Fantasy Football Podcast 2016 - The TRUTH About Fantasy RB's in 2015, Part 1

Summary

Summary of "Fantasy Footballers Podcast 2016 - The TRUTH About Fantasy RB's in 2015, Part 1"

Release Date: January 19, 2016
Hosts: Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright

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1. Introduction and Personal Anecdotes

The episode kicks off with the hosts celebrating Jason Moore's return to the show after his trip to Disneyland. Mike Wright humorously recounts a recent Cardinals game, emphasizing their fandom while striving for unbiased analysis.

• Mike Wright [01:02]: "I'm a full on Cardinals homer."
• Andy Holloway [01:35]: "We're unbiased when we're breaking things down."

2. Transition to Running Backs Discussion

Following personal stories, the hosts transition to the main topic: evaluating fantasy running backs from the 2015 NFL season to inform strategies for the upcoming fantasy football year.

• Mike Wright [04:36]: "We're going to go through the top 24, at least, with some honorable mentions."

3. Key Topics and Player Analyses

a. Consistency and Performance Metrics

The trio emphasizes the importance of consistency in fantasy running backs, discussing how regular performances outweigh occasional high-scoring games. They analyze players based on their weekly consistency, reliability, and performance against strong versus weak defenses.

• Andy Holloway [07:04]: "A 31 point lead at halftime is barely enough for the Carolina Panthers."

b. Top Running Backs Reviewed

1. Devonta Freeman

Freeman is highlighted for his exceptional consistency, averaging near the top of the rankings without underperforming in any week.

• Mike Wright [20:00]: "He ran what, 264 carries, over a thousand yards, 11 touchdowns."
• Andy Holloway [21:31]: "When you need him, zero times, did he crap your team."

2. Adrian Peterson

Peterson is lauded for his durability and consistent high performance, despite issues with ball security in playoff games.

• Jason Moore [24:22]: "He is the most consistent running back in football."
• Andy Holloway [26:11]: "He is immaculately consistent regardless of the defense faced."

3. Doug Martin

Martin's potential return under head coach Doug Peterson is discussed, with expectations of continued consistency in his workload and performance.

• Jason Moore [27:56]: "Doug Martin is a very talented running back, in my opinion."

4. D'Angelo Williams

Williams is considered a reliable backup with potential increased usage should primary running backs get injured, although there's skepticism about a significant rise in his role.

• Andy Holloway [31:03]: "Tomlin wants the best guy on the field."

5. Todd Gurley

As a promising rookie, Gurley's consistency and talent are recognized, though concerns about his team's quarterback situation are noted.

• Jason Moore [35:27]: "Todd Gurley is going to have a great year."

6. Lamar Miller

Miller's inconsistency is a point of discussion, especially regarding his performance in different defensive matchups and potential team changes.

• Mike Wright [36:37]: "There's a lot of question marks above his head."

7. David Johnson

Johnson's unexpected consistency despite a limited role is examined, with considerations about his future role should Chris Johnson return.

• Andy Holloway [44:16]: "He had one catch for 55 yards and a touchdown."

8. Chris Ivory

Ivory's fluctuating performance and role in his team are scrutinized, contemplating his value in future drafts based on team dynamics.

• Jason Moore [49:51]: "That was bizarre."

9. Matt Forte

Forte's potential move to Baltimore and his fit within their system is debated, with mixed opinions on his future performance.

• Andy Holloway [47:58]: "If he got there, if him turning into a somewhat of a featured back."

10. Latavius Murray

Murray is praised for his reliability and workload management, making him a strong candidate for the upcoming season.

• Jason Moore [52:44]: "I love Latavius Murray."

4. Insights and Strategic Takeaways

• Consistency Over Peaks: The hosts stress valuing running backs who consistently perform well over those with sporadic high scores.
• Impact of Team Dynamics: Player performance is heavily influenced by team roles, offensive strategies, and quarterback effectiveness.
• Future Projections: Evaluating the potential landing spots and coaching decisions is crucial for predicting player performance in the next season.

5. Notable Quotes

• Andy Holloway [19:50]: "Devontae Freeman had 71% of the snaps and the last four weeks, 87% of the snapshots."
• Jason Moore [22:03]: "He's just a very consistent guy with blow-up potential."
• Mike Wright [25:26]: "He has something still to prove. I don't see how he's not in my top two running backs next year."

6. Conclusion and Upcoming Content

The episode wraps up with the hosts planning to continue their running back analysis in the next episode, covering ranks 11 and beyond, and making predictions for the conference championships.

• Mike Wright [55:37]: "We'll cover 11 and as many as we can get to."

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Key Takeaways:

• Top Running Backs: Devonta Freeman and Adrian Peterson stand out for their consistency and reliability.
• Rookie Potential: Todd Gurley shows promise but is influenced by team dynamics.
• Strategic Drafting: Focus on consistent performance and favorable team environments when selecting running backs for fantasy leagues.
• Player Health and Team Changes: Monitor player health and potential team changes as they significantly impact future performance.

This episode provides a comprehensive analysis of the fantasy running back landscape from the 2015 NFL season, offering valuable insights for fantasy managers looking to optimize their drafts and strategies for the upcoming year.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Foreign.

[Jason Moore]

To the Fantasy Footballers podcast with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Mike Wright]

Ah, we're back, baby.

[Andy Holloway]

We're all doing the hand warm. Just.

[Mike Wright]

I don't know why. Maybe because Jason's back.

[Jason Moore]

I'm back. I brought the cold.

[Mike Wright]

That's strange. Welcome back, Jason.

[Jason Moore]

It's glad to be here. Yep.

[Mike Wright]

Tuesday, January 19th we are the Fantasy Footballers. I'm Andy Holloway joined by Jason Moore, who's back from Disneyland, the happiest place on earth, Mike Wright. No, that is not true. I'll correct you. And Mike the fancy hitman, right? Hey, the happiest place on earth was my living room floor where I was rolling, weeping, crying, smiling, convulsing after Larry Fitzgerald went. Larry Fitzgerald, I mean he is a playoff behemoth.

[Jason Moore]

Took over that game. I think the commentator said it right. We didn't know Larry Fitzgerald was going to jump over this game.

[Mike Wright]

Seriously. He hit the power up button on that run. Yeah, he did. And that stiff arm, I almost like my spirit burst from my body. I couldn't even comprehend it. And let me tell you right, right off the bat, my experience with that game. And thank you to everybody who on Twitter and elsewhere, we're vicariously through our excitement. We are Cardinal fans and we try to be very. As unbiased as we can. Not really though.

[Andy Holloway]

And we're unbiased when we're breaking things down. And I had someone message me something during the game, you know, like, of being an analyst. I said, not right now.

[Mike Wright]

You're a fan?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, not right now. I am a full on Cardinals homer.

[Mike Wright]

And the reality I had to face during that game when it wasn't looking so good for Arizona was I told somebody, I'm like, man, you know, part of being a professional means I have to go in and analyze this game even if we lose and I'm not going to want to go in on Tuesday. And thankfully things went differently. But my wife's in laws, I mean my in laws, my wife's parents were in town from Wisconsin. We had probably 15, 20 people watching the game at our house to our Packer fans and man, they were, they were the worst. They were the worst because they were so. It was like my, my father in law tried to give me five after one of the interceptions. Man, I wanted to take him down. It was just rough, man. I want to apologize to everybody in the room for. Because they were somehow their volume level was like Wisconsin volume. It was different.

[Andy Holloway]

It was done it.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I love that. That sounds like they made the party great.

[Mike Wright]

Honestly, whenever the Cardinals did well, it was always like a celebration. Not at them. When the packers did well, it was a celebration at my face.

[Andy Holloway]

You were doing it wrong.

[Jason Moore]

That's what I was thinking.

[Andy Holloway]

The touchdown at the end, I would have had the double point, like gyrating in your face.

[Mike Wright]

Right. The Drew. Yeah, you would have. Drew Stanton. I was too busy running circles around my kitchen island. Sorry. But I'm sorry. That was my story from the game. It was. I believe Al Michaels and Collins were both used the word insane multiple times on those plays. It was insane. It was insane. And Aaron Rodgers, oh, my goodness.

[Andy Holloway]

It was a flashback to last time Arizona played Green Bay.

[Mike Wright]

It was. And we were. I was that.

[Andy Holloway]

That game with the playoffs, when I mean went to overtime, because was. I believe that was Neil Rackers at the time. Rackers missed a chip shot, field goal, went to overtime, and then they won on the defensive score. But I was having deja vu flashbacks when everything started unfolding at the end.

[Mike Wright]

So what do we got going on the show today? Running backs, running back, the truth. Last week we went through quarterbacks and tight ends and talked about the truth. We looked at the numbers where guys finished, what we thought they would do next year. Guys that had kind of anomalous seasons where, okay, you know, Tyler Ifert, he finished real high in the rankings, but he only caught 50 passes. He had 13 touchdowns. Keep an eye on that. Guys Like Jordan Reed, 11 touchdowns after zero last year, things like that. So it was a really, I think, a good week looking and reflecting on the. On the rankings. And we want to do that with running backs, but we don't want to do that in one show because running backs, there are just so many that have contributed this year. So we're going to go through the top, what, 24, 25.

[Andy Holloway]

At least 24. With some honorable mentions. Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And so we're going to do some of that on today's show, some on Thursday show. And Jason will be here to add his analysis.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I got to listen to last week's show.

[Mike Wright]

So how was your trip?

[Jason Moore]

I mean, the trip was great. The family enjoyed it. Everything went well. Nobody got sick, nobody threw up. The biggest problem we had was on the drive back, there was like a i10 road closure. There was a two hour.

[Mike Wright]

That sounds like a treat with kids in the car.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, yeah, it was a blast. But no, it was a great trip. And I got to listen to the podcast. Great job, gentlemen.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you.

[Jason Moore]

Fantastic stuff.

[Mike Wright]

Sounded like Andy Reid might have been in charge of your trip back to the Valley.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, slow and steady.

[Andy Holloway]

It wins the race.

[Mike Wright]

Before we get into the quick question and the running backs, we got some news things we want to let you know, fantasy world and otherwise. But if you want to connect with us, it's very simple. You go on twitter @the ffballers. Like I said, thanks to everybody who was giving us congratulations on making it through another round. What's so hard is the packers are like my second favorite team. I just, it couldn't happen this week. I'm sorry, guys. And then you can find us on the web atthe fantasy footballers.com find us on Facebook, on YouTube. The show's on. Their segments are on there. And so like I said, we got running backs. I think these shows are going to be great to today and on Thursday. Give you kind of a, you know, like a very soft foundation for 2016 in your brain.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, these are important shows for fantasy football players going into next year. When you listen now, we're fresh, we remember things and we're taking kind of that post, you know, mortem look at the running back position. And that matters for especially this year with all the injuries, with all the craziness, we've got to make sure we, we take that look back before we move on.

[Mike Wright]

And so often, I mean, that's a great point. So often in years past, I've forgotten kind of the end of the year that some guys have had because, you know, if you're out of the playoffs or you know, you're. And you don't get week 17 involved, you know, the stats kind of surprise you because you come back the next year, guys are higher in the ranks than you thought. I remember Jason Whitten finished a year with three huge games. He ends up really high in the tight end list, but he didn't do anything for people that year. So it kind of, it definitely contextualizes their seasons and it helps a lot to lay that foundation. So quick question. I just want to know, guys. I mean, we've, we've gotten into it a little bit, but what did you learn this week in fantasy and otherwise from these games? What'd you learn?

[Andy Holloway]

I learned that a 31 point lead at halftime is barely enough for the Carolina Panthers.

[Mike Wright]

That was the third or fourth time we've seen that this year with them.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, but they keep winning those games.

[Andy Holloway]

I said barely. They, they, they definitely won. It was, that was a horrible game turned. Very fun. Interesting game to watch. My, my one gripe for the NFL that I wanted to talk about on this is Saturday, for the playoffs, you have a game start and we're talking western time zones here. So a game starts in the afternoon, the evening. Why on Sunday do we have to play in the morning? And the afternoon you have Seattle. The Seattle Seahawks are traveling about as far as you can go across the continental United States and they have to play a football game at 10 in the morning according to their body clock. Why can't. For the playoffs, why can't you just shift that back and let it be the afternoon and the evening just like it is on Saturday, Kind of level the playing field a little bit? I mean, you saw it with Seattle. They were not ready to go, which a lot of times teams are like that when they have to go all the way to the east coast. It's. There is an advantage for the home team. They earned it. They were, they were the home team.

[Jason Moore]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

But just adjust the time a little bit. I mean, it's ridiculous that you can't move the, move the morning game to the afternoon.

[Mike Wright]

I think that's a really good point. And it kind of leads into what I learned, which is that apparently being the home team does matter. After last week, we saw no home teams win at all. This week, all four home teams won. I ended up going or four and. Oh, four. No, this week as opposed to two and two last week with the picks. I mean, it wasn't a pretty game in Denver, but being at home helped, defense helped. I don't know what to think. I'm, I, I was kind of a himit with you guys. That Peyton Manning, he's the, he's the right quarterback.

[Jason Moore]

I don't think the right quarterback is in Denver.

[Mike Wright]

You might be right, but I tell you, man, there is a play calling situation there where they're very content to be super conservative to. I mean, nothing was getting thrown across the middle for like 2/4 in that game. So I, you know, do I give them a shot next week? Yeah, they're at home. I give them a shot.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, as long as they can pull off a stunt where Peyton Manning not only gives himself up, according to.

[Mike Wright]

That was amazing, by the way he slides.

[Andy Holloway]

It was a slide. His feet were in front of him.

[Mike Wright]

So I actually disagree with you.

[Jason Moore]

I disagree too. I think he felt.

[Mike Wright]

Because he got up so quick, I thought it was a nice.

[Andy Holloway]

He did not get up so quick.

[Mike Wright]

He did too.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, well, that was as quick as Peyton Manning could get up, Mike.

[Mike Wright]

But he was an evasive, athletic move from an athletic quarterback who was afraid for his life.

[Andy Holloway]

I have seen Far, far less get called. Oh, he gave himself up. And you're right. To me, I was just saying that. So if you don't say it's a slide, that's fine. But he, in my opinion, completely gave up on the play. He said, okay, I'm gonna go down. I don't want to get hit. And that play changed a ton for the game. That was a huge momentum swing that they got the first down there, and that was a nice little home cooking.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. What I learned is pretty much exactly the same as you, Andy, but it's just. It's good to be the best. You know, you had the top four seeds in the NFL. Those are the guys that are playing for the super bowl this next week. You know, you had the two number one seeds and the two number two seeds. They. They win and they go on, which makes for great football this next week. We've got each game you don't know who's going to win. You don't have anything where you go, oh, this is just a lopsided affair, especially with the game being in Denver. For the Patriots Broncos game, there's going to be some good football ahead. That's what I learned.

[Mike Wright]

I agree with you, and I do. We did get one phone call that I'm going to play now because we haven't heard from him in a long time. So let me just let me play this. Yo, yo, yo. It's Tony Meeples. My season was done like week nine, so I stopped calling, you know, stop wasting you guys time.

[Andy Holloway]

But let's go cut it now.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, we got it. Cardinals fan.

[Mike Wright]

He said his season was done like week nine. That's why we never heard from Tony Meatball the rest of the year.

[Andy Holloway]

I think Amir Abdullah might have a little bit to do with Tony Meatball season.

[Mike Wright]

So it's Mike's fault. That's what we're saying. All right, let's move on.

[Jason Moore]

Weekly rewind.

[Mike Wright]

All right. We don't have a ton of news that is very relevant to you guys. We have, obviously, the playoff challenge going on, so we're talking about some guys that are playing next week. Maybe you got two times the points on certain players. Greg Olson got hurt. It didn't look great at first, but he's describing his shoulder injury as a burner and nothing that's going to keep him out. Do you guys have any other news on him?

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Jason Moore]

He's a tough guy. He's going to be fine. It's like. It's like Big Ben to me. I mean, Any other person tears ligaments in their throwing shoulder, they're not going to come out.

[Andy Holloway]

Which I'm calling Shenanigans.

[Mike Wright]

Second play of the game. 50 something yard pass down the sideline.

[Andy Holloway]

Shenanigans.

[Jason Moore]

Big Ben. That's.

[Andy Holloway]

I understand that, but.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

And I know that his shoulder was probably very numbed up, but I don't know, man. I'm. I'm not a master of anatomy. I just don't think if you have torn ligaments that you're going to be able to do that.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. I mean it. And then they came out before the game and they said he wouldn't have played if it was a regular season game.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Hey. One Fitzgerald two. Sont fumble. The game turned so.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, that poor guy.

[Jason Moore]

He looked happy on the bench.

[Andy Holloway]

Just helmet on. Oh, I felt. I felt bad for that guy.

[Jason Moore]

Me too.

[Mike Wright]

It's just incredible what, like being a veteran does to those aspects of playoff football because you saw it with Cameron Artist Payne, like his first carry, they. After the 59 yard run by Jonathan Stewart. First carry by Artist Payne, horrible fumble. Luckily they recovered it and finished the drive. Who knows if the game turns around there. Second carry. Almost a horrible fumble. Like the nerves. And you know, you saw it with Blair Walsh. It's just a different, different animal. All right. What are you guys hearing about Panthers defensive end Jared Allen?

[Andy Holloway]

He's got a foot problem, as far as I heard. I don't. I didn't catch the latest update. Does he actually have a broken foot?

[Mike Wright]

That's what I've heard.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I've heard.

[Mike Wright]

Broken foot.

[Jason Moore]

Yep. And then he's going to play through it again. This is the difference between playoff football and regular season football. No way he does this in the regular season. But, you know, you win, you go to the Super Bowl. He's going to try to play through it. I don't know that he's going to be able to do that.

[Mike Wright]

Well, he only plays on about 60% of snaps as it is, so we'll see. He may have some limited rotational reps and things like that. He's not the same player he was. No, that's for sure.

[Andy Holloway]

But to have depth at the pass rush, I think it's super critical. Even if you're not the greatest player, if you're coming in with 100% full tank of gas, I mean, that makes a really big difference.

[Mike Wright]

Sure does. So some news this morning regarding Marshawn Lynch's future. Which relates to who? Thomas Rawls as well in Seattle. What is the latest? You're hearing about Marshawn Lynch. Is he going to come back? What, what, what's out?

[Jason Moore]

John Clayton is reporting that he is absolutely done, completely done with the Seattle Seahawks. So he won't be back. It's still really early. And whenever you have a report that comes out, you know, days after a terrible loss, you always get those like, I'm done. I'm retired. Wait a couple weeks. That being said, I do think it's accurate. I don't think that he's going to come back for cheap. I don't think the Seahawks are going to pay to bring him back. So I don't see Marshawn lynch back in Seattle, which makes Thomas Rawls a great keeper.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, there's no way Seattle is going to give him the $9 million or whatever.

[Mike Wright]

Well, he was really close to retiring last year without getting bigger, big money from Seattle. So any other news you guys want to talk about?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, the Doug Peterson. Right. Because the Eagles coach that, that happened after.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Kansas City's offensive coordinator, after we had.

[Andy Holloway]

Recorded the reports are the Eagles will hire Doug Peterson as opposed to like.

[Mike Wright]

Tom Coughlin, who was in the rumor mill for a while. I guess Coughlin kind of withdrew himself.

[Andy Holloway]

And Doug Peterson kind of likes the tight end. My man Zach hurts.

[Mike Wright]

Zach hurts is. When we talked about this on Thursday, he's one of our just saying you get a early season favorites for next year.

[Andy Holloway]

We like did we like the talent. Get a guy in who actually uses the position. I mean, that. That's a very big difference. As opposed to a guy that like you have like Bruce Arians. Bruce Arians just doesn't utilize the tight end very much. And so that makes a huge difference for fantasy.

[Jason Moore]

Now, weren't you upset at the utilization of Travis Kelsey?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, but that's.

[Jason Moore]

So how do you say that he uses.

[Mike Wright]

Well, I was up.

[Andy Holloway]

I was upset because he. I was expecting more, but I put that more on Alex Smith being a one read, one read guy and not being willing to air it out.

[Mike Wright]

Well, we'll see. Yeah, they have to run.

[Jason Moore]

It's a weird hire. I don't. I don't. This to me seems like we miss you. Andy Reid, please come back. We know you can't and we couldn't swallow that. So let's get your protege who's been with you for a long time.

[Mike Wright]

All right, before we get into the truth about fantasy football running backs, I want to take a minute and thank the sponsor of today's show, Squarespace. Listen, you've heard me talk about it. Before and you know the realities for your business. Building a website can be tough. And even if you know your way around coding, creating something that looks good and works well is time consuming. And that's one of the hardest things about it. Whether it's for a business side or a portfolio restaurant, whatever else you've got going on, you probably need a website. And that's where Squarespace comes in, because they make it easy to build beautiful websites without breaking a sweat. I love Squarespace. I recommend it to everybody. They provide simple, powerful and beautiful websites that look professionally designed, regardless of your skill level, regardless of whether you can code and do all those types of things. And listen, you cannot beat the ease and simplicity of Squarespace because they give you 24, 7 online support and beautiful, beautiful websites. So what are you waiting for? Start a trial with no credit card required right now and start building on your website. When you decide to sign up for Squarespace, make sure you use the offer code Footballers, that's footballers, to get 10% off your first purchase and to show your support of this show. So we thank Squarespace for their support. Squarespace build it beautiful.

[Jason Moore]

And speaking of beautiful, why not this year? Have some beautiful looking skin, not that cut up, nasty, hurt skin.

[Mike Wright]

Ew.

[Jason Moore]

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[Mike Wright]

All right, let's get into the running back discussion. You know, you start to see various places come out with their way too early running back rankings.

[Andy Holloway]

I love them.

[Mike Wright]

Is that good clickbait for you? As long as you see that, you're like, let's check it out.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I know I'm gonna look at.

[Mike Wright]

It, but one of the guys that was interesting. I saw somebody, I saw somebody's list. I, if I remembered who it was, I'd give you a shout out. But Devonta Freeman is our number one running back. Was the number one running back from last year and he was down at 19:20 on this initial list for next year.

[Andy Holloway]

So let's talk.

[Mike Wright]

Let's talk Devontae Freeman.

[Jason Moore]

I think that's a bad decision. I think Devontae Freeman is the starting running back for the Atlanta Falcons.

[Mike Wright]

Super good analysis.

[Jason Moore]

No, I'm just saying next, next year. I am not buying into the Tabin Coleman scare. Not buying into the running back by committee. Tevin Coleman was on the team this year and he had his opportunity to do it. It's not like, oh, next year is going to be totally different because he's not going to get injured like one game early on. This was not a running back by committee type of team. On the year, Devonte Freeman had 71% of the snaps and the last four weeks, 87% of the snapshot, they went up as the year went on. He is an important integral part of that offense and he will be much higher than 19th on this fantasy analyst list next year.

[Mike Wright]

Now, the big piece with him, and he, he ran what, 264 carries, over a thousand yards, 11 touchdowns. But that second number there, 97 targets, 73 receptions, 578 yards and three touchdowns through the air. 97. That's the difference, right? That's the difference.

[Andy Holloway]

97 targets, that's wide receiver numbers. That's ridiculous for a guy. He ran the ball 264 times. I mean, and we, what we've been doing with these, getting into the truth, we're breaking down their consistency. How often were they giving you a top five performance? A to like a weak winning top five. Just a top 25, very solid. And then how often did they crap your team?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, how long?

[Andy Holloway]

They weren't even a running back. Four for the week. Well, Freeman five times won you a week. We know he had that three week stretch where he was scoring three touchdowns every single week. And it was the greatest thing of all time. On top of that, 12 times in the top 25. But the most important part, when you needed him, zero times, did he crap your team with a, with a. Below a running back four. So that's fantastic consistency.

[Jason Moore]

It's because of those passing numbers.

[Mike Wright]

Because no matter the game, the team struggled at times.

[Jason Moore]

Absolutely. The team, the offense that looked great in the very beginning of the year sputtered throughout the rest of it, but he was still fine even when he wasn't getting his touchdowns. He was never, ever hurting your team. He's just a very consistent guy with blow up potential. It's basically like a Lamar Miller type without the bad games, which is what you would, you know, hope that you get out of.

[Mike Wright]

So, so Mike, how did his top. When he faced a good defense, bad defense, how did that disparity break down?

[Andy Holloway]

So the, the, the difference between the top 16 and the bottom 16, really only a couple of points, which is exactly what you want out of a running back. Why I really wanted to point these out is last year when we were, when going through the numbers, I chose to chalk this up to just a. Maybe it was a fluky thing, but last year. So I guess two years ago, Eddie Lacy's splits against a bad defense was monstrous. There was a huge gap of fantasy points. When he faced a strong rushing team. When he faced a strong rushing team, he just did not produce fantasy points. And I chose to put that as he's like, well, I think he can improve. And we were shown the truth, so to speak, this year where Eddie Lacey still continued to struggle against strong defenses. So I think this is an important.

[Mike Wright]

Thing to look at, especially with running backs. So what are the numbers for Freeman?

[Andy Holloway]

They were great. There's just a couple point difference.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

So he was consistent against good teams and bad teams.

[Mike Wright]

All right, number two on this list is Adrian Peterson. Finishes the number two running back this year, 327 carries. So that number is much higher than Devonta Freeman's. Almost 1500 yards, 11 touchdowns. Again, he really wasn't targeted in the passing game the way that we thought he could be with North Turner. And honestly he won't be. I think that's that we know that there's no reason for it. Jerick McKinnon can catch the ball and do different things with that dynamic speed out of the backfield. However, he was the most consistent running back in football. He had 13 performances in the top 25. He had four weak winning performances. And then he had one week where he did crap your team. But so very close To Freeman, basically, both were just as consistent. Adrian Peterson, how long can he do this?

[Jason Moore]

Well, he can definitely do it next year. He is. There's no slowing down at the end. And I mean, we've seen when he plays with a chip on his shoulder, with doubters around him, with, you know, some bad publicity, he plays great. When he was coming back off of that injury, you know, I think that was his career high in yards this year with all of the suspension from last year comes out, gets another rushing title. And I think the fact that he fumbled their playoffs away and is getting a lot of bad press up there. I'm hearing him talk differently about how, you know, normally he just. Yeah, the fumbling issue. Normally he pushes it off, says, you know, whatever. This time he says, you know, when it comes back to bite you in that way, it's something you got to work on and change and. Yeah. How long has it taken you, Adrian.

[Mike Wright]

Peterson, to realize this sounds like Shaq with free throws?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I don't know that he's going to be able to change that at this point in his career, but he has something still to prove. You know, I don't. I don't see how he's not in my top two running backs next year.

[Mike Wright]

That was going to be my question for both of you. Would you rather Adrian Peterson or Devonta Freeman?

[Jason Moore]

Adrian Peterson.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man.

[Mike Wright]

Would you rather have Adrian Peterson, Devonte Freeman or Le'Veon Bell?

[Jason Moore]

That's the question to me, is Le'Veon. I would probably. If I'm at the top of a draft, I'm probably going to take Adrian Peterson. And the reason is because he's done it for a career. He, you know, he's not as injury prone as Le'Veon Bell, which I think deserves that label to some degree at this point. Yep. And Devontae Freeman is great, but, you know, he's done it one year. So I'm going to take Adrian Peterson.

[Andy Holloway]

In the history, and Adrian Peterson's his split between a great defense and a bottom defense, about 0.1 points.

[Mike Wright]

So not matter who he's playing, it.

[Andy Holloway]

Does not matter for Adrian Peterson. And I love that he's evaluating his fumble issue. How many years has he played?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it's strange. It's just one of those things where you're like, okay, I'm this good. I don't care. And that's unfortunate because it cost them and it cost him in more than just the playoff game. It costs him in other games, huge fumble. You know, it's the Reckless abandon. I'm gonna run this way. I'm gonna do this thing. Well, can't you do it better?

[Andy Holloway]

Well, it wasn't just the first playoff game. If you go back to the NFC title game, everyone remembers the Brett Favre interception that sealed the game. What you're forgetting is Peterson fumbling on the goal line, having another fumble inside of that game. I mean, there was a disaster of butterfingers. So it's just hilarious that now, now is the time for him to evaluate that good stuff.

[Mike Wright]

Right, right. It's better than him saying, well, if we would have made a field goal, we would have won.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, exactly.

[Mike Wright]

Let's talk about the third guy on the list this year. Hey, he's Doug Martin back. He's Doug Martin. And dirt cutter is the head coach now in Tampa Bay. He wants Doug Martin back. I. You know, there's a long way from here to there where he's back on that roster, but if he's there, you have a consistency in play calling from Dirt Cutter. So that's a good thing for repeating a performance. You also have stability at the quarterback position. You know who's playing quarterback? A guy who had a very, very good rookie year in Jameis Winston. You got good wide receivers that can keep defenses honest, not let them stack. Against Doug Martin. The question will be how much they use him. He had 288 carries this year despite. I don't remember the exact number, but his snap percentage was so low compared to the carry numbers that make you think he's on the field all the time.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, and what will be interesting is his counterpart. He won't be featured in this show, but he's in this list.

[Mike Wright]

Charles Sims.

[Andy Holloway]

Charles Sims.

[Mike Wright]

So that's amazing.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, you have to imagine the time split will still be in Doug Martin's favor, but Charles Sims had a great year as well. Breaking down Doug Martin versus top defenses versus bottom defenses. It didn't matter for Doug Martin. It's just a couple point difference. And as far as consistency, he was the third best, which is great because he was the third best running back in fantasy with 12 top 25 performances, three top five, and no, no craps. No, his pants are clean.

[Mike Wright]

So basically what we see here from the first three is these are not anomalous finishers in running back. They're not guys that ended up at the top because they had three or four humongous games. They were all top three consistency guys. So they all need to be in the discussion. As one of the top picks at running Back next year. In terms of the top, how did he perform against top versus bottom defenses? He actually was better fantasy wise against top defenses. I don't know if that be.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, yes, yes, yes. That's. Well, yeah, I was going to say it's a, it's one of those game flow things when you're facing better teams. A lot of times when you've got a tool like Doug Martin, you're going to try to run the ball more and slow down the clock, do those type of things. I think dirt Cutter coming means that Doug Martin will be back and he wants to use. Dirt cutter wants Doug Martin.

[Andy Holloway]

When you promote, you don't have to pay him.

[Jason Moore]

You. Yeah. When you promote him to head coach for his first year and then say, okay, well we're not going to keep the guy that you really want. I think he will be back. And you have to remember Doug Martin is. He was a 1st round NFL Draft pick. He is a very talented running back. The issue with Doug Martin has been health and that's what you see as the big difference this year is that he was able to play in all 16 games and play healthy throughout them. That's my fear with him a little bit is will the smaller body who has an injury history with a big workload on a contract year now he gets paid. Is he going to be as, you know, consistent on the field with, with Sims behind him? He's a little bit scarier to me than the other guys, but he is super talented when he's healthy.

[Andy Holloway]

See, he's done this to us before with his rookie year.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I love the level of consistency he has coming into next year. If he is indeed on the, on the Bucks, which he should be. So number four. Number four is when you start to get into some different numbers and I don't, I don't think we need to debate him very long. But D'Angelo Williams was a number four running back this year. He had over 900 yards rushing. He caught 40 passes. His consistency number was way down. It was. It was eighth despite finishing fourth in the league. And that was because he had a number of games where he wasn't playing.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he really wasn't playing three games with Le'Veon Bell. He two carries for 32.

[Mike Wright]

So this is not so much. I don't think there's much to discuss with him long term context because D'Angelo Williams is a great. The number one handcuff maybe is what you say because he's, he's the handcuff of a Great player on a great team.

[Andy Holloway]

The question is next year. Levy and Bell getting hurt every single year. Will they. Will they lower that workload where Bell is basically out there for every single snap, getting every single running back touch?

[Mike Wright]

I do not believe so.

[Jason Moore]

Nor I.

[Andy Holloway]

You don't think that D'Angelo Williams will be worked in?

[Jason Moore]

No.

[Andy Holloway]

What.

[Jason Moore]

What we saw this year was Tomlin.

[Mike Wright]

Has said it over and over again that he will not do that.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean, they had the opportunity to do that this year. Wasn't like this was the first time either. We saw what they're going to do and I believe they're going to do that next year. They did it with the backup, whoever comes in, you know, with D'Angelo Williams. So that to me is not a worry. If. Let me.

[Mike Wright]

He's a year older next year and that matters.

[Andy Holloway]

They have seen now an entire year of D'Angelo Williams getting it done, not just a two games at the beginning or you have. If you know that your backup can get it done, why would you not give him more snapshots?

[Mike Wright]

Because that's not how they play.

[Jason Moore]

Tomlin wants the best guy on the field. And if Le'Veon Bell's healthy, D'Angelo Williams might be good, but he's not Le'Veon Bell.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he'll be 33 next year. It's a. It's a fair point.

[Jason Moore]

The question to me, I do not.

[Mike Wright]

I just don't buy into it at all.

[Jason Moore]

The question to me is, do they go out and get another running back this year, you know, because of the age of D'Angelo Williams or because of the success of D'Angelo Williams? Do they kind of hold Pat there and say, we got a great backup, in which case, I agree, is the number one handcuff next year. And I think you're going to be able to get him cheaper than you should just because of his age.

[Andy Holloway]

He's. I think he's going to be expensive. If they come into the year that he's the number two guy, he's going to be a. I don't know, like probably an 8th round, 8th round pick. People start snatching him up early just because that's like you remember Niall Davis when he was the guy for a Jamal Charles owner. I mean, people started pushing him up way early.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. But the difference was Niall Davis wasn't 33.

[Mike Wright]

What's. It's just one of those funny things because first year. Do you. Well, leaves. There's no one on earth that thinks dual is going to outperform Jonathan Stewart in the lead back role. And here he is, you know, at the top of our list yet again. It's just a comical thing, but he's a handcuff. We all.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, Todd, he is under contract for next year.

[Mike Wright]

I checked on that too. Yeah, he's on under contract for one more year. Todd Gurley, number five, the rookie. Thirteen games, 229, 1106 and 10 touchdowns. Caught a few passes, but not a ton. He was seventh in consistency.

[Andy Holloway]

That's still good.

[Mike Wright]

Very good. It's considering, you know, he had the first opportunity in the early part of the season to do it. He was somebody who definitely preyed upon bad defenses. His numbers were much higher against defenses that they could run on. And that makes perfect sense because the offense couldn't pass the ball. So it was one of those things where they could get stacked against the run in games where they knew that they weren't going to be able to pass.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I agree. Moving forward in the next year. I mean, you have to like Gurley. He's immensely talented when he's another top.

[Mike Wright]

When you watch him, number one guy consideration.

[Andy Holloway]

But when, when you start breaking things down. You like running backs. You like talented, good running backs who are on good teams. And the Rams are an okay team, especially until they can address their quarterback position in Case Keenum. As of now, Case Keenum is the starting quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams moving into next year. And that's, that's not going to put a lot of confidence in me to spend, say a first round pick on Todd Gurley.

[Mike Wright]

Really?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I would, depending on where you are. But there's these other guys, let's say you, I mean, you got Freeman. We're just speaking of running backs. But Freeman, Peterson, Martin, Levy, on Bell, Todd Gurley, where is he? Who is he? Where are you ordering those guys any.

[Mike Wright]

Sort of keeper league Gurley is.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm not talking about keeper.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I think Gurley is in my consideration for number two.

[Jason Moore]

I personally, from, from that argument. In a redraft league, I'd put him.

[Mike Wright]

Fourth on that list, but which is a. He's a first round pick for me. I thought that was pretty bold to say Gurley's not a first round.

[Jason Moore]

No, I'm saying I can get behind that from the standpoint of, you know, when we looked, coming into this past year, we did the research of, okay, top running backs. How many of them are on. It was like eight out of the top 10 were on winning teams. And so I do think that Todd Gurley is going to have a great year, but you're going to have those games where you know, he can get, he could get game flowed out. I mean, you see a pretty big discrepancy between his top 16 and bottom 16 scoring. I mean 12, 12.6 game points per game versus 18.6.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, you're hard because the three.

[Mike Wright]

Of the top six guys on this list are on crappy teams. I mean, Devontae Freeman's on a bad team, Doug Martin's on a bad team, Lamar Miller's on a bad team. None of them have the potential to be what Gurley would be. When you buy into a guy, I'm buying into the talent and that opportunity and I can't imagine St. Louis's passing game being worse. Maybe I'm, maybe that's my naivety.

[Andy Holloway]

No, it can't be worse. Sure, the, the difference of a 20 yard, averaging 20 yards and half a touchdown more against bottom defenses has concern for me. That's all I'm saying. He's. People are going to draft him in the, in the first round just for me if I'm staring down certain running back options and in the first round I don't know if I'm going to go with Gurley.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's fair. Gurley or devonte Freeman for you guys, I would because it's easily girly for me.

[Andy Holloway]

I would take Freeman.

[Mike Wright]

Freeman for you. What about you?

[Jason Moore]

It would be Freeman in a redraft.

[Mike Wright]

Okay. All right. Number six was Lamar Miller. Oh, Lamar Miller.

[Jason Moore]

My boy. That's my boy.

[Mike Wright]

Lamar Miller, the man who finished 6, 17th, he was the sixth. This is why some players, they, they help you if you play them at the right time. He hurt you if they don't.

[Andy Holloway]

He was consistently inconsistent.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, to finish 17th, inconsistency as the number six running back is just amazing. There's no player, there's no player with more huge question marks above his head than Lamar Miller. I mean, he's a guy who's probably not coming back to.

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Mike Wright]

To Miami first of all. So landing in a new spot, we know that's hard to do anyways for a running back. Could he land in a good place like Dallas? Sure he could. Is he good enough to take a workload in a new place and give you number six numbers again with maybe better than 17th consistency? Probably not. I don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he is.

[Jason Moore]

I think if he were to go to one of two spots, he would be great. And anywhere else, even though I love him, it's Just not. You know, whenever a guy changes teams, I am much more skeptical than hopeful. I don't normally go, oh, this is such a great opportunity. I go, there's a lot of questions. We don't know.

[Andy Holloway]

Where are those two places for you?

[Jason Moore]

Well, one is clearly Dallas.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

But the other.

[Mike Wright]

Whoo.

[Andy Holloway]

Because I have a team in my.

[Jason Moore]

That excites me. That I think is a somewhat real possibility would be the New England Patriots because he is a great pass blocker. He is good in the cat in the past receiving game, and he's a great running back. And they've dealt with a lot of injury this year. They're in division. Bill Belichick has had plenty of time to scout him out. You know, we've seen him steal people from. From the.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, but Belichick's really smart, so he'll see what I see in him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, well.

[Jason Moore]

And you might be right. But that. That proves the point, though. If you believe Belichick is smart, that if he goes out and grabs Lamar Miller and says, hey, you're using them wrong, give them to me, then I'll be excited.

[Andy Holloway]

Any.

[Jason Moore]

Anything else other than that, I'm probably going to be down.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't think the money's there for the Patriots, but I got one.

[Mike Wright]

I agree with you.

[Andy Holloway]

I got one team for you. The New York Jets.

[Mike Wright]

Sure. With Ivory as a free agent.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. What?

[Mike Wright]

Howell is a free agent.

[Andy Holloway]

If Miller goes and becomes the main running back for the Jets. You got it like that.

[Mike Wright]

Sure. No. That's a great potential landing spot.

[Jason Moore]

I will say this on Lamar Miller. He is very, very inconsistent. And a lot of that was the usage of the Dolphins. We know that some of that was on him in certain games. But as far as you have to go, well, who should the onus really be on? And Pro Football Focus, They're a great company. They just take the game film and they rate people on every play and every game, good, bad or otherwise, just individually. And he was the number 4, 5 best overall running back according to their grades. When you consider pass blocking, catching the ball and running the ball, he is a really good running back, in my opinion.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. And, you know, I'm very soured by the way the team treated him. I don't feel like I have any clear lens to look through. So, I mean, the nice thing, they never gave me one.

[Jason Moore]

The nice thing about it is that I don't think his draft position is ever going to be that high because there's a lot of sour with Lamar Miller. And so at the end of the.

[Mike Wright]

Day, he finished number six.

[Jason Moore]

Exactly. And you don't want a guy as inconsistent as him as your number one back, but if you can get him as your number two back, a guy that can win you weeks, that's great.

[Mike Wright]

All right, so what we're going to do now is we're going to probably. We got four more names. We'll get in on this episode and then we'll get into next. On the next episode we'll take 11 through the rest. The next guy on the list, David Johnson. Woohoo. Wow.

[Jason Moore]

I would have got in on that but I was taking a drink.

[Mike Wright]

What surprises me about his numbers is that he was the 9th most consistent running back from a per week scoring standpoint, which is bewildering because he wasn't the running back.

[Andy Holloway]

You're forgetting how many touchdowns he was scoring earlier.

[Mike Wright]

I am, I am choosing to forget that. I guess Chris Johnson was the running back. It was. David Johnson was the third string running back. This was the Bruce Arians offense that said, yeah, the young guy sits, but I still remember from the first week of the season he was the fastest clocked player when they do those, you know, next gen stats. He returned that kickoff was 22 and a half miles an hour or something like that. Look, David Johnson is a pile of talent on a good offense.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. And watching, watching the Cardinals these last few weeks, you can see that he's become indispensable when you take him off the.

[Mike Wright]

Indispensable, you mean indispensable.

[Jason Moore]

That's what I said.

[Andy Holloway]

He said become. He's become indispensable.

[Mike Wright]

I heard becoming dispensable.

[Jason Moore]

No, no, no. He's become indispensable.

[Mike Wright]

And you can't withstand victories if a guy becoming.

[Andy Holloway]

Is becoming a pen dispenser when he.

[Jason Moore]

When he's not on the field and they put in anyone else, whether it's Andre Ellington or Stefan Taylor, whoever it is, it's like the team stops moving and if you give the ball to someone else, it's like regret time. It'll be very interesting to see what happens with Chris Johnson. This could be muddy water next year. If Chris Johnson is back, and I expect that he will be.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't expect him back.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to side with Jay on this. I think he will be back. I think they loved what he did in the locker room and on the field and he didn't get taken out by bad play, got taken out by injury.

[Jason Moore]

So if he's back, who's the starter?

[Mike Wright]

It'll be. It'll be Chris Johnson.

[Jason Moore]

I agree.

[Mike Wright]

I think it'll be Chris Johnson and.

[Jason Moore]

David Johnson number two.

[Andy Holloway]

Even if he's back, it'll still be David Johnson if he comes back. First off, he's not under contract so Chris.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, you're right.

[Andy Holloway]

Chris Johnson. So he's going to have to take no money. I mean this is. Steve Kime is a crafty general manager and very. He works the budget very well and he's not going to give Chris Johnson money after they've seen what David Johnson can do.

[Mike Wright]

I will agree with the fact that. Yeah, I will agree with that. And most of the group think out there is betting on him not being back. That's why you see David Johnson as high as you do in most of the early listings. You see I've seen him as high as 4 on. On pre. Pre. Pre. Pre. Way too early rankings because if he's the starter, let's say Chris Johnson's not back. I mean what's. This is a team that's 13 and 3.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

High power offense.

[Jason Moore]

I mean I wanted to ask the question if Chris Johnson is not back, who do you draft? Todd Gurley or David Johnson next year in a redraft. Ooh man. Or even I guess in a keeper setting even you got two rookies this year coming in.

[Mike Wright]

Look, if both were endorsed by their head coaches as starters but obviously girly is and so if David Johnson's endorsed any form of ppr, half point or full, it's David Johnson. I think because they involve him enough in the passing game to make him extremely valuable. You mix the team plus that I gotta. I have to get on board with that.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. At standard I'd probably still lean with Gurley just because of his, of his. I think he's got the physical makeup to, to grind it out year after year.

[Mike Wright]

But mind you he had also 104 more carries than David Johnson did this year. I know David obviously can't speak to the beginning half of the season but what else do we want to know about David Johnson? Because he had a big disparity with top and bottom.

[Jason Moore]

Huge disparity. Probably one of the widest gaps but his is.

[Andy Holloway]

His is difficult because of the sample size. Where mean you go to week one. Like we said he's not the starting running back. However he had one catch for 55 yards and a touchdown. So he put up a pretty solid fantasy week. Which is why he's so high in the consistency rankings is he's just sneaking in these Touchdowns here and there. So his splits of top versus bottom is very hard to do because he only had.

[Mike Wright]

It's not worth looking just at the stats.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. He only had four, I mean five. Four weeks as the feature back because the fifth week everyone got pulled the last week of the season against Seattle.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, here's a great point for those raw numbers, weeks 10 and 11. You played two of the. Clearly the top half Ds in Seattle and in Cincinnati. In those two combined games, he got two total carries. So you can't really blame him for his numbers being down.

[Andy Holloway]

No. Oh, no, you're right. Two.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Should have done way more with those.

[Andy Holloway]

Come on, David Johnson.

[Mike Wright]

Come on, David. All right, these next two guys are both in the free agent situation. You got Chris Ivory at 8. You got Matt Forte at number 9. I see a lot of similarities between these guys. Not necessarily on the field in terms of how they play, but in terms of age and where they could land. You know, Jason spoke to the fact that there's a lot of question that comes into mind when you switch teams. I don't know if I would expect either of these guys to be in the top 20 next year, unfortunately.

[Jason Moore]

I agree. Again, we spoke to this with Lamar Miller, but aside from those elite landing spots, almost anywhere else, I'm not going to trust that change to draft them where they finished this year. This year they were in the role that got them to this spot and we don't know going into next year what that role will be. I don't love free agent running backs. And when we look at the history of, tell me free agent running backs that have changed teams and been great.

[Mike Wright]

It'S the one that pops into my mind is Michael Turner. He had that humongous year, but he was a backup in San Diego, hadn't had a chance, then shows up in Atlanta, explodes. But not a guy that was great on one team, switched to another team and it ended up great. It doesn't seem very often. Sure.

[Jason Moore]

Marco Murray, a lot of people were like, oh, going Kelly's high power offense.

[Mike Wright]

He'S fun to be excited about. A great player switching teams, that's fun. That's why they get hyped too much.

[Jason Moore]

Yep, I completely agree.

[Mike Wright]

I've got a landing spot for Matt Forte that I'd be curious your thoughts on a really good one.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's see a really good one.

[Mike Wright]

Baltimore, with Mark Trustman back in that system, he's a pass catching back they loved. There's not a better pass catching back maybe than Matt Forte.

[Jason Moore]

No, he's. He set the record two years ago, but I don't. I don't see that happening. I think they've got four set under contract right now. They like him. He's definitely cheaper than Forte. And if you want an older guy who already knows the system, why would you go out and get Matt Forte? You've got an older guy and a young guy. I don't see that happening.

[Andy Holloway]

Because Forte is better than Justin Forsett.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, but, well, you. You've got to spend your money. I mean, that's a wise team. The Ravens make good decisions.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, they do.

[Jason Moore]

And if you're going to have to spend a lot more to then cut for set and get.

[Andy Holloway]

No, no, I don't.

[Jason Moore]

I think.

[Mike Wright]

I guess they're the same age, so.

[Andy Holloway]

I think they can probably afford both. There's no way that Forte, in my opinion, is getting a big contract. So Forte is going to have. He should chase a ring is what I think Forte should do. He's not, I don't feel like he's. I think, go into a situation where it's. Oh, it's all about playing time for Matt Forte. Now, if he went to Baltimore, then that's the Patriots. Sure, but Patriots just don't spend.

[Mike Wright]

They don't spend money.

[Jason Moore]

That's what I'm saying.

[Mike Wright]

If you want our contract, he wants to take. They just gave Lewis an extension. I don't think anybody's going to New England.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I just. He could go to Baltimore, but it's going to be cut because it's not like four set won't play. But I wouldn't surprise me if Forte, if he got there, if him turning into a. At least somewhat of a featured back.

[Mike Wright]

All right. I don't want to gloss over Chris Ivory, who did have a really interesting year. I will say that the beginning part of the year, he looked like an absolute steal. He carried a lot of teams. He ended up 13th in consistency rating. He had over a thousand yards this year. He was furiously annoying to play during parts of the year. I mean, your eyeballs told you for a few weeks as an owner of Chris Ivory.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, geefin game.

[Mike Wright]

I should play Bilal Pal. Oh, I can't play Bilal Pal because it's Chris Ivory. He's a number, whatever running. I should really play blah Powell. I'm watching this game. That was what was hard about him, is that blah Powell. When he was injured, Ivory was great because he got passing targets, because he was on the field more. It was a strange game. At the end of the year where they didn't use him, you have to wonder, I mean, what was going on.

[Jason Moore]

That was bizarre.

[Mike Wright]

Well, they just basically. I mean, he came in, he had huge plays and he didn't take any snaps. So he was a guy who was okay. He was a pretty consistent running back. He was definitely more of a two than a one in my mind, even though he ended up eight.

[Jason Moore]

So let's say he's signed and he's back. There's no changes there. You're going in next year. Chris Ivory. Powell. What do you make of Chris Ivory? Finished the year as the number eight running back. Definitely stronger first half to second half, you know. Where are you ranking both of those guys? Chris Ivory and Bilal Powell?

[Mike Wright]

That's a great question. I would put Ivory in the top 15 running backs if that. If everything stayed status quo. The team's good. They're well coached. They like to run the ball. It's an annoying place to be, but I definitely put him in the top 12. Top 15.

[Andy Holloway]

I would as well. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Getting him as an RB2, but in a pure PPR.

[Mike Wright]

Would you draft Ivory over?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, I would still take Ivory, but I would go out and get Powell.

[Mike Wright]

Powell seems like he's a Mike Wright kind of guy.

[Andy Holloway]

I like below Powell, I always have.

[Mike Wright]

Just because he's. He's like Danny Woodhead, where nobody wants to draft him, where he probably belongs because he's annoying. And you like drafting those kind of guys.

[Andy Holloway]

They're my favorite.

[Mike Wright]

You're the, you know, get them late. Yeah, they're production. That's much better than. Because where Ivory will go in that. So the hypothetical situation that Jason brought up, where Ivory will go and where Powell go. On normal leagues, Ivory's gonna go way higher. Yeah, way higher. It doesn't even matter in a average draft position of a PPR league, he's gonna go way higher.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you have. Well, this is what you have to look at, too. I mean, Chris Ivory has been a walking injury type of a player. Now, he played all 16 games, right?

[Mike Wright]

No. Yeah. Fantasy owner. You remember the time he got activated and not given a snap, but *16 games still. I mean, you take one game out of it, that's pretty good.

[Andy Holloway]

No, he had a very solid year.

[Jason Moore]

We'll.

[Andy Holloway]

We'll wait to hear if he was injured in the second half of the year because it was. He was not the same guy.

[Mike Wright]

All right. Number 10 on the list is Latavius Murray. And by the way, I'm really excited about The Thursday show and getting to some of these tweener names because they're just so many question marks around them. It'll probably be a very interesting show. But number 10 is Latavius Murray. 266 carries over a thousand yards, only six touchdowns. He was targeted quite a bit in the passing game. 53 targets, 41 catches. That's very nice. You'll take that?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

And then he was 10th in consistency. He had 10 performances in the top 25. He didn't have any top five performances. And that's what you feel as a fantasy owner when you see Latavius Murray. You felt nothing that gave you auto win. He was a very much a very reliable type of guy and he only had one dud week. So what are your guys thoughts on Latavius Murray now heading in next year?

[Jason Moore]

I love Latavius Murray.

[Mike Wright]

I say that again.

[Jason Moore]

I love Latavius Murray. He is one of my favorite guys.

[Mike Wright]

Would you like, would you get on one knee and Murray him?

[Jason Moore]

I will. I would love to. Murray. Latavius Murray, he is, he's young. He is a big boy. He's got great size which helps him hold up. Played all 16 games. There's a lot made about the fact that he was able to take that workload and run with it through the full year. He had 64% of the snaps. The last four weeks of the year he had 76% of the snaps. Del Rio is a running coach. This is an Oakland Raiders team that looked be getting better, you know, if it wasn't for Amari Cooper's injury. I think they get a couple more W's and they were closer to the playoffs. This is a team I think that's going to be better next year. They left a lot. Latavius Murray left a lot on the field this year. Remember those games where, you know, he fumbled the ball and was not used. But coming into next year, if they don't make, you know, if they don't go out and sign Matt Forte in some weird wacky situation that, that flubs everything up there. Latavius Murray is a guy to me who is going to get the ball, is used in the pass catching game, is on an up and coming team, is a young guy. I like just about everything with him.

[Mike Wright]

He left out Roy hello. Goodbye.

[Jason Moore]

Sorry. Roy hello. Will not be on the Raiders next year.

[Mike Wright]

But I bet Mike will pimp whatever guy gets signed behind Latavius Murray.

[Jason Moore]

No, no, no. Wherever hello goes.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, you better believe I love Roy hello.

[Jason Moore]

So to me, Latavius Murray has a lot to look forward to, and the fact that he had low touchdown counts is a. Is kind of a good thing for me because I don't think it was.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

Unwillingness. It wasn't an unwillingness to use him at the goal line and put in another back. That's not what we saw. We just saw the unpredictability of touchdowns.

[Mike Wright]

And, and a team that's growing into its offense and their offensive players. I mean, you. You looked up an interesting stat finding out Amari Cooper had dropped the 12 most balls in the league.

[Andy Holloway]

You know this is 12th percentage, right? 12th highest drop percent.

[Jason Moore]

He was the 11th highest with enough receptions. Yeah, he was good.

[Mike Wright]

They're a team that at times their offense looked gangbusters, and at times they were figuring it out. So I think it's a good point. And the touchdown number, that, that jumps out to me because if a guy's on the field as much as he was, you know, the percentages say he'll get more opportunities around the goal line. They'll just happen. So I, you know, so that's a good take. And if you had Ivory back in the same position and you had Latavius Murray, who would you take?

[Jason Moore]

I would take Latavius Murray.

[Mike Wright]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I think I would take Latavius at this point. And versus top half defenses versus bottom, he averaged 66 yards against both. So those are the type of consistency numbers you want to see.

[Mike Wright]

All right, that does it. For today's show. We're hitting that. That was the top 10 on next show on our. Our next show on Thursday, we'll cover 11 and to as many as we can get to. And we will also make our predictions for the conference championship around so you guys get your thinking caps on, start to ponder as you will and we'll see.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm thinking right now we'll talk about.

[Jason Moore]

The playoff challenge to see how. How you guys are doing.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Mixed results.

[Mike Wright]

Goodbye.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on joint. Join TheFoot.com and follow us on Twitter the FFballers.