NFC North Breakdown + Depth Chart Takeaways, Christian Kirk

Summary

Fantasy Footballers Podcast Summary Episode: NFC North Breakdown + Depth Chart Takeaways, Christian Kirk
Release Date: August 6, 2018

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Episode Overview

In this episode of the Fantasy Footballers Podcast, hosts Andy Holloway, Jason Moore, and Mike "The Fantasy Hitman" Wright dive deep into the NFC North teams, analyze off-season moves, and discuss depth chart implications for the upcoming fantasy football season. Additionally, they feature an exclusive interview with Arizona Cardinals rookie wide receiver Christian Kirk, providing insights into his integration into the team and potential fantasy value.

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Depth Chart Takeaways

The hosts begin by examining unofficial depth charts circulating on Twitter, highlighting surprising placements and their fantasy implications.

• Dolphins Wide Receiver Shuffle:

  • Andy Holloway notes the unexpected listing of Eric Decker ahead of Kenny Britt post-trade (03:56).
  • Jason Moore points out the shift of Danny Amendola to the starting slot receiver position, relegating Albert Wilson to a backup role (05:32).
  • Brooks expresses surprise over Amendola's placement, given Wilson's proven track record as a slot receiver (05:47).

• Running Back Depth Charts:

  • Kenyon Drake and Frank Gore being listed as co-starters raises concerns about Drake's average draft position (07:02).
  • Sony Michel's injury is flagged as a significant concern for fantasy owners, leading to potential adjustments in drafting strategies (11:00, 12:28).

Notable Quote:

“If you are in or around the Phoenix area, we've got one more live show on our Fantasy for the People tour... it's going to be hot.”
— Andy Holloway 03:56

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NFC North Breakdown

The podcast provides an in-depth analysis of each NFC North team, focusing on key players, off-season transactions, and their fantasy football outlook.

Minnesota Vikings

• Quarterback Situation:

  • Transition from Case Keenum to Kirk Cousins brings both opportunities and pressures.
  • Jason Moore rates Kirk Cousins as a potential top-five fantasy quarterback, citing his synergy with the Vikings' array of receivers and tight ends (24:56).

• Running Back Analysis:

  • Dalvin Cook is highlighted as a high-value pick, with Jason Moore expressing strong confidence in his potential despite a hamstring injury early in the season (28:11, 29:05).
  • Concerns about Cook's role in the red zone and overall workload are discussed (30:33).

Notable Quote:

“Kirk Cousins is 100% locked and loaded as a top five... but with huge changes... my overall worry...”
— Jason Moore 24:56

Green Bay Packers

• Wide Receiver Corps:

  • Injury concerns with Randall Cobb affecting the Packers' passing game.
  • Depth chart uncertainty with Geronimo Allison potentially vying for targets alongside established receivers like Davante Adams (13:36).

• Running Back Strategy:

  • Debate between drafting Aaron Jones versus Jamal Williams, with Andy Holloway favoring Jones due to his consistent performance and efficiency (31:13, 47:53).

Notable Quote:

“If you believe in Aaron Jones, you have to not only believe that he'll be good, but that also he'll get the opportunity after a couple weeks in.”
— Jason Moore 47:13

Chicago Bears

• Offensive Overhaul:

  • New head coach Matt Nagy and offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich introduce fresh strategies.
  • Acquisition of Trey Burton as a key tight end, aiming to bolster the receiving options (53:43).

• Running Back Focus:

  • Jordan Howard is positioned as a potential breakout star, with discussions on his role versus Dalvin Cook and Sony Michel (55:24, 55:52).

• Wide Receiver Dynamics:

  • Golden Tate and Alan Robinson emerge as focal points, with Jason Moore advocating for Robinson's value despite his recent challenges (40:36, 60:36).

Notable Quote:

“Jordan Howard can score 15 touchdowns, half point PPR.”
— Andy Holloway 55:39

Detroit Lions

• Offensive Line Improvements:

  • Pro Football Focus ranks the Lions' offensive line as eighth, signaling significant enhancement over the previous season.

• Running Back Considerations:

  • Kerryon Johnson is a contentious pick due to his uncertain role and injury status, with Jason Moore advising caution in mock drafts (09:05, 30:49).

Notable Quote:

“Do not draft Kerry. I am making a campaign... keep that ADP low.”
— Jason Moore 09:05

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Player Highlights and Analysis

• Sony Michel's Injury:

  • Mike Wright highlights the impact of Sony Michel's knee procedure on his availability and fantasy value, urging managers to adjust their drafts accordingly (11:00, 12:28).

• Corey Coleman Trade:

  • Andy Holloway and Brooks discuss the trade of Corey Coleman from the Browns to the Bills, assessing its implications for both teams' fantasy outlooks (16:51, 17:03).

• Kyle Rudolph's Value:

  • Debate over Kyle Rudolph's ranking between Andy Holloway and Jason Moore, with varying opinions on his ceiling and role in the offense (31:27, 32:01).

Notable Quote:

“You're supposed to take those... mix in a couple scoops of your league scoring... and take all that into account.”
— Andy Holloway 33:41

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Interview with Christian Kirk

The episode features an interview with Arizona Cardinals rookie wide receiver Christian Kirk, offering firsthand insights into his integration with the team and his readiness for the upcoming season.

Key Highlights:

• Chemistry with Teammates:

  • Christian Kirk discusses his rapport with quarterback Josh Rosen and their chemistry developed during workouts in Los Angeles (63:06).

• Role in Offense:

  • Emphasis on learning from head coach Steve Keim and adapting to the Cardinals' dynamic offensive system.

• Competition and Versatility:

  • Kirk highlights the competitive environment for the number two wide receiver spot, mentioning Bryce Butler, J.J. Nelson, and Chad Williams as potential contenders (65:27).

• Position Flexibility:

  • Christian Kirk expresses confidence in his ability to perform both in the slot and outside, enhancing his versatility and fantasy value (66:14).

• Season Goals:

  • Aiming for the playoffs and striving for a division championship, Kirk underscores the team's ambition and his role in achieving it (66:47).

Notable Quotes:

“We've been able to take a lot of snaps together... I'm excited to just, you know, keep going and developing with those guys.”
— Christian Kirk 63:43

“It's like a ten. He's one of the smartest coaches I've been around.”
— Mike Wright 64:55

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Concluding Remarks

The Fantasy Footballers wrap up the episode by reiterating the importance of tailored drafting strategies based on individual league settings and the nuanced analysis provided throughout the discussion. They encourage listeners to leverage resources like the Ultimate Draft Kit for comprehensive insights and adjustments.

Final Quote:

“It's a holistic approach where you take the news, the information, the rankings, the consensus... and that all has to go into the way that you factor the value of a player, right?”
— Andy Holloway 34:14

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Key Takeaways

• Depth Charts Matter: Understanding team depth charts can unveil hidden gems and highlight potential risks in fantasy drafts.

• NFC North Insights: Each NFC North team presents unique opportunities and challenges, making it crucial to adjust player valuations accordingly.

• Player Injuries and Trades: Staying updated on player injuries and trades is essential for making informed drafting decisions.

• Interview Insights: Emerging players like Christian Kirk can offer significant fantasy value if they secure their roles within their teams.

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For more detailed strategies and fantasy football advice, tune into the Fantasy Footballers Podcast and stay ahead in your league!

Transcript

[Andy Holloway]

Hey, Foot Clan. We have a great show prepared for you today. The football season is almost here, but I want to remind you about the Ultimate Draft Kit. You can go to ultimatedraftkit.com and check it out. Right now. It is trusted. It is accurate. So accurate, in fact, that we are the only site with multiple experts in the top 10 draft rankings, including a number three overall finish. You get your 2018 scoring projections.

[Jason Moore]

You get.

[Andy Holloway]

You get your sleepers, breakouts, busts and values. But here's what's great about the Ultimate Draft Kit. It is updated all the time. Every bit of news that comes out. Corey Coleman gets shipped off to Buffalo. We're going to let you know all of the fantasy implications right away in the Ultimate Draft Kit. Get yours atultimate draft kit.com this is.

[Mike Wright]

Christian Kirk with the Arizona Cardinals, and you're listening to the Fantasy Footballers Podcast.

[Jason Moore]

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

[Andy Holloway]

Ah, welcome in. What a wonderful day it is. What a wonderful day in the neighborhood.

[Mike Wright]

What a world.

[Andy Holloway]

You know, I still enjoy doing this podcast with you both.

[Jason Moore]

That makes one of us.

[Brooks]

Speak for yourself.

[Andy Holloway]

Even 578 podcasts in, I still enjoy your company.

[Brooks]

I'm here for the people.

[Jason Moore]

All right, I turned around. I love you guys.

[Andy Holloway]

Welcome in Monday, August 6, 2018, the Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Andy, Mike, Jason, and of course, there's Brooks. Just hanging out, of course.

[Brooks]

Oh, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

How you doing, Judge? Excellent. Do you enjoy your time? Time in the limelight on our tour? Getting a chance to come out in front of the Foot Clan and declare a verdict? Oh, yeah, it's nice. Did I ever. Did I ever tell you I was really surprised?

[Brooks]

Oh, yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

How you ruled, like, yeah, incorrectly. I. I think it was because Jason's argument just got so statistically deep that we all got lost. And you must have just gone with Mike, AKA boring. It is correct. There's exhibit A through D from Mike.

[Brooks]

That's right.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, man.

[Brooks]

I brought evidence. Jason's just over here. Numbers, numbers.

[Jason Moore]

Business, business. I believe exhibit D was overruled.

[Andy Holloway]

We have the NFC North. We're breaking it down on the show today. Everything that's gone on in the off season, the fantasy implications, how we're projecting the players on those teams. It's going to be fun. Follow us on twitter @the ff ballards. And I want to remind people, go follow us or shall I say subscribe on YouTube. YouTube.com the fancy footballers. You can not only see the show with your eyeballs. But you'll be. If you click the little bell, you'll be notified whenever we do, like a surprise live stream.

[Jason Moore]

You gotta go ring our bell.

[Andy Holloway]

Ring our bell. That's the new phrase for YouTube. Until YouTube ring our bell. Oh, goodness. Hey, guess what? The Listener League submissions are over. It's done. What's finished? And I want to say this. Oh my goodness. Y'all came out and delivered some crazy great applications for the Listener League. So in advance if you don't make it. But you submitted an amazing one. Trust that we've seen it. We love it. And there's only so much room but some really, really cool stuff out there. And we'll be making those final selections probably over the course of this week. We'll be locking those down. And then, Jason, you can begin your quest for a third consecutive Listener League title.

[Jason Moore]

The three Pete. Oh, it's. It's made all the sweeter because it's a 14 team league.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, it is. Now, we expanded last year because we wanted to fit a couple more listeners in that way there's more people to lose to. You.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I like it.

[Andy Holloway]

Quick question of the day, guys. Do you have any takeaways from the unofficial depth charts that are starting to walk through Twitter? I guess. I mean, people are sharing these depth charts and talking about them. One of the surprises from the weekend, Eric Decker was listed ahead of Kenny Britt right after being signed. Some other highlights. Kenyan Drake, Kenyon Drake and Frank Gore listed as co starters in the Dolphins initial depth chart. Damon Neam and Dola listed as a starter on the Dolphins depth chart. There's been a lot of Mike Jazecki hype.

[Jason Moore]

I love Michael Keaton.

[Andy Holloway]

Carlos Hyde listed as the first team running back. Vance McDonald listed as the starter. Ryan Grant listed as the starter in Indianapolis. What's your.

[Jason Moore]

I would say that the Dolphins wide receivers are the biggest takeaway because there is. With Jarvis Landry gone, there will be fantasy points to be had there. And there's been a question early in the offseason, is it Albert Wilson, is it Danny Amendola who's going to step into that role? It is clear from everything in camp that Danny Amendola has been the guy manning the slot. Not only was Amendola listed as the starting slot receiver, but Albert Wilson was listed basically as a backup outside wide receiver. So, so bizarre. It is a little bizarre because that's, that's not his.

[Brooks]

This is why that is surprising because he was a slot wide receiver for Kansas City. I think Albert Wilson's Very good. And I was hoping he would really get an opportunity here with the Dolphins and that's why the signing of Danny Amendola was head scratching.

[Andy Holloway]

What I can see Albert Wilson is listed as the backup slot wide receiver behind in. Danny Amendola is not listed on the outside. Wide receivers where I saw him, Stills and Parker with Carew and Grant on the outside and then it's Amendola with Albert Wilson as the number two in the slot as of today.

[Brooks]

When I saw it, it was Wilson was listed behind Stills on the outside. But these are unofficial and we're just trying to scrape what we can from the very, very few nuggets of information the NFL is willing to trickle out. But Amendola is very interesting and just stick with the Dolphins. The fact that Kenyon Drake and Frank Gore are listed as co starters. I know the Kenyon Drake people. The truth is out there saying nah, but Kenyon Drake. I got lots of but. But can Frank Gore do this? And then they would show me a gif of a Kenyan Drake highlight.

[Andy Holloway]

Doesn't matter.

[Brooks]

And it doesn't matter. Doesn't matter if if they want to use a full running back by committee. Do recall when Jai was traded. Yes, Kenyon Drake was not the starter. Damian Williams was. They were splitting time. Now they were close in snaps but Williams was getting them the getting more work than Kenyon Drake.

[Jason Moore]

Drake wasn't valuable then. Correct. It was when Damian Williams went out that Drake became of supreme value. Now that being said, I actually expected the depth chart. I'm a Drake truther, as you know. You called us so rudely. The thing is, I was expecting Frank Gore to be listed as the starter and Drake the backup. So when it was like co starters, I didn't see that as like an indictment against Drake.

[Andy Holloway]

I would have agreed with you earlier in camp, but with Drake running with the first team so often and things like that, I think the co starter thing is par for the course for Miami. It's just people don't understand this. If you've been around fantasy football long enough, you've seen this exact template play out on team after team after team. Chris Thompson, the most electric back in football. Look, coaches don't view electricity as every down necessity. It's a matter of giving Drake the opportunity to make big plays and not wearing a guy like that down. It's not necessarily an indictment on his fantasy value. They signed Frank Gore for a reason. I mean he's the, he's a longtime NFL starter and then they went out and pursued him and signed him we all knew he'd have a role. He's a veteran. It's going to be a bit of, you know, thunder and lightning just for that backfield.

[Brooks]

It makes Kenyon Drake's average draft position a little bit too high, a little bit too high, a little bit scary.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, hey, since you're bringing up average draft position, I would just like to. I'd like to take a minute and talk to the Foot Clan real quick. I've got something I want to try out this year, and this is. This is a true story. I am asking all Foot Clan followers to not draft Kerryon Johnson in any mock draft you do this off season. I want to see if we can dip that in. I'm not joking. I want to. Yes, look, pencil him in after your draft. Be like, okay, I'm going to draft this guy. I would have taken him here. I would have taken Kenyon Drake, but.

[Andy Holloway]

I took Albert Wilson in the fifth round.

[Jason Moore]

I want to see if we can keep that ADP low for you, for you, so that come draft day, you can get him at a good value. Do not. I am making a campaign.

[Brooks]

Look, Glenn, he's lying. This is not for you.

[Jason Moore]

This is for me.

[Brooks]

This is for Jason.

[Jason Moore]

This is for Jason Moore. Do not draft Kerry. If you show me a mock draft and you drafted Kerryon Johnson, I would be so upset.

[Andy Holloway]

You're going to give him an F?

[Jason Moore]

Yes. Look, draft them in your real drafts, but in your mock drafts, you keep that ADP low.

[Andy Holloway]

Jason's out there writing every beat writer, threatening them not to write about Kerryon Johnson.

[Jason Moore]

I want them to write bad news about Kerryon Johnson.

[Andy Holloway]

Are you, like, sending Kerryon Johnson, like, peds or something like that to get his ADP down? Because I wouldn't recommend it.

[Jason Moore]

No, I would agree with you there. News and notes from around the league.

[Andy Holloway]

I guess they didn't throw in one news and note from around the studio. If you are in or around the Phoenix area, we've got one more live show on our Fantasy for the People tour presented by Draft. You can grab tickets to our live show. It's August 24th at the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix. And you can get [e-mail] it's gonna be hot.

[Jason Moore]

That was such a fun show last year, doing our bold takes. And some of those bold takes really came to fruition. So, yeah, be there. If you're in Phoenix, be there. August 24th.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. We talked about it. The Patriots signed Eric Decker. Now he's ahead of Kenny Britt. We didn't talk about it in the quick question. So I want to bring up again, do you read into Decker being listed ahead of Britt right now?

[Brooks]

I read into it. That's not great news for Britt. The, the unnamed player here, though is Philip Dorsett, who as of right now, it's going to be Chris Hogan and Philip Dorsett. Does that translate into fantasy value for Dorsett? It's unlikely at this point of his career, but he's the fastest guy on the team and they need someone to replace Brandon Cook. Speed.

[Andy Holloway]

I was going to say the best case scenario for me for a Philip Dorset season is kind of looking like, you know, Ted Ginn previous to last year or Robert Meacham or something where.

[Brooks]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

Where it's like if you get the big play from Dorset on his three targets, it's valuable.

[Brooks]

Agreed.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't think he's going to have a pile of targets in that offense, but yeah, it is interesting. This was big news over the weekend. Sony Michelle oh will undergo a procedure on his knee after injuring it in Wednesday's training camp practice. It'll probably cost him. I believe it's fluid drain from his knee. It's going to cost him the preseason. It may cost them more than that depending on who you listen to. Jeff Howe from the Athletic had a more negative view. I believe Schefter had a more positive view to his recovery.

[Brooks]

I think schefter had said 10 days. But the fact that there are people reporting this could cost him all of preseason. And you take out, you take out for me into the regular season, you just, you tell me that a rookie running back for Bill Belichick is going to miss all of training camp and all of the preseason. That is troubling. You cannot, you cannot possibly draft Sony Michelle. Where he has been going now, his ADP will go down. But saying you got to bail out, man, if you had that plan, you were going to grab Michelle in the fourth or fifth round, you got to change, change it up.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. And keep in mind, Prior, right before the draft, Sony Michelle's stock was expected to drop because things were coming out about knee issues. And it appears, you know, after the draft, everyone was joking. Oh, the Patriots probably started that because they drafted him. They weren't worried. Rut Row.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I moved him in my Dynasty rookie rankings. He was originally my number two running back in those rankings. He's my number four just because of this early start to his career. You're weighing, you're weighing early risk and you know, there's not a lot that separates those guy guys. But Darius Geist, I had him. I have him ahead now. So I also think that the.

[Brooks]

Oh, by the way, Rex Burkhead shares.

[Andy Holloway]

See, the funny thing is, get ready. I was actually going to bring up the name that doesn't get brought up.

[Brooks]

Jeremy. No, James White.

[Andy Holloway]

Because James White's just there. He's all reliable on that offense. No Julian Edelman for the first four weeks. I think James White, if you time that up with Sonny Michelle, maybe coming back and not getting involved. Look, Rex Burkhead's gonna have value and goal line value, but I think James White's gonna see some targets those first four weeks. He will, but it would be a sneaky start.

[Brooks]

He will absolutely see some targets. But the boost to Rex Burkhead, he's gonna. He'll shoot up at least. At least two rounds in average draft price.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. Ankle injury forced Randall Cobb to leave practice. Same ankle that he had surgery on seven weeks ago. This is concerning.

[Brooks]

Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

For a Packers offense that is kind of being remade from a pass catcher perspective. And we hope Randall Cobb could bounce back, do what he did at the end of last year. Now what?

[Brooks]

So, on the depth charts, Geronimo Allison was kind of slotted in as the third wide receiver or the other outside starter aside from Devonte Adams. But the news out of training camp on Geronimo has been very sketchy. Is Geronimo Allison on the roster bubble? It's hard to know. They did reload at the wide receiver position with Jamon Moore, Jamona and Equanimous St. Brown. That's going to be too far.

[Jason Moore]

If Jamal Moore.

[Andy Holloway]

Jerome Allison situation reminds me so much of what we do with them all the time, which is Jeff, Janis, Abrader, Darris, like, these are all players that made plays before, but when it comes right down to it, it's quarterback play over wide receiver play for a lot of these guys. And if Rodgers and Allison don't get on the same page, it'll be somebody else. It'll be Jimmy Graham. It'll be Time Montgomery. It'll be Jaymon Moore. It'll be Equanimity.

[Brooks]

But the thing is, it's going to be somebody. Aaron Rodgers creates fantasy wide receivers. It will be Devonte Adams. It will be. It will be someone else.

[Andy Holloway]

Jimmy Graham's going to be lining up outside all the time.

[Brooks]

He could be.

[Andy Holloway]

All the time.

[Brooks]

He could be.

[Andy Holloway]

You give Aaron Rodgers even that chess piece on the outside, even if he's not targeted all the time. I Think it's about mismatches. That's why they paid him that money.

[Brooks]

Well, the mismatch better be in the end zone. I saw. I can't remember who was tweeting it out, but they were talking about the game, speed. Jimmy Graham's game speed. You know who his comp was? Antonio Gates.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Brooks]

Jimmy Graham.

[Jason Moore]

That's what they got Lance Kendricks for between this one. He's just saying.

[Andy Holloway]

I'm tired of talking about Jimmy Graham's game speed.

[Jason Moore]

What?

[Andy Holloway]

I am. I'm tired of talking about it.

[Brooks]

Okay.

[Andy Holloway]

Because it's. It's a moot point anymore. We concede the fact that he hasn't been able to run for two years, three years. He is what he is now. Like we joke. You joke about Antonio Gates like he's Antonio Gates. His game speed. You give Antonio Gates a full assortment of snaps in Philip Rivers offense today and he's relevant. Sure.

[Brooks]

Jimmy Graham not a fifth round draft pick though.

[Andy Holloway]

No, maybe not. But Jimmy Graham is. Is able to still be the red zone threat that he is. I mean, he's. I'm telling you, he's going to be annoyingly relevant this year to both of you. You're going to hate it. He's going to be your ice. And then he's going to get thought out by all these injuries and lack of talent around him. They paid him so much money.

[Brooks]

They did.

[Andy Holloway]

He's going to be accidentally relevant.

[Jason Moore]

He will.

[Brooks]

He will not be accidentally relevant. Interesting. He will be relevant in games where he scores a touchdown.

[Andy Holloway]

Corey Coleman was traded. The writing was on the wall here for a while, man.

[Brooks]

A first run. A first round wide receiver for the Browns. I'm sure they got. They had to have gotten something pretty good.

[Jason Moore]

I believe they got a third round. Wait, this just. No. A four. Wait. No, it's a fit. Wait, it's a. Nope. A seventh round pick.

[Brooks]

But surely that's next year.

[Jason Moore]

Next. Nope. Wait. It's the 2020 draft. They got. They just gave them away. They just. I don't want you.

[Brooks]

So they got a seventh round pick in 2020 from the Buffalo Bills for Corey Coleman in the defense of the Browns. Now they're off the hook for his contract. The Bills inherit all of that. If you were going to cut Coleman, there's going to be dead money. It's going to be a cap situation that you have to navigate if you're trying to clear the books. I get it. But the fact that in the NFL it was known that the Browns were moving on from Corey Coleman and all they could get was a seventh round pick in 2020 from the Buffalo Bills is troubling. Good work by the Bills. I think this is an absolute worthwhile low risk investment by them.

[Jason Moore]

It's also good for Corey Coleman. Now I'm not saying it's great because I think he goes to another poor situation where you don't have a locked and loaded starting quarterback that you know is going to be good and it's not a team that you expect to pass a lot. But he is now the wide receiver two with the chance to be the wide receiver one for, for his franchise. Whereas he had been completely buried behind Jarvis Landry, behind Josh Gordon, behind Duke.

[Andy Holloway]

Johnson, you know, possibly behind Antonio Callaway this year.

[Brooks]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Right. And I think Callaway is a big part of this trade.

[Andy Holloway]

I think Gordon and Callaway, you should feel good about both of their situations because of this trade for them. Trading the depth of Corey Coleman tells me that Gordon is coming back and it tells me that Callaway has made strides. Now the report about Gordon right now is very close to returning. So he's very.

[Brooks]

Yeah, he's very close to returning. They are talking about, well, if he doesn't report by Tuesday, then he is not eligible to become a restricted free agent this next season. But the, the word from Browns camp is they will not hold it against him if he is, if he does not show up by Tuesday, we'll just, we'll see what that actually means.

[Jason Moore]

Tuesday's when Hard Knocks, right?

[Brooks]

And Hard Knocks starts. Yes.

[Andy Holloway]

Kenneth Dixon returned to practice for the Ravens. This is good news for those that believe in Kenneth Dixon and then Brandon Coleman finally released by the Saints. Basically you have a situation where I think it, it speaks well of Cam Meredith's health.

[Brooks]

Yes. And this is, this is the type of news I have been waiting for on Cameron Meredith because his knee injury was devastating but very early last year and very well, it's preseason this past year. But I needed to, I needed some proof of evidence that the Saints felt like he was going to be ready. It also, it could be great news for Tre'quan Smith as well, their third round wide receiver draft pick.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, well, you've got the double up as well. Right. He avoided the pup. And then they're saying, hey, we've got a lot of wide receivers. Cam Meredith, Coleman might come back but right now he's injured and so they're just wanting to make room. So, yeah, a lot, a lot of interesting stuff going on. Hey, before we get to the NFC North, I want to thank today's sponsor, Indochino. Every man out there needs a good suit. For whether it's your job to wear a suit every day or whether you just, hey, look, everyone's gone to a wedding, everyone's gone to special events. Special events. And you need to have a good suit. I can tell you honestly, my Indochino suit is the best fitting suit I've ever had by a very wide margin because it is a custom tailored suit for me. It's built for your body. It's the largest custom apparel company. There's a huge selection of different materials and jackets and fabrics. It's very easy. You choose the suit you want, you submit your measurements, place your order and it's there for you. In three weeks or less, you can shop [e-mail] or visit any of their North American showrooms. And this week our listeners get any premium Indochino suit for just $379 at Indochino.com when you enter footballers at checkout. That's over 50% off the regular price for premium made to measure suit and shipping is free. Again, Indochino.com, promo code FOOTBALLERS for just $379 free shipping any of those suits. It's a great.

[Brooks]

We want to thank Pristine Auction for sponsoring today's show. Pristine Auction is the place you need to go for all of your sports memorabilia needs. Like this Stefan Diggs signed jersey up on the wall because we're going to talk about the NFC north and Brooks knows what he's doing so he is showcasing Stefan Diggs. There are hundreds of daily deals are getting new things on there every single day. It's worth it to just in the morning you're having the coffee. I'm gonna browse Pristine Auction. Let's see what's. Let's see what's going on up there today. You can get some deals like yesterday, the new starting running back for the New England Patriots, sexy Rexy Burkhead signed jersey, just 81 bucks. We got a Todd Gurley signed rams photo for $68. A Keenan Allen signed Chargers jersey. My goodness, $75. There's deals, there's steals. Make it happen. Over at Pristine Auction you can make a completely free account. It's always free to bid. You only pay if you win. P R I S T I n e auction.com when you make that account, let them know that the fantasy footballers sent you.

[Jason Moore]

Let's get divisional.

[Andy Holloway]

I was doing my own stuff, deals and deals this weekend in our Dynasty league.

[Brooks]

You were man you were doing work.

[Andy Holloway]

I. I did not have advance notice of Sonny Michelle's health situation. But I. But I did trade.

[Jason Moore]

Or Randall Cobbs, you freaking fantasy reaper.

[Andy Holloway]

But I did trade Sony Michelle and Randall Cobb mere hours before news broke on them. Fortunately, I was uncomfortable about Sonny Michelle's knee situation. Like in a dynasty league, it's still desperately want him.

[Brooks]

Right.

[Andy Holloway]

But as a player that's trying to win a back to back title this year, I was worried about him contributing in year one. Landed myself some John Ross, some Isaiah Crowell and a first round pick for Sony Michelle.

[Brooks]

It's a pretty good haul for a player that's never played a snap and is currently injured. And is currently injured.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I feel real good about that. Let's. Let's kick off this NFC north breakdown.

[Jason Moore]

Vikings.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. The Vikings 13 and three. Last season, the Case Keenum experiment, it panned out. He came out.

[Brooks]

The forced experiments.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes. Sometimes you perform experiments you don't want to and then they work out necessity. Right. I. He got paid from it too. I mean.

[Jason Moore]

Good.

[Andy Holloway]

Good for you. Great opportunity for Case Kirk Cousins walks into a new team. It's a rarity when a top tier quarterback gets an opportunity to walk into a 13 and 3 franchise with established pieces and maybe the best wide receiver core in football with Fondiggs and Adam Thielen. Now he's got the weight on his shoulders. Kirk Cousins has, I guess you could argue two things. You could say he's got the easiest situation, right. Great offensive line situation, great opportunity with the wide outs. But he also has the weight of a lot of fantasy value on his shoulders. He has to support Dalvin Cook and Diggs and Thielen and Rudolph and company. What do you guys think of Cousins this year? What are the range of outcomes? Let's start there and then move on. Yeah, I guess the offensive line would be the thing that isn't the best situation, but everything else around him.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. Last year their offensive line outperformed what the expectation was this year, you know, it's, it's subpar. But I, you know, I think some people have it ranked a little too low for when it comes to Kirk Cousins. You've got to ask yourself if you actually believe in the ADP of everyone else that's currently going for the Vikings. Right. Because you've got basically a top 10 guy in Dalvin Cook. You've got two top 15 wide receivers in Adam Thielen and Stefan Diggs. You have a top eight tight end in Kyle Rudolph. If all of those things were to come true then KIRK Cousins is 100% locked and loaded as a top five. Maybe the second, you know, he's in the top three at quarterback. I really like Kirk Cousins this year because of those aforementioned weapons. But I also worry, you know, look, the defense is really good. They're solid. They might not need to be running up scores a lot. And so is it realistic, are we overestimating the Vikings offense this year based on them out producing expectations last season? That's kind of my overall worry, especially with huge changes. I mean, when you change quarterback, that's large, but when you change offensive coordinator, that is also a big thing. And now you've done both with a defensive minded head coach. All those changes have me a little bit worried that we're overestimating the Vikings offense.

[Andy Holloway]

I think that's, I mean, you have to see both sides of the coin as a fantasy owner. When you look at the Vikings and that's the narrative. If you need to write something negative about the Viking situation, the positive is obviously all the weapons and tools. Look, it's going to be an efficiency based offense anyway. I mean, if their defense is good, it's not going to take very much for.

[Brooks]

I don't care the defense is good. I want the defense to be.

[Andy Holloway]

And you know, John DeFilippo coming in, somebody that I think we all believe in. I feel a great deal of confidence that Stefan Diggs and I'm feeling will support Kirk Cousins fantasy value.

[Brooks]

I 100% agree. Kirk Cousins, three straight years, over 4,000 yards. He is, his accuracy is fantastic. He has one of the better deep balls in the league. Over the past three years, he's averaging, you know, a completion percentage of 65. He, he's an upgrade. He's an upgrade over Case Keenum and Case Keenum was, well, he at least supported the weapons. And I think that, that Cousins is better so that he can support himself.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, I think, I think Minnesota Vikings fans and even though Case Keenan performed well, you were still, you know, cross fingers behind your back every week when Cousins or when Keenan went out there saying, you know, is this the week that the wheels are going to fall off? Do you know, is he simply managing an offense versus being an asset to the offense right now? Kirk Cousins, we have him at. Jason, you have the highest.

[Jason Moore]

I have him at five.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, you have him at five, Mike at eight. I have him at nine. He's our consensus six. However tied with Matthew Stafford. And I actually view him and Matthew Stafford in a similar vein, you know, in terms of talent in terms of ability and fantasy performance. I would imagine those two guys are pretty darn close this season.

[Brooks]

Yeah, they could be shifting it over to Dalvin Cook.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, let's talk Dalvin.

[Brooks]

So through the first three games, you, it's. We have a really, really small sample of Dalvin Cook because he tore his ACL in the fourth game, which his, his fourth game he was already dominating 13 for 66 before he went down. But before that, he was averaging over 20 attempts a game. He was averaging over four targets. How are you guys feeling about Dalvin Cook? Like I said, very, very small sample size. Latavius Murray, the guy they had brought in, they thought was going to be the starter, was still not healthy, was still not ready to be fully implemented into the offense. But Dalvin Cook, meanwhile, is going top of the second round. Jason, are you, are you comfortable taking Dalvin Cook as your, as possibly as your running back?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I am confident. I'm very confident. Because it's not. Yes, you have a very small sample size in the NFL. But he was also, you know, he came in supposed to be that it's not like, you know, a Jordan Howard guy, fourth round pick that comes in and, you know, oh, man, he was really surprising. Dalvin Cook. The only bad thing about Dalvin Cook's history outside of this current injury is his combine. Like, his combine was a little low and people were like, oh, maybe the superstar collegiate running back is not going to be great in the NFL. And then he lights it on fire. And yes, Latavius Murray was not combine.

[Brooks]

He lit that on fire and said.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, he let that fire in a dumpster. But the thing is, is a lot's being made. Latavius Murray wasn't healthy, so maybe he's going to eat in. But Jericho McKinnon is gone and Jerick McKinnon got a lot of, a lot of work, a lot of passing.

[Andy Holloway]

Latavius Murray showed nothing last year that was special. He was, he was functional as a running back. And then what I like is, you know, John DeFilippo has come out and said he doesn't look like he's hesitating at all in practice. He's going to get reps in the preseason. He's been dominating in pass protection. Something that, you know, he's going to fill that role at a minimum on third down of what Jerick McKinnon was going to do. And then I think he's going to split on first and second down. That's the worst case scenario if he's splitting time. I think the only worry that we have as fantasy owners is, hey, does he get the ball in the red zone? Does he get in the 5 yard line?

[Brooks]

Goal line is everything. If Dalvin Cook ends up sharing carries at the goal line for a player, you're spending that a top 13 pick in fantasy football. That would be a really big bummer.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah. So, yeah, I think it could be a little bit of a ramp up for Cook's fantasy value during the season. Do you agree with that?

[Jason Moore]

I don't.

[Andy Holloway]

From a rep perspective, you expect him to get the same level of work in week one that you see him get in week 10, week 12?

[Jason Moore]

I do. From what has come out of camp is, you know, he's fully back, he's electric, he's.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, Latavius is still taking third downs right now.

[Brooks]

Man, it's. Yeah, it's interesting. I think that Dalvin Cook does carry a little bit more risk. Even though I'm with Jason, I'm. I'm very confident in Dalvin Cook. He definitely carries a little bit more risk. Kyle Rudolph. Andy, where do you got Kyle Rudolph right now?

[Jason Moore]

That's a great question. Andy's the one we need to worry about here.

[Andy Holloway]

Kyle Rudolph is fine, guys. Kyle Rudolph is fine. I don't have anything against Kyle Rudolph. I just want tight ends with upside. I got him at 11.

[Brooks]

All right, Jason, where do you got him?

[Jason Moore]

I have him at four. I've got him behind.

[Andy Holloway]

Slight difference. What?

[Brooks]

F4.

[Andy Holloway]

He's got him ahead of.

[Jason Moore]

Come on.

[Andy Holloway]

Ahead of Greg Olson, ahead of Evan Ingram, ahead of Trey Burton, ahead of Jimmy Graham, ahead of Delaney Walker, ahead of his time, they call him.

[Jason Moore]

It's certainly, it certainly might be too high. And look, these are, these are stat based projections.

[Andy Holloway]

I feel like that's a spite ranking.

[Jason Moore]

No, it's not a spy rating. These are stat based projections of where they might finish. It's not, you know, a lot of times people are like, oh, you drafted this guy ahead of him, but you've got him ranked higher. That's not necessarily that. You know, that doesn't take everything into account. Right. What you are saying about Kyle Rudolph is that his ceiling is not super high. He's not going to be the number one target in his offense. He's not going to be the number one weapon.

[Andy Holloway]

I think he feels cozy with about, you know, 50 receptions.

[Jason Moore]

Right. Whereas, you know, Greg Olson could be still the number one target in his offense. Jimmy Graham could be the number one weapon in the red zone. Kyle Rudolph is just kind of there tried true. He's going to be a third down guy and he's a big target in the red zone. But if you look over the last couple of years, he's just been so consistent, even though he's not phenomenal. That's why the stats bear him out a little bit higher.

[Andy Holloway]

And I'm going to piggyback on that before we talk about the Lions, Jason, because you brought up a good point, I do want to point that out. It's funny to make a joke about you having Kyle Rudolph at 4, but.

[Brooks]

There'S nothing funny about that.

[Andy Holloway]

But, but here's, here's the truth. In our dynasty league. I'm sorry, in our league of record three keeper league, I had the number one pick in that draft. It was going to be probably Zeke. Even though I have Camara ranked higher right. Trade value in our league, Zeke has significantly higher trade value. Ultimately, number one, I said, you know what, in a league like this, I actually wanted Saquon Barkley. I traded down to three to get Saquon Barkley or potentially get Saquon Barkley because of the league you're in. This is why the ultimate draft kit is not just a cheat sheet. This is why the ultimate draft kit is not just a rankings sheet.

[Brooks]

It does come with cheat sheets.

[Andy Holloway]

It does come with those. But that's what I'm trying to say is like you're supposed to take those. This is what we try to prescribe here at the Fantasy Footballers is a holistic approach where you take the news, the information, the rankings, the consensus. Then you mix in, you know, a couple scoops of your league scoring and your keeper rules and the people you play against and the way that they trade and the biases of your league and wherever you're based, you know, and who they're going to draft. And that all has to go into the way that you factor the value of a player, right?

[Jason Moore]

Certainly.

[Andy Holloway]

And so Jason, for instance, may draft a team with a bunch of high upside guys. And then Kyle Rudolph at AT4 looks a lot more attractive as a baseline tight end week to week as opposed to going with somebody that has a little bit more flash.

[Brooks]

Jordan. Jordan Reed.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, right. You know, that's a complete. Those are the polar opposite of type of players. So it's important that you evaluate everything in the context of your league.

[Jason Moore]

Lions.

[Andy Holloway]

Now, Jason and Mike, can you grab us a straight jacket for a second and I'll give you a minute to. To tie Jason up.

[Brooks]

Well, I think for Jason's sake we should Start with the starting from here.

[Jason Moore]

From here on, it's he who shall not be named.

[Brooks]

No, we're going to talk about the starting running back, LeGarrett Blunt.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, yes, we are. I mean, not Voldemort touchdowns a couple of years ago. Guys signed this offseason.

[Brooks]

Am I right?

[Jason Moore]

LeGarrett Blunt is going to eat on that goal line.

[Brooks]

Oh, man.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, Garrett Blunt, let's, let's talk about him legitimately though.

[Brooks]

Sure.

[Andy Holloway]

He has a history with Matt Patricia going back to New England. That has to be, you know, one of the significant reasons why they brought him in there. There's a stabilizing nature to having leg Eric Blunt there, a more durable running back, somebody that lets you ease in. Carry on Voldemort and Theo Riddick is there who's been one of the most consistent pass catching running backs in the game. Amir Abdullah is still there too, isn't he?

[Brooks]

Yeah, he's somewhere. He's. I think he has a different job.

[Jason Moore]

When will Amir Abdullah be Corey Coleman? I feel like that's coming soon, very soon.

[Andy Holloway]

Unless. Unless they want to commit him to special teams and let him be their kick returner. Punt returner, you know, that would be a role I would give Amir Abdullah right out of the gate.

[Brooks]

Yeah. But for LeGarrett blunt. In all seriousness, despite the hype that Carry on is getting coming out of training camp, I still expect LeGarrett Blunt to be the starting running back for at least a couple weeks.

[Andy Holloway]

You know what this looks like to me? I hadn't thought about this before. Chris Johnson in Arizona and David Johnson right, where the incumbent still gets work, but eventually the talent overcomes.

[Brooks]

Well, the talent overcame two injuries. In the case of David Johnson. It wasn't until Chris Johnson and I can't even recall the other running back who was in front of David that season and he went down. That's how David Johnson got Andre Ellington. Thank you. Ellington. Yes. And Andre Ellington. But I think Carry on will take over. I think the talent will win out, but it's not going to be week one. So it's, that's, that's where it's tough for me in fantasy drafts to spend that sixth round pick on Kerryon Johnson knowing I'm going to be holding him on my bench for I don't know how long. I hope it's two weeks, but what if it's six weeks? What if it's eight weeks because legarre Blunt is still has enough left in the tank and the team has committed.

[Jason Moore]

To him yeah, and we also do not have. I mean, look, Matt Patricia is a brand new head coach. We talk a lot about Marvin Lewis doesn't want his rookies to get in right away. Head coaches can control that. And we don't know Matt Patricia's belief in that. You can't know it yet. And so there is without a doubt a lot of risk built into taking Kerryon Johnson as any kind of reliable piece that you have to score week one. And this is coming from the Kerryon Johnson truther. You have to recognize that, that come week one he very well might not get work that is worthy of being a starting running back in fantasy football. I believe he will. But the risk is there. If you look in the ultimate draft kit, the risk rating on Kerryon Johnson is higher than you know, because I've got him projected as a starter. My risk rating is much higher. According to those projections.

[Brooks]

This and now it's only a six round pick. But that's right now because Jason keeps pumping up the average draft position of carry on Johnson. This is Joe Mixon from last year who ended up as a fourth round pick even though in front of him was Jeremy Hill. Who was Jeremy Hill, LaGarrett blunt and. And Giovanni Bernard.

[Jason Moore]

Theo Riddick.

[Brooks]

So, man, bad off.

[Jason Moore]

Bad. Historically bad.

[Brooks]

You know, offensive line, their offensive line has improved. Pro football focus has them coming into the season as the number eight offensive line. Let's move on to the wide receivers though. Golden Tate, 90 and 1000. Is this just. You can mark it down?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. If he, if he plays 16, it's 90 plus receptions, 1,000 yards and it's great. But one thing you need to be wary of with Golden Tate, and we've talked about this more so in off seasons when we're reflecting on the truth of the wide receiver series, is that Golden Tate, despite having a lot of volume, is not a consistent, consistent week in and week out performer. He kind of. It's really bizarre because you don't have a lot of other guys that are 90 and 1,000 receivers year after year that don't just week after week get it done. And Golden Tate is thought of as. In fact, in our last mock draft, I took him as kind of I want the more consistent guy. And then afterwards I thought about the fact that he's a little bit fool's gold. Fool's gold in consistency. Whereas you look at Marvin Jones like a boom bust guy. But they kind of both are. And I think maybe this is a Matthew Stafford.

[Brooks]

This past season, both of them were right at that 50% when it came to consistency of games where they were either a wide receiver one or two. But over the past two years, what you were talking about, Jason, over the past two years, Golden Tate, 40% of the time was a wide receiver one or two.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't really love Golden Tate. I feel like, look, we've been through this in his career now where we've seen him, he's a 9, 10 per catch guy. He's not going to score more than five times and he's not going to have more than about a thousand yards. So I like him in the, in the fact that you can roll him in there and get a guarantee, you know, some level of guaranteed production, but there's not a ceiling to him anymore.

[Brooks]

Yeah, I stole.

[Andy Holloway]

He's 30 years old.

[Brooks]

I still love him.

[Andy Holloway]

He's never scored more than seven touchdowns in a season, hasn't had more than six I think in the last five years. It just depends what you want from that position.

[Brooks]

It comes down to how have you constructed your wide receiver core and what.

[Andy Holloway]

Type of league you're in. Yep, half point, full point. You're going to be in a lot better situation. Situation With Golden Tate, I will say.

[Jason Moore]

This right now, he is the 20th wide receiver off the board. If you look back at the last four seasons, he was the 13th, 27th, 19th and 15th wide receiver. If you don't believe that he, if you don't believe that he's lost a step at age 30, which I don't think any of us do, it does a return value project to be a valuable pick there.

[Andy Holloway]

Eric Ebron left this offseason, Jason, maybe he's off to greener pastures in Indianapolis. Surprise value in fantasy is who on this roster surprise. Kenny Galladay is Luke Wilson.

[Brooks]

The surprise value will be Luke Wilson. Eric Ebron is gone. Also gone is Darren Fells. That is over 100 targets to the tight end position this past season. Luke Wilson, it's a prove it deal. It's only a one year, two and a half million dollar deal. But, but before Seattle traded for Jimmy Graham, you saw flashes of Luke Wilson making really big plays. And I firmly believe he has been brought in to be the move tight end, to be the pass catching tight end. And it won't shock me to see him up in, in that ebron area that 80 to 90 targets and for a fantasy tight end that's essentially undrafted, that's, that's fantastic.

[Andy Holloway]

Last year they were worst in the NFL in rushing yards per game with 76 a game. They were sixth in passing yards per game last year. Their end of season offensive line rank was 19th in 2018. Pro Football Focus has them improving all the way up to the number eight overall offensive line, which means a lot to. It means a lot to the possibility of value at the running back position. I think people have been burnt year after year and that's causing some blindness into the potential value of the running back position in Detroit.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I agree and I. The final thing I will say is please don't mock draft. Carry on, Johnson. Move on, Packers.

[Andy Holloway]

All right. The packers disappointing seven and nine season. Aaron Rodgers returned at the very end trying to get the packers into the playoffs. It didn't pan out, but Rogers missed significant time last year with injury. Key subtractions to this offense. Both tight ends Martellus Bennett and Richard Rodgers are gone. Jordy Nelson, who is a longtime fantasy force on Green Bay, is now gone. And you did have the drafting of three wide receivers. We talked about them a little bit earlier, but Jamon Moore, Jamal, I was waiting. Yeah. And then economic St. Brown, Marques Valdez, Scantling is also in consideration there. And then Jimmy Graham was brought in. Three year, $30 million deal. We've, I think, talked enough about Jimmy Graham on previous episodes. I like to focus ourselves elsewhere if possible. And let's. Let's talk about the running back situation, which I know we've discussed that as well. But last year they were 17th in the league in rushing yards per game, 25th in passing yards per game. Look, the. Aaron Rodgers wasn't behind the helm. There was no captain of the ship last year. And you saw the disintegration of their offensive ability.

[Brooks]

No. There was a lieutenant's manning. Lieutenant was Corporal. Yeah. And Brett Hundley. And it did not.

[Andy Holloway]

No. And he's gone too.

[Brooks]

It did not turn out for Green Bay. But at the wide receiver position or. I'm sorry, where are we starting running backs?

[Andy Holloway]

You can start wherever you want, Mike.

[Brooks]

The running backs is. It's a great place to start off because we have such differing opinions. So I'll let Jason come in here with his defense of last year's starter.

[Jason Moore]

Okay. So last year's starter, Ty Montgomery, when all three people were healthy, he was a top five running back, just like Dalvin Cook. Extraordinarily small sample size. He would be different than Dalvin Cook in the sense that Dalvin Cook was a superstar in college. You knew what you were getting. They drafted him to be that. None of those things are true about Ty Montgomery. That's why he is a big risk. Along with the fact that the other two rookies who both played well when given their opportunities last season, who are running backs, were drafted to be running backs are there. When I look at the breakdown, here's how I see it. I see Ty Montgomery as the clear. I know Aaron Jones had a good college production in passing, but he's not as good as Ty Montgomery when it comes to the pass catching role. So I think he is clearly at least the pass catching running back, which if I'm looking at the packers offense with Aaron Rodgers at the helm, that's the piece that I want, is the one that's going to be catching the passes, the touchdown passes from Aaron Rodgers. When it comes to the decision between Jamal Williams and Aaron Jones, I know, Mike, you're on the Aaron Jones side. I am firmly, firmly on the Jamal Williams side. Because look, when Jamal Williams got the opportunity last year, he was really good. I mean, you look at his stretch, he had weeks.

[Brooks]

He was very good for fancy.

[Jason Moore]

For fantasy.

[Brooks]

Yes.

[Jason Moore]

Well, that's what.

[Brooks]

Well, and let it care about. Is the head coach playing fantasy football now?

[Jason Moore]

No, but I mean you're not going.

[Brooks]

To make decisions based on that.

[Jason Moore]

You're good at fantasy by putting up.

[Brooks]

Good by getting volume.

[Jason Moore]

So I mean, he had a three, three weeks in a row where he was the second running back, the seventh and the fifth running back. And that comes after two of the three weeks before that in the top 24. So my point is, with Aaron Jones suspended the first two games, who's going to be the main primary running back on the ground? Clearly it's going to be Jamal Williams.

[Brooks]

It has to be for those first two games.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes, for the first two. Yeah, for the first two games he.

[Jason Moore]

Gets the opportunity to prove it first.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't think anybody argues that, but he. To me, Jason, what you're saying is he was good for fantasy when he had the opportunity to do it, but he wasn't great from a metric perspective. So I think Green Bay, look, he gets a chance to prove it, but he didn't prove it like he's not going to win the job in those two weeks.

[Jason Moore]

You don't think. You don't think that. I think with Aaron Rodgers there, because when he was playing, it was mostly without Aaron Rodgers when Jamal Williams was starting that Jamal Williams will be more effective as a running back when Aaron Rodgers.

[Andy Holloway]

I don't think it's any guarantee. I don't think there's any guarantee that he will be sure.

[Jason Moore]

But I guess my Point is, when we're taking a look at the draft season, you're saying, who are you going to take the shot on? Probability odds, they go first to Jamal Williams to actually get the opportunity. There is a chance that Jamal Williams does good, and then Aaron Jones just doesn't even get the opportunity. You have to. If you believe in Aaron Jones, you have to not only believe that he'll be good, but that also he'll get the opportunity after a couple weeks in.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I would just handicap that percentage chance of Jamal Williams doing that to Aaron Jones at like under 5%.

[Brooks]

Oh, that's hot.

[Jason Moore]

Get bodied.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

That's. Not that I don't think Jamal Williams is okay, but he's made to be an RB2 on a roster. That's how I feel about Jamal.

[Brooks]

Aaron Jones was dominant. He was efficient. Our good friend of the show, J.J. zachary, he loves Aaron Jones as well as I do. And very small sample for Aaron Jones when he was the lead guy, but you're talking. He was putting up Alvin Camara levels of efficiency in those couple of games. And I don't think that Montgomery nor Williams has the ability to do that. And for the Green Bay running back position, I'm going to bet on talents, and I believe that's Aaron Jones. But Jason's right. You do have to sit. He's suspended for two games, and then he will have to earn the. Earn that roll back.

[Andy Holloway]

And I think you take a little bit. If you can draft Jamal Williams late enough and get a couple starts out of him just to begin the year right, that's a real viable way to. Let's say you're Mike the other day in our mock. In our Mark draft. Yeah, Mark Ingram is a good example, too. If you draft Mark Ingram and you're trying to buy time, but the other day, Mike went 0 RB through the first five rounds. Well, if you take some of the rookies towards the back of the draft and then you want to put in Jamal Williams, I think it's a great, great way to go buy yourself some time.

[Jason Moore]

That's what.

[Brooks]

That's what 0rb is all about. Just buying yourself.

[Andy Holloway]

So the offensive wide receiver that you would take a shot on is who?

[Jason Moore]

I'll take Devonte Adams.

[Andy Holloway]

Well, outside of Devonte.

[Brooks]

Well, let's start with Devonte Adams.

[Andy Holloway]

Just.

[Brooks]

Just how high do you have Devonte Adams this season? Do we all have him as a one, is that correct?

[Andy Holloway]

Sure.

[Brooks]

As wide receiver one?

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, he's kind of. He's a magnet for the, you know, the end Zone.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah. I've got him as my wide receiver. Nine.

[Brooks]

Okay. So top 10 wide receiver. It's.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, Jason has him at nine. Mike and I have him at six right now.

[Brooks]

So, yeah, I'm very bullish on Devonte Adams moving into.

[Andy Holloway]

That's just a math equation with Aaron Rodgers.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Number one wide receiver plus Aaron Rodgers equals number one equals fantasy.

[Brooks]

So let's move it on.

[Andy Holloway]

I.

[Brooks]

Man, if you're going to take. It was Geronimo all off season. For me, it was going to be Geronimo. Allison. I want the player who has spent time with Aaron Rodgers who has earned that trust. Like I had said, the news on Allison coming out of training camp from beat reporters is not the best. But there was that small glimmer of hope where they talked about a play where things kind of broke down and Allison knew where Aaron Rodgers was going to want to go with the ball. They connected for a touchdown. And then Aaron Rodgers had a quote of essentially saying, that's. That's what I like about Allison. He knows where I want him to go. So if you have the support of the quarterback, maybe he can hold on. If so, I'll say this through training camp, if he holds onto a roster spot, which that sounds ominous. It's still going to be Geronimo Allison.

[Jason Moore]

For me and for me as well. I mean, he is. He's got the leg up. It's similar to the Jamal Williams thing. I think he's going to get the first shot, the opportunity, and I'm always going to take the opportunity with Aaron Rodgers.

[Andy Holloway]

Adam Gay said about an hour ago regarding the depth chart situation we were talking about earlier.

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

With Kenyon Drake, he said, I wouldn't look too deep into this depth chart. And then when they asked him about specifically Gore and Drake being co starters and why he did it that way, his response was quote, just to be an A hole. That's literally what he said. So it's not a. It's. The depth charts are funny because some coaches do.

[Brooks]

This is your coach.

[Andy Holloway]

Some coaches approach it as like, look, especially at this point in the season, I'm. I have to submit this, but it's. It means nothing to me. So that's why we tell you, don't over emphasize those situations.

[Jason Moore]

Bears.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, let's talk about one of the most hyped teams of the off season because there's oh, so many things to be potentially excited about. There are Chicago, Allen Robinson, new wide receiver. Welcome to Chicago. John Fox out the door. You got a brand new head Coach in Matt Nagy. You have a brand new offensive coordinator coming in from Oregon in Mark Helfrich. You have Anthony Miller drafted wide receiver. You have Taylor Gabriel signed wide receiver, you already hurt. You have the epic and unadulterated return of Kevin White prodigy so fast. You have Jordan Howard coming back in after two great seasons to begin his career. Tariq Cohen, the dinosaur hunter himself, lightning in a bottle. And then Mitch Trubisky and his potential ascension. A lot of people projecting great things from Mitch Trubisky. I've seen the heavy hype of, you know, everything, the comparisons all the way up to Carson Wentz on Mitch Trubisky this season. So hey, no, you can't stop the hype, Mike. Have you heard the train coming? Have you heard you can't stop this.

[Brooks]

I'm wearing my steel toed boots. That little toy train doesn't scare me.

[Andy Holloway]

Not gonna run them over.

[Brooks]

My toesies are fine. It's a mission stop. Carson Wentz.

[Andy Holloway]

So let's, let's put on the filter glasses.

[Brooks]

Let's be the Bears glasses or let's.

[Andy Holloway]

Be studious in our analysis of the Bears and let's tell people where they can actually find fantasy value on this roster. The Bears last year were 16th in rushing yards per game, 32nd in passing yards per game. This was an offense that passed the ball for 175 yards a game. If any of any of their passing offense translates to this year, it's not a good thing for any of these weapons. Right? There's no. I didn't even mention. Trey Burton signed a four year, 32 million dollar deal tight end, athletic tight end coming in from Philadelphia. So what do you guys want to talk about with Chicago?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah, I mean the only piece that I'm actually excited about, I mean Trey Burton is interesting because he's a lower ranked ADP guy that I believe will still have enough relevance to be a week in, week out, fantasy starter at tight end. But the only player on this roster I'm actually excited about is Jordan Howard. He has shown that he is a good running back, 4.6 yards per carryover his first two seasons. And that's with people stacking the box knowing they're going to run with a bad offense that is not, you know, they've just been kind of that old school, you know, curmudgeony offense. Now you get a coordinator coming in who's saying good things about Jordan Howard. Jordan Howard has clearly, I mean he has a lot of work to do as a receiver, but he's been. That's what his focus has been on. And if that's what his focus has been on him, the coaching staff's focus. If Jordan Howard were to add receiving numbers to his fantasy line, he's been the 10th and the 12th running back over the last two seasons.

[Brooks]

Are we talking about Jordan Howard or Alfred Morris right now?

[Andy Holloway]

That's exactly what I was going to say. It sounds like we're making. I feel like I made argument.

[Brooks]

I made the. I've made that exact same argument for Alvin Morris and Jason just attacked me and said that's the stupidest thing you could say.

[Jason Moore]

Stupidest thing you could say because he didn't have the change of the head coach.

[Andy Holloway]

It doesn't matter though. Tariq cone is literally the number one option that you could have.

[Brooks]

Did he get a hand transplant?

[Andy Holloway]

Here's the deal.

[Brooks]

His hands are just too strong.

[Andy Holloway]

276 rushing attempts last year. 5th most in the league. 1100 plus yards, 6 most in the league. 718 yards after contact, number one in football and by a wide margin.

[Brooks]

Jordan Howard is an absolute monster.

[Andy Holloway]

He's a just a wrecking ball.

[Brooks]

Yeah. And the question becomes just where, where is the value of Jordan Howard? Because I'm going to give you the scenario.

[Andy Holloway]

He could score 15 touchdowns, half point PPR.

[Brooks]

Okay, so you got a value him against pass catching running backs. So Jordan Howard or Dalvin Cook?

[Jason Moore]

Oh, Dalvin Cook. Not close.

[Andy Holloway]

In what kind of league?

[Brooks]

Half point.

[Andy Holloway]

I would take Jordan Howard, Christian McCaffrey.

[Jason Moore]

I've got Christian McCaffrey slightly above Jordan Howard.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah, I do too.

[Jason Moore]

I mean, right now, this is what I'm saying about Jordan Howard is he's got an opportunity to add that, but I'm not projecting that. He's got it. I've got him with 27 receptions this season. So I'm not projecting that step forward. But my point is without that, without those chops, without that involvement, I've got him as the 15th best running back. He's being drafted, I believe right there or maybe a spot or two behind the 15th running back. But he has. I'm not drafting him at a ceiling. That's my point.

[Andy Holloway]

Upside this team had. This team ran the 31st most, as we like to say.

[Jason Moore]

Yes, the 31st best.

[Andy Holloway]

They were the second. They ran the second fewest plays in the entire NFL. This wasn't like last year. Okay. We just didn't pass the ball right. 32nd in the league in passing yards per game. They ran the 16th most rushing plays in the league. They were middle of the road. Despite that, they ran 929 plays, which was second fewest in the league. This was an offense barely on the field last year. He had nine touchdowns. It was third most in the NFL on one of the worst offenses that had the least amount of opportunities. If you believe at all, in all of these new weapons that they brought in and Matt Nagy and Mark Helfrich and being innovative. I'm telling you, Jordan Howard can score 15 touchdown. Jason brought him up as one of the few guys being drafted outside the top 10 running backs that could actually finish number one. And I 100% believe it. And he does not need to. He needs to catch 35 passes and score 12 to 15 times to do that.

[Brooks]

He's Zeke.

[Andy Holloway]

Yes.

[Brooks]

You're looking for, you're hoping for Zeke.

[Andy Holloway]

Exactly.

[Jason Moore]

That's the nicest thing that's ever been said about George Howard.

[Brooks]

I'm just saying for fantasy, the way to finish as a top five guy is the way that Zeke does it. Yes, you have to have 1500 rushing yards and you have to have double digit touchdowns.

[Andy Holloway]

But he at least he has shown that he can do that type of thing, right?

[Jason Moore]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

Yards after contact. He almost has a thousand yards after contract last year.

[Jason Moore]

He's a beast at the wide receiver position. A lot of new pieces. In fact, I feel like all new pieces. I don't think Kevin White will be involved.

[Andy Holloway]

Stop it.

[Jason Moore]

But I will say this. Taylor, Gabriel, Anthony Miller, these guys I think are getting too much love because of the newness. We don't know how much passing work is going to go around. And they're clearly the second. You know, sometimes we don't want the second wide receiver on a team where we, where we should. You know, we've got history of Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree together. They both score well. You know, the packers always have two in the top 15 or the top 24. But I don't think that the Bears with Mitch trubisky in year two are going to produce two top 24 wide receivers. That's where I think top 20.

[Brooks]

What? Where's this love that you're talking about for the wider? Anthony Miller's going Twitter.

[Jason Moore]

Anthony Miller love is out of control.

[Brooks]

But that's different. Loving a player is different than saying projecting for fantasy. He's going at the the 13th round.

[Jason Moore]

I'm just talking.

[Brooks]

No one wants him on a fence.

[Jason Moore]

I'm talking about the vibes, the news and notes, my Twitter timeline, because he's.

[Brooks]

A good wide receiver. He's going to be a great wide receiver. I'm with you.

[Jason Moore]

Oh, breaking news.

[Brooks]

What do we got? What do we got?

[Andy Holloway]

It's just really breaking right in the middle of your sentence. Zach Ertz has missed his third Eagles practice in a row with an undisclosed injury. We do not know any more than that.

[Jason Moore]

Dallas Goddard.

[Brooks]

Yeah, very interesting.

[Andy Holloway]

But bags, good day.

[Jason Moore]

Tell us. Good.

[Brooks]

Good day, mate. Anthony. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I regret so many regrets.

[Jason Moore]

My point is this, Mike. I'm not saying he's being drafted as a top 24 wide receiver. I am saying that when you draft him, that's the hope is that maybe this is a guy that can finish there. And I'm saying he can't.

[Brooks]

In the 13th round, your hope is that a guy is just on your bench, he can make your starting roster all weekend.

[Jason Moore]

My 13th round, every single, I'm trying to swing for an upside guy. And so I'm saying I'm not drafting Anthony Miller, but you guys are free.

[Andy Holloway]

To disagree in a redraft league.

[Brooks]

Yeah, I just, I see how people are valuing him differently. But let's talk about Alan Robinson because he is. He is the one, I believe, who is not being discussed right now. Fantasy football calculator has wide receiver Alan Robinson going at the back of the fourth round. He is going behind Golden Tate, Josh Gordon, JuJu Smith, Schuster, Demarius Thomas and Amari Cooper.

[Andy Holloway]

Now, some of those just don't know what to do with him.

[Brooks]

Some of those names I would take ahead of Alan Robinson. Some of those names I for sure would not.

[Andy Holloway]

Alan Robinson is. He's many months removed from fantasy dominance. I mean, he, he had the monstrous year with Bortles, then he had an okay year, then he was injured, then he was traded to a team that had literally passes the ball.

[Brooks]

Resign, free agent, sign.

[Andy Holloway]

What did I say?

[Brooks]

Traded.

[Andy Holloway]

Oh, okay. Apologies. Now he joins a team, a new team, new quarterback. Off an injury. There's just a lot of question marks. So I think people are hesitant because the range of outcomes on Robinson are everywhere. From okay, he's, he's back, he's great. But how great all the way to he's hesitant off the injury. They have other weapons. They're not going to use him as much. His targets go down. I think that's the hesitancy. People just haven't seen anything in Chicago yet. So there's, you know, you've seen everything you need to see about Golden Tate. You know exactly what you're getting. If he's being drafted around Alan Robinson. And I think that that's why people are delaying.

[Brooks]

Yeah, and I understand that. But at the top of the fifth round or the end of the fourth round, I think that's a spectacular pick. It was a couple years ago, but it was 1400 yards and 14 touchdowns. If. And that that was with the bad version of Blake Bortles before he became Blake the Snake. So this season I got a snake man. He was paid to be the wide receiver one. He is the wide receiver one for this team. A head coach from the Andy Reid tree that I think will have significant improvement to the offense. Allen Robinson. I don't think people should be scared to draft him. Where he is going. I'm not going to reach for him, but where he is going, don't be afraid to draft him.

[Jason Moore]

Where he's going. I would completely agree with that. I mean, you mentioned the names. Juju Josh, Gordon, Golden Tate, Brandon Cooks, Jarvis Landry. Not one of those guys is locked and loaded into the wide receiver one position. There's not one of those guys I just named, you know, is going to be the one for their team. Whereas Alan Robinson, you can be sure of that.

[Andy Holloway]

Fair enough. All right, we are going to extend this podcast just a little bit longer. We had the chance to. Well, Jason had the chance to talk to Cardinals rookie wide receiver Christian Kirk a couple weeks ago, and we're going to share that interview with you right now.

[Jason Moore]

You talking to me, Christian? So true story. Coming into the NFL draft, we pre rank, you know, we're analysts, we analyze everybody. You are my number two wide receiver. Apologies, you're not number one, but you are. You were still my number two going into the draft. Josh Rosen was my number two. Kind of tied with Sam Darnold. We're from Arizona and I was freaking out through the draft when the pair came together. How has it been like working with Rosen so far? Is there a chemistry coming there or are you working more with Bradford? Where are you? Where have you been working so far in the offseason?

[Mike Wright]

It's been really good and we've been able to take a lot of snaps together. Josh has been taking a lot of reps and, you know, we've had a previous relationship, so we kind of just kind of picked up, you know, where we left off from, at least in high school and whatnot. So we've been working out a lot in la. Me and Josh have in the offseason, but Also too, through OTAs and minicamp, we've been able to get a lot of reps with Sam, and, you know, I think that's going to pick up throughout the training, you know, throughout training camp. So I'm excited to just, you know, keep going and developing with those guys and get ready for the season.

[Jason Moore]

Now, you also have a previous relationship with Ricky Seals Jones, is that correct? So how's, you know, he's kind of one of those sleeper guys for fantasy. Showed a lot in a few games last year. Is. Does he look more involved in the offense this year? Is there any insight there?

[Mike Wright]

Yeah, I definitely think he's going to have a breakout year. I think a lot of people were able to see what he's able to do last season. He showed some signs and some games last year, and I think he's only just going to go up from there. And I think Coach McCoy is going to really utilize him because he's a mismatch. You know, not a lot of DBs can cover him, and then he's too fast for some linebackers. So it should be really fun to see what he does this year.

[Jason Moore]

All right, how smart is McCoy on a scale of one to ten?

[Mike Wright]

It's like a ten.

[Brooks]

Oh, all right.

[Andy Holloway]

All right.

[Mike Wright]

That guy is so crazy football smart. He's one of the smartest coaches I've been around. So it's been really fun to be able to learn from him and being able to learn that offense because it's so dynamic. We do so many different things, and it's just going to set me up, you know, for the future as well.

[Jason Moore]

Okay, so two questions for you about that offense and how you're going to hit the ground running this year. One is there's a huge question of who's the number two wide receiver. Obviously, Larry is locked and loaded, but you've got new free agent Bryce Butler, you've got J.J. nelson, you've got you.

[Andy Holloway]

You.

[Jason Moore]

You know, Chad Williams, who is going to be that number two?

[Mike Wright]

Well, I mean, I can't really say anything now because, you know, we have training camp. You know, we got to go out there, compete, so we're all competing for it, but it's not. We're all against each other because we all want to see each other succeed. And so we're going to go out and training camp, and whoever makes the most plays and goes out there and shows consistently that they can be that number two guy then is going to get that job. So obviously that's, you know, my goal in mind and, you know, I'm going to go out there and chase it.

[Jason Moore]

Every day and So I guess the second question then, following that up in college, you were more out of the slot than the outside. And there's a lot of question, are you going to go outside? I know you believe you can go outside. Where do you want to be? Where do you think you are best on the field?

[Mike Wright]

Well, well, I think I'm best inside and outside. I played outside all of otes and minicamp and so just being able to get comfortable out there and just kind of, you know, getting familiar with that position. And it's not like I can't do it. It's not like I haven't done it before. And I had a lot of success doing it in minicamp and ota. So the slot's nothing new for me. So just being able to, you know, master, you know, playing outside, it just makes myself more, you know, dynamic.

[Jason Moore]

Awesome. Final question, win total for the Arizona Cardinals this year. What you.

[Andy Holloway]

Yeah.

[Mike Wright]

So hopefully make the playoffs. That's the goal in mind. We're making the playoffs and we're just going to take it step by step, you know, once you make the playoffs and it's, you know, winning a division championship and then hopefully Super Bowl. So that's our goal in mind. That's what we, you know, are working for right now. So I'm excited for. We got a lot of people sleeping on us and, you know, hopefully we wake some people up.

[Jason Moore]

Awesome. Thanks, Christian.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, Great to hear from Cardinals rookie wideout Christian Kirk. Jason had the chance to speak with him and I think what is exciting about Christian Kirk and the Cardinals offense is, you know, what wide receiver is going to emerge as that second option behind Larry Fitzgerald or pass catcher. Right, Right. It could be Ricky Seals Jones that emerges as a real relevant tight end option. Could be Chad Williams, last year's early round rookie.

[Brooks]

Could be Bryce Butler.

[Andy Holloway]

Could be Bryce Butler. There are a lot of options.

[Jason Moore]

Probably just going to be David Johnson.

[Andy Holloway]

Probably just. Yeah, but Christian Kirk, you know, I think it's going to be a slower thing for him. I think he's going to make an impact on special teams and I think, you know, a couple electric plays here, they're going to get him more snaps in the slot and give him more opportunities.

[Jason Moore]

Agreed.

[Brooks]

Yeah.

[Andy Holloway]

All right, that does it for today's episode of the Fantasy Footballers podcast. If you want to play a little best ball with us and you should draft.comballers and we'll be back tomorrow with another brand new episode again, five days a week. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and YouTube Take care, everybody. Have a good one.

[Brooks]

Goodbye.

[Jason Moore]

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.