Fantasy Time Machine + Fantasy Superheroes LIVE in SF

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary: "Fantasy Time Machine + Fantasy Superheroes LIVE in SF"

Release Date: July 13, 2019
Location: San Francisco

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Introduction: Live Show Kickoff (00:00 - 02:12)

The episode begins with hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright welcoming listeners to a live show in San Francisco. They engage the audience with their signature humor and enthusiasm, highlighting the vibrant energy of the event.

Andy Holloway (00:00):
"Foreign to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, coming to you from Pristine Auction.com Studios..."

Jason Moore (00:32):
"If you're listening at home and you can't tell we're live, you have a problem."

The trio announces a giveaway of a Jimmy G. Jimmy Handsome helmet, energizing the crowd and setting a lively tone for the evening.

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Segment 1: Fantasy Superheroes Comparison (02:03 - 06:17)

The hosts delve into a creative segment where they compare NFL players to superheroes, providing a fun and insightful analysis of player attributes and potential fantasy impact.

Andy Holloway on DK Metcalf (03:00 - 04:29):
Andy equates DK Metcalf to the Hulk, emphasizing Metcalf's physical prowess and potential dominance on the field despite possible coordination issues.

Jason Moore on Jarvis Landry (04:38 - 06:08):
Jason likens Jarvis Landry to Robin, suggesting that while Landry is a reliable partner, he may not be the game-changer fantasy managers seek, contrasting him with star players like Odell Beckham Jr.

Mike Wright on Julian Edelman (06:03 - 07:21):
Mike compares Julian Edelman to Ant Man, highlighting Edelman's resilience and versatility despite being smaller in stature, and playfully linking his notable beard to Ant Man's powers.

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Segment 2: News and Notes from Around the League (07:58 - 18:10)

The hosts transition to recent NFL news, providing updates that impact fantasy football strategies.

Melvin Gordon's Trade Demand (08:05 - 12:26):
Melvin Gordon has informed the Chargers he won't attend training camp unless a new contract is offered, signaling potential trade rumors. Andy expresses concern over Gordon's availability and its implications for fantasy managers.

Josh Jacobs Signs with Raiders (12:35 - 13:12):
Congratulations are extended to the Raiders for signing first-round rookie running back Josh Jacobs to a fully guaranteed four-year contract, solidifying his status as a top rookie RB in fantasy drafts.

Jimmy Garoppolo's Recovery (12:53 - 15:03):
49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is expected to be ready for training camp after a knee surgery. While optimistic about his return, Mike notes Garoppolo's inconsistent fantasy performance last season, advising caution in drafting him as a high-value QB.

Damian Williams Named Chiefs' Starter (15:09 - 17:34):
Andy discusses Damian Williams being named the full-time starting running back for the Kansas City Chiefs, emphasizing the opportunity within Andy Reid's offense. Mike is excited about Williams potentially rising into the first-round draft prospect by August.

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Segment 3: Fantasy Time Machine - Identifying Breakout and Busts (19:25 - 43:38)

In this core segment, the hosts utilize their "Fantasy Time Machine" to predict breakout players and potential fantasy disappointments, drawing parallels to previous seasons' surprises.

Identifying the Next George Kittle (19:35 - 27:07):
Mike Wright introduces Vance McDonald as a potential breakout tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers, referencing his impressive yards after contact (YAC) and the departure of key players like Antonio Brown. Jason and Andy discuss McDonald's fantasy potential, while Andy highlights Mark Andrews as an undervalued tight end with breakout potential, asserting his value even amid injury concerns.

Spotting the Next Nick Chubb (27:07 - 45:05):
Mike criticizes the overvaluation of Derrick Henry, predicting he will be a disappointing fantasy asset despite his physical dominance. He warns fantasy managers against over-relying on Henry, likening him to last year's Alex Collins. Andy is more optimistic, believing Henry will still perform well on the ground, while Jason remains skeptical about his consistency.

Philip Lindsay as a Potential Alex Collins (43:38 - 52:06):
Jason highlights Philip Lindsay of the Buffalo Bills as a player with similarities to Alex Collins, especially in their rookie seasons. Andy counters by analyzing Lindsay's situation within the Bills' ambiguous backfield, expressing caution due to competition and Lindsay's injury history. The discussion underscores the risks of drafting players with uncertain roles and injury potential.

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Segment 4: Live Mailbag Q&A (53:18 - 60:34)

The hosts open the floor to live audience questions, addressing various fantasy football dilemmas presented by listeners.

Question 1: Draft Strategy for RBs vs. WRs (54:25 - 56:27)
Brian asks whether managers should draft running backs earlier or prefer late-round wide receivers. Andy suggests maintaining an early running back focus but remains flexible, while Jason and Mike weigh in on balancing depth and value.

Question 2: Kirk Cousins as a Fantasy QB (56:34 - 59:01)
Matthew inquires about Kirk Cousins' potential as a valuable fantasy quarterback given offensive line upgrades and strong wide receivers. Mike sees Cousins as a good late-round option, while Andy shares a more reserved perspective, questioning whether Cousins can maintain high yardage without explosive performance.

Question 3: Targeting Late-Round Tight Ends (59:24 - 60:34)
Nick seeks advice on selecting a late-round tight end in a Dynasty league without access to the top 12. Andy recommends Mark Andrews as a breakout candidate still available in later rounds, highlighting his consistent performance and favorable usage in the Ravens' offense.

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Conclusion and Giveaway (60:36 - 63:00)

The episode wraps up with a giveaway segment where Matthew wins the Jimmy G. Jimmy Handsome helmet, followed by heartfelt thanks to sponsors Pristine Auction and St. Jude, underscoring the podcast's community and charitable efforts.

Jason Moore (62:06):
"A Special thanks to St. Jude once again."

Mike Wright (62:29):
"Thank you, San Francisco for an incredible show."

The hosts emphasize their commitment to supporting listeners and the fantasy football community, inviting them to engage further through their website and social media channels.

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Key Takeaways:

1. Superhero Analogies: Creative comparisons between players and superheroes offer a unique lens for evaluating fantasy potential.
2. Player News Impact: Updates on Melvin Gordon, Josh Jacobs, Jimmy Garoppolo, and Damian Williams are crucial for adjusting fantasy strategies.
3. Identifying Breakouts and Busts: The Fantasy Time Machine segment provides valuable insights into potential breakout players like Vance McDonald and highlights the risks of overvaluing stars like Derrick Henry.
4. Live Q&A Engagement: Audience questions reveal common fantasy dilemmas, helping managers refine their draft and roster strategies.
5. Community and Charity: The podcast emphasizes community involvement and charitable support, promoting a positive and engaged listener base.

This episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast offers a blend of entertainment, insightful analysis, and actionable advice, making it a valuable resource for fantasy managers aiming to optimize their teams for the upcoming season.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Foreign to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, coming to you from Pristine Auction.com Studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Jason Moore]

If. If you're listening at home and you can't tell we're live.

[Andy Holloway]

We're live. Yes.

[Jason Moore]

In San Francisco.

[Andy Holloway]

If you're listening at home and you can't tell we're live, you have a problem.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, you do. Welcome into the show. Stop number three on the People's Fantasy Tour brought to you by Pristine Auction. We're giving away a fine Jimmy G. Jimmy handsome helmet today.

[Andy Holloway]

Only the finest.

[Jason Moore]

We do have some. We do have some Raiders fans in the house.

[Mike Wright]

And that's okay. That's okay.

[Jason Moore]

Which is great because the Foot clan comes from everywhere. All walks away.

[Andy Holloway]

Las Vegas representing.

[Jason Moore]

Right Different.

[Mike Wright]

Too soon. Too soon. Get bodied.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, they are rowdy. They are rowdy. We have a great show for you tonight. We're gonna hop into the time machine on the show today. A little bit later, we're gonna talk about some news. We got a great quick question if you still want to come to a live show. We've got two more left.

[Andy Holloway]

Yep.

[Jason Moore]

You can't come to this one.

[Mike Wright]

They're already here.

[Andy Holloway]

You also cannot come to the next one unless you already got your.

[Jason Moore]

That's true. It's sold out. So Phoenix is the last one available to [e-mail]. like you said, we like to have a little bit of fun with the quick question, especially at the live shows. So today we have a very special, important question.

[Mike Wright]

It's very important.

[Jason Moore]

I want your best player to superhero comp. Okay. I want you to make the comparison.

[Mike Wright]

I want you to make the case right now.

[Jason Moore]

Superheroes are big. Christian McCaffrey's brother is.

[Mike Wright]

All right, we've got the crowd's answer. Andy, are you up first?

[Andy Holloway]

All right, the player I want to talk about and his superhero compadre is DK Metcalf, rookie wide receiver for the Seahawks. They are. For those at home, they are booing the one Seahawks fan in the crowd.

[Mike Wright]

The reaction time by the Seahawks fan to realize we were talking about the.

[Andy Holloway]

Seahawks like 10 seconds later.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yeah, it was.

[Jason Moore]

It was delayed like Metcalf's draft capital.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yeah, Metcalf.

[Andy Holloway]

No, I like that a lot.

[Jason Moore]

He does. I mean, he looks big, though. I mean.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, so looks like. I think this one is low hanging fruit. You should already know. You should be screaming out like, I know who the superhero is. Green Lantern. What? He's just, you know, here's the thing about DK Metcalf I think he's super creative.

[Mike Wright]

His imagination is unbelievable. He's just.

[Andy Holloway]

He's. He's so thoughtful. No, it's the Hulk. It's the other green guy. Come on. DK Metcalf is the Hulk.

[Jason Moore]

And why explain yourself?

[Andy Holloway]

I. Obviously you've got the physique, right?

[Mike Wright]

A little bit going on.

[Andy Holloway]

So you've got that. He's clearly a. A. A freak of nature specimen just like the Hulk. Also, I think he's going to be a little less than a tactician on the field. He's going to little un.

[Jason Moore]

Uncoordinated.

[Andy Holloway]

A little uncoordinated. Smash. Yeah, and that's the thing. Like if. If the Hulk were to run routes in the NFL, I don't think he's going to score well on reception perception.

[Mike Wright]

No, he's not.

[Andy Holloway]

But I think he could still get the job done because he's a beast. And that's where DK Metcalf is. Look, he's not this great, refined route runner, but he is literally a superhero on the NFL field. And it might not matter that he's not this great, refined wide receiver. If Russell Wilson's rolling around, he can throw the bomb and the Hulk can just go, Hulk, smash. And get it. So that's. That's my player comp.

[Mike Wright]

Very nice. Yeah, very nice.

[Jason Moore]

I'll go next. I'll go.

[Mike Wright]

All right, Andy's up.

[Jason Moore]

I want to talk about Jarvis Landry. Okay.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, Jarvis Landry. No, he's a great wide receiver.

[Jason Moore]

Hard knocks fame.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. Bless him, bless him, bless him.

[Jason Moore]

But the thing is, is Jarvis Landry, and maybe this is low hanging fruit here, but Jarvis Landry is Robin.

[Andy Holloway]

Right? I mean, he's the underwear Robin. Right?

[Jason Moore]

He's the underwear Robin. And here's the thing.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, Jarvis, I hope Jarvis is not listening to this.

[Jason Moore]

Like, if you're on YouTube or you're here at the live show, you'll be able to see the picture that went up. And it's not the most flattering thing, but I want. I want to paint a picture for you. Like, Robin is still a superhero. He's still. And Jarvis is still one of the best players in football, but you don't necessarily want to be the. And in fantasy football, you don't want it to be Batman and robin. Odell Beckham Jr. And Jarvis Landry.

[Andy Holloway]

You want to have Batman and Superman.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that would be better. And you know, at the end of a big fight, nobody's like, thank goodness Robin was there.

[Andy Holloway]

Whoo.

[Jason Moore]

So I think for your fantasy team.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, Please, please, Jarvis, forgive us.

[Jason Moore]

Dale is super. Not many people can be superheroes. I'm not. He's a superhero.

[Mike Wright]

Not many people wear that outfit.

[Jason Moore]

And for your fantasy team, I could pull it off.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, maybe, Maybe.

[Jason Moore]

But for your fantasy team, it's not going to be enough. He's just the. And. And I think, you know, Odell's Batman, so. All right, Mike, what you got?

[Mike Wright]

I'll jump in here. I want to talk about a man that I've been talking about this entire offseason because I just cannot stop myself.

[Jason Moore]

Can't get enough.

[Mike Wright]

New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman. He is mighty. He is mighty strong. Here's the thing. He's a little bit smaller, but guess what? Julian Edelman is Ant Man. Of course, I heard a couple people, because it's there. Look, he's small, but you know what? Maybe he's just stronger when he's in his small mode. He is absolutely mighty.

[Jason Moore]

Does Ant man get hurt a lot?

[Mike Wright]

He could. He's a little bit older. He's been angry.

[Jason Moore]

Paul Ride gets hurt a lot.

[Mike Wright]

But here's. Here's the thing. He. He plays. He plays much bigger than his size. And look at. Look, the only explanation possible for a beard of that magnitude is its ants.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, no, that makes sense.

[Mike Wright]

He has controlled the ants, and they are his beard.

[Jason Moore]

And that's why you finish so high in the accuracy rankings.

[Mike Wright]

Absolutely. So Julian Edelman is Ant Man.

[Jason Moore]

So there's your quick question. Before we get into the news, and there's a lot of news to cover, there's news to cover from the Bay Area that we're going to talk about. I do want to give a very special shout out to the team from St. Jude who has been supporting this entire tour. Can you give it up for St. Jude? We're partnering with them on the tour. All the proceeds from the VIP meet and greet tickets went to St. Jude. A dollar from every ultimate draft kit goes to St. Jude. They've been amazing, so we're proud to have them as a part of this tour. Let's get into the news.

[Andy Holloway]

News and notes from around the league, presented by sl.

[Jason Moore]

All right. I thought we were going to lead off with some Bay Area news, but we're not. We're going to lead off with some news that broke today. Yeah, it might have broke just mere minutes after we took this player in our Scotty Fishbowl draft, but Melvin Gordon has informed the Chargers he will not report to training camp. He will demand a trade unless he receives a new contract. Look, instantly the alarms are going off and they.

[Mike Wright]

And they better be. They better be going off for a good reason. The blueprint is already there. Levy and it's. The circumstances were a little bit different because Levy and Bell was on the franchise contract. So he's not. It's like this weird limbo area where he's.

[Jason Moore]

Because Melvin's under contract, Right.

[Mike Wright]

He is under the fifth year option. He could be fined and things like that. But the blueprint is there. And Le'Veon Bell said, you don't want to pay me? I'm not going to play. And then guess what happened. Someone backed up the dump truck full of gold bullion, and Le'Veon Bell ended up getting paid. I talked about this a few months ago, right after the Le'Veon Bell contract.

[Andy Holloway]

You did. You did.

[Mike Wright]

I said, melvin Gordon is looking at this. He's looking at what's happening. He's looked at what Todd Gurley got, and now he's looking at what Le'Veon Bell got. And he said, I sacrifice my body for this team every single day, and if you aren't going to commit to me, there's a chance you're gonna have to quit me. There's a chance that he may not show up.

[Jason Moore]

So how worried are you, in actuality? Because we know that the two sides have been talking, negotiating. If you're in that position, discussing contract terms. Sometimes the play is the public. You know, you go public.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

You let the team know. Look, I'm willing to take this as far as I can. The Chargers, Philip Rivers, long in the tooth. Their window is small to get to the Super Bowl. The team should be motivated to sign him. How concerned are you? In actuality, like, we took him, 8th pick of our Scottie Fishbowl draft. I think Austin Eckler was drafted by more Scotty Fish teams today than anybody.

[Andy Holloway]

Including ours.

[Jason Moore]

Including ours.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

But how worried are you?

[Andy Holloway]

I will say this. So the real question that all fantasy owners have to ask and try to answer is, will Melvin Gordon lose time or potentially be on another team? I think the odds are scary high.

[Jason Moore]

Really.

[Andy Holloway]

The reason I think that I know.

[Jason Moore]

Andy, you know, I'm on the opposite side.

[Andy Holloway]

You're on the opposite side. So you can, you can make your case. My case is essentially this. This the, The San Diego Chargers. And I, I, I am not getting my words wrong. There, shockingly, were a bad franchise. They've, they've run poorly. Their owner is known as, you know, not one of the best owners in the league. That you look at what happened with Bosa when they drafted him on these rookie contracts that are already done and you have a missing time. You, you also have a franchise right now that was one of the only franchises that lost essentially when they moved to Los Angeles. They lost their ranking despite moving to a bigger market in the NFL teams when it comes to evaluations and the reason they can't sell out stadiums that are for soccer and 25,000 people. This is a financial problem for the current Los Angeles Chargers. I worry that if he's asking for all this money, they've got Justin Jackson, they've got Austin Eckler, they, they want to have him. Absolutely. They want to sign him. But I think this is one of those things where it's like, okay, you've got the, you've got the championship window versus the actual constraints of the pocketbook. This is a team that while the whole NFL does profit sharing, where the teams make their differentiation is in their ticket sales and their concessions in their jerseys. And they're one of the dead last teams in the NFL in that revenue.

[Jason Moore]

And see, they can't afford not to win. That. That's where I take it. Like if you talk about opening the pocketbooks up, Justin Jackson weighs 3 pounds less than Austin Eckler does. They cannot afford to just have those two guys in the back. But if they win, and you cannot win without Melvin.

[Andy Holloway]

But if they win. If they win, you're talking, if we're just talking.

[Jason Moore]

They have to establish themselves in Los Angeles.

[Andy Holloway]

Win. They will then be able for the next two years to sell out a 25, 000 seat stadium. They're not going to make that money back. So I just, that's where I, that's where you're concerned from it on a financial standard.

[Jason Moore]

All right. The Raiders have signed first round rookie running back. Congratulations, Jacobs.

[Mike Wright]

Look, this, this is, this is reminding me of.

[Andy Holloway]

Even the Raiders can sign their rookies. Come on, Chargers.

[Jason Moore]

So it took him a second though. Josh Jacobs gets a four year contract fully guaranteed. Takes a variable out of the equation, right? Confidence with Josh Jacobs.

[Mike Wright]

He's locked in. He's the top rookie running back in your draft.

[Jason Moore]

All right. Not to be outdone, the 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo believes his surgically repaired knee will be healed and ready for a full workload by the beginning of training camp.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

He said the rehab process has gone really well. Knock on wood. We haven't had any setbacks. Confidence level in Jimmy Garoppolo. Look, the expectations were sky high last year with the offense, Kyle Shanahan, what they can do in it. They had to piece it together at quarterback. They had to piece it together at running back Jimmy Garoppolo coming back. It's one thing to say, okay, you've got your franchise guy back on the NFL field. It's another thing to say he's going to be a force in fantasy. Right. So does this news do much by way of encouraging you to take him higher in fantasy drafts?

[Mike Wright]

He's a late round draft pick for a reason. Last year was very strange because when he came in and he kind of, when he was traded over to San Francisco, middle of the season, came in and he was an absolute yardage stud. He was what you expect from a Kyle Shanahan quarterback to start the year. You were not getting the type of fantasy numbers that we've come to rely from that system. So it was a little bit strange. He still belongs in the late round, but he is absolutely one of those guys. It's the late round dart throw that possibly Jimmy turns into a weekly start.

[Jason Moore]

Still handsome.

[Andy Holloway]

Very, very.

[Mike Wright]

Well, he hurt his knee. He didn't hurt his face.

[Andy Holloway]

If he heard his face, if he hurt his face, I'm done. But yeah, I mean, look, this isn't, this isn't a rushing quarterback.

[Mike Wright]

Well, he, that was the problem. He thought he was a rushing quarterback.

[Andy Holloway]

Then I'm gonna get that extra yard. No, that was just a dumb decision on his part. You just accept the truth. But I mean, he averages 11 yards on the ground a game. You know, when Carson Wentz injured his knee and came back, he hurt himself for fantasy because a big part of his game was rushing. And you didn't see that as much when he had the brace on and was coming back. I'm not worried about that for Garoppolo, so I'm okay with him.

[Jason Moore]

All right, we've got one more to get into now, Mike. You're gonna like it.

[Andy Holloway]

Coach Andy Reid, San Francisco Big fans of trains. Big.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, this is the trolley. It's a hype trolley.

[Mike Wright]

Never heard of the hype trolley.

[Jason Moore]

It's important Andy Reid comes out. He says, Damian William be the full time starter for the year. He has taken the challenge, said Reed. He wants to do this thing. He earned the right to be the guy. Now it's a matter of production. You gotta go do it, said Andy Reid. So this is, is this hype? Is this, this is, this is life.

[Mike Wright]

I mean, this is what it is. Damian Williams is the starting running back for The Kansas City Chiefs. And he said, go out there. Go out there and produce.

[Jason Moore]

But let me. Let me.

[Mike Wright]

Like you did last year.

[Jason Moore]

Let me ask you a. Okay, look, if you like ice cream or if, let's say all you have to eat is ice cream and you start telling yourself that ice cream's good for you, you might as well tell yourself that you don't have anything else to eat.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

Andy Reid's options in the backfield. You might as well tell Damian he's the next Adrian Peterson, because that's who he's talking to.

[Mike Wright]

But Andy Reid had every opportunity to go out there and get something healthy, and he stuck with the ice cream because it's delicious.

[Andy Holloway]

But he. Look, look, I think all agree that Andy Reid like. It's. Likes ice cream, okay? But. But the reality is they had very limited cab space and very limited draft capital, so he's the guy now. Not a fan of that. Hey, the one guy that's allowed to make that joke is me. No, the.

[Jason Moore]

The.

[Andy Holloway]

The reality is this. This does matter. Like, I. I wanted Andy to keep going because, you know, Andy Reid says, you know, it's just a matter of can he produce. And I'm. I'm on record saying I don't think he's a great running back, but I'm also on record saying opportunity for running back matters a whole lot more than talent. There isn't a better opportunity than being in Kansas City's offense with Andy Reid. Right now. I moved Damian Williams. He's my number 10 running back right now, so he's an RB1. I'm.

[Jason Moore]

I wouldn't never do that. He's 11 for me.

[Mike Wright]

Look, by. By August, Damian Williams will creep into the back of the first round.

[Andy Holloway]

No, he won't.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, he will.

[Andy Holloway]

If he doesn't, then he's a value. Oh, water. Waterbed.

[Jason Moore]

Anytime you hear it. Yes, he will.

[Mike Wright]

No, he won't. Yes, he will.

[Jason Moore]

No, he won't. Very mature.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm not gonna lie to you. The crowd really egged me on on that, but I like it.

[Jason Moore]

All right, that was today's news and notes brought to you as always by Sleeper. And a reminder, Sleeper does not just break the latest news. They are the best fantasy platform. And it's funny because you can start to see that on Social now.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, you can.

[Jason Moore]

The ground swell, the lack of changes elsewhere.

[Andy Holloway]

And Sleeper's in the house tonight. Give them a shout out.

[Jason Moore]

But the nice thing is as simple or as complex as a league that you want, you can get it with Sleeper.

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, Foot Glan. We want to thank today's sponsor, HelloFresh. We have been using them for years to make great, easy, delicious meals delivered right to your door. They are America's number one meal kit, HelloFresh. You can get seasonal recipes. All you do is you cook and you enjoy. They give you step by step recipes with pre measured ingredients so there's no waste. You don't have to go grocery shopping and everything is made in about 30 minutes. You can say goodbye to the endless grocery stores because Hellofresh has you covered. There are great options. You can go vegetarian, you can go family meals, you can get stuff like the hall of fame Kraft Burgers. So delicious. They're flexible, they meet your lifestyle. It is very easy to change your delivery days, your food preferences, skip a week, whatever you need. It is fantastic. For $80 off your first month of HelloFresh, just go to HelloFresh.com Footballers 80 and enter Footballers 80 at checkout. It's like receiving eight meals free only at HelloFresh.com Footballers 80 promo code. Footballers 80.

[Jason Moore]

All right, you guys ready for a brand new segment? Let's go.

[Andy Holloway]

Marty, you got to come back with me.

[Mike Wright]

Where?

[Andy Holloway]

Back to the future.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, they like it. They like it. Mike, I love the truck. I like how you add an extra 10, 15 seconds for the live shows. For those.

[Mike Wright]

I'm a man of the people.

[Jason Moore]

Give it up for Mike. I mean, come on.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you.

[Jason Moore]

So here's the reality as fantasy owners, if we could go to the future and find those diamonds in the rough, find the players that did what some of the breakout players did last year or burned you. Or burned you, if you could know the future, it would go a long way.

[Mike Wright]

It would help.

[Jason Moore]

And last year, look, a good example. The guy we'll talk about first is, look, can you identify this year's George Kittle? Because George Kittle, look, if you had George Kittle last year, whether it was very happy, if you spent a Kittle as I did, 44 fab and picked him up early, or you invested late in your draft, I mean this was a, a tight end that broke out and offered you week winning weeks over and over again to record setting numbers. So if there was not, there's not always a George Kittle, but if there was, what are, who are the candidates in the upcoming season to be the next one? Mike's already. Mike's already.

[Mike Wright]

So look, we're talking about a tight end that's going to break out. There may be a dance that you could do and it Involves my man, Vance McDonald. This man does not have a. But he has the Vance dance. No pants required for the Vance dance. You may or may not know that. Look, last year 72 targets came down, 50 receptions for 610 yards and four touchdowns. And here's what's happening with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Antonio Brown is gone. Jesse James are gone. That's 207 vacated targets or over 30%. Over 30% of those targets are gone. And you could say, hey, Mike, the Pittsburgh Steelers, those passing numbers, they were inflated last year. Big Ben was throwing more than he ever has in his career. And I will say that's a very fair point. Let's take a look at the numbers. Let's give him 575 targets. That's 100 fewer targets. That's still 172 missing targets that we don't know where they are going to go. And here's a fun fact about Vance McDonald's for last year. Receiving yards after contact. The aforementioned George Kittle. 338. That's a sensational number. Travis Kelce, Zeus, a monster of a man. 239 yards after contact. Oh, little advance. McDonald, who cut way fewer passes, 213 yards after contact. Because he's not just one person. Vance McDonald is in fact two people. Because he pulled a temple of doom and he ripped out Chris Conti's heart and stole his soul.

[Jason Moore]

I saw you.

[Mike Wright]

He absorbed him. And now he has the power of two people. Yeah, look, and this isn't like. This isn't a Ryan Fitzpatrick situation.

[Jason Moore]

I saw you watching that video today too.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I watched it maybe like two or 23 times. But this isn't Ryan Fitzpatrick where we know that he favors the wide receivers. This is big man Rothlsberger who has utilized a tight end as his number two option. I mean, Heath Miller has multiple seasons of over, or I should say had multiple seasons of over 90 plus targets. Vance McDonald. I don't like that his ADP is creeping up. Maybe we're talking about him a little bit too much. But I'm just not talking about. I can't, man. This is my job. I'm here to talk, to turn off the recorder. But I'm. I am very excited for the breakout potential event. McDonald.

[Jason Moore]

See, the thing is is I buy into him as a potential kind of breakout tight end candidate simply because I don't buy. Look, juju, you can't do that much more.

[Andy Holloway]

You can't go up.

[Jason Moore]

I mean 14, 26 yards, his target.

[Mike Wright]

Volume can't really go up.

[Jason Moore]

So it has to go somewhere else. So then it's about Deontay Johnson or James Washington or Dante Moncrief.

[Mike Wright]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

So I do buy in on the fact. So are you investing in Vance?

[Mike Wright]

If I get basically an 8th round.

[Jason Moore]

Pick right now, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

So if I don't get Travis Kelce, I wait for Evan Ingram or a player who's going to be named. If I don't get them, then I start targeting Vance McDonald.

[Jason Moore]

I will say this. One of the things that you can see a lot in preseason is you see a lot of snaps from the tight end position. It's something that in years past when Peyton Manning helped Julius Thomas, Orange Julius break out in Denver, you saw it on film in the preseason.

[Mike Wright]

Here's, here's the other thing. Who's the backup tight end in Pittsburgh? Thank you very much. It's Xavier Jalen Samuel Xavier Grimble.

[Andy Holloway]

Grimble, yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Is that from Harry Potter?

[Mike Wright]

No, it's the thing you put your phone in and it stabilizes it. Yeah, got it.

[Andy Holloway]

And get a nice Steadicam shot.

[Mike Wright]

Not a lot of times.

[Andy Holloway]

Save your Grimble. He's the one recording Vance McDonald's.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

So the player that stood out to me on film all last year when all the hype was on Hayden Hurst and the higher draft capital was Mark Andrews.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

And Mark Andrews is basically free in drafts. Mark Andrews, look, it's hard to be the next George Kittle, but from a physical perspective, he did some of the things that Kittle did. What made Kittle so incredible? Humongous plays, right? Yes. Yards after catch, he's just a niner, a 49er.

[Mike Wright]

You're just imbued by default.

[Jason Moore]

You're the best. I should have guessed.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

So Andrews, not a Niner, not a Niner. But his insane yards after the catch ability, you saw it with Kittle, you saw it with Mark Andrews last year in flashes. Lamar Jackson went his way. He had a 74 yard reception in week 12, had a 68 yard touchdown in week 16. And the truth is, he's slowly creeping up the draft boards a little bit because Hayden Hurst can't get healthy again.

[Mike Wright]

They're saying, be quiet, don't talk about Mark Andrews.

[Jason Moore]

But the thing is, he could be an incredible value. And if he's not, you didn't invest that much draft capital in him. You roll him out there, see what you got. The hype is building for Mark Andrews and I think he fits that mold of a big play guy. He's friendly on a quarterback, learning to throw the football And Lamar Jackson. That's the truth. So I think you got to look Mark Andrews way.

[Mike Wright]

Well, and the thing about Mark Andrews is he was last year behind Dallas Goddard. He was many people's, including mine. Jason, you as well.

[Andy Holloway]

I was Dallas Goddard and then Mark Andrews. Those two, I love both those guys.

[Mike Wright]

Was the number two pass catching option that we really wanted to see go to a fantasy friendly place. He sort of did. But the problem was they drafted a tight end before they drafted a tie it in. So it put this, this damper on the shine of what Mark Andrews could be. And you knew it was going to take some time before the Ravens realized that Mark Andrews should be the tight end who's featured in the past game. Hayden Hurst is a good player, but.

[Jason Moore]

Looks like Andrews will be.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, Andrews should be the one getting the targets.

[Jason Moore]

Next. George Kittle.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, just to add to that, because I'm a big Mark Andrews fan, I think that he's an undervalued tight end. I love the idea of him stepping forward as that George Kittle, that late round guy that goes forward. Once Lamar Jackson took over, he was on pace for 771 yards, which would have been the second most for any rookie tight end since the year 2000. So I mean we, we already saw the rookie break in. Now the year two breakout for tight ends, which is really cool.

[Mike Wright]

Break in and break out.

[Andy Holloway]

Break and break out. New segment.

[Mike Wright]

You're a wordsmith.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you. All right, so, so mine when, when I look at, okay, who's the next George Kittle? Now you, you could interpret that as who's the late round tight end that you're going to get a good value on. But what, how I interpret that is who's the next tight end who's going to completely break out? Who's the guy that come to the next year's draft. You're like, okay, well you got the big three or the big four, and then there's everybody else. The way that Kittle is now in that conversation with Ertz and Kelsey, which.

[Jason Moore]

Is just to add to it, that's the yearly conversation. You have the haves and have nots at the tight end position. Position.

[Andy Holloway]

Right.

[Jason Moore]

You got a few guys you're willing to invest in and then you've got the rest and you don't care what you get.

[Andy Holloway]

So the guy that I think, you know, you talked about, what, what's a, what's a quarterback that loves tight ends? Jameis Winston loves his tight ends and O.J. howard is an absolute beast of a man, O.J.

[Jason Moore]

Howard owners out there.

[Andy Holloway]

Look, so he. Here's the thing that I, I, you know, I don't know if, if all fantasy football players are, are familiar with all the different metrics of which. Which combined results matter for which positions. You know, the 40 time is built up for wide receivers, but that's not actually a very sticky.

[Mike Wright]

It's fun.

[Andy Holloway]

It's fun, but it's not actually very predictive, really. It's the offensive and defensive line, the trenches where the combine results end up being pretty good indicators, right? The only position of fantasy football where combine metrics really matter. Well, it makes sense. It's in the trenches, sort of. It's a tight end position. The tight ends who are the best. The Antonio Gates, the Kelsey, the Gronk, the Kittle, Greg Olson, Jimmy Graham and his heyday. These are like 95th percentile athletes, all of them. They are unbelievable athletes. Those are the guys that break out into the upper, upper tier.

[Jason Moore]

You're saying I should have been a tight end? Is that what you.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, yes. There was a nine in front of the five.

[Jason Moore]

Right, so you said fifth percentile.

[Andy Holloway]

Fifth percentile, that's right. And. And O.J. howard is that he's 99th percentile in almost every metric. He is a giant man who runs faster than everyone else, who has a great agility, score those, you know, measurables break out in the NFL. And then if you look at like, okay, well, what did he do? You know, Rookie year, Kittle, 5.7 fantasy points a game. O.J. howard, 5.7 fantasy points a game.

[Mike Wright]

Ooh, that matches.

[Andy Holloway]

Ooh. Last year you had Howard go up to 10.4 fantasy points a game. Unfortunately, Howard missed six games. Right. That's why we're not like completely all in on him because he finishes the tight end 13. Despite not playing for almost half the season. From his 16 game pace, was the tight end five. And that's in his second. That's in his second season. So I think right now he's got a chance to break out and then think about this. Adam Humphries and desean Jackson were replaced by Brashad Perryman and Scotty Miller. Everybody knows Scotty Miller, right?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, yeah. Star Trek.

[Andy Holloway]

So the point is, there are extra while. While, you know, look, I love Godwin, I love Mike Evans. They're there. They're going to soak up some of those targets. That's 170 targets. A lot of those will end up going to O.J. howard.

[Jason Moore]

So a little bit of pushback. If I had to question it. You have to pay up a little bit for O.J. howard. You don't. For Vance and for Mark Andrews, the injuries have been a problem. How concerned are you with that and the draft capital?

[Andy Holloway]

I think when you're in those middle rounds, which is still where he is, he's not a late round guy, but he's a middle round guy. I don't worry about the injuries that much because I want to win my league, and if I win my league, that means my guys were pretty healthy. I mean, the reality is, if you lose a bunch of your players to injury, it doesn't matter.

[Jason Moore]

You don't want to finish third.

[Andy Holloway]

I do not want to. You know, here's, here's the worst thing. The worst thing in the world is to be Brian Ketron, right?

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't want to finish second like a loser.

[Jason Moore]

That's fair. He's here tonight. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Where are you at?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, he's here. Okay. All right. We're gonna jump back in the time machine. We're gonna find somebody else. By the way, we do have a live mailbag coming up very soon. San Francisco. Get ready. Answering questions live here at the Independent. But let's find the 2019 version of Nick Chubb. Because he was a revelation for fantasy owners. He wasn't drafted. He was free. He was a rookie. He had those elite measurables. There were a lot of factors to these second half. People won their league because of Nick Chubb.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

And you, you had bought in Nick Chubb early.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

And then you saw the transition with that offense in, in Cleveland, and then.

[Mike Wright]

You dropped him right before I got him back. It helped him out. All right, here's. Here's the rookie that I want to talk about. When you're going after these guys late in your draft, or you maybe you're not actually drafting these players, you're just keeping an eye and waiting a few weeks before you pounce because you know that the, that the change is going to come similar to Nick Chubb. You could, you could feel the transition happening for Cleveland because Carlos Hyde, he was working out for fantasy because he was lucking into touchdowns, but he was not getting the job done. They ended up trading him throughout the middle of the season. You want to find ambiguous running back backfields where it. You're not really sure who exactly is the starter. And the most ambiguous backfield in the league, in my opinion, belongs to the Buffalo Bills. Is it Shady McCoy? Is it Frank Gore? They invested in a rookie and his name is Devin Singletary. Here's the thing. Oh, a couple people like him. All right. The running back Cliff. It is absolutely a real thing for mortal men. Maybe someone on this roster is immortal. We're not exactly sure yet. In Frank Garfield up, Frank Gore did.

[Jason Moore]

Just turn 27 years old. He did yesterday.

[Andy Holloway]

He did.

[Mike Wright]

But here, here's the thing. People talk about the running back cliff all the time. Is it, is it? In touches we had an old friend of the show, Joseph Juan, had a very compelling argument on number fire. He talked about it's 1800 carries. Another great friend of the show, Mike Taglier, talked about the age. Cliff, generally speaking is 29. So let's take a look at the running backs on the Buffalo bills. Shady McCoy.

[Jason Moore]

Do we have to?

[Mike Wright]

I'll make it brief. I'll make it brief. Shady McCoy, 31, older than 29. 23, 46 carries.

[Jason Moore]

That's a lot.

[Mike Wright]

Well over the cliff. And here's what happened the last two years of Shady McCoy's career. The lowest yards per carry in his career, including last year's dramatic plummet to 3.2.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, that's Thelma and Louise of Cliff.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, it is. He's done.

[Mike Wright]

And this is the final year of his contract. Frank Gore, who's in a one year contract, he did have a little bit of a resurgence, but when, hold on, when he was the workhorse, when he was the workhorse for Indianapolis, you saw his yards per carry sub 4.0 all three of those years. Graham Barfield, who does a sensational look at rookie running backs called yards created. Devin Singletary ran behind the worst offensive line in this running back class, yet he still produced over 125 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns per game over his final two years of his college career. I think that Devin Singletary could just be that guy. I'm not necessarily drafting him, unless that's.

[Jason Moore]

What I wanted to ask you. Are you, is this somebody that you've just got like your, your, your monocle glancing at him, you're not drafting him?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Peering over.

[Mike Wright]

I dress up as the Monopoly Man.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

And I take a look and I say pretty soon, pretty single.

[Jason Moore]

I'll put you on my roster around.

[Mike Wright]

Week three or week four. I'm going to take a look at what's happening with the Buffalo Bills and then I'm going to stash Devin Singleton.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, we've talked a little bit about the Bills and just how I think over the second half of the year somebody's going to own the backfield. They want to run the football they run it more than almost anybody in football. But right now, you're staring down Gore, McCoy, Yelden, Gross, and Singletary, and it's not fun.

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Jason Moore]

You want to go or you want me to?

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. No, I'm. I'm going to hop in here because I. You know, this is a guy I've talked about a lot. I really like where he landed. I think he's a talented, well rounded back. He fits the system, and I think he's going to succeed this year. It's the rookie for the New England Patriots. Carry on. Johnson. Not a rookie. It's Damien Harris. Great Scott. Yes. Great Scott. Yes. Thank you, Doc.

[Mike Wright]

Where did that come from?

[Andy Holloway]

So here's the thing about Damien Harris, right? Like, let me. Let me ask you guys a question. Nick Chubb, talented back, right? But why did he break out?

[Jason Moore]

Opportunity.

[Mike Wright]

Because Carlos Hyde was traded away.

[Andy Holloway]

Carlos Hyde was traded away. So you started with a team where you've got a player, and then that player was gone. They didn't have anybody else to just sign off of, you know, free agency or in the draft because it was mid season, that player was gone. Chubb had the entire backfield to himself. I think that the odds are high that Sony Michelle misses games, or more than just a few games, and has.

[Mike Wright]

Another Games or games.

[Andy Holloway]

Games.

[Mike Wright]

What's the plural of games? Games is.

[Andy Holloway]

He's. I think Sony could miss several gameses. How many games? Up to 16 games. Look, Sony Michelle tore his ACL in high school, okay? Then he missed time at Georgia again with a broken shoulder, an injured ankle, and yet another knee injury. Then, look, he was drafted last year and he had to have a procedure in August that caused him to miss the preseason, miss week one. Then after week seven with the Bears, he had another knee injury. Thank goodness he's passed all of that, right?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, wait, he just had his knees scoped again. Yeah, he did the degenerative knee. That is arthroscopic and like, procedure arthritic.

[Mike Wright]

Dr. Jason is on it. But the.

[Andy Holloway]

I mean, look, when you arthroscopicize your.

[Jason Moore]

Knee, you're gonna miss some games.

[Andy Holloway]

This here's what I do.

[Mike Wright]

I'm fully convinced.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you. I knew. Look, this is ironclad, locked. Yeah, yeah, they're with me. This is for me? Yes. Yes. Thank you. But look, I think most people trust the mind of Bill Belichick, right?

[Jason Moore]

That's what it is for me is it's like you can. You made all the case before he left college. And I'm like, well, Bill Belichick drafted him in the first round, so he must be right.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. And then on day two the next year, he's like, I think I'm going to need a running back. So he took Damien Harris saying, like, I think he's concerned about the running back position for his team. And look, there's a lot of opportunity here because he's actually well rounded. Damian Harris. Yeah. Is a good, well rounded player. He's much more like Rex Burkheadt. He can catch the ball and look at what Rex Burkhead did when he wasn't injured. So like he finally got back healthy for the playoffs. He had three touchdowns in the first two playoff games and that was with Sony balling out. So I think Damian Harris is good, but the opportunity to have Sony Michelle exit the team via injury and have a true workhorse back for a great offense that wants to run the ball and will have tons of goal line opportunities. And Damian Harris is free. He's not drafted in some leagues.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I, I know you love him. I know you love. Maybe I, maybe I want Michelle to have all that opportunity so we can see what we saw in the playoffs. And it's hard for me to bank on like an injury. But when you talk about at least having a history that could lend itself that direction. Now you're, you're not drafting him?

[Andy Holloway]

No, I am drafting because I actually.

[Jason Moore]

Unlike to see the first few weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

Of single Terry, unlike Singletary where I don't think any of us see a week one, barring Shady, you know, he's not getting started. I think there is a world where Damian Harris, when Sony is there, performs well and is a flex worthy candidate.

[Jason Moore]

This next player that I'm going to bring up is a guy I take with the last pick in every draft I'm in. Pretty much, yes.

[Mike Wright]

This is true.

[Jason Moore]

And look the world out here, it's focused on the return of Jerick McKinnon and the addition of Tevin Coleman. Now, I want to take a serious poll here because we're in the Bay Area. You get to cheer for either McKinnon or Coleman.

[Andy Holloway]

Just Niners fans.

[Jason Moore]

Just Niners fans, McKinnon or Coleman. I just want to see who you think is going to do better in this offense. So if you're a McKinnon person, I want to hear you clap. Clap. If you're a McKinnon person.

[Mike Wright]

That's a smattering. It's light.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

It's a little dismal.

[Jason Moore]

I want to hear you clap. If you're a Tevin Coleman person.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

So more confidence.

[Mike Wright]

Our scientific poll is complete.

[Jason Moore]

I like new things. Right? We like new shiny things. Now listen, I'm. I'm bringing up the last pick in every one of my drafts because it's Matt Breida.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Now let me ask this, because this is just. This is like taking candy from a baby here. Do you think Kyle Shanahan is stupid?

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Jason Moore]

And the reason that I believe Breed is the candidate to be that the next Nick Chubb, right. That next second half Dynamo win you year league is because I don't think Kyle Shanahan is stupid. And he's a smart head coach. And last season, Burrida ran for 5.5 a carry in his career, which is it? 20, 30, 40, 100 carries. No, it's 258 carries. He's a 5 a carry guy. In his career, through two seasons, he's run for 10 or more yards on 17% of his runs. That is number one in football. That's 2% better. Who do you think as explosive? Alvin Kamara? Aaron Jones.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

He's 2% better than both of those guys last year.

[Mike Wright]

That's like your opinion, man.

[Jason Moore]

The argument.

[Mike Wright]

Fair. Fair.

[Jason Moore]

The argument is simply that you don't put a guy that talented, that explosive on the bench. And if they're on the bench, they're not there for long. Six yards per touch. That was the same as Christian McCaffrey, who someone in this audience really, really liked.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, we've been hearing about him, which.

[Jason Moore]

Was, by the way, number four in the NFL. So the evidence is. Look, if people cared, however, about what I was saying at all, or watched the film or watched the games that I saw, he probably wouldn't be the 45th running back draft to. But so they don't listen.

[Mike Wright]

The public is breaking in.

[Jason Moore]

But yes, Vopo.

[Andy Holloway]

My name is Jeff. What about Jeff Wilson?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, no, no, I get it.

[Andy Holloway]

I just wanted to. I just want to see. I forgot about saying my name is Jeff would be like. And now I. I experienced that. Thank you.

[Jason Moore]

So you have no points.

[Andy Holloway]

There was nothing of substance there.

[Jason Moore]

So here's the thing.

[Mike Wright]

Like your analysis.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Ouch.

[Andy Holloway]

Get money. Don't worry, guys. I can't hear him from up there in the rankings.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yes.

[Jason Moore]

Oh.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I've been buried.

[Jason Moore]

That sucks.

[Andy Holloway]

Mike, get bodied.

[Mike Wright]

All right.

[Jason Moore]

But Burrito's my favorite, so. All right, that's my guy. So we'll do one more, then we'll get into the live mailbag. I think this one's an important one because all last off Season. Look, players get hype, players get attention, players get excitement. They look like great values. Wouldn't it be nice to know who the 2019 Alex Collins was?

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

So. And is so that you.

[Andy Holloway]

I guess the 2018 Alex Collins was Alex Collins.

[Jason Moore]

The 2018 Alex Collins was.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

But the thing is, if you could see those minefields, hop into the time machine, pull out the almanac, see who's going to let you down. There was a lot of excitement around Alex Collins. The way he finished, the way his second half was the year before, he had this great yards per carry. Was it misleading? 4.6 yards per carry. What do you think?

[Mike Wright]

Who's, who's the minefield? All right, I'm going to jump. Very important because people are very excited, very excited about this running back who was, quite frankly, he turned into a championship running back. If you picked him up at the right time. He literally carried you. You jumped on his shoulders, you benched the rest of your team and you played this guy and you still managed to win because over the final four games he had 585 rushing yards.

[Jason Moore]

It's funny to hear it out loud.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. And of course I'm talking about Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans. Look, judging by the response, people are not too happy I'm saying this.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. They all kept him.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Mike Wright]

Look, remember when I said he had 585 rushing yards in the final four games in the season? He had 10, 59 yards. That means that there was a certain percentile of his rushing yards that came in those final four games.

[Andy Holloway]

55.

[Mike Wright]

Normally I'm really happy about that. But over half of your rushing yards in four games, that's a little bit of a suspect, things going on. And look, here's, here's the problem. Here's the problem. 18 targets on the year. You can't rely on running backs who are not getting targets to draft them that high. In high stakes leagues, people are spending a lot of money to play. They are drafting Derrick Henry above Aaron Jones, Marlon Mack, Devonta Freeman. Carry on Johnson. Like these. This is absolutely insane to me because look, it wasn't. This was not Derrick Henry's first.

[Jason Moore]

I'm a sucker, man. I'm a sucker.

[Mike Wright]

I got Carry on bombed.

[Jason Moore]

I've got it. It's like one button. I just have to push it.

[Mike Wright]

I'm in this heated rant.

[Jason Moore]

Tough man. Sorry.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, but here's, here's the deal.

[Jason Moore]

Do you want me to hit the Derrick Henry button?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, please. Thank you.

[Jason Moore]

That's such a lie though, because your Story is why I didn't recommend him in the two other weeks. He was incredible. So I feel like I'm a fool.

[Mike Wright]

But this was not Derrick Henry's first year in the league. We have seen plenty of Derrick Henry. In fact, it was not the first time this season that the Tennessee Titans game plan was give Derrick Henry the ball. In weeks two and three, he carried the ball 18 times per game and it didn't work out. Look, they think, they think that they have it all figured out and we're going to give Derrick Henry the ball. He's going to rip off 99 yard touchdowns every single week. It's going to be fantastic. Marcus Mariota doesn't need to do a thing and fantasy drafters are buying in and Derrick Henry will be this year's Alex Collins. And people are going to be very upset they drafted him.

[Jason Moore]

It's a bold take, Mike. See, I thought you were gonna tell me. In high stakes leagues they were smart in taking him after those guys. You're saying everybody's a fool but you?

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

Got it.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

I've got a time machine.

[Andy Holloway]

I agree with you, the lack of pass catching, but I, I do think he's gonna succeed on the ground this year. So I'm, I'm not. I'm not as anti.

[Jason Moore]

You're on an island, apparently.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

All right. I'm gonna bring up Philip Lindsay's name and I want, first, I want you to know, like. Like he has a giant undrafted tattoo on his body.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Like, I love this guy. Last year I feel like this is the least biased take I could ever have because last year I picked him up everywhere. I signed him when the chants of Royce Freeman were coming from everyone else. I picked him up before the season began in one of our leagues, signed him on the waivers in another league. Rode him to a lot of success. Except for in the last three weeks. And the thing is, is I absolutely adore what he did. It's an amazing story, but there are similarities between the Alex Collins story and the Philip Lindsay story. They were both undrafted free agents.

[Mike Wright]

Collins was a fifth round pick. I mean, he got cut immediately. So that's. It's pretty close.

[Jason Moore]

Pretty close.

[Andy Holloway]

And.

[Jason Moore]

But last year, talking about 306 is where Collins went this year. I'm surprised. People must be listening to this show. I am. He's 407 now. That's where Philip Lindsay is. So he is starting to trickle down in draft boards a little bit. And I don't have any desire to doubt Philip Lindsay, but Things went so very, very right for him last year. But Royce Freeman was banged up all of last year. Philip Lindsey, he's a plotter who faced a lot of eight man fronts. That's the truth, more than anybody in football. And he still ran over four carries. So the thing is, is you got a new head coach, you got a new quarterback, you got a new offensive system, you injured yourself at the end of the year. You did slow down two of the last three games, used two point something a carry. So I just think that with the struggle to end the season, the fact that I do believe in the talent and ability of Royce Freeman, which I know you do, Mike.

[Mike Wright]

I love him.

[Jason Moore]

He's a talented player. It doesn't take much think about it. If you lose three carries a game over the course of the season, you're going from being a guy that maybe was going to be a 2, 200, 220 carry guy. You lose 45 carries. Do you want Philip Lindsay at 160, 170, 180 carries?

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Jason Moore]

Is that going to do an you do. I mean, you want him, but you might not want him as 4th round draft capital is my point. So I think there's some traps there. People don't like it, but I think it's an honest thing.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean, Alex Collins had 200 carries on the season nobody was happy with.

[Jason Moore]

That's true. Yeah, we were looking at that.

[Andy Holloway]

Look, my Alex Collins comp for this year is.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, this surprised.

[Andy Holloway]

It is the same exact situation with one exception of capital. It's in the same backfield. It's Mark Ingram. Mark Ingram replaced.

[Mike Wright]

Shocking.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you can be shocked. But here's what we know. Mark Ingram has replaced Alex Collins in that same system. The same coach, the same guys behind him, Gus Edwards, the guys.

[Jason Moore]

There's a lot of justice fans here today.

[Andy Holloway]

Or they drafted Justice Hill. You have Mark Ingram.

[Mike Wright]

Look, Justice Hill's family is in the audience apparently.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, they're big Justice Hill fans around here.

[Mike Wright]

My goodness.

[Andy Holloway]

So here's the thing. So like I, you know, when I was, when I was researching this, I took a look at what's being said to marketing room. What's the expectation for beat writers, all of that. And you know, I found this article where Gus Edwards was talking about. He had talked to the coaches before. They, he knew they were going to go out and find a veteran free agent to help share the load with Gus and they were going to basically have a one, two punch. And so what did they do? They went out and they signed A back who his whole career has been part of a one, two punch. This is not a guy who's going to just carry the load and come in and be like, well, the Baltimore Ravens run the ball so much. We're just going to give him the ball all the time. I would rather have Mark Ingram in a timeshare for the Saints than for the Ravens. Look, I know the Ravens want to run a lot, but, you know, the touchdowns aren't going to be there for the Ravens like they were for the Saints. Most people were disappointed with Mark Ingram last year. He had some good games, had some bad games. I think right now Mark Ingram is going at the back of the third round. That is way too high. You've still got Gus Edwards on that team. What did Gus Edwards do last year once Lamar Jackson took over?

[Mike Wright]

He was a beast.

[Andy Holloway]

He was a beast. He was on a 16 game pace of 1500 rushing yards. They're not just going to be like, all right, well, marking rubs here, sit down, please. Like, the guy is a good running back.

[Jason Moore]

If the guy making the decisions talks like that, I want in on that organization.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So, I mean, I, to me, I just think his draft, I'd be like, sure, that's cool.

[Jason Moore]

Whatever you say.

[Andy Holloway]

It's me, David Gittleman. So, I mean, to me it's just, it's, it's this. It's the same situation with the same players behind him. I think we'll be disappointed in the draft. Capital.

[Jason Moore]

I like, you know, it's weird. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe I'm not around the right Mark Ingram fan circles, but it's shocking to me he's going where he's going because I haven't heard people excited about it. This is a team that runs the football at the time. But nobody's like tooting like the ceiling for Mark Ingram. Everybody's like, yeah, he's not that high.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. I, I don't know why he's back in the.

[Jason Moore]

And then Justice Hill. A lot of people like Justice Hill.

[Mike Wright]

And here's the thing, I don't. That worries me a bit about Mark Ingram. Like I said, for Derek Herme, I want running backs who will also catch the ball. So you talk about if he's sharing time with Gus Edwards and yes, to his family, Justice Hill is a good running back who's going to catch the ball. He's going to be used as a pass catcher.

[Jason Moore]

You raised a nice young man.

[Mike Wright]

Yes. Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Good work, everybody.

[Jason Moore]

All right, we're stepping out of the time machine. We're hitting the live mail back, which means you need to prepare yourselves.

[Mike Wright]

If you were one of the lucky pre selections, selected few for the live mailbag, please approach the mic.

[Andy Holloway]

What?

[Mike Wright]

Are they behind me?

[Jason Moore]

I think they're behind you.

[Mike Wright]

I'm not trying to be really.

[Jason Moore]

It's going to be really awkward. Maybe they're coming out here.

[Mike Wright]

So please line up the rest of your.

[Jason Moore]

We've already got New York and Chicago in the books, so we know what they brought. You guys ready?

[Andy Holloway]

I want to feel it in my bones.

[Jason Moore]

I want you to knock Jason out of his chair. Here we go.

[Andy Holloway]

Mailbag.

[Jason Moore]

You get a little spit.

[Mike Wright]

All right, all right.

[Andy Holloway]

They're very happy with themselves.

[Jason Moore]

They have raided their own mailbag and they approve. That was pretty good, though. That was pretty good.

[Mike Wright]

We did a great job.

[Jason Moore]

That's right.

[Mike Wright]

No, no, no, no.

[Jason Moore]

You. I think you took care of it. I think you took care of it. Who is I? First question, who's up and where are they in the dark? You got any house lights? You can throw up a little bit, maybe all the way. Keep them down until Russell Wilson's gone.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Boo.

[Jason Moore]

What you got? What's your name and your question? All right, chill out.

[Andy Holloway]

Go Hawks. Whoa.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

I just got him. Quiet.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. All right. All right. Keep quiet.

[Andy Holloway]

Cool.

[Mike Wright]

My babies.

[Jason Moore]

All right, ballers. Brian here. Thanks for coming out. So I've been doing a lot of mock drafts lately, and I find myself liking a lot of later. I find myself getting wide receivers late. Guys, guys, we can't answer a question we can't hear, so let's let him speak. So I like a lot of late wide receivers, and I find myself not liking very many late running backs. So does that entice you to draft running back somewhat early or what's your guys approach? I mean, yeah, I think it's just the nature of the position. I mean, I'm the same as you. I like late wide receiver shots. I mean, we talk all about Robbie Anderson and Dante Pettis, desean Jackson. I mean, I do want to put myself in a position to where, you know what I believe about those guys? I want to take them. I want to put. It's hard to find running backs, right?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. The issue here is, like, okay, there's plenty of wide receivers you like at the back of the draft, and there's probably not a lot of running backs you like. I mean, you. You get to that 10th round and you're running back.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, my gosh, 10th round, your seventh round. You're in trouble. Well, I Mean you're going, man, do I want Jordan Howard look in.

[Andy Holloway]

In the 10th round, you're deciding between Curtis Samuel, a really good option at wide receiver that could really hit, or Edo Smith. Like those, those are not in the same tier. They're going back to back. And so yeah, I mean, I'm with you. I started this season in most of my mock drafts in my early leagues thinking like I liked some of the depth at running back and I really wanted stud wide receivers early. I like that approach. But what happened was the end of the draft. The end of the draft was like, well, now I. Now I need running backs and they. These guys all stink. So, you know, in the future I started swift, you know, swip Swatching, as I always say.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm still an early.

[Jason Moore]

So you recommend you switch. Switch. Swap. Switch.

[Andy Holloway]

Swap.

[Jason Moore]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

Switch swatch.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you for your question. Thank you guys. Appreciate it. You gotta hit it.

[Andy Holloway]

Next question.

[Jason Moore]

Thank you. What's up? Make sure you speak up loud into the mic. Can you hear?

[Andy Holloway]

Hear me? Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Cool. So with the upgrades to the offensive line and the best wide receiver duo in the league, Kirk Cousins, will he emerge as a valuable fantasy quarterback this year?

[Mike Wright]

Ah, so we're talking Kurt Cousins, did.

[Andy Holloway]

He start that with. With like a good offensive line?

[Mike Wright]

Well, he started, he said upgrades and then he toot too to his own team's wide receivers.

[Jason Moore]

Here's the thing.

[Mike Wright]

Nicely done.

[Jason Moore]

Is whatever you want to believe about Minnesota's offense and where they're headed this year, Cousins fits into the mold of post hype sleeper. So if you believe the things that you talked about your team and that look their offense, I think I just saw something some publication the other day. They ranked them the fifth best offense in the league. That's what they believed about the offensive line upgrades. And you know, when you have two wide receivers, it compensates for a lot. Dalvin Cook back and healthy, you believe a lot of good things about him. I think that makes Cousins a post hype sleeper. I'm not like targeting him in drafts.

[Mike Wright]

Here's the thing about Kirk Cousins as a starter. He's never thrown for fewer than 4,000 yards. I mean that's. That seems to be the benchmark that you want a quarterback to be able to hit 4,300 yards and 30 touchdowns. People are just upset at the way that it.

[Jason Moore]

He was going high. He went high in drafts last year.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And he started out extremely hot. I side with Andy that he's a post type sleeper. Like we, you know, we were talking to the Crowd we like Jimmy late, but Kirk Cousins is one of those late round quarterbacks that he very well could just be your quarterback for the entire season.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I disagree.

[Mike Wright]

4,300 yards and 30 touchdowns.

[Andy Holloway]

4,300 yards and thirty touchdowns. Which if you look at the pace of the beginning of the year is the whole and only reason why he had that. Then, then they fire their offensive coordinator and they change their methodology. They have Dalvin Cook rumors out of Minnesota, you know, in the goal line package, it's all about Dalvin Cook. This is a team that has a great defense. Right, right. And they want to be able to run the ball. I think they will be able to run the ball. So if you think about pace of play, right, like the Vikings are not going to be one of those offenses that runs near the top in the league and plays the way that a Kansas City is or something like that. So I think he's a good, good quarterback. If you're in two quarterback leagues, that's okay. I obviously if he hits Kirk Cousins.

[Jason Moore]

Matthew Stafford.

[Andy Holloway]

I would take Cousins over Matthew Stafford.

[Jason Moore]

Cousin's James Winston.

[Andy Holloway]

I would take Winston.

[Jason Moore]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

For sure.

[Jason Moore]

All right.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you sir.

[Jason Moore]

Good question. Thank you. They would take Derek Carr. What's up, ballers?

[Mike Wright]

What's up?

[Andy Holloway]

My name is Nick from the turf toe league. Greatest league in the United States.

[Jason Moore]

A league shout out. Very impressive. No, no, no, he, he said best league in the States.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, well that's okay.

[Jason Moore]

You can't challenge it.

[Mike Wright]

Your question, sir?

[Andy Holloway]

Assuming I can't get any of the top 12 tight ends, I can't do the Vance dance. I gotta get a late round tight end. Who should I be targeting?

[Jason Moore]

The names that keep coming up at the end, like desperation are names from five years ago a lot of the times.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

So you talk about Jordan Reed, talk about Greg Olson, Delaney Walker and Tyler Ifer. Like all of them are, believe it or not, starting tight ends in the NFL with a track record of productivity in the NFL. So maybe you don't want to play roulette there. Is there a younger, up and coming.

[Andy Holloway]

Exciting name I, I love? I was going to bring up Greg Olson, Delaney Walker. They're going very late. But behind all of those guys is Mark Andrews. Mark Andrews is well outside of the top 12. You're going to get him with your last pick in any league you want. And I'll just throw one other name out there. I know you're. He's in, babe. It's not going to happen. But Dallas Goddard is great.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, stop it.

[Jason Moore]

Stop it give me secondary. Tight ends. Yeah, you can find them right here.

[Mike Wright]

All right.

[Andy Holloway]

All right.

[Jason Moore]

Thanks for your question.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you, sir.

[Andy Holloway]

Next question.

[Jason Moore]

Hey, ballers. My name is Matthew and I'm a.

[Andy Holloway]

Commissioner of a new Dynasty league this year. And really the only thing that I'm.

[Jason Moore]

Struggling with is guys.

[Andy Holloway]

What would you guys think is the.

[Jason Moore]

Ideal roster for a 12 team league?

[Mike Wright]

I just don't know how to get the roster down.

[Jason Moore]

I don't know how many starters, how.

[Mike Wright]

Many bench I should put there.

[Jason Moore]

For a 12 team.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, for 12 team. Dynasty.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. First things first. Get rid of kickers. No joke.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, get rid of kickers. Kick them out.

[Jason Moore]

I normally put two kickers. No, it's. It's weird.

[Andy Holloway]

So in Dynasty, I prefer to be no kickers, no defense. Defense can be fun, but kickers in dynasty is just stupid.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. So you're the way that I want to run it. I want, I want the standard starting, I want two running back, two wide receiver, but I also want to have two flex players and then I want that bench. I want, I want at least 30 total players. And I highly recommend the Taxi squad.

[Andy Holloway]

It creates a.

[Mike Wright]

An opportunity where once you draft your rookies, you're not like, oh crap, I gotta cut all these players that I've been waiting on them to break out. Instead you can just put your rookies on the Taxi squad, let them develop and that way there's not. You haven't had to cut your losses on a player that you know they're going to break out. You just don't have. Have room for them.

[Jason Moore]

All right, I. One last thing I wanted to add.

[Mike Wright]

All right, sure.

[Jason Moore]

Matthew is the winner of the helmet, so can you give it up for Matthew? Mike, hand it off. Hand off that handsome helmet. A Special thanks to St. Jude once again.

[Andy Holloway]

A.

[Mike Wright]

The helmet has been raised like Simba.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Will it fit? I don't know. He's trying to put it on. Probably not.

[Mike Wright]

I wouldn't do that.

[Jason Moore]

But thank you to Pristine Auction for the support on this tour. We've been giving away a lot of free stuff. You can check them out. Thanks to St. Jude once again. Thank you, San Francisco for an incredible show.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you so much, San Francisco.

[Jason Moore]

Farewell, my friends.

[Mike Wright]

We're going to be hanging out after the show, trying to meet as many of you as we possibly can. Just give us a couple minutes to clean things up and we'll come back.

[Andy Holloway]

And then we'll be back.

[Mike Wright]

But thank you so much.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you, thank you, Foreign. 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 Twitter the FFballers.