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Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football Podcast
Fantasy Football Podcast 2016 - Breaking News, Training Camp, This-or-That
00:57:08
Fantasy Football Podcast for July 28, 2016. The Fantasy Footballers are back and breaking the latest fantasy football news, sharing their commentary and perspective on the latest from around the NFL, and playing a special game of this or that based on th
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- [00:02]
Andy Holloway
Hey, Foot Clan. Before we start today's show, I want to remind you about ultimatedraftkit.com this is the culmination of months worth of work from the Fantasy Footballers, the podcast. You know and love our draft preparation guide. You go over there, there are hundreds of profile videos for individual players. You have all of our rankings, our premium statistics, sleepers, breakouts, busts. It doesn't stop there. We keep adding to it. It's a living, breathing, off season draft preparation doc. So head over to ultimatedraftkit.com.
- [00:36]
Jason Moore
Welcome to the fantasy Footballers podcast coming to you from the fantasyjocks.com studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.
- [00:51]
Andy Holloway
Welcome in, everybody. The smell of pigskin is in the air.
- [00:58]
Jason Moore
Oh, training camps are upon us.
- [01:01]
Andy Holloway
And you like the smell of pigs, pig skin, bacon.
- [01:05]
Jason Moore
I was just going to Bacon.
- [01:07]
Andy Holloway
Had some bacon this morning. Had a skillet.
- [01:10]
Jason Moore
So you've started your morning. Right?
- [01:11]
Andy Holloway
That is the correct way to begin. And it reminded me of football, which is almost here. We have so much fantasy football news and information to discuss today.
- [01:22]
Jason Moore
Well, that makes sense. This is the week of news, the week of pup list and who's healthy, who's not.
- [01:27]
Andy Holloway
It's called Training camp is here.
- [01:29]
Jason Moore
Yes, sir.
- [01:30]
Andy Holloway
I am excited about today's show. We are going to be breaking down all of the breaking news, all of the information coming out of camp, reporter, you know, the different reports coming out, the buzz, some new signings, some injury updates. We have a special guest on the show.
- [01:50]
Jason Moore
I was going to ask if we have.
- [01:52]
Andy Holloway
I'm not going to tell who it is.
- [01:53]
Jason Moore
Special celebrity guest.
- [01:54]
Andy Holloway
We have a celebrity guest on the show that will be stepp in for Mike the Fantasy Hitman. Right. Who is not here. He's still on vacation. He's getting one last breather in before we go to five shows a week.
- [02:08]
Jason Moore
Which is next week. Which is next week.
- [02:10]
Andy Holloway
I had somebody on Twitter say, you know what, when is it happening? Last year, I think it happened in September. This year we said, no, we're doing it in August.
- [02:20]
Jason Moore
Yeah, maybe next year.
- [02:21]
Andy Holloway
I mean, it might be crazy and stupid, but we're doing it in August. Five shows a week starting on August 1st.
- [02:27]
Jason Moore
Yeah. There's no way you're going to go into your draft unprepared. If you're listening to the Ballers this year.
- [02:31]
Andy Holloway
No. And that's what we're about. We want you to enjoy the league you're in and we want you to succeed in the league you're in. Win a Foot Clan title. So very Excited. So the special guest is going to fill in for Mike on a game of this or that. We're going to play a game. Some tough decisions, some players that are really close in our fantasy rankings for 2016. We need help.
- [02:52]
Jason Moore
Those decisions where if you decide to draft one of those guys, you're not going to get the other. Like, that's the this or that game. It's like when you come in the clock and it says it's your turn to pick and those two guys are on the board, you're not going to have one of them come back to you. That's the decision.
- [03:07]
Andy Holloway
Yeah. And so we're going to play that in a little bit after we get through a bunch of the breaking news and kind of give our commentary on the things that are happening right now in fantasy football as we prepare for the season. Got a good quick question. Before I get into the quick question, I do want to let everybody know about a current vote that is taking place on Twitter. Now, we said, I think two shows ago we were going to open up the voting to you on what the next jersey we have in the studio is going to be right now. Rule 86, Jordan Reed is on the wall. We've got a David Johnson that makes an appearance. We wanted your input. And so we broke it up into four different categories with four entries each. So we had like a youngsters, superstars. We did the nicknames. That's all on twitter @the ffballers. But listen, the bracket voting ends later today on Thursday. And then the final poll with the final four people will be up on from Friday through Sunday. So if you want to go vote, cast your vote for what jersey should show up. Just head over to Twitter @ the FF Ballers. If you want to connect with us. Get an extra show every week. Go over to jointhefoot.com that's our fantasy community. That's also where you get access to the Foot Clan leagues, which are a bunch of leagues started by listeners of this show. So, you know they're committed. It's going to be competitive, it's going to be fun, engaging, because the listeners of this show are amazing.
- [04:27]
Jason Moore
I would say over the years that's like the most common question we get is how do I get in a great league like you guys talk about?
- [04:33]
Andy Holloway
I got this morning an email. The last email I got was how do I get involved in leagues like yours?
- [04:37]
Jason Moore
Right? And that's. That's where you do it.
- [04:39]
Andy Holloway
So definitely check that out@jointhefoot.com here's the quick question. I have.
- [04:43]
Jason Moore
Wait, wait, wait.
- [04:44]
Andy Holloway
Oh, wait.
- [04:44]
Jason Moore
I think since we're on this topic, I think this is just perfect. We got to talk about the Listener League.
- [04:50]
Andy Holloway
We do have to talk about.
- [04:51]
Jason Moore
Oh, my goodness. First of all, I mean, there's a couple different things we need to say, so the Listener League is coming up soon. We're going to make our final selections here in the next week or two so that we can plan a draft ahead and get the schedules right. First, I'm blown away. I mean, the submissions. Look, you. You Foot Clan out there, you guys are amazing. I pre apologize for everyone that doesn't get in because it's just impossible to take everyone. They're amazing. Second, if you want to submit your entry, what you do over the next week, we'll give you another week to submit your entry. Email us whatever thing you think will woo us will earn you a. Yeah, get creative and send it over to Listener league@fantasy footballers.com. listener league@fantasy footballers.com. or if you're like, I don't have any creativity or it sounds like there's too much competition. We are also giving one away to the official Foot Clan listeners over@jointhefoot.com. so if you are in the giveaway tier, we're pulling that August 5th. August 5th.
- [05:58]
Andy Holloway
August 5th. We will do that giveaway and one spot will be given away to the Listener League guaranteed from that giveaway on August 5th. So, yeah, very good reminders there. There are some incredible entries in there. There's some not so incredible entries in there.
- [06:13]
Jason Moore
A lot. A lot of entries that look like the same from one person to the next.
- [06:18]
Andy Holloway
Yeah. But there are some really, really good ones. And so, yeah, Jason, we're gonna do our best to, you know, you submit us something if, even if you don't get in, know that we're seeing them, we're. We're watching them, appreciating them, and we wish that we could let everybody in, but it's fun. This time of year is very, very fun. We got. All of. All the leagues are getting started, man. I. I have Josh Gordon shut up in our Dynasty league, and now I'm fielding trade offers for him. So I, I think, Let me say this. I think if you own Gordon in that situation, freedom. If people are all about Josh Gordon in your league, if there are one or two that are, like, remembering his number one year, I think you just ship him out.
- [06:57]
Jason Moore
I absolutely. That. That would be my recommendation. You're. You're in a dynasty or even a startup. If or Like a keeper league. I would trade Josh Gordon. I think his value, he is always one misstep away from having zero value at all. And normally right after breaking news hits where you get a little crazy on a guy, you go, oh, oh yeah, he was awesome. He's got that potential for a number one. He's 25 years old. I'm going to go try to get him now.
- [07:25]
Andy Holloway
Yeah. I just don't have the confidence that he will produce. Combined with the history of problems, he's already going to miss some games this year. We don't really know what the Browns think of him right now. Sure, the league might let him play. What did he. He also has a groin injury now.
- [07:41]
Jason Moore
Yeah.
- [07:42]
Andy Holloway
So this isn't helping my case to trade him by saying all those things.
- [07:46]
Jason Moore
I appreciate it.
- [07:46]
Andy Holloway
Quick question of the day. What is one thing that you know to do on draft day, Jason, that you wish you knew when you started playing fantasy football? So what is one experienced draft day tip that you have now that you wish you could tell your older self on draft day? You know, back when you drafted those horrible teams, you know, the Lawrence Moroni's in the first round. Oh wait, that was me.
- [08:10]
Jason Moore
But yeah, actually I've got one that I know I made a change several years back that helped me tremendously and it was really, really simple. And I don't go overboard, don't go crazy with this. Right. I mean, I still like Todd Gurley. You'll see why in a minute. But for the most part, what I do now, especially the first half of the draft, it's pretty much impossible to do the whole draft long. I care a whole lot about players on a winning team, on a good offense and a winning team. I give a very large tiebreaker, if you will, to being on a good team. Those teams, they score more points, which adds more fantasy. The game scripts are more reliable. I just find that over the years I've kind of shifted to where, you know, I don't want the Lone Ranger on a bad team unless he is, you know, that otherworldly talent. You know, Adrian Peterson, for a while the Vikings weren't good and I would still take him, you know, outside of those outliers. I find I skew my teams towards good teams.
- [09:14]
Andy Holloway
Yeah. And that that's something I started doing pretty early in fantasy as well. It turned my early seasons around and learning around. I would say that I'll bring up one that we talk about on the show quite a bit. Just the fact that you can in most formats wait on A quarterback. Now the quarterback is proportionally such an important part of the NFL team, it defines an NFL team that in the context of actually playing the game. And so that can translate to an over importance in fantasy football. But it's a numbers game here. It is a scarcity game here. Early on playing fantasy football as a beginner, when I talk to brand new players, they, the first thing they say to me is, Aaron Rodgers is the first guy. Right. I mean, and they say it like that, sincerely. He's the first guy you draft. He's number one off the board. Well, now it's Cam, but yeah, Cam Newton. It might not be. It might be still.
- [10:05]
Jason Moore
Well, no, I'm saying that that's what's said. Cam is I think my fourth quarterback.
- [10:08]
Andy Holloway
And that's generally what you see if you get in a friends and family league with a bunch of new inexperienced players, just first round is three or four or five quarterbacks off the board. And so as an early player, knowing that I can wait on the big name quarterback because the value is different than what it is for a running back or a wide receiver early in a draft. You need to start more wide, receivers, more running backs in your league and you can get value. Last year, and we should bring this stat up again, I believe there were 40, maybe more.
- [10:38]
Jason Moore
No, it was 40 on the dot.
- [10:39]
Andy Holloway
40 on the dot. There were 40 quarterbacks that put up a top 12 week in 2015.
- [10:45]
Jason Moore
But, but Andy, there, there's only 32 teams in the NFL.
- [10:50]
Andy Holloway
That's what's so incredible about it.
- [10:52]
Jason Moore
More, more top 12 performances by quarterbacks than there are teams.
- [10:57]
Andy Holloway
And so it can be intimidating to let those guys go in the draft. But what it does is it lets you stock up on, on running backs and wide receivers, on values. And then later on you can grab a Philip Rivers who I'm in love with. If you're, you know, Philip Rivers led the league in completions last year.
- [11:13]
Jason Moore
Right.
- [11:13]
Andy Holloway
He was on a team that lost Keenan Allen, that barely had Antonio Gates.
- [11:17]
Jason Moore
Lost their offensive line in its entirety.
- [11:20]
Andy Holloway
And he let you. He's free right now in drafts for the most part. You can get him very late.
- [11:24]
Jason Moore
Tyrod Taylor for me, Matthew Stafford.
- [11:26]
Andy Holloway
And these are all. And we have different values that you'll see in our rankings that, that you can select. So I think just that acknowledgment that you can wait on a quarterback. We saw our listeners have so much success last year streaming quarterbacks and that's what we facilitate that on this show. We go, we go through the numbers each week and tell you which quarterbacks you can sign and start and end up with a good enough performance to combine with the rest of your team.
- [11:52]
Jason Moore
Since Mike's not here, I want to give a third answer to this question.
- [11:55]
Andy Holloway
But also on behalf of him.
- [11:57]
Jason Moore
On behalf of him, but it's to a different question. Is that okay?
- [12:00]
Andy Holloway
It sounds weird, but sure, very weird.
- [12:02]
Jason Moore
It's basically something that has been learned over the years that I think is extremely important for fantasy football players. That is not necessarily what I learned in the draft, but what I learned about the draft, which I've said it before, but I remember years ago, I always thought that I was going to win the championship at my draft. You know, I go back a decade and it was like, I'm going to do all this prep for the draft, I'm going to get ready, and then if I draft the right team, I win the championship. And that is so wrong. And last year, if you were a listener last year, you heard us say over and over, you got to stick through the season. It's more about your waiver moves and your starts and sits, Getting those things right through the season. Make a good trade or two. If you're not the active team making the good transactions from weeks four through 12 of the season, you're not winning a hashtag footclan title.
- [12:54]
Andy Holloway
Yeah. And that. And that's really. They weren't complimentary. You're in season moves in the draft. The draft's that foundation. You, if you have a poor draft, you're starting to try to build that. That team off of the waiver wire on sand.
- [13:05]
Jason Moore
Yeah. You won't win at the draft, but you can sure lose it at the draft.
- [13:08]
Andy Holloway
Right, Right. And so that's a really good reminder. And so before we get into the news and notes, and I'm going to tell you right now, we're going to spend a lot of time on breaking news, on injury news, on up on the pulse of the fantasy football world right now. So you. When this show's over, you're going to know what's going on in a lot of different areas. But before we do that, I want to thank our sponsor, Pristine Auction. We were talking about the jersey that we're hanging up on the wall. That's where we get our jerseys. It's from pristineauction.com one of our very best partners, run by incredible people. They are the absolute best place on the Internet to go get sports memorabilia. Authentic, affordable, hundreds of daily auctions, always improving. One of the things I love about them is there's always something new going on with Pristine Auction. They've got this Ken Stabler collection that's coming out. They have. It's. It's hot. They have amazing new things. Mike is obsessed with going on there. And just, you know, it's really fun to just see what's on there, to lay some low bids on there every once in a while and then you find something you want to compete for. Mike just got a Kurt Warner autographed jersey. Us Arizonans, we, we think so highly of Kurt Warner bringing us to that Super Bowl. So definitely check them out. Pristineauction.com that's P R I S T I N E auction.com make sure when you sign up on there, which is completely free, if you want to go browse the auctions.
- [14:25]
Jason Moore
Just free to bid too. You only pay if you win.
- [14:27]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, yeah. And so make sure you let them know you found Pristine Auction from the fantasy footballers. So are you ready to cover some news?
- [14:34]
Ty Dillon
Let's do this.
- [14:38]
Jason Moore
News and notes from around the league.
- [14:43]
Andy Holloway
Just a reminder too. We have a show that comes out on Saturday this week. So we are three a week right now. We're not two like we were in June. And on Saturday, we're gonna do something a little different. We've been doing a couple mailbag shows.
- [14:53]
Jason Moore
Oh, I like this Saturday show. Coming up, we're doing a mock draft. A two man mock draft.
- [14:58]
Andy Holloway
Man mock draft. Just you and I. Yeah. And so it's gonna be a lot of fun. I think we'll do it in probably a standard format this week. Standard or half point? I guess we can't do. Can we do half?
- [15:08]
Jason Moore
We can't do half on fantasydraftwizard.com yeah, people ask us all the time, hey, where do you do your mock drafts? Fantasydraftwizard.com it's the easiest tool. You can do it in five minutes.
- [15:18]
Andy Holloway
Great. So, okay, so let's get into the news. Let's start with. Oh, man, this is painful to hit.
- [15:28]
Jason Moore
Mediocre signing of the week. Wow.
- [15:33]
Andy Holloway
I feel so, so bad to hit that button with Anquan Bolden signing, but it's the truth. Anquan Bolden has signed with the Detroit Lions. Former cardinal. To say he's mediocre is kind of sad, but I think that's the context we need to approach Anquan Bolden in for fantasy football.
- [15:51]
Jason Moore
Right. And I see a lot of people, oh, this bumps Tate down. This bumps Mario Jones down. No, it doesn't. They needed a third Wide receiver there to kind of step up, fill that role.
- [16:02]
Andy Holloway
And Quan Bolden, a stability wide receiver.
- [16:04]
Jason Moore
Too, and I think a good slot wide receiver. Anquan Bolden's not going to be, you know, running nine routes over and over and lighting fantasy football on fire, but I think this is a good signing for the Lions. A nice stability. I'm not changing any of my rankings. Is that silly?
- [16:20]
Andy Holloway
No, it's not silly. People. I think maybe people want to know, is Anquan Bolden a sleeper in a. In a deeper league? And look, if your league rewards like 10 points for every important first down picked up, I think Bolden will lead the league.
- [16:34]
Jason Moore
There are leagues that reward for first downs, and that is. I agree with you.
- [16:38]
Andy Holloway
He's a go to player on third down, that type of a player. But I'm not adjusting my rankings. I'm not putting Bolden into the fantasy context at all. I think if there was an injury to Marvin Jones or Golden Tate, Bolden becomes relevant.
- [16:53]
Jason Moore
We know he's capable.
- [16:54]
Andy Holloway
He's capable, but he's past the point of being a fantasy force by any means.
- [17:00]
Jason Moore
So, yeah, in a general rule of thumb, when you are signing this late into the season, there's a reason that you were not signed already.
- [17:10]
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
- [17:10]
Jason Moore
I mean, either you're coming off a major injury or you're an old vet. Right. So, you know, when. When someone else signs next week, we will probably give the same news.
- [17:20]
Andy Holloway
Yeah. Yep. So. And you know who it's not going to be? It's not in our news, but there's so much going on. We don't get to say that about Greg Jennings.
- [17:28]
Jason Moore
Greg Jennings. Greg Jennings has retired.
- [17:31]
Andy Holloway
Say goodbye. We don't. He doesn't get to be our mediocre signing this year. All right, LeGarrett Blunt. I want to talk about this. He avoided the Patriots active PUP list to begin camp coming off a hip injury. Jason and I, we look, we talked about the ultimate draft kit. We're trying to put all of our sleepers in there. We're trying to look through all these numbers. We're always updating it. So yesterday we went into the sleepers and we said, okay, are there any of these guys we want to take out? Is there anybody want to put back in there? We're debating legarette Blunt. And then Jason just. He just smacked me in the face with a frying pan of statistics.
- [18:05]
Jason Moore
Ha.
- [18:06]
Andy Holloway
And it hurt.
- [18:07]
Jason Moore
I said, pull. Pull up his last year. Pull up his last year. Because here's the narrative on LeGarrett Blunt. Well, he's. First of all, he's a Patriot running back, so he's unreliable. You have no idea whether he's going to get carries, not get carries. You can't make a good start. Sit decision with LeGarrett blunt.
- [18:20]
Andy Holloway
Sure.
- [18:21]
Jason Moore
Second, you know, he gets a bad rap for just not being good, which I think is not. Not all that true, especially since he's been on the Patriots. You know, then you also have the fact that he's injured. Right. He missed all of the OTAs, except now he's not on the PUP. And the Patriots have put a lot of their other players on the pup. That means he's healthy, he's ready to go for a full training camp. That means that they were kind of just resting in the OTAs. And so here's some of the statistics we were talking about. So he missed the first two games essentially last year for the Patriots, and then with that hip injury, missed the last three games. So five games he was pretty much irrelevant in. And you think, well, you're not getting, you know, you don't know which games he's going to get a lot of carries, which games he's going to get a few carries. But let me read you his carry count from the middle stretch of last year, which is a gigantic stretch. I mean, you're talking about a, what is that, a 12, 13 week stretch. Yes. There was one game against the jets where he only had three carries. If you started him, that stunk. But we're talking about a guy who's pretty much going undrafted. Here's his carry count last year. 18, 13, 16, 17, 29, 19, 16, 9, 13, 13 and 10. So there was a 9 that wasn't double digits. Everything else other than that Jet game was double digits. He scores touchdowns.
- [19:43]
Andy Holloway
He had two games last year with nine red zone carries each. In each game he had a game with seven red zone carries last year.
- [19:49]
Jason Moore
Yeah, Tom Brady's missing the first four games. What kind of a team do you think they're going to, you know, try to start out and be. And I don't bank on that part. That's not really where I'm coming from. I'm coming from the fact that over the last like three, three years, in the games where he has played for the Patriots, I think he averages 0.6 touchdowns a game. That's. That's awesome. That's like what you hope for.
- [20:13]
Andy Holloway
This is the, I think, public awareness campaign for Leguerra Blunt. This is not the propping him up on a Fantasy pedestal campaign.
- [20:19]
Jason Moore
This is saying he's going to be.
- [20:20]
Andy Holloway
An RB one, but this is saying he, look, we made him a sleeper because of where he's being drafted because of these numbers that we're talking about. The player himself, he reminds me of Michael Bush. I mean he, he's just a big plodding chain mover. But you can do that in that offense.
- [20:36]
Jason Moore
Right.
- [20:37]
Andy Holloway
You can be efficient in that offense you're talking about.
- [20:40]
Jason Moore
You know, the quick question of the day. Right. What's one thing we've learned? Well, one thing I've learned is I want players who are on a good team. Right. Well, if I want players on a good team, I'm pretty confident that the Patriots always fit that bill.
- [20:55]
Andy Holloway
Absolutely fit the bill. Because Bill is there.
- [20:58]
Jason Moore
Yeah. And if you want to know where he's going right now and you know he's going around. Carlos Williams, who we'll talk about in the news.
- [21:06]
Andy Holloway
Yes, we will.
- [21:06]
Jason Moore
Rumors he might not make the team.
- [21:08]
Andy Holloway
He'll be there, but yeah, it's not good.
- [21:10]
Jason Moore
Sharkandrick West.
- [21:12]
Andy Holloway
Uh huh. Backup, Straight up backup.
- [21:14]
Jason Moore
Yep. Kenneth Dixon, Chris Johnson, I mean or a guy that last year was double digit carries in all the games he played. Almost.
- [21:22]
Andy Holloway
You talk about touchdowns and tricks for draft day. One of the ones we always bring up is having padding the depth of your running backs at the end of the draft. Look here, look at Blunt fits that bill. Because you can. Absolutely. On a bye week, on a great matchup where you think that they're going to be probably up early and then.
- [21:42]
Jason Moore
Killing the clock on an injury, your running back goes down, who's your backup? I mean if you're on Lewis is.
- [21:48]
Andy Holloway
Coming back from injury too.
- [21:49]
Jason Moore
You know, if you drafted Kenneth Dixon, which is a worthy draft pick there, who's in the same area, Kenneth Dixon, maybe he's a better pick. But if in week four your running back goes down and Kenneth Dixon still the backup.
- [21:59]
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
- [21:59]
Jason Moore
I'd much Rather plug in LeGarrett Blunt and get fantasy points.
- [22:02]
Andy Holloway
So I think people need to be aware of him for later in drafts because his value is ridiculous right now. Jordy Nelson. Let's talk about Jordy. This news came out, he suffered a quote hiccup on his non ACL knee. ESPN reported that it was tendonitis, not necessarily viewed as serious. What is the context for this injury? Because when you first, when you hear Jordy Nelson has a hiccup you think well that's in the knee that he was injured. He had the torn acl. That's not the case. How does something like this happen to the other knee?
- [22:35]
Jason Moore
Well, you overcompensate in rehab. That's what happens. We see it all the time. One injury can lead to other injuries in other parts of the body. Because now you're not using the knee that was reconstructed. You're not using that as much. Your brain knows, like, hey, take it easy on that leg. Don't cut off of that knee. Don't do those things. And so you end up using your body a little differently than you're used to. You've also got the age problem here. Right. He's older. Maybe there's a.
- [23:01]
Andy Holloway
Recovery's a little bit more difficult.
- [23:02]
Jason Moore
Right. Maybe there's a worry of, you know, bodies breaking down.
- [23:06]
Andy Holloway
The reality, he's going very, very high right now. Yeah, he's a top of the second round pick.
- [23:11]
Jason Moore
Well, this news is the type of news that will push him the end of the second round. I think without a doubt, he's over.
- [23:18]
Andy Holloway
Alan Robinson right now. He's over Keenan Allen. Alshon Jeffrey, Mike Evans, Amari Cooper.
- [23:22]
Jason Moore
He will fall. But I here's the deal. If I'm on the clock and I have to draft those guys, I'm taking Jordy over Keenan Allen, personally, I believe.
- [23:32]
Andy Holloway
Not over Allen Robinson, though. Would you?
- [23:34]
Jason Moore
No, I don't think I would do it over Allen Robinson, but Jordy is very high in my rankings. His work ethic is, is phenomenal. That's part of the reason that Jordy Nelson has been great for years. And when you are a great work ethic guy, you work through things like tendonitis, you work, recover past the acl. The reports coming out about Aaron Rodgers, his health, his eating, the fire that he is bringing into this season, man, if Jordy is actually injured, if he can't recover from this, you know, Mrs. Games, I'm going to be so sad because I want to see the packers on fire with, with Aaron Rodgers coming in with a chip on his shoulder from last year, saying, you know, crown me with my belt.
- [24:17]
Andy Holloway
Well, you can kind of see it's exciting in fantasy football when you can see where a team could be. You know, there was news that Eddie Lacy came In essentially, what, 20 pounds under, where he was at last year.
- [24:28]
Jason Moore
So he was about 40 pounds overweight still, right?
- [24:31]
Andy Holloway
No, I mean, what did I say Last year he came in at 260, which is like 29 pounds over his drafted weight, which is crazy. But he's down 15, 20 pounds if that news is correct. That's great news for that Offense, just like you said this. That being said, it, you know, it's not a guarantee at this point in time that Nelson is in there for week one. We need to monitor the Jordy Nelson situation. You probably haven't drafted yet so you get the opportunity to do that. So essentially that's the news on Jordy Nelson. Keep your eye on it. I don't know if it makes you splits the difference between a couple guys you have similarly ranked. Maybe you stay away from the guy with a little bit of question marks with the injury.
- [25:11]
Jason Moore
Yeah, I get that. Before we, before we go on to the next piece of news, which is Josh Gordon, which is Josh Gordon again, we want to tell you about our other sponsor today. Awesome service. That service is ZipRecruiter. You've heard me talk about it before. I used to own a video game company. That's where Andy and I met. I've hired many, many, many people. If you are out there and you're in a position where you are hiring, it is so silly to not use good tools. ZipRecruiter is the tool you want to use right now. Basically you post your job in one place and you're going to find all the quality candidates. It goes out to all the different job sites. It goes out and does your social media, your Facebook, your Twitter, all with a single click. Plus you actually funnel it back in. You don't have to worry about your emails and bogging down your secretary and all of that. There's a place where you go to screen candidates quickly, you rate them, you hire them, you get the right person fast. It's been used by over 800,000 companies. Okay? So we're not sitting here saying, hey, use this brand new tool that we think is great. This is the place you want to post. And the great part about it is because you listen to this show, you get to do it for free. Try it out. You go to ziprecruiter.com sportsfan right now. You can try it for free by going to ZipRecruiter.com sports fan one more time. Try it for free. Go to ziprecruiter.com sportsfan alright, let's talk about Josh Gordon.
- [26:37]
Andy Holloway
There's some news that came out. He's going to miss a couple weeks, got hurt working out on his own. He's been reinstated. But what is the real, what I want to talk about is I got a lot of flack on Twitter because of the fact that people are like, well, how in the world are you drafting, you know, these different players ahead of Josh Gordon. Right now, I think I have him, you know, as a. I think I'd say take him in the fifth or sixth round. Gordon, I think, gets eased back into this offense after he returns from the suspension. I don't think he's going to hit the ground. And you know, a guy that's missed, I think it's 27 of his last 32 games. 27 of his last 32 games. Jason pointed out on the last show he wasn't good at the end of 2014. We don't know what was going on there. It's been a long time. I don't think you draft. I think you draft him knowing he has the capability of being an elite wide receiver, but not with the expectation that that's what you're getting in week five of the fantasy football season. Do you agree or do you disagree or where do you stand on Gordon?
- [27:39]
Jason Moore
I completely agree. I'm further down on Gordon than I think most analysts will be. The reason is because, look, when you're out of football for almost three years, that makes a difference. I mean, you see right now, he comes back and starts, you know, gets out there and immediately he gets injured. He's out for a couple of weeks right now for an injury because his body is not in game shape. It's impossible taking three years off to be an NFL game shape where you've been spending week in, week out, you know, training with a team and with trainers and all of that. So there's going to be some time to get back. And then you add in the fact we're talking about RG3 throwing the ball and possibly, probably, maybe others during the season. So it's not really the best situation to go to. You have the number one pick in Corey Coleman. That wasn't. I mean, when Josh Gordon had his huge year, there was no one across from. You have Gary Barnage. So now he's one of three options on a team that wants to run the ball, that doesn't have the best quarterback to give him the ball. Although I will admit I kind of like the Baylor connection, right? RG and Josh Gordon played together back in college. So there is upside and that's what I like. That's why if I'm sitting in the seventh or eighth round and Josh Gordon still there, I'm willing to take him because he does have that upside. But I don't.
- [28:57]
Andy Holloway
That's late, though.
- [28:58]
Jason Moore
Well, I'm taking. I'll tell you right now, I'm taking John Brown over Josh Gordon 100 out of 100 times and he's going in the seventh round. So I'm not taking Josh Gordon in the sixth round because there are people I like better than Josh Gordon. And you can't forget about the four missed games because, look, we've said this before, but you cannot make, you cannot win the title if you don't make the playoffs. Step one is always make the playoffs. People put the championship ahead of the playoffs. And I think that that's a mistake. And if you're missing four games with, you know, if that's, say your third wide receiver drafted or your second wide receiver drafted, you're going to have a hard four games and you're going to be scraping and clawing to get back. And you do all of that for the hope that when you make the playoffs, Josh Gordon is the 2013 version of Josh Gordon. He could be. I'm willing to take him. I would like to have him stashed as my wide receiver four. But I'm not, I'm not drafting him ahead of that, personally.
- [29:57]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I think that's really good perspective. Let's talk about another sleeper we just added to the ultimate draft kit. Wide receiver Philip Dorsett.
- [30:04]
Jason Moore
Oh, yeah.
- [30:05]
Andy Holloway
Of the Indianapolis Colts. Andrew Luck got paid this offseason. You've got Dante Moncrief and you have Ty Hilton in Indianapolis. Dorset was a high investment for this, for this GM and the leadership of the Colts. They drafted him very high, didn't have a big impact, got hurt year one.
- [30:25]
Jason Moore
Yeah, he was a much maligned draft pick because they needed so much help on the offensive line. The last thing they needed was a wide receiver and they go out and draft a wide receiver. So he's gotten a lot of bad flack and if you look at his rookie year, pretty much doesn't exist. I don't think he had. I think the last game of the season was the first game where he had more than two targets in a game. So, I mean, it's pretty much completely irrelevant. But you look at the changes in the team, right. Once again, you want to play around a good team. And when I say a good team, what I really mean is a good offense.
- [30:56]
Andy Holloway
Yes.
- [30:57]
Jason Moore
I don't necessarily need a good team. I just need a high power offense.
- [31:00]
Andy Holloway
Jacksonville.
- [31:01]
Jason Moore
Exactly. So the Colts, with Andrew Luck in tow, they fit that bill. You heard me say a couple of weeks ago, drafted the Indianapolis Colts. I think the value of Dwayne Allen, the value of Ty Hilton, the value of Dante Moncrief, the value of Philip Dorsett and even Andrew Luck, they're all just a little undervalued. In the case of Philip Dorsett, extremely undervalued.
- [31:21]
Andy Holloway
Is he like 13th, 14th round right now? I mean, basically undrafted in normal leagues.
- [31:25]
Jason Moore
Philip Dorset, unless you're in a dynasty league, he's the 174th player off the board in the 13th round, going right next to guys like Ted Ginn and Devonte Adams. Ted Ginn, you know, with Kelvin Benjamin back this last year, Ted Ginn's entire season last year relied on super deep bomb touchdowns. That is, you know, those. Those are as unreliable year to year as you can get.
- [31:50]
Andy Holloway
He's probably undervalued, though.
- [31:51]
Jason Moore
You think Ted Ginn is undervalued in the 14th round?
- [31:54]
Andy Holloway
I think Ted Ginn's undervalued, sure.
- [31:56]
Jason Moore
Yeah. I mean, maybe if you.
- [31:57]
Andy Holloway
I would take Dorsett over him, don't get me wrong. I would take Dorsett over again because I like the upside. Look, the other piece of this puzzle, I don't know if you were going to get to it. The offense no longer has Kobe Fleener.
- [32:09]
Jason Moore
It's a huge piece.
- [32:10]
Andy Holloway
And they've committed themselves to a three wide receiver base formation. That's the news that's coming out. You're not. You don't have Dwayne Allen and Kobe Fleen on the field with Moncrief and Hilton. You don't. You have a three wide receiver set that we're going to see more of. And there's no. Look, I know you guys love Moncrief. Fair, fair. I know you do. And I love Hilton. But there's no reason Dorsett cannot hypothetically compete with Moncrief on very similar numbers to Moncrief, in my opinion.
- [32:39]
Jason Moore
So what are we saying here? Let's say all three guys are healthy, right?
- [32:42]
Andy Holloway
Because they are right now.
- [32:44]
Jason Moore
No, I'm saying the whole year.
- [32:46]
Andy Holloway
Okay.
- [32:46]
Jason Moore
I'm saying they play 16 games, all three. And I do agree, the biggest piece of this news that you just covered is the fact that they're going to a three wide receiver base set, essentially. That was very different than what they did last year with their two tight ends. That means all three are playing. What's the ceiling then, for a guy like Dorsett? Because he is the third wide receiver on his team. The third option, the ceiling, the ceiling.
- [33:10]
Andy Holloway
Four door set is, I don't know, probably like John Brown. Light.
- [33:18]
Jason Moore
Yeah, I would say John Brown. Very light.
- [33:20]
Andy Holloway
Very. Yeah, you'd say very light.
- [33:21]
Jason Moore
Maybe.
- [33:21]
Andy Holloway
Maybe like Travis Benjamin from last year.
- [33:24]
Jason Moore
Yeah. Maybe Benjamin was like the only show in town.
- [33:28]
Andy Holloway
I understand that he was, but I mean, from a statistical standpoint, I think Dorset could get to that point. I'm telling you, I think he could compete with Moncrie for, for fantasy numbers by midseason.
- [33:36]
Jason Moore
He, I mean, he's a first round talent in the NFL. He's good, he's on a high powered team. The reality is you draft him with the hope that he has this breakout year and should Ty Hilton or Dante Moncrief go down. And keep in mind, Dante Moncrief is right now coming back off of injury. Everything looks good. You know, I think it was a turf toe and all the reports are good. But should that re aggravate which turf toes are known to do well, now you've got the number two wide receiver. The Indianapolis Colts catching passes from Andrew luck with the 174th pick in your draft is pretty good.
- [34:08]
Andy Holloway
All right. Chiefs have placed Jamal Charles on the active PUP list. Not unexpected. Andy Reid kind of hinted at this last month. Talked about the fact that, you know, he didn't know if he would be cleared for the start of camp. We saw some workout videos with Charles. I'm very, very high on Charles. You talk about a work ethic of Jordy Nelson. Jamal Charles has one of the best in the game. He's never let us down, despite injury. I think he'll be back and I think he'll be used very carefully. But importantly, I think he will be on the field for the important downs. I don't think he'll be overworked. I think you'll see Spencer Ware, Char west, but I love Charles. Charles has never needed 350, 400 touches to be efficient and be a fantasy force. He's, he's always needed a few and then he makes big plays, especially in the passing game.
- [34:57]
Jason Moore
Yeah, you know, I agree. The problem that I have right now is that the entire fantasy football community agrees. You know, a guy coming off of an ACL who is Jamal Charles excites me because usually in years past, you know, you're going to get crazy value for where he's being drafted right now. You know, he's being drafted the very top of the second round, which is about where I think he belongs, I would hope. And hopefully him going on the PUP kind of lowers his value, I would say. Tell your friends, tell your family that.
- [35:27]
Andy Holloway
Tell your friends family, yes.
- [35:29]
Jason Moore
That he's heavily injured, that he, that he is not going to be able to play in training camp because he's so injured.
- [35:36]
Andy Holloway
Yeah. Wait, hold on. Let's. Let's. If you want to give them a real quick clip to give their. Their friends and family, let's just give them a pretend news. Sure.
- [35:45]
Jason Moore
Yeah. Yeah. You could take this.
- [35:46]
Andy Holloway
Ready? Ready.
- [35:49]
Jason Moore
Look, I've said it all year. Jamal Charles is not going to be able to come back from injury. It's impossible at his age. He's over 30, which is the cliff for running backs. And now you start going into training camp. Guess where Jamal Charles is. Oh, that's right, the sidelines.
- [36:06]
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
- [36:06]
Jason Moore
He's not active. He's on the pup.
- [36:08]
Andy Holloway
This is your expert, expert opinion.
- [36:10]
Jason Moore
Expert opinion. So I'm hitting the red button. Avoid Jamal Charles. Do not draft Jamal Charles.
- [36:17]
Andy Holloway
All right, Doctor.
- [36:19]
Jason Moore
Okay. Yeah, we're going to cut that. And you give that to your friends and family so we can lower his value. Yeah, because I don't. I don't believe any of that.
- [36:25]
Andy Holloway
They think you're a doctor now, too.
- [36:27]
Jason Moore
Oh, I am a doctor. Not a doctor.
- [36:30]
Andy Holloway
Not a doctor. All right, let's talk about Brandon Marshall reporting to jets training camp 224 pounds. Jason brought up the fact he is. He saw this clip of him running on the treadmill at 24 miles an hour. Yeah, but reporting 10 pounds lighter is great. They want Marshall to be able to stretch the field. And look, he played. He's. If he's playing lighter, he'll be able to do that. He's in top shape. He's got the drive. Ryan Fitzpatrick, please come back. Now. There are reports they're not talking. Yeah, I mean, talk about just. This is one of those situations that is going to dominate the news of the fantasy offseason. And then he's going to sign and we're all going to forget about it.
- [37:12]
Jason Moore
Yeah, and I hope we agree to disagree on that.
- [37:15]
Andy Holloway
That he'll sign.
- [37:16]
Jason Moore
Yeah, that he'll sign. Yesterday started their training camp. They were a training camp on Wednesday for the jets and Ryan Fitzpatrick was not there.
- [37:25]
Andy Holloway
So you now officially don't believe he's going to sign with them?
- [37:28]
Jason Moore
No, but I think it's 50. 50?
- [37:29]
Andy Holloway
Oh, you've reduced. I'm still 85. 15.
- [37:33]
Jason Moore
Yeah. You're still 85% that you think fits? I mean, I have reduced to the point of being 50. 50. I still think. I mean, it makes all the sense in the world for him to be there for them to give him the offer. They have the money. They can very easily convert some of their cap room without trouble. So they have the money to give him.
- [37:53]
Andy Holloway
I just Very high on Marshall on the last show we did on Tuesday. He was my favorite pick from the current third round ADP right now. Go get him. Go get him. That's what I'm telling you.
- [38:03]
Jason Moore
32 years old is not that old for a wide receiver of his caliber. Look, you know, you think about the guys that are true beasts for 7, 8, 9, 10 years, you know you're Steve Smith's. Steve Smith was putting up monster numbers at 36, at 35, 34.
- [38:20]
Andy Holloway
You want me to bet my house on which double digit wide receiver has a chance to keep doing it? How about Brandon Marshall? Don't give me that. Over Allen Robinson.
- [38:27]
Jason Moore
Double digit. You mean over double digit touchdowns?
- [38:30]
Andy Holloway
I'm just saying like those are those numbers you say they're hard to predict year to year. Just give me Brandon Marshall. He's a monster. They throw it to him in the red zone. Look, we're good. I've got more news. We got to get through a few more blurbs of news. We're going to play this and that with a special guest here in just a minute. Is there a piece of news here you want to get out before we move on to the game? Because there is a report from the Miami Herald saying Foster, Arian Foster is the favorite to start over. Jay Ajayi. As long as Foster is completely healthy. I know Mike's on the Ajayi train. That's interesting. We need to monitor that.
- [39:02]
Jason Moore
I think we should talk about that next episode when we've got a little bit more information. I still. Look, I'm not going to invest heavily in Foster who has the world record for injuries. You know, we just talked about Jordy. When you come back from one injury, it leads to another. He's coming back from a heart injury. He's leading to it. So I'm not trusting Arian Foster this year, period.
- [39:22]
Andy Holloway
We added Dorio Green Beckham to our bus potential list because of where he's being drafted in the thought process on Dorio Green Beckham, there's a report that Andre Johnson is working out for the Titans right now. They signed Rashard Matthews. They have other pieces in the fold there. Kendall Wrights looked really good in camp. I just think, man, I mean for that offense and the amount of passing they do, Doriel Green Beckham belongs in that stay away category.
- [39:43]
Jason Moore
Agreed.
- [39:44]
Ty Dillon
All right.
- [39:45]
Andy Holloway
Is there anything else you want to see? You want to talk about? Are we bringing a good friend? All right, let's play a game.
- [39:54]
Jason Moore
I want to play the game.
- [39:59]
Andy Holloway
All right. We like Playing games here on the fantasy footballers podcast. Today, we're going to play a game of this or that. This is something we played with Brandon Marion Lee from Pro Football Focus. Now, Mike is not here, Jason. Mike is not here, in case you didn't know.
- [40:14]
Jason Moore
It's a great day.
- [40:15]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, it's a great day. Mike's not here. But look, if we play a game of this or that and you and I have some sort of disagreement, we.
- [40:23]
Jason Moore
Have to have a tiebreaker.
- [40:24]
Andy Holloway
There's no one to tie and the most natural fit to bring onto the show is a professional stock car racer, NASCAR driver Ty Dillon is here.
- [40:35]
Jason Moore
What?
- [40:36]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, Ty Dillon, also a fantasy football junkie. How you doing, Ty?
- [40:40]
Ty Dillon
I'm doing great, man. It's cool to be on the show and glad I could be the tiebreaker. I think it's a fitting name.
- [40:47]
Andy Holloway
Well, it's very important. You know, we need. We need some decisions to be made here on the show, so we want to go through.
- [40:53]
Jason Moore
This is really your audition. We're actively looking to replace.
- [40:56]
Andy Holloway
Yes. Yeah, you're the first one. Send your resume along. Mike. Mike. We can get him out of here by the end of the week, but yeah, let's. Let's go through. We picked basically five head to head matchups here for a game of this or that, guys that are really close in our consensus rankings as a show. And I want to get your take on who you would take in fantasy drafts as of today. Now, I want to start here because I know you're a Carolina guy. I want to start with Cam Newton versus Russell Wilson. I'm a Russell Wilson guy this year and so I'm going to put your fandom to the test. Not that I blame you for choosing Cam, but where do you stand on the Cam Newton vs Russell Wilson for the upcoming season?
- [41:39]
Ty Dillon
That's tough. I'm a bit of a homer. I'm a huge Panthers fan, so I love Cam Newton. He's probably my favorite player, but my wife is from Seattle, so I am a Seahawks. I do watch all their games, so that's going to be a tough one. I think Cam's actually got the better wide receiver core that has more potential and I think he's definitely got the higher ceiling this year going in the year. Only thing that worries me is with Kelvin Benjamin coming back last year, his best attribute was that he was spreading the ball around and getting everybody involved and just made their passing game so much stronger and opened up the field for him to run. When he gets Kelvin back, I hope that he doesn't just zone in on him. I think Devin Funches has gotten a lot better. I think they have potential to be one of the best passing offenses this year because they finally have some receivers that can make something happen. And then on the Russell Wilson side, you don't know. We don't know how long Jimmy Graham's going to be out. He might start the season, he might miss a couple games and he wasn't really a factor last year. And I don't know if anybody really knows if Doug Baldwin was for real. I know I like Tyler Lockett and they've brought some pieces in through the draft and to help their offense, but Russell Wilson is going to have a lot of work on his shoulders just to maintain that. You know, those fantasy points that he puts up weekly. But I think he can, he can probably get it done. But I do like the ceiling for Cam seems to be a lot higher.
- [43:04]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I like that take. Jason, what do you think?
- [43:06]
Jason Moore
Yeah, no, I'm glad that you went Cam here because it gives some good perspective. I as well would go Russell Wilson. I think that what we saw after Jimmy Graham went down was the new offense where they're putting it in his hands and I think he is the better quarterback. Cam had, you know, crazy career highs across the board. Now obviously that's, that's great he took a step forward, but it's also a sign we've seen with a lot of quarterbacks where they take that huge step forward in the next year. It takes them a couple years to get back to that level. Both are great, but I would probably.
- [43:38]
Andy Holloway
Go Russell Wilson, they're definitely neck and neck. Let me ask you piggyback on that real quick. You mentioned Kelvin Benjamin coming back from a fantasy perspective. What do you think he does this year compared to his rookie year?
- [43:50]
Ty Dillon
Well, I know going into last year the hype was huge and he seemed like he lost some weight going into the second season and he was really dominating training camp, which you get a lot of those stories coming through training camp, but they really liked what they saw from him. And then he tore his ACL and it was a non contact play. So that kind of scared you a little bit. I feel like he'll get off to a little bit of a slow start, just being a little bit rusty. Hopefully he gets it all back through training camp. But I think he's got potential to be a top 10 receiver this year for sure. I think Cam is going to be hungry. He's kind of one of those guys that loves to prove doubters wrong. And he's got plenty of those. So coming off a Super bowl loss, this team doesn't have hardly any turnover and all they've done is added a few pieces. I think they're going to be just as strong and probably one of the best offenses. And I definitely like to target the best offenses when I'm drafting.
- [44:39]
Andy Holloway
Yeah. And I think you're probably in the majority with Cam over Russell. I think we're a little bit contrarian on that, but they're pretty neck and neck here in our rankings. That's why we're bringing them up. So let me move on to the running back battle. Devonta Freeman burst onto the scene. He put up unsustainable numbers in those first 10 games, but they were incredible kind of fantasy defining numbers for a lot of owners. Fantasy owners. Devonta Freeman or Eddie Lacy in 2016?
- [45:08]
Ty Dillon
Oh, that's a. That's a tough one. Devonta Freeman had some of that points in the season. Last year he was looked like a superstar, probably the best running back in the league. And then at the end he kind of tailed off. Don't know if he was getting worn down or what. Seems like the Falcons, the way they run their offense, they really, when they have somebody hitting, they really just give them the ball like Julio Jones. They seem like at the beginning of the season, the last couple years, he was just on fire catching all kinds of balls, all kinds of touchdowns, and he kind of tapers off. And they went to Devonta and he was getting the ball a lot and he got a lot of production. Then he kind of tapered off. So you kind of worry about them wearing out their stars because they don't really have too many on that offense, especially now. I think they just released Devin Hester. They don't have Roddy White. They don't have those guys that have been been there for a while. And then you look at Eddie Lacy, the guy who has so much potential but doesn't seem to really care about, you know, helping anybody's fantasy teams. But I guess he has reports that he's lost weight, which seems to be the off season story with him every year. Is he gaining weight or losing weight? I think when they get Jordy Nelson back, if they can get that passing game going again, I think Eddie Lacey's production from his rookie year comes back this year. So I think I like Eddie Lacey. He's got another year under his belt and I think he's going to be a little more focused in this year.
- [46:28]
Jason Moore
Yeah, I'M going to stick with Ty on this one. I'm definitely going Eddie money. I think that when you look at who's behind both players, James Starks does not present a threat. He had the opportunity last year and he did nothing with it. Tevin Coleman I think actually does present a threat there for Devonta Freeman. So they're close in our rankings but I would rather have Eddie Lacy. I'm more sure that he's going to be good than Devonta Freeman, which is weird since last year Devonta Freeman finished number one and Eddie Lacy had a had a regression year. But I believe in Eddie money this year.
- [47:01]
Andy Holloway
Yeah and I'm going to go ahead and cheat and choose both guys.
- [47:08]
Jason Moore
Oh come on.
- [47:09]
Andy Holloway
No Eddie. I'll take Eddie Lacy in a standard format but I'll stick with Devonta Freeman. I think you're right about, you know, Hester and you know Roddy White's gone, Mohammed Sanu's in there but they do seem to ride their hors a little bit and I think he'll just be involved in the passing game. Tevin Coleman, he could steal some first and second down work but I like, I like Lacy for standard leagues and Freeman for half point and full point PPR leagues. But okay, let's give you another tough one here. PPR running back type of guys. Duke Johnson or Dion Lewis kind of the opposite franchises here but two guys that are very talented up and coming players. What do you think about these two?
- [47:52]
Ty Dillon
I like Deion Lewis just because he has Tom Brady and Tom Brady's shown that if he has a pass catching running back he will throw to him. He is coming off an injury. Hopefully he gets back in the mix again and gets back to the player he was and I think if he can make it a full season he'll be a top running back option especially in PPR league. The only thing I don't like about Duke Johnson is there's a lot of hype coming out of college and all they talk about is in the Browns is how talented he is but he had opportunities last year and didn't really do anything with them. There was games where he was, they said that he was going to be the number one back and he was going to get the work and all he needed was more workload but when he got it he didn't really do much so he could progress this offseason and hopefully learn the game a little bit better. And they say he's got potential but right now I'm going with a guy who proved it on the field. And that's Deon Lewis.
- [48:43]
Jason Moore
Yeah, I'm really impressed, Ty, but you got to stop stealing my guys. I am also going Deion Lewis. The reason I would go Deion Lewis is because I think both guys have potential to actually be very good, especially in the passing game. I would prefer to have the higher power offense. And most questions that come up with me on Dion Lewis. I end up not taking Deion because I was so afraid of his body style and his injury history of whether or not he can do that for 16 games. But the reality is Duke Johnson is a. Is a smaller guy who had a crazy injury history in college. Just kind of every game a little nicked up, missing chunks of games if he didn't miss the whole game. So if I've got to choose between those guys, I'm going with Tom Brady is my choice. And that. That leads me to Dion Lewis, that.
- [49:30]
Andy Holloway
It'S a clean sweep on this one. All right, I agree with that. I agree with that. Dion Lewis, the offense, I'd rather have a piece of that.
- [49:37]
Jason Moore
And you're high on. On Duke Johnson, so that means I must be like, yeah, sky high on Dion.
- [49:42]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, I like Dion. Again, he has to stay healthy like you said. So. All right, let's. Let's move on here to a couple of wide receivers. Demarius Thomas, Sammy Watkins. Demarius Thomas and Sammy Watkins. I know Jason is very high on Sammy Watkins in this studio. What's your take between these two guys?
- [50:04]
Ty Dillon
I think that, you know, I think Demaryius Thomas has the talent. I think he's a better talent in the sport, but I think, you know, Sammy Watkins has more continuity in the offense and on that team if he stays healthy. Just like Deion Lewis, I think he puts up bigger numbers than demarius this year because who is throwing Demarius the ball? I don't think we know it's a mess in Denver. I think they're going to regress. They're going to have a great, great defense. They're going to be in games, but I don't see them putting up big numbers. I think he had a way better shot of putting up numbers with Peyton, and he really wasn't outstanding last year, so. And I think they regress for sure at quarterback. So I like demarius as a player, but I like him with a better quarterback.
- [50:46]
Jason Moore
Yeah. I think the question isn't so much who's throwing Demarious Thomas the ball, it's who isn't going to be throwing demarius Thomas the ball this year. All the quarterbacks will be involved there for the. For the Broncos.
- [50:57]
Andy Holloway
I saw Simeon and Sanchez in a neck and neck battle today.
- [51:01]
Jason Moore
Yeah. And yet they want Paxton lynch to start this year as well. So we'll see. You know, when I come to this choice, I have Sammy Watkins ranked higher in my rankings. But depending on who I took in the first, I could see going either way on these guys because what I see in them, this is like we talk about this, you know, it's not just flat your rankings, it's the team makeup or who's later or what you're trying to do. Because the way I see this is the ceiling is higher for Watkins, in my opinion. I don't think the Denver Broncos offense is going to be able to get Demarious Thomas, the touchdowns, the red zone opportunities. Whereas Sammy Watkins doesn't need to be in the red zone to score his touchdowns. He'll just get long bombs from outside. And so if I want a boom guy, I'm going to go here with Watkins, but if I want consistency, I want a guy who's going to. I know, is going to get 10 targets a game, you know, around there. Then I think you have to go to Mary's Thomas. If. If I was on the clock, had to make my decision, I would take Sammy Watkins.
- [52:03]
Andy Holloway
Yeah. And I. I agree with that take. I think that it's a. It's a matter of your team makeup. I feel like I want to draft Sammy Watkins in all situations between these two, for the upside, for the youth, for what could happen if Tyra Taylor's healthy for the entire season. But I feel like Demaryius Thomas is that guy who, you know, Ty said it last year. He didn't seem to have a very good season, but it was really just a matter of the touchdowns. When you look up at the end of the game, no matter how Peyton Manning performed most often, demarius gave you this baseline that was very comfortable for your roster. And so if his ADP is dropping because of the quarterback situation, I think. I think he's the better pick, but I think Watkins is the one. I'd be more excited.
- [52:44]
Jason Moore
Yeah, it is.
- [52:45]
Andy Holloway
To take.
- [52:45]
Jason Moore
It is funny, the fact that, you know, demarius Thomas, we look back at last year and we go, oh, man, he had such a terrible year. He was the 13th best wide receiver in the league. So it wasn't that bad.
- [52:57]
Ty Dillon
Yeah, yeah, definitely. I think it's. I think it's definitely dependent on what kind of league you're In I think if you're in a standard league, I think I'm going to go with Sammy Watkins with with the possibility of catching some big long touchdowns. I think he's going to have more touchdowns this year if he stays healthy. Demarius is going to get those catches. He's going to get his 10 or 11 catches a game even if it's little five yard dink and dunk passes on short quick cut routes. But I don't see the touchdown being there. I think they're going to try and pound the rock inside the red zone. That's their only hope is DJ Anderson, do you?
- [53:28]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, yeah. I saw a report this morning, you know, talking about Kubiak finally getting to put into place his running back centric offense. Talked about Arian Foster three years with Kubiak over 1500 total yards. Justin for set in his one year with Kubiak was right around the 1500 total yard mark which and you can.
- [53:46]
Jason Moore
Go back before Arian Foster. Kubiak did it long before Foster with plenty of other running backs.
- [53:51]
Andy Holloway
So let me ask you this Ty. Do you have a preferred league format or what leagues do you play in?
- [53:58]
Ty Dillon
Most leagues I've played in are standard league. I did finish second last year in the series X Men celebrity league and it was a ppo. So I'm up for anything. I like being in different leagues. I haven't done an auction draft yet. I'm wanting to get in the league, a challenging, tough league that's an auction draft. I haven't really ventured into that. Usually just do the standard draft process of the Snake and I have a couple family leagues that are 16 teamers that are probably my most competitive ones and I usually play in four to five a year.
- [54:30]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, yeah, I was going to ask you that too. Who'd you lose to in the final for the series XM league.
- [54:36]
Ty Dillon
I lost to Pilar last year. She beat us all. I think my highlight though is I was able to beat John Hansen the Guru a couple times.
- [54:44]
Andy Holloway
That's nice.
- [54:45]
Ty Dillon
Yeah, I had a tough team and just the last week I didn't have enough to take her down. She had a pretty tough team too. I thought I had it going into it and her team kind of pulled the upset.
- [54:57]
Andy Holloway
Now let me ask you this. Are you the exception or the rule among the NASCAR drivers with your passion for other fantasy sports?
- [55:06]
Ty Dillon
I think I'm the maybe the exception. I think a lot of drivers are kind of just honed into our sport. And don't get me wrong, I love our sport, and I have a deep passion for it and the history of our sport and what I do. But I've always been involved in other sports and I've always had a passion. I've always watched other sports, and I love football. I thought that's what I was going to do first, is be a football player. And so I've always carried that love of football and baseball and all sports. Stay pretty in tune to what's going on.
- [55:36]
Jason Moore
Well, time to be a leader in the new rule set and spread the fantasy football around. Nascar.
- [55:42]
Andy Holloway
Yeah, absolutely. So we want to thank you very much for joining us on the show today, Ty. When I get my NASCAR league going up, we'll draft you number one. How's that?
- [55:52]
Jason Moore
Definitely.
- [55:53]
Ty Dillon
That's awesome. I appreciate it.
- [55:55]
Andy Holloway
All right, so thanks again for joining us on the show, Ty. You certainly filled in for Mike admirably. Probably much better than he would have. Much better. So thanks a lot.
- [56:06]
Ty Dillon
Awesome. Thanks for having me on, guys.
- [56:08]
Andy Holloway
All right. That was a lot of fun. Special guest Ty Dillon on the show. He knew his stuff.
- [56:12]
Jason Moore
Yeah. I was very impressed. He knows far more about fantasy football than I know about nascar.
- [56:17]
Andy Holloway
Oh, I thought you were going to say then Mike Wright knows about fantasy football. So that is it for today's show. Make sure you stay tuned for the show after the show. Like I said Saturday, we got a mock draft show coming up. Check out the ultimate draft kit atultimatedraftkit.com I think our show after the show, we're gonna rank some breakfast food. So there's really nothing better to do than that. So thank you very much for tuning in and we will catch you on Saturday. Mike will be back next week.
- [56:41]
Jason Moore
Yeah. And visit our good friend, sponsor of the studio, fantasy jocks. If you need championship belts, rings, you probably do. Draft board.
- [56:50]
Andy Holloway
Yeah.
- [56:54]
Jason Moore
Thank you for listening to another episode of the fantasy football ballers podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on Twitter at the ffballers.