then they finish near the top, but they just can't ever get over that hump. So, you know, keep listening through the year. We'll give you start sit advice. We'll give you trade advice. We'll help carry you guys to the actual championship banner. And that's an important part. Physically to the physical banner.

[Andy Holloway]

No, no, we will physically carry you.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, man, I gotta start getting.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you gotta work it out, man.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, yeah. We gotta put your cream soda away.

[Andy Holloway]

I did put it away. In my mouth, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Devonte Freeman at 33, Doug Martin at 34, Ryan Matthews at 35. On our consensus rankings, Freeman and Martin both had lower than what you'd hope for. Yards per carry. Last year we talked about yards per carry with Chris Harris. It's one of those things where your yard per carry from the one yard line is always one if you score a touchdown and so it can be distorted. But neither of these guys are just traditional goal linebacks and so they did not excel last year. A lot of hype around who will come out. Freeman, Coleman. Our consensus rankings has Freeman behind Coleman. I have Freeman ahead of him. I just don't think we've seen enough of him. I think he's. His experience is going to benefit him. I like Coleman, but I think, you know, I agree with Jason. They probably most muddy each other's water.

[Andy Holloway]

What happened last year with devontae Freeman, and it will happen again this year. Freeman got the Hard Knocks bump.

[Mike Wright]

I agree. And I liked him. I liked him because of Hard Knocks.

[Andy Holloway]

And you start to invest emotionally in this guy, which tells you that that player might actually be better than they are now. There was, of course, Steven Jackson. People were betting that he was going to break down, which he did. But just that. That will be my one little note for Hard Knocks. Be careful when you start buying into these players.

[Mike Wright]

Doug Martin has a lot of the same arguments for him that Chris Ivory has, which is basically volume. Volume and a starting position and at least a guy who has gone out and impressed at times if he could regain his form, which isn't, you know, a frequent thing at the running back position. But they have basically shown confidence in him. Last year is 134 for 494 and two touchdowns. So not. Not impressive.

[Andy Holloway]

He's going in the sixth.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. And the thing is, is that's a little. That that's starting to creep up earlier because, you know, two months ago he was going in the eighth and a month ago he was going in the seventh and now he's going in the sixth. And it's one of those things where you've got to make sure you're fluid and don't just get high on the guys who have that big potential. And then all of a sudden everybody's getting high on him. And now you've got to take them in the fifth and you're losing out on the potential. Right. Because there's also the potential. Chris Sims takes over and is the back and you miss out on.

[Andy Holloway]

You're glossing over the Rain man, my boy, Bobby Rainey.

[Jason Moore]

Bobby Rainey is the best guy there, but I don't think that Tampa Bay does.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, well, I don't. I don't think he is. All right. No, what I was gonna say is. All right, I'm gonna give you some other guys going around him in the draft, not just running backs. And I want you to tell me if you take Doug Martin over them. Trey Mason. Do you take Doug Martin over Trey Mason?

[Jason Moore]

No. Oh, yes, I take Doug Martin over Trey Mason.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Do you take Doug Martin over Allen Robinson?

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Jason Moore]

No way.

[Mike Wright]

They're about the same place right now in adp. Do you take him over Steve Smith?

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

The wide receiver?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Over Ertz?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. At this point, which we heard the positional coach was impressed by his blocking. I'm just going to throw that out.

[Jason Moore]

Zach Ertz is a watch preseason. He is one of my main targeted watch preseason and see what happens because he's going to go higher, low for me.

[Mike Wright]

All right, last one. Doug Martin or Nelson Aguilar.

[Jason Moore]

That's great. That's a great one.

[Andy Holloway]

That's so team dependent.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that's what I was. That's my answer too. If I need a wide receiver, let's.

[Andy Holloway]

Say in a vacuum. Oh, in a vacuum. I got to go with Martin because of the running back, but me too.

[Mike Wright]

All right, number 35, number 36 and number 37 on our consensus rankings are Ryan Matthews, Giovanni Bernard and Bishop Sankey.

[Andy Holloway]

Giovanni.

[Mike Wright]

Giovanni. So Ryan Matthews, if you saw Jason's face right now, that's like a tattoo face. You're ready to go out and get him, his name printed on your arm.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. Ryan Matthews to me is one of the best values in the draft right now. You have two if you're looking for.

[Mike Wright]

A backup running back.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, well, I mean obviously that. Right. You've got Doug Martin, who is going to be start the game one as the starter. And you don't have that in Ryan Matthews. So I get that. But at the same time you have a Pro bowl caliber currently not two years ago, Doug Martin, but currently player playing on a high power offense who just signed a big contract to go to them. The only reason, like for instance, if. If DeMarco Murray didn't go there, where would we be drafting Ryan Matthews?

[Andy Holloway]

First round?

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely. And so I would. And so now where are we drafting DeMarco Murray?

[Andy Holloway]

Apparently the back of the eighth round.

[Jason Moore]

No, DeMarco Murray.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, sorry, I was looking at. Right.

[Jason Moore]

Matthews first round, but exactly. Ryan Matthews is going back at the eighth and we don't know yet how that split's going to come about. I think I talked about that before. Chip Kelly is, you know, in college.

[Mike Wright]

So he more split carries potential steel.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, a potential steel. Just value. Just a value. I'm not saying he's going to be great this year. I'm saying for where you can get him. He has the chance to change and win leagues.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. If Murray goes down, he will be great. I'll put that in the bank.

[Mike Wright]

So Gio Bernard is a guy who, Mike, I remember you traded for him one of our leagues last year for protection. He came out and he had like an 89 yard touchdown run and made you look good for a week. And then he really. He just.

[Andy Holloway]

No, honestly, then he sat on my bench.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. So why'd he sit on your bench?

[Andy Holloway]

Because I had Jeremy Hill. Geo was.

[Mike Wright]

Was bad and hurt. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

But he was okay. Even in the beginning of the year he was. He was similar to Andre Ellington where volume was producing fantasy points and his body just could not hold up to the volume and he was actually breaking down. Just watching him. Yeah, he looks great when he catches a pass but anytime you try and put him up the tackles, it just looked horrific.

[Mike Wright]

All right, let's move on. 38, 39 and 40 to round out these.

[Andy Holloway]

You're Glossin Sankey.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I'm Glass and Sankey. We don't got time.

[Andy Holloway]

Nobody's got time.

[Mike Wright]

There's somebody I don't have time for. It's Bishop Sankey who put up a 3.7 yard per carry last year on 152 carries. He could surprise us a little bit. Doubt it. 38, 39, 40. Reggie Bush, Danny Woodhead and Shane Vereen. I need a couple quick words on these guys. What do you think about. Pick somebody and talk about them. Reggie Bush, Danny Woodhead and Shane Vereen.

[Jason Moore]

I'll talk about Woodhead. Woodhead is a PPR machine. He's going to be on the field more than you think and he has a nose for the end zone. That is fantastic. So if you're in any kind of half point PPR or ppr, he is a target. Target him and pick him up in wherever you need to in your draft.

[Andy Holloway]

Of Reggie Bush, Danny Woodhead, Shane Vereen. I'm absolutely going Woodhead in pbr.

[Mike Wright]

Jason will actually sign Danny Woodhead photos and mail them to you. Yep, just hit him up on Twitter.

[Jason Moore]

Just go to Danny Woodhead Double stuff dot com.

[Mike Wright]

That is a lot of he. That's a Double Stuff domain.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, What Jason forgot today was he has one of those heart lockets. And you open it and it's.

[Mike Wright]

It's Danny Woodhead.

[Jason Moore]

Woodhead on one side and Oreo double.

[Chris Harris]

Stuff on the other.

[Jason Moore]

And then when you close it, it's like love happening.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, good.

[Andy Holloway]

It's Woodhead eating an Oreo.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Things could go.

[Jason Moore]

Every time I open it, the Oreo is gone. It's amazing.

[Mike Wright]

All right, let's answer some questions.

[Jason Moore]

Mailbag. Mail bag. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

All right, if you have a question, if you're getting ready for your draft, you can go to the website. Click on the Submit a question button. The fantasy footballers dot com. You can leave us a voicemail. Question 302464, TFFB this question comes in. It says. Okay, so I asked this question a while ago, but I have narrowed this decision down and the deadline is tomorrow. Can you rate these keepers based on the details below? Lamar Miller in the ninth, Brandon Cooks in the ninth, or DeMarco Murray in the third?

[Jason Moore]

I got it.

[Mike Wright]

I've got it.

[Jason Moore]

Lamar Miller in the ninth.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going DeMarco in the third.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man. Oh, that hurts my heart. But I'm gonna take DeMarco Murray in the third.

[Jason Moore]

You guys are crazy.

[Andy Holloway]

I love. I love DeMarco Murray.

[Jason Moore]

I think there's a chance Lamar Miller finishes ahead of Dem. I don't expect it, but that could happen.

[Mike Wright]

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

[Andy Holloway]

Hold on.

[Mike Wright]

We're getting there. We're getting there, Mike. Don't worry about it. I got this bet. What's the gap between Murray and Miller in fantasy? Because you're going to say Murray is probably going to finish ahead of him. So what is the. What's the.

[Jason Moore]

What's the absolute gap that I see is 10. I would say 10 players is the gap between them. Yeah. There's no way. There's no way more than 10 Arby's behind Murray. No way.

[Mike Wright]

I'll bet you five.

[Jason Moore]

Well, of course you would.

[Mike Wright]

Seven. Seven.

[Jason Moore]

Make it eight. But we got our deal.

[Mike Wright]

I guess because I pressed the button, I agreed on 8.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, there you go. So that's good. So the bet is that I am saying Lamar Miller will not finish more than eight running backs behind America Murray.

[Mike Wright]

Eight and nothing happens to us. Yeah, that's the neutral point.

[Jason Moore]

Over under.

[Mike Wright]

James wants to know what is the best day to do your fantasy draft today.

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Mike Wright]

Gosh.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, goodness, it is not. Keep listening. Do not do your draft today. No, the best time is after week three of preseason. That's the best area.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Yeah. Sometime after that. Because a lot of starters don't play the last week. I'd rather do it after, after or during week four or something.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, the closer to the season the better. But it's so hard.

[Mike Wright]

The general rule. Unless he means literally what. What is the.

[Jason Moore]

And then it's clearly Tuesday.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, Tuesdays are awesome. Wayne. Wayne from Baltimore. I can keep two of these three wide receivers. Keenan Allen for a 10th, Alan Robinson for a 14th, Charles Johnson for a 15th. This is a pretty good question. Which two guys do you take from that list?

[Jason Moore]

Well, Allen, Robinson for a 14th is in. I mean, that's.

[Mike Wright]

I agree with that.

[Jason Moore]

Amazing. Keenan for a 10th or Charles for a 15th?

[Mike Wright]

I. I'm going to take Keenan because I don't think the 10th, 15th difference is that significant in a draft. So I go Robinson and Allen.

[Jason Moore]

I agree.

[Andy Holloway]

Charles Johnson.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, so we can't ring the bell.

[Jason Moore]

Two out of three say Keenan and.

[Andy Holloway]

Clearly I'm taking Alan Robinson. Yeah, yeah, I didn't. I just didn't think that needed to be voiced until just now.

[Mike Wright]

If you want to practice taking any of these guys with your league format, your rosters and your setup, drafting 1 through 12, go to fantasydraftwizards.com I don't think I said that domain very well.

[Jason Moore]

There were many of them. They were plural.

[Mike Wright]

Fantasy DraftWizard.com make sure you also check out Handsome Fancy.com. use the promo code Ballers to get your own 15% discount on that wonderful beard oil that will make you a modern man. And cream.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, Conditioner.

[Mike Wright]

This.

[Jason Moore]

The beard oil is better. Conditioner is better. Also we need to get fantasy draft wizards.com and just make.

[Mike Wright]

No, no, just wizard. Just with wizard hats and it's a whole new business. Yeah, we'll show up, we'll dress up. Albus Dumbledore will be there. Christopher Harris from ESPN formerly and harrisfootball.com thanks for coming on the show today. We really appreciated that.

[Andy Holloway]

And what's happening Tuesday?

[Mike Wright]

I don't know what's happening Tuesday.

[Andy Holloway]

Kevin.

[Mike Wright]

Kevin from the league will be here. Kevin will be on the show. I'm excited, dude. This is. This is big time stuff.

[Jason Moore]

Halfway there, people.

[Mike Wright]

Not too bad. Make sure you check out our YouTube channel. All of these episodes are on there. We got some exciting news to break next week as well. Follow us on TwitterFFballers. The fantasy footballers.com thank you so much for listening and reviewing. We appreciate it.

[Andy Holloway]

Goodbye.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you for listening to another edition of. 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.