Fantasy Football Podcast 2016 - The TRUTH About Fantasy TE's in 2015, News, Review-a-Saurus

Summary

Fantasy Football Podcast Summary

Podcast: Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football Podcast
Episode: Fantasy Football Podcast 2016 - The TRUTH About Fantasy TE's in 2015, News, Review-a-Saurus
Release Date: January 14, 2016
Hosts: Andy Holloway and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright

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1. Introduction and Show Overview

The episode begins with Andy Holloway and Mike Wright welcoming listeners to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Jason Moore is notably absent, leading to some light-hearted banter between Andy and Mike about dancing antics and upcoming personal events, such as Mike's NFL game predictions and personal jersey choices.

Notable Quote:

• Mike Wright [02:02]: "In horrible irony, my wife's parents get into town from Wisconsin and they just happen to be the world's biggest Packer fans and we just happen to be playing each other when they come into town."

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2. Listener Feedback and Reviews

The hosts take a moment to appreciate listener reviews, highlighting feedback from Joe P., who praises the podcast for its insightful advice and entertaining banter. They humorously discuss Joe's mention of "handsome fancy beard oil," adding a personal touch to the interaction.

Notable Quote:

• Andy Holloway [03:01]: "This is a man of wisdom. This is a man who knows what he's talking about."

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3. News Segment

a. Franchise Moves: Chargers to Los Angeles Andy and Mike delve into the potential relocation of the Los Angeles Rams and the uncertainty surrounding the Chargers' future. They discuss the contractual oversights that allowed the Rams to demand their return and the Chargers' limited timeframe to decide on moving to LA.

Notable Quotes:

• Andy Holloway [05:08]: "They didn't do the official term and I'm not super keen and hip to legalese."
• Mike Wright [06:18]: "They would share a stadium then? If the Chargers decline that option, the NFL will subsidize with some cash."

b. Steelers Injury Updates The conversation shifts to the Pittsburgh Steelers, focusing on key player injuries. D'Angelo Williams is unlikely to play, Antonio Brown is in concussion protocol, and Ben Roethlisberger suffers torn ligaments in his throwing shoulder. The hosts express concern over these injuries affecting Mike’s ability to co-host next week.

Notable Quote:

• Andy Holloway [07:20]: "If you recall before last week's game, the Steelers were very tight lipped, very secretive about an ankle injury to D'Angelo Williams."

c. Helmet Safety Technology Mike introduces new helmet technology aimed at reducing concussions, highlighting a $10 million investment with partial funding from the NFL. He critiques the NFL's allocation of funds, suggesting more should be invested in player safety rather than stadiums.

Notable Quote:

• Mike Wright [09:14]: "These helmets were crazy because it showed a side by side comparison of them, almost like crash testing."

d. Other NFL News Additional updates include DeVonte Adams' MCL sprain, doubts about Coach Hugh Jackson's potential role with the San Francisco 49ers, and ongoing discussions about team stability and coaching changes.

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4. Weekend Game Predictions

Andy and Mike share their predictions for upcoming NFL matchups:

NFC Picks:

• Andy: Seattle Seahawks over Carolina Panthers ([12:07])
• Mike: Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals ([12:31])

AFC Picks:

• Andy: Denver Broncos over Pittsburgh Steelers ([12:34])
• Mike: New England Patriots over Kansas City Chiefs ([12:43])

They engage in a friendly debate about choosing between the Chiefs and Patriots, with Andy favoring the Chiefs due to concerns over Tom Brady's health and the Patriots' recent performance.

Notable Quotes:

• Andy Holloway [12:53]: "They are as hot as you can possibly get as a team."
• Mike Wright [13:46]: "I got Denver and I got New England."

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5. Main Discussion: The Truth About Fantasy Tight Ends

The core of the podcast centers around an in-depth analysis of the top 12 fantasy tight ends from the 2015 season, evaluating their performance, consistency, and future potential.

a. Rob Gronkowski - The Number One TE Rob Gronkowski is lauded as the premier tight end, praised for his consistency and high performance. Despite injury concerns, his ability to dominate week after week makes him a valuable first-round pick in fantasy drafts.

Notable Quotes:

• Mike Wright [16:10]: "Gronk represents everything that you could possibly want at the highest level of guarantee."
• Andy Holloway [18:17]: "Gronk is locked and loaded. Every single week you put him out there."

b. Gary Barnage - A Solid Second Choice Gary Barnage is highlighted for his impressive target numbers and consistency, rivaling Gronkowski. The discussion touches on his growth and the influence of the Cleveland Browns' quarterback situation on his performance.

Notable Quotes:

• Andy Holloway [19:10]: "You can throw those out pretty much so from a consistency standpoint, he was as consistent as Rob Gronkowski."
• Mike Wright [20:52]: "If you had to choose one of those two, would you rather have Gronk or Gary Barnage?"

c. Jordan Reed - A Rising Star Jordan Reed is commended for his consistent performance and high target volume, positioning him as a strong fourth to fifth-round draft pick. His potential for future growth is discussed, though concerns about his injury history are noted.

Notable Quotes:

• Andy Holloway [24:14]: "Jordan Reed is a beast in half point or full point PPR leagues."
• Mike Wright [24:14]: "He has more momentum than anybody heading into the draft next year."

d. Greg Olson - The Consistent Veteran Greg Olson is recognized for his reliable production, making him a valuable asset despite not being a flashy pick. His stability within the team structure and ability to avoid being sidelined make him an attractive option for fantasy managers.

Notable Quotes:

• Andy Holloway [28:51]: "He has a very cool name, and he's reliable."
• Mike Wright [28:54]: "He's putting up good performances, top 10 performances every once in a while."

e. Delanie Walker - Late-Round Value Delanie Walker is identified as a late-round gem, offering high target numbers and significant opportunities despite a slightly reduced role in the latter part of the season. His chemistry with the quarterback and potential for increased involvement make him a worthwhile pick in the later rounds.

Notable Quotes:

• Andy Holloway [31:28]: "He's shaping up to be one of those great late-round guys."
• Mike Wright [32:00]: "He's the only tight end who never once finished outside the top 20."

f. Tyler Eifert - High Risk, High Reward Tyler Eifert's performance is scrutinized due to his touchdown dependency and inconsistent week-to-week production. While his high target numbers are appealing, the variability in his scoring makes him a riskier pick compared to more consistent tight ends.

Notable Quotes:

• Mike Wright [35:04]: "Tyler Ifert is not going to be on any of my teams because Ifert's name got big this year."
• Andy Holloway [36:41]: "If you had to choose between Ifert or Barnage, Ifert will go before Barnage."

g. Travis Kelsey and Benjamin Watson - Veteran Options Travis Kelsey and Benjamin Watson are discussed as solid backup options. Kelsey's performance didn't meet expectations, while Watson, despite his age, proved reliable. Both are suggested to be drafted in the later rounds or picked up from waivers, depending on team needs.

Notable Quotes:

• Andy Holloway [39:52]: "If they don't make a move for a tight end in New Orleans, give me Ben Watson."
• Mike Wright [38:54]: "Julius Thomas over Antonio Gates because he had five top 10 performances."

h. Lower-Pack Tight Ends - Julius Thomas, Eric Ebron, and Others The hosts briefly touch on other tight ends like Julius Thomas and Eric Ebron, highlighting their potential upside and better consistency compared to veterans like Antonio Gates and Jason Whitten. These players are recommended over others for their balance of talent and reliability.

Notable Quotes:

• Mike Wright [48:16]: "I would take Julius Thomas over Antonio. He had five top 10 performances."
• Andy Holloway [49:35]: "All of those players over Richard Rogers next year."

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6. Additional Tight End Discussions

Towards the end, Andy and Mike explore miscellaneous tight end prospects, including Zach Miller, Jimmy Graham, Ladarius Green, Crockett Gilmore, and Rob Hausler. They provide quick evaluations, often expressing skepticism about certain players' reliability and potential contributions to fantasy teams.

Notable Quotes:

• Mike Wright [50:30]: "No way for Jimmy Graham."
• Andy Holloway [53:38]: "I was able to handle the truth."

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7. Conclusion and Sign-Off

The episode wraps up with playful exchanges about handling truth and jokes about prostate health, maintaining the show’s light-hearted tone. Andy and Mike remind listeners to visit their website and follow them on Twitter for more content.

Notable Quote:

• Andy Holloway [53:55]: "Thank you for listening to another edition of the Fantasy Fantasy Footballers Podcast."

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Key Takeaways:

• Rob Gronkowski remains the top fantasy tight end due to his unparalleled consistency and high performance.
• Gary Barnage and Jordan Reed are solid choices for fantasy managers, offering reliability and substantial target volumes.
• Greg Olson and Delanie Walker provide valuable late-round options with consistent production.
• Tyler Eifert presents a high-risk, high-reward scenario, making him a less favorable pick compared to more dependable tight ends.
• Veterans like Travis Kelsey and Benjamin Watson are viable backup options, while players like Jimmy Graham and Richard Rodgers are generally not recommended.
• The potential relocation of the Rams and Chargers to Los Angeles introduces uncertainty for fantasy managers with players on those teams.
• Injury updates, particularly concerning key Steelers players and helmet safety advancements, are crucial for managing fantasy rosters effectively.

This episode provides comprehensive insights into the tight end position, helping fantasy football enthusiasts make informed decisions for the upcoming season.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

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

[Mike Wright]

Hey, everybody. Hey.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, you're dancing.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, that's doing the Russian dance.

[Mike Wright]

When you dance like that, I almost don't notice Jason's absence.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it's always got to do it.

[Mike Wright]

Someone's got it. Someone's got a dance. We're back again where the Fantasy Footballers. It is Thursday, January 14th, and we are here. Yeah, two of us. Mike the fantasy hitman. Right. I'm Andy Holloway. We're bringing you some good fantasy stuff today. We're gonna be talking through the news some of the things that have broke, you know, news wise. There's moving franchises. Yeah, no everyday stuff.

[Andy Holloway]

No big deal.

[Mike Wright]

No big deal. Which leaves some really heartbroken people in certain cities and I can't imagine having to go through that. But I have one, a good friend dealing with the Charger situation, that's just. Yeah, I feel terrible for him. We got the truth. No, Paul Pierce is not on the show today. We got the truth about fantasy tight end.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I was so. You tricked me. I know you tricked me. I thought Pierce was coming in.

[Mike Wright]

No, no, Paul Pierce. But we do have. We're gonna break down tight ends. Top 12 guys that finish this year, what their numbers look like, tell you the truth about them. Are they guys that you can rely on? Could you rely on them this year? Were they plug and play? Were they streamers? What are they going to be next year? We're going to conjecture about what they can be next year based on the numbers, based on what we've saw with our eyeballs. What else do we got? We got, we got good stuff. I mean, that's, that's the big, the big part of the show.

[Andy Holloway]

And apparently there's some playoffs this week.

[Mike Wright]

I have my, my cardinal jersey on.

[Andy Holloway]

I thought about wearing mine. I don't. I should have done that. I don't know why I did not.

[Mike Wright]

In horrible irony, my wife's parents get into town from Wisconsin and they just happen to be the world's biggest Packer fans and we just happen to be playing each other when they come into town. So that's, that's ends well, right? Rivalries and in laws.

[Andy Holloway]

That's unfortunate for them.

[Mike Wright]

That's right. That's right, buddy. Because I won't be doing the show next week if we lose that game. But yeah, let's go ahead and we like to read a review from the listeners every once in a while. We really appreciate your reviews on itunes and wherever you're listening to the show. So every once in a while we like to. To read some. Some of the good ones that come through. Obviously we've had a fun into the year. A lot of listeners winning their titles, a lot of listeners having better years than they've ever had before. So we're going to read one right now and Jason normally does that.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I'll try not to let him down.

[Mike Wright]

Can you handle it?

[Andy Holloway]

I don't have a choice.

[Mike Wright]

Let's see what happens.

[Andy Holloway]

Review asaurus Rags this one comes in from Joe P. The title is Dis podcast dough with all with D's. I like it. I started listening to these guys in early September. They have great advice for fantasy owners, but it's more fun to listen to their banter with each other. With standing victories, the inception inception of David Johnson, Rule 86 and all the water bets have been highlights this year with injury riddled fantasy teams. Foster Lewis. Thanks Fantasy Reaper.

[Mike Wright]

Sorry.

[Andy Holloway]

And my real life team being Romoless. These guys kept the season enjoyable for me. Thanks and keep up the great work. P.S. handsome fancy beard oil is the best. Go get it. Joe P. This is a man of wisdom. This is a man who knows what he's talking about.

[Mike Wright]

That's right. He even threw in a little little extra about the handsome fancy beard oil.

[Andy Holloway]

You gotta keep the beard tight and ripe and that's how you do it. I appreciate that, Joe.

[Mike Wright]

Wait, you didn't say ripe, right? You said tight and right.

[Andy Holloway]

No, you don't want it to be ripe.

[Mike Wright]

You don't want it to be ripe. That's a good point. All right, you want to check out the show? You want to leave us a review, Find out how you can connect with us. You can do it all from the website thefantasyfootballers.com. you can connect with us on Twitter, the FFballers. You'll never miss a thing. We record the show. The show's on YouTube on video as well and the segments are broken up on there.

[Andy Holloway]

So that dancing we were talking about.

[Mike Wright]

Oh yeah. You can subject your eyes to that, which seems like a dangerous thing to do. And you can join our Fantasy [e-mail] Become a part of the Foot Clan. The listeners. Let's go ahead and get into the news.

[Andy Holloway]

News and notes from around the league.

[Mike Wright]

The Los angeles rams. Oh, St. Louis sound.

[Andy Holloway]

St. Louis. I'm sorry.

[Mike Wright]

Look, we, we're kind of connected to that whole St. Louis thing.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, we took your team the first time.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, we, we were the. You know, we're Cardinal fans, they came out from St. Louis. That was the first abandonment. Now you lose your team to la. That's kind of been the confirmation. The Rams are moving.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, here's. Here's what happened, actually. I read through the contract.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, you did?

[Andy Holloway]

I read through the St. Louis contract.

[Mike Wright]

I didn't know you could read.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I can. We're improving steadily. We're at third grade level. Someday we'll get to high school. But I didn't find a clause. I was looking for it. There was. They didn't do the official term and I'm not. I'm not super keen and hip to legalese.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

But I was told the official clause they should have included was no takesy backsies.

[Mike Wright]

Oh.

[Andy Holloway]

And they completely forgot it.

[Mike Wright]

It's not in as many contracts as you'd believe.

[Andy Holloway]

And so LA said, well, we want our team back.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. We're spend a ton of money building a giant facility and a multi billion dollar entertainment district and yada yada yada. And now we don't know if the Chargers are moving too. It looks very possible.

[Andy Holloway]

And so the official news is the Chargers have up to a year to decide if they would also like to move to la and they can share the stadium that is being built that is scheduled to open in 2019, I believe it's the last I heard. So they would share a stadium then? If the Chargers decline that option, the.

[Mike Wright]

NFL will subsidize with some. Some cash.

[Andy Holloway]

Correct. And they'll try and fix up their stadium in San Diego. But that opens the door for Oakland. Then Oakland could move down to LA and share the stadium with the Rams.

[Mike Wright]

Well, what we know now is that la, one of the biggest markets in America, will have football again. And so we'll be following that. That'll be interesting for. For fans that are in LA and fans that are losing teams. And. And so what else do we got going on? We got a bunch of news about the upcoming Steelers matchup because you have Antonio Brown, D'Angelo Williams and Big Ben that have all been through the grinder.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

So tell me what's going on with those three guys?

[Andy Holloway]

So it looks bad for D'Angelo Williams. He's back in a walking boots. The word is that it is a very long shot for him to play this weekend. Antonio Brown is in the concussion protocol. Yes. Pac Man Adam Jones, I hate to break this to you. You hit him in the head really hard and he got a concussion.

[Mike Wright]

That might be why he got suspended. Three games. Perfect.

[Andy Holloway]

No, that. That's bur. Oh yeah, yeah. But I'm saying like he wasn't winking at you. That was, that was a man who had just been concussed involuntary that could not control the functions of his motor skills. So as of now, it looks like he is on the outside. He could still clear. You never know with concussion. These, with the symptoms, they, they come, they, they come, they go, they come. You know, it's, it's very fluid situation now for Big Ben. Apparently he has torn ligaments in his throwing shoulder.

[Mike Wright]

Now to the average human, it.

[Andy Holloway]

That's not where I was going with. Okay, where I'm going with this is if you recall before last week's game, the Steelers were very tight lipped, very secretive about an ankle injury to D'Angelo Williams. The entire NFL is generally very tight lipped about injuries.

[Mike Wright]

It's called being foxy.

[Andy Holloway]

However, whenever Big Ben has an injury, we know exactly what it is, allegedly. So it's just a funny thing that Big Ben is so open with his.

[Mike Wright]

Injuries because of the hero. He's a hero.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. It kind of adds to the lore.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, it does.

[Andy Holloway]

I like Ben. I think he's a good quarterback, but I mean really.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. I don't know. So torn ligaments. Yeah, he's probably going to play. I think he's going to play. Antonio Brown hopeful. I think he'll play too. We'll find out about that. That'll make a difference to some of your playoff challenge teams.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. They are in trouble if Antonio Brown doesn't play.

[Mike Wright]

And we're going to get our predictions in. But speaking of the concussion thing, I saw an article this morning that I was reading because I can read as well. And very impressive new technology with these helmets. Have you seen this?

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Mike Wright]

There are these helmets being developed. They have over 10 million in investment funding, 500,000 from the NFL and they are flexible. Wait, 500,000 of the 10 million? Yeah. The NFL throw a whole bunch of.

[Andy Holloway]

Cash, the 8 billion dollar NFL 500K to helmet safety.

[Mike Wright]

I guess I glossed over that. I'm sure their money is spent elsewhere. Let's not disparage the big man.

[Andy Holloway]

It's put into new stadiums where they'll make more money.

[Mike Wright]

That's where it goes. But these helmets were crazy because it showed a side by side comparison of them, almost like crash testing. And the outer layer of the helmet is these compressing. I don't even know what the material is, but it basically the whole outer layer compresses to stop the head from impacting. You know, because helmet technology really over 40 years. Hasn't changed a whole bunch.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

You had the leather heads way back in the day. Then you had these helmets.

[Andy Holloway]

Bring it back.

[Mike Wright]

Bring back the leather. Hey, that might reduce concussions because nobody's gonna want to knock heads then. Although people are a lot bigger now. That's probably not gonna end well.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike Ditka strategy.

[Mike Wright]

That's not gonna end well. But it was cool because it showed that, you know, these could have a. They have to be tested and everything, but they could have a big impact on reducing concussions and they could start selling them to NFL teams soon. So. Random. Random.

[Andy Holloway]

That's good. I had. A while ago, I saw a helmet that was being discussed of. Had kind of some shell of some sorts that if it absorbed a hit, Oh, a certain threshold, like something would pop off of it. So it was just instantly you knew how to check.

[Mike Wright]

I don't know if we know that. Like an airbag all over the field, there you be pieces of helmets flying off of things. The only other thing I'm going to mention right now from this list is that Devonte Adams has an MCL sprain, unlikely to play. And so in his place will be Aberdares. Aberdares.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I like that.

[Mike Wright]

Aberdares.

[Andy Holloway]

Very nice.

[Mike Wright]

That has to be good for the Cardinals, right? Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you would. You would think so. I think we should also throw out that there was a train of momentum going that Hugh Jackson would be the next coach of the San Francisco 49ers. That has apparently come to a screeching halt.

[Mike Wright]

It might have. Same with the Brown. So. Because he left the Browns second without a deal. Without a deal. So we'll see what happens with Hugh Jackson. I like him. I think he should have taken over in Oakland. We talked about it on the show on Tuesday.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. Well, he did take over in Oakland. Then they.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, but wasn't that interim?

[Andy Holloway]

I don't remember.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I think he took over for like, half a year in Oakland. And if I'm wrong, if you're out there in Oakland and you're thinking about your Raiders and you're hoping they don't move, then you probably can correct me and feel good. So in terms of picks for this weekend, let's get them in.

[Andy Holloway]

Let's get on the record.

[Mike Wright]

Last week, you and Jason went three for four.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep.

[Mike Wright]

I was two for four because of those. Those two insane games there. So let's go ahead and put them on record. All right. Start with the nfc.

[Andy Holloway]

The. We'll start with the nfc. You know, I'm going home or I'm taking the Cardinals. That's an automatic.

[Mike Wright]

They're at homer too, so that's not too bad.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, well, I think they're the better team. The Seahawks, the Panthers. This is. Is difficult. I'm gonna stay with the. I'm gonna stay with the Seahawks though. They kind of lucked into a victory there. They. But they don't have to deal with negative 20 degree type weather down in Carolina. Yeah, I'm going to take the Seahawks.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to go with Carolina and Arizona. All right.

[Andy Holloway]

The afc. I, I'm going to take the Broncos over the Steelers. That's. There's just trouble for the Steelers and they don't have a defense that can.

[Mike Wright]

Cover up in Denver.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So I'm going with the Broncos and I'm going to take the chefs.

[Mike Wright]

Are you.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm taking the chefs. The Chiefs over the Patriots.

[Mike Wright]

It happened.

[Andy Holloway]

They are as hot as you can possibly get as a team. Their defense is great. I'm not overlooking into what they did or looking too much into what they did against the Texans because there was some, there was some bad spots of that game. Despite the blowout of the final score. They caught a couple breaks and their offense isn't great. But there is concerns about the Patriots. Where, how. We haven't heard much about it because it's been a couple weeks, but how's Tom Brady's ankle? How effective can he be coming back? Edelman hasn't played in months. Gronk is missing practices right now. I just think that the, the Chiefs, if anyone can get it done.

[Mike Wright]

11 straight wins up in Foxborough.

[Andy Holloway]

I think the Chiefs can do it.

[Mike Wright]

I got Denver and I got New England. I'm going to just take New England. This is their pathway to the Super Bowl. Generally, as they get that by a week, they come in ready in the second round. We'll see what happens. Let's go ahead and get into the tight ends.

[Andy Holloway]

Ah, the truth. You want answers? I think I'm entitled. You want answers?

[Mike Wright]

I want the truth.

[Andy Holloway]

You can't handle the truth.

[Mike Wright]

You can't handle it. Mike, there's some interesting things here in the tight end numbers. When we look back at the season, there are a couple of guys that jump off the page to me in terms of headline type of news for 2016. So we're going to get into that. Let me start with this, Mike. When you're a fantasy owner, as a fantasy owner, tell me what you want in a tight end and your answer cannot be Rob Gronkowski. Tell me what you're really looking for. What do we want as fantasy owners from a tight end position week to week?

[Andy Holloway]

From the tight end position? I want a guy who's going to get me about 60 yards with a chance to score every single week. That's, that's the basics of what I want. And I mean, you want, clearly you want targets, but there's not a lot of tight ends who get a high volume of targets. So you, you generally have a lower bar for that position. So if a guy can give me 60 yards and I know that he does score touchdowns, that's, that's perfect for me.

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to have. Once we get through the top three guys, I'm going to have a question for you. Okay, so remind me because I'm very curious about it. But let's start with number one. You know him, his name is Rob Gronkowski. Gronk was back this year. He had the scary injury, but he came back. His line on the year was 72 catches, almost 1200 yards, 11 touchdowns, 120 targets. And we brought this up on the show on Tuesday. We went through the top quarterbacks and we discussed our perspective on them. We gave you some of the numbers behind the numbers. Yeah, that's right. There's numbers behind numbers. But one of the things we did is we talked about consistency level from a player. How many times did they finish in the top 10 this past year? How many times do they finish in the top two? How many times do they finish outside the top 20? You know, a dud game, a terrible game. Gronk's the number one. Okay. He had 11 games in the top 10. He had six games. Six games as a top two performer at the position. Doesn't really get any better than that. He only had one. What we qualify as a dud game outside the top 20 at the position, there's not much we need to say in terms of, you know, building up Rob Gronkowski. I don't think anybody doubts he's the number one. Quarter or run, quarterback, running back and tight end.

[Andy Holloway]

We will get there.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, we're going to get to running backs.

[Andy Holloway]

The only question about Rob Gronkowski for next year is would you spend a first round pick on him?

[Mike Wright]

And my answer is yes, a late round.

[Andy Holloway]

So second half, you would go first round?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, yeah, I probably would. Yeah, I probably would. Because he represents everything that you could possibly want at the highest level of guarantee. You know, we've seen Gronkowski do it time after time. The Injury stuff is still a concern. It's the same thing we're going to discuss about with Jordan Reed, some of these other guys. But Gronkowski just represents a positional advantage. He can win you weeks, look, six weeks as a top two in the position, that means you're, you're beating your opponent at that position every single week pretty much. And so that's, you know, he can take you a long way. Yeah, but the question is, is, is for fantasy owners, is, are there other guys will able to bridge the gap between, you know, Gronkowski and the rest? Because if there are, they're probably a better draft value because you can't. Gronk's not a draft value. Gronk's just grown. You know, he's going to be, he's, you know, you say, would you take him in the end of the first. I say yes. I also say that's also probably too high, but I would do it. You know what I mean? Like you're paying the premium for a guy. And so let's go ahead and look at how he did against defenses. Was there any disparity between how he played against top and bottom defenses?

[Andy Holloway]

So like we did with the quarterbacks, the top 16, bottom 16, it was a six game, nine game split and it's no difference of a point. Gronk is locked and loaded. You every single week you put him out there.

[Mike Wright]

All right, let's move on then because we, you already know about Gronk. So Gary Barnage was the number two tight end in standard leagues. This is, this is shocking. Now, Gronk had 120 targets on the year. Guess how many targets Gary Barnage had.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I'm looking at it, so I can't guess.

[Mike Wright]

Guess perfectly by reading it.

[Andy Holloway]

125.

[Mike Wright]

125.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a lot of targets.

[Mike Wright]

More receptions than Gronkowski. 79, 1043 yards, nine touchdowns. And number two in consistency off the waiver wire. Off the waiver wire.

[Andy Holloway]

That is glorious.

[Mike Wright]

You know, he had 10 top 10 performances. He had two performances in the top two at the position. He did dud on you three times. But it doesn't really get any better than that. And the truth is he played better defenses than Gronkowski.

[Andy Holloway]

Did you know when two of those duds were though? Weeks one and two, when you weren't even playing Gary Barnes?

[Mike Wright]

I think. When, when, yeah, when Cleveland didn't even know what they had in Gary. And so that's a good point. You can throw those out pretty much so from a consistency standpoint, he was as consistent as Rob Gronkowski. He didn't give you as many of those prolific performances, but he was rock solid.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he was super solid. And his splits against top and bottom pass defenses are nearly identical as well. He, there wasn't a weakness, so to speak. He was, there was not a. Oh, this is a, is a tough pass defense. It was because he was getting pepper with targets. 125. 125 targets is ridiculous. Now Gary Barnage is going to be very polarizing next week, next week, next year. Like, will we respect what he did? Will the turnover and the change of Cleveland be too much for people to buy in to Gary Barnage?

[Mike Wright]

I think will Josh Gordon coming back impact perspective on his target numbers because they didn't have anybody to throw to at the wide receiver position.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, they had Dwight Bowe, they just didn't use it. It was really weird. Oh my God, we still owe him money.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Dwayne Bowe made cash for nothing this year.

[Andy Holloway]

I need an agent. I need Dwayne, Bo's agent. That's who I need.

[Mike Wright]

You could, you could have done what Bo did this year without. Without question.

[Andy Holloway]

I firmly believe I could have done that.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he had like 30 yards.

[Mike Wright]

I bet you'd take even half that money.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay, fine, I'll take half that money. But so Gary Barnage, I mean, he's gonna be later round as far as. Where do you think he goes? I'll give you an over under eighth round.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, he'll be before that.

[Andy Holloway]

Really?

[Mike Wright]

I think so. I think so. That being said, let's, let's project him in the sixth. Would you rather have Gronk in the first or Gary Barnes in the sixth?

[Andy Holloway]

It's not in the sixth because you're.

[Mike Wright]

Saying neither though in that situation. But if you had to choose one of those two, would you rather have Gronk if you're giving up a spot?

[Andy Holloway]

If I had to give up, if I had to pick one of those, I'd go with Barnage.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm just, I don't have a problem at all with people taking Gronk in the first round. It's just not for me. It's not. That's not my strategy. But for Barnage, I mean, who's the quarterback? You know, Johnny Football is going to be out. There's no way he's on the team.

[Mike Wright]

So the variables are through the roof with Barnage, but haven't done it over multiple years. So he doesn't have the track record, the quarterback changes, head coaching changes.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it's the coach.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, you're right.

[Andy Holloway]

And it's probably McCown. I imagine the Browns will take a quarterback very early or they're going to be in on a Robert Griffin sweepstakes or they're like one of those type of guys. But I imagine it'll be McCown, at least for the first couple weeks. And McCown was fantasy beast, man. So if you tell me it's McCown, then I'm perfectly fine taking Barnage.

[Mike Wright]

They have a rapport. You saw how McCown performed with Barnage. So number three was rule 86.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Jordan Reed look more receptions than both of those guys. 87 for 952, 11 touchdowns, 114 targets. And really, you have stability with Jordan Reed from an organizational standpoint. You have a head coach that's coming back. You've got a quarterback that's almost assuredly coming back on a big contract or a franchise tag, and you have a rapport with him. That's. I mean, we talked about this last week. Jordan Reed is the first and second read on a lot of these plays. Yeah, but we already did that joke.

[Andy Holloway]

So I was glossing over it.

[Mike Wright]

But look, from a consistency standpoint, he was number four. He had four prolific performances, including some playoff winning performances. He had nine games in the top 10. He had two kind of dud games, but he played. All right, he played football. And that's the key rule 86 is what if he's.

[Andy Holloway]

If Jordan Reed is healthy, you play.

[Mike Wright]

He, you know, he's a guy who's been on the injury report 20 times in his career. He's a guy who's missed 13 or 14 games in his career with various injuries. You had concussion problems, hamstrings, quadriceps, different injuries for Reed that gave you hesitation. But these aren't things that are really absent from Rob Gunkowski's resume. We just write it off because Gronk's numbers are. You know, he gets a pass because his numbers are so astronomical.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

Kind of has a justification now if his numbers are up there in the stratosphere, you can kind of deal with that stuff because when he plays, he's great, he wins you weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

And it's. It's recency bias is all it is. I mean, you have the. You have Rob Gronkowski coming off of the knee explosion. Year comes back, he has a monster year, plays every game. Rob Gronkowski's not injury prone anymore because he played a full season. That's How? That's how we do it in fantasy football.

[Mike Wright]

And it's true. And you kind of have to, because at some point in time, you know, these careers aren't necessarily incredibly long. Matt Forte used to get labeled that way, you know, so. But you're right. You're right. It's a recency bias. And now Jordan Reed, I think he's got more momentum than anybody heading into the draft next year.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, yeah, absolutely. And if you have half point or full point ppr, Jordan Reed is a beast. I mean, because he gets 114 targets. He did miss two games, but, I mean, he's putting up nine catch performances. He had a week seven against Tampa Bay, 11 catches. There's just not tight ends out there that are doing that. You know, they don't get those targets.

[Mike Wright]

No. And if you watch him, one of the things that impresses me most about Reed is his route running. He is a really a dynamic route runner, and he gets separation. Now, this is the question I was going to have for you, and you kind of answered it, but these three guys barnage, Reed, Gronkowski next year. Based on where you think they'll end up in the draft, who's going to be the best value to you?

[Andy Holloway]

I see Jordan Reed as a fourth, fifth round type of a guy. And fourth round might be pushing it depend on who's on the board.

[Mike Wright]

Kelsey was in that range this year.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And so Reed, I don't mind it in the fifth. I mean, you'll hear us talk plenty about how we draft Titans.

[Mike Wright]

No more shows from now until the first week of the season. So this is it.

[Andy Holloway]

But we generally, there's that crop of two to three tight ends every year that you can take early and earlier in the draft. And besides that, if you don't get one, then you just wait. You wait a very long time. But Jordan Reed, I think will be worth the. Worth a fifth, maybe even worth the fourth. I mean, if he can be healthy. That's what it is. It's the health. If you know you're getting 16 games of reed in the fourth round, that's. That's a draft steal.

[Mike Wright]

So when it comes to the comparison between him and the Kelsey hype before the season, though, isn't there something to be said? You said you can wait on guys, but you were a tweener with Kelsey. Right? Like you. You rolled the dice with Kelsey. And I say you as in, you know, a person who drafted him, not you specifically.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, I did.

[Mike Wright]

I know. I guess you did.

[Andy Holloway]

I had him Everywhere.

[Mike Wright]

Because you were hoping you would get a read like year from Kelsey. Right. Talent wise, it's there. But he was an example in my opinion of you don't have the track record behind the guy. You're projecting him for it. You kind of burned a fourth round pick on Travis Kelsey, you know.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, yeah. When you took.

[Mike Wright]

So is there a risk with Reed in the same category?

[Andy Holloway]

There is absolutely a risk. But what we've seen with Jordan Reed, this, this will be his fourth year, is that right?

[Mike Wright]

I believe so, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

But when he's played and been, you know, he's acclimated to the offense, the offense really runs through him. The passing game, even when Griffin was the quarterback, it just. Reed soaked up targets where Kelsey was a, a projection, so to speak, of a lack of weapons. You had Macklin come in. But besides Macklin, there was no one of name value that had shown the had proven their talent where Kelsey had. I mean his metrics of yards after catch and everything. We'll talk about Kelsey in a second. But Kelsey was. So there was a bit of projecting of improvement for Travis.

[Mike Wright]

What's incredible is last year reed played in 11 games. He had 50 catches last year he had 87 this year. How many touchdowns did he have last year? Did you know. Do you know this number?

[Andy Holloway]

Did he have any.

[Mike Wright]

Zero.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Zero touchdowns. He had 11 this year. You know, there's always warnings with high touchdown numbers but those don't really persist unless you have low reception numbers. So we're going to get to some of those guys here soon.

[Andy Holloway]

Number four, there's someone very specific.

[Mike Wright]

There's someone specific. Yeah, we're going to get to one guy. Greg Olson though, at number four, tried and true. Right. Like to me he is the, the Jason Whitten esque type of just, you know, you're going to get production from him. You know, he's not sexy enough to probably go high, high in the draft.

[Andy Holloway]

He was last year.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that's true because. Because everybody else was gone in that passing offense and. But Look, Olson did it 77 for 1100 yards, seven touchdowns. You would have liked to probably see some higher touchdown numbers from him on a year where Cam threw for so many. So because of that he was only the number six, most consistent tight end. He had a couple dud games, a couple prolific games and then he was pretty much a solid top 10 tight end week to week.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And I think next year what will be interesting is of, you know, where is he drafted? Because like I'm saying that the shine On Greg Olson, who had a very solid year.

[Mike Wright]

We got to do a shine episode because that is just. That's such a dynamic in fantasy football that's ignored. You know, where big names, new names, the Abdullahs, Kelsey's right, these guys that. Because we're all shooting for the moon. Right. We all want to play to win. You play to win. But yeah, Olson will be. He'll be 31 heading into next year too.

[Andy Holloway]

And I think he will be perfectly fine. I think he'll be a great option and he could be even better than like a read value because Olson might drop to the sixth, seventh round just because of just hype and things like that. The stock market value of these players and the perception where Olson I think will be, he should be very solid again next year. You do have Kelvin Benjamin coming back. Devin Funches I believe is coming on will be. He'll be the, the wide receiver too. And we get to see some more of him in the playoffs, you know, to verify if that's going to happen or not. But I think Olson should be similar, similar numbers to this. I don't know if he'll get 1100 yards, but you know, the 70 catch range, thousand yards, it's very doable and that's fantastic. If you get those numbers, if you can get 1,000 yards out of your tight end, you're very happy.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. You've got a very safe baseline week to week. He's not going to cost you games. Now, number five on this list. I've got some interesting numbers about him. He had the most receptions at the position, 94. He had more receptions this year by about 30% than he had he had his last year. 60, 63 jumps up to 94, 31 years old. Delaney Walker.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Now I am very curious about him because I could. You can craft arguments for players and I feel like I could craft two narratives for him. I could do the narrative that is look stability at the quarterback position. Young guy that, you know, Mariota looked to Delaney Walker. Walker was reliable. Six touchdowns this year. The numbers have never been high. That's the most in his career. But seeing him jump 30 plus receptions and jump up in yardage there, I just don't know if they get Kindle right back. They had no stability at the outside position. Green Beckham kind of came on late in the season. What do you project for Delaney Walker next year? Is he somebody that you're very confident in? Is he somebody you're hesitating with? Is he somebody you. You'd like to Draft real late.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he's. He's shaping up to be one of those great late round, I mean, later round, 9th, 10th round guys.

[Mike Wright]

Listen to the target numbers for the back half of the year. 10, 8, 12, 13, 5, 15, 14.

[Andy Holloway]

Good grief.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. 133 targets on the year which led all tight ends.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man. That's what you want. You want that opportunity. And I don't think that.

[Mike Wright]

I feel like he's going to return to the mean.

[Andy Holloway]

Really?

[Mike Wright]

I feel like he's going to return to that 60, 70 catch range.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he might drop back down to. What Was he before?

[Mike Wright]

60, 63.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I think it would be somewhere in between. The nine can have a lot to do.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, look, they had no weapons at the end of the year. You know, Wright was out for most of the back half of the year. They couldn't run the ball either. You know, their short passing game. He was like, he was the first and second read on every play too. It's going to be very interesting what develops on their offense with David Cobb. Or do they draft a guy? Do they draft another wide receiver? Who do they sign? Bring in who's healthy. Delaney Walker, though you can't argue with the fact he got it done. He was the number three most consistent tight end. He's the only tight end who never once finished outside the top 20.

[Andy Holloway]

That's, that's not too bad. And I think Walker will be drafted exactly where he was this year. I mean, just very late. Very late.

[Mike Wright]

Nowhere.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I saw him drafted at a couple spots, but there was leagues where Walker went undrafted.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. And now he was a guy who also played better against worst pass defenses.

[Andy Holloway]

And I think that's a product of Mariota.

[Mike Wright]

That makes sense.

[Andy Holloway]

Rookie quarterback. Of course you would, you would hope that they play better against a worse defense. Now you. Next year you'd like that, that gap to close and so just to be a solid quarterback against everybody. But it makes sense to me.

[Mike Wright]

All right, let's get to number six.

[Andy Holloway]

Here he is.

[Mike Wright]

All right, that's not really fair. It's Tyler Ifert. I sounded the alarm because there is one thing that stands out about Tyler Ifer compared to all the guys. Okay, so let me, let me read this to you. Here's the catch totals from the top eight tight ends. 72, 79, 87, 77, 94, 72, 74. And then there's Tyler Ifer.

[Andy Holloway]

So that's through the top eight.

[Mike Wright]

That's through the top eight. Ifer had 52 catches here's the target numbers. 1101-331031-24114, 125, 120. Tyler Ifert, 52, 52 target. That can't be right. No, that's got to be wrong. That is so low. I know, I know. I'm going to vet it real quick. But the truth of the matter is he had so 72. I'm sorry, 72. It was 72 targets.

[Andy Holloway]

52 on 72, 52 catches on 52 targets. Tyler EIford, the best tight end in history.

[Mike Wright]

The most perfect. He's got nice gloves. OK.

[Andy Holloway]

He's got a really good gloves.

[Mike Wright]

No, but 52 on 72 is a great catch rate.

[Andy Holloway]

That being said, 72 is very low.

[Mike Wright]

Very low. Comparatively. Yes, he missed. He missed three games. He had 13 touchdowns. That's why he's number six on the final. On the docket here, he had 13 touchdowns. And so the panic alarm goes off because I just. Look, that offense is good enough for him to score 13 again, I'm not saying it's not. He's a red zone target. But with Ifert, you are buying into a standard league tight end type of guy. In my opinion. You're not going. If he doesn't score, he's not going to put up the kind of numbers that a Delaney Walker will give you baseline week to week. There were a couple weeks when IFRT was outside the top 20.

[Andy Holloway]

IFERT had a zero week.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

If you remember right. And he did catch a touchdown. It was called back on the. The logistics of a catch rule. But he still, he had zero. He finished that game with nothing for nothing.

[Mike Wright]

Well, and how many weeks did he have his production fully supported just by a touchdown?

[Andy Holloway]

Like a one catch touchdown game? Yeah, I'm not sure because he had.

[Mike Wright]

Some lower, lower catch weeks. Now look, he's. He's a guy that we. Yeah, listen to this. Second half of the year, okay. Week 10 on catches. 33302004.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, okay.

[Mike Wright]

He was injured three games. Okay. Sorry about that. 33324. Yeah, that's not a PPR production type of situation.

[Andy Holloway]

Nope.

[Mike Wright]

You know, but that being said, he had three catches, two touchdowns, three catches, one touchdown. So it's just a warning to you out there that my opinion is Tyler ever is not going to be on any of my teams because Ifert's name got big this year. The 13 stands out and he's going to go higher than some of these guys. We've Talked about on the list, who goes higher in the draft, Ifert or Greg Olson.

[Andy Holloway]

Ooh, that'll be.

[Mike Wright]

That'll be close, right?

[Andy Holloway]

That'll be very close.

[Mike Wright]

Look, I mean, Ifert or Barnage.

[Andy Holloway]

Ifrt will go before Barnage.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, exactly. So that. That's kind of my point is that you have a little bit of. You got upside with Ifert. Great offense, red zone, targeted in the red zone. Great talent. Obviously missed some games, so those numbers will be a little higher. Just wanted to throw it out there.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it's. It's good to keep these things in mind. Right now before you start. We start sweltering the shot, chuck it.

[Mike Wright]

Away, pull out the drawer, file this away. Remember it when you start looking at these offseason trades. Someone comes and offers you, oh, man, you want to go give me, you know, Barnage and a pick to get Eifert. Well, be careful, right? Be careful what. You know, what. What's before you. So number seven. We talked about him briefly.

[Andy Holloway]

Zeus.

[Mike Wright]

He was the shiniest of shiny. Travis Kelsey. He looked. It's not a bad year. 72 for 875 and 5 on 103 targets. But he wasn't what you hoped he was.

[Andy Holloway]

No, the. It's. The touchdowns were lacking and the. The monster games. I mean, he gave you week zero, week one, out of the gates. Well, he had a monster week. He wasn't in the top two because that was. If you remember, week one, there was this really strange tight end explosion right. Where Gronk, I think, had three touchdowns, had a couple touchdowns. So Kelsey wasn't in the top two technically, but that was.

[Mike Wright]

That was his only big week.

[Andy Holloway]

And it was. Man, you felt great. You felt great. Because that was a weak winning performance. Unfortunately, you didn't really get any more of those. He was just. He was solid. But the offense, where you thought, or I thought that Alex Smith would go to him more, that it wouldn't be the Macklin show, which it turned into the passing game really became all about Macklin. It was just. Yeah, it's a frustrating. It's not disappointing, but frustrating. For sure.

[Mike Wright]

There are guys that had very. Okay, so the next guy on the list is Benjamin Watson. He had an almost identical stat line, Right?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

When you look at Benjamin Watson, you don't have any feelings of disappointment. You don't have any feelings of discouragement.

[Andy Holloway]

You waiver wired him.

[Mike Wright]

Because you waiver wired him. The numbers were identical. Look, Kelsey was 72. 875. 5 on 103. Watson was 74 825. 6 on 110. These guys were back to back in consistency rating. Watson kind of, you know, Josh, what was it? Josh Hill. Right. Got the offseason narrative in a lot of fantasy departments. And we said, wait, hold on a second. Look, he's not done anything. This guy does. He's not Jimmy Graham. And then Ben Watson came out and proved that he can still catch the ball at an old age.

[Andy Holloway]

Josh Hill did his. His best Tyler Ifert performance last year where he was just. You caught the ball once a week, but it was a touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

Now Benjamin Watson is 35 years old. So I've got a new game. We're playing for the second half of the show.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

And it's called. It's called Travis Kelsey or. Okay, and so like it. Travis Kelsey or Benjamin Watson next year. Based on draft spot.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man. Based on draft spot.

[Mike Wright]

35 year old Ben Watson young guitar toting.

[Andy Holloway]

It was the Donkey Kong punch.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, that's right.

[Andy Holloway]

Just a reminder, Travis, where did. Where does Kelsey get drafted? I mean, he. He burned people, so to speak. So I can't imagine.

[Mike Wright]

Eighth round.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I would say seventh. Eighth round is probably where he'll go.

[Mike Wright]

Ben Watson will go undrafted.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Or very late. So. Yep. If. If they don't make a move for a tight end in. In New Orleans. Give me. Give me Ben Watson.

[Mike Wright]

All right, well, we'll keep it going then. So Watson was eight. Number nine was Richard Rogers.

[Andy Holloway]

Hail Mary, Richard Rogers. Oh, he's getting in on that too.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. 58 for 5, 10 and 8 for. I feel like about half of the 510 came in one game.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

He had 85 targets. And Richard Rogers was what. He has a very cool name. And here's what it is. Tight end to a great quarterback.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep.

[Mike Wright]

Right. And some of the competition there fell away.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, absolutely. Corliss wasn't the guy it looked like all signs pointed to. If they were going to use a tight end in Green Bay, it would be Richard Rodgers. And that was the truth. That's what happened. But they just didn't use the tight end.

[Mike Wright]

And Richard Rodgers is the kind of tight end that is extremely frustrating and the kind of guy I don't want to start ever. I don't think I started him in any league ever this year, even after his big game, because he had the most of all the top 12 tight ends. He had the most performances that were outside the top 20. Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Three. Every playoff week, fantasy playoff week, he had one catch.

[Mike Wright]

That's not good. No, that's not good. No. He had that monster week, which, you.

[Andy Holloway]

Know, eight for 146 and a touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

146 yards of 510 yards came in.

[Mike Wright]

One game and 50 of the 146 came in one Hail Mary or however long that Hail Mary play was. So it's just one of those things where Rogers was fine. He ended up at number nine. I don't think he won a lot of people leagues unless you played him in that one special week. So from my perspective, Rogers is somebody to shelf for next year.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Because there's a hundred. I think there'll be five other guys. 10 other guys undrafted that you can get that kind of production from. We just don't know their names yet, to some degree.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, sure.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, so Travis Kelsey or Richard Rodgers?

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, Kelsey.

[Mike Wright]

All right, so who's the next guy on the list?

[Andy Holloway]

Number 10. He started off slow. He had a preseason injury. We really liked this guy. The talent is there. The question was, could he get on the field? Could he improve his run blocking enough to get on the field More than 50% of snaps. Zach Ertz of the Philadelphia Eagles. And he put up A line of 75 catches, 853 yards, only two touchdowns now. Only two touchdowns on 75 catches. That is a number that will go up to me. When you combine Zach Ertz, his talent now there's who's going to be the coach, which they're. We didn't talk about it in the news. The Mac Ben McAdoo, love it. Is being linked to the Eagles. And I got very happy and excited for Philadelphia Fantasy and sad for Eli Manning.

[Mike Wright]

Right, Right. Zach ERTZ at number 10 here is the opposite of Tyler IFRT. Okay. And this is where numbers can lie. This is where you just look at how guys finished last year. And if that's how you draw up your draft for next year, you're gonna. You're gonna hurt yourself. Because Zach Ertz is somebody who had high target numbers. 112 targets came on big time at the end of the year. Look, he's not somebody who gave you a bunch of prolific performances because he only scored two touchdowns. But that was kind of the problem. Right. Like he had end zone targets. He was being. It just didn't happen. And. And we've seen this from years and years of fantasy football. Tight touchdown numbers are the hardest thing to predict.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And so you know Zach Ertz, if you're targeting him a bunch and you're targeting him in the end zone, you know what I'm Going to take a guy like that, guy who put up 853 yards, a guy who is a high PPR, league type of performance guy. I would take Zach Ertz over Kelsey next year.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I can get on board with that, depending on where Ertz gets drafted. Because the hype machine for Ertz will build. He's a guy. I can guarantee that's gonna happen next year. And his season was as a whole was just average. But then the last four games of the year, he. That's when he really became a monster. It started clicking with him and Sam Bradford. So that's another question mark for Zach Ertz. Who's the quarterback?

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

Is it Sam Bradford? Will he. There's no way they franchise Sam Bradford. You can't do that. But will Bradford sign an extension there? Will he move on? Will they have to. Will they be in on the Robert Griffin sweepstakes? Who knows?

[Mike Wright]

Now when. When Ben Watson gets in his convertible and goes and picks up his friends, he picks up number 11 and 12 on the list, the midlife crisis crew, and they.

[Andy Holloway]

What's the. What's the pee pill?

[Mike Wright]

The pill?

[Andy Holloway]

The prostate shrinker.

[Mike Wright]

I don't know. I don't know what the pee pill is.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I'm just. There's the commercial reminded me of it because there's the commercial where it's the older gentleman and they're in the convert convertible and they like throw their hands up in the air because they're so free, because they can tinkle whenever they need to.

[Mike Wright]

So they're taking this pill.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, probably.

[Mike Wright]

They're promoting it. So Ben Watts. Look, I'm talking about Antonio Gates and Jason Whitten, who, by the way, Gates is 35, Watson's 35. Whitten's actually 33. I love. I love Whitten to bounce back next year because he didn't really have a bad year. He was 77 for 713 and three with nobody at quarterback.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. And Whitten was. Whitten was a guy who I had my eye on pre draft. It all fell apart with no Tony Romo. That is for sure. But I don't want to skip Antonio Gates.

[Mike Wright]

No, he's.

[Andy Holloway]

He is interesting because we don't know.

[Mike Wright]

He did only play in 11 games of 16, so his numbers are dwarfed because of that.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. I mean, four of those games were because he was taking some other kind of pill.

[Mike Wright]

Maybe it was just the prostate thing and it just came up on a test. What were the old Gates jokes we had at the beginning of the year. I don't even remember what those were.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't know what you're talking about.

[Mike Wright]

Different kind of PEDs. There were some PED jokes.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, okay.

[Mike Wright]

It's a long, long time ago. 160 plus shows again.

[Andy Holloway]

No, the PED joke was the performance enhancing defense.

[Mike Wright]

Ah, that's what it was. Well, there you go. So Antonio Gates, but.

[Andy Holloway]

So his numbers were. But he is off contract. They. Will he retire? Will he resign? Will the Chargers move to la? Does that factor into his decision? So we're not even sure that he'll play next year. I think he will. But here is a problem with Antonio Gates when you look at his splits. And the reason we haven't really talked about the splits of top 16 versus bottom 16 is because for a lot of these guys the numbers are not interesting where they're just kind of good. We did miss over Richard Rodgers who really exploited bad defenses. The bottom half, his past defenses, his top 16 past defense numbers were bad. But Antonio Gates, he was the same versus the top 16. He was only putting up 50 yards and no touchdowns versus bottom half past defenses, up to 67 yards a game, averaging a touchdown a game. So he really took advantage of the bad pass defense. Now San Diego is. We've talked about them, they're interesting.

[Mike Wright]

We talked about them from Rivers on.

[Andy Holloway]

The last show where the team was just hurt. Everybody was hurt, everybody. The offensive line. Philip Rivers didn't have protection, Keenan Allen went down. So they just, they didn't have really big passing weapons on the outside. So Antonio Gates, he could still absolutely be consistent next year. I will not be spending any, any type of high draft pick on him. But if you're waiting on tight end, Antonio Gates is there in the 11th, 10th, 11th round. Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Look, if you want to talk about shiny versus, you know, old, busted or whatever you want to say, Gates and Whitten are 11, 12 here, 13 and 14. In our honorable mentions, here are two guys that I'd rather have over either of them and that's Julius Thomas and Eric Ebron.

[Andy Holloway]

Over whom?

[Mike Wright]

Over Gates and Whitten.

[Andy Holloway]

Really? You'd rather have Ebron over Gates?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, yeah, I would because. And. But again, this is what we're talking about. We're going to have that shine discussion multiple times because the idea of a guy. Here's what you do know, at least I think I know. I don't think Gates is in his prime. I don't think Gates is improving.

[Andy Holloway]

He's got to take the tinkle pills.

[Mike Wright]

Of course he's got to take the tinkle pills. Look, those guys aren't in their prime. There's a chance that Eric Ebron comes into his prime. We saw what Stafford was in the second half of the year. We saw that Ebram could put up good performances, top 10 performances every once in a while.

[Andy Holloway]

He could, sure.

[Mike Wright]

Okay. I might be wrong. I would take Julius Thomas over Antonio.

[Andy Holloway]

Gay that I could get on board.

[Mike Wright]

With because he had five top 10 performances. He missed some games. He was at least a difference making type of guy. But he's another guy that's really touchdown dependent too, historically. So those are two guys to keep your, you know, keep your ears out for. See what they, you know, they both have more optimism to me, more upside, I mean than a Gates or Whitten or Watson. I mean I would take those guys over the, you know, with the upside because what's the worst case scenario? I go out and I find myself a Rich Rogers type of guy.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Gross. I would like me roll the dice with Julius Thomas in the last. You know, I will, I will take.

[Andy Holloway]

All of those players over Richard Rogers next year.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

As I'm just, I'm not having any of that, that Richard Rogers.

[Mike Wright]

So let me throw, let me throw a couple tight end names out before we close the showdown just to get your reaction to them. In fact, you can give me, you can give me a few words about each one. How about that?

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

Zach Miller.

[Andy Holloway]

Zach Miller. Chicago. Zach Miller.

[Mike Wright]

Yep.

[Andy Holloway]

Very interesting.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Very, very interesting. Martell's Bennett is going to be gone. Yeah, that's I think a foregone conclusion in Chicago. And Zach Miller was building that chemistry with old Jake Cuddy and someone's got to catch the ball. They, they currently don't have Alex, Jeff, Jeffrey, Zach Miller.

[Mike Wright]

I think you'll take Kelsey.

[Andy Holloway]

I'll take Kelsey. There.

[Mike Wright]

All right. Here's another name. Jimmy.

[Andy Holloway]

Jimmy G. Jimmy Graham. No way. No way.

[Mike Wright]

I like this few word limitation. It's very like if you had one thing to tell somebody about a guy, it would be no way for Jimmy Graham.

[Andy Holloway]

You could go back on the tape. I was not a Jimmy Graham guy. I did not like his transfer up to Seattle. Now you take away his patellar tendon. There's just the case study, is there? And this is a case study for a smaller guy right in Victor Cruz. What Victor Cruz do this year coming off of a patellar tendon tear?

[Mike Wright]

Nothing.

[Andy Holloway]

Nothing.

[Mike Wright]

I think I lost the water bet because of him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it just, it's, it's the, the Worst knee injury you can get right now because the medicine is the hottest.

[Mike Wright]

The hottest new thing you can get right now.

[Andy Holloway]

You ain't cool unless you tell you tear your patella tendon.

[Mike Wright]

Actually, you're not cool if you tear your patella tendon. That's the truth of it. It's a terrible injury.

[Andy Holloway]

That is a brutal injury for. For Graham.

[Mike Wright]

So we do joke about injuries too much.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Because you have to.

[Mike Wright]

Otherwise you cry.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Mike Wright]

If you don't laugh, you cry.

[Andy Holloway]

Clearly I feel. Well not. It's not clearly. So I will make it clear. It's not funny that he got injured. But it's like a. It's America's Funniest Home Videos type of a thing where when we see people fall down, you laugh about it and then you hope they're okay.

[Mike Wright]

Look, and it's all in the context of fantasy football too. You to carry that over to, you know, real life, regular football, regular players. You know, we're looking at it from a perspective of Would you. When you say no way. A lot of it has to do with the fact you'd be coming off an injury. No way. Fantasy wise. So two other names real quick. Ladarius Green.

[Andy Holloway]

If Antonio Gates has gone. Very interesting.

[Mike Wright]

Very Crockett Gilmore.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

It with. I think Max Williams will start to emerge a little bit more next year. We know tight ends, it takes some time. So Crockett Gilmore is eh. To me and he was pretty much that way all year that if you get. If you're in the right situation against a bad tight end, past defense, sure you fire him up, but he's not a guy I'm going to draft or anything like that.

[Mike Wright]

And then number 90 on the list, Rob Hausler. What are your thoughts on his future?

[Andy Holloway]

I hear. I hear the future's bright for not a good. I don't even know what team he's on. I think he's on Baltimore. I think he played for Baltimore. Week 17. Look this up.

[Mike Wright]

I don't know how much time we really want to spend on Rob Heisler, tight end for the Chicago Bears.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, the Bears. That's what it was, the Bears.

[Mike Wright]

He had four receptions for 33.

[Andy Holloway]

A couple other names since we're just throwing them out there. Dwayne Allen.

[Mike Wright]

Sure. If he. If he goes somewhere else or even if he stays.

[Andy Holloway]

Even if he stays.

[Mike Wright]

Big bounce back opportunity with Andrew Luck coming back.

[Andy Holloway]

Dwayne Allen was Tyler Ifert before it was cool.

[Mike Wright]

It's true.

[Andy Holloway]

A guy who true caught two passes a game. But one of them would be a touchdown.

[Mike Wright]

You're right.

[Andy Holloway]

And also he got hurt a lot, which was kind of the.

[Mike Wright]

You're going to have some other guys come back. Larry Donnell will be back.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, they've moved. It's Will Ty now. Larry. Danielle's going.

[Mike Wright]

All right, I think that does it. You got any parting words? Could you handle the truth, Mike? Were you able to handle the truth?

[Andy Holloway]

I was able to handle the truth.

[Mike Wright]

Without a tinkle pill. Are you okay right now?

[Andy Holloway]

You know what I'm not gonna be able to handle?

[Mike Wright]

What?

[Andy Holloway]

Is when karma brings me an enlarged prostate next year and I'm scrambling.

[Mike Wright]

I just got you a convertible.

[Andy Holloway]

You can't cruise around town. I'll be very free.

[Mike Wright]

All right, see you guys.

[Andy Holloway]

Goodbye. Thank you for listening to another edition of the Fantasy Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Don't forget to visit us on the web at www.thefantasyfootballers.com and follow us on Twitter the FFballers.