Fantasy Football Podcast 2017 - Zeke Troubles, Fantasy Answers + Best Ball Bonanza

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast 2017 - Zeke Troubles, Fantasy Answers + Best Ball Bonanza

Release Date: July 15, 2017

In this engaging episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright dive deep into the latest fantasy football developments, address listener questions, and introduce exciting new segments tailored for fantasy enthusiasts. The episode is structured into several key sections: Ezekiel Elliott Suspension Rumors, Listener Stories, Mailbag Q&A, and a special feature on Best Ball Bonanza.

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Ezekiel Elliott Suspension Rumors

The episode kicks off with a heated discussion about Ezekiel Elliott's potential suspension, a topic stirring much uncertainty among fantasy owners. The hosts dissect recent reports, including a statement from Adam Schefter suggesting Elliott might be facing disciplinary action.

Brooks raises the critical question:
"How many games does he have to be suspended for you to adjust him in your rankings from where you have him right now?" (03:20)

Mike Wright responds thoughtfully:
"I'll say two games. I would not move them at all. Three games. I will drop him past the top three wide receivers. Four games. Then I have to do a just a complete evaluation of what's going to happen." (04:42)

The uncertainty surrounding the nature of the potential suspension adds complexity to fantasy draft preparations. Jason Moore echoes this sentiment, emphasizing the unpredictability of whether a suspension decision will stick for the season:

"I think that's a fair point for me right now, not knowing. I would rather have Antonio Brown and what I do know over Ezekiel Elliott." (04:51)

The hosts agree that while Elliott remains a high-value asset, the murky details of his situation warrant careful monitoring as the season approaches.

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Listener Stories: Driving with a 75-Year-Old Mother

In a heartwarming segment, Brooks shares a listener story that highlights the podcast's broad appeal. A listener named Eeky Sportsman drove for 10 hours with his 75-year-old mother, exclusively tuning into the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. The experience has reportedly inspired his mother to consider starting her first fantasy football league.

Brooks enthusiastically shares:
"We have someone on Twitter... his 75-year-old mother is seriously contemplating starting fantasy football for the very first time." (06:28)

Mike Wright adds humorously:
"If a 75-year-old mom can listen to the show and at least piques the interest, the antennas go up." (07:11)

This anecdote underscores the podcast's ability to engage listeners across all ages, fostering a growing and inclusive fantasy football community.

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Mailbag Q&A

The bulk of the episode revolves around answering listener-submitted questions, providing personalized advice to help fans navigate their fantasy leagues effectively.

1. Joey in Minneapolis: David Johnson vs. Melvin Gordon in PPR Leagues

Joey seeks guidance on whether to prioritize David Johnson or Melvin Gordon in a Point Per Reception (PPR) league.

Mike Wright advocates for David Johnson:
"Value versus stud. It's David Johnson for me, hands down." (08:46)

Conversely, Jason Moore expresses some uncertainty:
"If I was this person, I would try to determine where my first. Because it's a first that you're giving up." (09:14)

Brooks decides to lean towards Melvin Gordon:
"I'm going to go Melvin because I'm not as uncertain about him." (09:57)

The discussion highlights the delicate balance between reliability and potential upside when selecting top-tier running backs.

2. Jesse from Florida: Late Round Quarterback Theory

Jesse questions when it's optimal to draft a quarterback if following the late round quarterback strategy, specifically pondering if and when to pick Aaron Rodgers.

Brooks emphasizes flexibility:
"If I'm getting Aaron Rodgers in the fourth round, I'm just going to take him." (10:52)

Jason Moore concurs, highlighting Rodgers' consistent performance:
"Aaron Rodgers in the fourth round, I'm all over him. He's been alternating two and one finishes for the last eight years." (11:46)

The hosts agree that while sticking to the late round quarterback strategy is generally sound, securing a top-tier quarterback like Rodgers can be a strategic exception.

3. Ben in Cleveland: Transitioning to a Three-Keeper League

Ben seeks advice on how switching to a three-keeper league affects his draft strategy, particularly concerning the valuation of players like Amari Cooper and Jordy Nelson.

Brooks advises focusing on immediate performance:
"Most often we take a look, we try to draft players that are going to help us win this year." (25:13)

Jason Moore concurs, suggesting that while elite players remain valuable, overall strategy should aim for winning the current season:
"Every single year you've in it at this time of the year... If you do the right things in." (26:32)

The consensus is to balance keeping high-potential players with drafting talent that can contribute immediately, ensuring competitiveness each season.

4. Jacob in Loganville, Georgia: Austin Hooper as a Tight End Pick

Jacob inquires about the value of drafting Austin Hooper as a tight end, noting his under-the-radar status.

Mike Wright finds Hooper intriguing:
"Austin Hooper is a very intriguing player to me... I'm not calling for it to happen this year, but eventually it's going to be great." (28:14)

Brooks is comfortable with Hooper's potential:
"I'm very comfortable with him at 21." (28:42)

The hosts recognize Hooper's upside, especially in Sean McVay's offense, making him a worthwhile consideration despite his rookie season underperformance.

5. Tyler and Boylan: Isaiah Crowell's Draft Value

Tyler and Boylan seek opinions on drafting Isaiah Crowell in the fourth round, comparing his potential to other running backs.

Mike Wright praises Crowell's value:
"It's delicious." (29:43)

Jason Moore remains cautious, suggesting Crowell might not justify a second-round pick:
"He's not worth that value." (30:10)

The discussion underscores the importance of team context and offensive line performance when evaluating a running back's fantasy potential.

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Best Ball Bonanza

Introducing a new segment, Best Ball Bonanza, the hosts explore the Best Ball format—a draft-only league where roster management post-draft is minimized. All drafted players are automatically set to start based on their weekly performances, rewarding depth and strategic drafting.

Andy Holloway introduces the segment:
"Best ball bonanza brought to you by playdraft." (32:38)

Brooks explains:
"Best ball is a league in which all you do is draft your roster... It selects the best performance at each position every week and that's the points you get." (34:09)

The hosts provide strategic tips for best ball, such as avoiding over-reliance on app-recommended players and valuing depth to maximize weekly scores. They also promote their associated platform, PlayDraft.com, encouraging listeners to join live drafts and engage with ongoing best ball leagues.

Jason Moore advises:
"Don't fall into that trap. Build your own rankings inside the app if you need." (35:12)

The segment emphasizes the benefits of the best ball format for players seeking a hands-off approach while still competing for high scores each week.

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Conclusion

Wrapping up the episode, the Fantasy Footballers reinforce their commitment to providing valuable insights and strategies to help listeners dominate their fantasy leagues. They tease upcoming features for their Ultimate Draft Kit and encourage engagement through their website and social media channels.

Andy Holloway concludes:
"Thank you for listening to another edition of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Don't forget to visit us on the web at www.thefantasyfootballers.com and follow us on TwitterFFballers." (38:38)

Listeners are left with a comprehensive understanding of current fantasy football dynamics, actionable advice for their drafts, and an introduction to the innovative Best Ball format, ensuring they're well-equipped for the upcoming season.

Transcript

[Jason Moore]

Hey Footland, what happens when the best athletes in the world lose? Well, the Secret to Victory is a new podcast from Gatorade and Gimlet Creative about how the best athletes in the world use defeat to fuel a win. The episodes feature Serena Williams, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Matt Ryan, J.J. watt, Karl Anthony Towns, Kyle Schwaber and the people who know them best. Visit gatorade.compodcast to listen now or subscribe wherever you get your podcast.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, this is Al Robinson from the Jacksonville Jaguars and you're listening to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast.

[Andy Holloway]

Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast coming to you from the Play Draft Studios with your hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Brooks]

Hello everybody. Saturday, wherever you are, it's alright for fighting. Welcome into the show.

[Mike Wright]

My good friend Elton taught me that.

[Brooks]

Mike is very excited. This is his first Saturday episode of the season.

[Mike Wright]

I've never been so excited for a fantasy football show as I am right now.

[Andy Holloway]

Wow.

[Brooks]

Did you know this is episode 397 in our history?

[Jason Moore]

400'S right around the corner next Saturday, will you be even more excited?

[Mike Wright]

Yay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It always goes up.

[Brooks]

That's true. Welcome in. We have a great show today. We're going to talk about some of these Ezekiel Elliott rumors and the quick question, we're going to get into the mailbag and we have some best ball bonanza on the podcast today. Andy, Mike and Jason as always with Brooks manning the helm. You can find us on Twitter heffballers and I recommend you follow us over on Twitter. We're always releasing new articles. There are three great ones that hit the website this week and one of Those is about A.J. green, one of my favorite players for the 2017 season. So check that out. The fantasy footballers.com all right, guys, this morning, various rumors about Ezekiel Elliott. Jason and I discussed this on the Wasn't this last Saturday, July 4th episode actually.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, okay.

[Brooks]

And there was a, there was talk from Adam Schefter that Ezekiel Elliott may be bracing for a suspension, that he would be hesitant to draft him in fantasy drafts right now, not knowing the situation. And then a different report this morning alluded to the fact that, okay, maybe he is. You know, there's a lot of smoke here is what I'm saying. And so I want today's quick question is this, how many games does he have to be suspended for you to adjust him in your rankings from where you have him right now? Because my personal prediction is actually that Ezekiel will be suspended and I think it'll be a one game suspension. So I'm asking myself that question. Okay, missing him for one game, how much does that really matter? And I think if it's a one game suspension, I'm actually not adjusting him whatsoever. I'm going to keep him as the number three pick behind David Johnson. Le'Veon Bell, Zeke stays there. The value of running backs. But where, where's that line for you? And maybe we can equip fantasy owners right now with how they should think about a 1, 2, 3 game suspension, maybe 4 game suspension for Ezekiel Elliott. What do you think?

[Mike Wright]

I'll say two games. I would not move them at all. Three games. I will drop him past the top three wide receivers. Four games. Then I have to do a just a complete evaluation of what's going to happen. Four or more. What's this whole situation is extremely murky because, you know, allegedly what they're looking into was the domestic violence incident from college. And the NFL correctly has instituted a zero tolerance policy for domestic violence or domestic abuse. Is it six games? I can't remember off the top of my head what it is. But there is an automatic penalty that you get if you get in trouble for this. So that's where it becomes really murky if that's what they're investigating. But now Adam Schefter saying it might be a brief suspension, it might be one or two. Can that really hold up? It Will the NFLPA allow that to even happen? Because they're going to challenge the suspension. He will file an appeal. And then when does the suspension actually happen? Will he allow. Will he just take it for the first game, the first two games, will he fight it, push it off to the middle of the season? There's just I don't know when we will actually have any clarity even going up to the beginning of the season on this whole situation.

[Jason Moore]

You're saying that even if a ruling comes out tomorrow that it's been one game or two games, you're not sure whether that will stick for this season.

[Mike Wright]

Exactly.

[Jason Moore]

I think that's a fair point for me right now, not knowing. I would rather have Antonio Brown and what I do know over Ezekiel Elliott. But I'm pretty much in line with you guys. If it comes out officially that it's one game, I'll probably put him back ahead. He is a difference maker. We know when Le'Veon Bell was suspended for a few games, there was an overreaction. But if you look at fantasy leagues that drafted him, they were fine. By the end of the year they were in the playoffs and they were doing great because it's that big of a difference maker at the position.

[Brooks]

All right, I think that's helpful. We'll stay tuned. I mean, this is something that could, we could get clarity as early as next week or we could be waiting another two, three weeks, a month, I don't think heading into training camp first. Training camp starts on the 19th of July and so that is the very first one. And you pretty much have camps starting the 19th through the following week. So we will be right in the thick of it and we'll have news. Unfortunately, we always have news in the sense of, you know, players get banged up, they get hurt, they pull a hammy, they pull this or that. We've had some big injuries in years past. Kelvin Benjamin, Jordy Nelson. That happened during training camp. Hopefully. We don't predict.

[Mike Wright]

Kelvin was training camp, Jordy was preseason.

[Brooks]

There you go. So we'll keep you informed. That's what we do. And we'll be switching to five days a week starting in August. All right. Before we get into the mailbag and our best ball bonanza, I wanted. Yes, we'll Talk about FootClan Vote.com. i'm going to lead into it though.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Brooks]

Because we got this DM on Twitter. I just have to share.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Brooks]

Because this says everything you need to know about the foot clan. So we had someone on Twitter, it's Eeky Sportsman.

[Mike Wright]

He gets a full shout out. There you go.

[Brooks]

He says he's driving with his 75 year old mother for 10 hours this past weekend to a family reunion and all they listen to the entire time was this podcast. And now he said his 75 year old mother is seriously contemplating starting fantasy football for the very first.

[Mike Wright]

This is incredible. Yes, amazing. So for those of you out there saying, well, how do I get my friends in? How do I get my spouse into it?

[Jason Moore]

Cross country drive with us on.

[Mike Wright]

If a 75 year old mom can listen to the show and at least piques the interest, the antennas go up. I should say antennae go up. You have the answer.

[Brooks]

It always makes.

[Mike Wright]

Strap them in and listen to the show.

[Brooks]

Right, right. Against their will. And eventually over 10 hours, they'll come around. We've actually seen this before from a lot of stories with the husband and wife where the husband has earned the right to listen to whatever he wants for a part of the trip and he'll play the episodes and then all of a sudden, you know, the wife's singing David Johnson.

[Mike Wright]

I'm just visualizing now his clockwork horns. The guy when he has his eyes strapped open and they're putting the drops in.

[Brooks]

Yes, this is one of our new kind of viral spreading techniques as we strap them in, but I thought that was a cool story. So Foot Clan out there to transition now. We want to invite you over to FootClanVote.com if you like the show. We got to record you doing that. So I can push that button anytime I want. If you want to nominate us for the People's Choice award in the best sports and recreation podcast, you can head over to FootClan Vote.com and do that. Voting or nominating is going through the end of July, so. All right, let's go ahead and let's jump right in to the mailbag.

[Andy Holloway]

Mailbag.

[Brooks]

Yes. Saturday, maybe. All right. Joey in Minneapolis says, in a PPR league, do I keep David Johnson for a first or Melvin Gordon for a sixth round pick?

[Mike Wright]

Value versus dod Value versus Stud. It's David Johnson for me, hands down. We. It was on the foot cast a couple days ago. We were talking about in the first round, which is the one player who you are skeptical of and you think kind of has that highest bus probability of the first round.

[Brooks]

Because we know historically there's going to be some.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, it will happen. There will be busts in the first round and mine is Melvin Gordon.

[Jason Moore]

With.

[Mike Wright]

With that statement. I'm not saying Melvin Gordon is going to bust. Just the way I'm playing gives you the heebie jeebies. I probably will not be having Melvin Gordon on any of my teams because I feel like he has a higher probability of the first round guys to bust. So I'm just. I'm locking it in. David Johnson, top pick. I don't care if it takes my first.

[Brooks]

What about you, Jay?

[Jason Moore]

You know, I'm going to be realistic. If I was this person, I would try to determine where my first. Because it's a first that you're giving up. You should be able to know where you're picking in the first unless, you know, they do that at the draft and who might be available in the first because that's what you have to weigh against this.

[Brooks]

You know, Melvin Gordon plus that player.

[Jason Moore]

Right. If you're the one overall, I'd rather.

[Brooks]

Have that than David Johnson. I'm going to go Melvin because I'm not as uncertain about him. So I will go Melvin for a six.

[Jason Moore]

And I think you're going to be fine either way. But do that practice first to see if it's going to. If you're going to end up With Antonio Brown and Melvin Gordon, I would rather have that than, you know, David Johnson and whoever you're replacing in the sixth round.

[Brooks]

All right, if you do want to send in a question to the mailbag, you can do so on the website, the fantasy footballers.com. you can dial our voicemail hotline, 302464, TFFB. Have a couple voicemail questions we're going to get into this morning. Let's start right now.

[Jesse]

Hey, this is Jesse from Florida. I had a question is if everyone in your league subscribed to the late round quarterback theory, at what round would you bite the bullet and say, okay, it's the fifth round, sixth round, I have to take Aaron Rodgers. Somebody has to do it. All right, spoiler what you guys think?

[Brooks]

It's a great question. And I just wrote an article on the late round quarterback theory and there were three caveats I put in there. I broke down three reasons why the late round quarterbacks, why that's a good decision for you in your draft, and three caveats that I put in there. One of them was, you know, there comes a point where the value overwhelms the philosophy. Yes, I want to get a quarterback, but the goal is to get the best quarterback possible as late as possible for me with Aaron Rodgers, if I'm getting Aaron Rodgers in the fourth round, I'm just going to take him. He's the one kind of stronger exception to the rule as well. Because if you look back over the last eight years, you have him basically alternating two and one finishes for the last eight years. So Rogers in the fourth. Yeah. If everybody in your league is passing on him, fourth, fifth round, I'm all over him.

[Jason Moore]

Right. I would say that's my exact same answer. And the reason why is not just because of Aaron Rodgers, but because of who you are replacing that with in the fourth round. In the fourth round, you know, you're deciding between a Keenan Allen or Devonte Adams and it's like, okay, well, let's say you push that back one more round. What wide receivers are you going to replace those with? Get. Get Michael Crabtree instead of Devonte Adams. Michael Crabtree might be better than Devonte Adams. You're not missing much, but. So that's what I would say. Aaron Rodgers in the fourth. Outside of that, then I'm going the next tier. To me, the Tom Brady's, Andrew Luck, the Tom Brady's.

[Mike Wright]

There's a few of them this year.

[Jason Moore]

The Tom Brady's being Tom Brady, Andrew Luck and Drew Brees. Those Guys, I wouldn't really want until probably the sixth or seventh to be that value. And they probably won't be.

[Brooks]

Yeah. In a league like that, those guys are obviously getting pushed back as well.

[Jason Moore]

Right.

[Brooks]

So you still have an opportunity to snag a higher tier guy at a. At a different value.

[Mike Wright]

I'll say. In the fourth, my lip will start twitching.

[Brooks]

Sure.

[Mike Wright]

The fifth, I'll probably get a little sweaty thinking about it and where I might have to do it. Six is an automatic. I will. I will take him. But it's probably that sweaty range because I don't like to be sweaty.

[Brooks]

Yeah, sure. You got to.

[Mike Wright]

Nobody likes to be sweaty.

[Jason Moore]

Who likes sweaty?

[Brooks]

He'll take care of that for you. All right.

[Mike Wright]

It immediately shuts off.

[Brooks]

Yeah. Brock seems like you get sweaty the most with Aaron Rodgers or Rob Gronkowski dropping.

[Mike Wright]

This is an accurate statement.

[Brooks]

Yeah, I.

[Mike Wright]

Hey, they make me perspire.

[Brooks]

Brock and Louisville. Louisville. Wow. Brock and Louisville Kentucky. I know the Bengals have some amazing upside players on offense. He says, but do you think that their offensive line, which just lost two Pro bowl players and is ranked 31st on Pro Football Focus, do you believe that that will hold them back?

[Jason Moore]

Yes and no is the answer.

[Brooks]

There are someone else is perspiring.

[Jason Moore]

No. I mean, the reality is, will a better offensive line make them better? Sure. So in that sense, you could say they hold them back. But you want to know the only team that, according to every major offensive line chart, is worse than the 31st rank and they're 32nd everywhere you check, that's the Seattle Seahawks. And I think you're fine with those options. Right. Russell Wilson will be top. Will be a top option. Doug Baldwin will be a top option. Jimmy Graham will be great. You can have a bad offensive line and still have a good offense. It's been done before. I don't worry with the weapons that the Bengals have, I'm not scared of Andy Dalton, A.J. green. I like all the options there. The running back core right now is a little murky because of where you're having. Having to draft Joe Mixon and the possible involvement of Jeremy Hill and the offensive line, I think affects them a little bit more. I'm not too worried, though.

[Brooks]

Little shout out here to the Joe Mixon lovers. Man, I just want to be all in on Joe Mixon. I really do. I want to be. You have the head coach coming out yesterday and talking Joe Mixon up again, and I think we see so much potential from these skill players on that offense. I want to be all in Because I think if they just gave him the work, it's going to be lights on, man.

[Mike Wright]

Lights on, lights on.

[Brooks]

It's going to be great. It's going to be go time.

[Mike Wright]

And so I just looked up because I feel like I remember Andy Dalton historically being solid again when he's facing pressure. He's a cool cat and he gets it done. And last year he was actually quite bad when he was under pressure. And this is another Pro Football Focus thing and they have him 23rd and passer rating when facing pressure.

[Brooks]

So it gives you some pause.

[Mike Wright]

It gives me a little bit of pause, but I'm not, I'm not overthinking. It's division to the Bengals because AJ Green is great, he's elite, he will get it done. And Dalton's going to be a late round quarterback. I'm not even considering John Ross as a fantasy asset. Tyler Ifert is. He's a touchdown machine. That's what he does. So I just, I don't know. The recipe doesn't concern me with their offensive line in this particular situation.

[Brooks]

All right, let's jump into another voicemail question.

[Jesse]

Hey, it's Matt from Wayne. Quick question. If you could choose one player that has the most bus potential, who would you choose? Thanks, you guys.

[Brooks]

I already know Mike's answer. It's Martavis Bryant, the most bus bust potential. Oh, he said bust.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Brooks]

How funny. I heard plus. Oh, as in like the highest upside.

[Mike Wright]

Well, then we can answer both because.

[Brooks]

The plus answer is Martavis Bryant and the bust answer might be Martavis Bryant.

[Jason Moore]

Well, we'll see.

[Brooks]

No, because he goes, yeah. So most bust potential.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, are you going to stick with Melvin Gordon?

[Mike Wright]

I'm going to stick with that unless I can find someone else while you're talking.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, Melvin Gordon was who I said in the, in the first round would be my number one. So if I'm going to name someone else out there that I think could have a, have a real big bust on people, I'm going to go Todd Gurley. And I'm going to say that based on what I saw on film last year, I realized his offensive line was bad. I know they're moving him around more, but you're dealing with a guy who caught 40 passes last year is like, oh, maybe he'll be more involved in the passing game this year. That's like one of the narratives.

[Mike Wright]

Well, don't know.

[Jason Moore]

What was he going to get? 60 catches?

[Brooks]

What if he's the same? I mean, his draft value is so different than it was last year. What if he's just the same? He's still a 17th ranked guy at a different draft value. But I feel this like internal compulsion to defend Tide Gurley. So I'll just be quiet now.

[Mike Wright]

But he didn't give you ceiling last year. That was. That's the problem.

[Brooks]

Gave you 278 attempts.

[Mike Wright]

No, I understand. And he. If you are getting him in the back of the seconds, he's probably going to return value for you. But unless he starts giving you those big games like he did his rookie year, it's. It's still going to feel bad. And the other name I'll throw out as high bus potential because he just keeps running, moving up and up and up. And that's Marshawn Lynch.

[Brooks]

Sure. I'm going to go with a different name. James Winston. I think the narrative, there's a lot of the narrative and the weapons around him make everybody think this is just an automatic ascension for him. I think you could see the same or worse performance. The interceptions are a problem. And I think you saw last year Dirk Cutter made a conscious decision towards the second half of the year to establish the run game. Those are the games that you had Jacquiz Rogers have success in. I think that that recipe translated to victories, put him in a playoff push position. They may not try to put as much on the back of Jameis Winston as we saw last year, which could result in a lower than expected fantasy performance.

[Jason Moore]

All right, your upside. Got your upside guy there, Andy. Because I'm going to throw out plus.

[Brooks]

Are we doing A plus as well?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I might as well.

[Mike Wright]

You got to balance it out.

[Jason Moore]

I'm going to say Amari Cooper for my plus because we haven't talked about that much. I believe that when Amari Cooper's career is over and you look back at his career, he'll have a year or two where he's got 10 touchdowns right now. It hasn't happened yet, but some of that was, you know, a little bit fluky. Wasn't targeted in the red zone. Also had four pass interference calls, you know, in the paint. And so that's going to. That's going to make all the difference. Touchdowns are hard to predict and right now the reason he's low, if he ends up with 10, his. His upside is tremendous.

[Brooks]

Yeah, it's funny. I'll put my plus side guy as Marshawn lynch. Six best team in terms of points scored last year in Oakland. He heads into Oakland. You saw what a guy like LeGarrett Blunt did 18 touchdowns on one of the higher scoring offenses. If LeGarrett Blunt or I'm sorry, if Marshawn lynch gave you 15 touchdowns. It's not outside the realm of possibility. So I'll go with Marshawn Lynch.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I don't hate it.

[Brooks]

It goes both directions. Yes, no doubt about it. All right, this one comes from a YouTube comment. Katiegirl17 says, Love the show. Do bye weeks. Enter into your draft strategy at all.

[Jason Moore]

Depends on the format. So what I mean by that is if I'm doing a best ball format like we'll talk about here in a little bit on play draft, then absolutely. Bye weeks are extremely important. I'm not making the choice as to I don't have any roster moves after the draft. So I need to know in week nine that I've got enough good people to make a roster. And also when you've got really deep starting rosters. So like Scott Fish, you know, you're starting three flex three wide receivers. So you've got to make sure, you know, once you get into the 14th through 20 something round, then you start looking at bye weeks. But in the average casual, you know, home league, I don't really care at all.

[Mike Wright]

Let me, let me give you a hypothetical situation. You're looking at a draft that has unfolded in this way. You've got, you know, Julio got demarius Thomas. You ended up with Drew Brees and Jameson Crowder. So that's four of your top seven round picks or so.

[Jason Moore]

Sure.

[Mike Wright]

Those guys all have a weak 4, 5 by.

[Jason Moore]

That's yuck. That's no good.

[Mike Wright]

So, I mean, it's, I would say the only way it impacts me is if I have a lot of players with an early bye week. That's when I would.

[Brooks]

Maybe before your team is turned over.

[Mike Wright]

Right. Where I'll consider diversifying that at the draft. If I have a bunch of guys over week nine, I'm not worrying about it because there will be so much roster turnover by week nine.

[Brooks]

Yeah. And I think you added, you know, you said that through four week four picks, you're kind of seeing the lay of the land with your buy weeks and then you're making decisions based on that. So I think that's good advice. All right, before we move on to the next question, want to thank today's sponsor. We've been talking about them for a long time. Seatgeek. Look, buying tickets, we all know this. It can be complicated. It can be confusing. But there is a simpler way to buy tickets and that is with SeatGeek. It's the smartest, easiest way to get tickets to your favorite teams games. I have it on my phone. It's by far the easiest way that I've ever bought tickets. Very intuitive, very smart app. Just a couple of taps and you got tickets. My wife and I, we were in New York about a month ago, wanted to see a show, didn't have tickets for it yet. We're sitting at dinner. I pulled out the app. Two seconds later, I had tickets for the show. It was easy as pie and they're all guaranteed, so I didn't have to worry that I was buying some illegitimate ticket off the street. They make it super easy. And obviously with the NFL season coming up, if you want to improv a game, if you want to take somebody to a game, it's great. So best of all, this is the best of all part the best. 20 bucks off your first SeatGeek purchase with our code. So download the SeatGeek app into the promo code. Footballers today. That's the promo code. Footballers for $20 off your very first seat geek purchase. Pretty sweet.

[Mike Wright]

All right, question.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

I think we need to officially change the phrase easy as pie to easy as eating pie.

[Brooks]

Really?

[Mike Wright]

Have you ever baked a pie?

[Brooks]

Not easy. I bought a pie.

[Jason Moore]

It's super easy. You just go to the local village inn and you say, I'd like a banana cream, and it's like, wow, that was easy as pie.

[Mike Wright]

Banana cream pie, yeah.

[Brooks]

Where do you think that phrase came from?

[Mike Wright]

I have no idea. Someone who just never baked a pie in their life.

[Brooks]

Because I can't imagine it isn't easy.

[Jason Moore]

As baking a pie.

[Brooks]

But I can't imagine it was actually meant as easy as eating pie. Do you?

[Jason Moore]

No, I don't think so.

[Mike Wright]

Brooks, we got resident pie Brooks, do you know?

[Brooks]

Oh, he's called Giamatti. Is that your way of saying you don't know an answer to this? Yep.

[Mike Wright]

Foot clan. Explain the pie right here.

[Brooks]

We need to understand this is important. This is more important than keeper league strategy. But I guess we'll answer this question.

[Mike Wright]

Life questions.

[Brooks]

Ben in Cleveland. Hey, footballers. This season my home league is switching from a redraft format to a three keeper league. How much did this affect my strategy in the first three rounds? And the value of players like Amari Cooper and Jordy Nelson. Great question. His league's a full point. PPR league. Ben, we've said it before and I'll say it again. A league with only three keepers, it shouldn't really change your equation very much. It's nice to have a player like David Johnson that can't that you think hey this player is going to be a 3, 4 year star in the league. But even that is not a guarantee. We saw years ago Eddie Lacy look like that bona fide guaranteed early keeper league pick. It didn't pan out. So the way we approach this is most often we take a look, we try to draft players that are going to help us win this year and we realize the fact that you'll have opportunities to make trades, to make adjustments. That's my approach at least. It doesn't mean you don't pay attention to youth. It just means that most of the time I'm looking to win this year. What do you think Jay?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, youth does not matter much to me. But what does change? Because we always say I, you know, I take a three and under keeper league to basically be a redraft. But that's not entirely true in the sense that the top elite guys, the Le'Veon Bells, David Johnson, Zeke, Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham and Julio, those guys to me are worth a ton. So in the draft not much you can do unless you have one of those top six picks try to trade up. I am willing to trade up to get one of those guys, but that's it. Outside of that I don't care about Amari Cooper, you know, in his in his age being younger and maybe he'll have more longevity. It's just the absolute elite because you get to keep them every year.

[Brooks]

Rob Gronkowski count in that group because you, you have a positional advantage for multiple years.

[Mike Wright]

I think you also need to discuss are you reaching on guys like Joe Mixon. You said you want to be all in on him. Can't do it this year. I would imagine next year you will be your lights have your whole entire house have turned the lights on for Joe Mixon next year. So are you willing to reach for him around to ensure that he's on your team and you can keep him for a fourth or a third next year? I mean you're gambling.

[Brooks]

It's tough making those commitments in a three keeper league and then saying well I reached on Joe Mixon so now am I not trading Joe Mixon? That's what I would when he doesn't pan out, am I committed to starting him?

[Jason Moore]

I would give the advice to not do that. I would say do not overreach around earlier on a guy that could be just because he's young. That that's my personal advice because you need to win the championship this year in a three keeper league. Every single year you're in it at this time of the year, every single one. I mean, it doesn't matter who your keepers are. There's enough turnover on everyone's roster where you are a championship contender. If you do the right things in.

[Mike Wright]

This year, if you play to win by the end of the year, three keepers will reveal themselves to you.

[Jason Moore]

Nobody drafted Jordan Howard. He's an absolute keeper. And there's players like that every single.

[Brooks]

Year that some people dropped him in.

[Mike Wright]

The middle of the year and, and some people had Lashawn McCoy last year so they were carrying Mike Gillisley into the playoffs because we want to have the handcuff situation. And now you have a running back one for free.

[Brooks]

Yeah, some people named Mike. All right. Jacob in Loganville, Georgia says, I'm. I'm wanting to get a quick word about Austin Hooper. To me, he is a very under the radar tight end pick. Obviously I'm a big fan because you can do this.

[Mike Wright]

Hanging with Mr. Hooper.

[Brooks]

Hanging with Mr. Hooper. It's a good point. We talk often about rookie tight ends not being able to make big contributions. Austin Hooper last year only had 19 receptions. But we've seen Matt Ryan lean on tight ends. He's tried to make toy Lolo relevant. Toy Lolo has said, no, I will not be relevant.

[Jason Moore]

And as stupid as it sounds, those 19 receptions, if you watch them, they were. They're pretty nice. He looked good.

[Mike Wright]

You saw him in the Super Bowl. I think they went to him back to back plays in the end zone and one of those was an amazing touchdown reception. Austin Hooper is a very intriguing player to me. I don't know if it's going to happen for him this year. I'm not calling for it to happen this year, but eventually it's going to be great.

[Brooks]

I'm very comfortable with him at 21.

[Jason Moore]

Sure. He's our consensus 21 as well. I've got him a little higher at 17. Mike, you've got him at 28, which is fine.

[Brooks]

26.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, sorry.

[Mike Wright]

I am much more intrigued with seeing what Austin Hooper does this year than I am Hunter Henry. When you're talking about second year tight ends and that might be blasphemous for some people, but I think that there is a very high ceiling for Austin Hooper.

[Jason Moore]

But you wouldn't draft him in a redraft no league.

[Mike Wright]

That's what I'm saying. It's not watch.

[Jason Moore]

And if he starts, you know, being involved in, you know, the first couple weeks. Spend your fab.

[Brooks]

All right, Tyler. And Boylan says, hey, guys, just wondering what your opinion is on the value of taking Isaiah Crowell at 402. In most of my mocks on ESPN, I end up with Melvin Gordon and then Ty Michael Thomas, if that affects your thought process at all. But what do you think of the value of Isaiah Crowell at the. In the fourth round?

[Mike Wright]

It's delicious.

[Jason Moore]

I'm much more comfortable with Crowell there than where he's been ending up. I've seen him, you know, in the back of the second.

[Mike Wright]

He will be in the back of.

[Jason Moore]

The second and he was in consideration earlier for who's going to bust Isaiah Crowell, to me is a. If he's going in the second round, if that's like where he ends up in August, then he will be one of my higher bust candidates.

[Brooks]

Just trying to hurt me.

[Jason Moore]

I'm just saying he's not worth that value.

[Brooks]

I'm pretty sure Todd Gurley and Isaiah Cruell, who I actively sought out in our dynasty league, are my starting two running backs. And you are trying to hurt me.

[Mike Wright]

It's funny because if you want. If you ask me what is Crowell's comp, it's Gurdley. He does. He's a running back who clearly has talent, but he's on a really bad team. They're going to be in negative game scripts frequently. And last year, Isaiah Crowell was among the leaders at the position of his production. What came through huge chunks a la Todd Gurley his rookie year, which I saw the regression last year.

[Brooks]

I have the same concerns with any hype surrounding Joe Williams, where. Okay, let's say that all the pieces fall into place in San Francisco. What does that mean? Because I'm, you know, Joe Williams can be everything. But what offense, what offensive performances are we going to see from San Francisco this year? How many touchdown opportunities are you going to get? Are you going to get a player that everything goes right and he still only averages 85 yards a game and scores three times? You know, something like that. So, Mike, I'm tossing this question to you. Who open at BKGHs?

[Jason Moore]

Hogs?

[Brooks]

Yeah. Given the news on Andrew Luck, or lack of news, how concerned should we be? And in dynasty leagues, should we consider selling high?

[Jason Moore]

Whoo.

[Brooks]

Dynasty, Gary.

[Mike Wright]

Dynasty leagues. Absolutely not. And my radar is. It's starting to ping a little bit. I had heard some whispers in the bushes reports that Andrew Luck was doing a little bit of just playing catch, essentially, but he's good for a Quarterback. Oh, but he's. He's not out there. He. I don't. He's not going to be a full participant in training camp. So at this point, not concerned because I think Andrew Luck has enough experience under the belt that he can jump in essentially week one and be good to go. It sucks for guys like Moncrief and Kamar Aiken and Dorsett, guys who are trying to get that chemistry and the rapport going with him, but I'm not concerned on this day, this Saturday. I'm not overly concerned with Andrew Luck yet.

[Brooks]

All right, we're going to transition now, get into a new segment. We're bringing every Saturday during the off season. Once a week, we're talking best ball.

[Andy Holloway]

Best ball bonanza brought to you by play draft.

[Brooks]

All right. If you don't know what best ball is, you are drafting right [e-mail] Ballers it is a league in which all you do is draft. You draft your roster. Right now, there are 18 players on your roster. And what it does is it selects the best performance at each position every week and that's the points you get. So you try to construct a roster that gives you the opportunity to score the most points each week, having depth at each position. And so we talk philosophy there. Mike, you're looking at me.

[Mike Wright]

Have we told our friend Paul about best ball?

[Brooks]

He would like that because Paul is.

[Mike Wright]

One of the fantasy football players who gets incredibly frustrated when.

[Brooks]

When it doesn't go according to script.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Brooks]

You don't get what you expect and.

[Mike Wright]

Making your roster decisions on a weekly basis. And you don't have to do that.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Best ball. The computer does.

[Brooks]

I bet Paul would love best ball. At least he would Paul love best ball. In control of his own ship and destiny. So if you are playing, we wanted to let you know about a couple cool things. One, we're all about best ball. We love best ball. It's been so fun this. This off season, Mike and one of us on a weekly basis are doing a live basketball draft. And you can get access to that really easy on our periscope and on twitterffballers. You'll see that pop up. You can go watch the one that Mike did last week so you can.

[Mike Wright]

Watch, you can join in the conversation and you can join in the league. People are asking, how do we get in a league, a basketball league with you guys? It's essentially, I'll announce it the morning of on Twitter and I'll say, hey, around this time, be watching for a link and Then the first the people who are clicking on the link and get in, you're in. And we're going to draft.

[Brooks]

And then once a week when we do these segments, brief segment, we're going to talk about some best ball strategy and ideas. Jason got into some last week. I've got a tip for players today who are playing basketball and I think this is even more appropriate because look, you use the Play draft app on your phone and so little bit of a smaller real estate than maybe you're used to drafting on a computer. One of the things that happens when people do drafts like an ESPN for redraft leagues is you get caught up at times with the list of players that ESPN has set in front of you. And so you can be in the middle of a draft and they're obviously recommending players based on their recommended list. And it can get very tempting to just take the highest player on the list so you don't make a mistake.

[Jason Moore]

Or only consider, you know, three of the names that are in the top.

[Brooks]

Six in that list.

[Jason Moore]

Whatever list they're giving you. It's like, oh, well, I like this guy. Best of these of these five.

[Brooks]

Yeah. So I want to remind players on draft playing best ball don't fall into that trap in the best ball app where you're only looking or considering. I think that's the bigger point, that you're only considering the top five or six names that are recommended at each position. A good example of that is a player like Martavis Bryant. He's very far down the list because he's not necessarily climbing into everybody's top rankings. You can do a couple scrolls down. All of a sudden Martavis Bryant pops in there. Maybe you want to take a guy like Martavis Bryant in a basketball league over a guy like Golden Tate.

[Mike Wright]

Pro tip, if you're in my live.

[Brooks]

Draft, don't do that.

[Mike Wright]

And it's the. Well, yeah, pro tip, don't do that. No. If you're in the fourth round and you want Martavis Bryant, you better take him because he's an automatic fourth round.

[Brooks]

Pick for me in all your best ball leagues.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Brooks]

So just pay attention to the fact that, look, don't fall into that trap. Build your own rankings inside the app if you need.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that's what I was going to say. You can, in that app make your own rankings to make sure you're not falling into the. Just the ADP trap.

[Brooks]

Yeah. So Mike's doing another one this week. Well, one of us is going to sit in on it. With him as well. And we'll talk more basketball strategy. We'll be putting a few more articles and things like that up on Best ball strategy because we love basketball. We think it's just, it's a great exercise even in helping your redraft league. Because we always say mock drafting helps you understand player value. Well, playing basketball leagues help you understand player value too. And it's super fun.

[Jason Moore]

This is the best version of, you know, I mean, there's a little change because you might, you know, overvalue those boom bust guys. Like for instance, Brandon Cook's great pick in best ball, even though I don't want him in redraft. But you're drafting not against a bottle, you're drafting against other real people, really trying to make the best decisions. Great prep for your regular league.

[Mike Wright]

Also for players who are new to the format, should make sure you mention play. Draft offers two different ways of drafting. Yes, they offer a fast draft where everyone gets 30 seconds and it is, it's a blast. Yeah, it's a blast. It's intense. I mean, it is a pressure cooker when you, all of a sudden, you're on the clock, you have 30 seconds to make this pick. They also offered the slow draft where everyone gets essentially up to eight hours. And these, these drafts can usually take, you know, a week or two weeks.

[Jason Moore]

I love Michael Keaton.

[Mike Wright]

Just so, so there's the casual, oh, I'm on the clock and I make a, I'll take my time here, make a pick. And then there's the. I'm going to sit down for 30 minutes and have a, have a good time.

[Brooks]

Awesome. Well, we'll be back on Tuesday, next week with another show. Very excited about some new features coming out for the Ultimate Draft Kit, most likely released early next week.

[Jason Moore]

We're looking at Jason. That's the pressure being put on.

[Brooks]

Don't miss it.

[Jason Moore]

But it's coming, it's coming.

[Brooks]

Yeah. Check it. Check all of the things that are included in the Ultimate Draft Kit out at ultimate draft kit.com super excited about what we built there and think it'll help you dominate your 2017 draft again. Go to playdraft.comballers if you want to get in one of those other leagues with us. Hope you enjoyed the mailbag and we will catch you on Tuesday. Have a good one, everyone.

[Mike Wright]

Goodbye.

[Andy Holloway]

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