Fantasy Wildcards + Hype Check

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary Episode Title: Fantasy Wildcards + Hype Check
Release Date: June 6, 2019

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Introduction to Fantasy Wildcards

The Fantasy Footballers dive into the intriguing world of Fantasy Wildcards—players who are challenging to rank due to their uncertain potential outcomes. These wildcards can pivot between being league-winners or underperformers, making them both enticing and risky additions to any fantasy roster.

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Key Wildcard Players Discussed

1. Darius Geist – Running Back for the Washington Redskins

Timestamp: [12:32]

Andy Holloway initiates the discussion with Darius Geist, highlighting his injury history and uncertain recovery status:

Andy Holloway ([13:42]): "Darius tore his ACL during the first preseason game last year and had multiple surgeries. He's back doing agility drills, but reports say he's nowhere close to 100%."

Mike Wright concurs, expressing concerns about Geist's ability to become a workhorse given Washington's existing running back roster:

Mike Wright ([14:22]): "What Darius Geist could be is a top 20 running back. But with Adrian Peterson back and Bryce Love dealing with his own injuries, his ceiling may be limited."

Jason Moore adds that Geist's Average Draft Position (ADP) places him in the fifth round, suggesting that while there's potential upside, the risk of underperformance is significant:

Jason Moore ([15:50]): "It's a wild card because you believe in his health and workload, but his current ranking at RB26 might be too high for some."

Takeaway: Geist represents a high-risk, high-reward scenario. If fully healthy and utilized effectively, he could ascend to a top-tier running back, but lingering injury concerns may hinder his performance.

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2. Sammy Watkins – Wide Receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs

Timestamp: [17:53]

Sammy Watkins is identified as a perennial wildcard due to his fluctuating performance and injury history. Andy emphasizes Watkins' potential in a potent Chiefs offense:

Andy Holloway ([18:21]): "With Tyreek Hill potentially out, Sammy Watkins could see increased targets, making him a valuable yet unpredictable asset."

Jason Moore critically assesses Watkins' consistency:

Jason Moore ([19:47]): "I believe he's done for his ceiling. They will distribute the ball elsewhere because he can't consistently be a top five receiver."

Andy counters by highlighting Watkins' historical performance when given ample opportunity:

Andy Holloway ([23:10]): "When playing alongside Tyreek Hill, Watkins scored 20% market share and resembled a top 15 receiver."

Takeaway: Watkins remains a fantasy wildcard due to his dependency on the Chiefs' offensive dynamics and his own ability to stay healthy and consistently targeted.

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3. Nick Chubb – Running Back for the Cleveland Browns

Timestamp: [30:37]

Nick Chubb is discussed as a high-ranking wildcard because of his impressive rushing abilities juxtaposed with limited pass-catching:

Mike Wright ([33:53]): "Nick Chubb has an elusive rating nearly 20 points higher than the second-ranked running back, but his target share is concerning."

Jason expresses worry over Chubb's reliance on breakaway runs for fantasy success:

Jason Moore ([35:00]): "It's all about the price—Chubb's usage and efficiency make him a wild card in terms of fantasy output."

Andy underscores the elusiveness and breakaway potential as both strengths and risks:

Andy Holloway ([35:06]): "His ability to have breakaway runs is a double-edged sword. While awesome when it happens, it's statistically anomalous and hard to predict."

Takeaway: Chubb offers elite rushing performance potential but poses a risk due to limited involvement in the passing game, making his fantasy value somewhat unpredictable.

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4. Kenyan Drake – Running Back for the Miami Dolphins

Timestamp: [38:16]

Kenyan Drake is presented as a wildcard due to inconsistent usage within the Dolphins' offensive scheme:

Andy Holloway ([38:24]): "Kenyan Drake has shown elite fantasy points per touch when utilized, but his role has been inconsistent with the Dolphins' depth chart."

Jason highlights the variability in Drake's potential output:

Jason Moore ([43:12]): "Drake's range of outcomes is vast—from relevance to complete irrelevance—making him a true wildcard in drafts."

Mike emphasizes the uncertainty of Drake's workload amidst competition:

Mike Wright ([42:59]): "Galen Bellaj and Miles Gaskins add uncertainty to whether Drake will secure a significant number of carries."

Takeaway: Drake's explosive talent is clear, but his fantasy value hinges on his position in the Dolphins' backfield and the offensive opportunities he receives.

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5. DeSean Jackson – Wide Receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles

Timestamp: [44:37]

DeSean Jackson emerges as the final wildcard, with his performance heavily tied to quarterback play:

Jason Moore ([47:00]): "If Carson Wentz returns to his MVP form, Jackson could deliver significant fantasy dividends. Otherwise, his performance may mirror last year's struggles."

Andy discusses Jackson's fluctuating productivity based on quarterback efficiency:

Andy Holloway ([48:16]): "Jackson's targets and yards fluctuate based on Wentz's deep-ball efficiency, making his fantasy output highly variable."

Mike points out that despite high volatility, Jackson remains an immediate value at his draft position:

Mike Wright ([50:55]): "Even with uncertainties, Jackson is ranked as a top 40 receiver, offering immediate value for his price."

Takeaway: Jackson's fantasy performance is highly contingent on Carson Wentz's quarterback play. When Wentz is efficient, Jackson can be a league-winning receiver; otherwise, he risks being a boom-or-bust option.

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Conclusion and Key Takeaways

The Fantasy Footballers emphasize the importance of balancing risk and reward when considering wildcard players. Understanding each player's situational factors—such as team dynamics, injury history, and positional depth—is crucial in navigating the unpredictability of fantasy drafts. The episode underscores that while wildcards can provide significant upside, they require careful consideration and a strategic approach to maximize their potential benefits.

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Notable Quotes:

• Mike Wright ([15:32]): "Nick Chubb is a sensational running back, but there are red flags that people are pushing through as if they aren't there."
• Jason Moore ([19:35]): "I believe he's done for his ceiling. They will distribute the ball elsewhere because he can't consistently be a top five receiver."
• Andy Holloway ([43:52]): "He's used in the passing game, and his efficiency makes him a powerful RB10 when he gets 10+ touches."

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For more insights and detailed analysis, listen to the full episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast.

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Hi, this is Randall from Bettendorf, Iowa. My fantasy team is Pettis Pickle, Onion, and Tomato, and you're listening to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Welcome to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast coming to you from pristineauction.com studios with your hosts, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, what's going on, Pettis? Pickle, Onion and tomato, huh?

[Mike Wright]

That's how I order my burger, sans the tomato. Because the only way to eat a tomato is throwing it straight in the garbage.

[Jason Moore]

That's just throwing a tomato away. That's not actually eating a tomato.

[Andy Holloway]

That's where I come in. I grab that tomato out of the garbage and I go to town.

[Mike Wright]

You go to town.

[Andy Holloway]

I call those garbage tomatoes.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, no, I get it. I understand why. Welcome into the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Andy, Mike and Jason, back again. Great show for you today. Fantasy wild cards. Wildcards on the show today. Difficult to rank players. They could end up in a lot of different places. Mike, you understand what I'm saying?

[Mike Wright]

I absolutely do. That's why I picked one who's ranked highly, but he could finish low.

[Jason Moore]

Oh.

[Mike Wright]

And I picked one who's ranked low. Lowly, but he could finish high.

[Jason Moore]

In other words, you could. You know, they start off looking like a tomato in the garbage. Could end up being a tomato in the belly.

[Mike Wright]

They start as a tomato in the garbage, they end up as a garbage tomato.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

Jason would call them. Apparently, for you to eat it, it.

[Jason Moore]

Would have to become another fruit out of the garbage.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

You're not a big tomato fan.

[Andy Holloway]

No.

[Jason Moore]

You overtly and aggressively pick them off of things that they come on.

[Mike Wright]

The problem with them is throwing them is they ruin everything they touch.

[Jason Moore]

Is there no scenario where salsa.

[Mike Wright]

No. The tomatoes can be used in other ways. Like, ketchup is great.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

But salsa is great. But tomato buy. It's buys a standalone product is.

[Jason Moore]

No. No. Grape tomatoes.

[Andy Holloway]

No. Oh, no.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, no.

[Andy Holloway]

You can't make the ketchup. Like, salsa has chunks of tomatoes by themselves.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, I totally get that.

[Jason Moore]

But it's like you have pasta sauce that has the chunks.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

Like, you don't mind it.

[Mike Wright]

No, no, no.

[Jason Moore]

Okay.

[Mike Wright]

Well, I mean, it's like relish. Relish is app. Like, relish and tomatoes both belong in the garbage. But I love my Thousand island dressing.

[Jason Moore]

Okay, all right. I'm a little less picky. I don't. Or I don't like the big gooey tomatoes that can end up on your cheap cheeseburger. But if you give me some finely diced tomatoes. Taco, that's good. You Have a different take. All right. Hey, quick question of the day, guys from Twitter. Which off season acquisition will end up being the most over hyped? This was funny to me because I don't think that there are almost any.

[Mike Wright]

I agree.

[Jason Moore]

Offseason acquisitions that are hyped. Like I wanted to say Randall Cobb, but who's hyping Randall Cobb to Dallas?

[Mike Wright]

I agree with that and I also disagree with you skipping the name of the kind patron who asked us this question.

[Jason Moore]

Wow. I thought it said cold hands, warm feet.

[Mike Wright]

No, it didn't.

[Jason Moore]

So the Twitter patron. This is. Their name is Cold hands, Warm fart.

[Mike Wright]

That's correct.

[Andy Holloway]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

And I know that you would not stand for me omitting. Thank you anything.

[Mike Wright]

But I'm totally with you. That there's. There's no super. I guess there's one. And he's. He's my overhyped guy and that's Levy on Bell. Because other than that, there's not like Vincent Jackson going to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers free of the shackles of the Chargers. What can he become with this new team? There.

[Andy Holloway]

That's a throwback. That's.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. Okay. There's no Alshon Jeffrey.

[Andy Holloway]

There you go.

[Mike Wright]

Going from the Chicago Bears free of the shackles of the Bears. And now he's with the Eagles because almost all of the players who were somewhat fantasy relevant, you're talking. These are lower tier guys like Cole Beasley and Adam Humphries where not.

[Jason Moore]

Not hyped up for Alfred Blue. I guess we. You could. You know what? I'm going to change mine.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

I was going to say Nick Foles because I don't think it's going to change a lot in Jacksonville for the offense with Nick Foles.

[Andy Holloway]

But again, not hyped.

[Mike Wright]

Not for fantasy.

[Jason Moore]

Not really. Not individually.

[Mike Wright]

I think Jacksonville people are very hyped for Nick Foles.

[Jason Moore]

Well, and fans of Jacksonville's other fantasy players are hyped Nick Foles. And I'm not. But I'll say Kareem Hunt.

[Mike Wright]

Okay.

[Jason Moore]

Because. Because Kareem Hunt is very hyped. Very. People are excited for Cream Hunt. They want to find the secret value of Cream Hunt. And I think on this show we've been very demonstrative in the fact that, look, you cannot draft cream. That's what I was saying.

[Andy Holloway]

You cannot draft Foot Clan. If you're in a redraft league, you cannot draft Cream Hunt. They have an earlier bye week. He suspended eight weeks, so that's nine. You're going to have to hold a player till week 10, that's your. You're. You already know if you're playoff bound or not by that point and you've hampered your team and your bench ability to make. No, I mean, look, I had two names written down. One of them was Kareem Hunt.

[Mike Wright]

So who's your other name?

[Andy Holloway]

My other name is Jared Cook. I think that Jared Cook is getting.

[Mike Wright]

I'll allow it because I'm hyped for Jared Cook.

[Jason Moore]

Me, too.

[Andy Holloway]

A lot of people are, and I am not one of them. I think that you're going to have more Benjamin Watson, less Jimmy Graham. And, you know, you always want to have the.

[Mike Wright]

Are you forgetting how awesome Benjamin Watson was once he broke out for that team?

[Andy Holloway]

Benjamin Watson had one good season, but not every season was good. When he came back, he was nothing.

[Jason Moore]

So that was the question. Who, you know, who's going to end up being the most overhyped? I think Cook is definitely hyped.

[Andy Holloway]

A lot of people are really, really excited about Jared Cook based on what he did last year. My whole argument is what he did last year was based on being the only guy in town. And there are plenty of other viable targets. And when you take the target numbers from. For Jared Cook, who has not been a great player his career, and you say, hey, you're not the number one or the number two or probably not even the number three.

[Jason Moore]

He could be the two.

[Andy Holloway]

No. Alvin Camara and Michael Thomas. Okay. They will be the 1 and 2.

[Jason Moore]

All right, I have him at 7. Is that too high, Mike or Jason?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I mean, the reality is finishing at number seven at tight end is going to stink.

[Mike Wright]

I'm trying to.

[Andy Holloway]

Trey Burton finished at number seven last year at tight end. It doesn't matter.

[Mike Wright]

I'm trying to recall who was the best quarterback. Well, I guess didn't Jared Cook. Jared Cook had a year with Green Bay.

[Jason Moore]

Didn't Jared Cook have a year with Nick Foles in Los Angeles, too?

[Mike Wright]

I mean, he. Yeah, he was on Tennessee for a long time.

[Jason Moore]

I think it's a fair answer.

[Mike Wright]

They were St. Louis at the time.

[Jason Moore]

Certainly a fair answer. No doubt. Okay. Follow us on Twitter @ the FF Ballers. If you want to stay current with the show, you can follow Jason. If you're more interested in Jared Cook. Hate at Jason ffl. You can read Unlimited supplies.

[Andy Holloway]

Such a good follow. I recommend it yourself. You're recommended.

[Jason Moore]

Yes. @ Jason FFL. Mike is at FF Hitman. I'm at Andy Holloway. We have something very exciting now. This is the only time we're even Mentioning this. Is that right, Brooks one time.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yeah.

[Jason Moore]

So we have a very special live tour contest@foot clangiveaway.com we are teaming up with friends of the show pristine auction and we are hooking up one lucky winner in each city of our upcoming tour. Okay. And not only is this your chance to win a pair of Our sold out St. Jude VIP meet and greet tickets, but we're featuring an extremely special giveaway in each city where you can win a signed super cool player helmet. We have these here now on site.

[Mike Wright]

We did it last year. You want to see how awesome it is? Just check out the YouTube. These people getting signed helmets.

[Jason Moore]

So you go to Footclang giveaway.com right now. You get a chance to win.

[Andy Holloway]

If you're.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, go for it.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. If you're in Chicago, Mitchell Trubisky helmet, which it's unbelievable.

[Jason Moore]

It's chromed out. I saw Mike trimming his beard hair looking at the reflection.

[Mike Wright]

I am a little bit upset that you brought it up because I have some big plans for a. An Indiana Jones switcheroo with that helmet.

[Andy Holloway]

In New York City signed Saquon Barkley in San Francisco, we got a Jimmy Garoppolo signed helmet, Jared Goff signed helmet in Los Angeles and a David Johnson signed helmet in Phoenix. And this is. This is like now or never. We're giving this away in a couple days. Our next show on Tuesday, we're going to announce the winners. This is. This is fantastic.

[Mike Wright]

And well, you got to come to the show.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. That's a big part of this.

[Jason Moore]

Well, you're going to. The winners are going to get VIP meet and greet tickets and the autographed helmet. And in years past, we made a big deal of that winner at these shows.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

If you head to Footclang giveaway.com you can enter for your chance to win. Lots of different ways to enter. The winner will be chosen and notified very, very soon.

[Andy Holloway]

Speaking of very, very soon.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Chicago. Yeah, we are. We are there in like two and a half weeks.

[Jason Moore]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

We're going to be at the Thalia Hall. Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Get your Tony Kukos jerseys out that we're kicking this. Busting. Bust them out.

[Andy Holloway]

Awesome.

[Mike Wright]

A Tony Ku coach reference.

[Jason Moore]

Get your KU coach jerseys ready to rumble.

[Mike Wright]

Grab your BG Armstrong jersey.

[Jason Moore]

That's what they're known for. The home of Tony KU coach.

[Mike Wright]

I only know BJ Armstrong because he was on NBA Jam. Jordan.

[Jason Moore]

Trust me, those references, we are killing the demo. They made me smile. Footclangiveaway.com all right. We don't have a bunch of news, but we do have some news. I want to jump in here real quick. The old sleeper alert went off and the Patriots released tight end Austin Safari and Jenkins.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, well, yeah, the guy's got some personal issues he's trying to deal with.

[Jason Moore]

So young still.

[Mike Wright]

It's been a career situation for him. I'm very unfortunate for. For him to have to deal with all of this.

[Jason Moore]

And so you go from Rob Gronkowski to okay, maybe Austin Safari and Jenkins. There was a time when it was maybe going to be Jared Cook. Cook goes to New Orleans and then Benjamin Watson's there. And then Benjamin Watson gets suspended for four games.

[Mike Wright]

No. And mean with between Jared Cook and Adam Humphries spurning the super bowl winning Patriots, what's going on there?

[Jason Moore]

I, you know, Tom Brady, they don't pay as much. He's the old goat. No, they don't pay as much.

[Mike Wright]

Thank you, Jason.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

So week one, you're looking at somebody like Matt Lacoste potentially being the starter for fantasy.

[Andy Holloway]

Week one, you're looking at non Patriots as your starter.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. So that's, that's the gist. Let's go ahead and jump into the main event.

[Andy Holloway]

No, I'm saying no.

[Jason Moore]

The brakes, guys. Why aren't the brakes working? Because I cut the brakes.

[Mike Wright]

Wild car.

[Andy Holloway]

Wild car.

[Jason Moore]

You were really into that drop. That's Always Sunny. Is that right?

[Andy Holloway]

That is correct.

[Jason Moore]

I never, I never went through Always Sunny.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

You missed out. I've heard that there were some years of, of greatness from that show. But then on top of that, a full on musical reference to things that are wild. Guys, I can't tell you how pleased I am with that.

[Andy Holloway]

With yourself?

[Mike Wright]

Yes. I hadn't heard it in a long time.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. So so far the takeaways from this show, Jason believes he's a great follow on Twitter. Well, yeah, Mike is very. A big fan of his own. Drops.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

For the show.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

So I'll figure out what I love about myself soon. How about my fantasy Wild Cards? Here we go. So these are players that are very difficult to rank. I'm excited to hear your thoughts on these players. For me, I'm going to kick it off with Darius Geiss, running back. There's a question mark at the end of it. Running back for the Washington Redskins. The Redskins brought back Adrian Peterson after a highly productive year. How productive was Adrian Peterson's year? Here's how productive it was. So productive that we had somebody write in to our customer support line believing that the consistency chart data that we had was wrong because Adrian Peterson was so high. Did you see that? He was so productive in Washington. Chris Thompson, always injured, always limited dynamic when he's out there. But Darius, guys, look, he tore his acl, his left knee during the first preseason game last year. Mike had been texting me highlights of him right before it happened.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, that sucked.

[Jason Moore]

And he underwent reconstructive surgery. Then an infection forced him to have three additional procedures to drain fluid from the knee. It delayed his rehab. Now he's back to doing agility drills, but all reports say he's nowhere close to 100%. And our injury expert from the ultimate draft kit, he says, look, you can't take the infection lightly because it delayed the rehab and recovery. I don't believe you're going to get a workhorse with Darius Geist. But that doesn't mean he's not a fantasy wild card because the potential for Darius guys, is three down potential. Right, Mike?

[Mike Wright]

Yes, it absolutely is. I mean he's not his, his production profile coming out of college was not that of a monster pass catcher. But you have to take into account where he came from of lsu. The same thing happened with Leonard Fournette. Darius Geist was an incredible talent coming in to the running back position in an absolute juicy spot at Washington where you saw what Adrian Peterson did with his old decrepit body. And I'm with you into that. What Darius Geist could be is a top 20 running back. I'm not going to put Darius guy say the ceiling is a top 10 guy, but he could easily be a top 20 guy if he, if he were healthy and, and getting the actual workload. But with them bringing back Adrian Peterson, they drafted Bryce Love, who he's dealing with his own injury, but they spent a fourth rounder on an injured running back. Almost just a cue card telling the fantasy industry that guy is not a husband. We're very concerned about Darius Geist not just for this year, but for the, for the future of this franchise.

[Jason Moore]

And at a minimum, you could be looking at a situation where, look, I don't know if the second half of the year for Darius Geist is all of a sudden fantasy superstardom for your team because the cost, I mean, I have him ranked at 40, but his average draft position is in the fifth round right now.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, he's currently, according to fantasy football calculator, the RB26.

[Andy Holloway]

That's too high.

[Mike Wright]

That's too high for you to take the chance that, that he's What, a.

[Andy Holloway]

Top 20 back like the chance to me is okay. He is the guy. He's not going to get the receptions but he's going to be the man on the ground. He's going to be very good and maybe he's the running back 15.

[Mike Wright]

So like that would be great value.

[Andy Holloway]

It would be okay value. But I don't feel like, I mean that's like I believe ceiling. I think if he, if he takes a role and is okay with it, he's in the 20s, he's where he's being drafted. But the risk on the other side is he's worthless.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Jason Moore]

I think the fifth round is too high for me to want to be a part of the wild card experience here with Darius guys. And it hurts me because in the beginning of the off season I actually acquired him in a dynasty league. Now I've since moved on, but I did it because I, you know, I believed he was further along in the recovery and ahead of the Adrian Peterson resigning and things like that. I think there's a great future for Darius guys. I'm not sure it's this year. He certainly is a wild card. I believe that his draft place like where he's drafted will range wildly among different leagues. It's just what you believe about him, right. It's hard to find a guy that could be a three down skill set on a team that wants to give somebody that responsibility. But there's too many variables with Peterson and Thompson and Bryce Love in the injury.

[Mike Wright]

I think that the draft prices is okay. I mean there are players behind him like David Montgomery, but Montgomery and his opportunity are going to come in and they're going to. He'll be higher than Darius guys come actual draft season in August. But I think in fact it's fair. It's a fair factoring in what he could be with the injury instead of people just completely discounting him and throwing him away.

[Jason Moore]

Okay, so fantasy wild card, we turn into Jason Moore here.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, so my wild card is a guy who has been hyped and has failed from fantasy, from a fantasy perspective, year after year after year he gets more hyped than he performs with and that's Sammy Watkins. Sammy Watkins is a guy that is a complete wild card this year because of two reasons. One is obviously the Tyree Kill Pat Mahomes situation. Right. Like he's on one of the best offenses.

[Mike Wright]

And Tyree Kill, as we. Sorry to cut you off, Jim, but as we know Tyree Kill, there's still the only update we've received recently was that the NFL is aware and they're monitoring the situation.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, and further than that, they want that situation to finish playing out before they make their decision. So who knows how well that will work.

[Mike Wright]

There's a possibility that week one Tyree Kill is there on the team unless the Kansas City Chiefs make a decision otherwise.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. So that's already part of the wild card. Right. It's like as of right now, my belief, I assume right or wrong that Tyree Kill is not going to be part of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2019. I don't think he plays a game in 2019 which gives great opportunity to Sammy Watkins, who most people don't want to touch. And why don't they want to touch him? Because every single year he has been overdrafted for the most part. Right. If you look back to. And I want to, I want to have your guys ears. Right. Because I know you know who Sammy Watkins is. You have your opinions on Sammy Watkins and what's happened in his career. Andy, you recently have doubt those type of things. You have recently talked about how he's just done. He doesn't, there's no chance.

[Mike Wright]

And he is full shark tank right now on Sammy Watkins.

[Jason Moore]

I think I'm more done with Sammy than Sammy may be done. I believe I said he doesn't have the ceiling he once had. Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

So I want to walk you through his career real quick. 2014. If you go back and look at pre draft rankings, he was the cream. He was the bell of the ball. And this was a year.

[Jason Moore]

What year Was that again?

[Andy Holloway]

2014.

[Jason Moore]

Got it. I'm trying to remember.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, it's an important distinction because it was the year that Odell Beckham was there. It was the year that Mike Evans was there. Kelvin Benjamin, There were a lot of great players that came out that season and he was a cut above to the point where I don't know if you remember this. Buffalo Bills sitting on the clock, number nine in the draft. They need a wide receiver. They trade a future first and fourth to go up five spots and grab Sammy Watkins at the five. I mean he, his talent was just so sure of hitting that they were willing to take that step. And then look at how his career went. First year great for a rookie wide receiver. 982 yards, 6 touchdowns. He was like, okay, he's, he's going to be something special. Sophomore year comes out, he's the number one on the team. He's facing the best defenders over 1,000 yards, nine touchdowns. What he showed is that oh yeah, he is going to be a special wide receiver. Except he did that in only 13 games because he got injured. That's when everything started falling apart. Missing games, foot injuries, you know, all sorts of problems. Then he gets traded to the Los Angeles Rams. Do you remember when he was traded? Preseason, late preseason. Like, like the season starts manana.

[Mike Wright]

He was actually traded right after we had recorded an episode of the podcast. Because he was a jerk, right?

[Andy Holloway]

It was.

[Mike Wright]

And we couldn't talk about it.

[Andy Holloway]

The point is he was not able to get in plugged into that system. He had very few targets. Nine out of the first 10 games he didn't have, I think five targets. Still ended up with a great touchdown count on the season. Then he comes to the last year new system again in Kansas City.

[Jason Moore]

I just. Why do you care so much?

[Andy Holloway]

Here's why I care.

[Jason Moore]

Michael Floyd was the top 10 pick.

[Mike Wright]

He's out of the league.

[Andy Holloway]

Michael Floyd never showed that he had anything on the field.

[Jason Moore]

Sure he did. Yes. He had more total yardage than Sammy's had in four years.

[Andy Holloway]

On a per game basis. Sammy Watkins has shown that he is.

[Jason Moore]

I feel like you have a gun to your head from Sammy Watkins family right now.

[Mike Wright]

Floyd had a thousand yard season.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, great. He had a thousand yard season. But if you look on a per game basis, he doesn't touch Sammy Watkins. Even this last year where everybody hates Sammy Watkins and they think he had a bad year, he was actually. He had a 20% market share. You keep in mind that two of the games that show up on his box score and you look at how many games he played, he was in 10% of those snaps. You know, he, he tried to come back in week 11 from the foot and then quickly was out of the game like he didn't play. Nobody played him in that fantasy week. Look, injuries are real and if he gets injured, he's going to be an absolute bust as a wild card. But when he was playing for Pat Mahomes with Tyreek Hill last year, this really good wide receiver in my opinion had 20% market share and was basically a top 15 wide receiver with Tyreek Hill there. If he comes and plays 16 games this year and Tyree kills out, what's his ceiling with Pat Mahomes? What is.

[Jason Moore]

What is not as high as you think it is? I think it's top five because good. Oh, that's insane. Good receivers don't need like speeches to tell you why they couldn't be good over and over and over and over in new system. It Was a late trade. He's got to be in Los Angeles, otherwise he'd be good. New system. Last year he finished 63rd in fantasy because he was hurt. New system. I don't. I think it's just excuses that don't need to be made. My point is he will have big games. I said. I've said that all offseason. I'm worried. The wild card for me is that he does not have that ceiling anymore. They will distribute the ball elsewhere. They will not let him be a top five guy because he can't be a top five guy. That ship sailed long ago because he's 26. He's 24.

[Andy Holloway]

No. What. Hold on.

[Jason Moore]

No, he's not 24.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he's like 25.

[Jason Moore]

That's what you're. That's what your consistency charts tell me.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he's 25 and like 300 and something days.

[Jason Moore]

So yes, he's 20. He's 25. He'll be 26 in a week. But I just think that we've seen so many career arcs. Some. There's so many top 10 players that don't become nothing. Why is he going to become something? Is it because of Patrick Mahomes?

[Andy Holloway]

No, it's because he's. He's not good. No, no, no.

[Mike Wright]

See, that's what I got upset enough.

[Jason Moore]

No, he's not good enough.

[Andy Holloway]

That's where I get upset. Because we've seen top 10 guys that just bust.

[Jason Moore]

They're not good if you're good enough.

[Andy Holloway]

Over and over and over.

[Jason Moore]

If you're good enough. Don't you make your mark on Sean McVeigh's offense to the tune of more than 39 receptions.

[Andy Holloway]

I think you're good enough to go and have the Kansas City Chiefs say, hey, you want $48 million?

[Mike Wright]

That was exactly the point. I was going to go to a guy who's on his third. Third chance or whatever in the league. They don't receive $48 million.

[Andy Holloway]

They know he's a great wide receiver.

[Mike Wright]

The guys who bust out like Prashad, Perryman, Kevin White, they're not strolling into a $50 million deal. They're getting one year deals for nothing.

[Jason Moore]

That's because they all received Jason's pamphlets. He's been mailing this stuff out.

[Mike Wright]

Look, the NFL, Andy Reid, it's hard.

[Jason Moore]

To say if he plays. If he plays 16, he'll have a very productive season. Not a top five season. He also never plays 16, right?

[Mike Wright]

Well, nonsense is I'm definitely in the middle of you guys, I wouldn't say his ceiling is top five, but his ceiling to me is he's the top 15.

[Jason Moore]

Brooks, where do we have. Do we have that in there? So Jason has him at 17, I'm at 26. I'm not burying his soul. I just don't think his ceilings. What you think it is. You just said top five. You think Sammy Walken ceiling is top five? No, I think that that is impossible if.

[Andy Holloway]

If he plays 16. I think he's locked for a top 15 wide receiver, but his ceiling, he really balls out, I think, as a top five guy. Because in order to be top five, usually you need a lot of touchdowns. And if I need a lot of touchdowns, I want Aaron Rodgers.

[Jason Moore]

I love touchdowns.

[Andy Holloway]

I want Pat Mahomes, I want Peyton Manning. Like, they give more touchdowns. They're very generous.

[Jason Moore]

They are with their touchdowns. Giving especially charitable, benevolent. Mike, I'm not even going to let you talk because I'm just going to. I'm just going to piggyback his and get mine out of the way, and then you guys will have yours because mine's me, Cole Hardman. So I need to have the continuing conversation of just saying as. Maybe I just group all the wide receivers in Kansas City into the wild card category.

[Andy Holloway]

Wild card.

[Mike Wright]

Wild card.

[Jason Moore]

Because Sammy Watkins, Mikoh Hardman, demarcus Robinson, Heck, Byron Pringle, all those guys.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, stop with the Byron pringle.

[Andy Holloway]

Byron Pringle McCringleberry.

[Mike Wright]

Stop.

[Jason Moore]

It would make. I know that a player with that name. It would help the show, that's all.

[Mike Wright]

Well, yes. It's not that I'm not rooting for him.

[Jason Moore]

My point is simply that there is. There's a lot of wild cards. Did he stop the Pringle?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Is that. Was that an old tagline for no?

[Mike Wright]

Well, because if you pop, then you can't stop.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, yes. What's my score on that one? I'm writing down.

[Mike Wright]

I need an official score.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Oh, an eight. I got you to break. Yeah, I know it was an 8 because it was a bad joke. The fact that you got him to break is what put it up to an eight.

[Jason Moore]

I knew. I knew there must have been a commercial I missed. That's why I asked. But he got me for sure. Look, I like what most fantasy players like, which is unknown. The unknown of me. Cole Hardman is so much more attractive to me than the known of Sammy Watkins. Not that he's going to be a better, like, more consistent player, but the unknown. The unknown of this guy. That they traded up and invested in. And if Tyreek's not there and he was the fastest guy at the combine and he's a big play player with, you know, Pat McHome, Mahomes, that's exciting.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

But the truth of the matter is the range of outcomes from equal Hardman is from and he's a rookie.

[Mike Wright]

I mean it may not even be the start.

[Jason Moore]

It's from relevance to complete irrelevance. So can you get a steal on him? You're probably either getting a steal or wasting a pick. I mean that's probably what he's a 10th round guy. So you can waste it on me, Cole Hardman, and I probably would tell you to waste it, but that ADP is going to come up if Tyree Kill is definitively suspended. Cut any of those things. Well, and how high does it go if Tyreek's gone tomorrow? How high is Miko Hardman being drafted wide receiver?

[Mike Wright]

The question for me is more of Robinson because right now Mikola is as he should be. He's the backup. But because we still haven't had training camp, we haven't had time for preseason for him to establish himself as the actual starter. I know what they gave up to get him. But I'm with you that the wild card situation of between demarcus Robinson and Miko Hardman, one of those guys has. They have to have value.

[Jason Moore]

Have to.

[Mike Wright]

This isn't me coming in being like, man, I really hope Chris Conley can become something as the wide receiver three on this team. This is literally.

[Jason Moore]

You're talking, this was like last year, you're saying right, right where you're digging.

[Mike Wright]

At the bottom of their depth chart. If you the guy who's at the top of the depth chart, they have to have value.

[Jason Moore]

Second round pick, a lot of confidence from the team. He has to earn his place. He's a complete wild card to me. And the variables of Sammy Watkins health, Tyreek Hill's availability, DeMarcus Robinson, what does he contribute to the team? I know Chiefs fans, they're okay with him.

[Mike Wright]

He's not a burner though.

[Jason Moore]

No, no, no.

[Andy Holloway]

He's.

[Jason Moore]

He's the guy who catches no lookers.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. Assuming that Tyree Kill is out, like let's say it comes out right now, Tyree Kill is done. Where would you guys be willing to draft me? Cole, because I'm still on the. I'm still on the side of Rookie wide receivers don't usually pan out especially quickly. So I wouldn't play with him this.

[Mike Wright]

Is a special situation.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, certainly.

[Jason Moore]

If Tyreek is gone, Sammy will go much higher than he's going now and Miko will go much higher than he's going.

[Mike Wright]

Sammy would jump into the third round.

[Jason Moore]

Sammy would be. Yeah, he'd be a. He'd be a third round pick.

[Mike Wright]

Where's he going?

[Jason Moore]

Sure, he's a fifth round pick.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he would.

[Mike Wright]

He would absolutely jump two rounds if.

[Jason Moore]

In a heartbeat there.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm telling you guys, the amount of times that I've spoke kindly of Sammy Watkins and had the blowback of 1,000 sons there, people do not want to put their trust in Sammy Watkins. He will not get up to the third because the other people that are in the third, they go, no. When I'm comparing, do I want, you.

[Jason Moore]

Know, me Cole in the seventh or Sammy in the third? Yeah, I'll take me Cole.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I'll take Sammy in the fourth, which is where he'll end up.

[Mike Wright]

Okay, maybe third. Fourth round. Fourth round. 100%.

[Jason Moore]

All right.

[Mike Wright]

Are you disagreeing with that, Jay?

[Andy Holloway]

No, I think fourth round is where he.

[Mike Wright]

I just looking at the third round is full of Hilton Thielen.

[Andy Holloway]

Exactly.

[Mike Wright]

AJ Green.

[Andy Holloway]

He's not going to be in that tier.

[Mike Wright]

No, he won't.

[Andy Holloway]

But I get to go now. Yeah. All right.

[Mike Wright]

All right.

[Jason Moore]

Will you give. Are you going to give up on Sammy if he doesn't play 16?

[Andy Holloway]

Never.

[Jason Moore]

All right, Mike, you do get to go.

[Mike Wright]

Now, to be fair for Jason, he never one single day in this office gave up on Eric Ebron. Yeah, never.

[Andy Holloway]

Never, never, Mike.

[Mike Wright]

He never did. And now you need to.

[Jason Moore]

But didn't he give up on him now?

[Mike Wright]

No. I can't convince anybody to give up on Eric Ebron even though it's the right thing to do. Okay, I'm jumping in. I'll start with my player who is ranked highly. I like him. He's my number 13 running back. But he's a wild card to me because there are there, there should be concerns. And I don't think that there that people are actually looking at the concerns. They're looking at what happened last year in his production. That is Cleveland Browns starting running back Nick Chubb. He is going at the back or about the middle of the second round. And here's the problem with Nick Chubb in 2018, no running back. Running back one caught fewer than 26 passes, the lowest on that list. That was Cream Hunt. So Cream Hunt still managed to be a running back one, even though he, he missed a lot of the season. The top 10 of last year they averaged 91 targets. That number has been rising steadily since 2016. So 2016, the average targets of a top 10 running back. 62. 2017, it was 76. And it's not to say that it's impossible because in those seasons you had LeGarrett Blunt coming through with his eight targets. But it took freaking 18 touchdowns to get him there. And then. And Zeke has kind of been the outlier at the position and up until last year where he just grinds his way to being a running back one. But that's because he averages like 100 yards a game on the ground. Last year, Nick Chubb was pacing for 45 targets when he took over as the starter. And people, people are taking him as the 12th running back off the board. He was on pace for nearly 300 carries over 1300 yards. But the targets is a. It's a real problem.

[Jason Moore]

It scares me beyond measure. Okay, so you're with me that you are scared of.

[Mike Wright]

Oh, yeah.

[Jason Moore]

Do you understand what I'm saying?

[Mike Wright]

Because I was.

[Jason Moore]

You were the champion of Chubb.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

And now you're sitting here.

[Mike Wright]

I've been champs of many things and you're not. That may be my greatest and I think it's.

[Jason Moore]

But what it shows is it's all about the price.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

It's not about the player's ability. It's the utilization and the price.

[Mike Wright]

It's the margin of error for Nick Chubb where if you don't get these huge. Where he's one of the most elusive running backs I looked into a pro football focus graded him out. He was the number one most elusive running back where by their grade of 103, number two was Derrick Henry at 89 80.

[Jason Moore]

Are you talking about Jeremy Hill?

[Mike Wright]

I'm talking about a guy. So his elusive rating was nearly 20 points higher than the second. Than the second ranked running back. And the tree. The team traded Kevin Zeitler, the number one graded offensive guard last year by Pro Football Focus. They just. He's gone now. Like that is also a big deal. Look at, look at what happened to the Los Angeles Rams. They made couple key additions between the Jeff Fisher year and the Sean McVay year. And that turned Todd. Todd Gurley into an absolute superstar. I'm just saying I love Nick Chubb. I think he is a sensational running back. But there are absolutely red flags that I think people are just. They're just pushing through them like it ain't no thing.

[Andy Holloway]

The elusive rating and the huge breakaway runs.

[Mike Wright]

Those.

[Andy Holloway]

Those are a double Edged sword, right? They are Pat Mahomes, 50 touchdowns. It's awesome. It's like when you get it, what do you want more than a really elusive back who can have breakaway runs, but statistically they're anomalous. They should come back down to earth when they're set that far apart from what is the norm. And so if you don't get those things so hard, you don't have the receiving.

[Jason Moore]

It's such a hard line of thinking. Like when you just. If we just talk about that for a minute, like, it's so I. Because it happens every year, right? I mean, Jay Ajayi, remember he had the insane games against Buffalo.

[Andy Holloway]

Isaiah Crowell had some.

[Jason Moore]

Isaiah Crowell's had the breakaway runs. And it's like. But it just. It's like, next time, Nick, don't do that. Just don't. Just, just don't do it so that I can be more confident in you. In fantasy football. Wait. It's just the two players, though, that.

[Andy Holloway]

Come to mind that we. That we've had this argument with, you know, are the two examples you just gave.

[Jason Moore]

And that did come down to earth, right?

[Andy Holloway]

The JJ And Isaiah Cruella is like.

[Jason Moore]

Well, we've had the argument about them, but there have been players like Jamal Charles and Adrian Peterson who, you know, sure, they broke off consistent huge plays year after year.

[Mike Wright]

And Jamal. But Jamal Charles, Jamal Charles and Alvin Camara, they have the bedrock of they're going to catch the ball.

[Jason Moore]

You're not wrong.

[Mike Wright]

So, like, even if the breakaway run doesn't come this game, it's okay, because I know that this player is going to catch four to five passes a game. Adrian Peterson, he's a completely different animal because he is. He's a Hall of Fame running back. And as much as I like Chubb, I'm not going to give him a Hall of Fame status after his rookie year.

[Jason Moore]

People expect the Browns to be great.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, they do.

[Jason Moore]

They expect him to win the division. They expect him to score a ton of points, and they expect the secondaries of opposing teams to be focused on Jarvis Landry and Oda Beckham Jr. And what Baker's bringing to the team. So the running lanes are going to be clear for a guy who's more elusive than anybody in football wanted against six and seven man fronts. That's why the price is what it is.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

And you would hope touchdowns could compensate for anomalous big plays.

[Mike Wright]

And that's what. That's what this shows.

[Jason Moore]

There's the wild.

[Mike Wright]

He is a wild Card where. Yes, of course, Nick Chubb can outproduce his RB12.8 average draft price, but there is absolutely a world where he underperforms that as well.

[Jason Moore]

Well, there's probably nowhere. No chance for him to be top five.

[Andy Holloway]

Right. If you pass.

[Mike Wright]

Well, unless you're somehow turned into Zeke.

[Jason Moore]

Zeke is catching the ball.

[Mike Wright]

Well, saying Zeke could be a running back. Zeke could be a top three guy. Before last year when he was catching all the plays.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Look, I know Chubb is very good. He's a good running back, but he's not Zeke. I mean, Zeke was a top 10 NFL draft pick.

[Mike Wright]

You're talking about the scheme as well?

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, for Zeke and the offensive line. So for my next wow con. Wow con. Look, I'm talking about.

[Mike Wright]

You just sound like a macaw.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, you're welcome.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I'm gonna talk about a lot. A little laxative here.

[Mike Wright]

Oh. What?

[Andy Holloway]

Well, the restrains of the B hole have been loosed. Okay, this is what we're going with.

[Jason Moore]

Word assembly wasn't even quite right there.

[Andy Holloway]

And Kenyan Drake. Kenyan Drake has been a guy that I have.

[Jason Moore]

Are you just trying, like, you just poking me with your picks today? Like, you can get mad at me for, like, opposing you, but you know what's coming when you pick guys that are, like, awesome. No.

[Andy Holloway]

What was the adjective you were using?

[Jason Moore]

That are wild cards.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, that are wild cards. That's the. That's what we're talking about today is guys that.

[Jason Moore]

You just brought up this guy, too.

[Andy Holloway]

Look, Kenyan Drake. I went and I. Jason will talk.

[Mike Wright]

About Kenny and Drake whenever he can.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, Kenny. Kenny. Drake is just really good.

[Jason Moore]

Kenny.

[Mike Wright]

Now he's Kenny.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. Here's the deal. Over the last two seasons, he has not been allowed to get the ball from the B hole, which is why the B hole moniker was.

[Jason Moore]

What if somebody doesn't know who you're talking about?

[Andy Holloway]

I'm talking about Adam Gaze, who was nicknamed the B Hole. He's the head coach, formerly of the Miami Dolphins, who refused. Refused to give Kenyan Drake the ball. Wanted to bring in an old Frank gore, give him 150 plus touches, despite the fact that the year prior, in 2017, you had JJ go out, and then it took Damian Williams to go down to where it was like, okay, Kenya, Drake finally will give you the ball. This is a guy who every time he touched the ball, looked electric. His fantasy points per touch are always elite. His yards per carry are near the top of the league for the last three seasons. He's been great. And then you Give him the ball. At the end of 2017, he had five games in a row where he had more than 10 carries in a game. I'm not making this like, oh, he had 18 carries. He had more than 10 carries in a game for five games in a row. And during that stretch, he was the running back eight in fantasy football. He was dominant for a bad team. Right. Like the Dolphins weren't good two years ago. The Dolphins weren't good last year. And last year over the course of the season, there were only five games.

[Mike Wright]

Weren't they a playoff team two years ago?

[Andy Holloway]

Were they?

[Jason Moore]

Yes, they were.

[Andy Holloway]

Were the Bills good last year?

[Jason Moore]

So what about.

[Mike Wright]

No.

[Jason Moore]

What about the comp to somebody like Lamar Miller who for years efficiency metrics were touted for Lamar Miller until he was given more work. And it was all the same fantasy wise, because efficiency goes down and that's just inevitable. I mean, generally the best, most efficient players are the players that touch the ball less frequently. I don't disagree with the fact that, you know, Kenyon Drake is an electric talent. I wonder though if the league has decided not just the B hole that he is not. I mean, he's not the workhorse caliber type of player.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. And that could happen. But the thing that's standing in the way of that happening is the depth chart. You have Kalen Bellage and Miles Gaskins, two extraordinarily unproven players. Players that we really haven't even seen in the NFL. So I don't think, you know, it's not like a situation. He's the clear starter as of right now. And in the games over the last two years where he's had just 10 touches, he averages the running back 10 in fantasy football both years for the. I'm not mocking the Dolphins and saying they're bad. I'm just bringing up the counter argument of I don't like to have running backs on bottom half teams. No, of course you want a running. You want Todd Gurley for the Los Angeles Rams, but for that team, he's still been very good. I think he's electric. So he's a complete wild card. Right? Maybe.

[Jason Moore]

Caleb, stat him for attempts wise because in his career, I mean, he has, he has fewer attempts in his career than like a regular workhorse back has in a year.

[Mike Wright]

That's Jason's point.

[Jason Moore]

He's 133, 120. What did you stat him for this year? I would like to just know that for, for how you see that opportunity breaking down.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. I have Kenyon Drake Statted completely. Not as a workhorse. 200, 192 rushing attempts. Okay, 77.

[Jason Moore]

Where does that put him in your rankings?

[Andy Holloway]

I believe I've got him. Eighteen.

[Jason Moore]

Okay, that's fine. That's all fine.

[Andy Holloway]

My point is I want him. Those numbers that I just gave are conservative. Those are. Those are hedged numbers. If he comes out and gets 225 carries, very in the realm of possibility and 85 targets. You don't think 225 carries.

[Jason Moore]

I don't think 225 is in the possibility for Drake. Do you think it is, Mike?

[Mike Wright]

No. I also don't think you're being conservative.

[Jason Moore]

No, I don't.

[Andy Holloway]

192.

[Jason Moore]

No, because he. I don't think so. He's played 16 games, two straight years. 133. 120. That would be as. That would be conservative as a backup.

[Mike Wright]

But that's the point is he made be the backup again. Galen Bellaj might be the starting running back.

[Andy Holloway]

So wild card.

[Jason Moore]

What? No. No doubt about the wild card in like, Jerick McKinnon or Kenyan Drake. Guys, who do you want?

[Mike Wright]

Oh, Kenya Drake.

[Andy Holloway]

Not close. Get out of here.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I'm in the same boat.

[Andy Holloway]

So I believe Kenya Drake.

[Jason Moore]

Your most profound argument is the one that you mentioned about 10 plus touches. When he gets 10 plus touches, not just carries. It's not dependent on him getting 225. 10 plus touches. And being an RB10 is powerful.

[Andy Holloway]

He's used in the passing game.

[Jason Moore]

He 73 targets last year, 53 receptions.

[Andy Holloway]

A depth chart with no competition. And he has shown extreme efficiency. So if the efficiency comes down a little and the volume goes up, I think he's got a realistic outlook where he could be a top 12 back.

[Jason Moore]

I'm not sure he's scoring nine touchdowns again, though.

[Andy Holloway]

Sure. Yeah, he might not. I don't have him statted for nine.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that. I guess one of those was the great. The great hook and ladder.

[Mike Wright]

Yes, the great hook and ladder. And on top of that, I mean, you have.

[Jason Moore]

He's been great. There's no argument about when he gets the ball. He's been electric.

[Mike Wright]

You have the. What should be. Maybe the. I mean, not as a good version, but it's the Patriots offensive system coming down to Miami, and they use their running backs a lot, especially in the passing game. All right, the final wild card of this episode. I told you, I'm bringing in a ranked high name. I'm bringing a guy who is ranked low. Currently go.

[Andy Holloway]

Wow.

[Mike Wright]

Currently going.

[Jason Moore]

I can't believe he's going that low.

[Mike Wright]

As the wide receiver, 50. Because people just don't know what to do with him. I agree that it's, it's hard, it's hard to know what to do with, with Mr. Desean Jackson. And I want to lay out what happened last year. This what if you don't recall what happened last year, DeSean Jackson opened the season up absolutely on fire, just crushing people's souls. You took him as late as could be in the draft, you started him and you're just winning weeks. Because for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Ryan Fitzpatrick was the starting quarterback. Then Jameis Winston came in and he was just an absolute dark cloud, the desean Jackson parade. Jameis Winston was fine for himself, but it did not work out for DeSean Jackson. The splits last year for DJs games where Fitzpatrick played, in games where it was just Jameis Winston you're talking about, the targets are nearly the same. 6.1 to 6 and a half targets a game. But here's what happened to the production. 4 receptions as compared to 2 and a half. 78 yards compared to 36 a half a touchdown a game compared to Nothing. That's nearly 15 PPR points a week with when games were Ryan Fitzpatrick was playing. And that includes some games where Ryan Fitzpatrick was not the starter the entire game. So these numbers are a little skewed, but 15 points down to 8, which tells me this is not a Desean Jackson problem. He is still a great wide receiver. And if you watch Tampa Bay games when Jameis Winston was the quarterback, you frequently saw DJs running free and then an errant ball either way overthrown or way under thrown. And a absolute furious desean Jackson. Flash forward to this year. The Philadelphia Eagles traded for him. They wanted him to come back home. And so much so they said, okay, here's a new three year deal. Desean Jackson worth nearly $30 million. But then you get right back into the wild card situation for D Jacks because last year the Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks as a whole, they were not good with the deep ball. Carson Wentz was only throwing a deep pass, which is 20 yards in the air on 11.2% of his attempts. That's not great when you're considering Ryan Fitzpatrick is up at 12.6. Then Carson Wentz passer rating on those deep balls only 70 compared to Ryan Fitzpatrick who has a. Who had a deep passing percentage of or passer rating of over 107. So it's like, okay, well if I'm just looking at last Year's stats. If the Carson Wentz is throwing the deep ball, his numbers were very similar to Jameis Winston as far as efficiency. So maybe nothing's going to change. But now I go back to when Carson Wentz was having his MVP level season and he was absolutely sensational. He's throwing the ball deep 16 and a half percent of the time, had a pass rating of over 100. So the outcomes for DeSean Jackson are so wide. And I mean wide receiver. 50 DeSean Jackson literally can be a league winning type of receiver if he hits. If Carson Wentz comes back and he like for you, Andy, if Carson Wentz is who you expect him to be, then desean Jackson is paying back just insane dividends on a wide receiver. 50 price.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, some of the stats that you're talking about Carson Wentz not being quite as efficient as he was the year before on the deep balls.

[Jason Moore]

Getting out of the pocket, getting out.

[Andy Holloway]

Of the pocket is one thing and also the weapons. He didn't have a desean Jackson like maybe having desean Jackson there to throw a deep ball to might help. Like the year before he had at least Torrey Smith, who we can mock Tory Smith, but he's. That's his trick.

[Mike Wright]

That's his job.

[Andy Holloway]

He's a deep ball guy.

[Jason Moore]

That's his trick.

[Andy Holloway]

Last year, you know, they were.

[Mike Wright]

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I will Torres Smith. I will run the nine route.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you know, last year they basically replaced Torrey Smith with eventually Golden Tate, which is the exact opposite.

[Mike Wright]

It was supposed to be Wallace, Mike Wallace, but then he got hurt.

[Andy Holloway]

Right?

[Jason Moore]

No, those are both good points. I mean I think if we saw Wince in his MVP esque season, get out of the pocket, buy time, deep plays developed. That's what you need in today's NFL. That's what Mahomes did so well. You know, buying time, giving Djax a chance to run free and just having that connection between players. I mean we haven't seen it yet, but Winston D. Jacks, they didn't have it. It wasn't there.

[Mike Wright]

Never.

[Jason Moore]

Math never added up. So he's so interesting because when I look at my team and I'm making dynasty moves, I've got desean Jackson, right? And I don't want to trade him for anything. I want to open the. I just want to see what I get under the tree, right. I don't know what it's going to be and I could be disappointed I didn't trade him for better value. But maybe he's a top 15 guy. Somehow, yeah.

[Mike Wright]

And both Andy and I have Desean Jackson currently ranked as a top 40 guy. So even with not being exactly sure what's going to happen with desean Jackson this year, he's still already an immediate value.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Because he's wide receiver 50. Being drafted as wide receiver 50.

[Mike Wright]

I'm sure if you're playing on draft right now, you're playing basketball. He's going. He's definitely going before wide receiver 50. But for people who are doing the casual redraft mock drafts right now, now.

[Andy Holloway]

Do you worry at all about having. I mean, if you draft to Sean Jackson redraft league, you're dealing with the boom bust.

[Mike Wright]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

Do I even start him?

[Mike Wright]

You could. You absolutely could be dealing with that. But with Carson, Carson Wentz, there's a world where that's. You're not dealing with a boom bust. You're just dealing with a great player who's good and then can boom.

[Jason Moore]

So I'm excited to see what happens in Philadelphia this year.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I am too. I think Djax is great for Philadelphia. I think Djax is great for Carson Wentz. I don't know. Because there are so many mouths to feed. I mean, this is why he's a wild card. I don't, I don't know that desean.

[Mike Wright]

Jackson, I don't know how many in.

[Jason Moore]

The wide receivers, though, he's the two. Right.

[Mike Wright]

Well, the nice thing is that desean Jackson has a huge mouth. So when he actually takes the bite, half your cake has already been yoling.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, that's true. Because I kind of surprised you went to that specific analogy. But one bite is all he needs per game.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah.

[Jason Moore]

And what I liked about your story, because people have moved on from him, but you began your narrative on him by just saying what he was last year. This was last year.

[Mike Wright]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

This wasn't three years ago. DeSean Jackson, he came out and was dominating for fantasy football last year season with Ryan Fitzpatrick.

[Mike Wright]

Yeah. And Carson Wentz. We're joking about Tori Smith. Carson Wentz has never had a player like DeSean Jackson. And that's how I open with this is not a desean Jackson problem. I think he is still a top. So do they top stretcher.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I believe it with the contract. All right, let's move on. Pristine deal of the day. All right, today's pristine deal of the day. A Derek Henry signed Tennessee Titans jersey, $71 yesterday. On pristineauction.com sign up, use the registration code BALLERS. That's P R I S T I N E auction.com if you use the code BALLERS, they give you five bucks towards your first memorabilia purchase.

[Mike Wright]

And I heard that with every Derek Henry jersey signed jersey from Pristine Auction comes with a handwritten Note from Matt LaFleur saying, I'm so sorry that it took me until week 13 to give an apology.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it might or might not.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, it might or might not. That is it for today's episode of the show. A reminder as we close out, head to footclangiveaway.com enter to win some of that sweet swag and some tickets.

[Mike Wright]

That's right. See you next week. Goodbye.

[Andy Holloway]

Thank you for listening to another episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Join our fantasy football community on jointhefoot. Com and follow us on twitter @the ffballers.