Fantasy Football Podcast 2016 - Debate of the Week, #FootClan Questions, News

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary

Episode: Debate of the Week, #FootClan Questions, News
Release Date: August 18, 2016
Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright

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1. Introduction

The episode begins with Mike Wright and Andy Holloway promoting their Ultimate Draft Kit available at ultimate draftkit.com. They highlight features such as tier breakdowns, printable cheat sheets, sortable rankings, ADP lists, auction values, and over 100 player profile videos, emphasizing its utility for dominating fantasy football drafts.

Abdullah, a running back from the Detroit Lions, briefly joins to acknowledge his presence and support for the podcast.

Notable Quote:
Andy Holloway (00:00): “Are you getting ready for your fantasy football draft? I know you are. I'm doing the very same thing.”

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2. Hosts Introduce the Episode

Jason Moore is absent due to illness, leading to a light-hearted exchange comparing his humor to comedian Jim Gaffigan's, particularly Jason’s jokes about pastries.

Notable Quote:
Andy Holloway (01:10): “There are some similarities between Jason Moore and Jim Gaffigan because many of the jokes he makes are the jokes that Jason makes.”

The hosts announce a special episode featuring a "Debate of the Week," addressing a divisive player discussion, answering listener questions from the Foot Clan community, and sharing the latest fantasy football news.

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3. Debate of the Week: Is C.J. Anderson a Top 12 Running Back in 2016?

Mike Wright and Andy Holloway engage in a spirited debate over whether C.J. Anderson deserves a spot among the top 12 running backs for the 2016 fantasy football season.

Key Points Discussed:

• Andy Holloway’s Argument Against C.J. Anderson:
  Emphasizes Anderson’s lack of consistent performance, citing only 720 yards last season (08:49) and concerns over injuries affecting his productivity. He questions Anderson’s athleticism and consistency, suggesting potential offensive deficiencies in his team could hinder his efficiency.

• Mike Wright’s Defense of C.J. Anderson:
  Highlights Anderson’s versatility, particularly his prowess in pass protection and as a pass-catching running back. Mike points out Anderson's higher reception numbers compared to Ronnie Hillman, his predecessor, and Gary Kubiak’s history of successfully utilizing workhorse running backs. He argues that Anderson’s talent and role in a favorable offense justify his top 12 ranking.

Notable Quotes:
Andy Holloway (05:00): “I don’t think he can get [consistent production], I don’t think so.”
Mike Wright (05:04): “C.J. Anderson is the most talented guy on the team. I see Gary Kubiak, a history of Gary Kubiak having great success with running backs.”

The debate concludes without a definitive resolution, reflecting the differing viewpoints among fantasy football enthusiasts.

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4. News Updates

The hosts provide several key updates relevant to the fantasy football landscape:

• Jamal Charles Returning from PUP:
  Positive news for fantasy owners, enhancing his draft and lineup value.

• Jordy Nelson Healthy:
  Andy apologizes for previously skipping Randall Cobb but notes Jordy Nelson's return as a boost for the Packers' offense, increasing confidence in drafting him.

• Dion Lewis’s Uncertainty:
  Reports suggest Lewis might start on the PUP list, raising concerns about his availability and performance.

• Randall Cobb and Mike Freeman’s Insights:
  Randall Cobb is repositioned as a reliable wide receiver option, while Mike addresses skepticism about Steve Smith’s status.

• Other Updates:

  • Colin Kaepernick’s expected return in the third preseason game.
  • Josh Doctson’s Achilles injury progress.
  • Malcolm Mitchell's potential role in the New England offense.
  • Cameron Brait’s emergence as a favorite target for Jameis Winston, potentially enhancing his value as a tight end.

Notable Quote:
Mike Wright (10:49): “Jordy is fantastic. The last time we saw a healthy Jordy Nelson, he's dropping double-digit touchdowns and 1,500 yards. He was just incredible.”

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5. Listener Mailbag Questions

The hosts address various questions from listeners, offering strategic advice tailored to different league formats and scenarios.

Highlighted Questions:

• Keeper League Strategy (Grady, Massachusetts at 22:18):
  A listener with a 14-team keeper league seeks advice on whether to keep Eddie Lacy or Keenan Allen alongside Julio Jones. The hosts suggest prioritizing flexibility and value, recommending keeping Keenan Allen due to his PPR potential.

• Tiebreaker Systems (Sean in Augusta at 28:10):
  Sean inquires about the best tiebreaker methods for end-of-season scenarios. Andy and Mike recommend total points over head-to-head records to ensure consistency is rewarded.

• Brock Osweiler’s Fantasy Viability (Pete in New Jersey at 29:08):
  Pete questions why Osweiler isn’t a more popular fantasy quarterback choice despite an offense rich with weapons. The hosts express skepticism about Osweiler’s ability to consistently unleash the team’s potential and endorse him more as a backup option in dynasty leagues.

• PPR Draft Strategy (Jeremy in Detroit at 32:18):
  In a 14-team PPR league, Jeremy at the 13th pick seeks advice on drafting strategies at the end of the first and start of the second round. The hosts emphasize the importance of positional scarcity, advocating for drafting a running back early to ensure reliability.

• Drafting Players with Same Bye Weeks (Donnie in Houston at 33:24):
  Donnie asks how much attention to pay to players' bye weeks during drafts. Andy advises minimal focus, emphasizing the importance of flexibility and active management during the season.

• Keeper Decisions in a 10-Team League (B Jam in St. Paul, Minnesota at 37:08):
  B Jam seeks guidance on which players to keep among Jonathan Stewart, John Brown, Jeremy Langford, and Kelvin Benjamin after trading for Mike Evans. The hosts recommend prioritizing Jonathan Stewart and Jeremy Langford for their offensive roles and potential upside.

Notable Quote:
Mike Wright (24:46): “Never draft a lesser talent because you think that the bye week is a problem.”

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6. Special Announcements and Giveaways

The hosts promote their interactive community platforms and ongoing giveaways, encouraging listeners to engage more deeply with the podcast.

• FootClan Giveaway:
  Listeners can participate in giveaways for an autographed David Johnson jersey, sticker packs, and the Ultimate Draft Kit at footclangiveaway.com.

• JoinTheFoot.com:
  An invitation to join the exclusive Foot Clan community for additional content, including an extra episode answering Foot Clan member questions.

Notable Quote:
Andy Holloway (10:15): “We are giving away an autographed David Johnson jersey right now. It is hot.”

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7. Conclusion

The episode wraps up with a tease for the next show, which will feature a “Tips and Tricks” segment aimed at providing listeners with essential strategies for the 2016 fantasy football season. The hosts encourage listeners to continue engaging through social media and their website.

Notable Quote:
Andy Holloway (40:16): “We'll have Jason back on the show tomorrow. Maybe we'll talk to you then. How's that?”

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Key Takeaways

• Debate Insight: The discussion on C.J. Anderson’s ranking highlights the complexities in evaluating running backs, balancing past performance, injury history, and offensive schemes.
• Strategic Advice: Keeper league strategies and draft methodologies emphasized the importance of flexibility, positional scarcity, and overall team value over rigid planning.
• Active Engagement: Encouraging listeners to participate in community platforms and giveaways fosters a more interactive and supportive fantasy football experience.
• Proactive Management: Minimal emphasis on bye weeks during drafts underscores the need for active in-season management and waiver wire utilization.

This episode provides a comprehensive blend of debate, news updates, strategic advice, and community engagement, equipping listeners with valuable insights to enhance their fantasy football strategies for the upcoming season.

Transcript

[Mike Wright]

Hey, everyone.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you getting ready for your fantasy football draft? I know you are. I'm doing the very same thing. And we want you to check out ultimate draftkit.com youm've got all of our tier breakdowns, printable cheat sheets, all of our sortable rankings, our ADP lists. We've got auction values in there. Now, this is where we recorded 100 plus player profile videos. And we keep this thing updated all year round, all offseason long, so you can be prepared for your draft. Go dominate your draft and win your leagues. Just check out Ultimate Draft kit dot com.

[Abdullah]

Hey, this is Abdullah, running back from the Detroit Lions, and you listen to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast.

[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.

[Andy Holloway]

Welcome to the podcast. Welcome to the show.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, everybody.

[Andy Holloway]

Andy and Mike. Andy and Mike in the building today.

[Mike Wright]

Jason's back down with the stomach bugs. This man cannot get it right.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, yeah. You know, there's some similarities between Jason Moore and Jim Gaffigan because I watched Jim Gaffigan on the. On HBO last night. His special, his obsessed special, and many of the jokes he makes are the jokes that Jason makes, you know, about various pastries.

[Mike Wright]

So Jason is just a con man who's. He's a grifter and he is just. He's biting on all the Jim Gaffigan jokes.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Or life is taking him down a road of just ending up very similar to Mr. Gaffigan.

[Mike Wright]

I love food and I love food jokes.

[Andy Holloway]

I laughed a lot. It is very, very fun. He's great. So welcome to the podcast. No Jason today. He'll be back for our big episode. Tomorrow we have a tips and tricks episode. Huge breaking it out. The 2016 episode of this. We like to do this once a year, at least. Of the 10 tips and tricks you need to know to help you in your league, these are things that you can pay attention to during the year, things you might not be aware of, things that we've done for years that have made us better fantasy football players in our leagues.

[Mike Wright]

You want to boot camp? Let's say you're getting your friends involved for fantasy for the first time, and you want to throw them through a rigorous boot camp that will get them fit. Their fantasy knowledge fit. Check out the tips.

[Andy Holloway]

As you say, Jason should miss that episode. That's not nice. That's not nice. We love Jason and we're sorry that he's in agony at the moment. So we're we do have a good show today. We have a big time debate that Mike and I are going to have big time about a player that always seems to divide us. And we also are going to be answering a ton of Foot Clan listener questions, trying to get you ready for your league, get ready for keeper decisions, things like that. We also have a bunch of news we want to get into and we want to apologize to Randall Cobb for skipping him on yesterday's show.

[Mike Wright]

Sorry about that, Randall.

[Andy Holloway]

It's. It is what it is. All right, so today's quick question is a little bit different and we're gonna do this once a week. So today's quick question is the.

[Jason Moore]

It's time for the Fandings.com debate of the week.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Fandings.com debate of THE week.

[Mike Wright]

I've got my gloves on, or should I say off?

[Andy Holloway]

You've got him off?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I put him on just so I could take him off for this debate.

[Andy Holloway]

So we're a bare knuckle debate. Yes.

[Mike Wright]

All right, Is like a man.

[Andy Holloway]

Is C.J. anderson a top 12 running back in 2016? No.

[Mike Wright]

No, because I say absolutely. Sure, Absolutely.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, so let's, let's debate this and let's try to do this in a way that is, you know, sometimes we have these fantasy Face off type things and they get uncivilized. They get uncivilized. And they also are like long and tangential. Like, you know, you get 10 minutes to talk and I get 10 minutes to talk. I'm right, you're wrong.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, I'll take 10. You can have two.

[Andy Holloway]

No, let's just actually debate the merits of CJ Anderson. I'm going to start and you can counterpoint. All right, so I'm going to give you the chance to cross examine. How many years has CJ Anderson been in the league?

[Mike Wright]

Ooh, that I don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

I think it's four. The answer is four. Okay, you already lost the debate. How many thousand yard seasons has C.J. anderson put up?

[Mike Wright]

I would say zero.

[Andy Holloway]

The answer is zero. Does that concern you, Mr. Top 12?

[Mike Wright]

No, not at all.

[Andy Holloway]

No, it doesn't. Even though you'll knock Doug Martin out of your top 12 despite having two monster game changing fantasy years, we're going to go ahead and give C.J. anderson a pass. When you have zero, you get a pass.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's the way it works.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's hear why, why, why Is he top 12?

[Mike Wright]

Here's the deal with CJ Anderson. The hype was huge and real. Coming into last season, he injured his ankle immediately and we now we have seen plenty of times a running back where we felt strong about them. They, they sprained their ankle badly and they continue to play on it. That's the problem with an ankle injury is you can play, but you are a shell of what you can be. During the final nine games, C.J. anderson was averaging 6.3 yards per carry. He had a 4.3 yards per carry average in the playoffs. In the playoffs against the best competition that the NFL has, C.J. anderson was smashing it. And you think okay, well how is Ronnie Hillman doing? Final 10 games for Ronnie Hillman, 3.9, 1.7 in the playoffs. Because that's what the people have concerns. Was Ronnie Hillman going to be involved? They re signed him. Ronnie Hillman is getting passed on the depth chart by a rookie, Devontae Booker.

[Andy Holloway]

A talented rookie.

[Mike Wright]

A talented rookie at that. But CJ Anderson is also a monster in pass protection and he's actually an excellent pass catching running back. You think Ronnie Hillman scat back. Good, good catching the ball. Well, here's the thing. C.J. anderson had more receptions than Ronnie Hillman in less games because they trust C.J. anderson in the passing game. Gary Kubiak loves a workhorse. Back when he was in Baltimore calling plays. Justin Forsett, a guy that many of the league had written off got 66% of the snaps. Justin for set.

[Andy Holloway]

By the way, this is his fourth year. He's going into it.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. Okay. So I just, I see C.J. anderson as the most talented guy on the team. I see Gary Kubiak, a history of Gary Kubiak having great success with running backs and carrying a workhorse running back.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, so he did play 15 games last year. So we can, we can blame the ankle, but we also blame the shoulder for Peyton Manning's bad finish the year before. And he came out and showed us it was more than the shoulder that was the problem. I think it's difficult at a minimum, you have to admit it's difficult to ascertain when it hurt the most. He was still playing. He wasn't good enough.

[Mike Wright]

We had many conversations. He told me it hurt.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, and so what? He'll play on an injury. Now you have to worry about, about that as a fantasy owner. He'll play on an injury and underwhelm because he had a 720 yards last year at 840 the year before. I agree his yards per carry are great but he's also been in a put in A position at times to I think, take an under. He's an undrafted guy who I think has undrafted talent. I don't think he's a supreme athlete. I think he's looked slow at times and I think he's never put together a consistent year. I feel like a lot of your arguments break down when you look at why you hate Doug Martin. Now you have C.J. anderson. You put him in an offense. It's Gary Kubiak. Okay, that's great. You've got Sanchez, Simeon and Lynch. You have offensive deficiencies that could cause him to have. Look, I could see different situations if they're a great offensive line that finds a quarterback, hey, you know what? A thousand to twelve hundred yards is reasonable. I'm betting on the fact that they're not going to be a very offensively talented team and that comes down to the quarterback. So I'm projecting offensive deficiencies that lead to C.J. anderson being inefficient. I think that you will have Devonte Booker involved, Ronnie Hillman involved, and I'm just not going to bet on him. I mean, that's, that's basically my argument for C.J. anderson is that you haven't done it yet. Sure. You haven't made me happy to draft you as a fantasy owner ever. You've. You've made me happy to start you at times. But that goes for Lindell White and LeGarrett blunt and a lot of other players that if you start him on the right week, you're happy. I don't think he can get there. I don't think so.

[Mike Wright]

It's. And it's very fair. I accept the arguments. And the final counterpoint I will come with is an undrafted guy that is slower than most and has a. An average quarterback. That sure sounds a lot like Houston, Texas.

[Andy Holloway]

I know you're going to talk about.

[Mike Wright]

Schaub and Arian Foster.

[Andy Holloway]

I know you're going to bring up Arian. When I say undrafted, you bring up Arian. Except for, I think.

[Mike Wright]

And average quarterback play. I bring up Matt Shub. Gary Kubiak is just. Gary Kubiak knows how to run.

[Andy Holloway]

We shall see. And you're in. I'm out. That was the Fandings.com debate of the week. You can debate this exact question. You can contribute to this question and dozens more with other Foot clan listeners on Fandings.com where the best sports fans debate sports. This is a brand new app. You got to check it out. Play [e-mail] and when you do Sign up with the promo code Footballers. It's a free app.

[Mike Wright]

Defend my honor.

[Andy Holloway]

Just put footballers in there and then rip Mike a new one. All right, so listen, you want to connect with us, do it on the web. TheFantasyFootballers.com we're answering a bunch of listener questions that we got from the website. That's easy to do. You can also dial our voicemail hotline 302-464-TFFB. Follow us on Twitter heff Ballers. I think about 400, 500 more of you are following us on Twitter every day right now.

[Mike Wright]

Love it.

[Andy Holloway]

And that says football's back, baby.

[Mike Wright]

Welcome. Welcome in.

[Andy Holloway]

We got some preseason games tonight. Do you how many games are on tonight?

[Mike Wright]

I think four or five. I can check it out.

[Andy Holloway]

Wonderful, wonderful. Also, we're giving away some free stuff to the listeners. Check out footclangiveaway.com giving away an autographed David Johnson jersey right now.

[Mike Wright]

It is hot.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it's going to be nice. And giving away some sticker packs from the show and an ultimate draft kit from ultimate draft kit.com just giving away some stuff. We like to do that.

[Mike Wright]

Five games. Five games.

[Andy Holloway]

Five games tonight.

[Mike Wright]

Cool.

[Andy Holloway]

Let's get into the news.

[Jason Moore]

News and notes from around the league.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, on the heels of our good news about Jamal Charles coming off the pup, we got Jordy Nelson coming off the puppet.

[Mike Wright]

This is fantastic news.

[Andy Holloway]

You sounded a.

[Mike Wright]

Why did I go. John F. Kennedy right there.

[Andy Holloway]

Is that what that was?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, the news is great. I love this news.

[Andy Holloway]

You can get him in your lineup.

[Mike Wright]

Jordy is fantastic. We the last time we saw a healthy Jordy Nelson, he's dropping double digit touchdowns and 1500 yards. He was just incredible.

[Andy Holloway]

Very good news can make you feel a little more confident drafting Jordy, to be honest, compared to a guy like right now, Dion Lewis, who. What in the world is going on with Dion Lewis?

[Mike Wright]

I don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

He's not practicing despite being in training camp.

[Mike Wright]

Rumors of starting the year on the pup.

[Andy Holloway]

Danger. Yeah, danger. Back to Jordy and the packers offense. We left Randall Cobb off the list yesterday inadvertently. I think he's our number 22 consensus wide receiver. How do you feel about Randall Cobb in briefly.

[Mike Wright]

Randall Cobb is. He's one of those kind of mysterious guys to me where I feel like he's not a wide receiver one and that I mean that for fantasy purposes which we've seen him finish as that. I think that Jordy makes everything different for that situation of opening things up so Randall Cobb can really succeed. In his, his niche of football, which is that underneath. So I feel like I've been too, too low on him. A listener said, hey, why is Randall Cobb so low? And I went, I took a look and I agreed. I said, he, you know what? He's too low. So I bumped him back up to that kind of low end wide receiver to range where I feel, I feel very comfortable with him in that area.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, Steve Smith, off the pup. What do you think about that? You get surprised?

[Mike Wright]

No, I'm not surprised he's off of the pup. But a double ruptured Achilles, I'll believe it when I see it. And I know that I'm kind of against that mindset of. Because if you see it, it's too late. But I'm just, I'm not buying in past his physical.

[Andy Holloway]

He will practice soon, they said so. Very curious to see what happens there with the wide receivers in Baltimore. Pete Carroll said Wednesday the Seahawks quote, don't know whether Jimmy Graham will be ready for week one.

[Mike Wright]

I do.

[Andy Holloway]

You say he will not.

[Mike Wright]

I say he will not.

[Andy Holloway]

Coach Jay Gruden in Washington says Josh Dachshund with the Achilles injury is progressing. Progressing. I honestly, I thought the word was processing for a minute. Progressing nicely.

[Mike Wright]

That is good. Look, Josh Dachshund to me is not really a redraft type of guy, especially right now. Maybe, you know, he becomes that second half, second half season guy for your team.

[Andy Holloway]

But right now it really hurts to miss time.

[Mike Wright]

Right now I'm not even drafting him.

[Andy Holloway]

Keith Marshall. Oh, we talked about Matt Jones on the show. I saw, I saw this news a few minutes after we discussed it, decided not to pull it back out. Wanted to bring it up today. Keith Marshall, seventh rounder, some people think threaten, you know, the guy to threaten Matt Jones. He's running with the fours.

[Mike Wright]

That's not, it's not good.

[Andy Holloway]

And what I've read is that the, what you saw in the preseason game extended to the practice field where he was a very impatient runner. They were very unhappy with him. And you know, right now you've got Rob Kelly, who's an undrafted free agent running back, cutting into the reps for Keith Marshall, which ring the bell for Matt Jones if guys behind you are shuffling around. Yeah, I'm not worried about your work now. You could lose it. You can go, you know, fumble the football and run terribly. But it makes me more confident in Matt Jones and look, I'm going to buy into the value where he's at right now and roll him out there as My, I guess as my two if I want to spin those first four picks somewhere else or as my.

[Mike Wright]

Three Flex running back with upside for Matt Jones. The concern of him losing that full time job is exactly why I just can't fully buy into him. He was very inefficient, had a huge fumbling problem last year, so. No, he did look at his father.

[Andy Holloway]

I know, but you bind Abdullah well.

[Mike Wright]

I'm buying to Abdullah as a seventh round draft pick, not a fourth round draft pick.

[Andy Holloway]

Is that where Jones is going? I thought he was a fifth.

[Mike Wright]

I will, I will double check that.

[Andy Holloway]

Right now. I don't as a fourth, I start to get really scared about that. But I feel like all the other options around him are better. And we talked about that yesterday. I think there was only one guy you mentioned in the fifth round that I liked more than Matt Jones.

[Mike Wright]

You're less than Magic, middle of the fifth right now.

[Andy Holloway]

Who's around him, right in front of.

[Mike Wright]

Him, Langford, John, Stu. And then right behind him would be Matthews and Gordon.

[Andy Holloway]

I would take all of those names that you said other than Lankford, ahead of Matt Jones. I would take Matt Jones ahead of Langford. But I would rather have Jonathan Stewart than Matt Jones. I'd rather have Ryan Matthews and Matt Jones and I'd rather have Melvin Gordon. Melvin Gordon, who I'm, I'm very high on. I'm the only one in the world.

[Mike Wright]

No, there's. There's some Gordon truthers out there. They believe. Still believe.

[Andy Holloway]

I feel like everybody says, here's how everybody talks about Melvin Gordon. They say, draft Danny Woodhead at the value. And then they say, and maybe Matt, maybe Melvin Gordon, maybe you draft him. I don't know.

[Mike Wright]

Why do they have the prepubescent squeaky voice?

[Andy Holloway]

I don't know about it. I don't know about Melvin Gordon. Melvin Gordon. All right, let's move on here. We're on to Bleacher Report. Oh, yeah, I'm all I look, I put this in here only for Jason's sake. He's not even here. Mike Freeman from Bleacher Report simply hyperbolizes this, but delightful for Lamar Miller owners. He said he's heard from scouts around the league that Lamar Miller quote, might have a season for the ages. Everything is done.

[Mike Wright]

Everything is in line for Lamar Miller.

[Andy Holloway]

I believe what Jason has said. I truly believe Lamar Miller is bust proof this year. Doesn't mean he's the top five running back, but he's bust proof.

[Mike Wright]

I really believe that that's to be bust Proof.

[Andy Holloway]

You Talk about losing Le'Veon Bell. From your list of potential guys, I think the bus proof running backs right now are Adrian Peterson, Lamar Miller.

[Mike Wright]

Okay?

[Andy Holloway]

And I, I want to say Todd Gurley. I think Todd Gurley's bus proof, but those are the only three I would put in that category. Is there anybody else that enters that for you?

[Mike Wright]

I mean, I'm, I'm extremely confident in David Johnson, but even I will say, sure, there's a 5 to 10% chance of, of a bust. And when we say bust, we're not talking about, oh, he tore his Achilles or his ACL and he's.

[Andy Holloway]

Everybody can bust then nobody's bust proof against that.

[Mike Wright]

Look, there is nobody in town behind Lamar Miller. And Bill O'Brien since taking over for the Texans, has been at least in the top five for rushing attempts. And Lamar Miller proved that he's also a great pass catcher. So I agree that Miller is among the short list of bus proof guys that he will be. At worst, Lamar Miller will be a running back to at the very. If everything goes terrible.

[Andy Holloway]

No, I agree. And he has the potential to be in the top three. The workload, my goodness. And he catches the ball well.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he's. Yeah. Very talented.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, we've got Malcolm Mitchell news right now. ESPN is reporting he may be the leading candidate for the X receiver job.

[Mike Wright]

Very interesting.

[Andy Holloway]

Got to pay attention to that.

[Mike Wright]

He looked fantastic. Malcolm Mitchell, that's hard to do in.

[Andy Holloway]

The New England offense.

[Mike Wright]

That's the hardest part for receivers going to New England is trying to pick up all the plays, all the timing. And look, Malcolm Mitchell, very bright, almost young man. Is it weird to be like, hey, you're a bright young man.

[Andy Holloway]

It's weird, yes, but it's accurate. I don't feel old, man.

[Mike Wright]

I don't feel like I'm to the age of being calling people a young man.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, what are you, about 12, 13 years older than Malcolm Mitchell.

[Mike Wright]

Why, why you gotta do that? But last year we were excited for Brandon lefell just because of the offense and Malcolm Mitchell is a favorite of Matt Harmon's reception perception. You got to pay attention. If Malcolm Mitchell is actually healthy quickly from the elbow dislocation, you need to pay attention to him late in drafts.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, Josh Brown's going to miss a game. Personal conduct policy. Kicker going to miss game one. Don't draft Josh Brown a kicker.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, personal conduct policy.

[Andy Holloway]

That's right.

[Mike Wright]

He kick a man.

[Andy Holloway]

No, no, I think he's got some other issues.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, we won't go in Here.

[Andy Holloway]

Cameron Brait. News always good. Right now you talk. We're going to talk tight ends on Monday. We're going to have John Paulson on talk tight ends, and I want to know what he thinks about Cameron Bray.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. And why this interesting news? The quote is that it's pretty clear Cameron Braid is one of his favorite targets. Jameis Winston has a history going all the way back through his college days that he loved to target the tight end. So if Cameron Brait becomes the guy, he's going to see a large share of targets that could. Maybe he sneaks into that back end, tight end, one position. A guy that you can get for free.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, well, I mean, we like Winston.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

We like the offense. We like everything about it, including Doug Martin. Right. Mike, I.

[Mike Wright]

Look, I don't dislike Doug Martin.

[Andy Holloway]

No, you personally dislike him. What are you. If you disparage someone because of their height, you're a heightist.

[Mike Wright]

I don't. Is he short?

[Andy Holloway]

Is he short? Is Doug Martin short?

[Mike Wright]

Russell Hamster, Is he a small guy?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, my God. All right, let's go, Chiefs. Matt Derek says Jamal Charles has gotten more work in than expected since coming off the PUP. Good news.

[Mike Wright]

Great update.

[Andy Holloway]

And the 49ers still believe Andy coach Chip Kelly says the team expects Colin Kaepernick to play in the third preseason game.

[Mike Wright]

The best part of this blurb is they expect Colin Kaepernick. And then in parentheses, dead army, old dead.

[Andy Holloway]

Hold on, hold on. I'm going to tell you right now. I'll make my final determination after preseason game three, because Chip Kelly will probably already announce it by then, so that'll make it easy for me. All right, we're going to get into the mailbag, answer some listener questions. Look, if you have questions, if you want to walk with us through this season and enjoy your league, we're totally focused on kind of improving everything about your league. Have more fun with the league that you have. Do things better as a commissioner, as a player in your league. The tips and tricks episode tomorrow, you need to tune into, because we're going to talk a lot about not just strategies, but how to make your league better. If you want to walk with us in this journey, along with about 1500 other Foot Clan members, check out JoinTheFoot.com we release an extra episode only answering questions from the Foot Clan every week on Thursday. We record that one this afternoon, actually. So if you get involved, you can. You can check out that episode and. And be a part of supporting this show as an independent podcast. So let's go ahead and get into the mailbag.

[Jason Moore]

Mailbag.

[Andy Holloway]

I'll give pitch a 10 as always. And I will give volume of six.

[Mike Wright]

I was, I wanted it to be a little more Michael Bolton. No, not Michael Bolton. Kenny G. That's what.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, okay.

[Mike Wright]

Michael Bolton would have torn this microphone in half.

[Andy Holloway]

Kenny G. Singh.

[Mike Wright]

No, he's a saxophone. But it's.

[Andy Holloway]

I know.

[Mike Wright]

It's always light and feathery and.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, okay. All right.

[Mike Wright]

Delightful.

[Andy Holloway]

I feel like I should start like humming some Kenny G, but I won't. All right. Grady in Massachusetts. I'm able to keep, basically keep up to two players in his keeper league. All right. It's a 14 team league and he has the second pick in the draft. So help him decide here. Julio Jones, Eddie Lacy and Keenan Allen. He knows he's keeping Julio, so should he use a keeper spot on Lacy or Allen? Because basically, I guess you're giving up those.

[Mike Wright]

You give up that he would give up a second pick if he kept a second player.

[Andy Holloway]

I probably do not.

[Mike Wright]

I'm. I wish I knew if this was PPR because if it was, then Keenan Allen would be a stone cold lock.

[Andy Holloway]

Of the week, of the century.

[Mike Wright]

I, I'm probably going to keep one of these guys. Knowing that teams out there are likely to keep two players. I'm not sure I can get a player of the caliber like Lacey or Allen and how high I am on Allen, I would keep him.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Steve in Farmington Hills, Missouri is no Michigan. We got Michigan there, right? It's an abbreviation. It was quick.

[Mike Wright]

We are the worst.

[Andy Holloway]

We are not good. I have the number three pick in a 12 team point per reception league. I plan to take Julio OBJ with my first pick.

[Mike Wright]

Excellent.

[Andy Holloway]

So either one, what should I look for in rounds two and three? Tempted to take three straight receivers to start. Is that a bad idea? Why is he tempted to do that? Tell me, why do you think that is?

[Mike Wright]

Because it's ppr. Okay, so ppr, wide receivers just score more points.

[Andy Holloway]

Is that it? Is that the whole reason? Yeah, it's just like why do players, fantasy players get tempted to lock into that type of a strategy before the draft?

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

Is it just for simplicity sake? Like, okay, we need wide.

[Mike Wright]

This is just human nature. Look, we love to have a plan. I love a good plan. I know exactly what's going to happen. You know, I'm basically, okay, I'm going to. When this happens, I'm going to do this or I will do this. But you can't do that in a Fantasy football draft, no matter how many mocks you have done, you cannot account for the human error that is going to take place in your draft because it will happen.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Some idiots gonna draft C.J. anderson.

[Mike Wright]

Exactly. And that is me.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. Letting somebody else drop to you. No. Is that a bad idea? Not necessarily, no.

[Mike Wright]

If the right guys are falling to you, then it's just, then it's okay. And so here to answer your question, a little bit more, let's. So the number one PPR running back last year, Devonte Freeman, with an absolutely unbelievable season, he scored 317 points. The receiver who had right around there was 319 points. That was the number five wide receiver in Odell Beckham. They just, receivers just score more points in ppr.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, but then I can break that argument down. I know, really easily with the whole like position scarcity. Position scarcity. But I agree, but that's why, that's why you're thinking about that. I would say leave yourself open to it, see what's on the board and react. I don't like it. One of the things people have written us about the ultimate draft kit, which, you know, they love the kit, but then occasionally one or two people will be like, why don't you say what round to pick them in? Well, because we don't know what round they'll be there in.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

We don't know who's drafting around you. We don't know what the rosters in your league will look like. If we tell you go always draft Doug Martin in the second round. I mean that doesn't give you the flexibility to react in your draft.

[Mike Wright]

And I'll say this for PPR, I mean that's, that's the scenario where a 0 RB draft strategy can work. But let's say you were, I'm going to go 0 RB and then seven other members of your league are going 0 RB.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep.

[Mike Wright]

That's not going to work so well.

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Mike Wright]

Because the wide receiver, the top end wide receivers are going to be gone.

[Andy Holloway]

No. But that does make you know, Adrian Peterson's a real nice 8th round pick. All right, let's go ahead and go to a voicemail question. I said it before. You can submit questions on the website the fantasy footballers.com. there's a submit a question button in the upper right and then you can leave us a voicemail at 302-464-TFFB. Let's jump into a voicemail question.

[Abdullah]

Sub guys, Scuba Steve, got a keeper question for you. Got a 10 man auction. League PPR 2 quarterback league. I have a 250 budget for my auction and my keepers. I can keep up to five at David Johnson at $30.

[Mike Wright]

David Johnson.

[Andy Holloway]

Nice.

[Abdullah]

Beckham Jr. At $10. I got Devonta Freeman at $10, Shady at $30, and I have Cooper at 29, Car at 8 and Kelsey at 1. So I need five from that list. Best value possible. Thank you so much, guys.

[Mike Wright]

All right, that was a tremendous David Johnson.

[Andy Holloway]

That was very good. You could hear the pause beforehand. It was like he had to gear up.

[Mike Wright]

He wasn't sure if he should go.

[Andy Holloway]

For it, but which is good. You don't rush it, man.

[Mike Wright]

You went for it. You killed it. Young man.

[Andy Holloway]

Young man. Good, good.

[Mike Wright]

Everyone's a young man now.

[Andy Holloway]

So he says, David Johnson's locked in for me. Odell Beckham Jr. And Devonta Freeman are locked in.

[Mike Wright]

Locked in. You know who else is locked in for me?

[Andy Holloway]

Shady. McCoy.

[Mike Wright]

I was gonna say Travis Kelsey for one buck.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. And then I would go with McCoy.

[Mike Wright]

Are you gonna go. You're gonna take McCoy over Carr for eight bucks and a two quarterback.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, oh, I missed Carr. I missed car. Yeah, you're right. I would actually go Kelsey and car.

[Mike Wright]

So you're gonna go.

[Andy Holloway]

You're going DJ, odb, Freeman, Kelsey and Carr.

[Mike Wright]

I think that's the way I see it.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. And then you got. You have flexibility. You can go spend a little money if you want to get. You know, if you go get Shady back for 35, 40, who cares?

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

You get. You're saving so much on those other positions. All right, you want to read this one?

[Mike Wright]

We got a tiebreaker question. This is Sean in Augusta.

[Andy Holloway]

We got where the Masters is played.

[Mike Wright]

Well, I was debating. Do I see if people get that reference or not?

[Andy Holloway]

The Masters?

[Mike Wright]

No, no, no. Augusta.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I don't get that reference.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Okay, so if anybody gets that reference.

[Andy Holloway]

You like to like weed it. Easter egg references in Augusta. That only a few.

[Mike Wright]

I'll be really impressed if someone gets that. What is the best tiebreaker to use in a fantasy league? Total points head to head, average week. Removing top and bottom scores in one league. We take the weekly head to head and see who had the better record of the two teams if they played every single week. Any ideas? And how do you handle a three way tie? I assume this is for end of season.

[Andy Holloway]

I love my love, Michael Keaton. All right, okay. It's a great question.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And it's an important one to answer now, not to answer in week 16 when one of you already Knows the answer to the question when you're figuring out your answer. In our league, we use total points.

[Mike Wright]

For me, it's.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't know if that's better though, because I really, really like finding a way to make it head to head. Yeah, look, and not like just the fact you played two matchups against each other. Like, I like. I'm curious about this strategy of. Okay, you take the weekly head to head. Who would have had the better record if you played each other every week? Yeah, that might be too complex. If you're not reward the total points.

[Mike Wright]

If you're going to go every single week, I can be okay with that. That's. That's fun. But I love the head to head aspect of fantasy football. That's why we do the weekly matchups. But if you get to the end and people are tied, I'm going with total points because that's just someone has proven they consistently have the better team and they're not just squeaking out a victory against. Maybe they lucked into the person who had the lowest points of the week. So I love going with total points to break the tie.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. I. Yeah, I think you're right. Pete in New Jersey. Hey, guys, love the show. Why aren't more people believing in Brock Osweiler?

[Mike Wright]

Brockness monster.

[Andy Holloway]

The Brockness monster. He's obviously not in the QB1 discussion, but with all the weapons on offense like Hopkins and Fuller and Strong and Miller and Lamar and Braxton. Wait, both Millers? That's what he was saying. Miller time. That's what they should call them.

[Mike Wright]

Miller time.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, would you draft him as your backup fantasy quarterback in a keeper league? I think he could be a great boomer. Bus value. Well, yeah, I would do that. I'd be okay drafting him as a backup quarterback in a keeper league.

[Mike Wright]

Well, it's a, it's a two keeper. I mean it depends on the size of the.

[Andy Holloway]

I guess I was thinking dynasty, actually.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. In a dynasty team. He's great. I actually have him on one of my dynasty teams. But the problem with, with Brock compared to like Hoyer. They had Hoyer last year and Hoyer proved to be great for fantasy purposes if you wanted to stream him in the right matchup. Because Hoyer would air it out to DeAndre Hopkins. We've seen Brock choose not to do that. If you go back to the third down play in the preseason week one, he just checks it down. I mean you have nothing to lose by bombing it out to your star players. And I feel like that's what I saw from him in Denver. So until he is willing to unleash the beast, unleash the full potential of the Brockness Monster, I can't endorse him in a smaller league format.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure, yeah. You need to see it. And to me, you know, he's a former ASU guy. He was out here, we liked him. I.

[Mike Wright]

He's very tall.

[Andy Holloway]

He's super tall, but that's what I was going to bring up. His arm strength does not match his body type and size, in my opinion. And that, I think is a re. And he's, he's. He's paid, especially on this type of a team, to be more Alex Smith than Jay Cutler. Okay. We all love taking chances, but he's paid to come in and not lose the game.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

And I think he can not lose a game better than Brian Hoyer. There's a reason Hoyer can put up good fantasy numbers and not have a job, and that's because he took too many chances and they don't want him to do that. And so for that reason and all the tape he's ever produced in his entire life as a player, those are the reasons why I can't be super confident as a fantasy, at least for now.

[Mike Wright]

The great news about Osweiler to me is if you see the first two weeks that maybe he's changed that and he's going to say, hey, Hopkins, go, go get it. People will not buy in. And you could, you'll be able to pick him up off the waiver wire.

[Andy Holloway]

Alex Smith or Brock Oswalder?

[Mike Wright]

Smith.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, me too. All right, Jeremy in Detroit says in a 14 team league, picking 13th, it's a PPR league, what combo would you go with at the end of the first and top of the second?

[Mike Wright]

So basically he is in a 14 team PPR.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay. And he wants a 14 team mock.

[Mike Wright]

Well, maybe we'll see what we can do.

[Andy Holloway]

We'll do at least one more, maybe two more mocks before the regular season.

[Mike Wright]

And this is, look for me, if I'm at the edge, especially in a 14 team, I want a running back. That's how I play. I believe in the positional scarcity that I have a better, stronger team. If I get the running back, who's going to hit. And I always believe that the guy I draft is going to hit. So when I'm at the edge at the beginning, I almost always split. I'll have a running back and a wide receiver.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, what's the next question?

[Mike Wright]

Here we got Donnie in Houston, Texas how close do you pay attention to drafting players with the same bye week?

[Andy Holloway]

I would say very, very little. Yes. Why is that? The reason that is is because to be honest with you, I probably won't have all these players when I reach the bye weeks. That's reason number one. I am, you know, a very active trader and waiver wire signing and I feel like if you overemphasize bye weeks, you are being distracted by something. It really doesn't matter. I think there are occasions when that's really important. MFL 10 leagues, for example, are.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. In a best ball where you don't.

[Andy Holloway]

Change to do that. There also could be a situation where, you know, if you were going to draft, I don't know, two tight ends that you really believed had upside and you didn't want to, you know, some, some position that you might not turn over during the year, maybe you pay attention to that. But again, my roster is going to change so much. Why in the world would I let this determine that?

[Mike Wright]

Never draft a lesser talent because you think that the bye week is a problem. Like Andy saying, these guys who have the bipocalypse that is coming this, this year is towards, you know, like week nine, ten. I can't recall it off the top of my head. Yeah, but by the time that comes up, you're going to have waiver wire replacements who can fill in for the bye week or you'll have such a strong team from your draft, you'll have a replacement for the bye week. Yeah, don't, don't freak out about them.

[Andy Holloway]

You do not have more. You have basically two teams in week four, four in week five, then two in week six, two in week seven. So you don't really reach these multi bye weeks until week eight of the season.

[Mike Wright]

It's when it gets dangerous and then.

[Andy Holloway]

You'Ve got a couple of huge ones. You have six teams and then six teams the next two weeks. But at that point your team's different. So at that point you can pay attention, more attention to it. What is this one? Weight loss promo.

[Mike Wright]

This is from David in Ohio. I have forced myself to only listen to the podcast while I exercise since the beginning of August. With five episodes weekly. I've lost ten pounds in a little over two weeks. Oh yeah. I think you guys should make a protein shake and also market the podcast as a weight loss program.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh my gosh.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you, David. And hey, know what, David, good for you, man. Congratulations.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a great incentive we need. You want your fantasy dude.

[Mike Wright]

I need a Like one of those. The desk bikes.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

That I can just run. Run on?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you can run on top of the bike. I can ride like a circus performer.

[Mike Wright]

I'm gonna ride the bike while we're doing the podcast. And it's just. I'm so sweaty.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, yeah, That'll be good for nobody. Back to backup. Good for my health.

[Mike Wright]

Andy, thanks a lot.

[Andy Holloway]

I think that might be in question. I don't know what the under desk bike success rates are. Is that pretty solid?

[Mike Wright]

I don't know the market.

[Andy Holloway]

What if, like, you could earn fab dollars by doing it, riding the bike?

[Mike Wright]

What if you're a league, you could.

[Andy Holloway]

Earn like trading value points or fab dollars.

[Mike Wright]

If I could earn fab dollars by riding the bike, this is a. When I come in, you'll be like, is that Lance Armstrong or is that Mike Wright? Because I'm gonna be so fit and I'm gonna have so many fab dollars.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm telling you, we are inventing a product on the air right now. This is the Pokemon Go of fantasy football. Everything you do in real life is directly correlative. How about we make. Before you get a trade, you have to go to an actual, like a Pokemon gym. You know what I mean? We'll have buildings that are for trades only.

[Mike Wright]

I like where this is. I like where your head's at.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. All right, back to back running back question from Iman Kavanaugh in Oak Park, Illinois. Would you endorse going back to back RBs in the first two rounds if they are both tier one players and.

[Mike Wright]

This is a standard league? Yes. Yeah, absolutely. You're going to hear me.

[Andy Holloway]

Please do that.

[Mike Wright]

You're going to hear me break down the numbers in tomorrow's tips and tricks about people being afraid of. Of running backs in the first round.

[Andy Holloway]

And you shouldn't be as much as you are.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

So we'll get into that tomorrow, though. That's a good point. All right, let's go to B Jam. B Jam has a voicemail question for you. Yeah, B Jam, here you go.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, guys.

[E]

This is B Jam in St. Paul, Minnesota. I had. I'm in a 10 team, four keeper league, half point PPR. I had my four keeper set. I was keeping. Keeping Jonathan Stewart in the sixth, John Brown in the eighth, Jeremy Langford in the 10th, Kelvin Benjamin in the 14th. That is not a waiver pickup. It was our first draft last year at snagum in the 14th. However, I recently just traded for Mike Evans in the fourth. So I have for sure I'm going to keep Mike Evans in the fourth, Kelvin in the 14th. Between the other three, what two would you keep? I do have the second pick in the first round and I know.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, so he cut off there, but we got the gist of the question.

[Mike Wright]

I thought you were being extremely rude.

[Andy Holloway]

I did not cut him off.

[Mike Wright]

I believe you did.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I did not. So Jonathan Stewart for a six, John Brown for an eight, or Jeremy Langford for a ten. And he's two of them, right?

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

He said which two of those three? So that I think that's a good question. Yeah, that's why I kept it in there. Despite the fact he hung up on me very rudely.

[Mike Wright]

Allegedly.

[Andy Holloway]

Allegedly. For me, Jonathan Stewart in the six is an incredible value. I love him in the fourth, so I'm going to love him in the six. At this point, you're looking at Johnny.

[Mike Wright]

Brown, smoke or Langford.

[Andy Holloway]

And I, you know, to be honest, I'm going to go with Langford. You've already got Evans and Kelvin wrapped up. That's my personal opinion. Yeah, I know it's not fun, Mike, to draft Jeremy Langford. Nobody likes it.

[Mike Wright]

Jeremy Langford and Matt Jones.

[Andy Holloway]

But he's just there. He's out there.

[Mike Wright]

I know. That's the problem.

[Andy Holloway]

Plays football for a franchise in the NFL at the running back position.

[Mike Wright]

So do a lot of guys.

[Andy Holloway]

So do a lot of guys. Alfred Blue.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I'm gonna. I'll take the chance that Jeremy Langford produces fantasy value.

[Andy Holloway]

No, it's so gross. Look, you have Evans and Kelvin, though.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Yeah. Look, BJM and John Brown, I mean, you're. You're getting a little bit of value, but you can. If you want Brown, you can go ahead and grab him or maybe even a better wide receiver and, Or. But he was saying at number two, does he take Jamal Charles? So would maybe do you take Johnny Brown at 8 and then take up Jamal Charles with your second pick? It depends on who best players are on the ball.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, I. Lean, Stewart and Langford.

[Mike Wright]

Stuart, I'm going. No, I'm taking Johnny Brown and Charles at 2.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, there you go. No help at all. Thanks for listening to the podcast. If you have a question, go to the website. We've got a lot going on this week. And like I said, don't miss tomorrow's episode. The top 10 tips and tricks for 2016.

[Mike Wright]

Gonna be hot.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you gotta get. You gotta get off this, like, Trump huge thing you say now all the time.

[Mike Wright]

I pulled back, I said it was gonna be hot.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you did change it. Thank you. So it's gonna be really good. We'll have Jason back on the show tomorrow. Maybe we'll talk to you then. How's that?

[Mike Wright]

Hey, check out fantasyjocks.com for all your trophy, your draft board, your championship belt needs with promo code ballers.

[Andy Holloway]

Boom. Check them out. And stay tuned for the show after the show on you.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot.com and follow us on twitterffballers.